The Woodward Academy,
Chapter 11: April
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
"My god, what happened to her?" Dean Lengel asked, mortified.
"I don't know," Healer Hall said. "The only report I have is that she fell into the river, and that the Sentinel Trees caught her when she went over the falls."
"Who brought her in?"
"I did. One of the students saw her go over, and called me. The Sentinel Trees had pulled her back up to the river bank by the time I got there."
Dean Lengel pressed her lips tightly together for a long moment, then she pulled out her mirror.
"Misty Inverness, Prof. Qwellyn, Sheoshpianah Beiron."
"What are you doing?" Healer Hall asked. Before Dean Lengel could say anything, the fairies each popped into being. Prof. Qwellyn was human size, but the others were in their winged form.
Dean Lengel looked at each of them seriously. "Find David Stroud. Bring him here."
-----
David awoke with a start. Someone was shaking him.
"Huh?" he asked, before he could even resolve the blur into Prof. Qwellyn's face. When he was able to, the look she gave him woke him up rather quickly. "Miss J? What's wrong?"
"David, you need to go to the infirmary. Your friend Olissa has been hurt."
"Oh, fuck," David said, ignoring the teacher's presence. "Motherfucking goddammit!" he shouted, and then bolted for the stairs. Prof. Qwellyn thought to follow him, but she honestly did not think she could keep up with him. He was already out of sight.
David made it down to the ground floor in record time. He had faded on his way, just in case there were people he would have to get past. There was no one, but he stayed the way he was, waiting for the rock lift and cursing himself the entire time.
Why did you have to fucking fall asleep! Goddammit!
Once the rock lift deposited David onto the terrace, he raced at his top speed across to the lift that would take him up to the Academy Moat. This one was floating at the platform, so he didn't have to wait. In another minute, he was entering the infirmary. He faded back to solidity and slowed down. The looks he was getting were grim, but not defeated, which told him she was still alive, if barely. He stepped up to her bedside.
David looked down at his friend, who was unconscious, with her head bandaged and her arm broken, just as he had seen in an endless number of crystal gazings.
"How is she?" David asked, not taking his eyes off her.
"I was hoping you could tell me," Healer Hall said. "I can't find anything wrong with her, except for the broken arm."
"She was poisoned," David said. "You should find a small pin prick on her neck."
"How do you know that?" Dean Lengel asked as Healer Hall bent down to look.
"I had a dream last night... it was a premonition. I was Olissa. She was bending over the river, looking at a fallen bird. The bird up and vanished, meaning it was probably an illusion to get her attention. Anyone who knows anything about Olissa would know she'd never leave an animal in distress. Anyway, in the dream, she stood up, and then something hit her in the neck. She put her hand up, and got stuck by the back end, too. After that, she fell into the water."
"Here it is," Healer Hall said, pointing to an almost invisible mark on the neck. "Without knowing it was here, I'd never have seen it. Do you have any idea what kind of poison?"
"No, but I know who does," David said darkly. He turned and left the room.
-----
"Why, David! How nice to see you..." Cherise started to say, but David grabbed her by the throat and yanked her up from her seat at the breakfast table. Food splattered every which way as he slammed her down onto the table, his hand not leaving her throat.
"What did you do to Olissa?" David demanded.
"David, I don't know..." Cherise started to say, but David's hand squeezed more tightly, and she suddenly couldn't make words.
The guy who had been eating breakfast down the bench from Cherise got up and came over.
"Let her up!" he demanded.
David looked over at him. "Get the fuck away from me or I'll break your motherfucking nose," he snarled. The guy backed away, scared of the anger on David's face. David returned his gaze to Cherise.
"Now, I want the truth, you goddamned psychopathic bitch! What did you poison Olissa with?"
Cherise coughed out, "Can't... breathe..."
David, realizing he was bordering on murderous rage, took his hands off Cherise immediately. He was no calmer, but he forced himself to control his body.
Cherise got up from the table, rubbing her throat and composing herself. "Now, David," she said, trying to regain her composure, "I really think you need to calm down. These baseless accusations aren't going to bring us any closer together."
"The only way we're going to be closer together, you sleazy little twat, is if I wrap my hands around your throat again. And believe me, I'd like to do just that. Now answer my fucking question!"
"Surely you can't believe that I would have anything to do with such a thing," Cherise replied. "It does seem like a lot of your friends get hurt, though, David. But that's okay, I'll take the chance."
"You," David seethed, his fists balled up so tightly that his hands were cramping, "are not my friend, and you never will be. I would sooner go through the pain of my death every day for the next thousand years than to be in the same room with you. You are evil, psychotic, and dangerous, and I am going to find a way to prove you're responsible for this. And when I do, I'm going to do my damnedest to make sure you never, ever get out of prison."
"Look, David, really. I think we should just sit down, maybe over dinner, and discuss this quietly..."
"Why, so you can poison me, too? Not that that would work; they tried it last year. I wouldn't eat dinner with you if you were the last person in all three worlds. Get this through your head, you stupid cow: we are not dating. We are not going to be dating. We are never going to be dating. I hate you more than I have ever hated anything, ever, and that includes the sonsofbitches who killed me!"
David stormed out of the cafeteria, leaving Cherise standing there. She saw everyone looking at her, and she smiled meekly and waved, all the while doing her best to look completely innocent and befuddled.
-----
David snarled at the world as he left the cafeteria. Anyone within sight of him detoured around him. He wasn't aware that, as an undead, he was capable of having certain effects on people while under high stress. One of those effects was the ability to scare the shit out of someone by just looking in their direction. As he stalked back to the infirmary, he didn't even take note of the fact that people were going well out of their way to not come anywhere near him.
When David stepped back into the infirmary, he had not yet calmed down. Dean Lengel and Healer Hall both stepped back away from him almost involuntarily. Only when he looked down at Olissa, and then took her hand, was he able to calm down a bit. He was still pissed, but it was just enough to allow the others to approach him.
"Did she tell you what it was?" Dean Lengel asked hesitantly.
"No. The motherfucking little bitch denied everything." David didn't even feel the need to apologize for being rude in front of them. Neither of them really noticed. After a long moment, David looked up at Healer Hall. "So, what do we do?"
"We?" Healer Hall asked.
"Well, you," he said. "Unfortunately, I know what I do. I sit here and wait for her to wake up."
"I'll be honest, David. I'm at a loss. Given your dream, and the needle mark, I'm pretty sure it was poison... but there are thousands of possible poisons. I don't know how we'll go about finding out which one."
"It hasn't killed her... is she getting worse?" he asked.
"She doesn't appear to be, why?"
"Is she getting better?"
"No. Again, why?"
"Process of elimination. If it's not making her worse, and she's not getting better, then this is what it was intended to do to her."
Healer Hall looked up at Dean Lengel. "That's a good point."
"Also... well, I grant that I'm not a potions master, but what I do know suggests that a potion could not continue to make her ill like this without remaining in her system."
"That's right. If it was gone, then she would be starting to recover. Unless it had done something permanent before it left her body, but that would have shown up in my examination."
"Which means, if we can figure out where it is, maybe we can figure out what it is."
"How?" Healer Hall asked. Dean Lengel remained quiet. This was a discussion for professionals, and while David might only be an apprentice, he already knew far more potions work than she did.
"If we can get some of the poison out of her body, Sam can test it, and maybe figure out what it is."
"It could be anywhere, though," Healer Hall objected.
David shook his head. "Unfortunately, I can think of only two places it could be... but I'm not a doctor, or a healer, so I guess I could be wrong."
"Where might it be, do you think?" Dean Lengel asked him, to keep him talking. Even if he was wrong, it might help Healer Hall come up with a solution.
"Well, it's causing her to be in a coma. That says to me that it is getting to her brain. That means it is either hiding in her brain, or that it is in her blood."
"Annie?" Dean Lengel asked.
Healer Hall nodded. "Those are the two most likely places, I will agree."
"How do you find a poison within the body?" Dean Lengel asked.
"It's possible." Healer Hall turned to David. "Do you want to help me?"
"If I can," he replied, "but I don't know how you'd find the poison inside her."
"You let me worry about that, but it's a two-person process, and something tells me that you'd much rather be doing something to help her than to sit here staring at her."
"Damn straight," he replied. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he turned to Dean Lengel. "What about her parents? How in the world are you going to contact them? They don't have a magical mirror."
"Any mirror will work as a receiving device, David. I was waiting for more information before I contacted them. While you and Healer Hall get to work, I will go and talk with them."
"Okay." David turned back to Healer Hall as Dean Lengel left. "So, how do we get started?"
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
"David... you look like shit," Gwen said.
"Where have you been all weekend? I haven't seen you since Friday night," Jim said. "I figured you were with Devyn, until she showed up here with Gwen."
"I've been in the infirmary," he replied.
"You were ill?" Devyn asked. "No one told us."
"No, I'm fine. Olissa was poisoned Saturday morning."
"Aw shit," Jim opined.
"Fuck me," Nate said.
"And you have been sitting in the infirmary the entire time?" Devyn asked.
"Mostly. I helped Healer Hall draw some of the poison out of Olissa's body, but after that, yeah. There wasn't much else for me to do, except sit there, and watch."
"Why didn't you let us know?" Gwen asked.
David shrugged. "Didn't think of it. Sorry. I was too preoccupied with blaming myself, and plotting a hundred ways to kill Cherise."
"Why would you blame yourself?" Simon asked.
"The night before she was poisoned, I had a dream about her. I saw her being poisoned. Unfortunately, it so screwed with me that I couldn't go back to sleep. When I did fall asleep, I was up on the dorm roof, and I ended up sleeping so late that I couldn't warn her. Miss J ended up waking me up to tell me Olissa was in the infirmary."
"There was no way you could have known," Devyn said. "Do you dream of her often?"
"Not any more than anyone else, I don't guess."
"Are you prone to oneiromantic dreams?"
"No. This was my first one."
"Then there was little reason for you to take it more seriously," she told him.
"Except for the little part about it being true," he said sourly.
Devyn was about to say something further, but just then, Cherise came over to David.
"So, David, now that I have been cleared by the Rimohrs, you can apologize to me by taking me to dinner," she said with a smile.
David stood up, and got close to her, so she could see the rage in his eyes. "It will be snowing in a firebird's lair before I ever apologize to you. As to Toscani clearing you, that jackass couldn't find his hat if his head was in it. You are a vicious, conniving bitch, and you deserve to spend the rest of your life being tortured. Now get the fuck away from me before I fade you into the middle of a wall and leave you there!"
Cherise looked shocked, but backed away quickly. David's voice had risen, and others were staring at him. He turned to one, who looked especially shocked at what he'd just said.
"What? You think I don't know about all the things demighosts can and have done to people over the years? Trust me, it's not a lack of knowledge that keeps me from doing that shit."
"Then what does?" the guy asked. "If she's the one who hurt your friend, then..."
"Because I don't want to become her. She's a psychopath. I'm not, and I'd like to keep it that way."
As David turned back to his friends, others in the lunch room started to talk amongst themselves. David ignored them.
-----
"I didn't really expect to see you here, David," Prof. Rutherford said quietly. "Not with your friend in the infirmary."
"I can't afford to fall behind, Professor. Healer Hall is there, looking after her, and I'll go back to watch over her when I can. There's not really anything I can do for her right now, and I have enough trouble with this class without missing days, so..." David shrugged fatalistically.
Prof. Rutherford nodded in understanding. She put her hand on his shoulder, and then moved back to the front of the room to begin class.
-----
"Hi, David."
"Hey, Sam," he said to her dejectedly.
"Don't bother setting your stuff down. Come with me."
Sam led David out of her workroom, and across to the rock lift. They rode up in silence, though David was pretty sure he knew where they were going. His suspicions were confirmed when they entered the infirmary. Instead of going into the room where Olissa was lying, however, Sam led David down the hall to another room, which he'd never been in.
Sam knocked, and waited for a response. When she got it, she opened the door, and waved David inside.
David stepped in, and realized immediately that this must be Healer Hall's workroom. It was more brightly lit than Sam's, and gave the appearance of being cleaner, though Sam's work area was hardly dirty. He set his backpack down on an empty counter, and stood, waiting for someone to explain why they were there.
Sam turned to David. "I don't normally incorporate the healing arts into my apprentices' training, mainly because I don't know much about them. In this case, however, I get the feeling that you're not going to be able to focus very well on any task that doesn't involve helping Olissa.
"So, I talked to Annie. As an extension of your potions training, you will work with her to find an antidote for the poison. I identified it earlier today, but there isn't a known cure. That doesn't mean that there isn't a cure, it just means we have to find one. Until Olissa recovers, you will spend your apprentice time here, with her. If you need to ask me questions, or if you need to talk to Prof. Qwellyn, go right ahead. Otherwise, take your direction and information from her. As horrible as this is, David, try to use it as a learning opportunity, while you're helping her help Olissa."
"Thanks, Sam," David said seriously. Sam nodded at him, then came over and gave him a soft kiss.
"We'll find a cure," she told him. "It may take a little time, but we'll find a cure."
David nodded, and then Sam left the room. At that point, he turned to Healer Hall.
"Where do we get started?"
-----
When David finished with his apprenticeship time, he took his book bag, and made his way into the ward where Olissa lay. When he walked in, he found Dean Lengel talking to a Rimohr. David knew it would be Officer Toscani.
"Hello, David," Dean Lengel said quietly as he set his bag down and looked down at Olissa.
"I hear you don't think very highly of my investigative technique," Officer Toscani said.
"Officer," Dean Lengel warned.
"Well, let's see," David started in response, "The guy who tipped the rock lift and dumped me in the moat last year. Your case. Status: case unresolved. The person who poisoned Prof. Stott month before last. Your case. Status: case unresolved. The person who poisoned Olissa. Your case. You were given a specific suspect, who, at least according to the suspect, you have cleared of being involved."
"I have," he replied. "And you have no business questioning why."
"Like hell I don't. This is my friend lying here. Maybe she doesn't mean shit to you, but I have a somewhat different opinion."
"Perhaps, as Miss Cabalon suggested, being your friend is simply not a good idea."
"Gee, that's a funny thing for her to say, since she's been trying to get me to go out with her for months," David snapped. "An effort which included blackmail, I might add."
"We have no record of that," Officer Toscani said simply.
"Are you this incompetent on all your cases, Toscani, or do you have some special place in your heart for Woodward Academy?"
"Listen, you soulless rotting corpse, I don't have to answer to you," Toscani snapped.
"Ah-ha!" David shouted. "I thought so. You don't like demighosts, do you? You think that, no matter who has actually committed the crime, this is all my fault."
"Demighosts bring trouble with them wherever they go," Toscani replied. "You included."
"Right. And, despite the fact that the reason for that happening is the bigoted behavior of people like you, it's still our fault, isn't it, Officer Toscani?"
Toscani chose not to reply to that.
"What, no smart-ass comeback? Well, maybe you'll have a smart-ass comeback for this one: I will be filing an official complaint with the Rimohr office in the morning."
"You really expect the complaint of a demighost to make a difference?" Toscani asked, clearly showing his opinion on the matter.
"Perhaps the complaint of the dean of the most prestigious wizarding academy in the kingdom will carry a bit more weight, then," Dean Lengel replied, angry. "I thought at first that David was out of line, but clearly he was just more observant than I was. Your attitude is reprehensible, Officer Toscani. You vowed to uphold the laws of the land, not to pick and choose which victims you thought were worthy of your time."
Toscani knew that he'd just made an unintended enemy that could have a detrimental effect on his career. "Look, Madame Lengel, we can't throw full resources into every case. We have to pick and choose. There simply aren't enough of us to go around."
"Perhaps if you spent more time actually investigating, and less time judging people, you'd get more done more quickly," she replied. "And then perhaps your agency would have a better reputation, and thus, get more recruits. Get off my campus. I'll be speaking to your superior within the hour."
"You don't have the authority to remove me from campus," Toscani replied archly. If he wasn't going to get her back on his side, he would use his badge to push her around. He didn't realize how dangerous and stupid a move that was.
"Actually, Mr. Toscani," she started, but he interrupted her.
"That's Officer Toscani," he insisted.
"Not for very much longer, I'd imagine," she told him, and then left the room.
Toscani glared at David. "This is all your fault, you goddamned freak."
"Guess it doesn't pay to be my enemy, either, does it, Toscani?" David replied.
Toscani snarled and left the room. David shrugged and then turned back to Olissa.
"You could have backed me up there, you know," he told her, teasing in his voice. He knew she couldn't hear him, but he would talk to her occasionally, anyway.
After a while, David sat down and opened his Enchantments and Curses book, and got started on his homework. Sick friend or not, he still had a report to do.
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
"I can't see anything," David told Prof. Zoroaster.
"You are, perhaps, much too emotionally involved. It takes a great deal of training to be able to separate your emotions enough to see the future of someone you care about, especially when they're in danger. Would you like me to attempt a gazing?"
"If you would, please," David confirmed. "If I knew she was going to be all right, I'd be able to focus a bit more, I think."
Prof. Zoroaster nodded, and then he sat down at David's desk. He gazed into the ball, but saw nothing. He waited for a long moment, but got more of the same. Finally, he leaned back.
"The future is still being blocked in regards to Miss Volaire. I'm sorry, David, but this one is going to have to play out without our foreknowledge. Unless, that is, you can find the wizard who has blocked the divinatory process."
"The likelihood of that is pretty slim."
"Agreed. I should point out, though, that just because we cannot see what is going to happen, does not mean that something bad is going to happen."
"I know. It just leaves me to worry, and I hate worrying."
"Don't we all," Prof. Zoroaster agreed, putting his hand on David's shoulder, and then moving off.
The girl behind David leaned forward and said, "David?"
He turned to look at her. "Yeah?"
"Sorry about your friend. Is she getting any better?"
"No," he said, frowning.
"Did Cherise really poison her?"
"I think so. She's as much as admitted to me that she's trying to blackmail me into dating her by hurting my friends."
"That's sick," the girl said.
"Yeah."
"I hope your friend recovers," the girl said.
"Thanks."
As David returned to his gazing attempts, the girl he'd been talking with turned around to say something to the person behind her. David paid no attention.
-----
"David. Are you all right?" Prof. Qwellyn asked him.
"I guess that depends on what you mean by all right," he replied. "I'll manage."
"I'm sorry about Olissa. Is there anything I can do?"
"Not... well, you know, maybe. We're trying to find an antidote to the poison that put her in her coma. Do you know of any herbs that can pull someone out of a coma?"
"Not by themselves, no. There are several that can have an effect on your mental awareness, as I'm sure you know by now."
David nodded. "This could take a very long time to figure out."
"I'm sure Healer Hall will find a cure soon."
"I hope so."
"Come on, let's get class started. Maybe it will take your mind off things."
David looked at her skeptically, but nodded, so she could get on with her class.
-----
"Hello, Mr. Garibaldi," David said. "What are you doing here?"
"My wife is very much beginning not to like you, David. I've been transferred to this area, and they assigned me this case. Zyla told me to tell you that, in order to make it up to her, you are going to have to spend a couple weeks with us over the summer."
David smirked. "If I must, I must. But seriously, why are you here?"
"This actually is my case now."
"They transferred you here because of me?" David asked.
"Not really. There was a vacancy, and I was called in to fill it."
"That vacancy wouldn't have been Officer Toscani, by any chance?" David asked hopefully.
Garibaldi smiled. "No, but I have a feeling he's going to result in another vacancy soon. He's been suspended, pending an investigation of his behavior. Now," he said, growing serious, "what do we know about what happened?"
"You want the facts, or what I think?"
"Let's start with the facts."
"Olissa was poisoned, fell into the river, and went over the waterfalls. The Sentinel Trees rescued her before she hit bottom, but her arm broke when she slammed against the rocks as they stopped her from falling. End of the facts."
"What was she poisoned with?"
"Gelert Potion."
"Nasty," Garibaldi said. "Someone really doesn't like her. Okay, now tell me what you think."
"There is a girl here, named Cherise Cabalon. She has been trying to get me to date her all year. She has gone so far as to blackmail me into it. I believe she is responsible for this, for poisoning Prof. Stott, for the lightning fern incident with Prof. Qwellyn, and for several other minor pranks and problems."
"Wait... she has a problem with you, so she attacks everyone else?"
"While not saying anything that could be considered incriminating, she has basically said that this is just another form of blackmail, that the injuries will stop if I become her boyfriend. She's clearly a psychopath."
"Toscani looked at her?"
"And cleared her," David sneered.
"Uh-huh. I'm sorry about him. We try not to let people like that in, but sometimes, they do slip through."
"Dean Lengel implied that the Rimohrs don't have a very good reputation."
Garibaldi frowned. "Unfortunately, that's true. Because of the nature of the job, it is sometimes more important that the job gets done, than how it gets done. Because of that, some recent commissioners have relaxed the rules for admittance. It has turned the agency into something slightly dark and dangerous. We have a new commissioner, and he's trying to turn things around, but he's got so far to go, no one knows if he's going to succeed or not."
"Oh."
"So what is being done to help your friend?" Garibaldi said, motioning to Olissa.
"Healer Hall and I are looking for a cure to Gelert Potion. So far, no luck. I've asked Prof. Qwellyn to see if there are any plants that could be useful. And there is one more thing I've thought of to try, but I doubt it's going to work."
"What's that?" Garibaldi asked.
David put his hand on Olissa's chest, just over her heart, and said, "Caput calitatem!" Olissa's eyelids fluttered for a fraction of a second, but then settled, and she seemed no closer to consciousness than before.
Sighing, David said, "Well, I didn't think it would work."
"It was a good notion, though," Healer Hall said, coming up behind them both. "I hadn't thought of trying it. Keep thinking, David."
David nodded at her. Garibaldi asked, "What are her chances?"
"Of surviving? One hundred percent. Of waking up? I don't know. Gelert Potion is one of the nastier concoctions I've run across. It not only doesn't kill, but it prevents its victim from dying. It puts them in a magically induced coma, but keeps their body fed and hydrated and as healthy as the day they entered the coma. It was actually created as a sustaining potion, for cases when it is necessary to spend a few days to make up a curative potion."
"But wait," Garibaldi objected. "If that's the case, then there has to be a way to counteract it..."
Healer Hall shook her head. "Depending on exactly how it's made, determines how long the coma lasts. It can range anywhere from a couple days to hundreds of years."
"So she could conceivably wake up on her own," Garibaldi said.
"No. The version of the potion used, according to Prof. Stott, will last for a hundred years or more. Unless we find a fix, she isn't waking up anytime soon."
"Damn," Garibaldi said. "Okay. I'm going to start looking into this. David, I'll keep you informed."
"Are you supposed to do that?" David asked knowingly.
"No. But I'm going to, anyway."
"Thanks."
Once Garibaldi left, Healer Hall finished checking on Olissa and left, as well. David looked at her for a long moment, then sat down and took out his TEM book. He had a ton of homework ahead.
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
"David, would you like to go out tomorrow night?" Devyn asked him.
David shook his head.
Devyn sighed. "Olissa is being well cared for. You do not need to spend every waking moment watching over her," she told him, annoyed with his attitude.
"Need to? Maybe not. Going to? That's a different question," he told her.
Devyn scowled, and tore into her dinner. The others kept their peace. It was rare enough to see David outside of a class these days; no one wanted to be unpleasant.
"David?" a voice said.
David looked up. "Oh, hey, Rose. What's up?"
"How's Olissa doing?"
"No change," he said.
She lowered her voice. "Are the Rimohrs going to arrest Cherise?"
David frowned mightily. "They can't. There's no evidence."
"But you're sure she did it," Rose said. It wasn't a question.
"As sure as I am that you like being tickled," he replied with a brief smile.
Rose blushed, but nodded. "I hope she gets better soon," she said.
"That won't happen unless we can find an antidote."
Rose nodded. "Good luck, then."
"Thanks."
David watched as Rose walked away, then sat down and started an earnest discussion with her friends.
"What the hell was that about?" Simon wondered.
"I don't know," David said. He shrugged and turned back to his dinner.
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
"Aunt Shandra," David said in surprise when he looked up. "I, uh, wasn't expecting you."
"How is she, David?" Shandra asked.
"Still in a coma, I'm afraid," he told her.
"What in the world is all this?" she asked, motioning to a couple piles of books and some parchment that David had strewn around Olissa's bed.
"That pile's my homework. This pile's potions research. I'm trying to help Healer Hall find an antidote."
"How long have you been here?" she asked him.
"Today? Since about five this morning. It's a weekend, so no classes."
"Have you been spending a lot of time here?" she asked.
"That would be the understatement of the century," Healer Hall said, having heard the final question as she approached. "David spends all of his time here, unless he's in class. He skips most of his meals to remain here."
"That will make you sick," Shandra objected.
"I don't need to eat," David told her. "I just enjoy it, most of the time. Right now, I can't enjoy it with Olissa lying unconscious because of me."
"Because of you? I understood that you were asleep when it happened."
David explained the whole story of Cherise to her.
"You can't blame yourself for this, David," Healer Hall emphasized.
"Try me. I could have dated Cherise, I suppose. It would have sucked, but Olissa wouldn't have gotten hurt. Or I could simply have stayed the fuck awake. Oh, sorry, Aunt Shandra."
"Shit," Shandra said in response to that. "But Healer Hall is right. Ain't your fault the girl's crazy. And there's no saying you could have prevented the poisoning in the first place. Maybe you might have stopped this one attempt, but if the girl's determined, she'd have managed eventually... and what's to say that Olissa might not have fallen and hurt herself even worse?"
David didn't bother responding to that. It made his insides crawl to think about it.
"Will you be staying here with her?" David asked.
"I can't. I'll stay through tomorrow, but I have to get back to work after that. Besides," she said, her mouth smiling, but her eyes serious as she looked at him, "she is obviously being well looked-after, and I can tell that to her parents."
David nodded. Looking around, he pointed and said, "Sem." The chair he was pointing at slid across the floor, and stopped behind Aunt Shandra. "Might as well take a load off. We're going to be here a while."
Aunt Shandra sat down, and smiled at David. She asked, "What all are you doing, exactly?"
"Trying to find an antidote to the potion she was given. Something that can break the coma."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but is that something you're qualified to do?"
Healer Hall said, "David is a second-year potions apprentice under Prof. Stott."
"Oh! I didn't know that. So you do know what you're doing."
"I'd like to think so," David said, "but at the moment, all that means is that I know that I don't know what to do."
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
"David!" Nate called out, running to catch up with him.
"Hey, Nate. What's up?" he asked.
"Did you hear about Cherise?"
"What about her?" David grumbled.
"She was attacked by prickle bees this morning."
"Couldn't happen to a nicer person," David said sarcastically. "What the hell are prickle bees?"
"Nasty little buggers. They can sting you with each of their feet, and once they start after you, the only way to get away from them is to jump in water."
"Damn," David said. "Wait, we've got those things flying around here?"
"Well, that's the thing," Nate said conspiratorially. "Apparently, as soon as Cherise jumped in the moat, the prickle bees up and morphed into normal bees, and flew away. Someone must've used a morph charm on them."
David chuckled. "Good. Let her get a taste of her own medicine. Who did it?"
"No one knows. No one's admitting to it. She got stung several times. They say she had to go to the infirmary."
"Good," David repeated. "Thanks, Nate. You just made my day."
"Thought you'd want to know," he said. "See ya!"
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
"You and I need to talk after dinner," Devyn said to David. His mouth was full of spaghetti, so he just nodded. He had a sense of foreboding from the tone of her voice, but he figured he'd find out soon enough what was going on. The discussion around the table was the continued torment of one Cherise Cabalon.
"You guys don't have to do this for me," David said. "But thanks."
Simon looked at David seriously. "It isn't us, David. I mean, we would, if we thought we could get away with it, but hell, every time something happens, one of the professors or the dean comes and questions us. We're everyone's first suspect. We're not doing it."
"Then who is?" David asked.
"Hell if I know," Simon replied.
"Whoever it is, good for them," Gwen opined.
David nodded in agreement with that.
After dinner, David waited for Devyn to be ready to leave. Gwen headed off first, as she could either sense something was up, or Devyn had warned her ahead of time. Finally, Devyn rose from the table, and David followed her.
Once outside, they moved over to a more private area, where people wouldn't disturb them or overhear.
"What's up?' David asked.
"I want you to take me out on Friday," she said.
"Devyn, I can't," he replied.
"Why?" she asked.
"You know why," he said, irritated.
"No, I do not know why," she replied. "It has been over two weeks since Olissa was poisoned. Do you plan to spend your entire life in the infirmary, sitting next to her bed?"
"Until she wakes up, yes."
"That is not acceptable, David. I am your girlfriend, not Olissa."
"Devyn, she is my friend! I would be doing the same if it was Gwen, or if it was Jim, or Simon, or you! I'm trying to help! Frankly, I don't understand why you and the others aren't in there more often. She's your friend too, you know!"
"No, she is not," Devyn said.
"What?"
"I do not particularly like Olissa. And that is not a result of your current behavior. I have never much cared for her. I would dare say that the rest of the group feels the same way. She is only a part of the group because you like her, and the group, for better or worse, seems to revolve around you."
David's look grew angry. "All the more reason, then, that I should be spending as much time with her as I can. Someone should be with her."
"For what purpose? She is unconscious, and will not know whether or not you are there at all."
"What would you want me to do, if it were you lying in there?"
"That is different. I am your girlfriend. That level of devotion is expected of romantic interests. And I fear that is the problem. You want Olissa as a girlfriend, do you not?"
"She and I have already had that discussion. It's not happening. She is, however, my best friend."
"Whom you have virtually ignored all year, up until now."
"I kept my distance because of Rick. I didn't want him feeling all jealous and shit. She and I are still close friends. And I would have this level of - what did you call it? - 'devotion' to any of my close friends."
"I do not believe you, and I expect you to spend more time with me than with some other girl, unconscious or not."
"Devyn, if you can't understand why I have to be at Olissa's side right now, then I don't think you and I have anything more to say to each other on the subject."
David turned to go, but Devyn stopped him. "I am not through. If you walk away from this conversation, then we will no longer be dating."
David rounded on her. "Frankly, I really don't think that we should be dating," David replied, growing angry. "You pick now, when my best friend is sick and lying in the hospital, while I am working to try to find a cure for what's wrong with her, to bitch about the fact that I don't have enough time for you? Well, I'm sorry, but I have something just a little more important to be doing with my time than goofing off!"
Devyn's look grew hostile. "If that is how you feel, that I am less important than she is, then you can consider our relationship ended. I will not trouble you further," she replied, storming off.
David screamed, "GAH!" threw up his hands, and prowled off.
God, life sucks.
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
"Sorry, Professor. I guess my mind just isn't on this today," David said.
Prof. Arpilla changed herself back to normal, and then sighed. "You seem even more distracted than you've been. Is there a new problem? Has Olissa gotten worse?"
"Yes, and no," David said. Seeing the look on Prof. Arpilla's face, he grinned slightly. "Yes, there's a new problem. No, it's not Olissa."
"What, then?" she asked.
David sighed, and then said, "My girlfriend broke up with me last night. She said I was spending too much time with another girl, unconscious or not."
"Oh, good grief," Prof. Arpilla said. She put her hand on his arm. "Are you all right? Was the relationship serious?"
"Apparently not too serious, if this was all it took to break us up. I'll be okay, I guess. It's just that I didn't need one more thing to go wrong right now."
Prof. Arpilla nodded. "Well, we'll skip the rest of today's attempts, then. I'll see you on Thursday."
"Yes, ma'am."
-----
David was doing his homework, sitting next to Olissa, of course, when Gwen showed up in the infirmary.
"Hey, David," she said, to get his attention.
David looked up. "Oh, hey," he said. He slid a page into his book to mark his place, and then set it on the pile. "What's up?"
"Did you really need to break up with Devyn just now?" she asked, skipping any prelude.
"I think it would be fairer to say that she broke up with me," David replied neutrally. He knew that Gwen was caught in the middle, and didn't want to get angry at her for any misunderstandings that might occur.
"She said that you told her Olissa was more important than she was, and that if she couldn't live with that, she could go jump in the moat."
David rolled his eyes. "I never said anything like that, though I'm sure that's what she chose to hear."
"Oh. What did you say, then?"
"She ordered me to take her out on Friday. I told her I couldn't. She accused me of wanting Olissa as a girlfriend, and told me that she expected me to spend more time with her than in here, trying to help. I told her that I would be in here for any of my friends, and that if she couldn't understand that, then we had nothing more to talk about."
"Oh. Um... I don't mean to be rude, but... I mean... don't you want Olissa as a girlfriend? I've always thought you did..."
"She and I have already had that talk, Gwen. It's not going to happen."
"I'm just playing devil's advocate here, David, but... is it possible you're trying to change Olissa's mind? I mean, sitting in here for weeks, working to find a cure... that's some pretty powerful ammo in the relationship war..."
David snorted. "I'd be in here if it was you, too. Hell, I'd be here if it was Simon. Now, maybe I wouldn't be in here as much if it was you, because then Devyn would also be in here regularly, and I would know you're not alone. But I'd still be trying to help. This was my fault; I have to find a way to fix it. And if I can't do that, then I at least need to keep her company."
"This wasn't your fault, David. It was Cherise's fault. And have you heard the latest about her?"
"No, what now?"
"Somebody used a pichac hex, and tossed all of her books and papers out into the middle of the moat. They sank, so she has to get all new ones."
David smirked. "Good." After a moment, he said, "I don't get this school, though."
"What do you mean?"
"Last year, all they wanted was to get rid of me. Now they're torturing someone because she hurt me."
Gwen shook her head. "Because she hurt Olissa. And because you're not retaliating."
"You lost me."
"The whole school knows that you could take Cherise apart piece by piece, if you wanted to. You as much as admitted knowing how to kill her outright, but you won't. The school also knows how angry you were the day Olissa got hurt - word gets around. They don't like the fact that Cherise is getting off scot-free for hurting someone who didn't do anything. They expected you to do something. When you didn't, and when the Rimohrs didn't arrest her, they decided to take matters into their own hands."
"How do you know all that?"
"I've asked around. No one will admit to the deeds, mind you, but clearly some kind of decision was reached, somehow. Everyone knows why Cherise is a target."
"Oh. Well, I can hardly say I'm not happy for it. That little bitch deserves everything she gets."
"About the whole Devyn thing," Gwen said, getting back on track. "I'm in a real screwed-up position here, David. She's still my girlfriend, and you're my best friend. I don't want to lose either of you."
"I know, Gwen. This is why I was skittish about this relationship from the get-go."
"What do you want me to do?" she asked.
David snorted. "I'm in no position to order you around."
"No, but... I'll be honest, I'm inclined to believe your version of events a bit more than hers. Yours rings true to both of you. Hers didn't seem to make sense. I think I've known you long enough to know you wouldn't have told her to go jump in the moat."
David chuckled. After a second, he asked, "Is she trying to demand you don't talk to me anymore?"
"It hasn't come up yet."
"Well... I'm probably not going to be at meals for a while yet. Just... keep eating with the group. Maybe, by the time I get out of here, she will have calmed down enough that she and I can be friendly. Or at least ignore each other."
"And if she hasn't?"
David shook his head. "Sorry, Gwen. You're going to have to make that call. I can't do it for you."
Gwen sighed. "I know. I just don't like being caught between friends."
David nodded. After a second, David asked, "Gwen... do you like Olissa?"
"Sure," she said. "Well, not as much as you do, obviously, but... I mean, she's nice enough. A bit too shy for her own good. Why?"
David shook his head. "Never mind. Just something Devyn said last night. Don't worry about it."
"Okay..." she said, looking at him askance. "Anyway, I need to go do my homework, and clearly you've got enough of your own. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Yeah."
Gwen leaned over and gave him a hug, and then, leaning back, she gave him a kiss, too. When she let him go, she smiled at him.
"Thanks," he told her. "I needed that."
"I know. See you in class."
David shook his head in bemusement as he picked up his textbook and returned to his studies.
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
It was quite late in the evening, and David was still with Olissa. He had finally finished up his homework, and now he was just sitting beside her, thinking about the latest prank that had been played on Cherise. He'd been witness to this one, and he'd loved every second of watching her running across the terrace, ripping off her clothes as they were burning. She was naked by the time she made it to a building, and her clothes burned out on their own, proving the fire was magical, and thus harmless. She hadn't known that, of course, which made the whole thing more worthwhile. Her terror was very rewarding.
"Good evening, David. I thought I'd find you here."
David jolted, and looked to see Prof. Arpilla standing in the doorway.
"Oh! Good evening, Professor. You startled me."
"Sorry about that. Have you finished your studies for the evening?"
"Yeah."
"In that case, I need you to come with me. There's something we need to discuss."
"Okay, where are we going?"
"My office."
David grabbed up his book bag, and stood. "What do we need to talk about?" he asked as he started to follow her.
"I'd rather not discuss it where someone might overhear," she said.
"Okay," David said, acquiescing.
The two walked to Hyneman Hall in silence, and then up to her second-floor office. She ushered David inside, and closed the door.
"You can set your books anywhere," she told him. He set them down beside a chair, and then turned to her expectantly.
"Today in class, I noticed that you were still having added difficulty. I don't want to pry too much, but is your ex-girlfriend being a problem?"
David snorted. "I haven't seen her since we broke up. But I guess, in a sense, she is. Every time I go into the infirmary now, I'm reminded of the fight we had, and it bothers me."
"Why?"
David shrugged. "I guess I thought I understood her better than that. I didn't realize she was a jealous, heartless bitch. Oh, sorry, Professor."
Prof. Arpilla smiled at him. "Did it feel good to call her that?"
With a shame-faced grin, David said, "Yeah, a little. But it's not true, I don't think. I don't think she's a bitch. She did seem a bit heartless, though."
Prof. Arpilla nodded. She said, "David, I'm worried about the stress you're under. I can only assume that the distraction you're displaying in my class is also apparent in your other classes."
"I'm sorry, Professor. I'm trying not to let it affect my schoolwork, but in your class, I have to concentrate so much... while not concentrating," he said, causing her to grin, "that I guess I'm not being successful at dealing with it."
"There's no need to apologize. I understand what you're going through. But the problem is that you are so absorbed in the hunt for a cure for Olissa, that I think you have left no room for time for yourself. I told you some time ago that you needed to relax a little bit in my class... but life isn't allowing you to do that."
David nodded. "I guess I have trouble putting my smaller needs ahead of other people's bigger needs."
"You need to realize, though, David, that your relaxation isn't a small need for you. In fact, if you could relax some, it would probably help you take care of those bigger needs."
"I don't see how," he said.
"A relaxed mind is more flexible than a stressed-out one. You can come at problems from different angles, think more creatively, when you're not uptight."
"Are you trying to tell me I should have taken Devyn out this Friday, Professor?" he asked.
Prof. Arpilla frowned. "No, that wouldn't have worked because you two were already arguing, so it would only have made things worse. I'm suggesting something else."
"What, then?"
Prof. Arpilla clapped her hands twice, then threw her arms outward in a circular motion, to encompass the entire room. Suddenly, the couch shifted shape into a bed. The desk slid over and morphed into a night table, and the chairs moved aside, converting into padded armchairs. The room had been an office, but was now a bedroom.
Prof. Arpilla turned to David. "Tonight, you can do to me whatever you like, as long as I don't get hurt. I don't want you to worry about my feelings, or Olissa, or upcoming exams, or anything else. Just enjoy yourself."
David's eyebrows went up. Given they were now standing in a bedroom, "whatever you like" had a fairly clear meaning. He moved closer to the professor, who was standing, waiting for him.
Once he'd reached her, David put his hands on Prof. Arpilla's hips, and stared into her green eyes for a long moment. Finally, he leaned in and kissed her. She kissed back readily, her soft lips moving eagerly against his. He slid his hands around to her lower back, gently bringing her body into full contact with his. For long moments, they remained like that, just kissing.
David finally let her go, and stepped back just slightly. Prof. Arpilla was wearing a skirt and a blouse, with a scarf tied around her neck for decoration. This gave David an idea. He tugged on the scarf until it came loose. Holding it in his hands, he looked the professor in the eyes again.
"I can do anything?" he asked.
She nodded at him, though she was a bit nervous, now, about what he might be about to do.
David moved around behind the professor, her scarf still in his hands. He folded it in half, so it would be narrower, and then he brought it up over her head. He placed it over her eyes, and tied it tightly, making sure her new blindfold would not slip out of position.
"Is it too tight?" he asked quietly. She shook her head. "Are you scared?" he asked, concerned.
"Just a bit nervous. I've never been blindfolded before."
"Well, this way, you can focus on the feelings," he said, running his hands softly against her sides. She hummed in contentment at that.
When David moved his hands forward and up, cupping her tits, her humming turned into a soft moan. He played with her tits for a while, but then he began undoing her blouse. Prof. Arpilla was squirming by the time he was done, because the sensations were so much more intense to her.
With her blouse gone, her bra soon followed, and now she was topless before him. David moved in front of her and cupped her tit gently. He leaned down and licked her nipple, causing her to shudder.
While David continued to work over her nipple, he reached down and unfastened her skirt, allowing it to fall to the floor. Her panties required both hands, but were almost as quickly disposed of. Prof. Arpilla was now nude, standing blindfolded before her student.
David moved in close, putting his hands on the professor's hips again.
"You're beautiful, Professor."
"Mm," she replied. "I love it when you call me professor while I'm naked, but I think from now on, you'd probably better call me Cat."
"Anything you say, Professor," David said, grinning. He leaned in and nibbled on Cat's earlobe, causing her to giggle and squirm.
David took Cat's hand, and led her to the bed. He turned her and got her to sit down on the edge of the bed.
"Don't go anywhere, now," he told her. She grinned at him. David wasted no time removing his own clothes, and then he returned to his professor.
"Lie down on your stomach," he told her. She quickly moved to the middle of the bed, lying face-down. She turned her head to one side, and waited.
David moved onto the bed, straddling her legs just below her butt. He leaned over, and began to knead her shoulders.
"Oh," she said, "that feels good."
"Guess I'm not the only one who's stressed," he told her with a chuckle.
"Mm. But, I tell you that you can do anything to me you want, and you choose to give me a back rub?"
David dug the palms of his hands into her back and pushed upward as he answered her. "Doing this lets me get out a bit of frustration safely."
"I know something that works better," she said encouragingly.
"In a minute," David told her.
"Hmm," she replied.
David continued to work over her back for some time, and then he moved downward. He started at her feet, taking them into his hands one at a time, and then moving his way up. By the time he'd reached her thighs, he had managed to spread her legs fairly far apart. With no hesitation or warning, he reached down and slipped his middle finger deep into her pussy.
"Oh!" she cried out. "I like this part."
David smirked, as he continued to finger-fuck her. While his finger moved in and out of her, he motioned to a pillow and whispered a spell. It came flying over to him, and he set it on the bed. Pulling his finger out of her pussy, he then grabbed her hips and lifted. She got the idea and held herself up while he shoved the pillow under her hips. This raised her cunt a little ways, and gave him much better access.
David shifted his position, and slid his cock slowly into Cat's pussy. She moaned in pleasure at the feel of him, and rolled her hips slightly to encourage him to fuck her.
David got the message, and began to rut into her, slamming his hips against her ass as his cock pummeled her pussy. Cat grunted with each thrust, her hands gripping the bed cover.
"Oh, god, yes! Oh, shit, oh yes, oh god, I'm coming!" she screamed. David continued to fuck her through her climax, only slowing down when she started to recover.
Once Cat had settled slightly, David pulled out of her. He rolled her onto her side, and then tossed the pillow. He pulled her top leg up as far as she would let him. This turned out to be so far that he could rest it on his shoulder.
"Flexible, aren't you?" he said with a teasing voice.
"Mm-hmm," she replied.
David slid his dick back inside of her, and started pounding again. Cat was instantly panting once more, loving every inch and every second of his fucking. David caressed her leg as he rocked in and out of her cunt, driving her once more toward orgasm. When it arrived, she screamed out his name, her back arching as she twisted from side to side.
David didn't stop fucking her this time, either. In fact, he changed positions while she was shuddering. Keeping his dick buried in her, he rolled her onto her back and lifted her other leg onto his shoulder, as well. He leaned over, folding her almost in half, and began to slam into her as hard and as fast as he could.
Cat was immediately screaming out another orgasm, and it seemed like she wouldn't stop. David was close to his own by now, and he needed the release. He continued to push down into her, letting the bed force him back up. He was now moving as fast as he could, grunting with each thrust.
Finally, he let out one final, loud grunt, and froze, his spunk pouring into her cunt. She was shuddering in aftershocks from her many orgasms, and the two were frozen in position for long moments before they settled.
David pulled out, and then he sat up. He moved Cat's legs to one side, and then he lay down on the bed next to her. She rolled away from him, and curled up slightly. David was too out of it to see what that was about just yet.
After a couple minutes, David was more coherent, and he rolled to his side to see what was up with Cat. When he looked down at her, she had pulled off her blindfold, and he could see she was crying.
"Hey," he said in concern, "what's wrong? Did I hurt you?"
She rolled onto her back, looking up at him. "No, nothing like that. You were wonderful. The best I've had in a very long time. What's wrong is that I lied to you."
"I don't understand," he said.
"I didn't really bring you here to help you relax. I just used you to serve my own needs."
"Would you like to tell me about it?" David asked softly. He grabbed her scarf and wiped at her tears.
"My husband threw me out of the house last month," she told him. "He called me a worthless bitch, and told me that he was going to divorce me. I hear that he is now dating a much younger woman from a very wealthy family. He's as much as told me that I will not win custody of our children.
"I was feeling very old, and very alone, and completely worthless. I brought you here tonight because I needed to believe that someone could care about me, and I knew, since you had just suffered a break-up, that you were unlikely to reject me. I'm sorry, David. My vanity got the better of me, and I used you. It was unfair, and unkind."
David looked down into her eyes, and then he caressed her breast with his hand, letting his thumb run over her nipple.
Cat gasped in pleasure as he did that, but her gaze grew confused when he rolled on top of her, his knees ever-so-gently forcing her legs apart.
"What are you doing?" she asked. As she felt the head of his very hard dick press to her pussy, she moaned quietly.
"I haven't done what you brought me here for yet," he said as he slid his cock deep inside of her. "It wasn't vanity that made you do what you did, Cat. It was humanity. You wanted to know that you could be wanted, cared for, and desired. You didn't bring me here to have sex with you. You brought me here to make love to you. We haven't done that yet."
David started to move in and out of her again. This time, he kept his movements smooth. He brought his lips to hers, kissing her passionately. Their tongues were soon involved, and they danced wetly against each other while David's cock slid tenderly within her pussy.
When they broke their kiss, Cat pushed her head back into the pillow, panting out her pleasure. David leaned in and kissed her throat, his movements remaining slow and easy. He let his one hand slip along her side while the other slipped beneath her, pulling her against him.
The pair continued to couple for long minutes, not increasing their speed, but Cat's arousal was reaching a fever pitch. Finally, she began to shiver, her orgasm clearly approaching.
"Oh, god, David, I'm going to... gonna... Ah-ah-ahh!" she cried out, incapable of making words. Her pussy squeezed his dick tightly, and he just slid himself fully into her and stopped, letting her savor her climax and enjoy the moment.
After a very long moment, Cat finally came down from her peak. David smiled down at her, and this time, her tears were clearly more joyful.
"Thank you," she said to him. "Even if it was a lie, it made me feel like a woman again."
David rolled to her side, taking her with him. "Oh, I didn't lie to you," he said. "You are very desirable, and I do care about you."
"But you don't want me?" she asked, a coy smile on her face.
"As a friend, absolutely. As a lover, sure. I'm afraid of what you might ask beyond that," he admitted.
Cat stroked his chest. "I wouldn't ask you for more than that. But I don't see how you can care about someone who used you like I did."
"Because you were willing to tell me about your life," he said. "And let's be honest, it's not like I was harmed by the way you 'used' me. You're a wonderful person, Cat. Your husband sounds like a shit."
Cat frowned. "He certainly has become one. David... would you like to spend the night?"
"Here?"
"This is where I've been sleeping for a month. Why do you think the spell was so quick to pull off? I've had a lot of practice."
"Oh. Well, since I'm already here, I don't see much point in leaving," he said to her.
"Thank you. I'd just like to sleep beside someone again, even if it's only for a night."
"No problem, Professor," he told her. She shivered.
"Cut that out. I'm too worn out!" she said, smiling at him.
He kissed her tenderly this time. "Good night, Cat."
"Good night, David."
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
Cat woke up the next morning to find David looking down at her and stroking her abdomen.
"Mm. Good morning," she said quietly.
"Good morning to you," he said.
As she stretched, she asked, "How long have you been watching me?"
"Four hours. Well, maybe only three and a half."
"Good grief!" she said. "Don't you sleep?"
David grinned. "I slept for my usual four hours. I didn't want to leave. I was afraid you might misinterpret that."
She frowned, but then snuggled up to him. "You're right, I probably would have. Thank you for thinking of me."
David held her for a moment, but she could sense tension in him.
"What's wrong?" she asked, looking up at him.
"I've been thinking about stuff while I was lying here. I want to ask you a question, but I'm afraid you're going to be offended by it, and I don't want to upset you."
Cat rolled onto her side and pushed herself up onto her elbow, as he was doing. Now she could look him in the eye more easily.
"Well, I don't offend all that easily. I'm thirty-nine, if that's what you want to know."
David smiled. "No, that wasn't it, but thanks for telling me that, not that it matters. Actually, it does kinda matter, because you don't look anything like thirty-nine. You look more like twenty-five."
Cat blushed. "Thank you. But you're avoiding your question."
David nodded. "Well... my question was... do you need money? I ask," he hurried on, "because, well, you're sleeping in your office, rather than in an apartment or something."
Cat deflated, and slumped back down onto the bed. She looked up at him with a small smile. "Yeah, see, I don't offend as readily as that. The truth is that yes, I'm fairly broke right now."
"Haven't you been paid by the school since the breakup?"
"No. We get paid at the start of the semester. Unfortunately, one of the things my wonderful husband did was to clean out our bank account and move it all to an account I have no access to."
"Well... couldn't you at least move into faculty housing? I've been there, it seems pretty nice."
"I could, but my pride won't let me. I don't want to explain to the entire faculty what's happened to me."
"You didn't seem to have a problem telling me..." David objected.
"I had to tell you. Besides, after what I did, I didn't have any pride left where you were concerned," she said, frowning. David caressed her stomach, to try to ease her upset.
"Well," he said after a very long pause, "if you can't get any help from the school, are you willing to accept help from someone else?"
"Oh, David," she said, her voice expressing her gratitude at the thought, but also her dismissal of the idea. "I appreciate it, really, but what help could you possibly offer? You're only a student."
"An extremely rich student," he told her with a smile. He explained about Jacob to her briefly. "He asked me to be generous with his money, to try to fix up my little corner of the world as much as I could. I'd like to help you, if you'll let me. You can think of it as a loan, if that will make you feel better, but you really wouldn't have to pay me back. I know some people really don't like accepting help, so I'll understand if you say no, but I just-" David's sentence was cut off when Cat reached up and wrapped her hand around the back of his neck.
"Get down here," she said, pulling him down on top of her and kissing him passionately, while her hand traveled downward.
David was almost late for class.
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
"David, I need to talk to you."
David waited until the others left the room before he even acknowledged that she had spoken. Finally, he turned and said, "What do you want, Cherise?"
"I want you to tell those awful people to leave me alone. I've had enough of their teasing."
"And why should I help you? You've harassed me all year long."
"David! I've done nothing but be nice to you! And at every turn, you've been downright nasty to me. Even accusing me of things I could never have done! I think you owe me this courtesy, at least."
"I've never accused you of anything you could 'never have done', Cherise. We both know that you did do everything I've said you did."
"Then why am I not in prison? The Rimohrs have looked, and they found nothing. I don't think that second one was very nice, by the way, but the first one was quite sweet."
"Yes, I'm sure you thought so, since he wasn't actually trying to find out if you were guilty or not."
"The point is, David, that if I was guilty of those things, I'd be in jail now."
"You're not in jail because we can't prove you did them. Yet. I will eventually figure out a way to do so."
"Why do you hate me so much? All I have ever tried to do was to be your friend!"
"And you did it by trying to kill off all my other friends!" David said sharply.
"Now, David, let's not go through all that again. You know I've never tried to kill anybody."
"Olissa might beg to differ," David snapped.
"Come off it, David. You know as well as I do that Gelert Potion won't kill anyone."
David's eyes narrowed. Did you really just...
David had to think quickly. He didn't want to give her a chance to cover her tracks.
"And I suppose you're going to claim you had nothing to do with the rock that fell on Gwen and Devyn, either," he said.
"They checked that rock for magic, didn't they? And they didn't find any. I could hardly have moved it on my own..."
"And of course you had nothing to do with poisoning Prof. Stott, or nearly killing Miss J in the greenhouse."
"You know I didn't," she said.
"No, I know you did, Cherise. And that is why I hate you. And that is why I plan on seeing to it that you spend the rest of your life in a very unpleasant place. Now get the hell away from me, and stay away."
Cherise pouted. "You're not going to make those people stop?"
"Why should I? Even if I knew who was doing it, which I don't, I'm quite enjoying your torment, so I see no reason to ask them to stop. If anything, I'd ask them to make your life even worse. If you want to make it stop, turn yourself in to the Rimohrs. Then the students here won't be able to get to you."
"That's not funny, David."
"I wasn't joking. Now go the fuck away."
David glared until Cherise left the room. As soon as she did, David pulled out his mirror. He dialed, and then he said, "Mr. Garibaldi."
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
"Penny?" David called out. Penny was immediately by his side.
"What can I do for you, David?"
"I need to speak with the ghosts... all of them, or as many of them as are willing to talk to me. I need to ask them if they have seen or heard something."
"You know they won't follow people around for you, David..."
"No, I know that. I'm not asking them to do anything. I want to know if they have seen or heard something prior to now."
"Oh. Okay. I will get as many of them as I can to come to the Great Hall."
"Thank you," he said, giving her a soft kiss. She faded off, and he walked into the Great Hall to wait.
After only a minute, ghosts started to appear. In ten minutes, Penny was back. "These are all the ghosts I could find in the castle," she said.
"What is this about?" Lord Woodward demanded. "I thought we were done with your interview."
"Yes, sir. If I might address all of you from the platform?"
Lord Woodward motioned him up, and David climbed the steps to the dais.
Turning to face the crowd, he said, "Thank you for coming. There is a human situation on campus which I know most of you probably don't care about, but I'm hoping that you might be able to help me with. A student was poisoned with Gelert Potion a few weeks ago. What I was wondering, was if any of you had overheard any of the students talking about Gelert Potion, or if you had heard any teacher mentioning it to a student."
"I thought Gelert Potion was a helpful concoction," Madame Barbonne said.
"Used properly, it is," David replied. "But this potion was designed to keep the victim asleep for hundreds of years. We're still looking for a way to wake up the victim. If we can't find one, then the only person she'll know when she wakes up is me. What I'm trying to do right now, since my attempt at finding a cure has failed, is to prove who poisoned her."
"And you expect us to tell you who was talking about Gelert Potion?" one of the other ghosts asked.
"Actually, I'm hoping that nobody was. But if you heard something, then I'd very much appreciate it if you could tell me, yes."
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you... or to not disappoint you, but I have heard nothing of the sort." The ghost faded out, as did most of the others.
"I've heard the dean mention it to Healer Hall, but I've heard no students discussing it," another ghost said. After David nodded, he left. This was the way it went with each of them. No one had heard mention of the potion.
Finally, only Penny and Lord Woodward were left in the room.
"I'm sorry, David. I guess we weren't much help," Penny said.
"Actually, you were, sort of. I was hoping you hadn't heard anything, really."
"Why?"
"Because it means that someone knows something they shouldn't. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back, to help Healer Hall try to find a cure."
"David," Lord Woodward said, "You have a cure."
David looked at him nonplussed. "Healer Hall has been looking for weeks, and hasn't found anything."
"Not Healer Hall. You have a cure. As a demighost, there is something you can do that no other can, and it will bring her out of her coma in a quite timely manner."
"Please, tell me."
-----
"Annie?" David called out.
"In here," she replied. David walked into her workroom, where she was talking with Dean Lengel and Mr. Garibaldi.
"Oh... no wonder I couldn't find you guys. I looked everywhere for you."
"What's on your mind, David?" Dean Lengel asked.
"Two things. First, I went and talked with the ghosts. It's hardly conclusive proof, but no one has heard any students talking about Gelert Potion."
Mr. Garibaldi nodded. He turned to Healer Hall. "You are sure that you mentioned it to no one?"
"Dean Lengel and David. That's it. I don't believe I even explicitly told Olissa's aunt what particular potion had been used."
"So, the people who should know are the four of us in this room, Prof. Stott, and the poisoner. Is that about it?"
"Yes, I would think so," Dean Lengel said. "Why?"
"Because it means we can finally nail Cherise's ass to the wall," David said with a vindictive grin.
"You want to be there when I interview her?" Garibaldi asked.
"Isn't that some kind of violation of the rules?" David responded.
"Not really. It's not the usual procedure, but it's not forbidden."
"In that case, you bet your ass I want to be there. First, though, I need to try something. You guys want to come into the other room?"
As they walked, Healer Hall asked, "What are you going to try this time?"
"Something Lord Woodward told me to do. Something he says will wake her up almost instantly. However, you might want to be ready in case something goes wrong. This could end up hurting me rather badly if it doesn't work."
"Then perhaps you shouldn't try it," Dean Lengel objected immediately.
David looked at her. "I have to try it. For Olissa's sake."
David and the others walked into the room where Olissa was lying, unconscious. He took off his coat, and then took a few deep breaths.
"What are you going to do?" Healer Hall asked.
"I'm going to possess her," he said.
"What?" Garibaldi asked. "I thought only a demon could possess someone."
"Demons... and demighosts, apparently," David told them. "I've never done anything remotely like this before, so I'm not sure I know what I'm doing. Lord Woodward gave me some instructions, but if it goes wrong, Olissa could be tossed out of bed, and my body could be horribly mangled. It's a risk I'm willing to take," David said, seeing the look on Healer Hall's face.
David faded to his insubstantial ghost form, and then he climbed onto the bed with Olissa. He lay down on the bed, on his back, positioned in such a way that his head was inside her head, and as much of the rest of his body lined up with hers as was possible. She was shorter than him, so his legs didn't match, but this wasn't supposed to matter.
David faded to invisibility now, so that he had no form at all. Then, as explosively and quickly as he could, he attempted to fade to solid form. Two solid bodies cannot exist in the same space, and so his body rebounded back to energy, but in the process, his mind connected with the physical body it rested inside of. In just a second, the full connection was made, and Olissa's body now contained two minds. Her body jolted on the bed, as her eyes popped wide open and she gasped for air.
<David?> he heard in his mind after a long few seconds. It was Olissa's voice, very quiet and scared.
<Yes, it's me. You're okay now. Sorry for the pain. I'll let you have your head back now.>
<Do you have to leave?>
<I'll be beside you in a second,> he assured her.
<Okay.>
David struggled to rip his mind free of her body, forcing himself back into his invisible and insubstantial form. He climbed off the bed, and then he faded back to his human self. He turned, to see Olissa looking up at him. She reached out for him weakly, and then he leaned down to give her a hug. While they were still hugging, his knees gave out, and David collapsed against her.
-----
When David woke up and looked around, he found Olissa sitting in a chair next to him.
"Well, this is a switch," he said softly. She pushed herself up out of the chair carefully, then came over and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Hi," she said. "What happened to you?"
"I guess I wasn't ready for possession. How are you feeling?"
"Weak. Otherwise, I feel fine. David... they won't tell me what day it is. Just how long was I out for?"
David chuckled. "Are you sure you want to know?"
"It's not the fall semester, is it?" she asked, a little worried.
"No, it's not that bad. You were out for about three weeks."
"Oh, god. I am so far behind..." she said. He could see the tears starting in her eyes, and he sat up to take her hand. He pulled her over to him, and hugged her. She cried on his shoulder for quite a while, but finally it died down.
"What am I going to do? There's no way in hell I can pass licensure now! It would take a miracle."
"One miracle, coming up," David said. "I'll help you get caught up, as much as you can with the time you've got left."
"What about your own work?" she fretted. "I can't let you fall behind for my sake..."
David shook his head. "I'm doing okay in almost all my classes. I'll manage to keep up with the extra time I have where you have to be asleep."
"Oh. Well, um... don't you think Devyn might get jealous?"
"She already did that while you were sleeping," David groused. "She and I broke up a couple weeks ago. By the way, just so you know, she is not your friend, and never has been."
"Oh," Olissa said, frowning. David put his hand under her chin and forced her to look up at him.
"But I always will be," he said, and gave her a soft kiss. She kissed him back, and then hugged him tightly. They didn't move for quite some time.
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
David and Olissa both spent the night in the infirmary, just to make sure that nothing bad came from their joining. When she woke up the next morning, Healer Hall told her she could go back to her dorm room, but that she should not attempt class until Monday.
"Not much point in me going then, either," she said morosely. Healer Hall looked at David worriedly.
"Don't worry, I'm handling it," he told her. "Thanks for all your help, Annie."
"You hardly needed me to begin with," she chuckled. "See you both later. If either of you feels ill at any point, get back here as soon as you can."
"We will," David promised, then he helped Olissa out of the room.
"Hungry?" David asked her.
"Starving. I feel like I could eat a dragon. Oh, shit! Speaking of dragons..."
"Prof. Schmidt has been looking after Bisperion while you've been asleep. I understand he's not too happy about things, but at least it's not you he's mad at."
"That's good."
As they were riding down on the rock lift, David felt a strange vibration in his coat pocket. He reached in to try to figure out what was causing it, and he realized it was his mirror.
"So that's how it tells you that you have a call," he said with a smirk. He pulled out his mirror and said, "Yes?"
Mr. Garibaldi's face appeared in the mirror. "David, glad I caught you before class. I wanted to let you know. I'm going out of town to look into Cherise's background. I expect to be back to interrogate her on Monday. You still want to be there?"
"Hell, yes," David assured him.
"Okay. I'll see you Monday morning."
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
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