The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 27

27

“You seem in a good mood,” Aellyn noted as she finished the last bite of her salad. The cutlery clacked loudly against the plate, but I hardly heard it.

“What?”

The Wood Elf gestured to me. “I said, you seem in a good mood. Lots of smiling.”

“Oh. No reason,” I lied, suppressing the urge to look at Ryoko sitting a couple of tables away.

“Okay then… I’m excited for key-making today. I’ve had a piece of wood delivered from the Home tree.”

“Cool. I’m making my key out of brass.” I ate the last of my meatball pasta and wiped my mouth on the napkin. “I’m ready to go.”

“Me too.” She grabbed her colourful bag and we left our outsider table.

I shot a regretful look at the Valkyrie head table. It sucked when our schedules didn’t line up and Flavia and the others had a late lunch. Without them, I couldn’t sit at that table. Not by myself.

On our way out, I caught Ryoko’s gaze from across the dining hall and we exchanged a knowing smile. We had a secret that nobody knew and it was the best thing that happened to me since I arrived at the Afterlife Academy.

“You coming?” Aellyn asked, her pink hair bouncing even when she stood still.

“Coming,” I retorted, tearing my eyes away from my girlfriend.

My girlfriend.

Such a foreign term, but I couldn’t be happier about it. It definitely took the sting out of the first half of the year. After all the crazy adventures, things were finally falling into place. This new, settled pace was becoming me much better than the hectic chaos. Now that the worst part was over, I could focus on love.

Ahh… Love…

“Hey, Aellyn. Have you ever been in love?” I asked as we travelled through the hallways to our next class.

“Love?” the Elf echoed. “I suppose.”

“You suppose?”

We swerved past a clique of Guardians and avoided a group of glaring Reapers.

Aellyn held out her hand, revealing a ring made from a dark wood. “Arvid will be my husband.”

“Arvid?”

“He lives two branches away. He’s very handsome.”

“But?”

Aellyn shrugged, the viny tendrils around her ears dancing. “But nothing. He’s a good match and I enjoy his company.”

“Hmmm…” I frowned as we turned the corner. “That doesn’t sound like you’re very ‘in love’.”

“I don’t know, our marriage was set up before my birth. I don’t know anything else.”

We arrived at the workshop which put an end to the conversation. Probably best. It sounded complicated and I didn’t want to offend her with all my questions. There had to be a good reason why they had arranged marriages and it wasn’t my place to question it.

The smell of coal and metal greeted us at the entrance and Professor Eireen ushered us in. “You’re late.”

I checked my watch and frowned. “No, we’re not. We’re ten minutes early.”

“Not you.” She pointed at Aellyn. “You. You’re late.”

“Me?” The Wood Elf looked stumped. “But… we arrived at the same time.”

“I don’t want to hear another word,” Professor Eireen scolded. “Just get in. In.”

Poor Aellyn. It couldn’t be easy for her, but it was bound to happen. Wind Children didn’t like outsiders. She’d have to grow a thick skin if she wanted to make it to graduation.

In silence, I crossed the room to my workbench and immediately got to work. I wanted to cast my very first key today. I was ready to see Valhalla.

That meant shovelling coal into the furnace until it was spitting fire, heat the copper and zinc into a glowing puddle of sizzling lava, and cast the liquid metal into a simple sand mould. As the hot metal hit the sand and with a loud hiss, flames exploded that danced on the cast until it lost some of its heat.

Once the metal set, I carved the sand away to reveal a simple metal shape. A rounded, a thick shank, and a bit at the end with two teeth. I didn’t know why, but that just felt right. And this was all about following our gut.

Proud of my creation, I dunked it into a vat of water to cool the key. It wouldn’t harden the metal like a steel sword, but it would bring it to a temperature where I could hold it.

A plume of smoke and steam escaped from the vat, filling the workshop with white mist. I held the key down until the loud, satisfying hiss was nothing more than a soft bubble. Even then, I had to be careful. The metal would still hold a lot of residual heat, but I wanted to touch it.

The brass was calling to me. I felt it. A pull like nothing else, drawing me towards the thin Veil separating life and death. A clear sign that I’d chosen the right metal and that Valhalla was waiting for me.

I pulled the key from the vat with a rugged pair of pliers and placed it on my workbench. The metal had a dull, yellow finish and spots of burned residue, but there was an undeniable shimmer to the key.

The wind in my veins intensified and I gulped my nerves away. I hovered my hand above my first key, shaking in anticipation. It was incredibly rare for a Valkyrie to find success and entry with their first creation, but I just had a feeling that this was right.

I stroked the brass handle and my heart thudded loudly. The pressure against my shoulders immediately intensified and as I curled my hand around the key, my wings exploded from my back. Faster than usual, faster than anything, the world around me turned into black smoke. The workbenches, the furnaces, the people, they all vanished as the Veil engulfed me in a suffocating embrace.

Voices I never heard before filled my head, It wasn’t just one person like last time, there were more voices than I could count. Whispering, calling, begging for assistance.

I did it. I’d travelled to the Veil, all on my own.

Pride rushed through my veins and filled my chest with a warm, burning sensation.

I did it!

This was proof that there was a Valkyrie career waiting for me.

My hand tightened around the key, my entry to the long-awaited Valhalla. As much as I wanted to help the desperate souls, I had another priority right now.

Maybe I should feel bad for ignoring them, but if I couldn’t pass through the Gates, I wasn’t much use to them anyway. Testing my key was for them.

Despite the intense voices, I tore myself away and drew my attention to the Gates. I imagined them in my mind’s eye, remembering as many details as I could. The steep stairs climbing up to the heavy doors and the pillars with glowing runes that framed them. The signature clicking of the gears and bars as they moved to present the right person with the right lock.

Pure magic.

The human pleads grew quieter and the smoke around me danced and turned, reshaping the world around me. In here, my imagination was reality. If I could think it, I could will it.

The dark shrouds peeled open and a thin path invited me to the set of stone stairs. My footsteps echoed through the Veil on my way up until I was met with the thick, ornate doors.

The Golden Gates.

“Wow…” My breath was taken away by the majestic sight. The gold was brighter than I remembered and the details far more intricate. The elegant but stately designs and patterns were more beautiful than anything I could ever imagine.

The runes on the pillars grew bright blue and flickered briefly as I approached the doors. The metal gears shrieked and clicked as the locks reorganised themselves. Golden locks moved to the top of the door, while the silver locks disappeared within. Bronze, copper, and brass locks emerged from the doors and arranged themselves into a still surface. One of the plates slid open to reveal a simple keyhole.

I brought my key closer, anticipation raging in my chest. From the looks of it, the colour of my brass key matched the lock.

This was it.

I was going to enter Valhalla.

My hand trembled as I pushed the key into the door. A perfect fit…

This was it.

I couldn’t watch. I closed my eyes as I turned the key, begging that it would work.

The metal gears clicked softly and… nothing. The door pushed my key out and swallowed my lock. Rattling and clicking, the metal plates and gears rearranged themselves in a new pattern and the Gates remained as closed as they ever were.

A disappointment like I’d never experienced washed over me. I failed.