“Mr. Teach, I must insist we not have cannon fire on the school grounds.” Headmistress Flora sounds like she’s losing patience.
“Me men didn’t fire, Flora ol’ girl.” Blackbeard motions to the pirates scurrying by us with trunks and, alarmingly, chests full of weapons. “They all be busy getting me wares to me new quarters. The ship be empty.”
KABOOM!
Another cannonball comes whirling toward us, causing Blackbird to drop me and Jocelyn and dive onto the ground with the rest of my teachers and friends and the bewildered pirates.
“Blimey! What be those vile beasts?” Blackbeard asks.
Gargoyles! A whole mess of smelly, winged beasties are suddenly hanging from the ship rafters, climbing the crow’s nest, and swinging from the sides of the pirate ship. Their large, scaly wings flutter open and closed as the furry beasts jump up and down and fly around the ship. I hold my breath, waiting to see if they come after us. Those claws mean business.
“Me ship!” Blackbeard cries.
“Take these, sir.” Ollie produces a strand of radishes from behind Blackbeard’s ear. “They keep the beasties away. One whiff and they’ll fall fast asleep.”
“Really?” Blackbeard ties the radishes to a bead in his hair.
“We’ve dealt with them before,” says Ollie. “At first, we thought they were statues around school, but then they came alive and we found out they were working for Alva.”
And that’s when I remember. Where there are gargoyles, there’s usually Sleeping Beauty’s nightmare in the flesh.
“Alva?” Blackbeard repeats. “You mean that wench?” He points back to the ship. It’s as if the wicked fairy has appeared out of thin air.
Sleeping Beauty’s nemesis spent ten years pretending to be another villain while she quietly plotted her revenge on the royals—and now she’s back. Alva walks to the edge of the plank, her long, red dress billowing in the wind. The collar of her matching red cape reaches the gold clips in her black hair. Alva always looks like she’s ready for a ball instead of a brawl. Why villains always wear the same outfits, I’ll never know. Alva waves as if she’s greeting old friends.
“Miss me, my pets?” Alva cackles in a voice so high-pitched that it makes me want to cover my ears. “I’m back to collect what’s rightfully mine.”
“Put the school on lockdown,” Flora tells Wolfington and Madame Cleo hurriedly. They don’t argue. “No one comes out ’til it’s safe.” Wolfington takes off at wolf speed, while the Sea Siren dives off a rock and into the waters, her shimmery blue-green tail barely visible below the surface. Flora turns to us. “The rest of you, inside. Now.”
Kayla appears frozen. “She’s here. She’s back. She’s here.”
“She won’t touch you. Just get inside.” Flora tries to shepherd us toward the large wooden doors at the back of the castle, while Blackbeard instructs his men where to go. Everyone is shouting; the gargoyles are shrieking; Miri’s alarm system is now blaring. Kayla runs for the doors with Maxine, while Ollie begins hurling radishes in the air.
Jax pulls me back and whispers in my ear. “Why aren’t the gargoyles flying toward us?” he asks as chaos swirls around us. “If Alva is here to attack the school, wouldn’t her gargoyles have come after us by now? Kind of convenient that they had Blackbeard’s ship to land on, isn’t it?” His violet eyes are thoughtful. “It’s as if she knew he’d be here.”
The two of us look at each other and without him knowing, I slip my hand into his pocket and take something I may need to borrow. Then I take off at a run.
“Headmistress Flora!” I shout, trying to get her attention as she talks to Miri at the oak tree. “What if Alva’s gargoyles are a distraction? What if she’s after Harlow?”
At her sister’s name, Jocelyn appears at my side. I ignore her.
“Professor Harlow, Gillian, and I don’t have time for theories,” Flora says. “We’re under attack.”
“But she’s not attacking,” I point out, pulling on Flora’s petticoat so I can show her. We turn in time to see a gargoyle moving the cannon fire toward a wall near the back of the castle. It blows a hole right through the side of the building.
“What room be that?” Blackbeard asks. “What say ye of casualties?”
“It’s a storage area for the kitchen,” Flora tells him.
“But aren’t the dungeons below the kitchen?” I ask and both Jocelyn and Flora look at me. So does Blackbeard. He glances back at the ship.
“The wench is gone!” He points to where we last saw Alva.
“She’s trying to break out the Evil Queen!” I tell Flora, yelling over the sound of more cannon fire aimed at the same place. Another hole is blasted at the same spot, this time opening up the ground. A team of gargoyles flies to the area. “Someone has to check on her!” And by someone, I mean me. I race toward the gargoyles.