Finally, an image of Oliver popped into my mind, and I felt what Alexei did whenever he looked at the Spartan-that warm, soft, fizzy feeling that seemed to make everything else worthwhile. That special emotion that made the golden spark of his soul brighten . . .
I opened my eyes and dropped his hand. He wasn't a Reaper, but I had learned something new about the Russian warrior-just how much he cared about Oliver.
"What was that all about?" Alexei said, more suspicion filling his face. "Did you just use your magic on me?"
"Yes, and you passed," I said. "Now look at this."
I showed Alexei the card, then told him about the ruby chips I'd seen on Vivian's ring. He read the information and frowned.
"But Vivian has been in Protectorate custody for weeks now," he said, echoing my suspicions. "Before any of these things were stolen. There's no way she could have been one of the Reapers who broke into the library. She's been closely watched, and as far as I know, the only people she's had any contact with are senior members of the Protectorate."
"Who?" I asked. "Who exactly has Vivian been in contact with?"
Alexei shrugged. "All the members of the Protectorate who are here for your trial. Linus, Inari, Agrona, my father. Why do you ask?"
Because that means one of them is a Reaper. The only way Vivian could have gotten her hands on the ruby chips was for the Reaper who had stolen the box to have given them to her. I could almost see the wheels turning in Alexei's mind as he thought about everything, but I didn't tell him my suspicions. I didn't know if he would believe me, especially since his dad was one of the people who'd seen Vivian-one of the people who might be a Reaper.
I slid the card into my jeans pocket. I didn't know that it was enough to prove Vivian's guilt, but it was a start.
Energized by my discovery, I continued my search. I went over the case again, but I didn't get any new vibes off it so I moved on to the bookcase, running my hands up and down the shelves and then over every single one of the books lined up on them. I didn't get any big flashes off the shelves, just the sense of students grabbing the volumes off them. The same thing went for the books. They were just reference books, after all, and no one had any big emotional attachment to them, other than needing the info inside in order to finish their homework.
I was just about to stop looking, when my fingers brushed against a book directly above the artifact case, and an image of the Reaper's gloved hand touching it filled my mind.
I froze, wondering if I'd only imagined the image, but I skimmed my fingers over the book, and the same memory popped into my head. I focused on the image, going deeper into the memory, and replaying it over and over again. There was nothing particularly sinister about the Reaper reaching for the book, but I felt there was something more to the image, something I was missing, so I stood there and kept concentrating, focusing on every little thing my magic could show me.
It took me a few seconds to realize that the Reaper had reached for the bookshelf first-before he'd even glanced at the artifact case.
I ran my fingers over the other books. The images, the memories, were the same. The Reaper standing here and going from book to book to book, the warrior's gloved fingers skimming over each volume, trying to find the one he wanted.
I frowned. Why would the Reaper rifle through the books? Why not go for the box and jewelry first? Unless the gems weren't the only things the Reaper had taken-and stealing them wasn't nearly as important as finding the right book was.
I touched all the books again, one after another, concentrating on the images that much more and going even deeper into the memories. Once again, I saw the Reaper rifling through all the volumes until the warrior found the one he was looking for. The Reaper slid the book into a pocket in his robe, hiding it from sight. It was only then that he looked at the case and started smashing the glass to get at the artifacts inside . . .
I let go of the memories, opened my eyes, and scanned the books. Now that I knew one was missing, it was easy for me to see the slight gap on the shelf. I turned my head to the side and read the titles of the other ones, hoping they would give me some clue as to what book the Reaper had taken and why.
Merging Bodies, Merging Minds. Soul Swap. Notable Transformations.
Notable Transformations . . . My gaze snagged on that title, and I found myself staring at the silver foil letters as if they meant something more. Transformations . . . That word kept echoing through my mind. I'd heard someone say something about a transformation not too long ago-
A memory erupted out of the dark of my mind, one from the night Loki had escaped.
Quickly . . . Get him on the roc before they blow the horn again. He's still weak, and we can't let them capture him. Not now. Not before he's ready for the transformation.
A Reaper had said that when Vivian and the others had been loading Loki onto the Black roc so she could escape with the evil god. I'd wondered then what the Reaper had been talking about. I still didn't know, but I was determined to find out.
Because I had a feeling that my life-and my friends' lives-depended on it.
Chapter 21
I dropped my hand from the books, then headed out of the stacks and toward the center of the library.
"Now what are you doing?" Alexei asked, an exasperated note creeping into his voice.
"Research."
I went around the checkout counter, entered my password into one of the library computers, and started searching through the catalog. Thanks to Nickamedes and his obsessive need to organize and label every single thing in the library, I was able to pull up a file of all the books that were supposed to be on the shelf above the ruined artifact case.
"No, no, no," I said, clicking the mouse and scrolling through the list. "No, no, no, there!"
Morgan McDougall and the other kids at the study tables were staring at me, since, you know, I was muttering to myself, but I didn't care because I finally saw a title that wasn't on the shelf with the others. Great Transformations Through the Ages and How They Were Achieved.
Okay, that was certainly a long and pretentious enough title, but it didn't really tell me anything-like what the book was actually about. I clicked a few more times, pulling up additional info about the book, but all that had been entered into the catalog was the call number and a few other minor details and key words.
Behind me, Alexei sighed and leaned back against the glass office complex. From the looks he was giving me, I knew he'd thought that I'd gone off the deep end, but I ignored him and continued my search. I was on to something. I could feel it in my bones.