A Demon's Horns: Vice College For Young Demons: Year One

by Marie Mistry

  “The kitchens,” Bane answered easily. “If you don’t have a problem with the unshown, I’ll take you there.” He paused. “Oh, by the way, you left this in class.” He pulled out my room key from his pocket.

  Daron coughed loudly, giving Bane a strange look.

  “Thanks.” I took the key back. “I’d have lost half my things by now if you weren’t around.”

  Bane smiled. “Not a problem.” He swept his hand out. “Shall we?”

  I nodded but Daron held back. “Lilith, I’d like a private word with Bane if that’s okay?”

  “Erm, sure… Is everything okay with you guys?”

  “Totally fine,” Daron reassured me. “I just want to ask him something.”

  “Just turn left at the end of the corridor, we’ll catch up,” Bane promised.

  I did as he said, my insides burning with curiosity as I settled around the corner to wait for them. Bane and Daron weren’t the type to keep me waiting, but I still waited a fair amount of time. At one point, I turned to peek at them to find Daron with his arms crossed, looking calmly at Bane who had sunk against the wall looking more conflicted and angrier than I’d ever seen him.

  “It’s more complicated than that!” Bane yelled, and I swiftly ducked back around the corner.

  There was a pause, presumably where Daron said something, and Bane must have calmed down, because I couldn’t hear any more until they both turned the corner a few minutes later. I studied their faces for some clue as to what had happened, but both of them were carefully blank.

  “I heard yelling,” I mumbled. “I can’t deal with any more fights today.”

  Daron surprised me by pulling me into his side. “I know, and we won’t make you. It was just a misunderstanding, nothing to worry about.” He kissed the side of my head and released me. “And when we see Aeron and Jin next, we’ll be sure to give them both a piece of our minds.”

  “But quietly, so we don’t upset you.” Bane winked. “This way.” He kicked a panel in the wall, marked by another of those tiny compass shaped runes, and it swung inwards. A ball of fire hovered over his hand and he led the way into the darkness.

  “How on earth do the unshown see down here?” I wondered aloud.

  “Some use lanterns, but most memorise the number of steps they need and the turns they have to take,” Bane explained. “Much easier with pyrokinesis though.”

  I shivered at the idea of being made to scurry in the dark like an animal.

  It couldn’t have taken more than a few minutes for Bane to get us through the passageways, but when we emerged into the warm, glowing light of the kitchens, it felt as though we’d been underground forever. Unshown scurried around, yelling things and carrying heavy pots. One of them spotted Bane and gave a delighted cry.

  “Leonie! Ya boy is back!” A man called. “Good ta see ya lad. Who’ve you got with ya?”

  “Nico, this is Daron and Lilith, my friends.”

  The old man gave us all a scrutinising look, and my stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly.

  “Hungry, huh?” Nico grinned. “Sit over there, pastries are jus’ about done.”

  He pointed at a large, somewhat rickety, old table in the corner of the room, and I took a seat on the bench beside it, the men on either side of me. We’d just been given plates filled with steaming savoury pastries when Leonie burst into the room. I could only tell it was her from how short she was in comparison to everyone else, and I marvelled over the idea that someone so small could have given birth to a man who was six feet tall.

  She launched into Bane’s arms and then turned to greet me with almost as much enthusiasm. Even Daron was granted a kiss on the cheek, though to my knowledge they’d never met before.

  “I’m so glad you’ve all come.” She smiled. “I heard they were doing the gift tests today. Did any of you…?”

  “All of us.” Bane spoke around a large mouthful of sausage roll. “I got terrakinesis, crystallokinesis and phytokinesis.”

  “Earth gifts are a good sign.” Leonie was beaming. “Earth is a grounded, stable element, you fit it well.” She turned to Daron and me. “What about you two?”

  “Ferrokinesis and electrokinesis,” Daron admitted.

  “Ooh, that’s exciting, but not much to do with it in Vice,” Leonie acknowledged before turning her gaze on me.

  “Lilith hasn’t really come to terms with her gifts yet, mum,” Bane said gently.

  Leonie frowned. “There’s no gift in existence that anyone should be ashamed of,” she insisted. “A boy in my year had volukinesis, the ability to control insects, but even when he had slugs crawling up his arms, it was still considered incredibly cool.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not ashamed,” I mumbled, because the truth was I was more scared than ashamed. “I have pathokinesis and odynokinesis. What does that say about me?”

  Leonie shook her head. “I don’t even know what those are, so how can I tell you?”

  “Lilith can control emotions,” Bane began. “But her primary gift is controlling pain.”

  Leonie raised a brow. “Good.”

  I gaped at her. “Excuse me?”

  “Well, I don’t question divine orders, but having seven men to protect you did seem a little flaky. I mean, there will be times and places where you don’t want or can’t have seven men with you. But with this you have something just in case they can’t protect you. Make sure you work hard to master it.” She looked at me, her eyes so like Bane’s, were so piercing that I got a momentary disquieting notion that she might be able to look into my soul. “Now, onto more important things. Aeron says you need a mask for the ball.”

  I nodded, even though the ball was the furthest thing from my mind.

  Leonie sighed. “I wish I had my mother’s mask still, it was so beautiful, covered in tiny rhinestones and made of lace.” Her eyes closed for a brief second. “But they made me cut it up when I was declared unshown. Do you have your dress yet? Perhaps the designer will be willing to create a mask which matches.”

  I shook my head, swallowing my mouthful in a rush. “I don’t have one yet.” My mother would probably have designed and made it herself before I even came to Vice, but I supposed whatever creation she’d come up with had probably been incinerated along with the rest of my possessions by now. A little part of me, the part that still couldn’t believe she’d disowned her only child so easily, was still hoping she’d turn up, dress and mask in hand.

  Leonie gasped. “Lilith, you have to get a dress.” She turned to her son. “You have to make her get a dress, as soon as you leave school tonight. She’ll have to write around; all the good dressmakers will be booked already but you might get lucky with a relatively unheard of up and coming designer.”

  I didn’t dare ask why I couldn’t just ask Nelly and Lulu’s parents to buy me something off the rack, which had been my plan. Vice was the sort of place that had ways of doing things, and Alicia had already impressed upon me the importance of fitting in at a big event like the solstice ball.

  “I will, Mum,” Bane promised, stuffing a few spare pastries wrapped in napkins into his pocket. “But we have etiquette next, or at least Daron and I do…” He looked at me.

  “I have Demonic Language, I’ll meet you after dinner if you want,” I suggested.

  Plans made, we scoffed the last few pastries before Bane took us into the passageways once again. This time he led us out directly beside Dr. Djinn’s classroom. I was early, so I settled against the door to wait, watching Daron and Bane’s retreating backs as they headed off to suffer through another Pruitt lesson.

  Chapter 29

  The only problem with agreeing to meet Daron and Bane after dinner was that it meant getting up the nerve to walk into the dining hall first. That meant facing the fact that Aeron and Jin would both be there, and I might have to see them again. So, of course, I was hovering outside of the dining hall like the coward I was, torturing myself with the smell of food floating from inside.
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br />   Logically, I knew I should just take those few little awkward steps, but embarrassment held me captive.

  “I heard what happened,” Rina said, making me jump.

  I sighed, turning to face her. “You look terrible.”

  “I may have dark circles, but that’s still a better look than red eyes,” she retorted. “You aren’t going to ask how I know?”

  “Nelly,” I muttered.

  “Your friend walked straight up to Maddox and me in the chapel and demanded an initiation into the Order,” Rina agreed. “Then she told us everything you told her…”

  “So now every knight in the school knows,” I finished for her.

  “Maddox is glowing,” Rina added. “He’s got four new initiates to the order in one day. For the head of a secret society, he’s awfully fond of recruiting.”

  “I don’t want to face them,” I mumbled, turning back to the door.

  “Which one? The one who’s ignoring your existence, the one who feels like you betrayed him or the one falling asleep in his food?” Rina asked.

  I giggled at the image of Jin falling asleep in his food. “All of them, but Aeron most of all.”

  “Blaze and Bane have both had it out with him,” Rina reassured me. “I think you should just give it a go.”

  “I might need a push,” I admitted.

  “Happy to oblige.” Rina smiled, giving me a little shove through the door.

  I felt four pairs of eyes snap up to see me, but what rooted me to the spot was the fact that they all sat at the same table.

  Usually, Aeron, Lulu, Nelly and I sat with our caste friends at a table in the middle of the room, but now all of them sat at a table in one corner, along with Daron, Bane and – impossibly – Kain and Jin. Even more unbelievable was the fact that Aeron and Jin were next to one another, albeit not close enough to risk even an accidental touch.

  “Surprise.” Rina smirked, taking my arm and marching me over to the table to stop me from blocking up the doorway. “Guess what Nelly and Lulu did.”

  I frowned. “Am I hallucinating?”

  Rina shrugged. “Your fan club was growing enough to warrant its own table. I got Aeron and Kain to glower a group of first years still in their awaiting out of the way, let’s face it – at this point they’re practically unshown and shouldn’t get too used to sitting in the hall anyway. Then Bane and Daron showed up and Daron insisted that Bane needed to sit with us as well.”

  I didn’t really pay attention to her bitchy comment, too focused on the men at the table.

  “How is the room still standing?” I asked, confused. “They hate each other.”

  “Maybe they realised they love you more than they hate one another.” Rina suggested. “I wouldn’t put it to the test just yet though… I think we need to take baby steps.”

  I nodded, then came to a halt as I reached the table. “Where do I sit?” I asked quietly.

  “Wherever you damned well want.” Rina snorted, sliding in next to Lulu.

  Aeron moved slightly to the side, making the space between him and Jin even larger. A plate of food was already there waiting for me and I smiled slightly.

  I took the hint and claimed the seat between them on the bench, but before I could say anything Aeron raised his hand slightly to silence me.

  “I was an asshole.”

  “We all were,” Jin muttered, and Kain nodded.

  “It’s not like we’re best friends. But we’ll try and make stuff work,” Aeron promised.

  I smiled. “You’re not mad at me?”

  He shook his head. “I know how much mating takes out of you, and I should have expected you would need your other mates eventually. It was a shock, but I’m mostly over it now. I’m sorry for the way I reacted.” He reached out, drawing my face towards him with only the lightest touch to my jaw.

  The kiss was as sweet as the apology, and I barely had time to recover my breath before Jin turned my head and did the same.

  “Did you heal okay?” he asked when we released one another. “I never meant for you to get hurt. You know I could never mean to hurt you.”

  Of course, the mating bond wouldn’t let any of them hurt me intentionally. I nodded. “It is healed, and you are both forgiven as long as you forgive me.” There were much more important things to worry about than a lovers’ quarrel.

  “Nothing to forgive,” Jin assured me, and Aeron nodded.

  I shoved a large bite of food into my mouth, swallowing quickly before I turned to Kain. “I’m surprised you’re here,” I mumbled.

  “To be honest, so am I,” he admitted, despite getting hard looks from almost everyone else at the table. “I went back to the Haughty Tower last night and tried to find one girl I wanted more than you. It was like they were all ghosts. They were beautiful, but it was like looking at the beauty of a faraway star. I could see it, but it was distant, cold kind of thing that couldn’t touch me. Sitting here with you, it’s like being next to the sun in comparison. I don’t fucking get any of this, but it looks like I’m along for the ride anyway.”

  I ran a hand through my hair. “Did anyone tell you what’s at stake?” I asked.

  Both Jin and Kain nodded. “We got the full thing from Maddox about half an hour ago when he dragged us into some mouldy chapel and made us listen to the whole story,” Kain grumbled.

  “No one will touch you. I swear on the honour of my house.” Jin’s words were followed by a chorus of agreement from everyone there.

  “The Strange God said I would need to meet all seven mates to survive,” I mumbled. “There’s only seven months left till the ball…”

  “You’ve found most of your mates in less time than that,” Lulu pointed out. “Have a little faith, Lilith.”

  “It is reasonable to assume the Strange God would set you a task that was achievable. Perhaps you have already met the other two, but haven’t realised it,” Daron suggested. “Perhaps they have recognised you, but are unable to come forward for whatever reason.” He leaned over Bane for a second, snatching something out of his bag on his other side. “Your ring.” He presented the small band of metal to me.

  I turned it over in my hand, recognising it as the one I had had in my pocket earlier in the day, the one which Hadrian had given me to protect me.

  “Where did you find this?” I wondered, sticking my hand into my blazer pocket.

  Aeron rolled his eyes. “Seriously, Bane?”

  “Shut up.” Bane’s voice held a low undertone of threat to it, and I looked up into his eyes to find them full of a nameless threat that was directed straight at his brother.

  “His sub-caste is Acquisition,” Aeron explained to me. “He’s probably been stealing your things all year and giving them back to you, am I right?”

  Bane growled at his brother, but I was too busy staring at the ring in shock.

  “You’ve been stealing from our mate?” Jin scowled down the table.

  “It’s not stealing if he gives it back, technically speaking,” Daron rushed to defend Bane, who still hadn’t spoken.

  “It’s still taking what isn’t yours,” Kain pointed out.

  “I don’t do it for fun,” Bane made a feeble attempt to defend himself, but I could sense that his heart wasn’t really in it.

  “What else have you stolen?” Nelly demanded.

  I could sense that things were about to get out of hand, and the last thing I wanted was another fight. Weary to my bones after the long day I had, I held up my hand for silence, and was surprised when everyone shut up.

  “I don’t care if you have to steal from me,” I mumbled. “Our powers take a toll on all of us, and you’ve never taken anything valuable. Steal from me all you need to.” I shoved another mouthful of food down, not really tasting it. “You’d give me power if I needed it, wouldn’t you?”

  Bane looked at me, his gaze cautious and assessing. “Yes.”

  “Then we’re equal. It would have been nice to have been asked first, but we’re friends.
”

  Rina choked on her food and Lulu patted her on the back soothingly. As strange as it was, the distraction let Bane silently show me how he really felt. Those warm brown eyes conveyed more apology and guilt in one flutter of his eyelids than anyone could with words. I hoped that my eyes were conveying something meaningful in return, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if all he could see was a tired, stressed girl.

  “Thank you,” he whispered, and I felt my heart make a small lurch.

  I wrenched my gaze away. “No problem,” I mumbled, shoving another mouthful of food down and looking at the table. I had no business having heart flutters for my mate’s brother, especially when I already had more than enough men in my life.