by Cheree Alsop
Mercer gave a noncommittal grunt and looked at me. “I know why Fangs here wants to go, so why you?”
I realized I hadn’t told them about the box yet. “I found something,” I began.
“Why do I have the feeling this is going to be a long story?” Vicken interrupted. “Have you forgotten about my sister?”
“It might help us find her, or at least stop him,” I replied.
“Him who?” Briggs asked.
“Chutka the Shambler,” I said.
“Where did you hear that name?” Mercer demanded.
“Isn’t that the name the demon said before he died?” Lyris asked, her gaze worried.
“I think he’s at the bottom of this,” I told them. “Dara and I found a demon sigil in the clubhouse after you guys left.”
Dara nodded in affirmation.
I could feel everyone’s gazes when I continued with, “I remembered seeing the same sigil on a box with my mom’s stuff, so I went home—”
“You left the Academy without permission?” Professor Briggs cut in. “That was dangerous. You could have been caught by the Maes or worse. Someone could have seen you phase.”
I didn’t want to point out the truth of his statements. Instead, I rushed on with, “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. But I found the box.”
“What was inside?” Vicken asked with only a hint of interest.
“Another box.”
“Of course,” the vampire replied with a sigh.
“I can’t open it, but the first box was marked with the same sigil. I think that’s the key we need to find.”
“I thought Mezania was the key,” Jean said with confusion in his voice.
“She was, but now we need another key,” I said.
Vicken threw up his hands in disgust. “Whatever. Let’s just get in the hole and find my sister. If you happen to find a key, great.”
Mercer grunted. “If the key to Finn’s box is down there, we could be that much closer to stopping this ghost and demon infestation.”
The same thought had crossed my mind.
“I need to go down there. You guys can stay,” I told them.
Everyone was quiet for a moment before Dara said, “As if we’d let you have all the adventures on your own.”
Strained laughter followed and I smiled because I really didn’t think they would let me go alone. To be honest, I felt much better at the thought of them having my back.
“Looks, um, inviting,” Mezania said.
“You should stay up here,” Briggs told her. He eyed Alden and said gruffly, “And you need to come with us.”
“Of course,” Alden replied.
I went first because I could see in the dark. Alden followed close behind me. He clicked on the flashlight he had used to follow me to the cemetery and said in a whisper, “I understand his problem with me, but he could handle it a bit better.”
I glanced back to see Vicken, Dara, and then Professor Briggs follow us down with the others close behind. The uncertainty on the faces of my friends reminded me that we had no idea where we were going. I continued down the steep stairway.
“You heard him talking to Mezania. I think he’s afraid of losing what time they have left together, and he just doesn’t know how to face life without her again.”
Alden let out a breath behind me. “Grims don’t have a choice, you know?”
I looked back at him. “What do you mean?”
“With the people they are told to take. They don’t have a choice.” His voice was quieter when he said, “My parents say it’s not easy, but we have to be professional and not get involved.”
I hadn’t really thought about the work of a Grim from the Grim’s point of view. “It’s got to be hard knowing what you’re going to do after the Academy,” I told him.
He was quiet a moment, then he gave a little chuckle and said, “I suppose not as hard as not knowing what you are until your body decides to let you in on the secret that you’re a werewolf and now everyone’s afraid of you.”
That brought an answering chuckle from me. “That was definitely a surprise.”
“Are you guys laughing down there?” Vicken demanded.
I shot Alden a look. He gave me a wide-eyed one back and we continued down in silence. I realized after the sound of footsteps became the only thing I could hear that both Alden and I had been talking to keep the tension at bay. Walking further down than I imagined the Academy basement to be put me on edge. I swore I heard something further on and paused, but when nothing came up the stairs, I continued on.
“What if these stairs never stop?” Brack asked. His deep voice echoed along the tunnel.
“Then we’ll just go back,” Lyris reassured him.
“As long as he doesn’t panic and trap us all in here,” Dara muttered.
“You do say the most pleasant things,” Vicken told her.
“Quiet, everyone,” Briggs told them. “Give Finn a chance to hear danger coming if he can.”
“Nothing’s coming,” Vicken said. “Nothing but this never-ending staircase.”
Then it changed. Instead of walking downward, I had the distinct impression we were walking back up even though we kept moving down. It was the strangest sensation. I felt a tickling in my stomach and my head felt lighter.
“Anyone else disoriented?” Mercer asked from the back of the group.
“Yeah, I thought I was going crazy,” Jean said.
“Me, too,” Lorne agreed. “I feel like I’m upside-down or something.”
We drew near to a threshold. The tunnel was lit from beyond the stairway. Relief filled me at the lessening of darkness. The relief faded when I reached the threshold and looked beyond.
“What in the world?” Alden said from behind me.
“I don’t understand it,” I replied.
We stood on the ceiling of the Academy corridor looking up to look down. It made no sense. Students rushed underneath as if in a hurry. I could just see the clock through the door to the cafeteria. Apparently breakfast had just started. I wondered if we had truly been climbing down the stairs for that long.
“What is it?” Vicken asked. “I want to see.”
He shoved everyone forward. I wavered on the edge of the threshold, afraid of falling into the Academy.
“Hold on,” I said. “Just—”
Vicken pushed again and I fell inside. Alden grabbed my sleeve, but he couldn’t stop me. Instead of falling down, well, up, I landed on my knees on the ceiling. My heart thundered in my chest as I looked up at the students who walked through the hall above me as if they weren’t upside down at all.
“That’s trippy,” Dara said as Alden gingerly followed me inside.
“Where are we?” Vicken asked. His yellow eyes were wide as he looked up at the students who were oblivious of our presence. Ghosts wandered along the ceiling and floor, walking through us as though they didn’t see us either.
“We’re in the Otherworld,” Professor Briggs said as he followed the rest of our team onto the ceiling.
“Have you been here before?” Lyris asked him.
The professor shook his head. “No, but I’ve read about it.”
He watched Mercer climb over the threshold. The sweeper stared around him. “Me, too. But I never thought I’d see it with my own eyes.”
“What are those?”
I followed Alden’s finger to a dark shadow that trailed behind one of the students. It wasn’t one of the many ghosts that wandered between them. A chill ran down my spine. I followed the student from the ceiling until I crossed the threshold to the cafeteria. The chill turned into a cold brick in my stomach at the sight of other shadows hovering behind students, watching as they ate, following their conversations, and mimicking their gestures.
“They’re demons,” Mercer said.
One of the shadows glanced up and I saw the green fire in its eyes.
“There’s so many of them,” Dara said in a voice just above a whisper.
>
“What are they doing?” Brack asked.
“Imitating,” Briggs said. “Preparing to take over.”
A dark figure entered the cafeteria without following a student. My heart slowed as the figure solidified. He was huge with black shadow armor and a helmet that showed the glow of green demon eyes within. A hole in his helmet revealed a mouth that was filled with pointed teeth when he spoke words I couldn’t understand. The students we saw didn’t appear to hear him, but the demons listened with rapt attention.
“Is that a knight?” Lorne asked.
“The Demon Knight,” Alden said.
“What did you say?” Mercer asked.
Alden’s eyes widened and he looked at me. “Finn said to find out information about Chutka the Shambler after the demon said it in the corridor. So I looked.” He nodded toward the demon below. “According to the book I found, that’s the Demon Knight, Chutka’s first subordinate. He has two more, the—”
“The Wiccan Enforcer and the Darkest Warlock,” Mercer finished. He was watching Alden with a disapproving look. “You were reading forbidden books.”
“I figured they weren’t forbidden to us if we needed to know,” Alden replied with only a hint of nervousness in his words.
“So the Demon Knight is teaching them how to imitate students?” Lyris asked. “What then?”
“Think about it,” Dara told her. “If they can take over the students and then go home to their families, demons will be all over the country.”
“We’ve got to stop it,” I said.
“But what if—”
Alden dropped his flashlight. Instead of it landing at our feet like I expected, the light turned end on end as it fell upward and then hit the Demon Knight on the shoulder.
Chapter Ten
Everyone gasped when the Demon Knight looked up at us. The glowing green orbs that made up his eyes narrowed. He put his hands together and a ball of red fire appeared between them.
“Run!” Briggs shouted.
The Knight threw the fireball at us. I shoved my teammates ahead of me toward the door, but there was no way we would make it in time. I thought of Professor Briggs’ words about how dangerous demon fire was to any mythic; I could only imagine that the red fire from the Demon Knight was even worse. If the vampires went up in flames and the witch and warlock were injured like Briggs, the team didn’t have a chance. The Alpha in me surged. I refused to see any of my teammates fall at the hands of the Knight.
Dara and Lyris ran through the door. Alden tripped. Briggs pulled him upright and shoved the student in front of him. There was no way they would make it. I turned and stood in the way of the fireball.
“Finn!” Mercer shouted from the other side of the door with more emotion in his voice than he had ever shown on his face.
“No!” Dara exclaimed.
I didn’t dare look back to see if they had made it through. I couldn’t let the fireball get past me. I gritted my teeth and held up my hands even though I knew they couldn’t protect me from the huge writhing mass of red flames.
Sparrow lifted her head from my wrist. She looked back at me, her green eyes bright. Then, before I could stop her, the little dragon launched herself off my hand toward the fireball. She spread her wings just before it hit. The red fireball engulfed her completely and then vanished. To my horror, the sylph dragon’s wings faltered, her eyes closed, and she fell lifelessly toward the Demon Knight below.
“No!” I shouted. I jumped and grabbed her body from the air. When my feet hit the ground, I met the eyes of the Demon Knight.
He glared at me as he formed another fireball in his hands.
“You don’t belong here,” he said.
The growl of his voice tore through me like a rabid dog. I sucked in a breath at the chill that shook my soul.
The Demon Knight tipped his head. “You’d better run.”
I realized it was a game for him. He was toying with us and Sparrow had just taken the fall for it. I let out a growl and was looking for some way to attack him when a voice barked from the doorway.
“Finn, get out of there!”
The command in Briggs’ voice tore me from the stupidity of my actions. I ran for the door. I glanced back in time to see another fireball hurling our way. I dove across the threshold and heard the fire hit the wall next to where I had been.
The rest of my team was already running up the stairs. I hurried after Briggs who pushed himself mercilessly despite the pain it must have caused to his damaged leg. About halfway up, his steps faltered. I ducked under his arm and we made our way up as fast as we could.
“Hurry,” a voice said beside me.
“They’re coming,” another whispered.
I looked to my left to see two ghosts rushing alongside us. Glancing around, I saw other glowing figures urging us back up the steps. There was fear on their faces; my heart tightened when I realized their fear was for us.
Below, the sound of claws on stone sounded. I could see green eyes glowing in the darkness.
“We’ve got to hurry,” I told the professor.
“I know,” he replied tightly. “Go on ahead.”
I shook my head. “You’re going to make it.”
Together, we climbed more stairs than I could count. The square of moonlight above that made up the doorway felt further and further away, but we didn’t give up. The sounds of the claws drew closer, spurring us on. I could hear Lyris, Dara, and the others calling our names. Finally, we burst through the door and sprawled on the grass.
“Close it!” Mercer commanded.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mezania put her hands to the tombstone again. It slid shut, muting the angry howls of the demons beneath.
“Brack, make sure it’s shut tight,” Professor Briggs said.
The huge warlock nodded. “It’s done.”
I climbed to my feet despite the way my knees shook.
“Where are you going?” Mercer demanded.
“I need to find Professor Seedly so he can help Sparrow,” I said. Tears burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. The little dragon’s body felt so fragile in my hand. I didn’t know how badly the fire had hurt her, but I had to get help right away. I could feel the call of the moonlight, but ignored it. I took another step toward the Academy.
“It’s too late, Finn-wolf.”
My heart slowed at Lyris’ words. I looked back at her, wondering what she meant. I didn’t have time to wait around. I had to help Sparrow. I had to—
A tiny spirit sat on Mezania’s tombstone. The ghost knelt and stroked the little dragon with her fingers. Sparrow tipped her head to the side and closed her eyes the way she did when she enjoyed being petted.
“No,” I whispered. The need to phase surged harder. I shoved it away.
Tears trickled down Lyris’ face when she looked at me. “I’m so sorry, Finn.”
I shook my head. “No. It can’t be.”
I opened my hand. Sparrow’s little body didn’t move. I dropped to my knees and willed her head to lift and her wings to open.
“Come on, Sparrow, look at me.” My voice broke.
I ran a finger gently down her back. When I took it away, red soot covered my skin. Pain knotted in my stomach at ignoring the phase. I gritted my teeth.
“Finn,” Briggs said, his voice soft.
I shook my head. “She didn’t deserve to die.” I forced myself to look at the little creature on the tombstone. She tipped her head at Mezania the way she did to me when I spoke to her.
“C-can she see me?” I asked the ghost.
Mezania shook her head. The tears on her cheeks caught in the moonlight. “She’s on her way beyond,” the ghost said.
My breath caught in my throat. “T-take good care of her, will you?” I asked.
Mezania nodded. “I will. I promise.”
I doubled over with the pain of denying the phase and set my forehead on the cool grass.
“Finn, are you alright?”
Vicken asked.
I shook my head.
Dara set a hand on my shoulder. I felt her pull and heard the accompanying intake of her breath at my pain.
“He needs to phase,” she told the team. “Give him space.” She knelt next to me. “Can I take Sparrow?”
I shook my head again and set the body gently on the grass. “I’ll take care of her,” I said. My voice cracked with the knowledge that I hadn’t taken care of her at all. If it wasn’t for me, she would still be alive, chasing flies and blowing little blue mint-scented flames.
A sob tore through me and the phase took over. I felt my shirt rip but I didn’t care. I knew my teammates watched me, but couldn’t find the strength to be embarrassed. The phase hurt because I fought it and I used the pain to chase away any other thought. Pain to fight pain was a useless venture, but I clung to it to block out thoughts of how I had failed Sparrow when she saved me instead of the other way around.
I stood in wolf form with my head hung low and my chest heaving at the exertion of changing form.
“F-Finn, are you alright?” Dara asked.
I padded slowly to Mezania’s tomb and began to dig. It was a small hole. The thought that it was still huge for her made my heart ache. I didn’t care that digging through the cold ground hurt my damaged paw. When I picked up Sparrow’s body carefully in my mouth and set it in the hole, I heard crying but didn’t look up to see who it was. I used my nose to push the dirt back the best that I could. My teammates knelt around me and helped with the dirt as well, patting it down better than I was able.
I stepped back and found myself at eye level with the little dragon on Mezania’s tombstone. She met my gaze, her green eyes bright and her black and purple tail flicking from side to side. On impulse, I lowered my head so that my chin rested on the cold stone. Sparrow nuzzled my nose. For the briefest instant, I could feel it. It was almost as if the moonlight granted us that brief moment in which to say goodbye. I wished I could cry as a wolf. Tears would have been much easier to bear than the way my heart broke in my chest. When I opened my eyes, the little dragon had moved to Mezania’s hand. She curled around the ghost’s wrist and closed her eyes.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I turned away and began to run.