Scholomance 6: The Devil's Academy

by Logan Jacobs

  “Do you even know who I am?” Boreal asked with a wicked grin. “I am the raging sea. I am the commander of waves. I am the lord of all oceans--”

  “Oh, shut the fuck up…” I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t ask for your fucking life’s story. If we’re going to fight, let’s just get it over with, shall we?”

  “I don’t know who you think you are,” Boreal hissed as he took a giant step closer toward me, “but you’ve made a grave mistake.”

  “You’re about to find out who I am, fucker,” I growled as I aimed my wand right between his yellow eyes. “Dissulto!”

  A flash of bright red light hit Boreal right in the face, and his growl echoed through the ice-cold air as he flew back until his massive body landed with a thunderous crunch. The ice beneath him was thick, but his substantial weight caused a few cracks to spread across the surface, and when he realized he could have fallen through, his eyes went wide with shock and rage.

  “Be careful, Cole!” Marina shouted. “If you fall through the ice, you will die instantly! The water is too cold, even if you are not of mortal blood! Only those with gills can survive it.”

  “Noted,” I grunted as I kept my eyes fixated on my foe. “I won’t be the one falling into the water, though.”

  Boreal overheard me and shook with laughter as he struggled to get up, and once he was back on his feet, he narrowed his piss-yellow eyes at me and snarled.

  “You may carry magic with you.” He grinned. “But I have this.”

  In an instant, a glittering blue trident began to form in his hand, and before I could utter another spell, he aimed his weapon at me, and his shit-eating grin grew more triumphant like he’d already won the duel.

  “Look out!” Marina screamed, but he’d already muttered something in a language I’d never heard before.

  The wand in my hand instantly began to shake as Boreal pointed his trident at me, and soon a powerful force shoved me toward the black pool of water. I tried to move my hand, but whatever power he was spewing prevented me from using my own magic.

  “Prohibere!” Circe shouted before she flicked her wand at him.

  “Stupefaciunt!” Morgana screamed at the same time.

  Both spells hit the brutish blue man, and his eyes widened in shock and pain as the two blasts of light hit him in the middle of his muscular chest and sent him stumbling back.

  I tried to open my mouth to say something, but it was challenging to move my lips. Despite the chilling cold, sweat dripped from my brow as I struggled to regain motion in my body, and as I strained to move my hand, my women noticed immediately. Without hesitation, they began to spew out different spells all at once, and I knew it would buy me some time.

  “Volant!” Akira yelled.

  “Glacio!” Faye screamed.

  By now, Boreal realized he needed to guard himself against the women. He’d underestimated them, but a sinking feeling settled into the pit of my stomach when he aimed his trident in their direction.

  I tried to cry out, but I still couldn’t move my wand or lips, and I couldn’t even think of proper incantations I could use in my head.

  I was completely frozen, in every sense of the word.

  What kind of fucking magic was this?

  Boreal blocked the witches’ spells with his trident, but as he did so, he was muttering something inaudible under his breath, and I knew it was some form of sea magic. Then his trident glowed a vibrant blue, and when he aimed it at the witches, they stopped spouting spells and remained frozen in place, just like me.

  “I told you,” Boreal grunted with a wicked smile. “You were no match for me.”

  Hot boiling rage coursed through me, and with all my might and willpower, I urged my own body to move again.

  “Come on,” I muttered to myself, but even moving my lips was still a challenge. “Move.”

  I could feel my fingers slightly flexing, and then, when I knew I could cast another spell, I didn’t waste one damn second.

  “Secare!” I screamed as I aimed my wand at his wrist.

  The next series of events happened in the blink of an eye. When my spell hit his skin, his entire hand fell clean off with a spray of blood, and both his limb and the trident fell onto the ice.

  “Ahhhhh!” Boreal screamed in agony as he stared at the open wound. The deep red blood began to seep into the ice, and the sharp contrast between white and red stood out, even in the darkness of night.

  “Take his trident!” Marina cried out. “He’s powerless without it!”

  Now was my only chance to get rid of this bastard once and for all. As I narrowed my eyes at his weapon, I willed the darkness of Satan to surround me in his unholy glow, and I could feel the evil in my heart growing as my strength returned.

  “Motus!” I shouted with all the determination I had left in my numb body.

  As I focused on the weapon, it shook, and then suddenly, it lifted from the ice and came hovering toward me. Boreal’s severed blue hand was still wrapped tightly around the weapon, and as he clutched feebly onto his open and bleeding wound, I could sense his fear and anger radiating through the air like snowfall.

  “No!” Boreal shouted with eyes as wide as dinner plates. “It is not yours to command!”

  “It is now, fucker,” I growled as soon as the trident was within my reach.

  When my fingers curled around the cold blue pole, I grabbed his severed hand and then tossed it aside as if it were nothing more than a dead rat. Boreal’s eyes grew feral with rage, but I didn’t give a shit because now I could feel a new kind of power surging through my veins. So, without hesitation, I aimed the heavy weapon in his direction and grinned with triumph.

  “You cannot wield it,” he cackled as blood dripped onto the ice. “Your magic is not the same as ours… it will surely kill you.”

  For a moment, I hesitated to use this foreign weapon in my hands as I briefly wondered if he was telling me the truth, but then a familiar voice echoed inside my mind, and a sudden warmth spread throughout my entire body.

  He’s underestimating you, Cole, the woman from my dreams whispered. He has no idea what you’re capable of. Why don’t you show him what real power is? He is no match for the power that flows through your veins. Destroy him. Now!

  “With pleasure,” I whispered aloud.

  As I narrowed my eyes at my bleeding enemy, I could see the uncertainty growing in his yellow eyes. Then his mouth fell open in utter disbelief once the tips of the trident began to glow an iridescent blue.

  “W-What?” he stuttered as he stumbled backward. “No… this is impossible! How can this be?”

  “Satan has power over you,” I growled through my teeth, “and now, you will pay for the grievances you have caused these women…”

  “No,” he begged as he got down on his knees. “Please, show mercy.”

  “Too late,” I grunted as I aimed his trident at him.

  Motus.

  I had no idea how it was possible, but the trident acted like a wand, and in the blink of an eye, Boreal was thrown from the ice and into the water.

  The scorned sea-women gasped with surprise, but then their eyes all shifted from their normal shade to an array of fiery orbs.

  “Kill him!” Ava screamed without hesitation. “Let us feast on our former master and show him just how grateful we truly are!”

  “Nooooooo!” Boreal shouted as the sea-women began to tear into his blue flesh. “You ungrateful sea-cunts! After everything I did for you!”

  “You’ve caused us nothing but misery, you pathetic fool,” Marina hissed with dagger-sharp teeth. “Now, prepare to feel every ounce of pain you’ve caused us over the years, you weak bastard.

  The sea lord let out a bloodcurdling scream as Marina sunk her razor-sharp fangs into his soft, blue flesh and tore out a massive chunk from his broad neck. Her sisters quickly began to follow her lead, and as his screams slowly died down, floating bits and pieces of his body were scattered across the surface of the icy water. We wa
tched as the sirens dug into his floating carcass and sank their teeth into his raw skin, and they giggled and slurped as they ate and tore off every last bit of him.

  “Delicious!” the blonde siren cackled as deep dark blood stained her dagger-sharp teeth. “I’ve never feasted so well in my entire life.”

  “Enjoy every bit,” Ava ordered as her sisters continued to tear into his bleeding body, and the water was filled with nothing but bloody blue ribbons. “Let us devour him until there is nothing left but glistening white bones and broken teeth!”

  “Fuck,” Akira muttered with a small grin plastered on her pale face. “They certainly are a group of bloodthirsty bitches, huh?”

  “Err… shouldn’t we hurry them up, though?” Beatrix asked with raised eyebrows. “If we’re going to transform them, we’d better do it now, right?”

  “Give them a couple more minutes,” I said as I stared at the dark, bloody water. “Something tells me they’ve been waiting an eternity to do this. Let them savor the moment.”

  “And the taste,” Akira added as her black eyes widened with pleasant surprise. “Damn, look at them go.”

  Akira was right. Watching the stunning sirens dig into their former master like a pack of ravenous wolves was a mesmerizing sight to behold, and it was impossible to look away. Their eyes were glowing like the moon, and their skin was slick with blood, even as they swam through the water.

  “I guess Ava wasn’t bullshitting when she instructed them to tear the meat off his bones and leave nothing left,” Penelope muttered as we continued to watch them with pure fascination.

  “Yeah, no shit,” Akira snorted. “Isn’t it awesome?”

  “I think it was a lovely thing we did for them,” Circe commented as she raised her pointed chin with pride. “Boreal seemed like a real bastard, huh? I’m glad he’s nothing but fish food now.”

  “Yeah,” I breathed as I studied the gluttonous sea-women. “Me, too.”

  “Cole,” Beatrix asked in a small voice. “How did you manage to wield the trident? Sea magic is not the same as our own, right, Morgana?”

  “Correct,” Morgana answered with a firm nod. “I was also wondering the same thing, but I suppose Satan was just on our side tonight.”

  For a moment, I stared at the massive blue trident in my hands, but it suddenly felt utterly void. Something in my body told me it was useless now, and that any magic it once possessed was now long gone.

  “Yeah, I suppose he was,” I said as I dropped the trident into the water. “I have no use for that thing anymore… let it die along with him.”

  “Well done, Cole,” Akira said as she placed a hand on my shoulder. “You kicked ass back there.”

  Finally, when the sirens finished every last bite, they swam toward us, licked their lips, and stared up at me with the same adoration and devotion my women bestowed upon me.

  “We’re ready to come with you now,” Ava whispered like it was a secret. “We’re ready to devote our lives to you and the dark lord you speak so fondly of.”

  “So be it,” I answered before Vesta handed me the vial.

  “Will it hurt?” a siren with deep burgundy hair asked as she furrowed her eyebrows.

  “Does it matter?” Ava snapped. “Everything worth having comes at a price. We’ve suffered long enough, and I’m sure we can bear a little pain.”

  “It might hurt,” I admitted.

  “No…” Morgana sighed. “There’s no question about it… the transformation will hurt. I’m sorry, but I think it would only be fair to warn you… it will probably be the most painful experience you’ll ever endure.”

  “Well…” Ava responded slowly and with a deep sigh. “Thank you for warning us, I’m sure we’ll be able to handle it.”

  “Are you ready, then?” I asked as I uncorked the vial and prepared to slip it into the water.

  “Wait!” Beatrix gasped, and everyone turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. “Err… well, I mean… I sort of… what I meant to say is…”

  “Just spit it out for fuck’s sake!” Akira growled. “We’re freezing our tits off here.”

  “I think I-I know a charm?” she squealed like a terrified mouse.

  “What charm?” I asked in a gentler tone.

  “I-It’s a charm meant to reduce pain,” the light-haired brunette muttered through pale quivering lips. “I never had a chance to use it before, though, so I can’t guarantee it’ll work.”

  “It’s still worth a shot, though,” I said with a small, encouraging smile. “C’mon, I have faith in you. Show us what you can do.”

  “Y-You do?” the awkward witch asked with wide dark eyes.

  “Yeah,” I urged. “Go on, give it a go!”

  “Alright,” Beatrix said as she rolled up her sleeves and cleared her throat. Then she squinted her eyes at the water and aimed her wand at the dozens of sirens. “Dolor prohibere!”

  In moments, the black water glowed a vibrant shade of neon green, and the sirens gasped as their veins pulsated the same color. For a second, their skin appeared paper-thin, and we could see the green charm coursing through their entire bodies, like small, thin rivers.

  “Wow,” Marina drawled as she raised her hands into the air and studied the green magic flowing through her body. “I already feel different… are we immune to pain now?”

  “Only temporarily,” Beatrix said as a deep blush spread across her pale face, “and we won’t know if it worked until Cole uses the blood magic.”

  “So, let’s find out,” Ava said with an encouraging grin. “We’re ready.”

  “Alright, here goes nothing,” I said as I crouched down and let the brew seep into the pond.

  I narrowed my eyes at the dark red liquid as it spread across the glowing surface of the water, and with all my strength and willpower, I urged it to spread through the entire pool.

  Motus.

  Seconds later, the entire body of water morphed from a neon shade of green into a deep blood red, and the water instantly began to boil and steam.

  “Drink it,” I urged, “but be sure to crawl out of the water as soon as you do. Hurry!”

  “Why?” Beatrix asked as she tilted her head and peered intently at me.

  “Because they said the water would kill us,” Penelope explained before I could respond. “Right, Cole?”

  “Right.” I nodded.

  “Oh, clever thinking, master,” Morgana remarked as admiration sparkled in her pale blue eyes. “I didn’t even think of that.”

  “Then you would have killed them all,” Circe commented with a straight face. “Wouldn’t that have been funny? In the worst way possible, of course.”

  “Err… sure,” the bookish brunette drawled.

  As soon as the sirens began to drink the water, they crawled out of the pond and dragged their elongated tails across the ice, and once they were all safely out of the pool, we watched with gaped mouths and wide eyes as their tails began to split in two.

  “Satan!” Akira gasped. “Does it hurt?”

  “Not at all,” the blonde and nameless siren responded before she flashed an endearing smile at Beatrix. “It seems your charm worked… thank you.”

  “Oh, don’t m-mention it,” Beatrix said as the corners of her lips tugged up into a small, satisfied smile.

  “Cole,” Vesta whispered into my ear. “We’d better return to Scholomance as soon as the effects take place. They’ll be stark naked in the icy cold, and it won’t be a pleasant feeling for them. Besides, I think we’ve been here long enough. I don’t want to wait around for something else to appear out of thin air… or perhaps I should say ice.”

  “I know.” I nodded. “Me, either… I’ll get us out of here when the spell is complete… don’t worry.”

  “Yes, master,” the elvish witch purred as her shimmering silver eyes darted over to the transforming women.

  We watched with silent fascination as their scale-covered tails continued to split in half from the bottom of their fins up t
o their waist, and soon, human legs started to form in their place. Their scales melted into porcelain flesh, and after a minute or two, we were staring at a group of beautiful naked women. Their eyes and hair remained the same, and when they smiled, they still had the same sharp teeth, but when they turned their necks, I couldn’t see any gills.

  So, from what I could tell, they still harbored some of the same features, but their water magic was gone and now replaced with Wicca sorcery.

  “I-I can’t believe it w-worked,” Marina said through chattering teeth. “I-I have to admit that a part of m-me didn’t think it would.”

  “It might have worked… but it’s so unbearably cold,” the burgundy-haired woman wailed under her breath. “I-I can’t stand it.”

  “Let’s get you all back to Scholomance,” I said as I waved my wand through the air. “Hos parere imperio!”

  In the next moment, we were all wrapped in a cloud of purple smoke, and in my head, I pictured the banquet hall because it would be large enough to hold dozens of women. I had no idea how many hours had passed since we’d left, but we needed to get these women as warm as possible.

  Finally, we landed with surprising ease and grace in the middle of the banquet hall, and judging by the early morning light seeping into the grandiose room, we arrived just before our next class was set to start.

  “Perfect timing,” Nyx noticed when the purple smoke cleared.

  “Poor things are still freezing,” Vesta said as her silver eyes studied each newly transformed woman.

  “Do not worry about that, Miss Vesta,” purred a voice from the doorway.

  When I turned around, I saw Professor Vanessa and Headmistress Theodora standing at the threshold with two remarkably different expressions plastered across their beautiful and similar faces.

  Vanessa was wearing a deep plum gown with black leather gloves and a velvet choker around her long elegant neck. Her cascading straight hair was up in a half-do, and glittering tear-drop earrings hung from her ears. Her lips and cheeks were tinted with rouge, and per usual, there was her trademark scowl etched across her face.

  Theodora, on the other hand, was brimming with pride and smiled from ear to ear as she studied the naked women who were cluelessly looking around the banquet hall. The headmistress was wearing a blood-red dress, and she also decided to wear leather gloves today. Her hair was up in a demure bun, and her lips were painted the same shade of red as her gown.