Spartan Destiny

by Estep, Jennifer

  “Get her!” Covington snarled. “Before she blows on that thing again—”

  But once again, he was too late, and the library ceiling shattered with a thunderous roar.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The Eir gryphons crashed down through the ceiling just like they had at the Cormac Museum a couple of months ago when they had saved me from the chimeras.

  Balder, Brono, and the third gryphon swooped down into the library, along with several other gryphons. The two basilisks cawed, spread their wings, and flew up off the bookcases to meet the gryphons, and the dragon on the study table took flight and shot up into the melee as well.

  I couldn’t do anything about the battle taking place above my head, so I focused on the one in front of me. Several Reapers charged at me, and I lifted Babs to defend myself, but I didn’t have to. Lightning struck the floor in front of the Reapers, making them scream and scramble back.

  I glanced up at the balcony. Zoe grinned at me, then snapped up Typhon’s Scepter and made a sharp figure-eight motion with it. A chimera appeared an instant later, and it hissed, bounded forward, and attacked one of the Reapers who had climbed up the stairs and rushed out onto the second-floor balcony.

  Aunt Rachel, Takeda, and Professor Dalaja were fighting the Reapers clustered around them. Aunt Rachel was still wearing Hephaestus’s Apron, which gave her incredible strength, and every blow she landed sent the Reapers flying through the air.

  Takeda punched one of the Reapers in the face, and the man’s sword fell out of his hand and neatly dropped into the Samurai’s, as if by magic. It was magic—the good fortune of Benzaiten’s Ring, which Takeda was wearing.

  Meanwhile, Professor Dalaja was using Veritas’s Diary as a weapon and slamming the book into the heads and faces of any Reapers who came near her.

  That left Covington, Drake, and Ian standing in front of the checkout counter in the middle of the madness. Drake waded into the fight, heading toward Takeda, while Ian stood motionless, even as the battle raged around him.

  Covington snarled and whirled around, reaching for the Narcissus Heart, which was still sitting in its plastic box on the counter where Drake had left it.

  “Mateo!” I yelled. “Get the Heart! I’ll get Ian!”

  Mateo nodded, then vanished, although another gust of air whooshed through the library, marking his passage. An instant later, he reappeared at the counter. Mateo’s hand closed over the box, and he turned to dart away with it, but Covington put on an extra burst of speed and slammed into him. The two of them fell to the floor and started wrestling for control of the box.

  I sprinted down the main aisle. Ian was standing still, but Covington realized that I was trying to save the Viking.

  “Ian!” Covington yelled. “Kill her! Kill Rory! Now!”

  Ian whirled toward me, whipped up his ax, and sliced it through the air. I had to pull up short to keep him from driving the blade into my chest.

  “Ian! Ian, stop! It’s me! Rory!”

  But Ian didn’t care now any more than he had when I faced him on the library roof earlier. In fact, I think he cared even less now, since his eyes were redder than they had been before, and Covington hadn’t even had to take hold of the Chloris Amulet to get him to attack me.

  Ian whipped up his ax, whirled around, and brought the weapon back down for another strike. I barely managed to bring Babs up in time to keep him from skewering me.

  Ian growled and leaned forward, his red gaze burning into mine. He tried to use his Viking strength to force his way through my defenses so that he could surge forward and kill me, but I held my ground and managed to throw him back.

  “Rory!” Babs yelled. “You can’t keep letting him come at you like that! He’ll kill you!”

  “I don’t want to hurt him!” I yelled back.

  “Well, you have to do something!” she replied.

  I knew that, but this was Ian. The guy who made me smile and laugh and texted me silly cupcake emojis. The guy who had given me Pan’s Whistle and a winterbloom flower. The guy who understood exactly what it was like to have Reaper relatives and all of the conflicting emotions that came along with that.

  The guy I loved more than I had ever thought possible.

  “Don’t you have another artifact?” Babs yelled. “Something that will break through the red narcissus venom?”

  And that was the fatal flaw in my plan. Down in the Bunker, I had realized we didn’t have enough artifacts to free everyone from the venom. We needed four artifacts—one each for Ian, Aunt Rachel, Takeda, and Professor Dalaja—and we only had three.

  It had been a difficult decision, just as difficult as choosing to rescue Mateo over Ian and Zoe, but I had known that Covington would keep Ian close to him, just in case he had to threaten Ian’s life to get me to hand over the Narcissus Heart. So I’d told Mateo to use the artifacts on Aunt Rachel, Takeda, and Professor Dalaja. That part of my plan had worked perfectly, and we had saved the three of them, but Ian was still under the influence of the red narcissus venom, and now he was trying to kill me again.

  I blocked another one of Ian’s blows and whirled around, my gaze going from one of my friends to the next. They had all been cured, so maybe I could grab one of their artifacts, bring it over here, and use it on Ian.

  But the moment I had the thought, I realized how impossible it was. Drake and several other Reapers surrounded Aunt Rachel, Takeda, and Professor Dalaja, and Ian would cut me down from behind long before I ever reached the Reapers, much less broke through their ranks to get to my friends.

  I looked over at the checkout counter. Mateo and Covington were still wrestling around on the floor, and there was no way I could get between them to grab Aphrodite’s Cuff off Mateo’s wrist. Zoe was out of reach too, since she was still up on the second floor, summoning chimeras and shooting lightning at any Reaper who came near her.

  Ian growled and charged at me again, whipping his ax back and forth in a series of furious attacks. He put all of his Viking strength behind each one of the blows, and it was all I could do to counter them.

  Ian slammed his ax into Babs’s blade, and I had to hold the sword with both hands to keep him from wresting it away from me. Something tink-tink-tinked against Babs’s hilt. I glanced down to see what had made the sound, and my heart lifted with fresh hope.

  I did have another artifact—Freya’s Bracelet.

  Even though I had used Pan’s Whistle, I had forgotten about the power in the silver chain itself. Freya’s Bracelet had protected me from the Apate jewel that Covington had used on me at the Cormac Museum. I wondered if it would do the same thing for Ian now, if the bracelet’s magic would break through and counteract the venom running through his veins.

  It was a big risk to take, especially since Covington could have more smoke bombs—or something worse—waiting in the wings to poison us all again. Becoming a Reaper, becoming Covington’s puppet, losing my free will—that was my worst fear, my deepest, darkest nightmare, the one thing I had fought so hard against these past few months. Part of me wanted to hold on to the bracelet to protect myself.

  But the other part of me wanted to save Ian more.

  Ian growled again and pressed his advantage, still trying to make me drop Babs. I gritted my teeth and managed to throw him off me again. But instead of lashing out with my own counterattack, I whirled around and slid Babs into her scabbard on my belt.

  “Rory!” she yelled. “What are you doing? He’ll cut you to pieces without a weapon in your hand!”

  “Maybe,” I replied, quickly taking the bracelet off my wrist. “But that’s a chance I’ll just have to take.”

  Ian smiled, thinking that I was giving up and that he was about to kill me. His eyes crinkled at the corners the way they always did when he smiled, but the eerie red glow turned his handsome features into something dark, twisted, and grotesque.

  My heart clenched tight. Babs was right. If this didn’t work, Ian would cut me to pieces. But this was my plan
, and I had to do whatever I could in order to save him. Ian would have done the same for me.

  Ian twirled his ax around in his hand. Then he let out a fierce growl and came at me again.

  I sidestepped that first blow, then a second, then a third. Ian growled yet again, frustrated that I wasn’t standing still long enough for him to kill me. I growled too, frustrated that he wasn’t standing still long enough for me to hook the bracelet around his wrist.

  “Rory!” Babs yelled again. “Whatever you’re going to do, do it now! You’re running out of time!”

  My gaze flicked past Ian. Mateo and Covington were still wrestling around, each one trying to get his hands on the box that contained the Narcissus Heart. Mateo got up onto his knees and managed to get his fingertips on it, but Covington snarled, reached out, and pulled the Roman’s leg out from under him.

  Covington crawled over the top of Mateo to try to get to the box, but Mateo rammed his elbow into the Reaper’s side, making him hiss with pain and roll away. And then the struggle began again, with the two of them pushing the box with the Heart along the floor.

  Babs was right. I had to help Mateo keep Covington from getting the box, but first, I had to save Ian. So I let my Spartan instincts take over, and I started analyzing everything about the Viking, like he was a Reaper I was battling. Then again, right now, he was far more Reaper than friend.

  But Ian was a great warrior, and I couldn’t get close to him, at least not long enough to hook the bracelet around his wrist. Not without letting him injure me in return. And if the bracelet didn’t work, if it didn’t break through the red narcissus venom, then I wouldn’t be able to defend myself against his next swing—the one that would kill me.

  But I had to save Ian—I just had to—no matter what I had to do. So I gritted my teeth, bracing myself for what was coming next.

  This was going to hurt.

  The next time Ian swung his ax, I whirled out of the way. But instead of retreating, I stepped right back into his body. He blinked, as if he was surprised that I wasn’t moving away, but he quickly took advantage and lashed out with his ax again.

  This time, I let him slice the weapon across my left shoulder.

  I screamed as the blade zipped along my shoulder and opened up a deep, nasty gash. Maybe it was wishful thinking on my part, but Ian actually stopped and frowned, just for a split second, as though my scream wounded something deep inside him, even though I was the one with the blood pouring out of my body.

  Red-hot pain roared through my shoulder. Tears streamed down my face, and I gasped for air, but I forced myself to keep going, to keep moving, to keep fighting.

  Ian started to step back to lift his ax for one final, fatal swing, but I reached out and latched onto his left wrist, pulling him even closer. He frowned again, clearly wondering what I was doing, and my actions surprised him enough to make him stop moving for one precious second.

  That was all I needed.

  Before he could pull away or, worse, bury his ax in my heart, I reached out with my other hand, slung the bracelet around his wrist, and snapped the clasp shut.

  Then my strength deserted me, and I crumpled to the floor.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I landed hard on my injured shoulder, and I groaned as more pain shot through my body. White stars winked on and off in my field of vision, and tears streamed out of my eyes, but I blinked them away and looked up at Ian, waiting to see if it would work, if my sacrifice would be worth it.

  Ian snarled, lifted his ax high overhead, and brought it down in one smooth motion. I winced and threw up my arm, even though I knew it was no use—

  He stopped.

  Ian just stopped, suddenly frozen in place, his ax three inches away from sinking into my chest.

  Several seconds ticked by. All around us, the fight raged on. The clash, clang, and bang-bang-bang of swords slapping together as Aunt Rachel, Takeda, and Professor Dalaja took on Drake and the Reapers. Zoe’s lightning crackling through the air up on the balcony. Mateo’s and Covington’s grunts as they kept wrestling for control of the plastic box. The screeches, caws, and hisses of the gryphons battling the basilisks and the dragon high overhead. I could hear all that and more, but it all seemed distant and far away right now.

  I focused on Ian, but he remained frozen in place, his ax still inches away from me. His entire body was rigid with tension, and his eyes darted from side to side, as if he didn’t understand what was happening.

  I carefully reached up, wrapped my hand around Freya’s Bracelet on his wrist, and pressed the silver chain into his skin as hard as I could. I also reached for my own magic, for my own healing power, and imagined pushing it out of my body and into his, sharing it with him just like I had when I had healed him at the Idun Estate. My magic hadn’t been enough when I had tried to heal Aunt Rachel this morning, but maybe when combined with Freya’s Bracelet, it would be strong enough to cure Ian. It had to be enough.

  “Ian,” I pleaded, even as I pressed the bracelet into his wrist and pushed more and more of my magic into his body. “Come back to me. Please, please, come back to me.”

  For a long, tense moment, nothing happened.

  Then Ian blinked.

  He blinked again…and then again…and then again…

  It was like he was slowly waking up from a bad, bad dream. Every time he blinked, a little bit more of that awful red glow faded, and a little more of the horrible color leeched out of his eyes. The ugly red and black streaks began to fade from his face as well. I didn’t know if the bracelet was healing him or if it was my magic, or both, but I tightened my grip on his wrist and shared even more of my power with him.

  Finally, after several seconds, Ian looked down at me. His eyes were once again their normal, beautiful gray, and he finally seemed to see me and not an enemy to cut down.

  Ian’s eyes widened. He dropped his ax and fell to his knees beside me. “Rory!”

  He picked me up and cradled me in his arms, his gaze locking on the bloody gash in my shoulder. “Oh, no,” he whispered. “What have I done? Rory, Rory, stay with me!”

  I reached out and grabbed hold of his shirt, pulling him closer. “I’m not going…anywhere,” I rasped between waves of pain. “Just give me a minute…my healing magic should kick in…soon enough…”

  And it did. The cool power rushed into my shoulder, stitching together the ugly gash. Several seconds later, the wound sealed shut and then seamlessly healed, but Ian kept cradling me in his arms, as though he never wanted to let me go.

  I reached up and cupped his cheek in my hand, even though my fingers left behind bloody smears on his skin. “Hey, Viking. Good to see you again.”

  “Oh, Rory, I’m so sorry,” Ian whispered. “I couldn’t stop myself. I just couldn’t stop.”

  “It’s okay,” I whispered back. “I know that it wasn’t you.”

  Ian smiled at me, but tears gleamed in his eyes, and guilt and anguish tightened his features.

  “Help me up,” I said. “We still have a battle to finish.”

  Ian nodded, got up, and pulled me to my feet. I wobbled a bit, but more of my healing magic filled my body, steadying me. My gaze cut left and right. It seemed like Ian and I had been in our own little bubble, but the battle was still raging all around us, the same as before.

  Aunt Rachel, Takeda, and Professor Dalaja taking on the Reapers. Covington and Mateo wrestling for control of the Narcissus Heart. Zoe summoning chimeras and shooting lightning at the Reapers who dared to approach her. The gryphons battling the basilisks and the dragon. The creatures zipped from one side of the library to the other and back again, and fur, feathers, and scales floated down through the air like bronze, black, and red snowflakes.

  “Come on,” I said. “We have to get the Heart before Covington does!”

  Ian nodded and grabbed his ax from the floor. I yanked Babs free of her scabbard again, and together we charged forward.

  We were almost to Mateo and Covington when s
omeone darted in front of us. I pulled up short, but Drake slammed into Ian, and the two brothers fell to the ground. Their weapons flew out of their hands, and they started rolling around on the floor, punching and kicking each other.

  I hesitated. I had just gotten Ian back, and I didn’t want to lose him to Drake.

  “Go!” Ian yelled. “I’ve got this!”

  I nodded, even though I didn’t think he saw the motion, and darted forward.

  A Reaper rushed at me from the side, but I lashed out with Babs and sliced her blade across the Reaper’s stomach. That man screamed and fell to the floor. I jumped over him and kept going.

  Mateo and Covington were still wrestling. Despite the fact that he was wearing Hermes’s Sandals, Mateo couldn’t get an advantage over the Reaper leader. The sandals only worked if you were on your feet, and Covington kept pulling Mateo back down before he could grab the Narcissus Heart and sprint away with it.

  Covington spotted me running at them. He growled and slammed his fist into Mateo’s face, hard enough to stun Mateo and make him fall back down to the floor. Then he crawled over Mateo and scooped up the plastic box from the floor. The second Covington touched the box, the Narcissus Heart inside started glowing that bright, eerie, sickening red again.

  “Hurry, Rory!” Babs yelled, her lips moving underneath my palm. “Hurry!”

  I put on an extra burst of speed and drew the sword back, getting ready to ram her blade into Covington’s heart. But another Reaper rushed at me, and I had to turn and slice Babs’s blade across that man’s chest instead of Covington’s. It only took a few seconds, and I hardly slowed down at all, but Covington was a Roman and much, much faster than I was.

  He plucked Fafnir’s Dagger from the holster on his belt and drove the blade into the box. Given how sharp the dagger was, the thick plastic disintegrated like it wasn’t even there. I thought Covington might punch the dagger further into the plastic, but he stopped short and sliced the rest of the plastic away, as if he didn’t want to risk the dagger damaging the other artifact. An instant later, he reached inside the plastic and ripped out the Narcissus Heart.