Descendants Academy: Young Adult Urban Fantasy

by Belle Malory

  19

  At dusk, I left for my grandfather’s office. It was located in the Academia building, down on the basement level. The halls were eerily empty; everyone else had gone to dinner or back to their dorms.

  As I walked through the corridor, I felt little tingles on the back of my neck. Someone was there. Watching. I curled my hand tighter around the strap of my bag, picking up the pace.

  The lanterns along the walls flickered around me. Each of them extinguished with one whoosh after another. I sucked in a breath, stopping in my tracks. My heart tripped over itself as I tried to get a feel for the magic. Right away, that warm familiar sensation coursed through me, and I relaxed. Even its scent was becoming recognizable, a mixture of polished leather, evergreen, and freshly fallen rain.

  “Why are you here?” I said aloud, even though he hadn’t made himself visible yet.

  Only one lantern remained lit, directly in front of where I stood. Xander stepped out of the shadows, looking impressed. “Hey, damsel.”

  Ugh, that nickname. I still hated it as much as before.

  “Heard you were looking for me.”

  I shifted the weight of my bag to my hip, glaring at him with all the animosity I felt. “Not anymore.”

  Xander leaned against the wall beside him, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t take what happened on the field personal.”

  Seriously?

  “Too late,” I bit out, pissed off at how cavalier he was acting about the whole thing. Like I should just be okay with him being a jerk or pretend it never happened. “Carry on with ignoring me, Xander. Whatever my problems are, I’ll figure them out on my own.”

  Even though the rest of the hall was dark, I sidestepped him, and continued on my way.

  “Sheridan, wait.” His hand came around my elbow, that one simple touch a little too electrifying. I backed up to get out of his grip.

  The dim candlelight flickered over his face, his expression turning serious. “Let me explain.”

  I tilted my head to the side. This oughta be good.

  “Our situations are complicated.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “You and I are both trying to fit in where our blood isn’t accepted. I’m sure you’re learning firsthand how challenging it is, trying to belong, trying to find your place with people who don’t want you around. It’s better if we keep our distance, at least in public.”

  I shook my head at his lame excuse. “What is up with this school and the students? You know, in the human world we have something called diversity.”

  “It’s not the same in Mythos. People keep their magic separate in order to keep it strong. If anyone from House Aphrodite or House Ares thinks we’re friendly, they’ll crucify us both. It’s better to keep our interactions private.”

  He obviously thought his reasoning was sound, and maybe in the Mythonian world it made sense, but I hated it. I was grateful to him for helping me out of Ione’s net, but I refused to be his secret friend.

  “I wasn’t trying to date you or be your best friend, Xander. I just wanted to talk to you.”

  “So talk.” He stepped closer, his fingertips brushing mine. “I’m here now.”

  Metal clanked from down the hall. Someone was coming. Crap, that reminded me. I was late for detention with my grandfather, and I couldn’t risk him catching me here. With Xander, of all people.

  “I’ll do you one better. Let’s not have any interactions, period.”

  “Oh, come on, Sher—” He stopped short, distracted as more noises came from down the hall, louder this time. Clanking and thrashing, followed by a low, vicious growl.

  The sound made me cringe. The growling was followed by a screeching, like nails being dragged across metal. That didn’t sound normal. To hell with that. It didn’t sound human.

  “What was that?” I whispered, afraid to move.

  “I don’t know.” Xander went completely still, listening as he searched the dark hall.

  The magic in the air grew denser by the second, making my skin prickle with goose bumps. The growling intensified too. Sounding closer than it had a few seconds ago.

  “Smells like sulfur and blood. Dark magic,” Xander said, moving in front of me. “Stay here. I’ll check it out.” As he stepped forward, he relit the lanterns, one by one.

  My heart thudded against my chest as I watched him leave, wondering if the next light would reveal the thing behind that awful growling. I became all too aware of how new I was to this world, and how powerless. As angry as I was with Xander, I was super grateful he was here. Because let’s face it, I couldn’t exactly love charm whatever was out there to death, and I didn’t have a good grasp on my fire magic either. That made me pretty much useless. Yay, me.

  “I don’t see anything,” Xander said, pressing on. The hall, almost entirely lit now, remained empty. It didn’t make sense. We both heard the noises coming from that direction. Once he reached the end, he swung around, shrugging. “There’s nothing here—oh shit.”

  Oh shit?

  That didn’t sound good, especially since he was looking around me, his jaw wide open. “Sheridan.” He held his hands up, as if he was afraid for me to make any sudden moves.

  My whole body went rigid. The growl was suddenly there again, guttural and blood-curdling, and right over my shoulder. Holy Mother of God, I could literally feel its hot breath on my neck.

  “Run!” Xander shouted.

  I didn’t think twice. I ran forward, and Xander ran full-speed back toward me. As he ran, he said something in Latin, a spell I didn’t recognize. A black sword suddenly materialized in his hand, glowing bright blue.

  That thing was too fast. For each of my steps, two more sounded behind me. Its claws caught my ankles, and I tripped, sliding across the marble floor. I pushed up, turning over just in time to see it crouching, getting ready to strike. It had the body of a lion, the head of a goat, and the tail—the tail was a freaking snake!

  Oh shit was right—I was about to die.

  Just as it leapt, Xander said more words in Latin. A powerful gust of wind slid me farther across the floor, moving me out of the way just in time. The lion-goat-serpent thing landed, hitting the floor so hard, it cracked the marble. Xander used both hands to drive the glowing blue sword into its back. The creature howled, standing back on its haunches. But the wound wasn’t enough to stop it. It broke free of Xander and lunged for me again, its jaw wide open and full of razor teeth. I hurled myself backward, just as someone else shuffled around me. I blinked at the flaps of a professor’s robe swishing past. It was Grandpa, murmuring a weighty spell.

  The air around us shifted, spinning, becoming powerful enough to lift the beast up into the air. As soon as it was up high enough, Xander leapt and shoved his sword straight into the beast’s heart. Within seconds, the lion-goat-snake disintegrated into smoky ash.

  “Sheridan,” Grandpa said, coughing. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” I pointed to the pile of ash. “Wh-what the hell was that thing?”

  “A chimera,” Grandpa answered, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe it himself. “It’s an ancient creature.”

  “And obviously spelled to kill you,” Xander added, breathing hard. I stared at the sword still in his grip, noticing it was made out of a metal I didn’t recognize, onyx and shiny, but no longer glowing blue. With a wave of his hand, it disappeared.

  Grandpa’s gaze darted back and forth between Xander and me, his expression turning grim. “In my office, both of you.”

  When we didn’t immediately scurry, he added a sharp, “Now.”

  I dazedly lifted up to follow him. No way was I letting him leave me after he just saved my ass with that powerful spell.

  Xander stood back at first, looking unsure, but he eventually sighed and followed along too.

  This should be fun.

  My small hiccups at this school had just turned into atomic bombs.

  20

  The office was small, full of unpacked boxe
s, and smelled of fresh paint. I sat in the cushioned chair behind the desk, images of that awful creature still replaying in my mind. I couldn’t believe it. An actual flesh and blood monster chased after me. This was enough to give me nightmares for weeks.

  “Where did the chimera come from?” Grandpa said, sounding more panicked than he let on before.

  “No idea.” I turned over an empty picture frame, working to steady my trembling hands. I was still in shock, but I tried to hide it. If I were alone, I would have locked myself inside a closet, curled up into a ball, and cried for hours. But Grandpa knew I was already having a hard time in this new life. It was better that he saw me maintain my composure, and that he believed I could handle the worst possible scenarios.

  Xander walked inside, shutting the door behind him. “It was there to kill Sheridan,” he said, sounding pretty shaken himself. “Every time I got in its path, or tried to block it, the chimera kept going after her.”

  A shiver ran down my spine. Someone must’ve spelled it to come after me. Ione and I were on good terms now, but even if we weren’t, I doubted she would try to kill me. She proved she didn’t have it in her when she held that knife to my throat.

  “I thought I told you to stay away from this one,” Grandpa said, nodding toward Xander.

  “You did, but the guy keeps showing up when I’m in a tight spot, so it’s kind of nice having him around.”

  Grandpa crossed his arms over his chest, mustache twitching. “Excuse me?”

  “Apparently, we’re secret allies or whatever.” I rotated the metal globe on Grandpa’s desk. “I’m sure your military background can appreciate that.”

  Xander shook his head. “Now you’re okay with keeping our friendship under wraps?”

  “I said allies, not friends.” That was an important distinction, as far as I was concerned. “You saved my ass twice now, so I guess I’m kind of in your debt.” Then to Grandpa, I explained, “He was the one who freed me from the net.”

  “I see.” His face grew redder by the second. “I forbid any kind of relationship. Friendship, alliance—doesn’t matter. This boy was the bane of my career at MEM. He’s untrustworthy, he’s a liar—”

  “I am many things, sir, but a liar is not one of them.” Xander stood straighter, his face full of hard lines. “And just because I couldn’t give you what you wanted doesn’t make me untrustworthy.”

  Grandpa pointed his finger at him. “Three years,” he growled. “I spent three goddamn years searching for you, tirelessly. Your mother came to see me every week, her eyes bloodshot and circled, because she couldn’t sleep. Then you suddenly appear, alive and well, but you refuse to speak—”

  “Stop this,” Xander said, turning away.

  “You refuse to say where you were or who you were with. No answers, no explanations, ever.”

  “You’re one to talk, Grandpa,” I said, snorting. “You and Dad didn’t explain anything about our own family history before dumping me in this school. A little hypocritical, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Sheridan, stay out of this,” he snapped, before continuing to attack Xander. “The next thing I know, you’ve transferred to House Ares, pretending everything is just peachy. And your poor mother is in so much shock she ends up in that institution—”

  “I said stop!” The rage in Xander’s voice rivaled that of any true Ares descendant. He glared at my grandfather, eyes glassy, his hands curled into fists at his sides. For a second, I thought it might come to blows, but then Xander surprised us both. “Let’s settle this, once and for all. Give me an ollodipher, and you’ll finally have your precious answers.”

  I wasn’t sure what an ollodipher was, but it must’ve been important, because my grandfather’s expression turned from anger to astonishment. “You’re serious?”

  Xander nodded. He went to the chair on the other side of Grandpa’s desk and sat, turning over his arm. “To be clear, I’m doing this for her.” His gaze settled on me. “She has questions, and she needs to believe I’m telling her the truth.”

  “What does this have to do with Sheridan?”

  “Everything,” Xander breathed out. “Now give me the damned ollodipher before I change my mind.”

  Grandpa nodded, then rushed around the room, searching through tins and cans until he found the right one. “Aha, here it is.” He pulled out a single green leaf.

  Huh. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, but based on Grandpa’s reaction, it certainly wasn’t a harmless looking plant.

  He set the leaf on the inside of Xander’s wrist. It expanded and grew, its vines wrapping around Xander’s arm in a crisscross motion, around his elbow, his biceps, and then circling once around his neck before stopping.

  “Anyone want to fill me in?” I said, looking between the two of them.

  “It keeps me from lying or trying to escape during interrogation,” Xander said, stretching his neck uncomfortably. “It tightens when you lie or move, cutting off your blood supply. I’d lose the arm.”

  I crinkled my nose. “Sounds fun. We should all wear them.”

  Apparently getting this close to death ramped up my sarcasm, which was wasted since no one appreciated it at the moment.

  Grandpa added, “Its poison also loosens the wearer’s tongue, kind of like an enchanted truth serum. They were outlawed after World War 2. Some nonsense about their methods being too extreme, but the school allows me to keep one for academic purposes.”

  “This isn’t an academic purpose, Grandpa.”

  He ignored that, of course.

  “Don’t expect me to answer questions I don’t want to, Professor Thorne,” Xander warned, his back ramrod straight against the chair. “I’ll answer the ones you and Sheridan need to know, and that’s all.”

  Grandpa’s lips thinned, but he didn’t argue. “Let’s see what you have to say then. Where were you those three years you went missing?”

  Damn. Grandpa wasted no time getting into the thick of it.

  Xander swallowed, steering his gaze to mine, a reminder that his answers were meant for me alone. “The Underworld.”

  I sucked in a breath. So those particular rumors were true. Knowing Grandpa, he would get to the rest pretty quick.

  “How did you end up in the Underworld?” Grandpa crossed his arms over his chest, slowly pacing the room, like a true interrogator.

  “I was taken.”

  “Taken by whom?”

  “Hollows, as you’ve likely heard.” Xander’s eyes flicked once to Grandpa, letting him know he was being evasive on purpose.

  “Which ones? What are their names?”

  He shook his head, trying to remain still. “Not relevant.”

  Grandpa scowled. “It’s relevant to me, you manipulative twit.”

  “I wasn’t taken willingly,” he said, stiffly. “That’s all I’ll say about that.”

  Grandpa paused, rubbing his jaw. “Are you a Hollow?”

  There it was, the question of the hour. I held my breath, waiting to hear the answer.

  “No.”

  The vines didn’t tighten; he was telling the truth. I was more relieved than I expected.

  Grandpa, on the other hand, seemed more confused than ever, and getting more upset by the way this was progressing. Xander made it clear he would only tell us what he wanted us to know, and the only way for him to do that was to give him the reins.

  “Fine,” Grandpa said, sounding annoyed. “Let’s stop dragging this out. Tell Sheridan what you want to tell her, and I’ll ask my questions after.”

  Xander nodded. He took a deep breath before locking on me again. “When I was fourteen, I was taken and held captive in the Underworld for three years. During that time, the Hollows did everything they could in order to get me to join their ranks. Beatings, torture, starvation, isolation, threats against my family—they tried it all. I’m proud to say I never once cracked. I wanted to. God knows, I wanted to.” He winced at that part, his eyes glazing over, as if he was reliving it
.

  My god. I couldn’t even begin to imagine living through that. When I was fourteen, the worst torture I experienced was getting my braces taken off. Those years were Xander’s teenage years, and he spent them in a literal hell.

  The ollodipher hadn’t tightened either, proving every word true. My heart bled. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him how sorry I was he experienced that, but I don’t think he wanted my pity. He just wanted me to listen and believe him.

  “They kept me in a cell,” he continued, shaking himself away from the memories. “Hidden in a dungeon beneath their headquarters, almost impossible to escape. I thought I never would…but then I met your mother.”

  He stopped, pausing to gauge our reactions. Grandpa looked just as stunned as me, his eyes flaring wide.

  My mother was alive. But then…“That day at the lake.” I sat forward in my chair, flattening my sandals against the floor. “You said she was dead.”

  He shifted in his seat, the vines tightening with his movements. “I said most people assumed she was killed.”

  “You know what I thought you meant.”

  I felt bad for what he’d been through, I truly did, but how dare he withhold that kind of information. He had to have understood its importance.

  “I’m sorry, Sheridan.” He looked away. “Selena asked me never to speak about her. I feel guilty as hell for telling you this, because I’m breaking my word to her.”

  “What does my mom have to do with this?”

  “She helped me escape. Without her, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”

  I looked up at Grandpa, wondering if he knew. For a man of so much strength, he looked weak at that moment. He moved to perch himself on the edge of the desk, arms still crossed. He rubbed a hand over his face and mustache, staring into space. “Alive, all this time.” He shook his head. “This is going to kill Daniel.”

  “Explain,” I said, pressing Xander on despite Grandpa having checked out of the conversation.

  He nodded. “I told you the first half of the story at the lake. About Petra and your mother. What I didn’t tell you was that Petra descends from a long line of Hollows. That’s how she was able to pull off your mother’s kidnapping—she had help from powerful dark mages. Anyway, her original plans were more twisted than the curse. After both babies were born, she wanted to send you and your sister back to your father in a casket—”