I grimaced when the spit hit the floor.
Even Ronin’s eyelids cracked. He was now very much awake.
“Quite,” Radu agreed. Even his lips were curled at the thought of witches. “Mortals worship many gods, and those gods blessed them in a myriad of ways—giving rise to different types of witch powers. Some witches got their power by drawing energy from the forces of nature, some had innate magic powered by their souls, others were channelers—using an artifact or other conduit to tap into unlimited power.
“There were those with spirit magic who drew upon the power of their dead witch sisters, and similarly, witches with ancestral magic channeled the power of their ancestors,” he said, “and beyond that, there were those who mastered alchemy, sacrificial magic, and sorcerers whose power came from spell casting and mastering words of power.
“I tell you this,” Radu murmured in that low, mesmerizing bass, “so that you understand exactly what we came to be up against. Yes, demons wield compulsion and sacrificial magic, and fae are masters of illusion magic and glamours. But what did any of that matter, when witches could now do all of the above and more?”
He turned his unnatural eyes on us, lip quirked up as if he was really asking for an answer to that question, but he was met with only silence.
Flipping the page from my map, I found myself taking notes on his every word.
“Slow, we were,” he continued, sighing deeply, “to fully understand that our prey was prey no more. As we continued to ignore the mortal witch threat, they built their covens full of witches of all types and powers, so they were prepared to face and kill any supernatural threat that came their way.
“Supernatural speed? What use was that when the right phrase from a sorcerer could immobilize you? Locking your jaw and freezing your muscles so that you can’t even scream and beg as they take you apart. The power to use dark magic to compel those to your will? A cute demon trick except it doesn’t work on spirits of the dead, so what use is a demon against a witch protected by the spirit of her ancestors. What if you’re a creature of the night? Who stalks and preys while the world sleeps?” Radu gestured to his thin and perfect form. “How short-lived is your victory when your prey summons the light of a thousand suns, and burns you to dust where you stand.”
His finished cigarette was flicked over his shoulder and quickly replaced with another one. “One by one, covens were hunting us down, killing us, destroying us, and teaching us what it means to be afraid. It wasn’t too long until we supernaturals were the ones facing extinction.
“We thought—” Radu laughed, shaking his head. “Wehopedthat if we swore to prey only on the worst of humans, a ceasefire could be called, but it was not to be. In their final and complete victory over us, the strongest witches from all the world over, came together and created a spell that banished every supernatural creature to hell, and slammed the gates behind us—sealed them closed from the inside for an eternity.
“As you may or may not know, a witch’s spell can be reversed, but only if you know what the spell is,” he explained. “Not only do we not know the spell to open the gates and free us all, but because their gathering was held in the utmost secrecy, we don’t know the witches who were present on the day, or their magic types.
“Knowledge that would’ve been helpful if hell wasn’t so determined to keep the prey that falls into its clutches,” he said. “When a witch dies, they have the same afterlife options. They either ascend or fall. If they ascend to the heavens, they do so as they are—remembering themselves and their past life.
“But if they are banished to hell, they are stripped of age, knowledge, and memory, and revert back to helpless infants. This is done purposely,” he said, making my brows snap together. “For if you remember your sins, you can repent of them. And if you repent, there is always the chance you can be rescued from hell, and taken to the realm of peace.”
He smirked. “Naturally, the lords of hell have no interest in giving any of you that chance.”
A few demons traded scowls and furious looks. It really seemed like they were hearing all of this for the first time. Lucifer did tell me that it was dangerous to put demon children in school. If it was left up to their parents to educate them until they entered Abaddon Academy, it could explain why they left a few things out, like that, for example, they were doomed.
“And so because the gates of hell now only open in one direction, and because we don’t know the spell that banished us all and closed the gates on our side, and because we can’t interrogate or identify any of the witches who died and entered hell, and because heaven won’t do the denizens of hell any favors and tell us the spell, and because only demons can leave this place andonlywhen they are specifically summoned by a mortal...” Radu gifted us a lazy shrug. “We’re fucked.”
I stared at him unblinkingly. Was all of this true? How was this the history of the world I live in? How could all of this have happened, but humans today only think of witches and supernatural creatures as characters in fantasy novels?
Humans fought a war for the mortal world... and they won.
“So all of you clueless, ignorant demons who whine about beinginvadedand demanding the Others go back where they came from, consider that none of us are fucking going anywhere until we take down the real threat”—a look I’d never seen before entered his previously blank eyes—“the witches.”
Sighing, he hopped off the desk. “But how we do that is anyone’s guess.” He flapped a hand over his shoulder. “All right, that’s all for today. Class dismissed.”
I shook myself, breaking free of the trance. The other students must’ve felt similarly dazed because they were packing up and exiting the room in a much more quiet and subdued tone than when they came in.
Murmurs drifted to my ears.
“Could that leech be telling the truth?”
“It’s not possible. My folks said the gods locked the gates of hell. It’s obvious only gods could have done it. A bunch of juiced-up mortal bitches would never get the best of us.”
“Nah. My old man said the leeches invaded hell to escape the sun. The werewolves came running here with their tails between their legs to escape wolf hunters, and those feathery pansiestried to pull a Lucifer,” a fox demon said to a group of guys hanging on his every word. “They were booted from heaven, so they tried to take over the mortal realm—that’s what all that psycho baby-switching bullshit was. They were slowly invading the population, and the mortals didn’t even know it. All they saw were their own chubby little brats,” he said. “But when that didn’t work either, they tried taking over hell, and got their asses handed to them.”
“But what’s the difference between the gods locking the gates, or the gods giving the witches the power to lock the gates?” his elephant-skinned companion asked. “Isn’t it the same fucking result? And if the fairy scum only came here to take over, why didn’t they leave when they failed? Same for the leeches. Why wouldn’t they just live in a damn hole? Wouldn’t that be better than chasing after wolf tail just so they don’t wither up and blow away?”
“Dumbass,” Fox Demon snapped. “All thatwe’re trapped, we’re starvingbullshit is just that. So they can play like they’re the victims after they invadedourturf. If the gates were really closed on our side, how come demons can walk right the fuck through them whenever they’re summoned.Andif mortals hate and fear us so much, why would they call on demons whenever the mood strikes them?” He tapped the side of his furry head. “Think, man. The leech is a liar—just like all the rest of them.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
With that, the demons filed out—dropping their textbooks in the trash on the way.
