“No! Wait!” Stellan urged as he got up and went to the mouth of the cave. “I don’t want you to kill the sacrifice,” he said and searched through the trees for Fritjof’s headlights.
“What would you have me do?” Fenrir asked suspiciously as he joined Stellan. “They’ll take over my forest if I do nothing.” He gently nudged Stellan aside with his snout. “Go where you won’t hear the screams. This won’t take long.”
“No! I can’t let you do that!” Stellan said and ordered his brain towork. There had to be a way to end the sacrifices and protect Fenrir from the world of men. “I won’t stay if you accept another sacrifice. You’ll have to kill me or let me go,” he warned quickly and hurried out of the cave and into the clearing.
“You would leave me?” Fenrir asked and started to follow but Stellan held out his hand, ordering the wolf to wait as a plan formed.
“Stay there until it’s time. Eat the jötunn and we’ll tell them it was a warning to keepeveryoneaway from your forest. No more Fritjof and no more sacrifices,” he said in a rush and raised his brows at Fenrir.
“And you’ll stay with me?” The beast confirmed and Stellan smiled.
“I think I know how to make this work but you have to take the jötunn and leave the sacrifice,” he said and looked over his shoulder when he heard the truck. He saw a glint of a headlight and ran to the largest tree. He’d have to dance around it as Fritjof got closer but Stellan would be next to the truck if he parked in the same place. “Stay out of sight until I call for you,” he commanded and Fenrir’s head lowered obediently as he disappeared into the cave’s shadows.
“I’m trusting you, boy. I’ll take my fury out on the village if this is a trap,” he warned but Stellan shushed him.
“This is a trap but it’s not for you,” he promised quietly and pressed himself against the tree as the truck appeared and rolled along the path to the clearing. Stellan hugged it and tiptoed around the trunk as Fritjof drove past him and stopped in the same spot. The driver’s door opened and Stellan glared through the darkness but he crouched and ran to the front of the truck as soon as Fritjof got out. He hid and waited until Fritjof reached into the bed to unstrap his victim before Stellan slipped around the opened driver’s door and pulled the keys from the ignition. There was a rifle on the passenger seat but Stellan left it and mashed the lock on the door. He looked and Fritjof had an unconscious man slung over his shoulder and was heading for the cave. Stellan waited until Fritjof lowered and let the body roll to the ground to slam the door shut. Fritjof spun and gasped.
“Stellan? Is that you, lad?” He asked and held out his hand as he approached.
“Yup. It’s me,” Stellan replied and smirked when Fritjof’s eyes darted to the truck and the gun on the passenger seat. “I locked it and threw the keys over there,” Stellan lied as he pointed at the woods. Fritjof’s orange mustache curled into a snarl.
“You’d better get to looking and pray you find them fast,” he said as he reached behind him and pulled out a long hunting knife. Stellan chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest.
“I’d pray for your soul but you’re about to get what you deserve,” he replied then leaned as if he was trying to see around Fritjof and cleared his throat. “Your sacrifice is ready,” Stellan called and Fritjof whipped around as a deep, rumbling, rolling growl filled the clearing. Burning red eyes peered through the darkness before Fenrir stepped out of the shadows.
“No! Not me! Him!” Fritjof yelled as he pointed at the body on the forest floor but Fenrir stepped over it like a fallen branch.
“I have to admit, long have I wanted this. The jötunn is a far more fitting meal than the wiry humans he leaves me,” Fenrir said and Fritjof shook his head wildly.
“You can’t! It’s my duty and my right! These are my woods too. I protect Jötunndal and this forest from outsiders,” he explained hastily and almost backed into Stellan. Stellan hissed as he gave Fritjof a hard shove.
“I wouldn’t have said that if I were you…” He sang and leaned back as Fenrir became furious and rose on his hind legs.
“This is my forest and the only right I’ve granted you is to survive in its shadow!” He bellowed before his head fell back and his jaw snapped on an ear-splitting roar. “How dare you claim power here?” He demanded and stomped toward Fritjof. The large jötunn cowered and covered his head.
“I swear, I meant no offense! All I’ve ever done is protect my family and serve you!” He cried and Fenrir’s laugh was low and dragged, making Stellan’s skin crawl. The great wolf’s head tilted as he bent and was almost eye-to-eye with Fritjof.
“You served yourself,” he stated and wagged one of his long, clever claws at Fritjof. “The boy explained it all. You’ve used me to protect your power and keep outsiders away,” he said and Fritjof’s face was as bright as his hair as he turned back to Stellan.
“What have you done? It’s always been this way. We leave a sacrifice to the monster so we can have peace on this mountain. Please! I told you, it wasn’t personal,” he pleaded with Stellan. Stellan's nose scrunched as he shook his head.
“I’m definitely taking this personally and I told you I’d kill you if you left me here. There are three monsters on this mountain now and one of them’s about to die,” he predicted and tossed his chin at Fenrir.
“No!” Fritjof said as he turned then held up his hands to shield his face as Fenrir’s massive paws swept through the air. “Stop!” Fritjof screamed as he was snatched off his feet and lifted. Fenrir roared again and opened wide as Fritjof thrashed and sobbed. Stellan looked away as the beast’s fangs tore into Fritjof’s neck and chest. There were the sounds of Fritjof’s garbled cries, ripping fabric and flesh, breaking bones and bloody chunks splattering onto the ground, trees and boulders. Stellan remembered his absolute terror as he was abandoned and left to face the giant wolf alone so he savored Fritjof’s screams as he pushed his hands into his pockets and strolled around the truck. The poor traveller Fritjof had drugged and bound would be waking soon so Stellan wanted to make sure he didn’t see too much.
“I’ll have Fenrir load him into the truck before he wakes up and I’ll drive him back to Jötunndal,” he murmured to himself then froze when he got a good look at the unconscious man’s face. “Oh, fuck. Ted?”
12
It was strange being back in one of the guest cabins in Jötunndal but Stellan made the most of it as he waited for Ted to wake up. Gustav was stunned when Stellan arrived in Fritjof’s truck but was ready to be reasoned with. Stellan told him that Fritjof was gone and that the sacrifices would stop. Anyone who entered Fenrir’s woods would be fair game but the wolf wouldn’t come down the mountain as long as he was left alone.
“And what about you? Has the wolf set you free?” He asked and Stellan laughed.
“I’m not his prisoner. I’m his…companion and we belong to each other in a way,” he explained and Gustav chuckled.
“A boy and his dog?” He asked and Stellan hummed loudly.
“Something like that,” he said. It was better to let Gustav imagine something innocuous. “I’ve made a comfortable home for myself up there but I’ll need a cabin down here for when I need power to finish my work.”