Almost there now... You'll have to come back next week to find out who makes it to the end of the story...
Mildred watched as Miss Cackle raised her hands as though she were about to cast a spell.
"Tut tut Miss Cackle." Haldane warned her. "Spell casting in an enclosed area can lead to some unwanted results."
"I think I've more idea of what to do than you give me credit for." Amelia was beginning to get more than a little frustrated that everyone seemed to underestimate her magical abilities.
"It's not your competence that I doubt." Haldane informed her. "It's just that if you cast a spell in here someone is going to get hurt." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Now I can't guarantee whether that person is going to be dear Constance or one of your pupils."
Amelia instinctively stood in front of Maud, Enid and Mildred. Haldane laughed softly at the action.
"Those weren't the girls I was referring to although that's not a bad idea."
Amelia's heart spiked at the comment. Was he bluffing or did Haldane really have the other girls somewhere.
"You really want to risk calling me on this?" Haldane wanted to know. Amelia reluctantly lowered her hands and showed that she wasn't going to do anything.
"A wise choice Miss Cackle." He told her with a smile on his face. "Certainly wiser than sending a motley collection of students to try and take me on."
"What have you done with them?" Mildred demanded to know.
Haldane smiled in her direction.
"And what's it to you little one?"
"Don't call me that." She snapped at him without thinking.
She felt Maud pull on her arm and realised that she'd probably overstepped the mark.
Haldane simply smiled at them and motioned that they should stand to one side.
"Shall we see if dear Constance has enough energy left to realise that her 'oh so noble' sacrifice was all in vain?" He cast an eye over the assembled group. "I have to say that I was more than a little surprised to find that you were stupid enough to come back here. If I were you I'd have taken the opportunity that was handed to me and gotten the hell out of Dodge."
Haldane took a pace closer to Constance and raised a hand, a ball of energy appearing in his palm to light the scene. He smiled as he made out the grey tabby cat that was sitting on her lap.
"And just what is that supposed to be?"
"That's…" Mildred was about to explain but was silenced by a gentle tug on the arm by Miss Cackle.
"It's not really what you call a traditional witches cat is it?" Haldane took another pace forward and Tabby was immediately up on his feet. He arched his back and hissed at Haldane as loudly as he could.
"Plucky little fellow isn't he?" He remarked as he moved closer.
Mildred watched as Tabby started shifting his weight around. She recognised the signs; he was getting ready to pounce. She had to confess that she'd never seen him look so serious about it.
"No Tabs." She hissed under her breath. She really hoped that the cat realised that Haldane was trying to make him do something and kept his four paws where they were.
"What are you doing here?" Amelia had stood and watched events for long enough as far as she was concerned. "What do you want from my girls?"
Haldane ignored her and kept his attention fixed on Tabby.
"What loyalties does that animal think he has to her?" He wanted to know. "I can't see Constance Hardbroom caring for any cat that wasn't a pure witches cat."
"It would appear that there are a lot of things you don't know about cats or witches." Amelia told him with more than a note of scorn in her voice. "Maybe you're not as bright as you think."
Haldane spun to face her and the energy ball disappeared from his hand. The only light in the room now came from the lantern that Enid was holding.
"You think to belittle me?" He shook his hand and then pointed it in the direction of Tabby. There was a brief mew of protest and the cat vanished from his place on Constance's lap.
"What have you done with him?" Mildred demanded to know, forgetting that she'd been told to keep quiet.
Haldane smiled.
"Oh he's your cat is he? Well that makes a lot more sense."
"What have you done with Tabby?" Mildred ignored her friends who were trying to pull her back.
Haldane waved his hand again and a black bag appeared on the back of the door. An angry hiss came from within.
"As you can see he's quite safe. It's not him I have a grievance with."
"And prey tell, who exactly do you have a grievance with?" Miss Cackle growled impatiently at him.
"Oh you expect me to name names do you? How very Jessica Fletcher of you."
Miss Cackle stared at Haldane with a look of bemusement on her face.
"I've never heard of Jessica Fletcher. Is she another witch you're having issues with?"
Haldane laughed out loud.
"Hardly Miss Cackle, hardly. I was forgetting just how out of touch you were with popular culture… or even fairly unpopular culture for that matter. What exactly do you think you gain by locking yourselves away from the rest of the world?"
"For starters we don't have to listen to self-important wind bags like you." Came a very pointed remark from the shadows.
"Miss Hardbroom." Mildred made to take a step forward but Haldane gestured to her to remain where she was.
"Leave her alone." Haldane warned. "You touch those bands and one of you will get a nasty shock." He raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps a fatal shock."
"At this moment in time even a fatal shock would be preferable if it meant that I didn't have to listen to any more of your petty posturing."
"Are you ok Constance?" Amelia took the chance to try and get some reassurance from her deputy.
"I can honestly report that I've had better days."
Amelia frowned. There was a definite spark missing from Constance's tone.
"Ladies, ladies." Haldane blocked the direct line of vision between the pair. "This is all very touching but I'm afraid that there are things to be done and I just can't stand around here chatting with you as though you didn't have a care in the world." He gestured towards the door where Franklin and Murphy were now standing. "If you'd care to follow the two gentlemen Miss Cackle, they'll lead you and your girls to your new accommodation." He bowed in Enid's direction. "Although I believe that it won't be so new to all of you."
"We're not just going to leave Miss Hardbroom, are we?" Maud hissed under her breath.
"That's exactly what you are going to do." Haldane told her. "In fact it's exactly what you should have done in the first place. Now if you please, my patience is starting to wane."
Miss Cackle shepherded the girls in front of her. She didn't see what else she could do. The way things were stacked up at the moment, there was nothing she could do but follow Haldane's instructions and hope that somewhere down the line he made a mistake.
She took a quick look back over her shoulder as she left the room, trying to get a final look at Constance, wanting to find out just how much strength her deputy had left. If it came to a fight, she needed to know that she wasn't going to be going up against someone who was wielding all of Constance's power.
The man that Haldane had called Murphy nudged her in the back, indicating that she should move faster. She craned her neck and tried to stare past him but all she could make out was Haldane.
Haldane waited until the others were clear of the room before he approached Constance.
"What's going on?" He demanded to know.
Constance wearily raised her head.
"I've been out of circulation for a little while so I'm not really the best person to ask."
Haldane swore beneath his breath and knelt down in front of Constance.
"Don't try to get smart with me." He warned her. He opened his mouth to say something further but was unable to speak as a shaft of pain shot through him. He rose to his feet and staggered back until he reached the wall, clutching at his head as the pain drilled into his skull.
"What are you doing?" He finally forced the words out as the pain began to subside.
Constance regarded him with a frosty glare but didn't respond.
When he felt as though he had regained enough control over himself that he could move without falling over, he made his way over to her side and knelt down next to her.
"What the hell was all that about?"
Constance ignored him and stared straight ahead.
"I asked you a question." Haldane snarled grabbing hold of her chin and forcing her to face him. "What the hell are you playing at?"
Constance blinked slowly and regarded him with a measure of distain.
"I warned you that you were not ready to deal with that much power."
"Bull." Haldane shook his head. "I don't buy all that. This must be some kind of a trick."
"There are reasons why it takes a witch many years to reach a high level of proficiency in the arts." Constance told him firmly. "One of those reasons is the fact that the human body was not designed to contain high levels of magic. The only way to safely get round that is to introduce magic a little at a time. That way a tolerance builds up and the amount can be increased."
Haldane rose to his feet and backed away from Constance, not really sure whether or not he should believe her.
"You've tried to take on too much." She warned him. "Your system won't be able to contain it and the magic will prove too powerful for you to handle. It will most probably destroy you."
Haldane shook his head, trying to dismiss Constance's words.
"I don't buy it." He tried to tell her but his voice was lacking the confidence it had had earlier. "I took all the magic from Pentangles and nothing happened then."
"But you didn't try and wield that magic for yourself, did you?" She narrowed her eyes and then a faint smile appeared on her face. "I know I'm right." She told him. "I can see the magic in the air all around you. It's very faint but it's there."
"Rubbish." Haldane scoffed but he glanced at the air around him all the same.
"The walls of this castle are steeped in magic." Constance's voice broke into the silence. "There have been witches living and working within these walls for centuries. More than a little magic has found its way into the walls in that time. You aren't going to find it as easy taking all the magic from this place as you did Pentangles."
"Shut up." Haldane snapped, not liking the way that the witch was making him feel uneasy.
"You wanted to know what I thought." She reminded him. "And what I think is that you are starting to lose your grip on something that is far stronger than you are."
Haldane stared at the amulet on his arm and thought over what Constance had said. If he closed his eyes, he could feel the magic rushing through his body. It invigorated him and made him feel as though nothing could stop him. He shook his head; she was just trying to scare him.
"I'll show you just how well I can wield the power." He told her and conjured up another ball of fizzing energy in his palm. He launched it in her direction and watched as it spread in flight and engulfed the witch.
Mildred stared down at her feet as Haldane's two henchmen ushered them down the corridor. This wasn't the way that things were supposed to have gone; it was supposed to have been a grand rescue mission ending in glory with them getting HB back and being proclaimed the heroes of the school. They were not supposed to end up being frog-marched down a corridor by a couple of idiots. Mildred stopped short as a thought struck her. Maud let out a yelp as moments later she walked into the back of her friend.
"What's going on?" Murphy growled as he noticed that two of the girls had stopped.
"What are you doing Millie?" Maud hissed at her friend.
"We're witches aren't we?" Mildred whispered. "So why aren't we just using our powers to get away from here?"
Maud's eyes widened as she realised what Mildred was saying.
"It could be dangerous." She warned. "They might do something to the others if we do anything."
"But surely they wouldn't miss one of us?" Mildred insisted, an idea forming in her head.
Maud wanted to tell Mildred that her idea was too dangerous but there was something in it that made sense.
"Move on." Murphy pushed Maud in the back in an effort to get the small group moving along again.
"Get off." Maud protested and cast a simple shock spell in his direction.
"Aaarrgghh." Murphy jumped in the air as the spell struck home and Maud couldn't prevent a laugh from escaping her lips.
"Girls, girls." Miss Cackle tried to calm the situation but Enid saw the opportunity for some mayhem and shouted her suggestion for a spell to Maud. Maud grinned as she realised what her friend had just suggested and immediately set about conjuring the biggest cloud of fog that she could manage.
"Keep together." Murphy yelled angrily at the girls as he desperately tried to keep sight of them through the quickly thickening cloud of fog.
"Where are you?" Miss Cackle called out to the girls, worried that their actions might cause uncomfortable consequences for Miss Hardbroom or the other girls.
Maud tried to peer through the now thick cloud of fog, guessing where her friend might now be standing.
"You'd better get going." She whispered.
"I'll get help." A voice whispered back at her through the grey blanket of fog.
Mildred crept to the shadows and heard the swearing from Haldane's men as they pushed the others back into a group and manhandled them down the corridor towards the one of the storerooms.
Her heart was pounding as she crouched down and she squeezed her eyes shut as if in some way that would help her avoid detection.
If Haldane had been telling the truth earlier, it sounded as though he'd managed to round the rest of the school up. She gulped as she realised the enormity of the task in front of her. If she was the only one at liberty then the fate of the school depended on her. She had to make a choice; did she try to make a run for it and hope to reach help, or did she try to take on Haldane single-handed and hope that a plan would magically form itself inside her mind?
She looked at the corridor that led back to the surface. Running away as fast as she could sounded so appealing. If she could get outside the school grounds then there was very little chance that Haldane could follow her. And what could she do all by herself against Haldane and his team?
She drew herself up to her full height and took a few paces down the corridor. She stopped and strained her ears to see if she could sense anyone in front of her. There was nothing. She gathered up a little more courage and began to move more quickly towards the exit.
She was within twenty feet of the heavy wooden door that led to the ground floor when she slowed to a halt. What was she doing? She couldn't run away and leave her friends at the mercy of Haldane. Once he realised that she was missing there was no telling what he'd do to the others in an effort to find out where she'd gone. She stood in the gloom of the corridor and her head filled with images of what might befall her friends if she was to run away and abandon them.
"You can't run away." She told herself. She turned on her heel and faced back down the way that she'd just come. If she was going to stay, she had to have a plan and there was only one person who'd be able to help her come up with a suitable plan.
Mildred listened at the door for a few moments to make sure that neither Haldane nor his gang were in the room. Once she was satisfied that the coast was clear she lifted up the latch and pushed the door open.
There was no light source within the room and Mildred had to wait for a few seconds for her eyes to become accustomed to the gloom. She pushed the door closed behind her and there was the sound of plaintive mewing.
"Oh Tabby."
Remembering the cat's predicament, she lifted the black bag down from the peg it had been hung on and placed it gently on the floor.
"Who's there?"
Mildred stood up straight as she heard the faint call from the other side of the room. She was unused to hearing Miss Hardbroom's voice sound so weak.
"It's me Miss." She hissed back. "Mildred."
"Mildred?" There was confusion in Constance's tone. "You shouldn't be here." She told her pupil. "You should be well away from here with Miss Cackle and the others."
Mildred frowned.
"But Miss Cackle was here only a short while ago."
Constance shook her head.
"Impossible. I held Haldane up so that everyone could get out of here."
"We came back for you."
Constance sighed heavily and shook her head.
"So I didn't dream it then?"
"Miss?"
"You lot blundering in here and getting yourselves caught again?"
Mildred's head dropped.
"No Miss. You didn't dream it."
The bands around Miss Hardbroom's wrists and neck glowed for a few seconds before fading back to their usual light purple hue.
"Are you alright?" Mildred asked with concern as she moved a few steps closer.
Constance took in a few shallow breaths.
"He's taking more magic." She told Mildred. "My guess is that he's realised you've gone and is exacting a little…" Her voice broke off as the bands glowed again. The glow lasted for a few seconds longer this time.
"Miss?" Mildred called into the gloom when Miss Hardbroom made no attempt to complete the sentence she'd started. "Miss?"
"Just exactly what does she think she'll accomplish?" Haldane demanded to know.
Miss Cackle tried to push the other girls behind her and out of the way of Haldane's energy blasts. He'd been shouting at them ever since he'd been informed that Mildred was missing. He'd launched a few energy balls in their direction and only the quick reactions of Enid had prevented any of them from being hurt.
"My guess is that she'll try and get as far away from here as possible." Miss Cackle spoke up.
Haldane smiled but there was no humour in his eyes.
"Oh I very much doubt that." He told her. "I think she's much more likely to try and get back to your Miss Hardbroom."
"I wouldn't bank on it." Enid snapped at him. "Mildred and HB have never exactly had the best of relationships." She winced as she remembered that Miss Cackle was in the room with her.
Haldane's smile grew wider.
"HB? Well I know what I think it stands for." He motioned to Franklin to open the door of the room at the end of the corridor. "If you ladies wouldn't mind waiting. I'm going to tackle our little troublemaker before I come back and relieve you of a little magic." He paused and watched as they slowly filed into the room. "I'm sure you won't object to waiting a few minutes longer."
Mildred paced nervously back and forth across the room, trying to decide what to do next. Her first instinct had been to run from the room. She was scared. If Miss Hardbroom was as weak as she appeared to be then Mildred feared that all was lost. She'd been relying on HB to help her. She glanced in the direction of her teacher again, hoping to see some change but all she could see was the same lowered head.
There was a part of her that wanted to go over to her teacher and make sure that everything was ok but there was another part of her that was scared what she might find. What if HB wasn't just unconscious? What if Haldane had succeeded in taking all her magic from her? Mildred wasn't sure what Miss Hardbroom would be like if she didn't have magic. HB commanded more magic than anyone else she had ever met. Mildred wasn't sure exactly what an HB without magic would be like.
"Mildred."
At first Mildred thought that she'd imagined the voice but then she heard it again; a faint voice calling her name. She turned towards Miss Hardbroom and saw that her eyes were now half open, her head tilted back against the dank stone wall.
"Miss Hardbroom." Mildred, relieved to see that her teacher was conscious once again, rushed quickly to her side and knelt down, aware that her teacher's voice wouldn't carry far. "What is it?"
"Listen carefully." Constance whispered. "We haven't much time."
Mildred frowned as she heard a spell being whispered. HB's voice was very weak and Mildred wasn't sure that she was catching every word correctly. When Constance had finished Mildred sat back on her heels.
"I don't understand." She finally confessed. "What is it going to do?"
"Swap the bands." Constance managed to whisper. "Her renewed strength was already ebbing and she needed Mildred to understand quickly what needed to be done. "You must swap the bands between Haldane and myself."
"Can't you do it?" Mildred asked desperately, not wanting the responsibility.
Constance shook her head.
"The bands prevent all use of magic." Constance closed her eyes as she felt a heavy wave of exhaustion wash over her. She'd learnt that that meant Haldane was trying out his powers. "Quickly Mildred, you must do this."
"But Miss…" Mildred was confused. "If the bands prevent magic then how can I…"
"Mildred Hubble now is not the time to quibble." Constance snapped back at her. She knew that her strength was likely to fail at any time and she knew that they couldn't afford to waste this opportunity. "I'm banking that this is one spell that Haldane won't have thought of. Don't let anything distract you." Constance advised her. "Ignore anything that you hear whilst you're casting the spell and make sure that you keep going. Concentrate on removing the amulet from Haldane's arm and replacing it with the bands."
"But…"
"You've seen the amulet?"
Mildred nodded.
"Yes Miss."
"So concentrate on it and cast the spell."
"But Miss!"
"Mildred!" Constance's tone was firm.
"Yes Miss." Mildred swallowed nervously and closed her eyes concentrating on visualising what it was she wanted to do. Miss Cackle had drilled into them from day one that the right words were not always essential for the spell to work; what was important though was the right feeling. Mildred concentrated hard on seeing the glowing bands that bound her teacher's wrists together; she knew exactly where she wanted them to appear. She screwed her eyes up tightly and bunched her hands into two tight fists. She tried to banish the thought from her mind that the future of Cackles could rest upon her getting the incantation correct and began reciting the words.
"It's not working." She complained fearfully after a few moments. She knew that she was getting the words right but nothing was happening.
"Take your time." She heard Miss Hardbroom tell her softly; in a tone she was sure that she'd never heard her teacher use before. "Just let the magic guide you Mildred, let the magic guide you."
Mildred wanted to open her eyes and ask her teacher what she meant but she didn't want to risk forgetting the words.
"Relax. Let the magic do the work."
Mildred took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, feeling her shoulders start to relax. She began to run through the words of the spell again and gradually her closed fists opened and she truly began to believe that she could feel the magic running through her.
Her eyes were no longer screwed tightly shut; she felt as though she were in a peaceful slumber rather than in the midst of an incantation.
She finally reached the end of the spell and there was an amazing rush of adrenaline through her body. She felt as though every fibre of her being was being infused with a power that she'd never experienced before. On an impulse she raised her hands and extended her fingers. Her eyes snapped open as she felt a bolt of energy leap from her fingertips.
"No!" She yelled loudly as she watched the bolt of bright blue slam into Miss Hardbroom and heard the scream of pain as it struck its target.
