Chapter Fifty-One Edith
My heart aches as Amund slips outside the locker room, closing the door behind him. Even as he’s risking his life, the first thing he thinks of is protecting everyone else. Please, be safe. I just hope he’ll be able to stop Nils before it’s too late. I hug Bea tightly.
Something hits the door with a loud thump, startling us both.
Suddenly I’m a child again, hiding in bed with Mom as Dad bangs on the door.
With each loud thump, I can hear Mom reading me a bedtime story.
“Little pig, little pig, let me in!” said the big bad wolf. She knocks on the wall with one of her knuckles, but what Dad is doing is different. He pounds the door, hurling his body against it, trying to get in by any means necessary.
And what did the little pig say to the big bad wolf? Mom asks me, trying to keep her voice from shaking. “Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!”
Now the locker room door rattles, making my heart pound harder.
The berserkir are going to break down this door just like Dad.
Valerie drags a hand over her braids. “Fan-fucking-tastic.”
The doors groan. Damn it.
We can’t let them inside. This is the only way out of the locker room, which means we’ll all be trapped. It will be a massacre. I look at Bea. Jim. Patricia. No matter what, I won’t let that happen. I refuse to lose my family. Not this time.
Valerie pushes against the door, wincing. “Shit.”
More and more berserkir slam against the doors.
The berserkir are too strong. She can’t hold back this many.
But maybe we can.
“Let me help,” I tell her.
Valerie hesitates, searching my face. “Fine.”
Beside her, I lean against the door and dig my heels in, pushing back as hard as I can. Valerie strains with the effort next to me. Bea joins us. The berserkir pound against the doors, rocking us forward.
Together, we hold them back.
For now.
Claws cut through the door, slicing at my skin, but I don’t let go.
I lean back against the doors, pushing with all my strength, even as the wood starts to splinter and snap.
I can’t let them through. Go berserk, my instincts scream.
In my bear form, I could withstand the constant barrage longer.
But if I do, I’ll risk being possessed, too.
I don’t know which will give out first: the effects of the fly agaric or the door standing between us and the berserkir. I have no idea how long the fly agaric will last. Once it wears off, Nils made it sound like they’d turn human again.
If spirits don’t possess them first.
I push against the door. If only there was some way to make them turn back…
Wait.
That scream Maeve mentioned in class once. Skraekr?
When I was in the wilderness with Tala, Isaac, and Kris, as soon as I screamed, they all covered their ears in pain. What if I have that ability? What if that’s why they reacted differently to my scream?
Not just them: My dad did too on that awful night.
I remember him coming for me as a wolf, and then suddenly he was human again, with his hands over his bleeding ears.
Maybe my screams have been tapping into that strange power that Maeve talked about.
Maybe I can do the skraekr. Maybe I can save the berserkir after all.
“I have to go out there,” I say.
“You can’t,” Bea squeaks.
“She’s right.” Valerie gives a disbelieving laugh. “Have you lost your mind?”
“This won’t hold for much longer.” Wincing, I lean against the door. “I think I can turn the berserkir human again.”
Valerie frowns. “How exactly?”
“Something we learned in class. A scream that can make them turn back.”
Valerie doesn’t look convinced. “If you’re wrong, then…”
Bea shakes her head. “Edith, don’t you dare.”
All of a sudden, the pounding stops.
The grunts and growls on the other side of the door go quiet.
Valerie and I exchange a look. “Something must have happened.”
I peer between the deep gouges in the door. The berserkir are all looking toward the entrance now, distracted by something. Or someone.
This could be my only chance.
“I have to go,” I say, cracking open the door.
Valerie frees one of her daggers. “Then I’m going with you.”
“Me too,” Bea adds.
“I don’t think so,” Patricia says, scooping Bea away. “Let your sister and her friend handle this, sweetie. Jim and I need you with us.”
Nodding, I take one last look at my family before leaving.
Valerie follows me out into the gym.
We aren’t invisible like Amund was, but we might as well be.
None of the animals pay us any attention. None of the berserkir move a muscle, instead standing completely still like an eerie exhibit of taxidermy animals. All of them stare at the entrance, like they know something is coming.
A powerful blast of wind knocks me and Valerie down to the gym floor. It howls through the gym, agitating all the animals. Hundreds of balloons burst as loud as gunshots. The lights start flickering. One by one, bulbs pop and explode overhead, sending sparks showering over us.
“Shit!” Valerie shouts, covering her head.
The sizzling brightness burns my eyes. I can’t see anything.
“What the hell is happening?” I ask Valerie, voice shaking.
“Like I would know!”
Hot sparks finally stop falling.
We stumble onto our feet. Slowly, my vision adjusts, and I take in the gym in horror. Berserkir watch us with empty white eyes, bright beacons in the darkness. Their bodies look lit from within, radiating spiritual energy.
“Oh no, no, no, no…” Trembling, I turn to Valerie. “Nils, he… he must have finished the ritual. I think they’re possessed.”
She swears under her breath. “And Amund—?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
Valerie looks as terrified as I feel by the thought of something happening to him.
A cacophony of growls and grunts reverberates through the gym.
Berserkir prowl toward us, their eyes glowing white. Their movements are jerky, clumsy, like they’re newborn animals unused to their limbs. Claws scrape over the floor like nails dragging down a chalkboard. Boars crash into each other with high-pitched squeals. Wolves snarl and snap at them.
A massive boar stops in front of me, hooves beating the ground. I stare into glowing white eyes—wait. The septum ring. The numerous ear piercings.
“Kris—”
They charge at me before I can finish.
I barely throw myself out of the way in time, rolling over the rough ground—and into a wolf’s path. The wolf lunges for my throat. Teeth sink into my leathers as I throw my arm up at the last moment, blocking the bite. I grit my teeth, looking into the wolf’s face.
Tala.
Her empty eyes glow white as she gnaws on my arm, frothing at the mouth. Saliva splashes my cheeks as I fight to keep her jaws away from my face. Damn it. What the hell do I do? I don’t want to hurt Tala. She isn’t the one attacking me. The seer possessing her is.
Wet teeth inch closer to my face.
With one final push, I shove Tala off me. She quickly rights herself with a snarl.
Valerie is beside me, dagger ready.
The seers won’t stop until they’ve killed everyone.
I grit my teeth, struggling to rise from the ground. Like this, I don’t stand a chance. But I don’t want to fight them. I want to bring them back. Even if I can use the skraekr, would the scream work on possessed berserkir?
I stagger to my feet and face Tala. I have to try.
She growls, hackles raised.
I breathe in deeply with my diaphragm like I do before track, drawing as much air into my lungs as possible. And then I close my eyes and scream. My throat aches, but the sound of my scream is swallowed by all the chaos.
Tala snaps at me.
More berserkir are closing in on us.
My voice dies in my throat. It didn’t work. Of course it didn’t work.
At this rate, Valerie and I are going to be mauled to death.
No, no, no.
My breaths turn quick and short. Panic seizes me.
Get angry, Gunnar once told me. Surrender to your rage.
I need to access my anger like I did when I was standing in the wilderness. I have to get to that level of emotion to do the scream.
The scent of blood is so thick it’s suffocating. Everywhere I look, I see the brutal scene I witnessed as a child playing out all around me.
Standing here, I feel like that little girl again.
I think of Mom. Of all the times she chose to remain quiet rather than make things worse.
All the times she did things she didn’t want to because she knew otherwise she’d be yelled at.
Punished. Because it was never how much she did for him that mattered.
He only cared about the things she didn’t do.
And I realize now how deeply unfair it is that so much of her time, her energy, her life, was spent making herself smaller, submissive, obedient. She ignored her own anger for so long, letting it build and build with no release until the day she died.
Fuck that.
A scream rips from me. My body suddenly feels too tight, too small to cage my anger. Rage from a lifetime of hearing she asked for it or never walk alone at night or just calm down.
There is nothing quiet about my anger. Not anymore. This rage is all-consuming. Primal. Powerful. It brings me crashing to my knees. My head feels ready to explode, and my eyes ache from the unrelenting pressure, but this time, it’s working.
My scream sends a burst of energy traveling through the gym.
As soon as I release it, the berserkir are blasted back—wolves pin their ears, bears cover their own, and boars shake their heads wildly, trying to rid themselves of the sound. Blood mats their fur around their ears, but I still don’t stop. Not until they’re human again.
The berserkir topple over, knocked unconscious.
By the time they hit the ground, they turn human. Naked bodies sprawl over the gym floor, unmoving. Covered in blood, they look like they could be corpses. Panic seizes me. I didn’t kill them, did I? The skraekr is only supposed to turn them human, right?
I stop screaming and scramble over to Tala.
“Tala?” I ask, my voice hoarse.
I check her pulse.
Still alive.
Blood stains her chin, her chest. Her eyes move rapidly beneath her eyelids.
She must be struggling for control of her body.
Her eyelashes flutter.
Tala opens her eyes—they’re a familiar shade of brown.
“Edith?” she rasps, blinking. “Where am—”
I wrap my arms around her, hugging her tightly. “You’re back.”
“Ow, too tight.”
“Sorry, sorry.” I pull back quickly. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
I take her hands and help her up. As Tala stands, Valerie sags with relief.
Kris rushes over to us, throwing their arms around me and Tala. “Holy shit, you did it.”
A loud laugh escapes me. I don’t even care that they’re both naked right now. They’re okay—that’s all that matters.
Slowly, the other berserkir start to wake.
Isaac is close by. The three of us run over to him and help him to his feet. He’s covered in blood and bruises, but from the way he beams at us, it seems like he’ll be okay too.
I breathe a sigh of relief. It worked.
“It’s safe!” I shout.
People pour out of the locker room, eager to escape. Everyone is shaken up, walking through the gym wordlessly, the floor slippery with blood. They stare blankly, still in shock.
Together we join the exodus outside.
The nightmare is over.
I notice Amund moving slowly through the courtyard, the statue of Egill rising behind him. Someone is slumped against him, struggling to stay on his feet. Nils. I can barely bring myself to look at him.
A sickening mix of emotions fills me—I’m furious about what he did to me, betrayed by all his deception, but at the same time, some part of me is relieved I didn’t kill him. Unlike my dad, he’ll be held accountable for his actions. I hope he rots in jail.
Even though I have to face him again, this time, I’m not alone.
Tala, Isaac and Kris are all with me. So is Valerie.
And Amund.
Rather than give Nils any more thought, I focus on Amund instead.
He looks seriously injured even if he’s in better shape than his brother.
Their dad isn’t with them, though. I don’t know what that means for him, but I find that I don’t care.
Amund’s gaze catches mine and he nods. We exchange a long, meaningful glance.
It’s finally over.
“Wait!” Irina calls, running over. How did I think she was the killer? I feel bad for blaming her now. She was suspected for something she didn’t do, just like I was. I should’ve known better. By the time she reaches us, she’s out of breath. “Spirits still—need to—”
I frown at her. “What? Slow down. I can’t understand what you’re saying.”
Irina pants. After a moment, she manages to get out, “The spirits are still inside the berserkir. The next time they go berserk, the spirits could regain control… Unless we expel the spirits, send them back to their realm, and seal the gate this time, Skallagrim will never be safe.”
“How are we supposed to do that?” Valerie asks, resting a hand on her hip.
Irina looks straight at me. “We need to call upon Egill.”