So while maybe I deserved to get doused with soda, the statue did not. Instead of hurrying up the steps before I got beaned in the head by another can, I walked over to the gryphon statue, grabbed a pack of tissues out of my messenger bag, and started wiping the sticky, orange-colored liquid off the dark gray stone.
"Sorry about all this," I mumbled. "It's me they're really after, not you. Because of what happened with the dagger. Because the Reaper girl used it to free Loki."
The gryphon didn't speak to me, but it almost seemed like its eyes narrowed in thought. Okay, protector or not, that was still a little creepy.
I managed to wipe off the last of the soda. I glanced over my shoulder at the guys, who were still watching me. One of them had another can, this one unopened, which he viciously shook. He smiled at his friends, then started walking toward me, the can held out in front of him. I sighed. I knew what was coming next-Gwen getting sprayed in the face.
I thought about going inside the building, but the guy would probably just follow and unleash the soda on me as soon as he got close enough. No doubt that would happen when I was in the middle of the library and among all of Nickamedes's precious books. I weighed getting a lecture from the librarian versus getting soaked out here on the steps. I decided to get soaked. Nickamedes and I were on better terms these days, but I still didn't want to give him any reason to be upset with me. Getting soda all over his books would do it, even if it wasn't my fault. Oh, I knew he wouldn't be mad at me, given the circumstances, but a ruined book was still a ruined book. My day had already sucked. There was no need to make his as bad as mine had been.
But that didn't mean I was going down without a fight.
I knew better than to draw Vic out of my bag. If I did that, the guys would pull out their own weapons, and things would be even worse than they had been in the dining hall. So instead, I reached into my messenger bag, my fingers clutching around my own soda, the one I'd grabbed during lunch and hadn't drunk yet. If I was getting soaked, then so was the guy coming at me.
The guy reached the bottom of the library steps. He grinned at his friends, then turned and headed in my direction-
A low growl ripped through the air.
The guy stopped. His head snapped left, then right, as he tried to figure out where the sound had come from. After a second, he shrugged it off as just his imagination and started up the steps again.
Once more, a low growl sounded.
The guy took a step back, suddenly uncertain. The growl kept going and going, like a rumbling train getting a little louder and a little closer with each passing second. His friends also looked around, confused by what was happening. I was the only one who noticed that the eyes of the gryphon statue had narrowed to slits and that its angry gaze was fixed on the guy in front of me.
The guy looked at me, and I casually crossed my arms across my chest and leaned against the statue. He stared at me, and I glared right back at him.
"She's not worth it," he finally muttered to his friends. "Let's get out of here. I'm freezing my ass off."
Grumbling, the guys headed the opposite direction across the quad. I stood in my tough-girl pose until they were out of sight, then I sighed and slumped against the gryphon.
"Thank you for that," I whispered.
The side of the gryphon's mouth curled up, almost like it was smiling. I patted it on the head, then turned to go inside the library.
Alexei, who'd been hanging back through all of this, finally stepped forward. He gave me a strange look, as if he couldn't believe that I was talking to a statue, but at this point, I didn't care what he thought of me.
"You can stand out here in the cold if you want, but I'm going inside the library where it's warm," I said, walking away.
I reached the doors that led inside the library and looked over my shoulder. Alexei was following me, although he was striding up the exact center of the steps, giving the gryphon statues suspicious looks and as wide a berth as he possibly could. For the first time today, a smile pulled up my lips.
Maybe there was something to be said for creepy statues after all.
Chapter 9
I went inside the building, walked down a hallway, and stepped through the open double doors into the main space of the Library of Antiquities.
With its seven stories, the library was the largest building on campus, and it simply had the biggest and best of everything-the widest balconies, the tallest towers, the most lifelike statues. And it was just as impressive inside as it was on the outside. The main room was shaped like an enormous dome that let folks on the first floor gaze up at each one of the library's many levels. Supposedly, the curved ceiling featured amazing frescoes, images of great mythological battles, embellished with layers of gold, silver, and sparkling jewels. But I'd never been up to the top level to look for myself, and all I could see from the ground floor were shadows. Maybe it was better that way, since the statues of the gods were already staring at me.
The second floor of the library featured a balcony that boasted white marble statues of all the gods and goddesses from all the cultures of the world. Egyptian deities like Ra and Anubis. Norse gods like Odin and Thor. Native American figures like the Coyote Trickster and Rabbit. The only god who wasn't featured in the circular pantheon was Loki, and there was an empty spot where his statue would have been.
After seeing the evil god in person, I was glad there wasn't a statue of him here or anywhere else on campus. He terrorized my dreams enough already, his one red eye burning into both of mine. I already had to live with the sick knowledge of how I'd failed everyone. I didn't need to look up and see Loki's twisted face grinning down at me, another reminder of the horror I'd unleashed and the death and destruction that he and his Reapers of Chaos were planning.
Instead of going down the main aisle toward the checkout counter, I headed back into the stacks. Alexei followed me, still as silent as a shadow. I kept going until I came to a familiar, remote spot, then looked up. Nike's statue stood right above me.
The Greek goddess of victory looked the same as she always did. A toga-like gown wrapping around her body, ringlets of hair falling past her slim shoulders, wings peeking up over her back, a crown of laurels resting on her head. Every time I came into the library, I took a moment to walk back here and speak to the goddess. It seemed like the polite thing to do.
"Well, here I am in trouble again," I murmured. "But I'm sure you already know all about it. You always seem to know everything. Want to give me some clue as to how I can get out of this? Without being executed?"
But of course, she didn't answer me. Like the other gods, Nike only appeared to mortals on her own terms, and I was no different, despite the fact that I was her Champion. She was rather mysterious-and annoying-that way.