Metis was in my room, along with Coach Ajax, and the three of us were staring at the wolf. Metis had brought over a cardboard box, which I'd lined with blankets. The professor had let me feed the pup using a bottle full of milk, and now, the pup-a girl-was sleeping. I reached down and stroked the wolf's tiny ears, and the pup's contentment filled my mind.
"Do you suppose that's why Nott came here?" I asked. "So I could take care of it? Do you think she knew she was going to die?"
Ajax shrugged his massive shoulders. "The world and the gods work in mysterious ways, Gwen. But Nott left something of herself behind, and we'll take good care of it. You can count on that."
"Hmph," Vic harrumphed from his spot up on the wall. "It's going to be a lot of trouble if you ask me, and it will shed everywhere."
I glared at Vic and started to tell him to be quiet again, when I realized that the sword's face had softened and that there was a gleam of a tear in his eye.
"I suppose the little bugger is kind of cute, though. At least for something covered in fur," Vic mumbled.
He sniffed a few times, and I got the impression that he would have reached up and wiped the tear out of his eye if he, you know, actually had had a hand to do that with. So I grabbed a tissue out of the box on my desk and dabbed at the sword's eye with it.
Vic smiled at me, and then the two of us turned our attention to the wolf pup once more.
"What are you going to name her?" Metis said.
I thought about it for a second. "Nyx."
"The Greek goddess of the night?" Ajax asked.
I nodded. "Yes, because she came out of the darkness just like Nott did."
In the box, the pup stirred a little, almost as if she could hear the sound of her mom's name, even though Metis had said that the wolf would be blind and deaf for at least a few days.
I kept right on stroking her tiny, silky ears, though, just like Nott would have wanted me to.
Chapter 27
I stayed with Nyx for the rest of the day, marveling at how small and perfect she was. Daphne and Carson came over, too, and the three of us just sat there looking at the pup. I thought about calling Logan, but every time I picked up the phone, Preston's face filled my mind instead. I just couldn't get over my fear I'd do the same thing to Logan that I had to the Reaper.
But there was something else I had to do, so I asked my friends to feed Nyx again while I went out for a while.
I walked across campus to the Library of Antiquities. Everything was normal inside. Students laughed, talked, and gossiped on the first floor, while Raven sold snacks and drinks at her coffee cart. Nickamedes stood behind the checkout counter, helping Mrs. Banba find some reference material. He, Metis, and Ajax had decided to go about their daily routines and pretend everything was normal until they heard from the Powers That Were on how they wanted to handle the news of Loki's escape.
I noticed the librarian staring at me, but I ignored him and climbed the stairs to the second floor. I stopped and looked down at all the kids studying below. They had no idea how much their world had changed overnight. I thought of the attack a few days ago at the Crius Coliseum. There'd been so much death, destruction, and deception already. And now, it would only get worse since Loki was free. There was a war coming-a war I had no idea how we were going to win.
I walked around the circular balcony until I came to a particular statue in the Pantheon-Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. She looked the same as always, although her face seemed to be a little sad today, with the corners of her mouth turned down instead of up. I wondered if it was because I'd failed her so miserably.
"I'm sorry," I said, tears filling my eyes once again. "So sorry. For everything."
I stood there, hoping the goddess would respond to me, but of course, she didn't. The gods only appeared to mortals on their terms. Still, I knew that Nike would come to me again, so I sat down beside the statue to wait.
I don't know how long I sat there, waiting for Nike to move, to blink, to speak, to just do something, anything to let me know that all hope wasn't lost.
But nothing happened.
Down below, Nickamedes announced that the library was closing for the night, and the few students remaining inside packed up their things and left. Not wanting to spend the night trapped in the library, I got to my feet, trooped down the steps, and headed toward the double doors on the first floor. I was just about to step through them when a voice called out behind me.
"Gwendolyn? A moment, please."
I sighed and turned around. Nickamedes stood behind me, holding something in his hand. He gestured at me, and I walked over toward him.
"What?" I mumbled. "Going to lecture me about what a mess I've made of everything? You don't have to. Trust me, I know how bad things are right now."
Nickamedes shook his head. "No, Gwendolyn, I'm not going to lecture you. I think you held up remarkably well, all things considered. I don't know that I would have been as brave as you were."
I blinked. The librarian never complimented me-never. I'd thought he'd rant and rave about how I'd pretty much doomed the entire world, since that was exactly what I'd done. Instead, the librarian gestured for me to take a seat at one of the study tables. Bewildered, I did as he asked, and Nickamedes pulled out a chair and sat across from me. It occurred to me that this was the first time the librarian hadn't stared down his nose at me. But instead of looking at me, he kept his eyes on the thin piece of paper in his hand, like it was the most important thing he'd ever seen.
Finally, Nickamedes cleared his throat. "A few days ago, you asked me why I hated you so much."
"And now you're going to tell me? Terrific," I muttered.
The librarian shook his head. "No, I'm not going to tell you because I don't hate you, Gwendolyn. I never have."
"Then what's with all the attitude every time I come in here? Because you sure act like you hate me."
Nickamedes sighed. "It's ... complicated."
"Most things are at Mythos," I said in a snide tone.
I would have said something else snarky if I hadn't noticed the pained look on the librarian's face. "What's the matter? What have I done wrong this time?"
Nickamedes finally looked up at me. "Nothing. You haven't done anything wrong, but I admit that it's been ... difficult for me to work with you, Gwendolyn. And your perpetual tardiness isn't the only reason."
He drew in another breath. "I knew your mother, you see. Back when we both went to Mythos. We were actually quite good friends, Grace, Aurora, and I."