“The shipment will arrive at noon tomorrow,” Linus continued. “And the members of the Protectorate will be there to watch over the artifacts from the airport all the way here to campus.”
“So that’s why you brought so many men with you,” Logan said. “To protect the artifacts.”
Linus nodded.
“What aren’t you telling us?” Metis asked.
“Yes,” Nickamedes chimed in, his voice far more sarcastic than hers. “Protecting artifacts is all well and good, but you don’t need cars full of guards for that. So what’s really going on?”
Linus grimaced, as if he was upset that they’d already realized he wasn’t telling them everything, but he nodded. “It seems that the Reapers are particularly interested in one or more of the artifacts. They’ve already tried to steal the shipment once, when we took it to the New York academy. Three of my men were killed in that attempt.”
“And you think the Reapers will try again,” Ajax rumbled.
“I do,” Linus said.
“And you brought those artifacts here?” Daphne asked. “Why? You know this is, like, Reaper central, right?”
Linus ignored her and stared at me, and I suddenly realized why he was really shipping the artifacts here— and my part in things.
“You want me to flash on them,” I said in a flat voice. “You want me to use my psychometry to see what artifact the Reapers are after and why they want it so badly.”
“Yes,” Linus said. “That’s exactly what I want you to do, Miss Frost.”
Nobody spoke, but the others stared at me, then Linus. Once again, I started fiddling with the silver laurels on my bracelet. Sometimes, I thought my entire life revolved around artifacts and all the stupid riddles that came along with them.
Logan shook his head. “No, Dad, no. You can’t expect Gwen to use her magic like that. Especially without even asking her in the first place. Who knows what kinds of memories or feelings might be attached to these artifacts? It can’t be anything good. Not if the Reapers are after one or more of them.”
Frustration filled Linus’s face. “I don’t like it any more than you do, son. But you didn’t see the Reapers. They put everything they had into trying to get these artifacts, and I want to know why. I want to know what’s so important that they would risk so many of their own warriors. And Miss Frost is the only one who can help me with that.”
Logan opened his mouth to argue with his dad, but I
held up my hand, cutting him off.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’ll do it. I can’t see or feel anything worse than some of the stuff that we’ve been through already, right?”
Logan pinched his lips together. He looked at me, then glared at his father.
“It’s okay,” I repeated. “Really. I’ll be fine. I want to do it. Agrona and Vivian . . . they’ve always been one step ahead of us. It sounds like we might finally be able to get one step ahead of them. Right, Mr. Quinn?”
“That’s exactly right, Miss Frost,” Linus said. “I’m glad you understand.”
I did understand, but that didn’t mean I liked it. But being a Champion was about making sacrifices. Really, using my magic to flash on an artifact was a pretty small price to pay, considering some of the things I’d seen and done over the last several months. The loved ones I’d lost, the battles I’d been in, the kids my own age I’d had to kill just to survive. No, this wasn’t anything, in the grand scheme of things. In fact, I was surprised that it wasn’t going to be worse.
Or maybe I was fooling myself about that too.
“I would like Miss Frost to look at the artifacts as soon as possible,” Linus said. “I was hoping that she might accompany me and my men to the airport tomorrow.”
This time, he looked at Metis, as if asking her permission. The professor stared at me.
“It’s your decision, Gwen,” she said.
“It’s okay. I’ll go with them. Maybe I’ll be able to pick out the artifact on the spot without even touching any of them.” I doubted it, but my words seemed to ease some of the worry in her face.
“Then, I’m going too,” Logan said.
Linus opened his mouth as though he was going to argue, but after a moment, he sighed and nodded. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from my son.” A note of pride rippled through his voice, and he gave Logan a tentative smile.
Logan nodded back at his dad, and some of the tension between them eased.
“There is one more thing,” Linus said, picking up a couple of folders at the end of the table and handing one each to me, Metis, and Nickamedes. “I thought that you might like to review the artifacts before the shipment arrives tomorrow. I want to know what the Reapers are targeting as soon as possible.”
I opened the folder and flipped through the photos inside. Some weapons, some jewelry, a half-used candle. The artifacts were exactly as Logan had described them to me before. I studied each one of the photos carefully, but they were just glossy sheets of paper, and I didn’t get any vibes about the artifacts off them. Not the way I would when I saw the objects in person and then touched them.
“Anything, Miss Frost?” Linus asked.
I shook my head and closed the file. “Nothing that jumps out at me.”
“Well, I suppose it was too much to hope, but thank you for looking at the information.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Is that everything?” Nickamedes asked, his voice still as snide as before.
Linus hesitated. “I don’t have to tell you that we’ve reached a critical point in our war with the Reapers. Now that Loki is free, they’ve become much bolder. It won’t be long before they start attacking larger and larger groups. Maybe even one of the academies. Finding this artifact could be our chance to finally turn the tide against them. And you all know how important that is.”
He was speaking to everyone, but his eyes were locked with mine, and I felt that same mix of worry and determination roll off him. For the first time, I realized what Linus already knew, what he was trying to tell everyone, even if he hadn’t come right out and said the words yet.
Unless we figured out which artifact the Reapers were after and why, we were in danger of losing everything
Chapter 3
The meeting broke up, and we all went our separate ways.
Logan looked at me, then at his dad, who was talking with Sergei, Inari, Metis, Ajax, and Nickamedes.