WARNING: Blood, Gore, Violence, and Swearing

Chapter One

"Trolls"

One sunny summer afternoon, Shenandoah hums a cheerful tune while Jack cradles her baby.

"Jack, let me hold him!" His little sister's outstretched hands grab for the infant in his lap.

He twists away, keeping Deganawidah out of her reach. "No, you'll drop him. You gotta be careful with babies."

"I am careful!" Flee insists. Jack raises a skeptical eyebrow, and she huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. Annoyed with his inability to cooperate, she turns to Shenandoah. "Can I hold your baby?"

The woman chuckles, shakes her head in refusal, and then gestures for Flee to sit by her feet. Frowning, his younger sister complies, and the woman begins to twist her long tawny hair into a braid.

Jack smirks in victory, and Flee sticks her tongue out at him. He laughs, returning his attention to the giggling baby in his arms. Deganawidah's tiny fists close around Jack's fingers as he tries to pull them into his mouth. Pupils shrinking in the sunlight, the infant squints up at him. Jack's grin broadens. He blinks, seeing red behind his eyelids, and then...

Everything changes. Shenandoah, Deganawidah, and Flee vanish. The bright forest of Burgess disappears.

Jack opens his eyes, and he is no longer himself.

A crying baby rests in his arms as he sings a soothing lullaby. He paces across a nursery and looks out a massive window. Stars are swallowed in darkness as explosions rattle the universe. Screams echo in the distance.

His head turns, and his eyes land on a glowing, diamond-tipped spear propped up against a wall. He balances the infant on his armored hip and grabs the weapon. Ominous choruses of whispers grow louder as a thousand hands pound on the door. He trembles, and the baby wails.

The door is knocked down, and the darkness surges forward. An army of laughing monsters charge at him—

"Jack!"

He jolts awake, heart hammering. Thrashing, he loses his balance and falls, landing in a pile of leaves. Instinctively, his fingers find his staff, curling around the familiar wood—only then does he realize where he is.

Jamie stands above him, biting back laughter. "Have a nice fall?"

Reality breaches the surface of his mind. Last night, he decided to take a nap in Jamie's backyard while waiting for the kid to wake up. Jack groans, staring up at the branch where he dozed. He really should stop sleeping in trees. Covering his face with his arm, he grumbles, "Not funny."

"Actually, it's super funny!" Jamie snickers, pulling a metal gadget out of his pocket. "I gotta tell Cupcake."

A light flashes in Jack's face, and he flinches, recalling his dream of bright explosions. He shoves the bizarre visions into the back of his mind. He can analyze his recent remembrance later. Rubbing his eyes, he complains, "What is that?"

"I took a picture of you to show to Cupcake," Jamie answers.

Jack furrows his eyebrows, confused. Sitting up and brushing autumn leaves off his clothes, he squints at the tiny metal rectangle in Jamie's hand. "But you don't have a camera."

Jamie looks up and explains, "My phone has a camera."

Jack, disbelieving, jumps to his feet. "Phones don't have cameras. That can't be a phone. It doesn't even look like one." He isn't incredibly up to date with the modern world, but he knows what phones and cameras look like: phones have long curly wires sticking out of them, and cameras look like accordions. Jamie isn't going to trick him.

The younger boy holds out the piece of technology for him to examine, grinning. "Phones are cooler than they used to be."

Scrutinizing, Jack explores the device. Sure enough, the unflattering image of him sprawled on the grass is displayed on the screen, and he snickers at the sight. He has to admit that Jamie is partially right: it is kind of funny.

"Neat," Jack comments appreciatively, eyes widening in curiosity. "How does it work?"

Jamie swipes at screen, and the picture changes to one of his greyhound. "It's a touchscreen, so you just use your fingers. You can take pictures, listen to music, text, play games… tons of cool stuff."

"It can do all that?" Jack, bewildered, swipes through Jamie's collection of pictures. He's aware humanity is rapidly progressing in the area of technology—he's watched them grow for centuries with his very own eyes—but he didn't know they were so advanced.

Jamie nods, amused. "Yeah. I can't believe you've never seen an iPhone."

Jack returns the gadget to his friend, shrugging. "I don't need one."

Fiddling with his backpack straps, the kid stares at him, contemplating. "Maybe you should get one." Jack raises an eyebrow, and Jamie continues, "Y'know, so we can call each other and stuff."

"Why would we need to do that?" Jack questions. He already spends a significant amount of time with his friend. Plus, now that September has arrived, they can see each other nearly every day.

Jamie wipes his shoes on the damp grass. "In the summer, you could call me instead of coming here. That way you won't get too hot."

Jack frowns, knowing which summer visit the younger boy is referring to. He knows better than to stick around Burgess when the temperature is too high, but he couldn't stay away. He hadn't seen his believers in over a month, and the separation was driving him mad. Worry gnawed on his insides, and he was scared they'd lose faith in him if he was absent for too long. Now, Jack didn't actually faint. He just fell under a dizzy spell. He didn't have a heat stroke or anything drastic, but Jamie still shouldn't have seen him in a weak state. Jack is supposed to be strong all of the time; he isn't allowed to stumble when children are around. He's Jamie's hero—a literal legendary spirit, for crying out loud—and the kid shouldn't see him as anything less.

Swallowing down his guilt, Jack answers with a carefree tone, "I can't buy a phone. I don't have any money. Being a Guardian is an unpaid job, kiddo."

"Oh." Jamie still won't meet his eyes. Is he disappointed because his suggestion was shot down or because Jack isn't as great as he's supposed to be?

Trying to erase the awkwardness from the conversation, Jack asks, "So… have you found any weird supernatural stuff lately?"

Jamie's eyes light up with excitement. Bingo. Bringing up a nerdy topic is a surefire way to diffuse any tension. The younger boy is a huge geek who believes in every campfire story ever told.

"Yeah! There was a Sasquatch sighting in Canada, like, only a few hundred miles away!" Jamie fishes his phone out of his pocket and starts tapping at the screen. "There's an article with a map… here! See!"

Jack peers over his friend's shoulder and examines the picture, smiling. "Yeah, I see."

He's fairly certain that Bigfoot doesn't actually exist, but he isn't going to pop Jamie's bubble. He doesn't want to ruin the kid's dreams, after all. If Jamie were to stop believing in one legend, what's to say that Jack wouldn't be next? The younger boy scrolls to the bottom of the page, and the title of another related story catches Jack's eye.

"Child Eating Monster?" Frowning, he reaches over and pokes at the bold letters. After loading, another article appears on the screen. He can't understand most of the words, but there are blurry images and faces of missing kids. "Where's that?"

"Uh, it says Lofoten, Norway. Something about a cave monster?" Jamie squints at his phone, sporting a grim expression. A pang of guilt strikes Jack in the chest. Jamie is only eleven; he doesn't need to be reading about missing children. He's about to ask his friend to return to the Sasquatch article, but then the front door slams.

"Jack!"

They both turn around as Sophie hops down the porch steps. She nearly trips over the laces of her bedazzled sneakers as she runs across the lawn, and as soon as she reaches Jack, she hugs his legs.

"Hey, kiddo!" He beams and ruffles her unkempt mop of hair. "Are you excited for school?"

Sophie's head bobs, enthusiastic. He's about to pick her up, but then the yellow school bus screeches to a stop in front of them. The little girl waves goodbye before skipping away, but Jamie hesitates.

"Are you going to Norway?" he asks, brown eyes wide and concerned.

"Don't worry about me," Jack chuckles, patting the kid on the back and pushing him toward the bus. "Go use that big brain of yours!"

Reluctant, Jamie steps onto the bus, and the glass doors seal shut behind him. Jack watches as they speed away, assuring himself that he'll see the Bennett children tomorrow. They won't stop believing in him overnight.

Calling on the wind, Jack takes to the air.

The flight from Pennsylvania to Norway isn't a short one, so Jack takes the time to analyze the memories he regained last night.

Over a year ago, he opened his tooth box and relived his final moments as a human. He's been remembering pieces of his past life ever since. His recollections typically occur when he's sleeping, so Jack's been dozing off more and more often. As a winter spirit, he usually only requires sleep every month or so, but now he nods off at least once a week. He doesn't really mind—even though finding a safe place to rest is a challenge—because he likes learning about his family and who he used to be. His favorite memories are the ones of his sister. She was so full of happiness and joy; she was the light of his life. He's always excited to learn more about her. He feels as if he doesn't know enough; he doesn't even remember her birth name yet. Jack is fairly sure that "Flee" was just a nickname, but he hasn't called her anything else in his memories. Her real name was probably faith based since colonial Burgess was ardently Christian. Maybe it was Mary? Rachel? Abigail? He isn't sure, but he hopes to eventually find out.

He does know the name of their babysitter, though. Shenandoah, a Native American woman from a tribe near their community, watched over them many times throughout their childhood. The memory of being supervised by her isn't an unfamiliar one. Jack is confused, however, by the dream that came after. The nonsensical visions of explosions and monsters made no sense. He wasn't even himself in the dream, unlike in his memories. He was an imaginary character who spoke an indecipherable language. He doesn't understand how or why his head came up with such random visions, but he decides not to think about them too hard. The dream was just a fluke. Next time, he'll regain his memories normally.

"How many caves are on one island?" Jack complains, tapping a tree trunk with the crook of his staff. Frost spreads across the bark, marking the area as one he's already checked. He's spent the entirety of the afternoon searching the mountainous islands of Lofoten, all of which are riddled with numerous caverns. So far, he hasn't found a trace of the missing children. He needs a better plan other than investigating until he locates the kids, but… what else is he supposed he do? Jack sighs in frustration, running a hand through his hair. He isn't going to stop looking—not until he's explored every inch of the archipelago.

He's glancing at the overcast sky, trying to gauge how long he has until sunset, when something colorful catches his eye. A splash of red against brown and gray demands his attention, and Jack flits through the forest, coming to a halt when he sees the shoe. The small boot is child sized, and he can tell the article of clothing hasn't been exposed to the elements for long. He stares, horrified, at the bloody ankle still tucked inside. The flesh is fresh, lacking rot, yet already pale and green. He can easily imagine the fate of the kid who must've owned the shoe, and the ground freezes to solid ice beneath him. A strong, angry gust of wind makes the trees groan, and he knows exactly what he's going to do to the monster when he finds it.

He takes off, speeding through the forest and the nearest cave opening. The blow glow of his staff lights up the darkness, and the sound of an underground waterfall rebounds off of the moist cavern walls. The place appears uninhabited, but Jack is going to check every nook and cranny, innocuous appearance be damned. He just found a chewed limb outside: he's certain he'll find something in here.

He tenses when he hears footsteps and… sniffling. Following the sound, he sprints down the shadowy passageway. The noise grows louder as he approaches, clarifying into a quiet, accented voice. "Alt kommer til å gå bra."

Jack skids to a halt, digging his heels into the rock. Illuminated by the pulsing blue light of his staff is a tall figure. He holds a trembling little girl in his arms. She appears to be of kindergarten age, and she's covered in filth. Her stained dress is torn, and there are twigs in her ratted, platinum blonde hair. As poor of a state the child is in, Jack feels relieved to have found a living one. However, he's overwhelmed by the scent of decay when he breathes through his nose. He glances behind the spirit's enormous pair of black wings only to find scattered remains of human bodies.

Spurred into action, Jack aims his staff at the assumed monster's head. "Let her go!"

Green eyes widen in alarm, and the spirit holds up one hand in surrender. "Wait, this isn't what it looks like!"

"I said, let her go!" Jack orders. The stale air crackles with cold around him as he prepares to attack.

"I swear, I didn't! I would never—!"

Jack isn't in a listening mood. Ice crawls up the spirit's legs, freezing him into place. Voice low, Jack commands, "Let her go before I freeze the rest of you!"

The spirit gasps in surprise, gaping at his immobilized lower half. He stares at Jack, who glares in return.

"Alright," he agrees and then slowly whispers to the girl, "Jeg kommer til å sette deg ned nå. Ikke vær redd." Jack doesn't understand a single word, but he guesses the language is Norwegian because the child seems to understand. The spirit maintains eye contact with Jack as he slowly places the girl on her own two feet. Her blue eyes widen when she sees the ice encasing his legs, but she doesn't speak.

"I'm not going to hurt her," the spirit promises.

"Bullshit," Jack scoffs. The corpses are enough evidence to prove him guilty. The only reason Jack hasn't completely frozen him is because he doesn't want to scare the kid. He can tell she's already been frightened enough for a lifetime.

"I didn't eat anyone!" the spirit insists.

"Yeah? Then who did?" Jack asks, unconvinced.

"The trolls!"

"Trolls?" He raises an eyebrow, extremely skeptical.

"They're usually pretty harmless. Normally, they just stay in their caves, but for some reason they've started to go after…" The spirit trails off, realizing that he isn't being taken seriously. He glares at Jack when he snorts in disbelief. "I'm telling the truth!"

Jack rolls his eyes, preparing to finish the argument by transforming the spirit into an ice sculpture, but a loud roar echoes throughout the cavern, stopping him short. Jack spins around, catching a glimpse of a bulky, towering beast before a huge fist collides with his face. Knocked off his feet, his head bashes against the jagged surface of the cave floor, and his staff slips from his fingers. Bright flames light up the cave, and he can faintly hear the spirit shout something over the ringing in his ears. A grubby hand grabs Jack by the ankle, dangling him upside down. The foul creature growls and sniffs him. His shirt has fallen down, and the troll—an actual troll—licks a long stripe down his stomach, coating his skin in slime. Jack grimaces and starts squirming, stretching to reach his staff, just inches away from his fingertips. With a grunt of effort, he manages to wrap his fingers around his staff, getting a firm grip on his weapon. He slams the wood into the troll's abdomen, and the beast shrieks in pain, releasing his leg. Jack flops onto the ground with a grunt. He quickly flips himself over and leaps to his feet. One of the trolls charges him, and he blasts the creature with shards of ice. He hears a shrill scream, and his head swivels in the direction of the little girl. One of the trolls is rushing toward her. Jack moves instantly, but he isn't fast enough. The winged spirit beats him to the punch, slashing at the monster's chest with flaming hands. Blood gushes from the gashes, splattering his face with crimson. The troll doesn't move.

Jack scans the cave, and confirms that the rest of the monsters won't be moving again anytime soon.

The child begins to sob, and the green-eyed spirit climbs off the limp troll, dousing his flaming hands. He turns to the girl and crouches before her, whispering soft words. She shrieks, cowering away from him.

"You're scaring her," Jack accuses stepping closer to the two of them.

"I'm not trying to!" he snaps back, frustrated. He runs a bloody hand through his auburn head of hair, sighing. Jack stares at him, observant. The spirit's broad wingspan gives off impression that he's bigger than he really is. Actually, the longer Jack studies him, the more he realizes that the guy doesn't look very threatening at all. He's wearing skinny jeans and a prosthetic foot, and he has braids in his hair. Jack's face flushes in embarrassment. He's such a dumbass. He shouldn't have made assumptions and attacked the guy.

Deciding to be helpful, he approaches the pair and tilts his head to the side, contemplative. "She just watched you attack that thing. She isn't going to trust you again easily."

The spirit turns around and gives him a hopeless look. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Tell her that I'm here. I'm not covered in blood, so I don't look threatening." Jack, as a Guardian, automatically draws children to him. If he can get the girl to see him, he'll be able to calm her down. The spirit's gaze hardens, and Jack can tell he's wondering if he's just another self-centered jerk trying to gain another believer. Believers are everything to immortals, but Jack isn't like most spirits. He cares more about helping kids. He didn't have any believers for hundreds of years, so he knows how to live without.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Jack promises.

"What's your name?" he sighs.

"Jack Frost," he answers, rocking back and forth on his heels. "I'm a winter spirit, by the way."

"Yeah, I garnered that from the whole ice thing," the spirit replies. Jack notices the frost covering his peg leg, and the tips of his ears burn. The spirit returns his attention to the girl, whispering in Norwegian and pointing to where Jack's standing. She doesn't seem to be listening, but eventually she peeks through her palms to glance in his direction. Jack steps in front of the girl, forming a snowflake and blowing it into her face. She blinks, and recognition shimmers in her pale irises.

"Hi," he greets, friendly. Her eyes widen upon seeing him, but she doesn't back away.

"Hei," she replies, uncertain.

He grins and asks in his sweetest voice, "What's your name?"

The spirit translates his question, "Hva heter du?"

She just stares at him for several minutes. Eventually, she whispers, quiet, lips barely moving, "Kari."

Jack gives her his best smile. "That's a pretty name. My name's Jack. Can you tell us where you live so we can take you home to your family?"

The spirit repeats Jack's words in Norwegian, tone equally as soft.

"Svolvær," Kari answers.

The spirit nods. "That's a few islands over, on Austvågøya." Kari latches onto him, once again trusting, and wraps her arms around his neck. He holds her and rises to his feet. "I'll take her home."

Jack jumps up. "I'm coming with you."

"I can fly. I'll be faster."

"I can fly too," Jack retorts.

The spirit arches an eyebrow, looking him over. "You… don't have any wings…?" His confused expression softens his face, and Jack feels like a fool for ever thinking this guy could eat a child.

Jack shakes his head, unwilling to explain his ability to ride the wind: now isn't the time to dive into the details of his flight capabilities. Kari is shivering, and she looks nervous now that they aren't consoling her. They need to get her home as soon as possible. She might require medical attention, and her family must be worried sick. Jack begins marching toward the cave entrance. "Let's just go."

The spirit follows him, clearly skeptical. They hurry through the caverns until they reach the outside world. Jack summons the wind, and a gust of air lifts him a few feet off the ground. He spins around, glancing at the spirit. "Which way to Austvågøya?"

"How are you doing that?" His eyes are wide and sparkling with curiosity, and Kari is gaping at him.

"Which way?" Jack repeats. They don't have time for this. The spirit shakes his head, and his wings unfold. He points to the east, and they take off.

The entire flight is silent except for the howling of the wind.

Jack lingers on the sidewalk outside Kari's house, allowing the drenching rain to freeze and stick to his body. He gazes through the window, watching as the girl is embraced by numerous relatives and examined by medical professionals. She doesn't stop crying, but her parents manage to keep her from completely losing it.

The rain suddenly stops pelting him, and Jack looks up. One of the spirit's wings now acts as an umbrella, shielding him from the downpour. Emerald eyes blink at him, waiting, but Jack doesn't thank him. Torn between flying away and staying to watch over Kari, Jack shifts uncomfortably.

"Thanks for freezing my feet, by the way." The spirit awkwardly nudges his shoulder, and Jack flinches.

"I thought you were gonna eat her!" Jack defends. He feels sort of guilty for attacking the guy now that he knows he's innocent, but he was only trying to protect Kari.

The spirit stills, and Jack instantly feels bad for yelling. Maybe he sounded a little too defensive. "That's understandable." He flashes a crooked smile, revealing his pearly and pointed teeth. "Especially since I have these."

"What are you, a shark?" Jack asks, and he knows he said the right thing because the corners of the spirit's eyes crinkle in amusement.

"The Spirit of Dragons, actually," he answers, and Jack furrows his eyebrows.

"Dragons?"

"Yeah."

Jack stares at him for a few moments, waiting for a sign that the guy is trying to mess with him. Dragons don't exist just like Big Foot doesn't exist. Not every fairy tale is real. When Jack realizes the spirit isn't joking, he clamps his mouth shut and averts his eyes. He isn't going to voice his doubts aloud because he'll probably end up offending the guy.

A few minutes of silence pass, and Jack rubs his thumb against his staff, eyeing the frost forming at his feet. Why does he have to be so awkward?

"You're exceptionally good with kids. I've never met a winter spirit like you," he points out, and Jack lifts his head. The spirit's gaze roams over Jack, intrigued, and he isn't sure whether to bask in the odd compliment or shy away from the attention.

"Well, I've never met a dragon spirit before," Jack replies with a teasing lilt. Immediately after speaking, he inwardly cringes and scolds himself, waiting for the conversation to turn ugly like it always does.

"I'm the only one, so, yeah, I would think so." The spirit smiles, and Jack releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. If he was talking to anyone else—Bunny, for example—that comment would've resulted in a fight.

"Didn't you say your name was Jack?" The spirit's voice is sort of nasally and accented.

Jack nods. "Frost."

"Hiccup."

Jack arches an eyebrow at the odd name. Hiccup chuckles.

"I know. Back in my day, ugly names were supposed to scare away trolls. Obviously, it doesn't work too well."

Jack laughs, but his eyes move to peer inside the townhouse window. Kari's face is haunted, and her knee bounces.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Jack asks, concerned. She's lucky to even be alive, but that doesn't mean she'll be alright. She still has a long journey ahead of her.

Hiccup's jovial tone turns serious. "The trolls won't come back, and she has her family to help her. She'll get better."

Pressing his lips into a thin line, Jack nods.

The rain continues for hours into the night, and Kari eventually goes to sleep, embraced by her parents. Afterward, Jack flies off without a farewell.

Every day for the next week, Jack checks on Kari. He doesn't understand a word that comes out of her mouth, but her parents hold their conversations with shrinks in English so she won't hear. They discuss the likelihood of her developing PTSD and explain how her stories of "magical boys" might be an indicator of such. Jack knows her therapists will quickly talk Kari out of believing in him, and the last thing he wants to do is remind her of the things she survived, so he keeps his distance.

The police show up on Thursday to tell Kari's parents of the cave they discovered. They describe a cavern littered with the mangled corpses of lost hikers, and both adults burst into tears.

During Jack's last routine visit, he swears someone is watching him, but even after searching the area, he finds no one.

Jack doesn't return to Norway for several weeks.

Deganawidah means "two rivers running" in Oneida.

Shenandoah means "deer" in Oneida.