The Codex Lacrimae, Part 1: The Mariner's Daughter and Doomed Knight

Chapter 9: The Fenrir-Baude

He strove for a calm demeanor, but it didn't last long. Clarinda embraced him, pressing her body to him and murmuring that she made good on her promises. She joked that it was a relief to see him again after first watching him get pushed out of a window by a wolf, and now not covered in blood from head to foot!

"You clean up well," she said softly. And then she was gone, offering to help Skade with the elvish cooks in the kitchen.

Realizing that he wanted the hug to last longer, he desperately tried to change the subject, stammering something inane to Fenris, who eyed the two teenagers curiously. Aurelius asked about the history of the man's home and followed him up the stairs to the mead hall. For all the ease of conversing with Fenris, though, the young knight's thoughts were afire with memories of Clarinda's body pressed to his.

Fortunately, the women soon returned with a meal: braised hare strips mingled with carrots, celery, and potatoes, all swimming in a thick brown duck sauce. Prosciutto slices, hot sourdough loaves, and wooden bowls of pumpkin bisque complemented the main dish. To Aurelius's delight, there was also an entire platter of chanterelle mushrooms sautéed in white wine and butter.

The young knight had never eaten such a meal in his life. After the confrontations in Alfheim and Hel, the battle against the Wilde Jagd, and the flight across Niflheim, he found his appetite voracious. None of the group spoke much as they hungrily tucked into the food.

Now, after the meal, Aurelius leaned back into the plush fur coverlet on the bench, sipping at the honeymead and enjoying Clarinda's proximity. When Ratatosk awakened with a jerk and hopped onto the pillows beside her, she moved even closer to the knight. The fire blazed in the hearth, and Aurelius felt fully content with the Venetian girl at his side, simply enjoying the momentary respite of staring into the flames and watching the people in the hall.

Fenris sat down next to Skade across from the Hospitaller and Norn, and put an arm comfortably over her shoulder. "So, my friends," the burly man asked, "where were we?"

"I was going to thank you again for the hospitality—" Aurelius began.

"Here, here," Clarinda raised a goblet in a toast shared by all.

"—and just tell you again how grateful I am for all this; the food, the bath, the lodgings and clothes ... just to be out of the storm was enough, but this ..." he indicated the great hall, filled with the sounds of elvish harps, laughter, carousing, and crackling fires, "this is all beyond expectation. Thank you, both of you."

"You're welcome," Fenris said, "but know, too, that I owe you a debt myself. If I hadn't seen you for what you are—and the peril you were in from my sister and Old Nick—I might not have had the strength to act as I did."

"Then it's true?" Aurelius replied. "Hela's your sister? That would make you ..."

"The Fenrir-Wolf," Fenris said with a nod, still completely at ease. "Loki, whom some call the Trickster, is our father. Our brother, Jormungand, is a gigantic serpent who lies at the bottom of the sea—I can't remember the last time I saw him take human form." He looked down affectionately at Skade. "A 'damned and thrice-cursed brood' is what Mimir called us once, wasn't it, dear?"

"Mimir was angry at the time," Skade said, "and the world was much younger than what it is now."

"It was, it was," Fenris looked back at Aurelius and Clarinda. "We always pay for the mistakes of our fathers, but unfortunately my family's payments have more consequences than the typical lot. My sister has the power of ... command over me when I'm lupine; I can only break it at great risk." He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Lucky for you I thought the life of the Codex Wielder was worth that risk." He paused. "Given all that, I'd guide you wherever you need to go if you'll have me."