Loki's Mark

Chapter Six

Time marched inexorably onward, and I grew so frustrated with my lack of progress that Loki actually actively banned me from spending more than one day a week poring over the journals, trying to make sense of them. I had finally cracked enough of the code to figure out that something very bad had happened with one of my ancestors, and that had resulted in a curse being brought down, but I knew little more than that.

It didn't take too much imagination to figure out that the curse is what bound us together, what forced him to be tied to my family, and ultimately ended up with him being stuck with me. I could only imagine what he went through, from the small hints that he had unwittingly given up. Stretching the rules and stipulations, giving himself to others regardless of how he felt about it. I didn't want to ask him about it. Hell, I didn't even tell him that I knew this much. I didn't want to think about how many of our interactions were because he had no choice. I wasn't stupid, I knew a lot of them were, the reality was likely that all of them were. But, some silly little part of me wanted to hold out hope that maybe, just maybe, part of him that wasn't bound by the curse wanted me, in any way, fashion, or form.

Because the reality for me was, I had fallen for him. I craved him like an addict craves their fix. Every touch burned and soothed in equal measures. It was like his simple existence was too much for my mortal body to handle, but at the same time it was like I was a plant starving for light and water, and his touch was the sun and the rain. I couldn't explain it, I didn't understand it myself. I definitely didn't mention any of that to him, either. Thankfully, he had not attempted to read my mind again, so as long as I kept things relatively even he wouldn't have any reason to find out.

The holiday season was now just around the corner, with Halloween up to bat first, in just a couple weeks. This meant that Beth's small shop was jam-packed with locals and tourists alike - everyone always loved to dabble in the metaphysical during spooky season. I was glad for the distraction though, even if it meant that I didn't get to spend as much time working for Sven. Beth more than made up for it with overtime pay and bonuses and free food, so I happily opened early and stayed late with her to handle all the extra business.

Even with my hard work, Beth still needed to take on three other people to help us out temporarily. Two of the people she hired were the sweetest little college girls you would ever meet, I loved their infectious energy so much. Part of me couldn't help but be a tiny bit jealous at just how bubbly and vibrant and alive they were, but I was way too introverted to ever be able to match their energy. I could open up a little bit and try, though.

The last person she hired was an older gentleman, probably somewhere in his mid-40's, closer to Beth's age than mine. Ordinarily that wouldn't even matter to me, but for some reason he seemed fixated on me. He didn't make any overt gestures, he didn't ask me any alarming questions, nothing he did was blatant. In fact, he always seemed to be very solicitous and to be a perfect gentleman around me, as if he was trying to be like a caring, concerned older uncle. Something just felt off to me though.

It was probably just my natural suspicion, after everything my family had put me through and all the shitty people I had dealt with while I was around them. I didn't really trust anybody to be what or who they said they were. When I considered my relationship with Loki, the irony was not lost on me. Just lean into the chaos and go with it, right? Maybe that was exactly what I was meant to do - lean into it and work my way around it, making it work for me, instead of trying to contain it. Things often went better when I did that, anyway.

These self-reflections didn't stop me from watching, and waiting for him to slip up, however. Even the best bullshitters slipped up on the little things, no matter how good their act was, and I was just waiting. I even went so far as to set rune traps for him, but he did nothing. I wasn't about to ask Loki for help with this, I didn't want to worry him, stupidly. This kind of boon felt all wrong to be asking about, anyway.