Welcome to Valhalla

"Making An Escape Plan Is Harder Than You Think..."

"You've got to be joking," Mackenzie said, her eyes growing wide after hearing the story.

Charlotte and Jason shook their heads.

"You can trust us," Arik said, giving Charlotte a small, warm smile. She smiled back, grateful for his understanding.

"Yeah! We won't turn you both in, don't worry!" Frode exclaimed. "It's kinda cool, really. You know, long lost siblings and all."

"Long lost siblings?" a voice suddenly asked.

The six of their heads whirled around, noticing Amabella Bronwyn in the doorway.

"How did you get in here?" Charlotte demanded, standing up.

"The door was unlocked," she replied, stepping inside. "I heard it all."

The daughter of Jupiter glanced at Jason, who shrugged slightly, giving her a 'maybe-she-can-help' look.

Elijah looked at the Valkyrie, then to the children of Jupiter. "Want me to charm her and make her forget?"

"Don't even think about it," Bella sneered, her hand moving towards her axe at her side. "Besides, I already knew who Charlotte was. She told me when she was cutting off my air circulation. I just didn't know she had a brother here."
Charlotte held back a smirk. "Uh, yeah, sorry."

"Anyways," the daughter of Tyr said, glaring at her. "I know you need to get back to your Legion and I want to help you. I brought you here after all."

Charlotte blinked in surprise.

Jason looked at her hopefully.

Bella crossed her arms. "I know how to get out, and quite frankly, it isn't easy."

Mack tilted her head. "I didn't think you could actually leave this place. Why didn't anyone tell me sooner!?"
The Valkyrie shook her head. "It's not like that. If you die when you are outside of Valhalla, you become one with the universe. You don't come back. You're completely gone."

Charlotte's face went pale. She looked at Jason and he looked the same.

"Well, I didn't know that," he said, scratching his head.

The daughter of Jupiter looked at her friends. "Look," she started. "Thank you everyone for wanting to help me, but I can't put your lives at risk. I don't know what I would do if I knew that any of you were gone for good."

Everyone exchanged glances, and finally Jason stood. "Charlotte, we want Camp Jupiter to be safe from harm. The entire world could be lost if we do nothing."

Arik nodded and stood. "Yeah, and I think that's a risk worth taking."

Frode smiled and agreed.

Mack shrugged. "It's worth a shot. Besides, we're already dead."

Charlotte smiled at her friends. She couldn't believe her eyes. They would willingly sacrifice themselves to save a place that they never knew. (Accept for Jason, of course).

The son of Freya frowned. "How do we even get out?"

Amabella Bronwyn walked over to a chair, fit for a king, and sat down. "There's a garbage chute-"

"UGH!" Elijah screamed. "I AM NOT TRASH!"

"Gods," Mack rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

"There's a garbage chute," Bella continued. "It leads straight to Midgard. I'm not positive where exactly, but it's somewhere in the United States."

Charlotte nodded. "Perfect. Let's just hope it's not too far away."

"Even if it is," Mack started. "We can always use Elijah to get us on a plane or something."

Jason snapped his fingers and Charlotte could have sworn she saw sparks come out of them as he did so. "Genius."

Just then, the deep sound of a horn blasted through the entire hotel.

"The feast," Charlotte breathed.

Jason cursed in Latin under his breath. "It's mandatory for everyone to attend, and the staff makes sure everyone does."

Bella nodded as everyone started standing, staring at each other. "I'll stay with you. It's customary for Valkyries to accompany their new einherjar."

Frode slung his bow over his shoulder. "Mack, Elijah, Arik, and I can stay in the hallways in case you guys have to make a fast exit, which you probably will have to do. Elijah can charm them to let us stay there."

"I'll stay at the feast with Charlotte. I can always fly out with her and Bella if need be," Jason added.

The daughter of Jupiter sucked in a breath of air through her teeth, causing her gums to go numb. "Alright. Everything clear?"
Her friends nodded.

"Slumber party?" a familiar voice asked sarcastically.

Charlotte's head snapped towards the doorway to see Emma Hall crossing her arms, leaning against the frame.

"What are you doing here?" Arik snapped at her.

"Chill Snakey." She raised her hands innocently. "I just came to tell you guys to get your butts to the feast. It's time to welcome the newbie."

Charlotte glanced at Jason, whose face paled. He was obviously thinking the same thing she was, and something told her it was the question that everyone in the room had.

Did Emma Hall hear their escape plans?

"First off," Arik's voice raised. "Do not call me 'Snakey'. Second, how much did you hear?"

The daughter of Hel checked her fingernails. "Hear what?"
Elijah tapped Charlotte on her shoulder. "Want me to get the answer out of her?"

Before she could respond, Emma spoke up. "When you seven are done gossiping, you may want to hurry up and get to the feast, unless you want to get clean up duty." She then strode out of the room.

There was a moment of silence.

"For Frigg's sake," Mack muttered.

"It's okay, it's okay," Charlotte tried to reassure her friends. "We don't know if she heard our plans or not.

"But if she did, we're..." Frode trailed off, rubbing his hands together nervously.

Bella walked over to the door and held it open for the others as they started walking out. "We're just going to have to beat Emma Hall to the chute then."