And then this demon creature had been stronger than our weapons. Weapons specifically designed to kill demons.
“I need to contact the High Council. Cornelius, Amelia, please come with me. Everyone else, thank you for your quick action against the creature. I think it is best for everyone to return to their rooms. I will fill everyone in over breakfast,” Dezikiel said, his voice booming out in the quiet night air.
I clambered to my feet amongst the unimpressed and uncertain murmurs of my fellow students, and I headed inside with Hadley and Diane, with my hellhounds close behind.
The hooded figures shot by us, and I could only assume they were heading out to clean up Charlie.
I was surprised that his death didn’t even bother me in the slightest. No one else seemed too torn up by it either. I guess with a giant demon monster being summoned by him, no one felt bad for him.
But he’d seemed to mingle well with the others, just not my hellhounds and I.
“Why do you think the weapons barely worked on it?” Diane hissed as she gripped my arm softly.
“It didn’t feel completely demonic to me,” Hadley murmured.
“It wasn’t,” Chumley growled from behind us.
“If someone hadn’t killed Charlie so quickly, maybe we could’ve learned more,” Jack muttered.
“Or he could have summoned another one,” Creeper snapped.
“Not a great loss. He was an odd one. We tried to be welcoming, but he was a bit of a tool. And he kept to himself outside of meals and classes,” Hadley remarked.
“No one seems too torn up by his death,” I murmured.
“He was a demon. Unlike Xander, we all felt a little funny with him, but we tried to treat him like normal,” Diane sighed. “But it seems he was working for the Princes of Hell.”
“That worries me. The High Council is meant to vet demons and demonics before sending them to Academies,” Hadley said, her brow furrowing as she pursed her lips.
We fell silent as we worried over what all of this could mean. Had the High Council simply slipped up in investigating this new demon?
Or was it something more?
Thirty-Seven
I sat in my room with my hellhounds, who had showered and dressed before joining me. Creeper was silent, keeping his distance from me for some odd reason as the others sat on my bed with me.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jack asked again, leaning against the pillows with me nestled into his side.
Chumley sat on the edge of the bed, while Bug was sitting cross-legged and flicking his elastic band every few seconds.
I’d noticed when he’d shifted back to man, it had disappeared, clearly burned off in the shift, but he’d found a new one.
“I’m fine,” I said for the millionth time. It was starting to annoy me how much they were stressing over me. “Creeper, why are you being so funny?” I asked, turning to stare at him where he sat at my desk.
“I’m not,” he grumbled with his arms folded.
“He killed someone in front of you,” Bug pointed out, and Creeper growled at him. Bug just shrugged and ignored him.
“You killed someone who was trying to kill me with a monster. A bad demon,” I said firmly. But now I understood. He was worried I thought differently of him.
Seeing him covered in blood had made me hesitate when we had stopped before my bedroom door earlier, and he’d strode off unhappily as the others told me they’d shower and return. The other three had had black blood smeared on them from the creature, only Creeper was covered in crimson blood.
“It doesn’t bother you?” Creeper murmured after a moment of staring uncertainly at me.
“You guys were created to protect me. Which you all did. I can’t feel funny about that, and I do need to thank all of you. I couldn’t do anything, my hellfire was useless, and I had no weapons. Not that they would’ve worked,” I muttered. “Did you guys know Dezikiel was an angel?” I narrowed my eyes at them.
“Yes, we knew. Most of the older students know, I guess everyone knows now. Every Academy is run by a fallen angel, an angel who got demoted from Heaven and tasked with training demonics,” Jack explained.
“Why is he fallen?”
“We’re not sure. There are many fallen angels, but they still answer to Heaven. Some fall because they develop human emotions, others ask too many questions or choose to fall and live more human lives,” Bug said as he played with his elastic band.
“Did anyone else feel that the creature was… angelic?” Chumley asked softly.
“What?” I blurted in disbelief.
“Yeah, it had the feeling when I bit it,” Jack agreed. “And then an angel blade would make sense. Demon weapons can’t hurt angelics. But angelic weapons can.”
“How on earth could it be angelic? It didn’t look angelic,” I snorted, but my stomach dropped.
We’d been taught that our weapons could work on other demonics, that they were crafted in a special way. And it had done nothing to the monster. And from my experience with Dezikiel and getting my hellfire that day, it hadn’t harmed him either.
It being angelic was making sense.
But how?
A brisk knock on the door cut our conversation short, and I invited whoever it was in.
I hadn’t expected it to be Dezikiel.
“Good, you’re all here,” he said as he glanced around at all of us. Miss Sage and Mr Baron had filed in as well, closing the door and standing quietly behind him.
“Lily, it’s time you learned what Everwood Academy is. For demonics with no knowledge of what they are before coming here, we keep it from them until we feel they’re ready to know. I believe now is the time,” Dezikiel said, his deep brown eyes boring into mine as I sat up.
“Everwood Academy trains up the Everwood Hunters. Demonics who protect humanity from demons that sneak through rips or are summoned. Rips of the Gates of Hell. These rips are like doorways, small and only open for a short amount of time, letting only a handful of demons through at most before closing. They open up all around the world; they’ve been like this for centuries, and demonics have been the ones chosen to combat these waves of demons that cause chaos and damage. Angels used to handle them long ago, but unlike demonics and demons, their numbers are limited. No new angels are born anymore.”
I just soaked up this information, staring hard at Dezikiel.
Now the training made more sense. I knew we were learning to protect ourselves, as demonics were hunted, especially the stronger ones. Like me. The others could show up on tracking spells if they were in the area, and once they were deemed ready to leave the mansion, Dezikiel laid a powerful warding on them. Even my hellhounds had them.
I’d get mine once I had my hellfire under control.
“Angels can feel when and where a rip is made, so if it’s in the local area, I will either contact Everwood Hunters, or send students who are ready to start undertaking missions,” Dezikiel added as I chewed my lip.
“So, those demons are the ones that human hunters go after too. They cause more issues than demonics.”
“Yes, that’s correct,” Dezikiel nodded.
“And our real duty is to fight them,” I murmured.
“We get paid for it,” Jack stated, and I turned to him.
“You’ve been out on these hunts?” I gaped.
“That errand we ran, it was a hunt. Vampires possessed by demons. Not something normal demonics can handle easily. Us hellhounds are pretty strong and powerful, we can withstand more injuries and heal faster from demonic injuries,” Creeper explained.
“Great,” I grumbled.
“Lily, I’ve not been entirely forthcoming with you,” Dezikiel said as he moved closer, clasping his hands before him as his face set. “I am under the belief that both angels and demons alike want you gone. I know for a fact that the High Council had high hopes for you and your hellhounds in regards to dealing with demons. But I also believe the High Council has some corruption present.
That there are some within it who believe the offspring of a Prince of Hell should not be here. Which is believable considering that demon monster had angelic grace present, making it immune to most of our weapons. As to why the demons want you gone, I believe the Princes of Hell deem you a threat. That’s why one went after your mother all those years ago, and she was able to take him down with her. Now there remain only five Princes, including your father.”
“Why would I be a threat?” I snapped, hating that he was suggesting my mother died for me. The thought made my blood run cold.
“You are the daughter of a Prince of Hell. The most royal demon bloodline runs through you. The power you wield, if honed and mastered, could maybe even out-power a Prince. That is why they want you gone. They’re afraid of you,” Dezikiel said, his piercing gaze making me bite my lip hard enough that I nearly drew blood.
I was potentially more powerful than a Prince of Hell? How? My Hellfire wasn’t anything fancy.
My mind jumped back to that day with Mr Baron. My other powers we hadn’t yet touched on. I had a power over lower class demons. And could manipulate people. Was that something that made me dangerous? I didn’t even know how to use those powers yet.
“We all were unsure of Charlie, but we are bound by the High Council. We had to do as they requested,” Mr Baron spoke up.
“I’ve sent word to the High Council, they will send someone to speak with me. I’ve requested a friend whom I trust, someone I know won’t be corrupted by others,” Dezikiel stated.
“And here I thought all angels were the good guys,” I snorted. “Guess they’re more like the ones from ‘Supernatural’, some are just dicks.”
Chumley snickered at this, and I shot him a smirk, glad that he caught the reference.
“Angels, even though they are meant to serve humanity and watch over them, can be… well, dicks,” Dezikiel agreed with an amused smile.
“So what now?” I asked, shifting nervously as Jack still had one arm around my shoulders.
I felt a little awkward still lying on my bed, even though I was sitting up straight against my pillows.
“I think Mr Baron will start teaching you your other powers. I will do some investigating, and the Academy will remain on alert. No more students until we figure out what’s going on with the High Council,” Dezikiel stated.
“So we just wait for a Prince of Hell or an angel to make a move?” Creeper snarled.
“No. We investigate what’s going on,” Miss Sage chided him.
I had to agree with Creeper. It sounded an awful lot like doing nothing and just waiting for something to happen.
But what more could we do?
Thirty-Eight
I stood in the dark clearing with the red pool, sighing as I stepped up beside my father. The red sky overhead was dark, and my father was looking up at a grey moon.
“Is this a dream?” I asked as I patted down my gothic black dress.
My father wore his white suit like usual. He turned to me, looking disgruntled as those deep blue eyes latched onto my own.
“I’d have assumed by now you’d have discerned that this is more than a dream, our meetings may happen when you’re unconscious, but they are not dreams.”
“So you’re my father,” I breathed. I’d not felt that these vivid scenes were just dreams.
“Yes, and I don’t think I can protect you anymore, my dear child,” he sighed, his shoulders slumping as he shook his head in dismay.
“Charlie is only the beginning. A mere pawn in a bigger picture. I’m having more difficulty reaching you in order to communicate. My brothers are aware of my attempts to warn you.”
“Why do they want me dead? Dezikiel said they’re afraid of me, that they think I can out-power them,” I stated, shifting my feet in the ashy dirt by the red pool.
I wondered if the red liquid would be warm.
“Oh, Lily, you can out-power them, and so much more, when you fully awaken,” he said, his mouth curving upwards as he touched his beard.
“What do you mean fully awaken?” I frowned as those blue eyes softened.
“You have your mother’s strength, Lily. You are more than just my daughter, a demonic. You are pure. Do you know why your mother named you Lily?” he questioned, cocking his head at me as he clasped his hands.
“No, I guess she liked lilies,” I shrugged, hating how he’d dodged my question.
“The day she found out she was pregnant with you, she saw a lily out the window. A symbol of purity. No matter what others think, you are pure, you are the answer and the key.”
“You said that before, the key to what?” I growled, getting frustrated with his vagueness.
“The future, a better world,” he said as he stepped closer to me, resting his hands on my shoulders and giving them a squeeze.
“You can save it.”
I snapped awake, sitting upright as warmth surrounded me.
I drew in a shaky breath as I looked at my hellfire swirling around me.
Great. I was going to ruin another bed.
But there was something different about my hellfire this time.
It wasn’t burning my bed, and it had a beautiful golden-white glow. It felt powerful, and as I moved my hand to touch it, it swirled over my fingers.
My clothes weren’t burned off, and as if a sudden memory had resurfaced, I knew what to do with it, how to control it completely.
I grinned as it danced around the room, taking on the form of a golden hellhound mingled with flames as it darted around the room before dispersing, leaving me in a small tornado of flames on my bed.
“Lily!”
I turned to the shout, grimacing as Jack came rocketing over from my door.
He outstretched his hand, intent to withdraw the flames, but they didn’t respond to him.
“I’m okay, I’m controlling it,” I informed him as the flames danced around me with their unique golden-white glow flaring up amongst the red and orange.
“I felt a power flare,” Jack said as he stepped closer, eyeing the flames curiously.
He reached out, and a sudden wave of fear shot through me.
“Don’t!” I barked, withdrawing my flames.
But it wasn’t fast enough. He touched the fire, and yelped in pain as the golden-white tendrils latched onto his hand.
I was on my feet in seconds, waving my hand over his and snatching my flames away. But his hand had been burned, and he just stared down at it with confusion.
“It burned me.”
I stared at the welting burn on his hand, wincing at how painful it looked. And it wasn’t healing fast.
“How did your hellfire burn me?” he questioned, apparently not too concerned with his injury compared to why.
“I don’t know. Also, I don’t think those dreams with my father are just dreams,” I stated as I bit my lip. We needed to get him some medical attention and fast.
“You’ve been having dreams with your father? And why not?”
“Yes. And because he said they’re not, and I don’t feel like they are,” I murmured as I began walking to the bedroom door. “We need to get your hand looked at, it looks bad, and it’s not healing.”
“I know, it’s weird,” he murmured as he inspected his hand, wincing when he prodded it.
I slapped his arm lightly. “Don’t touch it, dummy!”
“Hellfire can’t burn me,” he reminded me as we reached the door.
I hesitated at this, catching those mesmerizing dark eyes as he gazed at me curiously.
“Maybe it does now.”
“Or maybe, it’s not just hellfire anymore.”
I sat in the small infirmary room, watching as Miss Sage patched up Jack’s injured hand. She was frowning, and had asked a few questions about the injury.
As soon as I’d explained my hellfire having changed, she’d called and left a message on Dezikiel’s phone since he was out.
Bug, Chum, and Creeper had joined us, and all three were conc
erned as they exchanged looks.
Bug was snapping his elastic band like mad, while Chumley was shifting uneasily.
“So, tell me again, the flames had a white and gold color?” Miss Sage asked as her furrowed brow deepened as she pursed her lips and applied a thick coating of some ointment on Jack’s welts.
He sat stock still on the stainless steel bench top, staring at me with curiosity and wonder.
I shifted under his gaze as I replayed the flames in my mind.
“Yes,” I murmured.
“How peculiar,” Miss Sage murmured as she began bandaging up Jack’s hand, chewing her cheek as she focused on the task before her.
I knew my boys had an idea of what was going on as they flicked their gazes around at each other, but no one said a word, which was starting to piss me off.
What was going on? What was this strange changing of my hellfire? What did it mean?
“I dreamt of my father again,” I stated, the uncomfortable silence driving me mad.
“Your father?” Miss Sage paused to glance over at me, those doe eyes perplexed at this news.
I’d told Dezikiel of my dreams, and he’d been intrigued by them as well.
“He went on about me being a key again, said they weren’t dreams, and I could save the world,” I murmured, shaking my head at the absurdity of it.
I awaited a sharp laugh from Miss Sage at my craziness, but instead she cocked her head at me, deep in thought now that she’d finished dealing with Jack’s burned hand.
“How interesting. I’ll speak with Dezikiel about it when he returns, and about your hellfire. It truly is… unique,” she murmured, something flickering through her eyes, but she covered it before I could catch it.
“I just want to know what’s going on. With the Princes of Hell, these dreams, my hellfire,” I said, unable to keep my body from shaking a little.
This was all becoming too much for me. I needed answers, not vague hints.
“Hey, it’ll be okay,” Jack breathed as he slid off the counter and strode over to wrap me in his arms.
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