Chapter Chapter Forty-Four.
Estela and her brother Philip had settled into the new school and it had been one exciting journey of adventure after another, that was until they caught the attention of a group of second-year students who took an instant disliking to them.
Plemo Beaten and his Gang Irva Stellic and Streppag Thornton, were send down a year as the school felt they were slow learners and never took their lessons seriously. The humiliation had angered Plemo and he sought out whoever he could to vent his temper and frustration on.
Unfortunately, Estela and Philip fitted that bill perfectly and they became targeted by these louts.
“Philips, you worm,” shouted Plemo,
“What is that you have in your hands?”
Philips, had received a parcel from his aunt the British Prime Minister and in it were various gifts from Harrods department store, including some much love chocolate.
Philips quickly crammed all he could into his mouth and then faced Plemo
“Ump ar nothing,” he tried to say, but it came out all muffled and when Plemo saw what Philips had done, and his anger grew.
As there were no teachers about Plemo and his gang attacked Philips and left him with his jacket and shirt pulled down over to his arms trapping him and left him with his pants around his ankles and half eaten chocolate smeared over his face. He had been warned not to say who had done this or else.
Philips was not certain what else meant, but he had a good idea and it scared him. Each time he was rescued or found by teachers he refused to say who was doing this as the gang had threatened to harm his sister and that had truly scared him.
Only one day it went too far and Plemo hit Philips in the face breaking his nose, immediately a siren sounded, and Mr Claws and Miss Tianna appeared to see why spilt blood had been detected. Fortunately for Plemo and his gang he had used a spell to quickly depart, not thinking where their destination would be. Merlin had been observing Philips and intercepted Plemo’s spell. As they materialised, they found themselves smack in the middle of a huge ball of slimy snot.
Merlin had been talking to the snot brothers about an inter school exchange, and Fred Snot obliged by proving the snot ball. “Arrrr,” Plemo and the others screamed as they found themselves enveloped in a ball of snot, they also quickly realised to keep their mouths shut as the slime made its way down their throats.
Merlin just glared at the students and decided to make an example of them, immediately in every student mind wherever they were, they saw the Gang, Plemo Irva and Streppag suspended in the air surrounded by a huge slimy ball of snot.
“Students this school will not tolerate any form of anti-social behaviour, we have a zero tolerance and these students are to be sent to Queen Shellback for educational training. And as many of you are aware in Queen Shellbacks realm there are no gentile lessons, it is live or die.
There was a gasp from the students and then from the majority of First-Year Students there came an uproar of cheers as they realised Plemo and his gang would not be tormenting them anymore. Miss Mac Death appeared next to Merlin looking in her full glory with worms and maggots crawling from her skin, snakes in her hair and a putrid smell of death around her.
“Miss Mac Death has volunteered to escort these students to Queen Shellbacks in person, and rather than take the quick way through a portal, Mac Death has opted for the more scenic route through what her and father call hell, the volcanic regions of Kelldesh. It only takes about two weeks, depending on interruptions from Rock monsters and lava lakes, but the time spent in Miss Mac Deaths company should be educational and teach these students a lesson.
Plemo and his friends were horror struck at this news and they knew from this moment onwards their lives were to change, and in front of the whole school Plemo wet himself from the fear of what awaited them.
As Merlin released them from the slimy snot ball, the three bullies fell to the floor vomiting and coughing, and they looked bedraggled and were totally humiliated. Word spread through the school of the incident and Philip although injured felt bad, as he had not wanted anyone to be humiliated, especially over him.
It was then he learnt of the many other students who had suffered at the hands of this gang and of the teachers having warned Plemo, Irva and Streppag many times, yet they could just not stop their anti-social behaviour and were now paying the consequence of their actions.
Mac Death was pleased to be asked by Merlin to teach these students a few lessons on good behaviour and she looked forward to their upcoming journey, knowing what awaited them. Queen Shellback on learning of their actions had offered her realm and new school which was been set up, and assured Merlin that although it was not largely known, as Mac Death originated from the Crow tribe in her realm, she had agreed to with Merlin’s blessings to teach in the new school.
Philip and his sister Estella were good students gaining high marks in all lessons well almost all, as Philip was kind of finding English Grammar difficult, as it confused him, yet in all other subjects he was first-rate with A or A+ marks but only managing a C- in English Grammar.
The Litch found it interesting that these two children held a crucial part to play in the future and decided to see if he could utilise them in his plans, and it was he who had forced Walter to do the bidding of the fallen Lucido. Although that had been a poor choice and Walter had suffered for his crime to face eternal separation and an agonising eternal death in a thousand plus pieces scattered to the wind.
The Litch was king in his realm and like the fallen seraphs had no interest in humanity nor in fairness, truth, justice, integrity and all that the Highfield students stood for under Merlin’s tutorage. He was a greedy, snide horrid creature who had been only partly banished by king Thalaba many thousands of years earlier, leaving him in an eternal state of between worlds and dimensions, where after a time he learnt to manipulate the lessor souls of the departed and ensnare the eviller types of shades to his side.
After many thousands of years, the Litch looked on himself as a king of his kind and had organised an army of multiple millions of the undead shades. Undead in that they had become trapped between dimensions and worlds and had not passed on to the other side, and after a time and under the Litch’s tutorage they had learnt how to gain powers and influence the realm of the Fay from which Vlad Academy and Highfield Academy lay hidden from humanity.
Lucido had taken advantage of this and extended vast magical power to the Litch and had won him over, knowing that one day he could become a valued player in his future in planning to destroy humanity and bring down the kingdom of the Fay.
And unbeknown to both Philip and his sister Estella they were to play a vital role in helping Lucido reach this goal. But for the time been in their innocence they continued with their lives and learning all they could.
“Students” cried out Miss Tianna as she tried to settle their active minds.
“Today we are going to undertake transformation spells, you have all followed my instruction and read Haggards book on deviation mutation and transformations, so today you are to pair up and practice all that you have been taught.”
The excitement was more than some of the first-year students could contain and Philip looked at his friend Dennis and grinned.
“I have been practicing look” he said, and without thinking his actions trough he cast a spell over Dennis.
There was a scream and a moan as Dennis started to transform, hair started to sprout from his body, his ears grew longer, and his nose transformed into a snout. Then before Philip realise what he had done, his best friend was a huge hairy dog that barked in annoyance and was still wearing the schools clothing. Only Dennis was now on all fours and very much a large dog.
There were screams and laughter, yet Miss Tianna stared at Philip.
“Master Philip, what have you done, did you even think the spell through and write down each stage in accordance to Haggard’s instructions?”
Philip swallowed as already he had forgotten the exact sequence and was not certain what actions or spells, he had created. Dennis suddenly became aware he had a tale and started chasing it running in circles and then bumping into other student’s mid-way through their spell preparations, and some of the spells back fired and transformed the casters while others headed towards Miss Tianna.
This forced Miss Tianna to defend herself and in all the commotion, Dennis decided to start smelling each student’s bottoms, there were laughter and screams as some of the students transformed into squirrels and cats, while one transformed into a huge skunk, and once she saw the huge dog, Isabell Lewis the now skunk, defended herself by emitting a putrid fluid over Denise’s face.
Such was the pandemonium that poor Miss Tianna had to freeze time and suspend the students before she could with the help of Miss Catherine and Mr Claws re-gain control.
Philip found himself sitting outside Merlin’s office along with Dennis who was still in the form of a dog, only the smell of putrid rotten eggs mixed with that of stagnant water on a hot summer’s day was emitted from poor Dennis.