by Abbie Lyons
I lost all sense of time. At one point, I was pretty sure I could sit there forever and die happy. And sure, it might sound ridiculous, but in that moment I felt that there would never be anybody in my whole life who I’d ever feel so close to again. I felt that Wilder somehow must be seeing a truer version of myself than anybody else had seen before.
But slowly, I started to notice drastic changes. Wilder’s eyes became less friendly and inviting. They grew subtly darker. His face seemed different, as if it were an entirely different person I was looking at. My mind started to race. Was this all just part of the test? Or did this signal that something was going horribly wrong?
“I don’t understand,” he suddenly said, breaking eye contact. His face looked totally normal once again. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
His tone answered the question I asked myself a few seconds before. It seemed things had gone horribly wrong.
“Did I fuck something up?” I asked shyly.
“No, no, no,” he rushed to reply. “That was just...odd.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I just kept staring as if the test were still happening.
“I don’t want you to worry,” Wilder said. “That’s the last thing I want. And I should be clear that this could just as easily be a mistake on my part. It’s my first time doing this after all. But, Nova...as far as I can tell, you have no powers. And that’s not to say that you definitely don’t have them—it’s just that, as best as I can tell, you don’t. But the possibility of you having powers hidden deep within that I’m just not skilled enough to see is far more likely than the possibility that we accidentally accepted a human into the academy.”
I gulped. “So what do we do now?”
“Well, if we were following the rules, we’d both be required to immediately report this result to Dean Harlowe. You’d be pulled out of classes until we could find a way to prove definitively whether or not you actually belong here. It would be a gigantic headache.” He stopped and thought for a moment. “But in this case, I don’t think following the rules would be a good idea.”
“What?” I asked, with an equal amount of confusion and shock. “Why?”
“Because that wouldn’t do any good. Like I said, the chances that you don’t belong here are infinitesimal. I could easily be the one to blame here. If we report this, it’s just going to create major problems for both of us that almost undoubtedly end up being unnecessary. We just need more time to figure out what’s going on with you, and reporting this isn’t going to help with that.”
There was a hint of panic in his voice. I could tell that this was a much bigger deal than he was trying to make it out to be.
“Maybe I belong at Elysium,” I wondered aloud.
“Again, there’s a very small chance that could be,” he said. “But with sass and an attitude like yours? If you’re an angel, you’re the most demon-like one I’ve ever met.” He laughed, and it honestly made me feel a little better. I trusted him. “We’ll get through this, Nova. Just keep quiet about this for now, and I’m sure your powers will manifest in due time.”
“I’ll make sure of it,” I said with newfound determination. “Because I’m not getting my ass kicked out of this place. No fucking way.”
Chapter Twelve
In my previous life—because that’s what everything before Hades Academy was beginning to feel like—I was a pretty okay student. Sorting out my basic survival took precedence over studying, so I was never going to be at the top of my class, but I really did try my best. Secretly, I harbored dreams of doing well enough to get a scholarship to a half-decent college. Seeing as, ultimately, I wasn’t even able to graduate, that goal proved to be way too lofty. But here at Hades, I didn’t have to worry about any of the basic necessities. And with my future at the school in jeopardy, I decided to hit the books harder than ever before.
“You keep falling asleep with a textbook open on your bed,” Morgan mentioned one morning at breakfast. “And I’m not judging you for it, mind you. But where’s this coming from?”
“I’m just finding all the material really interesting,” I said flatly.
That much wasn’t exactly a lie. I did think we were learning some really cool stuff in class. But as much as I trusted Morgan and Teddy, I wasn’t ready to tell them about my exetasis. I couldn’t risk word of it getting around. I had this—perhaps not irrational—fear that anything I said aloud could be picked up on and used against me. You know, demon magic stuff.
“I’m still jealous you have pyromancy this semester,” Morgan said. “So much more exciting than my introductory runes class.”
Teddy swallowed a giant gulp of oatmeal. “I love all of my classes!”
“Even Remedial Latin?” I asked.
“Sure. I’ve found working independently through the textbook to be very fulfilling. In fact, did you know there’s a Latin word for ‘elevator’? Cella scansoria.”
“Cella scansoria, you say?” Morgan giggled. “Oh, Teddy. Never change.”
I took a sip of coffee and cracked open my human history textbook. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I have a feeling Lattimore might hit us with a pop quiz today, so I just want to review some things before class.”
“Maybe I had you pegged all wrong,” Morgan said. “I didn’t think you were the type to care so much about your grades.”
I twisted just a little in my seat. “This just feels like a fresh start for me,” I said. “I don’t want to let it go to waste.”
Again, I wasn’t lying. I just wasn’t telling the whole truth. If Morgan only knew, I’m sure she’d forgive me.
“Well, if there is a pop quiz today, I’m royally screwed,” she said in her thick British accent. “The only thing I recall from yesterday’s lecture is that demons weren’t responsible for the Titanic. That’s a relief. God, I love that movie.”
I was learning that Morgan had a very random assortment of human pop culture knowledge. Titanic? Sure, she knew it and loved it. Star Wars? Nope, she’d never even heard of it. I never knew what references I threw out that she’d pick up on. At one point she mentioned that one of her favorite songs of all time was “Who Let The Dogs Out?” and I almost doubled over in shock.
“Of course the Titanic wasn’t a demon thing,” Teddy said defensively. “That was just poor engineering, plain and simple.”
After downing another few pieces of toast, Morgan and I said our goodbyes to Teddy and headed to Lattimore’s class together, as was our ritual.
“Who the bloody hell are these big boys?” exclaimed Morgan as we entered the Great Hall.
It was clear who she was talking about. Several men who must’ve been at least six-foot-five were milling about. They wore dark black clothes like something out of a sci-fi movie and something that sort of looked like a demon take on sunglasses. And the looks on their faces projected a strong “don’t you dare fuck with us” vibe.
“They look like demon cops or something,” I noted. “Or just beefy security guard types.”
Morgan thought for a moment. “Senior prank. They must be planning something particularly nasty this year and the administration is trying to scare them out of it. I’d bet on it.”
“Shit, I’m morbidly curious about how freaky a demon school senior prank could be.”
“Let’s just say that they often involve obscene amounts of pigs’ blood.”
“Like in Carrie?” I instinctively asked.
Morgan nodded excitedly. “Carrie times a thousand.”
I mentally marked that down as another pop culture reference she understood.
“This way’s closed,” one of the security guards reprimanded us when we tried to take our usual path to class. “You’ll have to take the long way around.”
“They must be planning something bigger than usual this year,” Morgan said as we backtracked. “This is just nuts.”
The hallways we needed to take to get to class were as crowded as a New York City subway at rush hour. We were havin
g so much trouble squeezing through that I was genuinely afraid of my hair catching on fire from one of those blue-flamed torches. From the bits and pieces of conversation I could hear, the beefed up security was the number one topic on everybody’s mind.
“Maybe somebody made a threat,” one voice wondered.
“I hear a VIP is coming to visit,” another said.
“They were sent here by Elyisum,” somebody boldly suggested, only to be met with laughs.
Morgan just shook her head at everything we overheard.
“I still say it’s a prank,” she insisted. “But I’ll try and do a little digging. Can’t let a good piece of gossip pass me by.”
One of the security demons was even standing by the door to Lattimore’s room. Every time someone approached, his hand glowed blue, and he waved it up and down in front of them, and then in front of their bag, like demon TSA. His blank look reminded me of one of those guards who stands stone-faced in front of Buckingham Palace.
“I can’t believe we have to do this,” Camilla said loudly, holding out her own black suede satchel for inspection. “This school has never not been secure. These days they’re letting just anyone in.” She glared in my direction, then batted her lashes up at the security demon. “I’d be sure to check hers.”
I worried for a moment that I was carrying something embarrassing, but unless there was something alarming about my copy of The Latin Language and You or a dry human history textbook, there wasn’t much he’d find of interest in my bag. I must have passed the whatever-detector test, because he motioned for me to enter.
“Quite the commotion today, yes?” Lattimore said as we took our seats. “And before any of you ask, Dean Harlowe assures me there is nothing for you to worry about. The presence of the kyrioi does not imply any kind of breach of security.”
I had no idea what that word meant, and Lattimore must have seen it on my face, because he continued smoothly.
“A kyrios, for those who don’t know, is a demon trained particularly in the art of protecting his fellow demons. Or her—that would make her a kyria. Normally, you’ll only see them in crucially high-security areas—for instance, around the relics, on a day when the school is open to visitors—but regardless, nothing to worry about.
“Now, today we’re due to discuss Rasputin, a demon who may have had more impact on the course of human events in the 20th century than any other—for the worse.”
Camilla’s hand shot up.
“Yes, Ms. de Locke,” he called right away, as if he’d already been expecting her to make a comment.
“Rasputin was one of the greatest demons who ever lived,” Camilla spat out. “And I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I’m tired of hearing him slandered. My parents are very important, as you may know, and they would hate to hear that my professor is saying such nasty things about a hero.”
“Thank you very much for your insights, Ms. de Locke,” he said cheerfully before launching into his lecture. You really had to appreciate the extent to which he didn’t take that bitch’s bait.
Every class for the rest of the day continued to have a kyrios stationed at the door. Some entire hallways were blocked, and we had to take the long, winding way through back corridors to get to our classrooms. Even Remedial Latin—a class consisting of just Teddy and me—was subject to the extra security. Because if something bad was going down at Hades Academy, you were sure to find it in the class with the girl who might not have any powers, a nice boy who was obsessed with elevators, and a sleeping professor who was older than dirt.
“Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but ever since the kyrioi showed up, I’ve had this bad feeling,” Teddy said, once it seemed Stultior had fallen asleep.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “They seem like total cops, and let’s just say I haven’t had great experiences with the law in the past.”
“But from what you’ve told me weren’t you doing things that were”—he lowered his voice even more—”illegal?”
I’d shown Morgan and Teddy my three-card monte trick in the common room the other night, just for fun, really, but they’d gone crazy for it. I guess human “magic” was pretty entertaining if you’d grown up with people shooting flames out of their eyeballs or whatever. I’d promised Teddy I’d teach him the technique.
“That’s beside the point, Teddy.” I glanced around the classroom. It was as still and lifeless as usual, but something felt different. The air felt charged somehow. If I weren’t almost assuredly devoid of demon powers, I’d say that there was some kind of presence. “They creep me out, regardless.”
“I dunno...” Teddy looked hesitant. “It’s more than that. I feel almost nauseous. And my head is killing me.”
I frowned. “Are you sick? Getting a migraine?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so. It’s different. Although...you know, it’s probably just the exetasis,” Teddy said, almost reading my mind. “How was yours?”
I tried to figure out how to answer this question without seeming either power-free or completely hot for teacher. I settled for “Awkward.”
“Oh, God, mine too.” Teddy pushed his glasses up his nose. “I have Professor Stewart—I think she teaches Ancient Sumerian or something?—and she was super strict about it. Like sit up straight, yes ma’am and no ma’am, the whole bit. I felt like I was going to fail just for breathing wrong.”
“Jesus. She sounds like she was five seconds away from hauling you off into her sex dungeon,” I said, which made Teddy blush. “But your results were...normal?”
Teddy looked surprised. “I mean, so far as I know. Why do you ask?”
Heat crept up my neck. Could he tell that I was abnormal? “No reason. Or, because maybe the kyrioi have something to do with it...”
I trailed off, hoping Teddy would elaborate with whatever knowledge about these guys he, as an actual demon, might have.
From the desk, Professor Stultior snorted in his sleep.
Nope—nowhere.
“Who’s doing yours again?” Teddy asked.
“W—Professor Frost,” I said, catching myself just in time. “He’s fine, I guess. It’s just the whole process is bizarre.”
I was officially not focusing on Latin, as fascinating as translating “The centurion thrusts his sword into the lion” was. Why we couldn’t learn something simple like “can I have a cup of coffee?” I had no idea. Maybe Ancient Rome didn’t have Starbucks.
There was too much weird stuff going on at once—weird unusual, not just general weird. I’d had to recalibrate my definition of “weird” considerably since I’d come here. Something was fishy. Lattimore had said the kyrioi didn’t usually just hang around except to protect the relics, or whatever, and that made sense. Because after all, demons shouldn’t need security—I mean, we’re powerful supernatural beings, right? Was there anything more dangerous than demons?
Did we have enemies?
The thought sent a chill down my spine. I didn’t like not knowing whether I was in danger or not. In my previous life—my human life—the worst situations were when I thought I was completely safe, only to get jumped or groped or nearly drugged. If you knew what the danger was, you were at least one step towards fighting back and escaping. But if you didn’t know what the danger was, or if you didn’t know there was danger, you were fucked.
And if people like Camilla were painting a target on my back when I was already under scrutiny, I’d have to shut that shit down.
“I’ll be right back,” I told Teddy. His head jerked up from his textbook, where he’d been mouthing centurio gladium in leone trudit as he read.
“What? Where are you going?” He glanced at our sleeping professor. “We’re in the middle of class, Nova!”
Teddy actually didn’t look so hot that day—his hair was sticking in more directions than usual, and his skin looked pretty pale. The stress must really be getting to him.
Still, I rolled my eyes. “I’m allowed to have a bathroom break, aren�
�t I? Come on, if he wakes up—and that’s a big if—just tell him I ran to the ladies’.”
Teddy narrowed his eyes. “But you’re not going to the ladies’.”
I sighed. “Don’t worry about it, Teddy. Worry about the poor lion getting skewered by the centurion.”
“But—”
But I was already up and out of my desk.
Yeah, it was probably a huge risk to sneak out of class when I’d already gotten some weird test results and didn’t have any powers that could protect me in case...whatever got me. But I had to find out. If only to prove to Camilla that increased security had nothing to do with me and my “impure lineage” or whatever. Maybe it was petty, but I didn’t like being blamed for shit that wasn’t my fault.
I stuck my head out of the door first, just to make sure the coast was clear. It was. The hallway (which was really more of a corridor in this part of the school) was empty and cool. I pushed the door the rest of the way open and stepped out.
Demon magic might be something I was still getting the hang of, but sneaking around? A Nova Donovan classic. I crept down the corridor almost silently, heel-toeing my Docs on the flagstones, ears pricked for the slightest sound of life.
At the end of the corridor—the opposite way that Teddy and I had come—the passageway came to an end in a round, tower-like space that opened up through a large archway. I’d never been down this far, wasn’t even sure where I was in the grand scheme of Hades Academy, but I had to admit, I was majorly intrigued.
Not least because I could hear voices.
Not, like, supernatural voices—that, in this case, would actually be a positive sign—but just low, conversational voices. Male.
Now, Morgan may have been the one who was 100% that bitch, but I was also admittedly pretty nosy. If these were some kyrioi talking, I wanted to hear it.
I crept closer, so that I was just behind the lip of the archway, as close to the chamber as I could be without being in it.
“—and could tell she did not look very happy before the history class. About security and everything.”
