Heath
They already had a low opinion of Mitch after hearing that he had attempted to confine his students to the dorm. Now, it was considerably worse. Even with a town between them, Mars and Venus were two halves of a whole.
No fingerprints had been found on the pin and pitchfork that had jammed the door. A caster had done a spell to reveal the perpetrator, but he was a sophomore who was unfamiliar with the incantation. The results were inconclusive.
Bruce Walker had been working with Carlos, who really wanted the attacker to answer for his crime. The boy was a powerful telepath, which sounded like an advantage. But in this particular scenario, combined with Carlos’s lack of control over his power, it complicated matters.
In a short, unsatisfactory faculty meeting on Friday without any monitors present, Bruce explained that he’d been sifting through over seventy-five voices in Carlos’s memories.
The vengeful thoughts were loud, but brief.
Impressions from the panicked students and worried witnesses were more distinct.
The malicious voice didn’t convey anything that would identify him. Bruce did feel that the psychic signature matched Mitch’s, but that was as much intuition as anything else. His findings would not be admissible in court, or basis for police to issue a warrant for arrest.
Mitch had made a point to be noticed in the dorm a few minutes prior to the attack. No one had seen him on the grounds.
Heath was furious that Mitch was accusing the sophomore Casey had mentioned previously. The young man could be expelled for such an offense. He had never shown aggressive or violent tendencies, but was extremely powerful.
The sophomore, Logan Palmer, had been on the grounds at the time of the attack.
He wasn’t close by, however, and several other students testified that he wasn’t using his element.
Heath was certain Mitch had planned the attack when the student would be in the area, with the intention of framing the young man who had spoken up against him.
At this point, Heath wasn’t sure who Mitch hated more, Clark or the young water elemental. Mitch had schemed to paint Logan as a vicious prankster, so he would be held responsible. But, thanks to Casey Blackburn and his friend Trent, they did have proof that Mitch was behind the fountain incident.
Maintenance reports confirmed that Clark Voudrie had been the victim of several water-related pranks, some of which could have, and did cause injuries.
Four of those incidents had occurred when Logan Palmer could not have been responsible.
The evidence they had was primarily circumstantial, but it told a damning story.
No one was more enraged than Carl Washington. Having been the one to wrangle the ice spears into compliance, the head of elemental studies knew very well that a sophomore did not have the training to orchestrate the attack, regardless of how powerful he might be.
Carl wanted Mitch gone as soon as humanly possible, and Heath heartily agreed. It sounded like Dean Stanhope was just as eager to be shed of Mitchel Pierce.
Emails were sent, probably to all the professors. Heath’s memo urged his discretion, but requested that he put out feelers for a qualified replacement. Documentation was being compiled against Mitch, who would be removed from campus by Wednesday.
The preference was that Mitch would be charged for the classroom assault, and leaving in handcuffs. However, they had due cause to terminate his employment without evidence of criminal intent. Dozens of elementals had come forward to speak up against Mitch.
It was clear from reports that Mitch had never been a very attentive monitor, and was more focused on himself than the students. However, none of them had a serious issue with him the previous year. The collective statements painted a very ugly picture.
As Casey had told Heath, Mitch declared loudly and often that he had been unfairly reprimanded, and denied a promotion that he should have been given.
He spoke out against other classifications, expecting the students to take a stand with him.
Some pretended to, simply to avoid confrontation and further unpleasantness.
Those who didn’t were considered traitors.
Heath supposed that the older elementals would be better off whether a new monitor was found immediately or not. Surprisingly, Ray had put his best foot forward, testifying against Mitch. He had revealed helpful information that they had been previously unaware of.
When asked by their mentors in the elemental department, Paul and Brandon said that they liked Ray. He encouraged them to socialize with the casters, and asked them how they were adjusting. There were regular activities in the common room, as well as cards, board games, and movies.
That was how it should be in all the dorms. Everything the boys said highlighted what Mitch was doing wrong. It was clear that the atmosphere in the elemental dorm was detrimental and oppressive.
In contrast, Ray apparently had themed food nights once a week with the underage casters that the elementals were included in. They voted on dishes that Ray cooked in the student kitchen every Thursday. The boys hung out with Ray while he cooked, talking about their day.
It was a better review than Heath had expected. From what Casey had said, Ray didn’t pay much attention to the older students. But they were legal adults. The underage students were the priority.
Armando Garcia was pleased. At the moment, it looked like they would not need to replace two monitors mid-semester.
Heath’s phone chimed with a message from Nadine when he arrived on campus. When he read the text, Heath was glad that he was early. He called to request a meeting with Armando Garcia, who said that he had a few minutes.
This felt very serendipitous. Heath hoped the head of caster studies agreed with him.
“What can I do for you, Heath?” Armando asked when Heath stepped into his office.
“My sister, who teaches at Venus, just texted that a fire elemental, who is related to one of her coworkers, recently moved to town,” Heath said.
“Apparently, there was a snafu with his master’s courses, and he needs more credits for his degree, which should have been completed over the summer.
Since he already moved out before learning of the mistake, he is hoping to enroll here at Mars, either making up the coursework he’s missed, or next semester at the latest. Lane Matthews is staying with his cousin, and looking for work to offset the cost of tuition. ”
Armando’s eyes lit up with interest. “Do you know his power ranking?”
“Seven-point-three,” Heath replied.
“This might just be the solution we were looking for, and be mutually beneficial,” Armando said with relief.
“Carl would need to make the decision on late enrollment, but Matthews would have free housing, and Allen might be willing to give him a discount on tuition for incentive. Do you have his information?”
“I do,” Heath said as he forwarded the text.
“Excellent. I’ll get this to the dean’s office, and copy Carl immediately. Thank you, Heath,” Armando said.
“You’re very welcome, sir. This benefits all of us.”
Heath was feeling much more positive than he had an hour ago as he strode to his own office. There was no guarantee that Lane Matthews would be a good candidate. Mitch had also looked good on paper.
But at least they had a candidate. That was forward progress.
When the young casters arrived for class, Heath was glad to see all three of them looking relaxed and cheerful. Having the weekend to decompress seemed to have benefited them.
“How are things in the dorm?” Heath asked when Robert, Steve, and Adam sat down. “The elementals sound like they’re comfortable, and to have enjoyed Ray cooking for you guys.”
It was habit now for Heath to ask casual questions about what was happening in the dorm. That wasn’t strictly necessary anymore. But he was interested to hear how they were dealing with the changes.
“The options to vote on are limited,” Steve said with humor. “Ray says that if he was a chef, he’d be at a fancy restaurant with one of those poofy hats instead of working here.”
“It’s normal for us and the guys in the other dorms, because Mr. Voudrie and Mr. Smith have similar things, like pizza night or taco night,” Steve said.
“But I guess Mr. Peirce never did. The dinners feel special to Brandon and Paul because that dorm sounds more like a concentration camp from ancient history, or maybe a cult.”
“Yeah, everything we’ve heard makes me glad we weren’t stuck with Mr. Pierce, or someone like him,” Adam said. “Ray isn’t the most organized guy on the planet, but he’s nice, and doesn’t tell us who we can and can’t be friends with.”
“Everybody’s getting along, then?” Heath asked.
“Yeah, their room is across the hall, and we study together in the common room after classes,” Robert said.
“Professor Halston, can we talk about mate bonds before we meditate?” Steve asked.
“That was very random and unexpected,” Heath said. “May I ask what brought this on?”
“Mr. Voudrie has let us have some open discussions as long as we ask something pertinent to evolved society,” Robert replied. “We’ve talked about power rankings, career possibilities, and attempts to fuse magic with technology.”
“I’ve been curious about mate bonds,” Steve said. “My parents are bonded, but Paul’s and Carlos’s aren’t. Some of the unevolved humans in my home town have bonded mates, and others don’t.”
“Yeah, some people have more than one mate while others don’t even have one,” Adam said. “Is that random, or is there a science behind it?”
Heath decided there was no harm in going off topic, and discussing mate bonds for a few minutes. He didn’t want to stifle their curiosity or give the impression that they weren’t welcome to ask about unrelated subjects. Clark was smart to let them ask, and talk about different things.
“I’ll give you the basics, but since mate bonds are an evolutionary phenomenon, Mr. Voudrie is most likely more knowledgeable on that subject than I am,” Heath said. “So, you might want to ask him if you still have questions.
“There has been a great deal of research on bonds, who has them, how many of them, and why. The one thing we know definitively is that all evolved humans with a rank of five or higher will have at least one bonded mate. Very powerful individuals often have a minimum of two mates.”
“So, it’s random with unevolved humans?” Steve asked. “Or is it about where their ancestors were when the meteors hit?”
“That is where Mr. Voudrie might have more information,” Heath said.
“However, the accepted belief in the scientific community is that all humans, evolved and unevolved, will eventually have bonded mates.
Twice the number of humans without powers have bonded mates than what was recorded a hundred and fifty years ago.
Our biology is still adapting. When we think of the origins of humanity, and where our ancestors began thousands of years ago, five hundred years is a short span of time.
“Using the term ‘unevolved’ isn’t always accurate. The biology of those humans also changed whether they have powers or not. If you look at it that way, it makes sense that eventually, all humans will have mate bonds.”
“Yeah, that’s logical. Thanks, Professor Halston,” Adam said.