Professor Metis came over to the table and laid a hand on my arm. "Are you okay, Gwen?"
I nodded. "I'm fine."
And I was-physically anyway. I'd only gotten a few bumps and bruises during the fight, along with some cuts from smashing the artifact case that had held the Ruslan swords. In fact, we'd all come through the battle more or less okay. Oliver had a deep gash on his left bicep, Alexei had a nasty cut that slashed across his right cheek, and Logan had several scrapes and bruises on his hands and arms, but Metis and Daphne used their magic to heal us all.
Once that was done, Alexei grabbed a rag from one of the workers and started cleaning the blood off the swords. Oliver and Logan clustered around him, examining the weapons, with Daphne chiming in that they weren't nearly as cool as her bow was. While my friends talked, I sat still and silent and watched the bodies being loaded up, with Metis standing by my side.
"Is it wrong that I'm sort of getting used to this?" I finally asked.
She gave me a grim smile. "I don't know about wrong, but sad-definitely sad."
We watched the workers a few more minutes before Metis jerked her head. "You said that the Reaper took some artifacts. Show me where and which ones."
I led her into the stacks and showed her the smashed display case, the fallen books, and the broken glass. Logan followed us, and so did Alexei. Apparently, he was back to guarding me now that the fight was over.
Metis studied the mess for a minute before she turned to me. "Gwen?"
She was asking the same thing Oliver had-if I would use my magic to see if I could get any vibes off anything. I nodded, crouched down on my knees, and wrapped my hand around a broken piece of wood.
My psychometry kicked in, and the image of the Reaper slamming a sword into the case and splintering the wood filled my mind, along with the crash-crash-crash of breaking glass. I concentrated, touching other pieces of wood and glass, but all the memories were the same. After a minute, I got to my feet.
"Anything?" Metis asked.
I shook my head. "Nothing important, just like with the bodies I touched earlier. All I saw was the Reaper ripping into the case."
Metis picked up the ID card and read it, just as I had earlier. Then, she looked at the empty case. "I don't understand," she murmured. "Why would the Reapers take something like this? Why go to all the trouble when there are so many much more valuable things in here?"
"I know, right?" I said. "The box and the jewelry are beautiful, but it doesn't seem to me that they have any real power at all."
"Or maybe this is all just a clever ruse to throw the Protectorate off your trail," a low voice cut in.
I turned to see Linus striding down the aisle, followed by Inari and Sergei. Agrona was with them as well, trailing along behind the others. The Protectorate members stopped, forming a single row across the aisle. I sighed. Here we went again.
Linus fixed me with a cold look. "Once more, it seems you're right in the middle of a Reaper attack, Miss Frost. That's a nasty habit of yours. Care to tell me what happened?"
I looked at Metis, who nodded. I drew in a breath and told him everything-seeing the Reapers sneaking up on Alexei and Oliver, warning them of the attack, the battle, then chasing after the Reaper, realizing that the evil warrior was stealing artifacts, and finally how the Reaper had escaped.
When I finished, Linus focused his frosty glare on Alexei.
"You were not supposed to let Miss Frost out of your sight," he barked at the younger man. "So why is it that she was in the stacks alone, supposedly shelving books?"
A flush spread across Alexei's cheeks, and he opened his mouth, but I cut him off.
"Because I had work to do and I was tired of him watching me like a freaking hawk, so I told him I was going to the bathroom and gave him the slip," I lied. "He was probably asking Oliver where I was when the Reapers attacked."
Alexei's brows drew together in surprise, but Linus's face got even frostier than before.
"You were chosen for this assignment because you are one of the most promising young warriors in the Pantheon," Linus snapped. "Yet you didn't even make it through the day without being outsmarted by this girl."
Maybe I'd been hanging around Vic too long, but I couldn't help but speak up. "Well, I am rather clever that way," I said in a snide voice.
A vein started to pulse in Linus's temple, and I could almost hear him grind his teeth together.
"Even the most dedicated warriors can have a momentary lapse," Inari said. "It happens to the best of us."
"Give my boy a break," Sergei chimed in, his voice much louder and more defensive than Inari's. "Everything worked out okay in the end, didn't it?"
Linus turned his glare to the other man. "If by okay you mean Reapers somehow breaking into the Library of Antiquities without raising any sort of alarm, attacking students, and stealing artifacts, then yes. I suppose everything worked out okay."
Sergei let out a huff of air, but he didn't say anything else. Inari put a hand on his shoulder, silently signaling his friend to take it easy. Agrona stood next to them, still quiet, although her beautiful features were pinched together in thought, and she kept toying with her necklace, rubbing the gold chain between her fingers.
Linus swung his gaze back to me. "Or perhaps this was part of your plan all along to deflect suspicion from yourself, Miss Frost. Steal away from Alexei and then raise the supposed alarm about Reapers attacking. Maybe the reason they didn't raise any alarms was because you let them into the library. Maybe the reason the last Reaper got away with the artifacts was because that was your plan all along."
"My plan?" I said, my voice as cold and angry as his. "My plan was just to stay alive and help my friends do the same. Nothing else. Despite what you think, I'm not some criminal Reaper mastermind. I'm trying to stop them."
Linus snorted. "Oh, I doubt that, given the evidence we've collected."
His words made my stomach twist with worry, but I forced myself to stay calm and not let any of my fear show. Logan stepped closer to me and took my hand in his. As soon as his fingers touched mine, his warm concern washed over me, sweeping away everything else. I flashed him a grateful smile.
Linus's gaze lingered on our linked hands a moment before he sighed. "All right. Let's round up the others and go over it all again. You too, Logan. I want to hear what you saw as well. Come with me."
Linus whirled around, his gray cloak billowing out around him as he strode down the aisle. Sergei, Alexei, and Metis followed him. Logan looked at me, a question in his eyes.