Page 54 of A Taste of Torment
Is that just part of the act?
I write the big question:Are demons cold calculated killers or capable of deep human emotions?
Get a book on demon behavior,I write in firm block letters. A demand of myself. I have to understand what is usual for demons outside of Trevor and Jarron. It’ll help me have a better sense of if I’m being manipulated or not.
The bell rings, and I drift through the halls, not really present. My mind is running through so many different things. Jarron. Trevor. Auren. The Games. Potions I can use for my revenge when I do figure out who the culprit is.
My foot catches on something. One moment, I’m upright, and the next, the floor is coming toward me way too fast. I barely manage to throw my hands out before I face plant straight into the pretty marble flooring. My knees hit first, though, and it sends a wave of pain shooting through my body.
Gasps, followed by laughter, rings out through the hall.
I clench my teeth tight and force myself from the ground, body aching. Blood drips onto the back of my hand. My stomach sinks.
I sit up quickly and wipe the blood from my nose.Perfect. Wonderful.
Some of the laughter halts.
“Need help, Ascension seeker?”
I sneer in the general direction of the crowd, but I don’t know who made the offensive comment. They basically called me the magical equivalent to a gold digger.
Anger swirls in my belly.
The moment I’m on my feet, something slams into my chest.I flinch, but there is no pain, only the light weight of a pixie pushing against me.
“OMG, are you all right?” Lola squeals, her wings fluttering.
“Yeah, fine,” I force out.
“Come with me, we’ll get you cleaned up before lunch. Jarron’s gonna lose his shirt if he sees you bloody.”
I rush after my pixie guide into the bathroom and stop in front of the mirror. There’s only a small stream of blood from my nose that’s already stopped. I pour water on a paper towel and do what I can to clean myself up but there’s still a dark red stain on the collar of my white shirt that I have a feeling is not going to come out.
“What happened?” she asks as I work.
“Someone tripped me, I think. I don’t really know. I was just walking one second, the next I wasn’t. For all I know, I fell from my own damn clumsiness.”
Lola nods frantically. “Good, that’s the story you’ll have to tell him, then.‘I’m just clumsy, oops. My bad.’”
I frown. “Why lie? If someone did trip me, let them face his wrath.” My stomach clenches in disgust at the hypothetical villain twisting his mustache in my mind.
Lola’s laugh is near hysterical. “Uh, well you could, but since you don’t know who it was, you could end up with innocent blood on your hands.”
“You think Jarron would kill someone for tripping me?”
Her eyes widen. “Not kill, no. Probably not. But remember, this is the supernatural world, where any threat is life and death.”
I frown, but to be honest, I’m not sure I’d feel that guilty. But I guess we’ll see. Either way, I can’t hide the blood completely, and I’m going to be facing Jarron in a matter of minutes.
“Thanks for your help, Lola.” I give her a smile, and her expression softens. “Let’s go find Janet before she freaks too.”
Lola flutters up near the lights. “Good idea.” Then, she darts from the room and down the hall before I can even catch up. The chaos from my fall has already settled, and people are mostly minding their own business.
Maybe it won’t be as big a deal as Lola was making it out to be.
Janet is bouncing on her toes in the lobby outside the cafeteria, though, and she squeals when she sees me. Her arms are around me suddenly.
“Jeez, dude, I’m fine.”
