The statue of Sigyn was just as tall and imposing as the others were. The Norse goddess of devotion wore a long gown, her bare feet just peeking out from underneath the draped folds. Strangely enough, the gown looked torn and tattered in places, as if her statue had been continuously chipped away over the years, although I don't see how that could have happened in the library. Her hands and arms looked especially pitted and pockmarked. A spiderweb swooped from one side of the statue to the other, looking like a glistening silver necklace that had been strung around the goddess's throat. Sigyn's features were pretty enough, but there was such sorrow in her face, as if she was somehow responsible for all the sadness in the world. It made me want to reach out and comfort her.
I stood there for several seconds, just staring into Sigyn's stone eyes, before shaking my head and coming back to myself.
"All right, Gwen," I muttered. "Focus."
I put the book I'd been carrying down on the floor. Then, I drew in a breath, leaned forward, and brushed my fingers against the cold stone, waiting for my psychometry to kick in, for the images and memories to fill my mind.
Instead of flashing on the statue and all the people who'd seen and walked by it over the years, I felt nothing-nothing at all. No flickers of feeling, no memories, nothing. It was like no one had ever touched the statue-not even the artist who'd carved it in the first place.
I frowned. My Gypsy gift always let me see something, always let me feel something whenever I touched an object, no matter how big or small it was. The only time I hadn't flashed or couldn't flash on an object was when it was an illusion, and there was nothing really there to start with. That's how Jasmine had tricked me into thinking she was dead-she'd created an illusion of her body lying on the library floor.
I rapped my fist on the stone, and the dull thump-thump-thump of my knuckles on the marble echoed around the balcony. Nope, the statue was as real as I was. Maybe nobody had touched it in so long that all the memories attached to the statue had faded away. That could happen sometimes with objects, like if they were put into storage and weren't used for long periods of time.
Since I hadn't gotten any vibes off the stone, I decided to keep searching the old-fashioned way-I ran my hands up and down the statue and tapped my knuckles on every spot I could reach, searching for a secret compartment. Okay, okay, so maybe I'd watched too many old Scooby-Doo cartoons over winter break, but I figured it was worth a shot.
Nothing-I found nothing. Sigyn's statue was solid marble. I even dragged a ladder over to the statue so I could reach even higher, but I still came up empty. I didn't know why the Reaper girl had marked Sigyn's statue on her map, but the dagger wasn't here. Maybe the dagger wasn't in the library after all.
Disappointed, I climbed off the ladder, dragged it over to the wall, and put it back in its spot next to a tall, skinny bookcase. Similar ladders could be found all over the library to help kids reach books on high shelves. I also retrieved the book I'd laid on the floor at Sigyn's feet, glanced at the call number on the spine, and headed toward the spot where it should be shelved.
I found the appropriate case and slid the book into its proper slot. I was just turning around to head down the stairs to the first floor when a silver plaque on the wall beside the case caught my eye. ARCHITECTURAL COLLECTION #1-13. The plaque made me think of the essay I had to write for myth-history. While I was up here, I might as well grab a couple of reference books, since Metis wanted real sources for the essay.
One by one, I tugged books off the shelves and opened them up, scanning the tables of contents. I didn't get any real vibes off the books, just faint, vague flashes of other students flipping through the faded pages. Most of the books hadn't been touched in years, and whatever memories were associated with them had long since faded away.
What I did stir up was all the dust that had gathered on the volumes. Soon, clouds of dust motes swirled in the air around me, reminding me of the sparks of magic Daphne gave off. I'd texted the Valkyrie again while I'd been working, telling her that I'd found a possible location for the dagger and was going to check it out, but she hadn't responded, not even to text me back and say she was busy tonight. I didn't know what was going on with my best friend, which worried me.
Most of the books focused on the academy buildings, rather than the statues, but I finally found a few that seemed useful, including one that had a gryphon embossed on the front cover in silver foil. I looked at the title. The Use of Gryphons, Gargoyles, and Other Mythological Creatures in Architecture. Well, that certainly sounded pretentious enough for Metis's class. I flipped through the pages and saw several photos of stone gryphons, including one that showed the two statues outside the Library of Antiquities. Jackpot. I closed the book and tucked it under my arm. Who knew? Besides using it for a reference source, maybe something in the book would tell me why the statues seemed to be watching me all the time-
The squeak of a sneaker made me freeze.
It was a small, soft sound, one that I wouldn't have heard at all, if it hadn't been so absolutely quiet on the second floor. I looked down and noticed a shadow sliding up on the floor beside me, creeping closer and closer. I kept my head bent, like I was still scanning the shelf in front of me, and tightened my grip on the gryphon book. The shadow kept coming and coming, until it was right next to me. I whirled around and raised the book up high, ready to bring it down as hard as I could on whomever was sneaking up behind me.
But there was no one there-no one at all.
I snapped my head back and forth, looking around the balcony. Nobody appeared, and nothing moved, not even the statues. I really, really wanted to call out and ask if there was someone there, but since that was how everyone always died in horror movies, I decided to keep my mouth shut. Instead, gripping the gryphon book even tighter, I tiptoed over to the stairs, eased down them, and stepped back out onto the first floor.
I slid through the stacks, my eyes scanning left and right as I headed toward the checkout counter. Yeah, Nickamedes might be a pain, but listening to him yell at me was better than standing around waiting for a Reaper to sneak up and attack me. I was so getting tired of fighting for my life in the library.
I didn't see anything but books, books, and more books, but for some reason, I felt like I wasn't alone, like there was another presence hidden among the tall stacks, creeping around in the shadows. Worse than that, my head started to pound, as if a set of invisible fingers were slowly stabbing their way deep into my brain.
Gypsy ... A raspy voice echoed through the library. Oh, Gypsy ... I'm coming to kill you... .