Crimson Frost

by Jennifer Estep

Page 23

 

  The band geek blushed a little, but he grinned at me.

  We sat there talking for another hour, throwing out ideas about what Vivian could really be up to, but none of us had a clue as to what her plan was. I didn't say anything else about which member of the Protectorate might be helping her, and no one else brought it up either. Not after seeing Logan's reaction. Finally, the ten o'clock curfew rolled around, and my friends had to leave to go back to their own dorms for the night.

  "Just be careful, okay, guys?" I said. "I wouldn't put it past the Reapers to try to wreck the concert tomorrow. "

  Or for Vivian to hurt one of you to get at me. That was the darker, more ominous thought that filled my mind, but I didn't tell the others my fear.

  "Don't worry, Gypsy girl," Logan said. "Oliver, Kenzie, and I are serving as the honor guard to protect everyone in the band. My dad and the other members of the Protectorate are going to be there too, along with Metis, Ajax, and Nickamedes. If any of the Reapers dare show their faces at the concert hall, we'll take care of them. "

  I didn't say that a Reaper would be there already, hiding among the other Protectorate members. I knew the Spartan didn't want to believe that one of the people he trusted was really a Reaper, and I didn't want to upset him any more than I already had. Besides, surely one Reaper couldn't do that much damage with everyone else on guard. That's what I told myself, even if I didn't quite believe it.

  Logan kissed me good-bye and left with the others. Alexei went with them, telling me that Sergei would be standing guard outside my dorm tonight.

  I went over to my window, pulled back the curtain, and watched my friends disappear into the darkness. Still, despite their assurances, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong-and that the Reapers were going to strike sooner rather than later.

  Chapter 20

  I took a shower and crawled into bed, determined to get some sleep, but the night was anything but restful. Images crowded into my dreams, everything I'd seen, heard, and felt the last few days. Thanks to my psychometry, I was almost always downloading information into my brain, even if all I did was touch a library book and flash on how bored someone was doing his homework. During the day, I was able to ignore such things, but sometimes at night all the sights, sounds, and emotions welled up inside my mind, going by one after another, faster and faster, even as my subconscious struggled to make sense of them.

  Tonight was one of those nights.

  The Reapers sneaking up on Oliver and Alexei in the library. The leader lifting up the Apate box, the wicked flash of the rubies on it painting everything a harsh crimson, even the library books. Vivian striding into the academy prison. The two ruby chips on her Janus ring winking at me like evil eyes. And finally, the Maat asp curled around my wrist, its scales red instead of blue. The snake flicking its tongue against my wrist, its eyes glowing with Reaper-red fire before it surged forward and sank its fangs into me, poisoning me, killing me-

  I woke up with a scream in my throat, my wrist stinging as though the asp had really bitten me. The sensation felt so vivid, so real, that I snapped on a light and held my arm up, but my skin was smooth and unbroken. Even the two tiny puncture marks I'd gotten earlier in the prison had vanished.

  "Gwen?" Vic mumbled, letting out a loud yawn from his spot on the wall. "Is something wrong? Why did you turn on the light?"

  "It's nothing, Vic," I said. "Just a bad dream. Go back to sleep. "

  "Okay," the sword mumbled again. "Just let me know when you need me to wake up and kill Reapers . . . "

  His voice trailed off, and seconds later he was snoring again. The soft, familiar sound cut through the last of my panic and dream-filled confusion. I let out a breath, turned off the light, and lay back down on my bed.

  But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't go back to sleep.

  The next day just before lunch, I stood in the parking lot behind the gym, saying good-bye to my friends. The winter concert wasn't until late that afternoon, but the band members and other folks involved were getting on a couple of buses and going to the concert hall early-along with a heavy guard.

  Ever since Vivian had freed Loki, I'd thought things would change at Mythos-that there would be more rules, more guards, more security. And all of those things had been added to campus-discreetly. The Powers That Were didn't want everyone to panic. No, they wanted to make the Mythos students feel they were just as safe as they'd been before Loki escaped, even if we all knew it was just an illusion. That's why the winter band concert was still on-because the Powers That Were didn't want to be seen as giving in to the Reapers and adding to the fear of another looming Chaos War.

  I understood what the Powers That Were were trying to do, and I was glad my friends would be protected, but I still couldn't help but have a bad, bad feeling about this. I couldn't see the future, not like my Grandma Frost did, but something about the situation felt wrong to me, like we were playing right into the Reapers' hands, even though the concert had been planned for months and was being held down in the city.

  "Call me if you see anything suspicious," I told Daphne for the third time in as many minutes.

  She'd volunteered to help set things up for the concert so she was getting on the bus with everyone else.

  Daphne rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Gwen. There are so many guards going with us that there's no way the Reapers would dare to attack, even if one of them is a member of the Protectorate. "

  I started to point out that no one had thought the Reapers would break in to the library either, but I kept my mouth shut. This was supposed to be a fun day, a way for everyone to forget about Reapers, at least for a few hours, and I wasn't going to ruin it with my suspicions, especially not for Carson, who was nervous enough already about performing. The band geek's face had a decidedly greenish tint to it, and I could hear his stomach gurgling.

  "Knock 'em dead, Carson," I said.

  He tried to smile at me but ended up clutching his stomach instead.

  "Are you sure you're going to be okay here by yourself, Gypsy girl?" Logan asked.

  "I'll be fine," I said. "Besides, Alexei will be here with me. "

  I jerked my thumb over my shoulder at the other warrior, who was talking with Oliver, Kenzie, and Talia. Alexei had been waiting outside my room just like usual this morning, and he'd come over to the gym with me, although he'd actually walked beside me this time, instead of trailing behind a few steps. Maybe I was growing on him. I snorted. Not likely.

  One person I was definitely not growing on was Linus. He stood next to one of the buses, along with Agrona, Inari, and Sergei. The members of the Protectorate were going with the students to, well, protect them, along with Metis, Nickamedes, and Coach Ajax. They were all part of the guard for the concert.

  I just wondered which one of them was really a Reaper.

  Was it Sergei with his big smile and boisterous laugh? Quiet, soft-spoken Inari who always faded into the background? Beautiful Agrona? Or even Linus himself? My gaze went from one of their faces to another, but everyone was acting normal. When I'd first walked over here, Metis had pulled me aside and told me that she, Ajax, and Nickamedes hadn't been able to find out anything concrete about who had been where during the attack in the library. Metis had promised to keep digging for answers, but I had a feeling it was already too late.

  Linus noticed me staring at him-and the fact that Logan was by my side. His mouth flattered out into a thin line.

  "Ignore him," Logan said, realizing who I was looking at. "Or just be glad you don't have to spend the afternoon with him. He's probably going to be looking over my shoulder the whole time, telling me how I should do things, how a real Spartan would do things. "

  His voice was mocking, but pain shimmered in his icy eyes. Even now, after everything that had happened, it was obvious that Logan still wanted his dad's love and approval-and more important, his understandi
ng for Logan's not fighting alongside his mom and sister when the Reapers had attacked them.

  "Things aren't any better between the two of you?" I asked.

  Logan shook his head. "No, but I don't want to talk about him right now. Just be careful today, okay? It would be just like the Reapers to try something on campus while we're gone-or the other kids. "

  "Don't worry," I said. "I can hold my own against a few Reapers or pissed-off mean girls like Helena Paxton. "

  He gave me a crooked grin. "That you can, Gypsy girl. That you can. "

  We kissed, and then everyone boarded the buses. I stood in the parking lot and waved as the engines started up, and the drivers steered the buses through the gate on this side of the academy. Alexei came over to stand beside me, his backpack hanging off his shoulder.

  "Don't worry," Alexei echoed my words to Logan when the last of the buses had disappeared. "Your friends will be okay. My father and the other members of the Protectorate will make sure of it. "

  I nodded, although I didn't really believe him. For all his Protectorate training, for all his skill and magic as a Bogatyr, Alexei hadn't been there the night Loki had escaped. He hadn't looked the god in the eye like I had, and he hadn't felt the evil intent rolling off Loki, the burning desire to kill every single member of the Pantheon. Alexei simply didn't realize that none of us was safe, not anymore-not even at Mythos Academy.

  But there was a way I could make sure that my friends were as protected as they could be-by finding out what Vivian and the other Reapers were really up to.

  "Come on," I told Alexei. "I hope you have your walking shoes on because I have things to do today. "

  On the weekends, the Mythos kids spent most of their time sleeping late, hanging out in their dorms, or browsing through the shops in Cypress Mountain. Today, the other students were getting ready to go to the band concert in a few hours, so the main quad was deserted as I headed toward the Library of Antiquities. To my surprise, Alexei once again walked beside me. He kept glancing at me, like something was on his mind.

  "Something you want to say?" I finally asked.

  He didn't answer me for several seconds. "Oliver told me what you said to him about me . . . about how what was going on with you didn't have anything to do with him and the way I feel about him. I just wanted to thank you for that. "

  "I know what it's like to be totally into someone," I said. "I just want Oliver to be happy, and if you make him happy, then that's fine by me. Although if you end up hurting him, I will make you wish you hadn't, Protectorate or no Protectorate. Understand?"

  He nodded. "I understand. "

  We reached the library steps, and I stopped to look at the two gryphons. Maybe it was my imagination, but the statues seemed . . . troubled. Their eyes narrowed, their brows furrowed like they were worried about something. Maybe they could sense the tension in the air. It was almost like I could see the storm clouds gathering overhead. I just didn't know where the lightning would strike first-or who would get burned by it. I shivered, pulled my gaze away from the statues, and walked on.

  All of the students were encouraged to attend the band concert, well, except for me. But there were a few folks who'd decided not to go, for whatever reason, which was why the library was open today. Besides, Mythos students always had homework to do, concert or no concert. I spotted a couple of kids sitting at the study tables near the checkout counter, including Morgan McDougall. I waved at the Valkyrie, who returned the gesture before going back to the book she'd been reading.

  But instead of sitting down with her or at one of the other tables, I headed into the stacks.

  "What are you doing?" Alexei asked. "Where are you going? You don't have your bag with you, so I know you don't have any books to do your homework with. "

  "That's because I'm not here to do homework," I said. "More like extra credit. "

  Alexei frowned at my cryptic words, but he fell into step beside me.

  Deeper and deeper into the stacks I went until I finally reached the spot where the Reaper had broken the case holding Apate's box and jewelry. All the glass had been cleaned up, although the case was still here-at least what was left of it. The Reaper had smashed the wood on top, but the base and the legs were still intact. I guessed that Nickamedes just hadn't gotten around to getting the case fixed or replaced yet. Either way, I was glad it was still here.

  I drew in a breath, pushed up the sleeves of my purple hoodie, reached out, and touched the case with both hands.

  Memories and images flooded my mind. I got a sense that the case had stood in this particular spot for a long, long time, decades even, and I saw flashes of all the students who'd touched, leaned against, peered at the items inside, and even decided to make out right next to or even on top of the glass and wood. Ugh. I would have been happy not seeing those particular images.

  And then, finally, there was the last memory associated with the case-the Reaper raising the hilt of his sword, smashing all the glass, reaching inside, and stealing the box and jewelry.

  I focused on that last image, concentrated on it, and pulled it into sharp focus. Then, I rewound the image and played it again and again, trying to get all the information I could from it, hoping there would be something I'd missed the first time, some clue I'd overlooked. I knew that the Reapers had wanted the box and its jewels for Vivian, so she could trick the Maat asp into thinking she was telling the truth. Now, I wanted to know what else they might use the items for-and which member of the Protectorate might really be a Reaper.

  Nothing-I saw and felt nothing.

  Well, nothing out of the ordinary. Just the Reaper smashing the case and grabbing the items inside. Nothing that I didn't already know, and nothing that would help me figure out what Vivian's ultimate plan was.