by Eva Brandt
“Uh… Yes. I think.”
None of them looked convinced. I didn’t blame them. Ever since I’d woken up from my coma, I’d been having these strange, unexplainable dreams. I couldn’t remember them at all. The only thing I remembered was the scream of a woman, and I suspected that was just because I’d heard it when I’d been conscious, after my conversation with Lucifer.
Meph hypothesized that, when I’d been in Lucifer’s mindscape—the recreation of The Garden of Eden—I’d come into contact with something I shouldn’t have touched. I secretly agreed, but it didn’t help me much.
On the bright side, my nightmares had yet to have a physical side effect, which was always good news. And even if I wasn’t sleeping well, I hadn’t gotten any headaches.
In any case, I couldn’t let it get to me. I had other priorities and too much stuff to do to worry about nightmares. “What time is it?” I asked my lovers.
“A little after seven,” Callum replied. “Do you want to head to breakfast?”
I let out a heavy sigh. “We might as well. It’s not like we can hide here, no matter how much the thought might appeal.”
Returning to my classes after three whole months had proven to be an exercise in futility. There was no way I could catch up, not when I’d already been on a curriculum I hadn’t been fully prepared for. Meph had therefore decided to set up a new schedule for me, one adapted to my unique situation.
I would have to repeat the year, but maybe it was better this way. There was just too much for me to learn, and it was a bad idea to try to push myself further after having had such an experience. Besides, my magic was still all over the place, and I had yet to learn to control it.
Overall, the professors had been supportive of this decision. In fact, most of them were relieved. Morrigan in particular had been pleased that she’d have more time at her disposal to teach me the arts of battle magic. Even Professor Faust had grumbled that I had no business cramming so much information in only two school years, no matter how powerful I was.
As for the students… I really didn’t know what to make of their attitude. They weren’t violent with us anymore. They weren’t friendly either. They avoided us, but they were extremely dedicated to this approach.
When my lovers and I left my room, I caught sight of several other students disappearing into side corridors at the mere sight of us. The common room was empty, but several books and bags lay abandoned on the floor, a clear sign that a few minutes ago, there had been people present.
I threw a knowing glance toward my lovers. “You’re going to have to tell me what you did to them that has them so scared,” I commented.
“It’s nothing that special, princess,” Callum assured me. “We might have lost our tempers once or twice.”
“U-huh. And what did losing your temper involve, exactly? Shiro mentioned certain… disappearances, you know.”
“Those students got what they deserved.” Stefan shrugged, not looking in the least bit repentant. “They should’ve known better than to approach an area where a dark ritual was taking place.”
“Besides, you have to admit this is an improvement compared to previous experiences,” Mikael pointed out.
I couldn’t argue with that. It was sad that the students at The Academy of the Devil hadn’t gotten the memo until my lovers had used such force, but in the end, I did prefer this to being constantly attacked or insulted.
A tiny part of me found it enjoyable. Maybe I was learning how to be demonic too, because I reveled in the fear of the people who’d displayed such disdain toward us. It was unkind of me to think this way, but I was beginning to learn that I wasn’t nearly as kind as my lovers claimed I was.
When we left the dorm, we received a similar reaction. Several of my former year mates—like Darling and the Voldemort girl—hid behind a row of rose bushes as we passed, which was both befuddling and hilarious. “They do realize we can see them, right?”
“I don’t think they care that much,” Mikael mumbled. “It’s the principle of the thing.”
I shook my head in exasperation. And what principle would that be? Honestly, I had almost two years at this academy now, and I’d yet to understand it.
It was early morning still, so leaving aside the hiding students, there weren’t too many people around. I hoped to be able to have breakfast as quickly as possible and maybe catch up on my Law homework a little more before I had to go to class. As it turned out, my dean had different plans.
He met with us as we were entering the building, a wide smile on his face. It was different from his usual smirks, warmer, and I liked to think I was the main reason he could smile that way. “Hello, Ms. Michaelis. Mr. Schwarz, Mr. Lost, Mr. Adamson, I’m glad to see you’re just as dutiful as always in keeping our lovely human company.”
“It’s an honor and a pleasure to watch over Lyssa, Dean Mephistopheles,” Callum replied.
I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at them. They could still be so weird from time to time. One moment, they were fucking, and the next, they fell into a formal way of interaction that seemed out of place. But it was their thing, so I always let it go. In fact, these days, I liked to play along, even if Meph and I had long ago thrown formality out the window.
“Is there a specific reason why you wanted to speak to us, Sir?” I asked.
“Actually, yes,” he answered. “I have a surprise for you today. There’s someone here to see you.”
Someone to see me? Who could’ve possibly come to visit me at the academy?
The answer was simple, of course. It was my parents, and they were waiting for me just outside the village. They hadn’t been able to enter the academy itself—it wouldn’t have been good for them—but Meph had somehow managed to bring them here, just so that we could talk properly.
My parents weren’t aware of what had happened to me. No one had bothered to let them know, and when I’d woken up from my coma, I’d decided against telling them the truth and had instead settled on finding another lame lie. Officially, there had been some weather issues that had made it impossible for anyone to leave the island or communicate with the outside world.
The moment she saw me, my mother launched herself at me with an enthusiasm that rivaled Shiro’s. “Lyssa! Oh my goodness! You’re all right!”
She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me close, almost as if she was afraid I would disappear if she let me go. “When your dean came to see us, I wasn’t sure he was telling the truth, but you’re really all right. God…”
I hugged her back, feeling horribly guilty at the knowledge of everything I was hiding from her. For the moment, it was better to not think about that, because if I did, they’d notice.
“I did tell you, didn’t I?” I asked her. “You don’t need to worry about me.”
“We’ll always worry about you, darling. It’s our job, as your parents.”
My mother pulled away, releasing me from her hold. It was then my father’s turn to scan me from head to toe. He was a little misty-eyed too, and when he pressed a kiss to my forehead, I could feel him shaking. “Don’t scare us like that again, okay?”
“I’ll do my best,” I promised. I could offer no guarantees, only empty promises and lies—and I felt guilty for that too.
As my father observed me, my mother took note of my companions. She was obviously familiar with Meph, but Mikael, Stefan, and Callum were strangers to her.
I doubted she’d instantly reached the conclusion that I was in a polyandrous relationship with three demons, but I decided to take the initiative and introduce them anyway. “Mom, Dad, meet Mikael Lost. He’s my head of house. These are his friends Callum Adamson and Stefan Schwarz. They’ve been my guides, in a way, and have helped me with some lessons I couldn’t quite figure out.”
“Did you? That’s very kind.”
“Not at all.” Callum smiled, and if I hadn’t known any better, I could’ve sworn it was honest. “It was our pleasure. It’s been amazing to h
ave Alyssa here at the academy.”
“There were some people who were skeptical at first, but she proved them all wrong,” Mikael added.
The comment was a nice touch, since it wouldn’t have been believable for absolutely everyone to accept me outright at a school full of demons. The natural conclusion of the exchange was that I’d had some trouble but my head of house had likely helped me silence the potential bullies without issue.
My parents still looked a little wary, but for the most part, they were reassured. My mother focused on me again, her attention drawn to a different issue. “You look a little pale, Lyssa. Have you been eating well?”
“Oh, yes, mostly. I skipped breakfast this morning, though.” I had been so anxious to come see them that I hadn’t cared about the food.
My mother shot me a horrified look. “You can’t do that, Lyssa! Don’t you remember what the doctors told you? You need to eat!”
“I eat plenty,” I protested. “I was merely a little impatient. Besides, I had a big dinner last night.”
I knew the argument would utterly fail even as I said the words. It was difficult to explain to them that things at the academy weren’t like in the human world, that I could eat dinner and live off it for a day, that I could take my potion without needing a meal at all. My mother didn’t care about such details. To her, some things were simple. I needed to eat and that was final.
“Oh, I just knew you wouldn’t take care of yourself enough. But don’t worry. I have the perfect solution for that. I brought you your favorite. Apple crumble with cinnamon.”
She produced a basket, one that, for some reason, I hadn’t originally seen. With a wide smile, she extracted the dessert she’d mentioned from inside.
I took one look at it and my head started to spin, memories of distant screams echoing through my mind.
“Go on,” my mother insisted. “I wrapped it up in foil so that it’d keep. As far as I can tell, it’s still in one piece.”
Somewhere to my right, ghosts emerged from the shadows of the academy, extending their hands towards me. “Come to us. You belong to us.”
I really didn’t have the patience for this game today. Smiling back at my mother, I replied, “Thanks.”
I bit into the apple crumble, enjoying the taste of the familiar dessert. As my lips made contact with the treat, a pulse of magic swept through the earth. “Did you know that the academy has an orchard of apples too? It always reminds me so much of home and of your cooking.”
My mother laughed, thrilled with the comment. My lovers fidgeted in discomfort, knowing it was a lie. I’d barely remembered my parents at all, let alone my mother’s pie.
All the while, no one else seemed to see the ghosts, not even Meph. I didn’t mind it, nor did I find it surprising. I was used to it by now. My magic handled the issue without me having to point it out to the others.
By the time I finished my apple crumble, the ghosts were gone and the screaming had stopped. I knew it was only a temporary respite, but I was not afraid.
Maybe I truly had touched something in Lucifer’s mind that was allowing me to see these things. Or maybe there had always been something about me, something that had guided my steps and brought me to the academy.
Either way, I couldn’t turn back anymore.
A few hours later, after giving my parents a very brief and deceitful tour of the human-friendly areas of the island, I hugged them tightly and guided them back to the transport point.
“You will come back home this summer, won’t you?” my mother asked.
“I’m not sure,” I replied. “It depends. I’m behind on some classes. But I’ll try.”
It was a lie, but one my parents accepted. When they finally departed, I prayed to the Archangel Michael to protect them.
There was a secret hidden inside me, and as long as that was the case, I couldn’t return to their side.
My future tasted like apples and shone like the Brightest Star, and I suspected it would be much too dangerous for my mortal parents to share.
III
A Sinful Year Three
Some powers are beyond human control. Some secrets hold too much weight to be carried. Some sins cannot forever be contained. This year, secrets, sins, and power come together—and the end will be upon us all.
Prologue
They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Before I’d come to The Academy of the Devil, I’d accepted that as one of those general rules that everyone knew were true, but didn’t think about. Three-quarters of the time, people didn’t give a shit about intentions anyway. They only cared about results.
Maybe they were right to be skeptical. I’d walked the path to hell itself, shielded by good intentions, and it hadn’t worked out for me very well.
Once upon a time, Meph had told me this exact thing. He’d been trying to comfort me, of course, to help me make a choice and deal with my inner turmoil. But thinking back, he’d probably never believed it.
Good intentions didn’t exist, not really. Everything in the world was about a very simple reality—self-interest.
It wasn’t something I wanted to acknowledge, because I’d always deemed myself above such things. I’d thought I could be better than that, that I could help people, and that the love I shared with Callum, Mikael, Stefan, and Meph transcended such trivial concerns. But at the end of the day, I wasn’t so special and I never had been.
“Demons don’t believe in self-sacrifice.”
That was also something my lovers had told me, and it was part of the reason why I’d cared about them so much. They’d made huge sacrifices for my sake and had gone against their nature to do so.
I had been naive. The truth was that demons followed the most basic rules of nature, the desire for self-preservation. Anything else was unnatural.
“You belong to us.”
“You’re ours.”
“You’re our plaything.”
Their words and promises were echoes of their darkness and I’d thought I’d understood and accepted that. But there were still so many things I’d never seen, so many secrets this school held.
Later, I would wish I’d have never searched for the answers. Some things were better left unsaid. But sins were like epilepsy. You might try to avoid it and pretend it’s not there. You might try to live a normal life and force yourself to believe there’s nothing wrong with you. But in the end, you always had to pay the price.
It was a shame that I never realized the worst sin a person could commit was falling in love.
Surprising Hunts
“Remind me again what the fuck we’re doing here.” Callum sighed and grimaced as his feet sank into the black muck beneath our feet. “Not that I don’t enjoy demonic slime as much as the next person, but this is ridiculous.”
“Well, maybe, but it’s your fault,” I replied. My sandals let out a squelching noise as I walked on the dirty beach, but I ignored it. “Your little ritual created a carnivorous man-eating pimple and now it’s loose.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean we’re the ones who have to hunt it down,” Mikael answered. “I’d prefer spending some time in the dorms with you.”
I smiled beatifically at my lovers, amused by their attempts to placate me. “Nice try, but we’re catching that pustule, whether you like it or not. The school year is starting soon, and we don’t want any further accidents.”
A good couple of months had passed since I’d woken up from my coma with Lucifer’s help. As odd as it might have seemed, life had settled into a comfortable routine. My relationship with my lovers was flourishing, and we’d reached a tentative agreement on our future. It wasn’t perfect, but we were headed in the right direction. I found it had a lot to do with my determination to accept every part of them—including their dark side. Because of that, our decision to hunt down our target was both hilarious and ironic.
We were currently walking down the beach, following the trail of slime left behind by the pustule. The
creature was the cocoon of dark magic my lovers had accidentally created while trying to extract Mikael’s demonic nature from him. It had not disappeared, even after my return. That would’ve been too simple. Instead, it had stuck around in front of Professor Grim’s tower, until earlier today, when it had decided to leave.
No one knew how this had happened. Meph thought it was hilarious. The remaining teachers were exasperated. I was taking it in stride, although I did wish I’d had the foresight to dress differently before we’d left to track it down. The slime the pustule had left behind was all over the place and not always visible, so we ended up stepping in it. My long gown and my sandals might’ve been suitable for classes at The Academy of the Devil, but they hadn’t been the right choice of outfit for this task.
“I don’t think further accidents would be that big of a deal,” Stefan muttered under his breath. “I keep telling you, Lyssa. Anyone who got close enough to the pustule during the ritual deserved what happened to them.”
“Maybe, but this year, we’re trying to avoid distractions like that. Now focus. The faster we find it, the better.”
Truth be told, I didn’t mind this little hunt, and despite all their protests, I suspected my lovers didn’t either. Like the pustule, the slime was a manifestation of my lovers’ darkness, so it didn’t make me uncomfortable. Yes, it was a mystery why the demonic creation in question had turned sentient and had decided to leave the academy grounds. But at this point, nothing that happened here surprised me any longer. In the big picture, the sentient demonic pustule wasn’t that big of a deal.
In front of me, Shiro sniffed the black muck, happily following the slime and leaping over it with enthusiasm. Like me, he didn’t always manage to avoid the slime, but he didn’t mind. His white fur was stained with the black substance, but it seemed to amuse him. “It’s this way, Lyssa. We can catch it here!”
“Yes, Shiro, I can see that,” I answered with a chuckle. “Just stay close. We’ll find it soon.”