Page 52 of Facade

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.

Jace

Tuesday was a good day. In the late afternoon when all classes were finished, hundreds of students gathered in the parking lots behind the dorms. Jace, Clarke, and Ray were also there with the boys to watch Mitchel Pierce be removed from campus.