Scholomance 1

by Logan Jacobs

  Our footsteps echoed as we neared the forest, and I spotted an opening in the thicket. The hole was round, deep, and dark, like the mouth of a monster, but it seemed like the right way to go.

  At least, that was what my abilities were telling me.

  “There’s the entranceway,” I said. “Once we make it through there, we will find the portal to the village.”

  “We’re getting closer to the finish line,” Akira murmured as she flicked back her ebony bob. “I almost can’t believe it.”

  “That may be true,” I agreed, “but that doesn’t mean we should get comfortable or anything.”

  “He’s right.” Morgana shuddered, and her ice blue eyes darted back and forth. “I can still feel danger lurking in these woods.”

  Right,” Akira sighed. “Okay, let’s go and find that fucking portal.”

  We headed into the thicket, past the bare trees, and through the woodland. As we carried onward, I could feel the darkness pressing against my skin. These woods were deceiving in their quiet nature. It seemed as if the entire forest was deeply asleep, but I knew that wasn’t the case, since I could sense cold, dark eyes on me as we headed through the woods.

  “Keep your senses on high alert,” I muttered. “Silent does not mean safe.”

  Everyone nodded, and the leaves crunched under our feet as we trekked through the woodland with our hoods up.

  “There it is,” I said when we arrived at the entrance to a cave. “That’s where we need to go. The portal is in there.”

  “He’s correct,” Morgana murmured, and her eyes grew wide. “At the very end of the cave, we’ll find the entranceway into the mortal village. I can see it perfectly in my mind’s eye.”

  “Let’s go, then,” Vesta suggested. “No time to waste.”

  We headed toward the cave, and as soon as we stepped inside, it was damp, cold, and dark. I illuminated the cavern with my palm, and we eventually came to a large, stone-like door blocking our way.

  “For Satan’s sake,” Vesta groaned. “How the hell are we going to move this?”

  “Maybe we can teleport to the other side?” Morgana suggested.

  “No.” I shook my head. “There is some kind of barrier skill that will not allow us to pass through with our shadow abilities.”

  “Shit,” Faye muttered and pulled at her red hair.

  “Ugh, of course.” Akira sighed. “Why make it too easy, right?”

  I pressed my hand against the cold stone and tried to grasp any kind of feel for what we were dealing with. Suddenly, the rock quivered, and I pulled my hand away. I felt as if someone had just cut me, but when I looked down, there was no blood on my palm.

  “What?” Vesta asked. “What did you feel, Cole?”

  “It wants blood,” I breathed, “my blood.”

  “Are you sure?” Faye asked, and her long red hair was plastered across her tired, but pretty, face.

  “Yes.” I nodded before I cut into my hand.

  Dark blood trickled from my open palm down to my wrist as I pressed the blade down as hard as I could. I then brought my hand up and smeared the crimson fluid over the stone, and carvings and markings started to appear in red on the door.

  I sensed my energy was being drained from my body and being transferred into the rock wall. The carvings began to glow brighter red with my blood, and they stretched across the entire stone. Then the obstacle crumbled into pebbles that scattered across the ground.

  There, in front of us, was a cave-like room. A fountain stood in the middle of the cavern, and multicolored water spurred from the sculpture. I could feel a strong pull that begged me to come a little closer.

  “It’s the portal,” I whispered.

  “We found it,” Akira muttered as her mouth dropped open. “I almost thought we wouldn’t make it this far.”

  “Same here,” Vesta agreed with wide, silver eyes.

  “It’s not over yet,” I reminded them, and as I stared into the colorful water, I thought I could see fragments of a city in the reflection. It wasn’t entirely clear, but it was there.

  “We need to hold hands,” I said slowly. That was what my premonition sense was telling me, and my instincts hadn’t led me astray so far.

  So, we all linked hands and closed our eyes, and I could instantly feel my body grow lighter. It was the same sensation I experienced when the headmistress had sent us to the casino. Everything spun, but I kept my eyes shut. My mind and body were whirling, but we still had our hands linked. No one screamed or said a word as we continued to spin and spin.

  When everything finally came to a slow stop, I slowly opened my eyes, and I realized we were back in the woods.

  But these were not the same dark trees we had encountered after the maze. No, these woods smelled and felt completely different. The sky was lighter, too. Stars illuminated the navy-blue blanket above us, and a large moon hung over the full trees.

  “We’re in the mortal realm,” Vesta gasped. “I can sense it.”

  “Me, too,” I agreed. “Come on, we have to move quickly and find the village.

  We continued down the dark hills and swiftly made our way past the trees. These trees were different from the ones in the black wood, and there was no heavy mist to obscure our vision as we walked. These were full of life, and I could hear small woodland creatures rustling about.

  It was just a forest, with no demonic creatures hiding in sight. The only threat that lurked in these woods were humans.

  And they were close. I could feel it.

  As we moved on, I thought I could hear distant singing and strange music, so I gestured for the others to move ahead quietly as we approached a small hill surrounded by trees. We all took a spot behind a wide trunk, and when I craned my neck to look down below, I spotted a group of humans around a fire. They were dressed in peasant clothing, and from what I could tell, they were having a good time. It was a group of five men, all laughing and cooking something that looked like a rabbit.

  At least they had a chance to enjoy their very last meal.

  “We have to kill them,” Vesta hissed as quietly as possible.

  I nodded. She was right. They would kill us if they spotted us, and we also needed them to complete the necromancy task.

  “I’ll distract them,” I whispered. “The rest of you can sneak up on the others and slit their throats.”

  Before the women could reply, I crept through the thorn bushes and casually strolled up to the fire. I had my cloak over my dagger, so they had no idea I was grasping onto the hilt as I made my way toward them.

  As soon as the men heard me, their heads shot up. These humans were young, probably in their mid to late twenties. They all had their hair pulled back into ponytails and sported long beards, and they wore long crosses on their necks and woven sandals on their feet.

  Clearly, they were a group of holy men.

  “Hello, there.” I grinned. “How are you doing this fine evening?”

  “Who are you?” a blond man demanded in a hoarse voice. Then he stood up and grabbed the cutting knife sticking out of the cooked rabbit. “What brings you to our neck of the woods?”

  “I come begging for food,” I said. “I mean no harm.”

  He raised an eyebrow at me and lowered his knife. He took a step closer to me, and I fought back the urge to look over at the others who were staring at me with curious eyes.

  Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the arms of the witches emerge from the darkness. They brought their knives to the throat of each man and with one, swift stroke, cut them from ear to ear.

  The humans’ gurgled and stifled screams caught the blond man’s attention, and when he turned around to see the rest of his group bleeding to death, he whirled around with his knife extended, ready to stab me in the gut.

  But I was too quick.

  I plunged my dagger into his throat, right through his Adam’s apple. His mouth filled with blood, red spittle drooled down into his beard, and his wide brown eyes stared at
me for a moment before they rolled back into his head.

  Then the man collapsed onto the ground and died.

  “Let’s be quick about bringing them back,” I said to the other witches. “We never know who else might show up from the village.”

  The women nodded as we all placed our hands on the corpses’ foreheads and recited the incantation.

  The man I killed slowly peeled his eyes open, and they were now a murky piss-yellow. His skin was gray, and he gently rose from the ground and faced me. He was waiting for a command, and when I looked at the others, they all had an undead servant of their own.

  “The village is north,” I said. “Follow me.”

  We walked with our new minions leading the way, and my footsteps were heavy as we approached a small group of houses. They were poorly built, made from mud and stone.

  “I don’t see anyone on guard,” Vesta whispered.

  “Doesn’t mean they aren’t there,” I answered. “I’m going in first.”

  “Oh, no, you’re not,” Akira argued, and a scowl twisted her full, darkly painted lips. “You better watch your ass and stay close to us for protection. We can’t afford to have you die and kill us in the process. So, just stay back and look pretty, alright?”

  “Fine,” I chuckled and raised my hands.

  We slowly approached the village, and as soon as we neared one of the huts, a woman emerged, and her eyes went wide.

  “Silentium,” I muttered before she could scream.

  The simple hex sewed her mouth shut, but it was still too late. Other villagers had emerged from their huts, and when they spotted us, they started to shriek in terror.

  A man in cheaply made armor started to run toward us. He was young, with wild dark eyes and a curly mop of hair, but he was far too skinny to be a proper guard. He only wielded a flimsy sword, a wooden shield, and a rusty metal helmet for protection. He was brave, I would give him that, or incredibly stupid.

  The two often went hand in hand.

  My new, loyal servant turned to look at me as if waiting for a command, and I slowly gestured at the poor, pitiful guard.

  “Kill him,” I ordered.

  The resurrected men rumbled a low growl as they slowly approached the trembling guard. Despite their slow pace and deathly state, our undead minions were able to dodge the guard’s attacks. The young man desperately tried to fight for his life, but it was useless. I watched as one of the undead villagers caught him by the wrist and twisted the blade out of his hand. Then I heard his bone break as he cried out in pain.

  “Gregory?” the guard panted as he stared at his attacker in disbelief. He must have recognized my minion, despite his new ghoulish appearance. “Why are you doing this? For the love of God, please stop!”

  The undead villager, whose name was Gregory, simply smiled a bloody smile before he sank his brown, jagged teeth into the neck of the guard. The guard cried out in anguish as Gregory started to bite down deeper and then devoured him.

  The other guards, who had tried to run up and save their man when they heard the commotion, could do nothing but watch in horror and sink to their knees in defeat. Then they raised their hands and stared at us with panic and confusion.

  “God have mercy,” muttered a young man with blond whiskers and wide blue eyes.

  “Sorry.” Morgana grinned. “He’s not here.”

  “Gather your people,” I demanded.

  Not one of the guards made a move to get up.

  Impatient and ready to return home, I turned to the blond man and raised my hand.

  “Dolorum fuga,” I muttered. It was a simple hex that caused light-weighted objects and humans to go flying through the air.

  As soon as the words left my mouth, a red light surrounded my hand, and the blond man flew backwards. He soared through the air for several yards before he crashed into the dirt and didn’t move again.

  “Now,” I said as I turned back to the other men as calmly as possible, “gather the others, and bring them to me.”

  One man struggled to stand upright from where he’d collapsed in fear. As soon as he was back on his trembling legs, the man fiercely nodded and ran off. He found a bell and started to ring it as he ran by the small houses. Families emerged, and they trembled as they neared us.

  Vesta, Morgana, Faye, Akira, and I all stood in a row as we watched the villagers gather round, and then we all shared a look.

  “Let us begin,” Akira whispered.

  I nodded as we started to pull out our ingredients and dug a shallow pit. I took the werewolf’s tongue and bone from my pocket, and I heard several children scream as we tossed everything into the hole. Akira pulled dried rose petals from her robe pocket and scattered it over the bone, tongue, and herbs. Then I lit the mixture, and as soon as the brew began to bubble, there were more shocked gasps and cries of terror from the villagers as they just stood and awaited their fates.

  “Which curse are we going to do?” Akira whispered.

  “The plague,” I said. “A rapid one. Are you all familiar with it?”

  The witches nodded their heads, and I closed my eyes before muttering the curse. Then the others followed my lead.

  “Ne velox morbum praeter corpora vestra,” we chanted.

  The villagers began to wail as their skin turned a sickly green, and boils formed on their faces, arms, legs, and hands. Their bodies convulsed, and they started to vomit blood before they collapsed onto the naked earth beneath them.

  It only took a minute for them to die, and then the air was eerily silent around us.

  “Now, we must bring them back,” I said. “Is everyone ready for the final step?”

  “Hell, yes,” Vesta whispered at my side, and her bright, eager silver eyes reflected the moonlight.

  We recited the same resurrection incantation, and soon, the bodies on the ground started to come back to life. They smelled like rotten meat mixed with stale vomit as they hobbled near us, and I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

  “Now what?” Akira asked with a tinge of panic in her voice.

  “We cursed them and brought them back,” Morgana hissed. “Do the professors expect us to tread all the way back to the castle with a small army of the undead?”

  Suddenly, the earth beneath my feet started to vibrate, and something electric was coursing through my body.

  “Wait … can’t you feel that?” I asked.

  “No,” the witches said all together.

  I could, though. We were about to be transported. My body was slowly beginning to evaporate, and I could feel it in every bone and organ.

  “Quick!” I shouted. “Link hands and do it now!”

  Everyone grabbed onto each other as we formed a circle, and then we slowly started to spin. We went faster and faster, and my stomach knotted and churned as we spun. My eyes were clenched shut, and whoever was holding onto my hand on both sides, they were squeezing hard enough to break bones.

  I couldn’t feel if we were heading back to the academy or somewhere else entirely, and it sent a cold shiver up my spine.

  For all I knew, we could have been heading anywhere.

  Chapter 20

  My body finally stopped shaking when we came to a sudden halt. The world had stopped spinning, and our hands were still linked to one another. I sucked in gulps of crisp air and glanced around. When my vision finally reoriented, I realized with relief that we were back on the academy grounds, but sans our undead prisoners.

  We’d made it, though. We had completed the exam.

  “Unholy Satan,” Vesta panted, and she nearly collapsed as her knees buckled. “We’re back. We made it. We’re alive.”

  “Most of us, anyway,” Morgana whispered as she dropped her blue eyes. “I still can’t believe that Sweeny is gone.”

  Part of me felt sorry for the witches. It must have been difficult for them to lose a fellow classmate and to watch her die such a brutal death, but Sweeny had brought it all upon herself. If she hadn’t been so goddamn stubborn and
just listened to me, then maybe she would still be alive.

  “It still doesn’t feel real,” Faye murmured as she ran her fingers through her thick red hair. “I keep expecting her to snap or sneer at me.”

  The witches all lowered their eyes and stared down at the grass as if they were having a moment of silence for Sweeny.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” I said after a moment.

  To my surprise, the witches didn’t snap or curse at me. In fact, they all glanced up at me and slowly smiled. It was a sad kind of smile, but there was also relief in their eyes. They might have lost a friend, but at least they had made it out with their lives.

  Thanks to me.

  I knew whether they wanted to admit it or not, I was the reason why we’d managed to make it out of the exam in one piece. Yes, they were capable witches, but they still weren’t as strong as me. Who knew how many of them would have survived without me.

  And now that we had proved our worth, I wondered if Headmistress Theodora would finally tell me why I was here. It would have been a fair reward, but who knew what other little tricks she had up her lace sleeves.

  The cold wind whipped across our bruised and cut up faces, and I glanced down at the castle and shivered. I longed to be inside, so I could warm myself by a glowing fire.

  “Let’s return to the castle,” I said as I glanced at each and every witch. “We all look like hell.”

  The women were all pale, with bloodshot eyes, and dark bruised color circles under their eyes. Their hair was disheveled with twigs, leaves, and dirt in it, and their clothes were tattered, torn, and covered in soot and blood, both monster and their own.

  “Thanks,” Vesta joked with a weak smirk. “That’s the best compliment a witch could hear.”

  “You know what I mean.” I grinned. “Come along, I don’t know about you, but I could use a bath.”

  Everyone slowly headed down the hill, and we walked toward the main iron gate. The gargoyles that guarded the entranceway let us in as soon as we approached the bars, and their eyes glowed a lime green as the gates swung open. The sight reminded me of my very first night here at the academy. That dark, cold night when blood fell from the sky. It seemed like only yesterday when I was introduced into this chaotic and fucked up world, but I loved every second of it. I’d never felt so alive as when I was navigating through the deadly maze, through the dark wood, and in the mortal realm.