The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 12

12

“Keep digging!” Flavia instructed, sinking her hands deep into the soil.

The longer it took, the less likely it was that we’d be able to save Astrid.

Without wasting any second, I dug into the fresh earth and pushed as much to the side without disturbing the actual structure of the mountain.

A sleepy voice sounded behind us. “What was that noise?”

“Sim!” Flavia shouted. “Come help us!”

“Why are you two digging through the rubble? That’s really dangerous,” he grumbled sleepily. His hair was standing in all directions and he wasn’t even wearing his cloak.

I glared at him. “We’re not. Astrid did and now she’s buried under it.”

“What?”

“You heard her. Help dig,” the blonde third-year commanded, making space so Sim could join us in our time-sensitive task.

The earth was cold and damp and it was freezing my hands, but I couldn’t stop. Not now. I might hate Astrid, but she was a person. She was my kin and I wasn’t going to let her die. Not here, not again. I’d already caused and seen too much death, I wasn’t going to lose another one.

“Come on!” I growled, slogging through the earth. But the more we dug, the more the entire hill sank down and filled the bunker with soil.

A fourth voice came from behind me. “Hello? Ylva?”

“Ryoko! Come help.”

The Dragon walked towards us, her bare feet thudding softly on the steel grates. “What’s going on?”

“We’re trying to free Astrid. She collapsed the ceiling, but she got under it,” I explained quickly. “Please help.”

“Of course.” She kneeled down and shoved her slender hands deep into the earth. The dark soil was a stark contrast to her pale skin, just like it was with mine. But neither of us cared. This was too important.

But the more we dug, the more earth slid down and covered the steel grates. We were trying to help Astrid, but we were making it so much worse. But we couldn’t just do nothing...

“It’s not budging,” Flavia growled, the strain audible in her voice. “Come on!”

“Move aside,” Sim ordered, pulling us away.

I yanked myself out of his grip. “What are you doing? I’m trying to help her!”

“So am I. I’ll use Elf magic, but you need to step back. Now.”

I exchanged a cautious look with Flavia, who after a moment of hesitation, nodded.

If she trusted Sim, that was good enough for me.

All three of us stepped back as the Reaper stepped forward. He shoved his hands into the earth, his muscles tensing under his shirt.

“Blessed Earth, mother of mine.”

With every word, magic filled the bunker. The earth around his wrists started shaking until it pulled away, opening a space in the rubble. The tear was just big enough to reveal Astrid’s body.

“Quick, pull her out!” Sweat pooled on Sim’s forehead and his entire body quivered from the strain.

Flavia and I grabbed a wrist and pulled her from underneath the rubble, just fast enough before Sim’s magic broke and both him and the earth collapsed.

“Are you okay?” The other third-year sank down next to him, helping him up.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he groaned, but the lines of stress strained into his features betrayed the price of his magic. And yet, he’d done it anyway without even thinking twice, just like when he saved me from Ryuga.

As Flavia tended to the Elf, I crouched down next to Astrid. She wasn’t moving and her breathing was shallow at best. She needed medical attention now.

Helplessly, I looked at Ryoko. I wanted to do something, but I didn’t know how. I had no experience or affinity with healing. Those were qualities usually reserved for male Wind Children or other races, but I didn’t have a restorative bone in my body.

My voice came out squeakier than expected. “What do we do?”

“I don’t know…” Ryoko stared at the motionless girl, looking just as clueless as I felt.

I turned to the blonde third-year. I hated that I had to rely so much on her, but I was seriously out of my depth. I came to the Academy to learn and the teachers hadn’t really kept their end of the bargain.

Satisfied that Sim was okay, Flavia moved over to Astrid and pressed her ear down on her chest. “Everyone, be quiet.”

I held my breath, my chest tight with anticipation for good news. I didn’t want someone else to die, certainly not someone I’d known for almost my entire life.

A worried look stretched across Flavia’s face. “When everything collapsed on her, she must’ve used her magic to protect herself.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Yes and no. I don’t think she’s broken anything, but an excessive use of magic can shut the body down. But without her magic...”

I waited for Flavia to finish her sentence, but when she didn’t, I knew what that meant. “She’ll die?”

The third-year gulped audibly. “We’re not going to let that happen.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” I shot a look at Sim, but he was out for the count. He could barely sit up straight. His magic had taken a heavy toll.

He’d done his part, now it was up to us to do the rest.

Flavia gathered her breath, the worry carved into her face. “There’s a first aid kit in the storage room. It’s in a red box. Ylva, you go get that. Ryoko, I need alcohol. Lots of it.”

It took a moment before I managed to put myself in motion, but once I did, I ran my legs from under my body. I slipped just before I reached the room, but I managed to catch myself.

The light took a second to flick on, but I didn’t need it. The red case was easy to spot and with my heart thundering in my chest, I raced back to the others.

“Got it,” I panted, sinking down on my knees.

From the kitchen, Ryoko returned with two bottles of vodka. “What now?”

Flavia gestured to her. “Hand me the booze.”

“Ah, is that to numb Astrid’s pain?” I asked.

“Nope.” She popped the cap off and took a long swig. “It’s for me.”

That wasn’t a good sign. Whatever we were doing next was going to be risky.

The blonde third-year pushed the bottle back. “Let’s get started.”

Ryoko looked at me, the doubt clear in her eyes. “But what are we doing exactly?”

“A bleeding. It’s an old Wind Child ritual that should help her regulate her magic.”

The hair on my arms stood up. I had heard about that, but it was not often performed anymore. People stopped doing them because it had so many side effects.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” I asked, trying to keep the worry out of my voice. I didn’t want to question Flavia, but a bleeding…

“I don’t… But we have no other option. If we don’t get her stabilised within the next ten minutes…” She looked over her shoulder at the corpse of Master Ryuga. “We’ll have two families to notify.”

I gulped, trying to clear the lump in my throat, but it didn’t go away. This was all my fault and I was responsible for this, all of this. There was no way I could make it up to the dead teacher, but there was still a chance to save Astrid and to make this right.

Worry and fear fought in my heart for domination, but I couldn’t let either of them win. If there was ever a time to be fearless, it was now.

With a nod, I strengthened my resolve. “What do you need from me?”