Thor's Serpents (15 page)

“Which proves he’s definitely your relative,” Reyna said to Matt.

“Where’s he now?” Matt asked.

“Still there,” Alan said. “A couple of apartments are affected, and the fire department is AWOL. I drove back to grab cases of water and get him something to eat. Otherwise, he’ll keep at it until he collapses. I can take you—”

“No,” Matt said. “We’ll go by ourselves.”

“Matt’s earned his paranoia,” Reyna said. “Just point us in the right direction, and give us your keys. I’ll drive.”

Alan looked at Reyna. “How old are you?”

“Fourteen. Got my license last month.”

“You won’t mind if I ask to see it, then?”

She waved at the front window. “Um, apocalypse? Kind of forgot my wallet.”

“Can we take your car?” Matt said. “We’ll be careful, and there’s not much out there to hit.”

“All right, but I’m going with you.” When Matt paused, Alan said, “I know you don’t trust me, but unlike your friend there, I can show ID. If I’m sending you into a trap, at least you can take me hostage.”

Matt sat in the back with Alan. Owen took shotgun. Reyna drove. Though she was really only thirteen, she obviously had experience, and she was careful, staying under the speed limit and obeying the stop signs even if there wasn’t another car in sight. The cat sat in the back window, having hopped in and made itself comfortable as soon as a door opened.

“So that’s the famous Mjölnir?” Alan said. “Is it true that only Thorsens can hold it?”

“No, anyone can,” Matt said. “You just need to be a Thorsen to
lift
it.”

“Right. I know all the lore.” Alan quirked a smile. “Spend enough time with your uncle, and it’s unavoidable.” He sobered and cleared his throat. “If there’s anything you want to talk about… about… me.”

“Unless you turn out to be a Raider or a monster in disguise?” Matt shrugged. “It’s a nonissue.”

Alan nodded slowly, then he took out his wallet and flipped to his license. He paused, and instead passed over a photo of himself, grinning and covered with dirt, wearing a caving helmet. Beside him was a man who looked like a younger version of Matt’s father.

“Is that proof enough that I know him?” Alan said.

“Not in a world with Photoshop.”

Reyna chuckled from the front seat.

Alan shook his head. “You kids are tough.”

“We’ve learned to be.”

“I imagine you have. I—” He stopped short. Matt followed his gaze to see an apartment, smoke billowing from the windows, flames licking out.

“Let me guess,” Reyna said. “That’s where you left Matt’s uncle.”

“On the top floor. There were people trapped up there.”

Before he could finish, someone ran from the sidewalk, waving frantically. It was a young woman, her face covered in soot.

Alan jumped out before the car came to a complete stop. “Is Pete still—?”

“He’s in there,” she said. “They were right behind me and then something happened.”

“Of course it did,” Reyna muttered.

“I need to go—” Matt began.

“Of course you do,” she said. “And we’re right behind you.”

T
he Raiders’ campsite was, as their camps always were, tidy and organized. This one was a little different, though, because they were settled in the Badlands. Craggy rock formations jutted up and looked a lot like the landscape of Hel. Usually a hike or run through the gorges and exploring the imposing cliffs was a treat for Fen. It was a perfect terrain to enjoy being a wolf. Now, however, it made Fen a little uncomfortable because of the similarity to Hel. He half expected monsters to step out of the gorges, but so far the only horrible creature he’d found at their site was the girl beside him.

Astrid was to be protected, according to the mayor, and Fen wasn’t sure how seriously the pack was tied to the crazy old man. He needed answers, and although talking to Skull had clarified some things, the only one who had proposed trying to figure out a plan was… Astrid.

It could be a trick.

It could be true.

Either way, Fen saw no harm in talking to her. He hadn’t hidden his thoughts on Ragnarök so far, and he couldn’t actually make any decisions that would endanger his pack, so there were no secrets he could spill. If she knew anything about
wulfenkind
—and he guessed that she must, since she was traveling with them—she knew that already… which meant she might be honestly looking for a way to protect Matt.

Fen was silent as he and Astrid walked farther away from Skull’s tent. He had the feeling that he needed more privacy than he’d get in camp. He motioned toward two of the Raiders who were watching him.

When the boy and girl came over, Fen said, “Astrid and I are going for a walk. No one is to leave camp.”

They both nodded. The girl said, “Do you need an escort?”

“No. Just pass the word to stay in camp.”

Then Fen turned to his former enemy and motioned toward the hills. “Killers first.”

She rolled her eyes, but she said nothing as she walked deeper into the cliffs and ravines of the Badlands.

Temporary truce.
He could do that. He wouldn’t forget, though, not ever, and if they all got through Ragnarök, he’d find a way to make her understand that she should never ever hurt his friends again.

Astrid stopped in a clearing that was sheltered from view by the rock formations. “Before I say anything, I need to
show
you something.”

Fen made an impatient gesture.

Astrid looked around the clearing and then gave Fen a glance that—on most people—would seem to mean they were scared. On her, he figured it was a trick. He couldn’t do anything to her. She was under his pack’s protection.

“I won’t hurt you,” Astrid said quietly. “Don’t run or freak out, okay?”

Her eyes changed as she spoke. Instead of normal girl eyes, her eyes looked like a snake’s or alligator’s. They weren’t human eyes. They weren’t even
mammal
eyes. He was right that Astrid was something other than human. She was a shape-shifter of some sort, but she wasn’t a wolf like Fen.

“What… what
are
you?”

“I won’t hurt you,” she repeated.

Then her skin started to change. What was smooth became scaled. Her pink-tipped hair vanished. Her fingers stretched, and her fingernails became claws. Her jaw lengthened, and her teeth extended to fit her now extended mouth. Thin-skinned wings stretched from her back and flapped once, then twice, and then once more before folding flat against her back.

“You’re a dragon,” he breathed.

The pink hue on the tips of her hair when she was a human was a slightly paler shade than the color of her scaled body. She looked like she belonged in a kids’ book or cartoon, if not for the scary-looking claws and giant teeth. Those were weapons.

His plans to make her understand not to threaten his friends suddenly looked more difficult… which made him realize that he’d been provoking a
dragon.
He’d been rude to her since he’d first met her. And right now, she looked like she could eat him alive. It made him a little queasy.

Astrid the dragon stretched her body out on the ground, watching him from reptilian eyes the whole time.

Fen hadn’t moved. He hadn’t run, but he wasn’t moving nearer to her, either.

She exhaled a puff of sulfurous air from behind those gleaming fangs, but there was no fire or even smoke. Then in a quick moment, the dragon seemed to fold in on itself, becoming a girl again.

“You’re a
dragon
,” he repeated.

“I am.” She didn’t come any closer, but she watched
him carefully as she added, “My role as guest of the pack means you have to do what’s in my best interest, just like the
wulfenkind
.”

“I know,” he said. A giant pit opened up in Fen’s stomach. Whatever she was about to say was going to be something he really wouldn’t like. Worse yet, he was powerless to argue. There were rules he couldn’t break, no
wulfenkind
could.

“I had to… poison Baldwin. I
had
to make sure the myths stay on track,” Astrid said, her voice sounding a little like she was trying to convince herself, too. “My family plays a role in this, too. I had no choice, Fen.”

He thought about it. His mind rolled through every Norse myth he could think of.
Dragons? Where were dragons in the stories? There were other reptiles, but…
His mind clicked on what she was saying suddenly. “Reptile,” he whispered.

“Reptile,” Astrid agreed.

“
You’re
the Midgard Serpent?” he asked, backing away so quickly that he almost tripped over his own feet.

“It’s a little more complic—”

“All Matt needs to do is beat you?” Fen interrupted. There were some serious possibilities here. They could end this whole mess pretty easily. Matt could take her in a fight, right? The whole part where she was a dragon would be a little harder… or maybe not. Thorsen was a good guy. He might find it easier to fight a dragon than a girl. He laughed.
“So the big bad monster we were so afraid of is a girl our age? This is so awesome.”

“Not exactly,” Astrid said slowly. “My grandmother is the serpent right now, but… it’s a family trait. You and Laurie are Loki’s representatives; Matt is Thor’s.…” Astrid shrugged. “Everyone’s a descendant of someone. My ancestor just happens to be a dragon. That’s my role in the big end-of-the-world fight. I get to be the monster that kills Thor.”

“Wait a minute! In the myth, Thor fights the serpent once before the great battle.” Fen glared at her, folded his arms over his chest, and shook his head. “You… you came to us so you could fight him.”

Astrid gave him a pitiful look, seeming far more vulnerable than any dragon should be. Her eyes widened imploringly, and she clasped her hands together. “I like Matt. I don’t want him to get hurt. I grew up hearing about him. My whole life I was told about Thor, about him.… They wanted me to hate him, but really, Matt is a hero.”

Fen narrowed his eyes and stared at her. “You
like
him.”

Astrid blushed, but then she looked straight at Fen and said, “He’s brave, and he shouldn’t have to die. I’ve been trying to follow the parts of the myth I have to. Maybe we can change the ending a little, though.”

Something didn’t add up. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he knew that he was missing something. This was when
he’d typically talk to Laurie or even Matt, but he couldn’t. He knew things they needed to know, but he was magically bound by his role in the pack. He couldn’t tell them, no matter how much he wanted to do so.

“How about you just let Matt fight you, lose, and then we can call off the whole ending-of-the-world part?” Fen suggested.

Astrid giggled.

Somehow that seemed almost as disturbing as the fact that she was a dragon. When the monster laughs, it’s never a good thing. He’d read enough comic books to know that.

“What’s so funny? I think…” He didn’t get to finish telling her that he thought that his idea could work, because the air in front of him started to shimmer.

“Portal,” Astrid murmured.

Fen glanced at her and then back at the opening that was forming in front of him. Seeing a portal open up was commonplace lately. What left him with his mouth hanging open like a gaping fish, though, was seeing Laurie and Baldwin step out of that portal at the edge of the Raiders’ camp. They were the good guys, the heroes, part of the team that would defeat the monsters that
he
was supposed to lead into the final battle.

But there she was, his cousin. A Raider whose name Fen didn’t remember stumbled forward, and Baldwin stood
shoulder to shoulder with Laurie as the portal snapped closed. All three of them were ash covered, and there were smudges of soot on Laurie’s face.

“What hap—”

“What happened?” Laurie cut him off. “What
happened
? Well, you’d know if you hadn’t vanished on me!” She folded her arms over her chest, and the look on her face was one that made him want to tuck his tail between his legs and slink away.

Before Fen could answer, she stepped forward and hugged him, and then smacked him on the shoulder and said, “You have some explaining to do, Fenrir Brekke!”