Free Miss Mabel's School for Girls by Katie Cross Page B

the one butterfly I had to return with. “We’ll all go back.”
    The butterflies peeled away from the cave wall, flying out in torrents that slowed to a graceful flutter, thousands of winking wings illuminating my path back to the school.
    “We have to hurry,” I said to the mass, like talking to an old friend. My shoes pinched when I jerked at the laces, pulling the knots apart while balancing on one leg. “Michelle probably has hers by now. We’re going to run. You better keep up. I’ll need your light.” 
    Within a breath I had both shoes off, and my socks with another. Papa’s spell gathered my dress into my waist. I hoped that I wouldn’t pass Priscilla in the woods; she’d never stop teasing me about running in my knickers. Holding one shoe in each hand, I gripped my toes into the cold earth and took off.
    A rapid heartbeat filled my ears again, and the wind pressed my hair out of my face. Trees whizzed past, lumpy shadows in the night. The cloud of butterflies surged ahead by just a few strides, lighting my path, pressing hard like galloping horses. For a moment I heard Papa laugh, coming from just behind, as he always did. But no sooner had it come than it vanished, another ghost in the night.
    When the torch lights of the school yard were specks in the distance, I skidded to a stop and whirled around to face the butterflies.
    “Stay here,” I said through a heavy breath. Enough ambient light filtered through the trees to help me find the way, keeping my tread light and my body in a low crouch.
    When the giggle of voices met my ears, I slipped behind a tree and scanned the schoolyard. Less than ten people remained outside, clustered in closely packed huddles. 
    I turned around and whistled two soft notes, casting a silent spell to call the one butterfly back to me while the others continued on. It would separate from the others and stay behind with me.
    If I could continue to overpower the original magic.
    The forest gave up nothing at first. Talking amongst those outside continued. Then a sound from the trees began to grow. A few flickers of light twinkled behind me. The flickers turned into dots. The dots spread through the trees like tiny lanterns, becoming lines.
    Camille noticed it first and let out a shriek.
    “Look! That’s Bianca’s color, isn’t it?”
    Miss Bernadette followed her gaze.
    “I believe so.”
    “Hey!” Camille yelled, “Bianca’s coming back! Hurry up!”
    Several girls stumbled out from the main entryway, where everyone else had gathered to stay warm. Camille took a few steps towards the forest.
    “It’s getting bigger.” 
    More students streamed out, filling the yard. The sound of beating wings, moving in unison, created a symphony. The rolling turquoise cloud grew. I could distinguish individual butterflies as they approached and then passed me.
    “Oh.” Camille’s eyes widened. She stumbled back. “Uh, Miss Bernadette? I think–”
    The army of butterflies swooped into the yard, flying towards the girls in a stream. Several students shrieked, forming a circle when the butterflies parted and flew around them. 
    A few first-years giggled and tried to catch one, but the saccharine wings slipped through their fingertips. Five or six of the ethereal creatures spun around Camille, turning her in a circle. They zipped around the students, spiraled up into the sky in a great plume, and erupted, dissolving into glittering cobalt and jade snowflakes. 
    The students laughed, spinning through the shimmering flakes with their hands in the air.
    Miss Bernadette peered into the trees, searching. Her arms hung at her side, sparkling as the fragments continued to fall and fade.
    “Come on,” I whispered, my skirt falling back to cover my dirt-dotted ankles. My butterfly landed on my shoulder with a little flutter, having been the last in the group. We left the seclusion of the wood behind us. It felt so good to do magic again that I felt like flying.
    The girls quieted