6. Chapter 6
Chapter 6
I t’s in the late afternoon of our fourteenth day in 2056 that we finally reach the German forest bordering the Academy grounds. In silence, we keep walking, driven forward by the plan that will allow us to enter the castle, do it before sundown and avoid being seen.
And it’s a good plan, but it’s with a heavy heart that I keep making my way through the towering trees, our three pairs of boots shuffling the leaves underfoot.
It’s not all the dangers we’ve been through that are making me sad. Sure, there’s been a number of vampire soldiers we’ve had to hurt to avoid being arrested. But these are all people actively choosing to side with Baldur.
What’s making me sad is the state of the world now that he’s ruling it. What hurts is having to see the way nature all around us seems to be reacting to the presence of evil magic, even more so than before I traveled back in time. We’ve seen entire forests rapidly rotting away, shadows killing animals by the dozens, even the sky vomiting acid rains.
Still, nothing pains me as much as the state of the settlements we’ve passed to get here — vampires living in luxury while faes live in poverty and shifters rot away in prisons.
It’s absolutely despicable, so much so that I can barely hold it together without screaming, but I’m going to find a way to fix it even if it’s the last thing I do.
Right now, I’m nearing the end of the first stage in my plan — getting settled in the Academy.
The only problem is…
Even if it’s no longer Baldur’s headquarters, it’s not entirely deserted for sure. The chances of that being the case are astronomically low, especially in a world like this.
So once we arrive and inevitably find someone there, what approach do I take?
Do I run, stay and sneak around, or barge into the place like I own it?
Just as I start going through those options for the millionth time in the last two weeks, we find the clearing.
It’s only once we spot the tree and the carvings in it that we exchange looks of relief.
To me, the sight brings sadness as well, because this is a secret entrance into the Academy that Jericho showed me.
But I shake it off and I keep moving.
I walk over to the tree and inspect the carvings a little closer. They’re just as I remember them — triangles with simplistic eyes in the middle.
Looking over my shoulder to give Lorcan and Raven a nod, I start climbing. It doesn’t take long to reach the branch with the identical carvings on it.
Coming to stand on it, I take a deep breath to brace myself. Once I do, I grab the branch with both hands and jump down so I’m hanging. Then I engage my core and lift my legs over my head, placing my feet on the branch before letting my hands hang.
Almost instantly, the world around me turns upside down and the tower appears, with the small wooden window we use to climb inside.
The smell of stagnant air that greets us once we close the window behind us is so familiar, but I don’t let myself linger in the past. I start climbing the stairs, returning to the issue of my approach once we enter.
But now that I’m so close, there’s no more sadness.
There’s only anger, especially when I spot the door at the top of the stairs, behind which I know we’ll find the hallway on Academy’s Level One.
The very memory of it makes me come to a decision. This is my Academy. Just like the world will be ours , not his . Looking over my shoulder to exchange a glance with Lorcan and Raven, I look through the spyhole.
And of course, who do I see on the other side — staring at the portrait of Vasilisa the Wise with his back turned to us? One of his goddamn soldiers.