Читать книгу The Longest Halloween, Book Three: Gabbie Del Toro and the Mystery of the Warlock's Urn - Frank Wood - Страница 12

Now done with their chores and with Grawl smelling like a proper gentleman, the two made their way toward Ghoul School. On their way into the library annex where they stowed their gear, they passed a corridor with purple tape crossed over its entrance. "Closed Until Further Notice" it said in dark black type. A new picture of the ghoul and former janitor, Mason Mims, hung at the entrance.

“What happened in Memory Corridor?”

“I don’t know,” Gabbie said. “Word is that they found Mister Mims frightened out of his life, lying at the entrance. Poor Mister Mims, it’s going to be strange going through the year without seeing him.”

“You mean hearing him,” Grawl said, proceeding to adopt a high-pitched, scratched voice. “You dadblamed warlocks and witches need to mind your steps and manner. These floors and walls don’t just clean themselves, after all! And as for you, troll boy, I remember a day when the likes of you wouldn’t have even been let into these halls!”

Gabbie giggled. “He was pretty rancid. Come on, Grawl! Goodbye, Mister Mims,” she said, touching his photo.

Situated on top of one of the hills that nestled the canyon in which the House of Ghouls stood, Ghoul School was comprised of five tall towers atop which were stone facsimiles of the founders of Ghoul School. Some said there was a reason the eyes of those stony statues looked so real, especially at night, when they seemed to glow an eerie green. The towers each had their own dedicated theme. One housed the administrative offices where Lady Grimm—the acting principal since Principal Croft’s death—worked with her staff. Each of the other four towers were dedicated to a particular grade, sixth through ninth. The Founders Fountain sat centrally in the courtyard, emitting fabulous purple and orange water. The two lunch pavilions lined the right and left sides of the courtyard. The towers were all interconnected with raised walkways.

You got your basic studies at Ghoul School, math and English and reading and Mortal History (as many students would foray to the Other Side), but because Ghoul School trained future generations of witches, warlocks, goblins, trolls and faeries, you got the magical curriculum as well. The school wasn't as big or as well-known as other magical schools out there, but they weren’t slouches, either. Zeldabub, the Queen of Ghoulsville, saw to that. (Though they were no longer Ghoul Kingdom, they kept all of the old titles). She hired only the best for the teaching and administrative staff at Ghoul School. Gabbie’s dad had been one of Zeldabub’s favorites too. There of course were some murmurings of favoritism, as he was her brother-in-law, but there was no denying his teaching chops. Which is why Gabbie believed in the back of her mind that everything would have to turn out all right for her dad, if Zeldabub had anything to say about it. She was the queen, after all, right? And maybe even more importantly, she was family.

Beyond the towers were athletic fields, the swimming pool, the garden and the library, which comprised a sixth and separate tower all to itself. To the west was the Old Halloween Village, an untouched tribute to Halloweens of the past that was always a favorite during the season. To the east was the Serpentine Fire Rail station, another favorite of the season, where the dragons would convene at the foot of Mount Serpentine to form a wonderful golden fire that warmed the whole mountain. Families loved to book camp-outs there during the Dragons’ Roost.

On the furthest end of the grounds stood the Halloween Door, which marked the farthest boundary of the school grounds. Students were not allowed past its gates. A terrible forest existed there that housed the Well of Lost Souls and the Boonies, where the various criminals who often emerged were detained. Gabbie shuddered at some of the stories of horrid criminals whose exploits had landed them a berth in the Well of Lost Souls or the Boonies. The thought that her father might soon be among them did not sit well with her. She fought to keep those thoughts out of her mind.