Diamonds and Demons (Beautiful Beasts Academy Book 2) Read online

  “Welcome to your Ancient Arts class. I’m Professor Leathers.”

  Come again? I jerked my head toward him as he turned. I stifled and snigger.

  “Something funny?”

  “No,” The word tore from my lips. “People just call me Mor, Professor...Professor L... Maybe we use each other’s first names?”

  He leaned against the table at the front of the room, biceps bulged as he folded his arms. “Good idea. Call me, Nefarious.”

  “Are you kidding? Nefarious Leathers?”

  He just chuckled and shook his head. “Ridiculous, huh? My parents had a wicked sense of humor. I see you’ve drawn the attention of the Wolves.”

  Blue eyes sparkled as he studied me, and Dad’s voice was all I heard. Wolves and Vampires don’t mix.

  “Is that going to be a problem?”

  I waited for anger and the disappointment. God knows I’d had enough from Dad over the past few weeks during semester break. I didn’t need anyone else breaking my balls.

  “Not at all,” he answered and uncrossed his arms. “I believe Supernaturals should work together. Vampires and Wolves. Beasts and Witches. There are two sides to every coin, Mor. The question becomes not what you want, but what is best for the greater community.”

  I slipped into a seat in front of him. It seemed weird being the only student here, but this didn’t feel like any class I’d had before. This felt like a discussion….

  I pressed my spine against my seat. “What if the community doesn’t know what’s good for them?”

  He broke into a loud laughter, the sound rippling like thunder. “As Plato said, no one is more hated than he who speaks the truth. People don’t want to be told they’re wrong. But you’re thinking in the right direction, and questioning things, which I like. You’re going to need that. Before we get too philosophical, you recently met with Vlad Vasile, our Ancient, right?”

  “Yes,” I muttered and glanced at the table. Shit...shit..shit. Maybe he won’t ask me what he was really like...maybe I can just be diplomatic and not say a damn thing at all. I just smiled and nodded.

  “You know, I attended the Great Hall a number of times, interviewed him for my thesis. He is quite a...character.”

  I flinched and jerked my gaze to his.

  “Tell me.” He leaned forward, “Is the old fart still cross dressing?”

  A cough tore free, burning and savage through my chest. I lunged forward, grasped the corner of the desk and hacked and wheezed.

  “Hey.” He slammed a palm against my back. “You okay?”

  I nodded even though the room was blurring under a sheen of tears until I could finally breathe, and then I wiped the tears from my eyes.

  “What do you think your role as his Understudy is?” Mr. Leathers strode back to the front of the class and turned, gripping the table on either side of him.

  I chewed on my cheek, swallowed the burn and tried to speak. “Help the Ancients rule over the clans, amongst other...things.”

  Mr. Leathers’ eyes narrowed, and clearly, I’d said the wrong thing.

  Air rushed from his lips with a sigh as he gripped his hips. “Other things, huh? Okay, what did he do?”

  “What?” I leaned forward convinced I heard him say to me, “what did he make you do?”

  “Come on, what did Vlad say to you?”

  Oh God. I stared up at the ceiling, wishing I could forget this. But still the primal throaty purr rolled through my head. “He said the best thing about being a Vampire is being sexy.”

  The teacher stared at me, then cleared his throat. “Sexy, huh?”

  There was stunned silence, before his eyes twinkled and his lips curled. A roar of laughter tore from his lips as Nefarious shook his head and then cocked it, staring at me. “Did he really?”

  I nodded, smiling and shaking my head. “I couldn’t believe it myself. I mean...he’s like what? Two thousand years old?”

  “At least.” He chuckled and threw one leg casually over the corner of the desk. “He’s unusual to say the least. You know when I was there, he made me sit on the end of his bed while he cat-walked his entire collection of dresses for me.”

  “No…” I muttered, shock stilling me cold.

  “Oh yes. There’s never a dull moment at the Great Hall believe me. It makes you think about the switch from his more, public life. There’s a certain sacrifice to being his understudy, it’s just part of the job.”

  “Sacrifice?”

  The laughter seemed to slip away from his eyes. “Your friends for example. There’s a lot of study, a lot of pretense you have to uphold. You might find it difficult to juggle social events.”

  “Why? Why can’t I just be normal? Why does this have to change who I am?”

  “Because,” Mr. Leathers leaned closer. “You aren’t like them. You are hand-picked by the Ancient himself and you’ll be privy to a lot of guarded secrets of our kind. This kind of status comes with sacrifices, and the communication with your friends is one of them.”

  I glanced toward the doorway.

  “Anyway, enough of that.” Mr. Leathers smiled again. “You don’t need to worry about that now. Let’s begin with the responsibilities of an Ancient.” He counted on his fingers. “Unite Vampire Clans. Be the ambassador between humans and Vampires and Shifters. Claim territory for the clans under his command. Keep peace with other Ancients. Mediator for any mortal media, and ensure constant supply of blood to the clans.”

  My head spun trying to remember everything. I reached into my bag, yanked out a notepad and started to scribble. It made sense, but my mind circled his last point. “How does he ensure a supply of blood?”

  “Agreements with donor groups. We don’t share them with other jurisdictions, and it’s a touchy topic.” After leaning over and pulling a leather-bound book out of his bag, he came over, and placed it on the edge of my table.

  I dusted the cover of dust, and when I opened it, the spine creaked. Inside, each page looked to be handwritten. “How old is this thing? It must weight a ton. Isn’t there a version on USB I can use?”

  “These are ancient texts and unfortunately we don’t have it on a memory stick. But we’ll take it slow...for now.”

  I stared at the tight Latin wording and ancient text and sighed. All this in one class?

  Being a damn Understudy might be the end of me yet.

  Chapter Three

  New Classes. New Rules

  Ava snapped her head up and her gaze cut across the cafeteria to meet mine. I knew that look. Knew it meant only one thing...trouble. The boys turned their heads as I carried the tome with me. Judas glanced at the book, so did every other person in the dining hall...teachers included.

  “Damn,” Ava muttered her gaze drifting to the book. “You’re gonna be buff as Hell hauling that thing around.”

  I dropped it on the table with a deafening thud and winced. “Tell me about it.”

  The Wolves strode toward us and then slid along the bench seat, first Judas, then Bond and Nero.

  “What was the class like? Who is your teacher? What was your first lesson? What kind of things will you be studying? Do you have excursions? Can you bring a friend?” Ava’s lips barely moved and yet she fired off questions like a semi-automatic gun.

  Even Judas seemed impressed.

  Ava stilled long enough to lean forward, take a draw of her drink, and then open her mouth to fire off a few more.

  “Whoa there, firecracker.” Nero lifted his hand, stilling her words. “Let Mor speak.”

  They wanted to know it all, every juicy detail. I could see what juicy details the Wolves were interested in.

  “Tell us everything.” Ava glared at the Wolves and asked anyway. “What’s his name?”

  God, how was I going to say it with a straight face. “Funny thing…” I totally stole her line. “I, ah, didn’t quite get it.”

  They all stared at me, until I shrunk in my seat.

  “You didn’t get it?” Ava muttered.
“You didn’t get what? Anything?”

  I motioned my head toward the mammoth thing on the end of the table. “I got a book.”

  Bond just snarled, as Judas leaned backwards. None of them believed me...none of them.

  I leaned forward, grasped the bloodshake waiting for me and pressed my lips to the straw. Mutters broke out before the Wolves retreated to their seats once more. I glanced around the rest of the dining hall catching Nesrin and the others staring.

  Everyone stared now, and it wasn’t just hateful glances and the rolling of eyes. It was an uncomfortable stare, like they just didn’t know where they stood.

  Welcome to my fucking life.

  At least they all had each other, who did I have? I glanced at Ava, who watched me from the corner of her eye and slipped smoked salmon into her mouth. I didn’t know how to tell her about the Ancient, and I sure as hell didn’t know how to explain my new teacher.

  Nefarious Leathers. I couldn’t even say his damn name without laughing.

  The bell rang for the next class and I finished my shake, grabbed this anvil of a book and hauled it to Psychic 101. I tried to avoid my friends’ questions for the rest of the day, and laughed a little too loud at their jokes. Mr. Jacobsen just looked at me like I was weird and continued with the six myths about fragmented realities, until finally the last bell rang.

  “Thank the Ancient,” I muttered and shoved up from my chair.

  I slung my pack over my shoulder, grabbed the book, and headed for the doorway. But no footsteps followed behind me, not like they had before. I glanced at Ava and the Wolves as they hung back, watching me.

  “I’ll catch you later,” Judas muttered.

  He was talking to me… “Oh, okay, sure.”

  It smarted. I wasn’t going to lie, but I should’ve expected it, after all it was me shutting them out, wasn’t it? My head was a jumbled mess and the sense of unease seemed to grow. My cheeks were burning by the time I got to the dorm. I shoved through the door, stormed across the foyer and then climbed the stairs. My arms were aching when I shoved the key into the lock and stumbled into my room.

  I dropped the massive book onto the end of the bed and the thing bounced before the mattress sank under its weight. I could hear Ava fussing in her room as I closed my door and headed for the bathroom.

  I used the bathroom, washed my hands and my face. “You’re an idiot,” I muttered to myself in the mirror. “A real tossbag.” And then I yanked open my wardrobe and changed my clothes.

  I waited for the knock on my door, or even for the damn thing to fly open before Ava barged in. But it never came, and my world grew a little less vibrant. There was a groan of a chair from somewhere outside the room. I cracked open the door and peered out, watching Ava haul the sofa around the foyer floor before slumping onto it and crossing her ankles and opening a text book.

  Things must be bad if she was doing actual work.

  I sucked in a hard breath and stepped out, casually making my way down to her. She pretended not to notice and I pretended not to notice her not noticing me.

  “Whatcha reading?” I glanced to the other students outside, some were peering into the tree line as though they expected a little fluffy beast to launch out any moment.

  Ava’s only response was to glare at the page even harder. Our first disagreement, and it was all my fault. Fucking awesome. I turned and dropped into the sofa beside her. “Look, I’m sorry.”

  She shook her head and gave a shrug. “It’s okay. You gotta do what you gotta do, right?”

  “It’s just,” I started and then stopped. “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Oh, so now I’m not in your league? Wow, I didn’t realize being an Understudy meant you were suddenly too good for the rest of us. And all it took was one private class.”

  My heart sank. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

  “Really? Then by all means, tell me what you meant.”

  God, she was going to make me tell her. “It’s just...my teacher, and the Ancient. They’re not...not what you think. They’re…strange..”

  She jerked her gaze toward me, one brow rising. Even if I was an outright cow by hiding things she was ready to be my best friend in an instant. “Tell me everything, leaving nothing out.”

  I sucked in a breath. “His name is Nefarious Leathers.”

  There was stunned silence.

  You could hear a demonic bunny fart.

  “Nefarious Leathers?” she muttered.

  I just nodded.

  The hmpf...hmpfhmpf...hmpf turned into hard, jerking sobs until with a sudden roar I realized they weren’t sobs at all. But laughter. Ava howled hysterically. “Oww,” she grabbed hold of her stomach and gasped for a breath. “N-Nefarious...L...Leathers?”

  Her eyes watered. Tears slid down her face.

  She seemed to pool from the sofa and spill to the floor.

  Her body was shaking and trembling and I was unable to do anything but watch her...until my stomach started to quake and that tremor raced. A giggle slipped free and moved deeper shaking loose the fist clenched around me.

  “Oh my God.” Ava giggled. “That name...no wonder you didn’t want to tell us.”

  “It’s not just the name,” I sniggered and leaned close to murmur. “The Ancient is a cross-dresser.”

  She stopped dead, eyes widened. “No...freaking...way.”

  I nodded. “I shit you not. He orders takeout, which I have to run and get for him. Loves leather, and he said the best thing about being a Vampire is that everyone thinks he’s sexy.”

  “Sure, if you’re blind...the dude is practically a fossil.” She sniggered and shook her head. “He’s got skin,” she lifted her arm and pinched the underside of her arm and then moved her hand about five inches lower. “To here.”

  I sniggered and shook my head.

  “Reminds me of those dogs, you know the one with all the rolls, they’re cute and all. But sexy?” She was all in now. One million percent hooked. “You have to tell me everything. Leave nothing out.”

  And I told her...all the craziness...all the bizarre; and the doubt and darkness slipped away. We were best friends again, laughing with tangling legs, falling into each other as we giggled and Ava snorted, which only made us laugh harder.

  “Oh man.” She shoved a fist against her belly and tried to breathe.

  And everything was right in my world once more.

  “So, what are you going to do about Leathers?” She finally came around to it. “He’s hot, right?”

  “So not my type,” I murmured.

  “No fur?” She gave me a wink.

  The words lingered as Judas, Bond and Nero filled my mind. “No, I guess not.”

  “Holy shit, I can’t believe you’ve got three guys interested in you.”

  “Me neither,” I murmured.

  But it didn’t feel anything but easy, like they were all one perfect happy memory, and yet they were individual, each with their own drives. I wanted to know more about them, each of them. I unfurled my limbs from around hers and shoved from the sofa. “They said something about milkshakes and brownies.”

  “You go ahead,” she murmured. “I’m just gonna kick back here and relax.”

  “You sure?” I cocked my head. “Not like you to pass up something like that.”

  “Go.” She shooed me away with a flick of her hand. “But bring me back a piece of brownie, those things are delicious.”

  I laughed and headed for the door. “I’ll bring you back two. I know how you haunt the damn vending machines at midnight.”

  “Do not,” she snarled.

  But there was one person she couldn’t lie too...and it seemed that went both ways.

  I strode out of my dorm and headed for theirs. Memories slipped in from last semester, darkened basements and dead bodies, and a ploy to kill my father as we celebrated my 100th birthday. So much had changed, but many things hadn’t...many things had just evolved, and as I reached the front doo
r to their dorm, I couldn’t help but smile.

  Voices spilled out as I yanked open the dorm door and stepped inside. I made my way toward their doors, tried the handles and found them locked. I knocked on each door, drawing the gaze of a demon who lingered in the shadows, but there was no answer. I turned away and made for the front door once more. They must be already there, waiting for me.

  My steps were hurried now as I raced for the main building. I thought I’d get sick of this place, that I’d grow bored with the classes and exhausted from the other students. But I wasn’t, if anything I was excited to see Judas and the guys. The sky was darkening as I entered the main building and made my way to the cafeteria.

  The dull roar of voices filled the hallway, excitement mingled with terror.

  “A goddamn rabbit.” I heard someone say and turned my head.

  A guy from my class was motioning in the air how he had to climb a tree to save his life. He lifted his head as I neared, and our gaze connected. I bit the insides of my cheeks, fighting to stop from smiling and strode into the dining hall.

  The place was packed. Nesrin and her friends taking up their familiar post. I turned for Judas’ table and found it invaded by others. My steps stilled. I scanned the rest of the hall, searching every face, and every gaze.

  But they weren’t here...I turned, checking the corners behind me and felt the heavy weight of stares settle. I didn’t need to look to know who it was, so I left, leaving Nesrin and her watchful gaze behind.

  Dusky pinks deepened to red against the horizon, stretching out as far as I could see as I strode toward my dorm. I shoved through the door and caught Ava lower her book. “You forgot my brownie.”

  “Huh?” I lifted my head.

  “My brownie... Hey, what’s wrong?” She sat up straighter, closing the book.

  “The Wolves weren’t there. I dunno, maybe I got my signals crossed. Maybe I went too late. I thought...I thought they wanted to…”

  “That’s okay, we can hang out. There’s a Vampire movie on later if you want to watch it? Queen of the Damned?”

  I shook my head. “It’s okay, maybe next time. I think I’m just going to read a book in bed and turn in early.”