Chapter Text
THE MORNING OF MAGNUS’S BIRTHDAY WAS NOT FUN.
To be fair, the last five months had pretty much sucked. Even since he and Alex Fierro had left Camp Half-Blood at the beginning of September to return to Boston, they’d been doing their best to survive on the streets. Occasionally, his cousin Annabeth would stop by. Sometimes she’d bring her boyfriend Percy Jackson and their friend Jason Grace with her.
Today in particular, both boys would be coming with Annabeth to celebrate Magnus’s 16th birthday that afternoon. Assuming Magnus was still alive by 3:00 PM.
The day started out normal enough. Magnus and Alex had camped out on the sidewalk under a bridge in the Public Garden when a guy kicked them awake and said, “He’s after you.”
There was only one he that could be after them.
Magnus jumped up. “Randolph?” he asked the guy, Blitz.
It was kind of disorienting to see the normally fashionable dwarf looking like he’d been running through a dirty hurricane. His wiry black hair was full of paper scraps and twigs. His face was the colour of saddle leather and was flecked with ice. His beard curled in all directions. Snow caked the bottom of his trench coat where it dragged around his feet—Blitz being about five feet five—and his eyes were so dilated the irises were all pupil. His permanently alarmed expression made him look like he might start screaming any second.
Alex let out a groan. “It’s your birthday, Magnus.” She said that like she couldn’t believe Magnus had the audacity to have a birthday.
“Uh huh,” Magnus said. “Is that so bad?”
“Let’s just get you through the day alive.” Thanks, Alex, for that cheerful thought.
Blitz glanced around. “He’s getting desperate. Remind me again why you don’t want your uncle to find you?”
“He’s working for her mom,” Magnus said, pointing to Alex. “Who wants my friend—” he tapped the pendant on his necklace “—to end the world. But not yet because the ship isn’t ready to sail, but like eventually.”
After they had arrived in Boston, a frantic Blitz and Hearth had found them and demanded answers. Alex—being a lot less speechless than Magnus had been—had quickly explained that Loki had kidnapped them and they had only just managed to get back to Boston. Which wasn’t exactly a lie. They had been kidnapped and they had escaped, but that was back in June.
The reason they had only just made it back was because they had been rescued by Percy during his quest to free Thanatos. Then they had assisted in the battle at Camp Jupiter against Polybotes. Once the Argo II arrived, the plan was to get a ride back to New York and Camp Half-Blood so they could get back to Boston, but things happened and Magnus and Alex got stuck on the Quest of Seven which hadn’t ended until August 1st.
“Well,” Blitz said, “maybe you should get out of Boston. Don’t you have a cousin in New York and another uncle in California?”
“My cousin is coming here today,” Magnus said. “Along with some friends. So… hopefully they find me still alive. If not…” He trailed off. “Well, hopefully, they don’t die too.”
“No one’s dying today,” Blitz said.
“I hope not,” Magnus agreed.
Alex patted his arm. “Unless I get to you first.”
Blitz sent her a sharp look.
“Kidding,” she muttered.
It was still kinda funny how Blitz and Hearth seemed to warm up more to Alex after learning that Loki had also kidnapped her, but still remain slightly distrustful because in their words it was “the perfect cover, Magnus”.
Magnus and Alex quickly packed up their small amount of possessions, which took about three seconds. The sleeping bags rolled up tight and fitted in their backpacks with their toothbrushes and a change of socks and underwear. With the backpacks over their shoulders and the hood of their jackets pulled low, they could blend in with pedestrian traffic pretty well.
“Where was he?” Magnus asked.
“South End,” Blitz answered. “Where are you supposed to be meeting your cousin?”
He didn’t bother to ask how Magnus had even arranged a meeting which Magnus supposed was a good thing. It wouldn’t really help things if he said they had arranged this months ago right before he and Alex left Camp Half-Blood which, by the way, was a summer camp for Greek demigods.
“Longfellow Bridge,” Alex answered for Magnus.
Blitz frowned. “Why there?”
“Either we’ll both be dead there or we won’t be,” Magnus said. “So… that’s where they’re going.”
Blitz squinted at the sunrise, which was turning the skyscraper windows orange. “I gotta go. But go find Hearth in Copley Square.”
“We don’t need babysitters,” Alex said.
“For my own piece of mind? Blitz pleaded. “Just… don’t die today. They’re coming for you and I don’t think you want to draw your cousin and your friends into this.”
That would be a nice option, except Annabeth was already a part of this. And by extension, her boyfriend Percy was. By even further extension, Jason and the other demigods. Magnus didn’t know what Annabeth was planning to do since he was pretty sure there was something going on with the Roman emperors at this time, but he knew she probably had a plan.”
“We’ll be careful,” Magnus promised. He looked at Alex. “Copley Square it is.”
They looked back to Blitz, but the dwarf was already gone.
“Homeless vampire ninja,” Magnus muttered. “Change of plans. We’re going to Randolph’s.”
“Randolph’s?” Alex asked, raised eyebrows. “Like, the place you’ve been avoiding like the plague? Like the place you went to and got caught by Randolph which led to your death by a fire giant? That Randolph’s?”
Magnus gave her a look. “He’s still my uncle. He deserves a chance to be saved. We both know what happens to him. And we both know your mother’s not likely to save his wife and daughters.”
“That’s true,” Alex allowed. “Okay, but if you die because of this, I’m going to kill you.”
“Inside the hotel?”
“Depends on if I die.”
Magnus swallowed. “You won’t.”
“You won’t either. Right?” Alex fixed him with a look.
“I’ll try.”
“Right?” she asked more forcefully.
Magnus sighed. “Right.”
Alex didn’t really look convinced, but to Magnus’s relief, she dropped it. It wasn’t like he was hoping to die today. But there was a fire giant coming for him and Surt was aiming to kill, not maim or injure.
Unfortunately, that brought up something Magnus had been thinking about for a while.
“If we die,” he began, “what happens? I know Sam has orders to bring me to the hotel, but… What happens if we both die heroically? Gunilla has a thing about children of, you know, and if Sam has to make a choice—”
“She’ll pick you,” Alex finished. “I know.” Nothing about her betrayed any sort of nervousness or worry. “I guess we just have to hope there’s another in the area. Or… we could just not die. I like that option better.”
“Not dying does sound nice,” Magnus admitted. “I’m sold.”
“Alright,” Alex said. “How do we get to your uncle’s place?”