Jace looked up suddenly.

"Something wrong Cat Ears?" Ral asked curiously.

Jace pointedly ignored him.

Jace. Can you hear me?

Jace looked around uneasily. He studied Ral carefully. It doesn't look like he can hear it. I'm so damn tired of hearing random voices talking to me in my head.

You're a telepath. I would've assumed you're used to it.

I'm used to a dull hum thank you. What do you want? Jace knew he sounded hostile but he was tired of hearing unwanted voices clearly above the normal hum in his head. The hum had almost died since he had little to no access to mana.

Okay. My name is Kurai.

That's nice.

"Cat Ears are you even listening to me?" Ral asked.

"Shut up," Jace snapped, "I'm trying to read."

"It's important though," Ral whined.

Jace gritted his teeth, "Fine. What? What is so important that you have to whine about it? And I swear if you say you're hungry-"

"Don't you think Beautiful's been a little too easy to get along with lately? Doesn't she seem distracted?"

Jace cocked his head to the side, "So? Everyone's temperament is different now."

"Yes but being a teenager shouldn't change someone that much," Ral pointed out.

"Then you try to figure it out. I don't care," Jace snapped.

Jace.

WHAT?! Jace gritted his teeth. Can't you just leave me alone to-

Xerxes is a demon. I don't know who summoned him into your world but that's the only way he'd be able to get in.

Xerxes? Who's that?

Go to lunch. I'll tell you when you see him.

Jace rolled his eyes, "I'm going to lunch." His curiosity bidded him to do as he was told. He didn't know who Xerxes was but if he was a demon then that was more than likely bad. Of course with the kind of people that make up the population of this school I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't the only one.

There's a spell that shouldn't take you too long to learn that will allow you to sense to auras of magical beings and objects within a certain radius around you.

And where would I find that?

In the same book that has spells on how to summon anything from the outer realms.

And where is that?

I'll tell you in a moment. Right now we need to focus on Xerxes.

There is no we in this. Jace insisted hotly. "I'm tired of just being drafted into something I'm not interested in doing at all."

You aren't being drafted. You're the only one that can hear me. There's a difference.

And why can I hear you?

If you don't need that then there's no need to tell you that.

What? Jace wandered into the lunch room of the school. It had previously been a ballroom but had been converted for food purposes. It had multiple different chefs, mostly students in a culinary program, that specialized in cooking a myriad of different foods. Jace ignored the food and scanned the room. He saw Chandra and Lilianna sitting with Michael, David, Onyx, Erin, Whisper, Tina, and a large group of other people he didn't recognize. The table was set up on a raised part of the room. It was similar to a balcony but didn't sit nearly as high on the wall. No more than a dozen steps led up to that particular part of the cafeteria.

There. The blonde.

There's three. At least.

The one with the amber eyes.

Jace skipped up the steps and approached the group.

"Hey!" Michael grinned at him welcomingly.

"We were wondering if you were gonna wander out of your room," David added.

"Whatever," Jace rolled his eyes.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Jace turned to see blonde hair and deep confident amber eyes. The boy's face was twisted into a mocking sneer. Jace felt his ears flatten angrily. He pushed down the urge to simply hiss at the older boy, "Got a problem with it?"

That's Xerxes.

Oh. That's great.

"Don't take it personally," his sneer turned into a confident smirk, "I was just kidding."

Jace opened his mouth to shoot back a very scathing retort but before he could Chandra pulled the blondie across the table by his collar and knocked him back into his seat by slamming her fist into his face. Jace snickered, "I could've handled it but at least I won't be the one getting in trouble."

"They can yell all they want," Chandra shrugged and sat back in her seat.

"God damn," Xerxes' eyes glowed as he looked at her around his hand, "What the hell was that for?"

"Don't worry about it," Chandra smirked. She crossed her arms over her chest and shot him a challenging look, "I was just kidding."

Jace rolled his eyes, "What are you doing anyway?"

Chandra looked at him, "We're just making a bunch of racket and trying to piss off the student council president."

She says that like it's not problematic at all. Jace rolled his eyes, "Alright. Whatever."

"What are you doing?" Lilianna asked. Jace was pretty sure he was the only one that wasn't spoken to like they were somehow beneath her.

"I was just checking something," Jace shrugged.

Whisper cocked his head to the side, "Checking something?"

Jace nodded. He turned and walked away without a second glance. Xerxes is a demon? But he looks pretty damn human to me.

The demons of this world appear human. They always have. They have the ability to control the minds of their victims, bending them completely to their will. A demon's will is usually bad for everyone else involved.

Usually?

There are some demons, such as myself that have allied with the Archangels or the Avengers as they're more commonly called around here. Usually it takes quite the drastic change to get a demon to change their ways.

Jace laughed coldly. Alright and what do you want?

I need you to summon me so that I can take care of Xerxes and hopefully figure out who summoned him. If the summoner is consumed in the ritual then the creature is not successfully summoned. The only ones that are unable to be consumed no matter how much power they have are planeswalkers. They are foreign so they cannot be consumed.

And that's why you think I can summon you. Jace sighed, "And if I don't want to?" People are going to think I'm crazy.

If you don't want to then I can't make you. Correction. I could but I won't. But that leaves you to deal with Xerxes on your own. The book I'm going to show you describes the summoning rituals for everything. No matter how powerful the being you should be able to complete the ritual.

Uh-huh? And what kind of beings can I summon using these rituals?

Anything from the largest Outer Realm. Angels, Avengers, Demons, anything. A contract is then created. The summoned and the summoner have to agree to the contract before the creature is physically brought into the world.

Oh, so the agreement can go two ways? Jace suddenly grinned excitedly. Okay then. He hurried back to his dorm room.

"How was lunch Cat Ears?"

"It was dull," Jace muttered. He glanced at Ral, "Why is my giant stuffed tiger under your bed?"

"I thought you said you didn't want it," Ral said.

"Why is he under your bed?"

"Because you discarded him," Ral shrugged.

Jace gritted his teeth.

"Besides, isn't it always you that's bothering me about staying on my side of the room?"

"I'm not on your side of the room. I'm in front of the door which doesn't count," Jace insisted. He looked at Ral, "Give me my tiger."

"You didn't want him."

"Give him to me," Jace repeated impatiently. I don't have time for you. "Oh yeah by the way, I'm going to go borrow curtains from the school nurse so the part that is your side of the room is very clear. Since apparently you can't seem to be able to see an extremely dark black line on this beige floor."

"It's not my fault I'm not constantly staring at my feet, Cat Ears." Ral sighed, "Go ahead and grab the tiger if you really want him so bad."

"Fine," Jace pulled the tiger out from under the bed and stuffed it under his blanket. He looked at Ral, "If anyone asks I'm asleep."

"That's convenient because that tiger's as big as you are," Ral snickered.

Jace glared at him in frustration. Of course Ral was playing a video game and not looking at him so he didn't see the look. Jace popped open the window and climbed onto the sill.

"You do realize that this is the fourth floor."

"There's a tree I can jump into."

"You aren't afraid of heights are you?"

"Would you stop making cat stereotype references?" Jace hissed angrily, "You're really starting to piss me off."

"I guess. The last time I pissed you off was early this morning. You slammed my face into your bed frame."

"And? You wouldn't stay on your side of the room and obviously didn't have any regard for the fact that I have repeatedly told you to do so." Jace jumped into the nearby tree and landed easily on a thin branch. It started to splinter under his weight but he was on a sturdier branch before it broke out from under him. He moved gracefully and swiftly down the tree.

The book is in a small bookstore outside the school. The owner is a faerie so be careful. They're known for mischief and pranks. You'll probably have to buy it. I hope you're resistant to charms.

Do charms require eye contact? Jace stopped and glanced back up at the window he'd jumped out of through the many branches of the tree.

Um yes. But they will work through glasses.

That's fine. I'm not getting glasses. Jace slid into the main building from a side door. He made his way to the nurse's office. He moved slowly through the halls. The students that weren't in trouble and confined to their dorm room would be in class. Anyone that wasn't in class would theoretically get in trouble. I can't get in trouble if I'm not caught. He slid down the hallway and into the nurse's office, "Hey."

"Hello. Come in," the nurse herself was human though she had extensive knowledge of nonhuman beings' anatomy.

"Hey," Jace walked in, "I was wondering if I could borrow some curtains."

"What for?"

"Because my roommate won't stay on his side of the room," Jace said. And so I can get some bandages.

Bandages?

To cover my eyes. "Please?"

"What's wrong with your roommate?"

"He's annoying and dumb and disorganized. I'm tired of his mess being scattered all over the room," Jace shrugged.

The nurse shook her head, "Alright but you're only getting two."

"Thanks," Jace forced himself to sound appreciative. She got to her feet and walked into a separate smaller storage room. Jace slid up behind her desk. He found an inventory of all her supplies in a stack on her desk. Of course. They're in the damn storage room. That's stupid. Well no. It's disadvantageous for me. He hurried back to where he had been standing. Anxiety crept into his stomach when he noticed he had moved the monitor by forty five degrees without realizing it. But the nurse was already out of the storage room and approaching him. He took the curtains and watched her fix her monitor.

"If that's all then you can go."

"Alright," Jace nodded. He hurried out of the room. How in the world am I going to get bandages then?

"Aren't you suppose to be in class?"

Jace turned. A school counselor stood behind him. He glanced at the woman's tag. Mrs. Elvira? She's my counselor isn't she? That's okay. I don't ever plan on interacting with her anyway. He nodded, "I was at the nurse and actually I'm supposed to be in my dorm."

"Then go there," she ordered coldly.

"That's where I'm going," Jace muttered, "I just needed to borrow these."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to," Jace met her gaze defiantly.

Her gaze hardened into a disapproving glare, "Why?"

Jace lowered his gaze and studied the ground. Anxiety ate at his stomach. This is an uncomfortable situation. I really wish she'd stop looking at me like that. "Cause my roommate," he mumbled.

"What's wrong with your roommate? Can't you just deal with it, or submit a request to change your room instead of depleting the nurse of her supplies for your own selfish reasons?"

"She has plenty. It's not like curtains are vital to saving someone's life," Jace snapped. He stepped back, "I'm going back to my dorm now." He turned and walked slowly away. She'll get even more bent out of shape if I start running where she can see. Once he had left her around the corner he darted away. He left the school and walked to the dorm building. He walked into the room he shared with Ral.

"Hey Cat Ears!" Ral's bright grin faded to a more serious look once he saw his face, "Is something wrong? You look rather spooked."

"It's nothing," Jace insisted. He dropped the curtains on his bed, "I'll put these up when I get back. Don't touch them."

"Alright," Ral nodded.

"You wouldn't happen to have a blindfold would you?" Jace asked.

"I think I might have something that'll count," Ral shrugged, "Why?"

"Just because."

"Alright," Ral dug through the pile of games and electronics he had sitting between his bed and the window. He pulled out a black piece of cloth. One end was ragged, having apparently been cut but the other side had a smooth seam, "I found that by the way. I was going to use it as a connector for something that I haven't come up with yet."

Jace shrugged and walked back out the door.

"Hey Jace," Mr. Rice was patrolling the hallways when he closed the door behind him. Jace looked at him, "You're not going to yell at me for leaving my dorm when I'm supposed to be in trouble?"

"No," Mr. Rice was everyone's favorite history teacher. He had a tendency to ramble on about somewhat unimportant things and was very fascinated with ancient languages and wars. Jace pretended to be asleep through most of his class but found it to be one of his more entertaining classes.

"Why not?" Jace asked curiously.

"Because it's not like you were confined to the room. I mean if you're slamming your roommates head into your bed frame then you two must not get along very well. It wouldn't really be the smartest thing to do if I send you back in there if he's driving you crazy," Mr. Rice cocked his head to the side, "Why do you ask?"

"Mrs. Elvira yelled at me just now," Jace shrugged and studied the ground.

"For being independent and defiant you're pretty uncomfortable when you do get in trouble aren't you?" Mr. Rice patted the top of Jace's head.

Jace growled in frustration, "Can you not? I know have cat ears but that's not cute."

"Of course you're cute," Mr. Rice chuckled, "Have fun with whatever you were going to do." He continued his hallway patrol.

Jace shrugged and followed him.

You don't like getting in trouble but you're going to sneak through the school?

Shut up. You don't know anything. Jace found that he was in a very sour mood. Images from his past surfaced in his mind but he pushed them away. He paused, "Mr. Rice!" He hurried after the teacher.

"Huh?"

"Would I be able to get a desk in my room?" Jace asked as he caught up to him.

"I don't see why not," Mr. Rice shrugged, "but that would be something you'd want to clear with someone. Maybe the principal. Or your counselor. Wait. You have Elvira don't you? She wouldn't allow it. Go clear it with the principal."

Jace nodded, "Okay." He left the building and darted across the courtyard to the gate and wall. The wall was brick and not hard to get over. He dropped down on the other side and looked around. Where to now?

Well the most direct route would be directly south until you hit the shopping mall. Then you'd go straight east from there. It'll be a small little bookstore.

Jace nodded. He covered his eyes with the piece of cloth and easily tied it behind his head. He headed directly south, using his other senses to guide him.