MORTAL COILS (110 page)

Excitement
fluttered in Eliot’s stomach. He hefted the parcel. It was light and soft.
Clothes. Had to be. From the volume of the bag—almost full— there must be a
full laundry load’s worth of stuff inside.

With
so much changing could these actually be store-bought clothes? Maybe even jeans
so he could look normal . . . possibly even cool?

“Go
on,” urged Cee. “I can’t wait to see your faces.”

Eliot
tried to carefully undo the staples and save the bag.

Fiona
tore the top off hers. She brightened as she reached inside. “So soft,” she
murmured, but then confusion creased her face.

Eliot
gave up and ripped open his bag, too.

Just
as he thought: store-bought clothes.

There
were neatly pressed and folded slacks, both pleated khaki and navy blue
woolens. No jeans, though. Still, a million times better than what Cee had sewn
for them over the years.

He
felt a little guilty about that thought. Cee did try her best.

“I
don’t understand,” Fiona said as she pulled out stockings, shoes, tartan
skirts, and white dress shirts.

Eliot
also had white dress shirts, long- and short-sleeved, as well as leather
loafers, and even new socks. At the bottom of the bag was a navy blue blazer.

He
pulled the blazer out. Embroidered upon the breast pocket was a heraldic
device. Among frills and curlicues sat a shield, and balanced atop the shield
were a helmet and sword. Below the shield was a dragon curled up asleep. The
center part held a snarling wolf head, a winged chevron, and a golden scarab
beetle.

Under
all this were the words THE PAXINGTON INSTITUTE. EST. 1642.

It
felt as if the bottom had dropped out of the room. While Eliot was delighted
with the new clothes . . . something was very wrong about them.

Fiona
held out a girl’s jacket as well, examining an identical insignia. She glanced
at him, worried.

“Uh
. . . they’re nice,” he said. “Really nice. But what are they?”

“Uniforms,”
Audrey answered with a smile.

“Uniforms?”
Fiona whispered.

Everything
was changing again. Eliot had just gotten his bearings, and now what?

“I
thought after all you’ve been through,” Audrey explained, “after you had bested
Infernal and Immortal alike, that now you two were ready for a real challenge.”

Eliot
and Fiona stood together and faced their mother.

Eliot
had a feeling that something was coming that neither he nor Fiona could ever be
prepared for—something that would stretch their abilities and their loyalties
to the very breaking point.

And
he would soon discover he was not wrong.

“The
Paxington Institute is a school,” Audrey explained. “A high school.”

READER’S
GUIDE

Eliot
and Fiona Post live with their grandmother in a household dominated by rules,
and have been told all their lives that their mother and father were dead. But
their parents are alive. Their mother is an immortal and their father is
Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness.

When
the twins turn fifteen years old, both sides of their families claim them. No
one knows which parent they will take after, however, so the immortals test
their lineage with three heroic trials, and the fallen angels test them with
three diabolical temptations. Depending on how Eliot and Fiona pass or fail
these tests will determine if they get to live as diabolical or divine
creatures . . . or if they get to live at all.

#
How are the twins, Eliot and Fiona Post, alike? How are they different?

#
Discuss how, at the beginning of the novel, the Post family seems like and
unlike a normal family.

#
Most people struggle to find out who they are and where they fit in as they
grow up, but for Eliot and Fiona this goes beyond a normal teenage “coming of
age” experience. How do the adults in the story try to convince them (and each
other) who and what the twins are? What conclusions do Eliot and Fiona reach
for themselves about their identities?

#
The immortals are not technically the gods and goddesses of legends. They were
mistaken for deities during their very long lives. What other

#
names has Henry Mimes (Uncle Henry) had? What other mistaken gods and goddesses
can you link to the different immortals? Some characters in Mortal Coils are,
or become, addicted to various things. What’s the difference between an intense
desire for something and an addiction? Who eventually breaks free of their
addictions? Who doesn’t?

#
What are the differences between the Immortal and Infernal families? Do they
have any similarities? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.

#
Why did Audrey cut her maternal ties? What do you think would have happened to
the twins growing up if she hadn’t? Do you agree with her choice?

#
Why did Julie Marks choose not to betray Eliot? What would have happened if she
had told him the truth?

#
What is the significance of the singing that Eliot hears when he plays the
“Mortal’s Coil” song and the “Symphony of Existence”?

#
Is what the Immortals and Infernals do to the Post twins fair? What’s at stake
for the families? Do different ethics apply to them?

#
Some footnotes in the novel indicate a rich future for the twins. What do you
think happens to them next?

#
What would you do if your parents revealed they were Immortal/Infernal? If you
had to choose one family, which side would you pick?

For
more information on Eric Nylund and Mortal Coils visit

www.ericnylund.net,
which includes a biography of the author and additional information about his
novels.