Loki's Wolves (13 page)

Laurie hid her sigh of relief. If Fen was focused on Matt, he’d stop being a pain about her going with them. She felt a little bad for Matt, but better Matt having to put up with Fen’s teasing than her needing to fight about being left behind in Blackwell.

“I’m okay with lying, Fen,” Matt was saying. “It’s just… My family…” He took a deep breath. “They don’t expect me to kill the Midgard Serpent. They expect me to die. And, apparently, they’re okay with that.”

For a moment, no one spoke. Fen’s characteristic rudeness vanished, and Laurie wasn’t at all sure what to say. The Thorsens were perfect; Matt had a family, a big family, who treated him like he could do no wrong. Carefully, she repeated, “They’re okay with you dying.”

“They told me I was going to be the one to stop Ragnarök,
but I overheard my grandfather”—he paused, and then he spoke really quickly, all his words running together, as he looked at them both—“when I was with one of the Norns. My grandfather and the town council
want
Ragnarök to happen. Granddad wants me to fight the Midgard Serpent. He wants me to defeat it—so the monsters don’t take over the world—but he expects me to die trying, just like in the myth. Then an ice age will come, and the world will be reborn, fresh and new.”

“After almost everyone dies. That’s messed up.” Fen shook his head. Then he looked at Laurie and said, “We’ll go to your place first. It’s closest. He and I will stay outside. Aunt Janey won’t let you go anywhere with me. Then we’ll stop by the garage for my stuff.”

They didn’t have to worry: her mom wasn’t home, so Laurie left a note and they headed to Kris’ place. Leaving Blackwell seemed scary, but the other descendants weren’t here—and the Raiders were. Plus, there was the whole Matt’s-family-wanting-the-end-of-the-world problem. Leaving home was necessary.

But she was still nervous, and she was sure the boys were, too.

Once they had backpacks and a couple of sleeping bags they’d borrowed from Kris’ garage, she turned to the boys and asked, “Okay, where to?”

The boys exchanged a look. Neither spoke. Day one and
they were already lacking any sort of plan. They had no idea what to do. They were kids and supposed to figure this all out… because Matt said his family and some women claimed he and Fen were to defeat monsters. It was crazy. No one was saying it out loud, but she suspected they were all thinking it.

Fen turns into a wolf.

There was that one detail, proof that the crazy was real, that kept her from thinking it was all a great big joke. The rest of her “proof” was just her instincts and a conversation with a blue-haired boy. It wasn’t much. The wolf thing was real, though. She’d seen it.

After a few moments, Matt said, “I can do this.”

“Riiiight.” Fen drew out the word. “Didn’t we already decide that?”

“Not
that
,” Matt said. “Maybe I can…” He stood straighter. “I’ll talk to my brothers. They’ll know about this. They’re smart. They can help.”

“Are you sure?” Laurie asked.

Matt nodded, but she didn’t believe him, and from the look on Fen’s face, neither did he.

“I’ll go with you,” Fen suggested. “You”—he looked pointedly at Laurie—“need to stay out of sight in case the Raiders come back.”

She wanted to argue, but she was pretty sure that Fen
wouldn’t need much of an excuse to decide to leave her behind. She nodded as meekly as she was able. “Fine.”

This time
, she added in her head.
I’ll hide and wait
this
time.

Fen and Matt both looked tense, but she knew they were trying to hide it. They had a start of a plan of sorts. For now, that would have to be enough.

This is going to be a disaster. The world is going to end because we don’t know what to do.

M
att stood on the corner, looking at his house. For the first time in his life, he realized how much it looked like every other house on the block. Each was painted a different color, but otherwise, they were identical—split-level houses with single-car garages and exactly the same size lawns, sometimes even the same flowers now dying in the same size gardens.

“Come on,” Fen whispered. “We don’t have all night.”

Matt tried to hurry, but his feet felt like they were made of lead. Shame burned through him. Some champion he was, too frightened to even face his family. That was nothing new, but—like looking down this street—it felt different
now. Maybe it was because Fen was here, and he was seeing things like Fen would, just a bunch of nice houses, all in a row. Just an ordinary family living in the third one down. Nothing special. Nothing to be afraid of. Not for a kid who was destined to fight a giant serpent.

Matt took a deep breath and imagined Jake standing there.
Man up
, he’d say, like he always did, with that look on his face, like he couldn’t believe they were actually related.

Man up.
Matt wasn’t sure what that meant exactly, but he was pretty sure Fen would say the same thing.
Stop dragging your feet like a baby and start acting like a man.

Matt straightened and started forward before Fen noticed him hesitating.

“Wait,” Fen said. He was even more prickly now that Laurie wasn’t with them.

Matt ignored him. He wasn’t trying to be rude; he needed to keep moving or it’d be morning and he’d still be on this street corner.

“I said
wait
,” Fen snapped, and moved in front of Matt. He looked left and right, head swinging.
Like a wolf
, Matt thought.
Watching for trouble.

“Back,” Fen said.

“What?”

Fen shot him a glare and motioned him back around the corner, behind the Carlsens’ garage.

“Raiders,” he said.

“What?” Matt repeated, and then caught himself before he sounded like a total idiot. He took his voice down a notch like Jake did sometimes. “The Raiders are there?”

“Watching the house. We gotta go back.”

Which was, Matt admitted to himself, exactly what he wanted. Forget grabbing stuff from his house. He’d happily stay in the same shirt and jeans for a week if it meant he didn’t need to face his family.

Coward.

He peered out.

“I said—” Fen began.

“Just taking a look.”

“Because you don’t believe me?”

“No, I just—”

“Who’s the guy who can see better at night?” Fen asked in a voice that sounded a lot like a warning growl.

“I know, I just—”

“Look at the house on the other side of yours. By the garage.”

Matt peeked out and saw a young Raider hiding in the shadows.

“Three of them,” Fen said. “Maybe more. Skull’s not with them this time.”

“Skull?”

“The leader. He was at the field.”

“Right.” Matt remembered the big Raider and was glad
at least he wasn’t here, but still, three Raiders were three too many. “We need to draw them off.”

“Um, no, we need to get out of here before they see—”

“You go,” Matt said. “They’re looking for me. If they don’t see me come home, they’ll think I snuck in later. They might go after my family.”

“So?”

Matt looked at him.

“Isn’t this the family that was going to sacrifice you to a dragon?” Fen asked.

“Serpent. Well, it’s kind of like—never mind. My brothers don’t know. They can’t.”

“Are you sure?”

He was certain Josh didn’t know. But could he help? He was only sixteen. No. He had to do what Jake would. Man up. Protect his family. Prove to them that he could do this.

“I’m drawing the Raiders off,” he said. “They need to know I never went home. That’ll keep my family safe.”

Fen snorted.

He thinks I’m an idiot. I shouldn’t care. But I do.
Matt shook his head.
Doesn’t matter. I’m still a Thorsen. Family comes first.

“You go on,” Matt said. “I’ll—”

“Walk,” Fen said.

“What?”

Fen made a move, as if to shove him. “Go. Move. Pretend you’re walking home.”

Matt stepped out and started down the sidewalk. It took a moment to realize Fen was beside him. When he did, he started to protest, but a look from Fen shut him up.

“So, um, how’s…” Matt struggled—and failed—to think of any sports or clubs Fen was in. “School. How’s school?”

Fen looked at him like he’d asked how he liked ballet lessons.

“Mr. Fosse is being a real jerk this year, isn’t he?” Matt continued.

“What the—?” Fen began.

“I’m making conversation.”

“Seriously? We’re on the lam together, Thorsen. Not buddying up.”

“I’m doing it for them.” Matt jerked his chin at the Raiders. “So it looks normal.”

“Us talking does
not
look normal,” Fen pointed out.

They continued in silence. It took a minute before the Raiders noticed them. Matt kept going, like he hadn’t seen the figures sliding from behind the neighbor’s garage.

“I’ll just grab some clothes and a toothbrush,” Matt said, as loudly as he dared. “Then we’ll run away together. I mean—”

“Shut it, Thorsen,” Fen hissed. “Just shut it.”

There were five Raiders. They’d all come out now. Matt looked straight at them.

“Uh, Fen?” he said. “Aren’t those the—?”

“Go.” Fen wheeled and ran, Matt racing after him, the Raiders giving chase.

They managed to ditch the Raiders before they got back to Laurie. Then, as they were heading out of town, they saw them again. It didn’t seem as if the Raiders noticed them, but they weren’t taking a chance. They ran from Blackwell and didn’t look back.

Late that night, Matt awoke smelling the sharp tang of wet grass. A distant coyote yipped. Beside him, someone groaned in sleep.
Camping
, he thought.
I’m camping.

He started to drift off again, then he felt the wet grass, dampness seeping through his sleeves, and he bolted upright, remembering his father yelling at him for leaning his knapsack against the tent.

Anything touching the tent lets in the rain. You’re not a child, Matthew. It’s time you stopped acting like one.

Matt scrambled up, trying to see what he’d left against the tent this time. But there was no tent. He was looking up at shards of night sky through the treetops. He blinked hard as he struggled to focus. Then he looked over, saw Laurie and Fen, and it all came back.

He heard the Seer’s voice:
Our champion is Matthew Thorsen.

Then Granddad:
My grandson is being honored in the highest
fashion, and he will do us proud, and he will take his place in the halls of Valhalla as a champion with the long-dead gods. As a hero. Our hero.

Matt’s stomach lurched. His foot slid on the wet grass, and he went down on his knees, his stomach tumbling with him. He fell onto all fours, retching.

Mistake. It’s gotta be a mistake. They wouldn’t do that. Not Mom. Not Dad. Especially not Granddad.

But even as he denied it, his stomach kept heaving, a thin trickle dripping as he coughed.

“Matt?”

He pushed up fast, his hand swiping the dribble from his mouth. Laurie sat blinking at him.

“You okay?” she asked quietly. After a moment’s pause, she added, “Or is that a dumb question?”

“I’m fine.” He wiped his mouth harder and straightened, letting his voice drop an octave. “Sorry about that. Just… fair food. Corn dogs taste great, then you wake up in the middle of the night, feeling like they were made from real dogs.”

She didn’t smile, just kept peering at his face in the darkness. He tried to straighten more. He couldn’t let her see he was scared. She was a girl. She had to be protected. That’s what Dad always said.

“Everything’s fine,” he said.

“Um, no. It’s not,” she said. “You and Fen nearly got killed by Raiders. We all nearly got killed by a tornado. And
now we’re sleeping in the woods, resting up so we can fight to stop the end of the world. Things are
not
fine.”

“But it will be. Everything is under control.”

No, it’s not, you idiot. You have no idea what you’re doing. No idea where you’re going. Morning’s going to come soon, and they’re going to find out you don’t have a good plan. You don’t have any plan at all.