Spellbound by Ronald L. Smith

Author:Ronald L. Smith [Smith, Ronald L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2021-09-24T00:00:00+00:00

“Okay,” Zeke said. “Now we know for sure he’s a creepy villain.”

T’Challa sat down heavily.

“At least we had the good sense to turn it off,” Zeke said.

“We?” Sheila shot back. “I think I was the first one to snap out of it.”

“Well,” Zeke countered, “I was the one who said my head felt funny before you said that.”

“Guys!” T’Challa shouted.

Zeke and Sheila quaked at T’Challa’s outburst. He didn’t raise his voice often, and they both knew it was a sign of his worry and frustration.

“What about the other people who were watching?” T’Challa asked. “We couldn’t have been the only ones. Did they turn it off? That’s the question.”

“Problem, you mean,” Sheila said quietly.

“That’s why he held that rally,” Zeke said. “So he could get people to trust him and click that link.”

“I think Zeke’s right,” Sheila said. “Remember what that research said? It said he was a good speaker, an orator.”

“And that he liked spreading turmoil,” Zeke added, still rubbing his brow.

T’Challa fingered the beads on his bracelet. “He has The Darkhold—we think—and now he’s trying to hypnotize people.”

“And Mr. McGuire’s still missing,” Sheila added.

“Oh man,” Zeke said. “What are we gonna do?”

“I don’t know,” said T’Challa, “but we have to do something. And quickly.”

The trio stayed up past midnight, racking their brains for any more clues, but none came. T’Challa was crestfallen. He was the son of the Black Panther. Shouldn’t he be able to come up with a plan?

“Solstitium,” Sheila whispered. “That word. Did you hear it?”

Zeke rubbed his forehead again. “All I remember is the white light. I feel . . . tired.”

T’Challa cast a worried glance at Zeke. “I remember. Solstitium. What does it mean? I’ve never heard it before.”

Sheila shrugged. “Me either.”

Zeke looked up, shock etched on his face. He peered at T’Challa and then Sheila. “Wait a minute. Did I hear that correctly? Sheila doesn’t know the definition of a word?” He mock-slapped his forehead. “Someone mark the date!”

Sheila managed a weak smile despite the strangeness of it all. She whipped out her phone.

“Hmm,” she said after a moment. “Solstice comes from the Latin word solstitium. Sol is sun and sistere is to stand still. Ancient astronomers called it the day”—she furrowed her brow and looked up—“when the sun stands still?”

The boiler belched, making all of them jump in their chairs.

“What in the world does that mean?” Zeke asked.

“Solstice,” Sheila whispered, and scrolled through her phone once more.

“What are you looking for?” T’Challa asked, but Sheila didn’t answer. He had seen her like this before. Once she set her mind to something, there was no way to interrupt. “Here it is,” she finally said.

“What?” both T’Challa and Zeke asked.

“The summer solstice,” Sheila read, “takes place on June twentieth.”

“That’s like five days away or something,” T’Challa said.

A sudden realization seemed to dawn on all of them.

“Achebe has something planned,” T’Challa said. “And he’s doing it on the summer solstice.”

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