Villain Academy #JustWriteIt [WATTY AWARD WINNER OF 2015]

+ 19 with the Mommy and Daddy +

"Are you sure I need to bring this stupid backpack?" Trent slipped on the sand for the sixth time on the dune, tightening his grip on the khaki straps.

"Question Roger's backpack one more time, and I'll bite your head off," I snapped.

Trent muttered something and had to do a little skip to get ahead of me.

I patted my pocket, feeling the mushiness of the ashes in the sandwich bag.

"You have the medallion, right cheeky wakes?" Trent asked.

I wrapped my fingers around the golden medallion under my shirt and brought it out. The blazing sun caught the glare of the necklace, it winking back at me. "Yes, I have your dumb medallion."

"Good. I was worried for a second you—"

"How do I know you're not lying about all this? That I'm actually a Hero?"

Trent hiked up the bag, squinting up at me through the sunlight. "Whatever I say won't convince you that I'm telling the truth. So is there really a point in us discussing this until we get to Hero High? Where your family should be the ones telling you their life story?"

I opened my mouth, only to snap it shut. Our skin baked in silence until we got back to the camp area where the rest of the Citizens waited for us.

It was as if we never left—the Citizens huddled under a few tents with rags and tired faces.

Eyes lit up at the sight of us and I kept close to Trent once we reached the Citizens. He dropped the bag down and talked with his men for a moment.

The gaze of someone else was heavy on my shoulders and I turned, catching the eyes of Archer and Lance who kept staring at me. New patches of purple and swelled skin were on their face, and I quickly looked away.

Did they know I was a Hero? No, they couldn't have. They would've immediately taken me to...

They thought I was the Beast of Villains.

I turned my back to them, unsure what to make of that.

Trent motioned me over, and I pulled out the medallion from under my shirt, clenching my hand around it.

"First, we eat. Then, I'll assemble a team to take you to Hero High," he explained.

I had a snappy remark loaded in the back of my throat, but the exhaustion from the transformation had taken a lot of energy.

I nodded in agreement, mouth too tired to put together a proper response.

He pushed aside a curtain as the two of us entered a quieter tent. The hooded witch who promised the Citizens and I food in exchange for the medallion waited, hands disappeared through their long, black sleeves.

Trent spoke in another language, and I stood there, not bothering to question what he was saying. When he stopped talking, the witch refused to say anything and Trent let out a small grunt before gesturing to the witch.

"What?" I asked.

His gaze dropped to the medallion and I opened my hand out, staring down at the precious necklace.

"Oh. Right," I said and unclipped it off of me. I dangled it in front of the witch and we watched it gently sway, waiting for it to take it.

The big sleeve lifted, hand still hidden under the black cloth. But instead of grasping the necklace, ice-cold bones touched my wrist and a gasp shot past my mouth.