~YULIA
“Yulia, we will be late for the next class,” Ashley said.
I finally looked up from my phone and stared at her as we walked out of the class. “I have to see the Dean.”
“It’s because of Leia, is it not?” She raised her brows at me with worry..
“Yeah,” I lied. Her expression turned grim. “It is alright, I am not getting expelled or anything.”
Her face brightened up after that. “Oh, I was worried there for a while.” She sighed in relief.. “See you later.”
I smiled at her before she turned and dashed to her next class. I blew out a tension-filled breath, adjusted my ash blazer and turned to the direction of the Dean’s office.
I had barely made it two steps away when two very tall girls appeared out of the blue and blocked my path with their bodies. I frowned and was about to ask them to step out of the way politely when I looked up and the words died in my mouth.
It was Leia’s minions. The blonde twins and they glared at me quietly as if I had stolen their boyfriends.
“Do not think this is over, Shadow girl!” One of them spat in a thick Russian accent.
But I was somewhat distracted by their identical resemblance. I could not tell them apart.
“Leia will be back! And when she does, she will burn your face off too!” the other one added.
“Why can’t you do it for her? What is stopping you?” I asked abruptly. I didn’t even know why. I just wanted to see their reactions. “Or you can not make decisions on your own without Leia?”
They both hissed in irritation. “Watch your mouth!” The first one said through gritted teeth.
“Or we just might do it,” the other one finished.
And all I could do was be fascinated by their bare existence. They were such a strange pair.
Yet, I shrugged and decided to continue toying with them.
“Well, I am on my way to the Dean’s office, so if you are going to do it, you should get it over with,” I stopped to let my words sink in. “I might have to explain to her why I am late though. Should I say the mop-stick twins burnt my face?”
They widened their eyes in response as they were a bit taken aback. Whether it was from the name calling new nickname I had given them or the Dean, I could not tell.
Eventually, they snapped out of it, both scoffed and huffed at the same damn time before stomping away.
“That was weird,” I muttered and half jogged to the Dean’s office.
By the time I got to Davina’s door, I was already out of breath. I was still thinking of catching my breath before knocking when the door abruptly came open and Davina appeared behind it with her usual stern expression.
“You can not even be punctual, Ms. Moonshadow?” She stated in disapproval.
“There was no specific time!” I exclaimed in disbelief.
“There is always a specific time, follow me,” She quipped and closed the door behind her.
I guessed the meeting was not taking place in her office.
I sighed and followed her down the long labyrinthine hallway until we reached a large wooden door with images of wolves, runes and other creatures carved in it. It was so detailed that I felt like one of the creatures could come to life and jump out to attack me. The door was three times our height and the walls around it were made of old bricks, like the ones used in medieval times.
It was eerily cold too.
I heard her whisper something under her breath and a loud click sounded; echoing throughout the halls before I heard a wheel turn until the doors loudly creaked open.
And it suddenly felt as if I was in another realm, far away from the academy.
Davina walked through the door and I had no choice but to follow her through. I walked through to see a long set of spiral stairs that led down into the dark.
“Ignitos,” Dean Davina called in a clear firm voice.
Fires from burning torches attached to the wall came alive, illuminating the underground stairway.
Where the heck were we going?
“We are entering the inner sanctum of secret records,” she said, almost as if she had read my mind.
I instantly gave her a questioning stare which I was grateful she did not see. Then I remembered Issa telling me about how Canis Academy was more than just a school.
“How many people know about this place?” I asked as we descended the stairs.
“The people we choose to tell,” Dean Davina replied as both of our shoes echoed through the place,
Finally, we got to the end of the stairs which revealed high ceiling-touching old shelves filled with books and scrolls and body parts of creatures that I was familiar with and some that I was scared to even want to know.
“Woaw,” I said, amazed.
The shelves were enormous and I knew that it was an understatement. They were huge! And too numerous to count. How big was this place?
Some books were kept in a thick glass. I peered at them curiously.
“The book of the Dead,” Dean Davina said proudly as she glanced at them.
“Wait, you mean these books contain ways to talk to dead people?” I asked in utter bewilderment.
“And allegedly how to raise them and control them,” Dean Davina replied.
“That is a dangerous book to keep around,” I said with concern.
“Hence, why it is kept here, away from prying eyes and greedy hands,” she replied.
“Come, the board is waiting for you,” Dean Davina said.
I followed her until we reached a room that looked like a study room. There were open books everywhere and serious people, nose deep in reading whatever was in the books.
“Hey, I remember you,” I said, pointing to one of the men. He had an arrogant smirk on his face.
“I remember you too, Ms. Moonshadow, I failed to enter your mind, or I was almost successful until Professor Khan interrupted,” he said, unapologetically.
“That was a dick move,” I muttered.
A few of them chuckled.
The man stepped forward and shook his head in amusement. He was dressed in an old fashioned English suit with round glasses that covered eyes that were bright with knowledge and mischief. He was an old man with healthy combed white hair and a matching moustache that was twirled at the ends.
“It was a necessary move,” The man replied with a shrug.
“Who is he anyway?” I jerked my thumb at the annoying old man.
“I am Albus Canis, Chancellor of Canis Academy.”