And just like that, the whole battle changed.
The Reapers, who'd been laughing and inching forward, stopped in their tracks, and Oliver and Alexei pressed their advantage. The two of them charged into the ring of Reapers, Alexei's twin swords flashing like silver fire underneath the library's lights, while Oliver wrapped the ends of the scabbard around another Reaper's neck. In a second, they'd killed two Reapers. In another, two more had fallen to the floor.
But there were still plenty of Reapers left. One came at me, and I tightened my hands on Vic and stepped up to meet him.
Swipe-swipe-swipe.
The Reaper swung his sword at me over and over again, but I focused on his hands and feet, and I was able to anticipate his moves and defend against them. Then, I went on the attack, slashing Vic out in vicious arcs and stabbing lines. On my fifth pass, I managed to slice the blade across the Reaper's shoulder. He screamed, and I followed that move up by running Vic through his heart. The Reaper dropped to the floor, still screaming-
Crack!
A fist slammed into my jaw, and I realized that a Reaper had crept up on my blind side. I staggered back. My sneakers slipped in a pool of blood, and I hit the marble floor hard. The Reaper laughed and brought his sword up. Dazed, I raised Vic, putting the sword between us, even though I knew I didn't have the strength to deflect the blow that was coming-
A golden arrow blossomed like a flower in the middle of the Reaper's chest, and he toppled to the floor. I looked behind me and spotted Daphne standing on top of one of the study tables on this side of the library, her onyx bow in her hand. Sigyn's bow, the one she'd gotten from the Crius Coliseum, the one that kept reappearing in her dorm room no matter how many times she gave the weapon back to Professor Metis.
A puff of golden smoke appeared, and the Valkyrie reached around into the matching onyx quiver strapped to her back and pulled out another golden arrow to replace the one she'd just fired.
A moment later, Logan was by my side. The Spartan held out his hand and helped me to my feet. Logan was okay, Logan and Daphne were both okay. Relief roared through me.
"Gypsy girl, I leave you alone for a few minutes and what happens? Reapers invade the library," he said, his icy eyes almost glowing with anticipation.
Logan grinned at me and waded into the fight. Soon, he was beside Oliver and Alexei, the three of them moving in almost perfect step with each other as they battled the Reapers, while Daphne picked off others with her bow and arrow. In seconds, my friends had killed two more Reapers and were closing in on the rest.
I whirled around, ready to fight the next Reaper, when I noticed one of them slipping into the stacks. Not just any Reaper, but the tall, slender leader. I frowned. The fight was out here. So why would one of the Reapers be retreating? They never retreated. Their whole purpose in life was to kill warriors-not run away. My eyes narrowed. Unless maybe killing us wasn't the only reason they were in the library.
There are many artifacts here that he wants, many powerful things and people here that he needs in order to finally defeat us, Nike's voice whispered in my mind.
It made perfect sense. The artifacts in the Library of Antiquities had a lot of power, and Nike had told me that there were items here that Loki would love to get his hands on, things that could help him and the Reapers finally defeat the Pantheon. What if-what if the fight was just a distraction? A way for the Reapers to hide why they'd really come here tonight?
I was going to find out.
I tightened my grip on Vic, pushed past another dying Reaper that Daphne had just shot through the neck with an arrow, and darted into the stacks.
"Gypsy girl!" Logan called out. "Wait!"
But I didn't want to wait. I wanted to get answers, and all I had to do to get them was catch the Reaper.
Chapter 13
I raced back into the stacks, my head turning from side to side as I tried to figure out which direction the Reaper had gone or what he could possibly be after. I came to a crossway and stopped, breathing hard and trying to calm the rapid thump-thump-thump of my heart so I could hear where the leader had gone.
For once, Vic stayed quiet, and I forced myself to take in soft breaths of air. I cocked my head to one side, then the other, wishing I had the enhanced senses that so many of the Mythos students had. But I didn't. All I had were my instincts, so I headed right toward the front half of the library. The Reapers had come in from the back, so whatever they were really after wasn't on that side. Otherwise, they would have left with it already. That made sense, right? I didn't know how sound my reasoning was, but I decided to follow my instincts.
I moved through the stacks as quickly as I could, stopping at the end of every bookcase, every aisle, every crossway, to look and listen. But the Reaper had too much of a head start on me, and I didn't see any hints of movement anywhere. Finally, just when I was about to give up and head back to the others, I heard the distinctive tinkle-tinkle of glass hitting the floor. I paused. The sound came again, and I veered in that direction.
I hurried forward, still stopping to peer around every shelf. Just because I thought the Reaper was after something didn't mean this couldn't be a trap, and the leader might be hiding in a dark corner, ready to take my head off with his sword. Reapers were full of tricks like that. Vivian certainly had been. I didn't think the Reaper I was chasing was Vivian, but she'd fooled me before, and I wasn't going to let it happen again.
Finally, I spotted the Reaper through the shelves. I crept up to the bookcase that was closest to him and peered around it.
The Reaper stood before an artifact case that was in front of a shelf with a few old, tattered books on it. The Reaper had already smashed the glass on the top of the case and was using a sword to knock the last few fragments out of the way. Something white flew out of the case and fluttered to the ground, along with the glass, but the Reaper didn't seem to notice, and I couldn't tell what it was from here. Maybe an ID card of some sort.
The leader reached inside the case and drew out a beautiful, rectangular box that was resting on a wide, black velvet stand. The box was made of a smooth, milky-looking stone, and a series of gems had been set into the gleaming surface, including a topaz, an emerald, and a bloodred ruby, along with matching jeweled chips.
The Reaper tossed the stand aside, grabbed the box, and held it up high with one hand, admiring the way the jewels caught the light and reflected it back, before slipping the box into one of the pockets of his robe. He reached into the case again and pulled out a topaz ring, an emerald bracelet, and a necklace that featured a large, heart-shaped ruby surrounded by smaller ones. Those items disappeared into his pockets as well.