Avis Blackthorn: Is Not an Evil Wizard! (13 page)

“What was that?” said David looking
around.

Impossibly, Hunter must have sneezed, because
our fake Malakai began swaying. Hunter began flailing around. Robin
lost his balance on top. Then, just as I aimed a balance correcting
Spell at them - Hunter fell, tipping Robin backwards into the wall.
With a sickening crunch Robin hit the floor. The grey cloak flying
off over his head. Hunter and Robin lay in a tangled heap. The
metal armour head now rolling away down the corridor. Both lay
groaning.

What on earth did I do now?

David and the rest of the Eagles realised
they’d been duped. I thought it was all over. That they’d call for
the Lily and I’d be expelled or something. But no, it got a lot
worse than that…

The five Eagle boys looked livid. David’s
face went a puce purple colour with rage. His golden pendant lit up
a fiery orange. I covered myself ahead of a tirade of Spells. But
then, they looked away from me, into the darkness of the corridor.
Then, they scarpered. As fast as they possibly could back the way
they had come.

“What the hec?” I said, watching them run.
What could have possibly made them run like that?

I felt this icy cold tingle run down my
spine. Like someone had placed an ice cube down my shirt. I
recognised that feeling. It was one I’d had nightmares about. One I
never cared to have again. I turned slowly. Standing in the
shadows, eight feet tall, skulled face hidden by shadow and gliding
towards us with blue glowing eyes and long skeletal fingers… was
the
real Malakai.
I couldn't speak, my breath caught
somewhere in my stomach. Robin was tangled under the grey cloak,
and Hunter lay panting on the floor, both oblivious to the
impending danger. A voice echoed round my head, deep and awful.

“
You
could never be
my
apprentice. This insults me. Malakai does not employ dirty
seventh sons!
” spat the voice that resembled splitting wood.
My heart was beating, I couldn't even run, my feet were frozen to
the spot. “You are a
disgrace
to the Blackthorn name.”

This horrible whistling noise lit the air.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up. An inky black substance
rose from the cracks in the floor like a waxwork melting upwards.
It looked straight at me with no eyes. Time stood still. My heart
beating petrified. All at once it shot at Hunter. The demon leapt
on top of him, screaming with joy as it began attacking him.

“AHH! Ahhhhhwwwwwwwoooo!” Hunter cried as the
Demon ripped into him.

I jumped back against the wall. “HELP!
HEEEEELP
!” I called at the top of my lungs. Robin pulled the
sheets off, and watched horrified, scrambling back against the
wall. The awful gurgling screams from Hunter shot into every
possible crevice. It seemed like an age before our calls of help
were answered. Poor Hunter writhed around on the ground, the
demon’s sharp black teeth like knives ripping through the air at
every available space on his body.

Straker appeared, out of breath by the
corridor entrance, flanked by another Magisteer. When he saw the
mess his pallid face dropped like a penny in a well. He marched
forcibly towards the demon, hands outstretched, saying something
impossibly difficult. It began to crawl off Hunter, desperately
trying to get away from Straker. But Hunter wasn't moving. The pool
of blood touched my shoe and I had to turn away, the sight of it…
Magisteer Dodaline crouched over Hunter then raised him above the
ground, suspending him on an invisible bed.

“Get him to the Healer’s Room!” Straker cried
waving his hands at the faceless Demon, which shrank back into the
ground with a pop. Straker wiped his sweaty face as Dodaline ran
off fast with Hunter floating next to her, hanging limp. It all
happened so quickly. Robin was curled into a ball crying. I stood
frozen to the wall, feeling like I was about to puke any second. I
heard doors slowly open around us to see what was happening. With
one click of Straker’s fingers all the doors shut and a lock
clicked consecutively in each. Straker’s dark face turned to us.
His voice soft as his eyes went from the huge pool of blood to me
and Robin. “Who did this?”

No one spoke. Straker looked at Robin who’s
eyes lifted. His hand outstretched and finger slowly uncurled…
coming to point… at me.

I swallowed hard as Straker’s head swivelled.
“What?” I said, my voice croaky. “Robin what are you talking about?
You think
I
would, could, ever do that?”

Robin sobbed into his arm.

“Sir, it was
Malakai
Sir. I saw him,
over there. It was him.” I had never seen Straker’s face say so
much, and it wasn't good — he certainly did not believe me.

***

Everything that happened next seemed like a
dream. It passed me by in some numb strange place where time sped
up and I was just led along. Inside though, I was thinking
how?
why?
To go from a stage where you are almost victorious, to
being accused of attempting to murder somebody was too much for my
mind to handle. Hunter’s gurgling screams echoing through every
pore of my body, as Straker led me to a dark turret high up in the
school, locking me behind a thick metal door.

After a few days I came back to earth.
Perhaps when things get too hard, your mind goes on a little
holiday?

I couldn't hear anyone, or see anything. My
stuff from the dorm was in a bundle in the corner where Straker had
dumped it. I suppose you could call the room a cell. There was no
bed, just a kind of hard rug. There were no windows. The room was
small and the roof pitched up into a cone shape, with lots of dark
wooden rafters. The floor was cold and dusty and a draft seeped
through the cracks round the bottom of the wall. I sat in the
middle of the floor and didn’t move for three days. A plate of
bread, cheese and water appeared three times a day in front of me.
I didn’t eat it. I hated cheese. Anyway, I couldn’t eat.

Hunter had just been attacked and probably
killed. And Robin thought it was me. Everyone now thought it was
me. I didn’t want to think about it, I felt sorry for myself as I
lay in the dirt. The only sound was the whistling wind and the
scurry of one lone rat.

None of this made sense. I felt guilt, even
though I hadn’t done anything, I felt pain, anger, despair and a
sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Why hadn’t Malakai attacked me? Did he mean
to? And why did he attack Hunter? One minute, we were scaring the
living daylights out of David Starlight and the Eagles pretending
to be Malakai, the next minute the real Malakai turns up and… well,
does the most awful thing imaginable.

And Robin accused me. For the last three days
I was cursing him, but then, when I thought about it, that would be
the accusation I would come to.

• I mentioned (as a joke) that we should set a demon
on the Eagles after reading that awful book.

• He perhaps thought I was angry at Hunter for
sneezing and messing up the plan.

• Robin and Hunter did not see or hear Malakai.

Yes, David Starlight and the Eagles had seen
Malakai, but would they tell the truth? Or did he wipe their
memories? I know my parents have done it before, so Malakai must be
able to. The evidence was firmly stacked against me and I didn’t
want to go to Magic jail.

***

A week later I was kind of settled in my
dusty old turret, it reminded me of home. I hung my clothes on a
low wooden rafter, turned my bedsheets into a half comfortable
bed-come-nest and got on with some homework. It was hard to see,
because the only light came from the cracks in the roof. Soon
enough I had lost track of days and the passing of day to night, my
circadian rhythms were proper messed up.

Then, after maybe a week, I was lying on the
floor trying to peel back a roof slate to get more light in, when
suddenly a shaft of glowing blue light lit up the room. I was
puzzled, but when I turned I saw where the light was coming from.
It was a ghost. It had just come up through the floor.

“Hello pal,” it said, cheery for a ghost but
in a
I feel sorry for you
voice. “How you keeping?”

“Erm, fine.” I said, my voice croaky as I
hadn’t spoke for a week.

“Good… for a week or so you and me are gonna
do some work. Magisteer Partington sends his warmest regards and
gave me some sheets from his classes that we can get on with…”

“Okay…” I said. “How’s Hunter?”

The ghost looked at me and smiled weakly.
“He’ll be ok.”

“Ah, thank god!” I cried, unable to help
tears welling up in my eyes. “I thought he was dead!”

“Well…” said the ghost, floating across and
inspecting my raggy bed. “He was as good as dead for some
time.”

I swallowed. “They do know it wasn’t me don’t
they?”

He didn’t need to say anything, the look was
enough — a sorry tilt of the head and a wry look away.

I found the ghost, who told me his name was
Ernie, pleasurable and handy as I now had enough light to work
with. It was like having a full moon sitting cross legged opposite
me. His features were very defined, he was a young ghost, perhaps
early twenties, dressed in a smart suit with a smooth, kind face,
longish fair hair tucked behind his ears and a warm, likeable
personality, which is strange for a ghost - most of the ones I’d
met were horrible. Everyday Ernie woke me up at 7am sharp and
brought handfuls of work sheets to go through that Partington had
sent up. And… he sneaked me some food from the Chamber! Each day
became an excitement, to see what luxury he would bring me.

After a few days I got so used to him being
there and didn’t want him to go. I was nibbling on a butter candy
cake, and he was reading my notes back to me about Hexes and
Wolves, as I was wondering about everyone back in the school. What
were they doing? Would I ever see them again?

“Does everyone in the school think it was
me?” I said.

“
And the Hex
… What?” said Ernie
peering over my essay, then sighing. “I am sure that… the truth
will come out in the end,” he said diplomatically then carried on
reading my essay. They were probably burning an effigy of me right
now, led by my brother Ross. Mind you he and my family had finally
got their wish. I had finally done something catastrophically
evil.

A few days later and Ernie appeared looking
immensely cheerful. “You are allowed out!” he called. “Someone will
be up in about…” he looked down and through the floor. “… ten
minutes!”

“Allowed out?” I said feeling a huge sense of
dread. I had got so used to this little room that I was comfortable
here now. “But, but…”

“It’s ok,” said Ernie bobbing up and down.
“The Lily is obviously not convinced that it was you, that’s why
he’s letting you out.”

“The Lily?” I mumbled. “But what about
Hunter? Is he ok?”

“He’s awake in the Healer’s Room, but I
wouldn’t go there just yet, not until everything is smoothed
over.”

“No, yeah,” I said. “And am I going back to
lessons? Back to my form?”

Ernie laughed. “Don’t make yourself so
stressed about things that might not happen kiddo. Let’s see what
the man says. See ya around,” he winked.

“Wait! Will I see you again?”

Ernie’s head floated just above the floor.
“Of course!” he laughed before vanishing.

Ernie was right, just ten minutes later the
door opened. The tall frightening Magisteer stared down at me with
distain. I’d heard about her - Magisteer Simone, the Lily’s
assistant. I’d heard people refer to her as Scary Simone. She was
about seven foot, with a tight bun of hair fastened to her head, an
angry leathery face and only one bristly eyebrow.

“Well
hello
Avis Blackthorn, proving
to live up to your family’s name at last?”

I didn’t bother trying to tell her I was
innocent. So I just weakly agreed. “Yeah…”

“On order of the Lily you are being allowed
out, however you will not return to your dorm, this is your room
now. You will return to lessons, but only with the ghosts in the
East Dungeon’s. However, you are free to
do as you please
in
the school again…” she spat the last sentence as if it pained her
to say it. Obviously she would have me locked up here forever,
innocent or not.

I was worried that having my freedom back
would cause people to, I don’t know, come and get me. Magisteer
Simone held her hand out. On it, was a tiny shrivelled head on a
string.

“You will be accompanied by a Shrunken Head
to protect you from Spells, Hexes, Curses and bullish behaviour
from others while we ascertain what
really happened
…” She
chucked the head to me. It was small, with flaky skin and rough
hair, it’s eyes and mouth sealed by thread. “Put it round your
neck, then make your way down to Lunch.” This had to go round my
neck? Ergh.

“What happens?” I said. “If someone does
attack me or whatever?” I saw her smile as if imagining it.

“You’re a Blackthorn? And you don’t know
about Shrunken Heads? Dear, oh dear…” she tutted and vanished from
the room leaving me standing, stranded in a prison cell I didn’t
want to leave.

I put the horrible Shrunken Head around my
neck. It hung limp for a bit, then the thread in its eyes and mouth
disappeared with a
poof
. It groaned and began mumbling
strange words to itself. The string around my neck disappeared in a
short blaze of orange as the head floated up just behind my left
shoulder, where it stayed muttering to itself.

“Hello?” I said. But it ignored me, eyes
shut.

I felt like a newborn animal tip toeing into
the dangerous jungle for the first time. I discovered how far up in
the tower I was. All I could see through the thin slitted windows
around the staircase was dark clouds and mist. But also it took ten
minutes to walk down all the stairs and make it back, finally, to
the main school again. The Shrunken Head bobbed along next to me,
awkwardly. I felt naked, hoping no one would see me as I scurried
along the corridors, blinking at the immensely bright light that
stung my eyes.