Lilly Vatalini Bedford's Story

“Anyone feeling the burn?” Robert laughed and got up to occupy himself until the other students arrived. “Did you see Zachary and I’s spar, Miss Bedford? I actually almost broke a sweat,” he said in a joking tone as he wrote ’Jersey Devil’ in his normal cursive script on the black board. "Ahh come on Rob!" Zac jibed, "I at least did better than that, gimme some credit!" Zac laughed. “It’s too bad you couldn’t watch. You could have learned a thing or two about strategy.” He said, looking at her pointedly. “Say, did you learn anything Alan?” Robert asked Alan.

“I don’t think it’s right to battle with them Robert. There is a reason you match them against other students during detention.” Kira curled up on the desk and let out a long sigh. She appeared to be upset about their battle. “But I’m not going to bring it up again since we already spoke about this.”

“Your such a sour old pussy cat, Kira. I maybe a teacher, but I like to have fun too.” Robert said, joking with his demon.

“Yeah, that’s why you get in trouble with the Council so much.” Kira said pointedly. This conversation apparently happened often.

“They really don’t,” OZ spoke up. He must have been talking about how Jersey Devils taste. “Master and I have had it before.”

"Ahh, see that Pitt, they don't taste nice at all." Zac prodded Pitt who finally woke up and floated down in front of Zac, sitting on his desk.

“You see! I already know how to hunt them, Bekensnot! I shouldn't have to go on that field trip with all those weak excuses you call mages. Besides, it’s a waste of good meat to kill them all then burn the remains. I could eat for weeks on that stuff and not have to pay an extra dime!” Lilly exploded, obviously feeling particularly vehement today due to her loss at the hands of Luke.

OZ looked down at Lilly, who’s eyes were trained on the wall. “Master … you got sick for three days after eating only a little bit,” he whispered. “Besides, it would be fun.” At that moment, a brilliant idea struck Zac. He open his notebook and started jotting down what he knew about Jersey Devils. Once he was finished, he ripped a corner off of his page and wrote a note on it.

It read, "A little bird told me you lost against Luke. I know how bad that feeling sucks, I lost to Rob today and it's eating me alive. That doesn't get us anywhere. Instead, I've got a proposition for you. Practice sparring with me. I'll teach you what I know about battle magic in return for you sparring 100% with me and not holding anything back. As you get stronger, I'll be able to fight harder and we both get better from it. What do you say?"

Zac folded the note up and palmed it. He let his hand drop and quietly cast a timed animation spell on the note before dropping it. The note turned into a little spider as it hit the floor. It scurried over to Lilly and climbed up the desk as inconspicuously as it could before laying flat in front of her on the desk. "Read me. Keep this a secret. ~Zac" The little folded square displayed, its greeting written on the front.

'What a drag... I can't even day dream with all this noise. Bryce looks around and finds the source of the disturbance. 'Who is that? She's kinda cute... Whoa what? I just start talking to people and suddenly I find a cute girl in my first class... What a drag...' He leans to Ikari and whispers "Umm... Ikari? I think I like that girl making all of the noise..." "Bryce really? You have no idea who she is, or what she's done. Plus, she seems dangerous." "Yeah, so what? She just seams like she's been alone for a long time like us." "Bryce I hope you know what your doing and please don't be stupid with this..." "You know me Ikari. I don't just rush into things. I'll be careful I don't want her to think I'm weird after all." "OK fine Bryce..."under her breath "This is gonna be such a drag..."

Bryce looks up and tries to catch Robert's attention. "Ummm Sir. Will I be allowed to attend this trip? And how does one go about hunting Jersey Devils?"

Lilly almost jumped out of her desk when a piece of paper crawled on her desk, like a bug …. eww …. bugs. “Read me,” it said on the front. So she reluctantly unfolded it. It read, "A little bird told me you lost against Luke. I know how bad that feeling sucks, I lost to Rob today and it's eating me alive. That doesn't get us anywhere. Instead, I've got a proposition for you. Practice sparring with me. I'll teach you what I know about battle magic in return for you sparring 100% with me and not holding anything back. As you get stronger, I'll be able to fight harder and we both get better from it. What do you say?" Lilly glared over at Zac and wrinkled her nose.

“If you wanna die, then I’ll gladly spar with you,” she whispered to him for some unknown reason. Wadding up the note and tossing it square in Zac’s face seemed to make her feel … 1/1000th better. Especially since she did it with all the strength she had at the moment. “I could have easily beaten that stupid man. Your little match with Robert threw me off is all.”

Robert had finished writing some more on the board when a voice broke through his thoughts. "Ummm Sir. Will I be allowed to attend this trip? And how does one go about hunting Jersey Devils?"

“Don’t worry. You will be aloud on this trip if we think you are ready, but everything else will be discussed in class.” Kids began to trickle in, one by one, moaning and groaning about how sore they were. It didn’t take long before everyone was there. “Wow! I’m glad you all showed! I know I wouldn’t have,” Robert said in a smooth tone, earning a glare from his feline companion. “Anyways, demon’s, if you wouldn’t mind following Kira into the next room?”

As the demon’s left, Robert began handing out papers. Mainly guidelines for the trip and permission slips they had to have signed by all their regular teachers. “We are going to New Jersey folks. Flying first class all the way there, staying for a day or two, and flying back. You see, on one of the papers I have given you, it describes the Jersey Devil and the myth that goes along with it. By now, you probably have figured out that we will be hunting them. Lately, there have been an outrageous number of attacks, which is very uncommon. They have asked me to bring you all down there and show you how to take care of the problem.”

One of the papers read:
“The most accepted origin of the story as far as New Jerseyians are concerned started with Mother Leeds and is as follows: It was said that Mother Leeds had 12 children and after giving birth to her 12th child she stated that if she had another it would be the Devil. In 1735, Mother Leeds was in labor on a stormy night. Gathered around her were her friends. Mother Leeds was supposedly a witch and the child's father was the Devil himself. The child was born normal, but then changed form. It changed from a normal baby to a creature with hooves, a horse's head, bat wings and a forked tail. It growled and screamed, then killed the midwife before flying up the chimney. It circled the villages and headed toward the pines. In 1740, a clergy exorcised the demon for 100 years and it wasn't seen again until 1890. Reportedly in 1778, Commodore Stephen Decatur visited the Hanover Iron Works in the Barrens to test cannonballs at a firing range, where he allegedly witnessed a strange, pale white creature winging overhead. Using cannon fire, Decatur purportedly punctured the wing membrane of the creature, which continued flying – apparently unfazed – to the amazement of onlookers. The Jersey Devil is considered a neutral creature.”
( http://www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/page/Jersey+Devil )

“Jersey Devils would be about X Rank creature. Easy enough. But you still must be completely prepared for anything that might happen. This is an official mission and I will not hesitate to either A. send you back here or B. feed you to the Jersey Devils.” Robert smiled and looked at every student. “And I’m not kidding. I suppose that you should know, spells should not be needed on this mission, other than what you already know. This will be more of a physical combat mission, since the Devil’s themselves are extremely easy to beat.”

Kids began to trickle in, one by one, moaning and groaning about how sore they were. It didn’t take long before everyone was there. “Wow! I’m glad you all showed! I know I wouldn’t have,” Robert said in a smooth tone, earning a glare from his feline companion. “Anyways, demon’s, if you wouldn’t mind following Kira into the next room?”

Pitt floated lazily with her classmates through the hole in the wall, waving to Zac sleepily before phasing through.

“If you wanna die, then I’ll gladly spar with you,” he heard Lilly whisper. Just then, a small wad of paper hit Zac in the face. “I could have easily beaten that stupid man. Your little match with Robert threw me off is all.” Zac scoffed, he furiously wrote her another note while Robert lectured and handed out papers. Passing it to her in the same way as before, this time, he turned the note into a little bird which flew over to her desk. After that, he finished transcribing all the information he needed to know about Jersey Devils into his notebook.

The note read: "Really? That how that went? I managed to observe your fight, aka watch you get your butt kicked, and still do decent against a teacher, who happens to be a council member. So alright then. You're on. We'll see just how far your spunk carries you Vatalini. My guess is that it's not very far. We'll start right after class then. I'll give you a few pointers and then we'll go a quick round. Sound good? Even better, after that, let's have a little wager. I bet I kill twice as many Devils as you on the trip, even after I've taught you my tricks. Interested?"

'I'd better start training if I want to go on this mission. I wonder if Zac would be interested in sparing with me. Maybe I could spar with that girl... No, that'd be stupid you can't tell someone you like them by fighting them Ikari told me to be smart about this.' "Sir, I know you spared with Zac today,..."Bryce reaches back and scratches his head," "If you're not to tired would you be willing to spar with me after class? I want to see how my abilities are compared to the others, and this would be the quickest way to find out."

He smiles lightly 'I think Ikari would be proud of my choice. Much less of a drag than having to fight the entire class. He looks over at Zac to see how he would react to his idea of fighting Robert. Catching Bryce's eye Zac gives a thumbs up. 'Now if Robert just agrees this will work out perfectly and if I'm lucky she'll watch and I won't make a fool of myself.'

At his seat, Alan began to open up his binder and turned to a blank page. Before, he had scribbled down some ideas for spells from armor to golems, he intended to cast each and every one eventually, but they remained stuck on paper for the time being. He observed the class, sympathizing with the kids who groaned and moaned about soreness. Laius flew through the hole in the wall were the other demons went, a quick wave as his only sign of goodbye.

“Anyone feeling the burn?” Zac asked. How could anyone enjoy the feeling of crippling soreness. It's like masochism! He snapped out of his by Mr.Beckenfield, If it’s not to much to ask, I’m actually going to have you and Alan introduce yourselves in the front of the class once we get started."

"Ok" Alan simply replied. It wasn't the first time he had to introduce himself and he was already prepared to do so. He turned around and caught a hushed conversation between Lilly and Zac, Zac using a cool spell. It was a transformative one and he'd have to ask for it after class

"Say, did you learn anything Alan?" the teacher asked.

"Yes, I learned that mobility is key to a battle and deception and trickery is just as important as brute strength. Also, I learned a bit more about the limitations of elemental abilities." He replied while taking his paper. The myth on the paper was pretty standard, the Leeds myth was there and the Commodore's experience.

“Jersey Devils would be about X Rank creature. Easy enough. But you still must be completely prepared for anything that might happen. This is an official mission and I will not hesitate to either A. send you back here or B. feed you to the Jersey Devils.” Robert smiled and looked at every student. “And I’m not kidding. I suppose that you should know, spells should not be needed on this mission, other than what you already know. This will be more of a physical combat mission, since the Devil’s themselves are extremely easy to beat.” No spells, well, I guess armor would be considered a spell. He frowned, he figured a mission would be a good time to polish up his air armor spell(s). But no matter, he would make do with just physical combat if that was what was required.

Lilly opened a the notebook she had taken from OZ as he made his way through the wall. She had somewhat of a photographic memory, so she only had to write down key things to help her remember. Then another note flew it’s way over to her. She opened it carefully and read over the handwriting.

The note read: "Really? That how that went? I managed to observe your fight, aka watch you get your butt kicked, and still do decent against a teacher, who happens to be a council member. So alright then. You're on. We'll see just how far your spunk carries you Vatalini. My guess is that it's not very far. We'll start right after class then. I'll give you a few pointers and then we'll go a quick round. Sound good? Even better, after that, let's have a little wager. I bet I kill twice as many Devils as you on the trip, even after I've taught you my tricks. Interested?"

“You got yourself a deal! Don’t cry when you lose though,” Lilly said, smiling because she ‘knew’ she was going to win and a little because he used the name she wanted everyone to use. “It’s a deal,” she said holding out her hand.

Then a voice sounded through the classroom, that wasn’t Bekensnot’s. "If you're not to tired would you be willing to spar with me after class? I want to see how my abilities are compared to the others, and this would be the quickest way to find out." He was talking to Robert. She stopped, standing up, crumbled up the piece of paper and threw it as hard as she could at the boy’s head.

“What is up with all of you hot-head’s wanting to spar with him!” Lilly sat down and pulled her knee’s back up to her chest. “You all must be stupid!”

“What is up with all of you hot-head’s wanting to spar with him!” Lilly sat down and pulled her knee’s back up to her chest. “You all must be stupid!”

Bryce turns and looks at the source of the insult. Seeing who it was a slight blush rushes to his face. "I'm not stupid! I just think that sparing with the instructor will be a much faster way to determine my strength. Much less of a drag than having to fight all the other students." He raises his hand to the back of his head in his normal unsure stance. ' Well I rightly messed this up I don't even know her name and she thinks I'm stupid... But she is cute when she curls up like that... The blush deepens on his face and he quickly turns around facing the front again. "Well what do you say Sir.? It's your call."

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In the other room Ikari takes a spot near the front of the room by a window. 'I really hope Bryce isn't doing somthing stupid in there... He always gets himself in trouble when I'm not around.' She takes note of each demon as it enters the room. Kira lead the group into the room followed by the blue bird who's name she hadn't caught. The humanoid shadow 'Oz' came in after the bird followed by herself and lastly the lazily floating Pitt entered. 'Well hopefully this gets started soon I need to learn more so I can keep Bryce out of trouble.

Robert smiled at the boy who had asked to spar with him. “I find it wonderful that a student finds interest in battling me to see where they stand. I’ll think about it and let you know after class.” He let out a sigh as Lilly launched a paper wad at the boy’s head. “Miss Bedford, please refrain from the childish behavior today. Thank you. That reminds me. Class, we have two new additions to this class. If you,” he said, pointing at the boy, “and Alan would please stand, state your names, your area of magic and your demon’s names.” Robert finished passing out the papers and sat back down at his desk.

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Kira sat in the front, facing all the demons and smiled at the small class. “Alright. Today we will be learning more in depth things about the relationships between us and our Keeper’s. For instance, does anyone know what happens when a demon dies?” Kira didn’t call on anyone, just watched the hands, paws, wings, flippers, or whatever they raised go up. “Nothing happens. Of course your Keeper’s would feel horribly sad with the loss of their partner, but they would be assigned a new partner within a day. But if a Keeper dies, so does their demon. It’s sad, but that is the way it works.”

A small bear looking demon with wings and horns raised it’s paw up shyly and didn’t speak until Kira nodded at him. “This might sound bad, Ms. Kira, but what happens if a demon kills their Keeper?” The entire class seemed to look at the small demon like it was planning something. Kira knew it wasn’t, it was just a question.

“Yes, that is a wonderful question that I’m sure a lot of you had. You don’t actually die,” she said calmly. “But you are sent to a place where you will never die and be tortured for all eternity. It’s something no demon should have to go through, but it’s the law.”

Lilly just glared at the man and continued to scribble in her, well Oz’s, notebook. She stuffed the papers in the back of the notebook. OZ would see them and remind her to get them all signed.

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OZ had already taken out his spare notebook and was writing down everything Kira had been saying. “Nothing happens. Of course your Keeper’s would feel horribly sad with the loss of their partner, but they would be assigned a new partner within a day. But if a Keeper dies, so does their demon. It’s sad, but that is the way it works.”

A small bear looking demon with wings and horns raised it’s paw up shyly and didn’t speak until Kira nodded at him. “This might sound bad, Ms. Kira, but what happens if a demon kills their Keeper?” The entire class seemed to look at the small demon like it was planning something. Kira knew it wasn’t, it was just a question.

“Yes, that is a wonderful question that I’m sure a lot of you had. You don’t actually die,” she said calmly. “But you are sent to a place where you will never die and be tortured for all eternity. It’s something no demon should have to go through, but it’s the law.”

OZ nodded as he wrote. He had already known all that. Shadow’s were the guards and hosts of the place Keeper-murdering demons were sent. And since shadows were insanely unstable creatures, they could murder Keeper’s, humans, demons, anything and just get the death penalty. No eternal torture for them. That is, if they were caught. Most shadows were criminals but never got caught because, well, they were shadows. That’s why they hid. Most mages assume that any shadow is a criminal and destroy it on the spot.

'Since I'be been talking I may as well go first' He stands and looks to the rest of the class. "Well I'm Bryce Zephyr my demon is Ikari. I'm a wind magic user." He scans the class seeing if there's any reactions from the other students. After a moment he places his hand behind his head in his normal stance. "So yeah... that's us." He quickly sits back down.

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“Alright. Today we will be learning more in depth things about the relationships between us and our Keeper’s. For instance, does anyone know what happens when a demon dies?” Kira didn’t call on anyone, just watched the hands, paws, wings, flippers, or whatever they raised go up. “Nothing happens. Of course your Keeper’s would feel horribly sad with the loss of their partner, but they would be assigned a new partner within a day. But if a Keeper dies, so does their demon. It’s sad, but that is the way it works."

“This might sound bad, Ms. Kira, but what happens if a demon kills their Keeper?”

"Yes, that is a wonderful question that I’m sure a lot of you had. You don’t actually die,” she said calmly. “But you are sent to a place where you will never die and be tortured for all eternity. It’s something no demon should have to go through, but it’s the law.”

'What demon would possibly want to kill their keeper? The thought of living without Bryce makes me shiver.' "Ms. Kira, If a demon were to die could the keeper choose not to have another demon? What would happen if they no longer have a demon?"

“Miss Bedford, please refrain from the childish behavior today. Thank you. That reminds me. Class, we have two new additions to this class. If you,” he said, pointing at the boy, “and Alan would please stand, state your names, your area of magic and your demon’s names.” Robert finished passing out the papers and sat back down at his desk.

Bryce stood up and introduced himself, "Well I'm Bryce Zephyr my demon is Ikari. I'm a wind magic user." He scans the class seeing if there's any reactions from the other students. After a moment he places his hand behind his head in his normal stance. "So yeah... that's us." He quickly sits back down. Once Bryce's introduction was over, Alan stood up and walked to the front of the class.and made his introduction.

"Uh, hi. My name's Alan Lapchinski and I'm an air mage. Pleasure to meet you all." He said before sitting back down. He was hoping that he wasn't the only air mage, they had a bad habit of being picked on for specializing in a "weak" area.

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"Alright. Today we will be learning more in depth things about the relationships between us and our Keeper’s. For instance, does anyone know what happens when a demon dies?” Kira didn’t call on anyone, just watched the hands, paws, wings, flippers, or whatever they raised go up. “Nothing happens. Of course your Keeper’s would feel horribly sad with the loss of their partner, but they would be assigned a new partner within a day. But if a Keeper dies, so does their demon. It’s sad, but that is the way it works." The struck Laius as a lit upsetting. He never showed anybody, but he was angered and unsettled about the demon's objective transience. If he died, he would be replaced.

"This might sound bad, Ms. Kira, but what happens if a demon kills their Keeper?” The demon who asked it had been a small bear with wings. He was curious, but everyone else seemed to shoot the poor demon with accusatory looks.

"Yes, that is a wonderful question that I’m sure a lot of you had. You don’t actually die,” she said calmly. “But you are sent to a place where you will never die and be tortured for all eternity. It’s something no demon should have to go through, but it’s the law.” The new information was even more unsettling, but the bird was reassured that he would only be sent there if he murdered his master.

"Ms. Kira, if a demon were to die could the keeper choose not to have another demon? What would happen if they no longer have a demon?"

“A Keeper would have no choice but to have another demon. Demons are the source of the Keeper’s power. Unless a Keeper is willing to give up his power and life, he must acquire a demon. Said Keeper can hate his new demon as much as he wants, but he can’t live unless he has one to keep his powers.” Kira settled more comfortably before continuing. “You see, the Council can simply erase the mind of a human who has seen too much. But they must … slay mages who refuse to depend on a new demon. They see it as protecting society by getting rid of these ‘rogue’ mages. You all must understand, in the end, it really is all about our Keeper’s. You have to establish with them that they need to move on if anything ever happens to you. Unless you want them to throw away their lives. Compared to mages, we are things that can be disposed of easily. So we must be smart if we want to remain by our Keeper’s sides for as long as possible.”

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Robert smiled. “Thank you, you two. Now, we are going to be focusing on physical training, most importantly, how to kill a Jersey Devil. You may be asking, ‘How is he going to show us if there isn’t any here?’ Easy! There is a spell where you can make shadows look and feel real. So I will have many imitation Jersey Devils ready for you to fight. I have enough daggers for each of you to use, and that’s all you will use on the trip.”

“But, sir,” a smaller girl spoke up. “A dagger wouldn’t have the length to keep us from getting scratched or injured.”

“Your right, it won’t. But when you become a full-fledged mage, you can’t let little things like injuries slow you down. Besides, we will have a load of Band-Aids, bandages and hydrogen peroxide waiting for you when you do get hurt. There is more than one hundred in the forest we will be in, and it’s a very large forest. There is enough for one person to kill at least five or six, if you are fast enough. Last year, one boy killed at least twenty on his own.” Robert stood again. “I would appreciate it if some of the older students stayed with the younger, less experienced ones. That forest is easy to get lost in. I would all together love it if no one went on their, own, but I know there are a lot of strong personalities this year.”

" I have enough daggers for each of you to use, and that’s all you will use on the trip.”

'Fighting with a dagger? What a drag... My wind blade would be much more efficient. If I make the wind blades thicker and slightly less sharp maybe I can imitate a dagger wound... Bryce raises his hand into the air. "Sir why are we not allowed to use spells on this trip? Wouldn't it be faster to defeat the Devils if we used our basic combat magics?"

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“A Keeper would have no choice but to have another demon. Demons are the source of the Keeper’s power. Unless a Keeper is willing to give up his power and life, he must acquire a demon. Said Keeper can hate his new demon as much as he wants, but he can’t live unless he has one to keep his powers.” Kira settled more comfortably before continuing. “You see, the Council can simply erase the mind of a human who has seen too much. But they must … slay mages who refuse to depend on a new demon. They see it as protecting society by getting rid of these ‘rogue’ mages. You all must understand, in the end, it really is all about our Keeper’s. You have to establish with them that they need to move on if anything ever happens to you. Unless you want them to throw away their lives. Compared to mages, we are things that can be disposed of easily. So we must be smart if we want to remain by our Keeper’s sides for as long as possible.”

'I have to make sure that Bryce knows about this. I don't ever want to be away from him, but if I die he has to move on. He can't waste his life. Not after everything he's been through. I have to get stronger so we can be together always.' Ikari looks over at Pitt and catches her eye. She saw tears in the corners of Pitt's eyes and she just looks at her and nods.

Bryce stood up and introduced himself, "Well I'm Bryce Zephyr my demon is Ikari. I'm a wind magic user." He scans the class seeing if there’s any reaction from the other students. After a moment he places his hand behind his head in his normal stance. "So yeah... that's us." He quickly sits back down. Once Bryce's introduction was over, Alan stood up and walked to the front of the class and made his introduction.

"Uh, hi. My name's Alan Lapchinski and I'm an air mage. Pleasure to meet you all." He said before sitting back down.

Robert smiled. “Thank you, you two. Now, we are going to be focusing on physical training, most importantly, how to kill a Jersey Devil. You may be asking, ‘How is he going to show us if there isn’t any here?’ Easy! There is a spell where you can make shadows look and feel real. So I will have many imitation Jersey Devils ready for you to fight. I have enough daggers for each of you to use, and that’s all you will use on the trip.”

“But, sir,” a smaller girl spoke up. “A dagger wouldn’t have the length to keep us from getting scratched or injured.”

“Your right, it won’t. But when you become a full-fledged mage, you can’t let little things like injuries slow you down. Besides, we will have a load of Band-Aids, bandages and hydrogen peroxide waiting for you when you do get hurt. There is more than one hundred in the forest we will be in, and it’s a very large forest. There is enough for one person to kill at least five or six, if you are fast enough. Last year, one boy killed at least twenty on his own.” Robert stood again. “I would appreciate it if some of the older students stayed with the younger, less experienced ones. That forest is easy to get lost in. I would all together love it if no one went on their, own, but I know there are a lot of strong personalities this year.”

"Sir why are we not allowed to use spells on this trip? Wouldn't it be faster to defeat the Devils if we used our basic combat magics?" Bryce asked.

Lilly crossed her arms, feeling like these hopeless mages were getting worked up for nothing. “Jersey Devils have probably the worst eyesight. Their huge T-rex heads make it nearly impossible for them to move fast without losing their balance. Sure their claws are huge, on both their hands and feet. But they are still only about 6 feet in height, the full grown ones. Their sense of smell sucks because they have been ruined with their own horrible scent. Their hearing is good, but not so good that they can hear you coming from a mile away. If you could get above one, then it is all over for them. The most sensitive part on their bodies is their necks, so if you can get on their backs, stab the joints where the wings connect to the back and cut their throats, they will die within a few minutes. The best part is that they lay there and squirm instead of running. If you can’t get above them, then throw the dagger straight for their jugular. They drop like flies. It’s super simple.” Lilly glared at Robert with a smug look on her face. That’s right. I know how to kill them, she thought, smiling and looking back at the wall. Her and OZ had been in New Jersey once and ran into some while camping out. And after a few kills, she figured out where they were weak, even went in search for more to confirm that … and quench her blood lust.

"Sir why are we not allowed to use spells on this trip? Wouldn't it be faster to defeat the Devils if we used our basic combat magics?"[/]b] Bryce asked.

[b]“Jersey Devils have probably the worst eyesight. Their huge T-rex heads make it nearly impossible for them to move fast without losing their balance. Sure their claws are huge, on both their hands and feet. But they are still only about 6 feet in height, the full grown ones. Their sense of smell sucks because they have been ruined with their own horrible scent. Their hearing is good, but not so good that they can hear you coming from a mile away. If you could get above one, then it is all over for them. The most sensitive part on their bodies is their necks, so if you can get on their backs, stab the joints where the wings connect to the back and cut their throats, they will die within a few minutes. The best part is that they lay there and squirm instead of running. If you can’t get above them, then throw the dagger straight for their jugular. They drop like flies. It’s super simple.” Lilly glared at Robert with a smug look on her face.

“That’s right. They are extremely easy to kill. I understand your concern Bryce. This is a magical arts class and we should be learning spells and whatnot. But you all should know that using you magic takes up energy. And if you can do something without using magic, than you probably should.” Robert drew a really quick Jersey Devil diagram on the board. “Like Miss Bedford said, the weakest point on them is their neck. And if you can cut the tendons that attach their wings to their back, then it will be all the easier for you to kill them.” Robert pointed to his shoulder blades as a demonstration of about where their wings attach. “So your best bet is to be in the trees and wait for them. Of course you can use magic to move stealthily from tree to tree, but try to use as little as possible.”

“Jersey Devils have probably the worst eyesight. Their huge T-rex heads make it nearly impossible for them to move fast without losing their balance. Sure their claws are huge, on both their hands and feet. But they are still only about 6 feet in height, the full grown ones. Their sense of smell sucks because they have been ruined with their own horrible scent. Their hearing is good, but not so good that they can hear you coming from a mile away. If you could get above one, then it is all over for them. The most sensitive part on their bodies is their necks, so if you can get on their backs, stab the joints where the wings connect to the back and cut their throats, they will die within a few minutes. The best part is that they lay there and squirm instead of running. If you can’t get above them, then throw the dagger straight for their jugular. They drop like flies. It’s super simple.”

"Well that explains that." Bryce looks back at the girl and smiles. "Thanks." 'There this is getting easier just have to not be stupid. Still don't know her name though... I bet Zac knows!' Pulling out a scrap of paper he quickly scribbles out a note. "Hey Zac what's that girl's name? The one in the back corner." Bryce cast's an invisibility spell on the paper then uses his wind magic to float it over to Zac's desk ending the invisibility once it lands. With all of his excitement he only half listens to what Robert is saying catching something about tendons in the wings. 'That should be one problem fixed... now I just need to prove myself to the teacher to make sure I can go on this mission.

After a few quick moments of reading, Lilly spoke up. “You got yourself a deal! Don’t cry when you lose though,” Lilly said, smiling because she ‘knew’ she was going to win, and a little because he used the name she wanted everyone to use. “It’s a deal,” she said holding out her hand. "Alright. It's a deal," Zac said, reaching out and taking her hand, shaking it firmly.

Then Zac heard Bryce speak up, "If you're not to tired would you be willing to spar with me after class? I want to see how my abilities are compared to the others, and this would be the quickest way to find out." Bryce was talking to Robert. Zac was impressed. Going for the top dog right out of the gate. Awesome. Zac caught Bryce's eyes and gave him the thumbs up, mouthing silently, "Nice! Me next? Tomorrow?" Lilly stood up, crumpled up the piece of paper, and threw it as hard as she could at the Bryce’s head.

“What is up with all of you hot-head’s wanting to spar with him!” Lilly sat down and pulled her knee’s back up to her chest. “You all must be stupid!”

"What's wrong with wanting to prove yourself?" Zac wondered to himself, slightly confused by Lilly's antics. Oh well, she had her way of thinking and Zac had his.

At that Robert spoke, reprimanding Lilly for her actions. "Miss Bedford, please refrain from the childish behavior today. Thank you. That reminds me. Class, we have two new additions to this class. If you,” he said, pointing at the boy, “and Alan would please stand, state your names, your area of magic and your demon’s names.” Robert said. Bryce and Alan spoke up, introducing themselves as well as Ikari and Laius and their specialties. Both were sky element mages. Could be interesting to see what they'd do together. Zac wondered if he could get strong enough to oppose them simultaneously. He wondered what it would be like. Sitting back, Zac wrote notes and reminders about the lesson and his duels. Hopefully they'd go well. He couldn't wait to match himself against his classmates. It would be so much fun!

The Robert spoke, smiling. “Thank you, you two. Now, we are going to be focusing on physical training, most importantly, how to kill a Jersey Devil. You may be asking, ‘How is he going to show us if there isn’t any here?’ Easy! There is a spell where you can make shadows look and feel real. So I will have many imitation Jersey Devils ready for you to fight. I have enough daggers for each of you to use, and that’s all you will use on the trip.”

“But, sir,” a smaller girl spoke up. “A dagger wouldn’t have the length to keep us from getting scratched or injured.”

“Your right, it won’t. But when you become a full-fledged mage, you can’t let little things like injuries slow you down. Besides, we will have a load of Band-Aids, bandages and hydrogen peroxide waiting for you when you do get hurt. There is more than one hundred in the forest we will be in, and it’s a very large forest. There is enough for one person to kill at least five or six, if you are fast enough. Last year, one boy killed at least twenty on his own.” Robert stood again. “I would appreciate it if some of the older students stayed with the younger, less experienced ones. That forest is easy to get lost in. I would all together love it if no one went on their, own, but I know there are a lot of strong personalities this year.”

"Come one now, don't insult a good, trusty dagger." Zac said. "You'll only be hurt if you're using it wrong." Zac said. "A dagger is only as useful as its wielder. Question Robert, do we have to use the supplied daggers? Or can we make them ourselves? I promise it'll only be seven inches long."

"Sir why are we not allowed to use spells on this trip? Wouldn't it be faster to defeat the Devils if we used our basic combat magics?" Bryce asked. "An apt question, this is a magic class after all." Zac thought. At that moment, Lilly spoke up.

“Jersey Devils have probably the worst eyesight. Their huge T-rex heads make it nearly impossible for them to move fast without losing their balance. Sure their claws are huge, on both their hands and feet. But they are still only about 6 feet in height, the full grown ones. Their sense of smell sucks because they have been ruined with their own horrible scent. Their hearing is good, but not so good that they can hear you coming from a mile away. If you could get above one, then it is all over for them. The most sensitive part on their bodies is their necks, so if you can get on their backs, stab the joints where the wings connect to the back and cut their throats, they will die within a few minutes. The best part is that they lay there and squirm instead of running. If you can’t get above them, then throw the dagger straight for their jugular. They drop like flies. It’s super simple.” Lilly glared at Robert with a smug look on her face. She'd obviously run into them before.

Robert only smiled, he kept teaching as if nothing had happened. “That’s right. They are extremely easy to kill. I understand your concern Bryce. This is a magical arts class and we should be learning spells and whatnot. But you all should know that using you magic takes up energy. And if you can do something without using magic, than you probably should.” He explained. Robert then drew a really quick Jersey Devil diagram on the board. “Like Miss Bedford said, the weakest point on them is their neck. And if you can cut the tendons that attach their wings to their back, then it will be all the easier for you to kill them.” Robert pointed to his shoulder blades as a demonstration of about where their wings attach. “So your best bet is to be in the trees and wait for them. Of course you can use magic to move stealthily from tree to tree, but try to use as little as possible.” He said. Zac finished writing his notes, including Lilly's instructive, if not bloodthirsty, report. As he finished writing, a note appeared on his desk. It read, "Hey Zac what's that girl's name? The one in the back corner." Zac scribbled back, "Her name is Lilly Vatalini Bedford"





Pitt lazily flew off of Zac's desk, joining her classmates and their teacher for class. Still half-asleep, she bumped into another demon on accident, half-mumbling an apology that was barely audible. Settling down softly into her chair, Pitt began to wake up. It was a slow process, but Pitt was beginning to feel more lucid, but she wasn't enjoying it. She settled in and Ms. Kira began her lecture.

Kira sat in the front, facing all the demons and smiled at the small class. “Alright. Today we will be learning more in depth things about the relationships between us and our Keeper’s. For instance, does anyone know what happens when a demon dies?” Kira didn’t call on anyone, just watched the hands, paws, wings, flippers, or whatever they raised go up. “Nothing happens. Of course your Keeper’s would feel horribly sad with the loss of their partner, but they would be assigned a new partner within a day. But if a Keeper dies, so does their demon. It’s sad, but that is the way it works.”

A small bear looking demon with wings and horns raised it’s paw up shyly and didn’t speak until Kira nodded at him. “This might sound bad, Ms. Kira, but what happens if a demon kills their Keeper?” The entire class seemed to look at the small demon like it was planning something. Kira knew it wasn’t, it was just a question.

“Yes, that is a wonderful question that I’m sure a lot of you had. You don’t actually die,” she said calmly. “But you are sent to a place where you will never die and be tortured for all eternity. It’s something no demon should have to go through, but it’s the law.”

"Ms. Kira, if a demon were to die could the keeper choose not to have another demon? What would happen if they no longer have a demon?" asked one of her classmates.

“A Keeper would have no choice but to have another demon. Demons are the source of the Keeper’s power. Unless a Keeper is willing to give up his power and life, he must acquire a demon. Said Keeper can hate his new demon as much as he wants, but he can’t live unless he has one to keep his powers.” Kira settled more comfortably before continuing. “You see, the Council can simply erase the mind of a human who has seen too much. But they must … slay mages who refuse to depend on a new demon. They see it as protecting society by getting rid of these ‘rogue’ mages. You all must understand, in the end, it really is all about our Keeper’s. You have to establish with them that they need to move on if anything ever happens to you. Unless you want them to throw away their lives. Compared to mages, we are things that can be disposed of easily. So we must be smart if we want to remain by our Keeper’s sides for as long as possible.” Kira explained.

Pitt said nothing. She just sat there in shock. Tears forming in her eyes. She couldn't stop them, they fell freely and silently, Pitt was to shocked to even sob. She knew she couldn't live without Zac, but Zac couldn't live without her? Take another demon? Demons killing their partners? They were partners. Family, the closest any two souls could possibly be. Pitt recalled when Zac told her he didn't have any family. She remembered being alone and the pain of not having anyone. She remembered when they promised to be family forever. To love and protect each other like family. Pitt just sat there, crying silently. She could say nothing. She felt numbed.

"You'll only be hurt if you're using it wrong." Zac said. "A dagger is only as useful as its wielder. Question Robert, do we have to use the supplied daggers? Or can we make them ourselves? I promise it'll only be seven inches long."

“How about we just stick with the daggers I supply to keep it fair.” Robert grabbed a cloth bag out from under his desk and threw it with a thud, to the middle of the classroom. “Now, everyone get a dagger. I have already cleared it up with the headmaster and you have been aloud to carry yours around at all times. I might come out of nowhere with a Jersey Devil at the ready. So keep it with you, but don’t flash it at any of your teachers or fellow, non-mage classmates.”

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Kira nodded as she saw most the demons were getting emotional. “I can see that this is a sensitive subject. But It’s something that always needs to be talked about. If you aren’t made aware of any of this, you might make a mistake.” Kira smiled and jumped up onto the front desk. “Now, onto a lighter subject! You get a partner for life if you play your cards right. And, like I said yesterday, no matter what, the bond between you and your Keeper is incomprehensible by any normal human. It’s as if you two are the perfect lovers in a perfect story. But intimacy is usually avoided between demon’s and Keepers because most of us aren’t that humanoid. But those of us that are more humanoid are usually very close with their Keeper’s but more free. Animalistic demons are close, but feel the need to never leave their Masters side.”