Chapter 19

Next class after that was Magical History with Miss Long the honest to God Chinese dragon. Not a dragon shifter like Ray, but the real deal. That class was always interesting. Long used her magic to show them the actual events in miniature. It was like having a perpetual substitute showing you movies every day. You'd be surprised how much you can remember when you see it firsthand.

When he walked into the warehouse size classroom he was surprised to see Miss Long in her human form standing near a box of yellow rain ponchos and industrial face visors like doctors wear when they think their patient might have bubonic plague or something. There were even rubber boots of every size and description scattered all over the floor.

Zach hoped they had them in his size 13 foot or he was going to be out of luck.

Everyone rushed to get dressed, talking excitedly among themselves, and Kyle nearly died laughing when Quinn ended up with the pink flowered boots as the only pair left that fit him, but Quinn being Quinn sported them with style, and just used them to make Lauren laugh.

Zach tried not to think that that was his job. He was so NOT going to turn in to a jealous mouth breathing troglodytes. Hell no! Instead he chose to chuckle along halfheartedly.

Miss Long called out to her excited students," Ladies and gentlemen, we will be visiting the Battle of Hastings today." She gave them all a hard stare before continuing, "And I know I don't have to remind you all to stay within my protection spell."

Zach looked at Lauren in slack jawed disbelief. She couldn't possible mean they would be going there in person? Wouldn't that like disrupt the time space continuum or something? You didn't have to be a Trekker to see that a bunch of high schoolers in bright yellow smocks would be a little conspicuous, but she confirmed his fear when she said:

"Now we won't be visible, but our physical forms will be present; so do your best to stay out of the fray. Do I make myself clear?"

Everyone nodded silently.

"I can't hear you. Do I make myself clear?"

Everyone spoke up in a chorus of 'yeahs, yeses, and whole lot of you betcha yas.'

Miss Long seemed satisfied at the response, but still they remained where they were, which gave Zach time to wonder how they would travel to the past.

Miss longs beautiful features softened, her dark brown eyes sparkled with excitement, a flush formed on her porcelain cheeks, and her tiny frame began to vibrate. It was at this time that her silken hair rose from her shoulders where it rested like strips of ebony ribbons and began to float in mid air.

It wasn't blown off her shoulders by a gust of wind. No it had risen off her shoulders with the energy she was exuding. He could feel it emanating from her in waves -- each one more powerful than the last.

Zach let out a low whistle. She'd used nothing to active her spell, no incantations or spells, no symbols, not even a wand or a staff, just her all encompassing power.

That in of itself was the scariest thing he'd encountered so far.

O . . . K . . . he reminded himself -- as the wall across the room went from being an understandably opaque object to completely translucent -- never get on the wrong side of your magical history teacher.

Through the wall he watched a giant war horse trotting by pulling something that look like an ancient medieval torture device on an old wooden cart, but in the end he thought it was more likely a siege weapon of some sort.

Soldiers marched by the scene wearing weird helmets that peaked in the front to cover their noses, but had two arches on the sides to allow them full range of vision, carrying long pikes in their hands. Instead of being Knights in shining armor like he'd expected. The soldiers were dressed in heavy leathers with lots of buckles and straps.

Miss Long broke into his thoughts making him jump, "Is everyone ready?" She asked.

He had to take in a long breath to still his racing heart before he replied with a reluctant, "yes."

Lauren poked his shoulder then and when he looked down to meet her gaze she was looking at him with concern. Making him think GREAT. She's noticed his panic. And that was what it was. A thin sheen of sweat had broken out on his forehead and palms and a tight shiver ran up and down his spine like it was a railroad and the conductor was determined the train would be on time.

She hit him with her beautiful self assured smile and bumped his shoulder with her own before reaching her hand out to him which he took, but not before rubbing the sweat off vigorously on his jeans.

When Quinn took her other hand in his and batted his lashes at Lauren saying, "I'm scared too," Zach wanted to deck him for more than the simple reason that he made him look like a dingus.

But he snorted when Lauren jabbed Quinn in the arm hard enough to make Quinn yelp and rub the spot she'd struck.

He shot Quinn a look that said serves you F'n right

Quinn just made her laugh again when she took his hand, the same one she'd sucker punched, and he winced like it was broken.

The first thing Zach noticed when they crossed the translucent barrier was the stench. It assaulted his nostrils making him throw the smock over his face in self defense. It smelled like the port-a-potty at the fair had decided to get busy with a compost heap and had a baby that had its own unique funk.

The noise of the battle was the next thing to shock him. Even without modern day weapons it was deafening. Battle cries could be heard from all around; hooves thundered as horses and riders raced back and forth across the field delivering messages to their generals or engaging the enemy, some horses were even riderless and just aimlessly ran through the chaos, the clash of weapons rang out across the field. Zach marveled that  metal on metal has a decibel all its own; it was not dissimilar to nails on a chalk board in its ability to make you cringe

They stood at a safe distance on a peek watching the men on the field of battle, but they weren't far enough to escape the mud that flew from the horses hooves or the blood that splatter from the arteries that were severed.

When the battle surged toward the small peek and came dangerously close Zach was surprised that Long stayed put and didn't order them back. Then he realized she must have studied the battle more carefully than any historian that had ever lived and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was the safest place for them, which helped him relax.

That was until two burly men started fitting with daggers directly in front of him. They did a deadly dance before one cut the throat of another and the arterial spray sailed out in a wide arc and hit the front of his visor and streak across it in a long strand. When it started to run down from the line like rain drops on a window pain his mouth filled with bile and he gagged reflexively.

Miss Long recognizing that he was about to upchuck on the inside of his visor, ordered them all back to the class room.

At least he thought she did. He couldn't hear her through the din of battle, but her shouted words and her pointing figure towards the magic barrier was all the invitation he needed.

He made it back just in time to throw up in the waste basket at the foot of his teachers desk.

Miss long was nice enough to put it outside the class and to hand him a wet wipe as he hurriedly stripped off his gear.

Afterward he sat in his front row seat while a slight tremor ran all through his body.

Miss Long told them all then that the battle with its long bows and archers was not a human battle but a magical one. The battle in 1066 AD was fought with real dragons in attendance. If they had been able to stay longer they would have witnessed the magical weapons of war. So instead she reverted back to her magical movies while Zach secretly hoped it stayed that way.

Turns out that Edward the Confessor, the childless King of England, was killed by a poison draught and it was magic that caused his lack of progeny. The Battle of Hastings was in retaliation of those acts.

When the bell finally rang Zach was the first to the door. He was way too eager to put this class behind him. But when he opened the door and saw a very stern looking Mr. Tuma waiting on the other side and heard him say, "Mr Reis, we need to talk, please follow me."

Suddenly, Zach wished he had stayed in bed.

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I want to start recommending great books that I've found that haven't got a lot of reads yet and truly deserve it. So here it goes:

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