Crimson Frost

"The Reapers are going to kill them all," I whispered. "That's why they're not wearing their masks. They don't need to hide their real identities because they don't plan on leaving anyone alive."

Beside me, Alexei nodded, his face grim as he silently agreed with me.

I kept scanning the stage. The adults had been separated from the kids and moved off to the left in front of a set of stairs that led down to the auditorium floor. The adults were also sitting on the stage, their hands tied in front of them with what looked like red velvet. The curtains, I thought, noticing tattered strips of fabric dangling down on that side of the stage. The Reapers must have cut up the stage curtains to use as ropes.

My gaze went from one face to another. Metis, Nickamedes, Ajax, Inari, Sergei. They were all bound and glaring at the Reapers. Several guards surrounded them, and I noticed a pile of weapons lying off to one side. The Reapers must have disarmed them already.

Cuts, blood, and bruises marred the adults' features, especially Ajax, whose bloody, swollen face looked like it had been used for a punching bag, but they all seemed more or less in one piece.

The same couldn't be said for everyone, though. Several people, adults mostly, were on the right side of the stage, away from everyone else. They were all lying down and sprawled on top of each other at awkward angles, and it took me a few seconds to realize why-because they were all dead. Blood oozed out from underneath their bodies and dripped off that side of the stage. Plop, plop, plop. Despite how high I was, it seemed like I could hear every single crimson drop hitting the floor. I put my hand over my mouth and swallowed a scream.

But the thing that concerned me the most was Logan. The Spartan had been separated from the others, and he was on his knees in the middle of the stage in front of the other kids. His back was to me, and his head was bowed, so I couldn't see his face. Something gold glinted around his neck, but I couldn't tell exactly what it was from up here. But the worst part was that Logan was completely motionless, despite the fact that he wasn't tied up or being guarded like the others were. Something rectangular lay on the stage a few feet away from him. It took me a moment to realize that it was a book, most likely the original volume of Great Transformations -and that it was open, as though someone had been reading it.

My heart twisted in pain, fear, and dread. The Reapers had started the transformation ritual already. Otherwise, Logan would have been fighting and trying to free everyone else.

And finally, my gaze went to Linus, who'd also been pulled away from the others. He sat on the stage a few feet away from Logan, his hands bound and a horrified look on his face as he stared first at his son, then at Agrona.

The Reaper towered over her husband, a bloody sword in her hand. All the other Reapers were staring at her, and it was obvious that the evil warriors were taking their orders from her.

"You'll never get away with this," Linus's voice drifted up to the catwalk.

Agrona looked down her nose at her husband. "Oh, but I already have, darling. You and the members of your precious Protectorate are all nicely tied up, and I have complete control of the situation-and more important, your son."

Her words sent a shiver up my spine, but Logan stayed where he was, his head bowed, still motionless. His stiff, awkward pose reminded me of how Morgan had looked when Jasmine had used the Bowl of Tears to control her. I glanced at the Valkyrie, and the hard set of her mouth told me she was thinking the same thing.

"It won't be long now before your son is ready for the next step in the transformation," Agrona said. "Killing everyone on this stage as a blood sacrifice to Loki."

The students gasped and whimpered, and a few started crying again. Metis and the other adults were equally horrified, although they tried to keep their faces calm so they wouldn't scare the kids any more than they already were. Still, I could feel the fear blasting off the kids and adults in icy waves, even way up here in the shadows.

Agrona sliced her sword through the air, causing some of the students to scream. She laughed with delight, and I noticed a ruby ring on her right hand. The gem matched the ones she wore around her throat. I remembered thinking how pretty her necklace was the first time I'd seen it. I should have known there was more to it than met the eye, especially after the Apate jewels had been stolen from the library. But the eerie thing was that all the gems she wore, rubies and emeralds alike, seemed to be glowing-glowing with Reaper-red fire.

I thought of the ID card I'd found in the library, the one I still had in my jeans pocket that talked about the jewels. Whatever power they had, it was obvious that Agrona was tapping in to that magic. I wondered if that was how she was controlling Logan, if that was why he wasn't fighting back.

"A few more minutes, and Logan will be completely ours-just as he was intended to be all along," Agrona said in a satisfied voice.

Linus frowned. "What do you mean?"

Instead of answering him, Agrona looked over at Nickamedes. "You were right to be suspicious of me all these years. This moment has been a long time in the making. In fact, it started when Logan was just a boy-and I led a team of Reapers to capture him. Of course, things didn't quite work out as I'd planned then, but no matter. I got what I wanted in the end. I always do."

Nickamedes sucked in a breath, and so did I. I knew what Agrona was saying as well as he did-that she'd been behind the Reaper attack on Logan's family all those years ago. That she was the one who'd murdered his mom and older sister.

Linus's face paled. "You-you killed my wife and daughter? Larenta and Larissa? Why? For what purpose?"

Agrona stared at him. "Because even back then, we knew that Loki would need a new body after being trapped in Helheim for so long. So we started searching for the perfect candidate, knowing it would take years to find just the right one. And who better than a Spartan? They're the fiercest, the bravest, the best warriors. We knew that if we combined a Spartan's natural killer instinct with Loki's soul and power, our lord would be unstoppable. But none of the Spartans were quite right-until Logan was born."

Agrona's gaze dropped to the ruby on her hand, and I realized the gem was shaped like a large heart-just like the main ruby in Apate's necklace. Agrona must have taken the ruby out of its original setting and had it fashioned into that ring. She glanced over her shoulder at Logan, but he still didn't move. She turned back to Linus.

"Our goal that day was to capture the boy and kill everyone else in the house, including you," she said. "But of course, you were called away on Protectorate business, and the boy saw us coming and warned his mother and sister. Your lovely wife screamed at the children to hide, but we'd already cut off your daughter's escape. It was too late for them and they knew it, but they fought us and held us back while they yelled at the boy to run, which he did. After we killed the women, we searched the house from top to bottom, but we couldn't find him."

All this time, Logan had felt so horribly guilty that he hadn't fought alongside his mom and sister. But if he had, he would have been captured by the Reapers. Who knows what they would have done to the Spartan- beaten him, tortured him, maybe even brainwashed him into becoming one of them. He would have been just as lost as his mom and sister had been. The terrible thoughts made me want to vomit, but I forced myself to focus on what was happening below, even as I tried to think of a way to save everyone.

"Since we couldn't find the boy that day, we had to come up with a new plan," Agrona continued.

"So you married Linus in order to keep an eye on Logan," Nickamedes said in a disgusted voice. "I always thought that you did something to Linus to get him to marry you so quickly after my sister died, that you bewitched him in some way."

"And you were right." Agrona reached up and tapped one of the rubies on her gold necklace. "You don't need Great Artifacts like the Bowl of Tears to bend people to your will. A few pieces of power here and there are more than enough to subtly push people in the right direction, if you know what you're doing-and I certainly do when it comes to magic. Years ago, I discovered a pair of ruby-and-emerald earrings that belonged to Apate. I had the gems reset so no one would recognize them, and I used their power to infiltrate the Protectorate and then convince dear, sweet Linus that I was just what he needed after I murdered his wife."

"So our whole marriage, everything we've been through, all the battles we've fought against the Reapers . . . it was all a lie?" Linus asked.

She leaned down and stared into his eyes. "Every single second of it."

Linus's face was cold and calm, but rage and hurt flashed in his gaze.

She laughed at his fury. "I can't tell you how many times I've longed to see that look on your face, Linus. Why, it's even more wonderful than I'd thought it would be-"

A door banged open. All the Reapers tensed and whirled around, but they relaxed when they realized it was Vivian. The Reaper girl climbed the stairs, stepped up onto the stage, and hurried over to Agrona.

"What took you so long? Did you take care of things at the coliseum?" Agrona asked.

Vivian shook her head. "Not exactly. My roc was injured breaking through some glass, and Gwen . . . got away."

One second, Agrona was staring at Vivian. The next, she'd slapped the girl across the face as hard as she could. The crack of the blow echoed through the whole concert hall. I blinked. I hadn't even seen her raise her hand to Vivian. Agrona had to be an Amazon to move that fast.

"Stupid girl!" Agrona snarled. "Do I have to do everything myself?"

Vivian stumbled back, clutching her red cheek, her golden eyes bright with surprise-and fury. "It wasn't my fault. Gwen had the Bogatyr with her and a Valkyrie too. They killed the others. I barely got away on my roc."

Agrona drew her hand back for another slap, but Vivian held up Lucretia, putting the sword between the two of them.

"You might be head of the Reapers, but I'm Loki's Champion," Vivian hissed. "You would be wise to remember that, unless you'd like to see exactly what I'm capable of."

Agrona stared at her. After a moment, she lowered her hand to her side. "Tell me what happened."

"Gwen found the book in the coliseum and used her psychometry to flash on it," Vivian said. "She knows that you're a Reaper and what we're planning to do to her Spartan boyfriend. Unless I miss my guess, Nike's little Champion is here right now, plotting to save him and the rest of her friends."

Agrona immediately whirled around, looking out over the empty concert hall, her gaze going from one row of seats to the next. Alexei, Morgan, and I all froze, scarcely daring to breathe for fear of revealing our position to her. After a minute, Agrona turned back to Vivian.

"Are you sure she's here?" she asked.

Vivian nodded. "Unfortunately. Gwen is annoyingly persistent that way."

Agrona paced back and forth across the stage. Thinking. Then, she stopped, and another cruel smile curved her face. "Well, if Nike's Champion is here, let's invite her to the party, shall we?"

She tightened her grip on her sword and stalked over to where the adults were seated. She looked first at Ajax, then Metis, and finally Nickamedes. She jerked her head at the librarian.

"Get him up."

Two Reapers stepped forward, grabbed Nickamedes's arms, hauled him to his feet, and dragged him to the middle of the stage, not too far away from Logan. Nickamedes started to fight, but Agrona put her sword against his throat. Nickamedes hissed, and blood trickled down his neck.

"Gwen Frost!" Agrona called out in a booming voice. "Show yourself! Or the librarian dies!"

Chapter 26

Everyone in the concert hall froze once more. The students, the members of the Protectorate, even the Reapers.

I let out the breath I'd been holding and got to my feet. I couldn't let Agrona kill Nickamedes. I just couldn't. No matter how much the librarian and I sniped at each other, we'd become friends these past few months-sort of. Besides, my mom had once loved Nickamedes, and he'd felt the same way about her. My mom would have tried to save him, if she'd been here, and I knew I had to do the same-even though I was walking straight into a trap.

"Gwen! What are you doing?" Morgan hissed, grabbing my arm.

"I'm giving them what they want," I whispered back. "I'm going down there."

"That's crazy," she said. "How do you know they won't kill you as soon as they see you?"

"Because Reapers like to make you suffer as much as possible before they murder you," I said. "It'll be okay. You'll see. I'll keep them busy and distracted as long as I can."

I reached into my jeans pocket and passed her my cell phone. "Call my Grandma Frost and tell her what's going on. You and Alexei need to get down from here and meet up with her. Do you think you could lead them over to that door Vivian came through? The one that's on the side of the stage where Metis and the other members of the Protectorate are?"

Morgan looked down. After a moment, she nodded. "Yeah, I know a way down there. But what good is that going to do?"

"Because all the Reapers are going to be focused on me," I said. "That just might give you, Alexei, and my grandma a chance to sneak through the doors, get on stage, and cut Metis and the others free before the Reapers realize what's going on. It's the best chance we have of saving everyone. You know it as well as I do. Besides, this is what Champions do, right? Sacrifice themselves for the greater good?"

I didn't even try to smile at my bad joke. Instead, I let out another breath. "Just be ready, okay?"