Chapter 79: My first day in my eternal afterlive

(Magnus POV)

I entered my room and I exhaled the fresh air. My shoes sank into the thick green grass.

My room was amazing, and far better than I deserved.

Four large oak trees ringed the garden like pillars. The lower branches spread into the room across the ceiling, interweaving with the rafters. The taller branches grew up through the opening of the atrium, making a lacy canopy.

The suite was shaped like a cross, with four sections radiating from the central atrium. Each wing was as large as my old apartment.

One was the entry hall where we'd come in. The next was a bedroom with a king-size bed. Despite its size, the room was spare and simple: beige covers and fluffy-looking pillows on the bed, beige walls with no artwork or mirrors or other decoration.

Heavy brown curtains could be drawn to close off the space. I remembered when I was a kid, how my mom used to make my room as no-frills as possible. I'd always found it hard to sleep

indoors unless I had total darkness and nothing to distract me.

Looking at this bedroom, I felt like somebody had reached into my mind and pulled out exactly what I needed to be comfortable.

The wing to the left was a dressing area/ bathroom tiled in black and beige, my favourite colours. The perks included a sauna, a hot tub, a walk-in wardrobe, a walk-in shower.

The suite's fourth wing was a full kitchen and living room. At one end of the living room, a big leather couch faced a plasma screen TV with about six different game systems stacked in the media cabinet. On the other side, two recliners sat in front of a crackling fireplace and a wall of books.

I crashed down on the sofa and noticed my hands were shaking uncontrollably. Frey was my father. My father was a Norse god.

I got up and skittered through the room, trying to find a book.

Finally I found the book I was looking for, a old children's book about the Norse Mythology.

I opened it and skipped through the pages, trying to find one abou my dad.

Finally I found the page dedicated to him. One tiny picture showed a blond guy in a tunic frolicking in the woods, a blonde lady at his side, a couple of cats playing at their feet. Frey was the god of spring and summer! read the caption. He was the god of wealth, abundance and fertility. His twin sister, Freya, the goddess of love, was very pretty! She had cats

I groaned and closed the book, "Great." I muttered, "My dad is a Norse god who doesn't even has his own cat."

I glared at the book I tossed to the ground. There were no stories about dying with a sword in your hand. No stories about fire giants, Norns or magical swords that can be summoned from the bottom of the sea.

Nothing.

And right now it felt like the book was mocking me, He was the god of wealth, abundance and fertility. And his kid was lived on the streets and was forced to eat garbage from trash bins.

A cosmic joke.

Not that I really cared, My dad was never a big issue to me. I had my mom, Nathalie Chase, was all I needed. I felt complete without my dad.

But right now, I could use some help.

I had some burning questions. Why was I attacked by Surt? Couldn't he target a child of Thor? Why a child of a summer god? And what was going on with the sword?

The sword of Summer Sam had called it. Right before she vanished she told me and Percy to retrieve it.

But if it was so important, why was it left abandoned for centuries on the bottom of the sea?

Uncle Randolph was searching it for years. If it had belonged to my dad, and my dad was an immortal god, why had he allowed his weapon to sit at the bottom of a river for a thousand years?

But instead of answers I received more questions, just when I thought: Valhalla, well now I know everything.

My life crashed down like a card house.

My only friend right now was considered bad luck and was not even Norse, but a Greek demigod. Does this mean the Greek gods are real too? Probably, and it did not made my life any better. Right now it would not surprise me if someone told me that the Egyptian Gods are real too.

Percy and I both got an Prophecy, I received it from the Norns. Percy received it...I don't know what happened with him.

But I had m

y own problems to worry about.

The Norns' words kept playing in my head, though I wanted to forget them.

Harbinger of the Wolf. I remembered what a harbinger was now: something that signalled the arrival of a powerful force, like a doorman announcing the president, or a red sky before a hurricane

Wrongly chosen, wrongly slain.

'A little late to announce that now.' I thought. 'I was a freaking einherji.'

A hero Valhalla cannot contain.

I liked this line better. Maybe it meant I could bust out of here. Or I guessed it could mean that the thanes would vaporize me in a burst of light or feed me to their magical goat.

Nine days hence the sun must go east,

Ere Sword of Summer unbinds the beast.

Those lines bothered me the most. Last I checked, the sun moved east to west. And who was the beast? I was betting a wolf, because it's always a stinking wolf.

If the sword was supposed to let loose a wolf, the sword should've stayed lost.

Yet Sam insisted Percy and I had to find the sword, how? I don't know. I didn't even know if Percy had the time to help me, knowing he had his own prophecy.

I decided I should sleep. I didn't feel tired, but if I stayed awake thinking any longer my brain would overheat.

But turns out, sleeping would not give me rest either.

"Magnus, good to see you!" a familiar voice said.

I opened my eyes. I was standing in a pavilion ringed with grey stone columns. Outside was nothing but empty sky.

The air was thin. Cold wind whipped across the marble floor, stirring the fire in the central hearth, making the flames gutter in the braziers on either side of the tall dais. Three steps led up to a double throne – a loveseat of white wood carved with intricate shapes of animals, birds and tree branches.

The seat itself was lined with ermine. Sprawling across it, eating PopTarts from a silver wrapper, was the man in the Red Sox jersey.

"Welcome to Hlidskjalf." He grinned, his scarred lips like the sides of a zipper. "The High Seat of Odin."

"You're not Odin," I smartly noticed.

The guy chuckled.

"You are Loki!" I called out, suddenly remembering it.

"You got me," he said and threw up his hands, "You are to smart."

"What are you doing here?" I asked, "I thought I was going to sleep."

Loki made a tsk tsk sound, "You are sleeping. This is just a dream. Anyway I wanted to talk to you, about the throne."

He gestured towards the throne he sat one.

"Why would I care?"

Loki ignored my question, "Hlidskjalf is the name of this throne. Frey once sat here."

"I don't care."

He raised his eyebrow, "You don't? But it's so important. Especially if you want to know about the sword."

He saw my expresion changed and he knew he had me.

"This throne, it's illegal to sit on it, except if your Odin."

"Then why are you sitting on it?" I asked.

"This is a illusion, otherwise I would not risk such a thing. It's the throne of Odin and Frigg, the king and queen. They can sit here and see anywhere in the Nine Worlds. They merely have to concentrate and they will find whatever they are looking for."

I sighed, "Okay, I bite. What did my dad do?"

"Sitting on the throne can be a curse, your father sat on it."

He shook his head like he felt sorry for Frey, "but instead of seeing what he was looking for, he saw what he most desired. It ruined his life. It's the reason he lost his sword. He –"

Loki winced. "Excuse me.''

He turned his head, his features contorting like he was about to sneeze. Then he let loose a scream of agony. When he faced me again, wisps of steam rose from the scar tissue across the bridge of his nose.

"Sorry," he said. "Every so often the poison splashes in my eyes."

"The poison." I remembered a fragment of a myth. "You killed somebody. The gods captured you and tied you up. There was something about poison. Where are you now, really?"

He sighed, "Where I always am. The gods kept me properly restrained."

He gave me a twisted grin, "But every now and then I can send out a part of my essence to the open world."

"So you can tell me bedtime stories?"

Loki spread his arms, "Exactly! Now where was I? Oh, yes. Your father sat on the throne. When your father sat on this throne, what he saw doomed him. He gave his sword away. It passed to his servant and messenger, Skirnir."

"And he lost it?" I guessed.

He applauded, "Exactly. His descendent died on sea and the sword was lost. waiting for someone to reclaim it – someone who had the right to wield the blade."

"Me?" I asked, though I did not feel worthy to wield anything.

"Ah, but you aren't the only one who can use the sword. We know what will happen at Ragnarok. The Norns have told us our fates. Frey … poor Frey, because of the choices he made, will die at the hands of Surt. The lord of the fire giants will cut him down with his own lost sword."

I winced, "That's why he was after me. He wants the sword to start Ragnarok."

"Not only that. He'll use the sword to set in motion a chain of events to hasten Doomsday. In eight days, unless you stop him, he will cut loose my son, the Wolf."

"Your son is a wolf?" I asked flabbergasted.

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, my son is a wolf. Why does everyone ask that?"

My mind jumped to a different question, "Wait … aren't you destined to fight against the gods at Ragnarok, too?"

"Yes, but that was the gods' choice, not mine. The thing about fate, Magnus: even if we can't change the big picture, our choices can alter the details. That's how we rebel against destiny, how we make our mark. What will you choose to do?" Loki asked, "You should ask your friend Percy. He knows all about fate."

"What do you mean with Percy?" I asked.

Loki rolled his eyes, "Percy knows all about fate, the point is, can you trust him?"

I frowned, "Why should I not trust him?"

Loki shrugged, "I'm not telling you that you should not trust him. Or anything you should do. That's the difference between me and the other gods. I'll only ask you this question: If you get the chance- and you will- will you follow your heart desire knowing it will doom you?"

I swallowed. Loki's eyes unnerved me. They had that same intense glow as Sam's, but Sam kept the flames under control. Loki's gaze flitted restlessly like the fire in the hearth, pushed by the wind.

He winked at me.

My dream changed. Loki vanished.

The braziers burst, showering hot coals across the dais, and the High Seat of Odin erupted in flames. The clouds turned into rolling banks of volcanic ash.

Above the burning throne, two glowing red eyes appeared in the smoke.

YOU. The voice of Surt washed over me like a flamethrower.

YOU HAVE ONLY DELAYED ME. YOU HAVE EARNED A MORE PAINFUL, MORE PERMANENT DEATH.

I tried to speak. The heat sucked the oxygen from my lungs. My 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. I couldn't breathe, couldn't see.

My eyes flew open.

I bolted upright, gasping for air. I was in bed in my hotel room. Surt was gone. I touched my face, but it wasn't burned. No axe was embedded there. All my battlefield wounds had vanished.

Still, my whole body was buzzing with alarm.

I lay still, listening, watching. Nothing.

It was safe.

Over by the entrance, a piece of paper slid under my door. I sat up groggily. Maybe the management was giving me the bill and letting me check out.

I staggered towards the door. My hand trembled as I picked up the paper, but it wasn't a bill. 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 armour.

T.J.

I jumped in the shower, trying to calm myself down.I padded to the closest to search for clothes. Inside were three sets of blue jeans, three green T-shirt, underwear, socks, a pair of good running shoes and a sheathed sword. Leaning against the ironing board was a circular green shield with the golden rune of Frey painted in the middlets.

Okay, then. I guess I knew what I was wearing today.

I practised swinging the sword. I wondered if it would start humming and guiding my hand, the way the sword on the bridge had done when I faced Surt. But no. This blade seemed to be a regular piece of non-humming metal with no cruise-control feature.

Disappointed I sheathed the sword.

I looked in the mirror again. 'You, sir,' I muttered, 'look like a huge dork.' My reflection did not argue. 236/1044 I went out to find breakfast and kill it with my sword.

I left my room and went looking for the breakfast. T.J's instructions helped me and I found it without much problems.

"There he is." T.J. rose and grabbed my hand. "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 Tshirt, jeans and leather boots.

With him sat the half-troll X, the redhead Mallory Keen and a guy I guessed was Halfborn Halfborn, who looked like Robinson Crusoe on steroids.

His 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.

Next to Halfborn sat Percy Jackson, he wore a white shirt and a black jacket over it and ragged jeans. Strapped to his back he had a circular shield, around 2,5 feet wide, the shield had a snowflake engraved into it and I was pretty sure the entire shield was made of ice. I didn't see any other weapons so I assumed Percy would slam the shield into someone's head.

Next to him sat a full grown lion with golden fur, eating what seems to be donuts?

I blinked, none of my hallmates were concerned with the lion eating donuts.

My hallmates made room for me, which was pretty neat.

Compared to the main feast hall, lounge nineteen was downright intimate.

Scattered around the room were a dozen tables, most unoccupied. In one corner, a fireplace crackled in front of a beat-up sofa. Along the other wall, a buffet table was laden with every kind of breakfast food imaginable.

T.J. and company had parked themselves in front of a big picture window overlooking a vast field of ice and swirling snow.

It made no sense, considering that it was summer in my atrium right down the hall, but I'd already learned that the hotel's geography was wack.

"That's Niflheim," T.J. explained, "the realm of ice. The view changes daily, cycling through the Nine Worlds."

"I've been to Niflheim," Percy said absently while ruffling through his lion's manes.

"Nine worlds?" I said skeptically, "There are nine worlds?"

My hallmates nodded. "Been to six." Mallory said.

"Five." Halfborn grinned.

"What are the actual names?" Percy asked, which was a good question.

"Niflheim, Muspelheim, Asgard, Midgard, Jotunheim, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Svartalfheim, Helheim." Halfborn grinned.

"Jeez, you can remember all nine of them?" Mallory said sarcastically.

"Disney world." X grunted.

Mallory sighed. With her red hair, green eyes, and icing sugar around her mouth, she reminded me of a reverse-colour-scheme Joker. "For the last time, you numbskull, Disney World is not one of the nine."

"What about the Duat?" Percy asked.

"What's the Duat?" T.J asked.

"Nevermind." Percy quickly said.

"Is that a Greek thing?" Mallory asked.

Percy shrugged, "Too weird to explain."

"How'd you ot in Valhalla anyway?" Halfborn asked.

Percy shrugged, "Got some stuff to do, figured if I could escape Valhalla I could return to my friends."

"But now, we are stuck with you. A Greek child of Poseidon and a child of Frey." Mallory said.

"Don't worry," T.J said, "Look at X, first he was rejected too."

"X is his real name?" I asked.

"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, Chica"go?"

"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. He died while he was freeing the dogs and fighting of the gangsters. Sam thought he was worthy and brought him to Valhalla. That decision gave her a lot of trouble."

"And now we have you two?" Mallory said with fake cheerfulness.

T.J gave Mallory a accusing look. "It's just that prejudice dies hard. When I got here in 1863, I wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms, either.'

"You died in 1863?" I asked, then I realized he was literally wearing a Civil war uniform.

"But you won them over with your warm personality!" Mallory said rolling her eyes.

Halfborn leaned towards me. "Don't mind Mallory. She's a sweetheart, once you get past the fact that she's a horrible person."

"Shut up." Mallory said but with a smile.

"Don't worry about last night," T.J told Percy and then glanced at me, "Within a hundred decades they forgot about yesterday."

"I'll escape Valhalla anyway." Percy said casually, "I'm not going to stay here any longer."

"Take me with you." I said.

"You can't leave Valhalla without the permission of Odin." Halfborn said.

"But theoraticaly we can leave Valhalla anytime? Go back to earth?" I asked hopeful.

"Look, I know that business with the Norns must be driving you bonkers, but we don't know what the prophecy means. Give the thanes some time to decide what to do. You can't rush off and do something 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.

Percy tried stopping a murder by asking, "But we can sneak out?"

T.J. coughed loudly. "Sorry, I didn't hear that. I'm sure you weren't asking about anything against the rules. First of all: if you returned to Midgard so soon, how would you explain it to those who knew you? Everyone thinks you're dead."

Percy shrugged, " I can work around it."

"Me too!" I said a bit to excited.

T.J. shifted uncomfortably. "Valhalla has doors into every world. The hotel is designed that way. Most exits are guarded, but … well, there are a lot of ways to Boston, since Boston is the centre of Midgard."

I glanced around the table. Nobody was laughing.

"It is?" I asked.

"Sure," T.J. said. "It's right at the trunk of the World Tree, the easiest spot from which to access the other worlds. Why do you think Boston is called the Hub of the Universe?"

"Wait, the nine worlds are in an actual tree?" I asked trying to imagine nine worlds hanging on the trunk like birdhouses.

"Percy, I don't know if it helps, but the Nine Worlds aren't really separate planets. They're more like … different dimensions, different layers of reality, all connected by the World Tree."

"So it's not like the Duat?" Percy asked.

"What is the Duat?" I asked again.

T.J. waved it away, "The world tree is an actual tree. Boston is the Nexus, That's why the Vikings went to Boston, because they knew it was close to the world tree."

Mallory gave Percy a disgusted look. "T.J. will take forever when answering a yes/no question. The answer is yes, for you two it is possible to leave, with or without permission."

Percy and I exchanged glances, I could already see that Percy was determined to get out.

"But if you die outside Valhalla," Halfborn warned. "You won't be revived. Your soul might go to Helheim. Or you might simply dissolve into the primordial void – Ginnungagap. Hard to know. It's not worth the risk. "

"Unless they are suposed to find the sword." T.J said, "If that's the case-"

"It's their first day." Halfborn said and patted me on the shoulder, which almost killed me.

In the hallway, a horn blasted.

At the other tables, einherjar started to get up and clear their plates.

Halfborn rubbed his hands eagerly. "Talking will have to wait. It's battle time!"

"Battle time," X agreed.

Mallory had a smug smile on her face. "I want to see how the Greek and son of Frey fight?"

"Fight?" I muttered.

=================

Long chapter, kind of a filler but I need to spurt out some information before the plot can start.