Chapter 5
One week passed. The clock struck eight pm. Mr Davis decided to have a rest from marking books and glanced across the dark schoolyard in dismay. The weather vane had disappeared from the sports hall roof. He shook his head sadly. What would someone want with it? Teenagers’ high jinks were getting worse nowadays.
Mindless thefts weren’t the only thing worrying Mr Davis lately. Spring should have been here by now, bringing the friendly sun along with her, yet it was raining again for the seventh day in a row. England had always been a wet country, but this was ridiculous.
In response rain fell harder and harder till it seemed to attack the groaning earth. Huge clouds of wet mud rose up, splattering the building, almost reaching higher windows. Soon the place may flood. Drains couldn’t cope and his school couldn’t afford to repair them.
Lost in such thoughts, Mr Davis jumped in surprise as the door burst open. Lawrence stood there swaying. His face was pale and sweaty. The breathless boy breathed heavily, holding his chest. Now they were out of danger Lucy sat down in the corner.
“Are you alright Lawrence?” Mr Davis said, screwing his eyes up in concern.
Lawrence didn’t look well at all. His clothes were soaked through and thick with mud. His clenched fist held a scruffy piece of paper tightly. Finally he spluttered, “She’s back!” and leant heavily against the wall.
“Good Lord, Brandice May! What does she want Lawrence?”
“Revenge!” he cried, collapsing on the floor.
Mr Davis helped him to the nearest seat, making sure he took long, deep breaths. Another few minutes passed before Lawrence made a little more sense.
“Look, it’s all here, she’s brought two friends!” he said earnestly, dropping a crinkled note on the floor. Mr Davis examined it carefully. There was nothing useful there - all the ink had smudged together. He clenched his teeth in frustration. Lawrence soon recovered. He slowly told snippets of his story, though rather strangely couldn’t remember much useful about the note. Mr Davis listened carefully, cleverly piecing it all together.
Lucy and Lawrence had been walking in fields near the woods after school. Lawrence had been amusing himself by throwing rocks into a smelly pond, something young boys like to do from time to time. Lucy didn’t approve as she disliked water, so she snuck up a tree to see if any of her friends were near.
Lawrence laughed loudly, hearing a heavy rock sink with a loud squelching plop. Lucy hissed angrily. Instantly the sky grew black. Then it started to rain heavily. Soon it became hard enough to sting through Lawrence’s thick hair and make him itch. Menacing droning filled the air, followed closely by a mighty whirlwind of black that swirled across the water and stopped right in front of him. A shiny metal pipe dropped out of it into the pond, sinking forever.
In a blinding, confusing flash the wicked witch of old Brandice May herself stood before him. On either side of her floated two evil friends, peering closely at him scornfully. One was tall and thin, the other short and fat. It was hard to say who looked the ugliest, or who hated him more.
Brandice’s eyes grew to an enormous size, bulging outwards as she stared deep into his. Lawrence felt unable to move, whilst the evil old witch mocked him without speaking. Lawrence heard her twisted thoughts inside his mind, and there were an awful lot of them. In that short time he caught tiny glimpses of her evil plans, which he’d now forgotten.
Brandice laughed and grabbed his shoulder, knowing he was powerless to stop her. Lawrence felt weak and faint. Lucy sprung from the tree, knocking the witch’s hat off into the muddy pond. Brandice swiped viciously at her, screaming in frustration when she missed. Lucy’s hair stood on end and glowed brightly. Just then a small metal cross dropped from the tall witch’s cloak along with a note. Lucy managed to snag the paper on her claw without anyone noticing.
“Time to make amends!” Brandice screeched at Lawrence. Her eyes shone fiercely like fiery hot coals.
“We haven’t time...yet Brandice,” her friends said mysteriously. All three cackled insanely, casting powerful spells across the water in a show of force. Three wide sections of the pond parted right down to the bottom, creating gigantic waves that crashed against the shore.
While the witches’ were distracted by their own powers, Lawrence picked Lucy up and escaped as quickly as he could. It wasn’t easy trying to run when his legs felt like ice. He seemed to be floating above ground at one point. Only healing warmth flowing from Lucy’s glowing fur kept him going. Just outside the village he found the note under Lucy’s collar, but had forgotten the weird drawings scrawled on it. That must have been Brandice’s doing. This was all Lawrence could remember so far.
“Interesting,” Mr Davis said. His eyes sparkled at the news. “This can’t be a coincidence Lawrence. Within the last few hours someone stole the weather vane from the school roof. The old cross from the town hall was taken only last night.”
“Very strange. What were they made of, were they expensive?” Lawrence asked.
“Iron. But no, they wouldn’t be worth much. One would have to steal an awful lot of them to make any money. Besides, where would witches sell it?”
“That’s it!” Lawrence cried, feeling a little better, “They’re collecting metal, and not just any kind - The older the better. That explains why they stole the old cross and rejected the new metal bar into the pond.”
“Nice thinking, it certainly sounds like it. Witches have some very strange habits which can turn into obsessions. Collecting objects and bearing grudges for people who oppose them are only two of them,” Mr Davis explained. “But it’s a big shame we don’t know what was in that note as we don’t know exactly what they’re planning.”
“I know, it’s very frustrating,” Lawrence agreed, shaking his head wearily.
Mr Davis said three witches or more who combine forces are known as a coven and become much more powerful. Therefore Lawrence should make sure to place a horseshoe above the door at home to ward off any unwelcome visitors. In the meantime both of them should read up on how to protect themselves from evil magic.
Mum arrived to pick Lawrence up. On the way home she said he would have to stop running round the countryside on adventures before he got hurt. Lawrence promised he would as soon as he felt no one was in danger.
Down in his cellar Lawrence built his big white drawing board back up. Before he went to bed mum helped him move a large foldable table back into the centre of the room. This place would have to become an evidence room once again. Work on changing it to Lucy’s playroom would have to wait for now.
At home Lucy tried to settle down for the night, but couldn’t quite manage it. Her mind remained restless and filled with the day’s strange events. As midnight struck she thought she saw a strange shape looming near the back door. Springing up stairs to make sure her friends were safe she watched closely from Lawrence’s bedroom windowsill. Even though the moon cast his wandering beams way over the hills tonight, the forest looked quiet and peaceful. Only the treetops swayed gently, like they swung in time to a silent tune, yet something still didn’t feel quite right. In shifting shadows at the bottom of the garden tiny droplets of rain moved slowly against the wind. This was very strange.
As the water crept closer Lucy arched her back, hearing Lawrence murmur in his sleep. One moment later the showers had reached the back door and sprung back in a white flash. Down the lawn they reformed again into weird shapes, then melted into the trees. Lawrence had remembered the kind man’s advice and kept the family safe. Lucy felt lucky to have a friend like him.