Midnight Frost (Mythos Academy #5)(37)
Author: Jennifer Estep

She’d barely settled herself before footsteps sounded, and Rachel stepped into view. She’d been heading for the checkout counter, but she caught sight of Rory and veered in our direction. Her eyes roamed over our group before they stopped on her niece.

"Rory?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Rory said. "Shouldn’t you be in the dining hall helping the other chefs clean up after lunch?"

"I got a call to come over here instead," Rachel said. "Covington wants to talk to me about guiding some folks up to the Eir Ruins tomorrow."

Rory’s face darkened at the mention of the librarian.

"Rachel!" Covington’s voice drifted out of the glass office complex. "There you are."

The librarian stepped around the checkout counter, with Ajax behind him. The coach gestured for us to follow him, and we all walked back to the conference room we’d been in earlier. When we were all inside, including Rachel and Rory, Covington shut the door.

The librarian’s gaze went from me to Rory to Rachel and back again. "Well, it looks like some of you have met. But for the rest of you, this is Rachel Maddox. She works in the dining hall."

"She’s a chef," Rory interrupted him. "The best chef at this miserable school. Not some random lunch lady."

Covington paused. Rachel winced and gave him an apologetic look. Everyone had heard the anger in Rory’s voice.

"Er, yes," he finally continued. "Rachel is a chef. She’s also familiar with the Eir Ruins, and she’s agreed to serve as our guide tomorrow."

"How do you know so much about the ruins?" Ajax asked.

"My parents had a summer cabin close to the ruins," Rachel answered. "My sister and I used to go exploring there when we were kids. Rory and I still go up there quite a bit."

Rachel smiled at her niece, but then her eyes cut to me, and the softness in her face vanished. She’d probably seen the kids in the dining hall confronting me and Rory. That meant Rachel knew exactly who I was – another Forseti.

"Anyway, I thought I would show you some images of the ruins so you can prepare yourselves for what we might find there," Covington said.

The librarian powered up a laptop in the corner, pulled a white film screen down over one of the walls, and dimmed the lights. He hit a button on his computer, and a series of images appeared on the screen.

The Eir Ruins were perched on top of a beautiful, snow-covered mountain. They were larger than I’d thought they’d be, seeming to stretch from one side of the mountain to the other, although it was probably just the photos that made them seem so vast. The ruins were actually a series of buildings clustered together around a courtyard full of flowers. A small stream flowed through the middle of the courtyard, feeding into a broken fountain, before trickling out the far side, although the water seemed still and frozen in the photos. Perhaps they’d been taken in the winter, although I couldn’t imagine how that many flowers could survive in such a cold climate.

"Legend has it that the ruins were once the winter home of Eir, the Norse goddess of healing," Covington said, clicking through some more photos. "Of course, what we are interested in is the main courtyard. Well, it’s more like a garden, really. All sorts of plants and flowers bloom there all year long. There’s also a stream that winds through the area."

The next photo showed a stone statue of a goddess, which I assumed was Eir. Short hair, sharp nose, curvy body. She wasn’t nearly as beautiful as Nike, but there was . . . a kindness in her face, one I could sense even through the photo.

"After Rachel guides us to the ruins, we’ll make camp and search for the ambrosia flowers," Covington said. "Rachel believes they should be located somewhere in this area in the main courtyard."

The librarian hit a button on his computer, and another image appeared, this time a close-up shot of several colorful wildflowers that had grown up through some small cracks in the stone courtyard.

"After we locate the ambrosia flowers, we will wait until midnight to pick them, as per Professor Metis’s instructions," Covington said. "Then, we will rest until dawn and hike back down the mountain. Rachel, do you want to say a few words about what everyone can expect on the trip?"

She nodded, got up from her chair, and stepped to the front of the room.

"The journey itself isn’t all that dangerous," Rachel said. "It’s about a two-hour hike from Snowline Ridge up to the top of the mountain where the ruins are located. Now, I’m sure you’ve all heard the stories. Locals claim the ruins are filled with all sorts of strange magic and curious creatures. I’ve never seen anything like that, but we still need to be careful. The winter weather has eroded many spots along the trail, so twisted ankles and broken legs are always a concern. We’ve been lucky in that it hasn’t snowed much in the last few weeks, so hiking shouldn’t be too difficult, but there is a storm front blowing in. We need to be off the mountain before the snow starts."

"So the ruins don’t actually have any magic mumbo jumbo?" I asked. "Are you sure?"

Rachel shook her head. "Not in the way that you mean. The only magic they have is whatever is in the soil and rocks that helps the flowers grow and bloom year-round, even during the harshest winter. That magic makes the ruins beautiful, but not dangerous."

I stared at the wildflowers. I didn’t know about that. Yeah, they were just flowers, but I could almost feel a force emanating from them, some sort of raw, wild energy. As I looked at the photo, the petals and leaves started moving, as though the wind was whistling over them. Slowly, all of the flowers turned in my direction, the streaks, stripes, and stars on their bright petals scrunching up into faces that were staring at me. Suddenly, a scent filled my nose – a light, floral scent that was somehow sweet, sharp, and crisp all at the same time . . .

I shook my head, and the sights, sounds, and scents vanished. My psychometry was acting up again. It was only a photo. But what would I feel when I saw the ruins and flowers in person? I didn’t know, but I was going to find out.

Covington hit another button, and the photo disappeared. Ajax leaned over and hit the lights on the wall.

"We will leave at noon tomorrow," Covington said. "That should give us ample time to get up the mountain, make camp, and find the ambrosia flowers. Don’t you agree, Rachel?"

She nodded.

"I’m going too," Rory cut in.

Covington hesitated. "I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. From what Ajax has told me, time is of the essence. The more people who go, the slower the group will be. Besides, why would you want to go anyway?"