Chapter Nineteen

The tall red head was pounding huge stakes into the ground.  Each one was about ten feet tall and eight inches wide, yet he was somehow able to reach the top of each one and pound it in until four feet of the stake was in the ground.   

Harold watched him for a while before he realized that a few stakes behind him a youth was nailing up cross pieces between the stakes and then vertical slats nailed to the cross pieces.  The youth was moving very fast.  Faster than it seemed possible yet he was unable to catch up to the big, bearded red head with the hammer.  Their work was hard, both were sweating, yet they were smiling and singing a song.   

Harold looked around.  Every time he looked at something and back to what he’d just looked at, it had changed.  Rolling meadows became a forest, mountains became a long lake, a meandering river became rocky hills with a waterfall.  The weather changed from clear skies to dark low clouds, fog, drizzling rain, blue skies with high fluffy white clouds.  Nothing stayed the same.  

Smells were changing too.  They were the smells of a mix of forests from Russia, Germany, France, England, Canada, and the forests he’d been in recently.  Along with the forests, he could smell animals from all those places.   

Looking at the two working, Harold realized they had left a gap in the fence.  Curious, Harold walked over to talk with the tall, bearded red head.  Before he could ask him about the gap the red head spoke, “It’s for you.” Harold was surprised to see the youth standing next to him smiling.  The redhead walked over to Harold.  He looked at Harold with his bright blue eyes and smiled, “There are boundaries that exist for good reasons.  There are gaps in some of those boundaries and those that are supposed to cross between boundaries.  This one is for you.  Do you like it?” He asked waving his huge hammer at the gap in the fence.   

“Oh, it’s a very nice gap.” Harold shook his head, why had he said something so odd? “I mean… I don’t know what I mean.” Harold looked at the gap but couldn’t see anything past it.  He turned to look at the redhead to ask him what was on the other side of the fence, but he and the youth were already far away back at work.   

Harold suddenly jumped up from the floor with a growl and hunched over, the fur on his back was standing up straight.  He realized Josephine was at the door to his room knocking, loudly.   

“Harold!  Time to get up!”  Harold had to suppress a growl.  The dream was important and now it was gone.   

“Just a minute!”  He replied roughly.  Harold realized he was still in ulfhedinn form.  Changing back he picked up his underwear and jeans and pulled them on.  He unlocked the door, pulled it open and walked back into the room.  He noted Josephine was in clothes similar to what she had on the day before.  A red and black flannel shirt three or four sizes too big, a floral print shirt that went to her ankles and socks with Birkenstocks.  His head still felt fuzzy from the dream so he walked to the balcony door and opened it hoping the fresh air would clear his head.   

“You slept in your ulfhedinn form?  In front of the fire?”  Harold looked at the fire still burning and shrugged.  He didn’t feel like talking.  The dream, he wanted to understand it.  “Please be quiet.” He said as politely as he could manage. Closing his eyes and letting the smell of the lake and forest blow into his senses he tried to remember all he could of the dream.  He was sure he knew who the two were in his dream, Þor and Þialfi, but what did he mean about the gap and the boundary?  Josephine touched his shoulder making him jerk in surprise.   

“You OK?  You looked like I must when I think.” She was smiling but it was a forced smile.  Harold wondered if she put off pheromones they’d smell of concern.   

“A dream.  I had a dream. It’s gone now.”  Harold felt bad about lying to her about his dream, but didn’t want to start up a conversation about it either.   

“Dreams.  I miss those.” She walked to the tray Harold had eaten from and pushed it out to the hallway.  Harold just stood in the doorway of the balcony watching her.  There was too much going on in his head.  The dream, the tangled wyrd he shared with Josephine, his inability to understand her.  He shook his head.  A cold shower and some food, he’d be able to think more clearly after that.  

Josephine walked past him onto the balcony.  She breathed in deeply and held her breath for a couple of seconds.  Turning to Harold she wrinkled her nose.  “Please go take a shower and then get some breakfast.  I’ll come with you.  After that let’s check out and head up to La Push.  You’ll feel better after eating and we can talk on the drive up the coast.” Harold looked at her without moving for a second and then nodded his head.   

Taking a shower did make him feel better and more awake.  He spent a while washing his hair and beard with conditioner and shampoo and this time was able to get a brush through his hair.  He looked in the mirror.  It didn’t look bad.  Not like Osmund’s’, but good.  He opened the bathroom door a little and sniffed.  The balcony door was closed and Josephine was out on the balcony.  He walked out with a towel wrapped around him to find underwear, jeans, socks, a shirt and one of his sports jackets laid out on the bed.  He picked up the clothes and went back into the bathroom with them.  Emerging a little later, he found Josephine standing by the fire looking at it.  Putting on a pair of boots he said, “You can turn that off now.”

Josephine turned to him, “Nothing comforts me.” She picked up the remote control and without looking at the fireplace turned it off.  She stood looking at Harold, her face seemed sad and annoyed.   

“Oh, well…sorry to hear that. Umm... Thanks for putting out some clothes for me.”  Harold had to look away from her.  He felt like an idiot.  Pulling on his coat he tried to think of something to say that didn’t make him feel more stupid than he did already.  “La Push, that’s where the Quileute live?  The ones whose legends say they descended from wolves?  Our best bet for finding our mystery ulfhednar.”  Josephine brushed past him to the door, “Come on.  Let’s get you some breakfast.”  The sadness was gone and she just seemed annoyed.  Harold sighed.  He suspected her anger was directed to him, but he wasn’t sure.  He had no scent from her to judge by.  

Breakfast was a strained affair. The waitress who had served him the other morning was more interested in Josephine than Harold.  He expected that.  Looking around he noticed it took longer than usual, but nearly everyone was trying hard to not look at Josephine, or at least hide the fact they were.  A couple of men with no female companionship were simply looking at her without trying to be subtle about it.  Harold ate in silence as Josephine politely answered the wait staffs questions.  No she didn’t want anything to eat.  No, no coffee thanks.  Nor orange juice.  No, she didn’t need the name of a friend of theirs that gave guided hikes.  Finishing, Harold was about to pull out his wallet to pay when Josephine put a $50 bill on the table.  “That’ll cover it.  Let’s go.”  She sounded impatient.  Getting up before him she gave him a “Well?” look.  Harold wiped his mouth and got up to follow her out.   

Back at the doors to their rooms Harold said, “I’ll meet you in the lobby.  Ten minutes?”   

“OK.” She replied without looking at him.  

Harold walked into his room and like the night before, stood in the middle of the room unsure of what to do with himself.  He started packing up his duffel bag without thinking.  He didn’t really have to.  He had packed and unpacked it countless times and everything went into the same places the same way every time.  He checked around the room to make sure he’d left nothing behind.  Looking at the brush in the bathroom he paused for a second.  He picked it up and refusing to tell himself why he did it, he packed it into a side pocket of his duffle bag.  

Harold got to the lobby before Josephine and sat down.  There were a few people coming in to check in and some checking out.  The sun was streaming in through the windows on each side of the fireplace and he could see blue skies and white fluffy clouds above the trees.  It was going to be a beautiful day.   

Josephine walked into the lobby carrying her dangerously overstuffed backpack.  Looking around Harold did a quick scan of the people in the lobby.  He’d already taken stock of their scents and compared them to how they smelled now that Josephine had walked in.  All but the children started smelling of attraction.  Several of the women had the smell of jealousy mixed in.   

Josephine slumped into a chair next to Harold’s in what looked like an attempt to be slovenly.  It still looked good.   

“You already checked the crowd?” She asked quietly. “How am I doing today?”  Harold suddenly felt business like, even a little analytical.  

“Covering up helps a lot, but your hair and face are still attention getting.  Your scent, which smells like ceramic to me, is still very attractive to earðkinar.”  Looking around and checking everyone’s scents he added, “You’ve got a 30% reduction at best.”  Josephine leaned back in the chair.  She looked around.  

“Give me the keys.” She said, “I’ll go put our luggage in the car and you can check us out.  It’ll go faster.” Harold nodded and handed her the SUV keys then put his duffel bag next to her backpack.  He heard her walk out the lobby doors and out of the corner of his eyes saw her walking out the door with their luggage.  It occurred to him someone might think it suspicious that a slender woman could pick up his large duffel bag with such ease.  No one’s scent changed other than the diminishing pheromones of lust and envy.   

Having checked out, Harold walked outside to the carpark. Across the lot he could see Josephine was busy on her smartphone.  Hopefully finding a place to stay in La Push.   Getting in the driver’s side he asked, “Where we staying tonight?”  Josephine tapped at her smart phone for a few more seconds and then showed him a website for the Three Rivers Resort.   

“It’s a not much, but it’ll do.  They have several cabins.  I have two reserved for us.”  Harold glanced at the photos as he pulled the SUV out of the parking lot and headed north.   

“Nice.” Harold couldn’t think of anything else to say.  They both rolled the window’s down at the same time and looked at each other smiling sheepishly.   

Josephine turned in her seat to look at Harold, “You feel better?  You look better than before breakfast.”  

“Yes thanks.”  Harold hoped that was a setup for her to start talking.   

“Good.” She announced. “There’s some things we need to talk about.”  Harold took a deep breath and realized Josephine had done the same.  He exhaled slowly, this was going to be Josephine’s show.  

“You know what would be nice?  Me being human.  You too.  We could meet, date like normal people, have a normal relationship like humans.  Go out to parties with friends, have normal jobs and meet each other for lunch.”  She said all this in a tone of a manager trying to soften the blow of firing someone. “But we’re not. We never will be.  You’re sort of my mentor.  Teaching me how to hunt and helping me blend in with humans better.  And for better or worse, we’re connected by your Norns and wyrd, or fate, destiny, I don’t know and it doesn’t matter.  When we have found the vampires and ulfhednar we’re looking for, we’re done with each other.  You’ll need to go with your people, and I with mine.”  Josephine sat back into her chair and looked straight out the windscreen down the road.  She was finished, her decision was made.   

Harold smiled in relief and said nothing for a while as the miles went by.  Finally he said, “Agreed.” in an almost formal tone.  Josephine looked at him.  “You’re smiling.”   

“I’m happy that your thoughts on the matter reflect my own.  With this business settled we can focus on our quest.”  Josephine started laughing.   

“No one, no one I’ve ever met talks like you.”   

“Yes, well, I am a cut above the average.”  Josephine laughed again.  She sat looking at Harold for a little while and then said matter-of-factly, “I like you Harold.  I like being around you.” Harold looked over her and with the same tone replied, “And I you Josephine.”  

The drove a few more miles in silent companionship until Harold asked, “The cabins you showed me.  Are they in La Push?”  Josephine shook her head.   

“No. They’re between La Push and Forks.  La Push is the main town, or rather, the only town, in the Quileute reservation.  Forks is a larger town inland up the road.  Until we get to Neah Bay at the tip of the reservation, it’s the largest town.  I figure we can spend a week or more checking out the area from the coast up into the mountains.”  She paused for a moment then added, “Unless you have a schedule you want to stay on?”   

“Schedule. Hmmm…”  Harold thought about that.  “This SUV.  We need to return it at some point.  If we did and then bought a comparable vehicle, some camping gear, we can essentially stay on this quest for…” Josephine jumped into his train of thought, “As long as it takes.  It could take years, but I’m committed to this quest as you call it.  How committed are you?”  Harold thought of his exile status and smiled, one ulfhednar exile was another’s holiday.  “As long as it takes.”

“Good to hear it.  So, we’ll spend a week or so hunting around the Quileute and the nearby mountains, return this thing, buy a Land Rover or something, some camping gear and then investigate this peninsula thoroughly.”   

“Excellent plan.”  Harold realize he’d have to reveal his nightly reports to Osmund.  He’d have to find a place with Wi-Fi to do that which would mean his reports would become more sporadic but he didn’t think Osmund would mind.   

“Of course, you’ll have to find coffee shops or something to type up and send your reports.” Josephine said in an off-hand way.  Harold’s jaw dropped and he stared at Josephine.  Doing so he pulled the wheel a little to the right and the SUV nearly went off the road.  “Watch it!” shouted Josephine.  Harold steered back into the lane and slowed down a little.   

“How!?!” Her hearing couldn’t be that good and his laptop was built specifically with silent keys.   

“I knew it!” She shouted.  “I just knew it!”   

“Damn it!” Harold muttered.  He’d been tricked like an amateur.  

“It’s OK Harold.  You have a responsibility as a warrior for your people.  I get that.  I also know a lot of what you might have learned from me will probably be used against my people.  Or at least those of my people that follow the teachings of Lilith and Cain.  I don’t mind that so much.  I don’t really think of them as my people anymore.  And besides, it’s not like any of us were friends or family.  In fact, if any of the information you’ve sent home results in the death of Henri, I’ll be quite happy about it.”   

“I’m sure you would be.  He sounds awful.”  

“He is.”  Josephine looked out the passenger window and to Harold’s eyes, seemed to tense up.   

“I’m guessing we’ll reach Forks by lunch time.  You up for joining me?  Or perhaps walk around the town while I eat.  Do some preliminary reconnaissance as it were?” Josephine turned back to Harold and smiled.  He was pleased to see his effort at distraction worked.  

“Reconnaissance sounds good.  Perhaps I’ll do some shopping for camping gear.”  Harold thought for a moment, then asked, “How much experience do you have camping?”   

“When I was a little girl, we’d go camping a lot.  My family was doing pretty good during the Depression but we couldn’t afford vacations and hotels so camping is what we did.  Camping technology has improved since then, but the basics will be the same. Do you need any…special equipment?”  Harold wasn’t sure what she meant.  Special camping gear because he was ulfhedinn?   

“No.  Nothing different than anyone else.  Why do you ask?”   

“You know, bathroom stuff.”   

Harold laughed.  “I shit in the woods.”  He laughed some more seeing Josephine’s face wrinkle up in disgust.  “Of course you do.  Probably pee on trees too!”  Harold laughed even more.   

“Yes!  And I’ll do it around wherever we make camp.”  Now Josephine was completely disgusted.   

“OK! The camping plan is off!   I am not going to sit in a tent surrounded by the stink of dog piss!”  Harold laughed some more and then calmed himself down.   

“Instead of just going and looking for our quarry, we need to help them find us.  Your scent doesn’t linger long, mine will.  If I put a mile wide circle around where ever we camp, any vampire or ulfhedinn will find us in minutes.” Harold saw Josephine was about to say something more so he added, “And you’ll hardly be able to tell.”

Josephine crossed her arms and looked at Harold, “I seriously doubt that.” Josephine said nothing more and Harold realized he won this debate.