Weakened Mountains (Artemis University Book 4)

by Erin R Flynn

  5

  After several more hours we were finding one out of five applicants were bad guys—not all Underground, but not people we wanted working for us. It was a tiring, long day… And we came out with thirty people to train and hire. That was an awesome start so that was a boost for morale for sure.

  Six bad guys caught wasn’t anything to turn our noses up at either. It was a major win for the Rothchilds and the dragons, especially when one was a serious threat against the Vogels. The woman had taken the risk just for the chance of getting access to Mrs. Vogel, who was praising the havens all over the place.

  So, everyone was in pretty good spirits when food arrived even if we were dead on our feet and still had more to do behind the scenes before the next round of fun tomorrow. I ignored several comments about there not being anyone to protect at these havens, but Mel and I fully believed this was going to be a bit of a chicken/egg situation.

  Or maybe more Field of Dreams, where we had to build it first and then people would come.

  “Several of us have spoken at length on the idea of you teaching at Artemis full time,” Mr. Rothchild said causally after people started digging in. “I realize you didn’t ask for permission, but we do have several concerns as a clan. I’d like to hear if you have any first.”

  Mel looked like she could have been pushed over with a feather. It took her a few more moments before she snapped out of it, clearing her throat and taking a drink of her water. “I have a few about the level of catering to the elites I’ve seen at the school. That’s not ideal for real training. They’re used to their money paying for any privilege they receive, not always working for it.”

  “Agreed. And your suggestion on fixing that hurdle?”

  She didn’t answer right away, taking a bite of her sandwich and chewing on it thoughtfully. “It was why I wanted to discuss it with the clan. I hope if the clan supports me, we present a united front to allow them the privilege of training under a Rothchild, if they’re willing to earn it.

  “There are classes that have extra waivers of danger or like the social media rules they don’t bend on. I want that as a condition. A waiver for the physical training classes going forward that there is no more coddling, signed by parents and students, or they go back to gym class they learn nothing in. If they want the privilege of training under a Rothchild they agree to that and fucking work.”

  “They’ll assume you’ll share all our secrets.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Well, their assumptions are not my problems, as I was even very clear the first day of extra tutelage I wasn’t giving away clan secrets, but I would help them. There are other trainers who could really kick their asses.”

  “Good, that was our other concern.”

  Mel flinched, steam practically coming out of her ears. “I’m not a sell-out or—”

  “We know that,” one of her cousins cut in. “The topic was brought up, so everyone was on the same page, as we as a clan do not have the best track record of just fucking talking shit out. We want to do better.”

  “Understood,” she agreed. “On the united front, to show it’s not me going rogue and is Rothchild approved so don’t fucking try and use your status against me, I’d like to have several cousins there on the assessment days. Tamsin said it was the wolves who guard the schools.”

  I nodded when people looked at me, wiping my mouth before speaking. “They were good. They blocked and you attacked only to get a feel of where you were as a freshman or after summer break. But there’s room for improvement on that.” I shot Mel a nervous look, waiting until she nodded. “I’d make sure you make it clear they did nothing wrong. Khan severely limited Marshall and Sean from what I saw.”

  “Good, thank you, yeah,” she agreed, bobbing her head. “They’re good, those two especially, so it’s not a slight against them. I’d ask their help during other times in the semester but it’s going to be a lot of change fast so if I’m doing this, I want to do it right. Less sparring with classmates so I’ll still use the wolves.”

  “What other thoughts to do you have?” Mr. Rothchild asked, seeming genuinely curious.

  “Teaching them to use weapons for one,” Mel drawled. “I’d also like to speak with a few of the witch and warlock professors for help on the upperclassmen training. Khan was not the best person to teach them how to fight with powers as a feline shifter. I’m not as a dragon. We should have other help incorporated.”

  “There’s a lot of potential in the idea and I’m sure it was serious once with the way the facilities were kept up,” I added. “But the spoiled elites let it go or got lazy when Khan was. Who knows, but those who aren’t dying of jealousy that I trained under Mel, or pissed they were beaten by an icky girl, were amazed a girl could kick such ass. It was the right fire to light under some asses.”

  “I would also like to package it to the parents as a way to teach their children how to spot lazy guards,” Mel hedged, studying her father’s reaction. “We both know there are guards out there that talk the talk and don’t walk the walk. I’d like to set up an event or something to show even how Tamsin can kick some serious ass as they’ll all underestimate her.”

  “It’s my finest quality,” I cooed.

  “What?” one of her cousins asked.

  “Being underestimated,” I chuckled, shrugging when several other people laughed.

  “I think that idea has a lot of merit,” Mr. Rothchild praised, shocking several in the room. He shrugged when no one seemed to know what to say. “There are lots who live in a world of fantasy that their guards can protect them, and they can’t. The Australian royals were one of them. If they had paid more attention—or had a chance for an event to test their guards as you suggest—they could still be alive.”

  “Not to seem like I’m being the revolutionary once again, but what if you help make guards of the corrupt and bad elders better and then we’re screwed when they come after me, Mel?”

  “Why are you so sure they’ll come after you if you’re not on the right side of things?” Mr. Rothchild demanded, his eyes full of questions and accusations again.

  It was Tanesha who reacted first, bursting out laughing and slapping her hand against the table. “Trigger, you believe too much in the system because you have always been around the Vogels. Even our elders want her under them. She’s vastly powerful, vastly wealthy, and female. That is a recipe for disaster and something they see needs to be controlled. Immediately.”

  “You know this?” he asked after a moment.

  Tanesha nodded, tapping her head as she did. “Oh yeah. Two who came to the meeting where she helped them blow open the situation with the Edelmans couldn’t stop thinking of mating their sons to her and getting her under their control. Her power is making waves and that is the one thing the elders don’t like. The fairies are gone to pull people back from the edge or keep them in line, keep honor.”

  “And the longer they’re gone, the less honor that seems to be found,” someone else grumbled. “We need them now more than ever. I agree that they’re getting bolder and making blatant power grabs they never would have dreamed of before. Who is there to stop them? Go against the system and you’re labeled a traitor, Underground.”

  Well, wasn’t that fucking depressing?

  They jumped back into the discussion about training and Mel accepting the instructor position. Mr. Rothchild seemed actually supportive about it, agreeing with Mel’s concerns and how she wanted to fix things.

  We were just wrapping up and had started to clean the tables when I heard an odd ringing noise. It was a phone ringing, I knew that, but it wasn’t like a landline ring tone on a phone.

  “You are way too young if you look so confused as to what an actual phone ringing sounds like,” one of Mel’s cousins teased me.

  “No, it’s just not one I’ve heard before,” I muttered, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

  “I had the phone hooked up where we were talking of the reception desk being
,” Avril explained, nodding that way. Her arms were loaded with everything to toss from dinner, so she wasn’t getting it.

  I dropped what I had in my hands and hurried over there before we missed our first phone call. “Um, hello?” I rolled my eyes. Yeah, that was a great way to answer.

  Then again, we didn’t have a name yet or anything.

  “Is this Haven?” the woman asked.

  I smiled as I saw a rough draft of a brochure on the ledge where the phone was. Someone was playing around with the word “haven” like to call it just that. Help. Acceptance. V. Encouragement. New life.

  I picked up the pen there and wrote in Venture for the V. People needed to brave the risks to get the help. They definitely had to dig deep and venture here if they wanted help. “Yes, this is Haven. How can I help you?”

  She didn’t answer right away. “Are you the one who helped Isabella Kincaid?”

  “Who we help is confidential and certainly not—”

  “Yes, of course,” she cut in with a heavy sigh. “I just want to know if I report a situation like that, the woman will be helped.”

  “And how do I know you’re not working for Izzy’s parents or something?”

  The woman snorted, shocking me. “The Kincaids aren’t putting enough effort into the situation of recovering their daughter. Their sons made it quite clear that the girl who offered to help Isabella wouldn’t be much help or for long. I’ve heard them tell the story of the girl shaking and crying as she begged Isabella to run from her family before screaming for the guards.”

  It was my turn to snort. That was so far from what happened it wasn’t even funny. I might need to remind the Kincaid brothers how things went.

  “Yes, the girl who keeps winning the Artemis University tournaments clearly would quiver and cry in the corner,” the woman drawled. “But you know what happens to us if we don’t receive an education and proper training. I need to know if I report this and she gets help, she will also get the education.”

  I frowned at that, realizing there was still so much to supe society I didn’t understand. “She might not get Artemis or a super-rich ride, but yes, we’ll make sure she still gets the training and education. You also have to give your name to report a situation.”

  “Why?” she demanded.

  “To verify who you are and it’s not a prank to end up getting us in trouble with the elders or something,” I drawled. “It’s like when you call the human cops and even if they never use your name, you have to give one or they get it from the caller ID so if you prank them you get in trouble. We’re expecting lots of people to set us up.”

  “Yes, most will want the system to stay the way it is. Fine, yes, as long as it’s not officially recorded for the elders.” She told me her name and the name of the witch she wanted to report. She was a maid in the house, and I could tell from her voice she genuinely loved the girl. “They’re going to do to her what the Kincaids did to Isabella. They may all act horrified when people whisper about it, but most know it’s standard.”

  “That’s disgusting,” I muttered, pulling my phone out of my bra. “Here’s who you contact, or have her contact when her parents try to force her to sign something like that. It’s the same attorney who got Izzy free. A dragon who works under Mr. Geiger and is helping us. Several other associates at that law firm need so many pro bono cases a year so they’re helping us too.”

  “You must have some very powerful backers to get them on your side.”

  “You have no idea,” I chuckled, knowing full well I spoke of myself. “If you need anything else, we just turned on this number but there should be an answering service and someone checking soon.”

  “Thank you. Truly, thank you. She doesn’t even know what they’re planning. I can’t let her walk into this trap. She’s… She deserves better.”

  “We all do. Thanks for being brave enough to call.”

  “Thank you for answering.”

  We hung up, but what she said bothered me. I tapped my phone against my chin, frowning at Mel and Avril when I saw I had their attention. “Did you hear that?”

  “Most of it. Glad she’ll get help,” Mel answered. “Why are you miffed?”

  “What did she mean about what happens to supes if we don’t get the proper training and education?” I asked, glancing around the room when everyone instantly went quiet.

  “I keep forgetting how new you are to our society when you’re making all these big waves,” Avril muttered. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “Well, for one, you cannot buy a conduit without completing the full six-year college training of any supe college.”

  “Those who don’t normally hide in the human world, as there’s not much left for them in ours,” Mel admitted, shrugging when I gave her a horrified look. “They’re most likely to rebel just like dropouts in the human world, Tams. Right or wrong, even at that level of education, they can be dangerous if not properly trained with their powers.”

  “Or they take some shit job in a rich family’s house for the protection and promise to keep hidden,” another cousin added. “I mean, where else would we shift as dragons?”

  “That’s such fucking bullshit,” I growled, shaking my head when several tried to argue. “No, it is. There’s a difference between having rules and order and controlling people. You don’t do what we want? Oh, no education for you and you lose everything. I get needing order to stay hidden, but this is tyrannical and fucking extortion even. That’s bullshit.”

  “And what will you do about it, young one?” Tanesha challenged me, her arms crossed over her chest with her eyebrow raised. “I can practically see the wheels turning in your mind even if you can keep me out. So, what would you do about it?”

  “Why is it on me to fix?” I snapped. “I’m up to my neck in problems and bullshit, a huge target on me now. One the esteemed elders gave me being so desperate to grab me for power. Now the Underground wants me, and they did that with their greed and tyranny.”

  “Yes, yes they did,” she confirmed for the others, having heard what I did. “Fine, what would you suggest as an outsider? You see our world so differently as you did not grow up in it. What would your suggestion be?”

  “That you stop acting like your world is the only world there is,” I answered honestly, rolling my eyes when they all gave me confused looks. “The answer is what I’m doing right fucking now.”

  Mel’s gaze filled with understanding. “You’re taking high school classes because you didn’t go to high school. You’re saying we don’t fight the tyranny at the top but take out their power from below them by offering an alternative.”

  “Not we,” I chuckled darkly. “I stir the pot any more at the moment and we both know that’s bigger trouble for us. Besides, a few things need to be changed with the current system first.”

  Tanesha smiled at me. “Let me know when you have a plan. Several prestigious and powerful women have approached my sister on the side and asked how they can help. Apparently, we aren’t the only ones tired of how women are treated and the sexism.”

  “I will,” I promised, glad for the support.

  “Did you tell her the news yet?” one of the guys helping asked her.

  “What news?” I asked, having a guess but playing along.

  “Oh, a fae dog was spotted near the Vogels’ mountains,” he answered. “After we heard you have some fae dogs—” He held up his hands when I opened my mouth. “Yeah, we know they’re not yours and the story from Mel. But you being a telepath makes them not run just from you; Tanesha tried with the dog as well and is making progress.”

  “Really?” I didn’t even have to fake my excitement as it really helped take some gossip off me and right before the new semester started was great.

  Tanesha nodded. “She’s skittish and not staying yet, but I got the impression she was a bit desperate for protection. It seems the ‘passive’ dust collectors haven’t been as passive as they’ve told us. When they give chase, they
actually chase, not just follow as they declare. I’m hoping that with time I can at least communicate enough with her to let her know it’s safe.”

  “That’s great. I hope others think the sanctuaries could be homes for them like the hobgoblins. I know one pack is circling that ranch but it’s hard with Jeremy being an Alpha wolf, even if a lone wolf.”

  “He might not be a lone wolf much longer,” she informed me, smiling when I gave her a confused look. “Now that the will allowed the property to be a sanctuary, he’s put the word out to packs it’s not only hobgoblins welcome. He’s not the only Alpha wolf that gets kicked to the curb young so they’re not a threat later and take over a pack.”

  “Good for him.” And I meant it. Not just because it would be nice for Jeremy Sims not to be alone anymore, but wolves were social animals. I had to think that transferred to shifters as well.

  Didn’t we all need a pack to call our own after all?

  6

  After a week of interviews, we had over a hundred and fifty security professionals and employees ready to start training. The Higginses were working hard on getting the properties renovated and everything was progressing well. I felt confident leaving it in Avril’s and Ellen’s hands to handle most of it. They had the support of Claudia and others.

  And it wasn’t like Mel and I were totally out. No way. We just had to get back to our full-time gigs. Yes, Mel had one now too as she accepted the instructor position officially after Edelman agreed to her terms and ideas. He didn’t seem confident they would be accepted but he was willing to try.

  That was progress.

  However, I was confident, especially after we made a huge splash turning over thirty criminals the supe police couldn’t get their hands on. Ten Underground, twelve who were wanted for serious crimes, and eight they had no idea were baddies but now did and were handling. That was a lot done in one week.

  It reflected well on Mel and even the Rothchilds. It made her message that the world isn’t safe and full of rainbows only resound louder. And it got any of the bullshit people might try to sling at us that we wanted to be the new Underground.