Chapter 22
The class turned to the professor, who was staring at me with a new kind of surprise. She took in their expressions, looked up at the ceiling, then looked back at me. “You’re being enormously reasonable about this.”
“Because I’m a reasonable person. Sorta have to be to grow up where the bugs can kill you,” I said.
“Okay. Well, my wife would murder me in my sleep tonight if I didn’t get some solid intel,” she said. “How do you want to do it?”
“Makes no difference to me,” I said.
She thought some more and then turned to the smart board. She pulled out a green marker and wrote Questions across the top.
“What do you all want to ask the most?”
A chorus of voices spoke out in bedlam until Professor Chase held up a hand. She turned and wrote rapidly.
How did you meet?
What is she like?
What kind of warlock are you?
Is she really both a wolf and a witch?
“Let’s start with these, because that’s what I heard. Craig?”
“Well, I can answer one and two together. We met on my first night at Arcane, which was a day later than the rest of the students. I spent all day traveling and then got to Arcane, had meetings with the director, and then a tour. Missed lunch. Dinner came and I went down with my roommate, who is a werewolf. We didn’t like each other much then but we’re friends now.
The smell of the buffet hit me hard and there were so many foods I had never had that I just zeroed in on filling a plate.
I’m ashamed to say I didn’t notice her ahead of me in line, but her back was to me and well, there are lots of attractive girls in Arcane and on this campus, but I had never had beef or ham before.
And I wanted everything. She took pity on me and turned to tell me what not eat and what was good.
So in order of appearance, here are her characteristics: Kind, beautiful, witty, confident, and friendly.
She didn’t know me. She had reason to believe I wasn’t a great person, and still she helped me. ”
“Why would she think you were a bad person?” another girl asked.
“I’m a male witch. Most of those are self-involved attention hounds who will be a slut for any witch that looks their way.
And that’s not an exaggeration. Then there was another student from my planet who planted rumors of my character.
That’s a long story but suffice to say, I wasn’t what she thought I would be. ”
“Why?” a chunky kid asked.
“Greenacres is a tough place to live. Almost no magic, very few witches, lots of ways to die. Self-centered assholes get dead quick. I grew up with weres and the girls thought I was too skinny to be very attractive, so not so much a male slut either. My focus has always been on survival or helping other settlers. Male witches are breeding stock here, and on Greenacres there’s no demand for me to be that. ”
“Bullshitttt,” a female voice coughed. The class mostly laughed.
“You don’t use the word warlock?” the professor noted with a wry look at one of the girls. “Why?”
“Warlock is a very specific term that has become a reference to any male witch instead of the ancient meaning.”
“What’s the ancient meaning,” the professor asked with a smile.
“A male witch who has been modified through magic, by witches, for a specialized purpose.”
“What purpose?” she pressed.
“It’s in the name: war. Their limited magic was redirected into increasing their speed, strength, pain tolerance, endurance, and skill with weapons. They were generally all addicted to adrenaline and thus sought out battle after battle until they died. Short lifespans.”
“Are there any today?” another boy asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“I looked at that interview and those tapes, plus there is the Church Street incident,” the boy said. He had slightly long, unruly brown hair and hazel eyes, was kind of chunky, and wore baggy clothes. “Are you a warlock?”
I hadn’t expected that. He was quick. I wasn’t sure how to answer, and my delay caused the other kids to realize the answer before my mouth opened.
“You are, aren’t you?” he pressed.
“Yes,” I admitted.
“You beat up a famous MMA fighter with a single punch, but you seem… calm,” front row girl said.
“Thanks?” I answered.
“You’re don’t seem like the angry type you talked about,” another girl guessed.
I shrugged.
“Did she know?” another girl asked. “When you met?”
“No. Hell, I didn’t know. Vesta is a super curious person. Loves puzzles and mysteries. I wasn’t what she expected me to be, and her curiosity overwhelmed her innate caution.”
“How did you not know you were a… a warlock?” front row girl asked. I really needed to learn some names. Well, I wouldn’t likely be back so no real need, I guess.
“No one ever told me. My parents were both gone and there was no one else who could possibly know.”
“Wait… your parents made you one?” the professor asked.
“My mom mostly. She probably felt it would help me survive the planet.”
“You never answered as to what kind of element you favor?” the first boy pressed.
“I would be mostly Air with a small amount of Earth. My abilities are very specialized, so I lack the general utility of almost all female Air witches.”
“What are your special abilities?” another boy asked. Rude. But I spotted something in the upper corner of the room: a glint of light, like a reflection.
“Omega are you recording this?” I asked.
He appeared in the empty seat next to mine and the whole room jumped, except me.
“More like streaming,” he said.
“Oh?” I said, tapping my nano bracelet. “Hello? Miss Reynolds-O’Carroll please.”
“She’s busy with her new favorite show,” Vesta answered.
“Shouldn’t she be in class?”
“She would, but her professor canceled the first class due to a sudden overwhelming issue with his class roster,” she said. “Your professor is much cooler.”
“Class meet Vesta. Vesta, meet Econ 101 and Professor Chase.”
A chorus of hi’s and hellos rang out, then the professor spoke. “I just didn’t look closely enough at my class roster, or I might have panicked too, Miss Reynolds-O’Carroll.”
“It’s just Vesta. The rest is too long to say,” she said. “I told the president that he should inform all the faculty before first class to avoid panic.”
“We all likely would have panicked earlier,” Professor Chase joked.
“See, but then we could have explained the benefits,” Vesta said. “Omega, can you holo my head shot please? This feels rude.”
Her head and shoulders appeared above my wrist unit, full sized, in all her beauty.
“Benefits? Okay I’ll bite,” Professor Chase said.
“You were all talking about warlocks when I was yanked into the conversation, rudely interrupting my voyeurism,” Vesta said.
“Well, you have, sitting slouched in his chair doodling, the most advanced warlock ever. There will be no active shooters while he’s on campus, no terrorists, no hate crimes, and most other major crimes are likely to be reduced if he bothers to glance up from whatever he’s drawing. ”
“You know what I’m drawing,” I said. “You felt it and that’s why you convinced Omega to spy. Omega, you haven’t shown her, have you?”
“No, Craig. Seeing the portrait early is forbidden by a long history of precedent,” Omega said.
A girl two chairs away leaned closer to look and her eyes got wide. “That’s really good,” she said.
“Thanks,” I said. Omega suddenly projected the drawing onto the smartboard, which the drone Vesta was watching through couldn’t see.
“Oh, that is good,” the professor said.
“Hey,” Vesta protested.
“But back to your comments before the art display, ah, Vesta,” the professor said. “Why the confidence in violence reduction. I thought warlocks were for war?”
“They were. Craig is different. Sure, put him on a battlefield and he’ll romp and stomp all over the enemy, but he’s primarily protective. He’s saved my life at least three times and saved lots of others too and I’ve only known him four months.”
“But you’re the Steward’s daughter?” the boy who had guessed my warlock-ness asked.
“Yup. I’m a werewolf and a four-element witch who has been trained from birth to fight with everything I have. And yet I can’t beat that slouching punk when we spar in class.”
“He’s just a male witch,” the first girl asked.
“What’s your name?” Vesta asked.
“Sondra.”
“Yes, he’s a male witch. But if you super focus a talented male witch’s abilities, raise him on a heavy gravity world, and pit him against a constant stream of aggressive wildlife, you might end up with Craig.
And Craig gives even my father and Chris Gordon pause.
The point is, he is like the perfect bodyguard, my bodyguard and my beloved, and you all get the benefit of him being with you and on campus every day of the week.
We explained all this to the powers that be, but it seems it went no farther. ”
“Hmm. Class what do you think. All in favor of keeping Mr. Blackmore in class, raise your hands.”
It was unanimous[SG1].