Page 33 of Underworld
“Since when doesHellhavefax machines?” I asked.
Olivia grinned at me. “Since about six months ago and we figured out a magical way to do things done in the human realm.”
“But magic isn’tinthe human realm. At least not naturally.” I didn’t think. It was still a bit confusing how all that worked and how the realms were connected.
“Don’t you ever feel like technology and magic aren’t so different sometimes?”
“They can fly, too,” Yuri added after a sip of her blood orange mimosa. “Inside airplanes and happy-choppers, but it’s still flying.”
“Helicopters,” I said, smiling at her terminology. “Or choppers. And… yeah, I guess you’re right.” Rising, I went to examine this Hell-made fax. It wasn’t plugged in, which made sense. There wasn’t exactly a plethora of electrical sockets in Hell. But there was a faint glow from within and I felt the prickle of magic. “Well, I have to admit… this is cool.”
Olivia snatched up the scroll after it finished printing, then grinned. “It’s our new class schedules.”
“Oh!” Yuri exclaimed, crowding over her shoulder to read the scroll. “Do we have the same homeroom?”
“Excuse me.” Shaking my head, I asked, “Did you sayclasses? Don’t we kind of haveotherproblems? Like Cole? Calamity?” Cole only gave me a week. I didn’t have time to worry about pop quizzes and extra credit.
Olivia met my gaze, her features calm. “You’ve got no idea what you’ll be face with Cole. Or Calamity. Or the other problems in Hell. Lil, there’ssomuch depending on you. And you need to figure out justwhoyou are and what you can do… don’t you think?”
“But…” Turning my head, I looked out the window, seeking out that pale, almost invisible glimmer of the barrier. “What about the demon attacks?”
She waved that away. “We’ve been handling those for a while. We can keep handling them—it’s good practice for the newer students, too.”
I looked at her. “Is that a joke?”
“No.” She snorted.
“We wish it was.” Yuri nudged my bare foot with hers. “Most of us are completely green and don’t know how to handle the fighting. This is a good way to learn.” She knocked back the last of her blood orange mimosa, then frowned at it. A vampire probably couldn’t get drunk and for someone like Yuri, that was pretty unfortunate. “Not that I think we’lleverhave enough time to prepare for the shit that’s coming. But we’ll try, right? At least until Lucifer comes and kills us all in a week.”
“Cole’s bluffing.” Olivia gave her a chiding look. “With Lily here, and her mother on the way with reinforcements, we’re strong enough to withstand whatever they want to throw at us.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell Olivia I questioned if my mother was really going to come save us. She had to know that I was back. She hadn’t come yet, so I wasn’t going to count on anyone but myself to get us through this.
And despite Olivia’s confidence in me, the biggest achievement I had done today was drop from my window like a stone.
“I think I’ll go back to bed and start this day over,” I said, dragging myself back to the mountain of pillows and sheets.
Before I could bury myself and pretend none of this was happening, Olivia shoved the scroll into my face. “Your schedule is on here too, Lily.”
I stared at it.
Olivia went through the schedule with me, pointing out each class and telling me which one I’d share with one—or more—of my mates.
“Advanced magic for advanced practitioners,” I said skeptically, reading the name of one course off before looking at Olivia. “That sounds more up your alley.”
“I’m a TA.” She grinned at me. “But I’m in a different group when you’re scheduled for it. And, Lily? You need that class. You don’t use magic the way Hendrik and I do, or even Dante, but you douseit—it’s in your blood. And you’ve had people use itagainstyou. Knowledge is a powerful tool and you need it in your arsenal.”
“You sound like you’re enjoying classes a bit too much,” I complained. She’d always been one of those obnoxiously perfect students and it seemed a year to focus on her studies had made her shine. Literally.
Sighing, I looked over the rest of the courses. “Wait…” Squinting to make sure my tired brain wasn’t playing tricks, I read it again. “Does that say flight lessons?”
“Hmm. Fancy that. Maybe the Dean found one of those teachers she was talking about after all.” Olivia took the schedule and rolled it up, quickly changing the subject. “You should get ready. Based on this, you’re going to need some prep—and your first class is with Logan.”
A muffled snort came from Yuri’s direction and I shot her a puzzled look. “What?”
“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.” She darted a glance at Olivia, which prompted me to do the same.
“What am I missing?” I asked, already dreading the response.
