Kiss of Frost

Chapter 12

The next day, Saturday, was the part of the weekend when there was actually a carnival set up as part of the Winter Carnival. Go figure.

Daphne yanked off the covers and pulled me out of bed way,waytoo early. Literally, she grabbed my ankle and used her Valkyrie strength to throw me over her shoulder and haul me into the shower. Sometimes, it really sucked having a best friend who could give the Hulk a run for his money in the weight-lifting department. Especially at seven in the morning.

I'd barely stepped out of the shower when Daphne threw some clothes at me and barked at me to get dressed-or else. Apparently, the carnival was her favorite part of the whole weekend, and she didn't want to miss a second of it, not even to get a few more hours of sleep. And she thought I was a freak.

Grumbling, I threw on some clothes, topped with a clean pair of ski pants and a matching jacket, both in a bright silver that Daphne had picked out for me at the shop yesterday. Boots, gloves, and a cute gray toboggan covered with tiny snowflakes completed my outfit. For once, Daphne actually decided to wear another color besides pink. Her ski suit was a powder blue that made her look like a real ice princess.

We met Carson downstairs in the one of the hotel restaurants. Apparently, the hotel didn't take breakfast quite as seriously as it did the other meals because there was actually some normal food set out as part of a massive buffet: tall stacks of buttermilk pancakes drizzled with apricot syrup, thick slabs of Canadian bacon, enormous omelets stuffed with cheese and colorful veggies. Yum. We washed everything down with spiced apple cider that was the perfect blend of sweet and tart. Then, just after nine, one of the chair lifts whisked us up the mountain and let us off at the carnival.

The Winter Carnival had been set up on a wide, level plateau situated between two of the ski slopes, about threequarters of the way up the mountain. Ring tosses, duck shooting, milk bottle throws, even a couple of polar bear dunk tanks filled with ice water. Every kind of carnival game you could imagine was featured in the dozens of wooden booths that had been erected on the plateau for the day's event.

The small shacks looked like gingerbread houses with their bright, bold colors and crazy, candy-cane stripes. Glittery signs and streamers announcing the various prizes swooped from the corner of one booth to the next, while neon-colored stuffed animals fought for space on the shelves inside. Loud, cheery calliope music trilled through a portable sound system someone had dragged up the mountain, and heaters blasted away here and there in the snow, to help keep the chill at bay. The merchants from the shops in the alpine village had also made the trek up the mountain, setting up separate shacks and bringing their own high-end goods with them-jewelry, watches, designer clothes.

I thought the professors or the resort staff might perform some kind of ritual before the carnival opened. Light a fire, chant some magic mumbo jumbo, and thank the gods for watching over everyone on the mountain. That's what the profs had done a few weeks ago before the homecoming bonfire and dance back at the academy. Truth be told, I'd found it a little weird and creepy. But the kids had already started playing games, and the sounds of bells, whistles, and more trilled through the air. No ritual today then. Good.

But once again, I couldn't escape the statues. A large stone sculpture of Skadi, the Norse goddess of winter, stood in the middle of the carnival area, looking like a twin to the one inside the hotel lobby. Somehow, the goddess looked even fiercer up here on the mountain, in the midst of the snow, and it seemed like the statue radiated cold, despite the heaters tucked next to her feet. Statues of other gods and goddesses had also been planted in the snow here and there, their stone lips curled up into crazy smiles that matched the excitement of the day. I sighed and looked away from them.

It didn't take long for something else to catch my attention, though-the food. Cotton candy, kettle corn, caramel apples, corn dogs, deep-fried Twinkies. I spotted signs for all those treats, and each one made a grin spread a little wider across my face. For once, the food was actually normal, and I wastotallygetting my sugar rush on today. A warm, sweet, delicious aroma filled the air, and I breathed in. Were those funnel cakes I smelled? With powdered sugar and hot cherry sauce oozing off the top? My stomach rumbled in anticipation, even though we'd just eaten breakfast.

"Isn't it fabulous?" Daphne asked, her eyes glittering like black diamonds in her face. "Where do you think we should go first, Carson?"

The band geek put his arm around the Valkyrie and hugged her to his chest. "I think we should go over to the ring toss, so I can win you a stuffed animal. Or a dagger, whichever you prefer."

Daphne arched her eyebrows and gave him an amused smile. "Even though I can totally beat you whenever we play any kind of game in gym class?"

Carson blushed a little. "Yeah, well, I can try. Look how many tickets I bought. Surely, I can win something with them."

He pulled a wad of red tickets out of the pocket of his black ski pants. You had to buy tickets to play the various carnival games, and the proceeds went to help fund the whole weekend trip. Daphne and Carson had both whipped out their credit cards to get tickets for all the games as soon as we'd stepped off the chair lift. They'd dropped close to five hundred bucks each without batting an eye.

I hadn't bothered buying any tickets, though. I wasn't coordinated enough to play one of the games and actually win anything. Well, I might be able to win if there was some kind of archery game, and I channeled my memories of Daphne at her tournaments, just like I did during weapons training. But the Powers That Were at the academy would probably consider that to be cheating.

"Come on," Daphne said, grabbing my hand. "Enough standing around. Let's play some games!"

We wandered around the Winter Carnival for the next two hours, moving from one booth to another. It looked like everyone in the entire Powder complex had turned out for the event, and the whole mountain was crawling with kids, professors, and the resort staff.

I spotted Professor Metis running one of the ring toss games and cheerfully talking to all the students. Nickamedes stood next to her in the booth, handing out prizes to the winners, a pinched, sour expression on his face. No doubt the librarian was allergic to fresh air and sunshine. Sometimes I wondered if Nickamedes was actually a vampire, as pale and pasty as he was. I'd have to ask Daphne about the librarian, and if, you know, vampires actually existed in the first place. Despite all the things I'd learned in mythhistory class, I was still a little unclear on all the different types of monsters out there. Okay, okay, on a lot of things, really.

Metis and Nickamedes weren't the only professors I saw. Mr. Llew, my calculus teacher; Mrs. Banba, the economics prof; Coach Lir, the lean, lanky swimming instructor-they were all helping out with the booths and games. Even Mrs. Raven, the library coffee cart lady was here, manning one of the cotton candy machines.

I had fun watching Daphne and Carson play all the carnival games, but it wasn't long before I noticed there was something a little… off about the contests. Like at the ring toss, where the kids threw spiked metal chains over the heads of Nemean prowlers instead of using simple rings and metal poles. Or over at the milk bottle toss, where the glass bottles all had grinning black masks painted on them to represent Reaper faces. And especially at the dunk tank, where the bulls'-eye reminded me of a drawing of Loki that I'd seen in my mythhistory book, the one where the evil god's face was all twisted and melted from the snake venom that had dripped onto his handsome features for centuries. The venom continually spattering onto Loki had been part of his punishment the first time the other gods had locked him away, before he escaped and plunged the world into the Chaos War.

Then, there were the prizes. Carson hadn't been kidding when he said he could win Daphne a dagger. Most of the booths were crammed with stuffed animals and other oversize toys, but weapons gleamed on the shelves right alongside them-swords, staffs, crossbows, throwing stars, even a shield or two. And lots of kids chose the sharp, shiny weapons over the toys. But even when the students opted for the toys, they were still all wrong. Instead of fluffy pink bunnies and plush black bears, the stuffed animals were shaped like grinning gryphons or stoic sphinxes.

Once I started noticing all the stuff like that, I couldn't quit looking at it-and it seriously creeped me out. Who wanted to go to a carnival where the prizes could be used to murder you? Especially since I knew there was a real Reaper of Chaos lurking somewhere out here in the winter sunshine-one who wanted to kill me.

"Uh, what's with all the games?" I asked Carson at one point, while Daphne was busy shooting arrows through a metal ring that was barely bigger around than my wrist.

"What do you mean?" he mumbled, stuffing a wad of lime cotton candy into his mouth.

"I mean, why is everything decorated with Nemean prowlers and scary, twisted Reaper masks?"

Carson frowned. "What are you talking about, Gwen? The booths and games are decorated the same way they always are. I think they look great."

I opened my mouth to ask him another question, but I realized it was kind of pointless. To Carson, Nemean prowlers, Reaper masks, and bull's-eyes of Loki were completely normal. He'd never been to any other kind of carnival, out there in the regular mortal world, where kids had no idea that mythological monsters even existed or that there was an ancient struggle still being fought today in modern times. Then again, mortal carnivals usually had a clown or two. I supposed images of an evil god who wanted to break free of his mythological prison and enslave the whole world weren't any scarier than a guy wearing big red shoes, yellow plaid pants, and white face paint. Clowns had always creeped me out. They weresonot funny.

Daphne put all her arrows through the ring and won a stuffed gryphon for Carson before we headed off to the next game.

I looked for Preston in the crowd, hoping that maybe we could hook up before lunch and I could introduce him to my friends, but I didn't see him anywhere. No surprise. So many people were crammed into the carnival space that it was hard enough to keep track of Daphne and Carson right beside me. I had my cell phone in my pocket though, waiting for him to text me. Or maybe I'd be brave and text him first. I hadn't decided yet.

One person I had no trouble spotting was Logan. The Spartan stood over at the strong man test, swinging a sledgehammer down onto a platform and making a weight shoot up a tall scale and ring a bell at the top. Big, burly Coach Ajax manned that game, his onyx skin glistening in the sunlight. With his arms crossed over his chest, the coach looked like a granite slab someone had planted on the mountainside, along with all the other statues.

Kenzie and Oliver were hanging out with Logan, all three of them taking turns with the sledgehammer. I glanced at the crowd of girls standing around giggling and watching them, but I didn't see Savannah anywhere. Maybe the Spartans were having a guys' day out or something. Whatever. I did not care what Logan was doing or who he was doing it with. I did not care.I did not care. Maybe if I told myself that enough times, it would actually be true. Yeah, right. Even I didn't believe that, and I was the one who was trying to lie to myself.

My cell phone buzzed in my jacket pocket, distracting me from my thoughts of Logan. I pulled it out and read the message.Ready 4 lunch? Meet me @ hotel in 15 min. P.

"Is that your mystery man?" Daphne asked, looking over my shoulder and squinting down at the screen.

I grinned at her. "Yes, it is. He wants to meet for lunch back at the hotel."

"Oh, okay, well, we'll go with you," Daphne said. "Just let Carson finish his game."

Carson was playing a whacked-out version of Whac-AMole, except he was trying to hit gargoyle heads as they popped up out of a metal table instead of, you know, moles. But he wasn't having much luck at it. A gargoyle popped up on the table, and Carson slammed his hammer straight down on top of it-and the thumb of his other hand, which had somehow gotten in the way. I winced. And I thought I was uncoordinated.

"Nah," I said, taking off my gloves and stuffing them into my pockets. "I know how much you love the carnival. You guys stay here. We'll catch up after lunch."

"Well, if you're sure…"

Daphne's voice trailed off, and she eyed Carson's hammer, no doubt thinking how much better she could do with it, especially with her Valkyrie strength. If Daphne whacked one of those gargoyles, I doubted it would rise back up. She could break the whole table with one blow if she wanted to.

"I'm sure," I said, texting Preston back and telling him that I was on my way down the mountain and would meet him in the lobby. "Go have fun. I'll be fine."

"And what about the Reaper?" Daphne asked in a low voice. "You haven't said anything, but I know you're still thinking about him, whoever he is. I would be. But Metis said she would take care of things, right?"

Daphne didn't know that I hadn't talked to Metis about the Reaper. Instead, I'd told my friend that the professor was looking into things. The vague answer had seemed to satisfy the Valkyrie. Plus, I hadn't said anything else to her about the Fenrir wolf that I'd seen in the trees yesterday and how I thought the creature wasn't just a wild wolf hanging around the mountain resort.

I shrugged. "Nothing's happened since we got here yesterday. Maybe he didn't make the trip to the resort. Or maybe he's having too good a time to want to kill me today."

I laughed at my lame joke, but Daphne didn't smile. She just looked at me, worry filling her face. She was right, though. I hadn't forgotten about the Reaper. In fact, that was one reason why I'd decided not to play any of the carnival games-so I could spy on the crowd instead.

I'd looked at everyone we'd passed today, all the other kids we'd talked to, all the profs manning the booths, all the hotel staff members making cotton candy and caramel apples. I'd even taken my gloves off and accidentally-onpurpose touched a few of them, just to see what kind of flashes I might get, just to see if I could figure out who the Reaper was. But I hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. Everyone was focused on the carnival, all the games they wanted to play, and all the prizes they wanted to win.

"I'll take the chair lift and go straight down to the hotel," I said, crossing my heart with my finger. "Promise. I'll be fine. You'll see."

Daphne still hesitated. "Well, if you're sure…"

I gave her a little push. "I'm sure. Now, go take that hammer away from Carson before he hurts himself with it."

"Yeah," Daphne sighed. "He's not very good with it, is he? But luckily he more than makes up for it in other ways."

She gave me a knowing smirk, and I just rolled my eyes.

"So Carson's a great kisser. Whatever," I said, then grinned. "Although maybe if I'm lucky, I'll discover Preston has some similar talents after lunch."

I left Daphne and Carson at the carnival and headed back over to the chair lift. To my surprise, it wasn't operating, and the chairs dangled like wind chimes strung on the thick, black cables. A grizzled guy with a beard that reached down to his waist crouched by one of the steel stations that jutted up out of the snow. A hatch was open on the bottom of the station, and the guy clipped and twisted the wires inside, working on the electric circuits or whatever controlled the lift.

"Uh, excuse me, but why isn't the chair lift working right now?" I asked.

The guy pulled his head back out of the box and stared at me. His bushy white beard made him look like Santa Claus. "We've been having some electrical problems. Thought I'd take care of it while all you kids were busy playing your carnival games."

"Okay, so when are you going to be done? In a few minutes, maybe?"

The guy shook his head. "Nope. I've got at least another half hour's worth of work here. Probably closer to an hour."

Frustration filled me. I knew it wasn't the guy's fault he was doing his maintenance right now, it was just my bad luck.

"Well, how am I supposed to get back down to the hotel? I'm meeting someone for lunch."

He shrugged again. "I guess you'll have to walk down the slopes. That's what the other kids are doing."

He pointed, and sure enough, I saw a few figures at the very bottom of the mountain, walking through the alpine village and heading for the hotel. Tracks crisscrossed the snow where the other kids had wound their way down the steep slope.

"Thanks," I said.

The guy nodded, stuck his head back into the box, and started fiddling with all the wires inside again.

I should have headed toward the hotel immediately, but instead, I hesitated, my eyes scanning the snowy landscape, looking for the Fenrir wolf. I hadn't seen the monster since yesterday, but that didn't mean that it wasn't still lurking around the resort somewhere, waiting to pounce on me the second it got the chance.

My phone vibrated again, cutting into my thoughts, and I pulled it out of my pocket and read the message.Here already. Waiting 4 U. P.

I bit my lip and put my phone back into my pocket. I didn't want to stand up Preston, and I didn't want to text him some lame excuse about not wanting to walk down the mountain by myself, because there might be a mythological monster after me. He'd think I was crazy. Besides, there were tons of people on the mountain today making tons of noise. Surely, those things would be enough to make the wolf stay hidden wherever it was.

So I stepped into the tracks the other kids had made and set off down the mountain. Despite the fact the other students had plowed a path, the snow was still deep, coming up to midthigh on me in places. I floundered through it, doggedly going down the slope one slippery step at a time.

I moved as fast as I could, but it was slow going, and I was just debating whether or not I should text Preston to let him know I'd be late when I heard the sound I'd been dreading-the low, throaty growl of the Fenrir wolf.

The ominous sound slithered across the snow to me, and I froze, wondering where it had come from. I'd trudged about halfway down the mountain by this point, and the chair lift and the Winter Carnival were up and off to my left. Happy shrieks of laughter mixed with the loud calliope music on that side of the slope.

Okay, the wolf definitely wasn't over there. That only left one other option.

I slowly turned my head to the right, and there the creature was-crouched down in the snow just inside the tree line, like it had been yesterday when I'd first spotted it next to the bunny slope. I'd been so focused on meeting Preston and getting down the slope as fast as I could that I hadn't been paying attention to where I was going, just blindly following the tracks, and I'd drifted over toward the thicket of pine trees that covered this side of the mountain — and the Fenrir wolf.

It looked the same as I remembered-a big, powerful body covered with shaggy, ash-colored fur and burning crimson eyes that seemed to glow with a particular hatred for me. The wolf's lips drew back, exposing its many, many teeth, and it licked its lips with its long, red tongue before its chops drew back in something that looked like a supremely satisfied smile-just like the smile the drawing in my mythhistory book had given me back at the academy.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, Gwen!

I cursed myself. How could I have been so freaking stupid?I knew I had to stay away from the trees, but I'd been so distracted by the thought of having lunch with a cute guy that I'd practically wandered over and given the wolf a pat on the head. Here you go, puppy dog. Here's a tasty treat just foryou.

Before I could worry too much about the wolf and whether or not it was going to leap out of the trees and tear me into bite-size pieces, a tremendous roar ripped through the air, and the ground shook, like the mountain was the epicenter of a violent earthquake.

I fell on my ass in the snow and just sat there, stunned, while the ground bucked and heaved beneath me. Above my head, the chairs on the lift swung back and forth at sharp, crazy angles,creak-creak-creaking with every tremor until I thought they might snap off the cables and come crashing down right on top of my head.

As suddenly as it had started, the intense shaking stopped, and I shook off my shock and scrambled to my feet. I shielded my eyes against the dazzling glare and looked up. Something must have exploded on top of the mountain, because I could see bright orange flames up there, licking at the sky like they wanted to burn all of the blue out of it.

I let out a tense breath. Whatever was going on, it was happening at the top of the mountain and not down here where I was at….

That's when the rumbling started. This deep, violent, intense rumbling that rippled through the whole mountain, the roar of it drowning out everything else. I half expected the snow to split open under my feet and for me to start falling down, down, down into the middle of the earth.

And there was… there was… there wassomething coming down the mountain now. I squinted, trying to see exactly what it was….

My breath caught in my throat, and I realized what the rumbling was.

The explosion that rocked the mountaintop hadn't just started a fire-it had also dislodged the snow. Thousands and thousands of tons of it, all barreling toward me, until the towering, white, shadowy wave of it blotted out the sun.

An avalanche was tearing down the mountain-and I was right in the middle of its path.