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Setting my hand on his shoulder, I teleported us to the transport tunnel. I could take us through the tear, but this was Dante’s first time crossing over. I preferred to do it safely until he had more control of his magic. And luckily, there was no line on this side, so he didn’t have any reason to complain about me to my uncle.

Once we arrived in the human realm, I teleported Dante into the city. I needed to pick up my truck to transport everything he needed. We arrived in the alley and I led him to the sidewalk. It only took a second to realize he wasn’t following me. He was glued to the opening of the alley, his eyes wide as he took everything in. I forgot how different the human world was. It was night time, so at least the sunlight did not shock him, but I’d need to remember to get him sunglasses until he got used to the light.

“Dante.”

He whipped his head around, his eyes as wide as saucers. “Where are we?”

“The city. Come on. I need to grab my truck.”

He hurried after me, a little trepidation showing on his features. They were slowly integrating things from the human realm into the Other Realm, like cell phones and stuff like that, but it wasn’t a quick process. Five years wasn’t a lot of time to do that kind of thing. Things like carswere rare in the Other Realm because the tunnel wasn’t big enough to transport them. They had to realm hop to move something that big, and it required a lot of magic to do it. In the city we were in now, cars were everywhere, and Dante’s head kept whipping around to follow one after another as they sped past us.

“You don’t have to be scared. They stay on the road. It’s the law.”

I’d been trying to be supportive, but he took exception to my comment and spun around to glare at me. “I’m not scared! You’re the coward in the family! Everyone says so!”

Huffing out a sigh, I willed myself to have patience. I constantly reminded myself that he was just a kid, biting my tongue when he continued to talk trash. He was only parroting what he’d heard. And really, as my uncle’s son, I didn’t expect any different. I didn’t know how long this guardianship would last, but I hoped it’d be short. Which was stupid to even think about. When did I ever get what I wanted?

CHAPTER TWO

AZIEL

“No way!”

“I’m not arguing with you about this, Dante. You’re going to school.”

“So send me to a paranormal school! I’m not going to a school with stupid humans!”

That had been my plan at first. It surprised me when my uncle told me Dante would be going to a human school. There was a human school close to my apartment, and it would make it easier on me if Dante went there since he could walk home. He was too young to teleport. But I never brought it up because I thought for sure they’d never go for it. Apparently Kaiser, my uncle’s second son, pointed out that Dante could rule the school because he was superior and the humans would do his bidding. Fucking stupid if you asked me. But they didn’t ask, and I didn’t say anything because it was what I wanted. My uncle agreed on the caveat that Dante be trained to gather information for him. The school had some prestigious parents there, and my uncle liked the idea of blackmailing them.

Things with Dante thus far had been… difficult. He was a pain in the ass, demanding and argumentative at every turn. Instead of being grateful for buying him everything he needed, he decided my act of kindness meant I was a pushover and I’d get him whatever he wanted. He was angry when that turned out not to be the case and he had been fighting me ever since.

“I’m not going. You can’t make me. I’ll call my dad and–”

A snarl ripped through me, and Dante flinched automatically. I’d never hit him before, but I knew other members of the family had. That was what happened when you didn’t fall in line in our family. You got hurt, no matter your age. Dante didn’t know I wouldn’t do that to him. The snarl was enough to get him to shut up.

“Your dad made the decision. You’re going. Get your bag. I’m going to walk you there so you know where to go. If you leave or cause any trouble, I’ll hand you over to your dad without remorse. I wonder what he’ll do if he finds out you disobeyed his order.”

That got him moving. You didn’t disobey my uncle. Not even his youngest son would do that. He grumbled about it, but he followed me out of my basement apartment and onto the street. We didn’t talk much, but that had been true since the beginning. I didn’t want to argue with him, so I didn’t engage. It irritated him, but I didn’t really care.

The school was about half a mile away. Far enough that I could probably get Dante on the school bus, but I didn’t think that’d go over well. And it was good for him to walk and work off some of that irritating energy. He trailed behind me, kicking rocks, until the school came into view. A simple brick building, three stories high, with a line of teachers waiting out front. He wasn’t the only paranormal starting this year, but he was the only demon. I stopped just before we crossed the street in front of the school, kneeling in front of him to look him in the eye.

“Your dad wants you to listen and gather information. That means talking to students. If you chase them away, you won’t be able to report to him like you should. Don’t cause trouble.” I pulled a cell phone out of my pocket, handing it to him. “If you need me, call. I’ve got errands I need to run. Your dad wants to see you when you’re through. I’ll pick you up when school is over.”

He scowled at me, but I saw the fear underneath. He’d been with me all summer and he was still struggling to cope. My hope when sending him here was that he’d integrate better. Maybe even make some friends. Or atleast have something to talk about other than how much he hated me. That conversation was getting old.

I followed him across the street and towards the school. One of the teachers broke off from the pack, coming to greet us with a smile on her face. She offered me her hand, and I appreciated the firm grip. She didn't look afraid of me, which was a step up from normal conversations I had with humans.

“Mr. Nox. Nice to meet you. My name is Margaret Castillo, the principal here at Leighton Prep.”

Nox was the name I used when interacting with humans. Shadowwalker wasn’t well received and my uncle agreed he didn’t want Dante tied with the name while surrounded by so many ‘enemies’. He thought I used the name to go undercover, not just because I didn't like being tied to a notoriously shitty family.

“Nice to meet you.”

Her attention dropped to Dante, and she offered him her hand as well. “You must be Dante. I heard you’ve got a knack for mathematics and an interest in astronomy. Is that right?”

Instead of shaking her hand, Dante whipped around to glare at me. “What the hell?”

I lifted a shoulder. They asked when I signed him up about what his interests were. He spent a lot of time outside on the fire escape, staring up at the stars, and I saw him searching for information on my computer about what the lights in the sky were a few weeks in.