I stepped forward, determined to stop the Reaper-and my sneakers squeaked on the floor. I froze, hoping the sound hadn't carried, but of course it had.
The Reaper whirled around but didn't seem all that surprised to see me standing there. Instead, I got the impression that he was smiling underneath that horrible Loki mask. A bit of red fire flashed to life in the depths of the leader's eyes-that Reaper-red color that I'd come to hate more than anything else.
"Stay where you are!" I commanded. "You're surrounded!"
It was a lie, but I raised my sword and walked toward the Reaper like the fight was already over with, and Logan and my friends were really here to help me. The Reaper snorted, not believing my lie for a second. I tightened my grip on Vic, expecting the evil warrior to charge at me, but instead the leader did something completely unexpected-he turned and ran away.
"What are you waiting for?" Vic demanded. "Catch that bloody Reaper so I can cut him to ribbons!"
I sucked in a breath and gave chase. The Reaper zoomed down the aisle we were in, then started zigzagging through the stacks. He broke right, then left through a crossway, then right, right, right, and finally left again. I fell behind with each step until I was just barely keeping the other warrior in sight.
"Faster, Gwen!" Vic shouted. "You're losing him!"
As if I couldn't see that for myself. I gulped down another breath, made myself run that much quicker, and rounded a corner-only to realize that the Reaper had vanished.
My steps slowed, then stopped, and I looked left, then right, searching for the Reaper, but all I saw were books and more books, along with a few study tables and artifact cases. Frustration filled me, but I kept scanning the area. Nothing-absolutely nothing.
I'd just started to head down another aisle when a cool breeze kissed my face.
My eyes narrowed. The library was climate-controlled to protect all the books and artifacts. There shouldn't have been any sort of breeze-unless someone had opened a door or window.
I followed the swirls of air, stepped around another bookcase, and found myself in front of one of the side entrances to the library. The door was standing wide open. So that's where he'd gone. Clutching Vic even tighter, I eased through the door and peered outside.
Night cloaked the upper quad, and shadows had stained everything an inky black. A bit of snow had fallen while I'd been inside the library, the white patches standing out like silvery ponds against the darkness. The balcony that wrapped around the building was deserted, as was what I could see of the main quad. I stepped outside and walked over to the wall that ringed the balcony. I stared out into the darkness, scanning the quad, hoping that I'd get a glimpse of the Reaper running across the snow-dusted grass, but I was too late.
The Reaper was gone-and so were the artifacts he'd stolen.
Disgusted with myself for not catching the Reaper, I hurried back inside the library, making sure to shut the side door behind me. I had no doubt that my friends had taken care of the other Reapers by now, so I retraced my steps back to the artifact case that the leader had broken into. I wanted to know exactly what had been inside it and how the items could possibly be used against the Pantheon.
The Reaper had smashed in the top of the case, and chunks of wood and glass littered the floor. Some books had fallen off the shelf above as well, adding to the mess, so it took me a few minutes to pick through everything and find the ID cards that had been inside the case.
To my surprise, there was only one card, despite all the items I'd seen the Reaper grab.
Apate's Keepsake Box. This box and jewelry were rumored to have belonged to Apate, the Greek goddess of deception. Apate was known for her love of jewels and collected so many of them that the other gods were jealous of her finery. To keep her possessions safe, Apate put an enchantment on the box so that if anyone opened it except her, the box would appear to be empty, instead of filled with valuables as it truly was . . .
Okay, so the box had some kind of magic mumbo jumbo attached to it, some kind of illusion that kept whatever was inside safe. I frowned. From the card, it didn't seem like the box had any great magical powers, and there was no mention of the jewelry at all. So why would the Reapers risk coming into the library to steal them? Sure, all those gems were no doubt priceless, but Loki had rewarded his followers with gold, silver, and more, just like the other gods in the Pantheon had their supporters. The Reapers had just as much money as everyone else did in the mythological world. So why go to all the trouble to swipe more gemstones? Why not go after some of the swords in the library? Or the armor? Something with more obvious magic and power?
"A box?" Vic asked, voicing my thoughts. "The Reaper took a bloody box? Why, it's not even a weapon!"
My head started aching from all the questions that crowded into my mind, but try as I might, I just couldn't figure out what was so special about the box or the jewelry. There had to be something here that I was missing because the Reapers never did anything without a purpose, without an end goal, in mind.
"Gwen!" Daphne's voice drifted across the library to me. "Where are you? Are you okay?"
"Over here!" I called out. "I'm fine! Stay put! I'm coming back to you!"
Still troubled, I took one more look at the smashed case before I returned to the others.
Logan, Daphne, Oliver, and Alexei were in the back of the library huddled in a tight knot in the middle of the dead Reapers. The Valkyrie caught sight of me first, and princess pink sparks erupted from her fingertips like fireworks, telling me just how glad she was to see me.
"There you are!" Daphne said, pulling me into a tight hug. "Why did you just run off like that? We were so worried about you!"
"I know. I'm sorry. But you guys were winning against the others, and I didn't want to let that last Reaper get away."
I told the others about seeing the Reaper slip away and how I'd chased him back into the stacks, only to find him stealing artifacts.
"What artifacts?" Oliver asked.
I shrugged. "That's the weird thing. It was just a box and some jewelry. It didn't even seem to have that much magic attached to it, according to the ID card I read. I don't know why they would go to so much trouble to break in here just to take those things. Why didn't they take some of the weapons instead? Things that are more powerful? Or at least more useful in a battle?"
"Reapers don't have to make sense," Logan said in a dark voice.
I gestured at the bodies lying on the bloody floor. My friends had pulled off the rubber masks, revealing the Reapers' dull, glazed eyes and pain-filled faces. The group was pretty evenly split between men and women, all adults.