by Jimi Alan
Alice felt her cheeks warning up as she headed down the hallway with a few random students in front of her she never saw before. She wondered where her friends headed off for the evening. Alice knew Gloria would be studying in the library, as Lucia and Justin would have probably joined her. She slipped into an archway with steps leading up in a spiral.
Reaching the library, Alice looked for her friends. She found Justin down one of the hallways of shelves in the library. He seemed to be collecting a few of the books Gloria wanted to read for her.
Alice walked up to him. “Does Gloria have you collecting her books for her again?”
“Yeah.” Justin told her. “Some of the books have spells on them to make you think they are something else. It's a good way to hide some of the freaky magic. But if we want to know what that thing was, we need to look for freaky.”
“You still didn't tell Gloria about your gift.” Alice had no idea what Justin's power to see pass enchantments was called. “Have you?”
“I know.” Justin sighed. “It has been like six months and I still haven't told her that I'm a seeker.”
“That’s fine.” Alice muttered. “I meant that you liked her.”
She rolled her eyes for a second. Looking back at Justin, she realised that her joke was not a joke at all. His checked where read as he tried to hide his feelings.
“Oh my gosh.” Alice smiled. “I was just kidding, but it's all over your face.”
Justin said. “I know, it happens.”
“I won't say anything.” Alice sighed. “Trust me. I have enough secrets as it is.”
“That’s true.” Justin picked out another book from the shelf to add to his pile. He carried the books as Alice walked with him through the library to her friends. She saw Gloria and Lucia skimming through each page in the books for answers.
Justin placed the books onto the table they were sitting at. “Hey.”
Lucia looked up. Her face sparked as she saw Alice beside him. She knew Lucia only saw her a few minutes ago, but she was pleased to see her as well.
“So.” Alice sat down into one of the chairs. “I was talking to Madam Highfield. She said some where things about Natas.”
“Well that's good.” Gloria said as she flipped the book closed. “Cause these books are all boring and useless. I can't find a Natas or succubus like creature in any of these.”
“Did-to.” Lucia sighed.
“So, she is a friend of my mother's. Natas is, not the creature.” Alice summed up what she learnt from her teacher. She had already suspected that would be the case. “The creature is said to be a curse.”
Lucia said. “Like the story of the hollow.”
“Ohkay.” Gloria followed along. “So she's cursed.”
“More like possessed by a bing who wants to get stronger.” Alice told them. “She didn't tell me much, besides that.”
Gloria reminded her. “You really need to push harder when you’re interrogating someone.”
“I would have.” Alice sighed. “But then Mrs Monroe showed up.”
“Please tell me you stayed around.” Lucia was curious. She looked at her friends. “What. I want to know what secret stuff my parents are up to. They keep us out of everything.”
“Mine too.” Gloria had seemed to open up to Lucia over the past couple of weeks. “So what did you find.”
“They are planning on holding a council meeting.” Alice told her. “To figure out if the thing in the forest is some kind of threat.”
Justin told them. “We need to crash that meeting.”
Lucia sighed. “How are we going to do that?”
Alice thought for a moment. “I don't know.”
“I do.” Gloria said. “Met me in the hallway tonight.”
She stood up from the chair with Lucia standing up with her. Alice made her way from her friends. She looked over her shoulder as Gloria and Lucia piled their books into their arms. Alice felt bad for not telling her friends everything she heard Mrs Monroe and Madam Highfield say. She walked away from her hands as Gloria and Lucia helped Justin put all of the books back.
Chapter Nine
The Council Meeting
Sneaking out of the dorm room, Alice walked out with Gloria and Lucia behind her. Alice held her father's wand out of her pocket. She knew the word she needed to say to make the tip glow.
“Lux.” Flowed out of her mouth.
The tip of her father's wand shimmered brightly in the dark hallway of the academy. She walked with Gloria and Lucia behind her. They kept quiet, hoping to not get caught by any teacher.
Stopping quickly in her tracks, Alice heard footsteps coming from behind them. Turning her heard around slowly, she felt the urge to run back to their dorm room. Her eyes locked with Lucia who seemed to hear the footsteps to. Gloria walked slowly ahead, until she realized her friends went following her. She stopped in her tracks, a few steps away from Alice before she turned around to see what got her friends attention.
Out from the darkness of the night, Alice watched as two hands came towards them. She realized the glowing tip of her wand was blinding to the person as he kept closer. His hands covered over his face, as he stopped.
“What?” Justin’s whispering voice came from the figure of the boy in front of them. “Did you forget about me?”
“Kind of hard to.” Gloria smirked with a quiet whisper of her voice. “Your a little odd.”
Lucia reminded her. “Says the girl who can read minds.”
A raise her her eyebrow made Gloria glare at her. Turned back down the hallway, Alice continued to walk. She knew how to get to Mrs Monroe's office from her dorm. Alice had only been to her office once, and hoped the council would be meeting there tonight.
Walking up the staircase, Alice tried to keep her steps shallow and quiet. Rushing would make her feet feel heavy and panic, causing echoes to charm down the sleeping academy. Her friends kept calm and relaxed behind her. She never heard the four of them as quiet in her time entire being with them.
Reach the top of the staircase, Alice turned her head. She looked out of the window with Glorja stopping beside her. Alice lowered her wand. She saw three figures standing out by the lake. Alice shook her wand gently, causing the glowing light on the tip of her wand to go out.
Lucia whispered. “What is it?”
Gloria pointed out the window. “There.”
Justin and Lucia took a step back down the staircase. Looking out of the windows of the staircase in the tower of the academy, Alice and her friends spied on Mrs Monroe and her husband as they stood with Madame Highfield by their side.
The three of them held their hands in front of themselves. Waiting by the lakeside for the rest of the council members to arrive. Alice looked out as she saw a breeze had lifted up from the lake, causing a ripple to echo across it.
Mrs Monroe's hand rose up to her side, like she caught something she was expecting. Her hand moved down in front of her. She seemed to be reading a letter she caught from the breeze. Mr Monroe seemed to be pleased with the news, they received. He headed away from them with a cunning smile on his face. Alice could not help herself. She needed to know what they were going to do.
Rushing down the staircase, her footsteps echoed as they touched the stone flooring. She quickly reach the bottom of the steps. Her friends followed behind her, keeping up as they went down the hallway.
Justin nervously whispered. “What are we doing?”
Gloria said. “What does it look like?”
Lucia added. “Getting answers.”
They reached the large hallway on the main floor. Each step they took charmed down the hallway. Alice knew any teacher on patrol would have heard them already. She knew their time was limited.
Rushing out of the school doors, Alice kept close to the shadow of the academy. She placed her hand out, hoping her friends would realize they needed to stay close by. Lucia's hand touched hers as she walked behind her. Gloria and Justin followed their lead as they wal
ked closely behind.
Keeping her back against the stone of the school, Alice walked towards the lake. She could hear Madame Highfield’s voice in the distance. Alice searched for them by the lake. Her heart raced in her chest as she had not spotted them.
Gloria whispered. “The lodge.”
Alice was glad for her friends ability. She walked behind Gloria as she lead them away from the academy's walls. Justin and Lucia kept closely behind as they walked down over the hill towards the lodge. Sneaking was never Alice's strong suit. She felt out of place, like they would see her coming. Lucia looked to be crouching towards the ground as she scampered down the hill. Just was doing a similar thing, with Gloria following behind them. Alice lead them, keeping her steps large to move faster. She knew if they got caught, there would be some kind of strike punishment.
Reaching the side of the lodge, Alice placed her back against the stone wall. She felt Lucia’s hand touch her shoulder as she reached her. Justin and Gloria made their way to the wall beside them. A window stayed between them, keeping Lucia and Alice on one side and Justin and Gloria on the other.
From the window, Alice could hear inside. She heard several voices talking to each other. One of the voices was a gruff manly voice, one she never heard before, while the other was softer and slightly feminine sounding.
The gruff voice boomed over the others as he spoke. “It's good to see you Madam Highfield.”
“You too.” Madam Highfield smiled at her friend. “Drac.”
Mrs Monroe's voice charmed in. “Now we are just waiting on your wife.”
“Don't worry.” The booming males voices walled closer to the window, drowning out everyone else in the room. “Mrs Goodwell will be joining us soon. She likes to make an entrance you know.”
The famine voice smirked. “Don't we all.”
Soft couches echoed around the room. Alice lifted her head slightly. She wanted to get a peek inside. Her head tilted down as she saw the man standing by the window. He seemed to not notice her, but Lucia's grip on her shoulder told her to not look in again.
“Shell we start.” Mr Goodwell's voice came from further in the room. “It's getting quite late?”
“No problem.” A woman's voice came from beside him. “I'm sure, Drac can brief her on what she missing.”
“Pamula, is right.” Mrs Monroe said. “So let's get started.”
A silence agreement covered the room. Keeping her ears on the conversation, Alice felt bored. She heard some of the furniture moving, like the adults inside where sitting down. Her interest in their meeting was dwindling down.
Drac said with his deep booming voice. “We all know why where were asked to come. It appears that a threat has come to some of our attention.”
“Yes.” Mr Monroe agreed. “We have a hollow curse active within the academy.”
“No way.” The famine voice laughed. “We all know that the last hollow was destroyed in a wildfire. No one has seen a hollow since then, let alone a curse from one.”
Madam Highfield charmed into the conversation. “Later this year, you may have heard that two of our students went missing.”
“They returned.” Mrs Monroe said. “Unaware of how much time had past.”
Silence slithered into the room. Alice knew the adults in the lodge were frightened of what they hear coming from Mrs Monroe’s lips. She looked over her shoulder at Lucia, who seemed to be intrigued like her. Her eyes looked back at Gloria across from her, who seemed surprised. She looked to be worried about what her Lucia's parents might have to say.
“Sounds like what happened in our year.” Drac reminded the other council members in the lodge. “With that guy.”
“James Johnson.” Madam Highfield said. “I remember too. It was my first year as a teacher.” she told the story to the council. “We got the news about his missed presence as a friend worried classmate came to me.” She told them a brief story as she walked around the room like she did in her classroom during a lecture. “I reported to your parents, who were the head of council back then. And you all know what happened back then.”
The famine voice of a man charmed around the room. “We were all there that day.”
Mrs Monroe reminded him. “We all know what our parents had to do, to stop the curse from continuing.”
“They ended it for generations to come.” Drac told them. “The only way they knew how too.”
Mr Monroe sighed. “They were wrong.”
Silence swallowed the room once more. Alice looked up at the window sill, catching a glimpse at Mr Parker’s as he turned towards the other members inside. She noticed his broad shoulders covered by a leather jacket with a small silver chain going down from his neck like a necklace until it touched his waist. He seemed to have a grunge like style to his dark grey jeans and black boots, which reminded Alice of a rock star. His hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail. Alice was surprised Gloria's father was such a stylish guy. She was expecting him to be dressed in a suit and tie, like the thinner man in the room looked. His outfit was boring to her, besides being a bright royal blue and a purple tie. Mrs Monroe looked to be in a business meeting, like she did the last time Alice saw her. While Mr Monroe looked to be the only casual one their, with a sweater draped over graphic t-shirt and his Jean's had stylish turns on the knees. His shoes were bright green, a color she noticed with red on the bottoms.
Alice quickly darted down her head. She felt the eyes of Mr Monroe looking at her. The adults inside seemed to not notice her peeking in through the lodge window.
“That's impossible.” Drac reminded them of what their parents had done to keep the curse from the students. “We all know what had to be done.”
“No.” Mr Goodwell sighedpened. “Your not saying what I think you are?”
His wife tried to calm his frantic voice. “Honey, please.”
Drac sighed as his eyes scowled from Mrs Monroe's face to her husband. “It's still impossible.”
“Is it.” Madam Highfield reminded him. “The Hollow poses power that lures anyone that desires it. We all know what it's capable of doing.”
“Who is it?” Mrs Goodwell order her. “Who awoken it?”
Mrs Monroe looked down at the floor. “We don't-”
Drac’s voice sound angry as he spoke. “Tell us.”
Mr Monroe’s voice came to his wife's aid. “It our daughter, Lucia. And another.”
“Her name is Alice Corey.” At the sound of Alice's name coming out of Madam Highfield’s mouth, the room went silent.
Drac sighed. “Like mother like daughter, I guess.”
Mrs Goodwell sighed. “How do you know?”
“They went missing.” Mrs Monroe explain. “They would not speak of where they were.”
“When they came back.” Madam Highfield told them. “A while later, I was in the forest with them. Collecting supplies for their wands. And we encountered it.” The way she spoke, was like she disposed of what she was telling them. “The hollow took the form of Natas and was only after Alice, for it had already drained Lucia and her sister.”
“The hollow got a taste of them.” Mrs Monroe sound furious. “You didn't tell me that.”
“You know what it does to anyone in its way.” Madam Highfield reminded her. “I thought that you would still remember what it did to you.”
Drac asked. “So it was Natas back then.”
“But she didn't go missing.” Mrs Goodwell reminded them. “How could it have possessed her?”
“I think it lured her in.” Madam Highfield told them. “I was several children playing in the library. They opened this portal to a tunnel. You could feel the Hollows power down their.”
Alice felt a chill racing up her spine. She had no idea that Madam Highfield had followed them down into the portal. Her heart sank a little in her chest, as she wondered if she heard what Natas told them.
Madam Highfield said. “And the exit I come out of, closed up behind me.”
“It was aft
er Alice Corey, you say.” Drac seemed to be intrigued. “Her name seems familiar.”
Mrs Goodwell connected the dots. “Is she Martina's daughter?”
“Yes.” Madam Highfield nodded her head. “She is.”
“She must be like her mother then.” Mrs Goodwell reminded her. “A caster.”
“Who knows.” Mrs Monroe glared at her. “We don't need one to stop the hollow.”
Madam Highfield said. “She’s right. All we need is a circle.”
A knock on the door of the lodge made the room go silent. Madam Highfield opened the door, which creaked open. A soft giggle came from the other side of the door.
“Sorry I'm late.” A female voice came from around the lodge as the door closed. “I had a project that needed a few more twinks before I was done. Who knew it would take five hours to make a new potion.”
The way she spoke was like she was proud of herself. Alice had a feeling the women late to the council meeting was the only one left to arrive. Her eyes met with Gloria, who seemed to be nervous.
Gloria whispered softly. “We should go.”
Alice trusted her friend. She nodded her head, keeping her head down as she headed away from the outer wall of the lodge. Making her way up to the hill with Justin and Lucia behind her.
She heard the door to the lodge open as she stopped on the hill before the academy. Alice knew she would be spotted. She felt like running, but her feet had decided to stop working. Looking down, she saw the enchantment on her sneakers. She bent down at reached for them, as she looked down at the lodge.
Pointed straight at her and her friends, Mrs Parker had her wand on the children. Alice looked over her shoulder at her friends. Each one of them seemed to have the same issue as her, except for one. Gloria already reached the wall of the academy. She was in the shade, keeping herself hidden.
“Students should be in their rooms after dusk.” Mrs Parker walked towards them with her wand in their direction.
Drac walked out of the lodge with Madam Highfield following behind him. He seemed to be intrigued by what his wife had done. His arms crossed over his chest as he looked at the hill.
