by G. Bailey
“I always knew there was something bad about you. You always liked to starve me; it’s no surprise to me that you are a demon,” Amethyst declares, and I roll my eyes at her. She can be such a crazy cat at times, but the humour helps me relax a little tiny bit.
I’m not evil; I’m not a monster. A memory flickers into my mind for just a second...a time when a stranger told me I was a monster. I was young, and Dad soon took me away from the house we had come to. Mum stayed in the car, tears falling down her cheeks while I held her hand as Dad drove us away. I remember him telling her that everyone was wrong about me.
That I wasn’t a monster...but what if everyone was right and my parents were just trying to protect me? They are demons too, but I never saw anything demonic or unusual. The only unusual thing in our life was my talking cat...and they couldn’t hear her.
It seems no one but I can.
“Now, your wolf slave has been assigned ahead of your arrival and should be getting your room ready. You will find your schedule in there, and if you skip a class, the punishment is not nice. Do attend all classes and see the infirmary if you are too ill to go,” he explains to me.
“I don’t get sick. Ever,” I mutter.
“Your demon can protect you from everything,” he replies. “A lack of illness is a good suggestion your demon likes you.”
“Wait, did you say wolf slave? What the hell is that?” I suddenly remember what he said, snapping out of my own thoughts.
“I forget how little you know. Fine, one more explanation, because this is tiresome and I have things to do. As well as demons and angels, there are creatures called wolf shifters. They look as human as we do, but they are anything but. The wolf shifters owe a debt to our King of Hell, Lucifer. In payment of the debt, any bastard-born wolf is given to the demon families as slaves at the age of seventeen,” he explains. “The wolves do not want war, and this agreement has worked for everyone for many years. They don’t need the bastards either way. They are born in sin and therefore belong to us.”
“Wolf shifters are real? You are giving me a slave? Are you insane? I don’t want a slave!” I say and shake my head. “No way in hell is that happening. I don’t care what crazy agreement you all have.”
“You need a slave to replace your mother. Who else is going to pick up your clothes and clean the mess you make? I’m a cat, I can’t do it,” Amethyst adds in.
“Like you would anyway, lazy mare,” I whisper to her.
“Pardon?” Mr. Bisgaard says just as the door opens and Mr. Morganach walks in, saving me from responding. “Don’t bother knocking as per usual, Mr. Morganach.”
“You asked me to come here; what do you want?” he sharply asks.
“As you are so far behind, Miss Cameron, Mr. Morganach will give you extra lessons to help your transition. Especially in the art of self-defence so that you stand a chance.”
“Yeah, no,” he smoothly replies, so quickly that the last of Mr. Bisgaard’s sentence barely left his lips before he was answered. “She will be killed—or worse—in less than a few weeks. I prefer to drop her off the side of the cliff, save us all—”
“Mr. Morganach, do remember you are a teacher here, and you swore to obey me. If you want to go right back to—”
“Fine,” he snaps, the fury in his voice directed straight at me. He walks to the door, pulling it open hard enough that the door smacks into the wall and causes a crack in the orange paint. I turn to see him looking at me, his hand resting on the doorknob, his wings almost fluttering behind him. He might be an asshole and my teacher, but I sure can admire his deadly beauty. “Be at my office at six o’clock every morning. If you are late, I will fucking kill you.” He storms out the room, leaving the door open, so the students in the corridor look in as they walk past. I duck my head as I turn back to the headmaster.
“He is joking, right?” I ask with a laugh. I have to laugh, or I would be freaking out. I can’t fight anyone, let alone mister tall, dark, and downright scary angel teacher.
“Dark angels have a temper, and Mr. Morganach is no exception to that rule. It would be best if you turn up on time,” he replies to me like nothing just happened.
“So teachers can kill students here? What kind of academy is this?” I exclaim.
“We serve the devil; what did you expect? Kittens and pink hearts on your uniform?” he asks, and I grip my envelope tighter.
“No, but—”
“Try to stay alive, Miss Cameron. It would be a shame if you die before your parents’ trial. I believe they need you as a witness,” he states.
“But—” The word leaves my lips as my headmaster bursts into green flames and disappears in front of my eyes, leaving me alone in the room.
So it’s decided, school is finally going to kill me.
Chapter 7
The welcoming committee sucks
“I can walk. I do not need to be carried in this thing,” Amethyst declares, sounding less than impressed as I pick up her cat carrier and carry her to the door.
“You can stay in there until we get to our new room. In case you haven’t noticed, we aren’t safe here, and I want to stay under the radar as best I can,” I explain to her, keeping my voice quiet.
“You’ve already pissed off mister sexy angel. You should ask him on a date; he would be much better for me to stare at until he feeds me,” she suggests, sounding like she is trying to be helpful.
“I’m not answering that; he is my teacher,” I mutter to her, lowering the cage and walking to the door as a girl walks into the room, stopping right in front of me.
“He can teach me anytime he wants. I’m going to stalk him into saving me from you, and I can love him forever,” Amethyst says.
“Good luck with that. I think he might eat you instead,” I reply, and she soon decides to be quiet. Hell, it’s a miracle.
“You’re Alexandria Cameron? Right? Who were you talking to?” the new girl asks, placing her hands on her hips. Whoever she is, she is beautiful. She has long dirty blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a nose piercing. She is wearing a white shirt with the DA logo on it and a red and black short skirt. She has black heels on that she looks like she can effortlessly walk in. I hope heels aren’t part of the uniform; otherwise, I’m going to be falling over all the time.
“No one. Who are you?” I ask.
“Ah, sorry. I’m Maggie Menzora, and I thought you might like a guide to your room,” she says, offering me a hand to shake, but my hands are both full. She suddenly seems to spot the cat carrier, and she leans down. “Aww, your cat is beautiful.”
“Maggie has good taste, I already like her,” Amethyst states. “Maybe I should leave you and see if Maggie will feed me before I die of starvation.”
“Thanks,” I say, feeling awkward as I grip the envelope harder in my other hand.
“Come on, let’s go,” Maggie says, nodding her head at the door before turning around and walking out. I follow her out into the now empty corridor.
“Where did everyone go?” I ask as we walk down the corridor, her heels clicking against the tile and my shoes making awkward squishy noises every step.
“Class started, don’t worry, I think you start tomorrow. I can’t see how they would expect you to start today,” she says. “It’s only been a few months since school started, and the classes are pretty random because our teachers go back and forth to hell all the time.”
“Cool,” is all I can find to say to her. This is all way too much for anyone to handle. It’s a real surprise to me that I’m not rocking back and forth in the corner of a room somewhere.
“I’m sorry about your parents, that must have been hard to have happen,” Maggie says, and I eye her for a second, wondering if I could trust her. “I can’t imagine how you are coping with all this new information and losing your parents in one day. You must be tired.”
“Very,” I answer her, deciding to keep my mouth shut until I can figure out if I can trust anyone else in this academy, ev
en if miss chatty is nice. We get to the end of the corridor, where an imposing statue is in the middle of a circular room. The circular room has three lifts and two corridors between the lifts. I look up to see there are three floors with dozens of white doors, and the top of the room is glass.
“Our great king, Lucifer,” Maggie says, looking up at the statue. The white stone is carved to make a kneeling angel, big wings hovering at his side and his head bowed down so you can’t see his face.
“Why is he bowing?” I ask.
“All those who bow before the light are blessed with wings. When angels fall into hell, they never bow again,” she tells me. “And they don’t have their wings anymore.”
“Lucifer fell from heaven, right?” I ask.
“More or less, yes. He is banished from both Earth and heaven because of his choice. There is no way to meet Lucifer unless you go to hell, which we can’t do until we are balanced with our inner demon,” she explains to me. “I’m sure there are ways around his banishment, but so far, he has stayed in hell. No tricks at all. I can’t wait to meet him one day.”
“Why would you want to meet him? He sounds evil as, well, hell,” I reply, watching her closely. This is clearly a cult just like I thought but more messed up than I could have ever thought.
“He is our king, our mighty leader, and very important to our future and current existence. Every day, angels threaten us, and the other supernaturals only fall in line because they fear Lucifer. Without him, we all would be killed,” she explains to me. “Earth would fall in the crossfire, heaven would be destroyed, and everyone’s souls would be lost.” That doesn’t sound morbid at all.
“Did he create us?” I ask her.
“He opened the first door between hell and Earth, allowing our demon ancestors to mate with humans and breed the way for our existence,” she explains.
“So he made an army once he fell into hell?” I ask.
“A loyal army, yes,” she says. “Anyway, let’s go. I bet you can’t wait to see your room.”
“Sure,” I say, walking toward the corridor straight ahead. I see the room right at the end, the white door which I figure is mine thanks to Mr. Bisgaard’s directions. I gasp as someone slams into my side, and I bounce into the wall, coughing from the shock. The cat carrier slips out of my hand, rolling across the floor as Amethyst meows loudly. A girl steps in front of me, wrapping her hands around my throat before I can react, and puts our faces super close together so I can see her dark brown, muddy coloured eyes. I pull my gaze to Maggie, who only smiles, and I now know she was playing me. Seems I’ve met the DA bitches earlier than expected.
“What the fuck do you bitches want?” I ask, grabbing her hands and trying to pull them off me, but she is super strong. She keeps one hand on my neck, holding me in place and uses her other hand to smack me hard across the cheek, snapping my head to the side as I taste blood in my mouth. I spit the blood at her, and she squeals, letting go as she wipes her face.
“You are an animal! Just like your murderous parents!” she screams at me, her voice echoing around us.
“What was the point in playing friends, Maggie?” I ask her. “And who the fuck are you? Don’t think it will be that easy to mess with me, whoever you are!” I ask the girl as I wipe more blood away from my cut lip.
“I’m Letitia Lale, and your parents killed my mum and dad. They killed Maggie’s mum, dad, and aunt before escaping and running away with you. Now we can’t punish them, but we can sure as fuck make your life a misery,” she hisses at me.
“Watch your back, Alexandria,” Maggie warns, tears brimming in her eyes. She doesn’t want to do this, I can see it.
“My parents wouldn’t have done that! They aren’t murderers!” I shout at them as they walk away. Maggie looks back at me for a second, that is until Letitia hooks her arm in hers and makes her look away. Great, I’ve made three enemies at this school. I pick myself up off the floor and walk to the cat carrier, lifting it and meeting Amethyst’s eyes.
“I’ve decided I don’t like Maggie after all. She seems like a backstabbing bitch. I mean, you’re a bitch but the good kind, so I’m sticking with you,” she says, making me smile which only hurts my lip.
“You must feel bad for me if you’re being nice, Amethyst,” I say, feeling how sore my neck is. “Well kind of nice.”
“My nice behaviour lasts all of ten minutes. You might as well make the most of it,” she tells me as I walk to the door at the end, one that is a little ways away from any others. I open the envelope and find a red key card, much like they use at hotels.
In my mind, this is a hotel, it is not my home. I slide the key card into the gap for it, and it beeps before I push the door open and walk in. The walls are all exposed brick, with big timbers that go across the ceiling on either side. The back of the room is three windows that show views over the stormy sea, and there is a brown leather couch in front of it. Two other leather chairs in the same colour are around a wooden coffee table. There is a wall with just kitchen cupboards, a fridge freezer, and a dishwasher by the looks of it. I walk further in and place the cat carrier on the ground before opening it for Amethyst to have a look around. She instantly jumps onto the sofa before stretching out and rolling on her back.
“I agree with the setting. Now, where is the food bowl?” Amethyst asks. I shake my head at her and walk to the gap I see behind the wall, only to freeze when someone comes out of one of the rooms. The girl is about my age with deeply tanned skin, locks of curly brown hair that are pulled up into a tight bun, though some curls have escaped. She has pretty brown eyes, and I feel more confused as she sinks to her knees, bowing her head.
“I am sorry. I should have been waiting by the door for you. My name is Serafin, and I am your slave to command,” she says, though her voice wavers with fear a little bit.
“No,” I say, offering her a hand to help her up, which she looks at in confusion. “Please, and I mean please do not refer to yourself as anything but my friend.”
“I-I...” she mumbles, taking my hand and standing up. She folds her hands behind her back, and I frown at the bizarre, deep green, plain dress she is wearing.
“My name is Lexi. Nice to meet you, Serafin. Can I call you Sera?” I ask her.
“Of course,” she says, still very nervous, and her expression changes to concern. “Are you hurt? How did that happen?” she mumbles, hurrying around me. “I will get an ice pack out, or that is going to swell and bruise.”
I move and sit on the sofa, next to Amethyst, who is snoring already. She has made herself at home at least. I pull my legs onto the sofa and wrap my arms around them as Sera comes back and hands me an ice pack. She stands awkwardly at the side of the sofa, looking down at the ground as I hold the ice pack on my cheek.
“Do you want to sit down?” I ask.
“Are you sure? It is forbidden for us to use anything that belongs to our demon host,” she explains to me. What stupid rules.
“Look, I’m not sure what everyone else here is like, but I don’t want us to be awkward around each other or for you to think you can’t sit with me. I would love a friend I could trust...because I’ve actually never had a real friend, and I’ve just lost everything,” I say, surprising myself with how strong I sound.
“I’ve lost my home and my family too. I was taken to come here,” she carefully replies to me, her voice and look in her eyes still guarded in fear.
“Same,” I say, and we both just stare at each for a second, and I feel like I might have just found a really good friend. She carefully sits on one of the chairs and moves her eyes to Amethyst.
“I’ve never seen a cat before. What is her name?”
“Amethyst, and she is not like any other cat I’ve ever known. You can become her best friend by simply feeding her,” I explain to Sera.
“I will go to the kitchens and make sure we have cat food prepared as well as your meals. Is there anything you particularly like to eat?” she asks me.
“I can make my own food—” I start to say, but she cuts me off.
“If I don’t make your food, do your washing, and keep this place tidy, then I will be reported for misconduct, and they will kill me. I’m nothing but a bastard-born wolf to my pack and a slave to your people. I need you to let me do things...plus, what else am I meant to do? I will be terribly bored otherwise,” she explains to me. “I’ve been trained my whole life for this, and I am happy to do it.”
“I’m sorry this is your life,” I whisper to her, almost wanting to reach out and comfort her.
“Wolves used to kill their bastard children before the agreement between the demons and wolves to stop war. In some ways, this is much better than death,” she muses.
“Where do you sleep?” I ask, wanting to change the subject. New information about things I don’t understand is not what I need today. A comfy bed—that sounds perfect.
“I have a room next door to yours. Want to see the bedrooms? You must be tired,” she says, and I nod, standing up off the sofa and stroking Amethyst as I pass her. Sera opens the first door in the corridor, showing me a massive bedroom with a huge king-sized bed, two big wardrobes, and a fluffy red rug near the fake fireplace on the wall, where a big television hangs above it. I follow her in, and she opens the wardrobe for me.
“There is all your uniforms and shoes. The other wardrobe has a selection of clothes for casual and weekend wear. There is a new iPad, laptop, and phone in here, but the phone doesn’t have the best signal. We are on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but the Wi-Fi is good,” she tells me. “Do you want me to leave you alone?”
“No, show me your room and the bathroom please,” I say, and she shakily nods. We go out of my bedroom, and she opens the door opposite, which is a bathroom the size of the bedroom we were just in. It has a massive porcelain tub that is a circle shape with many jets by the looks of it. There are two toilets, a glass shower, and a pile of towels in an open cabinet by the double sink.