Gods And Monsters

Chapter Seventeen:

Later that very same day, in the middle of the afternoon, Thor returned.

Hel opened the front door to discover him standing outside. Crossing her arms over her chest defiantly, she shifted her weight to one foot. "May I help you?" She asked sarcastically, glaring up at him coldly.

The bulk of his muscular outline blocked the doorway, eclipsed the daylight, and he towered above her. "We need to talk." He stated gravely.

Against her better judgement, she took a step back, allowing him admittance.

He passed her, entering the living room and sitting down on the sofa. It was quite comical, actually; his massive body made the furniture look miniature in comparison.

She followed, but did not sit down, opting instead to remain stand. She leaned on the frame of the opening between the front hall and the living room, her shoulder propped against the wooden border.

"Well? Out with it, Thor." Hel ordered curtly. "I haven't the time, nor patience, to listen while you beat around the bush. Get to the point and be done with it."

"I was sent to speak with you, by orders on high." Thor divulged. The hesitance in his voice and the fidgeting of fingers that were clenched around the handle of Mjolnir betrayed his discomfort with the subject.

She sniggered, her theory confirmed. "I wasn't wrong, then. You were lying."

"I neglected to tell the full truth of my intentions." He corrected.

"And what of King Odin? Why were you sent here?'

"He wishes for you to reconsider your decision." He replied firmly, his bright blue eyes imploring.

She straightened, her jaw clenching. "Then your mission is one of futility. I will not be shackled." Her mismatching grey and green eyes blazed darker, and her fingers twitched, itching to wring his neck.

"What is your objection to him?" He demanded.

"I object to the very notion of marriage, not to the man himself."

Thor got to his feet, standing at full height. "You have your orders, Hela." The volume of his voice rose and his tone deepened. His tense words teetered on the brink of a threat.

"And you have yours." Her mouth contorted into a crooked smirk. "How adorable."

He frowned. "What is?"

"You are. The golden son, always does what his beloved father tells him. Tell me, Thor; has an original thought ever entered that thick skull of yours?" Hel sneered.

"Listen to me!" He boomed, closing the distance between them in three strong strides and looming above her.

She resisted the instinct to flinch.

"If you do not obey your king, you will remain in exile." Thor warned, pinning her in place with the intimidation of his steady gaze. "You will never return. The gates of Asgard will be forever closed to you, and the throne of Helheim will find a replacement, perhaps one better suited for the responsibilities that come with it."

The threat of losing everything she had was enough to set her off, to trigger her unpredictable temper.

She was livid, truly a sight to behold; raw, all-consuming, limitless. Rage appeared to seep from the pores in her skin and roll off of her body in waves, almost becoming a physical entity in its own right. An aura of hatred. It seethed about her, as if it were a storm and she the eye.

"Get out." Hel spat. "Leave in one piece while I still allow it."

"That is not a fight you could ever hope to win." His response was arrogant and his demeanour emulated a readiness for battle, but the uncertainty in his eyes told a different story.

A sly, malicious smile crept onto her lips as she glared up at him. "Willing to bet your life?"

"Always." He replied, characteristically cocky.

A snarl was torn from the depths of her throat as she encircled his throat tightly in the cruel vice of her fingers and forcefully turned him in order to reverse their positions. She slammed him into the wall, hearing drywall crack beneath the impact.

"I could tear you apart, limb by limb. I could have your skin peel from your flesh and shatter every last bone in your body." Her grip constricted, squeezing his airway.

As Hel vehemently described to him the carnage she would inflict, her eyes clouded over, darkening to black. The pounding of her heartbeat thundered in her eardrums, deafening. "You would be begging for death, and I, a merciful queen, would grant it to you."

As she released his neck, she brought her other hand beside his cheek as tiny flames ignited on each of her fingertips. "Do we understand each other?" She murmured, a sadistic glint in her eyes.

Thor's eyes searched hers, stoically calm. "You are a monster."

"Oh, no..." She smirked, retreating two steps. "You brought the monster." Her voice resonated crystal clear, lacerating the air with the cold precision of a razor blade.

Hel turned and strode from the room. Her blood was still boiling, pumping hot through her veins. The crisp breeze against her heated skin as she stepped onto the front porch was a welcome relief. She inhaled deeply in an attempt to steady her breathing and slow her racing pulse.

There was only one person she needed to see, and that was Spike.