Dire Woods

The kitchen had been quiet for at least twenty minutes before John Joseph edged out from behind the pantry door. He had counted to 1500 … slowly … before he’d risked leaving his hiding spot. He wasn‘t taking any chances. The trip up the stairs and through the hallways was agonizing. Every shadow looked like a silhouette. Every glimmer of light, the glow of a wand. When he finally made it through his door, he almost collapsed on his bed, but there was no time. He had to get to out of this house and fast. He had to get to Mrs. Wickaby’s before his aunt did something about him. Something permanent.

He grabbed his knapsack, dumped the contents on the floor and slid them under the bed. He grabbed his wand, his precious books and some clothing. He tied his runners to the pack by the laces and shoved on his hiking boots.

He couldn’t chance the stairs again, even the back ones, instead he decided on his window. Good thing the dining room was on the other side of the house. He walked to the open window and dropped his knapsack onto the ground below his room. Then he crawled out the window and dangled from the wooden ledge. That way the fall would be shorter.

He hit the ground with a thump, rolled, grabbed his gear and started to run. He didn’t glance back at Alabaster Manor as he made his way over the lawn to the road. He didn’t have the time. It took him 25 minutes to walk to school in the morning. He made it to Mrs. Wickaby’s in 7 minutes flat.

There was still a warm light glowing from the kitchen. He stumbled up the stairs and tapped urgently on the wooden door.

“Mrs. Wickaby,” he hissed. “Mrs. Wickaby! Let me in!”

The old woman came to the door and John Joseph fell into the kitchen as it was yanked open. He landed on his knees on the wooden floor. His knapsack slid under the table.

Mrs. Wickaby reached down to help him up off the boards.

“What’s the matter, my boy? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Not quite, Mrs. Wickaby,” John Joseph answered. “Just a murderer.”

The old woman steered John Joseph over to the kitchen table, pushed him into a chair and hollered over her shoulder. “Emily, please come down here and put some water on the stove.” She turned her focus on her unexpected guest. “Now, spill the beans my boy. What are you rambling about?”

John Joseph felt a shudder pass from his feet to the tips of his hair. “It’s my Aunt Angerona, Mrs. Wickaby,” he whispered. “I heard her. She’s the one who got rid of my parents.” He looked up into Mrs. Wickaby’s sparkling hazel eyes. “And it seems she’s rather eager to get rid of me, too.”

“You’re not taking this seriously, are you, Grandma?” a familiar voice asked from behind John Joseph. “I know him from school and he’s always trying to get attention.”

“Emily, please,” Mrs. Wickaby barked. “I don’t care if your parents are out of town or not. If you continue to be obnoxious to people I consider friends, you won‘t be staying here.”

Emily Lavender looked at the floor.

“Sorry, Grandma,” she muttered.

“As you should be,” her grandmother responded. “Now get us all a cup of tea and we can hear what John Joseph has to say.”

“It’s true, Mrs. Wickaby. I heard her. I heard my aunt talking to her friend, Felicity. She admitted to being behind my parent’s disappearance. Then she said she was planning on getting rid of me, too.” John Joseph drew in a shuddering breath. “We’ve got to stop her, Mrs. Wickaby. We have to find out what she did to my parents.”

Emily Lavender knocked a cup into the sink. Her grandmother roller her eyes and sighted. Scrambling, Emily grabbed another mug and poured the tea into thick, bone china mugs which she brought to the table.

“Does she know you‘ve left the house?” the old woman asked.

John Joseph shook his head and sipped his tea. “I snuck out the window.”

“Good. Now, I appreciate your faith in me, John Joseph but I think the prudent thing to do would be to get more help. Your aunt was an exceedingly strong witch when she was unbelievably young. Who knows how her powers have improved over the years. Whatever foul means she used to overcome your parents, she did take on two capable wizards.” She looked at John Joseph’s discouraged face. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I think we need to get to help with a capital “H“. So we need to get to Haven. There are more wizards and witches per square mile in Haven than anywhere else on the continent.” She gave John Joseph an encouraging grin. “I think they might prove helpful, don’t you?”

Emily Lavender placed a platter of cookies on the table and pulled out a chair. “How do we get there, Gran?”

Mrs. Wickaby pursed her lips and grinned. “We’ll use the portal.”

John Joseph sputtered and tea splattered across the table. “Sorry, Mrs. Wickaby, even if the portal wasn’t locked, I really don‘t think we should go wandering around Alabaster Manor.”

Mrs. Wickaby finished her tea with a hearty gulp, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and peered at John Joseph out of the corner of her eyes. “We’ll use my portal of course, John Joseph. I think it’ll be easier.”