Apparently, I'm Dead

Chapter Twelve

For those of us who live in the US, Happy (early) Thanksgiving! Please stay safe and stay home. Don't bring the plague along with the mashed potatoes. 

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.

MAGNUS

It takes two hours to get Mikillgulr to dock next to Harald's boat shop. Percy absolutely refused to even think of breaking any right of way rules, even though the mortals will just forget we existed.

"It doesn't matter," he adamantly declared. "It's only proper protocol to make sure that everyone follows the rules. That's why I hate yachts," he snarled playfully. "They think that just because they're all fancy and expensive, they can break all the right of way rules. Yachts suuuck."

I snorted.

But now, on the dock, I find myself wiping my hands on my pants, trying to get the sweat off. I have just now remembered how terrifying Jormungandr is. And Ran, the crazy bag lady.

We leave the boat, heading towards Harald's marina. I knock on the door. I hear stamping and grumblin coming closer and closer. The door opens. Harald's bleary eyes look out at us. When he sees me and Sam, his mouth drops open. "NO!" he yells. "I WILL NOT TAKE YOU. Not again!"

I blanch, remembering that last time we went on his boat, it didn't go very well. At least, according to him. He didn't like it when an angry goddess showed up. I thought it turned out fine. I got Jack out of it.

Then I think of Jack's obsession with pop songs. "Maybe I'd be better off without him," I muse to myself jokingly. Then I jerk myself back on topic.

"-take us out there and we'll pay you 50 red gold," I hear Sam finish offering.

Harald glowers. "There is nothing you could pay me to go back out there with you, not again."

I hear a vicious growl behind me. My mind immediately flashing to evil blue wolves, I summon Jack and lash out behind my back. Only Jack's cry of, "Senor, no!" stops me from slicing Percy's arm off. I slow down, and Percy manages to duck under the blade.

He walks briskly forward, his steps barely making noise on the dock. "I think we can come to an agreement," he sing-songs. It's so different from the animalistic growl he just let out that I'm momentarily shocked.

Then he disappears in a flush of mist, much like how his father vanished on the ship. He appears behind Harald, on his boat. "We don't need you to come. We'll just take your boat."

He flicks a hand and a wave washes over our group, carrying us onto the boat. Surprised by the current, we cough and sputter, trying to gain back our equilibrium. Before I straighten up, I suddenly dry off. Catching the eyes of my friends, I notice that Percy's dried them off, too.

"Good bye!" Percy calls, laughing gleefully. He slashes his hand through the air, and the boat slices through the water.

"Percy!" Sam admonishes. "We need bait."

Percy looks slightly abashed. Then he turns towards Alex. "You're a shapeshifter."

Alex nods her head, encouraging him to continue.

"Can you be a bird? A big bird. And fly back to the dock and get some bait?"

Alex sighs. "Fine. I'll be your mail carrier."

"I'll come with you," says Sam. "I've been here before, and the bait we'll need is big enough that you'll need two people.

Alex nods at her sister. She shrinks. Her arms shift to the back and become feathered. Her feet become scaly. Her nose elongates. She grows feathers all over her body. And then she turns completely into an albatross. Sam follows her lead.

They fly back, getting smaller and smaller until they're only specks.

Then Mallory turns to me. "Magnus. What's the plan, then? Why'd we need the boat?"

I open my mouth to answer, but Percy cuts in. "If we need bait, we're going fishing. Are you really trying to fish for Jormungand?"

I wince at his slanderous pronunciation of the name of the World Serpent, but affirm his hypothesis. "And we need this boat because giants can bend reality, so a giant's boat can do the same thing."

Blitz asks a question next. "Percy. You disappeared. How did you do that?"

Percy looks confused for a moment, then seems to realize what Blitz is talking about. "Oh, that. I, um, don't actually know. I just really needed to get on the boat, and then I was on the boat, so I just rolled with it."

A giant bull's head falls out of the sky onto the deck. Percy screeches and whips out his sword. I just laugh and glance up at the sky.

A bird dive bombs the boat, turning into Alex. The Sam-bird lands much more gracefully.

A veritable river of swears- Greek, English, Latin, and some Norse ones he's somehow learned- pours out of Percy's mouth. "Where the Hades did you get that?"

"It was in the bait shed. The biggest thing there. And before you ask, Magnus, it's a different bull head, not the one we used last time."

"That is not a bull. That is the Minotaur." Percy cries. "Oh my gods, we're going fishing with the Minotaur's head. This is awesome!" He cackles. "Ah, sweet revenge."

He takes the chain with the hook on it and hefts it off the stand. "Little help?"

Halfborn comes over and picks up the hook. He attaches it to the Minotaur's lip and then drops the head in the water. It slowly sinks.

Soon, we can't see it in the water anymore. Then, there's a bite. The boat strains, almost cracking, and I know immediately that it's Jormungandr.

Halfborn and I rush to the reel. We painstakingly turn the lever (it's a lot easier with Halfborn helping) and slowly but surely, the catch comes up, breaching the surface with an enormous splash.

The green light, even brighter than it was last time, washes over my vision. The boat shakes in time with the waves that rush across the surface of the water. I squint, then confirm what I know to be true.

This is Jormungandr. 

Thanks,

ATOTALMUSICALNERD