by Amy B. Nixon
Well, at least I had learned how to do it when I was eleven. As for the rest, I wasn’t going to tell them about my object code backdoor.
“Thank you for the confirmation. Mr. Ylönen will escort you to your room. Hand him your personal technology, including your phone. You will not be allowed any access to electronics, and you will not leave the island until further notice.”
Not leave the island? They were still going to keep me here? But of course! I was their precious fucking Dustrikke.
“This is obstruction of basic human rights! As well as personal property! Last time I checked, you weren’t the Norwegian Court of Justice. You can’t even take me to court and prove I’ve engaged in cybercrime. Because you know what? Nobody’s gonna believe I hacked into some hidden supernatural island’s computers.”
Johanna Larsen took over once again.
“We have more than enough personnel in the supernatural Justice Department in more than one institution. You don’t have the authority to judge our preventative methods. Everything we do is for the safety of Nordstrøm residents and the souls outside these walls. If you prefer to be treated as a common American criminal, we can lock you away in a maximum security prison anywhere in Midgard for two to ten years. This sentence would be fully compliant with the mundane law.”
Oh, fuuuck! My inner Gary McKinnon was in deep waters, just like the real Gary McKinnon.
“Miss Dustrikke, we are living in a complicated world. Human laws rarely apply to it. We are not the enemy, and it is not your place to meddle with things you don’t understand. It’d be wise to learn it sooner rather than later.”
“But if I’m not allowed phone and computer privileges on top of not being allowed to leave the island, I’ll have no way of paying my phone bill. My service provider will sue me for nothing.”
“We can arrange a cancellation of your mobile plan on your behalf.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Do we look like we are joking?”
She looked like she didn’t even know the meaning of the word. Hallvard, who had kept his mouth shut, looked like always – avoiding my eyes and trying not to breathe.
“Okay, I’ll give you my stuff. Just tell the supernatural IT expert who set up your overkill arsonist defenses, that they could have just sent a virus to mess with my operating system! That laptop was state of the art!”
Johanna Larsen nodded to the guard. He followed me to my room, took away my electronics, and walked away.
Stunned and alone, I asked myself how it was possible for me to find new ways to keep fucking up my life on an hourly basis. And whether I could do it professionally, since I was obviously quite talented at it.
The Darkness We Carry Within
A snowstorm hit the island on Friday morning.
I wondered if it was Mother Nature, or if it was simply some Elemental necromancer who felt like shit. Like he or she had just lost the last relative they had. Like they wanted to bury the world under a snowy blanket and suffocate everyone and everything under it.
Staring through the window of my new room, I wondered how good it would have felt if I could do that. How numbing and easy it would have been, if only the pristine snow could cover everything and leave nothing above the surface.
Someone cleared their throat. I turned, searching for the source of the unexpected sound.
Administration had given me a room on the fourth floor and promised I wouldn’t have a roommate. The place was similar to my previous one – a small entryway corridor and a bathroom, a single bed with a nightstand, a coffee table, a desk, a chair, one big wardrobe, some wall shelves, sets of blackout curtains. I kept them pushed aside for a glimpse of the only thing that still felt like it held some beauty in this world – the northern lights. But the night had been stormy, and they never appeared. I checked every time I woke up from gurgling sounds and screaming voices, but they weren’t there.
The only unexpected thing in this room was a small male creature, standing next to the wardrobe. Unlike the house spirit who had cleaned up my vomit, this one didn’t have any scars on his face, but the tiny brown eyes weren’t happy to see me.
“Miss, it’s time for breakfast.”
“The Council has ordered you to bring me food? How noble! They’ve sent you in vain because I don’t eat breakfast.”
“No, miss, they sent me to wake you up. Breakfast is served in the Dining Hall, but if you wish to eat in your room, we can arrange it.”
To wake me up? Of course. They had taken my tech crap, so now I didn’t have my phone to signal when it was time for me to get up and head over to my exercises.
“You shouldn’t have to tend to my needs every time I have to do something or be somewhere. I’ll just get an alarm clock.”
The house spirit immediately disappeared into thin air.
Húsvættir were strange beings. Although I was glad to know they received compensation for housekeeping, I didn’t want to see one every morning, because my nights were already haunted by scary creatures.
And I made sure I wouldn’t have to, by requesting an alarm clock from Administration – since I didn’t have a way to order one online. Raisa wasn’t happy to see me either.
Neither was Patricia Svensson when I didn’t evoke a spirit in my pentagram later that day.
At dinner, I saw Hallvard Nordstrøm frowning while talking to an unfamiliar man on his left. He had never looked at me, but I was sure if he ever made direct eye contact, he’d also be furrowing his brows or pursing his lips, or clicking his tongue in disappointment, or glaring at me furiously.
But it didn’t matter.
The only person I wanted to look at was someone I would never be able to see again. Adaline Dustrikke was just as dead and gone as her longtime partner – my uncle Thomas.
She had sent me here to protect me from the forces outside this castle which, according to the Council, had led to her death and the death of my last relatives. Otherworldly shadow. Was it Carlynderians? Was she dead because she was trying to fight against something evil, like my parents?
Carlynderians. Nøkk. Malicious extraterrestrials. Malicious water spirits. Malicious Gjenferd ghosts. Malicious casters.
I peeked at Hallvard once again, remembering Dann’s words about the way his parents had died. I couldn’t see him anywhere in the Dining Hall. Glancing at my plate with a wry face, I wasn’t even sure why I was looking for him. Maybe to ask him why he had kissed me? And if he had Wandered into my dreams?
Thinking about both times, I had one simple explanation. Dann had lost his fucking mind. He’d probably hit his head so brutally during one of those crazy training sessions with Maksim, that he had totally lost it. Moreover, his vision was most definitely also impaired by the head injury, because he had called me beautiful. Breathtakingly beautiful. Not just on an average bad-hair-day kind of night, but while I was crying.
And he had dropped some confusing line about fated dooms, written in the stars. Maybe he was indeed injured in the brain department.
Or was there some other explanation? Something that could also explain why I hallucinated only around him? And why my hallucinations were always about him?
No! His Excellency had simply lost it. For a little while I, too, had lost it by kissing him back. And that was all there was to it. The last thing I needed was a sort-of teacher-student romance.
My aunt would have been so disappointed in me if she’d known about it. I remembered how hurt she got when I decided to take a year off university. If she knew how much of a fuck-up I was as a necromancer, she would have turned in her grave.
But she didn’t have a grave.
My parents did, and I had never visited them because I used to be scared, anxious and nauseated by everything that had to do with death. After seeing death in person, I didn’t feel necrophobia-like symptoms anymore.
I didn’t feel anything but regret for my behavior towards my aunt. I had blown my chances of apologizing. Not only for the last time I saw
her, but for each time my short fuse had exploded during the years without caring for her feelings.
I kept going through the following days trying to fight off my tears, while each night I cried myself to sleep, trying to fight off the scraping and screaming of the demons that haunted my dreams.
On Tuesday morning, I knew I had to face another demon – seeing Dann for the first time since the night after my birthday. Much to my surprise, I received a note from Administration, stating there would be no more History of the Nine Realms lectures for the rest of the year.
Something in me shuddered with disappointment.
Get over it. Just as the thought crossed my mind, another one followed. Time to throw you away with the rest of his insipid playthings.
But I had no intention of becoming one, and the fact he wouldn’t be around for the rest of the year was a relief.
***
For nine days I kept myself afloat.
The only good thing about this entire situation was Monika staying out of my sight. She had indeed kept her promise of staying away and focusing on her mundane studies, since I couldn’t see her purple head anywhere in the Dining Hall or down the castle’s corridors.
I spotted her brother a few times at lunch and dinner, but he never approached me. It only solidified my theory – he’d know the truth all along, and had also kept it a secret, like his sister.
Everyone on the island was buzzing with excitement for the upcoming holidays. Their clamor and the colorful Christmas decorations hanging in the castle were nothing but white noise to me. They were as languid and emotionless as the snow covering the courtyards.
Geira Brekke concluded our final book club meeting for the year on a Thursday evening, wishing everyone happy holidays.
The word holidays set itself apart from the white noise.
As my aunt had always said, it was best to plan ahead, at least when it came down to important life decisions, such as one’s career. Having in mind I had dropped out of higher education once, I decided to honor her memory.
It was also the smart move, because while I hadn’t had expenses here, apart from occasional online shopping for clothes and toiletries, I couldn’t live out my entire life off my college trust fund.
“Mrs. Brekke?” I said quietly, closing the door behind the last person. “Do you have a couple of minutes?”
“Yes, Learyn? How is your aunt? Please give her my regards when you see her over the holidays.”
I bit back the tears.
Wait until tonight. They always come at night. You can fight them during the day.
“I won’t be seeing her for the holidays. She’s dead.”
A near gasp-like sound emerged from her throat and her eyes widened in shock. She grabbed my hand, clutching it tightly.
“Oh, dear child! When did this happen?”
I shrugged, but for some reason didn’t pull away.
“November, at some point.”
“My deepest condolences. Adaline was an astonishing woman in every way. She will be missed by many.”
I nodded. Despite her declining age, she was now squeezing my hand with both arms in a tight grip. I knew it was polite to thank someone when they offered you their condolences. But how could I say “thank you” in regards to the fact my aunt – who’d been my mother, father, guiding hand and the stronghold withstanding all my storms – was dead?
“If you need to talk to someone, ask for me at Administration. I will be here until tomorrow morning and will return from my holiday trip at the beginning of January.”
“Thank you,” I finally uttered the words, but they still clung to me like a perverted sort of residue flavor that was stuck in my mouth. “I wanted to ask you something about your academic rank and degree.”
Her face eased into a smile full of pity, and she let go of my hand.
“I have a Ph.D. in Animal and Aquacultural Science.”
“Is it from a supernatural school?”
“No, dear. I obtained it from the entirely mundane Norwegian University of Life Sciences’ Faculty of Biosciences a decade ago.”
“Oh, I… I just wanted to ask about academic ranks and careers in the supernatural world. I know there are only two schools in Midgard accepting necromancers, so what are my options? Can I simultaneously enroll in a mundane university and in a necromantic academy, and juggle both?”
“You can,” she confirmed with a nod.
“And what can I do as a necromancer in the supernatural world, not as a necromancer posing as a human?”
“You can do anything you set your mind to, Learyn. The supernatural world is similar to the one of humans. If you wish to pursue a career in politics, science, arts and other sectors, you can do so even as a necromancer. What did you want to do before you came here?”
I shrugged. “Become a software developer, but that’s irrelevant now. I doubt any tech mogul would accept my real nature.”
“Computer science?” she asked. “There are many, hmm, as you call them – tech moguls – who work with supernaturals.”
“Really? Which ones?”
“I will have to ask my son. He’s better with technology than I am.”
“Is he a software developer?” I asked, suddenly overtaken by a ray of hope that shot right through my miserable, self-pity ridden state of mind.
“No, he’s completing a language degree at the University of Stavanger, but he’s an Elemental like you. He has… What do you call those programs on your phone?”
“Apps.”
“Yes, apps. He’s constantly spending time on this dating app for single supernatural beings, where they meet other single supernatural beings from every corner of Midgard. I am sure this app isn’t the product of a human company.”
Huh. A Tinder exclusively for supernaturals. Well, you didn’t exactly need a big IT mogul to come up with a dating app.
“Is there some Norwegian HR company I can talk to? Human Resources, but not for humans? Like, someone who deals with hiring necromancers on behalf of other companies?”
“You can ask Administration to get you in touch with them. Would you like to continue this conversation on our way to the Dining Hall?”
Oh, crap! She was probably hungry, and I was keeping her.
“Maybe some other time. Thanks, Mrs. Brekke. For everything.”
“Anytime,” she replied with a soft smile.
***
Since I didn’t have anyone to celebrate with, and I didn’t have a reason to celebrate, I sought Brühl the next day for additional Elemental sessions.
The guy wasn’t happy about spending a Friday with me. Too bad it wasn’t up to him to send me away, otherwise I was sure he would have quit our sessions after the very first one. Honestly, I had no idea why I was feeling masochistic enough to do this to myself, but working on my Elemental magic seemed like the proper thing to do.
He was still giving me hell for not being able to control my fire element the way I had learned to control air. We had returned back to wax candles and wicks. Quietly admitting it to myself, I regretted coming. I was barely holding it together, longing for the moment he’d let me go, so I could run off to my bedroom and let the tears flow again.
“Concentrate, Dustrikke! Rid your mind of holidays and distractions. The Council will test you in January if you stay here. Do you wish to fail, like mediocre verdammte Kinder do, or do you wish to prove you’re a Dustrikke child?”
Maybe I had finally had enough of his abusive methods, because I couldn’t hold on to my defensive walls any longer. I jumped off the chair and rushed to the wall behind me, keeping my back to him.
“I’m not distracted by holidays, because I won’t be going home to celebrate,” I whispered in a strained voice. My vocal cords were crushed by a fucking knot that kept refusing to go away.
“I don’t care how you’ll be spending your vacation trips, Dustrikke! Turn around, sit back on that chair, and focus on your candles!”
“Why? Because I’m
supposed to be able to learn how to control my awesome ancestral magic faster than others? Good thing there aren’t any other Dustrikke family members left to be embarrassed by my failures!”
“What are you talking about?”
I half-scoffed, half-sobbed. “My aunt is dead. Doran and Edor, the last remaining people bearing the Dustrikke name, are also dead. My bloodline begins and ends with me.”
The rushed footsteps behind my back signaled running. He grabbed my outer arms, turned me around and dug his fingers into my skin, just below my shoulders. His grip was too painful, and I had to blink to keep my weakness at bay.
Brühl’s eyes were wide open. Something in his expression didn’t quite add up. There shouldn’t have been any horror in his stare. But that was all there was to it.
“You are the last Dustrikke?” he asked in a non-scolding way.
I squeezed my eyes shut to prevent the tears from falling.
“Guess that makes it easier for you, huh? That famed necromantic legacy you’re protecting just got short on people to protect.”
“Oh, you stupid, peevish little girl!” He growled, pushing me away. “Open your eyes!”
Stumbling backwards, I opened my watery eyes.
Everything was blurry. Still, he had such a ferocious and savage look, I wondered if he was going to hit me. Not with magic, like he had done before, but with his hand.
“Flesh eating Daayan witches, cannibalistic wechuge beasts, bloodthirsty trolls… The world out there will crush you like a bug!”
His voice raged, screaming in my face.
“Syrian ghouls and their Sa’alin females travel from graveyard to graveyard, feeding on corpses and transforming into whomever they ate for lunch! Viscera suckers are migrating from the Philippines! Sea serpents are spreading like venereal diseases, while sailors only fear the damn Kraken that Loki released in Midgard centuries ago!”
I took another step back.
“Restless apparitions are roaming every street!” He shouted, spitting drops of saliva. “Violent, merciless Gjenferd and Mylingar! Men, women and children, who’ve been murdered, are now haunting household objects or entire households, fixated on nothing else but making the ones who go near them suffer as much as they have!”
