by Lori Woods
Red is standing with her arms crossed like a guard outside the office door. She pulls the door closed.
Okay, I can always call Broom Hilda to me. Anyway, I’m not finished with the fake headmaster.
“I thought at first you weren’t bright enough to figure things out,” the headmaster says, smiling at me. “Guess I was wrong.”
“No, no, you were right. I haven’t figured anything out,” I say.
“Drop the act, Suzy. My friends tell me that you have.”
I sigh, but don’t respond.
“I am curious how you figured everything out, so that if there is a next time, I will do better.”
“It was the glasses.” I finally say.
“But I smashed them.”
“And that was your mistake. If Matt had killed Polly, he wouldn’t have any reason to smash her glasses. But you did. I remember the first day of class, all the girls saying how handsome you were, but Polly said you were ugly. Of course, I didn’t know why she would say such a thing until I looked at Alfie through the glasses and saw that he was a Doppelganger like you.”
“You’ve been working your little fingers to the bone, for what good it’s going to do you. You see, you aren’t going to leave the room; at least not of your own accord.”
“Since you got me, may I ask a few questions that have been puzzling me?”
“Sure, for what good it is going to do you, because soon you are going to be bound and blindfolded and eating mushroom gruel.”
“Well, that does sound like a nice relaxing time.”
“I’m surprised that you can still joke about something so serious.”
“How did you know that Polly was able to see the real you?”
“You wouldn’t have to ask if you saw how that girl glared at me like I was a worm!”
“Yeah, I’m just surprised she didn’t tell everyone,” I say.
“She did; she kept telling everyone in her class that I was ugly. Luckily, neither the teachers nor students believed her.” He smiles. “You have to admit that the headmaster is a handsome human being.”
“Yeah, I overheard her saying that exact thing. Too bad I dismissed it so quickly. But if no one was taking her seriously, why did you decide to kill her?”
“Matt! She was obsessed with that smart aleck little warlock. She was going to let him borrow her glasses so he would see that I had taken over the headmaster and force me not to suspend him. I couldn’t let that happen! He would have spoiled everything I had set up. I’m slowly getting all my nest brothers and sisters human bodies.”
“You made one mistake when you killed Polly,” I say.
“What was that?”
“You smashed those glasses. Someone just wanting to kill Polly wouldn’t have smashed her glasses to bits. It wasn’t her you wanted to destroy, but rather it was the glasses.”
The headmaster sighs. “Yes, I tried to get her to give the glasses to me. She refused. She said it was the only thing that made her different from the silly girls in her classes. She fought me. You human beings are strong even when young. I didn’t really mean to kill her. I was just trying to subdue her. But the thing is, that although you are strong, all of you human beings have frail life forces. Hers left her body during the struggle. I knew if I took the glasses, someone would wonder what happened to them. So I smashed them.”
“But…”
“Suzy, I grow tired of all your questions, which aren’t going to do you any good to ask.”
“It’s just so I understand everything. Why didn’t you have someone take over Ima Brewer?”
The headmaster sighs. “We can take the appearance of a person, but we can’t do magic. We get a flash memory of their lives for the past month, enough to fool most people into thinking that we are that person. Ima had to teach spell brewing, which is beyond anything any of us can do.”
“But you took over the headmaster, a powerful wizard?”
The headmaster laughs. “And what does a headmaster do in the Academy? He tells good students they are good and expels bad students. And I’m good at expelling students. Anyway, I knew the headmaster personally. He disrupted my attempt to take over people in Poison Oaks years ago. He is the first one I had to take over. He created a spell to dissolve our illusions. And imitating him was very easy. But Suzy, you turned out to be a problem. I thought you wouldn’t come back from Thunder Mountain. I thought the stone giants would take care of you and the dwarf.”
“Yeah, that didn’t work out so well for you,” I say smiling. It is almost time to call Broom Hilda to rescue me.
“Yes, you are a very resourceful human being, more so than the headmaster was in Poison Oaks. Of course, that is fixing to change. When you are taken over, the coast will be clear for more of my people to snatch human beings and replace them. Then my brothers and sisters can live the good life for a change, instead of living in the moor and eating mushroom gruel.”
“About that. I don’t think I will like eating mushroom gruel, so I am going to decline your offer to join your little group of hostages. But before I depart, I will tell you what convinced me that you were a Doppelganger.”
“So what? I really don’t care anymore,” the headmaster says impatiently.
“The smell of vanilla when I entered your office.”
“The smell of vanilla?”
“Yes, it’s the scent given off when you brew edelweiss leaves. You brewed some last night and drank it to become invisible. Then you entered my apartment and stole the glasses out of my backpack. Malcolm heard someone, but didn’t see anybody. He couldn’t because you were invisible.”
“You’re a bright human being. I’m glad all human beings aren’t as smart as you, especially Sheriff Tudley, or maybe I would have been exposed at the beginning. But I actually knew beforehand that he was a dullard, even by human standards. So I knew I didn’t have much to fear from him. It was only when you started nosing around that I saw the real threat. However, you evaded my brethren in the library tower and again on the moor. But we did snatch Red Sumac. I thought that was a good way to use her to get to you.”
“But why take over Red when you wouldn’t take over Ima?”
“Even a Doppelganger can teach little witches to ride broomsticks. We can’t ride them, but you don’t have to ride one to teach them. You just have to keep the little brats from falling off. Being around little human beings is irritating. They are noisy and demanding.”
“I’m sure some of their parents would agree . . .”
“All right, stop now! All your questions and chatter are giving me a headache!” He glances at the office door. “Red! It’s time!”
The door bursts open and Red still stands there, this time with a big, friendly, fake smile. She moves menacingly toward me. It is time for Broom Hilda, I think, and rush for the closet. But as I get near the bathroom door, it swings open. I see a white featureless being rushing toward me. I drop down to go under the hand reaching for me, but the Doppelganger’s long spiny fingers touch my naked arm.
I feel suddenly faint. Then there’s a sensation of being sucked into a dark hole.
CHAPTER 15
I ’m confused. It is dark, but I’m sure I’m awake. I try to move and realize my hands are tied behind my back. Something is covering my mouth, I learn, when I try calling out and feel the gag.
Suddenly, memories return. The headmaster’s office.
He confessed to everything, but what good did it do me? I underestimated him! Well, that won’t happen again, if there’s a second time, I think as I sit helpless with my back against what feels like a wall. I can’t see or speak, but I can still listen.
I strain to catch any sound. I think I hear someone breathing near me. Is it a Doppelganger or a victim? I take a long minute to decide which it would be and then I lean toward it being a victim since the breathing is slow and even, like someone asleep. It still can be a Doppelganger. I take a chance and bang my shoe against the floor of what smells like a musty cella
r. I wait a few minutes, then bang the heel of my shoe against the wooden floor again.
Tap! Tap! The sound comes from beside me.
I frantically bang the floor as hard and as fast as I can.
Nothing.
Suddenly the room is vibrating because so many people are answering my signal. Wow, there must be two dozen people in the room! The thought is frightening. If that many people are trapped in the room and unable to escape, how am I going to get free?
Val! I remember he said all I had to do for him to come to me was to say his name three times. I try. However, no matter how hard I attempt to pronounce his name, it comes out gargled through the gag. If only I could get it off! I can’t stand up because my legs are tied together.
Maybe if I fall over, I can rub the gag off on the floor? I don’t relish banging my head against the floor, but what else can I do since I can’t say Val’s name with the gag in my mouth. With that thought in mind, I start rocking back and forth, until finally, I fall over on my right side. My head bangs hard against the wood floor. I see stars, but not the Hollywood kind. The blow dazes me. It takes several minutes to focus my thoughts again as I temporarily forgot why I caused myself to tip over like a teapot. Lucky I didn’t pour any of my gray matter out! I think as I remember that the purpose was to remove the gag.
I rub the side of my cheek against the floor where the thick cloth is tied around my head. It hurts, but I feel the gag move a little. I wonder if there’s a spell for replacing skin, I think as I continue to rub my cheek against the hard surface and push my tongue against the gag.
When I start to wonder if I have any skin left on the right side of my face, the gag slips down enough so I can speak.
“Val! Val! Val!” The gag, still partially covering my mouth, prevents me from saying the words very loudly, and I lie there wondering how it would even be possible for the handsome vampire to hear me say his name—even if I could shout it out.
I wait!
Nothing.
I wonder how long it takes a bat to fly from Nightshade to Hemlock. I’m sure it would take hours.
All at once, I hear the splintering of wood and then a loud thump.
Sounds like a hungry troll has found some snacks! I think, wishing I had continued working on removing the blindfold instead of stopping and waiting for Val to come to the rescue.
“Suzy!”
I know that voice! “Val! Over here! Get me loose! Hurry before the Doppelgangers return!”
“Doppelgangers? Never heard of them,” Val says as he comes near.
I feel a tug on my blindfold. It falls from over my eyes and I am suddenly staring into the eyes of my vampire friend. Then I hear struggling and glance around the room.
“Oh my God! Hurry! Untie my hands and then go free Alfie,” I shout, seeing the dwarf struggling to get free after hearing my fully ungagged voice.
“Hmm, not even a kiss for rescuing you?” Val teases.
“Later. I don’t want a quick hen peck. I want a toe-curling, long, wet kiss,” I say quietly, as he frees my hands with superfast speed. “Help Alfie,” I say as I reach down and start to untie my legs. “We have to get out of here before the Doppelganger come to feed us.”
“Let them come. I can handle them.” Val’s voice holds both confidence and anger. “I’m sure they have never gone up against an angry vampire.” Val moves across the room and pulls the gag out of Alfie’s mouth.
“Suzy! I knew you would save me. But you should have come before they fed me that horrible mushroom gruel. I’ll never wipe that taste out of my memory, even if I eat a thousand duck berry pies.”
“Better late than never, Alfie,” I say as I glance around the room until I see the real headmaster. I hurry over to him and pull down his gag.
“Doppelgangers!” he says, his eyes blinking as he tries to get used to the light as I lift his blindfold.
“Yes, I know. They took me over, too. But you were the first one.”
The headmaster looks sharply at me. “You’re Suzy, the white witch from Nightshade. You were supposed to enroll in the Academy,” he says.
“I did. Look, we can talk as we release the others. We have to get out of here before it’s feeding time and some of them return,” I say as I untie his hands. Seeing Red Sumac struggling and trying to talk through her gag, I move on to her. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Alfie waddling around releasing victims and Val moving like a whirlwind doing the same.
“You took your sweet time!” Red Sumac says as I pull her gag down.
“You’re welcome,” I say.
“Yeah, eat some of their mushroom gruel and you’ll be complaining too. Never again will a mushroom touch my lips!” she says with a shudder. “How did you get here?”
“Same as you. The headmaster trapped me in his office, and one of his brethren touched me. That’s all it took.”
“How did you get loose?” Red Sumac asks, looking at me askance.
“The vampire. I called him from Nightshade.”
“Gagged?”
I turn the right side of my face to her.
“Ouuuu, That must have hurt.”
“We have to hurry,” the headmaster calls out. “My stomach is growling. That means it’s getting close to feeding time. One touch and we’re back under their control.”
“Don’t you have spells to fight them?” I ask. “I heard you defeated a nest of them in Poison Oaks.”
“I can’t. I don’t have my wand. And I need it to make my spells.”
“Oh, and just so you know. While posing as you, one of the Doppelgangers killed a student. Her name was Polly.”
“I’ve never known one to actually kill a human being,” the headmaster says with a sad voice. “And she was a good student.”
“Her mistake was wearing a pair of true view glasses and seeing the one impersonating you. She was telling everyone that you were ugly. And I don’t think the Doppelganger meant to kill her. She fought when he tried to take the glasses, and he choked her accidently,” I say, speaking as fast as I can as I untie a witch I have seen at the Academy; I can’t remember what she teaches.
“Where is Broom Hilda?” Red Sumac calls out.
I start humming the Ride of the Valkyrie as I finish untying the witch.
“I think she is locked in a closet. I’m not sure she can get out…”
Suddenly my broomstick is floating in the air next to me.
“... But I guess she did.” I feel a huge sense of pride.
Val swishes over to me like a black shadow. “Everyone is free.”
“Great, now all we have to do is get out of here. Uh, where are we, Val?” I ask, realizing that I don’t know where this cellar is located.
“In the basement of the park’s caretaker. He wasn’t anywhere in sight when I came,” Val says.
“He probably went to get mushroom gruel. I’m sure when he returns he won’t be alone,” I say as I glance around. What I see is about two dozen frightened witches and warlocks. They aren’t going to be much use in a fight against the Doppelganger! I turn back to Val. “What do you know about Doppelgangers, Val?”
“I know it only takes one touch from them to subdue you,” Red Sumac says as she approaches.
“I’m a vampire. They can’t take me over just by touching me!” Val says boastingly.
“They can!” the headmaster says. “It’s their magic. And it’s strong. No one, not even a vampire or werewolf, can resist them.”
“So you have to be careful if we encounter any as we leave,” I tell Val, concerned that he isn’t taking what we are telling him seriously.
“Let’s go, let’s go, Suzy,” Alfie tugs on the legs of my pants. “I want some duck berry pie to get this horrible taste out of my mouth,” he says, near tears.
“Malcolm ate all the duck berry pies,” I say, as seriously as I can.
“What...” he calls out and then stops himself. “Suzy, don’t joke about something like duck berry pies! I know Malcolm can’
t eat!”
Instead of answering Alfie, I glance over at the headmaster. “What is the best course of action for us if we see Doppelgangers approaching?”
“Run! Run into Hemlock as fast as you can. But we must stick together. We can only trust the ones in this room. Anyone else—brother, sister, husband, wife or anyone you know—could already have been taken over. Doppelgangers breed like wildfire if they get people food. There is no telling how many more places like this basement they have stashed away their victims.”
The thought that a lot more people could be taken over almost overwhelms me.
“Don’t worry,” the headmaster calls out. “Once I get back to my office and retrieve my wand, I can throw a spell over the entire town that will strip their illusion and expose any of the Doppelgangers who are impersonating humans. Then they’ll flee back to Bottom Moor, which is where I presume their nest is located.”
“Yeah, that’s where they attacked Suzy and me, and where I was kidnapped,” Red Sumac says bitterly.
“We’ve waited long enough!” the headmaster says, looking at the shattered door. “We have to get out now.”
“I’ll go first!” Val says, macho as always.
Ooo, I love an alpha male! I think as I watch the tall black-clad vampire heading for the basement door.
“I’m going last!” Alfie says, shaking his head.
“Headmaster, you bring the others. Red Sumac and I’ll go out next. You are too valuable to lose to them again. We need you to clean them out of Hemlock,” I say.
He nods.
I think he, like Alfie, isn’t so eager to face the Doppelgangers again. I emerge from the basement and find myself in a small one-room cabin with a wood burning stove, a table, two chairs, and a bed.
“This way,” Val says, holding the door open.
I only realize then that it’s nighttime. What would have happened if I had said Val’s name three times during the day?
“Red, are you on your game?” I ask.
She glances at me as though I have just spoken Japanese.
“Are you ready to throw some fireballs?” I ask.
