Safehaven

Chapter 24

As I made my way down the hallway to my next class, I received plenty of odd glances. Maybe it was the wings, or the fact that a fearsome dragon accompanied me by my side. I could tell Gwindol was enjoying this. Every time a student gave him a look, the dragon bared his fangs. Soon, everybody learned not to mess with Gwindol. And that was fine with me. My dragon and I meandered down the passageways to the next class. Being new, I got lost several times. I had found potions just fine, but now I had to use the magical stairways. Every time that a stair blinked into existence so that I could use it, it suddenly dissipated and left me stranded. I swear that it was doing this on purpose. Eventually, I made it to the right floor and got to the classroom just as the bell rang. Holly was the only person in the room. There were no students and no teacher. When she saw me come in, Holly looked up from her textbook, which she had been reading, and smiled. She had the hood of her robes up over her head as if she were cold. Her kitsune was exploring the room and sniffing the little glass jars that lined most of the bookshelves. "Hello, Shiloh." Holly muttered, staring back down at her book. "It appears that nobody else has shown up yet. So, how was your first class?" The girl sounded bored. "I had potions, so it wasn't all that bad. I really like the teacher, and I made an acceptable potion." I decided to leave out the fact that my potion had been a little too good. "How was your first class?" Holly closed the volume and looked up. "I had to go to "Secrets of Safehaven". It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. I learned about the Vanishers." The girl paused, and the air temperature seemed to drop. Rinal and Gwindol both looked our way. "You do remember the necklaces they had, right?" I nodded to the question. Holly reached into her backpack (I wish I had brought a pack. Why didn't I bring a backpack to school? It's common sense!), and pulled out another text. She flipped to the right page and placed the book on the table for me to see. On the paper, a picture of the symbol the dudes had on their necklaces stared back at me. "That's the symbol of Morian." Holly whispered. "The Vanishers had been working for him." That gave me a little shock. Whatever had become of those dudes? Hadn't Nathen said that they didn't quit until the job was done? Holly looked into my eyes. "Morian was trying to get rid of us before we even knew who we were. And since they failed their mission, Morian summoned them back to him for another assignment." Holly answered my unasked question, eyes glittering under her hood. The girl was about to say more, but there was a flash of light and a ghost appeared at the front of the room. She was a short little ghost with long fur coat and a suitcase that was half her size. Her entire figure gave of a deep green hue. Though her face was round and cheerful, it had an undertone of authority. "Oh, I didn't know anyone actually came!" The apparition stuttered in surprise. "And 2 young girl at the looks of it. What are your names, my dears?" We told her, and the ghost smiled. "Well, it's very nice to meet you. You may call me Dr. Pren. And since it looks like it'll be just the 2 of you and me, I think we'll have a little fun." The woman opened her suitcase and took out several ghostly books and laid them on the desk. She made us pull up some stools in a triangle and sit on them. The dragon and kitsune sat beside us. "I see you have the dragon, missy." Dr. Pren said, looking between Gwindol and me. "You must be Galloren's heir. Girl, you look just like him." Then her gaze shifted to Holly, as the girl took her hood off. The ghost took a sharp breath. "Oh, dear. You're from the elders. It's been a long time since I've seen that face." Dr. Pren glanced out the classroom window, a wistful look on her face. "I used to look like that, before I died. Oh, I was so pretty and..." I worked something out. "You were an elder?" The ghost turned to me. Her eyes were deep with emotion. "Yes. Once upon a time, I was an elder, fighting alongside Galloren. But when I died in battle and became a ghost," She gestured at her translucent body. "I guess I just stuck around." That sent my head reeling. "Do you mean that there are other ghost around the castle? Can I talk to Galloren?!" I desperately wanted answers. If I talked with the old ruler, maybe some of them could be answered. Maybe I could change my fate. But the spirit fixed me with a sad expression. "Sorry, deary. But I was the only one who became a ghost. The rest of us went to the "Beyond". Sometimes, I wish I had gone too. But what's done is done. I can't do anything about it, save train those who will follow in my footsteps." Dr. Pren glanced at Holly. Only then did I see it. They 2 both had that proud look in the eyes, the slight tilt of the chin, straight posture, and stately manner. This ghost was the elder Holly was descended from! Holly seemed to have just figured it out too, because she looked shell shocked. The woman smiled sadly. "Yes, I am your bloodline, but that doesn't mean I can help you anymore that Galloren can help Shiloh." She said to Holly. Then, as if nothing had happened, the little ghost started to pack up her things and pile them in her case. "It was nice talking to you 2." She smiled. "See you tomorrow!" And she disappeared just like that. Outside in the hall, the bell rang, signaling the end of class and the start of lunch. Heavy footstep echoes in the stone corridors as students pushed to be first to lunch. Holly and I just stared at the stop where our teacher had been. "Well, that was... Interesting." I managed. Holly only nodded. Silently, Holly packed her things and we both headed out to door and to the mess hall. I really needed something to eat. I needed to restock on my energy, because I had a funny feeling that I would need it for after lunch classes. And with the hustle and bustle of students at our backs, Holly, Rinal, Gwindol, and I hurried to lunch.