The Sword of Summer

On the way to his room, Magnus notices a bunch of other kids his age hanging out in lounges. He witnesses one kid die being impaled by a spear, and two wolves drag the body away. Terrified, Magnus hides, but Hunding tells him not to worry because the “victim will be fine by dinner” (61).

In the elevator, Hunding reacquaints Magnus with pertinent details of the ancient Norse religion, including the nine worlds and that Magnus came from Midgard (the realm of humans). Magnus’s room is on the 19th floor, and he enters to find a massive suite that has everything he could want, including a picture of him and his mom. Hunding leaves Magnus to settle in until his Valkyrie collects him for dinner. When Magnus argues he doesn’t have a Valkyrie, Hunding says he’d claim the same thing if he had Magnus’s Valkyrie because “she’s caused her share of trouble” (68).

Alone in his room, Magnus breaks down. He grieves for his mother, gets angry about his situation, and finally comes to terms with what’s happening. He doesn’t understand why he’s in Valhalla because he doesn’t believe he died heroically. He realizes his mother died trying to protect him but before he can think too much about the implications of her death, the girl from his battle with Surt arrives. She introduces herself as Magnus’s Valkyrie, Samirah al-Abbas (Sam for short).

Magnus asks if his mother is in Valhalla. When Sam says no, Magnus demands to be brought to his mom. He wants to be with her and doesn’t belong among heroes. To shut him up, Sam slams him against the wall, pressing against his throat. She warns him not to say any such thing at dinner because her “career is on the line” (74). A siren blares. It’s the dinner bell. Sam ushers Magnus out of his room, telling him if he embarrasses her, she’ll “be the first to kill you” (75).

In the hallway, Magnus meets some of his neighbors, including Thomas Jefferson, Jr. (who goes by T.J.), Mallory Keen (who is Scottish), and X (who has a pig’s head outside his door). In the elevator, Sam gives Magnus more information about Valhalla. Everyone on Magnus’s floor died as a teenager, and there are two other floors, one for adults and one for seniors. Sam is not dead and lives a double life. After she escorts Magnus to dinner, she will “rush home and finish my calculus homework” (79).

The dining hall is an enormous room with stadium seating and a massive tree at its center. A goat waddles along one of the tree’s lowest branches, and a group of warriors stands beneath it, trying to catch the milk leaking from its udders. Sam describes some of the other animals that live in the tree (formally the Tree of Laeradr), including a stag who’s horns constantly spew water that “feeds every river in every world” (82). The massive doors around the room open, and the rest of Valhalla’s residents storm the dining hall.

Sam flies Magnus over the commotion to the newcomer table, where six other new warriors wait with their Valkyries. Sam notes that seven is a lot for one night and means “more bad things are stirring in the world” (84). Before they can sit, Gunilla, captain of the Valkyries, corners them and takes jabs at Sam, asking if she’s brought “a spy from your father” (84). The dinner horn blares, and Gunilla takes her seat at the head table, leaving Magnus to wonder about the remark.

Dinner consists of meat, potatoes, and buttered bread. Magnus asks what kind of meat it is, to which Sam says the creature’s name is Saehrimnir. She further explains that Saehrimnir provides dinner every night and reincarnates every morning. Sam provides more information about Valhalla over dinner. The thanes (lords of Valhalla) sit at the head table with Odin’s ravens. The god himself hasn’t been around for dinner in some time. At the far end of the dining hall, Helgi enjoys himself while Hunding is forced to serve him. They had a feud in life, and Odin honored Helgi more after death. Sam warns Magnus that Valhalla has a hierarchy just like anywhere else and that he doesn’t “want to be at the bottom” (89). She starts to say something but is cut off by Helgi announcing it’s time to hear about the newcomers’ heroic deeds. Thanks to Gunilla, they can watch the deeds on video, which Sam is unhappy about.