CHAPTER TWO
That's Definitely Not Idris Elba
Travelling through rainbow is…well, it's interesting. The most I'd ever done with a rainbow is an Ancient version of Skype. I tried to look around, but the light was blinding. Sophia had fallen from my arms. I was frantically trying to reach for her. After what seemed like a minute or so, I landed hard on my butt. I shook off my headache.
"Annabeth? Sophia?"
"I'm okay, Percy"
"I'm here, Daddy"
I sighed. "Gods, I don't want to do that again. I'll just stick to a Pegasus."
I rubbed the kink out of my neck, climbing to my feet. I assisted Annabeth in standing, and scooped Sophia back up.
"You feeling okay, Baby?"
She shook her head.
"I think I'm gonna thwow up!"
I set her down quickly, leaning her head towards the edge of the rainbow bridge. I held on tight. I did not want her falling off. She vomited.
"Many apologies," Blitz said, "Traveling through the Bifrost can have that effect. I should have warned you."
I nuzzled my daughter close. "Better now?" She nodded. At that time, a man stepped forward.
"Oh, yes! I've got to get a selfie of this. Greek demigods enter Asgard! Momentous occasion!"
He surged forward and began fumbling with some sort of horn. What the Hades was going on? It morphed into a phone. Hearth interrupted him, signing for him to stop.
"Hearth is right," Blitz said, "We don't have the time. Put Gjallarhorn away, please. It's very urgent"
The man pouted. His bushy eyebrows really stood out on his face. I don't think I'd ever seen any that big.
"You heroes are always in a rush. Never anytime for a selfie with Heimdall. Alas, I see how it is."
So, yes, my first thought was that this guy was nothing like Idris Elba. That guy was great in those Thor movies. This Heimdall didn't seem like a very competent man. That's how I knew he was definitely a god. He also had on a tunic. I didn't have enough time to think on that, though, because my mind went into a completely different direction. This had to be serious. Another voice piped up.
"Hey, guys, thanks for coming."
Kurt Cobain walked up to us. No, not the Kurt Cobain. This was just Magnus. He looked exactly like Kurt, though, just without the long hair. He wore a simple jeans and T-shirt combo like me and Annabeth. Next to him walked Alex Fierro. She wore salmon-colored pants, and a white button up shirt. They were married, by the way. She, er, he (on somedays). Okay, let me explain. Alex Fierro is a child of Loki apparently. Loki is the Norse god of Mischief (you might also remember him from the movies). Anyway, some children of Loki are born with this thing where their gender can change. Alex wasn't in charge of it. Somedays she was completely a girl, other days completely a guy. Although, typically, she said she was a girl. It's very confusing, so I honestly try to avoid calling her anything other than her name. It's less offensive. But for the sake of this story, I'm just going with she. Hopefully, Alex will never read this. Alex stood with her arms over her chest. Her manner and presence always reminded me of my friend Thalia Grace. I had a feeling they'd get along pretty well. They both had fiery eyes.
"Well, it's been a while," Magnus continued. Annabeth hugged her cousin. Sophia gazed wondrously around her. She was awestruck. Her wide eyes made me smile.
"I assume Blitz filled you in."
Annabeth and I both nodded. I spoke.
"I am really confused, though, what do you need us for?"
Annabeth winced.
"Gods, Percy, do you have to end your sentences with prepositions?"
I rolled my eyes. Grammar was stupid, but Annabeth was a grammar Nazi. I think Magnus smirked at me.
"Well, Percy. Grendel is a very elusive monster. He hasn't been seen for years. We thought he had been slumbering, and perhaps he was, but now he is wreaking havoc on our Nine Realms. Most recently, he has visited Midgard, or Earth, as we know it. After all, that is his birth place. We believe he is going to try to absorb strength from places of power. Unfortunately, he's too strong for us to handle alone. We need your help."
That pretty much summed up what we had already been told.
"Yeah, but how do we start that? And if Grendel is on Earth, why didn't you just meet us down there? Shouldn't we start hunting?"
I glanced at Alex, making me think of Thalia again. I continued.
"We know a group that's very good at tracking monsters."
Magnus smiled.
"I'm sure you do, Percy, but I think this might be just a little bit better. Heimdall, can you show us where the monster is?"
He turned to face the god. Heimdall held up his hand.
"Say no more. But, as I am sure you know, gods do come with a price." He paused, licking his lips, grinning like a child who just won a lifetime's worth of candy. "I require one selfie with the Greeks. Just one! Please? Gjallarhorn never gets used for anything useful"
Magnus sighed and groaned. Alex rolled her eyes.
"Fine," Alex said, "One selfie."
Heimdall straightened up and closed his eyes. Nobody spoke for about a minute. I fidgeted. I have ADHD. I can't stand long pauses.
"Uh, is he dead?" I asked. Annabeth shot me a look as if to say Be respectful!
Heimdall opened his eyes again.
"Ah, yes. I see him."
He pointed at his Gjallarhorn, which had suddenly transformed into a giant phone. That horn must be pretty useful. I wondered what else it could do. On the phone screen, I saw Grendel. Grendel looked like Bigfoot. He didn't look all that threatening to me, but I had learned not to judge my enemies. Fur covered his body, and his eyes glowed with a familiar green color. Oracle smoke green. It made me shiver. I got a bad feeling that something was seriously wrong. See, our Oracle is a servant of Apollo. She sometimes spouts out prophecies. When she does, this green smoke billows from her mouth and floats around her. Its very unnerving the first time you see it. Regardless, the smoke usually indicated that something apocalyptic was in the near future. I stole a glance at Annabeth and knew she was thinking the same thing. Grendel might actually be the least of our worries. I looked back at the screen. Grendel was in a cave of some sort. Man, did monsters love caves.
"Where is that?" I questioned.
"The moor-fens," Heimdall answered. That answered nothing.
"What?"
Annabeth chimed in.
"The moor-fens! Where Grendel lived back before Beowulf killed him. It's near Heorot Hall. I think most modern scholars would place that near the village Lejre. That's Denmark, Percy. Anglo-Saxons"
"I thought they were from England."
"Percy, Anglo-Saxons are a group of people. They aren't necessarily confined to one living space. Some Saxons did indeed live in England. That's how legends spread to different cultures, Percy"
Oh, gods. I had started Annabeth on a lecture. Luckily, this one didn't last much longer.
"So," I said, "We go to Denmark then?"
Alex shook her head.
"No, I'm sure Grendel won't stay there long. That's where he grew up. He already knows everything he could possibly know about the country. He'll be coming for other places. Greece, Rome, China. Anywhere that once was, or still is, a large source of power."
Annabeth nodded in agreement.
"I agree. We need to wait to see what Grendel's first move is. Meanwhile, I think there's an old friend Percy and I need to visit."
She gave me a knowing glance. We had to see Rachel, our Oracle.
"And you need to come with us," Annabeth added, pointing at Magnus and Alex.
I scooped up Sophia, who had been busy playing with the rainbow highway.
"Hey, baby. I think we're gonna have to do that Rainbow travel again. Are you up for it?"
Sophia chewed her bottom lip, her expression turning sour. But then, she put her brave face on.
"I can do it, Daddy."
I nuzzled her nose.
"I knew you could."
Alex cocked her head to the side, studying me with the slightest smile at the edge of her lips.
"Heimdall," she said. "Take us where they need us."
I looked at the Idris Elba knock off. He quickly pulled out his phone and snapped a picture.
"Ah, that'll be great!" He announced.
"Camp Half-Blood." I requested.
Heimdall nodded, and for the second time that day, I discovered that the Rainbow tasted nothing like Skittles.