The Raven

Ninth - Chapter Twenty-Two

"Edith...?"
The words rose, cold and numb from the god's stomach. He'd forgotten this was an illusion for a moment, his heart's frozen barrier turning to a blazing, angry abyss. One thought danced in his mind: He'd do much more than kill whoever did this to her. - He only came to when Athanasius dove to his knees, in front of his daughter.
"Edith!" A shaky smile appeared upon his perfectly chiseled face. "Oh, thank Ozul you're alive," Athan exclaimed. His daughter was barely recognizable; She was far too thin, almost skeletal. Dirt, wounds, and blood bathed her body in a hideous fashion. The most notable among the wounds, was the one just below her shoulder, in which the word "Devil" had been carved into her porcelain skin. She wore nothing but her underclothes. Despite Loki's unwanted affections towards her, Loki didn't fumble or blush at the sight of her nudity. Why would he? Even knowing it was nothing but a dream, he worried for her. He watched the scene, swallowing his agony.
"...Father?" Edith choked. Athanasius' eyes were alight with worry, though he smiled.
"Yes, darling, it's me," He answered. Tears welled up in the necromancer's eyes. "I'm here, my love." Edith embraced him, crying, and for the first time in months, they were happy tears.
"Dad..!" She cried, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"I'm here. I'm going to get you out of here, don't you worry," Athan said, holding her gently in his arms and stroking her hair. A slow clap rang throughout the dusty cave.
"Magnifico! What a touching moment," Loki and Athanasius both turned. There, a few yards behind them, stood an odd-looking man, purple eyes cat-like and malevolent. He was humanoid, but at the same time, far from it. His skin was a mercury red. His hands were clawed, his ears pointed, and his hair ebony. Athanasius carefully released his daughter, placing a kiss upon her forehead as he did so.
"You son of a bitch!" Athanasius shouted, a pure, boiling rage rushing through his veins. The man only glared,
"Tch. You're one to speak. You're nothing but a creation of Hell, a disgusting monster." Athanasius returned his glare.
"And yet, I have never tortured an innocent young woman." He spat, his hands fists. He drew closer to the red-skinned being.
"Don't lie, demon. You are of Mephisto. You were made to wreak your chaos among the innocent! You all deserve nothing more than death!" The pair were face to face now. Athansius stood tall, looming over the strange being.
"I was not created, I was born. I am a descendant of Ozul, Master of Death. Your entire species' religion preaches peace and harmony, yet all you do you is murder, steal, and lie!" He shouted in his face.
Loki had assumed that Athanasius was going to punch him; But, instead, he slapped him across the face, knocking him down into the dust.
"I show you mercy only this once, Tenoch," The male was stunned, his hand resting on his cheek, where Athanasius had slapped him.
"How do you know my name, beast?" Tenoch spat. Despite his tough facade, he was visibly shaken. Athanasius merely grunted, and turned back towards his trembling daughter. As he strode towards her, Tenoch's claws extended, becoming at least a foot long. He charged at Athanasius. With lighting speed, the necromancer turned and grabbed him by the throat.
"I promised mercy only once. You have exceeded it." Without another word, Athanasius snapped his neck. Even despite his searing hatred, Athanasius' gaze was filled with sorrow. Loki was baffled by this man. First, he'd shown mercy to such a horrid creature, then he mourned him. His mouth slightly agape, Loki watched as Athansius turned once more, and gathered his daughter in his arms. With this, the world around him faded...

Slowly, his eyes opened. He bolted upright, upon discovering he was no longer in the potions closet. A hand was placed upon his chest, stopping him. It took him a moment in his daze, to realize that it was Edith who held him back.
"Don't get up. The after-effects will mess you up," She explained. He gazed about the room for a moment. He took in the deep purple coloring of the walls, gold and silver trims, and black wooden floors. Almost everything in the room was dark in color. His gaze soon fell upon Athanasius, who sat with his legs crossed on the other side of the room.
"...Might I inquire as to where I am?" Loki quizzed, ignoring Athan's cold stare.
"My bedroom," Edith answered. "Father carried you in after finding you in the potions closet. Which, by the way," She slapped him across the face, glaring at him. "What the fuck did I say about behaving properly?"
Loki's hand rushed to his face, concealing the mark she'd left on his face. He shot her an annoyed look, then gazed at her father, who wasn't even trying to hide his grin as he began to skim through a book.
"In my defense, Edith, I was looking for you," He replied, lowering his hand. Edith rose from her seat on the bed. - Only now, did Loki notice the black, bejeweled circlet tiara that she now wore. A single teardrop purple velvet gemstone hung just above and between her eyebrows, bringing out the light in her appearance. The base of the tiara was black, shaped in an elven style, with another purple velvet stone sitting in the center of it, encased in a ring of darkness. He furrowed his brows in confusion, wondering why she was wearing such a thing. However, he said nothing, and flung his legs over the side of the bed.
"What for?" Edith questioned.
"Do I truly need a reason?"
"Yes."
He rolled his eyes.
"If you must know, I was chatting with a lovely young lady when she just happened to tell me something about a 'Supreme Necromancer',"
Now, it was Edith's turn to roll her eyes. He sounded much like her father when he scolded her. She held up her hand, silencing him. She looked to her father.
"Father," She called.
His gaze turned from the book to her.
"Yes?" He arched a brow. She gestured for him to leave. He laughed, mockingly,
"No. There is no way that I am going to leave you here with a man, alone. Forget it." Athanasius tossed the book back onto Edith's old desk, crossing his arms.
"Oh, please, you leave me alone with Caspian all the time, and you know well enough that he could do the same things as Loki," Edith countered. There was silence for a moment.
"Oh, fine, but I'll be waiting outside the door." Athan grumbled, standing and marching to the door.
"That's alright, you can join Mother in eavesdropping," Edith replied. Athanasius opened the door, and was, to say the least, unsurprised when he found his wife standing in front of it. Ethelinda said nothing. Her family knew her too well, hence why silence was better than any excuse she could make.
"Seriously, though: Go hold down the fort, postpone the ceremony for a bit." The young necromancer gave her father a pleading look. He linked arms with his beloved wife,
"As you wish, darling," He simply answered. The couple turned, and made their way back to the ball, the door closing behind them.
Edith turned to face Loki.
"I'm assuming you have questions, about what you saw," She stared into his icy blues. Her expression remained blank, even her gaze held no emotion. Loki remained silent for a moment, returning her gaze.
"Edith, I-..."
He began, breaking eye contact. What was he even to say? He surely knew pain, and torment, but what he saw...Words couldn't describe how horrid he felt, and he'd only watched it. He paused, sliding his tongue over his lips, as his gaze met hers once more.
"Do you wish to speak about it?" He carefully asked, his cold eyes observing. Edith's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Never had anyone asked her if she wanted to talk about her past...With the little she allowed people, they only ever asked about what happened to her.
"No," She began. "I never do. That's why I never tell anyone," She swallowed. "But you know now, and there's no point in leaving you with confused."
Slowly, Loki nodded, "I do have questions, but I will not force you to answer them."
Edith sighed. "Alright," She sat back down beside him, careful not to ruin her dress in any way. "Shoot."
Loki took a moment, before he asked the first question to come to his mind,
"Who was he to you? That creature." Now, he saw all the pain within her green-brown eyes. Oddly, he found that her pain was mirrored in himself. He despised seeing her in such misery. All of it, he could see in the eyes he found so stunning.
"Well...When I first met him, I thought we were friends. I was young and stupid, finally out on my own for the first time," She turned her gaze ahead, not daring to look at him, in case tears were to fall. "And I met him. I knew of his species. I knew how passionate they were about hating my kind," She sighed once more. "But I thought he was different. Of course, I didn't tell him when we first met...I waited about two weeks before I told him. We stayed friends after it, because he told me he didn't care. - And, well...Obviously, he lied." Oh, and there were the tears, threatening to roll down her pale cheeks. "A few weeks later, he drugged me, and tortured me, for what my father said was months," She turned her gaze back to him, signifying that this was the end of her answer. "Anything else?" She quizzed.
"No," He could tell she was in pain, and he couldn't bare it.
"However, about this 'Supreme Necromancer' thing..." He began in an odd tone, in attempt to lighten the mood. Edith quietly laughed.
"What about it?" She said, in the same tone.
"Well, quite frankly, all I know of your people is your children's tales, and that isn't exactly enough to go off of," Loki replied.
She chuckled once again, a faint smile dancing upon her lips.
"The term 'Supreme Necromancer' is given to a descendant of Ozul," She slid her tongue over her lips.
"The first necromancer," Loki said, remembering what she had said in Stark Tower. Edith's eyebrows briefly raised in surprise.
"I'm surprised you remember that," She quietly laughed.
"I remember everything you say." Loki replied, failing to think before speaking. Edith stared at him, questioningly, as the faintest hint of a blush struck her cheeks. No one had ever said this to her. She wondered if the heat she felt was normal for when someone said something this...unusually sentimental. Loki swallowed, playing it off as if he'd intended to say such a thing.
"I have an excellent memory," He added, smirking. She nearly sighed in relief. Thankfully, she instead chuckled, and shook her head.
"Well, anyways...Since you actually remember the story; I am the ninth Supreme Necromancer, coming after my father, obviously. I'm also," She proudly grinned. "The first female in my bloodline."
Loki's eyebrows furrowed.
"All the others before you were men?" He quizzed. Edith nodded.
"Strange," He commented. "Pardon my asking, were your ancestors all...hunted?"
Again, the necromancer nodded. Loki felt a pang of guilt, remembering the stories Odin told him of necromancers. "People tend to fear what they don't understand, and that fear becomes hatred," Now, she shook her head sadly, staring ahead of her once more. "Thousands, maybe even billions of my people were killed." She then rose to her feet, and gestured for him to follow her. "The effects of the potion should have all worn off by now...C'mon, I'd like to show you something..."
She led him out of her bedroom, and downstairs. Loki quickly peered into the ballroom, noticing that none of the guests assumed anything amiss. Hmph...They must be good actors. He thought to himself, as Edith led him into a hallway, directly across from the front door, and ballroom. He caught up to her, tucking his hands behind his back.
"Might I ask what it is you're going to show me?" He quizzed. Edith merely shrugged.
"You said you wanted to know more about my peoples' history, and I trust you won't use this information against me, or anyone else, for that matter." She answered. A slight smirk tugged at his lips.
"What makes you so sure?" Loki leaned in for effect, grinning. With a venomous smirk, she returned his gaze.
"Because we both know I could tear you limb from limb if I wanted to, darling," She gave a threateningly sweet smile.
Loki wasn't about to falter, though he might have been a tad bit frightened. "I'd object, but I don't want my lovely suit ruined," He adjusted his blazer as they walked. Edith rolled her eyes.
"You know, if you keep rolling your eyes like that, I fear they may roll back into your head." said Loki, his smirk returning.
"I hope they do. It'd scare the hell out of Caspian and his family," She grinned. He hadn't expected this response. But then again, what about her was predictable?