Death Incarnate (Ebook)

Conryu opened the door to his dorm room and sighed. When the train pulled into the platform at school fifteen minutes ago, an overwhelming sense of relief had washed over him. That came as a shock. Not long ago, the last thing in the world he would’ve wanted was to return here. Now, the Academy was the only place where anything made sense. What did that say about the state of the world?

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “Back again, hey pal?”

Everything looked exactly as he left it, crisp bed made with smooth black sheets, empty dresser, and bare desk. Plain, but at least he had them all to himself. He tossed his suitcase on the bed, popped the latch, and lifted the lid. Conryu had gotten good at packing and even his mother pronounced his job a neat one. High praise indeed from someone as detail oriented as her. 

“Your mind is ill at ease, Master,” Prime said. “Is something wrong?”

That was the problem with a scholomantic that could read your mind and harbored no compunctions about telling you his opinion. “I can’t escape the nagging feeling that something’s going to happen. I don’t know why, maybe it’s just my imagination, but there is this constant, niggling question in the back of my head: what do they want that artifact for? Do you have any idea what it does?”

“No, Master. As I’ve told you seven times already, I haven’t a clue. Though I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough,” Prime said. “In the meantime, it would be best if you tried to think about something else. You haven’t been sleeping well either. In my experience, humans don’t perform at their best if they don’t get enough rest.”

“Now you sound like my mom.” Conryu set about putting his things away. He’d packed and unpacked so many times over the last two years he hardly even thought about it anymore.

“Your mother is a very reasonable human,” Prime said. “Even if she jumps every time she sees me.”

Conryu grinned, but didn’t comment. In the six weeks since he’d gotten back from London, things had been quiet. Too quiet if anything. He figured once the Society got their hands on the second half of the artifact they’d make their move sooner rather than later. Not that he was complaining about the peace and quiet, but he was sure it was the calm before the storm.

At least Malice hadn’t given them any more trouble. True to her word, Heather went straight to the authorities when they landed in Central. Of course nothing happened, just like Malice said. Still, the crazy old hag hadn’t made another attempt on Maria’s life, so he figured that counted as a win. Hopefully she’d taken the hint and would move on to some other evil plan, she had to have more than one.

Whatever, as long as she didn’t bother Maria, Malice wasn’t his problem. Conryu didn’t know whose problem she was, but he pitied them. He folded the last pair of socks and slipped them into the dresser. There, all set for another four months.

He plopped onto the bed and closed his eyes. A couple hours remained before dinner and a nap seemed like the perfect way to fill the time.

“Attention all students.” Dean Blane’s voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere in particular at the same time. “Please gather in the dorm lounge for an important announcement. Thank you.”

He sat up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. So much for his nap.

Kelsie waited for him out in the hall, her pale features drawn and worried. She hadn’t even changed into her school robe. “What’s going on?”

Conryu shrugged. He knew as much as she did. “I’m sure it’s nothing serious. I haven’t heard any explosions.”

She offered a weak smile. “It says something about our lives that explosions have become the arbiter of something being serious.”

“Yeah, no kidding. I remember when my biggest worry was whether I’d turn in my homework on time. Now I’m never sure if it’s going to be demons, dragons, or some masked lunatic trying to kill me.”

“Come on, you two.” Mrs. Lenore shooed a pair of sophomores up the hall ahead of her. “We don’t want to keep the dean waiting.”

“Do you know what this big announcement is?” Conryu asked.

Mrs. Lenore shook her head. “No one tells me much.”

Conryu empathized with that.

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