Chapter Thirty
Audrey
I wake up with a start, unsure why I’m awake. Glancing at the clock, I see it’s just after seven. I don’t want to be awake right now. I don’t have classes because of my final.
Shit! My final!
I wiggle out from between Brenden and Donovan, grinning when I see Wraith is spooning our hellhound from behind. The two of them are adorable, and absolute couple goals.
I don’t remember coming to bed last night. Hell, I don’t remember leaving Diana and Celeste’s place. Now that we’ve replaced the bed in my room with a bigger one, we all end up here most nights. I’m glad they chose to sleep with me even if I was dead to the world.
Shuffling off the bed, I grab my phone off the nightstand to find I have a few texts waiting for me.
Scythe Academy
Audrey Maddox, today is your final. You’re our first student scheduled. While the final will not begin until 8 you are expected at the Nightingale Combat Arena at 7:30.
Professor Novak will meet you there. He will make sure you’re properly outfitted and that you understand the process.
Good luck on your final, and may Death be with you.
I snicker at the last line as I glance at the bed. I don’t know who sent this or if everyone gets the same messages or not, but Death is definitely always with me—or at least part of him.
I reread the messages, wrinkling my nose when I see that I’m to meet Professor Novak. Just what I want to do before I take my final.
“What’s the look for, trouble?”
Glancing back at the bed, I find all three of my men awake and staring at me.
I hold up my phone. “I’ve just been informed that I’m the first student to do their final today, and I have to meet Professor Novak at Nightingale in like fifteen minutes. Damn it, I need to get ready. What am I supposed to wear? How do they expect me to make it all the way to the arena and get ready in fifteen minutes?”
Brenden appears in front of me, startling me. He brings his hands down on my shoulders. “Take a deep breath, firecracker. You can wear whatever you want. They’ll have you choose clothes when you get to the arena. Don’t worry about the time. I’ll get you there in less than a minute.”
“Right. Yeah. Vamp speed. Okay, let me get ready.” Ten minutes later, I’m standing outside our house.
“You’re going to do great, pretty girl.” He kisses me quickly before Wraith takes his place.
“Get in and get out. Grab your soul and get back to the underworld. Nex will go over the specifics with you. If anything happens to go wrong, keep your head about you. You’ve got this.” Then he kisses the hell out of me.
Brenden pulls me into his arms, leaning down to kiss me as well. “I’m going to do this now because I know you’re going to want to hurry into the arena. I love you, and you’re going to do amazingly. Be safe and come back to us. We’ll be waiting to celebrate with you.”
I only have a second to glance back at Wraith and Donovan, giving them a small wave before Brenden takes off. As promised, he has me there with minutes to spare. Brenden presses one last kiss to my forehead before I rush into the arena.
I find Professor Novak in the center of the arena and hurry over to him. “Professor Novak.”
“Miss Maddox. Early as usual. Good. Follow me. I’ll explain as we walk.” Without waiting for a response, he takes off toward the changing area. He quickly explains that I’ll have a few options to choose from as far as clothes go, and I’ll be required to choose a weapon. While they never expect things to go sideways, it’s always best to be prepared.
When we step into the changing room, I’m shocked to find multitudes of clothing laid out, as well as weapons.
“Choose what you want to wear and your weapon. You can change around the corner, and I’ll keep telling you about how your final will work.” He gestures toward the clothes, and I hurry over, listening to him with a half an ear.
I snicker when I find black hooded robes that are often associated with Death. Moving down the line, I find a pair of black leather pants in my size along with a strappy black tank top. I cheer out loud when I find a pair of heeled combat boots. I yank my clothes off and change quickly before heading toward the weapons. All the ones we’ve used in combat class are here, but there are others I’ve never seen before. Grabbing two daggers in their sheaths, I strap them to my thighs before turning back to Professor Novak.
“Have you heard anything I said?” He huffs, annoyance clear.
“Uh, yeah. I won’t know what soul I’m meant to collect until 8:00 on the dot. I won’t have a name or address—I’ll just be sent right to the scene. I collect the soul and check their mark to see where I’m meant to take them. A purple skull means I take them back here to the academy. A white, red, or green skull means I take them to Charon, who will bring them to the land they’ve been assigned to.”
Professor Novak looks shocked. “You didn’t look like you were paying attention.”
I scoff. “Believe it or not, some of us are able to multi-task with no issues. I’m ready.”
He nods. “Yes, I do believe you are. Follow me.”
Instead of leading me back out to the arena, he turns the opposite direction. I’ve never been past the changing rooms. I have no idea what’s back here. He takes a few more turns before stopping in front of a door. “This is the room we’ll wait in until it’s time. The information will be sent to my tablet as soon as you’re sent to the scene. I’ll remain in the room until you return. If you encounter any issues that you can’t handle, you’ll press the emergency button I’ll provide you. Do you have any questions before we head inside?”
I shake my head, ready for it to be 8:00. Not only so I can get my final over with, but so I can get away from Professor Novak. Just seeing him set my blood boiling. At least it’s distracting me from my nerves.
He nods, pushing open the door and gesturing for me to enter. There’s a desk on one side of the small room and a couch on the other. There’s not much room for anything else. I plop onto the couch, studiously ignoring the professor as he settles behind the desk. We’re both silent as we wait for it to be 8:00.
I gasp when I’m pulled from the couch with no warning. One second, I’m inside the office, and the next, I’m standing inside a house.
Glancing around, my eyes land on the dead body. All I can see are the person’s feet and the blood pooling around their body. It’s a lot of body, leading me to believe this was likely a violent death. Maybe that means the person will be a future reaper.
I'm so focused on the body, I don’t notice the soul at first. It’s a woman, but that’s all I can tell. Seeing a soul isn’t quite the same as seeing a person alive. Until they get to the underworld, they are little more than a glowing golden light. The only reason I can tell that it’s a woman is because I saw the person’s feet.
“Hello,” I call out, but the soul keeps staring down at her dead body, I can only imagine what’s going through her head as she stares down at herself. She has her memories for now, but if she’s heading to the academy, then they’ll be wiped away once we hit the underworld.
Walking over, I take the soul’s hand in mine—or at least what I assume is her hand. It’s not like there’s any real definition to her at the moment. Flipping it over, I see the purple skull and let out a sigh of relief. I know I’ll have to meet the ferryman eventually, but I’m glad it doesn’t have to be today.
“Hi there,” I try again. “I’m sure you’re very confused about what’s going on right now, but I’m here to take you to where you need to go. We can’t stay here. Unfortunately, you’re already dead.”
The soul turns toward me, a wail falling from their lips that brings tears to my eyes. When it turns back to its body, I can’t help turning toward it as well.
“No... No. No. No. No.” I let out my own wailing scream.
This can’t be happening.
The end… for now.
To be continued in book two, Dancing With Death.