by Pixie Unger
The one who had been lighting the fire left. Mac started peeling her out of her soaking pajamas. Sarah tried pushing his hands away.
“Dry clothes are coming.”
She could barely understand that strange language that could be spoken in any shape, but she did understand that. She shivered and nodded and tried to help. Her pants were sticking to her legs. Someone was licking the scratches on her arm. She frowned at him. “Sean?” she asked.
The malamute grinned and licked her face, before going back to licking her arm.
Someone was sniffing her crotch, she squirmed away and kicked out. There was a yelp and it stopped, but then someone shaped like a leonberger started licking her feet. She was stuffed into a shirt that smelled like Marv and wrapped in a blanket. Someone set Molly down next to her. Sarah stroked her dog. Molly was breathing but not moving.
“She will be fine in the morning.”
Three warm, furry shapes piled on top of her, including a bull mastiff, and two left. Sarah’s skin burned as she got warm. Unable to move, she passed out.
September 23rd
“Time to wake up, girl.” Someone was shaking her awake. Her head hurt and she felt vague nauseous. “Up ya git. I brought water and a bucket.”
That got her to pry her eyes open in confusion. Opening her eyes got her promptly up on all fours, using the bucket. Then she took the water bottle, rinsed her mouth and spat.
“Ugh. How’s Molly?”
“Bout the same as you. Craig carried her out to the yard before she woke up.”
Sarah sat back on her heels in child’s pose. “What the hell happened last night, Marv?”
He didn’t say anything. She looked up at him. He sighed. “Elf got into the house. It’s gone now.”
“It looked like you!”
Marv’s eyes narrowed, “Did it, now?” Sarah flinched. Marv forced himself to relax. “Think you could eat some breakfast?”
Sarah nodded and pushed herself upright. “Do I have time to get cleaned up first?”
“If you hurry.”
She took the bucket and headed towards the stairs up to her room. Then she stopped. A quick internal pep talk wasn’t enough to get her up them, so she went to the bathroom on the main floor and had a quick clean up in there. There was a housecoat hanging on the back of the door. It smelled a bit like everyone. She put that on and went to the breakfast nook.
Everyone else was dressed and setting the table. They stopped to look at her.
“You got time to go put on clothes,” Marv said. “It’ll be another five minutes or so.”
Sarah blushed and ducked her head. “I couldn’t quite manage the stairs,” she said, feeling embarrassed.
Now everyone went very quiet. After a long moment, Marv asked, “Saw it shredded your feet. It hurt your legs too?”
Sarah shook her head without looking at him. “I just… I know it’s stupid, but I feel like it’s still up there.” She shuddered. “I don’t want to go find traces of it in my space.”
Mac moved up close to her but didn’t touch her. “Sarah?” When she looked at him, he opened his arms.
She flung herself into the hug and had a little cry on his chest. He hugged her tightly and rubbed her back.
Marv cleared his throat. “We’ll all go check it out, together. After breakfast.”
Sarah nodded. She let go of Mac. Marv held her chair. Everyone sat down to breakfast. Mac passed her a bowl of fruit salad, followed by a bowl of yogurt. She skipped the steak and eggs. When the plate of toast got to her, she laughed.
“What?” Craig demanded. He had been on kitchen duty that morning.
Sarah looked up at him and frowned. “What happened to you?” He flushed a little and everyone but Marv either snickered or coughed.
Craig ignored the question. “What’s wrong with the toast?”
Sarah smiled. “Nothing. A whole stack of white bread toast and two pieces of multigrain? Nothing is wrong, I appreciate the effort.” He nodded, so she continued. “What happened to your neck? And why do you have a black eye?”
Craig hung his head but didn’t answer.
Marv cracked his neck. “It turns out the bruise on his throat is what happens when he got too close to an Ulfurinn without asking. The black eye is what happens when I found out he got too close without asking.”
Sarah frowned. “I honestly have no idea what you are talking about.”
“So don’t worry about it.” Marv said.
Craig said, “It won’t happen again.”
Sarah said nothing but took a thoughtful bite of her toast.
----
They were all on the stairs, looking back at her. Sarah took a deep breath, gritted her teeth and took a firm hold of the banister.
Marv came back down the stairs and stood next to her. “We checked your room. It’s fine. You need to be able to do this.”
“I know.’ Sarah said softly.
Marv offered her his hand. She took it. They walked up to her room together.
When they got to her room, the smell made her gag. Craig nodded, “They do stink, don’t they.”
Sean opened the window. Sarah walked forward and started stripping the bed. As she pulled back the blankets, Gus grabbed her hand. He led her two steps away. “Elf shot.”
“What?” Sarah asked. She looked at the bed. There was something that looked like a fossilized shark tooth in her bed. The boys were all staring at it. Mac turned around and ran out. He was back a moment later with a tin can and a pair of kitchen tongs. He carefully picked it up and dropped it into the can.
“What was that?”
“Elf shot,” Gus repeated. “Razor sharp and they dip them in a hallucinogenic poison.”
Sarah stared at him. “Is that why it looked like Marv?”
Gus was trying not to grin, “No. That is different.”
“Don’t laugh at me! I don’t know these things!”
Marv glared at Gus. “Ain’t you he’s laughing at. What do we have that she can wear that’s not in this room?”
Craig nodded to the wardrobe. “Iron knobs and the door sticks, it wouldn’t have gotten in there.” He opened the wardrobe and sniffed. “It’s clean.”
Marv nodded, “Sarah, pick out what you need and go get dressed in one of the other rooms. Gus and Mac will take you shopping for new bedding.”
Sarah got dressed in Marv’s study. She checked on Molly, who was fine, and headed towards the front door. The boys had put on their leather jackets and boots. Gus handed her Sean’s. Sarah leaned back. “I don’t think so.”
“We won’t all fit in your car. You aren’t up to driving for a few days. You can ride behind me or Mac, but you are wearing the gear.”
Sarah crossed her arms.
Gus was fighting not to grin. “Look, you can’t stay here, they are going to be searching the house again. You will be in the way. Craig isn’t allowed to take you anywhere for a good long while and Sean is nervous being alone with you. That leaves me an’ Mac and they are going to be burning your bedding pretty damn quick here. So… Unless you are planning on sleeping with one of us tonight, we gotta go get you some new things.”
“We could take the tow truck.”
“They might need it while we’re away.” Mac reasoned. “Look, I could drive your car and Gus could take his bike.”
Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “I am the only one who gets to drive my car. I mean it. I will absolutely go out there and pee on the tires if that’s what it takes. It’s mine.”
Gus threw a helmet at her. “So then, saddle up.” Sarah put on the jacket. Gus nodded. “Off you go, I’ll catch up.” After watching them head out the door, he went down to the safe in the cellar and took six stacks of bills, stuffing them into various pockets. That should just about do it. He made a note to tell Marv so they could put in back later.
Chapter 7
1407 - The Fifty Year War
Frost Giants push into the south causing a winter severe enough
that trees burst as their sap froze and birds froze to death mid flight. Both the Thames and the Danube freeze over completely. Now well established, the Lupers successfully repelled many invasion attempts during this time. Over the next fifty years, many highland villages were recruited into the fight. Officially, the settlements were abandoned due to the weather. This is broadly true.
Sarah had a death grip on Mac. Even though he promised to go the speed limit, she wasn’t happy on a donorcycle. They followed Gus as he pulled into a Toyota dealership in Plattsburgh.
Sarah pulled off her helmet and stared at him as he walked into the building. “What are you doing, Gus?”
“Buying you a truck.”
“Nope. No, you certainly are not.”
“You don’t like riding on the bike. Fine. We’ll get something big enough to hold people, not just tiny little girls.”
“Hey!”
A salesman oiled up to Gus, “What can I help you find today, sir?”
Gus looked at Sarah and raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to choose? Or do you want to be stuck with the one I pick out?”
Sarah crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “I look for three things in a vehicle and none of them are available here. I want green, I want round fenders and I want a straightforward engine I can maintain myself.” She stopped for a moment. “If we are going to get a truck, a 1940’s or early 1950’s International would be my favourite.”
“Lots of maintenance on those, Ma’am. They may look pretty, but they are hard to get parts for and our trucks come with a 60 month powertrain warranty.” Salesman Larry said.
Sarah glared at him. “We work in a garage. If I get an old truck, I can do my own maintenance. If we get a new one, I have to drive in everytime it needs anything.”
“If we buy one of these, you can drive it off the lot.” Gus reasoned. “Otherwise, you are stuck on the bike for the ride home until we can source one.”
“You said I can’t drive today. If you get a truck, I won’t be able to test drive it.”
“More steel in an old truck.” Mac added.
“Our trucks have an excellent safety rating.” Larry countered.
“If we get a one ton,” Mac said thoughtfully, “We could carry the bikes on it.”
“Feck.” Gus said. “Larry, piss off for a moment. I need to talk with my family.”
Larry wandered off. Gus lowered his voice and growled at Mac, “If we buy a truck now, we can get all the things we need, load them up into the truck and drive home. The safety component is a big thing. If we don’t buy a truck now, then we need to borrow one from Rob, which means she will have to meet their pack.”
“Isn’t she gonna have to meet them anyway? I mean, she’s here.”
“They can wait until Marv brings her.”
Sarah cleared her throat. “Why no meet pack now?” her accent was terrible, but she was understandable. Both boys turned to stare at her.
It was Gus who answered, “They will try to get you to stay with them. Look, you don’t have to get a truck here. Anywhere in town except Ford because their parts are a problem. Understand?”
Sarah nodded.
“If you want an old truck, we can arrange that later. For now, we want a safe truck.”
Sarah gave a resigned sigh. “Much money here.”
“We’ve been working for a long time, we aren’t worried about it. Just pick one you can live with.”
Sarah pulled out her phone. “You go talk to Larry. Pick out the one you like. I want to read up on the internet for a few minutes.” She walked over to the arm chairs near the coffee maker and sat down. She read reviews, she checked stock in other dealerships in town. She went over to where Gus was making Larry look like an idiot by asking extremely technical questions.
“Fine. Which one do you like?”
Gus pointed. “That one. If it fits you they can have it ready for pick up in two hours. And if Larry doesn’t get too greedy when he’s pricing it out.”
Sarah climbed in. “Can I get one without leather seats?”
“No.” Gus said firmly. “Can you reach the pedals?”
“I feel ridiculous, but I can reach the pedals without being too close to the air bag.”
“Ok. You go with Mac. I’ll see what I can sort out with Larry here.” He gave Sarah the most predatory smile she had ever seen.
Mac took her shopping. They got all new bedding. Sarah could see that the truck thing must have been planned all along, because there was no way they were going to be carrying all of this back on a bike. When they were finished, Sarah was exhausted. Mac paid and left the pile with the clerk to be picked up later. Then he took Sarah for lunch.
They were just about to order when Gus pulled up in the truck, with his bike loaded in the back. Sarah didn’t say much through lunch. The guys made small talk about sports ball. Mac gave Gus the receipt for the bedding and headed off.
On the way out of town, Gus tried to explain about elves. Sarah tried to understand. “So… they are space aliens or demons or creatures from another dimension and they steal people?”
“Yes. Usually preschoolers, but sometimes others. Occasionally people come back, but not very often.”
“It knew my name.”
“Yeah. Came for you to piss off Marv. He takes it personally when they get past him. They figure if the kid isn’t a friend of the pack, they are fair game. He doesn’t see it that way.”
“How’d you end up guarding a hellmouth?”
Gus snorted, “I guess that’s one name for it. My old pack was sent. We were at Hadrian’s Wall, which was originally built for the same reason. Our alpha...” Gus paused searching for the right word, “was unpleasant. So The Black sent us to guard this site in the middle of nowhere instead. One day, Marv and Craig were passing through and our old alpha demanded payment for traveling through his territory. Marv wasn’t willing to pay. So he killed him and took the pack.”
Sarah gasped.
“He killed someone because he didn’t want to pay a toll?”
“He killed someone because he wasn’t going to let the local alpha try to rape Craig in exchange for traveling through.”
Sarah stared at him in horror. “If that’s a joke, it isn’t funny.”
“It isn’t a joke.”
“Is this the same guy that carved you and Mac.”
“Yes.”
Sarah thought about that. If this guy carved up his own pack and thought it was perfectly OK for alphas to allow their pack members to be raped, what did that say about his sexual habits with his own pack? She wasn’t ready to actually ask that question. What she did ask was, ”Was that before or after Sean was sent here?”
“Before. The Black wouldn’t have sent Sean to stay with the previous alpha.” He could smell Sarah’s anxiety. “Look, the treaty gives protection to Ulfurinn. It doesn’t offer that same protection to other pack members. The idea is that we can either leave or kill the alpha if he is abusive, but it doesn’t always work that way. You are absolutely safe, no matter what. As for the rest of us, Marv takes good care of his pack.”
“He hit Craig.”
“Yes. We aren’t supposed to be sniffing you without an invitation. Craig tried to take advantage of you being distracted.”
“So Marv hit him.”
Gus shrugged. “Agh, lass, you have no idea how good you smell. Craig said it was worth getting kicked in the throat. That’s when Marv punched him.”
Sarah shifted uncomfortably. “Do I need to worry about that?”
Gus shook his head. “Ulfurinn are protected. Just know that if you are ever feeling… lonely, any of us would be willing to help you out.”
Sarah blushed and turned on the radio. Gus chuckled softly to himself.
----
Sarah had fallen asleep in the truck on the ride back from Plattsburgh. She woke up to Marv calling her name as Gus and Sean unloaded sheets, pillows, a duvet, a throw blanket and new curtains from the backseat of the truck. She bl
inked and yawned. “Sorry,” she said.
“It’s fine. C’mon. Got something to show you.”
They had been busy while she was away. The single bedroom door to her room had been replaced by a set of french doors with frosted glass. Instead of the usual wood grid on the windows, there was ornate iron work in the shape of a tree with the moon in the branches. The door knobs appeared to be iron as well.
“Whoa.”
Marv gave a half grin. “You like it?”
“Are you kidding? It’s gorgeous!”
“Good. Our resident blacksmith made them for you.”
Sarah frowned. “What? In the five or six hours we were gone?”
“Nah. I started them the day after you slipped. Just finally got them installed.” Craig said. Sarah was looking at him in shock, so Craig added, “What? We came here looking for bog iron. What did you think I did?”
“I have no idea what you are talking about. What is bog iron and why were you and Marv looking for it?” Sarah asked.
They all stared at her.
Craig cleared his throat. “That isn’t really important. Um… I did make you a bracelet today. It’s iron. It will keep the elves away. Uh… it’s made so that you need two hands to open the clasp. That way no one will be able to talk you into taking it off. But…” he trailed off.
“But wearing it implies you will be staying with our pack.” Marv finished. “We don’t want to be misrepresenting the gift.”
Sarah looked at him. “I hardly know you. Is this a ‘til death do us part’ thing or is taking it off like getting a divorce?”
Everyone tensed at that. Marv shifted uneasily before he said, “You can leave anytime you want. We don’t own you. But if you get to feeling unhappy, please let us know before it gets that bad. We aren’t trying to run you off.”
Sarah nodded and held out her left hand. She watched his face as Craig carefully fastened it around her wrist. This was significant for him in a way she couldn’t understand. The look on his face was a little overwhelming. Marv put his hand on Craig’s shoulder. Craig took a step back.
