told me was going after Rosie. She looked afraid and serious at the same time.
“Let’s go,” she said steadily. Her voice didn’t shake at all like mine had. I think she might really be braver than I am. “Race you there.”
She was on her feet and through the hanging branches before I could blink. I’d wanted to say, On the count of three, but there wasn’t any time.
I zoomed after her and shot through the wall of branches. The edge of the woods wasn’t far. I could make it. Jozlyn was almost there.
“Eh-he-he-he-heh!” the witch cackled. Her voice sounded close enough to be a shout right in my ear.
The ground raced passed beneath my charging feet. Tears from the wind blurred my vision. I was running as fast as I could.
“Target practice!” the witch exclaimed, and I could hear her chanting the words to a spell.
Jozlyn reached the woods and disappeared in the cluster of trees. At least she was safe.
Almost there, I told myself, risking a glance over my shoulder.
The witch hovered about twenty feet in the air on her broom. I could see her legs and curl-toed boots but not much else. She was wearing a long black cloak that whipped about her like the flames of a roaring fire.
Her chanted words made my ears itch.
Hop along, flop along,
Croak and eat flies.
Jump away, thump away,
Be you frog size!
An explosive crackling burst all around the witch, and then a beam of sparking green light shot down toward me.
I shouted in terror and dove headfirst into the woods. The beam of light crashed into a tree trunk just over my back. If I hadn’t jumped, it would have hit me dead on.
The tree exploded in a cloud of green smoke. Bark and leaves erupted into the air. Sap and twigs pelted me like stinging insects.
When the smoke cleared, the tree was gone and a big green frog sat in its place, croaking loudly.
I climbed to my feet and ran deeper into the woods like I’ve never run before. The witch had turned the tree into a frog, but she’d meant to do it to me.
Her triumphant cackle followed me into the leafy darkness.
12: NORTHSIDE MOSS
I charged recklessly through the woods. I twisted around trees, leaped over roots and fallen logs, and ducked under low branches. I didn’t pay attention to which way I went or to what I passed. I had to get away from the witch. Nothing else mattered.
When I tripped for about the tenth time, I stayed down and gasped for breath with my head between my knees. I couldn’t run anymore.
I thought about Jozlyn and hoped she’d managed to escape. I didn’t want a frog for a sister. But I needed to get out of the woods before worrying about that. If I didn’t find my way back, I wouldn’t see Jozlyn again at all, frog or not.
Just then I needed to worry about where I was. I had never been in Everleaf Woods before.
Towering trees stretched endlessly in every direction, and strange noises echoed all around. Trees creaked, insects chirped, leaves rustled, and things I couldn’t see scurried in the undergrowth.
I didn’t know which way to go, but I couldn’t stay where I was. I felt itchy and hot, and I imagined hundreds of hungry eyes staring at me and wondering how I would taste.
Climbing tiredly back to my feet, I called for Jozlyn. I cupped my hands around my mouth and called again. I turned in circles calling over and over.
I heard nothing from her. No response.
I’m lost in the woods, I thought and took a few aimless steps. Now how do I get out?
I looked at the enormous trees soaring high above and felt small and alone. The trees’ wide trunks were craggy and covered with moss. They were hundreds of years old.
Moss! That was it. Dad had once told me that moss only grew on the north sides of trees.
Trying not to think about what might be squirming in the moss, I leaned against the shaggy trunk of a tree.
“Please be right,” I whispered. I’m not sure if I meant me or Dad’s advice.
With my back against the tree, looking straight ahead was north. That meant home was to my right, to the east. I knew that much from having seen the rising sun earlier that morning.
I trotted east, slow enough so that I wouldn’t trip but fast enough to drown out the unpleasant noises in the woods.
Every few dozen steps I stopped to check my progress. First I held my breath and listened for the witch, and then I searched for more mossy trunks. When I didn’t hear the witch, I started moving again.
I hoped I was making good time because I was starting to get hungry. I thought about the bread and cheese in Jozlyn’s bundle. I hoped she still had them.
Most of all, I hoped that Jozlyn wasn’t a frog. How would I explain that to Mom and Dad? We were forbidden to enter the woods. I couldn’t imagine how many rules we would have broken by getting Jozlyn turned into a frog.
That’s when I saw Rosie. What was left of her anyway. She was lying in a tangled heap in the dirt just as Jozlyn had suspected.
Kneeling, I gently scooped up the battered pixie doll. Her pink dress was in tatters, and dirt and little twigs were sticking out of her yellow hair. One of her wings was torn and clung limply to her back. Tiny bite marks covered her body.
Jozlyn would be heartbroken. I couldn’t let her see Rosie in such bad shape.
Pulling up the bottom of my tunic, I carefully wrapped the doll in the loose material and stuffed the extra into my hose. Mom could fix Rosie later. Then I would show Jozlyn that I’d found her.
“Josh, is that you?” It was Jozlyn’s voice from not too far off. She sounded scared. “Please Josh, if that’s you, answer me. Cleogha is gone. I think she gave up and left.”
Relief washed over me. We were safe again and I’d found Rosie. We’d survived a real adventure.
I didn’t know it then, but our adventure was just beginning.
“Yes, Jozlyn!” I called back. “It’s me. I’m coming.” I double-checked Rosie’s spot inside my tunic. She seemed safe and out of sight. “Please keep talking so I can find you.”
To Jozlyn’s repeated calls of “Over here!” and “This way, Josh!” I managed to find her without more trouble. Luckily, she was still near the edge of the woods. I could see sunshine and sky from where she waited for me.
I’m not ashamed to say that I hugged Jozlyn when I saw her. I was glad we were both safe and not frogs.
“We have to get home, Josh,” Jozlyn told me after we’d looked each other over. “The witch said something about Tiller’s Field. I’m worried that she’s planning something awful.”
Nearby, the frog that Cleogha had transformed from a tree croaked again. Jozlyn and I sharply turned our heads to face one another. We both had the same idea.
If Cleogha could turn a tree into a frog, what could she do to the townsfolk of Tiller’s Field?
13: VANISHING ACT
“WAIT,” I cautioned. “Let’s not panic. We don’t know for sure that Cleogha is planning something. We can’t let our imaginations get the best of us.”
For once, I was trying to think things through. The last thing we needed to do was worry over nothing. The witch chasing us into the woods was real and had just happened. That was terrible enough to think about.
“You’re right,” Jozlyn agreed. Her face brightened with a small smile. “Maybe Cleogha spotted us and just couldn’t resist a little mischief.” She wagged her fingers at me mysteriously.
I nodded and grinned a little myself. “So we should hurry back and warn Mom and Dad. They’ll want to know what happened, even if we left home without permission.”
I wasn’t thinking about getting in trouble for breaking rules. Having a witch chase you is more important.
“We should tell Mayor Garlo, too,” Jozlyn added. “He’ll want to hear about our adventure. He might even send Sheriff Logan out to arrest Cleogha.”
“Good thinking,” I told her. I was feeling much better. So much better that
I remembered about being hungry. “Now what about that bread and cheese?”
We nibbled breakfast as we walked home. Well, Jozlyn nibbled. I gobbled like a goblin.
Sunshine warmed our faces, and a few fluffy white clouds floated in the sky. There was no sign of more rain or fog. I felt pretty good about that.
It would have been a typical, perfect summer morning if not for the nagging feeling in my gut. Even though Jozlyn and I had decided not to worry about Cleogha, I still did.
I couldn’t help it. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach faster and faster with every step we took toward home.
Whenever I glanced at Jozlyn, she seemed to be concentrating on something unpleasant, too. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and her blue eyes were paying no attention to the wide path beneath our feet.
“There’s something on the bridge,” Jozlyn said suddenly, pointing ahead. My stomach did a double flip. The butterflies were bats now.
This time, the something on the bridge wasn’t a troll or a man. It was shiny, lumpy pile.
We hurried onto the bridge. The creek below gurgled and burped just like its name, and the damp wood creaked under our feet.
The pile was a cluster of loose weapons. There was a curved dagger, a deer-hide quiver full of arrows, and a long sword with a polished golden handle. All of the weapons were sharp and handsome, expensive. But they were just lying on the bridge in a heap.
I recognized the sword immediately. It belonged to Sheriff Logan.
“Jozlyn, that’s—” I began.
“I know. It’s the sheriff’s.” She prodded the pile of weapons with her toe. “All of these are his. But why are they sitting here on the bridge?”
Still trying not to jump