"I'm still not getting an answer." Benny's worried voice carried through the house as he attempted to call Ethan for the tenth time. Jill walked into the room, another look of concentration on her face.
"Okay, what was the last thing you heard?" Benny looked up at her.
"It sounded like mumbling, and then a voice said 'as mate' or 'date', I don't know it was really mumbled. Jill glanced down at him, a worried look now decorated her face.
"Could it have been 'bait'?" Benny swallowed. Now that he thought about it, 'bait' made a lot of sense. Jill sighed and pulled her phone out.
"Okay, let's mobilize. I'll call Calli, you get everybody else ready." She placed the phone next to her ear and listened to the dial tone.
Calli placed the phone on top of her dresser. She knew that Ethan needed her to move quickly, but a horrible feeling told her that she needed to skip going to Jill's house. She pulled her sneakers on and grabbed the skate board next to her bedroom door. She had a feeling she knew where Ethan was and she wasn't afraid to go in alone. She hit the street and rode the three minutes to the school.
As she walked up to the door from yesterday she felt magic near the lock. Ethan had been there and he had used the same spell as she had, probably because it was the only spell he knew. She pulled the door open and walked into the darkened school.
Wiping out her cell phone she texted Jill that she was at the school. The text she received back was a little bit more angered than she had thought.
'U're where! Y didn't u wait 4 us? We'll be there n a min.'
Calli considered waiting for them, but she wanted to scope the area. Moving quickly to the gym she poked her head above the bottom of the window. It was dark in the gym, but the unnatural purple light allowed her to see some details.
Ethan appeared to be tied to a pole near the door, the purple smoke was gathered closest to center court, and standing dead center was Ari. Calli had to restrain a gasp as she saw Ari's hands begin to move in the motion of a spell. A light drew her attention down towards the ground and found Ethan's phone jammed into the door, propping it open. She carefully released the phone and slid into the gym, hiding in the shadow of the bleachers. From her position she could no longer see Ari but she could clearly see Ethan. She raised her hands and carefully cleared her throat.
"Solvo funem!" she whispered. The magic leapt from her fingers and attacked the rope. It took only a moment, but they snapped. Ethan slumped slightly from the lack of ropes supporting him. His eyes blinked open and he caught Calli's eye. She smiled and gestured for him to come join her. He was about to when there was a crash on the court. Calli and Ethan both looked towards the noise and gasped.
Lying in the middle of the basketball court was Benny. Calli felt all hope leave her body as she began to see the visions fall into place.