by Eva Brandt
“I take it you don’t believe that?” I asked him.
“I don’t really care. It’s all semantics. As long as I get what I want, the rest doesn’t matter.”
I wouldn’t have had any problem with that, but I suspected that what I wanted and what he did might not mesh very well in the future. I eyed him with thinly veiled suspicion, but he just smiled, not seeming offended by my distrust. “Ready for the actual transport?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess,” I replied. “Don’t get me killed.”
“Not to worry. I don’t intend to do that anytime soon. You’re far too interesting to eliminate so quickly.”
Without another word, he turned away from me and pushed the door open. He disappeared inside, not looking back to see if I could follow.
All of a sudden, I became aware of my current position. For the past five minutes or so, I’d been following around a guy who didn’t like me and had expressed his loathing for my species. Yes, he was charming, but most psychopaths were. He obviously wasn’t disturbed at the idea of me dying.
Did I want to go through that door? Maybe it would be better to just go back. Yes, I might have to forfeit the mysterious powers that kept my epilepsy in check, but there had been medical advances as of late that could make my life easier. I had never considered brain surgery, because I could control my condition through medication, but it was an option, if it got really bad.
If I went through that door, I’d be risking more than my brain. I’d be risking my life.
But on the other hand, this was an opportunity I couldn’t miss. Yes, it was dangerous, but so was the possibility of brain surgery. Besides, my parents were relying on me to do this. I couldn’t fail them.
I leaned against the wall, suddenly feeling like I was about to fall over. By my side, Shiro whined. “Shiro, this is crazy,” I told him. “Maybe we don’t belong here after all. What the hell am I supposed to do with this?”
Shiro nudged me with his snout and looked at me with wide, sad eyes. Not for the first time, I wished I could actually communicate with him. I was sure it would be a huge improvement to having to talk to my asshole guide.
Confirming my thoughts, Callum emerged from inside and shot me a smug look that somehow managed to convey both disdain and amusement. “Are you coming or have you changed your mind?”
I knew I shouldn’t allow him to bait me, but I couldn’t help myself. “I haven’t changed my mind, but you’re just going to have to forgive me for having some doubts.”
He tilted his head at me like he was a curious bird. “I’d have less respect for you than I already do if you didn’t fear and doubt what’s ahead. If it helps, the dean does want you there, at least for now, so you’ll last the first week. Probably.”
It didn’t help, but in the end, I couldn’t turn back, not now. If I did and ended up like that girl in the hospital, I’d always regret it. I couldn’t do that to myself and to my family. I had to at least try.
I was stronger than this. And we were talking about magic here. Lenoir hadn’t been very clear, but if the latent magic from the contract with my ancestor had allowed me to be a little healthier, it might be able to heal me too.
Some people would kill for this chance. I had to embrace it.
“I feel like I should be concerned that I’m receiving all this attention,” I said as I made my way to his side. “I’m not that important.”
“Oh, but you are.” Callum let out a laugh. “There hasn’t been a Sacrifice at the school in at least two centuries. It’s always... eventful. Or so I hear.”
“I can’t say that fills me with too much joy. I have no desire to sacrifice myself for anything.”
“You won’t need to,” Callum assured me. “Demons aren’t big on that sort of thing. Self-sacrifice is for the divine, not the demonic. It’s... complicated and not really my business to explain. You’ll learn more once you’re at the school.”
He clammed up after that, and I found it impossible to get him to say anything else, even if he’d promised to explain further. We ended up walking into the building in silence, with him guiding me through dark, but plain corridors that didn’t look in any way demonic, but somehow still felt creepy as fuck. The whole experience was made stranger by the fact that I could only hear my own footsteps and the squeak of the trolley wheels, but nothing at all coming from my unexpected companion. He almost seemed a shadow or a ghost, because he made no noise whatsoever. I began to have doubts that he was even breathing.
Then, in a twist that felt like something straight out of the world’s worst horror flick, he ended up taking me to the basement. I was so unsurprised by this that I didn’t hesitate. “I hope you know that if you get me killed, I’ll find a way to come back from the dead and haunt you all my life.”
“I’m sure you would, but it won’t be necessary, at least not today,” he said. “This isn’t dangerous.”
I didn’t really believe him, since what was safe for him wouldn’t necessarily be safe for me. Even so, I followed him into the basement.
The room I walked into was empty save for a simple circle drawn in glowing shards of diamond. For the first time since I’d entered this building, I was hit by a surge of magic that reminded me of what Callum had done with Gemma.
“This is the transport point,” Callum explained. “All you have to do is step into the circle and it’ll take you to the island through a special portal.”
Wary, I analyzed the circle with care. “That seems a bit convoluted. If there are as many students at the school as you say, wouldn’t it be tough for them to go through here?”
“Of course it would be, but this is the human-cleared entrance, remember? The other portals are elsewhere in the building.”
Oh, right. I’d forgotten about that.
I tightened my hold on the handle of my trolley bag. Apparently, I now had to teleport to this strange island in the middle of nowhere. Wonderful. To make matters worse, I had Shiro to worry about.
“Hold onto your familiar so you don’t lose him,” Callum advised me, as if guessing my thoughts.
“That’s a possibility?” I asked, outraged.
“Yes, but it isn’t very likely. Large familiars are almost impossible to lose. You’re lucky. A friend of mine has trouble every time they have to go through a transport. He used to keep losing his snake, although these days, he’s gotten better at...”
He snapped his mouth shut, as if he’d suddenly realized he was sharing private information. “Anyway, as I was saying, it’s fine. I’ll be right there with you.”
That didn’t comfort me, but I reluctantly entered the circle anyway. Since Shiro was too heavy for me to carry, I set my trolley down, sat on it, and wrapped my arms around him, burying my fingers in his luxurious fur. “Okay, what now?”
Callum joined me and pressed his body against mine. I went rigid, but didn’t get the chance to complain. He brushed his lips against my neck and whispered, “Now, brace yourself.”
Bright lights started flashing around me, far more intense than before and rapidly changing color. I snapped my eyes shut, knowing the dazzling display could trigger a seizure if I wasn’t careful. In my arms, Shiro trembled, but didn’t try to escape.
The air around me shifted from hot to cold, and then back to hot again. The floor seemed to change substance. My ears began to hurt, popping like they did when I was on a flight. With my hearing impaired, I mentally willed the whole process to go faster.
I didn’t know if my wish had any effect, but the trip didn’t last long anyway. Within seconds, the temperature around me stabilized and the discomfort vanished.
Callum released his hold on me and got up. “It’s okay now. You can open your eyes.”
Just out of spite, I wanted to ignore him. Instead, I followed his advice. My breath caught as I got my first look at what would be my home for the next couple of years.
Fuck. This certainly wouldn’t be as simple as Callum had made it out to be.
* * *
Ever since my birthday, since the crazy, leather-clad cherub had crashed into my life with the subtlety of a nuclear missile, I’d been thinking about the nature of the famous Academy of the Devil. The whole office building thing had been disappointing. It shouldn’t have surprised me that what I’d actually have to face would be much worse.
The first thing I saw upon being transported to the school was a gigantic eye. It blinked at me. I blinked back. Its pupil dilated and its huge iris flickered in all the colors of the rainbow. In the whiteness of the sclera, the blood vessels that were so tiny in a human eye stood out like grotesque vines.
“Greetings, Watcher,” Callum said. “I am Callum Adamson, head of the House of Lust, bringing in a new student, Alyssa Michaelis.”
The eye blinked again. The walls of the room vibrated and the scent of blood invaded my nostrils. Sparks of electricity danced all around us, making my hair and Shiro’s fur stand on end.
I suppressed the urge to whimper. Were we in a gigantic brain of some kind? What in God’s—or Satan’s—name was going on?
For a few seconds, nothing else happened. Callum just waited and I sat there, still on my trolley, clutching my dog like a frightened little girl while the eye stared at me.
At last, the Watcher—whatever that was—seemed to decide I’d passed muster. The walls rippled and parted with a meaty squelch.
The sound made my stomach turn, so when Callum left, I shot to my feet and rushed after him, stumbling over my own feet in my haste to get out of there. This proved to be unfortunate, since outside, there was already quite a crowd, and I had trouble catching up with Callum.
Shiro guided me in the right direction, and as I followed him, I did my best to ignore all the gazes now on me, the sudden silence, and the thick animosity permeating the air. I half-expected someone to attack me, but nobody did anything and I found Callum without incident.
He was standing in the shade of a palm tree with crimson bark, talking to a blond young man dressed in identical clothes. I felt awkward interrupting their conversation. I wondered if I was supposed to make my own way now that we were actually here.
Maybe I was better off leaving. Callum didn’t like me, and I didn’t like him. It was best to put as much distance between us as possible and maybe find another way to look around.
Before I could do exactly that, Callum spotted me and waved me over. “Alyssa, there you are. Come here. I want to introduce you to someone.”
I debated the merits of backing away slowly. Why was he talking to me like we were friends, when just a minute ago, he’d said he wouldn’t mind seeing me dead? “Shiro, I don’t know what’s stranger, the people I’ve met today, or the gigantic eye I just saw.”
My Shiro huffed in canine agreement. I resigned myself to embracing the insanity, at least for now. Maybe if I tried to adapt to this weird brand of manners people seemed to be using here, I’d have a better chance of getting out of this one unscathed.
It was easier said than done. As I reluctantly joined the duo by the tree, Callum’s unknown companion turned toward me. He didn’t sneer, nor did he show any specific reaction to my presence, but his blue eyes were icier than the arctic as he scanned me from head to toe.
“So, this is the Sacrifice. Interesting. I didn’t expect her to come with a familiar.”
My hackles instantly rose at the comment. The others had noted Shiro’s presence as well, and I knew enough about witches in pop culture to understand what a familiar was. I wasn’t sure the description was accurate, since as far as I could tell, Shiro wasn’t magical. Still, the last thing I wanted was to draw anyone’s attention to my dog.
“My familiar is my business, I think,” I replied. “Also, as your friend pointed out, I have a name. Do you?”
“This is Mikael,” Callum helpfully replied in his friend’s stead. “He’s also just arrived and misplaced his familiar. Again. And I was just telling him that it will come back on its own. It always does.”
“TB is a she,” Mikael corrected him coldly. “Please address her properly. And if you haven’t seen her, you can fuck off and go whore around elsewhere. I have no desire to talk to you right now.”
“Oh, don’t be like that. If you want to play, there’s plenty of me to go around. I bet we can squeeze something in.”
His full lips twisted into a smirk and a voice in my mind finally drew the rational conclusion. Incubus.
In hindsight, I should’ve realized it much sooner, from the moment I’d witnessed that whole episode with Gemma. Maybe spending time around incubi was as detrimental to the brain as epileptic seizures.
I set the thought aside and focused on the conversation. “What is TB like? I could help look.”
I hadn’t deemed it possible, but Mikael’s demeanor turned even chillier. “I don’t need your help, human. TB will come to me on her own.”
Alarm bells started ringing in my head. Had I made a misstep once again? Anything was possible.
“Right. Of course she will.”
Callum just smirked at me knowingly, seeming to find the whole exchange very amusing. I was beginning to get a headache, which was never good news. “Come on,” he said. “It might be a good idea to make our way to the dorms before everyone else gets there.”
He swept past his friend like a whirlwind and grabbed my arm. I was so surprised that I didn’t manage to free myself from his hold until at least two minutes later. By then, we’d left the strange transportation spot behind and we were already heading down a path that looked like cobblestone, but felt weirdly soft underneath my feet.
“What was that back there?” I finally inquired as we ventured into a massive, dark forest.
“Which part? You’re going to have to be more specific.”
I considered asking him about his weird behavior and his even weirder friend, but then decided against it. “The gigantic eye. Was it a demon or what?”
“Sort of,” Callum replied. “The island isn’t exactly a geological structure, or at least, not just that. A lot of the buildings here are demonic organisms in their own right. They feed off our magic, just like we feed off the latent energy of human sin.”
Err, okay then. I didn’t even know where to begin addressing all that.
“So they’re like... symbiotes?” I sort of wanted to say ‘parasites’, but if alien organisms in Marvel comics didn’t like the phrasing, demonic beings might dislike it too.
“Something like that, yes,” Callum replied. “But don’t worry. As long as you don’t overuse any of the buildings, you’ll be fine. And considering your weak nature, it’s unlikely they’ll make use of you much.”
At least some good would come of the fact that I was a pathetic, meaningless human. The weird creatures with eyes larger than my whole head wouldn’t want to use me as a snack.
Just as I thought this, the path we were walking on morphed and mutated, and all of a sudden, the strange bricks turned into something that looked an awful lot like flesh. The ground parted and a strange root emerged from the dark depths. Before I could move a muscle, it swept me off my feet—literally—dangling me over the tree line as if I was nothing more than a puppet.
Shiro lunged at the thing, clawing its base in an attempt to free me. Callum just laughed, the asshole. “Look at that. You’ve only been here ten minutes and you’ve already made a friend.”
I squeaked in protest, torn between anger, embarrassment, and dread. As infuriated as I might’ve been over his behavior, I was more worried about Shiro getting himself hurt by the creature in his zeal to help me. All the swinging around was making me woozy, and while that alone wouldn’t suffice to trigger a seizure, I didn’t want to take any chances.
This wasn’t a fucking hentai anime, and I didn’t appreciate being manhandled by some weird, tentacle-looking plant.
Fortunately for me, I didn’t have to suffer the terrifying indignity for too long. Another male figure emerged from the forest. Due to the angle I wa
s in, I couldn’t distinguish his features very well, but his sharp, deep voice echoed through the air like thunder. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Callum. I told you a million times to stop baiting the island. You might end up with some unfortunate surprises on your hands.”
Somewhere behind me, Callum scoffed. “I really wish you stopped blaming me for everything that goes wrong.”
“I’ll do that, when everything that goes wrong stops being your fault.” The new arrival snapped his fingers and the plant that had grabbed me set me down, none too gently. I landed gracelessly and ended up lying on the ground, wheezing, my clothes ruffled, and my hair a mess. But at least I was free and there had been no bad touching from the plant. That was the last thing I needed right now.
As Shiro bounded to my side to express his canine enthusiasm for my survival, I got a good look at my rescuer. Tall and dark-haired, he was glaring at me with jet-black eyes. Like Callum and Mikael, he was dressed in the leather pants-black shirt combo, but his was far more form-fitting, emphasizing the lines of his muscular form. “Alyssa Michaelis,” he said in a dark voice. “I advise you to not touch any of the island’s creatures again, or I’ll make you regret it.”
What the fuck? I hadn’t touched any of the creatures. I was the one who’d been wronged and attacked by the demonic plant.
The anger that had been simmering inside me finally exploded. For as long as I could remember, I’d never been a confrontational person. I preferred to keep my head down and ignore the people who wanted to make my life miserable.
From time to time, though, I found it impossible to back away from a fight. And today seemed like a particularly bad day. I didn’t want to cause trouble, but this was the fourth person I’d met so far that had expressed a dislike for my sheer existence. I’d had enough.
“Fuck you,” I told him without preamble. “Why don’t you get off your fucking high horse and start respecting other people?