School of Deaths

by Christopher Mannino

  “Sindril is missing. He’s fled the College and might be dangerous. I don’t want anyone else to know at this point, but be careful Susan. He might come to you.”

  “To take revenge?”

  “He was headmaster for twelve years. You took that away from him in a day. Wherever he is, be careful.”

  “Thank you, sir. I will.”

  “You may go, Susan. And one more thing. Good luck on your Final Test. After everything you’ve done here, it might be better if you did return to the Living World.”

  She nodded and left the room. The councilman was gone, and she walked alone to the courtyard. She glanced at an hourglass then decided to go to Eagle Two. She paused outside, looking at the drawing of an eagle clutching scythes. It felt like home.

  With the others gone, she grabbed an apple and headed outside again. Where was everyone? She spent fifteen minutes walking the College, but didn’t see Billy, Frank, or Jason. Maybe they were at the library. She walked away from the campus, through the Ring of Scythes, and entered the small house. The dusty room was comforting.

  She walked toward the bookcase when a hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. Someone shoved her backward, slamming her back into the books. They clamped a hand over her mouth as she tried to scream.

  “Hello Susan,” said Sindril.

  Pure panic coursed through her. He wouldn’t kill her, would he? She was a Death, even if only a student. If she died now she’d cease to exist. Her parents, Billy, Frank…no one would remember that she’d ever been born. Tears started to fall from her face.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, if you keep quiet,” he said.

  She tried to nod against his hand, and he relaxed his grip, letting her breathe. He stepped away and picked up a scythe. Why hadn’t she seen him? Had he been waiting for her?

  “You’ve watched me kill,” he said. “I’d do it again, but I’m not allowed. They told me to bring you alive. Give me the ring. The one you stole.”

  She fumbled in her pocket and handed it to him. He laughed as he looked at it. Her eyes darted around the room. Sindril closed the front door and glared at her. No way out. He stepped forward, still holding his scythe.

  “You probably believe I stole this,” he said, waving the ring. “I didn’t. It was a gift from the previous headmaster, who received it from the headmaster before him.” He smiled. “The Headmaster’s Secret, they called it. A Dragoncall. Leftover from when the College was first built. Used by souls to talk to Dragons, in the days when Dragons brought souls from the College to the Hereafter. The Dark Days, as some call them.” He looked at the ring again. “I wonder how many other headmasters used it,” he said. “Perhaps none, or maybe all of them.”

  He put the ring in his pocket and stepped even closer. For a moment the scythe wavered, but he put both hands on the handle and lifted. The blade hung right above her head. She felt the power dripping from its blade, the hunger of the metal, ready to devour her soul. Sindril’s eyes narrowed in anger.

  “Twelve years,” he said. “Twelve years gone. Did it ever occur to you, Suzie, that I’m not your enemy? That you and I want the same thing?”

  “And what is that?” she said.

  “To go home,” he said. “To return to the Living World.” He changed his grip on the scythe, still held above her. “They took me when I was eighteen. Eighteen. A fluke, they told me later. Like you, I was one of a kind, and I didn’t belong. Too old to be a first year; they decided to forgo my Final Test. I was never even given a chance. I’m afraid I don’t even remember the headmaster who was responsible for that.” He laughed. “No one remembers him. He’s been erased.” Sindril’s lips spread into a wide grin. Suzie’s heat raced even faster with his threat. The scythe pulsed with anger and excitement.

  He pulled up the scythe, took a step back, and placed it against the wall beside her.

  “I tried everything, but of course, no one returns.” Suzie thought of the picture with the two teenagers. Had that been Sindril?

  “And then I overheard some ’Mentals talking about a Dragon Key,” he continued. “I questioned one, but he hadn’t heard of it. I remembered the Dragoncall, the ring you found. What could I lose? Of course I used it.” For the first time since attacking her, Sindril relaxed. He leaned against the wall and turned away. Suzie glanced at the door, but she’d never make it fast enough.

  “It doesn’t exist,” he said. “But the Dragons promised to bring me back to the Living World themselves, if I brought them a living female Death.”

  “What do they want with me?”

  Sindril laughed. “I didn’t ask, and don’t care. They needed a female Death. I spent years planning to kidnap one, but that idiot Cronk did the job for me. He was half-asleep and wrote your name on his list. All I had to do was approve it, which I did.”

  “Cronk?” she asked. “My teacher?”

  “It’s because of him that you came here, not me. Although once you arrived, I needed to keep you here. That’s why I wrote your Final Test myself.” He grinned at her again. “You will fail.”

  “And if I do?” she said, trying to sound brave. “You’ll bring me to the Dragons?”

  “You’ll come yourself,” he said, “and I’ll be waiting. I want to go home, Susan. Surely, you can understand that. If you come to the Dragons, they will help both of us return.”

  “I’ll never believe anything you say,” she said. “I’d never help you. You’re a murderer, a liar, and a traitor.”

  “You’re a stupid little girl,” he snarled, spinning to face her again. “How long have you been coming here? I closed the Ring hoping no one would follow me. How did you find yourself locked outside the Ring that day?” He stepped right up to her. She smelled wine on his breath.

  Suzie closed her eyes and called out inside her mind. Would Frank hear her? Was he close enough?

  Sindril looked at the scythe. “I won’t kill you,” he said. “They’ll never help me if I do. Nevertheless, I doubt they need all of you. I could take a hand, perhaps. As a souvenir.”

  Suzie moved against the bookcase. Her hand reached what she hoped was the red book. She pulled and the books shuddered. It was the right one! She leaped forward as the bookcase swung open. The scythe fell to the ground with a loud clang. Sindril stumbled backward with a stunned expression. Suzie ran toward him with her arms outstretched and knocked him to the floor. He grunted as the two hit the floor hard; Sindril slammed his head and his eyes closed. For a moment, Suzie lost her breath. Her head and arms stung but this was her chance. She pulled herself off Sindril and staggered to her feet. His body was slumped against the front door. Could she move him?

  Sindril groaned and moved an arm. He must be knocked out. No time to move him. Suzie spun and darted through the open bookcase. She ran down the stairs and into the library.

  Sindril groaned in pain behind her; then she heard footsteps on the stairs.

  “Help is coming,” said a voice in her head. She glimpsed Frank’s green eyes as she ran into the library. Hundreds of bookcases filled with books, tablets, and clutter surrounded her. At least she could hide.

  She ducked behind a bookcase and edged away from the stairs, desperate to stay silent. Sindril yelled. She could hide here for a few minutes, but not forever.

  “Come out, little girl,” he said. He grunted and she heard sliding wood. Crash. A bookcase fell. He must have pushed it over. Crash. A second bookcase slammed to the floor sending a massive cloud of dust into the air. It was hard to breathe, but she had to stay quiet. Sindril tossed books around, and a third bookcase fell with a crash. This time, Suzie couldn’t control herself. A tiny cough escaped her mouth. It seemed to echo, like footsteps.

  “Gotcha now,” said Sindril. “I just want a hand, or maybe a finger. A little souvenir to take to the Dragons. Come on, Susan.” The bookcase behind her rocked as he rounded it, and she ran to the side of the room. There were no more bookcases, just piles of stone slabs. She jumped onto one of the slabs, ba
cking into the wall. Sindril emerged, covered in sweat. The scythe in his hands glowed with a fierce light.

  “Come down, Suzie. The game’s over. No one’s coming to save you now.”

  He paused, and a confused expression crept over his face.

  Sindril dropped the scythe. He screamed, staring at his robe. Suzie couldn’t see anything on it. Sindril turned and ran away from her, yelling in complete horror. He stopped at a tall shape.

  The albino grabbed Sindril and stared into his eyes. The Death shuddered, whimpering. He started to cry.

  “Please, please no,” bawled Sindril.

  The albino dropped him to the ground, and Sindril ran away. She heard footsteps on the stairs, and the sound of sobs growing softer. The albino turned to her and held up his hand. Then he followed Sindril up the stairs and out of the library. Suzie sank to the floor, ready to burst into tears herself. Frank and Billy arrived a few minutes later.

  “Are you all right?” asked Frank.

  “He’s gone?” she asked.

  “That was the same Fearmonger Luc used on you,” said Frank. “He’s been living in the forest, not too far from here. I figure he owed you an apology. You remember what he can do. He followed you two into the library when he came to the open bookcase. Sindril won’t bother you anymore.”

  “Suzie,” said Billy, wrapping her in his arms.

  “I’m okay,” she said, wiping away the tears. She’d never been more frightened, not even when the albino had attacked her. “Thank you, Frank.”

  “Is everyone safe?” asked Jason, stepping over a fallen bookcase.

  “It’s over,” said Suzie. “Sindril’s gone. He told me he’s going to live with the Dragons.”

  She didn’t tell them the Dragons wanted her alive, or that Sindril claimed he’d written her Final Test and she was guaranteed to fail. She didn’t believe anything he said, but he was gone now. She’d never have to see him again.

  “We were helping Jason with his scythe work,” said Frank. “In case it’s on the Final Test.”

  “The albino,” she said. She remembered the terror she’d felt back when he’d attacked her. “I almost feel sorry for Sindril.”

  Billy raised an eyebrow.

  “Almost,” she added, smiling. “Let’s go home. Right now, that’s all I want.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Home

  The party was Billy’s idea.

  The night before the Final Tests, no one slept. The test meant everything. If she passed, she’d go back to Mom and Dad. Back to the Living World. She’d go home. Rain splattered outside the windows of Eagle Two. Suzie watched the water falling, picturing the tears her mother must have shed after Cronk vanished. Had they given up all hope? On the other hand, were they still waiting for her, hoping she’d knock on the door?

  Thunder rumbled in the distance. If she passed, she’d never have to lift a scythe again. She’d leave this world and eventually it’d be nothing but a long, bad dream. A long dream, at any rate. Had it honestly been bad?

  If she passed, she’d never see Jason, Frank, or Cronk. She’d never watch a ’Mental turn into a bush, or create visions with their mind. She’d leave the most amazing place she’d ever been to. She’d never see Billy. She blushed at the idea. Billy was more than a friend. He was…more.

  “C’mon Suzie,” he said. “You defeated Sindril, and tomorrow you’ll go home. It’s time to celebrate.”

  Celebrate. But is going home worth celebrating? In two days, it’d be her fourteenth birthday. Where would she celebrate that? With her family, who assumed she was dead, or with her new friends, who made her feel alive?

  Billy poured sodas. Frank passed out stolen gorgers, while Jason strung up balloons and streamers.

  “I’m going to miss you guys,” said Jason. “Don’t get me wrong, I want to go home more than anything, but you guys are my friends.”

  “We made a good team,” said Frank. “And look at what we accomplished. The headmaster’s fled, we uncovered a plot with Dragons, and the ’Mentals finally have a shot at being treated fairly. I’d say this has been a great year.”

  “I’ll drink to that,” said Billy, raising his soda.

  They played games and talked for hours. Billy and Frank re-enacted their boskery victory, breaking a lamp in the process. At one point, Frank streamed music directly to their minds, although Suzie found she didn’t like that much, and he stopped.

  After a while, Billy and Suzie stepped outside.

  The air still smelled of rain, but the clouds had passed. A thousand tiny spots twinkled above.

  “The stars are beautiful,” she said.

  “You are too,” he replied. He took her hand. “Suzie, I want you to pass the test. I do. But when you do, I’ll miss you.” He turned away. As hard as this was for her, she’d forgotten that it must be hard for him too. Billy had chosen to fail his test, but she had a family back home.

  “I’ll miss you too,” she said. They hugged for what felt like hours.

  * * * *

  The sun shone brightly as she walked toward the black cube in the center of the campus. Its walls seemed to suck in sunlight, and it reminded Suzie of Kasumir’s dark eyes. Nearly every Death failed.

  “Good luck,” said Frank.

  “Good luck,” echoed Billy.

  She nodded and walked to the open door. Hann stood in the center of a hallway, holding a clipboard. Jason, who’d entered half an hour earlier, was somewhere inside.

  “Suzie,” said Hann, clapping her on the shoulder. “We had some rough times, but good luck. You’re in room five.” He pointed, and she walked down the hall.

  She stepped into room five. The room was entirely black, yet strangely light on the inside. Cronk stood in the center of the room, holding a piece of paper.

  “Cronk, are you crying?”

  “Your t-t-t-test,” he said, handing her the paper.

  She read the single sentence, written in ornate handwriting:

  Kill the one responsible for your presence in this world.

  “Sindril said he wrote this,” she murmured.

  “To g-g-go home,” he said, handing her a knife. Tears fell down his face.

  “Sindril is responsible,” she said.

  Cronk shook his head.

  “It w-w-was me. I wr-wr-wrote your n-n-name. I’m s-s-s-sorry.”

  “If I kill you, then you cease to have ever existed,” she said.

  Cronk nodded.

  “You’re my friend,” she said. “I’m not going to kill you.”

  “You m-m-m-must. If n-n-not, you don’t g-g-go home.”

  She looked at the knife. If she left this world, she’d never get a chance to kill Sindril. There must be another way home.

  Home. Suddenly she understood what the word meant, and what she had to do.

  She’d known for some time now.

  She turned the knife around, and handed it back to Cronk hilt first.

  Sindril was right, she couldn’t pass this test. Yet, somehow a part of her had suspected she didn’t want to.

  “I am home,” she said, opening the door.

  * * * *

  Billy and Frank stood talking outside the Examination Room. Frank frowned as Billy tried to hide a smile.

  “I failed the test,” she said.

  “What?” asked Frank.

  “Sindril wanted me to kill Cronk. The exam said to kill the one responsible. They may think it was Cronk, but Sindril’s the real reason I’m in this world.”

  “You didn’t do it?” asked Billy. “You wanted to go home.”

  She sighed. “I do. I want to go home, but not that way.” She thought of Sindril’s words. He’d told her to come find the Dragons.

  “There isn’t another way,” said Frank. “Suzie, you’re a true Death now.”

  They waited by the Examination room for another hour, but Jason didn’t emerge. The door closed after the final first year.

  Suzie pounded on the door and Hann emerg
ed.

  “Suzie?” he said.

  “My housemate Jason. He hasn’t emerged yet. I wanted to make sure he’s okay…”

  “Jason passed his Final Test,” said Hann. “One of only two to pass this year.”

  “Who was the other?”

  “Luc,” said Hann. “Both of the boys have gone back to their families in the Living World. The rest of you have three months of vacation before training begins again. I look forward to teaching you in class next year.”

  Suzie walked away, dumbfounded.

  “Only two passed the Final Test,” she told Frank and Billy. “Jason and Luc have gone back to the Living World.”

  “Wow,” said Frank.

  “You don’t believe they had to kill someone?” asked Suzie. “I can imagine Luc doing something horrid like that, but Jason?”

  “Every test is different,” said Billy.

  Jason had passed. Her friend. He’d been with her as they took on Sindril, and had defended her against some of her bullies. They’d spent a year together in art class and now she’d never see him again… He had passed. And Luc had passed, too, of all people…

  They walked back to Eagle Two. Suzie was too deep in thought to notice the College around her.

  What had she done? She hadn’t considered. She just handed the knife back to Cronk. He had kidnapped her. Why hadn’t she ended it and gone back to her parents?

  “Suzie?” asked Billy.

  She paused, staring at the ground.

  It wasn’t fair. Why was Jason going home and not her? Why weren’t they going home together? Why had she been weak? She’d failed. Her one chance at going back to her parents. How could she do this to them?

  Billy put his arms around her and pressed his face to hers. He kissed her lightly on the cheek.

  “I betrayed my parents,” she said. “I’ll never even get to say goodbye to them.”

  “Suzie, you had no choice,” he said.

  “I did have a choice.” She paused. “A part of me wanted to stay.” It felt terrible to admit, but was still a relief.

  “Suzie, that’s okay. I chose to fail my test,” he said. “I’m glad you’re still here. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll figure out a way to sneak you home. Your grandfather did it.”