Текст книги "Loki's Wolves"

Автор книги: Kelley L. Armstrong

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

Matt dove into the fog, the gray wrapping around him, everything else disappearing. He heard a grunt to his left and turned to see a Raider girl charging him, knife raised. Something hit her from behind, and she fell face-first, Fen on her back. Fen plucked the switchblade from her hand, folded it into his pocket, and leaped up.

“Come on, Thorsen,” Fen said.

Matt didn’t move.

“I’m rescuing you,” Fen said. “Again. Don’t make me regret it. Come on.”

Matt backed away.

“What the—?” Fen began.

A Raider leaped through the fog. Just a kid. Matt took him down. Then Fen grabbed his sleeve.

“We need to go,” Fen urged. “The twins can’t hold the fog forever.”

Matt paused. “That’s them?”

“No, it’s natural. Just does that out here.” Fen sighed in that annoying way of his before adding, “Yeah, it’s them.”

Matt hesitated. His brain said he shouldn’t trust Fen, but he did. He just did.

He took a deep breath. “Okay. Is Laurie safe?”

Fen’s face darkened, and Matt felt a stab of annoyance. Fen seemed to hate it when Matt worried about her. Did he think Matt had a thing for Laurie? He’d set him straight on that later. Maybe Fen’s world was different, but in Matt’s, you could have a girl as a friend without thinking of her as a girlfriend.

“ ’Course she’s okay,” Fen snapped. “I take care of her.”

And so do I, Matt wanted to say. But he knew better.

“Okay, we need to get Baldwin and—”

“Got him,” said a voice. Laurie appeared with Baldwin beside her.

Fen scowled. “I thought I told you to stay—”

“Yeah.” Laurie rolled her eyes. “And someday you’ll learn that I don’t always—”

Two Raiders lunged from the fog. Matt took out one. Baldwin and Fen nearly knocked heads going for the other. A right hook from Fen sent the Raider back into the fog with Matt’s.

A growl sounded somewhere in the fog, another joining it.

“I need to get the shield,” Matt said.

“What?” Fen said. “All this and you don’t have it?”

“They took it back,” Baldwin said.

“I’ll grab it,” Matt said. “Laurie, open a door. Take the others through. I’ll follow.”

Laurie said nothing, and Matt peered through the thin curtain of fog between them. “Laurie?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do,” she said. “Open a door. I can’t.”

“Okay.” Matt took a deep breath. “Um, I’ll get the shield. You guys just… go back to where you were hiding before.”

“Can I go with you?” Baldwin asked Matt.

“Fen?” Laurie said. “I want you to go with Matt.”

“No. I’m making sure you get back—”

“Go with Matt. Please.If they’re changing to wolves, you need to do that and stay with Matt.” She stared directly at her cousin. “I’m going to catch my breath and open a door for us. Baldwin will be with me.”

Fen seemed to realize there wasn’t time for arguing. He nodded and gruffly told Baldwin to watch out for Laurie. Baldwin promised he would, and they slipped off into the fog. Fen went away, too, leaving Matt to fend off a Raider before returning in wolf form and quickly dispatching another.

They made their way to Skull’s tent. Matt had no idea where to even find it in the fog, but Fen must have been able to smell it. Matt wondered if the Raider would have put the shield somewhere else, but as he followed Fen, he could feel his amulet’s tingle, telling him they weren’t quite that bright. The shield was still in Skull’s tent.

Matt emerged from the gray to see the tent… and two hulking Raiders standing guard.

The bigger one grinned. “Skull said you wouldn’t leave without getting what you came for.” He raised his voice. “Hey, Sk—”

Before he finished the word, Matt hit him with the same blow Skull had used on him—straight to the solar plexus. Never anything he’d use in a fair fight, but this wasn’t fair. And it shut the guy up fast. Before the second one could raise the alarm, Fen burst from the fog and took him down. Then he snapped at Matt, and Matt didn’t need a canine translator to tell him what Fen had said. Get your butt in that tent and grab the shield.

Matt found the shield right where it had been the last time—under the blankets. He didn’t heft it over his shoulder; he held it the way it should be held, protecting his body as he stepped out. He was just letting the flap fall behind him when a small Raider came charging from the fog. As if instinctively, Matt raised the shield… and the kid plowed into it headfirst and staggered back, dazed.

Matt motioned for Fen to follow him into the fog, but Fen motioned back, jerking his muzzle from the shield to the kid. Telling Matt to bash the guy again. Matt looked at the kid—maybe eleven—holding his head and blinking hard, and when he thought of hitting him again, he felt a little sick. He might have come a long way in a few days—he had no problem hitting a little kid or a girl if he had to—but that was too much.

He shook his head. When Fen started to lunge at the dazed kid, Matt grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. Fen snarled and snapped, then snorted, yanked free from Matt’s grip, and ran into the fog. Matt followed.

They’d barely gone three steps before the kid shouted, “They’re here! By Skull’s tent! They have the shield!”

Fen growled back at Matt, as if to say That’s what I was afraid of, but didn’t slow down. It was okay anyway. They were deep in the fog, and as long as they kept running awayfrom the camp…

Matt caught a glimpse of a dark shape to his right. He turned to hit his attacker, only to realize the guy was about twenty feet away, running in the other direction. There were more shapes around him, some in human form, some in wolf. The fog was lifting.

Of course it was. It wasn’t smart to split up any more than they had already, so Ray and Reyna would have gone back through the doorway with Laurie. There wasn’t anyone casting the spell.

At least the Raiders were running in the opposite—

“There!” a girl shouted.

Matt and Fen sped up. As they did, Matt mentally calculated how many he’d seen. Four Raiders and two wolves, he thought. None were bigger than him. Maybe they could fight before others joined—

He glanced back to see at least nine shapes, two more appearing from the left. Okay, notstopping to fight, then.

“Fen!” It was Laurie’s voice from somewhere ahead. “Matt! I’ve got it. The door is open!”

“Go through!” Matt shouted back. “We’re coming!”

“I’ll get the others through and hold it open!” Laurie called.

“No! We’ve got Raiders!” Matt glanced back at the growing mob behind him. Two wolves were leading the pack, closing the gap. “And wolves! Get through!”

Silence. Was she going to listen? Or would she think he was exaggerating? Wanting her out of harm’s way because she was a girl? A week ago, he’d have done that, but he’d come to realize Laurie was pretty good at taking care of herself. She might not be big, and she might not be able to turn into a wolf or launch Thor’s Hammer, but she was smart.

The problem was that he’d given her the You’re a girl—we must protect youline so many times that when there was real danger, like now, she might not believe him. It was like the little boy who cried wolf—he glanced back to see the two big canines almost at his heels now—or wolves.

Go through the door, Laurie. Please just go through the door.

Ahead he could see the clearing. And in the middle of it, a shimmering circle of color—the door. There was someone standing outside of it. A figure barely distinguishable through the last veil of fog.

“Laurie!” Matt shouted. “Jump through—”

“It’s me!” Baldwin called. “I stayed to help fight in case this thing closes—” He looked behind them, and his eyes rounded. “Whoa!”

Matt couldn’t help chuckling as he ran. “Go through. We’re right behind you.”

Baldwin waited until they were there. Then, with Fen, they dove through together. They hit the other side, tumbling together, Matt catching a claw scrape across his arm, Fen letting out a grunt as Baldwin’s foot connected with his stomach. They lay there for a second, catching their breath, until Matt heard Laurie say, “Um, guys…” He looked up to see the door gone. And in its place? Two very confused wolves were sitting in Baldwin’s backyard.

“How do you like thattrick?” Laurie said to the wolves. “Maybe I can’t change into a big, hairy monster, but you have to admit, that is cool. And useful.”

The wolves started, as if just realizing they weren’t alone. They looked from face to face. One bolted, racing across the yard and vaulting the back fence. The other growled, fur rising, head down. But after another sweep of the seven faces in front of him, he turned tail, too.

“Grab him!” Matt shouted as he launched himself onto the wolf’s back.

Baldwin let out a whoop and grabbed the wolf by the tail. The wolf spun and dislodged Matt, but he grabbed a handful of fur with one hand. Then Matt twisted and clocked the wolf on the top of the muzzle. It was a trick his dad taught him for dealing with strays or coyotes. The wolf let out a yelp of pain. With both hands holding on now, Matt dropped over the wolf’s side and yanked the beast down. It didn’t stay down, but after some wrestling—with help from Baldwin—Matt got the wolf pinned. Then Baldwin sat on it, grinning like a big-game hunter. Astrid laughed. Even Ray and Reyna smiled at the sight.

Fen walked from behind the shed. He was in human form and shaking his head.

“Yes, I know,” Matt said. “I keep attacking things that can kill me. It is kinda fun, though.”

Baldwin grinned. “See, I’m not crazy.”

“Yeah, you are,” Fen said. “Thorsen’s just the same kind of crazy. I guess we should be happy you two didn’t try taking on the whole Raider camp yourselves.”

“We were working on it,” Baldwin said. “But you totally ruined our fun. Spoilsport.”

Fen rolled his eyes. Then he pointed at the wolf. “What’s with the captive?”

Matt looked at the captive Raider, and when he did, he felt like letting out a whoop of his own. He didn’t, of course. That wasn’t very leaderlike. But he still felt that whoop deep in his gut. The sweet thrill of success.

We did it. We got the shield. We got the descendants. We’re close to getting Odin, and he’ll help us with the rest. We did it, and I led the charge, and I didn’t screw things up. I made mistakes, but I learned from them.

I can do this. I really can do this.

“Hey, Thorsen,” Fen said. “I asked you a question. What’s with the captive?”

Matt smiled. “I want to question him.”

“Question him? What are you? A cop? Oh, wait…” He gave a disgusted snort and walked over to the wolf. “What do you expect him to tell you?”

“Everything he can. What the Raiders’ plans are. Why they wanted the shield. Why they wanted me. Why they want Ragnarök to happen.” Matt paused and stared at Fen. “Most of all, who they’re taking orders from.”

“Orders?” Fen said. “The Raiders don’t take orders from anyone.”

“I think they are. Skull said something about taking me to meet someone.”

Fen shrugged. “Other Raiders, I guess. There are more of them. Packs.”

Astrid stepped forward. “I think Fen’s right. From what Odin told me, the Raiders are on their own here. They’re representing Loki in the final battle. Loki was in charge of the monsters. No one madehim do anything.”

“On second thought,” Fen said, “Thorsen might have a point. Skull’s a good Raider leader. But leader of all the monsters going into Ragnarök? No way.”

Astrid turned on him. “You can’t give it up, can you? I say something, and you disagree. I agree with you, and you change your mind. I could say the sky was blue, and you’d insist it was purple.”

“No, it’s not.” Fen pointed up at the night. “It’s black.”

Astrid went to stalk away, and Matt started leaping off the wolf to go after her, but Laurie motioned for him to stop.

She grabbed Astrid’s arm. “We need to work together. I agree that we should question the Raider. I have no idea if there’s some big, bad puppet master pulling the strings, but even if there isn’t, this guy can tell us something useful. I’m sure he can.”

Baldwin nodded. “I agree. So how are we going to do this?”

TWENTY-THREE

FEN

“THINGS FALL APART”

The Raider, Paul, had turned back into a human shape, and Matt had dragged him over to Baldwin’s shed. Fen and Matt stood staring down at the Raider. Behind the prisoner, Baldwin dug around in a big cardboard box, muttering as he did so.

Matt asked a bunch of questions—all of which Paul completely refused to answer—while Fen assumed the job of enforcer: he knocked Paul back to the ground every time he tried to get up and escape.

Although he’d been raised around fights and harsh discipline, Fen felt horrible all the same. At least Laurie wasn’t at the shed to see him like this. He hadn’t even hurt Paul, just kept him from escaping, but Fen knew that Matt was too much of good guy to beat answers out of anyone. Not that Fen was bad. He just wasn’t as good as Matt. Plus, there was a pack order here; whether anyone admitted it or not, Fen knew that Matt was in charge. So Fen stood silently and waited for Matt to decide what they needed to do.

“Aha!” Baldwin blurted.

Fen glanced at him and shook his head. At least Baldwin wasn’t freaked out by the whole capture-the-enemy thing. He’d tugged out a dingy shirt with straps on it and was untangling it from a string of Christmas lights.

“It’s a straitjacket,” Baldwin said in reply to Fen’s glance.

All the while, Matt kept talking, asking about the Raiders’ plans, their travels, where Mjölnir was, and why the Raiders wanted the shield. It was a waste of time; Raiders didn’t betray their packs. Fen knew that, and he respected it. If the situation had been reversed, if it had been Matt or Fen taken captive, Fen was positive they wouldn’t talk, either.

“He’s not going to talk,” Fen said quietly. “Skull and Hattie will kill him if he does.”

“We won’t let them,” Matt insisted. He turned to Paul and added, “You tell us, and we’ll protect you.”

Paul snorted and made a rude gesture.

“Here.” Baldwin held up the straitjacket thing in one hand. He looked utterly unabashed as he announced, “I went through a Houdini phase. This is an escape-proof jacket.” In his other hand he had a roll of duct tape. “And this will keep him from yelling. My parents aren’t back till tomorrow, but if the neighbors heard yelling out here, they might call my mom.”

“I’m… not sure…” Matt began.

“Let him sit out here and think about it,” Fen suggested. “We can go in, eat, and try to reason with him later.”

“I could eat,” Baldwin interjected.

After a moment, Matt said, “Okay.”

With relief, Fen slapped a piece of tape over Paul’s mouth, and then he and Matt wrestled him into the jacket.

“Go ahead in,” Fen suggested to Matt. “Let me give him some wolf-to-wolf advice.”

“Okay, but then I want to talk to you,” Matt said very quietly.

With as little emotion as he could, Fen said, “Sure.”

Then Matt nodded, and he and Baldwin left.

Fen stared at Paul, trying to force the younger wulfenkindinto submission, and said, “Think about it, Paul. Whether you tell us or not, Skull will beat you to find out if you did tell. You could stay here. Don’t be stupid.”

Paul snorted through his gag and rolled his eyes.

“You’re making a mistake,” Fen said, and then he stepped out of the shed and pulled the door closed behind him.

There weren’t a lot of times in Fen’s life that he’d ever felt like he belonged. Sure, with Laurie, he had, but even there, he’d had to keep a lot of secrets. Being part of a team, being one of the descendants of the North, being destined to do something real and important felt awesome—and Fen had a sinking feeling that it was also about to end. The way Matt had looked at him when he said he’d wanted to talk made it pretty clear that one of the Raiders had told Matt about Fen.

As he walked toward Baldwin’s house, Fen admitted to himself that he should’ve told Matt and Laurie about the Raiders and the deal with delivering Matt, but he couldn’t. Now, he wasn’t sure what to say orwhat Matt knew. He liked Matt well enough, all things considered, and even if he didn’t, he respected him. That didn’t mean he wanted to have their little talk in front of everyone. A trickle of fear crept over him at the thought of not only being kicked out, but of everyone hating him.

What if Matt thinks I’m a traitor? I didn’t do it, at least not the worst part.

Fen wasn’t sure what Laurie would do. She’d been the most important person in his life for as long as he could remember, his partner in trouble, but it wasn’t just the two of them anymore. She trusted Matt now. Fen paced across the porch and back into the yard, thinking about the situation. Baldwin was cool. He’d be decent no matter what. The twins were unpredictable; they were growing on him, but they were still pretty apart from the group. Astrid gave him a bad feeling; he didn’t care what she thought of him, but the others seemed to like her. If the Raiders said something that Matt believed, if the others listened to the Raiders, things could easily turn against him, and although he wasn’t going to admit it aloud, he didn’t want to be kicked out. He needed to talk to Laurie and Matt.

He had his hand out to grab the doorknob to go into the house when the door opened. Laurie stood there, scowling, and the trickle of fear exploded. “What?”

“I’m tired of this,” she started. She closed the door behind her and walked over to Fen.

“Of what?”

“You acting like I’m unable to take care of myself at all!” she exclaimed. “You can’t keep doing that.”

Every worry about being asked to leave intensified. If he left, he was taking Laurie with him. There was no way he could leave her here without him. Uncle Stig, Kris, the whole family really, they’d all hate him if Laurie got hurt—or worse.

“Yeah? Well you could’ve been hurt,” Fen growled.

Laurie poked him in the chest. “So could you, or Matt, or Baldwin—”

“Actually, I couldn’t,” Baldwin interrupted.

Fen looked around in confusion.

“Up here,” Baldwin said. He was leaning out of an upstairs window, staring down at them. “Matt could’ve been hurt, and both of you. The wolves really seemed to hate you, Fen. They said you were on their side and you gave them the shield.”

Fen and Laurie turned to stare at Baldwin at the same time.

“If we have time, like later or something, could you open a door so I can see some mistletoe?” Baldwin asked.

Without looking at his cousin, Fen knew she had the exact same incredulous expression on her face.

“No,” Fen said levelly.

Baldwin held up both hands in a placating gesture. “Just a thought!”

“A dumb one,” Fen snapped, but then felt instantly guilty when Baldwin looked crushed. Of all the descendants, Baldwin was the only one who didn’t actually irritate him. It was some strange result of who he was– everyoneliked Balder in the myths—but knowing that there was probably weird god stuff in the mix didn’t make it less real.

“I’m going to order pizzas,” Baldwin blurted. “That’s what I came to ask. Do you want anything special?”

“Whatever you want,” Fen said, as nicely as he could. He felt embarrassed because Laurie was watching, but it wasn’t Baldwin’s fault he was weird any more than it was Laurie’s fault she opened doors or Fen’s fault he turned into a wolf. Fen glanced up at Baldwin. “I’m sorry.”

Baldwin grinned. “It’s fine.” And then he wandered off, calling out questions about pepperoni and olives.

Once he was gone, Fen and Laurie were left alone on the porch. It was hard being around Laurie now that she knew his secrets, hard being around all these people, and hard trying to be himself without upsetting any of them. He braced himself for her to yell at him about the Raiders.

But instead of jumping on the things Baldwin had just said, Laurie continued on with the rant she’d started when she’d come outside: “You need to trust me, Fen. I don’t want to die, and I don’t want any of you to, either, but if we don’t stop Ragnarök, we all will. So, if we are going to stop this, we all have to do the things we can do. I’m part of this, and you need to deal with it.”

“I just want to keep you safe. Thorsen does, too,” Fen muttered.

“Matt’s coming around. Maybe you could try to do the same thing,” she suggested.

Fen grunted. “Maybe you could stay where it’s safe. I’m the descendant who hasto fight, not you.”

She stood up and glared down at him. “Fine! You fight, but don’t you even try to act like I’m not helping, too. I opened that door that got us the shield that yougave the Raiders.”

Fen glared right back. She had heard what Baldwin had said; he’d thought for a moment that she’d missed it. He shook his head. “Your skill is to open doors, to escape. How are you going to protect yourself from the monsters that keep coming?”

She blinked away the tears he could see forming in her eyes. “We’re a team. We rescue each other and fight together. That’s what teams do. That’s how we’ll stop Ragnarök. You’re a wolf. Think of it like a pack.”

Thinking about packs was the problem. For most of his life, the most important person in his life was Laurie; he’d always figured they’d be a pack of two once she transformed—or that he’d hide what he was to keep her safe if she didn’t become a wolf. He might not have parents, but he did have a sorta sister in her. If he was going to be a good packmate, a good almost-brother, he’d have to keep her safe, so if she wasn’t going to let him protect her, maybe it was best to go home, leave the world-saving to Thorsen. “Well, maybe I don’t want to be part of this pack! Maybe we ought to both go home, where it’s safe.”

“You’re such an idiot! There is no safeanymore. The world is ending.” She went inside, slamming the door and leaving him outside. He was alone, and he told himself that it was what he wanted, that he didn’t want to be part of any team—except that the moment she left, he had to admit to himself that it wasn’t what he really wanted at all. He just didn’t want Laurie to get hurt—or to find out what he’d done and hate him.

Fen rubbed his hand over his face. He was sore, bruised, tired, and, if he was totally honest, he was scared. It was one thing to deal with the Raiders, but it was another to think that if he failed—if anyof them failed—the world would end. That was a lot worse than getting smacked around a little. At first, he’d thought Skull and Hattie were crazy, talking about the end of the world, but now that he was in the middle of a fight against them to stop the end of the world, it felt so… big.What if Matt asked him to leave? What if he didn’t, but they failed? What if the serpent killed Matt? What if they went up against trolls or mara or who knew what else and Laurie got hurt? What if Baldwin died, like in the myths? What if he or Laurie somehow turned evil or whatever because they were Loki’s descendants? How do you even know if you’re turning evil?He closed his eyes and tried not to think about any of the questions he couldn’t answer, especially the last one. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there before the door opened. He expected it to be Laurie or Baldwin, but when he turned his head to look, he saw Matt.

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out you stole the shield?” Matt asked. “You could have told me. Then you could have come into the camp with me.”

“I wasin the camp. I saved your butt, Thorsen. Again. I’m not sure what you mean, but—”

“Don’t,” Matt interrupted. “I get it now. You offered to get the shield back alone. Then you didn’t want to come into camp. You didn’t want me to know you were involved with the Raiders.”

“Wolves pay dues,” Fen said. “That was mine and Laurie’s. I didn’t know the shield mattered, just that I needed to get it.”

“And the part about delivering me?” Matt asked.

Fen froze. He’d known it was a bad idea to go after the shield, but he hadn’t thought Skull would actually tell Matt. What? Did he stop midfight for a heart-to-heart?Fen growled low in his throat. “I didn’t, though! I fought at your side against Raiders. I tramped all over with you and fought monsters at your side. I mighta agreed to deliver you, but I didn’t do it.”

They faced off. Fen’s heart was racing like they were fighting, even though all they were doing was staring at each other.

Finally, Matt rolled his shoulders and nodded. “Okay. I believe you. But no more secrets. We’ve gotta be a team now, trust each other, watch each other’s backs so no one gets hurt.”

Fen wanted to say something smart, to pretend he hadn’t been wrong, but he couldn’t. He would feel horrible if someone got hurt because of him, and he did want to save the world. He lifted a shoulder in a small shrug, but he stayed silent.

“At Ragnarök, Loki was Thor’s enemy,” Matt said. “But in other stories, they were friends. They traveled together. They fought side by side. We need to be that version. Friends.”

And Fen didn’t know what to say, so he settled on, “Whatever.”

Matt turned and left, and Fen half expected Ray, Reyna, and Astrid to all come out to lecture him about something else. It felt like everyone wanted to tell him what he had done wrong or, worse yet, what he would do wrong.

Twenty minutes later, when the pizza arrived and Baldwin came out to pay for it, Fen took one of the two boxes and followed Baldwin into the kitchen. Astrid was already in there.

“I got everything out,” she said. She pointed at the counter where plates, napkins, glasses, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and red-pepper flakes were all lined up neatly.

“Thank you,” Baldwin said.

Astrid beamed at him. “You did everything. This part was easy.”

“Suck-up,” Fen muttered.

Instead of snapping back at him, Astrid turned her supercharged smile at him. “Oh, and thank you, too, Fen, for being you!”

He snapped his teeth at her, and she left the kitchen.

After Astrid had left, Fen said, “I don’t trust her.”

“You don’t trust anyone,” Baldwin said.

“Not true.” Fen picked up a slice of pizza and took a bite. “I trust Laurie, Thorsen… and you.”

Baldwin shrugged. “Sure, but everyone trusts me. It’s like the not-getting-hurt thing. I don’t think I count. Matt’s our leader. You might not like Astrid, but she was right about that. He’s the one who’s going to lead us into the big battle, right? You kind of haveto trust him, or you wouldn’t be here.”

Fen knew Baldwin was right, but he still didn’t like Astrid or the twins. Maybe wolves don’t like witches?He chomped the pizza while he thought about it. He’d ask Matt about that later. Right now, he just wanted some downtime. Baldwin was cool about the talking thing, too. He wasn’t pushy, like Laurie and Matt were.

“Food?” Reyna—or maybe Ray—said as the twins came in. They were more of a single entity than made sense to Fen.

Everyone else followed. Laurie, Matt, and Astrid were laughing at something, and Baldwin stood there grinning in that way of his that made Fen want to get along with the witch kids. Maybe he was just being difficult.

“Do you want to pick a movie with me?” Baldwin gestured toward the door with a slice of pizza.

Fen nodded and grabbed another slice.

They abandoned the kitchen to the others and headed to the living room to figure out what to watch. They had a better chance of avoiding some girly nonsense if they picked it while all three girls were in the kitchen. It was nice to have someone on his side, too. Laurie seemed so mad at him, and Matt wasn’t exactly mad, but Fen thought that was only because he’d decided not to be. He’d looked pretty hurt over the whole Raiders thing.

I’d like to pound Skull.

“Fen?”

He looked at Baldwin, who was pulling movies out of a cabinet.

“You’re growling again,” Baldwin said. “It’s a little weird.” Then he held up both hands so Fen could see the options. Star Warswas in one hand; in the other was a movie with an explosion on the cover and another with a cowboy on it. “Space or Earth? Monsters or humans?”

“Any of them. Just nothing about dances or anything”—Fen made air quotes with his fingers—“heartwarming.”

They got the movie set up just as everyone was coming into the living room. Astrid flopped down on the floor. Ray and Reyna were on the sofa with Laurie. That left two chairs. Matt, being Matt, offered one to Astrid—who laughed and told him, “You take it. I’m happier on the floor.”

Fen opened his mouth to make a remark, but Baldwin spoke hurriedly, “Come on. They didn’t bring out the red-pepper flakes or cheese.”

After they both snatched pieces out of one of the boxes, Fen offered, “I can grab it.”

“Okay,” Baldwin agreed—but he still headed to the kitchen.

They found the jar of red-pepper flakes sitting on the counter right where it had been.

“I love this stuff,” Fen said.

“Me, too! Mom doesn’t, but I go through jars of it.” Baldwin held out his slice of pizza, and Fen shook pepper flakes onto it.

As they walked back into the living room, Baldwin took a bite of pizza and immediately started coughing.

“Baldwin, are you okay?” Matt asked.

Baldwin clutched at his throat.

Laurie grabbed her water and held it out. “Here, wash it down.”

But Baldwin lunged toward Fen, grasping his arm so hard that he all but knocked Fen to the ground.

“Maybe he swallowed wrong.” Fen pounded Baldwin’s back.

Fen took Laurie’s glass of water and tried to help Baldwin drink.

That wasn’t helping either, so Fen switched to trying to do that Heimlich maneuver they talked about in health class. Matt understood and pushed everyone else back. As Baldwin flailed his arms around, the glass of water fell and shattered on the floor. Baldwin was clawing at his throat with one hand and grabbing Fen with the other.

And then he… stopped.

He stopped grabbing Fen, stopped moving, and stopped breathing. He just stopped.

Fen felt Baldwin’s body droop and lowered him to the floor. He tried to feel for a pulse and didn’t find it. Frantically, he pounded on Baldwin’s chest like he’d seen in TV shows. In movies, that worked. People pushed on the chest and what…? Fen thought for a moment. They blew air in the person’s mouth. Fen put his hands into a fist and pushed hard in the middle of Baldwin’s chest. Nothing happened.