Aunt Rachel was wearing a long dark blue dress with a poofy tulle skirt and silver heels. Tiny silver sequins sparkled all over her dress, and she was carrying a long silver wand with a large star on the end. Her black hair was pulled back into an elegant bun, and a small silver tiara perched on her head.
I got up from the bed, went over, and hugged her. “You look like the perfect fairy godmother.”
“Thanks, Rory.” Aunt Rachel hugged me back. “Now it’s your turn to get ready. Zoe’s here.”
She stepped aside, and the Valkyrie sashayed into my bedroom.
Zoe had gone all out, transforming herself into a beautiful mermaid. Her strapless dress had a tight-fitted bodice made of bright teal-blue sequined leather panels that had been draped over each other and stitched together to look like fish scales. More of those scalelike panels dotted the long, flowing skirt, which curled up and tapered to two points, just like a mermaid’s tail.
The teal-blue scales brought out the Valkyrie’s lovely mocha skin, along with her wavy black hair. Teal shadow and liner emphasized her hazel eyes, and she’d painted her lips a deep, dark fuchsia. A pearl choker ringed her throat, while stacks of pearl bracelets shimmered on her wrists. Her electrodagger was holstered to her thin silver belt, which was also studded with pearls.
“You look amazing,” I said.
Zoe grinned, glanced at herself in the mirror in the corner, and fluffed out her hair. “Yeah, I totally do. Now, Cinderella, it’s your turn.”
“That almost sounds frightening, when you say it like that,” I joked.
Her grin widened. “You have no idea, Spartan. No idea at all. Now, sit down, and let’s get started.”
* * *
Thirty minutes later, I was wishing I’d gone with my original princess costume, but there was no denying the will of Zoe Wayland. I fidgeted in my chair, but Zoe put her hand on my shoulder and yanked me back into place, dabbing a little more gloss on my lips. She was a bit of a perfectionist.
“Are you done yet?” I groused. “If you keep messing with my makeup, we’re going to miss the entire ball.”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I know you’re all eager to get to the museum so you can capture the bad guys, but there’s nothing that says you can’t look fabulous while you’re kicking ass. Now, is there?”
I opened my mouth to snark back at her, but Zoe used the opportunity to dab even more gloss on my lips.
Two minutes and tons of lip gloss later, Zoe finally nodded with satisfaction, capped the tube, and tossed it on top of my vanity table. Then she grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet.
“I’m finished, and I have once again outdone myself. Voilà!”
She grabbed my shoulders and spun me around so I could look at myself in the full-length mirror. I gasped. Zoe had kept her promise to completely transform me. I wasn’t plain old Rory Forseti anymore. I was something more than that—Cinderella and then some.
Zoe had taken my light green satin party dress, cut it into pieces, and braided it together with a beautiful emerald-green leather, creating a tight-fitted bodice with cute cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. Zoe rapped her knuckles on the tough but flexible leather covering my chest and stomach, then on her own mermaid scales. The solid thwacks rang out through my bedroom.
“My version of armor.” She grinned. “Just what every warrior girl needs for a night out hunting Reapers.”
I grinned back at her. “Absolutely.”
Zoe had also stitched long strips of the leather together with more pieces of my satin dress, then draped everything over a layer of black crinoline to create the gown’s poofy ballerina skirt, which fluttered down to my knees. A wide black leather belt studded with dark green heart-shaped stones circled my waist, so I could carry Babs with me to the ball, while a pair of sparkly black sandals covered my feet.
“The flowing skirt gives you great range of motion, you’ve got your sword on your belt, and you can actually run and fight in those shoes,” Zoe continued.
I smoothed down the skirt. “And my hair and makeup? Anything special about that?”
She grinned again. “Fun and functional like everything else.”
Zoe had pulled my black hair up into a high ponytail and fastened it with a clip that featured the same heart-shaped stones as my belt. She’d painted my green eyes with a dark, smoky shadow and added a scarlet gloss to my lips. My only jewelry was my silver charm bracelet and heart locket, which dangled from my right wrist like usual.
“All put together, I call this look Spartan Princess,” Zoe said, a smug tone in her voice.
I stared at myself in the mirror again. She was right. I did look like a Spartan princess, a fierce warrior straight from the pages of some old myth-history book. More than that, I felt strong, like an ordinary person turned into someone extraordinary.
“I agree,” Babs called out from her perch in a nearby chair. “You look fantastic, Rory. Absolutely fantastic. You too, Zoe.”
I smiled at the sword and stared at myself in the mirror again. So many emotions welled up in my chest. Surprise, pleasure, pride, gratitude. But the strongest one was happiness—pure, genuine happiness that Zoe was my friend and that she’d taken the time to make me such an amazing costume.
“I don’t know how or when, but one day, I will find a way to pay you back for this,” I said. “Thank you. Thank you so much!”
I turned around and hugged her tight. Zoe seemed startled by my show of affection, but her arms crept up, and she hugged me back just as tightly, making blue sparks of magic crackle in the air all around us.
“You’re welcome,” she said, drawing back. “Now, what do you say we go meet up with the others and catch some Reapers?”
I grinned back at her. “I’d say that sounds like the perfect night.”
Zoe left my bedroom to text Takeda and tell him we were heading to the gym parking lot. I looked at myself in the mirror again, still amazed by the terrific costume, then went over to grab Babs from her chair. To my surprise, a tear welled up in the sword’s green eye before slowly streaking down her metal cheek.
“Babs? What’s wrong?”
I grabbed a tissue from a box on the vanity table and dabbed the tear off her blade, but the sword sniffled, and another tear streaked down her half of a face.
“You look so wonderful, Rory. I can’t stand it! I just can’t stand it!” She let out a loud wail.
“Shh, shh. There’s no reason to cry.”
“There is every reason to cry.” Babs’s voice trembled with grief. “You’re such a brave, strong, lovely girl. You’re the best warrior I’ve ever had. And I’m going to ruin everything, just like I always do.”
“What do you mean?”
She stared at me, her face completely serious. “Tonight will be the third and final battle you carry me into.”
“I know. Believe me, I know.”
With every day that passed, I had become a little more worried and a whole lot more desperate, especially since I hadn’t been able to find a single book or artifact in the library to help me break the curse. Now it was the night of the ball, and the battle with the Reapers was looming, which meant that I was out of time.
And that I was most likely going to die tonight.
Babs must have seen the dread on my face, because she sniffled again. “I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve such a gruesome fate. You didn’t ask to be saddled with my curse, but it’s going to kill you anyway. Unless…”
“Unless what?”
She gave me a hopeful look. “Unless you forget about the costume ball and stay here tonight. The Reapers won’t be content with just stealing artifacts. They’ll attack sooner or later. You know they will. Your only chance to survive is to stay here, Rory. Stay here where it’s safe. Please. Please do that for yourself. And for me too. I couldn’t stand it if you died the way all my other warriors have.”
I wiped the second tear off her blade, giving myself time to think. I didn’t want to die, a
nd fear, worry, and dread filled my heart at the thought that Babs was right. That her curse would get me killed tonight, no matter what I did or how well I fought against the Reapers. I’d trained for years to become a warrior, and it wasn’t fair that all my hard work had been for nothing. It just wasn’t fair that the battle was rigged and that the outcome—my death—had already been predetermined.
Did I really want to go through with this? Did I really want to die trying to stop Reapers from stealing artifacts and hurting a bunch of kids who all hated me? The other Mythos students wouldn’t care about any sacrifice I might make for them, and they certainly wouldn’t miss me if I was killed tonight. No doubt the other kids would think that justice had finally been served and that I was finally paying for all the terrible things my parents had done.
Maybe they were right about that.
I thought about staying here, safe and sound in my bedroom, like Babs wanted. It would be so easy to do that. I hadn’t wanted the others to worry, so I hadn’t told anyone else about Babs’s curse, but no one would blame me for not going on the mission if I told them about the danger. Aunt Rachel would demand that I stay here and would probably lock me in my room to make sure that happened. Yes, it would be so simple, easy, and safe to stay home and pretend nothing was going on.
I had opened my mouth to tell Babs that I would do as she asked, that I would stay here, when my gaze fell to the charm bracelet on my wrist. The silver heart locket brushed against my skin, and I thought of my parents.
Ever since I’d learned the truth about them, I had been searching for a way to make up for their past mistakes, to right some of the wrongs they’d committed as Reapers, to make things better for everyone. And I had made a difference. I’d helped Gwen find the Chloris ambrosia flowers that had saved Nickamedes, and I’d fought alongside her and her friends during the Battle of Mythos Academy. I hadn’t been the ultimate hero like Gwen that day, but I’d fought and raged and bled right alongside everyone else.
Those things had given me a sense of purpose that I’d been lacking ever since I learned about my parents. More than that, they had made me happy—happy that I was finally using my Spartan fighting skills to help and protect people the way I’d always dreamed of doing.
In that moment, I realized that if I gave in to Babs’s wishes, if I stayed here where it was safe, I would regret it. I would regret not fighting against the Reapers. But even more than that, I didn’t want to be the girl who stayed safe at home while other people risked their lives. Especially not when those people were my friends.
My parents had made their choice, and now I was making mine—even if it might result in my death.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Babs. But curse or not, this is something I have to do. I want justice for Amanda. She would still be alive if Lance hadn’t sicced that chimera on her in the library. Plus, I want to know why Lance tried to recruit me to become a Reaper and especially why Sisyphus is so interested in me. I have to go to the ball tonight, no matter what might happen to me. I hope you understand.”
She stared at me, misery filling her eye, and a third and final tear slowly streaked down her face. I gently wiped it away like I had the others.
“Besides,” I said, trying to make my voice strong and confident. “I’m not just any old warrior. I’m a Spartan, remember? We’re the best warriors around. I’ll be fine. You’ll see.”
“I hope you’re right, Rory,” Babs whispered. “I really hope you’re right.”
Her voice sounded soft, small, and depressingly sad, and I could tell she didn’t believe me. Truth be told, I didn’t believe myself either. I could take down Reapers with ease, but I had no idea how to fight a curse.
But it was my choice, and I was going to see this thing through—even if tonight might be the end of me.
Chapter Twenty-One
I snapped Babs’s black leather scabbard onto my belt and left my bedroom. Aunt Rachel and Zoe were hanging out in the kitchen, and the three of us left the cottage and walked across campus to the parking lot behind the gym where Takeda, Mateo, and Ian were waiting.
Takeda was dressed like the Samurai he was, in a long red robe topped by a black armored breastplate, and a katana hung from the black belt around his lean waist. He looked quite handsome, something Aunt Rachel noticed as well, given the way she stopped and blinked at him. Takeda eyed her poofy blue fairy godmother costume, and his lips twitched up into a small smile.
Mateo wore a pirate costume, with a white shirt and a black leather vest patterned with tiny white skulls and crossbones. A red bandanna hid most of his dark brown hair from sight, and black leather pants and boots finished off his outfit. Instead of the traditional cutlass, a large crossbow dangled from his belt, and the weapon’s metal bolts glimmered in slots all around the black leather.
Mateo saw me eyeing his costume, grinned, and patted his crossbow. “Wearing this seemed like the best and easiest way to bring my crossbow into the ball. Besides, I always wanted to be a pirate. Yargh!”
I grinned back at him, then turned my attention to Ian. Like Takeda and me, he had dressed up as the warrior he was, a Viking.
He wore a black leather shirt, pants, and boots, and a silver chain-mail vest covered his muscled chest. His Viking battle ax dangled from his black leather belt, along with several small daggers. His dark honey-blond hair had been slicked back, and his gray eyes gleamed with anticipation. He was looking forward to taking down the Reapers. Me too.
“No horned helmet?” I asked, deciding to make a joke instead of telling him how great he looked.
Ian rolled his eyes, but a smile crept over his face. “Are you kidding? I would look ridiculous in one of those things. Besides, Vikings didn’t really wear that kind of helmet.”
Takeda cleared his throat. “Now that we’re all here, we need to get to the museum. I want to make sure that we’re all set up on comms and that the Protectorate guards are in place. So let’s move out.”
He gestured at the waiting van, and we all headed in that direction.
Somehow I found myself walking side by side with Ian at the back of our pack of friends. I could see him staring at me out of the corner of my eye, because I was doing the exact same thing to him.
Ian leaned down. “You look nice, Rory,” he murmured in my ear, before straightening up and getting into the van with the others.
I ducked my head so no one would see the pleased blush staining my cheeks and climbed into the vehicle after him.
* * *
Thirty minutes later, Takeda steered the van up to the side of the Cormac Museum. Through the windshield, I could see a long line of limos crawling up the hill and dropping off kids at the main entrance.
We got out of the van and walked over to the side door. Two Protectorate guards dressed like medieval knights in suits of shiny armor were stationed by the entrance, and they both snapped to attention at the sight of Takeda striding toward them.
“Any sign of the Reapers yet?” Takeda asked.
The guards shook their heads.
“No, sir,” one of them said. “We have costumed guards posted at all the entrances, as well as patrolling inside the museum, but so far, there are no signs of anyone or anything suspicious.”
Takeda nodded and led us inside. We walked down a long hallway and stopped at a wide archway that opened up into an enormous rotunda in the center of the museum. The floor and walls were made of a beautiful white marble streaked with pale blue, while the ceiling was a round dome that featured white, blue, and black panels of stained glass fitted together to form several giant stars. Four sets of stairs were spaced around the room, all of which led up to a second-floor balcony that wrapped around the entire rotunda. On both floors, hallways led from the main space to other rooms, where the artifacts were on display.
The Fall Costume Ball didn’t officially start until eight o’clock, fifteen minutes from now, but Mythos students had already packed into the museum. Guys and girls streamed into the rotun
da, all of them dressed in fancy costumes that represented everything from princesses to superheroes to zombies. I even spotted a couple of guys wearing giant wolf heads, as though they were real Fenrir wolves.
Music thumped through the air, and dozens of couples had already started grooving on the wooden dance floor set up on one side the rotunda. Still more couples were hitting the buffet tables, nibbling on gourmet snacks and dipping strawberries, marshmallows, and other goodies into the white-, milk-, and dark-chocolate fountains lined up along one wall.
“We need to split up so we can cover more ground, but I want everyone to stay in teams of two,” Takeda said. “Rory and Ian, Zoe and Mateo. You guys spread out and search the rotunda for Lance and Drake. Rachel and I will start checking the hallways and exhibit rooms on this level. Got it?”
We all nodded at him.
“Keep your eyes open, and stay in contact on comms,” Takeda said. “If you see anything suspicious—anything at all—let everyone know. And watch each other’s backs. We don’t know how many Reapers might be here tonight or what kind of costumes they might be wearing as disguises.”
We all nodded again. Takeda and Aunt Rachel headed for the nearest hallway. Zoe hooked her arm through Mateo’s, and the two of them wandered over to the dance floor.
“You ready for this?” Ian asked.
I stroked my fingers over Babs’s hilt. Now that I was here, I wasn’t feeling nearly as confident as I had earlier. I still hadn’t told anyone about the curse and Babs’s prediction that I would die tonight, and it was too late to bring it up now. It would just be one more thing for everyone to worry about, so I decided to keep the information to myself.
I dropped my hand from the sword. “Yeah, I’m ready. Are you?”
“Let’s do this.” He looked at me. “For Amanda.”
“For Amanda,” I echoed. “And for us too.”
Ian held his arm out to me, and I slipped mine through his. We stared at each other, and I saw the same determination shining in the Viking’s eyes that I felt deep down in my own heart. Curse or not, we were in this thing together, and there was no turning back now. Ian nodded at me, and I nodded back. Together we left the archway behind and stepped out into the rotunda.