CHAPTER 15: FACE MY FEARS
Jill slowly peeked out of the narrow entryway. No signs of the monster or ghosts around… for now.
"You still have the magestone?" she asked Ace.
"Yep." Ace took the clear crystal out of his pants pocket, then made a show of shoving it back in.
"Just don't take the credit for finding it," Grim whispered to him.
"Okay, let's go!" Jill ventured out. While she still didn't know how to make her pen glow, the light of the other three's pens was enough to help her see. She soon spied a small drop of blood on the floor. "That's my blood!" she whispered. "Follow me, the exit's this way."
"Boy, this is morbid," Deuce whispered to himself.
The four hurried down the path, following Jill's blood droplets. At first, it was too quiet, but then…
"STONE!" the jar-headed creature bellowed behind them. "GIVE STONE, WANT STONE!"
"Looks like our friend's back!" Ace called. "Now what?!"
Jill's heart pounded in her chest, and she could feel tremors in her body, but the fear didn't slow her down.
"Grim, shoot your fire at it!" she called. "And Ace, you use wind at the same time!"
"Got it!" the redhead and direbeast said simultaneously. They activated their powers, with Ace's gusts making Grim's blue flames even stronger than before. The monster was soon blasted with the inferno, and it roared in pain.
"Now for the finale!" Jill said. "Go on, Deuce—whack it on the head!"
"Cauldron, I summon thee!" Deuce cried. Another cauldron—or the same from earlier, Jill couldn't tell—appeared over the creature and slammed onto its jar of ink. The glass gave a huge crack, and the monster retreated, whimpering in pain.
"That's right, don't mess with the best!" Grim cheered.
"We did it… we actually did it!" Deuce breathed a sigh of relief.
"Not yet, we didn't. Let's move!" Ace urged.
"R-Right!" Jill felt weak with relief herself. She wasn't sure if the ghosts were going to come back, but even if they did, she and her friends would send them packing.
They all followed the blood trail until they reached the original clearing with the rusted tracks. And just like before, the ghosts materialized and blocked their path.
"Hee hee! Still trying to go somewhere?" the little ghost cackled.
"Leave us alone already!" Grim cried. He and Ace double-teamed the ghosts with their fire-wind combo. The ghosts cried out in pain and dissolved into vapor… and then came back.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Jill yelled.
"You can't kill ghosts, silly mortals!" the tall ghost chuckled.
"We're running out of time!" Deuce reminded the group. "How do we—"
"STOOOONE…" a deep voice echoed from behind them. Jill felt a familiar jolt up her spine. That horrible creature was coming back!
But wait… didn't the monster go back earlier to nurse its wounds? And didn't the ghosts fly away from the deeper caverns while Jill and her friends were being chased? If both were true, it meant that these ghouls could still feel fear. And that meant this might work out!
Jill held out her pen, focusing on the very tip. "The sky is black as ink, the moon shines bright…" she recited.
"Jill, what are you doing?!" Ace cried.
"A wind blows through you…"
"Guys!" Grim pointed to the jar-headed monster coming up the tunnel.
"Augh, that thing!" one of the ghosts shuddered.
"Keep steady, boys!" the little ghost chided. "Remember, that monster might rip us to shreds, but it can't destroy us, either!"
"It still hurts when we get ripped, though!" the other ghost whined.
"Your bones shiver tonight…"
"Jill, you're glowing!" Deuce cried triumphantly.
For the first time, yes, Jill's magic pen was glowing! Her orange gemstone had turned white, illuminating the darkness of the mines, and the force of it made her hands shake. Then she said the next thing that came to mind.
"FRIGHT MASTER!"
With a booming sound like a gunshot, a stream of black smoke erupted from Jill's pen. It engulfed the horde of ghosts, and they all flew away, shrieking at an unnatural volume.
"Did they just get scared away?!" Grim asked.
"STONE!" The monster lumbered from behind, readying its pickaxe.
"We need to run for it! The way is clear!" Ace urged.
"Not so fast!" Jill said, and she chanted the spell again in her mind. Another blast of black smoke shot out of her pen, this time engulfing the large monster. It stumbled back, whining, and then ran off while dragging its pickaxe behind it.
"YEAH!" Jill cheered. "I DID IT! I scared everyone off! I'm the scariest thing in these mines!"
"Good for you, Jill!" Ace said. "…But you're still getting expelled if we don't move it!"
"Oh! That is scarier," Jill realized, snapping out of her euphoric state. "Let's go!"
From there, it was a mad dash back to the entrance, this time following stones that were left in the middle of the path. It was such a strange feeling. Earlier, Jill felt like she would pass out due to all the running. But now she felt energized, reinvigorated, and she sprinted ahead of the group with a spring in her step. Soon, she saw the Dark Mirror, and she jumped through first.
There was a familiar rush of lights and colors, and she found herself in the Mirror Chamber again, with Headmage Crowley still in front of her.
"Headmage, I'm—" she started to say, but then Ace fell on top of her, followed by Deuce and Grim. "Ow! Ouch! Oof!" she cried out.
"Ah, you four." Crowley put his phone in his pocket and smiled down at the heap of students. "Good to see you again."