“Thirteen, like you. But there’s thirteen, and then there’s thirteen. You’re small-town. It’s a whole different thing. Plus, you’re a guy.”
“What difference—?”
“Astrid was not small-town thirteen. She’s probably not even thirteen. She totally played you, like a city girl would.” Reyna looked up at him and batted her lashes, her eyes round. “Oh, Matt. You’re so big and strong and—”
“It wasn’t like that,” he said with a scowl, even as his face heated.
“Sure it was. I heard her.”
“Okay, sure, she did that, but it just made me…” He shrugged as if trying to throw off the feeling. “I just… I felt bad for her. She seemed like she was trying to help, and Fen kept giving her a hard time, and no one really seemed to want her there. So I felt like I should do better.”
“Exactly. You were being nice. I rest my case.”
She was needling him, and no matter what he said, she was going to take it as proof of her point. Whatever that point might be. It seemed to change with every passing second.
“You need your hammer back.”
“Really?” Matt said. “Huh. Thanks. I had a feeling I was missing something, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.”
“See? There. Doesn’t that feel better?”
“Reyna, I appreciate whatever you’re trying to do—”
“No, you don’t. You want me to get lost. Go on. Tell me.”
“Why? So you can leave again and then tell me it’s my fault?”
She grinned. “Touché. You’re getting better at this.”
“Better at what?” He shook his head. “Never mind. You want me to be mean? Go back to camp, Reyna. I’m trying to figure out a plan, and you aren’t helping.”
“Much better. For the record, that’s not mean. It’s honest. But either way, I’m not leaving. You need a plan, and I’m here to help you find it so you can stop moping and get us moving.”
“I’m not mop—”
“How about brooding? Do you like that better? It has a more heroic air, don’t you think?”
“Reyna…”
“You need to call the Valkyries.”
He stopped walking and turned to her.
“What?” she said. “Do you have any idea how to find the hammer on your own? Besides digging for a very, very long time.”
“It’s not still down there. He took it. Somewhere.”
“Exactly. Somewhere. You don’t know where, and you can’t know where, which is why you need the folks who tipped you off in the first place. Call the Valkyries.”
He shook his head. “I’ve bothered them enough.”
“When’s the last time you called them?”
“I haven’t. But they needed to rescue us just the other day. From the bison.”
“They rescued you from—?” Reyna shook her head. “I don’t want to know. So when else have they rescued you?”
“Well, never, but I’m supposed to do this on my own. They told me where to find Mjölnir, right after they gave me my goats.”
“Goats? No, again, I don’t want to know.” She paused. “Wait, actually, I do. You get goats?”
“Magical battle goats.”
“Of course. So you get magic goats, a magic necklace, a magic hammer, a magic shield. You’re like the favorite child who gets all the best Christmas gifts. What does Freya have?”
“Um, a magic cloak.”
She waved that off. “Got it already. What else?”
“There’s the boar, Hildisvini.”
“Who? What?”
“Hildisvini. He’s a boar. It’s a wild pig—”
“I know what a boar is. That’s almost as bad as goats. What else?”
“Um… swans, I think?”
“Swans? Great. You get killer goats, and I get pretty birds.”
“Have you ever met a swan? They’re vicious. I think I’d rather take my chances with a goat.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really? Now that would be cool. Everyone would think they were just pretty birds and then they attack. Stealth swans.”
Matt laughed. “I guess so. Well, we can always see if we can find your—”
“Uh-uh. You’re not distracting me. Back to the Valkyries. The point is that they’ve only rescued you once, and you’ve never actually tried to summon them. Now you need to.” Reyna lifted her hand as he started to protest. “You feel stupid, falling for that zombie’s trick, so you want to fix this on your own. But it was an understandable mistake. The guy’s a thousand years old. Of course he’s going to be smarter than you. More cunning, anyway. You’re a kid. You’re going to mess up. The Valkyries know that.”
“But—”
“But nothing. If you don’t call them, then we’re all stuck in a carnival fun house, banging around in the darkness, looking for the exit. I don’t like fun houses. You can get us out of here, Matt, so do it. Before Ray and I decide to take another vacation and wait for your call.”
“Um, pretty sure your last vacation didn’t go so well.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just call the warrior women. The sooner this is over, the sooner we can all go home.”
Is that what she thought? That Ragnarök was a mere obstacle to overcome, like a final exam or a prize bout? Get it done and go home? No. When he looked at her, he saw the traces of worry in her eyes and heard a tremor in her voice. She was afraid it wasn’t nearly that simple, but she’d pretend it was. It was easier that way.
“I don’t know how to call them,” he said, then hurried on, in case it sounded like an excuse. “I’ll try. I just don’t know if—”
“I don’t need the disclaimer, Matt. If you fail, there’s no one here to make fun of you. It’s just me.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“I won’t say a word if you can’t do it, okay? You get a free pass this time. Now go.”
Matt closed his eyes and focused all his power on calling Hildar, and when he did…
Nothing happened. He didn’t really expect it would, not that easily, so he kept working on it, kept calling her, in his mind at first, and finally, when he did start to get frustrated, saying the words aloud.
“I know I made a mistake,” he said. “I lost Mjölnir—”
“Stop,” Reyna said.
Matt opened his eyes. She was sitting on the ground, hands on her knees, palms up, as if she’d been using some kind of magic, trying to help.
“Stop apologizing,” she said. “They’re warriors. They don’t want to hear you grovel. Not unless you’re an enemy fighter, almost dead on the battlefield, and then they’ll only run you through with a spear to put you out of your misery.”
“How do you know they’d do that?”
She shrugged. “That’s what I’d do.”
Matt resisted the urge to step back and remembered that Freya was said to be the true leader of the Valkyries. That might explain a few things….
“Okay, let me try again.”
It took a while. He started asking nicely, and Reyna made him do it more forcefully and they kept going like that—back and forth—until he was practically ordering the Valkyries to appear.
And they did.
Matt heard them first, roaring through the forest. Before he could even see where the noise came from, the riders were upon them, galloping into the clearing and stopping short, with Hildar at the lead.
“You called, son of Thor?” she said.
“Um, yeah. I… well, I kinda lost—”
Reyna elbowed him and he cleared his throat.
“Mjölnir was taken from me. I was tricked by Glaemir, king of the draugrs. I feel foolish for that, but I need to get it back.”
“You do.”
“Which means I need to know where to find Glaemir.”
“You do.”
Matt took a deep breath. “Could you please help me find Glaemir?”
“We will take you to him when you are ready.”
“Oh, I’m ready right—”<
br />
“You are not. Who is this Glaemir?”
“King of the draugrs.”
“Which means you will not find him alone with his prize, will you? He has a legion of draugrs at his disposal.”
“A leg—legion?” Matt’s heart sank.
“Yes. However, most are not in his court. He will summon them, of course, to protect his great treasure, but they cannot travel as he does, flying through the earth. It will take time. Until then, he has only two score warriors.”
“Two—two score? Forty?”
“Which is why you need to prepare. Summon your goats. Have Odin summon the rest of his Berserkers. Ready yourself for a difficult battle. Even we will fight alongside you.”
“Can I get my swans?” Reyna asked.
Hildar turned to her. “Freya does not have swans.”
“Right,” Matt said. “I got that wrong. Sorry. Freya is said to be the leader of the Valkyries, who are swan maidens.”
“We are not swan maidens,” Hildar said, straightening and lifting her sword.
“But you can turn into swans.”
“No, we are not swans.”
“Not even vicious killer swans?” Reyna asked.
“No.”
“Okay, but I’m still your leader, right? Like Matt said. Freya—”
“No.” Hildar hesitated. “You are not battle proven. You may lead us one day. But we are still not swans.”
“So what do I get?” Reyna asked.
“You already have the cloak.”
“How about this boar Matt mentioned?”
“Not yet, daughter of Freya.” Hildar paused, as if thinking. “There is the chariot drawn by cats.”
“Cats? Like leopards? Tigers?”
“Just cats. House cats, I believe you call them.”
“Are they vicious?”
Hildar eyed her. “The daughter of Freya seems bloodthirsty.”
“I’m supposed to be your leader, aren’t I?”
“It was not a complaint,” Hildar said. “Merely an observation. No, for now, I believe the cloak is enough.”
“And what about us?” said a voice behind them. It was Baldwin, coming through with Fen, Laurie, and Ray, who must have heard the horses. “Not to be greedy, but what do we get?”
“You can’t be killed,” Reyna said. “I’ll trade my falcon cloak for that.”
“But you also have magic,” Baldwin said to her.
“What about me?” Ray said. “What does Frey get?”
“His sister,” Hildar said.
“What?” Ray said, his face screwing up.
“You have your sister’s protection and, if she deems fit, the use of her items.”
“Oh.”
“There’s also a ship,” Matt said. “Frey’s ship. Skíðblaðnir.”
“Try saying that five times fast,” Baldwin whispered.
“Enough,” Hildar said. “We are not celebrating Jarlstag early this year. You will receive the gifts that you require as you require them, if you require them. If you are questioning why the children of Thor and Loki receive more, their battles are the pivotal ones, and I do not believe any of you would wish to take their places.”
“That’s fine,” Reyna said. “We weren’t complaining. Just asking.”
“Nothing wrong with asking,” Baldwin said.
Everyone nodded, seeming satisfied with the answer. Or almost everyone. Fen hadn’t said a word, but he didn’t seem pleased.
“Are you sure I can’t have the boar?” Reyna said.
“I am sure. Ask again, and you will get the cats, whether you wish them or not. Now let us prepare for battle.”
TWENTY-ONE
LAURIE
“TRUTHS, GOATS, AND BERSERKERS”
I need to talk to you,” Laurie whispered to Fen, pulling him away from the others. “In private.”
She took his arm and started tugging him back toward the camp. It wasn’t really like they needed to be there, and Fen wasn’t even speaking. She led him back to the camp, away from the others. She wished they had even more space—and more time—to have this conversation, but what she had was the woods where there were Valkyries and the rest of the descendants or the campsite where Owen and the Berserkers were. Neither Owen nor his people would interrupt her, so she walked toward the camp.
Fen followed silently.
Laurie knew he was already angry, as well as torn up over the almost arrest, but she couldn’t keep this to herself. After Owen had told her that she was Loki’s champion, she hadn’t known what to say or do. She knew that it made sense—as much as it didn’t. She didn’t want to be left out of the final fight, didn’t want her friends to fight without her, but she wasn’t sure she liked the idea of being a champion. The myths said that Loki led the monsters, and although Laurie hadn’t believed that Fen would, there was even less chance that she would.
She thought about everything that had happened since they’d left Blackwell. She’d been the one who had a new power, and she’d been the one who was able to use the ghost arrows. Helen had given her the map. Things that she’d thought were proof that she was a part of the team now seemed to mean more.
“Fen?” She spoke quietly. “I think I need to tell you something.”
He walked over to his sleeping bag, glaring at Owen, who watched the two of them with a strange, sad look. He was a good guy; she saw that, but she understood why Fen acted like this. For years, his life had been about protecting her. He’d been even worse now that they were facing a pending apocalypse. He was fine with Matt and Baldwin and maybe even with Ray and Reyna being around her. Owen bothered him, though, partly because he thought Owen liked her. She’d thought that, too, but now she realized that Owen had been so nice because he knew she was a champion.
She was terrified, more so than before. She’d gotten so used to arguing for the right to fight at Fen’s side that now that she had to fight, she was unsure of what to feel. She could do it. She would. It was scary, though, especially if Fen wasn’t with her.
When she didn’t speak, Fen grabbed his sleeping bag and said, “Sounds like we missed at least one of the monster battles.” He shook his sleeping bag before beginning to roll it up. “I think I’d rather fight horses than zombies. Too many dead things and gross things and—”
“Fen,” she interrupted.
He stared at her, sleeping bag rolled and in his arms.
“What if another one of our great-great-whatever’s descendants was the champion?” Laurie tried to keep looking at him, hoping that she wasn’t going to lose her best friend and almost-brother. “I mean, when the Norn pointed at the fair, what if Matt thought she meant you, but…”
“What if she meant you?” Fen finished when her words faded.
Laurie nodded.
“Then I’d have to stop trying to send you home, where you’re safer,” he said with a shrug.
For a moment, she stared at him and frowned. “That’s it?”
“You weren’t going to go home anyhow,” Fen added. “You have the bow now, too. That helps keep you farther from the worst of the fights.”
“Fen! Be serious for a minute.”
Silently, Fen opened his bag and pushed the edge of the sleeping bag into it. The bag worked almost like a vacuum, pulling the whole thing inside without any pushing or shoving on his part. Once that was done, Fen swung the bag onto his back. “I’m not exactly the obvious pick for a hero anyhow. I don’t know why anyone thought it could’ve been me. Seems pretty stupid if you think about it.”
“I don’t think so,” she objected. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug. When he didn’t say anything else, Laurie did as she always had: she said the thing that would make Fen feel better. “He might be wrong about me, you know.”
Fen snorted and pulled back from her. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Hey!” She head-bumped his shoulder.
He bumped her back. “I’m staying for the fight, though. I might not be all god-rep
resenting now, but Uncle Stig would thrash me if you got hurt, even if it is because you were stopping the end of the world.”
She swallowed, trying not to think about the battle and being in the middle of it and the risk of failing. She felt braver when he was at her side, and she’d been afraid that he’d leave. All she could say was, “Thank you. I don’t think I can do it without you.”
“Of course you could. You won’t need to, but you could.”
They both looked up then as Matt and Reyna came toward them. Matt was smiling in that we-can-totally-do-this way again, and Laurie felt relief wash over her. Having both boys acting so glum had been hard. Fen seemed fine with her news, and he wasn’t leaving her side. Now that they’d talked, it was almost as if his lingering upset over the arrest fiasco and Owen’s attitude had vanished. Similarly, now that there was a plan, Matt was himself again.
“Come over here,” Matt called as he went toward the table, where Owen was still sitting like one of the silent statues in Hel.
As they started over, Fen said quietly to her, “I still don’t like Owen, and you don’t need to be walking off alone with him. Uncle Stig wouldn’t be pleased about that, either.”
Laurie felt her cheeks burn. “Fen!”
“Seriously, that’s three times now you’ve talked to him alone. Please don’t do it again.”
Mutely, she nodded. Now that she finally knew the secret Owen had been trying to get her to figure out on her own, there wasn’t any reason for him to want to be alone with her.
“Okay, so Hildar said that Glaemir only has some of his people with him, forty or so, and I already told the… goats to meet us there.” Matt paused sort of awkwardly. “Hildar gave me directions that the goats could follow, so they’re on the move.”
“The goats are on the move,” Baldwin said in a low voice before cracking up.
The twins smiled at him. Fen rolled his eyes, but like everything Baldwin did, Fen thought it was fine. Even Owen’s lips curled in a small grin.
“Owen, do you have more Berserkers or just these?” Matt asked.
For a moment Owen looked tense, but then he merely said, “I already had Vance summon the rest of the Berserkers on the way back from Evan’s Plunge. They will meet us there. This was the next step.”
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