Chapter 11: April

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David caught Olissa just as she was coming out of Byron Hall with Rick. David had missed breakfast, because he had been considering what to do about his vision. He'd sat on the information for almost a week, but the tension built up with each day he didn't say something about it. Amanda was still in the hospital, and wouldn't get out for a couple more days. David dreaded the idea that Olissa might be the next one to get hurt because of him.

"Hey, David. Hi, Jailla," Olissa said.

"Hi, guys. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Rick said, "I'll wait over there." David cocked an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"You're the boyfriend. I'm supposed to leave for private conversations, not the other way around. Anyway, you need to be here for this, too. Let's move out of people's way."

The trio stepped over beside some trees, so they could talk privately. "Last week, I had a vision in Divination class. We were doing crystallomancy. Prof. Zoroaster and the dean told me not to tell you unless I thought you needed to know... but I think you need to know."

"What was the vision?" she asked.

"I saw you in the infirmary. You were badly injured, and in a coma." He left out the fact that, while he saw himself there, he did not see Rick in the imagery.

"Good Lord!" Rick said. "Do you know what happens to her to put her there?"

"No. The vision started and ended there in the infirmary. I've tried to get more out of it, but it just gives me that one image."

"And the Dean didn't want me to know this?" Olissa asked incredulously.

"She didn't want to worry you, if I thought that things would change to make this not happen. The image is fuzzy, so it's not a right-around-the-corner event... but I don't know how far into the future I can see... Shit, did I just say that?" David said, mainly to himself.

"What?" Olissa asked.

"It just hit me that I am actually talking about seeing into the future, and not joking about it. A year ago this time, I'd... dammit, this is nuts."

Olissa smiled at him, but it was weak.

"So what do we do about this?" Rick wanted to know, refocusing on the point at hand.

"Keep your guard up. Both of you. If what I'm seeing is related to Marcus, then something will happen soon... like, within weeks. If it's not related to Marcus... well, then it may not happen at all. Things could change completely, depending on what's supposed to happen.

"I hate to worry you like this, Olissa, but this was driving me batty."

She shook her head. "I am worried now, but I would much rather you tell me than try to carry it on yourself. If you see anything else..."

"Believe me, you'll be the first to know."

"Thanks. Now, we've got to get to Herbology, and we're running late. Come on."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

On the afternoon that Amanda was to be released from the infirmary, Prof. Stott excused David from his apprenticeship so that he could be there. Her parents had already been forced to return to their home, due to their jobs and other responsibilities. As soon as they had been assured that she would be fine, they had left Amanda in Healer Hall's capable hands.

David had spent some time every day with Amanda, trying to keep her spirits up, and letting her know what was going on in the school. She appreciated his effort, but she was still a bit hesitant about their continued relationship.

"I'll get over it," she told him on their way back to the dorm, "but please be patient with me. I'm going to be a bit jittery for a while... and, sorry, but I don't think I'll be eating dinner with you any time soon."

"I understand," David said. Though she had made him promise not to kiss her in public anymore, she did allow him to hold her hand as they walked. David was happy that she wasn't dismissing him outright, so any contact was welcome.

When they got to her dorm, she turned to face him. "I know this isn't your fault, David, and I'm sorry that I am, in a way, blaming you."

"That's all right, Amanda. I understand. Really. I mean... they nearly killed you."

"Did they ever catch who did it?"

"He's already in prison."

"Who was it?"

"Zephram."

Amanda frowned. "I never did like him. He was always creepy."

"I've never liked any of Marcus' friends."

Amanda nodded. After a brief pause, she leaned in. David leaned in the rest of the way, and they kissed. They kept it short, in order not to make a scene. When she leaned back, Amanda smiled softly.

"You're still a great kisser," she said with a grin. David smiled at the compliment.

"See you in Potions tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yeah. Oh, God, I'm so far behind..."

"You'll be okay. I'll help you get caught up in that class, at least."

"Thanks. I'm gonna go get changed now. See you tomorrow."

"See ya."

-----

"Where's Amanda?" Olissa asked when David sat down at dinner.

"She's... not going to be eating with me for a while," he said. "Still a bit skittish."

"I guess I can understand that," Olissa allowed.

Gwen said, "Is she really blaming you for what happened?"

"Yes and no. She knows that it wasn't my fault, but she also knows that it happened because of me."

"That's ridiculous. It happened because Marcus and Zephram are assholes." Gwen fumed.

"It's okay, Gwen. At least she hasn't dumped me. I'll settle for that, for now."

"I suppose."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Good morning," David said as he sat down on his stool in Potions class. Amanda smiled softly at him.

"Hey."

"How are you doing? Feeling okay, now that you're up and around again?"

"A bit weak, actually. Healer Hall told me that would happen. It's just from the inactivity for so long."

David nodded. "Three weeks is a long time to be on your back."

"Unless you're a hooker," Amanda said with a grin. David laughed. When he settled, she asked, "So what all have I missed?"

"About seven potions. If we have time after today's lesson, I'll show you one of them."

"Okay."

-----

David was able to go over two of the potions that Amanda had missed, in fact. Prof. Stott excused David from the day's work, since she knew he was more than capable of performing the task, and allowed him to work with Amanda to get her caught up with the rest. With David watching over her shoulder, Amanda made only one mistake. Of course, this mistake had caused a cloud of blue mist to fill the room for a few seconds, but it was harmless.

By the time class was finished, Amanda had finished both potions, and the two had cleared away their cauldrons.

"Thanks for the help," she told David.

"Don't mention it. Maybe she'll let me help you next class, too."

"But now I missed today's potion. How is this helping me catch up?"

"Well, you got two potions done today. So there are five that you missed while you were gone, plus today's. That makes six. So, instead of being seven potions behind, you're six potions behind. So, you are catching up."

"Yeah, but now you're a potion behind, too."

David snorted. "If Prof. Stott thinks I need to know this potion, we'll cover it in apprenticeship tomorrow."

"I guess there is that. How is that going?"

"Fine. We're doing ingredient prep now."

"Don't you already know how to get things ready for a potion?"

David shook his head. "We're not working on what you do after it comes out of the bottle. We're working on what you do before it goes into the bottle."

"Oh."

In a few more minutes, the class was excused, and they walked outside together.

"You going straight to lunch?" David asked.

"No, I'm gonna drop off my cauldron first."

"Can I walk you to the dorm?"

"Sure."

David slipped his hand into hers, and she squeezed gently in acknowledgment. The two walked across the terrace for the appropriate rock-lift to their dorm.

With David preoccupied by talking to Amanda, he wasn't really keeping himself on guard against pranksters. Therefore, when Marcus himself stepped out from around the corner of a building and shouted, "Megalwyn mallia!" David had no time to prevent it.

David was suddenly wracked with the pain of being forcibly ghosted. He unintentionally squeezed Amanda's hand too tightly, and she screamed out in pain. He took a deep breath to get over the discomfort, and then he looked over at Amanda.

At this point, he realized her shout of pain had probably not been from him squeezing her hand. Amanda was now as see-through as David was. She looked down at herself.

"What the hell? Oh, my god! I'm a ghost!" She looked up at David. "What have you done to me? I can't live like this! I'm not even here anymore!"

Amanda bolted, running off towards the trees.

"Amanda..." David called out, and then, seeing that was pointless, ran after her.

-----

It took David nearly a half-hour to find Amanda. She was hiding in the deepest part of the terrace forest that she could find. He found her sitting on a stump, crying.

David dropped to one knee, so he could look up into her face. He put his hand on her shoulder, to try to comfort her. It took a long time for her to stop crying, and to look at him.

"Am I dead?" she asked bluntly.

"No, I don't think so," David said. "If you were, you'd be in Haven now, and I would think there would probably be a banshee here by now."

"Then what the hell am I?" she demanded.

David shifted, so that he was sitting on the roots of the stump she was sitting on. "Well, I'm guessing a little here. When I fade from solid to ghost form, anything that I am holding onto securely will fade with me. So, if I'm holding my backpack, or my books, or whatever, they will also become ghostly. I think that's what happened to you, although I had no idea it could happen to people, too."

"So I'm stuck as a half-here human now? For how long? Forever?" she demanded.

"Well, again, if this is like what happens with my book bag, then you will go back to solid form when I go back to solid form."

"So turn solid again!" she screamed.

"You know I can't. That idiot tried to morph me. I am stuck this way until sunrise tomorrow."

"So I have to stay like this all goddamned day?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so. I'm sorry."

Amanda started crying again. David moved back to his kneeling position, to try to comfort her.

"I can't do this, David," she said finally, after several minutes. "I can't. This is the last straw. I thought I could hold on until things settled down, but I can't."

"What are you saying?" David asked. He knew, he just wanted her to say it and get it over with.

"I can't go out with you anymore," she said, still crying. "I know this isn't your fault, I know you can't make them stop... but I can make them stop messing with me! I thought I was strong enough to put up with it, even after the poison... but I can't. It's too constant. It's just one thing after another. I can't!"

At this point, Amanda broke away from his touch. She rose from the stump, and ran off again.

David didn't bother to chase her this time.

-----

David had avoided his friends for the rest of the day. Prof. Zoroaster had been understanding about David's transparency, and had allowed him to work on his runic interpretation in peace.

He skipped dinner: he didn't feel like talking with anyone yet, and he didn't need to be gawked at more than usual.

When he trudged up to the castle, he was not at all surprised to find Penny waiting for him.

"Again?" she said disgustedly.

David just shrugged, and kept walking.

"What's wrong? You're usually pretty unfazed by their taunting."

"Yeah, well... this time, Amanda got caught in the crossfire, so to speak. And she decided she couldn't take any more. We broke up right after I got... actually we got ghosted."

"Oh, dear. I'm so sorry, David."

"Shit happens."

Penny put her arm through David's, and walked close to him. "Are they ever going to learn?" she asked wistfully.

"Only when I teach them," David said, letting loose a small amount of the anger he felt.

"Will that happen soon?" she asked worriedly.

"Probably." David walked on for a few more steps, then said, "I don't wish to be rude, but I have to go to class now."

"Oh, I understand. If you need to talk, David, you know where I'll be."

"Thanks, Penny. I appreciate it."

She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, and then she wandered off, fading to invisibility. David sighed, and continued on his way to Umbrasocius class.

"Good evening, David. Feeling dead this evening, or is this an enforced situation?" Prof. Edgars asked in his usual creepy almost-monotone.

"An enforced situation, I'm afraid, Professor. Also, I'd be surprised if Amanda showed up at all tonight. She was... uh... similarly afflicted."

"Oh? I thought she was a living person."

"She is, but I was touching her at the time of the hexing."

Prof. Edgars nodded in understanding. He said, "Well... David, if you're up for it, perhaps we can use tonight as an educational experience. I am quite certain that I do not know everything about demighosts, and certainly we can instruct Phillip." Prof. Edgars refused to call anyone by a shortened version of their name.

"I'm fine with that, Professor. Something positive should come out of today."

"Fine. Why don't you come up and sit on my stool. I will take your place in the audience."

"What do you want to know?" David asked.

"How did you become a demighost?" Phil asked immediately. It was clearly a question that had been bugging him, but he'd been too afraid to ask.

David related the story of his death to them, skipping over the parts about his revenge.

When he was done, Prof. Edgars asked, "And how were you eventually caught?"

David said, "My own ignorance. I was seen doing things that ghosts can't do. These things made their way into newspapers, and the Rimohrs read newspapers. Of course, I didn't know anything about Rimohrs when I died, so I had no reason to be more... discreet."

Phil said, "So, what does it really mean, to be a demighost? Exactly how are you... 'demi'?"

"Well, I think that would be obvious by now. I have both a ghost form, as I am right now, and a solid form, which is how you usually see me. I can use wizard magic even in my ghost form. I am told there is also ghost magic that I will have to learn at some point."

"Can you change at will? I mean, when you're not being hexed?"

"With a few limits, yes. If I am hexed with a morph spell, or if I am seriously injured, then I am 'restrained' in some ways. When I am 'normal', then yes, I can fade in and out at will. Though it is uncomfortable for me to do so," he added after a brief thought.

"Uncomfortable how?" Prof. Edgars asked.

"Physically. It's not exactly what you'd call painful, but it is distinctly unpleasant."

"Even at your natural change points?"

"Natural change points?" Phil interjected.

To the professor, David said, "Yes, even then." To Phil, he replied, "I have a normal state of being, based on the time of day. I am 'supposed' to be a ghost at night, and I am 'supposed' to be solid during the day. My body will, if I don't prevent it, automatically switch from one to the other at sunrise and sunset. I can stop it from happening, and I usually do, as I spend virtually all my time in solid form."

"Why?" Prof. Edgars asked.

David shrugged. "It's the form I'm familiar with. I don't really see many benefits to this form, other than that it allows me to interact with the other ghosts physically."

"Wait... you can, like, touch a ghost?" Phil asked. Prof. Edgars also looked interested.

"Yes, when I am also in ghost form. When I am solid, I can't. Of course, some ghosts are able to reach out and touch us, and I can interact with them the same as anyone else."

The professor and Phil continued to ask David questions for some time. David actually appreciated the distraction. By the time he left Umbrasocius class, he felt quite a bit better than he had been. He made himself entirely invisible for the walk back to his dorm room. He did not wish to be seen along the way. Anyone who saw him would most likely try to taunt him, and he didn't want to have his mood ruined again.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David's good mood did not survive his sleep period, which had been filled with evil dreams. When he awoke, the sun was nowhere near rising, and he was still in ghost form by force. He sighed heavily and got up. He knew better than to bother trying to go back to sleep. Since he had been turned demighost, he had not once fallen back to sleep once he had awakened.

Rather than study, David decided to wander upstairs, to look out at the stars. He would water his eternium when the sun rose, but it was too early to do it now. All there was for him now was to look up at the sky through the glass roof, and watch the stars go by.

He had not fallen asleep, but David had emptied his mind, and he was actually surprised when the sun rose, and his body faded back into its human form. He inhaled sharply at the sensation, and then just let it wash over him, since there was no way to fight it.

Getting up from the sacks of fertilizer he had been sitting on, he went to take care of his plant.

-----

"Hey, David. Where were you yesterday? I didn't see you all day, after breakfast," Gwen said.

"I didn't see you, either," Jim said. "Did you and Amanda slip off for a little fun?" he said, grinning and winking.

David looked at him morosely. "Amanda and I broke up yesterday."

Gwen said, "What?"

Jim replied, "Oh, shit. Sorry, dude, I didn't know."

"I'm sure you didn't, since I doubt anyone's seen Amanda since yesterday morning, either."

"What's that mean?" Olissa asked.

"Marcus hexed me yesterday with a morphing spell. The usual happened; I got ghosted. But I was holding Amanda's hand at the time."

"So?" Gwen asked.

"Anything I'm holding when I fade, fades with me."

"You mean..." Olissa said.

"Yeah. She ended up as a 'ghost' herself. She most likely spent the day hiding in the forest. Probably the night, too."

"God that sucks, man," Jim said.

"I'm so sorry, David," Gwen said sorrowfully.

"I can't really blame her," he replied. "I'm surprised she stuck it out this long. Hell, I was sure she'd dump me after the poison. I guess she wanted to give it one more shot... well... you see how that worked out."

They could all tell that David was upset about this, so they decided, wordlessly, to change the subject.

-----

"Hi, Sam," David said upon entering the professor's workroom. He set his book bag on the work table, and walked over to her.

"Hello, David... you look like hell," she pronounced as soon as she turned to greet him.

"Nice to see you, too," he said with wry humor.

"I'm sorry, but you do. What's the matter?"

David sighed. "Amanda and I broke up yesterday."

"What happened?" she asked. David related the story to her.

"Goddammit," Sam said. "It's high time for that boy to get in trouble. I'm taking this one up with the dean."

"Don't bother," David said.

"Why?" Sam asked warily.

After a long pause, David said, "Let's just say that I am reaching the point where I will deal with the problem more directly than talking to the dean."

"I honestly expected you to reach that point months ago."

"I'm stubborn," he replied. "I have done my best to hold to my position about not making things harder for Dean Lengel. I'm afraid that if things continue on, this will no longer be an option."

Sam looked at her apprentice sympathetically. She embraced him, and felt his arms come around to her back. She could sense the tension in him.

When she stepped back from David, he said, "Thanks, I needed that. So what are we going to work on today?"

Sam shook her head at him. "That wasn't what you needed. Today we're going to work on your mood. Come over here," she said, taking his hand and leading him over to a chair. She reached down and unfastened his pants, pulling them and his briefs down before pushing him down into the chair. She immediately knelt, and didn't even look up at him before her mouth engaged his cock.

As her nose nestled in his pubic hair, David sighed, and felt half the tension drain from his body.

The rest left him over the next hour or so.

-----

As David and Sam were relaxing after their tryst, Sam asked, "Is there anything you want me to do about Amanda?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Do you want me to move her to a new seat in class? To get you a new class partner?"

David considered. Finally, he said, "I want to see how she treats me, first. I don't know if she's going to be friendly or ugly about it now. If she's friendly, then there's no problem. If she's mean about it... well..."

"Right. Okay. You let me know, and I'll take care of what needs doing."

"Thanks, Sam." He kissed her softly in gratitude. "You're a good friend."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"I'll get it," Jim said to David. Someone had just knocked on their door, but Jim was on his way out, so was actually closer. He opened the door, and his response was cold.

"What do you want?" he asked.

David had not turned to see who was at the door. The tone of Jim's voice made him look, but he couldn't see past Jim.

"Can I talk to David, please?" Amanda asked. David recognized her voice, and he stood up.

Jim looked back at him. "You want to talk to her?"

David looked at him sternly. "Just let her in. Didn't you have somewhere to be?"

"Yeah. I'll be at the library if you need anything. Probably won't be back until dinner."

"Have fun."

"Right." Jim walked off down the hall, and David closed the door, then turned to Amanda, who was standing next to his desk.

"What's on your mind?" David asked politely. He was curious as to why she was here. He had nothing of hers to return, nor she anything of his, so why she would come to his room, he had no clue.

Amanda looked down, twisting her hands in discomfort. Finally, she looked at him and said, "I wanted to apologize for Thursday. For running away from you, I mean. I really should have been more mature about the whole thing. I acted like a little girl."

"You freaked. Most people would have. You had just been turned half-invisible."

"Thanks. Still, I should have... I don't know, found you later that day or something, and..."

"What did you do that day?"

"Hid in the forest."

"And at night?"

"Walked around. Everyone was asleep, so no one cared."

David nodded. He had not thought about going to look for her.

"I still can't see you anymore," Amanda said. "I can't deal with it. If I had known that when we started, I never would have started dating you. I know I'm hurting you, and I'm sorry for that. I'd rather not, but I..." David could tell she was close to tears again. He went over and gave her a hug, and she embraced him tightly, trying to get her emotions together.

When she had settled, David let her go, and stepped back. "I understand. You hung in longer than I expected you to. Most people would have baled after the first couple hexes."

"I really do like you, David. I wanted to make it work. But... even if the stuff here at school settles out... you're always going to be treated like this... and I would, too, by association. And I'm afraid that I just can't deal with the idea of being an outcast all my life."

David nodded. "I can understand that."

Amanda asked, "Can we still be friends, at least?"

"Of course we can. I don't blame you for leaving me, Amanda. As you said, you have a way out. I only put up with it because I don't."

"Thanks for understanding," she said, wiping at her eyes. David came over and gave her another hug, which she accepted readily.

When the two separated, Amanda looked at him, and finally smiled. "David... is there any chance that we could be together, just one last time? Kind of as a farewell gift to each other?"

David smiled at her. He was not at all opposed to the idea.

By the time they were done, Amanda almost regretted leaving him.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Okay, class. You've all been doing quite well with your morphs of late. Today, we're going to try something a bit more advanced. The charm we're going to work with is a bit more general than those we have used before. Previously, you have used a charm that specified your target animal. Today, that will not be the case.

"You will each be given a creature to work with. Your job is to turn your creature into some other creature. Your target animal must be roughly the same size as the one you are starting with. Weight is not important, it is... overall dimension. You could, for instance, turn a jay into a rat, even though rats weigh significantly more than jays. They are about the same size."

"Try it, and I will bite you," Jailla told David with a chortle in his voice. David grinned.

"Now, the wand motion here is a circular motion, with a raise and then a dip at the very end of the charm, like so. The charm itself is neoschima sawakabisa. Everyone say it with me." The class repeated the spell with the professor.

"Now, as soon as you are given your creature, you may begin."

Prof. Fibblebitz gestured with her wand, and the small cages in the back of the room floated out among the students. When one landed in front of David, he saw that he had been given a large dragonfly. He breathed a sigh of relief to see that it was a normal dragonfly, and not a small flying dragon.

David looked over, and Jim had been given a frog. Jim said, "What do you think I should turn it into?"

David said, "You could do a hamster, or a small turtle..."

"I like the hamster." Jim gave it a go, and managed to completely fuck up the spell. His frog turned into a pile of goo.

"Er..." Jim said, and then tried the only thing he knew. "Zurukken!" This did not, however, fix his pile of goo back into a frog. "Whoops."

Prof. Fibblebitz was quite used to this, and she just tutted at Jim, and gave him a new creature. This one was a rat.

"David, are you having a problem?" she asked, seeing that he had not tried his morph yet.

"No, ma'am. Just watching Jim kill frogs."

She chuckled at him, and moved off.

"Okay, smarty pants," Jim said. "You try it!"

David considered what to turn his dragonfly into, and then got an idea. He took a deep breath to center his thoughts, and focused on the image he wanted. He said the spell and moved his hands in the desired manner. The dragonfly dropped to the floor of his cage, and David at first thought that he had died on the spot, but then he saw that the shape was changing.

When it had finished morphing, David's dragonfly had become a perfect gecko.

"Cool!" Jim said. Gwen looked over at David, to see what Jim was enthusing about.

She said, "Better not let Flo see that, David. She hates geckos."

David laughed. He waited for Prof. Fibblebitz to come by to see what he had done. Meanwhile, Jim worked on his morph.

"Try not to kill the rat," David said.

"Oh, shut up!" Jim said.

This time, Jim managed to turn the rat into a blue jay. With a rat's tail.

"Dammit," Jim muttered.

"Focus!" Prof. Fibblebitz said. "You must imagine it fully formed. You cannot depend on this spell to do the work for you. That is why these spells are harder. David, a very nice lizard. Can I have my dragonfly back, please?"

"Yes, ma'am." David performed the return spell, and soon the dragonfly was flitting a bit confusedly back and forth in its cage.

"Try again, Mr. Gillenham," the professor ordered. "You'll get it right."

Jim finally got it right on the third try, and the professor nodded at him. "Good work."

When she'd walked away, Jim sighed. "What's the matter?" David asked.

"It worries me that I can't do a simple morph like that."

"Hey, you did the morph. You just need to concentrate a little more. Stop staring at the girl in the third row, and pay attention to what you're doing!"

Jim blushed. He had been staring at the girl in the third row.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David was on his way to breakfast. Jim had gone ahead, as David had been in the shower. He boarded the rock lift, and waited while it got underway. First, it floated near the water, making its way to the other end of the building, to pick up anyone waiting there. There was no one, and it then started to float upwards, toward the terrace.

David looked up, and he thought he saw someone standing on the terrace, waiting for either him, or the rock-lift. He didn't recognize the person.

Suddenly, David noticed that the protective bubble around the rock-lift swirled, and then faded out of existence. He had little time to make note of this, however, because as soon as the bubble was gone, the rock started to tilt. David tried to find something to grab, but the rock's upper surface was smooth, and there was simply nothing to take hold of. David was quickly falling toward the Dorm Moat, some eighty feet below.

This is going to hurt.

David saw Jailla, circling him. Jailla did not like to ride inside the bubble, so he always flew alongside. David screamed to him, "GET HELP!"

Jailla immediately flew off, upward, toward the terrace. David didn't know who Jailla might get, but anyone he got would be helpful. David doubted he would be able to pull himself out of the moat. A second later, his body hit the water.

Though David had tried to hit feet-first, the pain was intense. He knew that several bones broke upon impact. He had pushed his arms up over his head, trying to make the smallest possible splash, thus the least impact. This protected his upper body, but he feared that every bone below his pelvis was broken.

David gritted his teeth through the excruciating pain, and did his best to swim for shore. He had to swim the long way, toward the outer rim of the moat, because, as far as he knew, there was no access to the inner side except by water.

As David reached the edge, he saw that several students had stopped to watch events unfold. One girl ran down to the water's edge. He didn't recognize her, but he was too tired to care who she was, as long as she would help him.

The girl grabbed his arms, and struggled, pulling him up the bank until he was lying on the edge of the path. At that point, he passed out.

-----

Jailla flew immediately to the meal area. He had considered going right to the infirmary, but realized it would take too long to get their attention. He sailed through the door to Byron Hall when one of the other students entered. It took him no time at all to find the group that David usually sat with, as they were in their normal place. He swooped and landed on the table with no fanfare, and he stared directly at Olissa.

"Jailla!" she cried out. "But, where's David? You never show up without him..."

Gwen put it together the fastest. "David's in trouble, isn't he?"

Jailla merely nodded.

"Show me," Gwen said. Everyone rose from the table at once, and Jailla took off, heading for the door. He circled until they got there, and then he swooped back out as quickly as he'd come in. The group ran after him as he led them toward the edge of the terrace. Once they got there, Jailla glided downward, and then circled back up, repeating the move several times.

Olissa got the idea, and looked down. She could see... something.

"My god, is that David?" she screamed, pointing at what looked like a lifeless body with people around it.

Gwen was already a step ahead of her. "Here comes the rock lift."

"You guys go ahead," Olissa said. "I'll wait here for the healer." She was pulling out her mirror already.

By the time Healer Hall arrived, Olissa was nearly in tears. Healer Hall took one look over the edge, and then she cast a spell. One of the rocks, which had been in its normal cycle, suddenly zoomed straight at them, coming to a quick stop at the rock stop.

"Get on," she told Olissa. "You might want to kneel or sit." Olissa knelt, and was soon glad she had, as the rock lift moved much faster than ever before, seemingly dropping in freefall, but moving forward, as well, until it was floating right next to the bank, where David lay, lifeless.

"David!" she screamed as she got off the lift. The healer looked to the helper she'd brought with her.

"Let's get to work."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"When will he come out of the coma?" Garibaldi asked. He'd been ordered to the scene along with the investigating officer.

"He's not in a coma," Healer Hall replied. "He is merely in so much pain that every time he tries to wake up, he passes out again."

"Oh my god," Prof. Stott said under her breath. She was trying to remain impassive, but it wasn't really working.

Gwen looked over at her and said, "You don't have to hide it, Professor. We all know how you feel about him."

Prof. Stott smiled very slightly at her in gratitude, but said nothing. Gwen asked, "How long is it going to take him to heal?"

Healer Hall considered for a long moment. "I would estimate another three days."

"Three days? It's already been a full day as it is!"

Healer Hall shrugged. "I have done what I can for him, making sure all his bones are in proper alignment for healing. Beyond that, it is out of my hands. If he were a normal person, I could mend the bones for him. He's not, and I can't. All that said, he's lucky. Had he hit the water at a different angle, he would have broken a lot more bones. The girl who pulled him out of the water said that he went in with his body straight up and down. That was a smart move on his part."

"Do you know how long it will be before he will be conscious?" Garibaldi asked.

"I'd estimate another day."

"Do you mind if we stay with him?" Olissa asked.

"Of course not. When he does wake up, though, realize he will still be in a lot of pain. He's probably not going to be in a talkative mood."

"And there's nothing you can do for him?" Prof. Stott asked.

"No, I'm sorry. It pains me to watch him suffer, but nothing works on a demighost." Healer Hall walked off, and then Gwen focused her attention on Mr. Garibaldi.

"Any clues yet as to who did this?"

"I was hoping you guys might have some ideas."

Everyone present said, "Marcus Savolar."

Garibaldi smirked. "I don't think that Marcus is capable of hexing a rock-lift. That's pretty advanced magic."

Gwen said, "He may not have cast the spell, but you can be damned sure he's responsible for the spell being cast."

Garibaldi nodded.

"Officer Garibaldi," Prof. Stott said, "since they will not allow you to investigate the crime, why are you here?"

"To evaluate David's state of mind. The court is concerned about what this is doing to David, psychologically. Several demighosts ended up becoming troublemakers from problems just like these. They're trying to forestall another major problem."

"David's not going to turn into a problem for anyone but Marcus," Gwen assured him.

"And what is he likely to do to Marcus?" Garibaldi asked with interest.

"I don't know," Gwen said. "Honestly, I figured he'd push him off the mountain a long time ago. Hell, Marcus did that to him... David is fighting tooth and nail to keep Dean Lengel out of trouble. He knows that if he causes a problem, her neck is on the line."

"So he's not protecting himself, as such," Garibaldi said.

Olissa replied, "He would be far quicker to retaliate if it was just him who was going to get into trouble."

"Interesting," Garibaldi said. "Do you think this might force him into something?"

"If it does," Jim said, "He'll have thought it through first. He's not going to go off half-cocked over it. David... if he's going to get revenge, you can bet he'll have a plan." The others nodded.

Garibaldi sighed. "Well, okay. I have to go talk to the dean, find a place to stay for a few days, and see how Officer Toscani is doing. I'll be back tomorrow to check on him."

After Garibaldi left, Gwen asked Olissa, "You think David's going to do something now?"

"Oh, yeah."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

When David finally rose to consciousness and was able to stay awake, Prof. Stott was the one sitting in with him. He turned his head and saw her there.

"Hi," he said. She looked up in surprise. She had been working on some class material.

"Hi," she said quietly, but brightly. She rose and went to his side. "Good to see you finally awake."

"How long have I been out?"

"Two days," she told him. She had expected shock, but he just nodded. She put her hand on his chest, and said, "How bad is it?"

"Right now, about as bad as it was when I died. I made it through that. I'll make it through this," he said, gritting his teeth as a wave of sharper pain washed over him.

"Oh, god, David..." She was afraid to show any affection to him, for fear of making him hurt further. David knew what she was thinking, though, and he pulled her down, so that they could kiss. She kept it brief, but he knew she cared about him, anyway.

"Do you remember who... what do you remember about the incident?" she asked.

"Everything. Yeah, I remember who did it, not that it helps any, since I didn't recognize him."

"That's okay. I'm sure the Rimohrs will find him soon enough."

"What're they here for?" David asked.

"What do you mean, what are they here for? You were dropped off a rock-lift a hundred feet into the water!"

"No way that was a hundred feet... and no one was called in when Marcus pushed me off the mountain... that would have been like five hundred feet."

"You weren't seriously injured by that," she replied.

David shrugged.

Prof. Stott looked up at the clock on the wall. "Olissa will be here in a half hour. We were taking turns sitting with you. Is there anything I can get you? Water? Juice? Food?"

"New bones?" David asked with a grin. Prof. Stott smiled at him. "I'm okay for now. Thanks for sitting with me. Sorry I missed our apprenticeship session on Friday, but I was in a coma."

Prof. Stott laughed. This drew the attention of Healer Hall. "Well, good to see you're awake, David. How do you feel?"

"Like death warmed over, as usual," he said. "What did I break?"

"Both of your legs. Left femur and tibia, Right femur, tibia and fibula, also your left ankle was dislocated."

"Ouch," David said. "No wonder I feel like shit," he said. "How long have I got to go?"

"Two or three days. Probably two," she said. "Now that you're awake, I want to try giving you some potions."

"You know that it won't work, doc..." he said. She looked at him funny for calling her that, but said nothing about it.

"These are not pain potions."

"Good thing. I've got enough of that already."

Healer Hall smiled. "These are energy potions. We don't know if some of these might not work on you. They'll give your body more energy to heal itself."

"Well, I'm willing to try whatever you've got. Just don't expect much."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Did you get a good look at the perpetrator, Mr. Stroud?" Officer Toscani asked him.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Garibaldi asked. Though he was not officially part of the investigation, he was present for the interview.

"I saw someone. I didn't recognize them, and I did not see them casting any kind of spell. Doesn't mean they weren't, but just because they happened to be in my line of sight, it doesn't make them the one who did it. Had it been someone I knew to be an enemy, that would be one thing. I have, to my recollection, never seen the guy before."

Toscani frowned. "Well, if he is not the perpetrator, he is at the least the closest witness. Can you give us a description?"

"Professor, could you hand me my wand?" Prof. Stott handed over David's wand, with a perplexed look on her face. He'd been asked a question, and hadn't answered.

David closed his eyes, and concentrated, finally, he uttered, "Opakovani pommet." Suddenly, there was a translucent bust of a man floating in front of David.

"He looked like that," David said, keeping his eyes closed to concentrate on the image.

"Shit... I'm going to have to remember that one for future interviews," Garibaldi said.

"Yes, quite clever," Toscani said. "Thank you, you can relax now."

David opened his eyes, and the bust faded.

"Where did you learn that?" Prof. Stott asked him.

"We covered it in Charms and Hexes last semester."

"Really," she said, impressed.

"How tall was the man?" Toscani asked, getting back on track.

"I don't know. I couldn't see below his waist, and the angle I was at makes it impossible for me to guess."

"Very well. I will get to work trying to find this individual. If he was on campus, someone will know who he is."

"Yeah, but will that someone tell you?" David asked with a grin.

Toscani frowned. Without another word, he left the room.

"I think you hurt his feelings," Garibaldi said with a grin.

"He's not going to find that guy easily, if he was involved. Marcus could have even brought someone in from his home, and then that person would already be long gone."

"The image you showed looks like someone of student age. An advanced student, to be sure, but..." Prof. Stott opined.

"It would have to be an advanced student," Garibaldi said to her. "Not even us conjurers would know how to break the safety enchantments on the floating rocks. I'm thinking that would take at least a wizard."

"I'm confused. Conjurer? Wizard? What's the difference?"

Prof. Stott explained, "To easily differentiate the amount of training someone has had, they are given a title based on years of education. In your first year, you are technically known as a novice, although you get called something else by most people."

"Uh-huh," David grunted with a smirk.

"Once you complete your first year, you'll be an apprentice. From there, the order is magician, mage, conjurer, sorcerer, wizard, wizard adept, and master wizard."

"So, if Mr. Garibaldi here calls himself a conjurer..."

"It means he only completed four years of education."

"How do apprenticeships figure into that, if at all?"

"They do not. A successful apprenticeship gives you an altogether different title. For instance, if you successfully complete your apprenticeship with me, you will be known as a Master Potion Maker, but you could still be merely a conjurer, if you only go to school for four years."

"Wait, you're apprenticing already?" Garibaldi asked David.

"She offered, I accepted," he said simply.

"So that's why you sent him a present," Garibaldi said. It was as if this was a minor mystery he was glad to have solved.

"Back to the important subject... what are the Rimohrs going to do to find the person who did this?" Prof. Stott asked.

"Toscani will do the usual questioning and investigating. As I said, I'm not allowed to be involved. I was asked to evaluate David's state of mind." To David, he said, "You planning on killing anyone?"

"No."

"Hurting anyone?"

"Maybe."

"Hurting some random someone, or a specific someone?"

"A very specific someone. Perhaps."

"Perhaps?" Garibaldi asked.

"I'm not going to admit to a cop that I'm actually planning bodily injury to a fellow student. Hypothetically, if I was going to injure someone, it would be a very specific individual. No, I am not going to go postal on the school yard."

"Excuse me?" Garibaldi asked.

"An Earth term. Never mind. I'm not going to go randomly hurting people. That's stupid."

"He has to ask, David," Prof. Stott said.

"No, not him asking. Me doing it would be stupid. Lots of people here have done nothing to me, whether they like me or not. Just attacking random people is stupid. First, you identify your target. Then you take them down."

"That sounds like the voice of experience," Garibaldi said.

David merely tilted his head, and looked up and to the side. He said nothing.

"Uh-huh," Garibaldi grunted. "So, not going to kill anybody, and not planning random acts of violence."

"No."

"But... considering a targeted act of violence."

"Maybe."

Garibaldi snorted. "I'd worry about you if you weren't. Four days of intense pain that cannot be relieved through magic or medicine... I'd be considering an act of violence, that's for sure."

"Will you report that to your boss?" Prof. Stott asked.

Garibaldi smiled. "Of course. And he will find that completely normal, as well. Their worry, Professor, is that David will snap and turn into one of the more evil demighosts. I'm sure you know the stories as well as I do. The Rimohrs don't want to have to go after someone like that, and so we're keeping an eye on things. Honestly, they're not at all worried about David's plans for revenge on Marcus, or any other particular individual. It's the random acts they are concerned about." Turning to David, he said, "That is not to say they won't come after you if you break the law."

"Obviously," David said.

"Anyway, that's really all I needed to know."

"You're just going to take his word for it?" Prof. Stott asked, surprised.

"Just his word, no. But his attitude speaks volumes. He's angry, but he's not at his breaking point. He might have reached the end of his tolerance for the hazing, but that is not the same thing. Point is, I can go back and tell them that their concerns are unfounded, at least at this time. David, see you in a few weeks." He shook hands with both David and Prof. Stott, and left the room.

"What are you going to do to Marcus?" Prof. Stott asked him.

"I don't know, but Mr. Garibaldi's right about one thing."

"What's that?"

"I've had enough."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David was released from the infirmary the following day. Gwen was there to 'collect' him and usher him to lunch, where the rest of his friends were waiting. They greeted him warmly as he sat down. As usual, the pixie appeared with a pop.

"Oh, it's you! I haven't seen you in days," she said.

"Sorry, I was sick," he told her.

For the first time, David actually saw a pixie frown. It was brief, and then she brightened. "Well, you're better now, right?"

"Yes, thank you for asking."

She beamed a tiny little smile at him. "So what do you want to eat?"

David placed his order, and the pixie went away.

"See? Not everyone hates you," Jim said.

David replied. "I know not everyone hates me. Just a few. And it's high time that they start getting what's coming to them."

"Can we help in any way?" Gwen asked. David looked at her in surprise. "What? You think I've enjoyed watching one of my friends basically being tortured all year?"

"I'll let you know," he said noncommittally. Just then, Amanda walked over to the table.

"David, I heard about the fall. Are you okay now?"

"Yeah. Thanks for asking."

"I'm glad. Well, I'll see you later. Take care, guys."

"That was weird," Jim said as she walked off.

David shrugged. "We didn't break up because she doesn't like me. We broke up because she didn't want to be on that rock lift with me."

Everyone nodded at that. They knew that anyone else would not have survived the fall.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"You wanted to see me, Dean?" David asked, sticking his head into her office.

"David, come in. Officer Toscani was just filling me in on his progress, and I figured you should be here."

David came in and sat down across from the dean. Officer Toscani was sitting in the other chair.

"Have you remembered any further information about the incident?" Toscani asked him.

"Nothing else to remember," David told him. "I was riding on the rock lift, saw that one face, watched the bubble fade out, and then fell off when the rock tilted. After that, I was far too busy worrying about how to hurt myself the least."

"The man you described is not on campus. None of the staff recalls seeing him, and no student will admit to knowing him."

"Ooh, big shocker there," David said sarcastically. Toscani scowled.

"Unfortunately, at this point, I have nothing else to investigate. Without this person, whoever he is, we have no leads and no evidence of anything. I assume, Dean Lengel, that the rock lift was examined and found to be in working order?"

"No, it was found to be hexed. Evidence of the spell remained behind."

Toscani nodded. "Can you tell which hex it was?"

"No."

"That's too bad. At this point, while the investigation is not being closed, I will be heading back to our local office. I will have to continue this through other means. If and when I come up with any more information, I will be sure to let you both know."

"Thank you, Officer," Dean Lengel said. She waited as he walked out of the room before turning to David. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, now. The pain went away completely yesterday."

"That's good. What are you planning?"

David sighed heavily. "Dean, if I am planning something, the last person I would tell would be you. If I tell you, and you choose to do nothing to stop me, then you get into trouble. If I tell you, and you choose to stop me, then I get into trouble."

"If it's something for which you should get into trouble..."

"Is there any way for it not to be?" he asked reasonably.

After some consideration, she said, "No, I imagine not. I don't like it, David. I don't like the idea of my students plotting against each other. I'd prefer you to let this slide, as heinous as it is."

"I wish I could, but I keep asking myself a question."

"What question is that?"

"He's already tried to kill people around me. What will he do next?"

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"You just want us to watch them?" Gwen asked.

"That's right. I just need you to keep an eye on each of them."

"Why?" Olissa asked.

"To destroy Marcus' credibility."

"Huh?" Gwen asked in incomprehension.

"I am going to confront Marcus. He will probably use it to try to get me into trouble. His friends would naturally back up whatever story he made up, and say they were there to see it. I want you guys to be able to say that you saw all of his friends in a different place at that time."

"We could just say that, anyway..." Jim offered.

"No one is lying on my account," David said firmly. "Not to the dean, and not to the Rimohrs."

"Okay, okay, just saying..." Jim said defensively.

"What are you going to do to Marcus?" Gwen wanted to know, a gleam in her eye.

"Nothing, yet. This is his final warning. After this, I start to get nasty."

"Oh, goody," Gwen said.

-----

"How do we get him away from his friends?" Olissa asked quietly. They had been following Marcus and company around for two hours so far, with no opportunity for David to get Marcus alone.

"He's gotta separate from them at some point," David insisted.

The group kept watching and following. Finally, David got his chance. Marcus went into the library, while his friends moved off, in a pack.

"Wonder what he's doing in there?" Jim asked. "Doesn't seem like his kind of place."

"I don't care," David said. "Just keep following those guys. See you in a while."

As his friends moved off, David faded to invisibility and entered the library to find Marcus.

Finding him wasn't hard. David had an idea of where he would be. As expected, he was in the spellbooks section of the library.

Probably trying to find new hexes.

As Marcus was putting a book back on a shelf, David faded to solidity right behind him. When Marcus turned around, he squeaked and jumped back.

"Greetings, Marcus," David said formally. He had his wand in his hand, to appear threatening.

"What do you want, Stroud?" Marcus sneered.

"To give you a message."

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say," Marcus said, attempting to push past him. David grabbed Marcus' collar, and slammed him back into the bookshelves. He pointed his wand straight at Marcus' face, and the tip of it started to crackle with energy.

"I think you'll be interested in this, Markie-boy. I've had enough of your bullshit. It stops now. All of the pranks, all of the hexing, all of the attempted murder."

"I don't know what you're-"

"Shut up. Just shut the fuck up. Everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie, and I don't want to hear it. You know you're responsible, and I know you're responsible. If I could prove it, you'd be in prison now. But just because I don't have the evidence, doesn't mean I don't know. And I've had all of it that I'm going to put up with. If so much as one more thing happens, a hex, a prank, a name called, anything, and I will start doing to you five times over the crap you've done to me all year. You got me?"

Marcus nodded curtly.

"Oh, and one more thing, maggot-meat. Had you fallen off that rock lift... you'd be dead now. Try to keep that in mind."

David released Marcus' collar, and then he faded to invisibility. He didn't want to be seen leaving the area where Marcus had been.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Come in, David," Dean Lengel said. David walked into her office and sat down. He had expected this meeting.

"I seem to be seeing an awful lot of you," she said. "This time, it seems like you may have crossed the line."

"Excuse me?"

"Marcus says you punched him, and threatened him."

"Neither of those things happened."

"He had three friends who corroborated his story, and he has a bruise on his face."

"I have never hit Marcus Savolar, and as to his friends, they are lying, and I can prove they are lying."

"How is that?"

"I did talk to Marcus yesterday. I told him that he needed to stop with the pranks, or there would be consequences from now on."

"So you did threaten him."

"No, I just informed him what the result of his actions would be. Anyway, at the time I spoke to him, his friends were nowhere near him, and my friends were following them to make sure of that."

"Why did you feel that was necessary?"

"For the exact reason that I'm sitting here right now. I knew that he would make up a story to get me into trouble."

"So you never hit him?"

"I did not."

"And you never threatened him?"

"Not in the legal sense, no."

"In the non-legal sense?"

"I suppose it could have been considered a threat. I told him that if he did not stop what he was doing, that I would feel the need to start fighting back."

"That's all you said?"

"Paraphrasing, but that was the gist of my message, yes."

Dean Lengel frowned, then sighed. "Go on, get out of here. Just don't make me regret sticking up for you, David."

"Yes, ma'am."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

For the next several days, David enjoyed the peace and quiet from Marcus, while he was trying to catch up on all of his schoolwork. Having the extra hours in his day from not having to sleep very much helped immensely. By the end of the week, he was almost caught up with his classmates.

He marveled that threatening Marcus had worked so well, but David had no illusions that Marcus had been scared off completely by it. In fact, the longer it went, the worse David figured the ultimate return would be.

David did not have long to wait. He was sitting at lunch with his friends when a first-year student he did not know came up and tapped him on the shoulder.

"What?" David asked politely.

"I was told to give you a message," the guy said. He looked nervous.

"Okay, what is it?"

"Marcus said to meet him on the west rim at seven o'clock. He said if you don't, he will kill your girlfriend."

David's eyes narrowed, and the guy before him cringed. David merely nodded at him, and he left quickly.

"You figure he means Amanda?" Gwen asked.

"I would guess. I don't have a girlfriend, but he probably isn't paying enough attention to know that we broke up."

"You could go to the dean now," Olissa said. "There are plenty of witnesses that he threatened to kill someone."

David looked at her with determination. "I am not going to the dean."

-----

"You seem distracted today, David," Prof. Stott told him. They were in her workshop, and David was attempting to work on a potion that he had missed in class. He had just screwed it up, which was odd for him.

"Yeah, I am. Sorry, Sam."

"It's okay, but what's on your mind?"

"I shouldn't tell you."

"Oh? Girl, or trouble?"

"Um... both?"

"Girl trouble?" she asked with a smile.

"No, more like girl in trouble."

"You got Amanda pregnant."

David nearly choked. "No."

"What then?"

David sighed. "Marcus has threatened to kill Amanda if I don't show up at a specific place, at a specific time."

"Now, you know that's a trap..." she said.

"I'm not worried about it being a trap. I'm worried about Amanda getting hurt."

"Where are you supposed to meet him, and when?"

David eyed her. "Why?"

"Well, for one thing, I'm not letting you go there without me at least keeping an eye on you. For another, I want to know if we have time to relax you a little bit," she said with an impish little smile.

David looked at the clock on the wall. "I think we have time for that..."

-----

David used one of the awks to move over to the rim of the mountain, the area on the outside of the Dorm Moat, where the mountain dropped off steeply. He had landed near the waterfall, and turned himself invisible as soon as he touched land. He was not going to be ambushed before having a chance to scope out everything that was going on in the area.

As David walked along, he found it peculiar that there were no students walking along this path. It was usually a prime method of relaxation, to walk and look out at the scenery. He figured that word had somehow gotten out.

Probably Marcus told everyone he could. He thinks he's going to humiliate me or whatever.

David finally reached Marcus, but kept walking for another several hundred yards, to make sure there were no nasty surprises waiting behind a building or something. When he was satisfied that there was no such thing, he began walking back toward Marcus, who had a death grip on Amanda's arm.

David studied Marcus as he moved toward him from behind. He could see the tension in the guy.

He's nervous. Good. David was tempted to push him from behind, but decided that he would play this fight fairly, regardless of how Marcus wanted to behave.

Finally, when David was about thirty feet in front of Marcus, he turned, and then faded to solidity. David had noticed the large number of students standing in the outdoor walkway of Thunderbird Dorm, which was the one closest to them at the moment. He noted now that there were even more students up on the terrace watching.

Great. Now personal animosity has become a spectator sport.

David already had his wand in his hand. He wasn't dumb enough to think Marcus would wait for any niceties to begin the fight.

"Okay, so I'm here," he said. "You can let her go now."

"No, I don't think so," Marcus said. "You drop your wand, and get on your knees."

"Not in this afterlifetime," David said simply.

"If you don't, I'll throw her off the cliff," he said viciously, yanking her toward the edge.

"Go ahead," David said calmly. He saw the look on Marcus' face. "Apparently you're too dumb to pay attention, but she dumped me weeks ago. Go ahead, throw her over the edge. I'm not about to bow to you, or anyone else, to prevent that."

"You're bluffing!" he demanded, hauling her right to the very edge of the cliff.

David shrugged expressively. "Toss the bitch," David said, "so we can get on with this."

"I mean it! I'll do it!" Marcus screamed.

"So do it already!" David screamed back.

"I'll kill her! I'll-"

At this point, Amanda lost her footing. Marcus had pushed her so close to the edge that she actually fell off. She screamed in terror as she fell. Marcus watched in a mixture of horror and fascination. David did not bother to look. He knew what would happen.

Suddenly, the Sentinel Trees on either side of Amanda whipped out with their tendrils, wrapping them firmly around her. She was stopped safely, and slowly moved toward the rim of the mountain.

David said, "Did it never occur to you to wonder how I managed to survive you pushing me off the mountain without so much as a scratch? Geez, you really are a colossally stupid prick, aren't you?"

Marcus turned back to David, enraged. He completely forgot about Amanda now.

Marcus seethed, and he pointed his wand at David. Marcus screamed, "Penneth -"

Before Marcus could finish, David flicked his wand and said, "Terbalik!"

"- lygoden!" Marcus finished. His spell blasted toward David, then met David's terbalik spell halfway, and rebounded, slamming into Marcus himself. Marcus' head suddenly changed. His nose grew long, like a snout, and his ears moved up and back, becoming furry. His entire head, in fact, grew fur, until his head looked like it belonged on a giant mouse.

David heard laughter from the dorm.

Marcus screamed in rage, though it came out as something of a squeak. Before David could really take advantage of things, Marcus pointed his wand at himself and screamed, "Zurukken!" His head was quickly back to normal. A distinct downgrade, David thought.

While Marcus was allowing his head to shrink back to normal size and shape, David pointed his wand and said, "Kiskisippet!" A small spark flew out of David's wand and bounced all over Marcus' body. Marcus was zapped each time the spark touched him, and he danced, trying to get away from the damned thing.

Marcus had no luck in doing away with David's spell. He knew the only sure way to get rid of it was to distract David. Marcus waved his wand and shouted, "Bara!"

David's feet were suddenly taken out from under him, and he fell to the ground. His concentration broken, the zapping spell dissipated, and Marcus was instantly relieved of his pain. He made to send a more destructive spell David's way, but suddenly, he was confronted by a giant dragon right in front of him.

Marcus leapt sideways, just as he realized that the dragon must, of course, be an illusion. Unfortunately, he was already in the air when he reached that conclusion, and by then it was much too late. David faded the illusion and cast a fireball spell, launching it at Marcus.

Marcus tried to roll out of the way, but the fireball caught him on the shoulder, burning a large hole into his overcoat and bruising his arm.

"Fuck," Marcus muttered as he rose. He growled out, "Yampira!"

A basketball-sized ball of light flew from Marcus' wand, impacting David in the chest. David was thrown twenty feet before he hit the ground, and he rolled another ten feet before he came to a stop.

Where the fuck did he learn that one? David asked himself. Before he had time to consider that more carefully, he heard him muttering some other spell. Rather than wait to find out what it was, David simply rolled further away. He was just in time to miss getting zapped with a small bolt of lightning issuing from Marcus' wand tip.

David rolled up to his feet, grumbling at his soreness and absently brushing dirt off his coat. He hollered, "Pichac!" and Marcus was forcibly shoved to the ground. His head hit the dirt, and he was dazed for a second, but not long enough for David to do anything.

Suddenly, several bright flashes of light obscured David's vision. He closed his eyes against them, but he could even see them through his eyelids. Just as the lights faded, David felt a strong shove, and he fell backward. He kept his head from hitting the dirt, but his back was rather sore now, and he'd had the wind knocked out of him.

Motherfucker used my spell! Use your own goddamned shit!

While David was trying to get his breath back - something he momentarily forgot he did not need to do - Marcus ran up and kicked him in the side, hard. He hoped to break some of David's ribs, thus making it much harder for him to fight effectively. David, however, swiveled around and lashed out with his foot straight to Marcus' knee.

Marcus screamed in pain as he went down, rolling on the ground and grabbing his knee. David took the opportunity to get to his feet. He moved away from Marcus, actually walking to where Marcus had originally been standing. He looked over to see Amanda actually sitting in the Sentinel Tree. He nodded to her, and she waved with a very slight smile.

While David was distracted by checking on Amanda, Marcus had finally gotten back to his feet. He shouted out, "Caligius!"

David felt the wave of nausea and dizziness wash over him, and he almost went to the ground. He closed his eyes against the discomfort, and put his hand to his heart.

"Caput calitatem," he muttered, and his head was instantly cleared.

As David turned back to face his opponent, Marcus intoned, "Spritzwasser!"

Suddenly, a deluge of water burst up out of the moat and washed over David. It wasn't strong enough to knock him around, but it drenched his clothes, which annoyed him quite a bit. He growled in anger as he muttered, "Castite thate," which instantly dried him.

While he was doing that, however, he could not react to what Marcus was doing. Marcus called out, "Uchafu wingu!"

The ground in front of David erupted into a big cloud of dust, making it hard to see. David decided to ignore this particular spell, in favor of one of his own. He knew where Marcus was; he didn't need to see him clearly.

The spell he chose was one Marcus had already used on him. He figured turnabout was fair play. "Yampira!" he called, and a green ball of light shot out of his wand.

Marcus was caught in the shoulder, as he had moved just as the spell was cast. It knocked the wand out of his hand, and he grabbed at his shoulder, which was burning with the pain. He looked daggers at David as he reached down for his wand.

David waited to see what Marcus was going to do. Marcus gripped his wand firmly, and then spit out, "Caligiamate!"

David was dropped to his knees as the waves of dizziness and nausea gripped him. This was a more drastic version of the simple dizziness spell, and he couldn't even see straight. He scrunched his eyes closed against the feeling of sickness, and once again put his hand to his chest.

"Caput calitatem!" he intoned vigorously. Instantly, his head cleared. It was amazing to David how well this spell worked for him. He didn't even feel the need to shake his head. He rose to his feet very quickly, surprising Marcus, who had expected to have plenty of time to come up with something else to do to him.

David didn't give him any more time to consider it, either. "Bara!" he shouted, and Marcus began to fall to the ground. Before he could hit, however, David shouted, "Pichac! Pichac! Pichac!" Each time David cast the shoving spell, Marcus was pushed into the air slightly, causing him to tumble, his body parts randomly hitting the ground as he went. David let him loose after several incantations of the hex.

David did not let up on Marcus, however. He once again called out, "Kiskisippet," and the spark once again danced over Marcus' body, causing him little pinches of pain.

Marcus struggled to his feet and screamed out, "Sakti!" This was a much larger and slower energy ball. David knew that getting hit by it would cause much more than just pain.

Thinking quickly, David crossed his arms and faded into invisibility. He could still be hit by the energy ball, but now Marcus could not see him to hit him with it. David crouched, and moved forward invisibly, until he was just a few feet from Marcus, who was still controlling the sakti ball.

David faded back to solidity, and as he rose, he said, "Did you forget who you were fighting?" At that point, David punched him as hard as he could in the face. The energy ball immediately dissipated, and Marcus fell to the ground, his nose bleeding.

"You son of a bitch!" Marcus screamed as he scrabbled to his feet. Marcus made to swing on David, but David suddenly called forth a swarm of butterflies, and Marcus couldn't make out where David was.

David, however, had a clear view, and he delivered a right cross to Marcus' jaw, sending him to the ground once more. He ended the butterfly charm, and was about to zap Marcus again, but Marcus cast the tripping spell.

As David fell to the ground, Marcus got to his feet with murder in his eyes.

David heard Marcus casting the same lightning spell he had missed with before. David rolled toward Marcus just as the spell was finished, thus making Marcus miss him again.

He's not very good with that spell, is he? David thought to himself.

David was now looking almost directly up at Marcus. He said, "Pichac!" and Marcus was pushed upward, off his feet, and then fell backward, rolling backward until he could make it back to his feet. By that time, David was also upright.

"Okina hono ventus!" David called out. A gout of flame erupted from his wand and engulfed Marcus, setting his coat ablaze. David ended the spell before it actually started burning Marcus, but it forced Marcus to strip off the remains of his overcoat. While Marcus was doing that, David cast the zapping spell one more time. He really liked watching Marcus fidget.

He was, however, getting tired of the fight. It appeared that they were too evenly matched, and that it would ultimately come down to who got tired first. David tried to decide how he could wrap this up.

Before David came to a conclusion, Marcus wheeled on him. He shouted something that sounded like a curse, but ended up being a spell. A swarm of giant bees rushed at David from every direction. He recognized it almost immediately as an illusion spell, and so he didn't panic over them.

Marcus' spell was so thick that they couldn't even see each other. David took the opportunity to fade again, and he walked clear of the bee cloud, over to where Marcus was standing.

Marcus was enjoying what he thought was David's torment, and so David had the time to stand and consider what to do next. He did know a few spells that would end the fight, but they would also seriously injure Marcus, and as much as he hated him, he didn't want to go to real wizard prison, or get kicked out of school, so he couldn't do those. He stood for a solid minute trying to think of how to end the fight.

Marcus finally realized that David was being much too easy all of a sudden, and so he ended his spell, only to find that David was no longer present.

"Coward! Ran off like a little girl, didn't you!" he cried out.

David suddenly appeared in front of him, and grabbed him by the throat.

"You have no place calling anyone a coward, Markie-boy. You've spent your entire year casting spells from behind trees, or having other people doing your dirty work for you. If there is a coward in this fight, it is you, ten times over."

David was squeezing Marcus' throat so hard that it would have been almost impossible for Marcus to cast any spell. That gave David an idea. He didn't think he had the strength with one hand to choke the guy out, but he knew one other way to make him unconscious.

"This fight bores me," David said. "You bore me. You're really not worth my attention, so I'm ending this fight now."

David closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He now had to do something that he had long tried to keep himself from doing. He did not open his eyes, but he raised his wand until it was right in front of Marcus' eyes.

Quickly, so Marcus would not have time to react to it, David shouted, "LUX LUCIS!"

The light that was emitted by David's wand rivaled the setting sun, and it erupted right in front of Marcus' eyes. Marcus was instantly unconscious, and David let go of him as he fell.

As David ended his lux lucis spell, he heard a splash. He opened his eyes to see that Marcus had fallen into the moat. David had not realized that they had wandered so close to the edge.

Dammit, now I have to go in after him. David would not let the guy drown, for the same reason he could not use his other spells on him.

David sighed, put away his wand, and waded into the moat. Luckily for David, Marcus had not floated too far out, and so they had not reached the drop-off. He merely had to haul the bastard back onto dry land. He checked him to make sure he was breathing. Once he was assured of that, he left him where he was and walked away. He looked around at the students who were watching.

Suddenly, they all applauded.

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"Okay, I've heard his side of the story. Now I want to hear yours." Dean Lengel said. For once, she was actually stern with David. She did not like fighting on her campus.

"Yesterday, at lunch, a student that I don't know approached me, and told me that he had a message from Marcus. I was to meet Marcus at a certain place, or he would kill my girlfriend."

"Kill?" one of the other professors asked. The board of discipline was not convened formally, but they were present for this discussion.

"That was the word used by the student," David confirmed.

"Why didn't you come to me?" the dean demanded.

"You know the answer to that. The only way I was ever going to get Marcus off my back was to show him how unpleasant it could get if he didn't leave me alone. This was merely the easiest opportunity."

"So, when you showed up, what happened?"

"He had taken Amanda hostage. He had her by the arm."

"He claims that you told him to throw her over the edge," one of the other professors said.

"I did."

"Why?" Dean Lengel asked.

"I wanted her out of the line of fire."

"So you told him to throw her off a cliff?" she asked incredulously.

David rolled his eyes. "Dean, you know that I already know about the Sentinel Trees. I knew she was much safer going in that direction than dealing with whatever might be in the moat."

"Okay, fair enough, I guess. Then what happened?"

"He tried to morph me, I stopped him... and then we fought."

"He says you destroyed his coat," one of the board commented.

"I did, during the fight, use a flame spell that consumed his coat. If necessary, I will have it replaced."

"How many people would you say witnessed this fight?" another board member asked.

"At least a hundred. Probably more. They were lining Thunderbird Dorm, and they were up on the terrace, as well."

"Were there any professors present?" Dean Lengel asked knowingly.

"Yes."

"Who?" A board member asked.

"I refuse to answer that question."

"Why?"

"Because answering it will get someone into trouble for not stopping us."

"I know who it was, David," Dean Lengel said.

"Unless someone else told you, ma'am, you think you know who it was. You cannot prove it, and I'm not going to give you the proof to get them into hot water."

"That's rather nice maneuvering," one of the board said. "Perhaps you should be a legislator."

"No thanks."

"So," the head member of the board said, "let me see if I have your version of the story straight. You went to that place yesterday under the impression that someone's life was in danger. You moved the person whose life apparently was in danger, to safety, and then you fought someone who has been a personal antagonist all year long. Is that about the size of it?"

"Yes."

"How did you beat him? The students we've talked to weren't able to identify the final spell you used."

David snorted. "You apparently didn't talk to anyone who took Charms and Hexes with me. It was a simple lux lucis spell. I just... reverted to my old lack of control over it."

"I don't understand."

David explained to them how he had started out with his wand, and how Prof. Phillips had helped him overcome the issue.

"I see. So you simply used something that came naturally to you. Why didn't you use it at the start?"

"I didn't think of it. Plus, that would not have gotten the desired result, either. If I used one "trick" spell on him to beat him, that would not show him that I am his equal in a fight. I cannot guarantee that he will get the message now, but I feel justified in how I handled the situation."

The board nodded at him. "We will need to consider all of this." The board left the room, and it was just David and the dean.

"Why didn't Prof. Stott stop you?" she asked him, now that they were alone.

David looked at her blankly. "I will neither confirm nor deny that she was present, Dean Lengel. If you're going to go on a witch hunt, I'm not going to hand you the torch. Besides, I think you can probably figure out why, if she was present, she wouldn't have stopped me."

Dean Lengel looked sharply at David. "I don't like your tone, David. I'm trying to see your side of this, but you're making it hard for me to want to help you."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I fully expect to get into some kind of serious trouble for this, but I'm not going to take anybody with me."

Dean Lengel's look softened. "You're not going to get into any trouble from me, David. This one is out of my hands. Actions this severe go to the board of discipline. I'm just unsure why one of our professors would let it go this far without calling on me."

"Hypothetically, perhaps this professor knew the situation well enough to know that delaying the confrontation would only make things worse."

Dean Lengel pursed her lips, then nodded. "I can accept that as a possibility."

After a long moment of silence, David said, "How long do you think it will be before they reach a decision?"

"I don't know. This one could take them a while. A couple days, even."

"Wonderful," David said.

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