The Watcher ❪ Book 1❫

Chapter Eighteen

Why does my life have to always be filled with plot twists?

Near me, Samirah muttered, "This is bad. The Norns only show up in extreme cases."

I groaned quietly. "Why does this always happen to me?"

I don't want to be an extreme case.

As the Norns got closer, I saw their hooded faces. They were beautiful but unnerving--like Aphrodite. A sheet of fog trailed behind them mysteriously. The nine-foot women stopped twenty feet from our table and turned up their palms. Their skin was blank white, like snow.

Magnus Chase. Neither Norn moved their lips, but the soft disembodied voice resonated through the hall. The voice made me shiver with the familiarity of it. Harbinger of the Wolf.

I know that voice . . .

The crowd stirred uneasily.

Cerise Fierro. My blood froze. Protector.

Protector? I'm a Watcher--well, I used to be . . .

Then, fog gathered in the hands of the middle Norns and solidified into half a dozen runestones. She tossed them in the air. They hovered above her, growing into a luminous white symbol the size of one of the maps in the Athena Cabin. One floated over to Magnus. It looked like a tree branch.

Fehu announced the cold voice. The rune of Frey.

Then another rune broke apart from the group, coming over to me. It resembled a vertical rectangle with an X going through it. My eyes glazed over and my head became foggy as I looked up at the rune. I brought my hand up and rubbed my eyes. What . . . ?

Dagaz, the rune of--

"Heimdal."

Holy shit, I am a daughter of a Norse god.

All eyes snapped to my dark figure. Some gasped, some in wide-eyed shock, and others looked like they were waiting for me to be incinerated. I hoped it wouldn't be the last one.

My eyes drifted to the Norns. I waited for them to attack me, but surprisingly, they didn't. One by one they smirked and spoke together. Their ghostly voices chanted in unison, shaking leaves from The Tree of Laeradr:

Wrongly chosen, wrongly slain,

heroes Valhalla cannot contain.

Nine days hence the sun must go east,

Ere Sword of Summer unbinds the beast.

And The Watcher breaks tradition once again.

The glowing runes dissolved. The Tree Norns bowed to us and melted into the fog, disappearing. The hall was silent.

Magnus glanced at Samirah. "How often does that happen?"

The Valkyrie looked like she had been smacked between the eyes with Riptide. "No. Choosing you couldn't have been a mistake. I was told . . . I was promised--"

"Someone told you to pick us up?"

She didn't answer, choosing to murmur under her breath--as if running calculations of what went wrong.

At the thanes' table, the lords conferred. All the warriors in the hall were staring, studying me and Magnus. I stood tall and tried not to look down at my boots.

Finally, Helgi turned to us. "Magnus Chase and Cerise Fierro, son of Frey and daughter of Heimdal, your destiny is troubling. The lords of Valhalla must think about this further. You are one of the einherjar now. That cannot be reversed, even if it was a mistake."

He scowled at Samirah. "Samirah al-Abbas, the Norns themselves have pronounced your judgment in error. Do you have any defense?"

Excuse me?

My jaw dropped. "Woah, Woah--hold up! Prophecies always have had double--"

"Quiet!" interrupted Helgi. I flinched, the tone reminding me of Chiron's stern one.

Samirah's eyes widened in realization. "The son of Frey . . ." She looked around the hall desperately. "Einherjar, don't you see? This is the son of Frey! Surt himself was on that bridge! That means the sword . . ." She spun toward the thanes' table. "Gunilla, you must see what this means. We have to find the sword! A quest, immediately--"

Helgi banged his fist against the surface of the table. "Enough! Samirah, you stand in judgment for a grave mistake. It is not your place to tell us what to do. It is definitely not your place to order a quest!"

"I did not make a mistake," Samirah protested. "I did as I was ordered! I--"

"Ordered?" The idiotic manager narrowed his eyes. "Ordered by whom?"

Samirah's mouth clamped shut. She slumped like she knew what was going to happen.

Helgi nodded grimly. "I see. Captain Gunilla, before I announce the thanes' judgment on this Valkyrie, do you wish to speak?

The Valkyrie captain shifted in her seat. The gleam of triumph and amusement was gone from her eyes. She looked like she was going to be sick.

"I--" She shook her head. "No, my lord. I--I have nothing to add."

"Very well," said Helgi. "Samirah al-Abbas, for your poor judgment with theses einherjar Magnus Chase and Cerise Fierro, and your past mistakes, the thanes rule that you be expelled from the sisterhood of Valkyries. You are hereby stripped of your powers and privileges. Return to Midgard in disgrace!"

Samirah grabbed Magnus' arm. "Magnus, you need to listen to me. You have to find the sword. You have to stop them--"

In a flash of light, she was gone. I covered my mouth from shock. Gods . . .

"So that concludes our feast," Helgi announced. "I will see you all tomorrow on the field of battle! Sleep well, and dream of glorious death!"