The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 17

17

I placed the silver key on my palm and like a compass, it spun around until it found the right direction.

“I bet that’s not North,” I muttered to Hyde, drawing comfort from having him so close to me. “What do you think?”

He looked at me, his red eyes vibrant and dark at the same time.

“You’re right. Let’s risk it.”

The Veil was eerily quiet, even more so now I was completely on my own. No teacher to guide me, no friend to bind me, nobody to catch me if it went wrong. I didn’t even get to keep my wings. That was a bit of a bummer.

I knew the rumours about the Veil. I knew what was waiting for me on the other end. And the answer was nothing. There was no other side, not for Wind Children. It was either retirement in Valhalla or a last ride on the wings of the wind. And without a key to the

Gates, or even an inkling where they were, it wasn’t hard to know which would be my fate if I failed.

Tentatively, I ventured further into the nothingness of the Veil. With every step, the curtain of smoke opened in front of me and closed behind me, swallowing me in its eternal mouth. If Professor Rada hadn’t taken me here, I’d have thought this was the non-existence of death.

“We’re not scared, are we?” I said to Hyde, giving him a little scratch between his ears. He looked up at me with his big eyes and yipped in response. Despite his captivity, he didn’t seem to have lost his playful nature. “You’re a good boy.”

He wagged his tail happily and ran a circle around my legs. “Awrr.”

“You’re so cute.” I crouched down and pressed a kiss on his head. “One day, we’re going to go to Valhalla. We’re going to be the best Valkyrie team Odin has ever seen. Yes, we are. Yes, we are.”

“Awrooo?” Hyde sat down and tilted his head to the side, somehow managing to look curious.

“Yes?” I scratched him under his chin, earning a satisfied whimper. His red eyes closed into satisfied slits as he relaxed into me.

He waved his paw. “Awrrr.”

“What is it?” I looked over my shoulder, trying to figure out what my wolf was looking at.

My breath stocked, my heart stopped. It couldn’t be...

A moment ago, there was nothing but the passive smoke of the Veil. Now, thick gold doors dominated the empty space. Ornate with heavy curls and endless rows of keyholes in various shapes and sizes, there was no doubt in my mind that I was looking at the one thing I always desired to visit most. The gates of Valhalla.

“s**t…”

I rose to my feet, drawn to the gates like a magnet. Even if I wanted to resist, I couldn’t have. There was just nothing like it.

My heels clicked on the stone steps as I ascended up to the thick doors. Two pillars with old runes decorated the sides and joined together in an impressive arch, just to frame the giant keyhole at the top. Odin’s lock.

“Wow…” I brushed my hand along the cool metal of the doors, struck in awe by the magnificence of the gates. They were doors, more than gates, but it didn’t matter. It was everything I always hoped they would be and so much more.

My fingers traced the carvings and lines within the door. They reminded me of something, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. They just looked really familiar…

A soft click startled me and out of nowhere, the door changed. Like gears, the metal plates and locks moved to make an entire new pattern of carvings and features.

One of the plates slid open to reveal a simple keyhole, one that was calling for me.

Could it be…

With trembling hands, I reached for the silver key Var gave me and held it up. It looked too small, but then… maybe that was how it worked?

Terrified, with shaking hands and goosebumps on my arms, I slipped the small key into the presented lock. Would it work? Would it open that gates and bring me to Valhalla?

The door clicked and the sound of turning gears brought hope to my heart. Could it be…

With a loud slam, the opening clicked shut and the presented keyhole disappeared. The doors huffed and pattern of locks changed once again.

So that was a no then. Of course, not. Var wouldn’t give me his key to Valhalla, that was just ridiculous. Nobody would give their key away. I was an i***t for just hoping to get into Valhalla like that. That wasn’t how it worked. How any of it worked.

Odin measured our worth by our achievements and our courage. Not luck, or convenience, or anything like that. I’d only be allowed to enter Valhalla if I deserved it. Just like the warriors I would bring him.

“I’ll be back,” I whispered to the gates, leaving them with a longing look. For now, I had other tasks to complete. But one day, I would return with my own key and earn my place by Odin’s side.

“Let’s go, Hyde.”

He growled happily and chased after me. His ears flopped as he hopped down the stone stairway until we were back in the non-descript part of the Veil. The ground didn’t really have a colour or a material, which only added to the sombre feel of it.

I palmed the silver key again and let it spin. Decidedly, it landed on a direction leading away from the gates and deeper into the smoke.

I tore myself away from the entrance to Valhalla and forced myself to follow wherever Var’s key would lead me. If it didn’t bring me to the wolves and he tricked me, there would be hell to pay.

“Awrr.” Hyde didn’t seem bothered as he jumped and circled my legs. He clearly wasn’t a mature wolf yet, but that was what made him so adorable. He barked and growled, clearly mimicking the behaviour of his mother, but all his fluff made him look so harmless. Although the bite mark on my hand reminded me he wasn’t so harmless as he seemed.

A smile tugged on my lips. “Let’s find your brothers and sisters, huh?”

“Awr!”

I wasn’t sure how far or long we travelled through the Veil, but the dark smoke thinned and a new scene unfolded in front of me.

Thin staves, metal cages, and long chains. The dusk wolves!

I hurried forward, anger welling up within me. How cruel of Var to lock them up like that.

Hyde raced through my legs and collided into one of the cages, embraced by wagging tails and enthusiastic licks. A big wolf howled hauntingly as it tried to dig through the metal bottom of her cage.

That must be his family.

“Here, let me help.” I grabbed hold of the padlock, but changed my mind at the last moment. “Wait.”

How was I going to bring all those wolves back to the Academy? If I just opened the cages, they’d race out. Maybe even attack me. How many wolves where here?

Fifteen? Twenty?

Three cages with small and young pups, all around the same age as Hyde. They had to be the ones that were stolen from other schools. Two cages with a single, mature wolf in each. One I recognised as the beast that Flavia and I encountered in our trip to the Veil. The other was Grey, Hyde’s mother and Professor Brynhild’s wolf.

She was loyal to her. Maybe she could help me?

“Hey, girl.” I crouched down, just far enough that she couldn’t hurt me, and held out my hands. “I’m sorry I don’t have any meat, but I mean well.”

Her red eyes flashed menacingly and she exposed her sharp fangs. The ones that could kill me with one quick bite. She snarled, emphasising just how dangerous her teeth looked.

“Don’t attack me. I know Professor Brynhild.”

At the name of her owner, Grey’s ears tweaked up. Her lips fell back over her elongated teeth and she shot me a curious look.

“I’ll take you to her, I promise. But I need your help. I’d ask Hyde’s, but… ” I looked at the young pup, wandering aimlessly between the cages and getting licks and gentle yips from all the other wolves. “Yes, I need your help. Do you understand me?”

Grey blinked slowly, no longer growling or threatening me.

“I’m going to let you out now.” I waved the silver key to demonstrate and slowly, shuffled towards the lock of her cage. She growled lowly, but didn’t make any attempts to attack me.

The key matched the silver lock on the cage and with a click, the shank of the padlock retracted. Faster than the wind, the door catapulted open and a heavy body knocked me to the ground.

Big paws pinned me down and Grey’s big head hovered above mine. From here, her teeth looked even sharper. Her hot breath clashed on my skin, a reminder I was at her mercy.

“I’m trying to help. You have to believe me.” I stared back in her eyes, hoping she remembered me from the imprinting practice in the Barn. “I’ll bring you to Brynhild. All of you. But I need help with the younglings.”

The dusk wolf stared at me, her glare penetrating my soul. She bared her fangs and for a moment, I was sure this was the end.

But then the weight shifted and Grey let me sit back up. She had a cautious look in her eyes, but she was no longer threatening me. Did that mean she understood? That she was going to help?

Careful, without losing eye contact, I stood back up. My heart was racing and pounding in my ears, but I had to trust Grey knew I had good intentions. Slowly, I tiptoed to the second cage. The beast inside growled, his paw leaking with blood. He was hurt a lot worse than any of the others and I wouldn’t want to get between him and his escape. He’d know how to find his way back to his owner.

Instead of making the same mistake as with Grey, I stood next to the cage and kept the gate free for him to run out. As soon as the lock clicked open, he charged out. Blood framed his hastened exit, splattering around the Veil and disappearing as soon as it hit the smoke.

One wolf down, a whole bunch of puppies to go.

“Hyde, come here.”

With his wobbly ears, he yipped a goodbye to his friends and cascaded into my legs. He looked up, his tongue hanging from his mouth. “Awrr?”

“Be a good boy and stay.”

“Awrr.”

I shot a last look at Grey, confirming that she was ready to help control the gang of wolf pups. I didn’t want to black-out. Again.

“Ready?”

Grey flicked one of her ears, which might not have meant anything, but I would take that as my answer.

Showtime.