Free Demon Accords 8: College Arcane by John Conroe Page B

put up with it?” she asked with shiver and a smile.
     
    I couldn’t help but smile back at her. “You
get used to it,” I said with a shrug.
     
    “No mate, you get used to it. Meself,
I’ll be happy to get back to me wet green Isle.”
     
    “Well, by the time the semester’s over, it’ll
be warmer here than in Ireland,” I said.
     
    “Don’t seem hardly poosible, what with all
the fecking white shite out there,” she said.
     
     
     
    “Welcome, everyone. Welcome to Explorations
of Power. This year, we will do just that, exploring the uses,
dangers, and limits of your individual talents. Along the way, I
think we’ll also learn a great deal about each other,” the teacher
said loudly, smiling broadly and making eye contact with everyone
while she waited for the various side conversations to die.
     
    “First, a little background on me. I was born
into a well-established circle in Ohio. Like my mother, I am an
earth witch, with an affinity for Mother Earth and everything that
grows across her. There are lots of earth witches in the nation’s
breadbasket, as our talents have helped produced the food that
feeds the country, although no one knows it.
     
    “I lost my circle twenty-one years ago to an
accident. I met Nathan Stewart not long afterward, and Oracle
became my employer and home. As a result, I’ve seen and experienced
things that I never would have had my life remained unchanged. So
despite Mr. Gordon’s reservations, I can unequivocally stand here
and tell you that Oracle would be a fantastic place for any of you
to work, but only if you enjoy travel, prestige, excellent pay, and
benefits.
     
    “Okay, enough of the paid advertising. Let’s
run through our roll call and get to know one another. As I call
your name, tell us your ability, or if you’re a witch, your
affinity.”
     
    I quickly learned that most of the kids, the
ones that appeared to be strictly human, were psychic in some way
or another. Several telepaths, including Ashley. One other
precognitive besides Ariel: a small blond boy named Ray. Some
telekinetic and a pyrokinetic; two remote viewers, which Miss Berg
said was a form of clairvoyance, as was T.J.’s techinetic ability.
I learned that Ryanne’s last name was Flynn and she was a water
witch. Britta was also a water witch and her sister was air. Tami,
whose last name was Keoni, was a fire witch, and so was the Goth
girl, Zuzanna. The dark girl with the bright hazel eyes was Jael
and she was air, while her pale little roommate was Michelle, an
earth witch. Zuzanna’s stocky roommate was Paige, whose abilities
lay in the realm of water.
     
    The fun began when we got to my name.
     
    “Ah, here we are, our token male witch,
Declan O’Carroll,” Miss Berg said, looking up at me. Before I could
answer, she went on. “Males—or warlocks, as they’re sometimes
known—only show up about one in every hundred or so witches. We
originally thought the gene for witchcraft was on the X chromosome,
but plenty of males carry the gene without expressing it. We’ve
since found out that there is a partner gene on the Y chromosome
that must be present for a warlock to be able to practice the
Craft. Females with one witch chromosome can be witches but they
are never nearly as powerful a witch born with two. Of course, the
Y chromosome version is weak and that’s why we believe males are so
much less powerful than females.”
     
    She smiled a smug little smile as she said
it, which started to make me a little annoyed.
     
    “What’s your affinity, Declan? If you have
one?” she asked, stylus poised over her tablet.
     
    “Fire and earth,” I said, keeping my voice as
even as possible. Take that, bitch.
     
    “Which is it, dear?”
     
    “Ah, both. I have a dual affinity,” I said,
not adding that I actually have a third, because that was
universally thought impossible.
     
    “Declan, you’ve already impressed us just by
being a warlock. This isn’t a competition,