“Yeah,” Mateo added. “That dude is scary enough all by himself.”
We all stared at the jewelry box, wondering what secrets it might contain, but we wouldn’t get those answers tonight. By this point, it was after midnight, and Takeda told us all to go home, get some sleep, and take the rest of the weekend off.
“You’ve earned it,” he said. “Especially you, Rory.”
Takeda bowed his head to me, and I returned the gesture. Everyone got to their feet and started collecting their things. One by one, the others headed out of the briefing room and toward the elevator that would take them back up to the main part of the library. Takeda left the box where it was on the table, and I found myself glancing back over my shoulder at it.
Once again, the black box seemed to absorb all the light in the room, instead of reflecting it back. The silver vines gleamed sharp and bright, and the ruby hearts almost looked like red Reaper eyes, staring at me.
I didn’t have Gwen’s psychometry magic, but somehow I knew that the box—and whatever was inside—was extremely dangerous. And that sooner or later, Covington would try to take it away and use it against us.
I shivered, turned away from the box, and left the Bunker.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I rode the elevator up to the second floor of the library. Aunt Rachel and Gwen were standing there waiting for me—and so was Ian.
He pushed away from the wall, straightened up, and walked over to me. “Can I talk to you for a few minutes? There’s something I want to show you.”
“Sure.” I looked over at Aunt Rachel and Gwen. “I’ll see you guys at home.”
Aunt Rachel nodded, turned around, and headed for the stairs. Gwen glanced back and forth between Ian and me, her lips curving up into a knowing smile. I rolled my eyes and made a small shooing motion with my hand. Her smile widened, but she followed Aunt Rachel down the stairs.
“Come on,” Ian said. “This way.”
I followed him. To my surprise, he led me over to the stairs, and we climbed them all the way up to the library roof. Ian opened the access door and stepped back.
“There’s someone here who wants to see you,” he said.
Brono was waiting on the roof.
I rushed over to the baby gryphon, wrapped my arms around his neck, and buried my face in his soft wings.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you so much for saving me.”
The baby gryphon head-butted me. I laughed and started scratching his head. Brono let out a snort of pleasure and leaned into my touch. I kept petting the gryphon and looked over at Ian.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” I asked. “Everyone else thinks it was luck. Or that the gryphons somehow sensed the chimeras and came to help us. But it was you. Somehow you got the gryphons to come to the museum. Didn’t you?”
Ian grinned, the expression lighting up his entire face. “Guilty as charged.”
“How did you do it?”
“I knew we wouldn’t be able to open the gate in time,” he said, coming over and stroking Brono’s wings. “And I thought about the gryphons. I saw how much you loved them and how much they loved you that night they flew us to the Eir Ruins. I knew that if I could get them to come to the museum, they would save you from the chimeras. That they were the only ones who could save you. And then I remembered that artifact we had seen in another room.”
I’d thought Ian had been holding a whistle in the rotunda earlier. “Pan’s Whistle. The artifact that lets you summon mythological creatures.”
He nodded. “So I ran back to that exhibit room, smashed the case, and grabbed the whistle. Then I thought about the gryphons and started using the whistle. I wasn’t sure it would actually work. I blew and blew on it, but I didn’t hear anything.”
“But it did work, because the gryphons heard it, and they came to the museum.”
Ian nodded again, then reached into his jacket pocket and held his hand out to me. Pan’s Whistle glimmered in his palm. I stared at the silver whistle, once again marveling at how tiny it was and how something so small could have such great power. But it had saved my life tonight.
Ian had saved my life tonight.
He looked at the whistle, as if he couldn’t quite believe that he still had it—or that he’d taken it in the first place.
I arched an eyebrow. “Stealing an artifact from the museum? That’s not like you, Viking. Not at all. You’re such a straight arrow. Always following the rules. You’ve probably never stolen anything in your life, especially not an artifact.”
He gave me a sheepish grin. “I know. But Drake and Covington have artifacts, and I figured that as long as they have the chimera scepter, it wouldn’t hurt for us to have some backup too. Or, rather, you.”
I blinked. “Me?”
“You’re the one who’s best friends with the gryphons,” Ian said. “Besides, the whistle is small enough to fit on your charm bracelet. That way, you can carry it with you all the time. I asked Zoe, and she agreed with me. She even made a tiny clasp to hook it to your bracelet. May I?”
I nodded and held out my arm. Ian stepped forward, towering over me. He undid the clasp on the whistle and gently slid it through a link on my bracelet, close to the heart locket with my parents’ picture inside. So many emotions surged through me. Admiration that he’d so cleverly used the whistle. Gratitude that he’d saved my life. And that dizzying, dizzying sensation that made me feel like I was falling and flying all at the same time.
His fingers lingered on my wrist. I wondered if he could feel how fast my pulse was racing right now—and I wondered if his was racing in return.
Ian snapped the clasp shut. “There you go,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “Now, anytime you need to summon the gryphons, all you have to do is grab the whistle off your bracelet, and they’ll find you, wherever you are.”
“Thank you for this,” I said in a soft voice.
He shook his head. “No, thank you. You saved us all tonight. Zoe, Mateo, me. We all would have been mauled to death by the chimeras if you hadn’t sacrificed yourself to save us. I’m sorry that I ever doubted you. You are a true hero, Rory.”
“So are you, Ian. So are you.”
We stared at each other. Ian dipped his head, as though he might lean forward and kiss me. I swayed closer to him, suddenly wanting that more than anything. But at the last second, he bit his lip and looked away, as though he’d lost his nerve. He stepped back, and the moment passed.
Ian cleared his throat. “I have something else for you. It’s over here.”
We walked to the corner of the roof, where a green pot sat on the stone railing. A small white flower stood straight and tall in the center of the rich, dark soil.