11 Ch11-A Spell is Cast

CHAPTER 11 A SPELL IS CAST Rori yelled at Maldred. "Where did you send Eko? What did you do with her?" Maldred just grinned. "Now, where were we?" he asked. He zapped Drake and Rori again with his red lightning. Once more, Rori floated in front of his face.

Nooooo! Drake thought. He struggled to move, but he was frozen. Maldred stared into Rori's eyes and chanted: "Your will is gone. Your will is mine. Your will is gone. Your will is mine." Rori closed her eyes and nodded. Rori, nooooo! Drake yelled inside his head. Then Rori floated to the ground. Maldred zapped her again to unfreeze her. Next, he pointed at Drake. Drake floated through the air and stopped right in front of Maldred. The wizard stared at him with his black, glittering eye.

"Your turn, Drake," Maldred said. Drake tried to close his eyes. To resist. But he couldn't even move his eyelids. "Your will is gone," Maldred chanted. "Your will is mine." "No, it isn't!" Rori cried. She grabbed a bubbling potion from Maldred's table and tossed it in the wizard's face! Maldred screamed as purple smoke billowed from his beard.

Somehow, Rori escaped Maldred's spell, Drake thought as he dropped to the floor. He wasn't frozen anymore. Rori helped him up. They dashed upstairs and ran down the walkway. They entered the first room they found. Inside was a large window with wooden shutters. Rori and Drake ran to it. "The shutters are locked," Drake said, pulling on them. Rori stepped up next to him and tried to help him pry them open. That's when Drake noticed that the red jewel around her neck was glowing.

"Look at the jewel Darma gave you!" he said. "It started to glow when Maldred was putting that spell on me," Rori replied. "I think that's why the spell didn't work. The jewel protected me." "But you really looked like you were under Maldred's control," Drake said. She smiled. "I know. I fooled him pretty good." "Darma knew what he was doing when he gave you that necklace," Drake said. Then he remembered the golden mouse. "And I have a feeling he's still going to help us somehow."

They turned back to the shutters just as Maldred stepped into the room. "You cannot escape!" He cackled, and red lightning flew from his fingertips.