"Where are you?" Sariel's voice echoed down the hall.
Loki shifted in the rafters. He looked up at the ceiling above him, and took a deep breath. "What do you want," he groaned.
Sariel's ears perked up. He ran into the great room. "Loki?"
Loki peered down at Sariel. "Yes," Loki questioned.
With a sigh of relief Sariel caught the glowing green eyes of his friend. "Loki, there's no need for magic, you can just climb down," Sariel cooed.
Loki rolled his eyes. "What's the fun in that?" Even the faintest of magics made the man light up like life was returning to his body. He felt the power course through his veins. His heart raced, his eyes began to glow. The power lifted him from the rafter, and placed him softly behind Sariel. "I may not have the power I once had, but I am not weak."
Sariel turned to face Loki. "I never called you weak," he responded. Once Loki was a god of warriors, but now he barely showed a spark of the magic he once had. Sariel put his arm over Loki's shoulder. "We have things to attend to my friend. Let's not mope in the rafters all day now."
"If we must," Loki sighed. "Are the other's here?"
"No, it will just be us today." Sariel lead Loki down the hallway. "You know, America isn't that bad." Their footsteps reverberated in the empty hallway. "We're untouchable to the old gods in the north."
Loki stopped.
Serial's shadow blocked the sun on Loki's face. He could make out where the fallen's wings once were from the shadow he cast. "What are you afraid of?" Loki asked.
The fallen faked a smile. "You know me, just running from the devil."
"As am I, friend," Loki laughed. "If you can call my brother a devil."
The two men chuckled together, and then continued their saunter to their offices.
Loki turned away from Sariel toward his office. He smiled when he saw the double oak doors. He had the Yggdrasil, the world tree, intricately carved into the wood. Often the old world, and his home on Asgard felt as if they were a dream, but the carving helped remind him there was a way home. Perhaps it was for the best he was outcast, but Loki could not help but yearn for Asgard. He pushed through the threshold, spiting the world tree, and entered his office.
The office was dark except for the soft glow of the fire place by his desk. Loki snapped his fingers, and the lights flickered on.
"Miss me?"
Dread filled Loki. He knew that voice. "Get out," Loki hissed.
Hella stepped from behind the doors. "It's awfully homey here, Dad," she cackled.
Loki pressed his lips together. His daughter resembled him more than most of his chimera children. "What are you doing here?" Loki could hardly look at her. Ever since Sariel found him all those years ago, the pair had spent all their energy hiding from their pasts.
"You know, you actually really bad at hiding," she laughed. "Especially when you hide with a fallen angel." Hella grabbed the crown of bones on top of her head, and walked toward her father. She could tell he was enraged. His frost giant blood turned his eyes red, and his skin blue when he lost control of the glimmer magic that disguised him. She placed her crown on his raven black hair. "I've come with a message."
The bones made contact with Loki's temples. His eyes rolled back, and he slumped forward into Hella's arms. She laid her father's body on the ground, and left without a trace.
When the crown made contact everything went black. Loki felt like he'd been kicked by a horse. Then, everything rushed back all at once. The crown had sent his astral projection into Asgard's throne room. Odin, his father, sat on the golden throne. Beside him was Thor, the brother Loki had grown up with. Loki reached for his body, but the crown on top of his physical body stopped his travel. He tried to run. Fear ran through his blood.
Loki was outcast the day that Odin told Asgard that the prince of their kingdom, was half frost giant. He swore the next day he saw Odin and Thor's face's it would be to end their lives, but he was before them, powerless, and afraid.
"Do not be afraid, my son," Odin spoke. Thor shifted besides his father, his hammer in his hand in case Loki tried anything. Odin placed his hand on Thor's shoulder. "He cannot harm us," Odin softly said to Thor.
"I am not your son!' Loki screamed.
Odin looked as he'd been slapped. "You will always be my son."
"Lair," Loki cried back. "You're not my father!" Loki's glimmer began to fade. His eyes turning red with rage, his skin as blue as his heart. "You were never my father. You cast me out. You left me to die on this miserable planet."
"I sent you there for your own good, Loki," Odin responded.
"I could of died!" Loki instantly spat back.
"Stop this madness!" Thor begged, looking at Odin, the All-Father.
"No," Odin responded. "Your crown has been stolen by Jötunheim. You must retrieve it and return to Asgard before the solstice, or you will loose all magic, and never be able to return home."
Thor shifted uneasily. "Hurry home, brother."
Loki was confused. They wanted him home? Why? He'd been on earth for years. He'd went through hell just trying to survive, and all of a sudden they wanted him back. He looked down at his hands. They were the color of a monster's hands. They were the reason he'd been exiled. "Why?" Loki whimpered. "Why do you even care?"
"We're running out of time, Loki," Odin said. He looked worried. His golden eyes kept looking around the room as if expecting someone to barge in at any moment. "Go now. Earn your way home my son."
"Loki!" Sariel shook Loki. He had found his friend laying on the floor, crumbled bones around his head. His body was cold. "Loki, please." Sariel's wings began to materialize from his back. He scooped up Loki, and cocooned him in his arms, wrapped in his wings. With soft whispers, Sariel began to sing. His wings glowed, searching to heal the men wrapped in it. "Please be okay." They sat there, encased together for many hours until Sariel fell asleep holding Loki.
Loki awoke. His mouth was dry, his entire body ached. "What the hell," he coughed.
Sariel's eyes lit up. "You're okay!"
"Of course I'm okay," he scoffed. "How long have I been out?" Loki asked.
"Just a few hours," Sariel answered. "I found you here like this, and I got worried." Sariel's wings began to dissolve into nothingness. "I'm sorry for the feathers. I was afraid you'd die, but my wings still can heal those close to death." Sariel sighed, and pushed his curly red hair back behind his ears.
Loki fought back a smile. Not many had cared enough for him to exert so much energy toward his well being. "Thank you," Loki praised. He wrapped his arms around Sariel's neck, and hugged him tightly.
"Odin summoned me," he whispered. "He wants me to go to the realm of the frost giants."
Sariel's eyes grew big. He gasped. "Let me go with you," he responded as he wrapped his arms around his friend, hugging him as tightly as he could. Loki smelled of mint and amber. Holding him almost felt like hugging a women. The man's body was slim, his hips wide. In the past, Sariel remembered Loki saying he'd mothered children. Beyond earth, so many things were possible.
Loki felt oddly comforted by his friends embrace. He nestled into Sariel's chest. Loki could hear Sariel's heartbeat, even through his cotton shirt.
"I'm not sure you can," Loki prodded. He let go of his friend, and brushed off the feathers on his slacks. "What's that on my desk?"
Sariel looked up at Loki's desk. "It wasn't there before," he said pointing at the letter.
Loki scowled, and picked it up.
"Loki,
Jotunheim holds the secrets of your heritage, and the key to your future. Good luck, my son."
The letter ignited in Loki's hand. He crushed the flames in his fist. "You're not my father," he growled. Sariel looked up at his friend. "So, what next?"
Loki grinned at Sariel. "We're going to need coats."
Sariel laughed. "Okay, my friend. Let's retire from the office."
Loki chuckled. "I haven't worked at all today."
"I know," Sariel responded. "Neither have I." The fallen walked toward the office door, and held it open for Loki. "I'll have the receptionist cancel our appointments, and bring in Azreal to keep the business running in our absence."
"What would I do without you?" Loki joked.
"Die in the mountains, alone, and certainly not own and operate the world's leading surveillance company," Sariel answered. The pair smiled, and escorted each other back to their rooms. Sariel packed furiously for the days to come, but Loki remained sitting on his bed. His mind swirled with thoughts. Was he really going to do this?