Chapter Eighteen

I'm Getting Sick of Lava and Fire

Magnus POV

I had a lovely dream that night. I know you're reading this, but I'm sure you could tell that was sarcasm. I never have lovely dreams. In the dream, I was standing on a hill, overlooking several cabins. I recognized it as Annabeth's Camp Half-Blood. Behind me, a large stream of lava flowed towards me. I tried to move, but my feet were stuck. The lava spread out across the entire field. Suddenly, it stopped in its tracks and began curling upward. Annabeth stood beside me, clutching Sophia in her arms, both mother and child staring aghast at the scene before them. The magma covered the entire camp in a perfect dome. I realized it had covered the entire magical barrier surrounding the camp. Everything was silent as all the campers watched intently. A small drop of lava fell out of the center of the dome. It struck the grass and a loud rumbling noise pounded our ears. The ground began to shake.

"Magnus!" I heard Alex cry out. Before I could locate her, the magic barrier collapsed, burying us in hot lava.

I bolted upright, sweating. My heart was beating out of my chest. Alex and Sophia slept beside me. Ymir's gaze was fixed on me.

"Magnus, I haven't been entirely honest with you."

I gulped and pushed the blanket off my body so I could cool off.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I know things that can help you, but I don't want to."

I processed that for a second.

"Why's that?"

"Because it means the death of me. The only way to break that damned Nid is to kill me. I'm a selfish being, Magnus. I quite like living."

That honestly didn't sound that selfish to me. I mean, I liked living too. Although, technically, I am dead.

"Not only that, Magnus," she continued. "The gods have Nids placed on them as well."

"All the gods? Norse and Greek?"

Ymir smiled, but it was pained.

"And the Roman, and the Egyptian, and the Hindu, and Irish, and the Hittites. The list goes on. But not exactly. See, Sutur and Ran have teamed up. They called a truce to recognize each other's existence. For centuries now, Mythology has been tightly tied to Western Civilization. Books are published, movies are made – and they feature the gods in them. Therefore, the gods have not faded. Obviously, prominent ones are Greek and Roman. People love those myths. But Marvel Comics dumb plots have sparked an interest in Norse mythology. Don't get me wrong, the movies are fun, but they're nothing like the real Norse gods now, are they? Museums keep even older religions from fading by teaching patrons about them. The gods have lived peacefully, just happy to be existing. Of course, there is bickering amongst the different religions, but they also steer clear of other. Greeks stayed away from Egyptians and vice versa. Until recently, that is. Anyway, Ran and Sutur realized that they could finally control the world by elimination the gods. What better way to eliminate the gods then have them kill each other? Nids were placed on the gods' domains. Water, earth, sun, fire, sleep, et cetera, et cetera. These Nids state that there can only be one god per domain – from any given religion. The gods, jealous as they are, have now issues a gladiator style battle where they will fight each other for control of their domains. Now, the gods train and prepare. Ran is taking this moment to capture the more powerful gods while their guard is down. It will be easier to control the weaker deities if they are the victors."

Ymir paused.

"I know that's a lot to process, but it's true."

I drew in a sharp breath.

"Okay, brief recap. The gods have been cursed and they have to fight to the death to stay alive and then Ran and Sutur are going to rule the world? How does Grendel fit into this?"

"Correct," Ymir affirmed. "Grendel is just a distraction, Magnus. Grendel only cares about Grendel. Ran has made empty promises to Grendel. Ran knows how to control him. These Nids are powerful."

"But how has Ran does this? Why does she not just curse us as well?"

"Nidstangs powerful enough to control the gods take a long time to carve, Magnus. If Ran can control them, then you are nothing compare to that power. Why waste more of her time carving Nidstangs for mere mortals and half-bloods? These Nidstangs are huge, that's why the fiery tree of Muspellheim is one."

I tried to wrap my mind around everything I was hearing. This was scaring me more by the minute.

"How does that effect you, then? You said destroying it would destroy you, but you're not a god, you're just a giantess."

Ymir sighed as if I should have understood this a long time ago. Her blue skin seemed to be boiling now.

"I am the first being ever created, Magnus. This is my home and I am the protector of this fire. Much like the goddess Hestia. I'm not sure if you've met her, but this is my hearth. She guards Olympus, and I guard Muspellheim. Destroy that tree and I go with it."

I hadn't met Hestia, but Annabeth had told me about her.

"Wake the other two. It is time. I could not live with myself for eternity knowing that I could have prevented total extinction and I did nothing."

Ymir stood up and walked out her front door. I nudged Alex and she sat up groggily.

"What? What's wrong?"
Alex yawned, and I relayed the information Ymir had just told me.

"Good gods!"

She paused as she stared at the ground, mouth agape.

"I mean, shit!"

She picked up Alex and we followed Ymir outside.

We stood in front of the tree. The atmosphere seemed darker now, the wind whistled and blew furiously. I squinted to try to see properly. My right hand gripped Sophia's tightly. Ymir spoked up.

"The environment reflects the state of my heart. And my heart is heavy."

"How do we do this?" I shouted over the wind.

Ymir pointed at my pendant.

"Your sword, Magnus. Ask it to cut down this tree in half. Nidstangs can only be destroyed by magic or magic weapons. Keep that in mind."
I blinked. I had forgotten I had Jack with me. I opened the pendent up and Jack sprung to life.

"Man, I was beginning to think you hated me! We haven't talked in some time, what's up?"

It felt nice to hear his voice.

"Hey, Jack, could you chop that tree in half for us?"

I pointed at it.

"Uh, I don't know about that one, Magnus, that's really gonna drain us. It's huge, my man."

I gulped and shared a concerned glance with Alex.

"We really need it, Jack. Please."

"Okay, but I would really advise against holding me unless you're ready to die after this. This is gonna be rough."

Jack flew away and starting slicing through the bark. Ymir smiled.

"Don't feel sorry for me!' Ymir exclaimed. "This is my movie moment! I always wanted one."

Jack hacked away until we finally heard a satisfying CRACK!

The tree fell over into the river. A huge gust of wind radiated from the stump, sending us all flying backwards.

Ymir stood, arms stretched outwards.

"Find the other Nidstangs, Magnus. They'll be huge and you'll recognize them. Fix this."

With those final words, she faded from existence. Jack flew back over as I stood and helped Sophia to her feet, dusting off her dress. I took a deep breath and grabbed Jack's hilt. My world immediately went black.