The Sword of Summer

On their way to find food, Sam questions Mimir’s information. She doesn’t understand why Mimir wants them to bring the sword to Fenris Wolf’s prison, since it’s already “destined to fall into Surt’s hands” and be used to free Fenris (201). Magnus asks why his father lost the sword to begin with. Blitz says it was because of love, and Sam interrupts, not wanting to hear the story again.

Magnus brings them to Fadlan’s Falafel for lunch. Sam doesn’t want to go inside, but Blitz drags her. The owner isn’t there, but his son, Amir, is. Sam continues to act flustered and doesn’t explain why. They order food and sit, and a moment later, Amir closes the restaurant window. In the middle of asking how they will find the sword, Magnus wonders aloud about their food, and a nearby pigeon says he can help with both problems. Sam moves to grab her axe, but the pigeon warns if she kills him, she’ll never see her intended again, and they’ll “never find the sword” (207).

The pigeon offers Magnus a deal. It wants first pick of their food and a favor in exchange for information about the sword. Magnus agrees. The restaurant window opens, and the pigeon flies inside. It returns a moment later as an eagle and delivers the food. Per the agreement, the eagle gets first pick and eats everything but a pickle wedge. Enraged, Magnus draws his sword and strikes with the flat of his blade. The sword sticks to the eagle, and Magnus’s hands stick to the hilt. The eagle takes off with Magnus attached.

The eagle (nicknamed Big Boy) carries Magnus across half of Boston. He makes Magnus agree to his deal before landing them on the roof of the Boston Public Library. The sea goddess Ran has the sword. Big Boy gives Magnus instructions to find a man named Harald, who can help get Ran’s attention. Big Boy also demands Magnus retrieve one of Idun’s apples from Ran’s hoard. The apples have the power to keep the gods young. When Magnus asks what’s stopping him from not getting the apple, Big Boy defines Magnus’s troth as a binding oath and says if Magnus breaks it, he’ll explode and end up “trapped forever in the icy darkness of Helheim” (213).

Big Boy leaves, and Magnus rejoins his friends on the ground. They don’t know who Big Boy is but presume he’s a giant. Sam predicts “this will end badly” (213), and the four set out to find Harald.

Harald is a frost giant, and he wants nothing to do with Magnus’s group. Sam pays him in Asgard currency, and Harald agrees to take her “and the human boy” (216), not Blitz or Hearth. The group splits up, leaving Hearth and a petrifying Blitz to find cover until dark.

With a giant boar’s head for bait, Magnus, Sam, and Harald sail out into Massachusetts Bay. Though the sky darkens as if a storm is coming in, Harald remarks that it’s a “Lovely afternoon to fish” (219).

Onboard the ship, Magnus asks Sam about Amir, recalling Big Boy referred to him as Sam’s intended. Magnus starts to lecture Sam about not having to conform to an arranged marriage, but Samirah cuts him off. She reveals that she has been in love with Amir since she was 12, and her grandparents took her feelings into consideration when choosing Amir as a match. Sam offers more about her background, how her mother nursed Loki when part of him somehow got trapped in Midgard. The fact her mother wasn’t married when Sam was born clouds things for Sam, as does practicing Islam while working for pagan gods. Sam has always wanted to fly, and living her double life allows her to have everything she wants: flight and to marry Amir when she’s older.

The boat crosses into Jotunheim waters. Sam and Magnus lower the boar’s head into the ocean, and Magnus straps himself into a chair to keep from going overboard. Something huge takes the bait. Sam and Magnus reel in the World Serpent, which “will definitely get Ran’s attention” (228).