The Ides of July // Loki - Book 1 ✓

Chapter 27: Back Again

A LIGHT FLICKS ON in the corridor, and Loki grabs Anna's uninjured arm and pulls her into an empty bedroom. The door closes with a muffled 'click' moments before a scientist walks past the room, followed by two sets of unidentified footsteps. Voices can be heard coming from the direction of Jane's room, where the astrophysicist is still processing the news of Thor's imprisonment.

"What's happening?" Anna asks.

Loki shushes her, his hand flying to cover her mouth as he shoots her an icy glare.

"I'm listening," he hisses, turning back to the door.

"No! I don't know anything," Jane's voice echoes through the building, the panic in her voice evident. "Let go of me!"

Muffled voices follow, and Anna can't make out what they are saying. Loki, however, tenses up, dropping his hand from Anna's mouth, and steps away from the door. He leaves his other hand on her arm, tugging her with him as they move to the other side of the room. It's decorated similarly to the room she woke up in, hardly more than a bed and simple furnishings, and the afternoon sun streams in through the small window by which they stand.

"Loki," Anna starts.

"We must go," he interrupts, running a hand through his long, slicked-back hair. "We haven't a moment to lose."

Anna's eyebrows knit together in confusion, "Why? What's happening?"

Loki shakes his head, refusing to meet the small brunette's questioning gaze. Whatever he overheard with Jane Foster was enough to unsettle him even further, and Anna can't help but think that he looks like a wild animal trapped and desperate to escape his cage.

"Fine," she concludes. "Then let's get Jane and go."

She takes a step back toward the door, but Loki's grip on her arm tightens. His hand slides down to her wrist, pulling her gently back toward him. Instinctively, she resists, but his fingers are like cool steel against her skin, trapping her to him, and she is nowhere near strong enough to resist him. When she whips her head around, fire in her clear blue eyes, he meets her gaze with a calm sense of resolution.

"Anna," his voice is hardly more than a whisper. "I am sorry."

His lips begin to move while low, hushed tones escape his mouth that she can't fully hear or understand. Within seconds, a cloud of green mist envelops them. Initially, she is completely dumbfounded, unsure of how to react, before sheer panic sets in. A second later, she realizes that he is using magic to transport them away, again, and a familiar series of tugs and uncomfortable compressions on her body overwhelms her senses before she stumbles forward and falls to the ground.

Her fingers do not find the cold tile beneath them, but instead rough pavement scrapes her palms and scorches her skin.  Squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, she waits for her sense of balance to return before blinking them open and taking in the blinding sunlight.

"Are you well?" Loki's voice breaks through her bewilderment, and she is able to focus on his dark silhouette against the white-hot sky.

"What did you do?" Anna croaks, glaring at his outstretched hand as she quickly moves to cradle her injured arm. "Where did you take us?"

Loki's mouth is set in a thin line, clearly unamused, "Istanbul."

Anna's eyes widen in shock, as the rest of her surroundings begin to make sense. From the din of Istanbul traffic to the bright summer sun, for a moment she wonders if she ever left the bustling metropolis. Maybe this entire mess was a dream, a horrible nightmare.

Then again, even her nightmares probably wouldn't include the mischievous Asgardian god who is currently lifting her to her feet against her protestations.

"I can stand on my own," she snaps, shaking off his helping hands. "Why the bloody hell did you bring me here? Why did we leave Jane?"

He sighs, "Jane Foster is safer without us. Not only that, the voices we heard - they were questioning her about Thor. About...others."

"Like you?" Anna asks. "How did they know about us? How did they find us?"

"I am not convinced they knew of our presence," Loki reassures her. "However, it would have left Jane in grave danger should they discover she was harboring a war criminal, as the inhabitants of this planet are so apt to label me. Both of you would have been taken prisoner through association, and I could not warrant the risk."

The anger bubbling up in Anna's chest dissipates. While she had no desire to be in Istanbul, especially so soon after Rifat's death, she recognizes that Loki made the right choice for Jane's safety - and even her own - which is more than she thought him capable of.

"I, um..." Anna stutters. "Thank you."

Loki nods ever-so-slightly, his eyes sparkling with amusement. However much of a jackass he might be, he is clearly enjoying this. Maybe not being the hero, no. Anna isn't yet sure if he is capable of such goodness. Making her suck her anger back into herself and showing the man she loathes gratitude, however, is bringing Loki much joy.

"What do we do now?" Anna asks, not attempting to mask her annoyance with him.

"We find more information on the man Stark killed," Loki states simply. "Determine who would want him dead - if any - and perhaps discover how they tricked the metal man into murdering him."

A shiver runs down Anna's spine at the thought, her eyes instantly snapping to the ground as her mind replays Rifat's death yet again. She wants nothing more than to make Tony Stark pay for the man's death, but something is eating at her insides about the entire situation. Given what she was told by Eren at Restitution, and now what she's learned from the Avengers, her brain is racing to unfold the truth of it all. Whatever is happening, whatever Tony did - it doesn't add up.

Something isn't right.

Now playing: "Psycho" by Muse.

*****

Author's Note

Anna is back in Istanbul, with Loki by her side, and the proverbial s*** is about to hit the fan. What do you think will happen?

We're over the halfway mark for The Ides of July, which means it's time for us to kick it into high gear!

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