by Lori Woods
God, I don’t need reminding just how dangerous these woods are if everything Alfie said about them is true.
“All for a mushroom,” I grumble as I lead the way down the wide path. “What do you think uses the trail?” I ask Snowball.
“Something with big feet,” Snowball says.
I glance back at her. She is sniffing a gigantic footprint in the mud at the edge of the path.
“Troll!” Snowball announces and arches her back.
“Oh my God! Do I really want to get back to Potomac this bad?” I’m not sure of the answer, but I do know I hate not having a choice. I don’t want my life dictated by Night Shadow or anyone else. “Yes, it is important enough, Snowball.”
Snowball hisses.
“Maybe just to turn you back into the worst mouser in Potomac.”
Snowballs meows.
“And there’s that. To stop your constant chattering,” I say in a teasing tone. “Anyway, Broom Hilda will make short work of a big bad troll.”
“Just don’t break our ride!” Snowballs says.
God, I hadn’t thought about that. What happens if I hit a troll and break Hilda? Oh my, that’s a horrible thought.
“Thanks, Snowball. You are so helpful,” I say, shaking my head. “Come on, the mushroom grows much deeper in the woods. We have to pass Boggy Bottom and then Shimmering Lake before we get to the meadow where the mushroom grows.”
“If that little midget really knows,” Snowball says, finally giving up sniffing the troll footprint. “Trolls stink worse than poor Sprout.”
“Snowball, don’t be pitying Sprout. As far as I’m concerned, he’s at the top of my list as being the Night Shadow until proven otherwise. He could have easily pushed the stack of books over on me,” I remind her as we pick our way through the trees. “On another note, it was nice meeting Val today. But I’m still not convinced. He could be Night Shadow, too—he’s certainly covered from head to toe in black like the man that attacked me when I was moving the limb out of the road. But he is so handsome. God, so is the elf doctor.”
“Floozy.”
“Take that back this minute, Snowball!” I demand.
“Oh no! Oh no!”
“You better if you know what’s good for you?”
“Oh no! It’s a troll!” Snowball hisses.
“Don’t joke about something like that. You have the weirdest sense of humor…” I turn and suddenly see the biggest set of feet I have ever seen in my life, and they’re right in front of me. I glance up, and up, and up! “Troll!” I scream and swing Broom Hilda, hitting the monster on the knee.
“Ouch!” The green, ugly troll cries out as he jumps back. “Why did you do that?” he demands.
I look at his tusks protruding out of his lower jaw and almost wet myself as I cock Broom Hilda for a more powerful blow. Then I immediately remember what Snowball just said about breaking the broomstick, and start backing up instead.
The troll glances past me. “Kitty, kitty. Can I play with you, kitty?”
Oh my God. It’s a baby troll! I think, as I take a good look at the twelve-foot-tall green creature staring down at me.
“Witch, can I play with your kitty?” he asks again. “She is pretty.”
“Meow,” Snowball says, agreeing with him.
“Where are your parents?”
“Snacking on nasty little dwarfs. But I don’t like them. They taste bitter.”
Alfie was right. I thought he was joking.
“You mean there are dwarfs in Werewoods?” I ask.
“Tree dwarfs. They are hard to catch. I like catching them; I just don’t like their taste.”
“I see.”
“So, can I play with your kitty? I promise not to eat her.”
“Hmmm. Maybe some other time. We’re in a hurry.” I pause. “Can you tell us how to find Boggy Bottom?”
“Oh, yeah, I sneak away and go there to play,” the troll says, clapping his hands together in excitement.
“That’s nice. So where is it exactly?”
“You just follow the path until the big dead oak. Turn left at it and walk along the path. It leads right past Boggy Bottom.”
“I’ll tell you what. You can play with my cat on the way back. Just stay here and wait for us,” I say as I ease past the baby troll. “Come along, Snowball. You can play with him later.”
I glance back at Snowball and motion at her with my hand.
“Meow.” Snowball says as she hurries to my side.
“How long do I have to wait?” the troll asks.
“Do you know how to count?”
“Of course I do. Mommy taught me.”
“Okay, count to one hundred. We’ll be back before you finish.”
The troll claps his hands together, making a sound like thunder.
“Start counting.”
“One, four, two, one, five, three...”
I run! I don’t look back, but I hear Snowball breathing heavily and know she’s also running.
“He is going to be mad!” Snowball warns.
“So, should I have left you to babysit him?”
“Meow.”
“Yeah, I thought not.”
Suddenly, a booming voice echoes through the woods. “I smell a witch! Where’s the witch, Junior! Where’s the tasty witch?”
I run past the dead oak in terror.
“The dead oak!” Snowball shouts.
I skid to a halt and glance back.
“Yes, the big dead oak,” I say softly, afraid the trolls will hear me as I race back to where Snowball is waiting. The trail isn’t as wide as the one we are on.
“Don’t you dare ask me what uses this trail,” I say, glancing at Snowball who lifts her tail as she walks down the new trail. “And you better not be giving me the finger!” I add as I, too, head down the same way.
Behind us I hear the baby troll scream, “…but I don’t want to eat the witch! I like her!”
Upon hearing those words, I quicken my pace. I don’t want to run because I don’t want to suddenly go from the jaws of a troll into the mouth of something even worse. “Snowball, remind me of the fun we are having the next time I suggest coming to Werewoods,” I tell my familiar as I see vapors rising from the ground.
Boggy Bottom!
“I think we’re here,” I say, stopping and glancing around, looking for the path as it seems to have vanished. Since there are big oaks growing with their masses of vines to dodge out over the soggy ground, I summon Broom Hilda to life. “Let’s ride across,” I tell Snowball.
“Meow,” she agrees as she hops on the straw brush.
As Broom Hilda glides over the vapors, I watch the moss-covered ground. “I think there’s something moving under the moss,” I mumble. No sooner than the thought enters my mind than suddenly a giant worm rises up out of the mushy ground and snaps it teeth-lined jaws at us. The teeth miss my arm by a hair.
Snowballs hisses!
I scream, “Hilda, higher!”
Suddenly, giant worms are everywhere underneath us. They snap and snarl as we zip over the vapors of Boggy Bottom. I spot a path leading from the soggy moss-covered ground and direct Hilda toward it. I stay on the broomstick until the vines hanging from the oaks become too thick.
“That was close,” I tell Snowball as I glance over my shoulder, fearing that some of the giant worms might be crawling after us. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see nothing on the trail. “I think Alfie feared more than just trolls in the Werewoods.”
“For this, I will leave him a present in his shoes,” Snowball hisses.
“Yes, he could have warned us about the worms,” I agree and don’t scold my familiar for suggesting punishment for the dwarf. Maybe in both shoes! I find myself thinking.
“Tired!” Snowball calls out later.
It dawns on me that, according to Alfie’s directions, we should have come to Shimmering Lake by now. I stop and glance around.
“You are lost!” Snowball accuses.
“No,
I just don’t know where I am at the moment!” I snap back.
“Yeah, lost. Troll bait! Troll bait!”
“Snowball, you’re not helping!”
“Are you lost in these spooky old woods?” an angelic voice calls out from above us.
Ready to sprint down the trail if I don’t like what I see, I glance up.
What looks like a winged fairy hangs over the trail. The beautiful, winged woman is more mist then flesh. I’m still ready to make a run for it. But I have to ask, “What are you?”
“Oh, you must not be from Nightshade. Everyone knows me there. I’m a wraith, the most beautiful creature in the world. Don’t you agree?”
I glance over at Snowball. Her back isn’t arched so I figure the wraith must not pose a danger.
“Well, there’s no denying that you are beautiful,” I say. “What there is of you, that is. You know, I can see right through you.”
“Yes, flesh doesn’t last for very long so it’s a matter either of developing wrinkles or becoming a wraith. Of course, I chose the latter,” the transparent beauty says as she floats down to the ground. “Are you lost?” she asks again.
“No, she just doesn’t know where she is at the moment,” Snowballs answers before I have time to say a word.
“Where were you heading?” the woman asks me.
“We are looking for Shimmering Lake,” I say.
“Why in the world would you want to go there? It’s cold and deep and filled with dragon fish which eat anything that comes near the shore.”
Something else Alfie left out!
“She’s looking for a red mushroom!” Snowball blurts out.
“Oh, so you’re a witch?”
“I guess so. A new one really,” I tell her. “I need the red mushroom for a spell I’m brewing.”
“It must be a powerful spell. The red mushroom has strong magic.”
“I want to go back to Po...” I stop. “Actually, it’s not for a spell right now. I just want to add it to my collection of herbs and eyes of the newt and other ingredients in my cellar. Never know when you are going to need the power of a red mushroom,” I say, suddenly reluctant to give information away.
“Yes, a witch must be prepared to cast all types of spells.”
“Uh...you wouldn’t know where red mushroom grows, would you?” I ask in a hopeful tone.
“My dear, there is nothing that I don’t know about in Werewoods. Come, I’ll show you where the red mushroom grows,” she says as she floats forward, passing through vines without seeming to notice.
I glance back at Snowball.
Snowball says one word. “Lost!”
“Thanks, that’s very nice of you,” I tell the wraith. “By the way, what’s your name? Mine is Suzy?”
“Lizzie,” the woman turns and says with a smile.
Suddenly, I hear Snowball saying in a whisper. “Lizzie Borden took an ax and gave her mother forty whacks. Then when she...”
“Snowball!” I mumble under my breath. “Be quiet.”
“I’m sorry, Suzy, I didn’t catch what you were saying,” Lizzie says as she glances back at us.
“Oh, nothing. Just telling Snowball to keep up. I don’t want her to get lost in the forest.”
“Yes, we have to be careful. Wererats love cat snacks,” Lizzie says. “So do keep up.”
“Wererats!” Snowball hisses and suddenly I feel her against my ankle as I walk.
“I’m sure she’s just joking!” I say but don’t for a moment believe the lie.
“Alfie!” Snowball says under her breath.
When I hear Snowball say Alfie’s name, I’m glad I won’t be slipping my feet into his shoes any time soon.
“Are there others like you?” I ask.
“I have a friend. He’s not exactly like me but sort of…well, he’s actually one of a kind, you might say.” Lizzie stops and points toward a stand of silver vines hanging down from a moss-covered oak. “Let me part the vines for you. Shimmering Lake is just beyond them. They’re nasty things but I know how to make them let us pass through.
“Can’t we just go around?” I ask, looking at the strange vines and getting an uneasy feeling in my stomach.
“No, it’s the gateway to Shimmering Lake. If you go around the oak, the lake won’t appear,” Lizzie touches her fingers to the vines, and I’m surprised they don’t pass through. After all, she’s been floating through all the normal-looking vines.
I glance back at Snowball. “Alfie didn’t mention we had to pass through a wall of silver vines.”
“What he left out would fill a book,” Snowball answers in her scratchy voice. “War and Peace!”
“Let’s not be too hard on him. He’s not here to defend himself,” I say, even though I’m in complete agreement with Snowball.
“Please hold them open, Lizzie, so we can pass between them,” I say as I follow her. The silvery vines part like the Red Sea for her.
Wow, the vines are shimmering. They are beautiful!
Suddenly I’m jerked out of that thought as the vines scream, “Witch! Witch!” Like silver snakes, they wrap around my arms and legs.
I scream as I fight to get free. The more I struggle, the tighter the coils of the silver vines close around me.
“Got you, got you! I’ve caught the white witch for Night Shadow,” the wraith shouts in a shrill mad voice. “He’ll be here soon for your blood! For your blood! And when you are dead, I’ll get your body.”
I glance at Snowball, who has her back arched and is hissing. Broom Hilda is on the ground just beyond the reach of the vines.
“Snowball, get on Broom Hilda!” I shout as I start humming “The Ride of the Valkyrie”, which immediately animates the broomstick. Take Snowball back to the library! I command silently, the words only in my mind. “Snowball, bring Alfie! Hurry,” I shout even as vines wrap around my mouth, gagging me.
In a flash, Broom Hilda and Snowball are airborne, even as the wraith floats toward them.
“No matter. Night Shadow will be here before they can return!” she says, but I detect doubt in her voice. At least I hope I do.
I want to ask her who Night Shadow is, but I can’t speak. I can hardly breathe. The silver vines are winding around me—tighter and tighter.
Please hurry, Snowball, I scream mentally.
“The more you struggle, the tighter they squeeze,” Lizzie says happily.
I stop struggling. She’s right. The vines stop tightening. I feel a little relief. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll last until Snowball returns.
“It’s going to be great to have a body back. I hate being dead. Sometimes I wish I was dead dead,” Lizzie says. “But Night Shadow is going to make me whole again. He promised.”
Minutes pass but then suddenly I hear a scratchy voice singing, “Lizzie, Lizzie, I am back. Alfie brought his big, old ax. He’s going to give you forty whacks.”
I see Broom Hilda drop out of the sky with Snowball riding on the straw brush and Alfie holding on for dear life!
“Cut her loose, Alfie. Give those silver vines some whacks,” Snowball shouts as the dwarf topples off the broomstick and lies on the ground, holding the biggest ax I have ever seen. “Get up, Alfie. What’s the matter with you?” Snowball demands.
The dwarf climbs to his feet and pauses with the ax over his shoulder as he glares at Snowball. “Hairball! I’m afraid of heights. You said we would fly at ground level. You lied to me!”
“Just a little white one, Alfie. Now use your big ax instead of your big mouth!”
They are going to fight until I suffocate!
With a shake of his long hair, the dwarf advances on the silver vines.
“Stay away, troll bait! Don’t you dare harm my vines! Don’t you dare! I’ll have the trolls roast your toes and eat them first!” Lizzie screams at Alfie as he swings his big double-bladed ax. The shiny blade chops through dozens of vines at a time while Lizzie floats around over him, screaming as though she too is in pain. And I notice that
with each vine Alfie cuts, the wraith fades. Alfie is tireless as he swings the ax that is almost as big as he is.
I’m almost free! I pull the remnants from my mouth.
“Don’t stop! Chop them all down, Alfie!” I shout as I run to Broom Hilda. She comes to life at the touch of my hand. “Get aboard, Snowball. As soon as he finishes, we’re going to make our getaway!”
Lizzie is barely visible as Alfie chops through the last of the vines. I can make out her mouth moving but she has no voice. Finally, when Alfie’s blade cut through the last of the vines, she vanishes completely.
“Hurry, Alfie, get on Broom Hilda. Night Shadow is coming,” I yell.
The dwarf pumps his legs like short pistons as he sprints toward Broom Hilda. If I wasn’t in mortal fear of Night Shadow, I would burst out laughing. Instead, I reach down, grab him by his short hairy arm, and swing him up behind me. He barely has time to grab my waist before Broom Hilda is airborne and Alfie is screaming.
Suddenly, I remember the red mushrooms. We don’t have them. I look over my shoulder at Alfie. “We never got the mushrooms!” I tell him.
“You don’t have them?” he asks.
“Of course I don’t have them. They’re on the other side of the lake.”
“Look!” Alfie shouts. “Down there. We’re close to Shimmering Lake. If Broom Hilda takes us to the other side, we can get them.”
“Hmm, you’re right.” I tell Broom Hilda to take us to where the red mushrooms grow.
She almost stops mid-flight, hesitant.
“Hilda!” I shout. “If you don’t keep flying, we’re all going to fall. Please go to the other side of the lake. We’ll find the mushrooms.”
Broom Hilda darts forward across the water and heads toward the ground.
“I see them,” Alfie says. “Just a little ways more.”
“Broom Hilda,” I say. “Please take us to the mushrooms.”
She quickly changes directions and we land in what looks almost like a field of red mushrooms. Alfie jumps off Broom Hilda and races toward them. Frantically, he begins to pull them from the ground.
All at once, I hear a booming voice. “Fee-fi-fo-fum, I think dwarfs are pretty dumb.” The ground shakes and I see a monstrous troll, about five times the size of a man, heading straight toward Alfie.
“Run, Alfie, run!” I shout. At the same instant, Broom Hilda takes off and races toward him. He stuffs the mushrooms inside his shirt and leaps on Broom Hilda just as the giant troll bends over to grab him.