Year Two: Rebels - Cara Wylde Page 0,71

with his baby! I want El to have everything. Everything! And if that means I have to be friends with her father, so be it. She needs to be surrounded by love, love, love. Not conflict.”

I shook my head. “You mystify me.”

Davien laughed. He seemed to be very proud of himself. Of course, that only served to piss Seth off.

“God, I hate you so much,” the sphinx mumbled under his breath.

“Hey!” Corri poked him in the nose. These days, she was merciless. “Love. Love. Love.” One word, one poke.

Seth narrowed his eyes at her. I could tell he was about to smack her, so I grabbed Corri by the back of her tiny coat and placed her on my shoulder.

“Okay, so Valac will behave. Got it. Let’s do this.”

“Be careful,” Seth said. “What you’ll attempt today is dangerous.”

“Wouldn’t it be more dangerous if we tried to steal a horn from a live demon?”

“For sure.”

“Don’t even think about it!” Davien scowled at Seth. “The plan has been decided. Don’t put ideas into her head.”

I rolled my eyes. “Relax. Valac will take me to the cemetery in the Fourth Circle of Hell, Corri will dig up a grave with her magic, we’ll steal a demon’s horn, get back to lunch before Professor Maat realizes we were gone at all. Piece of cake.”

“This is so many shades of wrong,” Seth whispered. Lately, he’d been such a pessimist. Not that I blamed him.

“Hey! You’re going to be in Hell,” Davien tried to calm us all down. “So, you’ll commit a sin. Those are welcome there.”

They walked me to the meeting point, where Professor Maat motioned for me to join her at the front.

“Miss Aleksiev, please stay close this time. I don’t want to lose you again.”

“Don’t worry, professor. You won’t.” I gave her the sweetest smile I could muster.

She looked worried, though. She wasn’t mad at me anymore. Since she’d almost resigned after she’d lost me in Heaven, she didn’t even care that I’d stolen Seth from her beloved daughter. Headmaster Colin must have given her a real piece of his mind.

Just like Heaven, Hell had two entrances in the US. We were going to use the one in Arizona’s breathtaking canyons. A private jet came to collect us, and in no time, we were navigating the intricate tunnels of the red sandstone canyon, looking for the mysterious entrance to Limbo – the First Circle of Hell. Humans weren’t allowed to visit, and those who ignored the warning signs and went in anyway never returned. The gateway to Hell was behind a narrow passageway between two spiral columns, and once we managed to squeeze through it one by one, the cave opened before us.

I was in awe. I felt pulled toward the darkness, and that scared me.

“Corri?”

“It’s okay. You’re human. It’s only natural. Dark, dangerous places are always unbearably tempting for humans. Supernaturals resist them because they’re more in touch with their powers and instincts. That’s why horror movies are not that stupid and exaggerated, you know? Humans do feel compelled to walk into deadly situations.”

“Gee, thanks. I feel better already,” I said sarcastically. No matter what I did, being human was still my greatest disadvantage.

Nefertari Maat waited for us to gather around her, then she looked at Corri and me.

“You’ll need your pixie’s help, Miss Aleksiev. Some parts of Hell are hot, others are freezing cold. There is dust, there are puddles of acid, and more perils than I can count on my fingers. You will be the most affected, so please ask your pixie to use her magic when you feel it’s necessary.”

“Noted.”

She turned to the other MDC students. “Don’t touch anything if you can help it.”

With that said, we entered Limbo. Valac caught up with me.

“Ready for some shenanigans?”

“So impatient,” I mumbled.

“Why do you need a demon’s horn, anyway?”

Of course, we hadn’t told him the truth.

I gave him a fake smile that he could read right through. “This is my first visit to Hell. I want something to remember it by.”

“Bullshit. You’re up to something.” He smirked wickedly. “Doesn’t matter, I’ll find out eventually. I’m just excited to dig up a demon’s grave. Never done it before.”

“You like danger, don’t you?”

“Baby, I was born for it!”

“Watch it, demon,” Corri snarled. “You’re not allowed to call my Mistress ‘baby’. So rude.”

“I wasn’t calling her…” He sighed. “Nevermind.” Then to me: “Look, I know you’re taken. You’re dating Seth and Davien, right? I’m cool with that. Just let me know if you ever