School of Deaths by Christopher Mannino

Author:Christopher Mannino [Mannino, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: YA Fantasy
Publisher: MuseItYA
Published: 2014-05-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Styxia

“This one’s got nothing new,” said Billy. He pulled another book from the pile. Jason was staring at a rock with images on it. Frank sat in the corner of the library, looking at scrolls.

“I’ve got another Dragon Key drawing,” said Suzie. “But nothing new here either.”

“We’ve been looking for over a month,” said Jason. “When you first showed us the library, it was the coolest thing ever. But now—”

“It’s like we’re not looking for anything,” said Billy. “We’re just looking. Frank and I should get going soon, we have a game tomorrow.”

“We’re trying to figure out what the Dragon Key is,” said Frank. “We need to find out if it’s why Sindril was here, and what this has to do with Susan.”

“It has nothing to do with her,” exclaimed Billy. “I’m not even sure Sindril was ever here. We’ve been coming to the library as a group ever since you showed it to us, Suzie. But come on, what have we found?”

“Lots of drawings of the Dragon Key,” added Jason. “We've seen lots of torn pages and many references to Lovethar.”

“Yeah, and it’s fascinating,” said Billy. “It is. But it’s almost Styxia. We’ve been spending too much time down here. Let’s take a rest until the new year.”

Frank sighed. “Maybe Billy’s right,” he said. “We have no real proof Sindril was ever here. And all we learned about the Key is that lots of people draw it.”

“And tear out pages,” said Suzie. “Don’t give up now. Remember Cibran.”

“And look how he turned out,” said Jason. “I’m ready to go, at least until after the holiday.”

The holiday. Suzie had been in the World of the Dead for three months. It was November back in Maryland. Had Mom and Dad given up hope of finding her? Did they assume she was dead? What about her friends? Suzie found she was starting to forget details. What did Joe used to say when she forgot something? She couldn’t remember. The Living World, the home she was trying to get back to, was fading into a blur. It frightened her to imagine a day she might not even remember home. No, she’d get back. She’d go home to Mom and Dad after she passed the Final Test.

“Suzie, we should head out,” said Billy.

“They’re right,” said Frank. “Things will quiet down after Styxia. Once we get through midterms, we can focus on these mysteries.” He smiled.

Suzie wondered why they were here. The Key interested Frank, but they’d found nothing. Billy and Jason always came along, but not out of curiosity. Maybe they wanted to watch her fail. No, don’t start thinking like that. They came because they’re her friends.

“We’ll come back after Styxia,” she said. “Let’s go.”

Styxia. The one holiday on this world. Styxia commemorated the victory of the Deaths over the Dragons in the Great War. In History, they’d spent three weeks talking about the great revolt, when the Deaths won the right to transport souls of the dead to the Hereafter. The role had previously belonged to the Dragons.

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