“Your parents are most likely legendary or high up somewhere and did a boo-boo by having you,” the gargoyle says before she hiccups. “That’s why a lot of us end up in enclaves, too, it seems, but keeping you out of it is pretty sus.”
No shit, woman, but you’re going to scare the piss out of our nervous protégé.
Thirty
SLASH
Turning to Xerxes, I lean close to whisper, “Oriel has been gone a long time. I am concerned that with the demands of his crow riding him so hard, he may have gotten distracted.”
The cobra demon gives me a knowing little smirk that I cannot translate, and when I continue to stare at them, they roll their eyes. “Slash, Oriel is fine; I’m certain of it. I haven’t detected any magical disturbances, nor has anyone raised an alarm. He’ll be back when?—”
“How’s it going down here?” Oriel’s sudden appearance at the end of the hall stops X’s explanation, and I give the thieving asshole a dirty look.
“You were gone longer than was necessary. I noticed, and have been keeping our guests from figuring it out, but we were running out of excuses. Where have you been?”
Shrugging, the dark-haired demon gives me a very suspicious smile. “I was investigating a noise. Luckily, it turned out to benothing I needed to report. Now, have any of you found clues or were you just dicking around?”
He’s not lying, but he’s not telling the truth, either. Oriel is too playful for his story to be accurate.
“Unfortunately, we’ve found absolutely nothing,” the Fae prince says as he exits the last room. “This dorm is a bust, and unless I’m mistaken, it’s getting pretty late. Should we be skulking around here when the student body is likely to return?”
“No,” Oriel, X, and I say at the same time.
The lion and the prince laugh at our vehemence, but it is not in jest. We cannot have the other students find us rummaging through anything, especially their private quarters. Having these visitors along will only make things worse. It is time to head back and debrief; the rest of our areas will have to wait until the morning.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving,” Archie says before I can add my thoughts. “We’re gonna need food soon. I doubt the others will go for much longer without it as well.”
I have no idea what we’re going to do about that if the little demon and her friends have commandeered Salem’s room.
“Let’s go up to Jasper’s room and contact the others so we can decide together,” X says as they look at the group. “Seems like we can figure it out without bothering the girls. I don’t think they’ll be happy if we do.”
Oriel grins again, and this time, I’mcertainhe’s hiding something. “Yeah, we should leave them alone. This kind of shit is good for KK, and she needs friends who aren’t us to spill her girly shit to.”
“Very enlightened of you.” Xerxes elbows the crow, and he glares at them before they turn back to the rest of us. “Are we agreed then?”
A portal opens in front of the staircase before any of us can answer, and I plant my feet on the ground as I prepare to fight. My readiness isn’t necessary, though, because the doctor comes out of it, followed by the dragon, the bear, and the younger Gemini. Frowning as I look at my companions, I ask, “Why are you here and how did you find us?”
Dr. D’s robes ruffle as he moves toward us, quiet as he approaches. That’s not unusual when Kat is not around, but what is different is who actually answers me: the Gemini.
“Apparently, you guys forgot that the non-demon surface folks need some sort of protection potion to breathe Hell’s air after too long. I didn’t really know it would be that bad, but Lucas almost suffocated in the arena. Once your Kitsuné and this physician made a potion with the professor, they got him settled. They came to our group to give it to the grumpy dragon and the siren. Obviously, now we’re here to give it to the prince and the lion.”
My lips curve up as the quieter of the twins explains everything succinctly, and without a lot of emotion that would cloud the situation. I like that, and I think Damon might be a very good ally indeed. He is less excitable than his brother, and his brain works similarly to mine and Annie’s. We need cooler heads among us, and his calm makes it much easier for the rest of my group to focus.
“Damn it, we should have… Man, I’m sorry,” Oriel says ruefully. “Jasper’s not the only one who should have thought of that shit.We all knew it, but missed it because we were too busy trying to figure out how this shit would work.”
“As I have said before, the apology section of this moment is taking longer than it needs to,” the doc says. “I need to administer the potion to those who are affected before they fall ill and possibly expire.”
The doc must be tired of all the bickering; he’s been much less edgy since the little demon arrived, and now he’s all but calling us dumbasses.
“Oh, shit, sorry scary demon dude,” Archie says as he walks over with a sheepish look. “I’ll take mine first. If D says it’s on the level, then I’m not worried. Plus, I’m pretty sure these other demon guys are cool now, too. Hit me up.”
That makes the doctor let out a rusty chuckle, and he brings a bowl out to hold up for the lion. “This one is smarter than most of the beings I’ve seen so far. He understands urgency quite well.”
“Or he’s far too trusting for his own good,” Kaspar grumbles as he looks at the prince. “However, I can also verify that Slade and I drank as well with no aftereffects, Liam.”
Liam looks at his friend, sighing. “Kas, if it saved Lucas and everyone is taking it, obviously I’m going to trust that’s it on the level. But I assume Morgana will need to do so as well? We’re probably not having issues yet because we have stayed inside, yes?”
“That’s correct, Liam,” X says with a nod. “Lucas went down first because he was outside. I suppose the doc and our brothers found Kaspar and Slade inside, too? That’s lucky as fuck.”
