Chapter XXIV – A Wolf in the Fold

There are many things in life that irritate me – people who play music just loud enough so that you can hear it, but not quite loud enough to be able to identify the particular track; drivers who seem to think that dipping your headlights to prevent blinding other road users applies to everyone else except them; and those wankers who start sentences with ‘You know what your problem is…’ and then proceed to advise you what you’re doing wrong and how, by following their expert advice, you can improve your standing with the world as a whole. 

I know some may think it irrational to get wound up over what they may consider “petty annoyances,” but as far as I’m concerned, this kind of behaviour just underlines the fact that these people have no consideration for the others, so it’s entirely justified that they be consigned to the Pit, to roast screaming in Hellfire for all eternity.  

That’ll learn ‘em. 

However, the things that really annoys me, is when someone proves to be cleverer than I thought they were, as it this makes me look like an idiot. 

Which I’m not. 

Well, most of the time – we all have our off days… 

Anyway, this latest stratagem by our shadowy nemesis proved that they were a little more cunning than I had supposed, as by implicating Yarrow in the theft of the book, they had effectively removed her from the playing field, leaving us with no conclusive way of identifying them prior to the ritual taking place. 

They were probably hugging themselves in glee, congratulating themselves on how very clever they were. 

But they had failed to take into account who they were dealing with. As future Helena had stated, I’m a stubborn and suspicious bastard and, like an angry badger, backing me into a corner just makes me more determined to fight. 

When we got back to my room, I started to pace back and forth, as this helps me to think. Helena, recognising the expression on my face, left me to it, knowing that once I had worked out what I needed to, I would then start talking. 

‘Right,’ I said, coming to a halt, ‘I’m going to talk this through, just to see whether it makes sense. I’m relying on you to be the voice of reason here, so if you think I’m jumping to conclusions or talking out my arse, you need to say, okay?’ 

‘Of course, Alex,’ agreed Helena. 

‘So, we believe our opponent – let’s call him Mister X for the time being – planted the book in Yarrow’s room, knowing that it would be found, correct?’ Helena nodded. 

‘Okay, so they must have known that once it was found, due to her Geist heritage, Yarrow would not be able to categorically confirm that she had nothing to do with it. This suggests that they know enough about Geist to know that Scrying doesn’t work on them. Now, is this something that is common knowledge?’ 

‘Anyone who has studied Scrying would know that, so it IS pretty much generally known,’ said Helena. 

‘Now, this is where it gets interesting,’ I said, ‘Mister X took Yarrow out of commission, as they were aware that due their corruption by dark magic, she could identify them. However, by doing so, they have started a process whereby another Geist, specifically one who investigates “crimes” committed by Geist, will be coming to Oakdene. What’s to prevent that Geist from identifying Mister X?’ 

‘Depends on how long it takes for them to arrive, I suppose,’ said Helena, ‘Dr Vayne did say it might take some time…’ 

‘Okay, let’s assume that Mister X knew that their actions would result in Yarrow being confined AND that a Geist… er… what was that term?’ 

‘Iarrthóir fírinne… I think,’ said Helena. 

‘Right, the iarrthóir fírinne would be called AND that when they arrived, they would be able to identify Mister X immediately. Now, if they DID know this, they must have been confident that the other Geist would either not arrive before the ritual was due to take place, due to bureaucratic red tape, or that if they did arrive before the ritual, Yarrow would be removed from the college for questioning, meaning that Mister X would just need to make themselves scarce on the day the Geist collected her.’ 

‘Let’s assume that’s all correct,’ said Helena, ‘What are you getting at?’ 

‘How would they know enough about Geist society, specifically how the Geist High Council would deal with something like this, which is NOT common knowledge, unless…’ 

‘…they were a Geist themselves,’ finished Helena, looking startled. 

‘That would also explain how they were able to touch the book, as we know the blood-lock enchantment doesn’t affect Geist. It all fits.’ 

‘But hang on a second,’ said Helena, ‘If there was another Geist attending the college, especially if it was one of the other First Years from Watkins or Scot House as we suspect, surely the college would know?’ 

‘That depends,’ I said, ‘The college was expecting thirty students to arrive on the 1^st of September and that’s what they got. They would have received the files from their previous school, but if our hypothetical Geist had replaced the student who was due to arrive and claimed to be them, who would know?’ 

‘But given the age of the students, surely they wouldn’t have transitioned yet?’ said Helena, ‘Wouldn’t it have been obvious that they were a Geist?’ 

‘Only if they were actually the age they appeared to be,’ I said. 

‘Are you saying that they may have somehow managed to alter their appearance?’ 

‘Possibly. I have a theory, but it’s based on folklore from MY world, so it might not apply here… but there is a way to check.’ 

I reached out my hand towards the bookshelf and said ‘Changeling.’ Almost immediately, the Leabhar Scáthanna jumped from the shelf into my waiting hand, then fanned open. 

‘Well, I think that proves my theory,’ I said, ‘let’s have a look at what it says… “when encountering mícheart, there is the danger that if one is not mentally fortified and protected by the necessary talismans, the corruption can spread, infecting the individual. We refer to these aberrations as Changelings. Changelings are especially dangerous, as they can assume the appearance of others, masking their true form and masquerading as friends or relatives. However, in order to replace their intended target, they must….” Oh dear God, that’s horrible…’ 

‘What’s wrong, Alex?’ asked Helena, leaning forward, ‘what does it say?’ 

‘I’m not really sure I want to read it out to you…’ I said, holding the book to my chest, a look of disgust on my face. 

‘Surely it’s better if we both know?’ said Helena, standing up and walking over, ‘Let me see…’ 

‘No, I’ll carry on, but it IS particularly gruesome,’ I said, ‘so brace yourself. Where was I? “…in order to replace their intended target, they must feast upon their flesh, devouring them in their entirety, until not a scrap is left.”’ 

The colour drained from Helena’s face and her hand involuntarily covered her mouth. 

‘Oh my God,’ she said, ‘that’s horrendous!’ 

‘I did warn you it was nasty,’ I said, swallowing, ‘I honestly think I may actually throw up…’ 

‘So, if your theory is correct…’ started Helena. 

‘A corrupted adult Geist, a Changeling, has replaced one of the students that was due to start on 1^st September and in order to do so, they’ve killed and eaten them.’ I finished. ‘We knew that whoever was planning on completing the ritual had no qualms in committing murder, but this takes them to a whole new level of malevolence.’ 

Helena looked shocked, but then a thought must have occurred to her. 

‘Give me that,’ she said, taking the book form me, ‘if the book describes what a Changeling is, there’s a chance that it also details their weaknesses…’ 

She scanned down the page. 

‘Aha, here we go!’ she exclaimed, ‘blah, blah, blah… “once mícheart has taken full sway, the Changeling is altered both physically and spiritually, resulting in particular substances becoming an anathema to them. The blossoms, fruit and sap of the Rowan tree cause revulsion and the touch of skiron is fatal…”’ 

‘Well, I’ve at least heard of Rowan,’ I said, ‘but what the Hell’s skiron?’ 

Helena looked through the book, scanning the pages. 

‘It doesn’t appear to be in here,’ she said in disappointment, ‘I guess whoever wrote this assumed that everyone would know what it was…’ 

I gave this some thought. 

‘Right, as it’s Autumn,’ I said, ‘there’s no chance of getting any Rowan blossoms, but we might be able to harvest some berries. What’s your tree knowledge like? Would you be able to identify one if you saw it?’ 

‘Not really…’ said Helena, ‘I think it’s got red berries, but I’m not sure…’ 

‘I guess we’ll have to hit the Library then,’ I said, sighing, ‘and whilst we’re there, it might be worth asking Master Tweed if he knows what skiron is…’ 

Right, Mister Changeling, you may think that you’ve scuppered our plans, but we’re on to you and we have new plan.  

I’ll have you yet, my pretty, and your little dog too… 

‘Skiron?’ asked Master Tweed, ‘I’m not surprised you couldn’t find it in any of the books in the Library.’ 

After checking to make sure we were the only ones in either the Study Hall or the Library, I’d approached Master Tweed at his desk, whilst Helena searched for a book on trees. As we currently had no way of knowing which of the other students was the Changeling, it wouldn’t do to advertise what we were looking up, as it may tip them off that we were on to them. 

‘Why’s that, Sir?’ I asked, a look of polite interest on my face. 

‘Well, it’s a particularly archaic term and is, in fact, a contraction, which was quite unusual for the time in which it was used,’ he explained, ‘skiron is a contraction of “sky iron,” which actually refers to meteoric iron, which is one of the only naturally occurring forms of iron in metallic form, rather than as ore. Prior to the advent of iron smelting, which naturally gave the Iron Age its name, it was the only form of iron available to the Ancients and, due to the fact that it was usually hammered into shape, rather than forged, is also sometimes referred to “cold iron,” as no heat was used.’ He looked at me in interest, ‘Is this something to do with your project on King Athelstan?’ 

‘Not that I’m aware of…’ I said, playing along, ‘How is skiron connected to King Athelstan?’ 

‘Ah, it looks like I can impart some information that is NOT common knowledge,’ said Master Tweed, rubbing his hands together with glee, ‘such is the life of a teacher, that we derive pleasure from filling the minds of our students with interesting facts… anyway, the connection is the original Vorpal Sword, which, as we’ve previously discussed, apparently went missing at the same time as the Jabberwock, was made predominantly from meteoric iron. It is believed that this contributed to its special properties.’ 

‘Ah, I see… I’ll be sure to add that information to my project,’ I said. ‘So, is meteoric iron quite rare then?’ 

Well, I’ve not ever come across any…’ said Master Tweed, then paused, ‘actually, that’s not entirely true. I think that Mr Ware has a bracelet made from it, as I remember noting its unusual design and asking him about it. Apparently, it was bequeathed to him a long time ago. Is there anything else I can help you with?’ 

I noticed that Helena was waiting for me and tapped her bag meaningfully when she’d got my attention. 

‘Uh…no…nothing else at the moment, Sir,’ I said, ‘thank you again for your time.’ 

‘Not a problem, Alexander, always happy to help,’ said Master Tweed, ‘And I am sorry about this unfortunate business with Miss Yarrow. I know that both you and Helena here are quite close with her and I’m sure once the representative from the Geist High Council arrives, this will all be cleared up.’ 

‘Do we know when they’re going to arrive, Sir?’ asked Helena, coming forward. 

‘Not at present, I’m afraid,’ replied Master Tweed, ‘My understanding is that a formal request has to be submitted, which we have done, then this has to be examined and approved by the Geist High Council, then a relevant iarrthóir fírinne assigned to the case, if one is available, who will then join us at the college. It could be anything from a matter of weeks to a couple of months.’ 

Looking at our crestfallen faces, Master Tweed smiled kindly. 

‘I’ll speak to Dr Vayne and see if she’ll allow you two to visit Miss Yarrow in her room,’ he said, ‘as the Head of Dee House, the welfare of all three of you is my responsibility and I think that regular contact with you, her friends, would do her the world of good.’ 

‘Thank you, Sir,’ I said, ‘that’s very kind of you.’ 

‘So, did you get it?’ I asked, Helena as we made our way back to my room. 

‘Yep,’ said Helena, tapping her bag, ‘a reference book WITH illustrations, so we should be able to locate and identify a Rowan tree.’ 

She glanced out the window, then frowned. 

‘Guess we’ll have to wait until tomorrow though,’ she said sourly, ‘it’s getting dark, and you know what happened the last time we went wandering in the woods after nightfall…’ 

‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘Not an experience I’m keen on repeating… you haven’t got any free periods tomorrow, have you?’ 

‘No, full day, I’m afraid.’ 

‘In that case, we’ll have to go after lessons have finished,’ I said, ‘that should give us about an hour before the sun goes down. Hopefully, that’ll give us enough time to find what we need.’ 

Chapter XXIII – The Missing Book

As we were anticipating that whoever was planning on completing the ritual may target Yarrow, due to the fact that she could potentially identify them, it was decided that either myself or Helena would accompany Yarrow whenever she was out of her room. As we were in the same lessons for the most part and it was known that we were close friends, we hoped it wouldn’t be too obvious to anyone watching that we were keeping an eye on her. 

It would also mean that if Yarrow DID detect mícheart, one of us would be present to see who was about and hopefully identify the corrupted individual. 

Of course, we had failed to take into account that the person planning all this was not about to be caught that easily and had put their own plan in place to take Yarrow out of commission… 

The first we knew about this was when Master Tweed summoned everyone from Dee House to the common room on Sunday afternoon. 

‘I apologise for summoning you all here on your day of rest,’ he began, a grave expression on his face, ‘but a serious matter has arisen that needs addressing.’ 

Helena, Yarrow, and I looked at each other with puzzled expressions on our faces. What now? 

‘It would appear that at some point between the Library being secured on Friday night and this morning when it was reopened, someone had managed to enter the Library and remove one of the restricted books,’ said Master Tweed, ‘As you are all aware, there are enchantments in place that should have prevented this from occurring, but the fact remains that this book is missing. As this means that the perpetrator has somehow been able to overcome or disable the blood-lock enchantment placed upon it and, as I have not been able to locate it using my own formidable Bibliomantic talent, also managed to conceal it from me, this would suggest that they are a powerful and skilled sorcerer. Given the particular subject matter of the book in question, this is extremely concerning, as in the wrong hands, this book could do a great deal of damage.’ 

Helena shot me a worried look, as we’d both realised that whoever was planning on rewriting reality next month now had access to the full details of the ritual they needed. 

‘Given the seriousness of this theft, the college had no choice but to alert the relevant authorities and they are on their way. Should anyone know anything about this, I would suggest that they come forward as soon as possible, as this will save any possible unpleasantness later. Thank you for your time.’ 

As Master Tweed left, the room erupted into animated conversation, with everyone speculating on what this could possibly mean. I caught Helena and Yarrow’s eye and nodded towards the door, then headed out of the room.  

‘Alex…’ Helena started, before I interrupted her. 

‘Not here,’ I said, ‘Too many ears. Let’s take a walk outside…’ 

We headed onto the rear terrace, and I made for the steps leading down to the Dog Walk, with the girls following after me. After checking that no-one had followed us, I turned to them both. 

‘Right, I think we can be pretty certain that whoever is planning the ritual now has the full instructions on how to complete it,’ I said, ‘Based on my research on the blood-lock enchantment, unless they have been able to circumvent it, the obvious suspects for this would be either Master Tweed himself…’ 

‘Which we know it’s not, otherwise Yarrow would have reacted to his presence,’ said Helena. 

‘Or Doctor Tweed, as she shares the same blood.’ I finished. 

‘Doctor Tweed?’ queried Yarrow, ‘But she’s really nice… it can’t be her!’ 

‘We could check,’ said Helena, ‘Think of some excuse to talk to her with Yarrow present, and see if Yarrow reacts to her?’ 

‘I honestly don’t think it’s her,’ I said, ‘but I suppose it is worth checking, just to rule her out.’ 

Yarrow and Helena started to discuss possible reasons to speak to her, but stopped when they noticed I hadn’t joined in. 

‘What’s wrong, Alex?’ asked Helena, ‘What haven’t you told us?’ 

‘You know I did some extensive research into the blood-lock enchantment, to see if I could work out how to get around it?’ I said. Helena nodded, but Yarrow just looked surprised, as we hadn’t told her this. ‘Well, it is possible that the enchantment only affects humans…’ 

I waited for this to sink in, watching as they both realised what this meant. 

‘You’re not seriously suggesting…’ said Helena, turning to look at Yarrow. 

‘It wasn’t me!’ cried Yarrow, eyes tearing up, ‘You don’t honestly believe I would do something like that!’ 

‘Of course not,’ I said, ‘All I said was that it was a possibility… I don’t know if it would affect you or not. But if it doesn’t, then we have a problem…’ 

‘I’m not sure I’m following you, Alex…’ said Helena, a puzzled expression on her face. 

‘The book with the ritual in has publicly gone missing,’ I said, ‘So, why now? If I’d worked out how to defeat the blood-lock enchantment and was planning on using one of the rituals from the book, I wouldn’t advertise the fact. I’d sneak it off the shelf, copy what I needed and put it back, with no-one being the wiser. The only reason I can think of for not doing it that way was if I wanted people to discover the book was missing.’ 

‘What’s this got to do with me?’ Asked Yarrow. 

‘We’ve recently discovered that your ability to detect mícheart has developed, meaning that you can identify whoever it is that has been corrupted by dark magic, right?’ Yarrow nodded, ‘Helena, am I right in thinking that Scrying doesn’t work on Geist?’ 

‘Yes,’ she said, ‘it’s something to do with how their minds differ from ours…’ 

‘Okay,’ I said, ‘So, imagine you’re the bad guy – you’ve just found out that Yarrow can detect your corruption and need to remain unidentified until it’s time to compete the ritual. Plus you’ve worked out how to get around the blood-lock enchantment, that it’s possible that Yarrow CAN touch the restricted books AND that because Scrying doesn’t work on Geist, if Yarrow was found with the book, even if she denies it, there’s no immediate way of knowing if she’s telling the truth. What would you do?’ 

‘I’d plant the book in her… Fuck!’ Said Helena, ‘Yarrow, we need to get back to your room immediately. If Alex is right, someone’s trying to set you up…’ 

We rushed back inside and up to Yarrow’s room, but it was already too late. Her door was open, and we could hear adult voices inside. As we approached the open door, Dr Vayne stepped out into the corridor, followed by Master Tweed. He was holding a green-bound book in his hand, which we assumed was the missing book. 

‘Ah, Miss Yarrow,’ said Dr Vayne, ‘I believe you have some explaining to do…’ 

‘Wait a moment, Headmistress,’ said Master Tweed walking towards us, ‘I just want to check something first.’ 

He placed the book on the floor in front of us.  

‘Miss Yarrow, would you mind picking up this book, please?’ he said, ‘Don’t worry, should you be affected by the enchantment, I will immediately lift it.’ 

Yarrow looked fearfully back at Helena and I. 

‘I don’t really want to, sir…’ she said tearfully. 

‘Miss Yarrow, we are merely trying to establish whether you could have taken the book,’ said Master Tweed kindly, ‘If you are affected by the blood-lock enchantment, then it will be obvious that you could not have taken the book and someone else has placed it in your room. However, if not…’ he left the sentence hanging. 

Helena reached for Yarrow’s hand and gave it a squeeze. 

‘We’re both here, Yarrow,’ she said, ‘It’ll be okay.’ 

Yarrow smiled gratefully, then crouched down and tentatively touched the book’s cover. We all held our breaths.  

When nothing happened, she cautiously picked up the book, tears in her eyes and handed the book to Master Tweed, who had a grave expression on his face. 

‘It wasn’t me, sir,’ she said, ‘You have to believe me!’ 

‘The evidence seems to suggest otherwise I’m afraid, Miss Yarrow,’ he said. 

‘Hang on,’ I said, ‘all that proves is that Yarrow can touch the book. What if the enchantment on that particular book didn’t take completely? What if anyone can touch that particular book?’ 

‘Hmm, you have a point, Alexander,’ said Master Tweed, ‘I suppose it is possible… are you prepared to volunteer to test this theory?’ 

‘If it proves that the blood-lock enchantment isn’t present on the book,’ I said, ‘then, yes, Sir, I am.’ 

Master Tweed held the book out and I reached out and grasped the cover. I immediately began to feel a tingling in my fingers, similar to the sensation of pins and needles, but rather than the numbness receding, it spread from my hand up my arm, then continued over the rest of my body. I tried to pull my hand away, but couldn’t move my arm, or the rest of my body, for that matter. I began to panic slightly but couldn’t even make a sound. 

‘I think that proves that the blood-lock enchantment is in place,’ said Master Tweed, making a complicated gesture with his free hand. I was immediately freed from the paralysis and stumbled backwards. 

‘Are you alright, Alex?’ said Helena, stepping forward and taking my arm. 

‘That…’ I slurred, ‘was not pleasant.’ 

‘Hmm,’ said Dr Vayne, ‘This situation presents us with a problem. Miss Yarrow here denies that she took the book and due to her Geist heritage, there is no way of discerning if she is telling the truth, so there is little point in her being questioned by our authorities. However, we do need to get to the bottom of this, so we will need to contact the Geist High Council and request an…  iarrthóir fírinne, I think the term is?’ Yarrow nodded. 

‘Unfortunately, this will take some time to organise, bureaucracy being what it is. Whilst I am fairly certain that you were not responsible for the theft of this book, due to the serious nature of this breach, until we can be certain, I’m afraid you will need to be confined to your room until further notice.’ 

‘You’re locking her up?!’ exclaimed Helena, ‘But she hasn’t done anything wrong!’ 

‘That remains to be seen, Miss Morgan,’ said Dr Vayne, ‘I appreciate that emotions are running high, but do please try to remember who you’re speaking to…’ 

‘Sorry, Headmistress.’ 

Dr Vayne turned to Master Tweed.  

‘Humphrey, can I leave you secure Miss Yarrow?’ she asked. 

‘Of course, Headmistress,’ replied Master Tweed, ‘I shall do so immediately. Miss Yarrow, if you could enter your room, please?’ 

I could see Yarrow was close to tears. 

‘It’ll be okay, Yarrow,’ said Helena supportively, ‘We know you didn’t do it, and once the other Geist arrives, they’ll prove it too.’ She then tuned to Master Tweed, ‘Are we allowed to visit her?’ 

‘You’ll be able to talk to her through her door, but won’t be able to see her, as the door will be secured against all physical or sorcerous forces,’ said Master Tweed, ‘Once the enchantment is cast, nothing can get in or out, until the spell is lifted. She will be allowed use of the bathroom, naturally, but will be accompanied by a member of the faculty at these times.’ 

Master Tweed indicated that it was time for Yarrow to be confined to her room and she slowly and tearfully walked to her door and went in. Master Tweed shut and locked the door, then spread his hands towards the door. The perimeter of the door glowed briefly with amber light. 

‘All done, Headmistress,’ said Master Tweed, then turned to Helena and I, ‘Whilst I appreciate that you wish to support your friend, which is admirable, there is little you can do for her at present, so I suggest that your return to whatever you were doing prior to this.’ 

Master Tweed tucked the book under his arm and walked off down the corridor, in conversation with Dr Vayne. Dr Vayne paused at the top of the corridor and looked back at the pair of us, a thoughtful expression on her face. 

We watched them turn the corner, then Helena turned to me. 

‘So, what on Earth do we do now?!’ she asked in exasperation. 

‘Come on,’ I said, starting off down the corridor towards my room, ‘we need to think this through…’ 

Chapter XXII – Dark Magic

There was no need for either of us to get up early the following morning, due to it being a Saturday, but Helena had decided she ought to go back to her room before anyone else stirred, so as not to draw attention to the fact that she had spent the night elsewhere. 

‘I’m sure I’m not the only one who didn’t sleep in their own bed last night,’ she said, climbing back into her dress, ‘but I think we should try and keep a low profile – it will help with our investigations.’ 

She turned to me. 

‘Now, are you going to just lie there ogling me,’ she asked over her shoulder, ‘or are you going to help me with this dress?’ 

‘Sorry,’ I said, getting out of bed and walking over, ‘I was just admiring the view.’ 

‘Oh, shut up you,’ she said, but I could tell by the tone of her voice she was pleased by the compliment. 

Whilst I had designed the dress Helena was wearing, I’d not really given much thought to the logistics of putting it on, concentrating more on the look of the thing, than the practical aspects. I fed the rear straps through the loops either side, criss-crossing them across her back, then tied them off in a bow at the base of her spine. I then leant forward, and gently started kissing my way along her collarbone, which caused an involuntary intake of breath from Helena. 

‘Are you sure you have to go right now?’ I asked, ‘Can’t you stay for a bit longer?’ 

Helena stepped forward with a giggle, turned to face me, put her arms around me and drew me close. 

‘I would love to,’ she said, nuzzling my neck, ‘but I’m just being sensible here, Alex.’ 

‘Well, if you have to go, then I’d best give you something to remember me by…’ 

And I kissed her deeply, feeling her initially tense, before relaxing into it with a sigh. 

‘Still sure you have to go?’ I asked teasingly. 

‘It is tempting…’ she said, smiling, ‘but, yes, I do have to go. I’ll see you downstairs in about an hour, yes?’ 

I reluctantly let her go, agreeing to meet her in the Dining Hall later for breakfast. 

After she’d gone, I reflected on the previous day’s events. As birthdays go, that was probably the best one I’d ever had. 

I decided to take the Leabhar Scáthanna down to breakfast with me, in the hopes that Yarrow would be there, as it would help explain what she had experienced the previous evening – and hopefully give Helena and I the opening we needed to discuss the plot to rewrite reality.  

Obviously, we couldn’t tell her everything, as the whole thing was pretty unbelievable, but we could give her the broad strokes, in the hope that she would not only believe us but would also agree to help. 

Given that it was a Saturday, was just after 8.00am and everyone was still probably recovering from last night’s festivities, the Dining Hall was relatively empty, with only a few students scattered about. The advantage of this was that all the food was freshly cooked and there was plenty of it, so I loaded my plate high and headed for an empty table, as neither Helena nor Yarrow had made an appearance yet. 

I was just about to tuck in when I was interrupted, and not by who I expected. 

‘Good morning, Alexander,’ said a female voice, ‘Do you mind if I join you?’ 

I looked up and was surprised to see Penny standing across from me, with a laden tray. 

‘Of course not, your Highness,’ I said, ‘Please, take a seat.’ 

Penny sat down, placing her tray in front of her and leaned forward. 

‘You don’t really need to call me “your Highness,” you know,’ she said, ‘Penny’s fine.’ 

‘Well, if you’re okay with me calling you Penny, then you can call me Alex – most of my friends do.’ 

‘Fair enough.’ 

‘No Aubrey this morning?’ I asked, ‘I though you two came as a pair. He was your date last night, wasn’t he?’ 

Penny pulled a face. 

‘He was supposed to my date for the whole evening,’ she said sourly, ‘but got involved in some kind of drinking game with some of the Second Years, so after that he wasn’t really in any fit state to do anything. It was quite disappointing.’ 

‘I regularly find myself disappointed with Aubrey’s behaviour,’ I said dryly. 

Penny looked up at me with a start, then started giggling. This actually transformed her face, as her usual expression was that there was a bad smell under her nose that she couldn’t get away from. 

‘Anyway,’ said Penny, once she’d stopped laughing, ‘I was hoping to get a chance to speak to you alone. I overheard Dr Vayne and Ashleigh talking last night… it is true that you were responsible for all of the Dee House girls dresses last night?’ 

‘Um…sort of,’ I said slowly, ‘I came up with the initial idea, but Ashleigh designed and created most of the dresses herself, with Signora Milano’s help. I was only directly responsible for three of them.’ 

‘I see,’ said Penny, then paused, ‘Hang on, did you say YOU designed three of the dresses yourself?’ 

‘Yeah, I did.’ 

‘What, really?’ seeming surprised when I nodded in reply, ‘Which ones?’ 

‘Ashleigh’s, Yarrow’s and Helena’s…’ I said, counting them off on my fingers, ‘although Signora Milano actually created Helena’s, I just designed it.’ 

‘Gosh…’ said Penny, ‘I didn’t realise you were that talented. I mean, that rose you made for me was pretty cool, but I didn’t realise that you’d designed AND made dresses too. Especially those ones…’ She looked around the room and leaned in conspiratorially, ‘Don’t tell anyone this, but I was kind of jealous of Ashleigh’s dress – I wish mine had looked as nice.’ 

‘Tell you what,’ I said, ‘next time there’s a special event, I’ll design you a dress myself, if you want…’ 

‘You’d do that for me?’ said Penny in surprise, ‘but I’ve not been particularly nice to you since we’ve been here…’ 

‘Yeah, we didn’t get off to the best of starts, did we?’ I said, ‘What was it you said to me when we first met? “Boy, fetch my trunk,” wasn’t it?’ 

Penny flushed. 

‘Yeah, my dad gave me a right telling off for that,’ she said, ‘I’m sorry I was so rude to you. I think I may have misjudged you.’ 

‘Don’t worry about it. It happens all the time. I am quite a nice guy when you get to know me.’ 

‘Well, you certainly do have a lot of friends, Alex,’ she said, ‘In fact, I think there’s a couple of them now.’  

I turned to see that Helena and Yarrow had just walked in. Yarrow gave me a little wave, before going to the counter to get some breakfast. Helena looked surprised to see me sitting chatting with Penny and gave me a questioning look. 

‘Always room for one more,’ I said turning back to Penny. She gave me a thoughtful look, then extended her hand. 

‘Truce?’ she asked, a little shyly. I took her hand. 

‘Truce,’ I agreed, shaking it. 

‘I’ll leave you to it, Alex,’ she said, getting up, ‘I need to give my dad a call, as he’ll want to know how my first Samhain Ball went.’ 

‘And what was all that about?’ asked Helena, sitting down, ‘You chatting up princesses now? Can’t I leave you alone for five minutes without finding you with some other girl?’ 

I snaked my arm around her waist and pulled her close. 

‘You know there’s only one woman for me,’ I murmured, ‘Do I need to prove it to you again?’ 

‘Alex…’ said Helena, embarrassed, ‘There’s people watching…’ 

‘Don’t care,’ I said, ‘In fact, I think I’ll stand on the table and announce to everyone that you’re my girlfriend right now.’ I started to get up. Helena grabbed my arm and pulled me back down into my seat. 

‘Alright, you’ve made your point,’ she whispered, a smile on her lips, ‘But I thought we were trying to maintain a low profile?’ 

‘Good point,’ I said grinning, ‘and I think that Penny and I might be friends now, so hopefully that will help with…the other thing.’ 

‘Morning Alex!’ said Yarrow breezily, joining us at the table, ‘I just wanted to apologise again for last night. I really don’t know what came over me…’ 

Helena and I looked at each other and I placed the Leabhar Scáthanna on the table between myself and Yarrow. 

‘But we think we do,’ I said, opening the book to the relevant page and pushing it towards her, ‘read the section on mícheart…’ 

Helen and I sat quietly, letting Yarrow read. When she had finished, she looked up with a slightly dazed expression on her face. 

‘But that means…’ she started. 

‘Not here,’ I interrupted, ‘We don’t know who might be listening. Once we’ve finished our breakfast, we’ll head back to my room, as there’s something we really need to talk to you about…’ 

‘So, what’s going on?’ asked Yarrow, once we were secure in my room, ‘You’re both being very mysterious and it’s worrying me…’ 

Conversation during breakfast had been a little stilted, as both Helena and I refused to be drawn on what we wanted to discuss with her and I was trying to work out the best way to explain, without freaking Yarrow out. 

‘I think it’s best if Alex explains,’ said Helena, ‘as he knows more than I do.’ 

‘Alex?’ queried Yarrow. 

‘Okay,’ I said, marshalling my thoughts, ‘We have reason to believe that someone is going to attempt a major sorcerous ritual on 17^th December, due to it being the eve of Saturnalia AND a full moon. We don’t know the full details of the actual ritual itself, but we’re pretty certain that it will involve a blood sacrifice – so we’re talking seriously dark magic. Now, we know that the intended victim is female, and, through deductive reasoning, we’ve whittled down the list of possible victims to two people – Penny…and you.’ 

‘What?!’ exclaimed Yarrow, ‘Why me?’ 

‘We think that the more magically powerful the blood is, the more chance the ritual will have to succeed,’ said Helena, ‘Which is why we think it’s either you or Penny.’ 

‘How do you know all this?’ asked Yarrow. 

‘Alex was sent here specifically to stop it from happening,’ said Helena, ‘He’s… more than he appears to be.’ 

Nicely done, Helena, I thought to myself. 

‘But why haven’t you gone to the Headmistress with this?’ asked Yarrow, ‘If someone’s going to potentially hurt one of the students, shouldn’t you have reported it as soon as you found out?’ 

‘Well, there’s a bit of a problem with that…’ I said, ‘We don’t know who we can trust. Thanks to your ability to detect mícheart, we know that someone who attended the ball last night has been corrupted by dark magic and it’s likely that it’s the same person who is planning on completing the ritual next month – but it could be anyone, even one of the teachers…’ 

‘But surely part of their job is to protect the students?’ said Yarrow, ‘They wouldn’t deliberately harm them, would they?’ 

‘There IS precedent for that sort of thing, unfortunately,’ I said darkly, ‘So, the only people I definitely know I can trust are currently in this room.’ 

‘How long have you known about this?’ asked Yarrow. 

‘Alex only confided in me at the end of September,’ said Helena, ‘once he knew he could trust me.’ 

‘So, why are you only telling me all this now?’ asked Yarrow. 

‘Because there’s a strong possibility,’ I said, ‘that whoever is planning this dark magic knows enough about Geist that they will realise that you can identify them, which puts you in danger.’ 

‘I know it’s hard to believe, Yarrow,’ said Helena, ‘it took me a while to get my head round it, but I do believe AND trust Alex completely. The question is, do you?’ 

Yarrow looked back and for the between Helena and I, noting how serious we both looked. 

‘Is this the only reason you made friends with me, because of this plot?’ she asked plaintively. 

‘No, of course not!’ I said, ‘We hadn’t worked out until very recently that you might be the possible target. We’re your friends because we like you and we definitely don’t want anything bad to happen to you.’ 

I could see Yarrow was overwhelmed with what we had told her and close to tears, so I walked over and took her in my arms. 

‘I know it’s a lot to take in,’ I said gently, ‘I wish I hadn’t been given this task, but I was chosen for a reason, and I will do everything within my power to prevent any harm coming to anyone. Helena has agreed to help me, even though it could be dangerous for her too. You’re already a possible target and I know it’s asking a lot, but are you prepared to help too?’ 

Yarrow pulled back and looked me in the eyes. 

‘You were the first person who treated me like an actual person when I came here,’ she said, ‘and you’ve shown me nothing but friendship and kindness since I’ve known you, Alex. I may not completely understand what’s going on and all this talk of dark rituals scares me, but I do know that you’re a good person and wouldn’t lie to me. If you think I can help, I’ll… I’ll try my best.’  

‘That’s all that I ask,’ I said, ‘Thank you. And remember, we’re not sure who we can trust, so you need to keep this to yourself.’ 

I looked across at Helena, who was looking pensive but resolute. Yarrow had rallied and I could see her strength beneath her tears. Unlike the person who was planning on rewriting reality who, by necessity, was working alone, I had trusted allies.  

And a bundle of sticks is not easily broken. 

Chapter XXI – A Night of Revelations

As I headed down the corridor towards Yarrow’s room, I could see Helena stepping out into the corridor, with my jacket draped over her arm. She looked up when she heard my footsteps and smiled in greeting. 

‘Here’s your jacket,’ she said, handing it to me, ‘She told me to thank you and apologised again for ruining your evening.’ 

‘She has nothing to apologise for,’ I said, ‘How is she?’ 

‘Now that she’s back up here, she seems fine. She just seems to have had a funny turn. Did you find out anything else?’ 

‘Not really. Mason said she did eat from the buffet but had the same as him and she only had one glass of champagne. I also checked to see if anyone had possibly spiked her drink, but Mason assures me he would have noticed.’ 

‘What do you think it was then?’ 

‘I’m not sure, but something she said to me before you came out rang a bell, as though I’d read it somewhere recently and I think I’ve remembered where,’ I said, ‘but I’ll need to go back to my room to check, so if you wanted to head back down to the party, I don’t mind.’ 

Helena linked her arm in mine. 

‘You’re my date for this evening, so where you go, I go,’ she said, ‘besides, I want to know what happened to Yarrow too.’ 

I glanced up and down the corridor, checking if anyone was about. 

‘I may have a couple of bottles of beer in my room,’ I whispered, ‘so at least we can have a drink whilst we’re looking.’ 

Helena grinned at me. 

‘Even better,’ she said, ‘let’s go.’ 

I unlocked the door, activated the sprite globe, and slung my jacket over the back of the chair, which changed from black to green, matching the upholstery. Helena closed and locked the door, then looked around the room. 

‘Where’s this beer, then?’ she asked. 

‘In a bag under the bed,’ I said, walking to my bookshelf. Now, which one was it? 

Helena crouched down, the movement exposing her leg, which I have to admit distracted me a little. She pulled the bag out with a satisfied cry, then turned and saw me staring. 

‘What?’ she asked, then noted the direction of my gaze, ‘Are you staring at my legs?’ 

‘Of course not,’ I said, a little flustered, turning back to the bookshelf, ‘just checking that you’d found them okay…’ 

‘Of course you were,’ said Helena with a smirk, ‘I mean, why on Earth would you want to stare at my soft, smooth, naked leg…’ 

‘I am trying to concentrate here,’ I said, ‘and that’s not helping…’ 

Helena giggled, then pouted.  

‘These are warm,’ she said, ‘Guess I’ll have to wait for a proper drink…’ 

‘Ah, now that’s where you’re wrong,’ I said, turning with a grin, ‘I am about to show you something that is, literally, very cool.’ 

I went to the open window, whistled, and then waited for a moment. Hearing wings outside, I stepped back, and Errol swooped in through the window, flapped a couple of times to right himself, then landed with a thump on the back of the desk chair. I took two bottles out of Helena’s unresisting hands and placed them on the desk in front or Errol, who looked at me inquisitively. 

‘Errol,’ I commanded, pointing at the bottles, ‘Elsa.’ 

On this command, Errol turned, opened his mouth, and exhaled over the bottles, the particles of his icy breath covering them in a layer of frost. 

‘And there we go,’ I said, handing one of the bottles to Helena, ‘two chilled bottles of beer, courtesy of my little scaly friend.’ 

She took it with a grin. 

‘You were right,’ she said, ‘That was literally “cool.” Why “Elsa” as a command word, though?’ 

‘I needed a word that I wouldn’t use in normal conversation,’ I said, ‘and it made me laugh.’ 

‘Why? Who’s Elsa?’ 

As this reality had neither television nor cinema, I spent the next ten minutes explaining the plot to Frozen, then a further ten minutes attempting to explain what a Disney film actually was. 

‘So, it’s like a theatrical performance, told via Illusioneering only, but at a distance?’ said Helena, ‘Sounds very complicated and not particularly immersive. We’ll have to take you to a proper performance, so you can see why our way is better.’ 

Let’s hope we get the chance, I thought to myself, if I fail to prevent the upcoming rewriting of reality, then Disney films is the least of your problems… 

This diversionary conversation had made me forget which book I’d read that phrase in, although I was pretty certain it was one in my room. Now, I could go through each individual book, but what was the point of learning Bibliomancy if you didn’t use it? I held out my hand and intoned, ‘the stench of rotting meat…’ 

The books on the shelf jostled each other, then one leapt forward into my waiting hand. It was the book Yarrow had given me for my birthday, Leabhar Scáthanna, which Yarrow had told me roughly translated as “The Book of Shadows.” I held my hands flat, the book resting on them and stated the phrase I was looking for again. The book fanned open, the pages riffling, then ceased. And there was the phrase, in the section regarding mícheart. 

‘I knew I’d read it somewhere,’ I said triumphantly, ‘Helena, listen to this… “as guardians of the natural order, the ability to detect mícheart is an intrinsic part of our heritage. The foulness and corruption of mícheart manifests in many forms, but a primary indicator is by scent, which some have likened to the stench of rotting meat…” 

Helena looked startled. 

‘So, does that mean…’ she began. 

‘That someone who was at the ball has been corrupted by dark magic,’ I finished, ‘I would guess so. And I have a feeling that whoever it was is probably the same person who will be attempting to complete the ritual on the eve of Saturnalia.’ 

‘But there were loads of people in the room,’ said Helena in frustration, ‘it could be anyone…’ 

‘I think we can narrow it down,’ I said, closing the book and sending it back to the shelf, ‘It has to be someone that Yarrow doesn’t have regular contact with, so we can rule out all the teachers she takes lessons with and everyone from Dee House, otherwise, she’d have detected it sooner.’ 

‘Sounds logical,’ said Helena, taking a seat on my bed, ‘so, someone from either Scot or Watkins House then?’ 

‘Yeah, I think it’s safe to assume that. However, if they know enough about Geist and their ability to detect mícheart, Yarrow’s public display just now might have alerted them to the fact that she may be able to work out who they are, which could put her in danger.’ 

We both contemplated this in silence. 

‘I think we need to tell Yarrow what’s going on,’ I said, ‘Not everything, of course, but she needs to know about the ritual, not only because she may be the target, but also because her ability might be able to help us prevent it.’ 

‘Sounds like a good idea,’ said Helena slowly, ‘but we don’t have to do it tonight, do we?’ 

‘Why?’ I asked, ‘Was there something else you were planning on doing?’ 

‘Maybe…’ said Helena smiling, then patted the bed next to her, ‘Come sit with me.’ 

‘How much have you had to drink?’ I asked. 

‘That’s not important, Alex. Now, come here – it’s not polite to keep a lady waiting.’ 

I approached slowly and gingerly sat down on the bed next to her, but not too close.  

‘And what exactly did you have in mind?’ I asked nervously.  

What was wrong with me? I’d been in a similar situation many times before, so had a pretty good idea where this was going, but for some reason I felt quite anxious, as though all my previous experience had been wiped away, leaving a blank slate. 

‘Well,’ murmured Helena sliding closer, and putting her hand on my thigh, ‘I did say I had something for you at breakfast… and I think that it’s time I gave it to you…’ 

‘Helena, wait…’ I said, taking her hand in mine and looking her in the eye, ‘Do you really think this is a good idea? I mean, you know what I am… doesn’t it bother you?’ 

‘Alex, listen to me,’ she said seriously, ‘This isn’t some reckless decision, made on the spur of the moment – I have given it a lot of thought. I like you… a lot. So what if your mind or soul or whatever is from the future – it’s part of who you are now, and that’s the Alex I’m attracted to.’ She reached up, pulled my bow tie undone, took the ends in her hands and pulled me close, ‘So… are you going to kiss me or not?’ 

As I’ve said before, you only get a handful of these type of moments in your life, where no matter what has gone before, everything falls in to place – just so.  

But this time, I wasn’t going to fuck it up. 

However, the Universe obviously had decided that it was not meant to be, as just before our lips met, we were interrupted by someone pounding on my door. 

‘Ignore it,’ breathed Helena, close enough so that I could almost taste her, ‘If we don’t answer, they’ll go away…’ 

‘We know you’re in there, Alex!’ Shouted a voice I recognised, ‘So you might as well open up!’ 

‘Bloody Sophie…’ muttered Helena. 

‘He might be in bed,’ said a second voice, that I recognised as Ashleigh’s, ‘So maybe we should wait until the morning?’ 

‘If he is, he’s not alone,’ replied Sophie, ‘I heard someone else’s voice. Come on, Alex, open up!’ She resumed banging on the door, ‘We’ve got something for you!’ 

‘I don’t think she’s going to give up,’ I sighed, ‘it IS Sophie, after all…’ 

‘That girl is the bane of my existence,’ said Helena darkly, ‘Why can’t she just leave you alone?’  

‘Probably because she fancies me,’ I said, getting up, ‘She couldn’t have been more obvious when we were dancing earlier unless she’d written “Please fuck me” on her forehead in lipstick.’ 

Helena snorted with laughter. 

‘Would that have worked?’ she then asked, smiling slyly. 

‘Depends whose forehead it was written on,’ I answered, then paused in thought, ‘Got any lipstick on you?’ 

Helena’s laughter followed me as I approached and then opened the door. 

‘Can I help you?’ I asked coolly, barring entry with my arm.  

‘So macho…’ said Sophie, grinning, then ducked under my arm and entered the room. 

‘Sorry Alex,’ said Ashleigh apologetically, ‘Sophie insisted… and you know what she’s like.’ Ashleigh was carrying a square white box, so I stepped aside and let her in. 

‘Looks like you’re having a little party of your own,’ said Sophie, looking around.  

‘We were…’ said Helena sourly, ‘but then someone decided to interrupt us.’ 

‘No need to be like that,’ said Sophie, ‘We come bearing gifts… well, cake actually.’ 

Ashleigh carried the box over to my desk and opened the lid. Inside was a large chocolate cake, candles already in place. She glanced at the bottles of beer sitting on the side and frowned. 

‘Ah yes…’ I said quickly, ‘as Dr Vayne herself said to me this evening, “all restrictions on the consumption of alcohol by students have been suspended,” so technically there is no problem with me, or anyone else who happens to be in my room at this precise moment, from drinking that beer.’ 

I grabbed the other cold bottle from the side, cracked the lid and handed it to Ashleigh. 

‘Here you go,’ I said, ‘Remember, you’re off duty tonight…’ 

Ashleigh took the offered bottle and smiled. 

‘I saw nothing…’ she said, winking. 

‘The rest of these bottles are warm…’ whined Sophie. I rolled my eyes, then whistled for Errol, who’d been perched on top of the wardrobe, watching us all. He hopped down on the chair back and I commanded him to chill the other bottles, handing a frosted bottle to Sophie once he was done and taking one for myself. 

‘Now that’s a useful talent,’ said Sophie, then took a swig, ‘and this is excellent beer. I don’t mind champagne, but it does make me belch, which seems to put the boys off for some reason.’ 

‘I can’t imagine why…’ said Helena sarcastically. 

‘So, we didn’t interrupt anything, did we?’ grinned Sophie, nudging me in the ribs with her elbow. 

The problem with being English is that you feel obligated to be polite all the time, even if by doing so, you miss out on things you really want to do. However, sometimes you have to make a stand, Like Gandalf on the bridge of Moria, and state “You Shall Not Pass!”  

This was one of those times. 

‘Actually, you did, Sophie,’ I said seriously, ‘Now, I can’t deny that you’re an attractive young woman, but I’m not interested in you in that way, I’m afraid. So nothing is ever going to happen between us.’ I glanced across at Helena, who was staring at her feet, her face flushed, ‘Helena, however, I fancy the arse off…’ 

‘Oh…right…um…’ said Sophie, seemingly at a loss for words, which was quite unusual for her. 

‘I like you, Sophie, but sometimes you’re a bit…full-on,’ I said, ‘if you want a meaningful relationship with someone who actually respects you as a person, rather than being purely interested in your body, you might want to consider toning it down a bit.’ 

Sophie looked at me thoughtfully, then turned to Ashleigh. 

‘You were right,’ she said, ‘He IS different. I can see exactly why you like him so much.’  

‘I don’t know what you mean…’ muttered Ashleigh, flushing. 

‘And as for you,’ said Sophie, turning to Helena, ‘I just wish I’d got to him first…’ 

I walked over to the door and opened it. 

‘You are welcome to take your beers with you,’ I said, ‘and thank you for the cake, but would you mind…?’ 

‘Come on, Ash,’ sighed Sophie, ‘Let’s leave these two lovebirds to it.’ 

Ashleigh quickly made her way to the door, muttering apologies and avoiding my gaze. 

I stopped her at the door, took her hand and kissed it. 

‘I am extremely flattered and there is nothing to be embarrassed about,’ I said, looking her in the eye, ‘Still friends, yes?’ 

‘Yes, Alex,’ she said, smiling shyly, ‘still friends.’ 

Sophie also headed for the door. 

‘Alex, I…’ she said, then faltered ‘actually, I’m not sure what I want to say…’ 

‘A first for you,’ I said wryly, ‘As long as you’re happy being just friends, there’s no need to say anything.’ I then leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. She looked startled, raising her hand to her cheek, and going red. 

‘I think… I’d like that,’ she said, smiling, ‘Good night, Alex.’ 

I shut the door behind them and made sure it was locked, then turned back to Helena, who was watching me with a smile on her face. 

‘So,’ she said, getting to her feet and approaching me, head cocked to one side, ‘You “fancy the arse off me,” do you?’ 

She put her arms around my neck and stepped in closer. 

‘Had you not realised?’ I murmured, nuzzling her neck. 

‘I wasn’t entirely sure…’ she breathed, pressing herself against me. 

‘Then, perhaps I should prove it to you…’ I said. 

So I did.

Chapter XX- The Samhain Ball

Having spoken to the catering staff earlier that day, I knew that the Study Hall had been dressed and this would be where the evening’s buffet and drinks would be served.  

The adjacent Picture Gallery had been cleared of furniture and this is where the main reception for the event would take place, followed by dancing later in the evening. I’d also spoken to the band whilst they’d been setting up, and asked a favour, which they had happily agreed to. 

I’d arranged to meet all the Dee House girls in the corridor outside the Picture Gallery, waiting patiently until they had all assembled.  

As a light drizzle had started earlier that evening, Mama Lucia had provided all the girls with hooded black cloaks to protect their dresses as they made their way across the courtyard, so I was surrounded by darkly cloaked figures. It felt very clandestine, and this seemed to have imparted itself upon the girls, as their excited conversations were being conducted in whispers, rather than the expected volume. 

‘Ladies, it is time,’ I announced, ‘remove your capes.’ 

There was the rustling of fabric and where once there had been an unrelenting wall of black, there was now a veritable riot of colour. I collected the capes and stood back, looking critically at the assembled girls. 

‘Hmm…’ I said thoughtfully, ‘whilst you all look fantastic, there IS something missing…’ 

I pretended to give it some serious thought, then clicked my fingers and put the pile of capes on a side table, picking up the shallow white box I had placed there earlier. 

‘If you could all come forward,’ I said, ‘I have something for you…’ 

I removed the lid from the box and there, nestled in tissue paper, were enough corsages for each girl present. Gabrielle stepped forward and took one. 

‘It is black,’ she said in puzzlement, ‘this does not go with my dress…’ 

‘Are you sure about that, Gabrielle?’ I asked, grinning, ‘look again…’ 

Gabrielle looked at the corsage she was holding close to her chest, then gasped in amazement as the colour changed to match the red of her dress. The other girls craned round to get a better look, eyes wide with wonder. 

‘I have one for each of you,’ I said, ‘each one will mirror the colour of your dress. And as they are not real flowers, you don’t need to worry about them wilting before the end of the evening.’ 

Ashleigh came and stood next to me, a smile on her face. 

‘Looks like you’ve been busy again, Alex,’ she said, ‘I take it you liked my present?’ 

‘I love it,’ I said, ‘and as you can see, it gave me a another one of my brilliant ideas.’ 

Ashleigh took one of the corsages and attached it to her wrist, watching as it changed from black to sky blue. 

‘They’re beautiful,’ she said, ‘You’re really quite inventive, aren’t you?’ 

‘I have my moments,’ I said, grinning. 

‘And do you have one for your actual date?’ said a voice behind me. 

Recognising Helena’s voice, I turned, and felt my jaw drop open. 

Whilst I’d seen Helena in her dress before, this was when she was trying it on, so her bra-straps were on show, and she’d not done her make-up or hair.  

Now, however, it was obvious she had spent a great deal of time getting ready. Her make-up, whilst understated, was perfection and where her hair was usually worn loose, cascading in soft curls below her collarbone, she had put this up in a curly messy bun with an accent braid, her face framed with wisps of hair. As the dress had built-in support, no bra was necessary, so no straps were on show and the burgundy chiffon hugged the curves of her body, a glimpse of thigh evident from the side split as she moved.  

‘Fuck me…’ I breathed, staring. 

‘I didn’t quite catch what you said there, Alex,’ said Helena, the quirk of her mouth indicating that she had actually heard, ‘but I take it from your expression that you approve?’ 

‘Oh my God…’ I said, voice thick with emotion, ‘You look absolutely gorgeous!’ I could feel myself welling up, ‘I honestly think I may cry…’ 

Sophie mimed throwing up and Helena flashed her a look of annoyance, then stepped forward and took me in her arms. 

‘You’re just jealous, Sophie,’ she said, ‘because I’ve got such a sweet and considerate man as my date.’ 

‘True,’ sighed Sophie, ‘Lucky bitch…’ 

‘Sorry to interrupt,’ said Ashleigh, ‘but shouldn’t we be going in? Some of the girls are getting a bit antsy…’ 

‘Right…yes…sorry,’ I said, reluctantly disengaging from Helena’s embrace, ‘Now ladies, I want you to line up in front of the two doors to the Picture Gallery. I’ll go in first, and when the doors open, I want you to make your entrance.’ 

‘I’m assuming you’ve already planned all this?’ asked Helena.  

‘You know me all too well…’ I replied, winking, then opened the door and went through. 

The Picture Gallery was thronged with people, both students and staff, all in what they considered to be their finest party wear. The female staff looked elegant, as being of a different generation, were not swayed by the mores of the fashion of the time. As for both the male staff and students, there was a definite trend to the dinner suit, predominantly black, but with a few variations here and there.  

Unsurprisingly, most of the male students either had clip-on or pre-tied bow ties, as self-tying a bow tie took a bit of practice and usually several attempts to get right, but it was obvious that the male staff (and myself) had the necessary skill and patience to do it properly. 

The female students, barring Penny, who was wearing a long, elegant gown in ivory silk, were dressed as expected, shiny satin in various hues and more ruffles than you could shake a stick at. 

Mason noticed me standing by the stage and came over, a concerned look on his face. 

‘You haven’t seen Yarrow, have you?’ he asked, ‘We agreed to meet in here, but I haven’t seen her yet…’ 

‘Patience, Mason,’ I answered grinning, ‘She’s on her way and, trust me, the wait will be worth it.’ 

I then ascended the stage, nodding to the band leader, who stepped back from the edge to give me space. Two of the other band members put down their instruments and took their assigned positions by each of the two doors. 

‘Ladies and Gentlemen!’ I called out, waiting until the hubbub of conversation had ceased and all attention was on me, ‘I appreciate that some of your gentlemen have been patiently waiting for your dates to arrive and now that moment is at hand…’ I nodded to the drummer, who began a drum roll, ‘I would now like to present to you…the ladies of Dee House!’ 

As I announced this, the two band members threw open the doors and the girls swept in from left and right, crossing in front of me and then lining up in front of the stage.  

Ashleigh and I had ensured that every dress was specifically tailored to suit both the body shape and colouring of the wearer and that every dress was of a different hue. The result was a panoply of colour and style that eclipsed nearly every other dress in the room. They looked stunning. 

There were a few startled gasps of amazement, a pregnant pause, then the room erupted into frenzied and excitable conversation. Those who had been waiting for their dates were cautiously coming forward, quite a few of them with looks of stunned amazement on their faces.  

As I stepped down off the stage, Mason had just come forward and was holding onto both of Yarrow’s hands, whilst looking her up and down. 

‘Wow…just wow…’ he said, ‘Yarrow, you look amazing…’ 

‘Thank you,’ said Yarrow, colouring slightly. She saw me walking past and mouthed a ‘thank you’ at me, then smiled back at Mason.. 

I felt an arm link in with mine and turned to see Helena at my side. 

‘Looks like all your hard work and planning has paid off,’ she said, ‘you seemed to have created quite a stir.’ 

Her proximity had activated my jacket and it slowly changed from the default black to match the burgundy of her dress. Helena glanced across at me, then started in surprise. 

‘Did your jacket just change colour?!’ she said. 

‘It did indeed,’ I said, ‘It’s made from the same material as your corsage, so will always match whoever I’m with, as long as they’re close enough. It was a present from Ashleigh. It’s pretty damn cool, isn’t it?’ 

‘Whoever you’re with?’ queried Helena, turning to face me a wry smile on her face, ‘Are you planning on being with someone else this evening?’ 

‘Not planning…’ I said, ‘but I have a feeling that some of the girls may want at least one dance with me this evening, and who am I to turn them down?’ 

‘As long as dancing is ALL they’ve got in mind for you, then I suppose I could let you go for a bit…’ said Helena, grabbing my arm possessively. 

I smiled to myself. Tonight was going to be fun. 

As anticipated, nearly every girl that Ashleigh and I had provided dresses for had collared me for a dance, with Sophie asking me more than once, much to the annoyance of her date, a tall, athletic looking Second Year from Scot House, whose name I failed to catch. 

Having turned her down for the third time, I headed for the Study Hall, as I was in need of a drink and couldn’t see Helena in the Picture Gallery. Helena was there, but as she was deep in conversation with Lizzie and Jack, I decided not to interrupt and headed for the bar, which they’d set up in front of the sliding doors to the Library.  

These were two immense wooden panelled doors on rollers, which ran from floor to ceiling, which were closed and secured after 10pm, preventing access to the Library after this time. 

As I was patiently waiting for the barman to finish serving another student, I heard someone approach from behind. 

‘Good evening, Mr Crowe,’ said a voice I recognised, ‘I was wondering if you could spare me a few moments of your time?’ 

I turned to find Dr Vayne standing behind me. I’d seen her in discussion with Ashleigh earlier in the evening, marvelling slightly that the severe no-nonsense outfits she usually wore had been replaced with an elegant black gown with a halter neck and full skirt, festooned with sequins. 

‘Of course, Headmistress,’ I said, as the barman acknowledged my presence, ‘can I order you a drink whilst we’re here?’ 

‘Certainly,’ she said, placing the empty champagne flute she was holding on the bar top, ‘a glass of the Moët, please, James. What are you drinking, Alexander?’ 

‘I’ll just have a Coke, Miss,’ I said. 

‘Given that the restrictions on the consumption of alcohol by students have been suspended for this evening,’ said Dr Vayne, ‘I would have expected you to be indulging, especially since Miss Bond tells me it IS your birthday today…’ 

‘To be honest with you, Miss,’ I said, ‘I’m not a big fan of champagne. Besides, as this is Yarrow’s first social event as a girl, I thought I’d best keep a clear head, just so I can keep a friendly eye on her. We wouldn’t want anyone to take advantage of her… lack of experience.’ 

Dr Vayne gave me a thoughtful look, then took a sip of champagne. 

‘The reason I called you aside, Alexander, is that I’ve been speaking to Miss Bond,’ began Dr Vayne, ‘and she told me that you were responsible for the sartorial finery displayed by your fellow House members.’ 

‘Well, I may have had the initial idea,’ I said, ‘but Ashleigh did the majority of the work – I just helped where I could. And it wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t been assigned detention by you with Mama Lucia…er…. Signora Milano in the first place. Actually, I have a question regarding that…’ 

‘Go on.’ 

‘Is there any reason why Fabricantation isn’t taught as part of the curriculum?’ I asked, ‘Ashleigh shows a real talent for it and I’m sure there are other students who, given the opportunity, would also excel at this. As you already have a superb teacher as part of the staff, in the shape of Signora Milano, it seems a bit daft that this isn’t offered as an option.’ Dr Vayne was watching me shrewdly, ‘if you don’t mind me saying, that is…’ I finished a little self-consciously. 

‘Hmm,’ said Dr Vayne, ‘To be honest with you, Alexander, it’s not something I’d even considered. I think we just took it for granted that the costumes came from somewhere, without actually considering that someone had to create them in the first place. Given that the end result of both your and Miss Bond’s efforts have produced some absolutely beautiful garments, I may bring this up at our next review with the board of Governors, as Oakdene does try to provide our students with every educational opportunity, and we appear to have overlooked this.’ 

‘That would be cool,’ I said smiling, ‘Signora Milano was happy to teach us, so I can’t imagine that she wouldn’t want to teach other students.’ 

‘One final question for you, Alexander, before I let you get back to enjoying yourself,’ said Dr Vayne, who had finished her champagne and indicated to the barman that she required a refill, ‘I’m curious as to why you took it upon yourself to provide your fellow students with such beautiful dresses in the first place?’ 

‘That’s an easy question to answer – if you wouldn’t mind following me?’ I said, and walked back into the Picture Gallery, Dr Vayne following me with a puzzled expression on her face. 

‘Now,’ I said, ‘look at all the girls who Ashleigh and I provided dresses for. Look at their faces. Look at how the dresses make them feel and how happy they are…’ I smiled in satisfaction, ‘I look at them, look at their smiling faces and think of how my humble efforts have spread so much joy… and it makes me happy. It may be my birthday, but I need no greater gift than that.’ 

I turned to Dr Vayne, who was looking at me with speculative expression on her face. 

‘You are a very unusual young man, Alexander,’ she said, ‘Whilst there may have been a few… bumps in the road during your time here at Oakdene, if you continue in this vein, I think we can expect great things of you. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening.’ 

Dr Vayne then returned to the Study Hall, leaving me considering what she’d said.  

Well, Dr Vayne, I thought to myself soberly, I’ve only got to save your entire world from being erased from existence in a month and half’s time. I think that probably counts… as long as I actually manage to do it, that is… 

That sobering thought had a put a little bit of a dampener on my evening, and this was further compounded when Mason rushed over. 

‘Alex,’ he said breathlessly, a look of concern on his face, ‘I think you’d better come – there’s something wrong with Yarrow…’ 

I looked over to the other side of the room, where Yarrow was bent double white-faced, a concerned Ashleigh hovering nearby, wringing her hands. I quickly made my way over and reached for her arm. 

‘Alex…’ said Yarrow, tears in her eyes, ‘I don’t feel very well…’ 

‘Is your friend alright?’ asked a voice and I turned to see Mark hovering nearby, a wary expression on his face. At this, Yarrow convulsed, then vomited. 

‘I would guess not,’ I said, taking Yarrow by the arm, ‘Let’s get you outside. Mason, could you send Helena after us and get some water from the bar?’  

Mason nodded and rushed off. I guided Yarrow through the doors, then down the corridor and out on to the rear terrace. 

‘I’m sorry, Alex,’ sobbed Yarrow, ‘I didn’t mean to spoil your evening…’ 

‘You don’t need to apologise,’ I said gently, ‘I’m more concerned about you. Are you feeling any better?’ 

‘A little,’ she said, as I sat her down on one of the benches, shivering, ‘I don’t know what happened. I was fine and then suddenly, there was this horrible smell, like the stench of rotting meat and I felt my stomach go.’ 

I took off my jacket and draped it around her shoulders, as it wasn’t exactly warm outside that evening. Thankfully, the rain had stopped. 

‘Thank you,’ she said, pulling it around her, ‘Aren’t you worried I might be sick on your jacket?’ 

‘That’s not important,’ I said, ‘Had you eaten anything that might have disagreed with you? Or drunk anything, possibly?’ 

Yarrow gave this some thought. Helena burst through the doors, holding her skirt, then rushed over, Mason following in her wake with a large glass of water. 

‘What happened? Are you alright?’ asked Helena breathlessly, crouching down in front of Yarrow and taking her hands. 

Mason was looking very worried and wordlessly handed me the glass, which I passed to Yarrow. She took a mouthful, swished it around her mouth, then spat to one side. 

‘Sorry Helena,’ she said meekly, ‘I might have got some on your dress…’ 

‘Don’t worry about it,’ said Helena, ‘How are you feeling?’ 

‘A lot better now,’ she said, ‘but I don’t really feel well enough to go back to the party…’ 

‘That’s okay, if you’re not feeling well, perhaps it’s better if you call it a night.’ I said, ‘Helena, would you mind taking Yarrow back to her room? I’ll follow on shortly.’ 

‘Of course, Alex,’ she said, a questioning look on her face, ‘Anything I need to know about?’ 

‘I’m not sure…’ I said, ‘I just want to ask Mason a few questions and I’ll follow you up.’ 

Helena helped Yarrow to her feet. She was still shivering and slightly unsteady on her feet, so Helena took her arm, and they made their way back inside. 

‘You don’t think I had anything to do with that, do you Alex?’ asked Mason, defensively. 

‘No, I don’t,’ I said, ‘I just wanted to know what lead up to Yarrow’s turn, that’s all. You’ve been with her all evening, haven’t you?’ 

‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘other than when she was dancing with you, that is…’ 

‘And had she had anything to eat or drink?’ 

‘Yeah, she had some of the buffet, but she had the same stuff that I ate. She also had some champagne, but complained it was not as nice or as strong as the mead her parents brewed.’ 

So, it wasn’t a reaction to anything she’d eaten or drunk, then. Something she’d said earlier about ‘the stench of rotting meat’ rang a bell with me, as I was certain I’d read that exact phrase somewhere recently but couldn’t for the life of me remember where. I’m sure it would come to me. 

‘And you didn’t see anybody slip anything into her drink or anything like that?’ I asked. 

‘No, I would have noticed, I’m sure…’ said Mason, ‘She’ll be okay, won’t she?’ 

‘Yes, mate, I’m sure she’ll be fine,’ I said distractedly, the cogs in my mind spinning, ‘I’ll go check on her now. I very much doubt she’ll be back down tonight though, so I suggest you head back inside and try and enjoy the rest of the evening. I’ll make sure she knows you’ve been asking after her.’ 

‘Okay…’ said Mason, ‘Not sure that I feel like partying now – I think I’ll be too worried about Yarrow.’ 

‘Don’t worry, she’s in good hands,’ I said, ‘I’ll let you know in the morning how she is.’ 

‘Thanks Alex.’ 

We headed back inside, Mason peeling off into the Picture Gallery, whilst I headed for the main staircase. 

‘The stench of rotting meat,’ I murmured frowning, as I made my way upstairs. Something told me that it was essential that I remember where I’d read that, as it might explain what had happened to Yarrow.

Chapter XIX – Unexpected Gifts

In the false and overwritten history that I had previously lived through, my birthday always fell in the Autumn half-term week, so I never actually had to go to school on my birthday. My family never really made a big deal of my birthday, so I always considered this the Universe’s way of balancing the scales. 

But even though this was the first year that I actually had to attend lessons on my birthday, as lessons were cancelled after lunch so everyone could get ready for the Samhain Ball AND it was a Friday, which meant all the other Dee House students would be having double Alchemy first thing, I only had an hour and a half of Chimestry lessons mid-morning, which meant I had a relatively relaxing day to look forward to. 

‘And that’s your first gift of the day, Alex’ I said to myself, as I stared at the ceiling, contemplating whether I stayed in bed a little longer and had a leisurely morning or headed down to breakfast as normal, in the hope that my friends might have at least got me a card. 

My mind was made up for me when Errol swooped in through the window and deposited the half-frozen carcass of a rat on the end of my bed.  

Whilst the condition of the corpse meant that there was very little in the way of odour, Errol’s table manners were deplorable and watching him messily devour his breakfast would definitely put me off mine. I scrambled out of bed, grabbed my towel and headed for the bathroom. 

As I entered the Dining Hall after my shower, there was a palpable air of excitement in the room, the upcoming Samhain Ball being the only topic of conversation that morning.  

Strangely, even though I’d come down a little later than usual, I couldn’t see Helena or Yarrow at any of the tables. Come to think of it, there didn’t appear to be any of the Dee House girls around, which did strike me as a little odd, as usually some of them would have been about.  

However, grumbles from my stomach informed me that there were more pressing matters to consider, so I loaded my tray with a full English breakfast – swapping out the bacon for additional sausages, as the bacon looked a little greasier than normal that morning – before heading for the nearest available table. 

I was just finishing up my breakfast when I sensed people behind me, and a pair of hands reached around and covered my eyes. 

‘Happy birthday, Alex,’ murmured Helena into my ear, ‘stay exactly as you are – we have a surprise for you.’ 

I could hear my tray being moved and the rustle of paper, as objects were placed on the table in front of me. 

‘Right, you can look now,’ said Helena, taking her hands from my eyes. 

There on the table in front of me were a couple of wrapped presents and several envelopes, some of which were bundled together with an elastic band. I looked round in surprise, to see that Helena, Yarrow, Ashleigh, and Sophie were standing behind me, all smiling. 

‘The bundle was waiting for you in reception this morning,’ said Helena, ‘I think they might be cards from your family. The rest are from us.’ 

‘Wow,’ I said, ‘I don’t know what to say… I honestly wasn’t expecting this… thank you.’ 

‘Well, we could let your birthday go unmarked now, could we?’ said Sophie grinning, ‘especially after all your hard work getting us ready for the ball. Now, hurry up and open your presents because we’ve all got lessons to get too…’ 

As Sophie seemed eager to be off, I opened her gift first, which was a bottle of Manticore aftershave, bearing the legend ‘Unleash the Beast within.’ It had a pleasant spicy, warming scent, exactly the sort I would have chosen for myself.  

Yarrow had gotten me a book, entitled Leabhar Scáthanna. 

‘But not just any book,’ she explained, ‘this is one you won’t find in the Library, or any bookshop for that matter, as it’s a collection of legends and folklore of my people and Humans aren’t usually allowed access to Geist writings.’  

‘Oh wow…’ I said in amazement, ‘That’s a really special gift. Are you sure you won’t get into trouble for giving this to me?’ 

‘I don’t care, Alex,’ she said, tears in her eyes, ‘You’ve been the best friend I could have possibly wished for when I came here, so I want you to have it.’ 

I could feel my own eyes tearing up and stood up, enveloping Yarrow in a hug. 

‘Thank you so much,’ I said, ‘I will treasure it.’ 

‘My present’s with Mama Lucia,’ said Ashleigh, ‘So make sure you pop over and see her today, ideally before this evening, as you’ll need if before then…’ 

She refused to elaborate any further, just stating that she really hoped I liked it. 

Helena wrapped her arms around me from behind, hugging me tightly and murmured in my ear. 

‘I have something for you too, but you’ll have to wait until later for it…’ 

She then kissed me on the cheek, grinned at me and headed off to Alchemy with the rest of the Dee House students. 

As birthdays go, today was turning out to be one of the better ones. 

I headed down the stairs to Mama Lucia’s workroom after breakfast, surprised to note that she appeared to be in conversation with a man, judging from the timbre of the voice. Not that there was anything wrong with this, of course, but for all the time I had spent in the workroom, I’d never seen another male down there. 

The source of the voice was Mr Beamish, who was sitting drinking coffee with Mama Lucia and looked up with a grin when I walked in. 

‘And here’s the birthday boy himself…’ he said, ‘A good morning to you, Alex, and a happy birthday.’ 

‘How does everyone seem to know it’s my birthday today?’ I said, sighing, ‘It’s not like I’ve been making a big thing of it.’ 

‘You should be happy, Alessandro,’ said Mama Lucia smiling, ‘your friends, they want you to have a good day, so they tell all those who like you, and these people, they get you gifts to make you happy.’ 

‘That’s really kind of them,’ I said, ‘but it’s not really necessary.’ 

‘Does that mean,’ said Mr Beamish, tapping his foot against a bag resting at his feet, which clinked, ‘that I should take these away?’ 

‘Well, let’s not be hasty here…’ I said stepping forward, which caused Mr Beamish to burst out laughing. 

‘Here you go, lad,’ he said, handing me the bag, ‘You kept your word regarding my little “hobby” and never asked for any more, so I thought, as it’s your birthday, you might like to try the latest brew.’ 

‘Thank you very much,’ I said, ‘if it’s anything like the other one I tried, I’m sure it’ll be fantastic. And obviously, we never had this conversation…’ I said winking. 

I then turned to Mama Lucia. 

‘Ashleigh said that she’d left a present with you for me, but wouldn’t tell me anything else,’ I said, ‘Can I see it?’ 

Mam Lucia smiled kindly. 

‘Ashleigh, she speak to me about today,’ said Mama Lucia, ‘she say that as it your birthday AND you put everyone else before you, that you deserve to look as buono as everyone else tonight. So, I dig out the very special fabric and we make you a new dinner jacket.’ 

She pointed at a dressmakers dummy, upon which was a beautifully tailored dinner jacket, with black silk lapels. I couldn’t immediately see anything special about it, so walked over for a closer look. The jacket seemed to be made of a standard black fabric, but a closer inspection revealed that there appeared to be a pattern of interlocking diamonds woven into the cloth. I looked quizzically at Mama Lucia, as whilst it was very nice, I couldn’t really see what made it so special. 

‘What colour is the jacket?’ she asked, her eyes twinkling. 

‘It’s black…’ I said. 

‘Hold the sleeve of your jumper against it.’ 

I did as I was told, then started in amazement, as where I had held my arm against the jacket, the colour was slowly changing from black to navy blue, rippling out from where my sleeve was touching it. 

‘Oh my God…’ I murmured. 

Mama Lucia came over, holding a burgundy handkerchief. 

‘The jacket, she is made from mimique’ said Mama Lucia, ‘when no other fabric is nearby, is black, but if another fabric is held close to it…’ she held the handkerchief against it, and the jacket slowly changed once more, becoming burgundy, ‘the fabric, she change to match. Is very rare, but we feel you deserve something a little speciale. And this mean, whoever you dance with tonight, your jacket will mirror the colour of their dress.’ 

‘That is probably the coolest thing I’ve ever seen…’ I said, ‘Thank you so much for this.’ 

‘You thank Ashleigh as well,’ said Mama Lucia, ‘It was her idea…’ 

‘I certainly will,’ I said, watching the jacket slowly change back to the default black, ‘Will the pair of you be coming along this evening?’ 

‘As is usual for this event, I will be on duty,’ said Mr Beamish smiling, ‘someone has to keep an eye on you youngsters to make sure you don’t misbehave too much…’ 

‘I do not usually go, as usually there is nothing for me to see,’ said Mama Lucia, ‘but as tonight there will many stylish dresses, thanks to you and Ashleigh, I may take a look…’ 

‘Well, if you do decide to come along,’ I said, taking Mama Lucia’s hand in mine and raising it for a kiss, ‘I will be sure to save a dance for you.’ 

‘Well, how can this Signora resist such a charming invitation?’ said Mama Lucia, obviously pleased, ‘Now, off you go, Alessandro – these gifts, they are secret, so take them and put them somewhere safe.’ 

Whilst I was packing the bag to ensure the half dozen bottles wouldn’t clink on the way back to my room, Mama Lucia had hung the jacket and placed it in a suit carrier, to protect it both from damage and prying eyes.  

A sudden thought had occurred to me. 

‘Have you still got some of that mimique?’ I asked Mama Lucia, ‘Because I’ve just had a brilliant idea…’ 

Mama Lucia nodded, so I explained my idea. She smiled and nodded. 

‘Yes, we have enough for that…’ she said. 

Whilst everyone seemed determined to surprise me today, I had one final surprise for the girls of Dee House, and it was a corker… 

Chapter XVIII – A Question of Blood

As my assigned detention was now over and I’d already sorted everything I needed to regarding the Samhain Ball, I could shift my focus back to both my curricular and extra-curricular studies. 

Having spent several hours reviewing every reference to the blood-lock enchantment in the commonly available books, I was now probably the most knowledgeable person regarding this, second only to Master Tweed himself. 

The way the enchantment worked was that it was tied to the blood of the caster, so should anyone else touch what was protected by it, they would trigger the spell and be paralysed. However, I’d discovered from my research that those that shared the same blood, such as siblings or parents, would not trigger the enchantment. What this meant was that both Master Tweed AND his sister could touch the books with impunity. Anyone else touching the books would be caught. 

Now, Master Tweed had mentioned that previous students had attempted to get around the blood-lock by three different methods; the wearing of gloves, the use of Bibliomantic manipulation and getting a trained monkey to fetch the books for you. 

This first would obviously not work, as even if you were wearing gloves, you were still touching the books, so would trigger the enchantment. 

The same applied to Bibliomantic manipulation, as this relied on the Vitae of the Bibliomancer, which was an extension of the caster’s self and still, therefore, counted as touching the books. 

However, the final one was the most interesting, as whilst the person seeking the books would still be subject to the enchantment once they actually touched the books, it had no effect on the monkey itself. As this suggested that the enchantment only applied to humans, it was possible that a non-human may be able to touch the books without triggering the enchantment. 

Such as a Geist… 

However, I dismissed this an option, as whilst there did exist the slight possibility that Yarrow could touch the books, I wasn’t prepared to risk my friend being paralysed, just to test an unproven theory. I didn’t need to see the book that much… 

Having reached a dead end regarding the blood-lock enchantment, I decided to look up The Ballad of King Athelstan instead, as the conversation with Mr Ware has piqued my curiosity. 

As I had speculated, the text of The Ballad of King Athelstan and the poem Jabberwocky were identical. And the reason I knew this wasn’t because I’d read Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll multiple times, but down to the 1977 film by Terry Gilliam. 

As I was only eight at the time Jabberwocky was released, I’d not seen it at the cinema, but in the late Eighties it became cult viewing amongst my schoolfriends.  

Someone had taped it when it was shown on television, and this tape was then passed around, resulting in people regularly quoting bits of dialogue from the movie. As the poem was featured in the film, I took it upon myself to memorise the entire thing, using a battered copy of Through the Looking-Glass – because I thought it would make me look cool.  

It didn’t, but the end result was that I could quote the entire thing from memory. 

Of course, similar to my knowledge of Preseli Spotted Dolerite, this was due to the potential (unless I prevented it) overwriting of the true current history with the false history I remembered, so my knowledge of this poem was probably an echo of me having studied it now. 

I was beginning to hate this whole time-travel thing, as spending any time thinking about it ended up giving me a headache. 

So, in this reality, The Ballad of King Athelstan was a fictionalised retelling of King Athelstan’s defeat of the last True Dragon on British soil. Sergeant Hades had mentioned Vorpal blades when she’d tested my defensive shield, so I knew that they at least existed, although according to her they were extremely rare, but how much of the rest of it was actually accurate?  

As Dr Tweed had mentioned that her brother knew more about this than her, I decided to approach him and ask the question. 

‘The Ballad of King Athelstan was written in 1871 by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, an Oxford don, scholar and Chimest,’ began Master Tweed, ‘It consist of seven stanzas, the last being a repetition of the first and is in the style of poetry common to the era from which the legend originates. The first and last framing stanzas can be disregarded, as they have no bearing on the known historical facts, which is evidenced by the reference to ‘toves,’ as these did not come into existence until the same year the poem was written. As to the accuracy of the remaining verses, as Dodgson referenced the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the salient ‘facts,’ therein lies the problem…’ 

I must have looked confused, as Master Tweed smiled knowingly, and continued. 

‘The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle originally started off as a single manuscript penned in the reign of Alfred the Great, so somewhere between 871 and 899 AD. Multiple copies were then made of that one original and distributed to monasteries across England, where they were independently updated. However, whilst the major historical events were, for the most part, recorded in each copy, due to the individual bias of those updating their particular copy, significant differences do exist between the nine surviving copies. This means that the general facts of any recorded event are broadly the same, but the minutiae differ. Now, Dodgson, being an Oxfordshire scholar, would probably have referred to what is known as the Peterborough Chronicle, which was and is held in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, but is actually a copy of the Canterbury Chronicle, as the original copy from Peterborough was lost in a fire in 1116.’ 

Master Tweed reached out his hand and two volumes slid off the shelves from the History section and landed neatly on his desk. He reached for the first, and after flicking through the pages, found the entry he was looking for. 

‘Here we are,’ he said, ‘Now, we know that Athelstan’s defeat of the Jabberwock occurred in 927, as this was the event that consolidated his power and led to him being crowned the first ruler of Anglo-Saxon England as a whole. We also know that this happened on the Berkshire Downs, just south of the village of Woolstone, although the chalk figure commemorating this deed is known as the White Horse of Uffington, hence Dodgson’s reference to “uffish thought” in the poem. Both the Canterbury AND Peterborough Chronicle notes that Athelstan slew the Jabberwock, but the Abingdon Chronicle, having been scribed by someone more local…’ Master Tweed reached for the second volume, ‘specifically states that “by threat of further harm from the Vorpal Sword, Athelstan gained a binding oath from the Jabberwock to trouble his people no further, and was no longer seen in the land.” So, whilst all records agree that Athelstan did defeat the Jabberwock, due to the discrepancies of the historical records from that date, it’s unclear whether this resulted in the death of the last True British Dragon. As True Dragons can live for centuries, it’s possible, although highly unlikely, that the Jabberwock may still be alive today.’ Master Tweed paused for a moment in thought, ‘Although how it would have remained hidden for so long, I have no idea.’ 

‘So, does this mean that the White Horse of Uffington is actually a representation of the Jabberwock then?’ I asked. 

‘It is believed so, by serious scholars,’ said Master Tweed, ‘but over the centuries, as the legend faded, as the chalk figure does resemble a horse, this is what it commonly became known as.’ 

This would explain why the illustration I’d seen on Mr Ware’s wall had struck a chord with me, as once rotated, it did resemble the Tenniel illustration of the Jabberwock, the two ‘fangs’ sprouting from its head being the barbels evident in that picture. 

‘What happened to the original Vorpal Sword?’ I asked, ‘I know from Sergeant Hades that Vorpal blades exist, but I’m guessing these are variants or copies of the original?’ 

‘Not really my area of expertise, I’m afraid, Alexander,’ answered Master Tweed, ‘You’d be better off speaking to Victoria… sorry, Sergeant Hades, about that. However, as there is no record or mention of the Vorpal Sword being used by Athelstan after this event, it’s likely that it was deemed too dangerous to fall into his enemies hands, so he may have hidden it for that reason.’ 

‘Mr Ware has an illustration of the White Horse on his wall, which he says is a family heirloom,’ I said, ‘Is he from that part of the country?’ 

‘Benedict?’ said Master Tweed, ‘I’m not sure…’ 

‘Mr Ware’s first name is Benedict?’ 

‘Yes, it is,’ said Master Tweed, ‘which rather suits him, as he lives a somewhat monkish existence. However, as with all members of the faculty and staff, you should refer them to by their last name, unless they give you licence to do otherwise.’ 

Master Tweed glanced at his pocket watch. 

‘Now, unless you have any further questions, young Alexander, I need to prepare for my next lesson…?’ 

‘No, Sir,’ I said, ‘thank you for your time, it was very interesting.’ 

‘No need to thank me, Alexander,’ he said, ‘As teachers, it is our role to impart knowledge. However, it is gratifying when our students actually want to learn… so thank you.’ 

Whilst I’d no luck regarding circumventing the blood-lock enchantment, Helena and I had been rather more successful in whittling down the list of potential victims. 

As our research had established that a blood sacrifice was necessary for the ritual that would rewrite reality, it stood to reason that the stronger or more magical the blood was, the more likely it would be for the ritual to succeed. 

Based on this assumption, which we were fairly certain was correct, this really only left two possible options – Yarrow and Penny.  

Yarrow, because she was of a Geist heritage and came from a highly magical race and Penny, or to use her full title, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, because she was of an unbroken Royal bloodline dating back to Alfred the Great. 

This left me in a bit of quandary.  

If it was Yarrow and I failed to prevent the ritual, this would mean that I would be responsible for the horrific death of my friend.  

However, if it was Penny, I’d be placed in the position of trying to save someone that I didn’t really like, which might influence my actions when the time came. 

So, in order to increase my chances of success, I really needed to resolve my differences with Penny somehow. The fact that Aubrey and Penny had effectively become an item and her opinion of me may have been coloured by his opinion of me would make this a little trickier, but I had to at least try. 

And as “you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar,” it was time for me to bring the honey… 

I’d broadly discussed my plan with Helena, but without going into the actual details, as I wanted her to be aware of the reason I was approaching Penny. I’d also decided that it would be best to do so in a public place, as it was more likely that Penny would hear me out if she knew others were watching. 

The opportunity I was looking for came at dinner that evening. Penny was sitting at her normal table, accompanied, as always, by her group of friends and the ever-present Aubrey. Aubrey’s presence had been factored into my plan, as if it went the way I intended, he might be forced to reconsider his opinion of me as well. 

I checked my pockets to make sure that I had the necessary items my plan hinged on, took a deep breath and walked over to where Penny was sitting. 

‘Pardon me, your Highness,’ I said politely, ‘I was wondering if you would be so kind as to spare me a moment of your time?’ 

‘Why would she want to talk to you, Crowe?’ growled Aubrey, starting to get up. 

Penny placed her hand on his arm, stalling him.  

‘As he has asked politely,’ she said, ‘I think we can let him speak, Aubrey.’ 

‘Thank you, your Highness,’ I acknowledged, ‘Having given it much thought, it has occurred to me that I have not really shown you the respect that is due to your standing. I appreciate that our first encounter has coloured your opinion of me and my subsequent actions, and the opinion of those about you, has, perhaps, given you the wrong impression of my character.’ 

Penny looked at me shrewdly, then nodded for me to continue. 

‘Whilst a sincere apology for my behaviour would be a good start to making amends, if you were gracious enough to accept this, it would be merely words, so I thought that perhaps a gift, freely offered, may be more amenable to you?’ 

I’d been watching the faces of those on the table as I made my speech, trying to judge what effect it was having. Aubrey was scowling, which seemed to be his default expression whenever we spoke, but Penny and the others on the table seemed intrigued. 

‘What exactly did you have in mind?’ asked Penny, ‘I regularly receive gifts due to my position, so what could you offer me that I haven’t already been given?’ 

‘Well, your Highness,’ I replied, ‘I propose to offer you something both beautiful AND unique, something that I hope you will not have seen before.’ 

‘This is a trick, Penny,’ said Aubrey, ‘he’s up to something…’ 

‘Aubrey, hush,’ said Penny, turning to him, ‘He’s highly unlikely to try anything in front of all these people now, is he?’ She turned back to me, ‘You were saying?’ 

‘I will need a little assistance with this,’ I said, reaching into my pockets and pulling out a black silk handkerchief and a length of bramble stem. I turned to the girl to Penny’s right, ‘Emma, would you mind holding this for me?’ I handed the stem to her, ‘Be careful, as I have not removed all the thorns.’ 

Emma cautiously took the length of bramble stem, a puzzled look on her face. I nodded my thanks and placed the folded handkerchief on the table in front of her. I was now ready to begin. I extended my hands towards the handkerchief, watching as it rose spiralling off the tabletop. This garnered a few gasps of surprise from those at the table and I noted that a crowd had started to gather, Helena amongst them. This was good, as the more people who saw this, the better. 

‘As Autumn fades into Winter, and the winds take the leaves off the trees…’ I began, gesturing with my hands and watching as the handkerchief danced this way and that, as though caught in a breeze, ‘we look outside and see the bare branches, bereft of blossom and our hearts yearn for Spring, so that we may look again upon the beauty of Nature.’ 

The handkerchief swirled back across the table, then began to wrap itself around the top of the stem Emma was holding. 

‘But with the right enchantment,’ I said, concentrating on the handkerchief and applying my will to the vision I had in my mind, ‘you may be able to mimic the beauty of Nature in a more permanent form, which will last all year round.’ 

With a final flourish, I completed my creation. Atop what had previously been a bare bramble stem was now a perfectly formed black silk rose. Emma looked at in in wonder, then looked up at me, her mouth open. 

I took the completed rose from her unresisting hand, then offered it to Penny. 

‘A black rose, which will not fade or die,’ I said, bowing, ‘for the Princess Royal of House Black.’ 

Penny leaned forward and took the offered rose, a hint of a smile on her lips. 

‘Well, you promised me something both beautiful and unique, something that I had not seen before…’ said Penny, looking me in the eye, ‘and you have done just that. Thank you for your gift.’ 

The watching crowd, which had increased whilst I had been concentrating on my creation, burst into applause now that Penny had accepted my offering. 

‘It is a small gift, nothing more,’ I said modestly, ‘and you have Aubrey to thank for this.’ 

Aubrey looked surprised at this, as I generally did not have a good word to say about him. 

‘If not for him, I would not have been in a position to learn the necessary enchantment to create this bloom, so equals thanks should go to him.’ I nodded at Aubrey and smiled. 

He looked confused, as though he’d cornered a wolf, only to discover it was actually a sheep. 

I bowed to Penny, then turned and walked back to my table, the crowd parting before me. I felt an arm link in with mine and glanced across to see Helena walking next to me, a smile on her lips. 

‘That was incredibly well done, Alex,’ she murmured, squeezing my arm, ‘I sometimes forget what a sneaky git you are.’ 

‘Thank you… I think.’ I replied, then glanced back at table I’d just left.  

It had erupted into animated conversation, but Penny was not paying attention to what was being said – she was watching me walk away, a speculative look on her face, the rose held against her cheek. 

Cover Stories

A slight digression from the adventures of Alexander Crowe today…

So, it was suggested to me that I might consider going the self-publishing route, which many authors have used successfully to launch their careers, and it was also suggested that if I recorded myself reading the book, I could upload this to a podcast hosting platform, as a lot of modern “readers” prefer their books in an audio format.

Both valid suggestions, but this would require a striking cover image, to entice people to read/listen to the book.

Having had some success with using an AI art generator to create images for RPGs, I thought I’d have a crack at creating a “book cover” for The Last Knight…

The results are below:

Not too shabby for a first attempt, don’t you think?

Alexander Crowe’s adventures will continue with the next chapter tomorrow.

Chapter XVII – A Touch of Class

I was sitting with Helena and Yarrow at lunch on Friday, when Ashleigh came bounding over with a clipboard, a big grin on her face. 

‘How’d it go?’ I asked. 

‘They all loved them, and everybody wants one!’ she gushed. 

‘That’s great,’ I said, ‘Everything set for tomorrow morning?’ 

‘Yeah, Mama Lucia got quite excited when I told her what we were intending on doing and says she can’t wait to get started.’ 

‘Cool. I guess I’ll catch up with you in the morning, then?’ 

‘Looking forward to it, Alex.’ She said, ‘This is going to be so much fun!’ 

I innocently turned back to my lunch, and then began to mentally count to ten. I’d only reached four when I was interrupted. 

‘What are you up to, Alex?’ asked Helena, frowning. 

‘Why on Earth would you possibly think I was up to anything?’ I asked innocently. 

‘Because I know you,’ she said, placing her hand at the top of my thigh, ‘So unless you want to suffer…’ her hand inched closer to a more tender and intimate part of my anatomy, ‘I suggest you tell me…’ 

‘Okay, okay,’ I said, grabbing her wrist and trying not to laugh, ‘I was going to tell you anyway, so there’s no need for that. In fact, I was going to tell both of you.’ 

Yarrow looked puzzled, so I gestured for them to draw closer. 

‘Yarrow, am I right in thinking that you don’t have a suitable dress for the ball?’ Yarrow nodded, ‘And Helena, am I right that you’re not overly keen on the dress you have got for the ball?’ 

Helena pulled a face. 

‘It’s…alright, I suppose,’ she said, ‘but I haven’t really got a choice…’ 

‘Well, if you both would care to join myself and Ashleigh in the college theatre tomorrow morning, say…’ I did some mental calculations, ‘about half ten? Then we will solve both your problems.’ 

Helena opened her mouth, clearly about to ask another question. 

‘Nope, not going to tell you anything else,’ I said, scooting down the bench out of her reach, ‘You’re just going to have to wait and see. Trust me, it’ll be worth it…’ 

When Helena and Yarrow arrived the following morning, they were surprised to find the workroom below the theatre was thronged with female student from Dee House, all excitedly chattering and comparing the dresses they were wearing.  

Ashleigh and I had been rather busy… 

As I had anticipated, once Mama Lucia had seen Ashleigh’s designs, she immediately started teaching her Fabricantation. Ashleigh proved to be a quicker study than myself and was soon creating fantastic garments based on her own designs. After watching her for a while, I suggested that if she was up for it, we approach all the female Dee House students and ask them if they’d like a more elegant and classy dress for the Samhain ball than the ones they currently had hanging in their wardrobes. 

Unsurprisingly, once the girls had seen Ashleigh’s designs, they all agreed.    

‘Ah, there you are,’ I said to Helena and Yarrow, ‘just in time. Ashleigh, who’s next?’ I asked, turning to her. 

Ashleigh checked her list. 

‘Sophie.’ She answered. 

‘Sophie, you’re up.’ I called. 

Sophie languidly got up where she had been lounging and sauntered over to the circular platform and stepped on to it. She then slowly untied her robe and let it drop to her feet, looking me directly in the eye as she did so, revealing that she was wearing nothing but black, lacey underwear beneath.  

‘See anything you like, Alex?’ she murmured provocatively, through heavily lidded eyes. 

‘Answer me this, Sophie,’ I said patiently, ‘Did you want a nice dress to wear to the Samhain Ball or do you want to wear that ghastly pink thing you showed me earlier that makes you look like you should be on top of a Solstice tree?’ 

Sophie muttered something. 

‘I’m sorry, what was that?’ I asked. 

‘I want a nice dress…’ she said sheepishly. 

‘In that case, stop acting like a fucking tart.’ 

‘Sorry Alex.’ 

I turned back to Helena. 

‘Do you see what I’ve got to deal with here?’ I said in exasperation, ‘Trying to organise this lot is like trying to herd cats…’  

‘Alex, what on Earth is going on here?’ Asked Helena. 

‘We,’ I said, indicating Ashleigh and myself, ‘are ensuring that each and every Dee House lady will look elegant, classy and downright stunning on the night of the Samhain Ball, ably assisted by our very own master Fabrician, Mama Lucia.’ 

‘Alessandro, you will make an old lady blush,’ said Mama Lucia coming forward, ‘Who are these belle ragazze?’  

‘These are my good friend Yarrow,’ I said, pointing, ‘and Helena…’ 

‘Ah, Helena…’ said Mama Lucia with emphasis, leaning forward for a closer look, ‘You are just as beautiful as Alessandro has said. I thought, perhaps, he was exaggerating, but now I see he tells the truth. He talks about you all the time, but now I can see why.’ 

‘Excuse me,’ said Sophie, ‘Can we get on with it? I am in my underwear here…’ 

‘Sorry, Sophie,’ I said, ‘You ready Ashleigh?’ she nodded. ‘Right, tell me what you want…’ 

Ashleigh looked down at her design. 

‘Give me a sleeveless floor-length sheath dress to start with…’ she said, waiting until I’d projected this onto Sophie. ‘I want a square neckline on the bodice, supported by thin double straps criss-crossing over an open back… turn around so, I can see, Sophie… Good. Mermaid skirt skimming the hips, side split in the skirt. Hmm… yes, I think that’s it. What do you think, Sophie?’ 

‘I love it,’ Sophie said, turning on the spot, ‘Does it have to be white, though?’ 

‘That’s just the initial pattern, Sophie,’ said Ashleigh, ‘Alex, what colour d’you think?’ 

‘Green,’ I said, ‘Dark green satin – it will contrast nicely with Sophie’s hair.’ I concentrated and the dress changed to the colour I’d suggested. 

‘Oh yes…’ breathed Sophie, ‘that’s it exactly.’ 

‘Right,’ said Ashleigh stepping forward, ‘Let’s make it real…’ 

Mama Lucia returned from the storeroom with a bolt of dark green satin, placed the matching thread on the side and stood back. I held the projection in place, and Ashleigh extended her hands, crafting the dress around Sophie. She looked a little nervous, which was an expression I’d not seen on her face before, as the cloth wrapped itself about her, only relaxing once the gown was complete. 

She twirled on the platform, examining her reflection in the mirror, then grinned. 

‘It’s perfect,’ she said, ‘Thank you both so much.’ 

I grinned back and glanced across at Ashleigh, who raised a hand to her face and stumbled slightly. 

I rushed to her side and helped her back to her chair. Mama Lucia bustled forward, took Ashleigh’s wrist in her hand, the stared into her eyes. 

‘No more for you today,’ she said, ‘You have done too much. You must rest.’ 

Ashleigh looked like she was about to argue, but a look from Mama Lucia stalled her. Then Mama Lucia looked at me, with a questioning look on her face. 

‘If you think I’m ready…’ I said. 

‘You have been ready for a long time, Alessandro,’ she said, ‘the only thing holding you back was you. You know you can do it, so now is time to actually do…’ 

‘In that case,’ I said, ‘I think it’s about time Ashleigh got her own dress.’ 

Ashleigh looked surprised. 

‘But Alex,’ she said, ‘I’ve not even thought about what I want, let alone done any designs…’ 

I crouched down if front of her, took her hands in mine and looked her in the eye. 

‘But I have.’ I said, ‘Do you trust me?’ 

Ashleigh searched my face. 

‘Yes,’ she said simply, ‘I do.’ 

‘Then get your kit off and up you go.’ 

Ashleigh slowly got up and approached the platform, disrobing as she went. She stood self-consciously on the platform, wringing her hands nervously. 

‘Stop that,’ I said, ‘You know you need to stand still… and close your eyes.’ 

‘Why?’ she asked. 

‘Because I want it to be a surprise…’  

Ashleigh closed her eyes, put her hands down by her side and visibly relaxed. I nodded to Mama Lucia, who disappeared into the storeroom, returning with a bolt of sky-blue chiffon and some white lace. 

I cracked my knuckles, extended my hands and began. I’d been practicing, so no longer needed to project the design, as I could see in my mind’s eye exactly what I wanted to create. 

The fabric unrolled and swirled around Ashleigh, following the contours of her body and forming the design in my mind. Floor length A-line, with a scoop-necked bodice and cut-in shoulders… double bands angling to the sides of the back, framing a triangular cut-out… skirt flowing out from the waist down to the ground… the lace jumped from the worktop… white lace applique across the front of the bodice… and done. 

‘Can I open my eyes now?’ asked Ashleigh nervously. 

‘Yeah,’ I said, smiling, ‘I think you can.’ 

Ashleigh opened her eyes, looked down at the dress in astonishment, then looked in the mirror, turning this way and that. 

‘Oh my God…’ she murmured, then looked across at me, ‘It’s gorgeous…’ 

She then squealed, jumped down from the platform and rushed over to me, throwing her arms around me. She was crying. 

‘Oh Alex,’ she said, hugging me tightly, ‘It’s better than I ever imagined it would be. Thank you, thank you so, so much.’ 

‘Careful,’ I said grinning, ‘you’ll rumple your dress.’ 

Ashleigh disengaged, wiped the tears from her eyes and rushed over to the other girls, all of whom had been watching. I could hear murmurs of admiration and excited chatter. 

I looked across at Helena and Yarrow, who had looks of shocked amazement on their faces. 

‘Oh my God,’ said Yarrow, ‘That was… amazing…’ 

‘How… how…’ stuttered Helena, then just stopped, at a loss for words. 

I ran my hand through my hair and smiled bashfully. 

‘Yeah, that went better than I thought it would,’ I said, ‘Ashleigh seems happy, at least.’ 

‘You are too modest, Alessandro,’ said Mama Lucia, putting her hands on my shoulders, ‘I knew you had the soul of a benissimo Fabrician.’ She looked across at Helena, ‘It’s in the eyes – you can always tell.’ 

‘I had a very good teacher, Mama Lucia,’ I said, ‘None of this would have been possible, if it wasn’t for you.’ 

‘Pfft, I teach before,’ she said, ‘My students, they listen, they learn… but unless they have the passion, like you, like Ashleigh, they are only good, not great.’ She winked at Helena, ‘Alessandro, he have great passion… and not just for this.’ 

Helena, once she realised what Mama Lucia was implying, went red. 

‘So sweet,’ said Mama Lucia, chucking her under the chin, ‘I leave you now, these girls, they need dresses…’ 

Helena waited until Mama Lucia was out of earshot, then drew closer, with Yarrow following. 

‘You told me you were sorting clothes, stock-taking and carrying rolls of fabric during detention,’ she said accusingly, ‘but it turns out you were actually learning new magic – stuff that’s not taught in normal lessons.’ 

‘Actually, I was doing both,’ I said, ‘And didn’t I take full responsibility for the other night, risking getting expelled, so that neither of you two would get punished? Is it my fault that I happened to get detention with Mama Lucia AND she decided to teach me fabricantation?’ 

‘I suppose not…’ said Helena grumpily, ‘But you didn’t have to be so good at it…’   

‘Ah, I see what the issue here is…’ I said grinning, ‘You’re jealous, aren’t you?’ 

‘No…’ 

‘Yes you are. There was me thinking you’d get all bent out of shape because I’d seen all these girls…’ I gestured about the room, ‘half-naked, but you’re more concerned that I know something that you don’t.’ 

Helena started, as she’d obviously not even considered that in order for Ashleigh and I to have created all these dresses, most, if not all, of the girls would have had to have been in their underwear. She scowled at me and started to raise her fist, but I quickly stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her. 

‘Don’t worry,’ I murmured in her ear, ‘the only person I actually want to see in their underwear is you. In fact, why don’t you strip off now…’ 

‘What?!’ exclaimed Helena, ‘Are you mad?!’ 

I stepped back and held her at arm’s length, grinning. 

‘I though you wanted a new dress?’ I said, ‘Why, what did you think I was suggesting?’ 

‘You…you…you’re so annoying,’ she said, but even though she was scowling, I could see she was trying not to laugh. 

‘I know,’ I said, ‘It’s a good thing I’m so goddamn cute, otherwise they’d be no hope for me.’ 

This broke Helena and she snorted with laughter. 

‘Now,’ I said seriously to both Helena and Yarrow, ‘I have been giving this a great deal of thought and have a pretty good idea of what would suit you, in both style and colour. My only question is…’ I gestured to the platform, ‘Who wants to go first?’ 

Yarrow volunteered to go first and was soon twirling in place on the platform, the dark navy floor-length satin dress I’d created swirling about her. 

‘Alex, this is the prettiest dress I’ve ever owned!’ she said excitedly, then paused in thought, ‘Actually, this is the only dress I own… but even if I had a hundred, it would be my favourite. Thank you.’ 

As Ashleigh and I had already dealt with the rest of the Dee House students, this now only left Helena. 

I had thought, given that I knew exactly the style and colour of dress that I felt would suit Helena AND that I’d already seen several girls in their underwear that morning, that there would be no issues when it came to Helena. 

However, for all my bravado earlier, when it came to Helena I was acutely conscious that it WAS Helena and, as I had feelings for her, the thought of seeing her in her underwear, no matter how innocent the situation, had started my pulse racing. I looked down at my hands and realised that they were shaking.  

Helena, it would appear, had come to a similar realisation and, whilst she had stepped red-faced on to the platform, seemed to be having difficulty with the buttons on her blouse and would not look me in the eye. 

Mama Lucia looked back and forth between the pair of us, then sighed and stepped forward taking my hands in her own. She looked critically at them, noticed the shaking and tutted. 

‘Sometimes, the great passion, she overwhelm you,’ she said, ‘In this state, you will do more damage than good if you try. You will tell Mama what you intended, and I will create the dress. You, Alessandro, you will take a walk and clear your head. Is better for all.’ 

I thanked Mama Lucia and explained my design, watching as she nodded in understanding. I then made my way upstairs and out into the courtyard.  

It was pleasant enough day, if a little cold, so I headed for the Dining Hall, as I knew there was always hot coffee available there and I felt in need of refreshment. 

I wandered back over about ten minutes later and made my way back downstairs. Yarrow was waiting at the foot of the staircase, a big grin on her face. 

‘Helena says you have to wear this,’ she said, holding out a strip of cloth, ‘she wants to be able to see your reaction when you take off the blindfold.’ 

I’m not really a fan of not being in control, but as this would only be for a short time, I acquiesced on this occasion and allowed myself to be blindfolded and led into the workroom. 

‘Are you ready, Helena?’ asked Yarrow. 

‘Yes…’ replied Helena nervously. I felt hands on the back of my head and the blindfold was removed. 

I blinked once to clear my sight and beheld a vision in burgundy chiffon. 

Mama Lucia had followed my instructions to the letter and Helena was wearing an A-line floor-length dress, with a sleeveless bodice in a graceful princess-cut with a scoop neckline. Thin double straps rose from the bodice and continued over the shoulders, before criss-crossing across her back, then lacing up in a corset style. The skirt parted in a side split on the left from mid-thigh, flowing down to the floor. 

Helena was watching my face with apprehension. 

‘What do you think?’ she said anxiously. 

‘Wow…’ I said, ‘Just…wow. You look… incredible!’ I turned to Mama Lucia, who was standing off to one side, a satisfied expression on her face, ‘It’s just how I imagined it – thank you.’ 

‘When the vision is clear, is simple enough to do,’ she said simply. 

I turned back to Helena, who was now smiling shyly. 

‘But the most important question is…’ I said to her, ‘do you like it? Because if you don’t, then it doesn’t matter what I think, because I’m not the one wearing it. Is the colour all right? The style? We’ve got plenty of time before the ball, so if you’d prefer something different, we can…’ 

Helena gathered her skirt, stepped down from the platform and made her way over to me. She reached out her hand and placed a finger across my lips, ending my rambling. 

‘Alex,’ she said, ‘It’s perfect. I wouldn’t change anything about it.’ She then leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek, ‘Thank you.’ 

‘It was nothing…’ I said, feeling my cheeks flushing and a grin creeping across my face. I then turned and addressed the room. 

‘Right, Ladies, if you wouldn’t mind listening for a moment?’ I said, waiting until I had their full attention before continuing, ‘Now, you all know what’s happening on 31^st of October…’ 

‘We’re celebrating your birthday?’ asked Ashleigh innocently. 

‘What?! My birthday?’ I said in surprise, ‘How did you know that?’  

I looked across at Helena, who was grinning. She tapped the side of her head. 

‘Oh…right…,’ I said, ‘Yes, well, whilst it may also be my birthday on the 31^st, that’s not what I was talking about…’ I paused to regain my train of thought, ‘We have four weeks before the Samhain Ball, so I would suggest that you leave your dresses in the care of Mama Lucia here, as that way they will remain pristine and not get crumpled in your wardrobe. On the day of the ball, you can all assemble in here and get ready together. Now, this is important – do NOT tell anyone about your dresses. Yes, you can inform your dates of the colour of your dress, so they can coordinate their outfits if they so choose, but that’s it.’ 

There was some rebellious muttering at this. 

‘I appreciate that you’re dying to tell all your friends what an amazing outfit you’ve got, but consider the impact of your entrance on the night, when everyone else sees your dress for the first time…’ 

I looked about the room and could see by the expressions on their faces, followed by several grins, that they understood what I was saying. 

‘And bear in mind if any of the girls from another House hear about your dresses, then they’ll want one too…’ I let this sink in, ‘And surely you want to be the centre of attention?’ 

And with that, I knew I had them. All women, no matter how much they may claim otherwise, when given the opportunity to dress to impress, do actually want people to notice that they’ve made the effort. It’s not vanity, it’s human nature. 

Besides, I could imagine the expressions on everyone else’s faces when they swept in the room in their finery and how that would make the girls Ashleigh and I had dressed feel. And birthday or not, that would be my gift for the evening. 

I made myself scarce whilst the girls were changing out of their dresses, as whilst it had been necessary to see them in their underwear whilst we were creating, hanging around whilst they got undressed again seemed a little… pervy. I decided that the best use of my time would be to ensure that all the unused fabric was returned to its appropriate place in the storeroom, as I would have only had to do it later anyway. 

I was man-handling a bolt of crimson chiffon on to one of the upper shelves, which seemed reluctant to be put back where it belonged, when I was interrupted by Helena sticking her head around the door. 

‘We’re all done, Alex,’ she said, ‘It’s safe for you to come out now.’ 

I pushed the bolt home with a grunt and stepped down from the stepladder. 

‘Cool,’ I said, ‘I’m just about done here.’ 

Helena stepped forward, a look of concern on her face. 

‘You didn’t mind that I told everyone it’s your birthday at the end of the month, did you?’ she asked, ‘It wasn’t intentional… it kind of slipped out.’ 

‘Nah, it’s fine,’ I said, ‘With all the other stuff going on, it had kind of slipped my mind. I don’t tend to make a big deal about it, but it is kind of cool that the Samhain Ball is on the same day – it’s almost like they’re throwing a party just for me.’ 

Helena looked at me with a smile. 

‘I think that some of the girls might be arranging something for you, on the night, as a thank you for all your hard work.’ 

‘Really?’ I said, ‘That’s nice of them… but not really necessary. Ashleigh did most of the work, I just helped.’ 

‘You’re too modest, Alex. If you hadn’t come up with the idea in the first place, none of this would have happened.’ 

‘Yeah, I suppose it was one of my better ideas…’ I said ruefully, running my hand through my hair, ‘I’ve not had a good track record so far.’ 

Helena stepped in closer, her head cocked to one side and a mischievous smile on her face. 

‘Seeing as you’re responsible for the beautiful dress I will be wearing to the ball,’ she murmured, ‘And it’s your birthday, I feel that I should really give you something in return as well.’ She moved even closer, put her hand on my chest and looked me in the eye. ‘Any ideas?’ 

I attempted to answer, but all that came out was a strangled ‘Yerk.’ 

Helena grinned and stepped back. 

‘Guess I’ll have to come up with something myself…’ she said, turning to leave, ‘See you later, Alex.’ 

I could hear her laughter echoing in workroom outside and grinned ruefully to myself. From the looks of it, my first Samhain Ball would be quite the evening. 

Chapter XVI – ‘You Shall Go to the Ball…’

As we’d already worked out the how, why and when, the only bits of information we were missing were the where and the who. 

As we still had two and half months to work out this information, I was fairly confident that we’d be able to figure it out in time. 

Helena, now realising the gravity of the situation, had taken to brooding over it and I knew from bitter experience that constantly worrying about things that might happen was not good for your mental health. 

What she needed was a distraction, something to take her mind off the subject, even if only for a short while. Fortunately, something of this nature occurred at the beginning of the following week. 

I headed down to breakfast on the Tuesday morning, having spent a valuable, if long, evening in the company of Mama Lucia. My fabricantation skills were improving and she was of the opinion that I’d soon be ready for a live model. 

Once my tray was loaded with a hearty breakfast, I headed over to the table where Helena was sitting with some of the girls from Dee House. I’d put my tray down and was just about to sit down when I noticed that that the conversation they’d been having had ceased and they were all staring at me. 

‘What?’ I asked. 

The girls all looked at each other, then Helena spoke. 

‘Um… Alex,’ she said, ‘would you mind sitting somewhere else this morning? Only we’re having a private discussion and you can’t really be part of it.’ 

‘Ahh… This is girl stuff, right?’ I asked, ‘No problem. I’ll just go and sit somewhere else…’ 

I picked up my tray and looked around. Weirdly, the whole Dining Hall seemed to have divided into tables occupied by either just boys or just girls, with none of the usual mixing you normally saw. Furthermore, they all seemed to be involved in serious whispered conversations, which ceased as they noticed me drawing close. 

Now, I don’t consider myself a paranoid person, but this sort of behaviour does make you consider the possibility that the reason the conversation stops is because they’re talking about you. Then you to start question whether you’ve done something that would cause everyone to talk about you behind your back.  

I couldn’t think of anything I’d done recently, so rather than brood about it – that way leads madness – I just said ‘fuck it’ and sat down to eat my breakfast. I was sure if it was something important, someone would let me know.  

I was halfway through my breakfast, trying to recall the correct incantation for the creation of a lodestone, as that what we would be attempting in Lithometry that morning, when I was interrupted by Sophie. 

‘Morning Alex,’ she purred, ‘I was hoping I’d bump into you this morning…’ She sat down opposite me, then leaned forward, ‘So, have you asked anyone yet?’ 

I looked at her blankly. 

‘I’ve literally just got down here,’ I said, ‘and, as you can see, I’m not sitting with anyone, so I’ve not really spoken to anyone or had the chance to ask anyone anything.’ 

‘That’s good to hear, Alex,’ she said, obviously pleased, ‘I just wanted you to know, if you were to ask me, I’d probably say “Yes” – so, bear that in mind.’ 

She then got up, gave my shoulder a squeeze and sauntered off, leaving me mystified in her wake. 

I went back to trying to recall the incantation, but Sophie’s interruption had caused it to vanish completely from my mind. I groaned and banged my head on the table. 

‘Sorry about earlier, Alex,’ said Helena, sitting down next to me, ‘We were discussing… well, it doesn’t matter what we were discussing. Was that Sophie I saw you talking to? What did she want?’ 

‘To be honest,’ I replied, ‘I have no idea. She wanted to know if I’d asked anyone yet and then said if I hadn’t and I asked her, she’d probably say “yes” …’ 

‘Oh,’ said Helena, then looked down flushing, ‘I was hoping you’d ask me…’ 

I looked at her in puzzlement. 

‘Ask you?’ 

‘Yeah…’ she said shyly, ‘Unless you don’t want to, that is…’ 

‘Helena, look at me,’ I said, waiting until she looked up, ‘Will you please explain to me what the fuck is going on?’ 

Helena looked surprised, then a dawning realisation hit her. 

‘You were in detention, so you weren’t there…’ she said softly, then went scarlet with embarrassment, ‘I’m sorry, Alex, I’d forgotten that you didn’t know…um…’ 

After much cajoling, as Helena was so embarrassed she could hardly look at me, I managed to prise the story out of her.  

The previous evening Master Tweed had gathered all the Dee House students together in the common room for an announcement. As was apparently an Oakdene tradition, on the 31^st of October, the annual Samhain Ball was due to take place. This was an excuse for both faculty and students to dress up in their finery, enjoy food and drink and dance until the wee hours of the morning. As this happened to fall upon a Friday this year, lessons were suspended from lunchtime on the day of the ball, to give everyone the chance to get ready. 

It was also traditional that the male students would ask the female students to the ball as their dates, which now explained the why everyone had been indulged in whispered conversations in gender specific groups and what Sophie AND Helena had been banging on about. 

‘So, Sophie was basically saying that if I asked her to the ball, she’d go with me, is that right?’ I asked. 

‘I guess…’ said Helena quietly, refusing to look me in the eye, ‘I mean, if you’d prefer to go with her…’ 

I pretended to give it some serious thought, watching as Helena twisted her hair between her fingers. 

‘Nah…’ I said, ‘Sophie would eat me alive. To be honest with you, she’s actually scares me a little…I can only think of one person that I’d even consider asking to be my date to the ball.’ 

‘And who’s that?’ asked Helena.  

‘Well, isn’t it obvious?’ I asked, watching as a shy smile blossomed on her lips, ‘Dr Vayne, of course.’ 

Helena’s head shot up with a look of shock and annoyance, then she realised by my expression that I was winding her up. 

‘I really, really, really hate you sometimes…’ she said, scowling, but also trying not to laugh. 

‘Does that mean you won’t be my date to the Samhain ball, then?’ 

‘Are you actually, properly asking me, then?’ She said challengingly. 

‘Yes, I am.’  

‘Say it properly, then.’ 

‘Helena Morgan,’ I said taking her hand in mine and looking her in the eye, ‘Would you do me the honour of accompanying me to the Samhain Ball?’ 

Helena pretended to give it some thought. 

‘Hmmm… seeing you asked so nicely,’ she said, after making me wait a while, ‘I will be your date for the ball.’ 

Unsurprisingly, the upcoming Samhain Ball was all that everyone seemed to be talking about over the next couple of days.  

I have to admit that, from my recollections of my school days, I wasn’t that popular with the girls, as there was always someone who was that little bit more confident or a bit better looking. I’d go to parties, but I’d be the one who was on the perimeter, joking about with my friends until such time as they sloped off to snog one of the girls.  

So, it came as a little bit of a surprise to me that this time around, I appeared to be the first choice of date for the upcoming ball.  

Since the initial overture from Sophie, several girls had approached me to see if I’d asked anyone, seeming disappointed when they found out I’d already asked Helena. Once this became common knowledge, this petered out, but was replaced with the boys now asking for MY advice on the best way to approach the girls.  

This was actually quite gratifying, as whilst I don’t consider myself a ladies man, the fact that I had decades more experience than my classmates kind of meant that I was.  

However, I did appear to have taken the big brother approach when it came to certain people… 

Due to no longer having to attend lessons for Alchemy or Necromancy, I had the whole of Wednesday afternoons to myself. I usually used this to catch up on any work set in my other classes or to continue my research into the whole saving the world thing. 

Regarding the latter, I suspected that the specific instructions that were needed for the ritual were likely to be contained in one of the green-bound “forbidden” books, as Master Tweed had mentioned that these contained ‘magic that is no longer practised in our more enlightened age – blood magic and the like.’  

As whoever had been researching the ritual had resorted to using the commonly accessible books, this would suggest that they currently couldn’t access these books.  

However, when I’d last asked the Cat, it had confirmed the cataclysmic event was still due to occur on 17^th December, so at some point whoever it was would gain access to the necessary book – unless we could prevent this somehow. I was assuming that there therefore must be some way around the blood-lock enchantment, so this was my current focus of study. 

I was on my way to the Study Hall for this reason when Mason intercepted me in the corridor. 

‘Alex,’ he said, ‘You got a second?’ 

‘Of course, Mason,’ I replied, ‘What’s on your mind?’ 

Now that he’d got my attention, he seemed to be a little nervous about whatever it was he wanted to talk to me about. 

‘You’ve already got a date for the ball haven’t you?’ he asked. 

‘Yes, I’m going with Helena.’ 

‘And you’re good friends with Yarrow, right?’   

  ‘Yes…’ 

He paused, nervously twisting the strap of his school bag. This was unlike Mason, as he usually came over as a pretty confident guy. 

‘Do you…do you know if she’s got a date yet?’ He finally blurted out. 

This had been a topic of conversation at lunch, as Yarrow was certain that no-one would ask her, whereas both Helena and I had assured her that they would. Yarrow was not convinced, but it would now appear that she was mistaken. 

‘Not yet,’ I replied, ‘Why? Were you considering asking her?’ 

‘Yeah, I was…’ he said, ‘But… but only if you’re okay with it?’ 

I was initially confused as to why he would feel the need to ask my permission, but then realised that it had become common knowledge that I was quite… protective when it came to Yarrow.  

Given that Mason had recognised this and wanted to check with me first before asking her, gave me a pretty firm indication of the kind of person he was. 

‘As long as you treat her with the respect she is due, Mason,’ I said, ‘I have no problem with you asking her. But,’ I paused and gave him one of my best hard stares, ‘bear in mind I will be keeping an eye on you…’ 

‘I kind of expected that, to be honest,’ he said, grinning ruefully, ‘I’m sure I won’t give you any reason to worry. Thanks, Alex.’ 

And with that, he headed off to Alchemy and I continued on to the Study Hall. 

Given that the majority of the other students were in lessons, the Study Hall was fairly empty, with most of the other occupants being Second Years. As I looked for a free table, I noticed Ashleigh was hard at work, head down, surrounded by what looked like hand -drawn illustrations. As she also had a myriad of coloured pencils scattered across the table, I assumed that she was responsible for them.  

As I couldn’t think of any subject that required that level of artwork, my curiosity was piqued, and I made my way over. 

‘Hi Ashleigh,’ I said in greeting, ‘What are you up to?’ 

Ashleigh started, spreading her hands protectively over the drawings, until she realised who it was. 

‘Oh, Hi Alex,’ she said, ‘Um…I’m just working on…something.’ 

‘I can see that,’ I said, ‘Mind if I have a look?’ 

Ashleigh looked at me pensively. 

‘I…suppose so…’ she said slowly, ‘but only because it’s you and only if you promise not to laugh…’ 

‘Can’t think why I would…’ I said, sitting down next to her and pulling a selection of the drawings towards me.  

They were all illustrations of assorted styles of dress, similar to those that a fashion designer would do, showing a stylised model and two views, front and back. Here was a long, flowing A-Line dress with a square neckline in teal, there a floor length sheath dress with V-neckline and rear cross-strapping in dark navy. Each drawing also had hand-written notes in pencil, with suggestions as to the fabric. 

‘Wow…’ I said, ‘These are really good.’ I looked closer at the notes, ‘I think you’re right regarding this teal one, it does need to be chiffon… and I’d probably put a split down the front left, from about mid-thigh…’ 

Ashleigh leaned over and took the drawing, looking at it speculatively, then looked at me in the same way. 

‘That’s actually… a pretty good suggestion, Alex,’ she said, ‘How did you come up with that?’ 

‘Apparently I have a good eye for this sort of thing, or so I’ve been told,’ I answered, ‘What are these for?’ 

‘Well, I have got a dress I could wear to the ball, but I don’t like it, so I was trying to see if I could come up with something…better.’ 

If Ashleigh’s dress was anything like Helena’s, which she’d described to me the other night, I could understand why Ashleigh may not be entirely happy with hers. 

During the 1980’s, there was a specific style associated with party dresses – whether short or long, the main identifying features appeared to be that they had to have an overabundance of ruffles, usually at the shoulders, and they had to look like they had been constructed from metallic wrapping paper. So, shiny, fussy, and cheap looking, like the nylon Princess dresses that small girls wear to birthday parties. 

‘Well,’ I said, ‘You’ve certainly succeeded. Any one of these designs would probably be a hundred times better than the dress you’ve got.’ 

‘Yeah, I know.’ Said Ashleigh sighing, ‘But it doesn’t matter. Whilst I’d love to have any one of these dresses, as I’ve already got one, I can’t see my parents letting me get another one.’ 

As has been demonstrated before, I am blessed (or possibly cursed) with an inventive mind, the cogs of which can be set to spinning by a chance comment, generating ideas.  

True, not every idea I come up with is great and sometimes I don’t think them through as thoroughly as I should before acting on them, but there are instances where they appear fully formed in my mind and they are fucking genius. 

This was one of those moments. 

I examined the idea from all angles, checking for potential problems and flaws and, not finding any, gave it my official stamp of approval. 

‘Right, gather all your stuff and come with me,’ I said to Ashleigh, ‘I think we can solve this little problem. But first, there’s someone you really need to meet…’