Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

THE MORNING OF MAGNUS’S BIRTHDAY WAS NOT FUN.

To be fair, the last five months had pretty much sucked. Even since he and Alex Fierro had left Camp Half-Blood at the beginning of September to return to Boston, they’d been doing their best to survive on the streets. Occasionally, his cousin Annabeth would stop by. Sometimes she’d bring her boyfriend Percy Jackson and their friend Jason Grace with her.

Today in particular, both boys would be coming with Annabeth to celebrate Magnus’s 16th birthday that afternoon. Assuming Magnus was still alive by 3:00 PM.

The day started out normal enough. Magnus and Alex had camped out on the sidewalk under a bridge in the Public Garden when a guy kicked them awake and said, “He’s after you.”

There was only one he that could be after them.

Magnus jumped up. “Randolph?” he asked the guy, Blitz.

It was kind of disorienting to see the normally fashionable dwarf looking like he’d been running through a dirty hurricane. His wiry black hair was full of paper scraps and twigs. His face was the colour of saddle leather and was flecked with ice. His beard curled in all directions. Snow caked the bottom of his trench coat where it dragged around his feet—Blitz being about five feet five—and his eyes were so dilated the irises were all pupil. His permanently alarmed expression made him look like he might start screaming any second.

Alex let out a groan. “It’s your birthday, Magnus.” She said that like she couldn’t believe Magnus had the audacity to have a birthday.

“Uh huh,” Magnus said. “Is that so bad?”

“Let’s just get you through the day alive.” Thanks, Alex, for that cheerful thought.

Blitz glanced around. “He’s getting desperate. Remind me again why you don’t want your uncle to find you?”

“He’s working for her mom,” Magnus said, pointing to Alex. “Who wants my friend—” he tapped the pendant on his necklace “—to end the world. But not yet because the ship isn’t ready to sail, but like eventually.”

After they had arrived in Boston, a frantic Blitz and Hearth had found them and demanded answers. Alex—being a lot less speechless than Magnus had been—had quickly explained that Loki had kidnapped them and they had only just managed to get back to Boston. Which wasn’t exactly a lie. They had been kidnapped and they had escaped, but that was back in June.

The reason they had only just made it back was because they had been rescued by Percy during his quest to free Thanatos. Then they had assisted in the battle at Camp Jupiter against Polybotes. Once the Argo II arrived, the plan was to get a ride back to New York and Camp Half-Blood so they could get back to Boston, but things happened and Magnus and Alex got stuck on the Quest of Seven which hadn’t ended until August 1st.

“Well,” Blitz said, “maybe you should get out of Boston. Don’t you have a cousin in New York and another uncle in California?”

“My cousin is coming here today,” Magnus said. “Along with some friends. So… hopefully they find me still alive. If not…” He trailed off. “Well, hopefully, they don’t die too.”

“No one’s dying today,” Blitz said.

“I hope not,” Magnus agreed.

Alex patted his arm. “Unless I get to you first.”

Blitz sent her a sharp look.

“Kidding,” she muttered.

It was still kinda funny how Blitz and Hearth seemed to warm up more to Alex after learning that Loki had also kidnapped her, but still remain slightly distrustful because in their words it was “the perfect cover, Magnus”.

Magnus and Alex quickly packed up their small amount of possessions, which took about three seconds. The sleeping bags rolled up tight and fitted in their backpacks with their toothbrushes and a change of socks and underwear. With the backpacks over their shoulders and the hood of their jackets pulled low, they could blend in with pedestrian traffic pretty well.

“Where was he?” Magnus asked.

“South End,” Blitz answered. “Where are you supposed to be meeting your cousin?”

He didn’t bother to ask how Magnus had even arranged a meeting which Magnus supposed was a good thing. It wouldn’t really help things if he said they had arranged this months ago right before he and Alex left Camp Half-Blood which, by the way, was a summer camp for Greek demigods.

“Longfellow Bridge,” Alex answered for Magnus.

Blitz frowned. “Why there?”

“Either we’ll both be dead there or we won’t be,” Magnus said. “So… that’s where they’re going.”

Blitz squinted at the sunrise, which was turning the skyscraper windows orange. “I gotta go. But go find Hearth in Copley Square.”

“We don’t need babysitters,” Alex said.

“For my own piece of mind? Blitz pleaded. “Just… don’t die today. They’re coming for you and I don’t think you want to draw your cousin and your friends into this.”

That would be a nice option, except Annabeth was already a part of this. And by extension, her boyfriend Percy was. By even further extension, Jason and the other demigods. Magnus didn’t know what Annabeth was planning to do since he was pretty sure there was something going on with the Roman emperors at this time, but he knew she probably had a plan.”

“We’ll be careful,” Magnus promised. He looked at Alex. “Copley Square it is.”

They looked back to Blitz, but the dwarf was already gone.

“Homeless vampire ninja,” Magnus muttered. “Change of plans. We’re going to Randolph’s.”

“Randolph’s?” Alex asked, raised eyebrows. “Like, the place you’ve been avoiding like the plague? Like the place you went to and got caught by Randolph which led to your death by a fire giant? That Randolph’s?”

Magnus gave her a look. “He’s still my uncle. He deserves a chance to be saved. We both know what happens to him. And we both know your mother’s not likely to save his wife and daughters.”

“That’s true,” Alex allowed. “Okay, but if you die because of this, I’m going to kill you.”

“Inside the hotel?”

“Depends on if I die.”

Magnus swallowed. “You won’t.”

“You won’t either. Right?” Alex fixed him with a look.

“I’ll try.”

“Right?” she asked more forcefully.

Magnus sighed. “Right.”

Alex didn’t really look convinced, but to Magnus’s relief, she dropped it. It wasn’t like he was hoping to die today. But there was a fire giant coming for him and Surt was aiming to kill, not maim or injure.

Unfortunately, that brought up something Magnus had been thinking about for a while.

“If we die,” he began, “what happens? I know Sam has orders to bring me to the hotel, but… What happens if we both die heroically? Gunilla has a thing about children of, you know, and if Sam has to make a choice—”

“She’ll pick you,” Alex finished. “I know.” Nothing about her betrayed any sort of nervousness or worry. “I guess we just have to hope there’s another in the area. Or… we could just not die. I like that option better.”

“Not dying does sound nice,” Magnus admitted. “I’m sold.”

“Alright,” Alex said. “How do we get to your uncle’s place?”

Chapter Text

THE LAST TIME MAGNUS HAD BEEN TO THE FAMILY MANSION, before it became the Chase Space, it was after Randolph had died. He and Alex had been attacked by wolves too. Something Alex just had to bring up.

“We aren’t going to have to fight any wolves?” she asked, eyeing the mansion apprehensively.

“No, why?”

“Because I don’t like thinking about death. Like permanent original death. Like, I was killed by a wolf and today is the day you’re supposed to die and I’d really like to avoid death and wolves hit way too close to home.”

Magnus grimaced. He knew a thing or two about wolves hitting too close to home. “Well, I didn’t see any the first time. This way.”

The house fronted Commonwealth Avenue. Magnus and Alex headed around back to the poetically named Public Alley 429. Randolph’s parking spot was empty. Stairs led down to the basement entrance. Magnus didn’t bother looking for a security system. It wasn’t like they were trying to hide from him and he already knew there wasn’t an alarm to worry about. The door was a simple latch lock without even a deadbolt.

Two minutes later they were inside.

“Ah, food!” Alex said. She and Magnus helped themselves to some sliced turkey, crackers, and milk from the carton.

“No falafel,” Magnus sighed. “So uncivilized.”

“Uh huh, okay, Obi-Wan,” Alex said.

“TJ?”

“And Will.” Alex paused. “That guy is obsessed with Star Wars. I don’t understand why he insisted on showing me the prequels though. He was kinda grumpy during the movies. I told him we didn’t have to watch them if he didn’t like them, but he was all ‘You have to watch all the movies at least once, Alex!’” She shook her head. “Whatever.”

“TJ will be so proud of you,” Magnus said, absently stuffing a chocolate bar into his pocket.

“Poor Nico though,” Alex grinned. “I bet Will’s going to drag him to opening night for all the sequels. Again.” She glanced around. “Now what? He’s not even home.”

Magnus shrugged. “Dunno. I guess we wait.”

They headed upstairs into a mausoleum of mahogany furniture, oriental rugs, oil paintings, marble-tiled floors and crystal chandeliers.

“Why are you giving him another chance?” Alex finally blurted. She crossed her arms. “I mean, come on, Magnus. He got you killed! He freed my mother! You’re just okay with that because he’s related to you?”

Magnus ducked his head. “He was tricked. I don’t know. I guess… I guess I just want to believe in the best. It wasn’t really his fault. He… he just wanted to see his family again. I can understand that much.”

Randolph had lost his wife and his daughters when he was searching for Sumarbrander—otherwise known as Magnus’s sword Jack—years ago. In exchange for Randolph’s help, Loki had promised the man that he would bring them back. Without knowing what he knew, Magnus might have been tempted to agree to the same offer if it brought back his mom.

Dammit, Magnus, he chided himself.

He had mostly gotten over his mother’s death—her original death—before he was thrown back in time. Once he had returned to the past, Natalie Chase was dangled in front of him tauntingly before Loki ripped her away again. He had seen his mother alive for barely an hour in this timeline. In that time, he had allowed himself to believe that things could be alright. He could be reunited with his mom again.

“Besides,” Magnus added quickly. “Other than Annabeth and Uncle Frederick, he’s my only family. Blood related family, I mean.” He glanced at Alex. “He helped us find the wedding. He wasn’t completely bad.”

“Your uncle doesn’t deserve you,” Alex mumbled. “You’re too forgiving. But if you trust him…” she trailed off, poking around the house and peering into glass display cases in the library.

The library smelled of lemon polish and leather, just like Magnus remembered. Along one wall was a lit glass case full of Randolph’s rusty Viking helmets and corroded axe blades.

In one corner of Randolph’s office sat a big slab of rock like a tombstone, the front chiselled and painted with elaborate red swirly designs. In the center was a crude drawing of a snarling wolf.

Magnus shuddered. Wolves.

“She’d hate that I’m back here,” he murmured.

Alex looked over. “Hmm?”

“My… my mom,” Magnus said. “She didn’t want me to go near my uncles. Probably because of the whole demigod thing. I never found out if she knew about Annabeth or not. That would explain the argument. Uncle Frederick never spoke to Randolph or my mom after that, but I don’t know what issues he would have had. As far as I know, Randolph just wanted me to find the sword.”

“Maybe,” Alex said dubiously. “Guess you’ll have to ask Annabeth or have her ask her dad.” She drummed her fingers on Randolph’s desk. “You sure you want to be here. Especially if your mom warned you not to do this.”

“Technically, she didn’t warn me this time,” Magnus pointed out. “Just that being around my uncles was dangerous.”

“What is all of this?” Alex wondered.

Magnus joined her by the desk. Spread across the desk were pieces of parchment as thin and yellow as onion skin. They looked like maps a school kid in medieval times had made for social studies: faint sketches of a coastline, various points labelled. Sitting on top of them, like a paperweight, was a leather pouch.

Alex opened the pouch and dumped out some of the stones inside into her hand. “Runes,” she noted.

“And places he was looking for the sword,” Magnus added.

“Hey,” Alex said, tossing one of the stones to Magnus. “Fehu.”

Magnus caught it and rolled his eyes. “Oh, haha. Frey, yes, dear old dad.” He glanced down at the stone painted with the red symbol:

ᚠ

“That Hearth?” Alex asked, looking out the window.

Magnus followed her gaze. Along the center of the avenue stretched the Commonwealth Mall—a ribbon of parkland covered in snow. The bare trees were strung with white Christmas lights. At the end of the block, inside an iron fence, the bronze statue of Leif Erikson stood on his pedestal, his hand cupped over his eyes. Leif gazed towards the Charlesgate overpass as if to say, Look, I discovered a highway!

And at the base of the statue was a tall, pale man in a black leather jacket, black motorcycle pants and pointy-toed boots. His short, spiky hair was so blond it was almost white. His only dash of colour was a striped red-and-white scarf wrapped around his neck and spilling off his shoulders like a melted candy cane.

“Mom’s here,” Magnus muttered.

“Why’s Hearth mom and Blitz is dad, huh?” Alex mused. “Why not the other way around? Why not dad and dad? Why not—”

“I didn’t make it up,” Magnus sighed. He spread his hands: What are you doing here?

Hearth made a gesture like he was plucking something from his cupped hand and throwing it away. GET OUT. He didn’t look alarmed, but it was hard to tell with Hearth. He never showed much emotion.

“He wants us to leave,” Magnus reported.

“Yeah, I can see that,” Alex said. “I’m guessing we’re staying right here?”

Hearth gestured again: both hands pointing forward with two fingers, dipping up and down twice. Hurry.

“Sorry, buddy,” Magnus sighed.

Behind him, a deep voice said, “Hello, Magnus.”

Magnus’s heart leapt to his throat and his hand flew to the pendant that would release Jack if he needed his trusty singing sword. He turned around to see a barrel-chested man with a trim white beard and a skullcap of gray hair standing in the library doorway. He wore a beige cashmere overcoat over a dark wool suit. His gloved hands gripped the handle of a polished wooden cane with an iron tip.

“Hey, Randolph,” Magnus said, heart still pounding. He let go of the pendant and casually crossed his arms.

Randolph inclined his head a millimeter. “What a pleasant surprise. I’m glad you’re here.” He sounded neither surprised nor glad. “We don’t have much time.” He faltered upon seeing Alex standing next to Magnus. “Who’s this?”

“Alex,” she said, not bothering to hold out a hand for him to shake. “And you’re the uncle that Magnus was warned never to interact with ever.”

Magnus winced. “Uh, right. You… you said we don’t have much time?”

Randolph’s brow furrowed. His nose wrinkled as if he detected a mildly unpleasant odor. “Well, yes, I assumed that was why you were here. I mean, you’re sixteen today. You’ve found the sword obviously. You must know they’ll be coming to kill you.”

Chapter Text

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” ALEX SAID. She flashed Magnus a big smile.

Magnus looked at her like, Thanks, I love dying on my birthday.

“Maybe we should head out of the country,” Alex suggested. “Keep you alive a little longer. So thanks for reminding us, Randolph. We’ll just be getting out of your hair now.”

“Alex,” Magnus said, holding her wrist to stop her from brushing past Randolph. Not that Alex could have gone anywhere. Randolph was standing in the middle of the doorway, blocking the exit.

“Magnus, we need to talk,” Randolph insisted.

“Yeah, we do,” Magnus agreed.

Randolph relaxed his shoulders. “Excellent. Now—”

“Stop working with my mother,” Alex said bluntly.

Randolph flinched. “Excuse me?”

“You’re working with Loki,” Alex said. “You should stop. Before you get yourself or Magnus killed.”

“You know nothing—”

“We know he promised to help you get your family back,” Magnus said. “Your wife and your daughters. He’s lying. The only way you’ll see them again is when you die.”

Randolph leaned against the door frame. “How… how could you possibly— Magnus, your mother… I’m only trying to prevent what happened to her from happening to you.”

“I know what happened to her!” Magnus shouted. “I was there! I saw the wolves. I saw Loki. It’s his fault she’s gone. That’s what you don’t understand, Randolph. Loki doesn’t care who gets hurt. He killed my mom because she didn’t know where I had gone or where the sword was. If you continue working for him, he's going to kill you too.”

Alex blew out a breath. “Look. For whatever reason, Magnus cares about your well being. Personally, I don’t care either way. But after years of no contact, don’t you think you owe it to him to listen?”

Randolph closed his eyes. “Alright. But I have tried to find you, Magnus. Where have you been the last few years?”

Magnus’s eyes flitted to Alex and then back to Randolph. He shrugged. “Around. Ever since that day, I’ve been living under the radar.”

Alex resisted the urge to snort. That was a mild way of putting it. The past few years Magnus and Alex had spent “living under the radar” had been a mix of living on the streets of Boston, fighting Titans and giants, living at Camp Half-Blood, and being imprisoned by Loki. Oh, and there was that small issue called fighting the literal earth herself. But, yeah, that was just an average day when you’re living under the radar.

“I wanted your mother to bring you here,” Randolph said. “I could protect you both here.”

“Then what? Hand him over to Loki at the right time?” Alex muttered.

Randolph ignored her. “They’ll come for you again today. I will help you—”

“I don’t want your help,” Magnus interrupted. “Alex and I can handle what comes. I only came to tell you about Loki. You’re family, like it or not, and I’m not going to let you waltz to your death. That’s not right.”

Alex pursed her lips and crossed her arms. She didn’t really like the places this took her brain and the questions it made her contemplate.

If it was her family in this situation, what would she do in Magnus’s place? Warn them? Tell them to rot in hell? It would be so easy to cast them aside and let them die.

The casual contemplation of this made her feel horrible. There were very few times where death was an acceptable punishment. Legal, the death penalty was reserved for only the most severe of criminals. Her father and stepmother were a lot of things. Criminal wasn’t one of them. Jerks maybe. Assholes, definitely. Neither of those were punishable by death.

Magnus and Alex had both been handed a short straw in regards to family. Alex wasn’t sure if one was shorter than the other. Their situations weren’t exactly comparable. Alex’s family hated her. Magnus’s mother loved him. Alex’s father rejected who she was and threw her out. Magnus’s uncle got him killed, betrayed him to an evil god, and freed said evil god.

There was no question about it. Magnus’s family—mostly just Randolph—sucked. But here he was willing to put aside everything.

Because that’s what heroes do, a little voice said. For some reason that little voice sounded a lot like Chris Hemsworth.

Or maybe it was just because, technically, that hadn’t happened yet. Either way, Alex kinda admired how easily Magnus could forgive his uncle.

Alex was knocked out of her thoughts when the building rattled like a volley of cannons had gone off in the distance.

“They’ll be here soon,” Randolph warned. “We’re running out of time.”

“Yeah? Well, don’t worry,” Magnus said. “Alex and I can handle these things. You just stay here in your cozy mansion and think about what you’re going to do next.”

Randolph limped forward, relying on his cane. His right knee didn’t seem to work. “I’m asking a lot, Magnus. You have no reason to trust me. But I can help you.”

“I already have the sword,” Magnus told his uncle. “I’ve had it for a while now. Stay here, Randolph.”

“And where will you go?” Randolph pressed.

“Away from here,” Magnus answered. “Somewhere we can fight without too many people getting hurt.”

“How? Are you going to fly? Will you teleport there?”

Magnus and Alex exchanged a look. As far as Alex knew, no one had gotten hurt when Magnus fought Surt on the Longfellow Bridge the first time. The plan had been to keep that fight the same since they could anticipate what would happen if it was in the same place. They hadn’t exactly discussed transportation.

“My car is out back. I’ll drive you wherever you want,” Randolph promised.

The building shook again. This time the boom felt closer and stronger. The noise sounded like the fall of a gargantuan foot.

“Please, Magnus.” Randolph’s voice pleaded.

“He’s right,” Magnus said quietly to Alex. “We don’t have a ride.”

Alex grimaced. “And I’m not giving you a ride. Not today at least.”

Ideally, they would both make it through the fight with Surt alive. Which meant that Alex was not going to be wasting energy transporting Magnus only to be exhausted once the fire giant arrived to kill them.

And as it was, Alex had spent more than enough time giving out free rides to demigods who needed to get up to the top of a building fast or demigods who were falling to their death to last her a lifetime.

“Fine,” Magnus relented. “One ride. Longfellow Bridge.”

Randolph exhaled in relief. “Thank you, Magnus.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Magnus said. “We still have to defeat them.”

Chapter Text

“WE’RE GOING TO DIE.”

Magnus looked back at her over the back of the passenger seat of his uncle’s BMW and rolled his eyes. “Gods and monsters won’t do us in, but a car will?”

Alex crossed her arms. “Gods and monsters I can fight. I can’t fight another car or the flying glass or the airbag or—”

“Okay, I get it.” Magnus turned back around to face the front.

Randolph was in every sense of the word a stereotypical bad Boston driver. He gunned his car and shot down Commonwealth Avenue, ignoring the lights, honking at other cars, weaving randomly from lane to lane.

“I think he missed a pedestrian,” Alex noted.

Magnus winced. “Yeah okay. Hey, Randolph? You hear that? You missed a pedestrian. You want to go back and hit her?”

Randolph was too distracted to answer. He kept glancing at the sky as if looking for storm clouds. He gunned the BMW through the intersection at Exeter.

“How long have you known about this world?” Randolph asked.

Magnus glanced back at Alex. “Uh, a few years.”

“And when did you get the sword?”

Magnus didn’t answer. Alex leaned forward. “Magnus?” she prompted.

“Around the same time,” Magnus finally said. “Why?”

“Curiosity,” Randolph said. “So just before your thirteenth birthday? Three years ago?”

Had it only been three years?

Alex mentally ticked off the years in her head. It had been the end of December when they came back. The following year had been the quest Annabeth led in the Labyrinth. The year after that was the Battle of Manhattan. Then this past year was the war with Gaea.

“Huh,” she said aloud.

“What?” Magnus asked, seeming relieved to change the subject.

“Feels like it was longer than three years,” Alex shrugged.

Randolph turned right on Arlington. They skirted the Public Garden, past the equestrian statue of George Washington, the rows of gaslight lamp posts and snow-covered hedges.

“How did you find out?” Randolph asked. “Did… Loki tell you?”

“I told him,” Alex answered for Magnus. “We met three years ago and I got into trouble with some monsters. Magnus came to rescue me and I had to tell him what was going on.”

It wasn’t completely a lie. It wasn’t like they could tell Randolph that Alex had been kidnapped by a Greek titan and Magnus along with his Greek demigod cousin and her Greek demigod friends had come to rescue Alex.

“We found the sword by accident,” Alex continued. “I told him what it was and we knew we had to get away from Loki because he was looking for the sword.”

Randolph nodded silently, but Alex could tell he didn’t seem very convinced. Maybe Loki had told him about what had been going on? No, if Randolph knew there were Greek demigods, he’d be questioning Magnus and Alex about it. Something about the whole Chase family made them just so damn inquisitive.

“I’ve made my life’s work studying the Norse exploration of North America,” Randolph said. “I spent years looking for this sword. You found it by accident?”

“It called for me,” Magnus blurted. “Uh, we were just, you know, walking around and then I felt this tug and next thing I know I have a sword in my hands.”

Alex could have smacked him. Because that explanation wasn’t making it blatantly obvious they were hiding something. At least Alex’s lie made sense. And it wasn’t a total lie. Maybe it was just because Loki was the god of lies, but Alex didn’t usually have much issues twisting the truth to explain something.

“Hmm,” Randolph said, looking at Magnus for a moment before focusing back on the road, much to Alex’s relief. “Suffice to say, the Norse explored North America and even built settlements around the year 1000, almost five hundred years before Christopher Columbus. Scholars agree on that. What they don’t agree on is how far south the Norse sailed. Did they make it to what is now the United States? That statue of Leif Erikson… that was the pet project of a wishful thinker in the 1800s, a man named Eben Horsford. He was convinced that Boston was the lost Norse settlement of Norumbega, their furthest point of exploration. He had an instinct, a gut feeling, but no real proof. Most historians wrote him off as a crackpot.”

“This is fascinating and all, but why are you telling us this?” Alex interrupted.

“The maps on my desk are proof that the Norse explorers did make it this far,” Randolph continued. “They were searching for something… and they found it here. One of their ships sank nearby. For years I thought the shipwreck was in Massachusetts Bay. I sacrificed everything to find it. I bought my own boat, took my wife, my children on expeditions. The last time…” His voice broke. “The storm came out of nowhere, the fires…”

He took a deep breath. “But you found it by accident. How do you happen on this sword by accident?”

They turned onto Charles Street, heading north between the Public Garden and the Common.

“It pulled me,” Magnus said stiffly. “I don’t know. Something about its power and its connection to my dad.”

“Hey look!” Alex said, pointing off to the side. “The Cheers bar.”

Alright, so that wasn’t the smoothest subject change, but at least she tried. Even if it didn’t work in the slightest.

Randolph whipped around the access road for Storrow Drive. He parked at a meter on Cambridge Street. To the north, past the elevated tracks of the Mass General T station, rose the stone towers of the Longfellow Bridge.

“The Longfellow Bridge,” Randolph said.

“Great, now you should really get out of here,” Magnus said. He gestured to the meter. “It’s only a twenty minute parking spot.”

Randolph fished for quarters in his cup-holder. “I said I could help you.”

“And I said I don’t want help,” Magnus said. “You’re going to get hurt, Randolph. The whole point of me warning you was so you don’t get hurt.”

Randolph opened his car door. “I would think you would know by now that us Chases have never been ones to back away from trouble.” He got out of the car.

“Dammit,” Magnus sighed. “Come on, Alex. We’ve got a stupid uncle to save.”

“And innocent mortals?” she added.

“And innocent mortals,” he said resignedly.

Chapter Text

“RANDOLPH!” MAGNUS CALLED.

He and Alex hurried after Randolph as he hobbled away. Despite his cane and his stiff leg, the guy could really move. He was like an Olympic gold medallist in hobbling. He forged ahead, climbing the sidewalk of the Longfellow Bridge as the two demigods jogged after him, the wind screaming in their ears.

The morning commuters were coming in from Cambridge. A single line of cars was backed up the length of the span, barely moving. Half a dozen runners were chugging along, looking like emaciated seals in their Lycra bodysuits. A mom with two kids bundled in a stroller was walking on the opposite sidewalk. Her kids looked about as happy as Magnus felt.

His uncle was still fifteen feet ahead of him.

“Randolph!” I called. “I’m talking to you!”

“This is it, isn’t it?” Randolph muttered. “Where you found it. The drift of the river. The landfill on the banks… allowing for a thousand years of shifting tidal patterns—”

“Yo!” Magnus caught the sleeve of his cashmere coat. “I said you need to leave.”

Randolph scanned the surroundings. They’d stopped at one of the bridge’s main towers—a cone of granite rising fifty feet above them. People said the towers looked like giant salt and pepper shakers, but Magnus always thought they looked like Daleks from Doctor Who.

A hundred feet below them, the Charles River glistened steel grey, its surface mottled with patches of snow and ice like the skin of a massive python.

Randolph leaned so far over the railing it made Magnus jittery.

“The irony,” he muttered. “Here, of all places…”

“Yes, alright? This is where I found the sword,” Magnus said in exasperation. “Now would you please —”

A low boom echoed across the river. The bridge shook. About a mile away, amid the thicket of chimneys and steeples of Back Bay, a column of oily black smoke mushroomed skyward.

Magnus steadied himself against the railing.

“Um, wasn’t that close to your house?” Alex pointed out.

Randolph’s expression hardened. His stubbly beard glistened silver in the sunlight.

“You need to leave,” Magnus said seriously. “Now. And take the mortals while you’re at it.”

“Take them how?” Randolph asked.

“I don’t know, yell fire or something.”

Sirens wailed in the distance. On the bridge, drivers stuck their heads out of their windows to gawk at the column of smoke over Back Bay, holding up smartphones and taking pictures.

“He’s coming,” Alex warned.

The bridge shook more violently. Further down the sidewalk, a jogger stumbled. From behind me came the crunch of one car rear-ending another. Horns blared. Above the rooftops of Back Bay, a second column of smoke billowed. Ash and orange cinders sprayed upward as if the explosion were volcanic, spewing from the ground.

Randolph seemed to age a few years. His wrinkles darkened. His shoulders slumped. He leaned heavily on his cane. “Please, not again,” he muttered to himself. “Not like last time.”

“Go!” Magnus said, pushing his uncle back towards the direction they had come. “Stay with Uncle Frederick in Cali for a while."

Fifty feet away, the center of the bridge erupted in flames. The shock wave pushed Magnus and Alex against the rail. The right side of Magnus’s face felt sunburned. Pedestrians screamed. Cars swerved and crashed into one another.

“Go!” Magnus called again.

Alex whipped out her garrote. “You ready?”

“Hel no,” Magnus said, yanking his pendant from his necklace.

Jack sprung out. “Hey, señor!”

Magnus didn’t look back to see if Randolph was running—or hobbling—away. He and Alex charged towards the explosion.

Fire danced across the roofs of cars. Windows shattered from the heat, spraying the street with glass gravel. Drivers scrambled out of their vehicles and fled.

It looked like a meteor had hit the bridge. A ten-foot-diameter circle of asphalt was charred and steaming. In the center of the impact zone stood a human-size figure: a dark man in a dark suit.

Surt. Aka, Satan’s fashion consultant.

His skin was pure black. His clothes were the same: a well-tailored jacket and slacks, a crisp shirt and tie—all cut from the fabric of a neutron star. His face was inhumanly handsome, chiselled obsidian. His long hair was combed back in an immaculate oil slick. His pupils glowed like tiny rings of lava.

His red eyes locked on to Magnus.

“Magnus Chase.” His voice was deep and resonant, his accent vaguely German or Scandinavian. “You have brought me a gift.”

An abandoned Toyota Corolla stood between them. Surt walked straight through it, melting a path down the middle of the chassis like a blowtorch through wax. The sizzling halves of the Corolla collapsed behind him, the wheels melted to puddles.

“I will make you a gift as well.” Surt extended his hand. Smoke curled off his sleeve and ebony fingers. “Give me the sword and I will spare your life.”

“I’m sorry, Earth is closed today!” Alex yelled.

Magnus shot her a weird look.

She shrugged. “What? Percy did the Wakanda thing from Infinity War, can I not also quote Tony Stark from the same movie?”

“Alex Fierro,” Surt said.

Next to Magnus, Alex tensed. Her fingers tightened around the ends of her garrote.

About a hundred feet down the span of the bridge, a Red Line commuter train ground to a halt. The conductor gawked at the chaos in front of her. Two joggers tried to pull a guy from a half-crushed Prius. The lady with the double stroller was unfastening her screaming kids, the stroller’s wheels having melted into ovals. Standing next to her, instead of helping, one idiot held up his smartphone and tried to film the destruction. His hand was shaking so badly Magnus doubted he was getting a very good picture.

“You will die too,” Surt finished. “Unless the sword is handed over to me.” He studied Magnus. “Give it here, boy, or I will show you the power of Muspell. I will incinerate this bridge and everyone on it.”

Surt raised his arms. Flames slithered between his fingers. At his feet, the paved ground bubbled. More windshields shattered. The train tracks groaned. The Red Line conductor yelled frantically into her walkie-talkie. The pedestrian with the smartphone fainted. The mom collapsed over the stroller, her kids still crying inside.

Surt’s heat didn’t make Magnus pass out. It just made him angry. He glanced at Alex out of the corner of his eyes. Her face was glistening with sweat, but despite that, she had a fierce glare aimed at Surt. If looks could kill… Surt would be dead ten times over.

“A counter offer,” Magnus said, pointing Jack at Surt. “Alex and I keep the sword and destroy you instead.”

Surt sneered. “Just like your father, you are no fighter.”

Magnus clenched his teeth. I’ve fought Titans and giants and ugly monsters for years now, he thought. I just helped defeat the earth six months ago. I’ll show you no fighter.

But, before he could take action, something whizzed past his ear and smacked Surt in the forehead. Had it been a real arrow, Surt would’ve been in trouble. Fortunately for him, it was a plastic toy projectile with a pink heart for a point—a Valentine’s Day novelty, Magnus guessed. It hit Surt between the eyes with a cheerful squeak, fell to his feet and promptly melted.

Surt blinked. He looked confused.

A familiar voice shouted, “Run, kids!”

Charging up the bridge came Blitz and Hearth. Well… their version of charging.

Blitz had donned a broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses along with his black trench coat, so he looked like a grungy, very short Italian priest. In his gloved hands he wielded a fearsome wooden dowel with a bright yellow traffic sign that read: MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS.

Hearth’s red-striped scarf trailed behind him like limp wings. He nocked another arrow in his pink plastic Cupid’s bow and fired at Surt.

“Oh my gods,” Alex said, wide eyed.

“We’ll cover you!” Blitz charged by me. “Run!”

Surt hadn’t been expecting an attack by lightly armed bums. He stood there while Blitz smacked him across the head with the MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS sign. Hearth’s next squeaky arrow misfired and hit Magnus in the butt.

“Hey!” he complained. I should have remembered that.

Being deaf, Hearth couldn’t hear him. He ran past Magnus and into battle, thwacking Surt in the chest with his plastic bow.

“Now what?” Alex asked.

Before Magnus could answer, Surt backhanded Hearth and sent him flying across the ground. He kicked Blitz in the chest so hard the little guy stumbled backwards and landed on his butt right in front of Magnus and Alex.

“Enough.” Surt extended his arm. From his open palm, fire spiralled and elongated until he was holding a curved sword made entirely of white flame. “I am annoyed now. You will all die.”

“Gods’ galoshes!” Blitz stammered. “That’s not just any fire giant. That’s the Black One!”

“Astute observation, Sherlock,” Alex grumbled.

Around Surt, flames began to swirl. The firestorm spiralled outward, melting cars to slag heaps, liquefying the asphalt, popping rivets from the bridge like champagne corks. The air heated up by thirty more degrees.

Hearth slumped against the railing about thirty feet away. The unconscious pedestrians and trapped motorists wouldn’t last long either. Even if the flames didn’t touch them, they’d die from asphyxiation or heat stroke.

Alex wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. “It’s really… hot…”

“Blitz,” Magnus said. “You and Hearth get everyone out of here.”

Blitz’s sunglasses were steaming. The brim of his hat was beginning to smoulder. “Kid, you can’t fight that guy. That’s Surt, the Black One himself!”

“I’m aware.”

“But Hearth and me—we’re supposed to protect you!”

Magnus gave him a wry smile. “Thanks for that. But Alex and I can do this. It’s gotta be us.”

“Yeah, rah rah rah, go team,” Alex said, breathing heavily. “Let’s do this.”

“Go,” Magnus told Blitz.

The dwarf nodded and stumbled off towards Hearth.

Surt laughed. “The sword will be mine, boy. You cannot change fate. I will reduce your world to cinders!”

Alex snorted. “If you think about it, we already have changed fate.”

Magnus hefted Jack. “I’m ready to change it again.”

As Alex shifted into the form of a bird, Magnus walked into the wall of flames.

Chapter Text

HE FELT AS STUPID THIS TIME AS HE HAD BEFORE.

Normally, one didn’t go stepping into walls of flame. Not unless they wanted to get burned alive. Magnus knew the fire wouldn’t hurt him, but he still felt like an idiot. He could only imagine what the mortals were thinking.

Dang kids doing crazy stunts these days like walking into fire.

Magnus walked through the curtain of fire and smacked Surt in the head with his sword.

The blade didn’t seem to hurt him, but the swirling flames died. Surt stared at Magnus for a millisecond, completely shocked. Then he punched Magnus in the gut.

His vision blurred and tripled. Somewhere, he could barely make out the cry of a hawk as it dove in for an attack. When he regained his focus, Magnus was on his knees, staring at a puddle of regurgitated milk, turkey, and crackers steaming on the asphalt.

Magnus looked up to see Alex the Hawk coming in for another pass at Surt. Mid-dive, she transformed back into a human and hooked her garrote around one of Surt’s fingers. There was a loud roar as Surt suddenly found himself with nine fingers instead of ten.

Alex hit the ground running. She stopped next to Magnus.

“You good?” she asked.

Magnus grunted. “Fine,” he wheezed. “Sucker punched.”

Surt moved towards them slowly. “Give me the blade of your own free will, Vanir spawn. I promise you a quick death. Your friend will not be so lucky.” He glared at Alex.

Magnus looked up at the smoke in the winter sky. A hundred feet up, he saw a girl in armor on a horse made of mist, circling like a vulture over the battle. She held a spear made of pure light. Her chainmail shone like silvered glass. She wore a conical steel helmet over a green head wrap. She locked eyes with Magnus for a fraction of a second.

Damn it, Sam. Damn it, damn it, Magnus thought, panicked.

Up above, Sam dissolved into smoke.

“The sword,” Surt demanded, his obsidian face looming over Magnus and Alex. “It’s worth more to me freely surrendered, but, if I must, I will prise it from your dead fingers.”

In the distance, sirens wailed. Magnus really hoped he and Alex could get rid of Surt before they arrived. He glanced back. Magnus couldn’t see Hearth, Blitz, or Randolph anywhere. Hopefully they had gotten as many bystanders out of the way.

Magnus grunted as he grabbed Alex’s hand and hauled himself to his feet. He raised his sword.

“Then I guess that’s what you’ll have to do,” Magnus said through gritted teeth.

Surt swung his scimitar.

Jack moved to intercept Surt’s blow. Whether Jack had done it on his own or Magnus had actually raised the sword to block in time, Magnus didn’t know. He was grateful for the assist at any rate. The rest, though, was all Jack.

Jack spun in an arc, dragging Magnus arm along with it, and hacked into Surt’s right leg.

The Black One screamed. The wound in his thigh smouldered, setting his trousers on fire. His blood sizzled and glowed like the flow from a volcano. His fiery blade dissipated.

Before he could recover, Alex launched herself up and lashed out with her garrote. A deep cut now ran from Surt’s chin to his ear. She transformed into a hawk and took off as Magnus slashed at Surt’s face. With a howl, Surt stumbled back, cupping his hands over his nose.

To Magnus’s left, someone screamed—the mother with the two kids.

Hearth was trying to help her extract her toddlers from the stroller, which was now smoking and about to combust.

“Hearth!” Magnus yelled, before remembering that was no good.

With Surt still distracted, Magnus limped over to Hearth and pointed down the bridge. “Go! Get the kids out of here!”

Hearth didn’t like the message. He shook his head adamantly, hoisting one of the toddlers into his arms. The mom was cradling the other kid.

“Leave now,” Magnus told her. “My friend will help you.”

The mom didn’t hesitate. Hearth gave Magnus one last look: This is not a good idea. Then he followed her, the little kid bouncing up and down in his arms crying, “Ah! Ah! Ah!”

Other innocent people were still stuck on the bridge: drivers trapped in their cars, pedestrians wandering around in a daze, their clothes steaming and their skin lobster red. Emergency sirens were closer now, but the police and paramedics wouldn’t be very helpful if Surt was still there when they arrived.

“Boy!” The Black One sounded like he was gargling with syrup.

He took his hands from his face. Along with Alex’s cut, Jack had taken off Surt’s nose. Molten blood streamed down his cheeks, splattering on the ground in sizzling droplets. His trousers had burned off, leaving him in a pair of flame-patterned red boxers. Between that and the newly sawed-off snout, he looked like a diabolical version of Porky Pig.

“I have tolerated you long enough,” he gargled.

“I was just thinking the same thing about you.” Magnus raised the sword. “You want this? Come and get it.”

In retrospect, that was a pretty stupid thing to say.

Above him, Magnus caught a glimpse of Sam on her horse, circling and watching. He tried his best to ignore what that meant.

Instead of charging, Surt bent down and scooped asphalt from the road with his bare hands. He moulded it into a red-hot sphere of steaming gunk and pitched it towards Magnus like a fastball.

“Magnus!”

Something slammed into Magnus and sent him sprawling to the ground. The asphalt scrapped his hands, knees, and cheeks as he fell. Surt’s laughter mixed with a cry of pain.

Magnus pushed off the ground and looked over to see Alex with a badly burned arm from where Surt’s asphalt cannonball must have hit her.

“Alex!” Magnus shouted. He moved towards her to heal her, but another cannonball flew inches from his face. The heat was enough to singe his eyebrows and sting his nose.

“Don’t move, little demigod,” Surt said.

Magnus stared at Alex. Her face was contorted in pain, but she managed to shout, “Don’t worry about me! Get him!”

It was an impossible decision, but Alex was right. Surt was the priority here.

He glanced at Alex’s hands, still holding the garotte. “Don’t let go,” he called, choking on the words. “Don’t you dare let go of that weapon, Alex!”

Alex’s face was pale, but she nodded. The hand on her unburnt side squeezed the handle of the garrote tighter. “Go!”

Magnus stood up and faced Surt. “I’m going to kill you,” he hissed. “I swear it.”

“Señor?” Jack asked nervously.

“Jack, give me a good song before I die,” Magnus told his sword. “Like, really upbeat. Not about dying at all.”

Jack buzzed. “Aye, aye, señor.”

“A song?” Surt mocked.

“Tonight we are victorious,” Jack belted out. “Champagne pouring over us. All my friends were glorious. Tonight we are victorious.”

Magnus shrugged with a smile. “Well, what are you going to do.” He raised his right hand and flipped up his middle finger. “Come and get me.”

“Oh oh oh oh victorious,” Jack hummed. “Oh oh oh oh.”

Surt roared and charged.

Just as he reached Magnus, Magnus stabbed upward and ran him through.

Jack continued singing, though his voice was muted by the fact that he was embedded in a giant’s gut. “Double bubble disco queen. Headed to the guillotine.”

“No!” Surt yelled, fighting to free himself, bursting into flames, kicking and gouging.

It wasn’t the best plan, Magnus dimly thought as Surt towered over, melting down onto Magnus and turning the asphalt around Magnus into liquid tar and finally burning away at Magnus himself.

I guess the funeral home makeup artist is going to have their work cut out for them with Alex and I, Magnus thought deliriously. Focus on the sword, Magnus, he immediately chidded himself. At least you can try not to get Sam in trouble this time.

He turned his head and tried to look through the heat and molten tar to where Alex was. He couldn’t see her.

“Skin as cool as Steve McQueen.” Jack’s voice was sounding fainter now and Magnus was pretty sure it wasn’t because his voice was muffled. Everything was quieter. “Let me be your killer king.”

Chapter Text

ALEX WAS SLIGHTLY TICKED OFF.

Here she was sixteen years old again and again she was dead. Oh, and if what she saw before everything faded into oblivion was right, Magnus hadn’t even survived the fight when that had been the whole point of pushing him out of the way in the first place.

When she woke up, Alex was laying in the middle of the courtyard of Hotel Valhalla. Well, at least there were small mercies like her sister picking both her and Magnus up. Could Valkyries do that? Pick up more than one dead person? She never asked Sam about that.

Alex slowly got to her feet. Her side was no longer burnt—ow, that had hurt a lot—and her clothes were in pristine condition.

She looked up at the Hotel. Eight storeys of imposing white limestone and grey marble jutting into the winter sky. The double front doors were dark heavy wood bound with iron. In the center of each was a life-size wolf’s-head door knocker.

“Home, sweet home,” Alex sighed.

The double doors swung inward with a groan. Blinding golden light spilled out.

A burly man appeared on the stoop. He wore a doorman’s uniform: top hat, white gloves and a dark green jacket with tails and the interlocking letters HV embroidered on the lapel, but there was no way this guy was an actual doorman. His warty face was smeared with ashes. His beard hadn’t been trimmed in decades. His eyes were bloodshot and murderous, and a double-bladed axe hung at his side. His name tag read: HUNDING, SAXONY, VALUED TEAM MEMBER SINCE 749 C.E.

“Guess I’m checking in,” Alex said. “Where’s registration?”

Hunding scowled. “Follow me.”

He led Alex inside the Hotel which was deceptively bigger on the inside.

The foyer alone could’ve been the world’s largest hunting lodge—a space twice as big as the mansion appeared on the outside. An acre of hardwood floor was covered with exotic animal skins: zebra, lion and a forty-foot-long reptile that Alex didn’t know the name of. Against the right wall, a fire crackled in a bedroom-size hearth. In front of it, a few high-school-age guys in fluffy green bathrobes lounged on overstuffed leather couches, laughing and drinking from silver goblets. Over the mantle hung the stuffed head of a wolf.

Columns made from rough-hewn tree trunks held up the ceiling, which was lined with spears for rafters. Polished shields gleamed on the walls. Light seemed to radiate from everywhere—a warm golden glow that hurt my eyes like a summer afternoon after a dark theatre.

In the middle of the foyer, a freestanding display board announced:

TODAY’S ACTIVITIES

SINGLE COMBAT TO THE DEATH! — OSLO ROOM, 10 A.M.

GROUP COMBAT TO THE DEATH! — STOCKHOLM ROOM, 11 A.M.

BUFFET LUNCH TO THE DEATH! — DINING HALL, 12 P.M.

FULL ARMY COMBAT TO THE DEATH! — MAIN COURTYARD, 1 P.M.

BIKRAM YOGA TO THE DEATH! — COPENHAGEN ROOM, BRING YOUR OWN MAT, 4 P.M.

Yoga to the death, Alex mused. Never tried that before.

“Do you have any luggage?” Hunding asked.

Alex glanced down at her waist. To her relief, the enchanted garrote was looped around through the belt buckles of her green jeans. She patted it. “Just my garrote.”

“Of course,” Hunding muttered. “No one brings much luggage anymore.” He scowled towards the far corner of the room, where an overturned boat’s keel served as the reception desk. “Guess there’s no putting it off. Come on.”

The man behind the keel had a beard so big it had its own zip code. His hair looked like a buzzard that had exploded on a windshield. He was dressed in a forest-green pinstriped suit. His name tag read: HELGI, MANAGER, EAST GOTHLAND, VALUED TEAM MEMBER SINCE 749 C.E.

“Welcome!” Helgi glanced up from his computer screen. “Checking in?”

“Uh—”

“You realize check-in time is three p.m.,” he said. “If you die earlier in the day, I can’t guarantee your room will be ready.”

“So sorry my death inconvenienced you,” Alex said. “It really inconvenienced me. Probably more than you.”

“No, no.” He tapped on his keyboard. “Ah, here we are.” He grinned, revealing exactly three teeth. “We’ve upgraded you to a suite.”

Next to Alex, Hunding muttered under his breath, “Everyone is upgraded to a suite. All we have are suites.”

“Hunding…” warned the manager.

“Sorry, sir.”

“You don’t want me to use the stick.”

Hunding winced. “No, sir.”

Helgi turned back to Alex. “How many keys would you like? Is one sufficient?”

“Yeah, sure, fine,” Alex said absently.

“Here is your room key.” Helgi handed Alex a stone engraved with a single Viking rune. “Would you like the minibar key?”

“Yes,” Alex answered dully. “Can I get going?”

“Ah.” Helgi winked. “Eager to share your brave exploits at dinner are you? Hunding will show you to your room. Enjoy your afterlife. Next!”

Chapter Text

HUNDING WOULDN’T LET HER FIND HER OWN ROOM.

Which was probably a good thing considering Alex had no idea how to explain how she mostly knew her way around the Hotel. Especially considering what Magnus had said about the captain of the Valkyries being leary of children of Loki.

They passed groups of guys and girls sitting together in small groups, lounging in front of fireplaces, chatting in many different languages, eating snacks or playing board games like chess and Scrabble and something that involved real daggers and a blowtorch. Alex made a mental note to try that out eventually.

Peeking into side lounges, Alex spotted pool tables, pinball machines, an old-fashioned video arcade and something that looked like an iron maiden from a torture chamber. Wow, you really forgot how cool the Hotel was after being away for a few years.

Staff members in dark green shirts moved among the guests, bringing platters of food and pitchers of drink. All of them were female and based on the shields on their backs and swords or axes on their belts, Alex guessed they were all Valkyries.

“Duck,” Hunding said suddenly.

Alex didn’t question it. She dropped down just as a spear flew over her head. It impaled a guy sitting on the nearest sofa, killing him instantly. Drinks, dice and Monopoly money flew everywhere. The people he’d been playing with rose to their feet, looking mildly annoyed, and glared in the direction the spear had come from.

“I saw that, John Red Hand!” Hunding yelled. “The lounge is a No Impaling area!”

From the billiard room, somebody laughed and called back in… Swedish? He didn’t sound very remorseful.

“Anyway.” Hunding resumed walking as if nothing had happened. “The elevators are right over here.”

“Oh goodie,” Alex said. She skipped after Hunding as he brought them to the elevator.

The elevator’s cage door was made out of spears. Overlapping gold shields lined the walls. The control panel had so many buttons, it stretched from floor to ceiling. The highest number was 540. Hunding pressed 19.

Alex’s heart skipped a beat. Floor 19.

“So, uh, has a blonde boy arrived today?” Alex asked Hunding. “Kinda dorky. Might be afraid of wolves.”

Hunding gave her a strange look. “No.”

“Well, he’s my friend and we were fighting together,” Alex explained. “I’m pretty sure he was about to die too, so I was just wondering.”

Hunding’s expression softened. “Oh. Well, based on what you just said, you died first, so it’s possible that your friend will arrive in a short while.”

Alex tried a smile. “Yeah. Maybe.”

The elevator’s spear-cage door rolled open.

“Don’t worry.” Hunding clapped me on the back. “You’ll like floor nineteen. Good hallmates!”

Alex really did smile. “Yeah. Good hallmates.”

The vaulted ceiling was just how Alex remembered it. Twenty feet tall and lines with spears for rafters. Torches burned in iron sconces, but they didn’t seem to make any smoke. They just cast warm orange light across the wall displays of swords, shields and tapestries. The hall was so wide you could’ve played a regulation soccer game, no problem. The blood-red carpet had tree-branch designs that moved as if swaying in the wind.

Set about fifty feet apart, each guest-room door was rough-hewn oak bound in iron. In the center of each door, a plate-size iron circle was inscribed with a name surrounded by a ring of Viking runes.

The first read: HALFBORN GUNDERSON. Behind that door Alex heard shouting and metal clanging like a sword fight was in progress.

The next read: MALLORY KEEN. Behind that door, silence.

Then: THOMAS JEFFERSON JR. The popping of gunfire came from inside, though it sounded more like a video game than the actual thing.

The fourth door was simply marked X. In front, a room-service cart sat in the hallway with the severed head of a pig on a silver platter. The pig’s ears and nose looked slightly nibbled.

Alex wrinkled her nose. Nice, Odin, she thought.

They’d almost reached the T at the end of the hall when a large black bird shot around the corner and zipped past Alex, almost clipping her ear. She watched the bird disappear down the hall—a raven, with a notepad and a pen in its talons.

“Excuse you,” Alex muttered.

The next door they came to was inscribed ALEX FIERRO.

Alex swallowed. “This is my room?”

She must not have done a good job at hiding her feelings because Hunding sighed. “Why? Is it not good enough for you?”

“No!” Alex said quickly. “It’s fine! I just… nevermind. Thank you. It’s good.”

No, it’s not, she screamed in her head. This is not my room. This is Magnus’s room. I’m supposed to get my room after Odin reveals himself to be X.

“Go ahead.” Hunding pointed at the runestone key in Alex’s hand. The symbol looked sort of like an infinity sign or a sideways hourglass:

ᛞ

“It’s dagaz,” Hunding said. “Nothing to be afraid of. It symbolizes new beginnings, transformations. It also opens your door. Only you have access.”

“Oh, new beginnings is right,” Alex muttered. She held up the runestone to the matching dagaz mark on the door. The ring of runes glowed green. The door swung open.

Alex stepped inside.

Her room was exactly how she remembered.

She stepped into the middle of the room where a huge tree was growing, surrounded by a patch of grass. The lowest branches spread across the ceiling, interweaving with the rafters. The upper branches stretched into a cloudless blue sky. 

Alex turned in a slow circle. The suite was shaped like a cross, with four sections radiating from the central atrium where the tree was. One was the entry hall where she’d come in. The next was a bedroom with a king-sized bed. The third wing was the bathroom.

It was the fourth wing—the kitchen—that Alex cared about. The bathroom might have a sauna and a hot tub, but the kitchen had a kiln and a potter’s wheel.

“It’s been too long,” Alex told it as soon as she stepped foot in the kitchen and saw it. “I haven’t made anything in a long time.”

There had been a few potter’s wheels at Camp Half-Blood, but unless Alex wanted to stay up all night and risk getting eaten by harpies, she couldn’t have unlimited access to it. The only time she got was the arts and crafts time allotment for Hermes cabin. Suffice to say, that had probably been her least favorite part of the Greek camp.

When she was done admiring her little pottery zone, Alex headed to the foyer where there was a sofa, bookshelves, a TV, and a fireplace. Pottery decorated the shelves. Some were things Alex had made years ago with her abuelo. Others were things she had made months ago at Camp Half-Blood. She had no idea how the Hotel got these things.

A flash of silver caught her eyes. She moved towards the mantle where a few pictures were framed in silver. She wasn’t really surprised, but at the same time, it was startling. Originally, Alex had only had one picture. It was her favorite picture of her with her abuelo holding the first piece of pottery she’d ever made. That picture was still there, but it was now accompanied by pictures of her with her friends.

There was one of her and Magnus the day they had left Camp Half-Blood for good. She grinned, remembering how Will Solace had been stuck running around taking pictures of various campers and promising to mail them their pictures over the next few weeks. Annabeth had brought Magnus and Alex their pictures when she visited them in Boston a few weeks later.

There was also one of Alex with Allegra Nakamura. The daughter of Iris had really grown on Alex ever since her cousin Ethan had decided to give up his mission to kill Percy Jackson and instead plummet 600 floors to his death. Alex had saved him from the fall and since then, she and Allegra had been friends.

A sniffle brought Alex out of her thoughts. She turned to Hunding, who was wiping his eyes. “You okay?” she asked.

He cleared his throat. “Fine! Of course I’m fine. The hotel likes to provide you with keepsakes, reminders of your old life. Photographs…” Under his beard, his mouth might have been quivering. “Back when I died, they didn’t have photographs. It’s just… you’re lucky.”

“Lucky,” Alex repeated quietly.

Hunding straightened and wiped his nose. “Enough of that! If you have any questions, call the front desk. I look forward to hearing about your brave exploits tonight at dinner.”

“I look forward to hearing how Magnus wasted my sacrifice,” Alex muttered. “My very heroic sacrifice.”

Hunding laughed. “Been a pleasure serving you, and welcome to the Hotel Valhalla.” He held out his palm.

Alex winced. “Oh, um…” She dug around in her pockets, but there was nothing there. She gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I don’t have anything, but my friend had chocolate in his pocket when we went into battle, so maybe—”

“Chocolate?” Hunding asked, eyes hopeful.

Alex grinned. “Yeah.”

“Gods of Asgard!” Hunding said. “I’m going to head back down now! Hopefully your friend doesn’t take his time dying! Wow! Okay, you need anything, you let me know. Your Valkyrie will come get you right before dinner. Wow!”

Alex stared at Hunding as he headed for the door. “There were so many better ways you could have said that,” she muttered.

Chapter Text

WHEN HE ARRIVED, Alex was not there.

That wasn’t necessarily worrying. Magnus didn’t even know if Alex actually died. For all he knew, Alex was cursed to live out the next couple months with a half burned side. Not exactly something he was hoping for though because that had to be painful.

The worrying part was if Alex actually had died and the fact that she wasn’t here in Valhalla could only mean that she was in Helheim. That Sam had done exactly what she’d promised Odin she’d do and pick up Magnus Chase to join the einherjar. That she hadn’t bothered to pick up a totally deserving hero like Alex.

That was the scary part.

Magnus let Hunding lead him around the Hotel, to the elevator, and up to Floor 19 in a daze. He wasn’t paying attention to anything until Hunding shook him rather violently.

“Hey!” Magnus protested, almost biting his tongue off. “What are you doing?”

“Your room,” Hunding prompted.

Magnus blinked. Sure enough, the name MAGNUS CHASE was printed on the door in front of him. A dagaz rune was just below it where the key hole should be.

“Oh, right,” he said. He held up his own rune to the door which opened.

Magnus looked back at Hunding. “Uh, can I just… I’ll be fine by myself.”

“Of course,” Hunding said. He held out his hand.

Magnus sighed. He dug the chocolate out of his pocket. “Here you go.”

Hunding’s face lit up. “Thank you, Magnus Chase!”

The door next to Magnus’s practically exploded open. A head of green hair peeked out of the doorway.

“Magnus!” Alex said in relief. “You’re here!”

Magnus felt all his previous fears immediately disappear. “You’re here too. What did you do that for, huh? You know I’m more resistant to heat than you are. You could have survived!”

Alex shook her head, heading over to Magnus and pushing past Hunding who was jogging away with his chocolate bar.

“As if you wouldn’t have done the same,” Alex said.

“Fair point,” Magnus admitted. He fell back against the door frame. “Well. This sucks. Dead at sixteen. Again. Annabeth’s going to kill me.”

“Probably,” Alex nodded. She jerked her thumb back at the door to her room. “I got your old room this time. Wonder who’s going to get my old room. Think that means we’ll be making some more friends this time?”

“God, I feel bad for anyone who gets stuck in our lives.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “Gods.”

“Shut up.” Magnus crossed his arms. “Once I meet Sam we’re going to start a club. ‘Children of Gods We Don’t Subscribe To’ or something like that. Hey, maybe it’ll be a nice peaceful little gathering of multiple religions.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Thank you, I try.”

Alex frowned. “So… if we’re both here… Who’s your Valkyrie and who’s my Valkyrie? Can Valkyries pick up multiple people?”

Magnus reached up and played with his pendant nervously. “Dunno. I—” He froze. “Holy— Alex, I still have it!”

“What?” Alex asked.

“My necklace!” Magnus said with a grin. “Jack, I still have him! Which means I didn’t let go when I died!”

“And that’s good because?”

“Because I won’t get your sister in trouble,” Magnus said. “Nor will I have to find Jack or upset Ran which means Ran won’t hate me and that will make our little boat trip sooooooo much more easier if it comes to that.”

“Well, hallelujah, praise the Lord,” Alex said.

Magnus wrinkled his nose. “Sounds wrong when you say it.”

“It sounds— What do you mean it sounds wrong when I say it?” Alex shouted. “You’re literally— You know what, never mind. Okay. So we still have Jack.”

“Already trying to kill each other? You just got here.”

Magnus and Alex looked over to see two girls standing next to each other. One of them, Magnus recognized as Samirah al-Abbas. The other looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t quite place her. She had brown hair and eyes and she was dressed in the same white dress as Sam. An arrow quiver full of arrows was slung across her back though Magnus didn’t see any bow in sight.

“Who are you?” Magnus asked.

Sam apparently took that as him asking her what her name was, not the other girl, because she answered first.

“Samirah al-Abbas,” she said. “You can call me Sam. I’m your Valkyrie.”

“So you must be the one who brought me here,” Alex said to the other girl.

The girl’s lips twitched. “Already forgotten me? Alex I understand not knowing me, but Magnus? I thought you would remember the girl you sat with till she died.”

A memory flashed in Magnus’s mind.

“If you’ve come here to heal me, I’ll just turn you away,” she said. “Tell me something, Magnus. Anything.”

He remembered explaining to her about the Norse gods. How they were real, how he and Alex were children of them.

“I’m glad I met you, Magnus. Alex too. Will you go to a Norse camp? Do they have one for you guys?”

“Kind of. It’s a Hotel. Hotel Valhalla. That’s where the honorable dead go. If I die with a weapon in my hand, a Valkyrie will take me there when I die.”

“Fun. I guess this is goodbye then.”

Magnus looked at the brown haired girl. “Alice?”

She smiled. “Hi, Magnus.”

“How’d you end up here?” Magnus demanded. “You’re not— I mean, you’re…”

Alice cleared her throat. “Long story. I’ll have to tell you about it later. I was recruited over a year ago.”

“Alice,” Alex repeated. “Daughter of…” She mimed shooting an arrow with an imaginary bow.

“Yeah,” Alice confirmed. “Cabin 7.”

Sam looked back and forth between them. “You guys know each other?”

“Summer camp,” Alice explained.

Sam didn’t really look convinced, but she didn’t press the matter. Even if she wanted to, a loud horn blast came from the wall speakers.

“Sweet Frigg,” Alex said, jumping. “It’s going to take a second to get used to that.”

“That means dinner,” Sam said. She straightened up. “Alice and I will be escorting you there. And if you—” she glared at Magnus “—embarrass me, I’ll be the first to kill you.”

“Again? Because, newsflash, I’m already dead and—”

Alex elbowed Magnus and all the air rushed out of his lungs. He doubled over, coughing and choking.

“You… are way… more stronger… now,” Magnus wheezed.

Alex shrugged. “Sorry.”

“Shall we?” Alice asked brightly.

Chapter Text

THE OTHER MEMBERS OF FLOOR 19 were starting to emerge from their rooms.

TJ had his signature rifle slung over one shoulder and he was wearing his U.S. Army Civil War uniform as usual. He nodded and smiled. “How you doing?”

“Great for a dead guy,” Magnus said.

“Soon to be dead again,” Alex said cheerfully.

Magnus’s smile dropped. “Already with the death threats? You can’t wait until, I don’t know, never?”

“Oh buddy, I have been waiting for an opportunity like this,” Alex said with a wicked looking smile.

“I always knew you were a psychopath,” Magnus muttered.

“Aww, he loves me,” Alex told TJ.

TJ stared at them like he was suddenly reconsidering his choice to be nice and welcoming.

“Come on.” Sam pushed Magnus forward. “Plenty of time to kill each other tomorrow.”

“Yay,” Magnus said with no enthusiasm.

They passed Mallory Keen. She was shaking a serrated knife in the face of a six-foot-seven guy outside the door marked X.

“Again with the pig’s head?” Mallory Keen spoke in a faint Irish brogue. “X, do you think I want to see a severed pig’s head every time I step out of my front door?”

“I could not eat any more,” X rumbled. “The pig head does not fit in my refrigerator.”

Magnus really hoped Odin was not actually eating the pig heads because that would be disgusting and he probably wouldn’t be able to look at the god the same way ever, ever again.

Neither X nor Mallory paid the group of four any attention as they walked past.

As they passed Halfborn’s door, an axe blade split the wood from the inside. Muffled laughter came from the room.

Sam ushered Magnus into the elevator. Alice and Alex (wow, say that five times fast) stepped in behind them. Sam pushed away several other einherjar who were trying to get in. “Next car, guys.”

The spear-cage door slid shut. Sam inserted one of her keys into an override slot on the panel. She pressed a red rune and the elevator descended. “We’ll take you into the dining hall before the main doors open. That way you can get the lay of the land.”

“Thanks, but there’s really no—” Magnus was silenced by a look from Sam.

Nordic easy-listening music started playing from the ceiling.

“So,” Magnus said. “You two friends?”

Sam and Alice exchanged looks.

“Not friends per say,” Alice said. “I’m dead. My family thinks I’m dead, so I can’t exactly go back without raising a lot of questions. Sam’s alive, so she lives with her family in the mortal world. I live at the Hotel. Floor 1. It's where the Valkyries that are einherjar live. So Sam and I don’t really see each other often.”

“Acquaintances,” Sam suggested. “Friendly terms.”

“I don’t unfairly judge her based on her dad,” Alice said.

Sam shot her a sharp look.

“Oh good,” Alex said. “I hope you don’t judge me based on my mom.”

“Your mom?” Sam asked.

Alex gave her a wry smile. “Yeah. Real piece of work that one.”

The elevator doors opened. They stepped into a room the size of a concert arena.

“Welcome,” Sam said, “to the Feast Hall of the Slain.”

Tiers of long tables like stadium seating curved downward from the nosebleed section. In the center of the room, instead of a basketball court, a tree rose taller than the Statue of Liberty. Its lowest branches were maybe a hundred feet up. Its canopy spread over the entire hall, scraping against the domed ceiling and sprouting through a massive opening at the top. Above, stars glittered in the night sky.

A lot of animals skittered among the branches. Wobbling along the lowest branch was a very fat shaggy goat. Its swollen udders rained milk like leaky showerheads. Below, on the dining-hall floor, a team of four stocky warriors carried a big golden bucket on poles set across their shoulders. They shuffled back and forth, trying to stay under the goat so they could catch the streams of milk. Judging by how soaked the warriors were, they missed a lot.

“The goat is Heidrun,” Sam explained. “Her milk is brewed to make the mead of Valhalla. It’s good stuff. You’ll see.”

“But behave yourselves or you might get assigned to vat duty,” Alice warned.

“Joy to the world,” Magnus said.

“Let’s get your seats before—” Sam started to say, but around the perimeter of the room, a hundred doors burst open. The armies of Valhalla swarmed in.

“Dinner is served,” Alice said.

Chapter Text

ALEX DIDN’T BOTHER LIFTING HER LEGS UP.

Sam and Alice had taken Magnus and Alex respectively and lifted them up to fly above the tidal wave of hungry warriors. Alex let her legs drag and kick and hit various einherjar in the faces. It was kind of amusing to see the dead warriors do a double take like What just hit my face and can I kill them?

Other Valkyries were also zipping around—some escorting warriors, some carrying platters of food and pitchers of drink.

Sam and Alice headed towards the head table. A dozen grim-looking dudes were taking their seats in front of golden plates and jewel-encrusted goblets. In the place of honor stood an empty wooden throne with a high back, where two ravens perched, grooming their feathers.

Sam and Alice landed them at the table to the left. Twelve other people were just getting seated—two girls and four guys in regular street clothes; and six Valkyries dressed more or less like Sam and Alice.

“Eight,” Alice remarked.

Sam furrowed her eyebrows. “Eight in one night is a lot.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“More heroes dying means more bad things are stirring in the world. Which means…” She pursed her lips. “Never mind. Let’s get seated.”

Before they could, a tall Valkyrie stepped in their path. “Samirah al-Abbas, what have you brought us tonight—another half-troll? Perhaps a spy from your father?”

Alex winced internally. Once her parentage was revealed, no doubt there would be some who thought Sam had done exactly that. At least Sam hadn’t actually been the Valkyrie who was responsible for Alex. She returned her attention to the Valkyrie.

The girl looked about eighteen. She was big enough to play power forward in the NBA, with snow-blonde hair in braids down either shoulder. Over her green dress she wore a bandolier of ball-peen hammers. Around her neck hung a golden amulet shaped like a hammer. Her eyes were as pale blue and cold as a winter sky.

“Gunilla—” Sam’s voice tightened “—this is Magnus Chase.”

Magnus held out his hand. “Gorilla? Pleased to meet you.”

Alex elbowed him.

The girl’s nostrils flared. “It is Gunilla, captain of the Valkyries. And you, newcomer—” Her voice cut off. Gunilla eyed Magnus in seeming shock.

Alex didn’t have time to ask what that was about before the foghorn from earlier echoed through the hall. Near the base of the tree, two guys held a black-and-white animal horn the size of a canoe while a third guy blew into it. Thousands of warriors took their seats. Gunilla gave one last stink-eye, then spun on her heel and marched off to the head table.

“Be careful,” Sam warned. “Gunilla is powerful.” Sam looked shaken, her knuckles white on the haft of her axe.

“Very,” Alice agreed. “But give her a chance.”

“Okay,” Magnus said, “but I don’t think she likes you.”

Alice’s mouth twitched. “She doesn’t like Sam. She’s just hard on me.”

Magnus frowned. “Why?”

Alice’s smile became more forced. “Circumstances surrounding my, uh, employment. I’ll explain later.”

Magnus sat at the end of the table next to Sam, and Alex sat across from him next to Alice. Hundreds of Valkyries flew around the room, distributing food and drink. Whenever a Valkyrie’s pitcher was empty, she would swoop over the golden vat now bubbling over a large fire, fill her pitcher with goat’s-milk mead and continue serving. The main course came from a roasting pit at the other end of the room. Rotating on a hundred-foot-long spit was the carcass of an animal.

A Valkyrie flew past, depositing a platter of food and a goblet in front of them.

“Hallelujah, praise the Lord,” Magnus said, digging into his food.

Alex raised her eyebrows. “Oh, so you can say that?”

“Atheist Norse demigod praising the Christian God is kinda my thing,” Magnus pointed out.

“Always knew you were an oddball,” Alice said. “So. When did you get together? I know we had bets on that.”

“Percy’s birthday,” Alex answered carefully, mindful of Sam listening in to the conversation. “After all the, uh, excitement.”

A.K.A. August 18, the last day of the Titan War and they had officially started dating at the campfire that followed the funerals of the dead heroes and the dinner. Sam didn’t know about any of that.

That was another thing Alex was kinda worried about. Sam had been with Alex and Magnus in Alaska. She had been there when Percy rescued them from the prison Loki was keeping them in. The only reason she didn’t remember that was the Greek god Hypnos had stepped in and volunteered to erase Sam’s memories. Hypnos had said that it was only temporary, that one day, Sam would get her memories of those months back. Alex just didn’t know when that day would be.

“Congrats,” Alice said with a smile. “I’m only sad I missed cashing in. Did I miss anything the last year?”

Alex didn’t know if she knew about the giant war, but it wasn’t like she could mention that in front of Sam.

“Well, speaking of cashing in,” Alex began. “Will and Nico finally got together last August. I didn’t get to place a bet, but Nico’s sister Bianca did. She made fifty bucks off the Stolls.”

Alice laughed. “Wow. I didn’t think Will was ever going to make a move.”

“I had no idea you knew each other so well,” Sam said awkwardly.

“We don’t,” Magnus said. “We just know each other from Camp and due to that we kinda know about other campers. Gossip is a huge thing at Camp Ha—I mean at that camp.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, is there falafel? I would kill for some falafel.”

Sam became very still. “Was that some sort of joke?”

“Why would it be a joke? I take my falafel very seriously.”

Alice nodded. “He does.”

Sam’s shoulders relaxed. “Well, if you want falafel, just ask for the left flank. That part is tofu and bean curd. They can spice it to taste like just about anything.”

“Sweet,” Magnus said. He waved down a serving Valkyrie and asked for said left flank.

“You are incorrigible,” Alex informed him.

“Do you know what that means?” Magnus asked her.

Alex rolled her eyes. “It means not able to be corrected, improved, or reformed.”

“Well, I’m perfect, I don’t need to be improved,” Magnus shrugged.

“I swear,” Alex mumbled, shaking her head.

At the high table, the thanes began banging their cups on the table in unison. All around the hall, the einherjar joined in until the Hall of the Slain thundered with a metal heartbeat.

Helgi stood and raised his goblet. The noise died down.

“Warriors!” The manager’s voice filled the hall. “Eight new fallen have joined us today! That would be reason enough to celebrate, but we also have a special treat for you. Thanks to Valkyrie Captain Gunilla, today, for the first time, we will not just hear about our newcomers’ worthy deeds, we will be able to see them!”

Next to Magnus, Sam made a choking sound. “What?”

“Let the presentation of the dead commence!” Helgi bellowed.

Ten thousand warriors turned and looked expectantly in the direction of the newly deceased.

Chapter Text

GOING LAST WAS SOMETIMES GREAT. Like when you had to present in front of the whole class and you had no idea what you were doing and needed to see what everyone else was doing so you would have some idea of how to present. That was fine.

Going last to present your death? Not so much.

Helgi called, “Lars Ahlstrom!”

A heavyset blond guy rose with his Valkyrie. Lars was so nervous he knocked over his goblet, splashing magic mead all over his crotch. A wave of laughter rippled through the hall.

Helgi smiled. “As many of you know, Captain Gunilla has been phasing in new equipment over the past few months. She’s been fitting her Valkyries’ armour with cameras to keep everyone accountable—and hopefully to keep us entertained!”

The warriors cheered and banged their mugs, drowning out the sound of Sam cursing.

Helgi raised his goblet. “I present to you, Valkyrie Vision!”

Around the tree trunk, a ring of giant holographic screens flickered to life, floating in mid-air. The video was choppy, apparently taken from a camera on the shoulder of a Valkyrie. They were high in the air, circling over the scene of a sinking ferry in a grey sea. Half the lifeboats dangled sideways from their cables. Passengers jumped overboard, some without life jackets. The Valkyrie swooped in closer. The video’s focus sharpened.

Lars Ahlstrom scrambled along the tilting deck, a fire extinguisher in his hands. The door to the inside lounge was blocked by a large metal container. Lars struggled to move it, but it was too heavy. Inside the lounge, a dozen people were trapped, banging desperately on the windows.

Lars shouted something to them in… Swedish? Norwegian? The meaning was clear: GET BACK! As soon they did, Lars smashed the extinguisher against the window. On the third try, it shattered. Despite the cold, Lars stripped off his coat and laid it across the broken glass.

He stayed at the window until the last passengers were safely out. They ran for the lifeboats. Lars picked up the fire extinguisher again and started to follow, but the ship lurched violently. His head slammed into the wall and he slid down, unconscious.

His body began to glow. The Valkyrie’s arm appeared in the frame, reaching out. A shimmering golden apparition rose from Lars’s body—his soul. Golden Lars took the Valkyrie’s hand, and the video screens went dark.

All around the feast hall, warriors cheered.

At the head table, the Thanes debated among themselves.

“I don’t know what there is to debate about,” Alex said, crossing her arms. “Dude died a heroic death. Saved a bunch of people.”

Sam tore her bread into smaller and smaller pieces. “To get into Valhalla, a warrior must die in battle with a weapon in his or her hand. That’s the only way.”

“Stupid rule if you ask me,” Alice said. “I think you should get to go to the heroic afterlife if you did good in life. Whether or not you actually died with a weapon in your hand.”

“That’s just not how it is,” Sam shrugged. “It has to be a sacrifice. The bravery has to be unplanned and in the moment—a genuine heroic response to a crisis. It has to come from the heart, without any thought of reward.”

“A lot of people live like that,” Alice pointed out. “Not a lot of people die like that.”

Sam sighed. “I don’t make the rules. But you shouldn’t run around saying things like that. You could get… I don’t know. Sent to Helheim? Technically, you’re dead.”

“Technically I’m a lot of things,” Alice grumbled.

The Thanes took a vote among themselves. They agreed unanimously that the fire extinguisher could count as a weapon and Lars’s death could be seen as in combat.

“What greater enemy is there than the sea?” said Helgi. “We find Lars Ahlstrom worthy of Valhalla!”

More applause. Lars almost fainted. His Valkyrie held him up while smiling and waving at the crowd.

When the noise died down, Helgi continued. “Lars Ahlstrom, do you know your parentage?”

“I—” The newcomer’s voice cracked. “I never knew my father.”

Helgi nodded. “That is not uncommon. We will seek wisdom from the runes, unless the All-Father wishes to intercede.”

Everyone turned towards the unoccupied throne. The ravens ruffled their feathers and squawked. The throne remained empty.

Helgi didn’t look surprised, but his shoulders slumped with disappointment. He motioned towards the fire pit. From a cluster of servers and cooks, a lady in a green hooded robe shuffled forward. Her face was hidden in the shadows of her cowl, but, judging from her stooped posture and her gnarled hands, she must have been ancient.

“Who’s that?” Alex asked.

Sam glanced over. “A vala. A seer. She can cast spells, read the future, and… other stuff.”

The vala approached the table. She stopped in front of Lars Ahlstrom and pulled a leather pouch from the folds of her robe. She plucked out a handful of runestones. The vala muttered something under her breath. She cast the stones at her feet. They landed on the floor—some face up, some face down. One rune in particular seemed to catch everyone’s attention. The holographic screens projected its image to everyone in the hall.

Hundreds of warriors shouted with approval.

“Thor!” they cried. Then they started to chant, “THOR, THOR, THOR!”

Sam grunted. “As if we need another child of Thor.”

"Hey now," Alice said. "You can't be judgy about Thor's kids and expect no one to be judgy about you."

Sam sighed. "Fair enough."

"And Gunilla's not all bad," Alice added. "Just a little rough around the edges."

Alex looked over at the Valkyrie captain who was smiling. Somehow, it looked a lot more creepier than her scowl.

As the chanting subsided, the vala raised her withered arms. “Lars, son of Thor, rejoice! The runes say you shall fight well at Ragnarok. And tomorrow, in your first combat, you shall prove your valour and be decapitated!”

The audience cheered and laughed. Lars suddenly looked very pale. That just made the warriors laugh harder, as if decapitation were a hazing ritual no worse than a wedgie. The vala gathered her runes and retreated while Lars’s Valkyrie helped him back into his seat.

The ceremony continued. Next up was a newcomer named Dede. She’d saved a bunch of kids at her village school when a warlord’s soldiers had tried to kidnap them. She’d flirted with one of the soldiers, tricked him into letting her hold his assault rifle, then turned it on the warlord’s men. She was killed, but her selfless act gave the other kids time to get away. The video was pretty violent. The Vikings loved it. Dede got a standing ovation.

The vala read the runes. She confirmed that Dede’s parents were regular mortals, but nobody seemed to mind that. According to Dede’s fortune, she would fight valiantly at Ragnarok. Over the next week she would lose her arms several times in combat. Within a hundred years she would rise to the thanes’ table.

“Oooooo!” the crowd murmured appreciatively.

The other four newcomers were equally impressive. They’d all saved people. They’d sacrificed their lives bravely. Two were mortals. One was a son of Odin, which caused a minor commotion.

Sam leaned over. “Odin hasn’t been seen in quite a while. We welcome any sign that he still moves among mortals.”

The last newcomer was a daughter of Heimdall which seemed to impress the Vikings.

“Alex Fierro!” Helgi bellowed. “Rise and impress us with your courage!”

Chapter Text

MAGNUS WANTED TO THROW UP.

Last time Gunilla had sabotaged his fight video to show his blooper reel. This time, Magnus was pretty sure he didn’t have a blooper reel, nor did he let go of his sword. He felt fairly confident about his death footage.

Alex on the other hand… If it wasn’t obvious who her godly parent was from the footage, then Magnus would give up falafel for a week. There was no way Gunilla hadn’t sabotaged the child of Loki.

“Wait!” Magnus blurted.

All eyes fell on him.

“Uh, Alex and I died fighting the same guy,” he continued. “So… so can we maybe not have to watch us die twice? Can we combine these? Because I don’t—”

“Fine,” Helgi sighed. “Fine fine. Two deaths together. Not like it hasn’t happened before.”

Sam glared daggers into Magnus like, I swear if you messed this up…

Magnus squirmed uncomfortably as the video played. He hadn’t actually seen what had happened to Alex and he didn’t know if he really wanted to.

The einherjar watched the screens. By some luck or miracle, the video seemed to play in full without skipping over the good parts.

Magnus saw himself and Alex on the bridge, facing Surt. Magnus pointed Jack at Surt. Whispers about his sword rose up. Then Hearth and Blitz appeared. Blitz hit the Black One with his MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS sign. Hearth’s squeaky toy arrow hit Magnus in the butt which got laughs from everyone. Magnus walked into the wall of fire as Alex turned into a bird and soared up high above Surt. Surt punched Magnus and kicked him in the ribs. Magnus puked and squirmed in agony.

Magnus grimaced. Well, there’s the blooper parts.

The warriors cheered as Alex dive bombed Surt and sliced off one of his fingers. They watched as she helped Magnus to his feet. Magnus and Surt clashed swords. Alex lashed out with her garrote and cut Surt’s face. Magnus cut off Surt’s nose. And then the moment Magnus was dreading.

Alex shouted his name and pushed Magnus out of the way of the hot asphalt.

The crowd “Oooooo!”d in sympathy as Alex fell to the ground in pain from the burns.

Magnus looked away as the camera zoomed in on Alex, obviously it was Alice’s camera as the Valkyrie reached out for Alex’s soul.

He didn’t look back up until the room fell silent.

“That,” Helgi said, “was certainly something.”

An uncomfortable murmur spread through the room.

“Who was the first Valkyrie on the scene?” Helgi asked.

Sam bit her lip. “I was. I… I called for backup when I realized the fight wasn’t going well. There was no way I could take two at a time and if both of them died…” She cleared her throat. “Alice answered first.”

Helgi eyed Magnus and Alex. “You two died bravely of course, but, correct me if I’m wrong, Samirah al-Abbas, but that sword Magnus Chase used—”

“Is my father’s sword, yeah,” Magnus interrupted. “Is that a problem?”

“Only if you count that it’s been missing for years and reportedly Loki himself is looking for it,” Gunilla spoke up. Her eyes bored into Magnus’s head. “Odd that you would have it while keeping that for company,” she said, eyes flicking towards Alex. “And how odd that Samirah would be the one to call another Valkyrie for her sibling.”

Sam started. “Sibling? What? I just saw two people standing against Surt! They defended the people on that bridge! Magnus Chase took Surt down himself!”

More uneasy murmuring.

One of the thanes stood. “You say that was Surt. A fire jotun, certainly, but if you are suggesting it was the Lord of Muspellheim himself—”

“I know what I saw, Erik Bloodaxe. This one—” Sam gestured at Magnus like he was a prize specimen “—saved many lives on that bridge. They both did. Magnus Chase and Alex Fierro acted like heroes. They deserve to be among the fallen.”

Alice nodded. “They died bravely in combat. That is the spirit of Odin’s law.”

Magnus met Gunilla’s eyes. The captain was obviously loving this drama. She could barely suppress a smile.

The Thanes debated among themselves.

Finally, Helgi turned to face Magnus and Alex.

“Magnus Chase and Alex Fierro,” he called. “You know your parentage?”

“Is it not obvious?” Alice muttered under her breath.

“Formalities,” Sam murmured quietly.

“Yes,” Magnus declared.

Alex shrugged. “I mean, yeah, but I don’t like to mention him.”

“Please,” Gunilla said with a feral smile. “Share with us your parentages.”

“My father is Frey,” Magnus announced.

Alex let out a long suffered sigh. “Child of Loki, rah rah rah.” She pumped an arm with zero enthusiasm.

Whispers erupted.

Then, between the roots of the tree, where the waterfall hit the dark lake, a massive bubble erupted. BLOOP!

On the surface of the water stood three women shrouded in white.

Except for the crackle of cooking fire and the sound of the waterfall, the hall was silent. Thousands of warriors watched, frozen in amazement, as the three white women glided across the floor, heading towards Magnus and Alex.

“Oh this isn’t good,” Magnus said lowly.

Sam’s hand fell from her axe. “The Norns,” she said.

Alex let out a breath. “Of course.”

“This is bad,” Sam muttered. “The Norns only show up in extreme cases.”

“So glad I’m an extreme case,” Magnus said bitterly.

Alex snickered, but she looked worried.

As the Norns got closer, Magnus took in how big they were—at least nine feet tall each. Under their hoods, their faces were beautiful but unnerving—blank white, even their eyes. Trailing behind them came a sheet of fog like a bridal train. They stopped twenty feet in front of the table and turned up their palms. Their skin was like sculpted snow.

Magnus Chase. He couldn’t tell which Norn had spoken. The soft disembodied voice resonated through the hall, seeping into his head, turning his skull into an icebox. Harbinger of the Wolf.

The crowd stirred uneasily.

The Norns turned to Alex. Alex Fierro. Harbinger of change.

Alex looked like she appreciated that. Of course she did. Alex loved change, it made sense that she would be the harbinger of it. Magnus on the other hand did not like that he was still the harbinger of the wolf.

Thousands of warriors shifted in their seats, clanking restlessly in their armor.

The Norns spoke together, three ghostly voices chanting in unison, shaking leaves from the giant tree:

Rightly chosen, wrongly slain,

The heroes Valhalla cannot contain.

Nine days hence the sun must go east,

Ere Sword of Summer unbinds the beast.

The three Norns bowed to Magnus and Alex. They melted into the fog and disappeared.

“Does someone want to go tell Surt he was wrong to kill us?” Magnus muttered.

Alex made a noise that sounded like a cross between a choke and a laugh.

At the thanes’ table, the lords conferred. All around the hall, thousands of einherjar studied Magnus and Alex. Alice and Sam exchanged concerned looks.

Finally, Helgi faced them. “Magnus Chase, son of Frey, and Alex Fierro…” he trailed off.

“Child,” Alex prompted. “Or daughter until I tell you otherwise.”

“Child of Loki,” Helgi continued uneasily, “your destiny is troubling. The lords of Valhalla must think on this further. For the time being, you shall be welcomed as a comrade. You are part of the einherjar now. That cannot be reversed, even if it was a mistake.”

“But it wasn’t!” Alice protested. “Didn’t you hear the Fa—the Norns? Rightly chosen! How can you think they don’t belong?”

“Perhaps,” Helgi said, scowling at Alice, “like many prophecies, the meaning isn’t clear. Can you say for a fact that they were not chosen by Loki to be his spies?”

“Yes!” Alice said without hesitation. “Yes, I can because I know that’s not what the prophecy means.”

“Are you a daughter of Frigg?” Helgi asked her.

Alice met his gaze defiantly. “No.”

“Then who are you to tell me what the prophecy means?”

“I just know!” Alice said. She clenched her fists. “I just know.”

Helgi shook his head. “Just knowing is not enough.”

Magnus wasn’t sure how Alice could know for a fact that was what the prophecy meant, but he was starting to get a vague idea. During his time at Camp Half-Blood, Magnus had gotten to learn about the different Greek gods, their powers, and the powers passed on to their children. Specifically, the Apollo kids whom he had spent a great deal of time around.

Apollo was a god of many, many things. His children were a diverse bunch in terms of powers they inherited from the god.

Will Solace’s poetic powers allowed him to curse others to speak in rhymes. His music powers gave him an awful sonic whistle. He knew how to hold and use a bow and arrow. But mostly, his power was concentrated in the healing department.

By a stark contrast, Will’s brother Michael Yew excelled in archery above anything else. His poetry curses were much stronger than Will’s though not by much, and his musical talents expanded to any string instrument he picked up.

But Apollo wasn’t just the god of archery, music, poetry, and healing. He was also the god of prophecy. Was it too far of a stretch to say that Alice, a daughter of Apollo, had inherited the prophetic abilities of her father?

“Until this matter is resolved,” Helgi said, “the both of you will be temporarily relieved of your duties. Samirah, you may come and go between Hotel Valhalla and Midgard, though you will not pick up any more souls. Alice, seeing as you are dead, you will remain within the Hotel.”

Sam opened her mouth to protest, but clearly thought better of it. She nodded her head silently.

“Captain Gunilla, do you wish to speak?” Helgi asked.

Gunilla stirred. The gleam in her eyes was gone. She looked like someone who’d got in line for the merry-go-round and unexpectedly found herself trapped on a roller coaster.

“I—” She shook her head. “No, my lord. I—I have nothing to add.”

“Very well,” said Helgi. “So concludes our feast,” he announced. “I will see you all tomorrow on the field of battle! Sleep well and dream of glorious death!”

Chapter Text

WHEN HE GOT BACK TO HIS ROOM, Magnus sat down on the edge of his bed in silence. He flipped absently through his old children’s book of Norse mythology.

The first time he’d been here, he’d destroyed his room in anger and confusion. He barely remembered anything about the Norse world except what his mom had read to him from the children’s book. He didn’t feel like he belonged. Not in the beginning.

Now, despite everything being much the same yet so different, Magnus felt like a stranger all over again.

Magnus stared at the empty fireplace. The Norns’ words kept playing in his head, though he wanted to forget them.

Harbinger of the Wolf. Harbinger of change.

A harbinger was something that signalled the arrival of a powerful force, like a doorman announcing the president, or a red sky before a hurricane. Or, in Magnus’s case, a sign that Fenris Wolf was dangerously close to breaking free.

He still couldn’t figure out why Alex would be the harbinger of change other than the fact that Alex quite literally could change form at will.

Magnus stood up and crossed the room to his door. When he opened it, the hallway was empty and silent. It was almost peaceful. No one was running around with sharp weapons trying to kill anyone. Which was also kind of creepy. Peace in Hotel Valhalla? What was that?

He quietly closed the door behind him and headed down towards the door next to his. The name plate read ALEX FIERRO. He couldn’t hear any sounds coming from behind the door, but he hoped Alex was still awake.

Magnus gently knocked on the door. Seconds later the door was flung open.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Alex asked. She was still wearing her clothes from earlier, the one she had died in though they definitely didn’t look it.

Magnus shook his head.

“Me neither,” Alex said. She stepped back and gestured to her room. “Come on in.”

Once Magnus cleared the threshold, Alex peered around outside, probably looking to see if Mallory or someone was out there. Magnus hadn’t thought about his hallmates and couldn’t really bring himself to care if they saw him going into Alex’s room.

Alex closed her door and turned around. “What’s up?”

“Everything,” Magnus said. He collapsed onto Alex’s couch. “The Norns, the prophecy, the names… God, Alex. I’m not ready for this.”

“At least Sam didn’t get fired,” Alex pointed out. “Things could be worse.”

“They already are worse,” Magnus said. “You died, Alex! You weren’t supposed to die. I didn’t want you to die. I didn’t want to die,” he added in a small voice. “And this thing with Alice? Who— What?” He shook his head. “She’s a Greek demigod. She didn’t even technically die in battle, she was poisoned. And she certainly didn’t have a weapon in her hand. I was there! I saw her die! Nico felt her die! How is she here?”

“Maybe something happened,” Alex suggested. “She could be a legacy. Maybe she’s descended from a Thane and they petitioned Odin to take her as a Valkyrie.”

“I think she can see the future,” Magnus said abruptly.

Alex looked taken-aback. “Oh? And you think this because?”

“Because she said she just knew what the prophecy meant,” Magnus said. “Because she’s a daughter of Apollo, the god of prophecy.”

“I’ve never met an Apollo kid who could see the future,” Alex said. “None of them at Camp can do it. Will, Michael, Lydia, Kayla, Austin… Don’t you think one of them would have some power over prophecy? I mean, isn’t that why Rachel’s the Oracle? So they can get prophecies?”

“No, not like what Rachel can do,” Magnus said, shaking his head. “Rachel channels the power of the prophecy, but she doesn’t know the future. I think Alice actually sees the future.”

“Harbinger of change,” Alex muttered. “Makes sense.”

“What makes sense?”

Alex smirked. “Oh come on, Magnus. Don’t tell me you thought I was the harbinger of change just because of my ever changing gender? Or did you think it was my shapeshifting ability?”

Magnus flushed. “Shut up, Alex.”

“What are we doing, Magnus?” Alex asked. “Changing the future! I am literally a signal of change because that’s exactly what I’m doing. Changing things.”

“So am I, but I got stuck as harbinger of the Wolf,” Magnus muttered.

Alex snorted. “Win some, lose some.” She glanced at him. “You do realize we are going to be under attack from, like, everyone tomorrow? Were you planning to get any sleep? Or did you just want to stay up all night talking about prophecies and other girls?”

Magnus sputtered as Alex snickered.

“I wasn’t—” he protested.

“I know,” Alex said. “I just enjoy making you panic, blush, sputter, etcetera.”

Magnus scowled. “Whatever.” He stood up to leave, and Alex yanked him back down.

“Sleepover time,” Alex announced.

“Sleepover what? Alex—”

Alex raised her eyebrows. “Yes?”

“W-why would we…?”

Alex sighed. “I don’t know what you could possibly be thinking, Magnus Chase, but here’s what I’m thinking. For the past three years, I have gone from sleeping in my bed at, well, here to sleeping in the cramped Hermes cabin to sleeping on the streets to sleeping in the Hermes cabin to sleeping in a prison cell to sleeping on the Argo II and back to sleeping on the streets. Do you know what the one constant was through all of that? You. You were just down the hall from me or in the next prison cell over. You were my bunkmate in the Hermes cabin. And when we were on the streets, you slept next to me. So in all this craziness, does it occur to you that maybe, just maybe, I’d like to retain a small sense of normalcy and have an impromptu sleepover in the grass with my boyfriend? Aka, you.”

“Well, when you put it like that—”

“Great!” Alex dragged a green Hotel Valhalla blanket over to the patch of grass where there was a massive pile of pillows.

“Do I want to know where you got all those pillows?” Magnus asked.

Alex shrugged. “Probably not.” She grinned. “I’m kidding. I swear I just found them. Hotel knows what we want, you know?”

“And you wanted… pillows?”

“Comfort,” Alex corrected. “At least that’s what I assume. Pillows are comforting. Also,” she patted the pillows, “these ones are soft and fluffy which is, of course, the best kind of pillow. Now come on! It’s time to dream of glorious death or whatever Helgi said.”

“More like swift and quick death for me,” Magnus grumbled, laying down.

“Aww, I’ll keep you alive.”

“Always the healers. They always go for the healers first.”

“No one knows you’re a healer,” Alex pointed out.

Magnus thought for a moment. “Oh. True. Well, they’ll know after tomorrow.”

“Look on the bright side,” Alex said. “We sneak out to fix that rope and come back as heroes, yeah? Maybe people will stop killing you as quickly.”

“No, I’m pretty sure that will just make them more likely to kill me,” Magnus said.

They lay amongst the grass and pillows in silence. Magnus was very keenly aware of the fact that Alex was barely an inch away from him.

“Sometimes,” Alex said suddenly, breaking the silence in the dark room. “Sometimes I think you think I’m very fragile and damsel in distress-y.”

Magnus turned his head. “Believe me, I do not think you’re a damsel nor are you in distress.”

“A ticking time bomb then,” Alex suggested.

“I do not think you’re a time bomb!”

“Then why, Magnus, do you act like I’m liable to blow at any second? I’m not going to turn into a crocodile and bite your head off or shatter into a million pieces if you touch me.”

Magnus had a very vivid image of Alex the crocodile removing his head from his neck in one bite after that. He was suddenly very concerned that this was something Alex had contemplated doing at some point.

“Have you actually thought about that? The crocodile thing?” he asked.

Alex let out a breath. “I don’t even know why I love you, Chase. I’m trying to say you’re allowed to lay against me or whatever!”

Magnus lay very still. “Oh.” He hesitantly inched his head over towards Alex’s shoulder. “You aren’t really going to bite my head off, right?”

“For some reason I am seriously considering it.”

“Okay, just checking.”

Alex snorted. “Good night, Magnus.”

“Good night, Alex.”

Magnus stared up at the stars twinkling through the tree branches. His eyelids became heavy and then he was drifting off to sleep.

A sharp sound startled Magnus awake—a branch cracking. Someone cursed.

Above him, the sky was turning grey in the predawn light. A few leaves helicoptered through the air. Branches bobbed as if something heavy had just scrambled through them.

Real sneaky, Blitz and Hearth, he thought.

Over by the entrance, a piece of paper slid under the door.

Magnus sat up groggily. He blinked slowly. Everything came back to him. He was in Hotel Valhalla after the not-quite-as-disastrous-as-the-first-time dinner. He was also on the floor underneath a tree. And Alex Fierro was on the ground next to him.

“Uh, Alex?” he tried, poking at Alex’s shoulder.

Alex sighed and blinked up at Magnus. “What?”

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Magnus grinned.

Alex frowned. “Don’t call me that.”

“Prince Charming?”

“Not because of that, Magpie,” Alex said. “I refuse to be associated with that princess regardless of gender. She couldn’t decide between blue and pink. Now, if it was green and pink, I’d understand.”

Magnus stared. “You don’t like Sleeping Beauty because she couldn’t pick pink over blue?”

Alex shrugged. “Come on, you hate blue.”

“I don’t hate other people for liking it.”

“I don’t hate her,” Alex said. “I just refuse to be associated with her. But yes, I think it’s more of a Prince Charming kind of day.” He frowned. “Should I wear a Prince Charming suit? I might have one in my closet. Pink and green of course.”

“You do that,” Magnus said. “I’ll go get my pink and blue Aurora dress out and we’ll go as a set. No one will know what to do about us.”

“Really?” Alex’s eyes lit up.

Magnus backed away. “I was kidding.”

“Relax,” Alex grinned. “I know. Go back to your room and get ready. We’ve got people to kill!”

Chapter Text

HOW COULD HE HAVE FORGOTTEN how sweet T.J. was?

Alex smiled as he read the note the Civil War veteran had left. It was a handwritten note in really nice cursive:

Hi, neighbour.

Join us in lounge 19 for breakfast. Down the hall to the left. Bring your weapons and armor.

T.J.

Alex didn’t really have or want much by way of armor. He had worn armor during the Battle of Manhattan, but it wasn't by choice. Something about protecting your body from sharp things according to Chiron, but it made shapeshifting very uncomfortable. He always felt more bulky the more he had on.

In terms of weapons… his trust garrote was enough.

Alex pulled on a green Hotel Valhalla t-shirt—not his preferred shade of green, but whatever—and some pink jeans. He slipped on some running shoes and with that, Alex was ready for a day of to-the-death fun.

By the time Alex exited his room, Magnus was doing the same. He was also wearing a green Hotel Valhalla tee, though his regular blue jeans weren’t quite as fun as the bright pink ones Alex sported. He also had a shield slung over his back whereas Alex hadn’t bothered to bring his.

“Nice shirt,” Magnus said.

Alex pulled at it. “I’m going to ask if these come in neon green. Maybe lime green and hot pink too. I want to expand my wardrobe.”

“Good luck with that,” Magnus said. “Ready for breakfast?”

“Absolutely.”

When they arrived at the lounge, T.J. waved them over.

“There you are.” He gestured to the table. “Sit. Join us. You made quite a first impression last night!” He was dressed the same as yesterday: a blue wool army jacket over a green hotel T-shirt, jeans and leather boots.

With him sat the half-troll X, the redhead Mallory Keen and Halfborn Gunderson. Halfborn’s shirt was a patchwork of animal pelts. His hide trousers were in tatters. Even by Viking standards his beard was wild, decorated with most of a cheese omelette.

The four hallmates made room for Magnus and Alex at the table.

Alex sat down next to Magnus. “Well,” he said, “it never came up in so many words last night, but I’m genderfluid and you will refer to me as female unless and until I tell you otherwise which I’m telling you now. He and him today.”

Halfborn’s eyes lit up. “An argr!”

“Don’t call me that,” Alex said flatly. “My name is Alex.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Magnus blurted.

Mallory squinted at him. “You look familiar.”

Alex looked at Magnus with raised eyebrows. He hadn’t been here when Magnus first met the Floor 19 gang, but he was almost positive Magnus didn’t know anyone before arriving at Hotel Valhalla.

Magnus started. “Oh. Uh, you too. Actually, well, you probably don’t remember, but I was in Boston three years ago and I think we might have run into each other. Literally run into each other.”

“When was this?” Alex asked.

“When you were, uh, missing,” Magnus said awkwardly. “Couple days before I found you in Cali.”

Alex blinked. Magnus had come to Boston to retrieve Jack before he had come to rescue Alex from Atlas. What were the chances of Magnus running into Mallory, Halfborn, and T.J. years before he was supposed to officially meet them?

No such thing as coincidences, Percy Jackson’s voice said.

That was something that was consistent across all the demigod worlds. And Alex was pretty sure it held true for everything that had happened in this timeline and in the one he and Magnus had left behind.

Was it coincidence that the day Alex and Magnus had shown up in the past it was the same day that Nico di Angelo and his sister Bianca were picked up from that school in Maine? Was it coincidence that Alex had been kidnapped and taken to Atlas? Was it coincidence that ever since then the Greek and Norse time traveling demigods had been so intertwined in each other’s lives that they had literally become part of the solution?

No. It wasn’t. It couldn’t be.

Alex turned his attention to something a lot less headache inducing. T.J. and the rest of his hallmates had parked themselves in front of a big picture window overlooking a vast field of ice and swirling snow.

Alex made a face. “Really?”

T.J. glanced at the window. “That’s Niflheim, the realm of ice.”

“I know,” Alex said, wrinkling his nose. “Just… why did it have to be that?”

“The view changes daily,” T.J. shrugged. “It cycles through the Nine Worlds.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t like Niflheim,” Alex said.

Magnus sent him an innocent smile. “Really? I’m sure it’s not that bad. You could hold onto something warm and summery.”

Sometimes Magnus got all flustered and embarrassed about cute things and flirting. Alex really liked making Magnus turn red and start sputtering. But then there were other times—namely those random love confessions—where Magnus was brazen and bold without all the stutters and red face.

“I could,” Alex said with a frown. “Or I could destroy that warm and summery thing with my garrote.” He narrowed his eyes at Magnus. “Violently.”

Magnus sputtered. “Hey!”

“By the gods,” Mallory muttered. “You’re together? Are we going to have to put up with this until Ragnarok?”

Magnus and Alex glanced at each other. Mallory had no idea how close to Ragnarok they’d get in a few months.

“And then some,” Alex agreed after an awkward pause.

Mallory blew icing sugar off her donut. “Well, that’s great.”

Halfborn grinned, showing off the rest of his cheese omelette. “Things are going to get interesting around here. Finally!”

“I would not call them interesting,” Magnus said under his breath. “Death defying. World ending. Not interesting.”

X belched, interrupting the joking mood.

“Gods of Asgard!” Mallory complained. “That smell!”

“Sorry,” X grunted.

“Is your name really X?” Alex asked. He peered at the half-troll—Odin in disguise—carefully. It didn’t seem to bother him.

“No. My real name is—” The “half-troll” said something that started with Ks and went on for about thirty seconds.

Halfborn wiped his hands on his pelt shirt. “You see? Nobody can pronounce that. We call him X.”

“X,” agreed X.

“Hmm,” Alex said. He hoped he was freaking Odin out.

“He’s another one of Sam al-Abbas’s acquisitions,” T.J. said. “X stumbled across a dog fight… one of those illegal ones in, where, Chicago?”

“Chee-cah-go,” affirmed X.

“He saw what was going on and went nuts. Started smashing up the place, walloping the bettors, freeing the animals.”

“Dogs should fight for themselves,” X said. “Not for greedy humans. They should be wild and free. They should not be kept in cages.”

“Absolutely,” Magnus said. The forced smile on his face told Alex that Magnus was probably lying through his teeth. He was pretty sure it was about the wolves thing.

“Anyway,” T.J. said, “it turned into a full-scale battle: X against a bunch of gangsters with automatic weapons. They finally killed him, but X took down a lot of scumbags and freed a lot of dogs. That was what… a month ago?”

X grunted and continued sucking his shellfish.

T.J. spread his hands. “Samirah judged him worthy and brought him here. She got some flak for that decision.”

Mallory snorted. “That’s putting it mildly. A troll in Valhalla. Who could possibly object?”

“Half-troll,” X corrected. “That is my better half, Mallory Keen.”

“She didn’t mean anything, X,” T.J. said. “It’s just that prejudice dies hard. When I got here in 1863, I wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms, either.”

Mallory rolled her eyes. “Then you won them over with your dazzling personality. I swear, you lot are giving floor nineteen a bad name. And now we have Magnus and Alex.”

“Ah, yes, the child of Loki and the Vanir spawn,” Alex nodded. “And the bad name grows.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Mallory said, crossing her arms.

Halfborn leaned over. “Don’t mind Mallory. She’s a sweetheart, once you get past the fact that she’s a horrible person.”

“Shut up, Halfborn.”

The big guy chuckled. “She’s just grumpy because she died trying to disarm a car bomb with her face.”

Mallory’s ears turned as red as hummingbird nectar. “I didn’t—it wasn’t—Argh!”

“Don’t worry about last night or parentage or anything,” Halfborn continued. “Folks will forget about it in a few decades. Believe me, I’ve seen it all. I died during the Viking invasion of East Anglia, fought under the banner of Ivar the Boneless. I took twenty arrows in the chest protecting my thane!”

“Ouch,” Magnus said.

Halfborn shrugged. “I’ve been here for… oh, going on twelve hundred years now.”

A chill ran down Alex’s spine. Valhalla was great, and the Floor 19 gang was awesome. Killing people everyday and resurrecting? That was sometimes pretty fun. But it was easy to overlook the looming condition of staying.

Immortality.

Until Ragnarok arrived, Alex—and Magnus—would remain the same. Never changing, never permanently dying, never aging. They would be sixteen years old until the end of time. All their Greek friends would eventually die and go to Elysium, but for Alex and Magnus…

Suddenly Alex didn’t feel so hungry. Before, he had nothing to lose from death. Family didn’t care and there weren’t any friends to miss him. Dying had been how Alex had gained so much he hadn’t had before. Dying gave him Magnus and Mallory and T.J. and Halfborn and Sam.

But now? Now Alex actually had friends that were still alive. The Greeks at Camp Half-Blood were practically family after years of living at the demigod camp. Percy, Annabeth, Nico, and Will had become regular people he saw in his life as they plotted the best way to change the future. Allegra Nakamura had been an unexpected surprise friend. And Alex was leaving all that behind.

“This is why I invited you to breakfast,” T.J. said.

“Hmm?” Alex asked.

“To avoid going crazy,” T.J. explained somberly. “Spending too much time in your room can be dangerous. Especially alone. You’re lucky you have each other at least to keep you going, but that runs out. If you isolate yourself, you start to fade.”

Halfborn nodded. “The trick is to keep busy. There’s plenty to do here. Me, I’ve learned a dozen languages, including English. I earned a doctorate in Germanic literature, and I learned to knit.”

“Just keep showing up every morning until Doomsday, and you’ll be fine,” T.J. said. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Gods forbid,” said Mallory. “We never do anything stupid. Like that late-night pizza run to Santarpio’s. That never happened.”

“Shut up, woman,” Halfborn growled.

“Woman?” Mallory reached for the knife at her belt. “Watch your words, you overgrown Swedish hamster.”

Before a fight could break out, a horn in the hallways blasted. At the other tables, einherjar started to get up and clear their plates.

Halfborn rubbed his hands eagerly. “It’s battle time!”

“Battle time,” X agreed.

T.J. grimaced. “Alex, Magnus, we should probably warn you about the first-day initiation. Don’t be discouraged if—”

“Oh, shush,” said Mallory. “Don’t spoil the surprise!” She gave Magnus an icing-sugar smile. “I can’t wait to see the new boy get dismembered! You might last longer,” she told Alex.

Alex grinned. “We’ll see.”

Chapter Text

SEEING THE BATTLEFIELD MADE IT ALL REAL.

Valhalla’s battlefield was huge. On all four sides rose the walls of the building—cliffs of white marble and gold-railed balconies, some hung with banners, some decorated with shields, some fitted with catapults. The upper floors seemed to dissolve in the hazy glow of the sky, as blank white as a fluorescent light.

In the center of the field loomed a few craggy hills. Clumps of forest marbled the landscape. The outer rim was mostly rolling pastures, with a river as wide as the Charles snaking through. Several villages dotted the riverbank, maybe for those who preferred their warfare urban.

From hundreds of doors in the walls around the field, battalions of warriors were streaming in, their weapons and armour glinting in the harsh light. Some einherjar wore full plate mail like medieval knights. Others wore chainmail shirts, breeches and combat boots. A few sported camo fatigues and AK-47s. One guy wore nothing but a pair of Speedos. He’d painted himself blue and was armed only with a baseball bat. Across his chest were the words COME AT ME, BRO.

“I feel underdressed,” Magnus said.

Alex grinned. “Are you sure you don’t feel overdressed?”

Magnus’s cheeks turned red. “Why do you have to say things like that?”

“Because I like watching you squirm.”

“Whatever.”

X cracked his knuckles. “Armor does not make victory. Neither do weapons.”

That was nice. It wasn’t like he was actually a god or anything in disguise. That certainly wasn’t helping him fight at all.

Halfborn was taking his usual minimalist approach. He’d stripped down to nothing but his leggings, though he did sport a pair of vicious-looking double-bladed axes. Standing next to anyone else, Halfborn would’ve looked massive. Next to X, he looked like a toddler… with a beard, abs and axes.

T.J. fastened his bayonet to his rifle. “If you want more than the basic equipment, you’ll have to capture it or trade for it. The hotel armouries take red gold, or they work on a barter system.”

Magnus put a hand around his pendant. “I’m good, actually. All I need is Jack.”

“Hope he’s got a good playlist lined up,” Alex said, unlooping his garrote from around his waist.

“I hope he doesn’t,” Magnus muttered. His face fell. “Dammit, Alex.”

“Selena Gomez?” Alex asked.

Magnus gave her a dirty look.

“Taylor Swift?”

“One Direction,” Magnus grumbled. “Among other things.”

T.J. blinked. “Are you talking to your sword?”

Magnus sighed and pulled his pendant. In a flash, Jack sprang into being.

“Hola, señor!” Jack trilled.

“This is Jack,” Magnus said to the rest of the Floor 19 gang. “Also known as Sumarbrander.”

“Holy Frigg,” Mallory said, staring at the sword. “I mean, I thought that was it when I saw the video and what the Thanes were saying, but… that’s Sumarbrander? Do you know how many people have been looking for that? There were rumors about three years ago that Loki himself was looking for it.” She sent a suspicious look Alex’s way. “But no one thought it had been found yet. Maybe I underestimated you, Beantown. If you could find that sword and keep it away from Loki for however long you’ve had it…” she trailed off. “How long have you had it?”

“A few years,” Magnus answered. “But we’ve only run into Loki a few times since. He didn’t know I had it until that last time.”

“Guess you two might actually be helpful additions,” Mallory grinned. “Welcome to the team.”

Halfborn clapped Magnus and Alex on the back. “Stick with us, and… well, you won’t do fine. You’ll get killed quickly. But stick with us anyway. We’ll wade into battle and slaughter as many as possible!”

“Sounds amazing,” Magnus said sarcastically.

Halfborn nodded along. “Yes.”

Mallory drew her sword and serrated dagger. “Today is free-for-all combat. I love Tuesdays.”

“Thank the gods it’s not Thursday, yeah?” Alex teased Magnus under his breath.

“Haha,” Magnus said back.

From a thousand different balconies, horns blasted. The einherjar charged into battle.

It was a bloodbath. Within a few minutes after the start of the battle, Alex was sliding across the ground like he was walking on ice.

Alex had just stepped forward when an axe flew out of nowhere, narrowly missing his face. He turned around to see the axe thrower. Without missing a beat, Alex had his wire around the guy’s neck and pulled.

“Nice,” Mallory said.

Alex smirked and glanced back at Magnus who was trying to dig the previously thrown axe out of his shield.

“This is why you don’t waste time on armor,” Alex said.

Magnus rolled his eyes. “Saved my life, didn’t it?” He continued his struggle to free his shield from the axe.

Halfborn waded through enemies, his axes whirling, chopping off heads and limbs until he looked like he’d been playing paintball with only red paint.

Alex almost allowed himself a small grin when he observed the carnage around him.

“Ah, that sucks,” one guy muttered as he studied the four arrows in his chest.

Another yelled, “I’ll get you tomorrow, Trixie!” before falling sideways, a spear stuck through his gut.

T.J. sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” while he stabbed and parried with his bayonet.

X smashed through one group after another. A dozen arrows now stuck out of his back like porcupine quills, but they didn’t seem to bother him. Every time his fist connected, an einherji turned two dimensional.

Magnus had finally managed to detach the axe from his shield. Jack was shouting out various orders for Magnus to follow which resulted in a lot of confusion from the einherjar attacking him, and also a lot of cursing from Magnus.

“Parry, strike, swing, oooh that was close!” Jack commented. “Swing, block, block, go for the head!”

Magnus raised his eyes to look at Alex. I’m going to kill him, he mouthed.

Alex snorted. Good luck with that.

“OW! DAMMIT!” Magnus yelled. While he’d been distracted, a girl with an axe managed to make a nice gash appear in Magnus’s leg.

Mallory cut the girl down. “Come on, Chase, keep moving! You’ll get used to the pain after a while.”

Magnus muttered something under his breath. Alex imagined it wasn't very flattering.

T.J. jabbed his bayonet through the faceplate of a medieval knight. “Let’s take that hill!” He pointed to a nearby ridge at the edge of the woods.

“Yeah!” Alex cheered.

“Oh my gods, another one,” Mallory grumbled. “It’s not just a Civil War thing?”

Alex and T.J. led the group through battle, heading for the hill. Alex could have easily transformed into a bird and gotten to the top, but there were quite a bit of javelins flying through the air and it would be kind of embarrassing if his first death in Valhalla was a spear accidentally impaling Alex the bird.

Not that the ground was much safer than the air.

T.J. raised his rifle. He yelled “Charge!” just as a javelin ran him through from behind. He face-planted in the mud.

“For Frigg’s sake!” Mallory cursed. “Come on, newbies.”

She grabbed Magnus’s arm and pulled him along. Alex cheerfully tramped next to them. More javelins sailed over their heads.

“I did not miss this,” Magnus muttered to Alex.

“Not going to lie, I kinda did,” Alex said back. “It was so annoying to have to remember that I couldn’t just cut your head off when I got frustrated.”

Magnus looked back at him with a deadpan face. “Thanks.”

They reached the edge of the woods. X and Halfborn guarded their backs, slowing down the pursuing horde. And the enemies were a horde now. All the scattered groups within sight had stopped fighting one another and were after the Floor 19 gang. Specifically Magnus and Alex.

“Yeah, they’ve spotted you.” Mallory sighed. “When I said I wanted to see you eviscerated, I didn’t mean I wanted to be standing next to you. Oh, well.”

They climbed the hill, weaving from tree to tree for cover. Halfborn threw himself into a group of twenty guys who were following their group. He destroyed them all. He came up laughing, an insane light in his eyes. He was bleeding from a dozen wounds. A dagger stuck out of his chest, right over his heart.

“How is he not dead yet?” Magnus asked.

“He’s a berserker.” Mallory glanced back, her expression a mix of disdain and exasperation and admiration. “That idiot will keep fighting until he is literally hacked to pieces.”

Alex made a mental note to ask Magnus if Mallory and Halfborn had started their on and off again dating yet.

While Mallory was distracted, there was a wet thwack. An arrow sprouted from her neck. She scowled at Magnus as if to say, Totally your fault. She collapsed. Magnus immediately knelt down and reached out.

Alex yanked him back to his feet. “No time.”

“Look out!” shouted X.

Magnus raised his shield. A sword clanged against it. Alex turned around, garrote whipping through the air. The attacker lost his sword arm. Magnus pushed back with his shield sending the attacker rolling down the hill.

Halfborn was forty yards away, surrounded by a mob of warriors all jabbing him with spears, shooting him full of arrows. Somehow he kept fighting, but even he wouldn’t be able to stand much longer.

X ripped a guy’s AK-47 out of his hands and smacked him over the head with it.

“Go, Magnus Beantown,” said the half-troll. “Take the crest for floor nineteen!”

“That’s not my name,” Magnus muttered.

“They call me quiet,” Jack hummed. “But I'm a riot. Mary-Jo-Lisa. Always the same. That's not my name. That's not my name. That's not my name. That's not my name.”

“Shut up,” Magnus ordered him.

Alex snickered as they stumbled up the hill. His lack of shield was rather unconventional for the situation, given that javelins were flying left and right and no one was caring where the pointy end of their weapons went. Garrotes didn’t offer much by way of parrying or blocking. Kind of annoying, but this was also the reason he wasn’t wearing armor.

Alex let his body stretch and lengthen. Fur sprouted across his skin and then he was running on four legs rather than two.

Magnus stared at him. “This brings back memories. Try not to bowl me over this time.”

If a cheetah could laugh, Alex would have been cackling. As it was, he sent Magnus a probably pretty scary looking grin before diving into the crowd of Vikings.

Unsurprisingly, the appearance of a cheetah made some Vikings falter. Others carried on fighting, barely sparing Alex the Cheetah any mind. That was quickly rectified when he mauled quite a few of them to death.

Alex met Magnus at the summit. Magnus was standing with his back against a big oak tree. Alex transformed back into a human as he reached him.

“I've got fire for a heart,” Jack was singing. “I'm not scared of the dark. You've never seen it look so easy. I got a river for a soul. And baby, you're a boat. Baby, you're my only reason.”

Meanwhile, X was smashing, backhanding, and headbutting Vikings into oblivion.

“Do you think he uses godly powers?” Alex mused.

“If I didn't have you, there would be nothing left,” Jack continued. “The shell of a man that could never be his best. If I didn't have you, I'd never see the sun. You taught me how to be someone, yeah.”

Magnus gritted his teeth. “I don’t know. GAHH!”

An arrow sank into Magnus’s shoulder, pinning him to the tree. Alex snapped the shaft and pulled Magnus free, resulting in a low curse from Magnus. At least the wound healed almost instantly.

“You’re lucky you heal quick,” Alex informed Magnus.

“All my life, you stood by me,” Jack sang. “When no one else was ever behind me. All these lights, they can't blind me. With your love, nobody can drag me down. INCOMING!”

The last word, shouted by Jack, was so jarring that Alex didn’t comprehend what was happening until it was too late. A boulder was falling straight towards X and about a dozen other einherjar.

Alex sighed as they were crushed under the boulder from Floor 63 if the loving message on the side was anything to go by.

“And he was the only one keeping the attention off us,” he said.

“All my life, you stood by me,” Jack continued to sing, oblivious to the destruction once again. “When no one else was ever behind me. All these lights, they can't blind me. With your love, nobody can drag me down.”

A hundred warriors turned to look at Magnus and Alex. Or quite possibly the singing, glowing disco sword. Alex wasn’t sure which.

“Nobody, nobody,” Jack belted out. “Nobody can drag me down. Nobody, nobody. Nobody can drag me down.”

“Godsdammit,” Alex said. “Magnus, shut your sword up!”

“If I knew how, I would have done that ages ago,” Magnus said. He and Alex got into battle stances, waiting for the einherjar to gang up on them.

A small volley of arrows flew at them. One grazed Alex’s shoulder—luckily the resulting blood drop didn’t wake an angry earth goddess. Another lodged itself in his thigh. Magnus was better protected with his shield, but he still managed to get an arrow to the chest. He pulled it out, but Alex kept his arrow firmly in place. Magnus might be able to get away with that because of his healing, but Alex was liable to bleed out faster if he removed the arrow in his thigh. That didn’t stop it from hurting like Hel.

“Wow,” one of the Vikings commented. “He’s a fast healer.”

“Try a spear,” someone suggested. “Try two spears.”

Twenty or thirty einherjar raised their weapons.

“NO!” Magnus yelled, throwing out his right hand.

A blast of energy shot forth like the shock wave from a bomb. Bowstrings snapped. Swords fell out of their owners’ hands. Spears and guns and axes went flying into the trees. It wasn’t as specific as his peace of Frey blasts had been underground in the House of Hades last summer, but it stayed confined to a triangular area radiating out in front of Magnus.

Unfortunately for Magnus, he had lost his shield in the process, but he still had Jack. As it was, Jack alone wasn’t going to do much against an army of a hundred warriors.

A blue-painted guy stood in the front row, his baseball bat at his feet. He stared at Magnus in shock. “What just happened?”

The warrior next to him had an eye patch and red leather armour decorated with silver curlicues. Cautiously, he crouched and retrieved his fallen axe.

“Alf seidr,” said Eye Patch. “Nicely done, son of Frey. I haven’t seen a trick like that in centuries. But bone steel is better.”

Alex lunged, but the axe was already spinning towards Magnus’s face. He heard the blade embed itself in Magnus’s forehead as he moved at Eye Patch. He’d barely relieved Eye patch of his head when a sharp pain flared in his back.

So this is how Jason felt, Alex thought woozily. Backstabbed is a new one.

Everything went dark.

Chapter Text

MAGNUS WASN’T SURE WHETHER TO FEEL relieved or worried that he didn’t dream of Loki.

He did dream about Surt though, so there was that to feel… something about.

Flames roared in his dream. Volcanic ash littered the air. Out of the smoke, two glowing red eyes stared at Magnus.

YOU. The voice of Surt washed over Magnus like a flamethrower. YOU HAVE ONLY DELAYED ME. YOU HAVE EARNED A MORE PAINFUL, MORE PERMANENT DEATH.

Magnus tried to speak. The heat sucked the oxygen from his lungs. His lips cracked and blistered.

Surt laughed. THE WOLF THINKS YOU MAY STILL BE USEFUL. I DO NOT. WHEN WE MEET AGAIN, YOU WILL BURN, SON OF FREY. YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS WILL BE MY TINDER. YOU WILL START THE FIRE THAT BURNS THE NINE WORLDS.

The smoke thickened. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see.

Magnus’s eyes flew open. He sat bolt upright with a gasp. A quick glance around showed that he was in his bed in his hotel room.

“Okay,” Magnus muttered. “Get it together, Chase. Nothing new. Nothing you haven’t seen before.”

Still, his whole body was buzzing with alarm. Magnus felt like he’d fallen asleep on active train tracks and the Acela Express had just roared past.

Someone knocked on the door, startling Magnus enough that he almost toppled out of the bed.

Please be Alex, Magnus thought, leaping up to answer. He threw open the door just as he remembered that he hadn’t been resurrected fully clothed and he was in just his underwear.

Alex raised an eyebrow. “This is a bit forward of you, Magnus.”

Magnus went to close the door, but Alex stuck a foot between the door and the frame. He resorted to peering out around the door, using it as a kind of shield.

“Can I help you?” Magnus asked in the calmest voice he could muster.

“Certainly, if you would move out from behind that door,” Alex teased with a grin. “Do you have any chocolate? I happen to like chocolate.”

Magnus could feel his face burning. “Alex.”

“Fine,” Alex sighed. “Let me in. I promise I won’t creep on you while you change.” She placed her fingers over her eyes. “See?”

“How are you going to walk if you can’t see?”

“Guide me to the couch, Maggie darling,” Alex said dramatically.

Magnus closed his eyes and groaned. “Fine.” He glanced up and down the hall to make sure Mallory wasn’t there before dragging Alex into his room. He shut the door quickly and pulled her towards the living area.

“Thank you!” Alex said cheerfully as she plopped down onto a couch. “Oh, by the way, it’s—”

“She and her,” Magnus finished. “I know.” He grabbed a shirt and sweatpants.

Alex somehow managed to look impressed. “One day I’m going to trip you up.”

“It’s your mission to make me misgender you?” Magnus asked.

Alex made a face. “Well, when you put it like that… You decent yet?”

Magnus pulled the shirt down. “Yeah.”

Alex removed her hands from her eyes. She blinked a few times. “Right. Why was I here? Oh, Alice! She’s stopping by.”

“When did she tell you this?”

“Last night? She said she wanted to meet after the battle today. So she’ll be here soon.” Alex glanced up at him. “Guess it’s time for those answers.”

A knock came on the door.

Magnus hurried over to open it. “Alice.”

The daughter of Apollo turned Valkyrie gave him a small smile. “Hey.”

He let her into the room and she made her way to sit in a chair across from Alex. Magnus sank down next to Alex on the couch.

“So, Alex said you wanted to talk,” Magnus said uncertainly.

Alice nodded. She wrung her hands nervously. “It’s difficult to explain. I… I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time and I wasn’t sure… You can’t know how long I’ve waited for this.”

“You can see the future,” Alex said.

Magnus sat up straighter.

“Yeah,” Alice admitted. “I can. There’s not many children of Apollo who inherit the prophetic ability. Most of us get healing or music or archery. Usually a combination. But Apollo’s a pretty versatile god. I mean, there’s also sun, light, disease, plague, art, poetry, reason, knowledge, and truth too.” She tapped her fingers on her knees. “Disease and plague are super rare because the gods don’t like mortals deciding who dies like that. Athena’s pretty much got the knowledge department covered, so dad doesn’t usually give out that gift. We’re all smart, but… it’s not our specialty. Like I said, it’s usually healing, music, and archery.”

“Did Chiron know?” Alex asked.

Alice shook her head. “No. I… when I first got to Camp I already knew what was going on because I could see it. He just thought that my mom had explained everything, but that night I had a dream from my father. He explained everything to me and then the next morning, he claimed me at breakfast.” She looked down. “The thing about my… visions, I guess, is that I don’t get to control if they happen. They always do.”

“The arrow,” Magnus said. “You… you knew you were going to die, didn’t you.”

“Yeah,” she said softly. “I’m sorry, Magnus. I know how much you wanted to help.”

“It’s not me you should apologize to,” Magnus said coldly. “You should have told Will. He was devastated.”

Alice looked guilty. “I know. I—I saw. He lost me. Twice.”

Magnus’s head snapped to look at Alice. “What?”

“I know you’re from the future,” Alice said. “You two and Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase and Nico di Angelo and Will Solace. I know. I’ve been dreaming about it for years.”

“You knew?” Alex repeated. “You knew and you didn’t say anything? Did it ever occur to you that we might need help? You could have helped us change the future! You could have told us what you saw and we could change it! You would still be alive!”

“No!” Alice said quickly. “No. You don’t understand. The things I see, they always happen because I don’t see possible futures, I see the future. It’s my responsibility, my duty, to make sure everything leading up to that event ensures that it happens the way it’s supposed to. Usually, that just means not interfering or telling anyone what will happen. If I were to abuse my power, I would lose it.” She took a deep breath. “I’m telling you this because it’s time you knew what’s happening. As I’ve said, I’ve known about this moment for a while. At first, it confused me because I didn’t know anything about the Norse world. Until you,” she said, looking at Magnus.

“When I told you Alex and I were Norse demigods,” Magnus realized. He shook his head. “That should have been a warning not to go looking for the wolf headed doors.”

Alice gave him a rueful grin. “Not like I had much choice in the matter. You never do when you’re literally on death’s door and a Valkyrie picks you up.”

“A Valkyrie picked you up?” Alex asked. “What was a Valkyrie doing all the way out in New York during the Battle of Manhattan?”

Alice dropped her gaze to her lap. “Honestly? I think she was there for you two. It’s strange and hard to describe, but as a Valkyrie we just… know when there’s a Norse demigod near death. I think because the gods would get mad if their child ended up in Helheim because a Valkyrie wasn’t there.” She looked at Magnus. “Magnus, you were dead on your feet and I think that’s what she sensed. She just made a mistake and thought the dying girl next to you was the Norse one. When she found out…” Alice shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. No one knows except me, her, and now you two. We embellished my death story a little. I became a Valkyrie. Now we’re here.”

Magnus let out a breath. “That’s… a lot, Alice. So… what are you supposed to do now?”

Alice gave him a small smile. “Watch you and Alex’s journey? Guide you to the end? Make sure everything happens the way it should.”

“And that is…?” Alex prompted.

“Well, I assume it's to try to stop Ragnarok like you did last time,” Alice said. “I’d tell you what happens, but for one, I can’t without losing my powers, and two, the gift of prophecy has been strange lately.”

“That would be the trouble on the Greek end,” Magnus said. “Your dad’s immortal-turned-mortal thing. I think Annabeth said something about a python taking over. Supposedly Nico and Will are handling the Apollo situation.”

Alice pursed her lips. “Python? He’s a giant snake. He used to control Delphi, the site of my father’s Oracle. Yeah, that would do it. I guess I’m blind until they do something about that.”

“Which wasn’t until the end of June,” Alex said. “At least from what we were told.”

Alice looked worried. “Well, Delphi isn’t the only source of prophecy. There’s other oracles. And I mean, I still get the occasional snippet of information, but… I’ll have to look into tapping into the Norse prophetic powers.”

“Promise one thing,” Magnus said. “Whatever you see in your visions, don’t try to stop Alex or I from changing the future. You don’t have to tell us what happens. The whole point of everything we’ve been doing is to save lives, not change the end results. We’re going to stop Ragnarok, we know how to stop it. We just don’t want to lose everyone on the way.”

“You’re being dramatic,” Alex said. “We barely lost anyone. Not compared to the Greeks anyway.”

“Who did you lose?” Alice asked.

Magnus hesitated. “Gunilla.”

Alice reared back. “What? I—I mean, she’s… Oh gods, Gunilla.”

A knock on the door startled them. Alice jumped up.

“I’ll get it,” she said. “I really should be going anyway. And, Magnus? I promise. I won’t interfere unless I absolutely have to.”

Magnus nodded slowly. “Good. Thanks, Alice. It was really good to see you again.”

“You too,” Alice said with a smile. “I’ll find Will sometime, too. I can leave as much as any einherjar since I am one, but—” She shook her head. “Sorry, I’ll get the door.”

Magnus didn’t look to see who it was until Alice let out a squeak of surprise.

“Gunilla!” Alice said, voice high.

Magnus and Alex looked up. Sure enough, the Valkyrie captain was standing in the doorway. In comparison to Alice’s lithe archer body, Gunilla was muscular. She reminded Magnus a lot of the daughter of Ares Clarisse La Rue from Camp Half-Blood.

“Alice Bain,” Gunilla said.

Magnus started. He realized he had never gotten around to actually learning Alice’s last name after she’d died. He had meant to ask Will or Michael, but the timing had never seemed right and then Magnus and Alex had left to go to Boston and they had crazier things to worry about than a dead girl’s last name as terrible as it sounds.

“Captain Gunilla,” Magnus said. “What are you doing here?”

Gunilla raised an eyebrow. “I could ask Alice the same question.”

“I—I’m Alex’s Valkyrie,” Alice stammered. “We… we were just—”

“Talking,” Alex finished.

“Well as your Captain,” Gunilla said to Alice. “I strongly advise you not to talk with the child of Loki or the son of Frey until this matter is resolved.”

“Gunilla, we can trust them,” Alice said. “I swear. I know Magnus and Alex. They fought alongside me. Besides, you know that I know these things!”

Magnus frowned. “Wait. Gunilla knows about your…”

“Gift?” Gunilla supplied. “Prophecy? Yes, of course I know.”

Alice pinched her lips. “Gunilla’s the Valkyrie that picked me up.”

Chapter Text

MAGNUS STARED AT ALICE IN SHOCK.

“Gunilla is your Valkyrie?” he asked.

“Makes sense,” Alex shrugged.

Magnus turned to look at her. “No! No, it does not make sense! Gunilla, perfect, daughter of Thor Gunilla, was the Valkyrie who picked up a Greek demigod?”

Gunilla shoved past Alice and slammed the door shut. She glared at Magnus. “Please, shout a little louder. I didn’t know any of that when I arrived. Had I known, I would have left her.”

“Ouch,” Alice muttered.

“I had been sensing you,” Gunilla continued, looking at Magnus.

“I knew something was weird,” Magnus said. “When we met yesterday before dinner, you looked at me like I was a ghost. It’s because you recognized me from when you collected Alice when she died.”

Gunilla crossed her arms. “Yes. I didn’t realize my error until we were already in Valhalla. But Alice Bain’s bravery and heroism couldn’t be denied. She was worthy of Valhalla. The reason I’m here now though, is I wish to talk to you, son of Frey. The Thanes are discussing the situation now. If I understand you better, I may be able to speak to the Thanes on your behalf.”

“What about Alex?” Magnus said. He glanced at her out of the corners of his eyes.

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Yes, what about me?”

Gunilla pressed her lips together tightly.

“You can trust Alex,” Alice said pointedly. “I’d swear on the Styx. Troth for you.”

“Not all of us are mini-Lokis,” Alex said stiffly.

“You have his symbol tattooed on your neck!” Gunilla said.

Alex reached a hand up to touch the tattoo. “It’s a symbol of change. Change is important to me, that’s why I got the tattoo.”

“Harbinger of Change,” Alice said brightly.

Magnus scowled. “Lucky Alex. Me? Harbinger of the Wolf . Of all the things I could harbinge.”

“Harbinge isn’t a word,” Alex supplied.

“Whatever.”

“You’re judging me based on Loki,” Alex said to Gunilla. “And honestly, I can’t blame you because he’s a horrible parent. But I’m not him. I’m my own person with my own destiny, and call me Merida, but I control my fate.”

“The Norns decide our fates,” Gunilla said pointedly.

“The thing about fate,” Magnus said, “is that even if we can’t change the big picture, our choices can alter the details. That’s how we rebel against destiny.”

Gunilla raised an eyebrow. “Rebel? A child of Frey speaks to me about rebelling?”

“You’ve got to stop judging people on their parents,” Magnus said. “I’m not some peaceful hippie or whatever you think of Frey. Alex isn’t a manipulative and conniving backstabber like Loki. And Alice isn’t a narcissistic god like Apollo.” He looked at Alice apologetically. “That’s just what Percy and Annabeth have said about him.”

Alice shrugged. “Fair enough.”

Gunilla scowled. Her posture was stiff and uneasy. Something was bothering her—even scaring her.

“Nothing good ever came from people being prejudiced,” Alex added.

“I’ve been told that since Frey is the god of moderate climates and the growing season, he represents the middle ground,” Magnus said. “That’s why I’m resistant to heat and cold. Can we please find some middle ground here?”

Gunilla glanced at him. “Not a peace loving hippie?”

“Selective peace loving hippie,” Magnus said coolly.

“It has been a long time since I met a child of Frey,” Gunilla sighed. “You are… quite different.”

“It’s the ‘I’m not like other girls cliche’,” Magnus said sarcastically.

Alex crossed her arms. “Look. You said you want to know more so you can ask the Thanes to lay off or whatever. So, what do you want to know?”

“Firstly, what is your connection to Alice Bain and the Greek world?” Gunilla asked.

Magnus hesitated. “We used to live at the Greek camp. My… my cousin is a daughter of Athena and Alex and I posed as unclaimed demigods.”

“Magnus helped us out in the infirmary multiple times,” Alice volunteered. “His healing powers made us think that he might be a child of Apollo as well. And, well, you saw him sitting with me when you picked me up.”

Gunilla nodded slowly. “Yes. I did see him. My concern is that for the last few years, a child of Frey and a child of Loki have been masquerading as Greek demigods and now those same demigods have died battling a fire giant—”

“Surt,” Magnus said.

“That wasn’t Surt.”

Magnus frowned. “It was Surt.”

“It was Surt,” Alice agreed.

Gunilla’s expression softened. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter what fire giant it was, it was a fire giant and you two died fighting him. Which resulted in two Valkyries—one a child of Loki and one a child of Apollo—to pick you up. Upon your arrival, you shared that you have had in your possession Sumarbrander for years. A sword that Loki himself is coveting. Do you see why this is suspicious looking?”

“Well, yeah,” Magnus allowed. “But it wasn’t—” He stopped talking. He had been about to say: But it wasn’t planned at all, but that wasn’t completely true. Magnus and Alex had gone into battle against Surt fully anticipating that Magnus at the very least would be dead by the end of the fight.

“Loki didn’t send us,” Alex said. She had a sour look on her face like Gunilla was shoving packets of Sour Patch Kids down Alex’s throat. “If that’s what you want to know.”

“He didn’t,” Alice insisted. “Alex and Magnus are telling the truth, Gunilla. I promise.”

Gunilla glanced at Alice. “I would have expected you to be more sympathetic to Magnus Chase. The both of you have been plucked from the chance to go to your respective afterlives.”

“I was never going to Elysium!” Alice protested. “I’ve known that for ages! I saw this happening months before it actually happened, Gunilla. I can’t blame you for this.”

“And I’m not really up for going to Volkswagen,” Magnus added. “Which is what you’re talking about, right? Freya’s hall for the slain? I wouldn’t… If I went there, and Alex went to Valhalla…” he trailed off, face hot. “I’ll put up with anything for Alex, okay?”

Gunilla raised an eyebrow. “Folkvanger. And is that meant to convince me something strange isn’t going on?”

“I—I… Look,” Magnus said. He let out a breath and frowned at Alex. “Not a word.”

Alex placed a hand on her chest. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”

That phrase kinda lost its meaning after becoming einherjar, Magnus decided. Considering if said death punishment happened, they would just be resurrected in a few hours.

“I love Alex, that’s why,” Magnus said, pointedly looking anywhere except where Alex was. He really needed to stop confessing his love like this if he wanted Alex to stop teasing him about it before the next century.

“Besides,” he said quickly, “remember the prophecy thing? Rightly chosen, wrongly slain. Which means Sam and Alice were right to bring us here, and Surt was wrong to kill us.”

“Or rightly chosen by Loki,” Gunilla countered. “He is the father of evil.”

“Believe whatever you want,” Alex said. “I made a promise to destroy Loki. Maybe I can’t kill a god, but I can make his life hell. I’m not helping him. He kidnapped Magnus and I over a year ago, and the last time I saw him, he manipulated one of my friends into turning on us. I will never be on Loki’s side.”

Gunilla stilled. “How long ago was this? That you were kidnapped.”

“End of December,” Magnus recalled. “Wasn’t it Christmas?”

Alex nodded. “Christmas Day 2009.”

“How?” Gunilla pressed. “Loki is chained in a cave. How could he possibly kidnap two demigods in his projected state?”

“Someone hit us from behind,” Alex said.

“Never saw their face,” Magnus added after a moment.

Gunilla didn’t look like she believed them. “Perhaps it was Samirah al-Abbas.”

“Never saw her before the day I died,” Magnus said. Truth. Just… he meant the day he died originally.

“I will give you the benefit of the doubt,” Gunilla told Magnus. “I will grudgingly accept her —” she jerked a finger at Alex “—presence here. Because Alice Bain vouches for you. But Loki means to hasten Doomsday. To bring the war before we are ready. I will not tolerate traitors. Samirah is a perfect spy for her father.”

“Because she’s a Valkyrie?” Alex asked flatly. “Or because Loki’s her father?”

Gunilla’s eyes flashed. “Odin picks the Valkyries. Samirah al-Abbas was the last Valkyrie he chose, two years ago, under what were… unusual circumstances. The All-Father has not appeared in Valhalla since.”

Magnus frowned. “Wait. But then, Alice?”

Alice flushed. “Also special circumstances. After everything that happened with my arrival, Gunilla decided it would be wise if she appealed for me to join the Valkyries so she could keep closer tabs on me. With Odin missing, that was difficult, but Gunilla convinced the Thanes that if we showed a selection of candidates, Odin’s spirit would choose the worthy. I was the only one chosen. Since then, they’ve tried to show others, but no one else has risen.”

“And that’s less suspicious than Odin going missing after appointing Sam?” Alex asked. “Why? Because you can say Sam killed him?”

“Why do you defend her?” Gunilla demanded. “Because she is your sister? You’ve never met her until a few days ago, or so you claim. I have been around her since the beginning and I think she’s working for her father as a spy and a saboter.”

“I don’t think she is, Gunilla,” Alice said quietly. “Sam’s nice.”

Gunilla glared at her. “I will not be fooled again,” she hissed, looking like someone had just stepped on her heart. “I intend to delay Ragnarok for as long as possible.”

“Then we’ve got something in common,” Magnus said. “I know Surt can start Ragnarok with my sword. I’m not in the mood to let that happen.”

“We could just let it happen and win,” Alice suggested dully. “I can call my siblings to help. I mean, there might be a better outcome if the Greeks help.”

“Or the Greeks are needlessly slaughtered,” Gunilla said sharply.

“How does that work?” Magnus asked carefully. “I mean, there were some pretty big things going on with the Greeks. Kronos and Gaea to name a few. If they succeeded in taking over, what would have happened to the Norse gods?”

Gunilla pursed her lips. “Nothing. The Greek gods work with the Norse gods to run the universe, so the Titans or the giants would have effectively replaced the Greek gods in this. They would find themselves working with the rest of the pantheons.”

“And they couldn’t just take over for the other gods?”

Gunilla gave him a blank look. “No.”

“Why?”

“Because many gods have a prewritten destiny wherein they will die at Ragnarok for example, and also, gods cannot kill gods outside their pantheon.”

Magnus blinked. “Wait. Really?”

Gunilla rolled her eyes. “Yes. Really. You cannot ask Zeus to strike down Freya. She would be unable to play her part in Ragnarok. Nor can you ask Ran to kill Poseidon. Now, you could ask Zeus and Poseidon to kill each other. That would most assuredly send one or both of the gods to…”

“Tartarus,” Alice supplied. “It’s where monsters and immortals regenerate after death.

Magnus suppressed a wince. Annabeth and Percy had spent way too much time down here for his liking. Even if it only seemed like a week to them, it had been a whole month for everyone else.

“So… when Ragnarok happens…” Magnus paused. “If it happened next year. My cousin, my Greek demigod cousin, what would happen to her?”

Gunilla’s expression softened. “Eight of the Nine Worlds will be destroyed. Midgard alone will remain. I cannot say in what condition it will be in, but your cousin is much more likely to survive within the confines of the Greek camp.”

A chill ran down Magnus’s spine. It was easy to say that Ragnarok would be stopped because he and Alex had the foreknowledge to stop it as they once had before. Yet, that only meant they would prevent Ragnarok that time. Who was to say the next time wouldn’t be a year later? And if they weren’t successful in stopping it, Annabeth and the other demigods from Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter would suffer. Not to mention, the countless ignorant mortals.

“As I said,” Gunilla said quietly. “I would like to delay as long as possible. We don’t have…” she glanced at Alex. “We don’t have enough weapons. As for the gods… some may be slumbering. Some are roaming the Nine Worlds. Some still appear from time to time.” She pressed her hands together, clearly not used to sharing so much information with people she didn’t completely trust. “The fact is, we don’t know what’s going on. I’ve been in Valhalla five hundred years, and I have never seen the gods so quiet, so inactive. The last two years…”

“Since Sam,” Alex said.

Gunilla’s expression hardened. “Yes. Two years ago, something changed. The Valkyries and Thanes all felt it. The barriers between the Nine Worlds began to weaken. Frost giants and fire giants raided Midgard more frequently. Monsters from Helheim broke into the worlds of the living. The gods grew distant and silent. This was around the time when Samirah became a Valkyrie—the last time we saw Odin.”

“I get it,” Alex said. “Really. I do. You’re poorly prepared for Ragnarok and then Magnus and I arrive only for the Norns to issue a prophecy. And maybe it is connected, but you don’t know that. No one knows that for sure. And personally? I’d like to be judged by my own merits than by Loki’s. I will prove myself.”

“I sincerely hope you are right,” Gunilla said. “Because if you are not, then I will be the first one to throw you into the Gap.”

Magnus had a feeling she didn’t mean the clothing store.

“I will speak to the Thanes,” Gunilla said. “I will tell them I think we should keep a close eye on the both of you, but that I do not think you mean harm. For now.” She turned to leave, then turned back. “The prophecy. Let the Thanes deal with it. Swear you’ll do this.”

“Gunilla!” Alice protested. “Prophecies want to happen! You can’t just prevent them by pushing the people involved aside.”

“I am not trying to prevent it,” Gunilla said.

“You are,” Alice said. “Magnus and Alex are involved in this whether you like it or not.”

Gunilla let out a breath. “Alice…”

“Trust me,” Alice pleaded. “If you don’t trust them, at least trust me. I’ve never lied to you about anything before.”

“Your heritage?”

“That wasn’t my fault. And I told you I was Greek. I didn’t try to hide it.”

Gunilla sighed. “Just this once.” She left Magnus’s room then, closing the door firmly behind her.

“Impressive,” Alex commented. “I didn’t think she’d back down.”

“Gunilla trusts me,” Alice shrugged. “I don’t know. I think we’re friends. Whatever relationship we have… it’s complicated. She’ll back off you for now, but… you need to be serious about proving your worth.”

“We will,” Magnus said. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about us much longer.”

Alex’s head whipped around to look at him. “Wait. Tonight?”

“I do have to inform my cousin that we’re okay, albeit a little dead,” Magnus said. “Plus there’s the matter of Fenris. I think our buddies are coming tonight to get us.”

“Great.” Alex turned to Alice. “We’ll be out of your hair tonight.”

Alice looked resigned. “I’ll try to keep Gunilla off your tails then. Good luck.”

“We’ll need it,” Magnus muttered as the dinner horn echoed.

Chapter Text

SITTING THERE WITH HER FRIENDS, Alex could almost pretend this whole time travel thing hadn’t ever happened. They traded stories about the morning’s battle.

“I hear you used alf seidr!” Halfborn said to Magnus. “Impressive!”

“Mmmh, you should work on, like, aiming it,” Alex remembered. “Like that time back in Greece.”

Magnus grimaced. “I don’t know how I did that.”

“It’s sneaky Vanir-style witchcraft unfit for a true warrior,” Mallory said in a faux snobbish voice. She grinned and punched Magnus’s arm. “I like you better already. And shapeshifting!” She looked at Alex. “Sneaky too. You’ll fit right in with us.”

“At least you managed to take the crest of the hill,” T.J. said mournfully.

“You’ll be with us on the next one,” Alex promised. “I have many, many ideas.”

“Like what?” Magnus frowned.

Alex’s mouth split into a wide grin. “High velocity pineapples among other things.”

“High velocity pineapples?” Halfborn repeated. “I like this idea.”

Odin—X, Alex had to keep reminding herself—rumbled out something like Good job staying alive longer than five minutes.

Alex felt eyes on her. She turned around to see Gunilla and Helgi exchanging whispers. Both were looking at Magnus and Alex. Or maybe just Alex. It was hard to tell who they were looking at since Magnus was right next to Alex.

Honestly, Alex had no idea how she felt about it. When she had first arrived in Valhalla, she was met with a roaring applause from the einherjar and slightly distrustful looks from her hallmates—mostly Mallory. Of course, things had only improved from there with her hallmates striking up a friendship with Alex. Later, they teamed up to stop Ragnarok and who could forget Magnus’s declaration of love on Naglfar.

This time, the reactions were switched. Oh sure, the death video was still met with roaring applause. But most of the focus was on child of Loki. Mallory was much closer to what she had been a few weeks after Alex’s arrival in Valhalla with not much of a care about who Alex’s parent was. It was disorienting in a way.

Still, the fact that no one could get over the fact that Alex was a child of Loki stung.

If asked to choose between crap treatment for who her godly parent was or crap treatment for who Alex was, she didn’t know which she’d choose. On the one hand, insulting Loki was better than insulting Alex, but on the other, Alex had dealt with all the crap her father and stepmother had thrown at her about her identity. Plus all the other countless snide remarks from strangers. It wasn’t a new thing. Prejudice on this level for her relation to Loki was.

The only people who had known were Sam, Blitzen, Hearthstone, Amir, and the einherjar. By the time Alex arrived in Valhalla, no one had cared much.

“Hey,” Magnus said, bringing Alex out of her head. “What are you thinking about?”

Alex turned to face him and smiled. “Just my high velocity pineapple idea. Too bad Piper got rid of that cornucopia, right?”

The corners of Magnus’s mouth twitched. “Yeah. Saved our lives though, so I can’t complain.”

At the end of dinner, a couple of newbies were welcomed to Valhalla. Their videos were suitably heroic. No Norns showed up. No one was claimed as a child of Loki. No other Vanir gods’ children arrived.

As the crowds filed out of the feast hall, T.J. clapped Magnus and Alex on their shoulders. “Get some rest. Another glorious death tomorrow!”

“Yippee,” Magnus said.

Alex squeezed his hand. “Cheer up.”

“No thanks.”

“You’ll get a glorious death by garrote right here, right now.”

“Suddenly, I find myself inexplicably happy.”

T.J. gave them an odd look as they climbed into the elevator. It was a tight squeeze in the elevator since Halfborn and Odin—X—took up half the elevator by themselves. Mallory punched the button for Floor 19 and the doors made a ding! as they shut.

When they arrived on Floor 19, Alex lagged back with Magnus.

“Should I come to your room?” she asked Magnus in a low voice. “Blitz and Hearth will be there, right?”

Magnus bit his lip. “They came to my room, which is now your room. But I think they were tracking me or something, so they’ll probably come to my room. I don’t know.”

“I’ll come in a few minutes,” Alex decided. “There… I wanted to ask you about something anyway.”

Magnus looked confused, but he must have sensed that Alex really did not want to open this can of worm in the Floor 19 hallway.

“If you two are going to start snogging each night, I’m going to barf!” Mallory yelled at them.

Magnus’s face was tomato red. Alex was sure she had a tinge of pink, but she crossed her arms and winked at Mallory. “That a challenge? Happy to oblige.”

“Oh my gods,” Mallory said, slamming her door shut.

Alex cackled. “Too easy.”

When the rest of their hallmates had followed Mallory’s lead and disappeared into their rooms, a still blushing Magnus cleared his throat.

“So… are you going to kiss me goodnight?”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Are you?”

“I feel trapped right now.” Indeed, Magnus had a deer-caught-in-headlights look.

Alex leaned towards Magnus. “I’ll see you later,” she whispered. Then she skipped off to her room, leaving what Alex was very sure was a flustered Magnus Chase.

“What did you want to ask me?” Magnus said as soon as the door was shut behind Alex. He had apparently taken the few minutes between that scene in the hallway and now to compose himself.

Alex flopped down on her stomach on Magnus’s bed. “When I first arrived, you know, the first time, what did you think of me?”

Magnus blinked and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Oh. Well, I guess I was confused about the snake and Loki symbol on your pottery. I was also confused about your wardrobe because there were enough clothes for an army, Alex. How do you even…?” he shook his head. “I don’t want to know. Anyway, uh, when I first met you, you basically told me to mind my own business and stay the Hel away, but… I decided not to do that.”

Alex snorted. “Clearly.”

“And I was surprised,” Magnus continued. “Sam told me that she had brought her brother to Valhalla. Because you were her brother at the time. But then you introduced yourself and said you were a girl, I don’t know, I guess that’s when it started. You know, my whole I-can-tell-what-gender-you-are thing. I just… saw you as Alex Fierro, she/her, not Alex Fierro he/him.”

Alex smiled despite herself. “Is that why you were staring?”

“Maybe,” Magnus admitted. “And, you know, I guess I was face-to-face with someone who I liked but didn’t understand it yet.”

“Aww, I’m blushing.”

“Shut up, Alex.”

Alex grinned. Her face fell though. “And… you said everyone else didn’t really trust me, right? I mean, it wasn’t too hard to notice that I was being watched. I guess I just didn’t give it a lot of thought at the time.”

“They thought Loki planted you as a spy, yeah,” Magnus said after a few seconds. “And… I didn’t argue very hard. I’m still sorry about that. But I know you better, and you would never—”

“I know,” Alex said. She blew out a breath. “Everyone thinks I’m a spy now. And you. It really sucks. I… Magnus, I never got accused of anything like this before. I knew I probably would, and I know people probably said a lot behind my back. But actually hearing and seeing it is a lot different than knowing it’s coming.”

“Once we chain up Fenris, you’ll prove them all wrong,” Magnus said. “But you know you don’t have to prove anything to the people who care, right? I know how awesome you are.”

“I am pretty awesome, aren’t I?”

“And modest.”

Alex laughed. Then she looked at Magnus seriously. “You are too. Awesome. I know neither of us are really the heartfelt, mushy gushy type—save for your random confessions—but… You’re a pretty cool guy, Magnus.”

Magnus ducked his head. “Yeah, well, who needs mushy gushy.” He cleared his throat. “Uh, anyway, I don’t remember when they came. I think I stayed up for a while until they just… fell from the sky.”

Alex sat up. “Wait. Really?”

“Yeah. And we should probably be ready to run. Last time, Ratatosk found us. You have your garrote?”

“Never go anywhere without it,” Alex said, patting her waist where the wire was tied. “You never know when you need to make heads roll.”

“They would have loved you during the French Revolution,” Magnus told her.

“Nah, I would have taken over the country,” Alex said. “Napoleon, who?”

“Scary part is that I don’t think you’re lying,” Magnus said.

Alex grinned. “Ah, I’d give you some advisor position, don’t worry.”

“Thanks.”

Alex slowly leaned her head down on Magnus’s shoulder. “So. We just going to sit here and wait?”

“Netflix?” Magnus suggested.

“That,” Alex said, “is the best idea you’ve had today. I’m going to make some popcorn.” Her eyes narrowed. “You do have popcorn, right?”

“I moved in, like, yesterday, Alex. I don’t know if I have popcorn.”

“You better.”

As it turned out, Magnus’s kitchen did come stocked with plenty of popcorn. Alex made three bags which Magnus protested at first.

“How are we going to eat that much popcorn?” he asked.

Alex shrugged. “Dunno. Better safe than sorry.”

“If this becomes a regular thing, the Hotel staff are going to think I’m some popcorn addict,” Magnus muttered.

They spend the next few hours lounging on the couch, watching various pilot episodes. Alex’s eyes drooped halfway through the third one. She was pretty sure Magnus didn’t even know what he was doing anymore because Alex could have sworn they had already watched this episode—it was the first one they had watched—but she didn’t have the energy to stop him.

Chapter Text

ALEX’S EYES FLEW OPEN when she heard the branches rustle. She scanned the dark room—the TV having been turned off at some point during the night.

“Magnus,” Alex hissed at the sleeping lump next to her. “Magnus!”

Magnus blinked slowly. “Alex? What…?”

The branches rustled again. Something dark and man-shaped toppled out of the tree. He landed on the ground with a nasty crunch.

“OW!” he wailed. “Stupid gravity!”

Alex stared down at Blitz. “I know right. Screw gravity.”

A second person dropped lightly to the grass as Blitz leapt to his feet in alarm. He cursed loudly.

“Relax, it’s just me,” Alex said. “Hey, Hearth.”

Hearth, dressed in his usual black leather clothes and candy-striped scarf, waved. Hi.

Magnus let out a sigh. “Hey, Blitz. Hearth.” He signed Hearth’s name. “Good to see you.”

“Arm!” Blitz yelped. “Broken!”

“Oh, here.” Magnus reached out for Blitz’s arm. “I can heal this.”

While Magnus did his glowy hand magic, Alex took in Blitz’s new outfit. When Alex had first remet Blitz on the street, it had taken a while to get used to the homeless look. Afterall, the last time she’d seen the dwarf, he had been much better dressed. Now, he looked like how Alex remembered him.

His chaotic hair had been washed and combed back. His beard was trimmed. His Cro-Magnon unibrow had been plucked and waxed. Only his zigzag nose had not been cosmetically corrected. His boots were alligator leather. His black wool suit was tailored to fit his stocky five-feet-five frame and looked lovely with his dark skin tone. Under the jacket, he was rocking a charcoal paisley waistcoat with a gold watch chain, a smart turquoise shirt and a skinny bolo tie.

“Looking good, Blitz,” Alex said.

Blitz looked pleased with himself. “It’s much better. GAH!” he yelped as Magnus finished fixing his broken arm.

“Tada,” Magnus said flatly.

Blitz moved the arm. His expression changed from pain to surprise. “That actually worked!”

“You never believed me when I told you what I could do?” Magnus asked. “Kind of offended here, guys.”

Sorry, Hearth signed.

“It’s good to see you guys,” Magnus said. “Sorry about, you know, dying.”

Blitz scowled. “Kids, for the past twenty-four hours we’ve been climbing all over the World Tree looking for you. What were you thinking?”

“Innocent mortals were in danger,” Alex said. “Wasn’t our idea to die.”

Something seemed to register in Blitz’s eyes. “Hold on. Were you two… Whose room is this?”

“Mine,” Magnus said defensively. “What? Is it that bad?”

“Calm down, we fell asleep watching Netflix,” Alex rolled her eyes. “Besides, I don’t think the dead can get knocked up.”

“Alex!” Magnus sputtered. “We weren’t— That wasn’t—” He crossed his arms and feel silent.

“Only teasing,” Alex said innocently.

Hearth developed a faint smile, which for him was the equivalent of rolling on the floor laughing. He gestured at Blitz and said something in rapid fire ASL too quick for Alex to understand.

“Yeah, yeah,” Blitz grumbled. “We have a confession to make.”

“We already know you aren’t homeless,” Magnus said in confusion.

“Not that,” Blitz said. “I still don’t understand how you knew, but we’ve been watching you—the both of you—to keep you safe. Our boss asked us to find you after you went missing following your mom’s death.”

Magnus winced. “Three years ago. Yeah. Who’s this boss?”

“That’s… classified. But he’s one of the good guys. He’s the head of our organization, dedicated to delaying Ragnarok as long as possible. And you, my friend, have been his most important project.” Blitz frowned. “You weren’t supposed to die. Our job was to protect you. But now… well, you’re einherjar. Anyway, we have to get you out of here. We have to find that sword.”

“I have the sword,” Magnus said, tapping his pendant. “Came with me.”

Blitz and Hearth looked relieved.

“But I’m all for getting out of here,” Magnus added. “Alex and I need to say hello to my cousin anyway.”

Blitz blinked. “What?”

“He said we want to leave,” Alex said. “Well, maybe not want to, but we definitely need to.”

“Well, then.” Blitz brushed the grass from his paisley waistcoat. “We’ll just climb back into the World Tree before—”

From somewhere above, an explosive yap! reverberated through the room. It sounded like a rabid six-thousand-pound Boston terrier choking on a mammoth bone.

Hearth’s eyes widened. The sound was so loud he’d probably felt the vibrations through his shoes.

“Gods almighty!” Blitz exclaimed.

“Oooookay, time to go,” Magnus said.

They dashed towards the door.

“Kid, please tell me you know another way out of this hotel,” Blitz said. “Because we aren’t using the tree.”

Another yap shook the room. Broken branches tumbled to the floor.

“Magnus,” Alex said.

“I’d like to say I know, but I don’t,” Magnus said, unlocking the door and yanking it open. “Just run!”

Chapter Text

LUCKILY FOR MAGNUS AND ALEX, they were still wearing normal clothing and not pajamas. Unluckily, T.J. and Mallory were already standing in the hallway when they burst out of Magnus’s room.

“What was that sound?” Mallory scowled. “Why do you have a dwarf and an elf in your room? And why were you in his room?” she directed at Alex.

“Movie night,” Alex said.

“SQUIRREL!” Blitzen yelled, slamming the door shut.

Hearth said the same thing in sign language—a gesture that looked disturbingly like a set of mandibles rending flesh.

T.J. looked like he’d been slapped across the face. “Magnus, what have you done?”

“Enough that it would probably fill like eleven books,” Magnus breathed. He gave his hallmates an apologetic look. “But that doesn’t matter. We’re leaving. Now. Don’t try to stop us.”

Mallory cursed in Gaelic. Magnus made a mental note to learn Gaelic curse words.

“We won’t stop you,” she said. “This is going to get us laundry duty for a decade, but we’ll help you.”

“Good because I have no idea how to leave,” Magnus admitted.

T.J. offered a smile. “Hallmates always protect each other.”

The door to Magnus’s room shook. Cracks spiderwebbed from the nameplate. A decorative spear fell off the wall of the corridor.

“X!” T.J. called. “Help!”

The half-troll’s door exploded off its hinges. X lumbered into the hallway as if he’d been standing just inside, waiting for the call. Considering X was actually Odin, he probably had. “Yes?”

T.J. pointed. “Magnus’s door. Squirrel.”

“Okay.”

X marched over and shoved his back against my door. It shuddered again, but X held firm. Enraged barking echoed from inside.

Halfborn stumbled out of his room wearing nothing but smiley-face boxers, double-bladed axes in his hands.

“What’s going on?” He glowered at Blitz and Hearth. “Should I kill the dwarf and the elf?”

“No!” Blitzen yelped. “Don’t kill the dwarf and the elf!”

“They’re with us,” Alex said. “We’re leaving.”

“Squirrel,” T.J. explained.

Halfborn’s shaggy eyebrows achieved orbit. “Squirrel as in squirrel squirrel?”

“Squirrel squirrel,” Mallory confirmed. “And I’m surrounded by moron morons.”

A raven soared down the hall. It landed on the nearest light fixture and squawked at Magnus accusingly.

“Well, that’s great,” Mallory said. “The ravens have sensed your friends’ intrusion. That means the Valkyries won’t be far behind.”

From the direction of the elevator banks, half a dozen howls pierced the air.

“And those would be Odin’s wolves,” Halfborn said. “Very friendly unless you’re trespassing or leaving the hotel without permission, in which case they’ll tear you apart.”

“Freaking wolves!” Magnus shouted. “I refuse to harbinge you!”

Alex made a choking noise like she was trying not to laugh, but failing miserably.

“Next time you try breaking and entering,” Magnus said to Blitz and Heath, “try not to set off all the alarms.”

Not fair, Hearth signed. We avoided the tree mines.

“Tree mines?” In all his time navigating the World Tree, Magnus had yet to run across a tree mine. Although, Hearth could be talking about the marshmallow Ginnungagap stuff.

Halfborn hefted his axe. “I’ll slow down the wolves. Good luck, Magnus!” He charged down the hall screaming, “DEATH!” while the smiley faces rippled on his boxer shorts.

Mallory’s face turned red—with embarrassment or delight, Magnus couldn’t tell. It was quite possibly both. “I’ll stay with X in case the squirrel breaks through,” she said. “T.J., you take them to recycling.”

“Yeah.”

“Recycling?” Blitz asked.

“Recycling,” Magnus smacked his forehead. “That’s what it was.”

Mallory drew her sword. “Magnus, I can’t say it’s been a pleasure. You’re a true pain in the nári. Now get out of here.”

The door of his room shuddered again. Plaster rained from the ceiling.

“The squirrel is strong,” X grunted. “Hurry.”

T.J. fixed his bayonet. “Let’s go.”

He led the strange group down the corridor, his blue Union jacket over his PJs. Behind them, wolves howled and Halfborn bellowed in Old Norse.

As Magnus and his friends ran through the halls, a few einherjar opened their doors to see what was going on. When they spotted T.J. with his bayonet, they ducked back inside.

Left, right, right, left—he lost track of the turns. Another raven shot past, cawing angrily. Magnus tried to swat it.

“Don’t,” T.J. warned. “They’re sacred to Odin.”

“For some reason, I think Odin is okay with us escaping,” Alex muttered under her breath.

They just passed a T in the hallway when a voice shouted, “MAGNUS!”

Magnus skidded to a halt. To his left, fifty feet away, Gunilla stood in full armor, a hammer in either hand. “Take another step,” she snarled, “and I will destroy you.”

T.J. glanced at Magnus. “You four keep going. Next right, there’s a chute marked ‘recycling’. Jump in.”

“But—”

“No time.” T.J. grinned. “Go kill some rebs for me—or monsters—or whatever.” He pointed his rifle at the Valkyrie, shouted, “Fifty-fourth Massachusetts!” and charged.

“I’m sorry!” Magnus called to Gunilla as Hearth grabbed his arm and pulled him along. The Valkyrie didn’t look very receptive to the apology though.

Blitz found the recycling chute and yanked it open. “GO, GO!”

Hearthstone dived in head first.

“You next, kids,” said the dwarf.

Alex grinned at Magnus. “See you on the other side.” She disappeared down the chute.

“Hurry!” Blitz urged.

Magnus took a deep breath of dumpster air. More wolves howled, closer this time. He didn’t hesitate to jump in the chute and recycle himself.

The chute spit him out at home plate at Fenway Park.

Hearthstone was just getting to his feet when Magnus landed on top of him and knocked him flat. Before Magnus could extricate himself, Blitzen ploughed into his chest. Magnus pushed him off and rolled away just in case anyone else decided to drop out of the sky.

Alex stood off to the side. Somehow she had survived getting squashed which probably had something to do with the fact that she could shapeshift and fly away before getting stuck in the pile up.

“Oh, this was a good suit,” Blitz said, looking dismally at his suit that looked like it had passed through the digestive tract of a snail. He sighed. “At least we’re in Midgard.”

Rows of red bleachers stood empty and silent, uncomfortably similar to the Feast Hall of the Slain before the einherjar marched in. The field was covered in a patchwork of frozen tarps that crunched under their feet. It must have been around six in the morning. The eastern sky was just starting to turn grey. Their breath steamed in the air.

Hearthstone pointed towards the dawn. He signed, Sun. Bad for Blitzen.

Blitz squinted. “You’re right. After that business on the bridge, I can’t stand any more direct exposure.”

“Right,” Magnus said. “Dwarf.”

Blitzen’s cheeks had started to lighten to the color of wet clay. A color Magnus was very familiar with considering Alex had a tendency to throw wet clay at anyone who bothered her when she was making pottery.

“I don’t suppose you have stuff to cover up with,” Magnus said.

Blitz shook his head. “I dropped my supply pack somewhere in the World Tree.”

Hearthstone signed, After bridge, his legs turned to stone. No walking until night.

“Let’s get someplace dark,” Alex said.

Magnus nodded. “Yeah. Uh, this way.” He lead the group over to the Green Monster—the famous home-run-blocking four-story wall along the left outfield—and found an unlocked service door under the scoreboard.

There wasn’t much to see inside—just metal scaffolding, stacks of green number cards hanging on the wall, and the stadium’s concrete ribs tattooed with a hundred years of graffiti. The space had one important requirement, though: it was dark.

Blitzen sat on a pile of mats and pulled off his boots. Acorns spilled out. His socks were grey paisley, matching his waistcoat.

“Nice outfit,” Alex said.

Blitz puffed up his chest. “Thank you, Alex. It hasn’t been easy dressing like a bum the last two years. No offence, of course.”

Alex shrugged. “Eh, I mean, we could have done something different too.”

“This is how I usually dress. I take my appearance very seriously. I’ll admit I’m a bit of a clothes horse.”

Hearth made a sound between a sneeze and a snort. He signed, A bit?

“Oh, be quiet,” Blitz grumbled. “Who bought you that scarf, eh?” He turned to Magnus and Alex for support. “I told Hearth he needed a splash of colour. The black clothes. The platinum-blond hair. The red-striped scarf makes a bold statement, don’t you think?”

“I love it,” Alex volunteered.

Blitzen looked pleased. Then he frowned. “What were we talking about again?”

Hearth signed, The boss. Escape. Say hello to cousin.

“Right,” Blitz said. “We’ve got to report to the Capo and get new orders.”

“The Capo?” Alex repeated.

“He assigned us to watch you,” Blitz explained. “Well, Magnus, but then you too, Alex. We were supposed to keep you alive. Failed that. ‘Keep them alive,’ said the Capo. ‘Watch them. Protect them if needed, but don’t interfere with their choices. They’re important to the plan.’”

“The plan.”

“The Capo knows stuff. The future, for instance. He does his best to nudge events in the right direction, keep the Nine Worlds from spiralling into chaos and exploding.”

Magnus and Alex exchanged a look.

“The Capo knows the future?” Magnus asked carefully. “Like, how much?”

“Don’t know,” Blitz said. “All he told us was that your two are important, you had to be protected. When you died… well, I’m just glad we found you in Valhalla. Mabe all isn’t lost.”

Hearthstone signed, Unless he kills us.

Blitz grimaced. “That.” He sighed. “Look, until we talk to the boss, I can’t really go into many details.”

“Even though we’re important to the plan,” Magnus said.

That’s why we can’t, Hearth signed.

“Two questions,” Magnus said. “What happened to Surt?”

“Back in Muspelheim,” Blitz said easily. “He won’t be having enough strength to travel between worlds for awhile.”

A few days, Hearth guessed.

“Maybe longer,” Blitz said.

“And what about Randolph?” Magnus asked.

Hearthstone wrinkled his nose. Your uncle. Annoying, but fine.

“Last we saw him, he was hanging around this blonde girl and her friends,” Blitzen said.

“Annabeth,” Magnus said. He wrinkled his nose. “Ugh, if I didn’t know who you were talking about I’d be seriously grossed out by that description.” He shook his head. “I’ve got to find her.”

“Kid, she thinks you’re dead,” Blitz said gently.

“Annabeth knows I’m a demigod,” Magnus said. “She knows. Trust me. She won’t be surprised to see Alex and I alive. She’ll be waiting at the funeral home. Where is it?”

Blitz and Hearth exchanged looks before Hearth pulled a newspaper clipping from his jacket pocket and handed it to Magnus.

Unlike the first time, there was actually a much more recent picture of Magnus in his obituary. It was one of him and Annabeth, though Annabeth had been cropped out and all you could see was her arm over Magnus’s shoulders.

Just like the first time though, the obituary didn’t say much. Nothing about his three-year disappearance, his homelessness, his mom’s death. Just: Untimely demise. Survived by two uncles and a cousin. Private service to be held.

“According to your obituary notice,” Blitz said quietly, “your ashes are at the funeral home today for viewing hours. The service isn’t until tonight. If you go now, you should have the place to yourself. The building isn’t open yet, and you won’t exactly have mourners lining up outside.”

“Thanks a lot,” Magnus said flatly. “Wait. Ashes?”

“I don’t think you looked too hot after the run in with Surt, Magnus,” Alex said, wrinkling her nose. “Can’t imagine I looked better, though it was just my side. Um, Blitz, did you see anything about me?”

Blitzen’s expression softened. “No obituary, Alex. Sorry. I think…”

“Yeah, I legally died years ago,” Alex grumbled. “Figures my father would try to hush it up that I’ve been homeless for three years while he profits off my life insurance.” She shrugged. “But whatever. I’m over it.” She didn’t sound over it.

“Okay.” Blitz tugged on his boots. “I’ll go talk to the boss. On the way, I’ll pop by Svartalfheim and pick up some proper anti-sunlight supplies. While I’m gone, Hearthstone will take you to the funeral home. I’ll meet you… where?”

Arlington—nearest T stop, Hearth signed.

“Good.” Blitzen stood. “Find your cousin, kid… and be careful. Outside Valhalla, you can die like anybody else. The last thing we need to explain to the boss is another pair of dead demigods.”

Chapter Text

IT WAS A LITTLE DISCONCERTING to be on his way to his own funeral again. Magnus just hoped he would have the good fortune to not have to actually go into the funeral home.

Not that there was a body to be awkward around.

In a way, Magnus was grateful for that. His pact with his mom about cremating each other had not exactly gone right in the first timeline. This time, he had been able to do that for his mom, and this time someone—probably Annabeth—had been able to do that for him.

But it was kinda strange to know that his body had been placed in a furnace and burned to ashes that were probably in a pretty nice urn on display. Magnus couldn’t imagine looking at an urn and knowing he was in there. It was just weird.

Unfortunately, it was a long, cold walk, so he had plenty of time to reflect on this.

They were passing Copley Square when Hearth pulled Magnus and Alex into the doorway of an office building.

Gómez, he signed. Wait.

Gómez was a beat cop who knew them by sight. He didn’t know any real names, but if he’d seen a recent picture of Magnus and Alex on the news they would have a hard time explaining why they weren't dead. Also, Gómez wasn’t the friendliest guy.

“You good?” Magnus finally asked Alex.

Alex had been silent the whole way from Fenway. She shrugged. “Yeah. Fine. Why?”

“I don’t know. You seemed… not upset exactly, but… something.”

“Well, I always wondered what it would be like if my father found out I was actually alive. Guess I got my answer.” She shook her head. “You know, it’s stupid because I was so confused about you and Randolph, but then here I go hoping for the best.”

“He’s a jerk, but he’s family,” Magnus said. He wasn’t sure if he was talking about Randolph or Mr. Fierro. “Sometimes that makes us blind. But I’d be more worried if you were completely heartless about it. If you just… didn’t care.”

“I don’t care. He doesn’t care.”

“Okay.”

Alex gave him a long look. “Fine. Maybe I was hoping for some sadness since he technically didn’t kick me out this time. For all intents and purposes, I ran away. I guess I thought he might have been upset about that. And I… I don’t even remember the last time he saw me. There were good days.”

“We could go visit him.”

“Why the Hel would I do that?”

“Scare him?” Magnus suggested. “Do, like, a Christmas Carol type thing? I bet Mallory would help.”

Alex snorted. “Oh, yeah?”

“Absolutely.”

“What would you be?”

“Ghost of Christmas Past,” Magnus answered immediately.

“Ah, so Mallory would be the Ghost of Christmas Present,” Alex said. “And I would be the Ghost of Christmas Future. Excellent.” She raised an eyebrow. “We aren’t doing that, but thanks.”

Hearth broke up their conversation. Gómez is gone. Come on.

The funeral home was near Washington and Charles, tucked in a row of Bay Village townhouses that seemed lost among the newer concrete and glass skyscrapers. A sign on the awning read: TWINING & SONS MEMORIAL SERVICES. A display by the door listed upcoming viewings. The top one read: MAGNUS CHASE. The date was today, starting at 10 a.m. The door was locked. The lights were off.

“Early for my own funeral,” Magnus said.

“Actually, you’re right on time,” a voice said.

Magnus spun around to see… nothing. He frowned. “Hello?”

Something leapt down from above and landed gracefully on the concrete without so much as a sound. A blonde haired boy about the same age as Magnus grinned. A small scar marred his lip and his blue eyes sparkled.

“Jason,” Alex said.

Jason Grace beamed. “In the flesh.” He winced. “Wait. Can I say that? I mean, you aren’t offended or anything, right? I don’t really understand this whole dead-but-not-dead thing Annabeth was talking about. You look alive to me, but then again, your ashes are supposed to be in there.” He pointed to the funeral home.

“Dude,” Magnus interrupted. “Calm down.”

Jason stopped talking. “Right. Uh, it’s good to see you.”

“You too,” Magnus said.

Jason smiled. He glanced between Magnus and Alex. “I’m going to hug you both,” he announced after a moment.

“Aww,” Alex teased, heading towards Jason. “You missed us?”

Jason pulled her into a hug. “Yes. I also saw emergency workers pull one very charred body and one very burned body from a puddle of melted asphalt. You have any idea how strange it is to see your friends like that?”

“Considering we spend our days running javelins and swords through each other?” Magnus said as Jason moved to hug him. “Yes.”

Jason winced. “Dude. Can we not talk about getting speared?”

“Fair enough,” Magnus agreed. “Oh! This is Hearth. Hearthstone. He’s an elf.” He turned to face Hearth. “Hearth, this is one of my cousin’s friends. His name is Jason Grace.”

Hearth waved.

“Hearth is deaf,” Magnus explained, “but he can read lips. Alex and I can teach you some ASL if you want.”

Jason nodded. “Got it. And I’ll keep that in mind, Magnus.” He stuck out a hand to Hearth. “Nice to meet you, Hearth.”

Hearth shook it.

“So where’s Annabeth?” Alex asked.

Jason looked around. “Waiting. She and Percy sent me to look out for you. Make sure your uncle stays away too. Something about Jack.”

Magnus grimaced. “Yeah. Hopefully I stopped him from joining up with Loki, but I don’t know. Can we go see my cousin now?”

“I’ll take you, but I’ll need help,” Jason said. “I can’t fly three people up there.”

“Up there?” Alex repeated.

“They’re waiting on top of one of the roofs,” Jason explained. “It’s out of the way and Annabeth figured we’d need to have a long chat.”

“Dammit,” Alex sighed. “Fine. I’ll take Hearth. Tell him to grab my feet.”

Hearth blinked. Grab your feet?

In a second, Alex disappeared and was replaced with a large eagle.

“Grab her feet,” Magnus said. “Don’t let go.”

The look Hearth gave Magnus was like, How stupid do you think I am? Then he grabbed onto Alex the eagle’s feet. Alex flapped her wings and shot off into the air.

“Alright, Superman,” Magnus said. “Let’s go.”

“If I’m Superman, does that make you Lois Lane?” Jason asked. He grinned. “Kidding.” He wrapped an arm around Magnus and leapt into the sky.

Chapter Text

ALEX TRIED NOT TO BLAME HEARTH. It wasn’t his fault that Jason wasn’t strong enough to carry two people at a time. It certainly wasn’t his fault that Alex was the only shapeshifter available to serve as an Uber.

She did however blame Hearth for being so damn heavy.

Once they reached the rooftop, Alex deposited Hearth and shifted back. She rolled her ankles.

Sorry, Hearth signed.

Alex sighed. How could you stay mad at that? “It’s fine,” she said, signing along.

“Gah!”

Alex turned to see Magnus and Jason tumble to the ground. “You okay?” she called.

“Fine.” Magnus’s voice was muffled by the ground he was currently eating.

Jason gave Alex a dazed smile. “We’re good!”

“Jason?” someone called. “Are you back alread—?” The voice cut off. “Magnus! Alex!”

A head of blonde hair ran at Alex. Annabeth Chase beamed and gave her a tight hug. She did the same for her cousin, helping him to his feet first.

“It’s so good to see you! Oh my gods, I can’t believe it.” Annabeth punched Magnus’s arm.

“Hey!” Magnus complained.

“You died, you butt!” Annabeth said. “I thought we said no dying!” Her cheeks were flushed—maybe from the cold or maybe from anger—and she looked like she had just gotten back from a ski trip. Her jacket was an orange to match the Camp Half-Blood t-shirts, Alex noted with some surprise.

“I doubt they had a choice,” Percy Jackson’s voice said from behind Annabeth. He sounded amused.

“Sup, Percy,” Alex called.

Percy grinned. “Hey, Alex. Looking good for a dead person.”

“Feeling good for a dead person,” Alex agreed. “Hearth, this is Percy Jackson. He’s dating Magnus’s cousin Annabeth.”

“Hey,” Percy waved to Hearth.

Also demigods? Hearth asked.

Alex wasn’t sure how to answer that. Luckily, Magnus saved her the trouble of figuring out what to say.

“Yeah, but they’re Greek,” he said.

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Are we just telling people now?”

Magnus shrugged. “I mean, it’s not like we were going to keep him from finding out. You saw how well that went over with the Seven.”

Greek? Hearth signed.

Daughter… A-T-E… A-H-N… Annabeth tried to sign, but gave up. “You taught me the alphabet, Magnus, but it doesn’t help if I can’t spell,” she muttered. “Daughter of Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle strategy.”

“Son of Poseidon,” Percy said cheerfully. “God of earthquakes and the sea and stuff.”

Jason’s mouth twitched. “Stuff?”

“What?” Percy asked.

“Son of Jupiter, well, Zeus,” Jason said. “God of the sky and thunder and lightning.”

“And stuff,” Percy added.

Magnus launched into a history lesson that Alex was pretty sure Hearth didn’t need. He explained about how the Greek and Roman gods were basically the same people and how they coexisted with the Norse gods to share control over the world.

“—and last summer there was this fight and stuff, so Alex and I helped out a little,” Magnus rambled. “I know we said we got captured by Loki—which was true—but we escaped in June and helped fight the giants then stayed with the Greeks through August which is why we didn’t come back until the end of the month.”

Hearth blinked. Okay.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Alex said. “You’ll never guess who we met.”

“Loki…?” Jason guessed, leaning against the side of a wall.

“Good guess, but no,” Alex said. “Remember Alice Bain?”

Annabeth frowned. “Alice Bain?”

“She was Will’s sister,” Alex added.

Percy’s eyes dimmed. “The one that died. I remember her now.”

“Brown hair, brown eyes, kinda soulful,” Alex described. “Too good at knowing things she shouldn’t know?”

Something flashed in Annabeth’s eyes. “I know who you’re talking about. What about her?”

“She’s my Valkyrie,” Alex said.

Annabeth froze. “Alice Bain is your Valkyrie? How?”

“When she died, she was picked up by a Valkyrie,” Magnus explained. “She became a Valkyrie after that. The details are… well, we don’t have all the details.”

Alex wasn’t sure if that white lie was to protect Gunilla about her involvement or if Magnus was just being cagey in front of Hearth who—if things went the way they wanted them to go—would never know about the whole time travel thing. That was something Magnus and Alex had discussed back in August before leaving Camp Half-Blood.

“What’s your plan now?” Annabeth asked them.

Annabeth, Percy, Alex, and Magnus along with Nico di Angelo and Will Solace had gathered in Percy’s cabin. Cabin 3 was the definition of untidy which was something of a conundrum according to Annabeth since Percy had only been living in it for a few weeks. Not that it was much of a problem anymore. While they talked, Percy was shoving things into drawers to store or bags to take home with him.

Alex and Magnus exchanged glances. “Go back to Boston to wait for Ragnarok,” Alex said. “I mean, what else is there to do? You guys will all be here waiting for that thing with Apollo, right?”

“Will and I, yeah,” Nico spoke up. His face was pinched. “I mean, we end up helping Apollo anyway, so it should be us.”

“We’re going to help you two,” Percy announced, stuffing some t-shirts into a duffle bag. “I mean, Annabeth and I are. Everything happens over the first half of the year, and it’s mostly not at the same time. So whatever Ragnarok stuff you need help with, call us and we’ll come.”

“You mean that?” Magnus asked, raised eyebrows. “I would have thought you couldn’t wait to escape this craziness.”

Percy and Annabeth both gained fixed smiles that told Alex they definitely wanted to be free of the demigod life, but something was holding them back.

“You’re my cousin, Magnus,” Annabeth said. “Of course we’re going to help you.”

“Besides,” Percy said hesitantly. “There’s something you should know.”

Will frowned. “About what?”

“When we went to rescue Alex and Artemis, I spoke to Nereus,” Percy said.

Alex frowned. “That feels like a lifetime ago. Who’s Nereus?”

“An old sea god,” Will explained. “And he’s said to know things that even the Oracle of Delphi doesn’t. What did he tell you, Percy?”

“Basically? That our strings of fate have been woven together tightly.” Percy didn’t look too happy about that. “Also, that whenever we need each other, we’ll be there to fight with—or for—each other.”

“With or for?” Nico repeated. “That sounds ominous.”

“He said events would conspire to keep us together,” Percy said. “Events like Magnus and Alex being trapped in Alaska when Frank, Hazel, and I would be going there for a quest. Events like Magnus and Alex becoming part of the Seven. Stuff happened to make sure they would fight by our side. I don’t doubt something would happen to make sure some of us fight by their side at Ragnarok. Well, to help you prevent it anyway.”

Magnus looked deep in thought. “That makes sense, I guess. So Percy and Annabeth are taking on the Norse front while Nico and Will take on the Greek front this time?”

“It’s a good plan,” Alex agreed. “But it’s also something Magnus and I can handle on our own. If you need to, you should all work on the Greek front.”

“You helped us, and you expect us not to do the same?” Annabeth teased. “As if! Don’t worry. We’ll only step in as much as you want us. I was planning on stopping in Boston around the same time as before. Percy’s going to come with me. Maybe Jason.”

“How are you going to explain them being there?” Nico asked curiously. “I mean, you can probably pass Jason off as a son of… Thor. Percy could pass as a son of whatever the water god is, but Annabeth’s your cousin. Won’t anyone think it’s suspicious that you just happen to have a cousin who’s also a ‘Norse’ demigod and she’s friends with two other demigods?”

“Sam might,” Alex said slowly. “She might find that suspicious. And if her memories of what happened in Alaska come back slowly, that’s going to be hard to explain. But I don’t think anyone else will find it strange. When it comes down to it though, I don’t think anyone should find out about time travel.”

“Alex is right,” Magnus said. “I mean, it doesn’t do much other than making people think we’re manipulating them. And it won’t matter that we’re from the future once all this is done and over.”

Annabeth didn’t look too convinced. “I don’t know. I’m actually glad the rest of the Seven found out about us. There’s less work involved in planning. You don’t have to figure out how to avoid certain things without raising suspicion because you just need to say you know because of your future knowledge. And I didn’t like deceiving my friends. It’s always better to live the truth than to live a lie.”

“It’s up to you,” Will told Magnus and Alex. “If you don’t want to tell anyone, you don’t have to.”

“So,” Magnus said awkwardly, bringing Alex out of her thoughts. “Thanks for, uh, not burying my body.”

Jason snorted and Percy looked vaguely ill.

“No offense, but your body didn’t look great at all,” Percy said. “Like it was coal black and kinda smelly and—”

Now Magnus looked green. “Thanks. I didn’t want to know that.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “I remembered what you said about you and your mom. I figured we could go to the Blue Hills and scatter your ashes with hers. After the quest anyway.”

“Oh.” Magnus sounded choked up. “Right. Thanks.”

“I don’t suppose you saw what happened to me?” Alex asked dully.

Annabeth grimaced. “I did try to find out, but… well, they ID’d you as the pronounced dead a few years ago Alex Fierro, so they called your mortal family. After that, I don’t know. I was so busy trying to prove I was related to Magnus and I was trying to keep an eye on Randolph at the same time. When that was done, your body was already gone. Unfortunately, my word that my dead cousin I just proved I was related to was dating you wasn’t good enough. I’d have to prove that and considering both of you are dead and I don’t think Mr. Fierro knew about Magnus, I wasn’t likely to prove anything.”

“Yeah,” Alex sighed. “I know. Just… I don’t want to be thrown in a ditch or wherever they plan to put me.”

“We’ll visit your family and ask them,” Percy said seriously. “You and Magnus will have to come with us. I’ll pretend I can’t see either of you. Do you think that would freak them out?”

Alex grinned despite herself. “Oh yeah. That would be fun.”

Hearth poked Magnus’s arm and signed something. Alex only caught the sign for Blitzen’s name.

“Hearth says Blitz is probably waiting for us,” Magnus translated. “And he’s right. It’s been long enough.”

Jason pushed away from the wall. “Alright. Let’s go.”

“Let’s?” Magnus repeated.

“You don’t have to come with us,” Alex added.

“Sure we do,” Percy said. “We’re here, right? Besides, it would be a little hypocritical of you to tell us to butt out when you were helping us with our stuff last summer.”

“That was kind of an accident,” Magnus said.

“We’re coming with you,” Annabeth said firmly, like that decided it. And it kind of did. “Now, let’s go. Where are you meeting Blitz?”

If Hearth found it strange that Annabeth spoke Blitz’s name with such familiarity, he didn’t comment on it. Maybe that was because he couldn’t hear the tone in Annabeth’s voice, or maybe he just realized that there were things going on that Magnus and Alex had yet to tell him.

They managed to slip inside the building much to Alex’s pleasure. It wasn’t very tall, so the elevator ride down to the ground floor was short. Once they were back out on the street, Magnus directed them to the T stop at Arlington.

Along the way, they chatted with Percy, Annabeth, and Jason about what was going on back in New York. Apparently, Annabeth had been spending as much time studying and working on school work as she was spending trying to set Jason up with random kids at the school. Percy found this hilarious and said that the last time they talked to Piper—which was months ago due to the communications failures that began mid-November—she said that Annabeth should have been a daughter of Aphrodite.

“Everyone’s really nice,” Jason said as they walked. “But they’re all mortals and I can’t drag them into this life. Besides, I think it might be nice to just focus on staying alive and going to school. For now at least. Ah, sorry, sorry.” He skirted around someone he narrowly missed running over.

“No worries,” the person—a girl—said absently. “I—Alex?”

Chapter Text

NOTHING COULD HAVE PREPARED ALEX FOR THIS.

It felt like someone had launched a giant bowling ball instead of a dodgeball at Alex. She knew that voice. She hadn’t heard it in over half a decade, but she knew that voice. A melodic, feminine, and soft voice that belonged to Alex’s exact opposite.

Next to her, Magnus tensed. “You know her?” he murmured under his breath.

Alex swallowed. She turned to face the girl. Yep, everything was just how Alex remembered. Dark brown hair and eyes with a beautiful bronze tan like she spent the day at the beach.

“He said you were dead,” the girl said, color draining from her face with every passing second.

“Is that a surprise?” Alex found herself asking.

The girl looked away. “I never believed him. But I hoped that for once he wasn’t making your life a game.”

Who is this? Hearth signed.

Alex ignored him. “I am dead though. So you can tell him not to worry anymore.”

“Alex, who is this?” Annabeth asked, though Alex doubted she knew that was what Hearth already asked. Maybe she did. Annabeth was smart enough to interpret the signs.

The girl gave Alex a startled look. “You never told your friends about me?”

“Didn’t know there was anything to tell,” Alex said coolly.

She crossed her arms. “I cared, Alex. I did, you know I did.”

“Alex,” Annabeth repeated.

Alex threw her hands up. “Whatever. Her name is Esmeralda Luisa.”

Esmeralda lifted a carefully plucked eyebrow. “Really?”

“My mortal half-sister,” Alex added. "Esmeralda Luisa Fierro."

“Do you know what happened today?” Esmeralda asked. She was laying on her stomach on Alex’s bed.

Alex looked up. “What?”

Esmeralda’s eyes lit up. She was older than Alex by two years, making her twelve and Alex ten, but sometimes Alex thought Esmeralda acted like she was younger. Especially in these moments of childlike enthusiasm and validation Esmeralda displayed upon Alex giving her attention.

“Ken Farley came over to our table today,” Esmeralda continued.

According to Esmeralda, Ken Farley was the cutest boy in the sixth grade. Alex could guess where this was going.

“And?”

Esmeralda’s eyes widened. “And he told Ryan he thought he was cute.”

Alex blinked. “Oh.” That was unexpected. “Sorry. I know you liked him.”

“Not really like-like,” Esmeralda rolled her eyes. “Besides, Blake Nelson is way cuter.” She sighed. “You’re the best brother ever. Melissa’s brothers won’t even listen to her talk about anything. This is nice.”

Alex frowned. “Sister.”

“What?”

“I… You… It’s sister.”

Esmeralda tilted her head. “I don’t get it.”

“I’m a girl,” Alex blurted. “Which makes me your sister.”

“But you’re my brother,” Esmeralda said, like that explained everything.

“Abuelo said I’m a girl,” Alex said defensively. “I told him I was and he agreed. He said sometimes boys are supposed to be girls and sometimes girls are supposed to be boys. He told me about it. He said it’s called transgender.”

Esmeralda paused. “I heard that before. At school. How do you know anyway?”

“I just know,” Alex said, crossing her arms. “I can feel it. You called me your brother and it felt wrong. Sister feels right.”

“Fine.” Esmeralda shrugged. “You’re my sister now. Did you tell dad?”

Alex grabbed Esmeralda’s wrists tightly. “You can’t tell him. Don’t tell him. Promise.”

Esmeralda pulled her wrists free. “Ow. Geez, okay. I won’t tell him. Why not?”

“I just don’t want him to know,” Alex said.

“Your sister?” Magnus asked, staring at Esmeralda in shock.

Esmeralda didn’t look very happy about the reactions, but Alex couldn’t really find it in her to care much.

“Yes, my sister,” Alex said impatiently. “But that doesn’t matter because I’m dead, she’s not, and we have places to be. Let’s go.” She spun around.

“Wait!” Esmeralda said, grabbing Alex and turning her back around. “What the hell is going on? You left three years ago. Dad said you were gone and you weren’t coming back. Then two days ago he said they found your body. But you’re not dead. You’re here.”

“I am dead,” Alex said firmly. “So forget you saw me and just go.”

“Does this have to do with that demigod stuff?” Esmeralda asked.

Alex ignored the knocks on the door.

“Let me in!” Esmeralda’s voice called. “Alex! Come on! Alex, open up or I’ll break the door down!”

Alex didn’t doubt Esmeralda’s ability to do exactly that and considering she actually liked having a door, Alex got up and unlocked the door, letting Esmeralda inside.

“I didn’t mean to,” she said immediately.

Alex crossed her arms. “Sure.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“You wouldn’t.”

Esmeralda threw her hands up. “Then tell me! I tell you stuff all the time. You can tell me stuff.”

“Yeah right. You’ll just tell dad.”

“I didn’t mean to tell him,” Esmeralda said defensively. “It was an accident, I swear. I’ve been trying to be ambiguous when I talk about you so I don’t call you a boy, but I don’t tell anyone you’re a girl. It just slipped out when I was talking to dad.”

“He hates me even more now,” Alex said, glaring at Esmeralda. “He told me I’m a boy and anything weird is because of him and his freakishness.”

“Dad doesn’t hate you,” Esmeralda said.

“Yes, he does! He hates that I’m different! He hates that I’m not his real child!”

“Maybe he shouldn’t have cheated on mom then,” Esmeralda muttered.

Alex’s eyes welled with tears. “Just leave me alone!”

“Demigod stuff,” Alex scoffed.

“Yes, it does,” Magnus answered. “But Alex and I actually are dead. Not that you care.”

“I do care, actually,” Esmeralda said coolly. “Whatever Alex told you about our father is probably true, but clearly she never mentioned me.”

Alex hated this. Why was this happening? It had been almost a relief three years ago when Chiron agreed to let her stay at Camp Half-Blood. This way, she didn’t have to go back and face her family. She didn’t have to try and put up with them, and she didn’t have to go back to when Esmeralda actually mattered.

“I need your help,” Alex announced, barging into Esmeralda’s room.

Esmeralda looked up. “With what?”

“Father won’t let me out of the house,” Alex said matter-of-factly. “I wanted to go see Abuelo. I… I have questions.” Alex trailed off uncertainly.

“About what?” Esmeralda asked.

Alex closed the door. “I wasn’t sure because it was just once in a while, but I know something’s different.”

“If you’re asking about puberty, you’re eleven,” Esmeralda said, rolling her eyes. “You aren’t quite there yet.”

Alex glared at her. “Ew. No. I just… Remember when I told you I was a girl?”

Esmeralda raised her eyebrows. “Are you telling me that was a year long practical joke? Because if you are—”

“No,” Alex said. “I am a girl. At least sometimes. Most of the time. But I’m not today. I’m a boy right now.”

“I’m starting to think you’re making this up,” Esmeralda sighed. “Look, Alex. I don’t care if you’re a boy or a girl. So whichever you are, that’s fine. Just tell me.”

“That’s what I’m trying to say,” Alex said, frustrated. “I’m mostly a girl, but sometimes I’m a boy.”

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Esmeralda said.

“That’s why I need to talk to Abuelo,” Alex insisted. “He told me what was going on when I told him I was a girl. He’ll know what’s happening now. Can you go see him? Father will let you go out, and then you can come back and tell me what he says.”

Esmeralda held out for a moment before caving. “Alright. Fine. I’ll go ask him.”

“Well, Alex is our friend,” Jason said carefully. “And if she didn’t mention you, there’s a good reason for that.”

Alex appreciated the amount of faith Jason was putting in her. Even if it was misplaced. The only reason she hadn’t mentioned her sister was selfish. It was the only way to prevent herself from having to go back. If no one knew there was someone who cared.

Abuelo was dead. He wasn’t tying Alex down. If she went back, she wouldn’t see him. But she would see Esmeralda.

“Genderfluid,” Alex tested the word. “Genderfluid.”

Esmeralda nodded impatiently. “That’s what Abuelo said the word was. So you aren’t a boy or a girl, you’re genderfluid. He said people use they and their as pronouns instead of she and her or he and him.”

Alex frowned. “But I’m a boy right now. So I’m he and him.”

“Yeah, but it’s just because it’s easier,” Esmeralda said. “No one has to guess which ones to use.”

“I’m usually a girl though,” Alex said. “So they can just call me a girl until I tell them not to. Because I am a girl when I’m a girl, and a boy when I’m a boy.”

“I still don’t get it,” Esmeralda sighed.

“You don’t have to,” Alex said. “Just respect it.”

“I’m sure Alex had her reasons for keeping me a secret,” Esmeralda said. “But I don’t care much about that right now. I care about the fact that my baby sister disappeared without a goodbye. I understand not giving mom and dad any goodbyes, but not me. I deserved a goodbye.”

“Goodbye,” Alex said.

Esmeralda’s eyes turned steely. “That wasn’t what I meant and you know that. I thought he kidnapped you, Alex. You told me just days before you disappeared that he came to see you.”

“Did I?” Alex blinked. She had no idea what Esmeralda was talking about. There had been multiple occasions where Alex had gone to Esmeralda after Loki visited her. For all Alex knew, Esmeralda could be talking about a million different things.

“When he came to the studio,” Esmeralda said. Her eyes fell towards Alex’s waist. “You still have it.”

Alex looked down at the wire innocently woven through her belt loops.

“I enchanted my clay-cutter,” Alex said. She was thirteen now.

“Good for you,” Esmeralda said.

“He came to see me at the pottery studio,” Alex whispered. “He gave me the spell.”

Esmeralda’s eyes widened. “He? You mean… L-O-K-I?”

Alex nodded sagely. “I hate him. But he just showed up before I could leave. So I picked up the clay cutter and used the enchantment on that. I bet he thought I would pick a knife or something, but the joke’s on him now. I just have a really nice clay-cutter.” She took it out of her pocket. “I dunno, I guess it’s magic now or something. I’ve decided to use it to cut his head off the next time I see him.”

“Really?”

“I told him so,” Alex said. “Hopefully that means he never comes back. He left very quickly after I said that.”

“Good,” Esmeralda muttered.

“I didn’t mean to leave,” Alex said finally. “Something happened.”

Esmeralda wrapped her arms around herself. “Clearly.”

Magnus cleared his throat. “Um, we’ll step over here while you two… talk.” Apparently he sensed that Alex wasn’t in danger of insults from Esmeralda and had picked up on the fact that there was definitely things to work out. He shot Alex a thumbs up as he pulled Hearth further down the street with Jason, Annabeth, and Percy trailing after them.

“So.” Esmeralda glanced after Alex’s friends. “You left by yourself and came back with five new friends. Demigods like you, I’m guessing.”

“Kinda,” Alex said.

The silence between them was deafening. Of course, it wasn’t completely silent. The city was bustling with noise as always, but that seemed to be overwhelmed by the awkward silence between Esmeralda and Alex.

“I’m glad you found good friends,” Esmeralda said eventually. “They seem nice. Do I get to know names?”

Alex sighed. “The tall pale one is Hearth. He looked after Magnus and I when we lived on the streets. Magnus is the blonde boy—the long blonde hair, I mean. Jason’s the other one. Annabeth is Magnus’s cousin and Percy is her boyfriend.” She paused. “Magnus is my boyfriend. In case you were wondering.”

“All the time?”

Alex frowned. “Excuse me?”

“There was that boy that wouldn’t go out with you when you were a boy,” Esmeralda said. “Or when you didn't dress like a girl. I don’t remember his name.”

“Oh.” Alex didn’t remember the boy’s name either. Her eyes flitted in Magnus’s direction. A small smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Yeah. All the time.”

Esmeralda eyed Alex with a smile of her own. “Wow. The great Alex Fierro is smitten. Who would have thought?”

“Shut up,” Alex grumbled. “Magnus is… Magnus.”

“That’s cute,” Esmeralda said. She bit her lip. “Alex… You do know I love you, right? I always did. I… I didn’t understand why you left.”

Alex winced. “Well, I met Magnus and then we got stuck in all this demigod business. I just didn’t see the point in going back to a place I wasn’t welcome when I could stay with a whole group of people who cared about me.”

“What about me?” Esmeralda asked.

Alex didn’t know what to say. Sorry I didn’t remember you because when I time traveled I had already been kicked out of our house for two years and you did nothing to stop it? As if she’d say that.

“You’re better off far away from the demigod world,” Alex said. It wasn’t really an answer, but it was the best she could do.

“Don’t care,” Esmeralda said. “I’m your sister.”

None of that seemed to matter when you watched our father throw me out, Alex wanted to say. That had stuck with Alex throughout her whole life. There had always been two people she could count on. Abuelo and Esmeralda. When Abuelo died, that had been reduced to just Esmeralda. Until the day Alex was thrown out. And Esmeralda didn’t lift a finger to stop it.

Alex thought back to the day she, Leo, and Hazel had gone to the Great Salt Lake in Utah just after the disastrous stop at Camp Jupiter. They had encountered Nemesis who had taken the form of whomever they most wanted revenge on. Leo had seen his Aunt Rosa, and Hazel had seen one of her teachers from the 30s and 40s.

Alex had told Leo, Hazel, and Nemesis that she saw her step-mom, but that had been a lie. It was an easy lie to say she most wanted revenge on her step-mom. With Alex’s past, her friends would have been expecting that. But while Nemesis might have looked like Alex’s step-mom, it wasn’t the woman in question. Rather, it was someone who greatly resembled Alex’s step-mom. Esmeralda Fierro had been who Alex saw Nemesis as. It hadn’t made sense until Alex thought about it more.

Her mortal family had been awful. Her father and step-mother were rude and emotionally and verbally abusive. Esmeralda had been a shining star in the darkness. Which was why her betrayal had hurt so much more than any word her parents threw at her.

“Esmeralda,” Alex began, “now really isn’t a good time. Look, I’ll meet you to talk after my friends and I do what we have to do. I promise. I just… I can’t do this now.” She turned to leave.

“Wait,” Esmeralda called. She looked Alex in the eyes. “Whatever you’re doing, be safe, okay? I want you to come back in one piece.”

Alex smiled ruefully. “I will. And, Esmeralda? Do me a favor? Find out what dad did with my body and get it cremated if he hasn’t. I don’t want to be stuck in some coffin and—oh gods. My poor body would be stuck as a girl forever.”

Esmeralda didn’t look weirded out by this request. She nodded. “I will.” She glanced over Alex’s shoulder at Alex’s friends. “You should go. They look a little antsy.”

Alex followed her sister’s gaze. “Yeah. I’ll see you later. In a week at least. Promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Esmeralda said. She hesitated before wrapping her arms around Alex to give her a quick hug. Then she headed off down the streets.

Chapter Text

MAGNUS LIKED TO PRIDE HIMSELF on his observance of Alex’s boundaries. He also liked to pride himself on his ability to do things that caused Alex to sever his head from his body.

Which is why when Alex rejoined them after talking to her half-sister—whom Magnus had no idea even existed—he pulled back away from his cousin and friends to immediately ask about said sister.

“So. Half-sister?”

Alex frowned. “I told you I had half-siblings.”

“You never talk about them,” Magnus said.

“Never had anything worth saying about them,” Alex said. “Don’t you know the saying, If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all? I didn’t have anything nice to say.”

“Still, Esmeralda seemed nice,” Magnus said. “You had nothing nice to say at all?”

Alex paused. “Not about… my Esmeralda. This Esmeralda? Yes. But… when my father… when I was fourteen… When I left them, Esmeralda said nothing. She didn’t come looking for me. I thought she would have said something.” Alex rubbed her arms uncomfortably. “I was wrong.”

Magnus didn’t really know what to say to that. “Oh.”

“She was the second person I told,” Alex admitted. “That I was transgender. You know my abuelo helped me figure that out—figure out who I was. And I told Esmeralda not long after. And both of them helped me figure out I was genderfluid. Esmeralda never really understood it, but she respected it at least.” She cleared her throat. “We need to meet Blitz now.”

And that was the end of that.

The whole thing piqued Magnus’s curiosity, but as much as he wanted to know what exactly had happened, pressing Alex for answers would likely get him decapitated. And it wasn’t really his place to pressure Alex. Alex would tell Magnus when she was ready. Whether that was a few days or fifty years, Magnus would gladly wait.

“I told my dad there was a chance we’d miss the funeral,” Annabeth was saying as they continued walking down the street. “He said he understood and that he’d be heading back home tonight afterwards if I didn’t see him before then.”

That reminded Magnus.

“Don’t you guys have school?” he asked.

Percy groaned. “Don’t even start that. I’m drowning in SAT prep and DSTOMP prep too. Well, not so much DSTOMP. I technically already took both and DSTOMP wasn’t that bad. It was bad, but I know what to expect now. But the reading section of the SAT? Or the english section? Gods, I’m going to fail those.”

“You’ll be fine,” Annabeth assured him. “He scored a 1200 last time.”

“And you?” Jason asked.

“1450,” Annabeth said, looking pleased with herself. “But only because I can do well analyzing the readings. We’re both fairly good with the math sections since demigod dyslexia doesn’t affect how we see numbers—”

“Math is my best subject,” Percy announced.

“—but the English sections are hard,” Annabeth finished.

When they reached the stairs to the T stop, Blitzen was already there waiting for them. He was wearing a wide-brimmed hat and coat along with large sunglasses, a ski mask, leather gloves, and a scarf. In one hand he carried a black canvas bag.

“That’s a good look on you, Blitz,” Alex said.

Blitz gave her a look. “Hmm. You’ll forgive me if I don’t trust that coming from the kid who wears pink and green together.”

“Yeah, but I make it work,” Alex said.

That is true, Hearth signed.

Blitzen sighed. He caught sight of Annabeth, Percy, and Jason. “Who are they?”

“Blitzen, this is my cousin Annabeth,” Magnus introduced. “That’s her boyfriend Percy and their friend—our friend—Jason. They’re also demigods.”

Greek, Hearth signed.

“That’s new,” Blitz said, giving the Greek—and Roman—demigods a once over through his ridiculously large sunglasses.

Hearth clapped for their attention. You brought him? he asked, looking at Blitz’s bag and shaking his head in disbelief.

Blitz hefted the bag. His face was impossible to read, swaddled in anti-sunlight protection, but his voice was heavy. “Yeah. Capo’s orders.”

“What are you doing here?” a voice cut in sharply.

Magnus turned to see a girl in a brown peacoat and a green headscarf. He fixed a smile to his face. “Hi, Sam.”

Chapter Text

“DID YOU FOLLOW US?” MAGNUS DEMANDED.

Sam glared. “I cannot believe you.”

“Did the Valkyries send her?” Blitz asked.

“No,” Magnus said absently, eyes never leaving Sam. “They put her on probation for picking me up.”

“And who do you think was the first person they went to when you escaped?” Sam asked, crossing her arms. “Me! I’m just lucky Gunilla believed me when I said I didn’t help you escape. Of course she isn’t punishing Alice who was the one who was actually in the Hotel which just proves that she hates children of Loki."

Hearth looked aghast. Children of Loki? He signed. She is also a child of Loki?

“Yeah, we’re siblings,” Alex said dryly. “Don’t wear it out.”

Blitz limped into the shadow of the closed concession stand. He looked like he was having trouble carrying his bowling bag.

“You okay?” Jason asked.

“Legs are just slightly petrified,” Blitzen said. “Nothing to worry about.”

Jason blinked. “That sounds like something to worry about.”

“Can one of you help him?” Magnus asked, exasperatedly.

“I got it,” Percy offered. He moved to take the bag from Blitz.

Sam’s eyes narrowed. “Do I know you?”

Percy froze. “Uh… I don’t know. Do you?”

“I could have sworn I’ve seen you somewhere,” Sam said with a frown. She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you two have been under question, placing Alice and I under question as we are your Valkyries, and now you’ve broken out of the Hotel to team up with a dwarf, an elf, and these three. Not to mention, our dad—” she gestured to herself and Alex “—is currently looking for that sword.”

“Actually, I don’t think my dad knows that sword exists,” Alex said. “Now, mommy dearest on the other hand… he might.”

Sam faltered. “Loki’s your mom?”

Alex blew out a breath. “Yes. Can we move on?”

“Who are they?” Sam asked, pointing at the Greeks.

“I’m Annabeth,” Annabeth said. “Magnus’s cousin. This is Percy and Jason.”

Magnus could see Sam desperately trying not to face palm. Or maybe she was trying not to tear everyone limb from limb. It was kinda hard to tell.

“Maybe we should all take a deep breath,” Blitz said cautiously.

Hearth’s gestures were sharp with irritation. Can’t read your lips. The beard is bad enough. The ski mask—impossible.

Blitz set down the bowling bag, then signed while he spoke. “Everyone here is on the same side. I think.” He gave Sam a suspicious look. “I can’t vouch for you, but Hearth and I have been around Magnus and Alex for a while now. They aren’t working for Loki.”

Alex looked touched. “Aww, Blitz. I never knew you cared.”

Sam crossed her arms. “That still doesn’t explain why you brought three mortals into this.”

“Demigods,” Jason corrected.

“What?” Sam snapped.

“They’re demigods too,” Magnus said.

Sam stared at him for a moment. “You’re telling me that you just happen to have a cousin who is also a demigod and who has two demigod friends? Oh yes, and they just happen to be here the same time as everything that’s happened? Some coincidence!”

“No such thing,” Percy said flatly. “Coincidences don’t exist when you’re a demigod.”

“We knew something big was going down,” Annabeth explained. “Magnus was almost sixteen, so we planned a trip to Boston to help him with whatever came after him.”

“So you aren’t actually homeless,” Sam frowned.

Magnus’s shoulders dropped. “Really? Is that what you got from that?”

“You’re pretending to be homeless,” Sam said.

“No!” Magnus protested. “I actually am homeless! I don’t have a home. Well, okay, now I guess I do, and maybe I stayed at Annabeth’s summer camp for a few years, but—”

“The point is,” Alex interrupted, “that they are going to help us on our quest.”

“And this quest is what exactly?” Sam asked.

“Go east,” Magnus answered. “Make sure no one unbinds the beast.”

Sam shook her head in disbelief. “This is insane.”

Hearth paced. If I had a bow, I’d shoot her.

Blitzen shook his head. “Stick to magic, my friend.”

“What is he saying?” Sam demanded.

“He wants a bow,” Blitz told her. “Even if he would be better without it,” he added pointedly. “Hearth is very good with runes. He knows more rune magic than any living mortal. Among the three mortal species, Hearthstone is the best magician! Well, he’s also the only magician, as far as I know. He’s the first person in centuries to dedicate his life to magic.”

I’m blushing, Hearthstone signed, clearly not blushing.

“My point is, you’ve got real talent,” Blitz told him. “But still you want to be an archer!”

Elves were great archers! Hearth protested.

“A thousand years ago!” Blitzen chopped his hand twice between his opposite thumb and forefinger, the sign for annoyed. “Hearth is a romantic. He longs for the old days. He’s the sort of elf who goes to Renaissance festivals.”

Hearth grunted. I went one time.

“Are you seriously having this conversation right now?” Sam asked.

“I can only understand half of it, but it’s entertaining,” Percy said.

Sam shot him a dirty look.

“Can we call a truce and talk?” Magnus asked, raising his palms. “Then we can kill each other.”

Jason turned slightly green. “I actually object to being killed. Been there, done that, didn’t like it.”

“And I saved your life,” Magnus said.

Sam paced, muttering under her breath. “I should never have chosen you for Valhalla.”

Blitzen snorted. “On that, at least, we agree. If you hadn’t interfered on the bridge—”

“Interfered?” Sam demanded. “Magnus was already dead when I chose him! You and the elf weren’t doing him any good with your plastic sign and your squeaky arrows!”

Blitz stood straight, which didn’t make him much taller. “I’ll have you know my friend is a great rune caster.”

“Really?” Sam asked. “I didn’t see him using magic on the bridge against Surt.”

Hearthstone looked offended. Would have. Got sidetracked.

“Exactly,” Blitz said. “And, as for me, I have many skills, Valkyrie.”

“For instance?”

“For instance, I could fix your disgraceful outfit.”

“He could,” Alex agreed.

“No one wears a brown peacoat with a green headscarf,” Blitz continued.

“A dwarf in sunglasses and a ski mask is giving me fashion advice,” Sam said in disbelief.

“I have daylight issues!”

“Guys,” Magnus said, “stop, please. Thank you. Look, we believe you aren’t working for Loki—”

“You believe,” Blitz muttered.

“—so let’s just let this go now,” Magnus finished. “We’re already doing great. We have the sword. We just have to keep it away from Surt.”

“Assuming we can figure out what’s going on,” Sam said. “Assuming the Norns’ prophecy isn’t as bad as it sounds—”

“One way to find out.” Blitz held up the bowling-ball bag.

“We’re going bowling?” Percy asked.

Sam stepped away. “What’s in there?”

Hearth made a claw and tapped it twice on his shoulder—the sign for boss.

“Answers,” Blitz said, “whether we want them or not. Let’s confer with the Capo.”

Chapter Text

BLITZ LED THEM DOWN THE ESPLANADE, where a pier extended into an icy lagoon. At the base of the dock, a candy-striped pole listed sideways.

Jason eyed the area dubiously. “This Capo lives here?”

“No, we just need water.” Blitz sat on the dock and unzipped the bowling bag.

“Oh, gods.” Sam peered inside. “Is that human hair?”

“Hair, yes,” Blitz said. “Human, no.”

“You mean…” She pressed her hand to her stomach. “You’re not serious. You work for him? You brought him here?”

“He insisted.” Blitz pushed down the sides of the bag, revealing… a severed head.

Alex had never met Mimir before. The beheaded man’s face was shrivelled like a month-old apple. Tufts of rust-coloured hair clung to his scalp. His closed eyes were sunken and dark. His bearded jaw protruded bulldog style, revealing a crooked row of bottom teeth.

Blitz unceremoniously shoved the head in the water, bag and all.

Percy looked disgusted. “Dude. Do the words ‘clean water’ mean anything to you?”

The head bobbed on the surface of the lagoon. The water around it bubbled and swirled. The man’s face inflated, his wrinkles softening, his skin turning pink. He opened his eyes.

Sam and Hearth both knelt. Alex grudgingly knelt next to them. She pulled Magnus down. Jason and Annabeth followed suit, both of them yanking Percy down.

“Lord Mimir,” Sam said. “You honour us.”

The head opened his mouth and spewed water. More came out of his nostrils, his ears, his tear ducts. He reminded Alex of a catfish dragged from the bottom of a lake.

“Man, I hate—” Mimir coughed more water. His eyes turned from chalk white to blue. “I hate travelling in that bag.”

Blitzen bowed. “Sorry, Capo. It was that or the fish tank. And the fish tank breaks easily.”

Mimir gurgled. He scanned the faces on the dock until he found Magnus. “Son of Frey, I’ve come a long way to speak with you. Hope you appreciate it.”

“I sure do,” Magnus said, nodding. His eyes were opened wide and Alex could tell he was mocking the head. Luckily for Magnus, Mimir didn’t seem to know that.

The head cast his eyes around until they landed on Alex. “The child of Loki. You put a serious crimp in my plan when you disappeared with him,” Mimir said, jerking his head at Magnus.

Alex really wished the head would stop talking. Sam looked vaguely surprised that Alex and Magnus had disappeared at some point.

“Who is this?” Percy finally asked.

“A Greek!” Mimir shouted.

Alex pursed her lips.

Greek? Sam mouthed.

“I am Mimir. Once I was mighty among the Aesir. Then came the war with the Vanir. Now I got my own operation.”

“A sear?” Percy repeated. “Van ear?”

“Aesir and Vanir,” Annabeth corrected.

“They’re the two tribes of gods,” Magnus added. “My dad, Frey, is Vanir. The Vanir are fertility gods. The Aesir are war gods.”

Jason looked interested. “I read about that. There was a war, right?”

“There was,” Mimir said gruffly.

“That’s how you lost your head,” Jason continued.

Mimir didn’t look very happy about being reminded like that.

“You’re making him mad,” Alex said.

Mimir huffed. “I’m not mad. You’ll know when I’m mad.”

Alex didn’t know what that meant, but she didn’t think it could mean anything good.

“But yes,” Mimir said. “That’s how I lost my head. See, as part of the truce to end the war, the two godly tribes exchanged hostages. Frey and his father, Njord, came to live in Asgard. The god Honir and I—we were sent to live in Vanaheim.”

“Vanaheim is the realm of the Vanir,” Magnus muttered to Percy. “Asgard is the home of the Aesir.”

More water spouted from Mimir’s ears. “Pay attention,” he snapped. “Your father made me look bad! He was this great general among the Vanir—all golden and shiny and handsome. He and Njord got all kinds of respect in Asgard. As for me and Honir—the Vanir weren’t so impressed.”

“Can’t imagine why,” Percy said.

“Well, Honir was never very, how you say, charismatic,” Mimir said. “The Vanir would ask his opinions on important business. He’d mumble, ‘Yeah, whatever. It’s all good.’ Me, I tried to pull my weight. I told the Vanir they should be getting into casinos.”

“Casinos,” Percy shuddered. “I don’t like casinos.”

“Hmph,” Mimir said. “Busloads of retirees coming to Vanaheim. Easy money. And the Vanir had all these dragons. I told them, racetracks. In the sky. With dragons. They’d make a killing.”

Alex looked at Blitz and Hearth. They seemed resigned, like they’d heard this story many times before.

“So anyway,” said Mimir, “the Vanir didn’t like my worthy counsel. They felt cheated in the hostage swap. As a protest, they cut off my head and sent it to Odin.”

Percy blinked. “That seems like kind of an overreaction.”

Sam coughed loudly. “Of course, great Mimir, both Aesir and Vanir honor you now. And Magnus would never cut your head off. Again.” She glared at Magnus like, You better not.

Alex doubted Magnus would do that. It sounded more like something she would do instead.

Around Mimir’s head, the water bubbled faster. It trickled from his pores and streamed from his eyes.

“Forget about it, son of Frey. I don’t hold a grudge. Besides, when Odin received my severed head, he didn’t take revenge. See, the All-Father was smart. He knew the Vanir and Aesir had to unite against our common enemy, the Triads.”

“Like the mob?” Jason asked.

“Uh…” Blitz adjusted his hat. “I think you mean the giants, boss.”

“Right. Those guys. So Odin carried me to a hidden cave in Jotunheim where this magical spring feeds the roots of Yggdrasil. He placed my head in the well. The water brought me back to life, and I soaked in all the knowledge of the World Tree. My wisdom increased a thousandfold.”

“But… you’re still a severed head,” Percy pointed out.

Mimir made a sideways nod. “It’s not so bad. I operate across the Nine Worlds—loans, protection, pachinko machines—”

“Pachinko,” Magnus repeated.

“Do you have good deals on student loans?” Percy asked. Annabeth elbowed him.

Mimir ignored Percy. “Pachinko is huge. Plus I’m always working to delay Ragnarok. Ragnarok would be bad for business.”

“Right.” Magnus sat down. Alex gratefully followed his example, rubbing out her knees. Out of the corners of her eyes, she could see the others doing the same.

“Also,” Mimir said, “Odin visits me for advice from time to time. I’m his consigliere. I guard the well of knowledge. Sometimes I let travellers drink from its waters, though that kind of intel never comes without a price.”

The word price settled over the dock like a heavy blanket. Blitzen sat so still Alex was afraid he’d turned to stone. Hearthstone studied the grain of the planks.

“No such thing as a free lunch,” Annabeth murmured.

Percy squinted. “Is that a demigod thing?”

“Economics, actually,” Annabeth said. “But it definitely applies to demigods.”

“So, Great and Well-connected Mimir,” Magnus said, “what do you want with us?”

Mimir spat out a minnow. “I don’t have to tell you, boyo. You already know.”

Alex shrugged. “Fair point.”

“We do?” Jason asked.

“Time for a Norse history lesson,” Alex said.

Magnus nodded. “Right. So the fire giant that killed Alex and me is called Surt. He wants to use my sword to free Fenris Wolf.”

Hearth lowered his head. Sam closed her eyes like she was praying.

“Fenris,” said Blitzen. “There’s a name I was hoping never to hear again.”

Mimir kept crying ice water. His lips curled in a faint smile. “There you go, son of Frey. Now tell me: what do you know about Fenris Wolf?”

“He’s my half-brother,” Alex said. “One of three monstrous kids Loki had with a giantess.”

“I was not one of them,” Sam muttered. “I’ve heard all the jokes.”

Hearthstone winced, like he’d been wondering about that.

“One,” Magnus said, “was a huge snake.”

“Jormungand,” Sam said. “The World Serpent, which Odin threw into the sea.”

“The second was Hel,” Jason recalled. “Isn’t she the goddess of the Underworld?”

“Goddess of the dead, yeah,” Alex said. “She rules Helheim where the dishonorable dead go.”

“And the third,” Blitzen said, “was Fenris Wolf.” His tone was bitter, full of pain.

Percy pointed at Blitz. “You know him.”

“Every dwarf knows of Fenris,” Blitz said. “That was the first time the Aesir came to us for help. Fenris grew so savage he would’ve devoured the gods. They tried to tie him up, but he broke every chain.”

“The dwarves made a rope that was strong enough to hold him,” Magnus said.

“Ever since,” Blitzen said, “the children of Fenris have been enemies of the dwarves.” He looked up at Magnus. “You’re not the only one who’s lost family to wolves, kid.”

Magnus looked sad. “Yeah.”

“On Ragnarok,” Alex said, “the Day of Doom, one of the first things that’s supposed to happen is Fenris gets freed.”

Sam nodded. “The old stories don’t say how that happens—”

“But one way,” Blitz said, “would be to cut him loose. The rope Gleipnir is unbreakable, but…”

Frey’s sword, Hearth signed, is the sharpest blade in the Nine Worlds.

“Surt wants to free the Wolf with my father’s sword.” Magnus looked at Mimir. “How are we doing so far?”

“Not bad,” the head burbled. “Which brings us to your task.”

“Stop Surt,” Magnus said. “Don’t let Ragnarok start.”

“Yes,” Mimir said. “But you must hurry.”

Alex grimaced. “Yeah. The Norns’ prophecy. We only have nine days. Well, seven days now.”

Water bubbled out of Mimir’s ears. “You’re correct. The island where the gods imprisoned Fenris is only accessible on the first full moon of each year. That’s seven days hence.”

“Why isn’t it inaccessible every day?” Percy asked. “Then, no one could get there to free him and start the end of the world.”

“I made up that rule,” Mimir said. “So shut up. Keep the sword in your possession. Reach the island before Surt does.”

Sam raised her hand. “Um, Lord Mimir, I understand what you’re asking us to do, but why take the sword to the island? Isn’t that where Surt wants the sword?”

“See, Miss al-Abbas… this is why I’m the boss and you’re not. Yeah, bringing the sword to the island is dangerous. Yeah, Surt could use it to free the Wolf. But Surt is gonna find a way to free Fenris with or without it. I did mention I can see the future, right? The only person who might be able to stop Surt is Magnus Chase—assuming he can wield the sword properly.”

“I can,” Magnus said.

“I hope so,” Mimir said. “Right now, you’re the only living descendant of Frey. A lot of people in the Nine Worlds—gods, giants, bookies, you name it—have been waiting for you to turn sixteen. Some wanted you killed so you couldn’t find and use the sword. Some wanted you to succeed.”

“And you?” Alex asked.

The head snorted. “A risky bet. A lot of possible fates intersect your life, Magnus. You could deal the forces of evil a great setback and delay Ragnarok for generations. Or, if you fail, you could hasten the Day of Doom.”

“I’m guessing you mean like sometime this year,” Percy said.

“How does next week work for you?” Mimir said.

Percy pinched his lips together. “Oh. Yeah, I was picturing like… June.”

“I decided to take the bet,” Mimir said. “After the children of Fenris killed your mother, I sent Blitz and Hearth to guard you. It wasn’t easy. You disappeared for a few years after that. You came back, then left again. Now you’ve gotten yourself killed.”

“If it’s any consolation,” Magnus said. “I didn’t want to die.”

“It’s not,” Blitz muttered.

“To succeed,” said Mimir, “you’re gonna need this team. Hearthstone here—he’s dedicated his life to rune magic. Without him, you’ll fail. You’ll also need an able dwarf like Blitzen who understands dwarven crafting. You might need to strengthen the Wolf’s bindings, or even replace them.”

Blitz shifted. “Uh, boss… my crafting skills are, well, you know—”

“Don’t give me that,” said Mimir. “No dwarf has a stouter heart. No dwarf has travelled further in the Nine Worlds or has more of a desire to keep Fenris chained. Also, you’re in my service. You’ll do what I say.”

“Ah.” Blitzen nodded. “When you put it that way…”

“What about me, Lord Mimir?” asked Sam. “And those three? What’s our part in your plan?”

Mimir frowned. Around his beard, the water bubbled a darker shade of green. “You weren’t part of the plan at all. There’s a cloud around your fate, Miss al-Abbas. Taking Magnus to Valhalla—I didn’t see that coming. It wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Sam looked away, her lips pressed tight with anger.

“Sam’s got a part to play,” Alex said firmly.

“Thanks,” Sam said. “But I chose Magnus because—” She stopped herself. “It was supposed to happen.”

Aka, Odin told you to, Alex thought.

Mimir studied Sam. “I hope you’re right, Miss al-Abbas. Maybe now that he’s an einherji, Magnus will have the strength he will need, in which case you’ve saved the day. Or maybe you’ve completely messed up his destiny.”

“And them?” Sam asked, gesturing to Annabeth, Percy, and Jason.

Mimir eyed them distastefully. “Well, I certainly didn’t count on a bunch of Greeks interfering. I suppose that’s where you were, Magnus Chase? Consorting with Greeks?”

“Greeks?” Sam asked.

“Greek parents,” Annabeth said.

Alex was pretty sure Sam didn’t buy that for a second. Percy was the only one who looked passably Greek. Both Annabeth and Jason looked like California blondes.

“So,” Alex said brightly. “How do we get to the island?”

Mimir nodded, which made him look like an oversize fishing bobber. “Well, that’s the trick, isn’t it? To find that kinda information, I’d have to tear the veils between the worlds, grease a lot of palms, see into the realms of the other gods.”

“So you can?” Jason asked awkwardly.

“Yes,” Mimir agreed. “But it would cost you. Are you ready to be bound to my service?”

Hearth’s face froze in apprehension. From the tension in Blitz’s shoulders, Alex guessed he was trying very hard not to leap to his feet and scream, Don’t do it!

“You couldn’t make an exception?” Percy asked the Capo. “Seeing as how you want this job done?”

“No can do, boyo. I’m not being greedy. It’s just, well, you get what you pay for. Something comes cheap, it ain’t worth much. That’s true for knowledge especially. You can pay for a shortcut, get the information right now, or you’ll have to find it on your own, the hard way.”

Percy muttered something about “ducking gods”. Although, Alex was pretty sure she misheard the ducks part.

Sam crossed her arms. “Apologies, Lord Mimir. I may have been… temporarily kicked out of the Valkyries, but I still consider myself bound to Odin’s service. I can’t take on another master. The others can make their own choice, but—”

“We’ll figure it out on our own,” Magnus agreed.

Mimir made a low sloshing sound. He looked almost impressed. “Interesting choice. Good luck, then. If you succeed, you’ll have a house account at all my pachinko parlours. If you fail… I’ll see you next week for Doomsday.”

The god’s head swirled and disappeared into the icy water of the lagoon.

“He flushed himself,” Percy said.

Hearth looked even paler than usual. What now?

A loud growl came from Magnus’s direction. He flushed. “What? I’m hungry. Can we get lunch?”

Percy beamed. “Yes, we can.”

Chapter Text

“WHAT DID HE MEAN BY GREEK?”

Alex sighed. She should have known that Sam’s silence on the Greek thing was too good to be true. Naturally she had to bring it up now.

“Greek demigods are a thing too,” Magnus blurted.

And naturally, Magnus would be the one to cave first.

“I’m sorry, what is a thing too?” Sam cried.

Annabeth gave her cousin a pinched look. “The Norse gods aren’t the only gods out there. The Greek gods exist too. Percy and I are Greek demigods. Jason is a Roman demigod.”

Sam’s mouth opened and closed a few times. “I—I… Greek? Roman? But…”

“I know,” Magnus grumbled. “It’s weird. You’re Muslim. I’m atheist. They’re— Actually, what are your religious backgrounds?” he asked.

Percy shrugged. “I dunno. I believe in the Greek gods. So… pagan?”

“Hellenism,” Annabeth corrected. “We’d be Hellenistic polytheists.”

“That,” Percy nodded. “I wasn’t religious before I learned I was a demigod, so I guess I was atheist too. But then I just kinda… converted? Yeah, converted—when I got to Camp.”

Alex shrugged. “Grew up knowing Loki was my godly parent. So Åsatrù, or Norse paganism.”

“Religio Romana,” Jason offered. “I grew up knowing about the Roman gods.”

“The Roman religion?” Percy frowned.

Jason grimaced. “There isn’t a name for it. It’s just called the Roman religion. Religio Romana.”

Sam held up a hand. “Okay. Wait. So… so the Greek and the Roman gods are real? Like Zeus and Jupiter and Athena and all that?”

“Yeah,” Annabeth nodded. “I’m a daughter of Athena, Percy’s a son of Poseidon, and Jason is a son of Jupiter.”

Sam let out a breath. “I am going to need to do a lot more soul searching.”

“Sorry,” Magnus said.

“Not your fault,” Sam said. “Just… it’s a lot to take in. When I first learned about this world, I had to figure out where I stood. I don’t accept the idea that the Norse gods are gods. They’re just powerful beings. Some of them are my annoying relatives. But there are no more than creations of Allah, the only god, just like all of us are. But to learn about two other pantheons of gods? That’s a lot, Magnus.”

“Well, maybe,” Alex said carefully, “the way to think about it is human beings have free will, right? So they have free will to worship whoever they want. And God—Allah—had delegated certain tasks to these powerful beings because humans believe they’re doing them anyway.”

Sam gave her a small smile. “Maybe.”

“I don’t really know much about any religion,” Alex admitted.

“It’s a start,” Sam said. She took a deep breath. “Right. Um, I guess we should table this for later. Preferably after we save the world.”

“That sounds like a good time for it,” Magnus agreed.

They continued walking in silence as they trekked through the park. The air smelled of incoming snow. The wind picked up and howled like wolves.

Blitz limped along, zigzagging from shadow to shadow as best he could. Hearth’s brightly striped scarf didn’t match his grim expression. He kept his hands shoved in his pockets—the sign language equivalent of I don’t want to talk.

As they passed under a bridge, Sam grumbled, “Mimir. I should’ve known he was involved.”

“You don’t like him?” Jason asked. “You seemed pretty nice to him.”

“Of course I showed respect when he was right in front of me! He’s one of the oldest gods. But he’s unpredictable. It’s never been clear whose side he’s on.”

Blitzen jumped to the shade of a willow tree, alarming several ducks. “The Capo is on the side of everybody in the world who doesn’t want to die. Isn’t that enough?”

Sam laughed. “I suppose you two work for him of your own free will? You didn’t drink from his well and pay the price?”

Neither Blitz nor Hearth responded.

“That’s what I thought,” Sam said. “I’m not part of Mimir’s plan because I would never blindly go along with it and drink his magical knowledge Kool-Aid.”

“It doesn’t taste like Kool-Aid,” Blitz objected. “It’s more like root beer with a hint of clove.”

“I’m telling you guys, this doesn’t make sense,” Sam said. “Why should we take the Sword of Summer to the very place Surt wants to use it? It’s unwise.”

“You’ve never explained the significance of the sword,” Jason said, looking at Magnus. “What’s the big deal about Surt getting the sword? Other than him using it to free a giant wolf.”

“At Ragnarok, the sword is destined to fall into Surt’s hands,” Alex explained. “A long time ago, Magnus’s father Frey gave away the sword. Because he did that, Surt will take the sword and use it to kill Frey.”

Alex noticed Magnus’s hand flew up to touch his pendant which was the sword’s hidden form.

“According to the stories anyway,” she added. “So who knows for sure.”

“Where are we going for lunch, Magnus?” Sam asked.

“It’s… uh, just up ahead,” Magnus said. “Come on.”

Alex shook her head fondly as Magnus trapsed into the food court at the Transportation Building knowing exactly where he was headed.

On the way in, Blitzen and Hearthstone started towards the garbage cans to check for lunch leavings, but Magnus stopped them.

“Guys, no,” he said. “We’re eating actual meals today. My treat.”

Hearth raised an eyebrow. He signed, You have money?

Magnus glanced at Annabeth. “Or your treat?”

“He’s got that friend here,” Blitzen recalled. “The falafel guy.”

Sam froze in her tracks. “What?” She looked around as if just realizing where we were.

“Yeah, but I’m not going to ask him for eight free meals,” Magnus protested.

“I’ll pay,” Annabeth sighed.

“Oh, gods,” Sam muttered. “Maybe I’ll wait outside. I can’t—”

“Nonsense.” Blitz hooked his arm through hers. “Annabeth said she’s paying.”

Alex contemplated putting Sam out of her misery and saying she could stay outside if she wanted, but Sam allowed Blitz and Hearth to steer her into the food court.

“We’ll get the food,” Annabeth volunteered. “I already know Magnus’s order. I’ll just get a couple orders of that and some other stuff. Percy, Jason, with me.” She dragged the boys to the counter while Alex and Magnus followed Blitz, Hearth, and Sam to a large table.

“They’re getting the food,” Magnus announced.

“Oh thank gods,” Sam said in relief.

Alex sat next to her. “You okay? You don’t have to answer, but you seem shaken.”

Sam tapped her fingers on the table. “No, no, I’m fine.” She fiddled with her headscarf as if she wanted to disappear inside it. “Maybe he’s not there,” she muttered. “Maybe you can say I’m your tutor.”

“Our what?” Blitz asked.

Sam’s cheeks turned pink. “Nevermind.”

Alex peered towards the counter where Annabeth, Percy, and Jason were talking to a guy with slick dark hair. She recognized that guy, and not because he gave Magnus and Alex free falafel from time to time. Alex hid a smile as she remembered how flustered Sam got about Amir.

“So anyway,” Magnus began awkwardly. “You might as well let it out. How do we know Greek demigods?”

Sam leaned back in her chair. “That would be nice to know, yes.”

“About three years ago in December, I met Alex,” Magnus said. “Who was promptly kidnapped shortly thereafter.”

“What can I say,” Alex sighed. “Everybody wants to have me.”

Magnus gave her a look. “Anyway, turns out she was kidnapped by a Greek Titan called Atlas. So my cousin the Greek demigod helped find her. Percy went with us as well as a few others.”

“Things went down on the Greek side and we helped out,” Alex added. “Defeated the Titans, defeated the Giants and Gaea. Came back to Boston to face what was coming and died.”

“You came back to face what was coming?” Sam repeated. “So you knew something was going to happen?”

Magnus shrugged. “Loki has not exactly made it a secret that he wants my father’s sword to start Ragnarok. And my sixteenth birthday was coming up. Something big was going to happen and we were trying to get ahead of it. Obviously, we failed.”

“Food’s here!” Percy’s voice interrupted.

“Hi, Samirah,” a voice said.

Sam’s face froze. She opened her mouth a few times before speaking. “H-hi, Amir. Um…”

Amir and Percy set down trays of food. Steaming squares of spiced ground-beef kibbeh; a stack of lamb kebabs with mint yogurt dip; four fresh slabs of pitta bread filled with deep-fried nuggets of chickpea goodness, drizzled in tahini sauce and garnished with pickle wedges. Oh gods, Alex was starting to sound like Magnus now.

“Yes!” Magnus said with relish, reaching for some.

Alex batted his hand away. “They haven’t even sat down yet.”

“What are you doing here?” Amir asked Sam.

“Study group,” Annabeth answered for Sam. “SAT prep and all that.”

Percy made a face. “I don’t want to talk about SAT prep. Can’t we just eat food?”

Amir grinned. “Good luck.” He did a double take when he saw Magnus. “Whoa, we saw your picture in the newspaper, Magnus. Thought you were dead.”

Alex had no idea how they were going to get out of that one. The first time she and Magnus had ever gone to Fadlan’s Falafel, Magnus had blurted his real name instead of the fake name he was supposed to have given.

“Well, I’m not,” Magnus said awkwardly. “So, uh, how’s your pop?”

Amir gave him a wary look. “He’s at the Somerville location today. Do I want to know what’s going on?”

“Probably not,” Alex said. “Hi, Amir.”

“Hey, Alex.” Amir offered a strained smile. “Okay! Well, Samirah, say hi to Jid and Bibi for me. And good luck with your study group.”

“Sure,” Sam said.

Amir left the table in silence.

“I’m not the only one who felt the tension, right?” Jason finally asked.

Sam pulled her scarf a little lower over her forehead. “Don’t sit too close to me. Try to look like we’re talking about your SAT prep stuff.”

“You knew that guy,” Jason said.

“He’s my cousin,” Sam blurted. “Second cousin, twice removed. Or something.”

Blitz had taken off his ski mask and glasses. He raised an eyebrow at Sam, but said nothing.

“Can we talk about something else?” Sam asked.

Annabeth nodded. “Sure. We need to find a way to this island with a world ending wolf. Any ideas?”

“Blow it up,” Percy said. “No more wolf.”

“Doesn’t work like that,” Blitz said. He picked up a plastic fork and spun it sullenly on the table. “Fenris is part of Ragnarok. He won’t die until then. If we want to find the island, we’ll need to talk to someone who knows where it is.”

Percy blinked. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

“He means dwarves,” Alex said. “Right?”

Blitz sighed. “Unfortunately.”

“You know where we have to go?” Jason asked.

“No, but other dwarves do,” Blitz said.

Hearth made a series of gestures.

“Yeah,” Blitz nodded. “We’re going to have to go to Nidavellir.”