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

Taking a Breather

As soon as Bagsy woke in the infirmary Mr Jones rushed her to Professor Fitzsimmons' office, mumbling repetitive worries below his breath.

With a clink, the glass ladder descended from the trapdoor in the ceiling that led to the office. Thanking Mr Jones, Bagsy ascended. She could only use her left arm. Her right one hurt too much. The swelling had gone but it was an ugly purple colour. The musty space of Fitzsimmons' office was lit with orange lamps. Seated on cushions in a circle were Starrett, Stery and Fitzsimmons.

'Take a seat, Bagsy,' Professor Fitzsimmons said gently. Bagsy did, her eyes darting around the room and catching glimpses of fluttering moths. The place smelt of dust and old wood. 'I've been told by your friends that the acting troupe invited you all to their castle, and then proceeded to attack you. Is this true?'

Starrett threw her hands into the air. 'Of course, she'll say yes,' she muttered in annoyance. 'You should have just asked her what happened first.'

Fitzsimmons gave Starrett a quieting look. 'I trust what the other students reported to us.'

Starrett folded her arms, grumbling angrily to herself. She said something like naïve but Bagsy didn't quite hear.

'Yes,' Bagsy lied, a feeling of guilt fluttering around her like the moths. 'That's correct.'

Stery looked pensive. 'It would explain why they all had invitations.'

Fitzsimmons inclined their head in agreement. Starrett was pursing her lips and tapping a finger angrily against her arm.

Fitzsimmons said, softly now, 'We found Emmeline's body. She was next to the rubble of the castle and the statues. She'd fallen a great height.' Fitzsimmons' eyes were downturned. 'I regret to inform you she didn't survive.'

Bagsy heard the words, but her brain didn't know what to do with them. She felt cold.

Fitzsimmons said, 'Given what happened, allowances will be made for your exams, though you will still have to sit them. Should you need to talk to anyone about the incidents, or how you are feeling with everything that has happened, we are more than willing to accommodate that.'

Bagsy didn't say a word.

'The Ministry are currently looking for the attacker that got away. We've been told his name is Lewis. Does that sound correct to you?'

Bagsy nodded. She didn't remember telling her body to do that. She felt numb.

Fitzsimmons now looked at Stery, expecting him to speak.

'Yes, right, of course.' Stery shifted forward on his pillow-seat. 'It's come to our attention that during this incident you became aware of something that might have... shocked you.'

Bagsy looked from Stery to Fitzsimmons to Starrett with wary eyes. She stayed silent for as long as she could but, after a painful pause, she realised they weren't moving on until she spoke. 'I don't know what you're talking about,' she said, but the fact Stery was in this meeting spoke volumes. He was also a doppelganger. Bagsy wondered if, when he looked at her, he saw purely grey eyes like she saw when she looked at him.

Stery said, 'One of your friends mentioned in passing that you tried to look into a girl's memory. They didn't seem to know more than that, and your other friend refused to elaborate.'

Bagsy assumed her meant Mezrielda. Teresa, Bagsy guessed, was probably the one who'd accidentally blabbed.

'Let me make this clear,' Stery said. 'If you don't know what we're talking about, that's fine. But if you do know, if you understand why you can look into memories, you will find no harm from us by saying this out loud.' He paused, pointing at his own eyes. 'Remember, I'm like you.'