Anna Grayson and The Order of Merlin
Vollucross for Beginners

“I have a few questions I needto ask you, Mr. Grayson.”

“My name is Eric, John,” Ericreplied, angrily. “You know me. We’ve worked together for the last two years,ever since I first became a Knight. But if that’s the way you want it, fine LieutenantHayman. Where is my sister? Where have the guards taken Anna?”

“Miss Grayson is beingquestioned in the Captain’s office,” replied the Crimson Guard. They were inthe Lieutenant’sheadquarters,in the deepest part of the castle’s dungeon. Eric had come to this placelooking for Anna soon after she had been escorted out of the Server Hall. TheCrimson officer sitting across the desk before him looked very uncomfortable.“Let’s try to keep this at a professional level this time, Eric. It might makethings go a little easier, all right?”

“Fine! So — what — the — hell —is going on?”

“Captain Dunning has asked meto get to the bottom of this… uh… situation. Do you know anything about theowls being sent into the Shadowed Forest?”

Eric’s face went slack. “Owls…in the forest? No… why would anybody want to send an owl into the Shadowed Forest?”

“So you know nothing about anymessages being sent into the forest at anytime over the last few days?”

“I said –– no.”

“Do you know why Anna might besending owls into the forest?”

For a moment, Eric lookeddumbstruck. “Anna?” He grinned stupidly. “She wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t…why would she do that? To whom would she –– anybody –– write in there?”

“That’s a good question, Eric.Who would Anna be writing to? I mean generally speaking, who would she writeto… outside of the castle?”

“Nobody I can think of. She hasa couple of Muggle friends at home, but she wouldn’t be sending an owl to them.Except for our father, everybody she knows is here at Castlewood. Besides herfamily, one friend, and her roommate, she doesn’t know anybody. She’s only beenin Spellsburg since the beginning of the term.”

“Yes, her friend…” thelieutenant began flipping through the pages of a report, “is Gwendolyn Reese.Is that correct?”

“Yes, they’ve been friendssince they were children, before Gwen moved to Pennsylvania to start school. But Annawouldn’t be writing to her, she sees her every day.”

“And her roommate is this,Sarah Bell. Is that right?” the guard asked, flipping over another page in hisreport.

“Yes.”

“Does Anna know anybody inSpellsburg?”

“No, Anna doesn’t know anybodyliving in the city. As I said before, she’s only been here a few days.”

The lieutenant finally leanedback and frowned. “This doesn’t make any since,” he whispered under his breath.There was a quick knock on the door and another guard suddenly entered theroom.

“Beg your pardon, sir. Anurgent report just came in from the Captain,” said the man, sharply. LieutenantHayman stood, snatched the small scroll from the guard, and opened it. It tookhim a while to read through the pages, but when he finished he was smiling.“Thank you. That will be all.”

“Yes, sir,” said the otherguard, who quickly left.

“Well, it looks like the Captainhas already cleared this up for us, Eric. Seems all of this is just a bigmisunderstanding.”

“What are you talking about?”

The Lieutenant took off hiscrimson cloak and threw it onto a chair behind him. Eric got the impressionthat all of the formality of their meeting had just ended.

“This is somewhat embarrassing,so bear with me while I explain.” The lieutenant sat in his chair across thetable again and leaned in as if to share with Eric a heavily guarded secret,his voice was purposely low.

“According to these documentsI’ve just received from the Captain, we’ve been getting reports out of hisoffice about a criminal element passing stolen goods in and out of Spellsburg.We think the contraband is coming from the Shadowed Forestwhere it’s also being stored. When these criminals replace a buyer, we believe anowl is sent from the forest to make arrangements for the stolen goods to bepicked up. The Crimson Guard has been closely watching for any owls in and outof the forest all summer.”

“So? What’s that got to do withAnna?”

The guard took in a deep breathand shook his head reluctantly. “It would seem some of the guards the Captainput on this investigation were a bit… over zealous about replaceing these peoplein the forest. According to this report, they thought they saw Anna’s owlcoming out of the woods and, quite naturally, they believed these smugglerswere using it to send another message into Spellsburg. They immediately setupon the task of capturing the owl in order to gather the message it wascarrying. It might have helped them identify who the sender or receiver mighthave been. They ended up following this owl back to the Server Hall and to yoursister’s room.”

“So Captain Dunning thinks thiswas just a mistake?” Eric sneered, incredulously.

“Apparently so. This note alsoorders me to stop my investigation, and any further questioning of you in thismatter.”

Eric leaned back in his chairand gave a heartened sigh of relief. The lieutenant could clearly see themorning had taken a heavy toll on his friend.

“Eric… I’m really sorry aboutall of this. I don’t understand how this mistake could have happened. TheCaptain has told me to pass on his apologies if my conclusions concur with hispreliminary replaceings.”

Eric quickly looked up. “And? Areyou satisfied Anna had nothing to do with this… this business in the forest?”

The lieutenant grinned affably.“Of course I am. It should never have gone this far.”

Eric scowled. “If you’re sayingthis shouldn’t have happened, you’re damn right! And I don’t believe Dunning’sentire story on this matter, John. How could they possibly think Anna, or anystudent for that matter, could be involved in this? If they’ve beeninvestigating these crimes throughout the summer, why did they arrest Anna? Shedidn’t even have an invitation to come to Castlewood up to a few weeks ago. Didyou know anything about this… what did he call it? This criminal element,this smuggling-ring, before now?”

The lieutenant’s face fellblank for a moment. “Well… no, I didn’t. But the Captain has a number of ongoing investigations throughout the plateau. He has a tremendous amount ofresponsibility for security within this castle, the city of Spellsburg, and the rest of the mountain. Hismanagement style,” he paused slightly, which told Eric that Hayman didn’tappreciate Captain Dunning’s management style for what it was, “keeps all ofhis lieutenants fairly segmented. While he’s given me full authority inside thecastle, I’m not exactly sure, day to day, what the other commanders and theirsquads are doing on the other side of the drawbridge.”

“But you know how Dunning feelsabout my family, John. He’s gone out of his way in the past to make thingsdifficult for the Graysons. What do you think really happened here? Once theguards saw the owl entering the Server Hall, they should have realized itbelonged to a student. But no, that fact didn’t stop them from marching in andarresting my sister.”

Eric suddenly stood and walkedaround the table. He snatched up lieutenant Hayman’s cloak from the chairbehind him and raised it up, seemingly searching for something on it. Hefinally found what he was looking for, a round, silver badge with the letter‘C’ stamped on the front. He turned the front of the cloak toward the officer.

“This was not the badge I sawon the guards walking my sister out of the Hall, John. It was different fromthis badge.”

“That’s my Castlewood Squadronbadge. All of the members of my team inside the castle wear it. It signifiesthat they work for me.”

“I KNOW THAT! I also know theCrimson Guards that serve the city of Spellsburg have a similar badge with theletter ‘S’ stamped on it. They report to Lieutenant Mantos on Laborer’s Streetin the city.” Eric threw the cloak back onto the chair. “But the guards thattook Anna were different. Did you see the badge they wore? It had a ‘D’ stampedon it. I’ve never, in my six years living on this plateau, have ever seen theseguards before. Where did they come from? What were they doing here? And why didthey enter the castle without your permission, John?”

The Lieutenant suddenly stood.“Now wait a minute. What do you mean by…?” but Eric cut him off.

“I spoke with some of the othermembers of your squad, John. They told me these guards didn’t ask forpermission to enter the castle. They just marched in and took her!”

The lieutenant’s expressionrelaxed as he looked down at his desk and began to collect the various papersof his report. “There are no regulations limiting another squad from cominginto an unassigned station to assist in an investigation,” he said,unconvincingly.

“Oh, really? Well I’d be ratherupset if I knew somebody else had come onto my turf and did something likethis, and I think I know you well enough to understand that, while there may beno formal regulations that apply here, these actions are a definite breech ofthe guard’s personal code of conduct.”

The lieutenantturned toface Eric again, seemingly to argue the point, but he didn’t. He appearedresigned to his disappointment as he dropped his head. He paused a few secondsbefore Eric heard him muttering to the floor, “They should have come to me.Where do they get off entering the castle without my permission,” he grumbledangrily to himself.

“Where is this squad’sheadquarters, John? What does this letter ‘D’ stand for? Who do they work for?”

“They obviously work for theCaptain — like the rest of us do, of course. But… to be honest, Eric, I don’tknow anything about them. I’ve never seen them before today and, well… I don’tlike what they did either.” There was a very long pause as the two menstruggled to keep their irritations in check.

“When my father hears aboutthis… there’s going to be hell to pay.”

The lieutenant looked suddenlyworried. Then, when he saw the hesitancy lingering on Eric’s face, Hayman’smanner changed to one of private sympathy. “Eric, I understand you have everyright to be upset. But bringing your family in on this is only going to makethe situation more complicated than it has to be, and… well… it’s also going tobe personally embarrassing for me,” he said in an anxious tone.

“Let me investigate the thingsthat lead to this mistake. I admit there are things I don’t understand aboutwhat happened here. But if you’ll allow me to check into it, without the worryof outside intervention, I can assure you I will get to the root cause of theseevents.”

Eric was uncertain. “So… whatare you going to do?”

The lieutenant sat on thecorner of the desk and thought. “I admit the guards who were involved in thiscase trouble me,” Hayman said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I suppose it ispossible that Captain Dunning has formed a new squad to investigate this caseof stolen goods moving in and out of the Shadowed Forest.I’m just guessing, of course, but it’s one of the things I’d like to clear upin my own mind. Secondly, I don’t understand why I’ve never heard of thissmuggling investigation in the first place. While the Captain does keep hissquads somewhat segmented, we are generally informed about the top prioritiesof all of his lieutenants. I can’t imagine why I’ve never heard about aninvestigation of this magnitude before now.”

Eric took a while to thinkabout his options, and then slowly shook his head. “I would really hate totrouble my father with all of this. He already has so much to deal with rightnow. His responsibilities to the Ministry, Anna’s unexpected departure toCastlewood, not to mention what’s going on here at the school with the newGuardian Union, are taking all of his time to manage.”

Hayman nodded. “I also heardabout the attacks at the Grayson estate,” he added, cautiously. Eric looked athim in surprise and the officer shrugged. “My brother is a member of theCommittee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures at the Ministry. He was atthe house after the second attack,” the officer explained.

Eric paused for a moment, andthen nodded in a manner one does when reaching a troubled decision. “If you’llagree to keep me informed on your replaceings in this case, I’ll keep my familyquiet about what happened here today.”

Hayman smiled and then camearound the desk to shake Eric’s hand. “Thank you, Eric. I really appreciateyour willingness to work with me on this.”

As Eric left LieutenantHayman’s office, he saw Gwen and Sarah sitting outside, waiting to be questioned.They both jumped to their feet when they saw him.

“Eric! What’s going on? Where’sAnna?” Gwen yelped, in a worried voice. “Sarah says she was arrested?”

“It’s all right. She’s down inDunning’s office. The situation has already been cleared up. It’s just a bigmistake. You simply need to…”

“Eric, let me finish myinvestigation here,” Hayman interrupted, stepping between him and Gwen. “Istill have a few questions to ask these girls before I can close the file. Duediligence demands I speak to them before you do. I’m sure you understand.”

“Yes, of course… my apologies.I look forward to speaking to you again when you replace the answers you’relooking for, John.” He turned to Gwen and Sarah. “I’ll see you upstairs,” hesaid reassuringly, and then he left. Gwen and Sarah looked at each otherreproachfully.

“Miss Reese? Would you pleasestep into my office,” said Lieutenant Hayman, in an unexpected tone ofpoliteness.

TWO

When Anna left Dunning’soffice, she didn’t return to the Server Hall. She had to get away, to thinkabout what had just happened. She found her way out of the dungeons and to themain entrance. She flung open the doors, ran down the steps into the courtyard,and then over the drawbridge into the city. It was still early, and Anna wasrather shocked to see the everyday life in Spellsburg continuing as if nothinghad just happened. How could it be that her entire world had nearly come apart,and yet, nobody around her seemed to care?

“Good morning,”said a round man in an apron, stacking oranges outside his grocery store. Annadidn’t say anything. She had no idea where she was going and soon found herselfbeyond the gates of Spellsburg, walking aimlessly out on the plateau. The grasswas still wet from the morning dew and before long, Anna’s feet where soakedand cold straight through to her socks. She barely noticed. Her mind was toobusy putting together the fractured pieces of the events leading up to herfight with Dunning. She shuddered, thinking about his face glaring down at her,his hands around her throat, his determination to choke the life out of her.She had never seen such fury in another person in her entire life. Although shewas still angry about Hobbs,the threats from Dunning were very serious, and Anna knew she would have to doeverything she could to stay out of the captain’s way from now on.

She tried to focus her mindback to the one thing she knew. Hobbsmust have delivered her letters to a member of the Crimson Guard. “And thatmeans the guards are inside the black castle as well,” she reasoned to herself.But why were they there? And what did Dunning mean when he said thatshe, Anna, should be in this place herself? There was only one answer that madeany sense. If the castle was a prison, then Dunning must have been saying shebelonged in jail for what she had done while in his office.

“Yeah, you’re the one whoshould be locked in a cage, Dunning,” Anna grumbled angrily under her breath.As the Captain’s horrible face burst forth into her mind once again, anotherproblem suddenly presented itself to her. How would she explain all of this toEric? What could she possibly tell her brother that would keep him from sendingan owl directly to their father? Anna groaned. If Eric did that, it would meangoing back on her agreement with Dunning, which would certainly mean herexpulsion from Castlewood for attacking him. And what about Dunning? Forsome unknown reason, it seemed to be in his best interest to keep what happenedquiet as well. And not just from the students and the teachers, butspecifically from her father. What was at the black castle that Dunning washiding?

“Hello, Anna. Out at thestables bright and early this morning, I see.” It was Mr. Kingston, the stablemaster. Anna was somewhat surprised to see him. She looked around and realizedshe had unconsciously wandered onto the stadium grounds. “Fancy yourself amount this morning?”

“Oh, hello Jeremiah. I… ah…well, I wasn’t… ah… how’s Swooper today?” she said, searching desperately for areason to explain why she was there.

“Right as rain! He’s eatingthree times his normal share these days. Seems he’s come out of his depressiona hellion. Why don’t you go and see for yourself?”

“Thanks, I… think I will,” andAnna set off guardedly toward the stables.

As she peered around the cornerof the last stall, she could see the black stallion eating his grain from a boxmounted on the wall. Anna could hear his obsessive crunching, his neckstraining to reach the bottom of his feeding box. The sight of the beautifulhorse with iridescent wings made Anna smile for the first time that morning.

“Hey… go easy there, big guy.You keep eating like that, and you won’t be able to get off the ground.” Thestallion jerked up and looked at Anna. He recognized her immediately and hisbody swerved around to center itself in the stall. He let out a nickered blow, HWHOOOO– WHAAA, that sounded like wind passing through deep pipes. He suddenlyrose high on his hind legs and began kicking ecstatically into the air, theheavy sound of his fast jabs whipping out toward her. Anna smiled and openedthe gate.

“Easy boy,” she said, reachingout as he fell back down onto all fours. He then shook his massive head andcame forward. Anna was surprised at the sight of him. The winged horse seemedeven bigger than when she first saw him the week before. She ran her hands downhis ribs and felt what seemed like newly formed muscle there. “Wow, you’ve beenpacking on the pounds, Swooper.”

Mr. Kingston looked in. “Hehasn’t been in the air since the day you took him up, though.”

“Really? Why is that?” Annaasked, somewhat surprised.

“Won’t let any other ridersnear him. A few have tried, of course, but they couldn’t get as near as you arenow. He’s a stubborn old fool, that one.” Swooper looked up to glare at Mr. Kingstonand snorted loudly. “Well — you are!” the stable master retorted. “Doctor Pearlfinally convinced him to let her into his saddle the day before yesterday, butbefore she could get herself settled he threw her nearly twenty feet across thelawn.”

“Oh-my-gosh! Is she all right?”

Kingston smiled. “Oh yeah, she’s fine. Toughold bird, our Pearl,but I’ve never seen her so angry. Raving mad, she was. Threatened to banishSwooper into Neptune’s Veil for what he’ddone.” Swooper grunted, shaking his head disapprovingly. “And you know she’d doit to, ya blue-eyed hot head,” Kingstonbellowed at the horse. Anna giggled. “So, you planning to take him up thismorning?” he said, looking inquiringly at her.

“Well, I’m supposed to be inclass right now,” Anna replied, looking longingly at the horse.

Mr. Kingston smiled again. “Iheard about your arrest this morning. Everything all right?” Anna snapped up.

“You heard about that?”

“Oh, I think everybody heardabout that. It’s not often we see that many guards swooping around in the skiesabove the city this early in the morning. Of course… the screaming back andforth out your Server Hall window was sure to gather a lot of attention too.”

Anna cringed. “Sorry aboutthat,” she said, embarrassed.

“Yes, well, Spellsburg may looklike a big city, but it’s really just a very small town. News like that spreadslike a fanned fire around here. Everybody knew who was in trouble before youeven left your room.”

Anna winced. So much forkeeping what happened a secret from her father, she thought miserably.

“But we all heard it was just abig to-do over nothing. Some kind of mixed up mistake is what the guards inSpellsburg have been saying. Are you all right?” Anna was so shocked she couldbarely speak. The news of her arrest and release making it into the city hadunnerved her.

“Uh, yeah, I’m okay… I guess,”she lied, still feeling the bump on the back of her head throbbing mercilessly.

Kingston gave her a doubtful look. “Good…glad to hear it. I know Dunning can be somewhat intimidating sometimes, so ––you deserve a little break. Why don’t you get yourself into some ridingclothes, and I’ll replace Swooper’s saddle.” Anna’s expression changed fromworried concern to long-sought hope in less than a second. She was so appreciativeof Kingston’soffer that she immediately reached out and hugged him on the spot.

“Thank you,” she said, in amuffled voice against his coat. “I really need to ride right now,” she sobbed.

Kingston smiled and then pushed her back.“The fact that you need a mount at a time like this proves you’re notjust weight in a saddle, Anna.” He tapped her playfully on the nose. “You’vegot the heart and soul of a true rider. Now go on, we’ll meet you outside.”

Fifteen minutes later, Anna wasrunning out of the locker room and onto the stadium field. Kingston, as promised, had Swooper ready togo. He threw her a harness. “Your shirt’s on backwards,” he said, laughing.

“What? Ohhh!” Anna huffedangrily. She turned quickly and whipped off the shirt to turn it around. Thecold morning breeze on her bare skin stung as she held up the coarse-haired shirt, tryingto replace the right way in. Mr. Kingston quickly turned to look the other way,giggling.

“Kind of cold to go bare-back,”he snorted.

When he could hear Anna snappingthe buckles of her harness, he turned around, cupped his hands, and lifted herinto the saddle. “Have a good flight, Anna, and don’t come back until all yourworries have blown themselves out, okay?”

“Okay — and… well… thanks,”Anna said, wiping the tears out of her eyes before taking up the reins.

The stable master grinned andthen walked up to the front of the horse. He yanked down on Swooper’s clip.“And you –– behave yourself!” he said, pointing a threatening finger at thehorse. “Hear me?” Swooper grunted and bared his teeth back at him. Kingston looked up atAnna. “There are only a couple of other horses out this morning, Anna. Nobodyto worry about –– the skies are all yours,” he informed her, unsnapping theclip on Swooper’s bridle.

“Up, Swooper, up!” he waved.

Minutes later, Anna was at thefive hundred foot ceiling and racing through the blue morning air. Flying awayfrom a world full of problems, this was living. While up here, she didn’t careabout Dunning, the black castle, or even the school now passing below her. Itfelt wonderful to think only as far as she could see, and breathe the cleansingair of freedom once again.

Grinning with excitement, Annahooked the back of her heels against the saddle’s metal pegs to hold herselftight and banked Swooper into a long, slow roll. By the time they came out ofthe turn, they were ten feet above the ground and racing across the plateau,the wind stinging Anna’s ears as it rushed passed her. She could see thefamiliar outline of Doctor Pearl waddling across the lawn toward the stadium infront of them. Dressed in her usual black, the Doctor began waving merrily asthey approached, and they could hear her sharp whistle telling them to gohigher. Swooper let out an angry snort and then dipped lower as they zoomed by,the wind from his wings blowing the good doctor off her feet.

“Yaaaahhhhhhhhhoooooooooo!!!”Anna howled excitedly, as they rose high into the sky once again.

After about an hour of racingaround the plateau and over the city, an obsessive thought came into Anna’shead to travel north, and perhaps high enough to see the black castle again.She even caught herself looking around and wondering if anyone might see hergoing above the legal ceiling, but her good sense held her back. She didn’t needto give Dunning another reason to send her home.

“Hello there!”

Anna quickly looked around andsaw somebody gliding down next to her. It was the same blond girl who had beenriding the Abraxan Palominothat attacked Swooper on her first flight over the plateau. She was riding adifferent horse this time, a reddish-brown flyer with white feet. “Beautifulmorning for a ride, isn’t it?”

“Hi!” Anna yelled back, immediately nervous about their closeproximity to each other. “Do you think it’s safe for us to be this close?”

“Oh sure,” the girl said, patting the gorgeous chestnut mountbelow her. “Peppercorn here is a sweetheart. She’s never been in a fight.”

“That’s a relief,” Anna shoutedout across the space between them, and she watched as the other girl’s bodyrose gracefully between her horse’s wing-beats. Her back was stiff and proper,and Anna couldn’t help straightening to mimic her style.

“How’s the leg?” Anna yelledover to her.

“Fine; no problem. I see thetwo of you came out of the fight okay.”

“Everything’s all right here.Swooper is just, well, a little hot-headed.” Anna could hear her horse give outanother angry snort below her.

“That’s okay. In fact, a goodfighting spirit is absolutely necessary for a great Vollucross horse. Speakingof which, how about it?”

“How about –– what?” Annashouted back, dully.

“A race, of course!” the girlreturned, smiling brightly. “See if you can keep up!” And with a powerful kick,her horse zoomed off ahead of them.

“But…?” Anna started to say shewasn’t much interested in being with anybody right now, but it was too late. Inthe blink of an eye, the girl was far ahead and gaining speed. Before Anna haddecided what she intended to do, she could feel Swooper flapping his wingsharder and the wind against her chest stiffen as their speed increased. Annaleaned down intuitively against Swooper’s back, still unsure if she wanted tochase after them. She could see the gap between her and the other horse hadstopped growing, however, and with every strong thrust of Swooper’s powerfulwings was slowly beginning to shrink. Anna smiled and leaned down still loweragainst Swooper’s back to give him a gentle nudge in the ribs.

“You want to chase after them,don’t you?” she said, provokingly. “Okay then –– go get her!”

The effect of these simplewords on Anna’s horse was immediate. She could feel every muscle along his backtighten, and the curl of his wing-beats change from their simple up and downmotion, to a complicated array of circles, reaching forward and sweeping backto glide. Their acceleration increased dramatically, and the gap separating thetwo horses was now closing at an almost astonishing rate.

Within minutes, the girl whowas nearly out of sight at the start was barely a few feet ahead of them.Peppercorn’s black tail was whipping in the wind side to side, almost teasingthem onward. Anna watched in amazement as Swooper’s wings reached forward,almost touching their tips in the front, before sweeping back hard. She couldfeel his massive midriff expanding, pushing Anna’s legs apart as he swelled totake in more air for the battle yet to come. She saw the rider in frontcasually look back and the expression on her face turn to shock at seeing Annaso close behind them. Her head jerked forward and she leaned down. Anna saw herright shoulder give a funny little twitch, and they immediately rolled to theright and down.

“Where are you going?” Annagrowled, and she snapped Swooper’s reins over to match the girl’s turn. Theother rider must have thought the maneuver would widen the gap between them; itdidn’t work. Swooper was directly behind them again, snapping his jaws at theother horse’s tail.

Anna looked for a way to passon the right, but Swooper must have seen something in the horse’s movement thathe recognized; something familiar that told him what the horse in frontintended to do next. When the brown chestnut banked left, Swooper had alreadycopied the move flawlessly before the rider in front thought to begin. Annajabbed the reins up and to the left to cut inside, but Swooper moved toimmediately correct her mistake. He dropped down beneath the other horse totake advantage of their speed before starting their turn. Anna, surprised bySwooper’s action, realized she had a lot to learn about this sport. Passing uphere had to be calculated in three dimensions. Anna ducked low as the hooves ofthe other horse passed just inches over her head, and then Swooper shot upagain to finish the pass.

Anna could hear the other girlscreaming at her horse, “Go — go — go,” as they began chasing them from behind.Minutes later, the girl was gliding by Anna’s side once again.

“Very good, but can you do itwhen it really matters?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”Anna said, smiling smugly. The other rider grinned back.

“Follow me!” she quipped, andthe other horse banked right and headed toward the Shadowed Forestbelow. Anna followed her. Looking more to understand where the girl was goingthan to pass, she saw them drop out of sight in a gap between in the trees. Annafell into the gap as well, letting Swooper lead the way; he seemed to knowexactly where they were going. They dropped low below the tops of the trees andinto an open alleyway inside the old, oak forest. The trees were zooming by them in a blur,which gave Anna a heightened sense of unbelievable speed twenty feet above theground.

As they entered the next turn,the other horse finally came into view once again. Swooper was chasing themdown through a series of tight turns when the alley opened into an enormous,circular clearing within the trees. In the center of the space stood a woodenpole, fifty feet high, painted in green and white checks. A small,red-triangular flag was flying there at half-mast. The other horse headed forthe pole with Anna following close behind. She watched as the other riderbanked hard into a turn around the pole and the girl’s gloved hand reached outfor one of several metal rings hovering near the flag. There was a sharp CLANGas the girl snatched one of the green rings away. Anna zoomed around the pole,glancing back at the rings suspended there and Swooper gave out a disgustedsnort as they flew by.

“You have to take a ring!” thegirl yelled back at Anna, holding up her prize with a smile. Anna watched her reach back and snap the ringinto a clip at the rear of her saddle. “Try and get the next one!”

Anna nodded and followed thegirl into another gap within the trees. So this was Vollucross, Annathought, leaning into another tight turn. She immediately understood why thesport was so popular on the plateau. The speed, the skill, and experiencenecessary to know when and where to pass where merged into something trulyamazing. Anna leaned forward, seeking again to close the gap between the tworiders. She noticed the alleyway seemed to be closing in around them; it wasbarely wide enough for the horses to fly here. Then, without warning, a suddengust of the wind hit Anna hard in the chest as Swooper unexpectedly shot up topass the other horse in front of them. But the appearance of the next turn cuthis intentions short, and Anna let out a scream as the trees coming directly ather suddenly whirled left as Swooper turned to follow the other horse down intothe gap again, his hooves crashing through the branches of the trees behindthem.

There was another left turn, aright, right again, left. Trees were whizzing by them in a green haze,sporadically broken by the broad lines of their dark trunks. Suddenly the horsein front started to slow and Swooper saw another opportunity to pass.

“WAIT!” Anna warned, knowingfull well there had to be a reason for the girl’s abrupt change of speed.Swooper shot over the top of the other rider just in time to see a wall oftrees coming toward them. Panicking, Anna jerked the reins back and Swooperstreaked straight up to avoid crashing. They exploded out of the gap and thenturned to look down. The other rider had finished what looked like a hairpinturn at a much slower speed, but was able to stay in the gap and stretch theirlead. Swooper snorted, rolled over, and zoomed back into the gap behind them,his wingtips drifting dangerously close to the ground as he raced through theturns. Anna felt the weight of her own body crushing her flat around a long,tight bend when the trees abruptly opened once again without warning. Annagasped in surprise as they shot over the edge of a cliff and above a sunlit,crystal lake two hundred feet below them.

The other horse was flappinghard, racing for an object standing in the center of the lake. It was anotherpole, this time painted in blue checks, its flag perched high at the top. Annaand Swooper headed for the flag and watched as the other girl shot around thepole, their backs gleaming in the morning sun as they slid expertly through thetight turn. Peppercorn’s wings were extended wide as they closed in on therings.

There was another loud CLANGand the horse and its rider headed back toward Anna to pass her going the otherway. The girl raised the blue ring the size of a dinner plate to show Anna, andthen stuck her tongue through its center as she zipped past them. Anna laughedas they fell around the pole and then turned serious as she reached out to grabone of the rings. The wind was buffeting her arm so violently that, for onebrief moment, Anna thought it might tear away from her body completely. Shestretched out in her saddle, concentrating hard to hold herself steady. Shecould feel her fingers wrapping around the steel and another sharp CLANGsounded as she snatched the ring away. Swooper bellowed with delight as hefinished the turn, and then resumed his pursuit of the other horse once more.

By the time they had reachedthe next ally, Swooper was nearly on top of the other horse again. Left, right,right again, left; the trees were thumping by Anna’s ears like a drumbeat. Theyentered a third clearing and this time an entire mountain loomed up beforethem. Swooper chased the other horse toward the rocky slopes as Anna lookeddesperately for the next pole. Finally, she saw the other horse heading forwhat looked like a giant, shadowed face carved into the side of the mountain.The horse and its rider flew toward the massive head and Anna watched indisbelief, as they unexpectedly turned straight into its open mouth. Annaducked low and Swooper folded his wings tight against his body to follow them.A feeling of sudden dread filled Anna’s core, as she looked up at the massiveface that seemed intent on swallowing them whole. The sunlight disappearedsuddenly as they flew straight down the mountain’s throat and into blackness.

The air was much colder hereand felt wet as they flew into a vast cave, and then into a tunnel through therock on the other side. Right, left, right, down, up, right again, Anna couldbarely see the other horse through the darkening gloom ahead of them. Every fewyards, a large, blue mushroom gave off an odd glow to light their way. Annacould feel Swooper slowing down in the darkest parts of the tunnel around themand she remembered something Pearlhad said about Swooper not being able to see in the dark. Anna leaned forwardto speak into his ear.

“Right turn coming… here itcomes… turn right!” Swooper obeyed. “Left turn coming… left! Right turn, leftturn,” Anna continued giving Swooper encouragement as they went along, and itwas working. Her mount was speeding up again, gaining more confidence throughevery turn. Anna heard a slight clang somewhere in front of them and sheknew the other girl had already reached the next ring. Finally, Anna glidedinto a vast cavern and she yelped as her horse suddenly dipped to miss aStalactite hanging low from the ceiling above them. Out of the corner of hereye, Anna saw the other rider exiting the cavern to her left.

As Anna and Swooper flew intothe center of the enormous opening, they found the third pole, painted blackand white this time, its flag lying limp and motionless at the bottom.

CLANG, echoed the bellas Anna snatched a black ring away above a stalagmite, protruding ominously upfrom the rocky floor. The bell reverberated and hummed against the walls aroundher like a ghostly tune as they exited the cavern and into the cold tunnelsonce more.

“Left, right, down, left-turncoming,” instructed Anna. Finally, they could see a beautiful blue dot growingbigger in front of them; freedom was close at hand. Anna watched as the bluedot winked when the other racer exited the mountain.

“That’s the way out, Swooper.Go — go!”

Swooper, seeing the open skiesjust ahead of them, pushed forward and they shot through the opening like abullet leaving the barrel of a riffle. WHOOSH! They were out. The brightmorning sun made Anna’s eyes tear as she frantically looked around for theother rider.

“Where are they?” Anna yelled,squinting and looking wildly about. “There!” Anna pointed down and could seethe girl entering the next alleyway into the trees below them. Swooperbellowed, and then toppled into a dive to chase after them. They raced into thegap once more and Swooper, now clearly happy he could see properly again, waspushing harder than ever to catch up. They broke into another clearing and Annacould see the other rider climbing into the sun.

“Up, Swooper. Go get her!”

As they rose, they could seethe two heading over a grass-covered hill and then disappear over its crest.When Swooper cleared the hill, Anna groaned. Vollucross stadium was now inclear view just ahead of them, and the other horse was pushing hard to victory.They were so far ahead Anna couldn’t see how they could possibly catch them.

“Down Swooper! There they are!Go — go — go!” Anna commanded, snapping the reins on the horse’s side.Swooper’s thrusts were strong and determined. He reached forward and pulledback with all his strength, struggling to close the gap once more. His hooveswere kicking out violently behind them with each stroke, and it was working;they were gaining on them. They did have a chance. Swooper was a far strongerflier; it was just a matter of time. Butwas there enough time to catch them before they entered the stadium? Theywere nearly on top of them now as the two horses banked into the final turn,one right after the other.

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

Anna followed the other ridertoward two yellow poles standing just a mile from the gap in the stadiumbeyond.

“We’ve got them, Swooper! We’llgo through he poles and pass them on the other side. We’ve got them,” Annayelled.

WHOOSH!

The first horse sailed betweenthe two poles.

WHOOSH!

Anna and Swooper shot throughjust behind them.

Suddenly, there was a loudCRACK, a flash of white light, and everything around them disappeared in aninstant. There was another loud CRACK, and everything reappeared once more.

“What was that?” Anna yelled,looking around to replace her bearing. She looked up and, in completeastonishment, saw the same two yellow poles coming into view ahead of them oncemore. They had been sent backward at least five hundred yards.

As they approached the polesagain, Anna thought to avoid them. “Left Swooper; go around them!” But thehorse knew better and stayed his course between the poles. “No!” Anna closedher eyes, expecting another flash of light as they shot through the spacebetween the poles again, but this time nothing happened. Anna looked up in timeto see the other horse and its rider enter the stadium gap far ahead of them.They had lost the race. But why? Whywere they sent back right when they were so close to finally catching them?

Anna entered the stadiumsomewhat confused and irritated. She could hear the spatter of light clappingas she entered the oval space inside the stadium grounds, and was surprised tosee a dozen townspeople sitting in the stands in various positions overlookingthe green lawns below. Anna could see the girl she had been chasing standing inthe center of the field, hugging and happily patting her horse. Anna glided inand softly landed a few yards away.

“That –– was –– excellent, MissGrayson,” announced Doctor Pearl, who was standing unnoticed on the side of theother horse, inspecting the animal’s wings. “Truly excellent! An outstandingchase for your first time in the field — well done!”

Anna beamed. “Thanks. It wasunbelievable,” she replied, excitedly.

“She gave us all we couldhandle out there, Doctor,” said the other girl. “I never expected so muchcompetition this early in the season, especially from a first-year.” She turnedto Anna. “You did extremely well. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again this year,”she said, pointing out toward the gap in the stadium.

“Thanks… but I’m not sure whathappened there at the end. I was right behind you until we got to those yellowpoles. Then there was a bright flash of light and I found myself way behindagain.”

“That was the quarter-milepenalty for missing the first ring,” the girl said, brightly. “Pretty stiffprice to pay for missing one ring… especially at the end of the race. Still,you did really well. I’ve seen riders miss so many rings that the AmberGates sent them all the way back to the black caverns.

“Really?” Anna replied inastonishment, and she shuddered at the thought of being transported back to thedark caves inside the mountain.

“My name is Lannete Cobstone,”the girl said, shaking Anna’s hand.

“Anna Grayson,” Anna repliedbrightly, and she watched as the girl’s face fell before peering over to lookat Doctor Pearl.

“That’s right… Eric Grayson’slittle sister,” the doctor said, smiling satisfactorily.

Lannete’s eyebrows lifted asshe tried to force a pleasant smile; it looked rather painful for her to do.“Oh great… another Grayson who can ride,” the girl moaned miserably. “I guessthe team trophy won’t come as easy this year as I thought.” She turned to Annaagain. “No offense, but why couldn’t you have taken after your sisters when itcomes to flying these beasts? It would have made my job so much easier thisseason. Oh well, hope I see you again soon,” she said merrily. “See you!”

Anna smiled as she watchedLannete turn to walk her horse back to the stables. “You can count on it,” shemurmured, under her breath.

“Oh… now that’s the kind offighting spirit this sport needs,” Pearlsaid, laughing at Anna’s reaction. “Don’t worry, my dear, you’ll get anothershot at her. She was the fourth-year champion, last year.”

“Really? She’s the best of thefourth-years?”

“That is correct. Miss Cobstoneis an extremely talented rider, and hopes to repeat as champion in herfifth-year as well. She’s impressive enough to draw the odds-makers in the citywhenever she enters the field,” the doctor said, pointing at the men sittingrandomly in the stands. Anna could see each of the men scribbling in littlebooks on their laps.

“Barbarians!” Pearlsaid, coolly. “Turning the noble sport of Vollucross into a gamblingopportunity. I’ve asked Captain Dunning to clamp down on it this year, but hesaid his men are far too busy to involve themselves in such mundanemisdemeanors. Ogre’s dung! Most of the guards are taking bets themselves!” Annacouldn’t stop herself from chuckling.

“But it would seem theodds-makers were very impressed with you, my dear,” the doctor continued. “Ihaven’t seen them stand to applaud a first-year entering a stadium sinceJessica Jones rode in seventy-seven.”

“Gee, I hope I’m not adisappointment to them,” Anna said, looking around at the bleachers again.

“The expectation of a closerace always draws a lot of attention in the city. More attention means morebusiness for them, and more gold in their pockets. I’m sure we’ll be seeingyour name highlighted in the next racing form. Not that I ever read thattwaddle myself, of course.”

Anna smiled. “Can I ask you aquestion, Doctor? How would somebody sitting here in the stadium know how wellI did or didn’t do out in the field?”

The doctor grinned. “By theapplication of some very complicated spells, and the use of the VollucrossHemisphere.” Anna looked confused so Pearlwent on to explain. “You see… we’re able to track all of the riders and watchtheir progress here in the stadium wherever they go –– watch.” And Pearl raised her wand atthe open sky above them.

“Projectius Visum!”

Instantly, the sky above themstarted to fade from sunny blue to midnight black. Unexpected moving picturesburst forth over their heads on what looked like an invisible dome droppingover the entire stadium around them. Anna gawked in wonder at seeing many ofthe places where she had chased the other rider through the forest andalleyways, gleaming bright above them. She saw the lake and a close-up of theflagged pole in its center, and another picture next to that of the tunnels andcaves within the mountain, shining like colored windows in the heavens.

“Remarkable!” Anna whispered,as she strained to see the places she had visited during her ride.

“Ah — perfect timing. Herecomes our Mister Durkin now. He’s heading for the blue marker over the lake.Let’s see how he does.”

Sure enough, Anna could see afamiliar face, riding on a gray horse with peppered wings, coming onto viewabove them. Two more riders on winged palominos were chasing after him. Annawatched in astonishment as Stephen Durkin swooped into a right turn around thecheckered pole, while his two chasers went left. They crossed around the flagin the middle as Stephan reached out for a ring.

“Come on, boy,” the doctorcalled out. “Get it this time!” she said, making a fist at the scene abovethem. There was a loud CLANG. “That’s it! Very good!” Pearl yelled. But Anna could see Stephan wasin trouble again. He was losing his balance over the side of his horse. “Ohno…” moaned Pearl, “counter weight, you stupid boy, counter!” she screeched,leaning her round body heavily to the side, as if her actions might helpStephan recover his balance; it did not. Stephan toppled over the saddle andplummeted sideways toward the water below. As Stephan hit, his angled speedsent him bouncing twice off the top of the water before finally suddenlyhalting with one enormous SPLOOOSHHH in the lake.

Several of the odds-makerssitting in the stands groaned and gave an irritated wave toward the scene abovethem. Obviously, they were not impressed with Stephan’s performance either.

“Oh dear,” Pearl said, shaking her head. “When will thatboy ever learn to buckle his harness?” she moaned, waving her wand again. Raysof morning light burst forth through the dome as the images above them began tofade. “I have something here that might interest you,” the Doctor said, and shehanded Anna a wrapped package.

“What’s this?”

Pearl cupped her hands and watched as Annatore off the paper. It was a book, Vollucross for Beginners, by DoctorMargaret Pearl, Healer/Vollucross Steward, Castlewood Academy.

“Wow, thank you,” Anna said,looking up and beaming with delight. She opened the front cover and, looking atits list of credits, she read: Mr. Jeremiah Kingston, Vollucross Stable Master,Castlewood Academy. “You and Mr. Kingston wrotethis?”

“Yes, we did,” Pearl said with a smile. “It’s not a completework, because… it doesn’t include all of our breeding techniques, of course.”She leaned in to whisper, “Can’t go giving out all of our secrets, now can we?Still, we’re very proud of it… and our number-one standing on the Wizarding Writer’s Best Seller’s List.In fact, we were only bumped down to number two by Gilderoy Lockhart’s book, MagicalMe, two years ago,” she said, proudly. “Oh… I really love that man’s work,”she sighed, staring dreamingly off in the distance.

“I’m sorry?” Anna said blankly.

“You know, Gilderoy sent me anowl to apologize for taking away the number one spot from us. Can you imagine?An exciting man like that taking the time to write to me. He even sent me anautographed picture,” she revealed, excitedly. “Such a shame. I heard he wasinjured rescuing some students while teaching at Hogwarts, the poor dear.Still, thirty weeks at number-one isn’t bad, aye?”

“Thank you very much,” Annasaid, kissing the Doctor on the cheek.

Pearl straightened with satisfaction. “Youwill replace all the rules and a history of Vollucross there in those pages. Giveit a read — and remember: I have my own selfish reasons for giving you thatbook. The Vollucross team tryouts are next month and I expect to see youprepared to do your best.”

THREE

Annaspent the rest of the day in the stables, washing down the animals and doingchores for Mr. Kingston. Although it was very hard work, she found it much moreenjoyable being around the horses, even in the dirt of their stalls, than theother options open to her. The thought of going back to the castle and facingEric wore heavily on her mind. Anna still hadn’t figured out how to explainwhat had happened in Dunning’s office without divulging the truth about thethings leading up to her arrest. But Anna couldn’t put it off much longer. Itwas getting dark now and Kingstonhad already gone home for his dinner.

“There you are,” came afriendly voice behind her, and Anna turned to replace Gwen and Sarah standing inthe doorway of the stable. “I told Sarah we might replace you here. We searchedeverywhere in the castle looking for you before it dawned on me where you wouldbe.”

“Anna… are you all right?”Sarah asked her worriedly.

Although it had been nearlyfourteen hours since she was sitting in Dunning’s office, the sight of herfriends standing in the door brought the whole terrible event back as if it hadonly just happened. Anna stood there, gripping the handle of her shovel, tryingdesperately to stifle her tears.

“No,” Anna’s voice shook. “Idon’t think I’ll be right for a very long time,” she said, turning her headaway. She could feel her emotions beginning to slide out of her control.

“Ohhhh…” Gwen whispered,walking over to her. “Come here, sweetie,” and Gwen wrapped her arms around herfriend to hold her close. Anna dropped her shovel, fell into Gwen’s tenderarms, and started to cry. The flashes of Dunning’s horrible face and the shameof what she had almost done to her family in attacking him were too much toendure. “It’s all right…” Gwen said, soothingly. “It’s all behind you now.”Sarah was standing to the side, watching her roommate sobbing despondently inGwen’s arms. She reached out to gently stroke Anna’s hand.

“What they did to you… wasterrible,” Sarah choked out, shaking her head miserably.

“If my father ever replaces outwhat I did…” Anna said, releasing Gwen to wipe her face, “he’ll be disgraced. Iwon’t be able to face him.”

Gwen looked at Sarah insurprise before turning back to Anna. “What you did? But you didn’t do anythingto deserve… look at your hands!” Gwen stretched Anna’s fingers back to revealseveral enormous blisters lying torn and broken on her palms. Anna was just assurprised as Gwen at the terrible sight. “You’ve been working your fingers tothe bone in here. When will you ever listen to me when I tell you that icecream heals all wounds, not manual labor?” Anna smiled and watched as Gwenpulled out a vial of blue liquid from the pocket of her robes and began to dabits contents on the sores. Smoke started to rise off of Anna’s palms and shecould feel a slight stinging sensation spreading out through her fingers. Gwenpulled out her wand and pointed it at Anna’s hands. She muttered somethingunder her breath and, when the smoke cleared, Anna’s hands were healed.

“Thanks,” Anna whispered.

“No problem. Just an old trickmy mother taught me a long time ago. When you play the piano, you learn to beprepared for injuries to your hands,” she said, still inspecting the wounds.She folded Anna’s hands closed and looked up. “There –– good as new. Now… let’sget you out of here before you start mowing all the lawns in the arena.”

Half an hour later, the girlswere seated in front of Mrs. Smile’s Ice Cream Parlor, eating Gwen’s favoriteemotional food. Although the small crowd had forced them to sit outside, someof the other patrons still didn’t appreciate the rude aroma coming off ofAnna’s robes.

“Pee-you!” Gwen said, screwingup her nose at Anna. “Girl, you need a shower… pronto!”

“Yeah, I guess I am prettyripe,” Anna chuckled, looking around at the other customers staring at her.

“So what happened in Dunning’soffice?” Gwen asked, taking another big lick off her double-scoop. Anna leanedin to tell Gwen and Sarah everything that had happened with the Captain. Whenshe was finished, Sarah looked horrified, but Gwen, as expected, was positivelybeaming with excitement.

“You hit Dunning upside hispointed head? Oh — that is soooo great! Anna… you’re my hero!”

“Shhh!” Anna warned, lookingaround then. “No… don’t you see? If my father ever found out what I did…” shestopped short in explaining the dreadful possibilities. “Not to mention thefact that I think the Captain is going to make me pay for what I did for thenext seven years. Assuming, of course, he doesn’t replace a way to murder mefirst.”

“Oh, dear,” Sarah gasped,concernedly. “You don’t think the Captain would really try to hurt you, wouldhe?” Anna leaned back and shrugged.

“Nah… I wouldn’t worry too muchabout the Captain. It’s Debbie Dunning you need to watch. If Captain Dunningever put his hands on you again, he knows your father would have him sentstraight to the Wizard’s prison… Azkaban. No, he’s too smart for that. But hissister… now that’s a different matter entirely. You can expect him to put herup to causing you a lot of pain for what you did today.” Anna, somewhatsurprised by this idea, nodded in agreement.

“How do you think CaptainDunning got the letters you were sending to the black castle?” Sarah asked.Anna told them her theory that the Crimson Guards must also be stationed at thecastle in the forest.

“Makes sense,” Gwen agreed,“but I wonder what they’re doing there.”

“No idea,” Anna admitted beforeturning to Sarah. “So what happened to you after I was arrested?”

“Well… about ten minutes afteryou left,” Sarah explained, “a guard escorted me into the dungeons. Oh, what ahorrible place that was. I saw all kinds of awful....” she stopped short,“anyway, I was waiting to be questioned by Lieutenant Hayman, when anotherguard came in with Gwen.” Anna looked at Gwen in surprise.

“Guilt by association, Isuppose,” Gwen said, proudly. “They yanked me right out of class,” sheexplained, and then she smirked. “History of Magic –– they did me a favorthere. Anyway, we were sitting outside Hayman’s office when Eric came out.”

“Eric was there too?” Anna saidin surprise.

“Yeah — and oh-boy, he didn’tlook very happy. But he tipped us off that they thought your arrest was amistake. So… Sarah and I just went along with it. They asked me about yousending owls into the forest and I told them I didn’t know anything aboutthat.” Anna looked at Sarah.

“That’s what I told theLieutenant Hayman too,” she said, convincingly.

“So, you see?” Gwen chimed,“you’re in the clear.”

Anna wasn’t so sure. “Whatabout Eric? He can’t know anything about this or Dunning will have meexpelled.”

Gwen frowned. “Yeah… and that’sa shame, because I’d love to see your dad go after Dunning with a good hex.I’ll bet he could get him the sack, for sure.” They sat there for a while,recovering the ice cream dripping down around their fingers. Except for Sarah,that is, who seemed to be very concerned about something other than Dunning’sfuture at the school.

“Anna… what happened to you?You know… before the guards came into our room?” Sarah asked, tentatively. “Youwere holding your owl, and then you started to… you got all smoky and almostblack. It was like you were… I don’t know… changing into something different.”

“Whoa-whoa-whoa. Anna… what’sshe talking about?” Gwen barked out, the top of her double-scoop wobblingprecariously.

Seeing Gwen’s surprisedreaction, Sarah slowly looked back at Anna. “I’m sorry… I guess I shouldn’t have said anything,” she mutteredapologetically.

“It’s all right, Sarah,” Annaadmitted. “Actually, I’m kind of glad somebody else saw it happen; seeing mechange, I mean.”

“Change?” Gwen yelped.“Hold-on; what do you mean, change?”

Anna took a deep breath andbegan to tell her friends about the Lethifold, and how the transformationseemed to be brought on by intense levels of hostile emotion. Anna wassurprised at how good it felt to finally tell somebody about the thing that hadtaken residence within her. Gwen sat there, completely lost for words, her icecream now running down into her lap.

“You’re an Animogus?” sheasked, blankly.

“Sshhh!” Anna hissed, lookingguardedly around them. Hoping beyond reason for Gwen’s best response, shecautiously nodded. Gwen didn’t let her down.

“ThAT – is – so – cool!” her friend sang out. “Why didn’t youtell me?”

Anna smiled. “Well, you know…with everything else that’s been going on…” she started to explain, but shecould see Gwen looked scandalized. Her best friend just couldn’t understand whyAnna wouldn’t have told her this amazing news straight away. “Honestly, it onlyhappened once before I came to Castlewood and I wasn’t sure it would everhappen again. And then I was scared that, if it did happen, I wouldn’t be ableto control it.”

“And… can you? Control it, Imean?” Gwen asked, in a tone filled with blatant optimism.

“I think so. I mean… thismorning was difficult. It took some quick thinking on Sarah’s part to help me,but every time it happens I seem to be able to get myself under control ––eventually.”

“Incredible. Oh –– I wish I hadthat kind of ability,” Gwen moaned, longingly. She gave an evil smile and thenleaned over to whisper, “We could sneak into the boys’ locker room and checkout all the seventh-year studs.” Anna started to laugh. Once again, her friendhad proven her capacity to take an uncomfortable situation and spin it intogold.

“Oh… but the boys wouldn’t besafe when Anna transforms into that creature, would they?” Sarah argued, takingthe conversation much more seriously than the other two. Gwen and Sarah satlooking at each other before Anna finally spoke.

“I think the boys would be farsafer with me as a Lethifold than they would with Gwen sneaking around in theirlocker room.” After a brief moment of silence, the three girls suddenly burstout into disorderly fits of laughter.