“Hallowe'en is fast approaching," the teacher declared, stood behind a desk decorated with a velvet cloth, some candlesticks and a variety of glittery things. “You will need to be prepared for some very important visitors. There are certain expectations of you in both presentation and behaviour;" he looked at Anar and his two familiars, “the dress code is non-negotiable on the night of All Hallow's Eve, Warlock, and if I or any member of staff spy you in that Ellesse jumper you're so fond of it will not end well for you!"

“Yes, sir," Anar nodded, making a mental note to finally get to the laundrette on the first floor so his black Nike sweater was clean. His list of tasks was getting longer than ever!

Crowley preened, running his claws around the collar of his charcoal dyed Ralph Lauren polo shirt. Crowley always looked like he was off for a round of gothic golf. He made eye contact with the aardvark and made a 'slice' gesture across his scrawny throat.

Anar scowled. Now, more than ever, he wanted to find a loophole in the official college dress code. Fluorescent socks or something. He wondered if there was anything about tie-dye…

“The first thing you shall say upon encountering any of our guests that night shall be 'Hallowe'en salutations'. Say it with me: 'Hallowe'en salutations.'"

The class mumbled.

Anar raised his hand.

“Warlock?'

“What about our familiars?" he asked. It was a given that Rap would just say 'ooooh, hello!' to any Hell bigwigs he met, and Rave would tell them to go suck eggs.

The teacher bristled; he was a big, spiral-horned boar with orcish tusks and a no-nonsense attitude, and he didn't like anyone, least of all grey, long-eared troublemakers like Anar. “If I was you, I'd keep those two in their cage, for everyone's benefit," he snorted.

Rave mumbled, sulkily, “keep you in a cage, big pig, you'd probably enjoy it…"

“But I wanna carve pumpkins!" Rap objected with a pout. “I wanna go Trick or Treating! I got an outfit planned and everything!"

The boar tutor's eyes widened and he bared his fangs, “Warlock, you keep that cross-dressing lizard on a leash on Hallowe'en or"-

“Yes, sir!" he squeaked.

Rap turned on him, “you said I could!"

“Keep your voice down! I'm agreeing with everything to keep Master Hogden off our case, yeah?" he hissed to the indignant raptor.

“I can still carve pumpkins? Go Trick or Treating? Wear my witchy dress?"

He nodded, holding his finger to his lips to shush the whiny dinosaur.

“I ain't dressing up," Rave rumbled. “Not begging for lollipops, neither."

“Yes, fine, good. Shush! I'm trying to listen…"

The teacher continued, “…mischief is expected but keep it outside of the College walls. Anyone caught throwing hexes or summoning spirits inside will be sent to Master Leviathan's office. Anyone caught trying to get an early night, and not joining in the festivities will also be sent to Master Leviathan's office," he paused again, “so now we come to our lesson. You will have learnt a few basic moves in your other classes: offensive shoves, defensive shields… I know for a fact some of you have used these successfully," he looked sternly once more at Anar, then moved to frown at Alexis who suddenly didn't seem so cocky. He continued, “when you cross through the Abyssal Gate and sign your demon work contracts, you will not have these magical limitations upon you. You will be bestowed with all the power you should ever need. If, after your employment, you are lucky enough to visit the mortal realm on Hallowe'en then you will be able to do as you wish, in the name of the Dark Lord and his Infernal glory. As such, the same will be true of the Underworld denizens who will be gracing us here in the College with their unholy presence, and I must warn you, they will harm you if they can. Your little spells will not save you against a level 8 archfiend. As such, it may be useful to know how to defend yourself against a full-power demonic force. It is my duty to reassure you that staff will be on patrol while the various clubs and parties are in full swing, so using your magic should, as ever, be a last resort. For this reason, though, we have made sure to give you amulets with enough magic allocated for not only your classes, but also emergency use for Hallowe'en. Only one!" He held a thick finger aloft to express the importance. “If in doubt, you know how to transport yourself to a place of safety. This is what the College will expect you to use it for. However! On a night of mischief such as this, I would like to show you how to use a little more… force," he smiled, his tusks gleaming.

Alexis had shuffled forward, eager to learn, not to defend against Hell employees but instead to use on a certain annoying aardvark.

Anar had clocked him, and was also straining his ears in anticipation. If Alexis was going to use magic on him again, and it was likely, he'd make damn sure he could give as good as he got!

“What are those lizards doing?!"

The class whipped their heads round at the tutor's angry bark.

Rap paused, his hands around bones.

Rave quickly hid a marker pen behind his back.

“It's a sign. On the bear skeleton. Says 'Hide and Seek champion 1995.' It's a joke, see? He was so good at hiding, he died before he was found," Rap explained, proudly.

“Save the mischief for Hallowe'en! I don't want it in my class."

“Yes, sir," Anar sighed. “Come on, guys."

“It's brilliant!" Rave hissed. “How can anyone not find that funny?"

“Master Hogden has obviously found a way," Anar murmured.

“What you learning?" Rap asked, brightly.

“I'm not sure, yet. It's something Lex wants to use on me, that I'm sure of."

Rap pulled a face, “night of Hallowe'en will have him tucked in a blanket sucking his thumb, just you watch. He's all show. You've actually dealt with a wraith! You've been stabbed with an enchanted dagger!"

“Keep it down!"

“I'd be bragging if I were you, mate."

“I don't brag," Anar insisted. “Not about that sort of thing, anyway," he gave a sly grin.

“I don't wanna know who you're snogging!" Rave huffed, loudly.

Anar coughed as eyes turned to him yet again.

The teacher brought down a crackling bolt of energy to the floor in front of the aardvark student who was interrupting  him. It left a smouldering hole.

Anar gulped, stumbling back from the heat and the shockwave. He didn't much fancy Alexis doing that to him! He looked up, and there was the human face he despised, with a triumphant gleam in his evil little eyes.

“Now let's see you try," Master Hogden challenged, setting his trotters down with a stamp into a wide stance, his wings spread. “If you've been paying attention, that is, and not chatting to your overgrown geckos."

With a scrape, the other students all stepped back as one, eyebrows raised in amusement.

Anar froze.

He hadn't been paying attention. Of course he hadn't! When did he ever?

Magic was all about belief, wasn't it? You had to see what you were doing clearly in your mind's eye, to have faith in your actions. A bit of luck never did any harm, neither!

He reached up to Sharon. She was hanging a little lopsidedly now since he'd had to tie a knot in the back of the broken chain. Still as lovely, though. True to her name.

Anar didn't particularly like this bore – geddit? boar/bore? ah funny joke. So, closing his eyes and picturing him as a pile of tasty crispy bacon wasn't so hard.

His blood bubbled. His hand spread open. He opened his eyes and let loose a burst of magical energy that split the teacher's desk in two and left a scorch mark up the wall behind.

He almost didn't want to stop. There was an urge to do it again, to do it harder, to destroy everything in his path.

His hand wobbled. His ears drooped. Magic felt so GOOD.

Mutters of 'bloody Hell!' could be heard.

Master Hogden stared dumbfounded at his sturdy old desk that had seen him many years of education in this establishment. This was going to be an awkward expenses form to fill out. Not to mention, he'd probably end up with some Ikea crap replacement due to diminishing budgets.

“Very good, Warlock," he said faintly. “Now the rest of you give it a try."

Crackles and sparks flew around the room. Unlike Anar, the other students had targets to hit that weren't staff members.

Through it all, the big boar demon stared at Anar, making the young aardvark very uncomfortable.

For distraction, he pulled his Tamagotchi out of his bag and began attempt number one hundred and five of keeping it alive.

Alexis trod purposefully towards him, his shiny black shoes tap tapping as he strode. He'd take Anar's ears off with no hesitation.

Rave swung his tail with a sharp crack! and rounded on the red-skinned human.

Alexis was a little more hesitant to take on one of his familiars.

“I'll get you on Hallowe'en," Crowley promised the trio with a growl. “I heard you; carving pumpkins and Trick or Treating – what are you, twelve? I'll be with the Inner Circle I will. Proper elite. Not sipping pumpkin punch and getting giggly like you girls! My father has a limousine on order, we're travelling to the capital in style; going to scare the mortals out of their wits and make them worship the Dark Lord whether they want to or not!"

Anar sighed, “sounds great, Lex. Now piss off, yeah?"

“My name is Alexis! How dare you disgrace your family name with your stupid 'couldn't care less' attitude?!"

The class fell quiet as Anar stood up from his seat, dropping his Tamagotchi. “You know nothing of my family! You know nothing of what we stand for! How dare you?!" his hands trembled again, his blood rushing and fizzing.

He mustn't. Alexis wanted him to, didn't he? He wanted him to lose his cool and just let one of his magical bolts loose. It was so easy. He didn't even have to close his eyes, not really, it was just what they were trained to do. He could see in his mind a pile of char with Crowley's stupid face in it. All he had to do was let it flow…

“Pathetic," Alexis spat. “The son of a director, too…"

“These chairs are hard! My bum's gone numb!" Rave complained.

Anar sat, dejectedly, waiting for the door to open. He couldn't even rustle up the energy for a joke at the big raptor's expense.

“Look, if worst comes to worst, there's always room for you in our little forest camp," Rap assured him, patting his knee gently. “We'll always be with you, no matter what, you know that."

“Thanks, mate," Anar sniffed.

It was a long, empty corridor. These were the only seats available and they were rigid plastic; the kind that reminded you that it was a punishment to sit on them. You had done bad things. The wrong sort of bad things.

The wall shook; the floor beneath them trembled.

The door slowly opened.

Anar hastily wiped his blurred eyes with his sleeve and left his backpack behind as he stood, gesturing for his faithful companions to stay here, outside. This was his meeting. This was his ordeal.

The antelope lady in the doorway pursed her thin lips and looked down upon him, sourly. “Master leviathan will see you now," she snipped. “I would warn you he is not in a good mood, but he has not been in a good mood since 1562." 

Standing aside, she allowed Anar to step into the small reception. She opened another door further inside, and, giving him one last disapproving look, sat back down at her desk with typewriter and phone, clattering away. 

A piece of thick, expensive looking paper with the College emblem embossed at its corner popped up as she worked.

He had a feeling this was his piece of correspondence that was going home to his house in Ilchester.

With heavy yet comfortable footsteps Anar crossed the threshold into the Headmaster's domain. He kept his gaze at the floor; you didn't look directly at him, he was too terrible to behold.

The room was dim and the air was thick, feelings of claustrophobia crept in – the demon on the other side was too great in mass to leave much space for anything else.

A low rumble signalled the start of speech. Leviathan was so colossal that he had to wind up to talk. “Warlock…" he breathed. “I know that name. We expect… great things from you. Tell me… why did you assault a prince of Hell in front of a tutor?"

Anar rubbed his snout, still staring at carpet, “well, your immenseness, I didn't want to waste my magic by blowing him up."

The floor lurched. The air was sucked out of the room.

A roar like a maelstrom swept through the room, through the reception, through the whole corridor.

Leviathan was laughing.

Anar swallowed. His mental hamster, who had been taking a well-deserved break, jumped on the wheel and began running like never before.

“I don't usually throw my punches, but Crowley looks like a peanut so he got a-salted! Stands to reason, being a student, he's lost his faculties. It's hard to essay, but I think for a prince he's a class clown. Chances of him becoming a demon are one in a minion! Imp-ly impossible!"

Vibrations spread like a shockwave. “No-one has ever stood in my office and told jokes before… what to do? What to do with you?"

There was a pause. Anar could hear the receptionist outside the door on the phone reassuring whoever she was talking to that everything was fine, and Leviathan had been laughing, and yes she knew how hard that was to believe.

“Look at me…" the deep, large voice commanded.

Anar held his breath, genuinely afraid. He lifted his head. His body trembled. Would he go mad? Would he die? Nobody had ever looked at Master Leviathan!

The head was long and narrow. Scaly. Eyes blazing like suns looked down upon Anar's tiny, frail form. There were small wings. A long tail with a gracefully curved, arrow-shaped tip.

Leviathan didn't fit inside the room; instead, he was occupying a space outside of it. A pocket dimension of sorts. Another illusion to add to the rest of the misshapen, crooked building.

“How interesting…" he boomed.

Anar had heard that exact same phrase a few times lately.

“I know who you are… I know who your father is… I can promise you, no matter what you do there is no escape… there will be punishments, yes… but your rebellion will be in vain… Anarchy Warlock."

Orbs of fire, scorching the senses, burning into his very soul, blazing into his core, his soul, even. He wanted to look away. He couldn't take the light a moment more.

It was a dragon.

Great. Terrible. Powerful. Awful. Enduring.

The light was everywhere now. A blinding whiteness. A vision of eternity.

He was lost in the void.

A speck amongst the stars.

Alone.