A Demon's Horns: Vice College For Young Demons: Year One

by Marie Mistry

  I could tell they were all becoming worried as time went on and I didn’t discover my last two mates. Weirdly, they seemed to take it out on one another rather than me, though it wasn’t their duty to find my mates for me. At one point, I even caught Daron yelling at Bane, who had nothing to do with any of it.

  Their animosity towards one another only drove me further away from them, partially because I hated the way they argued, and partially because I was scared of making it worse or being asked to pick a side. The separation grew slowly, until the only time we were all together in one room for longer than an hour was when we were setting up Jin’s birthday party in March.

  So, when I handed in my essay, hand written on my best paper, to Vrosis on the last day of May, I was disheartened, exhausted and snippy.

  “Your reports.” Vrosis slid over another folder full of charts on his progress in return.

  I knew from giving the reports to Blaze and Rina’s father that Vrosis was doing surprisingly well at building up the Lust Caste’s resources, so I barely gave the paper a glance before giving him a little nod.

  He didn’t see it, instead he was flicking through the essay I’d just handed him. “I’ll mark it and have the grades by next week,” he muttered. “From what I’ve seen so far, you have nothing to worry about.” He glanced over at the pile of paper beside him. “Some of your peers are not so fortunate.”

  I had a hunch he was talking about Ryon, who had admitted to writing his essay in the last three days, but I kept my mouth shut and headed back to my seat.

  “It goes without saying this is the last of our lessons for the year. As usual, your grades will arrive by morning post to your rooms on the morning of the solstice ball,” Vrosis announced. “You will see your preliminary grades posted on the back of my office door within the week. These can change if Professor Saxon deems it necessary.” His hard eyes showed exactly how much he disliked the idea of his decisions being overturned so easily. “Next year, I won’t see you nearly as much because I have new… commitments, so I will leave Professor Saxon in charge of your end of year caste assessment.”

  The class dismissed itself swiftly after that, most of us traipsing up to our rooms to bury ourselves back in our books. Maddox’s practical exam was in seven days, followed a week later by the written exam and the finals for language, literature and etiquette. My comprehension of Old Demonish, and subsequently my modern demonic language knowledge, had rapidly improved out of necessity when examining all of Vrosis’ old textbooks for his dissertation. I barely revised for that exam beyond looking through lists of vocabulary over breakfast. I was pondering whether it would be wise to read yet more demonic literature before bed, when Nelly and Lulu rushed up to me as I approached my room.

  “Lilith, where the hell did you get your dress?” Lulu demanded, looking put out.

  “And why did you not share with your mentors!” Nelly cried.

  I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  Suddenly both twins looked sheepish. “Well, it was just laying on the floor by your door,” Lulu protested. “It looked very suspicious.”

  “We thought we should check it, you know, for safety.” Nelly nodded sagely. “And then we discovered you’d been holding out on us.”

  Sure enough, behind them a large box lay open, sheets of crumpled black tissue exploding out of it, revealing folds of deep navy fabric with violet and lavender flowers.

  “My mother designed it,” I admitted. “Jin managed to get the designs and Kain paid for a lady to sew it together for me.”

  Lulu and Nelly’s outraged expressions turned quickly to ones of sympathy. “Well, she might be the world’s bitchiest mother,” Nelly acknowledged. “But at least she can design dresses.”

  I unlocked my bedroom door, picked the box up off the floor, and set it down on the bed. I gently removed the dress piece by piece, folded it back up and replaced the tissue over the top.

  “Aren’t you going to try it on?” Lulu asked.

  I shook my head. “I have more important things to be getting on with,” I said, more to remind myself than anything else. “Besides it’s too late to change anything now.”

  “What if it doesn’t fit?” Lulu argued.

  “It will,” I insisted. “My mother had all of my measurements already.”

  I folded the last piece of tissue into place and a small card fell out from the paper. Nelly snatched it up, grinning fiercely.

  “Dear Sunshine, Remember our deal,” Nelly read aloud. “They didn’t even sign it.”

  “It’s from Kain,” I admitted. “He’s the only one who calls me ‘Sunshine’.”

  “And what was the deal?” Lulu asked, peering over Nelly’s shoulder at the card.

  “That my mates get to choose what I wear underneath,” I reluctantly confessed, snatching the card back and placing it in the box before I closed it again. “But never mind that. I’m more worried about getting past Maddox’s practical exam.”

  A knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts. “Lilith?” Daron peered into the room through the open door.

  “Daron.” I smiled, happy to see him regardless. “What’s up?”

  “It’s Bane’s birthday,” he reminded me gently.

  “Shit.” I jumped up and ran to the wardrobe, pulling out the parcel that I hadn’t even wrapped yet. “Damnit! Where did I put those scissors?”

  As I was rummaging around, searching, Hadrian’s ring fell out of my pocket again, rolling across the floor to Daron.

  “Ah, shit.” I found the scissors and started wrapping the box methodically. “Can you get that? I’m supposed to keep it on me, but it’s too thick for my fingers and too narrow for my horns.”

  “No problem.” Daron bent and examined the ring whilst I hastily tied ribbon around the parcel.

  “Okay, five seconds!” I rushed to the mirror and hastily braided the side pieces of my hair together behind my head. “Right. Ready!” I slipped on a pair of strappy sandals and smiled at Daron.

  He wasn’t even looking at me, instead examining the ring. “I can make it bigger, if you want?”

  “How?” I moved closer, looking at it. “Oh right, your ferrokinesis… How did you know how to use it before Maddox even told you that you had it?”

  Daron frowned, and I stared as the surface of the metal seemed to shimmer under his touch. “I came to Vice with three sets of clothes. The rest of my cases were filled with computers and monitors. I told my parents I wouldn’t go unless I could take my gadgets.” The ring steadily grew, the band thinning and then stretching and twirling. “But when I got them here, I couldn’t find any electrical outlets at all. I knew they must have them, because the letters we received were printed and there are security cameras all over the school. I spent days searching for the cables.” The swirling metal began to stop. “Then I realised I could feel the currents. From there it was an easy step to feeling the wires, coaxing them through the ground towards my room. I snuck them up three floors by hiding them behind a gutter pipe.”

  “It’s amazing,” I whispered as tiny metal daisies started to twirl out of the band, surrounding the yellow stone in a perfect circle. “Thank you.”

  Daron handed me the ring, which was warm to the touch. “Anytime,” he mumbled, offering me his hand after I’d secured the band over my right horn.

  I took it with a smile, tucking Bane’s present under my arm. “What day is your birthday?” I asked, suddenly realising that I didn’t know it.

  “September twentieth,” he said. “I’m the youngest in our year. When’s yours?”

  I frowned at the reminder. “I don’t like to do anything for it,” I protested. “It’s not a big deal to me.”

  “I’ve elicited an evasive response. Interesting.” He peered down at me through his glasses. “That either means that it’s a date I’ve already missed, or a date that you find inconvenient.”

  I rolled my eyes at his cool, logical voice, but I didn’t give in. Half of Dar
on’s tricks revolved around convincing a person that he knew the answer and, whilst it worked brilliantly on Kain, Aeron and Bane, I was determined not to let him trick me the same way.

  “Someone would have mentioned something if it was a date which had already passed.” Daron mused. “Unless you’ve told nobody… Seems unlikely given that Nelly and Lulu are your mentors.”

  Nelly and Lulu didn’t know my birthday either, but I didn’t let him onto that fact. The truth was, my birthday was on the summer solstice, and there was enough going on that day that I didn’t want to add any more stress. No one had celebrated it before I came to Vice anyway. My mother hated any reminder of the day that I had dared to cause her the immense pain of childbirth. Usually, I spent the full day trying not to get underfoot as she recounted in vivid detail the sacrifices she’d had to make to become a mother. Yeah, to say I disliked my birthday was an understatement.

  Daron kept guessing all the way to the castle, coming out with ideas like a Christmas day or a leap year birthday.

  “You’re not going to guess,” I insisted as we entered the kitchens, which were completely bedecked in coloured paper chains and candles.

  There were a lot of unshown gathered there, and I weaved between them in search of Bane’s mother. When she saw me, she wrapped an arm around me in an excitable hug.

  “His brother is getting him,” she whispered to me. “It’s a surprise!”

  “Miss Leonie, do you know when this girl’s birthday is?” Daron asked her, exasperation clear in his voice.

  “No… when is it Lilith?” Leonie’s gentle smile kept my temper in check, but barely.

  “It doesn’t matter because I’m not celebrating,” I grumbled.

  “Now, now, Sunshine. Turn that frown upside down,” Kain’s voice whispered cheekily in my ear. “It is a party after all.”

  “Do you—” Daron began to ask again but I cut him off.

  “No, nobody knows. I haven’t told a soul and I will not tell a soul,” I insisted. “Now if you don’t mind, we’re here to celebrate Bane’s birthday!” I abandoned them all, heading for the pile of presents on the table and depositing my one there.

  “I know,” Blaze announced, sitting in a chair. “But I don’t understand why you don’t want them to know.”

  I growled. “Drop it,” I muttered. “You read my file, I guess that’s how you know. But now that you know, keep it to yourself. I don’t like celebrating my birthday.”

  His green eyes lit up with challenge, and I went to say something else, but a hush descended over the room.

  “He’s coming!” Leonie whispered, but the sound carried over the room. I turned to face the door, pasting a smile onto my face as all the candles were extinguished at once. Somehow, I ended up jostled towards the front of the crowd, till I was between my mates, all of whom were giving me funny looks.

  Aeron came in first, grinning wickedly, before Bane stumbled down the steps complaining.

  “Aeron, I get that you’re an ass when you’re hungry, but can you turn on a damned light? I can’t see a thing.”

  “SURPRISE!” Everyone shouted. The candles flared to life in an excitable burst that temporarily blinded me.

  Bane took a step backwards in shock before his mother latched onto him, hugging him. “Happy birthday, son,” she breathed.

  He hugged her back, grinning, and then turned straight to me.

  “Happy birthday,” I repeated. I gave him a genuine smile when he bent down to hug me, picking me off the floor and swinging me around in a circle.

  “Thanks, Precious,” he whispered, pecking me lightly on the cheek.

  Soon he was absorbed into the crowd, but I remained where I was, my fingers tracing the place his lips had been on my skin. Logically, I knew he hadn’t meant anything more than a friendly kiss, but it was the combination of the kiss and the nickname that made my thoughts a little muddled.

  Sometimes it was so easy to believe that Bane was one of my mates; he fit in with the group of them so well, and I wouldn’t deny that I was attracted to him. But surely, if he thought the same, he’d have mentioned something by now. Or would he? I frowned as I watched him move around the room. Bane was, on the surface, a likeable, easy-going trickster. But he did disappear at strange times, and always without any explanation. He had his secrets, and I knew he was stubborn enough to never spill them. The fact that he’d been stealing little trinkets from me for months without my noticing was just one example of how sneaky he could be. I was still searching for my Greed mate, and he was in Greed.

  “What’s on your mind?” Daron asked, the candlelight reflecting off his glasses and making it so I couldn’t read his eyes.

  “Bane and I have never duelled...” I trailed off, turning back to stare at him. “But he fits so well with all of us. He’s always disappearing, and so secretive, but I trust him with my life. He’s in Greed and he’s gifted like the rest of you… Daron, I know he’s Aeron’s brother and the chances are slim, but could he be my mate?”

  Daron was silent, and I looked up to find he’d disappeared altogether.

  I huffed, annoyed that I’d been standing there talking to myself. My eyes scanned the room quickly; my Envy mate was easy to spot because of his height, so when I saw him heading straight for where Bane and my other mates were, I frowned and started to follow.

  Leonie grabbed me. “Lilith, would you mind helping me a second? I wanted you to just enjoy the party, but I can’t lift the cake on my own.”

  I frowned, watching as Daron reached the group and started gesturing back towards where I stood.

  “Sure,” I replied, absentmindedly.

  I allowed her to drag me away towards the back of the kitchen, my eyes fixed on the men. They were arguing, and Aeron looked three seconds away from punching someone, with Blaze not far behind.

  Leonie recaptured my attention when she pointed in the direction of a giant chocolate cake, easily three times as large as any cake I had ever seen before, and surrounded in little golden candles. The top was covered in sweeties, and it looked sickly as hell, but who was I to judge?

  “I thought, if you had some power to spare, could you light the candles and float it over to the table for me?” She looked so hopeful that I nodded, turning my smile back on. This was Bane’s birthday; whatever drama was brewing could wait till another day.

  “It looks amazing,” I commented.

  “Bane and Aeron both have a terrible sweet tooth,” she told me in a conspiratorial whisper. “They get it from Kellert. If you ever make them mad, forgiveness can usually be won using chocolaty warfare.”

  I smiled. “Do you want it over there now?” I asked, looking over at the not-so-subtle argument that my mates were having with the birthday boy.

  “Yes, it might be best.” Leonie was looking at the brewing fight with wary eyes. “I think they need a distraction.”

  A controlled flick of my fingers had the candles bursting to life, and I used PK to lift the giant cake into the air. People parted for it, and a loud chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ started up. The men weren’t really paying attention, but Jin inserted himself in between Bane and the rest of them, and was pointing to the cake repeatedly.

  By the time the cake reached the table the worst of the drama had abated, and Bane was staring at the cake with a grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Still standing beside me at the back of the room, Leonie took my hand and patted it gently.

  “Forgive my boys, Lilith. Sometimes they make bad choices for good reasons.” She moved off into the crowd before I could stop her and ask what she meant.

  My eyes locked with Bane as he blew out the candles. The stony expression in his eyes made me uncomfortable enough that, the moment his attention was diverted elsewhere, I discreetly let myself into the passageways and hurried away from it all.

  Chapter 32

  I made it back to my room alone, amazed that I wasn’t caught and reprimanded for it being past curfew. I locked the door and shored it u
p with PK, determined not to have to face any of the men. Yes, it made me a coward, but I was exhausted and hurting.

  Several people banged on my door that night, but I ignored them all, using my heavy sleeping to my advantage. When I woke early, I mechanically dressed and packed my bag before heading to breakfast. I pinched a few pastries from the buffet table and took them to the library. I was feeling cautiously optimistic about managing to avoid my mates for the morning, when I found Jin asleep on his sofa. He was the only person in the room this early in the morning aside from Mrs Mogg, who glanced sleepily at me as I passed her desk.

  “Come here, Pet,” he said, as soon as I was close enough to hear, without lifting his arm from over his face.