Текст книги "Loki's Wolves"

Автор книги: Kelley L. Armstrong

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

Fen glanced behind him, and then he nodded, apparently satisfied with what he saw—or with what he didn’t see.

As her cousin reached past her, she looked back, too, and realized that no one had followed them onto the ship. She wasn’t sure where the wolves had gone, but they weren’t here now. Maybe they’d had the sense to seek shelter, too. Being caught in a tornado could be deadly for a wolf, just as it could for a person.

Together, Matt and Fen tugged the door open. Matt’s arms were tight as he held on to the door, and Fen had to brace a foot on the wall, but they had the door open. Fen gestured with his head, and even though she couldn’t hear what he was saying, she knew it was some version of You go first.

She scrambled inside, fumbling in the dark, and felt someone bump into her almost immediately.

“Sorry,” Matt muttered as he steadied her. “Steps. Be careful.”

The door crashed shut, taking away any light. She’d already seen that there were steps. They were all standing on a small landing, and another foot in front of her steps descended into the still deeper darkness of the ship. “How many steps?” she asked Matt.

“Maybe twelve. Just follow me.”

“You can’t see any better than I can.” She rolled her eyes, even though neither of them could see. Boys had some pretty ridiculous ideas about what girls could do. She might not be able to wrestle—or turn into a wolf—but she was just as capable of climbing down the steps as they were. Unless… “Can either of you see?”

Fen snorted. “My vision is better than regular people’s, but when it’s this dark, I’d need to be a wolf to see.”

“Right,” she murmured. She started to laugh at the strangeness of… well, everythingtoday, but stopped herself. Fen was prickly on the best of days, and he was as likely to think she was laughing at him as not. The sound that started as a laugh ended like a cry.

“Are you hurt?” Fen sounded less worried than he would have if Matt weren’t there, but she knew him well enough to know that he was alarmed.

“I’m fine.” She sighed. It was hard to stay mad at him sometimes; he’d made it his personal goal in life to look out for her, to be there whenever she needed anything. He was a combination of her best friend and brother. She tried to push the hurt further away and said, “Bruises, but that’s all. I think. You two?”

Matt shrugged. “Like going a few rounds in the ring. No big deal.”

Fen snorted. “Yeah, right.”

Matt ignored him and said, “Just feel with your foot. We’re right behind you.”

“Let me pass,” Fen demanded. “I can go first in case—”

“I got it,” she cut him off, and eased her foot forward. The only way he was going to stop trying to shelter her from everything was for her to push him more.

Between the darkness of the storm and the lack of lights inside the ship, she had only her sense of touch to guide her. She made her way down the steps, counting as she went.

“Twelve,” she said when she reached the bottom.

She heard and felt them reach the bottom, too. They stood there in the dark, not speaking. Behind them and above them, she could hear the pinging and thumping of things hitting the wood, and the roar of the storm outside. She wasn’t sure if the boys were scared, but now that they were out of the storm and away from the wolves, the fear of what could have happened hit her, and she shuddered. We’re fine, she reminded herself. Right now, we’re just fine.

She felt around with her hands, but she wasn’t sure what would be down here. Was it storage? Things she’d knock over? And even if it wasn’t, did she want to fumble around in the dark and then have to fumble back to the steps when the storm ended? She ended up standing still.

She hated waiting in the dark while a storm tore around outside. Twisters were scary in a way that blizzards weren’t. They had those in South Dakota, too, but those mostly just meant school was canceled or delayed. Sometimes, there were whiteouts, where the wind blew the snow, and everything was a white blur outside. That was the thing, though: it was outside, and she was safe inside. Tornados were different. Inside wasn’t the same sort of protection from a storm that destroyed buildings. She shivered.

Immediately, Fen’s arm went around her. “It’ll be okay. We’ll get out of here.”

She nodded even though he couldn’t see it and then whispered, “I’m mad at you.”

He growled, and now that she knew he was a wolf sometimes, it sounded somehow more like a real growl. “There are rules. I couldn’t tell you unless you changed, too.”

Quietly, she asked, “Does the whole family change?”

Fen was quiet for a minute. “No, only some of us.” He butted his head into hers, and for the first time, she realized that the gesture was one an animal would make. She’d known it was an odd thing that the Brekkes all did, but she hadn’t made the connection before now. Their version of affection was because they were part animal.

When she didn’t respond, Fen added, “Don’t be mad. Please?”

Matt’s voice saved her from answering. “We can sit over here.”

There was no way to tell how long they would have to wait. They were all wet and cold, and once the storm left, they still had to deal with werewolves– Were they werewolves? Or were they just wolves?She wasn’t sure the term even mattered. “So are you a Raider, too, then? That’s what they all are, right? The Raiders are all wolves.”

“I’m not one of them,” Fen spat. “I follow my ownrules, not theirs. They’re wulfenkind, too, but I’m not joining them. I pay my dues… and yours, so I don’t have to join them.”

“ Mydues?”

She felt him shrug next to her, but all he said was, “No big thing. Once we figure out if you’re going to change, you’ll either pay, join, or go lone-wolf—like Uncle Stig.”

“ Dadis… that’s why he’s always gone?” Laurie felt like everything she’d known was suddenly different. Maybe it wouldn’t have made things easier, but so much made sense now that she knew the family secret. “He could pay them and stay here? Why doesn’t—” She stopped herself. They had other things than her father to deal with right now, but she couldn’t help adding, “I’m not joining them. I can tell you that… and neither are you, Fen Brekke. You think I’m mad now? If you join them, I’ll show you mad.”

He didn’t answer, but he gave her a brief one-armed hug. She’d told him she cared about him. That was all Fen ever really needed when he was worried: to know she cared.

A click in the dark was followed by a flash of fire. In Fen’s hand was a lighter. It wasn’t exactly him saying Let’s change the subject, but it did the trick all the same.

“How long have you had that?” Matt asked.

Fen shrugged.

The light it cast was scant, but she could see stacks of boxes and more than a few cobwebs. Nothing particularly interesting, and then the light went out.

“Did you see any candles?” Matt asked. “Or a lantern?”

“We could burn one of the boxes,” Fen suggested.

“Don’t even think about it,” Matt said. “Give me the lighter, and I’ll look for—”

“Yeah, right. I don’t think so, Thorsen.”

“If we’re going to work together—”

“I don’t remember agreeing to that,” Fen interrupted. “I saved your butt with the Raiders, but that doesn’t mean—”

“You saved me? Were we at the same fight?”

“Stop. Just stop,” Laurie interrupted. “You’re both better than the other one. Now, we can stay here and wait for the monsters to—”

“Wolves,” Fen muttered. “Not monsters.”

“Well, since you didn’t even tell me, how would I know that? And they weren’t being friendly, were they? How would I know what you act like as a wolf, since you hid it from me?” She poked him repeatedly as she spoke.

Fen flicked the lighter again and looked at her.

“You lied to me.” Laurie folded her arms over her chest.

“Um, planning?” Matt reminded them quietly before her glare-fest with Fen could turn into an ugly argument. “Laurie’s right. We need a plan.” He took a breath. “I know this is going to sound crazy, but we need to work together. Quick version: Ragnarök is coming. We have to find the rest of the gods’ descendants. We have two already—I’m the stand-in for Thor, and Fen is for Loki. That’s what the Norns told me tonight.”

“The Norns?” Laurie interjected.

“They’re the ladies in charge of everyone’s fate,” Matt said. “I talked to them, and that’s how I knew I needed to talk to Fen.” He stopped, took a breath, and added, “Look, I know Loki and Thor weren’t always friends in the myths, but they could work together.” He paused and turned to Fen. “I’m guessing you know the Brekkes are descended from Loki.”

The lighter clicked off, so they couldn’t see each other again. Laurie was glad they couldn’t see the shock on her face. Loki? The god Loki? From the myths?She pinched her arm to make sure this wasn’t like her weird fish dream. It hurt, but she was definitely awake—and apparently the only one surprised that their ancestors were real gods.

“Yeah, and that Thorsens don’t think we know.” Fen sounded smug. “Guess you didn’t know some of us kept Loki’s skill in shape-shifting, either. We might have only kept the wolf, but it’s a lot more useful than most of Loki’s shapes.”

Matt let it drop. “So we need to find the other descendants and stop Ragnarök. If we don’t do something, the world will end. They’re not here in Blackwell, so we need to go find them. Are you in?”

Laurie tried to not freak out over the things they were talking about. It was bad enough that Fen had hidden that he was a wolf, but then Matt said the god thing and the whole world-is-ending thing. She’d thought the worst trouble they had to face was theft of a shield. These were much bigger problems. When she could finally speak, she asked, “Why were the wolves after us?”

Neither boy said anything for a moment. Then Matt said, “Maybe they know we’re the god stand-ins.”

“Or they’re just out starting trouble,” Fen added. “You’re a Thorsen, and that means you’re the enemy to wulfenkind.”

“I’m not your enemy, Fen.”

At that, Fen flicked the lighter on again. “Why should I believe you about any of it?”

“I don’t lie,” Matt said simply.

“Fen, I think we can trust him,” Laurie started.

The lighter went out.

Laurie knew that Matt was telling the truth. Somehow, it just made sense to her. Believing it was as easy as believing that she and Fen were descendants of the long-dead god Loki. She wasn’t sure why she was so sure, but she was. The question was how she could convince her stubborn cousin.

Before Laurie could say anything else, though, Fen said, “Fine. If it’s a choice between working with you or the world ending, I can put up with you for a while.”

Although Laurie knew Fen was trying to sound like he didn’t really care, she knew him. That was the voice he always had before he was about to go and do something colossally stupid. It meant that he expected something crazy or dangerous to happen. Proof positive that he expected true trouble if he joined up with Matt came in Fen’s very next sentence: “We need to get Laurie home first and—”

“Are you joking?” All of her anger and frustration came roaring back. She shoved him so hard he fell sideways.

Fen flicked the lighter on and glared at her.

“No,” she snapped. “Don’t even start! You can’t expect me to stay here.”

He sat up, lighter still flickering with its small flame, and began his list of objections. “Come on, Laurie. You’re not the one who has to do this. It’s dangerous, and you don’t have a way to protect yourself.” He jabbed Matt in the arm. “Thorsen has his knockout thing. I have teeth and claws. You’re just a girl, and Uncle Stig will kill me if you get hurt.”

“You’re not going anywhere without me,” Laurie insisted. Fen might think he was keeping her safe by leaving her behind, but she knewthat he wasn’t safe without her. Between his temper and his recklessness, there was no way he could avoid trouble when he was here in Blackwell. Once he was on the road running from other wolves and who knows what—or who—else, he’d be in trouble she couldn’t even begin to imagine.

The lighter died again.

“Why would I risk you getting hurt?” Fen asked. She heard the fear in his voice that he always thought he hid, and she understood, but it didn’t matter. She wasn’t letting fear—his or hers—stop her. He needed her.

Laurie tried to think of an argument. She felt like she was missing something obvious, and then it hit her. “I met Odin,” she blurted. “Oh. Wow. I thought he was just a weirdo, but I met Odin. Remember? I told you I met a stranger who acted like he knew me.” She filled them in on her whole conversation with Odin and was surprised by how quiet Fen still was when she was done. “Fen?”

Fen flicked the lighter on one more time.

“I’m coming with you, Fen,” she said. “I know what Odin looks like, and he said I’d see him again, so I’m supposedto come.”

Fen opened his mouth to say something, no doubt an objection, but she folded her arms over her chest and used the one thing she knew he couldn’t ignore: “What if the Raiders come back, and I’m here alone? They know who I am, and I’m not a wolf. How am I supposed to fight them on my own?”

“I don’t have a problem with it,” Matt said. “We can take care of her.”

“Take care of me?” Laurie sputtered.

“Yeah,” Fen snarled. “If you’re coming, next time there’s a fight you stay out of it. If they’re up there right now, you let Thorsen and me handle it. Or you can stay here, where it’s safer.”

“Safer?” Laurie echoed. “Did you listen to anythingI said?”

“About as well as you did to what I said,” Fen muttered.

They sat in tense silence for a few moments until Matt pointed out, “Sounds like the storm’s ended. Let’s get out of here.”

Cautiously, they started up the stairs. Matt was in front, and Fen was behind her.

When they stepped outside, they stopped and looked at the destruction all around. A lot of the shields on the side of the ship were thrashed. Trees were uprooted. A car was overturned. The stop sign at the intersection had been flung halfway down the block.

Laurie didn’t see any wolves, but people were already appearing, and she wasn’t sure which ones were the ones who became wolves. Fen hadn’t technically agreed to her coming, but she wasn’t going to wait for him to stop being difficult. She looked at him and said, “We need to get out of here before the wolves find us. We’ll stop at home, grab some clothes and whatever money we have, and then figure out where to go.” She glanced at Matt, who was now squirming. “Look, if you’d rather tell your dad, we can—”

“No,” he interrupted. “It’s just… I can’t go home.”

Laurie and Fen exchanged a look.

“You’re a Thorsen. Just walk in, get your stuff, and pretend like you’re going to the gym or something.” Fen shook his head. “I know you’ve probably never told a lie in your perfect life, but I can talk you through it. Easy as falling off a pedestal.”

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 wantRagnarök 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 waitthis 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.

TEN

MATT

“NIGHT FRIGHT”

Matt 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 notlook 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 notfine.”

“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.

“Everything is under control.” Say it often enough, and I might even start to believe it.“Just go back to—”

“Shhh!”

Matt looked over at her. “Huh?”

Laurie opened her mouth to say something, but another Shhh!came from beside her as Fen sat up, scowling. His head cocked. He motioned around them.

When Matt frowned, Fen’s scowl deepened. “Are you deaf, Thorsen? Stop yammering and listen.”

Matt did and heard the faint rustle of grass. He was about to say it was just the wind, but Fen already thought he was a clueless rich kid. When he listened more closely, he heard a thud, like…

He wasn’t sure what it sounded like. Not the wind. Not a scurrying rabbit, either. It wasfamiliar, but only vaguely, some memory locked deep in his brain.

Then another noise: a click-click, like dice knocking together.

“I’m going to take a look,” he whispered.

Fen shrugged. “Whatever.”

When Laurie gave Fen a look, he said, “What? He offered.”

Laurie began getting up. “I’ll come—”

Fen caught her arm. “The more of us go, the more noise we make. Thorsen can handle it.”

Matt squared his shoulders and gave what he hoped was a confident nod. Then he slipped to a patch of bushes, crouched, and made his way along. He’d gone only a few steps when he heard the clicking again. Then a snort. A bump. All three sounds came from different directions. He tried to take another step, but his body wouldn’t listen, frozen in place.

His amulet had started to vibrate again, like it had with the Norns, only it felt different. It felt like trouble.

A whisper sounded behind him. Matt looked back to see Laurie leaning toward her cousin, her gaze on Matt as she whispered something. He couldn’t hear the words, but he could imagine them. Thorsen can’t do it. He’s scared.

He wasn’t usually so jumpy—he’d been camping plenty of times. But after last night, he couldn’t be sure it was just a wild animal out there. It might be… well, there were lots of things it might be. Norse myths were full of monsters.

He gritted his teeth and resumed walking, straining to see in the dark, leaning forward until he almost tripped. Then he glimpsed a huge pale form just beyond the forest. It had to be at least seven feet high and almost as long.

That’s not possible. Nothing’s that big.

Nothing natural.

But there was nothing natural about giant serpents and kids who turned into wolves.

Something had tracked them down. Some monster. His mind whipped through his mythology books. Trolls. Frost giants. Berserkers.

Another snort to his left. When he turned, he could make out a second huge pale shape. And a third behind it. And a fourth…

He swallowed.

They were surrounded. These things had found them, and now—

“I come for Thor’s son. Send him out!” It was a woman’s voice. But not like any woman’s voice he’d ever heard. There was no softness to it. It was as harsh as the caw of a crow.

He took a slow step back.

“You!” The pale beast moved to the forest edge. “I see you, boy. You cannot be the one I seek. The son of Thor does not cower in shadows.”

Anger darted through him, and he almost barreled out to confront her. He stopped himself, but after that first jolt of Are you nuts?he thought maybe that wasn’t so crazy after all.

Fen must be able to hear the woman. He’d know they were in danger and that Matt was the target. He’d take his cousin and run. And that, Matt reasoned, was probably their only chance.

Matt strode from the forest. “I am a son of…”

As he stepped into the moonlight, he found himself staring up at a white horse bigger than any he’d ever seen. On its back was a woman. But not like any woman he’d ever seen, either. She had bright red hair that rippled and snarled around her pale face. Her cheeks were stained with what looked like handprints. The horse was painted with them, too, handprints and lines and swirls that shone blue in the moonlight.