Scholomance 7: The Devil's Academy
Page 22
At least to my knowledge.
Fuuuuuuuuuck, Alexander’s voice cooed. I’m fucking enormous!
“And you’d better kill that motherfucker in the sky,” I said with a deep, venomous growl. “Ruin him and rain blood down upon us.”
Yes, Cole, Alexander agreed as he expanded even more, and we all watched as he pushed himself off the ground and soared high into the air. With fucking pleasure, I vow to rip his giant heart right out of his chest.
“Excellent,” I purred as I faced the women. “Keep attacking with all you’ve got… we’ll be rid of them soon.”
We continued to defend ourselves against the living elders, and I realized most of them were growing less sure of themselves and more terrified as they stared up at my oversized familiar as he soared toward the elder beast.
Then a smile spread across my face as the elder, dragon-like creature cried out in terror.
Alexander ran a sharpened bladed wing through one scaled shoulder and, in seconds, plunged the other right through an eye.
“Stop gawking at that defiled creature,” the blond elf yelled in anger and frustration, “and attack them for the love of God. Now!”
Even though their commander gave the order to attack, very few of the elves had the willpower to remain focused and obey his orders. So, I took the opportunity to send a group of them backward and into the belly of the woodland, to either impale themselves on sharpened branches or smack their skulls against rocks.
“Dissulto!” I cried out.
“Avolare!” Circe screamed, and the blonde Wicca sent another group of elves through the woodland.
“Nicely done, snake-eyes,” Akira shouted. “I think there’s only a few left.”
I was about to agree with her until I realized the ebony-eyed Wicca was deadly wrong. I could see a group of men on horseback off in the distance as they wove through the trees, and they were headed right toward us.
“No,” Vanessa breathed, and when the blond leader turned to look behind him, his shoulders shook with uncontrollable laughter.
“Did you truly think it would be that easy?” the elder elf cackled like a madman as blood dripped down his nose. “Oh, God, no. Samara vowed to kill you, and she always keeps her word.”
He’s right, Samara’s voice giggled like a schoolgirl inside my head. Did you really think it would be that simple? You’re all going to die by my wrath, just as I promised, Cole. And you will die knowing their deaths are on your hands.
“And did you really think I would let you just win?” I muttered as hot blood coursed through my veins, and I sharply turned to the professor. “Vanessa… do you think you can use that shield against a rain of fire and blood?”
“Yes, but I cannot say for how long it will last,” Vanessa answered, and for once, her voice slightly trembled. “My strength is wavering.”
“Cole, w-what do you have in mind?” Beatrix asked, and the quivering in her voice was far more apparent this time. “Whatever it is, please be quick about it… I’m not sure if we can win this one.”
“We can,” I said, “and we will.”
After Vanessa recited the spell and placed a barrier around us, I took a deep breath and stared up at the sky. Alexander and the serpen continued to engage in a bloody, hovering waltz, and as they twisted and turned through the clouds, I took a deep breath and connected with my ferocious, oversized familiar.
“Alex,” I whispered under my breath. “I need you to tear this serpen apart… and I need you to make it rain blood. Direct the creature toward the elders and let his massive heart fall down into the earth and crush the incoming army before they tear us into pieces. Do you think you can do that?”
Yes… master, Alexander responded, and his voice sounded even deeper and more bloodthirsty than ever before.
In seconds, Alex guided the snapping serpen toward the rushing army, and my familiar’s war cries grew even louder as he plunged his two bladed wings into the serpen’s eyes. When the elder beast cried out in pain and anguish and shook its enormous head, Alex took the opportunity to swoop underneath its giant, ivory body and then use his massive fangs to tear open its chest and white belly.
As he ate through the beast, a giant heart slowly slipped out from the bloody opening, and its shadow covered the incoming men. When they looked up, they cried out, but they didn’t have time to flee before the oversized organ crushed a vast number of them and sent blood splatter raining through the woods. When I glanced back up, heavy bloodfall drizzled from the wound as the serpen wriggled, and Alexander snatched it by its long neck and shook its body so more blood and gore rained down on the elders. By all rights, the serpen should have been dead already without its heart, but it seemed the beast was still hanging on, perhaps because of some perverse elder spell.
“Now, let’s cut into our palms and sear the blood fall,” I ordered under my breath before I slit deep into my palm and passed the blade around. “Picture a rain of fiery blood and burn them all.”
“Yes, master,” my coven answered.
Warm, sticky blood seeped down my hand as the other women swiftly cut into their own palms, and Vanessa remained with her hand pointed upright as she kept the barrier held above us.
“Hurry, Cole!” she said as droplets of blood fell onto the invisible wall and dripped along the sides, and sweat poured down her forehead and neck. “I can only hold it for so long… if you’re going to taint the blood, do it now!”
Vanessa held her arm upright, and the rest of us joined hands and formed a small circle around her trembling body as she struggled to keep the barrier from breaking. She sucked in gulps of air and panted as our blood mingled together, and when we stared up at the invisible wall and at the clouds, we could still see Alexander tearing through the serpen’s dying body so blood could continue to fall.
“Interficiam carne mea, mutata tempestate,” we cried out in unison.
In moments, more blood rained down on the living elders, but now it was beginning to burn their skin, and as I glared at the leader, he swallowed hard before madness and searing blood filled his eyes.
“If I must meet God on his holy throne on this day,” he snarled loudly as he stared into my eyes, “then so be it… at least I will die knowing I destroyed you.”
“Hate to break it to you,” I yelled back, “but you won’t!”
The blood continued to burn the elders’ beautiful skin, and screams filled the air as their flesh blackened and turned raw. Giant, glistening boils covered them from head to toe as they dropped to their knees and hunched over in agony. Then their flowing hair turned gray and into ash as it fell from their scalps, and their white skulls began to show.
I watched with a small smile as their eyeballs burned and melted from their crania like pus from an open wound, and I relished in my victory when their skin turned from glowing, milky-white to a hellish-red with scabs and broken blood vessels.
The dying elders collapsed and fell to the earth, and the rain continued to sear them as they laid on the forest floor. Even through the barrier Vanessa placed around us, I could smell their raw, putrid flesh.
The screams slowly died down, and the serpen’s body finally fell from the sky and onto the corpses spread across the forest. Then Alexander eventually flew down, and his body was slowly turning back into its normal size.
“It’s done,” I said to Vanessa as she continued to hold her arm up in the air. “You can let go now.”
Vanessa dropped her arm, and her body swayed as she slowly regained her strength. When she wiped her brow and looked at the dead sea of elvish elders, a smile crept across her flushed, slick face.
“Let’s make sure each fucker is dead,” she snarled as she extended her arm and held her wand up high. “I want to be sure none of them see another day.”
We passed by the countless bodies, and I could see their former leader off in the distance. I slowly approached him, and when I stood above him, I quickly studied his melted features.
His gold
en hair was gone entirely like it had never existed, and his elvish ears were seared right off his head. His eyelids were glued shut, but he knew I was staring down at him, and as I crouched down to look at him, his lips were parted open. Then I could hear him gurgling blood in his mouth as he struggled to speak.
“M-M-May God,” he stuttered. “Kill you.”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” I said before I placed a hand on his bare forehead and remembered the spell that brought back enough horrors to kill you. “May Satan haunt you in the afterlife because something tells me God does not accept feeble failures into his supposedly holy kingdom, you worthless piece of shit. Enjoy eternity in purgatory. Praeteritum!”
Suddenly, the lavender skies grew as dark as night, and my entire body shuddered as Satanic power surged through every crevice of my mind, body, and soul. The elder let out a muffled scream through his burnt lips, and his body wriggled and thrashed as the memories of his life came back to haunt him to death. I hoped he felt the kiss of fire that touched every Wicca he killed and tortured, and I longed for him to feel them for the rest of his eternity. When one final dying echo left his lips, and he used the last ounce of his strength to twist, scream, and shudder, I knew all the terrible heartache he caused those in the past had come back to haunt him one last time and possibly for forever.
Then, when he was finally as still as stone, I turned to look back at the others.
“It’s done,” I sighed with relief and triumph. “They’re all dead. Now, let’s find the first artifact and get the hell out of this fresh graveyard, shall we?”
Chapter 18
We passed by the countless corpses, and I knew by the heavy silence and raspy breathing that each woman was as drained as they looked. Only moments ago, we won an indomitable battle, and it took a heavy toll on every one of us, but our journey wasn’t over just yet.
We still needed to find that fucking artifact.
“I know you’re all tired,” I said as I looked over my shoulder and at each woman’s pale face, “but something tells me we’re close. I can feel it.”
“How do you know we’re going in the right direction, Cole?” Marina asked in a soft voice. “I’ve been following you out of respect, but I can’t help but wonder where we’re going?”
“How dare you question our master after everything he’s done for us!” Akira growled, but I stopped in my tracks and raised a hand to stop her.
“It’s alright, Akira.” I smiled before I turned my attention to the lavender-haired Wicca. “I don’t blame you for questioning me, but all I can tell you is this. Now that I can’t sense Samara’s presence, I feel a strong pull toward something in the north, and I’m simply following my intuition.”
“Alright,” the former siren said after a long moment. “I trust you, Cole.”
“As do I,” Vanessa added in a rushed voice. “Not that I have a choice, anyway.”
“What do you think happened to Samara?” Morgana asked as we moved onward and continued to head north. “Do you think she just gave up?”
“For now.” Vanessa nodded. “But trust me, she will return, so let’s enjoy the tranquility while we can.”
“Fucking agreed,” Akira sighed as she rolled back her shoulders and twisted the knots out of her neck. “I can’t wait until we find the damn artifact and get some downtime.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Morgana breathed, and when I looked at her pale-blue eyes, they were swollen and red-rimmed with exhaustion. “Satan, I can barely feel my toes.”
“Neither can I,” Penelope added as she sharply inhaled the forest air. “Every bone in my body is aching.”
“Stop complaining,” Vanessa ordered in a faint voice, and then Isobel tenderly nudged her hand as if to remind her master to compose herself. “I’m tired, too, and the familiars are also exhausted, but you don’t hear them or me bitching, do you?”
“No, Prof--” the women began until I sensed something, like an invisible door off in the distance, just waiting to be opened.
“Wait,” I said as I raised a hand up into the air, and everyone came to a halt. “I think I feel something… everyone be quiet.”
What do you feel, Cole? Alexander asked as he flew down onto my shoulder. Should I be on the lookout? Just say the word, and I’ll fly up and scope it out.
“Is it a sense of danger?” Vanessa also demanded in a sharp tone.
“I can feel a pull, stronger than before,” I explained to everyone, “but not a lethal one… I think we may be close. Come on!”
The women followed on my heels as I briskly made my way past the thicket, and the further I ran, the more powerful the pull felt. Then I abruptly stopped in my tracks, and I found myself staring upon a towering wall covered in jade-hued vines. The wall was as tall as the Scholomance castle, and as I narrowed my eyes at the mysterious stone, I tried to decipher what to do next.
Move the plants out of the way, Cole, the woman from my dreams advised. You’ve finally found what you’ve been searching for all along. Remember the vision? This is the same wall you gazed upon before your perilous journey began.
Without wasting another moment, I swiftly swiped the vines out of the way, and we all gasped when a beautiful stone door with gold-and-silver designs was revealed. The rock was intricately carved, and there were gold engravings, all in different languages, placed around the silver frame. When I glanced down at the bulky gold lock, I noticed it was unusually shaped. The keyframe was slender and long, and as I marveled at it, I suddenly felt a commanding pull toward Vanessa.
“What?” the strong-willed Wicca snapped as I stared at her. “Did one of the elders rob you of your tongue when I wasn’t looking?”
“Professor,” I said as I ignored her comment and glanced down at her pocket. “May I see the cross?”
“Err… certainly,” Vanessa answered in a reluctant voice. “Surely I don’t have to remind you to be careful with it.”
“Of course, I will,” I said as she pulled out the wrapped-up cross from her pocket and gently handed it to me.
The women watched as I carefully tugged the corners away from the relic and then stared down at the glittering gold, gorgeous jewels, and diamonds. The cross shone as brilliantly as the sun, and I had to shake my head to escape its magnetic trance. Then my eyes darted back to the lock before I looked down at the cross’ vertical panel, and I realized the end was the same size and shape as the keyhole.
So, without wasting another precious second, I slipped the end of the cross into the lock, and when I gently turned it clockwise, a loud clicking sound made the women all jump up with excitement. They giggled and clapped, and then all the vines fell from the solid stone wall. The trailing plants descended on us like an evergreen rainfall and swept past our faces, and then we looked up and found ourselves gazing upon a magnificent and ancient palace.
“Fuck!” Akira gasped. “It’s absolutely gorgeous!”
“It truly is,” Vesta cooed in a voice as light as a feather. “My Satan… look at the stone. It shimmers like silver. Or even elvish diamonds.”
“And it feels like the smoothest stone in all the realms,” Penelope added as she placed a hand on the surface.
“I wonder how long it’s been here,” Marina said as her eyes scanned the towering castle. “I’m no expert, but it looks to be quite ancient.”
“Indeed, it does,” Vanessa agreed. “Now, let’s stop gawking and step inside, shall we? The relic must be hidden within.”
“It is,” I said. “I can feel its pull.”
I pushed the door open, and when we stepped inside, we were met with a grand, royal entryway. A gentle breeze glided past our faces, and the smell of rotted leaves, dust, and wilted roses filled the air as I studied our surroundings. A colossal, partly broken glass and diamond chandelier hung from a cracked ceiling, and the painting splattered across it was peeled and faded. Still, I did not doubt it displayed a gorgeous portraiture of the elders and their beloved heavens once, long ago.
I silently agreed with the elf princess. As much as I loathed the elders and their ways, there was no denying their love for beauty and expensive tastes. To the right and left of the entranceway, two grand staircases curled down to the entranceway, and they were both covered with moth-eaten carpets that were once beautifully and intricately woven.
“It may be dusty, dirty, and timeworn, but I’ll be damned, it is stunning.” Akira gaped as she looked around.
“It is,” Vanessa remarked in a testy tone, “but we’re not here to sightsee… now, let’s look for this artifact, whatever it may be. Then perhaps we can spend the night here and take the rest we deserve. We’re not heading back to Scholomance until we complete the entire mission.”
“We should split up,” I suggested. “I don’t sense any danger here, so I’d say it’s safe to wander around. Alex, take the other familiars and help out, will you?”
You got it, Cole, my loyal familiar answered.
While Alexander led the familiars off to search the expansive and ancient palace, the rest of us wandered around the castle.
I made my way through the corridors, and I studied the timeworn paintings as I headed down a narrow dusty hallway. Suddenly, I felt a pull toward the very end of the hall, and when I reached the wall, there was a long, intricately woven tapestry displaying roses and flying elders on top of serpens. When I pushed it aside, I saw another door, similar to the one in the church, and when I stared down at the lock, I realized it needed the cross to unlock it. Since Vanessa forgot to ask for it back, I carefully pulled it out of my pocket, unwrapped it, and slid the end inside the lock, and once the door gently opened, I was looking down at an ancient and dusty wine cellar.
A chilling breeze brushed over my face as I made my way down a set of stone steps and looked around the old room. Then my breath caught in my throat as I saw something pressed against the wall.