Jackson just sat there in complete confusion. He did not understand what Anna had just said and was waiting for a punchline to complete the statement.

  “That’s it, my life is in danger and magic really exists,” Annabelle said, glaring at Jackson, feeling stupid.

  “Ummmm, are you sure everything is alright?” Jackson asked, as he finished up his apple.

  “What’s all this talk about magic?” Jackson asked, still confused.

  Annabelle narrated the events that had occurred till that very moment to Jackson and he just sat there.

  “We have a librarian called Mrs. Crow, and the school is under a spell,” Annabelle said to Jackson.

  “Well, I have no idea what kind of prank you are trying to pull on me but it’s not going to work,” Jackson said, expecting the girls to laugh and admit they were joking.

  “Oh, are you guys really serious,” he added, as he noticed the frowns of concentration on their faces.

  “Can’t you see our amulets?” Anna said, drawing his attention to the amulets on their necks.

  “Well, they are really beautiful, I guess.”.

  No one spoke for a while.

  Jackson received a text on his phone, breaking the awkward silence, and on seeing the text, he hissed and rubbed his face in frustration.

  “What’s wrong?” Joanna asked, leaning forward as if trying to see the content of the text.

  “All seniors are to attend training classes due to the final examinations they will be having. The new year celebrations are hereby cancelled,” he read out the content of the text.

  “No, you can’t go, my life is in danger,” Annabelle said, trying not to scream.

  “I have to go, it’s compu…..” Jackson was about to reply, when Mrs. Crow spoke from behind him.

  “Jackson Whitmore, we need to talk.” Startled, Jackson jumped off his chair and turned around.

  “How long have you been standing here?” he asked her, trying to calm himself.

  “See, magic exists,” Annabelle said, with a smirk on her face.

  “You can’t go for the new year celebration. Come with me,” Crow said as she walked out of the cafeteria.

  Anna, alongside Joanna and Jackson, followed her, nearly tripping as they ran along the tiled floors of the cafeteria.

  They all went into her office and she was about to speak, but was interrupted by Annabelle.

  “Where have you been? And who is that new librarian?!” Anna asked, screaming like a wife who had caught her husband cheating.

  “I’m sorry, but I had to take care of things in the underworld,” Crow replied.

  “I’m still not going to fall for this prank,” Jackson said, just when Mrs. Crow lit up a blue flame on her palm.

  “That’s….. That’s not possible,” Jackson trembled. He almost fell to the ground, as he ran to the door and tried opening it, but it was locked.

  “Help!” he screamed, but no one could hear him.

  “What are you going to do now? Do you want to kill me?” he asked, as he boldly stared at Mrs. Crow, who still had the flame in her hand.

  “Calm down,” Crow said, as she put out the flame.

  “Magic exists and all Annabelle has told you is true,” she replied, slowly approaching Jackson.

  “You mean….” Jackson said, as he looked at Anna who was smiling at him.

  “So those things on your necks are enchanted?” he asked, still in doubt.

  “Yeah, so it looks like we are revisiting the heart of the library,” Crow said, and snapped her fingers, teleporting all of them to the library’s heart without Jackson’s consent.

  “Is this place not meant to be for giants?” Jackson asked as he looked around in awe, his eyes darting from the high ceiling to the bookshelves and then the metal doors.

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  “So magic really does exist?” he asked again, believing it this time.

  “Yes, and I have something for you,” Crow said to him, and conjured another amulet out of thin air.

  “Wear this and attach it to a chain or rope when you get home. When you do so, it might sting a bit, but once it does, it means it’s a part of you and you are a part of it. No one except you can take it off and it will protect you from magic,” she said as she handed him the amulet.

  It glowed brightly, the moment it made contact with his hand, feeling cold to the touch.

  “I’m a magician now?” he asked, as a smile crept across his face.

  “No, but you are protected,” Crow said, and shot powerful blasts of energy at him, even more powerful than the ones she shot at Anna.

  The shockwaves damaged the library’s heart even more. Mrs. Crow snapped her fingers, and in a matter of seconds, the library was fixed.

  In shock, “What did you do that for? Did you want to kill me?!” Jackson asked, his heart fluttering with fear. His breathing was so heavy, he was almost sure his heart was going to jump out of his chest and run away.

  “Relax, you’re protected,” Mrs. Crow said, as Annabelle and Joanna laughed at him.

  “It’s not funny guys.”

  He looked at the glistening amulet in his hand, studying it.

  “Well, I guess we are done here,” Crow said, and snapped her fingers again, taking them back to her office.

  “You seem to have gotten stronger,” Joanna mentioned, studying Crow with her eyes.

  “At least we should be able to beat the other magician right?” Annabelle asked, in expectation of a positive answer.

  “Yes, and also I have an idea of who it might be,” Mrs. Crow mentioned.

  “Who?” Joanna asked, her heart seeming to skip a beat.

  “My brother, Pepper Crow of the Blackwater,” Mrs. Crow replied.

  “What?!” In utter disbelief, both girls screamed in unison.

  “What does your brother want with me?” Anna asked, gesturing.

  “I don’t know, I guess we will ask him after we catch him.”

  “Follow the instructions I have given you and you’ll be fine. Oh, and tell no one about this, or the amulet will kill you instantly,” Crow added with a blank expression.

  “Good for you to mention that now!” Joanna screamed at Mrs. Crow.

  Why had she mentioned such an important detail after all this while?

  “What about me, how am I still alive?” Annabelle asked, taking slow strides, expecting to drop dead.

  “You are still alive because you haven’t told anyone except the people you want to be in your team. Do that, and you’ll die too,” Mrs. Crow said.

  “Gather the rest of your team and meet me here tomorrow for the new year celebration. Oh, and dress the part,” Mrs. Crow said as she winked at them.

  They all stepped out of her office and stood at the door, somewhat relieved and at peace.

  The only one who didn’t seem to understand anything was Jackson, who was still holding the amulet.

  “Put that away!” Anna insisted, as she slipped the amulet into his right pocket.

  “As time goes by, you’ll understand well. Joanna and I are going shopping,” Annabelle said as she gave Jackson a quick peck and bid him farewell.

  “So, because we are free and there’s a lot of time to waste, let’s go shopping. I need to pick something good for the new year celebration,” Annabelle said, as both girls headed out of the school premises, taking happy strides as they walked.

  After a few minutes of transportation, they had arrived at one of the biggest boutiques in Hampton.

  “Oh, I’m definitely going to do a lot of shopping,” Anna said as she happily walked into the boutique.

  They spent hours checking and testing outfits and eventually, they had decided what to buy. They headed for the counter and to their surprise, the cashier was Ron the pizza guy.

  “It’s you,” Anna and Joanna said in surprise, as they pointed at Ron who had a beaming smile on his face.

  “Hello ladies,” he said, bagging their items.

  “My shift is already over, I was hoping you’d want to talk.”

  “Yeah sure,” Joanna said flirtatiously.

  They talked about their travel lives, cooking and hobbies for a while then, “Oh would you look at the time?” Ron said, as he stood from his seat. It was 5:00 p.m. and the sun had almost completely set.

  “It was fun talking to you ladies, which direction are you headed, let me drop you off in my car,” he offered.

  “Well, I’m going uphill, but she’s going downtown, towards Avery lane,” Annabelle replied.

  “Well, let’s get going then,” Ron said as he walked towards a convertible.

  That couldn’t be his car, Anna thought as he unlocked the black convertible and opened it. How does someone with his kind of job own a convertible? The car was neat, and it looked like it had just been bought. The rims glistened a bright silver.

  “Wait! What of your brother?” Joanna asked, as they were about to enter the car.

  “Meh, he can always go home by himself,” Anna replied, not giving Joanna’s question much thought.

  “Are you sure?” Ron asked, one leg inside the car.

  “Yeah,” she replied as she got into the convertible and gently closed the door.

  Ron drove Joanna to her house and then drove Anna to the bottom of the hilly road, honoring her request. She did not want her father or mother to question her and more importantly, she did not want to have to explain.

  “Ok, I guess this is goodbye,” Ron said, as he noticed the amulet on her neck. “Nice,” He said, as he glared at it as if he could recognize it.

  “What’s wrong?” Anna asked, following his gaze to the amulet.

  “It’s just….” he was about to reply, when, “Oh no!” Anna screamed and took cover in the car. She had seen something.