I Sold My Soul for Chocolate

Chapter 5

“Kay, remember when you were younger how you always wanted to go the Academy? You were talking about how you’d be the only human to make it there, and the only human to finish it, remember?”

I smiled, remembering those times fondly. I did always want to go the academy, and I dreamt of receiving that same letter which I was now holding. And I was happy, I really was - but I had received it for the wrong reasons. Either way, I really had no choice. I had to accept the invitation.

“No, Zehna,” I said with a sigh. “I’ll go. I really do want to go. I probably won’t pass the entrance exam, but it’s worth a try. Maybe my magical powers have been dormant for eighteen years. I’ll go.”

Zehna gave me another tight squeeze. “I’m so happy for you, Kay! Come on now, eat. We’ll talk about this later, allright? You just relax now, child.”

I barely got through the first pancake when Liney burst through the door, a black letter in hand. I had totally forgotten that she was expecting a letter.

“Kay! I got it!” She yelled and ran up to me. I grinned at her and gave her a deep hug.

“Congrats, Liney, I told you everything would turn out fine!” I said cheerfully. Liney grinned at me, and then her gaze fell upon my own black letter. She shot me a puzzled look, and then picked it up. Her puzzled expression soon turned to overwhelming joy.

“Oh. My. Gosh. Kay!” She wrapped her arms around me once more, squeezing so tightly she made me stop breathing. “You got it, too! I knew it! I knew there was something more to you than just plaiin human!”

Although her statement was meant to be encouraging, it stung. Because I really was just a plain human, albeit in a pact with a demon. Did that mean she saw me as inferior?

“Thanks, Liney. But... it’s so confusing, I don’t really get it.”

She squealed and gave me one more hug.

“Ah, I’m just so happy! We’re going to a magical college together!”

“Liney, stop,” I said, my voice turning serious. I peeled her away from me, and sighed. “The truth is, I really don’t have any magical abilities. It was probably a mistake. Even if I do, I can’t control them. I will fail the entrance exam.”

Liney burst into laughter, and I just looked at her in confusion. Why was she laughing?

“Kay, you silly goose! You won’t fail the entrance exam, because you and I will team up! I’m prepared. I know a ton of useful spells. I can summon a huge fireball, I can make you fly and I can cause quite a strong earthquake! I’m an elemental mage, you know. You will just stick with me and we’ll pass.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. Liney would rather risk failing than not help me. I knew how devastated and torn she was we would be separated. We had known each other for ages, and the every thought of being made my heart ache. That was why I had to keep on lying to her.

“I knew you’d say that. The entrance exam is basically like a survival test, that’s what you said? You have to come out victorious in different scenarios. If that’s the case, then I can also be helpful. I can pack quite a punch, you know, even if our task is to kill a gargoyle.”

Liney grinned. “I know, Kay! In fact, I expect you to come up with solutions to any mind games they present us with. Besides, you’ll get there an hour earlier and they’ll probably help you discover your talents! Maybe you’re a ritualistic mage. Have you ever tried doing a ritual?”

Summoning a demon.

“Not really, no.”

“Then perhaps that’s it!”

After talking for a while, I had to go and try doing rituals with Liney. As an elemental mage, she could do small rituals only.

“Okay, now blow on the stone,” Liney whispered from outside the circle of candles which surrounded me. We were holed up in my room with the blinds drawn as to make it darker.

I reluctantly blew onto the amethyst, secretly hoping something would happen.

Nothing happened. My hair did not turn white, which was the intended result of the ritual.

Liney’s face mimicked my own disappointment, but she hid it quicker than I could.

“It’s fine, Kay. There’s a ton of types of mages, and actually, one new type is discovered every few years, did you know that? Like how Chrono-mages weren’t a thing until a few just appeared out of nowhere.”

Liney’s words did little to calm down the boulder that sat upon my heart. I obviously had no magical abilities, so the only way I could ever get accepted into the academy was to follow Liney. If we were even allowed to team up. And then what? I would soon fail all my classes and get expelled.

“Oh, we can try-” Liney started, but I interrupted her.

“No.” Liney shut up immediately, sending me an apologetic look. “Sorry, Liney. I really don’t want to do this now, okay? I’m sure they’ll tell me whatever I need to know when I show up at six. And we’ll meet up at seven and pass the exam, alright? And figure out the rest a bit later.”

“Okay, right. I’m sorry.”

Once the topic of magic was dropped, we were actually able to relax and have a good time. Argal dropped by with gifts for the both of us - a lot of candy. He had also gotten invited to the Academy, but he preferred living life his own way and he has been saving up to open a supernatural bar for a few years now. The grand opening was planned on being in a few weeks.

“Actually, it’s gonna be the closest bar from your Academy. So you can sneak out to see me whenever you want.”

Liney and I grinned at each other. “Oh, we’re so gonna break all the rules there are!” Liney said, and I nodded deviously, momentarily forgetting all my troubles as we messed around and laughed everything off.

When evening came and time came for them to leave, I was once again reminded of the harsh reality which awaited me.

“I believe in you, in both of you! I know you can do this!” Argal said, smiling down at both of us before Liney pulled everyone into a group hug, and I got a mouthful of her hair.

“Yes, we got this!” She said as I pulled loose hairs from my tongue.

“Yeah, I believe in us, too,” I said, actually beginning to believe the lie.

I watched my friends leave with a heavy heart, and then quickly ran back inside and into my room. I had about half an hour left to cry before the cafe closed and Zehna came upstairs.

I tried really hard not to think about tomorrow, but now that I was alone, I couldn’t escape my thoughts. Would Raum be there? He was a high-ranking demon, so probably not. Did he expect me to actually pass the exam? He just said to accept the invitation. I had a feeling that he’d let me know of any further steps tomorrow. He didn’t seem like the type to leave loose ends.

I looked at the stacks of books by my bed. I had managed to push my demon research under the bed before Liney came in. It would’ve raised a lot of questions if I had left it out in the open.

Zehna came after only a couple of minutes, and I was once again denied the alone-time I craved.

Her cheery look and the face free of any worries made my heart ache even more. Oh, Zehna, what you don’t know about my life...

“Kay, dear, I won’t bother you a lot. I just came to let you know one thing.” Zehna crouched in front of me, placing a hand on my cheek. I took in her scent, the sweet smell of caramel coffee that always made me feel safe and secure.

All that security managed to fall apart in a matter of minutes.

“Whether you pass the entrance exam or not, know that I’m proud of you. You know, I didn’t go to the Academy. I had always wanted my own shop. But it’s a great opportunity for you to discover yourself. I know that you’ve always felt excluded from the magical society, and this could be your chance to finally find your place in the world. Think about that, dear.”

She gave me a hug, and left.

But her words really did put things into perspective. Let’s say I managed to comply with Raum’s every order. I’d be free, and I’d have gotten a taste of magic. In fact, I remembered Argal talking about how breaking off a pact with a demon left some of the demonic essence within a human, and actually made a mage’s abilities greater. I wasn’t sure what would happen to humans, but the sliver of hope that the memory made me feel made me not care. There really was a chance for all this mess to turn out beneficial for me.

With that thought engraved in my mind, I peacefully drifted into sleep.

***

The morning was crisp and fresh, and I was grateful for the warm, grey hoodie I wore over my shirt. I closed the car door carefully and looked at the meeting place.

It was a mansion of sorts behind a very tall gate, on a street just outside of the city. The only things around the mansion were fields left and right, and a forest behind it. There was no civilisation for quite a while around it, in fact.  I wasn’t sure why the entrance exam was taking place at a rural mansion, but I didn’t really mind it, as it looked properly majestic. It was at least four floors tall and very, very wide, built in a Victorian style with dark bricks and wood, combined with red here and there. I had very little sense for aesthetics, but even I could recognise the beauty, and consequentially the price and worth, of such a place.

At the closed gates stood a young blond man with the iciest-blue eyes I have ever seen. He was smiling and already looking at me expectantly.

I broke his gaze and turned back towards our eleven-year-old car. We didn’t really need a car, but Zehna kept her old one in a garage, just in case. And it came in handy now.

She was sitting at the driver’s seat, smiling at me proudly.

“Goodbye, Kay! Go crush them, okay?” She said and gave me one more warm smile. I grinned back at her in spite of the anxiety tightly clutching my chest and the trembles of fear which had already started to overcome me. Was it too late to turn back?

As if she knew what I was thinking about, Zehna waved at me and simply drove off, leaving me to watch her drive off in disbelief.

My fear got ten-times worse, and I barely forced myself to turn back around towards the gate. I reminded myself that I could quit any time I wanted. I had food, water, my phone, a spare battery and a light jacket in my backpack, as well. I was well rested, relatively fine with my disastrous situation, and my best friend would be with me soon.

I walked over towards the guy and smiled.

“Hi, um, I’m here for the-” I began, but he cut me off without a second thought.

“Please, show me your invitation, candidate!” He said in a cheerful tone.

“Oh, right,” I mumbled, looking through my bag and getting a slight panic attack when it took me longer than a second to find it. I handed the black letter to him, and he looked over it before handing it back.

“Excellent. Are you aware of the supernatural world?”

I nodded. “I am, but I believed I wasn’t a super.”

“Yes, yes. The academy does not make mistakes, know that. If you are strong willed and capable of harnessing your powers, you will pass, no matter whether you had any previous knowledge of your abilities. However, for your convenience, everyone in your situation was told to arrive to the meeting place earlier as you will receive some brief tips and an educated guess of what your abilities might be.” Before I could open my mouth to thank him, he turned towards the gate and held his hands up. Then, the gate swung open inward.