Chapter 6 Nyx
NYX
The tantalizing scent of hot, fresh food overwhelms me as soon as she opens the door.
I’ve never seen this much food in one place in my life.
It’s all I can do to follow Tori when she grabs a tray and I marvel at the opulence: buffet tables of breads, cereals, fruits, toppings, juice, meat and eggs.
My stomach turns, torn between craving and dreading the unfamiliar excess around me.
Instinct wars with logic—I want to take one of everything in case I don’t get another chance, a hard-won lesson learned from foster homes with locked pantries and group homes with too many mouths to feed.
I take as many snacks as I can fit in my pocket without arousing Tori’s suspicion, and load my tray with a muffin, some fruit, and a yogurt with granola to start.
I can’t trust my body to handle the rich food taunting my senses.
After she pours herself some juice, Tori leads up to a table against the wall of the cavernous room so we can people watch as others filter in after us.
I glance at her tray, loaded with everything I wish I could stomach.
“Is it like this every morning?” I hedge, hoping that my food insecurity isn’t obvious.
“Usually there are more people. Some students portal home for the weekends.” Because of course they do.
“Please tell me you weren’t volun-told to stay here and play tour guide just for me?”
She chuckles and shakes her head. “Don’t worry about it. I was staying on campus for a project anyway, and this isn’t the first time I’ve helped with a new student.” I nod, relieved she doesn’t seem to resent showing me around today.
We settle into a comfortable silence as the most delicious food I’ve ever had confounds my tastebuds.
Others trickle through the hall, and more than a few curious looks are thrown my way.
Unobtrusive staff periodically refill the buffet stations and bus tables—it’s surreal to think that was my job less than twelve hours ago.
Sooner than I'd hoped, my stomach begins to protest against the unaccustomed fullness.
“So, what are we doing today?”
“We’ll stop by the Student Union to pick up your uniforms, the library to get your new tech, and then we’ll finish up the tour by taking the long way back so I can show you more of campus.”
“What kind of tech? Also—uniforms? They left that part out,” I grumble, and Tori laughs.
“We can wear our own clothes outside of school hours and on the weekends but otherwise they’re required. And the wards around the school interfere with electronics, so we have modified devices.” I nod as if that’s a totally normal thing to need for living on a magical college campus.
“All set?” she asks, standing with her now empty tray.
I glance longingly at the remaining food on my plate, chastising myself for not being able to finish it.
When we leave the Great Hall, golden sunlight has evaporated the early morning fog, and Tori finally puts me out of my misery as we make our way down the path.
“Just ask me before you hurt yourself.”
“What are you? Is that rude to ask? Augustine never actually told me if it was. What other kinds of whatever-you-call-it are there here? How do you tell what someone is?” She laughs at the deluge of questions.
“I’m a witch with a water affinity, so a water witch.
A witch with an air affinity would be an air witch, so on and so forth.
It’s not rude to ask, but assholes are everywhere so someone’s bound to get offended.
If they do, they probably deserve to be.
It’ll get easier to spot the differences the longer you’re here. ”
I try and fail to disguise my attempt to find any outward sign that she’s a witch. “So… are witches just like humans but with a little extra—" I wiggle my fingers in a vague impression of Captain Jack Sparrow and she laughs, understanding what I don’t yet have words for.
“Kind of. Witches originated after the Fall of Eden, when Lilith made a deal with the Devil and became the Mother of Witches. In the thousands of years since, witches and other Orders have interbred, and now most people have mixed bloodlines, though there still are some “pureblood” covens. Witch blood is prized because of our ability to wield primordial magic, when other Orders can only wield elemental magic depending on their affinity.” I freeze, eyes wide at her casual info dump.
“Shit—sorry. I forgot you don’t know anything yet.” She grimaces. “Wait, that’s not—okay, let me start over. Brace yourself for information overload,” she warns, and despite how fast my head is already spinning, I desperately want her to keep talking.
“All Orders have the ability to channel magic: shifters, demons, angels, witches, vampires—you get the idea.”
“Sure, we’ll go with that.” I scoff as my legs, finally propel me forward again.
“Witches have the ability to wield primordial magic: raw magic pulled directly from the world around us. With it, we can power runes, spells, potions, and other advanced magic like sigils. Other Orders are only able to channel elemental magic for a variety of reasons. The Greeks named these elemental affinities after their classical manifestations: earth, air, fire, water. Vampires are the exception—you’ll probably learn more about them next year since they aren’t as common,” she reassures, registering the shock on my face.
“Shifters used to be able to channel primordial magic but they’ve lost the ability over time, and now they can only wield elemental magic. Where there are a handful of different shifter types, demons come in two flavors: Elemental and Sinful.”
“Like… the seven deadly sins?” I venture, teetering on the edge of losing my shit as she info-dumps cliff notes of the last few millennia.
She nods. “You’ll probably make a lot of connections between our history and ancient mythology as you get farther in your studies, so don’t freak out.
Or at least try not to freak out yet.” I nod as if that’s even an option after the last twenty-four hours.
I’m still not entirely convinced this isn’t some elaborate delusion, but for the sake of the plot I’m just going to roll with it.
“I promise it’ll make more sense. So, before I can explain about demons, you need to know about The Fall.
When the Devil was banished and imprisoned in the realm we call Hell, the most powerful elemental angels who Fell with him became the Elemental Princes.
Their descendants are known as the “Heirs”.
Once he installed himself as King of Hell, he began creating other demons from the essence of Hell—each imbued with elements of the sins that precipitated his Fall: pride, greed, lust, apathy, wrath, gluttony, and envy.
These demons became the Demonic Princes, and their descendants are known as the ‘Legacies’.
” I desperately want to explore the library in the distance, barely reining in the urge to spring towards it as we approach the Student Union instead.
“Don’t worry—we’ll go there next. And I’ll introduce you to the librarian who can help you find some books that explain all this—” she copies my Captain Jack Sparrow finger wiggles from, “in more detail. Anyway—demons. The Elemental Princes were imprisoned and corrupted alongside the Devil, but they were still technically angels. Their descendants found a way to come to Earth and eventually spread their power and influence. Three of the four Heirs currently attend Dreadhurst.” My eyebrows raise—everything she’s said so far just reinforces how ill-equipped I am to survive this fairytale.
“The Demonic Princes, having been created in Hell, couldn’t just climb out like the Elementals.
They had to be summoned by someone who could create and power a “Hellmouth”, a kind of portal that creates a bridge between realms. Any guesses as to who might have been able to create and power a Hellmouth?
” She asks The memory of Augustine drawing runes on my apartment window come to mind.
“Freaking witches.”
“Freaking witches,” she says with a self-satisfied smile, and I actually laugh out loud—a genuine, spontaneous sound I’ve almost forgotten how to make.
“Once the bargains were fulfilled—usually to the detriment of the summoner—archdemons and higher-level demons were essentially free to roam about the cabin. They interbred with Fae, shifters, humans, witches, other demons, and on rare occasion, angels. Most of the mythical creatures and legends throughout human history can be attributed to those kinds of hybrids.” Our conversation is interrupted when someone greets her as we arrive at the Student Union.
The high-end clothing boutique she brings me to seems out of place among the imposing gothic architecture.
When we enter, I feel even more out of place, thinking of how little I have to my name.
“So, uh, not to be rude—which I’ll be the first to admit is rare for me,” I start, and she giggles, “but I don’t think I can afford anything in here.
” I follow her through the racks of clothes, shoes, and everything in between to where an elegantly-dressed woman is ringing up another customer.
When I see the total amount due on the register, I pretend like this girl isn’t spending the equivalent to a couple month’s rent in one transaction.
“Don’t worry—your scholarship will include a stipend for things like this.
Once you get your new computer, you’ll be able to access your student email which should have all the information you need to find your account,” she dismisses easily, and I’m reminded once more of the disparity of my upbringing.