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Chapter 13

I raced back into the stacks, ure out which direction the Reaper had gone or what he could possibly be after I ca to calm the rapid thump-thuone

For once, Vic stayed quiet, and I forced myself to take in soft breaths of air I cockedI had the enhanced senses that so many of the Mythos students had But I didn’t All I had were ht toward the front half of the library The Reapers had come in from the back, so whatever they were really after wasn’t on that side Otherwise, they would have left with it already Thatwas, but I decided to follow h the stacks as quickly as I could, stopping at the end of every bookcase, every aisle, every crossway, to look and listen But the Reaper had too much of a head start on me, and I didn’t see any hints of ive up and head back to the others, I heard the distinctive tinkle-tinkle of glass hitting the floor I paused The sound caain, and I veered in that direction

I hurried forward, still stopping to peer around every shelf Just because I thought the Reaper was after so didn’t ht be hiding in a dark corner, ready to take my head off with his sword Reapers were full of tricks like that Vivian certainly had been I didn’t think the Reaper I was chasing was Vivian, but she’d fooled ain

Finally, I spotted the Reaper through the shelves I crept up to the bookcase that was closest to him and peered around it

The Reaper stood before an artifact case that was in front of a shelf with a few old, tattered books on it The Reaper had already s a sword to knock the last few frag white flew out of the case and fluttered to the ground, along with the glass, but the Reaper didn’t seem to notice, and I couldn’t tell what it was from here Maybe an ID card of some sort

The leader reached inside the case and drew out a beautiful, rectangular box that was resting on a wide, black velvet stand The box was e a topaz, an e jeweled chips

The Reaper tossed the stand aside, grabbed the box, and held it up high with one hand, adht and reflected it back, before slipping the box into one of the pockets of his robe He reached into the case again and pulled out a topaz ring, an ee, heart-shaped ruby surrounded by smaller ones Those items disappeared into his pockets as well

I stepped forward, determined to stop the Reaper-andthe sound hadn’t carried, but of course it had

The Reaper whirled around but didn’t seeot the i underneath that horrible Loki mask A bit of red fire flashed to life in the depths of the leader’s eyes-that Reaper-red color that I’d co else

"Stay where you are!" I commanded "You’re surrounded!"

It was a lie, but I raised ht was already over with, and Logan and my friends were really here to helpthe evil warrior to charge atcompletely unexpected-he turned and ran away

"What are you waiting for?" Vic demanded "Catch that bloody Reaper so I can cut hiave chase The Reaper zooh the stacks He broke right, then left through a crossway, then right, right, right, and finally left again I fell behind with each step until I was just barely keeping the other warrior in sight

"Faster, Gwen!" Vic shouted "You’re losing hiulped down another breath, made myself run that much quicker, and rounded a corner-only to realize that the Reaper had vanished

My steps slowed, then stopped, and I looked left, then right, searching for the Reaper, but all I saere books andwith a few study tables and artifact cases Frustration filled

I’d just started to head down another aisle when a cool breeze kissed my face

My eyes narrowed The library was climate-controlled to protect all the books and artifacts There shouldn’t have been any sort of breeze-unless someone had opened a door or

I followed the swirls of air, stepped around another bookcase, and found myself in front of one of the side entrances to the library The door was standing wide open So that’s where he’d gone Clutching Vic even tighter, I eased through the door and peered outside

Night cloaked the upper quad, and shadows had stained everything an inky black A bit of snow had fallen while I’d been inside the library, the white patches standing out like silvery ponds against the darkness The balcony that wrapped around the building was deserted, as hat I could see of the main quad I stepped outside and walked over to the wall that ringed the balcony I stared out into the darkness, scanning the quad, hoping that I’d get a glirass, but I was too late

The Reaper was gone-and so were the artifacts he’d stolen

Disgusted withthe Reaper, I hurried back inside the library,sure to shut the side door behind me I had no doubt that my friends had taken care of the other Reapers by now, so I retraced my steps back to the artifact case that the leader had broken into I wanted to know exactly what had been inside it and how the iteainst the Pantheon

The Reaper had slass littered the floor So to theand find the ID cards that had been inside the case

To my surprise, there was only one card, despite all the iterab

Apate’s Keepsake Box This box and jewelry were ruoddess of deception Apate was known for her love of jewels and collected so ods were jealous of her finery To keep her possessions safe, Apate put an enchantment on the box so that if anyone opened it except her, the box would appear to be empty, instead of filled with valuables as it truly was

Okay, so the box had soic mumbo jumbo attached to it, some kind of illusion that kept whatever was inside safe I frowned Froical powers, and there was no mention of the jewelry at all So ould the Reapers risk coems were no doubt priceless, but Loki had rewarded his folloith gold, silver, and ods in the Pantheon had their supporters The Reapers had just as ical world So why go to all the trouble to swipe o after so with le" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>