Demon Hunters: Last Class

Episode 4: Lyric- Campus Tour

Somnod's breath choked out the air with a sweet and sterile stink as he leaned over my body. The weight of him pinned my legs down, but my arms were free. I punched him, then scratched, and I finally tried to bite him. All my attempts bounced off harmlessly. He leered down, drool dripping from his crooked face, and I was powerless to stop him...

Like Linda.

I jerked awake, screaming for Mom. Through thick tears, I frantically looked around. This wasn't our house. It wasn't my room. I was in the bed of some small unadorned room, all alone.

An unfamiliar weight pressed down on my legs and irrational panic flooded in. Did Somnod follow me through the dream like an imitation Freddie Kreuger? Looking down, I half expected to see the monster who'd killed my mother and sisters. Instead I saw that strange bobcat.

"Good morning, burnt girl," she purred.

"What do you want?" I grumbled.

"A warm place to sleep during the winter and a cool place to rest in the summer." She stood up and stretched, yawning so I could see her pointed teeth.

"Sounds great. Why are you in my room?"

It was weird hearing her sultry voice come out of a big ass cat. Somehow she managed to sound cultured and refined while wild and decidedly New York. It held a hint of British inflections, but with a New York accent.

"I heard you crying in your sleep. Thought you could use some company." She gestured to the baby doll with the polka dot dress laying on my pillow. It wasn't mine. "I brought you a friend."

"Thank you... Toni Silence."

"You can just call me, Toni. I'm going to call you burnt girl."

"My name is Lyric. Lyric Psalm." I looked down at my bandaged fingers. A few days ago they were raw patches of pink flesh.

"Your name is very musical. I like it." Toni jumped down and padded over to the window, as silent as her name. "I'm still going to call you burnt girl."

I studied the talking cat, teetering between wonder and frustration. Animals could speak, women could heal with the simple brush of their fingers, and fathers could burst into flames. The world I knew was a lie and my father had been a liar my entire life. Nothing made sense anymore. Yet, if I let myself think back, nothing ever did. I used to often think Mom and Laurell were keeping secrets from me. I used to watch Dad and Uncle Warren talking passionately in the backyard and feel like I was being left out of important matters.

How much had they hidden from me? How much of my life was still a lie?

Someone knocked at the door and after a moment came in. Average height with a streak of blue in her light brown hair, the stranger managed to be both cute and striking. Her face had an adorable quality, but her body was toned like a volleyball player. The reading glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose seemed out of place.

"Good. You're awake." She glanced over at the bobcat in front of the window. "You're both here. Even better."

Toni met my gaze and I shrugged.

"My name is Jennifer Perdy, Dean of Physical Wellness here at The Jefferson Institute of Special Learning. I'll be taking you on your official tour this morning."

I sighed. I'd gone with Lydia on a handful of college tours just last year... It felt much longer than that. It felt like a lifetime ago.

"I've seen the place already," Toni said with a yawn. "No thanks."

Ms. Perdy assumed a very military-like stance. "First, your larcenous jaunts around campus don't count as a true tour. Second, this isn't optional."

Toni went rigid, the hairs on her neck rising. I didn't blame her. I didn't ask to be here and I didn't apply for this Jefferson Institute of Special Learning.