Amber Eyed Angel

It had been a long time since Loki had been surprised to this extent. This was definitely an unexpected development. In all his years of life he had not known a mortal who could reach out and tap into another’s Seidr.

He came to the conclusion that the natural Seidr that he had sensed on first laying eyes on her had in some way affected his spell and caused the connection to run both ways. Because of her lack of training she had not been able to use it as he could.

He almost laughed at the irony of it all. He had sought to bind her to him and instead he had inadvertently bound himself to her. It had been a long while since he had made a miscalculation in casting a spell. He had not taken into account her Seidr as it was still undeveloped.

His anger at her had disappeared when she did. He hoped that she had somehow made it to a safe place. He now knew that she had been telling the truth about not doing anything on purpose. In his anger he had made things worse, but there was no help for it now.

He would have to search for her, if there was any way to return her he would. He had to know what she had told his Mother and Thor. It was not because of some ridiculous sentiment.

He closed his eyes in order to concentrate and focus his Seidr so that he could search for her but his concentration was broken by the ringing of her cellular device. He ignored it and after a while it stopped.

He had just managed to centre his Seidr when the phone rang again. He glared at it in irritation. The phone stopped its incessant ringing. He got up and walked over to the device. He had managed to pick up some knowledge of the technology of this realm. He found it fascinating. They had managed to use and forge magic to their own needs.

He picked it up and switched it off. He would need all his concentration to search the nine realms for her. He had no idea were she had gone and he would have to search for his own magical signature and follow it to where she had finally gone.

If she had entered the void between the branches of Yggdrasil then it would be difficult, but he would find her. He had been in that void and he did not wish for her to experience that. No one deserved that. He would not leave her to such a fate.

He took a seat again and started over. He slowed his breathing and finally entered the correct state to start his search. He started to follow the trail of his magic. It was difficult because she had been panicked when she used it. Just as he thought that he had found her trail there was a pounding on the door which broke his concentration. He hissed in agitation.

“Angel! Open this door or I’ll break it down.” A very familiar voice called through the door.

“Stark!” What was he doing here and how did he even know Angel? It seemed there was much that he had yet to learn about his little angel.

The Norns must be laughing at him. His brain started to kick in as he quickly went through his options.

He could disappear and leave them to an empty house, but there was a chance that he’d be able to gather some information from them. It would help to solidify his disguise and give him an opportunity to scrutinise his enemies for weaknesses. This could be a good thing.

He quickly changed his appearance and moved to the door. He opened it and a surprised Stark looked at him Thor was standing behind him much to his surprise and displeasure.

“Hello, can I help you?” He said smoothly.

“Who the hell are you and where is Angel?” Stark said as he pushed passed him.

“I’m Rafe, a friend of Angel’s.” He told him. “Who are you and why are you looking for Angel?”

“I am a friend. I don't know you and you still have not answered my question. You better answer fast or you’ll be in for a world of pain.” The threat was clear in his voice and for once he was not joking.

Loki put up a front of worry, running his hand through his hair in a frustrated way.

“I’m not sure. We went out for breakfast and as I had some errands to run we went our separate ways. We were to meet up again later at the library, but she didn’t show up. I got worried when she didn’t answer my calls so I came to her home to look for her. She isn’t here. I don’t know where she could be.”

Stark frowned in worry.

“How do I know you are telling me the truth?” He asked suspiciously. “Believe me if you have hurt her
I will make sure that there is nothing left of you.” He threatened.

“Friend Stark, this is the man who I saw with Lady Angel this morning.” Thor assured him.

Stark seemed to calm down a little.

“You’re not off the hook yet. You’re coming with us; I’m not letting you out of my sight until I have all the facts.”

Loki almost smiled. He couldn’t have planned this any better. He just nodded his head.

He followed them out to Starks vehicle. He had to admit that Stark had good taste.

“Where are we going?” He asked.

“We’re going to my tower. I’ll be able to start the search better from there.” He said tersely.
Stark seemed really worried about Angel. Was there something more to their relationship than mere friendship?

“I should have checked in on her sooner. I should have checked in on her once everything had settled down.”

“This is not your fault Stark. You had duties to perform. I have met her and she seemed to be a responsible and level headed young woman.”

“I promised them that I would take care of her. I’ve already messed up on protecting her once, I nearly lost her then. I promised myself that I would be there for her and once again I’ve dropped the ball.”

Loki listened with interest. He talked about almost loosing her. She had fought him hard when he had tried to gain full access to her mind. The memories must be very bad for her to close them off so. He frowned. When he found her and he would he would have the truth from her.

They completed the journey to his tower in silence. Thor kept looking at him questioningly.

“Is something bothering you?” He asked Thor.

“This morning at the shop I called to the Lady Angel. She did not stop to talk. It was most curious.”

“I must apologize for that. We had taken longer in our breakfast than expected and I was late for a meeting. I did not wish to be any later so I had already dragged her some way before she was able to inform me that she wished to talk to you. She was very angry at me for that and I feel bad about it.”

“It did seem that you were in a hurry.” Thor agreed.

They had reached the tower by then. He followed them up to his penthouse. Stark started speaking the moment they entered the elevator.

“Jarvis, scan all the security cameras in the vicinity of the Bella Donna Coffee shop.”

“What am I looking for sir?” The cool voice of the AI asked.

“I’m looking for any footage that shows Angelique Baulaine and where she went. Also check for any movement on her bank accounts.”

“I will do my best sir, but that area of the city is still under construction and many of the cameras are still out of order.”

“Just do it Jarvis.” Stark replied.

Loki found the AI very interesting. With technology like that he did not understand why Stark did not rule this realm. He would be the first to admit that the mortal had intelligence almost on par with him. He was also wealthy and had the resources to be a great influence in the realm.

They were now at the penthouse that they had their encounter on. The windows had been replaced, but the hole that the Hulk had created with his body was still very much in evidence. It had been a very painful and humiliating experience. He was loath to admit that he had made a mistake with the hulk. He was obviously not as mindless as everyone thought.

“Have you been able to find anything Jarvis?” He asked.

“I regret that I was unable to find anything sir. As I reported most of the cameras in the area are still down and the ones that are online did not result in any success either. There has been no movement regarding any of her accounts.”

“Try tracing her cell phone.” He instructed.

“I don’t think that will help. She left her phone at home this morning and it was still there when I went back to search for her there.” Loki offered.

He almost felt sorry as Stark’s face registered a moment of panic and then anger and frustration.

“That’s just my luck. We’ll have to make a physical search then.”

“I will help Stark.” Thor offered.

“Thank you Thor.” He replied.

Stark looked at him with a calculating look.

“You’re staying with me. I’m not sure I can trust you and until I find Angel I want to keep my eyes on you.”

Although he wanted to do his own search he couldn’t fault Stark’s reasoning. The man was far from a fool and he could admire that.

He nodded his head.

“I was going to go over our route in any case so if you don’t mind can we start there? We’ll have to go by foot as I’m not capable of flight.”

“That’s fine. The suit will not be needed right now. I’ll take my portable one along just in case though.”

Loki could see that his mind was already busy working out where to search. Well at least he’ll be able to study Stark and look for weaknesses. He pushed down his impatience, thankful that it had been a skill that had been honed to perfection in his time with Thor.