Cursed Academy (Year Four)

by Holly Hook

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  There's More!

  Cursed Academy

  Year Four

  By Holly Hook

  Chapter One

  Aftermath.

  Snapped trees lay over the now-roofless Sorting Temple, the remnants of Zeus's fury. Leaves dripped rain. Distant thunder rolled. A few thick clouds moved past the full moon, glowing silver. The whole world seemed to have fallen apart.

  Maria and Mikey stared at me with wide eyes. Mikey grabbed Maria's sleeve and pulled her to the opposite end of the gravel parking lot. Cal wrapped his arm around him, offering what protection he could. Wendy eyed me and bit her red lower lip. Only Celestus and Natalia stepped out of the now-roofless Sorting Temple to join me. But even Celestus, a descendant of Nyx, cast me a sideways glance.

  And I couldn't blame them.

  I'd matured. Chosen darkness.

  And thrown everything away Ronin and I had worked for.

  I cupped by grayed, cracked hands around my mouth, trying to ignore my new, likely horrifying appearance. "Ronin!" I shouted, flinching as my powerful voice projected through the fallen trees and beyond.

  He'd seen me attacking Zeus. Zeus had told him to save himself.

  And then he'd done what any sane person would have done--he fled.

  "Giselle," Celestus said after some hesitation. "People are still in the Temple."

  I turned away from him. Screw Dominique and Alonso and Prometheus. "Ronin!" I shouted again.

  My voice echoed back at me from the bottom of the universe. Nothing I did was normal now. Natalia flinched. Why? She'd told me to pick up my birthright weapon and fight.

  But Zeus had shown me his true nature.

  I had to fight. There was no other way. Or Zeus would have--

  Ronin hadn't seen that part.

  But someone who could open voids and make others vanish was even worse than a would-be rapist. The thought choked me and Ronin's name died in my throat. I lowered my hands, unable to bear the sight. There was no point in trying to transfer to Olympian now. It was done. I could only destroy now. Not heal.

  And now I'd never help Maria and Mikey not become monsters.

  Celestus turned away. "Come on," he said, poking his head inside the Sorting Temple doorway. "We have to get back into the school. Now. Giselle will protect us from Zeus. He couldn't have gone far."

  Zeus was evil.

  He'd attacked modern humanity for abandoning him.

  But the Lower Order wasn't much better. They still killed Ronin's mother. I stared at Dominique and her son, Alonso, as they stepped over fallen branches and out of the Sorting Temple, leaves clinging to their black robes. Dominique lifted her old eyebrow at me. You need me, she meant. You need me to restore the monsters to normal. The surrounding werewolves howled from the trees. I heard every twig snap under their paws, but none of them dared approach me.

  I was in the company of killers.

  "Hurry," Prometheus said, stepping out of the Temple last and shoving his spectacles up on his nose. "We'll make repairs later." I'd never heard him so terrified.

  Another rumble of thunder sounded on the horizon, despite the fact that the sky had cleared. I snapped my attention to the west, only to see darkness over the stars at the horizon. The sky god had fled, but he was regrouping. He'd return.

  Zeus couldn't kill me, but he could kill those I cared about. He would. I had stepped on him enough and if there was anything I'd learned, it was that he could never, ever be wrong.

  The titan waved us to the gravel road. "Hurry! We need shelter. Zeus can't attack me, but he can attack everyone else at Cursed Academy. Giselle, I have your dagger." He waved my birthright weapon at me in desperation.

  "We'd better go," Celestus said, losing his composure. "Now! All of us! I don't know what's happening but it can't be good." He waved his arms at everyone but Alonso and Dominique, then took Natalia's hand. He'd get angry at Prometheus later. We all had a common problem.

  Heart racing, I followed the titan. Maria and Mikey kept their distance. Wendy seemed lost in her own world. Alonso and Dominique took up the rear, the werewolves following. Ronin's car was nowhere in sight. He must have driven away before the storm reached its peak. Fallen trees blocked the gravel road, leaves shining with moisture.

  "Through the woods!" Prometheus said as fire erupted around his open palms, casting a glow on everything. "Giselle. Open Zeus's barrier for us when we get there. And then Hades's barrier. Hades's magic will fade now that he's dormant, but not for a while yet."

  "What?" Wendy asked, the dreaded sword glowing green on her belt.

  "Hades sacrificed himself," the titan told her. "We'll explain later."

  Wendy's jaw dropped. Until now, I thought she hated Hades for putting her on the bottom of the social ladder, but the emotion brimming in her eyes was something else entirely.

  "Run," Maria said, hitting both Mikey and Cal on their backs. "The storm. It's getting closer."

  I checked. Yes. My senses once again heightened to impossible levels and despite the dark, I could make out every bump in the thunderhead that rose almost overhead now. Zeus had control of the heavens. He could unleash all they had to offer.

  I could just create openings to the void. And Dominique expected me to destroy him. If she was right, she'd pulled me into existence after awakening the gods and regretting her decision. I was a tool.

  I upped my pace, not even getting out of breath as I cut in front of everyone but Prometheus. No one spoke to me. I wanted away. I hated that everyone could see me like this. The titan kept his gaze straight ahead, in the direction of his former school. And I knew why. He wanted me to let the Lower Order into its borders without his knowledge, since allowing them in himself would violate the Oath. And then Tartarus would claim him, just as it had Hades.

  "Giselle. We need to catch up," Celestus said from behind.

  "Let her go," Mikey said, voice shaking.

  I couldn't stand it anymore. We left the fallen trees behind as we trekked through the woods, and we circled back onto the road. No Ronin. No fancy car. Had he gone back to Olympian? No. He was done as of this year, graduated and ready to be Zeus's lieutenant.

  "Yes. Slow down, please," Wendy huffed.

  I couldn't. But then I stopped right there on the dirt road.

  A wall of magic, like a hologram of silent lightning bolts, spread out in front of me. I blinked. I'd never seen Zeus's magical barrier around both schools before, the one that extended a mile or two around the campuses, but I'd felt the electricity. The barrier was only to kill anyone marked by the Lower Order, not students.

  Prometheus worked his jaw and adjusted his glasses again, staring straight ahead. "Giselle, you should be able to cut holes in barriers such as this. Just so you know."

  Translation: Can you let the Lower Order onto campus without me knowing?

  The barrier towered at least twenty feet overhead, because it faded out of my sight at that point. I just might be looking at a tiny piece of a dome. I could say no to letting the Lower Order in, but Dominiq
ue's words stuck. What if I did need her to save Maria and Mikey?

  Another roll of thunder sounded, this time much closer. I whirled and looked through the trees above. The first low storm clouds rolled over our heads, detached from the main storm, but threatening more destruction.

  I couldn't waste time on arguments.

  "Your dagger," Prometheus said, handing me my weapon.

  I balked, but remembered that handling the Chaos Dagger didn't matter anymore. So I took at as the titan shook his hand, urging me to hurry. People crept closer with wet footsteps and the snapping of twigs.

  "You can cut a hole in the barrier?" Mikey asked.

  "Let her work," Cal said.

  "Try," Prometheus said, beginning to shake from a bit of weakness. "You should be able to see the barrier now. We...you can Dominique and Alonso in. They will not harm any students. Turn them away, and--"

  "They don't help my friends not become monsters," I finished, tensing.

  "Exactly," Alonso said. "The storm will be here in minutes!"

  Lightning flashed as the moon vanished from above, first fading into silver clouds, and then ducking behind darkness almost as deep as what dwelled in me. The titan trembled. He was taking a risk even having me help the Lower Order. The Oath was fuzzy at times, but the immortals knew when they were in the danger zone.

  I lifted the dagger, head clear of all noise. My magic had merged with me so I no longer heard it. But I sensed a greater control, a better focus, over the darkness on the horizon. Though the wall didn't react to me, I took my weapon and urged darkness down my arm and into the blade. Purplish-black sparks gathered around the tip, and I sliced down the wall of lightning. Darkness shot out of my dagger, spreading like ink on a wet paper, and as I sliced, forming an upside down U on the wall, the void filled the new opening. A high whine sounded, and a few loose leaves flew into the dark doorway, but as I stepped back, the darkness vanished, leaving a clear arch in the lightning.

  I took a breath. "Done." What was I doing? I was letting the Lower Order into our school, the very last thing I wanted.

  But if they were right that destroying Zeus would help my friends--

  Prometheus stepped through first, walking quickly away. I waved my friends through, and then the others, even though the barrier couldn't hurt them. Dominique and Alonso stepped through the doorway after Natalia and Celestus, cringing. The lightning at the periphery snapped faster, sensing the Lower Order presence, and I half-hoped the barrier would take them down. But they made it. The werewolves followed, one by one, tails down, and I counted six of them, trailing behind their leaders.

  Thunder cracked.

  A few raindrops fell on my head. I felt the rage in each one. Zeus would destroy Cursed Academy.

  My heart raced in terror. I ran ahead of everyone, catching up with Prometheus. We looked at each other, and the titan's green-flecked eyes were wide. We were thinking the same thing. How I'd read the intent in those raindrops was beyond me, but at least I knew I wasn't going crazy.

  "We have to get everyone to the basement," I said. "Are they back from the dance yet?"

  "The buses would have dropped them off an hour ago," Prometheus said.

  A few more angry raindrops splattered to the ground. I flinched at each one. There was nothing I could do against the god up here.

  "Run!" I shouted to everyone behind us.

  Feet thudded. "Basement?" Mikey asked.

  "Can we even trust her now?" Maria asked.

  I ignored the stab and kept my dagger raised as everyone ran behind me. At last, the world opened and the main building of Cursed Academy came into view with its black pillars and vine-covered fountain. I gulped. My prayer that Zeus's storm had stopped the buses from getting back to school were dashed. Four city buses rumbled in the circular drive, empty of students. Everyone had just returned from the dance. A few students in suits and dresses filed through the front doors. As one door closed, the carved face of Medusa glowered at me.

  In the distance, probably in Marchamp, a warning siren wailed.

  Zeus was whipping up a bad storm.

  I stopped on the edge of the weed-choked grounds. As I did, Prometheus caught up, followed by everyone else. Maria stared at the building, mouth falling open. "Do you really think we're in danger from--"

  Her phone, along with Mikey's and Cal's, emitted a screech that promised nothing good.

  Cal pulled out his phone. "Are you serious?"

  "Tornado warning for your area," Mikey read.

  "Maria. Mikey. Tell all the students to get in the basement. Here are the keys to my office." Prometheus handed Maria a key ring as sweat formed on his temples. "Use the PA system. Cal and Wendy, you warn the drivers. Zeus won't care about collateral damage." Then the titan faced me. "Giselle, you're getting a crash course in divine warfare. As the only immortal not bound by the Oath, it is your duty to protect Cursed Academy."

  Chapter Two

  Maria and Mikey ran off, hollering at the front doors of Cursed Academy. Wendy and Cal bolted to the buses, and Celestus and Natalia followed my friends towards shelter. Celestus, however, gave one glare to Prometheus before turning his back. He still wasn't over the betrayal.

  And neither was I.

  But we had a bigger problem right now.

  "I...I thought he couldn't attack our school!"

  "Cursed Academy is no one's school right now!" Prometheus shouted, seizing my arm. "He is breaking no Oath!"

  Terror made my knees quake. Zeus really would take revenge on me by hurting the students at Cursed Academy. They were just disposable monsters and descendants of dark gods.

  Wind snapped against me, racing into the storm, feeding it. My hair whipped into my face. Prometheus and I stared at each other. I had to do something. Anything. The titan's eyes widened in fear as the fire around his palms died. Dominique and Alonso remained behind him, near the trees, as did the werewolves that paced around them. A gray wolf whimpered and laid down in the weeds.

  I eyed the main building, which was made of black marble. Could Zeus really take a structure like that down? Once a tornado had gone past Colton Corners, tearing down a pole barn and snapping some trees, but one meant to take down a marble and stone structure would have to be a lot bigger.

  I was supposed to hold that off.

  "You cannot die from this," the titan said, grabbing my other arm. I sensed his fear, quaking at his core. That was encouraging. "There is nothing I can do against a storm! Please!"

  He wanted nothing more than to protect his former students.

  So did I.

  I wasn't evil--was I?

  I shoved aside all hatred of the titan and yanked myself from his grasp, turning away from him. "What do I do?"

  Lightning flashed. Bus doors opened and drivers jumped down to the gravel. Natalia yelled at them to get in the basement.

  And rain poured down, forming dark curtains of hatred.

  "Focus!" the titan shouted beside me.

  "Raise your weapon!" Dominique shouted.

  The Lower Order leader was helping me save lives?

  Shaking, I lifted the Chaos Dagger in the direction of the storm's heart. Wind continued to race into the storm, feeding it, and when I closed my eyes, I sensed the sky god's rage twisting in the storm's heart, just a few miles away, extending from the heavens to the ground, funneling wind and hail and pure malice to everything below. This was Zeus, the one behind that gray suit and charming smile. The one who hadn't gotten his way.

  My darkness waited on the horizon. "Destroy him!" I ordered, because I wasn't sure what else to say.

  Darkness and liquid ice shot down my arm, obeying my commands, and I opened my eyes to a blast of purplish-black light firing from my dagger to the storm. I breathed out as strength surged out of me, falling to my knees, and the sensation was enough to make me drop my hand. The beam of darkness stopped.

  I might have matured, but I still had limits.

  "Giselle. Breathe. Draw from the
source of your power," the titan said, seizing my shoulders.

  The wind died, and I sensed a disturbance in the heart of the storm, breaking up the rotation, causing it to fall into the chaos I'd shot into it. The wind surging into the storm slowed, and then reversed a second later, turning to a cold breeze. I sensed this was the storm collapsing, letting out a gasp of defeat. "Did I do it?"

  Prometheus tapped my shoulder. "Protect the school or he will strike again and again. Zeus might be trying to wear you down. Hurry!"

  Just then, the wind direction changed again, stilling for a moment as dark clouds rolled overhead. And then the storm seemed to suck in a mighty breath, pulling the surrounding air back into its heart.

  Zeus was trying again. Prometheus was right. He was fighting a war of attrition.

  "Take your dagger. It's a focal point." With each word, his voice got higher and his longish hair whipped into his face.

  "Put up a barrier!" Alonso shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth.

  Only Dominique, Alonso, and the werewolves remained with us, and they were willing to die to make sure I did this right. Something stirred in me and I lifted the dagger, which made a cold, but satisfying, tingle race up my arms. The darkness waited, and breathing out, I drew that darkness from far, far below up through my legs, which filled me before flowing into the dagger.

  Hail fell, bouncing off the ground. Dominique screamed as another orange glow surrounded her, but didn't run. Wolves whimpered. My power wavered--the Lower Order deserved no mercy for killing people--but there were so many others taking shelter. Others who, if the storm was bad enough, would not be saved by any basement.

  I closed my eyes as the wind roared, threatening to knock me over. The worst was close. Branches fell from trees. Hail battered my skin.

  A barrier.

  A dome.

  In my mind, horrendous, icy blackness shot from the tip of my dagger. I whirled in a circle, sensing the magic, feeling it flow through me without harm. I imagined the dark expanding, forming a giant sphere around Cursed Academy and the surrounding woods.

  And it began to obey.