CHAPTER ELEVEN
CURSES
The Masked Man hobbled through the Dwarf Forests as quickly as his injuries would let him. Anyone traveling through the forests alone had the right to be worried, but with the mythological creature on the loose, the thick trees around him were especially intimidating. He held Captain Hook’s revolver tightly in his hand and dashed behind a tree whenever he heard a noise nearby.
He followed a river deep into the forest until it split off into Dead Man’s Creek. The Masked Man limped alongside the creek, and by nightfall he reached the site where the Witches’ Brew used to stand on the banks of the creek. The tavern was nothing but a pile of ruins now, and a hundred or so witches were spread out around the creek.
The Masked Man hid behind a tree and searched the area for his son. Although he had never seen him before, the Masked Man figured he’d be easy to spot in the crowd of tattered women.
Just like the rest of the world, the witches had been chased out of their homes throughout the kingdoms by the Literary Army. They fled to the forest and formed a camp near their former headquarters, constructing huts from the wreckage of the tavern. The witches sat casually in groups around campfires and cauldrons. They chatted and flipped through spell books as if they were magazines.
Whenever a campfire started dying out, Charcoaline would hawk a flaming loogie into it and the fire would re-ignite. Tarantulene had spun a large web between trees and feasted on bats and owls that got caught in it. Serpentina’s long tongue picked the bugs crawling through Arboris’s bark skin, which pestered Arboris greatly. Rat Mary glared and hissed at a dozen cats that another witch had brought from home.
At the top of the pile of wreckage, two thrones had been erected. The infamous Sea Witch sat on a seat made of multi-colored coral while she supervised the camp of witches. She stroked her pet cuttlefish, which rested in a bowl of salt water on the arm of her chair. Beside the Sea Witch, the second throne was made entirely of ice that never melted, but the seat was empty.
Morina leaned against a tree at the edge of the camp, keeping her distance from the other witches. She scowled at the women around her with disdain. She couldn’t wait to cross into the Otherworld and get rid of them. The horned witch watched the moon like it was a clock, counting down the hours till she would put her plan in motion.
The Masked Man had scanned the whole area for a child and finally spotted a little boy chained to the tree Morina leaned on. The boy looked around the camp of witches with large, terrified eyes like he had awoken to a nightmare. The Masked Man was expecting the child to resemble him, but Emmerich looked nothing like his father. His pale skin, rosy cheeks, and dark hair were all trademarks of his mother.
“He’s the spitting image of Bo Peep,” the Masked Man whispered to himself.
Unlike a normal father, the Masked Man didn’t fill with pride or tenderness upon seeing his son for the first time, but only with the eagerness of a possible opportunity. All he needed was to get Emmerich away from the witches—he just didn’t know how or when.
A sudden chill filled the forest air, and all the witches stopped what they were doing and looked toward the north. A wave of frost flowed down Dead Man’s Creek and froze the water. They heard bells in the distance, and a moment later the legendary Snow Queen appeared on a white sleigh pulled down the creek by two monstrous polar bears.
Emmerich was so frightened by the bears, he closed his eyes and looked the other way. The sleigh stopped in the center of the camp. Arboris and Serpentina helped the blind Snow Queen down. She used a long icicle like a cane. She held up a white sack and exposed her jagged teeth in a wide smile.
“I’ve found it!” the Snow Queen announced proudly. “I’ve found the dust!”
All the witches were rather underwhelmed, but they didn’t dare show it on their faces. Morina, on the other hand, couldn’t have looked more unimpressed.
“Dust?” Morina asked. “You traveled all the way to the Northern Mountains to bring back dust?”
The Snow Queen growled and pointed her cane toward the sound of Morina’s voice. “For someone so consumed with the future, you know nothing about the past,” she said. “The contents of this bag will ensure our conquest of the Otherworld.”
Morina grunted. “By all means, enlighten me,” she said. “What’s in the sack?”
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 over 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.…”