Even darker | Loki

Chapter 5. xxx

   She knew going to his was risky. She thought about backing out as she was standing under the shower later that night, but then her visit earlier would have seemed a wasted and ridiculous effort. Ove messaged her right before 10:00PM that Davies would arrive 10:30PM. She put on her favourite grey jeans with a simple light blue top and her black biker jacket, sports bra and hipster briefs. She was praying Ove would not be in the car.

'Good evening, Miss! We meet again.' Davies greeted her as he got out to open the car's door for her.

Flóra was relieved when she found the SUV's backseat empty.

'Indeed. Sorry to keep you up this late.'

'No worries at all. It's my job and Mr. Nordgud is a generous employer.'

'I bet he is.' she said absentmindedly, thinking of all the things Davies might have seen over the years.

Instead of the high rise, Davies drove her to a beautiful house in West Hampstead. It had two floors and big windows, a neat front drive with a lush garden. He accompanied her to the door and rang the bell. Flóra expected a butler or a maid to appear, but it was Ove who welcomed her, gesturing her to come inside. He was bare foot, wearing a pair of black jeans and dark purple T-shirt. She heard him thanking Davies for today's work and giving him some tip for the extra hour. The hall was painted white and paved with grey limestone tiles, a gorgeous silver mirror hanging on the wall.

'You like it? I bought it last month.'

'The mirror?' Flóra asked, disinterested.

'The house. Come, let me show you around.'

'I'm not here for a tour, Ove. Can we get on with it, please? It's late.'

'My name is still Loki, but sure, as you wish. I'm afraid you will need to come to the living room though. Will that be alright with you?' he asked with mocking politeness and when she did not respond he continued. 'This way, please. Shoes off.'

He led her to the living room which was everything she liked: modern, a little eclectic, but chic without trying too hard. There was a big L shaped oyster white sofa and two recliner armchairs of the same set with an elegant glass coffee table and a massive smart TV, a modern horizontal fire place built into the wall with beautiful old vases on the mantel. The floor was light hardwood with grey and beige geometric rugs. She recognized two of the big abstract oil paintings in light, gentle colors hanging on the wall. Could they be originals? The whole room had a warm feeling to it. She spotted a glass of whisky on the coffee table and a jug of water with two empty glasses.

'Take a seat, I'm drinking scotch. What would you like? I brought you water in case you don't want anything alcoholic.'

'Water is fine, thank you.'

She sat down and watched him as he poured her a glass of water. He settled on one of the armchairs and sipped contentedly from his scotch, looking at her with those emerald green eyes. She looked away, pretending to inspect the living room and its contents.

'So, how does it work?' she broke the silence.

'I will put my hands on your forehead and remove the memories you want gone. You won't feel anything, but will have a headache later on. The intensity varies from person to person and also depends on the amount of memories deleted.'

'I see. I remember that headache well.'

Loki shifted slightly in his chair.

'I will change to my real self before we start to save all my focus, if you don't mind. Unless you'd prefer this form?'