Grace of the Magician: Pt. 6

"Loki?" Seneca asked as they boarded the elevator to the main level.
"Yes, Seneca?" Loki said, pressing the floor and turning to her.
"Are you sure-"
"-that Agnes isn't the child of the prophecy?" Loki flicked a switch on the elevator, and it stopped moving. Lowering his voice, he said "For awhile, we believed she was. A year or so before her candidacy, I visited her home on Earth one night. It was near a time called Easter. She'd stayed up late preparing a small basket for her younger sisters. I sat at the table with her and tried talking to her. At first she was icy and reserved, but after I showed her some magic and convinced her of my identity, she became more open-minded. I had with me two items of prophecy, the Leaf Key and your necklace. After explaining what they were, I had her choose one. She picked up the necklace to examine it. As soon as she touched it, an explosion tore the dining room apart and rendered her unconcious. It was clear this was not her prophecy, and such a powerful reaction to the necklace warranted that she was the child of another major prophecy. I revived her, gave her the key, fixed the dining room and left right as her mother ran in. She saw me and recognized me from her family tree, though not understanding the enormity of the situation she'd just witnessed."
"Agnes is-is-related to you?!" Seneca exclaimed. "I thought-"
"Never mind that," Loki said, shushing her urgently. "Very distantly, and Agnes doesn't know."
"And her mother-"
"She saw the key in Agnes' hands. Remembering strange stories about me from her great aunt, she knew her daughter would never have a normal life."
"That must've been awful to accept!"
"I imagine it was. To have a god, any god, let alone me, show up in your house unnanounced in the dead of night... that must've been jarring.
"Well, Seneca," Loki said, flicking the switch and restarting the elevator "now you know why Agnes isn't the prophecy child."
Seneca was saved from responding by the elevator opening up to the bustling main level.
"Shall we?" Loki said, gesturing for Seneca to follow him out.

---

"Welcome back, Prince," the man at a large design table said, looking up from his lunch. "What do you need?"
"I'm not making a request today," Loki said, motioning for Seneca to step forward from where she'd been observing the main level quietly. "My student is."
"Is this the Seneca I've been hearing so much about from Agnes the past few minutes?" the designer said, smiling down at Seneca, his black eyes shining with happiness. "I'm honored to meet you, child."
"The honor is mine," Seneca replied, smiling back up at him. "You're the Master Designer?"
"Correct. What shall we make for you today? A staff, perhaps?"
"I have a design in mind, for a spear," Seneca replied, reaching for the stylus on his table. "May I?"
"Please," the Designer said, standing back to watch her draw.
Seneca drew swiftly and skillfully on the glowing blue glass screen, drawing the spear to size. Three feet long, tipped with two jagged, moderately bowed platinum crescents, forming an eye shape. Between the blades rested a medium sized diamond, encircled by three smooth platinum crescents. The shaft was shaped like the body of a snake, very slightly cuved. Runes were carved on the blades and around the shaft, constantly changing.
"Exquisite," the Designer said, examining the diagram after Seneca finished. "Do these runes-"
"-tell a story? Yes, they do," Seneca said, smiling with pride.
"I'll get this to our craftspeople immediately," the Designer said, transferring the design to a graphics tablet and handing it to a passing courier, who gave him a note. Reading it, he said, "You two should get going, you're wanted at the Armory."

---

"Hello, Sif," Loki said, leaning against the front desk in the Armory lobby. "You requested me and Seneca?"
"Yes," Sif replied, picking up a stylus and scribbling something on her silver graphics tablet. "Follow me to the second floor, Seneca's armor is finished."
The three of them stepped into an elevator, waited a few moments and stepped out into a long room with several platforms. Sif helped Seneca up onto one and pressed a button on a panel. The wall behind her slid open, revealing a set of armor. It looked exactly like Loki's, except with silver and blue.
"Your father mentioned to me you wanted it like this," Sif said, helping her with the straps as Seneca put it on. "That's why we never personally fitted you."
"It's beautiful," Seneca said, pulling on the leather and silver jacket and donning the cape. A courier rushed in and handed off her newly-finished spear, Thor at his heels.
"We're under attack!" he yelled, hammer in hand and dressed for battle.
"By what?" Loki said in surprise.
"Demons, I believe!"
"Seneca, come!" Loki said, running out the door after Thor and Sif. Seneca tailed them, gripping her spear. A voice echoed in her head:
"The prophecy is coming to pass."