the tale of Hristo of Camelot, only 8 years old, who ran away from home and came to my castle, hoping to be my knight. Young Hristo’s mother found and whipped the poor boy. Stay strong, Hristo! The day you turn 16, you have a place as my knight! A child who loves his king is a blessed child. Let that be a lesson to all.
“First letter of each sentence,” said Agatha. “C-R-Y-S-T-A-L. Sophie knows I have Professor Dovey’s crystal ball. And she wants me to use it.”
The faculty peered at her, unconvinced . . . except for Professor Manley, whose usually viperous expression had turned curious.
“Go on,” he said.
“When Professor Dovey came to Camelot, she brought her crystal ball,” Agatha explained. “It was making her ill, so Sophie and I kept it away from her, even though Merlin said I should return it. But I wasn’t going to give Dovey back a ball that was hurting her. That’s why I have it now.” She glanced at the Dean’s bag on the table. “Sophie knows the risks of using it, but she also knows it’s the only way to save our friends. Because whatever its side effects, the ball works. When we were on our quest, Professor Dovey used it to communicate with us. I know that for a fact because I talked to her from Avalon. The crystal let her find students anywhere in the Woods. Which means we can use the crystal ball to find whoever is in Camelot’s dungeons.”
“No, we can’t,” said Yuba testily, waving his staff, “because anyone with sense knows you can’t use magic in the dungeons—”
“The crystal ball can’t get in the dungeons, but it can get our friends out,” Agatha countered. “According to maps of Camelot, the dungeons are against the side of the hill. Meaning the crystal ball can find that exact spot on the hill, which is where our rescue team will break in.”
“Where is this spot, then?” Professor Sheeks challenged, pointing a stubby finger at the ball. “Show it to us.”
“I can’t. At least not yet,” said Agatha, her confident facade faltering for the first time. “Dovey told us the ball is broken; it can only be used for a short time each day before it cuts off the connection. We need to save that time for when our students make it to Camelot and send us the signal.”
“And you know how to use the crystal?” Professor Anemone prodded skeptically.
“Well, um, now that you mention it . . . that’s the other problem . . .” Agatha’s throat bobbed. “I can’t turn it on.”
The room went silent.
“WHAT?” Castor blurted.
“It was glowing when I left Camelot . . . I thought that meant it was working . . . ,” Agatha stammered. “But just now I took it in the bathroom and tried waving at it and shaking it and turning it upside down and nothing happens—”
Castor stalked towards her, baring his teeth. “YOU JUST SENT MY STUDENTS INTO A LION’S DEN, RELYING ON A CRYSTAL BALL YOU CAN’T USE?”
Agatha skirted around the desk. “You’re teachers . . . You know how to use it. . . .”
“We can’t use it, you head-dented twit!” Manley assailed, his baleful scowl returning. “No one can use it, except Clarissa! And we would have told you if you’d bothered to ask us before risking our students’ lives!”
Agatha turned red as a rosebush. “I thought Merlin used it too!”
“You should ‘think’ less and know more!” Manley lashed. “To make a crystal ball, a seer takes a piece of a fairy godmother’s soul and melds it with a piece of their own. That means every fairy godmother can only use the crystal made for her. To activate it, Clarissa would need to keep it still and look into its center at eye level. That is the only way it will work. If a fairy godmother wishes to give another access to her ball, then she can instruct the seer at the time of its making to have the crystal recognize a second person. If Merlin can use Clarissa’s ball, then Clarissa chose him as her Second. No one else can make the ball work. No one. Unless, that is, Dovey happened to name one of us her Second before she ever came to this school to teach.”
Agatha couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “B-b-but there has to be some other way—”
“Oh, really? Let’s see,” Manley mocked, practically foaming at the mouth. He ripped open Dovey’s bag,