The following classes continued on without anything out of order. As usual, multiple students got a hard smack from Sister Olivia's meter stick for small infractions. Helena got it twice when her stomach growled. Both times, she held a defiant scowl on her face, refusing to show any pain. Several times, the teacher directed the hardest questions to Xavier, but with his usual confident smirk, he answered everything with perfect accuracy and detail. Luckily they got a reprieve when the class had to a different building for Biology Class."Are you sure you don't want me to come along? I could help you keep your temper in check."Xavier and Helena were standing at the entrance to the cafeteria with students from grades 9 through 12 streaming past them to eat."I'll be fine. You go eat. I'm more worried about the time. There is no way this will take less than an hour, meaning of course that I'm going to once again be late for class.""Well maybe there is something I can do to convince Sist

"Feel free to scream all you want, your voice won't reach anyone. You know, I lied to you when I said I wanted to become Pope. That's too small, I'm ready to become the king of this world. Of course, I'll need a queen..."He snapped his fingers and Helena screamed as she was suddenly basked in flames, her uniform being burned off her body like flash cotton. Xavier never let go of her, not a single singe being left on his clothes. Somehow, her hair and skin were undamaged, but she felt like her naked form had just been blasted with a blowtorch. Had she been exposed to those same flames under natural circumstances, she would have suffered severe burns across her entire body."And I must say, I've come to taking a liking to you. I find that fire in your eyes rather charming, that fighting spirit. Not to mention this beautiful body of yours."She shivered in humiliation, now feeling his palms on her bare flesh. He had one hand on her breast, squeezing her tightly but also using his finger

The day continued on without anything strange occurring. All of the classes were normal and went by simply. Sister Olivia was brutal as usual, though she did let Helena off with a warning when she caught her daydreaming. She had to wonder if Olivia was doing to out of the goodness of her heart or if the Headmaster had told her to go easy. Either way, the reprieve was nice. Xavier didn't say anything to her for the rest of the day, never even looked at her. What was going to happen?Helena stood in the university school supplies store, looking at the plastic jewelry box with nervousness. Along with notebooks, pencils, and all manner of tools a student would need, the store sold rosaries and other religious talismans. The one that Helena was looking at was a medallion with the Triquetra symbol¬–the circle entwined into a three-sided loop, also known as the trinity knot. It was a Celtic take on the Holy Trinity, with the three corners representing the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Normal

Stretching, Xavier gave one final laugh. "That was fun, I'll see you both later."He snapped his fingers and the wires binding the two girls disappeared. Even while free, Helena couldn't move. Her body was devoid of strength, as if she were drugged. She and Sophie did nothing but close their eyes and drift to sleep."Sophie! Sophie! Wake up!""Huh? What's going on?"The alarm was ringing, and as soon as she heard it, Helena woke up and bolted to her friend's bed."Are you ok? Are you hurt? Come on, we have to get you to the hospital!""What are you talking about? I'm fine!""Fine?! Don't you remember what happened last night?!"Sophie looked at her, a look of annoyance mixed with a total lack of patience. "Helena, did you have another nightmare?"Helena stared at her, wide eyed. Standing there, she realized that the stitches that had bound her lips together were gone, as well as the threads that had held her to the bed, and even the scars they had worn into her skin. She staggered bac

Sitting behind his desk, Father Hauser leaned back in his chair. "Was this like the other times? Did it feel like the investigations?""Much worse. Normally when I come to a scene, I can feel something watching me, always one or at most a handful. I can feel their presence and their desire to keep me out. Here, it's like I'm being ignored but I still feel the evil. There is something in this school, and while it isn't aware of who I am, the weight of its presence is more intense than anything I've ever felt.""Thane, do you really believe there is something at this school? A spirit? A poltergeist? A demon?""None of those. This is something new.""And you're sure?""Absolutely."Once again, Hauser leaned back in his chair, deep in thought."You know something, don't you?" Thane asked."A few days ago, there were three suicides in the city. They weren't our students, but it was very unusual. They were performed simultaneously at different locations and in very gruesome ways. Then yeste