"HAHAHA! Oh my god!" Damian cackled.
It was later that day, and Damian, Sahara, their best friend Addison, two wolves named Leonardonardo and Vincent, and Sahara's foster brother Quintin were gathered in the film club room.
"That reminds me of the time I tricked my cousin into asking out a pyromaniac!" Damian crowed gleefully. "She ended up setting him on fire! It was hilarious!"
"Sounds kinda familiar, eh, Vince?" Leonardo said teasingly, nudging his twin brother with an elbow.
"Heheh... I told you never to speak of that again," Vincent replied through a forced grin.
"" Addison remarked in a tone that could've either been serious or painfully sarcastic.
"Oh hey, Dame," Vincent piped up, "did you bring the snacks?"
"Aw, crap!" Damian groaned, frowning. "I think I left them at home!"
Sahara scoffed. "Typical."
"Not to worry!" Damian told her reassuringly. "My nanny is prol'ly bringing them now! She's always on top of things I forget."
"Pffffft!" Leonardo sputtered as Vincent began to snicker. "You still got a nanny?!" The twins burst out laughing while Damian scowled.
"So when's the help arriving?" Vincent sneered, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, Daaa-miaaaaaaan! You left your little snacks at home, baby!"
Every head in the room turned at the sing-songy voice.
Standing in the doorway was a curvaceous woman with pink hair, pink eyes, and a pink dress, carrying a bag with the words "Snax for my Face" written on it.
Leonardo, Vincent, and Quintin gawked at the woman, their jaws dropping to the floor.
"You need to be careful with the carelessness, sweetie!" the woman crooned. She sashayed over to Damian and handed him the bag. "Here are your little snacks."
"Thanks, Tenta," Damian said gratefully. Then he let out a cry of protest as the woman pulled him into her bosom and kissed him on the forehead. "Tenta! You're embarrassing me!" he wailed.
"Sorry, baby!" The woman—"Tenta"—released Damian and gushed, "You have fun now with your little friends!" Then she spun around and vanished in a burst of glittering pink dust.
Leonardo turned back to Damian as Vincent's tongue lolled out of his mouth. "DUDE!" the former exclaimed. "Damian! Your nanny is fiiine! 'H-O-T' FINE!"
"Ew! Gross, Lenny! That woman raised me," Damian said, disgusted.
Vincent bobbed his eyebrows. "Lucky b-----d."
"You should tell them about how she forgets to get dressed in the morning," Addison told Damian teasingly. "They'd love that..."
"Shut up, Addison!" Damian snapped.
-
P.O.V. – Tentadora
Tentadora rematerialized in the castle, only to hear her name barked out the moment she did so. Looking down, she saw Major Styx looking up at her with an enraged expression. "Where is the Dark Prince?!" he shrieked.
"He's at his little school film club!" Tentadora replied flippantly, rubbing Styx's head affectionately. "You know that, Pixie Styx!"
"He's still attending the club?!" Styx cried. "It's bad enough he's attending the school! But if he misses appointments with his parents for "clubs", they'll find out what's going on for sure!"
"You worry too much," Tentadora cooed, cupping Styx's face in her hands.
"DON'T TOUCH ME, WOMAN!" Styx raged, waving her hands away. Straightening up, he pointed a warning finger at Damian's nanny and snapped, "As Damian's caretakers, we are responsible for him—and it will be OUR heads if he is caught."
"I know that! But things are fine," Tentadora reassured the major. "He's really happy on Earth! You know it's good for him!"
"Yes," Styx conceded. "But I do not think it is wise to push things! What about his tutor here?!"
"Daxler is never going to catch on," Tentadora pointed out disdainfully.
-
"Now boy," the Wendigo demon known as Daxler babbled to what was clearly a doll of Damian and not the real thing, "can you tell me what key elements are known to make up Hell's surroundings?"
The doll, of course, did not respond.
"Yes! Correct! Fire and brimstone, indeed!" Daxler exclaimed gleefully. "Brilliant, my boy!"
-
"Well, his father is looking for him now," Styx growled at Tentadora. "So he must come home. Where is he?"
"Gimme a mo," Tentadora responded, rolling her eyes. "I need new batteries first. Then we can both fetch him."
"Fine! Meet me in the hall."
Tentadora retreated into her door and slammed the door shut.
Styx scowled, turning and grumbling, "Vile woman..."
Suddenly, a pair of pale white hands clapped over the major's eyes, and a raspy voice asked, "Guess who, Styx?"
Styx immediately pulled away, recognizing the voice (and the hands) and snapping, "Do NOT touch me, Bozzwick! Juvenile!"
Bozzwick chuckled and leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "So I heard the head honcho is lookin' fer Damian," he remarked in a sneer. "He sure goes missing a lot, huh?"
"He is most likely wandering someplace he shouldn't!" Styx harrumphed, crossing his own arms.
"Uncle Styx!"
Major Styx stiffened and spun around, seeing three Hell Sprits sitting at his feet with eager grins on their faces. "Where is Damian?" the cyclopean one in the middle asked.
"All of you, STOP ASKING ME THINGS!" Styx raged, frustrated.
"General Major Styx."
Styx scowled as Hilda, the Head of House, approached with a disapproving look on her eyeless face. "Do not yell at the children for asking a simple question," she scolded Styx.
"They are not children!" Styx screamed as the Sprites began climbing all over him. "They are brats!!!"
"Alright Styx, let's head on upstairs and get Damian from the 'evil' surface an'—"
Tentadora stopped as she stepped out of the room.
Hilda, Bozzwick, and the Sprites stared at her in shock.
"—oorrllllffsssshhh..." Tentadora mumbled, trying to muffle her words—but far too late.
"He's on the surface?" Bozzwick asked, raising an eyebrow as Styx covered his face with a groan.
"W-Well... I-I—h-he..." Tentadora stammered.
"Fine! Yes he is!" Styx snapped, spreading out his hands. "And now that you all know, it is on YOU as well if his parents find out!"
Hilda glanced at Bozzwick, then crossed her arms and closed her empty sockets. "Well, I for one am very disappointed in you two for this," she said sternly. "Deliberately lying to your Head of House—leaving the prince unattended!—he could be overwhelmed; he is not ready for so much—"
"Shut up, Hilda," Tentadora suddenly interrupted, leaning on Styx's head. "I know what's best for Damian." She pointed at Hilda and added, "I raised him."
"Oh yes, and you did a bang-up job with that, dearie," Hilda said scathingly, waving her hand and opening the door to Damian's room with her power. "Such a disciplined, well-organized child," she sneered, revealing the messy living space. "It's a wonder he can dress himself."
"HEY!" Tentadora and Styx both barked before simultaneously railing on Hilda in Damian's defence.
As they did so, Bozzwick turned to the Sprites with a smirk. "So it seems like 'the Dame' is up on the surface world," he commented.
"Where do you think he is on Earth?" two of the Sprites asked in unison.
"I have a hunch," Bozzwick answered with a cruel grin. "Follow me, girls..."
-
"You do understand why it is exceedingly unwise to allow the young prince out amongst the surface world inhabitants?" Hilda retorted, finally able to retaliate against Tentadora and Styx's verbal attacks. "His powers and personality are just not suited for that. He is meant to be here, and to be trained to take his place in this kingdom. That world is too distracting from his rightful path.
"And I don't mean to be so blunt, Tentadora," Hilda went on, "but you and your reckless personality have rubbed off on him far too much."
Tentadora winced, stung by the remark, and rubbed her arm.
Hilda put her hands behind her back. "I'll do my part by making sure his parents are none the wiser," she promised, turning to leave. "And you two... see to it that Damian is returned posthaste," she added warningly, "as well as the Sprites and Bozzwick, from the look of things."
Styx and Tentadora fumed in silence for a moment.
Then Styx exploded, "So now we have to locate those hooligans as well?! NUARNNNGGH!"
Tentadora sighed and grabbed Styx as swirls of pink light began to surround them. "Well then... better get started!" she said cheerfully.
-
"So who's votin' ice cream now that the meeting's over?" Leonardo asked as the group began to exit the room.
Vincent began to respond, then frowned and glanced over to the darkest corner of the lounge. "Oh, hey," he said, "shouldn't we see if MacKenzie wants to join?"
The group turned in unison, staring at the strange girl, who was drawing in a notepad with a sour expression on her face.
"She never looks like she'd want to," Leonardo pointed out. Then, turning back to the exit, he declared, "ONWARD!"
"Why does she even come to the club?" Addison asked disdainfully as they left the room.
MacKenzie looked up from where she sat, her expression turning sad.
-
The half-demon Avian named Bozzwick appeared with a trio of Hell Sprites—Vespa, Vetis, and Verin—outside Z.P.A. "So this is it, huh?" Bozzwick remarked, unimpressed as he looked around. After a moment, he sighed and muttered, "Well, we best get lookin' for Dame."
The pigeon-shifter suddenly perked up, spotting three female students sitting on a bench. "After havin' a little fun!" he amended, scurrying over and throwing his arms around the girls. "Hey, ladiessssss..."
-
P.O.V. – Cameron
Cameron was walking down the halls, minding her own business, when suddenly a burst of glittering pink dust appeared in front of her, followed by what appeared to be a see-through red snake. Both morphed before her eyes, transforming into the tall pink-haired woman she'd seen earlier and a small, unidentifiable blue-furred creature. Somehow, Cameron managed to keep her nerve and resist the urge to freak out. I must really be outgrowing my zoophobia, she thought uncertainly as the woman leaned toward her.
"Hellooooooo, dearie!" the woman cooed. "Do you work here?" Without waiting for an answer, she went on, "I was hoping to know when the after-school film club lets out! My pumpkin-doodle-bum is in there and we need to take him home."
"The film club...?" Cameron pulled out a notebook labeled "club list" and flipped through it. "Uh... it actually let out forty minutes ago," she said apologetically.
"Oh, my," the woman remarked, disappointed.
The blue-furred creature—who appeared to be stewing in fury—turned to her and barked, "This is all your fault!"
"Oh, hush," the woman said dismissively. "We have time to find him. He can't have gone far!"
"Don't tell me to hush, woman!"
"Thank you for your help, gingersnap!" the woman said, ignoring her accomplice and pulling Cameron into an unwanted embrace. "This will be an adventure!" she announced and she and the creature walked away.
The creature let out a scream of frustration.
Cameron blinked—then pulled a bottle of pills out of her pocket and popped some into her mouth. Yeah... definitely getting over it. She turned around—
—and screamed as three red-furred creatures appeared in front of her, letting out hungry screeched.
Cameron took off like a shot, rounding a corner and diving into the office where, coincidentally, Simon was being held. "THEY'RE AFTER ME!!!" she screeched at Zechariah, Carrie, and Fabian (who were standing guard along with a grey-skinned, red-haired woman), pinning herself against the door to hold it shut.
"What in tarn—Cam?" Carrie exclaimed as loud thumps echoed from outside.
Suddenly, the top hinges broke and the door bent over Cameron's head, allowing the red-furred creatures entrance into the room. "Eyy, baby!" one of them crooned at her—seconds before the door flattened the counselor.
"Well, I'll be!" Carrie exclaimed, reaching out and lifting one of the creatures into the air. "These here are Hell Sprites!"
"We're looking for our master Damian!" another one of the sprites squealed, hugging Fabian for no apparent reason.
"Ain't that the devil's kid?" Carrie said, glancing at Zechariah with a frown.
"Hell... Sprites...?" Cameron croaked, crawling out from under the door.
Simon barked out a laugh. "You allow the son of the devil to attend this school... and you lock me up?" he hooted.
"Damian does not endanger the lives of the students," Zechariah retorted.
"Pfft!" Simon snorted. "You're talkin' 'bout a demon. Half, sure, but still a demon. All demons 'endanger lives'. Even the critters over there..."
Fabian yelped as the Hell Sprite that had hugged him chomped down on his tail.
"See?" Simon sneered.
"I think we should return to the subject at hand..." the red-haired woman said in a quiet, emotionless voice.
"Indeed—what a rogue vampire is doing past the agreed boundaries," Zechariah snarled, glaring at Simon.
"Agreed...?" Cameron began to ask, confused.
Simon smirked and replied simply, "We got bored."
"BULLS**T!" Carrie yelled, shoving a finger in Simon's face. "That maroon leech knows she's not allowed this close to the city! Y'all wouldn't risk comin' here—"
Cameron grabbed her head as the lack of information began to overwhelm her.
"Even if we did have a reason," Simon broke in, overriding Carrie's accusation, "d'you really think I'd spill the secrets of my mistress to you? Y'all are wastin' your time!"
"ENOUGH!"
Everyone turned, shocked by Cameron's sudden outburst.
"I have been here for THREE WHOLE WEEKS!" Cameron raged, her eye twitching. "And NO ONE has explained to me exactly what is going on here, what this place is, or even what it's CALLED!!!
"I know you guys are trying to keep me from getting scared, but I've had it with being confused!" Cameron finished angrily. She sat down heavily in a velvet recliner, her face bearing an expression of angry annoyance. "Explain things to me," she ordered. "Now."
Carrie and Fabian exchanged a surprised (and impressed) look.
Zechariah sighed. "Salvia, do you mind?" he asked the red-haired woman.
Salvia nodded and created a circle with her hands. Suddenly, Cameron's shock, a symbol formed from red light appeared between her hands, swirling hypnotically. "Cameron," Salvia said in a hollow voice, "in the few weeks that you have been here, you have been exposed to the Zoo Phoenix Academy and its grounds because we felt it best to feed you more information once we felt you were comfortable with the school.
"But if you insist on knowing... this place is much bigger than what you have experienced. It is called... Safe Haven. It is a sanctuary.
"Safe Haven has thrived as its own world for centuries. We sustain ourselves here, and serve as a utopia and protected escape for all kinds of creatures that are ostracized by the human-dominated world beyond the Oceanica Forest. That is why there are so few humans here.
"Safe Haven is split into seven districts, and each district has an important purpose and contributes to the society as a whole. Pacts were made and spells were cast to prohibit malevolent forces from entering the boundaries of Safe Haven.
"But to maintain the peace and tranquility of this thriving culture, very specific rules were put into effect by the original Peacekeepers who founded Safe Haven. Forces include evil spirits... rogue vampires... true demons... and blood hunters.
"The laws here are strict, and they keep the dangers out while keeping the citizens inside and safe. But this is also why no living being is permitted to leave for good. It goes against the pacts that protect us... and breaking those pacts could lead to the corruption of the magic that shields us. We would be overcome by the dark forces that have been wanting to enter Safe Haven for centuries. It is too much of a risk.
"Safe Haven has not had a violent crime or a dangerous predator in years," Salvia concluded, "and we do everything we can to keep it that way."
"Yeah, but the appearance of a rogue vampire—a queen at that—indicates that somethin' must be wrong," Carrie muttered. "They shouldn't've been able to enter Safe Haven's limits."
"Let alone get this close to the city," Fabian added.
Fed up, Carrie turned on Simon again. "Awright, ya snarky, flea-bitten, coyote s**t! Spit it out!" she snarled. "How did you and the tattered bat-woman get past the—"
"Y'all want the truth?" Simon interrupted. "Fine! Neither of us knows! We went to sleep in an abandoned cellar—somewhere in Berlin!—then woke up in an old shed by the lake, about two miles within the city limits. And we were hungry. Plus, we heard rumours about some of the critters here everyone has—"
"Are you buyin' this bulls**t?!" Carrie broke in, looking at Zechariah incredulously.
"It isn't," Simon insisted, rolling his eyes and looking away. "Pft. Just like everyone else on the outside, we knew of this stupid place and the tasty critters—and yeah, we wanted to come crash the party, but we never bothered 'cuz we knew there's no way to get in. The moment we realized where we were, we jumped at the opportunity. Obviously.
"Seriously, though—havin' this many diverse and rare creatures in one place? Safe Haven—and this academy—are legendary on the outside for hunters like us," Simon went on, with a grin. "It'd be a shame if more of us were able to slip under the radar... wouldn't it?" His grin grew even wider and crueler. "You'd be surprised how fast news spreads from here to the outside..."
Zechariah looked away, glancing at Cameron, who was shuddering and mumbling to herself in her chair.
"Are you alright, Cameron?" Fabian asked her softly.
"G-Gimme a minute," Cameron whimpered.
"I am curious myself on the aforementioned matter," Simon continued, cocking an eyebrow at Zechariah. "How the h--- are you okay with the devil's son attending this school when other demons aren't allowed in? Seems a bit unfair."
"Well, it's because—" Fabian began to explain indignantly.
"SHUT THE F*** UP, PRETTY BOY!" Simon bellowed at him. "I wasn't talkin' to you!"
"Damian is allowed to attend this academy," Zechariah broke in briskly, "because two of his caretakers appealed to me about the matter. They seemed to think Damian was very unhappy with his previous educational environment. They thought it would be better for him to be around more kids his age." He paused and added, "Also, his cousin attends the school as well."
"Yeah, well, that seems legit," Simon said sarcastically. "No danger in havin' a hell-spawn hoppin' around."
"Damian is a teenage boy," Zechariah snapped. "Not unlike any other attending this school. I do not want to discriminate—especially not after the appeal his caretakers made."
"So are Hell-royals just not forced to follow the same rules as other kinds of demons?" Simon snarled.
Zechariah gritted his teeth. "The royal family to which Damian belongs is more lawful than most demons," he forced out, "so they can be worked into the laws of Safe Haven fairly."
Salvia turned slightly to Zechariah, her hidden gaze burning into his fur. He winced slightly but ignored her.
"Well, that's bulls**t if you ask me," Simon snarled.
"Nobody did," Fabian told him condescendingly.
Drawing her unseen glare away from Zechariah, Salvia floated over to Cameron's side. "Cameron, how are you coping?" she asked.
"I need a nap," Cameron groaned, putting a hand on her face as she slumped in her seat.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Note: the part in Salvia's explanation where she says there hasn't been a "dangerous predator" in Safe Haven was obviously retconned in "Bad Luck Jack", so just ignore it.
*Note 2: Zechariah's talk with the devil was my handiwork. It ties into his character arc in the next books.