We pulled up outside the club about two hours later. Between Erin and Aiden was were waiting for a pair of forty minute showers. Ali and I were ready fast with her being done before we even invited them, but sadly our respective siblings really dragged things out. Ali spent most of the ride to the club complaining about how much of a diva Aiden was about his hair, a tirade which had Erin cackling like a witch on speed. By the time we arrived at Nevermore it was just coming to sunset.
Nevermore was a gothic cathedral in one of the nicer nicer parts of town, we all gaped at the towering stone structure as we got out of the jaguar that had been parked in the penthouse’s assigned parking space. Whoever had restored this place had spared no expense, strategic cracks and crumbling stone littered the outside but the building remained structurally sound. The whole vibe made the place seem like some ancient temple of long forgotten macabre terror.
Rather than electric lights candles burned on the walls near the doors and along the dim corridors as we entered and mounted the winding stone steps into the lower levels. Each candle shone just bright enough to light the path while bathing the walls in shadow, and the flames flickered with an eerie green glow as they danced above dripping white wax. We couldn’t hear the music yet, probably sound proofing or some kind of dampening spell, but the silence reinforced the overwhelming sense of the profane given off by the dark and crumbling church.
Ali and Erin were uncharacteristically silent, even their unquenchable enthusiasm shaken with awe by the sheer presence of the place in which we found ourselves. I turned to Ali “where exactly did you hear about this place again? Because I’m getting a distinctly spooky vibe here, I mean we’re sure to meet some classmates which is great, but how the hell did you hear about the local infernal hang out so fast?” Ali looked distinctly shaken as we descend the steps, and I was comforted knowing she was as blindsided here as I was. So I’m petty, sue me.
Ali turned her bright blue eyes to me, uncertainty flickering in their depths like ripples in a pond “ I asked the doorman at the penthouse. I know we own the building but I’d think your dad would’ve told us if the doorman was in the know. I hate being caught off guard. If he knew what was going on he should’ve told me what we were walking into. Someone is getting an ass kicking when we get back.” I could see anger stirring on her face, and pitied the poor doorman who had decided to play a joke on what he probably thought was a ditzy blonde party girl. Even if he knew the deal no way would dad have cleared some random door guy for our mission. Poor bastard had no clue what he’d gotten himself into.
We finally reached the bottom of the stone steps and stopped at a pair of massive wooden doors with an old fashioned crossbeam holding them closed. Pushing all the other stuff aside I stepped up with Aiden to lift the beam and put it to the side. As soon as the door started to creak open waves of sound cascaded over us in time to a deep, pounding beat. The other side of the door was almost another world, flickering green candle lights were replaced by green flame braziers set in a line down the center of the room. The dancing flames flickered across the dancing people casting eerie shadows across the walls, playing out dark sagas across the stone to the beat of the music.
Around the edges of the room, just beyond the reach of the fires light groups of people huddled together, the shifting shadows giving the impression of nefarious meetings one moment and terrified victims the next. The air was stifling like breathing in a sauna and the vague whisps of smoke that lingered in the room instead of disappearing with the rest carried faint traces of sex and old blood, reinforcing the creeping sensation that terrible things had happened here, and indeed were happening here right now.
The strangest part though was that I could feel my heart pound in time to the dancing of the blaze, my blood seeming to stop and start on the cue of the throbbing rhythm, looking over to my sister and friends I could see them swaying slightly in the smoky, writhing dark, clearly feeling the same sensation of captivation writhing through my own veins. Erin grabbed Aiden and dragged him to the nearest brazier to join the party, while Ali and I slipped off to the darkened edges of the huge stone room, trying to put some distance between us and the fire and clear our heads.
I didn’t believe the sensation was dangerous to us, or I never would’ve let Erin go, Aiden or not, but I didn’t like it, didn’t like feeling so…out of control. The group of people we found ourselves huddling with was small, three guys and two girls, all about our age, and I froze in place when I realized that one of them seemed familiar. Standing there, looking nervous in a bright blue cocktail dress that clung in a way that spoke more of sweat than intentional design, was Sarah.
Her blue eyes (blonde hair and blue eyes, do I have a type?) widened in surprise before her face broke into a beaming smile and she hurled herself into my arms, squeezing me tightly “Oh my god, Ethan! It’s so good to see you! What are you doing here? Who’s your friend? How long are you in town? Do you want to dance? I missed you! Isn’t this place weird?” It took me a second of mental whiplash to process the rollercoaster of exuberance and questions enough to pick a single direction to go in. Having my arms full of curvy, enthusiastic blonde probably wasn’t helping, though Ali’s disapprovingly raised eyebrow certainly threw some cold water on the situation.
I returned the squeeze for a minute, enjoying the beautiful happy girl in the clingy dress draped across me, before I took a step back with my own smile. I genuinely hadn’t expected to see her again, and I was basking in the warmth and sunshine of her presence. Its nice to be around someone who sees you in such a positive and uncomplicated light. To Sarah, I was a good guy, and that was it. I remembered her saying she got a scholarship to some college, though I don’t remember what the name was, I now suspected I had an idea. I’m guessing she was in the program with us, this place seemed to have a way of drawing in the infernal crowd.
I decided to tackle easy stuff first “It’s good to see you too Sarah, I just started college at Hellstrom, this is my best friend Allison, we’re here with my twin sister and Ali’s brother for school. We’re staying the full four years.” Her smile widened then her eyes got a slightly confused look, she opened her mouth but I cute her off, knowing what her next question would be. “I decided to take some time off from my dads company to try to get a degree. Seemed like a good use of time. Cant play the spoiled rich brat forever you know.” I pinned her with a meaningful stare, and thankfully she seemed to understand that I didn’t want to talk about my hunting in front of people who weren’t in the know.
She gave me a warm smile and a shrug “Well whatever the reason, I’m so glad to see you! I wasn’t sure we would run into each other after…the party a while ago. I cant believe we’re going to be going to school in the same town! And you have a sister? I have to meet her!” Oddly Sarahs enthusiasm seemed to make up for her being a terrible liar, as she just bulldozed over her vague statement about her meeting and into a demand to meet my twin. No one seemed to think twice about her hesitation.
Before even introducing her friends, she grabbed me by the hand and dragged me away, in a seemingly random direction. I had to course correct to lead her toward Erin and Aiden, Ali trailing behind us looking annoyed, but all sensation of unease and strangeness drowned out by Sarahs cheer and warmth. I had felt like this last time too, like she just exuded happiness and light. Before I knew it we had arrived at Erin and Aidens side, and I had to wince at my sisters aggressive dancing with her boyfriend.
I cleared my throat and Aiden at least had the good manners to look apologetic, while Erin just grinned unashamedly at the three of us. “Well hello brother dear, and who is your absolutely adorable friend?” She purred this as she stepped away from Aiden to snag Sarah in a hug and pull her close. Sarah simply squealed with joy and hugged her back, clearly comfortable with Erin because of our obvious physical similarities. I half expected my sister to grope her for shock value but apparently even my insane sister couldn’t bring herself to ruin Sarahs exuberance.
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Ali’s annoyed look literally could not have gotten any more sour. I couldn’t help but grin as my best friend glared at my sister and her new friend. Soon Sarah remembered her friends and dragged us all back over, Erin going along with it with a smile as Aiden seemed to sigh in relief while glancing nervously at me. Good man. Once we got back over Sarah apologized, she introduced her friend Abby, who I had met at that clusterfuck of a party, as well as their new friends Shawn, Theo, Magnus and Sebastian, who went by Seb. I got a bit of a buzz off shaking hands, and combined with location I assumed these would be classmates.
We danced for a few hours before Sarah suggested we all go out to get something to eat. She rode with us and we all ended up in an Ihop at three in the morning crowded around a table ordering insanely sugary pancakes. I glanced around to make sure no one was looking and finally confronted the elephant in the room “So, you guys are Hellstrom students too huh? Does that mean you all have infernal blood?” It was kind of hard to look at sweet, cheerful Sarah and think Demon, but some of these others looked like they could be descended from some serious infernal heavyweights.
There was a light chuckle and Magnus spoke up “Nah, man, we’re all children of different divine pantheons. Well…mostly. Shawn here is part fae, from the English planes. He’s actually directly descended from Merlin. I for example am a descendant of Thor, through his son Magni, god of strength. I’ve always been a bit stronger than I should be, but sadly I don’t seem to have picked up any storm powers. That would be badass.”
My eyes went wide “Wait…Hellstrom doesn’t just train Infernals? I thought it would be demon exclusive. I mean the campus is connected to the infernal planes isn’t it?” Sarah looked a bit uncomfortable but not lost, so I took it this had all been explained to her already, but probably recently. Shawn shook his head, but not dismissively, he seemed to understand the confusion and didn’t hold it against me. I liked him already. Plus…Merlin.
His eyes seemed to sharpen with intelligence as he started speaking “That’s a common assumption but in point of fact the connection the school has to the infernal planes is through Purgatory by way of Limbo. Limbo is a neutral plane, and it has connections to almost all the divine planes of existence. That makes the place neutral ground. All the pantheons send kids, provided they have enough of the blood to have a solid connection to their power. Sometimes the blood is weak and their power capability is too thin to be useful. The standard is ten percent, but some people, like me have less. I was scouted because despite being at only seven percent affinity with the fae planes im naturally gifted with magic.”
Sarah finally spoke up “Apparently I have a twenty five percent affinity to the celestial planes. I didn’t know that I had a grandpa who was an Angel till after the mess with the party. My parents found out about the scholarship I was offered to Hellstrom and told me the truth. I’m still…not really sure what to make of it. But if you’re here Ethan I’m sure learning all about our powers will be tons of fun!” She gave me a big dazzling smile and I couldn’t help but return it. She had so much faith in me after knowing me for so short a time. I could definitely see her being part Angel. It certainly explained her warm and gentle aura.
I shook my head in wonder. We were so focused on infernals we had missed all the other amazing things that were out there. I decided that I wasn’t going to play a part for four years. I wouldn’t talk about my family but I would at least be myself. I might be able to make real friends here, and if I could it might be of serious benefit to the family. Not a discussion I was looking forward to having with my dad but luckily I didn’t have to report in for a few months. We had assumed I wouldn’t start learning anything important until later on. “Well my name is Ethan Sunder, I’m ten percent infernal though I have no clue how to access any powers.”
No one besides Ali seemed surprised at my name drop which was good, though I suspected I would be taking some shit from her for revealing so much later on. Magnus shrugged “None of us do. Im pretty strong but I cant use and magic or anything. Shawn has some mystical ability even now but mostly we all figure they’ll teach us how to function as highsiders once school starts. They call us that because our supernatural ancestors are from higher planes, which is where we get our powers. For now we mostly just wanted to meet as any schoolmates as we could and get to know some of the people we’re going to be working with. My brother went here and he says putting together a good group is essential. For some reason.”
I nodded at that “I can definitely see the benefit of sticking with friends, whatever we’re going to be learning I somehow doubt its going to involve hugs and puppies. I bet fighting will be involved and I for one like to have backup in a fight. You can count us into the group, we’re also down for any studying you guys do, because Shawn seems like a homework nerd and we definitely want to take advantage.” Shawn gave me a halfhearted glare while Magnus threw back his head and laughed at the comment.
Ali looked a bit peeved but apparently decided to follow my lead on this. We spent the rest of the night getting to know everyone. Abby was a descendant of the morrigan, a fact she actually had been aware of during the party where she met Alex and I but without having access to her powers there was nothing she would’ve been able to do to help. With pitch black hair and shocking blue eyes, after learning the truth I could definitely see how she might be related to a war goddess.
Shawn apparently had been able to learn a few spells before accessing his bloodline, which was why he had been scouted. Being able to cast without having access to your powers meant you were the kind of genius they couldn’t afford to lose. Short and delicately featured with dirty blonde hair and green eyes, he was the least threatening of all of us physically, but due to his spells was most likely the most dangerous person currently at the table.
Sebastian was apparently a descendant of the war god Mithras, who was a Persian deity, but his ancestors had come by their divine blood via the mystery cults out of Rome. His darkly tanned skin and Italian features went well with his dark hair and eyes. It might have been my imagination but he looked to be handling his knife with almost inhuman skill as he cut his pancakes. He seemed like a pretty intense guy and didn’t seem to talk much.
Theo was a happy grinning redhead who looked like a frat guy. Apparently he was related to the greek god Dionysus and was a big fan of partying, a trait which he admitted was pretty common in his family. He actually had a neat trick for sensing alcohol he showed us, which, while useless was pretty amusing to watch. Despite the obvious hedonistic air about him he seemed like a relatively smart and laid back guy, and I was planning on going to any parties he threw, because who the hell would miss one of those.
Magnus was the largest of us. With a square jaw and the same blonde hair and blue eyes as Ali, though I joked that she looked like a Valkyrie, Magnus actually resembled the norse god whose blood ran through his veins. If you told me he was Thors actual son I would’ve believed it, but his easy grin and laughing eyes made it impossible to take him seriously as a threat. The guy was an extra large teddy bear. He showed off that strength he mentioned a bit when no one was looking by lifting our booth with all of us in it with only on hand, I was pretty impressed.
We got to know all of them pretty well over the course of the night, with Erin and Sarah becoming fast friends, and quiet thoughtful Sebastian hitting it off with Aiden. Ali and Abby were thick as thieves and I couldn’t help but enjoy talking to Shawn and Magnus. Shawns sneaky sense of humor and Magnus boisterousness made them a blast to get to know. By the time we all piled back into our cars with promises to meet up for orientation we were well on the way to becoming friends.
Even Ali, who had been sulking for most of the night had started to warm up to our new group of friends by the time we left, smiling joyfully as she hugged Abby and even Sarah goodbye. We made it back to the penthouse before sunrise, smiling and laughing as we set our alarms for orientation. We all let out a nearly simultaneous groan as we realized the damn thing was scheduled for nine AM, which was only four hours or so away and we dropped on the couch in our clothes immediately trying to suck every last drop of sleep from the few hours we could grab. I smiled to myself as I drifted off to what would undoubtedly be a pitiful amount of sleep. I was pretty sure I was going to like it here.