Bab 81: Chapter 78: With the Runes out, its less dangerous!
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Hey...So this chapter is about 5700 words :)
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(Percy POV)
I opened the door, a girl stepped through, followed by a nervous looking Magnus.
A green headscarf was around her neck, long brown hair spill freely over her shoulders. Her white dress was embroidered with Viking runes around the collar and cuffs. From her golden belt hung a set of old-fashioned keys and a single-bladed axe.
Magnus gave me a warning look, he pointed at his throat which was a bit blue. Like he was telling me: Watch out with her. She likes to punch your throat.
"Is that a lion?" she asked, staring at Rebel who decided to shift to lion form.
"Wow You have a lion?" Magnus muttered nervously.
"Yes. Are you my Valkyrie?" I asked, skipping over the fact I had a lion as pet.
"Yes." she said sternly, and I had the feeling she did not want to talk about it. Like she already had to explain it a thousand times. "Why do you have a lion?"
"Are lions illegal?" I asked.
She gave me a glare, "No. It's just unusual that people bring their pets to Valhalla. But its allowed."
Rebel purred and sat down on the floor, heavily yawning.
"So are you my Valkyrie?"
"My name is Samirah al-Abbas. But don't call me that. Call me Sam."
I blinked, I expected a more Norse name.
"My name is Percy Jackson." I said.
She knitted her eyebrows, "I know. You are a Greek." she said.
"Why does everyone care he is a Greek?" Magnus asked. I agreed with him, Valhalla was kind of not welcoming towards outsiders.
Sam glared at me, "Greeks usually don't go to Valhalla." she explained.
"Than why did you take him?" Magnus asked.
"How are you two so stupid! If I did not take him to Valhalla he would've gone to Helheim or Ginnungagap." Sam shuddered by the thought of it.
There was that word again. Though, I met Hel already. She wasn't that scary.
"Besides. You two have potential," Sam added and she turned to Magnus. "You died while protecting peasants from Surt. A fire giant."
Magnus shrugged, "I don't feel heroic. Can't I go back to the world of the living?"
Sam clenched her fist and I noticed she wanted to grab her axe. Probably to cut Magnus in two pieces.
"Don't say that," Sam hissed. "DO – NOT – SAY – THAT! Especially not tonight at dinner."
"Why is it so important we are heroes? What's up with dinner?" I asked, trying to prevent a murder in my new room.
Sam slightly relaxed, "I brought you two here. My career is on the line, if I slip one more time/"
She glared at me, like I would be a slip up.
"Anyway, at dinner you'll be introduced. Go along with what I say. Keep your mouth shut, nod your head and try to look brave. Don't make me regret bringing you here."
I nodded. "Got it."
Magnus looked like he wanted to say something but he was interrupted.
From the wall speakers, a horn blast sounded so loudly it rattled the picture on the mantel.
"What's that?" I asked. "An air raid?"
"Dinner." Sam said, "We need to go."
She gave us one final glare. "Don't embarrass me. Or I am the first to kill you two."
With that cheerful message she led us to through the hallways of Valhalla.
Rebel had fallen asleep during the conversation, so I left him in the hotel room.
We passed a girl who must've been Mallory Keen. She had frizzy red hair, green eyes and a serrated knife, which she was shaking 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?"
A boy, who came from the room named: Thomas Jefferson JR, tried to calm down Mallory.
He had short curly hair, a lanky frame and a rifle slung over one shoulder. His blue wool coat had brass buttons and chevrons on the sleeve – a U.S. Army Civil War uniform.
He noticed me and Magus and gave us a smile. "Ah, our new hallmates?"
"Yup." Magnus said, then he stepped closer to him. "Are we really dead?" he whispered.
He nodded. "Yes. But you'll get used to it."
"Magnus!" Sam called out and tried to pull him away but that moment X's door opened.
A rather large dude stepped out of the room. His skin was the colour of a shark's belly, rippling with muscles and stippled with warts. There were so many welts on his face it was hard to tell which one was his nose.
He was built like a bomb-containment chamber. If you happened to have a live grenade, I was pretty sure you could safely dispose of it simply by asking X to swallow it.
I noticed I was staring at him because Sam dragged us away towards the elevator. When we were out of earshot I asked. "What's up with that grey dude?"
Sam put her finger to her lips. "X is a halftroll. He's a little sensitive about that."
If that guy was a halftroll I did not want to make him nervous.
"A half-troll. That's an actual thing?" Magnus asked skeptically.
"Of course," she said. "And he deserves to be here as much as you."
The defensiveness in her voice made me wonder what the story was.
As we passed the door for HALFBORN GUNDERSON, an axe blade split the wood from the inside.
Muffled laughter came from the room. Sam ushered me into the elevator. She 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.
"I'll take you into the dining hall before the main doors open. That way you can get the lay of the land." Sam explained.
"That's cool."
"Why is everyone at floor 19 around our age? Does Valhalla only take teenagers?"
Samirah shook her head. "The einherjar are grouped by the age they were when they died. You're in the youngest tier, which goes up to about age nineteen.
Most of the time, you won't even see the other two tiers – adults and seniors. It's better that way. The adults … well, they don't take teens seriously, even if the teens have been here hundreds of years longer."
"Typical, " I said.
"As for the senior warriors, they don't always mix well. Imagine a really violent retirement home."
"Sounds like some homeless shelters I've been." Magnus muttered.
"Homeless shelters?" I asked.
"Forget it. So, you're a Valkyrie. You chose all the people in the hotel?" Magnus asked quickly. I saw he had a hard time talking about it.
Sam rolled her eyes, "Of course not."
"I mean, how many Valkyries are there?" Magnus corrected himself.
"That's right. Valkyries are responsible for choosing the einherjar. Each warrior here died a valiant death. Each had a belief in honour, or some connection to the Norse gods that made him or her eligible for Valhalla."
She glared at me, "Or atleast. It's supposed too."
"Hey!" I protested, "I have a connections with the Norse Gods. My ex had Norse blood and my best friend-"
I wanted to say 'is also a Norse Goddess.' but I decided it was not the smartest thing to say.
Magnus however was thinking deeply, "Connection with the Norse Gods? Like being the child of a Norse god?"
Sam nodded gravely. "Many einherjar are demigods. Many are regular mortals. You're chosen for Valhalla because of your courage and honour, not your heritage. At least, that's how it's supposed to be …" I couldn't decide if her tone was wistful or resentful.
Then I remembered Gunilla telling me she was a daughter of Loki and she couldn't be trusted. However I also learned you should not judge someone by his parents. Zoë was the living example of that.
"And you?' Magnus asked. "How did you become a Valkyrie? Did you die a noble death?"
She laughed. "Not yet. I'm still among the living."
"How does that work exactly?" I wondered.
"Well, I live a double life. Tonight, I'll escort you to dinner. Then I have to rush home and finish my calculus homework."
I shuddered. "That's horrible."
She nodded, "Almost makes me wish I was dead."
The elevator doors opened.
We stepped into a room the size of a concert arena.
My jaw dropped, Magnus followed. "Holy Zeus."
"Welcome," Samirah said, "to the Feast Hall of the Slain."
Tiers of long tables like stadium seating curved downward from the nosebleed section.
In the centre 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.
"Why is there a goat in the tree?" Magnus asked. His priorities were mixed up.
But he was right, a lot of animals skittered among the branches. I couldn't tell what most of
them were, but 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.
It reminded me of a Mario Party mini game I used to play with Paul.
"The goat is Heidrun," Sam told us. "Her milk is brewed to make the mead of Valhalla. It's good stuff. You'll see."
"What if I have lactose intolerance." I wondered.
"And the guys chasing her around?" Magnus asked.
She glared at the both of us; as if to say. You two are idiots.
I glanced at the other animals. "And … all the other animals? I see squirrels and possums
and –"
"Sugar gliders and sloths," Sam offered.
"Okay. But you guys eat dinner here? That can't be hygienic with all the animal droppings." Magnus argued.
"The animals in the Tree of Laeradr are well behaved."
"Why do you guys name your tree?" I wondered.
"Most important things have names." Sam explained.
I wanted to say that was ridiculous but then I remembered something. How Chaos had told me I could not copy Frostsilver because it was an original sword and no longer a copy. I gave it an original name, maybe names had more power than I realized.
Suddenly around the perimeter of the room, a hundred doors burst open. The armies of Valhalla swarmed in.
"Dinner is served," Sam said.
We were swept up in a tidal wave of hungry warriors. Einherjar poured in from every direction, pushing, joking and laughing as they headed for their seats.
"Hold on," Sam told us and grabbed Magnus and me by the wrist.
"What-" I tried to protest but it was to late, we flew into the air, Peter-Pan-style.
Magnus yelped. "A little warning?"
Sam laughed "I said hold on."
We skimmed above the heads of the warriors. Nobody paid us much attention except for one guy I accidentally kicked in the face.
Other Valkyries were also zipping around – some escorting warriors, some carrying platters of food and pitchers of drink. We headed towards what was obviously the head table – where the home team would've sat if this were a Celtics game.
A dozen grim-looking dudes were taking their seats in front of golden plates and jewel-encrusted goblets. In the place of honour stood an empty wooden throne with a high back, where two ravens perched, grooming their feathers.
Sam landed us 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.
"Other newcomers?" I asked.
Sam nodded, her eyebrows furrowed. "Eight in one night is a lot."
"They all died a heroic dead?" I wondered.
She nodded, "Yes."
"But eight is not much," I noticed, "Considering how many monsters are out in the world and how many demigods get killed every day."
She sighed. "I already told you. There are a lot of different afterlife."
"You two never explained the entire Greek stuff." Magnus complained.
The foghorn I'd heard earlier echoed through the hall.
This time I could see the source. 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.
I sat at the end of the table next to Magnus who sat next Sam, so we didn't get to talk to the other newbies. Meanwhile, 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 yummy goat's-milk mead and continue serving.
"How many Einherjar are there?" I wondered with awe.
Sam puffed her cheeks. "Tens of thousands? Like I said, this is just the first dinner. There are two other shifts for the older warriors.
Valhalla has five hundred and forty doors. Each one is supposed to accommodate eight hundred warriors exiting for battle at once. That would mean four hundred and thirty-two thousand einherjar."
"That's a lot." Magnus said.
She shrugged. "Personally, I think the number is exaggerated, but only Odin knows for sure. We'll need a big army when Ragnarok rolls around."
"Ragnarok? That's the end of the world right?" I asked.
Sam nodded, "When the Nine Worlds are destroyed in a great conflagration and the armies of gods and giants meet in battle for the last time."
'Shall we kick of Ragnarok?' Lyssa asked. 'It will be fun!'
'Shut up!'
Magnus pointed towards the head table. "What about the fancy dudes? Most of them look older."
'I wouldn't call them fancy dudes," Sam said. "Those are the thanes, the lords of Valhalla. Each one was personally invited by Odin to sit at his table."
'Than the empty throne must be Odin's.' I deduced.
Sam explained that the Thanes were a lot of dead famous people. Or people named Erik.
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. He looked so regal it was hard to believe he was the same guy who a few hours ago offered me the minibar key.
"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 me, Sam made a choking sound.
"No," she muttered. "No, no, no …"
Gunilla noticed me and gave me a smile that promised: A lot of fun. With probably some death.
"Let the presentation of the dead commence!" Helgi bellowed.
Ten thousand warriors turned and looked expectantly in our direction.
I was relieved when the presentations started with einherjar at the other end of the table.
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!"
'Cool, now we can live stream our deads!' Lyssa cheered, 'These guys know how to do their business!'
I considered telling them that Madness thought they were doing a good job, but I did not want to spoil the fun. Instead Magnus and I watched the dead of Lars.
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.
We 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, I guessed. Golden Lars took the Valkyrie's hand, and the video screens went dark.
"That was cool." Magnus said, looking pale.
All around the feast hall, warriors cheered. At the head table, the thanes debated among themselves. I was close enough to hear some of it. One guy questioned whether a fire extinguisher could count as a weapon.
Magnus leaned towards Sam.
"Why does that matter?" She 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."
"So … what if the thanes decide that a newbie shouldn't have been picked? Does he go back to being alive?" Magnus asked hopeful.
Sam wouldn't meet his eyes. "Once you're an einherji, there's no going back. You might get the worst work assignments. You might have a hard time earning respect. But you stay in Valhalla.
If the thanes rule the death unworthy … well, the Valkyrie takes the punishment for that."
Suddenly I understood why all the Valkyries at our table looked a little tense.
'That might become a problem.' Lyssa said, which surprised me. It sounded reasonable.
'Chaos and I have thought about it. Maybe the Tiber in Rome can wash away my Einherjines, like it washed away the Greek blessing.'
'You shouldn't swim in the Tiber.' Lyssa. 'I hate Romans.'
'Don't you have a Roman form?' I asked.
She nodded, 'Yes. It's called Irae but I don't change at all. Madness is perfect and can't be changed.'
'There's no point in arguing with an idiot.' Chaos murmured.
This angered Lyssa. 'Well, thank you Chaos. Next time you need my help…'
'When did I needed your help?' Chaos wondered.
'Oh, yeah. You can't remember.' Lyssa said with a small voice.
Before I could ask what the Helheim she was talking about the Thanes had finished their discussion and they moved on.
Helgi continued. 'Lars Ahlstrom, do you know your parentage?"
Lars shook his head.
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.
Magnus murmured to Sam, "Who's the Wicked Witch?"
"A vala. A seer. She can cast spells, read the future and … other stuff."
"Nirvana?" I murmured, "You guys have an Oracle named Nirvana?"
Magnus and Sam glared at me, "Don't be disrespectful." Sam sneered.
Nirvana approached our 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.
'Rune magic!' Chaos cried out, 'I'm good at Rune Magic!'
'I've never see you do something with Runes.' I replied.
She shook her head while making a Tsk Tsk sound. 'How do you think I was able to shrink Rebel? That was Rune magic.'
'I thought it was just magic.'
'No Runes are different. They're the old Viking alphabet,' she said, 'but each letter also symbolizes something powerful – a god, a type of magic, a force of nature. They're like the genetic code of the universe. The vala can read the stones to see your I can just bend reality with my will.'
'Why don't you do it?'
Chaos huffed, 'Ancient laws. I need to work with you.'
In front of our table, Nirvana 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.
It looked like a vertical line with a triangle pointed to the right sticking out of it. Like a flag.
The mark meant nothing to me, but hundreds of warriors shouted with approval.
"Thor!" they cried.
Then they started to chant, "THOR, THOR, THOR!"
I wondered if they saw they had the Thor movies in Valhalla. They would be a blast here.
Sam grunted. "As if we need another child of Thor."
"Why? What's wrong with them?" Magnus wondered.
Sam ignored the question.
As the chanting subsided, Nirvana 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.
Nirvana gathered her runes and retreated while Lars's Valkyrie helped him back into his seat.
"That was impressive." I muttered.
The ceremony continued, the others had all kinds of brave deaths, which were just casualties for the Einherjar.
Finally they reached the end of the table and Helgi bellowed, "Magnus Chase, Show us your courage."
Magnus gave me a frightened look.
"Don't worry," I whispered. "Just imagine they are naked."
Magnus nodded reluctantly and turned to the screen.
It showed Magnus fighting a guy who looked like the devil went shopping and chose a fire theme. The guy wore a trim-cut three-piece suit of chain mail, a tie and a shirt that appear to be woven from flame.
Surt's chiseled face was inhumanly handsome, and resembles obsidian, while Surt's long black hair was combed back in an immaculate oil slick. His eyes glow red-hot, like tiny rings of lava.
In his hand he had a fearsome curved sword made of burning hote flames.
Magnus stood on the other side of the bridge, in his hand he held a sword with leather grip, thirty inch blade, double edged and rounded point. Viking Runes glowed on the groove of the blade, making it look like a disco sword.
'I want that sword.' Lyssa murmured.
Magnus fought the fire guy with the sword and succeeded in cutting of his nose. My respect for Magnus grew even more.
At the end of the video Magnus had burning asphalt in his stomach and was on the point of dying. Yet he managed to make Surt drop in the river with them.
The Einherjar watched the video with awe, until it ended.
The sword was now sticking out of Surt's gut, but Magnus's hands weren't on the grip. They were wrapped around the guys big neck.
Magnus was looking really pale, he must have realized the same thing. He died without holding his sword.
Sam's face turned to stone, at the Thanes table Gunilla gave Magnus a pitiful look while she smirked at Sam.
It was clear that Gunilla had a grudge against Sam, I guess it was an interesting story.
Helgi set down his goblet. "Samirah al-Abbas … explain."
"Magnus Chase died bravely," she said. "He stood alone against Surt."
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 Bloodax. This one –' Sam gestured at Magnus like I was a prize specimen – "saved many lives on that bridge. Magnus Chase acted like a hero he deserves to be among the fallen."
Another thane rose. "He didn't actually die with the sword in his hand."
"Whether or not Magnus gripped the sword at the moment of death, he died bravely in combat. That is the spirit of Odin's law." Sam argued.
Lord Ottar sniffed. "Thank you, Samirah al-Abbas, daughter of Loki, for teaching us the spirit of Odin's law."
That was a low blow, the Einherjar gasped, like this was a rap battle and this was the killing line. Sam's hand drifted towards her axe.
I happened to meet Gunilla's eyes. The captain was obviously loving this drama. She could barely suppress a smile. If she was Thor's kid, that explained why she hated Sam.
Though I liked Gunilla, her hate for Sam kind of disturbing.
The thanes debated among themselves. Finally, Helgi the manager spoke. "He died without a sword. After you-"
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 our table.
"Sam?'" I whispered. "Sam, what's going on?"
Her hand fell from her axe. "The Norns," she said. "The Norns themselves have come to read Magnus's fate."
As the Nornes drifted across the room one shot a (I think it was) smile. Her appearance shimmered for a second and instead there was a cloaked old woman. Clotho.
Then she changed back to white woman form.
Next to Magnus, Sam muttered, "This is bad. The Norns only show up in extreme cases."
They stopped twenty feet in front of my table and turned up their palms. Their skin was like sculpted snow.
Magnus Chase. I couldn't tell which Norn had spoken.
The soft disembodied voice resonated through the hal.
Harbinger of the Wolf.
Then, in the hands of the middle Norn, fog collected, solidifying into half a dozen runestones. She threw them into the air. They floated above her, each rune expanding into a luminous white symbol as big as a poster board.
One rune glowed brighter then the others, to me it looked like a failed F.
Fehu, announced the cold voice.
'The Rune of Frey.' Chaos murmured with awe.
Thousands of warriors shifted in their seats, clanking restlessly in their armour. Frey … Who was Frey?
The Norns spoke together, three ghostly voices chanting in unison, shaking leaves from the giant tree:
~~
Wrongly chosen,
wrongly slain,
A hero Valhalla cannot contain.
Nine days hence the sun must go east,
Ere Sword of Summer unbinds the beast.
~~
The glowing runes dissolved. The three Norns bowed to me. They melted into the fog and disappeared.
"Is that a prophecy?" I asked Sam.
Magnus was now shivering in his seat, poor boy.
She looked like she'd been smacked between the eyes with one of Gunilla's hammers. "No. Choosing you couldn't have been a mistake."
At the thanes' table, the lords conferred. All around the hall, thousands of einherjar studied Magnus.
"Magnus Chase, son of Frey, 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 one of the einherjar now. That cannot be reversed, even if it was a mistake."
Suddenly Gunilla rose from her seat, "Maybe," she said and glanced at me, "The second Hero she chose can redeem Magnus."
"No!' Sam yelled, "Can't you see it! He's the son of Frey. He must retrieve the sword of summer."
No one listened to her, instead they were considering Gunilla word.
I frowned, how can my dead redeems Magnus's? Maybe if I gave my life 120% I could give Magnus 20%.
Gunilla gave me a reassuring smile.
Helgi rose from his seat. "Perseus Jackson."
He coughed, "We have a special case, he's a Greek."
The room went silent. For a second the entire room stared at me like I was Thanatos himself. Then the booing began.
"Stop!" Gunilla cried out, "It is not the first time a Greek demigod enters Valhalla."
The Einherjar shifted uncomfortably in their seat, it was clear gunilla had a lot of power inside Valhalla.
"In the 10th century the Greeks and the Vikings worked together in a lot of wars, Basil II, the emperor of the Byzantium, chose Norse fighters as bodyguards. During that period a lot of vikings went to Elysium and a few Greeks went to Valhalla as well."
I had no idea what she was talking about but the Thanes seemed to consider it, their expression softened a little.
I shot Gunilla a grateful look.
Helgi coughed, "Okay, then show us your heroic death!"
The Einherjar watched the video of my death with a skeptical eye. They saw me fighting Commodus and stabbing him with Frostsilver. Commodus pressed the Detonator and the statue began to crumble down. We both tumbled into the water, Frost ripped through Commodus.
I fell with the sword in my hand down the water. My body was burning.
As I drifted down to the bottom of the sea the Einherjar gasped.
Frostsilver had molten away.
The screens turned black and everyone turned to me.
"He died without a sword in his hand!" One Einherji cried out, and was soon followed by his Einherji friends.
My friends were looking pale, Magnus managed to look paler then before.
"But-" Samirah began.
"Another hero died without his sword." Helgi stated, "Two in one day."
Gunilla looked pale as well, "Vala," she muttered, "Let Vala read the Runes."
Sam shook her head and slumped in her seat, she looked beaten and desperate.
Nirvana shuffled towards me and opened her Rune bag.
"Who's your parent?" Helgi asked.
"Poseidon." I answered truthfully.
The Einherjar gasped and cried out insults.
I turned to Sam, "What's wrong with Poseidon."
"The sea. The Norse never had a good relation with the sea. They considered it their biggest enemy." she answered with a small voice.
'It's Rome all over again.' I thought sarcastically.
"Well," Magnus said and patted me on the shoulder, "We are both screwed."
But wait! There's more.
Nirvana threw up a few Runes, they dissolved mid air and turned into H.
"Perseus Jackson," she called out, "Weapon of the Destruction."
She threw another runestone up; she swallowed, "You shall have a fate worse then death during Ragnarok."
'Oh shit.' Lyssa mumbled.
I was frozen in shock, Ragnarok. I never expected it to happen during my life.
The thanes and the Einherji began yelling, demaning answers from Nirvana but she wasn't done.
Suddenly her eyes lit up green and she fell to her knees.
"What is she doing?" Magnus asked, "is this normal?"
Sam shook her head, the entire room watched in silence.
Nirvana got up to her feet and stared at me, her eyes were glowing green. She opened her mouth and with a girly voice she said:
~~
Wrongly chosen, Chaos's 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.
~~
Then her eyes turned normal again and she looked around in confusion. The entire room stared at her and me. Nirvana decided her job was done and disappeared.
'Another Prophecy' Lyssa cried out, 'This one is even better!'
Gunilla shot me a sad look from the thanes table: I tried everything I could, she seemed to say.
After a long silence Helgi said, "The thanes will have an debate about their fates. Until then Valhalla will take them in.
Samirah al-Abbas, for your poor judgement with this einherji Magnus Chase, Perseus Jackson and for your past mistakes, the thanes rule that you be expelled from the sisterhood of Valkyries. You are hereby stripped of your powers and privileges. Return to Midgard in disgrace!"
Sam grabbed Magnus by the shoulder, "Magnus you must retrieve the sword!"
Then she turned to me, "Percy, promise you'll help him!"
I had no idea what was so important about that sword but I nodded, it looked like Magnus and I both had a lot of trouble waiting in the future.
Like a camera flash, there was a burst of light, and Sam was gone. Her half-eaten meal and the breadcrumbs around her seat were the only signs she'd ever existed.
"So concludes our feast," Helgi announced. "I will see you all tomorrow on the field of battle! Sleep well and dream of glorious death!"
======================
see you next Thursday :)
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Moonhorse
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