Unbelievable, page 8
“I didn’t realize how hungry I was.” She said in between bites.
I made myself one and dug in as she ate her whole burger.
“For someone so tiny she sure can pack it in, can’t she.” Asim watched in amazement. Most women picked at their food around men, Thea just dug in.
It wouldn’t matter what she’s wearing or what she’s doing, she amazed me. I have seen her in the bar a dozen times in the past, she always intrigued me more than most humans, but last night was different. When she handed me her ID, I caught her scent, and I knew she was important. I watched her dance, thinking that something would happen that would fill me in.
It wasn’t until I picked her up off the nasty concrete. She curled into my chest like I was her superman, with my first breath I knew the truth. She is the woman that Asim and I had been waiting for. When would I get to tell her that? I had no idea, but that didn’t matter to me. She was safe and happy.
Chapter Seven
Thea
“I’m trying to find you, but every time I wake up, I can't remember your face.”
These words were playing over and over in my head as I laid in bed, I’m not sure what they meant but the only thing from my dream that I can piece together is the black hair and green eyes from the bath yesterday. I had no idea who they belonged to. Maybe he was just a figment of my imagination to distract myself.
I was surprised that I slept as well as I did, the bed felt like I imagine laying on a cloud would be like. Elijah never returned after Zilli brought burgers back, I had been hoping to talk to him last night. We need to discuss the whole mind manipulation thing that went on.
Zilli had told me that he would be on the couch all night, he swore that he just wanted to make sure that I settled in alright and that someone was here with me in case I needed anything. Honestly, though, I think that Asim didn’t want to be away from me and Zilli wasn’t going to fight him. I still had no explanation as to my situation with these men, but I’m not ready to ask the hard questions.
I picked my phone up off the bedside table and checked the time, it was just after eight pm, good, it’s not too late to call Anna. She picked up after just one ring.
“Thea! I tried calling you, but it kept going straight to voicemail! What the hell happened to you last night?” Anna screeched.
Whoa. Does she not remember anything?
“What do you mean what happened? We were at the bar and Trevor—” I couldn’t bring myself to say what happened next.
“Yeah…” she paused and took a shaky breath. “I know that Trevor was mugged in the ally, but what happened to you? Where did you go?”
She thought Trevor was mugged. Surely, she remembers the look of him. His sunken in features and his withered skin? How could she forget that?
“I freaked out and they carted me off to the office to wait for my parents.” I lied. I just lied to my best friend! I don’t think I like the person that this whole situation is making me.
“Thea! How could you leave me like that, I am the one that found him, and you just left me! I needed you!” Was she seriously mad at me? MY boyfriend was the one that was murdered. She doesn’t even know the horrible truth, and she was upset with me? Where does she get off?
“Anna! My boyfriend’s dead, and you want to yell at me for abandoning you? How dare you! I was upset. I sat on the ground and stared at his body until someone picked me up and moved me? How can you possibly be mad at me when I was broken-hearted?!” My voice was rising.
“You left me to deal with the police by myself! What kind of ‘best friend’ does that?” She yelled back.
“My boyfriend died Anna! Try being a little considerate! Maybe forgive me for the fact that I couldn’t think straight after I saw him lying in the ally!” I hadn’t called her with the intention of fighting but clearly, that’s all that’s going to happen here.
“Yeah, well that doesn’t explain that when I stopped by your house today your parents said that you had left. Where are you, Thea? When are you coming back? And how come you just dipped out the same night that Trevor was murdered?” Her voice had calmed down a little bit, but she was clearly still mad.
Shit. How do I explain this?
“I had to leave; my parents sent me off to a special school that will help me cope with this.” There. That wasn’t a total lie.
“How? How did they send you off so quickly? I went by this morning and they said that you were already gone. I needed you this morning and you weren’t here for me!” There she goes making it all about her again.
No. I wasn’t going to let her make me feel bad about this, I can’t explain the truth to her, so maybe I should just end the friendship and let her move on thinking the worst of me. It’s not like I would ever be going home again anyway.
“No Anna. I had to be here for myself and I am not going to apologize for that. I am sorry that you are having a hard time, but you have no idea what this has been like for me. The things that I have learned about myself. I can’t be there for you because I need to be here for myself—”
A light knock came from my bedroom door, I guess that meant that it was time to get up. I had no idea what was going to happen today but I’m going to act like I am okay with it. I have no idea what the Demon world consists of, other than the types of Demon, and I’m even still a little hazy on those as well.
The door opened a crack. “If you don’t get up, you’re going to be late to class,” Elijah said as he poked his head through the crack.
“I thought Zilli was going to be here this morning? And isn’t it Saturday? What kind of awful place has school on a Saturday?” This was either a trick or—torture.
“He had to leave to get ready for class, he couldn’t show up in the clothes he walked through the halls yesterday…” he laughed a little like there was a joke that I was missing.
“Am I supposed to wear something specific? I only brought the basics from home.” No need to be the odd one out.
“Black and red, doesn’t matter other than that, and everything that you would need for your uniform is in the closed, Asim brought it all in last night when he did all this,” Elijah said as he stepped all the way into the room.
“Oh, awesome. Now I might not be such a huge outcast.” I snickered to myself mostly.
Moving to a new school in the human world was hard enough, or at least I’ve been told. I lived in the same town my whole life. I have always known at least half of the student body, and today not only was I starting a new school as a senior, but I was going to one full of Demons, ones that have known their whole life what world they belong to. This should be interesting.
“Your class schedule is on the bar when you’re ready,” Elijah said.
“Elijah, I know we had this a hot kiss the other day but… uh… I don’t have any pants on. So, I’m going to need you to leave the room.” I was holding the blanket up, I had almost forgotten that I didn’t have any on and stood up, not that he would have minded.
“Right, I’ll be out here when you are ready. You should bring comfy pants and tennis shoes; you have a combat class today.” Now that’s a class I could be excited about. I took multiple defense classes growing up, my dad always says, ‘A lady shouldn’t have to fight, but she should be able to, just in case.’
I haven’t thought much about my parents since I left. Well, I hadn’t thought of them at all since I found out the truth about myself. I never asked how they felt about me leaving, I was way too angry last night to consider their emotions on everything. I hope they aren’t taking it too hard.
I finished getting dressed and joined Elijah in the other room. I decided to go with a pair of black athletic shorts and a tank top so, I wouldn’t need to change for combat. I felt myself getting a little giddy about getting back to a regular workout, it always made me feel better.
I wonder what other classes I would have to take today, was there a normal curriculum like at a human school? Does my schedule change every day? How many classes would I have in one day? So many questions and I still have so few answers. One day I would figure it all out. Hopefully.
“I don’t want to change for class but if there is a locker room with showers, I will probably take some workout clothes over later, for future classes. How do classes work? Do we get free days? Are you going to show me around? Otherwise, I will be lost all day.” Eventually, I will get over my rambling, today doesn’t appear to be that day.
“Take a deep breath. Yes, I will show you around, I can even walk you to your classes, I don’t have much to do; being that I’m not a student.” He took my hand, grabbed the paper off the bar, and pulled me to the door.
“You have two different days, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday you have your A Schedule. Tuesday and Thursday and every other Saturday, you have a B schedule.” He looks down at the paper. “Unfortunately, today is that Saturday, and according to this, you have Elemental Magic, Angel History, Circles of Hell, Succubus Feeding Habits, and Combat. Your schedule on Monday will be different, but I will walk with you then too. Just so you don’t end up lost all day,” He said with a wink. What a shithead.
“I am going to need a little bit more insight on what exactly those classes are… New to this whole world, remember?” This was going to be just as hard as I thought it would be.
“Okay so every Demon can manipulate the Elements, they usually have a stronger connection to one, so this year the class will touch on all four of them and then next year you will start taking specific classes. Angel History will be kind of a blow-off class, it always has been, not even the teacher cares for the subject that’s being taught. You will touch on what Angels are like, and the part they had in banishing Lilith from Earth. Circles of Hell will teach you how many there are, what’s in each of them, and the ones you should avoid.” He said all of this so calmly that it was keeping me from freaking out more than normal, but I think I would like to avoid hell together. “Succubus feeding habits will just teach you how to keep yourself strong and fed, without hurting people or yourself. Combat will be a class you have both years, you will be taught to be efficient with every weapon that you can imagine, it was my favorite class.” He grinned wide; Elijah didn’t smile much but his bright blues eyes seemed to have a little sparkle when he did.
“Alright, so if you aren’t a student what are you going to be doing while you are here?” I don’t want to be narcissistic, but I believe he was staying around for me. I have no idea what he was doing before last night, but surely, he wasn’t hanging around an Academy campus he was no longer a student at.
“I am going to be teaching in some of the classes. Mostly combat, but I will guest lecture in Demonology and Feeding habits as well maybe some Elemental magic, I’m pretty good with Air.” He turned a corner, and we were in a crowded hallway.
I realized that I wasn’t paying attention as we walked to my first class. Looks like Elijah would be walking me to class more often. Not that I minded at all, but I could do without all the ogling people.
Yes, the super-strong Incubus that has never been able to be with a woman because of his power, has found his mate. It seemed that finding a Fated Mate was a regular thing in the Demon world so why was mine so weird. Everyone could mind their own damn business.
“Okay, here is your first class. Elemental magic, with Mr. Ash, he will probably put you on the spot just to put the pressure on and see if it makes anything come up. Just keep your head up and do what you can, I’ll be out here when class is over.” He leaned down and kissed me on the mouth—it did an awesome job at taking my fear away—but as soon as he pulled back, I could hear the whispers. I didn’t bother trying to listen enough to catch what they were saying. People were talking about the new girl, anyway, might as well give them something to talk about.
I stood up on my toes and kissed him again, just for good measure, and then walked into the class. I have never been a shy person, but I don’t like the idea of being put on the spot in front of everyone either. I didn’t quite understand why teachers did that. Did they enjoy our embarrassment, or did they just do it in misguided hopes of getting us to open up?
The classroom wasn’t exactly what I expect. There were candles all over the place, plants in every corner, ivy on every shelf, glasses or bowls of Water set here and there, and the windows were open despite the cold. Twenty desks are set in rows of 4, and there is even a Fire extinguisher by the teacher’s desk. The walls here were bare, no posters or curtains, and considering the Fire Element, I can imagine why. Don’t want to burn the school down.
I walked right up to Mr. Ash. “Hello, I’m Thea.”
“Ah, yes. The new Succubus from the human world. How interesting this all must be for you.” He doesn’t say it in a taunting way, but the way the girls behind me snickered made me think that they believe he did.
“It is something, way more attention than I am normally comfortable with, that’s for sure.” The girls snickered again. “I know I’m behind, not only in the year but on the Demon side of things too, so I’ll do what I can to catch up, but I don’t make any promises. I didn’t know that Demons were real until yesterday, and I have never noticed anything like magic come from me. So…” I was rambling again.
“How about you just take a seat, we will see what you’ve got in a little bit.” With that, he gave me a dismissive wave. I turned and found a desk on the far right of the room three rows back, next to a girl with killer green hair. She smiled at me as I sat down.
“Hey,” she leaned my way, “I’m Mercy, don’t worry, this school isn’t as bad as it seems.” She sounded genuine but I found it hard to believe that this school wasn’t exactly what I thought a Demon school would be.
“Well, that’s good, because it seems pretty terrible coming from Earth.” I smiled just a little bit; I hoped she couldn’t tell that I was lying through my teeth.
“I’ve never been to Earth, but I would imagine that the bubble does seem weird to you.” I hoped that Mercy was a nice person and not one of those girls that pretend to be nice so she can talk about you behind your back.
“The bubble?”
“Did no one explain the school to you?” I shook my head and she continued, “The school resides in an inter-dimensional bubble that sits on Earth, you can’t leave it though, if you tried to walk off one side of it you would just pop up on the other side. As ‘minors’” she used finger quotes, “we aren’t allowed to walk Earth, but we can stand at the edge of the bubble and see one of Washington’s beaches.” She just shrugged, like she didn’t care that she can’t leave here. Granted, she’s never been to Earth, so she doesn’t know if she’s missing out.
Mr. Ash interrupted us then. “Mercy, since you are so talkative today, why don’t you give our new student her first demonstration on what we have been working on this year.”
Mercy stood up and walked to the front of the class. She took a deep breath and opened her hands on either side of her, the candles on Mr. Ash’s desk lit with a small crackle. They flickered a few times and then Water from the glass that was sitting close by bubbled up and dropped on the flame. Then one of the ivies on the wall started to grow, not very quickly but you could tell that it was getting bigger.
When it stopped moving, she turned to Mr. Ash, “I’m still not able to pull Air, I’ve been practicing but it’s just not there, almost like I can’t find it.”
“You are doing well with the other three if you never touch Air it’s not a problem. A lot of people only get two or three anyway, you know that.” He waved his hand to dismiss Mercy and pointed to me.
“Time to see the newbie fail,” someone whispered. I didn’t bother turning around to see who it was.
“Let’s start slow. First, I want you to plant your feet, open your palms beside you, close your eyes, and focus on your breathing.” I do as he said. I felt a little dumb standing in front of the class with my eyes closed.
“Okay, now I want you to picture the four Elements in your mind, one at a time.” A single picture came to mind. A little pond, in the middle of a field, a light breeze, and a Fire burning in front of me. “Now I want you to focus on one. Whichever one you feel is calling to you the most.” I could tell that he was slowly walking back and forth in front of me as he spoke
“Okay, I’ve picked one” I don’t feel like one is calling to me more than the rest, but I decided to go with Water. It seemed like the safest one for me, calm, smooth, and inviting.
“Now you need to push the other ones away, let them completely disappear. Once you’ve done that, I want you to pull your chosen Element close. Surround yourself with it.” I didn’t think surrounding myself with Water was the best idea, so I picture it surrounding my legs, only to my knees. I picture it flowing in small circles around my feet, how cold it would feel on my skin, what it would smell like.
I heard some murmuring, but I tried to remain focused on the Water. I could practically feel it on my legs, cool like I imagined it, seeping into my shoes, in between my toes. Wait—I wouldn’t want it in my shoes, I hate wet socks.
I opened my eyes and looked down, Water was surrounding my legs, exactly like I had imagined it. The perfect bubble that it made had started to ripple.
“Thea, focus on the Water. If you lose it then we all end up wet,” Mr. Ash said, a lighthearted tone to his voice.
“Okay, but I’m not sure what to do with it now that I’ve got it. I didn’t believe that I was actually pulling the Water to me, I thought it was just in my head.” It took everything I had to stay calm and focus on keeping the Water in its globe, instead of rambling like I normally do.
“Listen to me, I can walk you through it.” His voice took on a soothing honey tone. The bubble smoothed out and my heart slowed, panic is gone. My head felt a little fuzzy, so I focused on his face.
