Dark Frost (Mythos Academy #3)(22)
Author: Jennifer Estep

"Now, let’s discuss the various statues that can be found at the library," she said. "Please turn over to page 273."

Pages rustled, and once again, I found myself staring at another black-and-white photo. Only this time, it was a close-up shot of the two gryphons that guarded the steps outside the Library of Antiquities.

They looked just as fierce in my myth-history book as they did in real life. The gryphons sat up straight, their eagle heads held high and their wings tucked in tight behind their enormous lion bodies, like they were getting ready to salute-or snap at you with their hooked beaks and sharp claws.

As I stared at the page, the photo began to blur and melt, like the ink was still wet and about to smear everywhere. I sighed. Not again. The statues were creepy enough by themselves-I didn’t need my psychometry to kick in and make them seem any more lifelike and frightening than they already were, but that was exactly what was happening. Sometimes my Gypsy gift went a little haywire and made me see things that weren’t really there. I didn’t know exactly why.

Even though I knew what was coming, I couldn’t help staring as the gryphons in the photo began to move, arch, and stretch, like two cats waking up from a long winter’s nap. The gryphons curved their bodies this way and that, their lion tails lashing back and forth, claws sheathing and unsheathing, beaks screeching open and snapping shut with loud clicks. Then, the creatures’ heads swiveled around to me, their narrowed, lidless eyes staring out at me from the photo. The gryphons started stalking toward me, like I was their intended prey-

I shook my head. The gryphons snapped back into their original positions, and the photograph returned to normal. I carefully leaned back from my myth-history book, keeping my gaze away from the gryphons. Creepy.

"Like all the statues on campus, the gryphons are meant to be guardians," Metis continued her lecture. "That’s what they symbolize-protection, dedication, devotion to a higher cause."

"You mean like the sphinxes perched on either side of the main gate?" an Amazon asked from across the room. "The ones that supposedly break out of their stone shells and attack if a Reaper tries to sneak onto campus? That’s what’s meant to happen, right?"

Metis nodded her head. "Exactly like that. All of the statues, the gryphons and sphinxes included, are imbued with magic and wards to protect the campus and keep Reapers from entering. Even if the Reapers were to somehow get past the outer defenses and mount an attack, the statues would still trigger an alarm, a siren that would alert everyone on campus as to what was happening."

I noticed that the professor didn’t exactly answer the girl’s question about whether or not the sphinxes would really come to life and rip the Reapers to shreds. After what I’d seen the Reapers do at the coliseum, that’s exactly what I hoped would happen. I’d been hanging around Vic too long-I was starting to get as bloodthirsty as the sword was.

"Now, nothing is foolproof, but I want you all to know that you are as safe at the academy as you can possibly be," Metis said. "That’s why I wanted to talk about the statues today and to mention that all of the staff are dedicated to protecting you-even more so now, given the tragedy at the coliseum."

One by one, Metis looked at all the students again, before her gaze finally locked with mine. I wanted to believe the professor, really I did, but after what I’d seen the Reapers do yesterday, I knew that none of us were safe, not even behind the stout walls of Mythos Academy.

"And now, for your next essay assignment."

A chorus of groans sounded, but Metis ignored them.

"For your next essay, I want you to pick a statue, research it, and write a report on its history, architecture, and so on," she said. "I expect several sources and a full bibliography. From real books in the library, people, and not some pseudo mythological quotes you found on your friend’s academy profile page."

More groans rippled through the room, but the bell rang, drowning them out. The other kids got to their feet and started packing up their things, but I stayed seated, my gaze once again going to my myth-history book and the photograph there.

The gryphons, I decided. I’d do my report on the gryphons. It was time I got over this weird, paranoid fear I had of them and all the other statues.

Besides, writing about something that creeped me out was probably the only way I’d stay awake long enough to finish this assignment.

I started to go up to Metis after class to ask if she, Nickamedes, or Coach Ajax had turned up anything on the Reapers that had attacked the coliseum. Who they really were, where they might be hiding, if the Reaper girl was with them. I also wanted to ask Metis what she and the others were going to do about the Helheim Dagger-if they were going to organize groups to start searching the library for it. The professor had let me keep the original map, just in case I could get any more vibes off it, but she’d taken the other copies so she, Nickamedes, Ajax, and supposedly Raven could study them.

To my surprise, the professor packed up her briefcase and left the classroom before half the students did. I wondered where Metis was off to in such a hurry, but I didn’t want to be a total freak, shove through the crowd, chase after her, and ask.

So I eased into the flow of students streaming down the hall, pushed through the closest door, and walked down the steps of the English-history building. It was cold on Cypress Mountain, even for January, and the frosty air blasted through my heavy, purple plaid coat like a battering ram. There should have at least been snow on the ground if we had to endure some frigid Arctic blast, but of course, there wasn’t. I don’t know why that put me in such a grumpy mood, but it did.

I took my gloves out of my pockets and pulled them on, then wrapped my gray wool scarf with its glittering snowflakes around my neck. I also yanked the matching toboggan down over my flyaway hair, but the extra layers didn’t help as much as they should have.

Still thinking about the cold, Metis, and the Reaper girl, I left the upper quad behind, stalked down the hill, and hurried across the lower quads. I tucked my chin down into my scarf and didn’t stop walking until I reached the edge of campus and the twelve-foot-high wall that separated Mythos Academy from the outside world.

The iron bars on the gate loomed up in front of me, reminding me exactly where I was-and that I wasn’t supposed to be here. Not today, anyway. Most afternoons, I slipped through the bars, walked over to the bus stop, and rode down into the city to see Grandma Frost, but I’d forgotten that I wasn’t going to leave campus today, that I’d promised Grandma I wouldn’t because of the Reaper attack. Even though I really wanted to see her, I didn’t want my grandma to worry about me any more than she already was.