Authors: Jasmine Richards

Secrets of Valhalla (21 page)

EPILOGUE

FRIDAY, JULY 13TH

“H
ey, I'm pretty sure these are edible.” Buzz knelt down to look more closely at the cluster of mushrooms poking up from the undergrowth. They were growing in a perfect circle, which was about twenty inches in diameter.

“Crikey,” his father said, kneeling down to look at the mushroom circle as well. “We're going to need to take action.” He slipped a notepad and pen out of his pocket and began jotting something down, all the while reciting something under his breath.

“What're you writing?” Buzz asked.

His dad suddenly looked self-conscious. “Song lyrics.”

“Song lyrics?” Buzz repeated. He was used to his dad going off on strange tangents, but this was extreme even for him.

His dad tucked the pen behind his ear and swiftly looked
over his shoulder. Buzz's mum and Tia were still a few meters away. They were busy looking up at a tree. “Okay, I'll explain,” his dad whispered. “In Celtic mythology, mushrooms found in this circular formation are called a fairy ring. Some people believe that they are caused by fairies and elves dancing in the moonlight.” He looked over again at his wife and daughter to check their position. They hadn't moved. “Fairy rings often bring bad luck to those that disturb them. But a song, the right song, can reverse that. And I think I have just remembered all the words.”

Buzz frowned. “Dad, I'm not sureâ”

“You don't believe me,” Buzz's father interrupted. He looked disappointed. “I know you don't love mythology, find it boring and silly, but I thoughtâ”

“Boring?” It was now Buzz's turn to interrupt. “Silly? You were there when we managed to save the world from Tyr and met the Norse gods, right? How could I ever think mythology was silly after that?”

His dad grinned. “Yeah, I guess. Sometimes I forget that it wasn't just me who changed because of what happened in that chamber. You did as well. Our whole family did.” His cheeks flushed as if still uncomfortable with displaying this much emotion. “I like that I can talk about mythology with you, Buzz.”

“So do I.” Buzz smiled. These last few months had been funny and strange and amazing for him. He had gotten to know his dad all over again. His father still loved mythology,
could still get distracted by a rare book or an obscure journal, and he still loved these woods, but he loved his family more. It was like the part of him that obsessed about his work went into that deep, deep sleep with Odin. His dad was his own person now. The choices he made were his own as well, and he chose to put Buzz, Tia, and Mum first.

“Dad, listen, all I was going to say was that maybe we should save ourselves the hassle of the song, et cetera, and find ourselves some different mushroomsâseriously, I don't want some irate elves and fairies coming after us. I'm done with magical beings with a grudge.”

His dad laughed and ruffled Buzz's hair. “These mushrooms are called Saffron Milk Cap and they are your mother's absolute favorite. There's no way I'm walking away from them.” He tapped the notepad. “Trust me. This song will cover us.”

“I'm not singing,” Buzz insisted. “No way.”

“Fine,” his dad said. “You walk round the circle nine times and I'll do the singing.”

“Why nine times?”

“Um, I could make up a reason, but to be honest, I don't know. This is what you do when you find a fairy ring.”

Buzz began to walk around the mushrooms, and Dad began to sing the song. It was in a language that Buzz didn't understand, but he could almost feel what it meant as he did his nine orbits around the fairy ring. The low richness of Dad's vocals seemed to explain it to him. It was a song asking forgiveness.

“Oh em gee,” Tia said, arriving at the mushrooms. “What exactly is going on here?”

“Leave your father alone, I'm sure he has a very good reason to be singing inâ” Buzz's mum paused. “Exactly what language is that?”

“One of the old Celtic ones,” Buzz's dad replied, finishing the song.

“Well, it was lovely, sweetheart,” Buzz's mum said. “What an extraordinary singing voice you have. I'm so glad to hear it again.” She reached out and touched his cheek.

Buzz's dad smiled with pleasure. “Now, Natasha, have you seen what we've got here?” He nodded his head at the mushrooms.

“Saffron Milk Cap!” Buzz's mum gave a squeal of delight and plonked her basket next to the ring of mushrooms. She then brought out a little curved knife and gently began cutting the mushrooms away from the earth. “These are going to be wonderful in the risotto,” she said.

Dad bent down and tenderly kissed her on the forehead. “Not half as wonderful as the cook making the risotto.”

Mum blushed. Buzz knew that on one level it was revolting to have parents mooning over each other like lovesick teenagers, but deep down he loved it. He knew that Mary felt the same way about her parents. That perpetual Saturday had no doubt been very difficult for them, but somehow her parents had come out the other side as a team. A very-much-in-love team. Mary thought it had something to do with all the extra
time her parents had spent with each other during the loop, even if they didn't realize they had been in one.

“Remind me why we can't get mushrooms from a supermarket like a normal family?” Tia asked, arms crossed.

“Because we're cooking a special meal for Buzz's American friend and her parents. And then there's Uncle Mark. He's bringing around his new lady friend. I want to push the boat out.”

“Don't forget Theo and Sam. They're coming as well.”

“This day just went from bad to worse,” Tia grumbled. “It's official.” She flopped down to sit on a tree stump.

“Hey! Watch where yer parking that behind of yours,” a very familiar voice griped, and a blur of fur shot out from the tree stump and into the undergrowth.

Buzz coughed, hoping it might distract her, but Tia was looking properly spooked.

“Did you hear that?” she asked.

“Hear what, dear?” Dad replied.

“A really grumpy voice.” She frowned. “I think it might have belonged to that red squirrel I saw before, Mum. The one I tried to show you in the tree.”

Mum came over and touched Tia's forehead. “There's no red squirrels in this forestâthey're all up in Scotland. It's all that exam pressure, isn't it? You are getting an early night tonight, young lady.”

“What, no way,” Tia said. “I'm not a baby.” The two of them began to squabble.

Close call,
Buzz's dad mouthed.

“I know,” Buzz whispered back. He'd need to tell Ratatosk to be more careful in the future.

All afternoon, Ratatosk had been showing them all the best places to find mushrooms, but the squirrel had promised to stay out of the way while Tia and Buzz's mum were about. It was simple, reallyâthe secrets of Valhalla were going to remain secret. Tia and Mum didn't know that talking squirrels existed or that Dad had a sleeping god in him or that Buzz had helped to save the world. They just knew that Saturday the fourteenth had been strange for a lot of people across the world. They'd heard it was due to some kind of pressure change in the atmosphere. No one really understood the phenomenon, but people had gone back to normal the next day, and that was that.

For a while, Buzz and his dad had planned to tell the truth about everything that had happened, but when Mum got home, all she wanted was normal. She'd actually said that. “Give me a hug and give me a normal,” she'd implored. “I've heard and seen enough strange things to last me a lifetime.”

So Buzz and his dad hadn't said anything. Not about the runes that were in a box under Buzz's bed. Not about how they'd gotten the River Styx flowing again. And not about how the hosts of the day guardians had made a pact never to speak again of what had happened to them.

Time passed.

Friday the thirteenth was here again, but Buzz didn't care.

Because everyone was happy. Everything was normal. Everything was just great.

BACK AD

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Photo by Amanda Herbert

JASMINE RICHARDS
was born in London, grew up in a library, and was the first in her family to go to college. After graduating from Oxford University, she had a brief stint at New Scotland Yard, then chose a career in publishing over being the next Sherlock Holmes. Today Jasmine is a senior editor at a leading British publishing house and lives in the Cotswolds (rather near the Tangley Woods) with her husband and son. She is also the author of
The Book of Wonders
, of which
School Library Journal
said, “Swiftly paced writing, appealing characters, and action packed; will appeal to fans of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books.” You can visit Jasmine online at
www.jasminerichards.com
. Do stop by and say hello.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
hc.com
.

BOOKS BY JASMINE RICHARDS

The Book of Wonders

CREDITS

C
OVER ART Â© 2016 BY
S
AM
N
IELSON

C
OVER DESIGN BY
H
EATHER
D
AUGHERTY

COPYRIGHT

SECRETS OF VALHALLA.
Copyright Â© 2016 by Jasmine Richards. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

www.harpercollinschildrens.com

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015938995

ISBN 978-0-06-201009-4

EPub Edition Â© December 2015 ISBN 9780062239112

15Â Â 16Â Â 17Â Â 18Â Â 19Â Â Â Â
CG/RRDH
Â Â Â Â 10Â Â 9Â Â 8Â Â 7Â Â 6Â Â 5Â Â 4Â Â 3Â Â 2Â Â 1