The Woodward Academy, Year 5

Chapter 12: May

"All right, folks. You're going to have the entire class period to work on the exam. You do not need to finish it by the end of class. You will each turn them in at the end of the class period, but we will continue the exam during the next class. Now, you may notice that there's only one question on the page when you get it. Another question will appear beneath it when you've answered the first one. This prevents you from trying to cheat by memorizing the questions and looking them up after you leave.

"As you are working on the exam, I will, of course, be calling one of you up at a time. We'll go in the other room, and I will torture you endlessly. If you hear screams and wails of torment, don't worry about them; you'll face the inquisition soon enough," David said with a grin. The class chuckled at him.

"Be aware that I will not be asking for the same demonstrations from everyone, so it will do you no good to ask others what they had to do in the other room. You should know this subject well enough that it doesn't matter what I ask you for.

"Now that I've wasted like two minutes of the time you would have had to take the test, let's get started."

David waved his hand over the pile of papers, and they vanished, to appear before the students. Everyone immediately set to working on the test.

David looked down at his list. "Larry Alden."

Larry rose from his seat, turning his exam over so no one could read his answers. He was too frazzled to realize he had yet to answer any questions. David ushered him into the side room.

Larry looked nervously about. He saw Prof. Blackstone standing in the corner, but didn't acknowledge him. David hiked himself up on a stool, and then looked down at his notes.

"Okay, here's how this is going to work. I am going to ask you to perform a task. I'm not going to tell you how to do it, nor am I going to give you any spells or clues as to how to make it happen. I'm just going to expect you to be able to perform the task given. You are only allowed to use conjuring to perform the tasks. If you know you can't do it, just say so, and we'll move on to something else. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Do you have any questions?"

"Um... no, not that I can think of."

"Okay, let's begin."

David set a ball on the end of a table which sat beside him.

"I want you to move the ball from one end of the table to the other."

Larry focused and performed the task without any trouble. This was hardly unexpected; it was a first-semester conjure.

David moved through tasks quickly, picking two from each semester for Larry to perform. About halfway through, Larry started to struggle. On task nine, he completely failed to manage it.

"Okay, Larry. That's all. You can go back out and work on your written exam," David said.

"How'd I do?" Larry asked.

David looked up at him, keeping his expression completely blank. "I won't be able to give you a grade until I discuss it with Prof. Blackstone."

"Oh, right. Okay."

Larry left, and Prof. Blackstone moved over to David.

"You let him leave too early," Prof. Blackstone said.

"But we know he won't pass. If he can't complete that conjure readily, then he will never get the endorsement... it's a requirement. I just didn't figure there was much point in torturing him further."

"In one sense, I agree with you. I agree that he can't perform the task, and without it, he cannot receive his endorsement. On the other hand, what you see as torture is really a help to him. If you had let him continue to fail through the other three tasks, it would have been abundantly clear to him whether or not he'd passed. He would not have had to ask you. It reduces his expectations, and makes it easier for him to swallow when he receives the failing grade. Ultimately, you're doing them a favor by forcing them to fail in front of you."

David nodded in understanding. "Okay. And you do agree that this was not a passing grade, right?"

"D, at best. He needs a B to get an endorsement, so..."

"Yeah." David marked down the grade in the record book, and then called for his next examinee.

"Keep up," Kyle said, jerking the arm of their prisoner. Kyle was with Morgan and Chloe on patrol. They had detained this particular Clansman for breaking a window in a greenhouse.

As they walked across the terrace, Kyle suddenly began to feel queasy.

"Chloe, I don't feel right," he said. Just as Chloe turned to him, he dropped to his knees and vomited on the grass. Chloe kept hold of the prisoner while she watched Kyle retch. Finally, he was finished.

As he struggled back to his feet, Kyle said, "I think I'd better go to the infirmary. I feel weak and very ill. I was okay a few minutes ago, so I think it might be like food poisoning... or the other kind," Kyle said, looking at the Clansman darkly.

"Go," Chloe said. As he walked off, she turned back and started walking toward detention housing again, handing the prisoner off to Morgan to keep control of.

As the three came around a stand of trees, they encountered a large collection of Clan members. It was clear that they were waiting for Chloe.

"Morgan, call David, quick," she said, yanking out her wand.

The only response to Chloe's command was a thud. She turned to see what that was, and saw their prisoner, free of his handcuff hex, standing over Morgan's unconscious form. She immediately hexed the man, who dropped to the ground.

The response to that was Chloe being hit by eight different hexes all at the same time.

"What happened?" David asked Annie.

"The Clan. Morgan was awake earlier, though he's resting now. He said that they were ambushed by a large number of Clan members. He was trying to call you when their prisoner somehow got free and knocked him out. He doesn't know what happened after that."

"Chloe?"

"She's in very bad shape, I'm afraid."

"Will she live?"

"Yes, but it was a bit close. She's going to be here in the infirmary for several weeks. Probably past the end of the school year."

"And what about Kyle?"

"What about him?" Annie asked.

"Isn't he here?"

"No... why?"

"DIRT patrols are always three team members."

"Oh. Perhaps he's out there on the terrace somewhere, then. We looked around, but there wasn't anyone else lying there..."

"How did you find out about this?"

"One of the other students called us about a magical battle."

David nodded. "Can Morgan be woken up?"

"Sure. He's just asleep."

"I need to talk to him."

The talk with Morgan was brief, but enlightening. David thanked Annie, told Morgan to get better soon, and then headed out.

David's first task was to backtrack the route that the team had taken, from the location of the attack to the spot where Kyle had thrown up. He found that spot and lifted a sample of the vomit into a vial, using a levitation spell. Having done that, he dumped another potion into it that he'd had in his Conjuring Room. The color it changed into caused a dark and malevolent look to cross David's face.

David returned to the location of the attack. He then took out his mirror and called Dean Lengel and Seth. After that, he called in the remainder of the DIRT, which didn't amount to much at this point. While he waited, his anger grew.

Seth was the first to arrive, followed by Charlie.

"What's up?" Charlie asked. Seth knew better than to interfere with the mood that was causing the look on David's face. David did not respond to Charlie's question.

Dean Lengel was next, and sensed trouble before she had to ask anything at all.

"Are we waiting for someone else?" she asked.

David nodded curtly.

It didn't take too long before Kyle showed up.

"Hey," he said. He looked pale and slightly ill.

David took three steps and punched Kyle as hard as he possibly could. Kyle crumpled into a pile on the ground.

"David!" Dean Lengel screamed.

David ignored her. He grabbed the lapel of Kyle's coat and hauled him back to his feet. He then threw him against a tree. Kyle's head was rolling from side to side.

"You motherfucking traitor," David seethed. He gripped Kyle's coat and held him firmly to the tree.

"Hey, I was sick! I had to leave!" Kyle insisted.

"And you told them you were going to the infirmary," David replied. "So why the fuck has Annie not seen you tonight?"

Kyle went slightly more pale than he already was.

"I didn't get there before you called me back. I was feeling a bit better, so I came here instead," he tried.

"Bullshit," David said.

"It's the truth!" Kyle asserted.

"No, it's not," David snarled. He held up the vial of vomit.

"What's that supposed to be?" Kyle asked.

"Your vomit."

"Urgh," Dean Lengel said, involuntarily.

David looked sideways at her and said, "No one said being a cop was glamorous." Turning back to Kyle, he said, "Did you forget that I was a Potions Master, you dumb fuck? I know which potion you took to make you sick."

"They must have poisoned me!" Kyle cried.

"Not possible," David spat in Kyle's face. "The potion works instantaneously. What did the prisoner do, spit it into your mouth? Because that's what he'd have had to do for any Clan member to have had anything to do with it. Except, of course, that you are a Clan member, aren't you, you slithering pile of dog shit?"

Kyle tried to grow a backbone. "So what if I am?" he said, shrugging out of David's grasp. "They're not going to do anything to me, anyway. The Clan has all the power. You're nothing. What're ya gonna do, throw me in detention?"

David grabbed Kyle by the throat and slammed him very hard against the tree. Kyle was having trouble breathing.

"No, I'm going to give you a head start."

Kyle's face took on a look of confusion.

"You have one hour to leave this campus. At the end of that hour, if I ever see you again, I will kill you. Do you understand me? You are a traitor, and you deserve nothing less than death. Chloe will be in the infirmary for weeks. Morgan is out of things for a day or two. For those crimes, you will spend the rest of your pitiful, worthless little life looking over your shoulder. Because I will come for you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. Might not even be this year. But you are going to die, you fucking piece of prembat shit. Do you understand me?"

The look on David's face was so fearsome as to make Kyle wish for a bathroom. He nodded his head jerkily, knowing that David wasn't kidding.

David stepped back, and then threw Kyle to the ground. "Get out of my school. You now have fifty-nine minutes and thirty seconds. Let's not make it too easy for me. Hunting you down will be half the fun."

Kyle scrambled back to his feet and ran, terrified, toward the rock lift to his dorm. He wanted to be halfway to Bolmont in an hour.

"David, you can't go around killing people," Dean Lengel said. "That's the kind of thing that gets demighosts in serious trouble."

"I have no intention of killing him, Emile."

"But you said-" Seth objected. David interrupted.

"Yes, and I needed him to believe me. He will now spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder. He knows that I will outlive him. I will always be a threat, no matter how long he lives, no matter where he goes. He will spend the rest of his days wondering when the axe is going to fall. Killing him would end his suffering much too quickly. I want that miserable little fucker to feel the torment for a long, long time."

Dean Lengel looked at David with a bit of worry. Seth looked impressed.

David turned to Charlie. "It's just you and me for tomorrow. Morgan should be up for the following night, but the three of us are what's left. We'll be patrolling every night until I figure out how to deal with The Clan permanently."

"Deal with them?" Charlie demanded. "In case you haven't noticed, they're 'dealing' with us, rather effectively!"

David's look darkened. "They will pay for hurting Chloe," David said, and then walked off. The others just stared at each other in worry.

"All right, folks, let's just pick up from where we were on Monday. One of you, I won't mention any names, tried to cheat the exam by putting down obviously wrong answers to the questions in order to see the following questions. Be aware that your exam has been changed, and only the questions that you actually took the time to answer are still on it. All the other questions are now different, so the answers you looked up in your dorm room will do you no good."

Although David didn't mention any names, he was looking at the culprit, and was gratified to see them blush. He redistributed the exams, this time by hand, as it was easier to ensure they got to the right place that way.

"You may begin. Janey, it's your turn in the torture chamber."

Janey got up and followed David into the side room. He closed the door and took his seat on his stool.

"Nervous?" he asked astutely.

"Yeah, kinda," she admitted.

"Don't be. Just do your best, and we'll see what happens. Now, I'm going to ask you to perform a series of tasks. You can only do them by conjuring. I will not give you any help or hints about how to perform the task; that will be entirely up to you. If you absolutely cannot perform a task, and you know that, just tell me, and we'll move on. Do you have any questions?"

"Um... no, I don't guess not."

"Very well." David picked up a cup and set it on the table. "Conjure that into your hand."

Janey concentrated, and performed the task easily. David made his notes, and moved on to the next task.

As she moved through the tasks, performing flawlessly, David kept glancing over at Prof. Blackstone, who, like David, had never been able to gauge Janey's real skill, due to her constant tomfoolery.

When they finished the practical exam, and David finished making his notes, he said to her, "You've done very well at this. I wish you'd put forth this much effort during class."

"Sorry," she said, frowning.

"I won't know anything conclusive until you finish your written exam, of course, but I imagine you'll probably get your endorsement. You should consider apprenticing with someone in Conjuring."

"Looking for an apprentice?" she asked with a smile.

David snorted. "I'm still an apprentice myself. I'm just comparing you to where I was when Prof. Blackstone asked me."

"Yeah, but you were only in your third semester. I'm in my sixth."

"In fairness, I spent a lot more time than it seems like I might have working on Conjuring before Prof. Blackstone asked me. Third semester, yes, but probably four or five semesters' worth of work. Anyway, it's just something for you to think about. It has no effect on the exam or your endorsement. Just a piece of friendly encouragement. You can go finish your exam now. You passed the practical demonstration easily."

"Thanks."

As she left, David turned to Prof. Blackstone. "I shouldn't have said anything to her, should I?" he asked, concerned.

Prof. Blackstone shook his head. "If you thought she needed to know, then you should have said it. It hardly matters at this point. As you said, she will almost certainly get her endorsement. Your words will have no effect on that outcome. And you're right; if she could learn to settle down, she'd probably make a fairly good apprentice."

David nodded, and then went to get his next victim.

"Good evening, David. Come on in and have a seat," Prof. Rutherford said.

"Hey, Professor. I'm here for my year-end wrap-up."

"Of course. So, we know how you did with terramandy in the first semester. Show me what you're able to do with pyromandy."

David used his wand to light a candle that sat on Prof. Rutherford's desk. He then concentrated on it, his mental energy reaching out. The flame on the candle grew smaller, but brighter, contracting in upon itself until the orange flame had become a white dot. Suddenly, out of the white dot, a thin "beam" of fire shot across the room. It struck another candle, which immediately lit and started burning. David repeated this little trick with every candle in the room, showing control and precision. Finally he relaxed, and the candle on the desk returned to its normal orange flame.

"That... was impressive. And a bit dangerous. You could have set my office on fire."

"I've been practicing it in my dorm room. I figured if I had to risk my room, you had to risk yours," he said with a grin.

Prof. Rutherford chuckled. "Fair enough. How big a flame can you do this with?"

"Not much bigger than the candle, I'm afraid. I just can't seem to get control of anything huge, like say a campfire."

Prof. Rutherford nodded. "So, once again, your real skill is in precision."

"I guess," he said.

"Or, maybe I should say control. Given the little incident in Prof. Stott's classroom, which certainly evidenced an awful lot of control."

"Uh... well, I'm not sure you can count that, Professor. I was... upset."

Prof. Rutherford chuckled again. "David, I do appreciate you trying to be polite and proper in my presence, but if that was you being 'upset', I don't think that anyone wants to see what happens when you get royally pissed off."

David grinned in embarrassment. "Yes, ma'am."

"In any case, your anger may have inspired you, but it wouldn't have improved your skill any. So, what you managed in there, you should be able to readily do again. Especially now that you know you can, which removes the uncertainty factor and improves your self-confidence."

David just nodded.

"So. Certainly you are progressing well with your elemandy. Do you intend to continue with Elemandy as directed study?"

"If you'll permit it. I still have aquamandy and aeromandy to study."

"Not electromandy?"

"Honestly, I don't think I have anywhere further I can go with electromandy."

Prof. Rutherford nodded. "You're probably right on that. You did marvelously in class with it. And yes, I will certainly permit you to continue. In fact, I'll give you your certificate now, to make registration in the fall easier for you." She pulled his certificate out of her desk drawer and handed it to him. David thanked her and put it in his notebook.

"I guess I'll see you in the fall, then," David said, rising from his chair.

"I'll be here," she agreed.

"Have a good summer, Professor."

'You, too, David."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go on patrol."

"How's that going?" she asked seriously.

"We're down to three members, including myself. I don't think much more needs to be said."

"No, not really. Good luck."

"How's your arm, Morgan?" David asked. During the attack that put Chloe out of commission, Morgan's arm had been hit by a stray spell and damaged.

"It's almost back to normal," Morgan said. "Shouldn't be a problem anymore. Healer Hall said it would be good as new in a day or so."

"That's good."

Charlie said, "Why don't we head over toward Santana Hall? It seems like The Clan hangs out there a lot."

David nodded. The Clan did seem to favor the music department's part of campus for some reason.

The three didn't say much as they walked. After spending so much time together, they really did know all of the little details of each other's lives, including some of the intimate ones, though David refused to share any of those.

At least, they thought they knew all the details.

Approaching Santana Hall, it was clear that there was a large group of people coming toward them. The group numbered at least forty. DIRT and The Clan stopped about twenty feet apart. David could see that many of the Clan members were wielding makeshift weapons, such as baseball bats and one looked like he was carrying a table leg.

"Get lost, Stroud. This is our school now," the Clan leader said.

"Not while I sort-of live," David said.

Suddenly, David was struck in the side of the head. He dropped to one knee, but didn't pass out. As he rose, he looked to Charlie with murder in his eyes.

"Why?" David demanded.

"Because I'm tired of being on the losing side," Charlie said simply. "There is no way in hell you're going to beat all of them."

"Wanna bet?" David snarled. "You forget something, Charlie. They can't kill me."

"No, but they can hurt you bad enough to prevent you from fighting further. And I'd rather be on the winning side."

"You're a dead man, Donovan," David said.

"Yeah, I heard you threaten Kyle that way, too. You forget, I was there. You won't do it. You're too married to your precious rules."

"I thought you wanted this school to be back the way it was," David said.

Charlie shrugged. "I don't see that happening. So I'm making the best of things. That means I get to have the power... and you don't."

"We'll see about that."

David held his hand to his head and whispered, "Caput calitatem." His head cleared from the blow he'd sustained.

"You want to retreat, Morgan?" David asked.

"You staying?" he asked in response.

"Until they're lying bleeding on the ground," David confirmed.

"Then I'm not going anywhere."

David nodded in understanding and gratitude. They both pulled their wands.

David stated, "You are all being detained by DIRT for disorderly conduct and violation of the school's assembly policy. You will present your hands for restraint."

Many of the Clan members laughed. The leader pulled his wand.

"Restrain this, motherfucker!"

A beam of magic flashed out of the wand, but David had already enacted a barrier spell. The guy's magic bounced off harmlessly.

"Odrazit!" David shouted. The entire crowd in front of him was pushed to the ground. Before they could rise, David cast kiskisippet, sending little shocks all over their bodies. Most of them struggled to try to ward off the spell, but a few were able to rise.

Seeing those getting up, and knowing that David had to keep the focus of the spell, Morgan launched energy balls at the three who were now standing. Two of them ducked, but one was knocked to the ground. Morgan kept up firing, eventually taking down a second one. Two other of The Clan were finally able to rise, however, and one of the members that Morgan had originally knocked down was also getting to his feet.

David realized he was going to need to engage more strongly, and so he let the zapping spell fade. He immediately had to duck a huge energy ball launched at him from one of The Clan. Morgan zapped that one, who fell to the ground, but then Morgan had to dive out of the way of three other energy balls.

David launched a bolt of lightning into the midst of The Clan, sending a dozen of them jumping clear, and catching one on the leg. That one didn't get up, but was still able to cast spells.

From behind David, a ball of energy whizzed by, knocking the injured Clan member cold. David turned to see JoAnne and most of the rest of David's Sword and Staff classmates approaching, wands out and at the ready. They stopped when they were in line with David and Morgan, facing off with The Clan.

"Where'd you come from?" David asked. "Not that I'm not extremely glad to see you."

"Skerritt saw these fucks walking in this direction," JoAnne said. "In these numbers, it was pretty obvious what was about to go down. He called Don, who called the rest of us."

"I thought you didn't want to be in the middle of this mess," David said with a grin.

"I don't. But I'm not about to let you get creamed because of my own cowardice."

"Yeah, we'll talk about that later." Raising his voice, so that his classmates could hear him, he said, "Staffs only, guys."

"No swords?" Don asked.

"I see no bladed weapons on their side. We fight force on force. That means magic and staffs, but no swords."

Don nodded and drew his staff. The others did likewise.

"Where's mine?" Morgan asked with a grimace.

"Do you know how to use one?" David asked.

"Not a clue."

"That's where yours is," David said.

Morgan grunted and fired off another energy ball at The Clan. He took down another member, but he soon got up. Morgan continued to dodge and weave, firing off attacks when he could. The numbers were still on the bad side of four to one.

JoAnne and the others didn't stand back as David and Morgan were doing, but instead waded into The Clan, using their staffs to take them down physically. It was faster, really, than doing it magically, but they had to be careful not to cause real damage. Unfortunately, this most often meant that they didn't take anybody completely out of the battle, but merely knocked them down for a while.

"Oh, shit," Morgan said. David looked where Morgan was looking, and saw another group of students approaching.

"They might be here to help us," David said. "Don't fire on them until we're sure."

That was made immediately apparent when the new group started attacking JoAnne and her group.

"Well, guess that clears that up," David said, frowning.

Morgan grunted, and fired a huge energy ball, taking out two of the newcomers with one shot.

David, meanwhile, stepped back a little and pulled out his mirror. He called Seth to ask him to gather the security force to come help them. The numbers now were close to seven to one against, and that was horrid odds. Two of David's classmates were already unconscious on the ground.

Having placed his call for help, David decided it was time to wade into this battle fully. He put away his wand and pulled out his staff. He enlarged it, gave it a couple twirls, and then he headed into the battle. His primary move was to sweep their feet out from under them. This was because he was afraid of doing really serious damage if he did anything else. In a few cases, he smacked at wrists and upper arms, in order to force people to drop weapons. He used the staff to block several attacks, and also managed to trap some people's arms, twisting and throwing them to the ground.

As he worked, he felt someone thud into his back. He turned his head fractionally, to see JoAnne behind him.

"Having fun yet?" David asked.

"Oh, loads," she replied, with just as much sarcasm as he'd given. "When can we start really hurting these fucks?"

"I've called for the security force. We'll follow their lead on the amount of force to use."

"Gotcha."

David and JoAnne stayed back to back, protecting each other as they fought off attacks by The Clan. David occasionally tossed an energy ball into the crowd to shake them up, but this was dangerous to do now, as there were friendlies in the crowd. For the same reason, he couldn't use lightning or whip hexes.

David heard new voices and saw new spells being cast, and realized that Seth and the security team had finally arrived. David did a count, and saw that the whole of the security force amounted to fifteen people. They were still heavily outnumbered, at least three to one. The security force wasted no time, however. They started launching heavy spells, to knock students out.

"You see what they're doing?" JoAnne asked, while blocking the shot of a Clan member.

"Yeah. Time to ramp up our efforts."

David launched an energy ball with real authority behind it, and blasted one Clansman to the ground, leaving him unconscious and bleeding. JoAnne swung her staff, breaking a Clansman's arm, making it very hard for him to cast spells.

The Clan, seeing the increase in power from their opponents, immediately upped their own attacks. Two security officers were taken down in the first few seconds, hit by spells that would keep them in the infirmary for a few days each.

David pulled back out of the fray, taking JoAnne with him. She didn't want to come, but David needed a better look at what was going on, and he would need her help to exploit any weak spots he found.

The two met up with Seth, who was doing much the same thing, trying to direct his security team, which was dwindling quickly in number. The Clan numbers were dropping, as well, but they had more people to lose. In the distance, David saw more people coming. He knew those would be more Clan members. He hoped they were the last of them. Not only did he not think they could handle much more, but he wanted to grab the entire Clan at the end of this battle.

That was, if they survived the battle. The new Clan members were far more aggressive. One security officer and one Sword and Staff member were taken out in ways that would take serious efforts to repair. Morgan took out one of the people who did that, but it invited several shots at himself when he did. He was able to dodge those. David fired a massive blast at the person who attacked Morgan, and that person would also require long-term hospitalization.

The first person to die in the fight was a security officer who had taken out two Clan members. Three others blasted at him with heavy spells, and the man was dead before he hit the ground.

"You motherfucking sons of bitches," David breathed. It was the first time he'd seen a man die. He had the sinking feeling it would not be the last time, even on this night. He leveled a lightning bolt at one of the men who had killed the security officer, throwing him twenty feet and rendering him unconscious for the next several hours.

"I don't know how much more we can take," Seth said. "I'm already down to two-thirds of my strength."

"I know. We're just going to have to try harder. Is there anyone else we can call in?"

"Like who? This is every security officer the school has. There aren't any local police to call, and the Rimohrs are an hour away. We're it, and we're losing!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," David snarled. Looking to JoAnne, he said, "Let's go."

The two marched into the mix. JoAnne's staff attacks were far more forceful now, breaking limbs with regularity, and rendering a couple people unconscious. She soon had to fend off magical attacks from The Clan, though, which made it difficult for her to fire at anyone.

David blasted Clansmen left and right, using various spells. He pulled his staff out again, and began using it to knock people down. He saw one Clansman attack and kill another security officer. David swung his staff with great force, shattering the Clansman's knee. As the man collapsed to the ground, David swung his staff downward onto the man's back, dropping him into a prone position, where he did not make any attempts to get back up, but merely groaned in pain.

Moving on, David swung his staff for midsections. He was doubling over Clansmen one after another. Two tried to fire on him, and ended up with broken wrists for their trouble.

Looking around, however, David was becoming disheartened. He counted only five security officers, and he could only see four of his classmates. Morgan was still standing on the edge of things, blasting away at whoever he could catch off guard.

As David watched, however, Morgan was felled by no less than three Clansmen, blasting huge spells at him. David saw Morgan go down, writhing in pain, before he stopped moving.

One of the three that had attacked Morgan was near to David. David slammed his staff full-force into the man's back. David heard something snap, and the man collapsed to the ground, wriggling, but not rising.

JoAnne had also witnessed the attack. She fired one of the most intense energy balls that David had ever seen. The man she was aiming at lost half his body when he was hit by it. He died very shortly thereafter.

David's anger grew, and finally he decided it was time to play this game his way. He gripped his staff, and then began to swing at anything close enough to hit. He dodged the fire directed his way, and then swung his staff to attack his attacker. He spun and twisted, moving through the crowd like an angry whirlwind. He tripped people, knocked others down directly, and broke several bones. He moved with speed and power, and soon The Clan was simply avoiding him as best they could. Wherever he appeared, they would move away, then try to fire at him, but David was moving so fast that it was hard for them to focus on him, and while they were trying, the others in the security force would take them down.

David grew winded, however, and he moved out of the crowd, back to where Seth was managing what was left of his team. David wiped the sweat from his brow and put away his staff.

"How many do you have left?" David asked Seth.

"Three. You?"

David did a quick count as best he could. "It looks like four."

"How many you think they have?" Seth asked.

"At least thirty."

"Goddammit," Seth said in despair.

David saw that JoAnne was continuing her assault. She was moving so quickly it was hard for them to touch her. She balanced the use of her staff with the occasional blast of magic, keeping The Clan off balance. David marveled at her skill, and thought he was probably learning lessons just from watching her.

When David saw someone trying to attack her from behind, he fired off a massive blast of lightning. The man's nerves were fried, and he was rendered instantly unconscious. He probably would not wake up for a week.

From off to one side, more firing occurred. As it was aimed at a security officer, David knew that it was more Clan members showing up.

"Oh, fuck," he said. He did a quick count and saw another twenty people in the new group. These people were fresh, and they brought the count back up to seven to one odds.

"Pull back into a line!" David shouted. "We'll fight them in unison!"

The remaining security force understood his message, and they worked to maneuver toward where he was. It took a while, and they lost one member, permanently, in the effort. David growled, and then he screamed, "ODRAZIT!"

The entire Clan force was felled to the ground again, but it was a very temporary maneuver. The bolt of lightning that David blasted out of his wand into the center of the group was not, however. Three of the Clan members would not be getting up this night, and several more were jittery. Still, that left more than forty of the Clan, versus eight in the security force. The chance of them winning the battle was slim, but they were going to try.

"Whatever happens, you keep in this line. You watch the person to your left and your right. You help them before you attack someone else. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" The group answered as one.

"Here they come," JoAnne said.

And on The Clan came. The security force waited for them to approach, and then took on the lead elements. The problem was that they were quickly surrounded on all sides. There were enough Clansmen to make this very easy to do.

David quickly reoriented his group into a circle, so that there was always someone to each member's back. This didn't help too much, however, as two of his classmates were down within the first three minutes. Five Clansmen had also fallen, but that was a tradeoff that The Clan could afford to make.

"Let's bust out of this group," David said. "Everybody with me."

David fired the largest energy ball he knew into the crowd. Most avoided it by jumping sideways. The four who didn't would be asleep for a couple of weeks.

The security force moved out of the group of Clan members, and backed toward Santana Hall. They hoped to use the building itself to watch their backs.

This suddenly seemed like a bad move, however, as more people started appearing around the edges of the building.

"Oh, fuck," Seth said.

"It was an honor fighting with you, David," JoAnne told him.

"Uh-huh," David grunted, trying to think of a way out of this. He couldn't count the number of people appearing before him. It wasn't just those near Santana Hall, but there were others in the distance, behind The Clan group. There was no way they could defeat this many. Even David would eventually be rendered helpless and unconscious sooner or later.

Suddenly, the new group opened fire. On The Clan. Almost as one, a shout erupted from the new group. It was a shout of anger and determination.

Five Clan members were down permanently within the first ten seconds. The remaining Clan scattered, firing back at the new group. The new group, which seemed to consist of nothing more than regular students, were disorganized, and many of them fell quickly. The Clan was highly distracted, however, and that gave David, JoAnne and Seth the opportunity to target them, taking them out one at a time, while The Clan couldn't afford to take their attention away from the much larger group so that they could attack the more dangerous small group.

One by one, Clansmen fell. Finally, when there were only four of them, the security force moved in.

"You can surrender and hold out your hands, or I can let these folks take you apart," David said, motioning to the angry mob behind him. "Your choice."

The four immediately dropped their wands and held out their hands.

The closest of the crowd, seeing what was happening, shouted, "We won!"

A huge roar erupted from the students, echoing off the mountain and filling the air.

"You got these bastards, Seth?" David asked.

"Oh, yeah."

"Good." David walked over to the nearest set of students. "Where did you guys come from?"

"We were watching, up on the Academy level," he said, pointing. David looked and saw that several hundred more students were there, just watching what was going on.

"Thanks for the help... what took so long?"

"Have you got any idea how long those rock lifts take when you've got a lot of people?" the guy asked. "We didn't want to show up in small groups. We figured they could take care of us that way. We don't know how to fight, really. I mean, we're just first years and second years ourselves. But we couldn't let you guys get slaughtered for something we really could have stopped ourselves, if we'd not been so frickin' lazy."

"Well, thanks for showing up when you did. You saved several of us trips to the infirmary."

The guy nodded. "Sorry it took us so long to figure it out."

David grinned. "So long as you got the message eventually." He shook the guy's hand, and then went back to his group.

"I've called Healer Hall," JoAnne said. "She's on her way with her entire staff."

"That's not going to be nearly enough," David said. He pulled out his mirror and called Annie himself.

"I'm on my way, David, but I still have to walk there..."

"You're going to need help, Annie. You might want to call in the healer from in town."

"Just how many people are hurt?" she asked.

"Dozens. Many of them seriously. Some of them... you can't help anymore."

"Oh my lord. Okay, thank you for the warning. I'll call Rusty from down in town."

David nodded and fogged off. He went over to see if he could find Morgan. The battlefield was a mess, and it was hard to remember where people had been.

Ultimately, David found him. The guy was still alive, but just barely.

"Sorry I couldn't help more, boss," Morgan said.

"You did just fine, Morgan," David said. "We got the bastards who got you."

"Good show," he said. Morgan coughed. "David... at the beginning of the year... I was wrong, man. Some people, you just can't fix."

With that, Morgan closed his eyes. David felt for a pulse. There wasn't one. He considered using a potion on him, but he didn't have one ready, and making one would take longer than he had available. He knew of no spell to keep Morgan alive long enough for Annie to fix him.

When Annie arrived, she found David kneeling over Morgan. "What's the matter with him?"

"Nothing you can do anything about now," David said morosely. Suddenly he felt a presence before him. He rose to his feet before looking up. He knew, from the sensation, who it was.

"Hello, Gabriel," he said to her. "I had hoped we wouldn't meet again so soon."

She looked at him with understanding and pity. "It is very sad when so many die at once."

"How many?" David asked, almost not wanting the number.

"Seventeen."

"Oh my god," David said, nearly choking on the words.

Annie, hearing this, let loose a single sob before getting control of herself. "There will be no more than that!" she vowed, and moved off to help the living.

"I and my brethren will do what needs doing now," Gabriel said.

David nodded and turned away. He walked aimlessly through his first true battlefield. The sight of it was horrible. Annie had brought fireflies with her, and the entire area was lit up almost as bright as the daytime. Bodies lay twisted and broken on the ground. Most of them were groaning and grasping at body parts. The truly sickening ones were not moving at all, either because they were unconscious, or because they would never move again.

Feeling ill, David turned away. He had seen more than he could handle. He only made it a hundred feet before he fell to his knees and retched uncontrollably. There was nothing in his stomach, but the taste of bile filled his mouth, and he spit several times to try to get it out.

"Here," a voice said, handing him a bottle of water. David took it, and took in a large mouthful, spitting it out on the ground before he even looked up to see who it was.

"What are you doing here?" David asked Olissa, who was standing over him.

"Looking for you. Someone called me and told me what was going on. I didn't get here until everything was over." She helped him to his feet. "I'm very glad that you're okay."

The two hugged for a long time, and it was Olissa's turn to let David cry on her shoulder again.

It took a while for David to gather himself, and then Olissa let him loose. He stared at the battlefield from a distance, unwilling to go any closer until he could put some emotional distance between himself and the night.

David saw Bob walking among the Clan members. He wasn't talking to them, nor trying to help. He just looked, and then moved on. David didn't know what he was doing, and at the moment, he really didn't care.

Turning to Olissa, David said, "Thank you. I really did need you just now." He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss, which she gladly returned. When they separated, he said, "I need to go up to the infirmary now, to see how my classmates are doing."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

David shook his head. "No. There's no reason for you to see that up close."

Olissa nodded in grateful understanding. "Will you be okay?"

David took a deep, ragged breath. "Eventually."

Olissa hugged him for a long moment, and then she left, to go back to the dorms. David turned and headed for the rock lift to the infirmary. He knew he would have to wait for a while, as Annie and the others were making use of the rock lifts to shuttle the wounded. He found the one rock lift that had been left for student use and rode it up. He walked slowly around the Academy level until he reached the infirmary. He wasn't really in a hurry to go in and see the carnage, but he had work to do.

As David stepped into the infirmary proper, the moaning and cries of pain filled the room. Annie had enacted a sound dampening field, to keep the sheer volume down, but it was still something of a din.

David saw Annie and Rusty, the healer from Gorumshead, working together on a patient. Dean Lengel was also there, staying out of the way and looking aggrieved at the condition of her students. Several other professors were also present, called in to provide some kind of assistance.

Sensing a presence, Annie and Rusty looked up. Seeing who it was, Rusty snarled, "What, did you come to finish off your handiwork?"

Annie, abashed, said, "Rusty..."

"No! This bastard needs to be told the truth! You're a menace!" he said.

David was in no condition to take this sort of badgering. He backhanded Rusty hard enough that the man staggered back, hit his head on the wall, and tumbled to the floor.

Reaching down, David grabbed Rusty's coat and hauled him upright. He pinned him to the wall, his eyes boring in on the healer.

"You know nothing about me," David said in a low, deep voice. "You think I wanted to see these people hurt?" he shouted. "We didn't start this fight! We didn't escalate this fight! We didn't kill the first person! THEY DID!

"I haven't killed anyone, ever. You know what I did to Andros. You know I can kill, if I want to. If I had wanted anyone in this room dead tonight, you wouldn't be working on them now! I don't kill people!

"Do you think I wanted any of this? I lost a teammate tonight. He's dead! Gone! He had decades of life in front of him, all taken away by a bunch of bastards who had no thought of what life and death mean! Do you really think I enjoyed watching him die?"

David's grip on Rusty grew tighter. "I have never killed anyone. But if you are going to stand there and call me responsible for what happened tonight, I just might make a motherfucking exception!"

The tone of David's voice had grown slightly hysterical as he'd spoken. Suddenly, he felt an arm wrap around him, and pull him backward. Only the voice prevented him from reacting violently.

"Okay, let's let go of the idiot," Sam said. "We both know he's too stupid to bother with the facts."

"If you ever-" David started, pointing at Rusty, who was rubbing his throat, trying to get his breath back.

"Shh, shh, shh," Sam said, trying to calm David down. "His opinion is worthless, David. Don't worry about him. The rest of us know what you've done. We know what you're going through."

David wasn't even able to form words anymore. He just glared at Rusty, who felt distinctly uncomfortable. Finally, Rusty left the room, unable to withstand David's gaze any longer.

No longer able to focus on his prey, David's anger broke into despair. He buried his head in Sam's shoulder and wept, unable to control himself. Sam held onto him tightly, rubbing his back and trying to comfort him as his emotions poured out.

Finally, after several minutes, David's sobbing ceased. He shook himself, trying to get his emotions back under control. In another minute or so, he stepped back. He couldn't smile at her, but his eyes conveyed his gratitude.

"Thanks, Sam," he told her.

"My pleasure," she said. Her look expressed sympathy and understanding. There was also an undertone of pride in what he'd become.

Dean Lengel was close by, but hadn't wanted to interfere with David's recovery. "Are you okay, David?" she asked quietly.

David shook himself again. "I will be," he said, struggling to regain his customary voice. "I need to speak with some of the Clan. The ones who aren't too ill to talk, that is."

"Is now really the time for that?" Annie asked.

"I need to do it now, before the leader gets away."

"Leader?" Dean Lengel asked.

"In every group we've ever fought, we've seen a different person in charge. I honestly don't think we have ever seen the person in charge of the entire Woodward cell of The Clan. I'm sure, however, that they will be running fast when they find out the results of tonight's battle. I need that name before they get too far away."

Dean Lengel nodded, and then nodded to Annie. Sam said, "After all you've been through tonight, how can you just... turn it off like that?"

"I can't, Sam. But if I don't catch this cocksucker, then it won't be a finished job. I can't live with that."

Annie walked him over to one of the patients who had several broken bones. "He's not in any pain, so he should be able to answer questions just fine."

"I ain't telling you shit," was the man's opening opinion.

"Watch your mouth," Dean Lengel said.

"Fuck you," the guy spat.

David backhanded him clean off his bed.

"Let me guess," David said. "I can't touch you. Funny, but it seems like I did a pretty good job of it."

Dean Lengel and Sam lifted the student back onto the bed.

David glared at him, and then said, "Who is the leader of The Clan?"

"Go to hell," the Clansman said.

"There's no such place. However, I think you are not quite clear on your situation, so let me explain this to you. If you do not cooperate with me, you will be charged, and most likely convicted, of first-degree murder. The sentence for which is two hundred years in wizarding prison. And they use spells and potions to make sure you live out your entire sentence."

That got the guy's attention. "I didn't kill anyone!"

"Not relevant. Callamandian law states that if you are part of starting any illegal action which results in the death of any individual at anyone's hands, you are guilty of murder. As the battle was clearly planned and orchestrated from the start, that makes it premeditated, and is cause for the most severe punishment. A punishment that, if you do not give me a name, I will personally lobby for. And I might point out that the local magistrate recognizes me by sight, so my request may carry a bit of weight."

The man went pale. "Wendell Kendall."

"Is that a real student?" David asked Dean Lengel. She pulled out a book from her coat and checked, then nodded to David. "Geez. No wonder he wanted a gang. If my parents had named me that, I'd probably turn to a life of crime, too."

Dean Lengel chuckled despite the situation.

"Don't tell him I told you. He'll kill me!"

"I don't think he's going to have that opportunity," David replied reassuringly. He pulled out his mirror, and dialed. "Agent Garibaldi."

"Agent?" Dean Lengel asked.

"He got promoted in March."

She looked impressed.

"Hey, David. What's up?"

"Joe, this is a business call. I need you to put out a King's Order for one Wendell Kendall."

"I can't just randomly put out a King's Order, David. That is supposed to, technically, have the authority of the King behind it. What's this guy supposed to have done?"

"First-degree murder, conspiracy, incitement to riot, racketeering, running a criminal organization..."

David was going to continue, but Joe held up his hand. "Okay, okay, I get the idea. I'll have the KO issued immediately. Do you have a description?"

"I'll have it in your hands in less than ten minutes," Dean Lengel said over David's shoulder.

Joe nodded. "I'll wait for that, then. Is this somehow related to The Clan?"

"We have information that he is the leader of the Woodward cell. Just to fill you in, there was a major battle here tonight. Seventeen people are dead."

"Holy shit," Joe breathed. "You okay?"

"Physically," David replied.

Joe nodded.

"I'll let you go now. Dean Lengel will get that description to you. I... could really use some rest."

"You look it. Take it easy, David. We'll talk later."

As David put his mirror away, another friendly face showed up.

"Anne, what are you doing here?"

"Olissa called me. Are you all right?"

"Physically, yes. Mentally... probably not for a while."

Anne nodded.

Sam said, "Anne, is it?"

"Yes, ma'am. Anne Hasterscant."

"Why don't you take him back to his room, so he can get some rest. We can take care of things here, David. Agent Garibaldi will catch Wendell, I'm quite sure."

"He better. It's going to be very hard attending class if I'm out hunting that prick."

"Well, you'd have all summer," Sam said lightly, "but I'm sure that won't be necessary. Anne, if you would?"

"Yes, ma'am. C'mon, David."

Anne led David out to the walkway and crossed the bridge to the outer ring. "Are you sure you're okay? Did you get hurt?"

David shook his head. "No. I got grazed a few times, some bumps and bruises. Nothing serious enough to bother with. I'll ghost myself when I get home, and that will take care of all of it."

Anne hugged him closer with the arm she had wrapped around his waist. "You want me to spend the night?" she asked softly.

David stopped walking, and she stopped and turned to face him.

"I appreciate you offering," he said, "but I don't think I'd be very good company tonight. And frankly, I would feel a little bit guilty having the comfort of your presence when I have friends lying in the infirmary suffering their injuries. No, I think I just need to be alone tonight. Thank you, anyway."

Anne hugged him tightly, and then kissed him for a long moment.

"This wasn't your fault, David. You kept telling them it was going to happen. No one believed you. It's their fault for not paying attention."

David nodded.

"Call me if you need me. Even if it's four o'clock in the morning. Okay?"

"Thanks, Anne. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

She kissed him again, and then she walked off, letting him be.

David was not alone for long. Jailla swooped down to his shoulder mere seconds after Anne was out of sight.

"Who let you out?" David asked unnecessarily. Jailla had been in David's dorm room, and there was only one person who would have gone there, and had the authority to open the door.

"Olissa," Jailla said, surprising him.

"Since when can she break through magical doors?" he asked. David had assumed that Sam had let Jailla out.

"She called Dean Lengel for permission. The dean was able to open the door remotely."

"Oh."

David started walking along the rim of the Academy moat. He was not walking fast. There were some other students there, and though several did say hello to him and offer their congratulations on winning the fight, they sensed his mood and didn't try to engage him.

"Are you all right?" Jailla asked.

"I don't think so," David said truthfully.

"What's the matter?"

"I saw people die tonight. Right in front of me."

"Did you kill any of them?" Jailla asked carefully.

"No. I thought about it, but after watching them die at someone else's hands, I just wasn't sure I could do that myself, you know?"

"I understand what you mean. Were their deaths necessary?"

"Are they ever?" David asked.

"Fair question. Let me rephrase. Were their deaths unavoidable?"

"Some. Others probably could have ended differently."

Jailla nodded. "Anyone you knew closely?"

"Morgan."

"I'm sorry, David. I know that you and he had eventually grown to be friends. What happened?"

"He got hit by multiple spells at once. He didn't stand a chance. He lived long enough for the battle to end, but he died as I watched."

Jailla was quiet for a minute, then he said, "This question seems in poor taste, but who won the fight?"

"We did. If you can call it winning. The school's security office now has four people in it, including Seth. My Sword and Staff class is now short three people, who are dead. And then Morgan, plus two of the Clansmen."

"So lopsided in the numbers..."

"The Clan wasn't as worried about their consciences as we were," David groused.

Jailla nodded.

As they were riding down on the rock lift, Jailla said, "I know this will not be of comfort to you now, but you did the right thing. You could not have walked away from the battle. That would have surrendered the school to The Clan, and perhaps sent Woodward itself into a dark place that no one wanted it to go."

"Someone must have," David objected.

"Yes," Jailla said after a moment of contemplation. "Someone must have known that a Clan victory would have garnered a nasty response from the king. So..."

"What was the real point?" David asked.

"Yes," Jailla agreed.

"I wish I knew."

The next day, David felt strong enough to return to the field of battle, to look over the physical remnants of the night's carnage. All that was left were trampled grass, scorch marks, and, if one looked very carefully, some blood stains on the ground.

The mental and emotional remnants, however, were more substantial and prevalent. David stared for a long time at the empty field, knowing in one sense that he could not cling to this place. He had to allow himself to move on, or he would be crippled in all future actions that might see others hurt.

On the other hand, David knew that he could never fully forget this place. He needed to remember the terrible consequences of such actions, so that he would never get used to the idea of bloodshed.

As he stood there, David suddenly felt a presence at his side.

"Bob," David said neutrally.

"David," Bob replied. "It was an ugly thing to watch."

"Especially from up close," David agreed.

"Do you have a means to travel?" Bob asked.

"In what kind of terrain?"

"Mountainous."

For the first time since the previous night, David smiled. "Oh, yeah."

"I would like for you to come with me."

"How far?"

"Approximately three hundred miles."

"Where are we going?"

"To meet my mother."

David turned to look at him. Bob's expression was inscrutable. Most would have taken it to be blank, but David knew it was not. It was merely not readable by a human. He nodded, and then began to walk toward Savage Hall, away from the battlefield.

The two didn't say anything as David saddled Cupcake, who, though understanding that David was not in a happy mood, expressed her joy at seeing him, and her anticipation of flight. He made sure to greet her warmly and with respect. It wasn't her fault what had happened, after all.

David mounted Cupcake, and then said, "So, where am I going?"

"You will follow me," Bob said, removing his shirt. He folded it, and then set it on a shelf just inside the stable door. He removed the rest of his clothing, as well. David took note of the various scaly spots that adorned Bob's human self, but he didn't have long to consider it. Bob stepped out into the paddock and began to metamorphose. His entire appearance changed slowly but smoothly. In less than a minute, where once there had been an almost-six-foot-tall human, there was now a forty-foot-long dragon. The pegs in the paddock were decidedly uneasy about this, and Cupcake stayed put only because she trusted David.

"This way," Bob grumbled in his now dragony voice. He leapt into the air, beating his wings strongly. In seconds, he was a hundred feet above the ground.

"You heard him, girl. Follow the leader."

Cupcake whinnied and leapt after him, her wings beating no less strongly than Bob's. They swirled upward until they were a thousand feet up, and then Bob turned to the northwest and led off. Cupcake kept up with ease.

It took three hours for them to get where they were going. Bob spiraled downward - dragons do not like direct descents - and landed on a clear patch of rock. Cupcake followed more directly, flapping strongly to slow her descent and coming to a smooth landing right beside Bob.

In front of them, about a thousand feet away, was a cave entrance.

"Your clan home?"

"Something like that," Bob confirmed. "She will need to wait here."

"I don't think she wants to go in there, anyway," David said with a grin. He climbed down off Cupcake. "Wait here, girl."

Cupcake nickered in agreement, and stepped away to munch on some nearby plants. David turned and followed Bob as he led him toward the cave entrance.

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior lately," Bob said. "Seeing that battle last night really brought home to me a lot of what you were trying to say. The only way I could have held my own on either side of that fight would have been as a dragon. And, being such a young dragon, I'm sure three or four of the better wizards could have taken me out. Seeing the aftermath of the battle helped me realize your protectiveness over the girl, as well. Is life precious to all humans?"

"Obviously not, or seventeen people would not have needed to die last night," David said. "But for most of us, killing is not a good answer to most problems."

"But there are some," Bob asked, wanting to be clear on this.

"Most people do believe that there is a time when, in order to protect others, or to serve a larger purpose, death and killing is necessary, yes. There are some people, however, who don't even believe this, and don't think that anyone should ever be killed. They are in the minority."

"Dragons, as I'm sure you already suspect, are rather more cavalier about the issue."

"I had a feeling," David confirmed.

"I think it was this lesson my mother was trying to teach me, but I'm not sure why."

"Probably because, as leader of your clan, you will need to interact with humans, and be responsible for the relationship between them and your clan. She probably wanted you to understand where we were coming from."

Bob turned his long neck to look at David. "That is a strong possibility."

The two entered the cave, which, after a long tunnel, opened into a huge chamber. Several dragons were lounging in this chamber. One, lying quietly near the tunnel entrance, was a large dragon, older from the looks of him. There was a long slash across his left eye.

Bob said, "Hey, Uncle Scar! Guess what?"

The old dragon lifted his head and stared balefully at Bob. "I despise guessing games," he said.

"I think I figured out what mother wanted me to learn."

"Bully for you," Scar said, and dropped his head back down.

"He's not much of a talker," Bob said.

"I gather Scar is not his real name?"

"No, and I don't think he actually likes it. Everyone started calling him that to tease him over the scar on his eye."

"Fight with a human?" David asked.

Bob snorted derisively. "Fight with a tree. The tree won."

David could not help chuckling.

The two walked through the chamber into another tunnel, which led to a smaller, but still large, chamber. This looked more official, as the dragons in here seemed to be resting in a line, rather than randomly. At the far end of the room was a slightly larger dragon, who was tending to what appeared to be a juvenile.

"Hello, Mother," Bob said to the larger dragon when they approached. "This is David Stroud. David, this is my mother, Lulemaimokurolorakonaivotemononagukalani."

"And I am to call you..." David asked the female dragon.

"You may address me as Drema," the dragon replied with amusement in her voice. "You are younger than I expected."

"I am older than I look, though probably still younger than you expected," David said. "I am a demighost."

Drema nodded. "I'm sure you're curious as to why Bob has brought you here."

"Not just that... curious why anyone would be allowed in here at all."

"I asked that he bring you," Drema told him. "I wanted to meet the person who could finally humble him."

"I'm not really sure that was my doing," David said with a smile.

"It was. You forced him to look at the path he was on, and realize it was not the right one."

"It seemed like fear of you was more motivation than anything I had to say."

Drema shook her head. "I do not mean the discussion you had with him, though that was the start. When he saw what could have been, but wasn't, because of your help, he realized that humans were not, as many dragons believe, merely taking up space in the dragon clandoms."

"Well, I'm glad I could help, though I admit my motivation had more to do with making my life easier. I didn't really hold out much hope of convincing him of anything."

"Yes, he is quite hard-headed," Drema said, looking at her son, who bowed his head in embarrassment. "But occasionally he learns something useful. From what I hear, you did quite well in your battle last night. I didn't know that Woodward trained its students in combat."

"It doesn't, at least not in the kind you mean. I've had no formal training, except in personal combat. I've just had a lot of practice fighting in groups lately."

"I see. In that case, you did remarkably well. Although dragons fight... differently, I have studied human warfare. You did well."

"Not well enough."

"Yes, the dead," Drema said, not unkindly. "I know that this is regrettable for you. All I can say to you on that matter is that it could have been much worse. That it was not is to your credit."

"Thank you."

Drema nodded. "And thanks is actually what I brought you here for. Though it may seem a minor issue to you, the lessons that Bob has learned in the last few months are crucial to his eventual ascension to the leadership of the clan. We have you to thank for taking your time to... 'educate' him."

David smirked at the phrase. "Well, I'm glad I was able to help, in whatever way I could."

Drema nodded, and motioned to one of the younger dragons. They grabbed an item off a nearby hoard pile, and brought it to David. David, understanding that he was being given the object, took it carefully from the dragon.

"We call this Kalagasakalayo. It was forged two thousand years ago, for a wizard who had done us a small favor. When he perished, we reclaimed the item. We would now like you to have it, as a reward for your help."

"Thank you," David said. The object appeared to be a bracer that would fit on his arm. It looked as though it had a space to slide his wand into. The bracer was made of silver, with gold patterns inlaid along its length. David turned it over in his hands to study it.

David pulled off his blue cloth wand holster, and slipped the bracer onto his left arm in its place. The bracer held snugly to his arm, and even seemed to change size slightly, in order to sit more comfortably.

"Your wand goes in the opening, Like your other, this will hold your wand securely for you."

David nodded and slipped his wand into the hole. It felt entirely secure. He moved his arm around a bit, and the wand did not move an inch.

"Being as this was made by dragons, I guess I should ask, does this have any properties I need to know about?"

Drema smiled a draconic smile at him. "Yes, quite. While wearing this, you are impervious to all but the very hottest of fires. Up to three thousand of your degrees."

"Wow," David said, impressed.

"Also, if you concentrate and utter the words, "Ogon shechit," it will form a fiery buckler, to use in battle."

David stood away from the others, and did so. Out of a spiral in the design, flame emerged, spinning outward until it formed a somewhat larger than normal buckler, made entirely of flame.

"Is my wand powering this?" David asked.

"No. The device has the ability to create flame on its own."

"Really? Is there a way to create just a flame, or does it always create it in this shield form? And how do I make this go away?"

"The spell is a typical wizard spell. You know, I assume, how to end those."

David uttered "peractus" in his head, and the shield evaporated instantly.

"As to making a simple flame, it is the same spell as for your wand. It will emit from the center of the spiral."

David thought, "Chosina hono." A small flame appeared from the center of the spiral. David, wondering if it would work, concentrated on the flame, and raised his hand. The flame quickly formed a circle over the bracer.

Drema looked startled. "How did you make it do that?" she asked.

"Pyromandy," David explained. "Bob was helping me advance my pyromandy skills before he... uh... well, before we had an argument."

Drema nodded. "Then you can, perhaps, get even more use from this than expected."

"Yes. Thank you very much for this. When will you want this returned?"

"When you perish."

"I'm a demighost. Technically, I'm already perished," David said with a smile.

Drema responded in kind. "In that case, when you feel you no longer have need of it."

"That could be a very long time," David warned.

"Though we reclaimed it, we did so because we are dragons, and we made it, and we keep the things we make. We have no actual need of the item whatsoever."

"Well, thank you. I will endeavor to put this to good use."

"I'm sure you will. The Mononagu Clan will enter you into its history as a friend. It would do you well to keep it that way. We are much harsher with friends who become enemies than with strangers."

David nodded seriously.

"Good luck to you, David Stroud."

"Thank you, ma'am. And to you."

Drema waved them away, and Bob led David back out of the cave, and they returned to the Academy.

"I know I didn't say much at the cave," Bob said, after he was back in human form and dressed. "I'm uncomfortable around my mother. She's disappointed in me. Has been for a while. She says I'm not leadership material."

David frowned. "Well, maybe she'll change her mind. Everyone changes over time."

"Dragons do so very little," Bob told him.

David nodded in understanding. "Will you be back here next year?"

"No. My grades were not sufficient, and the dean has withdrawn any invitation to return."

"Ouch. That seems a bit harsh."

"I failed every class, David. I made no real attempt to learn anything."

"How could you fail? I thought you were only auditing classes."

"Well, you know what I mean. My progress was not satisfactory, in any sense."

David nodded. "Would you like me to talk to her on your behalf? Maybe I could get her to change her mind..."

"Thank you, but no. I believe I have learned what I needed to learn here. I think I can best learn the remainder somewhere that I do not have such a history."

"Right. Well, I'd say it was nice knowing you, but for a lot of the time, it kinda wasn't."

Bob chuckled.

"If you ever need anything, not that I imagine dragons need much, give a holler."

"I will do that. And again, I am sorry. What I said about you not being a friend of the clan when I was in charge, that's not true."

David nodded. "Good to know. Didn't want to have dragons as enemies, really."

"You are smarter than most humans," Bob opined.

David laughed.

"Good luck, Bob."

"To you, as well."

Bob walked off, and David returned to his dorm room, to show off his new toy to Jailla.

David met Olissa and Flo outside the cafeteria. It was very late in the day, as other exams had come before this one. Most people used the day for some final studying. David had meditated and tried to calm himself. The battle the previous Friday was still haunting him, and he was doing his best to get over it. Especially since, though this Entrepreneurial Certification Exam was important, it wasn't nearly as crucial to him as his Conjuring Mastery, which was the next morning.

Olissa greeted David with a kiss and a hug, and Flo did likewise.

"You ready for this?" he asked them. They nodded.

"Hey, where are Brock and Trish?"

"They're inside. They were too anxious to stand out here and wait."

"Am I late again?" David asked.

"No. They're just nervous."

"How are you doing?" David asked Olissa.

"I'm fine. I had plenty of time to study for this one."

David nodded. "You?"

Flo said, "Got it covered. What about you? You've been so busy lately..."

"I had time to study. As long as I can keep my focus, I'll be okay."

"Good luck."

"Thanks. We might as well go in. Not much point standing out here."

They went in, and went through the usual routine for these exams: they checked in, got their table assignment, and sat down in front of their cubicle.

It wasn't too long before an examiner gave the usual spiel. The test would take ninety minutes. When it appeared in front of him, David simply took a deep breath and pulled off the cover sheet. He tackled this exam as he handled all others, and in seemingly no time at all, he'd reached the end. He looked up to see he still had a half hour left. He decided to go back over the test one more time, and was glad that he did, since he caught a rather dumb mistake on one of the questions. He fixed that up and finished his last check of the test.

With that done, David turned his test in to the examiners, and left the cafeteria. They would not get their results until the next day, so David would likely not know about this test until after his Mastery, which was scheduled for the morning. Unlike his Potions presentation, David had not been told to invite anyone, so he would be facing down the Conjuring Guild alone.

He tried not to let all of that trouble him as he walked over to the infirmary. He visited with his classmates who had been injured in the battle, letting them know that they would not miss their exam, but that special arrangements had been made so they could take it late.

Finally, he stopped in to see Chloe.

"Hey, David," she said softly. Her voice had been badly affected by the hexes used on her, and she was just now beginning to be able to talk without pain.

"Hey. How are you feeling today?"

"Better and worse," she said.

"Huh?"

"I'm healing, but the process hurts more now."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. I'm sorry I let myself get ambushed, boss. You could have used my help on Friday."

"While we certainly could have used your help, you might have ended up like Morgan, and I'm just as glad you didn't. Besides, you didn't 'let' yourself get ambushed. You were betrayed by someone you trusted. And if he has any brains, he's halfway to Sopasante by now."

Chloe grinned. "Still, sorry I wasn't there to back you up."

"Not like you didn't have a really good reason," David said with a smile.

Chloe chuckled softly. "True. David, I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor."

"Name it."

"Once I get out of here next month, I'm planning to apply to the Rimohr Academy. I'd really like it if you could provide a letter of recommendation for me."

"I'd be happy to, but why me?"

"You were my immediate superior," she said. "I've asked for one from Seth, too, and he said he would, but you're the one that is going to mean something to them. You were out in the field, you saw my work first-hand... and you know what the work was really like. Seth doesn't."

David nodded. "I'll get something written up for you before you leave," David promised.

"Thanks."

"When are you getting out of here, exactly?" he asked.

"Not for another four weeks, minimum," Healer Hall said, coming up beside them. "She's still a very sick young woman."

"Okay. I should be back from my vacation by then. Is there anything I can get you in the meantime?"

"Kyle's head on a platter?" she asked.

"Sorry. I was told I wasn't allowed to go around killing people. It was 'bad', or something."

Chloe laughed at that, then coughed, as laughing hurt her throat. "In that case, just something to pass the time would help."

David nodded. "If you'd like, I'll loan you one of the volumes of my Eternal Compendium."

"That would be great," she said.

"Okay. I'll drop it by later. I'd stick around, but I have to go practice. I have a conjuring exam in the morning."

"Good luck," she said.

"Thanks. You take it easy, or I'll sic Annie on you."

"Hey! I'm merely diligent in my work!"

"Uh-huh," David said. "All I can say is I'm glad I don't end up in here so much anymore."

"Hmph," Annie replied.

David said good-bye to the two of them and headed out. He headed up to the castle. The courtyard would be empty, and he could practice his conjuring up there without disturbing anyone, or possibly damaging anything.

He spent the next four hours working on it.

David went to Prof. Blackstone's office the next morning, as he had been instructed.

"Good morning, David," the professor said cheerfully. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'm ever going to be," David said.

"Okay, let's head over, then."

"Head over where?"

"To Firebird Stadium. We needed space, so we are holding your mastery in the gymnasium."

"Well, at least I'm used to the space," David said to himself.

"Oh?" the professor asked.

David started; he hadn't thought the professor would hear him. "Yes, sir. I had my Sword and Staff class in the gym."

"Oh, that's right. I'd forgotten you were taking such a class. Well, then you won't be uncomfortable in the room."

David smirked. "Not hardly."

"Let's go, then."

The two walked over in silence. Jailla, who had not gone into Hyneman Hall with David, flew down onto his shoulder now. Jailla knew that David was nervous, though he was hiding it well. As they entered the gym, he flew off to find a spot to watch from. He didn't want to get in the way.

Once he was fully inside the gym, David saw a group of five people standing together in a tight knot. He knew this would be the examiners, the people who would test him.

Off to David's left was another knot of people, which he did not expect. "Professor?" he asked, gesturing to them.

"You didn't expect us to make you do this without a cheering section, did you?" Prof. Blackstone asked with a grin.

In the group were Olissa, Flo, and Anne, as well as Brock and Trish. Sam wasn't present, but Dean Lengel was. Zyla was also there, but Joe seemed to be missing. Penny stood off to one side, as well.

"How did you know who to invite?" he asked.

Prof. Blackstone snorted. "Between Prof. Stott and Dean Lengel, I had no trouble concocting a list of guests."

"I should have guessed," David said with a grin. "Will Sam be here?"

"Unfortunately, she couldn't attend. She had other testing duties today."

David nodded.

"Go ahead and say hello to your friends. The committee doesn't appear quite ready yet, anyway."

David went over to chat with his friends. He got warm wishes and hugs from most. Olissa and Flo each gave him a kiss. Anne gave him a kiss that curled his toes.

"I didn't ask yesterday. Did you pass your exam?" he asked her quietly.

"Yes, but you shouldn't be worrying about that now."

"Well, I'm not. Now," he told her with a grin.

After a little while longer, Prof. Blackstone called David over. The guests went and found seats on the bleachers.

Prof. Blackstone didn't bother with preamble, but launched immediately into the process.

"Honored Members of the Entrance Committee of the Royal Conjurers Association, I bring for your evaluation Mr. David Stroud, Sorcerer. Mr. Stroud has, in my opinion, more than enough qualifications to enter the association, and I ask that he be tested."

The examiner in the center of the group said, "Mr. Stroud, please step forward."

David did as requested.

"Do you believe yourself to be ready for this testing?"

"As ready as I can be, sir," David replied.

The examiner smiled. "And you request this examination of your own free will?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. Be aware that the length of the examination is directly determined by your skill. The better you are, the longer this will take. Before we begin, do you have any questions?"

David thought for a moment, but then shook his head. "None come to mind, sir."

"All right. Let's jump right into the testing, then."

The five examiners each waved their hands, and various items suddenly appeared in the gymnasium. Several tables were now before them, and each had various objects on it.

"We will start with the simplest of activities. On this first table are ten objects. We want you to conjure each one, one at a time, onto the next table."

"Am I focusing on speed or accuracy?" David asked.

"So long as they make it onto the table. This is the beginning of your test. We'll worry about fancy stuff in a few minutes."

David smiled, and turned to the task before him. It was, of course, a ridiculously easy thing for him to do, and he was finished in just a minute.

"Very good. Now, face the objects you just conjured, with your back to the table they were originally on."

David did so.

"Conjure the objects, again one at a time, back to their original spot on the first table. You may not turn around."

David nodded, and then closed his eyes, to help visualize the table behind him. He worked through all ten objects, eventually getting them right back where they had been. This had taken slightly longer than the original conjures, but not significantly so.

"Very good," the examiner said. "Now you will do it blind," he said. Suddenly boxes appeared covering the entire top of each table. "Conjure the objects back to the second table now."

David nodded, and did as instructed. It wasn't a very hard task for him to pull off anymore.

When David indicated he was finished, the examiner removed the covering boxes, to see that all the objects were in the places they should have been.

"Excellent."

The examiner moved on, progressing into harder areas of conjuring. After a while, they started working on distance conjuring. David was able to conjure various items from all over the school grounds without difficulty.

The examiner brought out a large mirror. In the mirror appeared a room that was clearly not the gymnasium.

"The room you see in the mirror is my office," the examiner told him. "My office is in Cormatsen, several hundred miles away. Do you see the InkyQuill sitting on the desk?"

"Yes, sir," David confirmed.

"Good. I want you to conjure that into my hand. Precision is important here, Mr. Stroud. I want it sitting in my hand, not run through my palm, if you don't mind."

David grinned. He turned to the mirror and frowned in concentration. He hadn't done a whole lot of this kind of conjuring. He knew how, and he had done it before, but it wasn't something he was comfortable with. Still, the task was before him, and so he focused and tried to relax his mind.

After about thirty seconds, the InkyQuill appeared in the examiner's hand, without impaling itself in anything.

"Very good, Mr. Stroud," the examiner said, obviously impressed. "Let's move on."

The tests got harder and harder as they went on. Suddenly, the examiners conjured in two long rows of pedestals. On the first pedestal of each row sat a wooden block.

"This is a speed test, Mr. Stroud. Your goal is to conjure each block onto each pedestal in its row, one after the other. Further, you must alternate blocks. That is to say, if you conjure the left-hand block first, you must then conjure the right-hand block next, and then back to the left. You must do this as fast as you can. If you make a mistake and a block ends up on the floor, you must conjure it onto the proper pedestal before continuing.

"Do you understand these instructions?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes, sir."

"Your time starts... now."

David was already focused on the blocks, and in no time at all, the first one popped from the pedestal it was on to the next one in the row. Seconds later, the other followed suit. David moved rapidly down the space between the rows, following the blocks as they popped onto their pedestals. In only a few minutes, David had reached the end of the rows, which held fifty pedestals each.

The examiners murmured to each other, and the head examiner motioned David back down to the center of the room.

When David arrived, the two blocks were waiting for him, having been conjured by one of the examiners.

"Move both blocks onto the next pedestals in line, at the same time. That is, they should not reside on the same pedestal together."

David nodded, and did as requested. Each block popped to the next pedestal in its row.

"How many objects have you ever conjured at one time?" the examiner asked.

"Five... I think... is as high as we ever went."

The examiner looked to Prof. Blackstone, who nodded.

The examiner waved his hands, and suddenly, instead of two rows of pedestals, there were now ten. Each had a block sitting on its first pedestal.

"Move all ten, or as many as you can manage, to their next appropriate pedestals."

David nodded, and turned to the blocks. He took a bit more time to concentrate, but ultimately, two or ten, it was the same task. In short order, the blocks had appeared on the right spots.

The examiner nodded. One of the other examiners conjured the blocks back to their starting points.

"Once again, you are facing a speed test. You must conjure all ten objects at the same time, from pedestal to pedestal, keeping them in their own rows. Do you understand the instructions?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very good. As before, if you make an error, you must correct it before continuing. Are you ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Your time begins...now."

David focused on the blocks. This was much more intense, and he had to really focus to do this quickly. It took him several minutes to get the blocks all the way to the end of the rows, which were only thirty pedestals long this time.

As David walked back to the center of the room, he saw the examiners talking quietly amongst themselves. He stood and waited for the next challenge.

The pedestals were conjured away, and in their place was a table. On the table were three blocks.

"This is a test of precision and of concentration. You will note that each block is the same size. On the table, beneath each block, is a colored square. You cannot see it because it is the exact same size as the block sitting on top of it. Each block, as you see, is numbered, one, two, or three.

"We want you to move the number one block into the number two's space, the number two block into the number three's space, and the number three block into the number one's space.

"We want you to move all three blocks at once. Do you understand these instructions?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. Begin."

David stared at the blocks. This was not an overly daunting task. It merely meant moving the blocks around in his head before he popped them back into reality. In only a minute, he'd managed it without much trouble.

"Very good," the head examiner told him. Another examiner conjured the blocks back to their original position. "Now we want you to do it again. Only this time, you must do it one at a time, without using your Conjuring Room, or any other intermediate holding space. To do this, you must start a second conjure in the middle of the first.

"Do you understand these instructions?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you have any questions?"

"No, sir."

"You may begin."

This was a much harder task than the previous one. While each conjure was a "simple" conjure, moving an item from one place to another, this required him to have two completely separate conjuring processes running at once. It required a lot of concentration. It took David a solid two minutes to perform the entire task, but he did it correctly.

The examiners were now murmuring somewhat excitedly to themselves. The head examiner waved down the conversation, and then he removed the table and blocks. In its place, he put a set of twelve pedestals, arrayed in a circle around David.

"This is the same test," the examiner told him. "We want you to start with block number one. Move it to block number two's position, two to three, and so on. You may not use any intermediate holding space of any kind. Continue until you make a mistake, or until you have placed block twelve on the empty pedestal left by moving block one. Do you understand the instructions?"

"Yes, sir."

"Begin."

David focused his attention, and began the work. It took him ten minutes to complete the circle, without a single mistake.

The head examiner, after having a brief, quiet discussion with the others, waved away the pedestals. The examiners now all faced David.

"Mr. Stroud, your examination is now complete. We do, however, have a problem. It is one we didn't anticipate when we came here today."

Prof. Blackstone stepped up. "What's the problem? Surely he passed. I didn't do nearly this well on my entrance exam."

The examiner said, "The problem is not whether or not he passed, Prof. Blackstone."

"Then what's the issue?" the professor asked.

"Mr. Stroud, you have completed all of the requirements of entry into the association. You have done so at what is referred to as Level 5 status."

Prof. Blackstone grinned. "Told you he was good. But I still don't understand the problem."

"Professor, none of us here is above a Level 4 status. We don't have the authority to grant him Level 5. Nor is there anyone currently in the association who can. The two Level 5 members are currently... engaged in other activities."

Turning to David, the examiner said, "I am granting you entrance into the Royal Conjurers Association, obviously. I will enter you, for the moment, as a Level 4 Conjurer. Somehow, some way, we will figure out how to get you proper Level 5 status. It may require the association's bylaws to be altered."

"I don't want to cause anyone any trouble," David said.

The examiner snorted. "Level 5's are very rare. It's something we should have thought of before, anyway. For now, just know that, though you are officially a Level 4, and we will have to list you that way, you have skills that a Level 4 does not."

The examiner waved his hand, and another pedestal appeared before David. On it was the pin of the Royal Conjuring Association. It was a starburst, in white, with the letters RCA in the center, in gold. Behind the letters, in red, was the number 4.

David picked up the pin and added it to his badge holder. With that, the examiner motioned him to turn around. When he did, the assembled visitors all applauded him loudly. David grinned in slight embarrassment, and relief at having this test behind him.

"I knew you were damned good," Prof. Blackstone said. "I wasn't sure how good, but I knew it would be good."

David said, "Thanks, Professor. For everything."

"My pleasure, David. Now, about that teaching thing..."

David laughed at the professor, then shook his hand. After that, he went to join his friends to celebrate.

When the knock came at the door, David knew exactly who it would be. She had told him that she was coming over.

David went to the door and let Anne in. She wasn't wearing her uniform - it wasn't necessary, since school was not in session - but had on jeans and a pullover shirt. She still had on a coat, but it was shorter, and not of Woodward color.

David closed the door, and then turned to Anne.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" David asked curiously.

Anne stepped close to him and put her hands on his chest. "Who said anything about talking?" she asked softly. She slipped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. David happily reciprocated, and in short order their tongues got into the act. As they kissed, Anne divested herself of her coat, shoes, and jeans. Her shirt would have to wait, and she always let David take off her underwear. Once she'd finished with her own clothes, she attacked David's. He was wearing his usual shirt and slacks, but no shoes, since he was relaxing. In a very short time, he was wearing nothing at all, as his shirt was button-up, and didn't need her to stop kissing him for it to disappear.

Finally, after she'd removed all of his clothing, she broke their kiss. She slipped her shirt off over her head and tossed it on the couch before saying anything.

"Your tests are over for the year, right?" she asked.

"Yeah..."

"And you passed all of them."

"Yeah." David's Entrepreneurial Certification was in his mail, and the endorsement was already on the back of his license.

"And I finished and passed mine yesterday. All that exam-passing calls for some celebration, don't you think?" she asked with a coy smile.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," he agreed, grinning in return.

"Good. Now finish undressing me so we can have some fun."

David stepped close to her again, sliding his arms around to her back, seeking out the hook for her bra. "Undressing you is fun," he whispered to her.

"Mm," she hummed.

It didn't take David too long before Anne was as nude as he was.

"You want to go back to the bedroom?" he asked.

"No," she said. "I want to go anywhere but the bedroom. We always do it in there."

"That's what bedrooms are for," he said with a chuckle.

"I don't care. This is a celebration, and I want us to be different."

"Okay," David said, not objecting. He took her hand gently and led her over to the kitchen area. He turned her around and lifted her up onto the table. He kissed her, and then pushed her backward gently until she was leaning back on her hands.

Grabbing a chair, David sat before her. Anne looked down at him with a smile, knowing what he had in mind. She spread her legs for him, and he scooted into place. As he bent forward and swiped his tongue across her pussy lips, Anne closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and moaned at the pleasure.

David continued to lap at her pussy, his tongue sliding wetly here and there, pushing between her inner lips and tickling her hole. Anne shivered as he did that, her body warming up to the pleasure.

After a while, David slipped his tongue upward, flicking the tip of it across Anne's clit. Anne shuddered at the first contact, and her moaning increased as he continued to manipulate her clit, altering quick flicks of his tongue with slow strokes across it. Anne was rolling her hips, unable to keep still.

As David continued to work her over, Anne's moans grew louder. Her orgasm was approaching rapidly, and she welcomed it. With only seconds to go, her hips were shuddering so hard that she was actually bouncing on the table.

"Oh, oh, oh, OH!" Anne cried out and came, her juices flooding David's chin. David stopped licking Anne's clit, but moved down to continue licking at her pussy, which prolonged her orgasm without overwhelming her.

When Anne finally settled down, David rose from his chair. He leaned over her and took her into his arms. She looked up at him with a serene smile.

"I love it when you do that," she told him.

"Hmm. I had a feeling," he replied.

In their current position, Anne could feel David's hard cock pressing against her pubic mound.

"You planning to do something with that?" she asked, her eyes aiming downward to indicate what she was referring to.

"Maybe," David allowed.

"Pretty please?" she asked, pouting cutely.

"Oh, if you insist," he replied, chuckling. He rocked his hips backward, and then very slowly pressed forward. His cock found the mark, and he gently eased into her. Anne growled deep in her throat, expressing the immense joy she felt at his presence inside her.

It took David a long moment, but he was finally fully inside of her, his pubes mashed tightly against hers. He pulled her tightly against him and they kissed, their tongues once again dancing wetly.

As they kissed, David began to roll his hips, moving his cock in and out of her pussy in a slow, smooth rhythm. Anne did her best to move with him, her hips rocking in time with his movements. For a long time, they stayed this way, merely coupling in a highly arousing but unhurried merging of bodies.

Finally, however, David felt the need to climax. He increased his pace somewhat, but tried to keep his moves smooth, still. Anne kept pace with him, and they broke their kiss to allow them both to breathe more freely.

David stared into Anne's eyes as his hips thrust forward into her, withdrawing reluctantly, only to plunge back into her again. David was grunting softly with each move, and Anne was moaning in ecstasy, her pleasure just as high as David's.

As David's grunts grew stronger, Anne's moans grew louder. Finally, David pushed all the way into Anne and froze, his cum blasting from the tip of his dick. Anne immediately came as well, the sensation of his cock and his cum filling her up more than she could withstand.

For a long moment, the two of them remained locked together, noises of pleasure filling the room as they rode the crest of passion in unison.

When David finally came down, he knew that Anne still needed more time to recover. He simply held on to her, his softening cock still buried in her hot pussy. When she was finally ready to move, the first thing she did was to kiss him again. David enjoyed that for a long moment, then finally let her loose and helped her down off the table. The two went to sit on the couch in order to recover from their coupling. Anne leaned against David and let her hand rest in his crotch, very gently fondling his dick. David smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close.

"Who was that woman at your Conjuring Mastery?" Anne asked.

"Woman..."

"She was holding a baby."

"Oh, Zyla. Zyla is the wife of Agent Garibaldi. He was my case officer when I first got turned into a demighost. Now I'm kind of a family friend."

Anne nodded.

"Why do you ask?"

Anne shrugged. "Just didn't recognize her. I didn't want to ask while she was there, in case that would be uncomfortable for someone, since it wasn't really important. How come her husband wasn't there?"

"He's on a case and out of town."

"Oh. I guess that's the part of being a Rimohr that sucks."

David shrugged.

While they had been talking, Anne had continued to fondle David, bringing him back to hardness.

"Well, here's the part of having me as a girlfriend that sucks," Anne said with a grin, and then lowered herself down to David's cock, taking it fully into her mouth in one stroke.

David grunted in pleasure at the feel of Anne's mouth wrapping itself around him. He laid his head back and just enjoyed what she was doing. His hand rested lightly on the back of her head, his fingers slipping through her hair. Anne needed no encouragement, however, and she bobbed on his cock for several minutes. She knew, however, that she wasn't going to bring him off this way after the orgasm he'd just had. That was quite all right with her.

Anne sat up, and then she straddled David's waist. As she settled into place, she made sure that her pussy engulfed his cock on the way down. She sighed in contentment at having him back inside her once again.

The two kissed as Anne ground her hips against him, rubbing her clit against his pubes and massaging his dick with her pussy muscles. It wasn't too long, however, before David couldn't take being passive anymore. He pulled Anne tightly to him, and then lifted and rolled at the same time, until she was lying on the couch on her back with him above her. She locked her legs around his thighs, and David immediately began to thrust into her, moving much more strongly than before. He was thrusting hard enough that the sound of their bodies meeting in the middle filled the room, along with Anne's cries of pleasure.

David increased his pace, thrusting hard into Anne, who redoubled her moans and shouts of joy. In short order, she screamed, "Oh, god, David, YES!" and came, her body twisting beneath him as her climax washed over her.

David stopped moving, but did not remove his cock from within her, as she orgasmed. When she was done, she looked up at him, and then squeezed his cock with her pussy.

"Want to go again?" she asked.

David nodded with a grin. "Get up," he said, pulling himself out of her. He rose so that she could stand, and then he moved her to the center of the room. David had her bend over and put her hands on the coffee table. This pushed her ass and pussy up and into wonderful position. Anne spread her legs apart on her own, and then looked back to wait for David to enter her.

That didn't take long at all, and David's cock was very quickly sliding into Anne's cunt. She sighed in pleasure as he filled her once again. David reached forward and began to fondle Anne's tits as he started to fuck her again.

The two coupled like that for a long time. When Anne came again, they took a break. Then they had sex on the floor, standing over David's desk, in the shower twice, and finally, just because there was nowhere left, they coupled together very tenderly on the bed. By the time they were finished, both of them were completely worn out.

"Hell of a party," David said to her with a smile.

"My favorite kind," Anne said. "Just you and me."

David kissed her meaningfully. The two had no passion left, however; they were completely and thoroughly drained. That didn't mean that they couldn't cuddle together, though.

As they lay there, their thoughts wandering, Anne said, "I wonder if Ellie is freaking out about her licensure exam tomorrow."

David frowned. "Probably more freaked about something else," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"If I tell you something, will you promise not to say anything to your parents? They'll find out in a couple days, anyway..."

"Well... okay. Since they're going to find out anyway..."

"Ellie is planning to move to Earth after she gets her license."

"She's going to what?"

"You heard me."

"How do you know?"

"She told me."

"But you two haven't been talking for months."

"Anne, she told me a long time ago. The reason we're not talking is because of this."

"What do you mean?"

"She thinks your parents are going to ostracize her for moving to Earth. She's been worried about telling them, made me swear not to tell anyone. I couldn't convince her that they wouldn't be angry about the move, but that they will be angry at not being told."

"You got that right. When is she planning to tell them?"

"I'm guessing after she's sure she passed her licensure."

"That would be at the ceremony."

"Yeah. I can't imagine she'll wait that long. I mean, most people have some idea whether or not they passed, unless they were marginal."

"That's true. So she's probably going to tell them the day after tomorrow."

"Yeah. And there's going to be a blowup."

"How do you know?"

"Because your parents won't be at Ellie's ceremony."

"How do you know that?" Anne asked.

"Because I'm a Diviner," David said simply.

"Oh. Yeah, I had forgotten that. It's really going to be that bad?"

"I didn't see the actual argument. All I know is that your parents aren't at the ceremony, but you and Gwen are."

Anne nodded. "In that case... will you go with me? I don't necessarily want to be in the middle of Ellie's mess."

David grunted at that, then he nodded. "I'll go with you, as long as I'm there for you."

Anne kissed him softly. The two rested quietly after that, dozing on the bed and just relaxing.

"Good morning, David," Denise said, sitting down beside him. "Hello... I'm sorry, I don't remember your names."

"This is Olissa, and Flo," David said for them, gesturing to each in turn. "You guys remember Denise, Gwen's mom."

Olissa and Flo greeted her, but didn't say much more than that.

"How are you doing this year?" Denise asked David. "I haven't heard anything from you since Yuletide."

David shrugged. "Finally got The Clan under control. I got my Conjuring Mastery on Tuesday. Other than that, not much to report."

"Wait, weren't you already a something-or-other master already?"

"Potions," David said.

"You've already mastered twice?"

David shrugged.

"And what about girlfriends?" she asked with a grin.

David had already asked Anne how she felt about him sleeping with Denise. Her answer to him dictated what he said now.

"I'm in a relationship with someone at the moment," he said.

"Committed?" she asked.

"Committed enough," he replied. He didn't like being stuck in the Hasterscant web of secrets, but he would honor his promise to Anne.

Denise frowned in understanding. "Well, that's good for you. Have you seen Ellie or Anne?"

"I haven't seen Ellie. Anne just went back to her room."

"Could you help me find them? We wanted to go celebrate, since she's pretty sure she passed licensure."

"Okay," David said. He got up and nodded to the others. "See you guys later."

As they walked across the terrace, Denise said, "I admit I'm not all that happy you found a girlfriend. Great for you. Not so hot for me."

David grinned. "I figured you'd feel that way."

"I'm sorry to be so selfish, but... well, you're good."

David chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Denise. And, of course, there's no telling whether things will work out with the new girl or not."

"Right. You'll let me know?"

"I'm sure you'll find out one way or another," David said cryptically.

It didn't take too long for them to find Ellie, who had gone up to the post office to grab her final bundle of mail from the school. The school, of course, knew that she was not continuing the next year; she'd had to file her notice of intent like everyone else. The school did not report this to her parents, however, as Ellie was an adult, and therefore capable of making her own commitments.

Once they'd found Ellie, they went to Anne's dorm to pick her up, and then headed down into town, to the Slyther Inn, to have a celebration.

"I know you just ate, but I hope you'll join us for lunch," Denise said.

David grinned. "Another curious fact of being a demighost. Not only do I never need to eat, I never get full."

"Well, then!"

Anne asked, "You mean, you could sit and eat food literally all day long?"

"Yep."

"And never gain a pound."

"Nope."

"Suddenly, I hate you," Anne said sourly.

David laughed, and hugged her briefly.

David said hello to Roy, and they ordered their meal. The group chatted about little things, keeping the day light and fun.

When Bonnie came back with their food, David asked her, "So what's this I hear about you getting engaged?"

Bonnie blushed, but showed them all the ring. "Sometime this summer. We haven't picked a date yet," she told him.

"Is he a good guy, Bonnie?" David asked seriously.

Bonnie knew what he meant. She knew a lot about David's life through talking with Prof. Stott and others about him. She knew about Cat and Paul Andros.

"He's a wonderful guy," she told him, just as seriously, conveying further meaning with her eyes.

"Good, then. I'm happy for you. Do I get an invitation to the wedding?"

Bonnie grinned. "Of course! Now I'll let you folks get on with your meal."

David watched her go, then turned to rejoin the conversation.

"Mourning the loss of a playmate?" Denise asked, teasing him.

David chuckled. "Not really. It's good to see that she found someone. She's been looking for long enough."

"You should have snatched her up," Roy said.

"We did talk about it once. We decided it wouldn't work for more than a few months."

Ellie said, "Yeah, you seem to have that effect on women."

The comment was fairly rude, and drew sharp looks from both of her parents, but they figured David could defend his own honor.

David looked at her and said, "Only those with unreasonable expectations." Turning to Denise, he forcibly changed the conversation by asking, "So what are you guys planning to do this summer?"

"We figured to take the family to Donunda. None of us has ever been there, and we've been saving up all year."

David was just about to ask where Donunda was when Ellie said, "I won't be able to go."

Roy looked at her and asked, "Why not? Classes are out, you're all set for next semester already, aren't you?"

David winced. He knew what was coming. Denise saw the look, but had no time to ask about it.

"Because I won't be here in Dugerra," Ellie said in response to her father's question. "I'm moving to Earth."

"You're doing what?" Denise asked.

"I'm going to move to Earth. I've seen both places, and Earth looks like a lot more fun. Dugerra is so boring. Earth... things change there. There's always new things to see. And there's so much more to see there already, anyway."

"When will you be going?" Roy asked.

"Next week," she said. "I have an apartment lined up in a town in New York."

"Where's New York?" Denise asked, getting sidetracked.

Ellie looked at David for a moment. He knew what she was thinking. She'd predicted that very question, although about Seattle.

David said to Denise, "Larispayne is located in what would be central New York state."

Denise nodded at David, and said to Ellie, "But... next week? Why are we just hearing about this now? How long ago did you make this decision?"

"Before I came to Woodward," Ellie admitted.

"What?" Denise thundered.

"And you're just telling us now?" Roy demanded. "Two days before your ceremony... less than a week before you're going to leave, you just drop this on us? When you've known for years?"

"Well..." Ellie said, glancing at David.

"Do you have so little respect for us?" Denise demanded. "How could you do this? If we had known, we could have had everything ready, we could have helped you get moved over, get set up... Who is helping you?"

Denise looked suspiciously at David. David shook his head negatively. He had planned to, but not with the state of his relationship with Ellie.

"No one," Ellie said. "I'm doing it on my own."

"Apparently you like doing things that way," Roy said unhappily. "Why didn't you tell us?" he demanded.

"Because I didn't want to be yelled at," Ellie said. "Just like you're doing now!"

"Well, what did you expect?" Denise demanded. "We figure you're going to be attending school in the fall, and you suddenly tell us that you're going to live in a completely different world in a few days? And no, it's not some sudden opportunity or even a whim of yours, but something you've planned out for your entire Woodward career? I think you need to give some serious thought to your behavior, young lady."

"And you could show a little damned support!" Ellie finally snapped. "You think any of this is easy for me? You could at least say good luck!"

"And you could have had the integrity not to spring this on us!" Denise snapped back.

"To hell with you all!" Ellie howled, and ran out of the pub. Everyone at the table rose as she did so. Clearly the celebration was over.

Denise was not done with her remonstrations, however. She wheeled on David. "You knew about this, didn't you?" she accused.

"Yes," David replied.

"For how long?" she demanded.

"About as long as she's been planning it."

Roy said, "That trip to Chicago wasn't for Gwen, was it?"

Very good, Roy. You're pretty sharp. "No, it wasn't."

"You flaunted this right in front of us, and never said a thing? How dare you!"

"I made a promise not to tell you," David replied simply.

"I'm her MOTHER!" Denise snarled.

"Which doesn't make any difference toward my promise not to tell you," David said, trying to keep his own temper in check.

Denise slapped him, very hard. "Who do you think you are?" she snarled.

David got right in her face. "Who do you think you are? I keep my promises, and I don't care who doesn't like it. Yes, you're her mother, and so she should have told you. Expecting me to do it when I'd sworn not to is both highly unethical, and for you, highly dangerous. She, after all, is your daughter. Should I then have told her your secrets? You know, the ones you made me promise not to tell anyone?" David's look was hard and unpleasant. "You don't get to have it both ways, Denise. Either you have secrets, or you don't. Your entire goddamned family is riddled with them! And when I make a promise to keep them, you had damned well better hope I live up to that promise, or you're screwed!"

Denise's look darkened, her lips set in a thin line, her eyes boring in on him. "You aren't welcome in my home anymore."

With that, Denise looked to Anne, then turned and walked away. Roy looked apologetic, but he didn't say anything at all. Anne, who had said nothing at all during the entire exchange, stepped up to David.

"Secrets? What secret is she hiding?"

David looked at her incredulously. "You actually expect me to tell you, after all this?"

Anne smiled. "No, I guess not."

David relaxed a little. He didn't want to argue with Anne. "Let's just say that her secret has something to do with why she and I were sleeping together."

"I thought you weren't going to admit that," she said.

"And you said you were already positive it was happening, so I'm not admitting anything you don't already believe to be true."

"Am I keeping a secret you don't think I should be?" Anne asked, uncertain.

"Well, you were hiding me from your mother. But for the moment, that might not be a bad idea, unless you like hearing her badmouth your boyfriends."

Anne softly kissed David for a very long moment, right there in the pub. David held onto her throughout, enjoying the release she provided from the stress of the previous conversation.

"I guess I won't be seeing you this summer," Anne said when they broke their kiss.

"Probably not. Not unless you come to my house in Bolmont. Or maybe I can find some time for us to visit my house in Erle."

Anne shook her head. "I'll have to work this summer, anyway. Mom expects us to get ready for 'the real world' before we leave school."

David nodded. "How come Gwen didn't work her summers, then?"

"Because Mom wasn't sure that Gwen was leaving after her fourth year."

David nodded. "And you are?"

"Probably," Anne confirmed. "I'm not totally sure yet."

David nodded again.

"So, I guess I'll see you in the fall," Anne said.

"I'll be here," he confirmed.

"I'd better go join my parents, before they think I prefer you to them."

"Do you?" David asked with a grin.

"Hell, yes! But I don't want them to know that..."

David laughed, then kissed her again. "See you in August. Have a great summer."

"You, too."

Anne hurried out the door, and Bonnie came over to where David was standing.

"That seemed unnecessarily nasty," she opined.

David shrugged. "That family works very hard at being dysfunctional, and yet they manage not to succeed. I haven't quite figured that out."

Bonnie chuckled. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you myself about Robert. It's just that I haven't seen that much of you this year."

"I know. That's okay. If there's anything I can do for you guys, let me know, okay?"

Bonnie snorted. "Not unless you can find us a place to live. I live here at the pub, and he lives in a small apartment over a magic items shop."

"Will you not be working here anymore?" David asked.

"I'm not sure. I'd like to find something better. Either that, or stay home and raise a family, but that's always an iffy proposition, here in Dugerra."

David nodded. "What would you do, job-wise?"

"I'm trained to be a scribe."

"So why aren't you one?"

"Could never find someone who needed one, and I had a strong desire to feed myself."

David grinned. "Always those pesky bodily urges," he said, obviously with more than one meaning.

Bonnie blushed in response.

"Anyway, I should get going. Good luck," he told her, and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. With that, he headed out of the pub, back to school. He needed to keep up the security patrols, even though The Clan was gone. He was performing his duties alone now, since Chloe was still laid up and the rest of the DIRT had abandoned him. It was only a problem for one more day, anyway.

"You wanted to see me, ma'am?" David asked after entering Dean Lengel's office.

"Well, really, you asked for the meeting, but the Board of Discipline did want to have a final evaluation with you."

David turned to the Board.

Prof. Hellerhan said, "After careful consideration, we have decided not to discipline you for the gross violation of school rules last Friday."

"Good thing for you," David said.

"For me?" Prof. Hellerhan asked.

"Yes. Given that you have waited a week to make that evaluation, and now that school is no longer in session, you attempting any form of disciplinary action on me would be an actionable criminal offense on your part."

Prof. Hellerhan looked abashed. "You would have pressed charges on us for attempting to enforce-"

"Yes, I would have. Because you have made no attempt whatsoever to enforce disciplinary codes on The Clan all fucking year. I think the five of you need to take a long, hard look at yourselves in the mirror. I firmly believe - though cannot prove, which is why nothing was done - that one or more of you were actually paid off by The Clan, in order to keep DIRT from being effective. I also believe that those of you who weren't, went along with it because you were more interested in not making waves than in doing what is right."

"Now, listen here, Mr. Stroud," one of the other professors started to say.

"Listen to what? Were any of you there to watch seventeen people die last Friday? I was. If you five had done your job properly, that event would not have happened. Those seventeen people would be alive right now. Those deaths are on your heads, not mine. I told you for nine months that what we were being allowed to do was not sufficient to handle the situation. You five chose to keep my hands tied until it was far too late for anything to work. Once it hit that point, the outcome was inevitable; a battle would have to be fought. In battles, people die. You have to know that on some level, therefore, what you were willingly doing is putting this school on a course where students and staff got killed."

David pulled off his DIRT officer's badge, and stared at it for a long moment. Finally, he tossed it on the table next to Prof. Hellerhan.

"Trying to decide if you really wanted to take that step?" the professor asked.

"No, I was trying to decide if I wanted to shove it up your ass so you could actually see what I was holding," David said. "I am hereby tendering my resignation from the Discipline Response Team. This Board has given no indication, despite recent events, that they believe in the program in the slightest."

"Board elections will be held over the summer," Dean Lengel offered, hoping to keep David on the team.

"Maybe, but there's every chance this dickhead will still be in charge next year. He's a politician. They have a nasty habit of getting elected."

"Listen, Mister-" Prof. Hellerhan started.

"Shut up," David said with authority and finality. Prof. Hellerhan actually did so, more out of shock than anything else.

"The truth is that I will probably not have time for DIRT next year, anyway, due to the fact that I'm hoping to enter into an internship. I was hoping to get a letter of recommendation from you in that regard, Emile."

"You're leaving Woodward?" she asked.

"No. The internship I'm seeking will still allow me to attend school. I will be off-campus frequently, but then, I'm not taking any scheduled classes next year, so that won't be much of a problem."

"What kind of internship is it that allows you to still attend school?" she asked.

David looked at Prof. Hellerhan with a somewhat malicious grin, and said, "I'm applying to the Rimohrs."

"Eleanor Hasterscant," Dean Lengel intoned. David, Anne, Gwen and Jess applauded, along with those who applauded everyone. David thought their hands must get awfully sore after an hour of clapping.

"She looks pretty upset," Gwen said to David.

"Wouldn't you be if your parents decided not to come to your graduation?" Jess asked.

"She brought it on herself," David said. "I tried for two years to talk her into telling her parents. She absolutely refused. She believed that they would hate her for moving to Earth."

Gwen snorted. "Mom said she doesn't even care so much about that. It's the hiding it, and then dropping it on them at the last minute."

"Gwen, I know. I saw this all happen last year in my Divination exam. Speaking of, how's your invention coming?"

Gwen blushed. "You know about that?"

Jess said, "I thought you didn't tell anyone!"

"I didn't!" Gwen said.

"Again, part of last year's exam. What was it, exactly, anyway?"

Gwen pulled it out and showed it to him. It looked for all the world like a AA battery, except that it was a translucent crystalline material.

"Okay, so... what is it?"

"It's a battery crystal."

"Let me rephrase," David said. "Um... what is it?"

Gwen laughed. "You know how I am with Earth gadgets, right?"

"Do I. How is Butlertron holding up?"

Jess said, "God, thank you for getting her that! He keeps the apartment nice and clean!"

Gwen grinned at Jess. To David, she said, "The biggest issue with Earth gadgets is that they use batteries, or they use something called "AC Adapters". I haven't quite got the AC Adapter thing worked out yet, but this here is a solution for the batteries. You cast a charm on this, and it stores up within it some electricity. You put it in an Earth device, and it powers it just like an Earth battery would. But, and here's what makes it great, when these get drained, you just cast the spell on them again, and they're immediately filled back up, ready to use again."

"Dugerran rechargeable batteries," David said in wonder. "I fucking love magic."

Gwen chuckled. "These little things are why I'll be back here next year," she said, dropping her own surprise on both David and her sister.

"You're coming back?" Anne asked.

"I want to go into business selling these. I need an entrepreneurial license for that. That means another year of school."

"You two are still together, though, right?" David asked.

Jess nodded. "It's going to be a tough year, being apart so much. We'll have weekends, though, and holidays."

David nodded.

Gwen said, "And then I can open a business selling these. Hopefully I can figure out the AC Adapter problem while I'm here at school, so I'll have that ready, too."

"See if you can modify the electricity generators that Prof. Rutherford uses to put out the right voltage," David suggested. "No need to fully reinvent the wheel."

Gwen's eyes brightened. "That's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Why are we still sitting here?" Anne asked. "The only person any of us came to see get their license is already holding it, and is sitting back in her seat. Why don't we go outside and wait for her?"

They all agreed that was a good idea, and so they made their way out of the stadium.

"It'll be good to have you back," David said to Gwen. "I missed you. I'm sorry it means taking you away from Jess, but still. My group of friends is getting way too small these days."

"Who's left?" Gwen asked.

"Just Olissa and Flo."

"What about Brock and Trish?" Anne asked.

"Gwen never really knew them," David said. "Besides, they've ended their schooling. Brock just needed his entrepreneurial license, and Trish was mostly waiting on Brock."

"You'll be here next year, though, right?" Gwen asked.

"Of course."

"Good. I honestly don't think I could take this place without you here," she said.

David smiled at her, and gave her a hug.

"So what are you doing with your summer?" Jess asked David.

"First, I'm taking Olissa and Flo down to Florida with me for vacation."

"Ooh, two at a time now," Gwen said.

David grinned in embarrassment. "After that," he said, pushing through to regain his composure, "I'm applying for an internship with the Rimohrs, so I'll probably be fairly busy with that."

"You're going to be a cop?" Gwen asked.

"Is that really surprising to you, given my history since coming to Dugerra?"

"No, I guess not. Guess I'll have to watch my step when I get back here. Wouldn't want to get arrested..." she said.

"Yeah. I'd have to strip search you," David said with a wink.

Gwen blushed, and the others laughed.

Finally, Ellie emerged from the stadium with all the other new licensees. She hugged Gwen and Anne, but not David. He was okay with that.

David did take an envelope out of his pocket, however, and hand it to her.

"What's this?" she asked, opening it.

"Your graduation present."

"Hey! You didn't get me a graduation present," Anne pouted.

"We won't talk about what I was going through during your graduation, okay?"

Anne hugged him in contrition.

Inside the envelope was a sheet of paper with five addresses on it, and a checkbook. Ellie looked at it, and saw the number $10,000 written in it. She looked up in confusion.

"This," David said, pointing to the checkbook, "is your bank account. It currently has a ten thousand dollar balance. You use checks to pay for things in Earth when you don't have cash on you.

"This is a list of five places where you might find a good entry-level job. They're all within a few miles of your apartment."

"How did you get this?"

"I own a business. It's not that hard to ask other businesspeople for information. I don't want you on my conscience. This is the best I can do to make sure you succeed. I'm not going to support you beyond this."

Ellie nodded. She stepped forward and gave him a hug now. "Thanks, David."

"Good luck. I hope you find what it is you want there. Personally, the longer I stay here, the more I like it, but to each their own."

"I've gotta get going, David," Anne said. "I have a coach to catch."

David pulled her tightly to him and kissed her passionately. "Have fun," he said.

"Right. I'm cleaning up a restaurant all summer."

"Could be worse. At least it's not peg stalls."

Anne laughed, and then kissed him again, before saying good-bye to the others and heading off.

"I need to go, too. I need to pack," Ellie said. "Good-bye, you guys. I'll keep in touch." With that, she headed off with no further fanfare.

"Wow, how emotional," Jess said sarcastically.

David chuckled.

Gwen said, "I guess I'll see you in August. If you survive Rimohr training, that is."

David snorted. "I survived this year here, I can survive the Rimohrs. See you in a couple months. And I promise, Jess; I'll keep all the other girls away from her."

Jess blushed, but smiled at him. Gwen and Jess both gave him a hug, and then they headed off, too.

Jailla, who had been flying around with several other birds just enjoying the day, flew down and landed on David's shoulder as the others walked away.

"So, what are you going to do today?" Jailla asked.

"Not sure. I'm already packed to leave tomorrow. All of my paperwork is done for registration already, so... My day is free."

"Are you planning a third directed study class?"

"No, not with the Rimohr training. I figure that qualifies. Plus I still have the riding guild. We have that big display we're going to do for the Festival of Merlin, and I have to plan that. Plus the guild needs to grow. We've only got nine more years to open a branch in Senesty."

"Nine years is a long time."

"Not as long as you'd think. But anyway, point is, I've got enough to do."

"You're no longer apprenticing..." Jailla pointed out.

"Why are you trying to make my life more hectic?" David asked him with mock-annoyance.

"Just want you to get the most from your educational years," Jailla said.

"Uh-huh." After a while of walking aimlessly, David asked, "You think you'd like to fly some more?"

"Certainly. Why?"

"I think I'm going to go visit Sam for a while."

David laughed when Jailla squawked in disgusted understanding and flapped off without another word.

With that, David headed for faculty housing.