Nightmare Academy by Dean Lorey

Author:Dean Lorey [Lorey, Dean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins

Theodore sat on a chair at the head of the class. “This isn’t going to work,” he said, crossing his arms.

“Just relax,” Tabitha told him soothingly. “I want you to meet something, a creature from the Nether.”

She stepped over to a small cage that rested on a desk that had been carved from the innards of the banyan tree. The cage was covered in a black velvet drape. Tabitha reached her hand under the velvet and pulled something out.

“This is a Snark,” she said.

Everyone leaned forward, straining to see the thing she held in her hand. It was a tiny, fragile-looking ball of fur with large round eyes and a small beaklike mouth.

It cooed gently.

“Aw, it’s cute!” one of the girls in the class exclaimed.

“The Snark feeds on fear the same way a mosquito feeds on blood,” Tabitha continued. “As a mosquito drinks blood, its body gets full and round. The Snark, when it feeds, changes as well.”

“Into what?” Theodore asked.

“You’ll find out,” Tabitha said, placing the Snark on his shoulder. It was as light as a feather and it clung to him on its spindly little bird legs. “Now,” Tabitha said, “close your eyes.”

Theodore did.

“So you’re not afraid of anything?” she asked.

“Nope. Always been that way. I’m a combat machine—no emotions, raw power.”

“Like your father?”

“Definitely. He’s one of the toughest Banishers around. He’s on a black op right now. You know what a black op is?”

“I do,” Tabitha said. The Snark chirped and cooed softly on Theodore’s shoulder. “He must have been very proud to find out that you were accepted into the Nightmare Academy.”

“Absolutely. Like father, like son.”

“But that’s not really true, is it?” Tabitha continued. “How do you think he’ll feel when he finds out you’re not a Banisher like he is?”

“But, see, I am a Banisher. There was just a problem with that stupid Trout, which I tried to explain to the Headmaster. I think it was sick or something.”

“Your father didn’t have any problems like that, did he?”

“I guess not,” Theodore said, shifting uncomfortably. “But, the thing is, our whole lives can’t be determined by some dumb, defective fi—”

“The truth is, you’re not really a Banisher,” Tabitha said, interrupting him as she moved in closer. “You wanted to be, your father expected you to be, but you couldn’t do it. You’re not strong enough, are you?”

“But I am,” Theodore said quickly.

Something happened to the Snark. It started to swell, puffing out at odd angles. The fuzzy yellow fur dropped off, leaving only bare, raw skin. A barbed tail poked out of its flesh and a jaw began to protrude—a jaw with small, sharp fangs.

Seeing this, Tabitha pressed on, more intensely now.

“You’re a disappointment to him.”

“No…”

“All he wanted was a son like him, a strong young man, a combat machine who could follow in his footsteps and make him proud. Instead, he got you—a weak little Nethermancer.”

Theodore was near tears now, but the Snark—

It was much bigger, the size of a vulture. Black bat wings exploded from its back and it hovered just behind Theodore with an eerie vibrating sound.

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