Chapter Three
Ispent the rest of the week holed up in my room—surviving on water from the sink and the leftover snacks Lucifer packed in my suitcases.
My only lifelines keeping me from dissolving into fear were studying my textbooks for any mention of hallows, fire, water, wood, or wind. And talking to Tristan on DeadDrop.
Finding his username was easy since it was literally his name. Back and forth, we talked about easy, simple things like our lives before meeting in Abaddon Academy. I appreciated that for what it was—an attempt to distract me from what awaited me when I finally walked out that door.
Sabrina said it herself, I thought as I flipped through History of Hell for the second time. You can’t expect to stay enrolled in a school if you’re not going to class. She also said holing up in some corner of the manor won’t work either. I have to go to class, or I have to leave Abaddon Academy.
I flicked to my phone for the fiftieth time, jaw clenching as I remembered the only other username allowed to receive messages from mine.
SlthPrncRonin
Whether by accident or on purpose, the unseen headmistress cut me off from one friend, and one scheming vampire bastard.
Ever since, Ronin’s promise to help me whenever I needed it rang louder in my head.
From day one, the other demons have run scared of him.
They don’t look in his direction. They don’t breathe when he’s sleeping.
One word from him, and they won’t touch me.
But that word comes at a price, a voice whispered. A price you are not paying.
I tossed my head, shoving my phone away. I can’t trust Ronin Belphe. He’s had power over me before, and he did not use that power responsibly. What would he do to me when he had me under a spell I couldn’t break?
No. Ronin isn’t the answer. The answer is figuring out who the hallows are, collecting their weird-ass clues, and then getting my sister back.
My phone beeped. A message from Tristan flashed on the screen.
Tristan: I searched for your snake. I picked up the scent, but it’s weeks old. She left the area a while ago, and most likely returned to House Lucifer. No one but those loyal to Lucifer can follow her there.
I groaned, head falling back on my pillow. This news wasn’t too much of a surprise, but I have to admit I was hoping for a miracle. Sabrina was the reason I survived in this place for as long as I did. Without her, I felt even more vulnerable and exposed than I already was.
Me: Thank you for trying.
Gooooonnnnggg!
I about jumped out of my skin, dropping my phone. With classes out for the last few days, the gong hadn’t been rung signaling we had to get our butts moving if we wanted food before classes started. If they were ringing the gong again, that meant classes were starting again—
—and I had to leave this room.
I climbed off the bed, but didn’t take another step.
My feet stuck to the carpet—sinking deeper and holding faster as their braying, animalistic cries echoed in my ears.
What would happen to me if I went out there?
Did I really have to risk it? If I was thrown out of Abaddon Academy, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe—
Maybe the vampires not under Radu’s order will kill me before they tear my limbs apart and lick the blood off my bones.
Groaning, I dropped to my knees—clutching my head. It wasn’t any safer for me outside these walls in a land that didn’t know the words kindness or mercy.
I have to stay, but I’ll be all right. I know how to defend myself. I know how to take care of myself. I’ve done it for years, I won’t stop now.
I repeated that over and over as I forced myself to my feet, then dragged said feet over to the cases.
I didn’t feel the usual twinge of annoyance while I riffled through my ugly outfits, trying to put together something that wasn’t too embarrassing.
Honestly, I wished embarrassing, ugly outfits were the only thing I had to worry about.
As I dressed and got ready, I listened to the movement and chatter outside the door.
Everyone seemed to be rushing about to class. I couldn’t hear any particular voices congregating outside my door. Even so, I waited until there was silence before dismantling my barricade, and stepping outside.
Our eyes connected immediately.
“Oh my gosh, Sabrina!”
She was curled up in front of the opposite door, still and patient like she’d been waiting for me.
“Thank goodness you came back! I couldn’t—”
“I don’t know who Sabrina is,” replied a smooth, honeyed voice. “But I am not she.”
I lurched back, clunking my skull against the doorjamb. “You!”
“What’s the matter, darling?” Lucifer’s voice flowed out of the snake’s mouth. “You don’t look happy to see me.”
“Fuck you!”
He chuckled, but coming from a snake’s maw, it was more of a whispery, hissy sound.
“Forgive me, we would’ve spoken sooner but dreamwalking isn’t as easy as you’d believe.
The god of dreams gets pretty tetchy about invaders on his territory,” he said.
“Possession is much easier for me, but then of course, the enemy of a physical body is a physical gate. I had to wait until they opened the academy so I could slip in with the new students.”
Thud.
I whipped around, hand flying to my doorknob as I peered down the hallway.
“Jumpy, are we?” Another damn laugh. “But you needn’t be. After all, the headmistress and I discussed and made these changes to keep you safe.”
Slowly, stiffly, I turned narrowed eyes on the evil, red-eyed monster. “You,” I hissed. “You little—”
“Uh-ah,” he sang. “I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you. If you’re mean to me, I won’t give you your present.”
“What present!”
“What do you think?” You’d never in your life hear a snake sound so chirpy.
“Your mother has been reading, working, and researching tirelessly over the last few days to narrow down the search for the hallows. She’d had me deliver all of her research to you so that you can get a jumpstart on her theories.
” He scoffed. “She’s a bit of a coddler, isn’t she?
Not a fan of the tough-love approach, she’s got to do everything for you. ”
I hated that even after everything she’d done, the first thought that went through my mind before I stopped it was, Thank you, Mom.
“Where is it, then?” I snapped. “Where’s this research?”
“It’s coming.” His red, reptilian eyes unsettled me. “It’s coming along with my present for you— Well, half of my present for you. If you want the rest, you’ll have to earn it.”
I just rolled my eyes, not even bothering to pay attention to his riddles. I swear, if this angel ever gave a straight answer, he’d die.
“And knowing that,” I muttered, “I still need to ask: why me?”
“Pardon?”
“Why me?” I asked louder. “Why do you need me to find the hallows and figure out the clues for you? You just said my mother’s been working on this, so why do you need me?”
“Trust me, darling, you are not my first choice. Putting my faith in an Avos witch who is not under contract goes against every fiber of my being, but you’d be surprised how particular these things can be,” he said.
“There are creatures and items out there who can’t be seen by those who’ve lost the favor of the gods, can’t be approached by men, and can’t be touched by bloodstained hands.
“It would explain why my centuries of searching came to naught,” he admitted.
“It might even explain why that young and pretty thing was chosen to become the All Hallows while those wizened old crones only shared in the power. You may not believe it, but age can also be a factor. Some beings only bestow their gifts to the young.”
I found myself nodding along.
“Whatever the conditions may be for you to collect the items in the spell, the fact remains that it is your destiny to achieve this power,” he said, “and it’s mine to rip it from you.
“Get the fuck to it, Charlotte Hunter. I am not a patient man.”
“I—!”
Lucifer winked out of existence, leaving me shouting in an empty hallway.
DESPITE MYSELF, I MOVED quickly but quietly through the hallway to the mess hall. Hera knew that was the last place I wanted to be, but I’d been surviving on chips and cookies for the past few days. I needed real food or I was going to pass out, and there was only one place in Abaddon to get that.
Lucifer also said the research on the hallows was on the way. Is it going to be waiting in a bag in my room like last time?
My fists tightened thinking of the person providing that research. What was I supposed to think of my mother now? Should I even keep calling her that? Did titles like that matter when they’re replaced by the worst one there could be: murderer.
I choked on a sob, heart twisting. Yes, Lucifer swore he’d give Dora her normal human life back in exchange for the power of the All Hallows, but that didn’t change the fact that life was taken by our own mother.
What was I supposed to think when I looked back on all those happy childhood memories? The princess birthday party? The butterfly gifts for every celebration? The happiness and love in Mom’s eyes when she held us? The tears in Dad’s eyes when he held Adora for the first time?
Was all of that really a lie? A performance? The whole time, was my mother side-eyeing my sweet, smart, talented little sister... and counting the days until she killed her?
Veering to the right, I clutched the wall as I doubled over and promptly vomited on the floor.
I couldn’t take this. I’d never been more stressed out in my life. More confused. More riddled with grief. More... alone.
I covered my eyes and mouth, trying and failing to hold in my sobs.
Even after losing my parents in the accident, I didn’t sink this low because I knew I wasn’t alone. I had Dora and she needed me to be strong for her. But now...
I not only lost my entire family. I’d lost the life I thought we had together.