by Marie Mistry
“Daron and Bane are coming into the class too. Why aren’t you telling them this?” I demanded. “And you all seem to love it, it’s all you ever talk about.”
Aeron nodded. “But we’re men, Baby Girl. We love beating each other up.”
I frowned at all three of them. “I might like it too!”
Every pair of eyebrows at the table rose except mine. “Lilith, you freaked out when you found out you had odynokinesis,” Aeron continued, obviously not noticing that he was – as usual – making me blood-boilingly mad. “Don’t you think Hadrian commanding you to use it again and again until you can make people scream with a flick of your finger will upset you?”
“What my brother is trying to say, Precious,” Bane stepped in before I could rip Aeron a new one. “Is that you are a wonderful, kind-hearted person, and his inner caveman demands you be placed inside a steel panic room so that you are protected from the horrible things in life, and can avoid his fate of becoming a perpetually grumpy asshole.”
My anger deflated instantly, and I chuckled with the rest of the table.
“Be careful, little brother,” Aeron warned, “You’re going to be in a class with me next year; I might exercise my rite of privilege.”
“Rite of privilege?” Daron pushed his glasses up his nose in interest and set his book down.
Jin sighed. “A truly barbaric practice,” he announced. “Any older year can, at any point in Hadrian’s lesson, challenge a younger year to the obstacle course. If the older year wins, they get the younger year as their practice target for the rest of the week.”
“It means they can do anything to you.” Kain seemed slightly haunted. “You just have to sit there and take it.”
“Only assholes declare rite of privilege,” Jin concluded, glaring at Aeron.
“And if the younger year wins?” I asked.
They all shook their heads. “The younger year never wins,” Kain informed me. “If they did theoretically manage the impossible, they’d be immune to challenge from anyone for the rest of the year, and get the older year of their choice as mentor.”
I sighed at how unfair it seemed, and the subject was dropped. Since we had nowhere to be, we hung out in the grounds till mid-afternoon, watching people arrive at the Gatehouse where guests were being housed for the ball. It was warm and balmy, and I’d just woken up from a nap with Jin when Nelly stood abruptly.
“We have to get going. Our stylists are going to arrive any moment now!” She cursed, pulling Lulu to her feet.
“Shit.” Rina jumped to her feet as well, and all three of them stared at me… “Aren’t you coming?” Lulu asked.
“I don’t have a stylist.” I shrugged. “I just have to put on my dress.”
Kain coughed lightly. “Actually, Sunshine…”
I frowned at him. “What?”
“Her name is Maxine, and she’s scheduled to arrive in fifteen minutes,” he announced. “She’s also got your underwear, providing you’re going to keep to our deal.”
I blushed. “Kain, you can’t just…”
“He’s a rich bastard who wants to spend money on you.” Rina rolled her eyes. “Get over it and come with us, or we’ll all be going to the ball naked.”
“Finally, the one day of the year that we’re allowed to wear make-up,” Lulu breathed, her eyes taking on a dreamy expression.
Nelly didn’t wait for me to continue objecting, instead she grabbed my arm and dragged me upward before frog-marching me to the Gatehouse where a line of men and women with large cosmetics cases were waiting, holding up signs.
Chapter 37
Maxine turned out to be a lovely, bubbly Lust demoness who’d just graduated from one of the French colleges. She pattered around my bedroom, switching effortlessly between English, French and Demonish, complimenting my hair, oohing over my dress and bullying me around with the commanding air of a drill sergeant. She sent me straight into the shower with six different bottles, and when I came out she used pyrokinesis to burn off every hair below my neck before rubbing shimmery moisturisers into my skin. Then, and only then, did she finally allow me to put on a robe and do my nails.
When it came to my horns, she was positively aglow with ideas, and I had to stop her from trying to dress them up like Christmas trees. She pouted a little, but left them bare and started work on my hair with large curling irons. When she had finished, my blonde locks were arranged artfully into a romantic Grecian updo with tiny braids and little crystal pins adding detail to her masterpiece. She did my makeup next, giving me smoky eyes and dark lips that made me look like a femme fatale from an old movie. When she finally announced it was time for me to put on some clothes, I lit up.
Not that it wasn’t great being pampered, but it would feel great to finally wear something more substantial than my thin robe.
When she pulled out a black thong and handed it to me, I tested the weight of it curiously.
“Why is it so heavy?” I asked, and Maxine giggled.
“You are lucky to have men so attentive to detail, non?” she announced. “They ‘ave ze remote, and I would love to be in your shoes.”
I flushed scarlet as I realised that there was a vibrator sewn into the garment, and slipped the thong on silently, feeling the soft but hard device slip into place across my pussy, the ridge along the top sliding between my lower lips.
“Bra?” I asked, trying to be dignified.
She smiled and simply handed me a matching black suspender belt and some nylons. “A bra would ruin ze line of ze dress,” she insisted. “It ‘as cups in ze top, don’t worry.”
I didn’t bother arguing with her, saving my irritation for Kain later. When Maxine held the skirt out for me to step into, I obliged, feeling the silken fabric of the lining caress my legs. The top had a large cut out across the back that I hadn’t noticed before, and only secured with four buttons, two behind my neck and two below my shoulder blades. She undid the tiny buttons and slid it over me from the front, doing it up again only once she was certain my hair wouldn’t get caught in it.
It was strange how exposed I felt, considering my uniform showed more skin. Perhaps it was the strange brush of air against my back or the heels making me feel taller, but I was getting nervous.
“Voila!” Maxine exclaimed, placing the mask against the skirt and watched with me as it changed to match the colour perfectly. She arranged it over the bridge of my nose, pressing down across my cheekbones and along my eyebrows, the feathers gently tickling the edges of my face. She didn’t tie it on, but it stayed in place, and I marvelled at the abilities of the filukinetics who had made such a fascinating thing. “You are ready,” she announced, glancing at the clock. “And just in time! Your friends will be gathering downstairs.”
She waved a hand, and her equipment packed itself away in her case. “You look beautiful, ‘ave fun.” She air-kissed both of my cheeks.
“Thank you,” I breathed, staring at myself in the mirror. “You’ve done so much.”
“Remember me next year.” She breezed out of the room like a small, bubbly hurricane, leaving me alone to stare at myself in the mirror.
“Lilith!” Nelly called a split second later. “Come on, I saw your stylist leave. Stop preening and let’s go!”
I grabbed my tiny clutch bag and left the room, almost walking into Nelly and Lulu.
They looked like mirrors of one another, both wearing dresses with beaded tops and plain skirts, but with slightly different halter necks. Their hair was artfully messy with tiny jewelled flower clips tastefully holding back their bangs, and their masks…
“Is that the same mask split in half?” I asked curiously.
It was as if they’d taken one filigree metal mask and cut it down the centre, with only a few curling pieces of wire framing their other eyes.
Nelly grinned. “Our mother’s family has a long history of twins,” she informed me, bangles clinking together on her wrists as she moved. “Her mask can be joined together for a s
ingle daughter or split into two for a set of twins. Now let’s go!”
We walked down the stairs, just reaching the bottom, when suddenly the vibrator in my panties started to pulse gently in a rippling mode that made me suck back a gasp. It only pulsed three times before it stopped, going still again, but I got the message. Playtime had started.
The rest of the caste was in the common room, and we were the last to arrive. Nelly and Lulu pushed me towards the front with the other first years as we started walking towards the castle. When we reached the foyer and peeked into the great hall, it had been transformed into a glittering wonderland. The old benches had been removed and replaced with velveteen covered chairs and round tables that lined the edges of the room without imposing on the polished dancefloor. The light was provided by glittering crystal chandeliers and ornate candlesticks spread across the room, and the raised dais where the teachers usually sat was home to seven ancient looking thrones, each in the colour of a different caste. In one corner a string quartet accompanied a grand piano playing soft, tinkling background ambience for the glittering peacocks chattering around them. In the centre of the room, a few people swayed slightly in pairs.
The first years and the fourth years remained in the foyer, and the second and third years waltzed into the ballroom and started to mingle. Lulu gave me the thumbs up before she left, but I quickly lost sight of the twins among the other demons.
“For goodness’ sake, you Lusts are always late,” Rina complained, grabbing my arm and drawing my attention to her.
She wore a blood red dress with a long velvet skirt and a lace top with bold flared sleeves. Her mask was disconcerting, the top half looked like a piece of a skull, cut off just above the bottom of the eye sockets, with small gold chains hanging in loops down over her cheeks and chin. Around her neck a choker in the style of a single, giant, geometric eye glared out at me, making me feel slightly uncomfortable.
“Yes, yes stop gawking,” she grumbled. “Wrath family masks are a little morbid and seer jewellery doesn’t help much.” She rolled her eyes. “Now, let’s find the boys before that bloody announcer shows up and starts bossing us into alphabetical order.”
Daron wasn’t hard to find, and once we did spot him, I couldn’t look away. Demonic formalwear for men consisted of pressed white trousers, cummerbunds and black brocade frock coats. Their masks were identical black pieces, and Daron’s was no exception. The inky black of his military-style coat was accented with heavy silver and grey embroidery around the cuffs and collar, a theme which continued to his tie and bottle green cummerbund. He looked like a fairy-tale prince.
“You look magnificent,” he breathed as soon as he saw me, before giving me a formal bow. “Might I have a dance tonight?” he asked.
I smiled. “I’d love to,” I replied, curtseying just in case someone was watching. Alicia had said that my etiquette during the ball had to be impeccable, and unfortunately that meant curtseying in heels to every man or elder who addressed me.
There was a gentle tap at my shoulder, and I turned to find Bane standing behind me, his black coat embroidered with swirls of green and blue. He’d chosen a brown bow tie to keep to the rule of representing all his gifts. His cummerbund was a jovial yellow that marked him as a Greed and matched his brass buttons.
I curtseyed to him, smiling. “You didn’t brush your hair.”
He rolled his eyes. “You sound just like my mother,” he complained, good naturedly. “If she goes the whole night without attacking me with a comb, I’ll eat this overpriced tie.”
“Attention! Would all of the first years please assemble in alphabetical order!” a loud, bearded man called over the crowd, brandishing his cane in the air. “It is time for the presentation to the elders!”
A hush fell over the crowd and we obediently fell into line. The girl behind me was wearing a brown dress, the colour of an unshown, and her eyes were red rimmed. When her big, brown eyes met mine, she burst into tears again, frantically drying her eyes with a small handkerchief. I didn’t get a chance to say anything to her, because as soon as the last person got into line, the group of us filed into the hall around the edge. The guests, a combination of alumni, parents and important socialites, stared at us without even attempting to be subtle about it.
Of course, being the one with horns, I got more stares than anyone else.
Professor Saxon stood on the dais with the seven elders, smiling warmly at the gathered audience. She was wearing a bright yellow dress, accented with burnt orange flowers embroidered around her waist. It should have made her look jaundiced, given her pale skin and blonde hair, but instead she radiated an irritating, serene kind of beauty. I tried to ignore how unfair it was that someone so angelic wanted me dead, by wondering silently what gift she had that was represented by the orange.
“Elders, honoured guests and students,” she addressed the crowd with a grace that made me jealous, “It is my pleasure to present our first-year students for consideration by the elders.” She paused for the smattering of polite applause that followed, and then began to recite from memory. “Daron Abraxon, Possession demon of Caste Envy. Gifted with ferrokinesis and electrokinesis.”
Daron stepped up to the dais and bowed deeply before the seven elders on their thrones. They were all wearing bold sashes of their caste colour over their white clothes. Vrosis and Ruelle were among them, and I watched as the elders examined Daron before looking at one another.
The Envy Caste Elder stood from her throne, “Rise, Abraxon with our blessing,” she declared, approaching Daron and kissing him on both cheeks before returning to her throne.
My hands clenched at the sight of another woman’s lips on my mate, but I bit my tongue and continued to watch as Daron left the stage and Abrosiax took his place, only for the process to begin again.
When it reached my turn, I felt so nervous I almost forgot to breathe.
“Lilith Carazor, Succubus demon of Caste Lust. Gifted with odynokinesis and pathokinesis,” Professor Saxon announced, and I stepped in front of the elders and curtseyed low, despite the muttering of the crowd behind me.
They seemed to take longer to decide for me than they had for anyone else, and I bit my lip anxiously before Vrosis stood.
“Rise, Carazor with our blessing,” he said, approaching me slowly.
He kissed my cheeks as though he was kissing a venomous snake he feared might bite at any moment, fleeing back to his throne the second it was over. I rose and left the dais as quickly as possible, half afraid that they would change their minds. When I reached the crowd, I looked back and watched the unshown girl ascend the steps.
“Stevie Carr, chosen by no caste,” Professor Saxon sounded almost sympathetic.
The Pride Elder rose first, slicing her arm downwards in a cutting motion. I watched a lock of the girl’s hair fall to the floor.
“Pride declares you unshown,” she announced.
I almost charged up onto the stage to stop it, but a firm hand at my elbow kept me in place. I looked back to find Daron with his jaw clenched. “We can do nothing,” he muttered, though I could tell it was killing him inside as well.
“Envy declares you unshown,” the Envy Elder said, and I saw another lock of hair fall.
And it continued five more times, till the girl was trembling before them, with the remains of her hair sticking up at odd angles from her scalp. She looked so lost and alone, and when she left the stage, people moved to avoid her until an unshown servant quietly and gently ushered her away.
“That was the worst thing I’ve ever seen,” I whispered, looking over the other six unshown in the line of first years, all of whom looked wide-eyed and scared.
“It only lasts for a minute,” Daron reassured me. “By now she’s being cosseted in the kitchen by Bane’s mother.”
That thought did make me feel a little bit better, and I turned back to continue watching as the rest of the class climbed the steps and stood in front of the elders.
Wh
en it was over, Bane and Daron stood on either side of me as silent protectors. Professor Saxon gave another pretty speech about the school and announced the fourth-years and their chosen professions. I cheered for Ryon, Babette and Triston when they crossed the stage and the elders announced their assignments. Then I had to go up again to collect my award for my dissertation. Professor Saxon smiled at me as she handed me a scroll and an envelope of prize money, and I was struck by how easily she seemed to hide the fact that she wanted me dead. When it was over, almost a full hour later, the elders descended from the dais and joined the crowd, and the rest of us were left to mingle.
“Sunshine!” Kain’s voice boomed over the crowd as I said farewell to yet another person who wanted to ask me about my horns.
I grinned over at him as he bowed to me. “Are you saving your first dance for me?” he asked as I curtseyed back.
