Page 79 of Elmwood Inclusive Magic Academy
“What do we do about the vampire?” she asks anxiously, staring at the approaching figure, bathed in purple light.
“Vampires, vampires, vampires…” I mutter to myself, searching my memory as best as I can. Hallie’s always talking about vampires, she must have said something that would help. Absentmindedly, I finger my necklace of crystals.
“Maggie!” June gasps. “Your necklace, what’s the chain made from?”
I look down, then smack myself on the forehead. “Oh…silver!”
We race to the window, and I fling the shining chain into the dark sky. June uses a hovering spell to shoot it toward the oncoming vampire. It’s a difficult, precise maneuver and her face strains with effort. The vampire screeches in shock as the necklace is fixed around her neck. Her surprise jolts her out of her ascent she hurdles to the ground.
There’s a pang in my heart as I remember how Orion found those crystals at the bottom of the lake. “I really liked that necklace…”
June groans at me. “You can get another one. Come on, she could come back at any minute!”
She’s right, we don’t have any time to waste. I find my desk in the low light, scrambling for my charms textbook. I flick through the worn pages desperately. I know it’s in here somewhere. Why didn’t I colour-code the chapters with tabs like Hallie did? From now on, I’m finishing all of my homeworkandextra credit.
“Here it is!” My eyes scan the page for ingredients.Candles, lavender, chalk...“Ok, it says that sometimes just the name can be enough…”
“But the academy is protected bylayersof powerful enchantments,” June says, wringing her hands. “There’s so much interference, we need to amplify the spell as much as we can!”
She starts rifling through the ingredients on my altar, wrinkling her nose. “How do you have so few offerings on your altar?”
“We can’t all be at the top of the class, June!”
She scoffs. We gather up the ingredients, and prepare them as best we can on the floor in the middle of the room. I light the candles. June draws an elaborate sigil with the chalk. We sit down opposite each other.
“Oh, wait!” I say.
I pull the amulet from my pocket and put it in the center of the sigil. I remember when Astrid first gave it to me and my chest aches. Then, instinctively, I turn over my left wrist and remove the makeshift bandage. The wound is still fresh, barely scabbed over. Wincing, I pull the scab away, exposing the bloody skin.
“What are you doing?” June winces.
I turn my wrist over, and three drops of blood land on the sigil.
“I’m her blood,” I reply.
I take June’s hands, forming a circle with our arms above the spell. We both close our eyes and focus.
Together, we chant: “Astrid Hall…Astrid Hall…Astrid Hall…”
“Mom,” I whisper under my breath.
The candles blow out.
All of the furniture in the room starts to rattle. Bottles of cinnamon and salt shatter on the ground.
“Maggie, the window!” June gasps.
A figure hovers outside, but it’s not the red-cloaked vampire. A pale face shimmers in the dark, a source of light itself.
I race to the window, heart hammering in my chest. She looks at me, her eyes darker than I’ve ever seen them.
I don’t need to explain what happened. Sheknows.
Where is your mother?she asks, without moving her lips. Her expression is more furious than I’ve ever seen her, and my voice wavers as I speak.
“By the south entrance, fighting the wolves and Tudor Thornblade!”
In a flash of red, she disappears.
