The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 11

11

“Have some more coffee.”

The liquid splashed into my cup and I accepted it with half a smile. I was still processing everything she just told me. Part of me didn’t even believe her. She could be wrong. She could be fooling me. It could all be a practical joke.

But another part of me, the rational part of me, knew this was the truth. It all fit. How I survived when I broke the connection with Professor Rada in my first Veil session. How I ended up at Var’s hut after touching his silver chain. All the dots connected to form the bigger picture. A Shadow Walker.

“We can’t do anything until Headmistress MacKinnon arrives.” Professor Brynhild took a sip from her own beverage, a little calmer after her seventh cup of tea.

“But you’re sure I’m not going to die?”

She nodded. “Yes, you’re going to be fine.”

“Then why can’t I tell anyone about this?”

“Bàs is a special kind of catzel, and he’s very rare. His breed can predict elemental death.”

“So why did he bite me?”

“To mark you to warn his master. Most shadow animals can sense what you are. They know Shadow Walkers bring doom with them.” She pointed at my face. “This cursed mark is a warning that you’re trouble. That you bring death with you.”

I picked at the table cloth. “Great. Just what I needed.”

“We need the headmistress so she can make Bàs undo the mark. Only then will it disappear. And after that, you better steer clear of catzels or this will happen again.”

“So what happens in seventeen hours?”

“Someone will die.”

“What? That’s oddly specific.” I pushed my cup of coffee away. “How does Wagner even know?”

“It’s in the mark. In seventeen hours, someone you know, will die.”

Now that was terrifying. Why did this have to happen to me?

I swallowed a lump in my throat as I fingered the lacy holes of the tablecloth. “Do we know who?”

“No. Could be one of your friends, could be someone you saw in the hall, could be me.” Brynhild drummed her long fingers on the table. “It’s someone in the vicinity. It always is. I should start making preparations.”

Preparations… For a funeral of someone in the school. Maybe even for herself.

What if it was one of my friends? Flavia couldn’t die. I needed her, she was my friend. Or Aellyn. As much as I thought the Wood Elf was odd, I liked her. Or gods forbid… Ryoko.

I knew her and that put her at risk. Put them all at risk.

Why me? Why did I have to be a Shadow Walker? I didn’t want to be. I never wanted to be special. I wasn’t special.

Maybe this was all a mistake. Yeah, that could be. If they were so rare, there was no way I was one. There had to be other explanations for why I survived the Veil.

I didn’t want my friends to die, or anyone else, for that matter. I just wanted all this to stop so I could be a normal student living a regular college life. How could I make this stop?

“Professor Brynhild?” I smoothed out the white table cloth, trying to stop my hands from shaking. “What if I leave? Go as far away from here? Would that stop this person from dying?”

“Unfortunately, no. You’re not the cause of their death, Ylva. You’re just the messenger.”

“Well, people shoot the messenger,” I muttered, shoving my hands under my legs to keep them still.

Brynhild’s forehead wrinkled. “That they do. Most stories tell the wretched tale of the cursed mark. When a Shadow Walker enters a peaceful village, it’s never long before the elementals are all dead. Before they’ve all killed each other.”

“Why?”

“To protect their loved ones. For a long time, many believed they could trick death by sacrificing someone in the allotted time. Many would bring out the axes and scythes to make their annoying neighbour or mother-in-law a head shorter. But when multiple people think this way… It never ends well.”

My hands grew clammy. “But does it work?”

“Some say it does. Others say it doesn’t. There’s not enough known to be sure.” She stirred another spoon of sugar into her cup of tea. “What the myths fail to mention is that Shadow Walkers aren’t inherently evil. They just bring out the worst in the people around them. Well, not them, specifically. It’s the cursed mark.”

I touched my forehead. “This?”

“Yes. The presence of the mark turns people crazy. Once they know someone is going to die, everyone starts tying up loose ends. It changes the course of fate and it starts a dangerous chain of events. No one must see it.”

I gulped loudly. “But when the headmistress returns, she can erase it? And then everything will go back to normal?”

“Hopefully, yes.”

“But someone will still die, someone I know?”

She nodded. “Yes, that is inevitable.”

I sank back in my chair and the conversation died. I had too much on my mind.

Between the gentle crackling of the fire in the hearth and the occasional metal clinking of her spoon, we sat in silence. She seemed lost in thought, which was uncharacteristic for the stern woman.

At least it gave me a good opportunity to look at her. Her proud nose, the wrinkles under her eyes, the markings down her neck. She was elegant and regal in her age, and she could be classified as beautiful if she ever smiled. She just didn’t seem to do much of that.

I picked at the underside of the tablecloth again. There were some loose threads that were great to fidget with.

Who was going to die? Why? Most elementals chose when their time had come. The only real death we struggled with was murder. But then, could this mark predict that? How could it know someone was going to kill? Those things, they weren’t set in stone, were they? Surely not seventeen hours in advance?

A sudden knock pulled me from my thoughts and startled both me and my professor. She shot me a look and gestured to my head. “Cover up.”

I nodded and pulled the bandages down. That ought to do it.

Satisfied that I was covered up, Brynhild crossed to the entry hall and cracked the door open.

From where I sat, I couldn’t see who it was. The two exchanged a whispered conversation in hushed tones, clearly not wanting me to hear.

What were they discussing? Were they planning something? Something that wasn’t good for me?

My eyes narrowed. What if my teacher was lying to me? What if she did think I was a harbinger of evil? Maybe they were planning on disposing of me, which obviously, they couldn’t discuss in my face. Maybe they wanted to use me for the war they hadn’t told us was going on.

No, they wouldn’t. Even if I didn’t know her well, I trusted professor Brynhild. She reminded me of my aunt. She was a proud Wind Child, a strong Valkyrie. I just had to have a little faith.

“Ylva, come here.”

My professor motioned me to come and cautiously, I walked towards her. She opened the door wider and a thin figure stepped inside her quarters.

“Doctor Wagner?” I voiced, surprised to see him here. He didn’t look like he cared much about the curse earlier.

He gave me a quick nod and returned his attention to Brynhild. “I’ve brought the midnight clover essence.”

“Good.”

“Here, be careful. This is all I got.”

I frowned and pointed at his hand. “What’s that for?”

Wagner held up a small vial with dark blue liquid. “To stop your nightmares.”

“I don’t have nightmares.”

“Not yet, but you will.” He gave the potion to professor Brynhild and nodded. “Administer them every four hours while she’s asleep.”

“Will do. Notify the headmistress.”

“I will.” Without a greeting or a second glance, Wagner strode away and pulled the door shut behind him.

For a moment, my teacher didn’t speak. She just studied the little vial and sighed heavily. “Alright. I guess we’re doing this. You can stay in the spare room.”

“I have to stay here?”

Brynhild nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

“I don’t want to,” I tried, earning a scolding glare from my professor.

“You have no choice. I can’t let you wander around on campus until Thea— the headmistress is back. Shadow magic like yours is rare, powerful. Valuable. If this became general knowledge, people from far and wide will come to steal it. Mark my words. You’d be hunted like a deer and killed without a moment’s hesitation.” She ran a hand through her hair and smoothed out her robes. “I can’t let that happen. You’ll stay here. End of discussion.”

Annoyance bubbled in my gut. Surely, she was exaggerating to make a point. Why would anyone want to be the harbinger of doom and death like that? How would they even steal it? It wasn’t like I carried it in my purse.

I should’ve left when I had the chance. I needed to get to the forest to keep my promises to Var. Otherwise, Hyde and the dusk wolves would suffer. I couldn’t risk that. They were too important.

At this rate, I didn’t even have time to talk to Flavia and Ryoko, but I was sure they’d understand. Var wouldn’t. And even if it was terrible that someone would die, if I understood my teacher right, I didn’t have much to do with it. So why did I have to stay locked up and risk the wellbeing of the wolves?

After all, Var had Brynhild’s dusk wolf, too. If she knew I was trying to save Grey, she might feel different. But her feelings wouldn’t stop her from her duty. I knew that.

So how was I getting out of here? Dash for the door and hope I could outrun her?

No, that seemed too risky. There was no way I’d outperform Brynhild. I could hear the magic raging through her veins and whispers in her heart. She was powerful, way more than me. If she caught wind of my escape, she’d tie me down and ruin everything.

That only left me with one choice. A scheme.