Spooksville Season 2

Episode 5: Secrets in the Ash

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or anything to do with Spooksville.

Ann P.O.V.

So Sally is still being distant. That makes three going on four weeks of this. I honestly don't know how much more of this I can handle. The only Godsend right now is that Madeline has done anything in this time either, which to be honest makes me a little worried that something big is coming. Oh well better get to school and be ready for Sally to ignore me.

When I get to school everything is normal people crowded around lockers talking and laughing in fact the only thing that was off was everyone was dressed like it was the middle of summer and not the beginning of fall. It was unusually hot today and I had a bad feeling about that. Maybe Watch could give me a reasonable explanation for this bizarre heat wave. In fact there is the gang, perfect.

"Hey guys!" That got their attention Watch gave me a quick wave, but Sally and Adam just kept staring at me. Do I have something on my face? No they seem to be looking me up and down. Maybe it is my outfit. I don't know why it would be my outfit I just have on a skirt and a sleeveless top and sneakers. Wait…Oh. Queue the blushing. Need to get them to focus.

"Hey Watch what is with the heat wave today?" That snapped them out of it.

"I really don't know all my models said today would be in the low fifties, instead it is in mid eighties. And to make matters weirder this 'heat wave' is only affecting Spooksville. Everywhere else is in the fifties today."

"So the bad feeling I had about this 'heat wave' was right then."

"Could this be something Madeline is causing in?"

"Not sure Adam, creating a 'heat wave' isn't much more than an annoyance."

"Could it be a byproduct of a spell or a summoning like you thought the storm was when the Harpies attacked?" Sally asked.

"Yeah that is a possibility." Before we could continue talking the ground shook for a few seconds. My first guess would have been an earthquake, but that didn't feel like an earthquake. Before I could voice my option a second 'quake' began and then a third and fourth.

"Is this an earthquake?" Adam asked with a worried look on his face.

"No, this doesn't feel like an earthquake."

"Ann's right this feels more like impact tremors." So Watch agrees with me and adding in the 'heat wave' with impact tremors. God please let me be wrong and that Madeline isn't that crazy.

"Guys we need to get outside right now! I have a very bad feeling about what those impact tremors were." With that we start running outside and I am meet with my worst fear. Madeline is that crazy. She actually reached out to them. How in the hell are we going to win this one? "Fire Giants!"

"Sorry did you just say Fire Giants?" Sally asks while staring at the ten-foot tall monsters in front of us.

"Yeah Fire Giants just like the ones in Norse Mythology. Lets just thank God that Surtr isn't with them."

"Yeah lets just be grateful for the four ten-foot tall Fire Giants we do have!" Sally still has the sass even when we are most surely about to die. God I love her.

"So how do we stop the four Fire Giants we do have?"

"Good question Adam I just wish I had an answer."

"Could we lead them to the town lake and trip them or something?"

"That could possibly work on one of them, but then there wouldn't a lake for the next one."

"What about the Ocean?"

"The ocean would work do any of you have I idea how to get them to the ocean and get them to fall in? Because they are not going to walk in."

"There is a cliff about a mile or two that way." Sally says pointing toward the edge of town.

"Ok so we have steps three and four of the plan what about step one getting their attention?"

"I got this. I hope those aren't famous last words." Sally start to run toward the Fire Giants. "Hey! Fire Giants! You call this hot feels more like warm autumn day than a hot one!" Well that got their attention. Sally turns and runs toward us. "Run! Now!" She doesn't have to tell me twice. And we all start running toward the cliff.

"Ok so step one is done. What is step two?" Adam asks while looking back at the Fire Giants on our tails.

"Step two is stay alive."

"Ok I am good with that."

Step two might be staying alive, but I am trying to figure out how to pull off step four. How to get them to fall off the cliff. I have an idea, but the others aren't going to like it especially Sally. But it is the best plan I can think of on this short of notice. We are approaching the cliff.

"Ok so when we get to the cliff we have to double back once the giants catch up to us."

"Do you really think that would work?"

"Do you have any other ideas, Adam, because I would love to hear them."

"Ok shutting up then."

"How are we going to get the Fire Giants to fall off the cliff?"

"Just leave that to me Watch."

"Why do I get the feeling I am not going to like how you do this?" Sally ask me as we reach the edge of the cliff.

"Because you are not."

The Giants approached us, just a few more steps. Sally really got them riled up, because they were getting closer than they needed too to kill us. That works to our advantage, just a few more steps.

"Now!" And with that we run. As we past the Fire Giants the air around them was super heated. Breathing became hard but we managed to get past them. Right after we got past them I stopped and pulled a small blade from the heel of my shoe. I dragged the blade across my right palm. I look back and see the others are out of the way it is now or never. I slam my hand down on the ground and shout the spell. "Illucescente" The ground starts to break in a jagged line spreading outward toward the edges of the cliff. Before the Fire Giants can realize what I am doing the crack reaches the edges and the cliff breaks off. The Fire Giants fall along with the cliff into the ocean below.

"Ann!" Sally grabs me and pulls me away from the edge before the ground gives away.

"Thanks, Sally."

"You idiot! Blood Magic!"

"It was the only way I could think to stop them."

"That was brilliant Ann."

"Thanks, Watch, lucky for me the spell didn't require much blood."

We start to walk away when I hear a roar behind us. Well my plan got rid of three out of four, so not bad.

"Well anybody got a plan?"

"No." The others chorused.

Well I have an idea but it is going to require a lot more blood. But if I don't we all die, so easy decision. I dig my nails into the cut on my hand reopening it. And I shout the spell. "Duratus Super!" The Fire Giant stops moving and ice starts to form around him. In a matter of seconds he is completely frozen over and then he shatters into a million pieces. Well that worked. My vision starts to blur and I am feeling dizzy. Before everything goes black I hear Sally yelling my name, but even that sounds far away.

Where am I? Everything is fuzzy and everything sounds so far away. I can hear what sounds like Watch and Adam talking.

"Is she going to be ok?"

"I don't know. From what I can tell her body temperature is rising. So that is some good news at least. If I knew more about blood magic then I could help her, but right now if I do anything it might kill her."

"Ugh.."

"She is coming too." Someone's grabbed my hand. The hand is bigger than mine, probably Adam's. Someone's fingers are on my neck. Probably Watch checking my pulse. Where is Sally? I open my eyes and see Adam and Watch standing over me. And I can see Sally just a few steps away from the table with the biggest smile on her face I think I have ever seen.

"Why is everyone look at me like I just came back from the dead?"

"Because you might have well have." Adam says letting go of my hand and taking a few steps back.

"Yeah Adam is right. You lost a lot of blood and you were cold to the touch. In fact Adam and I couldn't even touch you. Only Sally could for some reason."

"Why was that?" Sally asks speaking for the first time since I woke up.

"I was cold to the touch because of the freezing spell is used. The more powerful a freezing spell is the colder the caster becomes after casting the spell."

"Ok that explains why you were cold too the touch, but why could Sally only touch you?"

"My guess is because she had the Fire Inside. I have noticed that she runs hotter than most people. When it is cold outside and the rest of us are dressed for fall weather Sally is still dressed like it is summer. And when I slept over that her house she opens her window at night and runs a fan."

"So I guess it is a good thing that Moorepark gave the Fire Inside. Elsewise we would have been stuck on that cliff unable to move you." She is only part right. She still doesn't know that it wasn't Moorepark who gave her the Fire Inside, but me. I can't stand lying to her for another second. She might hate me, but she needs to know the truth.

"That is not entirely true."

"What there would have been another way to get you off that cliff?"

"No, not that. You are going to hate me when I tell you this, but please hear me out first." I can see the look of worry on Sally's face and see her nod her head in silence.

"It wasn't Moorepark that gave you the Fire Inside it was me." I can see the looks of shock on the boys and the look of hurt on Sally's face and the tears in her eyes. "Listen I had no choice. If I didn't do something Moorepark was just going to kill all of you and your families. So I came up with a plan. I brewed the antidote first, then the Fire Inside. The plan was to give Sally the Fire Inside, ask for the Raven's Eye and then if you gave it to me then give the antidote to Sally. And if you guys didn't give it to me then I would gain your trust by pretending that it was Moorepark who gave Sally the Fire Inside. And then give Sally the antidote before it even had a chance to reach stage three, but I didn't plan on you guys have the skeleton key and Watch trying to make the antidote and Sally progressing to stage three."

"Why did I ever believe you! I knew it was you! But I let myself believe you!" The tears in Sally's eyes are threating the fall. I never wanted to hurt her. I didn't think I could ever hate myself so much, but right now if she asked I would walk back to the cliff and throw myself off.

"You have ever right to hate me."

"That is just it I don't hate you. I understand why you did it. I understand it all. I am just angry with myself for believe what I knew to be a lie." Before I know what I am doing I fling myself off the table and wrap her in a hug. To my relief Sally hugged me back. And the tears started to fall from both of our eyes.

"I am so sorry, so so sorry. I will never hurt you again. I promise you." We just held each other for a few more minutes, but to me those minutes felt like eternity and I never wanted to leave. In those few minutes I felt like maybe everything would be would be alright. But, those few minutes couldn't last forever. And soon I would have to return to the real world and go back to Shadowmere and Madeline and War that seemed to have no end and no beginning.

Well here is the new chapter sorry this took longer than planned. It took me awhile to think of what monsters they would have to fight. In fact the inspiration for the Fire Giants was from Rick Riodran's new book Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard The Sword of Summer. I highly recommend the book and any book written by Rick Riodran. So I hope y'all enjoyed this new chapter, I hope to have a new one posted soon.