by Cate Farren
"It's hard keeping it open," said Saskia, really struggling. Opening portals really was difficult. "But I'm getting better at it."
"You're doing great," Clover congratulated her. “But stop for the moment. You look like you’re about to have a stroke.”
Saskia sighed as the portal vanished. She'd been excelling lately. She'd expected to be able to do more with her magic. She was more powerful than her grandmother and yet that old bag had been able to open portals at will. What was stopping her from being better?
"It takes time," said Clover, almost as if understanding her inner dilemma. "You've been at this magic thing a short time compared to most witches."
Saskia was angry as she said, "Don't patronize me.”
“I’m not patronizing you.”
“Just go back to teaching your pet shapeshifter how to dance or whatever it is you're doing today and leave this to me."
Clover nodded and left her to it. Saskia immediately hunted down another bird and suffocated it with a magical bubble. It felt orgasmic.
WHEN CLOVER ENTERED the house she found Jessica prostrate on the floor by the door to the kitchen. She ran to her, terrified that she'd injured herself.
"Jessica?" Clover cried. "What's wrong?"
The shapeshifter looked up at her. She was crying, her eyes a blotchy red. "I boiled the kettle to make some tea."
"You aren't supposed to use the oven on your own."
"I was fine. I...I spilled some boiling water on my arm. It really hurt. It really, really hurt."
Clover sighed and sat down on the floor beside Jessica. Her left arm was red raw, but healing rapidly right in front of them. She would be okay.
"Try to be more careful in future," said Clover, taking Jessica's hand. She kept her voice gentle and reassuring, full of love. "You may heal quickly, but you still feel pain. Feeling pain is bad, right?"
"Feeling pain is bad," Jessica agreed, nodding her head.
Jessica leaned her head against Clover's shoulder.
"I don't like it here," Jessica admitted.
"Me neither," said Clover.
"Can we go somewhere else? Somewhere better?"
Clover didn't answer her, but she vowed to get them out. Jessica deserved better than this prison. Her daughter deserved a normal life.
Daughter...
"Are you okay?" Jessica asked, looking concerned. "I felt something odd from you."
Clover shook her head. "No. I'm fine."
SASKIA GRINNED VICIOUSLY as she stamped on the bird. She'd murdered four in a row and each kill felt good. She imagined that each one was either her mother or her grandmother. It made snuffing out their innocence them that much more delicious.
"I thought I could forgive you," Saskia muttered, thinking about her mother. "But I can't do it. You took magic away from me, Mom. Look at how powerful I am! And just imagine what would have happened if Frankie had magic the night he was murdered. He'd still be alive today." Saskia raged and created a lightening bolt, firing at the purple skies. "You bitch! I hate you! I hate you!"
She fell to her knees, weeping, laughing, her fingers tingling with magic. She wished with all her might that she'd been the one to murder her mother. It would've been so cathartic. It wasn’t fair.
She looked up to find Adrian standing naked in front of her.
"Loki?" she demanded, not really up for this right now. She wiped at her eyes, not wanting him to see her in such a tangled, emotional state. "What are you doing?"
"I want to give you a gift," he offered. He reached out his hand towards her. "You've been through a lot lately."
"You expect me to just drop my panties and let you have your way with me?"
"I know you want me. You're practically salivating."
She stood up, wiping the dirt from her jeans. It was true she felt like indulging right about now. Sexual intercourse would recharge her, give her energy for creating more spells. Ironic that Loki would be sealing his own fate by seducing her.
"This is just sex, Saskia," he stated emphatically. "We're doing each other a favor here. I find that you're quite...exquisite when it comes to lovemaking."
"I haven't had much experience," said Saskia, blushing.
He came towards her and took her hand. "Let yourself go."
Before she knew it they were ripping at each other’s clothes, desperate for skin on skin contact. Saskia could barely contain herself as she he violently pushed her to the ground and penetrated her. She felt the warm earth against her backside as he thrust inside her, shattering each and every desire. He was rough and it was everything she needed right now.
But something is wrong...
It feels wrong.
"Stop!" Saskia screamed, struggling to push him off her. "Just stop."
Loki/Adrian grinned down at her. "We're having so much fun."
"I said no!"
He pulled away, kneeling on the dry earth beside her. Sweat dripped down his naked torso in torrents. He looked disappointed.
"I won't force you," he said. "I'm not that kind of man."
She shook her head. "It's not that. It feels fake. I want you to be you."
He seemed insecure as he said, "Are you sure?"
"Be Loki. Please."
He nodded and changed. Saskia was impressed, though the real Loki wasn't anywhere near as physically perfect as Adrian. He was just different. Thinner, but with a swimmer's build. His skin was deathly pale, and his penis was almost half the size of her former werewolf crush. He was certainly attractive.
"Am I good enough?" he asked, taking a bow.
She smiled, waiting for him to take her. When he did it was intense and primal and real. This wasn't having sex any more. It was making love. It was something she'd dreamed about for so long. She didn't care that it was in another dimension, on the ground, with a fallen angel who wanted to kill billions. It was amazing.
When they were finished, roughly an hour later, Loki flopped by her side, panting. Saskia could feel her heart beating madly and her entire body was covered in hot, sticky sweat. When he'd come inside her she'd come at the same time, making her cry so loud she thought it echoed across the entire valley. Her throat felt raw and her body was bruised and she'd never felt more like a woman before.
She laughed, barely able to move. "Fuck! Just...fuck!"
"You took the words right out of my mouth." He leaned on his elbow and stared at her. His eyes were intense, changing color every second or so. His smile was beautiful and genuine. "You don't regret this?"
"Not one bit. Here I was, thinking you had a thing for Clover."
He looked uncomfortable for a moment, and Saskia felt like someone had shoved a knife in her back. She started pulling her clothes on, desperate to get away.
"What is it?" Loki asked. "Saskia?"
She turned on him, angry, vengeful. "You are in love with Clover!"
"No," he insisted. "I care for her, that's all."
She didn't believe him. For all she knew he'd imagined her to be Clover while they made love. He hadn't been with her, he'd been with Clover, her best friend.
The best friend who keeps taking everything away from me.
Loki got to his feet and changed his form, becoming clothed once again. She wanted to burn him. She wanted to skewer him with her magic and make him howl.
"You can't fool me," Saskia ranted. "They all either love her or hate her. It doesn't matter which. It just means they forget about me in the process. My mother did it; my brother did it; Adrian did. Now you."
"Clover is linked to me," Loki explained. "I want her to be with me as my people take their rightful place."
"But are you in love with her?"
Loki shrugged. "Perhaps. Yes."
Saskia felt she could turn him inside out, or boil his blood, or explode his brain, and he'd still survive. She wanted him to suffer. Nobody used her like this, not again.
It's all about Clover...
She chanted a spell and watched him keel over in ago
ny. Just as he was about to lash out she layered another spell onto the first, and then another. He flew up into the air and slammed into the ground with such force a small earth tremor pierced the land. She grinned and kicked him in the face, watching with glee as his shapeshifter form spasmed and shook.
"I'm going to melt you down and watch as your essence seeps into the rocks," she vowed, watching as he clutched at his face. "Are you in agony yet? Do you want more?"
He grabbed at her ankle and yanked, pulling her to the ground. He climbed onto her and pinned her down, his face looking like it had been burned with acid as his features melted and reformed over and over again. He was in obvious pain.
"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop!"
"Then kill me!" she screamed.
He used his own magic to silence her. The magic coming from her stopped mid flow, and Loki's form returned to its usual shape. He was still holding her down.
"I should kill you," he spat.
She didn't struggle. "Then you can have Clover all to yourself."
"You don't understand anything."
He left her to it, heading back to the house. Saskia continued to lie in the dirt, crying.
JESSICA WAS SITTING by the kitchen table, nursing a cup of tea. She still seemed traumatized by her accident, though she was now fully healed. Perhaps this was a good thing. It taught her to be more careful in the future. That’s how people learned, by learning from their mistakes, children especially.
She’s my child.
How quickly she’d come to see Jessica as her daughter. It wasn’t surprising, really. It wasn’t the fact that she looked like Clover and Jared, or she had a laugh that reminded her of Duck Young, it was...it was a feeling. Jessica felt like her daughter. It felt natural.
Clover slept soundly that night. Despite her situation she was happy.
JARED WAS STANDING in her bedroom when she woke the next morning.
"Loki?" Clover crossed her arms, disappointed. "What are you doing? I know it's you."
"You think about him all the time, almost to the point of obsession," said Loki.
"He was the love of my life," said Clover. She climbed out of bed, fully clothed. It was always cold here. "You understand what it is to lose someone like that. It darkens you. It makes you insane." She laughed. "The padded walls of my previous cell can attest to that."
Were there padded walls? I can't remember.
"Let me give you a gift."
"I'd know it was you. It wouldn't be the same."
"You know what Chorda looks like. You could...be her."
To state that Clover was tempted was obvious. The body of her Jared was right here, waiting to be kissed. Yet it was his soul she really loved. His body was beautiful, desirable, but it was his personality, his spirit, that she had fallen in love with.
She shook her head. "Thank you, but no."
"If you change your mind..."
"We’re related, right? You're like my grandfather or something."
Clover felt like they were venturing into dangerous, Jerry Springer show territory here.
He mused before saying, "We're related in a sense that we're the same species, but other than that I'm not your grandfather."
"Then why do you call your shapeshifters your children?" she asked.
"It's just an affectation."
"Oh."
She watched Loki standing there, staring at her. His Jared form still didn't leave. Those eyes...
"How can I know you recreated Jared faithfully?" she asked, curious. "I mean, you've never seen him naked. How would you know?"
"You've seen him naked, and I've been inside your mind. My recreation is an exact copy."
Clover knew she'd regret this, but she missed being with Jared so much. He was never coming back, so why not? It might even mend her broken heart a little. Besides, she was horny. She knew this wasn't Jared but the simple appearance of his physical body was driving her wild with lust. Jared could always do that to her. He knew he was sexy and he used it to his advantage.
"Take off all your clothes," she ordered him.
Loki raised his eyebrows. "Is that an order?"
"Do it. Now."
"You first. Be Chorda."
She pulled Chorda's image from her mind, instantly transforming her face, even her hair, into the Fey princess. The moment she did he stepped back, his true form appearing once again. Jared was gone.
"Did I do something wrong?" Clover asked. "My hair's never changed before, but I'm sure I..."
He shook his head. "No. You did nothing wrong. It's just...I haven't seen her in so long."
Loki stepped forward, weeping openly. He held his hand out, brushing the tips of his fingers against her lips. He grinned, wiping the tears from his face.
“If only...” he whispered.
He turned and walked away.
LOKI WALKED OUTSIDE, hating himself for showing such vulnerability in front of Clover. He never should've tried to seduce her as Jared. She could never love him, and truth be told, he could never really love her. He would always love Chorda. Always. What he felt for Clover was a betrayal of everything he and his Fey princess had been through.
It's just lust. That's all. I can't love anyone but Chorda.
Chorda was everything. He may hate Trent and Dracula but the truth was they didn't matter, not really. The Fey had killed Chorda. The other supernatural races had sided with them. He wanted them all to suffer. They would all die for taking her away from him. He was only sad King Lachlan was already dead, murdered by his own daughter. He'd dreamed about killing him while locked up for so long. Why did he have to go and die before Loki got the chance to kill him?
He marched up to a group of shape shifters he'd been training and gave them an order. They obeyed instantly. Every one of them changed into the Fey king.
"Come here," he ordered the first one.
The shapeshifter stepped forward. Loki felt his hatred rising at just being in the same proximity as his most hated enemy. He'd never felt anything like it. It was like his whole body was fuelled by hate.
"Attack me," Loki ordered.
The shapeshifter came forward. Loki punched his fist through their head, obliterating their entire body in the process. Dust fell around him like fine flakes of snow.
“You,” he ordered, pointing at another. “Attack me!”
He killed all of them, but he still wasn't satisfied.
Chapter 34
Weeks went by, one after the other. Saskia kept up her portal creations in secret, showing Clover what she'd learned at every stage. It was going slowly, but much better than she'd anticipated. She knew that soon she'd be able to leave this place. Quite what she'd do next she didn't know. She'd expected to come here with Loki, find out his plans, kill him, and leave. Things hadn’t turned out as she’d hoped. She hadn't expected him to fall in love with her, and she hadn't expected to develop sympathy for him.
At least I didn't let my sympathy cloud my judgment.
She hadn't anticipated Loki to be quite so strong. She could never kill him in a fight or with a convention weapon. Maybe a rocket launcher could blow him up, but she didn't have one at hand. She suspected magic wouldn't work on him either, otherwise he would've been killed a long time ago. Maybe locking him up in a cage wasn't just about inflicting pain on him. Maybe it was the only way to get rid of him.
"What are you thinking about?" Jessica asked.
The two of them had gone on a walk. Clover had decided to explore their little dimension out of boredom. Saskia was acting cranky today, obviously fed up of not being able to create a stable portal. Loki was with what remained of his shapeshifters, whispering to them, forming plans.
What plans?
The dimension was changing every day. Not only was there animals appearing there seemingly at random but trees were starting to grow, and flowers were starting to sprout. Orchids, daffodils, various exotic species she couldn't give a name to. It was beautiful, almost as if their dimension was
a microcosm of an evolving world. She wanted to see what else was out there. Her curiosity wouldn't let her sit still.
"What do you feel for Loki?" she asked.
They'd stopped at a small pond which hadn't been there a week ago. Multi-colored tropical fish swam in its pale green waters and yellow frogs hopped about its banks. Moss grew on stones, like they’d been there for years instead of a few days. It was beautiful.
"I love him," said Jessica. "He's my creator." She hesitated fearfully before adding, "But I see the way you're fearful of him, and it makes me fearful too."
"I didn't mean to do that," said Clover regretfully. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”
"I don't miss his voice in my head," Jessica admitted. She smiled as she dipped her hand in the pond. Several bright yellow fish swam around her fingers. She giggled. “I like it being just me in there.”
Clover was shocked. “You’ve blocked him from your mind? He can’t influence you any more?”
“I’m independent like my mother. I don’t need him.”
Clover was impressed. She hadn’t asked Jessica to block Loki, and so she just assumed the two of them were still linked. She knew it was possible to push Loki out of your mind. She herself had done it, and she was only half shapeshifter.
“He hasn’t said anything,” said Clover, curious.
Jessica smiled as she picked up a frog. She stroked its wet skin, utterly fascinated. Clover couldn’t help but smile with joy and pride.
SASKIA GRINNED AS SHE held the portal open. It was large enough for her to step through right now if she stooped a little. She could leave this place behind forever. She never had to see Loki or this wretched house or her mother and grandmother’s grave ever again. All she had to do was abandon Clover.
"She's betrayed me more than once," she whispered, thinking about Adrian once again. “Why should I take her with me?”
She sighed and closed the portal. She'd gotten over Adrian since coming here. His sweaty, perfect abs were no longer on her mind. Someone else was.
The moment she thought of Loki she felt herself black out. A few seconds later she found herself on the dewy grass, looking up at the sky, perplexed and nauseous. She pulled herself to her feet and quickly vomited.