The Haven High Book Series (Wattys2017)

Chapter 32

She wished she could say the rest of the plan had gone off without a hitch, but there had been more than a few setbacks along the way. They'd fail and have to circle back and figure out a solution. She was delighted to think that everyone including Kelly had come forward to help in the end and she couldn't have been more proud of her schoolmates.

But in the end she had made it. She stood in her rickety old home at the bottom of the stairs looking up at the door of her mother's room. Eager to put the third part of the plan into action she launched herself up the stairs taking them two at a time. She didn't even stop when she got to the top she dove for the door and rammed right into it probably giving her mother a heart attack in the process.

She didn't care maybe scaring her mother half to death would make her wake up and smell the coffee. Zach's life was held in the balance of her convincing her insane mother to help. With that thought she began to pound on the door, saying," Mom open the door I need you."

"There's been a terrible accident and Zach's dying and you're the only one that can save him."

She ceased her pounding on the door to listen, but there was nothing, but an eerie silence on the other side.

Lauren slumped down on the floor to plead, "Mom did you hear me? I said Zach is dying."

The annoying silence continued.

Then Lauren started to get angry and she yelled, "don't you even care!"

"I never even came home last night and you didn't even notice!"

"I could have died last night for all you care."

"Answer me!"

Lauren put her ear to the door but she couldn't even hear shuffling or get any sense of movement.

"Are you even alive in there?"

"Didn't you hear me? My best friend is dying. The only family I have left is going to die if you don't help me!"

Lauren began to cry in frustration. Not the woe is me kind of cry, but the furious cry that tells everyone that they'd better get the hell out of your way.

She howled curling her hands into fists and stood up.

Backing up to the tip of the stairs she dove at the door with all her weight with her shoulder as she screamed, "a bomb exploded at the dance and it was filled with poisoned metal!"

Her shoulder was vibrating, waves of heat were emanating out from her shoulder blade to her chest, but she backed up again.

She ran at the door again and screamed, "they think it's an ancient fairy concoction," as her shoulder made contact with the door.

She backed up again staggering a little as she did so and ran at the door again, "They know it's been made with ancient herbs but they've got to know exact which ones."

Lauren backed up again breathing hard now from her efforts, but no less determined she rammed the door again and said, "you can use you magic to tell me what the herbs are and I'm not stopping until you do.

She kicked the door with her foot then and screamed, "Come hell or high water I'm coming in that room and you are going to help me."

Silence -- that was the only thing that met her ranting and raving – Silence.

Lauren looked at her mother's door to see that it was still very much intact. Realizing that there must be a very powerful ward attached to it, to have shown no effects from her efforts, she slumped to the floor.

She leaned her aching body against the door and began to draw. An eerie calm suddenly came over her.

"Mom do you know what I'm doing right now?" she said matter-of-factly.

"I'm drawing a teleportation glyph."

"I should warn you Mom. I'm pretty f'n terrible at them."

"In fact the last thing I tried to send through a portal I summoned was an apple."

"The teacher remarked afterward that the result would make a passable apple sauce."

Lauren laughed stridently.

"But if you don't agree to help me. I'm coming through the portal I'm drawing anyway -- apple sauce or no."

Lauren pushed several pieces of metal under her mother's door then started to chant. The green lines of the glyph started to form on her mother's door and she knew she wasn't bluffing. She'd go through the thing if that's what it took to save Zach.

She finished her chant and stood up getting ready to step through when she saw her mother's delicate hand slide under the door with a piece of paper in it.

Lauren almost began to cry again when even though she'd used her fairy speed she wasn't fast enough to catch her hand.

But the paper remained. It was old and yellow and musty and on it written in her mother's delicate scrawl were all the ingredients in the poison. It was even in parts. On the note was enscribed:

5 drops emulsified Hemlock (Conium Maculatium)

3 pinches crushed Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

10 drops Datura Oil (Datura Stramonium)

The pollen of 19 Delphininium/Lakspur (Delphinium spp)

2 table spoons of Dragon's Blood (Daemonorops draco, Daemonorops propinquos)

3 jars of the noxious steam from 3 cups of boiled Fenugreek (Trigonella Foenum-graecum)

Lauren jumped up and kissed the door, saying. "Oh my God! Thanks Mom! This is more than even I could've hoped for."

She took off down the stairs without even saying good bye, her heart racing with glee in her chest,  and leaping through the portal at the bottom, she launched herself through the abyss to come crashing into Knight on the other side.

They both went sprawling with the force of the blow and when she looked up she noted he looked extremely pissed about it too, but a steamroller couldn't have wiped the self satisfied smirk from her face, as she crowed to the rest of the kids that were now staring down at her expectantly.

"I got it!" HOT DAMN! I'VE GOT IT!" She bellowed as she waved the piece of paper around frantically.

She looked up to the gathered students from her sprawl across Knight's prostrated and infuriated form and said excitedly, "What are you all standing around for?"

                                            "We've got an antidote to brew!"

Tune in tomorrow to find out if the antidote works. Did Lauren get it in time to save Zach and the other students? 

********************THANKS FOR READING***************

If you liked this chapter Vote, Comment, add this book to your reading list, or suggest it to a friend.

Guys seriously if you like this story please recommend it to your followers. The Wattys Shortlist will be decided by the end of this month, and the more readers I have the greater chance I have of making the shortlist. So please if you are enjoying this story and think some of your other followers will like it too.

Then what are you waiting for?

Spread the word.

Let's give the gang of Haven High a chance to shine in this year's Wattys.

*Hugs*