by Leigh Kelsey
Whatever happened, Kati couldn’t allow that thing to bite any of them. If it did … they’d be forced out of their body, made into a host for the wraith. And their soul—the very essence that made them them—would exist outside their body, forever seeking a body to return to.
There were two ways to become a soulwraith: die and escape the underworld as a spirit, or have your own body stolen, forcing your soul out.
Kati didn’t plan on either happening to any of them today. Even if she still classed Alexandra as her nemesis, she’d probably kept Kati alive these past few minutes, and that counted for something. And Harley had been through enough shit with the ghost possessing her.
Dolly, stay out of the way, Kati warned.
Don’t do anything stupid, Kit-Kat, Dolly sighed.
Kati ignored her, glanced at Alexandra and Harley, and said, “Get ready.”
“For what?” Alexandra demanded.
“Kati…” Harley said worriedly.
Kati scanned the darkness for the other wraith and inhaled sharply as she spotted it. Of course it was twice the size of the others. Of course it was. “Wait until they’re both close.”
“What?” Harley squeaked. Kati hadn’t thought Harley—laid back skater girl—could squeak, but squeak she did.
“You’re mad, Wilson,” Alexandra muttered, shaking her head. “But it’s a good idea. Hold your nerve, Harley.”
“I should never have come out here,” Harley muttered, inhaling shakily. “I can’t do this.”
“You can,” Kati said strongly, drawing power up slowly, measuredly, and letting it build in her wand. “You’re not on your own this time.”
“And if they get too close, they’ll probably go for Wilson first. She’s the most powerful.”
Kati blinked at the compliment but she didn’t comment on it, gritting her teeth as she let her magic build steadily, the blackness around them lifting just slightly as the second wraith drew closer, the first slamming into their shields.
Thank souls they’d covered basic techniques on maintaining one spell while they actively cast another simultaneously. Without that single lesson, they’d all probably be soulless by now.
Not a comforting thought.
Stay on track, Kati hissed at herself.
Dolly, get ready to give me strength.
Dolly sighed, butting up against Kati’s ankles. I was hoping you wouldn’t say that. This is a really stupid idea.
Yeah, well. I’m the only one here with a familiar and a crazy good ability at death magic.
The Chen girl was right, you are reckless.
“Now!” Kati shouted as the biggest wraith was close enough for Kati to see every individual tooth and fang in its football-sized mouth. Kati unleashed the power in her wand with a scream of, “Light storm!”
Alexandra and Harley followed and, by sheer luck or perfect timing, they managed to catch both soulwraiths in the stream of light.
Kati hadn’t been lucid enough to see what had happened to the first soulwraiths, but she watched these two explode into wisps and mist, the bigger soul letting out a piercing whistle of sound as the light devoured it.
Kati sagged back with a gasp, but Dolly’s strength bolstered her and she stayed conscious this time, no dizziness, no fainting, so she classed it as a win. Dolly? You good?
I need to sleep for a whole twenty-four hours, Dolly groaned, and Kati let her shield fizzle out as daylight returned to the sky, stabbing into Kati’s eyes. Blinking until she could see again, she bent and picked up Dolly, always surprised at the solid weight of her familiar for such a little dog. She might have given her a tight, squeezing hug, and Dolly might have licked her chin in relief and happiness, but both of them would later blame it on adrenaline and deny it ever happened.
The bus door clattered open behind them as Kati squinted at the fields around them, and the three of them were swarmed by frantic voices and relieved hugs. Kati was surprised to see that nobody hugged Alexandra, not even Hannah, who’d stayed on the bus. Well. It served her right for being vicious and hurtful all the time.
But Kati couldn’t help a pang of sympathy at the hurt she saw in Alexandra’s brown eyes before her face arranged into a sneer.
Kati hugged Dolly tighter, clutched hard to Rahmi’s body as Naia rambled on in relief and panic. She didn’t allow herself to think about how close she’d come to being possessed.
“Someone really doesn’t want us to go back to the academy,” Marigold said on the step up to the bus, chewing her bottom lip.
Kati was worried about that, too. But she was too tired and drained to give it much thought right now, Dolly’s strength beginning to fade from her.
“They’ll have to do better than that,” Alexandra snapped. “And I didn’t just fight four soulwraiths for you fuckers to chicken out of going back for this term. So get back on the soulsdamned bus.”
For once, Kati agreed wholeheartedly with Alexandra Chen. She got back on the bus.
Bewildering Careers Advice
Kati was desperately relieved to get off the bus, safely on SBA grounds thanks to the moonstone key hanging around her neck, its head moulded into a filigree skull. She had no idea if the wards around the academy would keep out wraiths, but she felt better inside them anyway.
Mrs Balham was waiting for them on the wide steps leading up to the black, gothic sprawl of the academy building. Thank souls. Someone to take control of the situation if anything else nightmarish happened. Kati’s shoulders began to relax.
“Where have you been?” Balham demanded, marching down the long, poker-straight path that bridged the academy and the gates at the end of the long path. “The other two buses have been here half an hour.”
“I doubt the other two buses had to fight four soulwraiths,” Jacob Alders said loftily, his chest puffed out as if he’d accomplished the task. Sunlight gleamed on his perfect golden hair, offsetting his tanned skin. He looked like the sort of guy who’d dive heroically into danger, and yet he hadn’t volunteered to help once.
“You didn’t go anywhere near them,” Kati drawled, and then dismissed him, facing Mrs Balham’s shocked face. “Me, Alexandra, and Harley fought them back.”
“You…” The teacher’s face hardened, her eyes flashing. “You fought four soulwraiths? Just the three of you? Are you completely out of your minds?”
“Possibly,” Alexandra replied, stalking up to them. “But we fought them, they’re gone, and we all lived happily ever after.”
Kati snorted. She couldn’t help it.
Mrs Balham pinned Kati, Alexandra, and then Harley with a fierce glare. “I’d have expected the three of you to at least attempt to fly under the radar this term. Given everything that happened last time you were here.”
Kati winced. Flying under the radar had been the plan. But then the bus got attacked by wraiths and … and Chen was probably right. Kati did have a minor hero complex.
The three of them were silent.
“They were brilliant, Miss,” Marigold Archer spoke up when silence fell, her fair skin flushing deep pink as Balham’s attention swung her way. Marigold shuffled her feet but went on, “If they hadn’t gone out there, who knows what would have happened? I didn’t know the spell they used, and I doubt the rest of us could have fought those wraiths. Plus, the driver wasn’t going to go out and get rid of them.”
“No way,” Gull agreed, coming forward to stand arm to arm with Kati. “Right coward; he just let three students handle it.”
Mrs Balham was silent for a long moment, eyeing the lot of them. She sighed finally, casting a look over Kati, Alexandra, and Harley. “Fine, there won’t be any repercussions. But I need every one of you to make a statement; there shouldn’t be a single soulwraith this far from a major portal, let alone four. The Congregation of Paranormals will need to be notified.”
Kati nodded; she’d thought the exact same thing. The gentry would probably turn up to question them, too.
With a swoop of her stomac
h, Kati remembered Madam Hawkness telling her that a gentry officer had been assigned to watch over her and keep her safe last term. She’d never noticed them once, so maybe the headteacher was all talk. And at least the idea of a gentry being nearby didn’t scare the everloving shit out of Kati anymore; nobody thought she was going around murdering anyone this term, which was a plus point.
There’s still time for that yet, Dolly reminded her cheerfully.
Kati ignored her.
“As for the three of you,” Balham went on, and Kati tensed. So much for thinking she was off the hook. “I want all of you to sign up for advanced magical combat next term, and if I don’t see you in the training room at least once this term, I’ll be severely disappointed. With this on your record, you’ll be a shoo-in for gentry training next year.”
Um.
What?
Kati wasn’t in trouble … and Balham thought she should do gentry training? As in, get actual training from a gentry, and maybe even become one in the future? Oh, that’d go down well. Kati could see the headlines now. Sister of renowned black magician Theo Wilson becomes gentry. Should this menace be policing our streets?
Nope. Never gonna happen. But Kati gave a noncommittal mumble with the others. Harley looked shell shocked. She was as much a villain in the academy’s eyes as Kati was, probably more. And Alexandra had tried to kill Kati.
Balham was off her head if she thought any of them would make a decent gentry.
“Right,” Balham said, turning on the heels of her biker boots and stomping up the steps. “Go get settled in. Dinner’s at five, and there’s an assembly right after. I’m sure Miz Jardin and Lavellian will find you at some point and tell you everything you need to know. Same schedule as last term, remember. And if I were you, with this wraith attack, I wouldn’t hesitate to spend some time downstairs training to fight.”
“You don’t think they’ll come here, surely?” Naia asked, catching up to Balham by virtue of her long legs; Kati, huffing and puffing to keep up, eyed her with envy.
Mrs Balham shrugged, her leather jacket rustling as she pushed open the tall doors into SBA’s lobby. “Never hurts to be prepared.”
Kati might have felt even sicker at those words, but the second she stepped inside the academy, light refracting from the Diamond Rotunda high above, the smell of clean linen and old paper filling her lungs, and the living, powerful feel of the building itself settling over her, Kati expelled a long breath.
She’d made it. She was home.
Well, This Doesn’t Seem Right
What kind of psychopath decided they should return to classes on a Thursday, with P.E. first thing? Kati debated stepping in front of the basketball spelled to whizz around the room, just to get out of class with a concussion. But it was nearly over. Almost two hours of hell disguised as physical education, nearly done. Ten minutes to go.
Naia was in her element, of course. Despite maintaining that it was just fluke that she won every race and event, Naia was talented at most sports. Surprising for a total nerd and bookworm, but that was Naia for you.
Rahmi, like Kati, was miserably ducking and diving out of the way of the ball, even though the objective of the lesson was to neutralise it. The more P.E. classes Kati took, the more she realised it was all self defense. Slowing or stopping the ball with their wands was practise for spellwork under pressure, jumping bodily out of the way was teaching them how to avoid a hex. It was sneaky, but pretty clever.
“Oh, thank souls,” Kati mumbled when Mr Prise, the forty-something beefy ghost with a buzz cut and voice like a foghorn finally told them their torment was over. Kati was paraphrasing, but she was sure everyone else felt the same way about the lesson.
If Mr Prise would just let them learn the levitation spell so they could play levby, Kati would be perfectly happy to waste—sorry, spend—two hours in P.E. every week.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to learn defense, either. After the wraith attack and everything that happened last term, Kati was more than happy to learn every bit of self defense and every hex, curse, and protective spell she could. But did it have to be first thing in the evening?
And just to crown the perfect day, after lunch they had necromancing with the teacher who hated Kati’s guts for reasons yet undetermined.
Falling into a chair in the dorm living room she shared with Naia and Rahmi, Kati was beginning to wonder why she’d been so eager to come back to SBA.
“Are you cold?” Rahmi asked, frowning at Kati as she plopped onto the sofa at a right angle to Kati’s chair. “I can see your breath. I’ll put the fire on.” With a gesture of her wand and a firm command, Rahmi lit the fire and Kati shivered. Rahmi was right; she was freezing. Her breath expelled clouds in front of her face, and goosebumps swept her arms and down her spine as she warmed up.
She remembered the same thing happening before, but she’d been outside then. Kati pondered it for a minute, but she was too tired and achy from P.E. to dwell on it. What she really needed was to sneak away to a certain teacher’s rooms in the north tower and cuddle for a few hours.
But necromancy awaited.
Would it be too much to hope that they’d learn even one tiny thing of value this term?
This Counts As A Cautionary Tale
Be careful what you wish for came to mind.
“In, in, everyone sit down, quickly and orderly, the same seating plan as last term.”
Mrs Hale was true to strict, impatient form, her red hair in a frazzled ponytail and her pale skin splotchy and wrinkled, her eyes already sharp but becoming an executioner’s blade when they landed on Kati. If she learned nothing else from Hale this term, Kati would really like to know what she’d done to piss off the woman.
“Miss Wilson,” Hale said, her thin mouth curling into a smile. It wasn’t friendly. “I’m surprised to see you back after what you did last term.”
“You mean after I uncovered a poltergeist and stopped her murderous followers possessing more people?” Kati asked, feigning stupidity. “Actually, Mrs Balham did say the gentry would be interested in me joining them, especially after I helped get rid of a wraith on Tuesday. I’m surprised I’m here, too.”
She blinked owlishly, and watched Hale’s face become even redder. Maybe Kati should have toned it down, but she’d had enough of this woman’s shit. Sure, she was a teacher and deserved respect, but that went both ways, and Hale had only ever shown Kati disrespect.
A few paces behind her, Naia whispered, “Souls, Kati.”
Hale’s expression darkened but then all at once—and quite horrifyingly—her face lit up. Kati swallowed. “How lucky we are to have such a hero in our class. You can come up to the front with me, Wilson. Everyone else to your seats, quickly now.”
Naia gave Kati a panicked look as she passed, but Kati didn’t let her expression slip, exuding pure confidence. But her stomach was a pretzel and she felt kind of sick.
Kati followed Hale to the front of the classroom, and that was when she noticed the pale, dark haired man who’d been standing off to one side. He had a sickly look about him and an envelope in his hand, and Kati’s stomach took a nosedive, twisting the pretzel even more.
Oh souls. Oh fuck.
Hale gave Kati a beaming smile, and now Kati understood why. Today’s lesson was their first real necromancy class. And she’d chosen Kati to reanimate this guy. Hale just couldn’t wait for her to fail.
Kati took a long breath through her nose and let it subtly out through her mouth. She could do this. She and Naia had been doing their own learning in their spare time, and Iain had begun teaching her what he knew of necromancy—which admittedly wasn’t much—when he’d been appalled at her exam score.
“By now, you should all know the basics of necromancy,” Hale said, facing the class.
There were some rumblings and murmurs in response, but either Hale didn’t hear or chose not to.
“This term will focus more on the practical aspects. Take out your athames.
”
Kati set her bag on the floor, since she hadn’t been given the courtesy of a desk, and got out her athame. At least she wouldn’t have to do this with the knife that she’d tried to stab Ingrid the Terrible with and had subsequently been stabbed with herself.
“You’ll remember we reviewed the safest ways to end someone’s life at the end of last term.” What Kati actually remembered was writing an essay on anatomy, not where to strike and how hard or how much blood a person needed to lose to be properly dead. “Today we’ll be using the quickest and most effective method; cutting someone’s throat. Mr Argyle, if you’ll come forward.”
The pale, shaky man pushed off the wall and took a seat in the chair Hale placed in front of her desk so everyone could see, handing Hale the envelope that no doubt contained his resurrection contract—stating that any accidents during the process and any final deaths that may result of them were not the fault of the necromancer. “No need to worry,” she said. “It’ll be over before you know it.”
“I just have to pop my clogs first,” he said with a weak laugh.
Kati winced. She felt bad for him, but what kind of idiot volunteered to be reanimated by a student? Well, probably one who got their reanimation at half price. This could have been his only shot at surviving, judging by his sickly appearance. Kati had to make sure she got this right. Or hope that Hale didn’t have planned what Kati thought she did.
“Katriona Wilson here will be your necromancer. No need to worry about everything you’ve read in the paper, she’s a real hero.”
Kati turned her wince into a smile as the man shot her a wide-eyed look. “Hi.”
“Hello,” he whispered back, eyeing her like she was an executioner. Which she was. But she didn’t plan for him to stay dead for long. Just long enough to fully die before she replaced his soul in his body and made him an Eternal.
“Begin,” Mrs Hale said with a blunt nod.
Kati’s mouth fell open. “Aren’t you going to tell us how to open a window to the underworld. Or maybe how to shut it again?”
