Kiss of Frost

by Jennifer Estep

Page 8

 

  "Good afternoon, everyone. Please open your books to page 251," Metis said. "Today we're going to focus on some of the creatures that aided Loki during the Chaos War, and some species that the Reapers stil use today. " I winced. Monster talk, in other words. Definitely not my favorite subject. Reapers were bad enough, but they were just people in the end. Okay, okay, people with magic, weapons, and seriously bad attitudes, but stil , just people.

  It was the monsters-the mythological nightmares the Reapers trained to do their evil biddings-that real y creeped me out. I'd been face-to-face with a Nemean prowler, and I'd seen exactly how big, long, and sharp the kil er kitty-cat's teeth and claws were. It was like a black panther on steroids. Prowler super-, superdangerous.

  Gwen not so much. That was al I real y needed to know.

  But there was no getting out of class, so I cracked open my myth-history book to the appropriate page.

  "Now," Professor Metis began, "you al know about the Reapers of Chaos, those who serve the evil god Loki, and how they and Loki tried to enslave everyone centuries ago.

  Their actions resulted in the long, bloody Chaos War, which had almost destroyed the entire world. Eventual y, the members of Pantheon banded together to battle Loki and his Reapers. Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, defeated Loki in single combat, and she and the other gods trapped him in a magical, mythological prison far removed from the mortal realm. "

  Metis looked at first one student, then another, making sure we were al paying attention. "We've also talked about how the Reapers are trying to free Loki, so the god can plunge the world into a second Chaos War. . . . " As the professor started her lecture, I once again thought about Jasmine Ashton and how she'd been a Reaper, along with the rest of her family. Before she'd died, Jasmine had told me there were other Reapers at the academy-

  something that made my stomach quiver with dread even now. It was bad enough to know Reapers existed in the first place. It was another scarier thing to realize you went to class with them and had no idea who they were-or when they might decide to try and kil you.

  Reapers were the reason why al the kids were at Mythos to start with. The students were the descendants of al the ancient warriors who'd helped defeat Loki the first time around, and they were here in case the god ever got free again. Al of the Mythos students had been training since birth to learn how to use whatever skil s or magic they had, so they could fight Reapers. Of course, I wasn't a warrior like the other kids-not exactly-but I had my own magic: my psychometry, given to me by Nike herself.

  I'd recently learned that al my ancestors had served Nike in some way, including my Grandma Frost and my mom, Grace. As a result, the goddess had gifted us with magic, which is what makes us Gypsies. My grandma had told me there were other Gypsies out there, other people with magic from the gods, but I'd never met any of them. I wasn't so sure I wanted to either, since Grandma Frost had told me that not al Gypsies were good-some were just as evil as the gods they served.

  Now, I was Nike's Champion, picked by the goddess herself, and trying to carry on my family's tradition, with no real clue how I was supposed to keep Bad, Bad Things from happening to me or anyone else.

  ". . . the more you know about the creatures that the Reapers use, the better you'l be able to protect yourself and your loved ones from them," Metis finished the opening part of her lecture.

  I shook off my troubling thoughts and focused on Metis's words. For the next half hour, the professor talked about monsters

  -lots and lots of freaking monsters. Wyverns, basilisks, dragons, yetis, even gigantic birds named Black rocs. She cal ed them al

  "creatures," like she was being political y correct or something, but real y, they were monsters. Anything that had fangs longer than my fingers and that could breathe fire was definitely a monster.

  "And on the next page we have one of the more interesting creatures-the Fenrir wolf," Metis said.

  Books rustled as everyone flipped over to the next page, which featured a pen-and-ink drawing of the largest wolf I'd ever seen. Everything about it was just big-big eyes; big paws; big tail; and, of course, big, big teeth and claws. Al the better to eat me with. Because what kind of monster would it be if it couldn't rip you to pieces and chew on your bones?

  "These wolves are the descendants of Fenrir, the very first and most powerful wolf who fought alongside the members of the Pantheon during the Chaos War," Metis said. "Over the years, the Reapers have managed to trap most of the wolves, but a few of them can stil be found in the wild today, including right here in the North Carolina mountains. "

  For a moment the drawing flickered on the page, and the pen-and-ink wolf turned its head until it was staring straight at me. The black ink oozed down, then back up, and I realized the monster was smiling-and showing me each and every one of its needle-sharp teeth.

  I shivered and looked away. Sometimes my Gypsy magic went a little haywire and made me see and feel things that weren't real y there, even when I wasn't touching an object. Or maybe it was just my own warped imagination working overtime today.

  Either way, it was al I could do to keep from closing the book and throwing it across the room.

  "What you need to understand is that these creatures didn't start out evil," Metis said, her soft green gaze going from one student's face to another. "The Reapers twisted them over the centuries, caged and tortured them until they turned into something else completely. "

  "Even the Nemean prowlers?" Carson asked from in front of me.

  "Even the prowlers," Metis answered. "Although, keep in mind that while the Reapers have trained the creatures to kil , they stil have free wil in the end, just like we al do.

  There have been rare instances where prowlers, wolves, and other creatures have turned against the Reapers.

  Ultimately, it's up to the creatures as to whom they serve and what they do. Even the gods themselves can't force a person or creature to do something. We al have free wil -

  we al make our own choices about the kinds of people we are and how we choose to live our lives. " Free wil ? Whatever. The Fenrir wolf grinning in my book looked plenty evil to me, just like al the other monsters did. I didn't care if it had free wil or not.

  Metis asked us to turn the page and started talking about the next mythological nightmare. Monsters might not be my favorite topic, but I listened to every word the professor said, and took pages of notes. When I'd first come to the academy, I'd hated myth-history, but now it was my favorite class. At the beginning of the semester I didn't think that I had any connection to the warrior kids here. But now I knew that I did-and I wanted to be like them.

  Maybe it was because my mom had been a police detective and had spent her life helping people before she'd died. Maybe it was because she and my Grandma Frost had both been Nike's Champions before me. Or maybe it was just everything I'd seen and heard since coming to Mythos. But I wanted to be a real warrior like the other students were. I wanted to be as fierce, strong, and brave as they were, as my mom and grandma had been. I wanted to keep the world and everyone in it safe from Reapers and Loki and monsters.

  I wanted to do Big Things with my Gypsy gift, even if I didn't exactly know what those Big Things were just yet-or how I was even going to do them in the first place.

  Class flew by, and it seemed like we'd only been talking a few minutes when the final bel of the day rang. I blinked and looked up from my notebook. Al around me the other kids got to their feet, grabbed their books, and raced toward the door.

  Carson threw his backpack over his shoulder and turned to look at me. "I guess I'l see you tomorrow out on the quad, when we al leave to go to the carnival. "

  "Yep," I said. "Bright and early in the freezing cold. " The band geek gave me a shy smile and left the room.

  I took my sweet time stuffing my things into my messenger bag, so that everyone else had left by the time I was done, leaving me alone wi
th Metis. I walked over to the podium where the professor was sliding her own papers into a battered leather briefcase. She looked up at the squeak of my sneakers on the floor.

  "Hel o, Gwen. " Metis smiled at me. "How are you and Vic today?"

  Like the other kids, I usual y carried my own personal weapon with me during the day. It was just easier than having to walk al the way back to my dorm to get it before my fifth-period gym class. In my case, that weapon was Vic.

  The hilt of the silver sword stuck out of the top of my messenger bag. Vic's eye was closed, and I knew he was sleeping.

  Vic had told me more than once that he found the sound of Metis's soft voice quite soothing.

  The professor knew al about Vic and the fact that the sword could talk because she was a Champion just like me. Metis served Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom.

  She'd even showed me the weapon Athena had given her

  -a thick staff made out of a polished golden wood. Al the Champions-good and bad-received a weapon from their respective god or goddess, and al of them were inscribed with some sort of saying relevant to that god or goddess. Only a Champion could read the words on her own weapon, though.

  Metis had once told me that the phrase "In wisdom, there is great strength" was carved into her staff, while Vic had his own saying etched into his blade

  -"Victory always. "

  "We're doing fine," I said.

  "And how is your training with Logan going?"

  "Um, good. Just . . . good. "

  "Good" if you considered the fact that I stil couldn't survive more than a minute sparring with Logan. The Spartan had kil ed me fifteen times this morning before he'd final y taken pity on me and let me practice archery with Kenzie and Oliver. That, at least, I was getting a little better at. Al I had to do was think of Daphne, and I could put the arrow into the center of the target every single time. I wondered if I could use my psychometry magic like that in other ways, as Daphne had suggested. I hadn't tried it yet, though.

  I'd been a little distracted by almost getting kil ed twice yesterday.

  "Can I help you, Gwen?" Metis asked. "Is there something on your mind?"

  I opened my mouth to tel Metis about the SUV that had almost run me over and the fact that someone had shot an arrow at me in the Library of Antiquities last night-but nothing came out.

  I don't know why. I wanted to tel her what had happened.

  I should tel her. Metis was smart. She'd know what to do.

  She'd know how to help me.

  But why can't you help yourself? a snide little voice whispered in the back of my mind. You're Nike's Champion. You should be able to take care of yourself.

  Everyone else around here can.

  It was true. Daphne had her Valkyrie strength and her awesome archery skil s, and her magic would probably quicken and kick in any day now, giving her even more power, whatever it turned out to be. Logan, Kenzie, and Oliver had their mad Spartan weapons skil s, and could kil Reapers with anything they picked up, no matter how harmless it actual y was. Even Carson was better with a sword than I was, and he was the nicest, sweetest, gentlest guy at the academy.

  The longer I was at Mythos, the more I wanted to be like them. Yeah, part of it was about fitting in and being something other than Gwen Frost, that freaky Gypsy girl.

  Part of it was also about being able to take care of myself, to defend myself against Reapers and monsters. But mostly I wanted to be the warrior that Nike thought I could be, the Champion that the goddess had chosen. I wanted to make my mom and my grandma and al the other Frost women who'd come before me proud.

  "Gwen?" Metis asked again. "Are you okay?" In that moment I made my decision. Yeah, maybe it was a little stupid, but I was going to keep my mouth shut about yesterday. I couldn't run to Metis for help every single time I had a problem. If there was a Reaper after me, then I was going to figure out who it was and take care of him myself. I had a talking sword, I had some fighting skil s, and most important, I had my Gypsy gift.

  I'd figure the rest of it out as I went along, just like I always did.

  I gave her my very best I'm-not-up-to-anything smile. "I'm fine. I just wanted to tel you how excited I am about the Winter Carnival. "

  Metis frowned, like she didn't real y believe that was al I wanted to say. I gave the professor another bright smile and hurried out of the room before she could ask me any more questions.

  Chapter 7

  Early the next morning, Friday, I stood out on the main upper quad, shivering in the cold along with the other students. Classes had been canceled for the day, and the professors were busy herding everyone toward the buses, which had been pul ed into the parking lot behind the gym.

  The buses would haul us a few mountains over to Powder, the ski resort where the Winter Carnival was being held.

  Then the weekend fun would begin. Yippee-skippee.

  I pul ed my purple plaid coat tighter around me and shifted on my feet, trying to stay warm. Next to me, Daphne talked to Carson about the slopes they should hit once they got to the resort.

  The Valkyrie had on a pink designer snowsuit and a matching toboggan with a poofy white bal dangling off the end of it. That hat would have looked ridiculous on me, but it made Daphne seem quirky and cute. And of course everything from her outfit to her purse to her lip gloss went perfectly with the expensive luggage at her feet. Sometimes I thought Daphne took the matchy-match look a little too far.

  I'd stuffed my clothes for the weekend into an old gray duffel bag I'd dug out from the back of my closet. Jeans, hoodies, graphic T-shirts, sweaters. My wardrobe was way more downscale than Daphne's designer duds. I'd also brought along some of my favorite comic books, a stash of sugary snacks, and Vic-just in case the mystery Reaper tried to kil me again and I needed a sword before the weekend was through.