Mage of Shadows (16 page)

"So you're saying I have another choice?" I said, a wry smile playing across my lips, "I thought there was no going back already."

Vik matched my smile, "You chose blindly, and that's no choice at all. I tried to shine a little light on the situation without giving away too much, because I'm bound by The Laws not to do so. I know it's still a little dim and unclear, but what in life isn't? We don't know the future, not really. All we can do is march forward, and try to make the right choices when we're faced with them. Don't you agree?"

He stood and dropped his cigarette to the ground. I followed its short arc with my eyes, and saw it had been burned to the bud. Without preamble, Vik's foot came down to crush it. He then held out his hand to me while offering a winning smile at the same time.

"Yeah," I said quietly, "I agree with that." And I gripped his extended hand with a loose handshake, and I felt him suddenly grip it as if we had just been magnetized to each other, eternally tethered as comrades fighting for a just cause. As mages, I could sense him as well, that always familiar spark that traveled up my arm like a playful reminder of the power we shared.

Vik's smile widened as he felt the same from me, and his grip tightened further as he said, "Welcome, brother. We're going to do great things together, I know it."

I wanted to believe him, I really did… but as the rare fall's sun hid its face behind the clouds and the sky darkened, Vik's grin seemed to take on a sinister quality, and I felt as if I was shaking hands with the devil himself.

Am I really his brother, I thought to myself even as I smiled, or am I simply like that cigarette to him?

Lit up and used until it is burned away to nothing.

Then immediately tossed away to be squashed underfoot.

111

I had been drawn in further to the sociopolitical miasma that was the Archanos society, yet in the days that followed my strange conversation with Vik I was able to walk feeling like a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I no longer felt the urge to check behind me when walking back home alone at night, and I felt free to speak to Nishi and Jimmy about all things magical. Archanos was on my side now; or rather I was on their side.

Decidedly tired of pestering my parents for money, which seemed like a constant fight that I would much rather avoid, I got a job at the Science and Engineering library, on the very slow weekends. It was a very lackadaisical type of job that mostly consisted of managing the front desk, where I did a majority of my studying, and 'tidying up' the various floors, which I spent taking long breaks with Raj, who shared shifts with me, and any other friends I could convince to visit and keep me company.

For the moment, everything seemed to be going right. I had managed an 88% on my second Bio exam, which was huge for me. It wasn't the grade I wanted but it definitely showed progress in the right direction. I had never felt better motivation to study in my entire life. For the first time, I actually cared about school.

Weird.

When I wasn't working at the SEL, I was at the UGL or in class. My schedule was simple and consistent, I would wake up; go to class or the library. I had early morning classes three days of the week, so the other days I was at the library alone for at least two hours. It was dead silent in the morning, most students weren't at the UGL until ten or eleven, and I found it relaxing to work with absolutely no distractions. Even Eliza wasn't there that early, which emboldened me even more. I was actually studying harder than Eliza. Not sure when I turned into such a nerd, but I was kind of enjoying it to be completely honest.

During the day my time was equally split between classes, studying in my little corner, and visiting the busier side of third floor whenever David and Raj were around. I could recognize their friends- now my friends too- by name. I was no longer the freshman roommate, but a comrade in the eternal war against scholastic failure.

And trust me when I said that these students had experienced enough educational hell to wholly treat it like a real war.

I was let in on the secrets of success as a pre-med, or student in general. This wasn't just study tips from Eliza; these were entire battle plans for future fights that every student faced. Fitting in classes in the right way for the maximally efficient schedule, when I needed to keep a job and when it would be too difficult, even what classes I should attempt to test out of so I could save time and money.

I discovered what teachers to take and when to take them, and who would write the best recommendation letters for the least effort. The easy A's, the difficult but worthwhile classes, where to get test banks- the list continued on and on. I didn't keep a record; Eliza scribbled it all down to the amusement of our veteran pupils. They lamented about how lucky we were to have them, they had to learn through first-hand experience. David and Raj mostly just watched, with twinned smiles of amusement.

I remember asking David why they bothered to help me, introducing them to their friends and persistently attempting to bring me into the fold of normal campus life when I resisted for weeks on end.

David shrugged, eyes distant as he sipped his drink absentmindedly while staring at the TV, "I guess it's because someone did the same thing for me when I got here. You're a nice guy, Strat, a little secretive but who isn't? When I first got here I didn't know anyone either. Even now most of the friends I have are because of Raj, he attracts people. Then when they get annoyed by him sometimes, I keep them around."

It was a vague answer, but I didn't push the subject, which David quickly changed anyways.

"Raj told me you asked about Carmen?"

I winced, wondering when this would be brought up, "I didn't know she was your ex, honestly. I just thought she was cute." The lie came easy enough; I had been waiting for this conversation.

David nodded, but his questioning gaze didn't shift away from me, "Sam told me you were at RT, a couple days after you talked to Raj."

"Er… that was for something else, really. I was visiting someone else."

Still, his stare didn't break, "I know, Janine said she saw you walking out with Shah."

I stared back blankly, confused by both unrecognizable names, "Who?"

"Vik." David amended, "Are you planning on rushing APA, Nick? Not many people get in, and the ones that do…" He looked genuinely worried, "It's kind of a strange group, really varied. No one really understands what they get up to. No one except members can even get into the frat house."

I cursed inwardly about how easily David had found out about my comings and goings. At the same time I had to marvel at the seemingly effortless ability, because it seemed like he didn't even try to find out what I was doing, people told him offhand. It was equal parts scary and admirable. It was like he had his own personal spy grid.

"I am planning on rushing." I admitted, there was no point denying it now.

"Why?" He asked curiously.

I contemplated for a long moment how to respond, I didn't see the conversation heading in this direction. "They're the most exclusive frat on campus," I finally said, "I just was wondering if I could make the cut. If not… oh well, right? It seems like good networking."

David nodded slowly, networking was something he understood. "I get that," He replied, but shook his head, "Just be careful, Nick. I mean… they're alright people, for the most part. I've never had a real problem with any of them, even Carmen, but like I said… they're really secretive."

The conversation ended there, though I could tell David wasn't really satisfied. I suppose I was touched that he was so worried for my safety, but at the same time I was annoyed that he was attempting to pry into my life, into an area he had no business being in. David was a Normal… one who had a long successful life ahead of him probably, but he needed to stay away from Archanos and APA for his own good.

Carmen's warning about the difficulties of separating Normal and magical life seemed more well-founded than ever. It worried me, because it made me wonder about what else she was right about.

111

"What distinguishes an epic hero like Odysseus or Achilles from a normal hero?"

My Classics professor asked the question to a very bored group of students. Unlike my biology class, the group wasn't massive, only about thirty people crammed in a small typical classroom in the Manoogian building, which sat behind General Lectures.

Behind wire framed ovular spectacles, Professor Mayes blinked at us. He swept his owly gaze across the classroom searching for at least one person who would participate. Unfortunately, it was 9 AM on a Tuesday, and none of us were feeling up to class discussion. Most gazes reflected my own, staring out into space, only breaking out of their stupor to glance hopefully at the clock.

"A normal hero, such as a firefighter or say a policeman?" Mayes pressed, ignoring the deafening silence.

I felt bad, honestly. Professor Mayes was a decent teacher and was enthusiastic about his subject, but not many people took the class with an actual interest in the material. Like me, they had very different specialized fields and were required to take a civilizations class for elective credit. Mayes was largely considered an easy teacher because his tests were usually fair. But again, people looking for easy A's were usually the ones who cared the least about the class.

"They're selfish." A response finally cut the uncomfortable quiet, coming from a rotund male who always sat in the front and usually spoke up. He pushed straw colored hair out of his eyes, "They expect to get stuff like glory and treasure for their heroic acts."

"True enough." Mayes agreed, happy to at least found one person willing to engage in dialogue. "But remember, the ideas of heroism and morality changes over time. A hero in Homer's day was far different from our idea of a hero. They were expected to receive supplicants for their actions, if they didn't receive anything for their troubles it was almost blasphemous."

I took a few noted words down for the gist of it, before amusing myself by trying to catch the eye of the cute caramel skinned girl sitting across the room from me. When I finally did, I grinned at her, and she smiled back. Encouraged, I mimed a sleeping pose, complete with a silent snore. Her smile widened as I saw her repress a giggle. She kind of reminded me strangely enough, of Carmen.

"If you can make a girl smile, Nick, she's yours."

The confident words of wisdom rang through my head, from days past. If I had ever had a best friend before, it was Reggie. Of everyone I was forced to leave behind in life, I missed him most of all. Reggie's lazy smile and spirited blue eyes flashed through my mind. The image was forcefully shoved aside by Vik's dark zealous gaze and I swallowed deeply, shaking the image of Vivek Shah away.

The dark haired girl, I think her name was Maria or something, had turned back to her notes. I did the same as Mayes continued to write things on the board that we were expected to know for the upcoming test. We also had a three page paper due on Thursday, and I had finished only about half of it. I also had an online English quiz that I had to do by tonight, but that was all open book so there shouldn't be a problem.

"Heroic concept #7," Mayes was scratching on the chalkboard again, "The hero accepts his fate. What does this mean? Give an example from your assigned reading."

I wonder if anyone did the assigned reading… I rarely did, because Mayes didn't give out pop quizzes. Once again the silence was deafening, but I could see a couple people, including Maria, flipping through their texts to look at the Iliad material we were supposed to cover for lecture. I didn't, mostly because I couldn't be bothered to take my book out of my backpack.

Mayes waited patiently and I admired him for it. I couldn't imagine teaching the same stuff for thirty years, to the same apathetic types of students. More than most of the class, I probably had the most interest in ancient Greek literature. I used to delve a lot into folklore of all types, trying to get a grasp on similarities of past writings to my own troubles with the supernatural… not to mention that I was Greek myself, though I hadn't ever gone overseas in my entire life. Other than gods and demigods with control over the elements, Greek literature offered me little.

After speaking to Vik, however, I wondered if there was more to demigods and gods than pure fiction, and I wondered how much had been hidden away or destroyed by men who would prefer that mages didn't exist, and would go through any means possible to make it as true as possible.

"Hector," I spoke for the first time the whole semester, surprising even myself. Mayes and the rest of the class turned to look at me. I felt a bit uneasy under their combined weight, but continued, "When he spoke to his wife about going to fight the Greeks. He said something like whatever happens, if he dies or lives, it's his fate."

Didn't stammer once, mental pat on the back. I met Maria's gaze and smiled, and again she smiled back. Score another for Stratus, double pat on the back. I was on a roll today; I should speak up more often.

"Yes." Mayes nodded, then dramatically recited, "No man shall hurl me to Hades, unless it is fated, but as for fate, I think that no man yet has escaped it once it has taken its first form, neither brave man nor coward…" He said it by heart, and made it sound far more eloquent than my explanation could ever give it credit.

I wrote down heroic concept #7 as Mayes continued to list several more examples and explain them. The hero accepts his fate… the words stared back up at me, absolute, written in ink. For some reason, they made me shudder, and resonated in my mind for the rest of the lesson.

The class ended at 9:30 AM on the dot, people packed up even as Mayes tried to speak over the noise. Right before people could begin to pile out of the door, the professor got in the final reminder that our paper would be due in the next class. I shut my notebook and took my time getting up and heading for the door. I never understood the need to rush from one spot to another, without pause. I liked to take life one step at a time, which was nice, but it was a real pain when you had to try to plan for tests weeks in advance.