“Don’t you want to stay for a bit? Offer the students and parents reassurance that this was arandomevent?” I placed extra emphasis on the word random, which he noticed.
“Montgomery has it all in hand.”
“What about saying goodbye to Uncle Adam?” I hadn’t seen the guy since the demons appeared, but I assumed he was safe.
The witch was safe too. I’d spotted her once the shadows faded. She and the obnoxious familiar she called Kenji. Part of me wondered whether I ought to mention the mysterious wall of shadow that appeared in the middle of the chaos, but then Dad would ask too many questions.
Questions I couldn’t answer.
The last thing I wanted was to draw his attention to Raven. It was better if he didn’t know she existed.
Dad ignored my question.
“I’ll expect you home shortly, Alaric. I believe Montgomery plans to send all second- and third-years home tomorrow rather than wait for the end of the semester in three days.”
“Can’t wait,” I replied with a fake-ass smile. The only reason I’d bother to spend the winter break at home was for my mother. Not that she acknowledged me much these days. She’d almost lost her grip on reality thanks to the damned collar Brianna and my father insisted she wear.
If only I could find a way of breaking the spell, but so far, everything I’d tried had failed. Brianna had used black magic, which put me at a disadvantage. But if I had to go down that route, I would.
“Good. I’ll let Brianna know to expect you for dinner on Friday. We have guests.”
Goddess, save me.
My father picked up his jacket and swept out of Montgomery’s office. I plucked a stringy piece of demon flesh from the ruins of my shirt and dropped it on Montgomery’s desk. The bastard deserved no less for being a pathetic little sycophant.
The tether in my chest tugged, making me wince. My witch must be nearby. Even though I hated that I cared about her safety, I headed in her direction.
I’d check she was fine and then go back to my apartment. My father could fuck himself if he expected me to hang around in the hall after spending the last hour battling demons. My magic reserves were low. I needed a shower and sleep.
And possibly a witch weed joint to keep the nightmares at bay.
7
Raven
“Get out!” The incubus ignored Maverick’s furious snarl and sauntered through into the bathroom.
“I need to clean up, care bear, and your bathroom is more convenient.” Clothing hit the floor before the shower burst into life. Maverick clenched his fists and growled some more but stopped short of hauling the damned incubus from the shower.
“Raven wants a shower!” Maverick yelled while I waited to see how this panned out. My bear was right. I stank of demon and sulfur.Unpleasant. My nose wrinkled in disgust. At least I wouldn’t have to listen to Kenji moan about the state of the bathroom. For a familiar that shed hair everywhere, he sure was particular about bathroom hygiene.
I hoped he was okay after our magic show.
“I’m fine, witch. Now let me sleep.”
At the sound of Kenji’s reply in my mind, I jumped in surprise.How…?
“I told you. I leveled up. So now we can talk over a longer distance. Cool, eh?”
“One day, Kenji, I am going to make you tell me all your kitsune secrets,”I grumbled.“None of this ‘speak to Kitsune HQ’ nonsense! That book Professor Dunton lent me told me nothing useful.Nothing!”
“Told you, kitsune secrets are divulged on a need to know basis, and currently, you don’t need to know.”I couldn’t see his furry face, but I knew damn well Kenji was smirking right now.
So I tried a different tactic.“Zane knows more about you than I do!”
Kenji huffed loudly.“Only because he’s a sneaky incubus who can—”
“Zane! Hurry the fuck up! Raven’s cold and upset!”
