“Magical ley lines?” Cain questioned.
“Exactly,” Professor Jobe said. “Darke Island is a site of magical activity. That is why we host the Darke Games every year, in order to eliminate magical threats that appear annually. The humans, however, grew scared of this magic, and were ready to abandon the island when supernaturals arrived in the early 1800s. We discovered the island lay upon one of these ley lines, and we took over the island for ourselves.”
I knew all of this, but I leaned forward in my chair so I didn’t miss any new information.
“Darke Island was intended to be a place of neutral territory, belonging to all supernatural races,” Professor Jobe continued. “That is why when international treaties were broken, offenders were sentenced to Darke Island. At that time, the largest building on the island was the church, so prisoners were housed in the chapel and put to work building the surrounding community. By the 1850s, they had run out of room in the chapel, so the prisoners built a new holding center, which became the asylum.”
I knew from previous history lessons that the asylum was built to house the worst criminals, but something about this lecture seemed off. I wasn't sure we were getting the whole story.
Professor Jobe continued. “The asylum is one of our oldest buildings on Institute grounds. By the 1860s, both buildings were becoming too crowded, so another building was constructed next door, which was the first cell block. This provided enough space for some time, but demand grew exponentially following the Great Supernatural War in the 1940s. The United Supernatural Union formed at the end of the war, and they had hosts of war criminals and prisoners of war to deal with. There was no room for these people on Institute property, so a new adult penitentiary was built on the other side of the island. The chapel, asylum, and first cell block were connected and converted into the Darke Institute for Supernatural Offenders facility, where it remains to this day.”
I leaned back in my chair. Professor Jobe had no new information. It was the same story we’d been told over and over again. I didn’t know why the Warden liked to tell it so often…
Unless there was something we were missing… something he wanted demigods to find for him. That was his whole purpose here, wasn’t it? The Darke Games, the ridiculous size of the Institute’s property— it was designed to find and use demigods. The Warden must think there was something in the island’s history that would lead us to the keys.
I barely got a chance to consider any of it before the door opened and a woman cleared her throat.
“Ah, Professor Mazur, please come in,” Professor Jobe said. “Everyone, please give Professor Mazur your undivided attention. She has an announcement to make.”
I scowled. Professor Mazur was an angel professor working with the Warden, and she’d refused to provide me any accommodations in her classes. This lady was a real piece of work. I wasn’t interested in anything she had to say.
Her heels clicked as she walked to the front of the room. “Students, I hope you’ll pay attention, so as to not waste my time. It is my pleasure to introduce you to a new career placement program here at the Institute.”
She sounded so fake. Mazur was a real bitch, but for the first time, she seemed happy about something. It couldn't be good.
“We want everyone here at the Institute to succeed, and we believe that begins by providing you security for your future,” she continued. “This program is optional, but through it, students will receive guaranteed job placement upon graduation.”
Cain scoffed. “That’sifwe graduate.”
“That’s the beauty of The Mission,” Mazur said brightly. “Through this program, we anticipate record graduation numbers. Students will be trained right here at the Institute through a paid internship, and given a career once they've satisfied graduation requirements."
It sounded too good to be true, and I was instantly skeptical. Whatever they were training people for had to be useful to the Warden, or he wouldn’t bother with the program.
“What exactly is this trainingfor?” Chancey piped up.
“Missionary work, of course,” Mazur said, like it was obvious. “With tensions high between the supernatural races, missionary work is a growing and thriving career field. Any students who are interested can sign up now.”
Nobody moved. We weren’t exactly rushing to sign up as one of the Warden’s puppets.
Professor Mazur cleared her throat. “This internship comes with its perks, including fifty extra Commissary points loaded to your account per week— and that’s just during training. Once you’ve passed training, you’ll be eligible to attend mission trips on the mainland, outside of Institute walls.”
“That sounds great, Professor,” a girl said apprehensively. It sounded like Melody, one of the mermaid girls. “But we don’t really know what’s going on out there. Perhaps we’d be more willing to sign up if we had context on what we might be walking into. It could be dangerous.”
“Mission work is not for the weak at heart, Miss Lowe,” Mazur said. “The witches and elementals have launched attacks upon Celestial City, and the angels are struggling to find resources in the wake of this tragedy. I’m not going to lie— the death toll is only growing. That is why The Mission is so important. We must help these poor, misguided souls convert, so we can prevent such tragedies in the future. If you truly want to be reformed, The Mission is the way to do it. You could walk out of the Institute a hero.”
Murmurs traveled around the room, and I knew she’d already sold it to several students. I wasn’t so easily convinced. There had to be a catch; there always was. Why was Mazur admitting to the attacks now, when the Warden had cut off all war news weeks ago?
There were things they didn’t want us to know, and the Warden made sure onlyhismessage got through. He’d been planning this for a while now, I bet.
“Is that all you can tell us?” Melody begged. “There’s more going on. We can all feel it. My mom called this morning, but the phone line cut off before she could tell me anything. I’m worried my pod is under attack and my family won’t survive.”
“Then I suggest you pray about it,” Mazur said.
Wow. So helpful.
“I don’t thinkprayingis going to stop this war,” Melody replied, sounding offended. She’d been looking for real support, and Mazur was blowing her off.
“If you pray to therightdeity, perhaps you’ll have more success,” Mazur said simply.
