Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Reid
I don’t like this place, at all. And the whole god crap… I don’t know what to think about that either. Yeah, they showed me magic. A teacher actually turned into a snake right in front of me, so I’d have to be crazy not to believe it after seeing it with my own eyes, but I don’t feel any different.
I’m not any different.
Definitely not a god.
I shift on the bed in my new dorm, glancing out the window at the flowering garden cloaked in moonlight.
Everything about this place has a ‘too perfect to be real’ feel, which kind of sets me on edge even more.
I don’t know anything about magic, but what if all of this has been fabricated?
What if it’s a kind of spell or something?
I’ve been dropped into a world that I know nothing about, and if it wasn’t for Izzy being here, I would’ve turned around and walked right out. Hell, prison might be better than this strange place, with its glaring students and its strange teachers.
Maybe when I see her and the guys I’ll feel better. But I kind of doubt it.
My phone rings, even though it’s late. My mom’s name flashes on the screen, and I take a deep breath and answer it.
“Hey.”
“Hi.” She sounds like she’s been crying, and guilt washes over me all over again. She and Aiden are both in so much pain, and I’m always useless to fix it, no matter how hard I try. “How is it there?”
“It’s nice,” I say.
“Reid…”
“I mean it, Mom, the school is really nice. It doesn’t look like a reform school but then, it’s for rich kids.
The campus is beautiful. I got my class schedule, and I’m registered for everything I planned on signing up for in college anyway.
” I take a deep breath, trying to sound cheery.
“I know this wasn’t what we planned, but it’s okay. ”
“I just…. You’ve always been such a good kid. I worry about Aiden, but never you.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, and I mean it. Life hasn’t been easy for my mom. The last thing I ever wanted to do was add more stress to her life.
“I still don’t understand. Why did you start that fire? Were you trying to burn down the school? Did Aiden...”
She trails off, but of course she blames him. She always blames him, as if he doesn’t blame himself enough. It’s like the day she lost her daughter, she lost Aiden too, even though he’s still here, desperately needing her to love him like she used to.
I run my hand through my messy hair, feeling frustrated. “I told you, it was an accident.”
“That’s not what the police said.”
“I know what they said, but they’re wrong. Trust me. Okay? Even if it’s hard right now.”
She’s quiet for a long minute. “They said the dean of your new school paid to have your high school refurbished. The officer said that’s part of the reason you were given the option of a reform school over jail.”
Because the dean says we’re freaking gods. “That’s lucky.”
“Just…something about this feels wrong. Why did he help you? Why did he want you at his school?”
I hate lying, but I need her to feel okay, to not be worried the whole time we’re gone. “With my grades and everything, he wanted me here.”
“But your brother…”
Yeah, he had zero chance at getting into any college, no less a rich private one. “I made him part of the deal.”
Silence stretches between us for a long minute. “I know it’s selfish, but since your sister died…”
My throat closes. I don’t want to think about that. Not now. Not when I’m already struggling.
“A mother just thinks her daughter will be with her forever. But after…I just wanted you close. I know it’s selfish, but I thought you’d go to a school near me and…. I don’t know.”
I fight through my sadness and try to sound chipper. “It won’t be that long, and then we’ll be back, and you and dad will wish we were gone.”
She doesn’t laugh. “Just be careful. Okay? If I lost you guys too…”
“You’ll never lose us,” I promise.
“Okay.”
“I love you.”
I hear her smile through the phone. “You were always such a good kid.”
“Get some sleep.”
“You too,” she says, and then the phone goes quiet.
I hang up and push off the edge of my bed, shoving my phone angrily into my pocket. Whatever the fuck happened at our high school, it wasn’t our fault. Our mom shouldn’t be crying at home right now, with our dad ignoring her, because of something outside of our control.
Going to the door of my room, I shove it open. Then I walk down the hallway, lined with wooden doors, and step outside. The night is cold, carrying a chill that I feel all the way down to my bones. But the chill is good. It makes me remember that I’m alive. That I’m still me.
As I storm through the campus, which is vibrant with plants and trees and even statues tucked between ivy-covered brick buildings, I hear voices and stop. A couple guys are arguing.
Not my business.
Not my problem.
And then, I hear Izzy’s voice. “Let go of me! Now!”
I’m running for her before I can process what’s going on. When I turn a corner and she comes into view, two guys drag her across campus as she struggles between them. Rage, hot and angry, courses through me.
“Let her go!” I shout.
Both men freeze and look at me, then exchange a glance.
“That another one of the gods?” one guy says.
The other grins. “Yeah, but I bet he doesn’t have his powers yet either.”
“I don’t need magic to kick your asses,” I warn them. Well, there’s a sentence I never expected to say.
They smirk. They don’t believe me. Truth is, Aiden is usually the one who gets into fights; I’d rather play peacemaker or walk away. But I’ve found myself dragged into his messes more than once before. I can hold my own, and I’ll always protect my own.
But there’s something about these guys that sends a ripple of tension through my muscles. My fists clench.
The guy holding Izzy’s legs drops her, and the other guy holds her tighter. Guy Number One, an asshole with femine features and blond hair styled far too nicely, grins as he moves closer. I stare at him, my heart racing, as he opens his mouth. Two fangs slowly elongate.
“Do you know what I am?” he asks.
No matter how much anxiety twists through my stomach, that arrogant question just begs for a certain kind of answer. “A dick-head with a tiny penis?”
His eyes grow cold, but at least the smirk leaves his lips. “I’m a vampire. I’m stronger than you, faster than you, and I can end your life with no effort at all.”
My hands curl into fists. “You’re betting I don’t have my powers. What do you think will happen when you realize you’re wrong?”
He’s not wrong. They told me I’m some kind of god. No idea what kind. Or what that even means. But this guy doesn’t know that.
His smile falters. “I guess we’ll have to take the risk.”
In a flash, he closes the space between us. He punches me in the stomach, and the air rushes out of my lungs. Another strike lands on my back, then another and another.
When I fall to my knees, he slams his palm into my face. Blood spurts from my mouth, and my head feels light.
I’ve had my ass kicked before, but nothing like this. He really might kill me.
The vampire grins down at me. Through the rush of blood in my ears, Izzy screams my name.
My gaze goes to her, and the vampire who holds her smacks a blow across her face.
Something changes inside of me. I feel myself grow hotter, and suddenly flames explode from my skin. The vampire’s eyes widen.
I raise my hand toward him, without a clue what I’m doing, and suddenly the earth begins to shake.
I rise from my knees, feeling stronger and more powerful than I’ve felt before.
The ground cracks, and suddenly flaming creatures crawl from it. One leaps out on top of the vampire who attacked me, and the boy screams and screams. Another of the flaming creatures comes and kneels before me.
“Hel, we’re your servants to command. What will you have us do to the vampire? Kill him? Drag him to Hell to be tortured?”
Suddenly, I can sense Hell deep beneath my feet.
Caverns upon caverns of creatures that live to serve only me.
A dark castle where I rule from. Servants to attend to my every needs.
There are beings that have an eternity of beauty and happiness, and those who have an eternity of pain and darkness. These vampires are mine to sentence.
“Hel?” the creature asks.
The command to drag the vampires to their fate lingers on my tongue.
“Reid?” Izzy’s voice holds fear as she says my name.
I turn slowly to her.
“They hurt me.” I lick my lips, tasting blood. “They hurt you. Their fate is sealed.”
Her eyes widen, and she shakes her head. “This isn’t you!”
“There must be consequences for attacking the gods.” My voice sounds strange, even to my own ears.
“Reid!”
I turn to command my creature to extract my punishment when Izzy makes a strange sound.
Something makes me turn.
The vampire is no longer holding Izzy. He’s sprung back, eyes wide and frightened. And where Izzy once stood, is another woman, and yet, it’s her. A unicorn horn has sprouted from her head, and her skin has turned so white it’s pearl-white.
A smile curls her lips. “Hel, you never could control yourself.”
I answer, but it’s not me. It’s almost far away. “And you’re always more concerned with humor than honor.”
When she lifts a hand, she transforms both the vampires into rats. A smile tilts her beautiful lips as they scurry away.
Anger flashes within me. “And when your spell ends and they return, we’ll have made enemies of two vampires.”
“They’re enemies who won’t soon cross us again.”
The creature kneeling before me looks up. “Do you want us to find them? Rats can still suffer, bleed, and die.”
As I picture the kind of torture the two men would experience, something shifts within me. Was I really going to hurt them?
“Hel?” the creature says, a question in the name.
“Just...return to where you came from. Leave them alone,” I order.
“As you will,” it says with a bow.
The creature scurries across the uneven ground and slips back into the earth. The others of its kind do the same. The earth shifts, closing the cracks once more. Where once there were openings leading to Hell, there is nothing. Like it never happened.
I turn to Izzy. She’s still some strange unicorn woman, and she’s still smirking at me.
As she crosses the space between us, she places a hand on my chest. “You’re a man this lifetime.”
“And you’re a woman.” I stare at her, for a minute picturing a trickster I knew in another lifetime. “Loki.”
Her smile widens, crinkling the corners of those bright eyes. Whatever form she takes, those eyes are full of mischief and warmth. “Want to see what our bodies can do this time around?”
I tense. “Izzy…”
She leans closer, then stands on her tiptoes. “Kiss me, Hel.”
It’s not me who leans forward. I would freeze up. I’d be terrified out of my mind to kiss the girl I’ve loved since we were children.
But I’m not me, at least, not entirely.
Something overtakes me. I reach for her, tangling my hand in the back of her hair and tilting her head to mine.
She smiles, a sexy little smile.
I shift closer. Our breath mingles. She gazes up at me, her expression rapt.
“You always knew how to make someone wait. To make someone want you so badly it hurts,” she whispers.
Finally, I kiss her, and my lips move over hers as if we’ve done this a thousand times before. She melts beneath me, clinging to my shirt like it might keep her from falling.
For the first time in my life, I feel like a casanova as I tilt her further back and deepen our kiss. My tongue sweeps into her mouth as we both groan together.
And then I know what we’ll do next. I’ll seduce her. The God of Hel, capable of seducing any and all, wants this woman. And so do I.
So, we’ll have her.
I break our kiss.
Her breath rushes out. “Woah, Reid, that was…”
“I know.”
Her eyes flash open, and I’m swimming in the depths.
“Now, how about we go back to my room, and I show you what else this mouth can do.”
Her eyes widen. “Reid!”
“I could leave you screaming. Begging for more.”
Warmth rushes over her cheeks, and then a mischievous look comes to her face. “And then I’ll show you what a shapeshifter can do.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, images flashing through my mind.
I tilt her back up, take her hand, and turn around.
A woman with tattoos across her face is glaring at us, arms crossed in front of her chest. “Do you know how many times old women have to get up and pee?”
I stare dumbly.
“More times than you idiots could count! But do you know what still happens when an old woman looks out her window and spots the earth opening up and creatures from Hell crawling out?”
“Uh--”
“She pees her damn pants!”
My jaw drops open.
“At least a few drops. Not a full load, but it’s unpleasant nonetheless and reminds me how wonderful my youthful bladder was, before I shot my giant sons out of my vag like watermelons.”
I have never felt so awkward in my life.
“And you know what? I don’t want to be reminded of my old, saggy vag. Got that?”
I turn to Izzy. Her unicorn horn shrinks steadily, then fades entirely into her forehead. Her pearl-white skin flushes, then returns to her usual light tan. And her expression is as horrified as my own.
“Are you two deaf or dumb?” the old woman barks at us.
I jump a little. “Uh-- neither.”
“Well then, here’s a tip, don’t piss old, angry witches off. And don’t show everyone on your very first night why we’ve been dreading the return of the gods. Okay?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Izzy says, sounding as embarrassed as I feel.
Her narrowed eyes shift between us. “And remember, the gods are troublemakers. And you two look like suckers. Don’t let them take over too much, or you might find yourself doing some things you regret.”
I know my cheeks are red now. “Okay.”
She gives us one last horrified look, then shuffles away from us, like she’s uncomfortably walking in pee-soaked underwear.
My gaze jerks away from her.
Izzy looks at me like we’re both imagining the same thing. “That was horrible.”
“Do women really pee themselves after having kids?” I ask, shaking my head.
She rolls her eyes. “I meant what we just did. Not the kiss, I mean, which was fine, I mean good. I mean, the powers and stuff.”
Oh, hell. I just want to melt into the ground.
“Want to come back to my dorm?” she asks.
I think of what we were planning to do.
“I mean to eat and talk!” she says, sounding mortified.
Unable to answer, I just nod in embarrassment, then follow her until we come to the door of my own dorm. She doesn’t hesitate, just walks right in, and I don’t have the heart to tell her that it looks like we’re roomies.
There’s enough to discuss already.