by K L Rymer
Matthew produces a handsome chuckle, and my knees betray me once again. “I look forward to seeing how terrible you dance, human.”
I growl and snatch my hand back. Well, that killed the moment.
My eyes find Angelina in the crowd. You can’t miss her with those luminous blue orbs. So I smirk and give her a little wave, and she exposes her white fangs.
Myrddin throws an arm around our shoulders and sighs. “Just like old times...”
Matthew laughs along with the headmaster and I groan in despair. Can I just go back to my room now?
Unfortunately, Myrddin has other ideas as he takes our hands and stretches our arms in the air. “I give you the first couple of the V-day ball!”
The only cheers come from the back of the room, and there’s Felicity, Zahara, and Nora screaming. Even Thomas joins in.
I warm at the sight. At least I have some friends who care.
Matthew raises a hand to the rest of the crowd. “Well?”
Everyone cheers, and now the whole school is up on their feet. I watch Matthew impressed. I get that he’s popular, but wow... I’m a little jealous.
The only one who doesn’t cheer is Angelina as she continues to glower at the stage. As embarrassed as I am, it was worth it to make her look like that.
I’m so going to love dancing with her hot boyfriend at the ball.
...
The last couple stands on stage, and now I clap along with Zahara and Nora.
It’s Felicity.
The little pixie beams with pride as she stands beside Myrddin on stage. On Myrddin’s right side is Macson, a tall, dark handsome Unseelie. Unluckily, he tripped her up several weeks ago in the hall. So I was a little worried that he would try something again.
Except he got down on one knee and kissed her knuckles.
Damien vanished sometime after that. One moment he was brooding at the back of the room. And then the next he was gone.
I wanted to punch the Ingenious girl he got paired with (mostly because I had to listen to poor Felicity’s heart-breaking cry the moment Damien’s name was called).
The way she had looked the demon up and down, the ungrateful wretch. I know someone who would have given an arm and leg to be up there with him.
I don’t know what her problem was. Damien is an attractive guy. A little scary and intense, but he’s got the looks.
The demon’s eyes were scorching, and I don’t blame him for being so furious. She was cold, stuck-up, and a downright bitch.
I think she is some kind of griffin shifter with her eagle wings and lion tail, but fuck her. She’s irrelevant.
I just thank the high heavens it’s finally over. Since I got called up first, I could enjoy the rest of the assembly, but it went on for hours.
It’s now well past midnight.
This late on a Friday, I could be getting drunk. Yet instead I sit in a stuffy hall with a bunch of grouchy supernaturals.
At least all my friends got a decent partner. Well, except for Damien. Zahara got paired with some pretty Seelie boy though she didn’t look pleased.
Nora got paired with a hunky merman, and I was envious to say the least. He had long, golden hair, and the most ripped body that I had ever seen. And when he walked up on stage with that trident, her jaw hit the floor.
He had no fish parts though, but I suspect he only gets them when in water. I just hope for Nora’s sake that he’s the more conventional merman with the human half on top and the fish half at the bottom.
Thomas, unfortunately, ended up with a cat shifter, and the way they yowled and growled on stage made me piss my pants.
I’m a zoology student, so to see a pair of students acting like wild animals just tickles me. (I study them for a living, and I study them here.)
Then there was Jack. He got with a succubus girl, the sexiest bitch I’ve seen for a while, and I swear he smiled.
Poor Angelina got with swamp boy—the same guy who refused to sit with us in the dining hall. Once again she looked as if she wanted to burn the world to ashes.
That’s what she gets for being such a bitch.
We all get up to leave for bed, and I spot Matthew’s lingering gaze as he leaves the hall.
I catch my breath. That look alone is enough to undo me, but I try to keep my cool as Felicity rushes off stage and bounds toward me. “I have a date, Bryn! Me! Can you believe it?”
I smile and ruffle her hair, and now we head back to Mendacious tower. “Yes, I was there, Fel.”
Felicity squeezes her fists. “I’m so excited. Only one more week till the ball!”
The pixie squeals and Zahara flinches. “Ugh, your happy sounds are making me sick.”
Felicity gives her a mischievous grin. “And what about you, Zahara? I saw the spark in your eye the moment your date got up on stage.”
The Unseelie narrows her onyx eyes. “You shut your mouth, shoe thief.”
The pixie giggles and turns to Nora, and they both gush about their dates. “I’m so happy for you, Fel,” Nora cries, beaming from ear to ear. “Mascon’s one of the hottest guys at school!”
Zahara sticks her finger in her mouth as we stroll down the corridor to our quarters.
“You too, Nora,” Felicity squeaks. “Oh, you’re so lucky. A merman!”
Nora laughs, “I know!”
They jump up and down on the spot and Zahara snaps. “Pipe down the both of you! You’re giving me a headache!”
Jack and Thomas catch up with us at last and now we all climb the stairs together. “I still can’t believe I’m paired with a cat...” Thomas growls.
Jack smirks beside him.
I bet the titan is still thinking about his sexy succubus. She was like the personification of lust herself—the deadly sin.
Felicity glances around at our party. “Wait... where’s Damien?”
We all share an awkward glance. The guy just comes and goes, but I seriously have no idea where he gets off to.
He’s a true mystery.
“I... think he left a little early,” Nora replies, smoothing down a wiggly strand.
Felicity deflates. “You mean he left when I was up on stage?”
“I... erm...” Now all of Nora’s hair wiggles.
The pixie dips her head, and her good mood vanishes instantly. “I see.”
None of us know what to say. We’ve all had to put up with their stupid love saga and listen to her crying. To be honest, I don’t think my fellow Mendacious are big fans of Damien right now. His callous behavior toward Felicity is even enough to piss off Zahara, and that girl’s a grade A bitch.
I guess they all just think he’s a big jerk like me.
Maybe we should all kick his ass.
We enter the common room and a dark figure lounges by the fireplace. Its eyes are aglow, icing the blood of my veins.
Well, speak of the devil... It’s Damien swigging back a beer. He looks far too relaxed, petting his snake as it curls around his hand.
He glances up then, and a sneer morphs his face. “Well... if it isn’t my fellow outcasts...”
No one speaks. We all just stare at him.
He’s drunk.
Jack clenches his muscles. Thomas’s golden eyes glow, and Nora’s hair squirms. Zahara takes her stance, channeling her magic, and I go to do the same until I remember; I’m on detention. Now I can’t protect myself against Damien.
There is just something about a drunken demon that puts one on edge. Alcohol and evil are a deadly combination.
Felicity is the only one who steps forward. “Damien?”
She reaches out a hand, but he recoils and jumps out of the chair. “Stay... stay away from me, Tinkerbell.”
Her face breaks, and I see the tears. “What?”
Damien closes his eyes, taking several deep breaths. When they open again, they’re bright red. “I’m not your fucking boyfriend and I never will be. So just do us all a favour and leave me the fuck alone!”
His voice rebounds o
ff the walls, and no one breathes a sound. Felicity’s bottom lip wiggles, and now her face drips with tears. “D-Damien...”
The demon growls and whirls away from her, and it’s like the very sight of her sickens him.
I can’t move. I’m too angry. How dare he speaks to her that way.
“You cunt,” Zahara snarls. “You can go and get yourself a new stoner buddy now.”
I was just about to give Damien a piece of my own mind, but then I gawp at Zahara. “Wait... you’ve both been smoking weed all this time?”
Before the Unseelie can respond, Damien interrupts us with his sinister laugh, and now shadows stretch across the room. The fire spurts and Felicity and Nora shriek.
The windows burst open next, letting in a powerful gust of wind. Paper scatters around the room, and Thomas cries out in alarm. “No, my notes!”
Damien doesn’t stop. He just causes more mayhem, and soon a cloud of locusts emerges from the fireplace and engulfs the entire room. Everyone screams and covers their heads.
I stare at the demon in horror. He’s nothing but a shadow now. There was no way I could go up against him. He’s a frigging monster.
Glass shatters, but Damien continues to cackle. Lightning strikes outside, and Felicity, Thomas, and Nora huddle up close.
Zahara and I gape at Damien now, speechless. He smashes his bottle against the far wall, and it explodes on impact. Several pieces hit Felicity.
Well, I hope she’s over her crush. This is who Damien truly is.
“Stop it!” I yell over the wind and locusts, but the demon bastard ignores me.
“Just embrace it, Bryn Bryn! We are Mendacious after all. Let’s show this school what we’re really capable of!”
The chandelier crashes down from the ceiling, and Zahara pushes me out of the way. We land on the ground gasping for air, but then a sound of crushing glass catches my attention.
The hulking form of Jack strides across the room and closes his hands around Damien’s throat, and now those red eyes bulge from their sockets.
“Stop...” Jack growls, his voice low and beastlike.
The demon claws helplessly at the titan’s hands, trying to set himself free, but Jack won’t budge. Somewhere, I hear Felicity whimpering behind me, but I only keep my eyes on the two men.
It looks like Jack is going to kill him.
The demon struggles as Jack tightens his chokehold around his throat, and now he splutters.
“D-Damien!” Felicity screams, trying to rush forth to his rescue, but Thomas and Nora keep her back.
Jack lifts the demon off his feet and holds him close to his face. “I said stop, Damien.”
The demon bares his sharp teeth in one last act of defiance. But then his body slumps and he gives up at last, undoing his magic.
The room returns to normal. All the paper falls back to the floor, and the locusts disappear out the window. And now the shadows vanish.
I breathe a sigh. Thank god.
The titan releases Damien, and he crashes to the floor gasping for breath.
A small, white-blonde blur shoots past me next and Felicity is upon the demon immediately. “Damien? Are you all right? Say something.”
Damien continues to pant, wafting the black strands over his face. He scowls up at her. “You... fucking idiot...”
She takes her hands off him. “What...?”
He staggers to his feet and glares at us all now. “Fuck this shit. I’m leaving.”
The demon stumbles across the room toward his shadowed corner, and Felicity runs after him. “Damien, please—”
He whirls back around and burns her with his red eyes. Felicity freezes, gaping up in horror. “Don’t.... don’t follow me, Felicity... Hell is no place for a pixie. Trust me.”
Her face cracks, and although it hurts to watch, she needs to hear it. “But... Damien... you can’t go.”
Damien turns away from her, and his face is cold and impassive once again. “Watch me.”
The pixie struggles for breath as the demon walks out of her life, but then her eyes suddenly change, and I see that wicked imp that Zahara warned me so much about.
“Fuck you, Damien.” She clicks her fingers with a pink spark and the demon falls onto his face.
He growls and whips his head around. Felicity holds up one of his steel-toe boots, a wicked gleam in her big, blue eyes.
Damien chuckles and the sound makes the hair rise on the back of my neck. “A souvenir...”
Felicity keeps her manic gaze on him and the demon rolls his eyes, tending to his bloody nose. “Best not let daddy know that I was bested by a fairy when I re-join him.”
The pixie bares her teeth, and I see those little fangs. “I’m a pixie!”
She tosses the boot and it hits the back of Damien’s head. He freezes, taking a few deep breaths. When he turns back again, he’s ice-cold.
Felicity holds her ground.
“So long, Tinkerbell.”
He vanishes at last and Felicity drops to her knees, bursting into tears. She covers her face with her hands, and now her muffled cries echo through the room.
I rise to my feet and go to her side, hugging her like she’s my child. Nora joins me too, and we take her up to her room.
On my way up the stairs, I steal a glance at that dark corner and shiver. I think I finally have a good grasp of who Damien’s daddy is now.
We’ve been living with the bloody anti-Christ.
Chapter 23.
Damien didn’t return, and poor Felicity has barely left her room or eaten since. The only times she comes out are for classes, and even then that’s rare. Instead, she will watch livestreams on her laptop, curled up under her bright pink My Little Pony bed sheets.
One night I caught her spooning Damien’s old boot, the one she’d launched at his head before he vanished into the dark shadows of hell—as creepy and disgusting as it sounds. I don’t know how she had the stomach for it in all honesty. She must have really loved that demon asshole to put up with his smelly foot odor. Damien had been a rebel in many other ways, and that often meant skipping the shower too.
After a week, Zahara and I finally had enough and dragged her out of her room kicking and screaming. She had even bitten me several times, and damn her teeth are sharp.
You would think she had gone through a break up with the way she went on, despite the fact she and Damien had never been an item (as he had cruelly pointed out the night of their big fight). There were hundreds of ice-cream cartons under her bed, and DVDs such as The Notebook and Love Actually.
I still stand by what I said. I will kick Damien’s ass one day. He broke my friend’s heart even after I warned him.
Apparently, Damien had been into Felicity all along. Zahara told me herself. She had decided to break their code in the end because he had almost killed her, and so she confessed everything that he said to her in confidence when they were out late at night smoking weed.
Damien has always had a thing for petite women. It’s in his DNA. It activates his demon instincts, so to speak. Think of a dog when it chews its small, squeaky toy...
As fucked up as it sounds that had been the reason Damien had had the hots for Fel. Whenever he heard her squeaky voice, he was aroused, and that’s why his eyes were always red.
He hid his true feelings well. I always thought he was indifferent to the pixie, and at one point I thought he genuinely disliked her. They did start to get a little close around Halloween, especially when he protected her from me and Matthew. But then his arousal soon turned into something more serious, and that’s when the demon decided to close off his heart forever.
Not that it worked. He was clearly still crazy about her, hence why he went insane and nearly killed us all.
Lucky thing Jack had been there to stop him. That had been the first time Jack had spoken all year, and I wished I had caught it on camera.
Despite all the drama and heartache, at least we have a ball to look forward to. I’ll admit my heart
’s racing at the thought of dancing with Mattie. The whole school was against us partnering up, but in the end, it was “fate” who decided we should be together. So everyone can shut up and stick it.
Even Mattie’s father has kept his silence, oddly enough, considering he was so vehemently against us spending time together.
We all sit at our Mendacious table in the dining hall. The one we had claimed back at the start of the first semester.
The other houses don’t bother us so much now. Nora even gives her sexy merman a wink, and her gesture is returned.
Seems we’re all moving on up in the world.
Felicity forks her salad beside me, a dejected, miserable look on her cute face.
I roll my eyes. “That cherry tomato isn’t going to eat itself, Fel...”
She sighs. “I know... I’ve... just got a lot on my mind.”
I try to think of something to say, but then I meet Zahara’s obsidian eyes. She shrugs, digging into her burger.
An Ingenious girl passes our table next with long auburn hair and eagle wings, and I give an inward groan. It’s that bitchy griffin girl who got paired with Damien. Of course, she wasn’t bothered in the slightest when she found out Damien had left the school. In fact, she looked relieved.
She is the last person Felicity needs to see now. She’s just another reminder of Damien in the end. Everything she sees reminds her of him lately. Dark shadows in the corner of the room, the color red (probably why she can’t stomach eating the cherry tomato), and snakes for Damien’s pet adder, Snuggles. That had seriously been the name he had given his serpent. Damien had a wicked sense of humor.
The griffin joins her fellow blue-blazers at an Ingenious table, throwing her head back in laughter with no fucking care in the world.
I stab my steak, cut a chunk, then shove it into my mouth. If Fel won’t bitch-slap that girl, then I will do it for her.
Felicity pushes her full plate of food away and rises to her feet. “I will be in my room.”
I reach up and force her back into her seat, and she squeaks. “B-Bryn!”
Now I look furiously into her big, baby blue eyes and she shudders. “You are not going anywhere. Now finish your food!”