Page 23 of Quiet Burn

I especially enjoy it because when Slash does talk, it’s pretty on the ball.

“Ugh, fine. Did you at least take notes?” I look over his huge arm to see lines of chicken scratch that makes my brain fritz for a moment. “And if those are the notes, do you have a translator in our group?”

He grins toothily, nodding. “Zavida is able to take my scrawl and make it legible for everyone else, don’t worry.”

“That’s in the demon language, isn’t it?”

Nodding, he closes the notebook and gestures for me to pack up. “It is, and you will pick it up gradually. At least, I think that is how it works.”

Dottie crawls up my leg from where I think she might have been napping in my bag, and I grin as she grabs my finger to hug it. “It looks like some weird mix of runes, hieroglyphics, and Latin, maybe? Did you guys make a pidgin language to keep everyone from being able to read your shit?”

“Around the Salem Trials, there was a movement in Hell to safeguard our works by making them impossible for those without demon blood to read.” Slash frowns, pausing to think as I stand up. “You’d have to ask Jas or Zavida for more information, but I believe it was to keep those of our kindliving on the other side from being burnt to a crisp by panicked humans.”

“We’re pretty stupid as a species,” I agree as we head out of the classroom. “I’m not afraid to admit my people are the fucking worst.”

“No.” I look at him and he shrugs. “Storybooks and deities are the worst—trust me. Humans come a close third, but they do not hold the crown.”

Gee, glad I sort of asked… more shit to assimilate.

“I should probably leave asking questions about them until I’m fully grasping the demon part. Just thinking about adding on more unbelievable shit to my plate is making my stomach turn.”

The big guy laughs as he holds the door for me and we amble down the hall to take the stairs to the bottom floor. By the time we get down, we’ve moved away from supernaturals that make me want to hurl to discuss the laws I missed during class. The professor went over the official rules of the Games—not that anyone expects them to be followed, especially with all the loopholes purposefully left in the wording.

“Did he send us a copy digitally? I really want to read every damn word of this fucking nonsense.”

“You, Zav, and Oriel will likely be the only ones to do so, but yes.” Slash tilts his head, arching a brow at me. “You have an affinity for fairness, it seems.”

I snort. “Mostly because nothing in my entire life haseverbeen fair. It’s like an addiction to an unattainable object, my shrink said.”

“I’m not a fan of doctors that dig in your brains,” the shark says, his expression disapproving. “I think they mix up shit until a slight problem becomes much larger and less manageable. That gets them more appointments and more money. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

You know, I’ve never thought of it that way, but it is a bit like a pyramid scheme. Now I’m never going to see therapy the same way again—awesome job, big guy.

I’msurprised when our path doesn’t take us to theTricliniumfor dinner—no, we head straight for the dorms when we get in the middle of campus. We’ve been walking quietly for the past bit, and it was more comfortable than I would have imagined. I didn’t spend a lot of time above jabbering because I had no friends, so finding out that Slash is a good person to be silent with is yet another positive tick in his column. But I figured Prince Dickhead would insist on being ‘observed’ again, and it appears that’s not the case.

“What’s with diverting from the norm?” I ask him as we approach the front of the dorm. “I thought we had to make a unified appearance or whatever.”

He grins at me. “It is a caliphate meeting night, so Salem is preparing dinner in your room. Once Anton and Xerxes are out of class, we will combine the meal and our meeting.”

That’s not a terrible plan. Jasper’s a bit less shitty when he’s being fed—not by much, but it will help.

“That’s actually cool with me. I like cooking with Salem; we have fun and it’s very educational.”

Slash snorts. “Educational? How is that possible?”

We walk inside, and he follows me to the elevator, snarling at an unfortunate freshman who tries to join us until the kid backs off. I give him a frustrated look and the shark ignores me. “Slash, how am I going to get people to quit hating me if you all growl at them? And to answer your question, Salem is teaching me about the various plants and meats and fruits and shit.”

He looks surprised for a moment, then nods. “Okay, that makes sense, little demon. You are learning our food while you cook. That is actually very helpful given you are likely a magic user. Herbs and plants will be important to you.”

Don’t think I missed that he ignored my complaint about the alpha posturing.

“How in the… here… do you know I’m a magic user? I haven’t shown an affinity for anything yet as far as I know.”

His laugh is dark as he bumps my shoulder with his. “Because you are too small to be a shifter… even the less predatory animal hybrids grow larger as their animals develop. You’re obviously not one of the Cubi or vampiric because you would have started to change your eating and sleeping habits. Thus, we are left with magic users, including demis and Fae.”

“Have you… does everyone assume that and no one told me?” I scowl as I cross my arms over my chest, not liking that idea inthe slightest. Ihatebeing talked around rather than to. I’m going to punch every single one of them if it’s true.

“No. They are all far too emotional about it, and I prefer to allow you the space to change without the pressure a guessing game would engender.”

---