The Sword of Summer

The group climbs the hill to the center of the island. Fenris is in the valley below. Magnus expects a giant monster but instead sees “a Wolf the size of a wolf” that isn’t as intimidating-looking as the stories make him sound (437). Gleipnir barely binds Fenris, but he cannot attack Magnus and the others so long as they remain amidst the heather.

Despite his appearance, Fenris Wolf has the vast intelligence and silver tongue of his father (Loki). He tells the group of his slow progress toward freeing himself. His biggest stride came two years ago when he freed himself from the rope’s muzzle, which allowed him to influence events in the other worlds. Fenris Wolf told Odin to make Sam a Valkyrie, sent the wolves to kill Magnus’s mother so Magnus would become strong enough to find the sword, and controls Surt’s actions.

Enraged, Magnus nearly leaves the heather to attack, but Hearth, unable to hear the wolf’s taunts, breaks through Fenris’s hold on Magnus’s emotions. Magnus refuses to fight Fenris and will wait for Surt, but he doesn’t get the chance. Across Fenris’s valley, Gunilla, accompanied by Valkyries and Magnus’s hallmates, crests the hill. Believing Magnus and his friends are aiding Fenris, she announces they’ve “signed your own death warrants” (443).

Gunilla orders Magnus’s hallmates to apprehend the traitors while she and the Valkyries deal with Fenris. T.J., Mallory, X, and Halfborn around the valley to stand with Magnus, announce he’s under arrest, and then take it back because Vikings are “pretty bad at following orders” (446). Magnus’s hallmates are there to help him.

Fenris sniffs the air and announces, “Someone is hiding” (446). Before Magnus can investigate, an army of fire giants arrives, led by Surt. Magnus forms a plan: His hallmates and the Valkyries will fight the giants while he, Sam, Blitz, and Hearth rebind Fenris. Grudgingly, Gunilla agrees, and the battle ensues.