Lucifer Reborn by Dante King (the reader ebook .TXT) 📗

off more subjects. “Commanding lesser demons—like the one you’ve already bound to you. Summoning new ones, creating armies to serve you. Even creating entirely new categories of demon is not beyond those who follow the Pride School. This is the big leagues, Luke. A mere step beneath Lucifer’s power.”

Mareth’s voice dropped to a whisper. “This is where you belong.”

I didn’t need anyone to tell me that. I could feel it in my bones.

We paused before the tent, giving me a moment to gather my thoughts. “I’ve decided,” I told Xora—though I meant the words every bit as much for Christina and Mareth as for her. Maybe more, since they followed me. “This is my major, for sure. I want to be a Pride demon. I want to be the next Archlord.”

Tears welled in Mareth’s eyes. Christina squeezed my shoulder, like she’d never been more proud to be my girl.

Xora’s smile grew wider. “Well, now, let’s not get too hasty.”

“Huh?” Something twisted in my stomach. “What do you mean?”

“Before we can get started,” Xora told me, drawing out the words like knives, “you need to be tested. All students new to the Infernal Academy take an aptitude test, which tells us where their natural skills lie. The students themselves have little choice in the matter.”

Icicles filled my chest. “I...see,” I said, watching my dreams fade before my eyes. What if the Academy’s tests decided I wasn’t a good fit for Pride? What if they wanted me to go back to Sloth? Shit, just the tour had been a major ordeal. I’d almost died, after all. What would a final exam look like to these demons?

No, I told myself. There’s no way. I didn’t come this far to fail now. I’d kicked ass during the Wrath tour, right? Christina and I beat the shit out of those two demons—but maybe I wouldn’t get the credit for that, and Christina would. She was a shoe-in to end up one of these Wrath and Lust demons for sure, but what about me?

Lucifer wouldn’t give the title of Archlord of Hell to some guy who washed out and ended up in Gluttony, washing dishes and duplicating mince pies for a hungry student body. Or maybe I’d fail the test outright, and end up a janitor.

Horrible visions flashed before my eyes. All the women who’d shown interest in me—the topless girl in the dorms who’d nearly called me in, the blue-skinned girl who wielded nightmares, the sexy demonesses in Lust—none of them would look at me twice if I didn’t make a good showing in this exam. Even Christina and Mareth might start treating me differently if I bombed the exam. Sure, they’d be sympathetic, and Christina would remain bound to me no matter what, but our relationship would never be the same.

Calm down, Luke, I commanded myself. You’ve done great so far—and beginner’s luck is bullshit. Even if the test is hard—like crazy fucking hard—you can do this. You’re Lucifer’s chosen…

Wasn’t I? Hadn’t I just learned I wasn’t as special as I thought?

“What’s the test look like?” Christina asked.

Suddenly I realized—both Xora and Mareth were struggling to hold back laughter.

“It involves a tour of all seven schools,” Xora said, giggling behind her fingers. “During which, a skilled instructor makes notes of the student’s reactions and decisions when dealing with some of the pitfalls and introductory problems of that school. The instructor’s decisions are announced at the conclusion of the tour, right when the new recruits reach the Seat of Pride.”

Now I was laughing, too. “I’m guessing that’s this tent, right here?”

Xora nodded, wiping tears from her eyes. “Welcome to Pride, Luke. Christina, you’re going to make one hell of a Wrath demon. And after your performance in the Lust school, a minor in succubus-style activities would be an excellent fit for someone of your caliber…”

My heart leapt into my throat. We’d done it! The tour was the test all along. There had never been any doubt. Christina and I were going to be exactly the demons we were meant to be.

As I went to embrace Christina and Mareth, the sound of a horn split the market. Onlookers froze in their tracks, commerce grinding to a halt as every head in the square turned toward the same place: the tent we’d stopped in front of. Xora’s jaw hit the floor as black smoke poured from the entrance, the single horn joined by a whole cacophony of demonic instruments. The bass thudded so loud it shook the stones of the market, sending wares off of their stalls.

“Oh, no fucking way,” Christina panted, looking like she’d just heard a celebrity was in town. “No way are we this fucking lucky on top of everything else…”

“What?” I asked, just as a figure emerged from the tent. The horns hit a crescendo, the beat dropping as an utterly beautiful demoness stepped from the flap and into the sun. A half-dozen retainers crowded around her, kneeling as the elegantly dressed woman stretched to her full height and took in the sight of the market.

“Oh fuck,” Mareth hissed. She ducked behind Christina and me, not wanting this person to see her. How could she not, though? This was the most attractive demon I’d ever laid eyes on. The kind of woman men burned empires for, conquered cities and sailed the seven seas to meet.

“Headmistress,” Xora said, dropping smoothly to her knees. Around the square, demons hastened to do the same. “It is a privilege to be in your presence…”

Oh shit. I dropped to the dirt next to Christina, inadvertently revealing Mareth standing behind me. The succubus gave a squeal and tried to hide behind a nearby palm, doing a terrible job of it.

The demoness chuckled. “Luke,” she purred, my voice in her mouth the sweetest thing I’d ever heard. “Rise.”

I did. In more ways than