Page 43 of Professor and the Seer
“I don’t know, but it is odd, seeing as how they’re aware of you.”
“They are?” She didn’t hide a surprised lilt as she stepped inside.
He nodded. “When Bane hired Enyo as his bodyguard, I did a bit of a background check on her and your family. Turns out the Arcane League is aware of your existence, although misled on the level of your gifts.”
“We didn’t get strong until the portal opened.”
He paused in the middle of the empty vestibule. “That’s just it. You were already strong before that, but the League files had Dina, for example, barely able to light a candle. Enyo was known to be a mercenary but rated as zero when it came to arcane enhancements.”
“What about me?”
“No better than a tea leaf reader, which is beyond misleading. Someone either outright lied or falsified the records on you and your sisters.”
“Why would someone do that?” she asked with apparent confusion.
“A good question. It seems obvious someone wanted to hide your true strength.”
“Who compiled those reports?”
“The name attached to it belonged to someone who died so I can’t question them as to their motive.”
“Or maybe they didn’t lie because we did a good job hiding our gifts.”
He snorted. “No, they deliberately misled because the moment I met all three of you it was obvious you were powerful, and that has only increased since the portal opened.”
“Will the fact we’re strong cause problems with this Arcane League?” Worry knitted her brows.
“Only if you decide to become supervillains intent on taking over the world.” He clasped her hands to offer her reassurance.
Frieda snickered. “Not me.” She sobered and whispered, “But I do worry about Dina.”
A remark he would have liked to explore, only the door to the library opened and someone stepped out.
“Professor Mosby,” Jessica Munroe exclaimed upon seeing him. A third-year student, she’d been working on her thesis based on Mug Ruith, an Irish druid of legend.
“Hello, Jessica. Working on your paper?”
“I was going to, but instead, I’ve been cleaning up with some of the other students. Someone, or something, made a mess of the library last night.”
“What?” He almost shouted, “My books! My precious books.”
“Dean Wharton seems to think it was an animal that got inside somehow. Made a right disaster. Knocked entire shelves down.”
“How bad is the damage?”
“Not too bad. Some bent spines. A few pages ripped so far. Most of it fixable. It doesn’t look like it got into the locked archive where the good stuff is kept. Although it tried. The wards kept it out.”
His relief almost had him sagging. “I’d best go examine the archive to be sure.” He glanced at Frieda. “Sorry. I need to check on a few things before we can work on our project.”
“Of course. I can help with tidying while you look.”
“You’re coming with me.” As if he’d leave her out of his sight. “The stuff we wanted to look into is in the archive, anyhow.”
Jessica eyed Frieda with curiosity before blurting out, “What’s your power?”
Taken aback, Frieda almost recoiled. “N-nothing.”
That caused his student to frown. “But you have magic. I can sense it.”