Loki's Path

Loki’s Path

  The first book in the Angel Sagas

  By

  Christine Byrne

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  PUBLISHED BY:

  Loki’s Path

  Copyright © 2012 by Christine Byrne

  Thank you for downloading this free eBook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form, with the exception of quotes used in reviews.

  Your support and respect for the property of this author is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  Reading Material for all ages

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  Many thanks my brother Ian and my son James for their support. Both are my biggest critics, and the endorsement of Loki’s Path has motivated me to write more stories within the Angle Sagas. Their support and inspiration has encouraged me to tackle different modern topics, within the realms of fiction. Thanks also go to my best friend Elaine, who’s love of Loki from the first moment she met him, has encouraged me to develop further angels all with different characters.

  Please note that I use British spelling throughout. You will see doubled letters (e.g. focussed), ou’s (e.g. colour) and ‘re’ (centre) as well as a few other differences from American spelling.

  I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

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  Loki’s Path

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  Chapter 1

  Jim and Annie huddled together under the enormous dreary grey bridge trying to keep their freezing bodies warm. December in London was an unforgiving place for the homeless.

  "Hey Jim" Annie said rubbing her grubby tatty glove covered hands together in an attempt to warm her ice cold fingers, " we should gather some stuff together to burn, it's going to be a bloody cold one tonight"

  Jim slowly stood up, his back aching and stiff, his bones chilled due to the stinging frost residing in the winter winds, "have you still got that lighter you found last week?" he said, his voice gruff and raspy his body bent over with the daily pain he experienced.

  Annie rummaged through the inside pockets of her heavily stained lime green coat in search of the desired object "here it is Jimmy boy" she shouted waving the yellow lighter above her head.

  Within half an hour Jim had found enough rubbish to create a fire in the battered metal container they had discovered the previous winter and brought to their home under the bridge.

  The fire eventually got going and they both stood over it, their hands quickly benefiting from the warmth. Jim adjusted his ragged wooly hat he received from the Salvation Army to cover his frost tinged ears, his long greying hair poked out from underneath it and his beard hung un-groomed from his face, something he was thankful for as it kept him warm.

  "The food was good tonight!" Annie exclaimed “roast chicken, hmm hmm!" she rubbed her hands together briskly and sat on the wooden crate that was her throne, Jim was not allowed to sit on her throne, he had his own seat a bucket turned upside down. They had argued for days the first time he tried to dethrone her, it was her special place. Her throne was her space in the world and everyone under the bridge knew this.

  "That Salvation Army lot sure know how to cook, yes sir, they do" Annie rubbed her stomach in appreciation of her food.

  Jim joined her and sat on his bucket "I went to the house today Annie"

  Annie rose her eyes up to the clear night sky "here we go" she said wearily "you always go to the bloody house Jim and you always say the same thing."

  Jims face became stony, a serious glare residing behind his eyes "I know they are corrupt, I just know it" he shook his hairy head and sighed "I just don't know why I know it."

  Annie leaned toward him looking up into his weather worn face "Jimmy boy, you are insane. You go to the house every day, you read cast off newspapers constantly and rant on about the government, how they are not in control, how they are owned by a secret society."

  "They are!"

  "I've known you for 2 years; you don't know how long you've been on the streets and you don’t remember how you got on the streets. Hell Jim you don't know how old you are and I know that your real name isn't Jim." she pulled her coat tightly up underneath her chin to protect herself from the stinging wind. "So why is it you know for sure that the government is owned by this secret society?"

  "Have you been reading my papers?" Jim asked her in an accusing tone, he got up from his bucket and with his bent over demeanor walked to the stack of black bin bags hidden behind the rusty column. He opened the top bag and lifted out a hand full of old newspapers "stay away from my papers! These are my evidence!"

  Jim began to scan one of the tabloids, muttering frantically to himself about top politicians making decisions that benefit the secret society and not the country. He returned the papers and rummaged through another bag, selectively taking out several newspapers and opening each one at a specific page. He hobbled as quickly as he could back to Annie and sat down

  "Look at this" he said urgently pointing to the picture of a man in the background of a photograph showing the Chancellor of the Exchequer, "look!" he insisted.

  Annie obeyed to keep him calm, she knew that he would start ranting on and on if she didn't placate him, "I'm looking, but what am I looking at?"

  "Him" Jim pointed to the blurred suited man in the background "he is one of them." He pointed to several images in different publications of politicians with the same man blurred in the background.

  "He's probably a body guard Jim"

  "No, no, he's not, he is one of the secret society" he leaned towards Annie, his voice moving to a whisper "he is their eyes and their ears." Nodding his head in confirmation of his own words, Jim shuffled towards the black bags and put his papers back in their protective lining.

  ****

  Loki hovered over Jim and Annie in the ethereal angel realm, observing their conversation and their predicament. His appearance was glorious as was the case with all angels both good and bad. His long wavy silver and jet black hair floated serenely, his magnificent silver wings like liquid metal were outstretched quivering slightly as they held his form in position.

  Jim was Loki's assignment which meant that he would have to take human form in order to guide this person along the path he was about to take, something Loki considered a privilege but it always caused him great shock when the transformation first took place.

  To become human meant that Loki would have to experience all the emotions, senses and limitations associated with being human. He never knew what form he would be given when the transition was complete; he always took delight in seeing his reflection, being given a form that only God knew perfect for the mission.

  Loki's eyes closed informing God that he was ready to start his assignment and ready to take human form. The transformational process lowered his angelic body to the ground just out of sight from Jim and Annie, invisible to them or any human beings. With his eyes still closed, Loki felt the metamorphism take place as the over flow of senses rushed through his body. It always amazed Loki how humans were able to live in this form with so many stimuli invading their space.

  The first thing Loki noticed was the coldness of the night air, how it stung the skin on his face and hands. He inhaled deeply, his brain being met with a rush of smells, alien to the angelic realm. The smell of the river to his left, the rubbish bins with their rotting food, the burning matter coming from the metal drum, the scents intertwining and rushing up through Loki's nasal passages hitting the synap
ses in his brain creating a burst of natural reactions that caused him to curl his nose up to the rancid food in the bins nearby.

  Eyes now open, experiencing the fierce scratch of the harsh night air Loki felt something brush up against his leg. A black cat was purring loudly and massaging its body against Loki's leg, animals seemed to sense he was not really a human being. Loki bent down and picked up the loving creature and drew in a sharp intake of air when he made contact with the silky fur coat of the animal. The sensation against his skin was sensual, relaxing and energizing as he gently stroked the cat now purring happily in his arms.

  "Hello beautiful creature" Loki said to the cat, and then he laughed aloud “it always amuses me when I hear a human voice come out of my mouth."

  Putting the cat down on the floor Loki was eager to know what he looked like. Looking down, he was wearing old scratched odd boots, a pair of faded, frayed jeans and a big thick brown jumper. On his head was a warm hat that had flaps covering his ears and numbing down the sound of the city.

  Loki felt his face with his freezing cold hands and searched around the area for a reflective surface, but none was to be found.

  "It's so cold, I need to get close to Jim and Annie’s fire right away." he said to the cat and made his way over to their fire.

  ****

  “Can I get a warm from you fire?”

  Annie looked at the stranger standing in the shadows briskly rubbing his hands together.

  “Come closer friend and get yourself warm”

  Loki walked out of the darkness towards the dancing glowing light of the fire, the increasing warmth tingled his body as he moved closer, his being appreciating the comfort brought forth by the heat. He always experienced a deep appreciation for humans when he was put on an assignment they had so much to deal with every second of their existence. Cold, heat, wind, rain, sun, emotions the senses, especially the senses; it amazed him how they computed smells, sensations, sights and noise all at the same time without extreme reactions.

  “Thanks” he said smiling at Annie noticing how slight her bodily frame was wrapped in her scraggy green coat.

  Annie stood from her throne and made her way over to the stranger. He was very tall about 6 feet 4 inches by her reckoning and despite his disheveled appearance, which was normal for their kind he had a kind handsome face that smiled appreciatively down into her deep brown eyes.

  “You look well fed for a street man” she said looking him up and down “where do you go to eat?”

  “Oh, erm, yes well I am new to this area. The kindness of strangers has kept me well fed, I’ve been pretty lucky really on the food front.”

  Annie nodded

  “What’s your name?”

  “Loki”

  “That’s a strange name, Loki you say?” Annie turned toward Jim, who was muttering to himself about conspiracies and secret societies “Hey Jim, come here”

  Jim stopped muttering and looked at Annie and the stranger, he was uncomfortable with new people, and he didn’t trust people easily. He stood and shuffled toward the fire, taking a good look at the tall man who has entered their section of the bridge.

  “Who’s this?” he asked, his voice defensive

  “This is Loki, have you ever heard of such a strange name?”

  Jim walked up to Loki and stared up at the man that towered over his bent frame “that’s a stupid name”

  Loki laughed, “Well it is the only one I have, and it was given to by my father.” Looking kindly into his assignments eyes he asked “and what is your name?”

  Jim growled at Loki and looked accusingly toward Annie; he began chanting a series of numbers over and over, which he did when he felt nervous or insecure

  “080719650807196508071965”

  “Be nice Jim!” Annie barked “we’re all in this together, the man only wants to get warm and it’s bloody freezing tonight, and stop that chanting!”

  Loki extended his hand toward Jim “nice to meet you Jim, and thanks for sharing the warmth” but Jim just went back to his bucket muttering as he went

  “Stupid bloody name” he said under his breadth “don’t like strangers, don’t trust them, could be working for the government, they may know that I know too much”

  Annie smiled at Loki, her teeth blackened through neglect, but her sentiment was true, he could sense that she was a good person who was living in difficult conditions.

  “And what’s your name” Loki asked retaining her friendly smile

  “Annie.” She extended her mitten covered hand to greet the newcomer “my name is Annie”

  “Hey Annie, you wouldn’t have a mirror would you? I know this may sound a little crazy but I have not seen my own reflection in a while and I am anxious to know what I look like.”

  “Sure do have one” Annie rummaged through her coat until she located a small cracked compact mirror, “I found this in a bin last month, thought is may come in useful, here” she handed Loki the small broken mirror.

  Loki stared at his reflection and smiled. His face was dirty and he had stubble over his chin. His eyes were pale blue and his lips full; by his reckoning in this human form he was about 35 earth years of age.

  “Yeah, that’s still me!” he said handing the mirror back to Annie.

  “You are a funny one” she replied replacing her precious mirror into her inside coat pocket.

  “How did you come to live on the street Annie?” Loki had done his homework for the assignment and new that it was socially acceptable to ask this question when talking to the homeless, they all had a story and series of events that had led them to their situation. Annie was only too happy to tell him her sad series of events.

  “I’ve been homeless now for 10 years. I had no parents and was brought up in a children’s home. That was goddam awful I can tell you” she frowned and nodded to emphasize her point

  “they threw me out at the age of 16 and I went on the game.” She continued, ”I worked in one of the brothels in Soho, earned good money and had a roof over my head with regular meals. I was one of the lucky ones.” She waited to witness some sort of shock or distain in Loki’s eyes, but he just stood there listening, no judgment to be seen or words crossed his lips. She continued.

  “I stayed there for about 5 years, and although I was really thankful to have a roof over my head and regular food in my belly, I was ashamed.” Her head lowered as the words left her lips, “I prayed to God every night for release, but he never answered.” Looking back into Loki’s face she said “do you believe in God?”

  “Yes I do, in fact I know there is a God, and I talk to him every day”

  “What does he say to you?”

  Loki smiled, he knew her faith was weak, but she had no idea of how God worked, how could she?

  “He tells me to keep my faith that everything is as it should be. He tells me there is a time for all things.”

  “Yeah?” Annie gave a small laugh “are you a religious nut Loki?”

  “No I’m not. I just know what I know and believe in the bigger plan.” Loki looked around to see if there was somewhere he could sit, his human body was feeling tired. He found an old cushion and gave it a pounding to release as much dirt as he could. Putting the cushion by Annie’s throne and sitting he said “continue with your story Annie” and he indicated for her to sit.

  “One night a punter wanted me to do stuff that I just wasn’t going to do, you know the type, public school, rich upbringing, spoilt with more money than sense,” she flopped onto her crate “and I thought to myself that life on the streets seemed like a better proposition. God was nowhere to be seen, nobody was there to help me, and I knew that if I stayed that I would be doomed to a life of abuse. The streets seemed like a much better option. I knew that if I agreed to all that bad stuff, things would just get worse and as I got older I would find a way to justify my actions.”

  “So you are just 31 years old?”

  Annie nodded a wry smile fell upon her face
“underneath all of this dirt and grime is a 31 year old little girl at heart. You know Loki in the whole of my life I have never ever owned a toy, isn’t that sad?”

  “What toy would you have Annie if you could have any toy in the whole world?”

  “Paints and paper” she answered, “I always wanted to be an artist, so I would choose paints and paper.”

  Loki nodded and smiled “yes I believe you are an artist.”

  Jim was over by the fire again warming his hands, the night air was getting colder and they would have to search for more materials to burn. Loki nodded towards Jim

  “What’s Jim’s story?”

  “Well Jim is a strange one. All I know is that his earliest memory is waking up down a dark alley three years ago. He doesn’t know how he got there; he must have been attacked because he said he had a massive bump on the back of his head. He didn’t know his name, he knew nothing.”

  “Then how does he know his name is Jim?”

  “He doesn’t, I gave him that name when I met him about two years ago. He’s totally paranoid, and a little insane, believing there is a big conspiracy theory going on in government. He’s a good man though; we look out for each other all of the time.”

  “Interesting story” Loki said looking at Jim as he began gathering up more burnable materials. Of course Loki knew the truth about Jim, his name, his life before the streets and the path he needed to ensure Jim walked.” Loki stood up and began searching for stuff to burn. He found a broken pallet not too far away and handed it to Jim “here you go, that should keep us warm for the rest of the night.”

  “0807196508071965….0807 thanks” Jim took the wood and fed the fire still quietly ranting out his series of numbers.

  Chapter 2.

  Jim moved across Westminster Bridge with purpose. His body constantly ached but he was on a mission, he felt drawn every day to the Houses of Parliament, there was no rhyme or reason for it except that he knew in his mind that corruption was at the heart of the democracy.