Loki's Wolves - Armstrong Kelley L.. Страница 50

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out you stole the shield?” Matt asked. “You could have told me. Then you could have come into the camp with me.”

“I wasin the camp. I saved your butt, Thorsen. Again. I’m not sure what you mean, but—”

“Don’t,” Matt interrupted. “I get it now. You offered to get the shield back alone. Then you didn’t want to come into camp. You didn’t want me to know you were involved with the Raiders.”

“Wolves pay dues,” Fen said. “That was mine and Laurie’s. I didn’t know the shield mattered, just that I needed to get it.”

“And the part about delivering me?” Matt asked.

Fen froze. He’d known it was a bad idea to go after the shield, but he hadn’t thought Skull would actually tell Matt. What? Did he stop midfight for a heart-to-heart?Fen growled low in his throat. “I didn’t, though! I fought at your side against Raiders. I tramped all over with you and fought monsters at your side. I mighta agreed to deliver you, but I didn’t do it.”

They faced off. Fen’s heart was racing like they were fighting, even though all they were doing was staring at each other.

Finally, Matt rolled his shoulders and nodded. “Okay. I believe you. But no more secrets. We’ve gotta be a team now, trust each other, watch each other’s backs so no one gets hurt.”

Fen wanted to say something smart, to pretend he hadn’t been wrong, but he couldn’t. He would feel horrible if someone got hurt because of him, and he did want to save the world. He lifted a shoulder in a small shrug, but he stayed silent.

“At Ragnarok, Loki was Thor’s enemy,” Matt said. “But in other stories, they were friends. They traveled together. They fought side by side. We need to be that version. Friends.”

And Fen didn’t know what to say, so he settled on, “Whatever.”

Matt turned and left, and Fen half expected Ray, Reyna, and Astrid to all come out to lecture him about something else. It felt like everyone wanted to tell him what he had done wrong or, worse yet, what he would do wrong.

Twenty minutes later, when the pizza arrived and Baldwin came out to pay for it, Fen took one of the two boxes and followed Baldwin into the kitchen. Astrid was already in there.

“I got everything out,” she said. She pointed at the counter where plates, napkins, glasses, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and red-pepper flakes were all lined up neatly.

“Thank you,” Baldwin said.

Astrid beamed at him. “You did everything. This part was easy.”

“Suck-up,” Fen muttered.

Instead of snapping back at him, Astrid turned her supercharged smile at him. “Oh, and thank you, too, Fen, for being you!”

He snapped his teeth at her, and she left the kitchen.

After Astrid had left, Fen said, “I don’t trust her.”

“You don’t trust anyone,” Baldwin said.

“Not true.” Fen picked up a slice of pizza and took a bite. “I trust Laurie, Thorsen… and you.”

Baldwin shrugged. “Sure, but everyone trusts me. It’s like the not-getting-hurt thing. I don’t think I count. Matt’s our leader. You might not like Astrid, but she was right about that. He’s the one who’s going to lead us into the big battle, right? You kind of haveto trust him, or you wouldn’t be here.”

Fen knew Baldwin was right, but he still didn’t like Astrid or the twins. Maybe wolves don’t like witches?He chomped the pizza while he thought about it. He’d ask Matt about that later. Right now, he just wanted some downtime. Baldwin was cool about the talking thing, too. He wasn’t pushy, like Laurie and Matt were.

“Food?” Reyna—or maybe Ray—said as the twins came in. They were more of a single entity than made sense to Fen.

Everyone else followed. Laurie, Matt, and Astrid were laughing at something, and Baldwin stood there grinning in that way of his that made Fen want to get along with the witch kids. Maybe he was just being difficult.

“Do you want to pick a movie with me?” Baldwin gestured toward the door with a slice of pizza.

Fen nodded and grabbed another slice.

They abandoned the kitchen to the others and headed to the living room to figure out what to watch. They had a better chance of avoiding some girly nonsense if they picked it while all three girls were in the kitchen. It was nice to have someone on his side, too. Laurie seemed so mad at him, and Matt wasn’t exactly mad, but Fen thought that was only because he’d decided not to be. He’d looked pretty hurt over the whole Raiders thing.

I’d like to pound Skull.

“Fen?”

He looked at Baldwin, who was pulling movies out of a cabinet.

“You’re growling again,” Baldwin said. “It’s a little weird.” Then he held up both hands so Fen could see the options. Star Warswas in one hand; in the other was a movie with an explosion on the cover and another with a cowboy on it. “Space or Earth? Monsters or humans?”

“Any of them. Just nothing about dances or anything”—Fen made air quotes with his fingers—“heartwarming.”

They got the movie set up just as everyone was coming into the living room. Astrid flopped down on the floor. Ray and Reyna were on the sofa with Laurie. That left two chairs. Matt, being Matt, offered one to Astrid—who laughed and told him, “You take it. I’m happier on the floor.”

Fen opened his mouth to make a remark, but Baldwin spoke hurriedly, “Come on. They didn’t bring out the red-pepper flakes or cheese.”

After they both snatched pieces out of one of the boxes, Fen offered, “I can grab it.”

“Okay,” Baldwin agreed—but he still headed to the kitchen.

They found the jar of red-pepper flakes sitting on the counter right where it had been.

“I love this stuff,” Fen said.

“Me, too! Mom doesn’t, but I go through jars of it.” Baldwin held out his slice of pizza, and Fen shook pepper flakes onto it.

As they walked back into the living room, Baldwin took a bite of pizza and immediately started coughing.

“Baldwin, are you okay?” Matt asked.

Baldwin clutched at his throat.

Laurie grabbed her water and held it out. “Here, wash it down.”

But Baldwin lunged toward Fen, grasping his arm so hard that he all but knocked Fen to the ground.

“Maybe he swallowed wrong.” Fen pounded Baldwin’s back.

Fen took Laurie’s glass of water and tried to help Baldwin drink.

That wasn’t helping either, so Fen switched to trying to do that Heimlich maneuver they talked about in health class. Matt understood and pushed everyone else back. As Baldwin flailed his arms around, the glass of water fell and shattered on the floor. Baldwin was clawing at his throat with one hand and grabbing Fen with the other.

And then he… stopped.

He stopped grabbing Fen, stopped moving, and stopped breathing. He just stopped.

Fen felt Baldwin’s body droop and lowered him to the floor. He tried to feel for a pulse and didn’t find it. Frantically, he pounded on Baldwin’s chest like he’d seen in TV shows. In movies, that worked. People pushed on the chest and what…? Fen thought for a moment. They blew air in the person’s mouth. Fen put his hands into a fist and pushed hard in the middle of Baldwin’s chest. Nothing happened.

While he was doing that, Matt reached out and felt for a pulse.

As Fen leaned over to blow air into Baldwin’s mouth, Matt caught hold of Fen’s shoulder. “He’s dead.”

“No, no, no! He can’t die. He can’t even feel pain. No,” Fen said.

Matt met Fen’s eyes, and then he shook his head. “Fen…”

“No,” Fen snarled. “He’s fine. You, witches, dosomething.”

Reyna said, “Magic can’t change death.”

Astrid started sobbing. She collapsed on top of Matt, who put his arm around her to steady her.

“It’s like the myth! Balder is dead!” Astrid pointed a finger at Fen. “What did you do?”