Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

S tepping into that living room is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I'm a sweaty, shaky mess. The only reason I don't bolt past Dean Hayes is because Ben comes out of his room and puts a hand on my shoulder.

I can feel Asenath's presence when he steps into the hallway and my panic subsides a bit more. Odd, considering he's a demon and all.

Drawing a breath into my lungs, I hold it for a count of three before letting it out. Squaring my shoulders, I cross the small space and plop down in the couch across from Dean Hayes. Her almond eyes are focus intently on her phone as her fingers fly over the screen and I have a moment to steady my breathing and take her in.

Despite being the Dean of Blackstar Academy, I've only seen her twice — once during my initial enrollment interview and again during orientation my freshman year. She's an enigma and despite being barely five feet tall, she holds herself like she's seven feet tall.

Not to mention her ESP abilities are scary powerful.

But sitting here in her skirt suit, with her thick black hair secured in a tight bun and her manicured nails clicking away on her phone, she looks like any other businesswoman. Just one who can probably blast your mind back to the big bang with just a blink of her eyelids.

After a snort of derision, that is really at odds with her posh appearance, she sets her phone aside and pins the three of us with a hard stare. Yes, she even pins Asenath with that look and I swallow audibly at her courage.

"I have been made aware of the unfortunate situation that happened two days ago, and to say that I'm regretful and saddened by it would be an understatement. Cody has been expelled. Marcus has not only been expelled from this academy but all other arcane academies in the US. He has also been turned over to the police for desecrating a corpse to completion." She stops and grimaces, giving Asenath an indignant look. I'm still processing her wording. She can't possibly mean what I think she's insinuating.

"What do you mean ‘to completion'?" Ben asks, brows furrowing in confusion.

"I told him to go fuck a corpse and to not stop until he had rubbed the skin off his dick," Asenath deadpans

I gape at him. I mean, he's a demon, so it shouldn't be that shocking, but that is an awfully specific command.

He simply shrugs one shoulder, his crimson gaze boring into me. "He harmed what is mine. He's lucky I didn't rip out his spine and use it to whip him to death."

"Dude! I mean. . .I can't really blame you for that. Marcus was an ass," Ben says. I turn to my best friend who copies Asenath's nonchalant shrug.

"Wait, what about Jacob? Was he expelled and turned over to the police as well?" I ask.

"No." Dean Hayes lets out a deep sigh and leans back in the recliner, crossing her legs at the ankle. "He ran. Despite everything we and the police have done, we cannot find him. Which is…concerning."

She continues to talk, but I don't hear her. The terror from that night crashes into me all over again. I can't seem to get enough air into my lungs. Just my luck the guy that assaulted me is running loose.

Next thing I know, I'm on my feet, Ben right next to me with his hands cupping my face, those big brown eyes of his so close that I can see my own reflection in his pupils. "Breathe, Issac. You need to breathe."

I can hear him, and I understand the words he's saying, but there's some sort of blockage between my body and my mind. My lungs are expanding, my chest pumping as I suck in air and let it out just as quickly. But I can't get any! The whole place is a fucking vacuum.

Dean Hayes gets to her feet, coming toward me with concern in her eyes. She stops suddenly when Asenath molds his chest to my back, his muscular gray arms circling my waist as he nuzzles his face into my hair. From the corner of my eye, I notice his tail lift and wrap around Ben, drawing Ben forward enough that his chest bumps against mine.

Warm breath puffs over the shell of my ear as Ben rests his face against the side of my head. "Breathe for me. You've got to control your breathing because I don't know where you put your inhaler," Ben says softly.

I close my eyes, my head falling forward to rest on Ben's shoulder as Asenath murmurs soothingly in whatever language is from his home realm.

With the demon at my back and my best friend in front of me, I finally come down from my panic attack, my heart no longer trying to beat out of my chest now that I can take deep breaths again. But even though I'm no longer in the throes of almost passing out, the terror is still there.

I can feel the bass rumble through my back as Asenath asks something and whatever answer he gets makes him growl deep in his chest. His power beats across my mind, hot and angry.

I wince.

"We have every resource tracking him down, Issac." I glance over at Dean Hayes who's watching us with a contemplative look, eyes shifting between the three of us. "Right now, I'm more concerned with this binding. Especially the fact that all three of you seem to be affected."

"That's not possible," Asenath exclaims, stepping away from us to approach Dean Hayes. She stares up at him impassively.

"How did Marcus even get the spell?" Dean Hayes asks. She regards me silently and even though I know she's not judging me it feels like she is. Swallowing, I take a step away from Ben and sit back down on the couch.

It isn't until I'm running my hands over my face that I realize I'm not wearing my glasses. Yet another change I'm not expecting, but I have the feeling it relates directly to my incomplete binding. Yay! Yes, that is sarcasm.

"He stole the spell from me. Or Jacob did."

She purses her lips and I hurry on, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. "It was my final for my Advanced Summoning class. But Jacob changed the sigils and not all the changes were accurate. He was trying to. . . ." I wipe the sweat off my palms on my pants. Swallowing, I meet Dean Hayes's eyes. "He attempted to open the Rift, but a portion of the sigil was altered. Looked to have been smudged."

Dean Hayes takes a sharp breath, her eyes widening just slightly. Otherwise, her expression doesn't change. See, terrifying. She does, however, pick up her phone and type out a brief message to someone before putting it back down on the couch beside her.

"And the binding?"

"The binding was done incorrectly, but that doesn't explain why Ben would be connected to it. His blood wasn't used," Asenath points out, perching his sexy ass on the armrest beside me. Ben sinks onto the couch at my other side, one arm wrapping around my shoulders and I lean against him with a sigh.

The scent of clove reaches my nose and I turn my face enough to sniff Ben. I don't remember him buying any sort of cologne that smells like cloves, but he does like variety so it can just be a new one he's trying.

Dean Hayes clears her throat politely, and it's only then that I realize that the anxiety that was ping-ponging around in my head is gone and I feel, almost content. And that Asenath's tail is around my waist, the tip running soothingly up and down my side.

"Are you sure Ben's blood wasn't on the spell? Were you two physical before the spell was done? Though I pray you use protection." The last part is barely above a whisper but still loud enough for me to hear.

My face immediately heats up.

"Um. . .no. No, that, uh, that didn't happen until after everything," I stutter out. She only raises an eyebrow in response.

"Then how did the two of you manage to get blood bound to the same demonat the same time?"

"How much exchange are you talking about?" Ben asks hesitantly. I sit up, my interest piqued.

"Don't tell me you were jacking off on me while I slept." Ben rolls his eyes at me, before shifting his attention back to Dean Hayes.

"Anything that would cause a mix of DNA. But the smaller the amount, the closer to the binding it will need to be," Asenath answers instead, rubbing his cheek in thought. "At least for a demon like me. Something as simple as a kiss could be enough to corrupt the spell. There are usually safeguards in the spell work that would prevent it, but if the spell was done incorrectly then anything is possible."

Ben ducks his head and his ears turn red in embarrassment. "Oh my god, you did jack off on me."

"What? No! I used your toothbrush," Ben exclaims, eyes wide. Can't say disappointment isn't the first thing that goes through my mind.

"Why did you use my toothbrush?"

"It doesn't matter," Dean Hayes interrupts. "What matters is not only figuring out how to deal with this situation, but to also ensure your safety until we can get Jacob back."

Her phone chimes and she picks it up just long enough to look at whatever notification she got before pinning the three of us with an intent stare. "What do you know of the history of this academy?"

"Just what we were told in orientation," I say, glancing over at Ben who nods in agreement. "Also, why aren't you freaking out about Asenath?"

Dean Hayes glances at Asenath, her shoulders drooping as she takes a deep breath. She closes her eyes, her brow furrowing, and I get the distinct impression she's arguing with herself on what to tell us. Whatever decision she makes has her straightening her shoulders, her brown eyes taking on a flinty determination. I can't help but swallow nervously at what that decision might be.

"Demon summoning and even demon bindings weren't always forbidden," she starts off. "In fact, this Academy was originally founded by such a bound pairing. Blackstar is the anglicized combination of their names. For thousands of years, humans had a pact with the demon realm and it was fairly common place for demons and humans to form partnerships and even become fully bound."

My mouth drops open. It goes against everything us students are taught upon enrollment.

"The Academy made demon summoning forbidden when it became apparent something else was interfering with the spells." She gives Asenath an apologetic look. "I am sorry we had to cut ties, but it was for the best."

"The Rift," Asenath says softly.

My focus swings to the demon beside me.

Dean Hays nods sadly.

But aren't demons from the Rift? That's what we are told, especially those of us whose course of study is specifically focusing on summoning.

Asenath twists so that he can look at me directly. "The Rift is a nightmare realm, full of entities that are basically indescribably horrors. They are the true demons, but we don't know what to even call them. They are the ones that can make Saints go blind from just looking at them. They can possess humans if they can corrupt a summoning enough to slip through. They are world destroyers if left unchecked."

My heart rate skyrockets at the implications of what Jacob attempted to pull off. I have an enemy –archnemesis– who wants to destroy the world and I'm bound to a demon along with my best friend. With benefits? Are we labeling anything yet? My brain spirals from everything I'm learning. I swear I'm probably going to stroke out sometime soon.

"And your world is on the other side of the Rift?" I ask. Curiosity is the safer option right now. Beter than panicking again. Or passing out. Both of which are still on the table, of course.

"Yes. My home world is called Tékuatol. Very similar to your world, but less modern. Not as many cities." Asenath smiles, his crimson eyes softening at the mention of his home. My heart clenches at the expression on his face and I lay a hand on his arm, squeezing the muscle gently.

I open my mouth to tell him. . . something. Maybe something sympathetic or a promise to get him home. But I don't get the chance. He tenses, his head snapping over to the front door seconds before there's pounding on the door.

I jump, Ben yelping out an expletive as we both turn to look at the door. Without a word Dean Hayes makes her way to the door and swings it open, revealing a hugely muscular guy in torn jeans and a dirty gray shirt. Runes run up his arms and encircle his neck, shimmering and flickering like they are lit from within.

He also looks like he got the crap beat out of him and maybe lost a fight with a bear or two.

Dean Hayes speaks quietly with him before abruptly turning to us, her face expressionless. "You haven't completed the bond, correct?"

"No. Too busy almost dying or getting my ass ruined by my best friend-with-benefits," I bite out, embarrassment making me a bit more snippy than normal.

Her lips thin and I have a momentary burst of guilt for being sarcastic, but I brush is off. It's perfectly reasonable for me to be off my game with the week I've had.

"We have a change of plans. Get your shit and follow me," Mr. Muscles growls out. Literally. Growls.

My first instinct is to flip him the bird and do the opposite, but something about the way Dean Hayes looks at us has me getting to my feet apprehensively.

Ben's hand finds mine, warm and slightly clammy. He's as nervous as I am, and I squeeze encouragingly. Reaching back, I find Asenath's forearm and slide my hand down until I can thread my fingers through his. I don't know why I do it, but when I look over my shoulder at him, he's looking down at our clasped palms with wide eyes, emotions flashing over his features too fast for me to make out.

"Why are we being rushed out of here?" Ben asks shakily as we quickly follow Mr. Muscles and Dean Hayes down the hallway and out of the dorm building.

"It seems Jacob had some secrets. Secrets he's not afraid to let other people know about now," Dean Hayes says over her shoulder.

My stomach twists itself into knots as we hurry across the quad to the administrative building. We barely make it half-way across the deserted area when Asenath jerks me to a stop, his gray body a blur as he reaches around me to yank Ben toward us.

Ben crashes into me and the only thing keeping us on our feet is Asenath's strong arms wrapping around us.

"Shit!" I yelp as Asenath practically tackles me to the ground. The impact jars me but not nearly as bad as the explosion of earth a few feet beside us. Dirt and rock rain down on us, but Asenath's bulk protects us from most of it.

"What the holy fuck?" Ben yells, pushing against Asenath. I twist around, looking towards the others to find Mr. Muscles shielding Dean Hayes. The runes inked onto his skin glow a vibrant purple, flaring brightly as he throws out a bolt of lightning.

"Oh my God, Mr. Muscles is Thor," I mumble.

Another bolt of lightning goes flying from his hand, the scent of ozone heavy in the air.

I wince as Ben's fingers dig into my arm.

Dean Hayes is beside him, her eyes deadly calm as she watches something behind us. Her power thrums in the air, and with a flick of her wrist a chunk of earth goes flying toward whatever enemy they are fighting.

"Get off me, you oaf," Ben yells out, and I turn to see him kick his way out from beneath the Asenath. Our demon growls something, but lets Ben go. What is that crazy ass doing?

I feel a tug, like a sudden cramp of the muscles over my chest, and my power flares in answer, ripping a gasp from me.

"When our binding is complete our powers increase tenfold. It seems your lover is already a powerful mage in his own right. A strong ally and a formidable enemy," Asenath breathes against my ear.

I watch in slack-jawed amazement as his power builds, flames crackling across his body before they coalesce into a spinning ball between his palms. With a shout, he launches the fireball and it streaks across the quad before slamming into. . .something.

"What the fuck is that?"

Asenath gets to his feet, pulling me up with him as I stare at the monstrosity writhing on the grass. "That," Asenath says grimly, "is something that resides in the Rift."

My stomach drops as the thing gets to its feet, shaking the fire from its body, and I can get a good look at it.

Oh, we are so fucked.