“They’re not my kenzoku,” I said. “I just met them. And Sage isn’t even nice.”
Elder Kali suppressed a smile. “You’ll get used to them, as they will get used to you.”
“I’ll walk you to the hatch,” Elder Sam said.
“Are you sure you don’t want to escort me personally and make sure I get there in one piece? Turn yourself into body armor?”
His expression suggested that he’d considered it. “The threat is gone now, Cassia. Get some rest. We’ll resume lessons tomorrow.”
Tomorrow.
There would be no more tomorrows for Mariska. Choking back tears, I flew back to Spire 10.
Chapter Three
Everything in Spire 10 seemed to pale in comparison to the main spire. Even the food tasted less flavorful than when I ate meals in the kitchen with Mariska and the Elders.
I hadn’t slept well for obvious reasons and it appeared that Elder Kali was suffering as well. Half-moon shadows rimmed her eyes and she yawned between sentences. I was surprised and a little dismayed that they’d opted to carry on like it was a regular day. It wasn’t. Mariska was dead today. Someone had come into the academy, a place no one was supposed to know existed, and stolen a list of our names and origins. But why? Who knew such a book existed and where it was kept? The Elders had to know more than they were letting on. It was impossible to run Domus Academy as successfully as they had without having a system in place.
Elder Kali was trying to ease us into the day with morning stretches. That plan fell apart when Elder Sam entered the room. I shot from my yoga mat to question him.
“Any updates?” I asked.
Elder Sam leveled me with a look. “Cassia, when I have something to report, rest assured that I’ll report it.”
My face grew hot. “If all the Elders are still here, conducting training and lessons as usual, then who’s investigating the break-in? Who’s investigating Mariska’s murder?” My voice and hands began to tremble. “Someone is out there with a list of our names and abilities. Someone is out there with Mariska’s blood on their hands.”
So much for a calm, relaxing morning.
Elder Sam gripped my shoulders. “Cassia, try to calm down. We all recognize the magnitude of what’s happened…”
“Then why aren’t you doing more?” I yelled.
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the corner of the room, his eyes ablaze. “Do you think we’re sitting on our hands? Do you think you’re the only one mourning her?”
I balled my hands into fists as emotions threatened to overwhelm me. “Of course not.”
“There are nine spires of cambions at this academy,” he said, his tone still heated. “We can’t let the whole academy fall apart. The children need to feel safe, now more than ever. Can you honestly say Mariska would have wanted anything less?”
I felt the pressure of unshed tears behind my eyes. “No, but she would want us to make an effort.”
“We are making an effort.” Elder Sam jerked his head away in frustration. When he made eye contact again, his expression and his voice mellowed. “I know you’re accustomed to knowing everything that’s going on and I understand why this is immensely upsetting for you, but you have to trust that we’re doing everything we can. Just because you’re not privy to it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.”
“Is everything under control here?” Elder Kali had positioned herself between us and the rest of the cambions, not that it did much good. My new classmates heard every word.
Elder Sam took a deliberate step backward. “Everything is fine, Kali. I think Cassia has some feelings she needs to express.”
“Well, perhaps we should arrange for a sparring lesson,” Elder Kali said. “That will release any pent-up frustration.” She turned to address the others. “Who would like to volunteer to be Cassia’s sparring partner?”
The other cambions shifted awkwardly, except Sage. She sauntered forward with an air of confidence that gave me pause. “No weapons. No magic,” she said.
Elder Kali gave her an approving look. “An excellent suggestion.” She moved to the center of the training room and motioned for us to join her. “When I call time, you stop. Ignore me at your peril.” She looked directly at Sage before leaving us alone in the middle of the room.
I’d never sparred with anyone close to my age before. My usual opponent was Elder Sam. All of our weapons training and fighting skills were taught under the guise of defense. The Elders wanted to prepare us for life outside the safe haven of the academy. We would be targets wherever we went. In the Nether, we’d be hated for our human sides. In the mortal realm, we’d be hated for our demon sides. In Faerie or Dominion…Well, it wouldn’t be wise for creatures like us to visit either one of those places.
Sage packed more of a punch than I expected for a cambion with her lithe build. Her knuckles cracked against my jaw and I tasted blood.
“And here I thought you were kept in the main spire because you were too dangerous for us,” Sage said. “I guess the real problem was that you were too weak.”
I rubbed my jaw. It would heal before the fight was over, so I wasn’t concerned about any real damage.
“Do you have any healing abilities, Sage?” I asked. “Let’s find out.” I closed the gap between us and whacked my head against hers. Hard. She stumbled backward and nearly lost her balance. The ‘o’ shape of her mouth underscored her surprise. Before she could regain her composure, I lunged. We toppled to the floor and I straddled her before she could move. I let the anger and pain rush to the surface and channeled them into this moment. I raised my fist, ready to strike. The spot between my eyebrows stopped me in mid-motion. Instead of the usual throbbing, there was an agony that I’d never felt before. My hands pressed against my forehead and I felt strong arms slide me off my opponent. The pain was so intense that I couldn’t see.
“You agreed no magic, Sage,” I heard Rylan say.
“You think I did that? You know what my skills are. She’s having a meltdown over that caretaker. Nothing to do with me.”
I brushed off the concerned hands and glared at Sage. “Her name was Mariska.”
Sage must have sensed the ferocity behind that statement because she didn’t respond.
“You know what? It’s later than I realized,” Elder Kali said. “Why don’t you all find an activity to occupy yourselves before bed?”
Sage turned to the other cambions. “We can go to the greenhouse and see if Zeph’s carnivorous plant caught anything today.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Zeph said.
It didn’t sound like much of an activity to me. Then again, I would have opted to curl up in the library with a book and a cup of peppermint tea if the option was still available to me. Which it wasn’t.
Elder Sam crouched in front of me. “Do you need ice or any pain relief?”
“It’ll pass in a second,” I said. It always did. “I got too worked up.”
“I’m sorry,” Elder Kali said. “I thought hand-to-hand sparring would be good for your present state of mind. Work out the aggression.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said. “It was a good idea.”
“It seems that your Achilles’ heel is in your forehead,” Elder Sam teased, as he helped me to my feet.
“Hardy har,” I said. “I wish I hadn’t made a fool of myself in front of the others. It’s bad enough I’m the new cambion in the spire.”
Elder Kali squeezed my shoulder. “They like to talk a good game, especially Sage, but I promise you they’re soft-hearted, every last one of them. They understand you’re grieving.” Her lips compressed. “We all are.”
“Sage doesn’t look at me like she’s soft-hearted,” I said. “She looks at me like she wants to cut out my heart and eat it with a spoon.”
Elder Kali laughed. “If she gives you any grief, just tell her that you know all about the Great Gummy Bear Incident in Spire 5.”
Elder Sam chuckled. “I’d forgotten about tha
t. That was Sage?”
Elder Kali looked at me. “Elder Sam had brought back this human confection called gummy bears from a trip in the city. We’d given them as treats to some of the children and Sage…Let’s just say she developed a taste for them. She began trading all sorts of food and possessions for everyone else’s gummy bears.”
“I think I remember trying one, but I didn’t like it,” I said.
“As you can imagine, Sage was quite territorial about her gummy bear collection. The ones she hadn’t eaten yet, she decided to store them under her pillow.” Elder Kali stifled a laugh. “It was a particularly balmy night with no breeze. It seems that the gummy bears melted and, at some point, Sage’s pillow fell on the floor.”
I clamped a hand over my mouth. “Oh no.”
“Oh yes,” Elder Kali said. “They were extremely sticky. We couldn’t get them out without cutting her hair. Took six months for her to grow it in.”
“That was the end of her obsession, if I recall,” Elder Sam said.
I tried to picture a younger Sage with melted gummy bears in her hair. “Thank you, Elder Kali. I feel much better now.”
“Thought you would.” She glanced at the doorway. “Perhaps join them in the greenhouse. If you want to be one of them, you need to make an effort.”
Truth be told, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to be one of them, but I was here now and I had to make the best of it. That was what Mariska would have wanted.
I headed for the greenhouse and found them gathered around a large Venus flytrap. They were talking in hushed tones, which came to an abrupt halt when they realized I was there.
“How are you feeling?” Rylan asked.
“Better,” I said. “It happens sometimes when I fight. It’s not the first time. The pain subsides quickly.”
“Pretty inconvenient though,” Sage said. “If we’d been in a real fight, you would’ve lost the advantage.”
Barris clutched his chest. “Be still my heart. Did Sage just admit that someone else had the advantage?”
Sage elbowed him in the ribs. “I’m willing to admit defeat. It’s just that it never happens.”
“So, what are you all doing in here?” I asked. “Is this your carnivorous plant, Zeph?”
The group wore matching mischievous smiles.
“We tell the Elders we’re in here monitoring Zeph’s plants,” Rylan said.
I noticed the collection of herbs on the table in front of them. “You’re practicing magic? Why is that a secret?”
“Because it’s unauthorized magic,” Sage said. “Our education is tightly controlled. Do you think they give me real corpses to practice on?”
“I hadn’t given it much thought,” I said. Though the idea of dancing corpses in the spire didn’t hold much appeal under the circumstances.
“Hasn’t that been your experience, Cassia?” Rylan asked.
“Not really. The Elders didn’t tend to limit me.”
“The fact that they kept you locked away in Spire 1 for seventeen years seems somewhat limiting to me,” Sage said.
Zeph tried to smooth over her statement. “It probably depends on what kind of demon you are.” He squinted at me. “What kind are you, anyway?”
“I don’t actually know,” I said. “They tested me years ago, but they couldn’t figure it out. They said it happens on occasion. There isn’t enough of an obvious connection.”
“I bet that’s why they kept you in the main spire,” Rylan said. “They wanted to wait until you were old enough to make sure you weren’t a real monster.”
“I think we’d know by now,” I said.
“Which is why they decided to assimilate you now, I guess,” Barris said.
“It’s because we’re so close to graduating,” I said. “They didn’t want to release me straight from Spire 1 into the realm. Too big of a transition.”
“I used to be so jealous of you, getting all that undivided attention.” Sage plucked a few different herbs from the table and placed them in a mortar. She used a pestle to grind them together.
“What do you mean you used to be jealous?” Barris asked. “You were moaning about her the whole week before she moved in.”
Sage shot him a dark look. “That was before I met her.”
“That’s it?” Barris asked. “Jealousy’s cured is it?”
Sage kept her gaze on the mortar and pestle. “I’m just glad I had the chance to grow up with cambions my own age. If I had to choose to be any fairy tale princess, it definitely wouldn’t be Rapunzel.”
“She escapes and kills that woman pretending to be her mother,” Barris pointed out. “A happy ending.”
We had televisions and a large collection of books from the mortal realm in the library. Mariska’s favorite was called The Secret Garden. She’d read it to me multiple times, but when I’d tried to read it on my own, I’d found the Yorkshire accents too distracting. I never admitted it to her, though, because I knew she would’ve been devastated.
“No one has to pity me,” I said. “I think I’ve done well under the circumstances. There are advantages to being the only child in a spire full of adults.”
Sage handed me the mortar and pestle. “Want to take a turn? Once it’s fully mixed, we’ll show you a spell.”
I accepted the mortar readily. “That sounds fun, thanks.” As soon as I held the mortar in front of me, a sweet smell filled my nostrils. “What is this?”
“We call it Odyssey,” Zeph said.
“It’s our own concoction,” Rylan added. “Barris figured out if you mix stargazers from Faerie with ash leaves and burdock root, you get this awesome mind-altering substance.”
I gaped at them. “And you use it?”
Sage showed a set of perfect teeth. “Regularly.” She inclined her head toward the bowl. “Barris, will you do the honors?”
Barris held open his hand and a tiny flame appeared. He tipped his hand sideways and the flame slid on top of the mixture.
“You don’t have to destroy it,” I said. “I’m not going to tell on you.”
Sage pinched my cheek. “Educating you is going to be my new favorite thing.” She leaned over the bowl and inhaled deeply before passing it to Rylan.
“What does it feel like?” I asked. I couldn’t quite grasp what ‘mind-altering’ meant.
“It makes you feel light and airy, like you can fly,” Rylan said. She passed the bowl to Barris.
“I can fly,” I said.
“Lucky,” Zeph said. “You’re the only one of us that can.”
When it was my turn to inhale, I hesitated. The thought of altering my mind made me nervous. What if I made a fool of myself and threw up or said something embarrassing?
“No one’s going to force you,” Sage said, “but after what we saw in the training room, I think you could use a little Odyssey in your life.”
I knew she was referencing my interaction with Elder Sam rather than our sparring match. “This will calm me?”
“Very relaxing,” Rylan said, and began to twirl slowly around the greenhouse.
Maybe it would help ease my constant thoughts about Mariska. I seemed incapable of thinking about much else, which was understandable but also painful. I took the mortar and inhaled the sweet-smelling fragrance. The aroma was muskier now that the mixture had been set on fire. I felt momentarily overcome by dizziness, but it quickly passed, leaving only a lightheaded sensation. Everyone seemed to move in slow motion. Rylan and Zeph were holding hands and performing a strange kind of dance. Barris held his hand in front of the Venus flytrap and snatched it away before the plant clamped down on it.
“Transform us again,” Sage said. She tugged on his shirt.
Rylan’s eyes sparkled. “Yes, that was so fun last time.”
“I want to be Elder Alastor,” Zeph said. “That way I can glower at you all.”
I observed Barris. “You can do that?”
“For years, I thought I could only transform myself,” he said. “Then,
one night in here, we discovered that I could use the same magic on anybody.”
“We think the Elders didn’t tell him so that he didn’t cause mischief when we were younger,” Rylan said.
“But what a great defensive skill to have,” I said. “That could save your life.”
“I tried to ask about it once or twice, but the way the Elders reacted…” Barris trailed off. “I could tell they wouldn’t approve, so we just do it in here for fun.”
“You can transform us into anyone?” I asked.
“Or any animal,” Barris said.
“Don’t remind me,” Rylan said. “He once turned me into a monkey.” Her grumpy expression told me the experience had not been a pleasant one.
“Hey, I can’t help it if Monkey Rylan found the idea of throwing poo amusing,” Barris said.
“The rest of us certainly didn’t,” Sage said. “You’re lucky I’m quick and agile.”
Barris opened his hand and looked at Zeph. “Are you picturing Elder Alastor?” When Zeph nodded, Barris blew on his palm. I watched in fascination as the cambion morphed into the cantankerous Elder.
“You disrespectful kids keep away from my spire,” Zeph-as-Elder Alastor said, shaking a finger at us.
The other three laughed giddily.
“That never gets old,” Sage said. She turned her dreamy eyes to Barris. “My turn.”
Barris blew his magic at her and Sage became Elder Sam, complete with artificial wings and scars. The sight jolted me.
“How about you, Cassia?” Barris asked. “Is there anyone you’d like to be?”
“As a matter of fact, there is.” I closed my eyes and waited. The shift was minor, but I felt it—mostly on my back where my wings should be.
“I thought you might choose her,” Barris said.
I turned to admire my reflection in the glass wall of the greenhouse. Mariska’s deep-set eyes stared back at me. The experience was both unsettling and deeply satisfying.
“I’m going to take advantage of my new look,” Sage said. She moved to the hatch that was located at the far end of the greenhouse. “It isn’t every day a girl has wings.”
Demonspawn Academy: Trial One Page 3
