Chapter Eleven

Back on the road Harold told Josephine about the lodge he’d reserved rooms in.   

“So what’s the plan?” she asked. “Hang around the area for a few days trying to find evidence of vampires and werewolves?” Before Harold could answer she added, “You know, it sounds very strange to say that, and we are a vampire and werewolf.”  

Harold laughed out loud, “Yes, it does sound very strange.  This agreement we have is strange, in fact the two of us may be doing something stranger than any ulfhedinn or vampire has ever done.  Something for skalds to write songs and poems about.” Harold felt very pleased with himself.   

“Write songs and poems about?  Are all of your people so egotistical?”  

Harold laughed again, “Yes, and we’re not subtle about it.”  

“Obviously. So the plan?”

“Right.  We’ll arrive around dinner time…” Josephine interrupted,  

“Is that the most important part of the day for you? Meal times?”

Harold smiled, it was.  “Yes, I like eating and drinking.  But tonight I don’t think I’ll eat at the lodge we’re going to.  Instead, what do you say to hunting for our meal tonight?  I notice your eyes aren’t the pale blue they were when we first met and I’ve never hunted in these part before.”

Josephine seemed a little embarrassed, “Oh, my eyes have changed?  I only feel a little hungry.  Normally my eyes are almost grey before I hunt.  Even so, I’d like to hunt tonight.   It might be interesting to see how the legendary werewolves hunt their prey.”  

“Very well then.  We’ll unpack our gear, wait for nightfall and then explore the woods.”  Harold smiled but his thoughts weren’t happy ones.  He didn’t want teach Josephine about ulfhednar, he wanted to learn about draugar.   

The rest of the drive was in silence.  Harold kept the window down on his side and thoroughly enjoyed the smells of the forest.  Josephine didn’t seem to be interested and had a bored look on her face.  It wasn’t her bored model face or her frozen mannequin look, she looked like someone that nothing to do and lots of time to do it in.  Harold looked over at her from time to time and thought of asking her one of the many questions he’d stacked up, but left her alone.  They would probably be spending enough time together for him to get all his answers.  Hopefully without revealing too much about himself or ulfhednar.   

Checking into the lodge was amusing.  The staff made the assumption that Harold and Josephine were together.  Upon realizing they were in separate rooms the staff become even more attentive to Josephine.  Harold resigned himself to being nearly invisible as they went up to their rooms.  He hung back slightly and made a sweep of the building as they went through the lodge and corridors.  The older draug, Henri, was probably back in the UK, but it would be foolish not to check anyway.  Harold only smelled earðkin and Josephine.   

Once in his room Harold dropped his duffle bag on the bed and went through the contents.  This was standard procedure, check your kit, check your weapons.   Once done he went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.  Did he really look like an unkempt barbarian?  Looking at his beard and hair, Harold had to admit to himself he did.  Deciding it wouldn’t hurt to brush his hair he called down to the front desk and asked if the concierge could provide a hair brush.  After being told one would be there in a few minutes he put away his clothes in the closet and turned on the telly.  He had a few hours to waste and American TV usually had some copy of an English show to watch.   

The concierge knocked on the door to deliver three different hair brushes.  Harold hadn’t thought to specify any particular kind as it hadn’t occurred to him that different brushing needs mean different brushes.  Not being sure which would work best he took all three and gave the young man a $20 tip.   

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror he tried each one and quickly found his long hair didn’t brush well.  He had a few knots and tangles that wouldn’t come out.  Getting frustrated he stopped and glared at himself in the mirror.  “What in Niflheim am I doing?”  He grunted and tossed the brush at the counter and turned on the shower.  Getting out of the shower he shook his head around to get rid of the excess water and then patted it down.  Looking at the brushes again he thought about trying again.  Failing once again to get through the tangles and knots he muttered “Bollocks” and tossed the brush on the vanity.   

Having found nothing interesting on the telly, Harold pulled out his laptop and composed his daily report back to Jarls Cedric and Osmund.  He didn’t go into too much detail regarding Josephine, but did write the report to cast a positive light on the benefits of utilizing a draug in his search.  Just as he was about to encrypt and send it he heard Josephine come out of her room next to his.  Harold paused for a second, should he tell her he was sending daily reports?  No, doing so might make her self edit or alter what she revealed.  She knocked on the door.   

“Just a minute.” He answered.  Harold encrypted and sent his report, quietly closed up his laptop and slipped it into his satchel.   

“Come in.  I was just getting dressed.”  He said by way of explaining his delay.   

“And this is what you chose?  Jeans and a t-shirt almost identical to the ones you were wearing earlier today? Do you own any other clothes?” She sounded a little patronizing as she asked and Harold felt a little annoyed by her tone.   

“Some put credence in the old adage, “clothes maketh the man”.  I hold that a man is judged by his character and not his appearance.” There was a slight tone of superiority in his voice as he said this and Josephine smiled at him.  She was wearing the clothes she’d purchased earlier in the day and had felt underdressed until seeing Harold.  

“How very MLK of you.  Ready to go to dinner?”  Harold could see she didn’t want to talk about clothing and was a little anxious to go hunting.   

“We need to wait until nightfall before we leave.  There is plenty of time.”  He advised.

Josephine shook her head. “No there isn’t.  You leave the hotel around the dinner hour as if you are going out.  That way people think you’re going out to dinner like a normal person.  You return later around midnight with a slight smell of alcohol on you so they think you had dinner and then went out for drinks.”  

Harold looked at Josephine and wondered how many times she’d used that technique when she’d hunted earðkinar.   

“Well, as you seem to know what you’re doing in this regard, I will follow your lead.  Just let me get some socks on, my jacket and my night pack.”

Josephine looked quizzically at Harold as he pulled on socks and hiking boots. “Night pack? What’s that?”

“A backpack to put my clothes in when I change, it also includes some wipes, a large camouflage netting to put over the SUV and a couple of other useful items.”  

Josephine looked impressed. “You plan ahead.  Does it also include body bags and a short handled axe?”

Harold grinned as he put on his shoulder holster and gun. “Not unless I need one, and I don’t.  Tonight. And the axe is called a Francisca.  My people have used them since about 500 AD.  Very useful in close quarters and can be thrown with great effect for long range attacking.  Ever seen one in use?”   

Harold knew he had made Josephine uncomfortable with that question even without her emitting any pheromones.   

“No.  I’ve heard about their use though.”  She stared at him as he put his night pack on his back and then his baggy, sloppy sports coat over it.  The pack was wide and thin and the coat obviously tailored to hide it.  “Can we agree to something?” she asked.

“What?”  Harold had a good idea what the agreement was going to be about.  He didn’t like thinking about her past as it made him think about breaking his oath to her.  

“You don’t talk about killing my kind and I don’t talk about… killing humans.” She looked him in the eyes and Harold could see her eyes were more like a blue grey than blue.   

“Unless absolutely necessary, yes, I agree to that.”   He nodded his head as if making a bow. Looking back up at Josephine he smiled in an effort to change the solemn mood they were suddenly both in and said, “Well, if you’re ready, shall we go?”  

Josephine smiled too, “Sure.”