“So, I’m apologizing again and offering to bring this up to the council for probably the millionth time in the past hundred years. If you would perhaps want to come with me and tell them exactly why it’s a bad idea, that could have soured you from staying, I’d love that.”
That was reasonable. I could do that, so I just gave her a nod.
“Listen, we snatched you in the wrong way and we stole you from Oxford. I might be the reincarnation of Athena, but I’m also not an arsehole and want to make this the best experience all of you can have. Is thereanythingI can do to make this easier on you?”
“I saved up to pay for my first semester at Oxford and had a job lined up to pay for the rest. That first semester was a lot of money for me. I have no problem working here, but if you could get the money back from Oxford, it would help me.”
Was that even possible? I got a job as soon as I was able to and busted my ass keeping up with my grades and putting money away, If I wasn’t going to Oxford, I wanted that money I sweated for back.
“Done. We’ve done this before with colleges all over the world. What job do you think you would want?”
“I had a job as an assistant to a professor that has all kinds of history research lined up. I’m interested in history. Now that I know all these things exist that I didn’t think were real, I’m interested in that history, too.”
“You’d be perfect as an assistant to Professor Kane. She’s a witch and witches were some of the first supernaturals to exist. Most of the originals stole from some of the darker witches to become something new. She teaches history, but she also thinks a lot of what we know was twisted by humans when they started hunting us because of their Satan, so she’s been looking into it.
“Professor Kane is brilliant and a very strong witch, but she’s also quite scatterbrained. She’ll get into things, forget to eat, and end up fainting in class. She ends up with the healer getting fluid because she’s dehydrated. She could use someone interested in history, but she also needs someone to sneak water and food in and takeover while she consumes it.”
“I can do that and I think her research sounds fascinating. I also have another request. I want to be paired with Sage at the trials.”
I honestly didn’t know anyone else, and she seemed nice. Plus, one of my best friends had diabetes, and I knew what kind of hell that could be. I knew we were being given rations, but my father took us camping all the time and we lived off the land. I might be able to help if she couldn’t eat the rations.
Headmaster Mykene was just looking at me curiously.
“You’re the second person to request Sage on your team. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and often how things work with us. Sage is hard to get a read on because she comes from a melting pot and other things. Those of you that feel a connection and want to team with her are probably hints to who she used to be.”
“No offense, but I’m not sure how I’d be connected to another pantheon if I’m not an original.”
“Sometimes, you’re not connected to the same pantheon. You are a reincarnation and not tied to your original lives. Sometimes, it’s thetypeof god you were that connects you. A lot of them are closely related in power or purpose. Originals are connected the same way.”
“Interesting.”
It really was. I was dying to do a deep dive into this history of all of this.
“But yes, I can pair you up with Sage. The teams are a lot easier to pair up when people make requests instead of me meeting with you and trying to get a read on you. You’re free to leave unless there other requests?”
I didn’t. I might later, but that was pretty easy. I got everything I asked for.
Iguess it was my turn. Did these people realized they kidnapped me to this droll university when I was set to go to the best in my country? I was going to learn how to use my computer skills to make the world a better place and quietly punish the bad people.
I wasn’t one of those kids that checked the wardrobes to go to Narnia or wanted to get whisked off to Half Blood Camp. I went to school with a complete moron whotriedto make a spider radioactive and let it bite him. I always thought those people were idiots who didn’t know the difference between fact and fiction.
I wasn’t even sure I believed magic was real now. Yeah, Isawthe ice cream appear, but I didn’t eat it. Those people drugged me once. I was pretty sure we allthoughtwe saw ice cream appear out of nowhere, but it was probably side effects from whatever they injected us with. That was probably why they injected us in the first place—so we’d be docile and open to hypnotic suggestions.
I didn’t see why all the people in the dining hall didn’t realize that and were losing their minds about magic being real. Idiots. I was surrounded by people dumber than my brothers and that was saying a lot.
So, I went to this little meeting to let Headmaster Mykene know I would only stay once I contacted my parents, and they intended to disown me if I didn’t. I sat down and scowled at her.
“You’re going to want to eat while you can. Some people don’t handle their rations well and don’t know how to live off the land.”
I scoffed.
“I don’t trust food from people who drug me.”
“The drugsare notmy idea, but aren’t you dying to know why your parents let us take you?”
“I’m a spare. I’m their fourth spare. They popped out sons like we were all going to die from poor sanitation. We were never close anyway. I’m betting you bribed them.”
“Actually, your line has ended up at Ouroboros or similar schools before. I can’t guess who or what you’ll be, but you have all kinds of interesting things in your DNA. It’s a family secret that you only need to know when you need to know.”
