Page 152 of Psycho Devils: Aran's Story 2

Malum and the demons headed toward the stands, while the three of us headed toward the side of the arena where the other competitors were waiting to begin.

Lothaire stood on the side of the arena. He gestured for us to stand on the edge of the lawn.

Across the arena, students waved their arms and opened their mouths, but the sound didn’t travel.

The academy loomed behind them like an evil specter on the horizon.

Even the wind was quieter than usual.

Around us, posts jutted into the dark cloud cover, and the usually gray-red sky was almost black. It looked like it was going to rain, which hadn’t happened since I’d been in this realm.

“Students are speculating a storm is coming, and I think they might be right,” John said as he gestured toward the sky.

Everybody thought they were weathermen these days.

Personally, I had bigger problems to worry about than the clouds. But maybe that was just me.

John looked grim as he tipped his head back and stared at the gloomy sky. “But I hope they’re wrong. No one wants that.”

“Oh yes, I can practically taste the increased humidity in the air,” I said sarcastically. “Very concerning.”

“You can feel it too?” John asked excitedly. “I thought the dew point was higher lately, but I wasn’t sure.”

Sometimes it was hard to be a good person.

Lothaire shouted, “Line up competitors behind this white line.” He pointed down at paint that was streaked across black rocks right before the lawn began and nodded up to Lyla and Dick.

The representatives sat on their platform, which floated above the stands.

After he was satisfied we’d all lined up behind the line, he walked around the perimeter of the lawn toward the other side of the arena.

Why wouldn’t he just walk across?

Lothaire seemed to take forever.

Nervous apprehension bubbled in my gut as I tapped my foot, picked at my lip, and waited for the hammer to fall. I hated not knowing what we were about to do, and my knees and feet ached more the longer I stood still.

I wanted to take a nap.

My breath was slightly uneven, and we hadn’t even begun. Great.

As we waited for Lothaire to make his way slowly around the arena, I studied the other competitors. Upsettingly, I was the only person who’d also been in the last competition.

Sadie’s mates, Cobra and Ascher, stood beside John and me.

Ascher gave me a friendly thumbs-up, and I tipped my head to him in solidarity because I was too nervous to return the gesture.

Next to him, Cobra mimed slitting my throat in the universal “you’re dead” symbol.

I mimed grabbing his balls and ripping them off.

Ascher glared at both of us.

Instead of being intimidated, Cobra took it as a challenge. With a few well-placed hand and feet movements, he graphically depicted shooting me in the forehead. Then he mimed stomping on my corpse.

I rolled my eyes at his lack of creativity.

Last time I took a man seriously, I lost my will to live. Yes, it was my tutor when I was a child. No, I still had not gotten over it.

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