“Isn’t this against the Academy rules? As a future Grim Reaper, I must see and know these places. It’s discrimination!”
Mrs. Maat pursed her lips. When she spoke again, her voice was cold.
“Miss Morningstar, you’re the first human to attend Grim Reaper Academy. I’ve never dealt with this situation before. It is my personal and professional opinion that visiting the Carnelian City is not safe for your kind. I will inform Headmaster Colin, and if he says you can go, then whatever happens afterwards, it’s on him.”
“Thank you.” Obviously, Headmaster Colin was going to side with me. I just hoped he could convince Professor Maat that it was safe for me to go without having to tell her the truth – that I wasn’t human anymore. “Can I have my assignment, please?”
She went through her papers and pulled one out.
“Since scarab flu is the easiest disease to contract, you’re going to research scarabs.”
Content, I looked over the paper. This semester, Geography was going to be a hoot. I couldn’t wait to see Goblin Mountain, the Colossi Valley, and the green fields of Neem, where I heard so many wild animals from our forests retreated to avoid being hunted. Until then, I was excited about scarabs. The class was over, and I was headed to the Library when a flying piece of paper
floated right in my face. I caught it and unfolded it, already knowing what it was. When Headmaster Colin called a student to his office, he did it via these stupid papers that had the bad habit to smack us in the face, tangle in our hair, or poke us in the eye. I wondered if he did it intentionally, if he thought he was making some kind of old man joke.
“Miss Morningstar, please find your way to my office at your convenience,” the note said.
I sighed, teleported in front of his door, and knocked.
“Come in.”
My hand on the doorknob, I closed my eyes for a second and swallowed heavily. This was where it had happened. This was where I’d died by the blade of an Unseelie guard who’d watched me for a year and even helped me once. This was where I’d seen my father last. It gave me no pleasure to be in this room, so I hoped whatever Headmaster Colin needed from me, he’d make it fast.
“You wanted to see me.” I stepped in carefully and closed the door behind me. He’d redecorated. The warm colors on the carpet and curtains, the vintage vases filled with flowers from the garden, and the small potion cabinet made me feel slightly better. It was as if Morningstar had never occupied this office at all.
“Mila, you’ve been summoned by the Council. Today, if you can, after classes.”
I groaned. “Why?”
“I honestly don’t know. They don’t tell me everything. They probably want to hear about your progress.” He looked up from his papers. “If there’s any progress to speak of, that is.”
“Sure there is,” I said distractedly. Nope, there’s not. “Can I take someone with me? Francis? Sariel?” I couldn’t trust GC or Paz to behave properly in front of the Council. Most of the time, they were major goofballs.
“They summoned you, and no one else. I believe you can take your pixie, if you insist.”
Corri. I miss her. She’d been gone on the mission I gave her for quite a while. I wondered what she’d discovered. Probably not much, since she hadn’t contacted me yet.
“If this is all…” I made to leave.
He stood up, rounded his desk, and placed his hands behind his back.
“Are you feeling alright, Mila?”
“Sure. Why are you asking?”
“You’ve lost weight…”
I laughed out loud. “The perks of being a revenant!”
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Supernatural Council was made up of two women – a vampire and a demoness, and two men – a gargoyle and an angel. I only liked the gargoyle, because he was old and wise, like a grandpa. The others, not so much. The angel seemed too arrogant, the vampire looked like a blonde, plastic Barbie, and the demoness had this penetrating gaze that made me shudder. She was constantly trying to read my thoughts, and every time I was summoned in front of the Council, I had to make great efforts to keep my mind shut, and not think of things that certainly didn’t concern her. Which was rather hard, this time around…
I’d called Corri back, and she had news from Bulgaria. She was going to tell me everything only after the meeting. If I didn’t know anything, then the demoness wouldn’t, either. The pixie had her ways of protecting herself from telepaths.
I was summoned in the same room where Valentine Morningstar had brought Sariel before the Council, accused Mason Colin of being incapable of running the Academy, and demanded they made him Headmaster. There had been many spectators that day, Morningstar having interrupted some public meeting. Today, there were only the four councilors at their rectangular table perched atop its dais, and two other men in a corner, hiding in the shadows. I tried to distinguish their features, but they’d strategically chosen the only seats that weren’t illuminated by the sunshine pouring through the tall, cathedral-like windows above us.
The angel pointed at a chair that had been prepared for me, and I sat down. Corri was on my shoulder – my pixie guardian. I needed her for moral support.