Crimson Frost (Mythos Academy #4)(7)
Author: Jennifer Estep

"Stay quiet through this, and it will go a lot easier on you," Linus murmured to me.

I glared at him, but he was already striding over to a podium topped with a microphone that had been set up in the middle of the stage. He stood there, waiting for the crowd to quiet down, before leaning forward and speaking into the microphone.

"Hello," he said, his voice rolling out like thunder from the bottom to the top of the amphitheater. "My name is Linus Quinn. Some of you may know me as the head of the Protectorate, the group charged with hunting down Reapers of Chaos. I’m also on the academy board of directors."

So Linus was one of the Powers That Were at Mythos. I knew there were folks who watched over the academy, some group of people responsible for running things, some board that came up with the rules, regulations, and even the froufrou lunch menus. I’d always jokingly referred to them as the Powers That Were. Now, I had a feeling I was going to find out just how appropriate my nickname for them was.

"I know you’ve all had a lot of questions and concerns ever since Loki escaped a few weeks ago," Linus continued. "Rest assured that the Protectorate has been investigating the incident and doing everything we can to track down Loki and his Reapers before anyone else gets hurt, like your fellow students who were recently killed at the Crius Coliseum."

Images flooded my mind at his words. Reapers storming into the coliseum, their curved swords flashing, their black robes billowing out like clouds of death. Kids fighting, running, and trying to get away. Kids screaming as the Reapers rammed their weapons into them. A Reaper plunging his sword into Carson’s chest. Blood, so much blood splashing everywhere, like scarlet teardrops raining down on everything in sight-

Linus cleared his throat, snapping me out of my horrible memories. "Some serious accusations have come to light about what happened the night Loki was freed," he said. "That is why I and the other members of the Protectorate are here. To get to the bottom of these accusations, determine what really happened, and punish those involved accordingly."

Somehow, I knew what he was going to say next.

"It appears that a Mythos Academy student actually helped Loki escape from Helheim, the prison realm where the other gods trapped him centuries ago." Linus paused, then leaned forward even closer to the microphone. "That student is Gwendolyn Frost, the girl you see on stage before you."

Yeah, that was pretty much what I’d expected-and so was the crowd’s reaction.

Shocked gasps rippled through the amphitheater, and just like at Kaldi’s that emotion turned to horror, then anger. It seemed as if everyone drew in a breath, and then the surprised mutters exploded into a deafening roar. In seconds, everyone was on their feet screaming for my blood. A wave of collective rage and hate surged off the crowd, slamming into my stomach like a red-hot sword. Every angry shout, every enraged scream, every bitter word twisted the invisible blade in that much deeper, making me want to vomit from the phantom pain.

Practically everyone at Mythos had lost someone to the Reapers-a mother, a sister, a close friend-so the reaction was understandable. I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes, drop my head, and whimper at the feel of all the raging hate directed at me, but I forced myself to stand up tall and stare back at the people shouting curses at me.

"Quiet! Quiet!" Linus roared into the microphone.

It took several minutes for the crowd to finally calm down and for everyone to take their seats again. But they all kept staring at me, rage burning in their eyes. The phantom emotion kept stabbing me in the stomach again and again, until I had to grit my teeth to keep from screaming from the sensation.

"At this point, we have more questions than answers," Linus said. "To that end, we have arrested Miss Frost and will be conducting a trial and a full investigation into her actions. In the meantime, we will continue to search for Loki and his Reapers so we can deal with them accordingly. Rest assured, we will get to the bottom of this, and Loki will be imprisoned once more."

Linus’s mouth twisted, and he looked at Metis, who lifted her chin in defiance. "In the meantime, in accordance with academy bylaws, Miss Frost will remain at Mythos until she is either acquitted or convicted of the many charges against her."

A series of harsh boo-boo-boos erupted at his words, and he had to stop speaking once more.

Linus looked at Metis again, as if this was all her fault, giving me a clue as to what had happened. The professor must have found out what was going down and had somehow managed to keep me here at the academy instead of being taken away and thrown in some Protectorate prison.

I could have told her not to bother. Everyone hated me now because of what they thought I’d done-and maybe they weren’t wrong to do so. After all, I was the one who’d found the Helheim Dagger, the last remaining seal on Loki’s prison. But instead of keeping the dagger safe, I’d practically handed it over to Vivian Holler, the Reaper girl who was Loki’s Champion, and she’d been all too happy to use the weapon and my blood to finally free the evil god. Sure, Vivian had tricked me, but the cold hard fact was that because of my actions Loki was out there somewhere, plotting with his Reapers about how to topple the Pantheon, about how to finally defeat Nike and plunge the world into eternal darkness.

Maybe everyone had a right to blame me.

Maybe everyone had a right to hate me.

Finally, after several minutes, the crowd quieted down again.

"Miss Frost has not been found guilty of anything yet, but in order for you to feel safe, I’ve arranged for her to be under close supervision while she is awaiting trial," Linus said. "Rest assured that a member of the Protectorate will accompany Miss Frost wherever she goes. In order to keep things as unobtrusive as possible, we’ve assigned a third-year student from the London academy to help watch over Miss Frost as she goes about her daily schedule."

Linus glanced at Alexei, who was standing at the bottom of the steps that led up to the stage, but he didn’t point him out. So that’s why Alexei was here-to watch me.

"This matter will be resolved in a few days," Linus continued. "Until then, know that members of the Protectorate are here on campus keeping you safe. That is all."

A few polite claps sounded at his words, but everyone kept glaring at me, shock, pain, fear, and hate in their eyes-so much hate. Once more, their collective rage slammed into me, and I couldn’t keep quiet any longer.

"I didn’t do anything wrong!" I screamed. "It was Vivian! It was Vivian Holler! She’s Loki’s Champion! She freed him, not me! You have to believe me!"