“How long are we here?” Ana asked.
“Until you crash and burn or until we think you’re ready to go out into the world.”
“Hey, I’m ready now,” Bruce said.
“You might be ready on the fighting side,” I told him, though I doubted it. I had a feeling he could do with a take down from Cutter. “But you also need the knowledge that goes with being a Hunter. So there will be book learning, too. I know,” I added in response to their groans. “It’s not my thing, either.”
“We’ll start out training and studying,” Eric said.
“When do we get to fight?” Bruce asked.
“Maybe tomorrow. We’ll check the news, see where there might be some newly made demons.”
“Seriously?” Ren said.
“No better way to learn than in the fight,” he said. “And San Diablo has a High Demon population, so it’s a good place to get your feet wet.”
“That’s so cool. And we really live here?” Ana asked. “For free? And you feed us, too?”
“So long as you’re in the Academy, yes. That means you’re doing the work and improving. Got it?”
They all nodded, including Allie, Mindy, and Eliza.
I went over the list of who lived on site, and explained that we were still short-staffed. “The kitchen help won’t arrive for another few days, but we do have housekeeping—that doesn’t mean you get to trash your rooms—and there’s a maintenance team if you have any problems with computers, plumbing, lights, anything. For help with weapons, access to training rooms or the rare book section of the library after hours, you see an instructor. Got it?”
Again, they nodded, and I was starting to be a little bit proud of myself. This headmistress thing was going okay.
“Everyone follow Laura,” I continued. “She’s going to give you the tour and end at the dorms. You’ll have to decide among yourselves who gets which bed.”
I turned and saw one of the furniture assembly guys standing a few yards behind me with a clipboard. A supervisor, I assumed, and I frowned, realizing I should have put someone with them to prevent this kind of wandering. But if he overheard anything he considered odd, it wasn’t showing on his face.
“Perfect timing,” I told the kids, with a nod toward the supervisor. “Looks like your desks are all assembled, right?”
The supervisor nodded, and I headed over to sign, only to spring backward when he lashed out with the clipboard, the sharp, metal edge slicing only inches from my throat. “Bitch!” he howled. “You think you can increase their numbers? We shall cut them all down.”
“The hell you will,” I growled as I steadied myself, spun around, and used the momentum to plant a serious kick right in the middle of his chest.
He stumbled, then fell flat on his back. I leaped on him, immediately smelled his rotten, demon breath, then realized I had no weapon.
I grimaced, but decided what the hell, then jammed my forefinger right into his eye socket. Good lesson for the students, right?
Immediately, the air shimmered as the demon left the body to fade back into the ether.
Done.
Except not so much. Because when I turned, I saw the full furniture assembly crew burst out from the corridor that led to the dorms. At least a dozen, and every last one of them was looking for blood.
8
“Allie!” I called. “Behind you!”
She whipped around in time to see a ponytailed assembly worker toss Ren to the ground. “Jared! Knife!”
He threw it, and she caught and redirected it so fast I could barely make out the movements. But the end result was clear enough—the knife went straight through the demon’s eye, and in that moment, it went limp, dropping Ren, who was sprawled on the floor, his eyes wide with awe.
“Get up,” Allie shouted, running to take his hand. I headed that way, too, passing Marcus, who landed a blow on a demon who was barreling toward Ana, and knocking him off course.
“Got him,” Eric said, pulling the sword from his cane and stabbing the diverted demon in the eye.
