Page 56 of Demon of Dreams

I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t in the mood for this—for any of it. Isaac was quiet for a long moment. He looked down, scrutinizing the scroll in front of him. It was written in a language I didn’t recognize, and certainly couldn’t decipher upside down. He traced a finger along a line of script, then looked back at me.

“Is it really him you’re trying to protect? Or yourself?”

His voice was quiet, almost gentle. But there was nothing gentle about the man in front of me, and the edges of his words cut like knives.

“I know it’s hard, Noah. I know what you’ve been through would kill a lesser man. And I know there are places inside you that are still tender, after all these years. I wish I could cosset your feelings. I wish that were the kind of world we lived in. But it’s not.”

“You know nothing about what I’ve been through,” I spat.

“Are you so sure of that?” Isaac’s voice was cold. He didn’t need to add the unspoken implication. The weight of it filled my head on its own.

How could I know what he’d been through, in his centuries-long life? I didn’t even know how old he truly was. I’d had enough loss for one lifetime. How much loss had Isaac faced in his?

“I know more than most,” he said, taking pity on me by speaking first.

I supposed he did. But I still couldn’t do it. Couldn’t teach that kid.

Cory. His name is Cory.

I could barely stand to be near him. It would be hard enough, getting through combat lessons with him in my class. I’d tried to humiliate him into leaving today. Tried to enrage Sean enough that he, in turn, intimidated Cory into leaving. He’d left class early, and Sean had followed after him. Maybe it had worked.

If it hadn’t, I’d have to find a way to get through classes with him present. Isaac couldn’t ask more of me than that.

The problem wasn’t just attraction. If that were all it was, I’d be uncomfortable, but I could control it. I had nothing left in my lifebutcontrol, and I had years of practice in denying myself. Physical attraction to Cory was an annoyance, nothing more.

Though there was the question of Cory’s parentage. All the half-incubi I knew had been sired by my father. Was it possible that Cory had been, too? My stomach twisted at that thought. It didn’t seem likely—Cory was so much younger than I was, and as far as I knew,Iwas my father’s youngest son. But which incubus had sired him, ifnotmy father?

I tried to push the question away. It didn’t matter, because I was never going to get close enough to find out. I couldn’t bear to see someone else experience the wonder of the dreamworld while I remained cut off forever. To be reminded of everything—and everyone—that I’d lost.

That was a hurt I couldn’t handle.

“I’m sorry,” I told Isaac. “Genuinely, I am. But I can’t do it.”

“I can’t say I’m not disappointed,” Isaac said. “I’d hoped that with him here, we might be able to find a solution for you, too. Find a way that you could—”

“No. Just—no.”

“You’re not even willing to try? Knowing what’s at stake?”

He knew just where to dig. Where my weak spots were. But I wasn’t falling for it.

“Find someone else,” I growled.

“Do you understand the seriousness of the situation? One of the seers sensed Cory months ago, just days after his eighteenth birthday. More than just his existence—they sensed he was vital to the cause, and that he was in danger. Tenelkiri have been stalking him, Noah.”

Shit. That was never a good sign. Things had been quiet at Vesperwood, quiet through most of the country, for a few years. If Isaac were telling the truth—and I had no reason to believe he would lie about this—Cory was in trouble. Maybe we all were.

“Argus may have gone to ground,” Isaac continued. “But I know you’re not fool enough to believe he’s dead, or that he’s given up his dreams of dominion. If he can turn Cory to his cause, then it’s not just the boy who’s in danger. It’s the entire world.”

That was an unsettling thought. Argus was an incubus who wasn’t content with life in the dreamworld. He wanted more power, more freedom, and he was willing to kill humans and witches to get it. He wanted to enslave humanity, wanted to turn them into eternally sleeping batteries for incubi to drain.

I’d prevented Argus from reaching his goal seven years ago, but Isaac was right. I knew he hadn’t given up. And if he could use Cory instead of me as the missing piece of his puzzle, he’d stop at nothing until he had Cory under his control.

“It’s not safe for him to leave Vesperwood’s grounds,” Isaac said. “Not unless he gains control of his powers. Maybe not even then. And we need his help in our fight.”

“For what? Isaac, the kid looks like he gets pushed into lockers as a hobby. I doubt he’s thrown a punch in his life.”

“Not all fights are physical. Besides, what are your classes for, if not to make sure our students can handle the physical ones that come their way?” Isaac tapped a finger on the scroll, the equivalent of a lesser man pounding his fist. “I didnotgo to the trouble of bringing him all the way here, just to fail now.”

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