Mark and Hemlock glanced at each other again. It seemed as if this was a forbidden topic.
“What?” Linda said, after no one spoke.
“No one can leave Kitewell,” Mark said darkly. “There’s no hospital to go to.”
Linda felt a chill down her spine. She thought for a second that they might be keeping Corey and her prisoner at their house.
“I’m sorry?” was all she could think of to say.
“Everyone is trapped in Kitewell,” Hemlock clarified. “There’s no road out of this town.”
Linda’s lips moved, but no words came out. She was in total shock by what she had heard. She didn’t understand anything.
“Is … is there a disease or something?” Linda said, afraid of what their answer might be.
“No,” Hemlock said. “No disease.”
“Then what?”
“Kitewell is a tightknit community,” Mark said. “We have to stay close. We don’t get that many visitors. No one in town has been able to leave for a year. The stores are restocked with things almost magically. That’s how we’ve been able to survive for so long. Not even the store managers know how or why they’re restocked. It’s become a fact of life.
“There was a town meeting about this a few months ago. Things would get restocked and no one ever saw a truck come by and deliver anything. It happens every few weeks. It’s very strange.
“You’ve been the first visitor we’ve had since Mrs. Kantor came five months ago. When the sheriff asked her how she got here, she said that she hopped on a bus and it took her to Kitewell. Nobody ever saw the bus though.”
“Wait,” Linda said, shaking her head in disbelief. “No one can leave?”
“Everyone has tried. The sheriff. Our neighbors. All of us got in our cars for a mass exodus some months ago, but it took us right back to Kitewell,” Mark said uneasily. “No matter how far you drive, you just end up back in this town. We have no contact with the outside world. We can’t call anyone outside of Kitewell. We can’t listen or watch the news. We don’t have Internet access. We’re in a bubble.”
Linda’s lips trembled. “No one can get out?”
Mark nodded. “All roads loop back to Kitewell. I’ve driven maybe two or three hundred miles on roads that go through endless forestland and ended up right back here.”
“Mark said you two were attacked,” Hemlock said, changing the subject.
“Yes. By a man that looked like a snake.”
Hemlock drank her water, clearing her throat. “There is a myth about him that runs through this town. His name is Malik Schmidt, and he lived over a hundred years ago. When he was a young boy, he prophesized a series of blights that wreaked havoc on Kitewell. When the police tried to arrest Malik, they got in a scuffle with his father and shot him dead. Malik was left an orphan, and to avenge his father’s death, he … he cast a spell that flooded the entire town. Of course, if you believe this story, it will serve as a warning against practicing witchcraft. But strangely enough, a lot of the things that happened are happening now—especially with the animal attacks.”
Linda gulped. “What kind of animal attacks?” She was thinking of bear attacks.
“According to the myth, a great spider ate the livestock, as well as the animals in the forest. The townspeople eventually killed it—burned it in a fire. But more recently, one was spotted in the woods.”
Linda shivered. “I hate spiders.”
“Me too,” Mark said. “A couple of men went hunting for deer when the spider attacked them. Only one of them made it back alive. We tell the kids not to go in the woods anymore. In fact, all the kids in Kitewell are prohibited from going.”
“Whoever wanders in the woods doesn’t come back,” Hemlock added.
Linda set her fork down. She had lost her appetite.
“A couple of weeks ago,” Mark said, “Hundreds of crows attacked people in the town square. Dozens of them got injured—a couple of people died from it. And then last weekend, there was an infestation of snakes. They came out at night from Crescent Lake and sneaked their way into people’s homes and … Gosh, it was awful.”
Hemlock’s eyes watered. “That’s why Bram can’t come home.” She wiped away a tear.
“It’s like this town is cursed,” Mark said, shaking his head solemnly. “There’s been a surge in animal attacks. No one can stop it, not even the sheriff. He’s told everyone to stay home and go out only if they need to get basic necessities.”
Hemlock gazed at Linda keenly like she had a pressing question on her mind. “How did you come to Kitewell?”
The question seemed simple enough, but Linda didn’t know how to answer it.
“How did I get here?” Linda said.
“Yes. Mark told me you came all the way from Virginia.”
“Arlington, Virginia,” Linda said. She didn’t know how to answer the last question though.
“Why is it that you can come in, but we can’t go out?” Hemlock said pensively.
“I … I don’t know,” Linda said.
“What happened before you came to Kitewell?”
Linda thought for a moment. “Corey needed to get some gas, so he stopped at the gas station and filled the car up. Then the cashier suggested we turn onto Kitewell Road on the way to my sister’s wedding. Corey was reluctant to take it since he thought it might get us lost. He missed the exit on purpose, but then we ran into traffic due to construction. It would surely cause us to be late, so Corey turned around and he made the turn onto Kitewell Road … ”
Linda paused as she thought about what happened next.
“Then what happened?” Hemlock asked.
“Then we saw a young girl standing in the middle of the road. We thought she was a ghost since she looked pale and … You probably won’t believe this, but I believe she came from a portal.”
“A portal?” Mark said.
“Yes. Like she came from another world. I … I don’t really know how to explain it.”
“What did she look like?” Hemlock asked curiously.
“She looked like she might’ve been ten, had light brown hair, thin … she was in her pajamas. Oh, she was wearing a necklace. A sapphire necklace I believe.”
Hemlock gasped. She couldn’t believe her ears. “You said a sapphire necklace?”
“Maybe,” Linda said. Her eyes widened. “You’ve seen her too?”
Hemlock nodded. “Her name is Ariel. She went missing about a month ago. The last time I saw her was when I had picked her up from Mrs. Kantor’s house. Beanie and Ariel were visiting her that afternoon, and then Beanie told me she had a strange dream there. She accused Mrs. Kantor of putting them in some sort of dream world. I didn’t believe it, and to this day, I wonder what went on at that house. Well, the next morning, Ariel disappeared. It was like she vanished out of thin air. It traumatized Beanie deeply. She hasn’t been the same since.
“The sheriff interviewed everyone in town, and Mrs. Kantor was a prime suspect. But after a thorough investigation, the sheriff couldn’t find anything to pin her with. So he let her off the hook.” Hemlock rubbed her temples as if she was having a headache. “This has all been a nightmare.”
“Maybe it has to do what Georges said,” Mark chimed in.
“Georges from the farm?” Hemlock said.
Mark nodded. “Georges from the farm.”
“Who’s Georges?” Linda asked.
Mark cleared his throat. “Georges Buckley was a farmer that lived on Cottage Road. Everyone thought he was crazy, but after what I’m about to tell you, it won’t sound so crazy.”
Mark sipped his water.
“About a year ago, Georges said that he had seen a man on his farm. The man had a tattered cape, kind of like a cloak, and he was limping around, weak—could barely stand. Georges approached him to see if he could be of
help. He said the man’s face looked like a skeleton—white as a ghost. He couldn’t see it clearly because of the hood, he said. He thought the man was dead, but then the man spoke. The man said he was searching for a gemstone … um … ”
“An emerald,” Hemlock blurted.
Mark snapped his fingers. “That’s right. An emerald. He promised Georges that he would teach him magic if he helped him find it. Georges told everyone in town it was Malik—the same Malik the elders used to tell us about.”
“The one you say is a myth?” Linda said sharply.
Mark nodded without looking at her. “Nobody believed Georges. Malik had died in the flood a hundred years ago. That’s how the myth goes. And as time went on, Georges quit farming—left it for his sons to manage—and searched every square inch of Kitewell for that emerald.”
“And he wouldn’t shut up about it for months,” Hemlock interjected.
Mark chuckled and then caught himself, knowing what befell Georges.
“Everyone thought Georges had lost it—couldn’t stand being trapped in Kitewell. Maybe he thought he could use magic to escape? Who knows? Then one day, Georges told everyone he had found the emerald. Gosh, you would’ve thought he won the lottery from the look on his face. He said he had found it at Crescent Lake, and that in no time, he’d become the most powerful wizard the world had ever known.
“Not long after that, no one saw Georges again.” Mark shook his head and sighed. “The deputies and sheriff searched the woods, the lake … everywhere. It was like he had vanished. And they never saw the skeletal man either.”
“Malik you mean?” Linda said.
Mark nodded. “After Georges disappeared, we started seeing strange things happening in town. It started to rain more. We started seeing more snakes. Then the crows would show up. We didn’t really get that many crows around here until Georges vanished. At first, they’d show up in small numbers, but then they started taking over the town like locusts. No one paid much attention to it since they seemed to leave us alone.
“And then bam!” Mark clapped his hands. “A giant spider shows up, the crows attack the town square, and then the snakes slither into our homes. Is it nature’s revenge? I don’t know. All I know is that no one can leave—haven’t been able to for a year. We’re stuck in this town, and things are getting worse. People are afraid, Linda. They’re afraid to leave their homes.”
“And then you and your friend show up,” Hemlock chimed in. “Could you backtrack and show us where you came from?”
“Lead you out of Kitewell you mean?” Linda said.
“Yes.”
“I … I don’t know.”
Mark and Hemlock exchanged worrisome glances.
“Is it money you want?” Mark said.
“Excuse me?”
“We don’t have much. I’m just an English teacher, and Hemlock’s a nurse. We’re not rich, but we get by. We can pay you if you show us the way.”
“Um … ”
“How much is it going to cost?” Mark said.
Linda couldn’t believe he asked her that. “I don’t want money,” she said. “I just want to get out of here—the same as you.”
Mark and Hemlock whispered in each other’s ear.
“How about this,” Mark began, “Come tomorrow morning, you show us the way you came from. None of us want to be here for another minute. If you show us the way, we’ll get help: the National Guard, the army—whoever will come to stop these strange attacks. What do you say? Will you help us?”
Linda wanted to get out of there just as badly as they did.
“Yes,” she said.
Chapter 27
A breeze swept across the room, lifting the curtains.
Beanie could hear Malik slithering in from the window in his anaconda form. She had been leaving the window open for the past month. Each night, he would teach her a new spell in the backyard. Her powers were stronger than ever now. He had taught her transformations, hexes, not to mention invisibility and flight.
Malik was proud of his apprentice. He felt like she would be useful to keep the townspeople at bay, to stop any intruders that threatened his plans.
Beanie crept out of bed as soon as Malik entered the room. “I’m ready for my training,” she said giddily. “What spells will you teach me tonight?”
“Silence,” he hissed. “I sense that there are intruders in this house. Two of them.”
“Yes,” Beanie said fearfully. He had never been this harsh with her before.
“I want you to destroy them.”
She gulped. “Destroy them?”
“Yes. They’re a threat. They don’t belong here.”
“But they’re leaving tomorrow,” she said.
“Leaving tomorrow?”
“Yes. All of us are. My parents packed up everything so that we could leave Kitewell tomorrow morning.”
“I see,” he said, hissing his thin tongue. “Are you aware of what happens when anyone tries to leave?”
Beanie nodded. “They come right back here. No one can leave Kitewell.”
“That’s right. Do you know why these intruders came? Do you know what their plans are?”
“No.”
“Do you know if they have any powers?”
“No.”
He nodded pleasingly. “They’ll realize they can’t escape. I’ll take care of them this week,” he snickered.
“What will you do?”
He glared at her with his yellow eyes. “I’ll show them some of my finest spells.”
“Oh,” she said, unsure of what he really meant. “So will you teach me spells tonight?”
“I’ve taught you all I know, Beanie. Now it’s time you hand over the spirit-gem—like you agreed.”
She took the ruby ring from the nightstand and held it in her palm. The ruby glowed a bright red in the room.
“What will you do with it?” she said.
“I will use it to destroy the witch.”
“Mrs. Kantor?” she gasped.
“Yes, Beanie. This should be no surprise to you. Remember what she did to your friend Ariel? She made her disappear. Now no one knows where she is now.”
Beanie had a sad expression on her face. She missed hanging out with Ariel, missed talking with her.
“Why do you need the spirit-gem to destroy Mrs. Kantor?”
He showed her a pale emerald from inside his cloak. It was cracked, broken in two.
“This is what she did to my spirit-gem. See. She destroyed it. Now I can’t use it anymore. Without a spirit-gem, I’m not powerful enough to destroy her. I’m her equal.”
“Did she come here to destroy you?”
“Yes,” he said, returning the broken emerald to the inside of his cloak. “She’s a visitor, just like the guests you have in this house. Her real name isn’t Mrs. Kantor. It’s Ester—Ester McCarthy. She crossed over worlds to stop me. It’s imperative that I stop her now. If I don’t, she’ll bring in reinforcements.”
“Reinforcements?”
“Yes. More sorcerers like her.”
“Tim,” she said under her breath.
“Who?”
“Never mind.”
Malik lost his patience. “Give me your spirit-gem, Beanie.”
She looked at it one more time in her hand. “Promise me something,” she said.
“What?”
“Promise me you won’t kill her. Promise me you’ll just teach her a lesson—for what she did to Ariel.”
He smiled broadly with his fangs bearing. “I absolutely promise, Beanie.”
Slowly she handed the ruby ring to him.
“I can’t accept it unless you un-bond yourself from the spirit-gem. You need to transfer its power to me.”
“How do I do that?”
&n
bsp; “You must say these words. Are you ready?”
Her face was uncertain, but she missed Ariel, and the thought of vengeance gave her the courage to proceed. “I’m ready,” Beanie said.
“Sukora … mintora … eskora … larona … ”
Chapter 28
Dear Tim,
This letter has been long overdue, brother. I thought I could handle things in Kitewell, but I can’t anymore. As you know, I’ve been here for over five months, the people are nice, but things have gotten worse.
People are dying left and right from crows, snakes, and the creature Malik summoned: the ancient Latrodectus! Now Malik is teaching a young girl black magic to do his bidding.
I trained her a month ago, but she’s upset about what happened to her friend. I was training them to bond with the spirit-gem—the two Grandfather gave us.
But during training, one of the girls, Beanie, interrupted the dream for the other girl. As a result, Ariel became a phantom. I see her from time to time. She wanders between realms like a spirit-walker. Isn’t there a spell to fix that? I don’t know it. But she can open portals and visit any realm she wants. But sadly, she’s not fully human anymore.
I know you thought I could handle Malik alone, but I must say we underestimated him. He’s stronger than I thought. I managed to break his spirit-gem so he can’t flood this town again or any other realm.
I tried to get the girls to help me, but it’s hopeless now. One’s a phantom, and the other is under the tutelage of Malik. I need a new plan.
The people don’t remember what happened to them—the flood that destroyed Kitewell a year ago. Malik’s trickery no doubt—erasing their memories. I used the alias Mrs. Kantor—told them I arrived on a bus. I moved into a decrepit house, fixed it up nicely with some spells. It’s comfortable here, but I fear Malik knows the truth about me. He might even turn Beanie against me.
I hope this message finds you soon. The crystal ring you gave me was just a one-way ticket. But you probably knew. I’m too old for this, Tim. If I make it out alive, I’m not hunting any more witches or warlocks.
I assume you want me to stay and protect the people until you arrive. Well, don’t keep me waiting. We need to finish grandfather’s work. You need to come now, Tim. Now!
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