by Alex Bell
“Puppet experts are known for being maverick eccentrics, but where on earth would we be if we paid too much attention to stereotypes?” Felix said cheerfully. “Thank you very much for your assessment, Sir Rolfingston. Can I offer you some tea before your return journey?”
Sir Rolfingston glanced at Stella again and said, “Thank you, no. There’s a prized collection of Bigfoot puppets awaiting my inspection in the Pinecone Mountains that I must get to urgently.” He turned back to look at the witch puppet, which had wandered off to sit on her self-made polar bear rug, still watching them with her painted eyes. “A word of advice, though,” he said. “Don’t say or do anything in front of that puppet that you don’t want the real witch to know about. You can guarantee she’ll be watching everything.”
CHAPTER THREE
STELLA HARDLY SAW FELIX over the next few weeks. After Sir Rolfingston’s visit confirmed that the bone-eating vulture had most probably been sent by the witch, Felix threw himself into a frenzy of activity. The giant birds were found in only one place in the world, and that was Witch Mountain, at the edge of the Icelands. Felix said that the witch must have fled there after killing Stella’s parents, and he immediately began petitioning the authorities to go and arrest her so that she could be brought to justice for murder.
But as the days and weeks dragged by, it became increasingly apparent that the authorities weren’t interested in traveling all the way to Witch Mountain to pursue a dangerous witch who’d committed a crime in the wilds of the Icelands ten years ago. Stella had a sneaky read of one of the letters left on Felix’s desk while he was occupied with giving Gruff his bath.
Dear Mr. Pearl,
Thank you for your recent correspondence. Unfortunately, we must inform you that crimes committed within the Icelands are outside the jurisdiction of the Royal Justice Service. Furthermore, the Royal Justice Service will not involve itself in any murderous squabbles that break out between yetis, snow queens, ice monsters, or others of that ilk.
If you wish to have a magical person tried for magical crimes, we would refer you to the Court of Magical Justice, which is located in the wilds of the Black Spells Forest on the other side of the world. We must warn you that any journey to this court will be a grim challenge, fraught with peril and dangerous unknowns.
Thank you for your inquiry, and I am sorry that we cannot offer assistance on this occasion.
Yours sincerely,
Montague Rawnsley
Secretary to the Royal Justice Service
Stella took the opportunity to have a quick rifle through the other papers on Felix’s desk and saw that there were many more letters like the first one. There was even a letter from the Court of Magical Justice, written on a heavy parchment scroll. It looked like it had been hand-delivered by a fire sprite, if the burned, blackened edges were anything to go by. This one stated that they would certainly be prepared to try the witch for her crimes, but that she would need to be physically present at the court in order for this to happen.
It all seemed rather hopeless, and Stella was starting to fear that she would be kept confined to the house forever. The bone-eating vulture had been spotted circling in the sky several times, and although it never came too close, Felix was sure that the second Stella stepped outside the bird would swoop down to carry her off to Witch Mountain.
“I’m sorry,” he said to her. “I know you want to go outside and skate on the lake and see the unicorns and build snow penguins. But until we figure out what to do about the witch, it just isn’t safe.”
Stella knew he was right, but she absolutely hated having to stay cooped up in the house. Her hands burned to touch snow, and her skin ached to feel the delicious frostiness of cold, crisp air. She had always spent a lot of time outside, and it made sense that ice princesses were meant for the snowy outdoors, not toasty warm houses.
The orangery got very cold at night when the sun went down, so Stella took to spending a great deal of time in there with the pygmy dinosaurs Felix was studying. A tiny triceratops named Toby was new to the group, and although affectionate, he was very shy. Stella took the time to make friends with him so that he’d feel more at home. And, of course, she paid special attention to her favorite pygmy dinosaur, a T. rex named Buster.
But her days quickly became monotonous, and this was made worse by the fact that Felix had become very secretive about the witch and had stopped discussing her with Stella. She knew that he must have some kind of plan in mind, because Felix wasn’t one to give up or to be told that something wasn’t possible. She knew that he was applying all of his energy to solving the witch problem, so it was maddening that he just brushed off her questions whenever she tried to ask him about it.
Stella was absolutely delighted, therefore, when the magician and Ocean Squid explorer Zachary Vincent Rook arrived at their home, accompanied by his son. Ethan Edward Rook had been one of the junior explorers who had traveled with Stella to the coldest part of the Icelands on their first expedition, and although Ethan and Stella had not gotten along very well to begin with (mostly because Ethan could be terribly obnoxious sometimes), they had become good friends during the course of their adventures.
It was the first time Stella had seen him not wearing his black Ocean Squid Explorers’ Club robe, but he was dressed no less formally in a rather somber-looking slacks, suit jacket, and tie ensemble. His white-blond hair was brushed carefully back from his pale, pointed face, as immaculate as ever.
“Goodness, you look like you’re on your way to the undertaker’s,” said Stella the moment she saw him.
Ethan looked her up and down and said, “Well, you look like you’re about to be crowned at a prom.” He raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never seen you look like a girl before. How on earth do you manage with all those petticoats?”
During their expedition Stella had dressed the same as the boys, in pants, cloak, and snow boots, but now she wore a blue dress with sparkly unicorn-shaped buttons. Her long white hair was tied back in a high ponytail and decorated with matching unicorn hair clips. The dress did have quite a few layers of petticoats because Stella enjoyed the rustling sound they made when she moved, as well as the way they puffed out around her when she spun in a circle.
“You can do absolutely anything in petticoats that you can do in pants,” she said firmly.
“I don’t see how,” Ethan replied dubiously, straightening his already perfectly straight tie. “Must be a terrible nuisance.”
“No more so than a mustache,” Stella shot back.
“I haven’t got a mustache,” Ethan replied. “Besides, it’s the Polar Bear Explorers’ Club who are obsessed with mustaches.”
“Oh, let’s not start squabbling about mustaches and petticoats the second you arrive. Come on, I want to introduce you to Gruff.”
They found the polar bear in the smoking room, lying flat on his back in contented bliss in front of the fire.
“Good God, he’s enormous!” Ethan exclaimed the moment he saw him.
Stella was used to Gruff’s size and tended to forget about how huge he seemed to people who weren’t accustomed to having a polar bear in the house. But looking at him now, she felt a big swell of pride over her pet and grabbed Ethan’s arm to tug him over to the bear.
“For an animal that’s supposed to live in the snow, he really likes fires,” Stella said.
The bear opened one eye to peer up at her when she stopped beside him, but he didn’t look like he planned on moving anytime soon.
“You big lazy lump.” Stella poked him with her toe. “Get up and say hello.”
“That’s okay,” Ethan said. Stella noticed that he was hanging back a little. “He can say hello from there. I have a history of being bitten by things, remember?”
It was an unfortunate fact that during the course of their last expedition, Ethan had indeed been bitten by a frosty, a cabbage, and a rather irritated goose named Dora.
“Pecked, too,” Ethan said, clearly thinking of Dora.
“If the geese, cabbages, and frosties are anything to go by, it can only be a matter of time before I’m seriously mauled by something again.”
“Don’t be silly,” Stella replied. “Gruff has never bitten anyone in his life. He would never dream of mauling you.” She went over to Ethan, grabbed a handful of fish biscuits from her dress pocket, and thrust them into his hands. “Here,” she said. “These are his favorite.”
“Oh.” Ethan looked appalled. “Oh no, please take them back.”
He tried to shove them toward Stella, but it was too late. Gruff had already rolled his big body over with a thump, and he was now standing up and hurrying eagerly toward Ethan. The magician froze as the polar bear pushed its snout into his cupped hands and happily crunched up all the fish biscuits with a lot of grunting and snuffling. Once he’d finished, Gruff gave Ethan a big wet lick on the cheek, and then, suddenly, his nose twitched.
“Oh dear,” Stella said. “Ethan, you should stand back before—”
But that was as far as she got before Gruff let out a gigantic sneeze that absolutely covered Ethan in bear slobber liberally dotted with biscuit crumbs. It was on his shirt and dripping down his face, and there was even a little bit of it caught in Ethan’s hair, causing it to stick out at the side.
Gruff snorted, turned away, and lumbered back to his spot by the fire. Even though the bear and biscuits had gone, Ethan remained rigid, his hands stuck out in front of him. Stella couldn’t help noticing that quite a few strings of drool hung down from his fingers too.
“Gruff isn’t the tidiest eater,” she offered. “Sometimes he sneezes after having his biscuits. Sorry.”
“Stella,” Ethan said through gritted teeth, “I am having the worst time of my life right now.”
“Oh, you can be so boring sometimes,” Stella said with a sigh. “If Shay were here he would absolutely love Gruff.”
Stella had met Shay, her wolf whisperer friend, on the expedition too, and he had been very impressed when she’d told him she had a polar bear as a pet.
“I am not Shay Silverton Kipling,” Ethan said in his haughtiest voice. “Magicians do not mess around in kennels with wolves, and we do not enjoy being covered in slimy drool. Please show me to the nearest washroom at once.”
Stella sighed again but took Ethan to the bathroom, and after much fussing and splashing around he came out looking perfectly neat and tidy once again.
“So, why has your father come to visit Felix?” Stella asked as they made their way to the kitchens.
Ethan shrugged. “I was hoping you might know. You don’t think they’re planning an expedition without us, do you? I caught Father studying a map of the Lost City of Muja-Muja the other day.”
“I don’t think so,” Stella replied. “Felix is too concerned with the witch to be planning expeditions right now.”
She proceeded to tell Ethan about the bone-eating vulture attack and the witch on Witch Mountain.
Ethan frowned. “Yes, Felix sent word about the vulture before we arrived. We saw it circling the house when we got here, but it didn’t come after us.”
“Felix thinks it wants me,” Stella said glumly. “To carry off back to the witch. That’s why I’m not allowed to go outside.”
“This is bad,” Ethan said. “Bone-eating vultures are extremely dangerous. Father says the only way to control one if you’re not a witch is to fasten a magical cuff around its leg. Then it will do everything you tell it to.”
“But that sounds perfect!” Stella said. “We just have to find one of these magical cuffs and the vulture problem is solved.”
“Father had one once; I remember him showing it to me. But it wouldn’t really solve the problem, would it? The witch could just send another vulture, or come after you herself. And the difficult bit would be actually getting the cuff on the vulture in the first place. Father says only an absolute madman would even think of attempting it. You’re likely to get your face ripped off in the process. Those talons are sharp.”
Stella remembered Felix’s bloodstained clothes and shuddered. He was fully recovered now, but she knew well enough how dangerous the bone-eating vulture was.
She sighed. “So, I’m doomed, then,” she said.
“We’ll think of something,” Ethan replied. “You can’t stay cooped up in here for the rest of your life, can you? It would be awful if you couldn’t go on the next expedition with us.”
Stella gave him a smile, but before she could say anything, they both clearly heard the silvery jingle of sleigh bells.
“Are you expecting visitors?” Ethan asked.
Stella shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
They walked a little farther down the corridor to the nearest window and peered out. A magnificent sleigh had stopped beside the front entrance, and they could see the Polar Bear Explorers’ Club crest stamped on the side. Four beautiful zebra unicorns, with bells on their harnesses, stood before it, tossing their heads and snorting in the frosty air.
“There’s only one person who has a sleigh like that,” Ethan said.
And, sure enough, a moment later Algernon Augustus Fogg, the president of the Polar Bear Explorers’ Club himself, stepped down from the sleigh, assisted by his liveried chauffeur. Stella had met him when she took the explorers’ pledge at the club and was initiated as a junior member. He looked just as she remembered: plump, portly, and sporting an impressively whiskery mustache that still made her think of walruses. As they watched, Felix appeared on the steps to welcome his guest and usher him into the house. Stella noticed that the president kept glancing fearfully up at the sky, so she guessed that Felix had warned him about the giant vulture.
Her heart sank. “Perhaps they are planning an expedition to the Lost City of Muja-Muja,” she said, though she couldn’t believe Felix would really go off and leave her now. But why else would the president be here?
It wasn’t unusual for the president to be invited to dine at the private homes of members, although he had never been to Stella’s house before. She knew that the dinners were usually grand affairs, but Felix said the real purpose was always to butter up the president whenever an explorer wanted something from the club. What could Felix want?
“I have no idea,” Ethan said when Stella voiced the question. “Perhaps we’ll find out what’s going on at dinner.”
CHAPTER FOUR
THE DINNER TOOK PLACE in the grand dining room that Felix used only on special occasions. A long table took up most of the space, and a chandelier sparkled from the high vaulted ceiling. The sun was low in the sky, and light poured through the vast stained-glass window, which filled almost an entire wall. It depicted a glorious map of the known world, the various lands colored in jewel-bright glass. Monstrous whales and sea monsters joined the sailing ships on the sparkling blue seas, while hot-air balloons, airships, and dirigibles adorned the corners.
Stella had always adored maps and globes and compasses—pretty much anything to do with navigating, really—and had spent hours staring up at this window when she was little. Sometimes Felix would join her and point out the different lands he had been to, telling her about the adventures he had had there.
Stella had always rather thought that he’d made some of it up (or at least embellished it) in order to entertain her—like when he said he’d had a stint as a boxing champion in the Mysterious Salt Lands in his youth. During the course of the last expedition, though, she’d learned that Felix could, in fact, box, and now she glanced at the window and wondered what else might have been true. Perhaps Felix really had accomplished the tricky skill of eagle taming in the Stone Mountains and mastered the art of ice-cream making while apprenticed with a famous ice-cream family in the Marzipan Islands.
Stella was pleased to see that Ethan looked quite impressed by the window, even if he had been inexplicably unimpressed with Gruff and even less impressed with Buster, who’d bitten him—rather hard—on the finger the moment he was introduced. Stella therefore kept a tight grip on th
e tiny dinosaur when she presented him to the president of the Polar Bear Explorers’ Club.
“This is Buster,” she said proudly. “He’s the naughtiest pygmy dinosaur in the orangery.”
“Great Scott, how extraordinary!” the president exclaimed, leaning forward for a closer look.
Stella was pleased that the president seemed impressed by her pet, although she was a little confused by the way he looked at her. When they had met at the club before the last expedition, the president had been reluctant to initiate a girl into the membership, but he had not seemed to think very much of Stella apart from that. And after the expedition he’d been too excited and distracted by all of the discoveries to pay her much notice, beyond congratulating her on the discovery of the mustache spoon. Now, though, he looked at her with an expression that was almost … well … almost fearful. She did hope he wasn’t going to make a big fuss about the whole ice princess thing.
“Dinner is served,” Mrs. Sap announced, and they all took their seats at the huge table.
The president sat at the head, as was his right, and the others—Stella, Ethan, Felix, and Zachary Vincent Rook—took their places on either side. Stella put Buster on her lap so that he wouldn’t run around under the table irritating everyone. She couldn’t help noticing that there seemed to be quite a strained atmosphere between the adults. Felix was quiet and withdrawn, not at all his usual cheerful self, and Zachary Vincent Rook seemed distracted, cold, and superior (though that was nothing out of the ordinary). President Fogg looked like he’d rather be anywhere else.
As the main course was served, Stella caught Ethan’s eye across the table and raised her eyebrow. The magician shrugged back. Then he put down his fork, cleared his throat, and said abruptly, “Have we got the wrong end of the stick, Father, or are you planning an expedition to the Lost City of Muja-Muja and completely failing to include us?”