Loki's Wolves (2 page)

“Well, too bad. I’ve got a big match coming, and I need to save my strength for a real opponent.”

Matt started to turn. As he did, he heard a growl like a dog’s, and he saw Fen lunge, eyes glinting yellow, teeth bared. Matt wheeled. The heat of the amulet flared in a wave of fury that turned his world red.

He felt the power surge down his arm. Heard the crackle. Saw his hand light up and tried to pull the power back.

Too late.

The white-hot ball shot from his hand and exploded with a boom and a blast of wind that sent Matt tripping backward. Fen flew right off his feet. He hit the longship hard, his head whipping back, striking the side with a thud. Then he crumpled to the ground.

Laurie yelled something, but Matt couldn’t hear the words. She raced to her cousin. Matt did the same. Laurie dropped beside Fen, took him by the shoulder, and shook him. Fen groaned, his eyelids fluttering.

“Is he okay?” Matt said, crouching beside her.

She stood up, lifted her bag like she was about to slug him with it. “You knocked him
out
.”

“I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. I—”

“I don’t know what kind of trick that was. Throwing that light thing to blind him before you hit him? You call that fair?” She scowled. “Exactly what I’d expect from a Thorsen.”

“I didn’t—”

“Whatever. Just go. Fen’s not swiping anything tonight.” She looked at him. “Or do you want to call your dad to lock us up?”

“Of course not. I just—” Matt swallowed. “We should get him to the doctor.”

“You think he can afford a doctor?”

“I can. I’ll—”

“We don’t need anything from
you.
Just go away,” Laurie snapped.

“But if he’s—”

“Go. Get out of here.”

He pushed to his feet and hesitated, but she was still glaring at him, and Fen was coming to. Matt probably didn’t want to be around when Fen woke up. So he mumbled another apology, backed away, and left them alone.

L
aurie helped Fen up from the ground. Her cousin wasn’t ever good at accepting help, and being knocked on his butt by Matt Thorsen of all people wasn’t helping matters. The two of them had a natural dislike of one another that she didn’t always understand, but
this
time, she got it. Matt was a jerk.

“I’m going to kill him,” Fen snapped for the third time in as many minutes. “He thinks he’s so special, but he’s just a spoiled rich kid.”

“I know.”

“I could take him.” Fen climbed back over the side of the ship.

She didn’t tell Fen he was wrong. She wasn’t going to be disloyal, but they both knew Matt was a better fighter. Matt was like a Rottweiler to Fen’s back-alley mutt: the mutt might try its best, but the bigger, stronger dog was the one likely to win.

All she said was, “We need to get out of here before he tells his dad and we get arrested.”

He ignored her and continued ranting, “We’ll see who’s smart when I find him alone after school.”

“Getting arrested
or
getting detention isn’t going to make you seem very smart,” she said, as calmly as she could.

“Maybe I won’t get caught.” Fen stared down at her. He had the bag in one hand, and the other hand rested on the shield he’d been prying loose when they’d gotten to the park.

Laurie dropped her gaze to the weathered ship that stood outside the Thorsen Community and Recreation Center. “What were you thinking? We could’ve ducked. I know you saw him.”

“I’m not afraid of him.” Fen stood aboard the ship and stared out at the town.

Laurie shivered. It wasn’t hard to think of Fen as a Viking Raider. She wasn’t shaking as badly as she’d been when she’d told Matt to shove off, but she still felt all twitchy, like the time she’d grabbed a frayed electrical cord in Uncle Eddy’s garage. She stared up at Fen. “His dad is the
sheriff
. He could
send you away… or tell the mayor. You know Mayor Thorsen hates our family.”

“I’m not afraid of any Thorsens.” Fen straightened his shoulders and gave her a look that reminded her of Fen’s dad, her uncle Eddy, which wasn’t a good thing. Uncle Eddy never backed down from a challenge. She might not know exactly what he’d done to end up in prison, but she’d bet it had started with a challenge.

He tugged on the shield. “I can’t get it loose.”

“Just leave the shield alone!” She rubbed her hands again.

“Fine.” He hopped over the side of the ship and came to stand beside her.

Laurie didn’t always understand her cousin, but she knew that he had a stubborn streak that led him—and often her—into trouble. That wasn’t what they needed. “Matt’s not worth the hassle.”

With a soft snort, Fen said, “You got that right.”

“So you’ll stay away from him
and
the shield? I don’t want you to get into anything.” She looked at him, hoping for a promise that didn’t come, and when he stayed stone-silent, she gently bumped her head into his shoulder and immediately felt silly.

But then Fen butted her head with his and said, “I’m okay.”

She paused. That’s what she’d meant, some combination of
I’m worried, you fool. Are you okay?
and
Talk to me.
Fen got
it. Her dad’s side of the family always seemed better at communicating without words. Her dad did, too—when he was around, at least, which these days wasn’t very often.

“Come on,” he said. “You need to get home anyhow.”

They started toward her apartment building. She wouldn’t have time to walk Fen home, but even if she did, he wouldn’t let her. He was the older brother she didn’t have, determined to protect her even as he drove her crazy. Most of the Brekke side of the family treated her like she was something to be shielded. Even though she didn’t see them, she knew they watched out for her. No one at school ever gave her grief, and she was pretty sure that Fen had let it be known that he’d pummel anyone who started anything with her.

“I miss seeing everyone,” Laurie said quietly. Aside from Fen, she only really got to see her dad’s family when she passed them in town. Fen was in her class, so they saw each other at school, but there were no family barbecues, no parties, no even stopping by for a chat. Her mother stayed clear of the Brekkes, and since her dad was off on one of his never-ending trips, Laurie wasn’t able to be around the family, either.

“Everyone misses you, too… and Uncle Stig.” Fen didn’t mention her half brother, Jordie, or her mom, of course. The Brekkes hadn’t quite rejected Jordie, but he wasn’t
family
to them. He was proof that her mother and father had separated, that her mother had tried to move on, but that hadn’t
worked out. Now, her mom let her dad move back in every time he came to town.
He
treated Jordie like a son, not as much as he did with Fen, but still he accepted Laurie’s brother. The rest of the Brekkes weren’t that cool.

“Has Uncle Stig called lately?” Fen asked. There was so much hope in his voice that Laurie wished, not for the first time, that her dad would try to remember to call Fen, too. Of course, he didn’t remember to call her most of the time, so expecting him to do much else was silly.

“A few weeks ago. He’s coming to see me soon. That was what he said, at least.” Laurie ducked her head.

Fen nudged her with his shoulder. “He’ll come.”

“Unless he doesn’t,” Laurie added. Both were equally likely. Her father came and went as the mood struck him; he called or sent presents if he thought of it.

“Maybe he’ll stay for a while,” Fen suggested.

And Laurie knew the part he didn’t say,
and then I can stay with you
. Fen had no real home. Uncle Eddy had been locked up the past few years for some crime no one would talk about in front of either of them, and Aunt Lillian had packed her bags years ago. Fen moved between the relatives like a bag of hand-me-down clothes. When Laurie’s father was around for a while, he was likely to invite Fen to live with them. Once he left, Fen moved out. Laurie’s mother never
said
he had to go, but Fen always did—and her mother never stopped him.

“Can you just try not to fight with Matt? Or anyone?” she blurted.

Fen stopped, gave her a look, and then resumed walking.

“It’ll be easier if you don’t fight with him.” She grabbed Fen’s forearm. “Mom worries about your influence on Jordie, and if Dad does stay, it’d be nice if you came home, too.”

They rounded the corner and were almost at her apartment building. The drab beige building sat like a squat stone giant from one of the stories that they all had to learn in sixth-grade English class. Fire escapes that the landlord insisted were scenic balconies clung to the side of the building. The red and blue swaths of spray-painted graffiti were the only colors to be seen.

Fen gave her a quick hug, a sure sign that he was feeling guilty, before he said, “I’ll try to keep out of trouble, but I’m not going to sissy out.”

That was the best she could hope for. Fen didn’t really look for trouble, but it found him—and her—more often than not. Or maybe they simply didn’t resist trouble very well. That was what her mom thought.
I
can
stay out of trouble, though.
She’d had a few visits to Principal Phelps and that one little misunderstanding at the lockers, but mostly, she’d stayed out of trouble lately, which would totally change if she started spending more time with Fen.

He didn’t have many friends, so she always felt bad when she didn’t hang out with him, but she felt just as bad when
she was grounded all the time. He didn’t get into half as much trouble when she was around him, but she got into twice as much. Like tonight, all she knew for sure was that he’d said he needed her with him, and she’d come along. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to break the shield or take it. With Vetrarblot—the big festival for the start of winter—coming, either one would be a problem.

Laurie ran up the stairs to her apartment. Her mother was working nights at the hospital, so one of the neighbors, Mrs. Weaver, stayed with them after school, but she didn’t really enforce the whole get-home-right-away thing. She did, however, insist that Laurie be in the apartment before Jordie went to bed. Laurie took a couple more deep breaths as she ran up the rest of the steps to their fourth-floor apartment. It wasn’t quite high enough to have an elevator, but it was enough steps to complain about, as far as she was concerned. If they ever got hit by a tornado—which was a risk in South Dakota—she was pretty sure they’d all die. The apartments all had storage units in the basement, and her mother swore they could get downstairs fast enough if the time came, but that was five floors’ worth of stairs. They’d waited a couple storms out in the storage unit, but mostly they stayed upstairs in the apartment, waiting and listening, and planned to run down all those steps if necessary. It was a bad plan.

She thought about that as she reached her floor, unlocked the door, and went inside. The lights were off, and the flicker of the television cast strange flashes of light into the room. Even though Mrs. Weaver would be leaving soon, Laurie still locked the door.

“You’re late,” Mrs. Weaver said as Laurie walked into the living room.

“Is Jordie asleep?”

Mrs. Weaver shook her head. “Unless he’s started snoring in the sounds of explosions and spaceships, no, he’s not asleep.”

“Then I’m not late,” Laurie pointed out. “Curfew is before Jordie’s asleep, so—”

“Nice try, missy.” Mrs. Weaver’s mouth was trying not to curl into a smile, though.

Laurie opened the door to her little brother’s room. Piles of books and toys were everywhere, but Mom wouldn’t yell at him. Jordie was her “little angel,” the baby who didn’t worry her. If his school called, it was to say what a great job he did or what award he was getting.
He should’ve been a Thorsen.

“Good night,” she said. “Stop blowing things up.”

“A volcano blew up for real!” Jordie squirmed in his bed, flopping over so he could see her.

“A what?”

“Volcano.” Jordie made another explosion noise. “The whole top blew off like a rocket. Isn’t that cool? Lava and smoke and—”

“Mom doesn’t like you watching the news.” Laurie sighed.