Bagsy Beetlehorn and the Vampire Affairs (The Bagsy Chronicles 4)

Quolldron College

Disembarking was as scary as boarding, but eventually Bagsy was stepping around the edge of the pier and standing, right way up, on a quay in Sydney. She breathed in the air; it was warm and humid, and the sounds of a bustling city welcomed her, Mezrielda, Wattleseed and Kim to the country.

Hoisting her bag over her shoulder and spinning around, Bagsy took it all in. The sun felt stronger here, like it stung more as it hit her skin, and the ground beneath her feet felt like a burnt cake fresh from the oven that hadn't cooled in the slightest. The massive river running through the city was one shade turquoise deeper than the sky, and shadowed by a looming bridge, towering skyscrapers, and a white building with a roof shaped like the ocean's waves.

'Is that Professor Wuvrius Wattleseed?' said a man with an Australian accent and dark skin. He was dressed in light, flowing robes which he had attempted to make muggle appropriate by throwing a chef's apron on top.

'It is!' Wattleseed confirmed, putting his luggage down and reaching a hand out.

The man shook it and smiled widely. 'It's a pleasure to finally meet you! I'm a huge fan of your work.'

'And I yours!' Wattleseed turned to the rest of them and gesturing at the man. 'This is Trevor Stery, the assistant Principal from Quolldron college.'

Trevor Stery gave a little bow. 'Call me Stery,' he said. He had a very hunched posture and for all the baldness on his head he seemed to have compensated by growing a large, bushy, grey beard. It twined into three points at the end, each with a star-shaped silver jewel gleaming as he moved.

Doing a double take, Bagsy noticed something else. His eyes were entirely grey. He had no whites, no pupils and no irises. Only a clay-like grey, similar to the beads in his beard. Bagsy worried she'd been staring because Stery gave her a very long and very odd look. She averted her eyes, worrying she'd offended him somehow.

Stery led them through the city, Wattleseed introducing Bagsy, Mezrielda and Professor Kim to him as they went. Soon, the two tumbled off into an obscure discussion of rare fungi only found in Australasia. Kim seemed to be following along, interested in what a hibble-bibble was, but even Bagsy was finding the conversation beyond her comprehension.

Mezrielda glanced at Bagsy's perplexed expression. 'If you can't understand what on earth they're talking about then I don't have a hope.'

Instead, Bagsy and Mezrielda dropped back and in hushed voices talked about far more important things.

'I still haven't found anything new on the blood eyed beast,' Mezrielda confirmed Bagsy's fears. 'It's like it was the last time we looked – there seems to be no writings on it anywhere.'

'I haven't found anything either,' Bagsy said in frustration. 'And I've been unable to talk to the worms to ask them about the beast, what with my home having been turned into a jail cell this summer. If only I'd been allowed to take one step outside I could have talked to them but no, Rebontil,' Bagsy spat the name, 'had to keep me locked up. And it wasn't like I could very well start talking to worms when I was allowed outside for a little bit on my birthday. Bontie and Griffin would have noticed.'

Mezrielda winced sympathetically. 'Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?'

Bagsy shook her head, folding her arms and huffing bad-temperedly.

Mezrielda, wiping sweat from her brow and evidently regretting her warm attire, left it at that. 'I was thinking, Quolldron college is likely to have its own library, yes?'

'That would make sense.'

'Perhaps they'll have something on the beast we don't have back in the Britain.'