The group moved down the hall towards the elevators, arranged on
either side of Peter's bed. Breanna had to fight to keep from rolling her
eyes as they passed staff members who were seemingly oblivious to the odd
picture they had to make with an ass tugging on the foot of the bed and a
large anteater pushing from behind.
"You say Mary's brother is your teacher?" Natalie asked, looking up from her husband to face the sisters, her mind slowly arranging the facts they knew about Mary. "But the Mill fire was in 1869 so how...."
"He's a ghost. The Wizarding Education Authority loves ghosts."
Breanna grinned. "If someone really wants to stick around at their job after they die then they don't have to find a replacement, you see. And they don't have to pay them either."
"And Professor Jensen just couldn't leave Mary here. He's tried for years to find her. That's how he found out about what the bell can do." Aubrey added, her brow furrowing again as she tried to recall exactly what had been mentioned about the bell. The talk about an earthquake was really confusing her.
'Snout Boy says it's a death bell.' Peter said silently. At least there was someone besides Mary here who seemed to be able to hear him now.
"Death Bell's sort of right but it's more complicated than that,"
Aubrey said slowly as they entered the elevator and struggled to fit together enough to get the door closed. Mona scrambled onto Antubis's back and pulled Mary up beside her to finally allow the door to slowly slide shut.
"The problem is the bell was never really out in public use like a lot of other artifacts. Professor Jensen knows the most but there's a lot that's pretty much lost." Breanna added, glancing a bit nervously at the elevator doors as they slowly moved downwards. This many people and animals had to violate some sort of safety code.
"You said artifact." Sally reached out, lifting the bell around Mary's neck slightly so she could get a better look. It seemed like an ordinary bell at first but then a tingle begin running up her fingers as she touched it. She looked closer and slowly details started to become clearer, small markings on the bell almost too tiny and worn for the eye to see, like some sort of ancient writing. "Mary, where did you get this?"
she asked the little girl in astonishment.
"It was my grandmother's. She said never to take it off and I would be safe." Mary whispered, tears starting to form once more at the thought of her family.
"Mary's grandmother was from a magical family." Aubrey said as she reached out and gently touched the little girl. "She knew what she was doing when she gave you that bell. It's got some sort of protective ability."
"She said I was special." Mary whispered. Did her grandmother have magic? Mary had never seen any, well except the magic created by love.
"Your grandmother was born to a magical family but she didn't have magic herself." Aubrey continued with a shake of her head. "Well, not the kind of magic that wizarding people can generally measure. Professor Jensen thinks she had some sort of talent but it was just so different no one realized it. The bell had been in her family since.... When did Professor Jensen say, Bree? He mentioned it when we were talking about History of Magic but...."
"Around 500 when the Sidhe retreated from most of Ireland." Bree continued with what her sister was saying. "Professor Jensen researched the bell back in 1890 but it was really hard to find out anything since the bell had stayed in a single family for so long."
"And goodness knows they weren't cooperative. They were mad that Mary's grandmother got the bell even though she wasn't magical instead of their side of the family." Aubrey frowned as she spoke. People could just be so stupid sometimes.
Your grandmother's father gave her the bell to wear because she was non-magical." Aubrey continued as she turned to face Mary. "He thought it would protect her and it did. A dark wizard, no one ever knew who,
attacked the family one night when your grandmother was six or seven and burnt the house to the ground. The only survivors were an older daughter who was married and away from home and your grandmother. She walked through the fire and the flames didn't touch her."
"Was that why she gave me the bell?" Mary asked slowly. "Did she know what was going to happen at the mill?"
"No one really knows exactly what she could do to say if she knew about the mill fire or not." Bree looked at the elevator light as she spoke. Was it just her or did it seem like this thing was going slower than normal? "The family had always guarded the bells though and she did know that you were going to have some sort of magical talent."
'Wait a minute.' Peter's hand shot out snagging Bree's hand.
'Bells. You said bells. There's more than one bell like Mary's?'
"There are two of them." Aubrey said with a nod, then adding for the others who didn't seem to hear Peter. "There are two bells. The second bell was stolen around 1780. No one knows what happened to it."
'I think we do.' Peter turned to face Mary, who was staring at him with a frightened expression. 'Mary, Paul says you aren't the only one with a bell. Does he have the second bell?'
"I don't know." Mary whispered. She had been slightly enjoying hearing about her family and the past that had been unknown to her until now but the mention of Paul's name caused a cold wave of fear to wash over her. "There's something, in the Pain Room, but I don't know what."
Aubrey and Breanna looked at each other with sudden worry. They had some vague ideas about the powers of one bell alone but if both of them were there, with one in the hands of dark forces....
"We definitely need Professor Jensen..." Aubrey started to say just as a jolt suddenly shook the elevator sending everyone tumbling forward as Peter's bed smacked against the doors.
"I didn't do it!" Mary cried frantically, clinging to Mona with one hand and Antubis's fur with the other. Tears of fright started to run down her cheeks.
"We know you didn't," Bree murmured as the lights flickered before finally stabilizing as the shaking stopped. "Ummmm, I think we better take the stairs."
"Not much chance of that." Hook told them as he jabbed at the button to open the door. "Looks like the door's jammed."
"That's what wands are for." Aubrey waved her wand at the closed doors, murmuring a word as she did so and a moment later they slid open.
The lights in the hallway they were entering were low, low enough that the group could barely see as they advanced into the hallway, dodging as best they could around milling staff members as Hook took the lead this time,
steering them towards the stairs. If they were going to stop what was going on, it didn't seem like they had much time.
"You say Mary's brother is your teacher?" Natalie asked, looking up from her husband to face the sisters, her mind slowly arranging the facts they knew about Mary. "But the Mill fire was in 1869 so how...."
"He's a ghost. The Wizarding Education Authority loves ghosts."
Breanna grinned. "If someone really wants to stick around at their job after they die then they don't have to find a replacement, you see. And they don't have to pay them either."
"And Professor Jensen just couldn't leave Mary here. He's tried for years to find her. That's how he found out about what the bell can do." Aubrey added, her brow furrowing again as she tried to recall exactly what had been mentioned about the bell. The talk about an earthquake was really confusing her.
'Snout Boy says it's a death bell.' Peter said silently. At least there was someone besides Mary here who seemed to be able to hear him now.
"Death Bell's sort of right but it's more complicated than that,"
Aubrey said slowly as they entered the elevator and struggled to fit together enough to get the door closed. Mona scrambled onto Antubis's back and pulled Mary up beside her to finally allow the door to slowly slide shut.
"The problem is the bell was never really out in public use like a lot of other artifacts. Professor Jensen knows the most but there's a lot that's pretty much lost." Breanna added, glancing a bit nervously at the elevator doors as they slowly moved downwards. This many people and animals had to violate some sort of safety code.
"You said artifact." Sally reached out, lifting the bell around Mary's neck slightly so she could get a better look. It seemed like an ordinary bell at first but then a tingle begin running up her fingers as she touched it. She looked closer and slowly details started to become clearer, small markings on the bell almost too tiny and worn for the eye to see, like some sort of ancient writing. "Mary, where did you get this?"
she asked the little girl in astonishment.
"It was my grandmother's. She said never to take it off and I would be safe." Mary whispered, tears starting to form once more at the thought of her family.
"Mary's grandmother was from a magical family." Aubrey said as she reached out and gently touched the little girl. "She knew what she was doing when she gave you that bell. It's got some sort of protective ability."
"She said I was special." Mary whispered. Did her grandmother have magic? Mary had never seen any, well except the magic created by love.
"Your grandmother was born to a magical family but she didn't have magic herself." Aubrey continued with a shake of her head. "Well, not the kind of magic that wizarding people can generally measure. Professor Jensen thinks she had some sort of talent but it was just so different no one realized it. The bell had been in her family since.... When did Professor Jensen say, Bree? He mentioned it when we were talking about History of Magic but...."
"Around 500 when the Sidhe retreated from most of Ireland." Bree continued with what her sister was saying. "Professor Jensen researched the bell back in 1890 but it was really hard to find out anything since the bell had stayed in a single family for so long."
"And goodness knows they weren't cooperative. They were mad that Mary's grandmother got the bell even though she wasn't magical instead of their side of the family." Aubrey frowned as she spoke. People could just be so stupid sometimes.
Your grandmother's father gave her the bell to wear because she was non-magical." Aubrey continued as she turned to face Mary. "He thought it would protect her and it did. A dark wizard, no one ever knew who,
attacked the family one night when your grandmother was six or seven and burnt the house to the ground. The only survivors were an older daughter who was married and away from home and your grandmother. She walked through the fire and the flames didn't touch her."
"Was that why she gave me the bell?" Mary asked slowly. "Did she know what was going to happen at the mill?"
"No one really knows exactly what she could do to say if she knew about the mill fire or not." Bree looked at the elevator light as she spoke. Was it just her or did it seem like this thing was going slower than normal? "The family had always guarded the bells though and she did know that you were going to have some sort of magical talent."
'Wait a minute.' Peter's hand shot out snagging Bree's hand.
'Bells. You said bells. There's more than one bell like Mary's?'
"There are two of them." Aubrey said with a nod, then adding for the others who didn't seem to hear Peter. "There are two bells. The second bell was stolen around 1780. No one knows what happened to it."
'I think we do.' Peter turned to face Mary, who was staring at him with a frightened expression. 'Mary, Paul says you aren't the only one with a bell. Does he have the second bell?'
"I don't know." Mary whispered. She had been slightly enjoying hearing about her family and the past that had been unknown to her until now but the mention of Paul's name caused a cold wave of fear to wash over her. "There's something, in the Pain Room, but I don't know what."
Aubrey and Breanna looked at each other with sudden worry. They had some vague ideas about the powers of one bell alone but if both of them were there, with one in the hands of dark forces....
"We definitely need Professor Jensen..." Aubrey started to say just as a jolt suddenly shook the elevator sending everyone tumbling forward as Peter's bed smacked against the doors.
"I didn't do it!" Mary cried frantically, clinging to Mona with one hand and Antubis's fur with the other. Tears of fright started to run down her cheeks.
"We know you didn't," Bree murmured as the lights flickered before finally stabilizing as the shaking stopped. "Ummmm, I think we better take the stairs."
"Not much chance of that." Hook told them as he jabbed at the button to open the door. "Looks like the door's jammed."
"That's what wands are for." Aubrey waved her wand at the closed doors, murmuring a word as she did so and a moment later they slid open.
The lights in the hallway they were entering were low, low enough that the group could barely see as they advanced into the hallway, dodging as best they could around milling staff members as Hook took the lead this time,
steering them towards the stairs. If they were going to stop what was going on, it didn't seem like they had much time.