The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 32

32

It took a week for my bruises to heal and the stiffness to leave my bones, but the next Gravlax Tuesday, I was right as rain. Since I missed the last cured salmon day, I was really looking forward to this one.

I shot Ryoko a smile across the dining hall and even mustered a nod for Astrid. We were on neutral to good terms at the moment and I wanted to keep it that way.

I carried my tray to the head table and took my place next to Flavia. I couldn’t believe I was still part of their group after my stunt, but here I was. Lunching with not just the popular kids, but the Heir of the East.

One day, Flavia would be responsible for leading an entire Wind district and she was my friend. So freaking cool.

“I’m really hungry,” I announced to nobody in particular.

“Me too,” Dagmar replied with her mouth full. She had half a salmon on her plate and was scarfing down crackers like there was no tomorrow.

I’d have judged her if I wasn’t planning on doing exactly the same. The strong, sharp smell of the cured fish was so enticing. It whetted my appetite like nothing else so I dug in immediately, only listening with half an ear to what the girls were talking about.

Alva’s pitched voice was hard to drown out though. “Did you hear? Another Guardian teacher has dropped out. They haven’t found a replacement yet.”

“Really?” Dagmar asked between bites. “How many teachers is that?”

“Four, not including Master Ryuga.”

That name made me perk up. “What about Master Ryuga?”

“Oh, we were just talking about how many teachers have left the Academy since the beginning of the year,” Alva explained happily. She pricked her fork into a piece of cucumber and nibbled on it like a rabbit.

I swallowed my bite. “So?”

“So it all fits with the rumours.” The girl’s braids bounced on her chest. “I’m telling you, the war is not over.”

“What rumours? What war?”

Dagmer chuckled. “You’re so out of the loop, Ylva. Did you hit your head in that epic fight with Astrid?”

“Epic?” Flavia echoed sharply.

“I meant, terrible. Terrible fight,” Dagmar quickly corrected. “But honestly, haven’t you heard the rumours?”

I looked over my shoulder at the outsider table, where Aellyn was sitting by herself. She’d mentioned something about it a while back, but since all our teachers were back, I figured everything had gone back to normal. I hadn’t been paying attention to the other Afterlife teachers though.

Alva leaned forward, but she whispered so loud everyone could hear her. “Some classmates got letters from parents asking if we were safe. Something is up, I’m telling you.”

“Maybe…”

A memory of Zen’s village crossed my mind. She said there was a war, but it was human business. Maybe it would make more work on our side for the Afterlife Assistants, but none of us were in danger. That wasn’t how it worked. We weren’t actually involved in the wars, we just cleaned up the battlefields.

Right?

I jabbed my fork in a piece of salmon and my shoulder twanged. “Ouch.”

“You alright?” Flavia asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just moved wrong,” I explained. That put using a fork on my list of painful activities, together with writing papers and working on my second Valhalla key. Great. Not annoying at all.

I rotated my arm, trying to loosen the joint. “When you say war, you’re talking about a human war, right? I mean, an elemental war… That’s unheard of.”

“I don’t know, maybe she’s right…” Dagmar somehow already finished her plate. “I have a cousin in the College of Beyond, she’s a real dimwit, not important. However, I often write to my aunt, who says she heard weird rumours about the school.”

“Weird rumours? What kind?” Alva inquired.

“I don’t know. She says the military made an appearance there.”

“The military?” Flavia echoed. “That doesn’t sound right. My father is a division leader, he would’ve mentioned if something was going on with schools.”

“Guys, this is all just gossip,” Kaia quipped in from the end of the table.

She was one of the quiet mice of the group, didn’t say much. It was unusual for her to weigh in on conversations, so we all listened and paused for a moment.

Was she right? Was this all speculation?

I wanted to believe that, but after everything I’d seen… The world was not at rest.

Did that mean war?

Probably not. Just like Kaia said, it was most likely just pure—

BANG!

The loud noise cut through my thought and startled the entire dining hall. Confusion tremored through the students and the usual, lively chatter slowly died down.

“What was that?” I asked, looking at Flavia for reassurance.

She frowned, her eyebrows knitted together in worry. “I don’t know.”

I turned around, immediately searching for Ryoko. If something was happening, I wanted to make sure she was safe—

BANG!

Another vibration shook the floor and made all the plates and trays clatter. The sound of trembling porcelain and metal didn’t instill confidence in me. On the contrary...

The foreign noises sounded far away, but with every passing second, they became louder and louder. At first, it could’ve been mistaken as the rumble of thunder but it soon became clear that that was just wishful thinking. It was the sound of metal and feet. Marching footsteps, thudding rhythmically together. They stopped and strange figures spilt into the dining hall. Four men, five women, soon there were at least ten people standing in a row. Elves, Dragons, Wind Children, a variety of races all clad in dark blue uniforms and wielding an assortment of weapons. Swords, axes, scythes, anything with a sharp edge.

A tall man broke free from the group and stomped into the dining hall. “This school is now under my command.”

He snapped his fingers and one of the other invaders pulled a figure from behind him. With brute force, he threw a quivering woman to the ground for all of us to see.

The Headmistress.

Dread rose from my stomach and settled in my chest. Alva had been right.

With caged breath, I waited nervously. The dining hall had never been this quiet. Ever. The shocked whispers and hushed voices quickly died out and apart from the clatter of a falling fork or a spoon, everyone was caught in the same horrified silence.

From the head table, I had a good view of the intruders. The man that had spoken, he seemed to be the leader of the group. He was parading back and forth, stomping his steel-toed boots to intimidate us.

It was working. The stress was making my shoulder hurt again and the sight of the Headmistress curled in a ball, shivering in pain or fear, wasn’t helping.

“Students of the Afterlife Academy, don’t fear,” the leader said, his voice so loud it boomed through the hall. “We’re not here to harm you.”

As if on cue, the Headmistress let out a miserable whimper and the leader chuckled cruelly.

“Well, not all of you,” he continued, stepping over her like she was a piece of garbage. His followers laughed loudly, but I couldn’t see the humour in his joke.

The cruel man paraded around, his thick lips pulled into a foul grin. “I’m Commander Folk and you’re about to witness the making of history.”

I bit my lip and shot a worried look at Flavia. That didn’t sound good…

From the faces of the other girls, I wasn’t the only one concerned. Dagmar was frantically twisting her braids and Kaia had cowered so far down, she was almost invisible.

The only one that didn’t seem worried, was Alva.

“See, I told you!” she whispered.

“Shhh,” I hissed back, but it was too late. Commander Folk had caught us.

The enormous man stomped through the tables, forcing everyone to move out of the way if they didn’t want to be mowed down.

He grabbed Alva by her braids and yanked her up in the air. “What was that?”

“Ow! That hurts!” She clawed at his hands, but he didn’t even notice.

The Commander just laughed as he dangled her around. “Feisty.”

A gust of wind suddenly raged through the hall and I immediately knew where it had come from.

“Put her down.” Flavia’s voice held the same weight as it always did, but it somehow seemed nothing compared to the Commander’s.

He raked his eyes over her body and snorted. “What do we have here? A brave one?”

“I said, put her down,” she repeated calmly, yet there was a storm raging in her tone. If the Commander didn’t recognise the threat, he was a dead man.

“Oh yeah?” he chortled. “What are you going to do about it, you shrimp?”

“I’m the Heir of the East,” she replied, matching his intensity.

His eyes narrowed, his attention shifted, and without much care, he dropped Alva. She was no longer a concern, not now that Flavia had made herself known. “The Heir of the East, hmmm? Isn’t that interesting.”

“What division do you serve, Commander Folk?” She straightened her back, but she was still no match for the giant. Still, that didn’t hold her back from asking the questions we all wanted the answers too. “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of you or seen your colours.”

“My division? Hah!” The Commander laughed as he walked away and rejoined his group. “Did you hear? She asked what division we’re part of. How cute. Raise our flag.”

My stomach tightened even more as I one of the men in uniform stepped forward. It couldn’t be…

I blinked rapidly, hoping this was all a bad dream or a hallucination. But I could blink all I wanted, it wouldn’t change reality.

The man in uniform was Professor Dagwood. He helped raise a pole and a flag with a foreign emblem was hoisted into the air. Dark blue encompassed a yellow circle that held the silhouette of a bird in flight. A raven.

A raven?

My eyes widened. This was what Ryuga threatened me with when he died. The Midnight Raven...

“We serve nobody, especially not your precious gods.” Commander Folk declared loudly. He turned on his heels and saluted his flag. “This is the beginning of a new world. A just world. Welcome to my Afterlife.”

— To be continued —

Continue Ylva’s story as she fights the Midnight Ravens, travels to Valhalla, and sacrifices what matters most. There has never been as much at stake.

https://books2read.com/valkyrie105

Valkyrie 105

The Afterlife Academy #5

Arizona Tape