School of Deaths (26 page)

“With such a number of new souls, the Dragons needed a place to process them. They wanted a place for souls to wait, while they flew one soul at a time to the Hereafter. This was before that fancy door, the College, or the In-Between. The Dragons dreamed of all those things, but had no capacity to build. Thus, they created the Elementals. Using fire and magic, they formed living creatures to help build them a city, which is now the College. The Elementals built the World of the Dead, and the Dragons were happy for their help.”

“I don’t understand,” said Suzie. “Where were the Deaths?”

“The Deaths,” said Hinara, “came from the East, beyond the sea. How they came to this world is a mystery. Some suspect that the Dragons created them as well and forgot. Others say it was an accident, when a Dragon mistakenly brought a living man from the Mortal World. And others claim that whatever god created the Dragons, formed the Deaths as well.”

“The men Hinara mentioned were called the Donkari,” said Kasumir. “They were an ancient people from across the sea. The Donkari were all male, and vicious. Every few years, they raided villages in the Mortal World, recruiting new Donkari. They believed only males were worthy of being raised as Donkari. And as you’ve probably guessed, they crossed to the Mortal World using blades from their homeland, the first scythes.”

“We didn’t learn any of this in History,” said Suzie. She found herself sitting, overwhelmed with new knowledge. She thought back to the ancient books in the secret library. She’d seen pictures of ships, and she did seem to remember the word Donkari. What did it have to do with her?

“I assure you, this will make sense, and it does connect to you personally,” said Giri. She found it hard to meet his eyes. They were familiar, those twin pools of green flame.

“At first the Donkari wanted peace,” said Kasumir. “But when they discovered the power of the Dragons, they became jealous. They renamed themselves
Deaths
and started a war. They could cross to the Mortal World, and they wanted to ferry souls. They believed if they transported souls, they would have the powers of the Dragons. They were wrong, of course.”

“That’s when Lovethar arrived,” said Hinara. “By all accounts it was an accident. During a raid to get more Deaths, they accidentally snatched a young girl from a village, mistaking her for a boy. By the time she arrived here, it was too late. The Deaths raised her, even as they threatened war on the Dragons.”

“They taught us a little about her,” said Suzie. “They said she betrayed the Deaths, and that’s why she was killed.”

“In a sense she did,” said Kasumir. “Yet her sin was the same as my own. She fell in love with an Elemental.”

“Suzie, are you all right?” Billy’s voice filled the hall behind her, and she turned to watch him come in.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“Fine. Did you ask them? Are they going to help?”

“We will help,” said Hinara.

“I—” started Suzie. “I didn’t even have the chance. I mean, you were telling me.”

“It is important that you understand where you come from, and why things have become tense,” said Kasumir.

“Does this have something to do with the Dragon Key?” asked Suzie. “I keep hearing about it.”

Giri looked at the other Elementals and then turned to her. His eyes blazed in a familiar, yet strange way.

“Perhaps,” he said. “I have heard rumors, but nothing more.”

“Tell her, Giri,” said Hinara.

“Lovethar was a curious girl. As she grew older, she explored far beyond the College. She walked the same path you did. She met a young Elemental named Orryn. Orryn impressed Lovethar by making rocks fly through the air and stop suddenly. He had been practicing a game many of our kind play.”

“They were playing when I was brought through the village,” said Billy. “Looked like boskery, only magical.”

“Magic,” laughed Kasumir, “is a word used to describe things you don’t understand. Yes, fire and magic formed the Elementals, according to the old songs. Yet, we don’t think of ourselves as
magic
, simply gifted with abilities. Orryn was an Earth Elemental and could manipulate stone and metal. He was also a threat to the Deaths, since Lovethar left the Deaths to live here. The Deaths accused her and Orryn of plotting with the Dragons. Some claimed that Orryn forged a Dragon Key, using stolen metal from a scythe and his own power as an Elemental. The Dragon Key was supposed to be more powerful than the scythes; it was supposed to even unlock the Hereafter itself.” She laughed again. “No one has proof, and I doubt such a key ever existed.”

“But the Deaths believed it did,” said Suzie. “They wrote about it a lot.”

“The Deaths cared about Lovethar,” said Giri. “The war with the Dragons started, and she was here. Since the Dragons formed us, Deaths assumed we were natural enemies in the war. The Dragon Key story was an excuse to punish her. They captured her and did burn her on Widow’s Peak.”

“The story we learned is true?” asked Suzie. “But if she died—”

“She didn’t die,” said Hinara. “They tried to burn her, yes, but Orryn saved her.”

“She was rescued?” asked Suzie.

“And she wasn’t alone,” added Hinara. “She and Orryn had a son: Gesayn. The Deaths tried to kill both in the flames. Orryn saved both his wife and infant son, but the boy was maimed. Gesayn lost a hand, but the family lived. They went into hiding, only emerging after the war.”

“The Deaths won the war,” said Kasumir. “Yet though the Elementals were neutral, we were treated as enemies. That is when the enslavement began, the hatred of my kind. Male Elementals were forced to work at the College for a million years, up until the Styxia revolt. A revolt you helped inspire, Susan.”

“Me? I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“News that a female Death had returned started the Elementals thinking. And I had a vision.” Kasumir waved toward her darkened eye sockets. Did she have eyes, or were they holes?

“Lovethar’s line did not end with her son, Gesayn,” said Kasumir. “Gesayn’s sons were forced to work for the Deaths. For a thousand generations, the Elementals continued to grow. Lovethar’s blood ran thin. She was forgotten in all but name, as each new generation of male Elementals started their work with the College. Until a clever boy named Gesayni became frustrated. Named for a distant ancestor he himself had long forgotten, he disguised himself as a Death and joined the College. He eventually stole a scythe and escaped to the Mortal World. He lived and raised his own family there. Suzie, you are his granddaughter.”

“What? That’s impossible,” said Suzie. She knew three of her grandparents. One had passed when she was young; a man she had heard was an orphan, a man named…

“Giuseppe Sarnio,” said Hinara. “Who came to America as an orphan. In truth, he came to your world as a refugee: an Elemental seeking to escape the Deaths. His blood flows in you as well, Susan. It is no accident that you’re here.”

“But I belong in the Living World,” insisted Suzie. “Even if everything you’ve told me is true and honestly, I don’t believe it.” She paused, her head spinning. “Even if it
is
true and I’m a descendent of Lovethar and Elementals, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t mean anything to me. I want to pay Sindril back for killing my friend. I want to show the Deaths that he shouldn’t be in charge, and I want to go home. We came here to ask for your help in that. This other stuff doesn’t matter.”

“You’re wrong,” said Giri. “We want to help you because of who you are. We want to take down Sindril for what the Deaths have done to us. Don’t you understand? You can’t leave. You belong in this world, Suzie. Our blood has come home. You must finish what Lovethar tried to do a million years ago, and bridge the gap between Elementals and Deaths. It’s why you are here.”

“I’m not here for some grand purpose,” shouted Suzie. Her cheeks reddened. This hadn’t gone the way she’d planned. The smell of strawberries made her sick, as did the three ’Mentals spouting nonsense in front of her.

“Wait,” said Suzie. “Let me make this clear. I don’t buy your story. I’m an ordinary girl. Sindril is a creep, and I want to make him pay. We’re going to create a diversion, and I’m going to sneak into his office. I don’t care about what happened a million years ago. Maybe I was curious when I first got here, but that’s ancient history. Will you help me do something that matters
now
and stop worrying about the distant past?”

Billy took her hand and squeezed. The gesture was reassuring. Could she be part ’Mental? Is that why Cronk had brought her to the World of the Dead in the first place? Is that why Plamen, if it was Plamen, kept showing her visions? Maybe that explained why Athanasius had given her the cake and tried to help her during the coup. Many pieces made sense, and yet she couldn’t believe it. She didn’t belong on this world, she belonged with her parents.

“We will help you,” said Kasumir. “What exactly is the plan?”

Billy smiled. She forced herself to smile back.

East Tower

“How’d it go?” asked Jason.

They’d snuck back during the night, following two Elementals who helped hide them. Given the overwhelming powers of the ’Mentals, Suzie didn’t understand how they’d ever been subjugated, although the scythes were powerful as well. She shuddered as she thought of the blade in her hand, tearing downward,
eating
the threads of Elias Stoneridge’s soul. The blade had a terrifying
living
quality, which was ironic considering its use.

“It went well,” said Billy. “Look.”

Anil and Ilma, the two Elementals who’d guided them, appeared suddenly. It was a trick of the air, which they manipulated to make themselves invisible. Suzie didn’t understand it, but they’d slipped back to the Ring of Scythes without detection.

“Wow,” said Jason. “Frank will be excited.”

“Where is he?” asked Billy, looking around the secret library. Suzie glanced around the room as well. This room she’d discovered; it was her safe haven, maybe even her home.

“Luc was making a fuss about you guys being sick for a week,” said Jason. “Frank went to take care of it. To shut him down before it became a big deal.”

“Are you cold?” asked Billy as Suzie shuddered a second time. Frank had
taken care
of Luc. What had he done to the albino? Why was it always Frank who
took care
of these situations?

“I’m fine,” she said. Billy gave her a look, his scarred eye contracting. He turned back to Jason. The more she looked as his disfigured face, the less it bothered her. Billy had stayed by her in the village of the ’Mentals. He’d been the first Death who was nice to her. And the kisses. She wasn’t completely sure how she felt about Billy, but she liked the kisses. Billy had warmth, a comfort she didn’t sense anywhere else in this world. When she passed her Final Test in a couple of weeks, she’d be sure to come back and take Billy to the Living World with her. Maybe she’d take Jason and Frank too.

“The plan’s set,” said Billy, “Exactly as Suzie proposed. The ’Mentals will storm the College at noon tomorrow. The campus will erupt into chaos. Suzie, you have to be in Sindril’s office when all hell breaks loose. You’ll find what you need and get out. If he catches you stealing, or realizes that you took anything…”

“He won’t,” she said. “I’ll find the proof I need, grab it, and leave before he even gets back. The ’Mentals will help us spread the word of what he’s done. He’s up to something, and once the Council finds out, they’ll have to fire him. If I can get rid of Sindril before I leave this world, Athanasius and the other ’Mentals won’t have died in vain.”

Jason let out a long, deep breath. “It’s a long shot,” he said. “But we’re all in this now.”

“All for one and one for all,” said Billy. “Like the Musketeers.”

“The trick is making sure I’m in his office before noon,” said Suzie. “If I go too early, I’ll have a hard time staying, but if I go too late it will look suspicious.”

“Give yourself fifteen minutes,” said Billy. “Any more and he’ll get suspicious. But any less and it’ll be cutting it too close.”

“What exactly are you looking for?” said Jason.

“I don’t know,” said Suzie, “but I’ll find it somehow. Anything about the Dragon Key might be good, or something that shows he’s up to something.” She frowned. It was still hard to believe that the ’Mentals had no idea what the Key was. Was it only a rumor? If it
had
been a ploy to attack Lovethar a million years ago, why would Frank’s friend suffer for mentioning it?

Too many questions remained. Even if everything the ’Mentals had told her was true, and she was descended from ’Mentals and Lovethar, it didn’t explain why Sindril wanted her here. Bridging some gap between Elementals and Deaths sounded noble and grand, but the ’Mentals hadn’t brought her, the Deaths had. Somehow, she doubted Sindril cared if ’Mentals and Deaths got along. She’d seen his parade, where ’Mentals were whipped like slaves. No, something else was going on, something darker.

“We attack at noon,” said Anil. “Good luck, Suzie.”

* * * *

The East Tower loomed in front of her, blocking the sun. She’d pictured this day as dark and stormy, but now that it was here, the sun was shining and a refreshing spring breeze blew wisps of fallen petals across the canyon courtyards of the College. Deaths milled about the campus in short sleeves. A pair of Deaths tossed a boskery ball back and forth. Birdsong lingered in the air, which smelled of strawberries. Would anyone else notice the strong smell?