Crimson Frost (Mythos Academy 4)

"Why do you look so shocked? You didn't think that dagger was the only weapon I had, did you?" Morgan said. "Geez, Gwen. You really haven't learned much about Mythos kids, have you?"

"Apparently not. You actually drive around with this stuff in your trunk?" I asked. "All the time?"

A faint blush stained the Valkyrie's cheeks, and a few green sparks of magic snapped off her fingertips. Shadows darkened her hazel eyes. "Ever since Jasmine basically turned me into her zombie puppet, I've been stockpiling weapons. I have them everywhere. In my car, in my dorm room, in my purse. I even stashed a few in Metis's classroom and some of the others on campus. Having weapons around makes me . . . feel better."

I touched her arm. "I understand. About the weapons and everything else."

Morgan pulled herself together, and the three of us raided the weapons stash. Alexei took an axe and slid it through a loop on his belt. He also pulled a double scabbard out of his pack and strapped it to his back, although he carried the two swords that went in it in his hands. I wasn't sure, but the scabbard and the weapons looked like the ones I'd given him that night in the Library of Antiquities.

Morgan strapped a quiver of arrows to her back and slung the bow over her shoulder. I stuffed a couple of the daggers into my hoodie and jeans pockets, then belted Vic's scabbard around my waist since I already clutched the sword in my hand. The Valkyrie shut the trunk and locked the car. Then, we headed toward the auditorium.

A park took up most of the block across from the auditorium, and we darted from tree to tree before creeping behind some thick holly bushes. The bushes served as a sort of wall for the park, so we were able to skulk along behind them until we were directly across the street from the auditorium entrance. I peeked through a gap in the bushes. The two men I'd seen earlier were still standing guard by the doors. They both wore long black coats, although I could make out the glint of swords underneath the fabric.

"Do you know those guys?" I asked Alexei.

He shook his head. "I've never seen them before. They aren't members of the Protectorate."

"I haven't noticed them at the academy either," Morgan said.

"They're Reapers, then," I said. "Which means that they've probably taken the others hostage already. Agrona has to be inside overseeing things. Vivian might be in there by now too."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Vic demanded, his eye already glowing in anticipation of the battle to come. "Let's march over there and kill the bloody lot of them, along with any others who are foolish enough to get in our way!"

I tightened my grip on Vic, trying to muffle the sound of his voice. The sword narrowed his eye at me, but he fell silent.

We crouched behind the bushes and stared at the two men. I wondered how we could get past them without them sounding some sort of alarm and letting the other Reapers inside know that we were here. The element of surprise was the only advantage we had, and I didn't want to lose it.

Alexei opened his mouth to say something when my cell phone started buzzing. I pulled it out of my jeans pocket and answered the call.

"Pumpkin?" Grandma Frost's voice filled my ear. "I'm at the auditorium. Where are you?"

I told her that we were in the park staking out the front of the building, and a minute later, she slipped down behind the bushes with us. She wore a long coat, but I noticed that she had her sword strapped to her waist underneath the gray fabric, just like the Reapers did.

Grandma hugged me, then cupped my cheek with her hand. The warmth of her love washed over me, along with her rock-solid support, and I knew that she would do whatever she could to help save my friends and everyone else.

"We think the Reapers are inside already, getting ready for the transformation ritual," I told her in a low voice.

"I can't believe they want to put Loki's soul into that boy's body," Grandma muttered. "That's pure evil, even for the Reapers."

"They're not going to do that because we're going to stop them." I made myself sound braver and more confident than I felt. "But first, we need to figure out how to get past the guards and get inside. Logan and the others are probably in the main concert hall."

Grandma's lips curved up into a sly smile. "You just leave that to me, pumpkin."

She got to her feet and winked at me before heading to the far end of the park.

"Grandma!" I hissed. "Grandma!"

But she didn't pay any attention to me.

Alexei put his hand on my shoulder. "Come on," he said. "She's doing her part. Let's do ours. We can come up on the Reapers' blind side while she distracts them."

Stomach churning, I nodded and followed him.

Morgan, Alexei, and I left our hiding spot. We went back through the park down to the end of the block, out of the Reapers' line of sight, then jogged over to the auditorium. A couple of cars were parked on the street, so we were able to move from vehicle to vehicle until we ended up crouching behind the car closest to where the Reapers were standing guard.

Morgan drew an arrow out from the quiver on her back and nocked it in her bow. Alexei hefted his swords in his hands, while I tightened my grip on Vic. I didn't know exactly what Grandma had in mind, but we were ready in case things didn't go according to her plan.

Grandma appeared at the opposite end of the street and walked toward the Reapers at a slow pace that was not at all like her normal, brisk stride. She hunched over and shuffled forward, as though she was older than she really was. The sun glinted off the silver strands in her iron-gray hair, making it look more salt than pepper. I don't know how she managed it, but she suddenly changed from a vibrant woman into an old, decrepit crone. She sort of reminded me of Raven, although I couldn't imagine Raven ever being young.

The Reapers whirled around at the sound of the coins jingling together on the ends of Grandma's many scarves, but they relaxed when they realized that it was just one woman approaching them.

Grandma lifted her head as she neared the two men. "Beautiful day, isn't it?" she called out in a cheery voice.

The Reapers nodded. Grandma kept her slow, steady pace up until she got in between the two men, then she pretended to stumble over a crack in the sidewalk. She tumbled to the ground, scarves fluttering and coins jingling even louder and harsher than before.

"Oh!" she cried out, rocking back and forth on the concrete. "Oh, my hip!"

The Reapers looked at each other, then at my grandma, who kept right on moaning and clutching her left hip. Finally, one of them stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, lady," he growled. "It was just a little fall. You can't possibly be hurt that bad-"

Grandma rolled over, pulled her sword out from underneath her coat, and stabbed the Reaper in the chest with it. He grunted and fell on top of her.

"Now, Morgan! Now!" I hissed.

The Valkyrie rose up from behind the car and drew back her bowstring . A moment later, the second Reaper was down, thanks to the arrow Morgan had just put into his back.

The three of us rushed over to the Reapers. Alexei helped me roll the man off Grandma and help her to her feet. Grandma Frost dusted herself off and looked down at the two dead men.

"No one ever suspects an old woman of being dangerous," she said, twirling her sword in her hand. "I'll get these two out of sight just in case there are any more of them lurking around out here. You three go on inside, and be careful. You don't know what you'll find when you get in there, pumpkin."

For a moment, a blank look filled her violet eyes, and I knew she was talking about Logan and how it might already be too late to save him. Worry knotted my stomach, but I pushed away the awful dread. Instead, I hugged Grandma Frost tight, then turned and followed Alexei and Morgan into the auditorium.

We eased inside the entrance and found ourselves in a long, wide hallway. Most of the lights were off, since the auditorium wasn't officially open for the concert yet, and shadows stretched out as far as I could see, oozing over everything. Even just standing by the entrance, I could feel that something was very, very wrong here.

The three of us stayed together in a loose formation as we hurried down the hallway. Alexei took point, with me in the middle, and Morgan bringing up the rear, all of us looking and listening for the slightest hint of trouble or danger. We went from one hallway to the next, but we didn't see any Reapers-we didn't see anyone at all. No staff members sweeping the floors, no Mythos kids getting a drink of water from one of the fountains, no members of the Protectorate patrolling the auditorium. The silence made me worry that much more.

Finally, we reached a corner and peered around it. Two more Reapers stood in front of a series of doors that led into the main concert hall. Unlike the men outside, these Reapers had black robes on and their swords in their hands. My heart sank. We wouldn't be able to take them by surprise like we had the other guards.

We pulled back and huddled in the hallway, debating what to do.

"The Reapers must already be inside the main chamber," Alexei whispered. "We're not going to be able to get past those guards without making a lot of noise. Even if Morgan picked one of them off with an arrow, the other could still shout out and let the others know we were here."

Morgan tapped her finger against her bow, making green sparks flicker in the air. "Maybe we don't have to go through them. Maybe we can go around them instead."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"There's another entrance to the concert hall, a catwalk that looks down over the whole area."

"How do you know that?" Alexei asked.

"Because I got totally bored during last year's concert, so I decided to go exploring with Samson. We paid one of the sound guys three hundred bucks to let us go through the control room and onto the catwalk."

I rolled my eyes. "You mean the two of you snuck off so you could go make out somewhere."

Morgan gave me a rueful grin. "I've told you before, Gwen. Sometimes, being the school slut comes in handy. I just wish Samson-"

She bit her lip, but pain filled her eyes, and more sparks of magic crackled in the air around her. I knew what she wanted to say-that she wished Samson were here, that he was still alive. But Vivian had killed him at the Crius Coliseum. Despite the fact that Samson had been Jasmine's boyfriend, Morgan really had loved him. I put my hand on her arm, telling her that I understood. Her mouth tightened, and she gripped her bow a little tighter.

"Come on," she whispered. "This way."

Morgan backtracked and led us down another hallway, then another one, circling around the concert hall. A few times, we had to stop, take another route, or even crouch down in the shadows as we waited for Reapers to pass by. Two-man teams patrolled the perimeter of the concert hall, all of them armed with swords and cell phones. I would have liked nothing more than to fight them, but I knew if we did that, the alarm would be raised, and we'd lose whatever chance we had of saving my friends.

Finally, we reached a door with a sign that read CONTROL CENTER-STAFF ONLY. The door was locked, but Morgan easily used her Valkyrie strength to yank it open. I winced at the noise she made, but there was nothing I could do about it.

We slid through the opening and closed the door behind us. Several chairs flanked a large control panel, while a series of monitors were mounted on the wall above. Wires snaked every which way across the floor, and a variety of boxes and switches jutted out from the other walls. In addition to concerts, the Aoide Auditorium also hosted everything from musicals to sporting events.

"Come on," Morgan whispered. "This way."

The Valkyrie led us through the room and over to another door on the far side. This one had a sign that said CATWALK ACCESS-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. Morgan twisted the knob. It wasn't locked, so she opened the door, and we stepped through it.

We walked up a flight of stairs that led to a catwalk that ringed the concert hall. Lights, stage backdrops, and weighted bags were anchored to the black metal rails, along with an elaborate series of pulleys and levers. Every two hundred feet or so, more stairs led down to other areas below.

We were on the back side of the concert hall, but I could see people on the stage below. Alexei pointed in that direction, and the three of us crept along the catwalk over to that part of the auditorium. Finally, we stopped right above the wide stage and crouched down, peering over the side of the metal railing. The sight below made my heart clench with fear.

Because the concert hall was filled with Reapers-and my friends were trapped in the middle of them.

Chapter 25

The enormous stage took up most of this side of the concert hall. The chairs that the band members should have been sitting in had been pushed to the back, with all the Mythos students huddled together in a tight wad in the center of the glossy wooden floor. Reapers ringed them on all sides, each one brandishing a long, curved sword. The kids stared at the Reapers in fear, and I could see the silvery shimmer of the tears on their faces even from up on the catwalk.

Daphne, Carson, Oliver, and Kenzie were on the stage with the rest of the band members. Carson had his arm around Daphne, holding her close, while Oliver and Kenzie were sitting back-to-back, staring at the Reapers with watchful eyes, like they were waiting for a chance to attack. Some of the tightness in my chest eased. They were all okay-for now.

Still, as I looked down at the Reapers, something about them bothered me. Even more so than usual. Finally, I realized what it was-the fact that the Reapers weren't wearing their rubber Loki masks. The evil warriors had on their black robes like usual, but their faces were bare.