by Mikey Brooks
“Whatcha got there?” Mama J asked as they buckled up.
“It’s my Halloween costume. My teacher let me borrow it. It’s from when she starred as Odette in Swan Lake.”
“You’re going as a ballerina?” Ethan blurted.
Emmy glared. “I’m actually going as Odile—the black swan.”
“Oh, excuse me, Odile,” Ethan grumbled. “That should be nice and comfortable. Easy to move around in and such.”
“You’re just jealous,” Emmy snapped.
“Yeah,” Ethan snorted. “I’m jealous that you get to dress as a ballerina and I don’t.”
Ethan and Jax laughed. Emmy ignored them for the rest of the ride home and then headed straight for her room. Ethan could scream. They had to freaking plan out how they were going to take down the lunch ladies. Not prance around like sugar plum fairies.
“Is Emmy in or out?” Jax asked after they got to his bedroom.
“Heck if I know.” Ethan resisted the urge to go pound on her door. They needed to talk. He plopped down on a bean bag in the corner and reached for one of the books they’d snuck out of the lair the night before.
“I already looked through that one,” Jax said, motioning to the book. “It just covers the events of the Salem Witch Trials. Interesting, but not really helpful.”
“Maybe we should give up on this whole thing?” Ethan said, but he didn’t really mean it. He wanted more than anything to prove he was worth something.
“I think we got this.” Jax gave a half smile. He turned to the stack of books and picked one up. “If all else fails, we at least try to take down one. One less witch is better nothing.”
Jax was right. If they could at least break one of the witches, they would do their job. Ethan went over all the lunch ladies in his head, trying to see which one would be easiest to take down. They all seemed so bubbly, it was hard to imagine them being bad.
“What are you thinking about?” Jax asked.
“I’m trying to figure out which one of the witches might be the best to take down first—you know, the easiest.”
“Definitely not Griselda or Belladonna, I don’t want to be turned into a dishwasher.”
“I thought of that too. I think it’s down to Blondie or Red.”
“I think Luna would be the best choice,” Jax said. He set his book down and picked another one from the pile. “I noticed she takes a lot of orders from the others. She’s probably the lowest in rank. And Hazel did have a record.”
“That’s true, although I never checked to see what for.”
Jax glanced up. “She impersonated a substitute teacher at a private school in New Jersey. It said she escaped capture.”
“So she might be tricky, too.” Ethan thought about how they were going to distract the witches long enough for them to grab their wands. All four of the witches were tall and wore high heels. They’d have to practically jump to grab the wands. Maybe if they could get them to bend over or fall down? It would make things easier. “We need a prank.”
“A prank?”
“Yeah, something to get the witches together and maybe on the floor. I don’t know, trip them or something. It has to be really fast with a lot of people involved to give us just enough time to get their wands without them noticing.”
“Sorry, dude, but Robbie Maser is a dishwasher.”
“I know. He’d be perfect for a prank. What about Tyler or Nick? Do you think we could talk them into something?”
“I might be able to swing something.” Jax looked toward the door. “We really need Emmy to help us. She would be better at coming up with a prank.”
Ethan didn’t want to think about Emmy. She was so self-involved. She kept promising she would snap out of it, but every time she talked to Miss LeBeau it was like she didn’t care about anything but dancing. The reality was that they needed her. “I’ll be back. I’m going to try to talk to her.”
Ethan got up and went to Emmy’s room. He could hear her music playing in the hallway and knew she was probably dancing. He knocked at the door and waited for her to answer. Nothing. The music played on and Emmy said nothing. He tried the handle, it was locked. “Fine, be that way.”
Ethan stomped back to Jax’s room and pored over the books. He forced himself to try to remember every detail he read as he searched for more information about how the witches used their powers. When Mama J called them all down for dinner, the same music was playing from Emmy’s room and she didn’t come out. Ethan knocked again at the door.
“Emmy, it’s time for dinner, come on.” She didn’t reply. He jiggled the handle. Still locked. Ethan pounded harder. “Emmy, come on. You can practice later.”
Jax paused before going down the stairs. He looked at Ethan and suddenly a sense of worry came over him. Ethan pounded again on the door. “Emmy? Emmy?”
“What’s going on up there?” Mama J called up the stairs.
“Em, are you okay? Emmy?” Ethan continued to jiggle the handle.
“Mom, something’s wrong!”
Mama J charged up the stairs to Emmy’s door. She tried the handle, then reached above the doorframe. She pulled down a little silver key. A split second later, Emmy’s door was pushed open. Music filled the hallway. Ethan ran inside. Emmy was lying on the floor dressed in an elaborate black costume. She wasn’t moving.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Talking with a Warden
Emmy was on a grand stage. Lights followed her as she jumped and twirled in the air. The tiny black stones on her costume twinkled in the stage lights. She was Odile. She stretched out her arms, waiting for Prince Siegfried to sweep her off her feet. Emmy leaped, and a dark shadow caught her mid-flight. She spun around and around. The stage vanished and was replaced by bare trees, their limbs reaching down for her like claws. The shadow set Emmy down and she froze. She was surrounded by women in black robes.
They bowed to her and knelt on the forest floor. Eerie white fog drifted lazily around them. Emmy looked up to see an enormous full moon the color of silver. The light from it fell on Emmy like a spotlight. She felt naked and exposed. All eyes were on her. A sudden drum beat signaled her to begin her dance. As if entranced by the music, Emmy moved to the rhythm.
“Dance the dance,” the chorus of women chanted, again and again. Emmy moved to the drumbeat. She had memorized each movement. She knew she had to get every last step correct. She lifted her leg in the passé position, then targeted one of the women as her marker. She began her pirouette. She spun faster and faster, always turning her head to keep herself spotted on the woman. It was Madam LeBeau. She wore the expression of a proud mother. Emmy felt elated. She continued to spin and spin.
“Dance the dance. Dance the dance.” The chanting grew louder and louder.
Emmy’s heart was pounding. She needed to stop but she couldn’t. Her legs continued to spin her round and round. She lost focus on Madam LeBeau and began to feel dizzy. The women were circling around her, over and over. Emmy fell. Her body pushed through the ground and she was suddenly surrounded by fire.
Emmy screamed. She was locked in a prison of fire.
“Help! Help!”
Shadows began to take shape beyond the fiery bars of the prison. Her parents, then Ethan. They wore black suits and hollow expressions.
“You witch!” Mom spat.
Ethan shook his head. “Some sister.”
“NO!” Emmy buried her face in her black costume.
“Baby, baby, you’re okay,” the voice of Mama J said. Emmy felt her body rocking back and forth. “Come out of it, child. Come out of your nightmare.”
Emmy opened her eyes and saw Ethan standing over her. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. His face was pale and worried. Emmy turned and saw Mama J stroking her hair. “You take your time.”
“What happened?” Emmy felt like her throat was full of sand. “I need some water.”
“Jaxson, go get Emmy some water, please. Come on, baby, let’s
get you to your bed.”
“Emmy, are you okay?” Ethan asked, helping her up.
“I think I just passed out. Maybe I didn’t spot when I spun.”
“When was the last time you ate anything?” Mama J asked. She placed a pillow behind Emmy’s head, then sat down next to her on the bed. Emmy tried to think back. She had skipped breakfast and didn’t remember eating lunch; she had spent most of the time talking with Miss LeBeau.
“I think last night at dinner.”
“Oh, well, that explains it. Honey, you’re going to kill yourself.” Mama J handed her the glass of water Jax had brought. Emmy sipped it and felt some of the scratchiness wash away. “I made meatballs, but I think I’ll warm you up some soup. I don’t want you putting anything heavy in your stomach. Emmy, baby, you need to eat. With all this dancing around, you could really hurt yourself.”
“Sorry,” Emmy said.
“Don’t be apologizing to me, sugar. Take a look in the mirror and say sorry to her.” Mama J stood up and took the now empty glass. “I’ll get you some more and start on your soup. You boys come and eat while it’s still warm.”
Jax and Mama J left, but Ethan lingered by the door. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Emmy felt stupid. She did know better. Miss LeBeau had told her that it was important to eat to keep up energy. She now recalled spinning without spotting. That must have been what triggered her passing out. “I’m fine.”
“You just looked—I don’t know—scared.”
“I think I was having a bad dream. I don’t remember what it was about. I just remember falling.”
“I have dreams like that all the time. Once I fell and woke up on the floor.” Ethan gave a false laugh. Emmy smiled.
“Are you ready for tomorrow?” she asked.
Ethan gave a shrug. “Are you still in?”
“Of course I’m still in,” Emmy said, sitting up. “I said I was, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, but then you spent all your time dancing.” Ethan paused and ran his fingers through his hair. It made him look like Dad. “I don’t know. Don’t get mad, but it seems like you’ve been kind of out of it lately.”
Emmy wasn’t mad. She did feel out of it. For some reason she couldn’t get dancing out of her head. She really did want to help Ethan stop the lunch ladies, but she also wanted Miss LeBeau to be proud of her. Proud of her the way her parents would never be.
Ethan picked up her book from the floor and handed it to her. “I can go if you want.”
She took the book, feeling the tingling warmth in her arms but she pushed it aside. Ethan was what was important right now, not dancing. She tossed the book on her bed and turned her attention back to her brother. “I’m in all the way. I promise.”
Ethan smiled. “We have a plan, but we need your help. We need to somehow come up with a prank to get the witches all together. We also need to somehow get them to fall or kneel down. It would be easier to grab their wands.”
Emmy thought for a second then smiled. “It’s not really a prank, but I think I have an idea. How do you feel about flooding the gym?”
***
Ethan told Jax about Emmy’s idea while Mama J was on the phone with Papa Washington. He liked the idea. Ethan took a bite of his meatball, then swallowed. “Leave it to Emmy to come up with a prank around dancing.”
“It’s better than anything I came up wiff,” Jax said, cramming a whole biscuit in his mouth.
“Jaxson Monroe Washington,” Mama J scolded, sitting down at the table. “Did I raise you to eat like an animal?”
“Noff . . .”
Ethan suppressed a laugh and ended up snorting milk down his nose.
“Wild dogs eat more civilized than you two.” Mama J sighed and took a delicate mouthful of mashed potatoes. She swallowed then patted her lips with her napkin. “Jax, that was your daddy on the phone.”
“I know. You called him sugar-dumpling.” Jax giggled. Ethan laughed too, this time avoiding trying to drink his milk.
“Well, it looks like he’ll be coming home tomorrow.”
“Did he find out anything about my parents?” Ethan asked.
Mama J shook her head. “Sorry, sugar, he didn’t.”
“I say we go down to Transylvania County and look ourselves,” Ethan said. “Lacy told us the town they were in. We need to look for clues and stuff.”
“We have to be careful if hunters are disappearing. We can’t just walk into town and start asking a bunch of questions. People will get suspicious.”
“You don’t seem to mind that witches are hanging out at our school.”
“That’s not true, Ethan.” Mama J gave him a warning glance. “I am very concerned with the witches there.”
“Really?” Ethan asked. “They’re putting potion into the food, and they’ve put a spell on Robbie, but you still make us go.”
“Who’s Robbie?”
“Robbie Maser,” Jax said. “He’s a bully at school. They have him washing dishes.”
“Were his eyes a funny color?” Mama J asked. Ethan and Jax nodded. “Then they used a control spell on him. That poor boy. When did you notice him acting differently?”
“We heard them curse him on Monday,” Jax answered.
“And he is still washing dishes?” Mama J looked worried.
“What’s wrong?” Ethan asked.
“Most spells cast by witches are short term. They fade away after a while. If Robbie has been cursed for almost a week, the effects might be permanent if we don’t remove him from the witches’ influence—or break them.”
“You mean, if we don’t get Robbie out of the school, he might stay a robot forever?” Ethan asked. Mama J nodded. “Well, that’s not so bad.”
“Ethan Orion,” Mama J scolded.
“I was just joking. Although school without a bully would be nice for a change.”
“I’ll try to take care of Robbie tomorrow at the party. If I go in there before, the witches might get suspicious. I’ll try to call Jefferson back tonight and see if he can come back sooner.”
“Do you know if the witches do anything special on Halloween night?” Jax asked. Mama J took a bite of her meatball and nodded. Ethan sat forward.
“Halloween night is supposed to be the night when witches are at their most powerful—it’s kind of like their New Year’s Eve party. They stay up all night, dancing around and riding on brooms.”
“Riding on brooms?” Ethan laughed.
“Yes, they do ride on brooms—but only on special nights like Halloween. It’s called Samhain, or All Hallow’s Eve. It goes back to the Druid’s calendar where time started on November first.”
Jax swallowed another whole biscuit and cleared his throat. “I remember reading about all that. But aren’t you worried the witches might try to do something to all the kids at the party tomorrow? They are catering it.”
“Witches don’t normally mess around with mortals on Halloween,” Mama J said. “It’s not like spooky stories and such. Remember, to them it’s a holiday—a celebration. They are more concerned with having a good time than hurting anyone.”
“You make it sound like some witches have good qualities,” Ethan said.
Mama J’s eyebrows lifted. “I believe that most witches are misunderstood. Remember, I used to keep them prisoner. Some weren’t so different than you or me. Like each of us, they have the ability to choose for themselves whether they are good or bad.”
“The W.H.O. handbook says there’s no such thing as a good witch.”
Mama J gave Ethan a smile. “That’s a little black and white, isn’t it? Do you really believe a person is either good or bad? I think most people fall somewhere in the middle. We should always strive to be good, but it doesn’t always make us one hundred percent one way or the other. I believe witches also dwell somewhere in the gray.”
“So you should probably come prepared to the Halloween party. Just in case.” Ethan
hoped Mama J wasn’t getting suspicious about their plans for breaking the witches, but he did need her prepared. Papa Washington had mentioned a whip or something that wardens used to secure their prisoners.
Mama J sipped from her glass of milk, then patted the corners of her lips once more with her napkin. “Don’t you boys worry. Nothing will happen tomorrow, but if it does, I’ll be prepared. No doubt Papa Washington will be there too. You will have nothing to worry about.”
Somehow, Ethan just couldn’t bring himself to believe her. A thousand things could go wrong. Emmy’s plan for getting the witches where they wanted them seemed like it would work, but they needed a backup plan as well. Ethan looked up at the grandfather clock that sat in the corner of the dining room. They had just a few hours until Halloween—a few more hours until Ethan became a fully-fledged witch hunter.
Chapter Twenty-Four: More Secrets
School went by in a blur. Emmy remembered vague moments where Miss LeBeau would share the origins of Halloween and the reason the pagan holiday had lasted so long. She remembered the kids prancing around in their costumes, and her friends ogling over her tutu, but the rest was like looking through fog. Emmy had one thing on her mind—her dance performance that night. Although she’d been too weak to do the actual dance the night before, she made sure she read through her book. She memorized the motions, the poses, and the positions. She could not let Miss LeBeau down.
When the bell rang, declaring the end of school, the kids cheered and leaped from their chairs. Most kids shouted about getting some trick-or-treating in before the party. Hannah said something about coming over to her house, but Emmy was lost in her thoughts. She was practicing the routine over and over in her head.
“I guess we’ll see you at the party then,” Hannah said.
Emmy nodded.
“What’s up with her?” she heard Abigail whisper.
Emmy shook herself from her thoughts in time to see three Cleopatras leaving the classroom. She had never told them how cool their costumes were. I’ll have to tell them later. Movement caught her eye, and she saw Miss LeBeau walking toward her. The teacher looked magnificent in her pink Chinese dress. What had she called it—a qipao?