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"Mum?" I asked, my eyes still closed. Rough hands scrubbed my back and arms gently, and I basked in the feeling of calm.
"I sure hope not," croaked a female voice. I opened my eyes and screamed.
Two wrinkled hags leered at me, one inspecting the wound on my head, the other massaging my wrists. They had pale green skin, hair and shaggy-straggly beards. Their eyes were gills of skin folded over bronze coins and their teeth were barbed like rusty fish hooks. Thankfully, their green hair covered their saggy breasts.
My chains had been removed, and lay in broken coils at my side with my shirt. I shuddered: the chain had been chewed through. I glanced down at my arms. One of the hags scrubbed my forearms raw with seaweed, the other tended my bare chest with blood-slurping leeches.
I slammed my eyes shut, shaking uncontrollably. Was this hell? What had I done that was so awful?!
"My stars," cackled the hag scraping my arms. As she brayed, her voice became high, pure and sweet. "Flossie, what on earth are we thinking dressing up like this for company."
"Sorry, Paddy. I think we might have frightened you a tad with our styling."
"Please don't eat me!" I cried.
"Wouldn't dream of it my dear," said Lin. "You're a bit small for eating."
"And we can't eat snacks if we want to keep bodies like these," said Flossie.
Nervously, I opened my eyes, and gasped. No longer hideous hags, the hags were now the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Lin was tall and blonde, with a pretty open face and a body like a swimsuit model. Her long hair only just protected her modesty. Flossie had sleek black hair, refined, almost Japanese features. They both had bright green eyes, and were smiling benevolently.
"I thought I was dead," I said.
"You were," said Flossie. "We thought it was too late."
"We'd have come earlier," said Lin. "But we had to re-capture Sjotroll," said Flossie. "Fisk messed with the runes. A Witch should know better."
"The monster," I said. "Plesiosaur is his scientific name."
"We call him Sjotroll," said Flossie firmly. "Sjo for short. Usually, well behaved. All stirred up by your Smith. Of course, netting Sjo would have been easier if he hadn't been locked in a battle with that altar!"
"Altar?" I asked, perplexed, then figured it out. "His name is Kissy," I said. "And he's not an altar. He's a - an arcade game."
"Well then," said Lin, "your Kissy-game is very brave. He died a warrior's death." Both women thumped their left shoulder with their right fists at the same time.
I felt a pang of sorrow at Kissy's death. I hoped he was with his beloved, lost Penelope.
"How did you know my name?" I asked, my mind slowly coming back online. "And about Mr Fisk? Are you friends of Mr Seth?"
Flossie spat in disgust, a glob of bright green phlegm missing my bare feet by centimetres. "That Smith! Never!"
"Then Mr Fisk?"
"Traitorous wretch. He should have known better than to play with Gateways. Especially in our Lake. We couldn't risk Vorr barging through our Lake. She's far too dangerous for this world."
"One of your own?" I repeated. "So you are Witches."
"In a way," said Flossie with grin, inspecting her five golden rings.
"How did you know my name?"
"We know your mother."
"So it's true then. She's a Witch?"
"It is true. She is," said Lin, grinning.
"And the Zealtor," I said, sorrowfully.
"No!" screeched both women with disgust. For a moment, the monstrous hags I'd seen earlier broke through the ladies' pretty masks.
"Mr Seth thinks she is."
"Smiths are often wrong," said Flossie darkly. "Too much action, not enough critical thought. Then again, subtle thought isn't often called for in their line of work."
"Mr Seth is going to kill her," I said, shivering.
"That's why we saved you," said Lin. "You have to stop him. She's the only one with the power to stop the Zealtor, though she seems damaged - handicapped - and we don't know why."
"Are you rested?" said Flossie, impatiently gathering up the pebbles on my chest and handing me my shirt and shoes.
"Yes," I said, opening and closing my fist. My cuts and scrapes were half-healed, and even the gash on my head had stopped bleeding. "Nothing broken."
"Then hurry," said Flossie, her eyes now glazing deep electric blue. "We sent word - tried to slow him down. But he is determined. He approaches the house. One defender lies between the Smith and your Mother. And he cannot hold out for much longer."
"Thank you," I said, scrambling to my feet. "I won't forget your help today."
"Save your mother, then thank us," said Flossie dryly.
Flossie frowned, her eyes flaring back to green again. "The last defender has fallen. Run."
Both women thumped their chests with their fists, then slid under the water.
I bolted for home, my thoughts on Mum, my legs pumping up and down on the paved streets as fast as I could will them on.