Cursed Academy (Year Four)

by Holly Hook

  Yes. He wanted me to turn. No one seemed to notice us. The monsters and other fighters were embroiled with each other, so much that they didn't know to fight the two main enemies. Even Alonso, behind Zeus, shot orange magic at a centaur brandishing a sword. Divide and conquer had been the gods' plan. If all of them could stop, then--

  "Giselle!"

  A black-robed figure with blue-tinted skin bolted up the stairwell and crashed into Zeus. The surprised god fell back from the force of Mikey's collision. A small dagger flashed. Sharp teeth did as well.

  He had joined the fight.

  And Zeus dropped my dagger.

  Diving, I seized it off the floor and whirled on Hera. The goddess turned her nasty gaze to me as I lifted the weapon, and made a second small void burst to life before her. Her eyes widened as both openings reached out to one another with purplish-black tendrils and joined.

  And then a third void, out of my control, began to open over the meeting table.

  And there were so many fighters here.

  The goddess backed off, eyes widening.

  And so did I. A new horror shook my knees and sucked the strength from my body. Bolting down the stairwell, the air began to whine as shouts and screams of terror rose from the crowd. Everyone knew what the void meant.

  "Retreat!" Max shouted, raising his sword. "The opening!"

  Some of the Lower Order thundered down the steps first. So did Ted, still in his lion form. And Ronin was still at the bottom, sword now on the ground beside him, and covering his head with his arms as if he were taking shelter from a storm. Hera's lavender magic spun around him like a ball, trying to close in, and sweat covered Ronin's exposed skin as he trembled, lightning bolts dancing around him, expending all his strength in keeping the curse off. I whirled, dagger in hand, as Hera continued to put her attention on the growing void near the meeting table. A single chair slid away from its spot and closer to the growing maw. It was the size of a basketball...then a small beach ball...would it ever stop growing?

  Monsters and god descendants parted around me as they ran down the steps, bolting across the marble. Magic snuffed out. It was all panic. No one was fighting anymore.

  And Mikey was still fighting Zeus. He glared at the god with those black eyes, those angry, hateful eyes, and Zeus swayed on his feet the slightest but blinked off the influence. A god wouldn't be easy to subdue, but with Mikey's help--

  "Giselle!" Ronin shouted, still trapped in the magic. "Get out of here!"

  I couldn't leave either of them, even as the meeting room cleared out.

  I waved my dagger at the magic bubble around Ronin. A third void opened beside him, sucking in the magic. Hera's energy formed genie-like smoke and spiraled into the black hole. Ronin rolled away from it, exhausted.

  But the third small void sent out energy runners, like thin, whipping roots, until it met the growing, center void now floating above the meeting table.

  And its growth sped up to the size of a minivan within a second. Hera screamed, grabbing a chair as the surrounding pillars cracked, but the chair rose, goddess in tow, and spiraled into the nothingness.

  She screeched, a rage-filled sound that hurt my head, as she flew into oblivion. The world flashed in deathly purple for a moment.

  And then she was gone.

  The air seemed to dull as the hole slowly continued to expand. The top of the table crumbled. Marble pieces turned to vapor and rose into the Chaos within. The air flashed with violet. My heart raced. I had no control over the process now.

  Mikey was at the top of the stairwell, and Zeus blinked again and seized his arm. Mikey slashed as his eyes opened in panic.

  And the two of them slowly slid towards the meeting table.

  Zeus looked at me. I saw madness in his eyes. His ego would not let me win without inflicting pain. And that pain would be Mikey.

  "Giselle!" Ronin shouted, joining me halfway up the stairwell.

  I had to make a decision. Mikey looked to us with horror. I read helplessness in those dark eyes. He dropped his dagger. With no hope of breaking free from Zeus, he was over. And Cal didn't even know he was here. I glanced to find no one else left on the stairwell. It was just me and Ronin.

  "Get him!" Ronin shouted, charging forward.

  The wind intensified. The void slowed in its growth, but didn't stop. The whole center of the table vaporized and rose. Another chair flew into the void. The world flashed in purple now, promising the end, but I ran closer, even as the wind grabbed at my robe and pulled. I wasn't immune to this chain reaction. And neither was Ronin.

  If we vanished, we'd do it together.

  Ronin raised his sword and slashed at the father he thought he wanted. The sword struck his arm hard enough to make golden blood fly. Mikey's eyes widened as the void's pull intensified.

  And Zeus let go.

  I knew what I had to do, could sense it. Taking my dagger, I didn't hesitate as the god turned his hate on me, lifting one hand for a strike.

  I stabbed him with all the force I could muster, right in his heart.

  Zeus's eyes widened as I let the darkness flow down my arm and into the dagger. I sensed the void opening in his chest as I pulled the dagger back, and the god stumbled back towards the table as another purplish tendril ripped from his back to join him with the growing maw in the center of the room.

  Ronin pulled Mikey away. "We need to go!"

  I backed away, dropping my dagger, as the wind turned to a hurricane.

  The sky god screamed. Lightning lashed around the darkening temple as we ran down the steps. I put my hand on Mikey's back, leaving my weapon behind, pushing him to the bottom of the stairwell as Ronin maintained his grip on his other arm. The wind turned to a roar, and I had to grasp the marble pillar in front of me with my free hand to pull myself and the others forward. The sky blue of the outside waited, but the low groan of the still-growing maw behind me reached my ears. The temple trembled. The floor undulated as Mikey screamed.

  And I dared to look back.

  A solid wall of nothingness and swirling darkness blacker than black rushed towards us. The reaction was out of control. Zeus was long gone and so was the meeting room. Now the void itself had grown so large it didn't look like a sphere anymore, but a wall. I screamed as it rushed forward to claim me, to pull me back into where I'd come from.

  We burst from the front of the temple and ran down the mountain steps. Clouds overhead changed direction to head into the maw. The groan invaded my head, worse than it ever had, and the opening back into the regular world waited so far below. On the other side of the rippling wall, Alonso waited with confused, scared fighters from both sides, holding the bowl of glowing golden liquid. He tilted it, ready to spill its contents on the ground, and I knew that would close the portal. The work was done. He'd stop the void from leaking into the normal world even if it killed me.

  Weakness crept into my limbs. My senses dulled. Was I fading?

  But we couldn't stop.

  "Go!" Mikey shouted.

  I tightened my grasp on the back of his black robe and jumped down the last remaining steps. Gravity alone pulled me away from the hurricane wind now rushing upward, and the three of us fell through as Alonso tipped the bowl of godly blood into the soil.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Despite my escape, a sucking sound filled my head and I collapsed to the frozen ground of the woods, grasping at stiff pine needles and icy dirt. My body trembled and I wondered if this was what going dormant felt like. Olympus had fallen. And now it would take me with it along with every other immortal.

  Ronin grunted beside me as if in pain. The entire clearing filled with the sounds of thrashing, kicking, and groaning. Everyone was feeling the effects. The awful sucking sound intensified, becoming painful, until I feared I'd pass out. This was it. I'd never wake again.

  I hadn't realized I had my eyes shut. But I forced them open to see Ronin beside me, own eyes closed, gripping the ground as pink sunlight filtered thr
ough the trees. The moment dragged out. I reached out and grabbed Ronin's hand, and he took mine and squeezed.

  "Hold on, Giselle."

  His electricity was missing.

  I gasped at its absence even as the sucking sound in my own head began to fade. I took a breath to calm the ringing in my ears, inhaling the vapors of the woods. I moved my leg, bending it, taking in the cold of the ground as confused silence fell.

  Ronin blinked at me.

  The golden flecks were gone from his eyes.

  No longer did he carry the power of Zeus. His sword lay by his side, shining as always, but it now lacked that metallic zing.

  "Giselle," he said, rubbing his fingers over the back of my hand. "Take out your contacts. You feel different. You feel normal."

  "Huh?"

  Around us, people whispered and muttered but I couldn't make anything out. I had forgotten how dull the world sounded before I'd matured, and now I was getting a taste of that again. Slowly, I pushed myself into a kneeling position as Ronin did the same, shaking and shivering. We stared at each other. He blinked.

  And heart pounding, I took out one of my contacts, the brown ones that hid the purplish flecks in my eyes.

  Ronin's jaw dropped.

  "I think you're normal," he gasped, grabbing both my arms. "Normal. One hundred percent regular Giselle." Just to see, he curled his fingers into my arms and looked around at the other fighters as if in amazement. "I think we're all normal!"

  Dizziness overtook me and I swayed, even though Ronin was holding me up.

  Slowly, all around us, people stood.

  We were in the center of all the fighters, both loyal to the gods and not. When the void opened, everyone had fled. Everyone but the arrogant beings we had to kill. And now there wasn't a single monster among the two hundred or so people scattered around the clearing. I looked at a Lower Order woman who was pulling her hood down and lifting her robe to look at her bare, but separate legs. Her jaw dropped in amazement as tears formed in her eyes. Another Lower Order woman pointed to the man beside her and said something. All around, completely human faces looked at each other in shock. Even the former monsters in uniforms--the ones Zeus and Hera pulled in to fight for them--milled around, stunned, running their hands over their faces and studying their forms. A sense of awe had fallen over the clearing. No one would be fighting each other here anymore.

  Dominique had been right. Toppling Mount Olympus had taken all the ancient magic from the world. And restored everyone to their rightful forms.

  Ronin and I stood.

  "Mikey," I mouthed, remembering.

  He sat up against a tree nearby, close to where Alonso had poured out the bowl. A light emanated from the ground as the godly blood slowly absorbed into it, but it faded by the second. It was the last of the gods' magic.

  Mikey looked at it and up at me.

  His skin was normal. His eyes, back to the way they should be. "Um, where's Cal?" Relief gushed between his words.

  "He didn't see you enter the fight," Ronin said.

  "That was amazing, what you did," I said, suddenly aware of how small my voice sounded. Yes, I was back to just being Giselle, the way I had been before Ronin showed up at Colton Corners High School to claim me. "Why didn't I go dormant? I was never normal."

  "You know, you dropped your birthright weapon back in Olympus," Ronin said. "And it got destroyed. That might have helped. Or maybe it's because you came into existence after the Awakening, so it didn't apply to you when Olympus fell. Wow, that felt good to have a hand in." He flexed his biceps.

  "But Zeus--"

  "Family isn't always blood," Ronin said. "I'm glad he's gone. I'm free. And Hera. I owe you big time for destroying that bitch." He grabbed my cheeks and pulled me close, sealing his promise with a kiss.

  None of that divine electricity flowed this time, but a different one, one that was just Ronin, took its place. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him back, harder than I ever had, and the moment seemed to drag out despite our huge audience. A few people clapped. I never wanted to let go of Ronin. Not only had we saved all the monsters and the world, but we had saved ourselves, and in more ways than one.

  "Break it up, you two!" Max shouted.

  We did, laughing.

  And then a thought hit me. "Maria!"

  * * * * *

  Ronin, Mikey, Cal, Wendy, and I all ran back to Cursed Academy. Upon opening the front doors, we realized the green torches were out, leaving the entry hall very dark. It was cold inside, too, despite the heat running. The place felt different, almost sterile, but also less heavy. All the magic had left, and until now, I hadn't realized how much accumulated in this place. As we entered, I pulled out the vial of nectar from my pocket. It had turned into plain water.

  "Well, we don't need that anymore," I said, heart thumping. The basement had regular lighting, thankfully, and the light from below rose into the hall, providing the only illumination. Grasping the railing, I descended the steps.

  Maria was gone from her cot. The sheets were thrown off like she'd left in a hurry. That meant she was alive. But in what state?

  We found her in the dining hall, which was lit by the sunlight streaming in through the windows.

  Her, and Elliot.

  And I knew why she'd risen before we even got here. Her father had, of course, rushed back to check on her. The two were in a warm embrace, and Maria was sobbing into Elliot's chest. They whirled a bit, and I could see the truth: Elliot now had two eyes.

  Two eyes. I'd never seen him like that before. And now I could really see the family resemblance.

  "I'm sorry," Elliot said. "I should have been there."

  "I didn't care what you looked like," Maria choked. "I know it wasn't your fault. And when I was out...it was like a weird nightmare...the judges of the Underworld wouldn't let me pass, so I was wandering on the shore of the river..."

  "It's better now," he said, hugging her tighter.

  "I think we'd better leave them alone," Wendy said, closing the dining hall door.

  I agreed. Maria and her father needed time, even before she saw Ted. "I guess we should all pack?"

  The place turned into chaos right after, but the good kind. Not only did fighters make their way inside Cursed Academy to get warm and take advantage of hot food, but students slowly woke as well and wandered the halls, asking what was going on, and asking if they could call their parents, and asking where Prometheus was. The first and second years shook their heads and gathered in groups while the few fourth years who remained sat quietly near the front entrance on the same benches I'd used the night I arrived here. Lily was back to normal. Tiffany no longer had the spider marking on her forehead. And Serena sat there, sour. Celestus, hand in hand with Natalia, tried to talk to her, but she turned away.

  People would have to adjust.

  "I can't wait to confront my family," Wendy said. "Nobody's getting into Olympian Academy now." And she grinned.

  "If they're being difficult, stay with us," I said. "We'll help you get on your feet. And if Mikey and Cal are still going into music, they'll need help."

  Wendy leaned against the wall. "My parents are going to be so mad."

  "A lot of people who suddenly aren't super important anymore are going to be mad," I said. "Where are Cal and Mikey?"

  "They went off somewhere," Ronin said. He lifted his eyebrow and leaned close, lowering his voice to a whisper. "We'll probably only be here a few more days to pack and then go off and do what we want. You know, we haven't truly enjoyed your dorm in forever. This might be a good time to sneak off, now that everyone's okay. And we want to do it before the media gets here."

  He had a point. "My dorm still has a security system and a lock." I fingered my keycard and pulled Ronin in the direction of the girls' dorms, heart racing with excitement. We needed to celebrate. "Come on."

  * * * * *

  Making love to Ronin was no less amazing than it had been when we still had powers. So it tur
ned out even regular people could enjoy it as much as we had before. And that did nothing but give me hope for the future.

  When Ronin and I came down from my dorm an hour later, Virgeat and Max had taken to organizing the confused mob into the dining hall. A few people had taken it upon themselves to cook some lunch for everyone. Others walked around, tending to injuries with bandages, and even some of the healer girls from Olympian had showed up with regular first aid equipment. The barriers were gone.

  And so far, none of the Olympian kids had come to beat us up. Maybe it was because they didn't have the advantage anymore. And if word had spread that we'd defeated Mount Olympus, they likely didn't want to try beating the crap out of us.

  The confused media descended on us that afternoon--someone had no doubt called all the news stations--and Max and Celestus handled that crap, too. The next several days would be full of confusion, and maybe pain, and maybe even celebration. But Ronin lifted his eyebrows like he wanted to get out of the cramped dining hall and outside, even if it was blistering cold.

  And I followed him, leaving Maria and Elliot to catch up at the end of the fourth years' table. On the way, we passed Alonso, who offered us a curt nod as we passed. The man was taking the loss of Dominique very well. Or so he appeared.

  We stepped outside, where few were venturing, and walked slowly down the trail of now burnt-out torches.

  "We're out of here in a few days," Ronin said. "I wonder where we'll go."

  I slipped my hand into his. "Well, we don't have to move so fast, do we?"

  "Agree. We finally have all the time in the world, now that we're both regular mortals," he said. "It doesn't make sense, does it?"

  "It does."

  We stepped into the trees, which formed shadows against the stars. The sky was so open, so vast. The world without the gods was just as magical as it had been before.

  "We're free to pick our future now," Ronin said. Then he bowed his head as we neared the clearing where the immortals had made the biggest possible sacrifice. "I hope they rest well."