Killer Frost Read online

  But my gaze moved past the empty tables and cart to the end of the aisle. Linus was already there, standing by the checkout counter that lay in the center of the room, along with the glass complex that housed the librarians’ offices. I looked through the glass, but I didn’t see Nickamedes sitting at his desk.

  “This way,” Linus said, gesturing with his hand. “Everyone else is already waiting for us.”

  We followed him around the office complex and into the back half of the library. The lights were turned down low in this section, and I couldn’t help but peer into the shadows and drop my hand to Vic’s hilt, wondering if any Reapers were hiding in the stacks, watching us from between the rows of books. I didn’t see anyone, though. I never did—until it was too late.

  I thought that the others might be waiting for us at the study tables on this side of the library, but no one was here. Linus walked past the tables and led us over to a door set into the back wall of the library. He drew an old-fashioned, iron skeleton key out of one of the pockets of his gray robe and opened the door, revealing a flight of narrow stairs that spiraled downward.

  “Great,” I muttered. “Another creepy basement.” Linus gave me a sharp look over his shoulder before

  stepping onto the stairs. I sighed, but I had no choice but to follow him, with Daphne and Carson behind me. Logan brought up the rear and shut the door behind us.

  Down, down, down we went, until it seemed like we were going to keep walking all the way through to the other side of the world. Linus used that same skeleton key to open a few more doors, as well as saying some magic mumbo-jumbo code words. Eventually, though, we reached the bottom of the stairs, walked down a short hallway, and stepped into another room.

  I was expecting something similar to the prison in the bottom of the math-science building, something stark, depressing, and utterly gloomy, but dozens of lights dropped down from the ceiling, casting the entire area in a bright, golden glow. The bottom level was one enormous room that seemed to be as large as the main floor above and almost an exact, mirror image of it. And just like up there, stacks stretched out as far as the eye could see, arranged in the same, familiar pattern.

  But they weren’t filled with books. At least, not all of them. Instead, clear glass cases of varying shapes and sizes covered many of the shelves from floor to ceiling. Through the glass, I could see everything from swords and staffs to fine silk garments to elaborate jeweled headdresses that some ancient kings and queens had no doubt worn.

  “What is this place?” I asked.

  “This,” a familiar voice sounded from somewhere deeper in the stacks, “is my reference section.”

  A faint tap-tap-tapping sounded, one that made my heart squeeze tight with guilt. A man slowly hobbled into view, leaning on a cane for support. He wore black pants and a blue sweater vest over a white button-up shirt. The colors set off his ink-black hair and ice-blue eyes, the ones that always reminded me so much of his nephew. Not only was Nickamedes the head librarian, but he was also Logan’s uncle.

  Nickamedes stopped in front of me. My gaze flicked down to his cane, and that wave of guilt surged through me again. A couple of weeks ago, Nickamedes had accidentally ingested some poison that had been meant for me, and he’d been using that cane ever since. I was the reason he was hurting, I was the reason his legs had been damaged, but he still smiled at me. I don’t know that I would have been as forgiving, if our positions had been reversed.

  “Really, Gwendolyn,” Nickamedes said, a faint teasing tone in his voice. “I would have thought that it was quite obvious.”

  I dramatically rolled my eyes, playing along with him. “Well, you know me. I never seem to get the obvious.”

  Nickamedes chuckled, and his face brightened. I was on my best behavior around the librarian these days, trying to do everything I could to make him laugh whenever I could. It wasn’t much, but I hoped that it helped him in some small way.

  At least, until I figured out how to use the silver laurel leaves to fix his legs. Eir, the Norse goddess of healing and mercy, had given me the leaves and told me that they had an unusual property—the ability to heal or destroy, based on the will and intent of the person using them. I didn’t know how many of the leaves it would take to kill Loki, but I was saving at least one of them for Nickamedes. He deserved to be whole again, after everything he’d suffered—all because of me.

  “Come along then,” he said. “I still have chores to do when our meeting is finished.”

  Nickamedes led us past the stacks and into the center of the room, where a long conference table stood. The table sat in the same spot that the checkout counter did on the main floor above our heads, adding to my sense of déjà vu.

  In addition to Sergei and Inari, two guys my own age were also sitting at the table. One had sandy blond hair, green eyes, and a sly grin, while the other looked like a younger, leaner version of Sergei with brown hair, hazel eyes, and tan skin—Oliver Hector and Alexei Sokolov, two more of my friends.

  “It’s about time you guys got here,” Oliver quipped. “Alexei and I were starting to think you’d gotten lost.” Daphne sniffed. “Please. We weren’t lost. We were

  shopping.”

  “That doesn’t make it any better,” Oliver retorted. “In fact, I’d say that makes it worse.”

  She glared at him, which only made Oliver’s grin widen. He loved teasing everyone.

  Daphne slapped her hands on her hips. “Let me tell

  you something, Spartan . . .”

  I tuned out their bickering and went to the far end of the table, where a man and woman stood. The man was tall, with a big, solid frame and onyx skin, hair, and eyes. Coach Ajax, who was responsible for teaching all the kids at Mythos how to use weapons. The woman was much shorter, with black hair that was pulled back into a tight bun and green eyes that were warm and kind behind her silver glasses. Professor Aurora Metis, my mentor.

  “What’s this about?” I asked Metis. “What’s wrong?” She shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong, Gwen.”

  She didn’t say the word yet, but I got the impression that was what she was thinking. Or perhaps that was my own worry peeking through again.

  Metis’s gaze flicked past me, and she moved over to Nickamedes, who was having trouble holding on to his cane and pulling out a chair that was wedged up tight against the table at the same time. Metis moved the chair away from the table, and he sank down onto it with a grateful sigh.

  “Thank you, Aurora.” “You’re welcome.”

  She was standing behind him, so Nickamedes didn’t see her hand hover over his shoulder, as though she wanted to reach out and touch him. A few weeks ago, when Nickamedes had been poisoned, I’d flashed on Metis with my psychometry, and realized that she was in love with him. But Nickamedes didn’t seem to have any clue about how she felt. I’d been meaning to nose around and ask him if he was dating anyone, but it was such a weird topic that I hadn’t quite figured out how to bring it up yet. Especially since Nickamedes had been in love with my mom back when they’d both been students at Mythos.

  Maybe that was why Metis hadn’t told him how she felt. Maybe the professor was still feeling loyal to Grace Frost, her best friend, even though my mom had been murdered last year by Vivian—

  “Since we’re all here now, please have a seat, and we’ll get started,” Linus said.

  We all shuffled forward and took a seat at the table. When we were settled, Linus strode to the head of the table and turned to face us. He might not be my favorite person, but I had to admit that he cut an impressive figure with his gray Protectorate robe billowing out around him and a long sword strapped to his thick, black leather belt. If there was anyone who could fight Agrona and the other Reapers and win, surely it was Linus Quinn. “What’s up, Dad?” Logan asked. “What couldn’t you

  tell us before?”

  “Yeah, or at least upstairs where it’s warmer.” Daphne shivered and crossed her arms over her chest.

  Linus p
aused, as if he was searching for the right words. He let out a long breath. “There’s a shipment of artifacts coming into the Cypress Mountain airport tomorrow,” he said. “The items that we recovered from the ski resort that the Reapers were using as their hideout up in New York.”

  Logan nodded. He’d been with his dad, Sergei, and Inari when they’d found the hideout and battled the Reapers who’d been inside the resort. Logan had told me about the artifacts he’d discovered in a study there, weapons mostly, although there were some more unusual items in the mix.

  “We decided to move everything here to the Library of Antiquities for safekeeping,” Linus said.

  I couldn’t help but snort. In my experience, the library was the most dangerous place on campus—not the safest. Not by a long shot.

  “The library is the safest place for the artifacts right now,” Linus said, hearing my derisive snort. “Despite your obvious opinion to the contrary, Miss Frost.”

  He arched an eyebrow at me, but I shrugged in response. Reapers had been able to waltz into the library and steal artifacts before, and I couldn’t imagine what would be different this time around. No doubt, they would try again as soon as they realized that the artifacts were being sent here. I thought of the three guys at the coffeehouse and how they’d bet that the Reapers would ruin the Valentine’s Day dance. Maybe I should get in on the action and try to win a few bucks. Because the dance would be the perfect time for the Reapers to break into the library again.

  “The shipment will arrive at noon tomorrow,” Linus continued. “And the members of the Protectorate will be there to watch over the artifacts from the airport all the way here to campus.”

  “So that’s why you brought so many men with you,” Logan said. “To protect the artifacts.”

  Linus nodded.

  “What aren’t you telling us?” Metis asked.

  “Yes,” Nickamedes chimed in, his voice far more sarcastic than hers. “Protecting artifacts is all well and good, but you don’t need cars full of guards for that. So what’s really going on?”

  Linus grimaced, as if he was upset that they’d already realized he wasn’t telling them everything, but he nodded. “It seems that the Reapers are particularly interested in one or more of the artifacts. They’ve already tried to steal the shipment once, when we took it to the New York academy. Three of my men were killed in that attempt.”

  “And you think the Reapers will try again,” Ajax rumbled.

  “I do,” Linus said.

  “And you brought those artifacts here?” Daphne asked. “Why? You know this is, like, Reaper central, right?”

  Linus ignored her and stared at me, and I suddenly realized why he was really shipping the artifacts here— and my part in things.

  “You want me to flash on them,” I said in a flat voice. “You want me to use my psychometry to see what artifact the Reapers are after and why they want it so badly.”

  “Yes,” Linus said. “That’s exactly what I want you to do, Miss Frost.”

  Nobody spoke, but the others stared at me, then Linus. Once again, I started fiddling with the silver laurels on my bracelet. Sometimes, I thought my entire life revolved around artifacts and all the stupid riddles that came along with them.

  Logan shook his head. “No, Dad, no. You can’t expect Gwen to use her magic like that. Especially without even asking her in the first place. Who knows what kinds of memories or feelings might be attached to these artifacts? It can’t be anything good. Not if the Reapers are after one or more of them.”

  Frustration filled Linus’s face. “I don’t like it any more than you do, son. But you didn’t see the Reapers. They put everything they had into trying to get these artifacts, and I want to know why. I want to know what’s so important that they would risk so many of their own warriors. And Miss Frost is the only one who can help me with that.”

  Logan opened his mouth to argue with his dad, but I

  held up my hand, cutting him off.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “I’ll do it. I can’t see or feel anything worse than some of the stuff that we’ve been through already, right?”

  Logan pinched his lips together. He looked at me, then glared at his father.

  “It’s okay,” I repeated. “Really. I’ll be fine. I want to do it. Agrona and Vivian . . . they’ve always been one step ahead of us. It sounds like we might finally be able to get one step ahead of them. Right, Mr. Quinn?”

  “That’s exactly right, Miss Frost,” Linus said. “I’m glad you understand.”

  I did understand, but that didn’t mean I liked it. But being a Champion was about making sacrifices. Really, using my magic to flash on an artifact was a pretty small price to pay, considering some of the things I’d seen and done over the last several months. The loved ones I’d lost, the battles I’d been in, the kids my own age I’d had to kill just to survive. No, this wasn’t anything, in the grand scheme of things. In fact, I was surprised that it wasn’t going to be worse.

  Or maybe I was fooling myself about that too.

  “I would like Miss Frost to look at the artifacts as soon as possible,” Linus said. “I was hoping that she might accompany me and my men to the airport tomorrow.”

  This time, he looked at Metis, as if asking her permission. The professor stared at me.

  “It’s your decision, Gwen,” she said.

  “It’s okay. I’ll go with them. Maybe I’ll be able to pick out the artifact on the spot without even touching any of them.” I doubted it, but my words seemed to ease some of the worry in her face.

  “Then, I’m going too,” Logan said.

  Linus opened his mouth as though he was going to argue, but after a moment, he sighed and nodded. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from my son.” A note of pride rippled through his voice, and he gave Logan a tentative smile.

  Logan nodded back at his dad, and some of the tension between them eased.

  “There is one more thing,” Linus said, picking up a couple of folders at the end of the table and handing one each to me, Metis, and Nickamedes. “I thought that you might like to review the artifacts before the shipment arrives tomorrow. I want to know what the Reapers are targeting as soon as possible.”

  I opened the folder and flipped through the photos inside. Some weapons, some jewelry, a half-used candle. The artifacts were exactly as Logan had described them to me before. I studied each one of the photos carefully, but they were just glossy sheets of paper, and I didn’t get any vibes about the artifacts off them. Not the way I would when I saw the objects in person and then touched them.

  “Anything, Miss Frost?” Linus asked.

  I shook my head and closed the file. “Nothing that jumps out at me.”

  “Well, I suppose it was too much to hope, but thank you for looking at the information.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Is that everything?” Nickamedes asked, his voice still as snide as before.

  Linus hesitated. “I don’t have to tell you that we’ve reached a critical point in our war with the Reapers. Now that Loki is free, they’ve become much bolder. It won’t be long before they start attacking larger and larger groups. Maybe even one of the academies. Finding this artifact could be our chance to finally turn the tide against them. And you all know how important that is.”

  He was speaking to everyone, but his eyes were locked with mine, and I felt that same mix of worry and determination roll off him. For the first time, I realized what Linus already knew, what he was trying to tell everyone, even if he hadn’t come right out and said the words yet.

  Unless we figured out which artifact the Reapers were after and why, we were in danger of losing everything

  Chapter 3

  The meeting broke up, and we all went our separate ways.

  Logan looked at me, then at his dad, who was talking with Sergei, Inari, Metis, Ajax, and Nickamedes.

  “It’s okay,” I said, seeing the debate on his face whether to go with me or stay
here. “Go spend some time with your dad. Daphne and Carson will walk me back to my dorm.”

  Logan let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you, Gypsy girl. I’ll call you later, okay?”

  I nodded. We kissed, and then he walked over to his dad and joined in the conversation with the adults. Oliver and Alexei stayed behind as well.

  Still holding the folder of artifact photos, I left the basement with Daphne and Carson and climbed back up the spiral staircase to the main floor. The three of us didn’t talk as we left the library and stepped outside onto the quad. The sun had gone down while we’d been in the basement, and shadows now cloaked the lush lawns and spread out from the base of the bare, leafless trees like black blood slowly oozing over everything. I shivered, and not because of the bitter cold.

  “All right, Gwen,” Daphne said as we started walking down the hill toward my dorm. “Spill it. Which one of the artifacts are the Reapers really after?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. I didn’t get any big vibes off the photos, and none of the images moved or did anything creepy. I’ll have to see the artifacts in person to try to figure it out.”

  Daphne gave me a suspicious look.

  “Really,” I insisted again. “I don’t know what they’re after. At least, not yet.”

  “But you’ll be able to find out with your psychometry, right?” Carson asked. “Once you see and touch the artifacts?”

  I shrugged. “I guess I’ll have to.”

  We didn’t say anything else, and we reached my dorm, Styx Hall, a few minutes later. I said good-bye to my friends, slid my ID card through the scanner attached to the door, and went inside for the night.