Fallen University: Year Two

“Is this the only school of its kind?” Hannah asked, twisting her blond hair around her fingers.

“As far as I know, yes.” Xero glanced at her, his dark eyes serious.

“Oh, shit,” she breathed. “Then Gavriel already has the edge. If we can’t get more recruits for our side on earth, then we’re stuck with just what we have right now.”

“Not necessarily,” he said. “If the school admins were careful about it, they could recruit from right here.”

Her large eyes widened. “But wouldn’t that be dangerous? Everybody’s full demon here!”

Xero looked annoyed, and Hannah slapped a hand over her mouth.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. You’re the exception though, aren’t you? That was why they were always so suspicious about you. They said this place—the atmosphere alone—is enough to change people. That’s why they have all those classes about protecting your inner light and whatever.”

He shook his head, pursing his full lips. “I don’t think it’s as straightforward as they want you to believe it is. We’ve been here five weeks. Do you feel any more evil than you did when we got here?”

“Of course not, but the wards on the school probably keep most of the atmosphere out. We’re protected in here,” she said confidently.

“Let’s go outside.” I sat up a little straighter as a sudden burst of restlessness hit me.

“Outside of the castle?” Kingston actually put his book down to stare at me like I’d grown an extra head.

“Just to the courtyard,” I said. “It’s protected too, right? The wards are connected to the walls, and the walls go around the courtyard. Please? I’m suffocating in here.”

Kingston, Jayce, and Hannah exchanged concerned looks. Xero gazed at me thoughtfully.

“You want to see for yourself if the air is bad, don’t you?”

“I do,” I said firmly. “But I also want to get out of here. You know how many pub nights we’ve missed?”

“Maybe one?” Jayce answered.

“Better than none!” I stood up. “I’m going. Come if you want to.”

I headed for the library exit, and as I’d expected, they all followed me. I wasn’t the only one going stir-crazy around here; I was just the most vocal about it. We avoided students and teachers as we made our way to the front door. I knew it wasn’t totally forbidden—I’d seen the advanced students come outside to do something to the wards—but it probably wasn’t encouraged, either.

Outside wasn’t much better than inside, though at least there were different things to look at.

“Holy shit. We got lucky,” Kingston said, nodding upward. “I bet we could touch the top of the cave

if we went to the roof. We could have appeared inside a wall.”

“Yeah, I don’t think it was luck.” Hannah shook her head, gazing around with trepidation. “We’ve been learning about the various wards and protections on the school. Shrinking to suit our confines isn’t outside the realm of possibility. Neither is altering our course slightly to ensure we don’t end up inside a wall.”

Kingston huffed a short laugh. “That’s some creepy foresight. Who decided to protect the school from random travel through alternate planes?”

“Someone I am forever indebted to,” Jayce said, looking a little pale. “Is there a way out of here? Out of this cave?”

“There’s at least one giant hole to the east—or whichever direction the sun rises from down here.” I scrambled up onto a large rock to get a better view into the distance. It was hard to see over the wall that surrounded the school. “I can see it from my window. But it leads out to a bog full of bony trees, so I wouldn’t suggest it for a nature walk.”

Xero frowned. “Bony trees?”

“Yeah. I think they’re trees anyway. They’re white and smooth, they look like exposed ribs or fused fingers or something.”

His frown deepened. “I don’t remember ever seeing anything like that.”

“How big is the underworld?” Jayce wondered out loud.

“Big enough to get lost in.” The fire demon’s dark features pulled tight with worry. “I don’t know those trees.”