Wicked Souls: A Limited Edition Reverse Harem Romance Collection

by Rebecca Royce

  Thankfully, we reached the dining hall, and my thoughts were halted by the sight of waffles and fresh fruits and berries with ice-cream.

  I sat down beside Hadley, and Bug sat on my other side, immediately helping himself to a plate of waffles with assorted berries and ice-cream on top.

  I chose the one with a selection of berries and a few slices of other fruit, including kiwi fruit.

  “Hey, I’ve been thinking, do you think you were named after Lilith?” Hadley asked through a mouthful of waffles.

  “Who’s Lilith?” I asked, causing Wayne to cease talking to his twin to give me a dumbfounded look.

  “Mother of demons, first wife of Adam,” Wayne stated, as if it was common knowledge.

  “You mean, like, Adam and Eve?” I questioned.

  “Yes, Eve was his second wife, created from one of his ribs,” Wayne nodded.

  “Relax, she hasn’t started her studies yet, besides, you’re not religious, are you?” Hadley asked once she’d swallowed this time.

  “No.”

  “There you go. How could you have known? Besides, Lilith has varied tales over time of who she is. You’ll learn the truth here,” Hadley stated as she stabbed another chunk of waffle and ice-cream with her fork.

  “What powers did you get? The hounds here said you got hellfire, that’s pretty wicked,” Wayne said.

  “I’m not sure, just hellfire I think,” I said as I began cutting up my waffles. My stomach was growling with excitement, and Bug was already wolfing his down.

  “Not sure if it’s just hellfire,” Jack said firmly from the other side of Bug. “There’s more. Mr Baron can help with that after breakfast. You guys got here late, the teachers are already off getting ready. He wants to see you first up out in the training yard. Then give you a proper tour of the place.”

  “Okay, cool,” I replied as I dug into my breakfast.

  It was utterly delicious, and I barely contained the moans at the rich vanilla ice-cream mixed with the berries and fruit on top.

  I could definitely get used to eating like this.

  Twenty

  I stood in the training yard with my hellhounds, shifting uneasily as Mr Baron scrutinized me through his glasses.

  He wore a completely different attire today, and he looked pretty wicked in the black tank top and tights. More muscled than I thought he was for sure.

  “So, hellfire is one of your gifts. You can command it and control it, bringing it forth at will. And from the feel of it, it’s a higher level of hellfire than our past students who’ve wielded it. You can command much more of it with ease,” he murmured as he circled me.

  He was peering at me with those piercing blue eyes as my hellhounds all stood around me, arms folded and sturdy, like soldiers waiting for my command.

  I pushed the strange thought away as Mr Baron’s mouth twisted into a small smile.

  “Interesting,” he whispered as he stepped closer to me.

  “What is?” I asked, biting my lip at the curious, yet masked look he was giving me.

  He just smiled at the question and shook his head.

  “From what I’m getting from you, you also hold a power over lower class demons, and you will be able to sense all demons, possibly even scent them. I’m also getting a vibe that you will be able to manipulate people, but we’ll focus on that later. It feels like a more dangerous power to wield, not just for those you use it on, but yourself. The other two should be our focus. What’s interesting, is this other ability. I can feel something incredibly powerful inside you, but I can’t decipher it. It’s quite… intriguing,” he mused as he cocked his head at me and folded his arms, giving me a quizzical look.

  I had a power over lower class demons and could manipulate people? What did that even mean?

  “Your hellhounds can withstand hellfire and put it out if required, a power which will be very useful in teaching you to wield it,” Mr Baron said, snapping me from my wonders on these other powers of mine.

  “How do I learn to wield my hellfire?” I asked. I didn’t have the slightest idea on where to start.

  Mr Baron just smiled as he looked at my boys.

  “Time to get underway, by the end of the week, you’ll be able to draw your hellfire forth if all goes to plan. Wielding it and manipulating will take much more practice, but we’ll get there,” he said, unfolding his arms as he stood firm before me.

  “Now, let’s begin.”

  I focused on the textbook before me, reading through the paragraphs before me and jotting down notes. Dezikiel was teaching us the true history of angelics and demonics, and it was a little different from the bible’s version.

  “How was your power session with Mr Baron?” Diane asked softly from her desk beside me.

  Dezikiel had left the room to allow us to study in private, and I thought he was putting a lot of trust in all of us. But no one was taking the time to mess around, they were clearly focused.

  “Um…” I chewed my lip. My session with Mr Baron had been interesting, that was for sure.

  I’d tried so hard to bring forth my hellfire, focusing on the burning deep inside me and willing it forth. I’d struggled, and after half an hour without so much as a wisp of fire, I’d grown frustrated and angry.

  Which proved to be a key factor.

  I’d erupted into flames, causing Mr Baron to shout and curse.

  Thankfully my hellhounds took charge, drawing the fire into themselves.

  It had been quite mesmerizing to see, their eyes lighting up red with the fires of Hell, their teeth lengthening as they stood stock still with fists at their sides and their heads slightly raised. My fire hit their arms and hands, diminishing to nothing without burning their clothing.

  Mr Baron had taken cover behind one of the concrete blocks that were strewn throughout the training yard, and I felt guilty as hell when I saw his head peek out from behind it, his glasses having fallen off.

  Jack had strode over quickly, tugging off his shirt and handing it to me.

  I’d just stared at his perfectly chiseled chest, frozen in place, swallowing nervously as my cheeks flushed.

  He’d smirked at me, shaking his head and saying I had to put it on.

  It was then that I’d realized I was stark naked, covered only in smudges of ash. Even my ponytail had come undone, my hair falling down my shoulders.

  I’d hastily held his shirt up to cover myself, and Jack turned away, giving me some privacy as I’d frantically pulled his shirt on. I was so glad he was tall and his shirt was long on me.

  My chest was tight as my stomach knotted and flipped while I hugged myself. I had wished the ground would open up and swallow me whole.

  At least it was only the boys and Mr Baron who saw me, although as I’d peered past Jack, I realized they’d all averted their eyes.

  Mr Baron had asked what had happened once he found his glasses and dusted them off.

  I explained I’d been frustrated, and he just nodded, murmuring that maybe my emotions were linked, and asked the boys to escort me to my room so I could shower and get ready for the next class with Dezikiel, a history session.

  “It was insightful,” I mumbled, realizing I’d been off in my head as Diane nudged me gently.

  “Well, that’s good then,” she smiled as she looked back at her book.

  We were studying different textbooks, and Dezikiel had given me mine when I’d joined in. Those that had been here longer were studying more in-depth and recent stuff, while I was studying the very basics.

  Like the angels who ran Heaven, how Lucifer was a fallen angel given a duty as King of Hell to keep all demons in line. He’d held a rebellion against God and the other angels, and lost.

  The details on God himself were vague and scarce, and it seemed he never got involved, merely spoke with the odd archangel, those who were closest to him and the highest ranking of them.

  The High Council were lower angels, who could leave Heaven and walk the earth in search of special d
emonics, and they sent them to one of many Academies all over the world. Everwood was just one in over twenty Academies.

  I took down notes, as there was an essay due in a few weeks on the first five chapters to see how well I understood it all.

  I wrote down the names of the Archangels, and the names of the six Princes of Hell, the strongest demons born from Lilith to help keep order in Hell. They were sometimes even referred to as the Knights of Hell.

  Lilith could birth demons without the assistance of a male, which weirded me out. She was a divine being much like Lucifer and other angels, but she was one of darkness, not light.

  I studied hard, immersed in the history of both demons and angels alike.

  God and the angels all butted out of human affairs mostly despite how they were worshipped. On the rare occasion, an angel would aid a human just to keep their beliefs alive.

  Time flew by, and before I knew it, I’d jotted down notes for over seven pages before Dezikiel called it quits for the day. It was time for lunch now, followed by afternoon training.

  I closed up my textbook, leaving it on my desk like everyone else did, only taking my notebook with me. Dezikiel had provided me with pens and a notebook, and I was beyond grateful.

  I was more worried about needing to buy clothes though if my power training continued the way it was.

  Just the thought of standing before my four hellhounds, stark naked, made my face burn.

  “How was your first history lesson?” Chumley asked as he stepped up beside me on the way out of the classroom.

  “Good. Seems there’s a lot to learn,” I remarked, still going over some of the information in my mind.

  “We’re still learning too, even Hadley and Diane, and they’ve been here the longest. They’ve learned the main teachings, now Dezikiel provides them with further material outside of the set studies,” Jack explained as he joined me on my other side.

  Bug and Creeper were following after us silently.

  “Do you think they’ll graduate soon?” I asked.

  “Maybe, some students graduate after the main two to three years. That’s the minimum required. But others hang around for longer, at least that’s what we’ve heard,” Chumley shrugged.

  I nodded as we headed back to the main hall to our rooms. We had an hour to kill after the initial lunch-break, and Diane had offered to give me a tour of the mansion.

  I dropped off my notebook and things to my room before heading to lunch, making a mental note to charge my phone later in the afternoon and check it.

  Not that I’d have any messages, since I didn’t have friends.

  Well, no, I was making friends now.

  The thought made me smile.

  Lunch was fun, I spoke with the others about our History class, and they shared some spoilers for things I’d find out. Like how Lilith left Adam because she wanted her freedom, whereas he wanted her to serve him and please him.

  She made her way to Hell, where she was free to be herself, and became mother to all demons.

  Lucifer doesn’t have much to do with her, despite being King of Hell. He merely acts as a warden, keeping demons and damned souls in Hell. His true duty is to watch over the damned souls, so the rips in reality, little doorways to Hell, work against him and provide escape for some demons. But they aren’t his true task, so he leaves it to the angels to deal with them and either return them or destroy them.

  I was in awe of everything I was learning, almost forgetting to finish the chicken salad I’d chosen for lunch.

  Diane informed me that after the break we got after lunch, we would be going to weapons training class, then combat class.

  We rotated between learning defensive and offensive tactics in our combat class.

  I also learned that Monday and Wednesday were the only two days we all attended classes together.

  All other days we were divided up and trained in two groups, with the students who’d been here longest attending harder classes, while us newer students attended beginner/intermediate classes.

  Which meant I wouldn’t be with my hellhounds all the time, which worried me.

  My power training I’d done earlier with Mr Baron was actually the workout time, where we all went to a gym inside the mansion to work on ourselves as well. Sometimes some of the other students would use this gym time to work on their abilities instead out in the gardens. Not me and Xander though, we were banned from practicing anything without an instructor present, which I understood.

  Which led to me asking how Xander practiced his possession.

  This turned into a lot of joking, as they had to hire humans to do tasks, such as gardening or repairs, and Xander would practice on them.

  Dezikiel had the ability to wipe the moment from their mind and send them on their way, paid, of course.

  I asked if he could wipe the memories of us students, which he said he couldn’t. He could only do it to humans, not demonics.

  I was intrigued by his abilities, and wanted to know what he was. But it seemed it wasn’t something that was spoken about, so I didn’t ask.

  Instead, I conversed with Diane and my hellhounds as I finished off my juice, enjoying the warm feeling of acceptance and belonging.

  I finally had somewhere I belonged.

  Chumley (Krodan)

  The days turned to weeks, and I watched as Lily slowly began to get a grip on her hellfire. Too many times now we’d glimpsed her naked, and it was hard to avert our eyes quick enough. To be honest, I think she was starting to accept that we’d see her naked and she wasn’t freaking out as much each day she practiced.

  Mr Baron didn’t participate in these classes anymore. He’d given her all the guidance he could, now it was up to her to learn to draw it forth and extinguish it on her own without our help. Once she learned that, he would come back and teach her more.

  So we’d spent her power sessions with her, making sure she didn’t burn the place down. The training yard was looking worse for wear, the concrete blocks blackened and the dummies used for training burned away.

  New ones had been made and set up in a different area, and this space had become our hellfire area.

  It was tucked away in a corner of the mansion’s grounds, so Lily was safe from prying eyes, not that I thought any of the other guys would try to catch a peek, even though over dinner one night, Diane and Hadley had discovered her burning of clothes when she’d asked if they could all go shopping for clothes soon.

  Dezikiel had said no, stating that until she had her hellfire under control, she couldn’t leave the mansion, but Hadley offered to pick her up some clothes when she popped into town on the weekend.

  I loved watching her get to know the others, taking the time to build friendships with all the other students, even Xander, who was a little bit of the odd one out. None of us had ever dealt with a demon before, but Lily was warm and open with him.

  It seemed we all had a thing for her, even Jack, the one who focused on our duty a lot. Creeper was just as soldier-like, but in a darker way. Even he was falling for her though, and we’d spent countless afternoons taking turns being with her.

  I’d watched some new Netflix shows with her in her room, making sure to sit at the desk so as not to weird her out. I’d felt her looking at me, and whenever I got the chance, I admired her beauty and savored her laugh. She was just so true to herself and honest, not trying to be someone she wasn’t.

  Creeper was adjusting too, finally understanding things better.

  Which also meant we’d all had a serious sit down to discuss feelings and… horniness with him.

  I knew he was embarrassed that Lily had had that effect on him, but we made sure he knew he wasn’t alone.

  We were all attracted to her, even though our duty was to protect her.

  Maybe it was a part of our wiring, but ever since her powers had awakened, we all agreed that we felt even more drawn to her.

  Creeper spent some afternoons helping her learn how to play the flute
, and I’d found them at times, sitting with their shoulders brushing as he played on the piano and she watched.

  He’d then watch her try to play the flute, and she was learning, slowly.

  Bug would spend time with her in the library, reading books or studying with her. When she was working on her essays, he was always willing to help her out. He’d gotten the best results in our history class over the years.

  And Jack, well, he helped her hone her combat training outside of the general combat training afternoon sessions. She struggled when with the group, and needed more one-on-one time with someone, and he’d been more than happy to assist.

  She was diving right into all the training, and she was slowly learning how to clean the guns quicker and more efficiently, along with the other weapons. And she’d been learning how to wield a knife and shoot a basic handgun.

  There were times when she got frightened or frustrated, and somehow, she became a momentary master of whatever it was that she was doing.

  Miss Sage had startled her when she was trying to get better aim at target practice, and she suddenly got three bullseyes in succession.

  We felt it too when that happened. That other power inside her, that extremely strong one that simmered beneath the surface in her. It flared up in that moment, and she’d become so calm and still.

  And then it would die down, and she couldn’t recreate it.

  Creeper said it reminded him of the pawn shop encounter, when she had just acted out of instinct.

  When we brought it up with Dezikiel, he just nodded, saying he believed it was something that lay dormant inside her most of the time, but in moments of dire need, it flared up.

  Although he never elaborated as to just what it was.

  We’d spoken about it, just the four of us. We had a slight hunch on what it was, but we kept it to ourselves. If we were right, we didn’t want anyone else knowing anyway.

  So we kept quiet, continuing to help Lily grow and learn.

  After all, she was the most important thing to us.