Read Online Thor's Serpents by K.L. Armstrong, M.A. Marr - Free Book Online Page B

fake-god kids—knew what this is. Do you?”
    It took a moment, and Matt could see Jake struggling, mentally thumbing through the myths. Then he said, “It looks like Freya’s cloak, but it’s clearly a fake.”
    Reyna put it on and disappeared. “Does it
look
fake?” AsJake stood there, staring, she took it off, stuffed the cloak back into her pack, and strode over to Mjölnir. “How about you come and pick this up? See if it’s fake, too.”
    Jake stood there, staring at the hammer, past scoffing but uncertain and confused.
    Matt walked over and carefully lifted Mjölnir, trying not to be too confident about it. He knew why Jake doubted him. Matt was just a kid, and he always messed up, always got into trouble, always made mistakes. Even if Matt had come to realize he didn’t actually mess up more than the average thirteen-year-old—that’s what Jake thought of him. Of course Jake would believe he’d run off or been tricked.
    So he lifted Mjölnir, then threw it, and everyone watched in silence as it returned to his hand.
    “See?” Reyna said. “Matt—”
    Matt quieted her with a look. He appreciated that she’d defended him, but it wasn’t necessary now as his brother stood there, staring.
    “I…” Jake said. “That’s… You have…”
    “Mjölnir,” Matt said quietly. “I took Mjölnir from the tomb. I took the shield back from the Raiders. I even have Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr, Thor’s goats. I’ve met the Valkyries. I’ve fought trolls and mara and draugrs and jötnar. I
am
with Laurie Brekke. She’s Loki’s champion, and she’s on my side. We’ve found the twins and Baldwin—Balder’s descendant. Baldwin died, just like in the myths,but it was one of the monsters who did it, not the Brekkes. We got Baldwin back, though. From Hel. I even fell in the river of the dead, swallowed some of it, and survived. We’ve changed the myth, but Ragnarök is still coming. I’ve seen the Midgard Serpent. We can’t stop it. We can only prepare.”
    Jake stared at him. “You…”
    “Yes,” Reyna said. “He did all of that. He’s the real Champion of Thor. Your
loser
little brother.”
    Jake blinked. “I never said…” He looked at Matt. “
You
said that. I’ve never…” He trailed off, studying Matt’s expression. “Is that what you think? Sure, you make mistakes. But you’re just a kid. I expect you to mess up.”
    “I’m not
just
a kid,” Matt said. “And I don’t mess up nearly as often as you think I do.”
    Jake’s mouth worked. Then he stepped toward Matt, his voice lowering. “Sure, I might have been hard on you sometimes. You’re my little brother. But…” He looked at Ray and Reyna, and straightened. “Anyway, enough of that. You’re obviously in trouble, and you need our help. You never should have left.” He lifted his hands. “I know, you don’t want me giving you crap, but in this case, I think you deserve it.”
    “Actually, he doesn’t,” Reyna said. “There’s more to the story.”
    Matt asked the twins to scout for a few minutes. Then he told Jake about their grandfather, about what he’d heardat the meeting and, later, that Granddad admitted to everything.
    When Matt finished, Jake looked like he was going to be sick. He kept shaking his head, saying, “No, that’s not right. You’ve made a mistake. There’s no way Granddad would ever—”
    “It’s true,” Ray said, walking over. “Reyna and I weren’t there, but others were with Matt when your grandpa admitted it. Lots of others. There was no question of a misunderstanding. Whatever his reasons, your grandpa is leading the monsters’ side.”
    “He expected Matt to lose,” Reyna said as she joined them. “He wanted him to lose.” Her voice shook, as if with anger. “He says it’s for the best, a new world order, but he expected Matt to
die
. That’s what we’re up against. That’s why Matt took off and why he couldn’t come back. For all he knows, you guys—his