Crimson Frost Part 3

Linus headed over to the table, followed by the others. Only Raven remained at her desk by the door, still reading. Every once in a while, she would glance in our direction, apparently wondering if the drama here would be as good as what was in her magazine.

Linus sat in the chair across from me. Sergei, Inari, and Alexei arranged themselves behind him, while Metis, Nickamedes, and Ajax trooped over and stood off to my right on my side of the table. Linus plucked a pair of reading gla.s.ses from a pocket on his shirt. He put them on, then reached into the folds of his gray robe. This time, he drew out a piece of white parchment, which he unrolled and spread out on the table between us.

"Gwendolyn Ca.s.sandra Frost," he said, reading from the parchment. "You are hereby charged with crimes against the Pantheon, including, but not limited to, conspiring with other Reapers of Chaos to kill your fellow students at the Crius Coliseum, stealing artifacts from the coliseum, absconding from the academy with the Helheim Dagger, and most serious of all, using the dagger to release Loki from Helheim. How do you plead to these charges?"

For a moment, I simply couldn't speak. It was like I'd been sucker punched in the stomach by a Valkyrie, and all the air had been driven out of my lungs. My mouth opened and closed, and opened and closed again, but no words came out. I couldn't utter so much as a freaking syllable. I hadn't done any of those terrible things-not a single one of them.

Sure, I'd been at the coliseum, but only because I'd been trying to complete an a.s.signment for Metis's myth-history cla.s.s. Everything else that had followed had been the doing of Vivian Holler, another second-year Mythos student. The Gypsy who was Loki's Champion. The girl who'd murdered my mom.

I didn't know where Vivian was right now, since she'd escaped with Loki the night she'd freed him, but I could almost hear her laughing. Somehow, someway, she had managed to convince the Protectorate that I was to blame for everything she'd done, all the lies she'd told, all the people she'd hurt, all the kids she'd killed. I knew Vivian was a good actress, but this was above and beyond even for her. Bravo, Viv. Another masterful performance.

I started to tell Linus all about Vivian, but Metis beat me to the punch.

"These charges are utter nonsense," she said. "Gwen is not a Reaper. The three of us know it, along with Raven, and you would too, if you'd spent any time with her. If you'd even bothered to ask us, before you decided to stage that ridiculous display in the amphitheater."

Nickamedes and Ajax nodded, backing up Metis. At her desk, Raven waved her hand, seeming to agree as well, although she kept right on reading her magazine.

"And the Protectorate will decide for itself what the girl is and isn't, and what she has and hasn't done," Linus said in his cold, calm voice, the one that infuriated me more and more with every word he spoke. "Obviously, the three of you cannot be objective where she's concerned. And neither can my son."

n.o.body responded, although I could almost see the tension and anger hanging like a storm cloud over the table, making everything dark and ugly.

"I didn't do anything wrong," I said, finally finding my voice.

Nickamedes stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't say anything else to him, Gwendolyn. Not one more word. What Linus failed to mention is that anything you say now can be brought up at the trial. And believe me when I tell you that he will use your own words against you. It's something he excels at."

Linus glowered at Nickamedes, but I decided to take the librarian's advice and keep my mouth shut. I didn't want to get into any more trouble than I already was.

Linus rolled the parchment back up, took off his gla.s.ses, and looked at me again. "Here's what will happen next. Anytime such serious charges are leveled against someone, the Protectorate is called in, and an investigation is conducted. We will be talking to everyone you know and everyone who might know anything about the charges against you. Your friends, your family, your cla.s.smates, your professors, everyone."

Everyone? He was going to talk to everyone who knew me? Well, it would be a pretty short list. Sure, I had a few friends, but most of the kids at Mythos knew me as Gwen Frost, that weird Gypsy girl who touched stuff, saw things, and could find lost items for the right price. I wouldn't exactly win any popularity contests, especially not now, after the a.s.sembly. Still, maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"Evidence will be collected, and you will questioned about the findings, along with your actions. Then, a group of Protectorate members will make a final decision about your guilt or innocence," he continued. "You should know that the charges against you are some of the most serious I've ever seen, especially for a Mythos student. Despite your age, if you are found guilty, the punishment will be dealt out accordingly. At the very least, you will be expelled from the academy."

Okay, so maybe it was going to be that bad after all.

Still, I couldn't keep myself from asking the inevitable question. "And what about the very worst? What's the worst punishment if I'm found guilty?"

Linus looked at me, his eyes cold in his face. "Death."

Chapter 4.

Death?

I could be put to death by the Protectorate, by the Pantheon, for something I didn't even do?

"If you are found guilty of all charges, you will be placed in solitary confinement in a Protectorate prison," Linus said. "And you will stay there until you are executed."

For a moment, the world went completely black, as though I was shrouded in darkness, as though I was already cold, dead, and buried in my grave. I blinked, and light blazed around me once more. Everything snapped back into focus, somehow seeming sharper than before. The hard, unyielding stone of the chair pressing against my back. The sinister gleam of the metal chains and handcuffs on top of the table. The faint musty odor that always filled the prison. All that and more a.s.saulted my senses, slamming into my brain one after another, although they were all quickly drowned out by the rapid thump-thump-thump of my heart.

I wanted nothing more than to bolt from my chair, race over to the prison door, yank it open, and run and run and run until my legs buckled and my lungs exploded from the strain. But I couldn't do that, not without making everything that much worse. So I forced myself to sit still and just breathe-in and out, in and out-just like my mom had taught me, just like she'd always told me to do whenever I was scared, upset, or worried. Right now, I was closer to panic-okay, sheer terror-than anything else, but I made myself keep breathing.

The panic slowly pa.s.sed, although worry and fear still gnawed at my heart like rats chewing on a block of cheese. I finally looked at the others. Metis had a sick, stricken expression on her face, while anger made Nickamedes's cheeks burn. Ajax simply looked furious with his stiff shoulders and clenched fists, his onyx skin gleaming underneath the lights. Even Sergei, Inari, and Alexei were giving me sympathetic glances at this point. Only Linus remained calm and emotionless, his blank face giving nothing away of his true feelings.

"I didn't do anything wrong," I said again in a much fainter tone. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"That remains to be decided," Linus said. "Rest a.s.sured that we will conduct a thorough investigation and that you will receive a fair and balanced trial."

"Yeah," I said, sarcasm creeping back into my voice. "Because hauling me up there on stage at the amphitheater and announcing my supposed crimes to the whole freaking academy was such a fair and balanced thing to do."

Nickamedes's hand tightened on my shoulder, reminding me that I should keep my mouth shut, but the fear, shock, and panic were quickly simmering away, leaving nothing behind but anger. I embraced the anger, gathered up every single sc.r.a.p of it and let the emotion sizzle around my heart until it had burned away everything else. As long as I was angry, I couldn't think about how serious the situation was or how close I was to losing everything that had become important to me these past few months at Mythos-including my life.

Linus's eyes narrowed at my words, but his face remained smooth. "Although I am personally against it, the academy bylaws state that you may remain at Mythos and continue with your cla.s.ses and other school activities until the investigation and trial are complete and a decision is reached regarding your guilt or innocence."

Some of the tightness in my chest eased. At least I would still be at the academy with Logan, Daphne, and my other friends, not to mention Metis, Ajax, and Nickamedes. Together, we would find a way to get me out of this. I knew we would. We'd survived everything the Reapers had thrown at us so far. We'd survive this too.

"But your movements are restricted to campus, and you will be supervised and watched at all times," Linus continued. "In order to minimize the invasion and distraction to the other students, Alexei will be responsible for you during the day. He will accompany you everywhere you go on the academy grounds-your cla.s.ses, the dining hall, the library, everywhere."

So not only was I to be investigated and put on trial, but I was going to have my own personal shadow too. Actually, I imagined he'd be more like a spy, reporting my every move back to the Protectorate and getting me into even more trouble if I so much as chewed gum in cla.s.s or cut across the gra.s.s on the quad instead of walking on the stone paths. Terrific. Just terrific.

"You will not interfere with Alexei in any way, and any attempts by you to slip away from him will result in your being kept here in the academy prison for the duration of the investigation and trial," Linus said. "Do you understand, Miss Frost?"

"Oh yeah. I understand perfectly," I muttered.

Alexei looked at me. He kept his face blank, but once again, I saw the curiosity in his eyes. I wondered why he'd been chosen for guard duty. Most likely it was because he was Sergei's son. I wondered if being in the Protectorate was a family thing, like being a cop, firefighter, or doctor was in some regular mortal families. I'd have to ask Logan. I'd have to ask the Spartan about a lot of things-and why his dad seemed to hate me when I'd never even met him before today.

"Inari and Sergei will take turns watching your dorm at night," Linus continued. "Just in case there is some truth to Metis's ridiculous idea that the Reapers are targeting you."

I glanced at the professor. We both knew why the Reapers were after me. Because I was Nike's Champion-and I was supposed to find some way to kill Loki. It looked like Metis hadn't told Linus that, though. I wondered what else she hadn't told him.

"We have already launched our investigation, and we will start the trial on Friday afternoon, two days from now," Linus said. "Metis will escort you here after your myth-history cla.s.s. In the meantime, I suggest you reflect on your actions these past few months and prepare to account for everything you've done since coming to Mythos. That is all-for now."

Linus got to his feet, turned, and left the prison, his gray robe streaming out behind him. Sergei and Inari nodded at me and the others before they followed him. Alexei stayed behind, though. At first, I wondered why, but then I realized what was going on-guard duty was starting already. Marvelous.

I sat in the stone chair, wondering if my legs would actually work if I tried to get to my feet. A little more than an hour ago, I'd been having coffee with Logan, and my biggest worry had been how our first date was going. Now, my whole world had been turned upside down-again.

"Gwen?" Metis asked. "Are you okay?"

"Sure," I said. "Just fine and dandy for a girl who's about to be put on trial for her life."

"Don't worry, Gwen," Ajax said in his deep, rumbling voice. "We're going to get this sorted out. Nothing's going to happen to you."

I started to tell him it was too late for that, that everyone at Mythos hated me now, but I kept quiet. Instead, I focused on the one person who hadn't been in the prison with the others, the one person I needed to see.

"What about my grandma?" I asked. "Where is she? Does she know about this?"

Metis nodded. "She does. I called her as soon as the a.s.sembly ended. She should be waiting for you in your dorm room by now."

I nodded. Grandma Frost would know what to do. She always knew what to do.

"Come on," Nickamedes said. "Let's get you out of here and back to your room."

I got to my feet, and we walked toward the prison door. Raven gave me another brief glance as we left, but she went right back to her magazine. I doubted she cared one way or the other what happened to me.

Ajax opened the door, and we stepped out into the hallway. Daphne and Carson were standing outside, but there was no sign of Logan, his dad, or the other members of the Protectorate. Metis, Nickamedes, and Ajax started talking in low voices, so I walked over to my friends.

"Gwen!" Daphne said. "Are you okay?"

The Valkyrie hugged me, her great strength making my back crack.

"I'm okay," I said. "For now. Where's Logan?"

Daphne shook her head, her blond ponytail swishing from side to side. "He went after his dad to try and talk to him about . . . things."

"Yeah. Things."

"Is it true?" Carson asked, his brown eyes big and wide behind his black gla.s.ses. "That they're going to put you on trial for what happened with Vivian and Loki?"

"It's true."

I told my friends everything Linus had said-except that the punishment was death if I was found guilty. I didn't want to worry them any more than they already were. Besides, Metis and the others had said that they would straighten all this out. I had to believe them. I just had to. Otherwise, I'd go crazy on the spot, and Vivian, Loki, and the rest of the Reapers would have already won.

When I finished, Carson jerked his head. "Who's that?"

I turned and realized that Alexei was standing behind me. I hadn't even heard him move. "Oh, this is Alexei. My . . . guard."

"Alexei Sokolov," Daphne said in a cool voice. "I remember you. You gave me a run for my money last year at the spring archery championships at the New York academy."

For the first time, a hint of a smile lifted up his lips. "And you beat me in the final round."

"I did," Daphne said. "I know you have your orders from the Protectorate, but if you lay so much as one hand on Gwen or do anything to hurt her, I will break your fingers so badly that you will never be able to pick up a weapon again. Or anything else."

"Daphne!" I hissed, shocked at the threat of violence in her deceptively sweet voice.

"What?" she said. "I'm just telling him what's what."

Sparks of magic shot out of her fingertips, as if to punctuate her brutal promise. All Valkyries gave off flickers and flares of magic that were tied to their personalities and auras. I always thought it was ironic that Daphne's aura apparently had a princess pink color, given how volatile and quick to anger she could be.

"Don't worry, Gwen," Alexei replied. "I know all about you and your friends, including the Valkyrie's temper."

"And how is that? Because I've never seen or even heard of you before today."

"I have my sources."

Something flashed in his eyes, something that looked a lot like longing, but a second later, his face was blank and expressionless once more. Weird. I had no idea how Alexei could know anything about me, but it looked like I was stuck with him, whether I liked it or not.

"Do you think Vivian is behind this?" Carson asked, running a hand through his brown hair.

I shrugged. "I don't know. The last time I saw Vivian, she was flying off on that Black roc with Loki strapped in behind her. But I wouldn't put it past her to try to make trouble for me, especially since Preston didn't succeed in killing me at the Garm gate."

I shivered once again, thinking about all the awful things that had happened that night. Vivian slicing open my palm with the Helheim Dagger and using my blood to free Loki. The evil G.o.d telling Preston to kill me, and the Reaper stabbing me in the chest with the dagger. Then me using my psychometry to touch Preston, to pull all the magic, all the life, out of his body and into mine so I could heal myself. Killing the older boy with my Gypsy gift, the magic Nike had given to me and my family.

"Gwen," Metis said, coming over to stand beside me, her phone in her hand. "Your grandmother just texted me. She's waiting for you."

I snapped out of my thoughts. "Thanks, professor. I'll go see her right now."

Metis nodded, then pulled me away from the others. "I don't want you to worry about any of this. Nickamedes, Ajax, and I will take care of everything. We'll make sure that Linus and the rest of the Protectorate follow the rules. We'll protect you. Okay?"

Emotion clogged my throat, making it hard to speak, so I just nodded instead. Metis and my mom had been best friends back when they'd been students at Mythos, so I knew that the professor meant every word she said. I just wondered what it would cost her to get me out of this mess-if she even could.

Chapter 5.

I promised to call Daphne later, and she told me that she and Carson would be at weapons training in the gym in the morning just like usual. I said good-bye to my friends and followed Metis up the stairs and out of the math-science building. It was even colder now than it had been during the a.s.sembly, and the main quad was deserted. By now, the other students would have gathered in the dining hall, library, or their dorms to talk about what had happened.

The professor walked with me across campus, with Alexei trailing along behind. He didn't speak to us. In fact, he didn't make a sound. His clothes didn't rustle, his boots didn't thump on the cobblestones, his breath didn't even steam like mine did in the cold. Creepy.

We finally reached Styx Hall and stopped outside the dorm.

"Just try to just relax and put this out of your mind as best you can, okay, Gwen?" Metis said. "And know that Nickamedes, Ajax, and I are working as hard as we can to get the charges dropped."

I nodded. "I'll try. Thank you. And I want to say that I'm sorry for all this. I never thought-I never thought something like this would happen." My throat tightened once more, and that was all I could say.

"I know, and it's not your fault, none of it, no matter what the Protectorate thinks. Remember that."

Metis squeezed my arm, turned, and headed back up to the main quad. Alexei left too, following her, but I wasn't alone. Inari was outside the dorm, leaning against a tree right below my dorm room windows. He still wore his gray robe, and that, along with his black hair and dark eyes, made him seem like just another shadow that had been splashed across the landscape. Looked like the Protectorate wasn't joking when it came to keeping an eye on me twenty-four-seven.

I used my student ID card to get into the dorm and walked up the steps to the third floor where my room was, stuck in a separate turret from the rest of the building. To my surprise, an older woman was on her knees outside the door to my room, a rag in her hand and a bucket of soapy water on the floor next to her.

"Grandma?" I asked. "What are you doing?"

Geraldine Frost looked up at me with violet eyes that were the same color as mine. She must have come straight here from her afternoon readings because she was still wearing what she called her Gypsy gear-a white silk blouse, black pants, and soft black shoes with toes that curled up. Colorful scarves were wrapped around her body, and the silver coins on the fringed ends jingle-jingle-jingled together with every move she made. She usually wore a scarf as a sort of headband, but today her iron-gray hair was loose around her wrinkled face.

Grandma was a Gypsy just like I was, which meant that she had a gift just like I did. In Grandma's case, she could see the future. She made extra money telling people's fortunes out of her house in nearby Asheville, just like I used my psychometry to find things that had been lost, forgotten, or stolen.

Not anymore, I realized with a jolt. Given what had happened at the amphitheater, no one on campus would ever hire me to find missing items again. That shouldn't have mattered to me, but it did. Sure, tracking down lost cell phones and stolen bracelets wasn't the most exciting or glamorous job, but it was mine-it was part of my magic, it was part of me being, well, me. Now, it was just another thing the Protectorate had taken away by accusing me in front of the entire academy. I wondered what else I would have to sacrifice before this was all over with-and if it would really end up costing me my life.

I pushed those troubling thoughts away and stepped closer to her. "Grandma? What's going on? Why are you scrubbing at my door with that rag . . ." My voice trailed off as I realized why.