Fallen Academy: Year Two Read online

  “You’re going to be the death of me.”

  I grinned. “So you’ll train me?”

  Growling, he nodded. “Who’s your fighting partner?”

  Shea stood, popping her knuckles. “Ghetto Tainted Academy bitches got nothing on me,” she stated matter-of-factly.

  Lincoln sighed, looking at the ceiling as if it held some answers. “We’ll see about that. Meet me in the small gym every day after boot camp. Every. Day. Including weekends. And when school starts, I want you in there every day after school.”

  Shea groaned, and his eyes flicked to hers with a glare. “Just kidding. Yay.” She fake-cheered.

  Lincoln rubbed his temples. “Now go, before I change my mind.”

  We turned to leave, and his hand snaked out and pulled me into him. The moment his lips touched mine, I felt all my worries melt away. Lincoln had my back. If he trained us, we could totally, probably, win this.

  When he pulled back, his cobalt eyes bored into mine. “I love you, Brielle. But please stop trying to die,” he pleaded.

  Giving him a thumbs-up, I smirked. “You got it. Just after this one thing.”

  With a roll of his eyes, he chuckled. “Good night.” He kissed me one more time, making my knees go weak.

  “Night.” I grinned.

  As Shea and I headed for Mikey’s cottage to check on him, she gave me a side-glance. “We can do this, right? Fight the Demon City kids? I mean, they are hardcore there….”

  I knew she’d had it rough in the short time she’d spent at Tainted Academy, but I couldn’t have her lose hope on me. Stopping to face her, I peered into her large brown eyes.

  “We grew up in the same hood as they did. We know how to fight dirty, and we’ve gotten a much better education here. With Sera, and with your magic, I know we can win. For Mom.”

  Shea never called her by the name ‘Mom,’ always Kate, but she was like Shea’s mother too.

  “For Mom,” she agreed with a smile.

  Family was family. Blood didn’t matter.

  I gave her a hug, and then we walked briskly to the cottage where my brother was staying.

  When we got to Mikey’s, I knocked loudly, only just wondering if he might still be drugged up.

  “Come in!” he shouted groggily.

  Shea and I walked in to see him lying in bed, scrolling through his phone. He set it down and sat up slowly as we entered, still clutching his ribs.

  “Thanks for getting me this place.” He gestured to the room, but his face fell when his gaze landed on the piece of paper in my hands.

  “Busted.” I held up the flyer. Even though he was only a year younger than me, I still mothered him.

  Looking up at me, he sighed. The bruising on his face was intense, but at least his nose looked normal again.

  “Is this why the kids jumped you?” Shea asked, crossing her arms.

  The thought hadn’t even occurred to me.

  He nodded. “I went to sign up. They said I was too much of a pussy and jumped me. Took my hundred bucks.”

  Well shit. Now I felt really bad for him, and also completely enraged that some Tainted Academy assholes jumped my brother.

  “Mikey, you can’t go doing this kind of shit! You gotta come to me first. Who were you going to fight with?” I asked, exasperated.

  “Was gonna figure that out,” he answered with a shrug. “You aren’t around anymore, so you don’t know how bad it’s gotten on Mom. That asshole cuts her wages every week, says she doesn’t have enough business coming in. But she’s not a demon! She doesn’t have Burdock’s connections.”

  Remorse flooded through me. I had no idea Lincoln killing Burdock would have such far-reaching consequences for my mom. Grim cut her wages every week? No wonder she’d rented out my room.

  Oh God, now I was worried about my mom. Next paycheck, I was going to send her some money. If I had to, I’d force her to take it.

  Shea’s arm wrapped around Mikey’s shoulders as she sat down. “Don’t worry. Bri and I are going to win the money and get your mom out.”

  She was always so soft with him, cuddly. I just usually socked him in the shoulder, and told him to shut up.

  He looked up at me with a grin. “For real?”

  I nodded. “When do registrations close?”

  His long finger pointed to the fine print at the bottom of the flyer—the day of the Awakening.

  We had time. I was sooo winning this fight.

  After interrogating Mikey for every last scrap of info on this Fight Night, I informed him that he was now the new groundskeeper. At least for the summer.

  Once he got over the fact that he was going to have to actually do work to earn his keep, we all settled into a nice flow. He did the grounds keeping, and Shea and I trained our asses off. I told Raphael about the Tainted Army thing, but he didn’t seem surprised, only saddened.

  Now we only had a few days left of summer, and the Awakening ceremony was tomorrow.

  Shea stood in the gym, clutching her disc weapons, sweat dripping down her chest and a badass look in her eye. Lincoln stood before her, blue fiery sword held aloft.

  “Cut me!” he roared, and Shea advanced. Her fists held the flat grips of the blades while the sharp semicircles lashed out, seeking to cut my man. Lincoln was a blur, so fast I could barely track him.

  He and the boys had been training us hard. As I was distracted watching them, Noah kicked out my feet and suddenly I was falling. Next thing I knew, his blade was at my neck.

  Frick.

  He looked down at me, sweat glistening against his perfect porcelain skin. “When fighting two on two, you need to keep your eye on your own fight. Getting distracted with what Shea’s doing will only get you killed.”

  He was right. When the time came, I needed to just worry about my own fight.

  With a rapid spin, I turned out of reach of his sword and used my legs to scissor-kick him. As I connected with his legs, he came tumbling down, and I grappled to gain leverage, moving on top of him. As I was crawling up his body, in an effort to straddle him and try to pin him down, his hand shot out, chopping me in the throat.

  Holy shitballs.

  Pain exploded in my neck as I fought to breathe. A lump had formed in my throat, and I’d keeled over to the side in a weak defense.

  Noah looked sideways at me. “That was a dirty move, and I feel really bad for using it, but the Tainted Academy kids are going to fight dirty like that, so you need to be prepared.”

  With tears leaking out of the sides of my eyes, all I could do was nod. He was right. He was so right it hurt.

  Lincoln and Shea had paused their fight and were taking a break.

  “You’re right,” Lincoln said to Noah. “Which gives me an idea.”

  “Oh no. I don’t like that face. You’re doing the face,” I told him.

  He just grinned and then looked at Shea. “Okay, when are you calling him?”

  Air blew through Shea’s full lips. “I dunno. Now-ish.”

  We decided Shea would be the one to call Master Grim and ask his permission for us to enter Demon City to register for the fight contest, since I’d been the one to try and kill him and all.

  Lincoln shook his head. “Okay, get three passes. I’m going with you girls.”

  A frown pulled at Noah’s lips. “Hey, I’ve never been to Demon City. I want to go too.”

  Shea’s conspiratorial look connected with his. “Trust me, you aren’t missing anything.”

  “Just ask,” Lincoln told her, holding out her phone.

  She chewed her bottom lip. “Man, I feel sick. What if he says no? All this time will have been wasted.”

  “Don’t let him say no. You know him. Use everything you got,” I encouraged.

  She took a deep breath and dialed his number on speakerphone, then started to pace.

  “What do you want!” he barked the second he picked up. She’d worked for him for six years, so of course he’d have her number saved in his phone.
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  Shea stopped in her tracks and rubbed her sweaty palm on her pants leg. “To give you a million bucks for Kate Atwater’s demon contract,” she replied, voice as smooth as butter.

  Grim laughed good-naturedly. “Don’t waste my time with fairy tales, angel lover,” he spat.

  My bestie chewed her lip. “I’m not. I just need you to get me four passes into Demon City so I can sign up for Fight Night. When my team wins, I’ll give you the money. All of it. In return, you release Kate’s contract.”

  Silence. Long-ass, terrifying silence. Did he hang up?

  “You can’t win. You’ve no doubt gotten weak in Angel City. Don’t waste my time.” Then he hung up.

  He freaking hung up.

  “Bastard!” Shea screamed at the phone, then sat down on the floor, and started typing furiously on the keyboard.

  Frowning, I walked over. “What are you…?” My question faded when I noticed she’d pulled up Grim’s picture from one of his strip club websites.

  “I’ll show him who’s weak.” She started to rock back and forth, chanting and moving her hands left and right as dark blue magic leaked out, covering the phone.

  “Is that light magic?” Lincoln’s voice held concern.

  I raised an eyebrow, but Shea ignored his question.

  “It’s, make his horns fall off, magic,” she declared, and I blanched.

  “Shea—” Before I could talk her off the ledge, the phone lit up with a call from Pansy-Ass Boss Man.

  Shea stopped her magic and grinned, answering with a purr, “Why, hello there?”

  “What are you doing!” he roared. I could practically imagine the spittle flying from his mouth.

  “Who’s weak now?” Shea sneered into the phone. “Two months ago, I helped kill four demons, so don’t tell me I can’t win. That million bucks is mine,” she growled.

  Silence.

  More silence.

  “No, it’s mine. You’ve got a deal. Now, stop fucking with my horns,” he rumbled and hung up.

  Shea smiled as we all looked at each other in shock and relief. Two minutes later, he texted her a one-hour travel pass for four people from Angel City.

  “Let’s ride,” Lincoln called out.

  Chapter Three

  The next day, we set out to register for Fight Night. After getting past the border with our passes, Shea instructed Lincoln on how to get to Tainted Academy. The longer we drove, the more Noah and Lincoln shifted in their seats, looking uncomfortable.

  “How come Shea and I don’t feel like shit when we’re here but you do?” I asked Lincoln.

  He gave me a side glance. “Shea doesn’t feel it because only Celestials do, and you don’t because….” He eyed the mark on my chest.

  Ah. Interesting. Because I wasn’t a full-fledged Celestial, I was a Lucifer hybrid.

  Ugh. Sorry I asked.

  “Left down this alley,” Shea added, leaning forward.

  We careened between two brick buildings and down a skinny alleyway. When we reached the end, there was a black wrought-iron gate guarded by a demon slave who looked like a WWE wrestler. He was clutching a sleek black gun in his oversized left hand.

  Lincoln rolled down the window and the guard glared at him, nostrils flaring.

  “What are you doing here?” he spat.

  Lincoln handed him his phone, which had the barcode showing we were approved to be in Demon City. “We’re here to enroll in Fight Night,” Lincoln told him.

  The guard glanced at it and shrugged. “Says you can be in Demon City. Doesn’t say I have to let you in Tainted Academy.”

  Dammit.

  I was about to speak when Shea rolled down her window, directly behind Lincoln. The guard snapped his eyes in her direction.

  “What’s the matter, sugar tits? Afraid you’ll lose to a couple Fallen Academy kids?” Shea questioned.

  He glared at her, his eyebrows drawing together to form one bushy scowl. “You the one entering?”

  “Me and my bestie,” Shea answered with a nod, waving her thumb towards me. “Gonna wipe the floor with these Tainted Academy kids.”

  His glare turned to a grin and then a full-blown laugh. Reaching down, he pulled out his walkie-talkie. “I need an escort for some Fallen Academy douchebags. Keep your eye on the dark-haired one. He’s one of the leaders of the Fallen Army.”

  He looked at Lincoln and winked, then slapped the hood of the car.

  We drove on through, my man at the wheel, scowling.

  Noah turned to Shea. “How did you know that would work?”

  She smiled, shaking her head. “Please. Men are run by two things: their dick and their ego. Dick, ego, dick, ego—”

  Noah waved a hand in her face, shutting her up. “Got it.”

  I chuckled and looked over at Lincoln, who was grimacing behind the steering wheel. “How did he know you?” I asked him.

  He shook his head. “I’ve never seen that guy before in my life.”

  Noah leaned forward, popping his head between us. “Yeah, that was weird. We should tell Raph.”

  Lincoln just nodded and pulled into a parking spot near the entrance, where two large men were standing with automatic rifles.

  “Shit, man, they’re packing here. This is a school, right?” Lincoln leaned back to glance at Shea.

  A dark look crossed her face and she nodded. “A messed-up school, yeah.”

  Now the guys were walking to our car. Lincoln opened the door and stood tall.

  “No weapons on campus,” the big brute with black bushy hair, and a red crescent moon tattoo on his forehead warned.

  Lincoln was quiet for a whole forty-five seconds before he leaned into the car and whispered, “Noah, you stay here with the weapons. If I text you, drive onto campus and bring me my sword.”

  Holy shit, does he think we’re going to have trouble?

  Unstrapping his sword, he placed it on the center console.

  Noah’s gaze filled with longing while he focused on the campus. It was clear he wanted to see the inside, but he just nodded to Lincoln as Shea and I got out. I wasn’t sure if they were going to check us, and I couldn’t risk Sera getting taken, so I left her on the seat.

  As I made my way around the car to stand next to Lincoln, I saw the men looking him over, checking him for weapons.

  “What about him?” They pointed to Noah, who had crawled into the front seat.

  “My driver isn’t feeling well. He’s going to stay in the car,” Lincoln answered with a straight face.

  It was clear Lincoln had been the one to drive us. The dark-haired demon slave scowled at him and then moved on to me. I was wearing pretty tight clothes, but he asked me to lift my shirt and spin around so he could check me for hidden weapons. When I was completing my full spin, he let out a catcall whistle and stared at my abdomen.

  Lincoln’s wings snapped out and he stepped forward, no doubt ready to pummel the guy.

  My hand shot out and I laid it on his chest. “Let it go,” I murmured.

  The demon slave was grinning ear to ear.

  “You’re next, sweetheart,” the redhead told Shea.

  Shea’s resting bitch face was on as she lifted her shirt and did a spin.

  “So, you girls think you can win in a fight against our best?” He looked Shea and me up and down.

  Screw this guy. With little more than a thought, my wings snapped out, the tips now touching Lincoln’s.

  Their eyes widened at my black wings, and they seemed to just now notice the Prince of Darkness’s tattoo on my chest.

  Shea stepped forward. “You just show us where to sign up, sugar. That money is ours.” She was the best at sweet-talking a guy down from a fight.

  He grinned. “We’ll see about that.”

  Lincoln was like an animal poised to attack. His entire body was tense and rigid, unmoving even to breathe. I knew if those guys even reached for a weapon, he’d grab Shea and me and fly us to Angel City.

  The guys took one last look
at Lincoln, rolled their eyes, and started walking to the entrance.

  I stepped toward my man, slipping my hand into his, and tugged for him to follow. We needed to register for the fight or I couldn’t save my mom.

  Lincoln waited until our security detail was a good twenty feet ahead so they couldn’t hear when he started talking shit.

  “He looked at you like a piece of meat. I want to cut his eyes out,” he growled.

  My eyebrows hit my hairline. “Damn, who’s the dark one now?”

  “I told you this school was messed up. They’ll probably let us sign up, and then as we’re leaving, they’ll jump us or some shit,” Shea whispered.

  Lincoln scoffed. “I’d like to see them try.”

  Shea and I shared a look. They had semiautomatic rifles. We were weaponless, and Lincoln wasn’t looking so hot, sweating and breathing heavy. If they jumped us, we were getting our asses kicked for sure.

  We entered the quad, and I could see right away that the buildings had fallen into disrepair. They were all cracked brick and corrugated metal of different colors, with two large buildings off to the left and a smaller strip of classrooms to the right. The campus must have been an old middle school or something. It was nothing grand like Fallen Academy.

  Our guards had walked through the small atrium, and were now standing before an open classroom door.

  As we approached, Lincoln stepped in front of me and walked up to the door, peering in. The guys had to step out of the way to avoid his wings. Lincoln must have been satisfied with what he saw because he entered the room, his wings folding back to get through the door.

  The guards scowled down at us as we followed him inside, Shea in front of me as I tucked my own wings back to fit.

  My eyes fell to my watch. We were only permitted to be here one hour. My gut told me if we overstayed our welcome, they had every right to do something about it. Now that Lincoln had moved out of the way, I could see a cheap card table had been set up with a hand-drawn poster in front. ‘Fight Night Sign-Ups’ was scrawled across it in red paint that dripped to look like blood.

  “I knew it would be you, Shelly.” The girl who’d spoken sat behind the desk with a big hairy guy. She was staring at Shea.