《My Stepmother's a  Witch》


 Dragon Tales

    It''s free choice at school now. I like free choice best. Now I get to do what I like, not what a teacher says. Right now I''m ignoring the other kids chattering and arguing, and the scraping of chairs, and I''m making a paper cobweb. It''s not too hard, you snip away at a folded sheet of paper and if you do it right, you open it out, and presto, a cobweb. It had become a paper cobweb. Sticking a fuzzball to a piece of felt is easier. This is how to make a spider.


    "What are you doing?" asks Sabina. She''s sidled over and is gazing at me with curious, black eyes.


    "I''m making something for my stepmother. It''s only fair. She usually has a present for me."


    "You think she likes spiders?"


    "My stepmother''s a witch," I tell her.


    "That''s mean. You shouldn''t say that," said Sabine, gazing steadily at me.


    "Well she is. Lucille is a witch." Sabine hasn''t seen my stepmother. If she had, perhaps her green skin would have given her a clue. And the fact that she is so weird...


    She''s waiting for me in the playground at half past three. I can see her a mile away with her bright green skin, even if wasn''t wearing a canary yellow top and blue shorts today.


    She grins at me. Her teeth look very white in her green face.


    "Hello, darling." She steps forward, arms outstretched. I show her the cobweb and spider.


    "Um, for you, Lucille."


    "For me?" she grins more broadly and holds up the cobweb and spider. Her brown eyes are shining. "Oh, Sammy, I love it so much. You thoughtful little man¡­" She hugs me tight, kissing my cheek so that her long red hair gets in my eyes. She always smells strange. Like overripe raspberries. Her face feels cold, even on a warm day.


    She kneels on the asphalt and grips my shoulders. She''s smiling into my face. Her lips are dark green. They''re almost black. "How about we go for a treat. Just you and me?"


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    00O00


    On the way back, we go into a small, dingy caf¨¦ called the Witch''s Parlour. It doesn''t look very magical.


    She buys a bowl of what looks like blue ice cream. It''s sticky and tastes like bubble gum.


    "Cob web goo ¨C don''t eat too fast or you may get trapped," she says, her grin lighting up her face. "Look, you get a free gift." She holds up a green plastic skull. The skull has little bloodshot eyes and spider legs attached.


    "Why does the skull have legs?" I ask.


    Lucille picks it up and turns it over, pursing her dark green lips. "Hmm. I bet he got in the way of a bad spell."


    I suppose a witch would know about stuff like that.


    She puts the skull on the table and presses her bright green finger down on it. It scuttles across the table and stops by my bowl. "Weird. The skull moved. Does that count as magic?"


    "Mm. Barely."


    I''ve finished the goo, so I''m going to show Lucille my reading folder. She can see the cover of the book through the clear plastic. "Look, it''s like a sequel to Hansel and Gretel when they''re grown up. But it''s long. It''s written for people who can actually read."


    Lucille pouts, cupping her face in her hands and sticking out her dark green lips. "That story is bat turd crazy. They shouldn''t be giving you rubbish like that."


    Of course. Lucille must hate Hansel and Gretel. She''s a witch, and the story makes out that witches are horrible. Why didn''t I think of that?


    "Uh¡­ the sequel says that there are good witches as well. It ¨C It''s not like the fairy story."


    She flicks a strand of her red hair over her shoulder. "Fairy stories. Pfft. Just wait, darling. I''ve got something much better for you. A facsimile of witch stories. They''re better than fairy stories."


    "Facsimile?"


    "An exact reproduction, Sammy. They look just like they did when they were first written. And our stories tell you what you need to know, they don''t fill your head with rubbish, the way these fairy stories do."


    "Witch stories are good ones? Not fairy stories?"


    She smiles, still cupping her face in her hands. "Yes, dearest. They are. Maybe I''m biased."


    I grin at her. "You''re biased."


    "Oh yes?" She pulls a face at me, scrunching her shiny green nose.


    "I think so." I pull a face right back at her.


    "Cheeky boy." She leans across the table and we rub our noses together because we''re feeling silly. Her skin is very smooth and sort of slippery.


    I''m curious. What are her stories like? Witchier than fairy tales? "I want to hear your stories. I think you''d know a good story."


    She grins, showing off how white teeth are and how you notice it more because of her green face. "Thank you, darling. That means a lot to me."


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    00O00


    Lucille says I should have a snack when we get in, so she makes peanut butter and blackcurrant jam on bread. She sprinkles some jelly beetles on it as well. These were something she brought with her when she moved in. They move around a bit when they''re first out of the jar, but afterwards, they''re like gummy bears.


    Now she wants to read. She sits next to me on the couch and slips an arm around me. She opens a heavy, leather-bound book, so we can both see the pages. This close, the witch''s weird smell is distracting.


    The story she''s chosen is about a witch who went on an adventure and found a kingdom with this really horrible king. He''d killed a lot of people and there were bodies all over the beach when the witch arrived. She discovered the king was really a dreadful dragon in disguise.


    I look at the illustration of theDragon King sloughing off his human disguise, like a snake sheds its skin. "I didn''t know dragons could do that."


    "Oh, but they can." Lucille''s brown eyes are wide. "It can be very difficult to spot a dragon in disguise. One way is to look at their eyes. Sometimes the pupils will glow, like burning coals."


    "Is that all, Lucille?"


    "Their spit will be scarlet, but that doesn''t show much when they''re in disguise. They might have a reddish tinge on their teeth, but it wouldn''t show much."Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "So, if you can tell from their eyes and teeth if they''re dragons and you should catch them?"


    Lucille grimaces. "Dragons are really vicious when they''re cornered. They use poison too."


    "You''re afraid of them, Lucille? Well don''t worry. I''d save you there was a dragon here."


    She throws back her head and laughs loudly at that. Her laugh is really shrill. "Oh, Sammy, you''re so cute."


    I''m giggling now. I climb onto her lap, making her drop the book and grab her shoulders as she grins at me. "I''d save my step-mother if she needed me."


    Lucille puts her arms around me. "Of course you would, my brave little man." We rub our noses together.


    She taps the book with a green finger. "The biggest and baddest dragons are hard to get rid of. Some say that the spirit of the Dragon King may be lurking around the dark corners of our Witch Realm. But turned to shadow. While the light of our Crystal Moon shines in the Moon Tower, he is held at bay."


    I hear the door. That means Dad''s home. We both go into the hall and Lucille throws her arms around him and kisses him.


    "I didn''t get the promotion," says Dad. Dad had been talking about a promotion yesterday evening.


    "It''s alright dear, we''ll manage. I''ve been putting together a plan." Lucille strokes his cheek with the tips of her bright green fingers. "Try to forget about it for now. I''ll fix us a great dinner."


    She skips off to the kitchen humming a weird tune. Her long red hair ripples and bounces. I almost have to run to keep up with her.


    She grins at me when I come into the kitchen. "This whole house is so bright and clean and well decorated. But I need to put myself at ease. So I can cook well."


    She takes a poster from the cupboard and unravels it. It shows a cloudy night sky, complete with a sickle moon.


    "What''s that for, Lucille?"


    She smiles. "It makes the kitchen more homely."


    "Why?"


    "Well it gives it a witchier atmosphere. Here." She hands me a gummy beetle.


    Lucille sticks the poster on the wall, then she drapes a black shawl around her shoulders. Now she''s taking black candles from another cupboard, humming an eerily soothing tune. The candles burns with bright blue flames.


    A black rat climbs in through the window. Oh good, it''s one of the witch''s familiars. His name is Elvis, and she says he can be my pet as well as her familiar. I pick Elvis up the way Lucille says to, letting him stand in my hands. We take a seat on a stool near the stove.


    Lucille beams. "Aw, look, Elvis loves you like I do."


    "He''s a pretty Elvis."


    "You''re both pretty."


    The witch turns to draw the blinds shut, but there is a clashing of wings, and a dark shape swoops into the kitchen. Great. I don''t think. It''s another familiar. One I don''t like. A talking raven.


    "Hurroosh!" The raven speaks in what Dad calls ''an awful, croaking parody of a human voice.''


    "Hullo Quoth," says Lucille, drawing the blinds shut so that it''s dark except for the candles. She turns back to the stove. The ghostly light of the candles light up her strange, green face and cast flickering shadows on the walls.


    "What a neighbourhood this is," croaks the raven. "They''ll leave seeds out for the useless little birds, but they never leave raw viscera on platters ready for the corvids. Oh no."


    "Charming, as always," says Lucille. I can''t see what she''s doing with the pot at the stove, but now it''s bubbling and giving off clouds of steam.


    The raven perched on a high shelf and stared down malevolently. "I bring tidings from your mother. It would seem you failed to meet her expectations when you fell for the charms of a young man who is, dare I say, decidedly unmagical."


    Quoth always talks in this strange way. And he gabbles on and on.


    "Love is more important than magic," says Lucille. She bites her dark green lip.


    The raven hops onto the work surface and begins to chew on a loaf of bread, tearing through the plastic wrapping and the crust and spraying crumbs onto the floor. "Pah. I bet you just fell for his looks and ¡­ shall we say, ''his helpless charm?'' You''ll live to regret it."


    What does he mean, ''helpless charm?''


    Lucille curls her dark green lip. "If I want a raven''s opinion about my love life, I will ask for it. Until then, keep your beak shut about my husband when I''m in earshot. Clear?"


    Quoth grumbles and croaks, and then turns his head so that one of his beady little eyes is fixed on me. "I daresay you were embarrassed this afternoon? You were seen with this green misfit, and not a sensible, rosy cheeked lady?"


    I start to feel angry. Who''s he calling a misfit? "What d''you mean? I''m glad Lucille''s living here now."


    Lucille glares at Quoth. "You hear that? My little boy sticks up for me." Her voice trembles a little. "If you''re not going to help, you can clear out."


    "Blatant favouritism. The boy and the rat aren''t helping either," grumbled the raven. "Blame the birds, we''re easy targets." He pushed past the blinds and with a clapping of wings, took off out of the window. Lucille frowns and readjusted the blinds so that the kitchen is dark again.


    "Why do you let the stupid bird be so rude to you?" I ask.


    Lucille leans down and kisses the top of my head, but does not answer the question. She holds up a small jar close to her face and grins. The spectral light of the strange candles shines off her green nose and cheeks. She lets out her weird, shrill laugh. "Oh, my precious pumpkins will love this." She pours the entire jar into the pot.


    Elvis has clambered onto my shoulder. I stand up and tug the witch''s shawl. "What''s funny, Lucille?"


    She smiles down at me "Nothing. It''s just that cooking is a wonderful distraction for the mind."


    "Why is it a distraction?"


    "Cooking just makes me happy. If I have a place to cook that has the right ambience." She gestures around the darkened kitchen.


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    00O00


    Finally, the cooking''s done. Lucille brings it triumphantly into the living room. The dish is pork, but it tastes a bit spicy.


    After dinner we all pile onto the couch to look through an old photo album. Lucille plumps herself down between me and Dad and runs her green fingertips over the album''s leather cover as Dad holds it. "An album is so much better than digital pictures on a computer screen. Maybe witches like the feel of books better than computers¡­" She grins and puts a finger on a photo of me when I lost a baby tooth. I''m smiling and showing off that I''m missing the tooth. "Oohh¡­ you''ve lost a tooth, Sammy. Look at that smile." She takes the photo from the album and holds it up. "I want to keep it. That smile¡­"


    "I''m missing a tooth," I remind her. I think I''m blushing.


    "That''s part of the charm," says Lucille, gazing at it enraptured. Witches are strange. Elvis the rat climbs onto my shoulder at this point. Lucille brushes her long red hair away from her face with her other hand. "Elvis agrees with me. He''s a rat with good taste."


    After that, she squeals at a photo of Dad on a beach. "You look as handsome as our wedding day¡­" she gives him an embarrassing soppy smile and then she and dad hug and kiss.


    Then Lucille wants to see their wedding photo again. But just at that moment, there is a clash of wings in the living room¡­ Oh no. Quoth the raven has turned up. How did he get in?


    He alights on the head of the sofa between Dad and Lucille, turning his head to fix a beady little eye on the wedding photo. "Who is that strange, green creature holding your husband''s hand, Mistress? She looks out of place in that scene."


    Lucille glares at the raven, sticking out her dark green lips in a pout.


    Dad looks uncomfortable. "Darling, can''t you teach that bird to behave? The rat''s no trouble."


    Lucille grimaces. "I dunno, maybe if I was a better witch¡­"


    Quoth turned his head to Dad. "Greetings freckled ploughboy. I''m just a bird, so it boggles my mind that you''ve enchanted a witch." Sometimes Quoth does that thing where he talks like he''s from Victorian times or something. What sort of nut makes out that it''s just farm workers who go out in the sun? I don''t know...


    "Get out!" Lucille''s voice is usually loud, but now it''s even louder. She''s angry.


    Quoth rises into the air with a clash of wings. "Where are the pictures of your true mother, Sammy? Why are they not in the album?" He flies out of the room. Lucille''s looking at me. Her brown eyes are wide. She starts to speak, but then bites her lip.


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    00O00


    It''s later and I''m in bed. Elvis the rat is curled up on my pillow. I can hear Dad and Lucille talking in their room. But Lucille''s voice is much more penetrating than Dad''s, so I can only hear her:


    "How can I say bad things to him about his mother¡­ he''s such a sweet boy¡­"


    "No, I know, but you want me to explain to him? I''m not sure that''s right¡­"


    "OK, darling, I''ll try."


    Lucille''s coming in. I sit up. The witch sweeps into my little bedroom. She''s wearing a long, black nightdress. Her red hair glints in the dim light of the moon shaped night light she gave me.


    "Alright, Sammy?" She smiled, but then she bites her lip and wrings her green hands together. Is she nervous about something?


    She sits beside me and puts an arm around my shoulder. Her long red hair tickles my cheek and her strange smell gets up my nose. "Listen, Sammy¡­ dearest¡­ I don''t really know what to say¡­"


    "You wanted to say something bad about Mum?"


    She stares at me. Her brown eyes are wide.


    I think I should explain that I heard her. "I can hear you very easily, but Dad isn''t so loud."


    She chuckles. "I suppose I am a bit loud. Listen, you''re a clever boy, and I can ¨C I can tell you things¡­" She sighs. "People can love each other, but then, people can change..."


    She''s gabbling. "You want to say why Mum doesn''t live here?" Her dark green bottom lip quivers, and she nods. "Listen, Sammy, I have to go away, back home¡­ I mean, back to my old home¡­ because of my job. I have to see my mother as well. I''ll be away three days."


    Aw, I want her to stay. "Wish you wouldn''t."


    "Oh, Sammy," she leans down and kisses my forehead, "I want to take you with me. My mother won''t have a problem with that. It''ll be like a holiday. To the magical world. A magical holiday."


    "Go with you? I''d like that." It should be fun, being with Lucille for three days. "What''ll it be like in the magical world?"


    She grins at me, crinkling her shiny green nose. "You''ll see soon enough."

 The Witchs World

    So, this is it. Time to set off. We''re actually going to fly to get to Lucille''s old house. I''ve got butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. Why''s the witch taking ages to get ready? I''m waiting in Dad and Lucille''s bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed. The room smells sweet and musty, like Lucille. Today she''s wearing a long, black dress with these little glittery stones that sparkle in the sunlight.


    Lucille and Dad clasp hands. "Mum will come round, Breccan. Don''t worry." They kiss and hug each other very tight. Lucille cups Dad''s face in her green hands. "She''ll be glad to have you in the family in the end, I just know it."


    Dad wants to talk to me. "Sammy, Lucille''s in charge for the next three days, while you''re both away."


    "I know, Dad." I remember that dragon story she told me yesterday. "And I''ll protect Lucille if there are any of those dragons that have poison."


    Lucille grins at me.


    Dad''s gone now. Lucille plaits her long, red hair in front of the mirror, humming that weird, haunting tune again, just like she did in the kitchen.


    She must be nearly ready. "When do we flyyy?"


    She turns and grins in that funny way that makes her shiny green nose crinkle.


    "I''ve been making a new toy for you, Sammy," she holds up a bright pink blob. "It''s ready." She hands it to me. The blob is cold and squidgy in my hand. "You can shape it into whatever you like," says Lucille.


    "Okay. How about¡­ a worm?" I roll the blob in my fingers so that it becomes long and wormy. It begins to wriggle. Cool. It is just like a worm.


    "That is realistic," says Lucille, clapping her green hands together. She flicks her plait over her shoulder and plumps down on the bed.


    "Look. See him squirm?" I hold the worm up to her.


    Lucille takes the end in her green fingers and squeezes it and pinches it so that it changes shape. It now looks a bit like a toothless snake''s mouth, with little pits for eyes. "There. Now it''s a friendly worm. No teeth, so it won''t bite."


    The worm curls around my arm. Lucille takes a broomstick out of the wardrobe, humming all the while. The broom has a weird face carved into the handle. Lucille kisses her own hand and then touches it to the broom''s carved face. "Awake, Woody." The broom''s face moves in a strange way. I don''t like it. I don''t like the way its carved mouth moves without making any sound.


    Elvis the rat climbs up the leg of the bed and sits by me. So, does this mean the witch''s other familiar is here? You know the one I mean¡­


    "Hurroosh!" Sure enough, here''s the raven. He alights on the bedpost and turns his head to fix the broom with a beady eye. "What an ugly thing. I would not trust it in the air."


    Lucille gives the raven a weird look, narrowing her brown eyes at him. "Woody needs loving the right way. And he flies beautifully."


    I stick my tongue out at the raven. "Yeah, and I want to fly. You can''t carry us."


    The raven turns his head to me. "Hmph. Well personally, I don''t like the idea of Mundanes flying."


    "Well personally, I say it doesn''t matter a hoot if you mind," says Lucille. She grins at me, her eyes shining. "Our first flight together." She clasps her face in her hands and gives a little squeal. "A pity Woody is not strong enough to carry your Dad, too. But you''ll keep me company." She touches my cheek with a cold green finger.


    Quoth makes a croaky sound. Is he laughing? "This need to have company¡­" He spits out the word company like it''s something weird. "''Tis a weakness that witches share with crows. You never see ravens grouping together, like crows do."


    Lucille purses her dark green lips. "Ravens don''t like each other''s company. I wonder why that would be?"


    I didn''t know anything about that. I want to ask more. "It''s just crows that group together? Not ravens?"


    "Yes. And do you know what the collective noun for crows might be? A Murder of crows." He gives a croaky chuckle.


    "Why is it a Murder of crows?"


    "I have no idea. It''s the way your silly language developed," Quoth grumbles. "Must you question every tiny thing?"


    "Enough of your nonsense, Quoth," says Lucille briskly. She snaps her fingers. "Come, Grimalkin." A little imp with shaggy blue fur jumps onto her little dressing table and squeaks and chatters. Lucille leans her green face close to the imp. "Guard this house and my beloved while I''m gone." The imp jumps around on the table, chattering and waving its tiny arms. Lucille grins at it.


    "Can you hear the imp? It''s a real little creep," grates Quoth. "Always fawning and scraping before her."


    "I can''t understand him," I admit. "You''re the only familiar that talks so I can understand." Lucky me, eh?


    "The imp actually takes pride in doing a job well, and without being rude to me all the time," says Lucille to the raven in a cold voice. She takes my hand. She feels cold. Her hand almost feels damp, like she''s a frog lady or something. "Come, my little love. Now we fly."


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    00O00


    On the lawn, Lucille kneels by the tiny pond and scoops a toad out of the shallows. "Be seeing you, Paddock," she says softly, and she tenderly kisses the little amphibian''s warty skin. The toad is another familiar, but one that doesn''t seem to do anything at all.


    She puts the toad back in the pond, then straps me to her with a harness. I hold my arms tight around her waist as she gets on the broom and then suddenly, we''re flying high into the air.


    The wind''s rushing in my face and the houses are as small as toy houses below us. Ooh dear. Flying so fast makes my stomach wobbly. You try it sometime and see if it makes you feel wobbly? Lucille gives a piercing cry of delight. She''s loving it. "See the world as I see it, Sammy! Isn''t this the only way to travel?"


    I try to answer, but my voice is carried away by the wind. I can''t talk nearly as loudly as she can. I glance down. The cars in the road far below are like multi-coloured beetles. I''m holding my stepmum tightly.


    "Those poor people, having to rely on cars," says the witch, casually pointing down. "Higher." Oh wow. We''re going a lot higher, past a startled flock of swallows. "Now¡­ full speed ahead, Woody!" The broom shoots forward like an arrow, so fast that I have to screw up my eyes as the wind buffets me in the face. Now we''re landing. We''re on a grassy plateau, but the grass is a ghostly blue-grey. Lucille unstrapped him and set him on the ground, kneeling on the strange grass so that we''re face to face. She smiles at me. "So, how was your first flight?"Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "Cool!" I tell her. "I didn''t know it would be windy."


    Lucille cups my face in her hands and grins. "Awwww, the wind makes your cheeks so pink." She smooths my hair with her fingers and adjusts my collar. "There." She touches the tip of my nose with one finger. "You''re perfect. Ready to meet my mother? She''s strict, but you''ll do fine."


    Strict? Don''t like the sound of that. "O- Okay, Lucille."


    She takes me by the hand and we make our way up a narrow, winding path. Lucille''s clutching her broomstick in her free hand. "Why is the grass here blue, Lucille?" I ask.


    She smiles at me. "Magic in the soil, magic in the air." She holds up a hand and a jewel bright bug alights on her finger. Actually no ¨C it was two shining beetles. "You won''t see those in the world below, either. Look how the bigger beetle holds the little one. The lady gembug grabs her partner and won''t let go."


    "Why not?"


    "It''s either that, or she is alone," says the witch. She holds the beetles up to her face, breathes on them and they both fly away with a high pitched buzzing sound.


    "Zooks Hurrah, Zooks Hurroosh!" Quoth''s back. He''s circling overhead. "Seeking your mother''s blessing? I can see it all now¡­ What sort of a picture does this scene paint? The boy with his mop of golden curls, eyes like the summer sky, pink cheeks, and then you-" the raven gives a harsh, croaky laugh - "does he look like a son of yours?"


    Lucille sighs. "I wish he were mine." She stuck out her dark green bottom lip. Is she sad about something?


    I tug on her arm. "Don''t be sad, Lucille. Are you worried because your mum is strict?"


    She smiles, but it looks like a bit of a sad smile. "Don''t worry, darling. I know she''ll like you."


    Quoth the raven circles lower over our heads. "Methinks the real onus will be on me. I''m the one who gets things done."


    Lucille pulls a face. "Please, just stay out of it."


    There''s a huge, grey house on the hill. What a place. It really does look like a witchy sort of house.


    "My mother loves gardening," says Lucille.


    We go round the back of the house. There''s a bright green lady with long, brown hair, digging in the flowerbed. The plants are weird. They look like bundles of little rainbow coloured stalks.


    The green lady looks up and smiles. She puts down her trowel and then Lucille squeals really loud and throws herself into hugging her. They kiss each other on the cheek.


    Lucille grins at me. "Mother, this is my stepson, Sammy."


    Her mum gives me a tight lipped smile. The sun shines off her green cheeks. "Hello, Sammy. Please call me Selena. Do come in." She beckons to us to follow her.


    We go into a cool, dark parlour. A small black cat follows us in.


    "Sit. Make a lap." It''s the cat talking! Really talking, like Quoth the raven does.


    The cat rubs around Selena''s leg. "You know you love me best. Sit. Make a lap."


    Selena sits and the cat jumps on her lap. Lucille picks me up and puts me on her knee as she sits on a wooden bench.


    "By the Moon, it''s wonderful to see you again, daughter dearest." There''s definitely something wrong with the way Selena''s smiling. Like she doesn''t really mean it. "I''m only sorry to have missed out on such a big event in your life." She says that like she''s gritting her teeth and is breathing through her nose.


    "It was a beautiful wedding," says Lucille, her voice trembling a little. "I''m only sorry you could not give your blessing."


    "You''d overturn tradition, just like that?" Snaps Selena, standing up suddenly so that the cat goes jumping onto the floor.


    "Idiot! The cat was comfortable," says the cat, but Selena ignores him.


    "Don''t start that in front of Sammy," says Lucille, gripping my shoulders.


    Selena sighs. "You have your job to do daughter. Those deliveries aren''t going to fly themselves to their destinations." She beckons. "Come, Sammy. You are welcome here today."


    Oh no. I don''t want to leave Lucille. I think Selena''s a bit scary, the way she shouted. I won''t move from my stepmum''s knee. Selena comes over and kneels on the tiled floor, so we''re face to face. Her eyes are brown like Lucille''s, but her nose is a bit longer. Oh gosh. She smells even more than Lucille does. But I can''t say that.


    She speaks in a surprisingly soft voice, as if she were actually in a good mood. "Don''t you want to see a magical garden, my boy? Besides, I have a treat for you. Candy."


    Uh oh. I''ve thought of Hansel and Gretel again. But I can''t say that either.


    "Yes, t-thank you," I stammer.


    Selena smiles. "Good boy."


    "He is a good boy," says Lucille, sounding sullen. "He''s quite the best boy. I''ve told you that as well."


    Before she goes, Lucille hugs me and kisses me on both cheeks. I put my arms around her and now I don''t want to let go. "It''ll be alright, darling," she tells me, but I still think she looks worried. "I''ll be back very soon."


    Selena takes my hand. Ugh! Her hand is so cold, and it feels wet.


    On the lawn, Lucille gets back on her broom. She''s tied a bag to it this time. She glances back at us. I think she looks anxious, because her brows are coming together. Then she''s in the air and flying away¡­


    Selena gives me a plate with a piece of cake and a glass of juice. The cake tastes like vanilla and the juice sort of strange, like vegetables. Then she wants to show me the plants.


    She kneels by the flowerbed she was working on when Lucille and I got here, the one with all the colourful bundles of stalks. "These, Sammy, are my tumblebuds." She touches one with a green finger. "This one is ready to stand upright." She tugs one of the bundles and a little blue ball with tiny eyes pops out of the soil. It sits on the flowerbed and I think it''s trying to move, because the stalks are twitching.


    "I think it needs helping up." I pick up the tumblebud and it stands up.


    "You are a thoughtful little fellow," says Selena, stroking her green cheek.


    "Am ¨C am I?"


    "It''s something about yourself you should cultivate."


    Why''s she looking at me like that? Is her smile a sad smile?


    "What do you know of magic, Sammy?"


    "Er¡­ nothing." Should I know something about it?


    Selena brushes her long brown hair away from her face. "Of course not. You and I, Sammy¡­ we''re from two different worlds. Lucille and your father are also from two different worlds."


    "Zooks Hurrah! Zooks Hurroosh!" Quoth has turned up again. Great. I don''t think.


    Selena''s scowling. I know how she feels.


    Quoth alights on the handle of a spade stuck in the ground. "I hear you on that one, Selena. I make it my business to instruct you ¨C do not give the marriage your blessing."


    Selena curls her dark green lip. "I don''t need your instruction, raven."


    "It''s best for the Mistress to be alone," says Quoth. "I consider that to be natural for a raven, so why not for a witch?"


    "For the Moon''s sake," mutters Selena. "Not that again."


    Quoth grumbles and pulls up a worm from the crumbly soil around the flowerbed. Selena shows me the rainbow ponds. There''s one pond with rocks around it that has pink water, and another nearby with bright blue water. We''re sitting by the pink pond.


    Selena points into the water. "Keep still. You may see a water sprite. Ahhh¡­ there''s one now."


    There''s a little, silver face with hair sort of like pond weed peeping out of the water. "Oho there, Mistress. Oho there little boy. And ho there bird of carrion." The sprite has a squeaky little voice.


    "Sprites are vermin," says Quoth. "Just like garden gnomes. This garden would be less of a shambles if you''d evict them."


    "Do you know how I keep everyone happy?" burbles the sprite, "I fill the world with frogs."


    The sprite chucks a tiny black frog at the raven who bats it away with his wing. It vanishes and so does the sprite. I suppose the sprite made the frog with magic.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    00O00


    Lucille comes back soon after. I picked a really cool plant for her. Selena said I could. It''s like a silver conch shell, but they were growing out of the ground. So weird. Lucille grins and hugs and kisses me, telling me I''m sweet to think of her.


    Selena wants us all to sit down so we can talk again. I sit on my stepmum''s knee.


    "I ¨C I think I was a little hasty," says Selena. She rubs her green cheek with one hand. "I want you to be happy, it''s just¡­ that is¡­ "


    Lucille has her arms around me. "I knew you''d come around, mother." She says. "Now the thing is, we have to have a plan in place. Basically, I have to be able to bring both my pumpkins here if I have to ¨C if that is what I have to do to keep the three of us together."


    Pumpkins?! Oh, wait, that''s what she sometimes calls me and Dad. She''s talking about me and Dad, obviously. Does she want us all to go on holiday here, or something?


    Selena''s brows draw together. "There''s no need to speak of taking them from their own world just yet. See how events unfold first, daughter. Now shouldn''t you show Sammy our world? He can help a tiny bit with deliveries."


    "Yes. Sammy, I''ll show you the magical world." Lucille sounds really happy. What will her world be like?

 When Dragons Attack

    Lucille takes me flying over the witch-land. I''m glad we don''t have to fly so high or so fast this time. These buildings are weird. Some of them look like they''re top heavy and others are shaped like globes or sickle moons. And they''re more brightly coloured than buildings back home.


    We land by a round purple building. My step-mum claps her green hands together and grins at me. "My best friend Di lives here. You''ll like her."


    "Zooks Hurrah! Zooks Hurroosh!" Quoth the raven flies down with a loud clapping of wings and alights on the witch''s shoulder. "Most witches would find it deucedly odd that you have a mundane son."


    "Di is not most witches," says Lucille, and she raps on the purple door with a green fist. Quoth flies off her shoulder and into the air.


    The door swings inwards and another green lady runs out and squeals as she throws her arms around Lucille and kisses her on both cheeks. This green lady has bright pink hair. She cups Lucille''s face in her hands. "Ohh, it''s so good to have you back. At first I was cross with you for flying away and eloping and not telling me, but now I''m just happy to see you again."


    Lucille''s brown eyes are bright, like she has tears in them. "The love of my life is from a different world. I had to run away to get married."


    "Aww, that''s so romantic."


    Quoth fixes them with a beady little eye. He''s standing perched on the stripy letterbox. "So romantic? So rash. It is better to look before you leap, as the saying goes."


    Lucille points a green finger at him. "I don''t have Quoth''s blessing for what that matters. I didn''t get my mother''s blessing either¡­" Lucille''s voice trembles when she speaks about her mother and she sticks her dark green bottom lip out.


    "Oh, come here, you ugly hag." Di pulls Lucille to her and kisses her green cheeks again.


    Di drops to her knees and puts her green hands on my shoulders, grinning into my face. "And who''s this?" Her face is really really bright green, like Lucille''s. It looks weird with her pink hair.


    "My stepson, Sammy," says Lucille grinning. "I love him to bits. Isn''t he a little homunculus?"


    "What is a homunculus?" I ask.


    "That''s just the odd way witches talk," snaps Quoth. "They call each other ''ugly hag'' and think it''s charming."


    Di''s blue eyes crinkle in a smile and her green cheeks dimple. Her chin is pointier than Lucille''s. "Ohh, aren''t you adorable? Your little face... Why didn''t you tell me you were coming? I would have thrown you a party. Would you like that? I''ve never thrown one for a little human before."


    "Y-Yes," I reply.


    "Hurrah! Any human boy would want to party with weird green women," grumbles Quoth.


    "Keep your beak sealed," says Di sharply. "I can tell already the mite is the life of any party."


    Lucille rubs her temples with her green hands. "Sorry¡­ Quoth won''t ever shut up."


    I follow the witches through the door and into a round, stone room with a little pond inside. A green lizard leaps out of the water with a splash. It''s a little crocodile. It bites Di''s arm! But its got no teeth. Di laughs. "Toothless is frisky today." She flashes a grin at me. "My familiar." I nod.


    Di opens a case which has all these weirdly shaped bottles. Some are round, some are square, some are diamonds and they''re all different colours. She rubs her green nose. "There''s a lot to deliver. And we need a sample of purple mushroom from the fungus grove."


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    00O00


    Lucille decides to deliver the diamond shaped bottles and to get that purple mushroom. She''s taking me with her. A quick broom ride later and we''re by a river of silvery water. Quoth is nowhere to be seen. There''s a yellow path near us. I can see mushrooms everywhere, all the colours of the rainbow. Some small, some big and some ginormous!


    "Are any of these poison, Lucille?" I ask.


    "No, darling." She points a green finger at a tiny, yellow mushroom. "That''s a buttershroom. I always thought it was like a buttercup."


    "Can I try something?" I ask. She smiles and sits down white I hold a buttershroom near her chin. It makes a patch of yellow light spread over her green face. Like a buttercup does when you hold it up to your friend''s chin. "See? That''s pretty. Yellow light on your chin. Like magic."


    She touches my cheek with her cold, green fingers. "You''re so clever, Sammy. But watch, I have a trick too."


    She picks up a huge white mushroom and purses her dark green lips, then breathes on it. The mushroom writhes in her green fingers and squirts out a cloud of dust.


    "Spores," says Lucille.


    The spores land on the yellow path near us and turn into tiny, baby mushrooms which crowd together so they form an arrow and then run away down the path.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    I start to go after them, but they run away faster. I turn back to the witch. "That''s really clever. Can you catch them."


    She flicks her long red plait over her shoulder. "I dunno, they went awfully fast."


    "Not that fast." I put my hands on my hips. "Can''t you catch me?"


    She wrinkles her shiny green nose at me. "Can''t hear you."


    I go close to her. "I said, can''t you catch me?"


    She flings her arms around me. "Gotcha!" She kisses me on the forehead as I giggle. "There''s no escape from a witch," she whispers in my ear, her breath tickling.


    We''re so silly. We rub our noses together and she hugs me tightly. Her cold cheek touches mine. "My little imp."


    "Why''m I your little imp?"


    Her weird smell is really strong. She strokes my hair. "Cos I wish you really were mine. I don''t wanna lose you."


    "Lose me? You just caught me."


    "That I did. But there are things I can''t do."


    "You can do magic."


    "Look at me, dearest."


    She sounds serious. I look at her face. I''ve always thought that Lucille is a weird yellowy green. Not like grass. She''s the same colour as bright green candy. I giggle at her.


    She smiles back. Her lips are dark green. More like chives. "Magic can solve some problems, but not all¡­ I''m a witch and I should know. I was never that great at magic, anyway. It''s the most gifted of us who are pioneers in the art of potion making. They can do awesome things." Her brown eyes are shining as she talks about these potion making pioneers. She opens her case and takes out a bottle that''s sort of shaped like a leaf. "This one''s brand new. I''d sooo like to be able to test it. The witches with the most skill extract the weirdest magic from mushrooms." Her grin lights up her green face. "Weirdest is best."


    Sounds amazing. "You must be able to do something weird, Lucille?"


    She taps her green nose twice. "I can. But you must promise never to try this yourself, or mess around with mushrooms in any way at all, without my permission." She''s giving me that serious look, the one where she looks right into my eyes.


    "Yes, alright."


    "Then watch this." She picks a pink mushroom and puts it in her mouth. Her green cheeks bulge, and then she sticks out her tongue. The mushroom stained her green tongue pink!


    "I''f gotta pink ton''" she lisps, her tongue still out.


    I laugh. "Just like mine."


    She touches my cheek with a cold, green hand. "You said it, darling. Don''t we look like mother and son now?"


    Suddenly there''s a terrible hiss and I give a start. Lucille grabs me and looks round wildly. A shadow falls over us. It''s a woman with black robes looming over us! Urgh! Her skin looks like it''s starting to peel off¡­ and she has scales underneath? How? She''s glaring at us without blinking. She''s baring her teeth and they look pointed, like a crocodile''s teeth and with a red tinge. There are knives attached to her fingers¡­


    "Foul witch, feeble human, now I''ve found you, you will die by my poisoned blades," she hisses.


    Lucille grabs Woody the broom while keeping one arm tight around me, and as the hissing woman lunges at us with her knives, the witch bats them aside with her broomstick.


    Knife woman lets out a weird, drawn out hiss. "You cannot stand against a dragon, green vermin. The blades will tear into your flesh and the venom burn slowly." A pair of bat-like wings unfurl from her shoulders¡­ so¡­ she''s a dragon in disguise. Lucille told me about them. With a swish of her wings, she rises into the air, brandishing her knives¡­ But then there''s a flash of white and another dragon-woman appears and grabs her arm. This one is dressed in white robes. She has a frozen smile.


    "It''s you, Peace Dragon," hissed the dragon in black robes.


    "It isn''t nice to kill anyone with those barbaric weapons, War Dragon. You should use this." Peace Dragon holds up a syringe. "You have to send them off peacefully."


    "I intend to make them suffer!"


    "No¡­ peacefully."


    While they argue, Lucille seizes the leaf shaped potion bottle and puts it to her lips. There''s a flash, and vines sprout from my stepmother''s arms, her arms grow and become hard, like wood. She''s growing huge and it all happens in an instant. My stepmother''s turned into a massive, tree woman! Her green face is surrounded with a cloud of leaves. There are vines all over her. She has one of her branches wrapped around me. With her other branch, she wallops the dragons, making them hiss and stumble backwards.


    "Extraordinary!" gasps Peace Dragon.


    "Monster! Green vermin!" hisses War Dragon. "Your tricks will not avail you when the Dragon King Returns. He will! I''ve torn your accursed stone of witchery from its core and he will return to lay waste to this unholy place with his cleansing fire."


    "Back! Get back! Get away from my boy! You won''t dare lay a finger or a claw on him." Lucille''s voice sounds different now that she''s a tree. It''s rumbling instead of shrill.


    She swipes at the dragons again and they flutter back like massive bats.


    Peace Dragon extends her wings. "Leave it. We''re worsted." She takes off and flies away over the mushroom fields.


    "I''ll get you yet, witch," growls War Dragon and she spread her wings and flies away too.


    I put my arms around my stepmother''s trunk and look at her shiny green face in the middle of the vines. It''s reassuring that her eyes are still the same. Lucille has kind eyes. My heart''s beating fast. Right now, it''s just so good to be able to hold onto her. I feel safe in her¡­ branches? Can''t really say ''in her arms'' right this second. "Lucille, I¡­" My throat feels dry.


    "Everything''s alright, Sammy," she rumbles.


    "You''re the weirdest step-mother ever," I say in a rush. "But I ¨C I love you."


    I feel her vines wrapping themselves around me and getting in my hair. They even wrap around my wrists.


    "Awww, you''re so sweet. You say the nicest things. I love you too. You''re my perfect little mannikin. I never wanna let you go."


    I notice out of the corner of my eye, that Elvis the rat has scampered up her trunk and is on her other branch.


    "Hurroosh!" I hear the raven''s croaking voice. Quoth lands on the other branch as well. "Gadzooks, for I am a genius," he caws. "I recognise my Mistress whatever form she takes. And what a change for the better this is. I never had cause to call her beautiful before, but now..."


    "Watch it, featherbrain," rumbles Lucille.


    "This is an astonishing feat of magic," rasps Quoth. "Has my Mistress'' skill improved exponentially?"


    "This is cos of one of the potions I was carrying," says the witch. "It wears off. I hope it does. Why isn''t it wearing off?"


    I reach up and touch her cheek. Her face does feel different. Sort of like rubber. "Don''t be sad." Her green lips twitch to form a smile.


    "I can make a nest, here," says Quoth.


    Lucille glares. "You will do no such thing. Listen, I have just learned that the Crystal Moon has been stolen ¨C by dragons. Quoth, go and check out the Moon Tower. I''m afraid our nightmare will come true. The Dragon King will return."


    Quoth turns his head to fix Lucille''s face with a beady eye. "You really think a bogey from a dusty old children''s tale rears its ugly head?"


    At that moment the sun goes dim like it''s gone behind a cloud. Lucille gasps. I feel a cold, prickly feeling down my neck and I turn away from my stepmother to look at the horizon. In the distance there''s dark clouds and the sound of thunder, and now there''s something else. A pair of yellow eyes with slits for pupils like a snake¡­

 Magic is Childs Play

    The yellow eyes on the horizon flicker and fade. Now they''re gone. Like a nightmare gone at sunrise.


    "Was that the Dragon King, Lucille?" I ask her.


    "Yes, Sammy. But our defences are staying up. For now."


    Lucille''s shrinking. She gathers me up in her branches and puts me on the ground. The gets smaller and her bark flakes off and her skin is soft and green again. Now she''s back to normal, or as normal as she ever is.


    "Gadzooks. A remodelling that was too good to last," croaks Quoth.


    We fly straight back to Selena''s house. Lucille flies at top speed. Quoth goes to that Moon Tower they were talking about. We land on the lawn.


    Selena looks very anxious when she hears about the horrible dragons. Her brows draw together and she bites her dark green bottom lip. She leads us into her garden. "I was afraid something terrible had happened. My tumblebuds got jittery. The gnomes are cowering in the undergrowth. The sprite flinched in its pond."


    She stands by a bird bath made of white marble. She breathes on it and then stares into the water. "If the Evil One should come back, we''re all in great peril, magic and mundane alike. I see his malice seeping through into our world first. This means trouble for us, Lucille. And I really fear for those poor people with no magic."


    "Zooks Hurrah! Zooks Hurroosh!" Quoth''s back. He lands on the branch of a tree. "What would you know? The Mistress was right. The Crystal Moon is gone. Everything at the Moon Tower is at sixes and sevens. Witches never have an inkling of what to do when it''s a real emergency." He gives a scornful croak and hops onto the ground to start digging for worms.


    Lucille touches her mum''s arm. "You say mundanes are in great danger, mother? My little imp is mundane. I''ve gotta prepare him for what''s coming. Those awful dragons nearly took us by surprise. You have to help me ¡­ you have to help us."


    She''s talking about me. What does my step-mum want to do? Teach me magic? Can she do that?


    "Some hope," rasps Quoth from the ground. "He''s as weak as an oyster out of its shell compared to either of you. You can''t train him to deflect magic. Your hope is a fool''s hope, Mistress."


    Lucille pouts at him.


    "He can''t practice with either of us," says Selena. "Of course he can''t. But with another child¡­ that would be different. I already have someone in mind. A pupil of mine, from my Magical Herb class. The kindest little girl I know. Ashia Wraith. She would help."


    A girl? I''ve got to practice with a girl? Not sure I like that.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    00O00


    Selena goes to a pool of turquoise water in the garden and fishes out a silver conch shell. She puts it to her ear.


    "Hello, Ali¡­ Does the Moon shine bright on you? ¡­ Well I just happen to need help from Ash."


    I suppose Ash is this girl they''re talking about. Selena must be calling the mum.


    It''s ten minutes later and another green lady on a broom lands on the room. She''s got a green girl with her. There''s something strapped to the girl. Is it a big ball?


    Selena kneels down and talks to the girl, hugs her, then leads her to me. "Sammy, this is Ash. Ash, this is Sammy from the mundane world."


    Ash grins at me. It looks weird, with her white teeth and yellowy green face. That ball that''s strapped to her looks like a pumpkin! "Hello!" she says. "I''m Ash and I wanna be friends. I wanted a friend from the other world. How come you don''t have magic like the rest of us?" She says this very fast.


    "Hi¡­ I''m Sammy¡­ and I don''t know," I answer.


    Ash pushes her purple hair away from her face. Seriously, she has this really long, purple hair. And there''s a green ring on her finger. Weird. "Aw, Sammy. Why don'' ya know?" she says. "I wanna help."


    She unstraps the pumpkin from around her middle. "Here''s Squashy. Wanna hold ''im?"


    Now I can see the pumpkin has a little face on it. Little black eyes and a smiley mouth. It squirms in her hands. Must be magic.


    "OK¡­" I reach out and take the pumpkin. It''s softer than I thought it would be. It feels like it''s flexing and moving in my hands.


    "How sweet," says Lucille, smiling.


    "I grew ''im," says Ash, grinning. "It''s magic. Can Sammy learn?"


    "Like the boys of our realm, her can borrow magic," says Selena. "I believe he is a good boy, so I will supply it. It comes from the special patch of earth in my garden."


    I give Squashy back to Ash and Selena takes my hand and leads me to a patch of green mud at the end of the garden. Strange. Like a tiny green swamp. Ash trots after us and Lucille follows.


    Selena scoops up some green mud in her hands.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "What''s that?" I ask.


    "Magic mud," she says. "Nothing to worry about."


    "This doesn''t hurt at all, does it?" asks Lucille. Her red eyebrows are knitted together as she looks at the mud.


    "Of course it doesn''t hurt," says Selena. "Hold still, my dear boy¡­"


    She smears the mud on my face. Ooh! It''s cold.


    "Yer all green now," giggles Ash.


    Quoth the raven alights on Lucille''s shoulder. "An entire brood of green things you all appear to be," he croaks. "I can no longer tell you apart."


    Lucille''s smiling at me and her eyes are bright, but I can''t tell if she looks happy or sad. "Sammy is so precious."


    "The mask should hold a little while," says Selena. "Enough for Sammy to practice a couple of counter spells."


    We go onto the lawn.


    "Now children," says Selena. "Face one another and then step back five paces."


    Ash puts Squashy on the bluish grass. "Watch this, Squashy." The pumpkin actually turns to watch us as we face one another. We both take five steps back. Ash grins widely at me and waves. Then she points. The green ring on her finger glows with a pulsing light.


    I feel weird for a moment, like I''m spinning round, and suddenly I''m right by Ash and her face is right next to mine! "Boo!" She pulls a funny face, crinkling her shiny green nose. "I moved ya, Sammy."


    "Now the counter," says Selena.


    She hands me a pot of glue. "Sprinkle this around your feet, Sammy. As soon as she points."


    We take five paces back again and Ash points her finger with the ring at me. I know what to do. I pour the sticky glue around my feet. This time I don''t teleport, but the glue disappears. Weird. Can I stop magic now? Does it count as doing magic?


    "Yay!" Ash claps her green hands together. "Ya did it."


    "Wonderful, darling, just wonderful," says Lucille.


    "Easily impressed," grumbles Quoth.


    "Spells can be countered," says Selena. "For each spell, there is a counter. Ash - try the spell of binding."


    "Ah, Okay," says Ash.


    Lucille kneels down and grips my shoulders. "Remember darling ¨C think of becoming light as air."


    As light as air? I think about floating.


    "Get ready," calls Ash. She has a little heap of pink powder on her palm and she blows it at me.


    "Light as air," urges Lucille as the pink cloud swirls around me.


    But I''m turning stiff. My arms are stuck to my sides and my legs are stuck together. I can''t move!


    "Oh dear¡­ I knew this was a bad idea." Lucille grips my shoulders and her brown eyes are wide. "Oh Sammy, listen, um¡­ I''m going to get you out of this. Um¡­ but Ash cast the spell and I don''t know¡­"


    I try to answer, but my jaws won''t move!


    "There can be no doubt that your mother would prefer Ash as a daughter, Mistress," jeers Quoth. "She actually gets spells right. She''s a witch who can spell! Ha, ha¡­" The raven gives a croaky laugh.


    Ash suddenly appears right by me. Her green ring is glowing. She frowns. "You gotta think harder, Sammy. Think ''bout flying."


    I''m starting to panic because I can''t open my mouth, but when Ash says this I think hard about the times Lucille and I flew. I think of the wind rushing through my hair. I feel my body relaxing and I can open my mouth again.


    "That was horrible," I say loudly.


    Ash purses her lips. "Hush. Here." She slips her green ring off her finger. "You need this more''n I do."


    She holds it out. Is she giving me her magic ring?


    "You hesitate to snatch it, boy?" says Quoth. "My cousins, the magpies, certainly wouldn''t."


    "That''s very generous of you to make the offer, dearest Ash," says Selena.


    Ash stares at me. The sunlight shines off her green nose. "Don''t be proud, Sammy. Jus'' take it, will you?"


    I take the ring. "Thanks¡­" I slip it on my finger. My hands are about the same size as the witch-girl''s. For a split second, I feel a pulse from the green metal down my arm, but then it''s gone. Did I imagine it?


    Ash sighs. "I''m a bit worried ''bout you, Josh. Cos you''re so weak."


    "It''s something I love about him," says Lucille, her green lips twitching to form a smile. She kneels and puts her hands on my shoulders. "My precious little homunculus."


    "You know what ravens say about weakness?" rasps Quoth.


    "I don''t care what ravens say about weakness," says Lucille. She''s still smiling at me. Then she stands up and touches Selena''s arm.


    "We must fly back," Lucille tells her mum. "You understand now, I think."


    Selena nods. Her eyes are strangely bright. The witches hug and kiss one another goodbye, and now my step-mum and I are going to leave.


    We get on Woody the broom and Lucille straps me to her. take off in the air. Ash and Selena wave at us on the lawn below. The pumpkin''s sitting there beside Ash.


    There''s a little, silvery globe attached to Lucille''s broom. "My moon compass," she explains, "so there''s no chance of getting lost even if it gets dark too soon. It should fly us in the direction of the moon¡­"


    "Why would it get dark too soon?" I ask.


    "The Dragon King," answers Lucille.


    All of a sudden, it''s getting dark and I can hear a rumble of thunder¡­ There are dark clouds above us.


    It''s almost dark, and my step-mum''s bright green face seems almost luminous. "C''mon, c''mon, fly straight," she murmurs.


    But then, two points of glaring yellow loom over us. Two great yellow eyes, with slits for pupils, like a snake. We hear hollow laughter, rumbling like thunder around us. The eyes lunge closer and my heart beats fast.


    "No!" cries Lucille, and Woody the broom shoots downward.


    "Find the moon!" cries my step-mum.


    But we''re falling now¡­ We''re not going to find the moon.


    Down and down we fall, down and down. It''s like we''re floating and turning over and over as we fall through darkness. Then there''s a splash and we''re in a cavern with all these weird lights. Strange, coloured lights. All the colours of the rainbow and more. We''re standing, ankle deep in water. I look around. There are all these pulsing, jelly things on the rocky walls of the cavern.


    "Where are we?" I ask. "What are those?" I point at the pulsing, jelly thingies.


    "Oh¡­" says Lucille, looking around with wide brown eyes. Her green face looks even weirder in this light. "Ah¡­" She flicks her read plait over her shoulder. "We''ve fallen, Sammy dearest. Into the cavern of the Minuses."


    "What''s a Minus?"


    They were people once, but they tried to cast a spell of eternal youth on themselves. It went terribly wrong. It made them younger and younger until it subtracted all their years and made them¡­ minus something years old. I dunno¡­ I don''t really understand it."


    "Why don''t you understand it, Lucille?"


    "I''m not a great witch," says Lucille, shrugging. "The Minuses shouldn''t really be here, but they are. They''re alive and they think. But if we don''t bother them, they won''t bother us."


    "You sure?"


    "Yes, dear. I do at least know that they only attack evil creatures. Evil is a source of psychic pain to them."


    "Psychic pain?"


    Lucille smiles and takes my hand. "The Minuses can sense evil creatures thinking evil things and it agitates them. Come. I don''t know what went wrong with my compass, but it''s pointing the way now."


    She picks up Woody and the little globe in her other hand. We wade and splosh through the shallow water in the cavern and out onto the other side, into a long tunnel, lit faintly by glimmering crystals in the ceiling. The tunnel leads upwards and starts to widen. There''s light at the end of the tunnel, but now something''s blocking it. Something like a great pair of bat wings, but impossibly large¡­ Oh no! Something like a dragon!


    "So, you thought your unnatural tricks would save you?" hisses War Dragon. "You were never more wrong. This is the end of the line." She holds up her knives, the blades gleaming in the pale light¡­