MagiStream

A harvest moon glared down at the land like the eye of some celestial beast. The same beast's howling voice seemed to manifest in the windstorm that set the trees whispering to one another, sending leaves skittering down to the forest floor. The sky was cloudy and dark, the stars obscured. Deep within the forest, creatures slunk between the trees on their private errands, cloaked in shadow but for a glimpse of fangs or yellow eyes.

Hoofbeats, coming down the trail in a steady gallop, broke the silence, quickly followed by the telltale footfalls of an enormous creature. The denizens of the forest lifted their heads, parted jaws glinting in the moonlight, and melted back into the darkness.

Minutes later, a rider passed by, riding a shaggy mount , a glowing ball of energy in their hand. Beside the pair loped a wolf of enormous proportions, it's head level with the equine's withers. Four diagonal scars shown lividly against the rough fur of it's right shoulder.

The tiny beacon of light passed, the creatures returned, eyes like coals in the night.

-----

The small party came to a stop in front of a gargantuan stone castle. Light shone from the windows, beads of gold against the black mass of the great building, the Keep. Within, the rider could hear the faint sounds of music and laughter. Two large lanterns, held between the claws of stone dragons, guarded the entrance to the Keep. A single golden horn glinted as the stocky equine tossed his head, eager to be back in his warm stall. The rider dismounted, hunching her shoulders against the cold, unceasing night wind. Beneath her heavy woolen cloak and hood, she wore the simple brown robes. A satchel was hung from a strap across her shoulder, held shut with a bronze clasp. Scrolls poked out from under the flap. She rubbed the minicorn's flaxen tangle of mane, earning a gentle nicker from it. "Go get some rest, Lightstep." she said. Beneath his fluffy forelock, the minicorn's eyes sparkled. And let you have all the fun at the party? He would have rather enjoyed the peace of the stables, but he couldn't resist a small parting jibe.
The girl laughed. "The last time I let you have pumpkin mead, you ended up drunk off your furry butt with a table on your back going 'Look, I'm a vosmari!'"
We promised never to speak of that. Besides, you've done worse.
"Just telling it like it is, fuzzball."
Lightstep pressed his nose against her chest, looking up beseechingly. Bring me some caramel apples?
"You got it."
As the chestnut unicorn trotted into the gloom, the girl turned to the direwolf. "Are you going to the party too, Fenris?"
The massive creature snorted, shaking out his mantle of grey-brown fur. The pack isn't hunting tonight. We're all staying close to the Keep.

The girl rolled her eyes. "That whole story about dark spirits crossing into the world on Halloween is just an old wives' tale, you know that."
Never hurts to be on the safe side. Besides, who else will carry you up to your dorm when you try and stay up all night?
"You're such a stick in the mud." she laughed, pushing the great wooden doors of the Keep open and stepping into the warmth of the great hall.

As soon as they stepped inside, they were immediately overwhelmed by a rush of sights, smells, and sounds. Chandeliers and candles were everywhere, washing the hall in golden light. Smells of food, sweet and spicy alike, wafted temptingly from the line of buffet tables on one side. Musicians played in their alcove, filling the air with a prickling Halloween theme. The hall was absolutely packed with magis of all ages, ranging from gangly first-years just coming into their powers, to dignified elders bearing the gold trim on their robes that marked them as masters of their crafts. As befitting the season, they were all wearing costumes, many designed after ghosts, ghouls, and other monsters. Accompanying the human guests were a plethora of creatures in every imaginable shape, color, and size. The resident Nagas, Centaurs, and Mermaids were gone from the Keep at the moment, back in their own homes for their own celebrations. She would have liked to celebrate Halloween with Vespia and Nyroza as well as her human friends, but they had promised to tell her all about their own village's celebrations. She had heard Nagas could tell stories scary enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up for a week, and that Centaurs held feasts that could leave an elephant snail comatose.

The girl slipped off her hood, exposing black hair that hung just above her shoulders and curled to the right slightly, and black eyes framed by glasses. For her costume, she had carefully painted her face to resemble the furry visage of a chupacabra, and used a bit of magic to lengthen her canine teeth to poke slightly under her top lip. A pair of brown, rounded felt ears stuck over her own and a row of wooden spines attached to her robes completed the look.
"Lyra! Over here!" Hearing a voice, she turned in time to see her friend Hex, in the guise of a demon warrior, approaching. "Where've you been?"
Tall and a little gangly, Hex had long brown hair that often hung in his face, which was currently covered by a red demon mask with bared teeth. Through the eyeholes, she could see his dark eyes gleaming. A sword was strapped to his belt, and when he removed his mask to speak easier Lyra noticed a welt across his cheek. "Pegasus riding lesson at Lake Lakira. What happened to you?"
He rubbed his cheek ruefully. "Master Vargen's swordfighting class. We were using wooden swords, and the old badger got me across the cheek." The majority of the Keep students trained in magic and in handling the magical creatures that populated the land, but there were also classes offered for more physical arts, such as swordsmanship or archery. "Some party, huh?"
"You're telling me." agreed Lyra. "I love the Keep's Halloween party almost as much as the Christmas party." And the April Fool's Day party, which always ended interestingly. She recalled last year's celebration, which had culminated in a massive snowball battle royale that had taken over the entirety of the Keep from the gardens to the great hall, sending noncombatants scurrying for cover as creatures and humans alike filled the air with a blizzard of launched snowballs.

Lyra tilted her head and frowned as she noticed a movement behind Hex. "Uh..."
"What?" he asked, perplexed.
"Your hood appears to be moving."
Hex reached behind him, then laughed. "Oh, there you are Sannus. I was wondering where you had gotten off to."
A squirrel-like creature with brilliant red fur and iridescent butterfly wings crawled out of his hood and onto his shoulder, yawning. A tiny witch's hat perched primly between her ears. Sannus was an avrael, and one of Hex's frequent companions. As the creature busied itself pawing through his hair, Lyra asked, "Have you seen Kerra or Joraan anywhere?"
"Nope. Kerra's probably in the library, and I last saw Joraan when we left swordfighting class."
"Well, they'll probably be here soon enough." chuckled Lyra. As timid as Kerra could be, even she enjoyed the occasional party, as did Joraan.

The two turned as the crowds began to hush. Two men were ascending the stage at the back of the hall, taking their place in front of a speaking podium. The first had flaxen blond hair and a beard, with brilliant green eyes and a pleasant face. He had gone with a lich costume, wearing heavy red robes and a pointy crown, with facepaint that gave him a skeletal appearance. He was Thane, the Archmage of the Keep. The second was a gruff-looking older man with cropped white hair, a salt-and-pepper beard, and flinty grey eyes. He wore plain brown robes, and was flanked by two massive albino direwolves. He was Master Belmos, guardian of the Keep's Nursery, and famous for being able to send the most obstinate student scurrying away with a single glare.

Thane raised his hand for silence, and the crowd complied. Lyra and Hex peered between the sea of heads, wondering what the two had to say.

"I'd like to formally welcome you all to the annual Keep Halloween Celebration." began Thane, leading to a round of applause. When the magis settled again, he continued. "We invite you all to partake of the food and drink that our kitchen staff have prepared." He smiled. "And just have fun. Dance with somebody. Try the mead. No dancing on the tables, though." The crowd laughed.

Belmos stepped forward. "We'd also like to announce a contest that will be held through the month of October. We would like to see what kind of storytellers we have in our midst. The aim of the contest will be to create the best Halloween-themed short story out of all the applicants. The winner will receive a prize of several eggs from exceedingly rare creatures." He bowed. "Thank you, and goodnight."

As the two, left the stage, the crowd resumed it's hum of conversation, now with a distinctly excited tone. Lyra turned to Hex, ideas already flashing through her mind. "Think I'd have a shot at that?" An avid writer-in-training, Lyra figured that even she might have a chance at winning the contest.

Hex shrugged. "Sure, why not? I don't think I'll be submitting one, though."
"Aw, why not? You tell me stories you make up all the time."
"Telling them is a whole lot easier than writing them, at least for me." He glanced over Lyra's shoulder. "Oh look, there they are."

Approaching them were two other students. Both short, blond, and blue-eyed, Kerra and Joraan were, surprisingly, unrelated. Kerra, who had come as a witch, had long hair that frizzed out slightly, framing a round face with shy blue eyes, contrasting with Joraan's short hairstyle and his constant, slightly-bemused expression. He had gone with skeleton makeup like Thane had, but wasn't as richly adorned, still wearing his student robes. A fluffy-maned dark minicorn trailed Kerra, and a hellhound padded next to Joraan. Lyra waved them over. "How it's going, guys?" She turned her attention briefly to their creature companions. "Hazel. Brimstone. Good to see you." The animals nodded their greetings. Unless a magi and a creature were bonded, it was difficult to communicate using mental methods.
"Good." said Kerra quietly in response to her question. "Are you going to enter that contest?"
"Sure am." replied Lyra. "You?"
"If I can think of an idea, maybe."
"Oh, speaking of ideas, I read your poem. It was really good!" As Lyra reached into her bag to retrieve the paper and return Kerra's poem, her fingers brushed another scroll. "Oh no."
"What?" asked Joraan curiously.
"My report on gryphon nesting habits! That was due today for Belmos's class!" The old Nursery keeper was a stickler for late work. She'd likely get a scolding for turning it in hours late, but it'd be even worse if it was a full day late. "I'll be right back, you guys." Before her friends could protest, she dashed off, ducking elbows and dodging rambunctious partygoers as she attempted to find Belmos in the crowd.

A glimpse of white hair caught her attention and she changed her course, fingers fumbling inside her satchel for the scroll. Fenris trotted ahead of her, using his bulk to clear a path, but their progress remained slow. She watched Belmos leave the hall and duck down a side passage, and groaned. He moved annoyingly fast for an old man.

She only caught glimpses of him as he moved through the Keep. When he turned onto the staircase that led to his private studies, she hesitated. Students weren't allowed in a master's quarters unless sent for. I won't be in there for long, she told herself, I just need to give him the dang scroll.

She followed him up the stairs, but when she reached the top, she heard voices, causing her to stop again. One was clearly Belmos, and the other...Thane? Interrupting a meeting between the two would be incredibly rude, not to mention likely to get her in a heap of trouble. Motioning for Fenris to stay put by the stairs, she crept down the hallway, peeking into the study.

Yes, there were Belmos and his wolves, and Thane, with their backs to her, facing an odd-looking device. Their bodies blocked most of it, but she could see a flash of metal, and hear a faint humming sound. Belmos spoke again.
"And you're sure it'll do the job?"
Thane's voice was calm as always. "I've spent the whole year squirreling away energy into it. Have faith, old friend, the Keep will remain safe for another year."
Lyra frowned. Safe from what?
Outside, thunder rumbled. The wind was bringing a storm in. But that thunderclap had sounded odd. Malicious, almost, like growling.

Belmos's head whipped towards the window. "Aye," he growled, his voice suddenly hard, "we hear you out there. And you're not getting in. Not this year, not any year."
"We should hurry." said Thane urgently. He moved, and Lyra guessed he had put his hands on whatever strange machine was sitting in Belmos's study. Lyra heard a click, then a humming. Dust motes began to stir in the air.

At the same time, her nose began to itch. Oh no, she mentally groaned, trying not to sneeze, to no avail. The dust must have gotten into her nose.

"Achoo!"

The two white wolves immediately whirled, snarling savagely. Startled, Thane jerked, and the machine made a metallic clanking noise. The humming rose, then suddenly died away.

A cold stone of dread settled in Lyra's stomach. Somehow, she got the feeling she had caused something to go very wrong. She backed away and turned to run, but the direwolves caught up to her, flanking her on both sides. Their teeth looked very, very large. In a blur of brown, Fenris stood in front of her, hackles up, lips curled to reveal his own fangs, but the two seemed unimpressed. Lyra pressed herself against the wall as Belmos and Thane exited the study. Belmos's face was dark with anger, while Thane's normally calm expression was tainted by worry. "You!" growled Belmos, and Lyra wanted to sink into the wall. "What'd you see?" he demanded.
"I-I...Nothing!" she protested. "I just n-need to turn in this paper, a-and..."
"Belmos." said Thane quietly, gently pushing him aside. "Call your wolves off, if you please."
Belmos glared, but barked a command, and the direwolves moved to heel beside him, although their pink eyes remained fixed on her. Thane turned back to Lyra, smiling gently. "What's your name?"
"Lyra." she managed. "Sir."
"I'm not going to punish you, Lyra. But we need to know what you saw here."
For a moment, Lyra considered declaring her innocence again, then sighed in defeat. "I heard you two talking. I saw a bit of that machine, and I heard the thunder growl. And then I heard the machine start humming, and then die away when I sneezed."
"Would you like to know what the machine does?"
"Thane!" said Belmos, eyes wide.
"Now Belmos. Leaving her curious will only lead to trouble later. We will tell her," his eyes went back to Lyra, "provided she swears not to tell anyone else."
She could only nod her head mutely.
Thane stepped away, gesturing for her to follow him into the study. "This machine," he began, "is a warding device."
"I've heard of those." she said, "but most wards are just something small, like a pebble with a spell put on it." From up close, she could see that the thing was mostly made of twisted bars of metal, like a cage of sorts, and rested on a desk. Within the cage was a large opal.
"Yes, but those are designed only to protect one person. This is for protecting the entire Keep."
"From what?"
From outside, the thunder rumbled again, this time closer. Thane nodded his head towards the window. "That. Them."
"Who are 'them'?"
"Have you ever heard one of those old Halloween stories about monsters and spooks invading our world during Halloween?"
"Yeah, but I thought-" Lyra's eyes widened as she realized what he was getting at. "Oh no."
"Precisely. During Halloween, our dimension, the is, becomes dangerously close to another, the dimension of should not be. It's a shadow world, of sorts. Or a mirror. But one that takes an image and twists it, reflecting back a falsehood."
"Like a funhouse mirror."
"Aye." said Belmos. "But there's nothing fun about this particular mirror."
"Belmos is right." said Thane. "We've been conducting this ritual in secret every year to protect the Keep and the towns, cities, and villages it guards."
"But why keep it secret?" asked Lyra.
"Can you imagine how many hotheaded warriors or magis would end up getting themselves killed every Halloween by dark creatures? Or what if one of our enemies discovered it? They'd destroy the machine, perhaps even find a way to open a permanent gate to the mirror world." He sighed. "Shadows still slip in, but we've managed to keep this land relatively safe for years. Tonight, however, we will not have it's protection. You see, the final calibrations require the mind to be free of fear. These shadows feed on it."
"And so when I sneezed... " groaned Lyra.
"You frightened me, yes. I was afraid a spy had discovered the ward. And so it sort-circuited." His hand rested on the metal surface. "I will need time to repair it, but we have to keep the Keep protected while I do so." He looked back at Belmos. "Round up the other masters and tell them to be on guard. Make sure everybody, especially the students, stay in the Keep." His face was grave. "The villages will have to manage. They have their own creatures. With luck, the shadows will concentrate here, in hopes of destroying the warding device permanently."
"How is that lucky?" muttered Belmos. He turned his glare back on Lyra. "Forget the essay. Go back downstairs, and don't breath a word of this to anybody." When Lyra hesitated, he growled again. "Go!"
She skittered through the hall and down the stairs, with Fenris in tow. When she paused in a hallway to lean against a wall and catch her breath, his head bumped gently against her hand. You're shaking.
"You don't say." mumbled Lyra. "I just caused the Keep to possibly get overrun by creatures from another dimension. "
It'll be fine. Thane and the masters will take care of everything.
"And what if they can't?"
An apprentice wouldn't be able to do any better, said Fenris sternly. I don't mean that to be cruel, but you need to leave this to the professionals.
Lyra sighed, pushing off from the wall and returning to the party.

As soon as she entered the great hall, she was immediately surrounded by her friends. "Where the heck were you?" demanded Hex. "Did you lose him or something?"
Lyra opened her mouth, and immediately said something she knew she would regret.

"We have a problem."

-End of part 1-

"Let me get this straight." said Hex. "You managed to indirectly break a warding device responsible for keeping the Keep and it's fiefs safe from shadow creatures."
"Yes." mumbled Lyra, head in her hands. She was sitting on one of the many couches in the great hall, her friends surrounding her. Kerra sat beside her, one hand on her shoulder, and Fenris's head rested on her knees. She had relayed the events of the night to her friends, and it hadn't gone over well.
She heard a thunk as Joraan's forehead hit the wall. "And not only did you do that, you told us after you promised the two most important people in the Keep that you'd keep it a secret."
Lyra raised her head to give him a baleful look. "Oh, so I was supposed to not tell you about the potentially deadly demons that are going to be wreaking havoc tonight?"
Joraan grumbled something, followed by a series of further thunks as his head methodically thumped against the wall.
"Joraan, that's enough." scolded Kerra, then looked back at Lyra. "Everything's going to be fine. Besides, if the dimensions only cross for one night, how bad can it be?" She jumped as thunder rumbled outside the Keep again, louder and closer. The ebb of conversation around them temporarily hushed, then returned with a scattering of laughter. Lyra gazed helplessly over the oblivious crowds of people and creatures. She was just supposed to sit here and do nothing, after she had screwed up?

Suddenly, a quiet growling drew her attention. But it wasn't Fenris this time. Instead, it was Brimstone, Joraan's hellhound. His head was craned upwards, eyes locked on something. She followed his gaze up to the high, arched ceiling of the hall. In one of the highest windows, she could see faint movement. The shadows outside gradually resolved themselves into something fluttering and black. "Guys." she said, a chill going down her spine. "What is that?"

"A bat?" guessed Hex.
Joraan looked down at Brimstone suddenly, and Lyra guessed the two had just spoken. "Uh-uh. Brim says that whatever it is, it's got dark magic about it." he said, confirming her guess. Lyra wasn't surprised that the hellhound would have been able to deduce that. A dark creature as well, albeit one carefully trained and nurtured from a pup to stand firmly on the side of good, Brimstone could sense the presence of other creatures aligned with dark magic. It came as naturally to him as Kerra's minicorn Hazel picking up on emotions. There was a ringing of steel next to her as Hex drew his sword. "Promise or not," he said, "If those things get in here, we're in trouble." He looked at the others. "I say we give the masters a helping hand."
"Hex," protested Lyra, "if they find out we're getting involved in this, we're toast."
"They don't have to know. We'll just walk around the Keep, make sure everyone's windows are shut and such. And if something happens to get in..." He shrugged. "We're not defenseless."
"Windows aren't going to keep those things out." said Joraan grimly, sliding out his own sword.

Lyra felt like hitting her head against the wall. Still, the guys had a point. She stood up, motioning for Kerra to do the same. "Fine. But afterwards, we're staying here." They followed Hex and Kerra out of the hall, making their way towards the student dormitories.

-----

A couple stories off the ground, the storm seemed to rage even more. As the four magis and their creatures crept down one of the hallways, Lyra found herself jumping at every little noise. The dorms were large, and the outer hallways were lined with windows. They checked all the latches, ensuring they would hold tight against wind and monster alike. "That's the last of them." said Lyra, giving the large bay window at the edge of the hall a cursory shake. "Nothing's getting in here."

Which was precisely when something got in there.

One moment, she heard the wind pick up, and the next, glass shattered behind them. The students whirled in time to be faced with a pair of dark-colored things, shaking glass off themselves. They resembled bats, but as one's head swiveled to face her, Lyra saw it's open jaws lined with long, needlike teeth and eyes as yellow as sulfur. The things shrieked, leaping off the floor and spreading their large, leathery wings. For a moment, Lyra stood paralyzed with fear, until blind instinct kicked in. Reaching deep within her for the flow of magic, she slung a bolt of energy at one, knocking it back against the wall with an electric crackle. With a shout, Hex took the next, swinging his sword and slashing it across the wing. It dropped the floor but didn't stop, instead scuttling towards him on all fours, using the thumb-claws of it's wings as front legs and hissing like a demented cat. Hex danced backwards, away from the bleeding creature, until Joraan's vicious downward stab pinned it to the floor.

Lyra scanned the hall, bloodstream still buzzing with magic and adrenaline, but it seemed that all was quiet. "I think that's the last of them."

It wasn't the last of them.

Long black fingers suddenly gripped the edges of the broken window. As the students and their creatures bunched together, a hideous-looking creature hauled itself through the opening. Followed by another, and another, and another, until at least eight of the monstrosities faced them. Lyra saw pointed noses and long ears, red eyes and hunched bodies. All carried weapons of some sort. Literal bats out of hell, and now goblins? "Oh come on..."
As if sensing her dismay, several of the goblins laughed mockingly, then charged, leaping into the air with unnerving agility. Lyra screwed her eyes shut, waiting for the blow that never came. Instead, a humming filled the air, and she opened one eye to see that a field of golden light had surrounded them in a dome. Beside her, Kerra stood with her arms outstretched, eyes shut in concentration. Hazel stood beside her, jawbone resting on Kerra's shoulder, sharing her energy with her magi. Lyra had known her friend was skilled with light and protection magic, but Kerra was really on top of her game tonight. The ward held the goblins at bay, zapping any who touched it.
"That's not gonna hold forever." said Hex, holding his sword in front of him with both hands. He was right. Beads of sweat stood out on Kerra's brow, and Lyra doubted it wouldn't be more than a few minutes until she had to stop, even with Hazel's help. Talented as she was, she was still just a child. An idea suddenly came to her. "Kerra, can you do a point beam?"
"Um, we've been practicing," she managed through gritted teeth, "But I haven't done much with it yet."
"Well, I think you need to do one now."
Kerra's eyes opened. "Lyra, I don't think I can--"
"Yes, you can. Now!"
Kerra set her jaw. "I'll try." She moved her hands down to the center of the field, palm out. Points of light suddenly appeared in the field, and she began to move them together, picking certain ones while leaving the others, essentially stitching a spell together. But as each point joined the shape forming at the center of the field, the ward began to waver. The goblins charged again, and while Kerra, Hex, and Joraan could fend them off with lobbed spells or stabbing blades, they always massed again, striking out with their own weapons. Fenris and Brimstone snapped and snarled at them, while Sannus hurled chattering abuse from Hex's shoulder.

"Almost got it," said Kerra, placing the last point at the very center of the circle she was forming, just as the shield went out. But the points of light remained, beginning to glow brighter. With a high-pitched whine, a beam of light shot out from the center of the circle, smashing into the goblin horde and pitching them all about the hall. "Now!" shouted Lyra, spells crackling to life in her hands, "Hit them while they're stunned!"

The group charged, clashing with the goblins. Lyra and Kerra hurled spells left and right, setting the goblins on fire or electrocuting them, while Hex and Joraan struck with their blades. "You know," said Joraan to the goblin he was fighting as he sidestepped it's mace blow, "I thought you'd all be a little tougher than this. It must be such a heavy burden, being on the front lines like this, while everyone else lags behind, and you're weighed down with these idiots and hey, aren't your arms getting tired?" True enough, the goblin's blows became slower and weaker as Joraan's signature spell took effect. For someone who rarely spoke, Joraan was surprisingly good at verbal magic. Seeing an opening in the creature's guard, Joraan stabbed it through the chest and kicked it off his blade, and the creature gurgled out a last breath and went silent. "Did I ever tell you how scary it is that you can literally talk someone to death?" asked Lyra, grappling with another goblin.
"You could mention it more often." said Joraan smugly.

But there was no time for banter. Lyra's world became a maelstrom of enemies and blows, bright flashes of spells and the shrieking of metal on metal. Several times, she felt pain shoot up her body, but she hardly registered it through the haze of adrenaline. It was only when Fenris grabbed the last goblin and shook it like a rat to snap it's neck did she stop, breathing hard. Ten bodies lay before them, and the hall was splotched with black blood and burns on the walls. Rain spattered them through the open window, and the wind howled mockingly. She tried to take a step and hissed in pain. A quick examination showed she had shallow but painful gashes on her legs and sides, as well as a nasty bruise forming on her hip. The others were injured as well, but thankfully, none of it was serious. She sat down heavily, running a hand through her hair. "We're done for." she mumbled. "If there's going to be more of the coming, the Keep's going to go down." She felt a hand on her shoulder once again, this time Hex's. "I don't know if you noticed," he said, "but we just took out ten monsters on our own, and we're just students. If those things think attacking a castle full of magic-users and their magical pets, they've made a mistake."

Lyra was about to reply when rapid footsteps drew her attention. Margret, one of the dorm wardens, had bustled into the hall to examine the ruckus, and nearly screamed when she saw the mess. "What in blazes happened here?" she demanded, striding forward. Margret was known for being a strict woman, but at the moment, Lyra was glad to have her, especially since the warden, a magi herself, was skilled in healing magic.

Even so, a small lie was in order. "I don't know." she said weakly as Margret went to work mending their wounds. "We were going to the party, and then some sort of monsters smashed through the window and attacked us."
Margret tutted. "You poor dears. I'll get up a temporary barrier spell and see to getting it fixed." When she had mended the last scrape and formed a barrier of glassy magic over the broken pane, she shooed them off. "Go on and join the party, loves. Belmos is going to get an earful about this, mark my words." Before Lyra could protest, the woman was off again in a rustle of skirts.

As the group tromped dejectedly down the stairway, Lyra found herself worrying for the Keep again. These small creatures had to be some sort of vanguard for more dangerous ones. Vampires. Ghosts. Demons. If things like those were running rampant...

She shivered.

They could hear the party long before they reentered the hall, but something was different. There was a faint tone of anticipation in the air.
"Who are they?" asked Hex, drawing Lyra's attention.

In the center of the room was a group of people Lyra didn't recognize. All of them were pale and slender, and wore simple black clothing with orange sashes tied around their elbows, waists, and knees. A smaller group of similarly-dressed people had taken over the musicians' stands, leaving the original players to stand in an annoyed huddle off to the side.
The people in the center stood perfect still and straight, arranged in a wide circle. "Dancers, I guess?" answered Lyra. But since when did the Keep book entertainment? As she listened to the chatter around here, it seemed nobody else knew who they were either. They had shown up announced, making their way to the center of the hall with cool confidence. The musicians finished tuning up, then lifted smooth black instruments and began to play.

(Author's note: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Oh5Bcyt2LM This song is the one that I listened to while writing this section. Obviously, electric guitars would not be present in the story, but it sets the tone I imagined while writing.)

As one, the dancers lifted their arms, made four leaps to the center of the circle, and began to dance.

Lyra was transfixed. They moved seemingly without rhythm, yet remained perfectly coordinated with eachother as they whirled, ducked, and leapt. It reminded her of ballet, but different somehow. Faster. Wilder. The entire hall had gone quiet as they danced, and as she looked out of the corner of her eye, she saw her friends were as hypnotized as she was. Even their creatures were still, staring intently at the dancers.

The music increased in fervor. The dances moved faster and faster, becoming a mass of black with darting flicks of orange like shooting stars. One of the dancers paused for a few heartbeats to face the crowd, and Lyra saw black eyes and pointed teeth in a smile. But she felt no fear. How could she?

It was all so beautiful. So mesmerizing.

She was dimly aware of a dark cloud forming in the center of the dancers, and felt a slight tug towards the smoke. The music seemed impossibly fast, the dancers moving with inhuman grace and speed. Her mind slurred, slowed, darkened.

Just before she all but lost consciousness, she saw Brimstone, every hair on his body standing on end, give Joraan a swift nip on the hand. He jumped, as if snapping out of a trance, and glared down at the hellhound in anger. But as some unheard communication passed through them once again, his eyes darted up to the metal chandelier high above them, glowing with candles.

Through a haze of dark, Lyra saw him draw back his hand, a ball of energy glowing in his grip, and sling it up to the chandelier...

Saw it fall, down, down, down...

And directly into the center of the dancers.

A thunderous crash echoed through the hall, punctuated with screams and a cacophony of screeches, squawks, and yelps from the resident creatures. Lyra, dazed, nearly fell to the floor, and it was only Fenris slipping his back under her arm that stopped her from crumpling. Her head swam, and she felt dizzy, like she had just woken up or hadn't eaten in days. She saw Hex and Kerra looking woozy as well, and Joraan striding towards them.

"What happened?" mumbled Kerra, fingers wound in Hazel's mane. "I feel like I was in a dream."
"Or a nightmare." grumbled Hex, clutching at his head. With no large creature to support him, he had fallen and smacked the back of his head on the floor. Sannus clung to his chest, eyes wide with fear.
"Their teeth sort of made me think 'vampire'" said Lyra, shakily standing up on her own, even as Fenris remained close. "Although you don't think of vampires as being good dancers." She looked over at Joraan. "How'd you tear yourself away from it?"
He patted Brimstone. "He was able to resist the hypnosis anyway because he's a dark creature, and when he bit me, I guess I got mad enough to fight it off myself." The hellhound gave a self-satisfied snort. Fenris rolled his eyes. Lyra looked back towards the center of the hall and frowned. There was no sign of the dancers in the crowd, and the muscian's stage was now empty. Whatever they were, they were gone for the moment. "What do you think they were trying to do?"
"Open up some sort of portal, maybe?" guessed Hex. "To let something into the Keep. Or maybe drag us to wherever they came from?" He took out his sword again and produced a whetstone from a pouch on his belt, and began sharpening the sword with a vengeance. "Either way, they've gotten their warning. We're not going down without a fight." As if to mock him, for a brief few moments the wind and rain picked up outside. Lyra heard it rattling the windows even over the din of the hall. She shook her head. "Look, this is out of our hands. I'm going to go find Thane and Belmos and tell them what happened."

It seemed that she wouldn't have to look far. As she turned to go back to Belmos's study, she saw Belmos entering the hall, making a beeline for the center, where the wrecked chandelier still held smoking candles. "What happened here?" demanded Belmos of nobody in particular. As soon as he saw Lyra and her friends, his brows drew together like stormclouds. If Lyra had had a tail, she would have put it between her legs and slunk out of the room. She considered lying to Belmos like she had to Margret, but decided against it, considering he already knew about the ward and the monsters. "Sir," she managed to squeak out, "I think they got in." Before Belmos could reply, however, there was a howling sound from outside the Keep. Clouds of darkness swirled about the windows as if the storm was converging on the very building. Before Lyra's terrified gaze, grosteque creatures burst through the windows, stepping among the glass to flank the partygoers. She saw the bony figures of skeletons next to what looked like shambling corpses. Goblins. Vampires with fanged grins. Gaunt hags with clawlike nails. Beasts of all sorts, none of which she had a name for.

The crowd immediately started screaming again.

Belmos reacted with the speed of a trained warrior. He immediately threw up a barrier spell, blocking the mob of horrors from advancing further. "Guards, draw your arms!" he shouted. Out of the crowd stepped several magi older than Lyra, all armed, with a flinty look in their eyes. Many were followed by large, dangerous-looking creatures; Direwolves, chupacabras, nandi bears. These were the Keep's professional warriors, the spellswords who protected the Keep in times of danger, rare as those times were. Tonight, however, Lyra was reminded why they kept themselves in fighting condition.

The warriors immediately flanked Belmos, presenting a deadly phalanx of weapons, claws, and fangs to the invading monsters. Lyra looked over her shoulder. Several teachers were attempting to shepherd the students and noncombatants out of harm's way. Part of her wanted to join the fleeing mob, and she almost did. But something made her stop, made her straighten her spine. This was her mess. She had screwed this all up, and now she had to put things back in order. She turned to Belmos, fists balled in determination. "I want to help." Behind her, her friends voiced their assertions as well. Belmos opened his mouth to disagree, but as the monsters began to hammer at the barrier, driven back only by the guard's spells, he sighed. "Keep in the back of the formation." he said, gritting his teeth. He dropped the barrier, and the battle for the Keep began.

Immediately, the monsters charged forward in a howling wave, and the warriors surged forward to meet them. The two forces clashed with a cacophony of noise as the humans and their companions traded blows with undead abominations. For a moment, the Keep's defenders seemed to pierce through the line of monsters like a spear, but slowly, as more and more of them leapt through the windows, they were pushed back across the wide floor, then to the stairs, where they bunched together in a stubborn mass. Lyra and her friends tried to help where they could, guarding the flanks and holding off any monsters that tried to sneak behind them. They're trying to get to the ward, she realized. A quick check of the warriors in front of her showed that many were exhausted, not to mentioned scared nearly out of their wits at fighting creatures that weren't supposed to exist. How long could they hold their ground, especially when every beast they slew was immediately replaced by another?

She looked up as a rumbling began above them. Streaming in through the broken glass was another cloud of darkness, but this seemed more solid than before. Two red eyes opened in the fog as it took shape, forming the rough outline of a draconian body, but skeletal, with huge wings spread wide. "Looks like this is it." she heard Hex say beside her, "I suppose if I had to choose a way to die, this would be a bit more glorifying than getting run over by a cart."

Lyra had begun to contemplate her own death as well, when something caught her attention. Within the dragon's chest seemed to be a faint red glow. It peeked out between the black ribs like a target.

Target...

"Kerra, make another point beam."
"Lyra, I don't think there's any use at this poi--"
"I've got an idea, just do it. Joraan, you're the one in archery class, help Kerra aim it." She pointed a finger at the dragon's chest. "You see that glow? Right there." She glanced at Hex. "Make sure nothing gets to Kerra while she's weaving the spell."
"Got it." He immediately took up a position next to her, his sword held at the ready. A toothy bat dive-bombed him, and he stabbed his sword upwards, impaling it. Grimacing, he pushed the thing off his sword. "I hate bats."

Lyra kept her eyes on the dragon and the monsters below it. This had to work, it just had to. Slinging fireballs had left her exhausted, and even Fenris's tongue was lolling. The monsters just seemed to keep coming, fighting tirelessly in their quest to overrun the small force defending the stairway and swarm up to Belmos's study, where the ward was. Several humans had already fallen, but whether they were dead or simply unconscious, she couldn't tell.

"Got it!" came Kerra's affirmation. "Okay," said Lyra, "Now fire!" There was a high-pitched humming behind her, and a beam of light lanced up, scoring a direct hit on the dragon's chest. It threw back it's head and roared, an unearthly sound that shook the building and forced Lyra to clap her hands over her ears. The monstrocities seemed to affected as well, writhing and screeching. The dragon's smoking form seemed to expand until it's head nearly touched the ceiling, then shrunk down like a star going supernova. A blast of energy swept over the guards, and when the smoke cleared, Lyra saw the monsters strewn about on the floor. Not a single one moved. Behind them was the dragon's enormous corpse, wisps of black smoke still curling off it's skeletal frame.

For a moment, there was silence, and then a thunderous cheer rose up from the warriors. The celebration would be short lived, however, as the dragon began to move again. Before their eyes, it rose once more, spreading it's wings wide and glaring down at the humans. The monsters began to stir as well, picking themselves up as if the beam hadn't affected them. "Well," said Joraan, "we tried."

Just as the creatures massed to attack again, Lyra's ears caught another faint humming sound. But it wasn't Kerra this time. The humming grew in intensity, and suddenly another wave of energy passed over them, but this time it came from behind and above, passing through the walls of the Keep as if they were transparent. It slammed into the monsters, dissolving them into black smoke. Even the dragon was destroyed, leaving a large black cloud still holding the vague form of an enormous beast, head back, maw wide open. Within moments, the Keep was clear of monsters.

They all turned as Thane made his way down the stairs, face stained with soot but glowing in triumph. "I got it fixed," he said with a grin.

-----

The next day dawned crisp and clear. The soot was scrubbed off the walls, the windows were mended, and the injured had their wounds tended to. Belmos and Thane had managed to calm down the denizens of the Keep, explaining that the attack was a simple magical anomaly, the result of a spell cast by a distant, unknown magi gone awry. Lyra doubted anybody truly bought it, but it was either that, or tell everyone about the ward. She and her friends relaxed on the Keep's lawns, glad that nobody held classes the day after the party. Privately, she liked to think that it was because the teachers were usually just as exhausted as the students after staying up all night.

Fenris lay next to her, massive head resting on massive paws. Her friends were nearby, playing with their own creatures, aside from Joraan, who was asleep on the grass. Brimstone had gone back to Voltar for the winter, along with many other fire creatures. A young noctis enox gamboled nearby, one of Lyra's newest creatures. "Here, Tepeki," she said, clicking her tongue. The dragonlike equine kicked up it's heels and trotted towards her to accept a bit of dried jerky from her hand. Lyra kept her fingers out of the way, mindful of his sharp teeth, and scratched his neck as he chewed.
"Got a plot for your story yet?" asked Hex beside her, Sannus curled up on his chest as he lay in the grass. Lyra looked up at the towering Keep, remembering the events of the past night. She thought about her friends, and how they had fought together. She thought about the monsters themselves.

She took a quill, a tightly-closed inkwell, and a blank scroll out of her satchel. "I think I've got an idea."

The End