Paranormal University: Third Semester: An Unveiled Academy Novel

by Jace Mitchell

  “Go on. I’m canceling class today. This whole university might have been a dumb idea, to tell you the truth. Soldiers follow orders. Students do what they want. This half-breed school we have here is neither, so we’re getting the worst of both worlds.”

  No one moved. Jack looked at Marissa, but she was only staring down at her binder. He turned back to the professor. “What are we supposed to do?”

  Byron shrugged. “I don’t know, Mr. Teams. Study for another class. Do some field exercises. Take a nap.”

  There was a long, long pause in which no one moved. Jack wondered if time had actually screeched to a stop.

  Byron spoke once more. “Or decide if you want to be here. That’s what I would do if I were you. I’d figure out if I belong in a place like this. In war, you lose people. We are in a war, and we’re down a soldier. A great one, sure, but the war isn’t stopping. Whatever is coming through the Veil, whatever is being summoned through the Veil, isn’t stopping. So figure out if you belong here, and if you don’t, get the hell out so that we can find some people who do.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Hades pointed out the building about a half-mile away to the human he thought as “the servant.” “That is where they are keeping the witch?”

  Richard nodded. “She’s inside. I have schematics.”

  “Sche-what?” Hades asked without looking at the driver’s side of the car.

  “I can show you where she’s being held inside the building,” Richard replied.

  He has more sense than those other idiots, Hades thought. Maybe there will be room for him somewhere.

  The god shook his head. “No. No ‘skeemaddics’ are needed. I’ll find her.” Hades turned to look at the servant. “Is there something you want to ask? I sense you are thinking.”

  Richard stared out the front window, showing no fear. Indeed, the entire time he’d kept a brave face on, and Hades admired that some.

  “What will you do to her?” the servant asked.

  Hades chuckled and stuck his hand toward the backseat. Cerberus licked his fingers. “I’m not sure yet. I want to lay eyes on the woman who dared steal from me.”

  The servant nodded slightly. “We are all unsure exactly what will happen if you kill her, and I feel it’s my duty to tell you.”

  Hades slowly turned from the dog to the servant. “Continue.”

  “The ghosts…or your staff, are all in Miami. It’s a city here on Earth. The spells that the witch created bind them here, but if she dies, no one is exactly sure what happens to those ghosts. Do they cease existing? Will they cross back over the Veil and into your world?” Richard shook his head. “No one knows. So if you do decide to kill her, you should have that information.”

  “Hmmm,” Hades mused. “Very good. I will keep that in mind. I trust you will be here when I return?”

  Richard kept his hands on the steering wheel. “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. Cerberus and I will meet this thief. Await our return here.” Hades opened the door and stepped out. He held the door for his dog, who hopped first into the front and then to the ground outside, tongues lolling from each head.

  He closed the door and then turned to look at the building. Tall fences with barbwire outlined the area, obviously made to keep people from entering or exiting. There was a single entrance which was manned with men in green clothing—two of them.

  Hades didn’t understand the clothing, but he did understand their purpose was to grant entrance to those who belonged and deny entrance to those who didn’t.

  The servant had explained some of the rules governing who could possibly see him. Hades wasn’t concerned with that at all. These humans were no more a threat to him than a single ant. Still, discretion was the better part of valor.

  He placed his helmet on and then strapped Cerberus’ collar onto the dog’s middle neck, rendering them both invisible. “Let’s go do some hunting, shall we, boy?”

  All three heads barked in agreement.

  The door to Tina’s cell hadn’t opened, but she immediately knew someone had entered her room.

  Tina sat up in bed, her eyes narrowing, but she was unable to see anyone since she could cast no spells to help her see the hidden. But without a doubt, someone was in her domain.

  Please let it be someone from the Following, she thought. Even if only to put me out of this misery.

  She slowly stood up from her bed. “Who’s there?”

  The voice came from everywhere at once, as if bouncing off walls and furniture alike. “Are you the one who took my staff?”

  Tina knew of spells that could make such a thing happen, but she also didn’t think anyone could use magic in here. This was something else, and Tina couldn’t pinpoint exactly where the voice originated from.

  Tina remained extremely still. “What staff?”

  The voice chuckled, an eerie sound that made a chill run down her spine. “My ghosts. Are you the one who took them?”

  Tina stepped back, her heel hitting the wall behind her. Was this the Dark Lord himself? “Are you Lucifer?” she asked with a shaky voice.

  The voice laughed louder. “Lucifer? Lucifer is a young man compared to me. No, I’m not Lucifer, and you didn’t steal his ghosts. You are the one who did do the deed, though, correct?”

  Tina felt her lower lip begin to shake uncontrollably. She was powerless here, unable to cast a single spell, and speaking to something that held no physical form yet seemed to be everywhere at once.

  “We summoned ghosts,” she whispered. “Yes. But we didn’t mean to steal them from anyone.”

  A brief pause and then, “We? There is another?”

  Tina shook her head. “There was, but she’s dead.” For a second, she thought she heard a dog…licking someone. That’s impossible.

  “What are you?” Tina demanded.

  “I am many things,” the voice responded. “But right now, I am deciding what to do with you. They say you are a witch, is this true?”

  Tina nodded, and again she heard the licking. “What is that noise?”

  “At this moment in time, you should only be concerned with answering questions and not asking them,” the disembodied voice answered. “As a witch, what powers do you have?”

  Tina’s left hand reached behind her and touched the glass wall. She didn’t know why; there wasn’t anywhere she could go, yet she wanted to leave this place with every fiber in her body. “I…I don’t know. Defense, offense, the Sight—”

  “The sight?” the voice questioned immediately.

  She nodded quickly. “I can see things that aren’t near me. I can see things that are happening in other places.”

  “But you didn’t see me coming?”

  Tina shook her head. “There are hexes blocking me from doing anything here. I’m powerless.”

  “Hmmm,” the voice mused.

  A pause ensued, and Tina’s terror grew.

  Eventually, the voice spoke again. “You do have some talent that may be useful while I’m here. Perhaps I’ll give you a choice. What do you think, Cerberus?”

  Tina heard a bark, and she slammed into the wall. “What the hell was that?”

  “The fates favor you. He agrees,” the voice replied.

  Tina blinked twice in rapid succession, unsure if she was hallucinating. A man began appearing directly in front of her, from the head down. He was, in a word, more beautiful than anything she’d ever seen. He was bearded, with shaggy brown hair, and chiseled—like one of those Greek statues.

  In between his arm and ribs, he held an ancient helmet. For today’s times, it looked ridiculous.

  He said nothing, only knelt and then fiddled with something else Tina couldn’t see.

  “Holy shit,” she whispered, her eyes widening and her heart thumping heavy in her chest. A dog appeared the same way as the man had, only it had…

  Tina’s heart did a flip. “That’s not possible. The Cerberus? That would make you Hades.”

  “Correct.”
Hades stood up. The dog—all three of its heads—was staring at her with mistrusting eyes. “Clever witch. You have a choice. I can kill you, or you can swear fealty to me. You will do my bidding. You will never disobey. Do you understand?”

  Tina didn’t understand much right now. The three-headed dog was staring at her like it wanted to chew on her thigh. About the only thing she did understand was that everyone in this room could kill her.

  If the choice was dying or following the god of the underworld, well, it wasn’t much of a choice. Tina nodded. Her voice shook as she spoke. “I’ll do as you wish. I pledge myself to you, Hades.”

  A wicked smile grew across the stranger’s face. “Get on your knees, then kiss my hand as you say it.”

  Tina tried not to look at the interested stare from all six of Cerberus’ eyes. If she went to her knees, she’d be at eye level with those teeth. Tina walked forward until she stood in front of this new Myther. She lowered herself slowly to one knee and then dropped the other just as carefully, keeping her eyes straight ahead so she didn’t see three mouths full of teeth staring back at her.

  The Myther presented his hand, and Tina leaned forward before kissing it lightly. “I pledge myself to you, Hades, Lord of the Underworld.”

  “Good,” Hades told her. “You will serve me until your death. Stand.”

  Hades, Tina thought with a sense of awe. She knew that name well enough. She knew a little about some of the other gods, as well. The ghosts came from him? she wondered. We were stealing from a Greek god?

  Hades turned and faced the door.

  Tina wanted to laugh. If Marilyn could have been here to see this, then she would have died laughing, too. They’d stolen from a god. She shook her head and slowly rose to her feet.

  Cerberus had already turned around to follow his master.

  Hades remained standing in front of the unmoving door. “Cerberus and I can get out of here without being seen. You cannot. Moving through physical objects is difficult for us, but not impossible. This isn’t the same for you, obviously. I think we shall just leave like this.”

  The god didn’t turn around to get her answer. He appeared to be talking to himself.

  Should I speak up and let him know this is a military compound? Tina asked herself. She immediately decided that wasn’t the right course of action. The Myther and his mutant dog had made it in here without being detected. He’d be able to get the three of them out.

  What’s the helmet about? she wondered but did not ask. Clearly, it had helped him remain invisible, but Tina didn’t think that asking her new master questions was in her best interest, at least not right now.

  “Come, Cerberus,” Hades commanded without looking at the dog. “Let’s see what kind of damage we can do here and hope we can perhaps put some fear in these humans' hearts.”

  He waved a hand and the sliding door opened, something else that shouldn’t have been possible. Tina didn’t question it, however. She followed the god and his dog, only hoping that life with him was better than death.

  Richard’s hand tightened on the steering wheel when he first heard the gunshots. Using binoculars, he peered the half-mile down the road to the compound’s entrance. The guards were on their radios, both facing the building having forgotten about their actual jobs. His instinct was to slam his foot down on the gas pedal and peel back onto the road, leaving this place in his rearview.

  I can’t do that, though. Hades will find me, and when he does, he’ll kill me.

  There might be gunshots, but Richard truly believed they were only happening because Hades was allowing them to. He must have decided to keep the helmet off for one reason or another, and now was wreaking enough havoc inside the building that the guards were able to see him.

  The only question that really mattered for Richard?

  Should I wait here, or drive up to the entrance and wait there?

  He decided that making the god walk, especially when he was being hunted, probably wasn’t the best idea. He slowly put his foot down on the gas, and the car entered the street from the grassy shoulder.

  Richard kept his eyes focused on the building. He was still hearing gunshots, and perhaps small explosions. But he saw no one breaking out from inside the building. One of the men inside the guardhouse took off at a run, drawing his pistol as he headed directly for the compound’s main building.

  Just as the guard reached the top of the small hill, an explosion ripped through the roof. Flames and smoke billowed up into the air.

  If reinforcements hadn’t been called in already, they have now, Richard thought. He kept the car moving forward, understanding the need to leave was imminent. The god might be strong, but they didn’t want to get in a chase with helicopters and whatever else the military might throw at them.

  Richard reached the entrance. The remaining guard still wasn’t looking at the road. Richard peered around, checking for signs of anyone else, but saw no one. The guard who had run toward the building was either injured or knocked unconscious. He still hadn’t moved from the ground.

  Richard quietly opened the car door and stepped out without closing it after him. He reached into his suit jacket and pulled his 9mm pistol out and moved quickly and confidently to the guardhouse. The door was open. The man standing outside of it had his radio near his face while gazing up at the burning compound. Richard put the muzzle of his gun to the base of his neck and pulled the trigger, severing the man’s spinal cord.

  The guard hit the ground, and the gunshot was lost in the sounds of the war emanating from the building.

  Richard glanced down at his watch. Hurry, damn it, he thought.

  As if the god was reading his thoughts, he appeared. The dog was at his side, blood covering his coat. And damn it if the witch wasn’t with them, too. Richard remembered her from the meeting in Miami, where both of them had been so smug and confident in their abilities. Now one of them was dead and the other, well.

  “She doesn’t look nearly as smug now,” Richard whispered. Her face was both pale and tinged with dirt and what appeared to be splashes of blood. Richard had no idea what Hades planned on doing with her, but that was above his pay grade. They had to get the hell out of here and fast. While the god might be able to beat back the US government, Richard would end up dead or in cuffs.

  Neither of which sounded very appealing.

  He stepped into the guardhouse and quickly found the button that opened the gate. He pressed it, the metal automatically beginning to pull back. Richard exited the small shack and stared at Hades. Damn it, hurry! he wanted to yell. He kept his mouth shut.

  Richard walked to the car and hopped in the front seat, then leaned over and pushed the passenger door open.

  The dog rushed in first, ignoring Richard completely. Hades sat down in the passenger seat, and the witch paused for a moment at the back. She was looking in the window at the dog, obviously not wanting to sit down next to it.

  Hades didn’t glance back as he spoke. “Get in. He won’t bite you.”

  The witch was obviously cowed because she opened the back door and got in, although she kept herself pressed to the door after closing it.

  “She works for me now,” Hades told Richard as if that explained everything. “Now, take me back to those five idiots. I have some more questions for them.”

  Richard glanced quickly in the rearview mirror. Tina had not moved or shown any emotion at all when the god mentioned her.

  Richard nodded and pulled off into the street. “We may run into authorities very shortly,” he explained to Hades.

  The god raised a hand and made a motion as if wiping away something nasty. “Don’t worry about the authorities. I’m the authority now.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “What are you thinking?” Jack asked.

  “I’m trying not to,” Marissa answered.

  The two were lying on the lawn at nearly the same spot the three of them had spent an afternoon in last semester. This time they had no books, a
nd Jack hadn’t brought his ball. Neither of them had wanted to be cooped up in a room, and neither of them wanted to be alone either. Twenty-four hours had passed since Byron gave his lecture, and both had skipped every class since.

  Jack was lying on a towel with his eyes closed. The sun was scorching overhead, and he’d already started sweating. “I can’t help but think about all this. I mean, in a way, Byron is right. We either have to keep trying, or we have to quit.”

  “So? You going to quit?” Marissa turned over on her towel.

  Jack sighed. “I think I have to. My heart isn’t in this anymore. There appears to be no leadership from the top right now. Claire is gone and apparently not coming back under any condition. All I’m doing is taking up space that could be used for someone who actually wants to do this.”

  Marissa rolled over on her side so that she could see him. “I understand what you’re saying, but I keep going back to the same question over and over. If not us, then who? If this university is the last line of defense, and we’re the best students it has, who’s going to help?”

  Jack shrugged. “The way Byron talked, it didn’t matter if we were the best. If our hearts aren’t in it, it won’t matter anyway.”

  “Hey…”

  Jack recognized the voice immediately. He quickly rolled over and shielded his eyes from the sun. Samantha was standing about four feet away, having crept up on them without either hearing it.

  Our skills are getting rusty, Jack thought, or she’s good.

  Marissa sat up, also shielding her eyes. “Hey, Samantha. What’s up?”

  She gave a soft smile. “Would you mind calling me Sam? Only my mom and some of the professors here call me Samantha.”

  “Sure thing,” Marissa answered. “I don’t have much control over the Neanderthal next to me, but I’ll make sure to remember.”

  “Zip it, Sissy,” Jack shot back.

  Sam stood there awkwardly for a moment or two, and then asked, “You two have a minute to talk?”