When magic class finally ended, I headed off to subterfuge, the one class I actually wanted to attend. I didn't want to become a trained liar, but it had my favourite teacher Bob, and I wasn't likely to get burned or horribly maimed in it. That had never really been a concern of mine before coming to Doom Valley Prep, now it was at the top of my list.

Putting the old priestess and her words out of his mind, Keir turned his attention to the children and teenagers who were coming to a stop before him. They were looking at him with wide eyes, some bowed their heads when they saw him looking. The oldest boy hobbled up on a crutch, then fell to his knees, his lame leg stretched awkwardly behind him, and looked at the ground.

Charia is the head councilwoman of the Central Witch Council. An organization that keeps mundanes unaware that magic exists.
Today is the review day. She and other council members are apprised of recent misuses of magic by agents working for the council.
However, this meeting derails as more and more cases appear to be connected.

Keir strode down the hall like he was the master of the keep. The servants they passed hastily got out of the way at the sight of the pair of ghostly guards who marched silently in front. His three living maids followed behind, he would need them later.

Right when Third Period ended, Miles went out to find a private spot. He pulled out his phone and called Mr. Al. "Hey Mr. Al," said Miles. "Is this a bad time?"

"Not at all," Mr. Al answered. "Did you and Zoe find something?"

"Zoe did," said Miles. "Alan Chase told her he'd seen Brittany Meier give Isaac Schmidt a little black box. And when Zoe followed Isaac out behind the gym, Isaac opened the box, and it turned him into a girl."

"Oh, it did?"

When Zoe got to school the following Monday, she was surprised to run into Brittany at the front gates. "Hey Brittany," she said.

"Hi Zoe," said Brittany. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," Zoe answered. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah."

"I'm guessing you're through with Isaac?"

"Of course I am. And when I find him, I'm gonna give him the real breakup talk."

"Hell yeah," Zoe said with a hint of malice. "Give him what he deserves."

"I'll let you know how it goes," said Brittany.

***

Tired, starving, bashed up, soaking wet, with a hole in the back of my nightgown and one side badly scorched, I finally made it to the girls dorms.

“What happened to you?” Ella asked, when I gratefully slipped into our room.

I ignored her question and asked my own, “Why does our school have a flooded hallway, full of sharks that shoot freaking fire from their eyes?”

The day has finally come, and it is off to school I go. I don't know how I feel about this. My mind is jumping between worry and anticipation. I am worried because I don't know what to expect when I get there. I am also anticipating that there I will cause trouble for James. I have been told that James has been bullied by many of the other students at school because his magic doesn't manifest in the same way that theirs does.

The following Wednesday was the party at Alan's house. Zoe, Miles, and Avery all carpooled to Alan's house together. When they got there, they were greeted by Alan at the front door. "Hello, friends," said Alan. "We're gonna be in the backyard for the party."

"Okay," said Miles. "This should be fun."

The hopes for escape looked grim. The only way out of Skylar's bedroom was the door, which led straight into the hallway, which in turn led to the entry room that Skylar had just entered. What choice did Zoe have? Could she duck into the hall bathroom? No, that wasn't possible. She'd have to run out into the hall, which would completely expose herself. But Skylar was already heading down the hall. Zoe would have to think of something.

I went into a little of the back story of Lilith in this chapter. I will try to expound more on her history as the story unfolds. It is also a little longer than I usually write so I'm hoping that the story still flows smoothly. Thank you very much for your interest in this story.

***

This was insane.

Floria dove into a shell hole, trying to keep her shotgun out of the muck as a Dark Hound came charging out of the smoke. Rolling onto her back, she fired into the chest of the demon a second before it landed on her.

That evening, at the dinner table, Zoe told her parents about the breast cancer awareness club's fundraiser, and her and Miles' plan to get in Skylar's good graces by selling a lot of shirts and other items.

"That sounds like a good plan," Zoe's dad said when she'd finished explaining.

"Yeah," said Zoe. "Will you guys buy anything?"

"Sure, we can get a couple of bows," her mom answered.

"First, we go shopping," Shri'la exclaimed as I returned from the bathroom. "We need to get you some new clothes and common teenage things. "You'll need a cell phone, laptop, beauty products, and shoes. Ohh how I love to shop for shoes." I could tell she was excited.

The sun shone through the window of my HUMVEE obscuring my view of the convoy route. It's been an uneventful convoy, in fact, we have not had any trouble so far during this deployment. We are not expecting any trouble according to our unit's intel.

We come upon a small village twenty clicks from Kandahar, but unlike previous times coming through this area, there are no civilians in sight. This is strange. "Trainer," I speak into my vehicle coms to my gunner, "keep an eye out for any sign of trouble something doesn't feel right."

Von

“How much power does she have?” Von asked, looking at the dark lines covering the sky.

The Screechers flew over head, greatly reduced in number after most of them had tried to swarm the artillery and machine guns only to die as they touched the strands of necromantic magic. Rockets and scatter guns were quickly killing the rest.

Chapter 1
I find myself stumbling across the brush that fills the valley. My memory of how I got here was a complete blank. The last thing I remember was loading up to go on a convoy to Kandahar. I no longer have my weapon with me. I still have my body armor and assault pack with me. Soot and blood cover my uniform.

I touch my head and feel it wet and sticky. Blood is covering my face. Grabbing my first aid kit from my body armor, I proceed to wrap my head wound. My head is still pounding in pain.