Avis Blackthorn and the Magical Multicolour Jumper (The Wizard Magic School Series, Book 2) (29 page)

The
last two flounders would come shooting out of the bolt-hole any second now. It was 2-2 — we had to win this match to stand any chance of staying in the tie, and the next goal would decide the winner of the game.

A wet splodge hit my nose from the black clouds that had formulated above. And then, rain. But not any rain, hard, heavy driving rain. Wind whistled, splashing into our faces until it hurt.

We huddled together. “Any more tricks you want to teach us Avis? Any more masterplans up your sleeve?” cried Graham over the howling wind and rain that was now pummelling every part of us, and the Habitat — the green mountainside reducing to muddy bog.

“None,” I said.

“These specs will do!” said Florence. “I can see their spell before they shoot it.”

“At least we’re at equal numbers,” said Hunter, pointing at the Swillows who also had seven players left. Joanna, Gret, Dennis, Simon and Ellen were watching anxiously from the benches. Even the Lily was on the edge of his seat.

Underwood’s whistle lit the air as the wet crowd roared back to life.

I charged forwards across the slippy mud ground as the red flounder came soaring towards me. CRUNCH! I clattered head long into something… my vision swimming I saw it was Jasper’s elbow! He sniggered loudly as the crowd recoiled. I lay back in the freezing mud, my face pounding with pain again. Deflecting his spells I aimed my hand at his departing legs and cried: “
Returious-funis
!” — a line of cord bound his legs and he sprawled through the mud.

“
Zxanbatters
,” I said standing, the flounder he dropped magnetically charged to my outstretched hand. I sat up and threw it to Jake who was unmarked and charging forwards.

Suddenly, Jasper looked like a man possessed — Dawn flew into the air, followed by Robin.

“NO!” I cried — but I was too far away to save him.

Kelly and Henry were charging fast towards me with the blue flounder — they stopped as a wall of fire blocked their path. I spelled them into the air and picked up the blue flounder — next to me was a hole under the rock, I slipped the blue flounder inside, increasing the shadow until it was invisible.

The crowd were on their feet, a roaring wave echoing deafeningly. I turned — Jasper was one-on-one with Hunter! He stood tall surrounding the bolt-hole, but there was no way he could stop Jasper. Out of nowhere Jess and Florence appeared, before wrenching Jasper back by his collar batting the red flounder away!

Jasper aimed spelling Jess, Florence and Hunter into the air with an almighty gust of green wind. His face shot back round to the whereabouts of the red flounder, and he saw my hands raised at him. And he did something awful… he pulled Jarrold, who had just sprinted to his aid, in front of him. My spell hit Jarrold and pulled him into the air — the crowd was shocked. I dived to the floor as a black bolt of fire zipped past me.

“Jake!” I calledsprinting forwar
d
— he had the red flounder and I was open on goal if he threw it to me. But he was duelling with three Swillows, he was trying to throw the flounder, but couldn’t release it. Jaspers black fire came shooting towards me again as I ducked. I raised both hands towards the Swillows and…
WHIZZ
Z
— two green shots of wind expelled from my arm pulling the two Swillows into the air.

“
AHH
!” Cried Jake, who was also now hanging in mid air — he and Kelly spelling each other out of the game. With a flash he shot back to the bench.

There was a moment of silence. I stood, soaking wet as I suddenly realised what had happened. I turned. Through the driving rain and howling wind, my clothes billowing on the hillside Habitat, I saw him marching towards me, the Swillows last player — and I, the last player for the Condors.

Who could have predicted it? Jasper and I coming head-to-head for a final duel. Jasper walked slowly, as the crowd stood, watching on in silence.

His blue eyes twinkled towards me as he brushed his soaking hair out of his face, his pure white kit splattered with mud. Like mine. I thought I might feint at any moment, my heart would surely give out and my lungs were burning as if on fire. Everything hurt — and I was terrified.

And then, all at once, we moved. Jasper dashed towards me with the force of million hubris. I moved swiftly spiralling out of his way.

We both continued running the opposite way from each other
—
I jumped over the hill, slid along the mud and fell down the ravine, pulling the blue flounder out of the crack. The howling wind and rain blocked the noise from the crowd and impaired my vision. I could see the outline of Jasper, standing straight and tall with a red flounder in his right hand — we stood unmoving again.

And he did something that I never expected — he threw the red flounder. It soared high into the air, over my head towards my bolt-hole.

He sprinted — forcing me into a choice, deal with the flounder or deal with Jasper? But, I was quicker than him. With a jump and a flurry, I flew forwards towards the red flounder, reaching the bolt-hole I stretched my arm and caught it.

Now I had both.

Jasper was surprised and breathing heavily. Somehow, I had to get a flounder in his bolt-hole.

Through the driving rain I could see my team on the bench, they were gesticulating towards me and pointing at something. The score board — it showed less than thirty seconds left of the game — if I didn't score this, then we would be out.

With that, I ran. I had no better plan. I pulled my hand behind my head and launched the blue flounder forwards — I needed a hand free. The crowd roared as my legs burned like fire. I launched myself off the plinth and onto the slippy mud. Making a beeline to the edge of the stadium as far away from Jasper as possible, I kept my palm facing towards him.

“
Dancidious
,
dancidious
…” I repeated black fire came raining after me, singeing my shorts.

But then, something changed, there was a rumble. What had he done? I slipped on the mud, and sprawled along the ground as the rumble juddered the ground. What on earth was he doing? There was a splintering noise, and a horrible bone shattering, cracking. The crowd was looking around, for the noise seemed to be coming from within the stadium. Jasper stopped running. The blue flounder came to a small thud in the corner of the Habitat. Underwood marched out as the rumble began to get louder and louder.

And then it became horribly clear. The stadium was collapsing! The northern part stadium began to sink — the wooden frame bowing and bending as splintering noises erupted into the air. Screams echoed deafeningly from all around as panic exploded.

The Lily stood. Raising both hands high the entire crowd lifted upwards out and above the stadium. White light fizzed and flashed with the effort of the spell.

Noise, rain, and wind filled my every sense. Underwood screamed at us. “You have to get off the Habitat! You can’t be raised into the air because you’re on the Habitat! Get off now!”

Jasper was panic stricken. The wooden slats to my left began to crack and fall, buckling beneath itself. We had to do something but there was no time! We couldn’t be spelled into the air because we were on the Habitat! It had a charm to protect it against outside crowd interference. My heart was racing — if I didn’t act soon then we would both be dead. The splintering, cracking reached a crescendo.

“Get off the pitch!” screamed Tina, hanging in mid-air.

And suddenly, we ran out of time. The entire stadium fell.

But I could do something. As wood and debris began to rain down, I raised my hand at Jasper and said: “
Pasanthedine
!” — the wind took him into the air and to safety.

There was nowhere left to run, even with the Seven League Shoes. From all around wood came crashing down. Huge, heavy rafters knocked the wind out of me. I felt myself being thrown to the ground as I slipped through mud and was drowned by a sea of wood. Screams of horror shot through the air like a far-off dream. My face in mud, with the weight of the stadium on top of me — surely, I was dead?

Through the silent darkness under the colossal weight of wood — I saw two shining blue eyes. Drifting forwards from far away, the short stubby creature came into a small patch of light. It’s small white face half obscured by hood. A thick grin crawled across its face.

“…Now…you know…what…it feels like…to be stripped of everything. I won’t stop here…I will go…after your most precious…things.” I blinked, confused, my body trapped. The next moment it vanished. I couldn’t move anything. I was paralysed and couldn’t breath. Consciousness was slipping slowly away. Whatever it was had finally got me. I shut my eyes.

Something grabbed my sides, shielding me from harm. A wonderful last dream.

The
shock, the panic, the darkness and dust. The noise and the screaming all seemed so fall away.

“Your safe,” said a voice, a far off, unfamiliar voice. Too dreamlike to recognise it as I slipped in and out of dreams. “Brace yourself.”

A blast of energy blew a hole in the debris. Daylight and rain woke me slightly back to my painful body. The person held tight before jumping.

We were on the edge of the hole, the top of the debris of wood. All around through my eyes that would barely open, I could see faces staring through the air, as they were suspended by the Lily. Shock and awe gripped them. Before I felt myself going up, gliding away high into the sky as screams of woe rippled outwards, past waves of roaring wind.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Burrows and Chambers

I
didn’t know what was happening. Even in unconsciousness I could feel the pain. Weird dreams flickered across my vision, dreams of childhood, of being persecuted by my siblings. Dreams of having things taken from me by my parents, because a cuddly animal was “
not what evil Wizards had
.”

Had I flown off because I was dead? Or had someone saved me? Had someone had risked their life for me? And did they fly? But who?

These questions, and more slowly thudded around my sore head as consciousness dripped back into my body. I felt groggy, painful all over. I was lying on a hard surface, above me a high-pitched roof, with lots of wooden rafters. Two men were gliding about the room. The fireplace lit, an orange glow warming through the room as rain and wind battered the window. Everything looked foggy and unclear. My head felt heavy, my chest sore.

Slowly, I realised that the two men in the room with me were strangers. The first man was busying himself around me — he was somewhat familiar. The second man was hunched over the fireplace unmoving. He had long black dreadlocks, and long black coat.

Horror took over me, the realisation setting in over who he was — it was the Djinn!

“Chambers, is he ready?” said the Djinn, in a slow, weak voice — my heart raced — what did they mean,
ready
?

Chambers, the first man, put down his tools, scanned me up and down and nodded. I was too panicked to take in what was happening, and now I looked about, I saw that I was in the secret room that me and Robin had found, high up near the clock tower, where we spotted Jasper.

My heart was beating so fast I thought it might jump out. “Come here then,” said Chambers, in a thick Yorkshire accent, just like Robins.

The Djinn slowly made his way over to me, his form translucent. He looked weak, breath rattling. Around me were instruments, long silver instruments laid out precisely on the roundtable.

“Please
relax
Avis Blackthorn,” said the translucent Djinn in a heavy Jamaican accent. Relax? Relax! How on earth could I relax? I had a Djinn next to me that I had been hunting for the best part of three months, and his assistant, who was now attaching something to my arm.

Tap, tap, tap
, he went on the middle of my arm. He attached a long silver tube from my arm to the Djinn’s. He was going to take my blood! I struggled, but I had no strength.

And then pain, Chambers shut his eyes, speaking frantically. My head shot back and hit the table as what little strength I had, sapped out of me. Blood dripped through the snaking silver tube, as Chambers read aloud from an old book by his side.

As my blood entered the Djinn, its form began to change. He became fuller, I could see my red blood start to pulse around him causing a cloud of bold. They were bringing the Djinn back to life! Wind began to rattle inside the room, slow at first, but then terrible, frightening and dizzying. The fire went out. Anything that wasn’t fixed down began swirling. Pots, books and silver instruments darted around, hitting walls, clanging with loud noises. But I had no strength to argue or complain, I just lay, useless.

***

“
It
is done.”

Was the first thing I heard as I returned back to the room some minutes later. The Djinn stood inspecting himself. A second later Chambers was lifting a glass to my lips, I rejected whatever it was he had to offer.

“You must,” he said, lifting it again making sure I took a large gulp. The foul mixture burned like fire as it slipped down my throat. Chambers stepped back and placed the mixture on the side. My senses came back in part, some of my energy returned, I felt nearly like me again. I sat up slowly, feeling the pain in my ribs, chest, legs and neck and clutched them sorely. I slid off the table, crying with pain as my knees cracked. I held my hands up at Chambers.

“Back away!” I called, but Chambers didn’t move.

“You’re mistaken,” said Chambers. “We are not here to hurt you.”

“Sit,” said the heavy breathing Djinn. He wasn’t asking, he was telling. What could I do? The two men didn’t seem at all bothered by threats of magic. Chambers pointed me to the nearest seat, which slid out towards me from under the table.

My arm tingled, but there were no signs on my arm of having given blood. “What did you do to me?”

“You gave life,” said Chambers placing his hands together as if deep in prayer. He was so unremarkable looking, that he could probably get away with never using an invisibility spell.

“Look around you,” said the Djinn, as he became more and more humanlike. “If we wanted to harm you, we could have. I could have left you under the stadium. Is that the sign of someone who wants you dead?” The Djinn marched over to the fire and hunched over it breathing heavily as if taking in sustenance from the heat.

“Not all Djinn are bad,” said Chambers.

“A horrible myth!” called the Djinn. “Don’t succumb to it.”

I sat down cautiously. Outside all I could hear was wind and rain, the match seemed like it happened years ago. “Come away from the fire,” said Chambers watching the Djinn carefully. “You don’t want to set yourself on fire as soon as you’ve got your form back.”

The Djinn chuckled and stepped back. “Quite right.”

“I’ve just realised who you are!” I cried, pointing at Chambers — “You were the best man at the wedding!” I cried. “Before all the trouble started, you came after me!”

Chamber smiled and shook his head ever so slightly. “I didn’t come after you. I was making sure you got away. Had to fend off those pesky family members.”

“But why were you there?” I said confused.

“Well,” said Chamber still watching the Djinn. “I’ll let him explain everything…”

“Yes… I should,” the Djinn came across and sat the other side of the roundtable, clumsily sitting into one of the chairs. “It’s been a while since I was used to form so
dense
,” he said in explanation to his clumsy way of sitting. “My name is John Burrows and this is my assistant Chambers…”

Burrows? He said his name was
Burrows
. Why was that familiar? Then, it slid into my mind as they waited for me. “The man getting married… to my sister Marianne… was a Burrows…” They both nodded slowly.

John Burrows sighed. “My son…Edward,
cursed
by the blasted Blackthorns!” he slammed a fist into the table. “Sorry Avis…” said Burrows in response to him slandering my family name — I didn’t care, I hated them too. “I admit, that it must have been scary for us to take your blood like that. But you see, the only way I could return to my form was if I used the blood of a seventh son.”

“But… how did you know that I’m a seventh son?”

Chambers sniggered — obviously it was a stupid question. “Because your the
seventh
male, in your family?” he said slowly, as if I was stupid.

I felt my brow furrowing, as I thought back to where the Burrows, the Djinn had come from. “But, the incense holder… if you needed my blood, then how did you know
I
would find the incense holder?”

Burrows stood slowly and waved a hand, a mirror appeared in midair in front of him and he inspected himself. “Magic of course! Nothing is by accident. Coincidence does not exist in magic… Oh, goodness me — I need to get a haircut, a shave, and some clean clothes.” Then, with a flick of his hands, his clothes changed. Where before he had worn the clothes of a beggar; black moccasin, brown frayed trousers and a long black undertakers coat — he now wore a smart suit. Okay, it was a bit old looking, a white neckerchief, gold trim and buttons on his navy jacket, with white knee-high socks—but, the overall look was smart(ish).

Chambers sniggered again, cupping a hand to his mouth. “I am afraid you are about two hundred years out Sir.”

“Well, it shall take me some time to adjust,” said Burrows looking miffed. Chambers giggled to himself again, putting a hand to his mouth as he struggled to contain the laughter he was suddenly experiencing. “What?” said Burrows, watching his servant curiously.

“I’ve just thought…
he-he-he
…” he laughed. “You two, are related… Avis is your nephew-in-law.” Chambers stopped laughing pretty quickly under the stare from Burrows, who, I don’t think needed reminding was related to the Blackthorns. Hec, I was annoyed enough to be related to them.

Burrows cleared his throat and changed the subject. “Avis, do you have the number seven on your backside?”

“Er… yeah, I mean I suppose the birthmark is that shape…” I laughed.

“Don’t you have an apology for Avis?
”
said Chambers.  But Burrows just looked confused. “What quite do you mean? About the blood?”

“No, about the
enchanted
jumper
?”

“
Ohhhhh
yes,” Burrows put an awkward arm on the edge of the table. “So… when you asked me your wish, I did as you asked. But, the magic that I can work with at that level is limited. It was not my intention to have it backfire so drastically. As a Djinn you reside in the lower levels…” he pointed downward conspiratorially. “Therefore the magic is naturally of a lower level… i.e, in the same dimension as
demons
. In a sense, the magic itself has a demonic quality.”

“
Its
fine…” I said trying to hide the bitterness in my voice. I looked around the room, I still didn't know what this room was — the theory I had about it being Malakai/Jasper’s must have been wrong. “What is this room?”

Burrows walked slowly using the furniture as aid. “This room is a secret room, found only and used only by the initiated — of the Heptagon Society…” He said grandly, waving his arms into the air.

“I’ve never heard of it,” I said as noise filtered across my senses, gradually at first but then louder. Chambers and Burrows heard it too, turning their heads towards the oncoming sound… it sounded like an angry mob was coming our way. “How did you get in here?” I said.

“Through the window,” said Burrows. I grimaced. If they had seen where we had come, then I was pretty sure that Robin would lead the Lily up here (to save me).

“They know where we are…”

“How do they know?” said Chambers.

And I told them, how Robin and I had used his
effy-ray
spectacles to find the tunnel leading into this room. Chambers smiled. “It seems that you seventh sons have a knack of finding things you’re not supposed to…” Then he seemed to look through the floor. “We don’t have long.”

“Then I must be brief and tell you what you must,” said Burrows. “This room is where we used to conduct our meetings. Around this very table,” he said wrapping his big knuckles upon it. “I am glad that you followed your instincts and found the captor and released me. I am not evil, no matter what anyone says.”

“Who used to conduct meetings here?” I said imagining the Lily and the Magisteers sat round the table with Burrows talking.

“The Heptagon Society — a society exclusively for seventh sons. Didn’t I mention? I am a seventh son too… that’s why I needed your blood.”

Suddenly, some things were starting to make sense — the book that I’d read when I was in here, about seventh sons — “It was you who read my book…” he said cocking his head and glaring at me.

“Er… er, what book?” I mumbled.

“The one about seventh sons — it was open on the wrong page…” then he sniggered. “You need to work on your body language, I can read
you
like a book.”

“Don’t be mean,” said Chambers. “Anyway he’s a Wizard. A Wizard is drawn to books on magic like an artist is drawn to the canvas…”

“Oh,
and
!” said Burrows fixing me a dark stare. “You must take good care of the incense holder, promise me that?”

“I will
…
but why?”

“It’s more important then you can know right now. Hide it if you must, conceal it, what ever you can. We are both special, there are not many of us and we have a special mission. Things are harder for us, you probably noticed that already.” Burrows grinned a wide toothy smile. “There are seven members of the Society… you are the last one, you are the seventh. Together all seven of us, will be able to do awesome things.”

The noise outside was getting louder, they were getting nearer and nearer. “Don’t listen to what they say about me, they will need you to think I am bad, or evil, or whatever else. Just, be careful of who you trust, the sides of good and bad are not labelled. It’s probably a good idea not to tell
anyone
about what I am telling you.” He was standing close to me now, this hand reaching out for my shoulder, his big deep eyes stared into mine. “There will always be help for you, from the Heptagon Society. But there is work to do yet to get it up and running…”

Chambers made a signal to Burrows that they must leave, and they quickly set about packing things.

“But, who set the accidents on me?”

Burrows and Chambers eyes swam across to me. “I would’ve thought by now that this question did not need to be asked? Chambers, my crystal ball.”

Chambers gave him a smarting look, tapping his watch, before reaching into his bag and pulling out a big clear glass ball.

Burrows put a hand to the ball and closed his eyes, muttering things under his breath before beckoning me towards it. The images inside the crystal ball expelled outwards into the room. Noise suddenly filled my senses as we shot back to the start of the year…

Piles of students made their way to the main hall, but up high in the school peering down at the masses was the short, stubby creature. It’s glowing eyes and bald head cloaked by thick dirty rags. Suddenly, the vision shot upwards through the sky, through the wall and into the corridor — darting inside the creature — now, I saw what he saw and felt what he felt.

I saw myself through it’s eyes as I made my way towards the school next to Robin and Tina. I looked so happy. Carriages flew overhead and the crowd greeted each other after a long summer. Anger coursed through it at the sight of me — it’s fists clenched, it was all it could do not to come down and kill me there and then.

And then, the vision changed, zapping forwards in time.

The creature had made itself so invisible, it couldn’t even see itself. Concealed by spells, it darted from statute to statue along the Big Walk corridor. I, was making my way along with Robin and the others to a class.

Ideas and plans were hatching about the creatures brain for
…
revenge.

Zap! The vision changed again.

It was nervous as it made its way out of the school for the first time, hiding behind a large stone as children made their way past. It didn’t know how the spells would react out here. Ducking beneath the wooden stadium, it darted from pillar to pillar, searching for the boy. And then it saw me, up high… perfect. With the energy stored the creature lifted a bony hand up in front of itself and performed the spell. The wooden rafter that hung by a thick rope juddered, before suddenly making a beeline for me. Excitement coursed though it — running to the next pillar to get a better view of me falling to my death.

And then, just as I was about to splatter into the ground, Iwas save
d
— Simone’s hands outstretched.

Anger pierced through the creature, greater than any pain, as it scuttled back into the school to recuperate.

Zap!

It was waiting, watching from high above the class — finally a chance, I left the room, I’d just been sent out by Yearlov
e
— it rushed after me, passing through the wall and into the boys toilets. Hidden in one of the cubicles, it set about working on the spells. I was angry, kicking out at things.

This was the boys ending. Revenge at last, thought the creature raising its bony arms at me— the taps burst sending off water into the air — a great distraction — watching me through the translucent toilet door it aimed again, the chandelier above fell, crashing onto me… Yes!

And then, out of nowhere I stood, unscathed and began shouting and searching, seeing feet beneath the cubicle. The creature reacted, he had to get out, away to safety to plan again! Darting out under the cubicle, I saw my angry, scared face aiming a freezing spell which missed. Stupid boy, it thought.