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Chuck’s voice echoed throughout the schoolgrounds, vibrating through every surface. Fiona had never heard anything so loud before. It stunned her to the spot and she stopped trying to run away from the skeletal horse that was chasing her. It came crashing through the walls of ice she’d created, smashing each one to pieces. Fiona didn’t even notice it getting clearer. Just as it was about to hit her, the horse evaporated into air, leaving a few embers of flame to continue the journey and be put out once they hit Fiona. The ice walls also started to melt, seeping back into the ground they came from.

Once all of the ice had disappeared, Fiona could see that Chuck was sitting on the floor next to Tommy. Chuck looked out of breath, beaten and tired. She remembered that he hadn’t long recovered from the attack in the basement, and then adding the horse’s attack onto that it was lucky he was still alive at all.

Tommy on the other hand looked completely bewildered. He was sat up, looking around the place with confusion all over his face. His eyes darted about. Fiona started walking towards him, and as soon as he spotted her he started to shift backwards, trying to get away. He started trying to speak, but only gibberish came out. Chuck didn’t move at all, he just had his hands in his head, trying to refocus after everything had happened. After shouting he’d blacked out for a moment, and he felt faint.

“Hey, Tommy?” Fiona said in a soft voice.

The boy nodded.

“Are you okay?” She continued.

Another nod.

“Are you ready to get out of here? Don’t worry I’m not going to hurt you, nor is this person. We’re just here to help in anyway that we can. I’m going to take you to someone who can really help you, is that okay?”

“What’s happening?” the boy said with a hoarse voice.

“It’s a little tricky to understand, but you were using magic to keep everyone here in the school.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“I know it sounds scary, but trust me, it’s okay. You didn’t mean to do it. It just happens, if you don’t understand how to use it.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“I know. It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. There wasn’t any harm done.”

“Where’s Brad?”

“Who?”

“I had a dream that he fell into a well. He is a bully. He always tries to fight me and push me over. I remember him doing that and then I shouted. I didn’t want it to happen anymore.”

“I see. Brad’s gone home. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

“Can I go home now?”

“Not yet. Soon though, you can go home. For now, you just need to trust me. I’m here to keep you safe.”

“I don’t know.”

“Please Tommy, I need to take you to someone who understands this a lot more than I do. I also need to take my friend here to get some help from a doctor.”

Chuck started to stand up, his body feeling shaky. His head pounded with pain and the world around him was spinning uncontrollably. He could see multiple of everything around him.

“Is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine. He just hit his head.”

“What happened to your leg?”

Fiona looked down at the burn on her leg. It looked bad, but Fiona knew that Millie would be able to patch her up in no time. She just had to avoid passing out due to the pain beforehand.

“Don’t worry about that,” Fiona said. “I burnt it, but I’ll be okay later. Are you okay to go now?”

“I don’t know who you are.”

“Sorry. I’m Fiona. My friend here is Chuck. We’re kind of like magicians and we’re here because this school was put under a spell. It’s all okay now. You said you had a dream about Brad being in a well? That was real. But it’s okay now, it’s all over.”

“Okay.”

“Come on, I’m going to help Chuck and then we can get going. I know someone called Arthur who is going to want to meet you.”

Fiona walked over to Chuck, trying to put as little pressure on her burnt leg as possible. She swung an arm around him and they both supported each other to get to the gates. Fiona didn’t want to fight with Tommy, and was hoping that if she left it up to him, he would follow.

“Why is this taking so long?” said a voice that Chuck didn’t recognise.

They stopped walking and Chuck looked around, trying to find who was speaking.

“Because it was a little more complicated that you said it would be.”

“We thought better of you than this,” the voice said again.

Sitting on the gate to the schoolyard was a small black bird with a red bill. It was looking at Chuck and Fiona.

“Bring the boy to us as soon as you can. Arthur is waiting and Arthur is not patient.”

“Okay, we’re coming right away.”

“Is that a talking bird?” Tommy said running ahead of Fiona and Chuck.

“I am Annwn, little one. You are the great Tommy. It’s a pleasure to meet you. And you Chuck. It’s good to make your acquaintance too, but it looks like you’re close to death’s door. Perhaps this life is not one meant for you.”

Chuck didn’t reply. He was stood in shock.

“You’re so cool,” Tommy said to the bird.

“Quite. I’ll be at the school waiting for you all to arrive. Arthur doesn’t like people to be late.”

With that the bird flew off into the sky and quickly out of sight.

“That was so cool,” Tommy said. “Are we going to see it again?”

“Unfortunately, yeah, most likely,” Fiona said. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

To Be Continued…

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