Chapter 5: October

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David made his way to the castle courtyard, where he found Penny admiring the statue of the phoenix.

"Good evening, David," she replied. "Lovely bird, isn't it? Wish I'd had one as a familiar."

David thought now might be the best time to ask. "Penny, what's the difference between a phoenix and a firebird? I always thought they were the same thing."

Penny chuckled. "No. Vastly different animals. A phoenix is a magical bird, with a solid body, that, among other things, can carry very heavy loads and heal wounds. Phoenixes die in a flash of fire, and are reborn from the ashes of their own cremation.

"A firebird, on the other hand, is an altogether different being. It's only called a bird at all because that is the shape it takes. It is an elemental being. Firebirds live in volcanoes, and are entirely composed of flame. Anything they touch is scorched or burned, which is why they live in volcanoes, I imagine. They are fire elementals, and are not to be angered or trifled with. They can sometimes be helpful, but usually it's best to leave them alone."

"Is that why Lord Woodward used it as the icon for the castle? 'Leave me alone'?"

"Not entirely, though it was intended as a warning. The Woodward family is said to have had amicable dealings with firebirds in their past, and that on at least one occasion, a firebird had come to the aid of the family in a time of dire crisis. So, the message was, 'Leave us be, or you'll be sorry.'"

David nodded. After they had moved from the phoenix statue and walked over to the sphinx statue, he asked, "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Penny sighed. "I notice that the harassment has not lessened."

"Nope," David agreed. "I don't really expect that it's going to anytime soon."

"What are you planning to do about it?"

"For the moment, I'm just trying to make them think it doesn't bother me."

"Do you expect that to work?"

"Not really. But until the Minister of Education comes up and makes a final ruling on things, I need to keep my nose clean."

"So you are considering your future."

"Hey, I don't want to spend the next few thousand years in prison any more than the next guy."

Penny nodded. "I wanted you to know that most of the ghosts here in the castle are behind you."

"Most?"

"Some here are simply contrarian curs who wouldn't support you if you were the king of the fairies."

"Ah."

"But the rest of us have admired your patience and persistence. Some people in your position would have given up, tried to go to a different school."

"This problem will just follow me."

"True, but not everyone would see that."

"I appreciate that the ghosts here are on my side. It doesn't help with the problem much, but at least I won't feel like I'm walking alone."

"You never were. You have human friends, as well."

"I know. Olissa, Jim and Gwen are good folks."

"You do not count Devyn as a friend?"

David squirmed. "Not quite yet. I can't get a read on her. She almost seems like she is around me for her own ends."

"Perhaps. There was one other thing that some of the others thought you should know."

"What's that?"

"Should it ever become necessary that you need to retaliate... within reason... some of us may be willing to help you."

"Oh, really?" David asked, surprised.

"But not me," Penny made clear. "I think you're making the right move now, by not acknowledging them."

"And if that doesn't work?" he asked.

"Sooner or later, it will. They will grow bored with it, if they don't get any satisfaction out of it."

"I'm not so sure that's true for everyone, Penny. The majority, perhaps. But there are some for whom my removal is a mission, not a diversion. Those, I think, will ultimately need more encouragement to stop."

"So what you're really doing, then..." Penny started.

"...is weeding out the ones I really can ignore. Yes," he finished for her.

"I see." After another long pause, she said, "you are perhaps smarter than I gave you credit for. I apologize."

"Don't worry about it. I don't want to cause Dean Lengel any more trouble, so if I can get through this by simply ignoring them for a few weeks, I will. But, like I said, I don't think that's going to work for everybody."

Penny shook her head. "Probably not. I wish you luck."

"Thanks."

"One other thing," she said, and turned to face him. "Halloween is coming up at the end of the month. I know that you will probably want to spend it with your schoolmates. However, we, that is, the ghosts here in the castle, wanted to invite you to participate in our Halloween celebration, called the Night of Haunting."

"Oh. What is that like?"

"We spend it playing tricks on the living," she said with a mischievous grin.

"Sounds like fun," David replied with a smile.

"Oh, it is! Anyway, if you wish to join us, just come up to the castle at sundown on Halloween."

"Okay, thanks. I might not spend the whole night, but I will come."

Penny nodded.

"I need to get back, though. It's getting late."

"Good night, David."

"Good night." He turned and walked off as Penny faded to invisibility.

So Halloween for ghosts isn't "trick or treat", it's "trick is a treat... for us!" He grinned at the thought of it as he walked back to his dorm.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"You wanted to see me, Dean?" David asked. He had found her in the lunch room.

"Yes, David. Come, walk with me." They exited Byron Hall and started to walk across the grounds. After they had gotten far enough away from the building, she began talking.

"I'm sure you're aware that many of the parents have strongly objected to your presence here."

"So I've heard."

"You need to be aware that some of them have complained directly to the Minister of Education about this issue."

"Yeah, Marcus has already informed me that his father was going to."

"Marcus..." the dean paused a moment. "Savolar?"

"Yeah."

"Yes, his parents do seem to be leading the charge. Anyway, the minister will be coming up here next Monday to evaluate the situation... and you."

"Me? I thought my...uh... situation... was already settled. I mean, I figured he already knew I was a demighost."

"He did. This is all politics now, David. I can only hope that he does the right thing, rather than caving in to bigotry. I want you to know you've been one of our better students, at least as far as behavior goes."

"My grades that bad, are they?" David asked with a grin.

"Well, no, I didn't mean that," she said, embarrassed. "But in that respect, you've got some stiff competition."

"True enough."

Just then, David's head lurched forward as a rock made contact. The dean whipped around, but she couldn't see who had thrown it. She turned back to see David rubbing his head.

"I'm sorry about that. Would you like me to perform a healing spell on it?"

"Don't waste your energy," David replied. "It won't work."

"Why would you say that?" the dean asked in consternation.

"One of the wonderful benefits of being a demighost," David said, "is that neither healing spells nor potions will work on me. When I get hurt, I just have to live with it."

"That must truly be awful. What if you were seriously injured? Say, if you lost a limb?"

"Then for several days, I would be in an awful lot of pain."

Just then, another rock sailed past, just missing David. They didn't usually miss him, but he figured they were a bit nervous, throwing rocks toward the dean of students. Dean Lengel looked around again, but to no avail.

"Why don't you just become a ghost?" she asked. "Then the rocks couldn't hit you."

"Two reasons. First, that would just make them angrier, and make me a bigger target for later, and second, it would mean that the rocks would hit something or someone else. If damage has to be done, it should be done to the intended target. I'll heal."

After a few more paces, Dean Lengel said, "I hear through the grapevine that you are considering your options for retaliating against your tormenters."

"Penny talks too much," David said in oblique response.

"Sometimes," the dean allowed. "David, you know that I cannot condone any form of violence or vandalism at the school. What's happening to you is abhorrent... but I can't just let you return the favor."

"I figured as much," David said calmly.

"But you still plan on getting even, don't you?" Dean Lengel observed astutely.

"Eventually," David said.

The dean sighed, and then said, "In that case, may I give you the best piece of advice I have?"

"I always welcome advice from those who know more than me," David replied.

"Don't get caught."

David chuckled. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

"I'm serious. Don't give the Minister of Education anything to latch on to, to warrant forcing you to leave."

"I don't plan on doing anything before his visit," David assured her.

"Well, that's good. But I'm sure he'll still be harassed by calls, so anything you get caught doing will get back to him."

David nodded.

"Anyway, you don't need a lecture from me. Just be careful in your chosen actions."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'll let you get back to lunch now. Good day, David."

"See ya" he replied. He hustled back to the cafeteria. He wasn't hungry, but he was sure his friends would want to know what the dean had to say.

"So what was that all about?" Jim asked as David sat down.

David placed his order with the waiting pixie before he answered Jim. "She wanted to let me know that the Minister of Education is coming here to see what's going on."

"Will he override the dean?" Gwen asked.

"He might. Apparently Marcus' father has gotten some of the other parents together, and they're making a big stink of things for the minister."

"Did the dean give you any advice?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah. She told me not to get caught getting even with the bastards who are fucking with me."

"Sound advice," Jim agreed.

"You should just ignore them, David," Gwen replied. "They'll give it up eventually."

"Gwen, do you really think that Marcus and his friends are going to go away? I mean, yeah, okay, the rock throwers will probably get bored after a while, and they might put up with me, but there are some who are going to be an ongoing problem."

Gwen frowned. "You're right. I just don't want to see you get in trouble."

"Yeah, well... I'm working on that."

"Be careful."

"Careful is my middle name."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"If you don't stop drooling over the professor and start paying attention in class, you're going to flunk, you know," David told Jim good-naturedly as they were heading to their Metamorphosis class.

"Oh, come on. You can't tell me you don't think she's hot."

"Of course she is, but you aren't going to get anywhere with her, so why bother?"

"A guy can dream, can't he?"

"He can, but he shouldn't, if it's going to get him an F."

"You just want her for yourself," Jim challenged.

David snorted. "WAY out of my league, Jim."

Just then, one of the other students stepped in front of David and shouted some kind of spell. As soon as he felt the intense pain, David knew it was a morphing spell. As David went through his change, Jim whipped out his wand and uttered a hex of his own. The offending student walked away with a much larger nose. David, however, was now stuck as a ghost for the rest of the day.

"Fuck," David said plaintively. Of all the things that the students did to him, this was the most annoying.

"At least the teachers are cool about it," Jim said, trying to be comforting.

"Except Prof. Gardner."

"What about him?"

"He told me never to show up in class as a ghost."

"Well, you can always go invisibly."

"True, I suppose."

"Cheer up. It's not that bad. Come on, or we'll be late for Metamorphosis class. Hey, can you still do spells as a ghost?"

"Yes."

"Cool."

As the two made it into class, Prof. Fibblebitz looked up and saw David. She motioned to him, and he went up to see her.

"Another undesired morphing spell?" she asked sympathetically.

"Yes, ma'am."

"When you have a chance, go talk to Prof. Phillips. I'm sure he has some way for you to defend yourself against these spells. How quickly can you change back and forth on your own?"

"It takes a few seconds."

"So, not fast enough to avoid the spell by changing yourself."

"No, not that fast."

The professor sighed. "I'm sorry, David. Can you still participate in class?"

"I believe so. I can still use magic in ghost form."

"Okay. If you have a problem, just let me know."

"Yes, ma'am. And thank you, Professor, for being so helpful."

The professor smiled at him. "You expected all of us to hate you, didn't you?"

"Pretty much."

"I decided a long time ago to treat people based on their behavior, rather than their origin. You're one of my best students, David. Try not to let this all get you down."

"Thanks. I'll try."

"Go on, then," she said, and returned to her scroll while David made his way back to his seat.

"What did she want?" Jim asked quietly.

"Just making sure I was okay."

"Nice of her."

"Yeah."

Just then, the professor rose to begin the class.

-----

"All right, everyone, settle down. I will now call roll," Professor Gardner said. None of the students understood why he called the roll instead of just checking visually as all the other teachers did, but since it meant that much less time they had to listen to him drone on about history, no one objected.

David was sitting invisibly at the back of the room. When his name was called he did not, of course, answer.

"Stroud?" the teacher called out again. After a beat, Prof. Gardner once again said, "Stroud?"

Just then, Flo said, "I think he's sick. My best friend's boyfriend's bird was talking with this ferret whose owner is going with this girl who saw David pass out at the Slyther Inn last night. I guess it's kinda serious."

David had to stifle a laugh. He wondered how that rumor had gotten started.

"Thank you, Flo," Prof. Gardner said, and then resolutely went on with calling the roll.

-----

When History class ended, David waited for everyone else to file out of the room. He approached the Prof. Gardner, and when he was about ten feet away, he said, "Professor?"

Prof. Gardner looked up, and, seeing no one, he looked back and forth. "Yes?" he said into the air.

David faded into visibility at this point. "It's me, Professor."

"Ah, Stroud. You missed class. Is this another enforced-ghosting?"

"Yes, sir. But I was here for class, sir. I just wanted you to know that."

"I see. And can you prove to me that you were here for the class?"

"I did not pass out at the Slyther Inn last night," David replied.

Prof. Gardner grinned. "Very good. I hope you understand, Mr. Stroud, that my concern with your ghost-self is that you are disruptive to my class. I insist on a calm atmosphere, so that the students can absorb the information I'm presenting."

"Yes, sir. My attendance invisibly is okay, then?"

"Since no one knows you're here, it's the same thing as if you weren't here, which means there's no disruption. However, if you should take the chance to start playing games..."

"I wouldn't do that, Professor."

"Just so you know."

"Thank you, sir. Also, do you have a minute to discuss some of the material? I had a question, but, obviously, I couldn't ask it in class..."

"Go ahead," the teacher said, sitting back in his chair.

-----

David left the professor almost a half-hour after class ended. As he was walking through the courtyard, he encountered Penny.

"Playing ghost tonight?" she asked him.

"Hi, Penny. I don't have much choice."

"Another morph spell?" she inquired, immediately upset.

"Yeah."

"Dammit. Why can't they learn?"

"Because, so far, there's no reason for them to. There's no consequences for their actions."

"You're planning something."

"Yes, I am."

"David, if you get into trouble..."

"Don't worry, I won't. What I'm thinking about, there's no way they could ever figure out it was me."

Penny looked at him askance, but then said, "Okay. But be careful. The Minister wouldn't look kindly on any type of misbehavior at this point."

"I'm aware," David assured her.

"I'm sorry to keep lecturing you on this, David. I just don't want to see you in trouble."

"It's okay." David reached over and gave her a hug. She was surprised, but hugged him back. "I've got to go, though. I've got homework to do."

"Good night, David."

"Good night," he replied, though it was barely evening. Penny faded into the distance, and David made his way back to his dorm. He didn't feel like going to the cafeteria to be gawked at, and he really did need to study.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Good afternoon, class," Prof. Phillips said. "Today, we are going to learn our first counter-curse. Even when they are the antidote for hexes, they are still called counter-curses. We are going to start with something simple. We will undo the dizziness spell. First, can we have a volunteer to be made dizzy?"

David mumbled, "Most of the girls already are..."

"Oh, shut up," Olissa hissed at him. She went back to gazing at the professor.

"You, Olissa," Prof. Phillips said. David could tell that Olissa was blushing all the way to her toes, and as she got up, she actually lost her balance slightly and staggered.

"See?" David said quietly to her as she moved past him. She made her way to the front of the class and stood before the professor, clearly embarrassed to be in front of everyone.

"Okay, my dear. You may want to put your hands on the podium. This spell is quite nasty if it catches you off guard."

Olissa placed both hands on the professor's podium, and waited. Prof. Phillips took out his wand and pointed it at Olissa's heart.

"You might think to point it at her head," he said, "but you will find it is much more effective if you point it at the heart. And here we go," he replied, and said, "caligius!"

Immediately, Olissa staggered. David jolted, afraid that she would fall, but the professor was right there, and made sure that she didn't.

"As you can see, she's finding it quite hard to stand up, and she could not walk. Now, let's reverse the spell, shall we? The counter-curse I'm teaching you is a generic one for many weaker spells. Any time the mind is weakly confused, this counter-curse will work."

Prof. Phillips turned back to Olissa, pointed his wand at her heart once again, and intoned, "caput calitatem!"

Olissa slowly straightened, and shook her head to clear it.

"How do you feel, young lady?" Prof. Phillips asked.

"Better. Not completely, but better than I was."

"The effects do take a while to wear off completely, I'm afraid."

"Professor," one of the other students asked, "how long would it take caligius to wear off on its own?"

"Hours," the professor said. "But the counter-curse is known to most magicians, so it's not a very useful hex. And, as I said, caput calitatem is used as the counter to a great many minor hexes."

"Can we perform caput calitatem on ourselves?"

"Certainly. Just point your wand at your own heart. In the case of fixing yourself, you can also forgo the wand, and simply place your hand over your heart, or to your temples. Let's try it, shall we? Pair off, and try it on your partners."

"Guess you get to be dizzy twice," David told Olissa.

"Joy."

"At least you can stay seated this time," he said.

Before she could say anything else, David whipped out his wand and said, "Caligius!"

Olissa immediately put her hand on her desk, and her other to her head. "Thanks for the warning, David," she said, trying to glare at him, but not able to focus.

"Magician, heal thyself," he replied with a grin.

Olissa moved the hand on her head so that it was touching her on the temple, and she said, "caput calitatem," Immediately, she felt better. She shook her head again to clear it.

"See? That wasn't so bad, now was it?" David said.

"No, not at all," she said in a sickly sweet voice. "Why don't you see for yourself? Caligius!"

David's head swam. He wasn't sure how she had managed to hold herself upright, if it was this bad for Olissa. Both his hands were on the desk now, keeping him in his chair. He slowly and very carefully lifted one hand and placed it on his chest, over his heart.

"Caput calitatem!" he chanted. His head cleared immediately, and he didn't even feel the need to shake his head. It was as if the dizziness had never even existed.

"Wow, that's some powerful stuff," David said.

"Looks like it works better on you than it did on me," Olissa said.

"You want me to try it on you?"

"There's no curse left to counter," she objected.

The professor was wandering the room, watching the students, and so David waved to get his attention. Prof. Phillips came over.

"Yes, David?"

"Professor, is there any harm in performing a counter-curse, when there's no spell to counter?"

"That would depend on the counter-curse, because most counter-curses can also act as charms. In the case of caput calitatem, no, there is no harm in performing it without a spell to reverse. In fact, it can be a good pick-me-up if you didn't sleep well the night before."

David nodded, and then turned to Olissa. He pointed his wand at her, and said, "caput calitatem!"

Olissa's head was instantly cleared. "Wow!" she said. "That's a lot better! You're better at that than the professor was!" she enthused. Then, seeing he was still there, she blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry, Professor!"

Professor Phillips waved it off.

"I think it's because you'd already done it to yourself," David said. Then, remembering something, he turned to the professor. "Prof. Phillips, do you have a few minutes after class? I need to ask you about something."

"Certainly, David." At that, the professor made his way back to the front of the class, and went on with their lessons.

-----

David was making his way up to the castle for Umbrasocius class, thinking about the material he'd read in preparation for the class. He was alone, of course, as none of his friends were taking this class. Thus, he was surprised when he was tapped on the shoulder.

David jumped, as he'd not heard anyone approaching, but then he got his heart started and turned to see Amanda, one of the other students in the class.

"Oh! Hey, Amanda. What's up?"

"Hi, David. I just wanted you to know that I think it's cool that you're here."

"You don't think demighosts are icky?" he asked with a grin.

"No ickier than regular people."

"That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me all day," he said with a chuckle. Amanda joined him.

"I'm glad they didn't make you leave," she continued.

"Well, that's not yet decided."

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"The Minister of Education is coming up next week to make a final ruling."

"Oh," she replied, frowning. "So they might still kick you out?"

"Could be. I just hope he doesn't."

"Yeah, me, too. I don't really see what the big deal is. I mean, we let in elves and dwarves here. Hell, I think there's even a goblin going here, plus a couple of weres."

"You seem to know a lot about the non-human population of Woodward," David said with a nudge.

"It was something I asked about before I came here. I want to learn about the other races, and you can't very well do that if you never meet any."

David nodded. They had just entered the castle's courtyard. Suddenly, from out of the shadows, another student started to cast a hex.

David heard him, and whipped around to face him. Before the caster had a chance to finish, David held out his hand and shouted, "Terbalik!"

The light from the attacker's spell bounced off the red-lit shield of David's spell, and shot back to the caster, who screamed. The student stumbled out of the shadows into the light.

"Look what you'b done to be!" the student tried to say. It was difficult with a nose that resembled an elephant's trunk. "You're in deeb shit dow, Stroud!"

"You did it to yourself," David replied. "And if I would get in trouble for doing that to you, how much trouble do you think you'd get into for trying to do it to me? Grow up and get a life."

David turned back to Amanda. "C'mon, we're gonna be late for class."

As they walked away, she said, "Wow. What did you do to him?"

"I just turned his spell around on him. That's what he was trying to do to me. Not that it would have morphed me, but it would have made my life miserable for the rest of the night."

"Serves him right, then," Amanda said. "Where did you learn that spell?"

"Prof. Phillips showed it to me this afternoon, as a defense against morphing spells."

Amanda chuckled. "Some defense!"

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David walked into the shower room to find it blessedly empty. It was not that he had a problem showering where other guys were also showering, since the shower stalls were individual and private, but he knew that he was vulnerable while he showered. Still, it was one activity that he wouldn't give up even if he could. The act of washing himself made him feel better, and besides, his body still got dirty, even if it was dead.

As he started his shower, David paid little attention to his surroundings. he did not hear Marcus and one of his friends creep into the shower room. The stalls did not go all the way to the top of the room, and, in fact, the top of the stall was where most people, David included, put their shampoo and other shower stuff.

David never saw the hand that took his shampoo bottle, nor did he see it get put back. He was busy wetting himself down. By the time he reached for his shampoo, Marcus and the other guy were already back out of the shower room. David poured the shampoo into his hand, and then began to massage it into his hair.

David immediately felt a strange tingling sensation.

What the hell? Am I fading? It doesn't feel right for that...

David rinsed the shampoo out of his hair, and what he saw swirling into the drain disturbed him.

My shampoo isn't purple...

David grabbed his towel and wrapped it around himself. He hopped out of the shower to walk over to the mirrors on the other side of the room. What he saw caused him to curse.

"Motherfuckers," he said in irritation. Looking in the mirror, he saw that his hair was now a bright shade of green. He reached up to touch it, to see if it was going to crumble beneath his fingers, but it was as soft and as sturdy as before. It was just green.

David sighed and headed back to his shower. This was hardly life-threatening, and he wanted to finish getting clean. From now on, however, he would not be setting his shower things where others could get to them.

-----

When David emerged from the shower, Marcus and his friends were, of course, waiting in the hallway.

"Look, guys, it's a wish troll!" Marcus shouted. His friends all laughed, and some others in the hallway looked to see what he was talking about.

David walked past Marcus without so much as a look. Any response would only show Marcus that this little stunt had upset David, and he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

Your time is coming, you little fuck.

-----

"What the hell happened to your hair?" Gwen asked.

"Marcus screwed with my shampoo," David replied.

"You should really go to the nurse. Whatever he did could have side effects."

"I didn't have time to go before class."

"Maybe Prof. Stott can help you," Gwen offered. They were waiting for Potions class to begin.

"Maybe. I'm sure it was some kind of potion they used on me."

Just then, the professor came in.

"Okay, class, today we... Um... Mr. Stroud, could you come up here, please?"

David sighed and rose. He walked forward amidst a chorus of snickers and jeers.

"Mr. Stroud... I don't mean to offend you, but I think I know you well enough... you didn't do that on purpose, did you?"

"No, ma'am. One of my classmates thought it would be funny."

Prof. Stott frowned mightily. "Have you been to the nurse?"

"No, ma'am. I didn't have time before class. I was wondering if you might be able to help me."

"Possibly, though I think Healer Hall would be a better choice. But I will look into it during class, while you are working on your potion."

"Thank you, ma'am."

As David was about to walk away, Prof. Stott called, "David?"

David turned back. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Does this kind of thing happen a lot?"

"More than I'd like," he allowed.

"You should tell the dean."

"She has enough trouble because of me, ma'am. I don't need to make her life even more difficult."

Prof. Stott frowned, but said nothing further. David went back to his seat. The snickers were more subdued, now, as Prof. Stott was glaring at those who tried.

-----

Prof. Stott was unable to find any cure for David's green hair, and his visit to Healer Hall was not uplifting, either.

"So what did she say?" Gwen asked at lunch.

"She said the potion was essentially harmless, and that all I could do was let it fade out over the next couple days."

"She didn't give you an antidote or anything?" she asked, incredulous.

"She said that any antidote potion would be worse than the original, and so she felt it was best to just let sleeping dragons lie, so to speak."

"Hmph. Some healer."

David shrugged. Just then, Olissa joined them.

"What happened this time?" she asked him without preamble.

"The old hair dye in the shampoo bottle prank," he told her, and then filled her in on all the details.

Olissa was sympathetic, but tried to put a happy face on it. "It doesn't look that bad. And it should be gone by the time the Minister shows up on Monday."

"Easy for you to say," Gwen said. "You're not the one who looks like they have grass on their head."

"So I guess you'll be hiding in your dorm room this weekend?" Olissa asked David.

"I hadn't thought about it. Why?"

"I'm gonna need some more help with Earth Studies."

David shook his head in mock sadness at her. Then he said, "Come on by tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay."

"I've got to go now, though. I've got Metamorphosis class in ten minutes. See you guys later."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David was eating breakfast with his friends when someone new sat down next to him. He looked over, and brightened.

"Sarah! Guys, this is Sarah. She's my... uh... babysitter."

"Huh?" Jim asked. Gwen looked a little confused, as well.

"I'm not allowed to leave campus without someone from the school with me." David explained the situation to them.

"That sucks," Jim opined.

"Yeah, really," Gwen agreed.

David shrugged, and then turned to Sarah. "What's up?"

Sarah, who had sat silently while David had explained things, said, "Well, I haven't heard from you since the school year started. I'm sorry to ask..."

"Of course you are," he said with a smile. She giggled before she went on.

"... but you haven't been leaving campus without me, have you?"

David shook his head. "No, I haven't gone anywhere. Didn't really know there was anywhere to go. The couple of times I've been in Gorumshead, I didn't see much to spend my time on."

Sarah looked aghast. "In that case, I'm glad I found you. I've got today off. Let's go down into town. I'll show you why you should be wanting to go into Gorumshead more often."

"Okay, sure. I'm caught up with my homework."

Sarah paused, and then said, "I.. hate to ask this," she said, avoiding the word 'sorry', "but what happened to your hair?"

"Practical joke," David said sourly. "It looked much worse on Friday." His hair was now only slightly tinged green. He was sure it would be gone by the next day. Or at least, he hoped so. He had his meeting with the Minister of Education the next morning.

"I'll let you finish your breakfast. Nice to have met you all," Sarah said, and then got up and left the cafeteria.

"She seems nice enough," Gwen said.

"Wish she was babysitting me," Jim said, leering after her.

"No," David said sourly, "you don't."

Jim got the message. "Well, yeah, I mean, having a babysitter sucks, but if you've got to have one..."

"Uh-huh." David finished off his breakfast, and then said farewell to his friends and went to find Sarah.

-----

David and Sarah made their way off the school grounds, and then they walked to town. It wasn't a far walk, and the weather was pleasant.

"So, what is there to do in Gorumshead?" David asked.

"Plenty. Especially if you're new to magic, because you won't have seen all the shops."

As they entered the town, David remembered something. "Can we stop in at Amy's?" he asked.

"Sure. What do you need?"

"I need to get Jailla a new perch. He doesn't really like his cage."

"Well, that's no problem. Come on."

David tried to make his visit to Amy's Familiars short, as the noise level quickly gave him a headache. He had to order the perch, as Amy did not have one. She said it would be delivered in a week or so.

"Anything else you need to take care of while we're here?" Sarah asked. "Before we get on with the fun stuff, that is?" she said with a grin.

"Well, I would kind of like to talk with Mr. Wormwood, but he's probably closed on a weekend, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is. Something wrong with your wand?"

"Just my ability to control it. I was hoping he would have some advice."

"Oh. Well, we'll come back during the week for that."

"I don't want to put you out..." David objected.

"Being your escort is part of my job. Don't worry about it."

"Okay."

"Now then, where should we go first? How about Spencer's Magical Amusements and Gifts?"

"Sounds interesting."

When they stepped into the shop, David knew that "interesting" didn't even begin to cover it. He could barely process all of the things he was seeing. There were sparkling, shimmering, and shining things that he knew without asking required no batteries. Off to his left was what looked like a model of two elves playing tennis, but then he realized that the "tennis players" were actually swatting at some flying insects in the shop.

"Magical bug zapper?" David asked. Sarah grinned and nodded.

David was overwhelmed by the time they left Spencer's, but he had purchased a glowing orb clock for his desk, and a morphing lapel pin for Sarah. It changed based on the wearer's mood. Right now, it showed a dragon. The shopkeeper had told him that meant Sarah was feeling satisfied and content.

-----

Sarah spent the morning showing David all of the shops in Gorumshead. They had picked up some sweets in the bakery, and David had ordered a new chair for his dorm room. The one the school provided was okay, but not all that comfortable.

"Ooh, let's go in here!" Sarah enthused. It was a new shop, just opened, according to the sign, and inside were Sky Riders.

"I don't know, Sarah," David said, concerned.

"We're just looking!" she said, tugging him into the shop.

The pair ogled the shiny boards, and even looked over the used ones.

"Welcome, friends," the proprietor said. "Name's Jack McCaffrey. You looking to buy a Sky Rider today? We have every model, new and used."

"I have to wonder," David said. "The Sky Rider concept is so new, or so I've been told... why are there already used ones?"

Jack laughed. "Well, the Sky Rider's not for everyone. Some wizards buy them, and never seem to get the hang of them. Others buy them, and then realize that they go so fast, the speed scares them. Others just wanted to play for a few weeks. When they are finally done with them, well, we take them in, and then resell them to those who would like to own a Sky Rider, but don't have the funds to get a brand new one. So what can I fix you two up with today?"

"Oh, no. Not me. I'm not ready for that kind of thing yet," David said.

"Aw, come on, David. You gotta at least get on one. Can we try one out?" Sarah asked Jack.

"Sure. I have a little practice area in the back of the shop." Looking at David, the man said, "I know they're a bit scary. Are you from Earth?"

"Does it show that bad?" David asked with a self-effacing grin.

"Nah. But this is just like a skateboard."

"Just a couple feet higher up. And I was never any good at riding a skateboard."

"Bah!" the man said. "Well, we'll let the young lady give it a try, and then maybe you'll change your mind."

Jack picked up one of the boards, and led the two out back. He set it down on the ground, and motioned Sarah to step on. Once she was on, she looked at him.

"The board works by intent. You need to think of what you want it to do." To David, he said, "That's the other problem people have with it. If you can't focus your mind too well, you'll have a lot of trouble controlling the board."

Sarah, it appeared, had no problem. She was quickly floating, and, while her movements were a bit jerky and wobbly, she was soon swishing around the small practice track without a problem.

When Sarah was done, she let the board settle to the ground. "Your turn," she said to David.

David held up his hands. "Where's a nice pegasus when you need one?"

Jack laughed. "They're not for everyone. What say, young lady, you want one?"

"Want one, yes. I don't think I can afford one."

"Let's go in and look. I'm sure we can find something within your range."

"You're crazy," David told her. She just stuck her tongue out at him.

-----

"You ready for lunch now?" Sarah asked David. After the Sky Rider dealership, they'd watched a couple of street performers who were doing magic. The performers had moved on, however.

"If you're hungry, let's eat," David said.

"Come on. I know a spot."

"We're not going to the Slyther Inn?"

"No. They've got great food, but the atmosphere is kind of dull. I know a place that's more fun. Of course, the people there are... um... also 'less dull' than the Slyther Inn, so you might want to watch yourself."

"Gotcha."

They turned down a side street and walked a couple blocks before they came to The Mystic Wolf Pub. They made their way inside, and stepped up to the bar.

"Afternoon, Bridget," Sarah said to the barkeep.

"Sarah! Good to see you! What can I get you mates?" the barkeep said brightly, with a soft Irish accent.

Are all the barkeepers in Dugerra Irish? David wondered to himself.

"We'll be eating," Sarah said, interrupting his thought.

"Surely," Bridget said, and passed over two menus. "Who's your friend? He's cute."

David would have blushed, if he could.

Sarah said, "This is David. He's a student at the Academy."

"Well, he'd have to be in that outfit, wouldn't he?" David was still wearing his school uniform. He didn't bother wearing anything else, ever. "How are you liking it at the Academy?" she asked him.

"Oh, it's fine," he said. "Tough, though."

"That it is. Well, I'll let you alone to read the menu."

After they ordered lunch, they sat and talked.

"So, why did you decide to work at The Academy?" David asked.

"Well, I wanted to be a gardener, and there was an opening for a groundskeeper. It just worked out nicely. Besides, the school is a great place to work and live."

"You live there, too? I thought only the students lived there."

"Almost everyone who works there, lives there, David."

"Where? I don't see any extra housing..."

"Trust me... there's more room there than you think."

David could tell he wasn't going to get a substantive answer to this question. "Okay."

"Anyway, I've really enjoyed working there."

"Don't you miss your family?"

"I go back to see them on holidays. They live down in Senesty."

"You're the second person I've heard mention Senesty. Just how big a city is it?

"Senesty is the capital of Callamandia. It's not a large city to your way of thinking. It only houses... maybe twenty thousand people. But it's the center of a lot of things. My father's actually a member of the royal court."

"Really? Wow."

"Oh, don't get too impressed. He's a scribe."

"Still. He's the king's scribe."

Sarah smiled. "You're easily impressed. Or you're just being nice."

"Anything wrong with either of those?" David asked with a grin.

"Not really," she replied, smiling. Just then, she caught a look at a flyer on the wall behind David.

"Hey! Bridget, is that flyer current?"

Bridget looked at the flyer in question. "Yep. Going on now, actually."

"David, you want to see the Centaur Games?"

"May I assume that's not just a name? There are actually centaurs involved?"

"Oh, yeah. It's their yearly sporting tournament. Bridget, why don't you have it on?"

"Those blokes over there got annoyed and broke my mirror. It's being fixed. Should be back on in about an hour. Of course, the events it'll be showing are happening just up the street..."

"I'm confused," David said.

"Well, the centaurs don't all gather in one place for their tournament. They have various small arenas around Callamandia. They compete in their local place, but all the results are put together, so the winner is a national champion."

"Okay. What's the deal with her mirror?"

"Oh, that. You can use a mirror to see the games. It's... well, a little bit like TV back in Earth, but not really. I mean, there's only so many things you can see."

David nodded.

"You want to go down and watch?"

"Sure. Seeing centaurs doing sports is something I wouldn't want to miss."

"Great! Let's go."

-----

When they arrived at the arena, which wasn't much larger than a high school football stadium, David goggled. He had never seen a centaur, even though there were supposedly always one or two on campus. To see them now, in a group, made his mind hurt. There were various sizes and races - he had to resist calling them breeds - of centaur walking about.

One group, off in a corner, caught his eye. They were the slenderest of the centaurs, and they were dressed in fancy shirts on their human parts, and a fancy blanket covering their horse half.

"Who are they?" David asked.

"That's the dressage and show jumping crowd. They're a bit snooty. They don't like to get sweaty, and their sports are all about form."

"They compete dressed like that?"

"Being dressed like that is part of the competition."

"Oh. So, what's coming up?"

"It looks like the steeplechase will be starting in a little bit. Let's go find a seat."

As they settled into the bleachers, David asked, "Why don't they host the games up at the school? The stadium's much nicer, and would hold more people..."

Sarah replied, "Well, people like to gamble on the games, and the school frowns on that kind of thing. So they hold them down here."

David nodded. He had noticed that there were people taking bets.

Down on the field, David noticed four sturdy centaurs that were milling about at what appeared to be a starting line.

"Is that all that's competing in the steeplechase?" David asked, pointing.

"Those are the ones from Gorumshead, yes. Remember, they're not the only ones competing. The others are in their own stadiums elsewhere."

David noticed that the steeplechase track actually led out of the arena. "How are we supposed to watch? Most of the race seems to be outside of our view."

"Well, if you really want to watch it, we can rent a viewing lens."

"Sure," David said. Sarah waved her hand at a vendor, who came over.

"One viewing lens," she said. David insisted on paying for it. He held it in his hand. It was a large crystal, a flattened sphere, set into a holder on top of a short staff.

"How does this work?" he asked Sarah.

"It's pre-charmed to watch the events. When the race starts, we'll be able to watch it on this. And you'll see all the other racers, too. The ones from the other towns."

"Wow. How does it do that?"

"High-level divination magic."

"Cool."

After a few minutes, the horses lined up in their lanes at the start of the track. From out of nowhere, a burst of red light and a loud crack erupted above the arena. The centaurs immediately set off at a gallop. After the first two jumps, they were out of the arena.

David looked down at the viewing lens, and saw not just the four racers from Gorumshead, but a whole slew of centaurs racing across a field and over a ditch. He was quickly caught up in the race. He wasn't normally one for sports, but this was utterly fascinating to him. To watch the centaurs shift their upper bodies as they leapt over the barriers and ditches, to see them speed off after landing... it was amazing.

It seemed only a short time later that the lead local centaur came galloping into the arena. People cheered as he crossed the finish line, but he was not the winner. The winning centaur had finished nearly thirty seconds ahead of the local centaur.

"So, does he get anything for being first here?"

"Just a few cheers. He was actually fifth, so..."

David nodded. It didn't seem quite fair to him somehow, but it wasn't his culture.

"Next up," a voice announced when all the centaurs had finished the steeplechase, "is the archery competition. Archery to begin in twenty minutes."

"You've got to see this. Centaurs are the best archers in the world."

David saw the centaur who had just finished the steeplechase walking around near the edge of the field. He got up and moved down to the bottom of the bleachers.

"Good race," he called out to the centaur. The centaur looked up to see if the comment was delivered with derision or not. Seeing the sincerity on David's face, he nodded.

"Thank you, but not quite good enough."

"Can't win all of them," David said. "Hell, if I had to race against my peers, I'd probably come in dead last." David did not chuckle, because the centaur wouldn't get the joke.

"Well, you are not an athlete," the centaur said. "I, however, am supposed to be. I fear I'm getting too old for this sort of thing."

"Uh," David said, nonplussed. "How old are you?"

"Fifty-six," the centaur replied.

"Wow!" David exclaimed. "Sorry, I'm new to Dugerra. Is that old for a centaur?"

"Not at all," a younger - apparently - female centaur said, coming over. David tried not to ogle her upper half, as she was very well built in her human regions. "You did great, Dad," the young centaur told her father. The centauress asked David, "Did you enjoy the race?"

David nodded. "I was just telling your father that I was very impressed with the whole thing. I've never seen centaurs racing before."

The centauress pointed to his uniform. "First year?"

"Yes."

She held out her hand. "My name is Giendia. This is my father, Dubnin."

David took her hand and shook it gently. "David."

"I hope I didn't cost you any money," Dubnin said to David.

David replied, "No, I don't gamble. I just came to watch. I'm not much of an athlete myself, but when my friend mentioned the games, I just had to see. Sorry if it sounds rude, but this is quite a spectacle for someone who's never even met a centaur before."

"It's not rude at all. We're glad you were interested enough to come see it," Giendia told him. "It helps keep our two races friendly, when we share things like this."

"Is that a worry?" David asked, surprised.

"It is always a worry," Dubnin said, "with two cultures that are so different living together. Mind you, centaurs and humans have lived together quite happily for centuries, but it is something to always be worked at, not taken for granted."

David nodded. "Well, I'm glad I got to see this. And I'm glad to have met both of you. Will you be competing?" David asked Giendia.

"I'm not old enough yet," she told him. "You have to be eighteen. I'll compete next year."

"What's your sport?"

"Archery," she said, motioning to the centaurs who were now milling about over by the shooting range.

"Well, I'm sure you'll do great when you do compete. Anyway, I should get back to my friend. I just wanted to say hi."

"Thank you," Dubnin said, and shook David's hand.

When David got back to his seat, Sarah asked, "Making new friends?"

David shrugged. "I've never seen a centaur before. I wanted to see what they were like."

"Just like people, mostly. A little less arrogant than most humans, really. Much stronger, of course, and faster, and insanely good at physical warfare."

"Do they fight many wars?"

"No."

"So... why are they so good at warfare?"

"So that they don't fight many wars," Sarah said with a grin.

"Ah, gotcha," David replied in kind.

Shortly after that, the archery contest began. The first part of the event was straightforward accuracy, shooting at a fixed target a hundred yards away. Only one centaur missed the bull's-eye, and it was clear that he had slipped. Still, he was disqualified from the competition's next round.

For the next round, the targets were moved a bit closer, but were placed on a swinging post, so that they waved back and forth slowly. Two more centaurs left the contest at this point, each having missed the center of the target by a matter of an inch or two.

After a couple more rounds, the contest was down to five centaurs locally, and twenty centaurs nationally.

"Kind of a lot of local competitors left, aren't there?" David asked Sarah.

Sarah replied, "Gorumshead is known for its archers. Some of the best archers in history have come from here."

"Oh."

The next level of the contest was a target at fifty yards, but between the centaurs and the target were two rings, swinging like pendulums. The goal was to put an arrow through both rings and into the target.

The only competitors who pulled this off were in Gorumshead, and only three of them did it.

Finally, they reached the last level of the archery competition. The target remained at fifty yards, but now, set in front of it were three spinning wheels, each with three holes cut into it and spinning at a different speed. The archers had to time their shot to make it through the holes and to the target, but they would have to learn to time the wheels and make the shot "blind", since they could only really see the first wheel.

The first archer didn't even come close. In fact, his arrow embedded itself in the first wheel.

The second archer stared at the wheels for two minutes, and then made his shot. The arrow was nicked by the final wheel, but it still hit the target.

The third archer timed the wheels for a full five minutes, which was the maximum time allowed. He then loosed his arrow, and it sailed cleanly through all three wheels, slamming firmly into the center of the bull's-eye on the target. The crowd erupted with cheers as he was announced the clear winner.

"Damn, that was a hell of a shot!" David enthused.

Sarah agreed. "They're good."

"That's beyond good. That's unbelievable!"

Sarah giggled at him. "You want to go get an autograph?"

David settled down. "Okay, okay. But I've just never seen anything that spectacular."

"Seen enough?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah. I don't think they could top that."

"C'mon, then."

-----

After they left the Centaur Games, Sarah and David wandered a little more in Gorumshead, but then they started to head back to campus. On their way up on the rock lift, Sarah turned to David.

"If you have time, there's one more thing I'd like to show you... if you don't have to get back to your girlfriend or something."

"I don't have a girlfriend," David said.

"Really?"

"I guess no one wants to date the undead. What do you want to show me?"

"It's a special flowerbed I've been working on with the fairies, in secret. It's in the middle of the trees by the greenhouses."

"Okay, sure. Why so secret about it, though?"

"You'll see."

-----

The pair walked into the trees, and then spent another five minutes walking until they came to the clearing they were looking for. Before him, David saw a ring of flowers of all colors, and in the center of the ring, what looked to be tall grass-like or reed-like plants. All told, they were about two feet high.

David turned to Sarah for an explanation.

"I told you, it's a flower bed. I like to have sex outdoors," she said with a smile, and then moved close to him, kissing him passionately.

David was surprised, but not so much so that he didn't kiss back. Soon, he slipped his tongue out and into her mouth, and their tongues were quickly dancing together. He put his arms around her, holding her against him. He felt her tits pressing against his chest, and then he ran his hands down to fondle her ass. She felt good.

After a minute or so, Sarah broke their kiss, smiling at David. She then slipped down onto her knees. David smiled to himself as she unzipped his pants. He had never had a blowjob before, and it looked as though he was about to have his first.

Sarah wet her lips as she pulled his erect cock from his pants. She licked the tip, enjoying the taste of David's precum. She licked his entire length then, from head to base, and then back up the other side. Finally, she pressed her lips to the head of his dick, and slowly pushed forward, parting her lips only enough to allow his cock to pass into her mouth.

David was in heaven. He couldn't remember feeling anything quite this nice. He put his hands gently on her head, but that was more to steady himself than to encourage her.

Sarah needed no encouragement, anyway. Once she had half his prick in her mouth, she began to slowly bob back and forth on his cock. She used her tongue and lips to good effect, sending tingles all along David's body. Every once in a while, she would pull her mouth off his dick and swirl her tongue over the head before plunging back down onto him.

David was lost in bliss, and he knew that he was quickly going to come. He regretted this, as he didn't want this mind-blowing experience to end, but he really had no choice in the matter. He started grunting with the strain of holding back.

Sarah, understanding David's noises, reached up with her hand and began to gently fondle his balls. This was all David could take. He exploded in her mouth, spurting blast after blast of jism. Sarah held it all, and then swallowed when he was finished. She was a bit surprised that he was entirely tasteless, but it didn't bother her.

While David was recovering his senses, Sarah rose and stepped back from him slightly. She saw that he was watching, so she began to undo her blouse. In a few moments, it was undone, and she pulled it off her arms and let it fall to the ground. She walked back to David and put her hands on his chest.

"Would you remove my bra for me?" she asked coquettishly. David smiled at her, and then he put his hands on her shoulders, and gently turned her around.

It didn't take long for David to undo the bra, and then he ran his hands up her back and onto her shoulders. He stepped forward as his hands moved off her shoulders and down her arms, pulling the bra straps along with them. When his hands passed her elbows, the bra fell free, tumbling to the ground and exposing Sarah's wonderful breasts to the cool afternoon air. Her nipples were already hard.

David reached forward and took her tits in hand, massaging and kneading them, arousing Sarah and causing her to moan. As David began to kiss and nibble on her neck, Sarah kicked off her shoes and unfastened her pants, pushing them down off her hips until they fell to the ground.

Finally, David's hands left Sarah's breasts and moved down, across her stomach. She sighed as his hands slipped under the waistband of her panties, pushing them down. They were immediately forgotten as David's hand then moved between her thighs.

Sarah spread her legs as much as she could to give David all the access he wanted. She turned her head to kiss him just as his finger brushed against her clit. She gasped, and David took advantage, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth.

For long moments, the two stood there kissing while David fingered her clit. Finally, though, Sarah broke the kiss and pushed his hand away.

"I want you to eat me out," she said to him. She stepped out of her clothes, and then moved over to the flower bed. She sat down on the grass, which David had expected to collapse under the weight, but it didn't. It bent, and then held her up, like a spring.

"It's special grass," she said, clearly seeing the question on his face. "Now come on, Studly."

David advanced slowly, then had to admit, "I've never eaten out a girl before."

"You know what you were just doing with your finger? Do it with your tongue. You'll be just fine."

Sarah lay back, her nude body exposed to the sky. She spread her legs as David approached, her glistening juices inviting him to lap them up.

David removed his coat, shoes and socks, and then knelt in front of Sarah. He leaned forward, and tentatively licked her pussy, tasting a woman's love juices for the first time. He found that the taste was pleasant, and he licked again.

Sarah started to moan as David flicked his tongue back and forth across her pussy. She ran her fingers through his hair while he worked, and then started to encourage him to move up a little. He finally got the message, and his tongue swiped across her clit.

Sarah let out a loud moan when he did that, and David immediately got the message. He was soon flicking his tongue rapidly over Sarah's clit, and then sliding the full length of his tongue over it.

Sarah was quickly rolling her hips, rising toward orgasm. David continued licking her, but unfastened his pants, pushing them and his briefs down off his hips. He stroked his dick a couple times while he sucked Sarah's clit into his mouth. He could tell she was very near orgasm.

Once David was fully hard, he moved quickly. Sarah barely had time to notice the absence of David's tongue on her clit when she felt his cock at her pussy. David pressed in quickly, and Sarah moaned. It took only a few strokes before Sarah's orgasm overtook her, and she screamed out in pleasure.

David stopped moving, but did not pull out.

"No!" Sarah cried. "Don't stop! Fuck me!"

David shrugged mentally, and then started to ram his cock into Sarah's pussy. Sarah's orgasm intensified, and she was writhing and twisting beneath David as he continued to fuck her throughout her orgasm.

Sarah's climax reached a peak, and she shuddered violently, and then went rigid.

"Oh, stop! Stop, please, stop!"

David stopped moving as fast as he could. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just too sensitive for the moment."

David pulled out of her, which caused even more shudders. He stood up and pulled off his clothes, then climbed onto the flower bed with her. He lay beside her, and then pulled her against him, so that her back was to him. She reached around and took hold of his dick, stroking it gently to keep it hard.

"Oh, fuck, that was intense. I hope you're not mad I made you stop."

"No, I wouldn't want to hurt you." He reached over and started to caress her tit. He could feel her heart racing and her breathing was still heavy.

After several minutes, during which Sarah kept stroking David's dick to keep him ready, she turned over and then pushed him onto his back. She straddled him, and in seconds had impaled herself on his prick.

As Sarah began to bounce on his dick, David reached up and took hold of her tits, molding them with his hands. Sarah sighed, and then began to moan quietly again. David pulled her down so that her breasts were mashed into his chest, her hard nipples digging into him. He kissed her hard and began to roll his hips, so that he was thrusting hard up into her as she came down on him.

David broke their kiss, and looked into Sarah's eyes.

"How many guys have you brought here?" he asked mischievously.

"A few," she admitted. "But none were as good as you."

"Oh, bullshit," he said with a grin. He rolled them over so he was on top again, and then he began to thrust hard into her. Sarah was suddenly too busy moaning to answer him.

David quickly brought Sarah to another orgasm. And another after that. The afternoon was quickly lost in a blissful haze of moans and screams.

-----

Twilight was setting in by the time David and Sarah decided to leave their little love nest. Sarah kissed David one more time before they left the trees.

"I want you to know that I wasn't lying," she said.

"About what?"

"You being the best. You really were. Now I have to see if I can find some guy better than you!" she said with a grin.

"Well, if you ever need to, you know, remind yourself of how good I supposedly was, you just let me know."

"Oh, count on that!" she replied with a grin. After they were walking across the terrace, she asked, "You don't have a girlfriend or anything, do you? I mean, I saw you sitting with a couple of girls..."

"They're just friends," he replied. "No, I'm not seeing anyone."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment. I would just feel guilty if I made you cheat on someone."

David smiled. "Don't worry about it."

"Good."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

The next morning, David made his way up to Beckett Hall, where the dean's office was. He was going to face the Minister of Education.

David was actually a little downcast about the time he'd spent with Sarah the day before. He'd had a good time, but it had felt almost as if she was treating him like a kid. It was as if she'd taken him on the trip solely to cheer him up. He'd had some minor hopes when she'd decided to have sex with him, but her comments afterward dashed any hope he had for a relationship.

As he made it to the Academy level, David sighed. He had hoped to find a steady girlfriend here, but clearly his status made him an unattractive partner.

Oh, well. I should be focusing on my studies, anyway.

Once David approached the doors to Beckett Hall, he paused. His future could change radically once he entered this building. He took a deep breath, and then opened the door. The walk to Dean Lengel's office seemed an exceptionally long one.

"Can I help..." the receptionist in the dean's office started to ask, but then stopped herself. "Oh, David. Please, go on in. They're waiting for you."

"Thank you," he said, to be polite. He felt no gratitude at being let in to this meeting whatsoever.

Despite being told to go right in, David knocked on the door.

"Come in," Dean Lengel called out. David opened the door, and entered.

"David. Good morning. Can we get you anything? Some juice, perhaps?"

"No, thank you, Dean."

"Okay. This is Gary Chalmers, the Minister of Education for Callamandia."

Minister Chalmers reached out his hand and said, "David, good to meet you."

David shook the man's hand, and then they all just stood there.

Finally, Chalmers cleared his voice. "Look, I know this is all a bit awkward, so why don't we proceed just a bit more informally than usual. David, why don't you take a seat here,"

David sat down stiffly, and the minister sat in the chair next to him, then turned it slightly so he could better look at David. The dean sat behind her desk.

"Tell me about yourself," the minister ordered.

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

The minister shrugged. "Whatever you want to tell me. How you grew up, how you became a demighost, how you're doing in school here, what your plans are for the future... just anything you want to tell me."

"Well, I don't know what my plans are for the future, mainly because I don't know what my future is going to be like. For the time being, I'm just trying to get through each day as it comes along. Some of the students here are making that... an interesting experience, to say the least."

"Do you know what you want to do when you get your licensure?" the minister asked.

"No, I don't. I think I may want to continue my schooling beyond that point. So that I at least have the choice of where I can live."

The minister nodded. "Do go on. How did you become a demighost? I've never heard the story."

David related the events of that night to him. When David was finished, the minister frowned.

"So this kind of hazing is not unfamiliar to you."

"Unfortunately not," David said.

"How did your parents react to your transformation?" the minister asked.

"Very poorly. They're very superstitious, and they're afraid of anything they see as occult or 'evil'. I fell into that category."

The minister's frown deepened. "And the time between when you were transformed, and when you were brought in by the Rimohrs... what were you doing then?"

"Well, first I had to heal from my... uh... death."

"Heal?"

"I still have a physical body, Minister. When it gets injured, it takes time to heal."

"I see. Go on, what did you do after that?"

"Well," David said, hesitant to admit what he'd done. "I got even with those who'd killed me."

The dean and the minister shared a look. The dean asked the obvious question. "You didn't kill anyone, did you?"

David would have paled, if he could. "Good Lord, no! I just gave each of them something to remember me by, so to speak."

The dean relaxed, and the minister nodded. "So," he asked after a pause, "when will you be getting revenge on those who are tormenting you here?"

David smirked. "I have already been put on notice that any such behavior at The Academy would be frowned upon."

"Uh-huh," the minister said, unconvinced. "But when do you plan to get your revenge?"

David paused for a long moment, then said, "Hypothetically speaking, if a person such as myself were, in fact, going to commit acts of revenge with the goal of not getting caught, it would be a good idea to hide his acts among similar acts, so that no one knew who had done it."

Both the dean and the minister looked a bit confused.

David said, continuing, "But that's just hypothetical. Truthfully, I'm waiting to see how many of the students aren't going to get bored with it. I've already noticed that the number of people harassing me has come down some. It will be a while before I can be sure of who my real tormenters are. I know some of them, but not all."

"So, you have specific targets in mind?"

"I wish you'd quit using terms like 'target', Mr. Minister," David said in exasperation. "If they would just leave me alone, I'd happily forget about it. My only goal in any actions I may or may not take would be to make those students leave me be."

The minister nodded. "Dean, can we look up David's academic file?"

"Surely, Minister." The dean pulled out a ledger and opened it to a specific page. A quiet spell, and some words appeared on the page. "Let's see here. Excellent marks from Prof. Stott, no surprise there. Good marks in all the other classes, with the exception of Charms and Hexes, where your grades are acceptable, but could certainly use improvement."

The minister asked, "Having issues with casting spells?"

"It's my wand, sir. It's difficult to keep it under control. I've been meaning to go have a talk with Mr. Wormwood about it, to see if he had any tips for me, but I haven't had the chance to get down to Gorumshead during the week."

"Doesn't seem like that would be a difficult task," the minister objected.

"Minister," the dean explained, "he's not allowed to go alone. The school has assigned him a chaperone. By law, he cannot leave the school grounds unless she is with him. Thus, I imagine that the task of finding her, explaining things to her, and then going, seemed more difficult than trying to work out the problem for himself."

"I see. David, are you enjoying your classes here?"

"Class time is the most enjoyable part of my day."

"Yes, but is that because you like the subjects, or because no one is throwing rocks at you?" the minister asked astutely.

"A little bit of both," David admitted. "But I really do like my classes. They're challenging, which means I never get bored, and the topics are all so new to me that it's fun each day to see what's going to come up. Heck, even History class is teaching about things I've never even heard of."

The minister nodded. "Do you have any complaints?"

"Well, the daily stonings do seem a bit much..." David said with a grin.

The minister chuckled. "Beyond that."

David considered. "No, not really. When I first got here, I could really have used a handbook, but I've slowly picked up on things as time's gone on."

"A handbook?" the dean asked.

"Something to explain how things work here at The Academy. For those of us new to magic, the idea of pixies serving us dinner, and fairy fireflies providing light, and floating rocks, and all of this other stuff, it gets a little overwhelming."

"I don't think I'd ever realized how bad that must be," the dean admitted.

The minister shrugged this off; it wasn't his concern. "So, if I understand what you're saying, David, essentially you're happy here, and would like to stay, if only the students would accept you?"

"I honestly don't expect that they will ever 'accept' me, Minister. I'd be perfectly happy if they'd just leave me alone. I have a small group of friends, and that's really all I need. I'm not looking to win any popularity contests."

The minister nodded. He turned to Dean Lengel. "Well, I think I've heard all I need. Do you have any questions for him, Madame Lengel?"

"How did your trip to Gorumshead go yesterday, David?"

So! It was a setup!

David replied, "It was very interesting, ma'am. We went to see the Centaur Games."

"I've been to those," the dean replied. "Very impressive."

"Yes, ma'am."

To the minister, the dean said, "I thought David could use a day off, what with his nervousness over today's interview. So I asked Sarah, his chaperone, to show him some of the sights. He hadn't been off-campus since he got here. Well, except for two field trips with his History class."

The minister nodded. "Do you like your chaperone?"

David replied honestly, "I'm liking her less and less."

Both of the others were confused by that, but David didn't feel like explaining it to them, so didn't elaborate further.

Finally, the minister said, "Well, if there's nothing else..." he waited a beat, and the dean shook her head. "David, I know this meeting had you worried, but the truth is, unless there was a damned good reason, I would never override Dean Lengel's authority here at the school. We both knew what you were when she accepted you to The Academy. Unless your actions had shown you to be a troublemaker, there was no way I was going to go over her head."

"But, the parents," David objected.

Minister Chalmers snorted. "Every single year, there is a group of unhappy parents somewhere in Callamandia. I have to make this trip to one school or another, and I handle it the same in every case, because we always know these things going in. This year it's a demighost. Last year, at another school, it was a vampire. The year before, a goblin. Next year it'll probably be a six-foot tall invisible rabbit."

David chuckled.

"Seriously, the number of vocally upset parents is very small, compared to the total number of students. I can afford to offend them. Besides, there are actually some principles left in this politician, and you've done nothing to warrant getting yanked out of a school where you are more or less happy and doing well."

"Thank you, Minister."

"Go on and head to class," the minister said. As David was about to leave, the minister called out, "And, David?"

"Yes, sir?" he said, turning back.

"Try not to get caught when you get even with these bastards." The minister winked at him.

"Yes, sir. If I were to ever consider getting even, I would certainly try not to get caught."

The minister laughed, and waved David out of the room.

David let loose a huge sigh of relief as soon as he was outside.

"So what happened?" a voice asked, startling David. He turned to see Gwen and Devyn standing there.

"Oh, hey, you guys. The minister seems to be a pretty cool guy. He's not going to override the dean."

"So they are letting you stay?" Devyn asked.

"Yeah."

"Good," she replied.

"I thought so," David replied.

To Devyn, Gwen said, "You're going to have to hustle to make it to class on time."

Devyn nodded. She said to David, "I'm glad you're staying." She gave him a very brief hug, and then darted off.

Gwen gave him a bigger hug after Devyn left. "I'm glad you're staying, too. I was going to stage a protest if they tried to kick you out."

"Thanks, but that wouldn't have been a good idea. No point in you getting in trouble over me."

"Oh, bullshit there isn't. There are principles involved."

"Uh-huh. Let's just go to class, okay?"

"All right. At least we don't have to run like a banshee's chasing us, like Devyn just did."

"I didn't think Devyn was all that worried about how this turned out."

"Well... honestly, she was keeping me company. I was worried about you."

"Thanks, Gwen. I appreciate that."

"Who else is going to help me with potions class?" she asked, to break the mushy mood.

David laughed, and the two proceeded to class.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Once the minister's decision was announced, David immediately noted a shift in the ways in which he was being accosted. The level of rock-throwing picked back up to its original level the very next day. He was morphed on two consecutive days, until he started keeping his guard up constantly.

He was sitting in the lunch room, letting Jailla eat, when Gwen joined him.

"Where's Olissa?" she asked.

"She had a club get-together. I think they're having a picnic or something."

"Oh, well, that's nice, I guess. She could have invited you along."

"She did, actually. But I see no reason to destroy her social standing by showing up alongside her in public."

Gwen shook her head. "You've got to know by now, David, that those of us who are hanging around you don't give a crap what others think."

"Either that or you're gluttons for punishment."

"What's got you so down today?" Gwen asked.

"It's just... everything. My head hurts from getting hit with rocks, I'm always on edge, to prevent some asshole from morphing me into a ghost, and my trip to Gorumshead the other day just proved to me that Sarah doesn't really like me all that much."

"Why, what did she do?"

"Nothing, which is precisely the point."

"Huh?"

"Well, when we went to town the first time we... uh... got intimate." David looked away, not able to look Gwen in the eyes.

"Oh," she said, blushing. "And this last time..."

"Nothing. She was friendly, but not at all close. Clearly, I was just another guy for her."

"Did you really like her?"

David shrugged. "It's not so much that I liked her as that I'd like to have a steady girlfriend."

After a pause, Gwen asked, "What about Olissa?"

David shook his head. "We've already had that conversation."

"Oh."

"Speaking of boyfriends and girlfriends, this may be none of my business, but you and Devyn seem to be awfully chummy lately..."

Gwen blushed crimson. "Yeah."

"Are you and she...?"

Gwen nodded.

"I didn't realize that either of you were gay."

"We're both bi," she corrected.

"Ah," David said, nodding. "Well, like I said, none of my business. I was just curious."

"No problem."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David and Olissa were walking together to MagEc class. Suddenly, they heard a shout, and both of them stumbled to the ground.

"Fuck," David cursed angrily. Turning to Olissa, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"I think so," she replied. "Where'd Bispy go?"

"I think, to get revenge." The two saw a boy running across the terrace, screaming in terror, and Bisperion flew after him, hissing and snapping his jaws. Olissa chuckled briefly.

As the two got to their feet, she asked, "What the heck happened, anyway?"

"Bara happened."

"Huh?"

"It's a hex to cause someone to trip. They started using that one on me instead of the morphing, because I can't block it fast enough. The spell's too short."

"Assholes," she muttered. Raising her voice, she called out, "Come on, Bispy! He's had enough!"

Bisperion gave one last vicious snap, and then wheeled into the sky like any good dragon must when leaving someone alive. He glided back to Olissa and landed lightly on her shoulder.

"I'm surprised Jailla didn't go after him," Olissa said.

"Jailla and I have grown used to the taunting. He only gets angry when they actually hit him with the rocks."

"This really sucks, David. Why can't they just leave you alone?"

David shrugged. "I guess that's no fun."

"Hmph."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David was leaning against a tree, staring out at the ocean. He was on the Dorm level, at the very edge of the mountain. He was only a couple feet from a sheer drop to the ocean below. He had taken to coming here when he wanted to get away from things. While people would regularly pass him - it was a common place for people to walk to enjoy the view - they usually didn't bother him.

Today, he saw, was likely to be an exception. He heard voices to his left, and looked to see Marcus and his friends coming over the bridge which spanned the waterfall which spilled from the dorm moat down into the ocean. Behind them, he saw yet another group. He thought it was strange to see two groups clustered like that, and was sure it meant trouble.

David turned to look back out at the ocean, hoping that if he ignored Marcus, he might get by with just a verbal taunt. He could ignore those easily enough.

As the group got closer, David heard them talking.

Marcus said, "...that damned Minister of Education. The man's got no balls. He refuses to get rid of the bastards in our midst. Did you hear about Mannheim Academy? They have a vampire now! The world is going to hell, and I tell you, if we don't stop it, the politicians are just going to let it happen!"

Marcus' gang readily agreed with him. David said nothing. The group was nearly to him now.

"Well, I'm not going to wait for these bastards to cause a real problem before taking action."

Another said, "What are you going to do?"

Marcus said, "This."

David tensed, as they were right behind him now. He was, however, unable to withstand the heavy shove that Marcus gave him. He was quickly over the edge of the cliff and falling.

"Shit, Marcus!" one of the boys cried out. "Let's go!" David heard the group run off as he fell faster and faster...

And was suddenly caught up short. The air rushed out of his lungs, and he slammed against the side of the cliff.

Once David had caught his breath and his bearings, he looked to see what had caught him. Wrapped around his waist was...

Is this a magical rope? It feels like a vine...

David looked up to see that the thing wrapped around him was attached to a tree. It was one of the trees that were planted every two hundred feet or so around the entire perimeter of each level of the school grounds.

As David was mulling this over, the tendril around his waist actually began to shorten, pulling David upward, towards the top of the cliff. As he got closer, he saw faces looking down at him. They were as startled as he was.

Once David got closer, he recognized two faces. One was Devyn. The other was Amanda, the girl from his Umbrasocius class.

As David reached the top of the cliff, he hugged the tree. The vine that had wrapped around his waist slowly shrank in diameter until it seemed to vanish into thin air.

"I've never been happier to see a tree," David said. Finally, he let go of the tree, and turned to the others.

"Are you all right?" Amanda asked.

"Thanks to the tree, I am. What are you guys doing here?"

"We were discussing our TEM class," Devyn explained, "when we heard Marcus talking to his friends about 'doing something' about you, since the Minister wasn't going to. We felt it would be best to follow."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Amanda asked, reaching out to touch him, but stopping just short.

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little sore, but otherwise, I'm good. Thanks for asking."

Amanda smiled at him. Devyn said, "Had it not been for the tree, this could have been very bad. I'm afraid we weren't close enough to stop him."

David shrugged. "All's well that ends well, I suppose." He straightened out his clothes, which had gotten rather badly ruffled during the fall. "Thanks for following them, though. I appreciate that."

Devyn nodded.

"You should tell someone what that guy did!" Amanda said.

"Did you actually see him push me?" David asked.

"Well, no. But..." she said.

Devyn said, "But his friends will say that David slipped of his own accord, and they were running to get help. It's David's word against all of theirs. While even the Dean will know that Marcus is lying, there's nothing she can officially do about it."

"That sucks!" Amanda fumed.

"Yeah, it does," David replied. "Anyway, you guys want to go get dinner?"

"I thought you didn't need to eat," Devyn replied.

"Physically, I don't. Mentally, it sometimes helps me calm down."

"I have to work on my TEM assignment," Devyn said. "I will eat later."

"I'll eat with you, David," Amanda said.

As the three were heading over to the nearest rock-stop, David asked, "What the heck is TEM, anyway?"

"Theory of Elemental Manipulation," Devyn replied. "It's the branch of magic that allows you to control the physical elements of the world as... well, as pieces, rather than as whole objects."

"I'm not sure I get it," David said.

Amanda said, "You're from Earth, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Did you see The Last Airbender?"

"Unfortunately..."

"Elemental Manipulation is a lot like being a bender. It's a magic that allows you to control air, or water, or the ground."

"Oh, okay."

"What is The Last Airbender?" Devyn asked.

"You don't want to know," David replied.

Amanda chuckled. "Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad."

"Just not my kind of thing, I guess."

Amanda nodded. Devyn remained quiet, but still confused.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

The next day, David was walking across the terrace when he was met with a slight pop! and a small pixie before him.

"David Stroud?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied.

"Dean Lengel would like to see you in her office."

"On my way," David said with a sigh. He turned and headed for the nearest rock-stop.

As David entered Beckett Hall, he thought to himself that he was spending an inordinate amount of time in the administration building, and that he really wished he could see less of the inside of this place.

"Hello, David," the secretary said to him when he walked in. This was something else that made him wince. He didn't like that she recognized him by sight. "Go on in. She's waiting for you."

David nodded, and then walked over and knocked on the door. When he received the expected invitation, he walked into the office.

"David. Good to see you. Please have a seat."

David sat, and looked at the dean. He didn't really know what this was about, although coming so soon after Marcus' stunt, he had a feeling this was to be the subject of discussion. He was right.

"A little birdie tells me that you had a rather nasty run-in with one of your tormenters yesterday."

"Which little birdie was it this time? I haven't told Penny about it yet."

"Never you mind. It was someone who was concerned for your welfare. What, exactly, happened?"

"I was standing at the top of the cliff on the dorm level, by the waterfall, looking out at the ocean, and Marcus pushed me off."

Dean Lengel paled.

"If it hadn't been for that... well, whatever is in that tree, I'd probably have been in the hospital for weeks." Overnight, David had convinced himself that something must live in the tree. Trees don't have tentacles, after all.

But he was wrong. "There's nothing in the tree, David. It's called a Sentinel Tree. They're planted here to protect the grounds and the students. When someone falls off the cliff, as you did, the tree will reach out and grab you. Sometimes even two of them will be involved. We don't spread this information around because we don't want the students testing the limits of the trees."

"Makes sense to me," David said. "I'd always wondered how you got away with no fences around things."

"Fences are ugly," the dean said with a smile.

David nodded. "Anyway, the tree rescued me and pulled me back up."

"Are you hurt?"

"Just a little sore."

Dean Lengel sighed. "David, you should have come to me right after this happened."

"What for?"

"What do you mean, what for?"

"There's nothing you can do about it. Marcus had three or four friends with him. They have all already rehearsed a story about how I slipped and fell, I'm sure. The two other people there, one of which probably told you, weren't close enough to see what happened, so they're of no use as witnesses. There's no evidence at all that Marcus did anything."

"Except your words," the dean said.

"Which won't mean anything in any official way. You know it and I know it. I'm not considered a 'reliable witness'."

The dean sighed again. She hated that David was right. "Still, you should have let me know what was going on." After a long pause, she said, "So, what are you going to do about Marcus? Clearly he is not going to leave you alone."

"Dean Lengel!" David said in mock-offense, "How dare you suggest that I would plot insult or injury to one of my fellow classmates!"

The dean chuckled. "Okay, okay. I know, you can't say anything to me. And David, remember, I won't look the other way if you do anything to hurt him. An eye for an eye doesn't fly. Don't stoop to his level."

"Don't worry, ma'am. I won't push him off a cliff and run away."

The dean looked at him askance. "That is somehow very unreassuring."

"Sorry about that."

The dean nodded. "That's all for now. I'm glad you're all right."

David got up, said good day to the dean, and left. He wondered what the whole point of that had been. Surely Devyn or Amanda had given her the story, and he'd already heard her speech about not getting revenge on his tormenters...

She's a principal. They like repeating themselves. he thought to himself with a chuckle.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Hello, David. What's in the backpack?" Penny asked him when he arrived at the castle. It was only moments before sundown.

"Vengeance supplies," he said with a slight grin. Penny raised an eyebrow at him. "Penny, are there any rules for tonight that I need to know about? Things I'm supposed to do, or not supposed to do?"

"Well, don't do anything that will cause a backlash against us ghosts. Other than that, just enjoy yourself."

"Um... what danger is it if humans are upset at ghosts? It's not like they can do anything about it..."

"They can call in a demighost to hunt us," she said, and shivered. "That is why many ghosts won't like you, David. You are a danger to us, if you have a mind to be."

David's eyes widened. "I didn't know that. But why would I want to hurt my own kind?"

"We are not your kind," Madame Barbonne said, not unkindly, as she came up next to Penny. "Though it heartens me, at least, that you think of yourself that way."

"Good evening, Madame Barbonne," David said, bowing slightly. She returned the gesture.

"Madame Penelope, are you ready for the festivities? Clearly our young friend is well prepared."

Penny said, "Yes, quite. It's almost time to get started, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. Come, Master David, into the Great Hall."

David followed along. He whispered to Penny, "Master?"

"It's just a male honorific, like Madame is for women."

"Oh. If you prefer to be called Penny, why do all the ghosts call you Penelope?"

"Because they don't listen very well," Penny said with a sigh.

"Oh," David said with a grin. He would have given her a hug, but he was still in human form.

When they entered the Great Hall, David saw dozens of ghosts waiting. He tried to move over, to lean against a wall out of the way, but Penny and Madame Barbonne would not let him. They both motioned him forward, and they walked together all the way up to the front of the hall.

"David Stroud," the head ghost intoned. "Welcome to the Night of Haunting. We are honored that you would join us."

"I wouldn't miss it," David replied. "Thank you for inviting me."

"Please, if you would come up and stand beside me."

David moved up onto the dais, and then quietly asked, "Should I fade now?"

"No. You are to act as our official starter. As a demighost, you will naturally fade at sunset, correct?"

"Yes."

"So. When you fade, we know that the festivities are to begin. All you have to do is, well, stand there."

"I think I can manage that," David said with a grin.

The head ghost grinned back at him. He then turned to the collected ghosts and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, another year has passed. It is now time for us to take our revenge for those offensive slights, real or imagined, that the human race has put upon us. It is time for us to remind them that we are here, and that, if we so choose, we can make their lives very unpleasant. But mostly, it is a night for us to have fun playing pranks on those hapless living folk down at the school!"

A loud cheer went up from the crowd. At that moment, David felt the tingle of his transformation start. He motioned to the head ghost, who nodded. As David's fade took hold and he changed, the head ghost cried out, "Let the Night of Haunting begin!"

The ghosts rapidly left the hall, some fading to invisibility long before they left. David remained standing where he was while the chaos died down.

"Thank you for your help, David," the head ghost said.

"Such as it was," David replied with a smile.

"Every little bit, as they say."

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't catch your name."

The man looked at him measuringly for a moment. Then he replied, "I'm not sure if I should be insulted or not."

"I'm sorry, I meant no offense."

"No, I'm sure you didn't... but that you don't know who I am without asking wounds me. Have they forgotten me at the school? Do they not talk about me at all?"

"Well, sir, without knowing who you are..." David said, indicating he still didn't know.

"I am Lord Peter Woodward," the man said, and then stepped off the dais. While he was striding out of the hall, he cried out, "And I will remind this school of my presence!"

David looked a little stricken. He went and found Penny. "I didn't mean to upset him," he said after explaining things to her. "I didn't realize he was the lord of the castle!"

Penny smiled and waved her hand. "Don't let him get to you. He likes to be overly theatrical these days. Especially on the Night of Haunting. You just gave him an excuse. Although, I must say, if there isn't a prominent picture of him somewhere in the school..."

"I haven't seen one," David said.

Penny shook her head. "That's not good."

-----

As David left the castle, he considered where to start. He had a list of about eight people he felt really needed a little payback for all they had done to him over the last month and a half. This was the best opportunity he would have to get even with them, without getting in trouble. While people would certainly suspect he had done it, like their own pranks, no one would be able to prove it.

David decided to start small and work his way up. His ultimate goal for the night, of course, was Marcus Savolar. But he wanted to savor the anticipation, so first he headed for the dorm room of one Dustin Kyler. Dustin was one of the rock-throwers, and he also seemed to be an agitator; he liked to get other people riled up so they would throw rocks, as well.

Finding Dustin was not hard, as he was still in his dorm room. He appeared like he might actually be studying. David doubted this, as it was a feast night.

David took off his backpack, and set it silently on Dustin's bed. Dustin saw nothing, of course. David pulled out from his backpack a balloon filled with waste water from the greenhouse. It was nasty, filthy, smelly stuff, and the smell lingered on anything it touched.

Quietly, David muttered a charm to make the water in the balloon colder. David had learned this from Prof. Phillips, under the guise of wanting to 'correct' the mistakes of the pixies in the cafeteria. When he was finished, the water was near freezing.

David felt around for his backpack straps - he still wasn't used to dealing with his invisible belongings - and then slung his backpack on his back. He hefted the balloon in his hand, trying to get his aim just right. He didn't want to be too close; the last thing he wanted was this smelly water on him.

Finally, David launched the balloon, full force, at the back of Dustin's head. The invisible balloon hit Dustin squarely, and burst. The most fun part for David was that the balloon, and the water, remained invisible. They would do so, he had discovered, until either he faded back to solid, or until sunrise.

Meanwhile, all Dustin knew was that a cold feeling washed over him, and the room was suddenly filled with a foul stench. Dustin pushed himself away from his desk and went, "Ugh!" The water dripped down him, but because he couldn't see it, all he knew was that he suddenly felt cold and clammy. Only when the water started to drip onto one of his books did he realize what had happened.

"Goddamned ghosts!" he shouted. David walked through the walls and into the hallway before laughing.

On to the next target.

-----

David had pranked six of the people on his list so far. He had bombed one more with a water balloon, hit two with a dye balloon, which would stain their clothes and skin a horrid yellow-green color, once he became visible, and the remaining two he had tripped repeatedly as they tried to walk down a hallway.

Now, he was on the last two. The first was Marcus' friend Jayce Thrisko. He was the one David suspected of poisoning him with the apple muffin. Though clearly that idea had been a group effort, David remembered seeing Jayce nearest the table, and so that earned him special retribution.

David had actually asked two of the other ghosts in the castle to help him with this, and they had readily agreed. The three of them made their way into Jayce's dorm room, where they found him packing up something that looked similar to David's own backpack, though its contents were probably different.

David picked up a book off a desk and threw it at Jayce. It smacked him in the back of the head, causing him to curse, and then to look around. When he did, David and the other two ghosts starting to moan loudly, and picked up other objects in the room, causing them to "float" all over the place. When they were through with each object, they would hurl it at Jayce, causing him to duck and jump out of the way.

"What the fuck is this shit?" Jayce asked. "What the hell do you want?"

"Vengeance!" David screamed in a voice that, thanks to another little spell, sounded nothing like his own. The other two ghosts ramped up their moaning to howls of fury, and they picked up more objects, throwing them more quickly. Jayce was being pummeled by things he couldn't get out of the way of.

"Jayce Thrisko, you have angered the spirits of Woodward! You must pay the price!" David cried.

At this, the other two ghosts faded into visibility. Their faces were contorted with mock anger, their hands reaching for Jayce, as though to drag him off to Hell.

"No!" Jayce screamed, and dodged the two ghosts.

"You cannot avoid your fate!" David cried.

The two ghosts turned and walked toward Jayce, moving inexorably toward him, right through the furniture.

"FUCK!" Jayce screamed, and then he bolted, yanking the door open and fairly diving through it, running down the hall in terror.

When the door clicked shut, David and his conspirators broke out laughing.

"I think he might have pissed his pants!" David said between guffaws.

"That was fun!" one of the ghosts said. "I like your version of the Night of Haunting!"

When they had settled down, David said, "Thanks, guys. I appreciate the help."

The two ghosts acknowledged his gratitude, and then they faded off to go have their own fun... probably somewhat scarier fun than before, thanks to David.

-----

David entered the cafeteria about an hour later, to join the feast. He was dressed as a Rimohr. He looked around, and only recognized his friends because they were sitting in the spot they usually did. He went over and joined them.

"Hey, David," Gwen said. She was dressed as a fairy princess. "You came as a cop?"

"I'm not familiar with much of anything else from Dugerra, unless you wanted me to dress up as one of our teachers."

The group laughed at that. Olissa, who was dressed as a scarecrow, said, "You could have picked an Earth costume."

"But then poor Gwen here would never figure it out," David said, teasing Gwen.

"Oh, screw you," Gwen replied with a chuckle.

Jim soon joined them. He was dressed in true Earth fashion. He had come as Darth Maul.

"Jim," David said, "Didn't you know you were supposed to come in costume tonight?"

Olissa and Gwen oohed at the joke.

Jim pulled out his light saber, and muttered a little spell. It came to life, and he waved it at David. Of course, the spell was only an illusion, and so it passed right through.

"Nice one," David admitted when Jim sat down.

"So," Jim said after a pause, "How did your Evening of Revenge go?"

"Pretty good, but not perfect."

"How come?" Olissa asked.

"I never found Marcus, that son of a bitch."

"What were you going to do to him?" Jim asked.

"Beat the living shit out of him. Invisibly, of course."

"Oh, of course!" Jim replied with a grin.

"There's always next year," Gwen said.

David looked at her seriously and said, "If you think I'm waiting until next Halloween to get even with him, you don't know me very well."

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