Chapter Thirteen
“Are you ready, min Liechtbrunn ?”
Milo squared his shoulders. After ten days of nonstop studying, countless intense questionnaires conducted by his beloved demon until he could answer even the most complicated and convoluted problems one could formulate from the vast material in the four works he had had to study, he could say he was more than ready.
Ready to get this done with and show the board of SBW what he was made of.
Ready to do this test then grab Quirion for an indefinite cuddle session on the couch.
Ready to wade through this madness, come out victorious at the other end and never look back.
“I’m ready, Qui.” Milo let his fingers pop and sat down in front of his laptop at MIT. Because the internet at the library could be a bit capricious—not to mention they didn’t want to give the board even the slightest chance to claim foul play—they had decided to do the test here. Milo had received clear instructions as to when the whole thing was going to start and how it would all go down. Quirion was ready to step through the tear he had made as soon as Milo connected with the SBW. His perfect mate gave him one more kiss and was then gone, leaving Milo to deal with this challenge.
At ten o’clock on the dot, the connection to the SBW came to life, showing him the face of the vampire, Beverly Nyx, and one of her colleagues, Rasputin Icebringer. Milo was glad that Quirion had had Barion show him the two, because he knew their appearance would have thrown him off his game a bit. As far as intimidation went, they didn’t hold a candle to the paranormals Milo was familiar with. Beverly Nyx might be a vampire, and an old one at that—beautiful too, in the creepy way Quirion had so aptly described her—but she wasn’t from one of the ancient lines and therefore had not a snowball’s chance in hell of competing with Emilia’s silent levels of threat. As for the ice elf, he obviously tried to come over as aloof and arrogant, but his constipated expression had Milo biting his tongue to not offer him some laxatives. They both radiated an expectation of being admired and looked up to, something Milo simply couldn’t offer because he knew firsthand what true wisdom and knowledge looked like—his demon was the epitome of it, after all.
“Good morning, Dr. Abber. It’s a pleasure to finally see your face personally.” Beverly even had the nasal speech one would associate with the upper class.
“Good morning, Miss Nyx, Mr. Icebringer, it is a pleasure indeed.” There, Milo could bullshit with the best of them. His years at MIT had taught him more than just biochemistry.
“Is it cold in your lab?” Rasputin Icebringer didn’t bother with niceties.
“Uh, yes, it’s a little chilly today, and I might be coming down with something.” Milo shrugged. He wore a dark turtleneck pullover with extra-long sleeves. No need to give his two inquisitors a hint that he was a demon’s mate now. They’d probably cut the whole thing short immediately.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I hope it won’t be anything bad. Humans are so fragile.” Beverly tittered, showing a flash of her fangs.
Oh yeah, the game was definitely on. For them to try to threaten him so blatantly meant they absolutely didn’t want him to pass the test.
Rasputin Icebringer gave a hollow laugh. “Yes, poor mortals. Now, why don’t we start, Dr. Abber? As it is, time is of the essence for your kind.”
Asshole . Usually, Milo tried to be polite even in his own head, but these two brought it out in him. “Yes, please, let’s start.”
“Fine. Ahem.” Icebringer looked down at some papers he was shuffling with a lot of rustling. He appeared to be thrown off his game by Milo’s serenity.
What did they think? That I would cave under a bit of paranormal flexing? When they know who I’m associated with?
“Well, Dr. Abber, in the History of the Elves of the Irish Isles , the author suggests that the introduction of weapons made from steel marked the beginning of their demise. What is your stance on this statement?” Beverly Nyx had been faster to get her papers in order and fired off this first question. It was a fairly easy one and, if Milo hadn’t known better, he would have thought they wanted to ease him into it. As it were, he suspected they simply hoped he would flounder right from the start, especially since history and anthropology were far from his core competence.
“It is an interesting thought, that an outer source like steel had this kind of impact on the culture of the elves, but the author seems to have forgotten her own recounting of the history before. Elven society on the Irish Isles was already on a downward path, what with the assassination of King Aldarion by his own wife, Queen Dirhael, some two hundred years before. Since then, the elven society had been in tumult, with no less than four kings or queens when before Aldarion, a ruler typically held the throne for at least half a millennium. So no, I don’t think steel was the reason the elven society finally collapsed. It was just another catalyst to a process that was already underway.”
“Uh, yeah, an interesting observation.” Icebringer glanced at Nyx, who puckered her lips as if she’d bitten into a lemon. She obviously didn’t want to credit Milo’s explanation, but he knew she had no choice. He had simply stated a truth the majority of paranormal history scholars had agreed upon. And she knew it.
“Well done, Dr. Abber. In Biology seen from a Magical Perspective , the author lists the most important influences on mutations in the fauna of the pre-Jurassic era. Can you name them and give us your opinion?”
Milo almost smiled. If the test went on like this, there wouldn’t be any problems for him. It was almost as if Quirion had looked directly into the heads of the board of SBW and plucked the questions from them. He leaned back a little.
“The first and most important influence according to the author is…”
An hour later, both Beverly Nyx and Rasputin Icebringer wore identical expressions of pure disappointment. Milo had aced all the questions thrown at him, and there was no way they could deny him the funding they had promised. It was Icebringer who admitted defeat.
“It seems, Dr. Abber, that you are well-versed in various fields, not only your research. We congratulate you on your broad knowledge of such diverse topics. And of course, also congratulations on the funding. You are now an official member of the SBW. Our office will contact you to hash out the details about the funding and to give you access to our extensive library. Welcome to SBW.”
“Yes, welcome, Dr. Abber, and congratulations.” Beverly Nyx tried a smile that looked more like a wince. Milo enjoyed her discomfort greatly. It was always nice to put arrogant snobs in their place.
“Thank you so much, Miss Nyx, Mr. Icebringer. It was my pleasure to immerse myself in those wonderful scientific works. And thank you for accepting me into the SBW. I’m looking forward to working with all the resources you can offer me.”
There, he could be diplomatic and polite, even when he was riding on the high of a glorious victory.
“The pleasure is all ours, Dr. Abber. And don’t forget the soiree we hold in honor of our new members. You should get an invitation in the next few days. We’re looking forward to meeting you personally.” Rasputin Icebringer actually managed to sound sincere. Milo was tempted to applaud him. After another round of meaningless phrases, Nyx and Icebringer cut the connection. As if summoned by it, Quirion returned into the lab, a huge smile on his lips.
“You shredded them.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Of course I did. Your preparation was perfect.” Milo grinned.
“It wasn’t just my preparation. They didn’t stand a chance against your brilliant mind, min Lichtbrunn .” Quirion dragged him into his arms, where Milo enjoyed the warmth only a demon could give. “I think we should maybe indulge in some non-scheduled physical experimentation once we get home. To celebrate.”
“Yeah. Yeah, we should. A celebration is definitely in order.”
Quirion opened another rift in time and space, and they were back in his—now their—bedroom. As it turned out, non-scheduled physical experimentation didn’t yield any new or groundbreaking results, but was nice confirmation of the data they already had.