11.

  “I can already tell I’m going to need your help with this,” Benny said, as he took a seat next to Gregor, putting his large tome on the desk, “I couldn’t even stay awake during history class when they were talking about stuff I should already know. I’m from the mortal world, I don’t know anything about the kind of history they’re going to be teaching us. At least with mortal history, I can cheat by using what I saw in movies, there isn’t a hip-hop musical about the first American hunters on Disney plus, is there?” Benny asked.

  Cole was leaning back in his chair next to Gregor as they waited for the professor “No, but that probably would be awesome,” he said, “Don’t worry, what with our history concerning fighting demons it’s actually pretty interesting, I just hope he doesn’t open his class with-”

  “Welcome students,” The professor entered, he was a slender man with graying hair, though his body did show that he may have been a capable hunter in his own day, but years of study had weakened his muscles as much as they had grown his mind, “I am Professor Collins and I will be the fount of knowledge you will seek when you wish to prevent history from repeating itself,” Professor Collins went to the chalk board and with a rehearsed hand streaked a perfectly straight line across the blackboard. “We have today,” he put an X on the far end of the line and wrote in big letters, NOW under it, then turned to go back to the left end of the line, “And we have the crusades,” he put another X on the board and wrote THE WAR under it.

  “We’ll get to the crusades in time, but I will not be starting a lecture on our history from the beginning. To dull you with dates and actions of men long dead may bore you to the point of not caring by the time we get to the important things,” he said. “I find the study of history much akin to reading one of the Mortal World’s famous mystery novels, if you skip to the last page and already know the killer before you start you’ll find yourselves approaching the texts with a more careful eye of study, you’ll look for clues, you’ll feel so good about yourselves seeing a set up you already know pays off,” he said, as he paced closer to the NOW section of the line, “So with that philosophy in mind, we’ll be starting our study of history In Media Res, and I think a good and interesting place to start would about here,” he struck a line a few inches before the NOW section of the time line.

  “Damn it,” Cole said under his breath, as Benny and Gregor watched him bury his hand in his face already knowing exactly what great historical moment their first class was going to be discussing.

  “The raid of Hell in year 2003,” Professor Collins said, he turned his head and with pinpoint accuracy looked right to Cole, “You can stop trying to hide yourself Mr. Longdren, this lecture won’t be concerning you, you’re still a student and you’ve yet to earn your place on this line,” he said.

  Everyone looked at Cole as he tried to hold his head up, “You’re right about that,” he said, forcing a smile and trying to ignore the eyes on him, “I’m ready to learn, it’s not like I haven’t already heard literally everything about today’s subject before,” he said.

  “Have you now? why don’t you lead the class, and tell us about the 2003 raid, if you would be so kind,” Professor Collins asked.

  Cole stood up, regrettably, and hashed out a story he had been told at least a thousand times growing up, though not with the passion that he had heard it told with, “The Raid of 2003 was led by Tylor Dromon, Chief Blackarrow, and Bruce Longdren, a Demon interloper was captured by the Mowak Tribe of Native American hunters and forced to reveal the location of a gate, this resulted in the slaying of a thousand demons, acquisition of a classified amount of demonic artifacts that may be up to and including the Devils Pitchfork,” Cole sighed and hated the fact that he had to remind people how amazing his father was, “Bruce Longdren saw the Devil, the Fallen One, The Morningstar, and saw him in single combat. He defeated the Demon, for a moment, and as the monster turned into a snake to flee, he acquired the greatest weapon of the below, I think they have it in the Citadel on Long Island, they try studying it, but it’s not like it even taught us anything,” Cole said.

  “It is true, the Devil’s Pitchfork has yielded less information about the workings of the below than one would hope from such a unique artifact.” Professor Collins said, “Actually, this is a fun historical fact, in the year 2006 the society distributed the Pitchfork into the mortal world, it landed in the hands of a humble and unknowing farmer, a man with no idea of the history of the weapon. When a stranger approached him and offered him an unreasonable amount of money for it, the farmer did comment that it was one of the best pitchforks he and his staff had ever used. Didn’t seem to rust or chip or dent, it did fine by the mortal world, ironic,” Professor Collins said, “Class, do we have any theories about this? Go on, it’s only the first class, don’t be afraid of looking ignorant,” he said.

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  Benny raised his hand, and his eyebrow as he was called on, “Is it because it was…evil?” he asked.

  The class laughed, and Benny put his hand down, Professor Collins smiled, “Yes, evil, what you all are here to fight,” he said, “The Pitchfork, after its stint in the Mortal World, has been returned to the Citadel, It’s kept under great protection, Hunters in service to the Divine are needed to guard it, as it's been found out that an Angel cannot touch it. If an Angel on this plane touches the Pitch Fork they dissolve and return to the Divine Plane,”

  Angelica raised her hand, “I’m sorry, professor,”

  “Yes, the Angelic girl, haven’t taught one of your breeds in a good number of years, honored to have you,” The Professor said, giving Angelica a theatric bow.

  “Yes, you’re saying that this weapon can kill Angels, and I’m sorry to correct a teacher, but that’s impossible, nothing can kill an angel, angels are divine, and nothing stops the divine,” she said, a proud look on her face.

  “Nothing can kill an angel, that’s true,” Professor Collins said, “But the Pitch Fork, after rigorous and painful testing, has been found to have the effect of disrupting the ties the Divine has on this world, It can’t kill angels, but it can weaken them enough for a Demon to do their deeds without worry about divine intervention if ever there was a weapon that could fight the divines, the Pitch Fork would be it,” he said, “But I am not a weapons master, and I’m not a battle coach, I am here to teach your history,” he said. “The ’03 raid is famous in my profession for both the acquisition of the Pitchfork and for the first encounter with the EverDemon, in fact, Mr. Longdren may not have been told this in the wild stories of great heroics his family has most doubtingly fed him, that that Raid was the event that freed the EverDemon,”

  Cole perked up at that, and as much as he hated to admit it, he found himself wanting to boast about his family’s heroics, “That’s not true,” he said.

  “Oh, enlighten us, professor,” Professor Collins said, grinning at the young would-be hero. Professor Collins was the oldest teacher at the academy, year after year he could always spot a destined hero. He knew that Titus Brigand from 1998 and Quinten Longfellow from 2013, and of course the three Longdren boys he had taught in his time, would all go on to make names for themselves, it was one of his talents as an educator to recognize the brightest stars of his class. With his role in this world, he thought it his duty to challenge said bright stars, and ensure he put them on a path to the great destiny that these formative years were just beginning to lay out for them.

  Cole slinked back a bit, he hated talking about his family, and he hated boasting about them even more, “The EverDemon escaped well after that raid, all the documents concerning its rampage say that the EverDemon escaped by way of tempting a hunter with great power well after, not in the wake of the fifth raid,” Cole said.

  “Yes, a great debate of history, did the EverDemon escape in the raid, or after, when the Betrayer freed him after being seduced by a demonic siren,”

  Tav, who had been in her usual place at the back of the room, scribbling some of what Angelica would call her bad poetry, felt her ears burning and perked up, “The EverDemon didn’t receive aid from the Betrayer,” Tav said, “He was tricked,”

  “Tricked or tempted?” Angelica said, butting in and earning a look of ire from Tav.

  “Tricked,” Tav said, “The EverDemon told the Betrayer, my father,”

  “Ms. Cosgrove, I did not mean to insult your family,” Professor Collins said, “One cannot bring personal attachment into the discussion of history,” he said.

  “My father was told that the EverDemon wanted to be free of the war, wanted to fight for the above, several demons have shown their wish to end the war, the EverDemon told him he would fight, he tricked him,” Tav said.

  “The EverDemon is a notorious chapter in the history of this war,” Professor Collins said.

  “The EverDemon is proof that all demons lie,” Angelica butted in, “All demons are evil, and it is our job as hunters to expose them and destroy them,”

  “Shut up!” Tav said, “Just shut up!”

  “Students, clam down,” Professor Collins said, trying to get control of the class back.

  “The EverDemon lied to my father, he lied to the Betrayer, and once the Betrayer realized that, he slayed the demon and died doing it, if anything the Betrayer is just as much a hero as,” Tav looked to Cole, “He’s just as much a hero as any Demon Hunter,” she said, looking back to Angelica.

  Cole thought of something he could say, “My dad fought with Joseph Cosgrove, he said he was a great Hunter,” he said, “He told me that Joseph wasn’t the kind of man who would free a Demon without a good cause,” Cole was lying, trying to use that great name he had to defend that cute demon girl he fancied. Cole’s father told him only once about Joseph Cosgrove, the Betrayer, and he told him the same exact story that Angelica was spouting.

  “Mr. Longdren, Ms. Cosgrove, Ms. Cherbum, please calm down, we are here to learn,” Professor Collins said, as the students took their seats. “That Raid did precede the release of the EverDemon, that much is clear. And it is said that the Betrayer, as he’s called, did die defeating it, all three of you are accurate in your accounts as different as they are, I would like to hold you in detention for disrupting my class,” he said.

  “You can’t give detention to an angel,” Angelica boasted.

  “You are not an angel, not in these halls,” Professor Collins said, “You have Divine blood, but as far as I’m concerned you are just another student, the three of you will be held after class and we will continue this debate in private,” he said. “Now, with that business done, we will continue our lecture with the 1902 Raid, and the ensuing pandemic that resulted because of it,” Professor Collins turned to the line on his chalkboard and struck a line a bit more to the left.