Well I was going to leave this until after the weekend but requests for me to speed up the posting has made a difference. So here is half of it now and I'll try and get the second half of it up by tomorrow night. I hope you enjoy.
Miss Cackle was sitting down to enjoy a well-earned cup of tea when she heard the sound of girls running in the corridors. She ignored it; secure in the knowledge that Constance would appear on the scene within seconds and sort everything out. She waited a few moments and was more than a little surprised to hear that the noise outside was showing no signs of dying down. Sighing heavily, she placed the teacup back on its saucer and the saucer back on the table. She looked at it longingly one final time before rising to her feet and crossing to the door.
"What on earth is going on?" She shouted as she opened the doors and saw the commotion that was taking place in the hallway outside. The place seemed to be full of girls and they were all rushing in the direction of the main doors.
"Girls, girls. Please!" She appealed to them to be silent but her voice was lost beneath the panic and the sound of rushing feet.
She stood and watched them for a second or two before she decided that it was time to intervene. She grabbed hold of the arm of the next girl that tried to charge past.
"What on earth do you think you are doing?" She demanded to know of Jadu.
Jadu tried to pull her arm free but Miss Cackle's grip was firm.
"It's Haldane Harrington Miss." Jadu explained breathlessly. "He's the one that's taken Fenny's magic."
"What?"
"Not just that he's done the same to Ruby and Enid as well." Jadu pulled away as she felt Miss Cackle's grip loosen on her arm. "Miss Hardbroom's told everyone to evacuate the school."
"Evacuate the school!" Miss Cackle was indignant. "I am never going to evacuate the school."
"Please Miss Cackle." Mildred appeared through a gap in the press of bodies. "Miss Hardbroom told me to make sure that everyone got out safely. Haldane's got some kind of magic stealing machine and he intends to strip the magic from everyone in the school."
"That's impossible."
"No it's not Miss." Mildred insisted. "Miss Hardbroom and I overheard him saying that he's already stolen all the magic from the pupils and staff at Pentangles."
Miss Cackle's eyes widened.
"All the magic?"
Mildred nodded.
"That's what he said."
"So what is Miss Hardbroom doing?"
"She's thrown up some barrier against him." Mildred tried to explain. "She told me to get everyone out of here."
"But…" Miss Cackle was at a loss for words.
"Miss Hardbroom was quite insistent Miss." Mildred told her. "I don't think the 1st years would be able to defend themselves against him."
Miss Cackle thought about the situation for a few moments.
"Miss Hardbroom's right Mildred. Let's get everyone out to somewhere where we can sit down and think about what we need to do." Miss Cackle left her study, pulling the door behind her, all thoughts of her much-needed cup of tea forgotten.
"Come on girls." Miss Drill urged as the students began to run past her. She wasn't really sure what was happening but she knew that it wasn't good. She liked to think that she'd just about come to terms with the things that went on in the academy but there were still times when she realised that she was totally out of her depth. This was most definitely one of those occasions. She spotted Miss Cackle as she scurried across the hallway.
"Do you know what's going on?" She called out to her head teacher. Miss Cackle slowed to a halt beside her.
"I'm not 100 percent convinced that I know what's going on." She confessed. "But Mildred Hubble is pretty determined that we should get out of here."
Imogen nodded.
"I think she's right. I've seen Enid, Ruby, Ethel and Drusilla. They've all lost their magic."
"Do you believe that Haldane is behind it?"
Miss Drill shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know but I don't think we should hang around here to find out."
"I think that perhaps you are right." Miss Cackle agreed as she checked around to make sure that the hallway behind her was empty. "Now are you sure that everyone is out?"
Imogen tried to recall the faces of all the girls that had charged past her but knew that there was no way that she could account for everyone. She reluctantly shook her head.
"I couldn't swear that they are all out."
Miss Cackle pulled a face.
"That's the problem with this place; too many dark corners to hide oneself in." She looked over her shoulder again. "I think we should at least get everyone we have here as far away as we can. Then we can regroup and think of a plan."
Miss Drill nodded.
"There's a clearing just beyond the school grounds, I'm sure that it's big enough to hold all of us."
"Right then, lets get out of here." Miss Cackle ushered her colleague through the main doors and was about to slam them behind her when she had a sudden thought. "Has anyone seen Miss Bat?"
Imogen nodded.
"I saw Jadu pushing her out of the door a little while ago."
"Good, good." Amelia stepped out into the courtyard and slammed the door shut. As the door shut with an echoing thud, she had to confess to an uneasy feeling at abandoning the school. When she'd taken on the place, she had sworn, not only to look after the girls who studied within the castle walls but also to protect the castle itself against any outside invasion. It was a declaration that owed more to the castle's history than its present status as a school but Amelia couldn't help wishing that there had been some warning about guarding against attacks from within the walls as well.
Mildred stood at Walker's gate and watched as the rest of the school disappeared into the distance. Maud stood at her side and kept casting her eyes nervously back at the closed gate.
"How long are we going to wait?" She asked, checking the door again to make sure that nothing was about to break through it.
"Until HB appears." Mildred told her firmly. "We can't just leave her in there."
"But what can we do?" Maud protested. She didn't want to come across as a coward but she honestly didn't know what they could do against Haldane if he was as powerful as Mildred made out.
Mildred shrugged her shoulders and turned to face her friend.
"We can't just leave Maud. We can't."
"What if HB just transports herself out of there? She'll be all safe and sound and we'll be standing in the firing line like a couple of idiots."
Mildred pulled a face. She knew that Maud had a valid point; there was no real reason to expect that HB would choose to leave the school by the gate but she couldn't shake the feeling that leaving would be akin to abandoning her.
"Just a few more minutes?" She pleaded.
"Five minutes." Maud told her firmly. "Five minutes and not a second more."
Miss Cackle climbed onto a rotten tree stump and cast her eyes over the mass of panicking girls in front of her. She tried to remember the face of every girl and wanted to make sure that they were all there. She scanned the crowd again. There were still two girls missing.
"Has anyone seen Mildred Hubble or Maud Moonshine?" She called out.
A hushed silence fell over the group.
"Maud was the one that let us out." Ruby piped up. "I'm sure she was just behind us when we left the school."
There were general murmurings of agreement from the other girls.
"So where are the pair of them now?" Miss Cackle wanted to know.
"Here miss." Enid pointed towards the entrance to the small clearing. Sure enough a bedraggled Mildred and Maud were making their way towards the rest of the party.
"What happened to you girls?" Miss Drill wanted to know as she rushed to their side.
"We hung back waiting for Miss Hardbroom." Mildred panted as she glanced around the group. "Is she here?"
"No dear." Miss Cackle told her worriedly as she too made her way over to join the girls. "Why did you need to wait for her?"
"Well she'd put up this barrier that was keeping Haldane and the others back. She said that she'd join us and we were..."
"I see." Miss Cackle stopped the explanation as quickly as she could.
"Ooohhh dear." Miss Bat waved her hands in panic. "I wonder what's become of Constance."
"Sshh." Miss Cackle tried to quieten Miss Bat down. The last thing she needed was panic amongst the students. She turned her attention towards the two girls. "Now think carefully Mildred. I need you to tell me exactly what Miss Hardbroom said to you."
Mildred shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"She told me to get out of the building, to not wait for her and to get the rest of you out." Mildred looked from Miss Cackle to Miss Drill, feeling guilty at having abandoned her teacher. "I wanted to wait and help but she told me to leave."
"Very well Mildred. You did exactly what you should have done. Did Miss Hardbroom say anything else?"
"She told me I had to write 300 lines." Mildred closed her eyes to remember the exact words that Miss Hardbroom had used. "I must listen to everything my teachers tell me and not presume to know better." She opened her eyes and looked sadly at Miss Cackle. "She's not going to be joining us, is she Miss Cackle?"
Amelia's face was downcast.
"No my dear. I don't think she is."
Haldane opened the heavy wooden door and stared into the blackness within. The light from the flickering torches in the corridor was not enough to illuminate the corners of the small dark room. If it hadn't have been for the dull purple glow from the bonds that bound Constance Hardbroom's wrists and from the one that encircled her neck, Haldane would have believed that the room was empty. It had taken a lot longer than he'd initially thought to break down the barrier that she'd thrown up. He'd been hoping to trap all the witches within the school and do things in his own time. He was more than a little annoyed that his plans had been thrown off kilter by the witch currently sitting in front of him. He doubted however that she had acted alone. Someone had to have set off the alarm and someone would've had to lead the others out of the school. One name kept coming to his mind; one name just wouldn't go away. Mildred Hubble. She was the only one who didn't seem to hang onto his every word the way the rest of the school had. He rubbed his hands together. When he had the current situation under control then he could go after the other witches and he'd settle the score with Mildred Hubble.
But before he could get to any of that there was the problem of Constance Hardbroom to deal with. He'd not wanted to put this particular part of the plan into operation this early and in this way but his hand had been forced and now he just had to get on with things.
He took a few paces into the room and halted, allowing his eyes time to grow accustomed to the low level of light.
He could just about make the room's occupant out as she sat slumped against the far wall. In places though her outline was lost as her black dress seemed to enable her to blend seamlessly in with the inky darkness.
He crossed the remainder of the room and knelt down next to the witch. She didn't react to his presence and so he reached out with a finger and gently tapped her right cheek.
Immediately she let out a small groan and her eyes squinted as she attempted to respond. He watched fascinated as her mouth opened and closed as she attempted to swallow, despite her parched throat. Haldane had to confess that he was always intrigued by the way that the human body attempted to cope after a period of unconsciousness.
Finally one of her eyes snapped open, it was followed quickly by the other and he was momentarily taken aback by the intensity of the glare that was directed towards him. With the amount of drugs that had been pumped into her system there was no way that she should have been able to regain control of her senses that quickly. He relaxed moments later though when her pupils dilated and all sense of focus appeared to be lost.
"Hey there Miss Hardbroom. Back in the land of the living I see." Haldane watched closely as she slowly and deliberately extended the forefinger and little finger of both hands.
"I wouldn't bother trying that if I were you." He warned. He fully expected to be ignored and smiled in satisfaction as the witch attempted to cast a spell to free herself.
There was a vivid purple flash from the bands and the magic was absorbed, but not before it had delivered a small shock to the wearer.
"The more times you or anyone else tries to use magic on them the stronger the shock will become. You'd be well advised to stop now."
Haldane watched as the unfocused eyes tried once again to seek him out.
"You're wondering why you can't think clearly aren't you?" He asked her conversationally. "It's probably not a concussion. It's more likely to be the drugs." He reached forward and placed a hand beneath her chin, tilting her head towards what little light there was. "We can't have you thinking clearly and attempting to transport yourself out of here now, can we?" He let his hand slip down and gently turned the band that was fixed around her neck. "I think these things are really very clever. Well they are my invention so I guess I'm allowed to be a little proud. I'm just not sure exactly how they're going to cope with your magic. You saw the machine I've been using?" He left a pause allowing her time to respond, although he really didn't expect her to say anything. "Well I thought I'd try something a little different with you. Don't get any ideas about this being preferential treatment. I'd have used this on the head at Pentangles if I'd managed to iron the bugs out in time."
He moved his hand away from the band and straightened up. He regarded her for a second and then sat down next to her.
"I have a little proposition for you." He began smoothly. He turned his head and looked at her profile. Her head was raised and he knew that she was paying attention. "You have something that I want but I am prepared to do a little deal with you." He drew his knees up and rested his elbows on them. "You have a lot of magic in that head of yours and one way or another I'm going to take it. It's up to you though exactly how much, if any, I leave behind. I want you to show me how to use the power properly. I want you to teach me what you know." He turned to regard her again, trying to see if there was any reaction but he was met with nothing but silence. "I know you can hear me." His patience was beginning to fray at the edges. He reached out and, grabbing hold of her chin turned her face towards him. "Do we have a deal? Teach me what you know and I let you keep some of your power. Refuse and I take it all… Every last drop. What do you care who wields the power?" His question was met with silence and he angrily released his hold on her, reaching out instead for the little finger on her left hand. "There are ways I can make you speak to me." He told her coldly. "Perhaps I should listen to my colleague Francesca. She isn't a fan of new technology; she thinks that the magical restraints are far too civilised. She has a much more direct way to prevent spell casting." He placed his hand below her finger and let his thumb run over the joints from knuckle to fingertip. "She'd much rather that I took care of things by simply snapping your fingers." He closed his hand tightly around her finger. "The choice is yours."
"Are you quite finished?" The words were slightly slurred and quieter than normal but there was no mistaking the tone.
"This isn't a game." Haldane warned her. "One way or another I'm going to command magic. It's up to you whether it's your magic I use or not."
He heard her let out a half laugh.
"Well I can tell you here and now that it most certainly won't be my magic."
"So you're not going to help me?"
"Ooh I think not."
Haldane shook his head.
"You really don't have a choice in the matter Constance. You don't mind if I call you Constance do you?" He didn't bother waiting for a reply but continued on, releasing his hold on her hand and running a finger around the purple band around her left wrist. "Trust me when I say that this will work. I will have your magic."
"You won't be able to use it." She warned him.
"We'll see about that."
When she made no attempt to reply, Haldane rose to his feet again.
"You will come round to my way of thinking one way or another." He called back over his shoulder as he headed for the door. "And I would tell you to sit quietly and conserve your strength but that would be impossible." Haldane turned and for a moment believed that he could feel the witch's eyes burning into him. He shrugged the feeling off. "The bonds you see, they don't just subdue your magic they drain it, every last drop of it. Right down to the dregs. Oh I've no doubt that it will take a lot longer to drain the magic from you than it did to drain it from Fenella Feverfew but I have all the time in the world." He pushed up the sleeve of his shirt, revealing a gold coloured amulet that was fitted snugly around his wrist. "This is where all your magic will end up Constance, whether you like it or not. I will have it. I will have it all. Sweet dreams." He slammed the door behind him, casting Constance Hardbroom into pitch-blackness once again.
