Midnight Frost

admit this was a pretty place to hike. There was more snow on the mountain than down at the academy, several inches in some of the higher drifts. Snow-crusted pine trees lined either side of the trail, while needles that were longer than my fingers and pinecones bigger than my fist stuck up out of the white powder here and there. The sharp tang of the trees’ sap permeated the air, mixing with the crisp scent of the snow. A few birds fluttered back and forth in the branches, softly chirping to each other.
    Every once in a while, a dark shadow would zoom over the trail and across the forest, causing the other birds to scream and take flight from their warm roosts. The third time it happened, I looked up, trying to figure out what was causing the birds to freak out.
    Ajax touched my shoulder. “Gryphons,” he explained. “Don’t worry. They rarely attack humans, especially a group as large as ours.”
    Well, that didn’t exactly make me feel better, but I nodded and walked on. There was nothing else I could do.
    But the farther up the mountain we trudged, the more I became convinced that someone was following us.
    I don’t know exactly when I noticed it, but I sensed a shadow on my left, moving parallel to me through the forest. This vague shape I could almost see out of the corner of my eye. If I sped up, the shadow sped up. If I slowed down, it did too. Several times I looked straight ahead before snapping my head to the left, trying to get a better look at whatever it was. But I only saw trees and more trees. If Ajax thought my behavior was strange, he didn’t comment on it. Then again, it wasn’t the weirdest thing I’d ever done.
    Finally, I got fed up with trying to spot the mysterious shadow and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. If there was a Reaper or someone or something else out there, it seemed content to follow alongside us and not attack. I guessed I’d have to be happy with that—for now.
    We’d been hiking for about an hour when Rachel called a halt near a stream. The water running between the two banks was sluggish, since a thin layer of ice covered most of it. But it was a nice spot, and we sat down on the flat rocks along the bank and dug some snacks out of our backpacks.
    “Everybody take a breather for a few minutes,” Rachel said. “We still have at least another hour to go before we make it to the ruins at the top.”
    We’d grabbed some trail mix from the dining hall this morning, and I tore into my packet. Dried mango and apricots mixed with tart cherries, big chunks of dark chocolate, slivered almonds, and honey-toasted oats. The flavors exploded on my tongue, a perfect mix of sweet and salty, with a great crunch and a hint of sour from the cherries. Yum. So good.
    After we finished our snack and chugged down some water, Daphne, Rory, and I headed into the woods to answer the call of nature, so to speak. All the while, though, I kept scanning the trees for that mysterious shadow I’d spotted earlier. But I didn’t see or hear anything, and I didn’t get the sense that I was still being watched. Maybe it had just been some animal following us. That’s what I told myself anyway, even if I didn’t really believe it.
    The three of us started to head back to the others when a soft whine sounded.
    I froze, wondering if I was only imagining things, but the whine came again. That sounded like . . . Nyx.
    I frowned. But there was no way the wolf pup could be here. She was back at the academy, safe and sound with Grandma Frost. But the small, plaintive wail came again, indicating that some sort of critter was in trouble. So instead of following the others back toward the trail, I veered off into the trees.
    “Gwen?” Daphne asked, finally noticing I wasn’t following along behind her and Rory. “Where are you going?”
    “Don’t you hear that? It’s coming from this direction.”
    She sighed and put her hands on her hips. “And of course you’re going to go see what it is, despite the fact that the woods are probably crawling with Reapers. Sometimes, Gwen, I think you’re going to be the death of me.”
    I paused long enough to stick my tongue out at her, then headed deeper into the woods. After a moment, Daphne and Rory followed me. I stopped every few feet, looking and listening. I also drew Vic out of the scabbard belted to my waist.
    The sword yawned and slowly opened his eye. “What’s going on? Are we at the ruins already? Are there Reapers