The day Almadel fell

Trix awoke covered in sweat, the sheets tangled around her legs. She lay there with her eyes still closed, not wanting to face the morning any earlier than she had to. Maybe if I stay here all day, sleeping, I will wake up tomorrow and it will just never have happened. She let out a deep sigh and heard a creaking noise from the room. She was suddenly awake, alert. Her eyes snapped open and searched for the danger. She saw Dean and Wilbur sitting on the desk opposite her. Wilbur was eating a piece of toast that had been liberally coated with jam and butter. Dean was staring at the ceiling, fiddling with a pen he had taken from her desk. She sat up too suddenly, clutching the bedclothes around her, immediately regretting it as the blood rushed from her head leaving her feeling faint. "What are you doing here?" she said, holding the side of her throbbing head with one hand.

"Morning Trix" said Dean, "Wilbur told me what happened yesterday. We both thought that since we did this thing together, we should face the consequences together, so we came down to accompany you to find a teacher and tell them. Emma agreed." Trix looked around for Emma, she was sitting quietly on her own bed, already dressed, looking down at her slippers.

Trix put her head in her hands, "I had this conversation with Wilbur yesterday. There's no point. Why get everyone in trouble if they already think I did it alone?"

"No, it makes sense Trix. Think about it, they aren't going to expel all of us are they? That would be like, a quarter of the class." said Wilbur.

"So? So they expel everyone. Why not?" said Trix, frustration filling her voice, "I told you to just stay away, what if they find you all here now, they'll think you're involved. Wait, how long did I sleep? What time is it, where did you get toast?"

"It's still real early, don't worry. We have a toaster in our room" said Wilbur.

"We are involved" said Dean, "anyway, I don't think it matters what happens to us, we won't just let you face this alone."

"Nope" said Wilbur, "especially not when it's mostly my fault it didn't go to plan." He saw Wilbur glance across the room to were Emma was sitting, and Trix felt her face flushing pink again.

"Oh you idiots. You think you're helping but you're just getting in the way, you have no idea what you're getting into." she said, pulling her clothes into the duvet and putting them on lying down without having to get out of bed and touch the cold floor. Wait, this is ridiculous she thought, demons? What am I worrying about being expelled for. My whole worldview should be crumbling around my ears right now, and I am concerned about school? There is an actual demon in the building, everything else should be insignificant in comparison. And yet, how awful it would be if I were expelled now, and would be left with just this one piece of knowledge, knowing they existed but nothing else, and no way of learning more. At least if I'm here I might be able to learn about them. She felt her confidence grow, Yes, I was too weak with Jeremiah yesterday, this IS his fault, really. I will confront him and demand he tell us more. I just wish the others would leave me alone, they bumble around blindly, still thinking there is some valuable thing in that room or whatever.

Trix set her face, "OK, fine, then let's go now. I don't want to wait for Jeremiah to send for us, we have just as much a right to know more about this situation as he does."

The four left the dormitory, hurrying through the corridors, still empty this early in the morning. The boys lead the way, Trix following them, Emma leading up the rear.

They arrived at Jeremiah's classroom door. Next to it was the entrance to Salomé's room. Someone had swept the floor and there was no trace of the broken key. In the cool morning light the events of the previous day seemed rather distant and abstract. A battered cardboard box had been placed upside down outside the entrance to the classroom.

"Is he there?" whispered Dean.

"He only puts that box there if he's inside and doesn't want to be disturbed. He must be there" said Wilbur.

"Do you think we should wait for him to come out, what do you think?"

"Let's just stride in, confidently" said Wilbur.

"Oh for god's sake" said Trix, wishing again that she were doing this alone, she strode forward and knocked before she could change her mind. An exaggerated sigh came from inside, and a voice said, very wearily, "come in".

Trix entered, and the other three filed in behind her. Wilbur stood next to her, Dean next to Wilbur, and Emma stood slightly off to one side and behind the other three, her arms folded.

Jeremiah put down the book he had been holding. "What?" he snapped. His fingers were stained with ink, his hair was even more dishevelled than usual and he was wearing a fluffy bathrobe over faded pyjamas. It looked like he had left Salomé's room, taken a bath, then come right back here and worked through the night. Trix scanned the books that were scattered over his desk, and Jeremiah pointedly closed one or two volumes that had been lying open and caught her eye. "I believe you were meant to be waiting in your room until I called for you" he said, "why are you here? And them? What are they doing here?"

Oh no, this was a terrible idea she thought.

Wilbur stepped forwards slightly before she could stop him, "We're here because we were involved in the thing last night and wanted to let you know, so that Trix didn't get all the blame."

Jeremiah sighed again, closing his eyes for a few seconds before looking back up at the four of them. "Oh good. Great! Four of you, now. How much do all of you know?"

Wilbur shrugged and Jeremiah turned to Trix and looked at her askingly.

"Not much." she said, "I told them not to come, really it's my fault, they aren't involved."

Emma still had her arms crossed, she had been clutching them tighter and tighter to her chest, her knuckles going white as she clenched her hands. "I heard her talk in her sleep" she blurted out, "about the demon talking to her, and I heard you talking about Andras before. We all know things, not just her. You can't punish her without punishing all of us."

"If you wish." said Jeremiah with little enthusiasm. He paused, "Unless...you know, Miss Beatrix believes that I also am to blame? Maybe your punishment should be...yes. I think this is a good idea. We don't have to tell Mrs Pooley right now."

Jeremiah stood, clasping his hands behind his back in the familiar pose he took when he was lecturing. "Your punishment will be the forced enrollment in my least pleasant class. Usually it is just me, talking to myself, but this year it looks like it will contain a full four students." He began to pace back and forth as he talked. In 1613 His Majesty created this school, supplying it with a grant to undertake secret research into demons. To categorise them, to understand their origin, their weaknesses, their goals. During his reign, many such positions were created across the country, collaborating in secret to avoid frightening the public. Unfortunately King James I's successors were less excited about demonology, and over the years, these positions have dwindled. This is now the only place in England with an official head of demonology still remaining: me." He stopped pacing for a second and put one hand on the desk, looking up and to the side as though trying to remember something, "how did that speech go again, when he opened the school..."

Ten came from hell, at the point of earth’s creation

Rending the warm membrane between our words

Smelling the sweet blood of a fresh young creature.

Ungoldly gods, the ten ate their fill, and spawned.

Bored of hedonistic pleasures, they take man as their plaything

And laugh at our torturous pain

But man has learned of his enemy. And today we take up arms.

I christen you Great Almadel, spawn now your own demons

Demons of human flesh and blood, and bring the devil’s children to the killing floor.

All the hair on Trix's arms had stood up on end. Jeremiah looked back at the class, “I do apologise for the rough translation, the original was in Latin, but I believe I captured the meaning.” he looked around, "any questions?"

Dean raised his hand slowly. "Yes?" said Jeremiah. "I uh, so the thing I saw that day, the cat? That really was a demon?"

"Yes." Jeremiah resumed his pacing, "Anyway, as I was saying, I am the only official demonologist still remaining in the country, although there are a few amateur researchers, still a few old civil servants in the government who know of my existence and reach out when they need information on demonic disturbances, and so on! While Mrs Pooley does not really approve, the grant still funds my position, and comes with the requirement that half of my time be spent on official demonological research." He stopped pacing and picked up a piece of chalk, throwing it and catching it again absent mindedly. "The other requirement is that I find and train an apprentice who can replace me when I am inevitably consumed by demonic forces, or hit by a bus, or so on. With recent events..." he waved at the wall behind which Trix knew Salomé to be "...I thought it wise to accelerate my search for an apprentice so have asked Mrs Pooley to test all incoming students. I don't believe the requirement said it had to be a single apprentice though, why not four. Why not try and expand rather than merely survive! What do you say?" He folded himself back into his chair and pulled open a long draw in the desk. He rummaged around and drew forth four glass vials. Trix recognised them as the ones Mrs Pooley had used to collect a drop of their blood on the first day of term. "Let me show you, I wonder -- no I'll not tell you who, that will be more fun"

He took a cup of water that was on his desk and put it in front of himself, then he pricked one of his fingers with a pin and dripped a few drops of blood into the glass. He took and opened the four vials and pulled out each strip of blotting paper, mixing them so they couldn't tell which piece of paper came from which vial. "I did this on the first day of term, to see if any of the new students has apprentice potential. It is quite rare, but this year we are lucky enough to have one student with a strong result." he dipped the first piece of blotting paper into the water, his blood having begun to spread out in the glass now, thin red tendrils pulled from the central drop as the water swirled ever so slightly. Jeremiah removed the paper and took the second piece and dipped it into the glass in turn, "nothing..nothing" he did this again, then took the final piece of paper. "Now, observe. And before you ask, this does not mean we are related." He dipped the piece of paper into the glass. Instantly, Jeremiah's dispersed blood shot through the water to join to the red spot on the blotting paper, clustering around it into a ball that shimmered and danced, leaving the rest of the water perfectly clear. "There. Our blood attracts. This person has the potential to be able to perform some small magics that are very useful in the study, capture and repulsion of demons. Like me. I wonder who! How exciting."

"What sort of magic?" said Wilbur.

"Not what you're imagining, I'm afraid. Mostly we are armed with only our wits."

“What about religion, god? If demons are real, is god? Do they fear him? Can we get power from that?”

"Not that I know of, I'm afraid. Only demons, no angels" said Jeremiah.

"And what about other things, you know...dragons, unicorns?" said Wilbur.

"Perhaps!" said Jeremiah, "who knows what lurks in the dark corners of this world. I should stress, before everyone gets excited, that we are not demon hunters anymore. I am a researcher. I exist to provide information to Her Majesty and Her Government, what they do with it is quite up to them. Unfortunately, much of that lot are demon-controlled these days anyway, so my job tends to be primarily hiding, surviving, reading, writing." he sighed, "in another generation nobody will remember our existence, I'm sure."

"Anyway, you're all apprentices now. It serves you right for meddling. Just don't tell Mrs Pooley. We will meet here daily at 7am for a morning class. Don't be late or I'll expel you. Don't go looking for the cat again or I'll expel you. Don't try anything demon-related without me there or I'll expel you. Now go away, I need to save the school and you're distracting me--". He trailed off, his eyes widening, his head turning slowly to look at the ceiling as though he had spotted something there that Trix couldn't see. Something caught her eye outside, through the window. The sky seemed redder than usual for this time of day, a deep blood red, shot through with veins of purple and blue. She felt a pressure growing in her head, like the start of a headache, as though she was in an airplane that was dropping in altitude at terrible speed. The pressure pressed on the inside of her skull, pushing outward painfully. Jeremiah's was still staring upwards, unblinking, mouth slightly open. She looked up again, following his eyes. The ceiling was bowing inward. Not cracking or sagging -- it was as though reality itself was warping, bending downward, curving out towards where they stood.