The Trap (The Magnificent 12 #2)(41)

Cold blue suspicion filled Thor’s eyes. He shot a distrustful look at Nott. “We’re not that formal around here. There’s a jar over there.”

Mack saw a flower vase he recognized from his own living room. Definitely IKEA.

“No. It’s number two,” Mack said.

“Ah.”

“In fact, we all have to go number two.”

Jarrah, Dietmar, and Stefan stared at Mack.

Fenrir sauntered toward them. His wolf breath reached them first.

“That’s right,” Mack blustered. “We all need a bathroom.” He tried out a weak smile. “It’s all the travel. You know.”

“I’ll show them where to go,” Nott volunteered.

There followed a very long pause during which Thor looked nervously toward the doorway through which Odin had disappeared. He licked his giant lips uncertainly. Then he shrugged.

“If you gotta go, you gotta go.”

“Right this way,” Nott said.

“Don’t be long,” Thor said, with no trace of the openhearted bonhomie he’d shown thus far. “Fenrir will miss you.”





Chapter Twenty-eight



Nott led them along a hallway you could have taxied a 747 down. Here, too, there were blank spaces where tapestries had once hung, and spots where darker flooring suggested there had once been furniture.

Part of Mack was actually relieved. He finally knew where the trap was. Grimluk must have suspected the Pale Queen would try to reach out to Odin and his brood.

The bathroom was interesting. Mack wasn’t quite sure what he had expected. But he had not expected a gray granite counter with two giant oval holes.

This counter was god-height, appropriate for a fourteen-foot-tall person, not so useful for people under six feet.

Mack stood on his toes to see that the holes did not lead to a bowl, or even a pipe. Or a hole in the ground.

“Those are clouds,” Jarrah said. “Well, that’s pretty high and mighty.”

The oval holes opened directly onto the tops of fluffy white clouds.

“It’s over the sea,” Nott said a little defensively.

“Bad luck for some poor fisherman, eh?” Jarrah huffed. “A little present from the gods?”

Xiao was the only one who seemed really upset. “This is very wrong behavior,” she said to Nott. “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Nott curled her lip. “Is that your precious Confucius?”

“Spider-Man’s dad,” Stefan said.

“That’s his uncle, not his dad,” Jarrah said. “Uncle Ben.”

“Huh.”

“I believe Socrates said something like it, too,” Xiao said. “I was translating loosely.”

“Naw, it was Uncle Ben,” Jarrah insisted.

“The point,” Xiao said, gritting her teeth, “is that just because you are a god or a dragon or any other powerful being, you don’t have a right to literally—”

“Enough,” Nott interrupted. “I’m only tolerating you out of affection for Shen Long. And because I have the knowledge you need to defeat the Mother of All Monsters. But I won’t be lectured by a mortal. Or a dragon, for that matter.”

“And we are grateful for you helping us,” Mack interrupted smoothly. “But what do you mean, help us defeat the Pale Queen?”

“Why do you think Grimluk sent you to the Externsteine?” Nott asked.

“To find me, of course,” Dietmar said.

“Perhaps, in part,” Nott said. “But also so that I may give you this.” She held out a small stone disk, no bigger than a DVD, but quite a bit heavier. It was covered, edge to edge, with incredibly ornate scrollwork.

Mack took it. “Thanks,” he said, looking at it carefully. “What is it?”

“It is a key. The ancient key of the MacGuffins. You must take it to the tomb of William Blisterth?ng MacGuffin. You will find the disk into which this one fits.”

“Say what now? Tomb?” Mack said.

“He has been dead for a thousand years. Even in Scotland they don’t just leave corpses lying out on park benches.”

“And why exactly am I digging up a dead guy?”

“Because when this disk is centered in the outer disk, you will have many of the great Vargran words of power. The Vargran you must have to defeat the Pale Queen!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t track on anything after the part about digging up a dead guy,” Mack said.

“I got it,” Dietmar said.

“Yeah, well, so did I,” Jarrah snapped.

“I, too, got it,” Xiao said.

“Huh?” Stefan said.

“Here’s what I get: probably we shouldn’t all stay in the bathroom for much longer,” Mack said. “Thor will get suspicious.”

“Thor is an idiot,” Nott said. “But Fenrir will come to investigate. We must hurry. If we can reach the observatory, you may escape with your lives. The observatory is where All-Father Odin watches what happens in the world of humans. Mostly sports. Football, and the Olympics. It is why we keep the back door to the Externsteine in existence: Odin is a big supporter of Arminia Bielefeld and likes to attend actual matches in disguise.”