Slaying Year Two

by Cara Wylde

  I shrugged. Whatever. I didn’t have to know all his secrets to figure him out. Not now, of course, but at some point in the future.

  “So, why does no one seem to notice you’re carrying an honest to God scythe?” I looked at the people passing us by. They rarely spared us a disinterested glance.

  “I can see you didn’t do your practice last year. Tell me, why is that?”

  I swallowed hard. I wasn’t going to get an answer to my question. Instead, he had me cornered. Do I lie? Do I tell the truth? How much of the truth, though? Straight-up lying wasn’t an option, though. For one, I hadn’t prepared a good enough lie. Stupid! I should have. I should have known this moment would inevitably come. And secondly, he would have seen right through me. I’d never been a great liar. The truth it is… Some of it, at least.

  “I wasn’t ready.”

  “How come? You took your finals and you had a good worth score.”

  “I wasn’t ready to meet you.”

  I thought I saw him grin from the corner of my eye.

  “You knew,” he said in a whisper. “And instead of wanting to meet me, you chose to avoid me.”

  I furrowed my brows. Anger started boiling in my veins, and my heart beat faster. I suddenly felt dizzy, and I felt like I needed to pee. It was my body’s way of trying to stop me when I was about to say something I might regret later. This was usually how I felt whenever someone did a crass injustice to me and I was getting ready to confront them and put them in their place. Because I hated conflict and I’d lived my whole life trying to find creative ways to avoid it, my body fought with all its might when it sensed I was walking right into it.

  “You’re my father,” I said through gritted teeth. “And unlike me, you’ve always known you had a daughter, you’ve always known I was out there, somewhere, and you never came to find me. I, on the other hand, have only found out about you recently. For eighteen years, I believed my parents were Ilena and Stepan Lazarov. I came to Grim Reaper Academy, and my whole world turned upside down. No, it was more than that. My whole world before the Academy was invalidated. Suddenly, it was all a lie. My parents weren’t my parents. They were just a sad, poor Bulgarian couple who adopted me because they had no other option. It was either that or leaving me at an orphanage. Because of me, they ended up miserable. My real mother turned out to be a prostitute, and my real father… you. So, tell me, how do you fathom I was the one who was supposed to come find you first?”

  He remained silent the rest of the way. At the back of the building, there was a door that had been painted to resemble the red bricks around it. It was well-camouflaged. Morningstar held it for me, and I walked in, not before hesitating when I saw the well-lit stone staircase that led down down down, to some sort of basement. At least, it wasn’t sunk in darkness. As I descended, the space opened up, and when I reached the end of the staircase, I realized we were in a grand waiting hall.

  “What is this?” A crystal chandelier hung from the tall ceiling, the floors were covered in expensive marble, and across the spacious hall, there was a row of four desks behind which clerks were answering calls, talking to clients, and signing papers. It seemed to be some sort of secret branch.

  “This is our bank. It’s run by supernaturals, and only supernaturals have accounts and deposit vaults here. You might just be the first human to set foot in it.”

  “Oh, lucky, privileged me,” I mumbled sarcastically. It was becoming old news. The first human to do this, the first human to do that. These people needed a new hobby. “This is what you wanted to show me?” It didn’t make any sense. For our first father-daughter day out, – and especially since he’d taken me out of school, – I would’ve thought he’d take me somewhere more… romantic.

  “Yes. Patience, daughter. You’ll see why.”

  “You have to start calling me something else…”

  We walked to the first desk and approached the clerk. When the middle-aged woman raised her eyes from her papers, I was taken aback by how red and dark they were. What sort of creature was she?! Then I saw the wings protruding from her back. They were rather small, with rough, ashen feathers. A harpy.

  “Mr. Morningstar, what a pleasure!” She smiled broadly, revealing two sets of sharp teeth. “And this must be…” She shot me a confused look.

  “My daughter, Mila Morningstar.”

  “Oh!” She clapped enthusiastically, then quickly opened a drawer and rummaged through it. “I believe I know why you’re here, then.” She was talking to him, but she winked at me. “Such a pleasure to meet you, young lady. I was wondering when I’d finally get to make your acquaintance.”

  I looked up at Morningstar. Was he going to tell me what this was all about? Anytime soon, would’ve been nice.

  “This is Mrs. Celine Barnes.” She extended a hand, and I didn’t have a choice but to shake it. “She’s been taking care of the family vault for years. In fact, since I was at the Academy, I believe.”

  “No, that was my mother,” she corrected him cheerfully. “My mother opened the accounts and the vault for you, and I took over when she retired.” She turned to me. “And I, young lady, was in charge of opening your account and your own personal vault.”

  What now?!

  “How is your mother, by the way?”

  Celine’s expression changed. She finally found what she was looking for and gave it to me. It was a bronze skeleton key.

  “She passed away a few years ago, poor thing. But it was painless and peaceful.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that,” Morningstar empathized.

  “Yes, thank you. I believe a Neutral Reaper was called that night.”

  “That is good to hear. There’s no better way to go than with a Neutral Reaper.”

  Celine nodded, then in an instant, went back to her cheerful self.

  “Well, young lady, this is yours. Your father has charged me with its safe keeping until it was time for you to claim it. You can keep it, if you want, or you can give it back to me, and I will make sure it’s absolutely safe. You’ll find it here whenever you need it.”

  I looked at the key in my hand. “What does it open?”

  “Oh, aren’t you sweet? Follow me.” She placed a “Temporarily Closed” sign on her desk and proceeded to head toward a door at the back.

  More stairs, less light, increased feelings of creepiness and “maybe I shouldn’t be here, after all.” I felt out of place. Soon, the perfectly chiseled brick, wood, and marble gave way to rough rock and dirt. We descended into a place that looked like a mine, with long, winding tunnels, and deep abysses opening underneath rock bridges. We walked for what felt like forever. Finally, we entered a huge cavern that looked entirely man-made. There were holes dug inside the walls, and the holes were covered by heavy steel doors. These must have been the vaults. The doors had runes and numbers on them.

  “Here it is. This is yours, Miss Mila Morningstar.”

  I cringed at the name. Oh, it was going to be a pain to make everyone call me Angelov if I decided to take my mother’s maiden name. Something to worry about later. Way later. After I figured out what to do about Valentine Morningstar, perhaps.

  “Open it,” he urged me.

  I took a deep breath, stepped up to the steel door, and placed the key in the lock. One, two, three clicks. I pushed the door open and stood like that for a second, in the threshold, almost not wanting to step inside. I didn’t know what to expect. When my eyes fell on the high shelves, filled with neatly stacked gold and silver bars, and precious stones in closed, transparent boxes, I almost fainted. I held onto the door for support, swallowed hard, and blinked a couple of times, just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I would’ve pinched myself, but I didn’t want to look stupid in front of Morningstar and Celine.

  “Well, what are you waiting for? Go in.”

  I ignored him. Who said I had to do exactly what he told me? “This is all mine?”

  “Yes.”


  “But why?” My thoughts ran a hundred miles an hour. This didn’t make any sense. If he hadn’t been forced by my going to Grim Reaper Academy, he would’ve never showed up. He would’ve never come to find me. If it hadn’t been for the prophecy, Valentine Morningstar would have lived a ridiculously long, happy life, without having to see me or talk to me once. These were the facts. I had no proof, and he dodged my questions every time I tried to get any, but I was one hundred percent sure. And he was trying to tell me that, all these years, he was working hard on hoarding all this gold and silver, and all these diamonds, and rubies, and sapphires for me? I turned to look Celine Barnes in the eye. “When was this vault open in my name, Mrs. Barnes?”

  My question took her by surprise. She hadn’t expected me to be so direct. She probably thought the treasure would take my mind off all the tiny details that didn’t seem to fit together.

  “Err… here,” she walked inside the vault and reached for something that was in a small, fancy black box. “This is your card. It’s attached to a bank account that already has quite a generous balance on it. When you empty it,” she chuckled awkwardly, “... although I don’t think it will happen very soon… Anyway, when it does happen, all you have to do is give me a call, and the bank will sell whatever you choose from here in your name and place the money in your account.” She motioned toward the stacked-up shelves.

  I nodded. Should I ask her again? Hm. It was no use. She would just try to distract me like she was doing now. No matter. I wasn’t stupid. Pure gold and sparkly jewels weren’t enough to make me lose my mind. If anything, what was in this vault made me even more aware that my biological father was dangerous. Whatever his agenda was, he was doing everything in his power to manipulate me. Too bad. He didn’t know me at all. He was failing epically. But he doesn’t have to know it. Not yet. If I played my cards right, his desperate attempts to convince me he wanted me on his side could, perhaps, give me an advantage.

  I took the card from her and slipped it into my pocket. I turned to Morningstar.

  “Can we go now?”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t like it? But you haven’t even looked at what’s inside!”

  “I don’t have to. I can see it’s a lot. Too much,” I chuckled forcefully. The truth was… all this stuff was making me uncomfortable. I’d been poor all my life. I was still wearing my old clothes from the ninth grade, I didn’t have money to spend on pretty jewelry, and I could barely afford to dye my hair blue every two months. And now, he was giving me all this! What the fuck? No.

  He shrugged. “I understand.” He didn’t. But he was losing his patience, I guess. “It’s here if you need it. It will always be here. It’s all yours.”

  I stepped out of the vault and waited for Celine to walk out, too. I locked the door three times and gave her the key.

  “Hold onto it for me, please?”

  “Oh, of course… Miss Morningstar.” My behavior confused her to no end.

  I let out a sigh, placed my hands in the back pockets of my tattered jeans, and looked around. “So, all the students at the Academy have vaults here?”

  “Yes,” Celine hurried to answer me. “This is one of the many rooms dedicated to the Heirs. And Heiresses. The family vaults are much bigger and deeper underground.”

  “Fascinating.”

  Morningstar tapped his scythe impatiently. “Mila, I have one more thing to give you.” He pulled out a tiny bell out of the inside pocket of his long, black cloak, and dropped it into my open palm.

  “What is this?”

  He beamed at me, suddenly excited by the discovery I was, inevitably, going to make. “It’s a bell.”

  “I can see it’s a bell.”

  “So, what do you do with a bell?”

  I rolled my eyes. Fine, I’ll play your stupid game. I shook the bell hard, and its chirpy ring filled the stone room. I jumped three feet back when a tiny being with translucent wings popped up out of nowhere. Out of thin air! There was nothing there one second, and the next, this short, curious creature materialized, its elegant wings flapping relentlessly to keep her 13-inches-body in the air.

  “What the… What is… Who are you?” I finally managed to address the creature in a decently polite manner.

  “I am Corri. At your service, Mistress.”

  I blinked once, twice. Then pinched myself. I’d resisted the urge a few minutes ago, but I just couldn’t take it anymore. I had to make absolutely sure I wasn’t dreaming. I heard Morningstar laugh, and he was soon joined by Celine. Marvelous!

  “Father, explain!” It was the first time I was calling him that, but it was fine. It was more out of anger than out of… anything else, really. His smile turned into a knowing grin, which told me it hadn’t gone unnoticed.

  “This is a pixie. A small supernatural being whose sole purpose is to serve. Very few people have one because they are so incredibly expensive. Haven’t you seen any pixies at the Academy?”

  “No.”

  “Well, it appears the rumors are right. Since Headmaster Colin has been instated, the bar has dropped. What will become of us if this generation of students can’t even afford their own pixies?”

  I ran my hand through my hair, pulling at a particularly stubborn knot. The slight pain helped clear my mind. The pixie… Corri was still flapping her long, graceful wings maddeningly fast. I extended my right arm.

  “Please, sit. You’re driving me crazy.” I must have sounded harsher than I wanted, because her smile turned into a frown, and her eyes filled with sadness. “I’m sorry, I…” She sat down on my arm, nonetheless. “I’m not used to seeing someone… err… fly?” That made no sense. Words! Where were my words?

  “She will do anything you ask,” Morningstar continued. “It’s her sole purpose.”

  “So, you said pixies are expensive… Does this mean you bought her?”

  “Of course I bought her! For you. You must have a pixie, Mila. I honestly thought most of your peers already had one, and it was killing me to know you spent the entirety of year one without a pixie of your own.”

  I cocked an eyebrow and popped my hip. I knew my demeanor screamed sarcasm, but I didn’t care by that point. He was pushing all my buttons.

  “If you were so concerned I didn’t have a pixie, then why did you wait for over a year to come see me?”

  There it was again. The discomfort caused by my direct question made him avert his gaze and study the steel door with interest, as if he was suddenly wondering whether it was solid enough to keep possible intruders out.

  “Nevermind,” I sighed.

  “We will have this conversation one day, I promise,” he said in a low, thoughtful voice. “And then, you will understand.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  The blade of his scythe couldn’t have found a better moment to start glowing eerily. The faded red light coming off it danced on the walls and bathed the steel doors of the vaults in bloody shades of scarlet.

  He sighed. “Duty calls. I must leave you now, but I will do my best to see you at dinner.” He looked at the pixie. “Corri, do me a favor and take her shopping. Help her choose clothes, accessories, bags… anything she wants.” He winked at me. “Promise me you won’t go easy on that new card of yours. Make me proud, Mila Morningstar.”

  With that, he swung the scythe in front of him and was gone in a cloud of black smoke. The smoke dissipated, and the spot where he’d been a moment before was empty.

  “How did he…”

  Celine looked at me, confused. “He teleported. He is needed for a reaping, of course. I’m frankly surprised he found the time to stop by. Mr. Morningstar is the busiest Violent Reaper I know. Now come on, darling. Let’s get out of this hell hole.” She headed out of the room and toward the stone bridge, constantly chatting over her shoulder. “I mean, it’s not a hell hole. Don’t tell anyone I said that. I love my job, you see,” she giggled mischievously. “But it’s quite damp and
stuffy down here, don’t you think? It makes my hair frizzy.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Corri. My arm was starting to ache, which meant I had to find her a better place to sit or get used to the incessant flapping of her wings. We were in front of the bank now, and Morningstar’s car was still there. I figured he was probably going to come get it later. Or send his pixie to do it. For sure, he had to have a pixie. Right? Since he was such a huge promoter of tiny, winged slaves…

  “What am I supposed to do with you?” I asked. I started walking toward the boulevard. Shopping or no shopping, there was no point in lingering about.

  “What do you mean, Mistress? I am here to help you with anything you might need. Anything.”

  “Yeah. Don’t call me Mistress. How about we start with that? My name is Mila. Call me Mila.”

  “I couldn’t possibly…”

  “You can, and you will.”

  “But I can’t!” She was beginning to panic. Her big, almond eyes grew wide with fear, her chin started trembling, and her tiny hands went to sink into her short brown hair and pull at the roots mercilessly.

  “Okay, okay! Oh my God, okay. But why?”

  She let out a long sigh of relief. “Because they’ll penalize me if they find out.”

  “Who will?”

  “The Supernatural Council, of course. I mean, not the Council itself, but the department that oversees my kind.”

  “Hm.” I didn’t know what to say. There was a department that oversaw pixie slavery. I’d have to meditate on that later and see how I felt about it. “Wait. Do you, like, get paid for this job?”

  She looked up at me like I was the silliest person in the world. After a moment’s thought, she giggled. “You’re funny, Mistress.”

  Well, that answers my question.

  “For what it’s worth, Corri, I promise I will treat you well. In fact, I will never ask anything of you. I’ve managed on my own so far, so here’s my proposition: let’s be friends.” For some reason, I felt like I couldn’t convince Morningstar to return her. And if I did, what would become of her? A pixie who’d been returned by her Mistress. It couldn’t have ended well. The last thing I wanted was to get this cute, tiny creature in trouble.