'Sorry, sorry, it's my fault. Totally my fault. Here, let me clean it up.'
I used the napkins I'd gotten along with the cider and started dabbing at the puddles of liquid on the table. Kenzie and Talia stepped back and checked to make sure they hadn't gotten any of the sticky cider on their clothes. I moved from one side of the table to the other, bumping the chair Kenzie had thrown his leather jacket over and making the garment fall to the floor.
I fussed over the cider on the table for a couple of minutes, working until it was all cleaned up and chattering on the whole time about how sorry I was for ruining their breakfast. Talia rolled her dark eyes at Kenzie, and he shook his head in return. I'd totally annoyed them, which was exactly what I'd wanted to do. Annoyed people didn't pay much attention to details, like the fact that I slipped my right hand into one of the pockets on Kenzie's jacket while I used my left hand to wipe cider out of the chairs.
Finally, I finished cleaning up and gave them another sheepish smile. Then I leaned down, grabbed Kenzie's jacket, and handed it to him.
'Come on, Talia,' Kenzie said, glaring at me as he grabbed his leather jacket and put it on. 'Let's get out of here before Gwen decides to spill something else on us.'
I gave them another apologetic smile as they stormed away. The two of them didn't see me stick my hand into the pocket of my purple hoodie and draw out a small, white, plastic card.
From our time training together, I knew that Kenzie always kept his wallet in his right jacket pocket, and it hadn't been too much of a stretch to think he'd put his key card in there too. For once, I'd actually gotten lucky, and the card had just been loose in the pocket, instead of tucked away inside his wallet.
'Room 822, here I come,' I whispered.
I discreetly trailed Kenzie and Talia back to the hotel lobby and stepped behind a cedar tree, so they wouldn't see me. Oliver was waiting by the main door for them, just like I'd hoped he would be. I needed both of the Spartans to be out of the room while I searched it.
'What took you guys so long?' Oliver asked, frowning. 'We were supposed to leave for the slopes five minutes ago.'
I didn't hear Kenzie's reply, but I didn't really need to. I could imagine what he was saying about me right now. Gwen Frost, that clumsy Gypsy girl. The three of them walked outside and headed toward the alpine village. I eased over to the door and peered through the glass. If they were going skiing, I doubted they'd be coming back anytime soon. Good. I turned and headed for the elevators.
Before I went to Oliver's room, I had one more thing to do. I rode the elevator up to the thirteenth floor, went into my own room, and grabbed Vic off the bed. Whether or not Oliver was a Reaper, someone had almost killed me four times now, and I wanted to be prepared in case he tried again. Besides, it would be just my luck that Oliver would come back to his room for some reason before I'd found the notebook. Whatever happened, I figured it would be better to have the sword with me than not.
Vic's eye snapped open when I picked up the black leather scabbard with him in it.
'I know that maniacal twinkle in your eye. You're up to something, Gwen,' he said. 'What is it? And is there any chance I'll get to kill something today? Like a Reaper, perhaps?'
'If everything goes to plan, then no, you won't get to kill something today,' I said, unzipping my hoodie. 'But we might be able to catch the guy who's been trying to murder me.'
Vic snorted. 'Always a bleeding pacifist. Well, you can wake me if there's any killing to be done. Otherwise, I'm going back to my nap.'
His eye snapped shut.
I strapped Vic and his scabbard to my waist, then zipped my purple hoodie back up. The fabric came down past my waist, hiding the top half of the sword and Vic's gleaming hilt from sight. The bottom half of the scabbard dangled next to my left leg, but since the jeans I had on were as black as it was, the scabbard wasn't too noticeable. Besides, all the other kids had packed their weapons, and I doubted anyone would look twice at mine. Still, if the Reaper did come after me again, maybe he wouldn't realize that I was wearing a sword until it was too late-for him.
I stared at myself in the mirror. Wavy, dark brown hair; winter white skin; a few freckles splashed across my cheeks; purple eyes; and a sword strapped to my waist. Maybe it was weird, but I didn't feel like I really looked like myself today. Right now, I resembled someone else entirely — someone strong, someone confident, someone ready to kick a little Reaper ass. I shook my head, and the image and feeling faded, replaced by my same old boring face, wobbly nerves, and twisted insecurities.
But I'd come this far, and I wasn't about to back out now. Oliver Hector had a secret, and I was going to find out what it was-and why he was trying to kill me because of it.
'Here goes nothing,' I whispered to my reflection, and left the room.
I got back in the elevator and rode down to the eighth floor. I stepped outside the doors and stood there a second, listening. The whole floor was quiet, and only the hum of the snack and ice machines interrupted the silence. Everyone was either still sleeping off their hangovers in their rooms or out on the slopes enjoying a final day of skiing and snowboarding before heading back to the academy. Either way, I wouldn't get a better chance than this.
I strode down the hall with purpose, like I was supposed to be on this floor, even though it was guys only, a lame attempt by the profs to keep the weekend sex to a minimum. Room 822 was about halfway down the hall. I slid the key card in the slot, waited for the green light to flash, opened the door, and stepped inside.
Kenzie and Oliver's room was a mirror image of the one Daphne and I were sharing. There was two of everything, from big, soft beds to nightstands to mirrors mounted on the walls. Clothes and shoes were strewn everywhere, and I couldn't tell which side of the room belonged to Kenzie and which side was Oliver's. Jeans, shirts, socks-from the looks of things, the Spartans had brought enough threads with them for an entire week, instead of just a weekend. And I'd thought Daphne had overpacked.
Since I couldn't tell whose stuff was where, I crouched down by the foot of the bed closest to the door, reached out, and touched the suitcase there. My Gypsy gift kicked in, and an image of Kenzie stuffing clothes into it filled my mind. Okay, so this was his side then, which meant Oliver's stuff was piled around the bed closest to the window.
I moved over to that side of the room, picking my way through the piles of crumpled clothes on the floor. Then I bent down and started going through Oliver's suitcase. I used the edge of my hoodie sleeve to flip open the top and peered inside. Clothes, clothes, and more clothes filled the space, along with a couple of pairs of slightly smelly boots.
I went through the suitcase, opening up all the zippered pockets and looking inside. No notebook. I got up and stepped inside the bathroom. A couple of shaving kits sat on the counter, but there was nothing interesting in them, except for the lemon-scented cologne Oliver had in his. It smelled nice. Certainly better than the Spartan's boots.
Since the notebook wasn't in the bathroom or Oliver's suitcase, that meant it was hidden somewhere in the mess in the rest of the room-if he'd even brought it with him to start with. I hoped he had. Only one way to find
