Vala Eminence Page 4

  Zes groaned a little and pushed his plate away.

  Anj pushed it back toward his twin. “You're a growing boy. How are we going to get to be six feet tall if we stop eating? Honestly…”

  “You just said…”

  “I was kidding. Will you stop trying to hinder my ability to make some magic?”

  Denver snorted. “I didn't know you had any magic.”

  For a brief second, Anj flashed on his magic so he could look at Denver again. “I'm capable of a lot of things.”

  “By all means, continue to work your 'magic' then.” Denver gestured towards Zes. “I personally think it's sweet you're trying to set your brother up on a hot date.” It'll help him and Cheyenne get on better terms and then maybe she won't be so mopey all of the time, or keep trying to hide from everyone. Sneaking around is getting kind of old. I want to flaunt what's mine.

  Always acting the sweet, good boy, Zes started to choke on his food. He coughed a few times, hitting his chest with his fist as he did, and turned an impressive shade of red. Denver had seen him do this on a number of occasions and it was always a riot. The whole thing had to be nothing more than a well-done performance. How could anyone be so pathetically shy? Denver couldn't believe that guy was able to woo Cheyenne, let alone be intimate with her. That bothered him, a lot.

  When he glanced at Cheyenne, Denver noticed she too was starting to turn red. The glare in her eyes increased. She leaned in and kissed Denver firm on the mouth, at the same time standing from the table, pulling him up with her.

  “I have some studying to do, but I'll see you later tonight,” she said before stomping away.

  The table grew quiet, even Halyn, who Denver was positive didn't know how to shut up. Every so often there was a casual crunch from Teague who was busy eating a carrot, unbelievably happy. “She's mad,” he said.

  “Yeah,” Denver said, stiffly. Thanks for pointing out the obvious, like always, kiddo.

  That was what Teague did best. The boy claimed to be a sixteen-year-old, but he had the attention span and innocence of a five-year-old, sometimes even the intelligence of one as well. As Denver learned more about the kid, the less he was surprised. Nobody else knew it, but Teague was from the future. To make things even more hilarious, he was Anj and Jewl's son from the future. How far off Teague's conception was from the present time Denver didn't know, but it was by far the juiciest secret he'd ever kept in his entire life. Lurking in the underworld taught him a number of interesting things. It would be amusingly ironic for Anj, Mr. Know-It-All, to produce unintelligent children, but Denver had the feeling Teague's lack of brains was a nasty side effect from time traveling.

  Anj stared blankly in front of him, as if he were watching Cheyenne leave. His eyes were dark and dull however, so he wasn't using his sight spell. After a moment passed, he shrugged. “Not my problem.”

  Jewl stirred some mashed potatoes on her plate. “Awkward.”

  “I promise you Noel, our table is hardly ever this dramatic,” Anj said. “Who am I kidding — it always is! We're an interesting bunch, and things just have a tendency to get a little crazy.”

  “Yeah, because some people thrive on drama and attention,” Denver grumbled. “Better think about this one, Cutie Pie.”

  “Why are you still here?” Anj snapped.

  Denver's fists clenched. “Why do you even care?”

  “Are you really asking me that? I can't even count on my hands the number of times you've tried to ruin my life. Double that for Zes. That's why I care.” Anj gripped his fork tightly, and for a brief second Denver wondered if the guy was getting ready to use it as some kind of a weapon. His twin reached over and put a hand on Anj's forearm. The grip on the fork eased and Anj set it back on the table once more.

  Zes's gaze locked with Denver's. “I can fight for myself when I want to.”

  “I'm ready for a rematch when the lady folk aren't present,” Denver said icily. The two had exchanged blows over Cheyenne. She was the only reason he hadn't given Zes the worst beating of his life. If Denver wanted to, he could do worse damage than the demons who had already tortured Zes back in the fall when Lucien had kidnapped both him and Cheyenne.

  “Can't wait,” Zes said then went back to eating.

  That was as good of a time as any for Denver to leave the table to find Cheyenne. Respecting her need for space was one thing, but as her boyfriend he felt like he'd given her enough of that for the time being. He didn't know what her problem was, but he was going to find out. Not bothering to even put his leftover lunch away, he exited the cafeteria to make his way toward the dorm. He didn't get far, because Cheyenne snagged his shirt with her hand the moment he walked out the door.

  She smirked. “Took you long enough.”

  “Had to do some talking. You know how they are,” he said. Without hesitation, he snaked an arm around her waist. “What was that all about anyway?”

  “I don't like her.”

  “Who? Jewl? Last I checked, you two were fast becoming besties.”

  “No, Noel,” she said quietly.

  He laughed. “Do you even know her?”

  “Can't say that I do.”

  “Then you can't make any judgments either,” he stated. With a slight nudge he urged her forward so they could leave together. Standing outside of the cafeteria door was never a good place to hang out.

  She scowled. “There's no way she's his type.”

  “Why do you even care?” Denver snapped. She gasped, and let her jaw hang open. He continued. “No, seriously, why do you care so much? You broke up with him. In fact, I remember you seeing me behind his back because you were that dissatisfied with your relationship. Am I wrong? So why do you care so much if he moves on too?”

  “Because he's not allowed to. He belongs to me.” Her tone took on a darker, grittier form, and she no longer sounded like the girl he was in love with.

  His eyes narrowed. Persephone the First? Is that who's talking now? Cheyenne was possessed by her great ancestor so it was a possibility. Breathing in to prevent himself from snapping off at her, Denver made sure to cleanse himself of all negativity before speaking. “I'm pretty sure Zes is his own person.”

  Cheyenne shook her head. “You don't understand. I don't want him, let alone to be loved by him, but that doesn't change the facts. He was my gift, and he belongs to me and no one else.” The same grit was still present in her voice. Closing his eyes, Denver leaned in and kissed her deeply. Her fingers tangled into his hair and he could have sworn he heard her breathe out his true name. “Hades?”

  He pulled away from her, watched her eyes flutter open again, and their gazes met. Then she shook her head, holding it as if in pain.

  He pulled her close to him, cradling her head against his chest. Yes, I am him, but is now the time to say it? There's so much I don't understand. “Are you okay?”

  “No, I don't know what's wrong with me. I just blacked out. Did I pass out?”

  “No,” he whispered. “You didn't. Do you want to go to the hospital wing and get looked at?”

  “I'd rather not,” she said softly. “I just wish I knew why this keeps happening.”

  Sighing, Denver let go of her and started to walk her back to the dormitory. “I don't know, but I'm going to find out. How's that? For now, you should go and lie down. If you're blacking out in the middle of the day, you probably shouldn't be in class. I'll come check on you as soon as I can.”

  She gazed up at him with wide, teary blue eyes. “You're being sweet. Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital wing?”

  “And here I thought being nice to you for a change would give me brownie points. That idea sure backfired!” He had to play it cool. “In all seriousness, there's a lot you don't know about me. Don't put me into a box, Princess, I don't fit in those all too well.”

  “More like, they wouldn't be able to hold you in.”

  That was the truth if he'd ever heard it. He brought her outside into the cold winter air
of late February. Spring would hopefully be coming soon. The new life of the spring would help lift Cheyenne's mood. Ever since the snow fell and the trees and animals went into hibernation, she'd been more on edge. Being Persephone's heir, she thrived when the world around her was alive and colorful.

  A smile formed on his face. “I got an idea. You get some rest today, take it easy this week so you don't have any more of those pesky blackouts, and I'll take you out on a date.”

  She peered up at him, and he could sense her skepticism. “A date? You want to take me on a date?”

  “I heard they can be fun.”

  “I think we might have different ideas on what a date might be, Denver. The kind you're thinking of isn't the kind of date I want to go on with you… yet.”

  “There you go making assumptions again, Princess.” He drew her body close to him so he could share his body heat with her as they walked across the courtyard. “Trust me, I think you're going to love this, and we aren't going to do anything you don't want to. In fact, I make a promise to not even think anything beyond a G rating about you the entire night!”

  A small blush spread across her cheeks as she watched him unlock the door to Athena Hall, her dormitory. “You say that like you don't think G thoughts about me normally.”

  Chuckling, Denver held the door open and helped her inside the entryway. “Most of the time they are, but I am a guy. Can't help it sometimes, especially when you're so… you.”

  “When I'm so… me? What does that even mean?” She gazed up at him, again with wide eyes, but instead of them being filled with tears he saw a beautiful sparkle. A happy one, and he loved it.

  He placed a kiss on her forehead. “I'll tell you on another date and let you wonder for a while. Get inside and rest up, Princess. I should get back to class before I get expelled or the warlock that's your Resident Assistant thinks I'm here to cause trouble.”

  Her eyes closed and she nodded. “I… I'll talk with you later tonight.”

  “Count on it.” He left her there in the doorway. Going back to class was the last thing he wanted to do, but if he was going to stay by Cheyenne's side and protect her for as long as possible, he would need to play the role of the good boy for a little longer.

  Chapter Three

  “Mr. Collins,” the dull voice of Mr. Thantos said from behind Denver. He spun to face the teacher, not smiling or giving any other kind of fake pleasantries. A lot of the students liked to pretend nice with the fallen angel, or at the very least be polite. Denver didn't bother. He didn't like when people were fake to him, so why be the same way to anyone else?

  “Yeah?” Denver asked.

  “I would like to arrange a schedule for our lessons. I am not aware of how in-depth you would like for them to be, nor how frequent. In fact, I am not aware of much beyond that you wanted them,” Mr. Thantos stated. He waved for Denver to enter into his classroom. “I have a few minutes to discuss this matter now, and then I will request you bring further inquiries to my office.”

  Denver walked into the classroom and took a seat in the nearest desk he could find. “I didn't come to you.”

  “No, you did not.” Mr. Thantos sat at his desk and stretched out what remained of his black wings.

  The angel had fallen in an attack from Lucifer himself, or so the rumor went. He had been stabbed by a powerful weapon, the Sword of Vile. Legend said that the sword could change anything good, pure, or wonderful about a person, into death and darkness. Mr. Thantos had been created for the sole purpose of being a guardian angel. On the day of his attack, all of that changed. He gained the abilities of an angel of death, and began to fight the evil that coursed through his veins as a result of being infected by the sword's magic. When he refused to bend his morals and join the demons, Lucifer's minions tortured him and decimated his wings. One was completely ripped from his body, leaving nothing more than a small stub of bone. The other was tattered and shredded with only a small portion of his feathers remaining.

  Mr. Thantos stared up at him expressionlessly. “I am glad you find my history to be so fascinating, but please do not let it distract you. While I said I am willing to discuss my schedule with you, I did mean it when I said I only had a few minutes.”

  The angel could also read minds, and unlike most of the students and staff in the school with the ability, he didn't care for invading other people's privacy.

  “Okay, few minutes, got it. I'll keep it simple then. I wanna learn more about my magic because no one else is willing to teach me anything. You know about the other things I've learned recently… about my heritage. Tell me how I can make the most of my magic so I can come into my full power and take back everything that's mine,” Denver said.

  For a moment, Mr. Thantos watched him. Denver could almost see the gears turning inside of his head with thought. “I am glad you have found out the truth at last. To be honest with you, I think learning how to control your magical capabilities is to everyone's benefit, not just your own. While you have some rather questionable behaviors, keeping you in the dark is unethical. Of course, the staff does not listen to me much. If I were in charge, this school would be run much differently.”

  “I'm guessing you wouldn't cater to the Divine families as much and wouldn't let them stomp all over you like a rug under their feet?” Denver raised an eyebrow, surprised that Mr. Thantos actually agreed with him. That could have been the sign of the apocalypse right then and there.

  “Among other things,” the angel said. “There are a few conditions to my taking you on as a magical pupil. First and foremost, I will only be teaching you until Mr. Orinda returns from his… business. I believe his skills are more along the same type as yours and so that would be more beneficial to you in the long run. Even if you have more power, he will be able to teach you more of the hands-on material. Spells, control, that sort of thing.”

  Snorting, Denver folded his arms in front of him. “So what are you going to teach me?”

  “How to use dark magic for good.” Mr. Thantos' black eyes locked with Denver's. “Because dark magic is not the same as evil magic. A common misconception. If you can protect your spirit, soul, and body, then you are one step ahead of a lot of individuals. This benefits you in a number of ways. Obviously, it will be good for your eternity, it will help with ruling your future domain properly, and it will increase your overall power. I am sure the only one of those reasons that interests you is the last one, but I can hope there is a small bit of decency left inside of you.”

  “If you'd have said that to me a week ago, the answer would have been no,” Denver said with all seriousness. The angel only nodded. “How many people here know who I am?”

  Mr. Thantos leaned back in his chair, putting his arms behind his head in a casual position that looked far too awkward for him to do. “Dr. Warhol knows as well. She seems to be more informed than she lets on about everything, but it is her business to know the psychological well-being of our students. The Principal knows, but Ms. Lis has not told any of her staff. Lucien would not like it.”

  “Huh, and here I thought Ms. Lis wasn't cool enough to hang with the demons.” Chuckling, Denver got up and walked over to the blackboard. He picked up a piece of chalk and randomly began to doodle.

  “Your activities this fall were not the only reason the wards against the demons have fallen across the campus. From what I understand, this is a new development and part of Lucien's plan to destroy you. Naturally, he is hoping to get rid of you before your father dies so he can obtain your power and birthright. Ownership of the underworld will go to whoever is conveniently available and voted in by the Divine. He has almost half of the Greek Divine wrapped around his finger.”

  Hmph. Denver erased his artwork. “You sure know a lot about this stuff. Care to tell me how?”

  Mr. Thantos sat forward in his chair again. “It is my business to know for your protection. I do not want Lucien to succeed. He is more evil than you can imagine, and I would know him far better than an
yone else. We used to be partners, after all, and angels do not take that bond lightly even if it is only business. I guess you can equate us to being brothers.”

  “Can't say I understand, but I'm sure it's all touching and mushy. Still doesn't explain how you know things.”

  “Perhaps at a later date I will teach you. It depends on how much I decide to trust you in the future.”

  Denver's lips twitched into a smirk. “If there's one thing I like about you, it's that you don't lie to spare my feelings. I hate that kind of crap.”

  “It is not beneficial to either of us for me to lie to you,” Mr. Thantos said. “I believe your time is up. Please go to my office and schedule when you are available for lessons. I suggest reserving between one and two hours at a time. No more, no less. I do not want to overwhelm you, nor do I want to cut things short.”

  “Got it. I have things I wanna do anyway, so I have no problem with going.” Denver shoved his hands into his pockets and walked out, not bothering to say goodbye. He rounded the corner and made his way through the hallway until he came upon the section designated for most of the teaching staff. On Mr. Thantos's door he found a sign up list for one-on-one time with the teacher. Denver made sure his name was written down on every day for the next two weeks — two hours, every night from eight until ten.

  Satisfied, he walked back to the dorms. The dinner hour for the high school students was almost over. He was hungry, but food didn't sound appealing to him. Instead he wanted blood — Cheyenne's blood, to be more exact. Drinking from her was a part of their relationship he was still trying to understand. The basic gist seemed to be that her blood belonged in his veins and pleaded for him to take it. There had to be a complicated reason as to why.

  He entered Cheyenne's dorm, using his key-card to unlock the main door. Until visiting hours ended, he could get into any of the dormitories without a problem. Even after visiting hours he didn't have too many problems since he had a nice bag of summoning stones to use. With his magic, each stone had a unique power inside of it for him to unlock. It was one of the few things he had in common with Jewl. She too had the ability, but couldn't tap into it nearly as strong as him. Jewl also didn't know much about her Divine magic, another thing for the two of them to bond over once he decided if he wanted to trust her with the secret or not.