“I never thought I’d say this, but Gwen Frost actually did me a favor,” Covington said. “When Loki attacked the North Carolina academy, many of the Protectorate members dropped everything and rushed to campus to join the battle. That made it so much easier for the Reapers working at my prison to free me. They snuck me out of my cell just like that.”
He snapped his fingers, making me flinch. Out of all the bad things that had happened with my parents, I’d thought that I had at least captured their killer. That the evil librarian was locked away in some dark cell where he could never hurt anyone ever again.
But I’d been wrong about that—so very, very wrong.
“Who is this guy?” Ian asked.
Covington arched an eyebrow. “Rory hasn’t told you about me? About how I worked with her parents all the years they were Reapers?”
“You murdered my parents,” I snarled. “Cut them down from behind like the coward you are. You knew you could never beat them in a fair fight, so you stabbed them both in the back.”
Sympathy flashed in Ian’s eyes, and he stepped up so that he was standing right beside me in a silent show of support. Knowing that he was here calmed me, and I finally felt like I could breathe again.
Covington shrugged. “Fighting fair is overrated. You heroes never seem to understand that. It’s why you always lose.”
I opened my mouth to snap that he was the only one who was losing tonight, but Covington started pacing back and forth, and the loud tap-tap-tap-tap of his wing tips on the marble drowned me out before I could get started. The sharp motions made his red cloak billow out around him as though he were wrapped in a cloud of blood.
Lance and Drake moved back out of their boss’s way, while the two chimeras sat down on their haunches, waiting for someone to give the order to attack.
Finally, Covington stopped pacing. His hazel gaze flicked past me to the jewelry box still sitting in its case. Then he focused on me again.
“In addition to making it easier for me to escape from prison, your dear cousin Gwen actually did all of us a huge service, especially the Reapers.”
I frowned. “Why would you say that?”
“For centuries, the Reapers tried to bring Loki back. Generation upon generation worked so hard and fought so long to make it happen.” Covington shook his head. “They were grand fools. All of them.”
“And why is that?” Ian asked.
“We didn’t need a god to come here and rule us. We didn’t need a god to help us defeat the Protectorate. We were doing just fine on our own.”
“Really?” I snarked. “Living in the shadows? Lying to everyone? Worried that you’d be discovered as an evil monster and put in prison at any moment? Yeah, you Reapers have really been living the high life.”
Covington ignored my mocking tone. “I tried to convince Agrona and the other Reaper leaders that they were being fools. That Loki wouldn’t care about us and all our hard work to free him. That he was a god and would expect us to bow down to him, just like he’d wanted the entire world to bow down to him when he first tried to conquer it. But Agrona and the others didn’t listen to me, and now they’re all either dead or in prison.” He shrugged again. “Their loss was my gain. I always was smarter than Agrona. I realized something a long time ago that she never did.”
“And what’s that?” I asked, even though part of me didn’t want to know the answer.
Covington’s face twisted into a sneer, and a bright, fanatical light burned in his hazel eyes. “Why should people bow down to Loki when they can just as easily bow down to me?”
My heart dropped like a stone in my chest. Takeda had told me that Sisyphus—Covington—was the leader of the Reapers. That was bad enough, but that wasn’t all the evil librarian wanted. Not even close. No, he wanted to rule the world, just like Loki had, and he would do whatever it took in order to make that happen—hurt, lie, cheat, steal, kill.
“What are you up to?” Ian demanded. “What do you plan to do with the artifacts you’ve stolen?”
Covington let out a soft laugh. “I could tell you, but it’s none of your concern. Besides, you’ll soon be too dead to care.”
Drake stepped up beside the librarian and stared at his brother. “This is your last chance, Ian. Join us, and be on the winning side.”
“Never,” Ian snarled, raising his battle ax. “I will never join the Reapers, and I will never join you.”
Drake shook his head. “You always were more stubborn than smart. You just don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what?” Ian snarled again. “The fact that you don’t even care about your own brother? Oh, I think I’ve gotten that message loud and clear.”
“You don’t get how the world really works, little brother. The only things that truly matter are magic, power, and money. Love? Family? Friends? Honor? Those are distractions.” Drake sneered. “They make you weak. They make you vulnerable.”
Ian stared at his brother like he was a stranger he’d never seen before. I knew that horrified look and all the turbulent feelings that went along with it. “If family makes you weak, then why do you want me to join you?”
“Because you’re a great warrior and would be a valuable asset to the Reapers,” Drake said. “Nothing more, nothing less. This is your last chance, Ian. Join us—or die.”
Ian looked at his brother, then at Lance and Covington, and finally at the two chimeras sitting on the floor waiting to attack. His face hardened, and anger sparked in his eyes, turning them that beautiful storm-cloud gray.
“I’ll take my chances with my friends,” Ian said. “With Rory.”
Drake shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
He looked at Covington, who nodded and stepped forward again.
“Well, just because the Viking has turned down our generous offer doesn’t mean you have to, Rory,” Covington said.
That was the last thing I’d expected him to say. “What are you talking about?”
“Your parents and I did great things together, so naturally, I took an interest in their daughter. I’ve been watching you ever since you first started attending the academy last year. And of course I heard the reports about how well you fought during the battle in North Carolina.” Covington smiled at me. “You’re an even better warrior than your parents were. Smarter, stronger, faster, more cunning and vicious. With you at my side, the Protectorate doesn’t stand a chance. So join us, Rory. Join me, and become a Reaper. Become the Reaper you were always meant to be, the Reaper your parents always wanted you to be.”
I opened my mouth to tell him to forget it, that I would never join him, the man who’d murdered my parents. But then the strangest thing happened. Covington’s words echoed from one side of the rotunda to the other, reverberating back to me time and time again, until they were all I could hear, blocking out everything else.
Ian shifting on his feet beside me, Lance and Drake sneering at me, the chimeras idly scraping their claws against the floor. All of that faded away, and all I could see was Covington, and all I could hear was his sly voice whispering to me.