he laughed. “Well you know this house does link fairly closely to the Hammerson base,” he said as we took seats. “So it’s pretty important to make sure none of them can get in.”
The rest of the Young Army turned up over the next ten minutes. Marc sealed the hidden quarters wordlessly when all twenty-eight of us were present. We were now enclosed in a dimly lit room where the walls on all sides were entirely grey. If I’d been in here alone, I wouldn’t have known the two doors from anything else. The twenty-eight seats were set up in a circle around the room, with Marc, Lucien, Amelia and Stella sitting in seats nearest the door through which we’d all come. The circle was exactly the same size and shape as it had been on Sunday, though people weren't sitting in the same spots.
“Righto,” said Marc, causing the room to go silent. “I now call this, the second official meeting of the Young Army, to order. That felt good to say,” he added, and a few people laughed. “Okay, well some of you already know what this is about, but for those who don’t, Stella, why don’t you fill us in.”
Stella reiterated what Marc had already told us over the next few minutes, detailing the idea about her party and the possible dangers thereof. Most people’s faces were extremely mistrusting. I watched Lucien’s face closely, but got no hint of a clue as to what he thought of it all. Stella said that she’d told her family that she would only go along with them if they weren’t allowed to use magic, and had sealed a pact with them to make sure they wouldn’t. The previous evening, under Marc’s advice, she had made them seal another pact to ensure that no magical items were used during the party either.
“So that means we’re safe?” David enquired.
“It means that no magic can be used at all, and that includes magic not performed directly by a Sorcerer,” said Amelia. “I expect that even if I performed magic in there, the pact would break.”
“What happens if the pact is broken?” asked Sebastian.
“Well if it’s broken by my family or anyone using magic provided by my family,” said Stella, “the effects will fall back on my father and my grandmother. If any of us did,” she looked around at Marc and Amelia, “I think it’s likely that we’ll cop the effects ourselves. I don’t think anything will happen to any of their workers if they used magical devices.”
“What effects?” asked Sebastian curiously.
“Normally it would be death,” said Stella. “But Sorcerers can’t die, so I expect it’ll be something really bad.”
“How likely is it that we could get through the party without coming face-to-face with your family?” asked Kylie.
“I don’t know,” said Stella. “I know it’ll be a big place and there’ll be a lot of people there, so I suppose it’s possible, but I wouldn’t bet on it.”
“Do you know if anything’s going on?” asked James. “I mean, do you think your family’s planning something?”
Stella nodded, and a lot of people’s jaws dropped in horror. “I think there must be a motive behind it other than my birthday, but I’m doing all I can to prevent whatever it is from happening. I just want it to be about me for a change, and they know they can’t do it without my cooperation, so that’s how I can get these things to work. Normally they wouldn’t listen to anything I say, but this time they have to.”
“But you think they’re up to something?”
“I think there’s gotta be something in it for them,” she said. “But I don’t think it’ll work for them now. If they can’t use magic then I can’t see it working. They were extremely unhappy about the pact, especially my father. And they can’t cancel it.”
“You really want us there, don’t you?” asked Natalie.
Stella blinked, and I was worried she might start crying. Her face was full of emotion as she said, “All I want is a bit of support for a change.”
Whether it was her words, or just the look on her face, most people’s expressions changed along with hers.
“We’re right behind you,” said Katie.
“Yeah, nothing wrong with a good bash,” said Sebastian, grinning.
Stella looked around, surprised by the amount of support she was suddenly receiving. “Really?” she said. “Are you sure?”
“Count us in,” said Lisa. “It’s daring, but what the heck.”
“How on earth are we going to get our mums to let us go?” asked Jessica dully.
My stomach lurched. There was so much about this party that our parents wouldn’t approve of. The fact that Jessica was the only one of us not under sixteen, the fact that we would be hanging around with the Hammersons and their supporters, the fact that the party would probably go late into the night, the fact that we were grounded and shouldn’t be going to parties regardless of who they were with … this was going to be difficult.
“Leave that to me,” said Amelia. “I think there might be a swift way to convince stubborn parents to be lenient for one night.”
I grinned, sure that Amelia knew what she was talking about. This Saturday was looking like it was going to be a fun evening, especially if no magic could be performed. I would have to remember to keep my hand away from my pocket, though, to keep myself from doing any accidental magic. This thought made me foresee a great danger, and I determined to prevent it immediately.
“If we can’t do magic there,” I said, “then perhaps we should keep the crystals away. They wouldn’t need magic to get them; they’d just have to get loads of guys onto us and search our pockets.”
Stella’s eyes widened in horror. “I never thought of that. That might even be their plan. No, don’t take them; we’ll have to lock them up somewhere, where no one but us can get them.”
“I suppose I’d better take them then,” said Amelia. “There’s an area in my house that’s probably the most secure place in the world. I’ll put them down there for the night.”
“Are you going to tell your dad about this?” Peter asked Amelia.
“I already have,” she said. “And he shares my views of it. He trusts Stella after spending time with her when we were cleaning up the mess Moran left behind, and he thinks the precautions already in place will be good enough.”
“Do you still have the Light Crystal, John?” Marc asked, turning to me.
“Yep,” I said, taking it out of my pocket and showing them. “No one’s made any attempt to nick it yet.”
“I don’t think anyone will,” he said. “Not until they realise we’ve got it, anyway. No one’s made an attempt to attack me yet either. Perhaps they’re just biding their time.”
“Okay, so have we come to any decisions here tonight?” asked Lucien.
“Are we all in favour of attending Stella’s birthday party?” Marc asked. “All raise hands.”
Everyone raised their hand, including James, which was a big surprise; perhaps what Peter had said was quite right.
“Wow, thanks guys,” said Stella, shaking her head in amazement.
“So what do we get you, anyway?” asked Harry.
“Aw nuts, I’m no good at buying for chicks,” said Liam.
“What? Oh no, don’t worry about that,” said Stella quickly. “I can get whatever I need with magic. Just you being there is enough of a gift for me.”
“Simple, and inexpensive,” said Liam. “I wish all chicks were like that.”
That remark earned him glares from various quarters.
“Okay,