But Sierra just stared at him with hatred in her eyes as she slowly rose from the floor, floating in the air now just like the amulet had. “You have no idea the power I have,” she hissed, her voice low and dangerous. She clenched her fist and crushed the amulet in her bare hand. The one around her neck cracked, then tumbled to the floor.

The walls around them began to creak, and Fort backed into the center of the room, scared for Sierra, but also now terrified of whatever magic she was using. Where had it come from? How could she be doing this?

The chair behind Sierra exploded into pieces as a strange wind picked up, swirling around Colonel Charles. The colonel held the glowing orb between them, his eyes now wide with fear. “You… you don’t have this kind of power! This can’t be happening. The amulet protected me. Stay back!”

But Sierra just sneered at him as Dr. Opps’s body fell to the floor, leaving Sierra’s glowing yellow form still floating in midair. Unlike the other times Fort had seen her in his mind, he could actually feel her presence now, just like he’d felt the Old One in the mess hall at the previous school. Magic emanated from her like heat from the sun as she slowly reached for Colonel Charles.

“You were going to keep me locked up here?” she said, squeezing her hand again, and the red glowing ball in his hand shot away, cracking against the far wall. And then Colonel Charles rose into the air, hanging by his shirt collar.

“Please, let me go!” he croaked. “I wasn’t going to hurt you. I just… just wanted to… protect…”

Fort started to stand—he couldn’t let her just choke the man. But as he got up, Sierra’s magic seemed to surge in power, like her anger was feeding the magical energy, making her almost too bright to look at.

Fort dove back to the floor, hoping to escape the power that he could now feel throughout the room, like the air before a lightning strike. He crawled under the desk as the room creaked again, and something fell from the ceiling. Someone screamed, but he couldn’t tell who, and then…

And then the light faded back to normal, the eerie wind died down, and there was only silence.

Fort slowly pulled himself out from under the desk, terrified at what he might find. Sierra stood on the ground again in front of him, glowing normally now, with Colonel Charles lying on the floor, breathing steadily, but otherwise not moving. At least he was still alive!