by Logan Jacobs
I looked down at my own rodent, unsure of what to do. After a moment of deliberation, I took my blade from my waistband, and I was about to bring it down with one swift stab until Crimson put her hand on my desk.
“Now, now, now,” she cooed, and her red eyes danced with dark delight. “I said to be creative, Cole. What if you had no weapon, then what would you do? Hmm?”
I slowly nodded and placed my dagger down on the desk. Then I stared down at the mouse, and as gruesome as it was, I knew I had to kill it with my bare hands. There was no other choice, especially with Crimson staring down at me. So, I reached for the small, wriggling creature and tried not to look it in the eyes.
“Go on,” she urged. “Kill it.”
I tightened my grip around the rodent. Tighter and tighter I squeezed, and the mouse started to squeal even more as I clenched harder. I heard bones begin to break, and the rodent’s eyes bulged from its tiny skull as I squeezed with all my strength. Hot, dark blood dripped down my hand and down my wrist before the mouse stopped moving entirely, and then I placed the broken and bloody being back on my desk. Its tiny organs were spilling out of it, and my hand was covered in fur and gore.
Disgusting.
“Is everyone ready?” Crimson asked.
“Yes, Professor,” the witches replied all together.
“Then begin,” she instructed.
I could hear the others mumbling the incantation, and I watched as Faye’s mouse slowly started to come to life. The holes began to slowly stitch together, and its black eyes were now glowing red. It opened its mouth to reveal a set of razor-sharp teeth and a bloody tongue, but it limped as it walked, and Faye cursed under her breath.
“What’s the problem?” I asked. “You brought it back, didn’t you?”
“It’s supposed to be stronger,” she muttered. “This one is limping like a newborn calf.”
She then glanced down at my bloody animal and scrunched up her freckled nose.
“Why don’t you give it a go instead of asking me useless questions?” she snapped as she tossed back her long red hair. “Come on. Bring that mangled little thing fully back to life.”
“Fine.” I shrugged. “I will.”
I held my hand above the dead animal and muttered the spell, and I could feel a hot, sharp sensation coursing through my blood as my hand started to tremble. It felt as if electric currents were shooting through my veins. The mouse began to convulse violently on my desk, and I watched in fascination as the bones started to mend. The organs fell back into place, and its eyes returned to their sockets.
Then the mouse flipped over and stood on all fours.
I thought the resurrection was complete when it stood up on its legs, but then something strange happened. The rodent started to grow and grow. Now, it was larger than before, and its fur had grown thicker. Instead of a small mouse, it was about the size of Crimson’s rabbit.
Crimson had been circling the room as her long, red skirts trailed behind her. Her hands were folded behind her back, but they shot up to her mouth when she came to my desk, and her red eyes flickered from the revived animal up to my face.
“Unholy Satan,” she breathed in a low and quivering voice. “Well done, Cole. Not only did you bring it back, but now … it’s much more durable. ”
“What … exactly happened, though?” I asked slowly. “How did I manage to do that?”
“You resurrected the creature,” she said in a low voice, “and as I said, it’s stronger than before. That’s all that matters.”
I repressed a sigh. Again, I was left wondering why my magic extended beyond the other witches, but there was no point in asking. Knowing these women, I would never get the answers I was looking for.
I’d have to find out everything all on my own.
I could feel everyone’s eyes glaring at me as I stared down at my mutated, but powerful, creature. I could feel the wrath, envy, and contempt flowing from all of the witches, and when I turned to look at the rest of them, I saw pitiful little creatures on their desks. I was the only one who had brought something extraordinary back to life, and it pissed them off.
They still weren’t used to the fact that I exceeded in everything, even after all this time.
“Well done, Cole,” Crimson announced with a smile. “The rest of you, it’s passable, but ‘passable’ isn’t going to get you through the final exam. You all need to study much harder. If you want to live, that is. Maybe you should ask Cole for pointers, hmm?”
When the red-haired witch met my eyes, she stared at me for a moment too long, but I had no idea what she was thinking. Then she shook her head and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, the necks of the creatures all cracked, and they fell limply onto the desks. Brought back to life, only to die a few minutes later.
I stared down at my dead rodent with confusion. Why had she asked us to bring them back to life when she was just going to kill it again?
I heard Crimson laugh gently, and when I looked up to meet her blood-red eyes, she smiled that sharp, fanged grin of hers.
It was as if she could read my thoughts.
“You didn’t actually think I would let you keep your creature?” she giggled. “Oh, no, no, no. You will have to kill your own creature during the final exam.”
I nodded and then sat back in my seat.
Of course. Everything led back to the exam.
We left the classroom, and the five girls excused themselves from me so they could “go study.”
From the furious expressions on their faces, I knew they were really going to search for the Blood Pact, so I headed back to my bedroom to read. I read more about Necromancy, not only because I wanted to excel during my exam, but also because I wanted to learn more about the history.
According to the book, Necromancy had been used primarily to raise armies. Wiccas would kill villagers and use them as a weapon against the elder gods and kings, their sworn enemies. I flipped through the book and devoured the images and words as the candle on my desk slowly started to die down.
It was getting late, and my eyes were beginning to blur, but I kept on reading. Eventually, though, my eyes slowly started to shut, and I fell into a deep sleep.
Then I started to dream.
In my mind, I was walking. I gradually started to pick up the pace, and soon, I was jogging through a deep, dark, and misty maze. The air was cold and crisp, and there was a metallic scent on the wind. A pale, full moon hung high up in the sky, and it cast a glow ahead of me. I could feel myself being drawn to the darkness. It urged me to move forward, and I could sense eyes on me as I ran through the maze. Dead debris crunched under my boots, and I didn’t even realize that I’d been holding onto my dagger with a deadly tight grip.
I held the blade outward and continued onward, and my heartbeat was like a drum in my chest. My hands were slick with sweat, my hair was plastered to my forehead, and my breathing became labored as I navigated through the maze.
Then the air grew even colder, and it felt as if something was pressing against my chest. It became more difficult to breathe, and the fog grew so thick that it obscured my vision.
I pushed myself to keep going, though, until I heard a low, rumbling growl.
There, in the darkness in front of me, were a pair of yellow snake-like eyes. They burned right through me, and then I saw teeth and claws flash in the shadows before the beast lunged. Something knocked me down to the ground, and just as I thought the creature was about to tear into my flesh, I woke up with a start.
I raised my head and looked around as I panted for breath. I was back in reality. A soft glow from my stained-glass window told me that it was morning, and sweat cooled across my bare skin.
“Just another nightmare,” I muttered as I rubbed my face.
After I took a moment to collect myself, I quickly shook my head and stood up. I didn’t bother to splash my face with water or even run my fingers through my hair. I just ran to the door, but when I opened it, I was shocked to see Vaness
a standing there.
Today, she was wearing a long, black off the shoulder gown with a deep purple corset and matching purple gloves. Her ebony hair tumbled across her bare, white shoulders, and her ice blue eyes were bright in her pale face.
“Professor,” I said in surprise. “What brings you here?”
“Follow me,” she said in lieu of a greeting.
“Where are we going?” I asked as I stepped past the threshold and closed the door.
“To your final class,” she said as if it were obvious. “Come on, follow me. We have no time to waste.”
“I thought we had one more quiz to pass in necromancy before we moved on,” I said with a raised eyebrow.
“Not that I should have to explain things to you, but we held a meeting yesterday, and Crimson said she believes we should move on faster, make the exam a little more challenging this year,” Vanessa explained, and she turned away and strode off down the hall.
“I don’t think the other witches will be too pleased to hear about that,” I snickered as we headed past the classroom corridor and down a set of stone steps. “They didn’t do a great job yesterday.”
“That’s none of your concern,” she snapped. “The only thing you should be worried about is yourself.”
I stifled a snort. She had no idea what lengths I’d gone through to ensure that I would make it out of this goddamn exam alive.
“Whatever you say, Professor.” I grinned.
Vanessa led me down to an underground chamber. It was made of black stone, and there were flaming pyres placed at every corner of the room. It was cold and damp down there, and the witches of my preschool class all had their cloaks pulled over their heads. Everyone was seated along long stone tables, rather than the typical wooden desks that we had in our previous classrooms, and the witches faced the front of the room, so I couldn’t see their faces. The room felt more like a prison than a class, and a shiver raced down my spine.
“Welcome to your final class, Cole,” Vanessa said with a broad smile. “Hexes and curses … taught by yours truly.”
I knew why the professors wanted to speed up the classes. They wanted to see me fail and die a brutal and bloody death during the final. I had sensed it in my dream last night. The eyes that had been following me belonged to the professors. They wanted to see my demise, but there was no way in hell I was about to let that happen.
I was going to pass this exam and show them all how wrong they were about me.
And I wouldn’t let anything get in my way.
Chapter 17
As I stood at the back of the room, I could feel the hatred and anger that radiated off my fellow classmates. They turned and glared daggers in my direction, and I knew they blamed me. I was the sole reason why the classes had been rushed. It was my fault we’d be entering the deadly exam in twenty-four hours.
I should have cared, and I should have felt guilty, but the truth was, I felt none of those things. In fact, I was feeling the opposite. I was eager to prove myself. My soul was hungry for the challenge and even relished in the idea I might not make it out alive.
A sane person would have felt the opposite, but not me.
I took the only empty seat available in the room, and it was next to Vesta.
She sneered and turned up her purple nose.
“You can keep pretending you hate me.” I smirked. “But I know you enjoy some things about me.”
“Shut up, Cole,” she hissed, but the witch couldn’t hide the blush that crept across her lavender cheeks. She was burning with embarrassment, and it brought a smile to my face.
“Class,” Vanessa intoned with a stern expression. “There is no need for me to remind you this is your final class. I only expect the very best from you, as I’m sure you’re well aware.”
“Yes, Professor,” everyone replied.
“Well, hexes and curses are no joke,” she went on. “They will play a major role during your final exam. They are mostly used on humans as a way of self-defense, but can also be used on preying beasts if done properly.”
“Will we learn spells that can cause damage to higher beings like elder gods?” Akira asked as she nervously twirled her fingers in her short black hair.
“We will learn as much as we can for one lesson,” Vanessa replied with her mouth in a tight line. “It was not my decision to speed up the classes, so I do apologize.”
Vanessa made sure to glare right at me as if to remind me it was my fault. Her ice-blue eyes were filled with contempt for me, and I knew that even if I successfully passed the class and the final exam, she would still hate me with a burning hellish passion.
The professor pulled out a thin, nine-inch wooden rod, and the witches all gasped as if they were looking at a diamond.
“Unholy Satan, it’s beautifully wicked,” Vesta whispered with wide, silver eyes.
As I stared at the wand and then at Vanessa’s beautiful but smug face, I could tell she was taunting us. She wanted to show off her wand as a way to remind us we weren’t as powerful or knowledgeable as her. It was also a reminder we could die during the exam and would never be able to hold a wand of our own.
“Now,” Vanessa said as she flicked her wrist, “you’ll all earn your wands when you complete the exam. Think of that while you’re out there, trying to survive, it will motivate you. I remember that it certainly helped me.”
She tucked the wand back into her robes and then clapped.
“The first hex we will practice will require pairs,” Vanessa said. “So, stand and pair up against the back wall.”
Vesta looked around, desperate not to be paired with me, but Vanessa caught her and sighed.
“I’m sorry, Vesta, but you’ll just have to work with Cole,” she said.
I rolled my eyes as Vesta groaned and marched out of her seat.
“Look who you’re with,” Sweeny cackled as Vesta and I joined the others.
“I don’t think she minds all that much, and neither would Akira,” Morgana mocked.
Vesta looked prepared to slap the living hell out of both the other witches, but then Vanessa smacked her desk with an open palm.
“Enough with the childish banter,” the dark-haired professor demanded. “The exam is tomorrow, and that’s all you need to worry about. I cannot believe you would waste your breath mocking each other. Did you know I was the only preschooler to live through my own exam?”
“No,” Akira gasped, and we all turned toward Vanessa with wide eyes.
“There were six other women in my preschool,” Vanessa continued as her blue eyes narrowed at us. “They were talented, much more than this group, but now they are dead. So, again I ask: are you done mocking each other? Because at this point, the only one of you who has a chance of surviving the final is Cole, and that is just ridiculous. He’s a man, for Satan’s sake. I want you women to fucking pay attention.”
“Yes, Professor,” Vesta said with her silver eyes downcast. “We apologize deeply.”
I couldn’t help but notice my classmates’ faces were white, and they all glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes with obvious fear. Vanessa’s words weren’t very encouraging, and I knew they were upset they hadn’t found the Blood Pact yet.
Soon they would come to me and beg me to use the spell on them.
“Good,” Vanessa replied with a long, drawn-out sigh. She sounded exhausted, and she hadn’t even begun teaching us the lesson.
I briefly wondered what was on her mind and what was causing the dark circles under her pale blue eyes, but then I shook my head at myself. She was right. The only thing I should be focused on right now was the exam.
“Now, I will need a volunteer for this next demonstration,” Vanessa said. She looked at each of us, and her eyes fell on the scarred witch in our group. “Sweeny, come here, dear.”
The scarred witch took a tentative step forward and sucked in a sharp breath of air.
“Stop looking so terrified, Sweeny,” Vanessa demanded with a cl
ick of her tongue. “I’m not going to kill you.”
Sweeny nodded, and when she was in front of Vanessa, I could see her knees buckle beneath her. Her clawed hands trembled by her side, and she was doing a piss poor job of pretending to be alright.
“Stand there against the bare wall,” Vanessa ordered, and she gestured toward a stone wall at the far end of the room.
“Y-yes, Professor,” Sweeny stuttered.
I almost felt sorry for the hideous witch. She looked as if she were about to piss herself.
“Now, everyone’s eyes must be on me,” Vanessa said before she awkwardly faced Sweeny. “No offense, Sweeny.”
“None taken, Professor,” she replied with a loud gulp.
Vanessa faced a trembling Sweeny, and the professor stood tall and erect before she extended her hand and pointed her palm in the scarred witch’s direction.
“Conligo!” Vanessa exclaimed.
Her voice echoed in the chamber, and a purple spark emitted from her open palm. It shot like a bolt of lightning toward Sweeny, and I watched as the flash visibly coursed through her veins and made her body shake. It looked as if she were being electrocuted by a purple current.
When she finally stopped shaking, the ugly witch inhaled sharply, as if she had been holding her breath underwater.
“Now, Sweeny, would you please take a step toward me?” Vanessa asked.
Sweeny’s arms twitched, and her legs trembled slightly. She groaned as she stood there, but she didn’t move even an inch forward.
“Sweeny, can you move at all?” Vanessa asked, even though I knew she knew the answer.
“No,” Sweeny groaned.
“Precisely.” Vanessa nodded. “Now class, this is what we call a binding hex. It can temporarily disable your opponent, but it doesn’t last very long, so I’d suggest using it when trying to make a quick getaway or before you deliver a killing blow.”
Well, that would have been a useful spell to know countless times before.