“Professor Wyvern made us go in,” Seth said thoughtfully. “Of course, because he knew…” He looked at Adrian, a hint of pure hate flickering in his blue eyes. “Should we call you Professor Akkad from now on?”
Adrian didn’t deem that worthy of a response. He held Seth’s gaze until Seth gave in and averted his eyes.
“I’m here thanks to you,” I said. “The three of you. And now I have a second chance. While in Heaven, I learned how I might banish the Great Old Ones. Well, not me. I won’t be able to do anything. But I have to find the descendants of the five original mages who opened the portals so many thousands of years ago. It’s all in motion already. Lorna Chiaramonte promised she’d find them for me. I’m waiting for word from her. And once the five descendants agree to help, the stars will be aligned just right on Christmas Night next year. That’s when the ritual has to be performed.”
“Yolanda,” Headmaster Colin started in a grave voice. “They will never let you.”
I straightened my back.
“Who will never let her?” Davien asked.
“The Supernatural Council.”
“I don’t care,” I said through gritted teeth. “I will do it anyway. I will do what I think is right. The blood sacrifices need to stop. Not just at Grim Reaper Academy, but all over the world. I witnessed one last year. It was…” I shook my head. I should’ve asked Lorna to erase that memory, too. “Mila will retire next year. Her immunity from death will be taken away, and she’ll be a revenant again. Francis will be a revenant again. If they want to keep their youth and health, they will have to start bringing Yig sacrifices again. I won’t allow that. I will not let my own cousin become a murderer.” Well, not any more than she already was.
“Holy shit!” Davien jumped out of his chair. He threaded his fingers through his red, disheveled hair. “Holy shit, revenants and blood sacrifices! This is real. All this is real, and it has been happening right here? At the Academy?” He pointed at the floor. “Right under our… feet?”
“Take it easy,” Adrian said. “Keep your voice down. There’s no reason to alert the staff.”
“Don’t you tell me to take it easy, pal!”
I sighed. Okay, the guys didn’t seem willing to keep the peace for much longer.
“Calm down. Both of you.” I stood up and motioned for Corri to get on my shoulder. I looked at Headmaster Colin and Professor Lovecraft. “I wanted you to know what I intend to do. Mr. Lovecraft, you wrote about the Great Old Ones, and I thought it was time for you to know the truth. Headmaster Colin, this is your school.”
He shook his head gently. “Yolanda, they will not let you. Yig, the well, the caves… they were all here before the Academy was built. And you know who donated the money to build it, right? The Saint-Germains. From father to son, they are all revenants who’ve sworn loyalty to the Father of Serpents.”
I grinned. “And I don’t care. I don’t need the approval of the Saint-Germains. They’re not on the Council, anyway.”
“But they’re close to the Council. They have influence.”
“Then I will simply… not tell them.” I leaned over the table, looking the headmaster deep in the eyes. “And you shouldn’t tell them either.”
“They’ll find out.”
“We’ll do our best, and maybe they won’t. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go to the library to collect my thoughts.”
As I walked out of the dining hall, I felt relieved. I’d done it. I’d told them all the truth. Not only about me and my secret to staying alive for so long, but also about my mission. I just hoped Adrian, Seth, and Davien understood how important this was to me, as well as how probable it was for them to lose me. My heart felt lighter than ever before.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
We met at the Holy Chapel, outside, on top of the cliff overlooking the ocean. Both the Holy Chapel and the Unholy Chapel were designed to have two entrances each – one from within the Academy, and one from without. Thus, former alumni who wanted to come in and meditate or pray, could do so without disturbing anyone. When Lorna sent me the message, I asked Headmaster Colin and Professor Lovecraft to accompany me. Lovecraft refused, saying he didn’t want to be involved in what was to come. He’d done his part, and after he’d learned about what had happened to me, he was even glad he was a vampire now and couldn’t dream travel anymore. Headmaster Colin accepted, of course. I asked Adrian, Seth, and Davien, too. I needed them on my side. Their presence made me feel safe. They had rescued me from myself and from Yig once, and I knew that despite their differences, if they had to, they would join forces and do it again.
Lorna teleported first. She was wearing her Reaper cloak, and her scythe was glowing red, signaling that she was being summoned to reap just then. The wind was howling, lifting the snow that had just fallen in the freezing air. Winters in Salem were anything but kind. Lorna’s hood fell, and her long, black hair danced around her head, making her look like a ghost all dressed in black.
“I can’t stay,” she said quickly. “Headmaster Colin, it’s so nice to see you.”
“Miss Chiaramonte, thank you for doing this.”
Looking at all of us, she chuckled. “I see that what we’re doing here isn’t a secret anymore.”
“I need as many allies as I can get,” I said.
“Agreed. Well, the descendants will be here any minute. I told them everything, and they want to help.”
“What took you so long?”
“It wasn’t easy to track them all down. And then they said they needed time to do some research of their own. It doesn’t matter. It is done. They will do what you tell them to do.” Her scythe glowed a darker shade of red now. She looked up at the blade and sighed. “Good luck, Yoli!”
“Thank you.”
She teleported away.
“This is exciting,” Corri said from where she was sitting on my shoulder.
“Exciting?” Seth huffed. “It’s giving me the creeps.”
They were all on edge, I could feel it. Adrian was standing a few feet away. When he’d joined us, I caught a glimpse of the long whip he carried at his belt. The Hydra’s Tail. It was the first time I saw his weapon of choice, and something quivered inside me at the sight of it. It looked dangerous, yet so seductive. I hoped he wouldn’t need it tonight, but I couldn’t deny that I wanted to see him use it.
Seth and Davien were both by my side, as if they were ready to grab me and get me out of there if anything happened. Headmaster Colin was a few feet in front of me, waiting to greet the mages. Two of them had been his students two hundred years ago.
They teleported one after the other. Two of them were dressed in Reaper cloaks and were carrying scythes with curved handles. They were Merrit Castegny, Violent Death, and Klaus Hamelin, Merciful Death. I didn’t know the other three – two men and a woman. The woman was short and tiny, wearing a fur coat that covered her from head to toe.