Chapter 12 What’s Up?
What’s Up?
Anton
The way everyone behaved last night made me feel as though perhaps our caliphate is coming together as it needs to.
Adding Kit into the group was supposed to help protect him, but afterward, Jasper fought his inclusion even harder.
It didn’t matter that he was on board with the induction; he simply seemed determined to trample all over our new member in a way he never did with the rest of us.
Of course, shared history and family ties probably play into that dynamic, but no one other than the prince got the vibe that Kit was a plant—at least, not after the first few days.
Jasper’s trauma is so deeply buried under his guise of leadership and control that it manifested as semi-abusive behavior when his world view was questioned.
Shaking my head, I decide the books I’ve been reading to understand KK’s needs may be infiltrating my brain.
I’m analyzing everything like a human, and that’s not normal for our kind.
To be honest, though, much of it makes sense when you relate behavior to the concepts the books present.
None of my brothers would enjoy those observations, though, so I keep them to myself.
It won’t help to get anyone else’s back up by dredging up their past. Right now, our focus has to be on the Games and figuring out the bigger picture with Lucian and whoever else is pulling his strings.
“Annie, are you heading to the bathroom or what?”
X is holding their bucket of products, tapping their foot impatiently as I stand in front of my dresser spacing out. I grab my clothes and shit, giving them an apologetic look. “Sorry, love. I don’t know where my head is this morning.”
“Where it always is,” my mate says as they head for the door and open it. “Going over everything relentlessly until you plan the right courses of action. We just have a lot more bullshit on the tray than normal.”
They’re on the nose with that for certain.
“Did you get the order placed with the pass-through app last night? You were dead set on getting the Hellscape thing to work when we got back to the room.” It’s not unusual for them to be focused on some random thing they absolutely have to have now, but Xerxes was damn insistent on making the demon link to the human online marketplace work for some reason.
I’ve learned not to question their whims with that over the years.
It’s never anything worrisome, but it definitely gets them hyper as fuck when it won’t work right.
“I did. Zavida had to help me get around the stupid blocks on the service at this Satan-forsaken school, but I was eventually successful. My package should arrive before we get back from classes today.” X grins broadly, their world right again now that their hyper-fixation has been appeased. “I’m all taken care of.”
We walk into the hallway, meeting Oriel as he carries his stuff toward the large shared bathroom as well.
The crow demon looks tired, and I wonder if he went off on one of his thieving jaunts after we all split from Salem’s dorm last night.
The desire to pilfer and acquire shit forces him to do so fairly often, and his favorite time to wander around swiping things is night time.
Not surprising, but it can make for a grumpy asshole if he’s out late enough.
“Anyone else feel the odd weight to the air this morning?” he asks as we tug open the door and head into the large room. “It’s like… anticipation or something.”
Jasper’s eyes cut from the mirror where he’s standing in his towel as he messes with his hair. “You’re all late. Even Salem and the shrimp are in the showers before you. Get a move on.”
I roll my eyes. Of course, he’s going to tighten up again the minute we’re back to the normal routine. Hopefully, he doesn’t slide back into kicking Kit while he’s down, too. “We’re five minutes off the normal schedule, Jas. It will be fine.”
“Maybe for O and you, but we know Xerxes needs their time.” The prince arches a brow at my mate, who waves their hand dismissively.
“Don’t forget we’re still eating breakfast in the Triclinium.
I want to observe the other teams as much as possible, especially since we believe some of them have ties to the fuckwaffle in charge of this place. ”
“Hey, guys.” The voice of our newest member gets my attention as he emerges from his stall fully dressed with wet hair.
I feel bad for him—not because there’s something wrong with the guy, but because he’s so traumatized by his past that he’s rarely comfortable in his own skin.
“Don’t let him get to you; he’s back to Pissypants mode. ”
Jasper opens his mouth to retort, but before he can, Zavida walks up to him and hands him a bottle of cologne.
He pauses, rolling his eyes to the ceiling before muttering, “I want to be on time, for fuck’s sake.
The shrimp has a class on his own first and it’s the fucking predator.
Do we really want to give her a reason?”
“I will be there. No bullshit will happen when I’m present, Prince.
” Slash comes out of the actual toilet looking imposing and full of lethal power in his small towel.
Kit makes an odd sound as he scurries away from the showers to the very last sink.
The shark demon grins hungrily as he faces us.
“She risks her life if she displeases me and I will take my punishment happily, if that’s necessary. ”
“Slash,” KK says from his spot. He doesn’t look our way; instead, he’s rubbing lotion on his face and pretending to look at his reflection. “There’s no need for anyone to get in trouble. Having you there will be enough, I think.”
Slash huffs, stomping over to his sink to brush his sharp ass teeth.
“It had better be. I am in no mood for foolishness after what the prince witnessed with her and Darkstar. She’s an enemy on all fronts and as my father says, ‘if you don’t put down the stray that bites, it will do it again and again until you do’.
I think it is one of the few things he believes that is ultimately true. ”
“What in the hell…” Jasper looks at his general, his expression puzzled. “Are you getting paid by the fucking word this morning?”
Kit grins, finally turning for a moment to look smug. “I like it when he’s talkative. Fuck off, Jasper.”
And now it’s time to head for the showers before they all start bickering again.
Once we’re all dressed and ready, we stop for our bags, then take the elevator to the main floor of Canto IV.
It’s full of students this morning, which is odd at this time of day.
We’re usually not surrounded by random fuckers from the other floors when we leave because Jasper makes us leave so early.
However, today, a throng of demons are milling about.
Maybe Oriel was right about the weird vibe in the air?
“I knew it,” Oriel mumbles as the crowd parts for us to walk through it to the front entrance. “Something is fucking weird, guys, and it’s been bothering me since my flight last night.”
Jasper eyes him carefully, tilting his head. “What did you sense during your gathering?”
“Like I said before, when we came into the bathroom. The vibe is off. As I flew around campus, I felt it. It didn’t emanate from a specific location or I would have investigated. It’s just something I feel, and I’m surprised the rest of you don’t, too.”
Kit frowns, putting his hand on Salem’s arm to make sure he doesn’t trip over something, then closes his eyes.
“I’m trying, O, but I don’t feel it.” His eyes pop open as we head into the main quad and he makes a soft sound.
“Um, I smell something, though? Do you guys smell that? It’s…
new. Like, I have no idea how to describe it even because this is completely new. ”
That makes Slash growl low and the shark demon sniffs the air a couple of times. “I do not smell it, little demon. It is not normal for a scent to be one I cannot find. I have the best receptors in the caliphate.”
I’m about to question that when Zavida’s tails pop out, swishing in irritation back and forth. The Kitsuné nudges the prince, pushing his glasses up as his expression turns to one of confusion. “And I hear something… something far away, but very intense.”
What the actual fuck is going on?
“Fuck,” Jasper snarls as he puts an arm around Zav to keep him close. His tail drops, letting us all know the dragon is on watch now. “Oriel is right; something is going on at Discordia this morning. Keep your heads on swivels; it seems to lurk, but it’s not here—whatever it is.”
“You know, we just came back from a risky, life-threatening weekend of bullshit. Couldn’t whatever this is wait a couple of days? I’d like to have a fucking break,” Kit says as he kicks a rock across the ground. “It’s like we’ve got a magnet drawing bullshit to us.”
“Perhaps a magnet named Kit Kat who has unknown powers and hasn’t emerged yet?” Salem grins as he pats the kid’s hand. “That’s not to blame you, KK, but it’s possible.”
“It’s probable,” I agree as I sigh. “The university picked you on its own, after the invitations went out last spring, and your murky provenance has pointed to that from the beginning and we all know it.”
“Great. Now I feel guilty for putting everyone in danger.”
“Stop that,” X says as they lean around me.
“If this was some weird ass prophecy shit, it would have come no matter who the chosen one was. And if the people involved are the ones we suspect, it was inevitable—those people have been furious with their lots in Hell for a very long time. You’re not really the lynchpin, especially if our new friends are right about the bigger picture. ”
“This is so damn annoying,” Oriel mutters.
“There are so many layers and whatever the fuck this thing happening this morning is, it’s something we couldn’t possibly have planned for.
That we’re all having different reactions based on our senses means it’s triggering the animals, not the demonic bits.
Given that the King and the courts don’t allow a lot of visitors here from other realms, that means we’re going to have a problem like we did up on the surface. Something is not where it belongs.”
“Please don’t let it be another smelly ass orc,” X groans. “We’re all clean, and I thought that stench was going to hang about forever.”
I chuckle, shaking my head at my mate. “You really focus on the important things, huh?”
“I mean, they’re not wrong. How many fucking uniforms have I had to replace already? I’m not eager to do it again,” Kit says with a shrug. “I didn’t get to see much last time because someone rushed me away like a fucking cave demon, but…”
Salem smirks, looking so pleased with himself that it trips my wires.
Why is he so damn happy about Kit complaining about being spirited away?
The panda just keeps smiling as he says, “And you were much better off for it, now weren’t you?
I know it’s hard to admit when you’re wrong, KK, but sometimes you have to. ”
“Shut. Up. Salem,” Kit growls as he wrinkles his nose and yanks his arm away. “Don’t make me remember how mad I was at you for treating me like the weakest link.”
“I did no such thing and you know it, KK. In fact, I treated you incredibly well during our little camp out. Not a single complaint was uttered about how good I was to you.”
That just makes our newest member make a frustrated sound as he stomps toward the Triclinium without waiting for the rest of us.
Salem laughs, his eyes dancing as Slash speeds up to catch KK, so he’s not on his own.
I tilt my head, curious why he’s being so outwardly aggressive; it’s unusual for him.
Before I can ask, Xerxes tugs on my sleeve, nodding at the huge shark and the small, unemerged demon.
“They’re kind of adorable next to each other, right?”
What does that have to do with anything? Why is this morning so fucking weird?