“Maybe you really are her descendant, then,” Aya said excitedly.
“Probably not, but I get to wear a really gorgeous dress and a bonnet, so I’m down.”
Kathleen smiled. “I’m going as a Sphinx. My dad taught me the magic to make it perfect and lifelike. You won’t even be able to tell it’s me.”
“That’s awesome.” Izzie smiled. “I really don’t know what I want to be yet. How about you, Alison?”
Alison looked up from the table, her mind having drifted back to what had happened at the kemana and the spells that she had cast. “Oh, I’m not sure yet. I was thinking maybe a full-out Drow queen or something.”
“But you’re already a Drow,” Kathleen replied. “Get crazy with it. You should be a sexy vampire goddess or something. You know, something that would make Tanner’s jaw drop.”
“What about my jaw?” Tanner asked, walking up and sitting next to Alison before giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“Nothing.” Alison blushed. “What are you going to be for Halloween?”
“Please don’t say a wolf.” Ethan chuckled.
He laughed. “No. Izzie promised she would make me into something cool using her magic. I told her she could pick. I trust her, but more importantly, Alison trusts her.”
“I’m going to be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” Peter said proudly. “My character will magically change anytime someone makes fun of me. It’ll scare the living shit out of them.”
Everyone laughed, finding the idea genius. The sound of a car engine drew the group’s attention to the front of the school as a green Mustang drove up and parked out front. Emma’s eyes got wide, and she sat up in her seat.
“That’s Leira Berens,” Emma said excitedly.
“And Yumfuck!” Aya shouted.
Leira climbed out of the car, a three-foot-tall Yumfuck jumping out to stand by her side. He wore a red cape with the words Troll Day stitched onto the back. Leira had come there to visit her grandmother after hearing about all the dark magic happenings that had gone on near the school in recent days. The kids were thrilled. They loved being around Yumfuck.
The loudspeaker buzzed, and Mara’s excited voice came over it. “Attention, all students, we have a break in the plans. Please report to the cafeteria for Troll Day! My granddaughter Leira and Yumfuck Tiberius Troll are walking in as we speak. Refreshments and snacks will be served at each table.”
“Snacks,” Yumfuck trilled, turning around and waving at all the students.
“This is always strange to me.” Luke shook his head.
“Right, a troll with a green tuft is strange, but a man turning into a wolf is perfectly normal,” Ethan replied raising an eyebrow.
“I see your point.” Luke chuckled, glancing at Izzie with a smile.
Everyone made their way into the cafeteria and sat at their normal tables. Trays of donuts, cakes, cookies, and chips popped up in the center of each, the plates in front of each person shaped like Yumfuck giving a thumbs-up. Alison and Tanner sat next to each other and Alison looked at Leira’s soul, recognizing it from the speech during her first year. Next to her was a swirling, whirling wild spray of energy that belonged to the three-foot tall wise one.
Yumfuck jumped up on the podium stationed behind a long table of snacks and put his paws in the air. Everyone in the cafeteria cheered loudly, getting to their feet and giving him the welcome they all thought he deserved. Phones snapped pictures of the furry little guy wearing cowboy boots and a red cape. He patted the air with his little paws and waited for the crowd to quiet.
Mara walked over and clicked on a mic, handing it to Yumfuck with a smile. “Aloha!”
He turned to the group and smiled before letting his face fall to a serious expression as the students sat back down. “Students of the School of Necessary Magic, I am Yumfuck Tiberius Troll. If you haven’t met me before, you have met me now.”
The freshmen whispered to each other. They’d heard the stories of both Leira and the troll but had never imagined they would get to meet them. Yumfuck held his paw up and quieted the crowd once again.
“I love this time of year. It’s my favorite season, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. One day a year, for twenty-four hours, the veil between the World in Between and this world gets so thin it’s possible for some to see and hear those they love. My grandmother, your headmistress, has been to the depths of the World in Between, and she came back stronger and brighter than ever. If you ever find yourself wondering about her powers, just know she did what very few have ever been able to do: returned from the realm that lasts for an eternity.”
The students got to their feet and cheered again, this time in recognition of Mara. She waved her hand at the students and laughed, finding herself suddenly the center of attention. When the students sat back down Yumfuck removed his cape and handed it to Leira, who shoved it into her pocket.
“I hope that everyone has a very Happy Halloween, and don’t forget to look out for the things that go bump in the night!”
He chortled and put his paw over his head, jumped from the podium, shrinking in midair to just five inches, and cannonballed into a large bowl of cheese puffs. He chomped down as he swam through, and flipped over to do the backstroke. Orange dust covered his fur, but no one cared. They all thought he was the most amazing thing they had ever seen. Leira rolled her eyes and laughed at the theatrics, realizing that minus the speech, he pretty much did the same thing at home.
Mara leaned into Leira and nudged her. “Things never change, do they?”
“Nope, but I have to tell you, I am starting to like that fact. Let’s just hope we don’t encourage anyone here to go get a troll. You don’t need one running around the schoolhouse.”
“No, indeed.” She sighed. “I have enough on my plate between normal teen angst and the dark magic issues in the area. I don’t need a wild troll running all over the school diving into people’s ice cream bowls when they aren’t looking.”
Yumfuck jumped out of the bowl and shook his fur, a haze of cheese dust floating off him and up toward the ceiling. He jumped to the floor and put his hands on his hips, tapping his foot to whatever beat was in his head. The kids watched as he slowly grew taller and taller, reaching his max height of eight feet. His tuft of green fur reached the ceiling. He trilled at the applause and shrank back down to four feet, rolling his shoulders and cracking his knuckles.
“Uh oh, he’s about to really show off.” Mara laughed. “I missed you guys so much. Every time I went to the grocery store and passed the junk food aisle I was sad. I actually was excited yesterday to blow money on all this junk, knowing it would be necessary for Yumfuck’s survival at the school.”
“It’s his annoyance fuel. The more jacked up he is, the more he will show off.” Leira laughed.
“Good. It’ll keep the students in here and out of trouble.”
A cheer went up as Yumfuck spun in a circle so fast all that you saw was the swirl of his fur. When he stopped he had morphed into a terrier, his tuft of green hair still there and his sharp little chompers visible through his grin. The kids clapped every time he changed. He went through the list of animals—a pony, a green-haired giraffe, a large bear, and even one of the giant elk from the Oriceran forests. He was a regular showstopper.
Mara walked over and grabbed the mic, putting her hand up. “Just a warning. I know he is fun, but please steer clear of trolls. They bond for life, and by life, I mean they go everywhere you go, causing a streak of problems behind them.”
Yumfuck frowned at her, and she shook her head. “Not now, Yumfuck. You are now the defender of the innocent, but you can’t deny that your first trip around the sun was a doozie with stolen donuts, terrified criminals, and a movie theatre that was shut down because they thought they had an infestation of rats.”
Yumfuck chuckled and nodded. “She’s right. We are mischievous.”
He grew to six feet and dropped to all fours, his body quickly morphing into a very large lion. He
let out a loud roar, his green tuft laid over to the side as his mane. Everyone cheered again while they stuffed their faces with junk food.
“What are you going to be for Halloween, Yumfuck?” one of the students yelled.
“Oh, young Padawan.” He smiled, morphing from the lion into a shorter and hairier version of Yoda. He looked at Leira, who jumped and grabbed a jacket out of her back pocket, tossing it to him. It was a kid’s karate jacket he had gotten from a consignment shop, but when he put it on he closely resembled a hairy version of Yoda.
“Fun if you don't get sliced by the man who breathes way too heavy, Halloween will be. Feel the force!”
Everyone laughed and cheered as he morphed back into himself and started to go table to table, talking to all the students. Kathleen turned around with a smile on her face, surprising everyone. She looked at them and shrugged.
“I don’t want one or anything, but I can’t deny the dang guy is completely adorable.”
“My great grandfather accidentally saved one when he was a kid.” Emma sighed. “The thing turned out to be his best friend, and when he died, his troll peacefully died as well. They were celebrated together during the Oriceran funeral procession. It was the only time I got to see the customs of Oriceran.”
“That’s neat.” Aya smiled. “I mean, not your grandfather dying, but... You know what I mean.”
Emma giggled and rubbed her shoulder. “You should get a troll. You two can be awkward together.”
20
That night, after everyone had crashed for an afternoon nap from all the junk food they ate, Horace went out into the field and started a huge bonfire, probably the biggest any of the kids had ever seen. Mara Berens, of course, made sure to put a protective barrier around it to keep anyone from getting hurt, but it was really something to see. Many of the students stood close to it with long sticks, melting marshmallows to make s’mores. Yumfuck hummed as he walked around, looking like Yoda holding a bag of marshmallows. Every few steps he tossed one up in the air and caught it with his mouth, munching happily.
In the courtyard, students took turns carving jack-o-lanterns. Some wanted to do it the old-fashioned way, scooping out the guts and using a jigsaw knife to carve scary faces into the pumpkins. Others got more creative and used their wands to etch intricate swirling designs into the pumpkin skin. Four of the upperclassmen walked around and collected the bowls of guts. They separated the seeds and used magic to fry them in butter on the small outside stationary grill. Every time a batch was done they poured them into bowls. There were so many that they overflowed onto one of the tables.
Kathleen walked up to the table to carve one the old-fashioned way, but she looked at her furry arms and long sphinx claws and decided she didn’t want to walk around for the rest of the night with pumpkin guts crusted in her fur. She pulled out her wand and swirled it around, cutting a floral print around the stem and using her magic to scoop out the guts and put them in a bowl. She then carved a selfie of her as a sphinx into the pumpkin and used an orb of light to make it glow.
Horace stood to the side with his arms folded, watching proudly as pumpkins covered the porch and the courtyard’s lawn.
“You did a good job growing the pumpkins this year.” Mara smiled and jabbed her elbow into his side. “I’m still wondering what you did with that enormous one that was bigger than your cottage.”
He smiled. “You’ll see later.
“I can’t wait. I love surprises.”
Leira smiled and nodded at Horace as she followed her grandmother around the grounds, keeping one eye on Yumfuck to make sure he wasn’t causing any mischief. He was having a blast. He played with all the kids, recited lines from Star Wars with the guys, and snuck up on Kathleen to pet her soft sphinx fur, which scared the crap out of her. Everyone thought it was hilarious; even Kathleen, who grabbed Yumfuck and squeezed him.
Alison loved sitting near the warmth of the fire, watching the excitement flow through the souls of her classmates. Tanner sat down beside her, magic energy floating all over him.
“I’m a pirate. A real one, at least for the night.”
“Don’t make me walk the plank.” She giggled.
“You look beautiful by the way, and it looks like you are a girl pirate.”
“Izzie spilled the beans, so I thought why not?”
“I love it ” He laughed, kissing her cheek and taking her hand in his.
Across the courtyard, Grace sat with Scarlett and Wyatt talking happily about the costumes. For once Scarlett was actually being nice. She’d even complimented some of the freshmen on their clothes. Wyatt had chilled out and was just enjoying the night air. Grace didn’t usually hang out with them since she didn’t like Scarlett’s friends too much, but when it was just the three of them, Scarlett let go of her insecurities and was just herself. Deep down she was a pretty decent person, surprisingly.
“I can’t wait for the fireworks.” Scarlett smiled. “Horace may be a human, but put him and the headmistress together and they put on one hell of a show.”
“Oh, yeah.” Wyatt nodded, popping a handful of pumpkin seeds into his mouth. “I remember last year’s. Horace did the backgrounds really well, and Mara shot those moving ones from her wand. That one dragon one at the end almost scared the pants off the new kids.”
Grace laughed loudly. “Yeah, it swooped down like it was going to eat them, and then exploded into little sparkling falling stars. That was great.”
Grace looked around while listening to them talk about the different fireworks shows they’d seen since they’d started attending the school. She grabbed a handful of seeds and lifted her hand to her mouth, but stopped before she could toss them in. Slowly she lowered her hand to the table and stared at the edge of the garden. Standing under a large oak was a wispy image of her long-dead and very beloved grandmother.
She sat there staring for a moment, unsure if it was real or if someone was playing a really mean trick on her. Her grandmother lifted her semi-translucent arm and blew into her palm. Sparkling dust floated over the heads of the other students and pushed into Grace’s chest. She took a deep breath, feeling the warmth of the energy, and her tears filled her eyes.
She jumped up and ran for the garden, and her grandmother’s image disappeared around the corner. Scarlett looked at Wyatt, not sure if they had both seen the same thing.
“Did you see a ghost?”
“Uh, yeah,” Wyatt replied.
“We need to stop her.”
Scarlett and Wyatt jumped up and bolted after her, calling her name to try to stop her. By that point Grace was already almost to the garden, and they slowed down, panting, and watched her disappear into the shadows. Their friends from around the bonfire called their names, and Scarlett looked at Wyatt and shrugged.
“Guess she gets to hang out with an old lady tonight.”
Wyatt nodded. “Guess so. Come on, let’s make some s’mores.”
They joined their friends, giving it only one more thought before focusing on the festivities. Leira stood to the side watching the whole thing unravel. She’d seen the apparition and the stream of energy hit the girl. She knew that this was the night for ghosts from the World in Between to make a showing, but she also knew it wasn’t limited to the good ones. The bad ones could do it also, tricking unsuspecting magical beings back into the void with them.
She reached down and grabbed Yumfuck’s shoulder before he could run off again. He turned and looked at her curiously, following her line of sight to the gardens.
“A girl just chased a ghost into the gardens. I need you to follow. Make sure she is okay, and there is no dark magic trying to trick her into the void.”
Yumfuck morphed back into his troll self and grew to four feet tall. He scurried through the kids and slowed down as he cautiously entered the gardens. He followed the dimly lit path to the center, where he saw Grace staring at her grandmother’s image with tears running down her cheeks.
“Grandma,” she
said, putting her hand out.
“That’s close enough,” she whispered. “I am in a place that you cannot enter.”
“The World in Between?”
“Yes, and tonight I was able to figure out how to show myself to you.’
“I should get someone…the headmistress maybe, to try to get you out,” she said in a panicked tone.
“No.” Her grandmother smiled. “It won’t work; not here, not now. I wanted to come to you and tell you that I am always with you, even if you can’t see me. I sneak off to different places and watch almost every day. You have grown into such a beautiful and wonderful woman, Grace. I am so proud of you.”
“Oh, Grandma, I miss you so much,” she sobbed.
“I know, but now you know that I am not far away. I am right beside you almost all the time. I’m sorry I left so suddenly, I didn’t plan it, but I knew you were strong and wise, and that you would make good choices and be the magical being I knew you could be.”
Her grandmother looked over her shoulder at something behind her that Grace couldn’t see. She took a deep breath and fought to keep the worry from her face.
“I’m out of time, Grace.”
“No,” she cried.
“Know that I love you and that I am always watching out for you. Be strong, sweetheart.”
“I love you too, Grandma. Try to come back and see me.”
“You know I’ll do my best.”
Leira came jogging up to Yumfuck and knelt, watching as Grace said a tear-filled goodbye to her grandmother. It pulled at Leira’s heart, remembering how many times she wished she could see Mara, not knowing where she had gone or if she would ever see her again. Leira put her hand on Yumfuck’s shoulder and nodded.
“I know what that is like. Give her a moment to say a proper goodbye.”
Yumfuck nodded with a solemn look on his face, his paws crossed in front of him. They tried not to eavesdrop, but at the same time, they needed to keep a close eye on the girl. The veil between the worlds was thin, and anything could happen.
Wary Is Her Love_An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure Page 12
