Tabula Rasa (Unlike Loki: Book Two)

Chapter 56

(Anna)

We were standing in a dark room I had never been in before. Loki told me it was where he and his mother, Frigga, and worked on magic together. We had walked up a narrow, winding staircase to reach it. The entire room was made from golden walls and the ceiling was made of glass, so that you could see the sky, as if you were right in the clouds. There was a large fireplace in the corner, the fire constantly changing colors. The room's walls and floors were covered in various symbols that were apparently used for magic. There was a small bookshelf in the corner, filled with various spellbooks and scrolls. A large pile of pillows and cushions were piled in another corner, as if it was someone's bed. 

I watched Loki carefully as he walked around the room, wiping the dust off various things with his hand. It was obvious he hadn't been in here in a long time, that nobody had. He looked around the room sadly, a lock of his hair falling in his eyes. 

He eventually came out of whatever reverie he was in and looked up at me. His eyes were filled with sadness and anger. "Let's get started," his voice shook slightly. 

"How do you summon a witch?" I asked softly. 

"Not just any witch. The Enchantress?" By asked, crossing his arms. 

Loki walked to the center of the room. He was holding a spellbook. I hadn't even seen him pick it up. 

"Carefully." He said, eyeing By. He opened the spellbook and a gust of wind blew around the room. 

By shrugged his shoulders, "Let's get started then, shall we?" He motioned for me to follow him to Loki. 

We joined him in the center of the room. He handed me the spellbook and told me to keep it so that he could read it and then told By to draw a circle around them with candlewax. By looked at him oddly, but did as he was told. 

"Now, the moment she arrives, get out of the circle as fast as you can, and don't say a word to her. Let me do the talking," Loki said sternly. He looked at us both and then began to read from the spellbook that rested in my hands." 

He spoke in a language that I didn't understand, but he did is gracefully and fluently, never stuttering or pausing. 

Within minutes, the circle around us erupted into flames higher than our head. I couldn't help but let out a gasp and I saw By pull his arm over his eyes. Loki didn't flinch, but he was silent. 

Suddenly, before me was a woman, tall, red-headed, and absolutely beautiful. 

The three of us immediately backed out of the circle. 

The fire was gone, and so was the circle made of candlewax. Loki took the spellbook out of my hands and tossed it behind him. 

The girl, I assumed it was the Enchantress, looked at us, her lips lifted in a smile. She was in a white dress that ended at her knees in the front and flowed the the ground in the back. The strap was a tie that looped around her neck. Her skin was tanned and her hair fell in long, perfect curls. She looked like pure fire, her eyes a deep blue that seemed to shimmer in thte dark light. 

"It's been a long time, Loki," She said his name with fondness, which struck my irritation. She batted her long, dark eyelashes at him.

"Not long enough," He retorted back. 

She put her hands behind her back and swayed her hips back and forth, raising her eyebrows slightly. 

"Now, now. Don't be rude. You're the one who brought me here, let's not forget," She took a dainty step to her side, her bare foot pointed. She turned around and swayed towards the fireplace.