The Flying Glass (Fanglewick School of Magic Book 1)

by E. M. Cooper

  ‘What now?’ Marnie whispered.

  Seb shook his head in dismay.

  As Marnie and Seb crouched together, leaves crackled behind them.

  Marnie covered her head with her hands.

  ‘Theo,’ Seb whispered.

  Marnie rolled over and sat up.

  ‘Shh.’ Mystilic held his wand aloft and peered from behind a tree to watch the fairies. ‘Dear old Thigimus has got himself in a bind.’ He stirred the air while mouthing an incantation. The end of his wand glowed in the darkness. Soon it crackled with fine yellow filaments. A bright arc spread from the tip of his wand and grew in all directions. It cast a small throbbing disc of gold light. He flicked it towards the cocoon holding Jax and over Thigimus, who was still lying prone on the forest floor encased in webbing. The light burst into a huge gold hemisphere and hung over Jax and Thigimus. The fairies wailed. They released another volley of their arrows, but the dome sent them scattering to the forest floor. Swearing and hissing, the fairies outside the gold dome took off into the dark green shadows.

  ‘They’re giving up,’ Seb said in surprise.

  Marnie grinned at Mystilic. ‘They met their match.’

  ‘It was fairly basic magic,’ he said.

  ‘What about the fairies caught underneath the dome?’ Seb asked.

  Mystilic sliced an opening in the hemisphere with his wand and strode through it with the teenagers following him. They saw fairies scattered on the floor about Thigimus.

  ‘Don’t step on them. They’re sleeping,’ Mystilic said.

  ‘With their eyes open?’ said Marnie peering at one fairy.

  ‘It’s the spell. Come to think of it, I can’t imagine why Thigimus didn’t use the same one.’

  ‘He was distracted,’ Seb said. ‘I think he was too busy thinking about the djinn and being the next Fanglewick head.’

  ‘How did you know we were here?’ Marnie asked.

  ‘Lissa came for me after helping Charlie to the infirmary.’ Mystilic prised the empty pickle jar from Thigimus’ grasp. ‘I’d better finish this.’ He strode towards the cocoon hanging from the tree while waving his wand and uttering a string of foreign words. The cocoon’s webbing split, spilling Jax onto the ground with a dull thump, but he didn’t stir. Mystilic crouched and felt for Jax’s pulse. ‘Excellent. He’s only in a sleeping stupor, but the djinn possessing him will hear everything.’ He raised his wand again. ‘Djinn of the demonic halo, hear me. You will leave the goblin’s body and enter this vessel. Manneray, entarsus, enclosetrey.’

  Jax jerked and spluttered as a red haze flowed with white froth from his mouth to the jar. Once the jar filled, the mage slapped the lid on and screwed it tight. ‘That’s done,’ he said in a matter-of-fact tone. He waved his wand at Jax again. ‘Animus, awaken!’ It should be enough to get him on his feet for you both to accompany him to the infirmary. The spell won’t last long though, so you’d better hurry.’

  ‘What about Professor Thigimus?’ Marnie asked.

  ‘I’ll look after him. Jax will need attention soon given he’s been here a while. He’s covered in arrow wounds and fairy bites.’

  ‘What about the djinn?’ Seb said.

  ‘I’ll take care of it,’ said Mystilic shaking the pickle jar and gazing at the twitching red lump, which had materialised inside it. ‘Go now.’

  Marnie and Seb helped a staggering Jax from the forest and into the daylight.

  ‘Wonderful day,’ Jax drawled. ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘The infirmary,’ Seb said as he steered him up the hill.

  ‘I don’t believe we’ve met,’ Jax said. ‘I’m ... I’m ....’

  ‘You’re Jax, the executive assistant to ... to the head of Fanglewick,’ Seb said.

  Marnie’s head swam as they walked up the hill. ‘I don’t feel very well.’ She scratched at her leg. ‘What the ...? Where did these arrows come from?’

  ‘Don’t scratch your leg, Marnie,’ Seb said ‘It looks like a pin cushion and you’re having a bad reaction.’

  Jax pitched forward and hit the ground followed by Marnie, who toppled and fell face-first into the grass.

  * * *

  CHAPTER 18

  A witching notion

  When Marnie opened her eyes she was lying in bed in the girls’ wing of the Fanglewick infirmary where flimsy white curtains floated over two rows of empty beds.

  ‘She’s awake,’ Lissa said peering closely at Marnie. ‘Are you alright?’

  ‘Fine, so why am I here?’

  ‘You fainted on the hill just after Jax did,’ said Seb, who was sitting on a chair by the window.

  Marnie struggled to prop herself up on her elbows. ‘Well I’m absolutely fine now, so let’s get out of here.’

  ‘You had a bad reaction to the fairies’ poison. A bunch of kids had to carry you and Jax all the way up the hill,’ Lissa said. ‘Sister Yallow said you were lucky not to lose your leg.’

  ‘Rubbish.’ Marnie flicked the sheet off her legs and sat up for a few seconds before falling back onto the pillow, horrified by the sight of her swollen and blotchy right leg under a metal cage. At the far end of the ward a nurse entered a plastic tent where a girl lay in another bed. ‘What’s wrong with her?’

  ‘Shh,’ Lissa said. ‘I heard she’s got a bad case of purple pox—it’s going around Capricorn House.’

  ‘What are you doing?’ An officious woman with a grim expression wearing a crisp white uniform, cape and gloves burst through the doorway near Marnie’s bed and glared at her.

  ‘Nothing.’

  She snapped the sheet back over Marnie’s legs and tucked it in until it was tight. ‘I’m Sister Yallow and I’ll be looking after you while you’re in my infirmary.’ She turned to Seb and Lissa. ‘Leave now, Marnie needs her rest.’

  ‘What about Jax and Charlie in the boys’ ward?’ Seb asked Yallow.

  ‘They’ll be fine by tomorrow morning ... textbook reactions ... nothing peculiar.’ She stared too long at Marnie.

  ‘What about Professor Thigimus?’ Marnie asked.

  Yallow frowned. ‘Who?’

  ‘He was knocked out by the fairy arrows too.’

  ‘Well there’s been no patient admitted to the infirmary under that name.’

  Marnie beckoned to Seb, who ducked his head to hear her whisper, ‘Come back later with a torch. We have to search for you know who.’

  ‘Yes, I’ll tell Astra you won’t be in the kitchen to help this evening,’ Seb said loudly. ‘She’ll be fine with it.’

  ‘Thanks, Seb.’

  After Seb and Lissa left the infirmary, Marnie said, ‘Excuse me, Sister Yallow.’

  Sister Yallow stopped straightening the sheets on the bed across the aisle. ‘Yes, dear?’

  ‘Is it, um, normal to have a reaction like mine?’

  ‘Well, no, it is rather unusual, especially for a wizard.’ She frowned. ‘Come to think of it, I haven’t seen an allergic reaction to fairy toxins in a wizard before and I’ve been here a while, but there’s always a first.’

  ‘Ever?’

  ‘Never.’

  ‘How long have you been here?’

  ‘Mmm ... three decades.’

  ‘Perhaps it’s because I’m a scatterling,’ Marnie said in a small voice.

  ‘Who told you that?’

  ‘I was told all the foster children in my old home on Earth were scatterlings.’

  Sister Yallow rubbed her chin and looked to the ornate ceiling for inspiration.

  ‘But I got through the demonic halo in one piece,’ Marnie said.

  ‘Very strange, although I’d bet my mother’s cauldron it’s most unlikely you have wizarding blood.’

  Marnie’s head spun as though she had re-entered the demonic halo. She swallowed before whispering, ‘That can’t be. Who am I then?’

  ‘Your friends told me you didn’t pass the entrance exam although for a good reason, I hear. If you make it into Fanglewick as a student, you’ll go through a special c
eremony. Only that will tell you for certain.’

  Marnie felt sick. ‘For now, please, can we keep this a secret?’

  ‘Of course. Everything about your medical history is confidential.’ She took Marnie’s pulse. ‘Dear, dear, your blood’s all aflutter. You must rest, Marnie. Don’t worry your young head about it now. I’m sure everything will work out in the end.’ She gathered a jug and empty glass from Marnie’s bedside table. ‘Sleep tight, little one.’

  * * *

  ‘Psst, wake up, Marnie,’ whispered Seb as he switched the bedside lamp on.

  Marnie opened her eyes to see Seb and Lissa standing over her and for a few moments was disoriented until she remembered she was still in the girls’ ward of the infirmary. She pulled the blanket back and was pleased to see her leg was now only slightly red and puffy.

  ‘Yesterday after we left you, we were called to an assembly,’ Lissa said. ‘Honora Flay announced that Thigimus had caught the djinn.’

  ‘What?’ Marnie shook her head. ‘That isn’t right. Theo should be head. He captured the creature and saved Thigimus.’

  ‘Perhaps he thought Thigi deserved it,’ Seb said. ‘We’re having a ceremony for him in the morning. Once he’s appointed, it can’t be reversed unless he resigns or dies.’

  ‘You’re kidding?’

  ‘It’s an ancient Fanglewick regulation thought up by Imporium people. If you’re weak enough to die or lose power, you’re no longer head material.’

  Marnie shook her head. ‘Unbelievable. Stupid rules.’

  ‘Some of the wizarding kids reckon as a great mage, Crabs should’ve been on her toes.’

  ‘Did you tell Theo that Crabwinkle might still be locked in a tower?’

  ‘We tried, but we couldn’t find him, so we sent him a message using the ceramic frog,’ Seb said.

  ‘And?’

  ‘No reply. To be honest, I’m worried about him.’

  ‘What about the other teachers? Surely we could tell someone.’

  Seb shook his head. ‘Think about it, Marnie. We don’t know who we can trust. What if went to a teacher and blabbed everything only to find out it was the person who locked Crabwinkle up?’

  ‘We have to sneak into Fanglewick before dawn. There’s no other way,’ Marnie said. ‘Professor Crabwinkle might still be alive.’

  ‘Into Fanglewick?’ Lissa echoed her in a horrified voice.

  Marnie sat up and pulled her shoes on. ‘You can stay here, if you don’t want to come.’

  Lissa swallowed hard. ‘No, I’ll come too.’

  Marnie smiled at her.

  ‘What’s the plan?’ she asked looking back and forwards between Marnie and Seb.

  ‘There isn’t one,’ Marnie said.

  Lissa groaned.

  They all tiptoed along the stone floor past the girl with purple pox sleeping in a plastic tent. Outside the infirmary, it was dark and cold as they crept across the frosty lawn towards the Fanglewick entrance. Marnie knew with each passing hour, the chance of them finding Crabwinkle was slipping away.

  Seb gazed up at the Fanglewick buildings. ‘The skinny blue spire on the right has gone.’

  ‘What if Professor Crabwinkle was in there?’ Lissa said.

  ‘Come on, we can only try,’ Marnie said.

  ‘The front doors are wide open,’ Lissa said in surprise.

  ‘Meeb and Grib, the caretaker goblins come and go during the night,’ Seb explained. ‘They leave them open.’

  ‘So we have to watch out for them.’ Marnie led the way inside. ‘Shall we start searching near Crabwinkle’s study?’

  The three children stood outside the committee room which led to Crabwinkle’s office. Marnie stared at the door and the green and blue patterned carpet in the hallway.

  ‘What are you looking for?’ Lissa whispered.

  ‘Blood stains. Remember, Crabwinkle was bleeding from the arm. They should be here, but I can’t see any.’

  ‘Maybe some blood dripped along the corridor or on the stairs,’ Seb said.

  Marnie thrust her frozen hands into her pockets only to bump into her glasses with her right hand. She fumbled for them and slipped them on.

  ‘Why are you putting them on?’ Seb asked.

  ‘Cause I have an idea.’ She hurried to the stairs. ‘There’s a mark here.’

  ‘I don’t see it,’ said Seb crowding around the spot with Lissa.

  Lissa crouched and examined the carpet. ‘Me neither.’

  ‘That’s what I was hoping. Using my glasses shows a bright, almost neon pink stain.’

  Seb frowned. ‘Well it can’t be blood.’

  ‘Yes, it can, if someone’s hidden it with magic.’ Marnie smiled. ‘It means my glasses are helping—I hoped they might.’ She followed more of the faint marks up the stairs to the next level. After she turned to climb another flight of stairs, the walls sighed and creaked.

  Lissa froze on the steps. ‘Did you hear that?’

  ‘It’s fine. It’s normal for Fanglewick,’ Seb said.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Marnie said. ‘We’re safe in the stairwell. It’s only the rooms leading off it that collapse.’

  Lissa didn’t appear convinced. ‘Are you certain?’

  ‘Fairly,’ Marnie said.

  Lissa groaned again.

  ‘Why don’t you wait on the first floor and keep watch for Grib or Meeb?’ Seb suggested.

  Lissa looked torn between the options. ‘I’ll wait here on the second floor landing, but I’m not hanging around if the ceiling caves in.’

  ‘Fair enough,’ Seb said.

  Marnie continued up the stairs while noticing more hidden bloodstains. When she reached the third floor, she stopped outside a door. The floor beneath her suddenly lurched and shook, knocking her over. She scrambled to her feet, rushed to the door and tried to open it. ‘Professor Crabwinkle, are you in there?’

  Silence.

  Seb hurried to reach Marnie. ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘I’m fine. I think she’s in there, but the door’s locked or sealed, just like Jax said.’

  A massive crack from another room across the hall, followed by tearing and crashing sounds made Marnie hold her breath until the noise died away.

  ‘There goes another tower—I’m sure of it,’ Seb said. ‘We have to go.’

  ‘We can’t, not while Professor Crabwinkle’s in there. What can we do?’

  Seb shook his head.

  ‘Do you know any magic to break wards?’

  ‘I’m sorry, we haven’t even started them.’

  ‘Maybe she could jump out the window?’

  ‘No, it’s third floor. She’s too high up.’

  ‘There’s an axe in the cupboard in Andromeda House. We could break the door.’

  ‘It would take too long to run back.’

  Marnie paced while trying to think. ‘I know a short cut. Wait on the first floor with Lissa. I’ll be back.’ She tore down the stairs past Lissa, not stopping to talk. When she reached the ground floor, she ran to the back of the great hall praying the emergency tunnel worked in reverse. After climbing in on her hands and knees, she said, ‘Take me to Andromeda House.’ Sucked into the tunnel, she hurtled along until she crashed through the cupboard doors in Andromeda and burst onto the floor of the kitchen next to the common room, tangled in a mop, bucket and cleaning rags. She climbed to her feet and rubbed her elbows and knees. Not waiting for anyone to discover her, she grabbed the axe, wrapped it in a rag and threw herself back down the tunnel. Feeling bruised and winded, she scrambled out and ran up the stairs while gasping for breath.

  Seb and Lissa were waiting on the first floor with terrified expressions.

  ‘It’s got worse,’ Seb said when he spotted Marnie. ‘The floors were rocking and we heard splintering.’

  ‘I don’t think the stairwell will go,’ said Marnie, although she was beginning to doubt her theory. When she gazed up, she saw the walls swaying. ‘Even though there’s movement, I can’t see any damage o
ut here.’

  ‘I think you’re right,’ said Seb firmly.

  Marnie took off again, clearing two steps at a time while panting with the effort. When she reached the third floor, she bent over for a few moments regathering her breath. She strode forwards and swung the axe as hard as she could at the door, but it bounced and threw her back onto the floor. ‘Rats!’

  ‘Let me try,’ said Seb helping her up.

  ‘I don’t think it’s going to work.’

  Seb took the axe and swung it hard, but jarred his shoulder as it rebounded. ‘That hurt. The door feels like concrete. It must have magical wards.’

  ‘Of course.’ Marnie slipped her glasses on and saw the door was glowing with unnatural pink signs and symbols. ‘It’s magic; see for yourself.’ Looking either side of the door, she saw the walls were unmarked.

  Seb took the glasses and peered at the door. ‘I can’t see anything different.’

  ‘The walls have no wards. We might be able to get in that way.’ Marnie grabbed the axe and swung it at the wall with all her might, making a small indentation. ‘See, it worked!’ After a few swings, she handed the axe to Seb. He gathered his strength and smashed at the wall. Taking turns, eventually they broke through with a small hole.

  ‘Professor Crabwinkle, are you in there?’ Marnie called into the darkness.

  They heard sudden footsteps on the stairs behind them.

  ‘What’s going on here?’ Meeb appeared holding a lantern with Lissa behind him. ‘It’s absolutely forbidden.’

  ‘We think Professor Crabwinkle’s in there,’ Marnie said.

  ‘What? Stand back,’ he demanded before peering through the hole. ‘If this is a trick, you three are in grave trouble, mark my words.’

  A small, strangled cry emanated from the room.

  ‘It’s Professor Crabwinkle, she’s in there!’ Marnie rushed forwards and pulled at the splintered timber and dry wall. ‘Can you hear us, professor?’

  A weak groan filtered through the opening.

  ‘It’s her, I’m sure,’ Marnie cried in relief.

  ‘Please stand back.’ Meeb picked up the axe and swung it forcefully. The small opening cracked into a larger hole, revealing the room on the other side. But just as he broke through, the floor tilted and cracked.