Demon Hunters: Last Class

Episode 11: Toni- The Linchpin

I yawned and focused on the shiny spot on his bald head as he paced in front of the diagram he'd drawn on the chalkboard. His round eyes, huge behind thick bifocals, looked off to a distant place as he recited his lecture. He droned on and I started to forget not to fall asleep.

"Contrary to the conjecture of modern science, our world is not a singular celestial mass, but a part of a great framework we call The Chain."

He pointed to the diagram. Fourteen circles creating a ring. The bottommost was shaded in and below it were the words: The Material Linchpin. He underlined the words with two quick strokes.

"This is our Earth, but it is not the only Earth."

The teacher, Mr. Lex, had divided the class by cohort. As the new kids, we were seated at the front. B-Ko and a group of upperclassmen whispered quietly amongst themselves in the back of the class, barely paying attention. I glanced over at Larry and Di, who were both completely engrossed in Mr. Lex's lesson. Lyric sat by the window, staring out. She'd been worried about Warren since we left the cemetery, despite Reed's insistence that hunters had been dispatched to help him.

I didn't blame Lyric. Warren was the only family she had left... and very sexy in an unassuming sort of way. Wouldn't want anything to happen to that, it would be a tragic waste.

"We collectively call the various versions of Earth: The Planes. Each of the other Earths is a variation of our world defined by a core principle and affected by the adjacent planes within the great framework. In this respect even we are governed by our neighbors." He pointed first to the right and then to the left. "Heaven and Hell. Order and Chaos. Both pull at the very core of our world and tug at all things from two poles."

He took a moment to study the class, his huge dark brown eyes jumping from row to row. He sighed and removed his glasses to rub the bridge of his wide nose.

"Mr. McClintock Turner, please come up and tell us about the plane of Faeree."

M. Turner was known around campus as sort of a troublemaker. As far as I could tell, he got into more trouble than anyone else at The Institute. He stood up, smug faced and sleepy eyed. His slim build and thick calves made him look sort of like a reverse Popeye.

"It's McClintock, Mr. Lex. Everyone calls me McClintock."

Lex shook his head and sat heavily into his seat. He placed his glasses on the table and gestured at the diagram.

"Faeree, McClintock."

The guy grinned at the other students in the back as he sauntered to the front and grabbed a piece of chalk. In block letters he started to write beneath the circle four to the left. A girl beside B-ko coughed loudly and shook her head. McClintock hastily erased his work and turned towards Mr. Lex's desk. A piece of his arm extended like pulled taffy to hover over the teacher's papers and a small eye peeked out of the flesh. As Lex glanced up, the skin snapped back into place. The boy smiled innocently.

"Faeree."

"I got it, Teach."

Starting again, McClintock labeled the circle two to the left of The Linchpin. Beneath it, he wrote: Faerie. Above it, he wrote: Madness.

"Faeree is the home of fairytale creatures like elves and unicorns."

"I want to see a unicorn," Di whispered. Even with my superior hearing, I barely caught it..

"Since Hell is on its right and Bliss is on its left, the Fae are governed by tides of chaos and love respectively. The Fae are chaotic and they love it! We call that madness."

The upperclassmen all laughed. Larry and some of the other nerds took notes. Lyric leaned forward and rested her head on her arms.

"Thank you, McClintock."