Page 54 of Architecti
Lex nods, and Bastien gives us a weak smile.
“I thought magic would be easy to control.Ora City is the gateway, right?How hard can it be?”
“Oh gods, what did you do?”Lex winces.
“Stole a resurrection text and figured I’d give it a go.If I could bring her back, even temporarily for my parents, I reasoned that they’d see she was okay and in a better place.”
Lex’s mouth hangs open.“You resurrected her?”
Bastien’s jaw hardened.“I resurrected her badly.I didn’t contain her, and I had no idea you weren’t supposed to resurrect your own family.I didn’t have a clue what I was doing.She killed our parents.I lost part of my sight.”He points to the scar running from above his brow, through his eye and down his cheek.
“So you’re here to learn how to resurrect properly,” I ask.
He nods, though he can’t quite bring himself to look at us.“I never want to make the same mistake again.”
Three different pasts.Three mistakes.All of them bringing us to Finis.
I wonder how many students are here because of their past mistakes.Does the campus collect them?
“We’re going to rectify them all,” Lex says.
And for the first time since being here, I think I believe it.Until I remember what I promised…
What I have to do tonight.
“I’m going to head out for a walk, guys,” I say and get up, my scythe pressing against my hip and the whisper of my name in the wind.
18
Lucy
Icome to with a coarse and oddly moist scouring pad being dragged under my nose.
“What the fuck?”I groan, swatting it away.
A loud engine hums in my ear and then something fluffy aggressively nudges my head and begins licking my nose again.
I peel open my eyes to find the vibrant orange of feline irises staring down at me.Though, I can also see through them.
“Demon’s sake.Get off me,” I swat at the cat.It must be one of our campus shade animals.Like the mortals, they couldn’t quite let go of their past lives, so they became shades.Most of the time, the Loose End first-years manage to dispatch them on.But a handful of the most stubborn animals gets stuck on campus and end up adopting a student each year.
“My name is Mortem,” he meows.
“As in Mortimer?”I say.
He licks his paw, a distinct look of disdain twitching his whiskers.
“As in post-mortem.”
I blink at him.
He blinks back.
“Post—” I start.
“Yes,” he hisses and swipes his tongue under my nose, licking up the last of my drying blood.
“Get off,” I whine and sit up so he falls off my chest.He flops to the bed and begins cleaning his face.
