Book 4 Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep

Author:Jennifer Estep [Jennifer Estep]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Linus shuffled some papers around on the table, while the others did the same. Everyone except for Raven, who seemed to be reading another one of her celebrity gossip magazines. At least, I thought I saw a bright, glossy cover hidden in among the stacks of papers in front of her. She noticed me watching her and gave a little shrug. Good to know she was taking this so seriously.

While the Protectorate got ready to start, I stared up at the domed ceiling. Maybe it was a trick of the lights, but the hand holding the set of scales looked particularly prominent today, almost like the hand was straining to punch through the stone above my head. As I watched, a soft creak filled my ears, and the scales began to tilt to one side, as if I’d already been found guilty. It fact, it seemed like the scales were dropping lower and lower, almost as if they might erupt out of the ceiling and crash down on my head, crushing me where I sat—

I blinked, and the carving was just a carving once more, and the scales were perfectly balanced. Sometimes, my Gypsy gift made me see things that weren’t really there, like the pictures that always seemed to come to life in my myth-history books, but those tilting scales had been creepy, even for Mythos. I shivered and dropped my eyes from the ceiling. Or maybe I was just especially freaked out because of what was at stake right now—my life.

Finally, all the papers were shuffled, and all eyes turned to me. Grandma Frost tightened her grip on my hand, letting me know that she was there for me no matter what. I gently squeezed her fingers.

Linus banged the gavel once more. “Let us begin,” he said. “Bring out the basket.”

Basket? What basket?

Raven got to her feet, walked down the dais steps, and headed over to one of the cells. She punched in a code, and the glass whooshed back. The old woman stepped into the cell, bent down, and picked up a small wicker basket that I hadn’t noticed before. She turned and carried the basket over to the stone table where I was sitting. Raven glanced over her shoulder at Linus, who nodded at her to go ahead.

The old woman took the top off the basket, stuck her hand inside, and brought out a snake.

I let out a gasp and lurched back in my chair.

“Easy, Gwendolyn,” Nickamedes said in a low voice. “This is just part of the process. Don’t worry. You have nothing to fear.”

“Now,” Linus said. “Shackle the girl to the table.”

“Shackle me?” I asked. “Why?”

He ignored my question. “Ajax, if you will.”

Coach Ajax grabbed something from under the table. He stood up, and I realized that he was holding a set of handcuffs attached to a long chain. Ajax came over to the interrogation table and put the cuffs and chain on top of it. The harsh clink-clink-clank of the metal rattling together made me wince.

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