Chapter Nine: Expulsion

The soft morning hours before the school day began were reserved for the teachers. The few precious hours were spent discussing classes, students, and any other topic they wanted to share. The cooking staff was always the first to rise. They, too, found relaxing peace in those hours before the students swarmed in the dining area. The table would be set and little by little the teachers would trickle in.

The headmistress Lorenta smiled at her teachers. They could only manage sleepy nods in return, but the gesture was appreciated. Her eye roamed over the assembled adults and paused. A frown creased her mouth and her eyes swept them a second time. Her familiar, usually as calm as its mistress, flapped its wings in agitation.

"Why, we are missing someone," she said at last. "He is usually so punctual. It is very peculiar."

"Perhaps he's sick," one suggested.

"Yes, that could be," Lorenta agreed. "He must be very sick if he cannot send his familiar. I shall have to check on him." She pushed aside her half-eaten meal and elegantly rose from the table. Some of the other teachers shifted uncertainly in their chairs but she assured them she needed no escort, and went off alone.

Her heels clicked loudly in the otherwise silent hallway. Now that she was away from her staff, Lorenta's calm mask fell away to reveal one stricken with worry and confusion. It was only human for one of her teachers to fall ill, but it was very distressing to think that the illness prevented him from sending his familiar with a message of his sickness. Her mind searched for possible afflictions that could so weaken a sorcerer. When she arrived at the teacher's door, she still came up with no answer to the riddle.

Lorenta knocked politely on the door. She waited, but received no answer. "Hello?" she called out. "This is Headmistress Lorenta. If you can hear me, please make a noise." She allowed a pause but still heard nothing in reply. Her worry grew and she reached forward to try the doorknob. It was unlocked and relented under her hand. She pushed the door open.

Her hands flew to her mouth to stifle the scream about to escape. The teacher's room was in disarray, and there on the ground was the man. His punctured and burned body gave no hope that he could still be alive. Lorenta shut her eyes against the sight and took a few calming breaths before opening them again. The room stank of decay and burnt flesh. The headmistress had to quickly exit the room before she became ill.

It took a great deal of self-control for Lorenta to remain calm and walk back to the dining area. Her familiar wheeled around her head, shrieking the panic Lorenta refused to submit to. On her return, all of the teachers rose to their feet. The distress of her familiar alarmed them but they did not press Lorenta to speak.

"I need all of you to come with me," she said in a steady voice. "Something unthinkable has happened, and we must decide on a course of action." The teachers trusted in their headmistress enough to abstain from questions, and quietly obeyed. Lorenta's steps now were purposeful as she led her teachers back to her office. As she walked she composed in her mind what she wished to say. Not a word was spoken until they were all inside the headmistress's office with the door shut.

"What's happened, headmistress?"

"My friends, one of our colleagues has been murdered," Lorenta stated. Alarm surged up in the aftermath of the statement. Lorenta carefully observed their faces and discerned true shock and horror in them all. She felt a great relief, and a great fear all at once: none of the teachers committed the murder, but that only left students as suspects.

"How can you be sure he was murdered?"

"The puncture wounds on his body came from magic," she replied. "Very powerful magic at that. We will have to make a further investigation to see if the killer left any evidence, but we must all accept the fact that one of our students has committed this atrocious act."

"Headmistress, you can't possibly think a student would do this!"

"As I said, we will investigate further," Lorenta answered calmly. "For the moment, we must discuss a course of action. We need to move the body; that much is certain. But what are we to do about classes? I do not wish to have the students in a panic until we know more about this."

"We will do whatever you think is best, headmistress," said one teacher, and her fellows agreed en mass. She gave them a smile of thanks and considered the matter.

"The only option is to continue on as if nothing was wrong," she concluded. "If we cancel classes the students might be suspicious, and we can also lull the killer into a false sense of security. We will tell the students that all of the classes taught by our departed friend are canceled due to an illness he contracted. All of you must not give the students any indication that something has happened."

"Of course, of course," they assured her. Lorenta glanced to her clock and saw they still had some time before students started waking up.

"Two of you will come with me. We must bury the body before the students awake."

Her teachers praised her for being so collected in such a disastrous time, but really she was only acting as any leader would in a crisis. The burial and final rites went much faster than was traditional, but they couldn't risk performing the full ceremony. While her teachers focused on the day ahead, Lorenta went back to the scene of the crime. A window had been opened to dissolve the smell but the rest was left as it had been when she found the body.

Books were torn off the shelves and flung open on the floor. The desk's drawers were open and empty. A cabinet, where the teacher kept his potions and powders, had its door open and it too was cleaned out. Lorenta searched desperately for a torn piece of cloth, a shoe print in the dried blood, anything to help her discover the killer. Her only helpful clues were marks of magic left behind.

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Lezard was making his way to class when he noticed a crowd of students huddled around a closed classroom. He spotted Mystina in the crowd and moved to join her. The classroom door had a note posted, stating that all classes were canceled due to the teacher's illness. Some students were drawing closer to be sure the sign was real. Mystina flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned to leave.

"Oh, Lezard! Isn't this great?" She nodded to the notice. "One less thing keeping me from my research. You have this teacher too, don't you?"

"Indeed, I do," he responded. "It is such a pity that he had to fall ill. We were discussing Ghoul Powder, and I rather looked forward to the next lesson." Mystina rolled her eyes.

"Why can't you enjoy a break from class like normal people?" He merely smiled in answer. "Say, we both have some free time. Want to do anything?"

"I'm afraid my schedule is full, Mysty," Lezard replied. "Now that I have free hours, I wish to spend it on my own research. You may enjoy your freedom as you wish."

"Freak," the girl muttered. Lezard heard her, and grinned wider. Suddenly the headmistress's familiar came flying down the hallway. All students stopped what they were doing to watch it disappear around the corner. "What was that about?" Mystina wondered.

"I'm sure I have no idea," Lezard shrugged, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I will see you at lunch, Mysty." He waved to her and headed off. Mystina nodded in return before hurrying away as well. The freak did have a point: now was a good time to focus on her research.

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Lorenta glanced down the list of names she asked her teachers to provide for her. These names were the top ten students in the school and the ones most likely to know the spells that killed the teacher. She did not like to believe that one of her students consciously murdered another human being, but so far the evidence was forcing her to that conclusion. She would have to put her emotions aside and focus on finding the killer.

One at a time, the ten students would be called to her office. Lorenta hated deception, but it was necessary to conduct this business. She made up excuses for their presence in her office and carefully eased into discussing the previous day. She knew all of these students for years know, and her knowledge as a teacher helped her pick up on subtle movements or inflections of voice that suggested guilt.

She crossed off names from the list once assured that they were not the guilty party. Lorenta felt relieved at the dwindling list of suspects. Perhaps she had overreacted in her judgment, and perhaps the true culprit was outside the school walls. Such a possibility was frightening but it certainly seemed a hopeful alternative. She was in high spirits when she asked for the next student.

---

"The headmistress wishes to see me?" He tucked the note into his pocket. "Very well. I shall be there shortly." The bird familiar twittered and soared off to alert its mistress. This wasn't the first time he was summoned to the headmistress, and he felt rather annoyed that she would interrupt his studies. He sighed and headed down the familiar path to her office. He knocked, and stepped inside when asked.

"Thank you for coming, Lezard. This won't take very long."

"I hope this isn't another reprimand for skipping classes," he said in a bored voice. "I believe we have had that discussion before."

"No, it's nothing like that," the headmistress assured him. She gave him a soft, motherly smile that sent his blood boiling in anger. "In fact, I wanted to congratulate you. You're one of the top ten students at the school."

"Thank you, but I do not strive for such a lofty position." Lezard bowed his head humbly. "I merely do the best that I can do."

"Yes, I'm sure that you do, even if you don't always make it to class." Her eyes focused on his and he stared back, unwavering. "You had a canceled class today," Lorenta resumed. "I hope that you're spending your free time wisely."

"You needn't worry about that, headmistress. I always make very good use of my time." His eyes were attempting to read her just as she attempted to read him. He felt he was beginning to understand the true reason for this visit. "It is a pity that the teacher fell ill. I hope it is nothing serious. I am very eager to continue my studies."

"I…" He caught a flash of uncertainty in Lorenta's face before she could hide it. "I don't want you to worry about that. I have things under control."

"I'm sure that you do." His lips curled into a smirk. "We can all rest easier knowing we have such a capable headmistress." He kept his tone light, but underneath was a mocking menace that Lorenta picked up on. Her calm expression failed her.

"Lezard, what were you doing yesterday?" Ah, at last they came to the heart of the matter. He wondered how many students she asked this question before coming to him. He smirked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Gathering material for research," he responded. The funny part was that this was actually true. "What I am researching is my own business," he went on, before Lorenta could ask more. "I am not a child." The headmistress said nothing, gazing at him with a mixture of apprehension and motherly compassion. His anger rose alarmingly, so much that it summoned his familiar.

"Lezard…" Lorenta struggled for calm, her familiar twittering uncertainly. "I only asked out of curiosity." Something in her tone frustrated Lezard so much he abandoned pretense and spoke his thoughts.

"Deceit does not become you, headmistress. I know very well why you asked me here, and the meaning behind these questions! Shall I save us both a great deal of time and tell you what happened yesterday?" Lorenta was struck dumb, but Lezard continued anyway. He felt a sense of triumph in confessing his deed and shattering the headmistress's notions. "I went to visit a certain teacher yesterday. I wanted something from him that he wasn't willing to give, so I killed him."

"You--!"

"Yes, one of your precious students has taken a human life! What will you do about it, dear headmistress?" Lezard taunted. He smirked watching the older woman squirm under the revelation. His action had been for his own gain but he did enjoy the effect it had on the headmistress.

"It was a gross misuse of your power," Lorenta stated. She was still struggling for composure, but it was a losing battle. "Taking a life for selfish reasons is inexcusable. You will need to leave the school grounds at once and never come back. I think that is the worst punishment I can give to one who treasures knowledge so highly."

Lezard did not make a verbal response. His familiar screeched angrily, knocking books off of the headmistress's shelves. It eventually calmed and perched on its master's shoulder. Lezard smiled at Lorenta for the last time as her student.

"Farewell, then. Perhaps we will meet again." He turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.