Cursed Academy (Year Three and a Half)

by Holly Hook

  "Wendy," Ronin said, extending his arms. "I can't believe it. I'm sorry."

  To my shock, she took Ronin's offer and collapsed into him, sobbing and heaving. Mikey and I exchanged a glance while I swallowed down all jealousy. Ronin was holding her up as a friend, not anything more, the same way Mikey and Maria would do for me. Time dragged on as her sobs grew softer and another hiccup escaped her.

  "Wendy," Mikey said. "Shit. I'm sorry. I know you two were friends."

  She pulled away from Ronin, who now had two spots of moisture on his shirt. He held it away from his skin as Wendy turned away and flopped down on her bed.

  Percival.

  I'd had class beside the guy every day for the past few years. Two guys Wendy had kissed and danced with were gone, taken by the Lower Order in one way or another. I couldn't imagine how it would feel if I lost Ronin to them, or even one of my friends.

  "I shouldn't have pissed him off," Wendy said, training her stare on the ceiling.

  "You didn't do anything wrong." Maria crossed her arms like a stern teacher. "It was a party. Things happen. You made out once. If anything, you spared Percival a crappy friendship with Serena. So you did him a favor near the end. And we don't know why he went off campus like that."

  Wendy turned her dark eyes to her. "Yeah. We don't know. He wouldn't tell me anything, but I should have seen the signs!" Then she turned away, hugging her pillow. Wendy was young right now, vulnerable, resisting help. It was as if taking Ronin's comfort was something shameful. And in her family, it probably was. Crying must not be a virtue in the Pazizi family.

  "You couldn't have known," I said. "Percival would have gone out there on his own. The Lower Order wouldn't have dragged him. And he knew they usually have werewolves and other shifters around them. Maybe he was meeting Duncan?"

  Then Wendy sat up, wiping her eyes. "Don't talk to me about Duncan. The rat. If we could get Percival's phone, we could figure out what was happening, but I'm sure the Olympian Guard collected it as evidence. And if Dominique or Alonso were there, they would have erased whatever was on it, anyway. They're good that that."

  "No kidding," Maria said with a shudder.

  Wendy faced her. "So you did spy on us that night."

  Maria backpedaled into Mikey. Wendy had figured it out.

  "Yes," I said. "That was before we knew you hated the Lower Order."

  A ghost of a smile spread across Wendy's lips. "It's fine. I would have done the same thing. Come on. Let's forget about my embarrassing outburst and see what we can find." She sniffed, sucking down her grief, as she got off the bed.

  "You had a normal reaction and you'll probably have more," Mikey said. "Percival was your friend. Maybe not your BFF, but your friend. You're allowed to have emotions and cry."

  She just looked at Mikey for a second before opening her dorm door. Once out, we realized other students were walking nervously to the dining hall. A bit of early morning light filtered through the frosted windows.

  And Hades was already waiting inside when we got in. The temperature plunged ten degrees--just what we needed--as we filed to our table. The dark god still wore his black robe, which hung down to the mini stage and seemed to merge with it as a liquid shadow. Celestus stood behind him, and so did Max, Mrs. Allenson, Mrs. Ershaw, and Natalia along with several other teachers. No one smiled.

  This was the first time we'd had the death of a student.

  I wondered what Hades of all people would say about that.

  Thoughts of Percival and how horrible his last moments must have been swirled through my head, and with Ronin standing between me and the staff, I almost forgot about Hades's dire warning. But he wasn't paying attention to me. Ronin, even in his white toga, didn't draw the god's attention. There was a more serious matter hanging.

  No one spoke as we gathered breakfast and sat down. The tables filled with uniformed students. At last, the dark god cleared his throat and a sense of dread blasted over the room. People shuddered. Even the other staff members flinched. I wondered what it would be like to stand up there with the Lord of the Underworld himself.

  "Students," Hades announced in that low voice. "One of your own died last night. I sensed his entry into the Underworld." He spoke as if he were announcing a new after school program or a new rule.

  A few gasps rose from the tables, mostly from the first years, and then silence descended. I eyed my tray as the god swept his gaze over us.

  "His death was not pleasant," Hades continued, all matter-of-factly. "I do not yet know the exact circumstances, nor have I sensed the outcome of his judgment yet. It appears he met his end via a pack of rogue or Lower Order werewolves. Percival managed to kill two of them with magic, but was overcome. The Olympian Guard is investigating, and I must aid them." Hades worked his jaw as he spoke, mimicking Ronin's sign of anger. He wasn't happy about his task.

  Wendy looked to Maria, and then me, and then Mikey. She clearly had an idea and had thrown her grief to the side for now. How could she just do that?

  Max bowed his head, hands clasped together. "Shall we have a moment of silence?"

  Wendy raised her hand.

  And Hades stared right at our table. "Yes, Wendy?" His tone dropped to one of disapproval. He still didn't think highly of his own Olympian-wannabe descendant.

  "Can you sense how Percival's judgment will turn out?" Her voice was tiny compared to the god's. Serena faced her, hunger in her eyes. This was news. Gossip. The mean girl was coming back.

  "Why do you ask this question?" He was getting impatient.

  Wendy was trying to get us a clue. What had Percival's intent been when he left campus? If he'd been trying to join the Lower Order, he'd be on his way to Tartarus, right? If he'd been trying to rescue his friend, he'd get an easier judgment. Maybe even Elysium, where heroes got to go.

  "Because I'm curious," she said.

  "Percival has not yet been judged." Hades's tone rose to a warning level, and Wendy dropped her hand. "Now, Max?"

  "A moment of silence," our Combat Training instructor said. "This is a very sad day. We have not lost a student in a few years."

  "I'm aware," the dark god said. "And if students here don't stick to their own business, we will lose more."

  * * * * *

  Class that day dragged on and on. Percival's empty desk hung in the back of Divine History. Mrs. Ershaw avoided gazing at the empty spot on the black rug in Advanced Magic, too. I realized I shared all my classes with Percival, being a fellow magic user, and his absence made the air in each class heavy. No one spoke much and Wendy, who I also shared all my classes with, seemed to withdraw inside herself.

  Most of all, Hades's warning hung.

  And near the end of the day, in Career Exploration, Wendy leaned close to me from the adjacent desk.

  "We need to talk to Hades about Percival."

  I gulped. That thought had been getting bigger and bigger all day. Percival's judgment, when he finally reached that temple we'd seen near the shore of the river, would offer us a clue as to what he'd been doing. And I couldn't think of any other way to get that information except for venturing back into the Underworld. Even if we could do that, we'd never get through that temple without being dead ourselves.

  "I wonder if Natalia could help," I said, determined to see her after classes. I hadn't talked to her much this year since our paths just didn't cross, and since she'd graduated from Olympian, she lived off campus now.

  "You can ask her," Wendy said. "Good luck. Oracles can be vague."

  "No kidding. I asked her about what you were up to once. The vision she gave me showed you and me with weapons in a big room, and we took months to figure out I saw you and me fighting the Lower Order and not each other."

  She grinned. "Glad you trust me with info now."

  Yeah, I no longer had fear in telling Wendy the truth. Serena glanced at us, but I knew Wendy wouldn't go to her with the info.

  Once class let out, we found Ronin standing on the trail, ri
ght outside the Career Exploration building, and we waited for Maria and Mikey to join us. The walk to the Sorting Temple, where Natalia still worked after hours, would take us off campus. You had to cut through the woods to get there, and as we walked, Wendy brought up a good point.

  "Maybe Percival was headed there for something?"

  "It's possible," Mikey said. "We won't know for a while. Or at all."

  Wendy didn't speak much. I kept my hand linked with Ronin's. He'd brought his sword with him, and I spotted Mikey's dagger on his belt. Without my weapon, I felt naked, even if the missing one was a fake. The low groan still lingered in my head, and the surrounding cold just brought it out a bit more as we walked. This was with the dose of asphodel that morning, too.

  Thankfully, nothing happened during the walk through the woods. It turned out the trail was well-used, covered in icy footprints from other students seeking counsel. Maybe some kids wanted to know how much longer they had until they turned into monsters. The luckier ones from Olympian might want to know what kind of great jobs they could get or who they could date. I didn't voice this. I wondered if Maria had taken this trail alone to ask Natalia how much longer she had and how much time the asphodel had bought her.

  Another question burned. How long did we have until our marks faded? I held up my arm and rolled down my coat sleeve. The green hand was still there, but it had faded the tiniest bit more, hadn't it?

  "I've been wondering about that too," Ronin said. He whispered, "Fade faster."

  The sorting temple was light inside, with open doors that let out a bit of heat and candlelight. Despite the cold outside and the lack of decent heat, Natalia still wore her lavender robe. She rubbed the bags under her eyes as we entered. "You want to know what happened to Percival. Another student just left after asking that question."

  "Serena." Wendy nodded.

  "Not a shock," Ronin said. "I'm glad we didn't run into her."

  Natalia shook her head. "I can't look into the world of the dead. My vision stops there. I'm sorry. Even when I look into the world of the living, the power of the gods can be...selective and tricky."

  "Could I help?" Wendy asked.

  Natalia narrowed her eyes at Wendy. "I don't think you can. Your Magical Meditation classes didn't show that you had any ability to have visions."

  "Well, I'm no help there either," Maria said. "I don't even have magic. Giselle might be able to take your power for a bit, Natalia, but that's all."

  Ronin let go of me and I stepped away. "I, um, really don't want to deal with blood and stuff." I eyed the fountain on the far end of the room, where I'd seen the swirling void for the second time. Where Prometheus marked me and angered Zeus. I shuddered.

  Natalia offered a faint smile. "I can help you see your future, but I'm scared I just might confuse you again. And I don't have a sacrifice." She motioned to an empty rabbit cage on the other side of the room, where (thankfully) Natalia just kept dead specimens who didn't have to worry about getting cut open.

  My heart raced at the thought. I was too close to the end to want to see it. There was less time to change the outcome now. And I hadn't changed the outcome of the last vision Natalia conjured up for me. "I'm good."

  * * * * *

  Hades was once again at breakfast the next morning, ready to make another announcement. Ronin came in and sat with me despite the fact that he wasn't supposed to be there, but the god didn't stop him. Hades kept trying to make sense of a smart phone, scrolling through it with his brows burrowed in frustration, before Max tapped on his arm and said something to him. The air rippled with dread as the god spoke back in a whisper and slammed the phone down on his podium. He was not adjusting to the modern world well.

  "I'm surprised you're not in trouble yet," I said to Ronin.

  "Zeus is being lenient on me," Ronin said. "He'll talk to my teachers about my grades. I know I'm missing some assignments from being over here, but he says he's working it out."

  "What a change in heart." Could his brother be capable of the same?

  No way.

  "I wonder what he's saying this morning," Mikey said. "What if he announces something every morning?"

  The dining hall quieted. Hades cleared his throat and the sound washed over the whole room. "Attention, students," he said without joy. "I have placed my own protective barrier around Cursed Academy, as Prometheus's is fading." With those words, he swept his stare over all four tables. When he lingered on me and Ronin, Hades narrowed his eyes. "However, unlike Prometheus's and Zeus's barriers, mine prevents students and teachers from leaving without my permission."

  Gasps echoed through the dining hall. I sucked in my own lungful of air and held it as I eyed the dark god.

  "What?" Wendy gasped, looking at me.

  Max whispered something in the god's ear, which was brave. Celestus shifted leg to leg on the stage. Even Mrs. Allenson frowned. The teachers hated this just as much as the students. Some of them had to go back and forth between Olympian and Cursed.

  "I must ensure that we lose no more students. Zeus is very concerned about the Lower Order waiting just outside the borders of both schools," he continued, and not without a growling undertone. "Upon investigation, it was found that Percival may have attempted to join the Lower Order, as it was a full moon when he was found dead. And it is common knowledge that the Lower Order recruits during the full moon."

  This didn't make sense. Zeus didn't want me to stay here. But he also didn't want people joining the Lower Order. I looked to Ronin and the same questions burned in his gaze.

  "If you want to leave campus, you must first talk to me," Hades said. "I will offer passes if I see fit. And that will be rare." And as he finished, he flicked his glare to me.

  Chapter Six

  "He knows I'm trying to avoid him," I said to Ronin as he walked me to Divine History 3.

  "No kidding," Ronin said. "Well, I believe the part about Zeus wanting more protection around both schools, but he could have done that himself. Why make Hades add his own barrier?"

  "Because Zeus doesn't want to be the bad guy?" Wendy asked. "Think about it. Like you, Ronin, Zeus wants to be the cool one. Hades is already maligned, so why not make him be the fun killer?"

  The real reason for Hades's barrier was apparent. He'd seen that I sneaked over to Olympian Academy. He wanted me to go dark for the Lower Order, and then what? This was his way of doing it and all he had to do was tell himself he'd put up that barrier for other reasons.

  He was also lovesick after having to leave his wife.

  "I see your point," I said to Wendy, mainly because I didn't want to think about the rest. "Ronin, will you sit in Divine History with us?"

  "Yes," he said without hesitation. As he spoke, he wrapped his fingers around the handle of his sword, which fizzled with electricity. Ronin would fight and die for me, but I knew it would also kill him to not be beside me while Hades was in charge.

  Mrs. Allenson didn't question Ronin sitting with me in the back of the room or the fact that he'd taken Percival's empty chair. Serena kept glaring at Ronin for taking it, but where else did he have to sit? Mrs. Allenson, at least, seemed to be understanding. Zeus must have spoken to her. After all, she also taught at Olympian.

  And sitting with Ronin helped to keep the low groan at bay. I held hands with him throughout class, but Mikey shifted in his chair as he watched us. What would happen if he and Cal couldn't be together through this? Hades wouldn't care that Cal held Mikey's own darkness back.

  Wendy just stayed quiet, keeping low in her chair. Serena whispered something to Tiffany and sneaked a glance back at her. Hades was ruining things around here. And Wendy was his descendant. Life was about to get harder for her unless we found a way out.

  It wasn't as if Hades would protect her. Not after what had happened.

  Serena wasn't the only glare Wendy got once we left class. Word had spread, without her help, among the second and first years that she was a descendant of Hades, and the sword
she wore on her hip all the time gave it away, too. Once we had reached the dining hall for dinner, Wendy grabbed her green robe and shifted the fabric so that it rested over the handle of the blade, and therefore the skulls. But that didn't stop the stares.

  "She knows," Ronin whispered in my ear.

  "I'm sorry," Mikey said, sitting down beside us.

  "It's fine," Wendy said, in a tone that said that no, it wasn't. She had just sunk to the bottom of the social ladder within hours when she was used to being at the top. "We all know how human nature--and monster nature--works."

  Yes. Blame anyone even remotely related to your tormenter, especially if you can't fight your tormentor. I'd been on the receiving end of that crap myself.

  Dinner was tense and full. Ronin had stayed with me all day, thankfully, and Hades didn't return. People kept eyeing Wendy and she shrunk into her seat. Even Tiffany, who was normally agreeable, kept whispering something to another third year girl, Candi, who I hadn't spoken to much.

  "We should go," Maria said. "And we still need to figure out what happened to Percival, exactly."

  "He got mauled by werewolves," Wendy said. "Percival wouldn't have just gone off to join the Lower Order after what happened. He knew what would happen if he tried to back out. Something's not right."

  I hated to say this. "Percival kind of wanted to join during our first year, right?" I kept my voice down. Our year had shrunk by a third since I started here, but there were still people here I didn't want hearing this conversation. Even Tiffany, who I'd been on good terms with, seemed to be giving us the stink eye for hanging out with Wendy.

  "I don't know for sure," Wendy said. "He went along with Duncan, but maybe he was just being a typical macho guy, you know?"

  "Hey," Ronin said, wrapping his arm around me.

  Wendy rolled her eyes as if asking if we could just get a room. "I don't know. Pecival was hard to read. And after Serena spied on us, he kind of went off on his own. Like he was done with the bullshit."

  Maria shifted. "Wendy, we'll find out. But I doubt the Olympian Guard will let us go to the crime scene."