But slowly, the gryphons began to get the best of the chimeras. One of the chimeras exploded in a puff of smoke, then the second one. The three gryphons cornered the last chimera, then pounced on the creature all at the same time. A second later, the final chimera also disintegrated into a cloud of smoke…
After that, I must have passed out for a minute, because the gryphons were suddenly standing next to me, with Brono, the baby, hunkered down on the floor right beside me. I smiled and tried to lift my hand to pet him, but I was too weak, and I couldn’t even move my fingers right now…
I must have drifted off again, because the next thing I knew, someone was shouting my name.
“Rory!” Ian’s face appeared above mine. “Rory!”
He fell to his knees, picked me up, and cradled me against his chest. My head dropped down. Maybe it was the pain of all my injuries, but I could have sworn that Ian was holding a tiny whistle in his hand. I frowned. What was he doing with a whistle?
“Rory! Rory! Stay with me!” Ian kept shouting at me, but his voice got fainter and farther away with every passing second.
Then his voice cut off altogether, and the world faded to black.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I woke up in the Eir Ruins.
I must have fallen asleep, since I was sitting on the ground, slumped against the stone fountain in the center of the main courtyard. The sun was setting behind the mountain, and a lovely purple twilight was creeping over the landscape. I rubbed the grit out of my eyes and got to my feet. Something brushed against my bare legs, and I realized it was the skirt from the Spartan princess outfit Zoe had made me for the costume ball.
I frowned. Weird. Why was I wearing this?
A gleam of silver caught my eye. I looked down to find Babs lying on the wide rim that circled the fountain, her green eye closed as though she was sleeping. How had she gotten here? How had I gotten here? The last thing I remembered was battling the chimeras at the museum. My stomach dropped. The only way Babs and I could have gotten from the museum all the way up here was…if I…
If I were dead.
I’d thought the chimeras would kill me, but to realize that it had actually happened…
My heart squeezed tight. Tears pricked my eyes, but I ruthlessly blinked them away. I wasn’t going to break down just because Babs had been right about her curse. Wielding her in battle had been my decision, and now I was facing the consequences. I was a Spartan. Tough, strong, fierce. I wasn’t going to cry just because I was dead—
“Hello, Rory,” a voice called out.
I whirled around, not sure who or what I would find, but I wasn’t too surprised at the familiar figure standing in front of me.
Sigyn.
Black hair and eyes. A long white gown. Old, faded scars crisscrossing her hands and arms. A beautiful face tinged with perpetual sadness. The Norse goddess of devotion looked the same as I remembered from our previous talk here.
The goddess stepped forward, a smile spreading across her face. “Hello, Rory,” she repeated.
“Um, hi.” I glanced around, but we were all alone in the ruins, except for Babs lying on the stone rim of the fountain and the colorful carpet of wildflowers at our feet. “So… I guess the chimeras killed me after all.”
Sigyn let out a laugh. “Why would you think that?”
I shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. All their claws. All my wounds. All the blood dripping out of my body.”
She laughed again. “It takes more than that to kill a warrior like you, Rory. You should know that by now.”
“So…I’m not dead, then?” I asked, totally confused.
Instead of answering me, Sigyn gestured with her hand, asking me to fall into step beside her. I did, and we began walking around the courtyard like we had the first time we’d met here. Once again, all the wildflowers bowed their heads as the goddess brushed past them. I stepped as lightly as I could, trying not to crush any more of the flowers underfoot than necessary, but they all sprang right back up again the second I moved on. Even more unusual, the wildflowers all swiveled in my direction, as though they were tracking me through the courtyard.
I shivered. I wondered if this was how Gwen felt with her psychometry magic. Like flowers and other inanimate objects were watching her all the time. It wasn’t as cool as you’d think it would be. In fact, it was downright creepy.
“You’re probably wondering why I brought you here to the ruins again,” Sigyn said. “You have done well, Rory Forseti. No one could have fought harder than you did against so many chimeras.”
“Not well enough,” I muttered. “Mateo got hurt, and Covington and Drake got away. Plus, they still have the chimera scepter.”
She shrugged. “You can choose to focus on the negative, if you wish. But I choose to focus on the positive.”
“And what would that be?”
“Covington used an artifact to try to turn you into a Reaper. A gold signet ring studded with a ruby that once belonged to Apate, the Greek goddess of deception. Have you heard of her jewels and what they can do?”
“That they can control people’s minds? Yeah, Gwen told me about them.”
“Then you know how powerful they are.” Sigyn tilted her head to the side, studying me. “But you resisted the ruby’s magic and Covington’s commands.”
I shook my head. “I have no idea how I did that.”
“Don’t you?” she murmured.
Her black gaze dropped to my wrist, and I realized that I was fiddling with the heart locket on my charm bracelet. My fingers stilled, and I remembered how the bracelet and locket had glowed with that pure, bright silver light that no one had seemed to notice but me.
“This isn’t just a charm bracelet, is it?” I whispered.
“No, it’s not,” Sigyn said. “But you know that. You’ve known that for days now.”
How could I possibly know that? I started to ask the goddess what she meant, but then I remembered all the artifacts I’d seen in the Bunker, including one that had looked exactly like my charm bracelet.
“The Bracelet of Freya,” I whispered. “This is Freya’s Bracelet—the real bracelet. The one I saw in the Bunker is a fake, isn’t it?”
Sigyn nodded.
“But how did I wind up with it…” My voice trailed off as the realization hit me. “My parents. They gave me this bracelet. They…they must have stolen Freya’s Bracelet sometime before it was taken to the Bunker. They must have left a fake behind in its place, so they could give me the real artifact without anyone realizing I had it.”
I thought of all those times I had searched the library and our old house, looking for a clue from my parents. They had left something behind for me after all, even if I had been too blind to see it until right now.
“But why? Why would they give me the bracelet?”
“What do you know about the artifact?” Sigyn asked.
I fiddled with the heart locket again. “On the identification card, it said that whoever wears the bracelet will be protected by Freya’s love. It didn’t really say exactly what the bracelet would protect someone from.”
“Protected not just by Freya’s love but also by the love of your parents,” Sigyn said. “Your parents gave you the bracelet out of love, which means that no one can ever take it away from you by force. Remember that.”
I stared down at the heart locket. My parents had surprised me with the bracelet on my birthday, and I remembered my mom telling me that it was special, just like I was special to her and my dad, and to always keep it close. I’d absolutely loved the bracelet, and I’d worn it every single day, right up until their funerals. All this time, I had been so angry at my parents, but now I realized that they’d been in an impossible situation, and they’d done what they could to help me. They’d tried to protect me the best way they knew how—and they had.
They had given me a Spartan heart in more ways than one.
“My parents must have known that they might not be able to leave
the Reapers,” I said. “They must have guessed that Covington would kill them and try to get me to take their place someday. That’s why they gave me the bracelet, isn’t it? To protect me from Covington and whatever magic or artifact he might try to use on me. So he couldn’t force me to become a Reaper. So I could use my own free will and decide for myself what kind of warrior I want to be.”
Sigyn nodded. “And that you did, Rory. That you did.”
Another thought occurred to me. “But the bracelet wasn’t the only thing, the only artifact, that helped me. So did Babs with all her talking. That’s why you put the sword out for me to find in the library that first night, isn’t it? You knew that Babs would try to talk me out of becoming a Reaper. That she would help me resist Covington and his magic.”
A smile curved the goddess’s lips, confirming my suspicions. “As I said before, talking swords can be quite useful.”
We kept strolling around the courtyard, both of us lost in our own thoughts. My parents were gone, but I still had the bracelet and my memories of them in my heart. Those were the things I would keep close to me, those were the things I would focus on, those were the things I would treasure, just like my mom and dad had wanted me to.
Sigyn and I walked past a crumbling wall at the back of the courtyard. The goddess stopped and trailed her fingers over the gryphon carved into the stone. I knew this spot—it was where Gwen had found the Chloris ambrosia flowers that had healed Nickamedes. But instead of more ambrosia, a small white winterbloom was growing out of the gryphon’s beak now. Sigyn plucked the flower out of the stone and rolled the dark green stem back and forth between her fingers.
“Your cousin, Gwendolyn Frost, is a true Champion. She did what no one else could, and she saved countless lives by imprisoning Loki. Nike chose her Champion well.” The goddess kept staring at the flower. “I’ve never had a Champion. Not a single one.”
“Never? Why not?”
“It was my fault that Loki escaped his prison, so I thought I should be the one to put him back in it. I didn’t want anyone else getting hurt because of me. It was my error, and I wanted to fix it myself.”
Sadness filled Sigyn’s face, and I knew she was thinking about all the mistakes she’d made with the evil god. About how she’d loved him and how he’d used that love against her. About how Loki had tricked her into freeing him and about all the people who had died as a result. Sigyn sighed, and I could hear all of her heartbreak and regret in that one soft sound.
After a moment, she spoke again. “Loki might be back where he belongs, but unfortunately, a dangerous new threat has risen to take his place.”
“Covington,” I snarled.
“Yes. And I think it’s time for me to have a Champion after all. Now that I’ve finally found someone worthy.” Sigyn looked at me. “I would like that Champion to be you, Rory.”
Shock rippled through me. Gwen had told me that she thought Sigyn had plans for me, but I’d never expected this. Oh, I had considered the possibility during my first meeting with the goddess here in the dreamscape ruins, but since she hadn’t asked me to be her Champion then, I didn’t think she ever would.
I should have, though. Finding Babs in the library. Joining the Midgard. Realizing that Covington had escaped from prison. Fighting the chimeras in the museum. It had all been leading up to this moment.
“Why me?” I asked. “Why would you want me to be your Champion? I’m the daughter of Reaper assassins, remember? That doesn’t exactly make me Champion material.”
Sigyn smiled. “Because we’re a lot alike. We both want to make up for the sins of those we loved. Together, I think we can. Covington has dark, dark things planned. If he succeeds, in a way, it will be worse than what Loki tried to do. But I think you can stop him, Rory. And you’ve already proven yourself worthy of being my Champion.”
“How did I do that?”
“By going to the museum tonight, even though Babs asked you not to. By choosing to fight the Reapers, even though you knew about the sword’s curse. And most of all, by locking yourself in that room with all those chimeras in order to save your friends, even though you knew the creatures would most likely kill you.”
She kept staring at me, and something that Gwen had said to me popped into my mind, something that Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, had once told her.
“Self-sacrifice is a very powerful thing,” I whispered.
Sigyn smiled again. “I see you’ve been talking to Gwendolyn about quite a lot of things. But she and you are both right. Self-sacrifice is a very powerful thing. Perhaps the most powerful thing that exists in all the realms.”
The goddess moved away from the wall. I followed her, digesting her words. A minute later, the two of us were back at the fountain in the center of the courtyard.
Sigyn turned to me, a serious expression on her face. “Loki might be gone, but the world still needs protecting. So I would like you to be my Champion, Rory Forseti. I would like you to fight on my behalf, to help me battle Covington and his new band of Reapers. You’re the only one who has a chance of stopping him. But it’s up to you. Unlike Covington, I won’t try to force you into it. You must choose it of your own free will.”
I thought about everything that had happened over the past few days, from running into Ian on the quad that first morning to fighting the chimeras in the museum tonight. And I realized something: I’d been happier this past week than in all the months before.
My new friends were a big part of that, but I had been truly happy because I was finally doing what I’d dreamed of all along. Helping people and protecting them from the Reapers and their many schemes. And I knew what my decision was—what it would always be.
“I would be honored to be your Champion,” I said. “I would love to be your Champion.”
“But?”
“But how can I actually do that? You know, since I’m dead or whatever? And even if I wasn’t dead, I still have a cursed sword. Not exactly a Champion’s weapon. Especially since it’s one of the reasons I’m dead now.”
Sigyn let out another pleased laugh. “You said it yourself. Self-sacrifice is a very powerful thing—powerful enough to break even a goddess’s curse.”
She stepped forward and held out her hand, gesturing at Babs, who was still lying on the fountain rim, her eye closed. A silver light flashed, searing my eyes with its intensity, and I had to look away from it. But the light faded, and when I looked down at the sword again, Babs’s green eye was wide open, and she was staring up at me.
“Babs once belonged to the Irish goddess Macha,” Sigyn said. “You knew about the curse, and yet you carried her into battle anyway. Not only that, but you sacrificed yourself in order to save your friends. That was more than enough to break Macha’s curse. Now the sword is free of the curse, forever. Babs is yours, Rory. If you want her.”
Babs smiled at me, her metal face shining with hope.
“Of course I want Babs,” I said. “She’s the best sword ever.”
“Then pick her up and make her yours,” Sigyn said.
I bent over and put one hand under Babs’s pointed blade and the other under her hilt. As soon as I picked up the weapon, Babs grew ice-cold in my hand, and the metal started glowing with that silver light again. I had to look away from the brilliant flare, but it faded away a few seconds later.
I looked back down at Babs, and I realized that the symbols on her hilt, the ones I’d noticed when she first told me about her curse in the Bunker, were much more defined now. I traced my finger down the runes. I hadn’t been able to read the symbols before, but now they made perfect sense.
Babs rolled her eye down and stared at the runes. “Finally!” she crowed in a happy voice. “Something good’s carved on me!”
I laughed and slid Babs into the black leather scabbard that was still belted to my waist. Then I looked at Sigyn again.
“And I have a gift for you as well,” the goddess said.
She was still holding that wi
nterbloom, and she brought it up to her lips and gently kissed it. An icy layer of frost immediately covered the flower. In seconds, the frost solidified, turning the white petals a bright, polished silver, with the heart-shaped blossom glittering like a small emerald in the middle of the flower.
Sigyn stepped forward and gently took hold of my hand. She pressed the winterbloom up against my bracelet, and that intense silver light flashed again. When I looked back down, the flower had hooked itself to my charm bracelet, right next to my heart locket.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered. “Thank you.”
“Not just beautiful,” Sigyn teased. “Useful too. And a part of you now, forever, whether you wear the bracelet or not.”
Sigyn bent down and whispered three words into my ear—the same three words that were now carved into Babs’s blade. Then she drew back, still smiling at me. “And now it’s time for you to use your new gift, your new magic, to return to your friends.”
I closed my eyes and concentrated. A strange new power flowed through my body, like the wildflower had taken root in the cold frost that had coated my heart for so long. In my mind’s eye, I could see the winterbloom growing and growing, breaking through the hard shell of icy frost, and I could feel the power spreading out to every single part of my body. I sighed, welcoming the cool, soothing rush of power, and suddenly, I was able to breathe easier. Not only that, but I felt better, stronger, like the chimeras hadn’t clawed me to shreds.
Like I was whole again.
I opened my eyes and stared at the goddess. “Thank you, Sigyn. For everything.”
“No, Rory. Thank you for choosing to fight with me.” She smiled at me a final time, then stepped back and bowed her head. “Until we meet again…”
Sigyn’s gown started swirling around her, and that intense silver light flared again, separating us. When the light faded, the goddess was gone, and I was alone in the Eir Ruins. But I smiled, knowing that I would see her again, even as my own eyes slid shut and the ruins faded to black…