Sorcha's Secret World, Part 2: Mystery and Mischief.

Chapter 12, Loki Serpent-Tongue

Loki disabled the security system and we opened the doors. Before we could set foot outside, however, Loki pulled me back into the hallway. I dropped into a crouch, the air around my hands cooling down to a chilling fog as I fully expected a rocket to come flying in over my head.

Loki tried to bite back his laughter, then burst out in giggles.

"You thought it was a rocket," he finally managed to get out.

"Yes!" I was rather unamused. "Why did you do that?" I looked behind me and saw a clump of snow stuck to the wall.

"Snowball," Loki sniggered, "it would have hit you right in the face! The least you could do is thank me!"

I could see he was a bit giddy, welcoming some comic relief after the stress from the conversation we just had.

"Sorry!" came Thor's voice from outside.

I peeked out cautiously. Thor and Sif were sitting with their backs against Sif's snowmobile on a blanket that I presumed belonged to Sif.

Thor stood up and wiped the snow off his trousers, Sif did the same.

"Can we come in now?" Thor rumbled. "I'm getting frostbite in my unmentionables!"

"That depends, as long as Sif leaves her weapons outside and promises not to hurt Loki," I replied.

"And why would I promise that?"

"Because he might be a scrawny-assed, weasely-faced little shit of a brother, but he is my scrawny-assed, weasely-faced little shit of a brother," Thor answered his wife in my stead.

"Are you certain about that?" Sif asked him softly.

"I know he's adopted," Thor sounded confused. I realised that whatever those two had been talking about, it wasn't Beaumont.

"Look, he's different now Sif! He's like he used to be before everything went wrong, better than that even. He's almost nice now!"

"Oh, please, don't lavish me with praise, brother, you are making me blush!" Loki mumbled dourly, so quiet only I could hear. I felt the corner of my mouth twitch into a smile.

"That's isn't what I meant," Sif shook her head, "but it seems the only way I'm going to get to the bottom of all this is to stay my hand for now."

Sif's rocket launcher was already lying in the snow next to the half-molten shotgun. She unbuckled her sword and dropped it next to them, removed a dagger from a sheath in her boot, a small handgun that was hidden behind her back underneath her leather jacket, and a variety of other weapons that had been hidden upon her person too.

Eventually, she held up her hands. "That's it, that's all I'm carrying."

"I can frisk her to make sure that's really everything!" Thor offered eagerly.

Loki rolled his eyes. "How about you leave the frisking to the privacy of your own quarters? I thought you wanted in from the cold?"

Not saying another word he turned his back and stalked into the hold without so much as a glance backwards. I could see from the set of his shoulders and the way he clenched his jaw that he was already bracing himself for the conversation that was to follow.

Thor walked past me, noticing my tear-stained face for the first time.

"Is everything okay? He asked, his concern for me clearly written on his handsome face.

"Not really," I answered quietly. "Loki just dropped a bombshell, and I'm going to need some time to make sense of it all. We will be okay, I think. I hope."