Secrets of Valhalla (20 page)

“Right,” Buzz said.

“Then down I go.” Theo shoved the golden helmet on his head and disappeared.

Buzz, Mary, and Fenris stayed in the shadows and watched.

“So your dad is Odin,” Mary whispered. “The father of the gods. That's pretty major.”

Buzz shook his head. “Odin is Odin, and my dad is my dad. They might share the same body, but my father is nowhere in sight.” As he said the words, he felt a twist of sadness at the thought that he might never see his father again. His head filled with all the words that he'd never felt able to say before because the anger always got in the way.

Stop it, Buzz.
He knew he had to focus on something else if he was going to keep things together. He concentrated on the figure of Sunna, and then he saw it. The flash of Theo's face as he took off his helmet and used it to break the lasso of fire.

“Go,” Buzz said, placing a pebble into his slingshot.

“I'm ready.” Mary climbed onto Fenris's back, and the wolf leaped down into the magma chamber with a howl.

F
enris landed on the ground in one elegant movement, and Mary scrambled off his back and rolled out of the way as the wolf turned to face the dragon—teeth bared and hackles raised.

The dragon opened his mouth with a screech and let forth a jet of fire, but Fenris was quicker. He pushed back on his hind legs and leaped high over the dragon's head. Landing behind Nidhogg, Fenris managed to pounce on the dragon's lower back with a guttural growl. His claws dug into the creature's scaled flesh.

The dragon shrieked with pain but did not hesitate; it beat its massive wings, rose off the ground, and began to climb into the air.

The dragon thrashed wildly but he could not dislodge the
wolf—Fenris's claws were too deeply embedded.

Yet still Nidhogg rose.

Looking down from his concealed position on top of the platform, Buzz could see that both Loki and Tyr were staring at the battle between the wolf and the dragon, paying no attention to anything else.

Glancing across the chamber, Buzz saw that Theo had now released Sunna and Coach Saunders and was setting to work on Mrs. Robertson.

Ratatosk had joined Mary and they were crouched low, hidden in the shadows cast by the pedestal, waiting for the runes to start flying.

Just like we discussed,
Buzz thought.
The next part of the plan all rested on him.

Buzz launched the first pebble, sending it hurtling toward the plinth. It hit Sunna's rune dead on and sent it spinning off into Mary's hands. Buzz fired off another two pebbles in quick succession, both finding their targets as Pluto had promised they would. Mary and Ratatosk gathered up both runes and blended into the shadows once more.

Three down, three to go,
Buzz thought, but the view of the pedestal vanished as the dragon and his wolf passenger suddenly filled his view.

Fenris was still clinging grimly to the dragon's back and was desperately trying to claw his way upward, his sights fixed on the dragon's neck, but he just couldn't get close enough. With another beat of its wings, the dragon was now
completely at Buzz's eye level, and it opened its mouth in a screech of fury as it noticed Buzz.

Nidhogg let forth a new jet of flame, and Buzz threw himself out of the way, slipping off the strip of rock he'd been balanced on. He plummeted downward, then felt his whole body snap back up as the slingshot in his hand caught on a piece of jutting rock. He hung there, swinging from the sinews of the weapon.

Looking up, Buzz could see small holes where the dragon's flame had scorched the magma wall and melted it. It looked just like Swiss cheese. Nidhogg was hurtling toward him now, an arrow with wings. The dragon was so close, Buzz could see Nidhogg's slanted eyes and black pupils ringed with red. Buzz felt his hand loosen on the slingshot.
What would be better? To fall to his death or be smashed to pieces by a dragon?
Holey pajamas.
It wasn't much of a choice. Either way, every single bone in his body was going to get crushed.

Fenris give a furious howl, and Buzz watched as the wolf swung his body away from the dragon and toward the damaged magma wall. The dragon gave a screech of surprise and went careening off course, smashing into the wall and breaking it apart. Both Fenris and Nidhogg tumbled through the gap and out of sight.

Thank you, Fenris,
Buzz thought, even as the slingshot gave a creak of protest and then the sinew snapped. Buzz was falling once more, knowing that this time it really was over.

Oomph.
Buzz landed, but it wasn't on the ground. It was
in someone's arms. He glanced up as he was placed on the ground and found himself looking at his father.

Correction:
Odin,
the All-Father. His dad was tall, but never this tall. Buzz had to tip his head back to look at him.

“Um, thanks,” Buzz said.

“You're welcome,” Odin said in a deep baritone, his face telling Buzz that he knew all and everything. Odin's face blurred and the expression became awkward and slightly stiff. It was exactly the expression that the Prof wore whenever he wanted to talk about something big.

“Dad?” Buzz asked hesitantly, putting the handle of the slingshot into his pocket.

“Buzz.” His father folded his arms around him. “I've been so worried about you. I'm sorry I didn't believe you before. I just wanted to tell you that.”

“How come you're here? I mean, how come Odin is letting you talk to me?”

His father frowned. “It's just manners. I am Odin's host, we share a body now that he has been awoken, and he knows how worried I've been about you. Just as I know how sorry he is that any of this happening.”

Buzz thought about poor Uncle Mark and how Tyr had been controlling him completely for weeks now. How his godfather had fought to talk to him.

“Odin, we need you!” Sunna cried.

Looking in her direction, Buzz could see that Tyr was off the pedestal, wielding his sword against the day guardians.
They were still without their runes, and powerless. Tyr showed no mercy. He was stronger than all the other gods combined, and he knew it.

His father kissed Buzz on the forehead. “I better let Odin take over from here. You must get those runes. I don't think Odin and the others can fight Tyr and stay standing for much longer.” His father's facial features blurred for a moment and then became granite once more as Odin took control. Buzz watched as Odin charged at Tyr, distracting him from Coach Saunders, who was cornered and defending himself with just the jacket he wore. Tyr swung out at Odin, but the All-Father dodged and ducked as Tyr tried to cleave him in two.

They need the runes. Why hasn't Mary given them to them yet?
Buzz scanned the chamber, searching for his friend.

Finally he found her, looking up at Loki. But she didn't look scared. She looked joyful. Ratatosk was at her side, watching the two of them in stunned amazement.

Buzz felt something in his chest twist as Mary held out her hand and gave Loki the three runes that had been shot off the pedestal. The trickster god smiled, turned, and walked away with them.

“In the time tunnel, I saw myself make a really bad decision. I saw myself help Loki.” Mary's words came back to Buzz then, and he hated himself for not listening to the warning she'd given him. His hand went to his slingshot, ready to try to stop Loki, but he remembered that his weapon had snapped.

Instead, he raced to Mary's side. His friend was in danger
even if she didn't seem to realize it. “What have you done!” he cried. “Why did you give him the runes?”

Mary looked at him, but her features were blurred and she shimmered. “He's my father, Buzz. Loki is my father, and Fenris is my brother.”

“Mary?” Buzz questioned.

But Mary shook her head. “I am Hel. This is my kingdom.” She put a hand on his arm. “Loki is going to help us.”

Buzz stared at Mary, no, Hel, astounded at their shared stupidity. “Loki is the trickster god,” he hissed. “Mary told me that the very first time I met her. You must want to destroy my home just as much as Loki does.”

Buzz felt the scrabble of claws on his left leg as Ratatosk clambered up him and came to rest on his shoulder.

“I told yer once that truth is to be yer most reliable guide if yer to survive any quest.” The squirrel's whiskers were quivering. “I heard what Loki said. It's the truth, Buzz. We have to trust that he will help us. Help his daughter.”

Buzz's gaze went to where Loki was now stepping away from the pedestal, all the runes now back in place.

“I have them, sire,” Loki called out to Tyr. “The runes are all here.”

Tyr was still busy trying to hack down Odin, but he stopped as soon as he heard Loki's voice.

He pointed a finger at Odin and at the rest of the day guardians. “Your time is at an end. Once I have harvested your powers, I will end you all, and I won't need a sword to do it.”

He bounded to the plinth and jumped up onto it. The runes began to glow once more, and light flooded into the channels.

“Yes,” Tyr cried. “Give me the power!”

There was an explosion of light. It filled the whole chamber, and then there was darkness.

B
uzz opened his eyes. Black spots danced in his field of vision, and his mouth felt powder dry. He sat up, not quite believing that Tyr hadn't made him disappear in a puff of smoke yet or punished him in some other fiendish way. Ratatosk was rubbing his eyes and gazing around the chamber. Hel was doing the same. She glowed brightly now, and her face was filled with relief when she saw that Buzz was all right.

There was a groaning noise, and up on the plinth, Buzz saw Tyr. He looked different. Smaller, more vulnerable. He looked just like Uncle Mark.

Wait,
Buzz told himself.
It could be a trick.

“Loki,” Odin's voice boomed. “What has taken place here?”

Buzz turned to see that all the day guardians were already
on their feet. If Buzz thought they had the look of gods about them before, it was nothing compared to now. His father, Coach Saunders, Eleanor Bright, and Mrs. Robertson were all well over seven feet tall, and they didn't just have golden gleams to them, their skin was crusted with the metal. They were so radiant it was almost impossible to look at them, and Odin shone the brightest of all.

“I reversed it,” a husky voice said from the shadow of the plinth. A man with a scarred face, flowing red hair, and eyes like candle flames stepped into the light. “Tyr thought the power of the runes was going to flow into him, but I made it flow outward, stripping him of his powers as well.”

“Why did you do it?” Odin asked. “After all the bad blood between us. Why did you turn on Tyr and give us our powers back?”

Loki smiled a scarred, lopsided smile. “It was always my plan to reverse the runes' power surge—I designed the pedestal, after all. Tyr was a fool to think that I would give away all that power.”

Loki stepped forward, took Hel's hand, and brought her to her feet. “Until I saw my daughter, here again in her kingdom, I planned for all that power to be mine—to use it to destroy the day guardians once and for all. I did not care that it would plunge the world into chaos.” He touched Hel's cheek. “But my daughter asked me to make this all stop. To stop the Ragnarok from ever happening. And so I did. I changed it so that the power from each of the runes flowed away from Tyr
and connected with the rightful owner.” Loki looked over to where Buzz's godfather lay on the pedestal. Uncle Mark's eyes were flickering open. “Tyr's powers have been shared between myself and Hel. He will not be coming back. His host has been unharmed.” Loki stared at Odin. “This is my way to atone for what happened to your son Balder. It was an act of mischief that had tragic, unintended consequences.” Loki looked at Odin, the flame in his eyes looking flickering rather than blazing hot. “I always believed that you had killed Hel. I was wrong.”

“I, too, must atone, Loki,” Odin said. “Yours is not the only fault. The great prophecy said that you would be the start of the Ragnarok and you would be the end. To stop it from coming true, I thought about killing you. But I could not. Because even after all the hurt we had caused each other, you were still my friend.” Odin sighed. “So I imprisoned you in Hel's kingdom. The only place that could hold you.” Odin looked at Hel. “That left me with a problem. You. There was no way you would stand by and let your father be kept a prisoner, and so I had to get rid of you. I forced your god self into a deep sleep. You lived your mortal life in the human realm. As it was with the day guardians, your god self was passed down the generations. And the whole time your father was a prisoner in your neglected kingdom. I'm so sorry.”

Theo staggered to his feet then—looking groggy. He was nowhere near seven feet tall, and his skin did not gleam. “Um, what happened to me?” he asked plaintively. “I don't
have any powers at all, and look at the rest of you. I'm supposed to be Thor.”

Mrs. Robertson gave a deep laugh as she stepped to the pedestal and picked up her rune, which looked dull and spent. It immediately turned into a mighty hammer. “You are mistaken. I am Thor, my dear.”

Theo's mouth dropped open. “So who am I?”

“Well, I am Mani, god of the moon,” Coach Saunders said. He pointed to Eleanor Bright. “And that's my sister, Sunna.”

“I am Odin,” Buzz's father continued, “and Tyr and Thor have already been accounted for. So that makes you Frigga.” Odin's eyes twinkled. “Goddess of the harvest and family.” He crooked a finger at the pedestal and the one rune that didn't look black, and it hovered over to them. “The reason you haven't changed into your god form is that Tyr never got you to activate your rune. Would you like to activate it now?”

Odin held out the rune, but Theo shook his head in disgust.

“No thanks. I'm fine just the way I am.” He folded his arms across his chest.

Odin nodded. “So be it. I have an inkling as to who I can give some of Frigga's power to, and then I will leave the rune to recharge again in case Frigga ever needs it.” He beckoned over to Saturn, who sat propped up against a wall. “Come here, old friend. I want to give you something, but only in consultation with Loki.”

Father Time began to shuffle over. It was going to take a while.

“So Theo isn't Thor, he's Frigga. And Frigga's powers are going to Saturn, and you are Hel,” Buzz said to the goddess in Mary's body. “I don't even know how to get my head around it.”

“I know someone who can explain,” Hel said. The goddess's features blurred for a moment, and then Mary pushed her glasses up her nose. “I'm a host for Hel, Buzz, just like your father is Odin's host. Hel's been there the whole time under the surface. Some of her blending with me. That's why I could guess people's greatest fears. The same thing has been happening with your dad, I think. That's why he was so obsessed with Tangley Wood. That was Odin's obsession, not your father's.”

Buzz let that sink in. If what Mary said was true, then his father's neglect of their family made a lot more sense.

“When did you realize you were Hel's host?” he asked.

“Just before she took control,” Mary replied. “She asked my permission, said she had to come to the fore—it was the only way to stop her father.” Mary shook her head. “I think Pluto had his suspicions about my true identity. That's why he gave me the water from the Styx. It woke Hel up, restored her. That's why he gave me the horn as well.” She looked around the magma chamber. “This used to be her home, and it really was a wonderful place, Buzz. I share her memories and she shares mine.” She sighed. “Looking back, there were lots of clues. The fact that I could understand Fenris was a big one.” Her eyes went wide. “Fenris, where is he?”

Mary's features blurred again and Hel was in control once more.

“Father,” she called. “We must find Fenris. He was fighting Nidhogg. He might be hurt.”

Mani scooped up his rune from the pedestal and cast it to the floor. It immediately transformed into a mighty chariot. “I'll find him.” He turned to Loki. “Let this be my way to atone for my part in imprisoning you.”

“Do not harm the dragon,” Loki requested. “He was only following orders.”

“So be it,” Mani said. “I will bring them both back safely.”

“Let me come, too, brother,” Sunna said, and she smiled at Buzz as she climbed in.
Thank you,
she mouthed.

The chariot climbed upward, passing through the gap in the magma wall made by the dragon's exit.

Buzz went to the pedestal. Uncle Mark was now sitting up.

“Are you okay?” Buzz asked.

“I've had better days, buddy.” Uncle Mark smiled. “But I'm so pleased that you are all right. How's your dad?”

Buzz looked over at Odin. He was still busy with Saturn and Loki, handing over some of the powers in Frigga's rune.

“I don't know,” Buzz said. And it was true—he didn't know what would happen to his father now that Odin was fully awake. He looked quite happy over there in his host's body, explaining that Loki would once more be the guardian for Saturday and Saturn was free of his duties over that day.

There was the sound of galloping hooves from above,
and Mani and Sunna landed back on the floor of the chamber, with both Fenris and Nidhogg riding in the back of the chariot.

The dragon had his eyes closed but was breathing. The wolf appeared battered and bruised but smiled as he looked at Loki and Hel. The three of them came together. Heads dipped in toward one another as they hugged.
A strange-looking family,
Buzz mused, but a family nonetheless. And Buzz wanted his family back.

“Odin, I need to speak to you,” Buzz requested.

“Of course, Buzz.” Odin strode over to him. “Your father is very lucky to have you for a son. He has always thought that, even if he has not been able to express it. For that I am sorry. My obsessions and concerns even in my sleeping state affected your father, and I apologize. You are brave and smart, and the gods owe you a debt of gratitude. Whatever you want, you will have.”

“Whatever I want?” Buzz said. “I want my father back. All of him. The same goes for Eleanor Bright, Coach Saunders, and Mrs. Robertson. They all have families.”

Odin rubbed his chin and looked around at the rest of the day guardians and smiled. “Humanity has long since forgotten me, and I am happy for my power to pass back into my rune. I will go to sleep, an even deeper sleep than before, and my god self will be passed down the bloodline once more. From host to host as has been the way for centuries. The same will happen with Frigga, but I cannot speak for the others.”

Sunna, Mani, and Thor exchanged a glance, and then Sunna spoke.

“Our time has passed. We know that. Let us sleep once more, and if we are ever needed, we will come back.”

“So it is decided,” Odin said. “We will put our powers back into the runes, but we will need someone to keep them safe.” He looked at Buzz. “Will you be the runes' new guardian?”

Buzz nodded, not quite believing that Odin had so easily agreed to his request.

“Then it is time for us to return to Crowmarsh and bring our hosts back to safety. Once we are in the mortal realm once more, we will go back to sleep.” Odin placed a hand on Buzz's shoulder. “I will transport us there. You stay close. Your father would not appreciate it if I were to lose you. He feels you have been lost to him for too long, and he wants to fix that.”

Buzz held out a hand for Ratatosk, and the squirrel leaped onto his palm and up his arm. He then looked over at Hel and asked the question that he'd been dreading. “Are you going to let Mary come home with us?”

A tear trickled down the goddess's cheek. “I don't know what to do. This is my kingdom, and it has been neglected for so long—I have a responsibility. I have found my father and my brother, but Mary's family is still in the human world.” She shook her head. “Neither option gives us both a happy ending.”

Loki went to her side and wrapped Hel in a hug. “Don't cry, my daughter,” he said, even though Buzz could see tears in his
eyes, too. “You are forgetting something. You are a goddess and I am a god. Gods live for a really long time.”

He pulled back from her and looked at her intently. “Let Mary go back and live her life. I will look after your kingdom, return it to its former glory, and wait until your mortal life has come to its natural end. Then I will welcome you back, and you will be Hel once more.”

“And my god self won't be passed to the next generation?” Hel asked. “You promise?”

“I cannot make this promise.” Loki looked at Odin. “But he can.”

“When your life as Mary is at an end, when you are old and gray, I promise that you will come back to your kingdom as Hel.” Odin's granite face cracked and he looked mournful. “I am sorry that I took you away from your home and cast you into the human world. It was a selfish act, and one I will never forgive myself for.”

He traced a symbol above Mary's head. “Your spirit will no longer be a nomad of the mortal world. You will come back to your kingdom and rule it with your father. This I promise. This I vow.”

Hel nodded and then looked at Buzz. “Before we go, I have something I need to do.” She slipped the horn off her shoulder. “We're going to get the River Styx flowing again. It is going to wash away all the regret. And all of you are going to help me.”