Above All Shadows [Loki Timetravel fic - Completed]

25. Ebony Maw

A hand rested on Loki's shoulder.

'How do you fare, good man?' Ebony Maw asked. His silky voice sent shivers up Loki's spine. 'So many new faces since I last walked along the tables of this hall. The Great Titan will be pleased how many pilgrims answer his call.'

Loki turned to face the Maw and peered up at the man's cold eyes. 'My companion and I are grateful for the Titan's generosity in providing meals for visitors to his domain.'

'The Great Titan is always generous.' Ebony Maw's nose flared slightly as if it offended him to even contemplate any alternative. 'I will be at the Gathering tonight. Your companion and you will attend, won't you?'

'I wouldn't dream of missing it.'

Ebony Maw smiled and withdrew his hand. He moved further down the long table, stopping to converse with anyone that caught his eye, but even once he had made all the way to the other end of the hall, Loki still felt the pressure of the Maw's fingers on the skin of his shoulder. He had been ravenous when he walked into the mess hall, now the sight of his food sent his stomach protesting.

'Who is he?' Brunnhilde asked between bites of her own dinner. Although she continued eating, she kept one hand close to the knife strapped to her thigh. 'He seems friendly.'

'That's Ebony Maw. He is the Titan's first lieutenant,' replied the woman sitting opposite Loki and Brunnhilde.

Brunnhilde nodded. 'I've heard much about him. He's not quite what I imagined.'

'He's supposed to spend most of his time by his master's side,' Loki said, doing his best to keep his tone casual. The woman opposite them was an Other - a rare specimen of her species. Only one out of every fifty-thousand Chitauri wasn't wired into the Chitauri hive mind. Loki didn't relish talking to one of her kind any more than he would have relished the company of Thanos himself. 'If Ebony Maw is here, does that mean Thanos too is on Theta-Three?'

'I'm not one to know such things,' the Other answered.

Loki sighed and forced himself to return to his meal. He wasn't hungry now, but he might well be by the time the evening was over. Ebony Maw's love for the sound of his voice was second only to his love for Thanos himself. And distribution of food was tightly controlled in the Sanctuary. Loki and Brunnhilde had made numerous enquires - the Titan's mess halls were the only sure way the common populace could acquire food.

By the time he finished his oily noodles and the unidentifiable protein supplement on his plate, the tables of the mess hall had emptied. The vast majority of those who had been in uniforms had left - this wasn't their time. The Gatherings, as Thanos' loyalists called them, catered specifically to the newcomers.

They took place daily. Loki had managed to skip a few, feigning ill-health or exhaustion, but he didn't dare make it a habit. Informers and opportunists abounded in the Sanctuary. Someone was bound to take issue if he seemingly idled about, not participating in the usual rites of the pilgrims. And now that Ebony Maw had singled him out - there was absolutely no question of not attending. The Maw would notice his absence.

At some sign known only to him, Ebony Maw strode up to the raised stage at the far end of the hall and clapped his hands three times. 'My friends, let us gather!'

He lifted the long tables and shifted them to the edges of the hall, leaving a large open space before the stage. The newcomers, nearly three dozen of them in all, gathered in a semi-circle before him. It was a motley crew. Some young and wrapped in rags, some carrying the scars of long experience and the wealth of more fortunate times in their lives. Loki found himself a place off to the side and in the second row. Brunnhilde remained by his right shoulder.