Surviving Year One (Grim Reaper Academy 1)

“Yes. In reality, I was asleep in my bed, and I was dreaming. But at the same time, I knew I was dreaming, and I had full control of my actions. Everything I was doing and saying, it was all me. The real me. Not the dream.”

He nodded. “Go on.”

“This antique shop was incredible! The walls were covered in shelves from top to bottom, and the shelves held old, luxuriously bound books, jewels, expensive clothes, bottles of perfumes, hand mirrors… It was insane! And everything looked ancient, yet well-preserved. Precious stones, gold, silver… anything ancient and expensive you can think of, it was there. In the middle of the room, there was a round table. When I looked closer, I saw that the objects displayed on it were, in fact, buildings in miniature. They were from different eras. Not only houses with gardens and pools, but also roads, and… well… graves.”

“Graves?” Francis shifted uncomfortably, as if he’d been sitting in the same position for too long.

“Yeah, graves.

Dozens of imposing, beautifully decorated graves. And they all seemed so real. Like the original houses and gardens and everything had been shrunk, so they could be displayed on this table. I turned to the Keeper and asked her: ‘What are all these things? These places?’ And she told me: ‘They all belonged to you. Everything you see here was yours in your past lives. Those were the houses you lived in, the roads you walked, and those are your graves.’ I was astonished. But, for some reason, it all made sense. I asked her if I could touch the jewels and the clothes, and she said yes. After all, they were all mine. I had accumulated them over dozens of past lives. So, I started trying things on, using the perfumes, going through the books. I was like… wow! Impressed at how many things I had accomplished. Looking at all the things and going around the room, I reached the wall on the right, and I saw that those shelves were empty. There were just two old, normally looking notebooks. And I asked the Keeper: ‘Why are these shelves empty?’ She told me: ‘Because you have to fill them up with things you achieve in your current life.’ And that was when I felt… devastated. Like, completely broken. ‘This is your last life as a human, and you have to fill these shelves before you move on.’ And that was when I started crying. Ugly crying.”

Was it just me, or had Paz just shivered a bit? He was a demon, he couldn’t possibly feel the cold. Although, it had gotten a bit too chilly, all of a sudden. Strange, but it seemed like the campfire couldn’t quite fight the cold night air any longer. I wrapped my arms around myself and moved closer to the flames. A few of the VDC guys did the same.

“And then what?” Sariel asked.

I shrugged. “I cried and cried until I woke up. For real.”

“Why were you so… broken?” asked Francis.

“You know. Because I’d apparently achieved so many great things in my past lives, and now…” I shrugged again, as if it was obvious, so why were they making me say it out loud? “I’m eighteen and I haven’t done shit. Except be born. There were precious stones, and crowns, and villas in that antique shop. Some of the graves looked like queens were buried there. How can I possibly fill those empty shelves with… this life?”

“What’s wrong with this life?” Francis spoke again. “You’ll be a Grim Reaper. The first human Grim Reaper in history. That must count for something. Two hundred years of reaping must fill some of those shelves.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. Francis was… supporting me? Actually supporting me?! And he was so confident about it. So confident that I’d graduate and become a Grim Reaper, when not even Klaus had said it out loud. Not even Patty, and I knew she cared about me. I could almost cry. Ugly cry, like I’d done in that lucid dream.

“She won’t become a Grim Reaper if she doesn’t become a true member of the Violent Death Cabal first,” Sariel said as he stood up. “Come, trash princess who can lucid dream. Let’s turn you into a real VDC homie.”

I blinked in confusion. Was this a joke? Was he trying to pull something nasty again? It seemed like it, because the other VDC guys looked just as surprised as I was.

Sariel noticed and, with an annoyed sigh, proceeded to explain himself. “My great-granddad was a Grim Reaper. He was in the VDC, too. After he retired, he told me all kinds of stories from back when he attended the Academy. It’s not enough that the test sorted us into the Violent Death Cabal. We have to prove our worth. I’ve been thinking these days, and I figured it out. We don’t feel like we belong together because we don’t.” He smiled, and for a second there, I felt like that could be his real smile. I couldn’t be sure, though. I could never be sure with Sariel. “It’s a full moon, we’re in the forest, so this is perfect. Let’s do it.”

Everyone stood up, ready to do as Sariel said. It was like they didn’t even care what he was going to ask of them. They were going to do it just because the archangel had, supposedly, heard it from his great-grandfather, the Grim Reaper. I stayed put.

“Follow me.” Sariel turned around and headed deeper into the forest, where GC had disappeared earlier. A few steps in, he felt something wasn’t right, and he turned around. “Mila, this is your first and last chance to belong. Are you going to sit on your ass?”

I didn’t know what it was. The fact that he’d called me by my name for the first time, or the fact that he’d implied I was a coward? I didn’t know. I would never know.

“No.”

I stood up and followed Sariel.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The twin cliffs. I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to see them again. Sariel stopped at the edge of the cliff we were on and looked in the distance, at the second cliff. The ocean was raging between them, waves crashing on the rocks below.

“Beautiful view, isn’t it?” he said to no one in particular. “But we’re headed that way.” He pointed west, along the edge of the cliff, then started walking.

As I followed him and the rest of the VDC, I threw one last glance over the cliff. A chill ran up my spine. I made sure I was last in line, letting all the guys walk before me, thinking that if things went south for whatever reason, and this turned out to be just another of Sariel’s cruel pranks, I could vanish into the forest and head back to the Academy before they realized I wasn’t there anymore.

“Here. This is a good spot. Mila, come!”

My heart jumped. He’d called me Mila again. Why did I like hearing my name come from his lips so much? If he’d called me kuchka or trash princess, I wouldn’t have gone. But he hadn’t. He’d called me Mila, and I felt compelled. I wanted to know what had made him change his attitude toward me. Was it the dream? It made no sense.

I stepped next to him and looked over the edge. The ocean was calm here, the full moon reflecting in the dark, deep water. Sariel turned to face the VDC, and the guys all formed a semi-circle around us. Paz and Francis were waiting, just as curious as the others. GC hadn’t joined us, still. He was probably somewhere in the forest, running around, chasing wild animals that were smaller than him, having the time of his life.

“Who’s ready for a swim? You all better be, because only those who jump over this edge and into the freezing water below will truly belong to the Violent Death Cabal.”

“Are you fucking crazy?” The words left my mouth before I could censor myself.