Daphne didn't care, though. She turned around and fell to her knees beside Carson. Tears streamed down her pretty face as she cradled the band geek's head in her hands. I hurried toward her. Across the room, I saw Logan kill the last Reaper and do the same.
"Stop, Gwen, stop!" Vic yelled at me.
I pulled up short of the dais, and Logan skidded to a halt beside me.
"What? What's wrong? Are there more Reapers?" Logan asked, his head turning back toward the door.
"No, it's the Valkyrie," Vic said. "Her magic is finally quickening. Just watch and give her a little room."
We did as he said. If Vic was right, then Daphne's hidden Valkyrie power-latent until now-was about to erupt in a big, big way.
I propped Vic up against the side of the stuffed horse so he could see what was going on. As we watched, more and more pink sparks began to flicker around Daphne, until a continuous stream of magic flowed out of her fingertips. Daphne cried the whole time, tears falling off her face and mixing with the magic in the air. Every time one of the Valkyrie's tears hit the stream, the magic sparked and cracked, taking on a rosy glow tinged with gold. That rosy glow just kept growing and growing, until it covered Daphne's entire body-and Carson's too.
"Carson," Daphne pleaded, staring down at the band geek. "Please, please don't die. You can't die. I won't let you. Do you hear me?"
I didn't know if the Valkyrie did it herself or if it was just her magic having a mind of its own, but something shifted at her words. The magic coalesced around her, no longer sparking and cracking, but instead filling the whole room with its warm power. Even though I was exhausted from my fight with the Reaper girl, something about that glow soothed me, made me feel stronger, more vibrant, more alive.
For the first time, I noticed that blood wasn't dripping out of the gaping wound on Carson's chest anymore. Instead, the warm, rosy gold glow of Daphne's magic had settled on top of his heart, right where the Reaper had stabbed him. The glow seemed like-like it was helping Carson. I watched while the rough edges of the wound drew together and then seamlessly healed. In a few seconds, it was like Carson had never been stabbed at all.
"Healing," I whispered. "Daphne's power is healing."
"Looks like she's doing a pretty good job of it, too," Vic said. "I think the Celt might make it after all."
Carson started coughing, almost like he'd heard Vic's words. For a moment, Carson's eyes fluttered open, and he looked at Daphne and smiled.
"Don't you ever do that again," Daphne whispered in a fierce voice.
Carson opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but his eyes slid shut again before he could get the words out.
"You get Daphne," Logan said. "I'll make sure Carson's okay."
We stepped up onto the dais. Logan knelt down next to Carson and gently put his fingers on the band geek's throat, checking his pulse. Logan nodded at me, and I crouched down beside Daphne and reached for her hand.
My Gypsy gift kicked in the second my fingers closed over hers.
I'd touched Daphne many, many times before. I'd seen her memories and felt her emotions, but I'd never experienced anything like this. It almost seemed like I ... fell into the Valkyrie, slipped into her body in a way that I never had with anyone else before, not even Logan. Her aura, her soul, her spirit, whatever you wanted to call it, my psychometry magic let me see Daphne's heart-the bright, pulsing pink spark that made the Valkyrie the strong warrior and vibrant person she was.
It was beautiful-so beautiful that I couldn't help myself. I reached out with my own magic, wanting to somehow touch that lovely spark, wanting to grab hold of Daphne's power and feel it for myself.
And I did.
The warm, pure healing power of Daphne's magic flowed into me, melting away all the aches and pains I'd gotten during my fight with the Reaper girl, healing the cuts on my hands and arms and the bruises on the rest of my body. The longer I held on to that spark, the better I felt-stronger and more alive than ever before. In a few seconds, I was completely well, and all of my injuries were gone, like I'd never fought the Reaper girl at all.
Daphne jerked, as if she'd just suddenly realized that I was there holding her hand. Her fingers slid out of mine, breaking our connection, and the soothing feel of her magic vanished.
A second later, the rosy glow around her body winked out as well, and Daphne let out a long, tired sigh. Her amber skin looked almost as pale as mine, and her hand shook as she ran it through her blond hair.
"Daphne?" I asked in a low voice. "What did you do?"
"I have no idea," she mumbled.
Then, the Valkyrie passed out, her body pitching forward and sprawling on top of Carson's.
For a second, I didn't know what to do. Then, I lurched forward and grabbed my friend's shoulder.
"Daphne! Daphne!" I said, shaking the Valkyrie.
She didn't respond. Neither did Carson, although the wound in his chest was now completely healed.
Logan leaned forward and put his hands on my arms. "Relax, Gypsy girl, relax. They're both fine. Just unconscious. Carson because he was hurt so badly, and Daphne because her magic finally quickened. It's okay."
The Spartan's words penetrated my panic, and I looked at my friends. Their faces were pale, but their chests moved up and down with a steady rhythm. I watched them for a few seconds to make sure, but Logan was right. They were both okay. Yeah, what had just happened was totally freaky, but my friends were alive. That was what was important.
For the first time, I noticed the coliseum was utterly, eerily quiet. The alarms had quit blaring, people had quit screaming, and I didn't hear the thump-thump-thump of the Reapers' footsteps anymore.
Had the Reapers left? Had they found the Helheim Dagger and disappeared with it? Was anyone still breathing in the museum besides us? Logan and I were fine, but Daphne and Carson needed help. With a jolt, I realized that so would the wounded kids outside-if any of them were even still alive. I'd forgotten about the other students and everything else while I'd been fighting the Reaper girl.
"Do you think the Reapers are gone?" I asked Logan in a low voice.
"I don't know, but we need to go see what's happening in the rest of the museum with the other kids." He drew in a breath. "And Nickamedes, too."
Nickamedes and Logan were so different it was easy for me to forget that the librarian was Logan's uncle and that the Spartan cared about him just as much as I did my Grandma Frost.
"That's all well and good," Vic piped up from his spot against the stuffed horse. "But first, don't you think you need to check the Reapers in here? Never turn your back on an enemy unless he or she is no longer a threat. You should know that, Spartan."