Dire Woods
Chapter 9

The portal ride home took two and a half minutes. John Joseph timed it on his watch. His aunt wasn’t talking. He’d tried to question her on what she’d seen at the campsite, but she’d totally ignored him. Instead of answering, she’d pulled out an ornate hand mirror and preened herself between shooting John Joseph rather dark looks.

“You were brilliant, Angerona, absolutely brilliant,” she told the reflection in the mirror.

The loving, doting aunt in Wizard Kilamo’s office had disappeared as soon as the doors had closed. John Joseph wondered, not for the first time, what the heck was going on.

With a squeak and a clank, John Joseph pushed opened the iron gates that led into the hallway at Alabaster Manor. He couldn’t believe that his parents weren’t waiting for him. If he closed his eyes, he was sure he would hear their voices. He took a deep breath, counted to three and spoke, “Aunt Angerona, I think we should start looking for clues right away. Who knows, maybe my parents left a clue somewhere around the house.”

His aunt turned, her eyes narrowed and she studied John Joseph up and down, her perfect lips pursed like she’d tasted something nasty.

“Let’s drop the pretending, shall we? It’s been a stressful enough day. From now on, young man, what I want is the only thing that matters.” She brushed him aside and waltzed down the hallway.

“But you p-p-promised to help me,“ John Joseph stuttered.

His aunt paused, turned towards him and gave John Joseph a queer, lopsided smile. “Promises. Promises. They usually come to nothing John Joseph and I’d advise you to learn that quickly, so go to your room and stay out of trouble. You honestly don’t want to upset me.” Angerona Albaster’s beautiful smile widened and her white teeth glinted in the light. “You can take that as a warning.”

John Joseph stood frozen. His aunt, no his guardian, had just threatened him! What the heck was going on? He’d had the worst sleepover in the history of sleepovers, his parents had disappeared off the face of the earth, and now his psycho aunt had threatened him! He was trapped in some kind of nightmare and it was time to get help, fortunately, his parents weren’t the only inhabitants of Alabaster Manor.

He watched silently as his aunt disappeared around the corner then rushed down the back stairs. He needed to get to the kitchen for hot sweet tea, food and moral support. Lots of it and not necessarily in that order.

Mrs. Shorthouse, the cook, wasn’t in the kitchen. The big, old cast iron stove stood cold and brooding against the brick wall. There was no wonderful smell of fresh baked bread, no dusting of flour on the countertop. John Joseph ducked into the pantry. Empty. Sighing deeply, he left the kitchen and headed out to the herb garden where Mrs. Shorthouse liked to spend so much time.

It was empty as well.

It was his parents’ disappearance, that was it. Mrs. Shorthouse was probably with Mr. Gamble, the gardener. Desperate for a friendly face, John Joseph ran up the gravel path towards the main vegetable garden. John Joseph found himself running faster and faster as his desperation grew, the gravel shooting out from beneath his heels.

The large vegetable patch and the old barns beyond it were devoid of life. No smoke curled from the small wood stove in the greenhouse. There was no clattering from the potting shed. It seemed his parents weren’t the only ones who’d disappeared. The place was deserted.

John Joseph glanced over his shoulder at Alabaster Manor and shivered. For the first time, the big white manor house looked cold, almost frightening. Head down, shoulders hunched, his feet swishing through the tall grass, he walked aimlessly, avoiding going back to the empty house. When he reached the ramshackle, rarely used older barns, he slumped down on a splintered wooden water trough and held his head in his hands. He had never felt so alone.

He jumped when a soft, deep voice spoke from behind him.

“Sorry about your parents, John Joseph.”

“Rupert?“ He whispered.

A gnarled old man, with a bristling salt and pepper beard, dressed in worn plaid and faded denim, emerged from the thick woods behind the barns.

John Joseph jumped up and threw his arms around the rumpled handyman. “Oh Rupert, you’re still here.”

The old man gave the boy a crushing hug. “Not for long, boy, not for long. That aunt of yours fired every single one of us this morning. Most of them took off right away. I’m heading off too, but I wanted to see you before I made for the hills.”

John Joseph slumped back down, “Everyone’s gone? Everyone?”

“All the regulars.“ Rupert stated. “Me, Mrs. Shorthouse, the cook, Mr. Gamble, the gardener, even old Junie, though she wasn’t much of a maid.“ He put his hands on John Joseph’s shoulders and gave a squeeze. “Seems your Aunt Angerona isn’t taking any chances.”

“You know her?” John Joseph asked.

“We all know her boy,” Rupert answered. “We’ve all worked at Alabaster Manor for years. We knew her when she was knee high to a grasshopper.” The old man’s eyes grew misty. “She was a lovely thing when she was little; quick as a whip but gentle too, then one summer she went away.”

The ancient eye’s clouded. “When she came back she was different and things were never the same again. She had powers that no eleven-year old should ever have and the way she used them.” Rupert shook his grizzled head back and forth as if he could erase the memories with the motion. “That‘s why everybody ran for the door when she told them too.” The old man shook his head as if waking up from a particularly foul dream and muttered under his breath. “She’s a nasty piece of work, boy.” His sharp blue eyes peered up through his bristly eyebrows. “Remember that,” he warned.

John Joseph felt a finger of fear trace a line down his back. He straightened his shoulders and the cold feeling in his spine faded.

“But where will you go?” He asked the old man. “You’ve lived here forever.”

Rupert lay a large, cracked hand on John Joseph’s shoulder. “Don’t be worrying about me lad. I’ve still got good friends and family spread across the countryside who‘d be willing to give a bed to an old codger like me.” His hand lifted and he gave John Joseph a pensive look. “I’ve got a site more options than you have anyway. That’s part of why I waited. I thought you might want to come with me. It might be a bit unpopular with that aunt of yours, but I just don’t feel right leaving you behind.” The old handyman grinned. “I’ve seen you at work with that wand of yours.”

John Joseph couldn’t help chuckling. Somehow, old Rupert always got him laughing. He was going to miss him. “I’ve got to stay here and find my parents, Rupert.”

“Aye, boy, I thought you might say that, but I had to be sure.” He buttoned his jacket and reached forward to give John Joseph one more hug. “Well, take care off yourself and don‘t trust that aunt of yours, no matter what and remember to look after the garden if you get the chance. You know how Mr. Gamble likes it.” Rupert gave him another quick hug and a grim smile. With a glance over his shoulder, he disappeared silently back into the woods.

John Joseph sighed, dragged himself to his feet and headed back across the empty fields. He plucked a shaft of grass from a long stalk beside him and stuck it in his mouth. How was he going to find his parents? What was he going to do about his mad aunt? He needed help! But there was no one left and even if there had been, they wouldn’t have a chance against his aunt’s magic. He finally understood why Headmaster Kilamo had been a little odd in his office. He must have known what Angerona Alabaster was like, too. Wizard Kilamo had known Angerona Alabaster for a long time.

John Joseph slapped himself on the head. What the heck had he been thinking? Wizard Kilamo! He could help! He was a wizard in a school of wizards! As soon as he told him what was happening he’d straighten everything out!

With a new spring in his step, John Joseph headed back home. He finally felt he had a chance of finding his parents, even if it meant spending more time at St. Francis Academy. In fact, St. Francis Academy was looking a heck of a lot friendlier than it had just hours ago.

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