HellFire Conjourer: Early Days part 4

Chapter 12: How to kill a monster? Guess who?
         
         I spent the last few days in a hospital bed, drained of energy and unable to heal. My entire body was sore as hell. The nurse said I was too depressed and was keeping myself from healing properly. Of course I was depressed. My boy friend hasn't visited me yet since I blacked out!
         Was this how it felt to be heart broken over someone. I felt like I was constantly crying, but no tears would fall. My eyes were heavy, but I couldn't close them, because his face would pop up. I spent hours looking out of a window and faintly listening to Spay talk about his day.
         For the most part everything seemed to go back to normal, except half the student were gone because of parents panicking about the monster, which I think I may have destroyed. Spay said there was nothing but ashes left. This made me feel worse. I just killed a good friend, Ruse.
         I was more over whelmed by how Fri was acting. I thought about asking Spay about him, but when I started to talk something stabbed at my chest, so I stopped. I was really despondent.
         Today Spay spent hours talking about the Stranger we met. Appearently he's a new teacher here or something. I didn't care at the moment. He was scientist, Spay kept mentioning. Even though he looked really young, he was also a genius in anatomy and homunculi. When the young scientist did come to visit, I turned away and pretended to sleep. He just spent a few minutes watching me.
         I hardly ate, which didn't make my condition any better. I just couldn't find the energy to care. Why did he make me feel this way! I found that all I wanted was to see him, yet it was the most terrifying thing in the world. What if he rejects me again? I started crying in the dark room.
         I took a small bite from a bread roll.
         What if he doesn't love me?
         That's crazy, he just told me he did. But were have only been together little over a week. But we have known each other for three months. But you cant fall in love that fast can you? Then why do I feel this way? Tears fell faster.
         The door creaked open. Who would be here this late at night? I looked over, my heart stopped. The figure crept closer. It was Fri.
         He looked at me with sad eyes. The screamed with sorrow and tears. He held a small circlet up his hands. It was silver and had our names welded into the front. I lost my breath. Was he apologizing?
         "I'm sorry." his voice had signs of exhaustion. Had he been sleeping at all?
         "I- I'm sorry to make you think that I loved-" the words came out easier then I thought they would, but Fri cut me off.
         "No, I was an idiot before. I was just upset about all that happened. I'm an idiot. I haven't slept since you blacked out. I made you this."
         I started crying. That's why he wasn't here, he was making that to apologize. I felt like an ass for thinking the way I did.
         "I'm stupid too." I said crying.
         Tears poured downs his face as he understood my acceptance and apology.
         "Can we be stupid together?" he managed through the sobs and smile.
         "Yea." I replied wiping my face.
         He ran to the bed and placed the circlet on my head and kissed my forehead. I pulled him on to the small bed and laid him down beside me. I cuddled him and rested on my shoulder.
         Finally we both got some sleep.

         Fri and I spent the next day sleeping. It was good. He got the rest he needed and I had him. And I held onto him fiercely and pretended like there wasn't a monster that killed hundreds of people and almost killed us. I pretended I wasn't some super being that didn't feel so super. And I pretended all that mattered was Fri.
         I magically sealed the door with a spell and placed a curse on it so that whoever tried to open it was shot at by magic sparks that stung like bee stings. I heard Spay laugh every time a school nurse tried to open a door and was bombarded by sparks. I smiled faintly and fell back to sleep in Fri's arms.
         When the sun rose the next day I woke up alone in bed. I felt around with my eyes closed, then shot up to find the shower going. I got a lustful idea. I snuck out of bed and crept into the shower room. There I saw Fri's sillhouette standing in the shower, letting the water rain down on him. I let the warmth from the shower mist take over.
         I dropped my clothes and shirt and got into the shower.
         "I heard you when you woke up." Fri said not even moving.
         My heart stopped, Damn, I wanted it to be a surprise.
         "But it is a nice surprise."
         He turned around and looked into my eyes. I caught my eyes before the could move below his waist. I smiled with lustful thoughts.

         After the shower, in which nothing sexual happened. And yes I am serious. We went down to the dinning hall and met up with Spay.
         "Oh la la, they do come apart." Spay smiled and chomped on a biscuit.
         I gave him a mocking look and sat down beside Fri. I grabbed some pancakes and sweet pies and ate them even faster. Something pinched my ass, so I jumped and let out a cry.
         "Ouch, my ass." I said rubbing the spot, I notice people staring so I shot the room a look of death and they all went back to business.
         I looked for what bit me, I though I saw a small orb of light flitter under the table, but when I blinked it was gone.
         "You butt hurts." Spay snickered. I knew what he was hinting at.
         "Elid-" but Fri put his hand over my mouth. I licked his hand to try tog et him to let go, but he held strong. He let go with a sense of victory.
         "You're gross." I said wiping my mouth.
         "You were going to blow up the entire table." Fri argued.
         "Okay." I sighed not feeling like putting up a fight.
         As we ate I saw the stranger form Dalmart sitting with the teachers, laughing and chatting as if he knew all of them already. That was curious and now that I had the strength to, I remembered how he spoke to the monster.
         "We need to talk to that guy." I said chewing my pie.
         "You mean Mr. Stein." Spay grumbled.
         "Why'd you say it like that?" Fri asked.
         Spay sighed. "He's the new alchemist teacher and I don't like him as much."
         That was right, Spay had been going to class the last few days, while I was in the hospital and Fri was working on the circlet. That's right! The circlet!
         "Why exactly did you make circlet? I mean I know as a present, but is it elfin tradition?"
         Spay looked lost.
         "This circlet." I said pointing to my head.
         "Yea you have a big head." Spay busted out laughing.
         I clenched my fist, trying not to blow up the table and Spay with it.
         "No, the circlet. On my head."
         Fri started to laugh as well. What the hell was so funny?
         "I forgot to explain that to you." Fri smiled cutely. "Spay can't see it. I spent two days making it and it took all the energy I could muster. Basically it will absorb any of the energy and emotional power you let lose when you get, well, emotional."
         That means, what exactly?
         "So?" I said lost.
         "Basically it will keep you powers from making things move and shatter when you get angry, sad or scared."
         Oh! That's so sweet. He must have been worried when I was making the doors shake and slam when we were at the Mortuary. I felt something rise in my chest that made me want to jump and scream. I wanted to kiss him, show some affection, but I couldn't in public.
         "That's sweet of you." I said with a large smile.
         "Thanks." his eyes flashed with the intent of kissing me.
         I flashed him a similar look. Spay chomped down more biscuits and I couldn't help but smile. Everything was so great, my friends were alive. They both loved me and we loved each other and one of them really loved me. I just couldn't help but smile, the world seemed so beautiful.
         I know I may seem like a bastard for forgetting and tossing aside Ruse, but Fri had made me forget all about that, and I was trying not to think about it.
         "How do we get some alone time with Mr. Stein over there?" Fri asked after swallowing some orange juice.
         I thought for a moment. How were we going to get him alone? His was our teacher, but in class there were too many students, well not since parents started taking them out of school, but nonetheless there would still be more then I wanted to be. Maybe if we catch him on his lunch period. That's it!
         "We corner him on his lunch hour, before he gets to the teachers lounge." I said matter-of-factly.
         "Sounds good to me." Spay said spitting food.
         "Please chew with your mouth closed and don't speak with you mouth full." I snapped.
         Fri smiled lovingly and held my hand under the table. I flashed him a smile.

         Going to my classes was almost pointless now. I knew everything they were teaching, whether from the books I read or the knowledge I managed to remember from the Bible. I was looking forward to next year when I could take more advanced classes, and read more books. There were two months left before school would end for the year and I was trying to figure out where I was going to stay over the break.
         I know staying with Fri was out of the question, if his family found out we were involved they would kill him, and I wasn't sure if he was literal when he said it.
         I was NOT going to stay with Spay no matter what, I would rather stay at the orphanage. Maybe I could stay with Porion, he seemed to be normal, but I havent seen him since the first night I was here.
         It hard to believe I have been here for six months. I had an amazing boyfriend and a best friend, all of it made me smile. The past few days I hadn't built up the nerve to talk to Mr. Stein. I spent a lot of free time with Fri in his room talking about things we wanted to do over the break and about everything.
         I also spent time with Spay at the archery, trying to out do him, but I failed every time. There was this tension, anticipation about when we would talk to Mr. Stein about what happened. I really didn't want to, I just wanted to pretend that monsters that stanggle people and tare them from limb to limb didn't exist.
         "You know you have to talk to him soon." Fri said as I fed him a cracker with some cheese on it.
         We were in his room, of course, I wouldn't be feeding him like this if we weren't.
         "I know." I kissed him and tasted the strong cheese.
         We were on his bed. I was laying at his side with my head on his shoulder. He had a plate with crackers and cheese slices resting on his chest. I took a cracker and slice and shoved it into my mouth.
         "I just don't want to think about all that stuff again. I killed Ruse, our teacher and no one really seems to notice. The ARC hasn't been here yet either and I'm- I'm stalling arent I?" I sighed.
         "Yea, but the responsibility shouldn't rest entirely on you. Spay and I were there too." he said, kissing my forehead.
         I closed my eyes. It did kind of depend on me, I was the leader by default, right?
         "I'll talk to him tomorrow. Besides I'm curious to know how he knew the monster and what it was exactly." I said fittling with some lint on Fri's shirt. "Lets go see what Spay is doing."
         "Okay. You bored with me already?" he said teasingly.
         I smiled and flahsed him a curious look.
         "I guess we can wait a few minutes." I added, and kissed him, again and again, and again.


         "This is boring! Spay, why you so boring." I said in a state of utter boringness.
         We got here expecting him to have some crazy thing to do and he's actually studing for his Creatures of the world class.
         "I need to pass, I'm not going to get behind on my classes and end up being here for an extra year." he said dramatically.
         "It's just one class. I want to do something."
         "ONE class can end up being four or five over the years. Besides you have a boyfriend, go do something!"
         I bushed bright red when my eyes met with Fri's. He turned red too. I almost made Spay's homework explode. The one time I want to hang out with him and he has his face in the book.
         "What are you reading anyway?" I asked defeated.
         "What, oh. Something about the Lady of the Forest and her animal priest's. Which animals are sacred and which ones-"
         I tuned him out.
         The Lady of the Forest priest's? Why does that ring a bell.
         And as I thought this a spilitting headache took over. Drowning out all sound, making my vision blurry. Images flashed inside my head. I think I felt hot tears running down my face and I felt Fri's body against mine holding me. Was I screaming?
         The images got clearer, but still pretty unfocused. There wasa forest I could smell rain and fresh air. I saw a stag running acros a creak. I large black bird with yellow and blue stripes on its wings and a red ring around its neck. Then I seen a small cat, yes a cat. It had larger ears with long fur on the tips. It was a bit larger then a normal cat and its eyes were mesmerizing rust orange.
         The cat was white with random black marks on its body and an all black tail that was about six feet long. It's fur was short and it looked directly at me.
         Only if you can make the ultimate sacrifice will I allow you to use my power. Can you make the ultimate sacrifice?
Call upon my greatest power
Call upon the forest spirits
Pray that they make him a servent to a higher power
And offer the ultimate sacrifice to them. 
         I snapped out of the vision I was in with a start. I went cold, but I was sweating like crazy. Fri was kneeling over me, saying something, I could quite make it out. I guess I was still dazed.
         "Are you okay?" I bearly made out.
         "Yea." I said, not sure how loud.
         Fri said something, reading his lips I only made out the word "vision".
         "Yea I had a vision, can't hear to well." I added.
         Fri nodded.
         I looked over and Spay was still reading his book. Something in me snapped, he wasn't even worried! I know he's worried about school, but come on!
         "Fireball." I shouted, the book he was reading went up in flames. He shouted and started dancing about trying to stomp out the burning book. Good thing he's mostly fire retardent.
         That put a smile on my face. I felt bad so I'll probably give him my book on magical creatures later.

         It was already too late to corner Mr. Stein, so after giving Spay my Magical Creatures book we all went down to the dinning hall to eat. There was hardly anyone there and it was already dusk. About twenty students a table, which was little compared to the fifty or sixty students a table. Today they were serving sweets after dinner. They usually saved that for the last day of the week, but since there were so little students, the school board thought it would be good to keep up morale. Whiched pissed me off because they were covering up the monster and deaths of about ten missing students.
         So as I ate the delicious sweet cakes with utmost content for the school board, I came up with an ingenious Idea.
         "we're going to prank the school board." I said matter-of-factly.
         "What!" Spay and Fri spat.
         "That's crazy! You'll get expelled for sure." Fri shot.
         "So! I need to do something to those bastards, trying to cover up the deaths of people we knew. Well, not really knew, more like saw around class."
         "I'm in." Spay smiled. "What do you got in mind?"
         Fri shuck his head in disapproval. "You're my boyfriend, I guess I'm responsible for you."
         "So its agreed." I slammed my fist into my hand and nodded.
         "Not really." Fri added faintly.
         Spay smiled wickedly. "Lets do this old school."
         I looked curiously at him. "What the hell does that mean?"
         "What, oh, yea. We'll use a traditional prank."
         Fri nodded. "Do I even want to ask?"
         "All were going to do is throw a couple of water balloons." Spay smiled.
         "Oooh, that's classic." I agreed.
         "So you've done this before?" Fri asked shocked.
         "Well, when you grow up in an orphanage you have to find ways to stay entertained, besides humping everything that breathes."
         Spay shot me a horrid look. "Ah! That's sick."
         "Fireball!" I chanted sending his sweetcake up in flames. He dropped it and stomped it out.
         "Are you sure you want to prank them. I mean the school board are in charge of the school when Headmaster Porion isn't around." Fri said, knowing I wasn't going to change my mind.
         
         Strangely, Spay had several, um, hundred water balloons. I know, that's weird. But different strokes for different folks I guess. So we filled about sixty of them, thanks to me and a handy water summoning spell I know. I made Spay carry all the balloons in a enchanted sack I made impromtu. Yes, I can easily make an enchanted bag that's how amazingly awesome I am.
         So it was midnight and all the halls were empty and dark, faintly lit by the orbs. We walked slowly, making little noise. We took the Elevater, a magical device that raises people to higher floors and such. It was rather useful square shapped platform that hovered from the bottom floor to the other five, spened about a minute at each stop.
         We took the elevater to the fifth floor, where all the school board sleept. The whole way  had a manical smile on my face. The was going to be great. I almost started laughing several times, scaring Fri white with fear we would get caught.
         We did run into a few Knights along the way, knights as in the hall monitors, not the big armor guys. Why the students started calling them knights, I'm not sure, maybe because they wore a badge with a shield and sword on it. They were nothing we couldn't handle. A simple paralysis spell and memory adjustment charm and they wouldn't even remember the previous day.
         Finding the School Board rooms wasn't very difficult. The doors were purple instead of burnt red and they had jewels incrested with gold trimming. This discovery made me even angrier. It was all overly extravagant for a school board member. They just wanted to make sure everyone knew who they were and the power they had over the school, when Porion wasn't around. Which incidentally was a lot.
         I gave a nod to Spay, which was the sign to cast his handy spell that would make us silent. He whispered the spell as silently as he could, Fri and I tuned out since it was forbidden for us to hear it. When he finished I magically opened the door to the first school board member.
         The room was large and decorated with cool colors and patterns. I had a feeling the rest of the school board rooms would look exactly the same. I chanted quietly and about twenty balloons, the size of a human head,  full of water floated and stopped in suspended animation in the air above the large bed, decorated with the same colors as the walls.
         The ballons would stay there until I willed them to explode and soak the victim. One last touch, an invisibility spell just incase the victim woke up.
         MUHAHAHAHAH!
         I heard a faint noise and froze up. Thoughts about what I would do if I got kicked out of the school filled my head, oddly I though of being a part time waiter. Fri rested his hand on my shoulder to reasure me. It was just some snorts the sleeping school board member had made.
         I let out a sigh I had been holding. My heart pounding, we moved on to the next room. Which, to my dismay the rooms weren't the exact same. The next one had red and gold designs, similar to the blue room. It was probably some rich elven silk or something.
         I chanted the spells and set the water balloon traps in the room. Another mannical laugh to self and I was ready to move on. As we left the red room, I slight tinge in my head. It wasn't a vision, it was a sense of bloodlust, coming from further down the hall. Spay and Fri gave me a curious look, but I shot a look forward and they understood. I don't know how they did, but they did. I wasn't even sure how I knew, I just knew, something horrible was happening.
         We came to the place where I knew the bloodlust was commming from. A purple, jewel encrusted door.
         A school board member!
         The three of us shot each other glances of shock, then Spay busted down the door. He readied his claws for battle and got into a firce animalistic pose. I readied my hands with a fireball and Gaa Spark and Fri had his sword ready with an enhancement on it.
         Fri sword lit up the dark room with a red hue. All we could see were silhouettes, but it didn't matter. We knew who it was- what it was. The monster! It had a woman by the throat with its large hands that completely wrapped around her neck.
         I almost dropped to my knees. I killed it, didn't I? Blood rushed in my head, the room was spinning. Ruse is... still alive. The revelation sent me spinning even faster, but I was knocked back to my senses. I burnt this thing into ashes, how is it still here. Nevermind that, The woman was lifeless, we were too late, but it was still holding her like a doll.
         The hands around her neck became amoebic and soon I couldn't tell her head from the monsters arm. Her body hung lifeless and the monster slammed it into his body in a bizarre bear hug move that made a snapping sound. Her bones snapped and crunched as the two silhouettes became one horrid form. Squishing noises and odd gurgling sounds ensued the event that left us speechless and motionless.
         I shot my spells at the monster. It shot its ugly, mushy, humaniod head and sent out a wave of energy that nullified my spells. My mouth dropped in stupour.
         "No Love, hurt Frank. Frank hurt Love." it said nodding a finger at me. Then the thing opened its nastey mouth, which reminded me of one of those weird fishes that live in the deep ocean, because its teeth stuck out from all sides of its mouth in no particular order. A glowing red ball appeared and lit up its silhouette. Its beaty eyes and puny head, compared to its huge muscular body, sent chills down my spine.
         The monster shot a fire ball from its mouth that lit up the room as it traversed the space between us. Fri stepped in front of me and slashed it away with his enchanted sword. Spay made his way to the monster and swiped its chest, taring it open, but it healed instantly. Then it grabbed Spay by the arm and sent him flying into a wall.
         "Blast Void!" Chanted an unfamiliar voice.
         I turned to see the green haird Mr. Stein casting the spell. And a pretty powerful one at that. A purple void opened next to the monster and engulphed a large portion of its right side. The void disappeared and took an arm ad some torso with it.          The monster growled and its eyes lit up eith intense rage that sent a bloodlsut that everyone in the room felt.
         "NO! Maker! Not hurt Frank again. Frank kill maker!" the monster leaped at Mr. Stein.
         "Blast Vo-" Mr. Stein began to chant.
         I slammed him out the way and stopped him from casting the spell. I'm not sure why, but something wasn't right. I will sort things out later. Fri gave me a surprised look, so did Spay and everyone else in the freaking universe, okay.
         "what the hell are you doing?" Mr. Stein snapped as I landed on top of him.
         I'm not sure, but I think I felt his hand rub my ass. I punched him square in the face.
         "Don't touch my ass! We can't kill it, Ruse is in there!"
         "That doesn't matter!" he replied and threw me into a wall, then dodged the oncoming monster.
         "Aura, what the hell?" Fri asked, helping me up.
         "we cant kill it. I just know we can't let it die."
         Mr. Stein blocked a fireball and dodged an arm that pulverized the wall it hit when he moved. That was rather impressive.
         "Bolt Bust." I sent a blast of electricity at the monster, who waved it off with its hand and continued to fight Mr, Stein.
         Wow!
         "Even if we kill it, it will just come back." Mr. Stein Shouted over fighting sounds and braking objects.
         The three of us felt pretty usless, since anything we did was utterly, well, useless.
         I got it. Even after being physically destroyed, it regenerates completely. But nothing can do that. The only thing that can do that is-
         "A Homuculous! You MADE a HOMUNCULOUS!" I shouted enraged.
         Homunculous were false humen beings made from a number of things. Some made form old body parts, dirt mixed with flesh and countless other ways. But one thing was sure, they had no souls and could not be controlled by just anyone. It would have to be someone with a lot and I mean A LOT of power. That why making homunculi was banned over five hundred years ago when seven very powerful homunculi almost wiped out half the northern coast.
         "No time to explain. Just help me kill it."
         Fri was almost too shocked for words. Making Homuculi was extremely forbidden to his people. Almost as forbidden as our relationship. It was fake life, no soul meant it was capable of pure evil if not controlled. And that was against the belief system elves followed.
         "Alright." I said, with new found anger as a source of power.
         Fri stepped backwards, feeling the power emitting from me. Spay, who I am not sure what he's been doing this whole time, found his way next to Fri.

Deep violet,
Endless nothing.
Take with you all you touch,
Back To the lavender pit.

         "Blast Void!" I summoned the spell behind the monster, who was dodging spells slung by Mr. Stein.
         Both Spay and Fri cast Balas Shot to trip the monster, which worked. It fel into the void I summoned and all that was left was some ashes that scatterd.
         Mr. Stein looked relieved, but I wasn't about to let him off the hook. Fri and Spay were panting, I was a little out of breath, only because that spell took some energy from me.
         "Now, explain to us. What the hell is going on?" I said turning to the Green haird man.
         "Not here. Lets go somewhere private, my lab." he stated and made his way out of the room.
         "Won't people be wondering where all the noice came from?"  Spay asked, his lip bleeding.
         I guess hiting that wall did more damage then it thought. I mean he does endure my explosion spells on a daily basis so it's only typical of me to think he could take a wall to the face.
         "I cast a sleeping spell on everyone outside the room before I showed up. They'll be a sleep until day break." he said cooly.
         Who ever this guy was, he was able to cast powerful spells without chanting the entire spell and he could put an entire five story building to sleep without showing signs of fatigue. I have to admit I was a little concerned about being alone with him.

         His lab wasn't all high tech. No, when he said lab, he meant the alchemy room. I spun around in the lab stool as he explained the current situation.
         "We knew that creating a homunculus was bad, but I was a budding scientist. Imagine how my career would have taken off if I have found a way to control a homunculus?
         "Anyway. It worked, we were able to control it at the beginning, but there was an accident you see. One of our top scientist had gone into the cell where we kept, Frank, as we came to call it, named after me. The scientist accidentally lock himself in the cell during feeding time. Frank ate and absorbed him, giving him full control over his actions and a higher intelligence. You see when Frank absorbs living things, he gains aprt of their personality, powers and intelligence.
         "That's why we sealed him away in the lab where we made him. We knew it was too dangerous. So we shut down the lab and abandoned the project. He was unstoppable, able to ressurect and heal from any injury."
         We listened with utmost attention. I had even stopped spining at some point. It was all very upsetting, the stupidity of people. I could tell Fri was doing all he could not to explode on the Doctor. It also probably helped that the doctor could take any one of us out with a single spell.
         "You're idiots, all of you kind." Fri mumbled.
         Dr. Stein looked hurt.
         "I know. How bad do you think I feel. All those students, and Ruse, all of them are basically dead." he said in near tears.
         "You know Ruse?" I asked, curious.
         He looked surprised to hear me ask.
         "Yea we were, uh, how do you say? Roommates for a few years."
         I felt a hidden meaning behind the word.
         "Okay? So how do we stop it?"
         "Haven't you been listening? It is unstoppable! It will kill us all and absorb everything!"
         "Okay, calm down. Sheesh!"
         "If they stopped the seven homunculi five hundred years ago, can't they just do the same thing this time?" Spay asked.
         Wow! I had no idea he even knew about that.
         "That was lost to history, no one can really recall how they were stopped." Fri chimed in.
         I thought for a moment.
         "The lady of the forest!" I snapped, coming to a perfect solution. "We need to look up the Lady of the Forest and her Priest's. Anything we can find on that subject, I know that answers in there somewhere."
         They looked at me like I was crazy.
         "You remember that vision I had in Spay's room that hurt like hell? Well, I think it was a message from one of her priest. A clue maybe."
         Dr. Stein looked lost.
         "You think that a goddess sent you a vision?" Fri asked with a tone that really meant ‘are you crazy?'
         "I know it sounds crazy-"
         "Sounds ridiculous." Spay added.
         "Fireball!" I sent him up in flames.
         He was okay, no extreme damage, just a little sting. Spay fell over on his face.
         Hehe, oops...
         "My god! Do you always do that to your friends!" Dr. Stein asked horrified.
         "No, most him." I said pointing to Spay, laying on his face and twitching.
         Fri sighed and put his arms around me. I let out a sigh, all this talk of monsters and impending doom was getting me a little aggravated.
         "I love you. Don't worry we'll find a way." he whispered.
         I felt Dr. Steins eyes on us, but if Fri didn't mind, then nither did I.
         "I love you too. Please, just help me look for information on the Priest's, okay?"
         He sighed and gave in with a nod.
         "Just promise me you'll rest tonight and we'll get an early start tomarrow." he said with puppy eyes.
         I wanted to resist and go straight to the library now, but I was kind of tired.
         "Okay."

Chapter 13: The Ultimate Sacrifice! The Ruse I Don't Know?

         I woke up first thing in the morning and went to Fri's room. I tapped on the door and walked in without waiting for a response, maybe I should have? I walked in on him naked drying his hair with a towel. I couldn't catch my eyes and they fell on a place I should not have seen for a few more months, at least.
         I froze with the door half open.          
         "Are you going to close that?" he said not phased at all by me.
         "Yea." I said and quickly slammed the door.
         Fri gave me a strange look. And he still didn't cover up. I was nervous and I felt awkward. It was bigger then I thought. I guess because he was technically thirty-five. I know your asking 'why am I so surprised? Didn't you shower with him?' I did shower with him, but I also kept my eyes from wondering, whether he did the same I'm not so sure of.
         I sat on the bed and became that shriveled person again. I was praying he would put the towel on or something, and part of me didn't.
         "You're going to have to get used to it sooner or later?" he said finally wrapping the towel on his waist.
         I blushed heavily, "I know."
         "So you really want to go to the library this early? What about class?" he smiled and began pulling out clothes from his dresser.
         "Yea I do. I'm not going to class. I'm already smarter then the teachers at most of the subjects and that's from the books a I read. If I include the knowledge I remember from the bible I might as well be a teacher." I said standing akimbo.
         "That'll be a sight." Fri said putting on his leggings and shot a laugh at me.
         "Yea I bet. So, I'm going down to the library and I meet you and Spay at lunch, then we all can look around, then after classes we all can look some more." I said cheerfully.
         "Yea but-"
         I skipped out of the room and down the hall merrily before he could oppose. Denial is such a fun river to be around. ßß(You may not get that right away)
         I got to the library out of breath, not running into a single student.
         "That's depressing." I mumbled.
         The library was huge and seemed to go on forever, but I knew my way around it. The librarian wasn't even at her desk. She left too. I walked down the lonely aisles of books until I came across the one I wanted. It was devoted to the deities of the Sprig and Hybrid clans.
         "The Lady of the Forest." I said to myself.
         I moved my finger across the rows of books until I found a book called 'The Ladies of the World.'
         Bingo!
         I pulled out the book and began reading. I flipped through the pages to the index and appendix and found all the pages that had information on the Lady of the Forest. Nothing to discreet on her priests; Just that they weren't always her priests and that they were turned into animals in a ritual. I grabbed another book, and another and another.
         Nothing! Come on!
         I found a book called 'The Things That Most People Don't Know About.' That was rather lengthy. It was a book filled with things like, 'Did you know that a Bronze Demon weighs as much as five average humans.' It was annoying after a while how the author gave the writing a child's voice.
         Stupid know-it-all brat!, I insulted the book and threw it down, defeated by the situation.
         I rolled my eyes and went to fetch the book. When I picked it up it was on a page about the Lady of the Forest. I guess fate was shining on me today.
I read on:
         
         Did you know that the Lady of the Forest is also the goddess of friendship and trust?
         Did you know that the Lady of the Forest is the only deity to have priests that were once living, breathing creatures?
         Did you know that the Lady of the Forest's favorite plants are Roses, Nightshade and Dragonsnap, the names of her three daughters?
         Did you know that the Lady of the Forest's symbol is a leaf with golden reef of roses behind it?
         
         It went on with some other random crap, but with what I just learned I had another, yet ingenious idea. A spell of great magnitude that could stop the homunculus Frank and without killing him, giving him a soul, but I would have to die in the process. I wasn't ready for that, so it was only a last resort.
         I planned on informing Fri and Spay about it, but I didn't want them to worry. So I had to work alone and I only had a few hours to prepare. I need night shade, roses and Dragonsnap; some chalk and green candles.

         The bell for lunch rang when I finished the fine details on the giant magic circle I made at the Sect. The Sect was the center of the school, all the buildings were built in a circle around a giant patio were people often took there lunches, and where all the older kids made out. So I needed to hurry before anyone could see me preparing my Trump Card.
         "Finished." I mumbled.
         I ran to the center of the circle and looked over everything. A candle at each cardinal point, roses and nightshade in an alternating pattern around the outside of the circle and dragonsnap to make a cross with the extensions leading to the cardinal points.
         Twelve rune symbols in the inside of the circle, in a clockwise pattern. Each symbol meant friendship in a different rune variation.
         I really hope this works.
          I didn't know what I was doing exactly, I was acting mostly on instinct. I was taking all I learned about the Lady of the Forest to make a makeshift ritual and spell, hopefully I was on the right track. I have never really performed a ritual, but I did know how they basically went down.
         Someone stands in the center and others cast a spell in a simultaneous chant. If enough power is gathered the spell works and activates the circle or amulet or whatever your conduit is.
         Everything was jake so I cast the next part of my scheme. An enchantment to hold everything in place so that no one moves anything and an invisibility spell to keep people from noticing the set up. I sighed and stood akimbo, proud of my work. I dusted my hands off and made my way to the archery range to meet up with Fri and Spay.

         In the forest, by the river a large wind began to swirl. Violently shaking the trees and displacing the water. A small bird flew into the whirlwind and was vaporized by the maelstrom, but its particles added to a faint shape. The whirlwind moved determined through the forest and quickly devoured anything it could catch in its fury, adding to the faint shape inside that formed a familiar image. Making its way closer to the school it knew so well, it saw two students with their faces pressed together. They moaned and sighed, moving awkwardly until one of them moaned louder and then they were still, breathing heavily. The male pulled up his school pants and the girl adjusted her skirt.
         They didn't notice the whirlwind watching, curiously. It wanted to know what that was. What it watched so many students do in the privacy of their rooms. It wanted to know what it was like to do that with Love, beautiful Love.
         The whirlwind quickly added the couple to its structure. They didn't have time to scream as they were reduced to red storm of blood inside the creature and they formed the rest of it.
         "Coming for you Love." it whispered, taking the familiar form of a man in brown.