“Oh em gee,” Tia said, arriving at the mushrooms. “What exactly is going on here?”
“Leave your father alone, I’m sure he has a very good reason to be singing in—” Buzz’s mum paused. “Exactly what language is that?”
“One of the old Celtic ones,” Buzz’s dad replied, finishing the song.
“Well, it was lovely, sweetheart,” Buzz’s mum said. “What an extraordinary singing voice you have. I’m so glad to hear it again.” She reached out and touched his cheek.
Buzz’s dad smiled with pleasure. “Now, Natasha, have you seen what we’ve got here?” He nodded his head at the mushrooms.
“Saffron Milk Cap!” Buzz’s mum gave a squeal of delight and plonked her basket next to the ring of mushrooms. She then brought out a little curved knife and gently began cutting the mushrooms away from the earth. “These are going to be wonderful in the risotto,” she said.
Dad bent down and tenderly kissed her on the forehead. “Not half as wonderful as the cook making the risotto.”
Mum blushed. Buzz knew that on one level it was revolting to have parents mooning over each other like lovesick teenagers, but deep down he loved it. He knew that Mary felt the same way about her parents. That perpetual Saturday had no doubt been very difficult for them, but somehow her parents had come out the other side as a team. A very-much-in-love team. Mary thought it had something to do with all the extra time her parents had spent with each other during the loop, even if they didn’t realize they had been in one.
“Remind me why we can’t get mushrooms from a supermarket like a normal family?” Tia asked, arms crossed.
“Because we’re cooking a special meal for Buzz’s American friend and her parents. And then there’s Uncle Mark. He’s bringing around his new lady friend. I want to push the boat out.”
“Don’t forget Theo and Sam. They’re coming as well.”
“This day just went from bad to worse,” Tia grumbled. “It’s official.” She flopped down to sit on a tree stump.
“Hey! Watch where yer parking that behind of yours,” a very familiar voice griped, and a blur of fur shot out from the tree stump and into the undergrowth.
Buzz coughed, hoping it might distract her, but Tia was looking properly spooked.
“Did you hear that?” she asked.
“Hear what, dear?” Dad replied.
“A really grumpy voice.” She frowned. “I think it might have belonged to that red squirrel I saw before, Mum. The one I tried to show you in the tree.”
Mum came over and touched Tia’s forehead. “There’s no red squirrels in this forest—they’re all up in Scotland. It’s all that exam pressure, isn’t it? You are getting an early night tonight, young lady.”
“What, no way,” Tia said. “I’m not a baby.” The two of them began to squabble.
Close call, Buzz’s dad mouthed.
“I know,” Buzz whispered back. He’d need to tell Ratatosk to be more careful in the future.
All afternoon, Ratatosk had been showing them all the best places to find mushrooms, but the squirrel had promised to stay out of the way while Tia and Buzz’s mum were about. It was simple, really—the secrets of Valhalla were going to remain secret. Tia and Mum didn’t know that talking squirrels existed or that Dad had a sleeping god in him or that Buzz had helped to save the world. They just knew that Saturday the fourteenth had been strange for a lot of people across the world. They’d heard it was due to some kind of pressure change in the atmosphere. No one really understood the phenomenon, but people had gone back to normal the next day, and that was that.
For a while, Buzz and his dad had planned to tell the truth about everything that had happened, but when Mum got home, all she wanted was normal. She’d actually said that. “Give me a hug and give me a normal,” she’d implored. “I’ve heard and seen enough strange things to last me a lifetime.”
So Buzz and his dad hadn’t said anything. Not about the runes that were in a box under Buzz’s bed. Not about how they’d gotten the River Styx flowing again. And not about how the hosts of the day guardians had made a pact never to speak again of what had happened to them.
Time passed.
Friday the thirteenth was here again, but Buzz didn’t care.
Because everyone was happy. Everything was normal. Everything was just great.
BACK AD
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo by Amanda Herbert
JASMINE RICHARDS was born in London, grew up in a library, and was the first in her family to go to college. After graduating from Oxford University, she had a brief stint at New Scotland Yard, then chose a career in publishing over being the next Sherlock Holmes. Today Jasmine is a senior editor at a leading British publishing house and lives in the Cotswolds (rather near the Tangley Woods) with her husband and son. She is also the author of The Book of Wonders, of which School Library Journal said, “Swiftly paced writing, appealing characters, and action packed; will appeal to fans of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson books.” You can visit Jasmine online at www.jasminerichards.com. Do stop by and say hello.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
BOOKS BY JASMINE RICHARDS
The Book of Wonders
CREDITS
COVER ART © 2016 BY SAM NIELSON
COVER DESIGN BY HEATHER DAUGHERTY
COPYRIGHT
SECRETS OF VALHALLA. Copyright © 2016 by Jasmine Richards. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
* * *
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015938995
ISBN 978-0-06-201009-4
EPub Edition © December 2015 ISBN 9780062239112
* * *
15 16 17 18 19 CG/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON M4W 1A8, Canada
www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com
Secrets of Valhalla Page 22