The chapter I was beginning to think I'd never get out! International travel, a cruise, a cold, technical difficulties...! By the way, there's a poll up on my profile page that will soon be too late to take. Go vote if you like, or check out the results. (They're pretty split at the moment.)

Beneath

Chapter One Hundred Twelve: Disclosure

"You tried to be clever out there, Nadrith. You're lucky I didn't take offense," Thor said. About a week had passed since Nadrith addressed the assembled prisoners, but Thor had not yet spoken to him about it. On that day, he had missed so much time on the battlefield that he'd simply deposited Nadrith back in his designated chambers and left at once without a backward glance. As Nadrith spoke he'd been listening for any attempt to reveal secrets, ready to forcibly stop him mid-sentence if needed, and had been satisfied enough that no secrets had been revealed. Nadrith encouraging his men to support their war effort from home was annoying, but not something they hadn't already thought of, most likely; a similar calculus was very much on Asgard's mind as well. Fewer men guarding prisoners meant more men available for fighting, and any men Gullveig forced to return and Asgard put to work in various tasks also freed up more Asgardians to fight. As Geirmund had pointed out, Asgard needed to make this war about something other than numbers…but numbers were unavoidably critically important. More Asgardian warriors fell every day, and fewer were able to quickly return to battle. Many now fought with injuries that should have seen them on their backs in the Healing Room.

"You're assuming that anyone listening was similarly clever. I doubt it, not in that moment, I mean. The Ljosalf are a clever race. And their commanders and my advisors, my brother's advisors now, they were already wondering. Odin has always led his men in battle. The fact that he is not now, nor has he otherwise been seen in some time, leaves little doubt that he is incapacitated in some way…Your Majesty. And as I told you earlier, I can see the change in you, as well. I understand that change, because I experienced it myself, ninety years ago. You're prepared for something all your life, but nothing quite prepares you for the reality of it, for everything that comes with it, for the decisions that must be made, the differing voices you must accommodate, the pressure of a responsibility that doesn't end with sunset or even with you going to bed when you're able, and follows you when you attempt to get away and relax in some rare moment."

Thor, rising from his chair, turned around and randomly picked up an ornamental blue-and-black box from the mantel over the fireplace. Nadrith did understand, and was new enough at it to still remember the difficulty of the transition clearly, as most of the other rulers, including Odin, probably did not. Thor had no one to talk to about it. No one who would really understand it. His mother would, but Thor had never really confided in her about things like that, not the way Loki had. Nadrith understood, and in their younger years, before Nadrith became king, on rare occasions, quiet moments when it was just the two of them, they'd talked about it, what they thought it would be like, what it was like knowing that was your destiny, and everyone else knowing it, too, the difficulties it created in relationships, the weight of the expectations. Thor gave a bitter smile, which Nadrith couldn't see, over how badly he wished he could talk to Nadrith about it now. But another thing he hadn't been prepared for – despite Loki actually warning him about it, warnings he'd always ignored with a laugh at his wet-blanket brother – was the loss of friendship and trust that came with a throne.

Now was not the time for naïve youthful longings, though. He was here, yet again, to try to learn something useful from Nadrith, or to somehow – Thor had largely given up on it by now – try to convince Nadrith to pull Alfheim out of the alliance against Asgard. Two days after Nadrith's impromptu speech, Thor learned what his mother and Bragi had gleaned from those words. Nadrith had just confirmed one thing they'd told him, that they believed he'd tried to convey that Thor was now king. It was frustrating, but hardly a devastating blow. The longer his father remained unseen, the more obvious it would become that Odin was not leading Asgard, and that Thor therefore was.

"If this is just the Odinsleep…it's very soon after the last," Nadrith said quietly.

Thor thought he even heard sympathy in his voice. Maybe Nadrith was sympathetic. And maybe he was just playing a game, trying to manipulate Thor as Thor was trying to manipulate him. Nadrith was his enemy, not his friend. Before he chose to insult; now he chose to speak with sympathy and understanding. It changed nothing. "Say what you will, Nadrith. I won't speak to you of my father," Thor said, turning around again now that he felt he could better trust himself.

"You don't need to do the speaking. You know what I'm saying. It won't be long before you rule Asgard for good." Nadrith, who'd remained seated the whole time, at the same desk they'd met at every time they'd spoken since Thor captured Nadrith, now stood and walked around the desk, so nothing was between the two kings. "Rule wisely, Thor. Not stubbornly. Not in vanity. End this. You can remain king, I've already told you. Neither Alfheim nor any of the other realms has any interest in Asgard's internal affairs."

Thor shook his head at Nadrith's audacity, giving him permission to be king of his own realm. "So long as Asgard is beneath your boot."

"It's time for the boot to be on the other foot for a while, don't you think? Asgard's supremacy has not been truly checked since the dawn of time."

"No realm is beneath Asgard's boot. They are under Asgard's protection."

"I fail to see the difference."

"You choose not to see the difference. When Jotunheim slaughtered Midgardians and sought to reform their world into another ice realm, who was it that stopped them? It was Asgard. And did we stay behind to rule them? No. We withdrew back to Asgard and left them in peace, safe from Jotunheim's aggression."

"This is your argument?" Nadrith said, breaking into laughter. "They worshipped you as gods, Thor! They thought you the supreme beings of the universe!"

"That was not Asgard's intention, and the Midgardians no longer worship us. My people left them a long time ago, to live as they wished. Look at Asgard and Alfheim today. We are not on Alfheim, and I am not your captive, for I have not come to Alfheim and made war. We are on Asgard, and it is you who has come here and made war. How can you look me in the eye and say that the other realms are beneath Asgard's boot when you seek to crush us under yours?"

"No. No, Thor. I've told you time and time again, we have no desire to crush you. Ending it is entirely in your power."

They were back to this again. Thor was sick to death of hearing it. "Not by surrendering. Not by turning over the Tesseract and the Ice Casket. Not by turning over my brother. You'll never get anywhere with this, Nadrith."

"They are mere trinkets. How many of them does Asgard have, locked away in its greater and lesser vaults? You won't even miss them, and relinquishing them will restore peace and save countless lives. And as I've said, we can guarantee Loki's safety on Jotunheim."

"You can guarantee nothing. You are but one man, and you are not on Jotunheim. They are savages," Thor said, gritting his teeth as soon as he'd said it. But it was true, they were, according to everything Thor had ever heard about them; he had only recently wondered whether there might be more to them than that, when he'd recklessly killed one from behind who'd been trying to flee. Whatever they were, Loki had not been raised among them, and had nothing to do with them. Loki was certainly no savage. "With what will you enforce this supposed guarantee?"

"We can find a way to make it work, to satisfy all parties. Perhaps a custodial system for the Ice Casket similar to what we will use for the Tesseract. Guarded by representatives of each of the victorious realms. We allow them to use it only as long as Loki remains unharmed."

"That is a punishment for after the fact, after they've already harmed Loki. It doesn't prevent them from harming him," Thor said angrily.

"All right, then…joint custody of Loki himself, on Jotunheim. He would never be left alone with them. If their treatment of him ever went beyond whatever bounds were established, we could immediately remove him to one of the other realms."

Thor pictured it, considering it. Loki could be protected that way… Then he pressed a tightly-clenched fist into his thigh. What am I doing considering it?! I made an oath. And Asgard does not surrender! He brought the fist down, but he still felt the anger surging in him. Anger at Nadrith, anger at himself, anger at Jotunheim and the elves and the dwarves and everyone else, anger even at Loki for his contributions to getting them into this mess. Loki. He'd been considering doing to Loki the one thing Loki had asked him not to permit. And Nadrith…Who gave him the power to negotiate changes in the other realms' demands? Can he even keep his word, if he promises such things, if I were to accept? Is he that desperate to end this? More desperate than we are? he couldn't help wondering, though he shoved that thought away with all the force of his anger.

"It is you who started this war and it is you who must end it. All the Nine are suffering for what you've done. Do you know half of what Heimdall has seen?" It wasn't Heimdall, of course, for the most part, for Heimdall was too busy looking for portals and for any enemies who might try to slip into the city, but Nadrith could not find out about Asgard's other efforts. "All of the mourning, the protests, a coup on Muspelheim…. But the worst of it on Vanaheim. Protests that grow every day, some of them violent. People have been arrested. My own cousin Gilla has been placed under house arrest. And you know about the men Gullveig has forced back into the fight despite their oaths."

"I didn't know about Gilla," Nadrith said, looking a bit subdued. "I'm sorry."

Nadrith had once been enamored with her – it was a short infatuation, not terribly serious, a long time ago, and Thor had forgotten. He should have mentioned it sooner.

"But Gullveig knows better than to harm her. She's well-liked. I wouldn't worry about her, or the rest of the Vanir. Gullveig is ancient. And his only living son is a clerk at heart. He prefers tracking grain prices and putting them in colorful little charts to leading."

Thor shook his head; this was becoming nonsensical. Or really, he supposed, it always had been. "You acknowledge he's been a poor leader of his people, and you cast aspersions on his line, yet you let him take the reins in this…," Thor said, trailing off as some sort of murky image, a half-formed thought, appeared, and he struggled to give it shape. Nadrith walked over to the window and looked out, putting his back to Thor, and something else his mother had told him flashed into his mind, how Nadrith had played to the larger audience, not just his own people, how the Vanir had cheered him and even some of the Dark Elves, with their tumultuous and at times bloody history with Alfheim, had applauded.

"You want to lead the entire Nine Realms," Thor breathed, stunned. "Alfheim isn't enough for you? Is that what this is all about? The more Gullveig paints himself an unworthy ruler, the better it is for you, because you'll be waiting on the side to take the reins yourself. You want to defeat Asgard and Vanaheim both? And all the rest? And I thought you just wanted a little glory for yourself on Alfheim, to establish your legacy."

Nadrith turned back around, his face darker than usual against the light pouring in through the window behind him. "You always have been one for drama, Thor. I've told you what I want, and I've bent over backwards to try to find a mutually acceptable way of making that happen. Now you think I secretly wish to conquer Vanaheim and each of the other realms? I'm afraid you're confusing me with your brother. This war, starting with the idea that Asgard can no longer be allowed to hold its position of utter supremacy among the Nine, did not even originate with me, so please don't go creating out of me some-"

"No, it didn't. You're just taking advantage of a situation, and those who created it. You don't care about any of those demands – that's why you're so quick to offer to soften them. You only want the victory, especially one that you've negotiated. You…" Thor paused, looking down for a moment, as something else occurred to him. "You knew I would come after you if you came here. Did you want to get captured? Did you want me to have to stop you from escaping, and injure you in the process?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Nadrith scoffed. "The lack of sleep is getting to you, Thor. You're beginning to sound mad."

"But the others…they do care about the demands. Don't they? Gullveig does; he gets to keep the Tesseract on Vanaheim. The Jotuns…they get their Ice Casket and Loki. Who first came up with these demands? It must have been the Dark Elves – they're the ones that convinced the rest of you. But all they get is the same piece of the Tesseract that each of the other realms gets…neither the Ice Casket nor Loki would mean anything to them. We've long said that this is really about the Tesseract…"

"It sounds like you're keeping up both sides of the conversation very well, so if you don't mind I think I'd like to go finish that novel I was reading," Nadrith said, turning to go.

All about the Tesseract… "Who showed you this power?" Thor remembered asking – demanding – of Loki when he'd confronted him on that mountain on Midgard. Loki had said he'd seen the Tesseract's power. "Who controls the would-be king?" Loki had never answered; he'd merely taken bombastic offense at the insult to his supposed kingship. Why didn't I make him answer me?

Nadrith left the room; Thor squeezed his eyes shut and thought back to his time on Midgard with the Avengers. Loki had brought that scepter with him from wherever he'd been. That scepter with its magic-imbued gem that reminded Thor of the one that had been discovered under Vigdis's bed, put there by Brokk. Even the effects from their proximity were similar, playing with people's minds, disrupting their thoughts, putting them on short fuses… But Loki had not fallen to Svartalfheim, when he fell from the bifrost. The remnants of the bridge had shifted away from Jotunheim, losing contact with Yggdrasil's Nine Realms entirely, so Heimdall explained it must have happened. The Chitauri had not been led from Svartalfheim. Loki had not arrived on Earth from Svartalfheim.

Someone else?

Thor opened his eyes and took a deep breath. He was too tired. It was too hard to think.

Someone else who wanted the Tesseract all along? Who sent Loki after it on Midgard? Who now wants it held on Vanaheim instead of Asgard, where it is well protected?

Someone Loki had allied with, the Chitauri king perhaps, who had now allied with Svartalfheim?

Thor left the study and hurried through the chambers until he found his fellow king lounging on his bed, novel in hand. "Nadrith…do you even know who originated these war plans?"

Nadrith put down the book and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "I don't care who originated them. It makes no difference to either of us in the end, does it? You have a decision to make, Thor. Please, make the right one, and make it quickly."

Thor let out a heavy breath through his nose and shook his head. Nadrith was right about one thing. Nothing made any difference to Nadrith. He was set on his course and nothing Thor said dissuaded him.

He turned his back on Nadrith and left. It was morning; time to get back out into the fight and throw his every ability and every ounce of strength into defending Asgard. As draining as it had become, there remained moments of purity, of clarity, when he fought, when the world shrank to him and his opponents and the strain of muscle and the stretch of leather and the hum of Mjolnir. Perhaps these moments would help him see more clearly what seemed to be a connection of some sort between what happened on Midgard with Loki and what was happening now on Asgard. One thought nagged at the back of his mind – that Loki was the connection – and he hoped that with a clearer head he would come to realize that of course that could not be true. He would return for a short time in the evening to take a report from his mother; he could in turn tell her about his conversation with Nadrith, perhaps with others in attendance as well, those who knew Nadrith, those who knew Loki, those who knew magic. They might have other ideas.

His own, he realized as he flew over the city toward the wall, may have run away with him. As little as Asgard knew of the Jotuns, they knew far less about the Chitauri. That those strange creatures could somehow be behind all this was mind-boggling. Thor thought back on his life until the last year and a half or so, when his only enemies were the entire hated race of Frost Giants and anyone who happened to insult him, and while he now recognized the immaturity in that, in the privacy of his own mind he could admit that he missed those days for their simplicity.

/


/

"Candles? What do candles mean? Loki?"

"Shhh. It may be nothing. But be alert, and for once in your life, if I tell you to do something, just do it."

"Okay," Jane said, stomach clenching. She wished Loki would explain what he meant by those cryptic comments about candles; now she thought if she saw any she might hide behind Loki like some helpless teenager about to get hacked to pieces in a horror movie. Jane knew how to handle herself in the physical world – or at least how to project confidence beyond her size. The metaphysical world of magic, which it sounded like these candles belonged to, was something else entirely. She didn't know how to stand up to what she couldn't even see. But they were already at Niskit's doorstep now; there was no time for explanations.

Niskit's house was little different from the others she'd in Rombakkin. Reddish-brown earthen walls with enormous windows that were opaque from outside, patterns etched into the walls and painted in bright colors, detailed scrolling metalwork for hardware and decoration. Jane wondered if there was any significance to the patterns.

The door opened; the same lined tanned face and loose wiry brown and gray hair appeared.

"Good afternoon, Niskit, how are you?" Loki asked.

"Is it afternoon already?" she said, looking past them and up. "Yes, I suppose it is. Well, you're here, so come in. Come on, come on," she said, stepping back and urging them in with her hand.

Loki gave her a polite nod and entered; Jane put on a smile and followed. Niskit was tall and slender, and wore a long-sleeved light brown shirt that reached half-way down her thighs with matching loose-fitting pants over what appeared to be leather boots. When she moved, the material about her moved with her like rippling water.

They passed through a short side foyer where Niskit took Jane's cloak and hung it on a peg, into a large living room, a square with distinct sitting areas arranged around a firepit in the center of the room. Jane didn't see a vent for the smoke and wondered where it went when the fire was lit. Most importantly, as she scanned the room, she saw only two candles, plain white ones sitting atop black candlesticks on a bookcase. She looked toward Loki when she noticed them, and he gave her a slight shake of his head; she assumed he meant those candles were nothing to worry about.

"Go ahead and have a seat wherever you like. I'll be right back with some juice and fruitcake. Or would you prefer wine?" Niskit asked, focusing on Jane.

"No, thank you. Juice sounds great," Jane said. She thought it was odd that there'd been no introductions, but she was too happy about the juice to worry much about social convention. Niskit left the room, and Jane had a sudden fear that "juice" here was somehow different, undrinkable to humans. But Asgardian sweetlogs were certainly edible to humans, and Loki wasn't giving her any signals that she shouldn't accept the juice. Loki wasn't paying attention to her at all, in fact – now that they were alone for a moment, he was looking around the living room with undisguised scrutiny. Jane started looking around again, too, as the nervousness returned, but she saw no cause for concern, and Loki didn't appear to be reacting to anything he saw, either. He moved over to a cluster of four high-backed gold and black cushioned chairs and sat, so Jane did the same.

"So, who are you?" Niskit asked, emerging from a doorway carrying a tray that she set on the little round table at the center of the chairs.

"This is Jana," Loki said before Jane could respond; she looked a little flustered, and he couldn't really blame her. He shouldn't have mentioned the candles to her; it had needlessly frightened her. Or rather, it would be needless if indeed nothing was wrong. And perhaps all was indeed well; perhaps his caution had crossed a line into paranoia.

Niskit's gaze felt heavy on Jane. "From the Vestmar region, I gather," she said after a moment of inspection.

"Yes," Jane said, then quickly applied what Loki had taught her, to hopefully avoid uncomfortable follow-up questions. "I'm glad to meet you, Niskit. Loki speaks highly of you."

"All lies," Niskit said, eyes flaring wide for a moment – Jane thought it gave her a look of madness – before smiling.

"It wouldn't be nearly as interesting otherwise, would it?" Loki said, settling back in his chair to get more comfortable…or at least give the appearance of it.

"Some days yes, some days no," Niskit said with an enigmatic smile, taking a seat and motioning for her guests to get their juice and snacks. "You've never brought a guest, Loki. Well…except for that one time."

Jane looked to Loki with curiosity and sipped at the juice. It was pale yellow, a little watery and lightly sweet, something like watermelon juice, with tiny bits of fruit in it. It was fresh. It was heaven.

"That hardly counts," Loki said dryly.

"I insist, as your older brother."

Loki rolled his eyes. "You're still going to try that, when we're so old we've lost track of the years? Ten months, Thor. That hasn't worked in centuries."

"Fine. I'll wait until you leave, then I'll tell Heimdall there's an emergency and he has to send me to wherever you are immediately."

"Heimdall will take one look at you twitching and stumbling over your words and laugh at you, and he won't send you. He's not supposed to spy on us, and he won't help you do it, either."

"He doesn't spy on you because you know how to stop him from doing it. If you don't take me to meet her, I'll convince Heimdall to send me after you. Or maybe, since you'll probably just hide yourself, I'll follow you."

"You'll follow me," Loki deadpanned. "Really? You will follow me."

Thor sighed. "What do I have to say, Loki? Take me to meet her. You have to. I'm not going to leave you alone until you do."

"To this day, if I'm having a particularly bad day, I just picture the look on his face and I feel a little better," Niskit said with a mischievously wicked smile.

"Fine. I'll introduce you to her," Loki said, mind racing. If he was going to be forced into this, he would certainly find a way to have fun with it. "You can join us for dinner in the city. Somewhere private. This has to be just between us. She's shy, Thor. It's always been just the two of us."

"Jana is here for another reason entirely. She's interested in magic. Fascinated by it, to be more accurate," he said, flashing a smirk in her direction and getting a crooked smile back. She might be nervous, but Jane was doing fine.

"You have some talent for it, do you?"

"Uh, no, not really. Well, maybe a little. I just-"

"She's being modest. She has a feel for it, but no training. No skill. She's more intrigued by how it works, actually," Loki explained, going along with the compromise story they'd come up with. Loki's heretofore unknown interest in animal husbandry was a non-starter here with Niskit, he hadn't been able to bring himself to suggest she should be his romantic companion, and she'd been uncomfortable with a lie about magic and worried over the possible need to show that she shared Loki's talent. Loki was confident he could have gotten her out of the display Niskit indeed would have probably asked for, but Jane's idea had been a good one, probably saving them the trouble. "I thought I might bring her here for a little demonstration."

"Hm," Niskit said, looking at Jane so hard it made her skin crawl a little. "Why do I suspect you have a specific demonstration in mind?"

"Because you know me too well," Loki said with an easy smile full of mischief. "It is serious business. And I thank you for seeing us even at what is obviously a bad time."

"A bad time? No, I was just busy with something is all. You always just show up. You never know what could be going on here. You really should learn some politeness, young man."

"I tire of politeness. I prefer it here, where neither of us have real need of it. Where were you going?"

"Going?"

"You're wearing your traveling clothes, Niskit. And that little yellow box you always take with you when you travel is nowhere in sight."

Jane listened to the exchange, eyes going back and forth from Loki to Niskit like at a tennis match. Niskit's eyes narrowed. "You're a guest in my home so I'm going to humor you, but you should really mind your own business. For your undeserved information, I've just come back from a trip. To see my nephew. Now, would you like to tell me where your little lady friend is actually from?"

Jane's eyes widened and Loki opened his mouth with a perfect look of surprise, but Niskit interrupted.

"Don't bother with your foolishness. You don't know anyone from the Vestmar Mountains. And she's no goat-herder. Look at these arms," she said, her hand darting out and grabbing the one Jane had just set down her glass with. "Pale as can be. Looks like she's been outdoors for the first time in months, maybe years, just today."

Jane held very still and swallowed over a dry throat, eyes flitting over to Loki.

"Honestly, Niskit, I had no idea you were such a slave to stereotypes. Do you think that every Vestmar woman herds goats? You probably think they don't receive a proper education, either. Jana is a highly educated woman of her people, and spends much of her time indoors studying ancient texts. She recently began studying on Asgard, which is where I met her. Perhaps you noticed the Asgardian design of the bracer you're so rudely clutching?"

Niskit remained silent while muscles in her face twitched; Jane tried to hold back a grin – Loki was, at that particular moment, officially her favorite person in the universe. "Lovely bracers, if you like that sort of thing," Niskit said, gently placing Jane's hand back on her knee.

"Thank you. The artist who made them is really impressive," Jane said, letting her smile come out. She just hoped she hadn't done that so badly that Niskit would guess exactly who had made her bracers.

"I wouldn't know. But I meant no insult, Jana. These are tense times, and I wasn't expecting guests so soon after my trip, much less a stranger. But strangers no more, hm? There are worse people Loki could have brought to my door, but I think he knows better than to do so. You seem all right. Though you let Loki do too much of the talking for you."

Jane gave a small laugh, on the edge of relaxing but not quite there. "Sometimes it's hard to get a word in edgewise with him."

Niskit burst out laughing, a harsh sound closer to a cackle, and Jane suddenly imagined her dressed as some stereotypical Halloween witch, black pointed hat and all. "That's true, little dear, that's true. Especially if his father's just sat on him and treated him like a sewer."

Jane's mouth dropped open a bit as she turned to Loki, who looked only at Niskit.

"Speaking of Odin and sewers, I-"

"What trouble have you gotten yourself into this time, Loki? If this is related to the demonstration you wanted, you know I can't get involved in anything against the All-Father."

"And I would never ask you to. I would never do such a thing myself," Loki said, wearing an expression of the utmost sincerity. It would have been true at the time.

"You've certainly threatened to enough."

"Ravings in moments of frustration, Niskit. You know this."

"I do, and I know what you really feel beneath all your 'ravings.' But sometimes I worry about you. You let yourself get too tightly wound. You can't control the entire Nine Realms, you know."

"Perhaps not. Perhaps just one or two," Loki said sourly. He didn't want to get into any of this when he had to pretend to be someone he no longer was, and when in Jane's presence. He glanced at Jane then, and saw her frowning and looking down at her lap.

"Just remember me when you manage that, all right? I'll have a few requests," Niskit said, and popped a bite of cake into her mouth.

Jane cleared her throat. "Loki, we shouldn't impose on Niskit. Maybe you should, uh, go ahead and ask about that thing."

"'That thing.' Yes. Jana has a tendency toward imprecise language. But I do have a favor to ask of you, Niskit, an incredibly important one. My father," he began, the word coming out with emphasis from having to force himself to say it, "got angry at a jest of mine that he felt was embarrassing, and in a fit of anger he placed a restrictive enchantment on my use of magic that is making my life rather difficult at the moment, not to mention giving me a never-ending footache. He's too stubborn to admit he went too far and to remove it…and I refuse to go groveling to him. And-"

"And you want me to remove it?"

"Yes."

Niskit stood up and squared her shoulders, looking down at Loki harshly. "I just told you I'm not getting involved in anything between you and the All-Father. I don't need that kind of trouble, Loki. Not now."

"There won't be any trouble for you, Niskit, I swear it," Loki said, standing as well. "I'll never mention your name. In fact, I'll never mention this day again, not to anyone, including to you. And you also should never mention it to me again. It'll be like it never happened, even between the two of us," he said, seizing the opportunity to work in the part of the story Jane had insisted he include, to preserve the timeline. "When Father eventually realizes the enchantment is gone, enough time will have passed that he'll be glad to not have to deal with it and admit his mistake. He'll never know you had anything to do with it."

Niskit shook her head, though it wasn't in refusal. She was reluctant, but Loki was certain he could get her over the hump to agreeing. "The All-Father's magic is amplified by Gungnir. If I agreed to help, I don't even know if I could undo something he did."

"I do. I know you can. Think of it this way. There'll never be a better opportunity to test yourself against him, without actually risking any confrontation. And Niskit, I really need-"

A red light flashed across the ceiling, drawing everyone's gaze and cutting Loki off, followed by a soft low-pitched buzzing that seemed to come from all around them. A higher-pitched beep then sounded.

"Off," Niskit said, and both the light and the buzzing ended. She hurried over to the front door, while Jane stood, looking to Loki for some indication of what was going on, and Loki similarly watched Niskit while adjusting his stance to be ready to fight. Body coiled and ready to react, he followed Niskit to the door. Remembering what Loki had said to do if they saw candles, Jane, too, followed, staying behind Loki but peering around him to see what Niskit was doing.

A projection of some sort appeared on the door, though nothing could be seen in it, just a blank red screen. "It didn't work," a scratchy voice said in an amplified whisper. Jane figured it was altered somehow; she couldn't even tell if it was male or female. She moved in closer to Loki, desperate to know what was going on and growing more afraid with every second that she wouldn't want to know. "And they're here," the voice added a second later.

Niskit swore. Jane didn't recognize the word she spoke, but it was clear all the same. "If I were paying for your services you'd be fired. All right, get out if you still can. It's too late for me."

"Good luck," the other voice said.

"Loki," Jane whispered in fear.

Loki ignored her. He needed answers, and those would come from Niskit. "What is going on?" he asked in a low threatening voice.

"There's no time for your theatrics. You can't be found here," Niskit said, turning and running back into the living room, where Loki and Jane followed. Jane got there just in time to see Niskit kicking at one of the rocks surrounding the firepit. It rolled to the center and then the entire firepit disappeared. "Get in."

Jane crept closer and peered down into the area where before blackened stones and whitened firewood had been. Now there was just a hole in the floor; whatever was beneath it was too dark to make out.

"Explain. Now," Loki said, pulling his one good knife from its hidden sheath at his side.

"Get in, you idiot. You'll regret it if you don't," Niskit said, pointing angrily at the hole.

"Not until you answer me. You don't want me to be found here, do you?"

"It'll be a thousand times worse for you, trust me."

"Loki, maybe we should-"

"Answers first, and then I'll decide if I'm going to hide like a rat in your cellar, or stand here and fight."

Niskit's face screwed up into something hideous. "If you fight you'll get us all arrested and most likely executed."

Arrested? Executed?! "Loki, I really think we should-"

"Then talk," Loki said, unwavering.

Niskit gave a snort that reminded Jane of a bull then wiped her hand across her face. "All right. If you must know, it appears that my attempt to bring a swift end to our new king's reign has not gone entirely according to plan. Satisfied? Now, would you like to be standing here when they arrive to question me, son of Odin? How would you like to explain that to our dear King Nadrith, and to your father, hm? Now get down that accursed hole and stay there! You, too!" she shouted at Jane, to which Jane nodded jerkily.

Loki swore and put his knife away even as he turned to the opening in the floor and peered down. A ladder stretched downward into what appeared to be an empty room. He glanced behind him at Jane, who looked to be nearly in a panic. He turned and grasped her arm over her bracer. "I'll go first and help you down." He waited until Jane's eyes met his and she nodded.

"Hurry up," Niskit hissed.

Resisting the urge to unleash his anger pointlessly on Niskit, Loki sheathed the knife, lowered himself to the ground and let his legs dangle over the hole, then braced himself on his arms, twisted around, got his feet on a rung, and started climbing downward. "Come on, Jana," he said when his head was just below the opening.

Jane watched Loki go down in disbelief, head swimming. Did she just say she tried to assassinate Nadrith? Oh my God… Loki was saying her name, and when she forced her eyes to focus on him, she saw just the paleness of his face and his hand sticking up out of the hole, urging her down. She took a deep breath and got down onto floor, and from there her movements seemed clumsy and awkward, but she felt hands just above her ankles, pressing her feet to the rungs of a ladder, and somehow got herself properly situated and started climbing down.

As soon as her head dropped below the hole, everything went black. Jane's breathing grew shaky. She could no longer see anything, not even her own hands on the rung. She looked up; Niskit and her living room were gone.

"Keep moving. It's not much farther," Loki said, looking up. He couldn't see anything, either; there wasn't a single bit of light down here, and while he didn't need as much light as Jane to see, he did need some light. He found Jane's feet and kept his hands there, applying just enough pressure for her to feel them, and when she began moving again he continued down as well, leaning against the ladder with his arms and making sure that her feet found the rungs each time. At the bottom he discovered there was a short drop, about three feet. "That's the last step," he told her when he steadied her feet there. He figured she wouldn't have the strength to climb the rest of the way down with just her arms, so he reached up higher and got hold of her near her waist; he could only hope she wouldn't react badly to it. "Let go. I've got you," he said when his grasp was steady and he was confident that she wasn't going to wrench herself away from him.

Jane closed her eyes – it was instinctive, there was no practical difference between having her eyes open and having them closed – and loosened her grip on the rung her hands were on, then stepped off the bottom rung. She sucked in a breath and tried to plant her feet again when she felt herself slipping through Loki's hands, but then his grip tightened and she steadied and she let her hands slide loosely down the sides of the ladder while Loki smoothly lowered her. Her knees sagged and her body felt like jello for a second when her feet touched ground; Loki was still holding on to her so she let herself lean back against him for a moment while she recovered.

She opened her eyes, then immediately realized there was a difference. With her eyes closed, she could pretend that she wasn't in some pitch black pit on another planet ninety years in the past while police or soldiers or somebody sought the woman in the house above them for the attempted murder of a king. Or she could at least pretend that it wasn't pitch black.

She squeezed her eyes shut again then spun around and threw her arms around Loki, the only thing she knew down here, the only thing she knew on this entire planet.

Loki had started to take a step back when Jane finally moved, but then froze and even stopped breathing when her arms suddenly encircled him and squeezed. He could smell her shampoo. And he could smell her fear. He could hear her rapid breaths. He could feel her heart racing, her chest heaving against him. Finally she moved her head and relaxed her grip, and he drew in a slightly unsteady breath.

"What are we going to do?" Jane whispered, keeping her eyes closed and her hands on Loki's arms.

Loki almost laughed. You still think I have all the answers, don't you? He wouldn't say it. He needed Jane to stay calm, and she might be less calm if she realized he didn't have a clue what they were going to do. Hiding wasn't his usual response to a threat, especially not when his hiding place prevented him from having any solid idea about the nature of the threat. Hiding with a Midgardian happened even less…precisely never. Still, his first move was actually clear. "You're going to stay here, and I'm going to explore."

"No," Jane said, gripping his arms more tightly. "I need…I need to hold onto something."

"All right. Give me your hand." He felt Jane's hands sliding down his arms until they reached his gloved hands. He returned her grip in one and let the other drop, then turned and maneuvered her back a step and reached with both of their hands for the ladder. She got the idea when she felt it, for she let go of his hand and grasped the side of the ladder instead.

"Okay. I'm okay," she said. She would still rather be holding on to Loki, but at least she had hold of something; she felt around with her other hand until it too was on the ladder.

Loki nodded, then remembered she couldn't see it and was about to say something when light poured in from above. He squinted against it as he dropped to a crouch and drew his knife, saw a flash of movement he couldn't quite make out, then heard a series of clunking and shattering sounds around him, and then, no more than a second or two after it had appeared, the light was gone, and they were surrounded by darkness and silence again. Too much silence, he thought another second later.

"Jane?"

There was no answer.

/


Events in this chapter (and the previous Alfheim chapters) take place on Tuesday, June 8.

So, yes, lots of delays on this one, though this chapter itself actually was written pretty quickly. Ch. 113 (maybe "Confessions") is of course finished, and I'm on pg. 4 already of Ch. 114. I'm a bit behind on responding to reviews too for the same reason, but I'll get back to you if I haven't yet. "Lyn," and those who sent me PMs, thanks so much for your ideas/tips/encouragements with the technical difficulties!

Thanks so much to all reviewers! You brighten my day. ;-) Guest Dec. 11, I love your idea for how Thor's journal will come into play! As for Loki dealing with being a FG, the one thing I can tell you is there won't be a scene where everyone sees him and instantaneously thinks he's the most beautiful thing they've ever seen. ;-) To your questions, which others might be interested in as well - as I have conceived of it, the magic Loki uses to hide himself from Heimdall is like an on/off switch. It doesn't fail when he sleeps, if he were knocked unconscious, etc., because he put it in place when he was at "full power." If he were to completely lose all his magic ability, though, it would fall away. Also, this story was conceived of well before Cap 2 and Guardians etc., so this story becomes solidly AU post-Avengers. Too hard to try to work later stuff in after the fact (not to mention my Svartalfheim is a *wee* bit different from the TDW one!). On the other hand, my characters are pretty cut off, so you could imagine anything going on in the wider world that you like! I do actually have a complete (not yet posted) short story that deals a bit with Loki's time with Thanos and was inspired by a scene in Guardians (one with the blue chick), though it's not a crossover and I doubt it will pop up in this story (though it will in Memory Casket). I also didn't know anything about the Infinity Stones when I started this, so I won't be going too much into that.

I think there were some other things I meant to mention...but I can't remember them and this is long enough! Merry Christmas, peace and good will to all at the end of this year and for the coming year!

Previews for Ch. 113: Please. Yeah, not happening. ;-) (Though if you're totally cool with spoilers and you want some kind of preview/excerpt I'll give you one.)