Previously On "The Otherworlders": Tossing and turning in his bed, Sebastian can't stop thinking about their disastrous mission. But suddenly he bolts upright with an idea that, while it might not salvage the mission, it may just bring them a little redemption.

Sebastian leads Jake and Cameron into the basement of Julian's palace to release the caged circus animals. But before they can, they have a run in with a mysterious frail creature that attacks them with magic before they can subdue it, and get it back in its cage.

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Outside, at the back of the Palace, the boys hover by the service exit, the menagerie of animals lolling around them. The night air is thick and still, the silence punctuated by the occasional shuffle of the animals' feet.

Sebastian pulls out his phone, his face illuminated by the faint glow of the screen, "Okay, the wildlife refuge is..." he quickly checks Google maps, "...about 14.7 miles south of here." He looks up at Jake, concern etching his face. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah," Jake nods confidently, as his gaze flick to the animals. "Definitely."

"How long do you think it will take you?" Cameron asks.

"There and back?" Jake thinks about it for a moment. "About an hour, an hour and a half," he estimates, staring out at the dark expanse ahead of him.

"Okay, good." Sebastian nods, trying to exude a sense of confidence instead of questioning his impulsive idea. "So, I found a staircase to the roof when I was scouting earlier. I think Cameron and I will wait for you up there, Jake. That way, we can keep an eye out for any trouble brewing and also catch sight of you on your way back."

"Sounds good." Jake nods.

Then seeing the state of the polar bear, lying on the ground, wheezing shallow breaths, its arms and legs splayed out on either side of its emaciated body, Jake frowns and bends down to inspect it more closely. His worry is palpable as he gently pets the bear between the ears. "I don't think this one's going to make it," he says.

Sebastian bends down next to him, placing a hand on Jake's shoulder for support. "Oh, man. You're right. He's not looking so good."

Cameron, who's standing behind them, steps a bit closer. "I've never done it before, but I could try to create a cold cloud around him."

Sebastian looks up at Cameron. "What's a cold cloud?"

Without thinking — as if the answer should be obvious — Cameron blurts out, "A cloud of cold air."

Sebastian shrugs feebly, trying to mask his embarrassment. "Oh okay. I just didn't want to make any assumptions."

Realizing the specifics of his magic could easily be lost on a non-Enchanted, Cameron apologizes. "I'm sorry," He says as he shakes his head. Then he elaborates. "As an Elemental Mage, I can encase the bear in a cold cloud of air — well frost, really. And that should help give him more energy for the journey. If I were more skilled, I could probably encase his fur in ice. That would be ideal." He shrugs. "But he's too big and I'm not at that level yet."

Jake purses his lips. "Will the cold air last him the entire journey?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Cameron admits. "But it's worth a try. Don't you think?"

Jake nods, then steps back to give Cameron room to work.

Breathing in deeply, Cameron raises his hands, closes his eyes, and whispers a variation of the ice spell he'd used earlier in the safe room.

At first, not much happens, just puffs of cold air that emanate from Cameron's fingertips.

He frowns, beginning to doubt his ability to carry out the spell as promised. It would really suck if his power had gotten totally depleted from trying to open up the safe, and then from having to fight off that strange creature in the basement earlier that evening.

He wiggles his fingers, and then tries again, this time concentrating as hard as he can. But again... nothing.

"Ugh! Damn it!" Cameron shakes out his aching fingers, becoming visibly frustrated.

Jake and Sebastian both take steps forward in support.

"You can do it, Cam," Jake says quietly.

"Yeah, just relax," Sebastian adds as encouragement. "You've got this."

Cameron nods his appreciation and blows out a slow breath. Then, instead of overthinking it, he reaches deep inside of himself and pulls from a center of strength he didn't know he had. 

This time a vortex of crystalline air begins to swirl between his hands.

As he mutters his frost spell, his voice grows louder. And when the cooling air is about the size of a basketball, he flicks his open palms towards the polar bear, pushing the mass of cold air forward, causing it to coalesce around the animal.

And just like catching a whiff of spring after an exceptionally long winter, the polar bear's nose perks up. He drinks in the frigid air as the cold settles comfortably around him. Then, with a gentle nudge from Jake, the polar bear rocks back and forth a few times, lifting his massive body and getting up onto its feet.

Unsteady at first, the polar bear swoons and Jake encircles his arms around it ready to catch the weary and unstable creature, or at least cushion the polar bear's fall when its legs buckle, and it ends up crushing him.

Soon, the bear finds its bearings, and after a moment, it grunts, bobs its head slowly, and blows out a few frosty breaths.

All three boys break out into goofy grins.

Feeling a bit frisky, the polar bear nuzzles Jake's neck with its nose.

Cringing, but smiling the entire time, Jake rubs the bear's snout. Then looking at Cameron and Sebastion, he says with a laugh, "I think we're ready to go now."

***

While Jake shifts into wolf form to lead the animals to the wildlife sanctuary, Sebastian and Cameron climb the back stairs of the tower, up to the roof.

They step through a small wooden door out onto a large open space surrounded by stone balustrades that create a sort of balcony where they can comfortably sit between the nooks of the turrets and enjoy the crisp night air and the dark sky above, awash with twinkling stars.

While Cameron settles in, Sebastian whips out his phone with the intention of leaving Headmaster Pierce a message, informing him sooner, rather than later, that ultimately, they'd failed their mission.

He dials and then is startled when Headmaster Pierce picks up.

"Oh, hello, sir. I... Uh... I'm sorry to wake you," Sebastian stutters. "I wasn't expecting you to pick up."

He listens carefully as Headmaster Pierce explains that it's perfectly fine for them to wake him any time they need to.

"Oh, good," Sebastian says, feeling a flood of relief. "I just thought I should give you this message as soon as possible."

Doing his best to stifle a yawn, Headmaster Pierce says, "That's fine, Sebastian. That's fine. What is it?"

"Well, sir..." Sebastian leans back against the cold stone of the castle wall. "...it seems that we were not successful in our mission after all." He briefs Headmaster Pierce as best he can.

"We're pretty sure we located the artifact in a fortified safe room in the east wing of the castle. But in the end, we couldn't figure out how to crack the safe open."

"Hmmm," Headmaster Pierce muses. "Did Cameron have a go at it? The safe, I mean?"

"Yes, sir, he did," Sebastian replies. "He said he couldn't penetrate the lock's mechanism with an unlocking spell. And then he tried alternating blasts of hot and cold air, but determined his magic wasn't strong enough."

"Or that he wasn't confident enough in his abilities." Headmaster Pierce mutters, then sighs. "Well, don't worry about it, Sebastian. I believe we'll have another chance at that safe soon."

"Really, sir?" Sebastian asks.

"Yes, I don't think it will be a problem," Headmaster Pierce assuages him, stifling another yawn.

"Um, sir..." Sebastian ventures cautiously. "One more thing..."

"Yes, Sebastian. What is it?"

"Well, um, when we were scouting for the artifact, we had an encounter with a.... with a... I'm not sure what to call it. With a creature, I suppose. It looked like a very old Vampyr, an Ancient we call them, but the creature possessed some sort of magic."

Sebastian is met with dead silence on the other end of the line, and for a second, he assumes he'd somehow lost their connection.

He doublechecks. "Sir? Sir?"

"Yes, yes. I'm here." Headmaster Pierce clears his throat. "Now... er... tell me how you found this... creature, and what exactly happened when you encountered it?"

"We discovered the creature in a cage in the castle basement. There were a bunch of circus animals being kept down there. The creature was in one of the cages and somehow... um, somehow it got out," Sebastian fibs. "But we were able to subdue it and get it back inside," he adds quickly in an attempt to glide over any possible questions about what they were doing in the basement.

"Was anyone hurt?" Headmaster asks hastily. "In particular, was anyone scratched."

"Oh, no, no," Sebastian assures him. "This thing... this creature was quite strong, stronger than its size would suggest. But it didn't manage to bite or scratch any of us. It definitely did have an energy about it, though."

"But none of you were scratched, is that correct?" Headmaster Pierce repeats.

"No. I mean, Jake bit the creature at one point and Cameron got a bit banged up, but they're both okay."

"Jake bit the creature," Headmaster Pierce asks, his voice rising in panic. "Did he draw blood?!"

Sebastian thinks about it a moment, then replies, "No. I don't recall seeing any blood from anyone. The creature's skin seemed really thick, thick and wrinkly."

"Oh, fabulous!" Headmaster Pierce lets out an audible sigh of relief. "Look, don't worry about the creature. As long as it's contained, then it's not your concern. And don't worry about the mission. We'll find a way to try again. You should go to bed, Sebastian. All of you should. Get a good night's sleep and plan to return to the Academy in the morning."

"Yes, sir. We will. And again, I'm so sorry we couldn't make it work," Sebastian says, his voice heavy with disappointment.

"As I said before, I'm sure you all did the best you could, and I mean that," Headmaster Pierce tells him. And now, we have a good sense of where the artifact is being housed. And as a team, you were able to get us some important intel. So, don't worry about it anymore. All right? Just go to bed and get some rest."

Yes, sir," Sebastian says before he hangs up.

***

In the faculty wing of the academy, Headmaster Pierce, wrapped in a paisley silk robe and leather house slippers, knocks frantically on Master Achebe's door.

After three tries, Master Achebe finally opens up. He rubs his eyes as his face screws up in confusion. "Alistair? What time is it?" He pokes his head out and looks up and down the hallway, looking for demons, fire, or some generally acceptable kind of chaos.

"Ibrahim," Headmaster Pierce says solemnly. "The boys found something on their mission."

"Well, I would hope they did." Master Achebe says, scratching his belly beneath his t-shirt and stifling a yawn. "I'm gonna guess it's the artifact, since that's why we sent them on the mission in the first place." 

"No, it's much more significant than that." Headmaster Pierce replies, frowning.

"Well, that's just grand, Alistair." Master Achebe's mouth gapes open wide as he lets out a yawn. "Color me intrigued." He chuckles. "But seriously, couldn't this wait until morning?"

Headmaster Pierce levels an anxious gaze at his friend. "Ibrahim. It was a Necromancer."

Master Achebe's eyes fly open as the gravity of the situation quickly sinks in. He grabs his robe from the back of the door and says hastily, "I'll get Ronnie. We'll meet you in your office in ten minutes."

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Until next week!

~ Paula