The Devil Within

All he could hear was her screams, reverberating off the towering golden walls of the palace. Despite living there for thousands of years, Thor found himself stumbling upon countless dead ends and abandoned corridors, while he scrambled to find her.

When was the last time he felt such – fear? He’d survived countless conquests, lived to tell the tale of thousands of bloody battles. Not once had he felt a sliver of fear compared to what he felt coursing through his veins this very instant.

Everything was so perfect just hours ago. Jane, upon spending endless hours searching for a way to travel to Asgard, to link their two realms once more, materialized out of thin air before him. They cherished their unexpected, though greatly appreciated time together, but suddenly the atmosphere changed. Loki, who’d been using his magic to conceal his presence, snatched Jane away right in front of Thor.

Thor knew she was somewhere in the palace. He tried calling upon the guards for help, but found the palace to be completely abandoned. It must’ve been one of Loki’s illusions. Illusion or not, the eerie silence, save for the screams, was starting to toy with Thor’s mind, causing his movements to become sloppier.

As he turned another corner, he skidded to an abrupt halt. He saw shadows of two figures dancing along the wall. The taller one – no doubt his brother – raised his hand and brought it down upon the smaller shadow. She cried out as her body flew across the room.  

He’d finally found them.

Thor growled, tightly gripping Mjolnir, and charged into the room, hammer held high. “Enough!” His booming voice shook the foundation.

Loki glanced up with a smirk, mischievous and violent intent brightening his eyes. “Ah, you’ve arrived just in time. I was growing tired of torturing such an insignificant, defenseless creature.” 

Jane struggled to get back on her feet. Her body was covered in cuts and burns from where he’d struck her with blasts of magic. The beautiful dress Frigga loaned her was tattered, the silky material torn to awful shreds. Despite her pain, Jane mustered enough strength to shoot him a hateful expression.

“Step away from her, brother,” Thor replied, struggling to contain himself at the sight of Jane’s battered body.

“I’m afraid I can’t,” Loki said, his face conveying mock sympathy. In a flash, he somehow managed to pin Thor up against the wall, keeping him in place with a quickly cast spell. “I want you to stand here and watch, helpless, as I kill your woman.”

“Loki, stop this madness! She has done nothing to wrong you.”

Loki rolled his eyes, gracefully turning on his heel to approach Jane. He reached down, wrapping skeletal fingers around her throat. Her hands instinctively flew up to claw at his, though her attempts did nothing to loosen his grip.

Even with his full strength, Thor could not break free from the invisible restraints. He was forced to watch as his brother slowly choked the life out of Jane. Just on the verge of death, Loki stopped suddenly, spinning around and facing Thor.

“Let it be known that on this day, the mighty Thor failed to spare his loved one from death,” Loki snarled. Using his free hand, he transformed the marble floor into a pit of lava, separating Thor and himself. He held Jane’s nearly lifeless body out over the pit, allowing both her and Thor to realize how her death would come about.

Before she could scream or beg for his mercy, Loki dropped her into the lava, watching with sick satisfaction as the lava ate her flesh in a matter of seconds.

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The image of her melted flesh and dissolving bones burned into the back of Thor’s eyes, even as he returned to reality, panting and alert in his chambers. His eyes darted madly around the room – a familiar, though confusing setting. Everything about that awful nightmare felt so real, so lifelike.