By Demons Driven

"Makenzie Beaumont, Miss! He's amazing. We're talking about how characters change and how the person we are today is not necessarily going to be the same person we are tomorrow, which is good, because I think you know my big sister!"

I did know this student's older sister and tried not to laugh.

"Well, we're going to look at reproduction, no, don't groan, you were excited before! It's not sex ed. We're going to look at how plants reproduce and learn about cells. Now, before we finish一homework. No, it's fun homework. Before the next lesson, I want you all to bring a leaf to class. You can collect it from home or on the way to school, or outside, but we are going to use the microscopes again and have a look at some leaves. Ok. Bell's about to go, now skedaddle!"

I knew leaves would not overly excite year seven, but it was part of the curriculum and we needed to cover it before we got into the study of reproduction.

The lesson before lunch I had a spare, but it also meant I would be on yard duty for half of the lunch break. Making my way towards the staffroom I heard raucous laughter coming from one of the humanities classrooms. I slowed and glanced through an open window to see Jay standing on a desk reciting different lines from the witches in Macbeth.

"...By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. So"一he jumped down from the desk the students engrossed in his lesson一"throughout Macbeth the witches tend to foretell some of the story. As we read through it, I really want you to think about the role of the witches and whether they are independent agents toying with human lives or agents of fate. Ok, from the top, yes you. I think you were reading the lines of our first witch. And action."

Diana saw me pause and waved at me, a huge grin on her face. I thought back to my high school days and how I remembered little from studying Shakespeare.

"Emma, glad I caught you." Dylan had found me heating leftovers in the microwave in the staffroom. "Are you ok? You seemed to have a bit of a coughing fit in the meeting this morning."

"I'm fine, boss, just coffee going down the wrong hole."

"Good. Thanks for coming along Friday night. I hope you enjoyed yourself. Did you get to meet James, I mean Mac? I have to keep remembering to call him that."

"Sort of, no, not really. Why Mac and not James?"

"Our families go way back. I used to babysit James when I was a teenager. When he started writing, he dropped the James trying to remain a little mysterious. Even back then he was known as Mac and only as Jay or James to those close to him. Anyway, Amanda and I are having an informal dinner Friday night with him. Diana and Cara are coming; can you make it too?"

"I'll have to check my calendar. I'll get back to you." I tried to smile as Dylan left the room.

There was no way I was going to dinner with Dylan's family, Diana and Cara, and, well, him. I figured for the next four weeks I would simply hide in my office or classroom and have nothing to do with the humanities department. My senior students were busy preparing themselves for the end-of-year exams and I would make myself available to them in breaks. Earlier in the year, some of my colleagues had helped by taking some of the sessions I was rostered on for science drop-in during lunchtimes, and I would return the favour now.

After finishing my lunch, I rang Judy to see how things were going. There was no answer, so I left a message hoping things were ok and letting her know I was thinking of her. I'd never thought a lot about death. My father's parents had died before I was born, my mother's parents died when I was young, and I never really understood any of it at the time. I had few ideas of how to support my friend and figured that messaging her and trying to call might be appreciated.

Grabbing my water bottle, I made my way outside, waiting for the bell to signal the start of lunch. I was to watch the year nine and ten courtyard areas. Often students would just ignore those of us on duty, but sometimes they sought us out for a talk. I enjoyed this time and had built up a reputation as a teacher who was approachable to all students, even those I didn't teach.

"Ms Duncan, have you met Makenzie Beaumont yet? He's so dreamy."

"Elise, almost everyone has Makenzie Beaumont fever it would seem. Perhaps I should investigate if there's a cure. My guess is it would require some scientific investigation, which you could have done had you taken biology this year."

Elise had been one of my finest students the year before but chose to study humanities and music instead of science.

"Ms Duncan, you should have seen him just before lunch doing Macbeth. He just brought it to life."

I did not mention I had seen some of it, but I simply smiled and kept walking.

"There you are. I missed you at the first break." Diana had come at me from behind. "Emma Duncan, have you met Makenzie Beaumont?"

His face went white as he saw me.

"Hi, Makenzie, was it? I'm Emma. I'm in the science faculty so I don't think we'll cross paths very much this month, but I hope you enjoy your time here."

"Thanks, Emma. I'll know where to go if I need help with any experiments or anything."

I could see him flinch as the words left his mouth and Diana had a huge grin on her face.

"Well, I'm on duty, so I'll leave you with Di here. See you."

"Nice lab coat, Ms Duncan."

"I'd shut up, Ms De Vries, if you know what's good for you."

"You doing pump class after school?"

"I was planning to, yes. I need to get back to yard duty." I was getting more and more embarrassed and just wanted Diana to leave and take him with her.

"Cool. Cara and I will see you there. Let's grab dinner together."

I had no chance to respond as Diana and Jay headed towards the staffroom.

~*~*~*~*~

"OK, Emma, spill the tea." Cara, Diana, and I were leaving the gym together after our exercise class.

"Long story short, your girlfriend bailed on me Friday night and urged me to pick up in the pub for a one-night stand. Which I did, thinking I was picking up Jay the marketing man, only to arrive at school today and find out I slept with James Makenzie-Beaumont, the writer-in-residence for the next four weeks."

"What's he like?"

"He's hot as!" Diana butted in, "And I think he likes Ms Duncan, and I also think Ms Duncan likes him."

"Of course, I like him, I mean, he's a pleasant enough sort of bloke一"

"What did you say over coffee this morning, I think it was 'Ah-ma-zing.'"

"Yeah, so the sex was pretty good."

"Pretty good?"

"Well, it was better than that. It was phenomenal. He took me to places I'd never been before."

"But it was a one-night stand?"

"Exactly." I was glad Cara could see my point. "And that's all it was going to be. It was lustful and it was fantastic, but it was Em the scientist and Jay the marketing man. And you both know I don't do relationships."

"No, the thing is you do do relationships, but it's always been with the wrong people."

I wondered if Diana had a point. It had been almost two years since I had broken up with Marius, or rather, two years since Marius had broken my heart and told me that he had found someone else.

Positive male role models had eluded me thus far in my life. My father had left my mother when I was in primary school and taken up with a lady from his work. It hadn't lasted. He'd married and divorced twice more since then and now lived on the other side of the country. My brother, Billy, was older than me but had left his wife, Susan, when his sons were similar ages to Billy and me when our father left.

I had maintained a better relationship with Susan and loved having the boys stay in the holidays, despite them living interstate. I only hoped that Susan and I could be a better influence on Tim and Daniel than their father or grandfather. I was furious with Billy for refusing to have anything much to do with his sons but also wondered if this might be better for them in the long run.

"You're coming Friday night, aren't you, Em?" Diana asked me as we loaded the dishwasher after dinner.

"I don't think it would be a good idea."

"You can't just avoid him for four weeks. You handled it well at lunchtime."

I told Diana I'd think about it.

~*~*~*~*~

"Emma! How wonderful to see you again. You slipped away last Friday night and I didn't get a chance to say goodbye." Amanda greeted me with a kiss on each cheek as was her custom.

"It was lovely, I just had, um, things to do. Here." I handed her a bottle of wine.

"Come in, come in. Dylan and Mac are out the back, and Di and Cara are still on their way."

Megan and her brothers, Jack and Freddy were enthralled in a tale Jay was regaling them with as I walked into the family room.

"Emma, I've hardly seen you all week. Is everything ok?"

"Yes, boss, I'm just trying to offer more drop-in times for the senior students. They're worried about their exams."

"They are or you are?"

"You know me too well."

"You've met Mac, haven't you?"

"Yes. Hi." I forced a smile and a little wave.

I was glad once Diana and Cara arrived, and I was able to slink into the background. The boys loved catching up with Cara and quizzed her on all the 'baddies' she had arrested that week. Cara always invented stories, but the boys weren't to know.

"Ms Duncan, you can sit next to Mac." Megan pulled a chair out for me as we went into the dining room.

"What have I said about outside of school, Megan? It's Emma, remember? I can sit next to Cara or Diana, split them up or something."

"No, you sit next to Mac. Good idea, Meg." Amanda walked through with a large lasagne.

I let the others steer conversation over dinner. It was what I usually did. It was interesting to note he did too, despite Dylan and Amanda trying to draw him into things.

"And I do cook more than pasta, Mac," Amanda said as she handed him a plate, "Poor Mac came for dinner last Saturday and had pasta then too."

"It's all good, Amanda. I'm not a fussy eater at all."

"Did you two manage to meet last Friday night? I think you both left early."

I picked up my serviette to try and hide almost choking on my food.

"Sort of," I mumbled. "I, um, didn't know who he was."

"Are you growing your hair, Mac? It's different from the back of your books," Megan asked as the conversation went on, fortunately oblivious to the things Mac and I got up to the week before.

"I might cut it again soon, but I like the beard."

"Have you read any of Mac's books yet, Em?" I wished I could have kicked Diana under the table.

"Um, no, I'll grab one from the library on Monday."

"I've got spares, I can give you one if you like. Um, perhaps tomorrow or Sunday we could meet for a coffee or something?"

Oh, that the ground would open and swallow me whole. I glared at Diana and noticed Cara giggling behind her napkin. Amanda seemed to have a grin on her face too, and I wondered if perhaps Diana had broken my confidence.

"I'm busy this weekend with planning and stuff. I'll grab one from the library, but thanks."

He did not push it and I was glad that he was sitting next to me, and I didn't have to glance over at him as we ate. My body was reacting to his presence in a way I should not have been surprised by. Our hands brushed as we reached for the salad, and it felt like a spark went through me all over again. Still, there were only three more weeks until he'd be gone.

~*~*~*~*~

"It's around here off the side of the classroom; it can be hard to find." I heard Megan's singsong voice early on Monday morning as I sat in my office doing some lesson prep.

"Thanks, Megan. I'll find it from here." Mac's voice was calm as he tried to find my office.

"I'm through here, and I'm still not sure what to call you." I called out to try and give directions, as I was happy sitting behind my desk and did not want to get too close to this man.

"Jay is good. Or James. Or Mac. Whatever you feel comfortable with, mysterious one."

"Yeah, that's the pot calling the kettle black."

"If I'd known you were a teacher, I would never have...I didn't realise you were there with Dylan's party at the pub."

"I did stretch the truth simply positioning myself as a scientist."

"You were more honest than me."

"So, you don't market your books then?"

"Touché." He smiled. "I was serious though about catching up for coffee sometime. I'd like to get to know you better."

"That's not a good idea. I don't do relationships. You're only here for a few more weeks, and I don't want to make things awkward at school or get a reputation or something."

"Ok, I'm just, no, look, well... Geez. I'm really just asking you for a coffee, not proposing or anything. I'm just... I wasn't lying when I told you your smile captivated me."

Looking at those eyes and knowing what that body did to mine, I fought hard to resist his coffee offer.

"Compromise? I'll come to the staffroom on breaks this week when I'm not busy."

"I look forward to it." A smile crept across his face.

My phone beeped with a message from Diana letting me know she had grabbed me a coffee and was in the staff room waiting for the Monday-morning briefing and wondering where I was.

"Well, I'm heading there now. You coming?"

"Yes, but first, here." Jay handed me a copy of the first in the Magda the Magnificent series.

"You know I'll be comparing you to Tolkien, so this had better be good." I smiled, placing the book on my desk.

"I'll let you in on a secret then, Magda was inspired by Eowyn."

Our conversation carried on for our walk to the staffroom. He was easy to talk to and made me laugh, just as he had done at the Crown and Anchor. We snuck in, just as Dylan started speaking, but I was glad when Dylan did not call us out on our tardiness.

Diana's wink as she handed me the coffee she had bought me was greeted with an eye roll.

"Did you arrive at school together or something this morning?" She whispered as Dylan explained something about sports trials that week.

"Shut up. He came to my office to give me a book."

"They're good. I think you'll like them."

"Ms De Vries and Ms Duncan, is this a conversation you'd like to share with the whole room, or can it wait until lunchtime?"

"Sorry, boss." I blushed as Dylan called us out in the same way we would call students out in our classes, despite the rest of the staff laughing.

"I'll come to your office first break if you won't come up here." Diana and I walked out of the staffroom together after our briefing.

"Nah, I'm coming up to the staffroom. I told Jay I would."

"Jay?" Diana raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Mac, Jay, whatever. That guy has more names than a European prince!"

~*~*~*~*~

I survived breaks in the staffroom and discovered Mac was both witty and smart. One day I discovered he had not been to university at all and started writing at the encouragement of his grandmother after coming home from working in a canning factory during the day.

"Where's home then?" one of the other teachers asked during one lunch break.

"I grew up all over the place. My dad was military. The closest place to home would be my gran's place in rural Victoria."

"Is that where you know Dylan from?" I knew Dylan had roots in that area too.

"Yep. He used to be my babysitter. Well, Gran would tell me she was going out and Dylan was going to come and hang with me. I thought it was sophisticated, and I never realised he was actually babysitting me."

"So why all this Halloween stuff then? Are you secretly American?" I asked.

"Not at all." He gazed at me with the eyes I had initially fallen for at the pub. "It's more about helping the students realise that fear is normal and something to work through. If you read Magda, you might understand a little more. I suppose my philosophy is that until we can explore the shades of grey, we will never be able to see the complexities in so many situations. I've just chosen to use the supernatural to explore this, I suppose. Plus, Halloween is fun and it involves sugar and chocolate."

I smiled as I listened to him. It was obvious he was passionate about his work and writing, to him, was a means to get a message out there. At the end of the day, I slid his book into my satchel and decided I might as well read it.

~*~*~*~*~

To the mysterious Emma, I only wish I was better at marketing myself. May your demons be few and may Magda help them metamorphose. Yours, J x

As I lay in bed I read over and over again what he had written in flowing script on the cover page of the book he had given me that morning. I tried to work out what he meant. It was a message in two parts, an appeal as such and I was not sure if he meant it. I thought I had been clear and told him that I did not do relationships and that our night together had been a hook-up, a very lovely hook-up, but a hook-up all the same. I figured it would be better if I ignored it and simply read a few pages to get more of a sense of what James Makenzie-Beaumont really was like.

Chapter 1

Magda had not always been magnificent. At first, she was meek, then her meekness morphed into a mettle allowing her to transform into a person that was not like the other Phyniacians she had grown up with. An only child orphaned when she had seen eleven summers, she had been cared for in a fairly loving way by her governess, Arnelia.

Whereas the death of Arnelia's parents, three winters before Magda's, saw her enter a life of servitude, Magda's parents left wealth that allowed their young daughter an existence Arnelia only dreamt of. Living vicariously through her charge, Arnelia longed to see Magda married to a prince and believed that love and marriage was the pinnacle of any Phyniacians success. Magda, however, had other ideas.

So, it wasn't Tolkien, but it was believable, and I did not hesitate to turn the page. Before I knew it, it was way past my bedtime and yet I needed to find out how Magda and Bryce, the urchin Magda had convinced to join her on her quest, dealt with the evil spirits that had come on the winds of each season, in this case, the Syvodior, the Wind of Summer.

I laughed at Magda and Bryce's antics on their journey to the Whirlwind Mountain, and cried as Tibble, one of the tree elves who had protected the Phyniacians on their journey, sacrificed themselves allowing Magda to convince Syvodior that fire could be used for good instead of evil.

There were elements to the story that reminded me of the child psychology I had learnt at university, and the resilience that Magda and Bryce showed was commendable. I could see how the students could be drawn in by the tale and figured if I was reviewing it, I might give it four stars out of five, recognising I was being overly harsh at the same time.

My dreams that night were of whirlwinds and tree elves, with Jay screaming at me as I controlled the whirlwind, telling me to breathe, and that a calm breeze of biology could take in a marketer's message.

The sound of my alarm saw me wake with a start. I was in no way a whirlwind, but rather a calm stream that meandered along, trying not to cause any disturbance to the status quo.

I was grumpy through my first two classes. My senior class recognised this and got on with their independent studies. Year nine were a handful. We were investigating the theory of evolution and how many scientific theories can be linked to technological advances of the time. Although some members of the class seemed a little disinterested in the conversation, others joined in. Detention was threatened to a group who would not stop talking, but the bell went before I needed to follow through.

Retiring to my office off the science lab, I texted Diana and asked her to bring me a coffee.