Grave Danger

• Zara Nimac, Grade 6, Good Shepherd Lutheran College
• Short Story
• 2016

Excellence Award in the 'Top Secret 2016' competition

I silently climbed out of bed and tip-toed to a floorboard that I could pick up to reveal my secret stash. I sat on the floor and quietly lifted the floorboard, a magnificent pale blue light shone brightly around the room, illuminating an assortment of skulls, creepy-crawlies and other unusual objects and artefacts. Most people would have screamed if they had seen what lay in my shelves, but it didn’t bother me, for I am The Great Witch of Elements. I quickly put the floorboard back into place, I couldn’t risk the neighbours noticing.
I hurried towards my cauldron, which sat boiling some water, I stirred the water once clockwise and then grabbed a small bottle from a shelf which held a horrible gluey gunk, goblin blood, and poured it into my mixture. Then I stirred the mixture, again, once clockwise, and put in three rotten fish eggs, I stirred the mixture once clockwise again and then added the deafening shriek of a banshee to my potion. I did this until I had added the dangerous soul of a chimaera, the deadly, staring eyes of a basilisk, the scales of a dragon and the crown that once lay upon the powerful god, Zeus.
“Don’t forget the last ingredient, Vivienne.” Boomed a strong, treacherous voice. I turned to see the most dangerous man that walks the Earth today, sorcerer, Mortis Graves. The moon lit up his face, exposing a horrible sight of brown, mangy hair and striking, bloodshot eyes that darted around, taking in the whole room. I closed the curtains then lifted the floorboard and once more a great light filled the room. I picked up the object that was making the light, the Urn of Air, and dropped it into my cauldron. My potion instantly turned the bright pale blue of the Urn and bubbled uncontrollably. Rain suddenly started falling to the ground and thunder boomed like an evil man’s laugh of triumph. A horror soon arose from the cauldron, with deadly eyes, a thirst for treasure and prey, a foul stench, an ear-splitting shriek, a scaly complexion and incredible power. Mortis Graves smiled, “Vivienne, you truly are the best witch of the age. Your faith in me will pay off once I take over the world.” I gulped and stared at my feet, what had I done? I had always known he would use me to help him take over the world, I wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t so scared of his undeniable supremacy. “Thank you, Mortis.” I replied. Mortis put his arm out towards the horror in the cauldron and muttered something, what looked like black lightning shot from Mortis’ hand straight at the horror, which froze within a second of the lightning touching it. He then picked up the grotesque creature and left.
So now I say my apologies to those humans that aren’t on Mortis’ side and those on no-one’s side, I have put your world, our world in grave danger.