“Yes. Every person born with endless possibility inside them. Locke’s theory gained quite a following. We should talk about whether you think it’s viable in contemporary society. Other ideas?”
“Bellum omnium contra omnes.”
All the non-humans in the room stiffened in their seats, heads turning toward the speaker. The rest of the students looked impressed by all the Latin phrases being thrown around, but no comprehension dawned on their faces.
“The war of all against all.” Shay frowned when Mr. Selby didn’t copy the words onto the board.
“Thomas Hobbes is often considered a foundational theorist about the state of nature,” Shay continued, though his voice had become more hesitant.
Mr. Selby turned, face paling as he stared at his new pupil.
Shay’s mouth flattened at Mr. Selby’s expression. “I do a lot of reading on my own.”
“Hobbes wasn’t in our readings,” a cold voice said.
I drew a sharp breath. The speaker was a Keeper boy with a crown of golden casually spiked hair. Logan Bane, Efron’s only son, threw a spiteful look at Shay. I stared at the young Keeper. Logan never participated in discussion. He usually slept through class.
“That doesn’t make any sense.” Shay twirled a pen in his fingers. “He’s in all the standard philosophy texts.”
Mr. Selby glanced at Logan, who tilted his head at the teacher and raised his eyebrows.
“The, um, Mountain School curriculum doesn’t include Thomas Hobbes.” Mr. Selby’s eyes bulged, still fixed on the young Keeper.
Shay looked ready to stand on top of his desk in protest. “What?”
Logan turned to him. “It has been concluded that his ideas are somewhat banal for our consideration.”
“By who?” The Keepers’ and Guardians’ eyes were focused on Shay. The human students looked as though they wanted to hide beneath their desks until this line of discussion was dropped.
Logan pulled off the sunglasses he always wore, no matter the weather nor the time of day.
I watched, amazed. This must be a big deal.
“The Regents,” he said, as if correcting a child’s mistake. “One of whom is your uncle, Shay. Also my father and several other significant men who protect the reputation of this institution.”
My jaw dropped. Uncle?
“And they’ve censored Hobbes?” Shay said. “I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous.”
“Let’s move on, shall we?” A sheen of sweat appeared on Mr. Selby’s forehead.
“Why? Why wouldn’t you study Hobbes? He’s arguably the founder of this subject of discussion,” Shay blurted.
My fingers gripped the edge of my desk. He might as well have walked in front of a firing squad wearing a target. I can’t believe I have to help him again.
“Because we know better.” I spit out the words. “We can evolve from Hobbes’s disastrous world and not wallow in violence. War is a savage schoolmaster, right?”
Mr. Selby gave me a grateful smile, wiping his brow with a handkerchief. “Thank you, Ms. Tor. Nice use of Thucydides. The theorists we study in this class have a more hopeful outlook on the world than did Mr. Hobbes.”
Ren beat pencils on his desk like drumsticks. “I don’t know. Savagery seems okay to me.”
All the Guardians in the class burst into laughter, including myself. The human children shrank into their seats looking terrified, except Shay, who wore an expression of utter confusion. The young Keepers smirked, throwing disdainful glances at the wolves.
Shay’s next words were frustrated but insistent. “Hobbes isn’t talking about savagery. It’s about the ceaseless struggle for power. Strife unending that makes the world go round. That’s the true state of nature. You can’t just ignore it because some stuffed shirts call it vulgar.”
Ren turned to face Shay, regarding the new student with a gaze that was almost admiring, if still wary. Dax glanced from his alpha to me and then to
Shay. He looked like he was waiting for one of us to spontaneously combust. Sabine stared at Shay as if the boy’s skin had turned inside out. Logan sighed and began to examine his fingernails.
Shay threw a pleading look at Mr. Selby. “Can we please talk about the war of all against all? I think it’s the most important idea I’ve come across in philosophy.”
The sweat on Mr. Selby’s forehead formed droplets that trickled down his temples.
“Well, I suppose . . .” He raised the marker to begin writing on the whiteboard. A spasm jerked through his fingers and the dry-erase pen dropped to the floor again.
“You need to work on your reflexes, Mr. Selby,” Ren teased. A nervous titter moved through the classroom.
Our teacher didn’t respond; the quaking of his fingers moved up his arm. His entire body convulsed. He bent backward, flailed, and collapsed to the floor twitching violently. White spittle collected at the corners of his mouth, spilling down his jawline.
“Oh my God, he’s having a seizure!” shrieked a human girl, who I thought was called Rachel. I’d never bothered to learn most of their names.
Dax bolted from his desk and crouched beside Mr. Selby’s tormented body. He shouted at the still-screeching human girl, “Shut up and go get help!”
She scampered from the classroom. Several human children had pulled out their phones.
“Phones away now!” Logan’s sharp command filled the room.
“Just get Nurse Flynn, Rachel,” he called to the girl in a loud but rather lazy voice. The golden-haired Keeper looked bored. I stared at him. Nurse Flynn was a Keeper who oversaw the small infirmary in the Mountain School, but I wasn’t sure she had any real medical training.
Dax, who had stilled our teacher’s convulsions through sheer brute strength, frowned. “He needs an ambulance.”
“No, he doesn’t. When Flynn arrives, our dear teacher will be fine.” Logan’s cold response was accompanied by a sweep of his eyes across the room.
He raised his crystal-clear voice, addressing the class.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re finished here. Go find someplace else to be.”
Most of the human students bolted from the room. A few stared for another minute at Dax, who still pinned Mr. Selby against the tile floor, then slunk off whispering to each other. The other Keeper children nodded at Logan and moved quietly out the door. The Guardians, and Shay, hesitated. Our eyes fixed on Logan, who gazed back at us with smug confidence. An ebony-haired woman, with a stunning figure marred by the large, misshapen hump on her back, appeared in the doorway. She was followed by two men who pushed a gurney.
“We’ll take it from here, Dax.”
Dax released Mr. Selby, who immediately began to flail again. Nurse Flynn withdrew a syringe from the pocket of her lab coat, knelt down, and plunged the needle into his neck. Mr. Selby’s spasms eased and he moaned once before dropping into unconsciousness. Nurse Flynn nodded to her two companions, who lifted Mr. Selby onto the gurney and wheeled him from the room.
She turned to Logan. “Thank you for sending Rachel to alert me, Mr. Bane.”
The golden-haired boy made a dismissive gesture with his hand.