Wand of the Witch (7 page)

Steam whistled out of his ears. His face was red as an apple. A vein throbbed in his neck. Scruff gasped.
He's blaming us! The Bullies!

"My lord, please!" Scruff said. "There are monsters lurking outside the town. Green grunting creatures, and furry things with big toes, and a witch who bakes cookie dough, and...."

His voice died. The soldiers were laughing, he saw. Even some of the angry mob smirked. Scruff sighed.
They don't believe me. But they do believe Quill.

Bramblebridge, however, was not laughing. He looked ready to burst with rage. His hand trembled around the hilt of his sword.

"I have had enough of these bullies. Enough! Whenever you are around, there is mayhem in Burrfield."

Jamie emerged from the house, face red and clothes torn. "Are you going to banish us again?" she demanded.

Bramblebridge glared at her. It seemed to Scruff like arrows could shoot out of the lord's eyes.

"I've tried that before. You keep coming back!" Bramblebridge turned to his men. "Arrest them! Arrest all the Bullies. Toss them into the dungeon and throw away the key. I will have order in my town!"

As soldiers grabbed Scruff's arms, he shook his head in disbelief.

"You should be fighting the grunters and slinkers!" he shouted. "You should be arresting the witches!"

As they slammed manacles around him, the soldiers laughed.

"Sure thing, Scruff," one said. "Grunters, slinkers, and tooth fairies too, I reckon. But don't worry. No magical fairy creatures can hurt you in the town's nice, cozy dungeon."

Scruff tried to shake himself free, but couldn't break his chains. The soldiers began dragging him away. Scruff saw more soldiers chain up Neev. The young wizard tried to cast spells, but the soldiers gagged him and shackled his limbs.

Wings flapped, and Romy rose into the sky, holding Jamie in her arms. The demon wailed and tears filled her eyes.

"Fly, Romy, get out of here!" Scruff shouted.

Romy sobbed but obeyed. She flew away, holding the diminutive Jamie. The two disappeared into the distance.

The last thing Scruff saw was a soldier manhandling Cobweb.
No, not Cobweb! Not my wife.
He screamed in rage. Somebody pulled a sack over his head, punched his cheek, and kicked him forward. Darkness and pain covered his world.

Chapter Six

Babes in the Wood

Romy flew over town, her arms wrapped around Jamie. The girl was squirming in her grasp and kicking.

"Calm down!" Romy said. "I can't carry you if you squirm."

She grunted with the effort. Jamie was perhaps a waif of a girl, but her armor was heavy, and Romy wasn't used to carrying more than a pitchfork. She flapped her wings mightily, struggling to fly even ten feet above the ground. She kept dipping, grunting, and struggling for altitude.

"Romy, fly higher!" Jamie cried. "The mob's gaining on us."

Romy turned her head and saw the townfolk chasing them through the streets. A few began tossing rocks. One rock hit Romy's shoulder and she yelped. Other rocks sailed around her.

"Faster, Romy!" Jamie said. "Faster!"

Romy flapped her wings so hard, she thought they'd fall off. She flew over the city walls, just high enough to clear them (though Jamie's boots slammed against the top). They flew over the forest, skimming the treetops. The fresh air invigorated Romy, and she flew faster, until she cleared a stream and the town dwindled behind her. The mob did not follow; they perhaps did not believe in grunters, but it seemed they still feared the forest. Romy descended, her wings aching.

Come on, Romy,
she told herself.
A nice, smooth landing today.

She glided down. She lowered her feet. She stumbled, flipped over, rolled, and hit an oak. Jamie groaned and pushed her away.

"Bloody hell, Romy, will you ever learn how to land?"

Romy rubbed a bump on her elbow. "Owww," she said and began sucking her thumb. "It's not my fault anyway. In Hell we only fly a little bit over pools of lava or down tunnels. We don't have to fly over walls and forests with angry mobs chasing us!"

The girls sat for several moments in the dry leaves. When they were sure nobody followed, they gingerly stood up, winced in pain, and looked around them.

Jamie drew her sword. "We have to save the others."

A chill ran through Romy.
Poor Scruff, Neev, and Cobweb.
Were they being locked in a dungeon now?
Neev must be so lonely without me, and so cold without my fire to warm him.
Romy already missed him so badly, she ached.
Well, that and because I landed on a rock.

"How can we save them?" she said and shivered. "Bramblebridge has a hundred soldiers, maybe more. If he locked the others in the dungeon, guards will surround them.
Lots
of guards. We're good fighters, Jamie, but we're not
that
good. We can't storm an entire fortress ourselves."

Jamie cursed, grumbled, muttered, and sliced the air with her sword. She let out an enraged grunt like an angry boar.

"Damn it!" she said. "Damn John Quill, and damn Lord Bramblebridge, and damn the whole town. They're bloody fools, all of them. Damn them to hell."

"There's nothing wrong with Hell," Romy said and raised her chin. "As far as I can tell, Burrfield is not much better."

Jamie sighed. "Well, what do we do? How do we save Scruff, Neev, and Cobweb?"

Romy gazed into the forest. The trees stretched as far as she could see. Squirrels, insects, and horrible birds bustled between them.

"What we do now," she said, "is stop Madrila."

Jamie grabbed Romy's shoulders and shook her. "Romy! Who cares about that witch now? The other Bullies are in prison. We have to save them first. Then we'll worry about saving the town."

Romy thought of Neev in the dungeon. Was he lying on a cold stone floor? Did he miss her too—her cuddling, kissing, teasing? She thought of Scruff and Cobweb too—giant, lumbering Scruff whose hugs were so warm; and dear Cobweb, the only person in the world who understood how Romy felt, a foreigner in the weird world of humans. She wanted to save them more than anything, but....

"The other Bullies are safe for now," Romy said. "They might be cold, lonely, and scared. But they're
safe
. Burrfield is not. What if Willow returns with more grunters? What if Madrila herself attacks? If Burrfield burns, everybody there might die... including Scruff, Cobweb, and Neev. We must stop Madrila. Then we'll worry about saving our friends."

Jamie stared at her, eyes blazing. "How can we defend Burrfield? We can't man the town's walls, just you and me... definitely not with Bramblebridge after us."

Romy raised her eyebrows. "I didn't say we'd man the walls. I say: We attack Madrila's house." She punched the air. "Hit her where it hurts. Pow!"

Jamie groaned and rolled her eyes. "So let me get this straight, Romy. You think we're too weak to storm a fortress... but we
are
strong enough to attack a witch's evil lair full of dark magic and monsters?"

She nodded. "Uh huh."

"Oh dear. You banged your head a little too hard with this landing, I think."

"That's as may be." She sniffed. "Look, Jamie. Storming a dungeon is tough. I
know
. Hell is basically a big dungeon. And the angels were always trying to attack us and failing. We'd hunker down in our hidey-holes and keep shooting fire at them. They could never break in. Rosethorn's dungeon will be like that. But Madrila's house... well, lots of monsters surround it. But those monsters are there to defend the house from knights, mobs, heroes, and all sorts of other creatures without wings. I can fly. You can too, when I carry you. We'll fly right over those grunters, straight onto the roof. We'll enter through the chimney—the Santa Claus attack!"

Jamie frowned. "And what about the other Bullies?"

"Once we kill Madrila, and Burrfield is safe, we'll talk to Bramblebridge. We'll let him cool down first. Are you with me, Jamie?"

The girl gave Romy a long, penetrating stare. Finally she spat into her hand and held it out. Romy shook it, then wrinkled her face.

"Eww, Jamie, did you really have to spit into your hand first?"

"I did. A bond of warriors. We are sisters in arms now, Romster."

Romy raised her eyebrows. This was the nicest Jamie had ever been to her—maybe to anyone!—and Romy felt her heart melt. She hugged the girl tight.

"Aww, thank you, Jamster. I love being your sister."

Jamie squirmed. "Sister in
arms
, Romy! Fellow warriors. Warriors don't hug, so let go."

As they walked through the forest, Romy skipped and whistled. "I have a sister! A real sister to love!"

Jamie only rolled her eyes.

* * * * *

The guards shoved him in, then slammed the dungeon door shut. Dust flew and darkness fell. Neev's knees hit the floor. He coughed, groaned, and stood up. Blinking dust from his eyes, he groped in the darkness.

"Ouch, Neev!" Scruff said. "You nearly poked your finger into my eye."

"Well, don't stand so close to me," Neev answered. He could still see nothing in the darkness.

"It's not my fault this dungeon is so small."

"Is it small, or are you just that fat?"

Scruff growled in the darkness. "Watch it, little brother, or this fat man might sit on you. Then you'll be able to escape under the door."

"P-p-pwease don't fight!" Cobweb said. Neev could just make out her form; her silvery hair, gossamer dress, and spiderweb tattoo glowed softly. The light glimmered on her purple skin. "Neev, d-d-do you know any spewws dat can hewp us escape?"

Neev sighed. "I could toss a fireball at the door. But what's the point? This fort is full of guards. Even if we break out of this cell, they'll toss us into another one."

Scruff growled. "Not with me punching and kicking."

"Oh, your punching and kicking did wonders when they arrested us," Neev said. "I think I saw you knock out... two soldiers? Maybe three? Guess what. There are a hundred all over this fort. You can't fight them all."

"But I can still punch your smart mouth."

"Come and try, brother," Neev said. He uttered a spell, letting a fireball form in his hands. With a puff of smoke, his nose turned into a toucan's beak.

Scruff stared in the firelight, rubbed his eyes, then doubled over laughing.

"Damn jinx!" Neev cursed. He groaned, extinguished the fireball, and sat down. He crossed his arms, leaned his head against the wall, and sighed.

The three Bullies sat in silence.
At least there's some peace and quiet down here,
Neev thought.
No Romy singing, mumbling, or squeaking.
He couldn't remember the last time he enjoyed such silence.

As Neev's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw that Scruff and Cobweb cuddled in the corner. The spiderling kissed Scruff's cheek, and he wrapped his arms around her; each was nearly the size of her entire body. As Neev watched them, he pursed his lips.
Well, maybe I do miss Romy a little.

A moment later, and he missed her a lot.

Where are you, Romy?
he thought.
Is Jamie keeping you safe?
He wished the demon were here with him. True, she would tap his beak and mock him. She would sing stridently, if for no other reason than to annoy him. She would probably tickle him, pull his ears, or mess his hair to entertain herself. But... she would also kiss him, like she did every night under their blankets. She would cuddle against him, and her skin and hair would be warm and soft. She would nibble his ear, and whisper that she loved him, and he'd whisper the same to her.

Stay safe, Romy. Don't do anything stupid.

That thought made him feel worse. If Romy could be counted on for anything, it was doing something stupid. Neev sighed.

"We'll wait until nightfall," he whispered. He wasn't sure if guards stood behind the door, but he wouldn't risk speaking louder. "At least, until we think it's nightfall. Most of Bramblebridge's men will be sleeping. That's when we'll escape."

Scruff nodded; Neev could just make out his form in the darkness.

"A fireball against the door?" he asked. "Bolts of lightning into the lock? What spell will you use?"

"A silencing spell," he said. "On you. Why use fire or lightning, when we've got a lumbering giant who weighs more than an ox? Smash through the door. With my spell, nobody will hear. Oh, and if any guards are outside, smash into them too."

"That's a given."

Neev stood up and began to pace the chamber; three paces back and forth. "We'll run upstairs into the courtyard," he whispered. The portcullis will be down at night, but we can climb the wall. Old Farmer Larva has been stacking his hay by the eastern wall; he says no crows dare fly near Rosethorn. We'll jump down into his hay, then go find Romy and Jamie."

Hopefully alive,
he thought, stomach twisting.

* * * * *

"The Bullies are in jail!" Willow cried and hopped for joy. "In jail, Madrila! All because of me!"

They stood in Madrila's small, shadowy study. Fewer items cluttered the place—Willow had cleaned the shards of everything Madrila had smashed after her slinkers died. Still, quite a few items covered the shelves and tables. Willow saw skulls with crystal eyes, steaming pots of potions, vials of poison, mummified cats, jars of bat wings, dream catchers, scrolls, spellbooks, wands, and countless other objects.

In the center of the room, Madrila sat upon her black leather chair, legs crossed. She wore black robes, a pointy hat, and a necklace of bones. For the first time in days, she smiled.

"Is that so, Willow?" she said. "In jail, you say?"

"Uh huh!" Willow raised her chin proudly, giddy with excitement. "See, I framed them for murder. I did have to sacrifice the slinkers...." She winced, but Madrila was still smiling, so she plowed on. "But it was worth it, and all part of my plan, of course. The Bullies are now imprisoned in Burrfield's dungeon. We're free to storm the town, kill its pitiful defenders, and take over Fort Rosethorn."