Courts and Cabals by G.S. D'Moore (best e reader for academics txt) 📕

Thankfully, Jerome backed me up. He didn’t mention her weird, sex power-trip, and that was probably for the best. It took some time, but I finally got them to agree to help me out. None would lay down their life for me, and I wasn’t asking them to, but they’d put up a fight before they turned tail and ran for their lives. I just hoped I had enough of a head start when that happened.

The rest of Saturday was spent working out a schedule. I spend Sunday trying to study, and getting in a trip to Creepy Kev’s. I didn’t have my signing bonus from Lilith yet – the banks didn’t open until Monday for a transfer that size – but I had a reserve of cash on hand. I wore the pendent Aveena had chucked back in my face everywhere. Her glamour might be stronger, but if the pendent could stop one surprise strike, it was worth every penny.

I bought everything I could from Kev’s that even alluded to protection: a charm bracelet that would send a shock up my arm if someone bore me ill will. Another pendent that would absorb the force of a hit and allow me to redirect that force to the fist I wore a specific ring on. There were also some stick-on wards that I could put on my clothes that would stop projectiles. They were one-and-done’s, and they didn’t work on headshots – the memory of the sniper rifle in Aveena’s room was fresh in my mind – but there was only so much I could do.

I finished up Sunday looking a little bit like a 90’s mafioso straight out of the Sopranos. I stopped by Joe’s for dinner, and couldn’t help but blush at the out of order sign on the bathroom door.

“You look good,” Joe eyed the magical mark I knew was on my hand, but couldn’t see unless Lilith revealed it to me. “Seen that nymph again?”

“Yeah. I’ve got another six hours of freedom until she’ll be hunting me down,” I accepted my two slices and a coke. I was pretty sure sleep was going to be hard to come by, so the sugar and caffeine was welcome.

“You need anything?” Joe’s look of concern was touching. “I don’t have much, but . . .”

“I’m covered,” I pulled my jacket back to reveal the knife. Joe whistled and put up his hands in mock surrender.

“Good luck, Cam,” the big shifter’s tone was genuine, but it sounded way too much like condolences for my liking.

I didn’t get back to my dorm until right before the ten o’clock curfew. Despite myself, I was jumping at every shadow and noise in the night. When Lilith appeared out of the darkness by the door, I nearly pissed myself. She just raised an eyebrow and gave me a comforting pat on the arm before leading me inside.

“Only five minutes,” the female faculty member on duty gave Lilith the stink eye, but the succubus didn’t try to argue. She didn’t say a word.

We climbed the stairs to my room. The senior monitoring the end of the floor for any shenanigan’s waved at Lilith, and she waved back before we disappeared through the door.

“Are you ok?” I’d been hiding the worry I was feeling, but Lilith had been slower than me to climb the stairs, and she lacked a little of her usual luster. She might be able to sense things through the mark, but it didn’t go both ways.

Lilith exhaled and caught herself against the doorframe. One second, they were alone, and the next, Dani was standing behind him. She announced her arrival by slapping my ass hard enough the other senior sure as shit heard it.

“Sorry,” Lilith seemed to shake it out and return to her normal, vibrant self. “Making a glamour big enough to shield Dani, and hold it all the way up here was hard.”

“About time it’s me barging in on you and not the other way around,” Dani replied, sweeping the room with a critical eye. “It’s cleaner than I expected.”

“Everything is cleaner than your half of the room,” Lilith shot back in what I guessed was a long-running argument. It was clear they were close. I had questions about my new boss, but I had to wait for Lilith to leave to get answers.

“I can make it work,” Dani decided, and dropped a rolled-up bundle on my bed. “You should get back to the dorm.”

Lilith nodded, and gave my hand one last squeeze. “I trust Dani with my own life, so I trust her with yours,” she let go and headed out into the hall. “Bye Max,” she waved to the other senior, and closed my door behind her. As far as the faculty and their minions were concerned, I was alone for the night.

I was used to seeing Dani half-naked, so it was weird for her to be in a tank top and running shorts. She was probably thinking the same thing because she smirked as she unrolled the bundle.

“I know Lilith trusts you with her life,” I began carefully,” but forgive me if I’m a little hesitant. I basically disabled her and shoved her under her own bed without you knowing,” I confessed. I expected the dwarf bodyguard to round on me, pissed as all hell, and say something about beating my ass.

Instead, Dani grinned. “Of course I knew you’d done something to her. If she was actually hurt, I would have chopped off your dick right there on the spot. You putting her in some sort of sex coma made my job easier. I just left her under there until she regained consciousness,” she clearly thought the whole thing was funny.

“Oh . . . how did you know?” I wondered.

Dani tapped her ears. “I could hear her heartbeat. Dwarves have excellent hearing and eyesight.