Percy and I spent the day with Magnus. Eventually, Sam had to go back to her grandparents' place or they would worry. Percy spent hours drawing diagrams of tides, how hurricanes worked, and the parts of ships, until Magnus looked like he was on overload. We stopped at a tall walled-off courtyard.
"Valhalla, or one of the entrances, is on the other side." Magnus explained. "Will I get to see you again?"
Percy glanced at me. "Annabeth and I were hoping to stay the night in Boston and spend tomorrow here with you too, if you'd like."
"Really?" Magnus seemed surprised. "I'd love that. That's ok with you, cuz?"
"I want to help, in any way we can." I assured him. "It's spring break, so we can stay another day. And Magnus?"
"Yeah?"
I took a deep breath. "I got Randolph's will. He left the mansion to us."
Magnus's head jerked back like I hit him. "He…. what?"
"I know."
"He got me killed."
"I know."
"He chose to die."
"I know."
"He never really cared about -"
"Gods, Magnus, trust me - I know. But…." I thought about my conversation with Sam. "Maybe…. You and I can figure out some way to make something good come from this mess."
Magnus stared at me like I'd grown horns. Finally, he blinked and looked at Percy. "I'm dead. Can dead people own property?"
Percy shrugged. "My parents Googled it yesterday. We honestly don't know, since you aren't totally dead and still exist."
Magnus grinned at him, then looked at me. "So…. I guess you own a mansion."
"I'm not sure I want a mansion." I admitted. "I….. I might sell it, or something. If you have any ideas of what to do with it, let me know. Percy and I are going to go look through it. See if there are any family things we want to keep. But Magnus - Randolph said in his will that it is vitally important that you look over his papers. As soon as possible. I think you should."
Magnus thought about that. "He's tried to kill me. Multiple times. What are the chances this is a trap?"
"High." I admitted. "But if he changed his mind in his final moments, or something -" I took a breath. "Magnus, the will was changed the day before he died. That means it was after your death. He left your name in for a reason. He knew you were dead but left your name and these instructions for a reason. If he died a day later…. Maybe he knew the end was near, and he set up a fall-back plan, or some way to self-destruct Loki. Something he wanted to do to help but could never finish it."
Magnus was quiet, thinking. "Maybe you're right." He agreed. "I'll… think about it."
That was enough for me. We said our goodbyes and by the time we were at the crosswalk to the next street, Magnus had disappeared.
"What do you think Valhalla is like?" Percy asked.
"Big. Loud. Deadly." I decided. "Based on my research, anyway."
"Do you think I did a good job teaching Magnus today?"
"Oh definitely!" I assured him. "Percy, you know so much about the ocean. Have you been reading up?"
"Yeah. Sort of. And Tyson, when he visits, he likes to talk to me about it. So, you know, I read up on facts and stuff. And then some of it just feels natural to me."
"That's so cool." Percy grinned at me.
The next day we met up with Magnus at an iHOP. He had brought another friend, this one was not Sam. They had bright green hair, and -
"You!" The green-haired person and I said at the same time.
Magnus looked between us, clearly trying to figure out what was going on. "Do you two know each other, or?"
"We met once, when I was looking for you in January. She was at a youth shelter near Boston Commons."
The person stiffened. "That's right, but my pronouns are 'He' and 'Him' today. When we met I must've been a girl."
I nodded, staring at him. "But if you and Magnus are friends, does that mean -"
"I'm dead." He confirmed. "And my name is Alex, child of Loki."
"Nice to see you again, Alex. I think I told you that life would get better. I'm sorry -"
Alex grinned. "Are you kidding? My life is awesome. Yesterday I got to cut Magnus's foot off during the lunch buffet."
"Uh…." Percy stared at the two of them. "Is that…. normal for lunch?"
"Yes." Both Norse demigods said. Alex seemed far happier about this arrangement than Magnus.
Once we were seated, Magnus explained, "We can't die, like permanently, in Valhalla. So instead we practice killing each other every day so when we face Ragnarok, we aren't scared."
"How long do you keep killing each other?" Percy asked, sounding shocked.
"Until the world ends a final time." Magnus explained, looking at the menu. "It's weird, but you get used to it. So long as it's not Lindworm day. I hate Lindworm day."
"Lindworms are awesome." Alex countered. "Do you think I can transform into a Lindworm?"
Magnus shuddered at the idea and changed the subject. "I… I guess I never thanked you for looking for me, Annabeth."
"She does that." Percy said with a grin. "She found me too."
"At least you weren't dead." I pointed out, though the memory of losing Percy was still enough to make me panic. "Speaking of Lindworms, Magnus, let's talk about some of the monsters you may encounter in Europe. Percy said sea serpents are different over there."
By the time we had all enjoyed some pancakes (and Magnus and Alex assured me that dead people can still taste pancakes), Percy had explained the differences between common sea serpents, sea monsters, sea beasts, sea snakes, sea slugs, and sea badgers (don't ask, it's a big problem with the Godly Task Force for Invasive Species). Magnus had begged for some time to relax, since he had a major headache from all the learning. Alex had promised to help him with that, but the look he gave Magnus did not make me feel like he intended to use aspirin. If I had to guess, I'd say Alex intended to cut Magnus's head off, and I just hoped they would get back to Valhalla before that happened.
Since we had some time, we decided it was time to go visit the family homestead. I was nervous the whole way there. All the memories of January, Magnus's death and all that that entailed, came flooding back to me. By the time we got there, I was pretty sure I was squeezing Percy's hand so tight he'd have bruises, but he never complained. We walked up the steps to the mansion. I pulled out the key and pushed open the door. It creaked even worse than I remembered and was somehow even colder inside than in January.
"You're right, this is super creepy." Percy agreed, his voice echoing in the silence. "Big, but creepy."
"Exactly." I found the light switch and turned it on. The light made it so we could see, but the place was still dark. The mahogany furniture seemed to absorb the light, and the chandelier was flickering.
"Woah." Percy looked around the foyer. "Is it just me, or is this the kind of place that would totally have one of Aunty Em's garden gnomes."
"Definitely. If you see one, let me know. We can take it to Camp. Maybe Chiron has some way of un-statuing people." I tried not to look at the oil paintings on the walls. When I was a kid I always thought they were watching me. If Magnus didn't need them for his quest, I fully intended to burn them. I wasn't sure if they were supposed to be paintings of our ancestors or what, but they were extremely creepy.
We walked back to the kitchen, our footsteps echoing on the marble floors. I had to admit, it was really nice marble. So far, that was the only thing I liked in the house. The kitchen was huge, plenty big enough to hold a party for the Camp year-rounders, but I doubted Randolph hosted many parties. The fridge had very little food, as if Randolph had known he wasn't going to make it. The cabinets were mainly bare, with a couple coffee mugs, some bowls and plates, and more dust than I ever wanted to experience.
"Do you have your inhaler? I have a feeling we'll need them." I shut the cabinet, trying not to stir up the dust.
Percy showed me his inhaler and we went up a level. Randolph's study was a mess. I wasn't sure we should touch anything too much - I never knew what kind of mythological curses we might release. Percy started on one end of the room, using his inhaler as he went over the books on the shelves.
"This might be even more books than the Athena cabin." Percy muttered, looking at the titles. There were more books on Norse mythology than I thought could exist.
"Maybe some of my siblings can help me see if any of these are valuable, or worth it to donate somewhere." I mused, carefully brushing away the dust from some of the book spines. "After whatever happens with Magnus. If any of these can help him, he's welcome to them."
Percy nodded and started going through some lower levels that had boxes upon boxes of research papers. "Gods, this guy has to have killed an entire forest for all the paper in here."
"Somehow I don't see Randolph caring about forests. If he never really cared about Magnus or me, well, I'm not sure he can care about plants and animals he's never met. I still can't believe he nearly killed Magnus's friend Blitzen. The stuff Magnus has told me -" I shook my head, "Randolph was too far gone, too twisted by this god Loki."
I didn't want to say it, but it reminded me too much of Luke. A family member, bitter and angry, twisted by a god to use for their own purpose. I was pretty sure Percy was thinking the same thing. I knew I needed to leave Magnus's quest to Magnus, but I really wanted to punch this Loki guy in the face. Or worse. I was sick and tired of losing family, of people being used by gods for their own purpose. I tried to calm down - any time I start down that line of thinking, I remember Luke's broken body, his blood on my knife. I know where that line of thinking leads to, and it isn't good.
I tried to refocus - helping Magnus. That was the priority, not punching a god. We looked at the rest of the viking artifacts and notes, but I chose to leave them in place. If any of this could help Magnus, I wanted him to be able to find it. Percy and I walked to the next floor. The first door led to a bedroom that had been wiped clean of any traces of anyone. But there were two twin beds, and for some reason, I felt like it had been Emma and Aubrey's. But all their things were gone. I looked around and in the drawers, but wherever Randolph had put their stuff, well, it wasn't here. Maybe he had burned it to send to his daughters in the afterlife. I had no idea. But it felt a little strange to see two lives so thoroughly cleaned from existence. No hair pins, no toys, nothing to show that two little girls had lived here.
The second room was Randolph's and I didn't stay long. More books in piles all around the bed, but if these were what Randolph was reading most recently, it was even more important Magnus be able to find them.
The next floor had two more bedrooms, both as empty as Emma and Aubrey's. One would've been my dad's as a kid, which was strange to think about. The other was my aunt's. Any traces of their childhoods were gone too. No books or model planes in my dad's room, no hiking boots or volleyball trophies in my aunt's. This was supposed to be my family's home, but there was no sign of any of my family. It felt like I was walking through a stranger's house, one I definitely didn't belong in. I decided right then - if Magnus doesn't want this place, I'm selling it. This isn't the kind of family memories that deserve to be passed on.
The last floor was a giant library. Now, don't get me wrong, I love big libraries. But I was disappointed to find there were no signs pointing to things that might help Magnus, nothing that screamed "Look Here! The secret for saving the Nine Worlds!", no crazy maps with an easy to follow, step by step plan for defeating the Norse god of evil. I sighed and looked at the wall. There was an old photo there - Magnus, me, my dad and stepmom, my stepbrothers, my aunt and uncle. That Thanksgiving, the last time I saw Magnus. I picked it up.
"That's you?" Percy asked, looking over my shoulder.
"Yeah. This is the last time I saw Magnus alive."
He wrapped an arm around my waist, and another around my shoulders.
"This is the only thing I want here." I said quietly. "You know, happy family memories. Or not so happy ones - there were several big fights that trip, my dad and Randolph, my stepmom and Natalie, Randolph and Natalie, my dad and my stepmom…. Just all the combinations. But Magnus and I had fun."
Percy gave me a little kiss on the back of my head. We found a couple more photos - my dad and his siblings as little kids, my cousins, that sort of thing. We walked up the stairs to the rooftop deck and looked around. It was a good view, another thing I liked about the house, but I wasn't a fan of Boston. Sorry, any readers in Boston, I just prefer New York, or California. Places where my family is. Not where all my family has died.
"No TV, no living room." Percy mused.
"Oh." I frowned. "I think that's in the basement."
We made our way to the basement and found - surprise! - more dust, more darkness, more old expensive furniture, and - wait for it - more books. I sighed. I love books, but Randolph had no logical means of organization that I could see, so how I was to ever find anything, I didn't know.
Percy opened one of the cabinets at the bottom of a bookcase and held up an old toy gun. He took out a broken and battered Scrabble game box, and a puzzle of an old Norse ship.
I looked in the next cabinet and found a box of three old VHS tapes. "You've got to be kidding." I pulled them out to show Percy, reading off the label. "Chase Family Videos."