(Previous chapters 1-14 are available here.)
“Tick-tock-tick-tock”
The pendulum swayed side to side. The world began to spin around them in a blur. Everything around them came slowly to a halt. They were in Beatrix’s house. The world was dull, and had a haze to it. Beatrix looked at Arthur, who stood beside her. He pointed at the doorway to the kitchen. Beatrix watched as she gave her mom a hug. The other Beatrix said “Love you” warmly to her mother, as she dashed through the living room, running straight at Arthur. Beatrix watched as her other self ran through Arthur, causing him to burst into a cloud of smoke for a split second, before rematerializing as himself. The other Beatrix ran out the door. Arthur looked over at Beatrix, who had a startled look on her face. “Don’t worry” he said. “They can’t see or hear us. They don’t know we are here.” She let out a sigh, and looked back at the kitchen doorway.
Beatrix stood there looking at her mother, Ella, as she walked back to the kitchen sink, and continued washing dishes. Ella peaked out the window, and watched the other Beatrix walking rapidly down the sidewalk.
The phone rang, and Ella answered. “Hello?” she said. Ella stood there horrified as she listened. “M-Maxwell?” she asked. “Is t-that you?” Beatrix watched as her mother listened; her ear pressed tight against the phone. “Honey, wh-what’s wrong?” she asked; her voice shaking. Ella held the phone out from her, looked at it, and then held it up to her ear once more. “Hello...Hello?” She dropped the phone to the ground, and ran out of the kitchen.
Ella dashed through the living room, and sprinted upstairs. Arthur and Beatrix followed. Ella ran to the end of the hall, and turned to look behind her. She had a bewildered look in her eyes. Ella unlocked the door to the attic, opened the door, and began walking up the steep steps. Beatrix had never been in the attic. She was told the flooring up there was weak, and not safe to walk on.
Arthur and Beatrix followed Ella up the stairs. Beatrix gazed up at the ceiling, which was a lot taller than she had imagined. “Where did all of that space come from?” she wondered. Her mother walked across the wooden floor; her heels clacking on the hard surface as she went. Though none showed from the exterior of their home, the attic was lined in towering windows. Her mother walked over to the corner of the room, and whispered something as she pointed at the floor. Purple sparks fell to the ground and surrounded a floorboard. The floorboard raised into the air, revealing a secret compartment. Beatrix and Arthur watched as Ella knelt on the floor, reached into the compartment, and lifted up a small tome. Arthur’s eyes lit up. It was their families spell book. Each family had one. It was their way of keeping track of the spells they created.
Ella sat there for what felt like hours, searching through the tome. Ella reached the end of the tome. She flipped to the first page, and started flipping through the little book frantically again; pausing every so often to glance around her. The lights began to flicker. Ella stood up, and walked fast across the floor to the little secretary desk in the corner. She pulled up a chair, sat at the desk, and began writing something. Arthur and Beatrix started walking toward Ella to see what it was.
The lights suddenly went out, and with a flash, a dark shadowy figure appeared across the room. Ella looked up in horror. “Please” Ella said, as tears started pouring down her face. “Y-you c-can’t…” A menacing roar of otherworldly laughter shook the room. “NO.” she said firmly. The shadowy creature began walking toward her. “YOU CANNOT HAVE HER!!” Ella screamed. Beatrix’s heart sank as she watched her mother. Tears streamed down Ella’s pale face. She stood up, and dropped the note she was writing on the floor. “S-stay BACK!” shrieked Ella. The shadow dashed at her. Ella ran down the stairs of the attic, and continued down the stairs into the living room. The shadow figure followed her with haste; knocking pictures down, and clawing large gashes in the walls as it went. Beatrix and Arthur ran after them.
There in the kitchen, stood Ella, flashing a large knife at the creature. The creature leapt at Ella, grabbed her, and began dragging her out of the house. Ella screamed for help. The shadow figure snapped its claw-like fingers, and yellow sparks floated around them. The room went silent. Beatrix watched in horror as her mother was transformed into a small marble. The marble rested in the grotesque palm of the shadow figures hand. It glowed and flashed wildly. The shadow figure closed its claws around the marble, and burst out the front door.
Arthur and Beatrix ran after the shadow. It flew across the ground with haste. They followed the monster to the edge of the woods. It paused for a second, then continued running. They followed it through the dense forest. The creature crashed through the trees as it went. The red door came into view, and they sprinted passed it. The creature rammed into trees, as it bustled through the forest. Sunlight beamed down through the trees above. Beatrix looked at the ground as they passed a patch of curious looking bright orange flowers on the forest floor. Leaves crunched under their feet, as they ran through the forest. The shadowy figure began to slow down. Ahead, Beatrix and Arthur could see a cave in the hillside. The shadow creature set the glowing marble on the ground, snapped its claws, and Ella returned to her original form. She looked up at the creature frightened. It grabbed her, and began to drag her into the dark cave. Beatrix froze in horror as she heard her mother’s screams for help echoing out of the cave’s entrance. Beatrix remembered this place; she had been there before in a vision.
Beatrix and Arthur began walking up to the cave, and the ground gave out beneath them. The world started spinning in a blur once more. The spinning slowly came to a stop. Beatrix opened her eyes. She was staring up into the night sky. The stars sparkled above. She looked over at Arthur who was lying beside her. He stared into her eyes with compassion. The look in his red eyes was reassuring and warm.
Beatrix looked up at the stars. She knew where her mother was. A fire was lit inside of her. She was going to get her family back, and nothing was going to stand in her way.
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