The Woodward Academy, Year 3

Chapter 5: October

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Can I get some help again with Conjuring?" Olissa asked. "I'm really not grasping how to do this stuff."

"Sure," David said. "We can work on it this evening, if you've got time."

"No apprenticeship stuff this year?" Olissa asked.

"I do my apprenticeship work during my TA time. That's the main reason she asked me to be her TA."

"Oh. Okay, well, anyway, I do have tonight free, unless I get a mess of homework. We better get going, or we're going to be late for Conjuring."

"Yeah, and then we'd both have detention this weekend, instead of just me."

"You've already got detention for the weekend?" she asked incredulously.

"I'm making an assumption," David replied.

As they walked toward the rock lift to take them to Hyneman Hall, two pixies popped in place in front of them.

"David Stroud?" one said.

"Olissa Volaire?" the other asked.

"Yes," David and Olissa said in unison. The pixies looked at each other, then one motioned for the other to speak.

"Prof. Quayde has sent us to let you know that class has been moved to the stadium today."

"Okay," Olissa said.

"All right," David replied, then, just before the pixies popped out, he said, "Wait!"

The pixies looked at him. "Did you actually get this order directly from Prof. Quayde?"

"Yes," the pixie replied.

"Okay, thank you."

Once the pixies left, the two turned and started toward the stadium. After they'd walked about halfway to the stadium, Olissa asked, "Why did you want to know if they'd talked to the professor directly?"

"I just worry about it being a prank."

"You think someone's playing a joke on us?"

"Not now. Now my worry is that Quayde is fucking with us."

"If the class hasn't been moved, we're going to be way late."

"Yeah."

"Why don't we call one of the other students? Like... how about Caramina?"

"That girl that sits a couple rows in front of us?"

"Yeah. She seems nice enough."

David nodded. Olissa pulled out her mirror, and dialed up Caramina.

"Hey, Caramina. Say, did anyone tell you that class had been moved today?"

"No... and apparently not the rest of us, either. The classroom's full. Why?"

"Damn. Never mind. I'll tell you later. Thanks."

As Olissa put her mirror away, she and David looked at each other.

"That son of a bitch," David growled.

The two turned and hustled for the rock lift. They knew there was no way they were making it into class on time. They had to wait for the lift, which only aggravated them both. Once they were on the Academy level, they dashed over to Hyneman Hall. When they entered the door, class had already begun.

"Stroud, Volaire, both of you, detention for being late," Quayde snapped.

"Oh, no you don't," David replied hotly. "You're not going to blame us for being late when you had the pixies lie to us about the location of class!"

"Just what are you accusing me of, Mister Stroud?"

"I'm not accusing you of anything, Professor. I'm flat out saying. You had a pixie come to each of us and tell us that class was to be in the stadium today."

"How dare you accuse a professor. Just because someone played a prank on you..."

David interrupted him. "I asked the pixies. They told me they spoke directly to you." David's look was hard, and angry. Quayde's demeanor was similar. David continued, "Now, if you want to press this further, I'm sure we can go have a talk with the dean, and see how she feels about it..."

"Sit down!" Quayde snarled, dismissing both of them as irrelevant.

"You know he's going to go after you twice as hard now, don't you?" Olissa whispered.

"Yeah. I think it's time to at least let Dean Lengel know what's going on. Can you come with me after class?"

"Sure."

-----

"David, nice to see you. This is the first time all semester. What brings you by?"

"I'm afraid I need to talk with the dean. Is she available?"

"She's down at Savage Hall, I'm afraid. There's a sick pegasus, and she's checking in on it."

"Oh. Okay. We'll go down there, then."

"Have a nice day," Tracy told them.

David and Olissa hurried down to the Animal Annex behind Savage Hall. There they found Madame Abernathy and Dean Lengel standing over a very ill pegasus.

"David... Miss Volaire... is something the matter?" Dean Lengel asked.

"I do need to talk to you about something, but what's the matter with her?" he asked, meaning the pegasus.

"She has wing rot," Madame Abernathy told them. "It's a disease that pegs get. It's very serious, and can be contagious, which is why we've separated her from the other pegs."

"Will she be okay?" Olissa asked.

"I don't know. We've never been very good at curing wing rot. We usually just try to keep the peg alive while they fight it off. We can cure it if we catch it early enough, but this one was too far advanced when we spotted it."

"So, she might die?" Olissa asked unhappily.

"I'm afraid so."

"There's no cure?" David asked. "No potion, or herbal concoction, or spell?"

"None that I know of. You're the potion maker," Madame Abernathy said to him.

"But I'm not a healer," he objected.

"Neither am I," she replied.

"As I told you before, the animals might disagree with that. Have you talked with Prof. Stott and Prof. Qwellyn?"

"No, there hasn't been time."

"I'll see if I can find out anything for you, then."

"Thank you."

"Now," the dean said, motioning the two students out of the pen where the peg was being kept, "you said there was something you needed to talk to me about."

"Yes, ma'am. Although there's nothing you can do about it, I felt it was time that you were made aware of Prof. Quayde's behavior toward me. Especially as it is now spilling over onto Olissa."

Dean Lengel frowned, immediately upset. "I know he doesn't like you. What is it he's done?"

David related to her all about his detentions, and especially this morning's attempt at misdirection.

"This is the first time he's involved someone else in his harassment." After a second, David said, "Well..."

"Well what?" she asked.

"There's one other thing which I think he did, but I can't prove it. A few nights ago, someone conjured a flaming pile of griffin dung into my dorm room. Obviously, that also affected Jim, since he had to deal with the smell. I can't think of anyone else who would have done that... although I suppose I could have a new enemy, or maybe Marcus is acting out again, but in any case, I can't prove Prof. Quayde did that."

Dean Lengel nodded. "I'm sorry, David. I wish there was something I could do, but you're right; this is out of my hands. There are very specific rules I have to follow when it comes to dismissing an instructor. Unfortunately, what you've told me doesn't meet the necessary standard. The griffin dung would have, but as you said, we can't prove it was him."

"That's about what I figured. It's why I haven't said anything until now. It's just, with Olissa being caught up in it now, too, I thought I needed to say something. Just so you know, I have no intention of going to detention for what happened today. Of course, he will probably give me detention again on Thursday, so it's a moot point, but I just wanted to say that up front."

"I agree with you. I am officially excusing both of you from detention for what happened today. I will have a talk with Prof. Quayde, but I fear that's only going to make things worse for you."

"Probably."

"Would you rather I didn't talk with him?"

David shrugged. "Do whatever you think is best. On the one hand, he needs to know that the school knows what he's doing. On the other, as you said, it's going to make his behavior even worse."

"I'll think it over before I talk with him," Dean Lengel promised.

"Thanks. Anyway, that was it. I just wanted to let you know."

"Thank you. See? You did learn something over the last couple years."

They all chuckled about that, and then they separated. Olissa and David headed for the lunch room, while the dean went back to her office.

"You think she'll yell at him?"

"I'm not sure. If she does, he's only going to be pissed at me. I'm sorry you're getting punished for being my friend."

Olissa waved it off. "I survived our first year here. I'll manage."

David frowned mightily at that comment, but didn't reply. Instead, he said, "You go on to lunch. I've got to see if I can talk to Sam and Prof. Qwellyn about that pegasus."

"I'll come with you, if you don't mind."

David shrugged. "I figured you were hungry. Come on."

The two walked quickly over to Alton Hall. They stopped in to Prof. Stott's classroom, but she wasn't there. David figured she was either in her office, or her workroom. He found her in her workroom.

"Well, good morning, you two. What brings you by?"

"Hey, Sam," David said. "Do you know, is there a potion to cure wing rot?"

Sam looked at him in concern. "Jailla has wing rot?"

David jolted. "Oh, geez, I didn't even think of that. No, Jailla's fine, thankfully. I'm asking for Madame Abernathy. She has a sick pegasus on her hands."

"Oh, that's too bad. Hmm. I'll look it up and let you know for sure, but I don't think I've ever heard of a potion that would cure wing rot. I would imagine that, if there was one, Madame Abernathy would already know about it."

David nodded. "There was always the chance, though," David told her.

Prof. Stott nodded in agreement. "Better to check, especially on something like that. Like I said, I'll check in my books, but don't expect anything."

"Right. Well, thanks, anyway." David glanced at Olissa for a second, but then he leaned in and kissed Sam.

"Hmm. Aren't you supposed to wait until I find something to pay me for it?" she asked quietly.

"That was a deposit," he told her, winking. Sam blushed. "Please let me know if you find anything."

"Will do."

Olissa and David headed out into the hall, to see if they could find Prof. Qwellyn.

"I think you embarrassed her," Olissa said with a grin.

"Yeah," David said. "I'm sure she'll get me back for it somehow."

Olissa chuckled.

Prof. Qwellyn wasn't in her office, and so they headed for the greenhouses, to see if she could be located. They ultimately found her in Greenhouse 6. David was leery of entering, thanks to last year's events.

"Oh, don't worry, David. These aren't lightning ferns. Come on in."

The students entered the greenhouse, and looked around. The plants seemed like dandelions.

"Why are you growing weeds?" David asked.

"There are no such things as weeds, David," she replied. "Only plants that people don't like."

David grinned. "True, I guess. Still, why are you growing dandelions? Seems like these would be plentiful enough on their own."

"These are a special variety of dandelion. The seeds of this dandelion can be used to make a were-control potion."

"A what?"

"A potion to help weres control their transformations. For instance, it can prevent a werewolf from going fully feral on a full moon, or it can allow a werecat to be human in the presence of milk."

"Do we have a need for such a potion? Are there werewolves attending Woodward?"

"No, although we do have three werecats here, and a werephin, as you know. Once again, we're performing at the behest of the king."

"I see."

"But you probably didn't come in here to talk about dandelions. Is there something I can do for you?"

"I was wondering, is there an herb or plant that can help a pegasus with wing rot?"

Prof. Qwellyn frowned. "No, nothing I've ever heard of. No herb by itself could do that. Are you working with Madame Abernathy now?"

"Not working, no. I happened to be down there, and saw the sick pegasus. I told her I'd check with you and Prof. Stott, to see if you knew something she didn't."

Prof. Qwellyn nodded. "I admit, David, I miss our teaching time. You were so eager to learn, and very helpful, but you've not come by for the informal sessions we arranged."

David frowned. "I'm sorry, Miss J. I'm trying, but Prof. Quayde seems to want a monopoly on my Saturdays."

"You're apprenticing with him?"

"Ah... no."

"I'm confused."

"Prof. Quayde usually sentences me to Saturday detention."

"Oh! Oh, dear. Well, I'm not sure, then, when would be good. If not Saturday, how about Sunday afternoons?"

"That would be fine, Miss J. Two o'clock?"

"Yes, that's good. I'm sorry I can't be more help with the pegasus."

"No worries. I'm sure Madame Abernathy will manage. See you tomorrow."

As they left the greenhouse, Olissa said, "What is it with you and the teachers? The only one who dislikes you is Prof. Quayde, and the rest are just about falling all over you."

David shrugged. "I still think the dean has told them to keep an eye out for me."

Olissa shook her head. "It's your third year. There's no reason for her to worry over you now."

"Maybe. I don't know. It's not like I'm a super-great magician or anything. I'm good with potions. The rest I'm just... well, average, I guess, though I don't feel like I've got a good grasp on most of it. Maybe they just like that I'm interested."

"Lots of us are interested," Olissa objected.

"Well, hell, Olissa, I don't know," David said. "I don't think about it. I'm just grateful for their help."

Olissa nodded, and didn't say anything more. "We need to hurry. I'm hungry, and we haven't got all that much time for lunch."

"Let's go, then."

-----

After dinner, David and Olissa worked on their conjuring skills. They spent an hour or so on it, and then they decided to stop. Olissa took a seat on the bed, while David sat at his desk.

"I wish we could help the pegasus," Olissa said sadly. David knew it had been preoccupying her thoughts; she was sensitive to animals.

"We've done all we can," he said. "It's in Madame Abernathy's hands now. Sam mirrored and said there was nothing in any of her potions books."

Suddenly, Olissa looked up. "What about in your potions book?"

"Sam gave me my potions books, Olissa."

"Not all of them!" she pointed out excitedly. "You have one that no one else has."

Understanding came to David like a flash. "Shit, I forgot." Then he said, "But I doubt Galen was interested in the plight of pegs..."

"Does it hurt to look?" Olissa pointed out.

"No," he said, grinning at her. He used the sem charm to retrieve the book from the shelf, and then he spelled it to reveal the Lost Book of Galen. There was no index, so David had to flip through, page by page. Olissa came over, standing to look over his shoulder.

"How can you even make sense of half this stuff?" she asked quietly.

"By taking more than a semester of Potions class," David said with a chuckle. Olissa whacked him lightly on the shoulder, and then let him continue to look.

About two-thirds the way through the book, David stopped.

"Well, this is interesting..."

"What?" Olissa asked. "A cure for wing rot?"

"No, not exactly. It says the concoction was intended to keep zombies from falling apart due to decay, but that if it is used in its more concentrated form, it can do even more. There are really zombies?" David asked.

"Usually brought to life by a dark wizard," Olissa confirmed.

"Well... then why would Galen have a method for keeping them in one piece, so to speak?"

"Once you defeat the dark wizard, the zombies need to return to the place they were buried. If they don't, it harms the soul whose body it was. While the zombie is moving around, the soul in Haven is immobilized, unable to move at all. But they're awake, and they know what's happening to them. It's awful. If the zombie doesn't return to its grave, and it decays somewhere else, then the soul will suffer for it."

"Oh. So this potion would normally allow a zombie time to return to its grave, if it was far from it."

"Yes. But why is this interesting, as far as the peg is concerned?"

"Well, wing rot is necrosis. In other words, decay. This isn't a cure, I don't think, but maybe it would restore the damage, and the pegasus would have more time to fight off the infection."

"Maybe. Is it hard to make?"

"No... this isn't even a potion. It's just an herbal compress with a spell applied."

"Wait... you can spell potions?"

"Some of them require it. They don't teach those in the first couple years of Potions class."

"Oh."

"Anyway, I don't have all these ingredients, but I think Prof. Qwellyn does."

"Let's go see her, then."

The two went down to the greenhouses, and then used a mirror to call for Prof. Qwellyn. She arrived, but seemed a bit sleepy.

"I'm sorry, Miss J. I didn't know you went to bed so early."

"Oh, I don't. But when the sun goes down, I get kind of drowsy. What can I do for you?"

"Do you have these herbs?" he asked, handing her a piece of parchment he'd copied the list onto.

"Of course. They're all fairly basic herbs. Why do you need them?"

"For the pegasus."

"Madame Abernathy found a treatment?"

"No, I did."

Prof. Qwellyn's eyebrows went up. "Well then. Let's go into my workroom and gather what you need."

Once they'd gotten together all the herbs, they thanked Prof. Qwellyn and then headed for the Animal Annex. Along the way, they mirrored Madame Abernathy, to have her join them.

By the time they arrived at the pegasus' pen, Madame Abernathy was already there.

"What have you discovered?" she asked David.

"This isn't a cure for wing rot. But it's a treatment for the symptom. Can a pegasus beat wing rot if it has enough time?"

"Usually, but if it gets too advanced, then they end up catching other diseases, as well, and they can't fight off all of it."

"Okay. Then this might work out. I found this recipe for a compress that will, I hope, restore the rotting flesh. It won't get rid of the disease, though, just help the flesh."

"Anything's an improvement. What do you need me to do?"

"Just keep her from biting me," he said.

Madame Abernathy grinned. "Cupcake? You've got a better chance of getting bitten by a drakee!"

David chuckled. He performed the spell on the compress, and then he approached the pegasus, which was lying down, its neck slumped and its head hanging loosely.

"This might sting some, I don't know. I'm also not sure how to keep it in place on her wing..."

"I have some self-clinging bandages. We can put one of them over the compress."

David nodded. He stepped close to Cupcake, and then he looked her in the eye. "I need your wing, girl." He slowly put his hand under the front edge of her wing and lifted until she got the idea. Finally, she unfolded her wing, exposing the ugly, rotting muscle at the root.

"Oh, god," Olissa said, stepping back and trying not to gag. The smell was pretty bad, and the dead flesh was very gross to look at.

"This is going to hurt," he told the peg, who merely dropped her head again. David pressed the herbal concoction against the open wound, pushing it in tightly. The peg whinnied in pain, and David gently patted her on the neck. "Sorry, girl."

Madame Abernathy handed David one of the self-clinging bandages, and David put it on the wound, smoothing it over. The magical bandage snugged itself tightly to the wound, keeping the compress in place. David patted the peg's neck again, and then stepped away from it.

"How long will that take to do its job?" Madame Abernathy asked.

"It should restore the flesh very quickly, but you'll want to leave it in place. Tomorrow, I'll drop by and we can change it. You'll want to leave it on there until she beats the infection."

"Good deal. Where did you find this remedy?"

"In an old potions book I have."

Madame Abernathy nodded. "Well, thank you for your effort. I dare say that Cupcake didn't have too many days left to her. Now, maybe she's got a fighting chance."

"Let's hope. Good night, Healer Abernathy."

"Good night, Healer Stroud," she said, grinning at him.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Okay, class," Prof. Rutherford said, "Today, we're working with the flame again. This is a more advanced lesson than the last one. Instead of just making the flame dance, you are going to try to make it form a circle. Most of you will not be able to do this, so don't feel bad if you fail. If you can get it to even form an arch, you're doing well at this point.

"Now, there are two ways to perform this task, and one of them will always be easier for you than the other. Which one is easier depends solely on you. The first way is obvious and straightforward: take the flame and force it to curve until it bends back upon itself into a circle. The second way is to take the flame and split it in half. Then you bend each of those halves into a half-circle.

"Most students at your level find the split-flame method easier to accomplish. In practical use, however, the single-flame method is more powerful."

"Why is that, Professor?" one of the students asked.

"The split-flame method has flame going in both directions. There's no momentum to it. The single-flame method, because it travels continuously in one direction, can be expanded on. If you add in more energy, and, when you become skilled, push it outward, the single-flame method can become a fiery vortex, which can be a very potent weapon, should you need such a thing. Now, let's begin, shall we? Use what we talked about last class, and give it a try. I'll walk around to offer help when needed."

David went through his usual ritual of relaxation and concentration, and then he focused on the flame. From his last attempt, he knew that he could at least manipulate the flame somehow. He imagined the flame circling in his mind. Slowly, as he watched almost in amazement, the flame began to bend. Soon, it was bent into a half-circle. David knew that this next part was the harder part, as he was now fighting the natural tendency of flame to go upward. Still, he maintained his composure, and continued to see the image in his mind.

Slowly but surely, the flame inched around the circle, until finally it met itself. David didn't dare release his concentration as he watched the circle of light in front of him.

Prof. Rutherford stopped at his desk. "Very impressive, David. You're the first person in here to achieve this."

David merely nodded.

"You don't have to concentrate so hard once you've completed the circle. You'll need to keep your attention on it, and keep your hand up, but the flame will now continue in its path. Tell me, can you make the circle larger?"

"Ma'am?"

"Add some energy to it. Push the flame outward, into a larger arc."

"I can try..."

David focused his mind, imagining the flame's circle expanding from its current size, which was about three inches across, to a more impressive six-inch circle. Remarkably, he found this easy to do, and the flaming ring almost immediately grew to the new size.

"Wow," Prof. Rutherford said. "Come see me after class, if you would. You can extinguish your flame now."

As David did so, Prof. Rutherford moved on to other students. David sat, and then wrote some things in his notebook about how he'd performed the task. He had taken to doing this with both TEM and Metamorphosis, to help himself learn the best way for him to manage these skills.

After class was over, David waited until the room was clear, and then walked up to Prof. Rutherford's desk.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. I'm just very curious. We do these skills in the order of easiest to hardest to master... at least, for most people. Generally speaking, terramandy is the easiest manipulation to perform, because it doesn't move on its own. You, however, seem to still be struggling with terramandy, and yet are excelling at pyromandy. You were the only one here today able to make a perfect ring. We had a couple other rings, but they were shaky, at best. I didn't even ask them to try to make the ring larger.

"Do you have any notion of why you have so much difficulty with terramandy?"

"Not really."

"Hmm. I want to try something. I'm going to perform a spell on the dirt. When I tap you on the arm, I want you to manipulate the dirt into an arch or a ring, like we did with the flame. Okay?"

"Sure."

Prof. Rutherford pointed her wand at the bin of dirt. Suddenly, David could see that it was shifting and moving. It started to burst free from the bin, flying up into the air, forming a thick cloud of swirling soil.

Prof. Rutherford tapped David, and he focused himself, forming an image in his mind of a ring of dirt, much like the ring of fire they'd been working with. He moved his hands as he'd been taught, and slowly, the dirt pulled together, conglomerating into a solid shape. By the time he was done, there was a perfect ring in front of them. David relaxed, and the ring settled into the ground, but it didn't collapse this time.

"Well. Very interesting. This is a new one on me."

"What's the matter?" David asked.

"Your problem is that you can't manipulate it if it's not moving. The thing that makes this easiest to do for others, is defeating you altogether."

"So... what does this mean for my future in TEM?"

"Oh, your future classes are likely to be much easier than last year. Hydromandy may be a bit tricky, for a standing body of water, but most water is moving somewhat. Aeromandy should be a snap; air is always moving. But I don't want us to give up on you and terramandy yet. What we have to figure out is how to get the dirt moving for you."

"Well, I did manage those pillars, last year..."

"Right. It seemed like all your energy went into getting the dirt moving, and so you weren't able to shape it once you did. I want you to keep practicing this skill. I know; I'm giving you even more work to do, since I need you to keep up with the class work as well."

"I'll do what I can, Professor."

"Good. Now, I've taken enough of your time. See you next class."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Clear your desks," Prof. Quayde said. "It is time for your exam. You will have an hour and a half to complete the test. Should you go beyond the ninety minutes, you will be penalized one point for every minute beyond. Should you not turn in your exam until the very end of class, the best you could hope for is a 55, and that is a failing grade already.

"And I expect there will be a great many failing grades in this class. Your ability to perform these skills is pitiful, and your knowledge of the theory is little better. Do at least try to get the right answers on the test."

The professor finished passing out the tests, and the students got to work. David had felt confident about the test before he received it. After all, he'd been forced to do much additional work on the material they'd covered in class.

It was only when David realized his test was much thicker than Olissa's that he knew something bad was going on. He quickly flipped through the pages of his test, and he realized that he was being tested on intricate details of the material, including three chapters that the class had not even covered yet.

Growling to himself, David turned back to his first page, and set to work. There was little point in complaining about the content of his exam, so he merely started answering questions as fast as he could.

David was about halfway through his own exam when Olissa finally got up and handed hers in to the professor. She patted David on the shoulder as she left; talking was not permitted. David looked up at the clock and realized he was already past the ninety-minute mark. He wasn't the only student left in the room, but there were only a few there still.

"Class time is over," Prof. Quayde finally announced. "Turn in your test, Stroud."

David looked up. He was the only one left in the room. He hadn't even touched the last page of his test.

David got up and took his test to the professor. He set it on top of the others, but didn't bother waiting for any comments. Anything Prof. Quayde would have to say would not be useful.

Before David even made it back to his seat, the professor said, "You didn't even do the last page of the test, Stroud."

"I didn't have time, Professor," David replied evenly.

"You had ninety questions. That was a minute per question. You should have easily been able to complete this exam. You're a slacker, Stroud."

"As you say, Professor."

"Saturday detention. Maybe a little more copying will help your performance."

"What do you wish me to copy, sir? I've already copied every chapter we're scheduled to go over this semester."

"Have you copied the entire book, Stroud?"

"No, sir..."

"Then I don't think your work is finished! Now get out of my classroom!"

David shrugged, picked up his backpack, and went to lunch.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Good afternoon, David. How are you today?"

"I'm fine, Carol. You?"

"Peachy as always."

"Do I have any mail this week?"

"I'll check."

Carol went into the back, and then returned with a few envelopes and a small package. "Here you are."

"What's this?" David asked, when he saw the box. "There's no return address on it. Did someone give this to you to give to me?"

"No, that went through the post office in town. You can see their mark here. What's the matter? It's just a package. Maybe someone sent you a gift."

"Yeah, a 'gift' is exactly what I'm worried about. Oh, well. Thanks, Carol. You have a good one."

"You, too."

David took the package and his other mail, and went down to the terrace. He found a bench that he could sit on with few people around. If what was inside the box was a prank, he didn't want anyone else getting caught up in it.

Slowly, David unwrapped the box, and then, almost cringing, he pulled the top off of it. When nothing happened, he peeked inside, and was now very curious.

Inside the box was an amulet on a chain. The amulet contained a large center stone, a deep red. Around it were several orange stones set into gold filigree. Up at the top, the filigree was empty, and the chain ran through a bail at the very top. David pulled it out, finding it quite heavy. He turned it over, but there were no markings or inscriptions on the back. There was no note or additional information in the box, either.

Scratching his head, David put the amulet back in its box, and shoved the box into his bag.

"Who the devil would send me an amulet, and forget to tell me what it's for or why they're giving it to me?" he asked Jailla.

"Perhaps it is still a prank, but a more elaborate one," Jailla offered.

"What do you mean?"

"Perhaps whatever it is going to do, it won't do until you put it on. Or maybe it is time-delayed. Maybe it's waiting for something else to happen first."

"Could be... well, I have no intention of putting it on. The thing's too gaudy and too heavy to wear."

"It could also simply be a gift from an admirer," Jailla said.

"Don't you think if that was the case, they'd have at least told me what it was for? I mean, I get not identifying themselves, though it's kind of childish... but it'd be nice to know what it does... if it does anything..."

"Maybe it doesn't. Perhaps it is just decorative."

"Not looking like that, it isn't..."

Jailla chuckled. "So your admirer has awful taste."

David laughed. "Yeah, maybe. Whatever. C'mon, I've got to get to Crystallomancy."

-----

David was walking towards Byron Hall, having just left his Potions TA class. He was running late, as he'd had to do a little research on a particular potion for his apprenticeship. He wondered where Jailla had gotten himself off to; he didn't like the smells of Potions class, so he never accompanied David there.

As David was looking around, he spotted a student being chased by a bunch of fiery flying insects. These were not the fireflies; these bugs were actually flaming. As the girl got closer, he recognized Anne.

Sighing, David pulled out his wand. He aimed at the bugs, and he intoned, "Friej!" Immediately, the bugs all froze solid, and dropped to the ground.

Anne, hearing David's charm, looked back, and saw the bugs lying inanimate. She turned as David came over to her.

"Thanks," she said.

"What was it this time?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"Don't give me that crap, Anne. This is the fourth time I've had to rescue you from your classmates. What's going on?"

"None of your business," she grumped.

"I'm making it my business," David said, grabbing her arm to keep her from walking away.

"Let go of me!"

"Not until you answer me," he said. "When are you going to wake up? They're harassing you because you're making yourself a target. You're angry all the time. You treat everyone around you like shit. You're fairly begging to be tormented. If you don't get it through your head soon, you're going to spend your entire time here miserable."

"What the fuck do you care?" she spat.

"I have my reasons," David replied.

"I'll be fine," she said.

David sighed. "Whatever, Anne. If you don't want my help, there's not much I can do. I'm sure you get hassled a lot more than I see, but there's nothing I can do to stop that if you aren't willing to listen."

"Who made you the hall monitor?" Anne growled.

David almost said something to that, but then closed his mouth and shook his head. "No. If you're not going to share information, then neither am I. Enjoy your dinner, Anne." He let go of her, and she glared at him for a long moment, then walked off. David looked around to see if anyone was watching; they would be the ones guilty of the hazing. He didn't see anyone, however, and he figured they'd not stuck around for the conversation. He shrugged, and then made his own way to the cafeteria.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David awoke with a start as something bounced off his chest.

"What the fuck?" Jim said from the other side of the curtain. That let David know that he hadn't been dreaming. He got up and threw on his bathrobe, then opened the curtain. As he did, something zipped across his field of vision.

"What the hell is in here?" David asked. He walked over and lit a few candles. He had a feeling he would need his wand for other things.

As the room brightened, they could see a half-dozen furry creatures sitting on the floor, their desks, two were clinging to the walls, and one was actually hanging from the ceiling.

"Aw, shit," Jim said. "I don't need this!"

"What are they?" David asked.

"Mestapirs! And these are fully grown ones!"

As David was about to ask what was so bad about a mestapir, they started to move again. They zipped so fast that David couldn't even see them while they were moving, except as an almost-invisible blur.

"Forget trying to catch them," Jim said. "No human could possibly move as fast as they can. Hell, you can't even see them when they're running. And they can run right up the wall, and across the ceiling. To catch this many is going to take all night!"

"Well, you're the animperist. Make them leave!" David challenged.

"I can try, but controlling groups is pretty well beyond my abilities yet." Jim concentrated, and one or two of them slowed down for a while, but then they sped right back up. Jim slumped on his bed.

"I can't. Their minds are too hard to connect with. It's all the movement. I just can't 'catch' their attention."

"Do they have any protections against magic?"

"Just their speed. You've got to actually hit them with the spell in order to do anything."

"Hmm," David said, considering. He sat down on his bed to think.

"Aren't you going to do something?" Jim asked incredulously.

"I'm trying to think of something to do. It's not like they're much of a threat, so what's the rush?"

"I'd like to get some sleep! I need to study tomorrow for a test on Monday!"

David walked over to his desk and opened up one of his charms books. He flipped through some pages, and then found what he wanted.

"You might want to go stand by the door," David said.

"Why?"

"I'm going to try a field spell."

"Aw, hell."

"Hey! I've done it before..."

"Once. And you nearly caused an accident!"

"You got a better idea?"

After a moment, Jim grumped, "No."

"All right, then!"

Jim stood behind David, who faced the room, and then held his hands apart, keeping them well in front of himself. He focused, and said, "Comis tempses ventura!"

A smattering of yellow sparkles flittered from his hands, and they could tell that the mestapirs had slowed down, but they weren't stopping, and their speed was still pretty quick.

"Now what?" Jim demanded. "If we go over there to try to catch them, we'll slow down as much as they did!"

"Now that they're moving more slowly, can you capture their attention?"

Jim tried, but then shook his head. "No, their thoughts are just as fast as they were before. The field doesn't affect thinking, only moving."

David sighed. "Can these things swim? I mean, swim well?"

"Yeah, why? They've been known to swim across small lakes."

"So if we dumped them in the moat, they'd make it to the shore."

"Easily. But how are you planning to get them outside? The windows don't open, and I don't think we'd be wise to let them into the hallway..."

David raised his hands again, as he had when he cast the field spell. With a little concentration, he reconnected with the field.

"Come on," he said. The two crept along the wall of the room, keeping the field intact, but away from them. Once they had made it to the window, David dropped his hands. After that, he pulled out his wand.

"What are you going to do?" Jim asked.

David just shook his head at him, then pointed his wand at the one stationary mestapir. He said a quick charm, and the mestapir vanished. David turned his head to look down at the moat, some forty feet below. He saw a shimmer, and the mestapir reappeared, hung in the air for the briefest fraction of a second, and then, as the magic let go of it, it plopped into the water.

The mestapir floundered for a second, until it had gotten its bearings, and then it turned and swam off.

"Cool. Since when can you conjure living things?" Jim asked.

"You'll learn how next semester. There's only one advantage to my Saturday detentions, and this is it."

"Does that mean we could eventually conjure ourselves from place to place?"

"Not unless you're one of the strongest wizards ever born. Only four wizards have ever been known to teleport themselves."

"Oh. Damn."

"Yeah, oh well. Let me see if I can't get rid of the rest of these bastards..."

It took another ten minutes for David to actually conjure the remaining five mestapirs out of the room. Finally, with the last one gone, they breathed a sigh of relief. David lifted his hands and said, "Peractus." The field spell collapsed with a green shimmer.

"Now, can I get back to sleep?" Jim asked.

"If you actually can. I think I've had my sleep for the day."

"Just make sure you close the curtain," Jim said, climbing back into bed.

David grunted, walked over, closed the curtain, and then got dressed.

Fucking Prof. Quayde. You just wait until Halloween.

-----

David cheered as Giendia approached the line as one of the archers competing in the Centaur Games again this year. He was alone this time, however. The others hadn't seemed interested in attending this year. That was all right with David; he was there to support Giendia, anyway.

The first rounds went quickly, and Giendia had no problems with any of the simpler tasks. Soon, it was time for the final challenge, the spinning disks. She had almost won at this challenge the previous year, but the same centaur who had beaten her last time, was here again. David saw her look over at her opponent and frown in concern. Then she looked over to where David was sitting. He waved and gave her a thumbs-up gesture. She smiled weakly, and then turned back to the challenge in front of her.

She was one of only three centaurs taking part in the final round. One of them was elsewhere, and she and last year's winner were present in Gorumshead. The remote archer went first, and embedded his arrow into the second wheel. Now, Giendia's opponent would go. The order was determined randomly.

The centaur stepped to the line and stared at the spinning wheels. After a while, he raised his bow, pulling back the arrow, and then waited. He continued to watch the wheels for another full minute. Finally, he let his arrow loose. It sailed through all three disks, and embedded itself in the target, on the outer edge of the second ring.

Now it was Giendia's turn. She took one more look over at David, then stepped to the line. She stared at the wheels, watching them spin, timing their alignment, figuring out the interval between shot opportunities.

Finally, Giendia raised her bow, but she didn't pull the arrow back yet. She continued to watch the wheels spin. Suddenly, she pulled back on her bow and let the arrow fly in one smooth motion. The arrow sailed through the center of the hole in each disk and slammed firmly, dead center, into the target on the far side.

The crowd, including David, erupted in cheers. Giendia had won the match handily. Her father came over and congratulated her with a hug. David slipped down out of the stands, and went over to her. She was all grins as he embraced her.

"Congratulations!" David enthused. "That was a phenomenal shot!"

Giendia blushed, and accepted his praise. After a minute, she had to go accept her medal for winning the archery contest. When she came back, her father hugged her again, and so did David.

"David... could we go for a walk?" Giendia suddenly asked.

"Sure," he said. "Right now?"

"If you don't mind missing the rest of the competition..."

"I came to see you compete," David told her. Giendia blushed, but then led him off the grounds.

Once they were away from people, Giendia asked, "Would you like a ride?"

David smiled at her, and climbed up onto her back. He slipped his hands around her waist, and she moved off at more of a trot than a walk. They didn't say anything as she carried him into the trees. She slowed down as they moved further in. They chatted about small things as she walked, until finally she came to a stop next to a boulder. She turned her head now, and the two kissed softly. This was awkward for Giendia, however, so David soon moved to sit on the boulder, which put him at a good height, and they embraced again, kissing more fervently now.

After a long time, Giendia broke their kiss and leaned back. She paused for a long moment, and then asked, "David... would you like to have sex with me?"

David had been anticipating this question; he'd thought this was where this little walk might lead. As he had told Dubnin that he would, he gave his response.

"Um... How would we do that?"

Giendia looked as if she'd been slapped. "David, I know you've had sex before. You know how it works!"

"Well, yeah, Giendia, I know how it works between humans, but..."

"But I'm not human, is that it?"

"Well... yeah. I mean, it's kind of different..."

Giendia immediately burst into tears. "I thought you liked me," she sobbed.

"Giendia, I do like you. I'm just not clear on..." he started to say.

"Don't lie to me, David! You were just using me to get your kicks! Ha-ha, very funny, put one over on the weird centaur girl! You bastard!"

"Giendia..." David tried to say.

Giendia hauled off and slapped David right off the boulder. He tumbled to the ground, wondering if his jaw had just been broken.

"I don't ever want to see you again!" she screamed. She wheeled and galloped off into the forest, crying.

Well, that didn't go well, David thought to himself. He didn't dare say anything out loud; he really did think he had a broken jaw, it hurt so much.

Slowly, he picked himself up off the ground and made his way back to the school.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David's jaw had not been broken, only dislocated, and spending the night as a ghost had fixed the problem. His face was still quite sore when he went to class the next day, however. He was glad they were having a test in Charms & Hexes; it meant no spellcasting. Herbology had been uncomfortable, as he'd had to explain to several students how to prune the plant they were working with.

He made his way to lunch, and ordered the softest thing on the menu.

"You don't look so good," Simon said.

"I don't want to talk about it," David said. "Or anything else, really. God, my jaw hurts."

"What happened?" Simon asked in concern.

"Ask me in a couple days, when I can talk better," David told him. He nodded with a chuckle.

As David was coming out of Byron Hall, he saw a centaur standing a hundred feet away. He could recognize Dubnin, even at this distance. He could also recognize that he was upset.

"Uh-oh," David said.

"Trouble?" Simon asked.

"You might want to go on ahead. I don't think you want to be around for this."

"Uh... gotcha. See you later. Good luck."

"Uh-huh."

David walked over to Dubnin, moving slowly. His jaw was not the only thing that had suffered from Giendia's blow.

Before David could say anything at all, Dubnin said, "What did you say to my daughter? She has done nothing but cry since she got home last night."

David was about to speak, but Dubnin interrupted him.

"I warned you that this was a sensitive matter. I told you that I didn't want to see my daughter hurt!"

"Dubnin, I didn't say anything."

"David, I'm not a fool. You spent hours with her, and then she came home distraught. I can only assume you had relations with her, and then told her you never wished to do it again."

"That's not what happened. I wasn't with her for hours. After we got where she was taking me, I was only with her for a couple minutes."

"I don't believe you. Where was she for the rest of the time? It was dark before she came home."

"I can only assume she was off crying somewhere. The situation went very badly, Dubnin. You were wrong, by the way. She didn't handle my response well."

"Perhaps you had better explain."

"What you expected, what we talked about, that is what she wanted. Yesterday, we walked into the forest, and that's what she asked me. As I told you it would be, my initial reaction was... How?"

"And she said..."

"She accused me of using her to get my kicks, and of making fun of her. I tried to explain to her that I was simply unsure of how we would proceed, but she wouldn't actually listen to me. She slapped me, told me she never wanted to see me again, and ran off into the forest."

"She slapped you?"

"Yes. Luckily, I'm a demighost and heal fast, or you and I wouldn't be able to have this conversation today. It hurts to talk, as it is."

Dubnin nodded, and then he sighed in resignation. "I'm sorry, David. I had assumed that you had mistreated her somehow, and that was the cause of her upset. It never occurred to me that it would be a misunderstanding."

"I'd like to explain it to her, but I don't think I want to be slapped again."

Dubnin replied, "No, I don't think it would be wise to approach her for now. She needs to calm down. That may take some time, before she will be willing to even speak to you. For now, I imagine that your face will occupy the center of her archery target, at least in her mind."

"Yeah. I guess I should have thought of a better way to answer her... but when you said she'd be okay with that answer, I didn't see much need to worry over it."

Dubnin nodded regretfully. "Perhaps if I had not said anything to you, it would have gone better."

"I doubt it. I mean, that was my initial reaction when you mentioned it to me, so it would still likely have been the first thing out of my mouth."

"I suppose. Still, I should have left well enough alone."

"Could you do me a favor?" David asked.

"If I can."

"Let me know when you think it might be okay for me to come talk to her again? I don't like leaving misunderstandings between me and my friends."

"I will do that. But please, until you hear from me, stay away from her. For her sake... and yours. I cannot guarantee the next time she hits you might not do more damage."

David rubbed his jaw. "Yeah, I get that."

Dubnin offered his hand, and David took it. The two of them shook, and then Dubnin departed. David shook his head, and walked back to his dorm room. He needed to get his book and his crystal ball, for Divination.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David rubbed his temples. He was getting a headache. They were having what Prof. Zoroaster referred to as a "free day" in Crystallomancy. It was the day before Halloween, and he didn't want to work them too hard, so he merely asked them to spend their time doing divinations of their own choosing, but to keep a record of them, to see how accurate they turned out to be.

David was looking into the future of all of his friends, just to make sure that nothing bad was going on around him. He hadn't spotted anything troublesome so far, and he'd already looked at all of his school friends. He'd even looked at Shell, who had asked him to show her around for the Halloween Festival. He'd hesitated to do that; he normally spent his time with the Night of Haunting, but he didn't want to turn her down. He didn't know how he'd prank Prof. Quayde with Shell along, though.

David considered who else he could check in on. A little thought reminded him that Zyla was pregnant, and so he decided to check in on her and the baby, which was due in mid-December.

Focusing his thoughts, David gazed into the crystal ball. What he saw made him frown sharply. After he was done writing in his divination journal, he started to write a letter.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Meet me at Byron Hall, okay?" David told Shell.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Up to the castle. I'm part of the opening ceremony for the Night of Haunting. I can't miss it. But as soon as that's done, I'll go get my costume, and meet you at the feast. How will you be dressed?"

"Oh, I think you'll spot me," she said with a grin. "When does the ceremony end?"

"At sundown. I need to get moving. See you in a bit."

David hustled up to the castle. It would be the first time he'd not participated in some fashion in the Night of Haunting, but so long as he made the opening ceremony, he didn't figure any of the ghosts would mind.

Once he was through at the castle, which had not taken long, he hurried back to his dorm room. He grumbled that he should have brought a duffle bag with his costume in it up to the castle. Jim was gone already when David got there, so he had the room to himself. First, he undressed and then pulled out his costume. He was going as an evil court jester. His pants were solid black on one side, and a checkerboard of blood red and black on the other. The jacket was the same colors, only on alternate sides, and the sleeves contrasted with the adjacent part of the jacket.

David slipped on tight black gloves, and then put on the jester's hat, which had the same colors as the rest of the outfit. Instead of bells on the ends of his hat, however, he had eyeballs. The eyeballs were not simple glass recreations: they would blink, and look from side to side.

The one thing David could not do was morph his face. He hated the idea of wearing a mask, as it would make it hard to talk. He wasn't good enough with makeup to get the look he wanted. Having ruled out all other options, David opted to glamour his face. He performed the charm, which made his face look skeletal, with remnants of skin clinging to it in a few places. His eyes were sunken, and glowed a dull red, and a smear of blood adorned his cheek bone. David studied the illusion in the mirror, and nodded in satisfaction. He picked up his scepter, which had on top of it a crystal skull that was a translucent dark crimson. It looked almost black, until David slipped his wand into the shaft and chanted the spell, and then it illuminated from within. He slipped it into the loop for it on his costume's belt, and pronounced himself ready.

"You sure you don't want to join us?" David asked Jailla.

"I don't think I match your outfit," Jailla replied.

"I could morph you into something that would..."

Jailla ruffled his feathers a little. "Like what, a rat?"

David snorted. "No, I was thinking something more like a raven."

Jailla cocked his head. "If I am to match your outfit, I should have some red feathers, as well..."

David smiled - a creepy look, with his glamour - and said, "I can give you red wingtips, and alternating tail feathers..."

"Very well. But only because I am interested in what the Halloween Festival is truly like. You've never attended the whole thing."

"Sit very still," David said. He pulled out his wand, then closed his eyes briefly. He then opened them and performed the charm. Thankfully, Jailla morphed smoothly into the black and red bird that David had in mind. Jailla flew over and landed on David's shoulder, then spread his wings to study himself in the mirror.

"I rather enjoy the appearance," Jailla said. "But the loss of my tail is not appreciated."

"Sorry, but ravens don't have tail feathers that long."

"It affects my flying," Jailla said.

"You'll get used to it, and it's only for one night."

"I suppose. Let's get on with it."

-----

David stepped into Byron Hall to find the windows in the ceiling were covered with massive cobwebs. Scrambling amid the cobwebs were several magically enlarged spiders. At least, David hoped they were magically enlarged.

The hall itself was a mass of strange creatures and odd people. Once again, the only real way to identify his friends was that they were all sitting in their usual spot.

Approaching the table, David recognized Jim, though he had scabs all over his face and hands, and pus oozing from several fake wounds. His skin was gray and sallow, and what looked like radioactive waste clung to his body in several places. It was convincing, and David wasn't sure if he had an appetite anymore.

Simon was fairly recognizable, wearing a typical vampire outfit, with the white face, heavy suit, and black cape. He had foregone the red lips, but as he talked, it was clear that he had augmented his canines into fangs.

Sitting next to Simon was the person he assumed was Heath, though he wasn't recognizable as such. He was a goblin, with a slightly greenish hue to his skin; long, pointed ears; and a nose to make Jamie Farr despair.

There were two women at the table, and so he had to assume they were Olissa and Shell. The first was a redhead, which helped him not at all. The other was a slender black woman, dressed as Cleopatra. She looked drop-dead gorgeous.

As he reached the table and looked down, he recognized that the redhead was, indeed, Shell. And she was wearing shells, purple ones, covering her breasts in a bra-like fashion. He saw that she was wearing a shimmering green dress, with a diaphanous ruffle around the top edge. He couldn't see her legs, but he had a feeling he knew what she was dressed as.

"A little far from the water, aren't you?" David said. Only his voice clued the others in on who he was.

"Holy hell, David, that's some costume," Simon said. "Is that Jailla?"

"It is," David said as he sat down. He turned his eyes on Olissa. "And welcome, Madame Pharaoh."

Olissa nodded her head. "You like the outfit, I see."

"We'll talk later," David promised her. To Jim, he said, "You're making it very hard to keep up any kind of appetite..."

Jim grinned, which did sickly things to the scabs on his face.

"Ugh. I'm glad I don't get hungry anymore. If I did, I'd be going hungry tonight."

"He doesn't bother me," Jailla said. "I just ignore him. I want something pumpkin."

David rolled his eyes at Jailla, and then he reached over and grabbed a pumpkin tart. "Here, eat this," he told the bird. Jailla walked down David's arm onto the table, and started to devour the treat.

To Simon, David said, "A vampire?"

"I was attacked by an evil bat, wasn't I? I must be a vampire!" The group laughed at that.

"Maybe so," David said with a grin, "but a real vampire would smack you around for that outfit."

Simon chuckled.

David managed to get over his unease at Jim's costume - mainly by not looking at him - in order to enjoy the meal. When they were all done eating, David got up. He offered to help Shell up, and she graciously accepted his hand. She swiveled off the bench, exposing a green pantyhose-clad leg. When she stood, David saw that her skirt was tight to her knees, and then had a slit down the front. It trailed out what looked like a fish tail on the ground behind her.

"An Earth mermaid, though?" he asked quietly.

Shell blushed, but smiled at him.

"And I hope we don't need to do any running. You'll kill yourself in that dress. But you look very nice."

"Thanks. You look... creepy. Those damned eyeballs are giving me the willies."

David chuckled. "What do you want to do first?"

"Trick or treating. I want to make sure we get that done."

"You've got it." To the others, David said, "See you guys later."

Before David could turn back, Jim said, "Hey, David... any chance that you could, like, ghost me for the night? It'd be cool to actually be a dead toxic waste victim..."

David rolled his eyes. "Sorry, no. I can only ghost you for as long as I am ghosted myself... and I don't want to spend the evening as a ghost. Sorry."

"Oh, well. Had to ask," Jim said.

"Uh-huh," David said dubiously. He figured Jim just wanted to cause some mischief. Turning back to Shell, he said, "Okay, let's go."

The two went and picked up their buckets - in the shape of pumpkins, of course - and headed out. The buckets were magical, and could hold quite a bit more than it looked like they could. They also never got heavy, and wouldn't spill if dropped.

As the two were leaving the lunch hall, they saw Gwen and Devyn coming toward them. Though they were fully dressed in costume, neither of them had really disguised their face, so they were easily recognizable.

"Hey, Shell," Gwen said. "Nice costume, but mermaids are dolphins, not fish..."

"Not in Earth lore, they're not. I copied this from an Earth drawing."

"I am going to go on in, if you do not mind," Devyn told Gwen. Devyn was dressed in a long purple gown, with a heavier purple robe over it. The robe had silver accents on it, and it was sewn with a floral stitching pattern. On her head was a silver crown, with one large ruby in it. Clearly she was dressed as an elven princess, something David suspected she wished she actually was.

Gwen looked at her and frowned, but said, "Okay. I want to talk to Shell for a minute."

Once Devyn had departed, Shell asked, "And what the heck are you dressed as? I don't recognize this get-up..."

"It's something I saw on an Earth poster. It's from a movie, I think. I just thought it looked really cool."

"It's from the movie Tron," David said, startling Gwen, who had not recognized him or Jailla. "She's dressed as Yori. Where is Nalani?" David asked, referring to her moon snake familiar.

"Right here," she said, motioning to the disk she was carrying with her. Looking closely, he could see the shape of Nalani within the disk.

"You morphed your familiar into an identity disk?"

"Her idea. Though it was the guy who was carrying this in the poster..."

David nodded. "Yori didn't have one. But I doubt many people here will know that," he said with a grin.

"And look at you, all scary and stuff," Gwen told him. "Where you two off to?"

"We were just about to go trick or treating," Shell told her. "You want to come?"

"No, I haven't eaten yet. And I think Devyn would impale me on her queenly scepter if I ran off without her."

David nodded his head to her. "Have a good evening, then," he said.

"You guys, too," she replied, and then headed into the cafeteria.

"You two are really friendly, but I never see you talking to her..." Shell said.

"I would have figured Olissa would have explained this to you already," David said. "Devyn and I dated last year. Our break-up was not pleasant, and Devyn still blames me for it. She's basically forcing Gwen to choose between her and the rest of us."

"Well, that sucks."

"Yeah. Anyway, let's go, shall we? I want my candy."

Shell laughed, and the two headed for the nearest school building.

The first building they entered was Hughes Hall, the home of David's TEM class. This building, and all of the classroom buildings, had a cold gray mist seeping along the floor up to their knees. Off in the distance, they heard the clanking of a door, and the muffled wail of tortured souls. A cackling laugh echoed along the corridor. They walked down the hall, and found, outside of Prof. Rutherford's classroom, a jack-o-lantern on a table. As they approached, the jack-o-lantern shifted and looked up at them. In a creepy and somewhat maniacal voice, it said, "Go on in, if you dare!" After that, it devolved into a cackling laugh.

David had flinched when the thing first moved, then just shook his head. They stepped into the classroom, which was full of fire and heavy winds. Pillars of dirt stood in their way.

"Where's the candy?" Shell asked.

"On the other side of the room," David said, pointing to a place where a bright light shone down from the ceiling.

"How are we supposed to get there?" she asked.

"Duck and dodge... or, possibly, cheat..." David said.

"Cheat?"

David moved them over to a place where a large fire burned in a pit. They could almost make it past, if they scooted along the wall, but not quite. David focused on the fire, holding out his hand as he'd been taught. He struggled to keep his concentration, and slowly, inch by inch, the fire bent away from the wall. After a couple minutes, there was enough room to pass.

"You go first," he said, keeping himself focused on the flame.

Shell inched her way past the flames, and then David followed, keeping himself turned directly at the flame, his concentration intense.

Once they'd both gotten through, David dropped his hand. The fire immediately resumed its normal position.

"Hey!" someone shouted from the other side. "We want through, too!"

Staying in character, David laughed evilly. "The candy is mine! Mine! You'll never get past my fun house!" David laughed again, waving his scepter and doing a silly dance. The other students laughed, even though they still had to get past the obstacles themselves now.

David turned back, and he saw the bowl of candy, attended by an ice queen, and her rather short handmaiden. David recognized Prof. Rutherford and her daughter, Lyssa.

"Very impressive, whoever you are," the professor said.

"I bet your handmaiden recognizes me," David said. The girl shook her head. "No? What if I do... this!" David crossed his arms and quickly faded out. He shifted positions, and then faded back quickly, and said, "Boo!"

Lyssa screamed and jumped, and then she giggled. She gave him a hug.

"You're all icky," she told him when she let him go.

"It's just a disguise," he assured her. He stood up and presented himself to the ice queen. "I hope I have entertained Your Majesty," he said, bowing.

Prof. Rutherford chuckled. "You have, jester. You may take your reward."

"Your Majesty is too kind!" he said, playing it to the hilt. Shell just shook her head as they both grabbed some candy from the bowl.

"Take the back way," Prof. Rutherford pointed. "No point in having to do that... rather amazing bit of pyromandy... again."

"Happy Halloween," David said to Lyssa, and waved to the professor.

David and Shell visited other rooms in Hughes Hall, and then they walked over to Alton Hall. They approached Prof. Stott's door, and the jack-o-lantern greeted them.

"Beyond this portal lies the realm of the witch. I suggest caution..."

David and Shell looked at each other and smirked. Then they stepped through the door. The room looked like a dense forest. The bright, full moon shone from the ceiling, and a lazy blue mist roiled along the ground. Suddenly a bat swooped low over their heads, screeching. Shell screamed in fright, and clung to David. David smiled at her.

"Come in, come in, my pretties!" the witch called. Prof. Stott stood behind a huge cauldron, sitting on the floor in a massive fire pit. He'd never seen a cauldron so big, except in cartoons and bad witch stories. The concoction bubbling in the cauldron was green and sickly. He saw eyes floating in it, and a skeletal hand stuck out of it, slowly melting into the goop.

"I... uh... don't see any candy here," Shell said, a bit nervous.

"I do, but it's all eye candy," he said with a grin. Prof. Stott was dressed as a witch, all right, but her version of a witch's costume had a plunging neckline and a slit up the side of her black dress that went all the way to her waist. She wore a medallion around her neck, made of silver and inlaid with sapphires. Her long black hair flowed over her shoulders, front and back. She normally did not leave it loose like this.

"What brings you to my forest, fish-woman? And why do you bring this clown?"

David said, "I am no clown, you hag! I am jester to the court of the banshee king!" That there was no such thing as a banshee king didn't matter to the fun they were having.

"Your king sentenced me to this place, Jester! Please let me show my gratitude. Have some of my brew."

Prof. Stott conjured a mug into her hand, and ladled some of the drink from the cauldron into the mug. She handed it to him. "Drink, Jester! If you dare!"

David expected the cup to be very warm. The fire beneath the cauldron was quite real, and the mixture was actually boiling in the pot. When he held the cup, however, it was almost ice cold, and it seemed like it was getting colder all the time.

"You'd better drink quickly, Jester..." the Witch Stott said.

David put the cup to his lips, and tasted. He marveled at the downright fantastic flavor of the drink. He gulped the rest of it.

"I suppose you'd like a taste, too, my pretty?" Witch Stott said to Shell. Shell nodded, a bit nervous, glancing over at David.

When the professor handed her the mug, Shell put it to her lips hesitantly. After she tasted it, she, too, drank it heartily.

"Thank you for your brew, kind witch," Shell said. "But we must be off."

"Good riddance to you! Get yourselves out of my forest! And if you know what's good for you, you'll have a Happy Halloween!"

Shell chuckled at that. As they were about to step out the door, David turned to look at Prof. Stott.

"You make a great witch... but I think you'd have looked better skyclad."

Prof. Stott laughed loudly at that, and David slipped out the door to rejoin Shell.

-----

David and Shell had visited many rooms so far. They were currently in the hallway of Santana Hall, the music department. They were taking a bit of a break, just resting against the wall, chatting.

A couple of first years were walking along, marveling at the realistic decorations. Santana Hall was hung with skeletons and torches, along with some more of those huge spiders.

The two first-years stopped a ways down from David and Shell, talking about the candy they'd collected.

"I got some fire rocks!" the one said.

"I love those!" the other enthused.

Suddenly, the skeleton hanging above them leaned down over both of them.

"Ooh, I love those, too! Can I have some?" the skeleton said.

The two students looked at the skeleton, and then at each other, and without a word, ran down the hallway, out of the building.

David and Shell laughed.

"Were you ever that spooked by magic?" Shell asked David.

"Not quite that bad, but my first year was a bit strange. Then again, I'm a demighost. I'm the thing everyone's supposed to be scared of."

"True enough. C'mon, let's go get some more candy."

As they walked, David said, "You know, it's nice that we can still do this. Back in Earth, it's frowned upon for people our age to go trick or treating."

"From the sounds of it, Earth has lost a lot of its love of magic."

"Yeah, you could say that."

-----

Having finished their circuit of the terrace, David and Shell took a rock lift up to the Academy Level, and started their trick or treating up there. They marveled at the work that the teachers had all put in.

When they entered Belleci Hall, and walked into the infirmary, the stench was foul.

"Ugh. This is one time I'm glad I don't have to breathe," David said.

"You don't breathe?" Shell asked.

"Don't have to. Normally, I do, out of habit, but I don't have to. And in order not to smell that, I won't!"

Shell grinned, then coughed. They looked around. There were body parts lying on tables, and blood dripping onto the floor. They saw a mutilated skeleton dumped in the corner, one eye still swiveling around to look at them. Coming from the back room were screams of torture.

Wow, she really went all out, didn't she?" Shell asked.

"Yeah, this is pretty gross."

They walked through the room, and another bat flew at them. Shell didn't scream quite so loudly this time, but her grip on David was just as firm. They carried on, and found a body lying on a table. It had sunken skin, the bones nearly showing through, and its long, white beard was knotted and full of dirt.

"Oh, hey, Coach Hall. Didn't feel like dressing up this year?" David asked him, teasing.

Coach Hall reached out for David, groaning, "Get out, before she comes back! She'll kill you both!"

"Fresh meat," said a voice behind them, causing them both to jump. They whirled to see Healer Hall, dressed in a skimpy nurse's uniform, but with half her face missing, showing white bone, and blood smeared over her skirt. In her hand was a bone saw.

"I don't think I like this," Shell said.

"I've never tried sushi," Healer Hall said with wicked glee. She advanced on the students.

David drew out his scepter, and the skull began to glow brightly. "Back, you corrupted angel of mercy! Don't make me get nasty..."

Healer Hall laughed. "I bet you taste funny," she said. David tried not to smirk.

Healer Hall lunged, but David parried with his scepter. When he did, he shoved Shell, so she could get around Healer Hall. David continued his mock battle with the evil nurse until he'd gotten them turned around.

"Do your worst!" Healer Hall challenged.

"Lux lucis corcra!" David screamed, and the room was nearly suffused with a blinding purple light. It wasn't so bright as to harm anyone, but Healer Hall closed her eyes and turned away.

David and Shell both backed out of the room, toward Healer Hall's office. In there, they found the candy supply, and an open door back to the hall.

"That was... uh..." Shell said.

"Fun?" David offered.

"Scary. And I'm not sure I appreciated the sushi comment," she said.

David put his arm around her shoulders. "She was just trying to rattle you. C'mon."

Shell let him lead her out of the building. She felt a little better in fresh air, where people weren't pretending to try to kill her.

The last building they entered was Hyneman Hall. After stopping off in Prof. Fibblebitz's room, and in Prof. Arpilla's, they stopped outside Prof. Quayde's classroom. Prof. Quayde was not participating in the trick or treat portion of the night.

"Why are we stopping here?"

"There's something I need to do," David said.

"Oh? What's that?"

"I can't tell you. I don't want you to get in trouble if I get caught."

"Wait, you can't just cut me out of the really fun stuff..."

David chuckled. "It would mean turning you into a ghost for a second..."

"I'm game, as long as it's safe."

"Perfectly safe, though it may be a bit uncomfortable."

"No problem. What do we do?"

David looked back and forth. No one was watching them. He took Shell firmly by the arm, and then faded himself. She faded with him, and when he opened his eyes, she was as ghostly as he was.

"That wasn't so bad. Now what?" she asked.

"Come on," he said, and walked through the wall. She followed him into Prof. Quayde's classroom. David looked very carefully to make sure that no one was in the room.

"So what are we doing in here?" she asked.

"This son of a bitch has been giving me grief since the semester started. For two months I've put up with his shit. Now that I can do something without anyone being able to prove I did it, it's time for a little payback."

"Wait... if the door is locked, how will they not know you did it?"

"Because tonight is the one night all the ghosts up at the castle come down and play pranks on humans. Any of them could do what I'm about to do."

"Oh. Okay. What're you going to do?" she asked.

David set to work. First, he affixed all of the desks to the walls. After that, he conjured all of the stools so that they were stuck inside the desks. Finally, he conjured all of Prof. Quayde's personal books, parchments, and other materials into one very shaky stack. He enchanted it all so that it would not fall, so long as no one touched it. As soon as anyone touched it, the enchantment would break, and gravity would do whatever it wished.

David stepped back and took a look around. "There's no way he's holding class in here until he fixes everything."

"But he's a master conjurer, isn't he? This should all be easy for him to fix."

"Easy, but annoying. I can't do anything really serious. That would hurt the other students, and it's not their fault he's a prick. I'd love to conjure a meat cleaver into the middle of his head, but... well, I'm not that kind of guy."

"Thankfully," she said.

"Well, that's that, then. You want to return to the festival now?"

"Sure."

They left Prof. Quayde's classroom, and then David faded back to his solid form. Shell did likewise as soon as he did, and they left Hyneman Hall.

"Well, we've finished with trick-or-treating. Now what should we do?" she asked.

"There are some party games down on the terrace, and, of course, the corn maze..."

"Ooh, let's do that. I've heard about those, but never been in one."

"Okay."

The two took a rock lift back down to the terrace, and started to make their way over to the area next to the stadium. As they were walking, David saw something that disconcerted him just a little.

He saw himself.

Four times.

There was a group of students - at least, he assumed they were students - who were all traveling together, and all dressed up as him. David shook his head, and then he told Shell, "Wait here."

David strode imperiously over to the group and confronted them, his scepter in hand.

"Which of you is the real Stroud? I will enjoy grinding his bones to pulp, just to watch him regenerate! The banshee king will be so proud! Come now, confess! Which of you is the real one!"

"Uh... none of us," they said. David was masking his voice, so they didn't know it was him.

"Lies!" he said. "I shall have to test you each! I shall cut off your hands, and see which grows back! A bit hard on those of you whose hand won't grow back, but what can you do?" he said, more to himself than to them.

The group of Strouds took a step back as David waved his scepter menacingly.

"What? Still no confession? I demand a confession, so I will provide it!" David used his scepter to blast them with light, and faded to invisibility. Once they had recovered, and noticed him gone, they looked at each other. Now, with all of them looking at roughly the same spot, he faded quickly back to solidity and screamed, "YAH!"

All four of the Strouds jumped back. David laughed.

"I am the real David Stroud!" he said, now unmasking his voice. The four other students all slumped a little, trying to ease themselves from the tension. David looked each one over.

"I don't part my hair there," he told the one. To another he said, "Nice attempt at Jailla, but you've gotten his markings slightly off. Still, you're the only one who tried that, so you get points. Why in the world did you guys dress up as me?"

"Hell, dude, you're cool! You've got all those demighost abilities, and my older brother says you're a kick-ass wizard, that you plastered that Marcus guy..."

David chuckled. "Far be it from me to contradict your brother. What year are you guys?"

"Second year."

David nodded. "Thanks. Have a Happy Halloween."

"You, too!"

David walked back to Shell, who was chuckling at the scene.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you?"

"A little creeped out, actually. I didn't know I had a fan club. Not bad costumes, though. Although I have to admit, it's kind of a cop-out. I mean, we all wear the same uniform..."

The two made their way to the stadium area, where they found the entrance to the corn maze, and a sign above it, that pronounced it, "The Maize - or - The Amazing Maze o' May's Maize (we couldn't decide!)"

David groaned, and Shell giggled. They entered the maze of corn, and began to make their way through it. They heard... things... scurrying through the corn, but saw nothing. This made them hesitate before every corner, wary that something was going to jump out at them. They were just beginning to grow comfortable, when they were reminded why they shouldn't be.

As they rounded a corner, an arachnorph charged at them. With eight legs and a human upper half, the arachnorph was wielding a strange bladed weapon and hissing menacingly at them.

David and Shell both screamed, and backpedaled, taking three turns in succession, just to make sure the arachnorph couldn't find them. After that, they stopped to listen. They heard nothing following.

"Now what?" Shell asked. "I had a good idea of our path before... but now, I can't even remember what turns we took."

David nodded. "Something tells me that was the point."

"So, now what? If we keep wandering, we'll just get more and more lost."

"Maybe. Let's walk for a little ways. If we don't see anything that gives us a clue, we'll try something else."

"Okay."

After five more minutes of walking, taking a few considered turns, they didn't find anything. Once again, they stopped to consider.

"I don't have any idea how to get out of here now," Shell told him.

"I have one thought. Makes me glad I convinced him to come along. Jailla... can you fly up and see if you can find the way out, and then come back and tell us?"

Jailla paused. "I will let you know if I find anything."

For some reason that sounded familiar to David, but Jailla flew off before he could consider it.

While they waited, David asked, "By the way, don't you have a familiar?"

"No, mermaids don't have familiars. And I don't think I've ever heard of a water-familiar."

"I know of a water cat who is a familiar, but that's as close as I've heard of."

Shell nodded. "I think familiars are meant for humans. Humans live on land, so familiars live on land."

"Makes sense. I-"

David stopped talking, because all of a sudden, he felt a tingling in his skull. Shortly after that, he saw an image of the maze. He could see where he was within it, and, with a little study, he saw the pathway out.

"Come on," he said. Shell followed him, and David alternated watching where he was going with paying attention to the vision in his head. He noticed that the vision remained centered around him, but still allowed him to see the whole path out of the maze.

It didn't take them too long before they found the exit. They were greeted by a slew of jack-o-lanterns that all cheered, except for one, which booed. He was a frowny-faced jack.

Once they were out of the maze, Jailla landed back on David's shoulder.

"What was that all about?" David asked.

"Hmm?" Jailla replied.

"That's the second time that's happened. What was going on?" To Shell, he explained, "The reason we got out so easily is that I saw this image in my mind of the maze, and where we were within it."

Shell nodded, and David turned back to Jailla. "Fess up!"

Jailla cocked his head and fluffed his wings. "You asked me to help, so I helped. I allowed you to see the maze through my eyes."

"Why didn't you tell me you could do that?" David demanded.

"Up until recently, I couldn't. You and I had not bonded closely enough, and you were not a strong enough wizard to interpret the vision."

"Hmph. Well, thanks for the help, anyway."

"My pleasure."

David explained to Shell what had happened as they walked back around the maze - on the outside - to go back and join in the fun and games that were taking place on the other side of the terrace. Before they got there, they found an area where Prof. Edgars was standing in front of what looked like an altar. David walked over to him.

"Good evening, Professor," he said.

Recognizing the voice, if not the face, Prof. Edgars said, in his usual monotone, "Good evening, David."

"What's this for?" he asked, motioning to the altar, and the surrounding flowers and candles.

"Though Halloween is a festive night of the spirit, one must not forget that the spirits we celebrate are those who have passed before us. This place is here to offer your respects to the dead."

"Oh," David said. "Is there a ceremony or ritual for offering respects?"

"If you wish to offer generic respects, then the creation of a simple energy ball, in orange, would be appropriate. If you wish to honor someone specific, the lighting of a candle is the preferred method."

David considered for a moment, and then he crafted a softball-sized energy ball, and set it on one of the empty pedestals. He bowed his head to the altar, and then nodded to Prof. Edgars.

"Good night, Professor."

"Good night, David."

After that, David and Shell wandered off to join the party games, which were taking place in a clear spot on the terrace. The first game they ran into was bobbing for apples. It was being overseen by the strangest looking creature...

As David got closer, he said in astonishment, "Flo?"

"David!" she said, recognizing the voice. "Hi! Happy Halloween! Want to try your luck at bobbing for apples?"

"Um, no, it's too easy for me. What in the world are you dressed as?"

"I'm a unibear!" she said. Her outfit covered her from head to toe in pink fur. Only her face was visible, and a few stray locks of her brown hair poked out the face hole. She had huge bear ears on her head, with mitten-paws and bulky bear feet. She looked like a huge pink teddy bear, except that in between her ears, pointing almost straight up, was a pearlescent white unicorn horn, which trailed sparkles everywhere she went. David couldn't help but smile on seeing her.

"Where's Pickles?" David asked, meaning her squirrel familiar.

On hearing his name, Pickles poked his head up from behind the apple barrel. He had on his head another unicorn horn.

"A unisquirrel?" David asked dubiously.

"You bet!" Flo answered with a grin. "So, you want to try?" she asked Shell.

"Oh, I'd rather not mess up my hair," she said.

Flo shrugged with a smile. "Well, have a great time! Plenty of games tonight!"

David just chuckled as they walked away from Flo, and discovered what other games were available for their enjoyment.

-----

At the end of the night, David accompanied Shell back to her room.

"I had a great time tonight," she told him. "Thank you for coming with me."

"No problem. It was a lot of fun."

"Can you... remove that face?" she asked.

David smiled, and he ended the glamour on his face, so that he now looked like himself again.

"Thanks," she said. "I didn't want to kiss a skeleton." She leaned up and kissed David softly without giving him a chance to respond. David put his hands on her waist and kissed back. They didn't go any further, and soon enough, they ended the kiss.

"See you at breakfast," she said.

"Yeah. Good night."

-----

Garibaldi was working late. He had reports to finish. He hated Halloween. He knew that tomorrow they would have to respond to a half-dozen unlicensed use of magic reports, because dead wands thought they could get away with it on Halloween. Zyla was too far along for them to do anything special for Halloween this year, anyway, and so he'd allowed his partner to talk him into doing all the paperwork.

"Officer Garibaldi?" a voice said. He looked up to see the postmistress.

"Working awfully late, aren't you?" he asked.

"This message came in special delivery. I decided to wait until I was on my way home. I hope you don't mind."

Garibaldi shook his head. He took the letter, and the postmistress departed. Given the postmark of Gorumshead, he figured the letter was either from, or about, David. He opened it to find out which.

Dear Mr. Garibaldi,

I apologize for bothering you with this at work, but I thought you might want to be able to read this message away from Zyla.

As you know, I have been taking Crystallomancy classes. I'm no expert, but several of my viewings have come true. If that weren't the case, I wouldn't be writing to tell you what I saw.

Today, I had a viewing that concerns you, Zyla, and the baby. It looked as if Zyla was having some real struggles, as if there was a problem. I don't know anything more than that; I'm sorry I can't be more informative.

Please, if you have any faith in my abilities, take Zyla to be checked by a healer. Or at least go get a seeing from a professional Diviner, who can perhaps see more than I can.

I would like to point out that, previously, I'd had a vision of you, Zyla and the baby all happy and healthy. I don't know if that vision has changed into this vision, or if that is still the outcome. I'm hoping that my telling you this will improve the chances of that happier vision coming true.

If you need to ask me questions about the vision, feel free to mirror. I didn't mirror you with this in order to make sure that Zyla wouldn't be present. I don't want to worry her unduly, as she's got enough to worry about.

Take care, Mr. Garibaldi.

Regards,

David Stroud

As Mr. Garibaldi re-read the letter twice, his hands shook slightly. He very carefully folded up the letter, and put it back in its envelope. He set it down on the desk and stared at it.

Shit.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~