“To honor and begin this special event, our own first leader of this great city and conqueror of the first Gauntlet of Purgatory is here to see off our students. Please help me welcome Gebeb, or most of you might know him fondly as Gus!”
Something dawns on me as Dean Caldron moves aside and Gebeb—a.k.a. Gus—moves front and center.
“Hey, Moni?”
“Yeah?” She shrinks down and lands on my shoulder.
“What’s Gus’s last name?” I ask, curious if he even has one.
“Huh? All these years, and he never told me. Now that I think about it. I think I asked him when I first started working for him, and he either told me he didn’t have one or he didn’t use it… just to call him Gus,” she admits. “Why?”
“In school, I had to write a paper on the nine Egyptian gods for a final. One of the gods was called Gebeb, or Geb, and he was the God of the Earth, or soil, or something. Like fertility and farming,” I tell her, staring atGus!
“Yeah, but if that’s him, how did he go from Gebeb to Gus?”
“I don’t know,” I shrug, forgetting Moni’s on my shoulder.
“Ahh. You heathen!” She smacks my earring. “Watch it.”
“Oh, sorry.” Nervous laughter bubbles out of me. “Maybe he kept part of his name and took part of his mom and dad’s?”
“Who were his mom and dad? And how do you know all of this stuff anyway? What purpose does this really serve on Earth? It feels like useless knowledge? I mean, of course, not this minute since we’re learning about an ancient God that’s been living underneath my freaking nose and making me coffee forever. OMG! Do you think that’s why his coffee is to die for? HE’S A GOD and HIS COFFEEISTHE NECTOR OF LIFE?” She squeals and flies in front of me, where she stops abruptly, staring unfocused at my cheek, and then frowns.
“What? What’s wrong?” I ask, reaching out to grab her small shoulders.
“I-I thought I was…about to faint—but then nothing. I don’t understand.” She mopes a little bit, turning blue.
I bite my lip to keep from laughing and decide to tell her.
“So, Gus gave you something to help with today so we could hopefully get you started with the Gauntlet without you passing out,” I confess.
Moni stares at me for a moment before turning neon green, spinning in a circle, and doing a little shimmy.
“That’s great!” she cheers before putting her hands on her hips and cocking her head to the side in confusion. “So if he’s a God, who are his parents?”
I chuckle at her antics, but I don’t get a chance to answer her.
“Weren’t his parents Shu and Tefnut?” Lynx asks, joining in.
“Yeah, but how did you remember that?” I ask, taken aback that Lynx would know something like that.
“Are you kidding me? How can I forget them? I personally committed them to memory as Shoe and Tough Nuts.” Lynx smirks. “Anything with nuts is unforgettable.” I can’t help but roll my eyes at his comment.
Of course he would remember something resembling genitals.“You are so predictable, now that I think about it.”
“Are you guys paying attention?” Levi berates us over his shoulder.
Oops. I probably should be doing that.
“So take my advice and use it for this week’s challenges. This event will be almost a mirror of the first Gauntlet. So, if you would, please pair up with your group. We will call each team to the portal at random. There, the portal will send you to an indeterminate location in the Ever Woods where you will be held in seclusion until everyone has joined in and the time officially starts. Good Luck,” Gus, or Geb, says.
“Luck? Who the hell just needs luck?” Lynx mumbles as we head to the closest portal.
“I agree. We need an army,” Moni adds.
“And a few bombs,” Lynx agrees.
“We need a damn miracle and my powers,” I whisper.
