Crimson Frost (Mythos Academy #4)(14)
Author: Jennifer Estep

"Things will be difficult for a while, but they’ll eventually get better," she murmured. "You’ll see."

That force tightened around both of us for a moment, almost like arms pulling us close for a comforting hug, before it abruptly faded away altogether. Grandma blinked, her eyes cleared, and she was herself once more.

Nyx jumped up, batting at the silver coins dangling from her scarves, and Grandma laughed and stooped down to pet the wolf pup. She didn’t say anything about what she’d seen, and I didn’t ask. It was difficult for Grandma to have reliable visions about family or friends in the first place, since her feelings for someone could influence what she saw. So she rarely told me about the glimpses she got of my future, claiming that she didn’t want me to make important decisions based on something that might or might not happen. I understood that Grandma wanted me to take my own path in life, but sometimes a little hint about all the Bad, Bad Things that were on the horizon would have been nice.

Grandma walked over to my desk and picked up a metal tin shaped like a giant chocolate chip cookie. "How about something to eat?" she asked. "I’d just finished making some oatmeal raisin cookies for you when Metis called."

Grandma Frost loved to bake, and she was always making some sweet, delicious treat for me to bring back to the academy and share with my friends.

"I also stopped and got you a sandwich," she added.

She pointed to a white paper bag on my desk, and I knew she was talking about the Pork Pit, one of my favorite restaurants. But I didn’t feel like eating anything tonight, not even cookies.

Still, I made myself smile at her. "Maybe later."

Grandma stayed with me the rest of the evening, while I called Daphne and filled her in. I called Logan too, but he didn’t answer his phone. He was probably still arguing with his dad, so I left him a voice mail, saying that I was going to bed and that I’d see him tomorrow morning at weapons training.

Finally, just before the ten o’clock curfew, Grandma got to her feet and said that she’d better go before the dorms locked down for the night. I was on the floor playing with Nyx, and I gathered the wolf pup up in my arms once more and got to my feet. A tear leaked out of the corner of my eye at what I had to do now.

"I think you should take Nyx home with you," I said in a sad voice. "I don’t want the Protectorate to find her here and take her away."

"Yes, do please send the fuzzball away," Vic said in a snarky tone. "All that fur is terrible on my allergies. Terrible, I tell you!"

The sword sniffed as if to prove his point, but I could see the gleam of a tear in his eye. In his own way, he loved Nyx just as much as I did.

Grandma nodded. "That’s probably for the best, pumpkin. There’s a lot going on right now. Better not to take the chance."

I passed Nyx over to Grandma Frost. She tucked the Fenrir wolf pup inside her coat so Nyx would stay warm on the walk across campus to her car. I petted Nyx a final time, whispering that I’d come see her just as soon as I could. I hugged Grandma tight, and they left.

My room seemed so quiet, so still, so terribly empty, without them, especially without Nyx bounding from corner to corner, sniffing, growling, and exploring the room like she hadn’t been living here all her short life. I’d never realized how sad and suffocating the quiet could seem until now.

I wiped away a few more tears and got ready for bed. Taking a shower, putting on my pajamas, getting my books together for my morning classes. Nothing too difficult, but by the time I finished, I was exhausted.

I crawled into bed and snuggled down under my purple and gray plaid comforter. Normally, I would have left Vic on his spot on the wall, but tonight, I laid the sword and his scabbard on top of the bed, right next to me. I’d already lost Nyx-I didn’t want to lose him too.

"Don’t worry, Gwen," Vic said. "You’ll find out who’s behind all this, and when you do, I’ll be right there to help you deal with the Reaper scum. Why, we’ll slice them to bloody ribbons! We’ll wear their guts for garters! We’ll . . ."

And on and on he went, each fantasy a little bloodier and more violent than the last. Despite the situation, I couldn’t help but smile. So many things had changed in my life since I’d come to Mythos, but Vic was one of the constants. I could always count on the sword to be exactly who and what he was. Something that comforted me tonight more than ever.

"Good night, Vic," I said when he finally wound down. "We’ll talk more in the morning."

"Good night, Gwen."

The sword yawned, his half of a jaw popping in the darkness. His eye snapped shut, and a few minutes later he started snoring.

I reached over and rested my hand on top of the sword, and I didn’t let go of him, not even when I finally drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 6

To my surprise, I fell into a dark, dreamless sleep until my alarm startled me awake the next morning.

I got ready for the day and peeked out the window at the lawn, but Inari wasn’t in sight. I guess the Ninja had pulled the night shift, and now it was time for someone else to take over the horrible duty of guarding me. Well, I had things to do, and I wasn’t going to wait around for the Protectorate to show up.

I didn’t have to. When I opened the door to my room, I found Alexei waiting outside in the hallway. The Russian warrior was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his lean, muscled chest. A black backpack lay at his feet, and I could see the hilts of two swords sticking out of the top of it.

"So you get to follow me around all day. Yippee-skippee," I grumbled, looping the strap of my gray messenger bag over my head and chest.

Alexei didn’t say anything, but his mouth twitched up into something that almost looked like a smile. Well, at least someone was amused by my suffering.

I locked the door behind me, brushed past Alexei, and headed down the stairs. He fell into step right behind me, as close to me as my own shadow. Once again, he didn’t make any noise as he walked, not a single sound, not even when he went over the squeaky step at the bottom of the staircase. His eerie, watchful silence made me feel like there was a ghost haunting me. The only difference was that I could actually see Alexei when I turned around.

I made it to the bottom of the steps, walked down a hallway, and stared out the front door of the dorm. The morning was ice-cold, and the frosted grass glinted like thousands of tiny silver daggers, stretching out as far as the eye could see. The sun had barely come up, but the faint rays had already given the frost a bloody, crimson tint. What was the old saying? Something about a red sky in morning being a warning. Yeah, I had a feeling it was going to be that kind of day.