Paranormal University: Third Semester: An Unveiled Academy Novel

by Jace Mitchell

  The flames in Hades’ eyes blazed as the muscles in his jaw flexed.

  If he doesn’t cut my tongue out, I definitely need to do it, because this is just stupid. Jack started drumming to the beat of the song gently with his fingers as he added in the melody. “I don’t believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now.”

  Hades stood up and took one step toward Jack. He didn’t slow down time, because Jack saw the foot heading straight for his face just fine.

  Then, the world went black.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Dean Pritcham escorted Claire, Frank, Dr. Byron, the agents, and Al to Dr. Mitchen’s laboratory and gave him the short version of what had happened to Jack and Marissa.

  Dr. Mitchen looked around the laboratory with squinted eyes. “Tell me honestly, is there a ghost here?”

  Regardless of everything else going on in the world, Dr. Mitchen always appeared cheery. Fire and brimstone could be falling from the sky while volcanos erupted across every continent, and Dr. Mitchen would still sound as if he were ordering breakfast at his favorite restaurant. Claire loved him for it.

  The group had arrived at the university thirty minutes ago, meeting Dean Pritcham at the front door. Claire hadn’t seen her in a few weeks, but it felt like ages.

  Claire thought Dean Pritcham looked the exact opposite of Dr. Mitchen. Like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

  Frank stood at Claire’s side, tapping his index finger on the side of his head in thought. “Hey, Doc, ye aren’t going to be able to see him. Just like ye can’t really see me for what I am. I thought ye lads were supposed to be smart?”

  Mitchen quit looking around the room though he didn’t stop smiling. “Well, I can see you, Frank, so I’d hoped maybe I could see some other version of the ghost. Does he have a name? Do ghosts have names?”

  Al stood behind Remington’s wheelchair. He’d been helping wheel it around since they all decided to head back to Boston. “I like this guy. He’s the nicest human I’ve met over here. I’d probably tell him my real name if you all weren’t here. For now, though, go ahead and let him it’s Al.”

  Frank looked over his shoulder. “Shut it, spirit.” Turning back to Mitchen, he said, “His name is Sue.”

  “Damn it, Frank!” Al grumbled. “I’ll get you back for that.”

  Mitchen smiled. “Nice reference, Frank. I don’t know if our younger crowd gets it.”

  Claire rolled her eyes. “I get it. Anyway, yes, there’s a ghost. No, you can’t see him. Dr. Mitchen, I hate that we only get to talk at desperate times, but this may be the most desperate yet. I don’t want to be rude, but what do you have for us?”

  Dr. Mitchen nodded. “Very true, and the truth is rarely rude, my dear. Come.” He turned and began his walk through the laboratory that had once mesmerized Claire, but today only felt like it was too long by half. She wanted to get in and out of here so that they could get to the business at hand.

  Killing the son-of-a-bitch who had her friends.

  Mitchen spoke as he led the way. “Perhaps these are very desperate times, but we’re actually in better shape here than we were the last time you visited us. You see, we did well with vampires. With the ghosts, we had very little time and very little that could help. But we began working on things that might combat the Greek gods as soon as the laboratory was up and running. We worked out early on that the greatest myths of all time would be likely to cross the Veil at some point, so you’re in luck.”

  He took a left, and they passed row after row of tables and the people working at them. Claire didn’t give them a glance this time. Instead, she turned her head to Dr. Mitchen. “So, what happened with Marissa and Jack? If we have all this stuff, why didn’t it help them?”

  Remington fielded the question. “We didn’t use it.”

  Claire stopped walking and turned around, nearly colliding with Remington’s wheelchair. “What do you mean, you didn’t use it?”

  Dr. Mitchen spoke up from behind her. “Perhaps I can help with that.”

  Claire nodded while still staring at Remington. “Somebody had better.”

  “There were reasons, Claire.” Remington sounded almost angry. “You weren’t here. You didn’t come back. So don’t try to judge anything we did now. I won’t hear it.”

  Claire glanced at Lance and thought he might stand up and actually punch her if he could.

  Mitchen’s voice was much softer. “Let’s all calm down. There were reasons, and if you continue walking with me, I’ll tell them to you. As you said, we are short on time.”

  Claire nodded, and the group started moving again.

  Mitchen resumed speaking as they walked. “Unfortunately, while we have one piece of technology that will help, we are not able to replicate it easily. What you’re going to see is unique and fresh out of development. If something happens to this one, it will be another two years before we create a replacement, although we are working on expediting the process.”

  Claire shook her head and looked at the floor. “It still doesn’t make sense why Marissa and Jack didn’t have it. I wasn’t here. I wasn’t coming back.”

  Remington had Al speed up so he was being wheeled beside Claire. “This is unproven technology, a what-if. You said you weren’t coming back, but you know Lance and I never believed it. You weren’t ready when we asked, but we know you better than that. We had Hades down as being like any other Myther. Marissa had her spells, a team of Navy Seals to deal with the humans. One, we thought we would all come back safely, and two, we knew that you would return if something did happen, and we wanted to have something that might help in that instance. Plus, we were wrong about what we were up against. Hades is not like any Myther we’ve encountered so far.”

  Claire gritted her teeth but said nothing. There was some logic to the answer, but it still wasn’t the choice she would have made. They weren’t playing to win, as the saying went. They’d had contingency plans, and that’s not how Claire operated. She went into every situation with the expectation of winning, and she would have used all the tools at her disposal. She wouldn’t have left anything behind.

  It’s too late now, she thought.

  They reached a door on their left, and Dr. Mitchen came to a stop. He flashed a key card on the door’s panel, and a small light set into it turned green, then he turned the handle and entered. Claire followed close behind, and the rest of the crew filed in behind her.

  White lights burned overhead, giving the sparse room a distinctly clean feel. There was only one thing in the room for Claire’s eyes to be drawn to, a circular table set against the wall on the other side with a glass casing on top of it. Inside the glass case was a hat—a baseball cap, to be exact. Purple, cursive letters were scrawled across the front that read “University of Paranormal Studies.”

  Claire moved closer to the table and peered skeptically at the cap. “We’ve got our first schoolwear? Is there a shirt to go with it?”

  Dr. Mitchen smiled without looking away from the glass case. “If we could make as many articles of clothing as possible, certainly we would have made a shirt. Unfortunately, this hat is all we have. It’s the only thing like it in the world, or it was until Hades arrived.”

  Dr. Byron spoke up from the back of the group. “You really did it? Recreated the properties of Hades’ helmet in that hat?”

  Mitchen nodded with a distinct look of satisfaction on his face but said nothing.

  Claire looked over her shoulder at the group behind her. “Does someone want to explain this to me?”

  Byron moved from behind Lance’s wheelchair and walked over to Claire’s left. Dean Pritcham came with him, going to stand on the other side of Dr. Mitchen. She spoke with amazement. “The myths of Hades say he had a helmet that could make him invisible. No one could see him when he put it on, and his dog has a collar that does the same. That’s how no one saw them when they broke in to free the witch.”

  Byron reached forward as if to touc
h the glass but held his hand just before he made contact. He glanced over to Dr. Mitchen. “Does it work?”

  Mitchen chuckled. “Let’s hope so. If not, it’s a lot of wasted money.” He took hold of the glass encasement with both hands and slowly removed it, exposing the hat sitting atop a circular gray base on the table. He picked the hat up and turned it around slowly in front of his face, smiling the entire time. “Claire, would you like to put it on?”

  Claire’s eyes went wide when they told her about the hat. She’d come down here expecting to receive something that would help. Somehow, it hadn’t actually dawned on her that she’d have to wear the hat. Now she knew this was the thing they’d brought her to see.

  Dr. Mitchen turned and presented the hat with the words facing her. “We didn’t know who we were building it for when we started, but now I think it’s clear we were building it for you this whole time. Go on.”

  Claire was quiet as she took the hat. “What is going to happen when I put this thing on?”

  Mitchen shrugged good-naturedly. “Hopefully, you become invisible. There is always a chance that you’ll disappear into another realm, though.”

  Claire quickly looked up and glared.

  Dr. Mitchen put his hands out defensively. “Kidding, kidding. When you put it on, no one will be able to see you, but you will be able to see us. Simple.”

  Claire stared at the purple writing again. The hat was light and didn’t feel any different from any other hat she’d held. She sighed. “If I end up in another dimension, I’m going to come back and kick your ass, Mitchen, even though I do like you.”

  Mitchen put his hands in his pockets. “That seems fair.”

  “Hurry up, lass!” Frank nearly shouted.

  Claire gave him a quick glare. “Shut it.” She took the hat and placed it on her head, bill facing forward. She glanced around her quickly. Everyone was still in the same place.

  She saw the blood draining from their faces and their eyes widening so large it looked like their eyeballs might actually fall from their heads. Everyone but Dr. Mitchen, at least.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  Byron leaned forward, his face almost at where her breast was.

  Claire took a step back. “Watch it, professor.”

  He’d paused, though, and seemed to be looking straight through her at Mitchen. “Can we touch her? Is she still in the room?”

  “Yes, you can. She can still interact with objects in the room,” came the reply. “You just can’t see or hear her.”

  “Fascinating!” Dr. Byron waved a hand in front of him and was most definitely about to cop a feel.

  Claire grabbed his hand and twisted it, causing the old professor to pull back quickly and give a pained yelp.

  Remington laughed from Claire’s left. “I guess she doesn’t want you touching her.”

  Byron was rubbing his wrist, but he held no anger on his face, just wonder. “How utterly fascinating.”

  Claire stepped around him and walked to the other side of the room. The rest of the group was still staring at where she’d been when she put on the hat, having no idea she’d moved at all.

  This. Is. Awesome.

  Claire walked to Frank’s side and stood there for a second, thinking about what to do. Finally, she put her finger in her mouth, got it nice and wet, then shoved it deep in the leprechaun’s ear.

  “What the fucking fuck!” Frank jumped back, his hand trying to clean out the saliva in his ear and his eyes frantically searching for her.

  Lance and Remington were holding their stomachs, laughing. “She gave you a wet willy, huh, Frank?” Remington asked.

  Frank shook his head hard. “I don’t know what that is, but I know the lass just earned herself an ass-kicking when I can see her again.”

  Claire was smiling, but she wasn’t going to be standing next to Frank when she took the hat off. She made her way to the other side of the room to where Dean Pritcham was standing and took the hat off.

  Remington saw her first. “That was impressive.”

  The rest of the room turned to where she now stood.

  Mitchen nodded enthusiastically. “It works.”

  Frank was still rubbing the inside of his ear. “A bit too well if you ask me. Claire, me dear, you’re going to pay for that.”

  Byron ignored everyone else. “How did it work, Dr. Mitchen? How is it even possible?”

  Mitchen opened his mouth to explain, but Claire started talking before he had a chance. “Nope. I don’t have time for that right now. You two can discuss the science once I’m out of here, but I’ve got to go get my friends. Dr. Byron, sorry about the wrist. You were about to grab my boob.”

  Byron’s face immediately turned a bright red. “My-my-my apologies,” he stuttered.

  Claire winked. “No worries. Just don’t try getting fresh again.” She turned her attention to the FBI agents. “We’re burning daylight, fellas. What in the hell is the plan?”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  It still hurt when Jack swallowed or moved his neck at all. He had a nice, large, purple bruise and was doing his absolute best not to touch it. Sam was pretty banged up too, her ribs were possibly broken. She said it hurt when she breathed, and that wasn’t mentioning the bruise on her shoulder from where she’d landed after Hades’ kick. Marissa probably got the least of it all, as the dog hadn’t done more than scratch her up.

  All in all, though, Jack didn’t think things were looking great for the group.

  The three shared a room inside the mansion. It had two sets of bunk beds, with Jack sleeping on one of them, and the ladies sharing the other. Sam stayed on the bottom one, simply because climbing up to the top was an impossibility at this point.

  They were allowed free movement within the mansion—if free meant that every time they stepped out of their room that damned dog was following them, which basically made escape impossible.

  Now the three of them lay on their beds. Jack was on his back, staring at the bunk above him. Sam was in a similar position, probably because lying on either side hurt too much, judging by the small gasps she made with every movement. Marissa’s breathing was even. She might have actually been asleep; Jack couldn’t tell.

  Jack’s hands rested on his stomach, moving up and down slowly with his breath. “Aren’t you glad you came? That reunion with Uncle Bill was really breathtaking. He clearly really loves you.”

  Sam didn’t move in response to his question. She remained as still as possible because to do anything else was to invite pain. “He’s different.”

  Jack chuckled sadly. “You mean he wasn’t always that warm and loving?”

  Sam shook her head gingerly, gritting her teeth against the flash of pain. “He wasn’t ever what I’d call warm, but he certainly wouldn’t have dismissed me like that.”

  Jack sighed. “I’m sorry you came. Remington and Lance made a mistake, and now you’re stuck here with us. You shouldn’t have been involved.”

  Sam raised an eyebrow and slowly turned her head to him. “You want to rephrase any of that? It sounds like you don’t want me here.”

  “No, no,” Jack responded. “I meant now you’re in a heap of danger just like Sissy and me, but you didn’t need to be. The FBI made a mistake thinking that your uncle would listen to you. Had they not made the mistake, you’d be safe.”

  Sam nodded, turning so that she stared at the bunk above her. “That sounds better, but it’s okay. This isn’t over yet. Plus, now I want a shot at Bill after how he dismissed me like that. My dad would burn him alive if he’d seen the way he spoke to me.”

  “Sissy?” Jack called. “You awake?”

  Marissa rolled over and looked off the bed. “I was until you started jabbering.”

  “My jabbers make the world go around,” Jack retorted. “You don’t need to be sleeping, anyway. We need that big brain of yours to come up with a plan. How are we getting out of here?”

  Marissa made a finger motion that indicated b
oth her and Sam. “Well, I figured we might be able to escape if we sacrifice you to the dog. So, if you’re willing to take one for the team, we can make a break for it.”

  Jack rolled his eyes. “Hardy-har-har. Not happening. Is any thinking at all going on in that head, or is it completely empty?”

  Marissa turned on her back. “I’ll be honest, there isn’t a lot I can come up with. Tina has cast magic across this place that makes any spells I know pretty much worthless.”

  Jack responded with a grin, “As always, it’s up to me to save everyone. No worries, I’ll do it. I know that’s my job.”

  Sam sighed. “Well, we’re waiting.”

  Jack grew silent, having nothing left to joke about. He had no plan, no more hope of getting out of here than anyone else in this room did. If they stepped outside of the room, that three-headed monstrosity would be waiting on them. Sure, Cerberus would let them walk around. But the moment one of them tried to make a run for it, he would most definitely end them.

  Where are you, Claire? he wondered silently. If you don’t come, I’ve got a strong feeling none of us are making it out of here alive.

  Jack sat up and swung his feet off the bed. “I’m bored. Let’s go find Uncle Bill.”

  “Do what?” Marissa asked.

  Jack nodded and stood up. “Yeah. Let’s go find him. What else do we have to do? Wait around until someone brings us food? Plus, Bill is a weirdo, and it might be fun to chat with him some.”

  Marissa swung her head over the bed and looked down at Sam. “It’s up to you. We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

  Sam shrugged and slowly sat up, every part of her clearly hurting as she did. “No, talking to Uncle Bill sounds good to me. Hell, if we get a chance, maybe I can break his neck.”

  Jack laughed. “That’s the spirit. Come on, let’s go have a little family reunion.”

  The dog wasn’t waiting for them this time, but it only took a few minutes of wandering the mansion’s halls before he showed up. Cerberus padded along but remained five feet behind, seeming to hate the job of following the three around.