“Come here.” He points to the side of his desk that he’s on. For some reason I don’t have any issue with moving to his side of the desk, I’m so used to Tanner and his unusual teaching methods that I just move automatically without thinking it through.
Ares pulls me down so that I’m sitting on the edge of his desk, “Most of the humans are so scared of the Gods that even calling one of us by name is considered a big deal. I’m assuming you don’t actually know very much about us, right?” His voice is pitched normally, but what he’s saying brings no reaction from anyone else in the class. “You don’t need to worry about them, you and I are inside a silencing bubble right now. You could be yelling at me and no one would be any wiser.”
“Pretty sure if I yelled at you, I’d be in trouble.” I smile to let him know I’m joking and for some reason he smiles back. “Is this a trick to make me play spy again?” I ask, suddenly worried about feeling so comfortable around him.
“No. I never agreed with Zeus and Poseidon on that. Besides, now that you’re bonded to the triplets, we can’t force you to. You breaking out of Zeus’s control proved that quite successfully.”
“Why are you all so intent on spying on them anyway? They seem like perfectly normal guys to me.”
“Without their powers they are, yes, but Zeus and Poseidon are more concerned about what those three intend to do once they come into their powers. From what we understand, they have the potential to be even more powerful than Zeus and Poseidon.”
“Why would that be a problem?” I ask, realising that he’s actually being very honest with me right now. I have no idea why or what his end goal is, but I’m not going to pass up this opportunity to pick his brain.
“The more power a God has, the more likely they are to cause problems for the ones in charge. This is where I disagree with Zeus and Poseidon’s methods. I believe that keeping the boys close and ensuring they have no reason to try overthrowing the ruling Gods is better than pissing them off and giving them a reason to want to try.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about any of that. They are good, kind hearted guys.”
“I hope you’re right about that.” Ares says patting me on the thigh just above my knee. It’s a weird gesture but he doesn’t seem to mean anything by it besides reassuring me. “Now, how about you explain what you were having problems with so you can return to your seat, wouldn’t want any of these idiots causing more problems for you.”
It only takes him a few minutes to explain to me what I wasn’t understanding. As soon as he gives me the information I thank him and return to my seat. He’s not at all what I thought he’d be, although I still don’t trust that he’s telling me the whole truth with the Zeus and Poseidon spying thing. For now though, he’s given me a lot to think on and possibly even an idea on how to help the guys get the Gods off their backs.
Class passed quickly, Ares seems to take the learn on your own approach to teaching the class. Once everyone has finished with their assignment, he tells them all to read over their work and double check their answers, before gathering them all up and going over the answers with the class.
The two hour long class passed so quickly that I practically jump when the chimes ring out signalling the end of the class. I grab my notebook and pen before remembering that Ares wanted to go through the medical pack with me at the end of class. I remain in my seat as the rest of the students file out of the classroom, all except for Eric, who hovers near the door, looking back at me as though he can’t decide whether to leave or not.
“Was there something you needed, Mr Massi?” Ares asks, pulling Eric’s gaze from me.
“No, Sir.”
“Then off you go. Wouldn’t want to waste your free time hanging around my classroom, now would you?”
I snicker at the look on Eric’s face. Whether Ares did it on purpose or not, he’s just saved me from having another confrontation with Eric.
“Come on, Ryxa, bring the bag down here. We’ll go over what it contains and I’ll explain what everything is used for.” I jump up from my seat and head down to the front desks where Ares is perched.
He empties the entire pack out over the desks and spreads everything out so we can go through them all one at a time. “You probably won’t ever use any of this stuff, but it’s best to know what it’s all for just in case.”
I can’t help asking, “Why do you all use the pretence of this when none of it really matters?”
“Oh?”
“Well, it’s not like any of the students will even get to keep any of this knowledge. Once you’re done with them, you erase their minds and send them back to the humans. So why go through all the effort of teaching them?”
“Who told you about that?”
I gulp at his tone, realising too late that I’ve let slip the fact I know something I’m not supposed to.
“I figured most of it out on my own to be honest. It was the only thing that made sense when you think about the fact that none of the other“Liaisons”from the past seem to remember anything and a lot of them never seem to return to their homes.”
Ares surprises me by laughing, “You are far too clever for your own good, Ryxa. We go through the effort because not every Liaison does go back to the humans. Some actually choose to remain with us.”
“Really?”
“Indeed, Ms Harker for example, she was one of the original Liaisons from when the school was first built. She never bonded to any of the Gods, but chose to stay on as a friendly face for all the humans that have come through here over the years. What made you think that we never keep any of them around?”
“I’m not really sure, I just assumed since most return without memories of what they did while they were here….” I trail off, unsure how to explain myself.
“Is that why you fought so hard against being bonded to the Typhons?”