Page 26 of A Mastery of Monsters

Falling several feet to the ground—albeit a cushioned one, thanks to the mats under the ropes—and passing out in public wasn’t great, but somehow the look Margot is giving me now is worse.

I let her inside my dorm room, and she’s closely followed by Virgil and Corey.

I collapse on my bed and reapply the ice pack the nurse at the ARC gave me.

I fell on my side, thankfully. And no head injury. Just a giant bruise on my left thigh.

“I don’t even know what to say to you.” Margot shakes her head. “For one, you didn’t pace yourself at all. And then you get injured, and when we show up to the nurse’s office, you’re already gone. No text. No call. Nothing.”

Am I getting a lecture from my trainer or from my mom? Finding it hard to spot the difference. Though I never got in trouble with Mom. Not until the end.

I chance a look at Virgil to gauge how much shit I’m in, but his lips are twitching. They keep trying to pull up, and it’s like he’s forcing them down. Corey, meanwhile, is looking out the window like the parking lot view is Niagara Falls instead of dusty asphalt.

“I passed, didn’t I?”

“You passed!” Corey squeals, turning to me with the beaming smile she was trying to hide.

She sobers when Margot cuts a glare at her.

“Yes,” Margot says. “By some miracle, you passed. And you’re lucky I’m down as your trainer so that I could have access to the scores, since you ran away.”

“I came home to rest.” Though I also maybe wanted to avoid this situation, which some people might interpret as running away.

Virgil is smiling unrestrained now. It lights up his entire face. He was too in shock at the nominations, I think, but now he’s on cloud nine. “I knew you would.”

I clear my throat and look away.

I forgot how that feels. When you do something right and people are proud of you.

Corey and Virgil proceed to high five each other and giggle like they’re ten years old. It’s helpful, actually. I needed that ick to heap onto any weird Virgil feelings. I should burn this moment into my mind.

Margot crosses her arms. “It’s a good start, but it’s just that, the start.

Your monster affinity score is through the roof.

I would say it’s probably the best in the group.

Which I didn’t expect after your reaction to Isaac, but there you go.

You have the advantage of not only knowing your partner but not being indoctrinated with so much fear-mongering that you fail. ”

Maybe this competition thing won’t be so bad if I did that well without even trying.

Margot continues, “Your societal knowledge score is fucking abysmal, and you just skated by.”

“She said the questions were different from what she and Corey worked on,” Virgil says.

I relay to them the sorts of things that were asked, as well as the format. As I explain, Margot’s hands curl into fists and release at her sides.

“They changed it,” Corey says, eyes darting to Margot.

“That’s different even from yours, and you did it only last year.

It’s usually simple stuff. Names of the Doctorates, first Masters, basic monster knowledge.

You only need like a day to go over it, which is exactly what we did.

It’s designed to be accessible to newcomers. ”

No wonder I didn’t understand half the things we were asked. “It’s not anymore.”

“Which is weird because the Scientist faction are the ones who set the format of the candidacy and the test content. They’re the only official faction that’s supposed to exist.” She gestures to me.

“More of a department than anything. Carrigan leads it, actually. They focus on education and finding a cure for monstrosity. They don’t even have political leanings.

There’s no reason for them to make the test less accessible.

That feels like something Traditionalists would want. ”

“Traditionalists?” I ask.

Virgil says, “Another unofficial faction. They say they want to adhere to the traditional practices of Dr. Weiss, but really, they want to exclude outsiders and make rules more lenient for Masters. Give them more ways to profit and make money.”

“And you guys are with these Progressives who want better conditions for monsters and stuff?” Virgil nods. “And Pro-Libs are the people who love monsters in the wrong way?” Whatever that means. Honestly, I don’t really care enough to have that clarified.

“Basically.”

“Corey is right,” Margot says. “Scientists don’t usually make changes like that.

Just like Carrigan doesn’t usually come to meetings.

I don’t know why his faction is suddenly switching things up.

I’ll discuss it with Henry. Thankfully, the training sessions will guide your knowledge from now.

The point is to learn, so as long as you put in effort, you’ll be fine.

It’s not as strict as the prelims or the tests.

But let’s refocus on that physical endurance score. ”

I swallow.

“Somewhat above average range, somewhat above average score. You could have reserved your strength the way I told you to and gotten middle of the road. But at least now we know that your best effort needs to be better.”

“But she did it,” Virgil says. “For someone who hasn’t been training formally for years like the others, that’s fantastic.”

My face gets hot, and I shift on the bed. Remember the embarrassing high five with Corey. Focus on it. To Margot, I say, “So I need to be way above average to win?”

“Ideally. You need to get into the top five to even get to the initiation. Most people don’t manage that being slightly above average.

” She pauses and a small smile slips out.

“But Virgil’s right, you did better than expected.

That being said, only five people were cut, so we’re at twenty-five candidates.

I’m going to make a new physical training program for you, and you’re going to follow it.

The first group training is less than a week away, but it’s for monster affinity, which is to your benefit.

That gives us more time to build up your physical endurance.

And remember that you need the professors to recommend you for the next stage, so you’d better be as pleasant as a fucking peach. ”

“Aren’t I always?”

Margot sighs.

“No advice for the monster training?” I ask. “Or do I just keep not being afraid?”

“What happens in trainings is dependent on the professor,” she says.

“And unfortunately, Chen is new. Sometimes they take you down to the Penitentiary to try to scare you, and other times they might have a volunteer Master-monster pair come by. Either way, you need to stay calm. So yes, just keep not being afraid.”

“What’s at the Penitentiary? I thought it closed down years ago. It’s a museum now, right?”

Virgil’s smile fades. “It’s no longer functioning as a public prison, and yes, it’s a museum, too, but for us it’s more than that. It is and always has been where we keep the monsters.”

So that’s what they meant when they said the monsters are locked up underground. I’d assumed some sort of holding facility but hadn’t imagined they were at a literal prison .

But if it’s anything like this initial monster affinity test, it should be fine. Now that we know the real parameters of societal knowledge, we can adjust. And after yet another grueling training program, my physical endurance will be better too.

I might actually be able to do this.

Hopefully those aren’t famous last words.

McIntosh Castle, it seems, keeps up its devotion to books even in rooms that aren’t strictly library-like in nature.

Like the kitchen, where Corey is pulling out a bunch of cheeses and cured meats to make a charcuterie board for us.

On top of several single upper cabinets are an array of books.

Most of them are cookbooks, but some just seem to be books that mention cuisine or food in some way.

The space, like most of the rooms, is wallpapered, this one with a peach-colored scene of people at a beach in the early 1900s.

The countertops are placed to accommodate the odd shape of the room, and the white pantry is above an old radiator.

Corey tugs down a book that references different charcuterie arrangements.

She goes back to the fridge, and this time I’m at an angle where I can see inside.

There are several stacked containers of leftovers, including a larger one of what looks like kimchi soup with chunks of tofu and cabbage. “Who’s the cook in the house?” I ask.

She follows my gaze. “Oh… my mom drops these off all the time. Virgil and Dr. Liu eat them.”

Shit, now I’ve waded into the family stuff she doesn’t like talking about.

She shuts the fridge, setting open jam jars on the counter.

I walk over and point to the pictures stuck on the fridge door.

One is of Corey and Virgil with their arms around each other, smiling in front of a giant red apple with a face painted onto it. “This is cute.”

“Bernie took us to see the Big Apple. His wife was craving the pies, so he said we could come for the drive.” She points at a few other pictures of her and Virgil poking their heads into those tourist photo op things and making funny faces. “We took these there too.”

“Are you and Virgil…?” I don’t even know why I’m asking, but I can’t pretend I’m not curious. The two of them are attached at the hip, and even though they don’t give those vibes, it would make sense.

Corey squints for a moment, then she catches on and laughs. “Oh! No, no, I’m very gay. Virgil is like… Virgil is the brother I chose.” She smiles. “It’s funny. I’ve only known him for three years, but we’re closer than my real brother and I ever were.”

“Is he in the Pen?” I ask, finally saying what I’ve been wondering since she brought her brother up.

“Yes.” She turns back to her ingredients. “We need some nuts…. Almonds or pecans?”