Page 8 of Phoenix Academy: Mayhem

Chapter 3

We runalong the path my magic makes. Then walk, slower, as we come to a strange place in the middle of Hell, what feels like a mirage at first: a lovely little lake with trees all around it and a garden at its shore.

My blue magic happily burbles around and around the water, everything about it drawing me near. When I reach out with my naturalistic senses, I feel peace. No alarm goes off.

"Hey guys," David says, "could you maybe..."

"Oh, right."

I glance over and blush to realize that David is still naked. It's not the first time I've seen him, or his... well, his cock, a thought that makes heat rise in my cheeks. But every time it's because he shifted.

It's never been anything romantic or sexy.

I wouldn't even know what to do if it was.

I know that David is available for me. That I could have him if I wanted. The twins have even suggested that I could have them too, that they wouldn't fight over me, for the sake of their shared friendship and our bond if nothing else.

But I'm no Dani Carpenter. I can't imagine myself with one boyfriend, let alone multiple. It sounds like the sort of thing that would be doomed.

Thankfully Xavier has a spare set of shorts stowed away in the large inner pocket of his blazer, which he keeps around because of David's inability to shift with his clothes. And Reggie peels his blazer off, rolling up the sleeves of his white button-up, the muscles in his arms flexing appealingly. I find myself glancing in his direction, staring at the way his long thin braids hang over his shoulders, how his wrists flex and fingers curl.

I wonder what those fingers would feel like if they touched me.

Shaking the thought off, I turn towards the distant lake and stop to discuss our next steps. "So. We're in Hell. All of us, apparently, even though I tried to keep you guys out of it. Sorry about that."

"Wasn't really your fault," Xavier offers sympathetically.

"Well, technically she did make us her familiars in the first place," Reggie points out. "And she decided to bring that dude here to Hell with her. And got us stuck. Hey, we couldn't just go back through that door, could we?"

"Not without opening it all the way. I put a spell on it after we went through to make sure it wasn't possible. And you heard all those demons gathered 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."

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