We were running out of time and options. Ian and I were down to the final set of rooms on the second floor, and we stepped into another large rotunda.
This part of the museum had been fashioned after a medieval dungeon, and heavy iron gates with sharp metal spikes hung in the two archways that marked the entrance and exit. Both gates were held up by thick, heavy ropes tied off to iron posts embedded in the walls, and the light fixtures were shaped like torches that continuously flickered. I glanced up, expecting the ceiling to be made of some dark stone, but clear glass panes glimmered overhead.
“Nothing,” Ian growled. “There’s absolutely nothing in here that the Reapers would want. You got anything, Rory?”
I shook my head. “Nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that seems superpowerful.”
Ian lifted his hand and adjusted his earbud. “What about you guys? Mateo, Zoe, you got anything downstairs?”
A second later, Mateo’s voice crackled in my ear. “Nope. We checked all the exhibit rooms down here, but they’re all full of kids dancing and partying.”
“There’s no sign of Lance, Drake, or any Reapers,” Zoe added. “We’re at the front of the museum, but we’ll work our way back to the main rotunda, then come upstairs and help you guys look through the artifacts on the second floor. Maybe we’ll see something you missed.”
“Roger that,” Ian said.
We continued our search. I scanned all the display cases on my side of the rotunda again, but everything was the same as before, and nothing stuck out to me. I was about to walk over to Ian when a gleam of red caught my eye.
Curious, I headed toward a display case I hadn’t noticed before. I glanced around the rotunda, comparing where the case was with what I remembered from the surveillance photos, but this case hadn’t been in any of the pictures. Maybe it was part of the new exhibit Takeda had said the museum was going to open after the costume ball. We had found a few cases like that in the other rooms, but why the case was in here wasn’t important right now, only what it contained.
A box.
The case held a long rectangular box made of polished jet. Silver vines curled across the top of the box, wrapping around glittering rubies that formed small flowers. If I had to guess, I would say it was a jewelry box, although it was large enough to hold a dagger or some other weapon.
I’d seen a lot of artifacts, but something about this box made me shiver. Maybe it was the way the midnight-black stone absorbed the light instead of reflecting it back. Or how the silver vines looked more like thorns, pinning the rubies in place like they were bloody hearts. Either way, this box radiated power.
I looked inside the glass case, searching for the identification card that would tell me who the box had belonged to and what magic it supposedly had. But it didn’t have a card, and I didn’t see one lying on the floor anywhere around the case. A sinking feeling filled my stomach. An unidentified artifact that gave me the creeps? This had to be what the Reapers were after.
“Ian!” I called out. “Come look at this!”
He hurried over to me. “Did you find something?”
I pointed at the case, and he leaned forward and studied the box.
Ian frowned. “What would Reapers want with a jewelry box? Or whatever that really is?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, but this is what they’re after. I’m sure of it.”
“And you’re absolutely right, Rory,” a familiar voice sneered behind us. “How nice to see that you have brains as well as Spartan brawn.”
Ian and I whirled around.
Lance stood behind us, along with Drake and half a dozen Reapers.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lance and Drake were both dressed like vampires, in black tuxedos topped with long black cloaks lined with red satin. White makeup coated their faces, black circles ringed their eyes, and fake blood covered their lips, as though they’d taken a bite out of someone.
The other six Reapers sported black bodysuits outlined with white bones, making them look like skeletons, and the same eerie white, black, and red paint scheme covered their faces. Swords hung off all the Reapers’ belts, and Lance and Drake were armed too.
Between the costumes and the face paint, Lance and Drake looked like completely different people, which must be how they’d slipped past the Protectorate guards manning the entrances. I wouldn’t have recognized them either if Lance hadn’t called out to me.
At the sight of the Reapers, Ian and I both drew our weapons. So did Lance, Drake, and their six skeleton friends, and we all stood there facing off, with Ian and me standing in front of the display case. I looked at the Viking, and he nodded back at me. Whatever happened, we both knew we couldn’t let the Reapers get their hands on the jewelry box…or whatever it really was.
“Takeda,” Ian murmured in a low, urgent voice. “The Reapers are here. Repeat. The Reapers are here—”
Drake held up a small black box. “Don’t bother, little brother. I was part of the Protectorate too, remember? I know exactly how Takeda and the rest of the guards operate. We’ve jammed all of your communication devices. The earbuds, the security cameras, the alarms. They’re all down, and Takeda and the guards are completely blind. They have no idea where we are or what we’re doing, which means that no one’s coming to save you.”
“We don’t need anyone to save us,” I growled. “We can deal with you.”
Drake shoved the black box into his pants pocket. “Keep telling yourself that.” He sneered. “I’ve killed Spartans before. You’re not nearly as tough as you think you are.”
I twirled Babs around in my hand, moving the sword into an attack position. “Big talk for someone all the way across the room. Why don’t you come over here and say that again?”
He grinned. “I’d be happy to, especially since you’re standing right in front of what we came here for. But do you know what the good thing is about being at the top of the Reaper food chain?”
“What?” I snapped.
Drake’s grin widened. “Ordering other people to do your dirty work for you.” He waved his hand at the six skeleton-clad men. “Kill them. Now.”
The Reapers raised their swords and charged at us, and Ian and I surged forward to meet them.
“Back to back!” I yelled at the Viking. “Now!”
We skidded to a stop in the open area in the middle of the rotunda, and Ian whipped around so his back was pressed up against mine. And then the Reapers were on us.
Clash-clash-bang!
Clash-clash-bang!