Page 14 of Villain

“What?” He came to an abrupt stop, and his roommate turned with a furrowed brow.

“The Demons?” Grady must be repeating. “Better known as the Demons of Foxglove Grove.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “You weren’t listening at all, were you.”

“Are they really called that?” Bit on the nose if you asked Nix.

“Don’t let anyone else see you make that face,” Grady warned, stepping closer as though to shield Nix from any prying gazes from other students.

They weren’t alone on the path, but due to the sprinkle of rain, there weren’t many others standing around them.

“The Demons are treated more like gods here,” he continued, voice lowering into practically a whisper. “And this year's group is the worst. They’re childhood friends who came from prestigious families. They practically own the school and the town.”

Nix cocked his head. “You sound scared of them.”

“Yeah, because I’m smart. You’ve got top marks,” he poked him in the center of the chest, “you should be, too. They’re super popular, but nothing good ever comes from drawing their attention.”

“So, they’ve got a lot of friends.” Were those the people Nix was looking for? Should he speak to them about Branwen? He needed to interact with the people she’d been close with, and if these Demons knew everyone, maybe they’d have an idea what social circles she’d hung out in.

“Uh, no,” Grandy corrected, heaving a breath of frustration when this time Nix was the one to frown. “They don’t have friends. Look, I don’t know how things went at your last school, but here, there’s a hierarchy. The Demons? They’re top of the food chain. And the rest of us? We’re just here to make them look good to the planet and the universe.”

Foxglove Grove was the second most prominent school in the galaxy, coming in only behind Vail University, which was located on the planet Vitality. Many students traveled galactically to enroll in either, though the history at Foxglove was older and richer. In comparison to its thousand years of existence, Vail was a baby.

Maybe that’s why it was doing better. Those in charge of Vail were able to present fresh perspectives on how to run things, whereas Foxglove was still too rooted in tradition and heritage.

Case in point, these Demons having run of the place simply because of their bloodlines.

Grady seemed to finally notice they were standing in the rain and reached into the pocket of his yellow raincoat and pulled out an umbrella in the same color. “You should invest in one. It rains a lot here.”

“Right.” He’d had that in his pocket this entire time?! Nix would have said something, but then his roommate opened it and stepped closer so they could share and he decided to bite his tongue. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Grady was already distracted again, glancing every which way as though trying to decide where to lead him next. There was a crossroads in the path up ahead, and if they went straight, they’d be heading closer to the impressive mountain. “Are you hungry?”

He started to veer them right, and Nix followed with a shrug.

“We’ve got a convenience store and two cafeterias on campus,” Grady said. “The smaller one is free for all, but Café Soul is only for upperclassmen.”

“Which one are we going to now?”

“The smaller one,” he told him. “We just call it the cafeteria. If you say that’s where you’re going, everyone will know what you mean.”

“Why? Is the other one the only one with a name?”

“Pretty much.”

“Aren’t we upperclassmen?” They were both seniors.

“Yeah, but take it from me. Avoid Café Soul if you can. That’s where the Demons and all their groupies hang out.”

Nix blew out a breath. “This is all sounding very cliché rich kid.” He hesitated before asking, “Did they do something to you?”

“Me?” He shook his head vehemently. “No.”

Nix wasn’t satisfied with that response. With the way he was talking about them, it was clear Grady’s animosity toward the Demons was personal. “A friend of yours then?”

His new roommate turned toward him too quickly, knocking his foot against the edge of the path. He tripped, careening backward, the umbrella going with him.

Nix tried to grab onto him, but it all happened too quickly, as if it were a scene from a bad movie.

Grady stumbled a few steps, the umbrella whacking backward as his arms floundered.