Previously on "The Otherworlders":  Ava, Inez, and Fiona face off against a terrifying Manticore after completing their mission at the Enchanted Chancellor's Annual Ball. 

The monstrous creature, summoned by Gabriel, unleashes chaos, with Ava first shifting into her Pheonix form, engaging the Manticore in a fiery aerial attack. When Ava is injured, Fiona and Inez are left to battle both the Manticore and a frenzied Gabriel. 

Inez cleverly employs her magic to create a protective water barrier, while Fiona, in a display of vampiric prowess, scales the tower to lead the Manticore on a deadly chase.

As the battle reaches its zenith on the tower rooftop, Fiona and Ava combine their unique abilities in a spectacular finale. Ava's fiery onslaught distracts the beast, allowing Fiona to deliver a stunning, acrobatic finishing blow, obliterating the Manticore as it tumbles to the ground and turns to ash.

**********

By the time Fiona makes it back down from the tower and onto the ground and Ava has landed, shifted and changed back into her dress, Inez has Gabriel, passed out, propped up against the wall and is fanning him in the hopes of bringing him back into consciousness. They're both surrounded by a powdery pile of demon ash.

Fiona kneels next to Inez and reaches out with two fingers to check Gabriel's pulse.

"How's he doing?" Inez asks.

"I think he's okay," Fiona assures her.

Ava kneels next to them and looks over at Inez. "What happened?"

"Well," Inez says as she nudges her glasses up her nose. "The Manticore crashed to the ground, blew up into ash, and when it all settled, Gabriel was just lying there, writhing and pretty pissed off, actually. So, after a few tries, I was able to knock him out with a sleeping spell. But then, after that, I wasn't sure quite what to do with him. So, I dragged him over here, and set him up against the wall. As his breathing became more shallow, his fangs and claws began to slowly retract."

"So, what, the demon possession got knocked out of him when the Manticore died?" Fiona asks.

Inez stands. "I guess so. I mean, when he imbued the Manticore statue with his magic, some of the demon essence that possessed him must have passed through."

Fiona stands as well, clapping her hands to brush off any trace of the demon. "This is good. Now, we can take him someplace where he can wake up comfortably; and hopefully, he won't remember a thing as far as the demon possession is concerned."

"Sounds like a plan," Inez says.

Ava pushes herself up from the ground. "So, do we just..." She shrugs. "Go back to the ball then?"

Fiona looks down at her completely tattered dress, then rubs her hand over her now drenched and frizzy hair. Oh, good gods! She's a hot mess! And in a fair bit of pain if she's being honest.

Then, she looks over at Ava and Inez whose appearance is just as disastrous as hers. She shakes her head. "We can't go back in there, looking like this," she concludes. "Um... 'Nezzie do you think you can fire up a little magic and maybe clean us up a bit?"

Inez looks down at her ripped dress and sees that she's also missing a shoe. She laughs. "I'm kinda over this whole ball thing, to be honest" she admits. Plus..." She reaches up to tie her sopping wet hair into a frenetic bun and winces as her fingers hit a sore spot on the side of her head. "I think the Manticore gave me a knock on my noggin!"

Annoyed, she scrunches her nose up. "I say we just take the limo home." She lets out a slow breath. "I can text my father saying I was feeling under the weather, so we cut out early. He'll understand."

Fiona and Ava look at each other and both sigh with relief.

"Excellent plan!" Ava says.

"Oh, gods yes! Please!" Fiona agrees. "Count me in!"

***

Ava and Inez are in Headmaster Pierce's office sitting next to Master Achebe, waiting for Fiona to arrive for the girls' debriefing.

Master Liu is waiting outside the office, hoping to catch Fiona before she goes in.

When Fiona finally arrives, she reaches out to stop her. "Fiona. Can I talk to you for a second?" she asks.

"Sure..." Fiona taken aback, nods.

Master Liu gently pulls her aside. "Before we delve into the debriefing, I wanted to check in with you. How have you been feeling lately? Physically, I mean."

It takes Fiona a moment before she understands what Master Liu is referring to. The live feedings! "Oh, great!" she says enthusiastically.

"Good... good. Then you feel that being able to feed right before a mission actually helped you?" Master Liu asks, just to be sure.

"Oh, yeah. I think it did. Definitely. I felt healthier, stronger, and much more prepared for combat," Fiona replies.

"Excellent!" Master Liu straightens and clasps her hands before her, relieved that introducing the Vampyr kids to live feeding hadn't been a traumatic experience after all. "And what about Marcus?" She asks. "Is he being cooperative, supportive of your needs?"

"Marcus? He's a sweetheart!" Fiona chuckles. "He's quite, um..." She taps her chin, looking for the right word, then smiles. "...well, let's say he's very patient with me. Honestly, it took me four times to find a good vein last time, and he just sat there, perfectly still, and pretended like he didn't notice, even though I'm pretty sure it hurt like heck!"

Master Liu leans back and laughs. "Wonderful! I'm glad you and Marcus have a real rapport." She tightens her arms across her chest and beams. "I had a good feeling about him," she says with a satisfied nod. "And I'm glad to hear it's working out. It can be a tough transition and sometimes the process can elicit, well..." She looks up at the ceiling. "...how do I say this? Mixed emotions?" She arches her brow.

Fiona catches Master Liu's meaning immediately. Live feeding is a very intimate ritual — for both the donor and the Vampyr. And one's intentions and emotions can get confused and conflated, especially when the donor is another Otherworlder. Fiona nods, "I understand what you're saying, but there's no need to worry. It's all good between us. We both understand what we're doing there and our roles in the process."

"Good... good..." Master Liu affirms. "I'm glad to hear it." She wraps her arm around Fiona's shoulder. "C'mon. Let's go inside."

***

Inside of Headmaster Pierce's office, Inez is gesturing enthusiastically, in the midst of recounting the details of their mission. "...and so, Fiona..." Intuitively sensing Fiona's presence, Inez whips around in her seat. "Oh, hey Fiona!" Then dives right back into her story, "...was trying to negotiate her way into the chapel, and the guard..." Her eyes grow big as she recalls the insult. "Well, he was being... um, um..." She snaps her fingers, trying to think of the right word.

Ava leans over her chair and whispers, "Uncooperative."

"Yes!" Inez snaps her fingers again. "Uncooperative! That's it! But Fiona handled the guard brilliantly! AND THEN, another guard started coming down the hall and—"

"Wait, wait, wait..." Headmaster Pierce holds up his hands to stop her. "This first guard said something inappropriate to Fiona? What did he say?"

All eyes turn to Fiona as she slips quietly into her seat. "Oh, well... he was a tad bit rude," she murmurs, really not wanting to revisit the humiliation she'd faced from the sexist guard in painstaking details in front of ALL of her professors.

Headmaster Pierce purses his lips. He looks to Ava and then Inez to see if they're willing to elaborate.

They shrug simultaneously.

Headmaster Pierce sighs, then continues. "All right, so this is when you invoked a master-level spell?"

"Yep!" Inez admits gleefully. "I was able to invoke Il Sussurro Della Mente. You see, I'd been practicing at home on Mr. Pickles and—"

"Mr. Pickles?" Master Achebe leans back in his chair, a brow cocked dubiously.

"Yeah. Mr. Pickles is my cat." Inez says in all seriousness. "He's a bit of a sourpuss. Anyway, I'd been practicing on Mr. Pickles and then—"

"Hold on..." Master Achebe interrupts her again. "You were able to get a house cat to do your bidding, just by doing this spell?"

Inez nods.

"Oh, wow! That's one powerful spell!" Master Achebe shakes his head in awe. "And this is coming from a Panther Shifter. Getting a house cat to do anything you want it to do is practically impossible! At least in Shifter circles." He chuckles.

"Yeah, well, that's true in Enchanted circles too!" Inez replies. "That's how I knew I was ready to try it on humans!"

While Masters Achebe and Liu are completely amused by this, Headmaster Pierce looks concerned. "Inez," he says solemnly. "While I'm pleased you were able to successfully invoke the Mind Whispering spell, I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from performing it again." And then, off of Inez's surprised reaction, he adds, "At least, not until you've had the proper training."

Inez straightens in her chair. "But why? It worked."

Headmaster Pierce gives her a sympathetic smile, understanding keenly a young Enchanted's desire to want to push themselves to the limit as they come into their powers.

He leans forward and steeples his fingers before him. "Because that particular spell is like opening up a two-way portal. Yes, you can enter into the mind of another, but your mind becomes more open and vulnerable too. It's a very dangerous spell, Inez, and we'll have to get you special training before you can try it again."

"Okay... understood," Inez concedes, recognizing the danger.

"Good." He taps his fingers together. "Well, girls. This was a very successful mission. Nice job."

"Sir, what about Gabriel?" Fiona asks. "What should we do about him?"

"I called the Chancellor," Headmaster Pierce replies, "and according to the staff, he woke up in a coat closet thinking he'd gone overboard on the rum punch."

"Whew! That's good to hear." Fiona says with a sigh.

"I think we've gotten everything we need for the debriefing," Headmaster Pierce concludes. He checks his watch. "I believe lunch should be starting soon." He looks at the girls. "If we need anything further, one of us will reach out to you. All right?"

The girls thank the Masters and get up to leave. All three Masters spill into the hallway after them.

And as the Masters watch the girls head down the hall, Master Achebe turns to Headmaster Pierce. "Alistair, are you concerned that we're now two-for-two on demon attacks?"

Headmaster Pierce looks back at Master Achebe, trepidation pulling the corners of his mouth into a frown. He starts to walk down the hall, headed towards the dining hall. Master Achebe and Master Liu walk with him.

"With only two missions under our belt," Headmaster Pierce says evenly. "I didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but yes, I'm worried to be honest."

"Are your worries due to the—"

"It must be..." Headmaster Pierce cuts him off, thinking the exact same thing.

They all stop in front of a massive window in the hallway that looks down into the courtyard and stare apprehensively at the large, scraggly tree in the middle of the lawn, the one the kids often sit under when studying.

Master Liu steps forward and rests her hand lightly on the glass. "But it hasn't even bloomed yet."

"I know." Headmaster Pierce says, stroking his chin with his thumb, contemplating the significance of the tree's influence on the students. "And that's what has me concerned." He gives Master Achebe a sidelong glance. "Ibrahim, are you certain you've gotten the translation correct?"

Master Achebe side-eyes Headmaster Pierce in reply. "Seriously, Alistair? After all this time? You doubt me?"

"I didn't say that," Headmaster Pierce replies defensively. "I was just asking if—"

Master Liu's hands shoots up between the two men, staving off any argument. "Boys, please... behave..." She chastises them as if she were the Headmistress of the school.

Headmaster Pierce sucks in a deep calming breath, then says, "It's not that I doubt your skills, Ibrahim. You know I'm one of your biggest champions. I'm just remembering when we were in the first iteration of the Academy. Remember our last mission? The cave? You had very little time to do what you needed to do in that situation, and so the translation was a little, well, rough."

Headmaster Pierce and Master Achebe share a look.

"You mean inaccurate," Master Achebe replies with a scowl.

"I mean, the ultimate result had little to do with your talent," Headmaster Pierce continues, "and has more to do with the resources you had at the time. So, I'm just venturing the slight possibility that, given the language on this tablet is even more archaic, there's something you might have missed?"

Master Achebe leans back against the wall and looks over his shoulder and out of the window. "On that account, my friend, you are correct. There was very little time to translate the pictographs on the mural before..." his voice fades.

Master Liu places a gentle hand on Master Achebe's shoulder. "Before we got chased out of the caves by a necromancer and his army of psychotic zombies," she finishes, arching a brow.

"Good times, huh?" Master Achebe slides her a glance.

Master Liu laughs softly. "Good times," she murmurs.

"Well..." Master Achebe sighs as he turns back to face the window. "Given the particular circumstances we're in now, yes, there might be a tiny, tiny detail I might have missed." He taps the glass as he stares down intensely at the tree in the middle of the quad. "Dimocarpus longan. The Longan tree, or as the ancients called it..." he says in perfect Cantonese, "Lùhng-ngáahn."

After a moment, he straightens. "I don't know Alistair. From everything I've read, the ancient texts all suggest that the Dragon's Eye must be blooming in order for its attractant to be a lure to demons, but perhaps..." He shrugs. "...perhaps, there's something in the essence of the leaves or the bark that could have a similar — if a somewhat diluted — effect."

"As an attractant?" Master Liu asks.

"Yes." Master Achebe turns to her. "The seed of the Longan tree emits a chemical that's virtually irresistible to demons."

"You mean like pheromones?" Master Liu asks.

"Something like that," he tells her. "That's why it's so crucial to our overall plans. Look, let me go over my notes again and the photographs and see if I can come up with anything new or that I might have missed."

Headmaster Pierce nods. "If anyone can figure it out, Ibrahim, it's you." He gives his old friend a hearty pat on the back.

Master Achebe rolls his eyes before turning away and heading off down the hall. "Don't try to butter me up, Alistair. That tactic is beneath you," he mumbles over his shoulder, pretending to still be annoyed at the doubt his longtime friend might have entertained.

Headmaster Pierce smiles to himself as he watches his friend go. "Yes, but it works every time," he says playfully under his breath. 

**********

A/N - Now that they're back, I'm so proud of the girls! They really kicked butt during their mission. 😁

And what about the professors' history? Let's just say, they've got some really interesting stories to tell from when they worked as a team during the first iteration of the Academy. 😆

~ Paula ❤️