"Here it is!" I called out.
Daphne and Alexei moved over to stand beside me. They both looked down at the net.
"What do you think it does?" Daphne asked, her black eyes narrowed in thought.
I shrugged. "I have no idea. But Nike showed it to me, so it must be important."
"Now what?" Alexei asked.
I shrugged again. "The usual. I'll call Metis, and she and Nickamedes can come and get the net - "
I saw a flash of silver out of the corner of my eye, and I instinctively jumped back.
The Reaper's sword missed my head by an inch.
One second, Alexei, Daphne, and I were alone in the exhibit room. The next, six Reapers had appeared, all wearing black robes and twisted rubber Loki masks and all carrying curved swords.
"Reapers!" I screamed, even though my friends had already spotted them.
The Reaper next to me raised his sword again, and I pivoted and lashed out with my foot, kicking him in the stomach. The Reaper stumbled back, giving me the chance to grab my own weapon - the sword in the black leather scabbard that was belted around my waist.
I raised the blade up into an attack position, and a purplish eye on the hilt snapped open. Instead of being plain, half a man's face was inlaid into the hilt of my sword, complete with a nose, an ear, and a mouth that I could feel curving into a satisfied smile under my palm at the thought of the battle to come.
"Reapers!" Vic, the sword, said with dark relish. "Let's kill them all!"
Beside me, Daphne slung an onyx bow off her shoulder and nocked an arrow on the thin golden strings, while Alexei pulled two matching swords out of the gray leather scabbard strapped to his back.
I tightened my grip on Vic and charged into battle.
Clash-clash-clang!
I swung my sword at the Reaper over and over again, mercilessly hacking and slashing my way through his defenses until I was able to bury my weapon in his chest.
"Way to go, Gwen!" Vic crowed as I pulled him free of the Reaper's body. "On to the next one!"
I turned to face the next Reaper coming at me -
Thwack!
A golden arrow zoomed past me and buried itself in the Reaper's chest, and he too fell to the floor. My head snapped around.
"You're welcome!" Daphne shouted.
I raised Vic and saluted her with the sword. She grinned before bringing up her bow and using it as a sort of shield to fend off another Reaper. Daphne stepped forward and punched the Reaper in the face, her Valkyrie strength throwing him back against the wall. I knew she'd be okay so I charged over to where Alexei was fighting two Reapers. The Bogatyr's swords flashed through the air like streaks of silver fire as he moved back and forth, attacking first one Reaper, then the other.
"Get the net!" one of the Reapers screamed at the sixth and final man.
The last Reaper smashed his sword into the case, reached through the broken glass, and grabbed the gray net. He threw the seaweed over his shoulder and raced toward the open doorway.
"Go!" Alexei said, slicing his sword across first one Reaper's chest, then the other's, making them both scream with pain. "I can handle these two!"
I hurried after the last Reaper. He turned to see how close I was and slammed into another artifact case, knocking it over. The Reaper tripped and hit the floor hard, sliding to a stop just inside the doorway.
"Get him, Gwen!" Vic shouted.
I leaped over the smashed case and brought the sword up, ready to bring it down on the Reaper.
And that's when he threw the net at me.
I ducked to one side, but the net still clipped me. It was heavier than it looked, and I felt like someone had slammed a couple of lead weights into my shoulder. I grunted, spun around, and managed to fling the net off me, although the left side of my body ached from the strangely hard impact.
But that gave the Reaper enough time to scramble to his feet and lurch out of the exhibit room and into the hallway. I picked up my pace, running after him. He wasn't going to get away. Not if I could help it -
The Reaper stopped in the hallway, turned, and tossed something that looked like a black rubber ball in my direction. I stopped short just as a flash of fire exploded in front of the doorway, separating me from the Reaper. Through the flames, I watched as the evil warrior ran down the hallway and out of sight. I looked around, but of course there wasn't another exit from this room, which meant I couldn't chase after him.
I cursed, ripped off my gray hoodie, and used it to beat down the flames. Whatever the Reaper had thrown at me wasn't all that powerful, because I was quickly able to smother the fire. I coughed, waved the wisps of smoke away from my face, and stepped out of the room.
Empty - the hallway was empty, the Reaper long gone.
I cursed again, but there was nothing I could do to catch him, so I went back into the exhibit area to check on my friends. Daphne and Alexei were already moving from one body to the next, tearing off the rubber Loki masks to reveal the Reapers' real faces underneath. I went over to Daphne and touched her shoulder.
"You okay?" I asked.
She nodded.
"Alexei?"
"I'm fine," he called out.
I let out a quiet sigh of relief. Alexei might technically be my guard, but he was a friend too, and I was glad that he and Daphne were all right.
Daphne noticed the worry on my face, and she slung her arm around my shoulder. "Relax, Gwen. We made it through the fight, and they didn't. Why, my hair didn't even get messed up."
She used her free hand to smooth back the golden locks in her long ponytail. Daphne grinned, and I found myself smiling a little.
"Well, as long as your hair's okay, I guess we're good."
She nodded. "Don't you know it."
Across the room, Alexei crouched over one of the Reapers' bodies and used his cell phone to take a photo of the dead man's face. He did the same with all the Reapers, then put the phone to his ear. He was probably calling Professor Metis and the rest of the academy's security council to let them know about the attack. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened in the last few weeks, and it certainly wouldn't be the last, as long as I kept searching for artifacts.
"You did well, Gwen," Vic said. "I'm proud of you."
I raised the sword up so I could look him in his one eye. "Thanks, Vic."
He stared back at me. "Although you really should have killed more Reapers. And you especially shouldn't have let that last one get away . . ."
And he was off on one of his rants, talking about exactly what we should do to track down the Reaper and how much Vic was looking forward to cutting him to ribbons. The sword was totally bloodthirsty that way. I rolled my eyes at his violent chatter, but I let the sword talk. It was just easier.