Chapter Ten

Teachers Deliver Bad News, that isn’t Homework

Sara slept comfortably in her soft bed. She had no nightmares, only dreams of winning American’s Got Talent.

Knock. Knock.

She looked at her watch; it was only 4:45 in the morning. “Why is Mom waking me up so early?” She turned over to go back to sleep.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

“Okay, Mom. I’m awake,” she said, sitting up in bed. It wasn’t her bed, it wasn’t her room, and it wasn’t her mom knocking on the door. “Just a minute,” she said, grabbing a robe from the closet door; the robe had not been there when she went to bed. She opened the door.

Mr. Dalton and Ms. Graham were standing at the door. They had been crying. Ms. Graham had a breakfast tray in her hands.

“Mr. Thompson would like as soon as you have dressed and have eaten.” Ms. Graham placed the tray on the small desk.

“And we would like to say good-bye, Sara.”

“Are you leaving?”

“I believe you will be leaving very soon.”

“No, I’m not leaving until my mom gets here.”

“Just get dressed and eat your breakfast, then go to see Mr. Thompson,” sniffled Ms. Graham. She reached over and gave Sara a big hug.

“We will miss you, Sara. We have enjoyed watching over you the last few weeks,” said Mr. Dalton, and then he hugged her also.

The two of them walked away, holding hands. Sara shut the door behind them. “Ewww… I didn’t need to see old people holding hands. Ew, that’s so gross. I didn’t need to be hugged by teachers, Ew.”

She opened the closet door and pulled out the only outfit in there, her jeans and pink Minnie Mouse T-shirt, cleaned and neatly pressed.

Breakfast was delicious: corn flakes with elbow macaroni and anchovies with bacon on the side. Fantastic.

Dressed, fed, and ready to go, she stood up just as Bradford knocked on the door. “Are you ready Miss Sara?”

“Coming.” She opened the door.

“You are meeting Mr. Thompson in his study.”

“Which door is that?”

“The door at the end of the hall.”

“That door goes to the dining room; I mean the TV Room, oh and yes the study too. This is very confusing, Bradford.”

“You still haven’t guessed the secret of the door, Miss Sara?”

“I guess not. Maybe it is a bit indecisive.”

Bradford smiled. “No, Miss Sara, it knows what it is doing. It is a magic door. It will take you wherever you need to be.”

Bradford opened the door. It led her to the Dining Room where Mr. Thompson was finishing his breakfast. “Good morning Sara.”

Sara giggled and shut the door. Let me try it,” she said opening the door that opened into the study. “Wait, I thought it was supposed to take me to Mr. Thompson. He is in the dining room.”

“Ah, but Sara, I am right here at my desk. We were planning to meet right here.”

“But, Mr. Thompson, you were just in the dining room.”

“Yes, I was, but I am in here now. Come sit down.”

Bradford closed the door.

“I trust you slept well, and your breakfast was satisfactory?”

“Yes, it was unbelievable.”

Mr. Thompson picked up a piece of paper lying on his desk, took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes. He looked exhausted. Sara sat up straight in her chair, “Mr. Thompson, are you okay?”

“Yes, Sara. I am. It’s just that what I have to tell you is very disturbing. We have been at your house and have investigated the situation. Tenebrae has learned to send instant messages even without an internet connection- very surprising. They sent the instant messages, Sara. I’m thrilled you didn’t read them. They were very disturbing, very disturbing indeed. However, you will be delighted to hear. We don’t think there were any monsters in the house that night. Earlier in the day, there were some rats and toads. Sara, we believe they have kidnapped your mother.”

“What. You were supposed to protect her.”

“Yes, and I’m afraid we failed.”

“What will they do to her?”

“The sisters will find a way to eliminate her- permanently.”

Sara stared at Mr. Thompson; her eyes wide with disbelief. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she cried for a long time before she finally said, “You have to save her, Mr. Thompson.”

“Sara, you love your mother, I know that, but even more than that, she is crucial in our plan to put the white magic back in control of Tenebrae. She must be saved.”

“Then send someone to do it.”

“We can’t. The moment any of us step foot in Tenebrae, your aunts would know it, and we would be arrested. We need someone to save her that the Aunt’s don’t have a magic signature on.”

“Bradford, he’s a smart guy, he could do it.”

“Bradford would very gladly do that for you, but he can’t. He’s from Earth. Although we can go back and forth, if someone from Earth enters Tenebrae, they just sort of- well- blow up. It’s very messy.”

“Then who can save her?”

“You.”

“Me? I’m not old enough Mr. Thompson.”

 “I know. I know. Perhaps when you get there, you can find your father, and he can help you.”

“My dad is in Tenebrae?”

“Well, actually, he is in Libero Salus. He and his army are defending Libero Salus, but, I don’t know his whereabouts exactly.”

Sara looked lost. She finally said, “Okay. I’ll do it. You tell me what to do.”

“We were supposed to start training you in the use of your white magic today. Your mother was going to train you in black magic so you could fulfill your destiny. Your mother’s kidnapping has put a little hiccup in our plans.”

“My destiny?”

“Yes, but now, we must rescue your mother first so she can teach you the use of black magic. None of us here knows it, and it is very different than white magic. However, we do have some magical talisman’s that can help you in your journey; it’s not as useful as knowing magic, but better than nothing.”

“But, Mr. Thompson, even with the magic talismans, I just don’t see how I can help all by myself.”

“Sara, you must know a little of what I know. Number one, I know you are smart.” She shook her head no. “Now, hear me out. I know you are smart; you don’t try as hard as you could in school, but you are brilliant like your mother. Your aunt’s, well neither of them are very smart- they are very evil and are superb at being evil- but they aren’t very smart. Number two, you may not realize it, but you are very special. You have a lot of magical power, probably more than anyone in Tenebrae. I know you don’t know how to use it, but it just might help you anyway. I believe it will be there when you need it.”

“Okay, Mr. Thompson, if you say so.” She thought about her mother. “When do I leave?”

“There are preparations we need to make. We need to familiarize you with the magical talismans. We need to program the teleporter. The programming takes about six hours, and if it isn’t done just right, well you could land just anywhere. So, you will probably leave early this afternoon. In the meantime, follow me. We will teach you as much as we can before you leave.” He walked over to the history books and pulled three of them out. Swoosh. A secret panel opened.

“Mr. Thompson, what happens if I fail?”

“Dear Sara, you won’t fail. If you failed, it would be a disaster. Tenebrae will take over Libero Salus, and then they will take over the defenseless Earth and enslave all the people.” He gently held her under her chin and looked into her eyes, “You won’t fail Sara. You are much stronger than you think.”