Thor's Serpents Quotes

“A footfall crunched behind him. He turned to see Reyna heading his way with the cat at her side. He grinned at them, and Reyna stopped short, glancing over her shoulder as if looking for the cause of his grin.
"Someone spike you prefight Gatorade?" she asked.
"No, I'm just happy to see -" He rocked back on his heels. "Happy to see the cat is still with you. Have you picked a name yet?"
"What are my options again?"
"Trjegul, Bygul, and Heyyu."
"Tree-gool and Bee-gool?" she said. "And Hey-yu?" She stopped. "Hey, you. Oh. Ha-ha. Leave comedy to the professionals, Thorsen."
He shrugged. "You could always ask the cat what her name is."
"Nope. I pick Trjegul." She looked down at the calico. "You're Trjegul now. Even if you're really Bygul."
The cat only blinked.
"So if I call you by your name, you'll come, right?"
Trjegul got up and wandered off in the other direction.
"Watch out or I'll trade you for a swan!" Reyna called after her. "A giant, killer stealth swan that eats ungrateful kitties for breakfast.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“A third bleat, impatient now, and he turned to see a snow-white goat with golden horns and black spots under its eyes.
"Hey, Tanngrisnir." He hugged the goat. When he realized what he was doing, he pulled back fast, but Tanngnjóstr pushed forward, clearly expecting the same greeting his brother got. Matt gave it to him - after checking to be sure no one was watching.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“The best warrior is dedicated and passionate yet clearheaded. It is not about revenge or victory. It is about honor.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“Astrid turned, slowly and deliberately, toward Reyna. She looked her up and down, and then frowned, as if she couldn't quite place her.
"Reyna? I didn't recognize you without the emo girl costume. Still not quite the goddess of light and beauty, are you? Big heels to fill. It'll take a while to grow into them." She looked Reyna over again. "Maybe a long while."
"Oh, I fit my shoes just fine. Today, they're a sweet pair of combat boots, because today, I'm playing a different aspect of Freya. Goddess of kick-your-butt-if-you-mess-with-me. Or mess with anyone else.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“A sudden yowl from up ahead had them all starting. A small tree smoked on one side, the faint glow of fire darting from a burning patch of dead foliage. The yowl came again. Matt hurried over and peered up the tree to see a calico cat, its green eyes staring down, as if in accusation.
"No," Reyna said, stopping beside him. "We are not rescuing the cat."
"But the tree -"
"- is on fire. I see that. Have you ever owned a cat? If they can go up, they can come down. Guaranteed."
Matt eyed the feline. It eyed him back, then yowled, as if to say Well, hurry it up.
"It might be too scared to come down," he said.
"It's a cat," Reyna said. "They don't get scared - just annoyed, which I'm going to get if you insist on playing hero and rescuing that faker." She scowled at the cat. "Yes, I mean you. Faker."
The cat sniffed, then turned to Matt, clearly sensing the softer touch.
Owen stepped forward. "If you'll feel better rescuing the cat, Matt, then go ahead. We aren't on a tight schedule."
Reyna waved her arms around the smoking street. "Um, Ragnarök?"
"And the longer you two bicker ..."
"Fine," Reyna said. "I've got this." Before Matt could protest, she walked to the base of the tree, grabbed the lowest branch, and swung up. "Rodeo girl, remember? Also, five years of gymnastics, which my mother thought would make me more graceful and feminine. Her mistake."
She shimmied along a branch. "Come on, faker. I'm your designated hero for today." She looked down at Matt. "And if you ever tell anyone I rescued a cat from a tree ..."
Before Matt could answer, the cat sprang to the ground.
"Arggh!" Reyna said.
"You scared him out," Matt said. "He just needed the extra motivation. No, wait. It's a she. Calicos are almost always female."
"Are they? Huh." Reyna swung out. The cat sat on the ground below, watching.
"See?" Matt said. "She's grateful."
"She's gloating. Let's go.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“On my count, we're going to run," Matt said.
"Run where?"
"In the other direction."
Baldwin chuckled. "Sounds like a plan.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“Matt heaved on the door as hard as he could. It wouldn't budge.
"Spread out," Laurie said. "Find another entrance -"
Matt pulled Mjölnir back and swung it at the glass door. It shattered on impact.
"Or we could do that," Laurie said.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“I wasn't thinking about them. "I was thinking -"
"Don't. You need all your energy for fighting or you'll do something stupid like use an aikido pin on a wolf."
"Um, pretty sure you're the one who -"
"Nope, you did." She winked at him. "I've rewritten the scene. You pinned the wolf. I saved your butt. It was epic.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“Rapid City," he said with a flourish at the lights below.
"We always stopped there on the way home from camping," Baldwin said. "There's this great ice-cream stand just off the highway. But I guess we aren't going for ice cream, are we?"
"Probably not," Ray said. "Unless it's being served by monsters."
"That could be cool," Baldwin said. "An ice-cream fight. Like a snowball fight, with fifty flavors of snow. Good, safe fun. No one ever died from ice cream."
"Unless they drowned you in a giant vat of it," Reyna said. "Or forced you to eat it until you choked. Or -"
"You're no fun at all, you know that?" Baldwin said.
"Depends on your definition of fun.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“What were you thinking?" Fen snarled at her. "It could've killed you. I thought you had given me the dangerous one."
Laurie flashed her cousin a grin. "I did. I just gave me an equally dangerous one.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“She returned her sword to its sheath. "It was a good idea, son of Thor. You have wounded it."
"Seriously?"
"Yes, I am always serious."
"No, I mean did I seriously wound it."
She paused. "I do not know. You may have mostly angered it."
"Great...”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“What about thermite?" Baldwin asked as they crouched behind a rock.
"Thermite?" she echoed.
"You need to watch Mythbusters. The source of all knowledge ... well, at least the sort my parents won't let me have." Baldwin grinned. "If you mix rust, aluminum oxide, and a sparkler, it makes a sort of modern Greek fire. Completely and utterly inappropriate for us - or even most adults to make or use.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“Astrid's eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth. Reyna cut her off with "Stop."
"I'm not -"
"Whatever you're about to claim you aren't doing? You're totally doing it. And we're going to stop right here. Two girls hissing at each other over a boy? Chiché. Doing it when we should be strategizing for a save-the-world battle? That's an insult to girls everywhere. Catfight, done." She turned to Matt. "You have the floor, sir.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“Well ..." He glanced back at the calico. "The Valkyries told you that Freya's chariot is drawn by two house cats, right?"
She smiled. "Right. I forgot that." She looked at the cat. "Hey, make yourself useful. Find a friend and a chariot, okay? My feet are getting sore."
The cat eyed her balefully.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“Yo! Jotunn!" he shouted at the giant.
"Yo?" Reyna choked on a laugh. "Please tell me that's an ancient Norse word, and you're not going to start rapping."
He may have made a rude gesture, but if ever called on it, he would claim he'd simply motioned for her to be quiet while he got the giant's attention.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents

“So, the fire giant. Fifty feet tall. On fire. Completely on fire, from head to foot. Carrying two swords. Flaming, of course. Matt barely had time to think before the Jotunn turned his way. He would say it looked at him, but for that, he'd need to see actual eyes. It had a mouth apparently, though, which opened and breathed ... yep, fire.”
― K.L. Armstrong, Thor's Serpents