Apparently, I'm Dead

Chapter Thirty-Four

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

PERCY

The water starts to churn, bubbles forming and popping, making the water turn white. The lime green snake sprouts out of the water like a video of a plant growing in time lapse.

"Oh, gods," Sam whispers. "Ya Allah. He's fully awake this time."

And he is. The light is almost brighter than I can handle. I've never seen his teeth before, but they look like swords. He glares at us balefully, and I can almost see him wondering Are they food?

No, I don't almost hear it. I'm certain that I just heard the World Serpent talk. I didn't know that Jormungand could talk.

"Hey, Alex," I whisper, "did you know your brother could talk?"

She gives me an inquisitive look. "Um... as far as I know, he can't?"

"Oh. Okay then."

"Percy!"

"Yeah?"

"Did you hear him talk?"

"Well, I thought I did. But apparently he doesn't talk."

She looks at me, her expression deadpan. "You can talk to horses and fish and stuff. Who says you can't talk to a giant snake, who I may mention, lives in the water?"

"Do you think he understands me?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. You can find out, though." She gestures towards the snake, who's eyeing me confusedly.

"Can you understand me?" I ask directly to him.

'What is this?' I hear. 'What are you?'

"So you can understand me," I breathe. "That's so cool."

Jormungand twists agitatedly. 'I do not understand! I do not want you to talk to me; just leave me alone! I am so tired... People keep waking me up.' He hisses angrily at Magnus and Sam, who cower back. 'I remember those two from before. I just want to sleep.'

"Hey, I get that. Can you not eat us, though?"

'No. They woke me up, and now I am hungry.'

Oh. That's really not good. "But you're so tired, aren't you?" I stall, moving my fingers rapidly into the ASL alphabet.

'I can be both,' the snake says petulantly. 'I am very good at multitasking.'

Sam slips the hair, the feather, and the piece of leaf into my hand.

"We probably won't taste very good," I ramble, desperately stalling for time.

He ignores me. 'Where is my father?' he asks. 'He said he would be here when I woke up.'

"I haven't seen him around," I say nonchalantly.
"That's because you haven't been looking," a voice whispers from behind me.

I stiffen, and then whirl around. The first thing I notice is that Loki's scars seem to have healed over more. They're less jarring, less obvious than before.

Then I notice that he's close enough to steal the sedative, and is actively trying to, so I bring up my foot and shove him away. I sort of just end up propelling myself away, but that works just as well, I guess.

'Father!' Jormungand says delightedly. 'You came!'

"Yes, I came," Loki answers distractedly. "Hello, Magnus. I hope that I'm not ruining any plans?" At Loki's dismissal, the giant snake almost seems to grow small.

Something in me twinges in sympathy. I know the feeling of a parent who should care about you, but doesn't. I've felt it many times.

'You have?' says the voice of the World Serpent. 'Does your father care about someone else more than you?'

I sigh. "Sometimes it feels like it. I mean, sometimes I think he does."

'I hate him,' Jormungand sniffs. 'I hate him so much.'

"Who?" I ask. "Your father or Magnus?"

'Both of them! The blond one keeps taking Father's attention. Last year, he forgot my birthday because he was too busy flyting the blond one. And then he didn't even win!'

I nod, pretending I know what a flyting is. Loki is still taunting Magnus. I stare at the son of Frey, hoping that he'll get what I'm trying to tell him. Keep him occupied. Magnus nods discreetly.

"You know," I say casually, "Loki would be pretty mad if his plan got messed up. And if Magnus didn't get to fight Loki, he'd be pretty mad too."

The giant snake shows interest. "How can I mess up Loki's plan?"

I show him the objects in my hands. His eyes scan the hair, the feather, and the leaf before he looks at me suspiciously. 'What is this?'

"You said you were tired, and that you wanted to mess up your father's plan. This will make you fall asleep. Your father wants to awake so he can use you to take over the world. So it helps you on both counts."

'Hmmm...'

"The other problem is that you're hungry, right?" I ask desperately, "This is food. It should help fill you up."

'I want my father stuck in a walnut again,' Jormungand says with finality.

I smirk. "I think I can have that arranged."

Thanks,

ATOTALMUSICALNERD