I woke to find a petite girl with shoulder-length raven hair and chunky blue highlights staring at me. Her brown eyes lit up with excitement as I slowly sat up.
"Where am I?" I asked.
"You're in your new room!" She smiled. "I'm your roommate."
"I wasn't aware I was moving in anywhere," I said cautiously as I examined the small room.
There were two twin-sized beds with hospital-grade bedding; the one I was on and the one across from it where she sat cross-legged in baby blue pajamas decorated by dozens of cartoon-like skulls with various facial expressions. Other than the two beds, the only other furniture in the room were two, small wooden desks accompanied by matching desk chairs and two, large rectangular frames hanging above each desk that were half-cork and half-dry erase. Lolly's frame had "Howl's it going?" scrawled across the dry erase portion. Her desk was cluttered with various writing utensils, books, and magazines. The room reminded me of a college dorm-room, and I frowned, wondering if I was even going to be able to go to college at this point.
"They brought you in last night. I thought you might be in some sort of coma because I've tried to wake you multiple times, but you wouldn't budge."
"Did they say anything when they brought me in?" I asked. "What time is it?"
"It's eight in the morning. I was directed to bring you to the training hall when you woke up. They were expecting you to be out for a while, but I wanted to meet you. I'm glad you finally woke up."
"What's your name?" I asked. This girl was seriously too excited for eight in the morning.
"I'm Lolly Ward," she smiled.
"It's nice to meet you, Lolly. I'm—"
"You're Adeleigh Harper, but you like to be called Addy. Adam told me. You're practically famous throughout DPO. They've been talking about you since the attack," she informed me. "It must be so cool being made up of three different supes. I bet you're really powerful. We heard you shattered bulletproof glass with a single punch. That's insane."
"Yeah, it didn't feel too good after," I replied. I stood and stretched. My muscles were a little sore, but other than that I felt a thousand times better than I did last night.
"I was so happy they picked me to be your roommate. They said I was the best candidate because I'm the only Lycan here without a pack. We're basically going to be sisters," she cheered.
"Lycanthrope without a pack?" I asked curiously. Sisters? This girl was jumping the gun a bit.
"Yes, I'm a Lycanthrope like you. Well, maybe not exactly like you. I'm just a Lycan. I'm not mixed with anything else. Also, Lycans don't really say Lycanthrope. It's too technical. If you're gonna be one of us, you have to get with the lingo."
I laughed. She was a wolf. I should have guessed from the welcome joke on her dry erase board. "Thanks for the heads up. I hope you don't mind me asking, but why don't you have a pack?"
"My pack was killed by a Nightwalker coven when I was four."
"I'm sorry," I replied. I couldn't imagine how horrifying that must have been for her. I was still haunted by what happened at Club Dread. Nightwalkers were awful creatures. I hated that the media portrayed vampires with redeemable qualities. There was nothing redeemable about them. Modern fiction was way off target.
"It's okay. I don't really remember much. My pack was small and reclusive, so there was no documentation on me or my family. A human hunter found me and brought me to some local authorities, who then turned me over to social services. A week later I ended up in DPO's care after going all Lycan-eyed on a social worker for taking my lollipop away," she chuckled at her story. "DPO gave me the name Lolly for that incident, but all orphaned supes get the last name Ward. Anyhow, I've been with DPO for twelve years now. They tried to reintegrate me with several different packs throughout the years, but I acted up intentionally so that I would be sent back here. All my friends are here. I like it here."
"I thought DPO experimented on supernaturals. Why would you want to stay with them?"
"Supes," she corrected. "DPO does experiment, but they only take willing candidates. They've actually been a huge help to our community. Right now, they're working hand in hand with some of our world's most influential figures from all castes to create a governing body that will work alongside DPO once our community is fully exposed to the human race."
"Supes are planning to expose themselves to humans?" I asked. I'd never fathomed that something like that would happen in my lifetime, but from the way Lolly was talking, it sounded like it might be happening soon.
"As soon as each caste has a representative and those representatives vote on a single caste member to become the President of the SC, or Supernatural Community as they're currently calling it, they'll announce to the world we're here. Of course, we'll be more thoroughly governed by human laws to appease humans and their fears, but the important thing is that we won't have to hide anymore, and vicious supes, like the ones that killed my pack, can be held accountable for their actions," she explained with utter conviction.
I was so moved by how emotional she was about the subject that I had stopped stretching and sat back down on the bed to listen more intently.
Lolly continued to elaborate. "Right now, the SC operates independently within their own castes for rules and regulations. With cross-caste issues, the offended caste may take their own revenge and kill whoever is responsible for the injury. More often than not, the offended caste is forced to let whatever happened go, because the caste is usually much weaker than the accused and that caste can't really do anything about it, or they simply don't have the means to determine who actually committed the offense. DPO is going to fix all that." Her voice held a tone of assurance that was not only impressive, but also quite convincing. Her passion made me passionate about the subject.
"That lawlessness is appalling," I replied apologetically as she finished her tale. "I really hope DPO can help implement that change soon."
Lolly nodded absently. She appeared lost in thought.
"So, what is it that you do here?" I asked to lighten the mood.
"I train mostly. I'm only sixteen, so there isn't much I can do right now. When I turn eighteen, I can become a DPO Agent."
"Sounds exciting. I'm happy for you," I replied honestly. She was a sweet girl, and it sounded like she really did enjoy being at DPO.
"There's a shower around the corner. They brought some training clothes in for you this morning. Training usually starts at 0600, but they said today we could come down whenever you were ready."
I left Lolly and went into the tiny bathroom to shower. When I was done, I put on the training uniform, which consisted of black spandex shorts that reached mid-thigh and a black sports bra with DPO stamped across the chest in white block lettering. I'd also been given a pair of black sneakers and white crew socks. I put the clothes on and tied my hair back with a ponytail I borrowed from Lolly. When I was finished and ready to go, Lolly snickered.
"Wait, how come I didn't get a shirt?" I complained. Lolly had changed out of her pajamas. She was wearing the exact same thing I was, except she had a dry-fit black tank covering her torso.
"You're supposed to have one too. I bet Adam didn't send you one on purpose," she giggled. "I'd give you one of mine, but it's laundry day," she said, frowning. "I hate laundry day. There's only one laundry facility here despite there being close to a hundred trainees living here at a time. You always have to wait for a machine to free up, no matter what time of day you try to do your laundry."
I crossed my arms in agitation at the nerve of this Adam guy. "We can stop and grab you a shirt on the way," she offered. I sighed in agreement and followed her out of the room, feeling one hundred percent self-conscious of my exposed skin.
"So, what's the deal with all the trainees you mentioned?" I asked to take my mind off my appearance. Once the bedroom door shut, Lolly pressed the pad of her right thumb to a small, black screen above the door handle. A tiny light flashed green twice before disappearing. She tried turning the handle to ensure the door was locked before she turned to answer me.
"Remember how I told you I wanted to become a DPO Agent?" she asked. "Well, there's a thirteen-week training program to become one, and it's conducted right here in this facility. There's typically a class beginning every three weeks, so you'll have four classes going each season with roughly fifteen to twenty supes per class."
"Oh, I thought this was a research facility."
"It's the largest DPO facility in the country," she explained. "They do extensive research and extensive training. This floor, which is the sixteenth floor," Lolly informed me as we began our journey to the training hall, "and the floor below are reserved entirely for the training program. The remaining floors are for the scientists and their research."
On the way to the training hall, Lolly introduced me to a ton of people whose names I did not remember, but expressions I did. I wasn't sure why, but nearly everyone we met looked uncomfortable, and some even displeased, to be me meeting me.
I wanted to be mad at Lolly for saying "my roommate, the special hybrid" to everyone she greeted, but I couldn't work up the nerve to say something to her about it and ruin her excitement. She was so sweet and so happy to be introducing me, so I let my frustration with her wording slide.
When we finally made it out of what she called the 'bay area' where everyone who was training with DPO lived, I followed her down a set of stairs (the only set of stairs in the facility for the sole purpose of connecting the two agent trainee floors, she noted) to the seventeenth floor. Lolly explained this floor not only housed the training hall, but it was also where the agent training classrooms were.
Upon exiting the stairwell, we took a sharp turn that led into a set of double doors. Lolly pushed through and I openly gaped as we entered into the largest gym I'd ever seen.
The main area was empty of equipment besides an enormous, blue athletic mat. It was obvious the matted area was used solely for sparring. There were three weight rooms, three cardio rooms, and an Olympic-sized pool that connected to the sparring area. There were at least twenty or more people currently occupying each of the areas. I was grateful the trainee floors were full of color and not blindingly white like the rest of the facility I saw yesterday.
Lolly grabbed my hand and pulled me over to a corner where uniforms were folded by size in cubicles behind a counter.
"What size do you want?" Lolly asked. Before I could answer, an arm looped around my waist. I jumped at the contact and immediately pulled away when I realized who it was.
"Adam," I said coldly.
"Milady," Adam bowed, his spiky hair nearly touching me. "I must say you look beautiful this morning."
I glared at him. "I'm sure I'd look just as beautiful with a shirt."
"I thought I sent one down to your room," he responded, feigning shock. "It must have gotten misplaced along the way. Sara, doll, could you give Miss Harper a small tank top, please?"
A waif of a girl with strange, filmy features suddenly appeared behind the counter. She was small and grey with long, flowing silver hair. She couldn't have been any older than Lolly. She was dressed in an ivory frock that was as nearly translucent as she was. She smiled, showing two rows of small, thin, and sharply pointed teeth.
I tried to keep calm as she handed me a shirt. I grabbed the shirt, careful not to touch her, and mumbled a quick thank you. She giggled then slowly faded from view.
"Ghost?" I asked Lolly in bewilderment.
"Air Sprite," she corrected. "Don't worry, Sara is a real sweetheart. She keeps the training hall spotless."
Okay, so their janitor was some kind of kid spirit, and that was apparently normal. I began to pull the tank over my head just as Lyric entered the room. I blushed as he caught a glimpse of me before the shirt dropped to cover my stomach. He shifted his gaze, pretending not to have noticed I wasn't properly clothed again. At least I was spared a rude comment this time.
"I've always had a thing for women with tight stomachs," Adam divulged. He then proceeded to lick his lips at me.
I rolled my eyes in response. Adam's smirk disappeared when Lyric appeared beside me. He was in a black tank top and fitted black joggers. I nearly groaned aloud taking his appearance in. How was it possible that he always looked so unnervingly good?
"Lyric," Adam greeted less cheerfully than yesterday.
"Adam," Lyric responded. "Hands-off," he warned.
"Aye, aye, Captain!" Adam saluted.
"What's the plan?" I asked to change the subject.
"Lolly, get back to your normal routine," Adam instructed. Lolly looked disappointed, but she jogged off without a word. "Addy, we're going to start with the basics of self-defense," Adam said. "We'll start with four simple techniques. I must warn you, there's going to be a lot of hands-on instruction involved, so don't be alarmed when I have to touch you to show you the prop—"
"You aren't showing her anything," Lyric cut in, saving me from Adam's apparent harassment. "I'm coaching her today."
"You want to coach her?" Adam looked at him doubtfully. "No offense, but that's probably not a good idea. Plus, you're not a trained agent."
"You make it sound like ass-hat could hurt me," I teased. Adam frowned as if that's exactly what he was implying. Lyric's expression darkened, but he didn't change his mind about coaching me.
"Whatever you say," Adam relented. "I'll save my 'I told you so', but just know it's coming." Adam stepped away from the mat without another word.
I was initially excited to be learning a few moves from Lyric, but now I was a little more apprehensive. Why did Adam think Lyric was going to hurt me?
"He was joking, right?" I asked as I followed Lyric to the center of the mat. "You aren't going to hurt me?" I meant it to come out as a confident statement, but my voice faltered at the end, which caused my statement to turn into a question.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Adeleigh." Unfortunately, Lyric sounded more like he was reassuring himself of that fact as opposed to reassuring me.
Lyric showed me step-by-step slow-motion defense movements for various types of attacks. I copied his movements in slow motion, and then we did a few rehearsed moves in real-time. Once I got the hang of the first series of defense mechanisms, Lyric decided to attack me with a bit of force to demonstrate the agility I would need for a hasty response time.
After two hours of training, I finally was able to block an entire series of attacks from him. I could tell he was holding back on his attacks, but that didn't mean he was taking it easy on me. He'd put me on my ass more times than I could count. I had countless bruises from blows that I failed to deflect. If he would have gone at full-force with his attacks, I probably would have been out of commission within the first two seconds.
Despite needing to call it quits, or at least take a break, I didn't. Part of me wanted to keep going to show him I was tough; however, I also knew the primary reason I didn't want to stop was because every so often Lyric would have to touch me to correct my form. His touch was so warm and electric. From the way I craved it, I was beginning to think that his touch might actually be infectious. A toxic touch was the only explanation I could accept for reacting to him the way that I was.
"You're gonna want to take an ice-bath tonight," Lyric said as he finally called off our training. I nodded in response and followed him out of the training hall. I took gymnastics when I was younger, so I was an experienced ice bather. It was not fun, but it was worth it.
"Lyric?" I stopped walking and looked up at him. "What's going to happen with me? I stay here and learn about my powers and self-defense for how long? I have school in the fall. And what about my dad?"
"You'll be here training throughout the summer at least," he answered. "My understanding is that DPO plans on arresting your father by summer's end. If all goes as planned, you should be able to attend school in the fall if that's what you want to do. Many supes assimilate into human society and live basic human lives. It's not uncommon."
I didn't say anything while I processed what he said. Could I even go back to my normal life after all this? Only time would tell, I supposed.
"I won't be able to train with you for the rest of the week," Lyric said as I started to head off to shower and change for lunch. I froze in place at his words.
"Why not?"
"I have to look into something." I waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't.
"So, I'm supposed to just stay here and train without you?"
"It'll be good for you. I'll be back to check in."
"Check in?" He was talking like I was being dropped off at boarding school only to be seen on holidays. I tried to ignore the anger building in my chest. Lyric was leaving me. He was all that I knew since I couldn't return home to my friends with my criminal father, if he even was my real father, trying to track me down. Lyric was all that I had right now, and he was dropping me like an unwanted step-child. I wanted to cry and beg him to stay, but as soon as those thoughts blossomed, I mentally lashed out at myself for thinking that way. I would not be helpless. I would not let him see how weak I felt. I didn't want him thinking I was just a whiny, needy adolescent.
I balled my fists and fought back the angry tears that threatened to fall.
"You don't have to check in on me, Lyric. I'm not your responsibility." On that note, I spun on my heel and stalked down the hall toward the stairs that would lead me to the bay area. Once I got behind the safety of my door, I would cry, but until then I would be strong.
Lolly returned to our room just as I exited the shower. She had fresh clothes in her hands. "I brought you a few outfits and some fresh sets of underwear. I don't really know your style, but I can't have you running around in those boy's clothes you arrived in."
I thanked her for her thoughtfulness and changed into a red tank top and grey sweatpants that cuffed at the ankles.
"I can't believe you received self-defense lessons from THE Lyric Valafar. I'm so jealous."
Hearing his name felt like a punch to the gut. Valafar. I had never heard his last name before. It sounded dangerous. How very fitting, I thought sarcastically. A dangerous name for a dangerous looking man. I drowned the distaste that her praise of him brought and answered her.
"The? That's giving him a lot of credit, don't you think?" I asked dryly.
"Oh no, Lyric is like a god in our world. Supes are either scared of him or completely in love with the idea of him."
"Why?" I asked a little too harshly. "He's entirely too pompous for his own good. Besides, it doesn't look like I'll be getting any more training from him. He left."
"Oh," she said sadly. "Don't be upset."
"I'm not upset," I snapped unintentionally.
"Well, I'm upset that he left, and I hardly even know him. He's so attractive," she gushed. "When he spoke to me last night after he brought you in, I thought I was going to die of hyperventilation. It's not every day that the hottest Demon in the world speaks to you."
"Excuse me?" I blurted, shell-shocked at her statement.
"You don't think he's hot?" she exclaimed in response. Oh no, he was definitely hot. I was hung up on the fact that she had just called Lyric a Demon.
"He's a Demon? Like, a fallen angel, lives-in-Hell kind of Demon?"
"You didn't know? Lyric is the son of Astaroth, the Fire King who is the most powerful Fire Elemental in existence. Also, Hell is a loose term, but I get that it's common among humans, so we'll roll with that terminology for the sake of explanation. Rumor has it Lyric abandoned his post as Prince of the Fire Plane... I mean Prince of Hell," she corrected. "He allegedly abandoned his position after Astaroth banished his mother to the Abyss... or maybe it was his sister. I can't remember."
She tapped her finger to her lip for a brief second, appearing deep in thought, before continuing. "All I know is he escaped the Plane... I mean Hell..., and has been living in this realm ever since. No one really knows what he does here, but he's been spotted with DPO a lot lately. He's famous throughout our community because he's basically the most powerful supe in our world right now. There are all kinds of stories about the things he's done and the people he's killed. Everybody pretty much lets him do what he wants because he's so deadly. No one wants to be on his bad side."
Lolly droned on and on about rumors she'd heard about Lyric. She made it perfectly clear that he was idolized and revered in her world.
I wondered why he had not told me about his life. More importantly, I wondered why I never asked. I mean, I had assumed he was different. After I found out about what I was, I kind of figured that Lyric was not entirely human, but I never thought to ask him what he was. I definitely wasn't expecting him to be a Demon. I didn't even know that Demons existed. I guess it should not be that much of a surprise considering I was not an overtly religious person, but I did wonder since Demons existed, did that mean angels, and ultimately God, were real too? Was I going to be punished for befriending a Demon? Did Lyric leave me here to go do demonic things? Maybe that's why he decided to hide the truth. He knew I'd freak.
My head was exploding with questions. I couldn't believe no one thought to inform me that I was casually hanging around with a legendary, deadly Demon... And a Demon Prince at that! I slept in his arms for Christ's sake!
"Addy, are you alright? You look pretty zoned out." Lolly was standing before me waving her hand back and forth in front of my eyes.
"Yeah, sorry. No, I didn't know anything about him. All of that information was a little overwhelming."
"Let's go get lunch," she suggested. "You look a little pale."
I nodded in agreement and followed her out to the dining hall.