Chapter 11 Sage
If Apep was also a void creature, then he should also feel like Lola.
Radames didn’t feel like Lola. If I’d been my father’s dream son, I imagine I would have felt like what Radames felt like to me—super closed off and very offended at all of this.
And yeah, it probably would have made my convictions stronger than make me doubt them.
I still didn’t think it was safe to discuss the whole Apep thing in front of him.
I also didn’t want him to think we were looking at the Egyptian students for no reason.
Khalid told me what he thought was happening when he got kidnapped here.
I didn’t want Radames to think we were connecting Egyptian students to the murders for any reason other than we’d been visited by shades who told us it was the reincarnation of Apep who was hurting people.
So, I didn’t say a damned thing until he disappeared wherever he went to when he was trying to figure his shit out.
Headmaster Mykene was thinking the same thing I was and only asked Radames how he was coming with his research and nothing else.
He barely spoke in grunts around her and just said he was working on it and disappeared.
“What is your gut telling you about that one?” she asked when he left.
“Being around Lola sets my teeth on edge. It’s like she sucks everything out of the room. He doesn’t do that, but he’s also hard to read because he’s so repressed.”
“His father is a lot, but not like yours. Copts are the minority in Egypt and sometimes, there are some issues with that. Radames’s dad doesn’t want to change the laws about Coptic churches or change perception so they can coexist. He wants to make everyone in Egypt Coptic and that was how he raised Radames.
That boy could be trying to figure out who he is so he can do that.
It was one of the many reasons I wanted him in here with us.
It wasn’t just because his father was a priest.”
“Blue Matthews wasn’t my father. He murdered my father.
But he wanted everyone to be a member of his church even if they were just watching on TV because that meant more money for him.
He could be trying to do that now, but he can’t do it until he figures out who he is and how to use his magic so he can con people.
That’s a few years to subtly redirect him.
What about the other students? Do you think anyone is Apep? ”
“Bes is a man in this life. He protects children and women in childbirth. I can pretty much tell you that he’s not lying about being Bes.
He grew up in an orphanage and when he aged out, he got a job there to make sure the kids were taken care of.
He refused to stay here unless we made sure those kids were taken care of.
That’s what he plans to use his trust for.
“Onuris was a God of War and Hunting. It’s a woman in this life.
She gets along famously with the reincarnation of Artemis, but I think she feels like she has something to prove in her defense classes since they are being taught by another war god, so she’s constantly butting heads with Professor Adamastus.
She’s not lying, either. Professor Theron and Professor Adamastus both feel a kinship with her.
“Serket is back and there’s no doubt about who she is. She’s a lesbian who wants nothing to do with men. If any of them think they might want to change her mind, she turns into a giant scorpion and terrorizes them. She fully intends to abuse this when she graduates. I honestly don’t blame her.
“You know Bastet, as she’s your roommate. Well, as much as you can know Iman when she refuses to shift back. I have my theories about why she’s currently being spoiled rotten by Ivar, Alexios, and Ari, but I won’t know for sure until she decides to stop being a cat.
“We think Maahes is back as he turns into a lion. There are actually several Egyptian gods that turn into lions, but he’s done enough research and meditation to be sure he’s Maahes.
Maahes was the son of Bastet and the reincarnation of Maahes is a bit of a character.
Samir ran at Iman calling her mommy like he wanted a hug.
She had no idea who he was, and that was when she shifted the first time. Iman has refused to shift back since.
“You know Set and Anubis. I’m honestly glad you’ve taken Mazen under your wing. He was a ticking time bomb while he was dating Lola and it’s always good when Set is in a helping mood instead of a destructive one. We don’t have Ra, but we do have Khepri, who was associated with the morning sun.
“We have eleven students that are narrowing it down between two gods and are close. Of those eleven, four have shifted, but there are multiple gods with that animal and they are trying to figure out which one they are. Then, you have Radames, who isn’t really sharing or wants help.
“That narrows it down to eight students we don’t really have definitive proof if they are Apep or not.
I couldn’t guess based on their personalities.
Some serial killers are very charming. Apep and Hemlock would have been trapped in fairy alone for a very long while before they either starved to death or their life cycle ended.
They had a plan when they got back to this realm. ”
Yes, but Headmaster Mykene was smarter than I would ever be. I might feel it stronger than everyone else, but everyone I actually cared about here said Lola felt different from everyone else.
“Sorry, but you’ve spent more time around all the students than me. Don’t you know who feels like Lola?”
“That’s the problem, Sage. Hemlock wasn’t a god, she was an original. She was something new. I’ve been around for a very long time and I’ve never met anyone who felt like Lola in my entire life span, much less anyone currently enrolled at this academy.”
Fuck me. That was my one idea for locating who Apep was in this life.