The Academy [BOOK ONE COMPLETE]

“We’re speaking about building ablative warding to counteract polarry-opposite resonances of magic!” Jextor said. “Sit and join the discussion!”

“The Chancellor is doing most of the talking,” Minnelil said. “But I would appreciate the emotional support listening.”

“Your observations have been astute, if rather pedantic,” Jextor said. He looked around and wrenched a nearby skeleton to the table. He grabbed on to its legs and pushed his arms straight. The skeleton clacked its jaw and its skull bonked on the ceiling next to the knife.

“Sorry,” Jextor said, “but get the knife, won’t you?”

The skeleton grabbed on and pulled, but couldn’t get the knife to budge. Jextor frowned at it and sat back down, leaving the skeleton hanging on the knife. “I’ve told them to keep the steak knives well honed, but maybe this is taking it too far,” he said. “Where were we?”

The skeleton’s feet hung between us around eye-level. It clattered as it swung softly, hanging on the knife. Minnelil’s eyes followed the feet, fork still hanging before her face.

“How has the day been?” I asked. “You seem like you’ve spent the day with him.”

“Uhm,” she said, mouth open and eyes unfocused. “We’ve had an energetic day, yes.”

“That’s an understatement!” Jextor shouted. “Her presence has been most invigorating. It’s been a while since I’ve had an assistant.”

“Wonder why,” I muttered. “You haven’t caused any trouble for her?”

“Nonsense!”

Minnelil touched at her forehead with her index finger. There was a small red nick, already welting, on her pale and perfect skin. “I did get hit by a book,” she said.

“What, how?”

“A minor accident,” Jextor said. “I thought she’d be ready to catch it. She already apologized, so no harm done!”

I leaned toward him, blowing air from my nostrils. “She apologized?”

“Well, it was an expensive book,” Jextor said, raising his eyebrows at me. “An impressive glare. I can see Falar’s influence on you. I wonder where he is.”

“Hopefully being slapped to death by Grit,” I murmured.

“I didn’t know he’s into that,” Jextor said, rubbing his beard.

“No, that’s not what—“

“I hope people won’t think it’s unprofessional,” Jextor said to himself. “Anyway! To return to your original question, your friend helped me to figure out an answer to a question I have been pondering for a while. A fresh perspective was very welcome.”

Minnelil chortled as I kept staring at Jextor. I took a deep breath, groaning as I let it out. Well. Maybe he’d make more weird assumptions about Falar and they’d kill each other. It would serve both of them right. I rubbed at my face. “I can see why you’re tired.”

“Indeed,” Minnelil said. “An energetic day, as I said.”

“As in all things, energy is the key to productivity!” Jextor said, shaking his fork at Minnelil. “You saw how the experiment progressed. A burst of energy catalyzing the change, the system accepting the impulse and developing while staying the same.”

Minnelil frowned, blinking.

“Nothing of value was lost, even if the thunder and lightning might look impressive and perhaps crack the container a bit. Which reminds me I’ll need to ask the Bursar to finance a new necrotic alembic.”

“Yes, I see,” Minnelil said slowly.

A skeleton placed a plate of food before me. Potato sticks that sizzled and smelled like grease and salt, with some kind of yellow patty coated with breadcrumbs. Jextor was pointing a fork at Minnelil and she seemed to be realizing something. Fek would have butted in right about now, but I kept still, letting the food sit before me.

“Do you mind if I loan this?” Jextor said and snatched the knife from the right side of my plate.

Minnelil and I twitched. “Hey,” I said weakly.

“I asked for a breaded steak instead of fish, so it’s a devil to eat without a proper knife,” Jextor said, cutting into the thick slab of pink meat. The yellow crust made a cracking sound.

“Why did you throw your knife away then,” I said, but he wasn’t listening anymore.

Minnelil grinned at me, dimples appearing on both sides of her face. “I helped the Chancellor with some research after we had finished the administrative tasks of the day.”

“What research?” I asked, cutting into the breaded fish with the edge of my fork. “How to annoy the Bursar by breaking equipment?”

“Hah!” Jextor shouted.

“No, it was…” Minnelil said, then frowned. “What were you actually researching, Chancellor?”

“Oh, this and that! You know. Life and death, as is our custom!”

“That’s not an answer!” I shouted.

“If I knew the answers to every questions I wouldn’t be only a chancellor, young miss!” Jextor said. He put a big chunk of meat into his mouth and started munching on it.

I glared at Jextor. The feet of the skeleton swung slowly between us. He shrugged and kept chewing. Didn’t seem like he was about to stop any time soon.

“How was your day?” Minnelil asked after a moment.

“We went to sweep a corridor with Fek and the janitor. It was ok.”

She nodded. “Sounds peaceful.”

“Fek blasted me with life. I couldn’t stop jumping around.”

“Hah! That boy’s going to go far,” Jextor said.

“About as far as I can throw him,” I said.

---

“I appreciate your support,” Minnelil said.

“I just came to make sure you were ok.”

“Yes, that’s what I meant.”

I harrumphed. Jextor had started to talk about building a lecture schedule for the next ten years and Minnelil had got swept up in it. Most of the terms they used didn’t mean anything to me, but it was fun seeing her get excited about something. The golden motes in her eyes moved around and she hardly touched her food. I had finished half of her potatoes and most of her fish. Jextor told her they would continue work tomorrow right after breakfast. I guess she really was an assistant for now.

“Hey, wait up!” Fek shouted.

I held the door open until he caught up to us. “Well, how did it go?”

“Nah, no luck. Frederik said the door has been found a long time ago. The challenge to get to its other side has never been completed, though. Let’s—“

“No,” I said. “Absolutely not.”

“Aww!”

Minnelil smiled at us. “I’m heading to the dorm. Normally I wouldn’t be thinking about sleeping for hours, but after today I feel like I’ll sleep like the dead. No reanimating me before morning.”

“I’ll come with,” I said. “I need to start preparing for the next exam. I haven’t even started the book properly yet.”

“You’ve had a lot on your mind,” Minnelil said. She started to descend the stairs. Even her back looked exhausted.

“I’m going to the Beach!” Fek said. “There are some girls from the council going and they invited me.”

“They did?” I asked.

Minnelil turned to glance back. “Really?”

Fek scoffed. “Come on, try a bit harder to look pleased for me.”

“We’re just worried,” Minnelil said.

“I’m just dubious,” I said.

“It’s going to be great. They knew I blasted Lombarte and Smerz with light. Did you know Smerz got sunburn on his face?”

“That’s… impressive,” Minnelil said. “For real?”

“At least his face was totally red when he looked at me during the dinner.”

I groaned. “We just got away from Jextor. Don’t push it, Fek.”

He grinned at me, jumping down the stairs three steps at a time. “I’ll go get my towel and stuff. Don’t wait up!”

---

Minnelil closed the door and crashed on her bed. “Peace and quiet,” she mumbled, face pushed against the pillow.

I chuckled, walking up to my chest and picking up my book from it. I had hardly finished reading the introduction. Fek had told me it was the most boring book in the world. Basic Undead: Creation and Care. It did sound pretty dry.

I sat on the bed and Clickens appeared from somewhere. It climbed onto my lap. “Where did you come from?” I said, scritching its skull.

“It was below your bed,” Minnelil said. “You should sweep there. The poor undead is probably all dusty.”

“The book actually says to dust your skeletons at least once a month,” I said, tracing my finger across the page. Clickens mewed, headbutting me in the stomach. “Oof, lay off it, I’ll do it tomorrow.”

Minnelil smiled and turned to lay on her side. I tried to read, but she kept watching me, golden motes swimming in her eyes lazily. Clickens stretched its back, spine snapping and the metal wire groaning. The cat slunk off from my lap and padded to the other side of the room. It jumped onto my bed and curled itself on my pillow.

“It claimed your bed,” Minnelil said.

“I can sleep in yours,” I said.

“I would like that,” she said.

My face started to warm up. The light was dim, but I was almost certain hers was too. “Would you?”

She flashed me a small smile, before her face returned to neutral. “You’re the one who needs to answer that question.”

Clickens twitched next to me, pushing its paws into my pillow. I reached my hand behind me and scooped it up. The bony cat looked me in the eyes with its eye sockets as I lifted it up. “You really are dusty,” I said, placing it into my lap and looking back at Minnelil. She was still watching me, lying on her side. “I don’t know anything. You know me. This stuff is not easy.”

“The trouble is that I don’t,” Minnelil said, standing up. She walked across the room and sat down next to me. Clickens tensed with every step. “I can guess something and I’ve seen how you act. You haven’t told me a lot yourself, though.”

“Isn’t it enough that I’m here?” I muttered.

She reached to pat Clickens on the skull. It relaxed, bones hanging looser again. “Almost. I see even that is hard. I don’t want to push you, Lina.”

“You can,” I said. “It might make it easier. I’m used to it.”

“Maybe I want to be someone who doesn’t push. Even if it means things take a little bit longer. I have time,” she said, eyes fixed on the opposite wall. A small smile played on her lips.

“What if I die of old age before that?”

“We’re both going to be necromancers. There’s no getting away from me that way.”

“Don’t make me into a zombie.”

She looked at me then, taking my chin in her hand. “I would never.”

“Wait, are you serious?”

“I’m hoping you’d be. But it doesn’t have to happen tonight.”

“What can happen tonight? Fek is on the Beach with the girls and Grit has a date with Falar,” I said, leaning forward.

“Don’t call it a date,” she said, moving her hand from my chin to the back of my neck. Her breath was on my face. It smelled like a sunny spring day, warm and sweet with flowers.

I leaned forward more. “They’re gone, though.”

“So they are.”

Well, have to be honest, chapter 83 has a Part Two on Patreon. If you're an adult and want to check out what happens after the lights go out, it's there.

Next week, things will pop off at the Academy. The thing on the mountain didn't forget them after all!

Lina reminds you: 20 bonus chapters on Patreon (in addition to steamy and fun bonus content) 🥰