“Guys,” I whispered. “Head back toward the stairs, but walk, don’t run. Someone else is in here with us, and we don’t want to tip them off that we know they’re here.”
They both nodded, then headed back the way they’d come.
Once again, I crept along the second-floor balcony, following their progress and keeping an eye on everything below. Ian and Zoe made it back to the center aisle. They both looked left and right, but they didn’t see anything, and neither did I. My friends glanced around a final time, then stepped into the aisle to head back toward the stairs.
And that’s when the Reapers finally showed themselves.
A shadow detached itself from the fireplace and slithered onto the floor. I blinked, wondering where it had come from, but then I realized that a second shadow was right behind that first one—and they had both just crawled out of the cold fireplace.
That’s why I hadn’t spotted them. I had been looking in the wrong place. I had expected the Reapers to hide in the shadowy stacks or behind the long counter. Not to be holed up in the freaking fireplace. But the Reapers were sneaky, and I should have been expecting the unexpected. That was my mistake, and I was going to pay for it.
And so were my friends.
The two shadows straightened up. They were both wearing long black Reaper cloaks with the hoods pulled up, along with creepy black harlequin masks with red diamond-shaped patterns over the eyes. And worst of all, they were both carrying swords, which they drew the second they were on their feet.
Ian heard the soft rasps of the weapons sliding free of their scabbards, and he whirled around. “Zoe!” he yelled. “Watch out!”
Zoe whirled around as well, brandishing her electrodagger at the two Reapers. For a moment, the four of them studied one another, waiting for someone to make the first move. Then one of the Reapers let out a loud battle cry and charged forward, and the fight was on.
Ian stepped up to engage one of the Reapers, while Zoe battled the second one.
“Rory!” Babs yelled, her lips moving under my palm. “You have to help them!”
“I know!” I yelled back. “I’m working on it!”
I abandoned all pretense of stealth, surged to my feet, and ran along the balcony. My gaze darted around, searching for more enemies, but I didn’t see anyone else, and I made it back to the bookcase that my friends had been crouching beside earlier.
Zoe had left her backpack sitting on the floor, and I ripped open the top, searching through the items inside. Heavy-duty tape, scissors, a plastic case full of extra earbuds. The Valkyrie had stuffed all sorts of odds and ends inside her bag, but I quickly found what I wanted.
Another small grappling hook attached to a long length of rope.
I pulled out the hook and the rope and hurried over to the balcony. I set Babs on the floor and then wrapped the hook and the rope around the railing and tugged on them to make sure they were secure. I grabbed Babs again, took hold of the rope in my other hand, and climbed up onto the railing.
As a Spartan, I had the innate ability to pick up any object and automatically know how to kill someone with it. My Spartan instincts also let me see every single move a person was going to make a split second before he made it, especially when it came to a fight like the one raging below. I focused on the Reaper who was battling Zoe, studying everything about him, from the way he was holding his sword, to how high he lifted the weapon, to how his boots shuffled along on the floor right before he lashed out with another strike.
My Spartan instincts kicked in, and the next few seconds of the fight unspooled in my mind like a movie that I was fast-forwarding through to get to the next scene. Zoe would brandish her electrodagger at the Reaper again, and he would whirl out of the way. Then he would come right back at her, and this time, he would force his way past her defenses and slice his sword across her stomach—unless I stopped him.
And I was going to stop him. All I had to do was wait for the right moment.
The fight went exactly the way I’d expected it to. Zoe lashed out with her dagger, and the Reaper spun out of the way. The second he turned his back to her, I tightened my grip on the rope and stepped off the balcony.
The rope burned my left palm as I slid down it, but that pain didn’t matter. Saving Zoe was the only thing I cared about right now.
And I did it.
I slid down the rope, and I timed my descent just right, so that I landed between Zoe and the Reaper. Even before my boots touched the floor, I snapped up Babs, blocking the Reaper’s attack.
“Help Ian!” I screamed at Zoe.
She scrambled back out of my way and hurried over to where Ian was still fighting the second Reaper.
The Reaper in front of me jerked back in surprise, but I wasn’t letting him get away that easily. I darted forward, slipped under the Reaper’s defenses, and looped the rope that I was still holding around his neck. Then I whirled back around, tightening the rope. The Reaper yelped in surprise. He lashed out with his sword, but it was an awkward blow, and I smashed Babs into his blade, knocking his sword out of his hand. His weapon skittered across the floor and spun to a stop beside one of the tables.
I turned back to the Reaper. He was trying to untangle the rope from around his neck, so I stepped up and kicked his leg out from under him. The Reaper let out a strangled cry and grabbed hold of the rope to try to keep himself from choking, but he wasn’t successful, and his body went slack and still. He was out of the fight, so I turned toward the second Reaper, who was still battling Ian and Zoe.
That Reaper swung his sword at Ian, driving the Viking back. The Reaper also spotted Zoe sneaking up on him, and he kicked out with his foot, sending a chair skittering in her direction.
Zoe stumbled over the chair, growled, and raised her dagger, but it was too late. The Reaper stepped up and sliced his sword across her stomach. She dropped to the floor without a sound.
“Zoe!” Ian yelled.
He hefted his ax and charged forward, but the Reaper coolly spun to the side and sliced his sword across Ian’s back. He also dropped to the floor without a sound.
Dead—my friends were dead.
The Reaper whirled around to me, since we were the last two fighters standing. He stared at me, his blue eyes bright behind his creepy harlequin mask. He performed a low, mocking bow, then straightened up and crooked his finger in a clear challenge. He had killed my friends, and now he wanted to do the same to me.
I let out a primal scream of rage, lifted Babs high, and charged at the Reaper.
About the Author
Jennifer Estep is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author, prowling the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea. She is the author of the following series:
Mythos Academy spinoff: The books focus on Rory Forseti, a seventeen-year-old Spartan girl who attends the Colorado branch of Mythos Academy. Rory’s parents were Reapers, which makes her the most hated girl at school. But with a new group of Reapers and mythological monsters on the rise, Rory is the only one who can save her academy.
Mythos Academy: The books focus on Gwen Frost, a seventeen-year-old Gypsy girl who has the gift of psychometry, or the ability to know an object’s history just by touching it. After a serious freak-out with her magic, Gwen is sent to Mythos Academy, a school for the descendants of ancient warriors like Spartans, Valkyries, Amazons, and more.
Elemental Assassin: The books focus on Gin Blanco, an assassin code-named the Spider, who can control the elements of Ice and Stone. When she’s not busy battling bad guys and righting wrongs, Gin runs a barbecue restaurant called the Pork Pit in the fictional Southern metropolis of Ashland. The city is also home to giants, dwarves, vampires, and elementals—Air, Fire, Ice, and Stone.
Crown of Shards: The books focus on Everleigh Blair, who is seventeenth in line for the throne of Bellona, a kingdom steeped in gladiator tradition. But when the unthinkable happens, Evie finds herself fighting for her life—both insi
de and outside the gladiator arena.
Black Blade: The books focus on Lila Merriweather, a seventeen-year-old thief who lives in Cloudburst Falls, West Virginia, a town dubbed “the most magical place in America.” Lila does her best to stay off the grid and avoid the Families—or mobs—who control the town. But when she saves a member of the Sinclair Family during an attack, Lila finds herself caught in the middle of a brewing war between the Sinclairs and the Draconis, the two most powerful Families in town.
Bigtime: The books take place in Bigtime, New York, a city that’s full of heroic superheroes, evil ubervillains, and other fun, zany, larger-than-life characters. Each book focuses on a different heroine as she navigates among the city’s heroes and villains and their various battles.
For more information on Jennifer and her books, visit her website at www.JenniferEstep.com. You can also follow her on Facebook, Goodreads, BookBub, and Twitter, and sign up for her newsletter.
Happy reading, everyone!
Other books by Jennifer Estep
The Elemental Assassin series
featuring Gin Blanco
Books
Spider’s Bite
Web of Lies
Venom
Tangled Threads
Spider’s Revenge
By a Thread
Widow’s Web
Deadly Sting
Heart of Venom
The Spider
Poison Promise
Black Widow
Spider’s Trap
Bitter Bite
Unraveled
Snared
Venom in the Veins
E-novellas and stories
Haints and Hobwebs
Thread of Death
Parlor Tricks
Kiss of Venom
Unwanted
Nice Guys Bite
Winter’s Web
The Crown of Shards series
Kill the Queen
The Black Blade series
Cold Burn of Magic
Dark Heart of Magic
Bright Blaze of Magic
The Bigtime series
Karma Girl
Hot Mama
Jinx
A Karma Girl Christmas (holiday story)
Nightingale
Fandemic
Spartan Promise Page 32
