Hidden Name

"Now, normally all of our students would live here in the dorms. We will be placing you under special circumstances and allowing you to live off campus. I'm sure I don't need to explain why."

"I'm not sure about your reasons, but I'm sure the detective is afraid I'll make deals with everyone or just randomly kill."

"The deals."

Rowen chuckled and pointed at Austin when he spoke, "See. You make a couple of deals and everyone believes that's all you want."

"On the subject of deals. Because we are a school that trains Summoners and works with demons, deals are part of school life. I understand that you are more demon than human in that regard. I do ask that you limit how many you do, but I won't limit what your deals are."

Kelos maintained his calm and professional demeanor during the discussion. For a moment there was a flash of something in his eyes, just a split second where curiosity leaked out.

"Blake hasn't mentioned much about Gabriel, but I was curious if it ever worked with Ver'rae?"

Rowen could feel Gabriel's laughter vibrate through her body.

~I was waiting for that. He's a dangerous one. Orc's survived by being patient and waiting out the other party. They knew how to read a person and manipulate the situation, otherwise they would have died off like the bloodthirsty dwarves.~

~What should I tell him?~

~Nothing. Try to skirt around the truth, but don't say whether or not I met her. I would rather not have my true name called out loud. It's unnecessary and could lead to greater issues than we have.~

Rowen smiled and met the headmaster's eyes.

"That's a rather specific question. Isn't there some kind of rule about not trying to guess ones true name."

"Ah, but guessing a demon's true name is a challenge, and I do enjoy a challenge."

Rowen leaned forward in the chair, her smile broadened, "I see. So whether I say yes, or no, you'll be closer to guessing it's name. I imagine that staying quiet about it would be the equivalent of saying yes."

Kelos waved his hand nonchalantly, "That is usually how it goes. Saying yes means yes, staying quiet means yes, and sometimes no means yes when a demon is denying that something happened."

"Hmm, that would be difficult to interpret. What if I said that it knew of her, but didn't really see her until after the war."

"That would not narrow my search down much."

"It would still be better than nothing."

Kelos smiled, truly smiled for the first time since they met. Gabriel was once again laughing.

~I think you've satisfied him for now, but he knows you're not telling the truth.~

~How would he be able to discover your true name by knowing you fought with Ver'rae?~

~Most history books don't mention demon names, it's more of a generalized mention that demons were there. Knowing how bloodlines work they most likely have detailed records of her life and the names of all demons that were ever in her presence.

~There was only one other demon that fought with Ver'rae besides me, and they were related to me.~

That revelation surprised her. Rowen had never thought about whether demons had families like non-demons. She should have known since demons had to come into existence some how.

There was a knock at the door and it opened to reveal Hyacinth. She reminded the headmaster that he had a meeting in fifteen minutes then left, though not before taking a long look at Austin.

"I suppose I should push this along then. You will be starting as a sophomore, and it will be on Blake to get you up to speed with the rest of your classmates."

Kelos stood and walked around the desk. Austin and Rowen stood as well and shook hands when Kelos offered. They said their farewells and were soon headed down the elevator.

It was just as invigorating the second time as it was the first. Rowen hoped that it would never grow old.

~So, why is it better if no one knows who you really are.~

There was silence on its end for a long while, long enough that she had started to believe it would not answer.

~Because I am a prince in my world. My younger siblings desire my position as heir and would not hesitate to kill me if they thought I was weak.~

~Wow. That's a lot. Is it normal for demons to behave like that?~

They landed on the first floor and began walking toward the door.

~Before demons were summoned we fought all the time and over even the smallest slight. Once the summoning started things began to settle down and fights like that were less likely to happen.

~My siblings and I were alive back in those days, we remember how it was. Our father would like us to embrace the changes and I, for the most part, do too. The other two do not.~

~Are there a lot of demons that think that way?~

~Are there a lot of humans who are religious? It's less than half, but even a small number of individuals are capable of causing trouble.~

Rowen pondered that the rest of the walk to Austin's car. The moment they were sitting down and he started the car she turned to him with a smile.

"So, Blake is it?"

*******

"How was it, sir?"

Hyacinth came into the headmaster's office after the meeting had ended. She sat down on the chair across from him and made herself comfortable.

Kelos smiled and leaned back in his chair, "It was interesting. They have a lot of potential. The power behind them is quite significant and they have a lot of room to grow."

"Were you able to get any information about the demon?"

"No, they did a good job dodging the answer. I honestly can't tell if I was on target with my question or it was way off. It was a long shot anyway, going on such a tiny detail. It would be outrageous if one of the prince's were here."

"I don't see them forming such a pact with a simple human, sir. The first Summoner to ever call on a prince was Ver'rae and her brother. There are no other records of them being summoned."

"My family has kept it a secret all this time. If there was another family that managed to summon a prince they would not advertise it. On another subject, I think grandma Ravae was more adventurous than Blake is.

"When we spoke earlier he tried to convince me to tell the kid she couldn't make deals. Watching the interaction between the two he has definitely been trying to domesticate her."

The slightest hint of a smile appeared on Hyacinth's lips, "Maybe he's just worried and trying to protect her. From what you told me before, she's been through a lot."

"Don't let your bias for him blind you to what he's doing. Losing Sasha messed him up. The person he was in our Academy days is the complete opposite of what he is now. If I had my way I would wipe her from his mind."

"You know he won't let you."

Kelos let out a sigh and turned his chair around to face the wall. Pictures of every headmaster adorned the space behind his chair.

"You're dismissed."

"Of course, sir. You still have half an hour before your next meeting."

Hyacinth stood and quickly made her way out of the office and closed the door behind her. Kelos stared at the wall full of pictures for a long time as his mind reminisced about the past.

"You were a fool to throw your life away for love, Blake."