Crimson Frost (23 page)
By this point, I’d thrown my hands up and was waving Vic at Alexei, as though I was going to attack the Bogatyr. That’s how panicked and angry I was.
“Easy, guys, easy,” Morgan said, stepping in between us. “You’re forgetting one thing.”
“What’s that?” Alexei snapped.
She held up her hand, her car keys dangling from her index finger and green sparks of magic flashing in the air around her. “That I’m the one with the car. You two go where I go.”
The Valkyrie looked at me. “And I say we go over to the auditorium and kick some Reaper ass.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” I said.
Morgan turned to Alexei. “So are you coming with us or are you going to let us girls have all the fun?”
After a moment, he nodded. “I’m with you—both of you.”
“Good,” I said. “Then let’s go. We don’t have a second to spare.”
Chapter 24
Morgan, Alexei, and I grabbed our stuff and ran out of the library, passing the museum staff who were racing down the hallway to see why the alarms were blaring. Yeah, so I’d pretty much wrecked another library, but there wasn’t time to stop and explain. Not now. Not when Logan and the rest of my friends were in so much danger.
We made it to Morgan’s car. Alexei once again got into the back, while I slid into the front. Morgan cranked the engine and peeled out of the parking lot, throwing me back against the seat for the second time. I laid Vic across my lap and fished my phone out of my jeans pocket. Instead of trying my friends again, I called someone else. She answered on the second ring.
“Pumpkin?” Grandma Frost asked in a sharp voice. “Where are you? What’s going on? Something’s wrong. I can feel it.”
I told her everything that had happened and what the Reapers’ plans for Logan really were.
“I can’t get anyone to answer me,” I said. “Not Logan, not Daphne, no one. We’re on our way over to the auditorium right now.”
“I’ll meet you there, pumpkin,” Grandma said. “And I’ll bring my sword with me.”
We hung up, and I had to clutch the door to keep from tumbling over when Morgan took a curve a little too quickly for my liking. The Valkyrie saw me eyeing the speedometer.
“What?” Morgan said. “We need to hurry.”
“Just don’t kill us before we get to the concert hall, okay?”
“Oh yeah,” she snorted. “I’d hate to rob the Reapers of their chance to run us through. I hope you have some sort of plan, Gwen.”
“Working on it,” I muttered. “Working hard on it.”
But I didn’t have a plan. I had no idea what we’d find once we made it to the auditorium or what shape my friends would be in—if they were even still alive.
No
, I told myself again.
No
. My friends were alive. They had to be. I couldn’t think of them being hurt. I couldn’t think of them being dead, or I would lose myself in my guilt, grief, and fear.
, I told myself again.
No
. My friends were alive. They had to be. I couldn’t think of them being hurt. I couldn’t think of them being dead, or I would lose myself in my guilt, grief, and fear.
The Aoide Auditorium was only about five minutes away from the Crius Coliseum, but it seemed to take
forever
to get there. Finally, it came into sight. The auditorium reminded me of a massive circus tent—a circular building with a roof that arced up to a point. Long, swooping lines had been carved into the pale brown stone, adding to the effect.
forever
to get there. Finally, it came into sight. The auditorium reminded me of a massive circus tent—a circular building with a roof that arced up to a point. Long, swooping lines had been carved into the pale brown stone, adding to the effect.
Morgan cruised around the auditorium, and I spotted the Mythos buses in the parking lot—along with two men standing by the main entrance. They weren’t wearing black robes, but I didn’t recognize them as being Mythos staff members either. Morgan’s car was the only one rumbling by on the street, and the men eyed the vehicle with cold, flat stares.
“Do you want me to stop?” Morgan said.
“No,” I said. “Keep going and park around the corner of the block. I don’t like the look of those guys.”
She did as I asked, and the three of us got out of her car and stood on the sidewalk.
“Now what?” Morgan asked. “Do you have an actual plan? Or are we just going to go storm the castle and hope for the best?”
I winced. That was exactly what I had in mind. “Does anybody have a better idea?”
Alexei and Morgan looked at each other. After a few seconds, they both shook their heads.
“All right,” I said. “Storming the castle it is.”
“At the very least, we need more weapons,” Alexei said. “Because those Reapers aren’t just going to let us walk past them.”
“I know, but we don’t have time to go get more weapons,” I said. “We’ll just have to make do with what we have.”
“Maybe not,” Morgan said.
She went around to the back of the car and hit a button on her key, popping the trunk. Alexei raised his eyebrows at me, but I just shrugged. I had no idea what the Valkyrie was up to. Morgan opened the trunk, sighed, and moved over so Alexei, Vic, and I could see what was inside.
Weapons—dozens and dozens of weapons. Several swords, four axes, three shields, a bow and two quivers filled with arrows, a plastic box full of throwing stars, even a leather belt studded with daggers. All silver, shiny, and ready to be used. It was like looking into the trunk of a serial killer’s car.
“
Nice
, Valkyrie,” Vic said. “Very nice.”
Nice
, Valkyrie,” Vic said. “Very nice.”
Alexei nodded in approval, but all I could do was stare at the weapons and their glittering, pointed edges.
“Why do you look so shocked? You didn’t think that dagger was the only weapon I had, did you?” Morgan said. “Geez, Gwen. You really haven’t learned much about Mythos kids, have you?”
“Apparently not. You actually drive around with this stuff in your trunk?” I asked. “All the time?”
A faint blush stained the Valkyrie’s cheeks, and a few green sparks of magic snapped off her fingertips. Shadows darkened her hazel eyes. “Ever since Jasmine basically turned me into her zombie puppet, I’ve been stockpiling weapons. I have them everywhere. In my car, in my dorm room, in my purse. I even stashed a few in Metis’s classroom and some of the others on campus. Having weapons around makes me . . . feel better.”
I touched her arm. “I understand. About the weapons and everything else.”
Morgan pulled herself together, and the three of us raided the weapons stash. Alexei took an axe and slid it through a loop on his belt. He also pulled a double scabbard out of his pack and strapped it to his back, although he carried the two swords that went in it in his hands. I wasn’t sure, but the scabbard and the weapons looked like the ones I’d given him that night in the Library of Antiquities.
Morgan strapped a quiver of arrows to her back and slung the bow over her shoulder. I stuffed a couple of the daggers into my hoodie and jeans pockets, then belted Vic’s scabbard around my waist since I already clutched the sword in my hand. The Valkyrie shut the trunk and locked the car. Then, we headed toward the auditorium.
A park took up most of the block across from the auditorium, and we darted from tree to tree before creeping behind some thick holly bushes. The bushes served as a sort of wall for the park, so we were able to skulk along behind them until we were directly across the street from the auditorium entrance. I peeked through a gap in the bushes. The two men I’d seen earlier were still standing guard by the doors. They both wore long black coats, although I could make out the glint of swords underneath the fabric.
“Do you know those guys?” I asked Alexei.
He shook his head. “I’ve never seen them before. They aren’t members of the Protectorate.”
“I haven’t noticed them at the academy either,” Morgan said.
“They’re Reapers, then,” I said. “Which means that they’ve probably taken the others hostage already. Agrona has to be inside overseeing things. Vivian might be in there by now too.”
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Vic demanded, his eye already glowing in anticipation of the battle to come. “Let’s march over there and kill the bloody lot of them, along with any others who are foolish enough to get in our way!”
I tightened my grip on Vic, trying to muffle the sound of his voice. The sword narrowed his eye at me, but he fell silent.
We crouched behind the bushes and stared at the two men. I wondered how we could get past them without them sounding some sort of alarm and letting the other Reapers inside know that we were here. The element of surprise was the only advantage we had, and I didn’t want to lose it.
Alexei opened his mouth to say something when my cell phone started buzzing. I pulled it out of my jeans pocket and answered the call.
“Pumpkin?” Grandma Frost’s voice filled my ear. “I’m at the auditorium. Where are you?”
I told her that we were in the park staking out the front of the building, and a minute later, she slipped down behind the bushes with us. She wore a long coat, but I noticed that she had her sword strapped to her waist underneath the gray fabric, just like the Reapers did.
Grandma hugged me, then cupped my cheek with her hand. The warmth of her love washed over me, along with her rock-solid support, and I knew that she would do whatever she could to help save my friends and everyone else.
“We think the Reapers are inside already, getting ready for the transformation ritual,” I told her in a low voice.
“I can’t believe they want to put Loki’s soul into that boy’s body,” Grandma muttered. “That’s pure evil, even for the Reapers.”
“They’re not going to do that because we’re going to stop them.” I made myself sound braver and more confident than I felt. “But first, we need to figure out how to get past the guards and get inside. Logan and the others are probably in the main concert hall.”
Grandma’s lips curved up into a sly smile. “You just leave that to me, pumpkin.”
She got to her feet and winked at me before heading to the far end of the park.
“Grandma!” I hissed. “Grandma!”
But she didn’t pay any attention to me.
Alexei put his hand on my shoulder. “Come on,” he said. “She’s doing her part. Let’s do ours. We can come up on the Reapers’ blind side while she distracts them.”
Stomach churning, I nodded and followed him.
Morgan, Alexei, and I left our hiding spot. We went back through the park down to the end of the block, out of the Reapers’ line of sight, then jogged over to the auditorium. A couple of cars were parked on the street, so we were able to move from vehicle to vehicle until we ended up crouching behind the car closest to where the Reapers were standing guard.
Morgan drew an arrow out from the quiver on her back and nocked it in her bow. Alexei hefted his swords in his hands, while I tightened my grip on Vic. I didn’t know exactly what Grandma had in mind, but we were ready in case things didn’t go according to her plan.
Grandma appeared at the opposite end of the street and walked toward the Reapers at a slow pace that was not at all like her normal, brisk stride. She hunched over and shuffled forward, as though she was older than she really was. The sun glinted off the silver strands in her iron-gray hair, making it look more salt than pepper. I don’t know how she managed it, but she suddenly changed from a vibrant woman into an old, decrepit crone. She sort of reminded me of Raven, although I couldn’t imagine Raven ever being young.
The Reapers whirled around at the sound of the coins jingling together on the ends of Grandma’s many scarves, but they relaxed when they realized that it was just one woman approaching them.
Grandma lifted her head as she neared the two men. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?” she called out in a cheery voice.
The Reapers nodded. Grandma kept her slow, steady pace up until she got in between the two men, then she pretended to stumble over a crack in the sidewalk. She tumbled to the ground, scarves fluttering and coins jingling even louder and harsher than before.
“Oh!” she cried out, rocking back and forth on the concrete. “Oh, my hip!”
The Reapers looked at each other, then at my grandma, who kept right on moaning and clutching her left hip. Finally, one of them stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder.
“Come on, lady,” he growled. “It was just a little fall. You can’t possibly be hurt that bad—”
Grandma rolled over, pulled her sword out from underneath her coat, and stabbed the Reaper in the chest with it. He grunted and fell on top of her.
“Now, Morgan! Now!” I hissed.
The Valkyrie rose up from behind the car and drew back her bowstring. A moment later, the second Reaper was down, thanks to the arrow Morgan had just put into his back.
The three of us rushed over to the Reapers. Alexei helped me roll the man off Grandma and help her to her feet. Grandma Frost dusted herself off and looked down at the two dead men.
“No one ever suspects an old woman of being dangerous,” she said, twirling her sword in her hand. “I’ll get these two out of sight just in case there are any more of them lurking around out here. You three go on inside, and be careful. You don’t know what you’ll find when you get in there, pumpkin.”
For a moment, a blank look filled her violet eyes, and I knew she was talking about Logan and how it might already be too late to save him. Worry knotted my stomach, but I pushed away the awful dread. Instead, I hugged Grandma Frost tight, then turned and followed Alexei and Morgan into the auditorium.
We eased inside the entrance and found ourselves in a long, wide hallway. Most of the lights were off, since the auditorium wasn’t officially open for the concert yet, and shadows stretched out as far as I could see, oozing over everything. Even just standing by the entrance, I could feel that something was very, very wrong here.
The three of us stayed together in a loose formation as we hurried down the hallway. Alexei took point, with me in the middle, and Morgan bringing up the rear, all of us looking and listening for the slightest hint of trouble or danger. We went from one hallway to the next, but we didn’t see any Reapers—we didn’t see anyone at all. No staff members sweeping the floors, no Mythos kids getting a drink of water from one of the fountains, no members of the Protectorate patrolling the auditorium. The silence made me worry that much more.
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