Chapter 37

“The School Board.”

Looks like we got to you just in time,” Walter Jamison said as the station wagon pulled onto the highway. “Those three BEM workers weren’t going to show you any mercy. Mrs. Zumbro and I barely got away.”

Alice hadn’t said a word. She gripped the steering wheel, unblinking. Spencer noticed the ash-white color of her face. Welcome to my world, Mom.

Spencer and Daisy were squeezed in by Max’s crumb-filled car seat while Marv sprawled out in the back. There weren’t many cars on the two-lane highway, and Spencer could see the Lexus’s taillights far ahead.

“We’ll never catch them,” Spencer whispered. “They’re driving a sports car.”

This seemed to snap Alice out of her trance. “Hey!” she said. “This baby’s never let us down.” She patted the dashboard. “And she’s been with us as long as you have, Spencer. Is your seat belt buckled, young man?”

Peering over his mom’s shoulder, Spencer saw the speedometer’s needle rising past 70. The whole car was shaking like a jackhammer. He quickly sat back and snapped the seat belt securely across him.

“Your mom gave an impressive show back there,” Walter said. “Knocked two of those guys over with a mop. And she didn’t even use the Glopified end.”

Spencer tried to imagine his mom swinging a mop like a club. It was a stretch of his imagination.

“Turn here,” Walter pointed. “We’ll take the back roads through Welcher. Cut them off at the intersection by Maple Park.”

“You know where they’re going?” Spencer asked anxiously.

“Welcher Elementary School,” Marv said. “It’s a sure bet.”

“But why? If they got the hammer and nail, why would they go back to the school?”

“The School Board,” Walter explained. “Hadley needs it to replace me as the next warlock.”

“What’s the School Board?” Daisy asked.

“When the Founding Witches placed their power into the bronze hammers, they recognized the need for a transfer of power for someone to become a witch or warlock—a rite of passage that would complicate the procedure and discourage thieves from stealing the hammers.

“The Witches formed the School Board—a plank of magical wood that would transfer the power from one warlock to his successor. After the Witches died, the Board was cut into thirteen square pieces. The idea was that each American colony would safeguard one piece. In order for Garth Hadley to take my power, he must pound the nail into the School Board. That resets the nail—kind of like wiping a computer hard drive.

“If Garth manages to do that, he’ll be cloaked in a magical Aura and no one will be able to touch him until he sets his domain. The Aura will provide him a safe walk. All he’ll have to do is choose a building for his domain, pound the nail, and he’ll be the new warlock.”

“But why would he risk going for the Board in Welcher?” Spencer asked. “Why not drive it into one of the other twelve pieces?”

“Welcher is the most accessible,” said Walter. “With time, eight of the pieces were destroyed. Four of the five remaining have been appraised as antique hardwood and fashioned into items that are now safeguarded in museums: picture frames, a historic plaque, an antique clock. Nearly impossible to reach. That leaves one.”

“At our school,” Spencer mused. “But how’d it get there?”

“I brought it with me.” Walter grinned at an old memory. “A year ago, when the BEM withdrew support from the schools, I stole Ninfa from a factory in Florida. With a little help from some Rebel spies, I managed to drive the nail into the remaining School Board. From there, I was protected by the Aura, so I took the Board and established my first domain in Arkansas. The BEM tracked me down, so I moved to Welcher. You know the rest.”

Walter pointed. “Turn left.” Alice spun the wheel and the station wagon squealed around a corner.

“What’ll we do once we reach the school?” asked Spencer.

“Mrs. Zumbro will drop me and Marv in the parking lot and take you two out of harm’s way.”

“But we can help!”

“NO!” Alice and Walter shouted in unison.

“I need to make sure you kids are safe,” the warlock said. “You’ve become too involved already. Marv and I can handle this. If we beat Garth to the School Board, we should be able to defend it.”

“That should be no problem, right?” Spencer said. “Garth will have to search every room to find the School Board, but you guys already know where it is.”

Walter grimaced. “I’m afraid the BEM already did the searching. Why do you think Miss Leslie Sharmelle came to your classroom as a substitute?”

Daisy and Spencer shared an astonished glance.

“The School Board is in Mrs. Natcher’s room?” Spencer couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“And if you haven’t guessed it yet,” Walter said. “It’s actually your desk.”