Spartan Promise

by Jennifer Estep

  Nothing—nothing was behind the desk.

  No papers, no smashed artifacts, no body.

  I had expected Professor Dalaja to be lying dead on the floor, but she wasn’t here. The professor almost always ate lunch in her office, so I knew she had been in here when the Reapers attacked, and I knew it was her blood on the windows. Covington and Drake certainly hadn’t hurt themselves and left that blood behind. So if Dalaja wasn’t in here, then where was she?

  I looked out over the smashed artifacts on the floor, then at the overturned desk again. Given the destruction, it seemed like the Reapers hadn’t cared about anything other than getting to the back of the room as quickly as possible. But why? What had been in this part of the office that was so special? All the artifacts were on the shelves, not back here where Dalaja sat—

  This woman is like a walking, talking encyclopedia when it comes to artifacts. Is there anything she doesn’t know? Zoe’s voice murmured in my mind. She had said that about Dalaja during the field trip, and I had thought it myself when I asked the professor about the black jewelry box and Gretchen’s drawing.

  Covington and Drake weren’t after a sword or a statue or some other traditional artifact. No, they were after the person who knew more about artifacts than anyone else.

  Professor Dalaja.

  A dozen questions bubbled up in my mind, most notably why the Reapers would target her, but those weren’t important. Stopping Covington and Drake before they left campus with the professor was the only thing that mattered right now.

  I looked out the windows, but I didn’t see anyone outside, so I left the office, hurried through the empty classroom, and stepped back out into the hallway. I turned in the opposite direction from how I had entered the building and started walking along, glancing out every window, as well as scanning the floor, searching for the professor’s blood trail.

  My phone started ringing, and I yanked it out of my pocket even as I moved forward.

  “Mateo?”

  “Yeah. Where are you?” he asked.

  “In the English-history building. Covington and Drake aren’t after artifacts. They kidnapped Professor Dalaja. Can you find them on the cameras and tell me where they are?”

  “On it. I’m sitting down on one of the quad benches so I can call up the security-camera feeds on my laptop, but Ian and Zoe are heading toward the building.”

  Through the phone, I could hear Mateo typing. I kept moving down the hallway, looking out every single window and staring down at the floor. I rounded the corner and entered another hallway. Up ahead, I spotted a stain on one of the doors leading outside, and I sprinted over to get a better look at it. Blood was smeared across the metal handle. Professor Dalaja had definitely come this way.

  “Got them!” Mateo said. “They just disappeared behind Styx Hall. It looks like they’re headed for the main gate. I see a couple of black SUVs parked across the street there. That must be how they plan to get away.”

  “Got it. I’m headed that way now.”

  “You need to wait for Ian and Zoe!” he yelled.

  I couldn’t do that. My friends were on the opposite side of the building, and I was closer to Styx Hall than they were. “I can’t wait! The Reapers could kill Professor Dalaja at any second! Tell the others to follow me, and call me back if the Reapers change direction!”

  “Rory, wait—”

  Mateo yelled at me again, but I ended the call, stuffed my phone back into my pocket, pushed through the doors, and ran out into the afternoon sunshine.

  * * *

  I was at the back of the English-history building, so instead of leading out to the main quad, this door opened up into a small grassy space where some of the kids liked to sneak cigarettes between classes. But no one was smoking, so I ran across the grass and charged down the hill, heading toward the student dorms in the distance.

  As much as I hated to admit it, Covington and Drake had picked the perfect time to kidnap Dalaja. All the students, professors, and staff members were in the dining hall eating lunch, leaving the rest of campus empty and deserted. I didn’t pass a single person as I ran toward the dorms, although I could hear faint shouts behind me. I couldn’t make out the words, but I could have sworn that I heard Ian’s voice, along with Zoe’s.

  My phone rang just as Styx Hall came into view. I yanked it out of my pocket as I ran toward the dorm. “Mateo! Talk to me!”

  “Ian and Zoe are behind you, and Takeda and I are leaving the quad right now. He’s called in the Protectorate guards. They’re approaching the academy from the town, and they’re going to surround the Reapers’ cars and cut off their escape route.”

  “Rory!” Takeda yelled at me through the phone. “Wait for us! Don’t approach the Reapers! Let us surround them!”

  “I have to save Dalaja!” I yelled back.

  I didn’t know if he heard me or not, but I was rapidly approaching Styx Hall, so I stuffed my phone back into my pocket. I needed to concentrate on finding the Reapers.

  I kept running until I reached the front of the dorm. Then I slowed my steps and jogged over to the side of the building, trying to get my breath back. Mateo had said that the Reapers had come this way, so I peeked around the corner in case they were still here. But the grassy space behind the dorm was empty, and I didn’t see any movement in the trees in the distance.

  No one was back here.

  I started to pull my phone out and ask Mateo to double-check the footage to make sure that the Reapers had come this way, but then I remembered what Aunt Rachel had said at breakfast about Covington never doing anything without a reason. What was so special about Styx Hall? Why would he come back here instead of heading straight down to the main gate and the cars waiting on the other side?

  I paced back and forth through the grass, trying to think like the Reaper. Covington had to know that someone would spot him on the security cameras and alert Takeda, and he would be prepared for any tactics that Takeda and the Protectorate guards might use to try to capture him. So if I were Covington, where would I go to dodge the Protectorate and escape from campus?

  I stared at the pine trees in the distance. The trees—I would hide in the trees for as long as possible.

  No security cameras were mounted in the trees, and the thicket of pines ran from Styx Hall all the way down to the main gate. I didn’t know how Covington thought he was going to reach his SUVs and get away from the Protectorate guards, but I was willing to bet that he was hiding out in the woods for now.

  I crossed the grassy clearing and sprinted over to the closest tree. I stopped, peering into the dappled shadows, but I didn’t see or hear anything up ahead. So I stuck Babs point-first into the ground, pulled out my phone, and texted Mateo, telling him that I thought the Reapers had dragged Professor Dalaja into the trees. Then I stuffed my phone back into my pocket.

  “Why do you think the Reapers are in there?” Babs asked.

  “Because it’s the perfect place to hide. No one ever goes into these woods, not even kids who are looking for a quiet place to make out. The ground is too uneven and rocky. Besides, it’s just about the only place on campus that’s not covered by the security cameras. Trust me. The Reapers are in there.”

  “All right, then,” Babs whispered. “Let’s go in and cut them to pieces, aye?”

  “Aye,” I whispered back to her.

  I grabbed the sword, then got to my feet and headed into the trees.

  The sun was shining brightly overhead, but the pines’ green branches were spread out like wings, casting dark, twisted shadows in all directions. The sharp, sticky tang of sap filled the air, and I had to twitch my nose to hold back a sneeze. Everything was quiet, except for the whistle of the wind blowing over the tops of the trees, making them creak and sway from side to side. It might be the middle of the day, but something about the trees, shadows, and wind made the woods seem as ominous as the cemetery last night—

  Smack.

  Smack-smack.

  S
mack.

  I froze at the sounds. Unless I was mistaken, those were the solid smacks of fists hitting flesh. Someone was getting punched—hard.

  A low groan sounded, followed by a coughing fit, confirming my suspicions. I clutched Babs even tighter and moved forward, darting from one tree to the next, following the pain-filled noises.

  “Where is it?” Covington’s voice rang out.

  I crept up behind another tree and looked around the trunk. A small clearing lay in the middle of the woods. Covington stood in the center of the open space, towering over Professor Dalaja, who was slumped down on her knees.

  Dalaja was using her right hand to hold her left arm up against her chest. Her hands and arm were bloody, and so was the torn sleeve of her shirt. One of the Reapers must have cut her arm with a sword, leaving behind that blood in her office. I couldn’t tell how badly she was injured, but I let out a quiet sigh of relief that she was still alive.

  I scanned the clearing, but I didn’t see Drake anywhere. Maybe he had headed down to the main gate to make sure the coast was clear for the Reapers’ escape.

  Covington didn’t seem in a hurry to leave, so I stuck Babs into the ground again, pulled out my phone, and texted Mateo, telling him what was going on. Then I silenced my phone and slid it back into my pocket.

  I stared at Covington. For once, he was wearing a button-up shirt and jeans instead of his red Reaper cloak, and his hands were empty, although he had a sword belted to his waist, along with a couple of daggers. But I wasn’t worried. I had beaten him before in combat, and I was going to do it again right now and finally end this nightmare.

  I grabbed Babs again and moved through the woods. Given Covington’s Roman speed, I would only have one chance to take him down, and I needed to get as close to him as possible before I charged out of the trees.

  “I’ll ask you again,” he said. “Where is it? Thanks to Gretchen Gondul, I know that you have it.”

  He punched Professor Dalaja in the face, making her head snap back. Dalaja toppled over onto her side and let out another low groan. Covington circled around her before stopping and lashing out with a vicious kick, driving his foot into her injured arm. Dalaja let out a sharp yelp of pain and cradled her arm to her chest again.

  I frowned. It? What it? He must be talking about some artifact. But what did Gretchen have to do with this? She was dead, thanks to the Reapers.

  Covington circled around the professor again, so I darted forward and slipped behind the tree that was the closest to him. Once again, I looked around, but I didn’t see Drake anywhere. However, faint shouts sounded in the distance, although I couldn’t make out exactly what was being said. Maybe the Protectorate guards had captured Drake. That was my hope, but I couldn’t afford to wait any longer for help to arrive, so I lifted Babs up into an attack position, getting ready to strike.

  I watched Covington circle around the professor. The next time he came this way and turned his back to me, I surged to my feet, leaped out of the trees, and charged forward, running straight at him.

  But he was still too quick for me.

  Covington must have heard the crunch of my boots in the leaves, because he whipped around right before I would have sliced my sword across his back. He sidestepped my blow, whirled around, and drew his own sword.

  He blinked, as if he were surprised that I was here, but a cold, calculating smile spread across his face. “Why, hello, Rory. I wasn’t expecting to see you again. I thought you died in the cemetery with Gretchen last night. But I guess Takeda used his healing magic to save you from the basilisk poison.”

  For a moment, I didn’t understand what he was talking about. Then I realized he still didn’t know about my new healing power. Well, I wasn’t going to correct him.

  “Professor?” I called out. “Are you okay?”

  Dalaja slowly sat up and cradled her injured arm to her chest, wincing the whole time. “I’m okay, but you need to get out of here, Rory. There’s another Reaper out there.”

  “I know. Don’t worry. I’m a Spartan, remember? I’ve got this.”

  She nodded and tried to smile at me, but her expression was more of a pain-filled grimace.

  I turned my attention back to Covington. “Takeda is on his way here right now with the Protectorate guards to take you down.”

  His smile widened, as if he weren’t concerned at all about the fact that he was about to be caught and thrown in prison again. “We’ll see about that. But I’m so glad that you’re here, Rory. We didn’t get to finish our conversation last night.”

  I twirled my sword around in my hand, looking for an opening to attack him. “You mean when you told me to choose between being kidnapped and fighting the basilisk? News flash. I would pick basilisk every single time.”

  His eyes narrowed at my insult, but he didn’t lower his guard or his weapon. “Actually, something else has been on my mind lately—how you fought off the effects of my Apate ring at the Cormac Museum. The artifact should have made you obey any command I gave you, despite that talking sword in your hand. But yet it didn’t, and you were able to resist the ring’s magic. I need to know why.”

  “Just lucky, I guess.”

  I kept my gaze steady on his, not letting any trace of emotion show on my face, especially not my worry. I was wearing Freya’s Bracelet like usual, and if Covington realized that it was an artifact, then he would try to take it away from me. Even worse, without the bracelet, I didn’t know if I would be strong enough to resist whatever foul magic and artifacts he might have. Fear churned in my stomach. Babs and the bracelet were the only reasons he hadn’t turned me into a Reaper at the museum, and I couldn’t afford to lose either one of them.

  Covington smiled at me again. “Oh, I doubt that you were that lucky. But I’ll find out your secret. I always do. After all, I was the one who discovered that your parents were planning to leave the Reapers. I told the Reaper leaders that your parents wanted to defect, but they didn’t believe me. So I took care of Rebecca and Tyson myself. It was one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever done.”

  White-hot rage scorched through me at his cruel, heartless words, but I ground my teeth and held my position. Covington was trying to hurt me, distract me, and get me to do something stupid, like blindly charge at him. So I concentrated on the feel of Babs in my hand and my charm bracelet around my wrist. The reassuring weight of the sword and the cool, light touch of the bracelet helped me focus on something besides my own pain, heartbreak, worry, and rage.

  I stared at Covington, analyzing everything about him. How his feet were digging into the leaves, how high his sword was, even the way he was squinting, trying to see into the mix of sun and shadows that dappled the clearing.

  I was going to end this—and him—right now.

  He opened his mouth, probably to taunt me again, but I whipped up Babs and charged toward him. He used his Roman speed to move to the side the way I knew he would, but I countered and sliced out with my sword, opening up a gash along his left forearm. Covington hissed and whipped back around, but instead of moving in and countering my attack with one of his own, he kept his distance. Coward.

  I headed toward him again, but leaves crunched off to my right, and Drake sprinted into the clearing, his sword clutched in his hand.

  “The Protectorate guards have surrounded the SUVs!” he yelled. “We’ll have to go with our backup plan!”

  Drake stopped short at the sight of me, but his surprise didn’t last long. He let out a loud yell and charged forward. I stepped up to meet him.

  Clash-clash-clang!

  Clash-clash-clang!

  Back and forth, we fought through the clearing, with Drake swinging his sword at me over and over again and me countering his hard, vicious blows. I thought Covington might wade into the fight and try to stab me in the back, like he’d done to my parents, but he hurried over to Dalaja.

  The professor had managed to get to her feet and pick up a dead tree branch. She lifted the branc
h and swung it at Covington, but given her injuries, it was a weak, awkward blow. He easily avoided the attack, then snatched the branch out of her hand and tossed it aside.

  I started to head over to help Dalaja, but Drake stepped up and cut me off.

  “Rory! Rory!” someone shouted in the distance.

  I parried Drake’s latest attack and whirled away from him long enough to answer. “Over here! In the trees!”

  Drake growled and lashed out with his sword again, but I ducked the blow, spun around, and kicked him in the knee. His leg buckled, and I raised my own sword up to slice it across his back. Not a killing blow but one I hoped would incapacitate him until the others got here.

  I had started to bring my blade down when I spotted a large shadow out of the corner of my eye, along with the glint of talons—

  I threw myself down and to the right, rolling, rolling, rolling across the ground as fast as I could.

  Caw!

  A basilisk landed with a loud cry and dug its talons into the spot where I’d been standing.

  I kept rolling, trying to get as far away from the monster as possible. My shoulder hit a large boulder half buried in the leaves, stopping me cold and making me lose my grip on Babs. The sword flew out of my hand and landed somewhere in the trees.

  “Rory!” Babs screamed. “Look out! Behind you!”

  The basilisk’s shadow fell over me again. This time, the creature snapped out with its beak, trying to spear me to death with the sharp point. I waited until the last possible moment, then lurched away from the rock.

  The basilisk’s beak punched into the boulder, shattering it to pieces. But the boulder was a lot stronger and harder than my body, and the monster weakly flapped its wings and staggered around, trying to shake off its unexpected daze.

  I came up into a low crouch and looked at Covington. He had sheathed his sword, but he was holding something much, much worse now: Serket’s Pen.