Ice-Ghost

suspected. He was once again surrounded by the ice-rats. Just as he prepared himself for battle, the Ice-Witch walked into the room. For a brief moment, they just stared at each other. While Ice-Ghost had a fierce look of determination on his face, the Ice-Witch had a look of defiance and disgust on hers. However, her tone and demeanor quickly softened.

  “Well, Ghost, you’re still alive.”

  “Apparently,” said the Ghost.

  The witch smiled. “Ghost! I should let my rats feed on you for killing my beloved Moldoff and his brother, but I think I won’t.”

  “That is kind of you,” said Ice-Ghost. “But why the generosity?”

  The witch smiled. “Each of us has made mistakes. Your mistake was coming into my land with your bag of tricks, your rebellion and a clear defiance of my laws. Mine was my gentle enforcing hand, taking away your soul and leaving you to walk in wanderlust, soulless, through the worlds. I have thought long and hard about this decision. My punishment, at the moment, seemed fair, but, lately, I have softened. Maybe you have been punished long enough. Maybe if you had your soul back, you could better understand and judge me. Sometimes, I think that is why you have mistrusted and misunderstood me for so long, because your soul hasn’t been there to help guide you.”

  “Maybe,” said Ice-Ghost, as he once again looked upon the ice-rats before turning his attention back to the witch.

  The witch paused for a moment and then continued, “Today, Ghost, things are different. Today, I am ready to reconsider your punishment. Today, I am ready to offer you amnesty and forgiveness. I am willing to put our differences aside. I may even consider returning your soul, Ghost. Would you like that?”

  Ice-Ghost said nothing and just looked at her with a heavy, mistrusting suspicion. The witch then took out Lucille, her Golden Wand. It had a walnut-sized pearl on the tip and a silver band at the bottom. The pearl glowed like the moon. Waving the wand, she called out, “Presentasia.” Christy appeared in the room, lying on her bed of ice.

  “I don’t know what she means to you, Ghost, but you can rescue her soul as well as your own. That is, if you choose to.”

  Ice-Ghost looked at Christy in her deep, cold sleep, lying on her bed of ice. “She is only an acquaintance. I do not know her.”

  “Whether you know her well or not, I care not. Her life, however, now belongs to me. Are you interested or not, Ghost?” The witch laughed and, in a low, crackly, screeching voice said, “Remember, Ghost, nothing comes for free. If you wish to save her, then you must do one small favor for me.”

  At this remark Ice-Ghost smiled and said, “Remove the Ice-Crystals, I presume, since you cannot remove them yourself.”

  “Very good, Ghost, but you are only half right. I can remove them, but it would be quiet messy. Very messy indeed. You can save me the mess and her the pain. You now have a chance to rescue her soul, as well as your own. Do not waste it, Ghost.” Ice-Ghost looked at Christy as she slept. “WELL, Ghost! Are you interested or not? I can make her disappear forever if I want,” said the witch, growing ever more impatient. Pointing her wand at Christy, she gave voice to a foreboding thought. “Maybe I’ll just melt her frozen body out of those skates.” Ice-Ghost could no longer hide his worried look. The witch saw his expression and reveled in her joy. “You know, Ghost, I think you’re not telling me something. I think she means a lot to you, maybe even more than the crystals.” The witch pointed her wand into the air and chanted:

  “Doomalings, Doomalings rise up and see

  If today you have one more soul on which to feed.”

  Out of the witch’s brewing cauldron flew three Doomalings. Up toward the high ceiling they flew, circling like vultures around their next anticipated meal. The Doomalings looked like translucent bats, with long tails and short, strong arms. The shape of their heads was somewhere between the mix of a pig’s head and a bat’s head. Their mouths seemed to have both a smirk and a smile. Their eyes were deadly serious. Two long fangs protruded from their snouts. The end of their snouts looked somewhat like a pig’s snout, round and indented. In the indentations were two slits that could suck the life force from a victim. Although they looked more like ghosts or phantoms, they were indeed real and deadly. The ice-rats in the room squealed and fled. The crow crouched into the corner of the window opening and closed his eyes. Ice-Ghost felt a cold emptiness like he had never felt before. Seeing this reaction, the witch felt pleased.

  The witch spoke, “Well, Ghost, time is running short and my Doomalings look very hungry. What do you say?”

  As there was not much else that he could do, he asked the witch, “Maret Brundehildigart, how do I know that you will not break your promise this time?”

  The witch looked surprised. “Ghost, I haven’t heard that name in such a long time. You are always full of surprises. As for proof, I will show you soon enough, but, first, you must prove your worth to me by performing an act of good faith.”

  “What is that?” asked Ice-Ghost.

  “Ghost, I want you to touch the girl’s skates,” the witch said.

  A suspicious request, he thought, but he could see no harm in it. He leaned over and touched Christy’s skates. As he held his hand on her skates, he sensed the coldness within her body. Not good, he thought. But she is alive.

  The witch, feeling satisfied, said, “Excellent, Ghost, very good.” She then raised her left hand and with her index finger pointing upward began to twirl it. The cap on the green vial behind Ice-Ghost began to spin and lift itself off the bottle. Then, it fell to the ground. A green fog began to push itself out of its container. Suspicious and puzzled, Ice-Ghost could only stand there and expect the worst from this new event. The thick smoke continued to rise five or six feet before it fell to the ground alongside its vial. When the bottle had emptied itself onto the floor, a beautiful young princess began to materialize from within the fog

  Princess Ringold

  She spoke in a soft and sweet voice, “Ice-Ghost, I am sorry.”

  Ice-Ghost bowed his head and said, “Princess Ringold.”

  There stood the Forest Princess in her long, sparkling, green dress. She had long, richly colored, brown, wavy hair. Her eyes almost matched the color of her hair. Her skin looked like it had been kissed by the sun. She was of a slender build and beautiful.

  “Ice-Ghost, I am truly sorry.’

  Ice-Ghost slowly looked up and met her eyes. “So, the Ice-Witch has brought you back.”

  Princess Ringold’s eyes filled with tears as she started to say, “I was…,” but before she could finish, the witch raised two fingers to her lips and, with short, waving motions, cast a silence spell on the princess.

  “Careful, dear, or I’ll forget that I have been too kind to you wretches.” The witch spoke on her behalf. “What the princess is trying to say, Ghost, is that I have confined her recalcitrant mother and father. So, you see, Ghost, she has been doing my bidding all along. Yet, there are still plenty of reasons to save the Forest Princess.”

  Ice-Ghost looked back into the eyes of the princess and said, “You didn’t know that she would or could take my soul, did you, Princess Ringold?” The princess bowed her head and turned it from side-to-side.

  “What a horrible mess,” said Ice-Ghost, looking at Princess Ringold with a warm smile.

  “Her mother and father, where are they?” he demanded of the witch.

  With her cackling voice, she shouted, “I’ll set the bargaining here, Ghost.”

  “If you truly want the crystals, then I will set the bargain price.”

  The witch, looking infuriated, restrained herself.

  “Well, Ghost, I will give you credit for being a good negotiator. So name your terms, but I warn you, I have only so much tolerance.” Both Ice-Ghost and the princess knew that once the witch got what she wanted, her plans were to do as she pleased.

  Gloo remained hidden behind the stack of boxes as he listened to the witch. He, too, knew that the witch would never keep to her ent
ire promise and oath. Something awoke in the dwarf that broke away the heavy fear that he had been feeling for a long time. Seeing the crow still quivering with his eyes closed, Gloo ran from behind the stack of boxes to the counter that stood in front of the witch’s potions and enchantment shelves. Peeping his head out, he sheepishly smiled at the princess. Even with a new sense of courage, Gloo found it hard to keep his body from shaking. He was not sure what he would do even if Ice-Ghost decided to trust him.

  Ice-Ghost began making his demands. “First, you must release Princess Ringold’s mother and father and take a witch’s oath to give them safe passage from your realm.”

  The witch looked surprised, “Here, Ghost? You think that they are here?”

  Ice-Ghost replied with certainty, “How you took them from the world’s realms is a mystery to me, but they are here and there will be no deal if you do not release them.”

  “Clever, Ghost, very clever. And how they were brought here will remain a mystery to you, Ghost.” The witch paused for a moment. “Very well then, Ghost, they will be released.” The witch mused for a moment and then asked, “Is that all, Ghost, for the world’s greatest gems? Ah ha ah ha ha ha. Is that all?!”

  “Of course not! You must also swear on the Stone of Amara-Nafar never to bother our world again.”

  In the witch’s wicked mind, she was already thinking about how she could break