“The potion was assembled by me, the Gemini, and the Kitsune when the bear succumbed to the air in Hell. Luckily, your bird doesn’t need it.But it has been stated over and over by now that the caliphate, including Prince Jasper, forgot to deal with Hell’s built-in security for non-demons.”
I almost knock over my scotch bottle as I scramble to get up. “Lucas succumbed to what now?!”
Dank raises his gloved hand, waving it to dismiss my panic. “Do not fret, Madame. The three of us gave him the tincture, and then your professor took it as well. After that, we traveled to the siren and the dragon. Now I am here to administer the last bit to you. It has not become a problem for you as you came here and stayed inside, but it will eventually suffocate you.”
“Oh, fuck, they talked about that once…” Kat looks upset as she wrings her hands. “I forgot about it, too. I’m sorry, guys. My… revelation caused a rift in the caliphate and communication broke down. If that’s distracting all of them as you said… it’s why they didn’t remember, either.”
“Master Kit, apologies are very mature, but I have watched the heirs and now you stumble over a simple mistake. One with negative consequences, to be certain, but not one that needs constant groveling.”
Well, look at this guy, teaching the kiddo how to behave like he’s her father; I’ll be damned.
I jump in to save the geezer, smiling my agreement at Kat. “Your friend is right. We don’t think you or your men did this on purpose, right, Rogue?”
“Affirmative, M. There was a lot of chaos when we arrived, and the decision to bring your fam along was sudden. Shit happens; we get that.” The Fae beams as she takes another drink of her wine, and then says, “This booze won’t affect smelly stuff, will it? Morgana’s had a lot of that expensive scotch.”
The doctor chuckles again, shaking his head so feathers fly through the air. “No, it will not. An astute query, but she will be fine.” He pauses for a moment, staring at the floor in a mannerthat Ithinkis intense. “Is that bundle a re-birthed phoenix? It has been many centuries since I have seen one in this state.”
Kat takes the bowl he pulls out of his robes as he offers it, bringing it to me as she replies, “Yeah, Rogue’s mate went boom and now he’s a very loud, opinionated naked bird. Do you know how long this process will take or what it will look like, Dank? ‘Cause Rogue doesnot.”
“Hey, I didn’t even know he coulddothis shit. Don’t blame me.”
Dank gestures for me to sip the remaining contents of the bowl, and I sigh, holding my nose with one hand. Once I’m drinking the foul shit, he answers our friend. “Yes, I am very well versed in that process—in fact, I went through it many times prior to the curse.”
Excuse me, what?!
I almost spit out my potion as the flaming bird guy basically admits he was once a phoenix—or sort of one, I don’t know—and the bony physician gives me a reproachful look. After I get it down, I wipe my mouth and say what everyone has to be thinking as they gawp at him. “You were a… phoenix at one time?”
“I am an early demon/shifter hybrid, yes. However, in those dark times, creating one such as me was not as simple as it is now. Demons do not procreate their young in the same way as other species, and the process had not been perfected yet. Hence, I am considered cursed by my form.” The doctor doesn’t seem emotional about it in any way, despite the fact that he is telling us the skeletal, flaming body he lives in was basically experimentation.
“Dank…” Kat says as she turns to walk over to the ancient being, kneeling on the floor to look up at him. “They made you this way by accident? Really?”
“Indeed, Master Kit. It was so long ago that you won’t find anyone involved lingering around, but yes. I am a remnant of a time when many species were doing unthinkable things to find out what results they’d get. I believe it is also the reason they made such strict laws on the surface about breeding.” He gives her a smile as he pats her hand. “Do not fret! I accepted that fate long before the current occupants of the court were even twinkles in their parents’ eyes.”
Arching a brow, I study the doctor carefully for a moment before I ask, “Does that mean you have a clue about Kat’s provenance that you haven’t shared?”
“I have ideas about many things, Madame Morgana, but I think you know it is best not to tempt the universe when a plan is in place to prevent chaos and death. Much of what is happening now is centuries or millennia in the making; I would not dare to derail fortunes written in the stars and flames.”
No one told me this guy was a goddamn fortune teller or I wouldn’t have asked—awesome.
Thirty-Two
IGGY
The prince insisted that Lucas, Damon, and my grumpy dragon follow their doctor to help him convince the others to ingest the potion. That left me with him, three of his demon buddies, and Slade—something that probably isn’t a big deal, but it feels very uneven. I understand why, though, as this door has been eluding my magic, demon magic, and the combined effort of siren magic. It feels like it’s eternally welded shut, and I have no idea what we’re going to do.
“Perhaps we are approaching it wrong,” the elder Gemini says as he scowls at the damn thing. “When the prince and his brothers found my family, we were attempting to open the restricted section in the library. Our determination was that not only demon magic, but other kinds were used to create the ‘lock’ that prevented us from getting in. We are using different types of magic on this one, but we haven’t tried varied methods as well.”
Slade scratches his chin as he peers at the door from his spot on the floor. He’s been down there examining it since we started attempting to get it open, and I’m not sure why. “You know, Angelo, that might be something. Maybe this lock is notmagically combined as the library one, but rather is kept shut through assumptions demons would make.”
The Kitsune blinks, his tails swishing as he thinks that over. “Jasper, they may have cracked it. Students do not always have access to various magic types; if the owner of this studio used them, it would identify them as either a hybrid or someone who is not a student at Discordia. That means they may have used physical, magical, and technological methods of sealing the fucking thing to trick us.”
I snort as I look at the four residents of this realm incredulously. “Are you saying that no one has tried to just pick the damn thing yet? Because that’s a go-to where we are from, and I can’t…” I run my fingers through my hair as I laugh, shaking my head. “And none of you is the thief, right?”
“No, but I actually listen when he talks,” Anton says with a smug smile. “I have a small lock pick set in my pocket. Oriel is constantly reminding us that we should have one if we are sneaking around, no matter where we are. He was certain magic dependency would fail us at some point, and I am shocked to find that he was actually correct.”
The studious one is off-the-charts smart—that much is clear to my professor's heart.
“Excellent job, Annie,” the prince murmurs, and I watch as the peacock looks at him in shock. “Unfortunately, it means we will have to tell Oriel of his victory, which will be absolutely unbearable for weeks.”
