The other witches throughout the camp were curious, too, so they gathered around the Snow Queen.
“Many years ago, before there were witches and before there were fairies, the world was inhabited by angels and demons,” the Snow Queen said. “The demons created a magic mirror that transformed the reflection of something pleasant into something foul and grotesque. It made humans look like hideous monsters and landscapes appear as wastelands. The demons got so much pleasure out of torturing the world, they decided to fly the mirror to heaven and torment the angels with it.
“As the demons flew up to heaven, the evil living inside the mirror became so excited, it started to laugh. The closer to heaven they flew, the harder the mirror laughed, until it cracked and vibrated. Just as the demons reached the pearly gates, the mirror was so delighted, it burst into thousands and thousands of pieces that rained onto the earth like dust. Most people avoided the dust, but others weren’t so lucky. The people that got the dust in their eyes never saw anything pleasurable again, but only the flawed and ugly qualities of everything. Others breathed in the dust and their hearts were filled with hate, anger, and jealousy.
“After centuries of sending blizzards through the kingdoms, I collected the remaining specks,” the Snow Queen continued. “My snowflakes cleansed the air and rinsed the land, and brought the dust specks back to me in the North Mountains through evaporation.”
The witches were mesmerized by the story, but Morina was still unenthused.
“And what do we need the dust for?” she asked.
The Sea Witch crawled down the pile of debris to join the other witches.
“The Snow Queen and I used the dust to curse Ezmia the Enchantress,” the Sea Witch hissed. “Long before she became the dreaded Enchantress, Ezmia was the late Fairy Godmother’s apprentice. The favoritism made all the other fairies jealous, and poor Ezmia was often ostracized, heartbroken, and lonely. Many times she would travel deep into the woods away from the fairies and cry. Ezmia always found the same tree and wept into its roots as if it were a friend’s shoulder. She cried so much, her tears watered the tree and it grew taller than any other tree in the forest.
“Once this became a routine for Ezmia, the Snow Queen and I covered the tree’s roots with the dust of the magic mirror. One day while she was sobbing, she breathed in a piece of it. Immediately, her heartbreak, sorrow, and loneliness were heightened. Her desire to become the next Fairy Godmother and help people was replaced with the desire to seek revenge and inflict pain on those who had wronged her.”
Shivers went up the witches’ spines as they recalled the Enchantress’s terrifying reign over the fairy-tale world.
“We gave Ezmia the steps to create a portal into the Otherworld,” the Snow Queen said. “Once she mastered the seven deadly sins, and dominated the past, present, and future of this world, she would have manifested a portal. Our plan was to travel into the Otherworld, unleash the Enchantress, and take it by storm! Unfortunately, she was killed before the portal was complete.”
“Well, lucky us,” Morina said. “Thanks to my prediction, we know a doorway will be formed between worlds, saving us the hassle of building our own portal.”
Charcoaline stepped forward and bowed to the Sea Witch and the Snow Queen before she spoke.
“Is your current plan to curse Alex Bailey with the dust and unleash her on the Otherworld?” she asked, and then quickly stepped back with the others.
“Correct,” the Snow Queen said. “However, we already tried cursing Alex with the dust. It sent her down a destructive path, leading to the obliteration of the Witches’ Brew and her departure from the Fairy Council, but it didn’t last for long. Alex is the granddaughter of the Fairy Godmother and a child of both worlds—magic is very strong with her—so it’s going to take more than one piece.”
“How much dussst will it take?” Serpentina asked.
“A handful should be enough,” the Sea Witch said.
Morina rolled her eyes. “Are you sure your dust hasn’t expired?” she asked.
The Sea Witch was getting tired of Morina’s disrespectful attitude. She snapped her claws and charged toward Morina, but the Snow Queen held up her cane to stop her.
“See for yourself,” the Snow Queen said.
She opened the bag and the witches peered inside it. The dust from the magic mirror looked like silver sand. With her long, frostbitten fingernail, the Snow Queen removed one piece and blew it toward the polar bears. One of the bears breathed it in through its large nostrils, and its eyes turned bright red. For no reason whatsoever, the bear started uncontrollably beating the other bear.
A violent fight broke out between the polar bears, and the witches quickly backed away from them. The Snow Queen and the Sea Witch cackled at the belligerent beasts. The Snow Queen whistled at the bears, and they sat straight up—resisting the urge to continue fighting.
“I’m still not convinced this will work,” Morina said. “Even if Alex becomes as dangerous as the Enchantress and vanquishes the Otherworld for us, what’s preventing her from unleashing her fury on us?”
All the other witches nodded—Morina had a valid point.
“Just like you, Morina,” the Sea Witch hissed, “the dust has room to be improved. Together, with the magic of all the witches here, we’ll cast a spell on the dust so that once it enters Alex’s system, we’ll be able to control every move she makes.”
The Snow Queen pointed her cane at the ground and a large icy cauldron appeared. She poured the bag of dust into the cauldron.
“Ladies, please join us,” the Sea Witch said.
The Sea Witch and the Snow Queen held their hands over the cauldron and the dust began to glow. One by one, the other witches throughout the camp raised their hands toward the cauldron as well. With each addition, the light shined brighter and brighter. Morina was the most skeptical and the last witch to join in. Once all the witches were united, a powerful spell was cast. The earsplitting sound of a thousand screams emitted from the dust and echoed through the forest.
“It is done,” the Sea Witch said. “Now we must find the girl.”
The Snow Queen removed the cloth covering her eyes, and her empty sockets lit up like trains in dark tunnels. She predicted where the young fairy was, and once the answer came to her, the lights faded and she re-wrapped the cloth over her eyes.
“She’s already in the Otherworld,” the Snow Queen said. “One of us must travel there and make sure she ingests the dust.”
The witches looked around at one another, but there were no volunteers. Although Morina hated following any orders but her own, she knew she was the best candidate for the task. Besides, her plan to betray the witches wouldn’t succeed unless their plan to conquer the Otherworld succeeded first. If she helped them with this, they’d never suspect a thing.
“I’ll go,” Morina said.
“You?” Rat Mary asked. “I’d trust a fairy before I’d trust the likes of you.”
“Take a look around you, rodent,” Morina said. “I’m the only witch who could possibly blend into a world of humans. Besides, I traveled there when I captured the Masked Man’s son—I know the location of a portal and how to use it.”
Morina made a good case, and the witches didn’t argue any further. They turned to the Sea Witch and the Snow Queen and let the elders decide.
“Very well,” the Snow Queen said.
“How long before the doorway opens between worlds?” the Sea Witch asked.
“In a fortnight,” Morina said. “I will not have time to return, so I’ll meet you on the other side of the doorway. It will open in the forest, in the clearing of the three boulders. It leads to a large city in the Otherworld. I’ll travel there now, infect Alex with the dust, and be there when you arrive.”
“Do not disappoint us,” the Snow Queen said.
The Sea Witch scooped the dust out of the cauldron with her claws and poured it back into the white sack. A little begrudgingly, she handed the sack ov
er to Morina.
“See you all on the other side,” Morina said.
The witch covered her horns with her hood and journeyed into the forest away from Dead Man’s Creek. She walked with so much determination, she strolled directly past the Masked Man without noticing him.
For the Masked Man’s plan of revenge to work, he needed a way into the Otherworld as much as he needed his son. He glanced between Morina and Emmerich, and decided to follow the witch now and come back for the boy later. He trailed after Morina as quietly as possible.
The Sea Witch still had reservations about trusting Morina with the task.
“What if she betrays us?” the Sea Witch asked.
The Snow Queen’s blue lips curved into a sinister smile, and a raspy laugh erupted from the back of her throat. “Morina will try to betray us, but she will fail,” she said. “Once Alex Bailey is under the dust’s spell, nothing will stop her—nothing !”
Hearing this scared Emmerich more than anything else had since his kidnapping. He whispered to himself and prayed with all his might that Alex might hear him wherever she was.
“They’re coming for you.… They’re coming for you.…”
CHAPTER TWELVE
MAKING A SPLASH ON SYCAMORE DRIVE
It took the Book Huggers three days to find Conner’s current address on Sycamore Drive. In their defense, the Bailey family had moved twice in the past four years and it was difficult tracking them down. After camping outside their previous house, the girls pestered the current residents until they finally gave them the forwarding address.
The four teenagers walked purposefully down Sycamore Drive looking for Bob and Charlotte’s house. The Book Huggers were on a mission to finally expose the Bailey twins once and for all. A bag with tape recorders and a Polaroid camera swung from Mindy’s shoulder. Once they gathered enough evidence, their questionable reputation would be cleared and every school administrator, police officer, and representative in their community would owe them a massive apology.
It was a thrilling and nerve-racking endeavor, and their hearts were pounding as they walked down the street. Wendy got a little carried away and dashed from street lamp to street lamp and mailbox to mailbox like a secret agent.
“Wendy, knock it off!” Mindy ordered. “You’re going to draw attention to yourself. Everyone act natural!”
Their anxiety was so high, the Book Huggers forgot what natural looked like. Cindy walked taller than usual and waved at all the neighbors like she was in a parade. Lindy swung her arms and swiveled her head like a cartoon character. Wendy skipped aggressively and broke a sweat.
“Too natural!” Mindy said. “Lindy, I told you to bring your dog! We would have blended in more if we were walking a basset hound.”
“But Angela Lansbury has arthritis in her paws,” Lindy said. “She has to be dragged around on a skateboard! That would have drawn even more attention!”
“Okay, fine, if we can’t move clandestinely, then let’s move quickly,” she said. “The sooner we get out of the view of the public, the better.”
By the public, Mindy was referring to an old man watering his lawn, a pair of kids playing basketball, and an overweight cat napping on a porch. None of the neighbors were paying attention to the Book Huggers, let alone suspicious of them.
“There it is!” Cindy said, and pointed to one of the homes. “That’s Conner’s house!”
The Book Huggers bumped into one another as if Cindy were pointing out a poisonous snake.
“Remember,” Mindy said, “if anyone catches us, we’re here for a school project.”
Not so clandestinely, they tiptoed up the house’s driveway and crawled on their hands and knees through the flower bed. They regretted wearing shorts and short sleeves, because the roses’ thorns scratched up their arms and legs—but there was no going back now. They slowly sat up and peered through the window.
Inside, the Book Huggers saw Charlotte Gordon vacuuming the living room. The house was spotless, but she was vigorously cleaning anyway, as if the home were covered in invisible dirt only she could see. It had been two and a half days since Charlotte’s children traveled into her son’s short story, and since she hadn’t heard a word from them, cleaning was therapeutic for her overwhelming sense of helplessness.
Conner’s binder of short stories was still in the center of the floor in the exact spot he had left it. Charlotte was afraid she might break something if she moved it, so she carefully cleaned around it.
“Honey, why don’t you have a seat?” Bob said from the couch.
“Not now, I’m distracting myself from my thoughts,” Charlotte said over the vacuum.
Bob got up and pulled the plug, but it didn’t stop his wife. She wiped all the surfaces, fluffed all the pillows, and straightened all the couch cushions.
“Stressing isn’t going to help anything,” he said. “I’m sure they’re going to be just fine. It’s probably taking longer than they thought to track down Avalon Tammy, or whatever her name was.”
“I know,” Charlotte said with a sigh. “I wish I was as capable of handling myself as they are of handling themselves. Mothers get trained in how to deliver their children, how to care for and nurture them, how to develop their motor skills and self-esteem—but no one trains you in how to stop worrying about them! They say childbirth is the worst part, but it’s just the beginning of the pain!”
Charlotte sat on the couch in defeat. Bob sat next to her and put his arm around her.
“I hate to say it, but this is the price you pay for raising two wonderful, intelligent, and responsible young adults,” he said.
“I almost wish they weren’t so independent,” she confessed. “It’d be nice if they needed their mother once in a while. Maybe I’d get to see them more often.”
The binder suddenly popped open on its own and the beam of light shot straight out of it. A moment later, Conner poked his head out of the beam and had a look around the living room. The sight of Conner’s floating head made the eavesdropping Book Huggers flail around the flower bed. They covered one another’s mouths so their screams weren’t heard.
“Hey guys!” Conner happily greeted his mom and stepdad. “Good news! We found the pirates.”
“That’s terrific!” Charlotte said. “I was so worried. What took you so long? Was everything all right?”
“Everything went great,” Conner said with a laugh. “Actually, it couldn’t have gone smoother. It just took a little longer to track down Auburn Sally than we thought.”
“Oh, Auburn Sally—that’s her name,” Bob said. “See, Charlotte, I told you everything was going to be fine.”
“Can we bring the pirates into the house now?” Conner asked.
“Just a second,” Charlotte said. She retrieved the welcome mat from the porch and set it beside the binder. “Have them wipe their feet on the mat on their way in. I just vacuumed.”
Conner nodded and popped back into the world of Starboardia to have a quick word with the Dolly Llama crew.
“Remember what I told you guys to say if my mom asks about Starboardia?” he asked.
The pirates and sailors repeated what they had rehearsed. “It was a piece of cake. Nothing remotely dangerous happened at all,” they said in unison.
“Perfect,” Conner said. “Now, everyone step through the beam and wipe your feet on the mat—my mom just vacuumed.”
The pirates and sailors were puzzled—what was vacuumed?
One by one, the Dolly Llama crew followed Conner through the beam of light and stepped into the house. Not knowing what to expect, the pirates charged inside with their weapons raised—which nearly gave Charlotte and Bob heart attacks.
“Everybody calm down!” Conner ordered. “You’re all safe here!”
The living room filled up very quickly with the characters from “Starboardia.” They looked around at all the furniture, decorations, and lighting fixtures in awe. It was the most extraordinary place they had ever been to. The spy
ing Book Huggers had their camera and tape recorders ready, but they were so stunned to see the pirates appear, they dropped their devices and just watched in shock.
“It’s like we’ve stepped into the nineteenth century!” Admiral Jacobson said.
“It’s the twenty-first century, actually,” Bob said.
“This chamber is so elegant,” Winking Wendy said. “Does a royal family live here?”
“No—but thank you,” Charlotte said. “It’s amazing what a couple of throw pillows and an accent chair will do to a room.”
Siren Sue was mesmerized by all the framed photographs on the mantel.
“Commander Bailey, these small portraits of you and your sister are so detailed,” she said. “Your face was so round when you were younger.”
“That’s called a school picture,” Conner said. “And it was right before a growth spurt.”
Peg-Leg Peggy stared up at the ceiling in terror. “What sort of torture device is that?” she asked, and pointed her rifle at it.
“That’s just a ceiling fan,” Conner said. “Relax, it’s not going to hurt you.”
The pirates and sailors split up to explore the house. They bounced on the mattresses in the bedrooms, turned all the lights on and off, used the toilets to splash water on their faces, and opened and closed the appliances in the kitchen.
“I’ve found a cupboard that’s as cold as winter!” Too-Much-Rum Ronda announced. “And it’s full of fruit, vegetables, and colorful liquid!”
“That’s the refrigerator, Ronda—stay out of there!” Conner said. “No one touch anything without asking!”
Charlotte and Bob watched nervously as the crew invaded and inspected every corner of their home. They weren’t sure which pirate or sailor to follow, because everyone clearly needed supervision.
“Conner, we only have one guest bedroom,” Charlotte said. “Where are all your friends supposed to sleep?”
“Don’t worry, none of the pirates or sailors are sleeping inside,” Conner said.
He said it like it should have been a relief, but it only concerned his mother more. Charlotte was going to ask him for more details, but she was distracted when Alex suddenly leaned out from the beam of light.