Kiss of Frost

of blood. The trees on the quad were bare, except for a few stubborn leaves that rattled together like bones every time the wind touched them, and the swaying tangles of branches reminded me of skeletons strung together. Maybe I was still a little shaken up from almost getting run over. That had to be the reason I was thinking about things like blood, bones, and skeletons.

I shivered, tucked my head down into the collar of my jacket, and walked on.

The Library of Antiquities was the largest structure at the academy and took up a good chunk of the upper part of the quad, serving as the top point in the star of buildings. The library simply had the most of everything-the most floors, the most balconies, the most towers, the most parapets. All put together, the building reminded me of a sinister castle.

But the thing that creeped me out the most were the statues.

They could be found on all of the buildings at Mythos, but there were more of them on, around, and in the Library of Antiquities than on the rest of campus put together. Gryphons, gargoyles, Gorgons, dragons, a Minotaur, and other mythological creatures that I didn't even know the names for. The statues covered the library from the bottom balcony, which wrapped all the way around the building, to the top of the roof, with its towers and their swordlike points. And they weren't just simple stone figures. No, the statues all looked, well,violent,with big eyes, bigger teeth, and razor-sharp claws.

Maybe it was my Gypsy gift, but I always felt like the statues were watching me and tracking my steps with their open, angry eyes, just like the sphinxes at the front gate. That if I so much as brushed them with my fingertips, the cold monsters would somehow spring to life, leap out of their stone shells, and rip me to pieces.

It wasn't a good feeling.

I pulled my gaze away from the two gryphons positioned on either side of the gray stone steps and hurried into the building, through a short hallway, and past the open double doors that led into the library itself. Instead of walking down the wide, main aisle toward the study tables and offices, I turned and headed for a quiet area in the back.

My spot, as I'd come to think of it, wasn't much to look at. Just another patch of floor in between the tall bookshelves that filled the library's many levels. Once, there had been a glass case here, one of hundreds that were scattered throughout the library and full of artifacts-weapons, jewelry, clothing, armor, and more-that had been used or worn over the years by various mythological gods, goddesses, heroes, villains, and monsters. Now, the case was gone, smashed to bits in my fight with Jasmine Ashton, although Vic, the sword who'd been inside it, was safe in my dorm room.

But the empty spot where the case had been wasn't the only thing of interest. I tilted my head, looking up at the person I'd come back here to see: Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

Well, it wasn't reallyher, of course-just a thirty-foot-tall statue carved out of white marble. Statues of all the gods and goddesses from all the cultures of the world ringed the second-floor balcony. They were separated from each other by slender, fluted columns and stared down at the first floor of the library and all the students studying below. Every god and goddess you could think of was here. Norse ones, like Sol, Thor, and Freya. Greek ones, like Ares, Zeus, and Apollo. Egyptian ones, like Anubis, Ra, and Bastet. And tons more gods and goddesses who I'd never heard of before I'd come to Mythos.

The only one who wasn't represented in the circular pantheon was Loki, the Norse trickster and chaos god, and there was an empty spot where his statue would have been. Loki had done a lot of bad, bad stuff back in the day, like getting another god killed, trying to take over the world, and blah, blah, blah. They didn't build statues of you when you were the equivalent of a comic-book supervillain.

I'd met Nike a few weeks back, during the whole Jasmine situation. The goddess had appeared to me in the library and asked me to be her Champion, to be her hero here in the mortal realm, to help her fight Reapers of Chaos and other assorted bad guys.

The statue looked the same as Nike had the night she'd shown herself to me-hair falling past her shoulders; a long, flowing gown covering her strong, slender body; a crown of laurels resting on top of her head; feathery wings attached to her back. The goddess was the embodiment of victory, and she was cold, hard, fierce, and beautiful, all at the same time.

'Hi, Nike,' I said in a low voice. 'Hope you're having a good day up there on Mount Olympus or wherever you are. You know, eating lots of ambrosia, playing harps-things like that. Whatever goddesses do to have fun.'

The statue didn't do or say anything, and I didn't really expect it to. Still, every time I came into the library, I stopped a moment to speak to the goddess. I didn't know if she actually heard me or not, but it made me feel a little better. Like maybe Nike was up there watching over me. Like maybe I was really worthy of the magic and trust she'd given to me.

Like maybe I really could do some good as her Champion.

I turned and headed for the center of the library. A long checkout counter split the main floor into two and separated one side of the enormous domed room from the other. A series of glassed-in offices lied behind the counter, while the open floor in front of it featured long tables for students to sit and study at. There was also a freestanding cart that sold coffee drinks, fruit smoothies, and sugary snacks. I breathed in, enjoying the warm, rich smell of the coffee mixing with the dry, slightly musty odor of the books.

The curved ceiling of the library arched high overhead, and it always seemed to me like the building was much taller than its seven floors, like the library just kept going up and up and up until it touched the clouds. Other students claimed there were amazing frescoes painted on the ceiling, ones that depicted various mythological battles and gleamed with gold, silver, and jewels, but I'd never been up to the top floor to look for myself. From down here, all I could see were shadows.

I'd barely put my messenger bag in a slot underneath the checkout counter when a door opened in the office complex behind me, and Nickamedes appeared.

'You're late, Gwendolyn,' Nickamedes snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. 'As usual.'

Nickamedes was the head honcho at the Library of Antiquities. If you were just looking at him, you'd think that he was cute, handsome even, with his black hair and blue eyes. For a fortysomething-year-old guy, anyway. But then he opened his mouth, and you realized just how uptight, prissy, and snobby he really was. The library was Nickamedes's whole world, and he loved everything in here with an intense, devoted, detailed obsession. Well, everything but the students. Nickamedes didn't really like anyone touching his precious books and artifacts, not even for class assignments.

But the librarian was sort of stuck with me. Back when I'd first started going to the academy, Professor Metis had thought that working in the library would help me meet other kids and make friends. Not so much. Basically, I was Nickamedes's free slave labor-and there was nothing he enjoyed more than bossing me around.

Nickamedes had never really liked me and my smart mouth, but he'd come to actively hate me a few weeks ago. Jasmine Ashton had tried to kill me in the library, and, well, we'd torn up a lot of stuff during our struggle. Nickamedes despised anything that damaged his precious books. Seriously, the dude wouldn't even crack one of their spines. I'd done far worse than that. I'd pretty much trashed the entire first floor. In fact, I was still shelving books from where I'd shoved a case of them onto Jasmine to try to keep her from running me through with her sword.

'Well, Gwendolyn?' Nickamedes barked, tapping one of his long, pale fingers against his opposite elbow. 'What do you have to say for yourself?'

I rolled my eyes. I couldn't exactly tell the librarian that I'd snuck off campus to go see my Grandma Frost, since that was against one of the Big Rules. But maybe I could sweeten up his sour mood. I rustled around in my bag, drew out the metal tin of cookies, popped off the top, and held it out to him. Surely the smell of chocolate would bring a smile to even his sharp, angular face.

'Cookie?' I asked in a hopeful voice.

Nickamedes's expression just darkened. 'You brought unauthorized food into the library, Gwendolyn?'

I sighed, knowing that I was going to get the mother of all lectures now.Ah, well,I thought, biting into a cookie while Nickamedes glared at me. It had been worth a shot.

Chapter 5