“Maya Brünhart! Welcome to Divine Protector Academy. I’m very sorry about what you’ve been through, losing your parents in a horrible accident.” As if he cared, she thought. He had had plenty of time to show up and offer his condolences. Now it was too late, and she would make sure he paid for it.
“Thank you for saving me, Lord Bethos.”
“Oh, please. Just call me plain old Bethos.” His false humility was insufferable
“Thank you for saving me, Bethos.”
“My pleasure, Maya. Now, in case Freya didn’t explain things to you, here at Divine Protector Academy we train people to become gods. However, we normally don’t take people as young as you. Most people’s god-powers awaken upon adulthood. Therefore, you won’t be officially enrolled until you turn eighteen. In the meantime, you’ll live here and be taught the same subjects as any other school. History, politics, geography, math, and whatnot. We’ll be your guardians during your stay here.”
She thanked him again, and they left. As it turned out, she would be living in Freya’s quarters until she officially enrolled in the Academy.
Later, once Freya had left to teach a class and Maya was alone her quarters, she contacted Belial via the telepathy he had taught her.
I’m at the Academy.
All right! Where is it?
Mt. Or-lei-a.
Never heard of it.
They said there’s a shield around it to keep you from finding it.
Hmph. Doesn’t matter. It’ll probably be years until you get the chance to bring our plan to completion anyway. I’m nothing if not patient. Meanwhile, just do what they tell you and keep me updated.
Understood.
* * *
Recently…
Maya was in her second month of classes. Now an official student, she studied full-time. She had even moved out of Freya’s quarters and was rooming with a first-year student named CiCi Decker. CiCi had infinite kindness and boundless optimism. Maya couldn’t help but take an immediate liking to her.
That morning, as she was about to leave for class, she received a call from Belial. A new student should be arriving that day. Name of Ev Bannen.
Isn’t he a little late?
His god-potential was only recently discovered by the Academy. I’ve had my eye on him for a while. His blood will make a perfect addition to my collection. I tried to get to him in Seraphim City, but your teachers interfered.
So what do you want me to do?
Get close to him. Gain his trust. But don’t seem too eager. A little reluctance will go a long way here.
Understood.
Oh, and be sure to let me know when you’re going on your first field trip. That will be our chance to strike.
* * *
It was their first class together. Maya had looked up Ev’s photo in the campus directory. Once she knew who to look for, it was simple making contact with him.
Jaysin Marx sat next to him, and the seat on the other was likewise taken. That didn’t matter; it was better to play hard to get a little.
She sat down next to Jaysin. He gave her his usual stupid greeting. “Hiya, Maya.”
“H-Hello, Jaysin,” she said with intentional nervousness.
“Maya, meet our new classmate, Ev Bannen.”
She slowly and deliberately made eye contact with Ev. “Hi.” She wanted to give the impression this was an uncomfortable situation for her. And, in fact, it was.
“Ev, say hi to Maya…sorry, can never remember how to say her last name.”
“Brünhart, Maya Brünhart. Nice…to meet you.” “You’ll have to forgive Maya. She’s shy.”
“That’s OK. Nothing wrong with that,” Ev said. “Where are you from, Maya?”
“Stiftung.”
“Stiftung,” Ev repeated. “Isn’t that the main island of the Murnau Islands?”
“Uh-huh
“I’ve never been there. Is it interesting?”
“Not really.”
Jaysin leaned in to whisper in Ev’s ear. Maya couldn’t hear what he was saying. Was it something about her? She would’ve been very interested to hear what they thought of her. Not that it mattered. In the end, they were simply a means to an end. Soon Belial would summon the Nephilim, and the world would be his. She would finally make everyone suffer for what they had done to her.
Or, at least, that was what she kept telling herself. It was getting harder and harder to convince herself of that. She had made friends at the Academy. People actually cared about her. It wasn’t the hive of weaklings and liars Belial had always said it was.
And yet, she knew her duty. Before all was said and done, she would have to sacrifice the family she had come to love.
After class, she hurried back to her room and threw herself on her bed. CiCi wouldn’t be back for another hour, so this time was just for her.
She cried. She bawled. She sobbed. Her pillow drank up her endless tears. The question, first posed to her years ago, now reemerged: How could this have happened? And now more questions joined it. Why wasn’t she entitled to happiness? Why couldn’t she just stay where she was?
On more than one occasion, the thought of turning her back on Belial had occurred to her. But it was useless thinking about it. Even if she had the courage to do it, he would find her and inflict unspeakable punishment on her. In the beginning, she had liked him. He was her savior. But now she was old enough to realize he didn’t care about her at all. She was just his most reliable tool. Perhaps it was time to resign herself to the fact she would most likely never be loved again.
As she got to know Ev Bannen, her crying became a daily occurrence. Why did he have to be so nice? Not only that, but she sensed a similar pain in him, leading her to believe he might be able to understand her.
In fact, their connection became so strong he was able to hear her crying from the Prayer Chamber. He called out to her, but she was so scared of being discovered, she quickly sobered up. She couldn’t let him in. Not ever. He had no place in her future.
After their date in Holy Pizza, she made a decision. She would sell him out as planned. But no matter what, she wouldn’t kill him. Of course, her master most assuredly would, but there was nothing she could do about it.
She felt some measure of peace in that resolution. However, that peace was shattered when they went to Stiftung and Ev asked her out. It crushed her to have to turn him down. She really did like him. He cared for her in a way no one else did.
Later that day, at Victory Square, came the moment she desperately wanted to avoid. When the refghasts attacked, she worked to fight them off, knowing full well her friends would never see her betrayal coming.
Each of them displayed intense emotions as she shot them with her energy bow. Jaysin showed concern for Ev; CiCi showed confusion; Daryn showed anger. But Ev…Ev’s expression was the hardest to deal with. Out of all of them, he was the one Maya had the greatest connection with. The look of betrayal on his face almost killed her. Even worse, she had to watch Belial kick him in that face, knocking him out cold.
In a strange way, though, she felt relieved. She had betrayed her friends and helped to summon the Nephilim back, but at least the hard part was over now. She would never have to see anyone from her old life ever again.
But as it turned out, that assumption was dead wrong. For some insane reason her former friends returned to Stiftung, fought their way across the city to her, and declared they wanted her back. And not for revenge, as she initially thought, but because they still cared about her. She couldn’t fathom their logic. By all rights, they should want her dead and be fighting one another for the privilege of killing her.
Of course, it was all moot. Ev and company were up against Belial; they never had a chance of rescuing her. If they had any brains at all, they would have stayed home. Maya went with Belial to the Tower of Babel regardless of what they wanted.
* * *
She opened her eyes. Her bitter reminiscence was interrupted by an unsettling rev
elation: Ev was in the Tower. Not only that, but he was close. Very close.
She got up off the fancy four-post bed Belial had conjured for her. Aside from that, her room only had an oak armoire filled with nice clothes, and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Belial hadn’t had time to make anything else for her yet. That was OK; she didn’t deserve anything else.
She steeled herself for what she was certain would be her final encounter with Ev Bannen.
Chapter XVIII
After spending what felt like a strange eternity in the Bifrost, Ev rematerialized in an unfamiliar hallway. He had no idea what part of the Tower he was now in, but he had mentally commanded the Rainbow Bridge to send him to Maya, so hopefully she was close by.
There was a single wooden door at the other end of the corridor. He went over and opened it. He found himself in a room unlike any other he had seen in the Tower. It was circular, sure, but that was where the similarities ended. The walls were a whitish-beige color and plush blue carpet occupied the floor.
“Hello, Ev.” Maya stood in front of a large bed, scrutinizing him with emotionless eyes.
“Hi, Maya.” After coming all this way, his vocabulary was suddenly truncated. He couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“I’d ask you why you came here, but that would be pointless, wouldn’t it? We both know why you’re here: because you’re an idiot. An idiot who has no sense of self-preservation. I envy you for that. I do have a sense of self-preservation, and that’s why I went with Belial.”
“I know,” Ev said calmly. “I imagine you’re pretty scared of him, scared of what he might do if you make even the slightest mistake. That fear can make you do the worst things.
“But I know you want to be saved. I heard you in the Prayer Chamber asking for help. I saw the scars on your arm from where you cut yourself. You’re a person who desperately wants help, and I’m here to give it to you.”
Her icy facade abruptly shattered. “What would you know about my problems? Maybe you had some trouble in the past, but I can damn well guarantee it wasn’t anything as bad as what I went through. You got past your problems, but I can never escape mine. My life was over the instant my parents were killed.”
But Ev shouted, “You’re wrong! I didn’t get past my problems. They will always be with me. But I made the decision to fight for a better life, and so can you. I won’t pretend to understand what you went through, but everyone deserves a chance at happiness. Is this really what your parents wanted for you? To be the puppet of an evil god? If you have the resolve, you can fight your fate.”
But she would not be so easily swayed. “Oh, it’s so easy for you to talk about fighting fate. What fate did you ever have to fight? What sacrifices did you ever have to make? What scars will you carry with you for the rest of your life?”
“I did fight my fate. I did make sacrifices. I do have scars that will be with me forever.”
She let out a derisive laugh. “Really? And what sacrifice did the great Ev Bannen make.”
“Well, I…” This was the moment he had been dreading, the moment he revealed what kind of a monster you could become if pushed far enough, if you were scared enough. He pictured his father in front of him, calmly plotting to murder his mother. He remembered the knife on the table. He once again heard the voice telling him to use it.
“Out with it!” Maya yelled.
“I killed my father!” He was stunned as the revelation left his mouth.
Her eyes went wide. “What did you say?”
“I…I killed my father.” The tears began streaming forth. “He was our nightmare. Me and my mom, I mean. He would always come home drunk and beat us. Mom usually got the worst of it. One day he decided he was going to get rid of her once and for all. I couldn’t let him do that. There was a voice in my head. I guess it was my survival instinct. It told me what I had to do. So I picked up the knife, and I stabbed him in the side. I was trembling at the time, so my aim wasn’t that good. It was good enough, though; after a few moments of intense bleeding, he went down. It was already night out, so we buried him in the backyard. He’s still there today. We told everyone he ran off with another woman. No one gave a damn about him, so there was no real investigation. I think everyone just wanted to forget about that asshole.”
Maya looked shocked. “I…I’m so sorry. I mean, I kinda suspected we were the same, but I had no idea.”
Smiling, he said, “That’s OK, Maya. So will you come back with me now?”
Her demeanor once again iced over. She conjured her bow and pointed it at him. “I’m sorry, Ev. Our paths can never be the same.”
“Bullshit!” he roared. “You can do it. I know you can!”
But she just shook her head. “No, Ev. I can’t. Please—just leave here while you can.”
So that was her answer. Ev decided mere words wouldn’t be enough to convince her. With that in mind, he gave her the only response he could.
He took a step forward.
“Stay back!” she yelled.
He took another step.
“I’m serious!”
And another step. She let fly with an arrow. As before in Stiftung, it hit him in the shoulder. There was a flash of pain, but this time he wouldn’t allow himself to go down. He grabbed it. It burned his hand, but he didn’t let go. He yanked it free and free and kept walking towards her.
“Ev, please! Just stop!” She was in tears now, her self-control nearly gone.
She hit him in the other shoulder with another arrow. He ripped that one out as well. Blood spurted out, but he was able to heal the wounds.
She wasn’t going to stop him. She must have known that, because she dissolved the bow. Within moments he was upon her, and even he wasn’t sure what he was going to do.
So what did he do?
He hugged her. He put his arms around her in an embrace. Her sweater got blood on it from his injuries, but it didn’t matter. This was the only way to save her now.
She sobbed. It was a mournful wail that hurt his ears, yet it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. This, he decided, was exactly what Maya Brünhart needed.
“So, will you come back with me now?”
Her face was a wet mess. She looked like hell. Regardless, she nodded. “Yes.”
He had done it. He had saved her. Of course, he had left Brandon to face Belial alone, and he had no idea where they were or how to get there. He asked Maya. She shook her head; she didn’t know the layout of the Tower like Belial did. That meant Brandon was on his own. If he couldn’t get the job done, they’d all be screwed. Everything Ev and his friends had gone through would be for nothing.
* * *
Brandon Strong rematerialized in the center of colliseum-like chamber. It was circular like the others he and Ev had fought their way through, but surrounded on all sides by high walls made of haradium. That meant whatever was stored in here was extremely dangerous.
Speaking of Ev—where was he? They had stepped into the Bifrost together, yet now the kid was nowhere to be found. What could he have gone?
Brandon mentally slapped himself. Of course! Ev’s real concern was saving Maya Brünhart. He must have had the Rainbow Bridge send him to her. Brandon had assumed she would be with Belial, but since he and Ev had ended up in different places, that must not have been the case.
A fiery figure stood in front of a metal chest ten yards away: Belial. Brandon was now thankful Ev wasn’t here for this; he could have his nemesis all to himself.
As Brandon approached, Belial turned around. “You made it, my brother.”
Brandon nodded grimly. “This ends here, brother.” He spit out the last word like poison.
“Please,” Belial said. “As if I would come all this way just to be stopped by you.”
“You haven’t made it to the top of the Tower yet, and I’m going to make sure you never do.”
Belial’s smile was not diminished by the threat. “True enough. I haven’t made it to the top w
here the you-know-what is stored, but who cares? I don’t need it anyway. This room alone gives me the power to crush you.”
“Why?” Brandon asked. “Why go to all this trouble just for the adoration of mortals.”
Belial laughed. “That’s got to be the stupidest question I’ve ever heard. You of all people should know how unbelievably amazing it is to be worshipped. It’s the ultimate high for us gods. Sure, you and everyone at your little Academy managed to wean yourselves off it, but the rest of us weren’t so lucky. We live for the intoxication that comes with the love, praise and fear mortals give us. And pretty soon, I’ll have everyone—humans and gods alike—giving it to me night and day in order to avoid my wrath.” He trembled with pleasure. “Ohhhh, I can’t wait.”
Brandon resigned himself to fate. He had been hoping he could somehow talk his brother out of this. He realized now that was just the kind of foolish dream best left to mortals. “Very well, then. You leave me no choice.” He fired himself up just like he had done earlier in Stiftung. “I have to kill you, brother!”
Belial got fired up as well. “You can try…” He then added the name that had not been spoken in countless ages. “Ares!”
They launched themselves at each other. They collided in an explosion of flames which blanketed the room. Brother pounded brother with unbelievable ferocity, yet neither gave an inch. Every blow resounded like a cannon, in a battle that had been brewing for years.
They fought like this for a while. Eventually, Brandon gained the upper hand, knocking back Belial with a thunderous right hook. The malevolent god landed in front of the chest he had been inspecting when Brandon arrived.
Belial rose and wiped the blood from his mouth. “You always were the strong one, Ares.”
“Give it up, Belial. You can’t beat me.”
But his brother wasn’t backing down. “Dumbass. I said you were the strong one. I’m the smart one. Case in point…”
God School Page 19
