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Another Ebil Story
Chapter 2 - Part 1

Rays of sunlight streamed in through the window of Elizabell’s cozy hotel room. It was finally morning. Sitting up tiredly, she checked the calendar hanging on the wall. Monday.

Elizabell stood and skipped into the bathroom. Her reflection stared back at her, her bushy blonde hair tangled and insane. She opened the cabinet hidden behind the mirror to pull out a brush. She closed it, and saw a reflection that wasn’t her own.

“What the hell! Beninber, get out of here!”
She whacked him on the head with her brush.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Beninber waved his arms around wildly. “Personal bubble, no touchy!!”
“What are you doing in here?!”
Beninber tapped his foot impatiently. “Do you know what today is?”

Elizabell nodded. “It’s Monday.”
“And do you remember what you have to do on Monday?”

Elizabell stared dumbly at Beninber for a moment, then gasped. “Oh, gosh! I gotta go to that… Horn-something place!”
Beninber rolled his eyes. “It’s Hornswaggle.”
“Whatever! I need to get ready! Brush my hair, brush my teeth, take a shower… Oh, where did I put my supplies??” Elizabell ran around the room wildly.

Beninber cackled. “Just get started, I’ll wait out here…” He waltzed into the main room of the hotel. “And to make myself helpful, I’ll find your stuff.”

Elizabell hurried into the bathroom and shut the door.

Beninber grinned to himself. Elizabell would be very helpful in his quest, after all, with or without the magical gene…

* * * * *

The walk to the school wasn’t very long, so she didn’t have to suffer over Beninber’s reminders as to what she was for more than a minute or two.

“Well, this is it.” Beninber pulled his hair back into a ponytail. With his hair back, he looked much more dignified and twice as handsome. “See you inside.”

Hornswaggle was a large, stone castle in the middle of a valley. Elizabell could hear a waterfall rumbling not far off. The architecture of the building was reminiscent of Hogwarts, yet had its one unique touch to it.

Elizabell stepped awkwardly through the doors to see hundreds upon hundreds of students waiting to hear what house they would be staying in. Everyone was chatting nervously.

She made her way through the crowd, hoping to find somebody to talk to. Nobody paid her more than a quick glance, though. She sighed and dragged her feet over to a bench by the wall. Dropping her bags of supplies by her feet, she slumped down into the bench and buried her face in her hands.

“Girl, if you don’t mind getting up… You’re sitting on my book.”

Elizabell jerked up to see a handsome boy sitting to her left, his face half-covered with long red hair. A black cloak was tied around his clothes. He was staring at her through a sideways glance, his bright blue eye unblinking.

“I said, you’re sitting on my book.”
She stood up and grabbed the book, handing it to him. “Here you go, sorry to bother you.” She leaned over to get her bags.

The boy opened the book to what seemed to be a random page. “No harm done. Please, sit.”

The boy’s emotionless voice and hostile appearance made Elizabell feel somewhat uneasy, but it would be rude to just leave. She sat back down, making sure not to sit on any of his things.
“Um, hi. I’m Elizabell Swanson.”

The boy nodded and glanced sideways at her again. “Nice to meet you. My name is Seth Enthous.” Elizabell smiled warmly, but Seth was still impassive.

He stared at her, as if expecting her to say more. Elizabell simply stared back. Seth closed the book and leaned forward, his head resting in his hands.

“So… what were you reading?”

Seth picked the book up and handed it to Elizabell, still not actually looking at her. “Curses and Advanced Magic, Volume III.” He sat up straight. “I’m not supposed to be reading it, though.”

Elizabell flipped through the pages. “Why not?”
“First years are to stick with ‘Basic Spells and Potions, Volumes I and II.’ Is this your first year as well?”

Elizabell nodded, trying not to vomit as she turned though page upon page of bloody, dead bodies.
“Hmm. You don’t look young enough to be a first year.” Seth said blankly. “Though you look too smart to have been held back. I’m guessing you are a straggler-born, and your gene just became active.”

How do you know what I look like, she snarled silently, if you haven’t even looked at me?!
“Nope. I’m actually a Fire Spirit.” Elizabell tried to look innocent of lying. “Beninber says my capability is far beyond the likes of any straggler.”

Seth nodded. “You say capability… that means you’ve shown no actual signs of ability, but might in the future. Am I correct?”
Elizabell smiled nervously. “That’s right.”

“Interesting. I’m simply a sorcerer, nothing special like you.”

Elizabell handed the book back. “So you can do magic spells, like move things without touching them or turn people into animals?”
Seth shrugged. “I haven’t tried anything like that. My interests are in the more advanced magics of the world.”

Elizabell gulped, remembering the book. “Can you… curse people?”
Seth finally looked at her, the hair covering his right eye falling to the side to reveal a blood-red iris. “Yes, Elizabell. I can.”

Elizabell sat unable to move. She wanted to stand, but her legs wouldn’t cooperate, her body stiff with fear. Seth Enthous was still staring at her.

“Please… Whatever you want, you can have it! Just don’t hurt me!” She choked out.
Seth looked away. “I’m sorry, but I believe you are mistaken. I have no intention of hurting you, I promise.”

Elizabell looked at her feet. Seth leaned forward and placed his hand on hers. “You’re shaking.”

Elizabell pulled her hand away from his without thinking. “Don’t touch me,” she whispered.

When she looked back up, Seth was gone.

Another Ebil Story
Chapter 2 - Part 2

“Welcome to Hornswaggle School for Magical Creatures, children!” Beninber beamed to the crowd. “As you all know, you will be placed randomly into either Red or Blue House, and will have classes with the other first years of that house.”

Some of the girls began whispering to each other which guys they hoped were in their house, while others whined about maybe not having classes with any of their new friends.

“However, you may also take a maximum of two extra classes, in which houses will be integrated.”
A cheer rang out from the crowd.

“To learn what house you are to be in, go see Madame Schaeffer, the old prune over in the corner.” He pointed in the general direction of a wrinkled woman with thin, grey hair.
“Thanks for the wonderful introduction, Beninber.” She mumbled, rolling her eyes.

Elizabell pushed past the girls and boys to see the roster. Beninber was still giving his speech, but she could care less what he said. Madame Schaeffer was smiling kindly to all the students who passed by.

She neared the desk Madame Schaeffer was standing at, and noticed somebody was standing next to her. She turned her head slightly, and saw Seth. Even though he was younger than she was, Seth was at least half a foot taller than her. He was still buried in a book, though it seemed to be a different one.
Great. Just great. He’s looking for more horrid ways to end my life.

Seth seemed to feel somebody looking at him, because he turned to look at her too. He almost looked shocked to see her.
He closed the book and turned his head away quickly.

Madame Schaeffer didn’t seem to notice the two’s reactions to each other, and simply went on with reading off their classes.
“Your names, please?”

“Elizabell Swanson.”
“Seth Enthous.”

She scanned the list and smiled. “What luck! You two are both in Blue House, dears.”

Seth smiled, though it seemed a fake one. “Thank you.”
Elizabell nodded. “Yeah… thanks.”

The two made their way to the Blue Table. Seth walked away and sat at the other end, while Elizabell sat near the front. A large booming sound erupted through the walls, shaking everything and knocking wall hangings to the marble floor. Some kids fell out of their seats.
She looked up at where Beninber stood. A young woman was standing there, soot covering her entire body. She looked stressed as she explained something to him, but he seemed just as playful as ever, his hands clapped together and his smile growing wider and wider.

Finally she finished, and Beninber cackled. “It seems a slight problem has occurred with the Blue House girl’s dormitory. Basically, it blew up.” He explained to the students, still laughing insanely. “While it would be very easy to fix, I feel it would be much more fun to force all you girls to sleep with the boys!”

There was a mixed reaction, both cheers and screams echoing off the walls. Elizabell banged her head on the table. Of all the bad luck, she would be sleeping in the same room as Seth!

“So anyway… classes start tomorrow, and you will all receive your schedules as you walk out the door. Have fun, everyone, and don’t be late to class!”

Elizabell got her schedule and hiked up the large staircase. There were so many floors, so many classes, there was no way she wouldn’t get lost!

Halfway up, someone tapped her shoulder. She jumped.

“Oops, sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. You dropped this at the foot of the stairs.”
A short girl with curly brown hair smiled up at her. Despite her shortness, she had a very womanly figure. Her body was nearly perfect, besides the fact she only came up to Elizabell’s shoulders. She had blue eyes and extremely pale and flawless skin.

“Thanks.” The girl handed her a silver locket, the one she kept Ernie Bob’s picture in. The one she’d dropped on purpose. She sighed. Oh well. She could flush it down a toilet later. “My name’s Elizabell Swanson.”
The girl smiled widely. “I’m Monica Hopian. Nice to meet you!!”

Elizabell smiled. At last, she had met somebody normal. “This is your first year too?”
Monica giggled. “Yep! I‘m so excited, I‘ve had to wait so long to get into this school!”
“I didn’t realize it was all that hard to get in. How old are you, anyway?”
“I‘m actually twenty three.” Monica put a hand to her chin. “Goodness, it‘s been a long wait..”

Elizabell gaped at her. “You couldn‘t be twenty three! You look like a teenager!” A short teenager, she added in her head.
Monica laughed playfully. “You silly, I became of age when I was 17. I‘m not going to age at all anymore, because once vampires become of age they stay that physical age for the rest of their lives.”

Elizabell stopped walking. “You’re a… vampire?”
“Mm-hm. It always seems to take a long time to get a vampire into this school. Beninber has to think about the wellbeing of the students, and a dangerous breed like us could cause problems. After all, that’s what made him disallow demon students registering.”

“Are there lots of vampires here?”
“No, I guess not. Being trapped in a building where you can’t suck the blood of a single person isn’t very appealing to most vampires.”

Elizabell gulped. “Do you mind it?”
Monica shrugged. “It has its downs. I can‘t really get a drink when I‘m thirsty or somebody‘s mom will be pissed off, and I’m not allowed in the infirmary for obvious reasons. But it’s all worth it to learn all of the things they teach here!”

They reached the Blue House tower. There was a large circular room with small coffee tables and couches in what seemed to be random placements. There were two staircases pointing in opposite directions, one with a curtain hanging over it. A slight breeze was blowing through it, making the curtain appear to be breathing. Elizabell assumed this was where the girl’s dormitory had once been, and walked up the other stairwell.
Monica and Elizabell both entered the boy’s dormitory and went their separate ways to unpack. Some girls were already in there, talking excitedly to the boys.

The taller, curly-haired blonde girl seemed to be dominating the conversation.
“Nobody has seen this guy, but I hear he’s really hot!”

The tall brunette laughed. “You haven’t heard anything at all. You think he is because his name is Gnarly.”

The tallest boy cocked his head. “There’s a student named Gnarly at our school?”
The blonde nodded. “Gnarly Daryl.”

One of the other boys laughed. “That’s the dumbest name I’ve ever heard! Would you want to go around as ‘Cornelia Daryl’?”

The blonde shook her head. “No, but he’s still hot! That accounts for something!”
The brunette began to correct her, but Cornelia interrupted. “Let’s go find him, I’ll prove it!”

Cornelia began to walk away, and the others followed. Elizabell stood there for a moment, before she decided to follow as well.

“If we just ask around, I’m sure we’ll find him by the end of the day.” Cornelia informed. The others all nodded their heads in an involuntary agreement. Obviously Cornelia was the head of the group.

They walked over to a tall, black-haired, dark-skinned boy who was sitting nonchalantly in a chair, his mind obviously somewhere else. When Cornelia neared, he left his dazed state and looked up at her.
“Ah, if it isn’t the great Cornelia West. Is there anything you need, your highness?”

“Stop the attitude, Bohrvon Liu. We need help finding a guy by the name of Gnarly Daryl. You know him?”

A sly smile spread across Bohrvon’s face. “Yeah, I’ve seen him. He’s right over there.” Bohrvon pointed toward a small room with a bunch of beastmen and humanoids surrounding it, laughing and shouting to each other.

Bohrvon opened his mouth to say something else, but Cornelia left before he could get it out. Cornelia walked gracefully over to the boys, who all were half of some animal crossed with a human. The others all followed.

Cornelia flashed a perfect smile. “Hey, boys. I’m looking for someone, and I think he’s one of you guys. Would you mind pointing out which one of you is Gnarly Daryl?”

The boys all laughed hysterically, falling to their knees and holding onto the wall for support. One that seemed to be half lion said between his chokes of laughter, “Yeah, man, he’s here with us. He’s the dork in there.”
One that looked half whale or something gave him a high-five.

All the girls and boys huddled around the door, some straining to get a good view. Cornelia sneered. “That can’t be him.”

Inside the room was a short boy with orange hair and big glasses. The glasses seemed to be broken, and he looked as if he‘d been attacked. He looked up, slightly dazed, and tried to stand up. One of the beastmen kicked him before he could get up on his feet.

Cornelia leaned down. “Are you Gnarly Daryl?”
The boy nodded. “Yeah, that’s me.” Even his voice was dorky. Elizabell started to feel really bad for him. One of the beasts once again kicked him down.

Elizabell felt a blind rage boiling up in her. “You bastards, leave him alone!” All eyes were on her. “Why don’t you go pick on someone who deserves it? Gnarly hasn’t done anything to you, so get the hell away from him!”
The beastmen gathered around her, popping their knuckles. “Someone who deserves it, huh?” Crazed smiles spread over their faces… Elizabell was fresh meat.

The lion-like one raised his fist and swung it at her head. Elizabell clenched her eyes shut, awaiting the blow.

It didn’t come.
She opened her eyes to see Seth, pinning the lion to the wall with one hand. “Put one hand on her,” he said once again without any emotion, “and you won’t live to see another day.” The lion nodded quickly, scared out of his wits.

Seth let go of him and walked silently away, once again pulling out a book.
Cornelia shivered. “Man, that guy gives me the creeps.”
The lion nodded. “I heard he’s secretly working to bring Voldemort back, man.”
A sudden chill filled the room at the mention of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

The tall brunette girl leaned over into the room and grabbed Gnarly’s shirt, pulling him up into a standing position.
“It seems your girlfriend would rather you hanging out with her than lying down on the floor.” She pushed him over toward Elizabell. “Have fun, dorks.”

Elizabell glared at the group of people, and walked away with Gnarly.

Another Ebil Story
Chapter 2 - Part 3

Elizabell and Gnarly were sitting on a couch in the Blue House common room. Elizabell had her new uniform on her lap, but she had barely even noticed it. So much was on her mind…

“You don’t have to be so nice to me.” Gnarly said in his extremely dorky voice. “Other kids will pick on you if they see you with me.”
Elizabell shook her head. “Who cares what they think? They were beating you up for nothing.”

Gnarly shrugged. “Actually, they don’t like me very much because I’m devoting my life to finding more information about the so-called Magical Gene. I need to find the science behind how we receive magical abilities through it.”

Elizabell leaned back in her chair rolling her eyes. “Still no reason to beat you up.”

“Look, they just think they’re so cool now that Cornelia and Bohrvon are second years. They’ve always been the most popular kids in the school, but now they’re twice as popular now that they’re older.”

She hadn’t been listening. Her mind couldn’t seem to get away from Seth Enthous’s reaction to the lion man. He wanted her dead, so why did it matter so much that everyone else stayed away?
She gasped. “That’s it.”

Gnarly stared dumbly at Elizabell. “What are you talking about?”
“Seth saved me from that lion guy because he doesn’t want others to hurt me.” She covered her face with her hands. “He would rather kill me himself.”

“No way.” Gnarly guffawed, sitting forward in his chair. “Why would somebody be so obsessed with killing you? What have you done?”
No words came out of Elizabell’s mouth. After a few moments, she choked out, “I was onto him… he’s trying to bring Voldemort back, and I found him out. Now he wants me eliminated before everyone knows.”

Gnarly snorted. “You can’t just bring a person back. If they’re dead, they’re dead. You can’t just perform some magic spell and expect them to-”
“Gnarly, you’ve never seen Seth. He’s got this creepy red eye, and he’s always reading these weird books on how to kill people. He can cast spells better than Beninber himself.”

“I take offence to that!”

Elizabell jumped up from her seat and spun on her heel. Her uniform lay wrinkled on the ground. Why did Seth keep popping up wherever she was?
But it wasn’t Seth, it was Beninber. “What are… what are you doing here?” She stammered, relieved.

Beninber laughed. “My ears were burning. In any case, I’m very good at choosing which students get in and which don’t. I know this- Seth, was it? - won’t lay a hand on you. I’m very good at my job!”
Elizabell crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. “Obviously.”

“And to prove to you that Seth is harmless, I’ll bring him over.” Beninber smiled.
Her throat tightened. If Seth knew Beninber had heard all of this, she’d be dead by morning! “No, Beninber, please don’t!!”

“Why not? He’s right over there.” Beninber pointed at a red-haired, blue-eyed boy reading yet another book. Seth was just a few feet away, yet it seemed he hadn’t been paying attention… or was that just what he wanted her to think?

“Seth Enthous, could you come hear for a moment?” Beninber shouted. Seth looked up, closed the book, and waltzed over.
“Yes, sir?” Once again, he was completely indifferent.

“I have a student here who was worried about something… would it be too much to reassure her you don’t want to kill her?” Elizabell was on her knees, begging him to shut up.

Seth glanced at her. He still looked impassive… but there seemed to be the ghost of a frown around his lips. He crouched down to be eye level with Elizabell, who was still on her knees.
“Elizabell, I mean it with every fiber of my being. I’m not trying to kill you.”
His eyes searched her, and for the first time she saw emotion in his face. No, it wasn’t in his face, it still showed no sign of enthusiasm. It was his eyes. In them Elizabell could see dejection… whatever he saw, it disappointed him.

“You don’t believe me.” It wasn’t a question.
He stood uncomfortably, looking down at his feet. His blood-red hair hid his face. Elizabell almost felt sorry for accusing him, even if it was true.

Beninber smiled and put his hands on his hips. “There, you see? When Beninber Ichleiner says something he is always right!” It was as though nobody else had seen his face… how sad he looked…
Elizabell mumbled under her breath, “Yes, always right.”

Gnarly sighed. “These people are such freaks… I’ll never get my research done at this rate.”

Beninber was once again serious. “Oh, that just won’t do! We need to find a way to get all of you to shut up for an hour so this dork can research magical genes and whatnot.”
He paced the floor, looking at the ceiling. He mumbled ideas quietly to himself.

Everyone sat silently for a moment. Gnarly whispered in an agitated tone, “Does he do this often?”
Suddenly, Beninber clapped his hands together. “I know! I shall make it my job to build a laboratory in the place the Girl’s Dormitory used to be!”

Standing up, Elizabell inquired, “Is this a little side job just to keep yourself from needing to do your real job?”

Beninber thought for a moment, and nodded. “Yeah, pretty much.”
Gnarly buried his face in his hands. “I’m surrounded by idiots.”

Once again, Beninber nodded. “Yeah, pretty much.”