Academy of Deadly Arts

by Helen Scott

  "So, those were shades?" I needed to make sure I understood what we had just run away from.

  "No, those were demons. One was a shadow wraith and one was a fear sprite. Both are no fun to deal with," he explained before sighing and rubbing the back of his neck. The skin under his hand was covered in tattoos, not just one piece either, but almost a collage of different pieces. I focused my attention on that and tried to slow my galloping heart.

  "I thought you failed Demons." I blinked slowly as I stared at him, my brain only just processing his comment.

  "I did, but that doesn't mean I didn't learn anything the couple times I did go to class. Plus, I've been here long enough to know what some of the usual suspects in after dark activities are. We were just lucky that it wasn't a revenant or a shade," Noah said as he led us into what looked like a private lounge.

  There was a mini fridge and kitchenette on one side and a big flat screen TV on the other, with a couch and a few chairs in between. With another set of doors between me and the outside world I felt my shoulders loosen a little more. My feet apparently had a mind of their own as they walked over to the couch and I plopped down.

  What weird dimension had I found myself in? Nightmares were creatures? Fear sprites? Revenants? All these things came out of the shadows to torment unsuspecting souls as soon as the sun went down. But why? Where did they come from? And where did they go during the day? Where did the sunlight come from? Questions circled my mind like a car on a racetrack, only there was no finish line, they just kept going around and around.

  "Hey, why don't we raid the fridge and watch something on TV?" Noah suggested. I could tell he was trying to get my mind off the demons, but he sounded more worried about me than I was comfortable with.

  "Don't you need to get back?" I swung my head around to look at him over my shoulder. For a moment I thought I saw something spark in his eyes, but it was gone in a flash.

  "Nah, I haven't got anything important to do. At least, not more important than rescuing a damsel in distress," he said with a wink.

  I snorted. "I'm no damsel, and while I was in distress, I can usually get myself out of it, thank you very much," I replied in a fake haughty tone, pretending to be offended.

  "I'm sure you would have been safely tucked away in your bed by now if I hadn't persuaded you to come out into the woods with me." Noah chuckled as he grabbed two drinks from the fridge. He handed one to me as he sat next to me on the couch with a thud.

  "Women generally are more practical than men," I teased. "Were you trying to corrupt me?"

  "What man in their right mind wouldn't want to corrupt you?" he asked, his tone playful. There was something underneath it though, something that made me think of long, hot, sweaty nights where we tangled with each other in the sheets.

  A flush streaked up my face in response. Was he trying to flirt with me? No, I was probably just reading too much into it, as usual. "Maybe I'm already corrupted, did you consider that?" I asked as he found the remote and flicked on the TV.

  "You look about as innocent as they come," he replied with a smirk and some side eye.

  "Ha!" I let out a bark of laughter as he switched on some random action movie.

  "What? You're saying you’re a bad girl?" Noah shot me a dazzling smile, his lips perfectly framed by the ring in his bottom lip on one side and the ring in his nose on the other. A fan of dark lashes fanned around his blue eyes and, paired with the jet-black hair that was almost shoulder length, I was tempted to do something reckless. I didn't want to screw up one of my first friendships though.

  "I've been known to make some bad decisions in the past. Let's just put it that way," I said with a smile while Keanu Reeves started kicking wholesale ass on screen.

  "What did you do? Choose the wrong color nail polish? Use the wrong fork at a fancy dinner?" Noah peppered me with questions before taking a swig of his drink.

  "Do I look like the kind of girl who attends fancy dinners?" My tone was snarky, and I raised an eyebrow while gesturing to the purple hair that surrounded my head. I would have gestured to my clothes as well, but I was still wearing the school uniform, one which Noah somehow made look effortlessly cool. His tie had been pulled down from his collar and the bright white shirt only made his hair and lashes seem that much darker.

  "To me you do."

  My gaze flicked to his, but I found him watching the movie. Unsure what to make of his comment I leaned back and tried to relax, even though I was painfully aware of every shift in Noah's position. Soon enough though I found myself equally absorbed in Keanu's butt kicking skills. The man was extremely talented, I'd give him that.

  "Can I ask how long you've been here?" The words slipped out of my mouth while the movie portrayed a quieter scene.

  "Uh, a few years, I think? I'm not really sure though. Time feels different here to me. Maybe that sounds crazy though, I don't know."

  "What about the others?"

  "That's their story to tell, but we've all been here roughly the same amount of time. We met in class, kind of like you and Sasha. I wish we had popcorn, don't you?” The abrupt change in subject effectively let me know the subject was now closed. “Purgatory isn't so bad, but I wish there was more to do. Like, I wish we had our own movie theaters instead of having to sneak into ones in the mortal world."

  As the movie wrapped up and Keanu and his dog were running into the sunset I was swamped with awkwardness and guilt. We couldn't stay here overnight, but if we left then there was a high likelihood that we would run into another demon or two. The last thing I wanted to do was put Noah in danger.

  "Ready to head back?" he asked as the credits started to roll.

  "If you think it's safe, sure, I guess?"

  "There's not much safe about being out in the dark in purgatory, but I think we can make it," Noah said as he drained the last of his bottle and pushed up from the couch.

  I followed though I was dreading going back out into the dark. The hallways and empty classrooms were creepy this late at night. When I’d first entered the building, I hadn't thought they were creepy, which means that I must have been truly freaked out.

  Noah peered through the window of the door that led outside. We weren't going out of the same one we came in through since that was on the opposite side of the building and would put us farther from our destination. As slowly and quietly as possible he pushed the door open and we both edged outside, waiting just beyond the door to see if anything was going to emerge from the grounds.

  When nothing moved, he whispered, "Let's make a run to the next building and wait there to see if anything follows, okay?"

  I nodded. The next building was within our line of sight. It would allow us to pause and reevaluate without having to bolt all out all the way home. A moment later Noah took off with me hot on his heels across the green to the other building.

  It was farther away than it had appeared, and by the time we got there I was starting to get tired. It wasn't just the exercise, I hated running, but more the adrenaline spiking and wearing off and spiking again. It was leaving me feeling drained.

  We slammed against the door and stood there in silence, both catching our breath from the all-out sprint we'd just done. Nothing moved, at least not at first. The shadows seemed to stretch toward me but I thought that was just me being hypersensitive to things that freaked me out and worrying that something was going wrong.

  Noah tried the door of the building we were pressed against but it was locked. "It's the records building, of course it's locked," he muttered under his breath. He turned to me a moment later and whispered, "There's another building a little way past this one on the other side. If we can make it to that then it should be open and we can hang out in there for a few minutes while we make a plan."

  I nodded again, not trusting my voice.

  "Run around the front and try and stay in the lights as much as possible," he said, right before he took off.

  I was supposed to be just behind him, but when
I went to move my feet they seemed to be stuck to the ground. I couldn't take a single step, let alone run after Noah. A garbled sound left my throat as I peered down and saw a shadowy tentacle looking thing wrapped around my feet and ankles. I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew it wasn't good.

  8

  Avery

  I pulled on my feet hoping to move them, to free them from whatever the hell was wrapped around them, but it was no use. The more I tried to move them the less I could. I thought Noah would abandon me. He had already taken off in the opposite direction, so when I saw the glint of his pale skin in the moonlight a surge of relief washed over me, even if it was only for a second.

  His face contorted in horror as he took in my feet. I both wanted and didn't want answers. I was scared of what he would say was happening, but I also wanted him to tell me that it wasn't a big deal. The look in his eyes told me it was.

  "Just stay calm okay?" Noah's eyes flashed from side to side while he searched visually, trying to see if we were under any further attack. When he didn't immediately see any enemies he knelt on the gravel path to get a closer look at my feet.

  "What's happening?" I asked a little breathlessly.

  "This is a shade. It's like a parasite that feeds off the energy of ghostly bodies. It's mindless and opportunistic. Usually it's easily avoidable but when you're focused on the other things that are trying to attack you it's easy to miss since they stay at ground-level." Noah's tone had taken on a clinical edge, like a doctor would with a patient, detaching himself from his emotions.

  "How do we get it to let go?" I asked quietly.

  "We give it something tastier," he said as he rolled his shirt sleeve up. The black mass seemed torn between my legs and Noah's arm. It hesitated for a moment but then lunged forward. Noah moved faster than I thought possible and dodged while at the same time he pushed me free from the other arms that were unwinding from my feet.

  I landed with a thump and pain shot through my hip like a lightning bolt. There was no time to sit around and ease myself back up though. I rolled and pushed up, just as Noah reached for me to pull me clear of the shade's reach.

  When his hand went through my arm like it was fog I tried not to freak out. We were already in danger, the last thing we needed was me screeching because his hand just went through my fucking arm like it wasn't there. Christ! What the fuck did that mean? A scream bubbled inside me, and it was only the fact that I was running away from the shade that made me stay quiet.

  My eyes were more focused on the ground now. I was paranoid about another one of them appearing out of nowhere. We reached the other building, the one I assumed Noah had been talking about before, and paused for a moment before he jerked his head and took off again. I followed.

  I could feel my feet hitting the ground, the air in my lungs, the pounding of my heart, but I had the sneaking suspicion that I was the only one who could sense those things. Finally, after a full tilt sprint through the center of the green we ended up on the same street as the guys’ place. I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but we weren't inside just yet, and I didn't want to lose my afterlife to being overly cocky when I was getting close to the finish line.

  Noah barreled up the front steps and in through the front door shutting it tightly after I'd joined him. The two of us stood there panting, breaths coming unevenly as we tried to calm down. My hands were braced on my knees because I thought I might pass out or puke otherwise, so I didn't immediately see the others join us.

  When I lifted my head the other guys were standing in front of us. Bowie and Gaius had evidently been in the living room area while Xavier seemed to be coming from upstairs with... a friend. They were all staring at me like I'd grown a second head, but as I looked down at myself I realized it was because I was mostly invisible.

  "Well, fuck," I said on a sigh.

  "Anyone want to share what's going on?" Xavier's friend asked.

  "Avery, this is Jude. Jude, Avery, she's recently deceased. The Arbiter assigned me as her guide," Bowie said as he stepped forward and managed the introductions.

  “I didn’t ask who she was, I asked what happened.” Jude sounded flustered and on the edge of angry, which I thought was strange considering he didn't know me.

  Noah looked at me and then back at the face of his roommates and Jude, while I was still trying to figure out how he fit into this equation. "I’d taken Avery to see some of the sites of campus and on our way back night fell and she got attacked by shade. Well not just a shade, there was also a fear sprite and a nightmare."

  The room erupted into startled sounds and everybody talking all at once. I wasn't sure who to pay attention to or how to handle it or really anything. All I knew was that I felt weird. It felt like I could still touch things. I experienced the feeling my feet on the floor, the heat from the light bulb in the lamp next to me, and even the warmth coming off Noah's body, but everything also felt cold. It was like I was standing in front of the freezer with the door open, I just didn't know where the door was to close it. Noah started arguing with Bowie about something I couldn't quite understand and I meandered away. Conflict has never been my thing.

  I found myself in what amounted to a study area. I think in a different life it was a dining room but now there were just a few desks and chairs set up around the edges with a larger table in the middle. The wood furniture was pretty. It gave the room an old-world type of feel especially when combined with the hunter-green walls and dark wood trim around the ceilings and floors. There was a bookcase that lined one wall, and I strode over and started inspecting the books, somewhat listening to the sounds of the conversation behind me.

  When my eyes landed on an old school leather-bound copy of The Odyssey I was surprised. It didn't exactly seem like something the guys would read. I reached out to pull it from the shelf but my hand went straight through it. There was a brief moment of contact were I could feel the leather slipping under my fingertips, but almost as swiftly as it had come it left, and my hands not only went through the books but the shelf of books below, and the shelf below that as well, until it came to rest at my side once more.

  I started trying to touch different things—the table, the chairs, the walls—all of it was fair game in my experiment. My hand just went through everything. Even my feet were starting to sink into the floor. If I couldn't stand on my own two feet, then where would I go? And if I couldn't support myself in the afterlife then would I be forced to move on? I wasn't exactly comfortable with the possibility especially since my general trajectory right now was down.

  "Avery?" Noah called.

  I followed the sound of his voice and found the five of them standing as though they’d been having a little conclave meeting. The more I tried to move and walk and touch things the worse my condition seemed to become. As I moved toward them, I could feel them watching my feet sink into the floor a little bit more with each step.

  "You need to rest. Try to sleep. It's the only way you stand a chance of regaining some of the strength that you lost," Gaius said. I had expected the comments to come from Xavier or maybe Jude, but coming from Gaius that surprised me, and to be honest made me take it more seriously.

  "How am I supposed to rest when I'm invisible? Or at least turning invisible? If I fall asleep and fall into the mattress or through the floor how are any of you going to know? How will anybody know?" My voice was higher and more panicked than I'd intended but I guess it was honest at least.

  "One of us will stay with you," Bowie offered.

  It didn't take a genius to figure out that Bowie was the one who wanted to stay with me. It wasn't that I had anything against the guy. In fact, I found him very attractive, between the thick wavy locks of chestnut-brown hair and the eyes that looked like pools of melted chocolate, it was easy to be with him. Add in the adorable grin and the contagious laughter and he was basically irresistible. I just didn't know if irresistible was what I needed right now.

  Part of me wanted to demand that Noah stay w
ith me simply because he'd been there through the whole thing. He had watched me turn invisible, or somewhat invisible. But he was already checked out. He had a bottle of beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other, and a far-off look in his eyes that told me he wasn't interested in paying attention anymore. I couldn't blame the guy; I wasn't sure if this was what a night in purgatory was always like but it was more intense than anything I was used to.

  "Okay, that sounds good," I agreed, hoping that I could find rest as easily as they suggested.

  Just as I thought Bowie stepped forward. He led me down the hall to a room that was dark and, not just because it was nighttime but because the walls were dark and it had dark curtains. It looked like something that a vampire would live in, just the idea of that made me want to snort. There were a few t-shirts thrown over a chair and books and papers scattered around the room. It was clearly lived in; this was no guest room.

  "This is my room, in case you haven't figured that out. You can take the bed and I'll take the chair. I'll keep an eye on you while you sleep," Bowie said as he pulled his hair up into a more secure bun.

  "We're both reasonable adults we can share the bed. I don't want you wrecking your neck just because someone a long time ago decided that if two people share a bed it has to be sexual." I eyed the bed, trying to figure out how I was supposed to lie down when I was siqsnking further and further through the floor.

  Bowie seemed to ignore what I had said in favor of clearing off the bed and giving me enough room to theoretically lie down and sleep. "If you concentrate hard enough you should be able to feel the bed underneath you when you go to lie down. Focus on that and your brain should keep that active while you sleep."

  "Whose idea was that?"

  "Jude's. He knows more about ghostly stuff than I do, well, any of us really."

  "Who exactly is Jude? He seemed older than the rest of you, and a little standoffish if I'm being honest." Apparently, in my even more ghostly form I had even less of a filter between my brain and my mouth.