Inferno Read Free Page B

hackneyed crap was that? It ranked right up there with “He has a great personality” or better yet, “Why don’t we just be friends.”
    Nick narrowed his gaze on her, trying to see the truth of her emotions. Did she really care about him or was she just that good an actress?
    You are here to kill me.… Yes or no?
    She pulled her hand back. It’s not that simple.
    He gaped at her. Was she serious? “What could be simpler than that?”
    Every head in class turned to look at him. Nick felt his entire face heat up. Oh yeah, like puberty wasn’t embarrassing enough. Now he had to shout out in the middle of class for no apparent reason.
    “Channeling spirits again, Gautier?” Stone Blakemore—head jock moron—asked.
    “Nah,” Stone’s best friend, Mason, said. “It’s probably some mental disorder, like Backwoods Tourette’s.”
    The entire room erupted into laughter.
    Embarrassed and ticked off, Nick glared at the aptly named Stone, who was about as intelligent as the average rock … not to insult rocks.
    Grim arched a brow. “Are you in the midst of some personal problem? Should I write you a pass for the counselor?”
    Nick had to bite back the urge to insult his mentor, but only a fool taunted Death. And the one thing Nick had learned over the last year was that Death didn’t have a sense of humor, and especially not when he was the brunt of the joke.
    “No. It was a momentary jaw spasm.”
    “Then I suggest you try to control your bodily functions in the future.” Death turned back to the board.
    Nick ground his teeth. This wasn’t the time and place for this and he knew it. He’d never been big into drama anyway. Let’s talk about this later.
    Kody stiffened. Fine. I don’t want to talk about it at all.
    Of course she didn’t. Leave it to him to find the only woman in the universe who didn’t want to talk about her feelings or their relationship. The only one who wanted to keep things status quo and undiscussed.
    You all right?
    Sighing, Nick nodded at Caleb. If they didn’t stop silently talking to him, he was going to look seriously mental soon.
    Worse, Caleb leaned forward and glanced meaningfully to Kody.
    Great. Now the two of them were talking to each other and he couldn’t hear it.
    Nick raked his hand through his hair as his anger mounted. It was so fierce, it made his ears hum. Over the last few weeks, he’d noticed that his quick-draw temper getting worse. But then he’d always had anger management issues. Way too quick to ignite and even harder to calm. It was why he tried to be easygoing and to let things slide. Why he tried not to care about much of anything.
    Yet lately, every little thing annoyed him.
    Was this the demon in him gaining power? His future self, Ambrose, had warned him repeatedly about allowing his temper to rule him. Normally, it was Kody who calmed him down when he got into these moods.
    Yeah … not today. Today, the mere mention of her name ignited his fury. He felt on edge and closer to losing it than he ever had before—except for those times when he had actually lost it.
    C’mon, class. End already. I definitely need a time-out.
    Why couldn’t he have the power of time manipulation? According to Ambrose that was the only power he’d never possess. Not unless he stole it from others.
    Of course, he did have the power of suggestive persuasion. That one actually worked most of the time … but not with Death. Dang you for teaching this class .
    It felt like torture, and not the usual my-class-is-too-long torture he was used to.
    “Am I boring you, Gautier?”
    Nick blinked as he realized Grim was talking to him. He chose to ignore the snickers and snide comments from the peanut gallery who were so easily amused, as most mindless creatures were, by his lack of attention. “Excuse me?”
    “We’re going over the periodic table. I’ve asked you, four times now, what is R-U, and what’s its element category and atomic weight.”
    Like he knew that?