The Rise of Hel {Loki Laufeyson} Book Two

Chapter Three

The janitors closet smells like chemicals. Chemicals and mothballs. Both of which, I am not a fan of.

I rock back and forth. The scene replays over and over in my mind. The scarred face of the pale woman, the mysterious black wolf dead in her arms.

The ache is going insane, making me want to vomit, but I just stay sitting and trying to calm myself down.

Glancing down at my ring, I notice that Peter was right. It is glowing. I tap it, trying to shorten it out or something. Maybe it's battery operated?

I want to know where the hell I got it. I want to know who the hell gave to me and where the hell it came from. I then want to punch that person in the face and throw the ring at them.

A strong gust of wind blows in my face. Instinctively, I close my eyes, shielding myself with my forearms. The wind stops and I peer over my arms. A tall man stands before me - his green, black and gold armor glittering in the sunlight. His long black hair is slicked back, flipping out at the ends.

It's the man from the roof - the one who was talking to me and then vanished... The Raven Prince.

He smiles warmly down at me. "It's been so long, my sweet." The ache finally subsides, my chest swelling for some reason. He stands above me, his face somber and I feel frozen in his stare, his blue-green eyes capturing me in a way that Peter's never have. I don't understand why my heart beats faster when I look at him, or why my palms become sweaty - why I long to reach out and touch his porcelain face to see if it's as smooth as it looks. He's so beautiful... I wonder if he knows...

I blink, confused and uncomfortable. "Excuse me? Where am I? Where's Peter?"

His face drops, eyes flashing. "Ah yes, your darling Peter Parker. How is the spider boy?"

I feel my stomach contract at the sound of 'spider boy.' "How do you know that? Who are you?" I demand, my hands fisting in the grass.

Again, he smiles. "I am Loki, of Asgard." He announces. Something tugs in the back of my mind; familiar.

Scoffing, I roll my eyes at him. "And I am Addison, of Manhattan - what else is new?" I stand, brushing myself off. I watch as the grass from my palms falls, and once it hits a certain point, it vanishes, returning to it's original peaceful sway from before I ripped out out of the ground. I observe it with utmost curiosity, ignoring the Raven Prince for a few seconds before he speaks again.

"Addison? Ah yes, your name, correct? No - that's not true." Loki says, shaking his head.

I turn. This guy has obviously bought crack from 'Cracky Craig' behind the school. "Okay, seriously. What is your deal?" I stop. "And you haven't answered my question about Peter." My hands start clenching once again, my nails digging into the flesh.

His eyes flash again. Am I conversing with one of my boyfriends enemies? I'm such an idiot!

"The boy is your lover, am I wrong? One year and you've already moved on." He mumbles.

My heart races, but it doesn't feel like it's from panic. It's like relief and anger and devastation all wrapped into one. "Hey, Prince Emo," I let the anger take over, taking the words right out of my mouth on impulse. "you planning on telling me what's going on or not?"

"Yes, we don't have much time before Hel comes back," He muses, turning away from me. "First of all, your name is Rebecca Josephine Talbot, but you'll kill anyone who calls you Rebecca because you prefer Becca. Second, you're the best fighter I've ever seen. And third, I'm in love with you, and you, me."

I exhale shakily. "Um... Okay?" I'm totally uncomfortable.

He whips around, grabbing my shoulders. "So, you remember? The compound, the murder, my disappearance, your death, the battle?" His eyes plead with mine.