Blackthorn: In the Tween

by Jamie Ott

  Chapter 8

  Professor Riley called the attention of all the students in the entrance hall. He ordered that everyone make their way into the Great Hall. As they filed in, Milton ran to Miles office to get the recipe for coercion which was a restricted substance.

  Nearly everyone looked as though they could hardly believe that Riley should tell them to return to class as if nothing had happened. Despite the logic behind her and the rest of the faculty’s request, they looked mutinous.

  A tall boy stood and said, plainly, that there was no way he could sit while his family was unaware that they were under some sort of attack. The boy bounded for the door. Mandel waived his rod and it sealed shut, locking in all the students.

  “But what about our families? What if the Wackens get to them?”

  “Everyone is safe as long as they appear not to know anything,” Ms. Crackwell reassured them. “In the meantime, we are coming up with a plan to get us all back home. If you run off and alert the masses, then you’ll ruin any chance we have for escape. We need all of you to stay silent until we meet again.”

  “When will that be?” asked another student.

  “Over lunch,” said Milton, who’d just walked in with a thick wad of paper in his hand.

  “So lunch is in a few hours, okay? We’ll get back to you, then. Goodbye,” she said abruptly and walked out.

  “Seal the entrance hall door, Milton,” Ms. Crackwell ordered, taking the recipe from him. “I’ll go take care of this in time for lunch.”

  “We can’t lock them in,” Milton said.

  “We have no choice.”

  She walked off toward the kitchen.

  Lin made her way up the stairs to her classroom. A few students followed, but some were still defiant. One girl, instead of taking the stairs, turned left and sprinted for the castle door. When she realized it was sealed shut, she screamed, “Let me out!”

  Professor Riley suddenly appeared and took out her wand and said, “Be still.”

  The girl did as she said. She didn’t move or speak; she merely stood there staring at nothing with a blank look in her eyes.

  A few students protested.

  “Go to class or your next!” Professor Riley shouted.

  Amazingly, they simply did as she said.

  That afternoon, just as she approached the Great Hall, Doctor Mandel pulled her to the side.

  “Don’t eat any main courses.”

  “Oh, okay,” she said. “I’m gonna go home and eat, then.”

  “No, we’re meeting in Ms. Crackwell’s office.”

  Together, they made their way past the hall to the offices. Inside, everyone ate sandwiches and drank ice cold tea.

  “Don’t we have air conditioning in the castle?” asked Professor Riley.

  “Temperatures, year round here, are approximately 65 degrees, so there’s the answer to your question.”

  “Let’s get back to the heart of the matter,” said Milton irritably. “What are we gonna do? We can’t keep putting spells and potions on our students.”

  “We have to,” said Ms. Crackwell. “They need to go on as if everything is normal. When we come up with a viable plan to get us back to our side of the Earth, then we’ll call a parent teacher meeting, and we’ll lure the entire town here. When they cross the threshold, they’ll get their memories back. At that point, we’ll let them all in on the plan for escape. The only problem we face is how to carry out this plan in a way that there won’t mass hysteria.”

  “No matter what, there’s gonna be some hysterics,” Milton reasoned. “We’ll just deal with it the best way we can. For now, we need to work out how we’re gonna get home. For that, we need time and everyone’s help.”

  “What exactly are you going to do? You can’t exactly control the mists,” said Lin, thinking she could try to call them herself.

  “Doctor Mandel and I are working on a spell,” Ms. Crackwell replied.

  “A spell won’t be strong enough. We’ll need a ritual to help concentrate all our energy into one pool,” said Milton. “It will take more power than any single one of us has. In fact, we may have to enlist the help of the newly awakened town’s folk.”

  “I think there is something we need to realize, before we go through with this,” said Lin.

  “There is a chance that some will die if they come along with us on this plan. We know,” Ms. Crackwell interrupted. “If some wish to remain, then we cannot force them to leave with us. We are, simply, offering an option. For those who still have family in the other world, it might be worth the risk. If not, then they know when and how to try and return home, which is through the mists. Unfortunately, it might be some time before they return, judging by the weather on this side.”

  “This is it. We are in a fight for our lives,” said Doctor Mandel.

  “So what do we do, now?” asked Riley.

  Ms. Crackwell said, “Doctor Mandel and I will go to the dean’s office and work on a spell and rite. You, three, will substitute for our classes. Normally, some of you would return to the Historical Society, but you must stay throughout the day. If need be, just go from class to class and check in.”

  “What if they try to leave?” asked Lin.

  “We have reason to believe that it’s only the front entrance threshold that’s power lifting, so we’ve opened the garden gates, just outside of the Great Hall, to use in the meantime,” said Doctor Mandel.