Page 40 of Demon of Dreams

“Helium and hydrogen are all very well for those who traffic in the petty concerns of men, but you arewitches, and witches know a deeper truth.” He flung his hand towards the list on the board, which read, ‘Earth, Air, Fire, Water.’ “These are the elements of the ancient Greeks, and they are the only ones you need commit yourself to studying.”

Two hands shot up in the rows of desks: one belonging to Rekha, the other to the woman who’d sat next to me in Spellwork II. Her hair was plaited in two tight French braids that marched down the sides of her head. Professor Gallo glared at both women. I got the sense he didn’t like to be interrupted. When neither of them put their hands down, he called on the woman with the braids.

“Yes, Erika?” he said with a long-suffering sigh.

“Didn’t the ancient Greeks also use the concept ofaetheras a fifth element—or, rather, a first? Aristotle’sOn the Heavensdiscusses aether as the first element, differing from the classical elements in both placement and quality.”

“Quite right, Ms. Martinez,” Gallo said, giving Erika an indulgent smile. Rekha glared at her, probably angry Erika had been called on first. “However,” Gallo continued, “as you noted, aether was traditionally thought of as a celestial element, not a terrestrial one, and studies of the celestial environment are reserved for students accepted into Harvest Haven who are completing their advanced studies. Thus, for the purposes of our course this semester, you need not concern yourself with matters too elevated for your comprehension.”

It was Erika’s turn to glare now, though she turned it down on her notebook, rather than fixing it on Gallo himself. I couldn’t blame her. I didn’t knowanythingabout what was being discussed, but even I would have been annoyed by that amount of condescension.

Rekha’s hand shot up again, and Gallo favored her with an even longer sigh before finally waving at her in frustration. “Yes, Ms. Bakshi?”

“Why are we using the ancient Greeks’ framework anyway?” she asked, her eyes narrowing. “Other cultures divided their traditional elements differently, or included ones the Greeks omitted. ChineseWuxingincludes earth, wood, and metal, and lacks air entirely, in addition to focusing more on—”

“Thank you for sharing your thoughts, my dear,” Gallo said, cutting her off. “They were most…passionate. But in this course, cool wisdom must preside. Primitive cultures around the world have had countless systems of division and classification to describe the world around them, but we are not interested in merecultures, but rather,civilizations. Western civilization is what conquered the globe, no matter how much some might wish to claim otherwise. Western civilization begins with the Greeks, and thus we shall as well. Is that understood?”

His gaze roved the room, looking for opposition. Rekha muttered something under her breath, and Erika looked mutinous, but no one spoke loudly enough to draw his attention.

He smiled. “Now, as I was saying, the study of the magical underpinnings of our natural environment requires not just a cool head, not just wisdom, but a delicacy of investigation, precision and intricate control, that most witches are unable to reach. Harvest accepts only the best, for the best is what is required to appreciate the deep, slow movements of the earth, the ever-flowing transitions of water…” He paused, his gaze sweeping the class again. “Why aren’t you writing? You may never be able to master the spellwork of an advanced Harvester, but you are expected to understand the fundamentals. Now, where was I…”

Felix, and most of the rest of the class, jumped to comply, furiously scribbling as Gallo droned on. Ash continued to take no notes at all.

I leaned over to him and whispered, “If this class is about magic and the natural environment, wouldn’t youwantto know how different places around the world classified it?”

“You simply prove my point, boy,” Gallo said, swooping in out of nowhere. He gave me a frosty look. “If you had gone through your first semester of studies, you might at least know better than to question the wisdom of your elders. Instead, I am left to break you in like some common schoolmaster. It’s hopeless!”

“Right.” I swallowed. “Of course. I’m sorry.”

I wasn’t a fan of the phrase ‘break you in.’ Not in this context. Not in any.

He stared at me for almost a minute before deciding I was penitent enough to move on. “Well, as I said, you have your work cut out for you.”

He turned away again, his large, green cloak billowing out behind him.

“So Gallo’s kind of an ass, isn’t he?” I said to Ash and Felix after class was over. I waited until we were two hallways away, not wanting to be overheard again.

“Oh, you noticed?” Ash said wryly.

“He’s a strong personality,” Felix said. “You have to filter the good from the bad.”

“Is there much good in anything he said?” I asked. I’d taken notes, but it had been hard to keep my frustration in check. He was just so pompous, and racist too. Not the same kind of asshole as my dad, but an asshole nonetheless. “Why does the school keep him around?”

“Unfortunately, he’s a very gifted witch, especially when it comes to weather spells,” Felix said. “But he trained back in Europe, at one of the stuffier universities over there, and he brought a lot of that attitude with him.”

“It’s a wonder anybody still applies to Harvest, after the first impression he gives,” Ash said.

Felix nodded. “Lucky for them, he’s not the only professor in that haven. But you’d think they’d move him off the intro courses and stick him with the upperclassmen.”

“Does he always wear that cloak?” I asked, picturing the professor in my mind.

No one else at Vesperwood had worn anything remotely magical-looking, or even old-timey. Except, perhaps, Dean Mansur. But there, I wasn’t sure if his suit looked old-timey, or if it was the man himself who seemed imported from another century.

“Yes,” Ash said with a laugh, “and it’s hilarious. He claims he wears it because it has lots of pockets, but I’ve seen him posing in front of mirrors with it, trying out different swirls. And God help you if you suggest that modern dress might offer similar solutions. I asked him his opinion on cargo pants once and got a fifteen-minute rant on the offenses of modern fashion.” He snorted. “If he weren’t such a good Harvester, I think the dean would have fired him a while ago.”

Something about the way Gallo and Ash talked made the capital ‘H’ in that word apparent. I’d heard it when Felix had called himself a Historian this morning too. I wanted to ask about that, but Ash was already bickering with Felix about the number of pockets cargo pants had, and I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

We had lunch after Environmental Magic. Felix and Ash led me to the refectory, a long hall in Vesperwood’s lowest level. It had vaulted ceilings, white plaster walls, and high, arched windows lined with bricks. Brick pillars were scattered throughout the room, pressing up to the ceiling like palm trees.

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