Speed Demons

Part 28

I jump around a lot in this chapter, pulling scenes from The Sword of Summer. If you want to know what happens between... just read the book.

Magnus Chase

When the speedster fell from the tree, I knew I had seen everything.

I was in my room in Hotel Valhalla, minding my business and wishing I could be alive again. Every so often I would hear grunts from the branches of the tree. (That's right. My room contains a willow tree; don't ask questions.)

I was lying on my back, staring up at the branches. "What the," A dark mass appeared above me. It bounced off of branches, getting bigger and bigger. It was falling! I quickly scampered out of the way, just before who or whatever it was crashed into the ground on the spot where I had just been.

To my surprise, it was my friend from the streets, Blitz. He was a shorter man with an impeccable taste in fashion, even though he was homeless. In the place of his usual layers of rags, was a three-piece suit which appeared to have been fitted for his stocky frame. His arm appeared to have been broken from the fall. "My arm!" He shouted, "Oh, Magnus! Hi!"

Blitz tried to stand up but was crushed under another man. He had pale skin with pointed ears and platinum-blonde hair. He was slender, wearing all black except for a red and white striped scarf. It was Hearth, another street friend. He was deaf, so he taught me sign language. Hello Magnus, He greeted me with a wave.

This time, he and Blitz succeeded in standing up. "What are you guys doing here?" I asked, but they ignored me. Hearth was looking up at the tree expectantly.

As if on cue, another person fell from the tree and landed on his back. I didn't recognize him. He had a mop of raven-black hair on his head with icy blue eyes. He had a beige hoodie with a picture of the Google Chrome dinosaur game on the front. He groaned, "Ow." He stood up. He was about Blitz's height, around 5' 4". He stretched his arms over his head and his back cracked from his waist to his neck. He turned to me but didn't make eye contact. "Hi, you must be Magnus." He waved weakly, rubbing his back. "I'm Percy Jackson." Despite his size, he looked around my age. 16 of 17.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked again. Blitz looked at me and smiled. He winced when the new guy, Percy, walked over and set his arm.

"Thanks, Perseus," He sighed. "Magnus, we're trying to delay Ragnarok, but we need your help to find the sword of summer and keep it away from Surt."

"Yeah," Percy agreed, "Surt sucks." There was a roar from the branches. "Shit!"

Hearth looked paler than usual. Squirrel? He looked at Percy questioningly. The teenager nodded. I raised an eyebrow.

"Squirrel?" I asked.

"Yeah," Blits told me, "not just any Squirrel. The Squirrel. Ratatoskr, the bane of the World Tree. That's how we got here. Climbing on the branches of the World Tree to find you, while simultaneously avoiding Ratatoskr."

"I understood none of that."

Percy swore as the roar sounded again. "Hearthstone! Blitzen! Get Magnus out of here! I will lead the Squirrel away. Meet me at the funeral home!" Then he scampered up the tree and disappeared into the branches.

Hearth looked slightly worried, but Blitz pulled the two of us away.

Line Break

Percy was already sitting in front of a funeral home when we arrived, leaning up against the wall. His face was riddled with little scratches. He looked thoroughly beaten up. "You alright, Kid?" A man asked as he passed by. Percy nodded, obviously lying, but the man left without a word.