The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 10

10

“Oh. You’re awake,” a disappointed voice said.

My eyes shrieked open, my lids heavy as lead. Where was I?

“You were out for two hours and twelve minutes.”

Ah. The infirmary. And the figure looming over me had to be the enchanting doctor Wagner.

I pushed myself up on the bed. “Let me guess, a couple more hours and I wouldn’t have woken up?”

He seemed obsessed with keeping track of how long people were unconscious. While that sounded like the mark of a good doctor, he did it in a creepy way. As if he was counting the seconds until his patients drew their last breath. Now that wasn’t a very reassuring thought.

“Negative. The catzel curse isn’t necessarily deadly.”

“Reassuring. Wait, what curse? Don’t tell me I’m cursed.”

“You are.”

I banged my fists against my forehead, immediately regretting it as a sharp twang of pain shot through my head. “For f**k’s sake.”

The doctor demonstratively clicked a pen and stared intently at me. “What did you do to get cursed?”

“I don’t even know.”

“It’s very rare. I’ve never seen one up close.” He rummaged through the metal instruments on the side table and held up a scalpel. “But now I shall.”

“Woah, woah.” Quick as lightning, I jumped up from the bed and shuffled as far back as I could.

“I’ve made you uncomfortable.” Wagner’s voice deepened as he lowered the knife.

“A little. You can’t just go slicing into people.”

“What?” He looked from me to his hand. “Oh no, it wouldn’t hurt. I’d just make a small incision.”

Right. So my choices were being cursed with whatever or a strange doctor cutting me open with what he described as a ‘small’ incision.

I sat down on the bed. “I’ll pass.”

He looked disappointed as he put the blade down. “Shame.”

“So what’s this curse you’re talking about?”

“The one on your forehead.”

“Heh?” There was something on my head?

I had to see that.

I pushed through the cluttered infirmary to the sharded mirror on the wall. It was broken, but it still showed my pale reflection.

Short hair, vibrant blue eyes with dark bags of exhaustion. Everything looked normal, except for the two puncture marks on the side of my head and the black markings around it. They were elegant and curly, somehow reminding me of some of the celtic knots and ornaments I’d seen.

“It doesn’t hurt.” Gingerly, I pressed my fingers into the mark. I somehow expected it to burn or sting, but it didn’t. If it hadn’t been for the mirror, I’d never have noticed it.

“It looks remarkable.” Wagner handed me a stack of antiseptic wipes and gestured to my head. “Press.”

“You’re a strange doctor, you know that?” Following his advice, I dabbed the wet tissue on the puncture marks. Part of me hoped one of my classmates scribbled on my face when I was knocked unconscious. “It’s not coming off.”

Wagner squinted as he examined me. “Fascinating.”

“I’m glad it’s entertaining for you. That makes one of us.”

“You’ll have to find the owner of the catzel.”

“Headmistress MacKinnon?”

The man tapped his temple. “Ah. So it was Bàs. Then yes, you must find the headmistress. She’ll have a cure for this.”

“Great.” Even if I had nothing to do with Headmistress MacKinnon, that woman terrified me. She was so stern and it was kind of freaky how she never actually talked.

I didn’t know much about Fae or Banshees, but I knew not just anyone could just stay quiet despite being able to talk. And now, I’d have to convince that person I didn’t try and hurt her cat.

But I had an appointment with Flavia. She and Oda were probably dying to hear about what happened after I lost them in the Veil and I owed them a proper explanation. Maybe this cure thing could wait?

I pointed at my forehead. “Is this thing dangerous?”

“Not overly.”

I breathed a small sigh of relief. That was something.

Wagner pulled a small silver watch from his pocket. “You still have approximately seventeen hours.”

“What? Until the curse is worn off?”

He shot me a look of pity. “Until death arrives.”

“I thought you said the curse wasn’t deadly!”

“I said, not necessarily deadly.”

Now there was a distinction. Why didn’t he stress that at the beginning of the conversation? Then I wouldn’t have wasted all this time.

He rummaged through some of his metal drawers and pulled out a roll of bandages. “Here, wind those around your head.”

“Why? It’s not hurting.”

“Cover it up. Do it now and then find the headmistress. Don’t talk to anyone, don’t show it to anyone. Just find her. Now.”

Reluctantly, I accepted the white cloth and wound it around my head. It seemed ridiculous, but Wagner wasn’t someone you said no to.

“Where can I find the headmistress?” I pushed past the doctor, towards the exit of the infirmary. If I only had seventeen hours left to get cured, I didn’t have any time to waste.

“The fourth floor.” Wagner studied his little watch again and urgently scribbled something down on a notepad. That was my cue to leave.

With fire licking at my heels, I set off running. I didn’t even know there was a fourth floor, but I’d just find the stairs and go from there.

My shoes echoed against the high walls of the Academy, my breath ragged in my throat. I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears as I raced up several flights of stairs. Now would be the perfect time for my wings to come. There was no use in getting cured if I just dropped dead here from the exercise. I was getting plenty of that these days. Too much for my taste.

With one hand firmly on the wooden rail, I traced them all the way up to the third floor. Only one more set of stairs. Thank the wind for that.

Heaving and panting, I arrived on the top of the stairs only to find there were no more stairs.

“Oh for f**k’s sake!” I doubled down on my knees, trying to catch my breath. All that running and for what? Just to discover there was no fourth floor? Was Wagner f*****g with me?

No, he wouldn’t do that. Not if this curse was actually going to kill me. He might be an oddity, but surely, he wouldn’t want a student to die, right?

So… If the stairs wouldn’t continue to the fourth floor, maybe there was a set somewhere else? Or an elevator or a secret passage maybe? There had to be something.

“Hello?” I called, carefully breaching the hallway. I’d only been here after they suspected me of stealing the dusk wolves. They put me in a classroom that didn’t look like it got used much.

According to the rumours, some of the teachers had their private quarters on this floor. There had to be some truth in that. After all, where else were they staying?

“Miss Helgudóttir.” A soft voice startled me.

Quick as lightning, I turned to face whoever snuck up on me. A sigh of relief flooded over me as I recognised the slender man. He was one of the Dragon teachers, but I never caught his name.

I looked him up and down. “How do you know my name?”

“You made quite an impression.”

He clearly meant the missing dusk wolf situation, even if I had nothing to do with the theft.

I balled my hands into fists, trying to shove the anger down. It didn’t matter, not right now. I had different problems.

“I need to talk to the headmistress.”

The thin man pushed his chin in the air. “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

I tugged on the bandage around my forehead and showed him the mark. “I got cursed by her catzel. It’s an emergency.”

He visibly paled and immediately changed his tone. “Who knows about this?”

“Only doctor Wagner. He examined me.”

“I see.”

The thin man gave me a strange impression. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I didn’t feel at ease with him.

“He said he’d be here soon too. And the headmistress is expecting me.” I didn’t know why I added a lie, but I did. Something just about him seemed off.

The slender teacher clicked his tongue. “I’m afraid the headmistress isn’t in.”

“But I need to see her.”

He nodded to himself and brushed through his hair, exposing a silver lock under his black hair. That was kind of odd, but not really a priority right now.

“Come with me.”

I hesitated for a moment, unsure why I felt this way.

“Quickly!”

Hurried, he grabbed me by the hand and led me away from the staircase, further into the narrow hall of the third floor. Past the room where they interrogated me, through a set of heavy ornate doors.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, suspicion bubbling in my gut. If I had another choice, I’d have turned around.

Was this the teachers’ floor? Everything was different here. The stone of the walls was darker, the floor carpeted with a reddish rug. Small lights in fake torches lit up the winding hallway, casting strange shadows and figures on the bricks.

There were multiple doors, but the Dragon professor walked past all of them. All the way up to the last room. Urgently, he knocked on the wood, his demeanour even more twitchy than usual.

With a soft shriek, the door cracked open and a head poked out.

“Master Ryuga.” Professor Brynhild bowed her head in a simple greeting. “What can I do for you?”

Ryuga. So that was his name.

Not unkindly, he pulled me forward. “One of your students was wandering the halls.”

“Ylva? Shouldn’t you be in the infirmary? I gave Wagner orders to keep you around for the night.”

Ryuga gestured to my head. “Show her.”

Slowly, I pulled the bandage down and professor Brynhild gasped.

“The curse.”

For something that was uncommon, everyone seemed to know about it, but nobody was helping me.

“Doctor Wagner told me to find the headmistress. Is she here?” I asked.

“I’m afraid Thea is not available. That’s why I was taking care of Bàs.” She prodded the dark mark on my skull. “This needs attending right away. Thank you for bringing her here, Master Ryuga.”

The thin man released my arm and bowed. “Not a problem.”

Without any more words, he turned around and left. Not unlike how I’d seen Ryoko exit conversations. Maybe it was a cultural thing. At least I felt more relaxed with him gone. For whatever reason, he gave me weird vibes.

“Ylva, come in.” Brynhild pulled me over the threshold and slammed the door shut.

A dim light illuminated her quarters. From the little entrance, I saw a small living area with two ear chairs and a little round table. Only one cup though.

I knew it wasn’t very polite to snoop, but I couldn’t stop my curiosity. Did my stern professor live here? On the school grounds? Did she live her by herself or did she have a partner? Or pets?

So many questions, and none of them were important enough to ask right now. I had other things to worry about, like death. But not for at least seventeen more hours.

My teacher ushered me into the living room and pushed me into one of the green chairs. “Here, sit. Don’t move.”

“Are you notifying the headmistress?”

“I’ll send for her, but I don’t know if it’ll reach her in time.” She closed the open book on the table and grabbed hold of her cup. “Did Wagner give you a time?”

“Yes. He said seventeen hours before death.”

With a loud crack, the cup fell to the floor and broke into pieces, but Brynhild didn’t even flinch. “Seventeen hours. That’s not good. I’ll have to make preparations for that. And we need to get that mark gone.”

I chuckled awkwardly, relying on the sarcasm to keep me from freaking out. “Yeah, that’d be great. I don’t want to die.”

“Oh, you’re not the one dying.”

“What? But Wagner said seventeen hours until death.”

“Not your death.”

“Wait, what? So, then who is dying?”

The professor ignored me as she pushed some of the broken cup pieces into a heap, leaving it where it was. Instead of replying or tidying, she hurried to a set of shelves and traced her finger over a row of book spines. “Poisonous Plants, The Last Cry, ah, here we go. Shadows and Death.”

She slammed the book down on the table and flipped frantically through the pages until she stopped somewhere halfway through.

“Here. What do you know about Shadow Walkers?”

“Shadow Walkers? Never heard of them.”

She nodded. “As expected. They’re incredibly rare.”

“What are they?”

“It’s been more than three-hundred years since the Elemental Board even logged one. They were hunted once, for their powers. There shouldn’t be any more left. And yet, here you are.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat. “What? Me?”

“Yes, you, Ylva. Who has seen the catzel mark? Who have you shown it to?”

“Nobody. Only Wagner, Master Ryuga, and then you.”

“Good.” She swiped beads of sweat from her forehead and sank down on the opposite ear chair. “You must never tell anyone, you understand?”

“But—”

“Not a living soul. Listen to me. You can’t tell anyone.”

“I don’t understand.”

She let out a deep sigh and pointed at the book. “Not all species have the same connection with the Veil. Some have none, like male Wind Children. Others have an incredibly affinity for them, like certain shadow animals. The same is true for individuals within the elemental races.”

“Okay?”

“All races have their own secrets, their own way of handling the barrier between life and death. And we all have our own speciality, but it’s hard to learn. That’s why there are academies across the globe. To teach young elementals on how to assist.”

I tipped my head to the side. “I know that.”

“You’ve travelled to the Veil with Professor Rada, correct?”

The memory of the disastrous trip flashed through my mind. “I have.”

“Every elemental needs a tether when they travel to the Veil. Most use their home or a particular item they’re attached to. Something with personal meaning to keep them attached to the world of the living, so they don’t pass over. Those tethers are invisible.”

“So?”

Within the same breath, she continued. “There’s also a visible kind. You’ll know it in the form of a poisoned thread to tie you to a guide. They serve the same purpose. Every elemental needs this tether, all except one particular kind. They can roam the Veil freely, entering and leaving wherever they please. They can switch guides or even jump from tether to tether. They’re not bound by the same rules as the other elementals, and their powers are tremendous in comparison.”

Nervously, I swallowed another lump. The cogs in my mind were turning, but I didn’t want to believe the conclusion they were coming to. Everything she was saying… But then… I couldn’t be… Could I?

Professor Brynhild pointed at me, her usually steady hand slightly trembling. “You’re a Shadow Walker.”