Thor's Serpents (7 page)

“No,” Matt said, as evenly as he could. “Whatever you think I’ve done, I’m pretty sure it’s exactly what you expect. In fact, I’m sure you’re kind of happy about the whole thing. Now everyone else can see what a loser I am.”

Jake’s face screwed up. “What?”

“Never mind. I don’t know what Granddad has told you—”

“Granddad hasn’t told me anything. No, strike that. He’s told us that this isn’t what it looks like. That you haven’t ditched your responsibilities as Thor’s champion, run away to hide, and left the rest of us watching the end of the world come without any way to stop it.”

“Is that what you think?” Reyna said. “Seriously?”

“It’s what they expect,” Matt said.

“Then they don’t know you at all.”

Jake turned to her, shield still in hand. “I don’t know who you are, but stay out of this.” He glanced at Matt. “And I don’t know what you mean about what I
expect
, but I
expected
you to man up and face this.”

“Man up?” Reyna said. “Did you really just say that?”

Jake ignored her. “I expected better of you, Matt. We all did. You might have been scared by what Granddad said, but it was your responsibility to fight. I’d take your place if I could, but I can’t, so you needed to let us help you and train you, not sneak off in the night like a scared little boy, hook up with these street kids—”

“Street kids?” Reyna said.

“They’re the descendants of Frey and Freya,” Matt said. “I didn’t run away. I left to do what I was supposed to do—gather the champions.”

Jake peered over at Ray and Reyna. “If someone told you those are the descendants of the gods of love and beauty, then you’ve been tricked. Or you need glasses.”

“
Excuse
me?” the twins said in unison.

“The Brekkes got you into this mess, didn’t they,” Jake continued. “I heard you might have joined up with them. They’re the other
side
, Matt. Loki leads the monsters. Maybe you thought you could… I don’t know, flip them to our team? Avert Ragnarök? You’re just a kid—you don’t understand these things. The Brekkes were playing you all along. Then they dumped you with these two fake—”

“Does this look fake?” Reyna cut in, swirling fog from her fingertips.

“No, and it doesn’t look like the work of a goddess, either. You’re a witch.”

“I’ve heard that before.” She pulled the feathered cloak out of her bag. “Your baby brother—who you think is too
dumb
to spot fake-god kids—knew what this is. Do you?”

It took a moment, and Matt could see Jake struggling, mentally thumbing through the myths. Then he said, “It looks like Freya’s cloak, but it’s clearly a fake.”

Reyna put it on and disappeared. “Does it
look
fake?” As
Jake stood there, staring, she took it off, stuffed the cloak back into her pack, and strode over to Mjölnir. “How about you come and pick this up? See if it’s fake, too.”

Jake stood there, staring at the hammer, past scoffing but uncertain and confused.

Matt walked over and carefully lifted Mjölnir, trying not to be too confident about it. He knew why Jake doubted him. Matt was just a kid, and he always messed up, always got into trouble, always made mistakes. Even if Matt had come to realize he didn’t actually mess up more than the average thirteen-year-old—that’s what Jake thought of him. Of course Jake would believe he’d run off or been tricked.

So he lifted Mjölnir, then threw it, and everyone watched in silence as it returned to his hand.

“See?” Reyna said. “Matt—”

Matt quieted her with a look. He appreciated that she’d defended him, but it wasn’t necessary now as his brother stood there, staring.

“I…” Jake said. “That’s… You have…”

“Mjölnir,” Matt said quietly. “I took Mjölnir from the tomb. I took the shield back from the Raiders. I even have Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr, Thor’s goats. I’ve met the Valkyries. I’ve fought trolls and mara and draugrs and jötnar. I
am
with Laurie Brekke. She’s Loki’s champion, and she’s on my side. We’ve found the twins and Baldwin—Balder’s descendant. Baldwin died, just like in the myths,
but it was one of the monsters who did it, not the Brekkes. We got Baldwin back, though. From Hel. I even fell in the river of the dead, swallowed some of it, and survived. We’ve changed the myth, but Ragnarök is still coming. I’ve seen the Midgard Serpent. We can’t stop it. We can only prepare.”

Jake stared at him. “You…”

“Yes,” Reyna said. “He did all of that. He’s the real Champion of Thor. Your
loser
little brother.”

Jake blinked. “I never said…” He looked at Matt. “
You
said that. I’ve never…” He trailed off, studying Matt’s expression. “Is that what you think? Sure, you make mistakes. But you’re just a kid. I expect you to mess up.”

“I’m not
just
a kid,” Matt said. “And I don’t mess up nearly as often as you think I do.”

Jake’s mouth worked. Then he stepped toward Matt, his voice lowering. “Sure, I might have been hard on you sometimes. You’re my little brother. But…” He looked at Ray and Reyna, and straightened. “Anyway, enough of that. You’re obviously in trouble, and you need our help. You never should have left.” He lifted his hands. “I know, you don’t want me giving you crap, but in this case, I think you deserve it.”

“Actually, he doesn’t,” Reyna said. “There’s more to the story.”

Matt asked the twins to scout for a few minutes. Then he told Jake about their grandfather, about what he’d heard
at the meeting and, later, that Granddad admitted to everything.

When Matt finished, Jake looked like he was going to be sick. He kept shaking his head, saying, “No, that’s not right. You’ve made a mistake. There’s no way Granddad would ever—”

“It’s true,” Ray said, walking over. “Reyna and I weren’t there, but others were with Matt when your grandpa admitted it. Lots of others. There was no question of a misunderstanding. Whatever his reasons, your grandpa is leading the monsters’ side.”

“He expected Matt to lose,” Reyna said as she joined them. “He wanted him to lose.” Her voice shook, as if with anger. “He says it’s for the best, a new world order, but he expected Matt to
die
. That’s what we’re up against. That’s why Matt took off and why he couldn’t come back. For all he knows, you guys—his family—are on your grandfather’s side.”

“What?” Jake’s eyes went wide. He wheeled on Matt. “You didn’t seriously think I’d do that.”

“Not you or Josh. But maybe Mom and Dad—”

“—would be okay with you dying? Really?”

“If Granddad’s fine with it…” He shrugged. “I couldn’t rule out the possibility, could I? It’s not like I thought Mom and Dad
wanted
me dead. But if it had to happen… well, at least it wasn’t you or Josh.”

Jake stared at him, mouth open. “You actually
did
think they’d be okay with you dying.”

“That came out wrong. I’m not feeling sorry for myself. I’m just saying that it was a possibility. It had to be. It still is.”

“No, it isn’t.”

Matt looked up, meeting his brother’s gaze. “Yes. It is.”

“Matt’s right,” Reyna said. “Sure, the chance your parents are involved seems tiny, but it’s
still
a chance. Maybe they wouldn’t be okay with it, but it’s possible they know and they’re trying to figure a way out of it, like Matt thought your grandfather was doing.”

“I really,
really
don’t think they know,” Jake said. “They’re a mess, Matt, and not because their champion has disappeared—because their
kid
is gone.”

“But we have to—”

“Okay, I get it. We have to consider all the possibilities.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe my little brother is the one telling
me
to be careful. But I get it. Still, you need to let Mom and Dad know—”

“Are you even listening?” Reyna said.

Jake turned on her. “Look, you may be the descendant of Freya, but I don’t know you, and you don’t know my family.”

“I know Matt. Not like you do, obviously, though I’m not sure how well you know him if you thought—”

Matt cut her short with a look. Then he turned to Jake.
“I came back because I need information. Something the Norns say my family knows.”

“Norns? You’ve met…” Jake trailed off, shaking his head. “Sorry. Go on.”

“They said someone in my family knows where the battleground is. For Ragnarök. I would have guessed Granddad, but obviously I can’t ask him now, and anyway, the Norns say he doesn’t—Never mind. That’s just confusing. Typical Norns. Anyway, they say someone in my family knows, other than Granddad. I’m guessing Dad, but he’s never exactly been into that stuff.…”

“It’s Uncle Pete.”

“What?”

“You need to talk to Uncle Pete. In Mitchell.”

Matt went quiet. “Uncle Pete? I haven’t seen—”

“—him since you were practically in diapers. I know. He had a huge falling-out with Granddad. I was old enough to remember it. Not that it made much sense at the time—I was just a kid. But you’ve heard Dad say how much you remind him of his brother.”

“Um, yeah, the screwup uncle that Granddad won’t talk about and who we haven’t seen in ten years.”

Jake made a face. “Okay, I can see where that probably made things worse, but Dad didn’t mean it like that. Uncle Pete didn’t screw up. He disagreed with Granddad on some things and got kicked out of Blackwell. Dad isn’t supposed
to talk to him, but he sees him whenever he has an excuse to go out that way. When he says you’re like his brother, yeah, he means you’re different, that you don’t see things the way the other Thorsens do, but Uncle Pete is smart—super-smart. And no one knows the old stories like him. That’s what Dad means. And that’s why you need to go talk to him. The problem is getting to Mitchell.”

“We have portals,” Ray said.

“Por…? I won’t ask. But if it means we can get there easily, that works.” He took out his cell phone. “I’ll text Mom, saying I’ll be back late tonight and—”

“You can’t come with me,” Matt said.

“Why not?”

Because I’d rather you didn’t. Because I’m finally feeling like a champion, and I can’t have my big brother treating me like a kid. It’s not about making me feel bad—it’s about undermining my confidence when I need it most.

“You… you should stay here. Look after Mom and Dad.”

Jake shook his head. “Not today. Today I’m going to be a real big brother. I’m going to look after
you
.”

L
aurie wasn’t sure how she felt about being back in Blackwell. Mostly, it just felt wrong, or maybe it was just the idea of being here without Fen that felt wrong. She trusted Matt’s instincts, and if he thought he needed to see his family, he did. That didn’t mean she really wanted to see hers. The side of her family that knew what was really going on was the enemy. The Brekkes knew why the sky was dark now. They knew Ragnarök was coming. Her mother… well, she probably just thought Laurie was being stupid, following Fen and getting into trouble.

She wasn’t actually wrong. That was the worst part. Laurie
had
followed her cousin, and they had gotten into a
bunch of trouble, but it was for a good reason. She knew her mother could never understand that, though.

With Baldwin and Owen at her sides, Laurie walked through Blackwell. There were a few lights on in some houses, but people were being cautious. She realized that was the Thorsens’ doing. The mayor, despite being insane enough to want the world to end, had at least found some way of explaining to the town that they had to be cautious with their resources.

“Creepy, but not as bad as Rapid City,” Baldwin said.

“Yeah,” she agreed in a low voice. “But this town is also run by the leader of the enemies, so… there’s that.”

“Okay. I take it back: Blackwell is just as creepy as Rapid, but in a different way.”

Owen stayed silent. His ravens had appeared when the kids entered Blackwell and were now perched on his shoulders. They didn’t disturb her as they had initially, but she still wasn’t a fan of the birds. Sharp beaks and wicked talons didn’t invite cuddling in her book.

She hoped that if the birds had no news, Owen could see where Fen was. That was how his seeing worked: he couldn’t foresee things when he was involved, but Fen was away from them now. Surely that should mean that Owen could see something that could be useful. The others didn’t seem to get how it worked, and Laurie thought that they respected his silence and listened to him a little more when he did
speak because they thought he could still see things—or maybe he
did
still see things that helped him to know.

“I want to know if you see anything about Fen,” Laurie told him. It wasn’t quite an
order
, but it wasn’t a question, either.

Owen simply nodded once… which could either mean that he heard her or that he was agreeing with her. His two ravens chattered into his ears, speaking to him in words no one else understood.

Laurie took her bow in hand and turned her attention to the potential threats in Blackwell. With the mayor being the head of the enemy side, there were plenty of reasons to suspect that there would be wolves in town. Maybe he wouldn’t have trolls or mara or anything so obviously monstrous, but a few wolves wouldn’t be noticed.

And that’s why we need to see our families
, Laurie thought.
I need to warn Mom.

“So my mother doesn’t know about any of this,” Laurie told Baldwin and Owen. “My dad’s the… umm, wolf. He’s a Brekke, and my mom’s just normal or whatever.”

“My parents both seem normal.” Baldwin frowned. “Not that
we
aren’t normal. We’re just kids, so that’s normal. Superpowers and all aren’t really common, though. Just us. Okay, and the enemy has superpowers.… Oh! I wonder if there are other people with god- or monster-powers, but we don’t know them.”

Laurie smiled at the babbling that had become as familiar to her as Fen’s bad attitude and Matt’s optimism. She looked at Baldwin and told him, “I missed you when you were dead.”

“Oh, I know. Fen said…” Baldwin’s words quickly faded. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay to say his name. I know he’s not a traitor or spy. You’ll all see it, too.”

Owen sighed. “He is where he must be. Like you, he has a role in the final battle. He
will
be with the monsters, Laurie, not us.”

Laurie ignored him and pointed toward her building. “This is it. Home.”

“I hope you’re right,” Baldwin said. “I mean, about Fen. I’m sure you’re right about your building.”

She shook her head. “I am right… about
both
.”

The boys stopped beside her. Owen’s ravens flew away after pausing to swoop close enough to her that her hair blew around in the breeze from their wings.

As they walked to her apartment, Laurie considered her options. There were really only two choices now. She could take the boys inside with her, or she could leave them alone outside to wait while she talked to her mother and little brother. Dividing into an even smaller group seemed like a bad idea… especially if they needed to flee.

She put a hand on Owen’s arm as they reached her door.
He still had a faraway look in his eye, and she needed to be sure he was listening. Once he met her eyes, she told the two boys, “If Mom tries to make me stay, I’ll portal us to the longship.”

“Right,” Baldwin said. “Escape parents with your super god-powers. That’s Plan B, I guess. What’s the plan that doesn’t require us to escape?”

Laurie shrugged. “Talk to her. Make sure they’re safe. Maybe tell them about Ragnarök.”

“Plan A, complete craziness. Got it.” Baldwin gestured to her door. “Let’s do it.”

She laughed and opened the door. “Mom? It’s me.”

“Laurie?” Her mother came running to her. “Oh my goodness!
Laurie!
” Her mother grabbed her and hugged her. “I’ve been so worried. What were you thinking? And you, Fe—you’re not Fen.”

“Baldwin.” He held out his hand like he wanted to shake. “That’s Owen. He’s not very talkative.”

Laurie’s mother stared at Baldwin, barely sparing a glance for the blue-haired boy wearing an eye patch like some otherworldly pirate.

“You’re the boy who’s supposed to be dead,” her mom said. “The mayor came, and he told me that F—”

“The mayor lied,” Laurie interrupted, pointing at Baldwin. “Baldwin’s fine, and Fen did
nothing
wrong. The mayor isn’t someone you can trust.”

“Oh, sweetie, is this that Brekke-Thorsen thing your father goes on about?” Her mother sighed. “I know they don’t get along, but that doesn’t mean—”

“Did the mayor say Fen killed Baldwin?”

“Yes, but—”

“So you can see that he
lied
. You can see that with your own eyes, Mom.” Laurie was about to say more, when her brother, Jordie, came running into the room.

“I
did
hear you!” he yelled as he tackled her. “I thought you were gone forever.”

Laurie felt her eyes burn with tears as she stumbled at the fierceness of his hug. She held on tightly to her brother. “No, not forever.” She lowered her voice and added, “But I’ll be gone for a while longer.”

He didn’t say anything, but she felt him shake his head.

“I came to see if you were both okay,” Laurie said as she straightened, releasing her brother. “We wanted to check on you.”

“The mayor did, too, and the sheriff,” Jordie said. “
And
your cousin Kris, the one who lives with Fen.”

“Oh.” She looked at her mother.

“Why don’t we sit down,” her mom suggested.

Baldwin and Owen followed Laurie and Jordie into the living room. Jordie was still clinging to her like he was afraid she’d vanish the moment he let go. She felt a wave of guilt because she was going to leave again. She
had
to.

“Ragnarök is coming,” she blurted out as they sat down on the sofa.

Instead of being shocked, her mother simply said, “I figured.”

“I know it seems crazy but… wait,
what
did you say?” Laurie glanced at Baldwin and Owen, silently asking if they heard the same thing she had.

Baldwin’s eyes widened, but Owen nodded.

“Ragnarök,” her mom said calmly. “Sky darkened, wolves, Brekkes and Thorsens at odds because of their ancestry.”

Baldwin exchanged another look with Laurie. Then Baldwin prompted, “And do you know about the
wulfenkind
?”

“Laurie’s father, probably Fen, and”—she folded her hands tightly together—“are you… a wolf, too, Laurie?”

“Umm, no.” Laurie swallowed and stared at her mother and then at her brother. “You know? You both know?”

Her mom nodded. “Your father explained it years ago. Why else would I forgive him for coming and going like he does? It’s because he doesn’t want to join the crazier part of his family. I figured Fen would join them, though, and I was afraid he’d talk you into it, too. I worried about his influence.”

“You thought Fen was a bad influence because he’d persuade me to join one of the family wolf packs?” Laurie asked. “It wasn’t because we got into trouble?”

Her mother smiled. “Well, there was that, too.”

Laurie closed her eyes for a moment, pinched her wrist, and then opened her eyes. She was awake. “This is real.”

Owen nodded.

“No mara as far as I can tell,” Baldwin murmured. “Plus, this isn’t really a
nightmare
. It’s good, right?” He looked at her mom. “You aren’t going to say Laurie should join the bad guys or something, are you?”

“No.” Her mother sighed. “I hoped you were making peace with the Thorsens. It is that youngest Thorsen you ran away with, according to the mayor.”

“It is,” Laurie said quietly. “Him and Fen.”

Her mother nodded. “Jordie, go get that picture I had you hide.”

Laurie’s brother squeezed her quickly, and then he ran toward his room. Laurie watched him go. She wasn’t in shock. After everything that she’d experienced lately, shock wasn’t likely. She was, however, more than a bit surprised. “You knew.”

“I hoped you wouldn’t get swept up in it, but then you turned into a fish—”

“That was a dream.” She remembered it more like a nightmare, though. She’d woken up to find that she was a salmon and had been terrified that she would suffocate. A few days later, she’d been on the run with Fen, who could become a wolf, and Matt, who could throw people backward with some invisible power. “I overreacted, but—”

“No, dear, you really were a fish.” Her mother patted her hand. “I thought maybe we could ignore it. I told your father, of course, but he said that fish were rare in the family. There hasn’t been a salmon in generations, apparently. I figured it was better than a wolf, though. Maybe it would mean you wouldn’t get mixed up with that Brekke bunch.”

“You’re a fish?” Baldwin asked. “How come you’ve never turned into a fish around us?”

Laurie opened her mouth, realized she had no answer, and closed her mouth.

Owen looked at her and smiled. Then he walked away to stare out the window.

Jordie came back carrying a picture and a bag with fish scales. He’d obviously heard the end of the conversation, though, because he said, “I took a picture of it the next night when it happened. She didn’t wake up when it happened; it was just
poof
, my sister was a fish. Maybe she can be both a wolf and a fish someday. Dad says it happens.” He looked at Baldwin hopefully and asked, “No wolf signs when she’s been sleeping?”

“No, not so far,” Baldwin said very seriously. “She’s always been a girl, no scales or fur, but she does have a bow that shoots invisible arrows.”

“Cool!” Jordie yelled. He flopped down next to Laurie and asked, “Can I see it?”

“Not right now.”

Baldwin started to add, “She can also make—”

“Stop.” Laurie cut him off. She looked at her mother. “Okay, so you already know most of the stuff I didn’t know how to tell you.”

Her mother nodded.

“Here’s the rest: don’t trust any of the Thorsens or the Brekkes. Don’t go anywhere with any of them, and… I don’t know. Can you get to where Dad is?” She felt better knowing that her family wasn’t as vulnerable as she’d feared, but she felt worse because this meant they realized how dangerous things were in the world—but had no way to stay safe.

“Your father is on his way to us. Last I heard he’d reached Canada, but he’s traveling by foot or by bus when he can. He doesn’t want to get caught sneaking into town.”

Laurie nodded. “Good. Good. So… okay, then. He’ll keep you safe while I’m away.”

“Away?” Her mother’s smile vanished then. “You’re home now. We’ll be here together when he arrives.”

That’s when Laurie realized that her mother didn’t know the big part. “Mom, I can’t stay. I’m Loki’s champion. I have to fight in the final battle, alongside Matt and Baldwin.”

Her mom opened and closed her mouth, but no words came out.

“Matt is Thor’s champion, Owen is Odin’s, and Baldwin is Balder’s, and then the others are waiting for us, too. Frey and Freya’s representatives are with Matt. We’ve got the
hammer and the shield, and we’re going to fight the great serpent, the Thorsens, and the Raiders… who are mostly Brekkes.”

“No,” her mother said. “You can’t go fighting anything.”

“I have to. I’m
Loki’s champion
.” Laurie stood up and started pacing. “We fought a bunch of monsters already, but the battle is coming. I can’t stay here.”

“No.”

“The world will end if we don’t stop them.”

“Someone else can do it.” Her mother stood, too. “You and your friends will stay here, and when your father gets home, we’ll deal with all of us getting somewhere safe.”