"A wolf?!" I yell. "You're one too?! What are you?!" A completely ridiculous thought crosses my mind. "Are you-werewolves?"
"The correct term would be 'Wulfenkind,'" Loki smirks. "A creature of Asgard. However, a few mortals have obtained the trait over time." He puts a hand on Sami's neck and begins to rub behind her ears. Her tongue lolls out of her mouth and she gives a wolfy grin. Loki snaps and she transforms into a human again. She turns to Loki with a smirk. He reaches into his pocket and protrudes a necklace identical to his. He places it around her neck and her face beams.
"Breakfast?" Loki asks, turning to me.
<><><>
I see Loki's hands shaking as we exit the apartment.
"What's up?" I ask. "From what I've heard, you were fine last night!"
"That was at night," he whispers.
He's right. Now the streets are buzzing with cars and people something a man living in the woods for the last year would not be accustomed to.
I slip my hand into his, but he pulls back.
"Sorry," he mutters and reaches back. I grip it and we walk outside into the cold air.
"Don't draw attention to yourself," I whisper to him. "Keep your head down. No one will notice. They all know it's cold. And when it's cold, your eyes water."
"Keep talking," he mutters.
"Umm, all right. Did- did you know my ancestors were Norwegian? Maybe that's how Sami is- different. We visit Norway every summer and go to museums and old ruins. There's an amazing library in one if the castles. Sami and I always sneak away during a tour and read books about the Old Norse mythology. Once we were reading and we got to a part in a book when Loki, you, gets bound to a rock and has snake venom dripped slowly on his- erm- your body. Then we suddenly saw a snake identical to the picture slither into the room and wrap itself around my shoulder. I was frozen with fear until it disappeared. Ever since then I've had a black coil around my shoulder that looks like the snake. Some people think it's a tattoo, but I would never get a tattoo so I tell them it's henna, this stuff Indians do. It's like tattoos but they wash off after a while.
"Well, here we are!" I say when I realize Albert's is in front of us. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
Loki ignores me and inquires, "May I see the mark?"
"From the snake?" When he nods, I pull up my left sleeve and reveal the coil of the snake with an open mouth and wicked-looking fangs dripping with venom. He touches it gently and a shiver of the same fear when the snake was around my arm returns. I finally clear my mind and pull my sleeve down when Albert's cheerful voice rings out.
"Sami! Quinn! How great it is to see you two!" He's an elderly, dark-skinned man with bright blue eyes and a bald head. He was shot in the calf in war and walks with a limp and a cane.
"Albert!" Sami squeals. He embraces her and then he notices Loki. A dark look twists his face.
"Why is he here?" he questions gravely.
"Hello, Ihlenfeld," Loki snaps coldly. "It's nice to see you too."
Suddenly, a dark brown wolf jumps over the counter, spilling baskets of condiments and knocking over cash registers.
He pins Loki to the ground and bites his right forearm. Blood stains the white tile and he gasps with pain as his hands struggle to find the wolf's neck. He grips it and the wolf's eyes begin to roll upward. Ihlenfeld nips Loki's arm and he releases his grasp.
My eyes travel to a woman pale with fear yammering on the phone, undoubtedly reporting to the police.
A loud yelp averts my attention to the fight. Everyone is either gaping, taking pictures, or calling 911 and Animal Control.
Blood splatters over Loki's clothes and Ihlenfeld's fur. I can see the veins in Loki's body pulse with restraint as he struggles to remain human. Blood runs down his face. A cut sits on his lower lip and the gash on his forearm is beginning to dry. There's a smaller gash above his right eyebrow and a nasty cut on his neck. I see a tear in his pants where it's soaked crimson. His shirt is ripping in numerous places from the wolf's claws.
Finally, Loki flips the wolf onto it's back and crouches over it, snarling. He puts his face close and growls, "I hope you enjoy your time in Hel, monster."
Suddenly, Ihlenfeld gives a furious bark and bites Loki's left ear nearly clean off. I watch frozen with horror as his shirt is torn from his side and a chunk of flesh disappears. The wolf sinks his teeth into his leg right before the police arrive and muzzle and leash the wolf, kicking and clawing.
Ihlendfeld returns to human form, bloodied and bruised. Fire rages in his eyes as they police drag him away, handcuffed.
"I WILL KILL YOU!" he screams at Loki. "YOU WILL NEVER SEE ANOTHER DAY WHEN I FIND YOU!" He bares his teeth like the wild animal he is, and then Albert is gone.
Paramedics rush in to the cafe and place an unconscious Loki gently on a stretcher. They give orders to each other and back out into an ambulance with Sami and I trailing behind them. A doctor stops us at the entrance of the ambulance and ushers us onto the sidewalk. He speaks in a gentle voice about how Loki will be fine. I give him my number and he promises to call when we can come visit.
He reaches into a pocket and pulls out a large caramel. He hands it to Sami, who is sobbing uncontrollably. The doctor embraces her and ruffles her hair.
"It'll be just fine, sweetheart," he croons. "Thank you two for your cooperation."
Then he enters the ambulance and I hold Sami close to me as we watch it drive away, wondering if we will ever see Loki again.
