His fingers drummed on the mahogany desk. “Well, you have the powers themselves, of course. That’s not in any doubt, as Michael’s corpse attests.”
“Michael?” I said, confused. Next to me, I could feel David tense, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw that he was sitting up straighter in his chair now.
“I believe you knew him as ‘Dr. DuPont’?” Alexander’s manner was still casual as he tugged at his cuffs, but there was a hard glint in his eyes.
Oh, right. The history teacher turned assassin who I’d killed. I glanced at Ryan. He’d heard the story—I’d told him everything once he became the Mage—but I knew this was the part he still had a hard time with. It had to be weird, knowing your ex-girlfriend killed somebody, even if it was in self-defense. But he was still watching Alexander, a wrinkle between his auburn brows, his leg jiggling up and down.
Alexander continued, “We don’t doubt your Paladin . . . prowess, Miss Price. But you have not yet earned the right to call yourself by that name.”
I didn’t like the sound of that one bit, and I crossed one knee over the other as I leaned in toward Alexander. “I gave up a lot to protect David. I lost my best friend, I lied to my family, and I watched a woman I loved and admired die right in front of me. So don’t tell me I haven’t earned being a Paladin. I’ve more than earned it, buddy.”
“Hear, hear,” David muttered next to me, and I felt his hand land on mine on the arm of my chair. I glanced over long enough to smile at him, and across the desk, Alexander sat back in his chair.
“So,” he said, nodding at our joined hands, “is that how things are?”
I jerked my hand out from underneath David’s, although I couldn’t have said why. It was like . . . I didn’t want this guy knowing about us. But obviously, it was too late for that.
David shot me a glance that was either pissed or wounded or both before facing Alexander. “What¸ is that not allowed?”
Alexander gave an elegant shrug, still kicked back in his chair. “It’s not officially against any rule I’ve heard of. But it’s never been an issue in the past.”
Curiosity got the best of me, and I shifted in my seat. “Why?”
Drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair, Alexander looked up, like he was trying to think of the right words. “Oracles are usually very . . . dedicated to their duties. Having constant visions leaves little time for personal relationships.”
I thought of how David was when he was in the grips of a vision. I couldn’t imagine him being like that all the time. I didn’t want to.
When I looked over at David, his face was almost blank, his eyes fixed straight ahead. His foot was bouncing, which meant that he was thinking hard, but about what?
“But what do you mean about Harper not being a Paladin?” Ryan asked. He was slouching again, but he tugged at his sleeves, his eyes never leaving Alexander. “Does that mean I’m not a Mage? I mean, Oracles are born, I got that, but if we were both made into . . . whatever it is we are—”
The Ephor held up a hand. “Every point on the triangle is different, comes with different responsibilities and duties. A Mage, once powers have been transferred, is a Mage, fully and completely. All the knowledge the previous Mage contained is passed on. But a Paladin is a horse of a different color, as it were. Paladins have a sacred duty. As do the Oracle and the Mage, of course, but the Paladin has an especially challenging role. To be sure Miss Price is up to the task, she would have to go through the Peirasmos.”
The word rolled off his tongue in a pretty way, but there was power in those three syllables. I could feel it, and even David shuddered a little bit.
“Do you know what that is, Miss Price?” Alexander raised his eyebrows at me, still totally pleasant, and I hated to have to shake my head.
“No.”
Alexander made an exaggerated moue of disappointment. “What a shame. I hoped Miss Stark would have completed that part of your training.”
“Things were a little rushed,” I told him, scowling, “what with you people and your crazy Mage trying to kill us all the time. We didn’t have time for . . . whatever that word was.”
“Peirasmos,” he repeated. “And in all fairness, Miss Price, we were using the Mage to kill you, not the Oracle.”
“David,” Ryan interjected, and I glanced over at him, throwing him a quick smile.
Now all pleasantness disappeared from Alexander’s face, and he sat up in his chair. “Oh, for the love of the gods. Is it like that, too?”
My cheeks flamed red, and I looked away from Ryan, back toward the Ephor. “None of that is any of your business.”
Alexander only wrinkled his nose, bracing his elbows on the desk. “Teenagers,” he said on a long sigh. “Well, what can one expect, I suppose. In any case.” He steepled his long fingers. “When Saylor Stark and Christopher Hall broke away from us, they rejected many of our traditions, it would seem. Which is a shame since the Peirasmos is vital.”
“Says who?” I asked, crossing my legs at the ankle. “And why? I mean, I’m clearly a Paladin, I have all the . . . the . . .” I waved my hands in the air. “Superpowers or whatever. What would this Peirasmos change?”
Alexander sniffed, resting his elbows on the desk. “What would they change? For starters, by completing these trials, you get to live. Is that enough of a reason for you, Miss Price?”
It had been a long night. I’d had to go into possibly the grossest frat house in Alabama, I’d watched my boyfriend go all mega-Oracle, and I’d gotten my ex-boyfriend to wipe my friends’ minds; my life being threatened was the icing on a seriously crappy cake.
“So that whole ‘Hey, we want to help you and be besties’ thing lasted what, five minutes?” I asked. Next to me, I could feel Ryan go tense, and I nudged him with my elbow. I appreciated the chivalry, but dealing with death threats was kind of my area of expertise.
Alexander sat back in his chair, eyes narrowing even as he smiled. “You certainly have enough spark to be a Paladin. I can appreciate that. But let me make myself very clear, Miss Price. We are offering our assistance because you need us, and I think you know that. Work with us, and David stays safe and protected, as well as extremely useful as an Oracle. I think it should be clear by now that our powers are greater than yours. After all, I was able to penetrate your wards with hardly any trouble at all.”