An Odd Sort of Magic

Chapter Sixteen

The basement was very dark. The lights didn't contribute much to alluminating the large space. Jayan shuddered, remembering the battle that had been there just this morning. The frozen warriors were still there, and they hadn't thawed a bit. Jayan supposed they wouldn't until Vanessa unfoze them.

And that didn't seem to be on Vanessa's mind as the small group surveyed the basement. Jayan saw that Vanessa didn't even glance at the patch of ice statues on the far end of the huge space. Instead, Vanessa's eyes were tracing the walls, as if looking for something. And in a way, she was. 

"Um, so do we just start looking?" Beta asked. 

"I guess so," Jayan shrugged, glancing at Vanessa.

Rachel reached out to touch one of the walls, "how will we tell if there's a door? Will there be a handle?  Or will there be a crack in the wall, or what?" 

"I guess we'll just have to play it by ear," Vanessa muttered. Jayan reached out to the nearest wall, and ran her hand along it. She couldn't feel anything, so she moved over and tried again. Everyone else did the same.

Rachel was nearest the door when Arianna decided to pop in, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Jayan couldn't help laughing.  But she stopped when she saw Kiya tenitivly following Arianna.

"Is she okay?" Jaya whispered to Arianna. She shrugged.

"She seems better. I mean, she actually walks now, and she can make it through a few sentances without acusing people of betraying her."

"Yeah," Jayan agreed, "I guess, considering the curcumstances, that's as close to okay as she's going to get for the moment."

"So what can I do to help?" Arianna asked, looking around at the others.

Jayan told her what they were doing, and she began to help. Jayan kept an eye on Kiya, in case the frightened redhead decided to run.

Kiya, however, seemed to have no interest in running. While she looked wary, she didn't say a word. "Is bringing her down her really such a good idea?" Rachel asked. 

Jayan agreed, although probably for a different reason. While Rachel was concerned that Kiya would hinder them, Jayan felt more compasion. Kiya looked like a scared little girl going to the doctors for the first time. 

Then Vanessa let out an exclamation, "I've found it!" She was running her fingers over the wall, tracing the outline of a door. She brushed her finger in from the edge, until it sank in.

There was a slight creak, and the door swished inward. Jessica, Nick, Rachel, Beta, and Jayan hurried over to Vanessa. Kiya kept her distance, and Arianna stayed with her.

Inside, it really did look like a dungeon sort of set-up. Nick swallowed nervously, "ladies first."

Beta looked amused, "everyone here except you is a girl."

"My point exactly."

"Don't be such a wimp," Beta walked in confidently. Vanessa, looking hesitant, followed. One by one, they cautiously entered. 

There was only one door, at the far end of the short hall. Vanessa was leading now. Jayan noticed Kiya and Arianna hadn't followed them in here either.

Vanessa peeked through the barred gap in the wooden door, and gasped, "he's here!"

So she had been right. Jayan pushed through to the door. No one stood in her way. They just parted for her. She looked in. Drew was there, all right. And he looked terrible. Even though it hadn't been a full day, his skin was pale.

Jayan moved to push open the door, but Vanessa caught her hand, "wait."

She pulled away, "for what? She's going to know we're here eventually, if she doesn't already. I'm just speeding things up a little."

This time no one stopped her from pushing the door open. Drew looked up, "Jayan?"

"And friends," Jayan answered as the others quietly appeared behind her.

"You better be here to rescue me," he joked weakly.

"Of course," Beta frowned, "what other purpose could we possibly have? It's not like we actually want to go after Ms. Shelling. She started it."

"Freindly as ever," Drew muttered, "where's Kiya and Arianna? They would never sit out on a mission."

"Oh," Jayan bit her lip, "Kiya's not doing so well. Mentally, I mean. Arianna's keeping her calm. Get this, she's actually barely said anything in about two hours."

"Impresive," Drew chuckled, "that's got to be a record." Then he got serious, "we have to get out of here. Now."

"Nick?" Jessica asked.

"On it," the boy grasped the chain, and Drew's hand slid through it. He did the same on the other side. "I can make the molocules basically non-existent," he explained, "it involves a lot of science to understand properly."

"Who cares?" Beta mumbled, "let's just get out of here before-"

"Before what? You just got here. Stay awhile," Ms. Shelling was smiling. But it wan't happy. It was closer to evil. Jasmine stood at her shoulder, Vanessa's old stance. 

"Where did she come from?" Nick asked.

"I don't know," Jayan answered, "but I recomend getting ready to fight."