The Locket || The Winx Saga

Chapter 33

When we got back to the school, I was overcome with panic. Everything I'd just witnessed flashed through my mind as I tried to catch my breath. She wasn't alone. She had an army. And they didn't even look human. They were just these big dark monsters.

Just then, I heard a voice asking what was going on. And when I looked up, Professor Palladium was standing in front of us, a concerned expression on his face. "Are you girls okay?"

I shook my head, my breathing frantic and shallow. "Everyone's in trouble."

It was when I said that that the Professor then adopted an expression of urgency, as he told us to wait where we were whilst he got the headmistress. We sat down at a nearby table as we both tried to catch our breaths. After I saw Dahlia and her newly built army, I just told Flora to turn and run and I did the same. And if we didn't find a way to stop Dahlia, then we were all going to be in serious danger. We were sat at the table for a few seconds before someone came rushing up to us. It was Tecna, the girl I met in the hallway a while back.

"What's going on?" She questioned.

"There's a witch outside the barrier." I explained, now having caught my breath.

"Alfea's surrounded by a protective barrier. She won't get through."

"She has an army." Flora added. "If they're strong enough, then they'll get through the barrier."

Before Tecna could respond, Dowling approached us. "Kody? Flora? What happened?"

"We were out in the woods, and I saw Dahlia outside the barrier. She's a witch, and she's got an army."

"An army?" Dowling asked. "What kind of army?"

I just shook my head. "I don't know. But they just looked like monsters."

"Can you describe them to me?"

"Uh, there were a few different ones. But one of them had glowing red eyes...and sort of had tentacles coming out of its mouth." I tried to explain as best I could but everything just happened so fast it had all become blurred in my mind. But my description seemed to be enough for her as she now had a look of dread on her face. "What is it? What are they?"

She sighed. "They're called the Army of Decay. They're created entirely from dark magic, and if we don't stop the person controlling them, then I fear we may be in grave danger."

"What do we do?"

"We need to prepare ourselves for a fight."

***

My heart was hammering in my chest as I stood in the crowd, watching as Dowling addressed us all from where she stood at the front of the cafeteria. She was explaining the situation to everybody, which caused the crowd to erupt into worried chatter. But this was quickly silenced when Griselda stepped in. "Everybody stay calm! If we play this right, we can come out on top!"

Everyone remained silent as she continued to speak. "Now, we're going to need all the help we can get. So I would ask for experienced students to volunteer to fight."

I was completely stunned by what I was hearing but I stepped forward regardless. And as I looked around the cafeteria, I spotted some familiar faces who'd stepped forward. Everyone in my suite, except Musa, had volunteered and Tecna and Flora were also amongst the fairies who were going to fight. But when Dowling saw me standing near the front, she immediately voiced her concerns to me. "Kody, stand down. You're not ready to face such evil."

"This is my fault." I admitted. "She's after me, so I have to help stop her."

Dowling didn't say anything else and simply faded back into the background as Griselda continued to take charge. She was the defence teacher after all. Shortly after all the fairies volunteered, Mr Silva and the Specialists arrived. And within the small group, I noticed the guys from Red Fountain were here too. And as they all walked into the cafeteria, I smiled at Riven before he came over to me, pulling me into a hug.

"Everyone who volunteered!" Griselda started again. "It is now your job, alongside the teachers, to protect the other students! We probably have about an hour before they break through the barrier, so I'll be sending you in groups to prepare."

Everyone continued to stand in silence and she started putting the fairies and specialists together in groups and sending them off with a teacher. One group went with Professor Palladium, whilst another followed Miss Dowling. And the rest of us, which included me, had to go with Miss Griselda. And to be honest, I didn't mind. She clearly knew what she was doing, which made this seem a little less terrifying. But before we left with Griselda, she instructed Professor Wizgiz to take the other students to safety and told Mr Silva to meet Dowling at her office. She then finished by turning to us and saying in a confidence voice: "Don't worry, we won't let them win."