Crimson Frost (Mythos Academy #4)(55)
Author: Jennifer Estep

Vivian looked left and right, but Alexei and Morgan fanned out, cutting off her escape routes.

"And now, I think it’s time for you to finally get what you deserve," I snarled. "For my mom and Nott and everyone else you’ve ever hurt."

"Sorry, Gwen," Vivian said, grinning once more. "Maybe someday you’ll learn that you can’t beat me-and that Chaos will always win."

I rushed forward, but even as I did, I knew I was going to be too late-too late again.

Vivian let out an ear-piercing whistle, and the glass ceiling above my head shattered.

I threw myself to one side and put my arms up over my head, trying to get out of the way and protect myself from the falling glass as best I could. Beside me, Alexei and Morgan did the same. A shadow blotted out the sun, and a Black roc crashed down, creating a massive hole in the ceiling.

The bird was enormous. Its wings were a slick, shiny black, although I could see the crimson highlights ribboning through its thick feathers, as well as that Reaper-red spark that burned deep in its inky black eyes. The Black roc pecked at me, its sharp beak snapping out like the point of a sword about to run me through. I shrieked and rolled under a table away from it. The roc’s beak slammed into one of the table legs, shattering it like a matchstick and causing the wooden top to tilt to one side.

Vivian hurried over to the roc and threw herself into the leather harness on the bird’s back. "Fly! Fly! Fly!" she screamed.

The roc spread its wings wide and launched itself off the ground. It hovered in the middle of the library, as though it were having trouble fully taking off, black wings flapping and ripping even more books off the shelves until the heavy volumes fluttered up and down on the air like snowflakes. I wiggled out from underneath the table, got to my feet, and rushed forward, but I was too late. The bird let out a series of harsh caw-caw-caws, pumped its wings again, and shot up through the smashed ceiling.

I craned my neck up, but there was nothing I could do to stop the bird. So for the second time in my life, I watched Vivian and her Black roc soar up into the sky.

I stared up at the hole in the ceiling, as if I could make Vivian and her roc come back, as if I could reach up, latch on to the bird, and drag them both back down into the library, if only I wished hard and long enough for it. But they were gone, and all the wishing in the world wouldn’t bring them back. But I had a good idea where they were going-after Logan.

If Agrona hadn’t gotten to him already.

I almost screamed at the thought that Logan was already gone, that the Reapers had already worked their foul magic on him, that they’d already forced Loki’s soul into his body, but I pushed the horrible thoughts away and forced myself to breathe-just breathe. In and out, in and out, in and out, until I felt I was in control of myself again and wasn’t going to totally lose it.

Alexei recovered quicker than I did. He got to his feet, put his swords down, pulled his cell phone out of his jeans, and called someone. So did I, dialing Logan.

No answer.

I tried the Spartan again, but the call went straight to his voice mail. And a third time, with the same result. I tried Oliver next, then Kenzie, Daphne, and Carson. Nobody answered, and I knew it was because they couldn’t. The Reapers had already put their plan into motion. I wondered if my friends had been captured-or if Agrona and whoever she had working for her had killed them already.

No. I couldn’t think like that. I just couldn’t. There was still time. There had to be time to save them-to save Logan.

"No one’s answering their phone," I told Alexei. "What about you?"

He shook his head. "No, no one. I’ve tried my father, Inari, and Linus, but none of them are picking up."

Morgan frowned. "You think Reapers are at the auditorium?"

"Yes," I said. "They have to be there because that’s where Logan is, and they need him for the ritual. Come on. We have to get over to the auditorium."

"And do what?" Alexei said. "No one’s answering because the Reapers have most likely captured everyone already. Maybe even killed them. What we need to do is call in reinforcements."

"No. That will take too long, and you know it," I snapped at him, my voice rising higher and higher with every single word. "I don’t know what we can do, but we have to try. We can’t let the Reapers do this to Logan while we stand around and wait for more members of the Protectorate to arrive. We can’t let them put Loki’s soul in his body. We just can’t."

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.