by Sam Subity
When he finally managed to control his laughter, he gestured to his phone. “You remember the sea monster in the pool?”
I shivered, recalling the enormous yellow eye emerging from the water. “Yeah, how could we forget? Did someone get it on video or something?”
“Not exactly. Didn’t you wonder how they managed to explain that one? I mean, to all the non-Viking students at Vale? It’s not exactly something that happens every day.”
“Good point. I guess I hadn’t thought about it. Why?”
He held the phone’s screen up and leaned forward so we could read it. The top video was titled “Girls Save Stranded Baby Dolphin.”
Gwynn raised an eyebrow. “What’s this?”
“Just watch.” Grimsby thumbed the Play button, and we stared at the video as our fight with the sea monster played out basically how I remembered it. With the exception of a few, um, minor points. Like Grimsby going berserk and slapping Ping-Pong balls around the room like a lunatic and everyone running and ducking to avoid being hit. Oh, and that instead of battling a sea monster, Gwynn and I were rescuing an injured baby dolphin from drowning in the school swimming pool. The video stopped just as Glen, aka the Grendel, came into view with his familiar trash can and mop.
I stared at Grimbsy. “How … ?”
Gwynn laughed. “Remember how the VIC simulation convinced you that you were actually in a Viking raid? This sort of thing is a walk in the park for Mr. Lodbrok’s team. It’s not the first time they’ve had to use their skills to make it look like something didn’t actually happen.”
“It’s not fair,” Grimsby complained. “They made you guys look like heroes, and I just look like a big doof. They even deleted my charge with the bucket of—”
“Hold on,” I cut in as Gwynn’s words registered. “Did you say Mr. Lodbrok’s team?”
Gwynn studied the book spines on my shelf and slid a new book into place. “Yeah, Chase’s dad runs what’s called the PR team.”
“You mean, as in public relations?”
“Basically, yes, but officially it stands for ‘proximate reality’ because sometimes they have to doctor reality a little to preserve the Vikings’ secrets. The rumor is there’s sometimes even mind-control techniques involved. I heard he was pretty upset about how this one was handled.”
Grimsby snorted again. “Proximate reality? More like purely rubbish.”
I could feel my stomach slowly sinking into my shoes. “Ohhhh,” I said quietly.
Gwynn shoved another book into place and turned toward me with a slight frown. “That doesn’t sound good. What’s wrong?”
We have to try to make it look like the whole thing never happened. Mr. Lodbrok’s words echoed in my mind. “I should tell you guys something. About Mr. Lodbrok. I sort of overheard him talking, and I thought he was saying he tried to kill me.”
Gwynn rose to her feet. “Mr. Lodbrok tried to kill you?! When?”
I shifted uncomfortably. “By, um, putting a sea monster in the swimming pool.”
A look of comprehension dawned on Gwynn’s face as I plunged on. “So a few days ago, I told Doc about it, figuring he could handle it since, you know, it’s kind of a big deal accusing a member of the Grey Council of attempted murder—”
Before I could finish, there was a loud banging on the front door.
“Abby! Could you get that?” Bryn called from the kitchen. “My hands are covered with flour!”
“Just a sec,” I said to Grimsby and Gwynn as I swung around in the chair and headed for the front door. Whoever it was, they were banging so hard the hinges rattled. I probably should have taken that as a warning that it wasn’t just an overly aggressive Girl Scout selling cookies.
“Keep your pants on!” I called to the person outside. “I’m—”
As I pulled the door open, Chase Lodbrok pushed through the entryway and charged at me.
I quickly backpedaled away from him until I met a wall and my head connected with a light fixture. “Ow! What gives?” I raised a hand to rub my head.
Chase stood there nearly nose-to-nose with me, staring with wild, furious eyes, until I wedged my arms between us and managed to push him away. His normally perfect hair fell limply across his face. We stood in the hallway a few feet apart, glaring at each other like caged animals.
Bryn, drawn by the noise, rushed through the kitchen doorway with a rolling pin raised to attack. She stopped and looked from me to Chase.
“Abby? Is everything okay?” I turned and saw my dad standing in the doorway to his room, leaning wearily against the frame. His face was still pale and gaunt from the effects of the svefnthorn.
“I’m so sorry we woke you, Daddy,” I said. “Yes, this is Chase Lodbrok. He goes to Vale. But I don’t have any idea …” I started to say, but then I realized I actually had a pretty good idea why he was there.
Chase must have seen the realization in my eyes, because he said, “There it is. I guess I was right. It wasn’t enough for you to wreck half the school on your imaginary ‘quest.’ ” He made air quotes with his fingers when he said the word “quest.” “No, you had to drag my father into this too.” Slowly he clenched and unclenched his fists.
“Abby, what’s he talking about?” my dad said.
I glanced at him, then across at Grimsby and Gwynn, who had emerged from my room. “Well, I only …” I pressed the heel of my palm against my forehead, trying to figure out the right words to explain. “See, I started thinking there was no way the Grendel was working on his own. So I thought about who could have been helping him. And I overheard a conversation where someone admitted to trying to kill me. Or at least I thought that’s what I heard …”
“Wait,” my dad said. He was suddenly racked by a coughing fit. Bryn and I both started to move toward him, but he put up his hand. “I’m … okay.” He looked back at me. “Why am I just hearing about this for the first time? You said the Grendel is gone. So now someone else is trying to kill you? Who?”
Chase gave me a dark look. “According to her—my father.”
I turned to my dad. “Sorry, Daddy, I didn’t want to worry you because you’d almost”—my voice caught in my throat—“died. And I didn’t want you to have to think about anything but getting better. You’ve got to understand how it looked …”
Chase’s phone rang. He looked down at the caller ID, then thumbed it on. “Yes, sir. Okay, ten minutes. I will.” He ended the call. “That was my father. The Grey Council requests our presence in Professor Roth’s office.”
The air in the room suddenly seemed colder. The last time I’d had an audience with the Grey Council, my whole life had basically been turned upside down. I turned to my dad for reassurance, but he seemed visibly shaken. I wasn’t sure if it was from the news of someone out there who possibly still wanted me dead or the summons by the Grey Council, or both. He drew in a deep breath and said, “I’m going with you.”
He took a step away from the door and nearly fell. I rushed to catch him and help him back toward his room. “No. I’ve got this. You need to stay here and rest.”
Ten minutes later, Chase and I walked down the oak-paneled corridor in an uneasy truce under the now-familiar withering gazes of past headmasters. I felt dizzy from the lack of oxygen to my brain. Why were we being summoned to an audience with the Grey Council? When we neared the open door to Professor Roth’s office, I could hear the sound of raised voices and people arguing. I tapped lightly on the doorframe and the voices immediately cut off.
Professor Roth strode smoothly across the room to greet us with the same half frown that she always seemed to wear. She extended both hands to take mine in hers. “We’re so pleased to hear your father is recovering. How is he feeling?”
“Pretty good,” I said, “given the circumstances.”
“The circumstances, yes,” said Professor Roth. “Exactly what we have called you here to discuss.” She looked over my shoulder at Chase still standing in the doorway. “Mr. Lodbrok, if you
will excuse us now.”
The elder Lodbrok’s voice traveled across the room. “Actually, I asked him to join us. I thought he could serve as a character witness.”
I could guess whose character he meant. Mine.
Professor Roth and Chase’s dad exchanged a quick look, then she gestured us toward the table where Doc and Mr. Lodbrok waited, their gray cloaks around their shoulders.
My eyes lingered briefly on the empty chair between the two men. I thought I saw a flash of sadness in Doc’s eyes as he followed my gaze, then blinked and looked away toward the fire. Chase and I took seats across from each other, putting as much distance between ourselves as possible.
When we were all seated, Professor Roth nodded. “Very good. We have everyone here now. I think the first order of business we need to discuss is the matter of a rather serious accusation that has been made.”
The air in the room seemed to crackle with electricity as I flicked my eyes toward Mr. Lodbrok, then down at the table, feeling my face flame red. Given what I’d recently learned about his role, it looked like he probably hadn’t done anything wrong, unless you counted being a jerk. Had it been a mistake to report him to Doc? Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut.
But the problem still nagged at me. Why had he assumed the sea monster was meant to kill me? And if Mr. Lodbrok hadn’t let it in the pool, then who had? Or had the Grendel really been working alone at Vale, completely undetected for apparently over a hundred years? There was Fenris, of course, but I assumed the help more likely came from someone with an IQ slightly higher than a meatball’s.
“As to that,” continued Professor Roth, “I have taken into consideration the evidence presented concerning certain events of the past weeks.” She judiciously avoided saying any names out loud. “But having spoken with the accused party at length, I see no reason to continue this line of inquiry at this time.”
“I’m very sorry,” I said, glancing at Chase. “Really. I didn’t mean …” I wavered, trying to decide whether to voice my nagging fear. “But here’s the thing: Do we really think the Grendel could have lived for so long among the Vikings without anyone’s knowledge?”
Professor Roth turned toward me, her face unreadable. “An excellent point, Ms. Beckett. Indeed, how could such an enemy have lived hidden among us for so long?”
I leaned forward with a mix of excitement and fear. “So you agree? I mean, that there was someone helping the Grendel?”
“Not exactly, no,” she said.
Suddenly I had a feeling like I was missing something. “What do you … mean?”
Mr. Lodbrok spoke then, not taking his eyes from his hands, which were folded on the table in front of him. “You see, when our excavation team finally managed to make their way through the rubble to investigate your claims, well …” His gaze was frigid when he looked up at me. “They could find no trace of a Grendel.”
My insides instantly turned to water as I spun toward Doc, who had so far remained silent. But he was still staring into the fire.
“No … trace? But there were thousands of pounds of rock. There’s no way he could have escaped. Maybe they were looking in the wrong place or … ?”
“It’s certainly within the realm of possibility,” said Professor Roth. “Abby, I personally have no reason to doubt your claims. And we’ll of course continue our search. But until we have irrefutable proof, I’m sure you understand the difficulty of my situation. As the leader of the Vikings, I can’t afford to risk spreading rumors that could shake Asgard to its core.”
Mr. Lodbrok grunted dismissively. “Well, I, for one, find your story frankly difficult to believe.”
I felt a swell of anger boil up in my chest as I surged up out of my chair. “What?! You think I’m … lying? That I just … What? Made all this up? Why would I do that? What would I possibly have to gain from pretending I uncovered a Grendel’s plot to bring down the Vikings?”
Mr. Lodbrok slammed his palm on the table as he rose to meet me, then inhaled sharply through his nose as he visibly fought to control his emotions. When he spoke, there was a strained edge to his words. “Those were my questions exactly. And do you know what I think? I see a scared little girl. A girl who would do anything both to prove herself and to salvage the false memory that she holds of her mother.”
I seethed, remembering my earlier encounter with Mr. Lodbrok in the longhouse and determined not to back down from him this time. “Maybe I was right about you after all. Even if you didn’t have anything to do with the Grendel, it’s fools like you who allowed one to live right under the Vikings’ noses despite all the evidence.”
“Oh, do you want to talk about evidence?” he shot back. “Then let’s talk about this botanist’s journal you mentioned that conveniently … What was it? Disintegrated into dust? Or the magical spoon-ax only your mother knew about, which supposedly melted upon contact with the Grendel’s blood. Or how about this so-called secret lair that’s now buried under a mountain of rock? Where exactly is this evidence you speak of?”
“I … I …” I stammered, so shocked and incensed that I couldn’t speak, but suddenly I realized he was right. I had no real proof of the Grendel’s existence. Then I remembered something else: “The sea monster—”
He waved his hand dismissively. “Is the sort of creature Vikings deal with all the time, which you would know if your mother—”
“Mr. Lodbrok!” Professor Roth said angrily, enunciating each syllable. “I’d hoped we could do this with more civility.” She sighed and turned back toward me. “Abby, I’m sure you understand the way this looks. Absent any hard evidence, all we have to go on is the word of three children, one of whom was unconscious during the alleged encounter with the Grendel, and the other who can only corroborate parts of your story. Meaning you are the only one who witnessed all the supposed events. Which I hope you can see is not sufficient in such a weighty matter to prove the veracity of your story.”
“But the janitor, Glen—”
“Is currently away visiting family,” she said.
Wait. He was still … alive? Feeling suddenly very cold and alone, I cast my eyes around the other faces in the room looking for help. I thought I could at least count on Doc, but frustratingly he had his head bowed and hadn’t yet said a thing. Chase’s smug look spoke volumes.
“Hold on,” I said to him. “What you said earlier. About my imaginary quest. You knew about all this?”
He sneered. “Like mother like daughter.”
Mr. Lodbrok said, “Precisely my—”
“Enough.” The word had been spoken at barely above a whisper, but it seemed to echo through the room. All eyes turned toward Doc, who was now standing, his palms pressed flat against the surface of the table, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I was afraid things might come to this. Fortunately, I arranged for a bit of, ah, supporting evidence.”
A knock sounded at the door. As all eyes turned in that direction, Doc said, “And it looks like it’s right on time.”
Without another word, he strode across the room. Mr. Lodbrok and the headmaster exchanged a confused look that echoed how I felt. What was happening?
Doc pulled the door open and stood aside. The figure who entered was temporarily silhouetted against the light of the hall. Then the firelight caught her features.
I gasped.
A tumble of blazing red hair framed a face with fierce green eyes and a mouth turned up at one corner in a slight smile.
“M-Mom?” For a split second, my world seemed to collapse around me, then just as quickly it re-formed as realization hit me. Heart thundering, I dashed across the room and collided with the woman, wrapping her in a fierce hug as tears sprang to my eyes.
“Aunt Jess!”
She folded me into her arms, laughing. “How’s my favorite niece? Doc said you might need a little backup.”
“But I thought—” I broke off as I leaned back, drinking in her features that so closely mirrored my mom’s.
> “What? That a Grendel got the best of me? Not a chance.” She smiled down at me. Then she turned to Doc. “Thanks to your teacher here. He was able to warn me just in time. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get here sooner.”
Her eyes shifted to the rest of the Grey Council as her voice turned grave. “But I saw it. The thing that’s been hunting the Aesir.” She nodded. “There’s no mistaking it. It’s a Grendel.”
“Welcome, Ms. Thorne,” said Professor Roth, smoothly recovering from her surprise. “It would appear that we have much to discuss.” She turned toward me. “Perhaps Abby and Chase could leave us to debrief in private?”
I looked at Aunt Jess, unwilling to let her go so soon. “I … I guess so. Where are you going to be staying?”
She winked at me. “I was hoping I could bunk with you and your dad for now.”
I smiled. “That would be perfect. I’ll see you soon, then.”
Chase stalked out of the door ahead of me, not even looking in my direction as he left. With a last glance over my shoulder at my aunt standing next to Doc, I turned to go too and heard the headmaster’s door swing closed behind me.
My brain hurt from the shock of everything that had just happened. Mr. Lodbrok’s and Professor Roth’s refusal to open their eyes to the great danger we’d just narrowly escaped. My aunt’s sudden reappearance as if from the dead. Even if they didn’t believe me, they couldn’t ignore her, a real Aesir.
They could find no trace of a Grendel. And finally, the possibility that a Grendel still lurked somewhere in the shadows.
I pushed through a pair of doors leading out onto a snow-covered walkway behind Vale. A freezing wind temporarily tore my breath away, and I pulled my jacket tighter around myself. I started across the campus toward home, then heard a shout behind me.
“Abby!”
I spun around. Doc pushed through the doors and walked through the snow in my direction.
“Are they already done?” I said.
He looked back over his shoulder. “No, I’m afraid this could take quite some time. But I just wanted to let you know …” He turned back and looked me directly in the eyes. “I’m proud of you for standing up to them like you did back there. I know it wasn’t easy.”
