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And Razai was a fucking bully.
“I need to sleep,” I groaned.
“Go over it again. One more time,” he ordered.
“I’ve read through their files a thousand times!”
“But you only got their class schedules two hours ago,” he reminded me.
Currently, the packets of class schedules were stacked on the coffee table.
His phone rang, and he stood. “Redford! What a treat this is.”
I didn’t even have the energy to be excited that Redford called back. All I needed was a couple seconds of sleep. Just a few minutes of rest. And then I’d have the strength to kick Razai out.
My temple met the couch cushion. I pulled a blanket over my shoulders and shut my eyes as Razai chattered away. A few minutes… that’s all it would take…
Thoughts faded, weighed by my exhaustion. The last thing I remembered was a blanket placed over my shoulders and the sound of a sliding glass door closing.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Quinn sat at the front desk, her mouse clicking at light speed, her pointer finger practically a machine gun.
The waiting room television displayed the news. The newscaster, her shiny, curly hair bobbing as she spoke, reported on an attack at the Bronx border.
“Reports of this attack came in late this morning. Three Divine elites were rendered useless beneath the impact of one demon’s thrall. They found themselves in love with her and nearly willing to follow her back to the Demonic Territory. The attack is speculated to be retribution for the three Demonic elites struck down last month in an accidental firing when the elites crossed the Gate in a planned scope…”
I cleared my throat pointedly at Quinn.
Without missing a beat or looking away from the screen she said, “One minute.”
I wiped my hands down the sides of my pants, hiding the nervous sweat. “No problem.”
The reporter disappeared, and three talk show hosts filled the screen. The red-haired faery said, “See, Rod, this is why we support legislation banning all Demonic races permanently from our barriers. They come through for political and military meetings that are meant to be peaceful, and then they bring our own forces to their knees. They are unnatural and undeserving of access. No less than beasts.”
I flinched. Flashes of a pretty blue room returned to me. My mother holding me in her lap as I stared into her shimmering eyes.
“Demonic and Divine are two sides of one coin. To hate the other is to hate oneself. Remember that, my little Pigeon.”
“How are you doing, Isra? Are you feeling sufficiently supported in your job?”
I started and then sat in the chair next to her. “Mostly, yes. I’m nervous about the student meetings. Can I ask you a few questions?”
She became respectfully serious and nodded.
“I want to fully understand the standing of the students who were attacked. It’s good for, uh… community coordinators to know. Did you meet any of the victims?”
“Oh, yes. Yariel is a fine student. Or, he was. Very driven. He was actually half-angel, half-fae and came in on a scholarship. He kept his head down, did his work, and was determined to graduate at the top of his class. I’ve only met him a few times, and he had always been respectful and quiet. Breaks my heart.”
“Same,” I said, hoping I sounded sympathetic and not too eager. I felt bad about his fate, obviously, but information gathering required focus.
Especially when I was about to do something incredibly, embarrassingly illegal.
The thing about angels and demons was this: angels controlled natural and physical phenomenon. Elements. Nature. Themselves sometimes. Demons controlled other people. They seduced, lured, and coaxed. They manipulated one another in ways that terrified and angered the Divine races.
Demon magic was forbidden. Hated. Feared.
I understood why.
