Chapitre 112: Chapter 109: The Gods have horrible timing
(Percy POV)
The moon broke through the clouds, a full moon. Pale and silver, shining through the void of the night. I was not sure if it was Artemis driving her chariot, Máni or the actual moon in the sky. Yet it felt like the moon was glaring at me. I never hated the moon as much as I did now.
Our boat sped through the dark inky water and swirling mist clouds. Through the haze of snow, the shoreline of Boston had morphed into something primeval.
Fjalar and Glajar drove us towards Lyngvi, the home of the wolf.
I sat next Sam, lost in my thoughts. Sam kept her axe across her lap, where the dwarfs could see it. Blitzen fussed with his yellow ascot, as if he could intimidate our hosts with his wardrobe. Hearthstone practiced making his new staff appear and disappear.
I was honestly kind of scared, the lines of the prophecy ran through my head.
Wrongly chosen, Chaos' pawn,
The bonds get broken and death follows dawn,
A final bet with a soul to sell,
In the end, the Greek shall burn in Hel.
It was the second most creepy prophecy I ever got, first of with the whole Vala freaking out at random. Then calling me Chaos' pawn, which was disturbing at multiple levels. Second line implied Fenrir would get free, followed directly with death. Or maybe it should interpret it as Hel's bet completing at sunrise. The second line was the most reassuring line, which was a bad thing. I really hoped I could keep my soul, though Hel wasn't a bad person I don't like being restricted.
I decided to skip thinking about the final line, it was too disturbing to think about it.
Magnus groaned and he stirred. We had dropped him on the floor and kind of hoped he would wake up before getting to the island. All the while Jack kept talking to the unconscious Einherji, telling him about his escapes with a hot blade.
Magnus eyes shot open and he tried to get up. His head bumped to the bottom of the wooden bench.
"Ooh, fuck!" he groaned as he uncomfortably got up and blinked a few times, "Okay what did I miss?"
Blitzen laughed, "Welcome back to the land of the living."
Magnus blinked and stared at all of us, then he stared at the two dwarfs Fjalar and Glajar. "Are those two dwarfs?"
I grinned, "Yup, and you never guess where we are heading."
Magnus glanced around, "Okay, so we are going to the wolf's island?"
"You almost died," Jack remarked.
'Ah, he guessed it already,' Lyssa pouted. 'To bad.'
"You passed out," Sam told Magnus.
Used Frey magic Hearth signed, Impressive.
Magnus raised his eyebrow, "I did what?"
"You don't remember?" Blitzen asked. "You brought summer to Geirrod's house."
"You really helped me out," I smiled.
Magnus was silent for a minute, "I just did what felt right."
"Well better keep on doing that," Blitzen said, "Because we just arrived at Lyngvi."
Right that moment a flash appeared on our boat. I blinked a few times and the bright light faded away and revealed a golden furred kitten sitting next to my feet.
"Rebel!" I cried out and immediately picked him up from the ground and hugged him tightly.
"You're back!" I cried out. Rebel purred as I hugged him.
I turned to my friends who looked at me like I was crazy, "What?" I deadpanned. "I'm not going to restrain a wolf without my loyal cat."
...
(Linebreak)
Lyngvi looked like caldera of an ancient volcano – a flattened cone maybe fifty feet above sea level. I'd always thought of heather as purple, but the rocky slopes were carpeted with ghostly white flowers.
"Where's the wolf?" I wondered, "If he's so big, shouldn't we see him now?"
Lyssa laughed out loud in my head, 'Good one Percy?'
"Oh, no," Fjalar said. "You have to go ashore for that. Fenris lies bound in the center of the island like a rune stone in a bowl."
The boat stopped a few feet away from the shore, the keel of the boat slipped into the sand, and we were forced to walk the last part. Luckily I froze the water, so we would at least stay dry.
I slogged onto the beach, and a wolf's howl split my eardrums.
Magnus visibly flinched, probably because he had a bad experience with wolves.
The roar of Fenrir was filled with rage and it almost made me flinch.
'We can do this Percy.' Chaos reassured me.
Safe in their boat, the two dwarfs cackled with glee.
"I should have mentioned," Fjalar called to us, "the ride back is a little more expensive. All your valuables, please. Gather them together in one of your bags. Toss them to me. Otherwise, we'll leave you here."
Sam cursed, "You can't do that! The island disappears at dawn!"
"They always do that," Blitzen said, "It doesn't matter what we do. They'll simply kill us."
I shot a glare at them, "Go to Tartarus, we don't need you anymore."
"But the wolf!" Galjar argued, "He'll ki-"
"Leave," I repeated, "I have my own boat anyway."
My friends gave me a questioning look but I ignored them.
The dwarfs gave me a confused look. I raised my hand and commanded the waves to grow a little bit...more dangerous.
"Leave, before I'll sink your boat."
The dwarfs gulped and the boat turned around, disappearing in the mist.
I turned to my friends, they were staring at me like I was some god fallen to earth.
"What?" I asked.
"Nevermind," Sam said, "Let's get on with the quest."
"Yeah!" Jack said.
"So what's the plan?" Blitzen ask, "Or are we going march straight towards the wolf?"
Meow? Rebel asked.
I summoned my backpack and took out the ball of string. "Guess we try to chain up the wolf with the string."
"Alright!" Jack said cheerfully. "I just hope you realize you'll probably all die in agony and start Ragnarok, I'm down. Let's do this!"
We made our way up the hill, and I was kind of disappointed. I faced a lot of dangerous foes in my life, I met primordials. I faced a dragon as big as the sky, I've seen the gates of hell. I faced Cosmic beings and even lost my car keys once. (The stress that it gave me.)
I expected Fenrir to be gigantic, or have some kind of weird color scheme, instead I faced a wolf who looked like...a wolf.
We stood at the top of the ledge, looking down into the valley where Fenris sat calmly on his haunches. He was larger than an average Labrador retriever, but definitely no bigger than me. His legs were long and muscular, built for running.
His shaggy gray coat swirled with tufts of black. Nobody would've called him cute – not with those gleaming white fangs, or the bones littering the ground around his paws – but he was a handsome animal.
I thought the wolf would be tied up, restrained and maybe even gagged and laying on his side. Instead, it was just casually sitting.
The glimmering cord was tied around all four of his ankle joints, allowing enough slack for the Wolf to shuffle around. Part of the rope had apparently once been tied around the Wolf's snout like a muzzle. That section now fell across his chest in a loose loop. The rope didn't even appear to be anchored to the ground. I wasn't sure what was keeping Fenris from leaving the island unless there was one of those doggy no-no invisible fences around the perimeter.
He was surrounded by a pile of bones, some were human, more were from different creatures.
"So this is the big bad wolf?" I asked my friends.
"No," Sam muttered, 'This must have been a mistake."
"No," Blitzen said darkly, "This is the real one."
The Wolf turned towards the sound of our voices. His eyes shone with a familiar blue light that sent a xylophone mallet down the back of my rib cage.
"Ah," he said with a sick sweet voice. His black lips curled in a very human sneer. "My friends have arrived."
'We ain't your friends!" Jack called out, "You have to deserve that."
I revised my impression of the Wolf. Maybe his size was ordinary. Maybe he didn't sneeze laser beams. But his eyes were colder and more intelligent than any predator I'd ever encountered – animal or human.
He was a son of Loki, he had probably his father's silver tongue. I quickly readjusted my opinion on Fenrir. He was one of the most underestimated monsters.
The entire caldera was maybe a hundred yards across, which meant the Wolf was much closer than I would've liked. The ground sloped gently, I felt the ghost white flowers underneath me.
"I'm Percy Jackson," I said, "And we came her to chain you."
The wolf was not impressed at all, "Ah, the son of Poseidon has finally arrived."
I frowned,
"How'd you know he would come?" Magnus asked nervously.
Rebel was hiding behind my legs, clearly scared for the wolf.
The Wolf bared his teeth, almost smiling, "Ah...that's the final question. How do I know?"
"Stop talking in riddles," Sam said accusingly.
The wolf was now grinning for sure, "A little bird told me."
I was about to ask him what the Hades he was talking about when he tilted his head, as if he was curious. "Tell me Percy, do you know what you're standing on?"
I frowned and looked down, "Uhm, flowers." I said unsure.
Heather Hearthstone singed, spelling each letter individually.
Ghostly white heather was all over the island, in fact. It was almost impossible to find a spot where there was no heather growing.
"Heather?" I remarked, "White heather."
"I don't get where you're going with this," Magnus said glaring at the wolf., "But I don't like it."
"Heather," Fenrir mused, his mouth slightly opened, As if he was drooling, "Do you know what's so special about heather?"
"It's a magical plant," Blitzen said, "Used to ward off evil and keep ghosts at bay."
"That's why it's everywhere!" Magnus said realizing what it meant, "To keep you imprisoned."
The wolf paced, the rope gleaming between his feet, barely slowing his gait. "The son of Frey is right. I can't stand that stuff. It also prevents evil from entering the island."
"Why are you telling me this!" I said.
"I get back to that in a sec," The wolf said, shrugging apologetically, "First let's have a look at your friends,"
He stared at Blitzen. "Ah, I smell Bilì's blood in you. Can't wait to taste it again."
Blitzen paled, "You-"
The wolf sighed melodramatically, "Oh, I remember how he came to me to check on my rope. Oh, he tasted so good." Fenrir licked his fangs.
Blitzen let loose a guttural scream and was about to charge at the wolf but Hearth restrained him. He's not worth it Hearth signed.
"And you know the sad thing?" Fenrir said fixing his gaze on Blitzen, "he was right. This ridiculous rope has been loosening for ages. At one time, I was completely unable to walk. After a few centuries, I managed to hobble. I still can't cross the heather. The further I move from the center of the island, the more the rope tightens and the more pain I endure. But two years ago,"
Fenrir turned his gaze to me, "Suddenly the muzzle on my snout detached itself from me, allowing me to speak again."
Sam faltered. "Two years ago …"
The Wolf tilted his head. "That's right, little sister. Surely you knew. I began whispering in the dreams of Odin – what a fine idea it would be to make you, the daughter of Loki, a Valkyrie! What a fine way to turn a potential enemy into a valuable friend."
"Impossible," Sam muttered under her breath, "Odin would never-"
Fenrir fixed his gaze on me again, but now it was deeper and more intense. Like we shared a deep secret. "We always expect the good guys to do the right things don't we? Always trust the voices in our head. Let them be our consciences and follow them like a good little dog."
'I don't like where this is going.' Chaos said.
'Two years ago,' I thought, 'This entire plot was set in motion two years ago?'
Somewhere in my mind dots began to connect, Different pieces of information began to link with each other. Forming connections I've never thought of.
Two years ago Seth tried to destroy northern America, two years ago a war almost broke out on Olympus. Two years ago Fenrir's bonds began to break. It was almost like the events were correlated to each other, each world ending plot happening parallel to the others.
Fenrir pulled his gaze away and turned to Sam, "So thank you for bringing Magnus to me little sis."
"I didn't bring him to you!" Sam shouted. "And I'm not your little sister!"
Magnus perked up, his eyes widened, "You sent those wolves … the night my mother died."
His voice quavered, and he was trembling, he held Jack loosely, and I was afraid he would fly towards the rope and cut it.
"You wanted to kill me…" Magnus stuttered. A tear formed in the corner of his eye, and he tried to blink it away.
"Kill you?" The wolf said amused. "You were valuable to me, Magnus. But you needed … seasoning. Hardship is wonderful for cultivating power. And look! You have succeeded – the first child of Frey strong enough to find the Sword of Summer. You have brought me the means to escape these bonds at last."
In his hand, the sword began to hum. Suddenly I realized how long Jack had been silent. He pulled at Magnus' arm, tugging him forward. "Jack," Magnus muttered. "Jack, what are you –?"
The Wolf laughed. "You see? The Sword of Summer is destined to cut these bonds. You cannot stop it. The children of Frey have never been fighters, Magnus Chase. You can't hope to control the blade, much less fight me with it. Your usefulness is at an end."
"Mistake!" Jack gasped, "Should not have come here."
Magnus lifted Jack, "You know what?" he said, his eyes still watery, "I think I rather kill you."
"I agree," Sam said and lifted her axe.
"For my father," Blitzen grumbled.
"Stop!" I said and I held up my hand, "This is what he wants."
Sam glared at me, "What are you doing Percy?"
I pointed at the bones, "All other heroes tried to fight him, all of them thought they could kill him."
Hearth's eyes lit up, He is right. Wolf uses magic to trick you into rage.
Magnus froze and he began to breath calmer. He turned to the wolf and held Jack tight, "I'm not going to fight you. We simply chain you up and leave."
The Wolf sniffed the air. "I don't need you to fight me, others are coming."
Before I could ask what he meant I heard a voice behind me say, "Percy Jackson."
We turned around and behind us stood my friend Gunilla, flanked by two other Valkyries.
Fanning out to her left and right were my old hall mates: T.J., Halfborn, Mallory and X the half-troll.
"See," said the wolf behind us, "I don't need to fight you, I have others to do that for me."
"Gunilla," Sam said glaring daggers at her.
Gunilla stepped forward, "In name of the Thanes I have to arrest you for crimes against Valhalla."
I smirked, "Oh, have I been a bad boy?"
"Percy," Magnus whispered, "What are you doing?"
Gunilla ignored my snarky comment and said, "Your crimes are leaving Valhalla without permission, aiding the enemy and most important,"
She stepped forward and kissed me on my cheek, "Stealing my heart."
"What?" the wolf behind us snarled. "What is this!?"
I ignored Fenrir and turned to the beautiful girl in front of me, "Seriously? Stealing your heart?"
"Gunilla!" one of the Valkyries cried out, "What are you doing? We need to chain them up and bring them to face justice."
Gunilla turned around and faced the Valkyrie, "Actually there's a change of plans." she pointed at Fenrir, "He's the real enemy. You can see with your own eyes that Magnus' and Percy's motivations were right from the beginning. Fenrir became a bigger threat than we had anticipated."
"Nonsense!" Fenrir cried out, "You are defying Odin's law. They left Valhalla-"
"Shut it." Gunilla and I said at the same time.
Chase stared with disbelieve at our hall mates, "You guys came to help us?"
Halfborn grinned, "We are Vikings! We don't like obeying orders."
"I love you guys!" He cried out and I felt the hope in our group rise.
The other two Valkyries shrugged.
"It seems that our mission has changed." one of them said.
As one, we turned to face Fenrir who was now significantly less boasting.
"Let's chain him up." Magnus said.
"WAIT!" Fenrir said. We all stared at him, wondering what he was going to say or do. He lowered his head, "Can I at least finish my story?"
"What story?" Mallory asked, sounding annoyed.
"The heather." Fenrir said, "The white flowers on this island."
Gunilla frowned and shot me a questioning look. "What is he talking about?"
"I don't know," I admitted, "he started rambling about the importance of heather."
"Yes!" Fenrir cried out, "It's an important magical flower to keep evil at bay."
"What about it?" T.J asked skeptically.
The wolf tilted his head and stared at me and my smirk faded. "I heard an interesting story, about a Greek getting cursed by a certain goddess of flowers."
"What is he talking about?" Magnus asked me. It was clear he was talking about me.
"Demeter," I said, "We had a disagreement last winter. I punched her. She cursed me."
"Exactly!" Fenrir grinned, "And you know what I've heard?"
"Tell me."
Fenrir's smile grew even wider, he bared his fangs. "I heard that the Greek was cursed. When he needed plants the most. They would fail him."
My heart skipped a beat and for a second I felt myself getting cold. Then I noticed the others began to shiver as well and that the actual temperature was dropping.
A cold wave blew over the island and in front of my eyes.
The heather began to die.
All at one they turned Grey and shriveled, revealing a rocky underground.
The cold wave faded and all the heather on the island was gone. There was not a single plant flower left.
"What have you done?" I asked horrified.
Fenrir grinned, "I invited evil to this island."
Fenrir glanced south and a dozen fire giants marched into view. Each stood about ten feet tall. They wore leather-scale armour, carried swords the size of plough blades, and had various axes and knives hanging from their belts. Their complexions were an assortment of volcanic colours – ash, lava, pumice, obsidian. The fields of heather may have been noxious to the Wolf, but the stuff didn't seem to bother the fire giants. Wherever they stepped, the soil burned and smoked. In the middle of their line stood Satan's fashion consultant himself, the fire lord Surt, wearing a trim-cut three-piece suit of chain mail, a tie and a shirt that appeared to be woven from flame – elegantly accessorized with a burning scimitar in his hand.
He grinned at Magnus, "Magnus Chase!' Surt's voice boomed. 'I see you have brought my new sword. Excellent!"
From somewhere North A loud explosion sound came, The sound was so loud I felt the vibrations through my bones. Out of midair tree branches began to fall, seeming appearing out of thin air.
Another yap shook the island morre broken branches tumbled to the floor.
Then out of thin air a giant squirrel fell down and landed on four paws.
The tank sized squirrel sniffed a few times the air before staring at me.
Ratatosk, she had followed me.
I felt my heart working overtime as true fear raced through every vein in my body.
From the east of the island three creatures emerged from the water, they all had different sizes, the biggest being 20 feet (6.1 m) high while the smallest was 12 feet (3.66 meters) big, It were grey human-like creatures sitting on demonic horses. Both made out of rotting flesh, yellow fluid streamed down from their bodies. Each wielded a big claymore and were marching towards us.
Nuckelavee, three of them.
Fenrir noticed the fear on my face and grinned.
"Oh, Chaos." I muttered.
"Welcome my friends," Fenrir said, "Welcome...to Ragnarok."
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État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
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