But even more than that was the fact that I wanted to be like the other kids. I wanted to be a real warrior. If the wolf was here to kil me, then I wanted to take care of the monster myself. Kil it myself. Even if I had no idea exactly how I was going to do that.
So I made myself smile at my friends, even though my face felt frozen and numb. "Let's forget about the wolf, okay? What do you say we go on up to the next slope and see if I can work my Gypsy magic again?"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Carson said, pushing his black glasses up his nose and grinning.
"See? I told you it would work," Daphne said in a smug tone.
"I always have the best ideas."
"Of course you do," Carson told her.
Daphne rol ed her eyes and punched him lightly in the shoulder. Carson retaliated by trying to steal the Valkyrie's hot chocolate. She swatted his hand away, and the two of them started laughing and mock fighting.
Neither one of them saw the strained, fake smile drop from my lips or noticed that I didn't join in the fun.
For the rest of the afternoon, the three of us zoomed down the various ski slopes, then rode the chair lifts back up to the top again. Al the while I kept an eye out for the Fenrir wolf, and I made sure that the three of us stayed far, far away from the trees.
To my relief, I didn't spot the monster lurking in the snow-crusted pines.
The higher up the mountain we went, the more crowded the slopes were, and I relaxed a little bit. The wolf couldn't get to me out here, not with al the kids and profs around.
That would be suicide for the monster. As long as I stayed with a crowd, I was safe.
For now.
To my surprise, I sort of got the hang of skiing. Al I had to do was use my psychometry magic and think of Daphne skiing, and I could get down al the slopes, even the real y steep ones that twisted and turned like crazy. But the second I let my concentration waver, the second I started worrying about the Fenrir wolf, my memories of Daphne vanished-along with my ability to tap into them.
I found that out the hard way-literal y. One second I was swooshing over the snow just fine. The next I was looking for the wolf. And the one after that, I found myself face-first in a snowdrift and not quite sure how I had gotten there. I sat out the next few runs after that.
Final y, at around five, we cal ed it quits for the day and skied down the mountain to the hotel. The three of us ate dinner in one of the resort restaurants, which was just as expensive as everything else. And just like at the academy, the food was al fancy, froufrou stuff, like frog legs, rabbit, and pan-seared tuna.
Yucko. I settled for a filet mignon cheeseburger, Parmesan sweet potato fries, and a piece of baklava made with sourwood honey and topped with toasted, slivered almonds. The baklava wasn't nearly as good as what Grandma Frost made, but it was sugary sweet, so I scarfed it down anyway.
After dinner, the three of us split up. Carson went to his room on the seventh floor, while Daphne and I headed up to ours on thirteen. Our room was on the side of the hotel that butted up against the new construction site, but the workers must have left for the weekend already, because I didn't hear any saws, hammers, or dril s, and I hadn't noticed any noise while we'd been downstairs eating dinner.
Daphne and I hung out in our room for a while, unpacking our bags and gossiping about who we'd seen on the slopes, who they'd been with, and how many people would hook up with the kids from the New York academy. One couple I hadn't spotted had been Logan and Savannah.
They were probably too busy sticking their tongues down each other's throats to go skiing. The thought didn't make me happy.
I flopped down on the bed and stared out the window.
Since we were on the top floor, we had a great view of the surrounding mountains and the val eys that dipped down in between the jagged peaks. Snow, trees, and sky stretched out al the way to the horizon, blurring together in soft shades of purple, gray, and wintry silver. But the beautiful vista didn't soothe me.
Not now. My thoughts turned back to the Fenrir wolf. I wondered where it was right now, if it was out there in the woods that surrounded the ski resort, if it was patiently waiting for another chance to attack me-
"What's wrong?" Daphne asked, staring at me in the mirror while she brushed out her golden hair. "You've been quiet al afternoon."
"Nothing," I lied. "I'm just tired. Al that skiing wore me out."
"Tired? You can't be tired. We've got a party to go to, remember?"
I groaned and flopped back on the bed. "You can't be serious."
"Of course, I'm serious. Yeah, the skiing's nice and al , but we al real y come here for the parties. They're legendary. Last year, somebody dared Morgan McDougal to go skinny-dipping in the hotel's indoor pool with a bunch of guys. And of course she did it-sober, no less.
Everybody talked about it for weeks." I grimaced. "Wel , I'm not Morgan, and I'm definitely not the skinny-dipping type. I'm not sure I want to go." Daphne put her hands on her hips and stalked over to me. Since I was lying with my head by the foot of the bed, she looked upside down to me. Pink sparks snapped and crackled around her fingertips like lightning. I sighed.
Daphne always gave off more magic when she was upset, angry, or just plain annoyed. I was wil ing to bet she was feeling the last one right now, and I knew it was my fault. I hadn't exactly been a bucket of fun so far, and the Valkyrie was probably tired of having to coax me to do every little thing.
"Of course, you want to go," Daphne scoffed. "It's a party, Gwen. You know, a place where you go to have a good time."
I just shrugged. I didn't tel her I could have a perfectly good time in the room by myself with my comic books and sugar stash.
That's pretty much how I'd spent every night when I'd first come to Mythos, since I hadn't had any friends at the academy.
Being alone didn't bother me. Part of me had been alone ever since my mom had died-alone, hol ow, empty, and aching-and I knew part of me would always feel that way.
The feelings might dul and dim with time, but they'd always be there. I'd always remember losing my mom-and always feel the gnawing pain of wishing she was stil here with me.
"Wel , what about that cute guy you talked to in the lobby?
He said he was going to the Solstice party, didn't he?"
Daphne said.
"Yeah."
"And he said maybe he'd see you there?"
"Yeah."
Daphne rol ed her eyes. "Wel , he can't see you if you don't actual y go to the party."
I opened my mouth, but I couldn't argue with her logic.
Her point made, Daphne sniffed and stalked back over to the mirror. The Valkyrie put down her brush, plucked her raspberry-scented lip gloss out of the depths of her enormous Dooney & Bourke purse, and started working on her makeup.