“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” a voice called out down below.
I looked in that direction and spotted Drake shoving another guy out of his way. The other guy flew through the air and landed in the pool with a loud splat! Water sprayed everywhere, making the other kids shriek with laughter.
“Run, you idiot!” Drake yelled at Lance. “Run! Now!”
Lance kept staring at me, his face twisting with rage at the fact that I was still alive. The feeling was definitely mutual. I moved toward the steps to chase after him, but Lance lifted his hand, the gold scepter glimmering in his fingers. I froze. Lance gave me an evil grin and drew back the scepter, like he was going to summon more chimeras, but Drake broke free of the crowd, ran over to him, and shoved his hand down.
“Forget about her!” Drake yelled. “There’s no time! The Protectorate’s here! We have to leave! Now!”
He pushed Lance forward, and the two of them shoved their way through the crowd, heading toward the lawn on the far side of the pool. From there, they could easily vanish into the woods beyond.
More and more shouts rose up, and several men and women wearing long gray cloaks streamed out of the mansion and into the pool area. Through my earbud, I could hear Takeda barking out orders, trying to coordinate with the Protectorate warriors, but I ignored his shouts. The warriors were on the opposite end of the pool from Lance and Drake, and they wouldn’t reach the Reapers in time.
But I could.
I tightened my grip on Babs, pounded down the stairs, and chased after Lance and Drake. Pushing past the other kids was almost like being in a fight, and I let my Spartan instincts take over and show me which way to move, when to sprint ahead, when to fall back, and when to dart around.
None of the other kids batted an eye at my running past them, a sword in my hand and blood covering my clothes. A few kids glanced at me as I rushed by, but no one called out or followed me to see what was going on. Of course not. They were all too busy partying to pay any attention to the danger they were in.
I skirted around tables, leaped over lounge chairs, and plowed through groups of kids, trying to catch up to Lance and Drake. I even knocked a couple of guys into the pool, although they howled with delight, thinking it was all part of the fun. Warm water cascaded all over me, soaking me to the bone, but I shoved my wet hair out of my eyes and kept going.
Up ahead, Lance and Drake had already reached the lawn, and they crossed it and sprinted into the dark woods beyond. I finally broke free of the kids around the pool and followed them.
It took me less than a minute to reach the woods. The trees crowded together, and the dense tangle of leaves and branches blocked out most of the light from the pool area and the mansion. Unlike many of the Mythos kids, I didn’t have enhanced senses, so I had to slow down for fear of tripping over a tree root or a loose rock in the darkness. I might be a Spartan, but even I couldn’t fight on a broken ankle. Still, I moved as quickly and quietly as possible, peering into the shadows and searching for the telltale glint of a sword or the faint glitter of someone’s eyes—
Crack!
A tree branch slammed into my back, making me grunt with pain and fall down on my hands and knees. I lost my grip on Babs, and the sword tumbled away, smacked up against a nearby tree trunk, and clattered to the ground.
“Rory!” Babs cried out, her eye widening. “Behind you!”
I rolled to the side, and a sword bit into the dirt where my body had been a moment ago. I looked up. The Reapers loomed over me, Lance clutching the tree branch that he had hit me with and Drake raising his sword for another strike. I snapped up one hand, desperate to ward off the brutal blow, even as I kicked myself backward on the ground and clawed my other hand through the dirt and dead leaves, trying to find a loose stick or a rock or something—anything—that I could use to defend myself.
“Die, Spartan!” Drake brought his sword down.
Clang!
A silver katana banged into Drake’s weapon, stopping it from cutting into me. Suddenly, Takeda was there, along with Mateo, who was also holding a sword. Lance and Drake turned and ran off deeper into the woods, with Takeda and Mateo charging after them. In an instant, all four of them had vanished.
I scrambled to my feet, grabbed Babs, and whirled around, ready to get back into the fight. I could hear Takeda and Mateo yelling through my earbud, but I couldn’t see them, so I didn’t know which way to go. Shadows cloaked everything around me, and I couldn’t pick out any movements or trails in the darkness.
Clash-clash-bang!
Clash-clash-bang!
Swords crashed together in a loud, violent chorus, but I couldn’t pinpoint which direction the noises were coming from. After a few seconds, the sounds vanished. In the distance, I thought I heard a car engine rumble to life, along with the squeal of tires. If Lance and Drake had gotten into a vehicle, they were gone. But I didn’t know for sure, so I held my position in case the sound was some kind of trick and the Reapers decided to double back this way.
Footsteps scuffed through the fallen leaves, heading in my direction, and I raised my sword into an attack position. A few seconds later, Takeda appeared, with Mateo following him.
I let out a tense breath and lowered my weapon. “What happened?”
Takeda shook his head. “They had a car waiting at the edge of the woods. We lost them. I’m sorry, Rory.”
“It’s okay,” I said, even though it wasn’t. “We need to get back to the mansion. Ian and Zoe are hurt.”
Takeda nodded and headed in that direction. Mateo stopped and squeezed my shoulder, letting me know that he was glad I was okay, then followed the older man. I sighed, slid Babs back into her scabbard, and headed after them.
*
By the time we made it back to the mansion, the kids around the pool had finally realized that something was wrong. So had everyone in the house. Someone had cut off the insanely loud music, and the students huddled in groups, being questioned by the Protectorate members.
The party was definitely over.
I pointed out the steps I’d raced down earlier, and Takeda, Mateo, and I climbed up to the third-floor office where Ian and Zoe were.
Zoe was awake and sitting up against the wall, although her hazel eyes were distant and unfocused, as if she wasn’t really seeing what was in front of her. She kept blinking and peering at the dagger in her hand like she didn’t know if it belonged to her. I’d seen that dazed look before, and I knew she had a concussion.