He stood at the door of his classroom, watching me scurry away without a blink, twitch, or expression on his face. Without the sea of shouting, shoving, swearing chaos, there was only me... and him.
And Sabrina,I thought as she stuck her head out of my collar.I’ve been reckless, but not anymore. All I’ve got to do is heed her advice and everything will be—
“You’re doomed, human.”
I tripped on air. “What?! What are you talking about?”
“He chose caution and reputation today, but he has the smell of your blood in his cold, withered veins now. For one blissful, heady moment, the one thing he’s desired most in the last three hundred yearsss was within his reach. Do you truly imagine he’d let it walk out the door that easily? No,” she hissed. “Now, he will wait, he will watch, and when there is no doubt... he will strike.”
Cold, naked fear poured over me like ice water. “But—but if I’m careful—”
“No,” Sabrina said softly, silently slithering back into my shirt. “It is too late. Much, much too late.”
Rounding the corner out of the hallway, Radu disappeared, and I slammed into a hard chest.
“No!” I shouted, flailing wildly. “Get off! Get off!”
“Whoa, chill out.” Firm,warmhands gripped my wrist. “And seriously, what are you?” Tristian shook me like a tambourine. “Why are you so weak?”
I broke free, breathing hard. “What’s up? What’s going on?” I couldn’t say it, but I’d never been so happy to see anyone in my entire life. Superhuman speed or not, Tristan fought and killed dozens upon dozens of demons in one night. If there was anyone I wanted by my side right then, it was him.
Even if he was covered head to toe in black blood.
“Radu... let us out early. Class is over.”
“I ain’t here about that. It’s something else.” Tristan combed his hair back from his eyes. The wetness on his hands slicked it back—turning his wild look into a sleek one. If my knees weren’t already shaking, they would’ve been then. “I was taking the trash out when I saw something that you need to see.” He turned his back and strode off. “Follow me.”
Confused, I dithered for half a second.What in the world do I need to see in this place?
“You coming?” he called.
I sighed. “Yes,” I replied, picking up my feet. “I’m coming.”
We were a silent pair weaving through the dimmed, maze-like corridors. I put half a mind to mentally charting the route so that I could map it in my notebook, but I had to give up after the fourth time we somehow ended up walking back in the direction we came from.
Finally, we came up on a pair of large, double doors. Once again, the dancing skeletons joined hands around the doorknobs—beckoning us through.
Tristan grasped the knob and stopped. “You said you were looking for a couple of guys, right? One with a scorpion tail, one with a lion’s maw, and one with a horned frog head? Plus a snake and a tiger demon?”
I frowned. “Uh, yeah. Why?”
He threw open the door. “See for yourself.”
I stepped out into light—or at least what passed for light in hell.
Torches rimmed the circle of the courtyard, casting flickering, almost warm light on the black cobblestones. Hell didn’t believe in welcoming places to gather, so there were no benches, no water fountains, no spots to kick back and chill in between classes.
There was just a large fountain of the half man, half goat, dominating all that the eyes could see. He sat atop a throne of intricate beauty, with every curve, groove, and design etched into the stone with unmistakable mastery of craft. The goat-man held a long sword in one hand, a spear in the other, and an open book lay across his lap.
Water shot through the tip of the sword and spear... or, forgive me, I assumed it was water, but with the bodies impaled on both, the only thing flowing from the statue to the basin was blood.
Something dark, cold, and insidious gripped me as my feet carried me closer—the only parts of me still working after numb fingers let my bookbag and notebook slip onto the ground.
...man-sized scorpion tail attached to his tailbone... a lion’s maw where a mouth should be... a frog demon... a tiger demon... and a snake demon...
My gaze slid over all the bodies impaled, draped, or lying across the goat-man’s lap. All the demons who broke in and kidnapped my sister were here... and they were dead.
“How...?” I whispered, looking into the scorpion demon’s lifeless red eyes. “Why?”
