I was back at Pixie table for lunch. Not by choice, not really. But once Angelina had caught sight of me, she dragged me back to the crowd of bright pink. Celica, the traitor, was laughing as I got dragged away.

  Was this going to be a thing? Angelina forcing me to sit with the other Pixies?

  “How was alchemy? I’ve heard Gorgon is terrifying.”

  “It wasn’t that bad. I think the others hate me but whatever at this point.”

  She gasped. “Don’t say that! They just need to get to know you, that’s all.”

  “Gorgon said I ‘out-performed’ them and he was ‘mortified’ that a Pixie could do better than a class of Krakens and Banshees.” My imitation of his voice was poor, but I think she got the gist.

  She gave me a wide-eyed stare. “You got stuck with Krakens? You poor thing.”

  I shrugged. “At least whatever not-nice things they think about, I don’t have to hear. Unlike Pegasus.”

  She flinched, probably remembering that morning. “That’s…true I suppose.”

  “Just so we’re clear, it really doesn’t bother me that much. I was just cranky this morning.”

  She gave me a soft smile. “If you need anything, we’re your Towermates. Remember that, okay?”

  I nodded. “I will. Don’t worry.”

  I’m sure the Pixie habit of banding and staying together like an actual swarm of pixies would be comforting for the more social butterfly type of person. But that wasn’t me. I didn’t like crowds of people whose names I couldn’t remember. But that was the center of the problem, wasn’t it? I didn’t fit the Pixie mold.

  Maybe even Gorgon noticed I was in the wrong Tower. He’d said as much, hadn’t he?

  “You’re so quiet, the others worry.”

  I sighed. “Mostly because I never know what to say.”

  She looked away from me and stared pensively into her lunch. Some kind of chicken with pasta and a cream sauce.

  I decided to let her think, and picked at the fruit and veggie burger on my plate.

  “You’re a vegetarian,” she announced. “I’ve known you for four days and I haven’t seen you eat meat.”

  I swallowed the bite of melon I had just taken. “Eh. Kind of. Have to be right now.”

  “Have to?”

  I took a deep breath and a sip of iced tea. “Did you know,” I asked calmly, “that being bitten by a massive spider has side effects besides the scarring and swelling?”

  Her mouth was wide open and she was covering her face with her hands.

  “For the record, this was not like a little poke of a bite. It bit, held on, and tried to drag me away. I was injected with approximately one hundred and seven milliliters of venom. Which is like…this much,” I put my finger to my iced tea glass at what I estimated to be about a little under half a cup. The Pixies nearby were staring at me with similar wide-eyed terror and awe.

  “And this venom was potent. A very, very, nasty cocktail of toxins. And by the time the Healer could distribute an anti-venom it had wreaked utter havoc on most of my organs.”

  I was apparently starting to attract a crowd from nearby tables. Mostly sky blue and yellow. “Everything is fine and working right now, but they are still not exactly in pristine condition. Technically, I’m still recovering. And part of that is until my innards heal enough to process it, meat and dairy are off the menu for me.” I finished with a smile and another tip of tea. I looked around me to very concerned and horrified faces. “What? I’m fine. Really.”

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Angelina was shaking her head. “You…what…is this why you don’t talk much?”

  I gave her another shrug as I drank my tea.

  “Holy Hecate…no wonder you barely left your room.”

  “I think you all might be over-reacting,” I mumbled into my tea.

  “You’re on a medical diet.”

  “It’s not a big deal.”

  “Not a big…how are you so okay with this?”

  I rolled my eyes. “There really isn’t anything to be upset about. A few temporary changes aren’t anything to be upset about.”

  “You’re weird,” Angelina commented. “You know that right?” Her tone reminded me of the conversation I had with the other would-be Dragons.

  I laughed. “Probably.”

  (*********)

  Basics on Monsters was a massive class held outside. One hundred rustic benches shaped like logs that could fit up to three people formed a half circle centered on a massive trail leading into the woods near the school. The grass was a bright and healthy green. Around me were Pixie, Basilisk, and Kelpie students. There was a dull roar of nearly seventy students chattering amongst themselves, all indistinctly.

  I was sitting by myself. Since the teacher wasn’t there yet I took the opportunity to look at the castle from this angle.

  From where we were, I could clearly see the outside of two Towers. The farthest from me glowed with the white light that it was known for: Banshee Tower. No windows. Just stone that emanated a soft white light.

  And then there was the other tower I could see from this angle. Dragon Tower. The stone blended into the castle far more than Banshee Tower did, but the roaring dragon statue on top was unmistakable. Unlike the image I was given in History, there was no Dragon wrapped around the tower, just one up on the pointed roof, roaring like it had just secured a new horde of treasure. There were windows, one massive one that overlooked the entire back field of campus. I think it might have been the window I saw when inside. There were five smaller windows at the top of the tower just below where the roof started. There were no curtains, but I couldn’t see inside.

  “Doesn’t look like the home of unimaginable horrors. But you’re the one who got a glimpse inside.” I turned to see that I had been joined by Fethris, who was dressed in Kelpie green.

  “Howdy stranger,” I greeted him with a grin.

  “Hi. It’s nice to see you looking better. I wanted to talk to you during lunch but the other Kelpies don’t understand the word ‘no’. But looks like fate is on my side here.”

  “I think the green suits you,” I told him.

  He smiled. “I guess. Could do without the swamp water smell and the Hecate blessed attitudes of the others.”

  “That bad? This is my only class with Kelpies in it.”

  “Everything you’ve heard about Kelpie arrogance is true.”

  “Well if you need a break from them, no one is sitting here.” I turned back to look at Dragon Tower.

  “You think they’ll let us actually live in there?” Fethris asked.

  I turned back to him. “I hope so. Which might sound odd after what happened…but I would like to.”

  “Well, at the very least the spiders will be gone.”

  “Isn’t there supposed to be a professor?” I asked. The front was still empty. Other people were looking around but the professor was nowhere to be seen.

  “There is. Running late on the first day is not a good way to make a good impression.”

  “Rude,” I joked. “Very rude professor.”

  Fethris nodded.

  That’s when a scream echoed from the front of the group.

  Fethris, myself, and a number of Basilisk students nearby stood up in alarm. A Pixie, a girl with short light brown hair whose name I couldn’t remember, was scrambling away from a massive spider on the ground.

  I felt a chill. Judging by Fethris’s look of worry, I must have looked pretty pale.

  The spider in question was two feet across, had its front legs reared up, and was hissing loudly. It was an ashen grey with bright blue stripes on its legs and numerous beady eyes.

  They looked much worse in bright sunlight.

  I swayed on my feet and a hand caught me by the arm. I was shaking as Fethris helped guide me back to a sitting position.

  My ankle hurt. I think Fethris was speaking but I couldn’t hear him. I closed my eyes. I took a deep breath. I counted to ten. I exhaled. Then I opened my eyes.

  “Are you okay?” Fethris’s eyes were wide with panic.

  “I’m okay.”

  “Sorry for the fright students. Our little friend managed to wander off. He won’t attack any of you. I strengthened the wards keeping him where he is.” The Professor was a short portly woman. “I wasn’t planning on doing the spider unit so early in the year, but after learning of the Aranaea Imgifalso nest in Dragon Tower I couldn’t resist.”

  And this just became my least favorite class.

  “This one is a fully grown adult male,” The Professor continued. “You’ll notice the bright color on the legs. Females don’t have that. In this class I will be teaching you how to identify various creatures like our friend here which you might encounter in the wilder areas of our lovely world.”

  Nope. Whatever region that thing came from can burn down. I don’t care.

  “Aranaea Imgifalso is a very rare breed of spider. Their venom has some very unique properties. No doubt a few of you have been whispering to each other about those same properties. The other purpose of this class is separate facts from rumors and speculation. Staying informed about these critters might save your life if you ever find yourselves trapped in a room with a frightened and dangerous animal.”

  A number of hands shot up near the front.

  “You, Basilisk girl,” she called.

  “I heard their venom makes you see things. Is that true?”

  Fethris scowled in the corner of my eye.

  The professor sighed. “It can. But mostly the younger ones and only if a person has a particularly nasty reaction to the bite. Very few things are guaranteed with any spider bite.”

  I let out a small gasp. I knew it. I knew I wasn’t seeing things!

  “How about you?” she pointed to a Kelpie.

  “Are these things really that dangerous?”

  “A vast majority of spider species are harmless. Most are too small to even pierce you with their fangs. Their venom isn’t designed for us. But when they get as big as our friend here, the amount of venom they produce can do incredible amounts of damage to your body. Once a bite occurs every minute will count.”

  A few Pixies kept glancing back at me. I wanted the Earth to open up and swallow me whole.

  “But with any luck, you won’t be put in that situation. If you encounter one of these there are two foolproof strategies to escape safely. One, they are very territorial, so leave slowly from wherever you’d wandered into. They aren’t the chasing type and can’t move that quickly.”

  “I disagree but okay,” I muttered softly.

  “The other way, if escape is not an option, is fire magic. These fellas love dark cool spaces. They are, rightfully, terrified of fire. A simple flame will scare them away.”

  I nodded rapidly, the memory of bright pink flames flashed in my mind. Yeah. That worked.

  Another student asked, “What are you guys going to do with the nest in Dragon Tower?”

  “Aranaea venom has a number of other properties. For example it is an ingredient in a potion that can cure petrification from cockatrices. They will be captured and sent to schools like ours or other places that study spiders and their venoms. There are quite a few who are very interested.”

  Oh well. Wonderful. My misery will help advance magical medicine. Maybe. Or just give other students nightmares.

  “The farther away the better,” I mumbled.