Read Online Loki's Wolves by K. L. Armstrong, M. A. Marr - Free Book Online

with him. It was weird. They trailed him, and he walked as if he were alone. For a moment, she had a flash of worry for him.
What if they aren’t with him? What if he’s in trouble?
But they didn’t seem to be trying to hurt him, and he didn’t act like he was worried.
And it’s notmy problem.
Still, she watched them as they headed toward the exit.



Owen was barely out of view when another, more important person caught her eye. “Fen!”
    She pushed through the crowd, not caring that she was drawing attention or being rude. She shoved between him and the ever-present Hunter and grabbed Fen’s wrist. “I need to talk to you alone….” Her words died. Fen had flinched from her touch. She let go of his arm and said softly, “Please, Fen?”
    He looked directly at her.
    And she said the magic words, the words that they’d both used over the years: “I need your help with something.”
    Her cousin opened his mouth, but before he could ask, she spoke. “I need to talk to Fen alone. If you could—”
    “Go away, Hunter,” Fen finished for her. Then, he started through the crowd away from Hunter. He was pulling her with him as he had on who-knew-how-many adventures over the years, and she felt such relief that she almost hugged him. Everything would be okay now. She had Fen at her side again.
    By the time they’d reached the edge of the festival, behind a row of booths where the tangled wires for the strands of temporary lights were stretched, Laurie was bursting with the words she’d been waiting to say. The music over the loudspeakers made it impossible for anyone in the booths to hear them, but that didn’t mean they wanted witnesses.They both knew that if the other one said “I need your help” that meant they also needed privacy.
    After he confirmed that no one was watching, Fen let go of her and tucked his hands in the pockets of the torn jacket he was wearing. He looked around to make sure no one was nearby. “What happened?”
    She didn’t want to start by accusing him—that never went well—so she started with her other worry. “I thought I was a fish,” she blurted.
    “Okay.” Fen nodded, and then he paused, blinked, and said, “
What?
”
    “A fish,” she whispered.
    He stepped closer to her and said, “Say that again.”
    “I woke up in the middle of the night, and I was a fish and I couldn’t breathe and you weren’t there.” She sounded crazy even to herself. “I know it was just a dream, but it was so real, and all I could think about was telling you.”
    Fen stared at her.
    “Say something,” she half begged.
    “Maybe you should keep a bucket of water by your bed, because Aunt Janey isn’t going to let me stay with you unless Uncle Stig is around.” Fen folded his arms over his chest.
    Laurie stared at him.
    The music on the loudspeaker was interrupted by some sort of squeal that caused them both to jump. After a minute, Fen said, “What I mean is maybe you really were a fish.”
    “It was a dream; it had to be,” Laurie said.
    “Maybe. Maybe not.” Fen shrugged. “There’s weirder stuff out there.”
    “Like what?”
    “The Raider Scouts,” he said.
    “Who?” Laurie couldn’t always follow the way his mind jumped around, but she knew he usually got to his point. “I don’t get it.”
    “Those weird people who just camp and stuff all the time,” Fen said.
    Laurie shook her head. “You think turning into a fish is
less
weird than camping?”
    Fen shrugged. “They say they’re wolves, you know.”
    Laurie laughed. “Right. Well, maybe they are, and I’m a fish. Do you think I ought to join them? Can you imagine Mom’s face? I dreamed I’d turned into a fish, and Fen says maybe I’ll be a real fish, so I’m going to drop out of school and camp with these kids who say they’re wolves.”
    “No, you shouldn’t join them, but…” The way Fen looked at her seemed off, but maybe that was just because his face was so bruised. He smiled, but it didn’t