Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy #1)(35)
Author: Jennifer Estep

"So Morgan and Samson were out here getting busy when they almost got clobbered by that statue. Then, the prowler appears and almost eats you before Spartan boy kills it instead. Nice kill, by the way," Daphne said. "Sticking it with that horn. Impressive. Even for a Spartan."

Logan grinned, accepting her backhanded compliment.

"So what does it all mean?" Daphne asked. "Do you think that statue fell on purpose? That someone was trying to hurt Morgan and Samson, then created that prowler illusion and sicced it on you after you warned them?"

I shrugged. "I don’t know. The library’s locked up tight for the night, and I didn’t see or hear anyone on the patio besides Morgan and Samson. So who could have created the illusion? And why? Who would have a reason to want to hurt them or me to start with? Jasmine was the only one who cared about Morgan and Samson seeing each other, and she’s dead."

"Maybe it was the same Reaper who killed Jasmine," Logan suggested. "Before he left the library that night, maybe he created some spells to make the statue fall and the prowler appear to help cover his escape. Maybe they just didn’t work like or when they were supposed to, and you, Morgan, and Samson accidentally triggered them tonight."

Daphne nodded her head. "It’s possible. Reapers are twisted that way. They love to leave booby traps behind."

"Do you think there are any more traps out here?" I asked, glancing around the patio.

Logan and Daphne both shook their heads.

"No," Logan said. "Otherwise, they would have gone off when the prowler illusion did. When you set off one booby trap, you set them all off. Reapers like to do as much damage as possible at one time."

Booby-trap spells? That seemed a little far-fetched to me. But so had Nemean prowlers until about ten minutes ago.

"I don’t know. None of this makes any sense," I said.

I rubbed my head, which was suddenly aching. I felt like I was missing something-something obvious about this whole situation. But try as I might, I couldn’t figure out what it was.

"C’mon," Logan said. "Whatever is going on, you aren’t going to figure it out tonight, Gypsy girl. I don’t know about you two, but I need to take a shower."

For the first time, I realized that Logan had blood all over his clothes from where he’d stabbed the prowler and it had fallen on top of him. The blood was black, just like the monster had been, and it had completely ruined his T-shirt and jeans. First I’d made him spill soda on himself, and now this. Graceful I was not.

"Sorry." I winced. "I’ll buy you some new clothes. But you’re right. Let’s get out of here."

Daphne and Logan turned and walked down the library steps, but I hung back a moment, staring up at the spot where the statue had fallen from.

There was nothing up there, of course. Just more statues shrouded in more shadows. Maybe it was all the crazy things that had happened tonight, but I felt like there were eyes on me, like someone or something was watching me from somewhere higher up in the library-

"Gwen!" Daphne called out. "Come on, already!"

I shivered and pulled my gaze away from the library. But the cold, watchful feeling lingered as I stuffed my hands into my hoodie pockets and hurried to catch up with the others.

Chapter 14

Logan, Daphne, and I walked back down the hill to the lower quad.

The bonfire still burned, although by this point most of the students had plopped down into the chairs that surrounded the cheery blaze or crept up the stone steps for a bit more privacy. More than a few couples sat close together in the shadow-kissed upper levels, huddled underneath a comforter from someone’s dorm room. The giggles, smacking sounds, and occasional squeals of laughter told me exactly what was happening underneath the covers.

More kids were drunk now, too, stumbling around so bad that Professor Metis and Coach Ajax were herding a group of them back to their dorms before they did something stupid, like pass out and fall into the bonfire.

"Hey," I said. "Do you think we should tell Metis what happened? You know, about the falling statue and the Nemean prowler being at the library?"

Maybe I should have gone straight to Metis in the first place, but I’d forgotten all about the professor even being at the bonfire in my rush to get Daphne and drag her back to the library so the Valkyrie could heave the dead prowler off Logan before it completely smothered him.

"Sure, if we had some proof," Daphne said. "But the statue was smashed to bits and the prowler evaporated, remember? Besides, do you really want to explain to Metis why you were spying on Morgan and Samson and what they were doing? She’s sure to ask why you were at the library in the first place, since it closed early tonight because of the bonfire."

I bit my lip. Daphne was right. I couldn’t tell Professor Metis what had happened, not without getting into the whole weird story. Metis was cool, but I doubted that she’d think too kindly of me breaking into Jasmine’s room, swiping her laptop, and then spying on the dead Valkyrie’s best friend and boyfriend because I had a weird vibe about the whole situation.

"Too bad about the prowler, though," Logan mused. "I would have liked to have shown it to Coach Ajax. He would have been so impressed."

"True," Daphne agreed.

I looked at the two of them. "Geez. Do you guys really think killing a mythological monster is that cool?"

Daphne and Logan looked at each other.

"Totally," Daphne said.

"Absolutely," Logan agreed.

And they thought I was a freak. At least I had the good sense to be scared of things like prowlers. Things with big, sharp, pointy teeth that could rip me to shreds. I shivered again at the memory of the creature stalking me.

"Well," Daphne said. "I think I’ve had enough fun for one evening. I’m going back to my room. I still have that paper to write for English lit."

"Let me walk you to your room," Logan offered in a helpful voice. "You, me, and the Gypsy girl could have our own bonfire tonight."

Daphne and I stared at each other. I rolled my eyes while Daphne sniffed.

"Oh, please," she scoffed. "Like I need a guy to protect me. I’m a Valkyrie, remember? I could pick you up and break your back over my knee, Spartan. Like you were a pinata."

"Kinky," Logan said, smiling at her. "I like it."

She snorted. "Save the smarmy charm for Gwen. We all know that she’s the one you’re really trying to impress anyway."

We did? Because I hadn’t gotten that message at all.

My eyes flicked to Logan. Something that looked like a guilty flush crept up the side of his neck, but the flickering flames of the bonfire made it hard to tell for sure.