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.Elena told me later that they had very similar quiet places, but wouldn’t go into detail about her private refuge.Then Barry grabbed Adam’s hand, even though he knew the six-year-old wouldn’t know how to link yet.Behind them, Jenna moaned, stiffening Barry’s resolve.“Look,” Amanda jeered.“The witch has a boyfriend.”Barry ignored them.“Channel your magic to me,” he ordered Elena.She did.Barry was just learning how to shield against magical attacks, but had no idea how to shield against physical attacks.So he used the combined force of their magic in the only way he knew – he pushed.He ended up pushing with more strength than expected, because, it turned out, Adam had worked out the basics of linking.It wasn’t enough to join him fully to the bond, but he contributed unexpected power to the combined effort.The eight attackers went flying backwards, causing numerous breaks and sprains.Only Amanda still seemed to be standing.Barry, very clever for his age, worked out the reason right away.“You hypocrite.You’re immune to magical attacks.”“Jesus protects me,” Amanda replied.“Does he also show you the future?” Elena asked.Amanda scowled.“You said you wouldn’t tell.”Elena touched a tender spot on her head.“Guess that blow to the head made me forget.”Barry gave her a hard, approving slap on the back.“Hey, look, it’s your backbone.”But Elena went utterly silent, and didn’t speak again until long after it was all over.* * *Wesley and I arrived to a scene of utter chaos.Three other deputies and the sheriff were already on the scene, trying to work out how to separate the combatants.Most of the teaching staff had rounded up the non-hostile students and taken them a safe distance away from the school, but almost none had tried to stop the fight.I only spotted two teachers on the playground, one trying to get between Brenna Lee and her attackers, the other trying to defend a group which included Elena and Adam.A couple dozen students remained on the playground, all of them fighting or trying to flee.The other deputies had begun removing some of the children from the fray, one at a time, but this was clearly an inefficient approach.I found the sheriff, who stood apart from the chaos, looking more lost than I had ever seen him before.The look on his face frightened me nearly as much as the hostility of the children, and I suddenly found myself harboring a new appreciation for Lord of the Flies, which my tenth grade English teacher had forced us all to read.“We’re going to have to use tasers,” the sheriff said.“Unless you’ve got a better idea?”I turned to look for my partner, but I didn’t see him.Wesley must have headed straight into the commotion.“I can call for reinforcements, but we can’t wait for them to arrive.” I struggled to think of any sorcerer who might be within five minutes of the school, but initially drew a blank.The high school was only a block away, but while a few of the teachers had gifts, nothing they could do would help the situation here.I was about to phone my parents anyway, if for no other reason than to start a phone tree, when I spotted a familiar figure racing out of the drug store across the street.For the first time in a long while, Evan Blackwood’s familiar long black hair, hard, lean body, and even his Star Wars t-shirt were a welcome sight.He didn’t waste a minute getting into the middle of the crowd, positioning himself so he could see both the blown-open cafeteria and the crumpled playground.In fact, for a few seconds, I would have sworn he’d flown the last few yards, leaping over the heads of some wild-eyed students.Then he closed his eyes and concentrated.A paralysis began to settle over the students, slowly at first, then catching them up rapidly until no one within Evan’s field of vision could move a muscle.Evan’s telekinetic ability is frankly amazing, but he has admitted to me that he’s better at brute strength than accuracy.I could see the strain holding almost fifty people in place without hurting any of them was causing him.When a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, I gave the sheriff a shove.“Go!”No one had to be told twice.The remaining deputies arrived, one on top of the other, until the entire sheriff’s department was there.But they weren’t the only ones.Parents began to arrive, many of them freaking out when they spotted their children as still as statues on the playground or in the rubble of the broken cafeteria.We ended up spending more time trying to calm the parents than we did disbanding the riot which, once frozen in place, lost steam quickly.As more and more parents arrived, I sensed a greater danger forming and sought out the sheriff to tell him about it.“The parents may start rioting, too.”Sheriff Adams searched the newly forming crowd, so far made up largely of parents who lived or worked in town, which meant few practitioners.That didn’t stop some of the parents, especially those who had attempted to blockade the sheriff’s department, from shooting dirty looks at anyone they so much as suspected of evil doing.Bethany Atkins who, despite her lack of any magical ability, had been the second name on their witch hunt list, bore the brunt of their outrage when she emerged relatively unscathed from the battle below.They shouted foul names and accusations at her, but she wasted no time in telling the sheriff precisely how it had all started, providing the names of all the girls who had attacked my sister, setting her off.Mark Roberts, who had by then joined the group of parents, took the lead in Bethany’s persecution.“How dare you accuse our children of causing this destruction when by your own admission the evil within the witch destroyed the school?”I positioned myself between Bethany and the pastor, sensing that Bethany had just pushed things too far.If someone had to take the brunt of their anger, I’d rather it be me, since neither Bethany nor Elena could truly defend themselves.Pastor Roberts simply glared at me, and in his eyes I saw the promise of retribution.“We need to get these children unfrozen,” the sheriff said.“The situation has been defused and the faster we can get these kids home with their parents, the less chance for violence.”“I’ll take care of it.” I welcomed any plan to get these angry parents away from the school.Evan still stood absolutely still when I reached him, several beads of sweat trickling down his face as he continued his intense effort of concentration.“You can let go now,” I told him.Relief flooded his face and he let go, trusting in my decision that his effort was no longer needed.The children, set free, did not seek more violence.Instead, they sought the security of their parents.In the flood of running children, I sought out the two that mattered most to me, Elena and Adam.I found them both together, along with two children I didn’t recognize, standing tall near a large rock just outside the ruined cafeteria.They had both clearly been hit in the face repeatedly, especially Elena, whose nose appeared broken and bled freely.I ran to them, but Adam waved me to the girl.“Help Jenna!”Jenna was the only one of the four sitting down.She used the rock for support, even seated [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]