Chapter 9: February

"All right, if everyone could please take a seat. We would like to call to order the initial meeting of the Peg Riders of Callamandia. Presiding are Eleanor Abernathy, Peg Rider Second Class, and David Stroud, Peg Rider First Class," Ellen told everyone. She was being official about things, since it was their very first meeting. "Acting as Secretary and Treasurer for the time being is Sloan Thompson, Peg Rider Second Class.

"In a few moments, we will award mastery to several of you. The rest of you have asked to enter as apprentices, what we have chosen to call Junior Peg Riders. We chose this name because it is our hope that, in the future, Junior Peg Riders will mostly be teenagers.

"After we have awarded the necessary mastery items, we will have a discussion of proper pegasus grooming techniques. And, of course, we will finish off the day with some riding. Are there any questions?"

One of the men in the back raised his hand.

"Yes, George?" Ellen asked.

"Not that I'm objecting, but I'm confused. As founding member of this guild, shouldn't you, also, be a first class rider?"

Ellen smiled. "If you read the bylaws carefully, you'll note that no one can be a Peg Rider First Class without being bonded to a peg. I currently am not. David is bonded to his friend, Cupcake. As such, he has fulfilled the requirements."

"So... which one of you is actually in charge?"

David and Ellen looked at each other, then they looked back and spoke at the same time.

David pointed to Ellen and said, "She is."

Ellen pointed to David and said, "He is."

After that, everyone laughed. Once that had subsided, Ellen said, "We are leading together, as co-chairs of the guild. I will handle most of the administrative work. David will lead the rides, and will organize guest speakers or other educational activities. We will both work on promoting the guild as a whole.

"On the note of promoting the guild, I should warn you all that I am already trying to get the riders invited to participate in as many festivals as I can, in order to spread our name. One of the things we will need to do before that happens is to come up with a banner under which we can ride. Be thinking about that, and we'll discuss it in detail at our next meeting.

"Are there any further questions?" There weren't. "Okay, then, let's begin awarding mastery, then."

"Hey, David," Olissa said to him as he sat down to breakfast. "What in the world is that?" she asked, pointing to a new item on his coat. It was a silver pin, consisting of two wings, pointing upward in a wide "V" shape. In the middle was a circle, and in the circle was a gold star.

"Those are my wings," David said with a smile. "The symbol of a Peg Rider. Most everyone else is probably shrinking theirs down, but since I'm trying to promote the guild, I decided to leave mine full size. It fits fairly nicely under this badge I'm not using." David still wore his DIRT badge, even though it had been a few days since he had essentially disbanded the team.

"Have you heard anything from the Board of Discipline?" Flo asked.

"No. Even Dean Lengel seems to be avoiding me for the time being."

"Is she mad at you?"

"I don't know. She may just be trying to walk the line between my position and the Board. She does have to maintain a working relationship with them, after all."

"I suppose. Did you really get rid of the team altogether?"

"Not as such. I mean, no one's turned in their badge or anything. We're just not doing anything."

"It shows," Olissa said. "The school has already gone downhill."

"Well, with no one to even remotely stand in the way..." David shrugged.

"But doesn't that kind of prove the Board's point?" Flo asked. "I mean, if DIRT wasn't able to do the job the way the Board had them working, we shouldn't notice any difference at all, should we?"

David frowned. "On the one hand, I suppose you're right. But I guess it's like treating symptoms versus curing disease. They gave us just enough authority to keep things in check, but we would never have been able to make things better. For instance, if we were to go back to work under the same constraints as before, we probably would not be able to even bring things back to where they were, we could only keep them from getting worse. You don't solve problems that way. The most effective security force is one that reaches a point where it has almost nothing to do."

"I guess. I hope you get back to work soon, though. It's getting uncomfortable to walk the grounds at night."

"That's up to the Board. But in your case, if you feel unsafe, just mirror me. I will come get you personally."

Flo just nodded and smiled at him in gratitude.

David and Olissa had just entered the lunch hall when David saw a situation that he knew would soon be trouble. A group of Clan members were harassing Bob. This was a patently unsafe act, but they didn't know that, and the school wanted to keep them in the dark about it.

"Go ahead and sit," David told Olissa. "I have to help out Bob."

Olissa went to their usual table, and David headed over to where the trouble was occurring.

"Blue fuckin' hair?" one of the Clan members sneered. "What are you, some kind of pond troll?"

"Nah, couldn't be, Billy," another said. "Pond trolls can barely talk."

"I ain't heard this motherfucker say much, either," Billy responded.

At that point, Bob got up, turned and faced the men with anger in his gaze. David knew someone was about to get fried, so he sped up his walk.

He wasn't quite fast enough, as Bob opened his mouth and flames shot forth. The Clan members jumped back screaming, and David ran the remaining distance. He faded to insubstantiality to move through the flames, and then used his pyromandy to point them harmlessly upward. He glared at Bob, who closed his mouth and stared back impassively.

David turned around. "Two things. First, hazing is not permitted at this school."

"We weren't hazing nobody, we were just-" one of the boys started to say.

"Shut up," David said in a voice that brooked no argument. "Second, there are less painful ways to die than to screw around with an untrained pyrodyne. Now, if you're all looking to end your lives, just let me know, and I'll take care of that problem for you, but don't go getting others involved. Now get out of my sight before I take the lot of you to detention."

"Like you could," Billy sneered.

David stared him down. "There's only three of you, Billy. You wouldn't be any trouble for me. I took down twice that many of you last month. Now move."

The three Clan members moved off, and David turned to Bob. "If you're trying to keep your secret, it would be best if you didn't do things that proclaim, 'Hey, I'm a dragon!' in front of the entire school!" David growled in a voice low enough that only Bob heard him.

Bob walked with David over to join Olissa. Olissa said hi, but immediately returned to eating her lunch.

"One question," Bob said. "Pyrodyne?"

"A fire starter. Someone who can create fire. It's a very rare skill in humans. Obviously less rare among your people."

"But they teach a class in fire control here..."

"Fire control, but not creation," David said. "Pyromandy cannot create fire. In order for us to create fire, we have to use our wands, and a spell. Generally, we will use that in conjunction with pyromandy. Or we will use an existing nearby fire for our source. In any case, your skill is... uncommon, in the extreme."

"I see. Well, I'm sorry to have slipped, but I can only take just so much of their nattering before I feel the need to close their mouths for them."

David grinned. "I know the feeling. Believe me. But let me deal with them. I have already learned exactly how far I can push the rules before the dean gets really upset. Besides, I am, technically, a member of the school's security force."

"So you say, but I've seen nothing happening in that regard," Bob said.

"Talk to the Board of Discipline. Until they're willing to budge, I'm not risking my teammates."

"You're not worried about risking yourself?" Bob asked.

"I'm a demighost. What're they going to do to me?"

Bob just grunted at that.

"Good evening, Professors," David said, entering Prof. Zoroaster's office.

"Good evening, David," Prof. Zoroaster said. "Are you ready for your test?"

"I guess so," David said. "I'm not sure how this will be different from my exam during ADT, though."

Prof. Dartson said, "In general, it won't be. It's just that I will be trying much harder to keep you out. I want to find out at what point you can't break through. And, understand, I'm a very good impediveur, so there will be a point where you can't. Even if you were the best in the world at blockbusting, you wouldn't be able to break through every impediveur's skill. This is because blockbusting isn't as strong as the blocking it is trying to get past."

"Yes, sir. I know that. I even know why, the whole thing about the energies and how they interact, how the impediveur's powers can actually feed on the blockbusting energy, and so on."

"Good. So you have done all your research. Well, we're going to begin, then. Before you ask - since I know you would - all of the people you're going to be divining have given their consent."

David nodded.

"Here's your list. Do them in order. Write down your divinations on the parchment. Don't tell us when you switch from one to another. Just let us know when you're finished with the entire list."

"Yes, sir."

"You may begin."

David spent the next three hours working to perform divination on seven different people. It started out hard, and got worse. It took him over an hour to read the sixth person, and he was unable to ever read the seventh. Finally, he gave up.

"Okay, I'm done," he said, sweat pouring off his brow. He slid the paper over to Prof. Zoroaster for grading.

Both professors looked at the parchment, reading off David's descriptions of things. They looked at each other and spoke in low tones that David could not hear. Finally, they straightened.

"This is very impressive," Prof. Dartson said. "You have an extremely solid grasp of blockbusting. It's rare that anyone goes this far with it. Usually they settle for being able to break a few basic blocks. You, however, have mastered all the techniques. There was no hope for you to break the seventh one, by the way. Prof. Zoroaster could not have done it. I could not have done it, and I'm the one who put the block in place. In short, I think you are as good at blockbusting as it is possible to be without the years of practice that come with... well, age. You will, if you use this skill regularly, gain some small amount of improvement, but it won't amount to much."

"Yes, sir," David said.

Prof. Zoroaster said, "Obviously, you passed the test handily. Not that it gets you much, but at least you know where you stand with it."

"Yes, sir. Thank you," David said. He couldn't interpret the look that passed between the professors.

"That's all for tonight, David," Prof. Zoroaster said. "How are your divinatory objects coming?"

"Working on a mood cube at the moment."

Prof. Zoroaster nodded. "Well, I'll see you next week, then. Keep plugging away at it."

"Yes, sir. Good night."

As David left, he heard the two resume their quiet conversation.

When Bob showed up to David's dorm room, he found David sitting in a chair on his porch, Anne sitting in his lap. The two were kissing, though it wasn't wanton.

Bob coughed. "Excuse me, have I interrupted some sort of mating ritual?"

Anne blushed slightly as they broke their kiss. Her blush deepened when David said, "No, more of a post-mating ritual."

Bob smirked and said, "Ah. In that case, we were supposed to work on my problem today."

"Right. Go ahead and go on in. I'll be just a minute." David waved his hand at the door and it opened. Bob went into the dorm room and the door closed behind him.

"Guess I have to go deal with Bob," David said.

Anne nodded, and then kissed him softly. She tried to get up, but David wouldn't let go of her.

"Anne... has anyone taken you out for Val... er, I mean the Festival of Love?"

Anne blushed again. "No."

"Would you like to go with me?"

"What about Ellie?"

David shrugged. "I spent the Festival with her last year."

"Won't she be upset, though?"

"Maybe. But I'm not that worried about it. Ellie and I are not in a romantic relationship. We're in a physical one. That makes you more important to me."

Anne embraced David tightly for that remark. When she let him go, she said, "In that case, yes, I do want you to take me out for the Festival. Where will we go?"

"I thought a nice peg-drawn carriage ride down to Bolmont, then dinner, then some time at my house."

"Ooh. What will we do at your house?" she asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Play chess."

"Awww. It was sounding good up until then..." she pouted cutely.

"Well, if you don't want to play chess, I'm sure we can find something else to do while we're there..."

Anne's smile filled her face.

"Anyway, I need to go, unfortunately."

"Yeah, I've got homework to do, too."

David gave her another kiss, and then let her up. "See you at dinner," he told her.

"Yeah. Bye."

David watched her leave, then he turned and went into his dorm room. Bob was looking around at the items on David's desk and shelves.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your liaison," Bob said apologetically.

David waved him off. "You didn't. We'd already had our fun, we were just relaxing together."

"Ah. Now, Dean Lengel intimated that you could help me with my anger problems. Just what is it that you can teach me?"

"Probably nothing, frankly, but I'll give it a try. I guess the question to ask is, why do you get angry at people?"

"Because they're stupid," Bob said simply.

"Granted. Why are you letting stupid people control you like that?"

"I don't understand," Bob admitted.

"If some dumb shit can make you angry just by being stupid, then you've given up control of yourself. You're no longer choosing to be angry, you're letting him decide when you get angry. By allowing him to make that decision, you've already lost. Even if you fry him to a cinder, he won the philosophical battle."

"So what am I supposed to do, then?"

"Ever tried just ignoring them?"

"Yes. It doesn't work. My hearing is too good to pretend I don't hear their idiocy."

"Ignoring isn't about not hearing. It's about not paying attention. But okay, so ignoring them won't work. How quick-witted are you?"

"Did you just ask if I'm stupid?" Bob asked, offended.

"No. I'm asking how quickly you can come up with a response to someone's stupid comments. For instance, that idiot who was making fun of your blue hair the other day. Did you have a verbal response for him? Could you have thought of one quickly?"

"Like what?" Bob asked.

"Oh... like, 'I was forced to have blue hair. Were you forced to be a dickhead?' or, if you wanted to get truly personally nasty, something like, 'Well, your mother said she liked it while I was banging her last night...'"

"Banging?"

"Having sex with."

"Why would I want to have sex with the idiot's mother? That's what led to the idiot in the first place."

David chuckled, then rolled his eyes. "The point is that most guys are going to find the idea of you screwing their mom offensive. Basically, you're trying to make him angry. The way this little game works is, the first one to get angry, or the first one not to have a comeback, loses. So, if you're not fast enough on your mental feet to come up with quick retorts, then you should probably not take this approach, which is why I was asking if you were quick-witted."

"Ah. To tell the truth, I don't think I could invent insults of that type with any speed."

David nodded. "Well, then we'll have to focus on some other ideas."

"Such as?"

David motioned him over to the couch, and they continued to discuss it throughout the afternoon.

David was doing some research for a new potion when Ellie came to his dorm room.

"Hey, Ellie. What's up?" he asked.

"Hey, David. I really need some help with my Crystallomancy. It's really kicking my butt."

"Come on in," he said. She entered and went over to his desk, setting her backpack down and pulling out her crystal ball.

"What is it you're having trouble with?"

"Divining people I don't know well."

"Ah. Yeah, that can be a pain in the ass. I remember having trouble with it in the beginning, too."

"Can you do it now, though?"

"Yeah. It gets easier as you practice it."

"But I can't really practice it, since I can't seem to do it at all."

"Have you asked Prof. Dartson for help?"

"I didn't want to bother him."

David sighed and rolled his eyes at her. She just shrugged.

"Okay, one last question. What's your normal class time?"

"Three o'clock, why?"

"Because it's only 1:30. If you try to work on it now, it's going to be a lot harder. Your brain isn't expecting to be divining things for another hour and a half."

"C'mon, is that really that important?"

"It is at your stage of training."

Ellie sighed. "So, what the hell am I supposed to do for an hour and a half? I've already finished all my other homework."

David arched an eyebrow and said, "I can think of a thing or two..."

Ellie smiled widely, and then they both headed back to the bedroom.

After they'd had their fun, David spent a couple hours trying to help Ellie get over her difficulty with Divination. She was beginning to make some progress by the time they had finished up. They sat for a little while, chatting about minor things as Ellie wound down from the stress of her studying.

"So, what are we doing for the Festival this year?" Ellie asked. "Another night in?"

David bit his lip for a second, then said, "Actually, I'm going out with someone else for the Festival this year."

"What?" Ellie asked incredulously. "But I'm your girlfriend!"

"Oh?" David asked. "Since when? You're the one who said you didn't really want a relationship, that all you wanted was to learn about sex. You're hardly the only girl in my life that fits that description. It's someone else's turn this year."

"So who are you going out with?"

"Oh, no you don't."

"What?"

"I'm not about to tell you, so that you can go yell at them and badger them into not going out with me."

"Do you really think I'd do that?" Ellie asked crossly.

"Yes, I do. Now, what I will do, is to take you out on Thursday, instead."

"And what the hell is special about the night before the Festival?"

"Well, I was going to introduce you to something new..."

"Oh? What this time?"

"Do I ever tell you ahead of time?"

"No. And it annoys the hell out of me!" Ellie admitted.

David just smirked. "So, you can have Thursday, but I am already taken for Friday. Your choice."

"Fine," Ellie said, annoyed. "But it had better be good."

"Have I ever disappointed you?"

"Thankfully, no."

"Well, there you go."

"Anyway, I need to get going. It's getting dark."

"You want me to walk you back to your dorm?"

"No, I'll manage."

David just nodded at her. He walked her to the door. He would have offered to kiss her, but she was obviously mad at him now, so she didn't really give him the opportunity.

"See you on Thursday," he said.

"Uh-huh," she replied as she walked off.

David shrugged and went back inside. He knew that this was a difficulty with his current lifestyle. Ellie, while not having a right to demand David's attention for the Festival, certainly wasn't entirely out of line in her expectation. He'd not exactly made his relationship with Anne public knowledge. On the other hand, there were at least two other women in his life that he could have asked out. Flo might have even said yes, though David had his reservations about whether Olissa would have or not.

In the end, he decided not to worry about it. It would all work itself out, somehow or other.

"You wanted to see me, Madame Dean?" David asked. He was being formal because the Board of Discipline was, once again, sitting along the side wall.

"Yes, David. After long and tedious discussion, not to mention watching the conditions at the school deteriorate at an alarming rate, the Board has decided to give DIRT some more leeway."

"Uh-huh..." David said, waiting for the details.

"They're willing to allow any hex that can be dispelled by a first-year student."

"Not sufficient," David replied simply.

"Oh?" Dean Lengel responded. He could tell that she wasn't entirely surprised by his response.

"It's not much of a threat for us to hex them with something they can get rid of in a couple seconds. We told the Board from day one that we needed fourth-year-level hexes, and that's what we need."

The leader of the Board of Discipline couldn't keep quiet. "How dare you dictate terms!"

David turned to him and said, "You're the one with a problem. It's not doing us any harm to let these bastards run rampant. In fact, our lives have become amazingly much more pleasant since we stopped antagonizing The Clan. In short, if you expect us to once again wade knee-deep into your problem, then, yes, you're going to accept my terms, or we're simply not going to do the job. We don't have to deal with this issue. You do. The only way you're going to get our help with it is to give me what I'm asking for. This is a non-negotiable issue."

The leader of the Board glared at David, who simply stared back at him impassively. Once again, David knew he held the upper hand. He didn't really enjoy having to back the Board into a corner like this, but he liked visiting his teammates in the infirmary a hell of a lot less, so he would do what he had to do to protect them.

For a long minute, the leader just glowered in David's direction. When he realized that wasn't going to get him anything, he turned to the others, and they conversed quietly. The conversation was brief.

Turning back to David, the leader said, "Fine. We will allow you fourth-year hexes. But you are going to explain each and every use of such things. If we think you're abusing your authority, we will discipline you."

"Uh-huh," David replied.

"And we want you back on patrol immediately."

"We cannot go back on patrol immediately. It is the middle of the day, and some of our members have class. Hell, I have class in forty minutes. We will begin patrols again this evening, per our usual schedule."

"Fine. I'm warning you, Mr. Stroud, I do not want to see an uptick in infirmary visits."

"Well, you're going to, so get over it now," David told him. "As soon as we implement this new policy, they will push back. Clashes between The Clan and the DIRT are going to be more frequent, and nastier. More people will get hurt."

"How is that an improvement?" one of the other Board members asked.

"Because the people getting hurt will be the people causing the trouble," David replied. "And that will, in time, lead to less trouble for everyone. But don't kid yourself; things are going to get a lot worse before they start getting better. When you're sick, your fever has to break before you start to recover, and that period is the ugliest, nastiest part of being ill. We haven't got there yet. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go alert my team and get to class. Thank you for your cooperation."

Without further comment, or waiting for anyone to say anything, David nodded to the dean, then turned and left the room. He made his calls as he was walking toward his Sword and Staff class in Firebird Stadium.

David caught up with Ellie as she was coming out of her Metamorphosis class. He found her talking to one of her classmates.

"Hey, David," she said happily. "What's up?"

David pulled her off to one side, so they'd be out of the flow of people leaving the building. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel our date tonight."

"What? Two hours before our date, you're going to cancel on me? What kind of crap is that?"

"The DIRT is going back on duty tonight. We're starting patrols again."

"So? Doesn't mean you have to go! You've taken nights off before."

"Ellie, we're operating under new rules. I can't very well send the team out there without my supervision."

"Why not?"

David rolled his eyes. "Because the Board is just looking for a reason to rip away our newly granted, and rather hard-fought, authority, and if anything goes wrong, I need to be there, to see it, so I can properly defend it to the Board."

"So you don't trust your team?"

"No, I don't trust the Board."

"They're professors, David. They wouldn't be here if they weren't trustworthy. So, what's the real reason you're not going out with me tonight?"

"That is the real reason. Dammit, Ellie, you know I've been fighting with the Board for months over this. Now that we've managed to convince them to give us what we want, you expect me to just leave it to chance that nothing goes wrong?"

"I expect you to live up to your promise! You said we were going out tonight!"

"Yeah, well, I didn't know I'd be on duty tonight when I said that!" David shot back.

"Oh, so that's more important, is it?"

"Hmm, let me see," David said, truly annoyed that Ellie was making this big a deal out of the situation. "Safety of the school versus sex... Um... yep, it's more important," he said, staring her in the eyes.

"So that's all I am? A sex toy?"

"Ellie, you wanted it that way! You're the one who said that we were going to have only a physical relationship! You have no right bitching now when I actually act as if that's all we have!"

Ellie's look grew cold. "Fine! Go on your patrol! But don't expect to be getting any from me afterward!"

With that, Ellie spun on her heel and marched off. David looked after her, very confused.

Women. If I live a billion years - and I probably will - I still won't understand them.

With that pleasant thought, David headed off to dinner.

"Okay, guys, let's get this started," David said, walking into the security department briefing room. Seth and Dean Lengel were also there, mainly to show support, but they were also both curious about what instructions David was going to give the team, given the new, looser rules they were under.

Once everyone settled down, David began.

"As you know, the Board of Discipline has finally gotten their heads out of their asses and given us the tools we need to do this job right. What that means is that we're going to start really busting some heads. Figuratively, of course."

The group chuckled at that.

"The rules for major infractions remain the same. We will detain them, and bring them before the dean for disciplinary action. The rules for detention-able offenses also remain the same. Give them their notice, and send them on their way.

"What has changed is what we are going to do when they do something that we can't do one of those things for. Challenging us is now an actionable offense. Harassing us is also actionable. In essence, if they push us, we are going to kick them. Hard.

"In response to any negative actions from The Clan, you are authorized to use any hex considered level five or below. Hexes beyond that point are not allowed. If you're not sure the level of a particular hex... don't chance it. But go look it up later, so you'll know for next time.

"Also, I want to say that this applies mostly to The Clan. We will give 'normal' troublemakers a bit more leeway. Having said that, if they're getting really snotty, hex them, too. We can't let anyone think that challenging us is going to go unpunished.

"Be aware that the Board is going to be paying close attention to us, so try not to misuse our new authority. Having said that, the only person you have to explain your actions to is me. I will take the responsibility with the Board of Discipline. If I think you made a legit call, I'm not going to let them come down on you for it. On the other hand, if I think you abused the situation, the Board of Discipline is going to be the least of your worries.

"Now, as we were doing after we lost Colleen, the patrol leaders will be on a three-on, three-off rotation. The rest of you will be on three-on, one-off rotation. Charlie, Kyle, you have tonight off. Chloe, I'll be accompanying you tonight, just to see how things go."

"Yes, sir," Chloe acknowledged.

"Charlie, when your rotation comes up, I'll join you on your first night, as well."

"Right."

"Okay, folks. Let's use our heads, and everybody be safe out there."

With that, the meeting broke up, and Chloe took her team to wait out front for David.

David figured there would be something said by Seth or Dean Lengel. He was not mistaken.

"I don't think the Board is going to like you insulating the team from them in this fashion," Dean Lengel told him.

"That's their problem, not mine. We tried playing by their rules. It didn't work. Now we're going to do it right. If they don't like that, then I will shut this team down. And ma'am? If I have to do that again, I will walk."

"I understand."

"Now, if you'll both excuse me, I have to go take some people down a few pegs."

"Try not to kill anyone," Seth said with a grin.

"There you go, setting unreasonable limitations on us again," David replied, smirking.

Seth chuckled. "Good luck."

With that, David left to join the waiting team.

It didn't take a whole lot of time on patrol before the team ran into a group of Clan members. They were merely hanging out together, but as soon as they saw the DIRT coming by, they started to get rowdy.

"Oh, look, guys, the Ghost Squad is back on patrol!" the leader said. "Guess they forgot who runs this school already."

There was an affirmative rumble through the group, which moved in front of the team.

"Where ya headed?" the guy taunted.

"Wherever we damned well please," David replied. "Now get out of our way."

"Or what?" the guy demanded.

David drew his wand and cast a hex. Suddenly, the man fell to the ground, his legs completely nonfunctional.

"What the fuck did you do to me?" the man screamed.

"Got you out of my way," David said. "Who wants to be next?"

The group growled in unison.

David spoke louder and said, "If you're not out of our path in five seconds, you will be hexed. You are interfering with the operation of the Discipline Response Team." At that, each of the team members drew their wand.

The Clan members looked to their group leader, lying on the ground unable to rise, and then back to the DIRT. Slowly, grudgingly, they backed away, clearing the path forward.

"Thank you," David replied in satisfaction, putting no effort at actual gratitude in his voice. Instead, the DIRT merely continued on its patrol.

"This is going to get nasty," Chloe told him, once they were away from Clan ears.

"I'm aware," David said. "I hope you guys are up for it."

"I'll back you all the way, sir," Chloe said.

The others weren't quite so sanguine.

"Isn't it rather early for you to go pick up Anne for your date?" Jailla asked. He was watching David comb his hair after putting on his dress uniform.

"I have to go introduce Cat to her secret admirer first. He's not so sure he's ready, but he figures there can be no better time to make the revelation than during the Festival of Love and Lights."

"Does she know that today will be the day?"

"Yes. I had to tell her, so she could make plans for the kids. I hear it's been driving her totally insane for two days now." David grinned at himself in the mirror.

"And she still doesn't know who it is?"

"Well, I haven't told anyone but you, so unless you said something..."

Jailla squawked in offense at the notion.

"There you go, then," David finished. "She can't know, because no one else knows to tell her."

"I hope it goes well," Jailla said.

"Me, too. I like Cat. I don't mind helping her out with her problems, but it'd be better for her if she didn't have any problems for me to help her with. Not to mention she really needs a partner who's actually going to be there long-term."

"You think this will work out between them?"

David snorted. "Hell if I know. I haven't exactly got a track record of successful relationships myself, so what do I know about what works?"

Jailla just nodded.

"Anyway, I guess I'm gonna get going. Unless something goes badly wrong, I won't be back until morning. You need anything before I leave?"

Jailla looked over to his food tray, and checked his water. "No, I'll be fine. Enjoy yourself, David."

"Thanks. See you."

David headed out of his dorm room and up to the terrace. He had asked Cat to wait for him in her office, so he could escort her to her admirer. He strolled casually across the terrace, enjoying the displays and seeing the couples walking hand in hand. He made his way up to Cat's office in Hyneman Hall, and found her pacing a groove in her office floor.

When Cat saw David, she smiled nervously. She came to him and gave him a hug and a kiss, which he happily returned. They stayed that way for a long minute.

Finally, when Cat let David go, he asked, "So, are you ready?"

"Yes! No. Yes... I don't know!"

David chuckled. "You're nervous."

"Yes," she said, with conviction.

"Well, you're on even ground, then."

"What do you mean?"

"He's been nervous for months."

"Oh. Why is he so scared?"

"I told you, he's insecure where women are concerned."

"Do I even know this person, David?"

"Yes, I'm sure you've met him at some point."

"You know me well enough to answer this... will I like him as a person, whether or not I want a relationship with him?"

"Most likely," David allowed. He'd go no further than that.

"Should I trust him?" she asked. This was a very serious question, given her history of relationships.

David looked at her, understanding the depth of the question. He made sure to make firm eye contact as he answered her.

"I do," he replied simply.

Cat nodded. "Good enough."

"Ready?"

"As ready as I'm going to get."

"Okay, then." David pulled out his wand and intoned, "Sarav kivity, hoguv udu vermello, haldas olemasolu."

Suddenly, the two of them were bathed in a soft pink light. Beneath their feet, the floor turned to a path made of rose quartz, extending out the doorway to her office and down the hall. A dozen pixies appeared, lining the path forward.

"What's all this?" Cat asked, surprised, impressed, and embarrassed all at once.

"Well, we're not leaving the campus, so I can't use a carriage. On the other hand, the lady needs to arrive in style. This was the next best thing. Follow the crystal path."

David motioned her forward, and then he followed behind her. As she walked out of her office, she could see the crystals led off toward the front door of the building. She could see that they stopped about twenty feet in front of her, but as she walked, they grew, so she always knew where she was going.

Stepping out of Hyneman Hall and crossing the bridge, the path turned left. They passed several students, who stopped to admire the spell, but didn't interrupt the process.

When the path turned left again, it was heading toward Sabrina Hall. This didn't really tell Cat anything. There were a lot of teachers with offices in Sabrina Hall, plus it could simply be a convenient meeting place.

The path before her led her down hallways until they were approaching the Sabrina Hall library. David remembered this room from his first year exam. He had chosen this as a meeting place for them because it wouldn't give Cat any early clues, plus it was usually empty.

As the crystal path reached the doors to the library, David motioned with his hand, muttering a silent spell, and the library doors opened. There was a person standing in the middle of the room, but his back was turned. He was wearing a very fine coat, but there was little else they could tell from this vantage point.

As they continued to walk, David sped up and passed Cat, so that he could be in front of her, to properly "present" her to her admirer. He walked up to the man and asked something that Cat could not hear. The man nodded without turning his head.

Finally, Cat was standing about five feet from her suitor. The crystal road had formed into a circle, centered on the two of them, and the pixies were floating along the outside of it.

David, deciding the moment called for some formality, said, "Madame Arpilla, may I present to you the creator of the rainbow rose, and your sincere admirer." He motioned for the man to turn around at this point.

"Charlie!" Cat cried in utter surprise.

"Catherine," Prof. Phillips replied, a nervous smile on his face. "You look wonderful tonight."

Cat blushed. She had changed her outfit six times before deciding on the elegant but simple dress she had chosen. Her hair and makeup had taken an hour. She stepped closer to him. "You look pretty nice yourself," she said, mainly because she was unsure of what else to say.

David stepped back away from the two, but he didn't leave. He thought they might both be a little more comfortable if he stuck around until they got past the initial pleasantries.

"I didn't know you were interested in me," Cat admitted. "You've never said anything."

"I couldn't," Prof. Phillips replied simply.

"Why not?" Cat asked sincerely.

"Despite what some might think," Prof. Phillips said, "I am not a ladies man. Oh, I can flirt, but when it comes to being serious, the whole thing makes me very uncomfortable. Frankly, I wouldn't be here tonight if David hadn't told me that I couldn't drag things out any longer. I'll admit, I'm quite terrified."

Cat smiled at him, and then she put her arms around him and gave him a hug. Prof. Phillips returned it eagerly. Finally, they separated when David politely coughed to remind them of his presence.

David said, "Well, I don't think you need me hanging around anymore, and frankly, I have my own date to get to."

Cat smiled at him. "Thank you so much, David. For everything."

David nodded. Prof. Phillips just nodded his head in David's direction. David knew he was still very nervous, but there wasn't anything to be done about that. David nodded in reply, and then he left the two of them to their own devices.

Anne snuggled close to David as he opened the door to his house in Bolmont. The air was cold and the wind was biting. Inside the house wasn't a whole lot warmer, since there was no fire going to heat the place. David took the time to remedy that, and then he slipped off his coat as he returned to Anne's side. She, too, removed her coat, rubbing her arms to warm herself.

David took Anne's hand and walked her over to the fireplace, then stood behind her, just holding onto her waist as the two warmed themselves by the fire. For a long time, they stood together, not saying or doing anything.

Finally, Anne turned to face David. They needed no words now, as her lips softly engaged his. He slipped his hands around to her lower back, pulling her more firmly to himself. She came readily, sliding her hands behind his neck. All the while their lips plied gently against each other.

When Anne finally broke their kiss, she stepped back from David and reached up to begin undoing the buttons on her blouse. David kept his eyes focused on her hands as he started to remove his own shirt. Neither of them was in a hurry; they knew they had all night, and no one was going to disturb them. David had just finished pulling his shirt off as Anne removed her bra. She turned slightly, so that the firelight glinted off her body. She was watching for David's reaction.

David stared intently at Anne's exposed chest, and then he reached out and caressed the side of her face for a moment. He smiled at her, then he dropped his hands to his pants, unfastening and removing them. His shoes and socks went with them.

Eventually, the two were free of all their clothing, and David moved back to Anne's side. He kissed her again, but this one he kept brief. He then took her hand and moved her over to a chair. It was a high-backed wooden chair, with no arms. He sat down into it, and then he gently tugged on her hand until she got the idea and sank down into his lap, facing him. Her breasts were pressed tightly against his chest, and he could feel the warmth of her groin in his lap. The two were soon kissing again, a little more fervently this time.

After a while, Anne broke their kiss again. She raised herself up slightly and then reached down to take David's cock in her hand. He had grown hard long ago, and so he was more than ready for her. She held him in position and slowly lowered herself down onto him, enjoying the sensation of having him slowly fill up her pussy. When she was resting in his lap again, she paused to just enjoy the feelings.

David ran his hands tenderly up and down Anne's sides, and then he moved them forward to cup her breasts. She sighed in contentment and just let him play with her for a little while. Finally, however, she needed more. She gripped the back of the chair, and then used her arms and legs to raise and lower herself, her pussy muscles squeezing David's cock as she moved on him. David moaned quietly at the feel of her, and he continued to massage her breasts as she moved.

Anne didn't bother to speed up as she coupled with David. Instead, she focused on making him feel good through every inch of her movement. She was, herself, loving it.

It wasn't too long before David groaned more loudly and whispered, "Gonna come soon."

Anne just replied, "Mm-hmm," and continued her motions, not even speeding up any. She closed her eyes and just felt the whole experience. She could feel the tension building up in David, she knew that he was holding back his climax. His hands gripped her breasts a bit more forcefully, and then finally, just as she had lowered herself fully into his lap, he moved his hands around to her back and held her in place as his cum blasted from his dick. Anne let her whole weight rest on him, letting him fill her up with his spunk.

For a long moment, the two sat there, unmoving and silent. When David did look at Anne, he smiled softly, and then he kissed her. The kiss was meaningful and passionate, and said without words that they were nowhere near done.

"Let's go up to the bedroom," David said, once they'd broken lip lock.

Anne rose from his lap, and then she followed him to the lift. As they rode up to the third floor, David caressed her body. By the time they had reached their destination, his hand was between her legs, his finger sliding across her clit.

David escorted Anne through the sitting room into the bedroom, and quickly over to the bed. They faced each other, and then David took hold of her and lowered her to the bed. She scooted fully onto it as he climbed on, kneeling over her. Anne simply spread her legs and locked her eyes on his.

Moving between her thighs, David slipped his cock into her pussy. He began to thrust deeply, his pubes rubbing against hers with each stroke. Anne was quickly beginning to heat up, her body shivering in anticipation. It wasn't too long before she cried out in pleasure, her body shuddering as her climax overtook her.

David stopped moving as Anne's orgasm peaked. He simply watched the beautiful girl beneath him enjoying herself. Only when she was beginning to recover did he move, and that was to ease himself out of her.

For a couple minutes, the two rested quietly on the bed. It didn't take too long for Anne to recover, however, and then she rolled to her side, facing David. She reached down to take his shaft in her hand, stroking it lightly to return it to full hardness.

"Can I ask for a favor?" Anne said quietly.

"Of course," David replied.

"Could you make love to me while you're invisible? Is that even possible?"

David smiled. "Yes, it's possible. Why do you want to?"

"I just want to see what it's like, feeling all the sensations, but not being able to see the cause."

David nodded. "Okay. Let go of me, and lie back." When she looked at him curiously, he said, "That way you don't get any warning."

Anne grinned and did as he'd told her. After that, David rose from the bed and then, standing in front of her, he faded to complete invisibility. She felt him return to the bed, but she didn't know what he was doing.

Anne felt something running ever-so-lightly across her nipple. She shivered, and a soft moan escaped her lips. When the same thing happened to her other nipple, she groaned. When she suddenly felt her clit being rubbed, she cried out in surprise and joy. Her hips rolled into the contact, but she couldn't see anything, of course.

Finally, the sensation on her clit went away. She moaned a little at the loss. A pressure across her abdomen told her that David was above her, but she didn't know what he was doing. She looked down as she felt her tits being pushed together, and when she felt something sliding in between them, she smiled, knowing it had to be David's dick. She felt her nipples being tweaked as he slid in and out of her cleavage, and she moaned at the pleasantness of it.

During one of Anne's more forceful moans, she felt a sudden shift of weight, and she unexpectedly couldn't close her jaw. She could feel the cock that was filling up her mouth, and she hummed on it. She kept her eyes open throughout the experience, marveling at not seeing her partner, who was so very obviously there before her.

After a couple minutes, David slipped his cock out of Anne's mouth, and she wondered what would come next. She could feel him shifting around on the bed, but she was so disoriented by not being able to see him that she couldn't tell what he was doing.

When his cock pressed its way deep into her cunt, however, she had a good idea what he was doing, and highly approved. Anne groaned happily and pushed her hips back at him. She rolled her hips as he thrust into her, her arousal increasing. Finally she came, her back arching as her pussy squeezed the unseen cock within.

Anne was out of it for a minute, and she had no idea what, if anything, David had done during that time. She could still feel him inside her, however, which made her smile.

Suddenly, something grabbed her hips. Anne cooperated as best she could as David rolled her onto her side. He grabbed her upper leg and raised it up into the air. She didn't have much time to wonder whether he had it in his hand or on his shoulder, as he immediately began to thrust into her again.

Anne stared, awestruck at seeing herself being fucked by empty space. She had to admit, empty space felt really damned good. She let her head fall back and growled for David to fuck her harder, which he gladly did. It wasn't long before Anne was once again approaching her climax. In only seconds more, she surpassed it, screaming out David's name and shuddering.

David could tell that Anne had reached her limit, and so he withdrew from her, and then became solid again. He helped her into a more comfortable position on the bed, and rested next to her.

It wasn't long before Anne was coherent once more. Without any words, she moved over and slid David's cock into her mouth. David closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of her lips on his dick. As she moved slowly on his cock, she used one hand to grip the very base of his shaft, keeping him from coming until she was ready for him. Her other hand toyed with his balls.

David groaned and sighed, awash in the wonderful feelings that Anne was giving him. She was very good at this, and he was more than happy to let her "practice" her skills on his body.

Anne kept up her pleasant torture for several minutes, pushing David right to the edge of orgasm, but she wouldn't let him come. At last, she pushed her mouth about halfway onto his cock, and then released her grip on his shaft. Immediately, he blasted his load into the back of her mouth, groaning loudly at the release. Anne kept fondling his balls tenderly, coaxing every last drop of his juice out of him. Only when he was done did she swallow, and then slowly released him from her mouth.

David immediately pulled Anne up to him and kissed her deeply. The two embraced, and then sank down onto the bed to relax together.

It wasn't too long before Anne realized that something was the matter.

"What's wrong?" she asked David quietly.

David shook his head. "Just thinking about the last living girl I had sex with invisibly."

"It went badly?"

"No... it's just not something I'm very proud of."

"Why?"

David shook his head. "I don't want to spoil our night together."

"You won't," she promised. "Besides, I doubt anything could ruin what just happened. Why does sex with that girl bother you?"

David hesitated for a long moment, then said, "Well, let's just say I didn't give her a whole lot of choice in the matter."

"You raped her?" Anne asked.

"That's a word for it," David said, frowning.

"That doesn't seem like you," Anne objected.

"Yes, well... there was a reason."

"You know you can't leave this story half-told..." Anne said.

David took a deep breath. "You know how I died, right?"

"You fell through a floor onto a spike."

"But you know that I was pranked."

"Right."

"She's the one that started it."

"How do you mean?"

"Her name was Jenny. She was popular, and good-looking, and I'd never have had a chance to date her, really. After graduation, she invited me to this house to have sex. When I got there, she was nowhere to be found. Three of her friends were there, including her brother. They were trying to scare me, I guess, by making it seem like the house was haunted. They didn't intend to kill me; falling through the floor was an accident.

"Anyway, I was a bit... peeved... about losing my life, and so I decided to get revenge on all four of them. I was just going to haunt Jenny, to scare her like she'd intended to scare me. But after spending days being a peeping tom - I figured that's what ghosts did - I walked in on her, naked in the shower. I was so damned horny at the time, I decided to take from her what she had supposedly offered me, and I had sex with her. She was... shall we say surprised. By the end of the experience, she didn't seem to be minding too much. Still, I don't feel right that I did that, anymore."

Anne pulled David close. "I'm glad that you don't feel good about forcing someone like that, but I can completely understand where you were coming from. What did you do to the other three?"

"Humiliated one in public, destroyed another's college football career, and scarred the third for life. I have a dark side, Anne. I don't really like that about myself. Every time I've let it loose, people suffer."

"Like the guy that beat up Prof. Arpilla."

"Yes. Like that."

"From the sound of it, David, the only ones who need to worry about your dark side, are your enemies." She kissed him softly, and held him tightly, for a long time.

"Thank you," he told her quietly when they broke the kiss. She just nodded.

"Let's go to bed now. I'm getting cold," she told him.

The two got up, slid under the covers, and were soon snuggling tightly again.

"Good night, Sweetheart," David told Anne.

"Night," she replied. Shortly after that, they were both asleep.

David and Anne made it back to campus about mid-morning the next day. Being a Saturday, no one was in a hurry. They first went to let Jailla out, so he could get some flying in. Unlike the day before, this day was sunny and unseasonably warm. After that, they went and checked on Eric, which was Anne's fruit bat familiar. By the time they'd accomplished all that, it was lunch time, and so they decided to head that way.

Anne joined David, at his request, and they found Olissa and Flo already there. They all greeted each other.

"So, um..." Olissa started. David knew what she was trying to ask, and so he solved the problem for her. He leaned over and kissed Anne, who responded happily, if a little surprised that he would kiss her in public.

When he broke the kiss, he asked, "Answer your question?" Olissa just blushed and nodded. David turned to Flo, and suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Flo?"

"Hmm?"

"How come I've never seen you with a date for the Festival? I know you've gone out with plenty of guys, but..."

Flo smiled. "If I dated someone on the Festival, they'd expect us to become a couple. You know I don't want that."

David nodded in understanding. "Gotcha."

The group continued to talk while they ate their lunch. About midway through, however, Olissa's look changed. "David, I think you're about to be in trouble."

David turned far enough to see Ellie coming over. She looked very angry.

"This isn't going to be good," Anne said. "You want me to leave?"

"Hell, no," David replied.

"So this is who you took out for the Festival?" Ellie demanded.

David turned and rose from his seat. "Yes, it is," he replied calmly.

"Her? You don't even like her!"

"Obviously that's no longer true," David corrected. "Yes, we had some issues a couple years ago. We settled them."

"If you think I'm going to date you while you're dating my sister, you're out of your damned mind! It's either me or her!"

"That's your choice to make, of course, but I don't take orders. Especially not from someone who has repeatedly proclaimed that she is not my girlfriend. You don't have any right to dictate who else I go out with, whether it's your sister or not. And, you know, since she has never told me that I can't go out with you, I think it probably makes more sense for me to choose her."

At that pronouncement, Ellie slapped David, hard, across the face. "You bastard," she snarled, and started to walk away.

David drew his wand and snapped, "Reteni pida thah gante!" Tendrils shot out from his wand and encompassed Ellie's body, wrapping her up like a mummy. She fell to the floor, completely unable to move. David cast a levitation spell and set her down on an empty table. After that, he walked over to her.

"I don't accept being slapped for no reason. Rather than hit you back, though, I think perhaps spending a couple hours stuck here on the table for everyone to gawk at might get your attention a little better. The world does not revolve around you, Ellie, and I am not your property... or even your boyfriend. You asked me to be your teacher. I agreed to that. We both knew, from the very beginning, that this was not an exclusive relationship. You have no right, now, to dictate terms. Now, I'm really not sure why you've become so bitchy lately, although I do have a guess. If my guess is right, then the problem is one of your own making, and I'm not going to put up with getting the backlash from something I have repeatedly tried to talk you out of.

"If you decide you'd like to calm down at some point and be civil, we can continue with the teaching you asked me to provide. I do still have one or two more things I'd planned to show you. However, if you're going to continue to act like this, I don't really want anything to do with you. Understood?"

"Fuck you, you son of a bitch!" Ellie snarled. She started to go on a tirade, but David just reached over, tapped her on the forehead, and performed the sus hex. Suddenly, no words came out of her mouth.

"Excuse me, I have to go finish my lunch now." David walked back over to join his friends and sat down. He leaned over and gave Anne a brief kiss, to alleviate the anxiety he knew she was feeling.

"What the hell was that all about?" Flo wanted to know.

"I think I know, but I can't tell you. Ellie's put herself in a position that I think is starting to eat away at her. I can't talk her out of it - I've been trying for a while - and I think now it's starting to affect her behavior.

"I didn't mean to come between you two," Anne said very quietly.

"You didn't. She did. Besides, I meant it when I said you're more important to me than she is."

Anne blushed, but smiled. The other two just looked on, confused.

"Do you really think these new tactics are going to make a difference?" Leslie asked David. He had joined Charlie for his first night under the new tactics, and the five of them had been patrolling for a while. "So far, it doesn't seem to be doing anything."

"Leslie, it's been three days," Martin objected.

"It may or it may not," David admitted. "We may be too late for these half-measures to work out."

"You consider this a half measure?" Charlie replied.

"Yes. If this were a serious effort at removal, the Board of Discipline would declare The Clan a banned entity, and membership in the group would be an expellable offense. In other words, if this was something the school was taking seriously, we'd never have trouble with a Clan member more than once."

"Why do you think they're not doing that?" Leslie asked.

"I'm not sure. I get the impression that the Board doesn't want to admit to the kind of problem The Clan represents. Either that, or at least one of them is on the take from The Clan, and they are acting against us intentionally."

"You really believe that?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know. I'm just saying it's a possibility. It's not one we can investigate, but it's a possibility, and we shouldn't discount it just because it's unpleasant. I made that mistake last year, and it cost a lot of people no end of grief."

There was a pause in the conversation, as everyone knew how upset David still was about Jim's betrayal.

As the team continued to walk, they passed various students going from place to place. When they came upon a couple kissing on one of the benches, however, David was amused to find that they weren't students.

"Good evening, Professors," David said.

Cat blushed crimson, and Prof. Phillips was also obviously embarrassed. "Ah, hello, David. Is there a problem?"

"No, no problem. We're just on patrol. Don't go scaring the kiddies now, okay?" David said with a smile and a wink. He motioned, and the team walked off, leaving the two professors to their - now embarrassed - evening.

"I didn't know they were together," Kyle admitted. "They could be a bit more discreet," he added sourly.

"Why?" David asked. "What do they have to hide? They're both adults, and there's no rule against teachers - or anyone else, for that matter - fraternizing."

"I guess," Kyle said, glancing back over his shoulder.

The team patrolled for another ninety minutes, and they were considering calling it a night. This always seemed to be the point at which trouble appeared, and tonight was no different. As they came around the edge of the stadium, they saw four students, all clearly threatening a fifth. David led them all over in that direction quietly.

Once one of the perpetrators spotted them, he motioned, causing all the others to look. By that time, however, the DIRT was easily within range.

"What's this all about?" David demanded. He had already pulled his wand, but had it low, against his side, so it wasn't threatening.

"We don't answer to you," the apparent leader said. He motioned to his gang, and they started to walk away.

David raised his wand, pointing it away from everyone. He cast hono ventus, and a huge gout of flame emerged from his wand. He then concentrated, and the flame curved itself into a huge circle, encompassing everyone. The Clan members were not foolish enough to try to penetrate that wall of flame. Seeing that, David began to contract the circle, forcing them to retreat toward him, until finally they turned back to face him.

David motioned to Charlie to do the questioning, while David kept up the flaming circle to prevent them from leaving.

Charlie said, "What's going on here?"

"None of your fucking business, dirtbag," one of the members sneered.

"Go play with yourself, mudsucker," another replied.

Charlie turned to the obvious victim. "What's the problem?"

Before the guy had a chance to speak, every Clan member started to threaten him directly with bodily harm.

David suddenly dropped the flaming circle. "No one threatens my witnesses," he snapped.

The leader turned to him. "What you gonna do about it, fuckhead?"

David flicked his wand and uttered, "Wudchukchuk!"

Suddenly, the mouth of each of the four Clan members was forced open as their tongues grew to well beyond the size that would fit inside of them. The tongues grew another foot and a half, and then they twisted and swung around until each tongue had tied itself completely into a knot.

"I'm tired of your mouthing off, so now let's see you try to say anything coherent," David replied. The four men grunted and growled in ire, but couldn't make any real words come out, the spell having completely thwarted their ability to talk.

"Now then," David said, turning back to the victim. "Exactly what was going on here?"

"Well, I'm doing really well here, you know? Awesome grades. I've even got an apprenticeship, and I'm only in my second year. They wanted me to do their work for them, and I wasn't going to." The guy turned to the other four. "And I'm still not!"

The Clan members growled in menace. David said, "You assholes want me to do something worse?"

After that, they kept their noises to a minimum.

"How long has this harassment been going on? Just tonight?"

"Oh, hell no. They've been after me for about a month. Tonight, though, they said if I didn't agree, they were going to beat me up so bad I'd fall behind to where I'd never catch up. I'm kinda glad you guys showed up when you did."

David nodded. "You'll have to come with us to see the dean."

"Yeah, I figured."

David turned to the Clan members. "Let's go. You give me any more shit, and it won't be just your tongues that are tied."

"With the departure of Leslie, we once again have to rework our patrol system. There are now six of us. We could conceivably go back to two patrol teams of three, but that would give none of us any time off, and that's not acceptable."

"Not to interrupt, but what happened with Leslie?" Chloe asked sourly.

"She couldn't deal with the negative feedback she's been receiving. She was also unhappy about having to spend so much time on this job. So she quit."

Chloe nodded, but frowned.

"Anyway, what we will do from now on is to have one three-person team patrolling every night. Our patrol leaders will be on a one-on, one-off schedule. The rest of you will be on a two-on, one-off schedule. Those of you not actually on patrol will be on call. That means you need to stay ready to come to the aid of the on-duty team at all times. In fact, it would be beneficial - though I won't make it mandatory - if you spent your evenings somewhere on the terrace. It puts you in the most central location to answer a call for help. We'll leave this room available, in case you want to wait in here and do homework or whatever."

"What about you? What will you be doing?" Charlie asked.

"I will still patrol solo most nights. I'll take nights off as I need to. Like tonight, for instance, I have an advisory meeting I have to go to for class, so if I patrol, it will be later.

"I know that this is starting to make things very uncomfortable, folks. I wish I could say that there was a chance that things will get better, but really, they won't. If anyone else wants to leave, I'm not personally going to hold it against them. We're fighting bad odds, and getting worse.

"Anyway, that's all I've got for you tonight. Charlie, Morgan, it's your night off. The rest of you, watch your backs, and let's be safe out there."

As the team all headed out, David made his way up to Harris Hall for his Divination advisory meeting. He had his mood cube stuck in his pocket, to show Prof. Zoroaster how he was coming along with it.

When David entered Prof. Zoroaster's office, he found another student there.

"Oh, sorry, Professor. I didn't know you had another appointment."

"Actually, I don't, David. This young lady is here to see you."

"Oh?" David didn't know the girl, but he had seen her around.

"This is Cassandra Brahan. She's a first-year student in one of my Divination classes."

"Hi," she said somewhat shyly.

"Hey. What can I do for you?"

"It's my dream. I keep having the same dream, every few nights. I think it must mean something, but I don't know what."

Prof. Zoroaster said, "We were just covering the section on oneiromancy in her class, and she asked if I knew anyone who could perform it. You are the only person on campus with any real oneiromantic ability, David."

"What about you and Prof. Dartson?"

"Amus has no oneiromancy skill at all, and mine is fairly rudimentary. It's not a common skill, really. Now, obviously, I can't force you to help the lady..."

"Yes you can. You're my faculty advisor," David said with a grin.

"Okay, I can," Prof. Zoroaster said with a corresponding smile. "But I'd hoped I wouldn't need to."

"You don't. I'll give it a shot. All I can say is that I've never done it outside of class before, so I can't guarantee results."

"I understand," the girl said. "How... how do we do this? Are you going to sit and watch me sleep in my dorm room? I'm not sure my roommates would like having a guy there. I guess I could come to your room..."

David shook his head. "There's no need. Drop by my room in about an hour. I'm in room A42 in Thunderbird Dorm. I have a dream catcher. I'll show you how to use it, and then all you need to do is set it up before you go to bed."

"Oh. Okay, that'll work. Thanks."

"No problem."

"I'll let you guys get on with your meeting," Cassandra said. "Thanks, David."

David nodded at the girl, and as she left, he turned back to Prof. Zoroaster. "You think the dream is a genuine seeing?"

"I don't know that, David. It could merely be her subconscious trying to tell her something. That's up to you to determine. As I said, this isn't something with which I have much skill."

David nodded.

"Now then, what have you brought for me to see?"

David was researching a new potion when the knock came at the door. He opened it to find Cassandra on the other side. She came in, fidgety.

"I had the dream again last night," she said. "It seemed almost worse than before. More vivid, somehow, more... scary."

"That's probably the dream catcher. It probably does that to make it easier to record it."

"Oh? Well, I wasn't expecting that... it was so much more unpleasant. This big barbarian guy, covered with metal armor and some kind of animal pelt. He was waving around this spear at everyone. He never stabbed anybody, but he just kept waving it at people. Oh, and his name was Billy."

"Billy?"

"Yeah, he didn't look like a Billy to me, but..."

David nodded.

"And he kept screaming this one word, over and over again. It sounded like 'Havoc'. It was hard to be sure. He was screaming it so loudly. Oh, and he was being pulled on a dog sled. It was winter. Did I forget to mention that?"

"Kind of. But I'll see the dream myself, so don't worry about it. But, back to our barbarian on the sled... you said he was waving the spear. Could he have been... shaking it?"

"Waving, shaking, what's the difference? Point is it was a sharp stick and he wasn't poking people with it."

David chuckled. "You're not from Earth, are you."

"No, why?"

"Because if you were, you'd recognize Billy Shaking Spear. Anyway, you got a recording of the dream, right?"

"Yeah, it's in here. You'll tell me what it means, won't you?"

"If I can. Like I said, there's no guarantee I'll be able to interpret it. I have never done this outside of a class setting."

Cassandra nodded. "Well, thanks for trying. I'll let you get to work."

David let her out the door, and then headed back to his bedroom, shaking his head in bemusement.

Now, why would a Dugerran be dreaming about Shakespeare?

David set the dream catcher up on his night stand. He made sure to configure it in the broadcast, rather than the receive, mode. He then settled himself onto his bed, sitting cross-legged in a comfortable posture. He rested his hands, palm down, on this thighs, uttered a deep sigh, closed his eyes, and breathed...

He was standing on a hill covered in snow. He could tell that the snow was melting, as it was slushy and wet. He was not alone, as there were other villagers going about their tasks on the hill. They all seemed to be doing strange dream-like tasks, such as digging cantaloupes out of the snow. He looked around, noting all the small details, which could be important for the interpretation.

Suddenly, he heard the barking of dogs. They grew rapidly closer, and then burst from a stand of trees. The dogs looked like hellhounds, though much less friendly. They were snapping their jaws at people and slavering in their agitation. The dogs were harnessed to a huge metal dog sled, on which stood a man, who was at least seven feet tall. He had on, as Cassandra had described, plate armor. Over the armor, on his shoulders and down his back, hung the pelt of some unknown animal. On his head was a metal helmet, crescent shapes cut out of each side to allow him to hear. He was screaming at the top of his lungs, over and over again, the word "HAVOC!"

"It's Billy!" the villagers screamed as the man grew near. They ran as he shook the spear in his hand. He never threw it, never stabbed with it, but he pointed it menacingly at everyone, including David as the man passed by. David followed behind as Billy and his sled raced off down the hill. They reached the bottom of the hill and they plunged deep into a crevice, disappearing from view. The whole way down, he kept screaming that one word.

David stood at the edge of the crevice, looking down into it, but he saw nothing. From behind him, a rumbling started to shake the ground. Just as he turned, huge chunks of ground blasted upward in every direction. A huge piece missed him by mere feet.

Standing in the spot where the ground had heaved was a huge three-headed dog. Much larger than the king's pet, this looked much more like the Cerberus of myth. Each of its three heads was growling and snarling, snapping its jaws menacingly. Around their necks, each head wore a collar, and the collars bore name tags. Chaos, Suffering, and Death. The three-headed dog started to tear into the villagers, who all screamed in terror and tried to run, but the dog was insanely fast, and as it ran it shook the ground, causing the people to stumble. The dog ran up over the hill and disappeared, but as he did, a huge white dragon rose over the hill. He screamed furiously and emitted a gout of blue flame. The snow melted away instantly and the land was set ablaze. David could do nothing but stand and watch as the village, indeed the hill itself, melted away in the fury of that fire.

The dragon swooped low, passing right over David's head. A rear claw just barely grazed David's cheek, and the pain of that was searing, as if the dragon had burned him just by touching him... or perhaps given him instant frostbite.

As David was clutching his ear, he felt something sticky tug at his ankles. He looked down to find a thick, black ooze coming up out of the crevice. The land, which had been leveled by the dragon, fell away until David was standing on some kind of plateau. His feet were stuck in the black sludge; he couldn't walk or shift position.

Suddenly a phoenix appeared. This was no ordinary phoenix, however. It was huge, much larger than any phoenix he'd ever heard of. It swooped over him as the dragon had done, but then circled back. He lifted up his hands, which suddenly contained a staff. The phoenix grabbed hold of the staff on its next pass and pulled David free of the sludge. As the phoenix lifted him higher and higher into the air, David looked down, seeing the plateau beneath him. He recognized the shape; it was Callamandia. He saw the black ooze covering the land. The phoenix continued to carry him higher and higher until the image of the land was covered in mist and clouds.

David sighed as the dream ended, but did not open his eyes. Seeing the dream was only the first part of his task. He centered his focus and began the incantations that would allow him to slip into the trance that would allow him to see inside the dream.

What he saw, he wasn't ready for.

"You can't tell her. You can't tell anyone," Prof. Zoroaster said.

"I have an obligation to tell her," David demanded. "You said so yourself in class. I've seen her private thoughts. The only reason she shared them was to get answers!"

"David, you have to understand, there's something bigger at stake here. What you've seen needs to be revealed, yes, but to people who can use it. What good would it do to tell her what you saw?"

"What good does it do to hide it?" David asked.

"Because if you tell her what you saw, she will tell others, and that could very well start a panic. David, her dream is not the first indicator we've had. It's merely the most specific. You, yourself, have known that something bad was going to happen since the end of your third year. Now you know what it is. If you tell anyone - even her - it only makes things worse."

David sighed. He understood the professor's point, but he had an ethical duty to tell Cassandra what he'd seen.

"So, what do I tell Cassandra?"

"Tell her you were unable to interpret the dream."

"I'm not going to lie to her. I don't work that way."

Prof. Zoroaster winced. "Sometimes principles can be a real pain in the ass."

"Tell me about it."

"Fine. Tell her that her relatives are in danger. Just don't tell her from what."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"Prophetic dreams aren't always clear on the why and the wherefore. In fact, the dream never did tell you exactly how her relatives are hurt, so you wouldn't even be lying. You'd just be leaving something out."

"Yeah, the biggest, most important something."

Prof. Zoroaster shrugged. "All I can tell you is that it is important that you don't share this with anyone. I will be contacting the royal court. They will want to talk to you about this, and soon."

David nodded. "Okay, Professor."

"David, I need your promise, you will not tell anyone else about this until the king knows what you saw."

"Fair enough, Professor."

"Okay. Go on, let her know what you can. I have a call to make."

David sat, working on his speed conjuring, while Bob stood in the corner, his eyes closed. He was floating about six inches off the floor, and was suffused with a blue light. He had been meditating for several minutes, ignoring the soft pops and flashes caused by David's magical efforts.

Finally, Bob came out of his trance, dropping to the floor and turning to face his tutor.

"I don't see how this helps me with my anger problem," Bob admitted. "I'm not angry now."

"Well, the point is to use the meditative time to contemplate the things that have made you angry recently, and perhaps figure out how to let go of the irritant."

"Wouldn't strangling the irritant be both quicker and more satisfying?"

"Yes, but detrimental to your future."

"How?"

"I assume the dragons have some laws against killing us lower life forms..."

Bob frowned. "Yes, we do. They're rather annoying."

"You get annoyed a lot."

Bob grinned. "Yes, I do. But seriously, how do you avoid just pummeling these people into the ground? I know, from others, that your first year here was far more miserable than my time has been..."

"Yeah, well... see, here's where I'm not sure why Dean Lengel asked me to help you, because ultimately, I ended up having it out with my tormenter."

"I see. So you weren't able to keep your anger under control, after all."

"Well... see, the thing is, there is a time and place to let your anger loose, but you always, always have to be in control of your anger. Just because you've decided to let it 'play', doesn't mean you aren't setting limits. The trick is to know, in any situation, where the appropriate place to stop is."

"How do you learn that?"

"It depends on the society you're in, the situation you're facing... What you have to do is balance the possible consequences with the possible benefits, adding in the immediate need you feel for violent action."

"That should actually carry weight?"

"Some, yes. Because if you really, truly feel the need to get violent, then suppressing that entirely is probably not feasible, long-term. The trick is learning to let it loose 'safely'. And in this context, of course, I mean safely for you."

"You went to prison when you did it."

"Yes. I made a judgment call there. I felt that my immediate need for violence outweighed the possible consequences."

"Do you regret that?"

"No. And, you know, that is maybe the whole point of all this. You need to keep your anger at a place where you will not regret your actions later."

"I don't see how I could ever regret pounding some of these idiots into the ground."

"What would be the penalty?"

"Expulsion from the school, of course..."

"And from the dragons?"

Bob considered. "Several years in a very unpleasant place. Plus I might lose my right to rule."

"Now, consider: is beating them to a pulp, worth all that?"

"It would make me feel very good..." Bob temporized.

"But to give up your right to rule... for some moron... are they really worth it?"

"No," Bob said grudgingly.

"There you go. And since you can't let your anger loose without beating them to a pulp, you simply can't let your anger loose. That means you have to learn how to handle the emotional irritation without getting violent. The meditation can help you do that. You have to learn to look at the situation you were in calmly, realize that it really wasn't worth your time, and then let go of it."

"Is that how you handled your first year?"

"I didn't know about meditating until the second half of my first year. I endured my first year by reminding myself that if I acted out, I would get the dean in trouble as well as myself."

"That was sufficient?"

"For me."

"I see. Perhaps I will return to my meditation now."

David nodded, and then turned to practice some of the other special conjuring techniques he'd learned recently. Prof. Blackstone had brought in a friend from out of town to show David some things that the professor wasn't as proficient at doing, and so he had a whole bunch of small but useful "tricks" to practice.

Meanwhile, Bob returned to his corner.

David was patrolling on his own, walking across the terrace. Cat had asked him to meet her at 8:00, but he didn't see a reason to waste the chance to make sure The Clan knew he was around.

Nothing was happening tonight, happily enough, and as the time neared for his appointment, he made his way up to the Academy level. He found Cat in front of Hyneman Hall, sitting on a bench with Prof. Phillips. The two of them were kissing when he arrived.

"Evening, Professors," David said with a smile.

Once again, the two broke apart, embarrassed to have been caught.

"Hey, David," Cat said. "We were just waiting for you."

"Really," he said, sarcasm dripping off his voice like syrup off pancakes.

Cat blushed crimson.

Prof. Phillips said, "I think I'll just let you two have your talk. David, could you do me a favor? When you're done, make sure she gets home safely? Or at least off campus?"

"Yes sir, no problem."

"Thanks." Prof. Phillips turned and kissed Cat again, then wandered off toward the nearest rock lift.

"Why am I so embarrassed when you catch us?" Cat wondered, mostly to herself.

David made a noise of ignorance and shrugged his shoulders, then he sat down on the bench beside her.

"So what did you want to see me about?" he asked.

Cat sighed. "You know, obviously, that Charlie and I are going together now."

"I think everyone in the school knows that by now," David said. "You have a great many enemies of the female persuasion these days."

Cat blushed and giggled. "I hadn't thought of that." She grew serious after a second. "I know it's only been a week and a half since we started going together, but things feel... different between Charlie and me than they have with other boyfriends. He feels... oh, this is going to sound awful..."

David just sat and waited.

"He feels more like you."

David cocked an eyebrow in bemusement.

"What I mean is, the way you've always treated me with kindness and respect, even when we were in the midst of... um, things that didn't really need kindness and respect," she said, blushing.

David grinned, knowing what she meant.

"He treats me like a person before he thinks of me as a woman. Does that make sense?"

"Of course it does. You're saying he doesn't think of you primarily as a way to get his rocks off."

"Yes. Ben was kind of like that, too... but not to the extent that you or Charlie are."

"Well, I'm glad you two seem to be getting along so well."

"Thank you. Of course, you realize that this means that, once again, you and I can no longer play."

"I figured as much."

"I can't thank you enough for helping us get together. I'm not sure he'd ever have been able to meet me face to face without your prodding."

"He's shy. It's funny how much his private self differs from the face he puts on in class. Well, that's not fair. In class, he's confident because he knows the subject well. In his private life, he... doesn't, and so he's far less sure of himself."

Cat nodded. "Luckily, he knows intuitively how to do most relationship things. Though there is one area where you could give him some pointers..." she winked at him.

David choked, and would have blushed purple if he could. "I don't think I want to have that talk with Prof. Phillips!"

"Awww," Cat said, teasing.

"Thankfully, I also don't have to have the other talk with him, either."

"The other talk?" Cat asked.

"The one I had with Ben, and with Paul."

"Oh."

"Good thing, too."

"Why's that?"

"Because I think you finally picked a boyfriend who can kick my ass!" David said with a smile.

Cat chuckled. "Maybe, but I think at this point, it might be an even match. You'd just be using different skills than he would. But I don't ever want to find out."

"Me, either. I like Prof. Phillips. I'm happy you two are doing well. I really hope things work out. How do the kids feel about him?"

"Still a little leery. Especially after Ben. And, of course, they're comparing him to you."

David frowned. "I wish they wouldn't do that."

"Nothing to be done about it, David. They both like you. They trust you. You were around for all of us at some very tough moments, and they're not going to forget that. Neither am I."

David smiled at her, then, to break the mood, he said, "C'mon, I'll walk you home. You shouldn't be out here alone at night. Not with The Clan running around."

As the two walked along, Cat asked, "So, you're really okay with me dating Charlie?"

David clenched his jaw, then said, "Why is it that it sounds like you want me to say no?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Every time you've gotten a new boyfriend, you've asked me if I'm okay with it. It's not really my business to be okay with it or not, Cat. If you're okay with it, that's all that matters."

"Well... I don't want to lose you as a friend."

"Cat, if I objected to you finding someone who could make you happy, then I was never your friend to begin with."

Cat put her arm around him as they walked. They finished their walk mostly in silence.

"Good evening, David. Come on in. Time for another advisory meeting, is it?"

"Yes, ma'am. I've been working on strengthening my pyromandy, as we discussed. I think I may have reached my upper limit, however."

"I heard, through the grapevine, that you managed to pull off a rather impressive fire ring."

"Uh-huh. Did that grapevine happen to wind its way through Dean Lengel's office?"

Prof. Rutherford chuckled.

"Anyway, yeah, I was able to do that, but it took everything I had. I don't think I could have maintained it for very long, either."

Prof. Rutherford nodded. "Well, again, we've always known that power was not where your elemandy was going to be most useful. You seem to have more of a finesse touch. So, at this point, I think we should look at what we can do to test your control and precision of fire. Have you given this any thought?"

"A little bit. The one thing I've come up with so far is to do something akin to target practice."

"Oh? Explain, please."

David took out a sheet of parchment, and drew a few dots on it. Then he drew two circles around each dot. He showed it to her. "Now, imagine if I hang this up, say, a foot away from a candle. There's no way the candle would reach the parchment, right?"

"Of course not."

"So, the idea is for me to use pyromandy to burn a small hole in the paper, where the dot is located."

"Ah, I get it. Each of those is a bull's-eye."

"Right. We judge my accuracy based on how close I get to the center of the dot. Once I can do it at a foot, I move out to two feet, five feet, etc."

"That sounds like a very good plan."

"It's a place to start, anyway. I need to think up other ways that pyromandy can be used on a small scale. It's not like terramandy; there's no little 'particles' of fire I can control."

"Not as such, no. I will tell you that other pyromanders have tried using their skill for wood-burning. You know, etching a picture into wood?"

David nodded immediately. "I can see where that would be good practice. I'm not the greatest artist in the world, but I might be able to do some abstract or geometric patterns."

"With practice, I think you might surprise yourself with how good you can become. But, no matter the skill of the art, the practice with your pyromandy would definitely be worthwhile."

"Yes, ma'am."

"So, I think you should pursue those two things for now. Let's see how good you can get, and how quickly."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now," she said, her voice dropping from its formal tone into something friendlier and a bit conspiratorial, "I want to thank you for how you helped out Cat. I haven't seen her this happy in a very long time."

David smiled. "That's what I've been trying to achieve."

"You could've just dated her yourself..." Prof. Rutherford said with a grin.

David shook his head. "I don't love her that way. Oh, I'll miss spending time with her and the kids, but no, she needed someone who was ready to devote fully to her. I'm hoping that Prof. Phillips is that someone."

"Me, too. Sounds like you're ready to start a family of your own."

"Oh, no, ma'am. That was one of the stumbling blocks. I am definitely not ready to raise kids. Maybe in two or three... hundred years..."

Prof. Rutherford chuckled. "Well, I just wanted you to know that those of us who consider Cat a friend, appreciate all you've done. I'm sure that Prof. Phillips is likewise grateful."

David grinned. "He certainly seemed to be."

"I'll bet you're glad to have the number of your problems shrinking."

"I never considered Cat a problem, as such, but I'm glad she's happy. No, my problems are still here."

Prof. Rutherford frowned. "You mean The Clan."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I wish we knew how to deal with those people. I wish you and the DIRT the best of luck."

"Thanks."

"Well, that's all for tonight. Go get in some practice, and I'll see you next week."

"Sure thing, Professor. Good night."

"You, too, David."