I Sold My Soul for Chocolate

Chapter 12

“Got it. We can go wherever you want tonight,” I said quickly, trying to urge them on with my body language, but Liney couldn’t take a hint. She took her time getting up, all the while talking about vampires. I escorted them to the stairs, where I waved and waited until they were out of sight before knocking on Raum’s door.

“You can come ou-” before I could finish my sentence, the door swung open, and Raum walked out. He wasn’t wearing a tie nor a suit jacket anymore, only a black dress shirt and pants. I was too nervous to comment on it.

“You took your time. Pledging your loyalty requires a form of pact, and it’s not as informal as selling your soul. In fact, after we’re done, I’ll have to sort out the paperwork.” He led the way to my room, which felt weird, but I decided not to comment on that, either. He pushed a pile of books aside with his foot without seeming phased, and then pulled my mirror off the wall and put it into the ground in the middle of my carpet, in front of the large window.

“What’s the purpose of the mirror?” I asked. He sighed.

“You really know nothing about ritualistic magic, don’t you? Mirrors are used as a witness systems. Spirits will witness the pact.”

“That makes sense,” I muttered, wondering whether there were actual spirits trapped inside a mirror. I didn’t quite understand the whole concept. I’d learn about that at the Academy, hopefully.

“Stand opposite of me and get down on one knee,” Raum ordered. I sighed, but obeyed, digging my right knee into the ground. Raum pulled out a note from his pocket and handed it to me. “Read this, and give me your hand when you’re done.”

I took the note and began reading it in a monotone voice. “Lord Raum of Hell, commander of the armies of Hell, I hereby pledge my loyalty and service to you and therefore to the demonic kingdom, promising to serve Hell until the day I die, or suffer the consequences.” I extended my hand, and Raum took it. Then, he muttered some foreign words again, and I felt a burning sensation shoot up my wrist. I tried to flinch away on instinct, but Raum was holding my hand in a death grip.

“It’s done. You’ll have to wear gloves from now on,” he said, letting go of my hand. I quickly brought it before my eyes to examine it, and sure enough, there was a brand new symbol on it. I recognized it as a symbol of Hell - an elaborate upside-down triangle. I could not go around with that on my wrist without seeming suspicious.

“Great. Couldn’t the symbol appear anywhere else but the hand?” I asked, getting up to my feet just as Raum was putting his own glove back on.

“Trust me, this will be most convenient for you.” He picked up the mirror from the floor and hung it back where he had found it, to my surprise. “One more thing before I leave. I will be absent at the beginning of the Academy studies, so I expect you to keep your eyes wide open and prepare a detailed report of your research. Do not arise suspicion, and reveal your connection to me to nobody, under any circumstances. The stunt you pulled at the entrance exam is bound to get you some attention, so stay low until they forget about you. I will be joining you within a few days, but leaving the first impression is solely on you.”

“So, blend in and observe. Got it, boss,” I said calmly, crossing my arms before my chest. Raum sighed.

“Speak to me with respect. At the academy, you will address me as sir. I might look young, but I’m sure you’re aware of my rank and experience. You don’t want to test me more than you have already.”

“Sure,” I said, testing him. He ignored my comment and walked out of my room without another word.

I remained completely still for a couple of minutes before returning to the cafe. I really needed to talk to Zehna.

It was finally time to leave.

I stared at the packed suitcase in my hand, reluctant to get into the car. I was about to experience my dreams, but I was nervous and anxiety had a tight hold on me. The experience could either be the best of my life, or Raum could make it the worst. It would’ve been easier to just stay home and work at the cafe, as was my plan before the demon showed up.

Things had been awkward between Zehna and me, and I hated it. She was angry at herself, and nothing I said helped bridge the distance between us. I had all but given up as the week drew to a close, deciding to rather spend my days with Liney, Argal, and Jeff, who had quickly integrated into our group. Each one of us loved teaching him new things about the magical world, and he loved listening. I had thought that he had hit it off with Liney very well, but it was soon apparent that he and Argal would be best buddies. I still hadn’t confronted Liney about the kiss, and the two didn’t appear to be a couple, so I decided to wait for Liney to confess. I was slightly bothered that she hadn’t done that yet. And I felt sad that we’d have to leave Argal behind. But, as he promised, he’d be close by and the three of us would sneak out to his bar all the time.

“Come on, cupcake! You don’t wanna be late on your first day!” Zehna said from the driver’s seat, and I sighed.

“Can I just not go?”

“If you want both of us to die a horrible death,” Zehna joked, but neither of us laughed. She kept doing that throughout the week. I’d gotten used to it.

I put the suitcase into the trunk and got inside.

“I’ll text you all the time,” I said, noticing a sad look on her face. She smiled.

“I’ll call you all the time, so you better pick up! And behave, Kay, just because you’re working with a demon doesn’t mean you can slack off or be bad! Follow the rules, and-“

“Yes, yes, I know,” I said, rolling my eyes. Zehna’s smile widened.

“You sure do, Kay. You’re amazing, you know that? I believe that you can do this.”

“I know I can. I’d appreciate it if you stopped referring to my task. I want to enjoy the Academy for what it is, not for what the demons make it.”

“Right. Sorry, cupcake. I’m just worried about you. I couldn’t bear to lose you...”

“I’m not going anywhere except to study. Nothing and nobody will harm me, okay?”

Zehna sighed, but also smiled. Genuinely this time. “I believe that.”

For the first time in days, the tension between us was gone. The ride to the Academy was spent in a nostalgic bliss, reminiscing about my youth and how awkward Zehna had been as a mother during my first few months at her place. How introducing me to magic was one of the hardest tasks as a parent, and how she had to start locking elixirs up because I kept trying to mix them and drink them.

Finally, after almost an hour of crawling through traffic, we had reached the main road leading out of town, only about ten minutes away from the Academy. It laid in a village located slightly out of town, away from the noise of the bustling city. The village was quite small, and the Academy sat at the very edge of it, overlooking the village from a hill. It was built in the middle ages, apparently, and had served as a castle of some lord before he turned it into an elite magical academy. Now it was also an elite magical academy, but money wasn’t the deciding factor, it was magical power. A tall brick wall surrounded the place, allowing only a glimpse of the roofs of the complex of buildings. The main building was the largest one by far, and apparently, I’d spend most of my days inside. In the castle on the left were the girls’ dormitories, and on the right were the boys’. I couldn’t really understand the need to separate guys and girls. We were practically adults, we could handle ourselves.

The road leading to the castle wasn’t meant for cars, so Zehna had to drop me off at the foot of the hill. A ton of students were already walking towards the peak, dragging their suitcases along. At least the day wasn’t too hot, so I wouldn’t die of a heat stroke on my way there.

As soon as I left the car and took my things from the trunk, another car came up behind us and started honking, and Zehna could just wave at me before she was forced to drive away.

I was left all alone, with a suitcase in hand and a backpack on my shoulders, with fear and anxiety making my whole body numb and trembling at the same time.

“Kaaaay!” Liney’s voice shot through me like the voice of an angel. With the biggest grin on my face, I turned around, never having felt so grateful for Liney’s existence. She looked as wonderful as always, her bright clothes contrasting mine. Apparently, the Academy required uniforms, but Liney and I had already counted on sneaking out all the time, so we had come prepared. My suitcase mostly contained books, a laptop and some spare chargers, but Liney was dragging two very large suitcases and had a camping backpack on her back.

I raised my eyebrows at her as I walked towards her. “I don’t think you’ll get a chance to use half of that, swan.”

“Kay,” she said, shaking her finger in a stern manner. “Don’t underestimate me.”

We hugged briefly before our nerves made us start moving. We had received another letter which contained the times we were allowed to leave the Academy to go home, some general information about the rules, and that we were supposed to wait at the gates at nine precisely. It was six minutes to nine, and there were barely any students left on the road, as mos had likely already gone up.

“Where’s Jeff?” I asked, and Liney shrugged. I tried to read her expression, but it revealed nothing. It was starting to annoy me that she refused to tell me about their kiss.

“He’s probably already there. What did that doctor say about your infection?”

“It’s not an infection, it’s a skin condition,” I corrected, looking at thin black leather gloves which covered my hands. Zehna bought them from some special magic shop for quite a large sum of money, but they were tailored specifically to my hands and they weren’t stuffy or uncomfortable at all. In fact, I never really felt them. And I had had to come up with a reason that I was wearing gloves right now. “I’m hyper-allergic to vampire saliva, apparently. The toxins altered something on my hands, and I get a rash in contact with dust. Might last a few months, might last forever.”

“That sucks. And you just had to choose black.”

I ignored her comment with a roll of my eyes. We stayed in a pleasant silence until we reached the top of the hill five minutes later, just in time.

The gate was wide open with a beautiful cobble path leading through a garden and towards the courtyard, behind which were the three buildings. I couldn’t see what was behind them, but according to Liney, there were several other buildings and fields there. Around a hundred students were gathered in front, and I recognised a few from the entrance exam. Luckily, only Jeff seemed to have recognised Liney and I, and I was thankful for that. I didn’t want any unnecessary attention on me.