Loki's Wolves

by K. L. Armstrong

  “Like Tyr,” Astrid said, struggling for a smile.

  Something crashed in the living room. They all ran in, Matt pushing into the lead.

  It was Fen. He’d fallen off the chair and lay on the floor, still sleeping.

  Matt laughed under his breath. “Have fun trying to wake him up, Laurie. He’s dead to—”

  Matt saw Fen’s eyes then, wide and staring, and he ran over, dropping beside him. Fen lay there, frozen, eyes filled with terror, mouth open, too, chest heaving as if gasping for breath.

  “Sleep paralysis,” Astrid said. “Like you had.”

  Matt shook Fen’s shoulder.

  “Don’t!” Astrid said, leaping forward. “You’ll only make it worse. You have to let him snap out of it naturally.”

  Matt turned to say something to Laurie. But she wasn’t there. He turned and saw her across the room, staring into nothing, and he thought she was frozen, too. Then her lips parted, and she whispered, “Jordie?”

  Jordie? Who was—? Her little brother.

  “She’s hallucinating.” Matt leaped up. “Laurie? It’s not—”

  “Jordie!” she shouted and ran from the room, as if chasing her invisible brother.

  Matt looked back at Fen, still frozen and wide-eyed on the ground.

  “We’ve got this,” Astrid said. “Baldwin and I will be here when Fen snaps out of it. You go get her.”

  Matt ran after Laurie. He could hear her, her voice choked with sobs, saying, “I’m sorry, Jordie. I had to leave. I had to.”

  Matt followed her voice to the kitchen. She was standing in the middle of it, looking toward the counter, tears streaming down her face as she begged her brother for forgiveness.

  “I didn’t know,” she said. “I thought I was protecting you. I didn’t know.”

  “Laurie?” When she didn’t turn, he said, louder, “Laurie? It’s not him. It’s not Jordie. Whatever he’s saying happened, it didn’t. It’s a mara, remember?”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “No!”

  Matt thought she was talking to him, until she said, “I would never do that. I was trying to stop Ragnarök. Protect you.”

  “Laurie!”

  Matt strode over and stood between her and the counter. He was right in front of her, but she couldn’t seem to see him. Trapped in a waking nightmare, like the one he’d had.

  “No!” she screamed. “Jordie, no!”

  She rushed forward and plowed right into Matt. When he tried to hold her back, she clawed and kicked, and finally, he moved out of her way and she dropped to the floor, sobbing and reaching out, as if there were someone there, lying on the floor.

  “Laurie.” Matt took her shoulder and shook her. “Laurie!” When she didn’t respond, he grabbed her under the arms, heaved her to her feet, and said, as sharply as he could, “You’re dreaming. Jordie’s fine. He’s miles away. You know that. You know that.”

  She started to struggle, but weakly, as if she could hear him. He said it again, even sharper, then he gave her a shake and pulled her away from her brother’s imaginary body.

  “Wh-what?” she said, looking up at him. “Where—?” She looked up at him and shoved him away. “Thorsen!”

  “You were hallucinating. I think you thought Jordie died and it was your fault.”

  “Jordie…?” She swallowed and swayed, as if it was coming back, but when Matt reached for her again, she pushed him away and straightened, then took a deep breath.

  “Everything’s fine,” Matt said.

  “Is it?” said a voice behind him.

  Matt turned slowly. There stood his father, his hair and clothes soaking wet, his face almost… melted.

  “Do I look fine?” Dad said, stepping forward. “You let your snake swallow me, Matt. You let it eat me, and you did nothing to stop it.”

  “I couldn’t. I—”

  Matt stopped himself and squeezed his eyes shut. Hallucinating. He was just hallucinating. He knew that, but it felt real. That was the magic, like with Laurie. She knew Jordie couldn’t be there, but it felt real.

  “Matt?”

  He heard Laurie’s voice, but dimly, as if she were across the house. She’s right there. Focus on her. Pull yourself back.

  He kept his eyes shut as he turned back toward Laurie’s voice.

  “Keep talking,” he said.

  “Talking about what?” It was Jake now. “What’s there to talk about, Matt? You messed up. I knew you would. You always do.”

  “Laurie? Talk. Please.”

  He could hear her saying something, but her voice was drowned out by another—Josh.

  “Why’d you let this happen, Matt?” Josh asked. “I thought you could do it. Even when Jake said you couldn’t. Even when Dad thought you couldn’t. I believed in you.”

  “Laurie? Louder.”

  He felt her fingers wrap around his arm. “Snap out of it, Thorsen. Get a grip. You know it’s not real. Fight it!”

  His eyes snapped open, and he saw her standing there, glowering up at him.

  “I’m back,” he said.

  “Stay back.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He looked around, blinking away the last of the vision. “Okay, we need to get to—”

  A scream from upstairs.

  “The twins.” Matt pushed Laurie toward the door. “You check on Fen. I’ll go help them.”

  As they ran for the door, something hissed to Matt’s left, and he looked to see a serpent’s head coming through the window, red eyes glowing.

  “It’s not there,” he muttered under his breath. “Nothing’s there.”

  Laurie shrieked, hands flying up to cover her head as she ducked from some unseen monster.

  “It’s not—” Matt began.

  “I know,” she said, already uncovering her head. She cast an angry look around the room. “Not real. You hear me? You’re not real.”

  “You got it.” Matt put his hands on her shoulders and steered her, in front of him, toward the doorway.

  When a puff of smoke appeared in the doorway, swirling, he instinctively stopped and pulled Laurie back. The smoke took the shape of a woman—so thin she looked like a skeleton with skin stretched over her bones. Long white hair swirled around her. Her eyes were empty pits. When she opened her mouth, it was filled with rotting stumps of teeth.

  “You’re not there,” Matt said, pushing Laurie forward. “You’re a figment of my imagination.”

  The apparition hissed and reached out a long, bony finger.

  Laurie dug in her heels. “Uh, Matt? Are you seeing a really ugly woman pointing at us?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Then she’s actually there, because I see her, too.”

  “A mara,” he said. “That must be what they look like.” He stepped in front of Laurie and squared his shoulders. “But it’s still just a spirit. It can’t hurt you. Remember that. Close your eyes and hold my shirt, and we’ll walk right through—”

  Something shot from the hag’s finger and hit Matt like a jolt of electricity, knocking him to the floor and stunning him.

  Laurie pulled him up. “Your theory is wrong.”

  “No kidding.”

  The mara pointed again, this time at Laurie. Matt pushed Laurie to the side and dove after her. The bolt hit the wall, leaving a sizzling hole in the plaster.

  “Other door!” Matt shouted.

  He pushed Laurie and ran behind her. When he heard a sizzle, he shouted a warning and dodged. The bolt whizzed past into the wall again. They raced out the other door and found themselves at the foot of the stairs.

  From above, they could hear Reyna shouting and Ray gibbering.

  “Guess I’m going up with you,” Laurie said.

  They raced up the stairs, the mara in pursuit, seeming in no hurry, as if just herding them along, cackling and throwing her bolts. When a figure appeared on the steps, Matt almost fell backward. It was his mother—her face gray and dead, like it’d been in his dream.

  “I bel
ieved in you,” his mother said. “I told them you could save us.”

  His father appeared at the top of the stairs. “You let her down, Matt. You let us all down.”

  “Not real,” Matt whispered. “Not real.”

  Laurie shrieked, seeing some apparition of her own, and she turned as if to run back down the stairs, but Matt pushed her up, his voice getting louder as he chanted, “Not real. Not real!”

  The more he fought the nightmares, the harder the mara tried. His parents came first, then his brother, then his grandfather, then friends at school. All dead. Devoured by serpents and rotting in graves. All dead. All blaming him.

  But Laurie was getting it just as bad. He could tell by her yells and cries, but all he could do was keep pushing her forward and deal with banishing his own nightmares. When they finally reached the top, the apparitions fell in behind with the mara chasing them.

  Laurie ran to a closed door and yanked it open. Inside, Matt saw Baldwin’s parents’ room, and he almost stopped her, ready to say they shouldn’t go in there. But now wasn’t really the time to worry about being rude. So when she pulled him in and slammed the door, he let her.

  On the other side, he could hear his family, shouting at him. A bolt from the mara went right through the wood and burned his shoulder. As he stumbled back, Laurie spun and raced into the room. She ran to the balcony door and yanked it open.

  “Wait!” Matt yelled.

  “We have to get outside. They won’t follow us there.”

  She raced through. Matt ran after her. The balcony was long and narrow, with a wooden railing that overlooked the backyard. Laurie climbed onto the railing.

  “No!” Matt shouted, lurching forward.

  “We need to get over the fence,” she said. Her eyes were blank again, and he knew she was dreaming.

  He ran for her. “That’s not a—!”

  She dropped over the side. Matt let out a cry and raced for the railing. He looked down to see Laurie lying on the ground. He scrambled over the railing, stood on the edge of the balcony, crouched, grabbing the edge, then dropped.

  He hit the ground hard enough to let out a gasp, pain shooting through his legs. Then he scrambled over to Laurie. She was sitting now, cradling her arm. It was bent at a weird angle. Broken.

  “Are you okay?” he said. “Other than your arm, are you—?”

  “There you are,” said a voice from the house.

  They both looked up as Fen barreled out the patio door, his face twisted with rage. “Did you really think I’d let you take my cousin away?”

  NINETEEN

  FEN

  “TROUBLE IN PINK BOOTS”

  Fen saw the two of them and realized they were trying to ditch him. His cousin, his almost-sister, was leaving him because he wasn’t as strong as Matt. He’d known it could happen, but he’d believed in her. She was the only one who’d ever stuck by him.

  “So what, you creep out while I’m sleeping? Leave me here while you go save the world?” Fen advanced on them, growling deep in his throat like he wasn’t on two legs anymore.

  “It’s a dream, Fen.” Matt had his arm around Laurie, and she was leaning on him.

  “You and Thorsen?” Fen reached for her, but she flinched away. “You’re going to be heroes and leave me behind?”

  “No.” Laurie pushed away from Matt. “This is a dream, and we’re all having nightmares about the things we fear.”

  “They’re called mara. They’re attacking us with nightmares.” Matt stepped closer to them and pointed up to the second floor. “Laurie jumped from there thinking it was a fence.”

  Fen looked at Laurie, and she nodded and then looked pointedly at the arm she was holding tight to her chest. “I broke it. That’s why I pulled away.”

  He started to answer, but then Kris walked out of the shadows and stood behind Laurie. “You believe this trash? You always were dumber than the rest of the family, boy. You know they offered to pay me to take you in? And I still said no.” Kris laughed and then tossed a half-empty beer at Fen. “I lost the betting pool, though, and now I’m stuck with you.”

  Fen ducked to avoid the can.

  “Fen.” Laurie stepped up to him. “Whatever you’re seeing, it’s not real. Focus on me. Please. I need you to help me.”

  He shook his head, and Kris vanished. “How do we fight illusions?”

  “Focus on what’s real.” Matt looked back toward the house. “The bony women inside aren’t illusions, though, and my Hammer is in there. If we’re going to fight them…”

  “Let’s go get it, then.” Fen marched up to the door and went back inside. His dad was on the floor in the kitchen, being kicked in the sides and stomach by Skull and Hattie. They grinned at him.

  “You’re next,” Hattie said. “Wait till I tell your little friends about how we got the shield and how you’re going to help us get Matt, too. Bet we won’t have to hurt you then. They’ll do it for us.”

  Beside him, he heard Laurie repeating, “Not real. Not real. Not real.”

  Fen squared his shoulders and looked away from the Raiders in the kitchen. They needed to find the mara and get rid of them. Baldwin ran toward them. “There are monsters in my house.” He held out a hand to Matt; cupped in his open palm was the Hammer amulet. “Here. You left this in the living room.”

  “Thank you!” Matt folded the tiny Hammer in his hand so tightly that Fen thought it might cut the skin. Baldwin really was a good guy: he’d brought them what they needed without even being told.

  “Where are the twins?” Laurie asked.

  “They’re shooting something at the mara. I can’t see it, but every time they hold hands, the air ripples, and the illusions near them vanish.” Baldwin shook his head. “The bone people don’t, though. They’re not going away.”

  “And Astrid?” Matt asked. “Is she okay?”

  “Who?” Fen asked.

  “New girl. With us when you woke,” Baldwin said, and then he looked at Matt and shook his head. “She’s somewhere in the house, said something about magic.”

  Fen, Laurie, and Matt made their way up the stairs and to the guest room, where the twins were to be sleeping. They stood arm-in-arm, staring out the door. Between the twins and them were five bony, ugly old women. The women couldn’t get in the room, but they weren’t retreating, either.

  Reyna and Ray looked tired, but they kept flinging their free hands as if they were throwing things. The mara flinched, but they weren’t destroyed. Laurie had been right that the twins had a secret. They were witches of some sort.

  A girl—presumably Astrid—opened another door and peered out at them. “Matt!” She grabbed Matt’s arm. “I couldn’t get in to the twins.”

  With a sudden smile, Baldwin started to walk up to the mara. The mara didn’t look their way, even as Baldwin tried tugging them back from the doorway.

  Then Fen heard the growls. He looked over his shoulder and saw at least three wolves coming up the steps. “Wolves! Get into the other room!” He started trying to herd them into the bedroom across from the twins’ room.

  “Not real,” Laurie murmured. “Fen. Not real. Jordie’s not here. Mom’s not here. The wolves aren’t here.” She was too pale, and he knew she was going to pass out. The break in her arm meant they needed to go to a hospital, but he couldn’t leave Baldwin out there alone.

  “Come on.” Fen shoved Matt aside, pushing him closer to Astrid and helping Laurie over to sit on the bed. “Need a plan, Thorsen. The twins and Baldwin are buying time, but we need a plan.”

  “Let me see,” Astrid offered.

  Fen snarled at her. He wasn’t going to let a stranger near Laurie when she was hurt.

  “Plan, Thorsen,” he half snarled, half spoke.

  Through the open door, Fen could see Baldwin clinging to the back of one of the mara like a cheerful monkey; the mara ignored him. The twins were making no progress, and Fen wasn’t keen on leaving Laurie’s side.

  “Trying, Brekke,” Matt sa
id. He was staring past Fen at something only he saw.

  One of the mara turned and advanced toward the door.

  “Not real,” Matt muttered.

  Astrid came to Matt’s side and slammed the door, like a thin piece of wood would keep out a monster.

  “They’re on their own out there, Thorsen. Either you go or I go. One of us has to stay in here to protect Laurie.” Fen gestured at her, and for the first time since they’d faced the Raiders in Blackwell, Laurie didn’t argue. That alone meant she was in real pain.

  Matt must’ve noticed, too. He grabbed Astrid’s wrist. “Whatever you did before, you need to try it again.”

  “I don’t know if it will work, but”—she put her hand on top of Matt’s hand, who quickly yanked away from her—“I can try.”

  “Now!” Fen demanded.

  “Fen’s right.” Matt was at the door, ready to yank it open. “If you can’t do it, he and I need to go out there.”

  “I’ll try,” Astrid said.

  Matt yanked the door open. Astrid shot Fen a grin before she followed Matt into the hallway and started saying something unintelligible. The mara shrieked, horrible shrill noises that made Fen cringe, and then they vanished.

  Astrid collapsed, swaying into Matt, who caught her and helped her sit on the floor. He stayed crouched beside her.

  The twins left their room, stepped around Matt and Astrid, and came to the bedroom where he and Laurie were.

  “Who is she?” Reyna asked.

  “Astrid. Witch or something,” Baldwin sang out as he came bouncing past them into the room. “Did you see? She just zapped them away. I told you we were like superheroes. Bring on the next villain!”

  Despite everything, Fen couldn’t help smiling at Baldwin’s attitude. “He’s as bad as us, Laurie,” he said.

  When she didn’t even smile, a cold spike of panic rushed through him. “Laurie?”

  She gave him the least convincing smile he’d ever seen. “Sorry. Maybe there’s aspirin or something here. Baldwin?”

  “Sure, but we should call a doctor,” Baldwin said. “That’s what people do when they get hurt, isn’t it? I never have, but there are kids at school and…” His words dwindled. “I’ll get aspirin and the phone.”