The Cunning (H. Academy Series #3)

THREE YEARS LATER

JADE

October sun was setting, colouring the drying leaves in orange, throwing an autumnal filter over the neo-gothic buildings on the Hunt Academy estate. The summer’s heat had been lingering on the cobbled pathways until the beginning of October; the weather changed only a few days prior to the meeting at the Headmaster’s office, which started ten minutes ago.

I put on jeans and a black T-shirt, threw a black blazer over it, scooped the waves of my silver hair into a bun, and dabbed some blush on my cheeks. I spent most of my days in gym leggings, and putting on jeans felt like fashion progress.

I was late, and I’d lie if I said it was by accident.

Dereck Montgomery’s meetings were my favourite to be late for – it kept up the pretence that I didn’t really care about whatever was going on behind closed doors of Darth’s demon hunting group. In a way, though, I didn’t. The gym was my sanctuary, and training my magic my highest priority. At least if demons came again, I might stand a chance at beating them.

A knock shook me out of my staring contest with the mirror.

“Coming!” I shouted.

“Seriously? Darth is going to kill you!” Amma’s voice came from the other side. “This is the fifth time you’re late.”

I opened the door, finding her bewildered expression. “Let’s not pretend for a second that you guys actually need me there.”

“We don’t, but your sarcastic commentary is keeping us grounded.” She put both of her hands on her hips.

One was a regular hand, made out of flesh and bones, the other was woven with thick, fresh vines and filled with chlorophyll. She had had it for almost two years now, and it almost entirely worked like a real hand, except she needed to sunbathe it more often than the other, human hand.

She’d leaned into her earth element even more strongly this year, adopting floral design and earthy colours into all of her wardrobe. It all looked amazing against her flaming red hair and her azure eyes. She was a beauty, inside and out, and she kept mesmerizing everyone around her, completely unaware of it.

“I’m ready.” I stepped out of the room and slammed the door shut behind me. “Wanna walk me through what I’m about to find out?”

“And take all the fun out of listening to your father gloat like it’s his achievement?” she asked as she hopped down the stairs.

“You’re right, don’t wanna spoil that for myself,” I murmured and followed her.

“Ahh, can’t believe we’re graduates,” Amma squealed suddenly, reminding me that we had, indeed, just started our fifth year. “What’s your schedule for this year?”

“Ah, let’s see, a whole bunch of offensive magic,” I said and pulled out my phone; Lange emailed the schedule a week ago. “Spirit Communication with Professor Oberman, Potions: Intermediate and Advanced with Lorenia, Advanced Curse Crafting, Blood Magic and Sacrificial Rites, Warding 101, Illusions and Glamours...” my voice trailed off, then sped up. “Ethics and Law, Psychometrics, and, eh, fuck, Practical Invocations with Darth.”

“Yeah, I have Practical Invocations, too, and Ethics and Law, and Psychometrics,” Amma said. “But also Herbal Alchemy, Mythical Creatures and Familiars, Familiar Bonding and Care, Forbidden Grimoires and Lost Tomes, Talisman and Amulet Creation, and a specialized Earth Magic with Lorenia. And a bunch of electives.”

I pouted. “And where, pray tell, are we going to fit in all the partying we’re supposed to do our last year?”

She laughed as we descended to the lounge area. “I’m pretty sure we all have more important things to do.”

Right, figuring out what to do with our lives after the Academy ended. Except, my plans for the future ended where the demon world began. I found it easier this way – with everything laid out in front of me. My thoughts were: once I graduated, my father would find a spot for me at the Academy. Maybe I’d even get the Black Magic professor position, and he’d gradually get rid of Rosalia Bitchmond. A girl could dream. Well, I could live with being an assistant for a while.

“What are you gonna do this year?” I eyed Amma right as the setting sun cascaded through her red hair, making her chuckle somehow more pearly.

She eyed me back. “Same as you. Wait for the demons to attack.”

Deciding that there was no time like the present, I said, “You really should relax a bit, you know? You’ve been on this demon thing for years now. Listen-” I stopped for a sec. “Morta wants us to go out tonight, celebrate the beginning of our last year. To town. Not the H. Academy.”

Amma squinted, a gentle wrinkle forming between her brows. “Classes are starting tomorrow.”

“Oh, come on, tomorrow’s just freshman orientation – if there are still people crazy enough to send their kids to this damn school,” I said. “Come on, you might meet someone,” I tried, my own transparency transparent even to me.

Amma’s squint narrowed further; she knew what I was doing – testing out the situation.

“You two have fun,” she said, turned on her heel and headed to the main building.

I sighed and followed her. To say Morta and I were a little worried would be an understatement. Amma had withdrawn from everyone in the strangest way I’d ever seen. At first, we were sure she was depressed, but she looked... good. She looked like she was thriving. She was excelling in school, she was excelling in Darth’s demon hunting group, and she was excelling in mastering her element. It was no wonder she had no time for social obligations, such as actually talking to your friends from time to time about stuff. Maybe she was fine, and we were just a little hurt. It most definitely sounded that way to other people.

Once we reached the Headmaster’s chambers, Amma walked in first, commanding me to stay in front of the door and wait for them to let me in. This was the part I hated the most. I was totally fine with not being included in their theorizing and experimenting, but something about that gesture, that shutting of the door, rubbed me the wrong way. I was always on this side.

A minute later, the door flung open, and Thar stepped out.

I raised an eyebrow. “They send you out to make sure I don’t start throwing myself against the door?”

Thar chuckled and approached me. I crossed my hands on my chest, but he pulled me into a hug anyway, trapping me in his embrace.

He placed a kiss on the top of my head, then whispered, “They’re still fighting each other about who is right.”

“Maybe I wanna weigh in on that fight, too,” I murmured, but couldn’t help but inhale his scent before he let me go, and my anger dissipated.

“Trust me, they’re almost exclusively boring,” he said and leaned against the wall next to me. “Ready for training after this?”

“Absolutely.” I nodded. “I’m having excess energy today, anyway.”

He brushed the stray strand of my hair from my cheek and tucked it behind my ear. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I sighed. “I’m worried about Amma. She won’t go out with Morta and me tonight.”

Thar chuckled. “It’s a school night, what did you think she’d say?”

“She’s never hanging out with us,” I said, fully aware that I was whining, sounding like a twelve year old. “Like, never. She hasn’t hung out with us in three years.”

“Don’t exaggerate. I can count at least ten times from the top of my head.”

I shut my mouth and leaned against his shoulder, deciding not to push further. Thar was a very practical man, often missing nuance, and he didn’t understand the way girls operated. Yes, Amma had hung out with us during all major social gatherings, but we hadn’t had a real conversation in three years. We hadn’t been alone. I’d give anything for a gossip fest that had someone to counter Morta’s ever-present cynicism.

The door opened, and Amma peered out. “Come in.”

“Here we go,” I murmured, and Thar squeezed my hand.

“Easy, tiger,” he whispered in my ear. “Don’t bite their heads off immediately.”

My father was in his office chair behind the large oak desk, looking proud and intimidating in his black cloak, his beard full, eyes sparkling, and mind probably working like a clock. I met his gaze and held it as I walked into the room. His smile was curt, brief. Rosalia Richmond was on his right side, leaned against the wall, her long legs wrapped like she might turn into a snake, her red hair falling over her cleavage like a curtain, but it somehow only accentuated what it was supposed to cover.

Darth was on the other side, hands wrapped on his chest, lips pursed, sharp eyes cutting through everyone, his hair somehow even whiter than before. I respected Darth, so I only smiled at him. He nodded.

“Well, now that Jade is finally here.” Dereck Montgomery palmed the table. “Professor Darth, can you please relay what you’ve just told us?”

Darth cleared his throat. “Well, I’m happy to announce that we’ve managed to do what we set out three years ago – we figured out how to neutralize the immediate effects of the demonic entity.”

I almost gasped. “What? That’s a huge deal!”

“Unfortunately, the process is extremely slow and difficult,” Darth sighed. “So, we’ve decided that the next step would be to create a sort of antidote, something that would make us resistant to the entities’ effect.”

“Alright...” my voice trailed off as I realised we still had a long way to go.

My father stood up. “Once we are finished with that part, we will proceed to the testing phase. For safety reasons, we need someone who can perform a strong healing spell.” He took a paper from the table and gave it to me. “This is the spell. I suggest you start learning it.”

I took the paper from his hand, briefly glanced at it, then looked at my father again. “Who’s going to be your Guinea pig?”

“We’ll have volunteers,” he said.

“Right,” I mumbled. “Is that all?”

“Professor Richmond told me you haven’t taken any electives with her this year,” Dereck Montgomery said.

I had to fight hard to supress the eye-roll.

“I have a personal trainer,” I said and plastered a tight smile on my lips.

Thar took in a sharp breath behind me, but my father simply chuckled.

“You need at least three electives,” he said and waved, brushing it off. “You can pick whichever you want.”

It was my turn to breathe in with exasperation. “Alright. Is that all?”

“Yes, you’re excused.”

They kicked me out promptly after that – no details, no explanations. I repeated my mantra, forced myself to breathe, and focused on the task at hand. Morta was back from her trip to the Vatican with her mother – she’d have information for me, hopefully information more useful than whatever this was. I heard Thar’s footsteps behind me and stopped. I turned around with a sigh and crossed my hands on my chest.

“You know I can tell you’re pissed off, right?” he asked with a smile.

I tapped my foot against the floor. “Am I that obvious?”

“Use this, Jade,” Thar said, his eyes gentle. “It’s an opportunity to learn more, become stronger.”

But I didn’t mind the electives all that much.

“Who’s he going to test the antidote on?” I asked, cocking my chin upward.

Thar sighed, his smile still present, and said, “He’s going to find volunteers.”

“No one’s going to volunteer to test a possibly deadly substance,” I said. “Why doesn’t he volunteer?”

“Jade, we are working hard to make sure the antidote is safe,” he said. “By the time it’s ready to be tested, chances of it working are going to be much higher.”

“Alright,” I sighed, though not fully convinced, and let him pull me into a hug.

He grabbed my chin between his fingers, lifted my head up, and kissed me on the mouth. My insides melted, all thoughts leaving my head. At least I had Thar on the inside, he’d tell me if something was amiss.

He stopped the kiss. “I’ll meet you at the gym in twenty, alright?”

I nodded. “Okay.”

He kissed me one more time before turning around and going back to my father’s office. Warmth was still churning in my belly. Our three-year anniversary was in four days, and it was a big one, but I tried to push down the excitement and focus on the task at hand. Training, then Morta.

I left the building and walked through the gardens, my eyes on the scenery. Then, just as the wind blew, I caught a glimpse of something in the distance – something like a black crack, sharp and cold, but when I looked again the nanosecond later, it was gone.