Shadow Duel (Prof Croft Book 9) Brad Magnarella (the best novels to read .TXT) đ
- Author: Brad Magnarella
Book online «Shadow Duel (Prof Croft Book 9) Brad Magnarella (the best novels to read .TXT) đ». Author Brad Magnarella
At the door to my classroom, I turned suddenly. âGraduate assistant?â
He must have caught something in my reaction because his lips pinched into a grin.
âThatâs not a suggestion,â he decided. âItâs a requirement.â
Wonderful.
âGood morning,â I said to my class of fifteen. âIâm Professor Croft, and this is Intro to Ancient Mythology and Lore. I canât fathom what youâre doing here, but welcome anyway.â
That always earned a nice ice-breaking chuckle.
âOver the course of this class, weâre going to explore the roots of mythology. Weâre going to talk creation and destructionâfun stuff. Weâre going to do a comparative analysis of the gods, heroes, and monsters across cultures. Weâre going to grapple with fundamental questions of good and evil. And weâre going to discuss how all of this is relevant today. Indeed, commit yourself to this class, and it will change the way you see the world.â I paused the appropriate beat. âIt could even save your life.â
Though that aroused more laughter, I was being much more serious than they knew.
I clapped my hands. âOkay, letâs begin with an overview of the next six weeksâŠâ
I had taught the course so many times I could recite the first day material in my sleep. A good thing, because for the next two hours that was pretty much what I did. Sure, I paced and gestured and underscored, my wizardâs voice holding the students rapt, but my mind was on Snodgrassâs directives.
One of the perks of my position here had been the flexibility. When things got heavy in the wizarding dimensions of my life, I could schedule reading in lieu of a class or do my research at odd hours. As long as the student assessments remained glowing and the grants rolled in, the college board couldnât care less.
But Snodgrassâs lesson-plan requirement coupled with having to take on a graduate assistant was going to put a serious crimp in my style. And right when I needed to be allotting more of myself to my home life.
Fortunately, the senior members of the Order were more available for supernatural issues, such as the box Iâd recovered. Repairing tears around our world remained their priority, but Arianna could spare personnel now. I was really itching to learn what was inside the box. On the way to class, Iâd called Claudius again, and he assured me that he himself would retrieve it later that morning.
âProfessor Croft?â
I snapped to and focused on the raised hand. It belonged to a male student who looked way too young to be in college.
âYes?â I said, afraid Iâd spaced out.
âQuestion. You just mentioned Prometheus as an example of the archetypal trickster, but wouldnât a figure like Loki be more appropriate?â
So I hadnât spaced, but I found something about the young man jarring. And it wasnât just the smoothness of his dusky face or the directness of his question. While the others were still emerging from their mild trances, his eyes were alert, mouth set in a way that could best be described as defiant.
âYour name?â I asked.
âSven Roe,â he replied. âR-O-E.â
My mind, which unconsciously went to origins, noted the interesting combo. Sven was Nordic for âyoung man,â and the surname Roe was Celtic, signifying red hair. My student looked neither Nordic nor like a fiery Celt. His intense eyes were as dark as his hairâand they appeared ready for a brain brawl.
This should be interesting.
âAll right, Young Man Roe,â I said. âLetâs hear your argument.â
âPrometheus wasnât a pure trickster,â he said. âSure, he deceived Zeus into accepting the bones of sacrificial animals instead of the meat, and he stole fire, but he did both to benefit humans. He loved them more than he did the gods. That makes him a cultural hero. Tricksters are pranksters and rule-breakers, indifferent to humans. They have no concept of right or wrong. Theyâre jerks, basically.â
I nodded, duly impressed. âSolid point, but keep in mind that tricksters such as Loki did benefit humankind, even though they may not have intendââ
âAnd because they have no concept of right or wrong,â Sven interrupted, âthey canât be considered good or evil, much less heroes. Theyâre amoral. Thatâs their defining quality, on par with the pranking, Iâd argue.â
âAre you sure you should be in intro?â I asked.
The other students laughed, but my adversary wasnât ready to back down.
âItâs just that if weâre going to throw around terms like âarchetypal trickster,â we need to be clear on what they mean. Prometheus is an alloy at best. He has way too much hero in him to be archetypal anything, least of all a trickster.â
The students looked between us nervously, but Svenâs forwardness didnât bother me. I was thinking of something else.
âDo you happen to be doing work-study this term?â I asked.
Svenâs brow furrowed at the sudden change in direction. âYeah?â
âHave a professor yet?â
âNo.â
I grinned. âYou do now.â
5
I held Sven after class to discuss the position, and he remained sitting while the students filed out. I closed the door and took a seat on the corner of my desk, wanting to make this seem casual. I may have singled him out for his boldness, but I saw in him an opportunity to turn my problem into a solution.
âSo, whatâs this going to involve?â he asked.
âFirst, how old are you?â
He rolled his eyes as if he got that question a lot. âI know, I know, I look fifteen, but Iâm actually nineteen. Started college while I was still in high school and finished my major studies early. I can show you my ID if you want.â
âNo, thatâs fine.â I smiled. âWhat did you study?â
âDualed in psychology and philosophy.â
I let out a low mental whistle. That explained his smarts and debating chops.
âMythology is more of a hobby,â he said. âMy mom got me a kidâs book of the
Comments (0)