Scholomance 3: The Devil's Academy

by Logan Jacobs

We started to sprint toward the palace, but it still felt like we were swimming through hot soup. The thick, muggy air sawed in and out of my lungs, and my chest felt like it was going to burst. My coven and I tripped over the dry, uneven ground, but I refused to look back. Still, I could sense the demon army closing in on us, so I pushed my arms and legs faster.

  Finally, the castle loomed above us, and we stumbled into the courtyard. Magda had evaporated into the air when we started running, but she reappeared beside us once we paused to catch our breath.

  “Satan’s… fucking… balls,” Akira panted as she doubled over her knees.

  My lungs felt like they were full of broken glass, but I managed to stay upright as I quickly scanned our surroundings. The palace was a ruin. The dark stones were crumbling, and the stained-glass windows were shattered into pieces. The towers had been cut in half, and only bits and pieces of the roof remained. I could feel the history of this castle hanging in the air. It was once a magnificent palace, filled with life, love, and riches. Now, it was nothing but a pile of rubble.

  I shook my head and focused back on the task at hand. When I glanced over my shoulder, I could see we’d put a good amount of distance between us and the shadow demons, but they were still coming, so even though we were panting and out of breath, we had no time to rest.

  We needed to find the locket and get the hell out of here.

  “Magda, take us to the locket,” I ordered. “And quickly.”

  The resurrected witch led us through the broken wooden portcullis and inside the castle keep. The palace was entirely in ruins, and there was moss growing all around the stone walls. The grand scale paintings along the walls were shredded as if a wild animal had scratched out the faces of royalty that once hung up on the walls, the carpets were moldy and tattered, and every time we took a step, glass from the windows crunched under our feet. The furniture was either burned to a crisp or completely shattered into pieces, and I could tell whoever was the master of this castle had long since abandoned it. It was filled with nothing but discarded memories, and the farther we ventured forward, the more I sensed the haunted atmosphere. There must have been a great battle here, long ago, one that robbed the lives of most of the people who lived in the castle, and royal blood had flooded down these abandoned, dusty corridors.

  There was no time to dwell on the past, though, so I remained focused as Magda led us through the abandoned halls, and I used the illuminana spell to guide our way. We went up three flights of stairs, and my heart pounded wildly as I pictured the herd of shadow demons behind us.

  They could catch up at any moment.

  “How much farther is it?” I asked our walking corpse.

  “Not much farther now, master,” she echoed.

  “She’s been saying that for ages,” Akira grumbled.

  I ignored her smart-ass remark and focused solely on Magda.

  The undead blonde Wicca led us down another long corridor, and finally, we came across a wide wooden door. It was an intricate entrance with gold roses painted on the outside, like the room had once belonged to a young girl.

  As soon as Magda pushed the doors apart, we stepped into a grand bedroom. The bed was covered with a dusty, rose-pink quilt and draped with sheer curtains that hung down from the canopy, but the curtains were torn up as if a sword had shredded through them. Dark blood was splattered all along the walls, and a small skeleton in a decaying pink dress was lying in the corner.

  And around her neck was a bright, golden, heart-shaped locket.

  “There it is,” I muttered.

  I slowly approached the small corpse and extended my fingers, but before I could touch her, a vision of a young princess entered my mind. She had long blonde hair and sky-blue eyes that were wide with fear and the promise of death, and she was screaming as she cowered in this very corner. The last thing she saw before she left this world was a golden knight and a long sword that gleamed in the light, right before it came swinging down on her.

  I flinched back, and a searing pain shot through my entire body.

  “What’s wrong?” Faye asked as she tentatively touched my arm.

  “We can’t just take it off her,” I muttered. “Don’t ask me how I know… I just have a strong feeling about it.”

  Suddenly, a loud screech echoed from the lower level of the castle, and we all jumped. Akira whipped around to stare at me, and her face contorted into a mixture of rage and fear.

  “I don’t know if that’s true or not,” Akira said with wide, black eyes, “but you’d better find out soon.”

  “Barricade the door,” I commanded.

  “How?” Faye asked, and her freckles stood out starkly against her pale face.

  “We can try a temporary forcefield,” Morgana suggested. “One that prevents death from entering.”

  “That’s advanced magic,” Akira said. “Can you do it?”

  “I don’t know,” Morgana answered and bit her lip. “This would be my first time trying.”

  “What if Magda stopped them?” I asked, but before anyone could answer, I stared into Magda’s soulless eyes. “I command you to keep the shadows away. Go downstairs and stall them for as long as you can.”

  “As you wish, master,” she said.

  Then she glided out of the door, and soon, we heard even louder screams.

  Those cries did not belong to any shadow demon, though.

  It was the sound of living Wiccans, and I heard their screams grow louder and footsteps running through the halls.

  “We’re in here!” I called out.

  “You’re leading the other team right to us?” Akira snapped. “Why the hell would you do that?”

  “Just let them in,” I responded. “That’s an order.”

  Akira sighed and stood by the open doors. Moments later, Penelope, Ivy, Iris, and Beatrix all flooded inside, and their faces were whitewashed and filled with panic.

  “Oh, look who it is,” Akira said in a faux-sugary-sweet voice.

  “T-Thank you,” Penelope panted. “Thank you for letting us in.”

  “You wouldn’t have done the same for us,” Morgana growled. “Be happy Cole saved your fucking lives.”

  “Thank you, Cole.” The orange-haired witch looked down at her feet, and that told us everything we needed to know. Yes, she wouldn’t have done the same for us, but I didn’t care. There was no point letting other beautiful witches die, not if I could help it.

  Plus, now they were indebted to me, which could come in handy later.

  Beatrix pushed her brown fringe out of her face and stared at the small skeleton in the corner.

  “You found the locket,” she breathed and took a small step forward, but then Akira stepped in front of her and pointed her wand right at her throat.

  “Don’t even think about it,” the black-eyed witch growled. “We found it first.”

  “She’s right,” Penelope said. “Just… stay back.”

  A shadow of disappointment washed over Beatrix’s face, but she raised her hands up in surrender and took a step back.

  “Where is your guide?” Vesta asked the other group.

  “She’s downstairs with your blonde one,” Ivy responded, and her ivory face was even paler than usual.

  “We were nearly snatched by the shadow demons,” her sister, Iris, added as she pushed back the strand of pink hair plastered over her sweaty face. “It would have been the end for us until your witch showed up and started to kick some ass.”

  “It doesn’t mean we’re safe, though,” Morgana said. “The shadow demons can drag them back to purgatory at any moment and then come up for us.”

  “Not if I can help it,” I muttered.

  I ran over to the skeleton of the little girl and stared at the simple gold locket. I desperately wanted to reach out and yank the chain off her, but deep down I knew that would be a great mistake. So, I lowered myself to the little skeleton’s level and studied the golden jewelry around her small neck.

  “Cole, I
don’t want to pressure you,” Morgana said over my shoulder, and her voice was high-pitched with anxiety, “but whatever you’re doing, you need to be quick.”

  “I know,” I whispered back. “Just give me a moment to think.”

  I stared at the dead girl, and my fingers found their way into my pants pocket. Then I pulled out the vial I’d saved from earlier, and an idea sprung to mind.

  “Of course,” I muttered to myself. “How did I not think of this before?”

  “What is it?” Morgana asked.

  I didn’t answer as I ripped out a small tooth from the dead girl, slipped it into the vial, and began to open the jaw of the skeleton. Then I slid the brew down into her mouth, and the liquid spilled onto the floor as it passed through her ribcage.

  “Revenite,” I said.

  Her small skeleton began to tremble, and the humid, stifling air grew ice-cold. The brittle, small bones continued to rattle, and a moment later, a small voice echoed in the air.

  “Help,” she called out. “Help me, please.”

  No one said a word as the skeleton stopped shaking. Then she slowly turned her skull toward me, and when she opened her mouth, a long, terrible scream followed. It nearly made our ears bleed again until I aimed my wand at her.

  “Praecipio tibi ut facias!” I shouted.

  The girl turned and stared at me with empty eyes, and I could feel her confusion as she blindly looked around. She had very innocent energy about her, and something told me she’d been a human girl, not a monster or a witch.

  “Let me take your locket,” I said. “That’s a command.”

  The skeleton leaned forward, extending her small, frail neck, and allowed me to remove the necklace, but as soon as I pulled it off her, the castle began to quiver. Rocks from the ceiling started to come crashing down, and I backed away as quickly as possible with the locket still in my hand. Then one stone landed on the small skeleton right in front of me, and her bones were instantly crushed.

  “Why haven’t we shadow-ported back?” Morgana cried out.

  “Is the headmistress just going to let us die here?” Penelope shrieked.

  “If we’re lucky, maybe just you!” Akira shouted over the chaos.

  Suddenly, I thought I heard a voice among the crumbling rocks and shrill screams outside, so I closed my eyes and drowned out everything besides the small voice.

  Touch it, I heard the voice say. Touch the locket.

  It sounded like a little girl, and I looked down at the locket and then back at my coven.

  “We need to touch it,” I said. “Right now, touch a piece of the locket! The rest of you grab onto our shoulders.”

  I hoped this would work.

  My coven reached over, and they each placed a finger on the locket. Then the other team held onto our shoulders, and a purple smoke surrounded us. That familiar feeling of tumbling and twirling through the air returned, and the next thing I knew, we were back at Scholomance.

  Deafening applause followed as soon as we landed in the front of the banquet hall, and all the students were jumping up and down with red cheeks and wide smiles.

  I stared down at the locket and watched as it slowly evaporated in my hands.

  “W-What?” I stammered. “Where did it go?”

  “Well, Cole,” Theodora’s voice said from behind me, and when I whipped around, the headmistress was smiling down at me from ear to ear. “You didn’t expect to keep the locket, now did you? It belongs to the dead.”

  “Ah.” I blinked and nodded. “Of course, it does.”

  As I slowly stood up and dusted myself off, I looked around the hall to see if I could spot the other teams. I thought it was strange we hadn’t run into any Vipera witches while we were out there, and it took me a moment, but I eventually spotted them in the corner of the hall. They looked absolutely miserable and wouldn’t even make eye contact with anyone. They were all looking down at the floor in shame, and their hideous headmistress seemed to be berating them viciously. She was waving her arms in the air, and her mouth was flapping open at a great speed.

  “What happened to them?” I asked Theodora as quietly as possible.

  “They were disqualified,” she responded under her breath.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “They failed to resurrect their assigned Wicca.” She smiled. “They forgot to add a piece of the corpse to the brew.”

  “Idiots,” Akira snickered.

  “Who won, though?” Morgana asked. “We all touched the locket in the end.”

  “Well, Ms. Morgana,” Theodora chuckled. “What matters, in the end, was that Scholomance prevailed, but if we’re going to get into the specifics of the game, technically you won because you woke up the princess.”

  Morgana attempted to look bashful for even asking, but inside, I knew she was grinning.

  Penelope shot us a grateful nod, just before she whispered something to Beatrix, who nodded gravely in return. Then the two walked away from the front of the banquet hall, and the twins followed their lead.

  “She better not forget Cole saved them,” Akira grumbled as soon as they were out of sight.

  “I’m sure she won’t forget it any time soon,” I chuckled. “But with her… who knows?”

  Scholomance students continued to cheer for us, and behind the crowd, I spotted Bram and Malcolm. Now, more than ever, they looked like the pathetic duo they indeed were, and their headmaster appeared just as peeved as the Vipera Headmistress, if not more so. He was towering over the two warlocks, and his face was beet red, so I knew he was giving them shit for not only losing the game but also losing another teammate.

  I chuckled under my breath as their headmaster shoved the warlocks out of the banquet hall, and once they were out of sight, Theodora finally raised her hands up and silenced the crowd.

  “As usual, there will be a grand feast to commend the victors,” she roared. “But first, let us allow our winners to clean themselves up and change. They’ve earned that, and so much more.”

  “Thank you, Headmistress.” I smiled.

  Theodora nodded and gestured for us to leave. The crowd cheered as we walked past them, and a smile broke across my face as we walked through the banquet doors.

  “We won!” Morgana squeaked as soon as we were in the hall, and my coven all exchanged excited expressions with one another. “I almost thought we were all done for back there.”

  “Shit, me, too,” Akira sighed. “Especially when the ceiling started to fall apart.”

  “Yeah.” Vesta nodded slowly, and when the green-haired witch slowly turned to face me, her silver eyes were filled with confusion and awe. “Cole, how did you know we were supposed to touch the locket?”

  “That girl,” I replied. “She told me.”

  “She spoke to you?” Morgana asked with furrowed eyebrows. “That’s strange… I didn’t hear anything.”

  “Me, either,” Faye and Vesta replied in unison.

  “Who cares?” Akira shrugged. “The point is, we won. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m in desperate need of a bath.”

  “Same,” Morgana sighed. “I’ve never sweated so much in my entire life.”

  We all headed to the common room and split up at the bottom of the staircase. I went into my room, and Cordelia set up a bath for me. As I soaked in the water, I wondered if it meant something that I could hear the little girl when the rest of my coven could not. It seemed odd, but then again, strange things always seemed to be happening to me. I could ask Theodora about it, but I’d probably just be left with more questions.

  After a while, I stepped out of the tub and thought about going downstairs and joining the academy for the celebratory dinner, but my body felt broken, even after the hot bath. So, instead of getting dressed, I laid down naked on my bed and closed my eyes.

  I didn’t intend to fall asleep, but the next thing I knew, Alexander was tapping on my forehead. I opened my eyes, and he was staring right into my face.

  You need to
wake up, he said, it’s morning.

  I groaned and rubbed at my eyes as I slowly sat up and looked around. The morning light was streaming into the room, and I saw a clean uniform folded on the chair by the window. So, I sighed, stood up, and got dressed. When I went downstairs, my coven was already seated on the sofa and chairs, and they were in the middle of breakfast when they looked up and saw me.

  “Ah, Cole,” Morgana said, “you’re finally awake.”

  “Yeah, how’s it going, sleeping beauty?” Akira asked before she took a bite out of a piece of toast with a green jam.

  “Did I really sleep all night?” I asked with a frown.

  “Yeah, we went upstairs to get you for dinner, but you refused to wake up,” Faye explained. “We asked the headmistress if it was anything to worry about, but she said bringing the dead back to life can be an exhausting endeavor.”

  “That makes sense,” I groaned and rubbed at my temples. I could feel a sharp headache coming on.

  “Stop your moaning and drink some spiced coffee,” Akira ordered. “Our next class is Advanced Shadow, with Professor Luna.”

  “That should be interesting.” I grinned. “Luna always does have the most… fascinating lessons.”

  “So, what the hell are you waiting for?” Akira smirked. “Drink the fuck up, and let’s get a move on.”

  This time, I did as she commanded without any arguments, and I knew I was ready to take on anything Luna had to throw our way.

  Chapter 18

  All the students sat quietly in the Advanced Shadow classroom as we waited for Professor Luna. Time was almost up, and Luna was cutting it close, but that didn’t surprise anyone.

  The erratic professor always liked to make an entrance.

  “I wonder what we’ll be learning today.” Morgana grinned and wiggled in her seat. “I’m so excited.”

  “You say that about every class.” Akira rolled her dark eyes.

  “But I truly mean it this time,” the brunette argued with a pout.

  “Whatever, nerd,” Akira chuckled. “I have to admit, though… she’s truly outdone herself with this classroom.”

  I nodded in agreement. This room was just as bizarre as the last. Stars glittered on the ceiling and shone down upon the classroom. The chandeliers that hung down in rows were all made out of crystal and silver, and tall white candles lit the entire room with a cool, blue glow. The floors were a sleek sapphire blue and covered with strangely patterned carpets, and books hovered in the air instead of being placed along the empty bookcases that were situated at the back of the room. One large stained-glass window along the far wall depicted the black forest with a large blue moon hanging in the sky, and wolves and owls surrounded one witch with pale hair and a white dress.