My eyes adjust as he puts the duffel bag down on the ground gently. He takes out his night goggles, a small oval object that looks like a hand grenade, and a few other gadgets.
‘Do we really need all those?’ I say quietly.
‘Hopefully not, but you never know.’ He zips the bag back up and attaches the equipment to his utility belt.
The air down here is thick and coated with a smoky timber scent. A rat scurries along the cold, dusty floor and is startled at our intrusion on his nightly feeding hunt.
Directly ahead of us is the stairwell and Magi leads the way. With her nose to the ground she cautiously ascends the stairs and we follow closely behind.
At the top of the stairs is another door. Magi sniffs around and sends me an image of a clear night sky.
‘It’s all clear,’ I whisper.
Uncle Jo nods and turns the knob. The door opens quietly this time.
We come out on the first floor where the two science labs sit directly in front of us, close to the double door exits. The familiar scent of experiments—that smell like week-old socks mixed with the after effects of a stringent burning smell, assails my nostrils causing me to gag. I cover my nose.
Uncle Jo searches the hall for any movement. All appears still.
Maybe that’s what he wants us to think
.
We head east towards the office area, keeping low and quiet, still unsure as to where Phoebe is being held.
The corridors at night give off an eerie, otherworldly feeling. I see shadows play against the walls—silhouettes moving between lockers and notice boards, following our every move, sinister in their approach.
We reach the office area, which would normally be filled with teenagers all trying to get an appointment with the staff, change their schedules, and in Adam Barrens case, meet with the Principal about his weekly “make better choices” program. Seeing as I saw Adam only last week smoking a cigarette by the sports shed I don’t think he’s getting the message.
All is untouched. The stairs are directly across the corridor, in front of the office. Uncle Jo indicates that we keep searching this floor to make sure we don’t miss anything. I nod and we make our way down the darkened corridor. We search through all the rooms, stretching across the length of the school. There is nothing. We’re losing time.
‘He’s not here,’ I whisper.
My earpiece crackles to life. ‘I know. We search everywhere just to be safe anyway.’
I nod, smirking at the sight of him. His serious expression is being overshadowed by the huge night vision goggles that sit on his face, giving him a tormented frog-like appearance.
He shakes his head, as if he already knows what I am thinking, and we head back towards the stairs which lead to the second floor. Magi moves ahead, her paws silently sensing the way, each step cautious as she sniffs out any potential threat. She stops near the top of the stairwell and Uncle Jo puts his fist up to halt me.
I feel like I am in a military training op but
I decide not to say anything smart when I notice that he isn’t moving forward.
Magi sends me an image of a thin wire.
‘There’s a trip wire at the head of the stairs,’ I whisper.
He nods and takes out a small leather pouch from his shirt pocket. He moves slowly forward and gently pushes Magi back. He flips his fingers at me, telling us to move back even further. He unravels the pouch and pulls out a small metal object that looks like tweezers. Moments later I hear the slight twang of wire being cut. I shut one eye, in the hope that an explosion won’t follow. It doesn’t.
Magi takes the lead once again and we silently move into the second floor corridor.
Uncle Jo pulls me close and whispers in my ear, ‘If you sense danger you get out immediately, Ellie. Got it?’
I nod. Magi leads us to the west wing first, following a scent she’s found. Her nose is low to the ground and she is weaving back and forth across the tiled floors. We pass three rooms before she lifts her nose into the air and sniffs again, trying to make sense of the air around her. She looks back at us with a puzzled expression.
‘She lost the scent,’ I say.
Uncle Jo moves ahead. He pats Magi on the head as he passes and leads us into the arts room off to the left. His frog eyes search the room. The only sinister things in here are the paint brushes, which in the dark look like potential weapons sticking up out of the canisters.
As we scour the room I hear a faint muffled noise. ‘Did you hear that?’
‘What?’
I hold my hand up and tilt my head, hoping to hear it again. There is only silence.
‘Maley ramere.’ The magic slips away from my body and winds its way out the door. It slithers across the floor, moving quickly down the corridor. It stops briefly at the entrance to the rooms and moves on if it senses nothing. Up and down, in and out, its pace becomes more erratic, until finally it stops.
I pull my magic back. ‘I know where they are.’
‘Where?’ Uncle Jo growls.
‘At the end of the east wing, on this floor. He’s positioned himself up there so he can quickly access the emergency exit stairwell outside.’
I see his aura expand with anger, the colours of red and magenta spilling outwards.
I touch his arm. ‘It’s going to be alright.’
I watch his face contort, his emotions struggling to contain themselves.
Magi nuzzles my leg. I bend down and burrow my face into her furry neck. ‘Please be careful, Mags.’
She sends me an image of her and I running around the property; the sky is blue and warm, and with every step we feel happy and free. She is trying to comfort me by showing me that we will have that again soon.
I grab my courage and give her another hug.
‘Ready?’ he asks me.
‘Ready.’
He pulls me close and hugs me tight. ‘Let’s go.’
He turns and walks out into the darkened corridor. I take a deep breath and follow him, making sure to keep close.
Please keep my family safe
.
The three of us make our way silently down the corridor. Every step brings us closer to Phoebe and the Venator, but those same steps also bring us closer to danger and the unknown. My power comes alight and it courses through me. I touch the vial in my jacket pocket to make sure it’s still there.
Further ahead I smell a change in the air. Magi senses it as well and she stops.
‘There is danger here, I can feel it,’ I whisper.
‘Don’t move,’ he says, searching the corridor.
I wait patiently, keeping still. There is only silence.
Magi takes a step forward and I hear a twanging sound from the wall to my left.
It was a trap.
‘No!’ I cry out, as I see a flash of silver hurtling low towards her.
Uncle Jo moves faster than I ever could and jumps in front of Magi. I see his legs being thrown out from under him and hear the heavy thud of his body as it hits the hard floor.
I bend down quickly to find that a small steel-tipped dart, like the one we found in Magi’s leg, is poking out of his thigh, just above the knee.
His face cringes in pain.
‘Are you okay?’ I ask quietly.
He unstraps his belt from his pants with one hand and quickly ties it around his thigh, just above the wound. Through gritted teeth he pulls the tip out and stifles a groan.
‘I’ll be okay,’ he says when he catches his breath. ‘Ellie, he knows we’re here now. Our element of surprise is gone.’
Magi licks his face, her amber eyes glowing with worry.
I hear the muffled sound again.
Phoebe
.
I help him stand up, his weight causes me to strain and I gently lean him up against the corridor wall. He winces with the pain of being moved. ‘Ellie, listen. I can’t be much help now. You need to get us out of here.’
‘No!’
‘Ellie.’ His voice drops in warning.
‘I want to end this. Phoebe is in there and I won’t leave her with him. We finish this now!’ My anger builds and I feel my body shudder.
He knows that nothing he could say or do will stop me now.
My magic ignites, shafts of light twinkle around my body in anticipation. I look straight ahead and make my way cautiously down the corridor towards the end room. Uncle Jo limps behind, using the wall as support. I turn my palms outwards and the now all too familiar heat radiates through them. Magi matches my stride with her own and her hackles rise, getting ready for a fight.
As we draw nearer I hear a clink, and the sound of something hard rolling across the floor moves towards us.
‘Ellie!’ Uncle Jo yells.
My hands erupt with heat and a blue beam of light shoots out from them, creating a protective wall that stretches from one side of the corridor to the other.
In slow motion I see the small grey object heading towards us, rolling over and over before it explodes in a blinding flash. The force of the blast hits the wall with such force that we are thrown back and as I’m falling I see the wall shudder, but it holds strong.
I sit up and see that the explosion has left the corridor now blackened, engulfed in smoke. Windows have been blown out from the blast and glass lay shattered on the floor. Magi stands up and shakes her head, a little dazed but otherwise okay. I look for Uncle Jo. His body is lifeless and unmoving against the wall.
‘No.’ I rush to him and feel his chest. He is breathing, but unconscious.
I turn my head and focus my attention on the end room. Something within me shifts dangerously.
I walk through the blue wall and stride towards the room, fear no longer keeping me cautious.
As I near a voice speaks to me from the darkness.
‘I wouldn’t come any closer if I were you,’ he says menacingly.
I stop. There is a fierce determination in his tone that causes me to hesitate.
‘Do not take one more step or she dies,’ he warns.
I can hear Phoebe’s muffled cries.
Magi takes a step towards the room and I hold out my hand to stop her.
‘Your death is inevitable, Cole!’ he shouts. ‘You cannot survive this. We both know that.’
It takes all my strength not to charge into the room and kill him right now.
‘Everyone before you has died. You know why?’ There is an edge to his voice that feels dangerous.
I don’t respond.
‘Because you’re weak!’ His venom echoes out from the room.
‘I’m not the one holding a defenceless girl hostage!’ I yell back.
His laughter fills the air, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.
‘She isn’t a hostage,’ he says tauntingly. ‘She’s a pawn.’
My anger rises. I hear the thrashing of limbs from within the room and I know Phoebe is trying to fight back.
‘Do you want to know how your mother died?’ he asks, after the struggle has died down.
I bite my lip, tasting blood.
‘I can tell by your silence that you do. Well, I’ll tell you. She died painfully, with that stupid little dog of hers, in a blaze of fire that ripped through her flesh with such force that in the end there was nothing left of her but an ash heap of weak, pathetic nothingness!’ His poison at this last retort fills me with such hatred that I cannot stand still any longer.
I take a step towards the room but Magi stops me with her body. She shows me a bear trap in my mind, and I understand. I stop, but only just, rage bubbling away beneath the surface.
‘Well, well, well. Showing such resolve I see. How strong of you,’ he says sarcastically. ‘Maybe this will help.’
I hear a ripping sound and Phoebe’s voice screams out to me. ‘Ellie, kill this sucker!’
‘Phoebe!’ I yell, not daring to move in case I jeopardize her chances of survival.
His laughter fills the air. ‘She is such a feisty one.’
‘Get off me douche bag,’ she says, before screaming out in pain.
‘What are you doing to her?!’ I shout.
‘Your little friend here has given me nothing but trouble. It feels good to finally inflict some pain on her.’
I want to run in there and rip his throat out. My magic surges with vengeance, but in my heart I know that’s what he wants.
I hear Ama’s words, ‘Remember who you are, no matter what he tells you.’
I stand unmoving.
‘Phoebs, are you okay?’ I ask into the dark.
I hear her sob. ‘I’m okay.’
‘Just let her go and we can settle this!’ I yell.
He chuckles menacingly. ‘Yeah right. She’s the only reason you’re here. I’m not going to—’
I see a flash of black run past me.
‘NO!’ I scream, but it’s too late. Magi has launched herself into the room. I hear a struggle and Magi’s fierce growl echoes out of the darkness.
As I leap towards the doorway, ready to confront my enemy, Phoebe runs into my arms. Her hands are tied in front of her with duct tape and blood is dripping down her face.
‘Ellie,’ she sobs, burying her face into my shoulder.
I quickly gather my wits and realise that I have to get her out of here. I can hear the scuffle between Magi and the Venator going on inside the room.
It takes all my strength to leave her, but I know I must. Guilt claws at my chest. ‘I’m sorry, Mags,’ I whisper regretfully, as I grab Phoebe’s arm and we run towards Uncle Jo—who still lies unmoving.
I bend down and grab onto his shirt. ‘Hold on,’ I say.
I teleport them out.
We land inside the kitchen and the noise of Uncle
Jo’s body dropping to the floor startles Aunt Lily, who comes running in from the other room.
She looks at me, at Phoebe, and then at the limp body of her husband. ‘What happened?’ she asks as she bends down to inspect his wounds.
Mrs. Campbell comes in behind her and sees Phoebe. She cries out and runs to her, tears pouring down her face.
‘Aunt Lily, I have to get back. Magi’s in trouble.’
She looks up at me from the floor. ‘What! Ellie, you can’t go back in there. It’s too dangerous.’
‘I won’t leave her there. She’s the reason we got out in the first place.’
She looks at me knowingly.
As I turn to go I say, ‘Do you remember the poultice we used on Magi?’
She nods. ‘Yes.’
‘Apply it to Uncle Jo’s thigh right away.’