Phoenix Academy - Lucy Auburn Page 0,8

in the darkness around the door. They'd follow us back to campus as soon as we opened it up."

"So we're stuck in Hell." David sounds surprisingly okay with this. "Given my life so far, not a huge surprise."

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself." Reggie rolls his eyes and knocks David on the shoulder, making the wolf shifter grimace. "I'm sure we'll get out of here somehow. Right Ari?"

"Right." I consider our options, and abruptly decide, "but we should probably avoid that lake. All my naturalistic senses are telling me it's exactly where we should go, and those senses led me astray in the Spirit Realm. They're the reason why we wound up in this position in the first place."

Xavier murmurs, "Looking back, the fountain of blood should've been a big sign. Sorry, Ari."

"No, you're right." It hurts, not trusting myself. I wish my mother was here, even as I'm glad that her spirit is safe from these horrors. "We don't know how long we'll manage to survive here, or what's awaiting us. So we need to be radically honest with each other." Swallowing, I go first. "To be radically honest, I'm glad that you three are here, and that makes me feel guilty. Because you're in danger because of me."

David's bright blue eyes are on me. "I'm not angry that I'm here. I think... I think if I weren't here with you, but I knew you were down in Hell, I'd go mad. I'd turn into a rabid wolf and bite everyone around me. I would never be able to shift back. Because I care about you too much to be without you."

I swallow, feeling intensely vulnerable in front of his eyes. "I care about you too." Looking at the twins, I admit, "All of you."

"Alright, alright." Reggie pats me on the back and slaps David's shoulder. "Enough mushy stuff. We've got to get a move on, pick a new direction before one of those terrifying demonic thingies get us. Save the radical honesty for when our feet are moving. So—which way?"

Looking to Xavier, I tell him, "I feel like your instincts are the least likely to get us in trouble."

"Hey." Reggie puts a faux-wounded hand on his chest like he's been shot. "I have some good instincts from time to time."

"You once put your dick in a box and wrapped it like a present for your ex-girlfriend," his brother points out.

"Yeah, that was a great present."

"Ex-girlfriend," Xavier reminds him. His eyes scan the darkness in front of us, and the small grove with the lake in it, which calls to me more each passing second. "Let's go to the left. Skirt behind the lake. At least that way we'll be able to see in one direction if anything comes for us."

"Agreed."

"Also, Ari, could you light the way for us? Some blue fire would be nice right now."

"Let me try."

I take a deep breath, gather my powers to me, and fill my palms with fire just like Yohan taught me. It takes a few seconds, but as they spark to lift, heat and light fill the air. Then I cast my hands out and try to direct the fire like a wall to the left of us to light the way.

It's a little wobbly and strange, but the fire burns well, staying lit even without tinder or fuel. In the distance, I see a dark shape move away from its flame, and decide it might be best to keep a fire lit all the time here in Hell. If the demons are afraid of my blue power, all the better.

I hope and pray that soon someone will figure out a way to rescue us.

That Auerbach, or Dani, or both of them, will find a way out of Hell.

Because I can feel it back on Earth.

My body.

It's not going to stay alive forever.

And neither will the shifters, who are here body and soul, protecting me whether they want to or not.

We're doomed if no one saves us.

So we have to try to save ourselves.

As we pass by the grove of trees, then go beyond it, out into the darkness, I start to get nervous. Hell runs on rules none of us know. In the distance, I can hear tortured screams, curses and prayers to gods who will never answer them.

"I keep thinking about the penis flattener," Reggie says abruptly. "Think they really have one?"

"No," David dryly responds. "It's Hell, Reggie. I'm sure there are only unicorns and pixies around here."

"Pixies have sharp