Hey guys, so sorry it's been ages since the last update. I thought with having finally broken up for the summer I'd have more time to write, but I seem to be busier than before! Thank you for staying with me. Read and review!

P.S: The 'London Fight Factory' mentioned in this chapter is a real institution in London, in the location mentioned. All things mentioned to do with them belongs to them and I have nothing to do with it.

Enjoy!

Fronk x

The rest of my Saturday was spent researching this mysterious symbol that kept popping up everywhere. I'd already decided to go to Sebastian tomorrow (I would have to find out where to find him at some point) so the rest of the day would be devoted to research. After a few hours of going through every rune book I could find online (I did have very little information to go on), I found it:

Hagalaz: (H: Hail.) Wrath of nature, destructive, uncontrolled forces, especially the weather, or within the unconscious. Tempering, testing, trial. Controlled crisis, leading to completion, inner harmony.

(In opposition): Natural disaster, catastrophe, stagnation, loss of power. Pain, loss, suffering, hardship, sickness, crisis.

Well, that sounds cheerful. It came from the Norse alphabet, but who used Norse magic? If it were an Egyptian hieroglyph, I'd understand, but it's not like the Norse gods exist. I had never heard of people using runes to do magic except in fantasy novels.

Who could I go to for help? None of the gods I'd met had anything to do with magic. As much good as Internet Explorer was, there was no way that it could give me the in depth knowledge I'd need to reverse or defeat this rune. There was always Hecate, the goddess of magic, but I'd never met her and had no way of getting in contact with her – I'd heard she didn't have the best of relations with demigods after the incident on her daughter's island, and she didn't answer IM's very often. I doubt any of the other gods would help me if what Persephone had said was true and they 'do not condone the use of the old magic'.

What was a girl to do?

Deciding to put this conundrum on hold for the time being, I decided to go and find Sebastian. How hard could it be to find a cage fighting gym in London? Looking at the Google search, very. You'd be surprised how many there were.

Then I had an idea. Why try to find Sebastian when I knew Sandra? I logged on to Facebook and found her profile in no time. She doesn't have any security features, so I could see all of her status' – quite dangerous, actually.

(Before anyone starts, I know demigods can't use the internet or have mobile phones. However, Lord Hermes has created a new version with such a high frequency that monsters can't pick up on it, which he asked me to trail. I've had it for about four months now and since nothing has happened I'm going to continue to use it.)

One of her more recent status' read: Go babe! What a way to win! – with Sebastian Oznerol, at London Fight Factory'. That's where I'd start looking. I Google searched it, and came up with the right place. I clicked on the 'Location' tab and got an address. Checking the Underground map, I planned my rout and headed off.

After getting the Victoria Line north at Green Park station, changing at Euston to the Northern Line east to Angel station and walking along City Road then turning right onto East Road, I found it. The building was situated in a slightly run down area, but nice enough. It had a black gear on the outside with 'London Fight Factory' in white letters around the edge. I headed inside.

The inside was a lot nicer than the outside, I have to say. The front desk was a white washed room with a neat looking desk at one end. The desk was unoccupied, so I had a look at the notice board next to it. There was a list of classes with prices next to them, and a timetable of when the classes were. I couldn't find any cage fighting classes, but there were wrestling and MMA classes, which I'm pretty sure Sandra had said Sebastian did. According to this, he'd just be finishing a MMA class before going onto a wrestling one – if he were here at all. Just then, a flustered looking secretary appeared.

"Can I help you?" she asked, her condescending voice had a nasally quality to it. I automatically took a dislike to her. She wore shorts that barely passed as shorts and something that resembled a vest but was more a scrap of material, her long dirty blonde hair pulled back in a high bun.

Fantastic.

I put on my fake smile and answered: "Yes, I'm looking for Sebastian Oznerol. Is he here?"

She popped her gum and stared at me. A moment dragged by. I raised an eyebrow at her. Eventually, she sighed and flicked through what looked like a register.

"Yeah, he's here," she said, a bored expression on her face. "In room 18 - the one without a door. You can't miss it."

I nodded my thanks and headed down the corridor she pointed too. I walked down it, hearing grunts and the smack of flesh of flesh as my mind painted pictures of muscle men knocking the sense out of each other in various different ways. I realise it's slightly hypocritical of me, being a warrior and looking down my nose at these fighters, but the way I fight is for survival, not the satisfaction of winning against an opponent.

I found room 18 without any problem as promised, and found Sebastian in it too. He was sweaty from a MMA fight (mixed martial arts, for those who don't know) and had the beginnings of a black eye forming. Sandra won't be happy about that. I hung around until he was the only one left in the room. I made my move.

"Sebastian," I called. He spun around at the sound of my voice.

"You," he snarled. Wow, aggressive much.

"Yeah," I said, putting on a brave face. "Me. I've got a few questions for you. Care to answer them?"

I could see the conflicting emotions on his face. Rage. Depression. Confusion. There was a faint glowing from behind him, putting a distorted image on the wall. The Hagalaz.

I rushed up to him and spun him around. A blazing white H, the Hagalaz was burnt into his neck, right in the middle between his hairline and shirt collar. It looked painful, like it was scorching his flesh. I had no way of stopping it.

"Sebastian," I said, my voice breaking with shock. "Who did this to you?"

His voice hoarse, he said quietly: "Her."

That was helpful. I shook him for a further explanation.

"My mistress," he said. "The one bound by blood to the one she serves, put this mark on me. I am her uncontrollable force of nature." With that, he lost his struggle and fell unconscious onto the floor by my feet.

That had got to be the most eloquent statement I'd ever heard him utter. But it wasn't particularly helpful. Who was this 'her', and who was she bound to? Propping Sebastian up against a near by wall, I left with more questions and no answers what so ever.

Before I went home I stopped by the local library. This place was the second biggest library I'd ever been in – nothing I've seen beats the Athena cabin library. I was also quite close to the head librarian, Marissa, who I'd known since I was about five. I met her when I was running from a monster, even though I didn't know what it was at the time, and took refuge in the library. As a mortal who can see through the Mist, she'd come in very useful over the years.

If anyone knew where to find a book, it'd be her.

"Hi Marissa," I said happily but quietly. We were in a library, after all. She was sat at the front desk, her sleek brown hair plaited down her back with flowers braided into it. Glancing up from what ever book she was reading – I don't think it was in English – and smiled broadly.

"Eden, dear. It is good to see you again!" she whispered excitedly, hugging me over the counter. "How are you?"

"Good thank you, and you?" I asked.

She smiled. "Good thank you. How can I help you?"

I leaned in a little closer. "I'm here on official business," I said, looking up at the sky.

She caught on quickly. "Oh? Follow me, then."

There was a restricted area at the back of the library for 'godly' books, full of legends that weren't legends and things that normal people wouldn't dream of believing. Marissa's family have been Keepers of these particular books for generations. Again, very useful to know.

She unlocked the door and led me in.

"Anything specific you're looking for?" she asked, all business now.

"Is there anything in here on Norse runes, and maybe the type of people who use them?" I asked.

She looked momentarily dazed by my request, but nodded and walked to a bit of the room I'd never seen before. The further back we went, the darker and danker the room became. The lighting became increasingly worse, and the dust was tickling my nose. The books here looked aged and uncared for – very unusual for any part of the library, especially this part.

"Not come down here often?" I asked.

Melissa looked at me wide eyed over her shoulder and shook her head. I'd never seen her this spooked before. I decided not to press the subject. It wasn't like I needed something else to worry over.

Finally, we arrived at the very back shelf of the room.

"Here," she said, pointing at a few choice shelves. "All the Norse stuff is on these shelves. Too far right and you go Egyptian, too far left and the Celtic stuff starts – and trust me, you don't want to go there. As ever, these books can't leave this room, so I'll have to lock the door. Ring the bell when you're done, yeah?"

I nodded, thanking her as she left.

I looked dismayed at the books before me. They were probably in this state because the use of 'old magic' isn't condoned by the gods. Sighing, I got to work. I started leafing through the titles. Only a few jumped out of me. Gingerly, not wanting to hurt the books, I pulled out 'Norse Runes: A Basic Guide', 'Advanced Runes' and 'Rune Warlocks'. Maybe something would be in here as to reversal or clues to the user themselves. Glancing around and spotting a comfy looking chair, I sat down and started the first book. Given the size of the book, I was in for a long afternoon.