Chapter 8 #2
Olivia gestured to a narrow table tucked against the wall that I’d never noticed. It held several items I could recognize as… well, mage stuff. Then there was something else I didn’t recognize and it was aglow and pulsing with magic… as a scroll of paper slowly appeared.
“Just what is… that?”
“Our new fax machine!” Yuri said, jumping up and down, then squealed when she nearly spilled her drink everywhere.
“Since when does Hell have fax machines?” I asked.
Olivia grinned at me. “Since about six months ago and we figured out a magical way to do things done in the human realm.”
“But magic isn’t in the human realm. At least not naturally.” I didn’t think. It was still a bit confusing how all that worked and how the realms were connected.
“Don’t you ever feel like technology and magic aren’t so different sometimes?”
“They can fly, too,” Yuri added after a sip of her blood orange mimosa. “Inside airplanes and happy-choppers, but it’s still flying.”
“Helicopters,” I said, smiling at her terminology.
“Or choppers. And… yeah, I guess you’re right.
” Rising, I went to examine this Hell-made fax.
It wasn’t plugged in, which made sense. There wasn’t exactly a plethora of electrical sockets in Hell.
But there was a faint glow from within and I felt the prickle of magic. “Well, I have to admit… this is cool.”
Olivia snatched up the scroll after it finished printing, then grinned. “It’s our new class schedules.”
“Oh!” Yuri exclaimed, crowding over her shoulder to read the scroll. “Do we have the same homeroom?”
“Excuse me.” Shaking my head, I asked, “Did you say classes? Don’t we kind of have other problems? Like Cole? Calamity?” Cole only gave me a week. I didn’t have time to worry about pop quizzes and extra credit.
Olivia met my gaze, her features calm. “You’ve got no idea what you’ll be facing with Cole. Or Calamity. Or the other problems in Hell. Lil, there’s so much depending on you. And you need to figure out just who you are and what you can do… don’t you think?”
“But…” Turning my head, I looked out the window, seeking out that pale, almost invisible glimmer of the barrier. “What about the demon attacks?”
She waved that away. “We’ve been handling those for a while. We can keep handling them—it’s good practice for the newer students, too.”
I looked at her. “Is that a joke?”
“No.” She snorted.
“We wish it was.” Yuri nudged my bare foot with hers.
“Most of us are completely green and don’t know how to handle the fighting.
This is a good way to learn.” She knocked back the last of her blood orange mimosa, then frowned at it.
A vampire probably couldn’t get drunk and for someone like Yuri, that was pretty unfortunate.
“Not that I think we’ll ever have enough time to prepare for the shit that’s coming.
But we’ll try, right? At least until Lucifer comes and kills us all in a week. ”
“Cole’s bluffing.” Olivia gave her a chiding look. “With Lily here, and her mother on the way with reinforcements, we’re strong enough to withstand whatever they want to throw at us.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell Olivia I questioned if my mother was really going to come save us. She had to know that I was back. She hadn’t come yet, so I wasn’t going to count on anyone but myself to get us through this.
And despite Olivia’s confidence in me, the biggest achievement I had done today was drop from my window like a stone.
“I think I’ll go back to bed and start this day over,” I said, dragging myself back to the mountain of pillows and sheets.
Before I could bury myself and pretend none of this was happening, Olivia shoved the scroll into my face. “Your schedule is on here too, Lily.”
I stared at it.
Olivia went through the schedule with me, pointing out each class and telling me which one I’d share with one—or more—of my mates.
“Advanced magic for advanced practitioners,” I said skeptically, reading the name of one course off before looking at Olivia. “That sounds more up your alley.”
“I’m a TA.” She grinned at me. “But I’m in a different group when you’re scheduled for it.
And, Lily? You need that class. You don’t use magic the way Hendrik and I do, or even Dante, but you do use it—it’s in your blood.
And you’ve had people use it against you.
Knowledge is a powerful tool and you need it in your arsenal. ”
“You sound like you’re enjoying classes a bit too much,” I complained. She’d always been one of those obnoxiously perfect students and it seemed a year to focus on her studies had made her shine. Literally.
Sighing, I looked over the rest of the courses. “Wait…” Squinting to make sure my tired brain wasn’t playing tricks, I read it again. “Does that say flight lessons?”
“Hmm. Fancy that. Maybe the Dean found one of those teachers she was talking about after all.” Olivia took the schedule and rolled it up, quickly changing the subject. “You should get ready. Based on this, you’re going to need some prep—and your first class is with Logan.”
A muffled snort came from Yuri’s direction and I shot her a puzzled look. “What?”
“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.” She darted a glance at Olivia, which prompted me to do the same.
“What am I missing?” I asked, already dreading the response.
“Nothing.” Olivia waved me over to the wardrobe. “You need to get dressed. As cute as you look in yesterday’s clothing, even with the wrinkles, you probably want to make a better impression.”
“Control freak,” I muttered.
“You know you love me.” Olivia blew me a kiss and turned to the wardrobe, hauling it open.
“Those wings are going to pose a problem,” Olivia said after pulling out three different tops and held them up.
Remembering my free-fall out the window, I muttered, “You just noticed?”
Yuri snickered. Olivia sighed. “I guess they are more problematic for you. But I was talking about clothing. Example…”
She held up a purple sweater that would have looked cute, if I could have gotten it on.
The weight of my wings felt even more acute than before and I groaned. “Yeah, there’s no way I’ll ever wear a sweater again.”
“All right.” Olivia closed the doors to her wardrobe. “It’s time to get serious.”
I had no idea what she meant and watched in bemusement as she made her way over to her own wardrobe. “Um, Olivia…? There’s nothing of yours that will…”
“Hey!” Yuri cut in as my voice trailed off, because the halter top Olivia pulled out was definitely not something Olivia would have worn.
Olivia waved a hand dismissively at Yuri. “You never wear these, even though you buy them from the Earth shipments all the time.”
“Fine.” Yuri scowled as her gaze flicked over me. “Although, I think it’s totally your color, anyway.”
Olivia managed to shove me into the bathroom and ordered me to shower and change. Wedging into the stall proved difficult with wings. At least the water rolled off of my feathers, preventing them from being waterlogged. When I dried, I appreciated that they remained soft and dry.
After dressing in the outfit Olivia had provided—a high-waisted skirt and revealing halter—I felt more like myself. I was part-succubus and dressing cute never bothered me. Instead, it made me feel more alive.
Checking myself out in the mirror, I perked up.
The rouching on the sides of the skirt added an odd sort of elegance, maybe, but in a bad-ass sort of way.
Actually, everything about my image looked bad-ass. Including the dark wings flaring out from my back.
“Not bad,” I murmured, unable to keep from grinning. Today was going to be one hell of a test, but now I felt more than prepared to face it.
And my mates? Well, they’d better be prepared to face me.