Spartan Promise

by Jennifer Estep

  Normally on such a cold morning, the students would be rushing to get inside where it was warm, but more than fifty kids were milling around the steps that led up to the English-history building. Instead of meeting in our usual classroom, everyone going on the field trip was supposed to stay out here for roll call.

  I stopped at the edge of the crowd. Several kids sidled away from me, not wanting to stand next to the daughter of notorious Reaper assassins, but I was used to that. A few folks gave me dirty looks, and one guy even opened his mouth, probably to make some snarky comment. Please. As if I hadn’t heard all the insults a thousand times before.

  The cruel taunts and whispers had really hurt, especially right after my parents were killed, but they hadn’t bothered me nearly as much since I joined the Midgard. Mainly because I knew that Ian, Zoe, and Mateo would always be my friends, no matter what the other kids said about me.

  I gave the guy a hard, flat stare, and he shut his mouth and focused on his phone. The other kids might whisper about me, but very few of them were actually brave enough to say anything to my face. Reaper parents or not, I was still a Spartan, and the other students knew how easily I could kick their asses if I wanted to.

  Once I was sure that no one else was going to try to hassle me, I scanned the crowd. “Ian?” I murmured. “Are you here yet?”

  “Oh, he’s here, all right,” Zoe said in a snide voice. “Talking with his new best friend like he has been for the last five minutes.”

  I had started to ask what she meant when a light, pealing laugh sounded, drowning out the other conversations. My jaw clenched, even as my heart sank. I knew that laugh. I had heard it plenty of times before.

  I looked to my left to find Ian standing with Kylie Midas.

  Kylie looked as gorgeous as always in a black-and-gray plaid jacket, a black sweater, gray leggings, and gray boots. A gray headband set with square black crystals held her blond hair back from her face, while a cute black purse dangled from her arm. She was standing with several of her Valkyrie friends, and she laughed again and waved her hand at something one of them said, causing gold sparks of magic to stream out of her fingertips.

  Ian must have heard Zoe’s snarky words through his own earbud because he glanced around and realized that I was staring at him and Kylie. He winced and stepped forward, like he was going to walk over to me, but Kylie threaded her arm through his, holding him in place. She flashed him a smile and started talking to her friends again.

  I waited a moment, hoping that Ian would break free, come over, and talk to me, but he stayed where he was. He winced again and shrugged, as if he were trying to apologize for cozying up to the girl he knew had made my life so miserable for so long.

  I gave him a cold look and turned my back to him. Apology not accepted.

  Zoe and Mateo were still watching us from their bench, and Zoe flashed me a thumbs-up. At least someone around here had my back—

  Kylie’s laughter trilled through the air again, even louder than before, and her friends joined in with her chuckles. My jaw clenched again.

  We hadn’t even left the quad yet, but I could already tell that it was going to be a long, long day.

  * * *

  I was thankful when one of the doors to the English-history building opened, and a woman walked down the steps.

  She was wearing a long gray trench coat over a gray pantsuit and black heels, and her bag was shaped like an enormous hardcover book with handles attached to it. Round silver glasses perched on the woman’s nose, highlighting her black eyes, while dark purple gloss covered her lips, bringing out her beautiful amber skin. I didn’t know exactly how old she was, but she was probably in her sixties, given the streaks of gray in her short black hair. Still, she had a spry, youthful vibe, as if she had more energy than all the kids, despite the fact that she was several decades older.

  “Good morning, students,” she called out in a singsong voice.

  “Good morning, Professor Dalaja.” Despite my annoyance with Ian and Kylie, I chimed in with everyone else.

  Professor Dalaja stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked out over the students. A smile curved her lips, and an answering grin spread across my own face. Myth-history was one of my favorite classes, and Professor Dalaja was a big reason why. She was so relentlessly cheerful, always smiling and laughing, that you couldn’t help but like her. Plus, she was a wonderful storyteller who made the old myths and legends about the gods, goddesses, warriors, and creatures really come alive.

  Dalaja was also one of the few professors who had always treated me fairly, even after everyone learned the truth about my parents.

  “C’mon, kids,” she said in a loud voice. “Let’s do the roll call and then go learn some really cool stuff!”

  Professor Dalaja plucked a clipboard out of her book bag. One by one, she called out the students’ names, including mine, making sure everyone was here. Once everyone was accounted for, we headed across the quad toward the gym.

  I glanced over at Zoe and Mateo, who were still sitting on their bench. “You sure you guys don’t want to ride on the bus with everyone else?”

  Through my earbud, I heard Zoe’s snort. “So I can get bus sick before we even get to the estate? No, thanks.”

  “Trust me,” Mateo added, “you do not want Zoe to puke on your boots.”

  She shot him a dirty look. I grinned and discreetly waved good-bye to them before leaving the quad.

  Professor Dalaja led the students to the parking lot behind the gym, where a tour bus was waiting to take us to the estate. But the bus wasn’t the only vehicle here. A van with the words Pork Pit Catering on the side was also sitting in the parking lot, and I spotted Takeda in the driver’s seat.

  “Don’t worry, guys,” Takeda’s voice sounded in my ear. “I’ve got the van ready to go, and we’ll leave campus and follow the bus to the estate.”

  “Roger that,” a voice whispered beside me.

  Ian had finally come over to me. I glanced around, but I didn’t see Kylie anywhere. She must have already gotten on the bus.

  “Where’s your new best friend?” I asked.

  Yeah, I was being totally snarky, but I’d thought that Ian and I were… Well, I didn’t know exactly what we were. But I had expected him to at least acknowledge my presence in front of the other kids. That was what teammates—friends—did.

  “Look, Rory, I’m sorry about before,” Ian said. “I was on the quad waiting for you when Kylie came over to me. I didn’t mean to ignore you.”

  Sincerity filled his face, and his voice was rough with regret. Seeing that he really was sorry eased some of my hurt—but not all of it.

  “Whatever,” I muttered. “I have bigger things to worry about today than Kylie Midas. Let’s just go on the trip, protect the artifact, and stop Covington and Drake. Okay?”

  Ian nodded. “Okay.”

  By this point, we were the last two kids left in the parking lot. Ian climbed up the bus steps, and I followed him. Since we had gotten on so late, only two seats were left in the very back.

  Kylie smiled at Ian and patted the empty seat next to her. “Here you go. I saved it for you.”

  Of course she had. Ian glanced over his shoulder at me. My jaw clenched for a third time, but I jerked my head, telling him to go ahead. I certainly didn’t want to sit next to her.

  The only other empty seat was directly across the aisle from them. Gretchen Gondul, another second year-student, sat next to the window, typing on her tablet. Gretchen was a Valkyrie and one of Kylie’s best friends. Normally, the two of them were inseparable, but Kylie must have told her friend to sit over here so she could save that seat for Ian.

  Gretchen was quite pretty with her short-cropped blond hair, blue eyes, and tan skin. She was wearing a fuzzy pale blue sweater with black leggings and boots, and tiny clear crystals glittered on her French-tipped fingernails. The crystals matched the ones on the top corners of her square black glasses.

  I had never ta
lked to Gretchen, so I didn’t know much about her. Mateo had several classes with her, and he’d mentioned her a few times, talking about how smart and good she was with computers. Unlike Kylie and the other Valkyries, Gretchen hadn’t gone out of her way to be mean to me, but she had never tried to be nice to me either. I had always gotten the feeling that she just didn’t care about school cliques and politics, especially since she was always on her phone, tablet, or laptop every time I saw her on the quad or in the dining hall.

  Pale gray sparks of magic streamed out of Gretchen’s fingertips as she typed on her tablet. She showed no signs of stopping, so I cleared my throat to get her attention. She glanced up, and I gestured at the empty seat, silently asking if I could sit down. Gretchen shrugged and went right back to her typing.

  I plopped down in the seat and set my bag on the floor. Across the aisle, Kylie waved her hand, making gold sparks of magic flicker in the air.

  “Are you excited about the trip?” she asked, clearly talking to Ian and Ian alone.

  He glanced at me before looking at her. “Yeah. Sure. The estate is supposed to be cool, right?”

  His voice had the bland, neutral tone you would use if you were talking to a stranger or, well, someone you just happened to sit next to on the bus. But you would have thought he had declared his undying love the way Kylie grinned back at him.

  “Oh, it’s fantastic. The mansion is so elegant, and I love all the antiques and gardens. Stick with me, and I’ll give you the grand tour.” She winked at him.

  Gretchen snorted and rolled her eyes at Kylie’s obvious flirting. Yeah, me too.

  “Actually, Rory has already offered to give me a tour,” Ian said in a firm voice. “We’re working on a special project for extra credit, so we need to stick together.”

  He looked over and smiled at me. It was the truth. We were working on a special project—capturing Covington and Drake—and we really did need to stick together. But he was also obviously trying to make up for ignoring me earlier by shooting down Kylie now, and I found myself smiling back at him.

  Kylie’s smile vanished, and all those sparks of magic in the air snuffed out. “Oh.”

  Ian pulled out his phone and started texting. He was probably letting Mateo know that we were on the bus and everything was fine, since we couldn’t talk to the others through our earbuds with the two Valkyries sitting next to us.

  Kylie opened her mouth like she was going to say something else to Ian, but she pressed her lips together and stared out the window instead.

  I shouldn’t feel sorry for Kylie Midas. Not after all the cruel things she had said about me and my parents. But seeing how hurt she was made a surprising amount of sympathy surge through me. Maybe because I knew how it felt to have a massive crush on Ian Hunter.

  “Rory one, Kylie zero,” Gretchen murmured in a low voice that only I could hear. Her snarky words surprised me, especially since Kylie was her best friend.

  “That’s a mean thing to say,” I murmured back.

  Gretchen shrugged. “All’s fair in love and war, right? Especially at Mythos Academy.”

  She focused on her tablet again, and I peered at her screen. Gretchen was typing some computer code, although it looked like gibberish to me. She finished with that, then started swiping her finger across the screen. Several pictures of the mansion and the artifacts at the Idun Estate flashed by. She was probably getting a head start on the notes Professor Dalaja wanted us to take today.

  I turned away from Gretchen and glanced across the aisle again. Ian was still texting, while Kylie was steadfastly staring out the window, as silent and stone-faced as before. This time, instead of sympathy, a bit of guilt flared up in my chest.

  Yes, Kylie had been absolutely horrible to me, and I had often dreamed about coming up with the perfect retort to put her in her place. But she obviously liked Ian, and I didn’t want to rub it in her face that he was going to hang out with me today. It was petty and mean, like Gretchen’s words had been. More important, it wasn’t the kind of person I wanted to be.

  I thought about leaning across the aisle and asking Kylie if she wanted to walk around the mansion with Ian and me, but she would probably give me a disgusted look and turn right back to the window. Besides, I couldn’t do that. Not really. Not when Ian and I were hoping to capture the Reapers. I might not like Kylie, but I didn’t want to put her in danger either.

  So I sighed and leaned my head back against my seat. I had been totally right before.

  It was going to be a long, long day.

  Chapter Eight

  Thirty minutes later, the bus slowed, then turned off the road and went through a large, open iron gate before chugging up a driveway and stopping in a parking lot.

  We had arrived at the Idun Estate.

  I grabbed my bag and got off the bus with everyone else. We milled around the parking lot, and several kids raised their phones, taking photos and videos of everything.

  The Idun Estate’s main claim to fame was the massive mansion that stood in the center of the grounds. The enormous structure was made of dark gray stone, and each one of the three wings stood five stories tall and boasted several slender turrets. Large picture windows were set into each floor, gleaming like diamonds against the stone. Several balconies also dotted the front of the mansion to take advantage of the sweeping views of the surrounding grounds.

  Acres of perfectly landscaped grass spread out in all directions before giving way to the tall, spiky silhouettes of pines and other evergreen trees in the distance. A few small flower beds added splashes of color to the grass, like paint on a green canvas, but most of the gardens were located behind the mansion.

  Everything looked the same as I remembered from our field trip last year, right up to the flags that topped the turrets. Each white flag had a large, gold I with curlicued ends that blossomed into a red heart-shaped flower. The image was the estate’s logo and could be found on everything inside the mansion, from the rugs to the glass doors to the crown molding that decorated the ceilings.

  I dropped my gaze from the flags and glanced around, but I didn’t see Takeda, Zoe, or Mateo. I also didn’t see any Protectorate guards wearing gray robes and carrying swords, but that was no surprise. The plan was to make everything seem normal, especially the security, or lack thereof, so that the Reapers would try to steal the artifact. Then we would spring our trap and capture them.

  Ian nudged me with his elbow. He tilted his head, and I spotted Takeda’s van parked between some other cars on the far side of the lot.

  “Mateo,” Ian said in a low voice. “Where are you guys?”

  My earbud had been silent during the ride to the estate, but now a faint bit of typing echoed through the device. Now that we were off the bus, Ian and I could talk to the others through our comms again, and vice versa, as long as we were careful not to attract too much attention to ourselves.

  “I’m in the mansion’s security office in the east wing, along with Takeda and Zoe,” Mateo’s voice sounded in my ear. “I’ve got the security feeds pulled up, and we’re watching everything on the monitors. So smile. You guys are on camera, along with everyone else.”

  A faint whir sounded, and a security camera attached to one of the light poles in the parking lot swiveled in our direction. I stuck my tongue out at it. Mateo’s laughter rang in my ear.

  “Rory, Ian, go on the tour like everything is normal.” This time, Takeda was the one who spoke. “We’ll let you know the second we spot Covington, Drake, or any other Reapers on the cameras. Then the Protectorate guards will move in from their positions in the woods, protect the students, and capture the Reapers.”

  “Roger that,” I whispered.

  The front doors of the mansion opened, and a man stepped outside and headed over to Professor Dalaja. The man was wearing a white suit jacket with that flowering I embroidered in red thread on the pocket, marking him as part of the estate staff. He smiled and shook Dalaja’s hand, welcoming her. The two of them ta
lked for a moment before the man nodded and headed back inside the mansion.

  Professor Dalaja waved her hand. “This way, students!” she called out. “The staff is ready for our tour, so let’s start learning!”

  She headed for the front doors, and all the students shuffled along behind her.

  Ian dropped his hand to the black duffel bag hanging on his shoulder, and his fingers curled around the ax nestled inside the fabric. “Are you ready? Because I certainly am.”

  His mouth was set into a hard line, and determination glinted in his eyes—the same determination that beat in my own heart. We both knew that it was time to get down to business and that we needed to have each other’s back in case the Reapers showed up.

  Babs’s scabbard was hooked to my belt, and I rubbed my thumb over her hilt. “I’m ready to capture Covington. He’s not going to get his hands on another artifact. Not if I can help it.”

  Ian nodded at me, and I returned the gesture. Then, together, with our hands still on our weapons, the two of us followed Professor Dalaja and the rest of the students into the mansion.

  * * *

  The inside of the Idun mansion looked the same as I remembered. Wide, spacious rooms filled with mahogany tables and chairs, along with thick, cushioned red-velvet settees. Gray marble floors and walls streaked with white, almost like clouds were running through the stone. Crystal chandeliers dangling from the ceilings.

  Everything was antique, elegant, and polished to a high gloss, and it was the sort of place where kids were encouraged not to touch or sit on anything. Hence the red-velvet ropes that ran everywhere and cordoned off most of the furniture, lamps, dishes, and other knickknacks.

  Staff members wearing white jackets stood in the corners of the rooms. They smiled and nodded as we strolled past them, as if they were happy to see us, although I had a sneaking suspicion that they were really here to make sure nobody broke anything.

  I eyed every single person inside the mansion. I wouldn’t put it past Covington and Drake to try to sneak a few of their Reapers onto the estate staff, but no one seemed suspicious. Then again, Reapers were very good at hiding in plain sight. My parents had taught me that.