“Yes!” Lu screamed in victory and total relief.
Theo fell to the balcony floor and lay on his back, breathing hard.
“You okay?” Lu called out.
“No! I’m having a heart attack!”
“Seriously?”
Theo took a deep breath to control his breathing, and sat up.
“No, not seriously.”
“Well, I am. You scared me half to death.”
“Yeah, and I almost fell all the way to my death. You get no sympathy.”
Theo stood. Double doors led from the balcony to the school. He went to them and grabbed the doorknob.
“Please be unlocked,” he said to nobody.
He twisted the knob and the door opened.
“Yes!”
Without hesitation, he ran inside and sped down the corridor to the classroom where Lu was trapped. When he reached the door, he saw how Martin had been able to lock them inside. A metal bar ran from the lock down to the floor, where it was jammed into a corner. Theo pulled the bar free with one tug.
The door instantly flew open and Lu jumped out. She threw herself at Theo and wrapped her arms around him.
“That was the most awesome thing I have ever seen,” she said. “I’ll never call you a wimp again. At least not today.”
Theo stood awkwardly as if he had never been hugged by a girl before. At least not by one who wasn’t his mother. After a few seconds he relaxed and hugged Lu back.
“That was really scary,” he said.
“All the more reason that I’m impressed,” Lu said. She pulled away from him. “Now, let’s stop this party.”
* * *
Tomac moved behind Ainsley and ran the tip of the mysterious silver dagger across her cheek.
I cringed, fearing she’d draw blood. Or worse.
Ainsley just smiled. She wasn’t scared at all. She had no idea that she was in serious trouble. I’m not sure she had any idea about anything.
“Our powers have grown strong within you,” Tomac said. “I know you can sense it.”
“I can,” Ainsley said dreamily.
“Until now it has been like trying to harness a wild storm. Your emotions were as uncontrollable as the maturing magic. But with the influence of Samhain’s black moon, you will finally seize control.”
Tomac took Ainsley’s hand and lifted it until her bare arm was stretched between them.
The whole time, I had been yanking on the rope that tied my wrists together and looped around the vertical wooden column. I don’t know why. It wasn’t like it was going to break. But when Tomac took Ainsley’s arm and raised that dagger, I panicked and yanked even harder.
This time something happened.
The rope didn’t snap, but as I pulled it, the bottom of the wooden column moved ever so slightly. The wood was rotten. Who knows what century this thing had been built, but it sure wasn’t as solid as it once had been. The base, which sat on the rock floor, was soft from rot. I pulled frantically, using the rope as a saw, sending chunks of rotten wood and sawdust flying.
Nobody was watching me. All eyes were on the main event, Tomac and Ainsley.
The chanting grew louder. This time Tomac joined in.
“Araba…sinquentus…dehmino…saet…”
Whatever that meant.
Tomac raised the dagger.
I stopped sawing and watched. I didn’t want to, but I had to.
With one quick, slicing movement, Tomac made a cut on Ainsley’s forearm.
As much as I wanted to scream and turn away, I forced myself to watch.
Ainsley didn’t react. It was as if she hadn’t even felt the blade cutting her skin. She kept her eyes on the candle on the altar, still smiling that same loopy smile.
Tomac took a small metal plate from the altar and held it under Ainsley’s wound to catch a few drops of her blood. The whole time she kept up the creepy, hypnotic chant.
“Araba…sinquentus…dehmino…saet…”
Tomac let go of Ainsley’s arm and walked behind the table, where she placed the metal plate down and grabbed the candle.
The chanting grew louder and more urgent. It was like the witches were urging Tomac on to do…what?
Ainsley stood there with her hand on her arm to stop the bleeding. She wasn’t in pain. She wasn’t chanting either. I guess she missed the rehearsals.
Tomac tilted the candle, letting wax fall onto the plate that held Ainsley’s blood.
“Our past will become our future,” she declared. “Once the ascension is complete, the sacrifice will allow our brothers and sisters to join us across the great void of time.”
The witches continued to chant, the intensity growing. It seemed like a bunch of mumbo jumbo that was just for show…
…until the show became very real.
One by one, the other candles on the table flamed to life. Their light joined with that of the single candle to create an intense glow that held the altar in a cocoon of warm light. All eyes were fixed on the spectacle, including mine. Within seconds every last candle was burning. It was an impressive trick, and it was only the beginning.
The flame from the first candle grew, creating an impossibly bright aura the size of a grapefruit. As if it had a life of its own, the aura lifted up and away from the wick, leaving the candle’s flame still burning. I watched in openmouthed wonder as the same thing happened with each of the other candles. A brilliant ball of light lifted up from each flame and rose slowly into the air like a glowing bubble.
The witches continued to chant and stare at the mass of glowing, floating orbs that lit the cavern up like daytime. Now that it was so much brighter, I saw the look of total joy on their faces, as if the amazing moment they had been waiting centuries for had finally arrived.
Ainsley was watching too, with a smile of wonder and delight.
The glowing orbs continued to rise, growing closer to the cavern’s ceiling. I wondered what would happen when they hit the stone-and-timber roof. Would they pop like soap bubbles? Or shatter like glass? The orbs cleared the top of the fence and got to within a foot of the ceiling, when suddenly, as if on cue, they all flew in different directions. The orbs shot through the cavern in random patterns, swooping and darting around like crazed fireflies.
Some flew right past me, forcing me to hide my head behind the rotten column I was tied to.
The rotten column. Right.
I got on my knees for better leverage and started back in on using the rope like a saw to dig away at the column’s base. My hope was that the wood at the bottom was weak enough for me to break the rope through beneath it.
As I worked, I kept watching the light show. When one of the orbs flew past me, I got a closer look at it…and wanted to scream. It wasn’t just a glowing ball of light. There was a human face floating inside it. I got only a quick glimpse because the orb was moving so fast, but there was no mistake. I focused on the others as they zipped by, and saw the same thing. There was a disembodied head in each one of them.
This wasn’t some pyrotechnic display for show. These lights were spirits…spirits of brother and sister witches who were being summoned for the big event. Whatever dark power this coven was growing in Ainsley, it was strong enough to bring out even more magic from their past. Just as Tomac had said, generations of witches were returning to this place to take part in the ceremony.
And the sacrifice.
* * *
THEO AND LU RAN down the stairs from the upper floor of the school and blasted out of the building into the autumn night.
“The gym,” Lu declared, and the two sprinted for the gymnasium entrance.
When they rounded the corner of the school, they skidded to a stop, confronted with a grim reality.
A long line of cars stretched from directly in front of the gym, all the way through the parking lot and out to the road. Each car stopped in turn to drop off a group of excited kids wearing Halloween costumes. The entrance to the gym was lit with strings of orange
twinkle lights to form an archway, which the kids ran through to enter the party. Thumping music could be heard from within, beckoning everyone to enter and join in the spooky fun.
“We’re too late,” Theo said in defeat.
“Not yet!” Lu exclaimed.
The two ran toward the entrance. The moment they passed through the doors, though, they found themselves blocked from the gym by a table set up in the lobby to collect tickets.
A sour-looking adult, the secretary who worked in the school office, sat behind the table. Her only nod to Halloween was that she now wore a black jogging outfit along with a huge Cat in the Hat hat. She eyed Lu and Theo up and down suspiciously.
“Are you Coppell students?”
“Uh, yes,” Lu said, thinking fast. “I mean, no, not yet. I’m new. We’re both new.”
“This function is for registered students only,” the secretary said with a snarl.
“But we were invited,” Theo complained. “By Ainsley Murcer. She put this whole thing together.”
The secretary looked at the two girls sitting next to her wearing THING ONE and THING TWO T-shirts. They both shrugged.
“Go find Ainsley,” the secretary said.
Thing One jumped up and ran through the set of doors leading into the gym.
The secretary gave Lu and Theo a fake smile and said, “It’s a Halloween dance. Where are your costumes?”
Lu shifted anxiously from one foot to the other.
“Uh…” was all she managed to get out.
“We’re wearing our costumes,” Theo said haughtily. “I’m going as a preppy from Connecticut.”
He pulled on his bow tie with both hands as if to tighten it.
“What about her?” the secretary asked, suspicious.
“I’m, uh, I’m a roller-derby girl. But I figured you wouldn’t let me in with skates, so this is all I’ve got. Grrr…” Lu gritted her teeth, flexed, and made an angry face.
“Cool,” Thing Two said.
The secretary rolled her eyes and said, “Whatever. Wait over there.”
She motioned for Theo and Lu to get out of the way, then turned her attention to the next kids in line waiting to buy tickets.
Lu and Theo moved away from the flow of activity and huddled in the far corner of the lobby.
“That girl’s not going to find Ainsley in there,” Theo said. “And if she does, we’re too late.”
“There has to be another way to get in,” Lu said. “Let’s go outside and look for another entrance.”
Lu took off running for the front doors. Theo started to follow, when he saw something that made him stop short.
Kayla had arrived at the dance.
She looked absolutely beautiful dressed in a princess costume complete with flowing gown and faux diamond tiara. Her long auburn hair fell in curls to her shoulders, making her look all the more princess-like as she stepped through the festive arbor of orange lights.
Theo stood, stunned. She looked nothing like the shy girl who couldn’t speak. She was absolutely radiant. He steeled himself and approached her.
“Hi,” he said. “Remember me?”
Kayla smiled and nodded.
“I didn’t think I’d see you here. I mean, I didn’t think you’d like going to a dance. I mean, you look beautiful.”
Kayla blushed with embarrassment and gave him a big smile.
“I hope you have a great time and…wait.”
Reality had returned.
“You can’t go in there,” Theo commanded.
Kayla’s smile dropped as she looked at Theo questioningly.
Theo took her by the arm and led her away from the rush of kids piling into the lobby from outside.
“There’s going to be trouble,” Theo said quickly. “It might be dangerous.”
Kayla shook her head and frowned, not understanding.
“Oh man, I can’t explain it. But we’re trying to stop the dance to keep everybody safe.”
Lu ran back into the lobby.
“I thought you were following me,” she said to Theo, annoyed.
“I’m trying to keep Kayla from going in there.”
Lu focused on Kayla, thought fast, and said, “No, she’s gotta go inside!”
“But—” Theo said.
Lu got right in Kayla’s face and said, “Can we go in as your guests?”
Kayla looked back and forth between Lu and Theo, totally confused.
“No!” Theo said.
“Theo, we’ve got to get in there!” Lu said.
Theo was torn, but he nodded. He understood.
“Can you please bring us in?” Theo asked Kayla. “We’re trying to stop the trouble from happening. But you have to leave right after.”
“Please,” Lu added.
Kayla nodded.
“Great!” Lu said.
She grabbed Kayla’s hand and hurried her up to the woman in the cat hat.
“We couldn’t find Ainsley, but we’re here as Kayla’s guests,” Lu blurted out.
The woman looked at the three of them suspiciously.
“They’re your guests, Kayla?” she asked.
Kayla nodded.
“All right, then,” the secretary said, though she didn’t seem happy about it. “That’s one dollar each.”
“Pay her,” Lu said to Theo as she hurried Kayla into the gym.
Theo and the woman exchanged looks. Theo shrugged, and reached for his wallet.
* * *
The glowing, haunted orbs continued to swirl around the cavern. I caught brief glimpses of the faces in them. There were both men and women. All looked deadly serious.
“Araba!” Tomac shouted.
She had climbed up onto the altar and stood with her arms outstretched as if she wanted to hug those little, fiery witch-orbs. Whatever Araba meant, it was a signal. The floating lights gathered in the air above the altar, creating a circle over the witches’ heads.
The chanting stopped. The witches looked up at the glowing circle with a mix of pride and awe as the witchy light bathed them in its evil warmth. The cavern had suddenly grown very quiet. All I could hear was the heavy breathing of the excited witches.
“It is time for our priestess to ascend,” Tomac announced. She looked down at Ainsley and added, “This Samhain will forever be remembered as our new beginning, thanks to you. Now go.”
The chanting kicked in again.
Ainsley stepped away from the altar, moving slowly as if in a fog, and walked straight for the tunnel that led to the school. She was headed for the dance!
With one last, desperate effort, I yanked on the rope that bound me to the pillar. The bottom of the column cracked. Yes! It was giving way! With two more violent tugs, I was able to pull the rope beneath the pillar. The force shifted the column ever so slightly, and dirt fell from the ceiling, where it was holding up the roof. Chunks of gravel rained down on me, and for a second I feared the whole ceiling would come crashing down. I covered my head, expecting the worst, but the beam held. Barely.
The witches had no idea what I was up to. They were all focused on Ainsley, who was halfway across the cavern on her way to the tunnel.
My wrists were still tied together, but I was free. I had to get out of there.
Ainsley seemed to know exactly what she was supposed to do. She continued to walk, trancelike, toward the archway and disappeared through the narrow opening.
Next stop…Fright Night.
The orbs bobbed in the air over Ainsley’s head like supernatural escorts, lighting her way along the dark tunnel.
This was my chance. While all eyes were on her, I moved quickly in the other direction, toward the stairs that led up and out, into the clearing. I made sure to travel behind the row of wooden pillars in case any of the witches happened to look my way. The columns were spaced about five feet apart, plenty close enough for me to use them as shields. I made it to the stairs and climbed the steps two at a time, tripping and falling more than once on the uneve
n stone, but that didn’t stop me. I made it out without being chased by any wolves or ravens or glowing orbs or witches.
What a nightmare.
When I popped up to the surface, the first thing I noticed was that night had fallen and the sky was alive with stars. Millions of stars. I don’t remember ever seeing so many that clearly. Their light was so intensely bright that it lit up the forest like daytime. It may have been my imagination, but it felt as though the sky was charged with some kind of magical force.
Maybe because it was. And it was bad magic.
The second thing I noticed was that something felt off. I don’t know why it took me more than a few seconds to figure out what it was because it was pretty obvious.
The ring of tall, dense brush that surrounded the coven’s circle was gone. The pile of rocks that marked the entrance to the cavern was no longer hidden from the world. I couldn’t help but think that was part of the program. The witches no longer needed their lair to be a secret, for once their plan was in motion, there would be no more hiding for them. They wanted everyone to know they existed. More witches would be coming, whether from other parts of the world or other dimensions and times. This was their meeting ground. It was cleared and ready.
The stage was set.
Unless we stopped Ainsley.
I took off running, through the woods, headed back for the school.
I sure hoped Lu and Theo had stopped the dance.
* * *
The Halloween dance had just begun and already it was a crazy success.
Unlike most school dance parties, where boys and girls stood on opposite sides of the gym nervously waiting for someone to break the ice, the kids of Coppell Middle School were ready for fun and jumped right in. Perhaps their costumes gave them self-confidence. Or it might have been because the DJ knew his audience and kicked the dance off with all the right music. Or maybe there was a mysterious, electric tension in the air that urged the kids to let loose. Whatever the reason, Ainsley’s dance was already one they’d never forget.
And it was only getting started.
Theo and Lu moved through the crowded gym with Kayla right behind them. They scanned the crowd of costumed kids, searching for Ainsley.