Midnight Frost (Mythos Academy #5)(18)
Author: Jennifer Estep

Metis? In love with Nickamedes? When had that happened? And how?

I was so shocked that I pulled my hand away from hers. The professor nodded and closed the book. She didn’t seem to realize that I’d flashed on her – and what I’d felt.

"All right. Thank you, Gwen. We’ll take it from here." Metis turned to Ajax. "Let’s go. We need to get Nickamedes over to the infirmary and get started on an antidote."

Ajax nodded, and several of the Protectorate guards stepped forward. They helped Ajax transfer Nickamedes to a flat, plastic board, the sort that paramedics use, strapped him down to it, and hefted the board onto their shoulders, as if he were some ancient king they were transporting. A moment later, the guards left the library, carrying Nickamedes along with them.

And all I could do was just stand there, watch them go, and hope he would be okay.

Chapter 9

"What is taking so long?" I growled. "It’s been hours now."

"Actually, it’s only been about ninety minutes," Carson pointed out.

I glared at him, and he winced and slouched down a little more in his chair.

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Ignore her, Carson. She’s just a little crazy right now. Well, crazier than usual. It’s going to take as long as it takes, Gwen. You’re just wearing yourself out pacing back and forth like that."

"I am not pacing," I muttered.

"Yes, you are," Oliver said. "You have been ever since we came in here."

Here was the waiting room of the school’s infirmary, which was located in a square, three-story building not too far from my dorm. I’d expected the infirmary to be in the bottom of the math-science building, right next to the morgue and the prison, but my friends had led me over here instead.

I’d never paid too much attention to this building before, since it was made out of the same dark gray stone as most everything else at Mythos. But it was a calm, soothing space, at least on the inside. The white marble floor had a hint of blue in it, like veins running near the surface of someone’s skin. Or maybe the sheen of color was simply the stone reflecting back the pale blue paint that covered the walls. Each wall featured several windows, while a series of round skylights had been set into the ceiling, although all I could see through the glass right now was darkness.

A long reception desk squatted near the back of a room, with a set of double doors behind it that led to the patient rooms. Apparently, manning the infirmary was another one of Raven’s odd jobs. She’d been sitting behind the desk when we’d arrived, her black boots propped up on top of the smooth wood. She’d glanced up at me and my friends, then gone back to her magazine. Every once in a while, she turned a page, but other than that, she was silent as usual.

White wicker chairs with thick cushions clustered together in the middle of the room, along with a couple of blue plaid couches. Daphne and Carson were huddled together on one of the couches, while Oliver and Alexei were sitting side by side in the chairs. I’d taken Vic and Nyx back to my dorm room before hurrying over here with the others. My friends alternated between talking to each other and texting on their phones, but I kept pacing.

Still, with every lap I made around the waiting room, my gaze was inevitably drawn to the small marble statues that could be found everywhere, from the wall recesses to the end tables cluttered with magazines to the far side of the reception desk, right next to Raven’s elbow. The infirmary was like the dining hall in that all the statues had a similar theme. But instead of harvest and food gods who watched over the students as they ate, here in the infirmary, all of the statues were of figures associated with healing. Like Apollo and Asklepios, two Greek gods. As always, the statues seemed to be watching me, but their expressions were all closed-off and neutral, and I couldn’t tell what, if anything, might be happening to Nickamedes.

I started to take another turn around the room when a faint jingle-jingle-jingle caught my attention. A moment later, an older woman with iron-gray hair and warm, kind violet eyes stepped through the open doorway.

"Grandma!" I threw myself into her arms.

Grandma Frost was wearing a white sweater with black pants and shoes with toes that slightly curled up. Layers of green, purple, and gray scarves peeked out of the various folds of her coat. Each one of the scarves was fringed with silver coins that made a merry sound as I hugged her tight.

She pulled back and cradled my face in her hands, and I felt a wave of love flow from her and wash over into me. Suddenly, everything seemed a little brighter and more hopeful, and I felt much calmer. Like everything would be okay now that she was here, even though I knew that wasn’t really the case.

"It’s okay, pumpkin," Grandma murmured, smoothing down my frizzy hair. "Everything’s going to be all right. You’ll see."

Her arms tightened around me, and I felt a force stir in the air around her – this old, knowing, watchful force that seemed to hug me right along with Grandma Frost. Like me, Grandma was a Gypsy, which meant that she’d been gifted with magic by Nike, just like I had. In her case, that power was the ability to see the future. I wondered if she’d just gotten a glimpse of Nickamedes’s future, but by the time I pulled back to ask her, the force had vanished, and her eyes were as clear as mine, instead of being distant like they got when she was looking at something only she could see.

"I’m glad you’re here," I whispered.

Grandma patted my hand. "I’m glad to be here. Now, tell me everything. Ajax filled me in on some of it when he called, but I want to hear it from you, pumpkin."

I led her over to one of the waiting room couches. She sat down and took my hand again, and I told her everything – including how the Reaper had really been trying to poison me instead of Nickamedes. My voice cracked a little on that last part, but Grandma tightened her grip on my cold fingers, and another wave of love and understanding surged through me.

"It’s not your fault, pumpkin," she said. "Not that boy doing what he did, and not Nickamedes being hurt either."

I bit my lip and looked away from her, not wanting her to see the guilt in my eyes – especially when it came to Nickamedes. The librarian used to be in love with my mom, Grace, and when I’d first come to Mythos, he’d asked Metis to assign me to work with him in the library so he could look out for me in his own way. I couldn’t help thinking he shouldn’t have done that. He would have been so much better off if I hadn’t been there tonight, if I’d never even set foot in the library to start with –

One of the double doors that led back into the infirmary opened, and Metis stepped into the waiting room. We all surged to our feet and hurried forward, clustering around her.