The school bell had only just rung when Lawrence burst into Mr Davis office, blurting out all that had happened. The teacher felt so intrigued he put an old manuscript he’d been reading to one side. Mr Davis said it was very strange that Lawrence should know all this valuable information, but agreed it was far more important to form a plan just then.
That witches’ spell must be very powerful to cover the entire district. Yes, it was both wicked and clever – as who wants to spend a lifetime living under perpetual rain? Not to mention the chaos, injuries and money needed to combat flooding. This was very serious indeed. They’d have to work fast, using all tools at their disposal. Mr Davis guessed the coven were probably using those nasty imps to steal iron from churches as they were far too evil themselves to cross consecrated ground.
“I made a list of spots they’ve hit so far Lawrence. I think I can predict where they may strike next. It’s out the way and very old,” Mr Davis said, pointing out a small, crumbling church far to the west on his map.
“No,” Lawrence said thoughtfully, “There’s a far easier target right here in the village, the large statue in our square. That would cover their scheme with a little to spare, seeing as they’re almost complete. I think we should try to stop them taking it. Maybe even poison it in some way as well in case they succeed? We could make an invisible mix of holy water, holly and fennel leaves. These are all known to ward off evil spirits.”
“Excellent thinking. I’ll coat it in a special mixture later tonight. Folk may wonder what I’m up to, though I suppose it’ll give them something to talk about! Still, let’s hope it helps. Your dad would have been very proud of you Lawrence. He always liked people who did jobs properly after thinking it through first. Taking pride in their work he said.”
“Thanks Mr Davis. I hope I can do my best for us all.”
Mr Davis reminded Lawrence Midsummer’s Eve or the Summer Solstice was almost as important to witches as their Black Sabbath. On that special night earth’s natural power would build to a peak right up to midnight. After that it would weaken quickly, and be reabsorbed into the earth to begin the cycle again, ready to help in the changing of the seasons. Today was the 18th of June. The summer solstice was the 21st and the longest day of the year. That left less than three days to plan!
Mr Davis assured Lawrence they would do all they could to be ready by then – the district was counting on it. Like most heroes they’d have to keep the story to themselves if they were victorious, as who would believe their tale? Just the satisfaction gained from unselfishly standing up for the greater good would prove enough.
Lawrence slipped off back to class, leaving the helpful teacher with an awful lot to think about. Mr Davis did just that for quite a while. Before his next class started he looked over an old manuscript again. Dated hundreds of years ago, it listed many spells along with exotic ingredients needed to make them. It hinted at far greater powers hidden in natural metals, seeming certain that older metals held the best magical properties. These spells were said to work even better if melted magically from the same batch.
Right at the bottom of the list one spell was said to have the power to change the world as humans understood it. Mr Davis shivered at the chilling description. Surely that could never happen? He felt glad he hadn’t mentioned this to Lawrence, as he couldn’t be sure yet. Besides, there was enough to think about for now.
For the next three days it rained constantly. The entire village seemed fed up at the depressing atmosphere. On midsummer’s eve morning mum told Lawrence the large, heavy statue in the village square had been taken in the early hours. How someone had dug it up without anyone hearing anything was a big mystery to her.
At lunch time Lawrence and Mr Davis met to settle their big plan for that night. Mr Davis admitted Sally would have to be left to do as she wished, because the magic well under deep Blagdon Lake simply wasn’t possible to check. Therefore he and his wife would travel to the lonely barrow known as Brent Knoll and attempt to distract Gretchen, while Lawrence sneaked into the secret waterfall. Having an army of servants, Brandice may not put up a protective barrier. She probably needed all her power for such an impressive spell anyway.
If Lawrence failed to sneak in, her rage at his attempt to poison her second plan may be enough to put her off and break the magical triangle for long enough. There was just the question of how Lawrence would protect himself if her powers weren’t weakened enough. That was pretty important after all.
By that time Mr Davis should have gotten near enough to Gretchen to divert her attention. He hoped bright lights and persuading kind Druids’ from a nearby healing ceremony to hike up there would be enough. If any one of the witches lost concentration for long enough, the great power flowing through them all could backfire and turn against them. Even the mighty Rooksbridge coven would be in big trouble then.