by Alex Bell
‘You don’t half talk rot sometimes,’ Ethan said. ‘Of course we’re coming.’
Beanie folded his arms over his chest. ‘Friends don’t let friends face dangerous, murderous witches alone, and you’re the best friend anyone could ask for, Stella.’
Shay just lifted her up in a great big hug, her boots coming right off the ground. ‘Beanie is quite right,’ he said, setting her down. ‘You’re one of the best friends anyone could ask for, Sparky. We love you and there’s no way we’re letting you do this by yourself.’
Stella suddenly felt a bit like she might be about to cry, but an expedition was no place for crying and carrying on, so she swallowed the feeling down and smiled at the other explorers instead.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘If I can ever repay you, then I will.’ She glanced over at Cadi and Drusilla and said, ‘I expect you two would like to stay behind, though?’
‘Not me.’ Cadi shook her head. ‘I want to be an explorer, remember? And what kind of explorer turns down the chance to explore a part of Witch Mountain they’ve never seen before? I’ve still got three days left before Father mounts a search party in case I’ve been captured by a witch, or gobbled up by a swamp ogre.’
‘You mean rescue party, don’t you?’ Beanie asked.
Cadi gave him a look. ‘Really not much rescuing that can be done if you get gobbled up by a swamp ogre.’
‘Well, I’ve got to come with you because the witch gate will only open for a witch,’ Drusilla said. ‘Besides, now that I’m a witch in training, I have every right to finally see what lies behind these gates. I can’t promise to stick around if some furious witch comes after you, though. In fact, I’ll probably fly straight off on my broomstick if that happens.’
‘That seems fair enough,’ Shay said. ‘Let’s press on then. The days go by fast, and there’s no time to lose.’ He glanced at Drusilla and said, ‘How do we get past the gates? They look like they’re locked pretty tight.’
Stella saw that he was right. A big chain was wound through the iron bars, with the most gigantic padlock fastened at the front. Strangely, there was a small plume of smoke twisting from the top of it.
Drusilla noticed this too and said, ‘Perhaps there’s a dragon key in there.’ She stepped up to the lock and pressed her eye right up to the keyhole. ‘Oh, it’s a fairy lock,’ she said. ‘Yes, I can see that there’s a spells fairy in there.’ She stepped back, gestured to Stella and said, ‘Take a look.’
Stella stepped up to the padlock eagerly. Although she had grown up with a fairyologist, and had been surrounded by fairies her whole life, she was always keen to see a new one. She squinted through the keyhole and immediately saw that this wasn’t just a padlock but was, in fact, a little house. There was a fireplace with a tiny fire crackling in it (which accounted for the smoke), a thick rug and a line of bookshelves filled with fairy tales. There was also a table, on which sat a spotty teapot and a dainty teacup, and a wing-backed armchair, in which sat the spells fairy herself, who was just in the act of pouring herself a cup of tea. It looked ever so cosy, especially as there was a tiny white fairy cat curled up in a ball on the rug before the fire.
Stella would have loved to peer in for longer but, just then, she felt a whiskery face pushing her out of the way as Gus muscled in, pressing his eye up against the keyhole.
‘Sorry,’ Cadi said. ‘He just wants to see what all the fuss is about.’
Unfortunately, the excellent lunch Ruprekt had prepared for him (consisting mostly of clams, clams and more clams) caught up with Gus just then, and he produced a loud, long belch that absolutely stank of fish and walrus-breath, and went straight into the spells fairy’s house.
She was out within seconds, gasping and choking for breath as she clutched onto the iron bar. She was similar to the fairies Stella had seen at home, except for the fact that she wore a robe rather than a dress. It was fur-trimmed and covered in glittering gold stars. She also wore a pointed hat, beneath which frizzed a mass of dark ringlets. She carried a tiny wand with a star at the end of it, which she gripped in one hand as she gasped for air.
‘Gracious me, what is this?’ she demanded. ‘Is the witch gate under attack?’
‘Oh dear, I’m sorry,’ Drusilla said. ‘You’re not under attack, it was an accident. Our walrus had a little too much lunch.’
‘Walrus!’ the fairy gasped. ‘Is that what that was?’ She gave a shudder and said, ‘You almost killed my cat!’
‘We really are very sorry,’ Cadi said. ‘Gus doesn’t have the best manners. He is a walrus, after all—’
The fairy held up her hand and said, ‘I don’t care. What do you want? Why have you come to the witch gate?’ She looked at them properly for the first time then and seemed startled. Stella supposed they did make rather a strange group. It wasn’t every day that you saw four explorers, four jungle fairies, one hunter, one witch in training, one camel, an entire bag of wriggling wonky squish-squish frogs, and one walrus wearing a pith helmet.
‘Um … we’d like to pass through the witch gate, please?’ Drusilla said. ‘I’m a witch in training, you see.’ She pointed at her hat and waved her broomstick.
‘And who are these other people? And beasts and things?’ the fairy asked.
‘They’re my prisoners,’ Drusilla said promptly.
The fairy looked them up and down. ‘You’ve taken an awful lot of prisoners for such a small witch,’ she remarked.
‘They’re all very stupid,’ Drusilla said. ‘Quite remarkably so. Just look at their walrus. And this one thought he could disguise himself as Little Red Riding Boot,’ she said, pointing at Ethan whose hair was still bunched up in tight ringlets. ‘It wasn’t very difficult to take them prisoner at all. So, will you open the gate for us?’
‘Fine.’ The fairy shook her head. ‘Anything as long as you take that walrus away with you.’
She tapped the padlock with her wand and it clicked open. The chain magically unwound itself and the big iron gates swung slowly forwards with a creaking sound that was loud enough to make the snow on the mountain tremble and set everyone off thinking about avalanches.
Gus immediately dragged himself forwards across the snow, tongue lolling happily. The others passed with a little more trepidation, trying not to feel too intimidated as the gates of Witch Mountain swung shut behind them with a loud clang.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
No one really knew quite what to expect from the top of Witch Mountain but they were all fairly sure that it wouldn’t be anything good. Stella felt a renewed sense of urgency – there’d been no sign of any confetti vultures for a while and Felix could be confronting the witch right at this very moment for all they knew. Reluctantly, she took the magic tiara from her cloak and put it on her head. She had no wish to wear it, really, but needed to be ready in case some awful witch or monster came bursting out at them unexpectedly.
They set off along the snowy path leading through a gorge in the rock, the dark sides of the mountain looming overhead in a threatening sort of way. Stella saw that the sides were covered in dramatic frozen waterfalls, which would have been quite pretty if it weren’t for the sight of the glow-piranha trapped inside the water, still glowing softly, their bulging eyes staring out from behind their glass prison.
As they made their way deeper into the chasm they saw other things trapped within the frozen water, including a pith helmet, a set of false vampire teeth, a cascade of star-tipped, sparkling fairy wands, a picnic basket full of chocolate broomsticks and a teeny tiny (definitely fairy-sized) raft with a Jungle Cat Explorers’ Club flag attached to it. Upon seeing this last one, Stella felt obliged to return the drums to the jungle fairies so they could resume the chant of doom they were clearly desperate to perform.
‘It was a Jungle Cat expedition that first discovered Witch Mountain,’ Beanie said. ‘There must have been some jungle fairies with them too. Some of them must have got past the witch gate, after all. It was headed by Captain Archibald Primrose Perkins, you k
now, and he’s generally seen as being one of the most determined and intrepid explorers ever.’
‘And what happened to him?’ Cadi asked eagerly. ‘Showered with accolades when he got home, I expect?’
‘No,’ Beanie said. ‘He was killed by witch wolves on the mountain.’
As if on cue, a lone witch wolf howled in the distance – a high, keening sound that ripped through the cold air. Shay immediately flinched and Koa tipped back her head and howled as well.
‘Oh dear, you’d better stop her from doing that, if you can,’ Drusilla said, looking worried. ‘We really don’t want the witch wolves to know where we are.’
‘Sshhh, it’s okay, girl. It’s okay,’ Shay said to Koa in a soothing voice. He glanced at the others and said, ‘Everything about those witch wolves feels wrong, dreadfully wrong. Koa must feel it too – that’s why she’s reacting like that.’
‘How do you mean?’ Stella asked, frowning at the sight of Koa, who had her tail between her legs and was cowering at Shay’s side once again.
‘Well, when normal wolves talk to me I hear their words inside my head and it feels … kind of warm. But when the witch wolves howl like that it feels icy cold, and sharp, and it actually hurts. Like having shards of ice packed inside your skull.’
He rubbed at his temples with the tips of his fingers.
‘Don’t worry,’ Ethan said. ‘If any witch wolves come our way I’ll turn them into wonky squish-squish frogs. I’m getting quite good at that now.’
‘Yes, but you really ought to be trying to remember how to undo the spell,’ Stella said. ‘Poor old Gideon is going to forget how to be a human if he stays a frog for much longer.’ She fixed the magician with a stern look and said, ‘You are trying to remember the spell, aren’t you?’
‘Naturally,’ Ethan replied. ‘My every waking moment is consumed by it, in fact.’
‘You’re such a fibber,’ Stella said with a sigh.
‘Well, you won’t be able to turn a witch wolf into a wonky squish-squish frog, or anything else, for that matter,’ Drusilla piped up.
Stella turned and saw that the little witch was perched on her broomstick, ankles slowly kicking back and forth. The jungle fairies were all settled in a pile on her lap.
‘The curse that turns them into wolves prevents them from changing shape,’ Drusilla went on. ‘They’re trapped as witch wolves for all time. For ever and ever and ever. Their souls are frozen in there, you see, and there’s nothing in the world that can change them back.’
Somewhere in the distance, a witch wolf howled once again – a long, low, mournful sound that made the hair on everyone’s arms stand on end. Koa whimpered and Shay put his hands to his head with a groan.
Ethan and Stella were immediately at his side.
‘It’s all right,’ the magician said. ‘Even if they can’t be turned into wonky squish-squish frogs, they’re still just wolves.’
‘They’re not exactly just wolves,’ Drusilla began. ‘They can rip your soul right out of your—’
‘Thank you,’ Ethan snapped. ‘That’s very cheerful.’ He turned back to Shay. ‘Look, didn’t we face frosties, carnivorous cabbages, ferocious outlaws and rampaging yetis during the last expedition and live to tell the tale? A bunch of wolves aren’t going to be any problem to us.’
‘That’s right,’ Stella said. ‘And, if needs be, I can freeze them.’ She glanced at Drusilla and said, ‘There’s nothing to prevent witch wolves being affected by ice magic, is there?’
The witch shrugged. ‘I don’t know,’ she replied. ‘I don’t think we’ve ever had an ice princess on Witch Mountain before.’
They walked on – and before long the dark chasm opened out onto the cliff top.
‘Well, would you look at that,’ Cadi said.
The others followed her gaze and saw, to their dismay, that six witches stood right at the cliff top with their backs towards them. Stella knew immediately that they were the ones they’d seen from halfway up the mountain – the witches who had sent the snow hands after them. This close, they were even larger than she had realised – six feet at least. Beside her, Stella felt Beanie shudder.
‘Let’s go,’ Shay whispered. ‘Before they see us.’
‘No, look,’ Cadi said again. ‘They’re not real.’
Finally, Stella saw that the witches didn’t have legs poking out from beneath their coats, but broomsticks instead. And those weren’t fingers sticking out from the end of their sleeves, but long, dead twigs, all crooked and black, like they’d come from a diseased old tree. The figures were hunched over more than they should be, and their pointed hats were crooked on their heads.
‘They’re—’ she began.
‘Scarecrows, by gad!’ Cadi exclaimed. ‘Not real witches at all.’
‘They don’t look right,’ Shay said. ‘We should leave them alone.’
But Cadi was already marching up to them. ‘I can’t believe I was taken in by a pile of dead sticks!’ she exclaimed indignantly.
The others followed Cadi and peered up at the tall scarecrow witches. They had lumpy sack clothes for faces, black buttons for eyes and a slashed charcoal line for a mouth.
‘Those are the scarecrow queen’s scarecrows!’ Drusilla exclaimed. ‘And if they’re here then the scarecrow queen herself is probably nearby too. She can smell children from miles around, you see.’
No sooner had she spoken than a witch came shuffling out from a nearby cave. She was dressed in a coat that seemed to consist entirely of crude little scarecrow dolls clumsily stitched together. Her hair ran in a long grey curtain down her back and she carried a stick, which she pointed in their direction as she yelled in a croaky voice, ‘Intruders! Intruders!’
The nearest scarecrow immediately whirled around, grabbed a handful of Cadi’s robes with its long, twig fingers, and lifted her clear off the ground. The others watched in horror as the creature leaned close to Cadi and a hissing voice came out, even though its charcoal mouth didn’t move at all.
‘Turn back!’ it said. ‘Turn back!’
‘All intruders will be eaten by scarecrows!’ the witch shrieked gleefully. ‘All of them!’
Cadi gave a yelp of alarm and thrashed around in the scarecrow’s grip, punching and kicking at it, but the creature held her at arm’s length and she couldn’t reach its scrawny body.
Ethan threw a spell at the scarecrow but it must have been cast with a protection charm of its own, because the spell simply bounced back. Drusilla hastily conjured up a gingerbread man, but this simply ran to the nearest scarecrow who snatched it up and crushed it into a shower of crumbs.
Stella grabbed the first heavy object she could find from her bag – which happened to be her telescope – and ran to the scarecrow. Being careful to avoid the outstretched fingers of the one next to it she began pummelling Cadi’s captor on its back and legs, as far up as she could reach. One of the other scarecrows pointed a broomstick at the ground, a spell shot from it and, the next moment, cold snow hands unfurled and gripped Stella’s ankle.
Ethan threw fire magic at them, just as Shay whipped his boomerang from his bag and sent it sailing through the air. It cut off the scarecrow’s hand in one clean sweep. The scarecrow let out a dreadful squawk and Cadi fell to the ground in a shower of broken twigs. Stella pulled her foot free from the crumbling snow hand, grabbed Cadi’s arm and dragged her back, out of harm’s way. The scarecrows didn’t pursue them as they retreated. Their broomstick legs appeared to be driven deep into the ground, pinning them there. All six scarecrows shook their arms and wailed up at the heavens, but remained right where they were.
The witch gave a furious cry of her own and began to advance upon the junior explorers. Before she could reach them, however, the jungle fairies flew about her in a flurry of leaf tunics and spiky hair, taking aim with their catapults and pelting her all over with stink-berries.
The witch howled, which unfortunately meant that the next stink-berry to go flying went straight
into her mouth. It must have tasted as awful as it smelled because the witch really did kick up a fuss then, shouting and screaming something terrible before turning around and racing back into the safety of her cave.
Seizing their chance, the explorers ran from the scene as fast as their legs could carry them. They’d been running for some time when they finally reached a snow-covered plateau. Here, they paused for a moment to catch their breath, leaning over on their knees and gasping until they could breathe easily again.
‘Some hunter you are,’ Ethan finally snapped, glaring at Cadi. ‘You might have got us all killed.’
‘Sorry,’ Cadi said, holding up her hands. ‘You’re right – it was a stupid thing to do. Thank you for helping me.’ She turned to the jungle fairies, who were strutting about and looking pleased with themselves. ‘Thanks to you guys, too,’ she said. ‘You were wonderful. Bravo.’
‘That was a close shave,’ Stella said. ‘But we’re all in one piece.’
Now they had calmed down a bit, the explorers examined their surroundings. There was a signpost in the middle of the plateau with dozens of little signs attached to it, all pointing in different directions. A myriad of paths led away from it – all various colours, from purple to black to pink to glittering gold. Stella thought that the snow somehow hadn’t landed on them at first, but, as soon as they stepped on one, they realised that the paths themselves were actually warm – so warm they could feel it through their snow boots.
The jungle fairies were quite delighted by this, and immediately started laying down the monogrammed hankies Beanie had given them, using them as beach towels on the hot stone. One of them even started optimistically fashioning some kind of umbrella out of a toothpick and a banana skin. Stella hadn’t seen a single banana the whole time they’d been on the expedition, so wasn’t too sure where that had come from, but there was no time to wonder about it as they set off to examine the post.
Some of the signs pointed towards things the explorers had already come across, such as the Balloon of Death and Madness, or the Forest of Enchanted Broomsticks. Others were unfamiliar, and ranged from terrible-sounding places, like the Pit of Spikes and the Poison Shrivel Caves, to rather nice-sounding spots such as the Fizzy Sherbet Fountains and Iced Spiced Gingerbread Street.