Page 80 of Elmwood Inclusive Magic Academy
June and I scramble for the broomstick in the dark and hurry to get out of the window again. We fly back down to the castle grounds, watching carefully for any signs of the vampire. Even with my night vision, it’s almost impossible to see in the thick blackness. It’s as though someone has turned off the moon and stars. I follow the purple and yellow lights of energy magic toward the castle entryway.
The vampires and wolves form a half-circle across the grounds. They’re pining Lydia, Amrita, Hallie and Rae against the large wooden doors of the academy. Above them hovers the dark figure of Astrid Hall, in her billowing cloak, her raven familiar beside her. Her presence (and the sudden, supernatural darkness) has caused a temporary ceasefire as the wolves, vampires, and witches stare up at her together.
June and I take advantage of their surprise and disembark beside Lydia and the others. Rae shifts into her human form and grabs my hand. Hallie smiles at me weakly. It’s strange to see her without her glasses. Lydia looks toward me with pride. Despite the dire circumstances, I can’t help glowing slightly.
She smiles, “You’re your mother’s daughter.”
“Which one?” I ask.
She nods up to the sky. “That one.”
The largest wolf, with fur of brown and silver, howls.
“Astrid Hall!” shouts Tudor Thornblade, his voice echoing across the snowy grounds. “It’s too late, we’ve captured Elmwood castle and intend to fortify our position. You’re outnumbered! Surrender now and we won’t harm you.”
My mother gazes at him, her long black hair and dark brown eyes shining with ethereal brilliance. She opens her mouth and laughs. It’s a full, resonating laugh that seems to emanate from the very earth and shakes the foundations of the academy behind us.
There’s a terrible rumbling sound.
Out of the cold, frozen ground in front of us, a bright white arm emerges. A decaying, dead arm. Rising out of the earth comes…acorpse, animated by some supernatural force.
I feel a scream rise in my throat as dozens of other arms appear, peppered throughout the grounds. June screeches and clutches Hallie, who gaps at the sight with wide-eyed shock. Rae squeezes my hand and points at the lake. With a terriblecrack, its frozen veneer shatters, and soaking corpses rise out of the depths and onto land, dripping and stumbling.
We tremble in horror, but the corpses don’t seem interested in us. They move toward the wolf shifters and vampires, slow but steady. Kaenan and Tala immediately race into the woods, howling in fear as they go. The vampires and older wolves try to maintain their position, but the sheer number of corpses overtake them, in a brawl of fur and bones.
Astrid is at the epicenter, maintaining the animation. The entire night has shifted around her; the very wind bends and breaks to her will. Lydia joins the fray, helping to subdue the wolves, shifting them out of their forms while they’re being rushed by corpses. With a hushed incantation, Amrita concentrates her purple energy magic on Tudor Thornblade, binding him while he’s distracted by the decaying skeletons.
Rae, Hallie, June and I watch in amazement as the wolves and vampires are slowly captured. We scramble to the side of the entryway as the undead army pulls the defeated vampires and wolves through the open doors of the academy and down to the dungeon.
The moon reveals itself again, illuminating the snowy clearing. The remaining corpses drop back down, reburying themselves in the frozen ground. Several return to the lake, stumbling eerily into the watery depths. One very pristine skeleton nods at us as it makes its way back through the academy doors. I realize with a start that it’s the skeleton from Lydia’s classroom.
Astrid hovers closer to us.
“Sorry about the mess,” she says. The snowy grounds are now covered in mounds of overturned earth.
“You were never one for subtlety,” Lydia sighs.
“Thank god forthat,” Amrita Vyas chuckles. She grins jovially at my mother as though this was all a perfectly normal winter break. I realize with a start that I’m not totally sure that itisn’t.
Amrita takes Hallie back into the academy to get her some blood. She must be incredibly weakened after being trapped and almost staked. June follows them, looking quite pale herself.
Rae stays with my mothers and I. A light snow begins to fall around us as I find my words.
“Mom, what did you…howdid you…?” I stammer. I stare at the tall, dark-haired woman standing in front of me. She looks like my mother, but I’m seeing her with fresh eyes. I had no idea she was capable ofthat.
“Well, there are a lot of things you might not know about me,” she says, like she’s reading my mind. I’m not sure if she can do that because she’s a witch…or because she’s my mother. She grins. “Besides, you helped me out. Very clever, to summon me with three drops of your blood. I heard you immediately, and raising the dead was easy after that.”
“Buthow…”
Lydia notices my exposed, bloody wrist, and takes it with concern. “Maggie, you’re hurt!”
“I’m ok,” I mutter, but she’s already moving her hand over my wrist. My skin heats up and knits together in a minute, leaving a long red scar.
Lydia fusses over me for a while longer, kissing my forehead and stroking my hair. I protest weakly, but to be honest, I’m just so relieved she’s safe. So relieved we’re all safe.
“Where are they taking the wolves and vampires?” Rae asks, turning towards the academy.
“To the dungeon, along with the other wolf shifter,” says Astrid. She turns to Lydia. “Should we go after the other two?”
