“Actually, I do, too,” Iman said.
We all just stared and waited for her to explain that. I wouldn’t put it past Iman to just drop that on us and not explain a damned thing.
“No way,” Morgana said. “You aren’t getting off the hook on explaining that one.”
Iman just yawned and stretched like we were boring her.
“I graduated college when I was thirteen and everyone kept pressuring me to get doctorates. I think the plan was for me to be a neurosurgeon or an astronaut or something, but I wasn’tinterested in that. I got emancipated when I was sixteen so that if I got another doctorate, it wasmychoice and not my parents’.
“I actually wanted to go into forensics before they kidnapped me and brought me here. I could use science to solve murders. They have these things called body farms. They take bodies people donated to science and study how they decompose in various situations. The smell there is absolutely atrocious, but what they are doing is fascinating.”
“Uh, you know if Liam finds that out, he’s going to ask you for tips, right?”
“I’d give them to him as I have a big problem with rapists. Anyway, I don’t have any scientific data about how long it takes for a void creature like Radames to return to his body and mend it, but Adrian dies more than any of us would care to watch and he shrugs it off like it’s nothing.
“It took him awhile the first time he died because he thought he was a ghost and didn’t know what to do. He regenerates nearly instantly now. There is nothing I know of that can completely destroy a body and scatter the bone fragments in the time it takes Adrian to regenerate, but there also wasn’t magic at the body farm.”
“We briefly floated a theory like that. Headmaster Mykene doesn’t think dragon fire is hot enough to completely destroy a god fast enough. I know the eternal fire Adrian has isn’t like dragon fire and is supposed to bring balance, but I can’t think of what would bring balance more than ridding this planet of the reincarnations of the beings who destroyed Fairy and are killing people in their new life? The prophecy said age of inhumanity.”
“That’s the thing. My family are witches and that was how I was raised, but when I get new magic, it just happens when I need it and some of it hasn’t happened at all. Hecate was also associated with ghosts and the Underworld, but aside from talking to me when the veil is thin, none of them have come tome to cross over, which was why I was never mentioned to you. Professor Gefn has been working with me, too, but it’ll happen when it happens. Your ability to manipulate battles and Adrian’s eternal fire are going to come when they are ready.”
“No, during the trials, I got kind of a glimpse, but I didn’t know what it meant. When I saw where the crystals were and how they were guarded, then I could justfeelthe right and wrong way to get them. If I did it once, I should be able to do it again.”
“Well, by my calculations, you need to find a way to trap Radames and Lola in the Void long enough to completely destroy their bones and scatter the dust so it’s impossible for them to regenerate. The Void is unknown to literally everyone and aside from seeing him shift into a gigantic snake, Radames didn’t slip up at all when I was watching him. I figured out he was Apep, but I wasn’t able to formulate any theories about his connection to the void.”
“Your pep talks suck, Iman,” Morgana said.
“Would you prefer I lie and we all get eaten by the Void bitch?”
“No, that actually helps and I think I have an idea. I just need Saffron to introduce me to some people on the other side of the school to see if it’s possible.”
I knew what my role was in this entire thing and it wasn’t throwing punches. Lucian didn’t want to fight, but he was going to have to. Khalid preferred using his brain, but had no problem brawling if it saved lives. Liam was sulking that murder was happening, and he wasn’t mentioned in the prophecy.
But if my idea was actually possible, we’d all play a vital role, even if it wasn’t landing any killing blows.
We clearly upset our woman because she didn’t invite me to girl time. I could understand not inviting Lucian or Khalid, but I could paint nails and talk about boys with the best of them. Shite, she was talking aboutme,wasn’t she? I knew she wasn’t always mad at us when she wanted girl time, but I was a little petulant Iwasn’tin the prophecy when I clearly had the most experience killing people. Doris was getting bored because she hadn’t stabbed anyone in a while. I was pretty sure Khalid’s jackal wasplanning some felony kidnapping to keep Sage away from all that.
In hindsight, I could see how that was fucking annoying. We needed to grovel, and I justknewthe Prince of Darkness was shite at that.
“Someone find out if pony shifters are a thing. We need to get her a pony,” I hollered as I fluffed the pillows.
“You could just apologize for being an insufferable twat that you don’t get to stab someone and Khalid thinking she’s not the reincarnation of a badass known for being in the heat of battle,” Lucian drawled.
“Shush,” I said, placing my hand on his entire face. “I’m betting you don’t even apologize when you’re wrong. I know what woman like. We need a big grovel and a pony.”
“I don’tneedto apologize because I wasn’t the one who annoyed her into leaving. I was on her side the whole time. I was the one who figured out who Sage was first. The Morrigan was a God of War and Fate.Of course,she’s the in prophecy. She’s not going to be wrestling snakes and stabbing void beings, though I’m pretty sure she’d love to drive a knife in Lola’s eye for touching you. Sage can manipulate battles and foretell death, you utter morons. She was sort of doing that in the trials.”
“Yeah, Iknowthat, numbnuts. For some reason, raping me was part of their plan. I haven’t done anything about that because Icouldn’t,but if we’ve got a window and a prophecy, don’t you think I should be doing the honors?”
Because I didn’t verbalize that when Sage was here, but it wasn’t sitting right with me. The Fates didn’t help me evade the Irish Mafia this long and channel my fucked-up childhood into ridding the world of sex menaces to get mehereand tell me I couldn’t kill the people who tried to rape me.
“I think you and I are supposed to be protecting Sage while Lucian, Mazen, and Adrian kill them. Lola doesn’t pay attentionin history, but Radames does. Remember when Professor Kane embarrassed Sage when she launched into her unit on Fate and the gods who could actually influence them and Sage was the only known reincarnation in the room who could influence Fate?” Khalid said.
“Doesn’t her skin look beautiful when she blushes?” I sighed. “But yeah, that’s logical. If Sage was fully awake, she could handle it with no problem, but all of us except the Prince of Darkness are still learning. So, back to groveling. Lucian, you can smell her pancreas, can she handle me breaking into the kitchen and whipping up my famous chocolate souffle?”
Lucian started choking and glared at me. Did he think no one noticed he always knew when she needed food and had snacks?
“I have enhanced smell, too. What the fuck are you talking about, Liam? We can’t smell internal organs unless someone rips them out.”
