Page 9 of Demon Hunger
Eleven demons?! No wonder he looked so exhausted.
“I understand,” I said.
I didn’t like it, but sometimes there were necessary risks and saving the world from the apocalypse was definitely one of them.
“Thank you, Ms. Sunder.” He gave me a gentle smile.
“I’ll leave you to it, then.”
I left his office and walked down the corridor. Striker Hall was quiet at this hour, but it would soon be buzzing with students heading to their classes. I rubbed the back of my neck. Did I have it in me to sit and listen to lectures all day? I winced. I really didn’t, but I’d started to perform too well in my classes to go back to being the kind of student who played hooky.
I tiptoed into the dorm room I shared with Jenna. I eased the door behind me and found her deeply asleep, one of her arms dangling off the side of the bed.
I sat at my desk to think, trying to shoo away the worry gnawing at my bones. What if Jophiel had stabbed Drevan with Swiftglory? At this very moment, he could be bleeding his ichor, his golden blood in a dark alley. I shook my head to dismiss the thought and tried to convince myself that I was only worried because his death would mean the failure of our plans to save the world.
But who are you kidding, Lucia?
“Hey, you,” Jenna said in a groggy voice.
I swiveled my chair to face her. “Hey, you all right?”
She nodded. “Areyouall right?” Pushing the covers aside, she sat up. “When you collapsed to the ground, I thought… What happened?”
“A couple of things. The healer says I exhausted myself using my telekinetic energy, but that’s not all.”
Jenna cocked her head to one side, looking attentive.
“It seems that I have something called schizonevima. It’s caused by going through demon portals too many times.”
“Oh, crap.”
“I know. Those portals are convenient as hell, but not easy on the body.”
“I’ve read about it, and I think schizonevima is worse on the mind. You could end up going mad.”
“Yay! Maybe I’m already there. I feel insane sometimes.”
“I don’t blame you.” She stood and gathered her shower caddy and clothes. Before leaving to go take a shower, she paused by the door and glanced at me over her shoulder. “Do you think we’ll have Summoning class this morning?”
“I don’t know. I asked Grant if he’d heard back from Drevan after last night, but he hadn’t.” Even though I tried to keep a neutral expression, I could feel my features morphing into a mask of concern.
“I’m sure he’s all right. You shouldn’t worry. It’s Drevan, after all.”
Jenna’s clear blue eyes brimmed with sympathy for me. I cursed inwardly. I hated to be so transparent. I hated that despite all the lies Drevan had told me, despite the fact that he was a monster, I still cared about him.
4
Twohourslater,wewere all at The Fray room, waiting for Professor Veneres to show up. My breakfast of cereal roiled in my stomach, souring. My gaze flicked constantly from the floor to the door, while I tried to convince myself that he would stroll in at any moment, wearing one of his infuriating cocky smiles.
I was sitting on the case of my summoning kit. Others did the same, looking as worried as I felt. Sage sat to my left, and Jenna and Benjamin to my right, the latter drumming his fingers on his case. Regina and her friends stood by the windows that looked down onto the street. Rather than worried like everyone else, she looked irritated.
When ten minutes had passed—Drevan had never been late to class—Regina seemed to grow bored. She exhaled loudly enough for everyone to hear, then glanced around the room, her piercing green eyes alighting on me. She was wearing tight exercise clothes, all sporting the same expensive logo, even her tennis shoes.
I felt the moment she decided to do what she did best: Be a bitch. She squared her shoulders and walked in my direction, her friends Phoebe Meade, Norman Haarmann, and Russell Newman following behind. Phoebe and Norman were Stales with serial killer vibes, while Russel was a werewolf. Regina herself was a Drude, someone capable of causing someone nightmares by casting a spell on them while they slept by simply placing a hand over their eyes.
She stopped a few feet in front of me. Everyone’s attention quickly settled on her, the crackle of expectation filling the air.
“If only we could all throw our Quellers from a distance, we would all be brave,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Her gaze slid to Sage, who she’d once liked but now seemed to hate.
