Highfield Academy - Revenge of The Crows

Queen Shellback and Kelton were to stay at Highfield Academy, and security was tighter than ever, and with all security officials coming direct from the Royal Court, students and their families were vetted and special magical body scanners were implemented to ensure there were no shape shifters, other than those known to the schools.

Not even death was permitted to enter without dispensation from Merlin, and Queen Shellback greeted mac Death with hugs and a kiss for her father. Miss Catherine and Miss Tianna blinked as Queen Shellback hugged Mr Death and standing on tip toes planted a kiss approximately where she guested his mouth should be.

Deaths eyes lit like a pin ball machine at the surprised but soon calmed down, it was one thing to be almost nine feet tall and skeletally thin and dressed in a long black clock hooded covering your face. But carrying a huge eleven-foot-tall sickle, and it was this he thought which kind of gave away who he was.

As people in the crowd and there were thousands upon thousands, kind of forced a huge space so they could avoid him. Mind you he preferred it that way, well that was until a Fay child who slipped her mother’s hand came running over and tugged at his coat. As Mr Death lowered his head to see what was snagging at his coat, a tiny dog which the girl had smuggled in leapt free and started yapping at Death.

Yap, yap, yap it went on, and on all bold and full of confidence, yap, yap, yap and then it took a lunch at Death and tried to bite him, instantly it flopped to its back with its legs in the air and its body was stiffer than steel. The Fay child screamed “Arhaaaa, aaaaaaaaar, and security immediately arrived.

The child’s parents were furious and were complaining shouting

“He killed our dog, arrest that thing.” Merlin appeared and the Child’s father stormed over, “Look here do you know who I am?” all angrily and full of himself, simply because he held a minor position as an under manager in the Royal Court.

Merlin smiled and quietly responded,

“No Mr Brownnose, but do you know who you are talking with?” Just then Five huge guards surrounded the noisy family, and Merlin looked at the child who was still having a tantrum. At a wave of a hand soap bubbles started popping from the girls mouth every time she tried to scream, and in shock she gave one huge mighty scream, only to find the bubble wrap itself around her and she started to float away.

The mother then screamed,

“Lucida, Lucida she yelled, but then soap bubbles came from her mouth and quickly she decided to be quiet. Merlin sternly looked at the two parents.

“You should be ashamed of yourselves. I do not know how you got that dog passed security, but you endangered a quest and placed the lives of my students at risk, let alone the reputation of this school.”

At that he waved a wand and the startled parents were shackled in heavy iron chains and inside the Royal Chambers guarded by monstrous looking Dragons. The mother passed out immediately and the father wet himself, then as he looked upwards, he saw his daughter still inside her bubble floating by the ceiling with five chains securing it to prevent it floating away.

Merlin looked at his friend Thalaba, “That was not you’re doing, was it?”

Thalaba smiled. “My brother, why ever would you think that?’ They both laughed and greeted each other.

“It would appear we have had a security breach, how that horrid family ever got in let alone with a dog is, well it should not have happened,” stated Merlin.

Death greeted Thalaba with a hug, only he forgot he had his sickle and as he raised an arm, he sliced through Merlin’s hat.

“Gads man, careful with that I lost some hair and one old and faithful hat.” Death laughed, “Maybe you can get that student to resurrect it,” he replied smiling.

All three saw the humorous side but Merlin flicked his wand and a sheaf settled over the long-curved blade.

“Just to be safe my old friend, we can’t be too careful in such a crowd, can we.” Death sternly stared at him and then was heard to laugh a second time.

There was no need for Merlin to be seen shouting and becoming visibly angry over the breach in security, as Mr Claws was already on it and Royal magicians in place as well as extra security viewing digital footage of how the breach took place and who it was who had let the family in.

To his utter disbelief as he viewed the footage there Mr claws witnessed this pompous family walk directly up to the Royal gate enclosure and flash a pass. Immediately the two guards examined it and checked it against their register and allowed them in. They had not been searched nor challenged and this could only be possible if this family had somehow acquired their passes illegally.

Only as Mr Claws viewed the security footage, he saw yet another and later another, and then another family do the same thing, and all walked through the Royal gate unchecked. He was fuming with anger and touched some control highlighting those he had just witnessed so blatantly breach security.

All of a sudden people in the crowd became aware there were enormous hands floating in the air and as each hand came over the targeted people, they extended a long finger so the security could see where they were. There were screams as these people suddenly found themselves covered a putrid slimy goo which dripped from the fingers.

“Arhaaaa, get this stuff off me cried some of the shocked and dismayed people, but the more they struggled the firmer it held them until they could only just breath but not move an inch away. It later transpired that twenty-four individuals from the Mr Brownnoses’ office had also brought along family members all unauthorised and having broken strict Royal security.

And now each of them was carted away by magic to await interrogation. The security data was played over and over several times to ensure no one else had passed through unauthorised, it was on the eight viewing that Mr Claws froze the digital viewing and then back tracked a few frames and started viewing one frame at a time.

“Got you” he quietly said to himself, as he alerted Merlin and the other staff, and they quickly set into motion their trap. Meanwhile Merlin had decided to ask Miss Mac Death and her father if they would be so kind as to not so gently interview Mr Brownnose as to how he came by these Royal passes and those for his friends in the Office Rang team.

“Can I kill him?” asked Mac Death rather too eagerly, Merlin shook his head, and then said “No!” just to be certain that she had understood, but Mac Death smiled, “Scare him to death then, that way he kind of kills himself, and it’s not my fault the silly old fart can’t control his fear.

Merlin laughed, “As far as I am concerned that would be an excellent idea, however, we need them all alive, and one can hardly blame the families if their husbands brought home Royal invitations to the Rang Match, they must have thought they had won the lottery, No!” Merlin paused and thought, “But you can scare him and that dreadful woman near to death, just ensure they do not die, well not until after we have questioned them.”

Mac Deaths eyes lit in glee and Mr Death could be heard to gently laugh at his daughter’s enthusiasm. While they had been talking a video recording of some of Deaths earlier exploits during the Great Fay war were playing. And the prisoners had no choice but watch as their eyes were stuck open by the putrid goo.

There they saw Death in his full glory taking life after life in the most gruesome of ways, Death in person suddenly appeared before all the prisoners along with his daughter Mac Death, she appeared as a Hag with long sharp teeth and snakes in her hair.

“So, you are the fools who endangered my daughter and in part are responsible for attacking me,” he said.

As the petrified prisoners looked at the video stream, which was still playing and then back to Death, they had no doubt now as to whom it was standing before them. Unbeknown to them two additional prisoners had already been secreted among them, and these were simple avatars, but none the less were convincing and looking utterly scared.

Death reached forward an extended arm and a clawed bony set of fingers wrapped themselves around one of these avatars neck, as Death gripped the prisoner he screamed “Get off me, arrrr, O no please arrrr, but his noise was chocked silent as the goo dissolved and released its hold.

As Death lifted him into the air, he threw him upwards and moved his sickle cutting the person in two. The rest of the prisoners wet themselves in fear as the body lay separated and blood flowed over the floor. Mac Death took hold of Mr Brownnose, “This is the fool who allowed his daughters dog to attack you father, can I kill him next?”

Death turned his head to stare at the helpless Fay in his daughter’s hands,

“What is that smell?” enquired Death, Miss Mac Death smiled, “It’s this pitiful excuse who thought himself clever to endanger me Father, Oh, yes, and the students and school reputation, I think he needs his nappy changed the big baby, Mac Death replied.

By now all were expecting to die a horrid death, and it was then Death spoke.

“Tell me now how you obtained Royal passes and I promise you will not die.” Immediately the second avatar spoke yelling, “It was him he gave us the passes we had not known it was wrong.”

As he had been speaking but not actually pointing at anyone the goo holding the prisoners dissolved and released them. Frantically the clear majority of prisoners pointed to Mr Brownnose saying it was he who is responsible not us. Mrs Brownnose fainted yet again but only to awake moments later to see Miss Mac Death staring so close to her face and with a putrid dribble of saliva and black snot dripping from her nose, that she passed out once more.