Loki's Wolves (23 page)

A half hour later, the twins finally started to get what the trolls meant. Kind of.

“No paper money?” Reyna said. “How do you get a ransom without paper money? Bonds or something?”

“Gold,” Ray whispered to his sister. “They said shiny treasure, so I think they mean gold.”

“Then why don’t they say gold?”

Ray looked at the trolls, and Matt could see by the way he studied them that he’d figured out they weren’t guys in costumes. But when he glanced at his sister, he seemed to decide this wasn’t the time to argue with her about it.

Ray wriggled in his bonds and pulled off a ring. Then he held it out as best he could, pinched between his fingers. “Is this what you want? More of this? Treasure?”

Aerik made a move to snatch the ring, and Ray quickly tossed it onto the grass. All three trolls dove for it. Leaf came up victorious, chortling in that scraping-rocks way that made Matt’s teeth clench.

“That’s what you want then?” Ray said. “That’s treasure?”

“Yes,” Aerik said, bouncing. “Treasure. More treasure. Aerik want treasure.”

“Give them your ring,” Ray whispered to his sister.

“What? I am not—”

“Reyna!”

Reyna grumbled, but managed to yank it off and tossed it. Again, it was like a football tackle as all three went for it. Leaf got this one, too, but Aerik snatched it away, and they argued in wordless rumbles before Leaf gave in.

“There,” Reyna said. “Now, if you can untie us…”

“More treasure,” Sun said, rolling forward to crouch in front of her. “Want more.”

“We don’t have more with us,” Ray said.

Reyna wriggled her fingers. “See? No more rings. That’s it.”

Now Leaf sidled forward, rocking from side to side, knuckles dragging. “More treasure.”

“We don’t have—”

“More treasure!” Aerik roared as he shot forward and grabbed Ray by the throat.

Aerik swung Ray up, Reyna dangling behind him by her bound hands. He lifted Ray overhead and started to squeeze. Ray gasped and kicked. Reyna shouted and tried to twist around.

“Treasure!” Aerik shouted. “Give treasure or Aerik break son Frey. Break his bones. Grind his bones. Do now!”

Matt yanked off his amulet and lunged from his hiding place. “Did someone say treasure?”

Aerik turned, the other two turning with him, and Matt found himself facing off with three trolls. He swallowed and found his voice.

“Remember me?” Matt said.

“Son Thor.” Leaf held up an injured hand. “Cracked Leaf fingers.”

“Right. And the son of Thor has a very special treasure, doesn’t he?” Matt unclenched his fist and let the amulet fall. “You remember this, too?”

“Hammer,” Sun said. “God Hammer.”

“And the god Hammer is a very special treasure, isn’t it? Better than a whole mountain of rings and coins. It has power. Thor’s power. Giant-killing power.”

He swung the amulet. All three pairs of beady eyes tracked it, back and forth.

“You want this?” Matt asked.

Three ugly heads nodded.

“Then put those kids down.”

Aerik dropped them, Ray landing on Reyna, who let out an
oomph
.

“Good. Now, I know all three of you want it, so we have to make this a race. I’ll throw it. First one who gets it wins the power of Thor. Is that fair?”

They nodded again. Leaf inched forward. Aerik shot out a long arm to stop him, and they grumbled at each other for a moment before Leaf moved back in line.

“Everyone ready?” Matt said. “On the count of three. One.” He pulled his hand back. “Two.” He flexed his arm.
“Three!” He pretended to whip the necklace, instead tossing it up, hidden, in his fist.

None of the trolls moved. Matt lowered his fist to his side and waved with his other hand. “It’s out there. Go get it.”

“Is in hand,” Sun said.

“What?” Matt held out the hand he’d waved. “No, it’s empty. See?”

“Other hand.”

Aerik took a long stride forward. “Son Thor think Aerik stupid. Aerik not stupid. Hammer in hand.”

Matt opened his other hand and faked surprise at seeing the necklace there. “Huh. It must have gotten caught on my finger. Sorry about that. Let’s try again.”

He waved Aerik back in line between the other two. Behind them, Ray and Reyna were working furiously to get free. Reyna had one hand out and was pulling at the knot. Matt tried to stall, but the trolls started grumbling and rocking back and forth, as if ready to attack.

“Okay, okay,” he said. “Here we go. I’ll throw it this time. Everyone ready?”

The trolls nodded. As Matt had been stalling, hoping the twins would get free, he’d tugged the amulet off the cord. Now he gripped the cord, letting it dangle, but held the amulet firmly between his thumb and palm. He counted down and then whipped the cord as hard as he could.

Again the trolls just stood there.

“Didn’t you see it?” he said, waving with one hand as he slid the amulet into his pocket. “I threw it this time.”

“I saw it!” Ray piped up. “I can still see it, on the base of that grave over there.”

“Is black strap,” Aerik said. “Thor son threw black strap. Not want black strap.”

Why isn’t it working? Laurie tricked them easily.
Panic swirled in his gut.

Laurie moved forward. “But the black strap is what holds the Hammer on his neck. It’s over there. Just like Frey’s son said. See it?”

“Is trap,” Aerik said. “Hammer in pocket.”

“What?” Matt said, patting his pockets, hoping his hands weren’t shaking. “How would it get in there? I threw it. It’s—”

Aerik charged.

Matt shoved Laurie out of the way and hit Aerik with a Hammer blast. A perfect hit, almost instantaneous, and he couldn’t help grinning as the troll sailed to the ground. Unfortunately, there were two others with him, and they were charging now. Matt dove to the other side, away from Laurie, hitting the ground and rolling.

“Hey!” Fen shouted. “Ugly number two! Over here!”

As Matt got to his feet, he started motioning for Laurie to get to safety, then stopped himself: they needed to get the
twins untied. She was a step ahead of him and already racing toward them as her cousin baited the trolls.

Matt hit Sun with the Hammer as Fen dodged Leaf’s charge.

Fen ran up beside Matt as Aerik lumbered to his feet. “Word of advice, Thorsen? Stick to fighting. You have no future as a magician.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Aerik rushed them. Matt sent him flying with the Hammer, but by then, Sun was on his feet and Leaf had wheeled, and they were both running at Matt and Fen. They dove opposite ways, and the trolls went after them.

As Sun lunged, Matt launched the Hammer. Or he tried to. Nothing happened. He rolled as Sun’s fist came down, hitting the ground with a boom. He tried the Hammer again, focusing harder, getting madder. Sparks fizzled and drifted to the grass, barely even making it smolder.

Matt saw that massive fist coming at him again and tried to scramble up, but he was too late. It caught him in the shoulder, and he crashed into the nearest grave, his head striking it hard enough that he blacked out for a split second. When he came to, he was hanging three feet off the ground, staring into Sun’s face as the troll held him by the collar.

Matt clenched his fist and called on the Hammer. His hand barely glowed.

“You’re out of juice!” Fen yelled. “Think of something else.”

Matt started to yell back that he could use a little help, but Fen was facing off with Leaf. The twins were free and now with Laurie. The three of them were dancing around Aerik, trying to keep him distracted.

Sun shook Matt. “Give Hammer. Give Hammer now.”

“Wish I could,” Matt muttered. “But I seem to be running on empty.”

“Sun break Thor son. Break him—”

Matt swung at Sun and hit him square in the jaw. A knockout blow… that barely made Sun flinch and sent white-hot pain stabbing through Matt’s arm, like he’d punched a brick wall.

That’s what he is. A brick wall. Like Fen said. They’re monsters made of stone. You can’t fight
—

“Give Hammer!” Sun roared. “Give now!”

He shook Matt so hard his teeth rattled and his stomach lurched and all he could see was the blur of Sun’s beady eyes and open mouth and—

Yes!

Matt clenched his teeth and waited for Sun to stop shaking him. Then he pulled back his fist and punched the troll in the eye. Sun let out a grating howl. Matt hit him in the other eye.

Sun dropped him, and Matt hit the ground as Sun staggered back, yowling a nails-down-chalkboard yowl.

“Sun no see! No see! Sun blind!”

“Thorsen!” Fen yelled.

Matt struggled up and wheeled to see Laurie in the grip of Aerik. The twins batted at the monster, who ignored them. Fen was twenty feet away, facing off with Leaf, who stood between him and his cousin.

“Thorsen!” Fen shouted again.

“Got it!”

Matt ran and launched himself at Aerik. As he did, he remembered why he hadn’t done this the first time—because it was like leaping onto a smooth rock face. There was nothing to grab. No, wait, maybe…

As he jumped, he managed to hook one arm around the troll’s neck and hold on. He reached around to grind his palm into the troll’s eye.

Aerik roared and dropped Laurie. He whacked at Matt, his claws catching Matt’s T-shirt. Matt lost his grip and fell off before he was hooked.

The troll spun as Matt jumped. He landed with Laurie, Ray, and Reyna. When Matt realized that, he tensed to run, to draw attention away from them, but Sun had recovered from his temporary blinding and blocked Matt’s path. He turned again, looking for a way out. Fen ran at them, Leaf
right behind them, and then noticed that he was running straight for Sun and stopped.

The five of them stood together, three trolls circling around them, gnashing their teeth and rumbling with rage and frustration.

They were trapped.

L
aurie’s heart was racing, and her lungs felt like someone was trying to suck the air out of them. They were surrounded by trolls, and they hadn’t fared well the last time they’d tangled with trolls. There
were
more of them, but Ray and Reyna were huddled together, Matt was low on energy, and Fen’s other form wasn’t too much use against creatures made of stone.

As the trolls’ circle grew tighter and closer to them, the pressure in Laurie’s chest intensified until she thought she was going to fall or throw up. She saw Fen and Matt both reach out to steady her, and she lifted both of her hands to signal them to keep back. As she did so, the air in front of
her started to ripple. She widened her hands, staring at the oddly colored space in front of her. It was as if the space between her hands was taking on the colors of an opal.

“Laurie?” Fen stepped closer, but didn’t touch her. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know.” She felt light-headed as the space grew, and she wondered abstractly how long had passed because she felt disconnected from her skin as she stared at the flashes of color in front of her and tried not to puke.

Beyond the light, she knew trolls waited. They had stopped and were staring at the portal that had appeared between her hands. Behind her were the twins. And in front of her, on the other side of the doorway she’d somehow created, was a room filled with plants. “Go on,” she said.

Ray said, “Where?”

“Who cares, as long as it’s somewhere without trolls,” Reyna muttered. She grabbed Ray’s hand and dove into the doorway, tugging him with her.

It hurt. Laurie’s body felt like she was being squeezed, and she thought for a moment that the trolls had grabbed her. They were all staring at her, the trolls and the boys.

“Go
now
,” she demanded.

Matt exchanged a look with Fen, but he said nothing as he went through the doorway. Then Laurie shoved Fen through the door and jumped in after him, leaving Deadwood and the stupefied trolls behind.

They weren’t inside the doorway long, but it felt like space was folding in on her. The pressure of letting others through the doorway was completely different from the sensation of going through it herself. It was as if she were being folded inside out, and the temptation to close her eyes was almost overwhelming. Fen’s hand held tightly to hers, and she tried to concentrate on that.

In either a moment or maybe a piece of forever, they stumbled forward into a giant open room filled with tropical plants and brightly colored birds. Overhead was a dome window, and through it, she could see trees outside. Around her in the room were orchids, and something scaled with a long, thin tail vanished under a plant she couldn’t identify. They were in a greenhouse or something; they were alive; and she was not, in fact, inside out.

There were also no trolls here. That alone was enough to make her want to sit down and relax for a minute. However, Matt and Fen stood on either side of her, looking around for dangers. Fen still had hold of her hand, and the twins were behind them. As Laurie looked around at their little group, she realized that everyone looked like they expected trolls or some other monster to jump out at any second, and considering where they had been mere minutes ago, that wasn’t an altogether unrealistic fear. They also, she admitted to herself, were darting looks at her like she was something peculiar.