Above All Shadows [Loki Timetravel fic - Completed]

5. Weapons Vault

Just want to give a quick shout out to @dralice99, @lcspring, @LigerCat, @Wallcloud9 and @PeytonStarkofAsgard . Thank you for supporting this story. You guys are awesome!

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As his fingers shed the warm hues of his Asgardian colouring, Loki pressed his lips into a thin line. If the vivid blue that replaced the familiar, comforting tones of pink and yellow wasn't discomforting enough, Loki could feel the flesh under his skin itch as his fingernails thickened and raised lines emerged over his knuckles. He supposed he ought to have been glad his true form was no longer marred with badly-healed burns, but in truth, even now, every moment Loki spent with his true form exposed left his stomach crawling with unease.

But how much was it costing him to keep his true face hidden day in and day out, year after year, century after century? He had never fretted about it overly much, although for years he had suspected the sustained effort of his concealment narrowed his capabilities. In the past, he had wielded magic enough for his purposes.

The time-travel, however, had left its mark. After hours of trial and error, Loki had confirmed to himself that his magic remained, albeit in a crippled form. The simplest works now required thrice the effort they had taken previously and the more complex spells eluded him entirely. Loki could only hope that this was a temporary problem.

If not, he had to find other sources of strength. His magic, not his tongue or his knives, had kept him alive thus far. Without it, he was dangerously exposed.

Heavy footsteps echoed around the room; he was no longer alone. Loki restored the concealment and mentally chided himself for his stupidity in exposing himself in as public a place as the palace library.

Leaning back into his chair, he called out. 'Thor, I'm here.'

He probably needn't have bothered. It was late in the evening and with no one else about, Loki had extinguished most of the lights. The sole remaining ones were over the central passage and over the desk Loki was working at. Only a blind man would have failed to spot him. On the other hand, it made Loki feel less like a recluse to reach out to his brother so.

'We missed you in the training grounds,' Thor said. He dragged over a chair from one of the nearby desks and slumped into it. 'You must be lost in a very fascinating project; no one's caught more than a brief glance of you in days.'

'Frustrating, not fascinating,' Loki replied.

His words were true enough. He had spent the three days since Thor's coronation buried under piles of books, initially from his own collection, then from the palace library. Yet any answer as to what he could do about his magic eluded Loki. Although this was infuriating, he wasn't surprised in the slightest. That was the risk with dabbling in unproven, theoretical magic. When things went awry, there were no troubleshooting manuals on hand.

Thor wiped the sweat still beading on his forehead, then pushed his dust-coated hair back behind his ears. 'What's this for?'

'Doesn't matter,' Loki said. 'It was just a stray thought I had and I'm starting to think it's not actually possible, so it might be best to just drop the matter.'

'Not possible? That sounds like a challenge.'

Loki chuckled. If he were trying to push Thor towards something, Thor had just given him the perfect opening. Another few words from Loki and Thor could be on his way to slay some mythical beast in the darkest caverns of Muspelheim.

It's almost a pity all I want is for him to drop this topic.

'Magic's not your forte, Thor, best you stay out of it.' Shaking his head, Loki slammed shut the three books he had laid out on the table in front of him. 'What about you? You've been king for three days now, have you insulted any ambassadors yet?'