Chapter 26
Twenty-Six
ANTON
Iam not pleased that we’re getting magical pings from the area in this building where I spend the most time outside of class.
That’s other than the dorms, obviously, but X and I are in our studios for large stretches at a time working.
That means neither of us has been as safe in our locked, warded workplaces as we assumed—which was not something I wanted to find out.
We’re going to need to re-do our entire security protocol once our guests have gone home or on to their next location.
As if I needed another thing to obsess over until I find the time…
“Calm down, Annie,” Salem says as we slowly follow the magic vibrations down the first hallway of studios. “I know this is your favorite place in the school, but we’re going to find out what’s here and how it got here.”
The dragon cuts his gaze to me, his eyes sharp. “Your major is one that requires a studio like this?”
I nod. “Mine and Xerxes’ do. I’m focused on architecture and planning, while they’re majoring in fashion design.
We have classes that assign portfolio pieces and handmade items, so we each have one.
There are quite a few majors here that assign their participating students the spaces to develop their art, products, and other valuable things without fear of being stolen from.
The most obvious answer is that either someone in one of those majors or someone with access to everything let them in.
However, the third option is someone got onto campus and used powers to do this, and then skedaddled.
None of these please me given the time X and I spend in this area of the building. ”
Salem frowns. “Aren’t your studios higher up? Like near the top?”
“X’s are, but there’s… a shortcut only those who have studios know about moving between levels if you have more than one studio for a multi-focus major.”
The shy siren blinks, then holds a finger up like he just got it. “Oh! Like someone who might have a major that needs a creative area for design and stuff, but also a scientific one for testing things used in the creation?”
“Yes, that’s a simplified version, but it could be about magically imbued products or creations, scientific testing, computer labs, or even manufacturing weapons.
Some focuses require a lot of different phases before they are ready, and Discordia uses demonic enchantment to make that possible in small spaces. ”
Damon looks skeptical. “We could break into a room and find it’s full of dangerous chemicals or materials? That sounds very unsafe. Do we really have the skill set necessary to do that?”
Kaspar shakes his head, looking even more perturbed now. “I say we figure out who owns the room and what their focus is before we open it. We may need to request extra help to get in, search, and get out without being harmed.”
“That’s a good idea,” I admit. “Damon may not use his phone for hacking that info, but mine will connect to the school directory, which should let me look up the name and get the major or focus at least.”
“But if we need to hack something, I’m fairly certain I could use the tablet your Kitsuné had you bring to give it a go.
He said I’d be able to figure it out, and I doubt he would say that if it wasn’t true,” the younger twin says.
“As long as the code isn’t in the Demonic language, I should be fine.
I’m rusty on it because Ang and I almost never use it. ”
“Feels like that should be an Achilles heel when you run a big-ass demon mob,” Kaspar says with a snort. “It would be like me not being able to read even a tiny bit of Fae when I lived there for so long.”
“Can you read High Fae?” Damon asks curiously. “Reb and Rogue can’t, and they’re Fae.”
The dragon sighs and rolls his eyes. “I can limp through, but Liam is fluent. I’m better with the more general, vernacular Fae dialects. Scholars, royals, and that sort are taught High Fae from the time they can read, whereas the rest of the peons aren’t made to learn it so thoroughly.”
Slade nods, adding, “That’s sort of like Atlantean, to be honest. I can read a little, as aquatic shifters’ families usually teach them a bit. But if your clans don’t go below very often, they don’t make sure you are fluent.”
Wait a fucking second… Atlantean?
I pause, turning to look at the siren in disbelief. “Wait a fucking second. Is Atlantis real? Seriously?”
His cheeks flush as we all gape at him. “Um… yes? It’s… well, it’s mostly controlled by the Godly realms folks since it was their thing, but… aquatic shifters know about it for various reasons. I probably shouldn’t have talked about it, but we’re supposed to trust one another, right?”
That makes his draconic family member sigh heavily and look up as if asking a deity for help. “Slade, I assume you have told none of the others this, including Morgana? For fuck’s sake, I just know this is going to be my fault somehow.”
“No, it’s really my parents’ fault, or maybe the deities and demis that sort of claim the underwater lands. They don’t allow anyone without aquatic or deity bloodlines down there. It’s basically an extension of the Godly realm, though I have zero clue how that works.”
“I bet I know.” We all whirl to face Damon, our expressions shocked as he smiles ruefully.
The Gemini rakes a hand through his hair and shrugs before he finally says, “When we wandered the Apalachin, we ended up in a pocket dimension. None of us could figure out how it was created or whom it was made for. But we saw Darkstar there and lots of others, meeting before the big event. Perhaps someone in the Godly realm had the Atlantean city created as a pocket dimension below the water?”
This is getting really fucking improbable, and I say that as a demon who lives in Hell with magical powers.
The discussion of Damon’s pocket dimension and Slade’s base knowledge of Atlantis continued as we explored that floor and moved up to the next.
I’m certain the spell we used will help find whatever is hidden in the underground levels, but there are a lot of studios and the structure isn’t small.
We can’t split up as my assignment of teams was based on combining strengths; separating to make this faster would only put individuals in danger if they happened upon a trap or the wrong person.
It was easier in the gym because it was far less likely that an individual would have anything cursed or hexed there.
Students put incredibly complex magic and security on their studios to prevent industrial or creative espionage—we can’t assume opening any of these doors is safe.
I’m about to reach terminal impatience when something spikes my consciousness in just such a way that I know we’re in the right section.
Looking at the remaining doors in this hallway, I frown as I send more power out to encourage some sort of beacon that will identify the one we need to focus on.
Turning to the others, I hold up my palm.
“Shhhh. I think we’ve found something. It might not be the only thing, but we’re definitely in the right place to locate something important. ”
Slade looks at me for a moment, then asks, “Should I attempt to… verify whose desire it is speaking to?”
I tilt my head curiously. “Can you do that?”
His smile is bright as he nods. “You will need to put your hands on your ears first. I can alter the tonal quality of my song not just to draw you in based on desire, but to find out what I need to use to draw you. I think I can… fiddle with that notion a bit and see what the magic is attracted to.”
“Think, hmm?” Kaspar says as he looks at the siren. “You’re getting bold about your skills, kid. That’s a good thing, but you need to be careful. You don’t want to get zapped by whatever the fuck it’s possible to be zapped by down here.”
Damon makes a face as he nods at the sentiment.
“The dragon is right. Even demons can run afoul of others’ tricks and shit.
I sure did when I lived here. Angelo likes to pretend I didn’t go anywhere but the library, but that’s not entirely true.
I had a studio with computer things, and I definitely ran into crap that gave me a good whammy when I was working to learn my trade. ”
“Oh! I get it,” Salem says with a grin. “You were learning to hack and shit, but doing that meant you had to show you could get into shit within Hell and Discordia. People put protection that’s physical, magical, technological, and more on their secrets.
You got smacked by some of it in the course of doing what you had to do. ”
“Yes,” the younger twin says as he rubs the back of his neck. “When you’re new, you get slapped a lot. Some of it is more effective than others, and some is downright dangerous. You could end up in the infirmary for a week or more if you’re going up against the oldest students or even the crown.”
“Okay then, it’s settled.” Kaspar looks at Slade with a firm expression. “Find out who the thing is calling to, if possible. Once we know, we’ll work out where it is, and then how to get to the fucking thing.”
Slade turns to face the end of the hallway we haven’t explored yet and says, “Cover them now.”
We all put our hands over our ears and brace for impact, and I assume the siren starts singing as the air gets tight around me.
Flashes of color and magic spark in the air as he does so, making me squint to see if I can identify what he’s activating.
A playful pink sparkles through the air, then a deep wine color, and it’s followed by a rainbow band that twists together to dance along the space.
It looks like they’re searching for our target, but they’re… working together?
I have no idea what the fuck that means.
Salem nudges me through the caliphate bond, and I feel a questioning emotion.
He’s wondering what the hell this is, and I agree with him.
We haven’t had the pleasure of working with a siren before, so this feels weird and mysterious.
But the others probably feel just as off when dealing with our shit, and they get over it, so…
I send him the feeling of patience, hoping that he will stay focused on the result and not the method.
I’d rather speak out loud because it would be easier to make him understand, but with our ears covered, that won’t work.
The colors dance around for a few more moments as we watch and then finally rest in front of the last door at the end of the hall before the door to the stairs.
Then they disappear entirely, and the siren turns around to gesture for us to remove our hands.
He smiles brightly before he says, “That door contains something that I believe is important to all of us. The mixing of the magic and the emotions coming from what you could see told me that it would link to the desires of all three of our women.”
I blink rapidly as I parse that statement.
That would mean the pink belongs to the Fae woman, the wine to the gargoyle, and somehow, the rainbow must have been the mark of Kat.
Since my magic is often rainbow tinted, that wigs me out a little.
I fidget with my hands for a few moments, working out why it would appear that way but failing.
Salem turns to me and rolls his eyes. “Dude, we can’t get all the answers right away. You know that. Don’t get lost in the applesauce about stuff; the genuine issue is finding out what is in that room and who owns it… then we can worry about why. You know?”
If only my brain worked that way, I’d be comforted.