فصل 72

I Lose a Bet

“THIS IS WAY BETTER than the last memorial I attended,” Annabeth said. “Yours.”

We stood on a ridge in the Blue Hills, watching my mother’s ashes drift across the snowy trees. Far below, the sun glittered on Houghton’s Pond. The day was cold, but I didn’t feel uncomfortable. I felt warm and calm—more right than I’d felt in years.

I tucked the empty ceramic jar under my arm.

“Thanks for coming with me,” I said.

Annabeth’s gray eyes studied me, the same way she seemed to study everything—assessing not just my appearance, but my composition, my stress points, my potential for renovation. This was a girl, after all, who had made Parthenon models out of runestones when she was six years old.

“Glad to,” she said. “Your mom…from what I remember, she was great.”

“She would’ve liked the fact that you’re here.”

Annabeth gazed across the tree line. Her face looked sunburned from the wind. “They cremated you, too, you know. I mean that other body…whatever that was. Your ashes were placed in the family mausoleum. I didn’t even know we had a family mausoleum.”

I shuddered, imagining those ashes in a porcelain vase in a dank stone cubbyhole. Much better to be here, in the fresh air and the frigid sunlight.

“Pretending I was dead couldn’t have been easy for you,” I said.

She brushed a strand of hair from her face. “The service was harder on Randolph, I think. He seemed pretty shaken up, considering, you know…”

“That he never cared about me?”

“Or any of us. My dad, though…Magnus, that was difficult. He and I have had a rocky history, but I’m trying to be honest with him now. I don’t like hiding things.”

“Sorry.” I spread my hands. “I thought it was better if I didn’t drag you into my problems. For the last few days, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. Some…some dangerous things were happening. It had to do with my father’s, uh, side of the family.”

“Magnus, I might understand more than you think I do.”

I thought about that. Annabeth did seem more attuned, more grounded than most people I talked to—even most of the people in Valhalla. On the other hand, I didn’t want to put her at risk, or threaten the tenuous relationship we were starting to reconstruct.

“I’m okay now,” I assured her. “I’m staying with friends. It’s a good place, but it’s not the kind of arrangement most people would understand. Uncle Randolph can’t know about it. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone, not even your dad.”

“Hmm,” she said. “I don’t suppose I get details?”

I thought about what Frey had told me: You should talk. You will need her help before all is said and done. I remembered what Sam had said about her own family—how they’d attracted the attention of the gods for generations. Randolph had hinted that our family was the same way.

“I just don’t want to put you in danger,” I said. “I kind of hoped you could be my one connection to the regular world.”

Annabeth stared at me. She snorted and began to laugh. “Wow. You have no idea how funny that is.” She took a deep breath. “Magnus, if you had any clue about how weird my life is—”

“Okay, but being here with you?” I said. “This is the most normal I’ve felt in years. After all the crazy fighting between our parents, the stupid grudges and years of not speaking to each other, I was hoping we could make our generation of the family not so messed up.”

Annabeth’s expression turned serious. “That kind of normal I like.” She extended her hand. “To us, the Chase cousins. Here’s to being less messed up.”

We shook on it.

“Now spill,” she commanded. “Tell me what’s been going on. I promise I won’t tell. I might even be able to help. I also promise that whatever’s been going on with you, my life is weirder. It’ll make yours look downright suburban.”

I considered everything I’d been through—death and resurrection, fishing for the World Serpent, fighting with giants, running from monster squirrels, binding a wolf on a disappearing island.

“How much you want to bet?” I said.

“Bring it on, cousin.”

“Lunch?” I suggested. “I know a great falafel place.”

“You’ve got a bet,” she said. “Let’s hear what you’ve been up to.”

“Oh, no,” I said. “Your story is so amazing? You go first.”