Page 7 (1/2)

"You’re lying"

Vivian laughed "Sure, go ahead and believe that Whatever helps you sleep at night, Gwen Anyway, I gotta go Catch you later Or ain and hung up onfor any movement in the shadows, but I still couldn’t spot her

"Gwen?" Oliver asked "Are you okay?"

I whirled around to face hied "He’s with his dad That’s all I really know Why?"

I told hi Vivian had said Oliver listened, then shook his head

"Relax, Gwen Of course, she was lying She was just trying to rattle you I was texting with Logan earlier There’s no way the Reapers have him"

"But how can you be sure it’s really him?" I persisted

"Because I can tell by his tone and the things we’re talking about Stuff only Logan would know So relax, okay? Vivian is just an is safe Trust me"

Oliver put his hands on reen eyes After a ht Vivian was jerkingelse

Oliver bent down, picked up Nyx, and cradled her in the crook of his arm She let out a happy yip and licked hi atelse we can do here We both know Vivian is long gone So let’s go back inside, find Nickaht, but that didn’t keep irl before sighing and following him up the steps and back inside

Oliver and I made it back to the main part of the library Coach Ajax, Aiko, and a few other Protectorate guards had converged in the center of the rooht the Reaper Nicka on his phone Ajax nodded his head at , burly coach

Most of the students had cleared out, and the feho res Helena Paxton shot me a pointed, nasty look as she picked up her book - the one I’d hit the Reaper with - fronored her I had other things to worry about right now - like why Jason had tried to poison me

Okay, okay, so I knehy Well, sort of The Reapers wantedto kill Loki - so that Nike believed, as well If I was dead, then obviously I wouldn’t even get the chance to try to kill Loki - as if I even kneas supposed to do that in the first place

No, what I really wondered hy now? Why here, tonight, in the library? Why had it suddenly become so important to murder me? But in the end, I supposed it didn’t really matter Jason wasn’t the first Reaper who’d tried to kill me, and he wouldn’t be the last

Still, I eyedon the counter where Jason had left it If I hadn’t been upset, if I hadn’t gone up to the second-floor balcony, if I hadn’t seen what he was doing, I ed down the rest of the water before my psychometry kicked in Then, I would have been as dead as Jason was This wasn’t the first tie that it could have just as easily beenoutside on the quad made me shiver all the sathe sword, and he looked at ht, Gwen," he said, picking up on hts "You did what you had to in order to survive - that’s all And there was nothing you could have done to change that boy’s ht," Oliver chimed in "The Reaper made his choice - not you"

Nyx let out a low, serious yip, agreeing with them The wolf pup was still secure in the Spartan’s ared Maybe that was true, but it didn’t feel that way Yes, I’d wanted to kill Jason, but now that he was gone, I just felt hollow and empty inside A boy was dead because of me - but not in the way I’d expected

Oh, I’d killed Reapers before in battle, and I’d even used ic, all of the life, out of Preston Ashton so I could heal the s in the heat of the moment, because it had been them or me, and I’d just wanted to survive, like Vic had said But this - this was different Jason had free will, the same free e all had, the sa on and on and on about But I’d forced hi or death - and he’d chosen death I didn’t know if that ht now, it felt like worse

"Gwendolyn," Nicka his hand at hed and looked at Vic, then Oliver, then Nyx "Great Not only is that boy dead, but now I’et another lecture fro the peace and quiet of his precious library"

Oliver grinned at , Gypsy"

I punched him in the shoulder as I passed "Shut up, Spartan"

I walked over to Nicka into his phone, then snapped it shut and put it down on the counter He reached up and wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead, as though he were hot

"I just got off the phone with Aurora," he said, referring to Professor Metis His voice took on a harsh, raspy note "She’s on her way over here What happened? What tipped you off that boy was a Reaper? And did you really have to chase hihed There it was The beginning of the lecture I kneas co to do now but listen to him, so I went around the counter, slid Vic back into his scabbard, and propped the sword up next to Nyx’s basket

Nickamedes drew in a breath "Because I have to say that not only did you upset your fellow students, but you also"

And it went on from there How I’d disturbed the peaceful, studious athtened the other students How I’d putafter the Reaper instead of quietly alerting souy in the library

"And most important, you didn’t wait for me," Nickamedes said "I would have come and helped you if only you’d waited - "

The librarian stopped indown at the checkout counter, rubbing h spot in the wood I’d learned it was better to keepet it all out of his system at once Like Daphne, his bark was al up his train of thought and telling ain, Nickaer on the counter, wanting his Because in addition to his lecture, I’d probably have to listen to several atyr would be upset that he hadn’t been around to protect me from Jason and his poisonous plot -

Nicka to start up his rant again, but once

"Gwendolyn" he finally said, his voice even harsher and raspier than before "You’ll have to excuse aze flicked up to his face I noticed more beads of sweat on his forehead, the ruddy flush in his cheeks, and the faint, upset gurgle of his stomach His blue eyes see fro his balance

"Nickamedes?" I asked

The librarian collapsed without another word