Darkblood Academy: Book Three: Demons Read online

  His words stung worse than a slap. Maybe one that I needed, but still. I didn’t want to hear that from him, especially not right now. I jumped up, grabbing my backpack. “I knew coming here tonight was a mistake.”

  He lunged for my arm, stopping me before I made it two feet away from the couch. “Then why did you come?” His icy fingers frosted my skin, sending tingles up my arm.

  I glanced up at him, tears welling in my eyes. “Because you’re right. I have been slacking, and I wanted to fix that. I’m trying, okay? I’m sorry if my pesky human emotions keep getting in the way.”

  He loosed a frustrated breath and released his iron hold on my arm. “Just come sit down so we can get to work.”

  “Fine.”

  I settled back on the couch, and Drake followed suit. He pulled the Advanced Spellcraft textbook from his backpack and handed it to me.

  “Nope. Let’s start with Demon History. I should probably cram in as much knowledge as I can before our next face off with Luxora.”

  “Good.” A crooked smile crossed the ice prince’s face, and a tiny blip of emotion tightened his cord.

  We spent hours studying, but the time flew by surprisingly quickly. When I slammed the Advanced Spellcraft book shut, I was exhausted. I didn’t think I could stuff another spell in my head. My brain was overflowing with defensive and offensive enchantments of the light and dark varieties. I was ready for exams, and most importantly, I was ready for Luxora.

  Drake’s phone buzzed, and I was about to make a snarky comment about a midnight booty call when mine went off. We both glanced at our screens, our eyes widening to matching sizes.

  Lucifer was here.

  Chapter 25

  Drake and I raced through the quiet corridors to Cillian’s office. Neither of us said a word until we reached the administration wing. My mind had been swirling with the terrifying but thrilling fact that I was about to meet Lucifer—the actual devil, first fallen angel, and ruler of the Underworld.

  By the dark lines carved into Drake’s face, his thoughts were churning as well. On what was anyone’s guess.

  “You ready?” I asked him as we reached the foyer leading to the headmaster’s office. Darby’s desk was empty. Apparently, this hadn’t been a scheduled visit.

  “I’m always ready, human.”

  I closed my hand around the antique doorknob then spun back. “Have you ever met Lucifer before?”

  “Once.” His eyes glazed over, and I assumed that was all the information I was getting on the topic. “Come on.” His hand closed over mine, turning the knob and he practically shoved me inside.

  My feet had decided they wanted nothing to do with the great and powerful Lucifer. My heart raged in my chest as I crossed the threshold. I wasn’t sure what exactly I’d been expecting to see, but this wasn’t it.

  Cillian and Lucifer sat across from each other in front of the roaring fireplace. The flames and a small desk lamp barely lit up the large room. My headmaster swirled a caramel-colored beverage in his glass, the ice tinkling along the edges and the prince of hell puffed on a cigar. They spoke in hushed tones, their curious gazes turning to us as we entered.

  “Luna, Drake, thank you for coming.” Cillian tipped his head in our direction and lowered his glass.

  I’d seen Lucifer on Hitched, but I was in no way prepared for his overwhelming presence in person. Dressed in a sleek onyx three-piece suit that matched the dark luster of his hair, his beauty was devastating. Brilliant blue eyes that made Cillian’s seem average pierced into me as I walked in. The cut of his jaw was perfection, every single angle of his face as flawless as if it were precisely sketched. A broad smile flashed across his flawlessly sculpted lips highlighting a set of irresistible dimples. Holy hotness. How could the devil be this gorgeous?

  Placing his cigar on the ashtray, he rose as I approached and extended his hand. I hesitated, a part of me worried he’d bite it off or something horrifying like that, but then his smooth voice filled the air and I was hopelessly mesmerized. “Ah, you must be the famous Luna Hallows.”

  I giggled as heat burned my cheeks. Yes, actually giggled. What sort of freakish powers did this fallen angel have?

  “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” He dropped a chaste kiss on my hand, and a zap of electricity crept over my skin. Completely inappropriate thoughts of Ryder’s father flashed across my mind. Stop it! Blinking rapidly, I chased away the naughty images.

  “You too,” I mumbled.

  A wry smile curled Lucifer’s luscious lips as he finally released my hand and me from his fierce gaze. He swiveled to Drake. “And the Fae prince.” His eyes trailed over him for a moment. “The last time I saw you, you were merely a boy.”

  Something between a scowl and a tight smile twisted Drake’s lips. “How could I forget?”

  “Where are the others?” I asked. I thought the whole team had been summoned.

  Cillian’s eyes darted to Lucifer. “This is a very preliminary meeting. I didn’t think it was necessary to bring everyone in on it. As a matter of fact, I’d hoped to keep this between the two of us, but my dear brother had other plans.”

  “Yes. Please, come sit, both of you.” Lucifer motioned toward the leather couch, and Drake and I slid past him further into the dimly lit room. The leather squeaked beneath my jeans as I folded down into the soft material. The devil sat across from us, his gaze still heavy on mine. He searched my eyes as if they held the answers to all the mysteries of the universe. “I wanted to thank you,” he finally murmured. His voice was like honey, wrapping me in its sticky sweet embrace.

  “Thank me?” I squealed.

  “Yes. Cillian has told me what you did for my son, Ryder.”

  All the moisture in my mouth evaporated, and I swallowed thickly. Drake tensed beside me, the muscle in his thigh pressed up against mine straining.

  “It was nothing.”

  “Don’t be modest, dear Luna. Cillian has kept me apprised of the situation for some time now. I wanted to spare Ryder’s mother the pain of his actions, and you accomplished that. First you convinced the King of the Fae to drop the charges so he could be released from prison and then you gave him the very thing no one else could: hope.”

  The intensity burning in his eyes was too much. I dropped my gaze and picked at my chipped nail polish. “Your son saved me countless times. I was only returning the favor.”

  “I see.” He crossed his legs, his gaze never deviating. It moved over me like a laser, leaving a scorching trail behind. “Regardless, I’m appreciative and have therefore decided to step in on this unfortunate situation with my daughter.”

  “You’ll help us stop Luxora?”

  He licked his lips and reached for the cigar once again. The pungent, sweet smell filled the air as he took a puff. “You see, dear Luna, this is a difficult situation for me. Luxora is my flesh and blood after all. She may be a conniving little hellion, but she’s still mine. I can, however, offer you safe passage into the Underworld. At this point, it’s the best I can do. Once you’re there, I cannot have any part in what happens next.”

  “Lucifer’s conditions are fair,” Cillian interjected. “But even with his help, infiltrating the sixth realm will not be easy. Luxora is surrounded by her demons and extracting her will be difficult to say the least.”

  “Extracting?” asked Drake.

  Cillian’s light brows furrowed as a scowl contorted his lips. “I’ve promised Lucifer we will do everything in our power to keep Luxora alive. She is half-human after all.”

  “And what would you do with her? Throw her in jail?” Drake snarled.

  “Yes, precisely.”

  “But Ash and twenty-seven other students are dead because of her,” I snapped.

  “And we are not Luxora.” Cillian’s azure eyes blazed. “We do not require a kill for a kill. She is to be stopped, and that’s what is most important.”

  “That’s pretty ironic coming from an angel,” Drake muttered. “Don’t you adhere to
the eye for an eye proverb from the bible?”

  Cillian leveled Drake with an icy blue glare that put the prince’s trademark look to shame.

  My shoulders sagged, and I slumped back against the couch. After all the pain she’d caused, I wanted her dead. A dark voice demanded it from the deepest corners of my mind. “So what now?” I asked. “When do we go?”

  “I will be in touch in the next few days,” said Lucifer. “Infiltrating the sixth realm of the Underworld is no easy feat as you can imagine. It will take a little while to organize.”

  “Fine,” said Cillian, rising.

  Lucifer didn’t move, happily puffing on his cigar.

  “It’s getting late, brother. If you don’t mind.” Cillian glanced at the door and back.

  “Oh, Cil, I was hoping we could catch up a bit more. It’s been so long after all.”

  Well, that’s my cue to leave. I stood, and Drake followed behind me. “Cillian’s right. It’s way past my bedtime.” I stifled a pretend yawn and waved at the pair of angels.

  There was no way Lucifer was letting me go that easily. Slinking off his chair, he sauntered toward me and my pulse skyrocketed. Fixing me in his penetrating gaze, he took my hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you, dear Luna. I hope it won’t be the last.” Brushing his lips against the top of my hand once again, he finally released me.

  “You too,” I mumbled before hightailing it out of there. I almost felt bad leaving Cillian to deal with him alone.

  I barely heard Lucifer and Drake saying their goodbyes before the prince appeared beside me as I darted down the steps toward the main hall.

  “You okay?” he asked, sidling up beside me.

  “Yeah. He’s super intense, huh?”

  Drake nodded. “That’s one way of putting it.”

  I needed to know more about the last time he’d met the devil, but there was something in the dark shadows lining Drake’s eyes that warned me now was not the right time.

  My lids drooped as weariness overtook my body. I’d been exhausted before this impromptu meeting. I’d have to put my questions for the prince on hold for now.

  “You should be happy.” Drake bumped his shoulder against mine as we traversed the main hall to cross over to the dorms. “This is what you wanted—to go to the Underworld to finally take on Luxora.”

  “I know. I just… I don’t know. Can we really trust Lucifer?”

  He shrugged nonchalantly. “The prince of hell doesn’t do anything out of the goodness of his heart. Don’t think for a second that he agreed to this because of what you did for Ryder. He wants Luxora dethroned as much as we do. He just can’t do it without causing an uproar in the Underworld.”

  “You think so?”

  “I’m positive.”

  For some reason that made me feel better. The enemy of my enemy is my friend—wasn’t that how the saying went? In this case, Lucifer was about to become our bestie.

  Chapter 26

  It had been the longest eight days of my life as we waited to hear back from the mysterious Lucifer. The never-ending training could’ve also been the culprit. Calliope, Logan and even Cillian drilled us day and night in combat and defensive magic. Even Professor Arcana had been brought in to teach us some of the darker spells our headmaster generally frowned upon.

  All bets were off now.

  So as the words we awaited drifted from Cillian’s lips, I could hardly believe it was finally happening. We were going to the Underworld.

  The eight of us stood against the far wall of the training center with our instructors on either side of us. Calliope and Logan were just as invested as we were. They’d put in more blood, sweat and tears than we had with the solo and team training sessions. I’d grown to like Logan more and more each day, and while Calliope and I still had our moments, I respected the warrior angel.

  “So when do we go?” asked Zephyr.

  “Tomorrow at daybreak.” Cillian’s arms strained over his chest. “Lucifer has arranged for the portal wards at the edge of the fifth realm to malfunction long enough for Luna to transport us inside. We have a very brief window where it will remain open. We need to travel to the sixth realm, capture Luxora and get back before the wards are re-established. Lucifer couldn’t guarantee an exact timeline, but he’s estimating a few hours max before someone notices the malfunction and gets them back up and running.”

  “What about the oracle?” asked Raine. “Won’t Luxora see us coming?”

  “Lucifer has already taken care of that as well, which is what took him so long to get back to us. The great oracle of the sixth realm along with its powerful seer has mysteriously gone missing.”

  “Convenient,” said Drake. “And how exactly are we planning to capture the dark lord?”

  Everyone had been pretty pissed when they’d heard that stipulation of the plan. I wasn’t the only one that wanted revenge for Ash’s death along with all the other students.

  Cillian held up a glass vial. A shimmering black potion coated the inside. “Professor Arcana has whipped up a paralyzing concoction of our own. He’s guaranteed she’ll be rendered unconscious and harmless in seconds.”

  “Great.” I rubbed my hands together, my clammy palms sticking. “Can’t wait to get this show on the road.”

  “No training or classes for the rest of the day,” continued Cillian. “I want you all well rested for tomorrow’s early start.”

  A chorus of whoops rang out from the supe slayer squad. I was actually disappointed. Mind-numbing classes or even a good workout would’ve been the distraction I needed.

  The team filed out and I followed behind, but Cillian’s beckoning finger stopped me. I swerved toward my headmaster as the door slammed shut behind our instructors.

  “What’s up?”

  “I thought you’d like another update on Ryder’s progress.”

  My lips thinned out. “Umhmm,” I muttered. I couldn’t fill my headmaster in on L.A.R. 2.0. He’d think I was certifiable. And he’d probably be right.

  “I spoke to the director of the rehab center this morning, and he said Ryder’s improvement has been astounding. He’s never seen such a remarkable recovery. If things continue as they have been, he’s convinced he’ll be able to recommend his release in as little as a few weeks.”

  My brows shot to my hairline, my mouth forming a capital O. “A few weeks?”

  “That’s what he said.”

  About a million conflicting emotions wrestled in my chest. “Wow, that’s incredible.” I chewed on my lower lip. “So what happens once he’s released?”

  “He’ll have to continue mandatory weekly sessions with a rehab counselor for the foreseeable future, and then he’ll start on his Tribunal-appointed community service.”

  I nodded. “Will he ever be able to return to the academy?”

  Cillian’s lips puckered. “That’s highly doubtful, Luna. As forgiving as King Elrian has been, his good graces only extend so far—regardless of Kimmie-Jayne’s powers of persuasion.” A smirk crossed his lips when he spoke my sister’s name.

  I tried to hide the disappointment bubbling up inside. Which was stupid. I knew things couldn’t ever go back to normal. I should’ve been happy Ryder was doing so well. And I was.

  “Thanks for the update, Cillian. I’m really glad he’s going to be out of there soon.”

  “I owe you a thank you for saving my nephew as well.” He cleared his throat, his cheeks flushing. “I know it wasn’t easy for you to see him given…um… what transpired between you two.”

  Now I was sure crimson coated my cheeks as heat rushed to the surface. I inhaled a breath, cooling my insides. “You don’t have to thank me. I told you I owed him. Now we can all move on.”

  “Yes, exactly.” He motioned toward the training room door and ushered me out. “Get some rest, Luna. We’ll all need to be in top form tomorrow.”

  The icy blast of air cooled my cheeks as I trudged out into the snow. Cillian headed toward the main hall, but instead of
returning to the dorms, I deviated to the stables. Nervous energy bounced around my insides, and I didn’t think anything would pacify the brewing storm.

  A few hours alone with Zeus was the only thing that sounded remotely appealing right now. And maybe a brisk flight would tire me out so I could at least get a few hours of sleep tonight.

  The sleeping thing didn’t happen. It was almost worst than the night before going to visit Ryder. Almost.

  Before dawn, I trudged out into the middle of the Fae forest with the entire supe slayer squad. I could barely keep my eyes open. This did not bode well for the mission.

  When we reached a thick copse of woods with a dark canopy of evergreens blocking the pale moon above, Cillian halted our march. Pivoting to me, he glanced at his watch and then signaled me forward. “It’s time.”

  I traipsed past my team and stood beside him, summoning my magic as I went. It flickered below the surface, eager to burst free. One of my abilities I had been particularly focusing on was opening and closing portals. It had become like second nature now.

  I flicked my wrist palm up, and a shimmery orb swelled to life. Tossing it to the snow-covered ground, the ball expanded into a brilliant, spiraling portal.

  “Nice,” said Scarlett, shooting me a reassuring smile. She’d undoubtedly heard me tossing and turning all night long.

  Cillian stepped forward, his massive figure outlined by the swirling aqua of the portal. “We’ll cross into the fifth realm without the safety of the cloaking spell to conserve our energy for when we’ll need it most. Everyone be ready. We have no idea what we’ll encounter when we land. Lucifer assured me the spot was relatively desolate, but we don’t want to be caught unaware.”

  Everyone nodded, weapons clanging at their sides from the movement.

  Before Cillian stepped into the portal, he swerved back, his gaze intent on each and every one of us. “I know what I said earlier about capturing Luxora, but if it comes down to her life or yours, do not hesitate. I will handle the brunt from Lucifer later.”