Page 31 of A Mastery of Monsters

Drifting over to the bars, I reach my hand through them. The crab stills. I close my fingers around the ribbon, rotating it so that I can get at the knot, which I untie. The bell comes loose into my hand. I stare at the dozen green eyes looking down at me.

The monster doesn’t move.

“Three minutes,” Chen says. I whip my head toward her.

Caden’s fury is palpable. I feel like spite is the only thing that moves him toward one of the cells. His movement spurs on the rest of our peers. Violet comes to the monster in the cell beside the crab, and Bryce goes across the room to a different cell.

When I turn back to the crab, it’s still staring at me. They’re staring at me.

This is what will happen to Virgil without me.

Trapped down here. Alone in a cramped cell. Watching while candidates struggle to force themselves to come near him. Used in a training exercise likely without any consent on his part.

I shake my head.

I just need to find Jules. That’s why I’m here. Not to save Virgil. I don’t owe him anything. I don’t .

I repeat it until I believe it.

A hand lands on my shoulder, and I jump.

It’s only Professor Chen, holding out a small wicker basket. “For the bell.”

I drop mine inside. “How are they like this? They aren’t partnered up.”

“Think about it. I’m confident you can come up with the answer.”

“…a Doctorate?” I look around.

Chen chuckles and points up. “Two of our candidates are on a higher level of the Pen, facilitating.”

“You didn’t tell us that.”

She grins. “It’s not much fun to tell you beforehand. Besides, it’s always good to pick out the students observant enough to realize they’re being handled with kid gloves.”

I match her grin with one of my own. Though it falls away shortly after. “Can’t the Doctorate force them all to transform into humans? Masters can do that, right? Then maybe the conditions could be bett—”

“Standard monsters gain the ability to swap between human and monster forms exclusively through bonding. The privilege of swapping forms without is limited to Wilds. If Doctorates could do so, Dr. Weiss would have found a cure right away. He even tried bonding to see if that might help, but it ended up limiting his abilities to one monster instead.”

“Yeah, I heard that’s why Doctorates don’t bond.”

“I appreciate you thinking of them—the monsters,” Chen says, studying me.

“Not many do. I know you’re new to the society, but these prejudices run deep.

That’s why we do these sorts of exercises.

It’s one of the few cases where things were better back in the day.

Dr. Weiss had a different vision for us.

He did not imagine a future where monster children would be abandoned by their parents.

” She pauses to shake her head. “Or worse.”

My eyes widen. What the actual fuck? “Worse…?”

“We take those sorts of crimes seriously, and they don’t happen often anymore.

Testing helps, since we can keep an eye on those children.

Still, abandonment isn’t uncommon. Either they’re afraid of the child or they’re afraid for them.

This society is built upon the backs of monsters, and unfortunately, you’ll come to see that they’re the least appreciated.

Feared and ostracized with few fighting for their rights. ”

“Adam is,” I say. “And I guess the Pro-Libs.”

Chen throws me a sharp look. “I suggest you not say the name of that group in public.”

Oh shit, right. “What’s the big deal about them?”

She looks over at the other students, who are still working on the exercise.

“The Pro-Liberation Coalition wish for the complete liberation of monsters. They feel that their existence is natural, and the apocalypse should not be fought. We should embrace it as an evolution of the species. To them, Masters are a stepping stone to help monsters achieve full actualization. They believe that all monsters are actually Wilds and could control themselves if given a chance to develop the ability. Years ago, the Pro-Libs joined with the Wilds to launch a rebellion against the Learners’ Master-monster structure.

A few decades ago as Traditionalists gained ground, Wilds were forced to bond despite not needing partners.

Which both the Pro-Libs and Wilds obviously did not like.

In the rebellion, they began to murder Masters, breaking the bond to their monsters to prove the monsters could become self-sufficient. ”

I lick my lips. Those are the people that Natalie woman led?

Given how hated Virgil is for the people his parents killed, it’s amazing that Natalie can walk around with her head held high.

No wonder Margot, Corey, and Virgil were shocked that she was in public and that Corris would be seen with her.

“Did it work?” I ask. “Could the monsters control themselves?”

“No. Many people died. Rates of bitten monsters spiked. When the Wilds were… well, when the agreement was signed, the Wilds were made to abide by the terms of the truce, which thankfully, included terms to stop forced bonding. And the Pro-Libs were broken up. Those members of the faction who survived the rebellion were stripped of titles, monster partners, and society-provided jobs and homes. Whatever would make it difficult for them to organize or retain power in the society.”

“But not Natalie.”

“No. Though many believe she led the movement, there was no physical evidence to prove that she had been involved.” Chen gives me a tight smile.

“I wish they were right. Self-determination could make a big difference to a lot of monsters. It would negate the need for this.” She looks at the crab behind bars.

“But it’s not reality. And people who don’t operate within reality are dangerous.

” She checks her watch. “It’s time.” She pats my shoulder.

“I look forward to seeing your progress.”

The professor walks to the middle of the room, calling time and collecting the retrieved bells. There are about five candidates who didn’t manage to get one, and she reassures them that they haven’t failed. This is training, after all. They still have time to prove themselves.

I give the crab, huddled in the darkness, one last look before I leave and join the rest of the group.