Academy of the Devi- the Complete Collection

by Eva Brandt

  He wrapped his arms around me, and this time, his hold held nothing sexual. And as we sat there, on his couch, with me trembling and crying in his embrace, I knew that somehow, I needed to find the strength to move on.

  Transfers and Transformations

  In the days following my decision to sleep with the dean, Callum, Mikael, and Stefan started to avoid me. Even before, I’d had trouble finding them, but now, it was practically impossible, and I could go on for days without seeing them at all. I had no idea what they were doing, but Mikael seemed to have decided to no longer sleep in the dorms at all.

  It worried me, but there was nothing I could do, not anymore.

  I approached Mephistopheles about it after one of our lessons. Our… special lessons. I was naked, curled against his chest, with his wing over me and his tail teasing my anus. “Do you know what’s up with Callum, Mikael, and Stefan? Have you spoken to them?”

  It was rude to bring up my former lovers when we were like this, but it didn’t bother him. “I did speak to them, yes,” he replied. “We’ve decided to cast the spell on Samhain, if that’s okay with you.”

  “That should work well,” I told him. “It’s going to be a powerful day and it should prevent problems.”

  “Indeed,” Mephistopheles answered. And then, he slid his dick into my pussy, and his tail into my ass and I forgot about the conversation altogether.

  In hindsight, maybe I should’ve done a little more research about what the ritual would entail. Faust had already pointed out that contracts in the demonic world were a tricky business. But the feeling of betrayal refused to go away, and I preferred to focus on the dean, on the pleasure and relief I found in his arms.

  And so it was that, on October 31, I was once again inside the ruins of The Scholomance, with Callum, Mikael, and Stefan. The difference was that Mephistopheles was here as well, and he was the one by my side, not them.

  “I take it you’re all prepared for the ritual,” Mephistopheles said without preamble.

  “Yes, Sir,” Mikael replied tightly. “We’re all ready.”

  Mephistopheles nodded, but decided to check their work anyway. He walked around the room and studied the ground, where a symbol I didn’t understand had already been drawn up. “Very good. Now, all of you get in the center and approach Ms. Michaelis.”

  They complied. Just like the first time, I took my clothes off, and so did they. I tried very hard to not feel apprehensive. They’d already seen me like this countless times before. Even if Mephistopheles had been a little rough the last time we’d fucked, I didn’t have any bruises.

  Still, they seemed to see straight through me, because as soon as he approached me, Stefan brushed his hand over my shoulder and said, “He doesn’t deserve you. This isn’t what you want.”

  “Stefan,” Callum snapped at him. “Stop. We’ve talked about this.”

  “Yes, we have, but that doesn’t mean—”

  “Alyssa has made her choice,” Mikael cut him off. “This is what she wants. Isn’t that right, Ms. Michaelis?”

  My mouth suddenly felt dry. I wanted with all my heart to say ‘no’. Ironically, that was what gave me the strength to say ‘yes’. “It is.”

  The simple two words echoed much too loudly inside the ruins of The Scholomance. The color drained from Stefan’s face, and in the depths of his eyes, something seemed to die. He said nothing. His hold on my shoulder grew lighter, barely there.

  My immediate impulse was to take my words back. It wasn’t too late. We could still fix this.

  But if I changed my mind about the ritual, what then? Could I forgive them for manipulating my memories of my parents? No, it just wasn’t possible and even making the attempt would be a recipe for disaster.

  Steeling myself, I waited for the unavoidable moment when the ritual would begin. As always, Shiro helped, and when he leaned against me, I felt less like I was about to throw up and faint on the spot.

  There was a sudden surge of energy beneath my bare feet, and my former lovers started to chant.

  “Bonded hearts have come together,” Mikael said. “Through kindness and warmth, a connection was formed.”

  “Bonded hands are torn apart.” Callum separated my hand from Mikael’s and held it in my stead. “Connections die and are reborn, different, but stronger.”

  “Connections are accepted and bonds of fellowship are strengthened,” Stefan whispered.

  I forced myself to open my mouth and say the words that were expected of me. “With these words and this vow, I grant Callum Adamson the honor of the bond with Mikael Lost.”

  “Through my power as a High Lord of Hell, this, I acknowledge,” Mephistopheles finished. “May the unwanted bond be replaced with the new, desired one. In the name of the powers of The Infernal Realm, this, I command, and let nothing stand in my path.”

  My body started to tingle where Callum and Stefan were still touching me. Shiro let out an anxious whine. TB hissed, obviously distressed.

  I wasn’t sure how, but at that moment, I knew we should’ve never done this, that we’d just made a giant mistake.

  But it was too late to take my decision back. An explosion of magic erupted through the room, emanating from my body. Mikael, Stefan, and Callum were all thrown back, propelled by the unstoppable force at least a dozen feet away.

  I panicked and rushed to their side. I didn’t know whom to check up on first, so I ended up going to Mikael, simply because he was closest.

  “What just happened?” I asked as I dropped to my knees next to him. “Are you okay?”

  Mikael recoiled, shying away from me as if I terrified him. “Don’t touch me. Just… Just don’t.”

  He was shaking, as pale as a ghost. Why? I didn’t think I was so scary. Had I hurt him so badly?

  “I’m sorry,” I offered, not knowing what else to say. “I didn’t mean to do that. I still can’t control my power very well.”

  Mephistopheles walked up to us, his presence as strong and reassuring as always. Or at least, it was, until he explained what had happened. “That wasn’t your fault, Alyssa,” he said. “It was just backlash from the ritual. A familiar bond isn’t easy to tear apart, and the magic we used knew the real reason why you changed your mind about Mikael. It sensed your heartache and grief, and it punished them in your stead.”

  “But I never meant for this to happen,” I replied as I watched Stefan struggle to get up. Was I angry with them? Yes, I was. Had I wanted them to get hurt? No, I had not.

  “Things happen all the time that people don’t mean.” Callum wrapped an arm around Stefan’s waist and helped him up. “We all make choices we regret. But Ms. Michaelis, don’t regret this one. It really was the right thing to do, and we wholeheartedly agree with it.”

  Stefan hadn’t seemed that enthusiastic earlier, but pointing that out would’ve been useless. The bond was already broken. I felt the hole where it had been and it hurt. It wasn’t something I could change, not anymore.

  “The discomfort won’t last, not for you, especially since you have Shiro,” Mephistopheles said, having obviously noticed the problem. “Take a day to yourself. Spend time with your true familiar. Call your family. You’ll feel better, you’ll see.”

  I shot Mikael, Callum, and Stefan one last hesitant look, and then agreed. There was nothing more I could do here. I’d done enough, and I’d already decided we had to go our separate ways.

  “Come on, Shiro. Let’s go.”

  He happily followed me as I left the ruins of The Scholomance. When we were outside, my steps carried me toward the dorm of The House of Sloth.

  I stopped before I could enter the building and instead waited outside, observing it in silence. My former lovers had said this building was a huge part of the reason why I’d forgotten my parents.

  Nobody had mentioned anything about The House of Sloth having a patron, but I was sure he had to be here, just like Leviathan was in my dorm. If memory served, the Prince of Hell who ruled over this pla
ce was Belphegor.

  But he was hiding, and so were many other people and creatures inside the academy. Was it any wonder, then, that Stefan, Mikael, and Callum had chosen the path they had?

  “I won’t forget again,” I told the silent building. “I’ll always remember and I’ll never lose hope.”

  There was no reply, but even so, I felt like someone was watching me from the shadows. Just because I could, I gave the mysterious person the middle finger.

  It was a minor act of defiance and it didn’t make me feel any better. But the promise did.

  I refused to wallow in self-pity. Starting tomorrow, I’d do better. I’d learn more about my magic and be more careful. If the demons wanted to keep secrets, I didn’t care anymore. Let them. I’d find my own way, and that would be that.

  * * *

  The next day started out normally enough. I didn’t see my former lovers, but that wasn’t unusual, since they’d been avoiding me for months.

  I left my dorm and headed out to class, only to find that I could barely make my way through the courtyard. It was raining cats and dogs. Literally.

  Animals were falling from the sky. For the most part, they always landed on their feet, so there were no dead bodies on the ground. But when they landed on someone, the beasts clawed savagely at the unfortunate person, and the victims seemed to have trouble shaking them off.

  It was like a more serious version of Morrigan’s crows, I thought as I watched Samuel fall under the assault or at least fifteen Chihuahuas. I flinched when one of them managed to leap high enough and gripped his testicles. He howled and kicked at the animal, but the damage had already been done as the little beast already seemed to have a dangling piece of flesh in his mouth.

  I might have tried to help him out, but then, I saw another fallen person, who was actually in lethal danger. Two dozen cats had attacked Darling, and they refused to be moved. “Stay here, Shiro!” I told my familiar. “No matter what, don’t follow me!”

  I ran out into the open and headed toward my former friend. I still didn’t have complete control of my power, but I couldn’t let her die.

  Shiro ignored my command and raced after me. That turned out to be a good thing, since every cat that tried to attack me took one look at him and ran in the other direction.

  Meanwhile, I focused on getting the remaining cats off Darling. I had no desire to turn them into necromantic construct material, but there had to be something I could do. “Go away!” I told them, feeling stupid even as I spoke. “Leave her alone!”

  Miraculously, my lame words worked and the cats jumped off her, hissing. Darling got up, wiping blood off her face. She had scratches all over her body and her black dress was torn in several places. “Alyssa? What in Satan’s name is going on?”

  “I have no idea, but whatever it is can’t be good. Let’s take cover.”

  In the end, classes were canceled for the rest of the day while the teachers dealt with the ‘weather anomaly’. We were told to go back to our dorm rooms, but once we were actually there, we found something had gone wrong too. In The House of Envy dorm, the branches of the building were no longer steady and Leviathan had disappeared from his painting.

  Lena tried to go to her room, only to have the wardrobe fall on her. I pulled her out of the way just in time, but it was a close call.

  “I think we should stay out of the dormitories for now,” I told the rest of my house.

  “And where are we supposed to go, Alyssa? We’re too many to fit in the common room.”

  This surprised me, since we’d had no such trouble in the past. Because of the magic embedded in most buildings, the tower’s size adjusted and the common room was always big enough to fit its occupants, no matter how numerous they were. “There’s no place else, not now,” I replied. “I’ll speak with the teachers to see if I can find an alternative. In the meantime, stay here.”

  I tried to do just that, but my efforts and promise were rendered useless when the door to the tower refused to open. We were all stuck inside and no matter how hard I tried to open the door, I couldn’t make it work.

  I looked around, searching for Mikael in the hope that he’d find a better solution. He’d been the head of The House of Envy for years. I was only his replacement, and not a very good one at that. Surely, he’d be able to come up with something.

  A chill ran down my spine when I didn’t find him there. “Has anyone seen Mikael?” I asked the others.

  “I think I saw him heading toward The House of Lust dorms earlier,” Lena answered. “He must’ve taken cover there.”

  That made sense. Since he was now Callum’s familiar, he’d probably decided to stay in Callum’s dorm. Still, I remained unsettled. I had a very bad feeling about this.

  Mephistopheles was supposed to have control over everything in the castle. What could’ve caused him to lose it to this point? And where was our patron? What had happened that had made Leviathan leave the painting?

  Was it related to my ritual in some way? But why? It had been something private, between me and the others.

  “I don’t think we can do much right now,” I finally said. “Let’s try to wait in the common room. It’ll be cramped, but we’ll make it work. We’re all fellow members of this house, right?”

  My housemates were a little emboldened by my words and we ended up sitting all over one another in the common room. It wasn’t so bad and even if I wasn’t comfortable sitting in anyone’s lap but Mephistopheles, I did my best to keep everyone upbeat and calm.

  The last thing I wanted was for a member of my house to lose control of their magic and blow something up.

  The day passed with no real incident and we received food just like I had in the past, when I’d been trapped in the dorms because of my seizures. Outside, we could hear the sound of the wind intensifying. On occasion, Leviathan’s painting seemed to ripple and twitch.

  The next morning brought no change and my house mates decided they’d had enough. They didn’t try to leave the dorm again. Instead, they threw all caution to the wind and started taking their clothes off. “If we can’t go to class,” Yolanda said, “we might as well feed. Are you in?”

  I watched the crowd of already nude people and started shaking my head. “No, thanks. I’m good. I’ve… fed enough for now.”

  Fortunately, she didn’t push me. Instead, she just shrugged and said, “Suit yourself.”

  Of course, it was a little tough to avoid being included in an orgy, when everyone else in the dorm was participating in it. I ended up leaning against the exit door, with Shiro in front of me, growling and snapping at anyone who got a little too close.

  After Samuel’s experience with the Chihuahuas, no one wanted to risk any damage to their genitals, so they kept their distance. But the end result was that I was right there, in the main hallway, when the door finally opened. I felt it vibrate against my back as the magic keeping it shut faded away. Ecstatic, I got up and tentatively opened it. I considered letting everyone else know that we were free, but a glimpse at the painting told me it wasn’t necessary.

  Leviathan had returned and he’d notify them that everything was in order again.

  Relieved, I left the dorm and headed back toward the main school building. I wanted to talk to Mephistopheles, to ask him what had happened. And to be honest, after the orgy in the common room, I did feel a little hot and needy, so I wouldn’t mind it if he scratched my itch.

  That thought promptly flew out of my head when I ran into something I’d prayed I’d never have to face again. Another group of students was outside, and this time, they were chasing a massive, black wolf. “Fuck off! You’re not wanted here, animal!”

  A blast of fire struck the wolf in his side and my breath caught as I started having flashes of the horrible moments when Shiro had died. This wolf was far more resilient to the flame than my pup, but he did stagger and trip. It wasn’t just because of the first spell. The ground beneath his feet was cracking and shadows were
lunging toward him. The students were using shadow magic against him.

  “Hey!” I instinctively shouted, unable to bear the sight. “Stop! Leave him alone!”

  Both the students and the animal that was their target froze in their tracks when they heard my voice. The wolf turned toward me, and at that moment, I realized that I’d seen the black beast before. It wasn’t a wolf at all. It was a hell hound. It was Stefan.

  The students looked vaguely familiar too. They were all members of The House of Wrath, a little older than me, but not by much. I’d seen them around, occasionally talking to Stefan.

  What the fuck was going on? Why were they hunting him? And why was Stefan not fighting back?

  “What are you doing?” I asked them, hiding my confusion behind a simple mask of anger. “Why in Satan’s name are you attacking him?”

  “This is none of your affair, Ms. Michaelis,” one of the students—a pretty red-headed girl—replied. “It’s our prerogative, as members of The House of Wrath, to handle our affairs in whatever way we wish.”

  “I’m not going to argue with that, but Stefan is Callum’s familiar,” I replied. “He has every right of being here, as much right as Callum does. You’re not making any sense.”

  “That would be the case if Stefan would actually be capable of attending the classes,” the student replied. “But he’s not. He’s an animal, and anyone like that isn’t welcome in The House of Wrath.”

  Stefan growled at them, his eyes lighting up with demonic fire. The girl took a step back.

  “I was always under the impression that The House of Wrath prided itself on embracing the more animalistic impulses of its members,” I said, trying to make them all calm down. “And Stefan isn’t an animal. He’s a shape-shifter.”

  “Not anymore, he isn’t.” One of the other students grinned, licking his lips and exposing sharp fangs. “He’s only a mutant hell hound now. And he has no right to pretend he’s a person.”