Page 31 of Dancing With Demons

She blinked. “What?”

“How?” Erlik repeated. “How did you trap the shade alone?” He kicked the box aside. “And why did you trap it in a box? Why didn’t you kill it?”

“I— I—uh—” She rolled her eyes. “I used magic, of course. And I didn’t kill it because I didn’t feel like it. Kill your rats yourself.”

Erlik hummed, his bushy brows high on his forehead. “Your turn.” Dark, piercing eyes turned on me. “How’d the shade end up in that box?”

“We caught it,” I said clearly, completely ignoring the taunts and abuse the princesses heaped on me. “Me, Dora, and Nik. I used myself as bait, and then Dora and Nik ran in with the torches. They used the heat and light to force the shade into the only dark space we left it.”

“That’s a lie!” Ursula shrieked. “That’s what I did! She’s just spitting out what she saw me do.”

Erlik wasn’t even paying attention to her. “And as for why it’s still alive?”

I frowned at him. “Why would I kill some poor creature you abducted and dragged here by force? Violence should be the last resort. Not the first one.”

Snorting, he barked a laugh. “I figured it was something like that, stupid girl.”

Douchenozzle!

“Stupid, but”—Erlik snatched my wrist—“not a liar. Seeing as you’re the only one with the mark of the shade, I’m more inclined to believe your version of events.”

Erlik held my hand up before my face and my eyes bugged. My fingertips! They... They were—

“Black?” I bleated. My fingers looked like they’d been dipped in black wax— No. They looked like they’d been dipped in shadows. “What is this? Is it going to go away!”

He tossed my hand back at me—not in the least bit interested. “As for you five,” he gritted, turning on the princesses. “I like a liar as much as the next demon, but I don’t have time for empty-headed cunts. First, you lose to a worthless human and a limp cripple, and then you can’t even cheat convincingly. Pathetic.”

“You’re pathetic!” Raven shouted. “Watch your fucking mouth, bitch, or I’ll shove those shit-covered hooves up your ass!”

Erlik laughed out loud. “Save the sweet talk for after your run, princess. You lose.” He turned that beaming smile on me. “You all lose.”

“All of us?” I cried. “But we caught the shade! You said you believed us.”

“I do,” he drawled. “But I also believe I told you to bring me a kill, not a fucking headache.” Erlik looked back to where the shade escaped. “No one killed the shade. No one won, so stop your arguing and get outside!”

Swallowing my arguments, I helped Nik to his feet and we went outside.

Nik, Dora, and I were quiet on the way, but the others were not. They were raising holy hell, berating a bored Erlik who wasn’t even pretending to listen to them. And as if that didn’t upset them enough, Ursula tried stomping off in the opposite direction, and Erlik snapped her right back.

“Anyone who leaves without completing the run will be marked absent,” he drawled, smirking away. “And your expulsion will be carried out by me personally.”

Ursula straight snarled in his face. Between the preppy skirt, kitten heels, and blazer, she looked like a classic teacher’s pet, but the look in her eyes said all this pet wanted to do was bite a chunk out of the teacher’s face.

Even so, she spun around and joined the loud, marching stomp outside.

“Wow,” I muttered. “It’s wild how effective a threat that is.”

Nik rubbed his sore nose. Straightening, he slipped his arm off my shoulder and continued on his own support. “Isn’t a violent death an effective threat up there too?”

“Oh yes,” I dropped with hesitation. “But what’s wild is that it takes the threat of a violent death to get anyone to do anything around here. Stop talking or die. Come to class or die. Run or die. I mean, has anyone ever heard of detention?”

“Nope.” Nik cocked his furry head. “What’s that?”

“It’s when teachers punish you with mind-numbing silence and boredom. Also effective where I’m from.”

“Wow,” Nik gushed, ripping out his pen and notebook again. The guy was just knocked out cold and was on his way to run laps around a school that was half a mile wide, and his eyes were shining like Christmas morning. “Can you tell me more about the mortal world? My mothers lived in the wild forests, so there was only so much they could tell me.”

“I’m happy to answer any questions you have.” I shook my head. “Honestly, it’d be nice to talk about home again. Right now, I’m appreciating my home and the humdrum of my normal human life a thousand times more.” I looked around. “I’m appreciating that it really does pay to be kind. No offense, but when I cross over for real, I hope I go up. Not down.”