here before,” Oliver said. “You have too.”
I frowned. “When? I’ve never been here before. Trust me. I would know. Magic memory, remember?” I tapped my finger against the side of my head.
Oliver and Daphne looked at each other again. This time, she answered me.
“You were here before when Vivian kidnapped you,” she said. “When she used your blood at the Garm gate to free Loki from Helheim.”
“This . . . this is where Vivian’s house is?” I asked. “The one with that room full of creepy Black roc figurines?”
I hadn’t seen the outside of the house, since I’d been unconscious at the time, but I remembered the inside all too well. I’d woken up in an opulent living room, one that was full of paintings, statues, and carvings of the birds, not to mention Vivian’s own personal roc, which had been peeking in through the balcony doors at me, as if the creature wanted to rip me to shreds with its sharp beak. A shudder rippled through my body at the thought of going back to that awful room. But if that’s where Grandma Frost was, then that’s where I had to go.
“Are you sure this is the right address?” I asked, even though I knew it was.
“Yeah,” Daphne said, handing my phone back to me. “This is where the directions said to go. This is the right place.”
“What do you think will happen once you go inside?” Oliver asked in a worried voice. “Do you think they’ll take the candle away from you immediately? And how are we even supposed to get inside? They’re sure to have a ton of guards.”
I shook my head. “You won’t have to get inside.” He looked at me. “Why do you say that?”
“Because,” I said. “They’ll take me out to the Garm gate, just like they did before.”
“How do you know that?” Daphne asked. “I just do.”
It was true. I did know it, deep down in my bones. Somehow, I could feel it. Besides, it had a certain sort of sick symmetry to it. The gate was where Loki had gotten free, and that’s where he would want to be healed as well. Perhaps the gate still had some magical properties left, some way that it might add to the power already burning inside Sol’s candle. I wondered if it would be enough to counteract the laurel leaves I’d embedded in the wax, but it was too late to back out now.
“You guys stash the car somewhere and hike through the woods and over to the Garm gate,” I said. “That’s where they’ll take me sooner or later. But whatever happens, don’t approach the Reapers.”
“Why not?” Daphne asked. “How do you think you’re going to get away from them?”
I grinned. “Because you guys weren’t the only ones who came up with a plan.”
I told them whom I’d contacted and what I’d asked that person to do. Oliver and Daphne were silent for several seconds.
“Well, it’s not half bad,” Daphne said in a grudging tone.
“Not bad?” Oliver said. “It’s brilliant, in a completely twisted sort of way.”
“Well, I’m glad the two of you think so,” I sniped. We all glared at each other, none of us wanting to
give in. Finally, I let out a breath, leaned forward, and took their hands in mine. I reached for my magic, and I tried to show them how much it meant, their coming with me, helping me, standing by me through this. I tried to show them how much their friendship had meant to me over the past several months, how they had given me a sense of peace, happiness, and belonging I’d thought I would never find at Mythos Academy. Their wonder washed over me in return, along with their own feelings of love and friendship. After several moments, I slowly pulled my feelings, memories, and emotions back into myself and drew my hands away from theirs.
“No matter what happens, promise me you guys won’t approach the Reapers,” I said. “I may be willing to risk myself, but I don’t want you guys to get hurt too. More important than that, if things go wrong, someone needs to go back to the academy to tell Linus, Metis, and the others what happened. Logan too.”
Oliver and Daphne stared at me, and they both slowly nodded their heads. I gave them both a bright, brittle smile.
“All right then,” I said. “Let’s go get my grandma back.”
Chapter 17
I left my messenger bag in the backseat and slid Sol’s candle into my jeans pocket. Then, I got out of the SUV and started walking into the neighborhood. Oliver cranked the engine again, and he and Daphne drove away, leaving me alone. I pulled out my phone and sent out a quick text message, telling the other person I’d contacted my suspicions about the Garm gate. My phone beeped a few seconds later.
Garm gate. Woods. Got it. We’ll be there.
And that was all the message said. That was all it really needed to say. I just hoped I was right about Vivian and the Reapers—or else I’d be dead, along with Grandma Frost.
The smooth, wide street was deserted, and everything was oddly quiet. I didn’t see any TVs flickering through the windows, no cars pulling down the driveways, no one putting envelopes in a mailbox, nothing to indicate that anyone lived in this neighborhood at all. In fact, several of the homes had FOR SALE signs planted in their front yards. I wondered if that was why the Reapers had chosen this area for their hideout—because it seemed to be so empty. I shivered and walked on.
It took me about half an hour to find the right house, which, of course, was the one at the very back of the subdivision, set off from all the other houses, with a twelve-foot-high stone wall and an iron gate that was eerily similar to the one at the academy. I looked up, but no sphinxes perched on the wall on either side of the gate. That was probably for the best. No doubt the statues would have looked like they wanted to tear me to pieces, since this was a Reaper hideout.
A black security camera was mounted over the gate. It must have been motion-activated because it swiveled around and focused on me when I approached it. I waited, but the gates didn’t open, so I went over and punched a button on the metal intercom that was embedded in the stone wall. A bit of static crackled back to me in response; then the line started humming faintly, as though it were a phone and someone on the other end was waiting for me to speak.
“Open sesame,” I joked.
Silence. Apparently, the Reapers weren’t in a joking mood. Neither was I, really.
I sighed. “I have the candle.”
The gates started swinging open even before I finished speaking. I looked at the long, steep driveway that led up to the house. I had no choice but to walk up it. Not if I wanted to save Grandma Frost.