Loki's Wolves

by K. L. Armstrong

  “No phone,” Laurie objected. “Aspirin. Then we can wrap my arm or something. If we go to a hospital, they’ll call the cops, and we just can’t.”

  “We’ll fix it.” Ray stepped closer to the bed.

  Fen put himself in front of Laurie and bared his teeth. The only thing keeping him on two legs was the realization that he couldn’t speak if he became a wolf.

  “It’s okay, Fen,” Laurie said. When he didn’t reply, she snapped, “Fen!”

  He glanced over his shoulder at her. He whimpered before he could stop himself.

  “We’ve got this one, puppy.” Reyna walked over to stand beside her brother. “No hospital needed. Honest.”

  “Let them pass,” Laurie said gently.

  And Fen wanted to say something rude, but the truth was that if they could take that too-pale look away from Laurie’s face, he would owe them. He did, however, look at Matt—who had now left Astrid to stand with Fen beside the bed.

  Matt looked as worried as Fen felt. That, at least, made Fen feel a little better. If there was trouble, he wouldn’t be alone in dealing with it.

  “Don’t touch her while we do this,” Ray cautioned.

  And then the twins stood on either side of the bed where Laurie lay. They clasped hands, right-to-left, so they were a circle of two over her. Then they lowered one set of clasped hands to her oddly angled arm and began whispering words in a rising-falling-rising way that made Fen’s skin prickle.

  Baldwin came to stand with him, and Astrid walked over and leaned on Matt. He awkwardly put an arm around her waist to steady her, and Fen had a prickle of unease. Matt, despite Fen’s years of disliking him, had turned out to be a really good guy. Like Laurie and Baldwin, though, he was too trusting. That left Fen with several people to protect. He wasn’t sure what he thought of the twins, but he knew he didn’t like Astrid.

  “Thank you,” Laurie whispered, drawing his attention. Her arm was looking straight again.

  The twins stood in one movement, as if their very muscles somehow communicated and had to move as perfect mirrors.

  “You saved us from the trolls; we fixed you. We’re even now,” Reyna said.

  “You’ll need to sleep, but it’s healed,” added Ray.

  “I knew you had a secret,” Laurie murmured drowsily.

  As Fen stepped closer to her, both twins backed away. Ray held up his hands disarmingly, but Reyna snorted. Fen wasn’t entirely sure how much magic any of the three witches had, but he didn’t care just then. They all needed to step away from Laurie.

  “Thanks.” He remembered to say that part first, and then he added the important words, “Now leave.” A small growl slipped out, and he was pretty sure his eyes weren’t all the way normal, either. Laurie being hurt had scared him enough that he wasn’t feeling very in control. He’d learned that when he felt like this, he shouldn’t be around people. They had helped her, though, so he tried to sound a little nicer. “She needs to sleep.”

  Matt said, “If you need us…”

  Fen only nodded because he wasn’t quite sure he could talk. Too many strangers were in the room near Laurie, and Fen’s instinct to protect his cousin was making everything else unimportant. He trusted Matt and Baldwin, but the other three were threats until they’d proven otherwise. One battle didn’t make them allies.

  Threats should be removed.

  Baldwin stayed at the door, standing like a sentinel awaiting orders. Matt led the twins and Astrid away. As they left, Matt said to the twins, “Thanks for healing Laurie. What else can you do? Does the magic work for offense, too, like Astrid’s?”

  There was a part of Fen that wanted to know, but mostly he was glad that they were gone. He and Matt weren’t friends, but they’d gone to school together long enough that Matt knew Fen was overprotective. The only thing new there was that Matt knew now that they could be tangling with a grumpy wolf if Fen got too angry. Matt had done exactly what Laurie would’ve: taken the people away so Fen didn’t have to try to be nice.

  He felt like something heavy fell off his shoulders as he walked to the doorway, where Baldwin waited. “Thank you,” he said again, and then he closed the door and lay down on the floor. The only way to get near Laurie was to get past him, and even as tired as he was, he’d wake if anyone came in.

  TWENTY

  LAURIE

  “WITCHING AND WHINING”

  When Laurie and Fen came downstairs at almost lunchtime the next day, she felt more rested than she had in days. Her arm felt a little tender, but it seemed to be healed. The twins had definitely had a secret: they were witches. From what Fen had said had happened with the mara, so was Astrid.

  That should mean that Laurie was happier. Having three witches along seemed like it should be an asset in stopping Ragnarök, except it didn’t feel like that. Laurie hated admitting it, but she was nervous. They’d gone from a group of three to seven in a single day, and they hadn’t had any time to stop and recover from the craziness before they were attacked again. It felt like they were getting battered at every turn, and if Astrid hadn’t arrived, they would have had no idea how to defeat the mara. Laurie was grateful to the new girl, but she also realized that they couldn’t keep counting on surprises to save them.

  As they walked into the living room, Fen ordered, “Sit.”

  “I’m fine, Fen. Honest! It’s just a little sore, but not broken.” She held out her arm. “I can—”

  Fen growled and pointed at the sofa.

  “You’re being silly,” she objected, but she still sat. She was tired, and she was sore, and they both knew it. He’d spent almost an hour trying to convince her to go home. Even if her mom couldn’t keep her safe, he was sure that Kris and a few other wolves would protect her from the Raiders. Fen’s biggest objection to her coming along was that it was dangerous, and here she was, already injured—not that he hadn’t been as well. Strangulation by troll had to have been pretty painful. The problem with arguing with Fen, though, was that he didn’t see injury to himself as a big issue.

  So Laurie sat on the sofa while Fen wandered off to get her something to eat. It would make Fen feel better to look after her, and it didn’t hurt her to let him. She could hear him talking to Baldwin, and she smiled. That was good for him, too. Whether it was because of the other boy’s god powers of likability or something else, Fen obviously really liked Baldwin. Matt and Astrid were talking as they walked in the room, and the twins were absentee. Laurie felt oddly alone.

  Then Matt headed to the kitchen, and Astrid walked toward her.

  Laurie tried for a cheerful voice as she said, “Hi.”

  “Hello.” Astrid sat down beside Laurie.

  “Thanks for the save last night,” Laurie said.

  Astrid laughed. “They followed me here, so it’s not actually a save, right?”

  At that, Laurie relaxed. “Well, you defeated them, so that’s the important part.”

  The smile Astrid gave her was as friendly as one of Baldwin’s. It made Laurie feel less alone. Astrid was like her, too: not really one of the important descendants, but still a part of it all. Maybe that’s why Reyna and Ray weren’t as friendly as Astrid—maybe they didn’t think she should be here. Fen and Matt certainly thought Laurie ought to go home. It was only Odin who had seemed to believe that she should be there. Kinda like Astrid. We’re both here because of him.

  “I met Odin. He seemed… nice,” Laurie told Astrid. “You must miss him.”

  Astrid laughed. “Nice? Odin? He’s a freak, but it’s not all his fault. I mean, we are who we are because of some story that was written forever ago.”

  “I hope not!” Laurie shook her head. “He was a little different, but like Fen and Matt and… everyone”—she gestured toward the kitchen and upstairs—“he’s got a huge responsibility. We’re lucky that we don’t have to do what they’re going to. I mean, we’ll help, but it’s not the same.”

  Fen had come back while she was talking. He handed Laurie a plate and t
hen glared down at Astrid like she was a bug he didn’t know whether to squash or eat.

  Astrid seemed oblivious. She smiled at him and said, “Hi.” But she didn’t move to a chair so Fen could have her seat.

  Laurie didn’t say anything. They could figure it out; she was going to eat. As she chewed her sandwich, she wondered briefly if his protectiveness was a result of his wolfy-ness. Now that she knew that he was wulfenkind, so many of his behaviors seemed logical to her. He had declared himself her protector when they were little, but he’d gotten worse when her dad left. Fen—and her father—both knew that there were seriously scary things out there because they were aware of the shape-shifting thing. Knowing there were big bad wolves out there and being wolves had to make them more worried about the family members like her who weren’t wolves.

  But none of that meant that he should be so snarly to a girl who had done nothing but save them last night. He still hadn’t moved, and now Astrid was staring up at him.

  “Can you scoot over?” Laurie asked. “He’s still acting like I’m hurt.”

  “Sure,” Astrid said. She slid to the other end of the sofa, and Fen flopped down between them.

  He sat there silently, and conversation suddenly seemed impossible as a result.

  After a few moments of tense silence, Astrid said, “So you and Laurie are Loki’s great-great-whatever kids?”

  Fen looked at her, but all he said was, “Yeah.”

  Laurie smiled gratefully at Astrid. This was a topic they could discuss, one that would lure Fen out of his silence. “We are. That’s why Fen does the wolf thing. I’m not a shape-shifter, though. Fen’s going to fight with Matt against the serpent.” She smiled at Fen. “I’m not going to fight, but I’m not too bad at tricking trolls.”

  “Or you could go home,” Fen suggested.

  Instead of arguing with him in front of Astrid, Laurie took another bite of her sandwich. She was sick of everyone trying to get rid of her. Just because she didn’t need to be present to fight the serpent didn’t mean she couldn’t help.

  Matt walked toward them. He looked so much more confident than Laurie ever felt. Maybe that’s what it was like to be a champion. She had moments of feeling sure, but those were when she was doing something worthwhile, not when Fen was acting like a crazy guard wolf.

  “At Ragnarök, Loki led the monsters.” Astrid glanced at Matt. “But like Matt says, we don’t have to follow the stories, so you shouldn’t worry about that.”

  “Okay…” Laurie said. That seemed like an odd thing to say. Of course Fen wasn’t going to lead the enemies! Astrid was probably trying to be reassuring, but she had sounded a little suspicious.

  Instead of sitting, Matt stood behind the chair with his hands on the back of it. “We’re all awake now, so let’s plan. We can’t sit around waiting for monsters to keep attacking us.” He raised his voice and called, “Ray? Reyna? Baldwin? Conference time.”

  Baldwin came in and flopped down on the floor beside Fen. The twins strolled lazily down the stairs and into the living room. They stayed back a bit, but they were technically present.

  Matt stood beside the empty chair and looked at all of them. “We have our team, so now we need our stuff.”

  “What stuff?” Reyna asked.

  “Feathers, Hammer, shield,” Matt recited. He turned to Astrid. “Can you reach Odin?”

  “I wish,” she said with a sigh. “He’s wandering around as usual. That’s why he sent me here. He’ll show up eventually, but until then you’re stuck with me. But I do know where we should start. Mjölnir. Our champion needs his Hammer.”

  Matt blushed and shook his head. “We’re a team, Astrid.”

  “Oh, I know. But the serpent is the big baddie in this fight, and you need to defeat it alone.” She gave a little laugh. “You’re the lead singer in this band, Matt. We’re the backup. Hopefully, really good backup, but still backup.”

  Matt looked uncomfortable and opened his mouth to answer, but before he could say anything, Fen spoke up, “Pinkie here has a point. Might as well get Thorsen’s Hammer next.” He slouched back into the sofa then and folded his arms. “I’m ready when you are.”

  “Excuse me?” Reyna said. “If this is your idea of planning, it’s a wonder you survived a minute.”

  “What?” Fen drawled. “You and Ken have a better plan?”

  “Who’s Ken?” Baldwin whispered.

  “Hold on,” Matt said. “Reyna, are you objecting to going after the Hammer? Or are you objecting to focusing on me? Because I never said I was special or—”

  “Chill, Thorsen.” Fen shook his head. “I was serious. You need the real Hammer. Your little whatsit is only good so long.”

  “But do we know where Mjölnir is?” Laurie asked. “We do know where the shield is, so I say we get that first.” She looked at Astrid. “Unless you know where the Hammer is, since you suggested getting it…”

  “I was hoping you guys did.” Astrid looked at Matt. “Did the Valkyries give you any clues? The Norns maybe?”

  He shook his head.

  “Can you contact them? Ask?”

  “I can ask if and when they show up. Until then, we’re stuck….” Matt straightened. “No, we aren’t stuck. Laurie’s right. We know where the shield is.”

  “Great, but we need the Hammer more,” Astrid said.

  Fen growled loudly enough that Reyna and Ray exchanged a look, and Laurie hoped that she wasn’t going to have to step between them. His temper was never good, but today it was worse than usual because he was worried about her.

  “Being Odin’s girlfriend doesn’t make you a part of this,” Fen said.

  Astrid jumped up, glared at him, and ran out of the room.

  Casually, Fen looked at Matt. “So how do we find the Hammer?”

  No one said a word. Matt glared at Fen, and then he walked out. Laurie wasn’t sure what to do. The twins fled back upstairs, and Baldwin looked from the doorway to Fen to her. He didn’t say anything or follow Matt and Astrid.

  “Fen…” Laurie started, but she wasn’t sure what to say.

  Fen stood. “Tell me when there’s a plan,” he called as he left the room.

  He was being a jerk, but Astrid was going to need to be less sensitive if she was going to be around them. If she was going to run away every time Fen said something rude, she might as well never sit down. Laurie liked her, and she liked the idea of having another girl around in addition to Reyna—who hadn’t warmed up to Laurie… or anyone else, either. However, Laurie was going to have to talk to her. No one had run away when Astrid pointed out that Laurie and Fen were descendants of the god who fought on the other side—or when trolls, Norns, Valkyries, or mara appeared.

  TWENTY-ONE

  MATT

  “RAIDING THE RAIDERS”

  Matt needed to make Astrid feel better. It was like being on the boxing or wrestling team. You might fight the other guys at practice, but at a tournament, you had to support each other. Help each other. Cheer each other on. Whenever there was a problem—like one guy razzing another—Coach Forde would send Matt in to cool them down. He supposed that meant he was good at it. Now it was up to him to make things right. Bring the team back together.

  But what if Astrid took it the wrong way? What if she thought he liked her? He did like her, as a person. But the way she kept looking at him and talking about him… his cheeks heated just thinking about it. She probably didn’t mean it like that. She had a boyfriend. She was just being super-nice to him because he was being nice to her. Like at school sometimes, when he was nice to new kids and all of a sudden they were sitting beside him at lunch and walking home from school with him.

  But what if, by chasing her, she thought he meant something else. He’d have to tell her it wasn’t like that. Or, worse, she’d tell him it wasn’t like that for her—You’re a great guy, Matt, but I have a boyfriend. He’d probably burn up with embarrassment.

  So he followed her for a bit. Then he imagined h
er looking back and seeing him following her and how much worse that would be.

  “Hey, Astrid,” he called, as calmly as he could. “Wait up.”

  She turned and when she saw him, her whole face lit up in this smile that made him stumble over his feet.

  “I’m sorry about that,” he said, pointing to the house. “Fen didn’t mean to snap at you. Everyone’s just really tired and freaked out. You’re right about Mjölnir.”

  She walked toward him. “Thank you. You’re the brains and the brawn of this operation, aren’t you?”

  “No, we all are. It’s a team effort. Fen has a point. We don’t know where Mjölnir is. But we do know where to find the shield.”

  Her shoulders slumped, and she let out a deep sigh.

  “Sure, I can’t wait to get Mjölnir,” he said. “But the Valkyries say the shield is just as important.”

  “But if you know where it is, you can get it anytime.” Her fingers touched his arm. “You need Mjölnir.”

  He brushed back his hair, “accidentally” dropping her fingers from his arm.

  “There must be someone you can ask,” she continued. “The Norns. The Valkyries. I bet you could call them. Ask them for help finding Mjölnir.”

  Matt shook his head. “I need to find it myself. It’s part of the test.”

  “Test?” She gave a scornful laugh. “If they’re testing you, they don’t know you very well. Anyone can see that you’re ready. And who are they to test the mighty Thor? You’re the important one. You always have been. Even these days, everyone knows the name of Thor. Can they name a Norn? A Valkyrie? Most don’t even know what they are.”

  Except he wasn’t Thor. He was only the god’s representative, which meant he had to prove himself worthy of the honor. He wasn’t ready to meet the serpent. It was nice that Astrid thought so, but she was wrong.

  She moved closer again, lowering her voice as if they might be overheard. “I suppose you’ve heard that Odin was king of the gods.”