The Woodward Academy, Year 4

The Woodward Academy,

Year 4

Chapter 1: June

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David sat comfortably on Cupcake, watching the world zoom by below him. He estimated that they must be doing at least a hundred miles per hour. He wondered how it was possible, but he came up with only one answer. Cupcake was a magical creature, capable of flight when he knew damned well her wings were not large enough to support her weight. Whatever else she might do simply didn't compare to that.

It was approaching late afternoon, and they were just entering the Clarion Mountains. They had stopped briefly at several of the villages they had passed over, to inquire whether or not anyone knew where to find vampires. No one, so far, had any idea. Or they weren't telling him, at any rate.

Now, flying through the mountains, he had to consider his plan for the night. It was unlikely that he would miraculously run into vampires before dark, so he knew that he and Cupcake should probably find shelter soon. The trouble was, the nearest town he knew of was Cormatsen, and it was at least two and a half hours away. That would be a dangerous flight through mountains in the dark, even for Cupcake.

Being a pegasus, Cupcake didn't much care where they were going. She was enjoying the flying. Occasionally, she would swoop extra-close to a mountain for no other reason, David was sure, than to have the thrill of missing by "just that much". He trusted her to keep them safe during the flying; she knew more about it than he did, after all.

As David kept scanning the ground below, he saw signs of a settlement ahead of them.

"Down there, Cupcake," he told her. She nickered in reply, and then descended gently, until her hooves touched ground, at which point, she folded her wings outside of David's legs and galloped along, slowing as she went until she was at a fast trot. They quickly came to the settlement that David had seen. Everything looked strangely small to him, which he wrote off to the perspective, until he remembered something from the student handbook.

I bet this is a dwarf community.

Sure enough, a minute or so later, he came upon some dwarf children playing in a field. They looked up as he approached, clearly in awe of Cupcake, whose size was such that they didn't even reach her knees. David slid down off the pegasus, to be more at level with the kids.

"Hi," he said in a friendly tone of voice. The kids just stared.

"Can you tell me where to find an adult?" he asked, trying to push through their mute wonder. He still got no response.

David looked up and around, trying to see if there were other dwarves visible, but he didn't see anyone.

"Hello?" he said to the kids again, hoping to get their attention. Finally, a loud blast in the distance seemed to wake the kids, but rather than talking to David, they ran off up the hill that the field led to. David followed them with his eyes until they were out of sight, then he turned to Cupcake.

"I guess they live up that way. Or at least, maybe there are other dwarves up there. Will you be okay if I leave you here in the field to graze?"

Cupcake nickered at him again, and nodded her head. She nuzzled him for a second, then walked away to munch on some wildflowers.

David climbed the hill the kids had gone up, and found himself confronted by an even steeper hill behind it. At least now he could see some other dwarves, however. They were working to dislodge a boulder.

"Hello!" he called to them before he approached. He didn't want to startle anyone.

Several of the dwarves turned to look at him, while others continued to work on the boulder. One of the dwarves approached him.

"Hello, stranger," the dwarf said amiably. "What brings you to our village?"

"I'm traveling, and I was hoping for some information. Are you having trouble with the rock?"

"It didn't move far enough," the dwarf said, shrugging. "We wanted to roll it down the hill. We'll just have to shove it," he said.

"Was that blast I heard a magic spell? Couldn't you simply do that again?"

The dwarf shook his head. "It won't work if the rock is too far away from the cliff."

"Oh, I see. Would you like some help?"

The dwarf looked at him for a moment, trying to judge whether David was being condescending, or friendly. He decided it was more likely the latter, and so he waved David over.

The boulder was much too big for anyone, or even everyone, to move on their own, David's help or not. It was a very large rock, and must have weighed tons.

"Where are you trying to get it to go?" he asked the dwarf, who pointed. Thankfully, it was not going to go toward Cupcake.

David considered for a long moment, trying to think of a spell that would help him. He thought perhaps pichac might work, but it was a brief shove, and probably not strong enough.

Well, I could always try using TEM... It worked against Brent...

David turned to the dwarf again. "Is there a specific spot down there you want it?"

"No, just... down there somewhere. We're going to carve it up into smaller pieces later."

"Well, why not just carve it up into smaller pieces now?" David asked with a grin.

The dwarf smiled. "Not enough time. We need to continue work here."

David nodded. He motioned the others away from the rock, and then he stepped up to it, placing his hands on it and focusing. He breathed out, trying to calm himself. Finally, when he was ready, he called on his terramandy skills, and pushed his arms outward, against the boulder. It looked for all the world as if he was physically pushing the rock as it slowly began to tip away from him. Soon, it left contact with his hands, but continued to move, very slowly, toward the edge. Finally, it reached the incline, and gravity took over. David watched it as it rolled and bounced down the hill, coming to rest against a huge tree at the bottom.

The dwarves around him applauded.

"Thank you, stranger!" the lead dwarf told him enthusiastically. "You saved us a couple hours of work!"

"Glad I could help," David said sincerely.

"What form of magic was that?" the dwarf asked.

"Terramandy. I'm surprised, as much as dwarves work with the land, that you haven't learned it."

"Aah," the dwarf muttered in feigned annoyance. "All that magic mumbo-jumbo. Truth is, we're only good at certain kinds of magic. Manipulating the elements isn't one of them, sadly. It would make our lives easier, as you just proved. Now, you said you were looking for information?"

"Well, my immediate search is for a place to spend the night. It's getting close to sunset, and I'd rather not be traveling in the dark. Is there a place nearby?"

The man shrugged. "If you can stand the height, you're welcome to stay with my wife and me. We have a guest room you might fit into..."

David grinned. "Thank you very much. I'll just wait over here for you... I assume you have more work to do."

The man nodded. "By the way, what's your name, stranger?"

"David. David Stroud."

The dwarf nodded. "Call me Leniak." The two shook hands. "Now, if you don't mind, I do have to get back to it."

"Let me know if I can help out again," David said. Leniak nodded, and walked off. David found a tree to sit under, and rested.

It wasn't long before the two kids he had seen before made an appearance. They crept up to him slowly, until they were within ten feet of him.

Finally, David smiled and said, "Hi. Don't worry, I don't bite."

"What was that thing?" the girl asked.

"What thing?" David replied, confused.

"That thing that was with you!" she insisted.

"You mean Cupcake? She's a pegasus." Seeing the look of confusion on their faces, he explained, "A horse with wings."

"What's a horse?" the boy asked.

David chuckled. "I'm not sure how to answer that one. Don't worry, she won't hurt you. Just leave her be, and you'll be fine."

The kids had edged closer while he was talking. The girl motioned to his coat. "You're a wizard."

"Well, only a mage, at the moment. But yes."

"Can you do something magic?" the boy asked.

David considered, then got an idea. He reached into his bag, and withdrew the crystal bird statue. He set it on the ground, so it would be stable.

David pulled out his wand and quietly said, "Zurukken."

The crystal statue smoothly changed back into Jailla. The kids gasped in awe as Jailla fluffed his feathers, looked around, and then flapped up onto David's shoulder.

"They are?" Jailla asked.

"They're just saying hi," David assured Jailla.

Jailla turned his head, bobbed it, and let out a chirp.

"He says hello," David told the kids.

"You can understand him?" the girl asked in wonder.

"Yes. He's my familiar, so I can understand him when he talks. Don't you have wizards in this village?"

The kids shook their heads negatively.

"Do another trick!" the girl demanded. The boy nodded in agreement.

David rolled his eyes, but was happy to keep the kids entertained while he waited for Leniak.

-----

David had not realized that, when Leniak had said that David could stay with him "if he could stand the height," he wasn't referring to the ceilings. Leniak's home was on the top of the steep hill, and the drop-off from his front door was quite perilous.

Stooping, David came in through the door, and promptly banged his head on the ceiling. He stifled a curse, and rubbed his head with a self-deprecating smile. Jailla, he saw, sat on the window ledge of the home, but didn't come inside. He really didn't like caves.

"This is my wife, Andersi," Leniak said.

"How do you do, ma'am?" David said, carefully nodding his head in her direction.

"Welcome," she said politely.

"David here is traveling through, and needs a place for the night," Leniak explained to his wife.

"Oh, I see. Well, certainly, you're welcome to the spare room. The bed might not fit you, however..."

"I can make do," David said.

"Please, sit," the man said, motioning to a chair. David looked at it warily. "Go on," Leniak said, "It won't bite you..."

"I don't want to break it," David admitted.

"Oh, don't worry about that. It's had my cousin sitting upon it, and he must weigh at least as much as you! Fat old dwarf, he is. He almost can't make it up here anymore."

"Well, okay," David said. He gingerly sat in the chair, which didn't so much as creak. He felt more comfortable sitting down; at least he could hold his head straight now.

"So, where are you traveling to?" Andersi said as she set a glass of juice on the table in front of David. "Clearly you're coming from the Academy..."

David smiled. "Yes, ma'am. I don't actually know where I'm going yet. I'm looking for something. But, I had a question. The children I ran into acted like they'd never seen magic. I thought dwarves were magical."

Andersi looked at her husband.

"Risa and Kittomer," Leniak told his wife. She nodded, as he explained to David. "They're the children of one of the workers. Dwarves do have magic, but we don't have spells. The magic we do is more... ingrained in us. It just kind of happens. And, because we're bound by the same laws as you, we discourage them from doing any of their magic until they can go to school. As such, they're not used to the flashier kind of magic that you can do."

"So, dwarves cannot cast spells?"

"No. In fact, our training takes only a year, because that's, well, all we're capable of."

"Interesting. I didn't know that. I knew that the dwarves at the Academy kept to themselves. I didn't know they didn't take the same courses as everyone else."

"You could have asked them," Andersi told him.

"Yes, ma'am, I suppose I could have. It just never occurred to me."

"So," Leniak said, "What is it you're looking for?"

David took a deep breath. "Vampires."

"Why in the world would you want to find those?" Andersi said in surprise.

"I'm trying to become a Potions Master. I need to find them in order to complete my apprenticeship."

"Awful young to be a Potions Master, aren't you?" Leniak asked.

David shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I'm just doing what my own Potions Master tells me to." This was a vast oversimplification, but David didn't feel like going into the whole story.

"Like a good apprentice should," Leniak agreed. "Well, all I can personally tell you about vampires is that there are none here."

"Any idea where there are some?"

"Just stories. Rumors, really."

"I'll settle for that, at the moment."

"The rural areas of the southwest of Callamandia, near Gtharsis, are said to have some darker creatures, such as the vampire and the wyvern."

"I can confirm there are wyverns down there. A schoolmate of mine has encountered them."

"Did he survive?" Leniak asked.

"She, actually, and yes. She managed to kill it."

"Very impressive."

"Yes, well, she was an elf. I think that may explain some of it."

"Not as much as they'd like you to think," Andersi said scornfully.

"Now, Andersi, let's not be running down his friends."

"Oh, no, go right ahead. I said she was a schoolmate. She is definitely not a friend."

Leniak chuckled. "The elves like to pretend they're so much better than the rest of us, because they've been here the longest. They are arrogant, and rude. They try to tell you that their condescension is just the formal way they address you, but the truth is, they just want to feel superior to you."

David nodded, not arguing the point. He'd seen nothing in Devyn to contradict that statement. Even as an orphan, she seemed to exude superiority.

"So, are they better wizards than the rest of us?" David asked.

Andersi snorted. "Hardly."

Leniak grinned. "It is generally considered - by everyone except the elves - that the humans are the best wizards. Perhaps because you embrace all the various forms of wizardry. Most of the other races here in Dugerra seem to be limited to just a few kinds of magic. Even elves seem not to be good at certain types. Humans, though... seems like you can do it all."

"I hope we don't give you a superiority complex," Andersi said with a smile.

David grinned. "Don't worry about that. A few days back in class would certainly solve any ego problems I was having. I hadn't known that about the other races, though. But then... the other races, almost all people are magic-users, right?"

"Just like humans," Leniak confirmed.

David shook his head. "No, most humans aren't magic users."

Leniak cocked his head. "I've never met a human non-wizard."

"They don't live in Dugerra if they're not wizards," David explained.

"You mean they live in that Earth place?" Andersi asked.

"Right. Only wizard humans are allowed to live in Dugerra. All the non-magic people live in Earth. And Earth has a lot more people in it than Dugerra does!"

"I didn't know that. Dwarves are magical by nature, you see, and so we all live in Dugerra. I've never dared to travel to Earth."

"I wouldn't recommend it," David said seriously.

"Why not?" Andersi asked with curiosity.

"You would not be treated well. People of your... well, your stature... are an oddity in Earth, and they are not treated as normal."

"How very rude," Andersi said.

David nodded in agreement.

"I must get dinner started," Andersi said as she headed into the kitchen.

"So, tell me, what year are you in the Academy?"

"I'll be starting my fourth year."

"What's it really like? As I said, I was only at my school for a year."

David's description of Woodward took him up to dinnertime, and then the three of them continued to chat through the evening, until it was bedtime. At that point, David was shown to the guest room.

The bed looked to be about a foot too short to hold him.

"I do apologize," Andersi said.

"Not to worry," David replied. He shifted a chair away from the end of the bed, and then he pulled out his wand. He gestured, and suddenly, the bed grew longer, and slightly wider. Andersi gasped in surprise.

"There, that's better," David said with a smile. "I'll restore it to its original size in the morning," he assured her.

Andersi nodded. "Good night," she told him.

"Good night. And thank you."

"Surely."

David lay down, contemplating all they had talked about for the evening, until he finally dozed off.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Another day of traveling along the mountains, and David found mostly flat land again. He could have detoured east or west to get out of the mountains, he supposed, but the mountains ran south and slightly west, anyway, and since that's where he was going, he decided not to bother. Cupcake didn't seem to mind the mountainous travel, either.

David briefly considered going to Senesty, to see if anyone there could give him guidance, but that was east of him, and he was heading west, as per Leniak's rumor. He ultimately decided to keep going. After all, if he didn't find anything, there was nothing stopping him from going to Senesty afterward.

It was getting toward sunset, however, and so David stopped off in a larger village for the night. He found a nice stable to house Cupcake, and then he wandered off to find himself someplace to rest. Jailla, meanwhile, flew off to a nearby tree, so he could rest comfortably, and keep an eye on Cupcake, just in case something went awry in this unknown place.

While wandering down the main street of the village, he looked in all the shop windows. Many of them were getting ready to close, but some were still open, and he enjoyed window-shopping.

A tussle down the street got his attention, and he looked to see what was happening. It looked as though some teens were rough-housing with someone who didn't want to be bothered.

David strode down the street, to see just exactly what was going on. When he got there, he found a gnome, trying to retrieve his pack from the leader of this group of troublemakers.

The gnome was upset and fretting, and the boys all laughed. David, having seen enough of this kind of crap in his life, looked to notice that there were other citizens watching, but they weren't doing anything. That infuriated him.

"Give it back to him," David said sharply. The boys all turned to face David, and their looks were menacing.

"Mind your own business," the leader said. "I do what I want."

"Not while I'm standing here, you don't," David said bluntly.

"What you going to do about it?" the boy challenged.

David simply pulled out his wand.

"You really don't want to find out," David warned. "Now give him back his pack, before I decide to get truly nasty about it."

"Fuck you," the kid retorted.

David flicked his wand. The leader went flying ten feet, and then tumbled another twenty.

"That was a warning," David told them. "You are clearly not old enough to have any magic, and I am quite willing to use mine to harm every last one of you. Give the man back his pack, and go on your way or else."

"He ain't a man, though!" the boy nearest David said. David took three steps and nailed the kid with a right cross to the jaw. The boy crumpled to the ground.

"He's more of a man than you are, you little shit," David said. "I would have thought, here in Dugerra, that this kind of 'we're better than they are' bullshit would have been bred out of you. Apparently you really can't fix stupid."

David turned and looked at the leader, who was only now struggling to his feet. David snarled, "SEM!" The pack, which the leader was still holding, was ripped from his hand, and flew over to David.

"Now get lost," David said, "before I decide to entertain myself at your expense."

The gang did not run, but they did back away. As soon as they turned to walk down the street, David ignored them. He turned back to the gnome, and offered his pack.

"Sorry about that," David said.

"No need for you to apologize," the gnome said brightly. "I do thank you for the help. I dare say I was in for a good long struggle with them."

"I'm curious," David said, loudly enough that any of the citizens still on the street would hear him, "as to why I had to step in, when so many others were watching."

The gnome looked at him, knowing full well what David was doing. "They don't like outsiders here, I think," the gnome told him.

"Hmph," David replied to that. "Care to join me for dinner?" he asked the gnome.

"Surely," the gnome replied. "My name is Janmik."

David told him his name and offered his hand. The two of them shook hands, and then they headed for the inn. The two sat down at a table, and waited for someone to come over to them. It was a long time before that happened, and so they chatted while they were waiting.

"What brings you through this charming little piece of Callamandia?" David asked.

"I'm a trader. I buy and sell little trinkets that I find along the way. I'd seen all of Gtharsis twice, and so I thought I'd wander around Callamandia for a while. The southern part, anyway... the weather up north..." the man shivered theatrically.

David smiled. "Been having much luck?"

"Fair," the gnome said. "Kept myself fed, and that's about all I require."

"How long have you been in Callamandia?"

"Two years now. I started out west, and I've slowly been wandering east."

David nodded. The two continued their conversation until, finally, the waitress came over.

"I'd like to serve you, but my boss says I can't."

"Why not?" David asked.

"He says we don't serve 'your kinds' here."

"A rather odd thing for an innkeeper to say," Janmik objected.

The waitress shrugged. "I don't make the rules. I'm sorry."

Janmik made to get up. "Well, I guess we'll..."

David stopped him with a motion. To the waitress, he said politely, "Please ask your 'boss' to come over to the table, if you would."

"Okay, but it's not gonna matter," she said.

"I think you'll find that he won't be convinced," Janmik told him. "I've seen this before in some of the villages."

"Weird. I guess I'm used to Gorumshead. So many new people pass through there that no one thinks a second thing about a stranger. But we will be fed."

"Not here, you won't," the owner said gruffly, hearing the last part of David's comment. "We don't serve foreigners."

"Oh, yes, you do," David said coldly.

"Are you trying to tell me who I serve, in my own business?" the man demanded.

In response, David simply pulled a book out of his pocket. It was Traveler in a Strange Land, the book he'd had to study for his travel endorsement exam. He slapped it on the table in full view of the owner, making sure the title was clearly visible.

"Well, let me put it this way," David said, "you can either feed us, or you can feed the Rimohrs when they show up."

"You haven't got the balls for that," the owner scoffed.

"Try me," David said, staring the man down. In doing so, he gave him an undead-level glare that caused the man's insides to wither. "If you want hostile, I can be hostile. My friend is hungry, and he will be fed, and he will be fed here. Unless, that is, you'd like me to file a formal complaint - in Senesty - about your behavior, which is in clear violation of Callamandian law."

"Goddamned foreigners!" the man growled. He turned to the waitress. "Feed 'em and get 'em out of here!"

The waitress hid her smirk from her boss, but not from David and Janmik. Once the owner had left, the waitress asked, "So, what'll you have?"

David placed his order, and so did Janmik, and then the waitress went away.

"That was a very nice piece of bluffing," Janmik said.

"I wasn't bluffing," David told him. When Janmik cocked his head, David explained, "It is against the law for someone to refuse service to anyone in Callamandia, unless that person is causing a behavioral disruption. Weren't you told about the laws?"

Janmik smiled. "That was so long ago, I've forgotten most of what I learned."

David nodded. "I'm just out of my third year. I've only had my travel endorsement for a couple weeks. It's all still quite fresh in my mind."

Janmik nodded. "Too bad for him," he said, motioning to the innkeeper. David chuckled.

When the waitress came back with their food, David asked, "What's the name of this village?"

"Shovan, why?"

"No offense, but I want to make sure I never come here again."

The woman smiled sympathetically. "I understand. Enjoy your meal."

As they ate, David finally asked, "Janmik... you said you started out to the west?"

"Yes. I traveled along the border as far north as I could stand, then moved east some, and turned back south. That way, I get to see almost everything."

"Did you hear many rumors?"

"People love to gossip, especially with travelers," Janmik confirmed. "I've heard some amazing stories."

"Have you heard anything about... vampires?"

"Oh, several good stories about vampires," Janmik said enthusiastically. "Would you like to hear some?"

"Sure... but most importantly, did anyone ever say where they were?"

"Oh, that's not rumor. There's a vampire family - that's what they call their group, a family - living in Travaysal."

"Really."

"Oh, yes. I mean, unless the people were lying to me. Nobody tried to bite me or anything, you see, but I was given to believe that there was such a group there."

David nodded. "Tell me your stories, please," he said.

Gnomes are great storytellers, and Janmik was no different. He regaled David for the next two hours with his stories, till long after their meal was gone.

The two, deciding that the inn was not a suitable place for them to rest, walked back out onto the street and continued talking.

"I must find a place to rest for the night," Janmik said. "What about you?"

"I suppose. I have a feeling this inn is the only public resting place, though... and clearly, we're not welcome there."

"No," Janmik said, frowning.

"I suppose we could bunk with Cupcake in the stable," David offered.

"I've slept in worse," Janmik agreed.

"C'mon," David said. They walked down the street and carried on with their talking. David told Janmik about his first years at the Academy, and Janmik entertained him with tales of Gtharsis.

The two were not accosted before they reached the stable, and David led Janmik to the right stall. Janmik was taken aback by what he found there, however.

"I thought you were riding a horse!" he admitted.

David chuckled. "I borrowed Cupcake from the school. She's a very good traveling companion."

"And fast, I imagine," Janmik said.

"Yes. Mind if we rest with you, girl?" David asked Cupcake.

Cupcake nickered, and shifted in such a way as to give them room to lie down. David patted her neck affectionately, while Janmik kept his distance.

"She won't hurt you," David told him as he sat down himself. "She's very gentle."

"That's good to know," Janmik said. "But all the same, I'll sleep over here, if you don't mind."

David grinned. "No problem. Good night."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

In the morning, David and Janmik returned to the inn for breakfast. The innkeeper had scowled deeply at them, but hadn't bothered to say anything. The waitress had served them politely, and David left her a hefty tip. When she asked him what it was for, he told her, "You don't deserve to be stuck in this place. Call it a start on your moving fund." After that she smiled at him, and waved to them as they left the inn.

David offered to give the gnome a ride, but Janmik just looked pale, and declined politely. He told David that he preferred to walk, as that way he wouldn't miss anything. The two parted ways, and David turned west, while Janmik went north.

David wasn't sure exactly where Travaysal was, despite getting directions from Janmik. He figured he'd just have to go from village to village asking, until he found it.

David reached the border with Gtharsis by mid-day, marked only by a small building standing on each side, with some sort of official standing out front. These were labeled visitor centers, and there was no gate or other barrier between the lands. Figuring this might be a good place to get directions, David landed, and entered the Callamandian visitor center.

"Can I help you?" a cute young woman asked him.

"I hope so. I'm trying to get to Travaysal. Can you tell me how to get there from here?"

"Oh, sure! Go east for about a mile, and there's a small village. Take the road north out of that village, and it'll lead you right into Travaysal. Take a few days to get there, if you're walking..."

"I'm not. Is there a landmark that will let me know when I've reached Travaysal?"

"Not that I'm aware of. But there are only two villages between the little one where you turn, and Travaysal. So, you can just count them as you pass by."

David nodded. "Okay, thank you."

"No problem. Don't get bitten!"

"Huh?"

The woman blushed. "Just a joke. There are supposed to be vampires in Travaysal."

"Oh," David said, as if this was news. "I'll watch my step," he assured her with a grin, then left.

"C'mon, Cupcake. Hopefully we're on the last part of our trip to find the vampires."

Cupcake didn't seem to be overly happy about that, but she leapt into the sky without hesitation. They winged east until they saw a small village, and then turned north, following the road that led out of the village, and along the border.

It wasn't long before they found Travaysal. David landed a short way outside of town, and Cupcake walked along the road. David found a stable on the outskirts of the settlement, and he housed Cupcake there. Jailla again flew to a tree, to keep an eye on things. If anything went wrong near Cupcake, Jailla could communicate that to David. It made David feel better about leaving Cupcake in an unfamiliar place.

David walked the rest of the way into the town alone, looking around with interest. He had no idea how to find vampires, if there really were any here. His best bet, he knew, was to ask people, but that risked getting into trouble with the locals. He would just have to see what he could do.

His first stop, as usual, was a small eatery. Not because he was hungry, but because it was the easiest way to strike up conversations with people.

"So, what brings you all this way south?" the waitress asked. David was still wearing his uniform from school.

"Research," he said, after a moment of figuring out the best way to answer that question. "I'm looking for vampires," he said quietly.

"Oh? Why?" she asked, suspicious.

"As I said, research."

"Planning to do experiments on them?"

"No, nothing of that sort." Not entirely true, since someone would have to test out any potions he came up with, but it was a mostly truthful answer to her question.

"Why come here?"

"I've heard from a couple sources now that there is a family of vampires living in Travaysal. Would you know anything about it?"

"They're here. Or at least, everyone believes they're here. I've never met a vampire that I know of, so..."

"Any idea how I'd go about introducing myself?"

The waitress snorted. "Since I've never met them, how could I say?"

David nodded. "Thanks, anyway."

"No problem. Good luck in your search."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

For the next two days, David wandered around town, asking people almost at random if they knew anything about vampires. Everyone asserted that there were vampires in Travaysal, but no one indicated knowing where or how to find them.

Each day, David would take an hour or two, to let Cupcake out to fly and run. She greatly appreciated his consideration, and whinnied joyously when she saw him.

The problem David faced was that he had no idea if people were lying to him or not. He had even tried some of his advanced divination techniques, but hadn't been able to detect any deception. That didn't mean there was none there, however.

Finally, David decided that a more invasive search was going to be necessary, if he was going to find the vampires. He began to follow people invisibly, to see where they would go. He didn't really know what he was looking for, but he hoped that he would see or hear something that happened in private that would give him some kind of clue.

At first, David started to follow the people who looked the creepiest to him. After a few days, however, he realized that was foolish. He, himself, didn't look creepy, and he was undead, so why should vampires look any different? He switched his focus, trying to find people whose behavior seemed a bit strange, instead.

After a week of trying, David was getting close to giving up. He had slowly shifted his schedule, following people later and later in the day, with the thought that perhaps vampires were, in fact, night walkers.

It was two more days before, finally, David's persistence paid off. He was following a young lady who looked as though she had just gotten up, but it was almost sundown. He followed her for an hour before she finally headed into a larger home. He went in behind her, and found the place had many people milling around and chatting.

Shortly after the young woman and David arrived, everyone headed into a large dining hall, and they settled at the table. The first thing that happened was rather disgusting to David. A bell rang, and another group of people came into the room, each one kneeling beside one of the diners. At a nod from the person at the head of the table, each of the vampires bit into the neck of their victim. The feeding took but a few seconds, but made David's stomach lurch watching it.

Once the vampires had finished, their victims stood and left the room. At that point, servants began to bring out the evening's food on large platters. David was gratified to see that the food was normal; turkey, ham, and chicken. With the food in place, the servants, too, departed.

"We give thanks to The Provider for this bounteous meal," the man at the head of the table intoned.

"And ask that He may provide the same tomorrow," the group responded.

"Before we begin eating," the man said, "do we have any more news about the stranger who is looking for us?"

There were many shakes of the head to answer him. One woman said, "He's still staying at the inn. He is a student at the Woodward Academy, and he owns a pegasus named Cupcake, which he exercises daily."

David raised his eyebrows. He hadn't expected that they would be trying to track him.

"Is he a danger to us?" the man asked.

"I don't know," the woman replied.

David couldn't resist the opportunity that this presented. He said, while still invisible, "No, I'm not."

The man rose from his seat, while the others looked around in confusion.

"Who spoke?" the man demanded. He started to cast a spell, but before he could finish, David faded to visibility, but not solidity.

"I did," he replied. A few of the vampires nearest him emitted involuntary hisses. Once it was clear that there would be no immediate hostile move, he faded to solid form.

"Who are you?" the man at the head of the table demanded.

"Please excuse me," David said. "My name is David Stroud. I have been looking for you for a while now, and since asking politely wasn't getting any results, I decided to take the more direct approach."

"How do you..." one of the nearby men asked.

David smiled. "I am a demighost," he replied simply.

"And what is it you want of us?" the leader inquired.

"Well, you see," David said, moving slightly closer to the table, "I am an apprenticing potions master, and I am trying to complete my apprenticeship requirements. To do so, I have to invent several potions. Because I, myself, am undead, I decided to see if there were potions that could be made to help out other undead. I am merely here to ask you if there's anything you need that I might be able to provide."

"And you expect us to take you at your word?"

"You're welcome to contact my Potions Master..."

"And that would be?"

"Prof. Samantha Stott, at The Woodward Academy of Magical Arts."

There were murmurs of recognition around the table. Clearly some of these people had heard of Sam.

"Assume for a moment," the man said, sitting back down and motioning David to an empty seat, "that we believe you, what do you expect of us?"

"Just information, really," David said. "I have to know what it is you need. Oh, and, of course, somebody has to be brave enough to try the concoctions that I come up with."

"How long have you been working on your apprenticeship?" one of the other vampires asked.

"Two and a half years now," David said.

"And your skill level?"

"I am a probationary member of the Royal Potions Guild," David said. There were further murmurs around the table.

"Very well," the man at the head of the table said. "Perhaps there are things that could help us."

"Tell me," David said with interest.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David moved from the inn, to stay in the vampire meeting hall. It was simply more convenient for everyone, as there was plenty of workspace available to him, and there were always a few vampires milling about, so if he needed to ask a question, he could.

After dinner of his first day in the hall, two people showed up at the door of his work room.

"Hello," the girl said.

David turned in surprise. He'd been doing some research, and hadn't heard them enter. "Oh, hi," he said politely.

"I'm Lydia Maitland. This is Adam Deetz. Mychel sent us."

"Mychel...?"

"Mychel Corbray, the head of the family."

"Oh, okay. Funny, he never did introduce himself. Anyway, what can I do for you?"

"We've been assigned to help you," Adam told him. Both of them looked like they were even younger than David.

"Not that I mind, but why you two?"

Lydia smiled. "We are the newest vampires in the family."

"This is gonna sound rude, but just how old are you two?"

Adam said, "I'm eighteen. Lydia's sixteen. Does it matter?"

"Not really. I was just curious. How... how did you become vampires?"

Lydia sat down on the stool nearest David. "How did you become a demighost?" she asked, smiling challengingly.

"I died in the presence of another demighost, who had been cursed. The curse turned me into a demighost, as well. Now you," he said with a grin.

"I was turned by mistake," Adam said. "The vampire who bit me hadn't intended to do it, but he was wounded, and he needed strength. He ended up taking all of my blood."

"Is that how vampires come about? The vampire has to take all of a person's blood?"

Lydia nodded. "Either that, or be born of a vampire mother."

"So which happened to you?" David asked Lydia.

"My mother was a vampire."

"Was?" David asked.

"She was killed a few years after I was born."

"I'm sorry," David said sincerely.

Lydia smiled softly. "It's okay. I've learned to live with it."

David nodded. "So... can I ask, those people at dinner... the ones you..."

"Oh, the feeders?" Lydia asked.

"Is that what you call them? Are they under some kind of spell? I mean, they didn't seem to be hesitant to have you bite them... which, I mean, can't be pleasant..."

"All of our feeders are here voluntarily," Adam said sternly. "We don't hunt people."

"Why do they do it? Do they get paid?" David asked.

"In a way," Adam said. "So long as they are feeding us, they will not age. The bite we inflict provides them that magical protection. Also, those that wish to be, will eventually be turned."

"Doesn't that grow your population pretty fast?" David asked.

"Not many people actually wish to be turned. As a feeder, they get the benefit of longevity, without the drawbacks of being a vampire. A feeder, for instance, can go out in direct sunlight without any worries at all."

"What happens to a vampire?" David asked curiously. The section they'd written up for the handbook had covered some of this in vague detail, but this was the first time he'd ever had the chance to get the information firsthand.

"It will make us sick after a while, if we don't keep covered up. An hour in direct sunlight is enough to make us ill for days."

"Sunscreen doesn't help?"

"It slows it down, but ultimately, no. Clothing is the only real protection. But it looks very odd to walk around with your face covered."

David nodded. "So. Your leader said that I could best help by finding a way to control blood-lust. Can you explain to me exactly what that is?"

"We have to consume human blood," Adam told him. "We don't manufacture our own, but we still need it. If we don't get a regular influx of fresh blood, we grow weak. If we go for long enough, we can become so weak that we cannot move. We might as well be dead... but we're not; we suffer through that entire period. So, the longer we go without blood, the stronger the impulse is to feed. But the lust is always stronger than it needs to be. For instance, though I have just fed less than an hour ago, I can already feel the desire to feed again. I won't need to feed for another three days - though we will feed again tomorrow - but the desire is still present. It's somewhat uncomfortable. By the time we feed tomorrow, it will be a decidedly unpleasant sensation."

"Why not just feed more often?" David asked.

"It's not good for the humans," Lydia replied. "We take enough blood that if we fed whenever we felt like it, they'd start to become ill. If we fed on more than one person... well, it takes too many people to support us. Other families have tried this stuff. It's just not useful."

David nodded in understanding. "So, what is needed is a way to put a damper on the desire to feed."

"Yes," Adam confirmed.

"Okay," David said. "I'm going to have to do some research. Will you two be in the house somewhere, if I have questions?"

"Since it is the summer, we have no school. We will remain in the building for as long as you are here," Adam told him.

"Oh. Okay. Sorry to get you stuck indoors for a while. Anyway, for now, I'll be doing a lot of reading, so you might as well... I don't know, go do whatever you'd normally do."

Adam nodded, and left. Lydia said, "I'll stay here, if you don't mind. In case you have questions."

David shrugged. "It's going to be boring, but you're welcome to stay if you want."

Lydia nodded quietly, and then David turned back to his books.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Okay, who gets to try it?" David asked. It was three days later, and this was his first attempt at a blood-lust control potion.

Lydia and Adam both stared at it in dismay. It looked and smelled awful.

"We have to drink the entire glass?" Adam asked.

"I don't actually know," David said. "So, for now, yes, you do."

Adam pulled out a grana. "Flip you for it?" he asked Lydia.

"Heads," she agreed.

Adam flipped the coin, and it came up tails. Lydia frowned.

David smiled sympathetically and said, "Sorry."

She took the glass, held her nose, and swallowed the entire thing as fast as she could. David took the glass from her, and waited. He hoped it wouldn't make her sick; that was one risk with a new potion.

After making several faces at the unpleasant taste, Lydia settled.

"Well?" David asked.

She frowned and shook her head. "I still very much want to feed."

"Good thing it's dinnertime, then," David quipped. "Oh, well. It was only a first attempt."

"Try again tomorrow?" Adam asked.

"If I have a new potion ready by then," David agreed.

"You get to try that one!" Lydia told Adam. David chuckled, as they all went on to dinner.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"This one doesn't smell so bad," Lydia said. It was her turn again to try the potion. This was David's fifth attempt.

"Hopefully, it won't taste horrid, either," David told her.

"Go on, give it a try," Adam said gleefully. The one he'd taken yesterday had, in fact, caused him to lose his blood-lust, but it had done so by causing him to vomit so violently that he didn't want to consume anything at all.

Lydia glared at him, but then she tipped the glass back and swallowed it in two large gulps, as fast as she could.

David took the glass from her.

"Hey, that wasn't half-bad," she said. "And hey! I'm not lusting!"

"Really?" Adam said. "Let me try!"

David poured more of the potion into a glass, and gave it to Adam. He swallowed it, and was just as enthusiastic. "It works!"

"The question is, how much of it do you have to take, and how often?" David told them. "We'll have to try some experiments. Let me know when you start to feel the desire to feed again. And... in order for me to figure it out, you need to not feed until you feel the urge. Unless, that is, you don't feel the urge for the next two days, since you said you actually need to feed every three days..."

The other two nodded. "After that, we start to get weaker, from dead loss."

David looked at him curiously.

Adam explained. "The reason we have to keep feeding is that our body can only keep the blood alive for about a month. So we have to replace it, little by little, every few days. If we wait too long, then there starts to not be enough living blood in our system, and that's why we grow weak."

"Oh, I see. Well, anyway, don't feed until Sunday. And let me know when you start to feel the urge. Now, I guess I should work on that other potion he wanted."

"What was that?" Lydia asked.

"He wants to be able to eat garlic."

Lydia giggled.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"And I just drink this?" Mychel questioned.

"Yes, sir."

Mychel knocked back the potion, gritting his teeth at the flavor. "And how long, now, do I have to wait before I may eat?"

"You can eat now. The potion is instantaneous."

Mychel hesitantly took a forkful of the pasta into his mouth. He could smell the aroma of the garlic in the food. As he began to chew, he savored the flavor of the heretofore forbidden herb. Without the potion, he would have already been choking, and his throat would be swelling shut. Right now, all he sensed was the wonderful flavor of garlic.

After he swallowed his first bite, he smiled at David. "Wonderful!"

David grinned.

After another mouthful of pasta, Mychel said, "But this was the lesser of two potions we asked for..."

"Lydia? How are you feeling?" David asked.

"Just starting to feel the lust," she told him, blushing slightly at using that word in front of Mychel.

David nodded. "And you need to feed tonight, anyway. Adam?"

"The same. I can feel it creeping back, but it is barely noticeable yet."

"By dinnertime, it may be stronger." David turned to Mychel. "I created the blood-lust potion first, but I've been waiting for results. I gave Lydia and Adam the potion on Friday, but I needed to know how long it would last. Apparently, if they are typical, it will control the lust completely between needed feedings."

"I would like to test this myself," Mychel insisted.

David pulled out a flask, and poured it into a nearby glass. He handed it to Mychel, who sniffed the potion, and then swallowed it. Instantly, a strange smile came across his face.

"I have not felt like this in five hundred years!" Mychel said. "I have no hunger for blood at all! This is incredible!"

David smiled in satisfaction.

"Is this potion going to be expensive?" Mychel finally asked, once he'd gotten over the euphoria of his new experience.

David grimaced. "Well, there is the one problem. Right now, I can't sell it to you."

"Why not?" Mychel demanded, glowering.

"I'm not allowed to sell potions yet," David told him. "That's what being a probationary member of the guild means. Once I become a potions master, I will be able to make it and sell it, but not until then."

"And how long will that take?"

"I'm hoping just a couple more months. I'm over halfway done with my list of requirements."

Mychel sighed. "I suppose we can wait that long. We have tolerated this inconvenience for centuries. Another few months is nothing by comparison. When you can sell it, will it cost us much?"

"The ingredients are fairly normal, and it is easy to make. The only part that may cost is the sheer amount of it you need. The glass you just drank should control the lust for about three days, so, between feedings. But that means one of those glasses, every three days, for each and every member of your family. Do you have a potions maker among you?"

"We do not."

"That makes things harder. I will contact you as soon as I have my full membership in the guild, and we can make arrangements of some kind."

Mychel nodded. "That will be sufficient."

"Are there any other potions you would like me to work on? I can tell you now that I've already looked at a sun-blocking potion for you, and haven't found anything helpful yet."

Mychel frowned. "That would be the only other thing we might have use for."

David nodded. "In that case, I will probably be leaving tomorrow."

"So soon?" Lydia asked.

"I still have more work to do," he told her. "And I discovered, while I was working on the blood-lust potion, another potion which might help out another... unwanted race."

"Oh?" Mychel asked, intrigued.

"I discovered a potion that will cause a person to never run out of blood, even if they're bleeding profusely."

"This... this could be very useful to us, as well," Mychel said.

"I don't see how. Your body can't sustain the blood. Weirdly, the potion would give you real blood, for a while... it did for me... but it won't last. After the potion faded, the blood just kind of evaporated from my body."

"But it could prevent us from turning people when we don't wish to," Mychel explained. "When a vampire is wounded, we need more blood, to repair ourselves."

"Yes, Adam was telling me that's how he got turned."

"Exactly. But if they do not run out of blood, then we could take all we needed, without concern for turning them."

David nodded. "True. I hadn't thought of that."

"This could, perhaps, be the most useful of the potions you've created. Who, may I ask, did you think needed this more than us?"

"The lamias," David replied.

"Ah," Mychel said in comprehension.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David pulled out his mirror. He was currently standing in a small clearing, in the woods east of Travaysal. He'd said his good-byes to the vampire family, and promised to contact them as soon as he was able to provide them with the potions.

He hadn't wanted to make this phone call in their presence, because he didn't know how they felt about lamias. He dialed his mirror and said, "Professor Josiah Schmidt, Woodward Academy."

In just a few seconds, an image appeared in the mirror. "Yes?"

"Professor, it's David Stroud. Do you remember me?"

"Rather hard to forget," the professor said with a smile. "How can I help you?"

"Well, do you remember, near the beginning of last year, at one of the seminars, you brought in a lamia named Kiorin?"

"Yes..."

"I need to know how to find her."

"Why?" Prof. Schmidt asked suspiciously.

"Well, as you may or may not know, I am working on becoming a potions master. I'm currently in the process of inventing my own potions. While I was working on some other potions, I discovered one that could possibly be of real benefit to the lamias."

"What does it do?"

David explained the nature of his blood expanding potion to the professor, who was rather surprised and impressed.

"I wonder why no one else has thought of that," Prof. Schmidt marveled. "It's a brilliant idea, of course. Take away the thing that makes lamias dangerous. If this potion works, David, there may be a medal in it for you."

"Not really worried about that, Professor. I just didn't like how bad Kiorin felt about herself and her people."

Prof. Schmidt nodded. "Well, I will tell you where to find her, but you must swear to keep this knowledge to yourself. You know what others would do with the information."

"Yes, sir. Trust me, I won't do anything to harm the lamias."

"Very well. Kiorin's den - that's what they call their clans - lives in the forests of Central Callamandia. Where are you now?"

"Just outside Travaysal."

"Oh? Helping vampires, were we?" Prof. Schmidt said with a smirk.

"Yes, actually," David replied with an equal grin.

"Oh? You mean they really live there? Interesting. Well, anyway, from Travaysal, you'll need to travel northeast about a hundred miles." Prof. Schmidt went on to give more explicit instructions, and told David just to call back if he had any further difficulties.

David thanked the professor and fogged off, and then turned to Cupcake. "Up to more flying, girl?"

Cupcake gave a little prance and shook her head happily. David smiled, and then mounted her. In a few seconds, they were in the sky, heading northeast.

-----

"Oh, do I get to remain flesh and blood this time?" Jailla sniffed.

"Sorry, Jailla, but you're the one who said riding on Cupcake would be uncomfortable for you."

"I know. That doesn't mean I have to like missing out on the trip."

"Sorry. But we'll be walking into the forest from here, so... In fact, Cupcake, do you want to just wait out here for us? It might get thick and tangly in there, I don't know..."

Cupcake shook her head, and stepped toward the trees.

David cocked his head in acceptance. "Okay, it's your choice. Don't say I didn't warn you."

The three of them entered the woods where Prof. Schmidt had told David to, and they began to walk. This was the slowest traveling he'd done all month. He wondered just how long it would take for them to find Kiorin.

Jailla flew from tree to tree, checking the path ahead from time to time, and then returning to David. For once, he was getting to help out on the journey, and he was enjoying his freedom.

The three walked for several hours, and then stopped in a clearing so that Cupcake could rest and graze. David was, of course, not hungry, but Jailla was, and he nibbled on a nearby lagoonberry bush.

Their afternoon walk was much the same as their morning walk, and when they stopped for the night, David wondered just how long it might take to find the lamia den. He rested against Cupcake, and slept, having strange dreams of snakes.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David awoke in darkness, as usual. Cupcake and Jailla both still slept. He rose quietly, not wanting to disturb either of them. He didn't go far, however, before he realized that they were already being observed. A quick whistle brought both Cupcake and Jailla to wakefulness, as David backed himself into the clearing they'd rested in. He saw movement in the trees, but couldn't yet make out what was out there.

Finally, a face appeared, and a body followed.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" she demanded.

"My name is David Stroud. I come from the Woodward Academy. I am looking for Kiorin."

"What do you want with her?" the lamia demanded again.

"Well, really, I don't need her... she's just the only lamia I've met before, so I thought it would be easier to communicate with her."

"When have you met me before?" Kiorin asked, approaching from David's right side, her voice gentler. The lead lamia scowled at Kiorin for interrupting.

David turned to face her. "You probably don't remember me, but I was at the seminar that you took part in, early last year, up at the Academy."

"Oh," she said, nodding. "I don't remember you specifically... wait, you do... were you the one who asked the professor if I would be allowed to leave?"

"Yes," David confirmed.

"I do remember you. That was a very honorable thing for you to have done."

David shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to be hurt after helping us out."

"What do you want?" the leader suddenly demanded, aggravated at the pleasant chat.

David turned back to her. "I'm sorry, how should I refer to you?"

"My name is Larentis."

"Nice to meet you. As to why I'm here... You see, I'm an apprentice potions maker, and I'm working on my final requirements for mastery. I'm required to invent my own potions for that. Well, while I was working on another potion, I discovered something that might be helpful to you. I'm not sure it will help, but I think it will... and so I came to talk to you, to see if it works or not."

"What does this potion do?" Kiorin asked, again annoying her leader.

"It's a blood expansion potion. When you were at the seminar, you said that, during mating, you drain a man of all his blood, right?"

"Yes..."

"Now, my question is, do you actually need to take all of his blood, or do you simply need so much blood that he has none left?"

"What's the difference?" Larentis asked coldly.

David turned back to her, responding politely, "There's a big difference. The question is actually, is it necessary for you to kill the man, or is killing the man just a side-effect? The average person has about a gallon and a half of blood. So, ultimately, what I need to know is, do you need all of the man's blood, or do you simply need a gallon and a half?"

"I still don't see what difference it would make," Larentis admitted, her tone slightly less gruff.

"My potion can increase a man's blood volume. Basically, if he is bleeding, he will keep producing blood until the potion wears off. You could take a gallon and a half from him, and it wouldn't do him any harm."

"Is this possible?" Kiorin asked.

David replied, "I know the potion works. The only question is whether or not it will help you."

"How could it not?" another lamia asked, entering the clearing.

"If your need is, in fact, for death, rather than just for blood, then you will continue to take his blood until the potion wears off, and he dies, anyway. This would have nasty effects on both of you. He'd be dead, and you'd probably be very sick from ingesting so much blood."

"Larentis?" Kiorin asked. "I wouldn't have any idea whether the man's death is necessary. Would you?"

"No. It's never been a relevant question before. His death was inevitable, so whether or not it was necessary was never considered."

"In which case, the only way to find out, is to try it."

"You are the only male present," Larentis pointed out. "If it doesn't work, it could be rather detrimental to you. I point this out to you because I am not personally in need. Nor are any of the others around you at the moment."

"You can't kill me," David told her. "I'm already dead. But I have no sperm, so I'm not sure I'd satisfy your lusts, anyway."

"You would postpone them," Larentis said. "We have encountered infertile males before. You are... undead?"

"I am a demighost, yes."

"Then does this potion even work on you?" Kiorin asked. "You have no blood to expand."

David smiled. "It works, yes. Temporarily."

"Then you are the safest person to try it on," Kiorin said.

"Unfortunately, if none of you are... uh... 'in heat', as they say..." David remarked, embarrassed.

"None of us here is," Kiorin said. "But one of my daughters is. Even if nothing at all works, at least you would put off her lusting for another month. It would keep her safe for that much longer."

"I do have a question," Larentis said. "How would we know if the potion works or not, since we cannot kill you, anyway?"

"Well, that's easy. The potion will produce in me far more than a gallon and a half of blood. If... what's your daughter's name?" he asked Kiorin.

"Kielin."

"Family tradition?" he asked, getting sidetracked.

"Yes."

David nodded, and turned back to Larentis. "If Kielin, assuming she's amenable to having sex with me, drinks all of the blood, then the potion won't help you. If, on the other hand, she stops while there is still blood in me, then it works as hoped."

Larentis nodded. "I think you will find Kielin has little chance of resisting your presence. That is why no lusting lamia is ever on patrol."

"Makes sense," David replied reasonably.

"Come with us," Larentis said, and led the way out of the clearing. David followed, walking next to Kiorin. Jailla and Cupcake brought up the rear, behind the other lamias.

As they walked, Kiorin asked David, "Why are you trying to help us?"

David replied, "Why not?"

"We are evil creatures, forced to kill in order to survive..."

"Kiorin, every carnivore around is forced to kill in order to survive. Granted, they normally do so to feed, not to mate, but I don't actually see much of a difference. More to the point, killing people isn't something you've chosen, but something that's forced upon you by your sex drive. It's not a conscious choice. Evil has to be chosen, in my opinion. You are... unfortunate, not evil. If you were evil, the death of those men wouldn't bother you in the least."

"Do you see all situations like this?" Kiorin asked.

"Like what?"

"So... positively?"

"No, I don't. But I do try to see people for what they really are."

After some further walking in silence, Kiorin said, "It occurs to me... you had to know, when you came here, that you'd be the only human male around."

"I knew it was a good possibility," David confirmed.

"So, you knew that you would likely have to have sex with one of us to test your potion. Did you want to have sex with a lamia?"

David shrugged. "The way you described it, it didn't sound like an unpleasant experience."

Kiorin hesitated, then asked, "Were you hoping to have sex with me?"

David grinned. "I certainly wouldn't have objected if it had been you," he replied, causing her to blush. "But no. You said you mate every six years. Since you were pregnant at the start of last year, you certainly couldn't be ready now."

As they continued to walk, Kiorin said, "I should warn you that, when Kielin sees you, she may... charge. It's her first lusting, and it's been several days. She is... very eager? I'm afraid you might get hurt."

"Well, thanks for the warning. I'll try to be quick on my feet. But... why hasn't she gone out to mate yet?"

"She's tried, but no one has come close enough to our territory. The locals know not to come here."

"At least they don't come hunting you," David said.

"They've tried that a time or two, as well," she said. "It didn't work out well for them."

David nodded. Finally, they reached the lamias' den. It was rustic, but it looked comfortable. The homes seemed almost to grow straight from the ground. The logs which made up the small cabins still had leaves on them. The roofs seemed to be a woven canopy of branches tight enough to keep out rain.

"Our only magic," Kiorin explained, "is manipulating plants."

"Are lamias fairies?" David asked. "I thought fiddling with plants was a fairy thing."

"No, we're not fairies. We are birthed from each other. But we have that one... fairy-like ability."

"Kiorin," Larentis said. "Take him to Kielin."

"You should take your potion now," Kiorin told him. "You won't have time to do it later."

David pulled a vial out of his pocket, and swallowed the contents. He stopped for a moment, dizzy. Kiorin put a hand out to steady him, uncertain.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

David nodded, and shook his head to clear it. "The potion makes me dizzy, as the new blood rushes through my body to fill up my blood vessels."

"Does it make others dizzy?"

"No. It's strictly an effect of the rushing blood. Since normal men wouldn't have rushing blood, they wouldn't get the dizziness."

Kiorin nodded, and led David off to the side of the den, where a smaller cabin was situated.

"This is the cabin where we stay when we're in lust. Kielin is inside."

"Why do you separate yourselves like this?"

"We become very irritable and aggressive, even toward each other, when we're lusting. This way, we can go into the woods to look for a mate, and come back, without having to pass through the rest of the den. It reduces tension, overall."

David nodded. "Makes sense to me. Is there anything I need to do before going in there?"

"If you like your clothes, you might want to remove them now. She will probably not have the mental clarity to remove them gently. First lusts are always the worst. David... even if this does not work, I want to thank you for trying to help us." Kiorin leaned forward and kissed him softly. When she leaned back, she said, "I'll leave you to your task."

As David walked up to the porch of the cabin, he had as much privacy as was possible in the woods. The door of the cabin faced away from the rest of the village, so he couldn't be seen where he was standing, unless someone was out in the forest. He undressed, setting his clothes neatly in a pile by the door. Then, taking a deep breath, he opened the door to the cabin.

[Author's Note: If you are offended or upset by inter-species sex, you can click here to jump to the end of the scene.]

The cabin inside was one large room. It had what could only be called a nesting area, a table, and what passed for a kitchen. It also housed Kielin. She, like her mother, had a bright green snake body. David had little chance to observe more, because as soon as she saw him, she lunged.

David, ready for this, dove out of the way. Kielin's shoulder slammed into the door, and it gave David time enough to get to his feet. Deciding that, in this case, aggression might be the safest move, he grabbed her from behind, his feet straddling her serpent body. So that she would know he wasn't attacking to harm, he immediately ran his hands up her abdomen and cupped her breasts, massaging them outside her top. He quickly grew tired of that, and yanked the top upward, letting her tits bounce free. Now he could toy with them directly.

Kielin moaned as David rolled her nipples between his fingers. He began to nibble on the base of her neck, and she mewled.

After a while, David let go of her, and stepped to the side. Kielin immediately turned to face him, a burning hunger in her eyes. He stepped close to her, so she wouldn't feel the need to attack again. She clutched him to her body, and their mouths mashed together, their tongues immediately dancing. She lifted him off the ground and carried him into the middle of the room, all the while kissing him. When she set him down, she broke their kiss, but did not let him go.

"Fuck me," she hissed. It was the first time he'd heard any of the lamias sound snake-like. David was hard, from having her tits mashed into his chest, the nipples digging sharply into him, and from kissing her so deeply. He reached down to find her opening, and his fingers slipped easily inside; she was very wet and ready.

Taking his dick in hand, David placed it at her opening, and pushed forward. She hissed loudly at the feel of him, and dropped backward, until she was lying on the floor, David on top of her.

"Fuck me!" she demanded, louder this time. David used his legs and hips, and began to thrust into her. As he moved in and out of her, his entire body tingled with one of the most pleasant sensations he'd ever felt.

The pleasantness distracted him, while Kielin rapidly coiled her body around the both of them, holding him against her, giving him just enough freedom to move in and out, but with no chance to escape.

The two rolled around on the floor, back and forth, as they each worked their hips to continue coupling. David returned to kissing Kielin, and she gladly reciprocated, enjoying her first sexual experience. As David continued to fuck her, Kielin felt a strange tingle start to come upon her. When it peaked, she broke their kiss and screamed out in passion, the first orgasm of her life washing over her.

David didn't stop as she shuddered beneath him. He didn't think he could stop, actually, as his body seemed to almost have a mind of its own. His movements prolonged Kielin's orgasm, which seemed to go on and on. He felt his own climax approaching, in fact, and his hips actually sped up, to hurry it along.

Just as David was getting close to the point of no return, he suddenly felt the tip of Kielin's tail. It thrust its way up into his ass. This was a rude awakening for David, but she also managed to massage his prostate, and he immediately began to cum violently, his hips slammed against her and froze as his balls emptied every bit of cum he had inside him.

Kielin screamed in pleasure, but then, suddenly, a feral look crossed her face. She opened her mouth and hissed, and David saw now a large set of fangs. He didn't even have time to cringe as those fangs impaled themselves into the spot where his neck met his shoulder. Blood gushed out as Kielin fed upon him. The pain was not as intense as David had imagined it would be. In fact, the longer she fed, the less painful it was.

David simply waited - there was little else he could do - while Kielin fed. In a few minutes, she pulled back, releasing him from her bite, and her grip. David slowly rolled off of her, kneeling by her side. Blood was still flowing from his wound. He had no need of it, so he made no effort to stop it.

Kielin looked up at him, and he could see that her mental faculties were coming back to her. For the first time, he saw intelligence in her gaze, rather than mere instinct.

"How come you're not dead?" she asked, confused.

David chuckled. "Actually, I am dead. But I was dead when I came in here."

"I don't understand," she admitted.

"I'm a demighost. This was an... experiment. I was testing a new potion that might help the lamias."

"Oh."

David put out his hand, helping Kielin up from the floor. She seemed a bit unsteady.

"Are you all right?" David asked, concerned.

Kielin nodded. "Mom said to expect this the first time. She said my body needed to learn to accept the blood."

"I need to ask you, why did you stop biting me?"

She shrugged. "I don't know... I just didn't feel like drinking any more blood. Is that bad?"

"No. It's actually very good. It means the potion can help your people."

"Well, that's good. I'm sorry I attacked you. I couldn't help myself."

"That's all right," David replied, staying close to her. "Your mother warned me, and I was ready for it. Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes. My body seems to be adjusting. Why?"

"Well," David said with a smile. "I was just wondering if you'd like to do something no lamia before you has ever done."

"What's that?" she asked.

"Have sex with the same guy twice," David said.

Kielin smiled widely.

Soon the cabin was alive with noise once more.

-----

"Well?" Larentis asked. The other lamias were also there, interested to find out about this new possibility.

In response, David just pulled back the bandage on his neck. Blood still oozed out of it. The potion had only another half-hour to go, and then the blood would be gone, and David could get fully dressed. Currently, he wasn't wearing a shirt or his coat, to keep them from getting stained.

"So it works," Kiorin said excitedly. "Right?"

"Yes, it works. Kielin said that she stopped biting me because she just didn't feel like drinking any more blood. That means that killing the man is not required. You just need a lot of blood for your pregnancy."

"This... This could be life-changing," Larentis said, sinking down onto a nearby log-bench. "Without the need for death... perhaps the king would lift the kill-on-sight directive."

Another lamia said, "We might even be able to stop hiding in forests."

"Can I ask a question?" David inquired.

"Go ahead," Larentis replied.

"Do lamias have any natural predators?"

"The same as a human, really. Wyverns, other dragons, forest cats, dire wolves, some others."

"Do they kill a lot of you?"

"They kill enough. Why?"

"Well, I'm concerned about over-population."

"What do you mean?" Kiorin asked.

"Well, each of you has a child every six years from the age of eighteen onward, right? For how long?"

"We stop having the lust after the age of forty-eight, if we live that long."

"So... you can each have six children?"

"Yes."

"Do you see the problem? If you're not being killed off by humans, your population will grow pretty rapidly. The king might have a problem with that."

"You're right," Larentis said, frowning. "We've solved one problem, only to face another. We lost how many of us to dangers last year?" she asked a nearby lamia.

Another lamia said, "Sixteen. That's about one of every twenty of us. We lost more than that to humans."

"Wow, that's high," David said, shocked.

Larentis nodded. "And many of those were the younger lamias, who haven't learned to watch the forest more carefully."

"So..." David said, "You lost even more than that to humans?"

"About thirty," the other lamia said.

"And how many children were born last year?"

"Fifty-four."

"So, you had fifty-four additions, and forty-six subtractions?"

"Forty-five, actually," Larentis corrected.

"So your population grew by nine."

"Correct."

"So, from... let's just say ten per year, to forty per year. Your population would increase four times as fast as now."

"There aren't very many lamias in the world. In fact, we are the only den of them that we know about."

David nodded. "Still, without something to keep your population under control... Is there anything that prevents the lust from happening? Natural disaster, illness... anything other than age?"

"There are stories that one year, there was a great drought. During that time, supposedly no one lusted. But none of us was alive when that happened."

David frowned, but said, "If that story is true, then your species might be self-limiting."

"What do you mean?"

"Perhaps you will only reproduce to fill your environment. In other words, you are biologically prevented from overpopulating."

"Maybe," Larentis allowed. "But there is no way to know that."

David nodded. "There is another option, though I don't know how uncomfortable it would be for you."

"What is that?" Larentis asked.

"Mate exclusively with infertile males."

"We'd have to do so every month," Larentis objected.

"Is that really objectionable?"

Larentis paused. "Perhaps not. But it would require many infertile males. There are over three hundred of us..."

"Well... as you feel no attachment to your males, I can offer this as a suggestion. One male can mate with several females."

Larentis' eyes opened wide. "That thought had never occurred to me!"

"Well, you're used to your partners dying after sex. There's no reason it would. Anyway, one problem at a time. The issue of population is perhaps one you could discuss with the king."

"Yes. Can you make a large batch of this potion for us?"

David grimaced. "Unfortunately, that's the one sticking issue. Right now, I can't give you this potion at all."

"Why not?" Kiorin asked, distressed.

"I'm not yet a Potions Master. I'm only a probationary member of my guild. I'm not allowed to distribute my own potions. As soon as I become a full member, I can provide it to you, but not until then."

"How soon will you become a master?" Larentis asked.

"Well, I don't know for sure, but I'm hoping only a few months. Can you tell if anyone will be lusting between now and then?"

"In a matter of months? Yes, several."

David frowned. "Give me a second, would you please?" he asked Larentis. She nodded.

David concentrated, and waved his hands. Suddenly, his backpack appeared on the ground in front of him, shocking several of the lamias nearby. He knelt and opened the pack, withdrawing the small booklet of his guild rules. He leafed through it to the spot where it talked about him distributing potions. He read through the section very carefully.

Closing the book and returning it to his pack, David then whisked his pack away into his Conjuring Room. He turned back to Larentis.

"Can you figure out how many, exactly, will need this potion in the next... um... four months?"

"I can get that information fairly quickly, but I don't know off-hand, why?"

"Well, I think this falls under the definition of 'emergency action' under the guild rules. If I give you the potion, it will save someone's life. Anyway, I'm willing to take the risk. Just remember, you have to make them drink the potion before they get bitten."

Larentis nodded. "We may have to alter our mating habits. I'm not sure a lusting lamia would have the mind to give a potion to their partner. We may have to hunt a partner for them, so that we can give him the potion, and then bring him to the lamia."

"Much like we did with me. That would work. Just so he gets the potion. Is there someplace I can work?"

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"This is enough for nine people. You said that's how many would be going into lust before the end of October, correct?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I've put them in separate vials. Give one vial to each man. If there are any problems with it, please contact me as quick as you can. I don't know what could go wrong, but if something does, I need to know, okay?"

"Of course," Larentis agreed.

"Will you be leaving us now?" Kiorin asked.

"Yes. I need to get back to school. I have some additional training I have to do."

Kielin came up to him then. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tightly to her. "Thank you," she told him, and gave him a heart-warming kiss. David kissed back for a long moment, and then they pulled apart. Kielin moved back over with her mother.

"Will we see you again?" Larentis asked.

"At some point, I'm sure. I'm going to live a very long time," he said with a grin. He climbed up on Cupcake and settled himself.

"In that case, until we meet again. Stay safe, David Stroud."

"You, too."

David patted Cupcake on the neck, and with a strong leap and some flaps of the wings, they were heading upward, out of the lamias' den.

"Let's head home, Cupcake," David told her.

Cupcake whinnied, and turned northeast for home.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David circled the school before bringing Cupcake in for a soft landing, right in the pegasus corral. The other pegs whinnied and nickered in greeting.

The noise brought Madame Abernathy out of her office, to see what was happening. She smiled to see David, dismounting Cupcake.

"My, I haven't seen Cupcake look this toned... or this happy... in a very long time! What did you do to her?"

"I let her run," David said. "I gave her lots of time to fly, and run. She loves being up there. Do you exercise them much?"

"Apparently not as much as we need to," Madame Abernathy replied.

"Maybe you should start a peg-riding class, or club, or something. Teach people to care for them, and ride them... it would keep them active, and they apparently like being active."

She nodded with a grin. "I'll talk with the dean about it. How was your trip?"

"Productive," he replied.

"That's good," she said.

"Yeah. Thank you for letting me borrow Cupcake. I hope it wasn't an inconvenience."

"Not at all."

"Let me know if there's anything I can do to repay you."

"Certainly. What will you do now? You can't stay on campus..."

"I'm staying with Prof. Stott, actually."

"Oh, right. I forgot. Still working on your apprenticeship?"

"Not while I'm here... I have to do some training with Lord Woodward, up at the castle."

"Ooh, secret ghost-stuff, huh?"

David chuckled. "Something like that."

"Well, I'll let you get to it. Welcome back."

"Thanks." David patted Cupcake on the neck. "And thank you, girl, for all your help. I'll make sure to come by and say hi now and then."

"And maybe take her for a fly?" Madame Abernathy suggested.

"Count on that!"

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
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