Supernatural Academy: Year Three

by Eve, Jaymin

  They went into the underworld before we were even born, Asher said in my mind.

  Yes. And apparently our mothers didn’t flee. They stayed and had us, and then everything went to shit.

  His arm anchored me close.

  That little girl broke me, I told him, my energy drenched in sorrow. She fucking broke me, Ash.

  He soothed me the best he could, with love and support and the reminder that we were going to change their circumstances. All of them.

  They were going to freak when they saw the world today.

  But first we had to figure out how to save them all.

  “I need to find the Hellbringers,” I said. “Without them, I can’t defeat the gods. They’re too strong, and their power is too great for me to control alone.”

  They’d been here for ten thousand years, and they weren’t like the dead, content in their afterlife. Surely one of them knew something.

  “The land they exist in is not one we can venture to,” the heavily tatted man said. “But you are born from the gods.” He turned and pointed across the island. “They’re in that direction. You’ll know when you reach the dark veil.”

  Great. Another fucking curtain of nightmares. Hopefully I could part this one just as easily.

  “I will be back for you,” I promised them. “I’ll figure out a way for you to all return to the land of the living. Atlantis has risen again, and it needs its people back.”

  The man reached out to touch me, just on the forearm, and there was clearly no malice in his move. When our skin connected, I felt a flash of everything they’d been through to this point. How one of the gods—Sonaris by the looks of it—had saved them by sending them here. He’d cared about his people, in his own weird way.

  “We will make this right,” I whispered. “Just hold on a little longer.”

  I felt their collective hush, and then as one they slammed their fists against their chest, the thump echoing like a crack of thunder, and then they returned to the party.

  The tatted man was the last to turn away. “We can’t interact with those who are dead, even though they can touch each other no problem. It’s been hard, but at least we weren’t alone. Everyone that comes to this island has Atlantean blood. We have seen our descendants, those who escaped and have died over the years. We have each other. But it would be nice to return home. This is not a land for those still with their vessels. It feels … unnatural.”

  “That’s one way to put it,” Asher grumbled. He’d been letting me take the lead and I was overflowing with his support. “We will not let this injustice stand. We are Atlanteans of our word, and we will return y—”

  His words were cut off as two translucent beings drifted past, their eyes alight as they chatted to each other.

  Asher blinked, staring at them. “Mom … Dad,” he murmured.

  The tatted man stepped in front of him. Asher’s eyes blazed as he nailed the man with a dark glare. The Atlantean was smart enough to take a step back, hands held high.

  “They won’t remember you,” he got out quickly, before Asher made another move.

  My mate paused, giving him a second to explain.

  “Those who have died come here for peace, and in that peace they do not remember their loved ones. They don’t mourn for those they have lost. It’s part of life here. When their loved ones die, though, and their souls arrive here, that’s when all the memories return. The dead don’t remember the living, but they know each other in death.”

  “But you all remember?” I said softly, and he nodded.

  “Yes. My mate, she escaped with our children before the fall. They are here … their souls are now … but they don’t know me. So I watch from afar and feel joy that they are at peace.”

  Holy fucking hell. Literal hell. I couldn’t even imagine his daily torture.

  “You want to return to the land of the living and leave them?” Asher asked.

  The man’s chuckle was brittle. “I must live first so that one day I can die and return to them. One day we will exist together in this perfect paradise. Until that moment, I will have to live for them. I’m ready for both.”

  I willed my tears down, because while this was one of the most heartbreaking stories I’d heard in a long time, this man did not want my tears.

  “You deserve your happiness,” I said, voice a touch husky. “We will make it happen.”

  The man inclined his head, eyes never leaving mine, even as he backed away.

  It was time for us to get out of here too, but before we could leave, I had to check one thing.

  “You okay?” I asked Asher, giving him my full attention. “If you need a second to deal with your parents, follow them to see how they’re doing, you know I’m right with you.”

  He shook his head, barely any hesitation. “Nah. They looked happy, and it would only be painful and confusing for them not to remember me. I’ll let them have their peace, until it’s time for us to meet again.”

  I pushed lightly on our bond, because if Asher was hurting I wanted to feel it too. There was mostly peace in his emotions, a little pain, but it was barely perceptible. He had me and his brothers, and the few others he considered family. The loss of his parents was always going to be a sore spot for him, but it had actually helped to see them briefly. To see their peace.

  “Let’s go save our families,” I murmured, hugging him tightly. “We’re almost at the end. We can do this.”

  “I got you, baby,” he said, as he crushed me to his chest. “You and me forever. We will not fail. I refuse to let that happen.”

  Forever. We were coming for you.

  Chapter 29

  By the time we reached the edge of the island, the noise had faded, leaving us with that echoing, unnatural silence. There were other changes too. It felt colder here, and the water on this side was slightly darker. Murky almost. Like a warning not to cross.

  “The souls would feel it stronger than us too,” Asher said, eyes alert as he searched out dangers.

  “It’s a good system to keep them in their areas, but why are they segregated anyway? I mean, that’s a very ‘living person’ thing to do.”

  We stepped out onto the turbulent water and it held our weight.

  “This world is controlled by living gods,” Asher replied. “No doubt they have categorized souls into what they think is the most peaceful afterlife for them. Shifters wouldn’t want to live with all of this water, but Atlanteans do. Most of the time they probably get it right.”

  Except for those like Rayge, who was no doubt difficult to classify.

  “I hope the others are okay,” I said, concern for them creeping into my thoughts. “I mean, I’m sure they are. All three are capable as hell from what I can tell. It’s just hard not to worry.”

  Asher ran a hand through his hair, sending the black and gold strands into sexy disarray. “This world doesn’t play by the fucking rules. No amount of capability can overcome that, and those three are not born of gods. I’m worried too.”

  I liked that his circle of friends was extending. I mean, I was in a girl gang with their mates now, and it would be nice for all of us to hang out in a different capacity one day. One with a little less mortal danger and end-of-the-world worries.

  “You ready?” Asher asked, his eyes locked on the dark veil. It was without a single flaw or crack, just like the last one.

  “Let’s do it.”

  I stepped forward, the water swirling in murky disarray beneath my feet. Just before I was about to reach out and touch the veil, I heard a shout from behind. Spinning around, Asher shifted in front of me, chest swelling as he extended his arms protectively.

  Peering around him, I caught a glimpse of the tatted man sprinting like his life depended on it.

  “Wait!” he shouted again, and Asher straightened, allowing me to see the ancient Atlantean clearly.

  The man wasn’t just sprinting, he was sprinting while holding two gigantic tridents. How he hadn’t tripped over them wa
s beyond me, but I found myself fascinated by the glint of their jewels in the dusky light here.

  Storms suddenly raged overhead and he picked up speed.

  “Should we go to him?” I shouted to be heard over the torrent of winds trying to push the man back. They had legitimately sprung up out of nowhere.

  Asher linked our hands together and then we were racing. Despite this world’s attempt at keeping us apart, we made it to the Atlantean, steadying him as he sucked in air. It was clearly a reflex leftover from his life above, because there was no shortness of breath here. I didn’t even feel the slightest strain.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked him, tightening my hold so he was upright.

  “These are the weapons of the royals,” he said, between breaths. “We managed to find them and I figured you might need the extra help.”

  Extra help would never go astray on this mission.

  I reached for the closest one but he waved my hand away. “No, this is for him,” he said, handing it to Asher. It was pure gold, from the tip of the very shiny prongs all the way down the carved handle. On the end was a large, smoothly-polished jewel. A ruby, I would guess from the color and texture.

  “This was your mother’s,” he told Asher.

  Asher’s eyes flared the same shade as the weapon, and his skin turned a darker shade of bronze as he flexed his fingers around the trident. “It … feels right,” he said, running his gaze down the handle. “My power responds to it, much more than any of the others I’ve held.”

  I was paying some attention to Asher, but most of it was on the other weapon. Was this finally it? Was I finally going to find the weapon that called to me? I’d been trying for nearly three years at the Academy, and outside of a mild affinity for some, nothing had stirred my power.

  The man lifted it toward me. I held my breath as my fingers wrapped around the middle. Like a hallelujah moment, everything went still and silent, before the surge of power shocked me deep in my chest. Fuck yes. My fingers tingled, head tilting back as that surge rocked all the way to my toes.

  Storms raged above us, the once aquamarine sky now dark as ash. “This has never happened before,” the tatted man said, looking above. “You’re upsetting the balance. You should hurry before the souls are affected.”

  The power was still riding me, but I wasn’t so far gone that I would risk their afterlife. I nodded, sucking the energy back into my center. The trident pulsed, working with me, like we’d been besties forever.

  “They’re gorgeous,” I noted, and I might be biased, but I was pretty sure mine was even better than Asher’s. His was pure gold, sure, and that was pretty cool. But mine was a deep rich copper, with a large aquamarine stone. It felt like a sign. So much of my year had been connected to this color, and now I knew I’d chosen it for a reason.

  “Copperite is a mineral found only in the oceans of Atlantis,” the man told me. “It’s one of a kind, almost indestructible. Please use it to save our people.”

  That was all he said before he took off, racing back across the stormy seas.

  “Holy shit,” I said to Asher, both of us staring at our pretties. “I almost want to stroke this thing and call it my precious.”

  His eyes flashed as a rumble of laughter left him. “Trust me, baby, the only shaft you’ll ever need to call your precious is not a fucking trident.”

  My eyes wandered down his chest, before I shook my head. “No, Ash. No! Not the time. We have to get our asses through that veil.”

  At this point, I wasn’t sure if I was convincing him or myself.

  He muttered some choice words but didn’t argue. Making our way to the veil, the winds buffeted against us but my trident stayed steady.

  “We need something to anchor it to,” I thought out loud. “Leave our hands free until we need to use it. Like a scabbard, but the trident version.”

  Asher’s smile stretched across his face and my damn heart skipped a few beats. “Don’t do that,” I scolded him. “You’re too distracting. We’ve already wasted too much time. We need to focus.”

  More fucking gorgeous smirking. My thighs clenched automatically against the sensations rocking through my traitorous vagina. Bitch was greedy and she clearly didn’t realize that this was an end-of-the-world situation and no fucking was allowed.

  Asher laughed, and I was gone. So freaking gone.

  “Come on, baby. Let’s do this thing so I can spend some quality time loving on you.”

  Our trident situation forgotten, we ran, and as I moved, the weapon seemed to grow lighter and lighter until I could barely feel it.

  “It’s adjusting to our power,” Asher said, twirling his as he sprinted. “Now that’s the sort of weapon everyone should have.”

  I didn’t disagree, and I was doubly glad our ancestral weapons had found their way back to us. They’d clearly been sent into the underworld to keep them from falling into the wrong hands. Someone had been looking ahead, and my heart really hoped it wasn’t Sonaris. I couldn’t correlate the god I knew with the one who remained strong in the memories of his people.

  They were like day and night.

  We reached the veil in moments and I didn’t stop, stretching out with my free hand, smashing through the darkness. Asher slipped in after me, and on the other side was a completely different land.

  Only there was no actual land at all. We were suspended in the air, and in a single heartbeat, both of us started to plummet.

  Chapter 30

  Before we’d fallen more than a few feet, my powers kicked in and I slowed my descent. Asher did the same next to me.

  “We keep moving?” I asked him, hovering, my trident barely even a blip in my hand. It was so light, and I was almost certain it was shrinking. Soon I’d literally be able to shove it in my pocket.

  “Yep, let’s move. This world is built on lands connected and separated via the veils. The souls go where they’ll have the most peaceful afterlife. We have to keep moving until we find where the Hellbringers rest.”

  As we zipped across the air, I had a thought. Maybe we were going about this all wrong…

  “Where are the Hellbringers?” I shouted, demanding an answer.

  A path lit up in front of us, visible across the pale-yellow sky. The lighting here was akin to a sunrise, warm and soothing, and I could see lots of bird souls, a pterodactyl or fifty—holy fuck, dinosaurs—and other flying beings I didn’t have names for. I did recognize fairies, and … a few that looked like angels.

  This was their land.

  They paid us no mind as we dashed through them, intent on their soaring journeys. When we reached the next veil, Asher was a little ahead of me, knocking me back when he was rejected.

  I laughed. “Just had to give it one more shot, didn’t you?”

  His lips twitched. “No idea what you’re talking about.”

  With a chuckle, I tapped his forehead. “I’m in here, buddy. You can’t hide anything from me. Don’t worry, your strengths lie in other areas.”

  “Damn right they do,” he said, moving back so I could do my thing.

  The next land was filled with cities, lots of shopping and restaurants and a very human-like existence. The souls here, they looked like supernaturals or … humans.

  “Do humans come to this afterlife?” I asked Asher.

  He was watching them scurry about below us—we were still high in the air, our powers shooting us along.

  “I have no idea. I guess there’s no reason they wouldn’t. We all exist on the same Earth together.”

  This was true.

  Something about the sight of a familiar cityscape was soothing. I’d been homesick without even realizing it, and seeing streets so similar to where I grew up was the shot I needed to bring me back to reality.

  “This world messes with your head,” I said to Asher, zooming toward the next veil. “I keep forgetting the urgency of our task.”

  “Yes,” he agreed. “It’s a constant battle to remind my power that we mus
t move forward. No time to hang out and play with our new weapons.”

  Speaking of, the trident was no more than a few inches long now. I shoved it into the back pocket of my jeans.

  “Remind me not to sit on that and stab myself in the ass,” I told Asher, and he chuckled.

  “You got it, Maddi.” His features tightened. “I really don’t like being here. It’s not right for the living to walk this existence. I have no idea how the Atlanteans haven’t lost their minds.”

  Another question without an answer. Another thing to worry about. We hadn’t spent a lot of time with the Atlanteans, so who was to say they weren’t suffering a lot more than we had seen. Maybe we were too late. We wouldn’t know the answer to that until they were back in our world … back with the living.

  The next veil approached, and we pushed through it, and then the next, and another. We crossed lands and territories until I despaired of ever finding the Hellbringers.

  Maybe they didn’t even exist here.

  When we entered the next section, the heat hit me hard, and for the first time since this whole weird trip began, the path we were following dipped down, cruising close to the red ground.

  Was this finally the right area?

  I snorted. “I mean, the lava is a nice touch, but also, what a way to be a cliché, Hellhound.”

  Asher didn’t answer, he was on alert, scanning the lava fields below. “The path remains,” he finally said, when he was satisfied that there were no immediate dangers. “Stay close to me.”

  Now wasn’t the time to argue, so I didn’t point out what a bossy asshole he was.

  I might have thought it though.

  We sailed across the land, heat turning me into a sweaty mess. It was the first time since entering the underworld that I’d felt anything remotely normal like sweat. The dead didn’t have skin to sweat, but I did, and it was as hot as balls in this section.

  “Where do you think they are?” I murmured, feeling an urge to stay quiet.

  Maddison…

  I was growing used to voices in my head now. Not just Asher, but the multiple energies existing within my own. I could feel the Atlantean five and my brother. I knew they were alive and not in pain. It was something I was growing to love and appreciate.