Fallen Kings

34

“No, I’d love a tour,” I say. “If possible, I’d like to visit the library. I’m trying to research some of the darker, more dangerous fae relics for a paper I’m writing, and the Seraphim library isn’t cutting it.”

Baal lifts his chin. “I’m sure their library is extensive, but heavily curated to protect the students from many dark truths. Here, we embrace such darkness. I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for among our shelves.”

“Thank you.” I knew appealing to his ego would work.

We emerge through the trees to a massive, emerald green lawn with a perfectly trimmed hedge and purple flowers leading to a courtyard with a large fountain. It’s dwarfed by an imposing, gothic building in dark grey stone with pointed arches, tall paned windows, and a black roof with a few stone gargoyles on the corners. Beyond it, I spot other smaller buildings in the same style, and a dark stone path leading to them.

“Our grounds once belonged to a human university, but we took it over when they shut down during the Great Depression,” Baal explains, as he leads us past the main building along the winding path. “This is the main building, Archfiend Hall, which houses my office, the library, and some of the classrooms. You may notice this campus is somewhat larger than Seraphim Academy, and we have about double the students. Our other main differences from your school are that we start at eighteen instead of twenty-one, we hold classes year-round but give more frequent breaks, and our school is entirely optional.”

“Demons don’t need to attend?” I ask, surprised. I was told Seraphim Academy was mandatory, and I assumed that was true of Hellspawn also.

“No. In fact, many demon families prefer to train their young themselves, in particular the vampire houses and shifter clans.”

“If that’s true, why do you have so many more students than Seraphim does?” Jonah asks.

Baal lets out a haughty laugh. “Do they not teach you these things? Interesting. Demons outnumber angels on Earth by about four to one. We came here in much larger numbers throughout history and have been breeding here ever since. Vampires and shifters are the largest in number, while dragons are the rarest. We also teach many Cambion here—those who are half human.”

I’m learning a lot of things they never mentioned at Seraphim, and it makes me wonder what it would be like to be a student here. I was treated poorly when people thought I was half-human—are Cambion treated any better at Hellspawn?

Baal leads us on a quick tour around the massive school grounds, revealing a myriad of outdoor activities, including tennis courts and swimming pools. Behind the tennis courts, we enter a large indoor stadium that puts our gym to shame. We stand on the sidelines and watch a few minutes of the game, before heading outside again. Jonah keeps glancing back inside, dragging his heels as Baal continues the tour.

“Go. Watch the game,” I tell him. “I’ll be fine.”

My brother flashes a look at Baal with a frown. “I’m not sure…”

“Olivia will be perfectly safe here on campus,” Baal says. “She’s under Lucifer’s protection, as well as my own. And unlike Seraphim Academy, we haven’t had an attack during any of our games in a decade.”

Jonah still hesitates, but then a huge cheer goes up in the stadium, and he relents. “All right. As long as you’re okay with it.”

“Very okay with it. We both know you’d be bored to tears in the library.” I’m actually excited to do this alone, without anyone watching over me. I can almost pretend I’m just another student here.

Jonah heads back into the gym, and Baal continues our tour. He shows me the food court, which has a bunch of different restaurants, and the student housing, before adding, “We also have many classrooms and tunnels underground, in the dark depths below the school. We are demons, of course.”

Of course.

“As I mentioned before, our library is housed under Archfiend Hall,” Baal says, as he leads me back to the large gothic building we first saw. He opens a thick black door for me, and I step into a grand entrance with rich, dark wood and a sweeping staircase that twists around after splitting in the middle. The windows dim the bright afternoon sunlight from outside, and a huge black chandelier hangs above us with tiny crystals dangling from it.

“This way.” Baal takes me around the back of the staircase to another one that leads deep underground. He stops in front of black double doors carved with intricate designs and opens both with a flourish.

We enter a large circular space with tables in the center and bookshelves that stretch all the way up to the top of the very tall ceiling, complete with those skinny ladders that roll along the shelves. A few hallways lead off into other similar rooms with more massive bookshelves. It’s a shame Bastien isn’t here—he would love this place.

Baal speaks to a redhaired woman behind a counter, and she nods and points to one of the hallways. Baal gestures for me to follow, and we pass some students who openly stare at me with a mixture of awe, fear, and hatred like I’m used to getting at Seraphim Academy. Will I ever fit in anywhere? Probably not. Not ‘til angels and demons have better relations, anyway. I want to make that happen, somehow. Baal takes me into an adjoining room and gestures to a large section of books. “These shelves house everything we have on fae relics. You’re welcome to stay as long as you would like to do your research.”