Burning Desire

Chapter 1

"I'm so sorry Rory. I know we had plans, but I'm running a bit late. I'll still meet you at the fountain, but like ten minutes late. Don't be mad," my best friend pleaded over the phone. Even through it, I could picture Ruby's over exaggerated glossy pout.

"It was supposed to be the library, but I'll be fine," I attempted to reassure her. "I can survive ten minutes without your constant company."

"I know, I know. But this is new and I know it's been a while since you've been around this many people. We've been topside for a while, but this is different. Promise me you'll be fine?"

Deep breath. "Ru, I'll be fine. Now go off and do you. I promise. Class hasn't even started yet. I can't get into too much trouble, if any. Love you."

"Love you too. This will be good for us. You're the best. See you soon."

Honestly, I was surprised the delay was only ten minutes. My best friend was as loyal as Sirius, but easily distracted. Most likely, someone had caught her fancy while she had been moving into the dorm and Ruby had gone to explore. It suited me just fine. I wasn't exactly running a tight ship right now either.

Battle gear, check. My clothes, makeup, shoes, and copious amounts of hair products had been packed all week. Living out of a black and white polka dotted duffle in preparation had been a cakewalk, but it was doable.

School supplies, check. The small box had been sent ahead with my battle gear, labeled and easy to find. At this point, the only obstacle left on the checklist was me, well more my indecision.

The two outfits had been laid out since the night before and a choice had yet to be made, at least without being unmade and remade, or rearranged multiple times. To be honest, a very strong part of me wanted to wear them both but figured an outfit change on the first day to be overly indulgent, especially on a day with no class.

The rapidly cooling cup of English breakfast tea silently judged me as did Sirius' lazy yawn beneath my feet. Filled with more milk and sugar than tea, it could barely be called tea anymore. The hellhound was lounging without a care in the world, his tongue rolling out over the jagged knives that were his teeth. A quick ruffle to his rough, inky black fur was a nice distraction, but a distraction all the same. His answering chuff mimicked a laugh. He was cute in a way. Similar to a Tibetan Mastiff, but larger in size and more aggressive in demeanor, though it was hard to tell now. To me he was just an over protective lap dog.

"Laugh it up mister. You're going to miss me when I'm gone and you actually have to work again."

I had willed myself to have made a choice by the time I had finished it, ideally while still hot, but rarely did my plans ever go the way I had envisioned them.

Fuck it.

I chugged the remainder of the lukewarm tea, spun around twice on my toes like a drunk ballerina, and settled on the outfit closest to my outstretched finger. Guess it was going to be a dress kind of day.

The grey cotton skater dress I threw on was covered in what looked like hand drawn sketches of Alice in Wonderland characters. I paired it with black thighs held up by black satin garters and matching black Mary Janes.

I had prolonged my indecision by diffusing my freshly showered hair, so my brown and teal curls were perfectly coiled and bouncing just above my shoulders. The fresh dye job Ruby had helped with made the teal ends vibrant and the conditioning rinse made my natural espresso brown roots shone. The long shower had given me time to shave, not that anyone was likely to get close enough to notice the extra effort.

Even knowing I wouldn't have to really interact with any students, I hadn't wanted to show up looking like a bum. Or a homebody, which was more accurate to what I was.

I hadn't felt up to doing much with my makeup but could already foresee the interrogation from Ruby and my mother if I showed up without any. A bare face did not mean I was on death's door, but with the way they would react, the minutes I would spend relaxing instead of doing my face were moot. I did a quick basic face; tinted moisturizer, concealer, bronzer, and finished it off with black, winged liner and a swipe of mascara that made my hazel eyes pop.

Hopefully the concealer would conceal how little sleep I had gotten. Beauty sleep was not a myth in my eyes. Anxious wasn't the word I would use, but I had been kept relatively isolated from the other demons, with only Ruby and her family for the past five years. Mom was around, but Lilith was a busy woman and sloth was not her given sin. At least she had been thoughtful and sent a car.

My phone beeped with a text. There weren't many people with my number, so the possibilities of who it was were low. Probably Mom or Ruby.

Mom: Send me a picture of you on campus. Tell Ruby I said hi. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Love you.

Rolling my eyes was safe since I knew she couldn't see me. As long as Ruby didn't see the message I would be fine. Last thing I needed was Ruby to see evidence that Mom was telling me to go wild.

Bernini University was warded to prevent direct portaling onto campus and the surrounding area, though there were a few beings that could surpass them; Lilith and the other Princes of Hell as well as the Archangels, not that either group was likely to make an appearance on campus anytime soon.

After waving a quick goodbye to Sirius and a pat on the head, I hefted my duffel onto my shoulders and portaled myself topside to the edge of the wards and waited for the black town car to pick me up.

An out of place, raw wooden bench marked the edge the wards and I sat down and eased my duffle onto the ground. Being alone on the winding stretch of road enclosed by the lush forest around it was peaceful. It was a nice change of pace from the anxiety of packing and school. To be honest, I never had been great with change.

The trees shaded me from the sun overhead. Under their protection, it was cool and I was glad I had added the thigh highs earlier. While part of me had thought they were a bit extra, I was thankful for their warmth. While my other outfit choice was really cute and casual, it had been better suited to warmer weather.

A hawk landed overhead and flapped its wings widely before settling. Majestic was the word that came to mind as I gazed up at it.

"Hello. Anything I need to worry about around?"

It was hard to distinguish the natural from the shifters unless one watched them for longer than a person usually stared at a random animal, so I made sure to make conversation regardless as long as the area was free of humans. Although part of me wanted to tell the bird how gorgeous it was, on the off chance it was a shifter, I didn't want to embarrass myself on my first day.

The hawk kept its sharp gaze on me too long for most simple hawks, but never gave any indication of being a shifter. I was becoming uneasy under its unwavering stare.

No human mannerisms jumped out. Just interest and confusion.

Thankfully my ride chose that moment to appear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The hawk watched the girl enter the car before flying off to give its report of the surrounding area. It made sure to make note of the girl's warm greeting. The master always viewed favorably on those whose kindness extended when they didn't know he was watching.