second floors of the buildings, enveloped by the great flood. He took his head back out. He was more breathless now than heâd been the first time. But now it had nothing to do with being under water; now it was down to the shock and dread he felt at the realisation that was slowly forming in his mind. He knew where he was. Heâd been here before countless times. Except the street hadnât been flooded as it was now. He waved his arm through the surface of the water in front of him, rotating gently on the spot. He was sure he knew the place; he just needed confirmation, although his stomach clenched in horror at the thought of it. He stopped turning.
The Dublin Spire loomed out of the water before him, towering above everything else in OâConnell Street. It had been erected at the turn of the century, a monument to celebrate the millennium and the city itself. It resembled a needle in design â shining steel that tapered to a fine point four hundred feet in the air â and it was the tallest structure in Dublin. Only a few months ago, Arthur had defeated the World Serpent and Loki here at the Spire itself. And now the bottom thirty or forty feet of it were submerged under the water along with every other building on OâConnell Street, the main thoroughfare of the city. As Arthur took in the sunken street around him, he realised that it wasnât just here that was flooded. The water extended down the cross-streets, around the corner at OâConnell Bridge, up the hill at Parnell Square. Everywhere. The entire city was under water. Without Arthur to stop him, it looked like Loki had already won.
For a while, Arthur floated aimlessly, trying to take in what had happened. The Norns must have sent him back too late. That was it. How was he expected to fix it now? Well, one thing was for certain: he couldnât stay in the water forever. He had landed near the shopping district of Henry Street so he decided to doggy-paddle down that way. Here, everything was in much the same state as heâd found OâConnell Street. Only the higher buildings were tall enough to rise out of the water and, of those that did, windows had been smashed in, signs hung crookedly and electrics flashed and sparked inside the ruined properties. Some of the shops, Arthur guessed from the signs of struggle and overturned merchandise inside, had been looted. The only sound he heard as he swam down the street was a siren whining agitatedly in the distance.
He could faintly see the bright sphere of the sun through the clouds, looking like a silver coin at the bottom of a muddy pond. Although the presence of the green, electrified clouds was worrying, he was glad that the sun couldnât penetrate them to add to the stifling warmth of the air. If it had he doubted that heâd have the energy to keep afloat, let alone swim. He had to stop and rest several times as he swam the length of the street. His backpack was weighing him down and making the going tough, but he didnât want to risk losing it and had no other way of carrying it. And because it was on his back, he couldnât take off his soaking hoodie, so had no choice but to keep struggling onwards.
Towards the end of the street, he came to a shop he recognised. âToyz Toyz Toyzâ read the sign next to a mural of a pink teddy bear. A speech bubble coming out of its mouth â proclaiming âMagic and Fun under One Roof!â â was hanging lopsided with a deep crack running down the middle. The paint on the teddy itself was cracking off, clearly weathered by incessant rain and heat. The biggest toy store in the city, it boasted three floors with any doll, action figure, board game, construction set or remote-control car that a child could possibly want. As in every other building on the street, the ground floor was completely submerged, along with half of the first floor. But from where Arthur was, the top floor seemed relatively
The Dublin Spire loomed out of the water before him, towering above everything else in OâConnell Street. It had been erected at the turn of the century, a monument to celebrate the millennium and the city itself. It resembled a needle in design â shining steel that tapered to a fine point four hundred feet in the air â and it was the tallest structure in Dublin. Only a few months ago, Arthur had defeated the World Serpent and Loki here at the Spire itself. And now the bottom thirty or forty feet of it were submerged under the water along with every other building on OâConnell Street, the main thoroughfare of the city. As Arthur took in the sunken street around him, he realised that it wasnât just here that was flooded. The water extended down the cross-streets, around the corner at OâConnell Bridge, up the hill at Parnell Square. Everywhere. The entire city was under water. Without Arthur to stop him, it looked like Loki had already won.
For a while, Arthur floated aimlessly, trying to take in what had happened. The Norns must have sent him back too late. That was it. How was he expected to fix it now? Well, one thing was for certain: he couldnât stay in the water forever. He had landed near the shopping district of Henry Street so he decided to doggy-paddle down that way. Here, everything was in much the same state as heâd found OâConnell Street. Only the higher buildings were tall enough to rise out of the water and, of those that did, windows had been smashed in, signs hung crookedly and electrics flashed and sparked inside the ruined properties. Some of the shops, Arthur guessed from the signs of struggle and overturned merchandise inside, had been looted. The only sound he heard as he swam down the street was a siren whining agitatedly in the distance.
He could faintly see the bright sphere of the sun through the clouds, looking like a silver coin at the bottom of a muddy pond. Although the presence of the green, electrified clouds was worrying, he was glad that the sun couldnât penetrate them to add to the stifling warmth of the air. If it had he doubted that heâd have the energy to keep afloat, let alone swim. He had to stop and rest several times as he swam the length of the street. His backpack was weighing him down and making the going tough, but he didnât want to risk losing it and had no other way of carrying it. And because it was on his back, he couldnât take off his soaking hoodie, so had no choice but to keep struggling onwards.
Towards the end of the street, he came to a shop he recognised. âToyz Toyz Toyzâ read the sign next to a mural of a pink teddy bear. A speech bubble coming out of its mouth â proclaiming âMagic and Fun under One Roof!â â was hanging lopsided with a deep crack running down the middle. The paint on the teddy itself was cracking off, clearly weathered by incessant rain and heat. The biggest toy store in the city, it boasted three floors with any doll, action figure, board game, construction set or remote-control car that a child could possibly want. As in every other building on the street, the ground floor was completely submerged, along with half of the first floor. But from where Arthur was, the top floor seemed relatively
Similar Books
