Loki's Wolves - Armstrong Kelley L. - Страница 18

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: Ragnarok 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 Ragnarok. 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.”