CHAPTER TWELVE

Him Upstairs

“Ratatosk,” Buzz called. “RATATOSK!”

“All right, all right. Keep your ruddy hair on,” Ratatosk yelled back from the dense undergrowth. “I’ll just be a sec.”

They heard the scrabble of claws, and then a stream of earth shot out onto the path as the squirrel began to dig away. In no time at all, Ratatosk gave a muk, muk of pleasure and appeared back in front of them with a large hazelnut in his little paws.

He filled his furry cheeks with air and blew on the nut to try to rid it of any dirt. Looking pleased with himself, he popped it into his mouth and began chomping away.

Mary gave a small, polite cough, and then a louder one so she could be heard over the chewing. “Ratatosk, what do you mean, stuck?” she asked again.

Ratatosk looked up, his little jaw still working hard. He tried to say something, but all Buzz and Mary actually heard was, “Numph, numph.”

Realizing that they hadn’t understood, Ratatosk swallowed the last of his hazelnut, gave a tiny burp, and patted his furry tummy. “The week is stuck on Saturday because Sunna has gone from your world and been taken to one of the hidden realms.”

Buzz rubbed at his forehead. “But why does Sunna being gone mean we’re stuck on a Saturday loop?”

Ratatosk shook his head despairingly and with his hind legs began shoveling the pile of dirt on the path back into the undergrowth.

“It ain’t brain surgery. Days of the week each have a guardian,” Ratatosk explained, hind legs still working furiously. “Sunday is Sunna’s day. But now that she’s been taken to one of the hidden realms, and is stuck with that dragony brute Nidhogg, Sunday can’t happen.” Ratatosk finished with the dirt and sat back on his haunches. “And the longer Saturday is on a loop, the worse things will get. It’s gonna get real messy.”

Buzz thought of his mother. He imagined her out there in the Amazon rain forest, waiting for the plane that would bring her home—a plane that would never come if it was Saturday forever. And I don’t even want to know what Ratatosk means by things getting real messy. Right now, he could only deal with one thing at a time.

“How do we get Sunna back?” he asked.

“Yer need to find the other runes and give them back to the right gods so they can regain their powers and stop Loki.”

“Okay. But how do we find them?” Mary asked.

“The runes or the gods?” Ratatosk asked, sniffing at his tail.

“The gods,” Buzz said.

“The runes,” Mary said.

Ratatosk’s fur bristled. “Are yer having a laugh? I can only tell yer one thing at a time. I’m not a magic squirrel, yer know. Do I look like I have two heads, two mouths, two—”

“Okay, okay. Tell us where to find the gods first,” Mary soothed.

Ratatosk’s fur bristled even more. “That’s way above my pay grade.” He shook his furry head. “Listen, their god selves will be asleep. Embedded deep down in a person, just like it was with Sunna. The day guardians are going to look like average Joes just like you, Buzz.”

“Average Joe,” Buzz repeated. “Thanks for that.”

“If they could be anyone,” Mary said, “how are we supposed to find them?”

“If yer get the runes, they’ll lead yer to yer sleeping gods. If yer don’t get the runes, yer only clue will be that the hosts of the day guardians will have stayed close to the tree. Close to these woods.”

“So that could be anyone in Crowmarsh,” Buzz mused.

Ratatosk nodded. “Some of yer hosts may have an inkling that something ain’t right and they’re stuck in a Saturday loop. That might help yer spot them. But more likely, they’ll have no idea that they’re hosting gods, and the sleeping day guardians won’t wake up until they are reunited with their runes and powers.” Ratatosk lifted his injured tail and gave it a sniff. “D’yer think it’s infected?” he asked fretfully. “That horrible dragon crushed it to a pulp.”

Mary knelt down and peered at it. “No, I don’t think so.” She leaned forward and sniffed it gingerly. “And it doesn’t smell bad, either. I think it’s all right.”

Ratatosk beamed at her. “Thanks for looking. I’m a complete hypochondriac sometimes.” He looked over at Buzz. “She’s very helpful, this one. Let’s hope those gods yer need to find will be just as obliging.” Ratatosk stroked his whiskers meditatively.

“Okay, so where are the runes, then?” Buzz asked.

Ratatosk crossed his arms. “I’m just a squirrel. How should I know?”

“You’re the agent of the tree!” Buzz exclaimed. “You’re not just a squirrel. Squirrels can’t talk.”

“Have yer ever listened?” Ratatosk shot back. “I mean really listened?”

“No. But—”

“You seem so wise and knowing, Ratatosk.” Mary reached out and gently stroked the squirrel’s head. “So we just assumed that you’d know.”

Ratatosk calmed down and nuzzled into her hand. “Well . . . I did hear that the runes are scattered across the hidden realms of the human world, and I’d bet all the hazelnuts in this wood that Loki is looking for them right now.” He clasped his paws together. “If anyone knows where the runes are for certain it will be him upstairs. Yer know—the lord of all time. Yer’ll need to speak to him.”

“Him upstairs.” Buzz gulped. “As in, the big cheese . . .”

“Saturn, yeah,” Ratatosk replied.

“Oh,” Buzz said. “That’s not who I thought you meant at all.” His brow scrunched. “How are we going to speak to a planet?”

“What in the worlds are yer goin’ on about?” Ratatosk looked outraged. “Why would I be telling yer to talk to a planet? How would that even work?”

“He means the Roman god, Saturn,” Mary said. “You know, the God of Time? We’ve spoken about the personification thing already, Buzz.” She stroked Ratatosk’s head again. The squirrel looked up at her adoringly and began to purr.

First, Buzz didn’t even know that squirrels could purr. Second, he didn’t know that Saturn was the Roman God of Time. And third, as much as he was trying to ignore it, he didn’t know why Mary was staring at him with such a seriously perplexed look.

“Are you sure your father is a mythologist?” she asked after a moment. “How come you don’t know any of this stuff? It’s just a bit strange.”

Buzz’s cheeks flushed. “I guess he hasn’t been that interested in telling me.”

Or you haven’t been that interested in listening, the annoying voice in his head countered. Because you thought it was all rubbish.

“A mythologist?” the squirrel asked. “What’s that, then?”

“A professor of mythology,” Buzz responded. “He does a lot of research about myths. Spends most of his time in these woods, actually, looking for evidence about certain ancient mythologies and their epicenters.”

“I know exactly who you mean,” Ratatosk said. “Pale, serious-looking guy with the glasses, always poking about. Sings to himself—his voice kind of stays with you.”

“That’s him.” Although Buzz didn’t think he’d ever heard the Prof sing before.

“Where was I?” Ratatosk picked a bit of nut from his front teeth. “That’s right, Saturn. He and Odin have always been as thick as thieves. Singing each other’s praises.” The squirrel rolled his eyes. “Strange really, since gods tend to stay with their own kind. Norse with Norse, Roman with Roman, Egyptian with Egyptian.” Ratatosk wrinkled his nose. “But those two were peas in a pod, ruthless as yer like. After Odin had Loki imprisoned and stripped of his powers, he asked Saturn to become guardian of the Trickster’s day.”

“That’s when it became Saturday,” Mary said excitedly. “Saturn’s day.”

The squirrel nodded. “Thing yer got to understand is that Saturn is proper old,” Ratatosk warned. “Been around from the beginning. That makes him as wise as time itself. It also makes him a tricky customer to deal with. He likes to play games.”

“How do we find him?” The words slipped out before Buzz could stop them, and he braced himself for another scary squirrel telling-off.

“How’d yer expect me to know that?” Ratatosk was so angry he was shaking.

No, hang on a minute, Buzz thought. He’s laughing.

In fact, the squirrel was laughing so much, tears were running down his furry cheeks.

“I’m just pulling your leg.” Ratatosk guffawed. “Yer should have seen yer face. I ain’t that fierce, am I?” He tilted his head. “Up the tree we’ll go and find the right branch. The tree can take you to any hidden realm there is.”

Without Buzz even realizing it, Ratatosk had led them right to the glade where the World Tree waited for them. It was just as big as Buzz remembered, its branches reaching upward to the sky. The tree was so tall you couldn’t see the top, and the ground seemed to fizz beneath his feet.

“Wow! I can’t believe we’re really going up there,” Mary breathed. “It’s so big.”

Buzz’s knees felt like they were made of clay. “How will we know which branch to choose?” he asked. Please let it be one of the bottom branches.

“Yer’ll need to tell the tree where yer want to go, and then it will show yer the branch.” The squirrel’s furry face went grave. “It’s no game traveling between realms. Yer can get lost in more ways than one. Truth is yer most reliable guide, but yer heart must be open to listen to its advice.”

Buzz nodded and placed his hand on the tree. “Show us the path to Saturn,” he requested, and the bark answered by pulsing with power beneath his fingertips.

Mary grinned at him. “Time to go up!”