Immortal Consequences(32)

“What happens to them?”

Wren hesitated. She wasn’t sure if she should be telling Louise this. She’d learn about it eventually. But there was something about the way Louise was looking at her, eyes wide and full of trust, that made Wren want to continue.

“They’re destroyed.”

Louise’s mouth dropped in surprise. “We…destroy them?”

“No!” Wren muffled a shock of laughter. “It’s nothing like that. The Ether takes care of them. It consumes their soul.”

“Whoa.” Louise pressed her back against the trunk and sighed. “That’s heavy.”

Wren shrugged. “Everything requires balance. Even the afterlife.”

Louise seemed to consider this for a moment, brow furrowed. “What about us? Why were we chosen to do this?”

Wren sighed. This wasn’t something she enjoyed thinking about. The big why. It had plagued her for months when she first arrived.

“It’s a bit complicated.” Wren hoped that would be enough to appease her, but Louise leaned in closer, clearly eager to hear an explanation. “All right…well…what we’ve been told is that our souls were predestined to be chosen. That it was literally written in the stars when we were born and when we died. But…there’s one more thing that we all share. That ties us together.”

“What?” Louise whispered breathlessly.

Wren lowered her voice. “Did something happen when you were little? Something that almost cost you your life.”

Louise flinched, taken aback. But Wren could see the realization washing over her. The way her eyes flickered, as if she had lost herself within the tangled cobwebs of an old memory.

“I…I fell in a lake when I was five.” Louise’s voice was barely a whisper. “I was clinically dead for three minutes. But they brought me back. They saved me.”

“Six minutes.”

Louise blinked. “What?”

“For me it was six.”

“You mean…we all had near-death experiences when we were young?”

“It’s the one thing that ties us all together,” Wren explained. “We all slipped into the Other Side and came back.”

A moment stretched out between them. Louise fiddled with the pen in her hand, gnawing on the inside of her cheek. Wren wondered if perhaps she had gone too far. Told her too much too soon.

But then Louise looked up and smiled.

“Thanks,” she whispered. “You know, for coming up to talk to me.”

“No problem.” Wren smiled in return. She had begun to walk away when a thought occurred to her. “Oh, and Louise, I’m here if you have any other questions. Any doubts. Just come find me. I’d like to be your friend. If that’s okay with you.”

At this, the other girl’s eyes lit up.

“Yeah. I think I’m cool with that.” She tucked the pen behind her ear. “And you can call me Lou.”

11

Emilio

“Holy…shit.”

Emilio stood frozen at the entrance to the banquet hall, unable to stop himself from gawking. He’d seen his fair share of gaudy displays of magic since entering Blackwood, yet he still found himself utterly transfixed by the sight in front of him, jaw hanging open in awe.

The banquet hall had been transformed for the Decennial opening ceremony.

Long, sweeping banners spanned the length of the domed ceiling, representing the colors of the various Houses—crimson for Pettyworth, amethyst for Ivory, sienna for Litterman, indigo for Chambers, forest green for Fiddle and gold for Holsterd. Enchanted sparklers hovered in the air, miniature fireworks exploding every few seconds. An elevated platform sat at the far end of the hall, adorned with six chairs, one for each Housemaster. A dark wooden podium stood at the front of the stage, lined with golden runes shimmering with ancient magic. Behind the podium loomed an imposing throne made from rich mahogany, the Blackwood emblem carved into the backrest. Glittering candelabras flickering with inky flames and a black lace runner decorated each dining table, falling over the mahogany like translucent cobwebs. A large upright piano and a violin played a haunting classical tune, though nobody was actually playing them. The keys and strings moved on their own, the violin suspended in the air, as though they were being played by ghosts.

As if that weren’t enough, the stone cherubs that usually adorned the corners of the walls had come to life, floating around the room and giving instructions on where students should sit. When one approached Emilio, he couldn’t help but let out a yelp of surprise.

The stone cherub frowned. “Are you all right?”

“I—you—I—” Emilio sputtered helplessly.

Behind him, Olivier placed a hand on his shoulder. Emilio could practically hear the smirk in his voice. “The polite thing to do is to speak to the sentient statue, Emilio. Go on. You can do it.”

Emilio swallowed the knot in his throat. The cherub continued to stare at him expectantly.

“H-hello,” he managed to croak out.

The cherub nodded, pleased. “Hello. Emilio Córdova and Olivier Dupont. Litterman House. Please follow me to your corresponding table. If you lose me in the shuffle, simply find your House banner.”

The cherub spun around, floating through the crowd of students and deeper into the hall.