Tabula Rasa (Unlike Loki: Book Two)

Chapter 25

"Sir." The girl bowed down to the man sitting on the throne. 

"You must be here for a reason." He said, waiting for her to explain her presence before him. 

"Mangog escaped the In-Between effectively." she paused, as if she wanted to say more, but she didn't know if she should continue. 

"And the girl? The Queen?" The large man leaned on his knees, stressing every word that came out of his mouth. 

"He mistook the fiance as being the King." The girl's voice waivered.

When the man didn't say anything, she looked cautiously at him, her eyes going wide when she saw the anger in his face, breathing hard, his mouth twisted. 

"He took over the fiance's body. And then he stayed."

The large man leans agianst his throne, rubbing his forehead. "He was supposed to come back here." He shoots his head up to look at the girl. "Why didn't you bring him back."

"I don't exactly blend in." She spat, standing up. 

He huffed, frustrated. "What happened next?"

"He acted as if he was king, but he was more obsessed with the girl than he was with the kingdom." 

The man rolled his eyes, understanding her implication. "Then?"

"He found out that someone knew he wasn't who he said he was. He confronted the girl and they fought."

He waved his hand in a circle, motioning for her to continue. "And?"

"He exposed himself. Told her his plan. He wanted to start a war, not only to destroy Asgard, but all of the others connected with it." She shrugged her shoulders, thinking that his idea hadn't been a bad one. "She fought valiantly, but was over-powered by him."

His eyes burned with heat, the anger seeping from his pores. "I needed her!" He pounded on the armrest with his fist. 

"He didn't kill her." He shot the girl a look of malice. "Someone saved her." 

The man leaned back in his seat, relief flooding his face. 

"That someone was Loki." The girl added. 

The man shot his head up, his eyes wide. 

She didn't expect him to be smiling. 

He laughed. "He was in the In-Between." He closed his eyes, leaning back against his throne, his voice almost giddy. 

The girl looked at him oddly. "How does that make you so happy?"

"It changes everything." He said, enunciating every syllable. 

"A good change, I'm guessing." 

"Very." 

He shooed the girl, telling her to keep an eye on Asgard, but listen for his call for her to return home. 

Things were going perfectly now.