Something moved to my right and I caught sight of Sam, lurking a few feet away. He raised a finger to his lips and stared pointedly ahead. I peered through the trees into the clearing and this time I caught sight of her. A small figure with pale copper hair.
Dawn was standing with her hands raised in front of her face. She spun in a circle and a flurry of snow blasted against the trees. As it settled, a man leaped from the shadows and tumbled through the air toward Dawn.
I flung myself forward, but Sam blocked me, leaning against the tree trunk to support our weight, his eyes fixed on Dawn. She lifted her face to examine the man hurtling toward her and with a nod of her head, she sent him crashing into a bank of snow.
He flipped himself forward onto his feet again and circled her with cat-like precision. Dawn drew her arms close to her chest, her chin tucked under. The man was gaining speed now. His compact muscular form moved in a tighter rotation each time as if he was closing a net around Dawn.
Without warning, she shot her hands outward sending a wall of snow and ice smashing directly at the man. I pressed my hands to my mouth, sure that he was about to be pulverized, but just as the wall touched his skin, he stretched upward, his body shimmering and contorting. The snow made contact but all that it hit was an empty set of clothes. A white falcon circled over Dawn’s head. It shrieked and dived at her hair. I elbowed Sam and raced forward. My feet sank into the snow, and I landed face first at the edge of the clearing.
“Grace!” Dawn beamed at me, and the falcon settled on her shoulder. She waved her hand and the snow disappeared, leaving me sprawled on the floor of a small, empty classroom. I scurried to my feet, refusing to acknowledge Sam’s smirk.
Dawn threw herself into my arms. The falcon flew across the room, into a supply cupboard. “Grace, you’re awake! I told Emmanuel you were going to wake today.”
A pinching sensation assaulted the back of my nose. I pressed my forehead against hers and squeezed my eyes shut. Sniffing, I set her down on the ground. “Dawn, that was incredible. I can’t believe you can make blizzards. You’re terrifying.” I wanted to pick her up in my arms again and squeeze her like I did when she was a toddler.
She giggled. “Isn’t it awesome? Snow is my favorite element. I’m a real life White Witch.” The man she had been fighting padded out of the supply closet wearing a fresh pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. Dawn tugged at his arm. “Jabol, this is my Gracie. I told you she was tall.”
I screwed my face up in embarrassment and ruffled Dawn’s hair. Jabol bowed his head. His fine, black hair fell forward onto his shoulders. “It is my pleasure to meet you, Grace. You family is welcome at Shadow Hall.”
Dawn pushed her way between us. “You’re going to love her, Jabol. She’s super smart.”
I cringed again and Jabol smiled. “I believe that you are right, Dawn. But for now, we must join the rest of your class. Your mother will be waiting to serve you in the dining hall, she is on lunch duty today.”
Jabol turned to Sam, still standing by the door. “You are accompanying Miss Grace to lunch?” Sam nodded, and Jabol tipped his head. “I am pleased to hear this.”
Something about the simplicity of his words soothed my heart. I smiled at him, grateful that Dawn was being tutored by someone who appeared trustworthy. Jabol bowed again and led a chattering Dawn into the other room.
Sam and I were left alone.
Chapter Eleven
Sam shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Deirdre’s words ran a circuit through my mind. Bedside vigil. Whose bed? Mine? I clenched my teeth. Probably pretending he was sitting with me as an excuse to get out of class. I ground my heel into the unvarnished floorboards. “Do we need to go somewhere else?”
Sam shook his head. “No. Emmanuel just said to show you in here.” He checked his phone. “The lunch bell should go in a few minutes.”
I bit the nail on my baby finger. “Okay.”
Sam sat down on the window bench and stretched his long legs. I shifted my weight onto the other foot, desperate to lighten the tension between us. “That was a pretty cool trick Jabol did—turning into a bird.”
The corners of Sam’s mouth twitched. “That wasn’t a trick, he’s a Shifter Demon.”
“He’s a what now?” I narrowed my eyes.
“A Shifter Demon, a Demon from the Shifter dimension?”
I lifted my shoulders. Sam crossed his arms. “You don’t even know what a Shifter is?”
“Of course, I know what it is, Sam. I’ve watched The Vampire Diaries. So, you are telling me that Jabol is some sort of a werebird?”
Sam balled his hands into fists. “Jabol is a good man, don’t be so disrespectful. You think he wants to be trapped in this craphole of a dimension?”
I stepped backward, biting down on my lip. “I never said Jabol wasn’t a good man. Or Demon. I was joking. I didn’t know he had been trapped anywhere.”
Sam’s expression was incredulous. “I told you he was a Demon.” I raised my eyebrows, waiting for him to elaborate on why that would mean he was trapped. “A Demon, Grace? A visitor from another realm? Nobody has escaped this dimension since the great divide? One-way ticket to Dumpsville?”
My forehead creased as I tried to keep up with his logic.
“Grace, how can you have no idea what a Demon is?”
I tucked my hands into my pockets and balled them into fists. “Eve brought me up like a Human, as much as she could. She told me about the Veil, and how people without pure blood were hunted and despised, so we had to hide. I knew there were Demons, and that they were strangers in our world, and that the Spirit Demons are terrible. Beyond that, she said it was pointless to dwell on a world where we weren’t welcome. Angels and Demons didn’t want us alive, so we didn’t need to know much more than that. End of.” I shrugged my shoulders. “But Jabol seemed nice.”
“He is nice. He’s a gentleman.” Sam shook his head. “Demons aren’t monsters, Grace. Before the Veil descended, people were able to travel in and out of this realm freely. After the Great Divide, something went wrong. The visitors, Demons, can still enter our realm, but once they get in they are trapped by the Veil. They can’t leave again.”
“They can’t go home? They just wait here until they die?” I bit my lip, thinking of Jabol’s gentle face.
“Kind of. Their bodies are suspended in the condition they were in when they arrived, they can be killed but they don’t age and they don’t die of natural causes. Some of the Demons have been here for two thousand years, trapped in our world, unable to break through the Veil and return home. Demons only make up a small percentage of the world population but they’re powerful because of their immortality and the range of powers they possess. The Angelic Council doesn’t interfere with Demon affairs. They let them set their own rules as long as they don’t do anything that puts the Veil at risk.”
I gave a hollow smile. “And children who aren’t of pure blood are the number one crime against the Veil. I see.”
Sam’s eyes darkened and the distance between us lengthened again. “How did you not know any of this stuff? This is exactly what I was talking about—you can’t go around knowing nothing about this world. Cain doesn’t listen to goddamn sense. You need to go back to your quarters and stay there until you have learned enough to—”
My composure shattered, and I bolted out the door, breaking into a run when I got to the bigger classroom. Sam caught up with me just as I reached the door to the corridor. “What are you doing, Grace?”
He tried to grab my hand but I shook him off. I lifted my chin and steadied my breathing. “I know that you don’t like me and I know that you don’t want me here. I get it. I’m sorry that you had to do babysitting duty today but it’s over now—we’re done here. I can find my own way to the Dining Hall and then I can find my own way to the goddamn library so I can learn whatever I need to know.”
I pushed past him, stopping at the door. “And just for the record, Sam, I don’t want to be
here, either. The minute it’s safe for us to get out of here we’ll be gone.”
Sam slammed his palm against the doorframe. “You just don’t get it! If Dawn is with you, then you can’t go anywhere. You won’t be safe anywhere. Things are bad out there, Grace. Fifty years ago, it would have been unusual if there were two Spirit Demon attacks in an entire year. Last week alone there were Spirit attacks on two different Shadow Children cells. Something is changing. It’s not safe to be out there if they can sense your spark. Dawn would draw them like a beacon.”
His shoulders dropped and he met my eye squarely for the first time. My stomach tumbled. “Those Spirit Demons nearly had you, Grace. And you just stood there. I couldn’t get to you. If Eve didn't use the force of breaking your protection charm . . . Do you know what they do to their victims? They would have sucked you dry. Every trace of love, every memory, everything that gives your soul life. Left you like a empty husk, alive in body but not in spirit, until your body finally gave up all hope of your soul returning.”
I wrapped my arms around my chest and shuddered. “I’m sorry, Sam. I wasn’t trying to put anyone in danger. I just wanted to make sure Eve wasn’t left behind. I didn’t know what I was doing.”
Sam ran his hand through his hair, yanking at the roots. His voice was charged. “Exactly, you don’t know what you doing. You can’t just walk around all innocent and hopeful in this place. This isn’t the Human world, you need to be tough if you are going to survive.”
He took a step closer to me and I froze, startled by the electricity dancing over my skin. “You don’t belong here, Grace. You and Eve should go. Leave Dawn here, and just go.”
The door swung open and Deirdre peeked her head around the door. “You’re still here? Grace, Dawn has already gone on with her class. I’m closing up.”
We followed her out and I listened to her chatter, grateful for the relief. I nodded and smiled as she gave me a guided tour. I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder at Sam, trailing further and further behind us. By the time we got to the ground floor, he was gone and our unresolved argument tasted bitter in my mouth. I took my disappointment and crushed it into a tiny weight to join all the other sorrows in the corners of my heart.
The dining hall was almost full. Elijah was leaning against the wall with a huge tray of food. He grinned at me. “What took you so long? I didn’t know what food you like so I got two of everything. Where’s Sam?” Elijah didn’t wait for an answer before he started walking toward the back of the hall. I wanted to give him the cold shoulder, but it was impossible to stay mad at Elijah, especially when he had food.
Cat was on serving duty, wearing an enormous striped apron and a hair net. She curtseyed at me from across the hall. Elijah grinned and rested his tray on an empty table to give her a clap. “The outfits are cute, right? I seriously can’t wait until Jasmine has to do serving duty. She’s going to despise the hairnet.”
“Does everyone have to take a turn on kitchen duty?”
Elijah rubbed his hand over his crew cut. “Pretty much. Certain people have assigned roles—medics, librarian, tech guys, herbalist, some of the tutors. After that, most duties are split pretty evenly and they rotate every few weeks. Everyone under the age of twenty-one is in full-time study, no jobs.”
“But you can go out and do missions or whatever you call them?” I asked.
Elijah shrugged, looking around the hall. “Adult numbers are low at the moment. Officially, we shouldn’t be out on active duty unsupervised until after our twenty-first birthday but most cells bend the rules.”
He started walking again, nodding at different sections of the dining hall as we passed them. “Adults always sit to the front of the hall. The younger kids sit in the middle. Never get caught at those tables. It’s savage. They’ll all want to hug you and paint your nails.” Dawn waved her spoon at me eagerly as we passed, traces of chocolate pudding on her chin. I gestured at her to wipe her face but she just laughed. I felt my coldness toward the Shadow Children begin to thaw at the sight of her grin. Dawn deserved to be happy.
“The tables at the back are where the senior students eat. Our group always sit at the corner table beside the window. That’s just how it is.” Elijah placed the tray on the table. “Take whatever you want.”
“Thanks, Elijah.” I grabbed a bottle of water, a plate of chicken salad, and some fries from the tray. Elijah grunted and threw himself onto the chair beside Lucas, attacking his food without greeting anyone else at the table. I slid into one of the empty seats and took an awkward sip of my drink before I met Jasmine’s eye. “Hi, Jasmine.”
She gave my foot a gentle kick under the table. “Hi?”
I bit my lip and then nodded. She grinned and I felt my face cracking open. I didn’t have the energy to hold onto my anger. I reached for Jasmine’s hand and shook it. Lucas wrapped his knuckles on the table as a sign of his approval, leaning over and grabbing a carrot stick from my plate. A raven-haired girl on the other side of the table snatched one of Elijah’s fries. I respected her bravery. Elijah growled at her without lifting his head. “Back off, Lydia. Eat Frank’s food”.
She took another handful of fries before sitting back in her own seat. “Unlucky, Eli. I already cleared him out. You better eat fast, mate.” She winked at me. “I’m Lydia, by the way.”
I waved my fingers. “Hi, I’m Grace.”
The guy sitting beside her leaned across the table and shook my hand. “Frank. Pleasure to meet you, Grace.”
Lucas rolled his eyes. “Oh please, can we stop pretending you didn’t know her name.” He put his hand on mine. “Grace, going to hit you with some honesty. Your family has been the talk of SH since you got here.”
“SH?” He raised his eyebrows, waiting for me to get there on my own. “Ah, Shadow Hall. Cute.”
“Thanks, I am. Anyway, bottom line, we know everything about you, right down to the color of your underwear.” Jasmine slapped him across the back of the head. Lucas held up his hands. “What? Honesty is the best policy, people. And I actually bought the underwear Grace is wearing.”
I covered my face with my napkin, shaking my head. “Thanks for that, Lucas. I don’t feel uncomfortable at all.”
I bared my teeth at him, and he blew me a kiss.
Lydia leaned her elbows on the table. “Don’t worry, we aren’t all super stalkers, it’s just nobody has ever heard a story like it before. Four Demon-Born living together for years without being caught? That just doesn’t happen.”
I shifted awkwardly in my seat. Elijah looked up from his plate and raised his eyebrows at me questioningly. I smiled, comforted by his concern.
Lucas groaned as he looked over Frank’s broad shoulder at a group of people heading our direction. They were led by a familiar bouncy blond. I tensed. Lucas and Jasmine pulled closer to me, like a security detail protecting me from the paparazzi.
“Grace, we weren’t sure you were going to pull through. I heard you really messed up, throwing yourself in front of a heap of Spirit Demons? How awful.” Megan tilted her head and sighed. The brunette standing beside her tittered.
Lucas pressed his fingertips together in a steeple shape. “Run along now, Megan. Some of us are still eating. Wouldn’t want you putting anyone off their lunch.”
Megan’s lips narrowed into a thin pink line but she didn’t move. “I hear Dawn is the new magical prodigy. That’s nice for you guys, right? And Cain and Catherine seem to be joined at the hip. You’ve really made yourselves at home. All you need now is for your foster mother to start throwing herself at the Master.” She tipped her head toward Emmanuel and Eve. “Oh, too late, she already is.”
I tried my best to look like I wasn’t embarrassed by her accusations and failed miserably. Lydia slammed her chair back and leaned over Frank’s lap. “Shut your trap, Megan, or I’ll shut it for you.”
Megan rolled her eyes dismissively but took a measured step away from the table. “Whatever. I just hope your family doesn’t
waste any more of our time. There are more important things to focus on.”
She turned on her heel and marched out of the hall with her head held high. I groaned, resting my face on my arms. Lucas patted my hair. “Ignore her, that’s just the way she is.”
Frank pulled Lydia down onto his lap. Her face was flushed. “Sorry, Megan just grinds my gears. Would it kill her to show a bit of decency and compassion once a decade?”
I gave Lydia a grateful smile. Jasmine lifted her plate onto the tray in the middle of the table. “She’s probably terrified of Grace having as much magical power as Dawn. Megan hates anyone shifting the dynamics, and Dawn has definitely done that. She’s a firecracker.”
“She is awesome. Have you started to feel your power yet, Grace?” Elijah asked. Everybody looked at me.
Suffocating brightness flashed through my mind, but I shoved it away. “No. Nothing. I think Dawn is the only gifted one. Maybe being talentless will make Megan like me better.”
Lucas grinned and threw an arm over my shoulder. “You hold on to that positivity, girl. You are going to need it to get through double History.”
Frank wailed and pretended to fling himself through the window. “Anything but double History!”
The others all laughed and I joined in, nervously. Elijah stopped to talk an older man. He looked to be about Eve’s age, a slim man in his early forties. His dark hair was peppered with gray and a cane lay across his lap. I tugged at Lucas’s sleeve. “Lucas, who is Elijah talking to?”
Lucas didn’t bother turning around before responding to my question. “Does Elijah look angry?”
I studied Elijah’s stiff back and clenched jaw. “Yes.”
Lucas clicked his tongue. “Then he’s talking to Peter, his uncle.”
I glanced back again and found the older man watching me with undisguised curiosity. I swiveled forward. “He looks a bit intense.”
Lucas smirked. “Well, I hope you like intensity because Peter is our history tutor.”
The Demon-Born Trilogy: (Complete Paranormal Fantasy Series) Page 6
