40. Say What?
CHAPTER 40
Say What?
Rez
A s we step through, it’s a relief that there are no side effects or weird visions of Horsemen as I’ve previously had, just a normal portal. What I’m not expecting is the crowd of people seated in front of Dean Cauldron and the rest of the Leaders of Nova—minus Lilith—who are standing on a platform. The whole fucking school is assembled here, along with random families, sitting outside of the Administration building with surprised faces and now staring at us.
A few students jump in shock as we appear one by one, and a few who are closest to us pinch their noses like we smell. Well, news flash, honey: blood and guts aren’t supposed to smell like fucking roses. I smell like I survived Hell, and I’m wearing the fucking leathers to prove it. A Fae sitting next to us faints at our sight, and I can’t help but roll my eyes before I spot Dean Cauldron smirking in our direction.
Narrowing my eyes, I catch a tail end of smoke on the podium. Did he receive a letter from L.A.M.B. or Lilith telling them we opened the portals back up? Is that why he’s smirking, because he knows our secret?
If he did, he didn’t have time to tell the rest of the Leaders because they’re up and on their feet with different displays of emotion. Shock filters across their faces, and then pride as they realize what we just accomplished. Seeing their admiration, I can’t help but stand up taller—that is, until I hear Levi.
“Fuck,” Levi whispers.
Before I can ask him what, a bell tolls and Dean Cauldron calls for everyone to settle down.
“Thank you for joining us. You’re only a year and a half late, but we’re glad to have you. Would you like to take a seat?” Dean Cauldron says, indicating the seats toward the front that appear with the wave of his hand. As we approach, my body tingles, and I look down, spotting that even though my leathers are worse for wear, I’m not covered in blood and guts. Neither is anyone else, and I mouth a “thank you” to Dean Cauldron.
He smiles back and winks, making Moni giggle behind me.
“What is going on? And what did he mean a year and a half late?” I whisper to Ryker, who grabs my arm and guides me to the front of the congregated students as fast as possible. As we pass, Dean Cauldron reaches down from the stage and shakes Levi’s hand, making my mage’s eyes tear up suddenly. He clears his throat, and the emotion is gone, just like a robot. It’s a work in progress.
“My guess is an assembly, and your guess is as good as mine for the being so late part.”
“Ah,” I agree, sitting beside him. When Knots sits down next to me empty-handed, I almost lose my shit. “Where the hell is my mom?” I shriek. Chief Cloak sends me a scathing look for being so loud, and I give one right back.
Look, buddy. Your look doesn’t scare me. I’ve been through Hell and back and trained with L.A.M.B….fuck off. I don’t care if I was the only one making noise in the hushed assembly…Knots lost my fucking mother.
“Calm down, she’s in my S.I.N. box.” Knots reassures me in a hushed tone.
My eyes almost pop out of my head, and I open my mouth to tell him off when he covers my mouth with his hand. “It’s not like I can walk around with a dead body. I wasn’t even sure I wouldn’t be pulled back to my post in the dorm room. Please, just bear with me. We will take care of her as soon as we can. Okay?”
Shit, that didn’t even cross my mind that he could have easily been thrown back into the dorm room since I didn’t need him anymore. I nod, letting my shoulders relax, and lean back into my chair. Relief rolls in, and I start to absentmindedly pet Reaper. We made it out of Hell. We evidently saved Hell…well, we didn’t save it from the carnage L.A.M.B. will be dishing out, but we won. We are the first group in training to survive the Road of Worth and live to fucking talk about it.
Granted, I don’t think I want to share those horrors with anyone. Living it once is bad enough; recalling it will be twice as bad.
Feeling better about what we just survived, I whip my head around to hear what Dean Cauldron says as everyone claps.
Fuck, what did I miss?
“This has been a long tradition that the Fates created. All academies across Purgatory send their best students to face the wilderness and survive off the lands with nothing but their magic and knowledge. Each year, one of the schools will host for a week, and this year, we are the host academy. I can’t tell you how honored we are to host the five academies, including our students, but I also want to warn those who will be participating.
“This is not for the faint of heart. There is no shame in backing out, but I will remind you this is the only way to receive your portal passes to Earth. The truth is, there are a number of fatalities from each academy without the active Rebel and Sulks sightings, making this year’s tradition quite lethal.”
Why does the portal pass part sound familiar?
“As tradition calls, everyone, check your bracelets. If yours is glowing white, you’re ready. Please join us on stage,” he directs. He backs away from the podium and claps, and students begin to rise from their seats and proceed to the front of the stage.
Bracelets? Oh! I haven’t even thought about our bracelets since L.A.M.B. pointed out ours wouldn’t work in Hell. It was a relief not to worry about it, and to be honest, the purpose of the bracelet hadn’t even been on my radar. I’ve had bigger issues to deal with.
But at least the bracelets explain why this assembly was called. This must be the end-of-year announcements to state who will move up in the classes. Wait, that can’t be right. He was talking about wilderness shit. So we’ve spent at least most of the school year in Hell…that’s not too bad. I’m so lost. The side of my head starts to throb, and I reach up and gently rub my temple, trying to ease the ache. A shiver runs down my back, igniting goose bumps that appear along my arms, causing me to cuddle into Reaper's flames.
When I first came to Purgatory, I was told that the bracelets tracked our progress with magic. Each time your bracelet glows, you can move up in classes.
Hmm, I wonder if there are different colors for each class. That’s probably something I should have asked a while ago. Dean Cauldron said white, so I wonder what the other colors are. Well, at least now I can sit back and see who’s moving up in the world and out of my damn classes. I need to be herpes free—I mean, Harpy free before I kill someone.
“Hey, aren’t you going to check,” a vampire pokes me in the shoulder from behind. I turn to glare at him, and Reaper growls. “Sorry,” he throws up his hands in defense.
Rolling my eyes, I pull back my leather jacket and find my bracelet. Shining a bright iridescent white. Huh? How did that happen? It wasn’t working in Hell, so why is it glowing now?
Glancing down the row to the others, all of our bracelets shine brightly except for Lynx, indicating we need to join the rest at the front of the stairs. Knots leans over and whispers, “Congrats.” He gives me a thumbs up, and I realize he doesn’t have a bracelet either. I guess they don’t have to worry about tagging their Door Knights since they normally don’t pop out of their positions.
A part of me wants to stay seated and pull my jacket sleeve down, but I feel eyes on me before I can do so and look up, spying the shocked faces of the Leaders of Nova from seeing all of us glowing. The expressions of pride coming from Dean Cauldron and Dr. Steinbeck prevent me from hiding though. Well, shit .
Moni, JP, Knox, Levi, Zeke, and Ryker all rise, leaving me to be the next person in our row to get up. I begrudgingly stand, but before I can take a step or turn, I’m pushed back down into my seat.
Knots jumps to his feet and takes a menacing step toward the person in the aisle, but he can’t go far since I’m blocking the path. The guys all pause to turn back, but when Knots waves them off, they continue up the stairs.
Reaper growls, and I look up to find Emer glaring at me. Oh, sweet baby Jesus. The Harpy lives. This may need to be remedied soon.
“Let me dispense of her,” Knots whispers, gently grabbing my arm and helping me stand back up.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll just do the deed myself.” I look at him fully and give him a no-teeth smile, and he cracks a smile of his own as he nods.
“I know you’re capable,” he chuckles and sits back down.
I follow Emer up, Reaper at my feet. Thankfully, Levi found a spot between Ryker and Knox, which leaves a spot open next to Ryker, so I push between him and Emer.
Being the posh diplomat she pretends to be, she smiles through her teeth as she slips over, but she growls the whole time. I have no quandaries, so I nonchalantly place my hands on my waist but let my wrist slip, making my glaive flair out and point in her direction as I look out into the crowd.
“I would watch yourself, Princess. You almost sound menacing, and I’ve been in quite a few fights lately where I’ve been known to attack first, then ask questions,” I tell her through a tight smile. I shift my weight, and I feel my glaive press into her leg. “I would hate to make that mistake here.”
Emer’s audible gulp makes me smile inside as I shift my weight away and bite back the groan from my injury, but I know it’s a small victory. The point is, I’m not one to be fucked with, and if she wants to fight, I have more in my arsenal than just my fist, and now she knows it.
Angel walks up and slides between us, giving me a wide, toothy grin. “Hey Rez, how are you feeling? Thanks for opening up the Portal.”
“Angel, where the fuck have you been?” Emer hisses through her teeth.
“Relax, Emer.” Angel smiles brightly in her direction. “I’ve been delivering you a present. Given the looks of her, it should be ready in a few minutes,” she says, looking at me with a gleam in her eyes. Leaning in, she whispers into my ear. “I don’t know how you made it out of Hell, but I’m pretty sure your luck is about to run out. That gift should be making its grand debut in about….a few seconds. Who knows, I might see you back in Hell, so enjoy your last few moments.” She giggles as she moves out of my sight.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Dean Cauldron announces, bringing my focus back to the crowd before us as sweat drips down my back. “I’m proud to announce that before you are this week’s contestants for the Gauntlet. Please give them a hand.”
My vision blurs as heat explodes along every nerve in my body. Chills run up my arms and down my back as my legs crumble, and I fall like a sack of potatoes, barely missing crushing Reaper. My lungs seize in my chest and burn as my eyes water from the pain of my muscles locking up. I feel myself convulse, and there’s nothing for me to do but pray that the pain is over quickly.
“Rez!”
“Rezzi-bear!”
“Kitten!”
“Goddess.”
“Nerezza.”
“Bestie!”
“Rez.”
My mates’ faces come in and out of focus as my vision wavers.
“Move!” a rough voice demands.
A worried face with platinum blond hair and green eyes appears in my vision for a brief second before his rough hands grab my cheeks.
Dad?
“This is not supposed to happen,” he growls before everything goes black.