Sorcha's Secret World, Part one.

Chapter 29, You are enough.

When Loki had stolen the car in Liechtenstein, I had assumed that he was driving like a maniac to get to Halja's portal before it closed. That assumption, however, had been wrong. As Loki was weaving in and out of the busy London traffic, sometimes swerving onto the pavement barely avoiding pedestrians, I came to the conclusion that the god of Mischief, as a matter of fact, always drove like a maniac.

One elbow hanging out of the open window, the other hand casually on the steering wheel, Loki cursed and swore in multiple languages (some I even recognised) at his fellow drivers, never slowing down or stopping for a red light.

"Does this car have airbags?" I asked once I got a word in edgewise.

"Airbags? How the hell am I supposed to know?" Loki made a sharp turn and we skidded around the corner. "What does it matter anyway? It's not as if you can die permanently!"

That did nothing to reassure me.

As we left London, Loki slowed down a bit. I shook my head in disbelief. Normal people slow down while in heavy traffic, not once they are out of it. In his defence, we had made it safely through London and no one else had gotten hurt either, as far as I had been able to tell.

"What did Richard want from you?" Loki asked, turning the music down a bit.

"He wasn't happy I had gone to rescue you without telling him," I said.

A part truth is almost as good as a whole truth, right?

"He doesn't seem to like me very much."

"He doesn't," I admitted.

Loki frowned. "I don't much like the thought that I am coming between you and one of your best friends."

"It's not your fault that Richard can't see you for who you are," I said sadly.

"I don't have to like it though," Loki frowned darkly.

Queen turned into Rolling Stones and Rolling Stones into Black Sabbath. I recognised 'Paranoid' and I grinned to myself. Loki was into Dad Rock while driving, or wait, is that Granddad Rock by now?

"What happened to the armour?" I suddenly asked. I had meant to ask earlier, but I never really got a chance. "The armour that the Friezegem was supposed to be attached to, I mean?"

"I don't know," Loki admitted. "I presume my father was wearing it when he fell, but I have no knowledge of where that might have been. The armour is not in my grandmother's possession, and she doesn't remember who brought the gem to her or how it got separated from the armour. I presume it was the same person who informed her of my mother's death.

I learned of the gem a few centuries ago from Halja, who learned about it from her mother. They didn't know either how the gem ended up in Niflheim, or who brought it there."

"How did Halja find and capture you?"

Loki sighed.

"I found her. After I left you, I needed information. There are places in the Secret World where people like us gather, people who are part of the Secret World but don't actually live in it. I did not only need to avoid the organisations but certain elements from my past as well. Old enemies.

I thought I could trust Halja, and I was wrong. I should have seen it coming a mile away, but I wasn't exactly thinking straight."

We drove for a while in silence, as the music had stopped as well. I realised I had no idea where we were going. Perhaps Loki didn't either. There was so much I wanted to say, but I couldn't quite find the words to say it.

"Sorcha, the things that I said before I left..."

"It's okay, Loki. I know." I didn't want to talk about it. "I know you didn't mean any of it."