Jacks School of Shines Read online

  The Druid man looked at the Evil Goblin. Bad magic through the years had been used to get this far. The tall man in a dull red robe had to lift him up to finish speaking to the crowd and then turned him almost to the flames. He swung his wand across the fire three times, once up and then twice down and once across. The color of the fire changed to a bright orange and then to shafts of blue and black hazes.

  We’d been fooled when we first saw the light, thinking they were friendly. We were lucky not to stand up and yell. Hunter said that would have been our downfall and all would have been captured.

  The fire changed to an eerie beastly shape that soared to the dark night clouds. Sparks flew out, then came back and zoomed across the crowd of men eager to embrace the creature’s flaming breath. It gave off a sweet odor that we could smell from our place in the tall grass. The men reveled and laughed, unafraid of what five young wizard boys could do to their power of dark evil.

  The man that almost heard us came forward and said, “My Lord Goblin, may I and a few of my men go out to find this boy? We will bring him back to you to ensure that your life as the Lord of the Dark will have no adversary to destroy it.”

  The Druid changed into this hideous looking Goblin and lowered his wand. He spoke to the man in a language we did not understand. A plan formed by many incantations arose from his mouth. His new shape as a Goblin proved great, for now he intended danger to all who dared to look into his eyes. The eyes turned a bright red and contained many dark spells that would kill a grown man in a minute.

  We witnessed this from the tall grass and decided we needed to crawl to the darker part of the tree line. But we sat still, silent to avoid their watchful eye.

  He asked the men to follow him in the next task. When one of the Dark Robes dared to look at his eyes, he became a stone statue and no longer a man.

  Then the Goblin said, “The next man who disappoints me in his failed attempts will see what I really could do. I’ve come to power once more.” A hushes fell over the group and they looked at their wands to see them turn black, just like the wands of the men who attacked the school.

  Then he raised his wand and spoke again. “If you fail, you will see the consequences. Death to the man!” He stood firm, pointed his wand and said, “Curio!” His wand made one of the men by the fire pit disappear into thin air.

  I crept past Hunter, for he saw the wand. He wondered about my mental stability. “What’s up with you?

  I inched closer and tried to whisper to him, but couldn’t make a sound. Anything came out as a huff of air onto Hunter’s face. He saw the sweat running off my forehead, and I appeared to be out of breath.

  This black wand had a very special curve to it. Many tiny skulls made up its handle, different than mine, but close. My wand was fat at the handle, with a long shaft made out of yew.

  The casting of a wand and its spells used by a wizard was important, and he must perform a light cutting action with his choice of a wand-to-be. Some witches cast their spells by a flick of a fingertip, or a touch of their nose, along with owning a wand. Some wizards needed their wand to cast even the simplest of spells. But for a great wizard, casting a spell could come from a thought or spoken word, even a tiny whisper or just one little breath without the use of a wand.

  “Why?” I asked, “Why does it have to be me?”

  “It will place the Evil Goblin into full power once you’re killed.” Hunter took a hold of me, looking me straight in the eyes, and said, “You mustn’t be found. The evilness is overconfident that it will always come out on top.”

  * * *

  Back at the school, the professors returned from their search for us. They looked from the dungeons to as far as the villages of Norlina and its stores, but not a sign could be found. Professor Woods told that we went out to find the Dark Robes.

  One of the professors spoke to the concerned classmates. “It’s going to be like the Headmaster said. As long as the boys stay out of trouble, Colin will be fine and do what the Headmaster saw to become true.”

  Some however, were upset that we took it upon ourselves to even think of such a task. The professors talked privately in the room of the Crystal Bowl, a room where one could see what’s to come. Since Headmaster Barns’ final prayer, the staff had seen a few things in the crystal bowl that could go either way for us missing teenagers.

  * * *

  I got an eerie feeling, like I knew what to do, from what I heard at the fire pit among the Dark Robes. It was apparent to us as we whispered way back in the grass what was happening.

  “Is it best to strike now?” Hunter asked.

  “The best spells we know can be used,” I argued. “The strength of five wands is better than one against all of them. It’s time to stand and fight to the last one!” Around me, Tom and John shook their heads.

  Riley said, “No way! We aren’t ready for that type of fight.”

  “What are you thinking, anyway?” John asked in a shaky voice.

  “This is what we’re here for, right?” I answered. We started back to the woods where we could stand up and talk things over.

  In the thick brush and thickets, John stood to voice his eagerness to fight when he got hit on the cheek by a tree branch. John fell face down to the earth. When he woke up, he found himself next to the fire pit, gagged and tied to a pole.

  He whispered, “I’m a goner.” His friends were nowhere to be seen, just the men from the fire. The Dark Robes stared into his face, terrifying him. What was to become of him? Dead men or a schoolboy tells no tales when caught. His thoughts focused on all his friends. What happened after he got knocked out to the world?

  The Goblin questioned John at the fire, like what type of protection did the school have from them. The evil men want to take a hold of helpless kids. John knew they really wanted Eibhlin. Even as he thought her name, he felt her power beside him.

  * * *

  Eibhlin knew we were in trouble. She had the ability to see and feel through her mind’s eye, a very special talent for such a young witch. “I had a vision,” she told her dorm room friends.

  “I saw one of the boys had gotten caught. I’m scared for them. I don’t know which boy it was.” Her friends gasped. They worried for the safety of the smaller boys. Now their minds thought of the worst that could happen. She sat by an open window, twisting the end of her long braid with fretful fingers, and gazed out. Her thoughts recalled the laughter she shared with the five boys through the years she been here. Then she thought of me, her poor Colin. “I truly hope that’s not you caught by the Dark Robes. It would break my heart.”

  Eibhlin dreamed of only last week when the girls had the upper hand on the boys at the school games in the contest of fast track broom racers. It started in fun long ago. Now it was one of our best games to find out who are the best flyers. As the boys and the girls got too competitive, it became more than a friendly game. The contest required great care and skill. Who’s better, the boys or girls? This year, Eibhlin won against me for best flying ability. For the past year, she’d heard nothing except I had beaten the girls at the game of brooms for the last two years.

  This year proved well for Eibhlin. She blew me away around the track, winning by a broom tip. She was willing to give the prize back to see me again, home safe.

  Oh, if we could go back to that happier day at Shines. Eibhlin awoke to face another grim day at the school. Class started today, for the children had to keep busy and the skills of bettering themselves would need to be forgotten for the present. Wizards’ knowledge and might would be taught for the remainder of the year.

  Chapter 8: The Flames of Terra

  Back at the fire, the men grew impatient with John’s answers. He feared to say what he knew. “If I tell, the lives of my friends and family are at stake. I will not tell, for I don’t know.”

  The men gnashed their teeth and shook their fists at John. One got so incensed, he punched John, blinding him in one eye. When the Goblin waved his wand over the fi
re, the flames grew up and up, higher and higher. John witnessed the fury behind tonight’s gathering. His beating heart sped up when the men pulled the pole closer to the flame. He felt the heat on his face, turning it red, and he could smell his eyebrows burning. He yelled and screamed.

  The men laughed. “You can’t be heard here, silly boy. What comes out of that flame, you truly don’t want to see,” one Dark Robed man said. “Nevertheless, if you choose not to give me what I want, I’ll hand you over to the Flames of Terra. Apocalyptic creature from the underworld could put someone away forever in the tombs of hell, where they’d walk with the dead and forgotten creatures of madness.”

  John gulped, gasping for cool air, then shouted, “You’ll never get anything from me!”

  Infuriated, the Goblin hissed and stomped and pointed a clawed finger at him, whispering a curse. He laughed when John’s other eye went blind.

  The flame reached its fiercest power, and grew higher and higher. John could see by his inner sight a monster emerging from the fire to engulf him and the pole. Apocalyptic wrapped itself around the boy’s body and, with a flash of bright light, an ember red and gold pulled the boy into the pits of hell. The first boy from the school had been killed at the hands of the dark Evil Goblin’s men. Their power grew.

  * * *

  I ran through the dark, eyes wild, feet stumbling, waiting for a Dark Robe to grab me. But something told me to stop and see if all the boys were running ahead. I didn’t see John and my heart raised its beat. He was the smallest of us and I remembered that he didn’t get up from the fall when the branch whacked him across the face. The other boys scattered in different directions, though. I remembered that much.

  I knew I needed to go back to see where he might be. I yelled, running to where I last saw him. Not finding him there, I took a chance and yelled one more time.

  We weren’t that far from each other but, in the dark, it seemed to be miles apart. I hoped someone heard me. The horrendous sound that bellowed out of me scared the grim creatures hiding, ready to attack us. They knew my voice and my presence. This gave me safe passage, for even the Grim would not mess with a young wizard coming to greater power.

  I found the tree where I last saw him and whispered, “John. John, where did you go? Where are you?” I thought it strange when he didn’t answer back. Inching forward, I saw the light from the men’s fire ahead.

  To my horror, I witnessed John being taunted and struck. The Evil Goblin danced and whirled around him, his slobbering fangs glistening. And then, wishing with all my might I could stop this madness, I heard John scream, “You’ll never get anything from me!” when they pulled him into the fire. Blue and orange fingers of flame dragged him into the belly of hell. I broke down, unable to bear the anger and pain. “John. My poor, brave little John.” I wept until I thought my heart would break.

  * * *

  Tossing and turning, Eibhlin awoke from a bad dream about John. She took ill and fell down flat on her face. When her friends awoke and found her that way, one girl thought she was having a fit.

  “Eibhlin? Are you alright?” Sue patted her face and then her hand. “Do you need a doctor?”

  Struggling to sit up, Eibhlin glanced around, eyes confused and sweat on her brow. Focusing on Sue’s concerned face, she seemed to remember the time and place. They saw hot tears filling her eyes just before she covered her face with her hands.

  “Noooo! Noooo!” She rocked back and forth, keening. “He’s dead. They killed him!”

  “Who’s dead?” Casey knelt down and pulled Eibhlin’s hands back. “Who?”

  “I…I’m not sure. I think…it’s…J…John.” Feeling Apocolyptic’s heat on her skin, she leapt to her feet, sobbing, and ran to the water basin, splashing cool water on her face.

  * * *

  It’s going to be hell for those poor souls. We here carry the guilt. If even one returned to the school unharmed, the gift would be worth it. My head went down, the images of what I saw cemented in my mind. I returned to the place where I yelled out to the others.

  Now the laborious task to search for the remaining friends began. I looked for any signs of them, listening for a noise, and checking for broken branches. I stood upright, unconcerned that I might be seen. My sorrow was too great at losing someone who meant a lot in my life.

  A ghostly appearance ran through the forest in front of me, trying to stop me. I thought to myself, to stop now would mean I’ve seen it, and it would know that I noticed it. Ghosts filled our castle, and one of the many I knew told me long ago if I didn’t notice, I may pass unharmed, but if I saw it and stopped, I may fall ill or be put under the death spell. The forest ghosts here were unsafe.

  As the Headmaster once said, “What’s played out here is unwritten and not truly known. It’s best to use your wisdom. In the dark forest, one might fall prey to many unknown things. Not all the ghostly people will be kind or helpful. Whatever the person hears in those whispers of doom will befall them.”

  I felt doomed from the start and the thought of going on was tough. Cuts covered my face from running through the brush, and my best school robe tore from my last fright. I felt overwhelmed.

  “Who dares enter these woods?” a voice asked through an echoing passage. “Dark Robed men dare not catch him.” That was the dark Evil Goblin. I knew that voice, but right then, I just couldn’t put that voice to the face.

  * * *

  Eibhlin,

  John is dead, killed by the Evil Goblin. I don’t know where the others are and I am lost in this forest. I don’t mind admitting to you that I’m afraid, more afraid than I’ve ever been. But, I’m going to look for Hunter, Riley and Tom, hoping they stuck together. There’s too much evil about.

  Yours,

  Colin

  * * *

  Back at the school, all the children had a rough time paying attention to class studies. The professors gathered the children in the great hall. Lying on the tables were the newest magic wands to be given out for such an emergency, courtesy of old Professor Ringhole, our finest wand maker from Lancaster County.

  He spent one hundred and seventy years collecting and creating a new incantation for each and every wand. He walked the hundreds of miles in his lifetime, hunting for the right wand maker’s tree to use its strong polished wood. He felt it would be best to donate them to the school in this great time of need.

  The Professors Cavemen and Tarns and Mr. Clarks brought to the children’s attention that they need to learn now the best casting of the spells of three. All the children focused on the professor’s table, their tiny hands holding the new wands. Held tightly, with great care and nervousness, they felt the new magic. Old Professor Cavemen promised them the first spell would be given on that day. They faced the wall so no child was in the same direction as another.

  “Lift your wand and point it at arm’s length,” the professor instructed. “Hold onto the end of the handle, like this,” he demonstrated. “It’s very important to clear your voice before you even start to say this magical spell.” A room full of children all clearing their throats at the same time came with some laughter.

  “If anyone approaches you, like a Dark Robe or that Evil Goblin, use the magical words of this spell. Professor Cavemen stood and whispered, “Say it clearly now, students - um famousness conductedo atmen glottides and balm.” Out went some of the windows on the other side of the school walls. The quickness of the spell surprised the children.

  “Well done to some of you,” he said. The professors were thrilled that most got it right. An old barn owl took pleasure in hooting back and forth with his playmates in the schoolyard, oblivious to the dangers below by the new wands. Owls lined the walls here as they were timekeepers for the children. No child could come to school without an owl to keep one on time.

  But alas, a dear girl looked sad and so down. Poor Jamie Lickerbocker caught her cloak on fire. “You will have to watch out for that next time,” Professor Woods said to the class. “To
avoid that mishap again, you need to point your wand at arm’s length.” Little Daniel held his wand backwards, but the older student, James Rush, showed him the right way to hold it.

  The noise level grew in the great halls of the school when hundreds of students cheered for themselves. The professor said, “Calm down, students. Yes, you have managed that spell. Let’s try another. Now without greater harm to each other, I’ll spell out one more to learn for today. May I have a volunteer?”

  The professor told them that one by themselves could do as well in front of a Dark Robe as a large group could. The students congregated in a circle; their own praises stopped. What they were learning came very clear to them. To kill. It was no class game. This was for real.

  “Yes, the lives of many are at stake,” the professor said, “and in keeping with that, here is the next spell to learn. Class, are you ready?” The students came to attention and growled their answer, “Yes, we are ready to learn. Anything to help save the school and protect us all.”

  The excitement grew knowing, if they became good enough, they too could help fight this evil thing. Protective spells interlocked the school all around the halls, from bedrooms, bathrooms to the classrooms, and windows to floorboards. Evil waited for the school to show its weakness.

  “Now I must have complete quiet,” the professor said. “For this one must be said softly. First, I must strike the right tone. It’s set off by a very delicate temperament, and anger in one’s voice will change its meaning. I’ll whisper the magic words to you as I walk around the room for all the children to hear. The spell is said to blow you backwards off your feet. It’s a Delouses Spell.”