“Frances can’t even keep her mouth shut when it’s most important: telling our sacrifices the plan!” He rolled his eyes in her direction. “Never mind. Once I perform the ceremony it won’t matter. If I need to, I will finish the job that Frances couldn’t.” He shot a disgusted look in her direction. “I will be King after tonight. I will do whatever I please.”
King? “King” is what some Followers call the Fallen Angel. Howard was planning on reigning by the Fallen Angel’s side? “And when I’m ruler of the Underworld, there will be none of this ridiculous free will for witches. The witching world will follow me or die, just as it should have always been.” The last sentence was the first time he didn’t sound calm. It cracked on the word “die,” and his voice grew louder and louder with excitement or insanity. Probably both.
So, he wasn’t planning on ruling with the Fallen Angel. He was planning to take his place. Only a maniac would think they could take down the Fallen Angel.
“You...can’t...kill the Fallen Angel…” I said bewildered. I didn’t know much about him other than what I discovered in the book from the library, but I knew this one thing for certain: He was the most cunning witch there had ever been.
“Oh, you can do whatever you please if you have the right help. I will take over this world first, then become the new ruler and offer the Fallen Angel salvation.” Professor Howard mumbled “opstupefacio,” the paralysis spell we learned in class, as he directed his hands towards Frances’ unconscious body. I felt guilty for blaming Headmistress Craw for teaching us this spell. It hadn’t been a student paralyzing us at all.
I searched the trees all around me, trying to find whatever witches were helping him, but I saw no one. “Who would be crazy enough to help you do that?”
“You’re a very curious girl, aren’t you?” he asked. “I’ll give you the shortened version since I’m about to take your life. I mean, what harm will it do?” He laughed maniacally and began pacing in circles around my chair with his head held high. He certainly had a big enough ego to think he could become one of the most powerful rulers there has ever been. “Many of the lost souls and demons in the Underworld are displeased with the Fallen Angel, but once you’re in the Underworld, you cannot overturn your ruler. He has complete control over you. So, I broke down the barrier between our worlds and spoke with them in secret on several occasions. Gathered an army of sorts. I just summoned them to this very forest. They walk amongst us right now.” He stepped forward and leaned down so his face was so close to mine that I could feel his warm breath when he spoke. “If we all channel our power together and use the right spell,” he tapped the book that was still in his hands with one finger, “we can overthrow him.” A grin spread across his face like he was a kid of Christmas.
“And these spirits are okay with you as their leader?” I twisted my face as far away from his as I could. “They’re okay with no free will?” I asked, wondering if they even knew what kind of ruler they were electing.
“They don’t have free will, Ms. Parker. Once you sign your soul over to the Fallen Angel in the Underworld, all hope for free will disappears.” He shrugged and stood again, walking towards the fire. “They may not know all I plan to do,” he mumbled more to himself than me. Of course, these souls had no idea what they were doing. They didn’t understand the deception he was planning. Even Followers who sacrificed their soul to the devil didn’t deserve what was coming their way. If I ever doubted the Fallen Angel’s existence before, tonight that speculation disappeared. He did exist. But there were witches just as evil right here on Earth.
“Why did you lie to Frances? She didn’t know any of this,” I hissed.
Professor Howard calmly sighed. “I needed someone powerful, but not too powerful, to help me. Someone smart enough to know the school, but not smart enough to detect my lies. Someone desperate for love and approval. Someone who could be manipulated, who could be blamed if things went wrong. Frances was just the right girl.” Howard winked at me and it made my skin crawl. “In the beginning, I did have hope she could be as wicked as some of the witches I’ve known. I thought we could rule together one day. But she is weak.” He shook his head in disdain. “So, instead she will be part of the sacrifice that will make me ruler. I needed three abnormally powerful witches for this sacrifice. I need the power. And you were the lucky three.” He smiled wickedly. The fire reflected off his face making him look as evil as he truly was. “Frances is clearly the weak link here, but she will do.”
“Why me?” I asked, flashing back to our last conversation in his office. He thought I was powerful. Like everyone else foolishly thought. I rolled my eyes.
“You have potential, Ms. Parker, but there are things not even you know about yourself. Things witches have predicted. I can’t have threats this close to me.”
He turned his back to us and walked toward the fire. While he mumbled a spell, I saw Frances move slightly. She was slowly gaining consciousness. I looked over at Headmistress Craw, hopeful that she would also be waking up, but her head was still hung. He must have placed a slumber spell on her. He knew better than to allow her to wake up out here like this. Frances’ face went from confusion to panic as her eyes peeled open. She blinked rapidly trying to figure out her position in the forest. She quickly realized she couldn’t move her body and was now taped to a chair like me and Craw. A shrill noise escaped her throat. Not really a scream. Worse than that. It was like her body was on fire. She was in agony.
The sound caused Howard to stop his mumbling and turn his head in our direction. “Ah, you’re awake already. That didn’t take long.” He turned swiftly, swinging his dark cape behind him, and crept toward Frances. She was still screaming when he stopped in front of her.
“Why? Wil, I love you!” she wailed at the top of her lungs. Tears streamed down her face and for the first time since I met her our first year, my heart ached for Frances. Professor Howard was unfazed. He simply lifted his finger to his mouth to shush her. Somehow, he was smiling while watching her lose her mind. When she saw his finger reach his mouth, she regained as much composure as she could. “Why?” she breathed. She wasn’t screaming anymore, but nothing could stop her tears from coming.
“Why what?” he sighed like he was bored.
“Why am I tied up? Paralyzed?” Frances choked back a yelp.
“Oh, dear girl. What sort of sacrifice only has two victims? Honestly, your ignorance is almost adorable,” he giggled. “Three is the magic number.”
“You said you loved me,” she mumbled, defeated, as she realized there was nothing she could say to change his mind. He fooled her. Frances wouldn’t survive this. She was a part of the planning. She knew what would happen next better than anyone. Professor Howard bent down and placed a light kiss on top of her head before returning to the fire. My stomach churned.
I racked my brain for a solution, thinking of every single spell I had learned in class, but I couldn’t think of one powerful enough to take on the Underworld. People acted like I was such a strong witch. I scoffed at how wrong they had been. I couldn’t save anyone. I cursed myself for not studying more on my own like Miles.
Miles. I would never see him again. I would never know what the rest of my life would have been like. Our lives. Would we have ended up together? At this moment, I felt certain we would have, but I would never know for sure. I hated Professor Howard for doing this to him. I was Miles’ closest friend. We were family now. He had no mother. His father put up a wall when he decided to go to school here. He was mostly alone. Like me. My chest ached thinking of leaving him. The pain was almost intolerable. I dropped my head down and dry heaved.
I turned my attention to Frances to distract myself. She was panicked. Her head was twisting every direction, searching for a route of escape. But there was none. “Frances,” I called out. “Breathe.” I breathed slowly and dramatically in through my nose and out through my mouth so she would mimic my motions. She did, though her breaths came out shaking and her
lips trembled. “It’s okay,” I tried to reassure her even though it wasn’t true.
“This is not okay, Josie. None of this is okay. I’m so sorry.” She hung her head. There was nothing I could say to comfort her. Soon we would be sacrificed, and I couldn’t stop it. The numbness I forced myself to feel when I turned my face to stone had somewhat returned. I didn’t feel scared. Just sad. Sad because I would miss so many things I spent my whole life dreaming of. Devastated because I would never marry Miles. Heartbroken because I would never see Lillian’s purple eyes light up again. Hollow for all the witches we were leaving behind. The witches who would have their free will ripped away from them if all this actually worked. Perhaps we were lucky we wouldn’t be on Earth for that.
“Headmistress Craw! Headmistress Craw! Please, wake up,” Frances begged. Craw didn’t move. “Dammit!” She tilted her head back and stared at the sky. “It’s over, isn’t it?” She was still looking up, her warm breath creating puffs of smoke in the cold air. I did not respond. Professor Howard’s chanting was getting louder.
“Claricito daemonium gehennam ignis. Nostrorum potestatem unum.” I recognized words like “demon” and “hellfire,” but I couldn’t understand the rest. I wasn’t used to hearing spells this evil. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to see the souls and demons that he called to Earth to help him, but I closed my eyes just in case. I didn't want that to be the last picture in my head. Instead, I imagined Miles. His eyes shone when he saw I would be sitting next to him on the first day of class this year. They were a clear blue that day. He shook my hand when he formally introduced himself. I thought of the Black Forest lit up in twinkling lights on our first date. The flowers that were still sitting beside my bed. The way he whispered he loved me at the dance. His hands on my waist. I imagined kissing him in ways I never had the chance to do.
Professor Howard’s chanting grew incessantly louder, interrupting my perfect dreams. I still refused to open my eyes, but I heard Frances’ shrill screech of terror. Had the monsters come for us? Professor Howard was yelling his chant now, and there was a certain pleasure in his voice. My heart started thumping in my chest. I repeated Miles’ name over and over and over in my head until my mind was screaming it trying to drown out the noises around me. I heard the wails that didn’t belong to anyone I knew. Cries from the dead. My mind took me back to the party I attended at Crystal’s dorm room weeks ago. She had described this very scene. Her devil’s juice potion allowed her to see this grim future. I shuddered.
I could not see—my eyes were still shut tight—but I could feel the tension growing around me, swelling bigger and bigger, pushing down on my chest like a stone. It was hard to breathe. The air was steaming hot and for a second I was sure Hell had come to Earth. I sucked in as much air as I could, but it felt like my lungs were shrinking. I’m going to suffocate. I tried to drag thoughts of Miles’ back into my mind, but the lack of oxygen was taking a toll.
I felt dizzy and was sure I was spinning in circles at an impossible speed. This was enough to force my eyes open, but when I looked, I was still in the same chair. I wasn’t spinning. I couldn’t see much except black spots in my vision, but I made out a figure in the corner of my eye. The figure was running towards us and suddenly two more figures appeared close behind the first.
They called my name. “Josie!” No no no! They were coming for me. The demons were coming to drag me to the Underworld. Professor Howard began chanting something new. Something in a language I never heard. It sounded nothing like the spells we learned in school.
I sealed my eyes shut again. “Josie!” the voice wailed. I was confused. This voice was too beautiful. More like an angel than a demon. I heard a groan and my eyes sprung back open. I saw, in front of me, Headmistress Craw’s eyes were wide open. She was awake, frantic and clearly terrified, but she could help us. I tried to call out her name. I tried to move my lips to explain what was happening.
But it was too late. The dark spots in my vision kept growing until I was trapped in the darkness, unable to breathe.
“Josie!” the angel cried out.
Miles.
* * *
I had no idea what amount of time had passed. All I knew was that I felt safer than before. Professor Howard was still chanting by the fire, but he was screaming a defensive spell now, one I’d heard before, instead of the foreign tongue he was chanting in before. My vision was clear, and I could see the one thing I had imprinted in my mind since I realized I wouldn’t make it out of the forest. Ice blue eyes burning into mine. But these eyes were worried, and it made me feel sad. Miles’ arms were wrapped around me, cradling me. I was no longer in the chair, but on the forest floor. I wiggled my fingers and they moved. The paralysis spell was broken or had worn off. I wasn’t sure which, but I didn’t care because it meant I could touch his face. I put my hand on his cheek and felt the smooth skin I thought I would surely never feel under my fingertips again. He kissed my hand in quick spurts and relief flooded his face.
“You’re okay?” he asked. I only nodded. Truthfully, I felt dizzy and weak, and blood was clouding my vision again. The cut must have split back open somehow. A nod was safer than trying to speak. I didn’t want him to look worried anymore.
“Don’t move. I will be right back.” His arms slipped away from mine. I tried to reach for them again, but he was running. I was behind a tree, not far from the fire, but I couldn’t see Professor Howard anymore. I could only hear him. I turned my head to see where Miles was going. He stopped and grabbed Headmistress Craw’s hand. She was standing facing the fire in a line with Lillian, Professor Rose, and a very weak looking Frances.
Lillian was awake! They had found us. My joy was short lived as I watched them straining against Professor Howard’s power. They were calling on their ancestors for help. The forest air was thick, and I could sense the spirits of their families were there behind them. But I could also still feel the heat in the air, and I knew the demons from the Underworld were present, too. And they were not on our side.
Get up now, baby girl. I heard a voice in my head, but it wasn’t mine. I hadn’t heard this voice in years, but I recognized it immediately. My heart swelled. It was my mother’s. I looked all around me. The only thing I saw were trees. My mother wasn’t here. I laid my head back on the first floor, disoriented. You must help them, Josie. You must fight for the light. Maybe I had a concussion. Maybe Professor Howard’s spells had made me lose my mind.
Or maybe my mother’s spirit was really here, like the spirits of the other ancestors fighting on our side even though I hadn’t called her. I had to listen, whether her voice was real or not. I got up slowly, using a tree for support. It was a strange sensation to be able to use my limbs again. I wiped the blood from my face. There was a lot of it. Once my vision was cleared, I started hobbling towards their line. I focused all my attention on Miles’ hand. I must reach it. My movements were slower than I would have liked given the situation, but if I walked any faster, I was afraid I would fall over. My body had never felt so frail, but I had to listen to the voice. That’s right, baby girl. Keep going. Keep going.
Miles’ hand was right in front of mine. Just one more step and I would reach it. I lifted my foot to step over a fallen tree branch and grabbed his hand as tightly as I could. His head jerked sideways, and he saw me. It broke his focus, stopping him mid-spell. “Josie,” he whispered. Losing his focus meant our line of defense lost his power and the power of his ancestors. The sky was suddenly darker. I looked up and saw no stars and the full moon had disappeared. The wind became violent, turning a small breeze into the beginning of a tornado. Professor Howard had the upper hand. I whipped my body forward to face him. His expression was joyous. He knew he would win, but as his eyes moved down the line his face began to change. When he saw me, my hand locked with Miles’, his focus faltered. His smirk changed to something different. Doubt. Fear.
“Focus!” Headmistress Craw called. I threw myself into the spell. “Exillium infern
um daemones!” The spell was unknown to me, but as soon as the words left my tongue, I felt their strength. We were banishing the Underworld from our realm. I pushed every piece of my body and mind into the spell. So much so that I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long. I was too weak, and my body was dangerously close to toppling over. Professor Howard could see this, and his smirk returned. He continued with his defensive spell, and I knew if we couldn’t defeat him his spell would be enough to kill us all. He would have more than enough sacrifices, more than enough power.
My vision was blurring, and my mouth was dry, but I forced the words out over and over. “Exillium infernum daemones! Exillium infernum daemones!” The wind was violent, and the fire raged. Tree branches began breaking off, crashing to the ground. I looked up and could see the tops of the trees, impossibly far in the sky, were waving back and forth. Leaves filled the air. I wondered how the trees were still standing at all. I chanted the spell for the tenth time, and I knew it would be my last. I was spent.
But suddenly the voice returned. I couldn’t make out the exact words, but I could feel my strength returning. My ancestors were with me. My mother was with me. I could feel their power holding me upright. I no longer felt weak. I felt stronger than I ever had in my young life, power coursing through every fiber of my being. The wind howled and I heard a tree crash behind me. The air was cooling. We were winning.
You can do whatever you please if you have the right help. Professor Howard’s own words rang clear in my head as I heard my mother’s voice chanting with me. I closed my eyes and pictured her beside me. Her brown hair blew in the wind and her green eyes twinkled, and it felt like my mother had never left. In my mind, she looked as alive as she had the last morning she kissed me goodbye. I wondered if anyone else could tell her spirit was here. I opened my eyes to look at Professor Howard, and I had my answer. His face was pale, and his eyes were furious. He knew she was here. He could feel her presence. I closed my eyes and pictured her face again. The temperature dropped another degree.
North End: The Black Forest Page 17