Soarin

Chapter Three

"Vampires, Tigers And Flies... Oh My!"

The night sky was a crystal wash of black space and pin-pricks of starry light. The moon, a sharp scythe of pearl, hung in the chilly and damp air. It had been raining earlier, but the wind in the heavens had combed the thick tumult of clouds away to the east, leaving the open expanse of evening free to the sharp bareness of the night sky. Far in the distance, thunderheads rolled, trying to take back their position as a blanket covering the world.

With breath puffing out in thick clouds before his face, Soarin Skyler leaned the ladder against the tall side of the library. Behind him stood a tall boy with light colored brown hair and a girl, somewhat shorter, with tresses of a lovely shade of raven. They all wore jeans and heavy black cloaks made from yards and yards of some billowy material that kept in warmth, except for Soarin who wore a pair of black slacks and a simple leather jacket that reached to mid thigh.

The three of them stood upon the roof of their school which rose two stories above the ground with the library rising up a story taller above them.

Soarin turned toward his two friends. "Eliza, Shaun, are you ready for this?" They both nodded, their arms crossed over their chests against the chilled February air. "Alright," Soarin said, patting the ladder, "I'll go up first. This will totally blow your minds!"

Soarin turned and mounted the ladder quickly. His lean young body began to climb with a speed that left Shaun and Eliza staring. He flew up the rungs in a blur of motion and then slipped over the top of the raised edge of the library's roof, which acted almost like a low wall or railing. Then he was gone and a moment later they could see his face peering down over the edge at them.

"Come on!" he urged in a loud whisper.

Eliza stepped forward and began to climb.

"Of course, I get stuck being last with no one down here to brace this thing," Shaun mumbled to himself.

Eliza ignored him and began a slow ascent up the ladder's rungs. She kept looking down at Shaun's upturned face, every moment expecting to fall backward or hear the crunch of the rung her foot had just slid onto cracking and sending her reeling. "Soarin," she said nervously, "are you sure this thing is safe?"

"Of course it is!" he said, nodding in the dark though he knew they couldn't see him. "It would have to be safe, wouldn't it? I did borrow it from Groundskeeper Weeds' shed."

"Borrowed?" Shaun asked with a raise in his eyebrows.

"Okay: stole. I still like borrowed better. But that is neither here nor there. Think about how fat that man is! That's the point! This ladder supports him and it can surely support each of us without a problem. And I wouldn't be surprised if it held up with all three of us on it at once."

"But are we safe, Soarin?" Shaun asked pointedly.

"What did I just say?"

"No," Shaun replied. "I meant, are we safe coming up here? What if we get caught?"

"Oh. Well," said Soarin with an offhand shrug and then he said no more.

Shaun rolled his eyes. "You fill me with confidence, oh Leader."

"I do my best," Soarin said cheerily as Eliza reached him and he helped her to keep her footing as she slipped over the top of the ladder and found her place beside him.

"Who is going to brace this thing for me?"

Shaun's voice came up to them, plaintive and whining.

"He'll probably cry in a minute or two," Eliza said flatly. She leaned over the edge. "Will you just come up already? You are such a girl!"

Shaun made a face and took to the ladder, mumbling under his breath words that Eliza couldn't hear, but Soarin could and he only smiled inwardly and shook his head. He placed his hands on the sides of the ladder and held them firmly, waiting for Shaun to reach the top, who, Soarin felt, was purposely moving at a snail's pace.

"Oh wow..." Eliza breathed out in wonder.

She had turned and was now getting a good look at what should have been a flat barren roof of hard slate and shingling. However, instead of the expected, there was a huge and extraordinarily beautiful garden stretching from end to end. There were wide spaces of grass, thick and green, and there were beds of bright flowers of all different varieties, including some that were very out of season for February. Narrow pebbled pathways cut through the patchwork of grass and in the center of the garden, a large stone fountain sprayed water into a wide basin. Here and there, the diamond-shaped skylights of the library's ceiling poked through the grass like glittering jewels amid the green.

"I can't believe this..." Eliza's said softly. Her eyes were stretched so wide open that Soarin half expected each one to pop right out of their sockets.

I see way to many demons, he thought to himself as he found the mental picture of Eliza with her eyeballs hanging down on her cheeks a bit too disturbing. But he said aloud: "Isn't it incredible?"

"It's so amazing!" Eliza said breathlessly as she stepped out onto the pebbled walkway and looked about her. "Why would the teachers keep this place a secret?"

Shaun had reached the top, his breathing short and his cheeks red, and a bit uncoordinated, he nearly fell as he tried to slip over the top of the ladder. Soarin held his arms and struggled to hoist him into the grass. Once more, Shaun lost his footing and either out of wonder or his own awkwardness, he stumbled to his knees and knelt, gaping about him, his eyes as wide as Eliza's had gone. He climbed unsteadily to his feet.

Soarin helped support him, his eyes on Shaun's face, waiting for a reaction of some sort.

"What is this place, Soarin?" Shaun asked, wonder and delight filling his voice.

"I don't know really... But I found it a few weeks ago when I was looking for those clues about the missing kids. You were with me, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. You acted really strange. I think you might even have said something about it, but we were all too busy to pay much attention."

Soarin nodded. "We were. And then afterwards, when the whole thing was over, I just never brought it up again."

"Why?"

Soarin shrugged. He didn't really know why, in all truth. All he knew was that he didn't like thinking about the events of that weekend for several days afterwards.

The three stood together and began to walk over the grounds, the thin sliver of moon shining just enough light to see dimly by.

Eliza pointed into the grass. "I see the skylight was repaired."

"Um, yeah..." Soarin said off-handedly. "But hey! Aren't these flowers amazing? Look at the size of those violets!"

"So you fought him up here," Shaun said in astonishment. "How cool..."

"Look, can we not talk about that? No Slayer stuff tonight. Just enjoy being up here. I don't want to think about Ash or any of those things right now."

"We won't," Eliza said and threw a look at Shaun.

"Sorry, Soarin," he said humbly. "It is really amazing though! So I'm wondering too! Why don't the students know about this place? Is it, like, a teacher's thing? 'Faculty Only' or something like that?"

Soarin shook his head. "No, actually. I asked Ms. Faithe about it a few days ago and she said she didn't know anything about it either. She was a surprised as I was. None of the teachers know about this place. It's as if it just grew up here out of nothing and since no one comes up here, no one realized."

"And any damages could easily be repaired from below with magic, just like Eliza mentioned last time!" Shaun said. "The skylight and the window Soarin was thrown through..."

Eliza threw him a dark and angered look.

"Guys!" Soarin said with a dry laugh. "It's really okay. It isn't like I don't want to talk about that stuff ever, I just don't want to talk about it or anything Slayer-ish tonight. In fact, I'm not a Slayer tonight!" he said matter-of-factly with an exaggerated nod of his head. "At least we can pretend anyway. And all I want is some good ol' fashioned quality hang-out time with my best-buds! No Slayage relations at all!

"I for one," Eliza said with a nod of her head, "think that sounds like a wonderful plan." Overall, she found Soarin's slaying duties to be necessary, but only when under desperate circumstances. She honestly sympathized with his desire for normalcy in a truly abnormal world.

"Don't get me wrong," Soarin would often say, "it isn't that I don't like being a Slayer, it just doesn't have to take over my whole life!"

Ms. Faithe, of course, did not agree with this.

Shaun folded his arms across his chest and looked into the blankness of the evening sky. "Doesn't it look beautiful up there tonight?"

"At least it stopped raining," Soarin said as he moved to the edge of the roof/garden and looked down over the school's courtyard. Below, the mosaic sunburst pattern at the courtyard's center glittered mutely in the moon's rays. "'More than one day of rain is too much,' I always say."

"It looks like we'll have more rain in a day or two," Eliza said as she looked out toward the east where the thick rolls of bruised clouds hovered over the land.

"One thing that's too bad," said Soarin with a smirk, "is that the rain doesn't stop the vampires from coming out. Why couldn't it rain... holy water or... something!"

Shaun and Eliza crowded around on either side of Soarin and they all looked down over the courtyard and the lawns together. The forest was a black shapeless hulk in the darkness.

"One thing at least: the view is amazing," Eliza said pleasantly, "even in the dark. I can only imagine what this place will look like in the daylight." She paused and said in an offhand manner: "I still hope we don't get in trouble."

"We won't!" Soarin cried in a tone of pleading exasperation. Shaun and Eliza both recognized it as his will-you-stop-being-so-damn-worried-about-everything tone.

"But just imagine if we got caught and then this place was found. That would be awful!" Eliza reasoned.

"Well, as long as we're discreet about it and only come up when we know we won't be seen, then there won't be any reason to be afraid that it will be found by-"

Shaun suddenly interrupted. "Hey! Who's that?"

Eliza and Soarin both looked at their friend whose eyes were narrowed, his brows drawn together and a frown filling his face. They slid their eyes along the length of his arm and then over his finger until they were looking down toward the ground.

Soarin felt the hairs on his arms and at the back of his neck stand up when his eyes rested on a young looking man with spiked hair and wearing a flannel sweater. Peeping out of it was an orange t-shirt with DON written on it in gold letters. He was hugging himself to the wall, his head tilted around the corner and even as they watched, he darted out into the courtyard and slipped silently into the shadows toward the back of the dormitories.

"Who is that?" Eliza asked. "I've never seen him before. He looks too old to be a student here. Do you think he might be trying to-"

"No. That trance stuff is done," Soarin said in a bored manner. "And he doesn't look familiar because that fashion victim isn't a student. At least not anymore. He's a vampire."

"And I kinda think you'd know," Shaun said to her with a grin, "if that trance stuff was happening again considering you-"

Eliza cut him off with a stinging slap in the arm. "Will you knock it off? It wasn't my fault! If I'd been awake with you guys, I would have-"

"Oh, so it's my fault?"

"You're just mad because I kicked your ass in my sleep!"

Shaun opened his mouth to retort but Soarin shushed them with a wave of his hands. "Do you two mind? Jeez you sound like an old married couple!" He pointed downward to where the vampire had stood and then pressed his finger against his lips. Both looked sheepish and apologetic.

"So much for no Slayer stuff," Soarin sighed dismally. "Duty calls..."

"It should be okay, right?" Shaun said quietly, but urgency was in his voice. "I mean, what can he do but sneak around. A student would have to invite him in and anyone retarded enough to do that would deserve what they got for it. We did see what he was wearing!"

Eliza glowered at him. "For someone who gets such good grades and reads so much," she said with a roll of her eyes, "you sure don't use your brain."

Soarin followed with: "Remember what Headmaster Manners said at Start of Term Commencement? 'Welcome all...' That just blew everything right there. Anyone can get in now: wizard, muggle... or demon."

"Oh, right..." Shaun said vacuously.

"Well, I should go," Soarin said, looking at his friends sorrowfully. "You guys stay up here until I come back. Like I need the two of you wandering about when vampires are out."

They said they would and Soarin smiled at them. He turned toward the ladder and sighed. "Time to go slay some vampires..." he mumbled and then launched himself from the top of the library and landed cat-like on the roof of the school. Swiftly, he was up and darting easily over the flat slate until he had reached the place where the vampire had pressed himself so courageously to the wall he'd been hiding behind.

Creeping as silently as a Slayer could, Soarin edged across the section of dorms under his feet, skirted the corner the vampire had disappeared around and then he sank to his knees, crawling to the side. He peered over the edge.

There stood the vampire.

He was leaning against the glass of a dormitory window and his face was very much that of the demon infesting him: hooded brows over yellow eyes, fangs, long and razor sharp. Even as Soarin watched, the vampire stripped his flannel sweatshirt off and wrapped it about his right hand. On his t-shirt, DON became MADONNA and Soarin shook his head in puzzled exasperation.

Talk about a total vamp groupie, Soarin thought to himself. Really not the typical vampire music, is it? He can't even smash a window with his fist! He has to wrap it up in his flannel first! What a loser!

The vampire held the ends of the flannel sweater around his wrist and brought his fist back to prepare to punch it through the glass. Vamp-Groupie actually licked his lips!

"Excuse me?" Soarin said aloud in a calm, all business manner. Vamp-Groupie started and looked up at the Slayer leaning over the edge of the roof. His eyes instantly widened and his lips quivered. "Watcha doin' there?"

Vamp-Groupie shivered and backed up nervously, his yellow eyes wide in fright.

"The scared look!" Soarin said with a smile. "I like it! It's refreshing! Shows that your smart!" With a speed surprising for someone of his stature, Soarin flipped over the edge of the roof and landed with his feet firmly planted in the grass about six feet from the vampire. He stood proudly with his hands on his hips, the lapels of his jacket pushed back in a cocky way. His thick-soled black boots were planted firmly apart. He tilted his head innocently and took on a thoughtful look. "Most of the vampires I run into just want to bite my head off. But you're actually afraid."

Soarin realized that he could actually smell this creature's fear. It was dizzying, like being intoxicated and his blood pumped while his body cried out to move and snap like a tightly strung bow-string.

The Slayer reached behind his back and pulled the stake from its sheath where it rested against the lengthy muscles which ran from the small of his back and down into his waist. He brandished it in his fist and the vampire's mouth fell open and a whining sound emerged. Soarin feigned surprise. "What? No running?"

The vampire stumbled backwards a few paces and then spun around and took off into the dark.

"Alright," Soarin called after him, "I'll give you little head start!" He waited for most of two seconds. "Okay, I'm coming now!"

Soarin sped across the campus of the school, his body working in an all out run. His jacket flapped out behind him and his feet pounded across the courtyard. The vampire kept looking over his shoulder and he upturned a bench into Soarin's path. Like a hurdler, the young Slayer flew over the obstacle and kept pace. The vampire darted out into the grass heading toward the forest and Soarin kicked some extra speed into his feet. His breath was pumping in his lungs and anger swelled in him.

All I wanted was one night off! That's all!

The vampire was still throwing frightened looks behind him and Soarin was drawing nearer and nearer. His hair blew about his forehead and his hand tightened on the spike of wood. He could say one thing for this vampire, he was pretty fast despite his slothful, somewhat flabby appearance. The vampire was near the forest now and Soarin knew if he didn't get to him before he made it into the trees, the demon was lost.

Oh no! You are not getting away after you interrupted my night! No way!

But suddenly, the vampire stopped running and froze in his tracks! Soarin, appalled, stopped as well and watched the demon before him stare off in the distance and then there was a sudden harsh blaze of yellow and orange light that filled the area like fire.

"What the..." Soarin whispered.

The vampire trembled and shook his head slowly from side to side, a look of absolute horror on his face and clumsily, he began to move backwards and tripped over his own feet, landing hard on his rear in the grass.

The Slayer stood very still in the dark several yards from the fallen vamp and felt a cry of surprise rip from his throat as a huge shape pounced out of the shadows and forced two giant front legs against the vampire's chest. The vampire shrieked as the shape lowered a massive head to the vamp's neck and inhaled deeply, slowly. A low growl rumbled from the mouth of the giant hulking figure and then it raised its head again and leaped away from the vamp and stalked back into the shadows.

Uttering small cries of fear, the vampire got to his feet and began to run away from whatever had sniffed at him. Soarin watched in mounting surprise as the vampire headed straight for him. He was so surprised that he actually backed up a few steps but as the vampire neared, he forgot his wonder at what had just transpired and a spike of anger flashed through him. He jutted the stake out and the vampire ran right into it. It sunk into his heart and with popping eyes and horror filling his whole countenance, Vamp-Groupie fell to the ground and his body exploded into ash and cinder with a hollow imploding rumble, spraying his remains onto the grass.

Soarin brushed at his pants. "What was that?" He straightened up and looked into the distance but could see nothing. He shrugged and turned away, heading back into the school. One dumb vamp is just another dumb vamp, he thought and slid the stake back into its sheath. I've never seen a werewolf before. That was probably what it was. He walked casually toward the library when suddenly a figure darted into the grass. Soarin stopped and tensed his muscles.

"Soarin!" the figure called. "Soarin!"

Soarin squinted into the dark. "Billy?"

Billy Williams skidded to a halt in the grass, out of breath and disheveled. In his hand he held a gleaming silver sword, slender and long.

"Billy, what are you doing out here?"

"I saw it coming and I went to find you but your room was empty so I had to come out here for you!"

"The vampire? Oh, I got him. He's dust," Soarin said, looking up at the older boy's flushed face. "Now that werewolf! Did you see it? That was something!"

"No, not the vampire! And that was no werewolf!"

Soarin gave him a look. "What else could it be?"

"There isn't a full moon tonight, Soarin!" Soarin glanced at the cloudy sky, his face beginning to look worried again. "I saw it out the window!" Billy went on. "I've never seen anything like it! It's..." Suddenly his eyes widened and with a strangled cry, he threw himself at Soarin and they both tumbled to the ground, rolling over and over in the grass. The young Slayer felt something huge brush his arm as he tumbled to the side. Billy cried out in pain as they landed hard and Soarin groaned with Billy on top of him. He tried to sit up.

"What was-" he began but a roar filled the night, a high pitched scream that vibrated through Soarin's head and made him wince. He lifted his head past Billy's shoulder, who was struggling to roll himself off of Soarin's body. The Slayer's eyes bulged and he gasped and quickly pulled Billy against him and rolled them over in the grass. Just as they left where they'd been laying, a torrent of flame spewed outward at the lawn. It crackled and scorched the blades which had moments ago been under Soarin's back and the Slayer shoved Billy off of him and swung his legs over his head, rolling over so that he was sitting in a crouch. Breathing hard he took in the creature before him.

It was a tiger, but nothing like the tigers he was used to seeing. It was a big as a small car with a head the size of his own torso. It was covered in thick snow white fur with black stripes streaking across its back. Upon closer inspection, Soarin could see that these stripes were not made of black fur at all, but were made out of scales like a snake, with the thick hair bristling around them. Its paws left fat indentations in the grass and its mouth opened and the horrible piercing cry rent the air again. Drool and saliva sprayed from its parted lips, drool which hissed and smoldered once it touched the grass. It reared its head back and opened its mouth again and as the cry filled the night once more, a gush of flame flew from between the creature's massive jaws. It spouted into the air at least six or seven feet and then diminished and the creature gathered itself for another leap.

Billy moaned and rolled over onto his back and sat up. His rubbed at his forehead with one hand and tried to stand.

"Billy, no! Stay down!" Soarin ordered.

"I dropped the sword, Soarin," he said weakly.

"Don't worry about it!" Soarin cried and stood up, waving his arms in the air to get the tiger/dragon's attention. Its eyes blazed with a fire all their own and the nostrils spouted separate flame throwers themselves and it crouched low and then sprang.

Soarin threw himself forward toward it, diving at the ground, and the creature passed inches over him and landed so heavily on the earth that it actually trembled under their bodies. Soarin rolled over and sprang to his feet. The creature roared again, the fire leaping from its body like never before, its anger clearly showing at these simple creatures whom he could not kill. In the light of the flames, Soarin saw the sword glint where it lay in the grass. He leaped for it and the tiger leaped for him.

Soarin closed his hand on the hilt of the shining object and, hunkered down on his heels, he lifted his head and stared into the eyes of the tiger/dragon, which was only three inches before his face. Soarin gasped and could feel the heat emanating from the creature's body. It sniffed at him with a sulfurous nose, inhaling long and deep as it had done to the vampire. The Slayer trembled inside, gritting his teeth and inside, he felt his own kind of heat beginning to burn!

The giant cat grunted and then it made that rear-back motion with its head which Soarin had noticed it did whenever it was about it shoot its flames. In a blur of motion and quick thinking, Soarin swung the sword up and as the tiger/dragon opened its jaws. He plunged the blade of the weapon down into the creature's throat. It roared in pain and anger and bellowed its cry toward the sky and Soarin jerked his body upwards. Grasping the sword with both hands, he swept it from the creatures mouth. Liquid fire sprayed from its jaws and the Slayer swung the sword, dripping with fiery blood, and brought it down between the creature's head and shoulder blades. The sharp razor of the blade sliced cleanly through the thick stalk of the creature's neck and its head spun to the ground. The creature's blood sprayed in a burning arc and Soarin jumped backwards as the boiling liquid peppered the ground where he had stood.

Soarin tried to keep his footing with weak legs and his breath rasped out painfully. He leaned on the sword for support and watched as the body of the creature, its blood spilling out onto the grass, releasing clouds of smoke as the lawn smoldered, stood still, upright, and then swayed back and forth and little by little, it slowly fell toward the side and as it hit the ground, its body disintegrated into little balls of floating light that filled the air and then winked out, vanishing.

Soarin gasped at the sight, not sure if what he had seen was correct. He stepped forward and approached the place where the thing had fallen. Blood gone... the grass whole and as green as it should have been, with no sign of the damage its blood had done. And the creature's body and head were completely gone!

He looked at the sword in his hand and was surprised to see that it wasn't a sword at all, but an old broomstick which he grasped in his fist just above the straw bristles.

A fly swooped into Soarin's face and he brushed at it, annoyed.

"What just happened here?" he muttered to himself.

The fly whined past his ear, buzzed into his eyes and then took off into the night.

Behind him, Billy groaned and stumbled toward Soarin. The Slayer turned and rushed to him and slid under Billy's arm, offering support.

"Are you okay?"

Billy winced. "Yeah, I think so. I twisted my ankle when we fell, though. It hurts really bad."

"Sorry, Billy," Soarin stammered and they turned and began to walk back toward the school. "Where did you get the sword?"

Billy grunted as he stepped too heavily on his foot and then sighed. "I saw the creature through my window and I instantly ran to get you but you were gone. I know you said that you keep weapons in your trunk so I opened it and looked inside, trying to find something that you could use. When I saw it spit out that fire, I knew that no stake would work on it. Oww!" he moaned.

"Sorry," Soarin said again, trying to steady his paces. "How did you open the trunk? It has a lock on it." He tried not to think about the locks he had destroyed while snooping through other students trunks a few weeks before.

"I used my wand, of course. Sorry I broke in, but I knew that you needed something bigger than a stake and your fists."

"Go on..."

"Well, there was nothing there, so I went to my room, grabbed my broom and bewitched it. I transfigured it into a sword and ran out to find you."

"It did the trick, that's for sure!" said Soarin appreciatively, and after a moment, "I'm grateful."

"Don't mention it," Billy muttered and hissed through his teeth as another dagger of pain sliced through his ankle. "I'm always glad to help. You know that." Billy stiffened, a groan filling his throat.

Shaun and Eliza's running footsteps pounded across the courtyard and they skidded to a halt before Soarin and Billy.

"We saw the whole thing," Shaun cried breathlessly. "Are you okay?"

"Soarin you killed that thing! Oh my God it was amazing!" Eliza added.

Then their voices rose and fell together in a continuous babble and Soarin shushed them quickly.

"Guys!" he said harshly. "Shut up! Someone will hear you and Billy's hurt! Help me get him into his room."

Shaun darted around to Billy's other side and helped Soarin to support their injured friend. Then the three of them, with Eliza trailing behind, moved into the shadows, heading toward the window which Billy had slipped out of moments before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fly flew through the night, its orb-like eyes glowing blue and green in strange clusters of light. It flew hurriedly toward the safety of its master's hand. It alighted on a delicately extended finger and then crawled up onto the cupped palm.

It whispered.

In a puff of aqua flame, the fly vanished.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning was Friday and it was bright, though overcast, and the prospect of rain dimmed Soarin's heart; but not everybody felt that way. Students still lingered in the courtyard between classes and sat outside after breakfast before lessons began, for though it was cloudy, the air didn't carry much of a chill, and most people didn't even bother with a sweater. Plus, the excitement of the coming weekend was always pleasant to think about on the last day of the week.

That morning, Billy screamed in his room and played up the 'fact' that he had lost his footing when he crawled out of bed and had sprained his ankle. Soarin and Shaun helped him to the hospital wing where the nurse, Mrs. Primrose, used a simple elixir which took care of the swelling as well as the pain. Good as new, Billy left ten minutes later to begin classes, though Mrs. Primrose gave them all a strange look. Somehow, the amount of healing she had had to do on Shaun and Eliza (not so much Soarin) had made her a little suspicious of them, and now suddenly to have Billy hurt when he had taken up company with those three... His ankle certainly did not look like something that had happened in the last ten minutes. However, she kept her thoughts to herself and Soarin felt extremely grateful for that.

Billy walked with them toward Professor Gald's classroom. It was their first class of the day, Divination, something Soarin didn't have much use for since he was already a Dream Seer and Gald's Divination lessons were either terribly off, or just plain boring.

"So let me run over this again..." Billy said. "A stake through the heart will kill a vampire..."

"Right, but it has to be wood. Metal won't do anything except put a hole in their chest and that will just piss them off. Trust me! I learned that the heard way!"

"And... beheading will work..." he said slowly. Soarin nodded. Billy went on thoughtfully: "And crosses are bad news..."

"Uh huh, and garlic, holy water and fire. Those are the basics. And," Soarin added pointedly, "you did a great job helping me last night, but that was it. I'm a Slayer and I kill vampires. You don't."

"Come on," said Billy pleadingly.

"It's a losing battle," Shaun said dryly as he walked beside Eliza, a little behind Soarin and Billy. "We've done this too. He won't let you."

"I'm not trying to be mean," Soarin said lightly. "I'm trying to keep you safe."

"Oh, this is my stop," Billy said as they walked into the corridor where the Divination classroom was. Billy stopped a few doors down from Gald's 'sanctuary.' "I'll see you guys later, okay? We can talk more about my helping you then."

Soarin sighed and they said goodbye and headed down the hall and through the open door of Professor Gald's classroom.

The air was warm and stale as though the room had not been opened to the sunlight for a very long time. Heavy black curtains draped the walls, covering the windows so that not even a glimmer of the light outside could get through. Candle sconces lined the walls and tall candelabras stood about the room, filling it with soft yellow light that made one sleepy. There was a tall dark wood desk at the front of the room with a high backed chair and beyond that, a heavy wooden door with long rusty hinges and an old fashioned pull handle shaped like a ring.

This door swung open with an achy creak and Professor Gald emerged. He swept into the classroom with his cloak catching the air and billowing about him and he stood before the students, frowning like a thunderstorm. He was a tall and paunchy man with blonde wisps of hair stood up about his head. (It was very thin and in truth he was mostly bald.) He wore a black cloak with a silver clasp at the throat which glinted in the candlelight. Beneath the cloak, he wore a midnight blue suit, almost the color of the night sky, and the shape of his rather round belly was clearly visible under the darkly embroidered waistcoat. He tucked in the corners of his lips and his thick cheeks bulged and showed how heavy he actually was. With the frail bits of hair and round appearance, not to mention the very pink skin, he looked more like an over grown baby than a Divination teacher.

Though really, Soarin thought to himself, his skin is more white than flesh toned. I think this candlelight hides how pale he really is. Soarin supposed that the trick of coloring in Gald's skin was something natural to all Divination teachers. Professor Gald explained that the humid air and drapes covering the walls and windows were for the purpose of 'atmosphere.' It helped to channel the power of one's mind.

Professor Gald folded his arms in a slow, though unmistakably fierce sort of way and sternly swept his gaze over the class. His eyes always rested on Soarin's face for a moment or two longer that anyone else's as though challenging his student, but Soarin never looked away and so, the challenge continued day after day.

"We have a new student to introduce today," he said suddenly as though he'd been talking for ten minutes already, "before we begin the lesson." Gald's eyes scanned the lines of desks once again and then he gestured toward the door with his left arm and a boy stepped into the room.

He was dressed in a dark sweater and wore jeans and loafers. With his hair as black as a tar barrel and his skin creamy and smooth, the contrast between complexion and hair color was sharp. He wore a simple back-pack like the rest of the students and as he entered, he hitched it on his wide shoulders with a touch of arrogance. He stepped to Professor Gald's side and a look of distaste immediately overcame both of their faces.

"This," said Professor Gald bitterly, "is the newest addition to our school. You may introduce yourself."

The boy threw a calm, icy look at Gald and then smiled crookedly, though he didn't show his teeth. The smile didn't come even near to touching his eyes, which were far apart and had a sleek and long look to them, with razor sharp black brows over each. From where Soarin sat, he wondered about those eyes. They looked odd...

The boy spoke and his voice was soft and resonant, almost effeminate, and that look of arrogance he wore on his face matched the note of the stuff in his voice. "My name is Dromin. Dromin Fende. I'm fourteen years old, though I'll be fifteen soon, and I'm very pleased to meet you all." He looked at Gald with a smirk. The expression said: Are you satisfied now? Can I sit down now, you pompous piece of...

"Very good," Professor Gald said unenthusiastically. "Eliza Bennet!" he said and looked at the desk behind Soarin and Shaun where Eliza sat, alone and disinterested. She looked up at him lazily and when she saw the sour stare he was giving her, she stood, quickly. "You are alone at that desk for two, are you not, Miss Bennet?"

"Yes, sir," she replied.

"Well then, our new addition will be sitting beside you for the remainder of the year. Be sure you help to catch him up since he is so late in his attendance to my class." He looked pointedly at Dromin Fende and then the new boy stepped forward and walked slowly down the aisle of desks. As he passed by, Soarin looked up and smiled, but Dromin didn't return the gesture of welcome. He only walked around Eliza's chair and then slid into his own beside her. He slipped his back-pack onto the desk top, folded his hands atop it and then simply sat. Eliza shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Well then? Shall we continue?" Gald went on. "Please take out the assignments that I sent back to your rooms with you yesterday and please make sure that they are finished."

Soarin ignored the look that Gald threw at him and very eagerly pulled his finished homework from his bag.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, the bell rang and everybody began to put their work away and gather up their things. After all, it was Friday and no one had to look at Gald's sour face again for two whole days! Soarin threw his things into his bag and then stood and slipped the straps over his shoulders. As he did, Dromin slipped around him, nearly pushing him over.

"Sorry I was in your way," Soarin said politely (careful to leave in the sarcastic edge, of course), hoping that Dromin would take the point.

Dromin stopped and turned to him, giving him an up and down stare which made Soarin's skin crawl. Then Dromin smirked. "I'm sorry," he drawled. "It's my first day and all. I'm in a hurry and didn't mean to bump into you."

Soarin noticed with an unsettling feeling that Dromin had two different colored eyes. One was a hard blue, so bright that it almost looked white. The other eye was brown with flecks of gold in it. He tried not to stare and shrugged, smiling a faltering smile. "Don't worry about it. It's no big deal. So," he said, trying to sound brighter, "where are you from?"

"I just moved here from New York."

"Oh, cool. Well, I'm Soarin, by the way, and this is Shaun and that's Eliza. Welcome to Hierophants. It's uh... well... it's a school."

"Not that great?"

Shaun snorted with a dry laugh and then realized how stupid it sounded and was silent.

"Hey, I didn't say it, you did," Soarin said with a dry laugh and then began: "So, what are-" but was rudely cut off as Lorn Stevens interjected himself between the two of them.

"Hello," Lorn said brightly. "I'm Lorn Stevens and I'm very glad to meet you!" He offered his hand.

Dromin smiled smugly. "Likewise," he said unfeelingly, letting Lorn's hand hover unnoticed in the air

"Just thought I might do a little favor for you," Lorn said chummily and draped an arm across Dromin's shoulders. "I'll give you some advice. Since this is your first day, you might want to be sure that your seen in the presence of the right people and not where your oh-so-judgmental fellow students will associate you with losers."

"Meaning you?" Soarin asked.

Lorn glowered at Soarin angrily.

"Do us all a favor Lorn," Eliza said. "Go hide in a hole somewhere and then pull the hole in after you." And with that, Eliza strode past him and headed out the door. Shaun followed her (muttering something at Lorn that sounded distinctly like Mama's Boy) and Soarin gave a glance at Dromin and then left with his friends.

They filtered through the hallway and came out into the courtyard, heading in the direction of Ms. Faithe's classroom. The buzz of voices filled the air and the blurry sky overhead made everything look flat and neutral. Lorn and Dromin bustled past, the two boys talking together as though they were best friends.

"Lorn could charm a snake," Shaun said indignantly.

"And I have a strange feeling that Dromin might be just that," Soarin said thoughtfully to himself.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Soarin said, staring after the new boy and his newly made pal. "Something is funny about that guy. Did you see his eyes?"

"That isn't so weird," Eliza said matter-of-factly. "I have a dog at home with eyes just like that."

They laughed and headed into the hallway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ms. Faithe's class, long though it seemed, had Soarin fidgeting in his chair more than usual. Ms. Faithe taught Magical History and it was not one of Soarin's favorite subjects. Shaun, however, slipped easily into the lesson and ate up everything she said. He was, indeed, Ms. Faithe's best student and it wasn't lost to her that Eliza and Soarin usually did the homework she assigned by copying it from Shaun's papers. Today, like any other, felt longer than normal, but it seemed to drag out even more because Soarin had a report for her. Granted, she wouldn't like that Soarin had taken Shaun and Eliza out, but he hadn't been patrolling. He had only meant to show them the garden on the library roof. The vampire and then the creature that had attacked him had been an unfortunate side effect.

Finally, the bell rang, signaling lunch, and she dismissed the students. Soarin, Shaun and Eliza slowly packed their things in their knap-sacks and waited for the classroom to empty. Once they students had gone, they rushed to Ms. Faithe's desk.

Ms. Faithe was a tall woman with dark mahogany colored hair that hung to her shoulders and eyes shaped like almonds that were so brown, they seemed black. An extremely beautiful woman, she carried herself like the Slayer she was. She smiled at them as they converged at her desk.

"Ms. Faithe," Soarin began quickly, "I know you told me not to go out patrolling without your permission and I didn't! But I did take Shaun and Eliza to see the garden and I just happened to see a vampire and-"

"Wait, slow down," she said calmly. She sat down in her chair and folded her hands on the blotter atop the desk. "So you wanted to show them the garden? That isn't a big deal. It's beautiful."

"But the vampire showed up suddenly and I couldn't just let him break in."

"That couldn't be helped. I wouldn't have expected you to just let it go."

"But that's not the important part," Soarin intoned edgily. "So I chase this vamp and then he stops! He just stops in the middle of running from me and he was on the verge of getting away-"

"He almost got away?" Ms. Faithe asked in alarm.

Soarin groaned. "That isn't the point! The vampire got really scared all of a sudden and then this giant... thing jumped out and pounced on him. But the creature, or whatever it was, I couldn't see it that well, left him alone and the vampire ran away from it! Back to me! The Slayer!"

Ms. Faithe stared at him. "He did." It wasn't a question.

"Yes! And that thing... it was like a giant-"

"It was so cool! It was like a giant tiger that breathed fire!" Shaun finished.

Soarin looked at him sharply. "Well thank you Sir Thunder-Stealer," he said brusquely. Shaun shrugged apologetically.

"A tiger that breathed fire?" Ms. Faithe mused attentively. She stood slowly and walked to her bookcase and ran her fingers over the titles with a thoughtful look. "Ah, I know!" And she came back to the desk with the book she had plucked from the shelf and laid it open on the desktop. She flipped pages and then turned the book around so that Soarin could see what she had opened to. "Here you are!" she said nonchalantly.

Soarin looked at the open page and there on it was a drawing of the creature he had seen the night before. Highly detailed, with some of the smaller aspects differently depicted, Soarin recognized it as the same creature instantly. Beneath the drawing, a fancily scripted word spelled out: DRYU.

"Dryu?" he asked. "What is it? Why was it here?"

"Yes, a dryu. And in answer to your other questions, I don't know and I don't know."

Soarin looked at her in confusion. "I don't understand."

"Simple," Ms. Faithe said dryly. "This creature you saw last night does not exist."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What?" they all three cried at once.

Soarin shook his head. "Ms. Faithe...? I think I heard you wrong. Say that again."

"This creature does not exist. Simple as that."

"Um... News Flash! I killed one of these things last night. I felt the heat from its flames. Billy saw it as well, so you can't say that this thing isn't real."

"Relax, I'm not saying that you didn't see it last night, I'm only telling you what the facts are. A dryu is a creature that does not exist." They looked at her blankly. She held up the book's cover. "This book is entitled Creatures Of Myth And Legend. Understand? This creature that you fought last night is a mythological beast that was never proven to exist."

"I've never heard of a dryu before," Soarin said.

"Where? In the muggle world?" Ms. Faithe laughed. "Of course not! In the muggle world there is no such thing as a dryu anywhere in mythology or otherwise. They have their own set of everything. Muggles actually think that griffins don't exist either. Along with mer-people, and even Pegasus! Stupid people, really. Take for example: the centaur. You have heard of a centaur, haven't you?"

Soarin nodded. "Yes, we learned about them in Care Of Magical Creatures. Why?"

"Simple. That is a creature that exists in our world, but does not in the muggle world. But we have some things that don't exist either. Things that muggles have never heard of because they are based upon wizard mythology. Dryus are just such a creature. They have never been heard of in the muggle world, but do not really exist in our world either."

"So you are telling me that this dryu thing doesn't exist, but griffins and... and centaurs do?" Soarin said, incensed.

Ms. Faithe smiled pleasantly and nodded. "That's correct. Does that bother you?"

Soarin's mouth fell open and he acted like he was going to speak, but instead he fell into one of the empty chairs. "Well, yeah it bothers me! Wouldn't it bother you? I almost got killed last night by this giant tiger/dragon! Something I have had no experience fighting at all! And besides!" Soarin said vehemently. "I was raised in the muggle world and was brought up to believe that griffins and centaurs, mermaids and unicorns were not real and then I have this giant head trip when I come into the wizarding world and find out they're all real. And then you tell me that wizards have their own set of mythological beasts!"

"This isn't just the world of a wizard, Soarin," Ms. Faithe said evenly. "This is the world of the Slayer."

"Then something's wrong here," Soarin said softly, but firmly. "That creature nearly burned the hair from my head before I killed it. Billy was there too. He's vouch-worthy."

"So where is the body?"

Damn!

Soarin looked at her and then sighed. "This is such a 90210 moment," he said to himself.

"A what?" Shaun asked.

Soarin shook his head. "The body sorta... disappeared." Ms. Faithe raised an eyebrow and looked at him strangely. "It kind of vanished. In a puff of fire. Look, I'm not crazy! Shaun and Eliza saw it all from the roof. And Billy was right there! I've said that so many times! That should be proof enough-"

"It was pretty crazy, Ms. Faithe," Eliza said softly.

Ms. Faithe leaned forward in her chair and rested her elbows on the desk. "Oh, I believe you," she said assuredly. "I do. The question now is, where did it come from and why was it there?"

"I'd say vampire," Soarin said.

"Well, yes," replied Ms. Faithe slowly, "I suppose that's a possibility, but I wouldn't count on it. Vampires don't usually dabble with such things. It isn't in their nature. They aren't for the magic and magic beasts area."

"Do I have to remind everybody about the spell that Ash used to control the minds of the school?" Soarin said looking from face to face. "Ash is a vampire. He used magic. Plain and simple. That sounds like dabbling to me. And please do not tell me that it's beyond a vamp like Ash's capabilities to get a hold of a creature like that and set it loose on the school. We're talking 'field day' here. There is a Slayer at the school. One that they know of at least. Like Ash wouldn't be all over that!"

"Still..."

"Think about it Ms. Faithe," Soarin continued. "That vampire I saw was like the bait, only I don't think he realized he was the bait. Ash sets a demon-thing loose on the school at the same moment. Me, young Slayer, out and about, sees vamp, gives chase. Got it? Well here comes this thing out of nowhere and attacks me! It all points to vampires. Ash, especially. You know that he still has those books he stole from the library. I think that besides vamps, this also screams magical undertones. I'm going with the vampire case."

"That is a very likely story, certainly," Ms. Faithe countered, "but I don't see why the vampires would have need for such measures."

"I do. Ash knows who I am. He knows I'm one of the Slayers and for some twisted reason, he even knew my name," Soarin said and shivered. The memory of Ash being near him was powerful. Ash certainly had something strange in his aura and it played itself whenever Soarin had been around him. Soarin shuddered at the memories of the vampire nearly biting him. And the way Ash had said his name...

"Okay, well, I want to eat lunch, kids!" Ms. Faithe said and stood up abruptly. "This is all very fascinating, but we can work on it later. Soarin, you and I will go patrolling tonight and see if there is anything funny happening. Meanwhile, please don't worry about it. I'm sure it's nothing. It was probably some sort of coincidence."

"Ms. Faithe," Soarin said, "we're talking about a nonexistent animal here. This is no coincidence."

She ushered them all up and urged them toward the door. "Well, we'll discuss it later. Go eat lunch. You're hungry."

"I'm not, really," Shaun said.

"Then go watch someone else eat," Ms. Faithe said pleasantly. "Soarin, I'll see you tonight!" And with that, they were out the door and Ms. Faithe had closed it behind them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fly, which had been sitting on the wall of the classroom, watched the teacher usher the three students from her room. Its round, bulbous eyes took her in as she returned to her desk, opened one of the drawers and removed a false interior from it. From this she took out a flat black box and slipped it into her pocket.

"Headmaster, I need your help once again," she said to herself, but the fly did not wait for this. It had already carried itself out the window.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. The sky cleared slowly and by the time school had ended for the day (with the weekend shining ahead in full bloom), a plane of blue hovered over the grounds, though the stormy darkness still clung in the distance away to the east. Soarin sighed with relief once the bell signaled the end of the school day and felt extremely glad that he didn't have to sit and look at Lorn whispering chummily with the new boy, Dromin, any longer. Inside, he still felt peculiar when his thoughts centered on the newest addition to their student body. The sooner they were all allowed to be out of the classrooms and doing their own leisure activities, the sooner he would feel at ease. In addition, it certainly was not usual to find mythological beasts roaming about one's school.

Soarin and Shaun returned to their room to put their school things away and Eliza did the same. After a brief talk on the way to the dorms, they had decided to go for a walk about the school and do their weekend homework later on in the evening after dinner, for the air had warmed up considerably and the weather was too nice to spend sitting inside after a day of heavy rain.

"So, did you see Lorn all best-of-friends with the new kid?" Shaun asked as they walked side by side through the school.

"Yuck, gag me, please!" Eliza laughed. "Someone should have warned that poor guy before Lorn could pounce."

"I don't know, you guys," Soarin said softly, "something's strange with that new boy. Something is off. I don't know what it is, but he gave me the wiggins."

Shaun sighed and began: "Soarin, I think-"

"-I've been hanging out with too many demons, yeah, I know." Soarin sighed heavily. "But I can't explain it. Maybe it's just because Lorn was a jerk when he came over and it left me feeling gross. Every encounter with him makes me feel less than fresh, so it's probably just Lorn giving his usual bugs. Still..."

"Don't over react," Eliza gently replied. "Just relax. It's Friday and we can sleep in tomorrow and have the whole day to just sit if we want. And, maybe it's not too late to win Dromin over to the good side," she joked.

"Uh no! I think it is too late for that," Shaun said distastefully.

"But," Eliza said with a wide smile, "the Saint Valentine's Day Dance is in a couple of weeks! They have it every year and we're finally fourth years and can go! That is something to look forward to!"

"A dance?" Soarin said doubtfully.

"Yeah!" she continued. "It will be so much fun! Remember how we wished we could go for so long? We always saw the other students getting ready and having panic attacks because so-and-so asked this or that person to go and I know that I wished we could go. And now we can!"

"Going with someone?" said Soarin blandly. "Like... a date?"

"Uh-huh. Like a date. A big huge scary date with someone here at school."

Shaun nodded. "I have to admit, I am looking forward to it, Soar. I mean, you see all the older ones going and how much fun they say they've had. Now it's our turn! Even if we do have to find a big scary date."

They came out into the grass and began making their way about the edges of the school.

"It isn't the date that's the problem. I'm not afraid of that. But who would I go with?" Soarin looked about him as though he were searching for someone who was walking in pace with them. "There really isn't anyone I'd want to go with. Besides," he said softly as his eyes skipped to the ground, "you're forgetting one thing. I can barely get anyone here to talk to me under normal circumstances. What makes you think that anyone at this school would be willing to go to a dance with me?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Shaun said gently and squeezed Soarin's shoulder tenderly.

Soarin shook his head. "It really doesn't bother me," he lied. "I'm okay with things the way they are. Imagine if I was this super popular freak, like Lorn, and then had to go out patrolling and doing the Slayer thing. It wouldn't work. It's my fate. The life of the shunned Slayer!" He drifted off into silence and looked into the sky. "It's better this way. It makes things less complicated."

"I'm sure there will be someone to go with," Eliza said cheerily. "Besides, if there isn't anyone, we can go!"

"We?"

"Yes," she said with a smile, "we! It would be so much fun!"

"And leave Shaun high and dry?" Soarin shook his head and smiled softly. "I don't think so, Eliza, but thank you just the same. I think it'll be me and a wooden stake for the night."

A low murmur of voices began to fill the air as they spoke and they turned a corner and found themselves at the back of a large crowd who were gathered around, watching a great group of students on brooms flying through the air playing a handicapped version of Quidditch. They zipped through the air on their brooms and called to each other as they tossed balls back and forth and people on the ground threw small Snitch-sized spheres into the air. Someone would always come zipping like a bullet to catch the little balls and then would fly high into the sky waving their arms. Several Quaffle-sized balls were alternately bouncing and bobbing like popcorn. Every now and then there would come a little burst of noise as cheers erupted from the gathering of spectators.

Eliza sighed. "Dad helps me with my flying at home but he won't let me bring my broom with me."

"I'm not all that into flying," Shaun replied, "though I love Quidditch! It would be amazing if we actually had a team here at Hierophants. Oh well. It would have been great to go to the Quidditch World Cup though! They held it in England this time! I read about it in the paper."

"I know! Dad said he wanted to get tickets, but he didn't want to worry about getting over there and everything. He said it was a good thing we didn't go afterwards, though he wouldn't tell me why..."

"I heard the same thing. There was trouble or something."

"I have to agree with Shaun," Soarin said as he cast his eyes back and forth with the movement of the players. "I'd rather keep my feet on the ground. But it is fun to watch, though I have to admit I've never seen a game of Quidditch played before. A real game anyway."

"Look!" Eliza pointed. "There's Lorn!"

They drew their eyes along the path of her pointed finger and found the handsome blonde young man who was swooping back and forth with a cocky arrogance that matched his personality. He smiled a flashing grin of even white teeth and dove straight toward the ground and then righted himself at the last moment. The crowed cheered and shouted his name and he took to the higher altitudes once more, waving his hand and strutting on his broom. (Soarin didn't think it at all the right way to say it, but if a person could strut while sitting on a broom, he supposed it was exactly the thing Lorn was doing.)

Shaun led them around the throng of students until they were nestled off to the side where they were out of the way, yet could still get a nice view of the action taking place in the air above the grass. They grouped together, Soarin with his arms folded across his chest and Shaun sinking to his knees in the grass, watching silently. Several flies swooped into Soarin's face and he batted them away and then sat beside Shaun.

"He really does keep his seat well, doesn't he?" Shaun commented bitterly. "I hate it that pretty boys seem to be so good at everything!"

"Yeah, but how many times has Lorn averted the Apocalypse?" Soarin said.

"I haven't done that Soarin," Shaun stated flatly. "You did."

"But you helped." Shaun still didn't look convinced. Soarin sighed and looked back at the figure on the broom. "Well, so what if he's popular and extremely attractive. Does he get good grades? Oh wait a minute... He does." Soarin grimaced. "I've never met a bigger teacher's pet. But still... there are a lot of things that you are that he's not."

"Like?"

"Well, thoughtful might or might not be one of them," Eliza quipped.

Soarin smiled at her and said in a sing-song way, "You're not helping!" He turned back to Shaun. "There are a lot of things. Thoughtful is one I'd say is a very important trait. And don't forget kind!"

"And there are a lot of things," Eliza interrupted, "that Lorn is that your not! Handsome and popular just being two. But don't forget-"

"-arrogant and rude?" said a voice.

The three looked up from where they sat and found Dromin Fende standing with his arms folded over his chest, his shoulders thrown back and his eyes narrowed on Lorn.

"What?" Eliza asked.

Dromin turned to her and Soarin caught a glimpse of the boy's eyes and thought: That's strange... weren't his eyes two different colors before? Now they're both brown... Dromin smiled brightly and some of the sinister atmosphere about him drew away and Soarin felt his mind ease.

"I was just agreeing with you about Lorn," Dromin said. He looked at Shaun and nodded. "Your name is Shaun right? I was just saying that from what I gathered, you aren't arrogant like Lorn is. And the three of you don't seem in any way rude, unless you count talking about someone behind their back as rude."

"And it is," Soarin said brightly, "very rude, but for Lorn, we make a tiny exception."

"I understand," Dromin said, nodding.

"So I take it you weren't as captivated with Lorn as everybody else seems to be?" Shaun asked. "And thank you, by the way for the compliment."

Dromin nodded. "You have to humor people like him. I thought it was terribly thoughtless to interrupt you three when you tried to introduce yourselves this morning, but if I had told him what I really thought of him I would have never had a chance to get on anybody's good side. People like Lorn need to be told how great they are about once in every minute or they get cranky."

"Isn't that the truth," Eliza mumbled.

"However," Dromin said slowly and his eyes journeyed back to Lorn as he shouted and swooped about on his broomstick, "despite his rude nature, he seems very... healthy."

Soarin felt the feeling of unease charge back through him and he looked up at Dromin's face with distaste. "Oh, yeah! Sure he is! If you like that red blooded I'll-Eat-Anything look. People like Lorn were made to pull ox-carts."

Shaun and Eliza laughed softly but Dromin remained expressionless. His eyes were fixed on Lorn and his brows were drawn down as though he were concentrating hard.

"So..." Soarin said awkwardly. "What dorm are you staying in, Dromin?" There was no answer and Soarin only looked at the new boy with the strange feeling of trepidation growing stronger. "Dromin?" Still, the new boy didn't reply and the gaze remained fixed on Lorn. Soarin jerked his gaze from Dromin's face and out into the air above the grass. His heart leaped painfully. A cry rose in his throat as he sprang to his feet, following Eliza and Shaun. The crowed had suddenly began to murmur softly and were pointing toward the players.

The other boys and girls on their brooms had thinned out and several were bringing themselves to the ground again. Those that still hovered in the air had moved away and were forming a loose ring about Lorn, who was wobbling on his broom and batting at the air around him. It seemed to be thick with some sort of moving cloud of darkness and when Soarin squinted into the sun's glare he saw that it was a thick swarm of flies which were zipping about Lorn's head and crawling over his skin. In the air, he cried out and tried to fly from them, but the insects only chased after him, latching onto him once again.

"What the..." Soarin heard someone say and then other similar statements were buzzing through the crowed, making a noise very similar to what Lorn must be hearing in his place above, or so Soarin thought to himself.

Lorn suddenly gave a strangled cry and began to fly in desperation through the air, making great whizzing streaks and leaving a tail of flies like a star shooting across the sky. He continued to flap one hand and then the other at the swarm of insects, barely keeping himself on his broom.

"Help me!" Lorn's voice came, loud and near a shriek. "Get them off!" His broom began to fight against him madly and he was struggling to hold on with both hands as the flies crawled over his forehead, trying to get to his eyes. Suddenly, he capered to the side and slipped off the broom and would have fallen to the ground twenty feet below, if he had not swung his hands onto the shaft of the floating handle. It pulled under Lorn's weight and then began to dash about on its own accord, swooping up and down and flying helter-skelter. Lorn shook his head, trying to rid the vicious swarm from his face and then screamed as one stung his neck.

"What do we do, Soarin," Eliza whispered.

"What can I do?" he muttered to himself. His eyes were wide and he had the sudden flash of his own eyes popping from their sockets, but the broom swung about suddenly and threw Lorn against a blonde sixth year girl with her hair tied back in a pony-tail. She screamed and her broom canted over on its side and she went with it. Her scream ripped even louder from her throat as her grip failed and she plummeted toward the ground.

All thought flew from Soarin's head and he was dashing forward and shoving his way passed Dromin and Eliza and into the throng. He pushed them out of his way roughly and they toppled over onto their sides like bowling-pins and Soarin's feet pumped with all speed into the open grass. Someone had left their broom hovering three feet from the ground and with a soft grunt, Soarin jumped up onto it, his feet balancing on the slim shaft, and pushed himself off of the stick and into the air, using the broom handle for leverage. The give on the broomstick sent him reeling through the open space above the lawn and he caught the girl seven feet above the ground. They plummeted back down and Soarin held her tightly in his strong arms and he knew how to fall. He groaned as his shoes touched the earth and he threw himself down and they fell into the grass, rolling softly to a gentle stop.

In a blur of motion, Soarin was up again and he sprang forward just as Lorn's hands let go. Lorn dived downward, and Soarin nearly snagged him from the air. He crushed heavily into the Slayer's arms and Soarin was thrown back with Lorn's weight against him and they fell hard into the grass.

Lorn groaned and sat up slowly. "I'm okay, I'm okay," he said weakly. "They're gone. I don't know what happened up there but whatever those things were, they're gone. Wow! I fell all that way and I didn't get hurt!"

Soarin got to his feet quickly and brushed himself off. There were fresh grass stains on his jeans and water had soaked into his jacket from the damp lawn. Shaun and Eliza hurried to him.

"Are you okay? Oh wow! I can't believe what we just saw!" they exclaimed excitedly in a rush.

Soarin smiled shakily and looked at the blonde girl where she sat in the grass with a small circle of her friends about her. She was talking in a hurried manner, no doubt telling them about her near death experience, and several of the boys and girls in the group were turning and looking at Soarin with wide eyes and shocked faces. On his feet now, Lorn stood looking up into the air and then began talking quickly to his admirers who were also sneaking glances out of the corners of their eyes at Soarin.

A teacher appeared, hurrying across the grass toward the clusters of students

Soarin turned to Shaun and Eliza. "Let's go back," he said. "I have to wash these grass stains out before they set!" They looked at him incredulously and then glanced at the crowd of students who were all turning to look toward where Soarin stood with his friends. Then, Shaun and Eliza nodded and they hurried away from the murmur of voices and strange stares.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So how is Lorn taking it?" Ms. Faithe asked.

"Oh, you know Lorn!" Soarin said dismissively with a wave of his hand. "He thinks he just floated to the ground as safe as can be and that's why he's okay. I actually heard that he said he must be some sort of Mage because of his miraculous fall. All crap, of course. And oddly enough, the one hundred or so people that witnessed the whole affair didn't correct him..."

He and Ms. Faithe were walking side by side through the black walkways of the campus. It was unusually dark because the moon had been blanketed by a thick sheet of clouds and the air was very chilly and heavy with the prospect of more rain. Soarin still hadn't bothered to change to a new coat and the one he now wore was the same one from the afternoon, only it sported soapy damp spots on the elbows and shoulders tonight from the grass stains he had received from the tumble he had taken across the lawn. When he had met Ms. Faithe at her classroom at half past midnight, she had noticed them first thing and had asked what had happened. And so, the story spilled out as they Patrolled the grounds.

"I'm just very glad that you're okay and that Lorn and that girl weren't hurt. Who was she, by the way?" Ms. Faithe questioned.

Soarin shrugged. "I dunno. I've seen her around, of course, but she isn't in my dorm so I don't know her." Soarin paused for a moment or two and then said: "It isn't like she would talk to me if she was in my dorm anyway..."

Ms. Faithe smiled tightly. This was indeed a difficult subject for him and she knew it, though Soarin would never admit it. She knew that Soarin's popularity for rumors and down-talk was a constant point of thought for him, though he always acted like it never bothered him.

"I bet she'll talk to you now. You saved her life, or, at least you saved her from some really nasty injuries."

Soarin shook his head and shrugged. "It doesn't matter, Ms. Faithe. I don't even really want to talk about it. My whole reason for telling what happened was because I wanted to get your opinion on those flies. I mean, I told you how they acted. Tell me that that wasn't totally weird. Attacking the way they did!"

"I agree."

"So what then?" Soarin asked. "Don't you think that it's strange that something like this happens today, when only last night-"

"I know," she interrupted. "It is highly possible that the two things are connected."

"So what should we do then?"

"I have no idea, but I have found something interesting that might potentially explain your beastie from last night."

Soarin raised his eyes brows. "Oh?"

"Well," Ms. Faithe began, "There is an account from the eighth century about a village in Eastern Asia that was found with its entire population slaughtered by some unknown creature. There was only one survivor. An old man... But then, another village was attacked not much farther from the first and it, too, was completely destroyed. Again, only one survivor and the odd thing is, it was the same old man who had survived the first attack."

Soarin looked at her and felt chills rise up and down his back. For a Vampire Slayer, you're sure a wuss! he told himself. "Go on," he said aloud.

"I thought that was very odd, so I checked out more of this phenomena connected with the annihilated villages and about their survivor and such and," Ms. Faithe continued, "I found more accounts of strange occurrences with animals. All the records said that there was an old man involved and wherever he went, disasters took place, all concerning deaths by animal attack. There were accounts of bears and wolves acting strangely and attacking and killing for no reason. But it wasn't just regular animals being sighted. There were also accounts of strange beasts people had never seen before. Not only beasts like your dryu, but demons as well."

"Wow," Soarin said in fascination. "So, what was this old guy?"

"Well, I'm not sure."

"Huh?"

"There is no account of anything else significant." She paused dramatically. "Except... for one thing!"

"What? Come on, Ms. Faithe! This isn't a movie! Just tell me. Enough with the stage works."

"Seriously," she said soberly, "this old man was just a simple shaman so the only other thing I could find just doesn't seem right. It doesn't quite fit, I mean."

"Just say it. And it better be good," Soarin said, exasperated, "because you talk with the excitement factor and then it sounds now like you're trying to build it down and that isn't fair. So, I better get my money's worth."

"Well," Ms. Faithe said lightly, "the old man was found dead one day. Mutilated. From the inside, out. Not all of his... um... parts were found either." She sighed and then grimaced. "There were engravings."

"Oh," Soarin said thoughtfully. "So what then? What could eat a person from the inside? Are there demons that do that? Stupid question, of course there are demons that can do that. There are demons that do everything that is sublimely gross and I can guaranty, if the Slayer doesn't want to be involved, there will be something dark up to their elbows in it."

"That's what I'm trying to explain to you," she continued. "I thought it might be a demon of some sort, but that wouldn't explain the weird animals and beasts. I thought, what if it isn't something tangible at all. What if it was something that was killing him and he couldn't control it."

"Like, a demon?" Soarin said with his tone full of smart-ass-ism.

She ignored his comment. "I strongly suspect that it was wholly different that an attack by a monster, if you will, which sounds like total rubbish considering the circumstances. Jaws, pointy teeth, many legs, stingers, you name it..."

"What do you think then?"

Ms. Faithe, however, did not answer. She stopped and looked about their location and then sighed.

"It's been two hours and we've found nothing. Do you want to call it a night?" she asked him. Soarin nodded and they turned and began walking back along the way they had come. Soarin, purposefully, began to walk slowly, dragging out his paces as Ms. Faithe's classroom approached. He wanted time for her to finish. She continued: "To make a long story short, I found that what this shaman probably had was a power he couldn't control. I cross referenced with some other older, similar incidents, looking back over the centuries, and I've come to a conclusion due to the resemblances certain incidences had with each other."

"I don't understand," Soarin said and shoved his hands in his pockets. His fingers were chilled and he clenched his right hand over the stake in the pocket, feeling the cold ache in his knuckles.

"Considering the shaman's circumstances, I think he might have been what is called a Beast Master."

"A Beast Master?"

Ms. Faithe nodded. "That's right. A Beast Master is a type of power very similar to Telekinesis or Precognition. Even Dream Watching to a certain extent. But it is different as well, and I'll get to that in a minute. A Beast Master is a Summoner who can call upon dark forces to conjure various creatures both real and make-believe. This is done by using incantations and magic words." She went on. "Like Telekinesis and Dream Seeing, being a Beast Master is a power that one is born with."

"Or like being a Vampire Slayer?"

She shook her head. "Definitely not like a Vampire Slayer! The powers of the Slayer are a birth-right and passed on down a line of mystical warriors. The powers of a Summoner are not! A Beast Master's powers are what is called a Mystical Anomaly. Something in the person's genetic make-up has been twisted to contain this power."

"Well," Soarin said, "something in my genetic make-up was twisted to make me a Slayer. It sounds like the same stuff to me."

"Very true, but it isn't. Imagine giving your powers to a person who is not biologically equipped to handle them."

Enlightenment dawned on Soarin's face and he nodded.

"But why not just smother the power and not let it grown within you?"

Ms. Faithe continued: "A Beast Master has to summon it's creatures because they need to feed. That is why the shaman, if he was a Beast Master, turned his creatures loose on those villages, because they grew hungry and needed to be fed. The only problem with that is that once the creature or creatures have fed, they will eventually become hungry again and want to eat once more. The sad part about being a Beast Master is that the powers grow hungrier and hungrier until the Carrier cannot possibly feed the force inside him enough to satisfy it. Eventually, the power turns on the Carrier and the Carrier will die a gruesome and extremely painful death! Seemingly eaten from the inside, out." Soarin grimaced and Ms. Faithe agreed. "I know. But, that is only from what I found on that shaman. There was nothing that I found which I would call concrete."

"But the important thing is that a Beast Master can summon nonexistent creatures, right?"

"That is correct."

"So there we go!" Soarin said excitedly. "We have it! Everything is pointing to your theory. A Beast Master it is!"

"It seems that way. And there is something else which points home as well," Ms. Faithe calmly said. "A Summoner's creatures are not real in the sense that you and I are real. They don't exist on this plane. What we are seeing is a type of Shadow."

"A Shadow?"

She nodded. "Yes. One downside to a Summoner's magic-"

"You mean beside death?"

"-is that often times the creatures may be so weak upon entering this realm that they die instantly or may be so powerless that they can't do anything at all and slip into a type of coma. However, if one does get through with its strength intact, it has the power to kill because of the hunger driving it."

"But it can be killed. We know that much at least, and the whole thing with it's not existing on our plane would probably explain why the dryu turned into light as it died."

"Right."

"And I'm guessing that whoever the Summoner is, knows a thing or two because the things I've seen have not been weak at all! Last night was close and I really should give high-fives for the creativity with the flies earlier today," he finished with a dry laugh.

Ms. Faithe said, nodding: "It is safe to assume that."

"Okay, but how do you find the Beast Master? How can you locate a person who can do their damage from anywhere without a trace?"

"That's simple. All one would have to do is tame one of the Summoner's beasts, in effect, mastering the creature and ordering it to find its old controller."

"Oh!" Soarin began sarcastically, "and that would be just so easy, what with the fire and massive claws, not to mention the tremendous hunger driving those things!"

"No one said anything about ease when it comes to the Dark Forces," she replied with a soft grin. "And it gets worse."

"It always does..."

Ms. Faithe ignored the comment and went on.

"The Summoner is connected to his or her beast through their minds. If you were to re-master a Summoner's creature, that Summoner would be fully aware of what was happening and could easily get away. As you can see, this is a very difficult situation."

"Yes, but I know who it is," Soarin said firmly. Ms Faithe looked at him in surprise and he went on. "It's Ash! Who else could it be? He wouldn't need to come out in the daylight in order to wreak havoc. He could stay nicely tucked away wherever it is that he and his fellow demons nest and get at me from there."

"Due to the powers we're talking of, I know it isn't a vampire."

"Why?"

"Because the powers would have disappeared once the human had died and then risen again. It cannot be a vampire."

"So who then?" Soarin asked, disappointed that his idea was not possible. "A person at this school? A student?"

"I'm afraid that that is what I think," she said stiffly. "Someone at this school is putting their fingers on something big and powerful that should not be touched."

Soarin stopped and gave her a look, one eye brow cocked upward while the corners of his mouth pulled into a lazy smile.

"You do realize how that sounded, don't you?"

"Yes, yes..." she said tiredly. "A person simply cannot say anything around young people, namely, you and your age, these days because the words always have some 'other' meaning."

Soarin was just beginning to smile broadly and let out a little peal of laughter when the still night air was suddenly broken by a shrill cry from the courtyard!

Soarin and Ms. Faithe whipped their heads toward the sound and there came the rasping scuffle of hurried footsteps and the shuffling thud as someone stumbled. A figure darted suddenly around the dark corner and Soarin drew his stake speedily, prepared, and then lowered it as the figure stumbled to its knees and then fell fully face-forward onto the ground at the Slayers' feet.

It was a tall boy with light hair.

"My God!" Soarin cried and hastily sank to his knees beside the fallen figure.

The boy was trembling and moaning blearily and he kept shivering and thrashing one arm as though trying to ward something off and a high wheezing filled the boy's throat and in a silent and very stagnant moment, he suddenly went very still, his guttural noises ceasing.

A sudden flash of "He's dead!" filled Soarin's head, but he saw the labored expanding of the boys back which caused the whole torso to move and then the occasional twitch of a limb and he knew that the boy was still alive.

Ms. Faithe darted around the corner and into the courtyard. Rapidly, she shifted her eyes about but the open area was completely deserted.

"Anything?" Soarin asked as Ms. Faithe returned.

She shook her head. "There's nothing." Breathlessly, she knelt beside Soarin, looking down at the boy. "Can you tell who it is?"

"No," he replied as he leaned over a bit to try and peer into the face. It was hidden in shadow and a loose tumble of hair. "I can't see; it's too dark with him on his stomach like this. Who ever it is... they're pretty messed up..."

Which was true, for the back of the boy's sweater was ripped wide open and there were four diagonal slash marks lacerating the flesh beneath. Where dirt hadn't been ground into the jagged edges of clothing, blood seeped into it, blackening it and making it glisten in the weak light that could escape from behind the clouds. More dirt discolored the clothing not already saturated with blood and Soarin heard a hiss whistle from between his teeth when he saw that there were more lacerations across the back of one thigh. The shoulder of one side of the sweater had been ripped away completely and though the skin on the boy's arm was unmarked, it was streaked with blood and grime and it was bent at a strange angle.

"Broken arm, I think," he said sympathetically. "Should I move him?"

"Yes, we have to. And be careful," she warned and then looked about again (as though expecting to find someone or something standing nearby, watching) and stood up. "We'll have to get him to Ida Primrose right away. She'll be able to take care of him. But you have to carry him Soarin. I'll walk behind you and cover you if whatever attacked him his still around, hiding."

Soarin nodded and reaching out, he grasped the boys shoulder. As gently as he could, he lifted the boy's upper body and cradled it in his arms. Then, he slowly turned the boy over, mindful of the ruined arm, and eased the boy into his lap, cradling the head against his chest. As he looked down at the boy's face a gasp escaped him.

"Lorn!"

As if hearing his own name spoken revived him, Lorn's body jerked and began to thrash again, feebly. His eyes rolled open and lolled about in their sockets. Soarin held Lorn in his arms as tightly as he could, trying to stem the tide of spasms that were rocking Lorn's body so violently. He knew in the back of his mind that it was possible for Lorn to hurt himself, but the thought didn't actually form in his brain, Soarin only acted on instinct.

Ms. Faithe could hear Soarin muttering soothing words and when he looked to her, she could only stare back at him, her lips tight and her eyes dark and glimmering, words momentarily lost amid the jumble of thoughts raging through her head.

Lorn slowly relaxed and his eyes cleared drastically. His remaining good arm moved and his hand reached up and clenched onto Soarin's coat lapel. His eyes sought Soarin's and recognition dawned and he tried to speak, his lips moving soundlessly.

"S-Soarin..." he stuttered weakly. "Y-y-ou g-gotta stop..." Lorn's body trembled again and his chest heaved as he broke into a fit of dry, harsh coughs. When it had passed, he looked defenselessly at Soarin once again. "It came and and and..." He groaned. "Oh, it hurts... God! Like fire!"

"Lorn, it's okay," Soarin said in a tender voice, calmly stroking Lorn's hair. "You'll be okay, just hold on."

Lorn's grip tightened on the coat.

"Two!"

Soarin looked at him, lowering his ear to Lorn's mouth so that he could hear better.

"Th-there were t-t-two. Two of him! But not h-h-him. I don't..." Lorn moaned and clenched his eyes shut. "It hurts so much..." His breathing quickened and he tightened in Soarin's arms, stiffening, and then he relaxed suddenly and his arm fell away, his head rolling to the side.

"He fainted," Soarin whispered after a moment.

Ms. Faithe sighed. "Let me help you pick him up and then we have to go. We have to get him to Ida's. Quickly. Something in very wrong here. Extremely wrong!"

To Be Continued...