Hades Academy: Third Semester Read online

  Hades Academy: Third Semester

  Hades Academy

  Abbie Lyons

  Published by Abbie Lyons, 2019.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  HADES ACADEMY: THIRD SEMESTER

  First edition. September 30, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 Abbie Lyons.

  Written by Abbie Lyons.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Free prequel

  Afterword

  Prologue

  Hades Academy, at the behest of the Regents, is required to perform a thorough exetasis of all students. The exetasis provides insight into each demon’s unique ranking and powers, as well as their lineage. Contained herein are the results of this process for NOVA DONOVAN.

  After extensive review the exetasis has found that Ms. Donovan is a demon of high ranking. The title DUCHESS OF AGENOR has been confirmed for her. Given this ranking, Ms. Donovan can expect a future career and social position of great importance.

  She possesses abilities including, but certainly not limited to:

  ● Intuition that, if honed further, could border on psychic powers of precognition or telepathy.

  ● Tremendous physical strength that can be called upon in combat situations.

  ● Succubus levels of the ability to seduce and enchant.

  ● All basic demon powers, such as transmorphing, fire creation, etc.

  Given her ranking and power set, Ms. DONOVAN is unlikely to perform low-terror work. Possible career paths include: positions of political/governmental authority, academic administration, and/or high-level terror creation. Over her next two years at Hades Academy, she will pursue an educational track consistent with these possible career paths in order to explore to which future her unique abilities are best served. This will include a special class in the second semester of her second year specifically for demons of high ranking and giftedness.

  Please note that while these results are comprehensive and represent our best effort to identify the powers and possible future of NOVA DONOVAN, nothing is ever entirely set in stone.

  Ms. DONOVAN is confirmed as a half-demon, although the exetasis was not able to discern whether her demon lineage was inherited from her mother or father. However, the results of the exetasis were successful in determining that there are twenty-three lines of higher order demons from which she could descend. Upon further research, Ms. DONOVAN might possibly be able to narrow these potential genetic lines down. Should she wish to pursue the matter further, she is welcome to visit the Hall of Ancestors here at the school for self-guided investigation.

  On the following page, find attached the official sigil for NOVA DONOVAN. This is to be used for any and all official purposes regarding her demon identity.

  Congratulations on the completion of your exetasis, as well as year one of your education at Hades Academy. We look forward to welcoming you back to further your learning vis-a-vis these results during your second year!

  I READ MY RESULTS OVER and over all summer. And while some of it shocked and confused me—mainly that whole seductive succubus thing—I was overjoyed to be closer than ever to knowing who I truly was.

  And maybe even who my mother was.

  Chapter One

  “May I help you with your bags, Duchess?”

  Morgan had been cracking jokes like that all summer. And evidently it was still funny to her, even as we unloaded our luggage off the flying horse-drawn carriage that had just brought us back to Hades Academy for our second year.

  “You’re so funny,” I said sarcastically.

  “It’s hardly even a joke!” she defended. “You are a duchess, and I am obsessed. We stan a duchess!”

  I’d been wary of sharing my exetasis results, even with my best friend, for this very reason. But how was I going to spend an entire summer with Morgan and not spill the beans about my ranking? And the more I thought about it, I kind of did want people to know the truth—it would certainly shut up Camilla and any other demon purists. Still, I didn’t want to come off as haughty about it.

  “Just maybe keep the ‘yes, duchess’ and ‘no, duchess’ to a minimum once we get in there,” I said. “People might start to think I’m super pretentious.”

  “Ugh, fine!” Morgan was trying to figure out the best way to collect her approximately one million bags, mostly full of clothes. “I guess you might actually be the one that needs to help me with my stuff, anyway.”

  Seeing as I had exactly one piece of literal baggage to carry in, I was more than happy to help.

  Emotional baggage, though—I had that in spades. My first year at Hades Academy had been a whirlwind. From the very beginning when I’d found out that I was, you know, a demon, things hadn’t slowed down a bit. And then there was Teddy’s possession, a Chaos incident, a soul binding, a fake boyfriend, and the takeover of the school by my hot evil professor who then tried to kill me. That was a lot to work through.

  But this summer had helped. I’d spent most of it at Morgan’s house in England, and I felt like I was living with the family I never had. Her folks were so damn nice to me...home-cooked meals, a warm bed, lots of love, the whole nine yards. We’d even taken a few jaunts around Europe, seeing some of the sights. Turns out demons like to hit all the same tourist traps as humans, except there are certain ones they hold in especially high regard. The catacombs below Paris filled with skulls? You better believe demons love the shit out of that place. And rightfully so, because they’re cool as hell.

  It was just nice to have a break from school that was so fundamentally normal. It reminded me of the kind of summer a rich New York kid might have. And while I could never forget my roots as a kid jumping between foster homes and often fending for myself on the streets, I’d be lying if I said that even a little taste of the good life wasn’t incredible.

  As fun as it was, though, I was excited to get back to school. Hades Academy—weird as it sounds—was the first place I ever felt truly happy, even given the turbulence of my freshman year. I was excited to dive back in and, hopefully, focus on my studies without distractions like murderous professors.

  “Here,” I said as I grabbed a few of her things. “I am capable of great physical strength or whatever my exetasis results said. Not like that particular power has really manifested yet.”

  “Except for that time you drop kicked poor Camilla over in Westrock,” Morgan noted. “That was aces.”

  I took a moment to look up at the towers and stained glass windows of Hades Academy. It still looked just as impressive as ever.

  “Permission to be sincere for a moment?” I asked.

  “Granted,’ Morgan said.

  “All the sights we saw this summer pale in comparison to this place. It’s just...it’s fucking incredible.”

  Morgan nodded. “Notre Dame comes close, but yes, it’s really quite a marvel. What do you say we head on in?”

  We made
our way through the iron gates and across the drawbridge, albeit slowly, what with all the crap we were lugging. Once we passed through the wooden doors and back into the Great Hall I dropped the bags on the ground to catch my breath for a moment.

  “Gods know how we’ll manage to get all our things up that staircase,” Morgan panted.

  “Your bags, Morgan. Your bags. I’ve only got one of them”

  She laughed knowingly. “Hey, how many times have I lent you an outfit in a pinch? Consider these our clothes, babe. Well not a fifty-fifty share. Seventy-thirty, perhaps. Nonetheless, I’m always happy to share a good look.” She paused. “Speaking of looks, I’m curious to see if anybody is sporting something spiffy and new for the first day back. A good first impression is everything.”

  I glanced around the room to see many of the usual faces, most looking just the same as ever. Still, it was strange to see students in street clothes rather than the Hades Academy uniforms. Morgan, of course, was dressed to the nines for the occasion in a billowing black blouse, bright red, high-waisted jeans, and a kicky neckerchief that only she could pull off. I was biased, but nobody else in the room looked nearly as good as her.

  I spotted somebody who looked oddly familiar walking up the staircase, but couldn’t put my finger on it. There was something about his face...was it somebody from one of my classes last year? Or could it possibly be a first year who I somehow knew back in my old life in Brooklyn? The odds were low, but I suppose I could’ve met another demon unbeknownst to me sometime back then. Whoever he was, he was handsome.

  “Who’s that guy?” I said, pointing to him. “Do we know him?”

  Morgan squinted. “No,” she said with confidence. “Unless...oh my Gods, Nova. That’s our Teddy!”

  It seemed impossible, but once she said his name, everything clicked into place. He had that same moppy head of brown hair, but gone were the glasses and the ill-fitting clothes. All that, plus a body that shouted “I’ve been hitting the gym!” made it clear that the summer had done all sorts of wonders for him. He was hardly recognizable.

  “Teddy...” I said at a loss for words.

  “Got hot,” Morgan concluded. “We should’ve seen this coming, really. To be expected.”

  We watched—or maybe “stared” would be a better word—as he reached the top of the stairs and turned toward the common room.

  “Why should we have expected this?” I asked.

  “Seriously?” Morgan shook her head as if I were a total idiot. “After he went all aggro on Professor Frost or whatever we’re calling him now...and after all he went through last year. It just seems so predictable that he’d spend a whole summer bulking up and making gains. It’s a classic post-first-year thing for a boy to do anyway, you know? And good for him! The ladies are going to go absolutely wild for him, Noves. Just wild!”

  She had a point. And, yeah, it wasn’t hard to see that handsome muscular Teddy was going to be getting loads of attention. Not from me that was for sure—no matter how hot Teddy got, he was always going to be that goofy guy obsessed with demon elevators and other feats of engineering.

  “Well, I guess we should go say hello,” Morgan said, picking her things back up. “Shall we?”

  Teddy was nowhere to be found when we reached the common room, so we figured we’d just drop our stuff back at the room before catching up with him later. The sooner we could put all this shit down, the better, as far as I was concerned.

  “I almost forgot how long this damn hallway is,” I said as we walked through the entrance to the girls’ dormitories. “It’s like we’re Cheryl Strayed walking the fucking Pacific Crest Trail every time we have to go back to our room.”

  “Who?” Morgan asked.

  “It was a book. Also a movie. Reese Witherspoon? Ringing any bells?”

  “Reese with her what?”

  “Never mind,” I laughed. Morgan and I watched plenty of human movies this summer, but it was still always a gamble making a pop culture reference. Meanwhile, I’d spent plenty of summers sneaking into movie theaters just to sit in the air conditioning, so I was bound to catch any reference to anything released in the last five or so years.

  “Here we are!” shrieked Morgan when we reached our door. “Aren’t you just so excited? Home sweet home!”

  There was that shiny platinum nameplate on the door: Nova Donovan and Karolina Abernathy.

  Wait, what?!?

  “Just who the fuck,” Morgan started, “is Karolina Abernathy? And why is she in my room? With my best friend?

  I guess this means I’ve got a new roommate. But nobody ever sent me that memo.

  “This is complete bullshit,” I agreed. “How could they do this to us?”

  I felt angry, sure, but also genuinely upset. Morgan, despite being the biggest gossip in the entire school, was also responsible for making sure my transition into the demon world was easy as possible. She was always willing to answer any question I had, no matter how dumb it might have been to her. And now, just like that, we wouldn’t be sharing the same room.

  Morgan walked down the hall, examining each nameplate before finally settling at a room about six doors down from mine.

  “Vivian Brooks!” she called over to me. “Guess that’s going to be my new roommate, whether I like it or not. Though I’ll certainly be taking this matter directly to the Housing Office. Well, if we have a Housing Office. Hm. I suppose I’ll have to give this girl a chance for now, although of course she’s never going to compare to you.”

  “What do you say we get settled and meet back in the common room in a half hour?” I asked.

  “Deal,” she said. “I love you, Nova.”

  “I love you too, Morgan,” I said as I turned the knob and stepped into my room.

  Sitting on Morgan’s old bed—at least she hadn’t taken mine—was a girl with long dark hair and skin so pale you could almost call it translucent. Her head was buried in a book that I could see was called MODERN MUSICAL THEORY CONCERNING THE ZANZIPHONE. Whatever a zanziphone was.

  “Hey!” I said as friendly as I possibly could despite the fact that this stranger was now in my cherished space. “You must be Karolina.”

  She didn’t say anything. Hell, she didn’t even look up from her book. It was as if she hadn’t even registered that somebody else was in the room.

  “Hello?” I ventured one more time.

  Nothing.

  Great, I thought. So they paired me with one of those weird girls who doesn’t talk.

  It could be worse, maybe. At least she wouldn’t be the type to talk my ear off about boring shit.

  “Hi!” I said one more time, extra loud. I was unsure of why I was still trying to get her attention.

  “I’m reading,” she whispered.

  Guess she doesn’t want to be bothered. “Oh, yeah, no, totally. Uh, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Nova. Donovan. Your...roommate.”

  I couldn’t help but wonder what the year was going to look like with someone who was not Morgan sharing my room. Last year she and I had gone from total strangers to basically sisters. I mean, we weren’t braiding each other’s hair or any corny shit—although, wait, no, we definitely did each other’s hair a few times. I guess it was more that I felt so lucky to have a friend in Morgan at all. I never had female friends before in my life—I probably just projected a “fuck off” attitude that wasn’t exactly endearing. But the odds that I’d ever be able to get along with a new girl still seemed...slim.

  “Sure,” she said. “Karolina.”

  And went back to her book.

  Welp.

  “Cool,” I said. I felt like I should say at least one more thing, because I didn’t want her to get the impression that I was stuck-up...even if it was shaping up that she might be. If Hades Academy had taught me anything, it was that first impressions can be very deceiving. “So...what’s a zanziphone?”

  Karolina drew her brows together, which I had to admit were impeccably shaped. “The instrument?”

/>   “Yeah,” I said. “Or whatever it is in your book?”

  “It’s like a sackbut,” she said. “Basically.”

  “A what now?”

  My new roommate gave a little hmph. “Don’t you go to the orchestra?”

  I could barely even spell orchestra, let alone go to one. Unless the guy playing the trumpet in the subway station counted. “Nope.”

  “Hm.” Karolina blinked. “Well, I play the zanziphone. In the orchestra.”

  Guess that’s the first thing learned this year at school: we have an orchestra.

  “Oh,” I said. “Cool.”

  Karolina didn’t go back to her book this time.

  “You’re the half-human,” she said. Her tone was totally deadpan, and unreadable, but I still got a prickle at the back of my neck. In the past year, anyone who felt the need to lead with my being not-fully-demon turned out to be bad news.

  “Yeah, that’s me,” I said, unable to keep my attitude from creeping into my voice. “And?”

  Karolina shook her head. “Nothing.”

  Great. This was off to a really good start. Giving up conversation for the time being, I started putting my—very few—things back in my dresser, trying to ignore the fact that I was now stuck in a room with a person who wanted very little to do with me. I didn’t recognize her from any of last year’s classes, but then again, she definitely seemed like the type who would just fade into the background.

  At least all the Hades Academy freebies were here in full force. The room was stocked better than ever with a bunch of “welcome back” drinks and snacks in addition to the adorable little bottles of lotions, soaps, and creams. Little sachets of licorice—black, of course—dark chocolate, and candied cherries nestled inside a basket, and there was even what seemed to be a half-sized bottle of wine—score.

  “Hey, we’ve got—” I turned to show my roommate before I fully remembered that it wasn’t Morgan. I faltered at the end of my sentence.