Ricky woke up at 5:00 a.m. with his shirt off and his blankets all over the place. He was at the end of his bed, almost falling to the floor. His hair was matted to the back of his head and he was sweating, even though it was freezing. "Maybe I had a bad dream or something." He did. He would never forget the sights he saw the night before. Now he wondered if Duman was ok. He went down to the bathroom and took a shower, the hot water soothing his sore muscles. No one was awake yet. They still had two days until school, it was Saturday morning. He dried off, got dressed and walked down the seven winding stairways to the first floor of the medical wing. As he walked in the door, the woman at the front desk was typing something on her computer. She saw him from the corner of her eye. "Hi, I'm here to see—"

"Room 7. Go right in," she said. Ricky nodded and walked past the empty rooms until he got to where he needed to be. He was about to open the door when he saw the principal.

"Oh, hi Mr. Reynolds."

"Ricky my boy, why are you up so early?" He asked. The two were very close; the principal was good friends with his parents.

"I just woke up and came to see them," he said. His face began to darken. "How is Duman doing?" The principal looked down and sighed.

"He is alive. The nurses don't know when any of them will wake up, though. Gantlos or Anagan will probably be first. Go ahead in if you like," he said as he walked away. Ricky looked at the door and walked inside. They were all on hospital beds, each treated for their specific injury. Gantlos had a bandage on his head; Anagan had them all over and one large one that covered his left eye. Duman's leg was wrapped up, but they couldn't really do anything about his neck. Ogron had a big cast on his leg and his chest was wrapped up, even though it wouldn't help. He was hooked up to a breathing machine; he couldn't do it on his own yet. Ricky sighed, running his fingers through his short black hair. He wondered if this could have been prevented. He should have been able to do something, shouldn't he? He walked over to the window and looked out at the sunlight trickling through the trees. Unbeknownst to him, Anagan opened his eyes slowly. He couldn't see from his left eye. He put his hand up to it; there was gauze covering it. He looked around the room and watched the window. He thought he heard someone. That guy Ricky was there. Strange. He was probably here to see Ogron. His eyes got wider as he remembered the events of the previous day. He sat up quietly, using his super speed that he hadn't used since he came. He had to keep his secret, after all. He crossed his arms and spoke.

"Come for a visit?" Anagan asked, now sitting up in bed and staring at a startled Ricky. This stare was very disconcerting. Anagan wasn't moving his gaze and his eye was half closed, the red glistening in the sun. He looked like a cat who had found a new mouse.

"Dude, you scared me, I was just—"

"We aren't friends. Don't call me dude," Anagan said matter-of-factly. Harsh. Ricky always avoided him, so Anagan really didn't think of them as friends. Ricky nodded with a 'that figures' expression and looked at the others.

"What happened to you guys yesterday?" Anagan looked at the foot of his bed.

"Stuff."

"Dude—"

"No." Anagan cut him off again. He wasn't afraid of telling this guy how it is.

"Ok, but the nurses need to know so they can figure out who did this to you."

"You aren't a nurse." Ricky looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What is up with you? Do you hate me or something?"

"I don't hate you, but… Oh, how should I word this," Anagan said as he looked at the ceiling. "If you were on fire and I had a glass of water… I would drink the water." Ricky rolled his eyes.

"Alright. Do you know who did this to you?" Anagan growled deep in his throat, remembering it well.

"Yeah, it was some teacher, a fairy. At least she looked like a fairy. She acted more like a witch, though."

"That's weird, fairies are never mean," Ricky said, becoming suspicious. "Did you recognize her?"

"Nope, but she wore one of the teaching uniforms so I assumed she was a teacher. I was also watching my roommates be tortured, so I didn't stop to think about it."

"Forgot about that part. I think there's a spy in our midst," Ricky said, glancing out the window.

"Maybe. And she's deadly. Not to mention she hates us for some reason." Gantlos now sat up and rubbed his aching head. "Hey, when'd you wake up?"

"A few minutes ago, I was trying to go back to sleep but you two blockheads wouldn't shut up for two seconds."

"Glad to see you're back to your cheery self." Gantlos threw a pillow at Anagan.

"Whatever." Anagan smirked and threw it back. "Quit it."

"Make me." They kept throwing it harder and harder back and forth, usually hitting each other in the face. A smile slowly crept across Gantlos' face and soon they had both fallen back on their beds, spread eagle style, laughing their heads off. Ricky watched them, a dumbfounded grin planting itself on his face. Even with what these two had been through, they were still laughing about silly little things. They were strong enough to move on from it.

"You two amaze me," Ricky said, interrupting them. They both looked at him, extremely confused.

"Why?" Anagan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You've been through some serious shit, but you're cracking up about throwing a pillow at each other. I don't know how you do it." Anagan and Gantlos looked at each other.

"Um, that's the point of having friends," Gantlos said.

"No matter what happens, we know how to ease each other's pain," Anagan continued. Ricky wondered about these two. They were friends, but they never talked in public. So they must have talked where no one would listen to them. Maybe there was more he didn't know about them. Now that he thought about it, did he have friends like that? Anagan, Gantlos and Duman were each other's safety net; they made each other feel better in times of sadness. But they never showed emotion towards anyone. They seemed to like Ogron, probably because he made an effort to be kind to them, unlike most people there.

"It's good to have friends like that," Ricky said. He had been taught something by two kids a year younger than him. Odd. His stomach growled, he was pretty hungry from all the excitement.

"You may want to take care of that," Anagan suggested.

"Good point," he replied, heading towards the door. "You two want anything?"

"Nah, there's something about the smell of burning skin that ruins an appetite. But since we've got nothing better to do, we can tag along," Gantlos said.

"If you think you're up to it, sure." Anagan and Gantlos both stood up and got dressed. They were back to their black clothes, they didn't really like color. As they walked down the halls, people had started waking up. It was around 6:00, and some of the restless students had gotten up. They stared at the boys who went missing. They were smiling and laughing… and with Ricky? He hated them both, why was he with them? The little group went down to the dining room and got Ricky some food. Everyone was watching them, especially their injuries.

"Did Anagan go blind or something?"

"Who knows? Where are Ogron and Duman?"

"Probably at the infirmary." The dining room had now filled with the hustling and bustling of hungry students racing to get food before they ran out. The eyes of thousands of students were on them, watching everything they did. None of the trio really cared; Ricky was used to people adoring him, Anagan and Gantlos were used to people abhorring them. They just sat and talked about random stuff.

Ogron didn't really remember waking up, but he opened his eyes and was in the middle of a dark forest. There was a trail of mist leading through the dense trees. Ogron followed it; it may have been a way out. It was about ten minutes when the trail disappeared and Ogron looked around. Now, the mist had spread all around him. He couldn't see anything except a wrought-iron gate a few yards away. He went up and pushed on it. It screeched open and he walked inside. It was a large yard with a few inches of the fog covering the ground. The gate slammed shut behind him, but he couldn't open it again. Though this worried him, he kept walking up the dirt path. A giant mansion loomed over him; it was decrepit and no less than ten stories in height. The shutters were falling off of the windows, the paint was chipping, the wood that made the siding of the house was splitting, and there was a questionable wrap around patio. He was scared, of course, with all the stories he'd heard about haunted houses. Oh yeah, he'd seen Poltergeist and The Legend of Hell House, and though he didn't believe them he wasn't happy about taking the risk. There was also the annoying "what if" goblin in the back of his mind. He walked up the rasping stairs to the front door and knocked. The wood where he hit suddenly collapsed, only making his uncertainty grow. He tapped the door with the toe of his shoe and the entire thing disintegrated instantaneously. He stepped inside, greeted by cobwebs, dust and furniture seemingly from a 1400's castle. "Hello?" He called out. "Is anyone in this place?" No one answered. "I guess this place is deserted." He wandered around the house and stumbled upon a staircase. He climbed it all the way to the top floor. Up there was a giant floating ring. It was purplish-black and had four thorns projecting out of it. "That looks like part of the school crest," Ogron thought. The attic was empty except for this ring.

"Who goes there?" Ogron jumped and gaped at the object. Was it talking to him? "I now see that I have you scared. I ask who are you. Who goes there?" This thing must've liked rhyming. Ogron didn't know whether to answer or run. The ring wasn't happy. "Answer me, boy, or you'll not live! Your cold severed head to the monsters I'll give." It thundered, shaking the unstable building. Not wanting to be fed to creatures, Ogron replied, showing no fear.

"My name is Ogron your… something-ness," he said. What was he supposed to call it? This enraged the floating disc.

"I am the Black Circle; I am proud that it is so! And you have no idea of the trouble you shall know."

"I've known trouble. It's been to my house for dinner. What could you possibly do that is worse than what I've been through?" The thing laughed, violently pulsating through the house. Sawdust began to fall from the ceiling.

"It is nothing I will bring, an outside party looms! Something spelling terror for all that it consumes." Ogron raised an eyebrow. What the heck did this thing want? As if on cue, six huge shadows appeared on the wall.

"Wizard! Treacherous wizard!" One of them shouted. Ogron looked at them in fear. They each had a giant set of wings. Fairies, they were the outside party the ring mentioned.

"Run, child, they wish to kill you! If they get too close, that's it. You're through!"

Terror for all that they consume… Wizards. They spelled terror for wizards. "You are a black spot in the glorious history of White Thorne! Your kind is not accepted!"

"And for knowingly coming to a place where you aren't welcome, you shall pay!" One shadow raised its hands and music blasted through Ogron's ear drums. He clamped his hands to his ears, but the song was inside his head. He had to get away from this. He ran back to the stairs and started to descend.

"Resistance is futile, boy!" One roared. Water gushed out of her hands and flooded the attic. He was overtaken and swept down a few floors. He managed to jump out of the water and land on creaky floorboards. He shook off the excess wetness, coughing and sputtering due to the stuff going down his throat. He ran all around until he hit a dead end.

"You're too pale, have some sunlight!" The entire space lit up, blinding him and causing him to stumble backwards. The floor disappeared and he fell once more. He recognized this; it was the first floor. He ran to the front door in hopes of escaping these lunatics, but this wouldn't happen. There was no ground outside. No mist, no patio, just empty darkness as far as he could see.

"You have nowhere to go. I'll finish you off now," One said, slowly raising her hands. Ogron backed up. He didn't know what she would do, but he had two choices. "Dragon Energy!" She roared. He jumped. He plunged into the shadows. He didn't know what waited for him, but he had to do something. As he fell, his screams couldn't even escape his body. He was disintegrating. He tried to access his powers, but they weren't there. He couldn't get out of this. He wailed harder, but it was nothing but silent screams.

Ricky, Gantlos and Anagan decided to come back to the medical wing to see how the others were doing. Nothing had changed, so they sat and watched them. They both looked as though they were dead, not a sound escaped their inanimate bodies. But one thing did make a sound. Ogron's pulse machine was beeping faster and faster, but they had no clue why.

"Uh, what's going on?" Anagan asked. Ricky called the nurse in, but she didn't know what to do. She appeared concerned and tried to use healing magic, but it only seemed to make it worse. The beating sped on until Ogron awoke with a jolt. He snapped his eyes open and shot upwards in bed. Now the machine meant to keep him breathing was choking him. He tried to get it off, but there were rigid plastic straps holding it in place. He couldn't think straight, the only thing he could think of was getting it off at all costs. He was trying to talk, but it came out muffled and urgent. Only now did the bystanders notice that it was hurting him, and Ricky jumped up and unhooked it. When it was off Ogron doubled over and started coughing hard.

"What's wrong?" Gantlos asked. He looked like he was trying to get something out. The nurse got him a bucket, thinking he was going to throw up. He coughed one last time, sending water out of his lungs and allowing him to breathe. He was panting and fell backwards onto his bed, pale and sweating. They were all staring at him.

"Are you ok?!" Ricky asked. Ogron was still catching his breath.

"Ouch," He said, groaning. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, he was ok.

"What was that stuff?" Gantlos asked. Ogron thought for a minute and looked in the bucket. He remembered the 'dream'.

"Seawater. It was seawater." The racket woke Duman up, and he sat up in bed seeming really tired. He licked his lips and fell face forward so he looked like a pink-headed taco.

"Tá tart orm!" He dragged out, and everyone looked at him with blank expressions.

"Uh, what did he say?" Anagan asked Ogron.

"He said he was thirsty." The nurse got him a glass of water and he took it down in five seconds. He wiped his mouth and fell backwards.

"Nimhneach mo mhuineál," he continued, rubbing his neck and then cringing. Everyone looked at Ogron again and he rolled his eyes. It would be so much easier if Duman would just SPEAK ENGLISH.

"His neck hurts," he said. He turned to Duman and started another conversation that no one could understand. "Feel like speaking English yet?"

"What? Oh, yeah. No, not really."

"Please do, I'm tired of translating."

"Meh. But then I have to talk to people."

"Don't be stupid and quit acting like an antisocial kid!" Ogron said jokingly. Duman laughed, knowing that he was pushing it.

"I think I'll test my limits—" he said, but got distracted. Ogron had a blackish ring on his finger. "What's on your finger?"

"Huh?" He looked down. He remembered it; it was talking to him in his dream. "Oh, it's nothing." Duman looked at him with an "Oh really?" expression. He could hear the lying tone in his voice.

"No, seriously, what is it? I can tell by your voice that it was important in something. Maybe in that dream you had last night?" Ogron was astonished. How did Duman know that if he wasn't awake? He was now smiling at him like one of those demonic children in horror movies.

"How do you know about that? I haven't told anyone," Ogron said. Duman snickered. Maybe he WAS a demon child.

"I may or may not have taken on the form of a Nightmare Gargoyle and eaten your dream when it was finished." Ogron looked at him like he was a psycho.

"WHAT?!" Duman laughed again. He was really starting to freak Ogron out. "What do you mean you took on the form?"

"Oh, you didn't know that? My specialty is changing my appearance and species. I also have animal senses and I'm half animal. That's where my teeth and eyes come from. That's also why people think I'm a werewolf."

"Ok, but I can change my appearance, too, and I don't have that other stuff."

"Yeah, most people can do that, but it takes a lot of energy. I can change constantly for a month without breaking a sweat."

"Wow, that's pretty awesome," Ogron said. "But why did you eat my dream?!"

"Well, I needed to wake up somehow," he said shrugging, like it wasn't weird at all. The others were looking at these two, completely lost. Ogron was freaking out and Duman was laughing. "Anyways, that dream of yours was pretty weird. It wasn't just a dream; it was real, wasn't it?"

"I guess so. How else would I have the Black Circle and be coughing up seawater?"

"Exactly. And what do you think of those fairies? Think they'll actually attack you?"

"I have no clue. I can't help but think that the dream and what that witch told me are connected somehow."

"What'd she say?"

"That we should capture all of the fairies and rip off their wings and imprison them," he said as a continuous sentence. Duman's face slowly turned into shock.

"Ok, that's a bit too elaborate to have just thought of it now…"

"Yeah, that's what she told me before you guys woke up." Duman leaned back and looked at the ceiling, thinking.

"Well, what do you want to do about it? Do you think it's our destiny or something?" Ogron took the ring off of his finger and stared at it.

"Maybe, I'm not really sure just what to think about it. We could always ask the others." Duman was confused.

"What do you mean? What others?" Ogron looked at him and smiled, he still didn't know, even after the incident.

"Anagan and Gantlos are wizards, too," Ogron said. Duman's face was pure shock. He whipped his head back and forth. Anagan, Gantlos, Anagan, Gantlos, they started wondering what the heck was wrong with him.

"Seriously?!" Ogron nodded his head.

"Yup, and they both have no idea that the others are wizards. They don't know about us, either." Duman looked off to the distance. He was over the shock already.

"Well isn't that something. Maybe we should talk to them about it," Ogron knew what Duman meant by that and he started speaking English again.

"So, you're ready to speak English now?" Everyone was confused as they looked at Duman who seemed to understand Ogron. He shook his head yes.

"Wait, I thought he just spoke Gaelic," Ricky said. He turned to Duman. "Do you speak English?" He asked slowly.

"Yes, quite well, actually," Duman said. Everyone gaped at him. He spoke it without hesitation and without an accent.

"Wait, did you know about this?" Gantlos asked Ogron. He shook his head yes. "Since when?"

"Since I first talked to him." Everyone had that look of 'are you freaking serious?' on their faces.

"Really. And it didn't occur to you to tell someone?" Ricky said.

"Uhm, nope." He said. Ogron needed a way to get Ricky and the nurse to leave. He looked at the ceiling and a thought popped into his head. "Hey, Ricky, remember that book we saw yesterday?" He said, trying to make him understand without really saying it. Ricky looked confused, but he soon got it.

"Oh! Yeah, I remember. What about it?" He said just as exaggerated as Ogron. Duman looked at him like he was crazy. Ogron discreetly gestured for him to calm down.

"I want to read it. Do you mind getting it for me?"

"Sure thing." Ricky leisurely walked out the door. Ogron turned to the nurse.

"We're fine for now, if we need anything we'll let you know." She walked out to her desk and shut the door behind her. Now Ogron focused his attention on the others. "Ok, listen. We have about as much time as it takes Ricky to get to our room and back to talk. Duman, where's your book? Did you put it somewhere safe like I said?"

"He couldn't find it if he tore the room apart."

"How do you know?" Ogron asked.

"It's in the wall." Ogron looked at him with a confused face. "Don't ask questions, just get on with business." Ogron shook his head.

"Anyways," he said. How Duman got the book in a wall is something the world may never know. "I've been meaning to talk to you guys since I came here, and now I have even more reason to." Anagan and Gantlos looked at each other. Whatever Ogron wanted to talk about, Duman seemed in on it as well.

"Why since you came?" Anagan asked. Ogron sighed.

"Because since I came here, I've known that you three are wizards." Anagan and Gantlos were purely shocked. They didn't know about each other, or that Ogron knew.

"You're a wizard?!" They pointed at each other and said it at the exact same time. "But what-how-huh?"

"That's an interesting reaction," Duman mentioned.

"You don't seem so surprised," Anagan said. Ogron was sitting back and watching the show.

"I was a minute ago."

"Is that what the spazzing was for?"

"Yup," he said. "By the way, why were you so surprised that I speak English?"

"Uh, because we had no clue?" Gantlos said. So they didn't remember what he said when that freak was smashing him against the wall. However interesting that was, both Duman and Ogron just let it go. It wasn't important and they had things to discuss.

"Now back to the task at hand," Ogron said.

"Speaking of that," Anagan cut in. "You can't tell anyone, I'm begging you! Do you even know what they'll do to us?!" Ogron put his hands up.

"Hey, slow down. Why on Earth would I say anything?"

"Well, it isn't legal for us to be here," Gantlos said.

"It isn't legal for me to be here, either." Gantlos and Anagan looked at him strangely.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a wizard, too," he said. Slack-jaws; slack-jaws EEEEVVERRYYYWHEEEEERE!

"So… we're all wizards?" Anagan asked rhetorically. Nothing answered except silence. Gantlos and Anagan looked suspicious; Ogron and Duman were just waiting for someone to talk. Cricket Cricket. No one said a thing. Since he didn't want Ricky walking in on any sensitive topics, Ogron just got the ball rolling. He told them about the witch and what she said, he told them about his dream, he told them about the ring. They were growing steadily more confused until Ogron was finally done.

"Ok… that's kinda weird." Gantlos said slowly.

"I know," Ogron said, looking at his newly decorated finger. "What I'm wondering is why us?" he said. Ricky got back just then and the wizards dispersed and pretended like nothing was happening.

"Hey, I couldn't find that book," Ricky said.

"That's ok, I'll just read it later," he said.

At 9:00, the principal came over the loudspeaker announcing that the students were to get ready for "dorms only" at 9:30. The students all went to their assigned washrooms while the wizards slipped into their room unannounced. Ogron just healed their remaining wounds. At his asking, Duman waved his arm towards the wall. The book flew into his hand.

"That's convenient," Anagan said. "Why'd you want that book?"

"Because," Ogron said as he took it from Duman. "It may help us figure out what all this means." They lay on the ground facing each other with the book in the middle. He snapped his fingers and the book turned to a page with the Black Circle on it.

"That's nice, now what does it say?" Gantlos asked. Ogron waved his hand over the page and it translated into English. The letters turned gold and light spiraled out of the book, looking amazing in the darkness of the room. "Whoa…"

"I know," Duman said. He never got tired of that. "Now, all you have to do is ask the guardian to appear. I've never done it before, so that's all I know." Ogron put his hand on the page and closed his eyes.

"Guardian of the book, please come." A little glowing figure rose out of the book; she was wearing a dress with a hood that covered her eyes. She couldn't have been more than six inches tall.

"In ancient Greece, they had a myth about the Oracle of Delphi, the most powerful oracle; she could tell you whatever you wanted to know. I guess this is her," Duman said in awe.

"You guess right, young one," she said in a kind voice. "I have been asleep for thousands of years; why have you awakened me?"

"We want to know why all of this has happened to us," Duman said. "And what everything means." She smiled and giggled.

"It is a simple thing you ask of me," she said. "Your kind is angry with the Earth Fairies. The task has fallen upon the four of you to give them a redress of grievances, a way to get out. Without the fairies, wizards will finally be able to live in peace. The Black Circle wishes to help you, so he is on your red-headed friend's finger. He will give you the power to take their magic and imprison them." The young wizards had eyes the size of bowling balls.

"That's crazy," Ogron said. The Oracle shook her head yes.

"It may seem so, but the universe has chosen you. You most likely won't start taking the magic until you are older and your hearts have turned to darkness." She held her hands above her head, holding a picture of four older men. "This is what you will look like when you are of age," she said. Anagan said something he thought he would never say.

"Dude…"

"No way," Gantlos said. They all had longer hair and were dressed in a Goth fashion; even more so than they already did. Gantlos held a cowboy hat down over his eyes, Anagan shot a sideways glare at the camera, and Duman was crouching in the front and looking like an animal on a hunt. Ogron had his hand up and was smirking at the camera. "Is that really us?"

"It is," she said. "You know what must do, young wizards. Go forth and seize your destinies." She sunk back into the book, taking the gold light with her. The room was pulled into darkness. The group of friends sat in silence. The oracle had a point. Wizards would be able to live in peace if those bugs were gone. Without saying a word, they all crawled into bed.

The next morning they still hadn't talked to each other at all, but they were thinking about everything. They thought about it. And thought about it. And thought about it. The more thinking they did the better this plan was sounding. They were out in the forest since students had free walkabout when school wasn't in session, and they met under a large oak tree.

"I think we should do it," Gantlos said, hungry for revenge on those pathetic insects that had made him suffer so much.

"I think you're right," Anagan continued. They all agreed on it, the fairies would soon be going down. And lucky them, a teacher walked over to their little hiding spot. She had heard everything.

"Wizards, I should have known," she said, startling the group. "You're all coming to the principal's office and from there you will go to Oblivion and spend the rest of eternity in agony. Are you ready to face your destiny?" She sneered at them. Destiny. Ogron looked at the ring on his finger.

"Of course," he said, a demonic laugh rising in his throat. The others smirked. They knew what was happening. They surrounded her and held hands. "Hunters, unite. May the doors to the Black Circle open wide," the petrified fairy looked around in fear as she was surrounded by a blackish-purple vortex. A feeling of dread washed over her as she was transformed against her will. A sickening numbness grew in her stomach as she felt something ripping its way out of her back. Her wings. They were gone. Next thing she knew, two great doors opened underneath her and she began a descent to who knows where. Then they slammed shut and disappeared. The wizards fell to the ground, fatigued by the impulsive use of power. But they felt as if they were stronger. And it felt good.

"That was invigorating," Duman growled as he licked his fangs and laughed. "I'm gonna have fun ripping the wings off of those germs."

"Same," Anagan said.

"Well," Ogron said with a smile creeping across his face. "The Great Fairy Hunt has begun."