Byron smiled. “You will come to see that’s a thread throughout this narrative. Now, one thing about Titans and gods, is that they really like to…fornicate, would be an appropriate word. Much like college-age kids, if my memory serves me correctly.”
“You’re too old to remember anything of the sort,” Jack called out.
Dr. Byron shrugged, reaching the other side of the class. “Perhaps. Either way, Cronus began by siring children on his sister. However, while he’s having all these children, he hears of a prophecy that says his children will kill him, just like he did his parents. So, he does what any normal parent would do who wants to protect their power. He ate them whole.”
More laughter. Claire was enjoying this, and it certainly beat reading it all in some dusty book.
“All the way up until the last one. His name was Zeus, and the mother of these eaten children ends up saving him. Zeus was hidden in a cave, and Cronus was given a rock to eat instead of Zeus. Cronus didn’t notice this, so we can deduce that newborn babies taste like rocks, in case any of you young scholars were curious.”
“No, they don’t! They taste like chicken,” Jack called.
Dr. Byron only rolled his eyes and otherwise ignored the interruption. “Zeus grew up and decided he didn’t like his dad and that he was going to kill him. First, he freed all of his brothers and sisters from Cronus’ stomach, which must have been causing the Titan quite a bit of indigestion. Once freed, these new gods wage a ten-year war on the Titans. Cronus didn’t become a father killing, child-eating brute by being weak, and the battle was at a stalemate. No one could win. Zeus realized that he needed some firepower.”
Dr. Bryon shook his head in frustration. “I forgot. I should have told you a little way back. Cronus’ father’s name was Uranus. Now, Uranus had some children who were cyclopes, meaning they had one eye, and also children who were hundred-armed monsters. Uranus thought all of those children were really ugly, and to be honest, who can blame him? So he locked them away inside the Earth. That’s why Cronus killed Uranus to get vengeance for locking away the monsters and cyclops, although, for some reason, Cronus never let them out.”
Once more, Byron reached the end of the room and did an about-face. “So, Zeus goes down to the cyclopes and monsters and makes a deal. He says he’ll let them out if they granted him the power of the skies in return, thunder and lightning. After being locked inside the Earth for untold amounts of time, the monsters all agreed. Zeus got his powers, and Cronus—as well as the other Titan—were defeated.”
Dr. Byron stopped walking and faced the class. “Zeus banished the Titans to a place called Tartarus, which is basically a stinking pit at the end of creation. Then Zeus splits up Earth amongst his siblings. Given that he freed them, he becomes the greatest of the gods. Poseidon was given the oceans, and Hades was thrown into the underworld. The monsters were sent to guard Tartarus, and the Titans are still imprisoned there, according to legend.”
Bryon looked directly at Claire. “Now, after that brief and wholly inadequate recantation of the gods of antiquity, do you have any idea why they might not be something we want to face?”
Claire nodded. “Besides the fact that they can throw lightning bolts, I think anyone who will kill their parents might be willing to kill others.”
“Yeah, not to mention bang their sister,” Jack commented. “They don’t have a whole lot of morals going on.”
Byron nodded. “Exactly. Plus pretty much unlimited power.” He looked down at his watch. “Time’s up, and I know Dr. Tharos won’t want you to miss his class. We shall talk more tomorrow.”
Chapter Seven
Dean Kristin Pritcham did not want to see the two men coming to her office, although that was nothing new since she rarely did. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Agents Remington and Lance, only that they never brought good news. She hadn’t seen them in six-and-a-half weeks, and for her, it had been a time of great peace and tranquility.
But of course, they’re going to destroy all of that, she thought from behind her desk.
They’d called her last night and said they had to talk.
“Class is starting tomorrow. Can’t it wait? We’re beginning the summer semester.”
“Can’t wait,” Lance replied shortly. “See you tomorrow morning.”
Kristin glanced at the clock on her wall.
One more min—
The knock on her door interrupted the thought. The two agents were impeccable with time. Kristin didn’t move from the desk, but simply called, “Come in.”
Remington entered first, followed by Lance, who closed the door quietly behind him.
“Howdy,” Remington greeted her with a small smile.
Dean Pritcham stood up from her desk, shock falling over her when she saw the sorry state of the agents. “What the hell happened to you both?” The right side of Remington’s face was badly bruised, and Lance’s eye was nearly swollen shut.
Remington moved slowly across the office to the couch. “You should see the other guy.”
Lance snorted as he followed. “Yeah. Not a scratch on him.”
Dean Pritcham was still behind her desk. “Is this what couldn’t wait?”
Lance took longer to sit down on the couch, his lower back obviously hurting from how he lowered himself.
Remington waited until they were both seated before talking. “Yes, and no.”
The dean smirked. “You’re moving like old men.”
Remington leaned forward, the light overhead showing his face clear. “All jokes aside, we need to talk.”
“Have you seen the videos online?” Lance asked.
Kristin shook her head. “No, although I got an email last night from Dr. Byron that it’s something I’m going to want to see. I’d planned on doing it this morning, but then you two showed up.”
Remington slowly stood and walked to her desk. “Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and placed it in front of her, then pressed the screen.
Kristin watched, and the shock from seeing the FBI agents so battered was immediately replaced by the scene on the phone. The sky, the lightning, and the way the atmosphere appeared to be thinning in places. A horrible, horrible scene unfolded where she could see through the sky.
It looks like Hell, she thought. That’s what I’m seeing—a glimpse into Hell.
The video suddenly shifted as the person recording it dropped the phone. Remington looked at Kristin. “Right about then is where all of our bruises came from.”
The dean’s eyes widened as she looked at the two agents. “I shouldn’t have made jokes. Are you both okay?”
Lance spoke from the couch. “Bruised up, but we’ll be fine. What you just saw is more important.”
Kristin pointed at the phone. “What is it?”
Remington slid the phone toward him and put it in his pocket. “I’ll send you a copy of the video later, but that’s the newest tear in the Veil. We think it’s going to replace the Miami situation in the eyes of the media very soon. We’re doing a decent job of containing the ghosts down there, so the news stations will start heading to Nebraska shortly. Probably by the end of the week.”
Kristin raised her eyebrows. “What’s it mean, a tear that size?”
Remington turned and walked back to the couch. Kristin sat down in her own chair, although it didn’t lessen the sheer shock of what she’d seen—Hell. Her mind couldn’t shake that interpretation.
Once seated, Remington answered. “We don’t know. Right now, we have the area quarantined, although that won’t stop people from seeing it, obviously. The cult is aware of what’s happening, too. We know that’s why we’re banged up. They sent someone to kill us, but he didn’t finish the job. Personally, that man was as dangerous as anyone I’ve ever seen. Right now, though, we need to talk to Frank.”
Kristin’s face grew quizzical. “You two realize he isn’t enrolled in the university, right? I haven’t seen Frank, or Al,
for that matter, in over a month.”
“Yeah, well, then we need to talk to Claire,” Lance responded.
“Why don’t you have a tighter leash on Frank?” She didn’t like this at all. “These kids haven’t had a normal semester yet. The summer semester is shorter, and I was hoping, almost praying, that we could have a few weeks of just school without putting their lives at risk. Now you’re coming here wanting Claire to help you find someone when you should already know his whereabouts.”
Neither of the two FBI agents showed any emotion in return at her frustration.
“The leprechaun isn’t easy to manage,” Remington responded. “Also, I’m pretty sure you remember the conversation we all had when we tried to keep a tighter leash on him?”
Kristin sighed. She remembered. Claire, Marissa, and Jack practically revolted. Frank had made it clear he was done and wanted to be cut loose. He’d been paid for his efforts—monetarily, not with beer—and simply wanted to be left alone. When the agents had pushed back, the three students said they would quit the university if Frank was forced to do something he didn’t want to do.
The dean shook her head, exasperated. “I just mean, you’re the FBI. You have to have some other ways of tracking people besides them checking in with you.”
“Sure, we do. We can know almost anything we want about a United States citizen with a few phone calls and clicks of buttons.” Lance shifted awkwardly on the couch before continuing, his arm obviously uncomfortable. “However, Frank isn’t a US citizen, nor an Earthly citizen. If he wants to disappear, short of trailing him, we won’t be able to find him. No cell phone. No bank accounts. No nothing.”
Dean Pritcham closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. “And so you want to call Claire in and get her to help find Frank.”
“That’s right,” Remington answered.
Kristin kept her eyes closed. “Because you think he might know what’s happening out west?”
“Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not a genius, Kristen,” Remington quipped.
She ignored the barb. “Have either of you two considered that this nearly the exact same situation that happened last time, when Frank was kidnapped and put under spells, then nearly killed?”
Remington leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “Yes. We understand what we’re asking. But there isn’t any other choice. Something is happening out there, and the cult knows it. We almost died. We need to talk to Claire, and we need you to get her for us.”
Kirstin opened her eyes and stared at the two FBI agents for a moment. You came here to run a school, she thought, but you’re doing whatever the FBI tells you, she thought.
“Okay,” she conceded. “Let’s bring her in.”
Claire stood next to the window. She stared out of it, doing her best not to let her hands ball up into fists.
“Do you know how to get in touch with Frank?” Remington asked from behind her.
Claire had seen both agents’ bruises, but she didn’t ask any questions about them. She’d been curious at first, but now she was only angry.
She didn’t turn around to face Remington. “What don’t you understand about what Frank told you? He said he was done, and I’m going to respect that. He’s done enough for humanity, especially given that he’s not one of us. What about Griff? Did you go to his apartment?”
“Yes,” Lance replied softly. “We went, but it’s empty. The griffin and his minions are gone. We’ve inquired about where they went, but the apartment complex manager doesn’t know. We have tried every avenue we know of to understand what’s happening out west, and everything is falling flat.”
Claire heard Remington stand up, although she kept looking out the window.
“I understand your concerns, and I understand Frank’s,” he told her. “But let me ask you, what don’t you understand about what we’re saying? There’s never been any recorded episode of the Veil tearing like this. The cult knows about it. Something very unique is happening out there, and Frank’s expertise could very well be the key to stopping it before it starts.”
Claire looked down at her hands. They weren’t fists yet, and that was good. “I don’t care. We can’t make Frank do something that he doesn’t want to do.”
Lance’s voice was as hard as iron. “Do you know how to get in touch with him?”
Claire finally turned to them. “If I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”
Remington was facing her, his face deadly serious. Dean Pritcham sat quietly behind her desk, but Claire knew she wasn’t in charge. The FBI agents were, and now Claire had pitted herself directly against their wishes.
Lance was still seated on the couch. He crossed a leg over the other and adjusted his arm slightly. He looked at his hand as he spoke. “You realize that you’re not a student, right? We call this a university, and you go to class, but this is boot camp. You’re in a war, and you’re a soldier in that war. Not a general. A foot soldier. An important one, no doubt about it, but a soldier all the same.”
He looked at her. “Soldiers take orders. They don’t disobey them. Agent Remington, Dean Pritcham, and I aren’t asking you to give us Frank. We’re telling you to. Are you going to disobey the order?”
Claire felt a moment of complete disbelief. Hours before she’d been on the field with Dr. Kilgore, practicing jiu-jitsu. Everything had been as normal as it could be, given they were at a paranormal university. Now, she was facing down the dean and two FBI agents as they demanded something of her that she wouldn’t give.
The world had shifted beneath her in barely a few moments.
Claire shrugged. “Yeah, Lance, I guess I am disobeying it.”
Dean Pritcham spoke from behind her desk. “You realize something like that is grounds for expulsion? It’s clearly stated in the document you and your parents signed before coming onboard.”
Claire realized her hands weren’t going to turn into fists. She realized at that moment how free she was, and that there wasn’t any need to get angry at these people. They’d recruited her for a multitude of reasons, one of them being her determination. They liked it when it suited them, but not when it didn’t. Oh well, she thought.
Claire shrugged again. “You don’t have to expel me. I quit.”
Claire heard the dorm room door open, but she didn’t look up to see who it was.
Jack stepped through first. “What the actual fuck, Claire? We just heard. You’re leaving?”
“Hush, Jack,” Marissa chastised sharply. She stepped in front of Claire. “What happened?”
Claire’s eyes were full of tears, and she couldn’t help it—couldn’t make them go away. All she could do was hope they didn’t spill over. “Remington, Lance, and Pritcham all wanted me to give them Frank because of whatever-the-hell is happening out west. I refused. They told me that if I refused, I was expelled. So I did the only thing that seemed, right, I dropped out.”
Jack stepped around the other side of her, passing and moving to the chair against the window.
Claire didn’t look at Marissa or him, she just stared at the floor.
Jack sat down and leaned back, but for once, he didn’t place his feet up on the desk. “They told you that you were expelled if you didn’t give them Frank?”
Claire nodded, still in disbelief at the whole thing.
“Do you know where he is?” Jack asked.
Claire shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not doing it. Frank is free to do whatever he wants. He’s my friend. I’m not bringing him back into this if he doesn’t want to be involved.”
Jack growled. “This is fucking bullshit.” He turned the chair so that it faced Claire and Marissa. “You can’t quit. It’s bullshit what they want you to do, but you can’t quit.”
Claire met his eyes then. He wasn’t angry at her. He was frightened.
“I don’t have a choice,” she responded. “I’m not giving him up.”
“Then we quit too.” He looked at the floor. “If you’re not
here, I’m certainly not staying, and I’m pretty sure Sissy feels the same.”
Marissa nodded. “There isn’t a university if you’re not here. At least not for me.”
“Me either,” Jack agreed.
Claire went to her bed and sat down. She still had to pack, but when she’d entered the room, she hadn’t been able to. She was having a tough time processing this all—heading back home to her mom and dad, trying to explain all of this to them.
She realized, though, that her job as a leader wasn’t done yet. “Neither of you can quit,” she told them.
“More bullshit,” Jack responded. “We can quit just as easily as you can.”
Claire shook her head. “No. If they told you to reveal Frank or they’d expel you, then I’d say yes. But neither of you were faced with that. This war is still going on, and you two have to stay in it. Without the three of us, this place will struggle to get along. There certainly won’t be anyone to help if shit does go down. If the two of you are here, then I can at least leave knowing there’s someone left fighting.”
Marissa went to her bed and practically collapsed onto it. She lay down and stared at the ceiling. When she spoke, Claire heard the emotions behind the tears welling in her eyes. “What do we do without you? You’re our leader.”
“We can’t stay if you don’t,” Jack commented. “We’re a team.”
“You two have to remain a team,” Claire instructed. She looked at Jack. “You two have to be the leaders now. I don’t know what’s going to happen, and maybe they’ll come to their senses and let me back in. Maybe not. But we joined this place to help save the world. That’s still your job.”
“I don’t want to,” Marissa whispered. “Not if you’re gone.”
Paranormal University: Third Semester: An Unveiled Academy Novel Page 4
