by Max Candee
Irvigne Manor was quiet like a sleeping giant. Only a few lights brightened the windows. I floated over the rear garden and landed clumsily at the entrance to the hedge maze. My bucket overturned again, spilling me onto the lawn in a tumble. I needed to work on those landings.
I could have floated right to the gazebo hidden in the center, but I worried that something might happen to me in the dungeon. I wanted to give the kids the best possible chance to escape.
It turned out that the books in my tower prison had been useful after all, at least as an inspiration. One of the moldy old books had been a retelling of the Greek myths. Flipping through its pages, I had remembered the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. Theseus had to fight his way through a labyrinth and battle a half-man, half-bull beast at the center to rescue some children. He cleverly used a piece of string to mark his trail through the labyrinth so he could find his way out.
Theseus and I had a lot in common.
I tied the red thread to a branch at the first turning in the hedge and let it trail out behind me as I hurried through the maze. The mop and bucket were awkward to carry and kept bumping my shins, but I didn’t dare leave them behind. I couldn’t take them inside the gazebo with me, though. I hid them behind the building and pushed my way through the iron door again.
Every time I tried that trick, it got easier. This time, my knees only jellied for a moment before I was off running down the dark hallway. I had no candle, and the trek seemed endless. Holding my hands in front of me, I had to trust my instincts that there were no obstacles in my way. Jean-Sébastien and I had been there only a few days before, and the hall had been mostly clear.
A slight breeze told me that I was nearing the far door. I pushed through it, and a faint light blossomed before me. It was the lone lamp that lit this horrible dungeon.
I poked my head into Mei’s cell and called to her softly. After a bit of shuffling, her dirty face peered through the bars.
Hope lit her eyes. “You’re back!”
“I’m going to get the keys,” I said. “Wake the others, but make sure they stay quiet. Tell everyone to be ready to leave as soon as I get back.”
Mei nodded and shuffled back into the depths of her cell. As I moved toward the stairs, I heard her whispering to her neighbors. Then the children began to wake in one cell after another.
A single candle lit the guardroom halfway up the stairs. The guard was slumped over a table, snoring. This didn’t seem like an effective system to me, but I guessed that the constant darkness made it difficult to stay awake.
I stared at the sleeping man. He wore jeans and a grubby sweatshirt. His snores made the candle flicker. A single key hung from a loop on his belt.
This was where my plan might easily backfire. How could I get that key away from him? A dozen ideas flew through my imagination. With my magic, I could knock him out, suffocate him, bind him, burn him… and I dismissed them all.
Do no harm, Squire had said. Even though this man was responsible for holding children captive, I wouldn’t let the shadows bite off another part of me to subdue him. I remembered all too well the emptiness inside me that came after a bout of dark magic, and I wanted no more of it. The man wasn’t worth it, even as blameworthy as he was.
But… could I change myself?
I let the energy flow out of the middle of my stomach and twist around me in long threads of gold and silver. It felt ticklish and looked like a giant, glowing squid was clawing its way out of my middle – but it worked. I waited until the energy had surrounded me like a second skin, then I imagined being completely invisible. Looking down, I saw my hand fading in the air. Soon I became truly invisible! The only discomfort was the growing itch in the middle of my stomach, just above my belly button.
Quietly, I stepped into the room and reached for the key. It was hooked onto the guard’s belt with a mountain climber’s carabiner. I worked the clip open and slipped the key off.
My hair fell against his face. The guard snuffled, and I froze. He rubbed his face and opened one unfocused eye, lazily looking for whatever had tickled his nose. Seeing nothing, he fell back to snoring.
I didn’t exhale until I was back down the stairs. By that time, the itch in my stomach was almost too much to bear, so I released the magic, becoming visible again. There was no point in frightening the children even more, anyway.
One by one, I opened the cell doors. Weak and scraggly children came out on unsteady legs. Mei herded them into the center of the room, talking to them softly. To my surprise, seven cells were occupied this time. I thought the eighth cell was empty because no one came to the window as I worked the lock. But inside, I found my best friend chained to the wall.
“Gaëlle!” I ran to her. A new bruise darkened one side of her face. Her ankle was bound in a metal bracelet that locked onto the chain, holding her fast to the corner of the cell. “Who did this to you?” I asked.
“Marie,” Gaëlle sniffled. “It’s my punishment for telling Beatrice the truth about being adopted by them.”
“That was brave.” I could only imagine how angry Marie must have been.
“It didn’t matter. After we dropped Beatrice off at the orphanage, Marie snatched another little girl right off the street. There she is.” Gaëlle pointed at the smallest girl in the little crowd.
Marie must have been desperate to have the Nine ready tonight. That meant that we had to get out of there fast!
I tried fitting the key into the lock on Gaëlle’s ankle, but it was too big.
“It’s no use,” said Gaëlle. “You have to leave me. Get the others out of here before it’s too late.”
I turned to Mei, who was standing with the other children at the cell door. “Take the lantern,” I said, “and go out the back way. You’ll find a long tunnel. Follow it until you come to an iron door. You’ll be in the center of the hedge maze. I left you a trail of red thread to find your way out. Take the kids, and hurry.”
Mei hesitated.
“Go!” I said. “We’ll be right behind you. I promise.”
Mei nodded and led the children away. I hoped they would be safe.
The lantern left with Mei. Gaëlle and I sat in total darkness. I fumbled in my pocket for the half-destroyed letter opener.
“I’m going to pry open the bracelet,” I said. “Hold your ankle steady.”
Ignoring the sturdy lock, I fitted the letter opener through one of the chain links. I made several tries – then the tool just snapped in half. The chain hadn’t bent even a little. “Darn it,” I said.
Gaëlle whimpered in the dark. “Please go,” she said.
Sitting back, I raised a hand to calm her. I realized that she couldn’t see me in the dark and said, “Wait. Let me think a little.”
A possible solution came to me – though it involved using the red-hot energy that had invited the shadows into my heart the last time I’d used it. But I couldn’t think of any other ways to save my friend.
“It may get hot,” I warned Gaëlle in a whisper. “Whatever happens, please keep quiet.”
Closing my eyes, I remembered myself in the car. I visualized André’s leering face. Immediately, the familiar rage began to build inside my chest. I thought of the miserable, dirty children stepping out of the cells in the unsteady light of the lantern. The anger grew in size and intensity, soon turning into red, seething fury.
“Close your eyes!” I said, and released that fury at the lock holding the metal bracelet on Gaëlle’s ankle.
Gaëlle cried out in pain. “It hurts!”
The bracelet and lock fell to the stone floor with a loud clang.
Not waiting to see if we’d awakened the guard, I grabbed Gaëlle’s hand and pulled her out of the cell. The shadowy emptiness inside me grew a little, chilling me to the bone. But Gaëlle was worth it. It was a fair exchange, I believed – a part of my soul for her freedom.
I heard the scraping of a chair, then heavy footsteps on the stairs.
“Run!�
� I whispered. In the darkness, we stumbled toward the rear entrance. Gaëlle whimpered, and I realized that I had burned her foot while removing her lock. I could only hope I hadn’t hurt her too much.
Flickering light hit us just as we pushed through the old iron door. “Hey!” the guard called. “What are you doing?”
We ran down the black hallway. I had no time to explain to Gaëlle where we were going. I just hoped she trusted me enough to lead her through the darkness. A faint light glimmered behind us: The guard had lit another lantern and was hot on our trail.
The hallway grew steeper. The door was just ahead, but the guard’s pounding footsteps were right behind us. We flew out the door into the cool night air. I turned and saw the guard’s angry face, only steps away. Without my even thinking of it, magic burned at my fingertips. I shot a blast at the heavy iron door, and it swung shut with a bang, smashing into the guard at the same time.
His yell was muffled by the door, but it still sounded pained. We waited a long moment to see if he would follow us, but the night was silent.
Gaëlle was bent over, gasping for breath after our run. My stomach tightened into knots. I hadn’t meant to hurt the guard, only to shut the door and slow him down. But his silence suggested that I had knocked him out. I groaned, releasing the pent-up tension in my belly. Just as I had expected, the emptiness inside me grew, making me feel sick.
Every time I used my magic, I walked a fine line between good and evil. I knew it wouldn’t take much effort to push me over to the shadow side. I waited for the darkness to seep away from me again, and soon enough it did, leaving a chunk of it behind in my heart. Although my intentions had been good enough, I didn’t manage to dodge it this time.
Well, there was nothing I could do about it now. “Let me see your foot,” I said.
Without saying a word, Gaëlle raised her foot for me to see. In the moonlight, it looked like there was only a light burn on the surface of her skin. It pained me to see her hurt, though, since it was my action that had caused her injury. I blew on her foot gently and wished her a fast recovery.
“We have to find the others,” I said.
Gaëlle nodded and stood up, still catching her breath. She seemed so weak. What had they done to her in all those months? Starved her?
“Follow the red thread to get out,” I said, taking my mop and pail from behind the gazebo.
“What about you?” Gaëlle asked.
“You’ll see,” I said with a smile. There was no use hiding my secret any longer. By now, Squire would have revealed it when he found Jean-Sébastien. At least, I hoped that was the case.
My slippers were a soggy, muddy mess. I kicked them off and stood barefoot in the bucket, calling for my magic. As the bucket rose off the ground, Gaëlle’s eyes grew big with wonder.
From above the hedges, I waved to her. “I’ll meet you outside the maze!”
Floating above the hedges, I took a moment to breathe deeply. The night air was chilly and crisp, and the moonlight seemed to recharge me. My dream stone hummed on the cord around my neck.
Up ahead, I could see Mei and the children bundled together near the hedges. I thought it had been a successful rescue – and I was starting to feel pretty good about myself.
That smug feeling lasted until I landed in the grass and André stepped out of the garden with Marie on his arm.
“Don’t think you’ll get away that easily,” he said, gazing at me with an easy smile. “My guards have the house surrounded. You and these filthy kids aren’t going anywhere, my dear.”
Chapter 13
Dear Diary,
Magic isn’t just about doing tricks to make people laugh. It’s serious business. I’m learning the hard way that every bit of magic comes with consequences. I will only be able to truly call myself a witch when I can understand all those consequences – understand them and live with them.
For now, the question is this: If my friends are in danger, will I risk letting the darkness take over my soul to save them?
* * *
One of the children started to cry. I looked at the pitiful group: four girls and three little boys. With Gaëlle and me, that made nine. As if to confirm this, Gaëlle stepped out of the maze – and froze.
“Ah, Gaëlle,” Marie said. “So good of you to join us. Now the whole gang is here.”
“You won’t get away with this, Mother,” Gaëlle said. I was glad to hear some of her old fire in her voice.
“Oh, child. Don’t be dramatic,” Marie said. “We already have gotten away with it. Mei is off to college, you see. You’ll be staying at our house in Scotland. And your friend Anna Sophia here… well, she’s dead already. At least that’s what everyone thinks. The rest of these brats are nothing but guttersnipes. No one will miss them.”
I winced at her words. Every child should be missed by someone. But I didn’t believe this was over yet. I had worked so hard and pushed my magic to its limits to get this far. I wasn’t giving up. Not yet.
But for now, all I could do was stall for time and hope that Jean-Sébastien had gotten someone to believe him. My hand slipped into my pocket and started to fiddle with the plastic bag.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked. “Why do you steal children? Does it make you feel powerful?”
“Don’t be stupid,” Marie said. “Only money is power. And we do this for the money. Do you think that keeping a castle is cheap? Why, the taxes alone are outrageous.”
Stepping back into the shadows of the hedge, I kept fiddling with the bag, prying it open, hoping that André and Marie didn’t notice the movements in my pocket.
“So you sell children, huh,” I said. “And how exactly do you report that on your taxes?”
“What are you talking about?” André boomed. “Enough of your foolishness. Ouellette!”
The ex-constable emerged from the shadows beside the house.
“Take these brats back to their cells,” André commanded. “And make sure they stay there this time.”
My hand finally found the thumbtacks in my pocket, and I scooped them out. Sending a shot of magic through my fingers into the tacks, I released them into the air just as Ouellette grabbed Mei’s arm. The tacks flew at him like angry bees. One after another, their sharp little points pricked him on his face and neck.
Ouellette yelled. Mei stomped on his foot and ran, pushing the other children ahead of her. Ouellette stumbled blindly, shrieking and swatting at his face as the tacks continued their assault. He tripped over something and fell face-first on the gravel path. He didn’t get back up.
He hadn’t even had time to use his magic. Was I the better witch? It was good to know, if true.
“Why you little… witch!” André snarled, as if he couldn’t think of anything else to call me. He grabbed my arm, but I shot my magic deep into the ground, anchoring my feet. I badly wanted to hurt him. But after I’d hurt Gaëlle, the guard, and Ouellette, the darkness of black magic had been spreading around me fast already. I was afraid of André, but he was still a human being. Who, or what, was that growing darkness? And when would it fill my heart completely? I didn’t know, and not knowing was infinitely more terrifying.
So I resisted using my powers to hurt André. “I won’t let you take these children,” I said stubbornly.
André yanked at me, but my feet were stuck firm. He pushed his bulbous nose right in my face and said, “Your stupid magic won’t help you. I’ll cut off your feet and sell you to Victor in pieces if I have to. I’ll still get top dollar for your scrawny little body. Victor tells me your grandmother is willing to pay handsomely to get you back in whatever condition.”
My heart sank to my knees. “You’re lying!” But even as I said those words, I knew he was telling the truth. Victor worked for my grandmother, the Iron Queen, and all those children were being sent to her… I had no idea why, but it sure wasn’t to play Duck Duck Goose with them.
It was starting to make sense now – although still in a confusing
and chilling sort of way. No wonder my mother hid me in a bear den when I was just a few weeks old. Just who was she, that grandmother of mine?
André said, “So either you’ll come quietly with me or my lovely wife will start gutting the children, starting with your pretty friend Gaëlle.”
I looked over and saw Marie holding Gaëlle’s arm in one hand and a knife in the other. Gaëlle tried to look fierce, but I could see that her entire body was shaking. She was scared.
A stone flew out of the darkness and hit Marie in the chest. She jerked back with a sharp “Oomph!”
Gaëlle kicked Marie’s leg and pushed her stumbling away. More stones flew from the shadows along with a familiar voice yelling, “Get them!”
Jean-Sébastien, Luca, Lauraleigh, the Sisters, and all my dormmates burst out of the bushes. Some had stones that they lobbed at André and Marie. Sister Constance gripped her cane, and Sister Daphne waved a rolling pin over her head as if it were a sword. Squire bobbed along beside her, carrying a baseball bat.
André and Marie yelled in alarm and ran. Gee, what cowards they were.
I took only a moment to make sure that my friends were surrounding the children. Sister Daphne was hugging as many of them as she could reach, and even Sister Constance was holding a little girl in her arms.
Then I ran after the Montmorencys. I felt strangely vulnerable, running barefoot, and I think I couldn’t run very fast. Now I regretted kicking off my sneakers.
“They went around the hedge,” Jean-Sébastien yelled, following me right on my heels. We rounded the corner of the maze and saw the couple halfway to the clearing. The forest was only a short run from there. If they made it to the trees, we might never find them.
