The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 12

12

The commotion had drawn the entire Academy to the main hall until it was filled to the brim with curious faces and excited, hushed speculation.

So far, the intruders had brought new rules and disturbance to the school, but the talk of their new Midnight Raven was just that. Talk. Commander Folk made grand claims about his new afterlife and what not, but so far, they hadn’t actually done much to follow up.

Perhaps that was all about to change.

“Hold this!” Commander Folk growled as he pulled his shirt over his head and threw the blue ball of clothing to one of the Ravens.

“That’s one chiselled man,” Astrid whispered to me.

I stared at the man in the middle of the room. “I guess?”

“Look at his chest. And those tight muscles… I’m glad we’re in the front row.”

“Are you lusting after Commander Folk?”

“I mean, he’s an asshole, but he’s a handsome asshole. Imagine what he could do with those arms.”

“I’d rather not.” I gestured to her chin. “You’ve got some drool.”

She quickly wiped her face. “I’m not drooling.”

“Made you check though.”

“Oh, whatever.” For the first time in the history of Astrid, she turned to Aellyn. “What do you think?”

The pink-haired Elf frowned. “Are you talking to me?”

“Yes. What do you think about Commander Folk? Hot or not?”

“Ummm…” Aellyn hesitated as her eyes raked down the Commander’s body. Her cheeks blushed red as she cast her gaze down. “Not.”

Astrid laughed. “Liar.”

I shook my head. “Are we really doing this? He’s our enemy. Our captor. He’s a brute. He hurt the Headmistress, he almost killed Professor Brynhild, he threatened to beat Professor Rada. You can’t possibly be thinking that kind of things about him.”

The blonde shrugged. “Yeah, so he’s straight-up evil… But he’s hot.”

“He’s old.”

“He’s not that old,” she countered. “I’d do him.”

I gagged loudly. “Gross, Astrid.”

“Yeah, well. We can’t all have a Dragon girlfriend, can we?”

“Dude!” I glared at her. “That’s an S-E-C-R—“

“Yes, yes, a secret. You should really be more subtle about it then.” She gestured to the circle that had formed around Folk. “Look, something is happening.”

She was right.

Commander Folk was… chanting. Praying, perhaps?

“He can’t be serious,” I muttered. “Is he really trying to access the Veil?”

“Looks like it,” Astrid replied, her voice flat. “But that’s impossible. There’s never been a male Wind Child with wings and there shall never be one.”

“True…” I said, but that was a lie. I did know a man with Valkyrie wings.

Var.

Even though his powers had been given to him by his dying Valkyrie and Shadow Walker wife, he had wings and was by all accounts, an Afterlife Assistant. So if he was one… Perhaps Commander Folk was just like that.

If I hadn’t known about Var, I would’ve believed Commander Folk to be special. Maybe that was how he convinced all his followers he was.

But he was wrong. He wasn’t a miracle or unique. He was merely a man with powers that weren’t his own.

And yet… I couldn’t take my eyes off Folk. He was mumbling to himself, reciting some kind of chant or spell. I couldn’t make out the words, but I could feel the magic. The hall drew cold and a chill ran up my spine, the one I only ever got when the Veil was pulled close to the land of the living.

Markings appeared on his chest, much like the markings of Wind Children, only these were unlike any I’d ever seen. They were dark and intricate, but they glowed black and spilled out onto the rest of his skin. They curled from his chest to his shoulders, around his arms, and up the sides of his face.

Smoke rose from the marble floor where it curled around him and reacted with the markings.

Some students on the other side of the hall gasped and it wasn’t until Folk turned around that I knew why.

He had wings…

“Impossible,” I whispered. Were my eyes deceiving me? How could this be?

“I can’t believe it,” Astrid mumbled.

I couldn’t either. Commander Folk had wings? But he was male. He couldn’t have—

“Those are not Valkyrie wings!” I remarked.

“They’re not?” My classmate narrowed her eyes. “You’re right, they’re not!”

While Folk’s wings were dark, dominating, and terrifying, they were not like ours. Instead of the thick, impenetrable leather, his were textured and smokey. The wings of a raven…

Commander Folk laughed loudly, his wings moving with him. He drew more smoke towards him, chilling the room even more as he teased the Veil between the living and the dead.

Whoever he was, whatever he was, there was no mistake. He had a connection with the Veil and his talk of a new Afterlife was no longer mere speculation. It was a real threat now.

“You see now!” he shouted as he marched proudly in his circle. “I was blessed by the Midnight Raven and that power you all work so hard to achieve, she gave it to me… Willingly. What’s the point in studying for years to change yourself so you can travel through the Veil when I could give you that power?”

A sly grin curled on Ormslang’s thin lips. “Perhaps a second demonstration is warranted. You.”

“Me?” Rita asked, gesturing to herself.

“What’s your rank?”

“Ummm… D,” my classmate replied.

I swallowed a lump. I remembered when she’d been asked to conjure her wings on the evaluation.

He chuckled. “Show me your connection to the Veil.”

That turned her blushing red. “I… I don’t—”

“What are you mumbling for? Speak up!” Commander Folk bellowed.

The girl cowered, her reply barely a whisper. “I can’t go into the Veil.”

“And why is that?”

“I…” She looked at me, before she spoke again. “I’ve been trying to cultivate inner wings, like my classmates, but…”

“You can’t, because you’re a failure. A weakling. Unfortunate, without favour.” He smiled deviously. “But that doesn’t bother us. See, most of us weren’t blessed by those gods you all serve. But the cursed, the damned have finally found a way to conquer the Veil on our own. You just need to get a little mark.”

“Mark? What mark?” she whispered.

“Dagwood, give it to her,” Ormslang ordered.

From the rows of Ravens, the professor appeared but instead of giving Ormslang whatever he wanted, he whispered something in his ear. Most of the students weren’t close enough to hear it, but I could.

“We shouldn’t mark the unwilling,” Dagwood said.

“I don’t care about her will.”

“Ormslang. Don’t.”

The thin man laughed. “If you’re too cowardly to do it, I’ll do it myself.”

He yanked a necklace from Dagwood’s neck and without listening to anyone’s protest, he pressed it into my classmate’s arm. “Don’t worry. It won’t hurt…”

The smell of burning flesh sizzled up in the air and the girl sunk to her knees, crying and sobbing. “f**k!”

“… Much,” he finished, not caring a bit about her pain. “Get up. Let the Midnight Raven guide you.”

“It hurts,” Rita sobbed, her hand clenched around her arm. “It f*****g hurts.”

I watched with caged fascination, not able to look away. Whatever Ormslang did, it was working. Dark liquid sept from under her hand down her skin where it curled into deep markings. While it corrupted her skin, black smoke permeated from between her fingers, surrounding her.

She was no longer crying. Instead, she was watching what was happening to her in fascination. She held out her hand, moving it carefully, making the smoke obey. Her eyes lit up and she directed all that power to her back where they formed two perfect raven wings.

“I… I can’t believe this,” she whispered. “I have wings!”

“You were—“ Ormslang started, but he was cut off by.

“You were blessed by the Midnight Raven,” Commander Folk shouted. “She is kind and gracious. She will welcome anyone that chooses to serve her and will grant them her power. With her guidance, I will bring you a new Afterlife. Away with your old, outdated traditions! With the Midnight Raven, we’ll bring equality for humans and elementals alike! Both in life… And in death.”

The Ravens cheered and chanted. “Commander Folk! Commander Folk! Commander Folk!”

While they celebrated their leader, Ormslang held up the necklace so everyone could see. He swayed the silver chain with the dark raven wing back and forth, letting it shimmer in the light. “From now on, the Midnight Ravens will be accepting recruits. Anyone that wants to join our just cause can sign up with your former professor, Raven Dagwood, over here.”

“They can’t be serious.” I stared at Astrid, unsure of how to process what was happening. “Do they really think people are going to sign up to be part of their… Whatever they are?”

“Well… It certainly looks like it,” she muttered. She gestured to the side where Professor Dagwood was occupying the front desk. “There are already students signing up. I can’t believe why anyone would be interested in something like that. Being an Afterlife Assistant is an honour. It should be earned.”

I stared at the blonde and nodded. “For once, I agree. Aellyn, what do you think? You don’t think this is right, do you?”

The Wood Elf looked startled. “Umm… No. I mean, yes. Of course, I agree with you. It’s not right. I mean, look at them. Who would just want to be gifted with immense power like that?”

“Exactly!” I declared.

“Exactly,” she echoed. She stared at the line forming near Professor Dagwood, her voice strange. “I mean… I can’t imagine anyone wanting that.”