The Ship of the Dead (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #3)(8)

I joined him.

At the top of the staircase, a domed Plexiglas hatch led to the roof. And on the other side, pacing and snarling, was another wolf.





“HOW DO you want to handle this?” I asked.

From his belt loops, Alex pulled the golden wire that served triple duty as fashion accessory, ceramic-cutting tool, and melee weapon. “I was thinking we should kill it.”

The wolf growled and clawed at the hatch. Magical runes glowed on the Plexiglas. The beast’s facial fur was already smoking and charred from previous attempts to bust in.

I wondered how long the wolf had been on the roof, and why it hadn’t tried to gain access another way. Maybe it didn’t want to end up dead like its friend downstairs. Or maybe it was single-mindedly focused on this particular room.

“It wants something,” I guessed.

“To kill us,” Alex said. “Which is why we should kill it first. You want to open the hatch or—?”

“Wait.” Normally I would’ve been all in favor of killing a glowing blue wolf, but something about this animal bothered me…the way its cold dark eyes seemed to be looking past us, as if searching for different prey. “What if we let it in?”

Alex stared at me like I was crazy. He did that a lot. “You want to offer it a cup of tea? Maybe lend it a book?”

“It has to be here on a mission,” I persisted. “Somebody sent those wolves to retrieve something—maybe the same something I’m looking for.”

Alex considered. “You think Loki sent the wolves.”

I shrugged. “Loki’s gonna Loki.”

“And if we let the wolf in, you think it might make a beeline for whatever it’s hunting.”

“I’m pretty sure it isn’t here for the irritable bowel medicine.”

Alex loosened his checkered tie even more. “Okay. We open the hatch, watch where the wolf goes, and then we kill it.”

“Right.” I pulled the runestone pendant off my neck chain. Jack grew into sword form, though he felt heavier than usual, like a kid having a meltdown on the floor of a department store.

“What is it now?” He sighed. “Can’t you see I’m dying of a broken heart?”

I could have pointed out that he was incapable of dying, and he had no actual heart, but I thought that would be mean. “Sorry, Jack. We have a wolf to deal with.”

I explained to him what was going on.

Jack’s blade glowed violet. “But Riptide’s razor-sharp edges,” he said dreamily. “Did you see her edges?”

“Yeah. Great edges. Now how about we prevent Loki from launching his mighty death ship and starting Ragnarok? Then maybe we can arrange a second date for you and Riptide.”

Another heavy sigh. “Wolf. Roof. Hatch. Got it.”

I glanced at Alex and stifled a shriek. While I wasn’t looking, he’d transformed into a large timber wolf.

“Do you have to turn into animals behind my back?” I asked.

Alex bared his fangs in a canine grin. He snout-pointed toward the top of the stairs like What are you waiting for? I’m a wolf. I can’t open that hatch.

I climbed to the top of the stairs. The temperature was like the inside of a greenhouse. On the other side of the hatch, the wolf snuffled and chewed at the Plexiglas, leaving drool smears and fang marks. Those protective-barrier runes must have tasted great. Being this close to an enemy wolf made the hairs on the back of my neck do corkscrews.

What would happen if I opened the hatch? Would the runes kill me? Would they kill the wolf? Or would they deactivate if I let the wolf in of my own free will, since that was literally the stupidest thing I could do?

The wolf slavered at the Plexiglas.

“Hey, buddy,” I said.

Jack buzzed in my hand. “What?”

“Not you, Jack. I’m talking to the wolf.” I smiled at the beast, then remembered that showing teeth meant aggression to canines. I pouted instead. “I’m going to let you in. Won’t that be nice? Then you can get whatever you came for, since I know you’re not here to kill me, right?”

The wolf’s snarl was not reassuring.

“Okay, then,” I said. “One, two, three!”

I pushed against the hatch with all my einherji strength, shoving the wolf back as I surged onto the roof deck. I had time to register a barbecue grill, some planters overflowing with hibiscus, and two lounge chairs overlooking an amazing view of the Charles River. I wanted to slap Uncle Randolph for never telling me he had such a cool party spot.

The wolf stepped from behind the hatch and growled, its hackles raised like a shaggy dorsal fin. One of its eyes was swollen shut, the eyelid burned from contact with my uncle’s rune trap.

“Now?” Jack asked with no particular enthusiasm.

“Not yet.” I flexed my knees, ready to spring into action if necessary. I would show this wolf how well I could fight…or, you know, how fast I could run away, depending on what the situation called for.

The wolf regarded me with its one good eye. It snorted dismissively and bolted down the stairwell into the town house.

I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or insulted.

I ran after it. By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, Alex and the other wolf were having a snarl-off in the middle of the library. They bared their teeth and circled one another, looking for any signs of fear or weakness. The blue wolf was much larger. The neon wisps glowing in its fur gave it a certain cool factor. But it was also half-blind and wincing in pain. Alex, being Alex, showed no sign of being intimidated. He stood his ground as the other wolf edged around him.