settle down. It is only the lingering effects of my sleep fog. It will soon pass.”
Christy wiggled her fingers and said, “I can move my fingers now, Ice-Ghost.” She looked up at Ice-Ghost and asked, “What’s going to happen now?”
“Don’t worry, this will soon be over.”
The witch, growing impatient, lashed out. “Come on, Ghost, hurry. My patience is wearing thin.”
Ice-Ghost replied, “Yes, my lady.”
The witch smiled.
“Very good, Ghost, very good. Maybe I will have an important job for you later.”
“I think not,” replied Ice-Ghost.
“Very well, Ghost, very well. No great loss.”
Ice-Ghost looked up and saw Gloo still struggling to move his hand and wondered what he was doing. Not wanting to draw any attention toward Gloo, Ice-Ghost quickly looked back down at Christy. Trying to buy more time, Ice-Ghost attempted to converse with the witch. “Brundehildigart, now that you will have the gems, will you stop searching through other worlds?”
The witch curled her lip and with a honey-coated voice said, “Why, Ghost, I’ve already promised not to trouble you in your world.” It was then that Ice-Ghost finally figured out what the witch had based her promise on. If she were ruler of both worlds, she could do as she wished to them and their world, and not break her oath. After all, the witch had promised not to bother them in their world, but not in her world. His thoughts were soon interrupted.
“You’re stalling now, Ghost, be on with it.”
“Very well, my lady,” Ice-Ghost removed one of the bags from his belt and held it in his hand. Untying the string that kept the bag closed, he began to pour some dust from it onto his hands.
“What is that, Ghost?” asked the witch.
“It is the Dust of Dawn, a minute portion of it.” He rubbed it deep into his hands. Then, he began to rub his hands furiously together until they became a bright orange and yellowish color. When he stopped rubbing his hands, he appeared to be in a trance.
The witch found this fascinating and then commanded, “Okay, Ghost, now remove the skates from the girl.”
In a deep, hollow voice Ice-Ghost replied, “True to his craft, patterns unknown, to corrupt his thought, is to be cursed unborn.”
“What, what does that mean, Ghost? That you cannot keep your promise? I’ll destroy all of you for this.”
Ice-Ghost, in his hollow voice, replied, “Our bargain was for the crystals, but not the scorn of Darian’s wrath.”
The witch calmed herself. “Yesss, yesss, I care not for the shoes. It is the crystals that I crave. I command you to complete our bargain.”
Ice-Ghost responded, “Yes, the promise will now be kept, but I warn you, beware of the power that was never meant to be taken.”
“Enough already!” bellowed the witch.
Ice-Ghost turned to Christy. “Close your eyes and do not look until the crystals have been removed.”
Ice-Ghost clasped his hands onto the sides of Christy’s skate blade and held them there. Nothing appeared to happen. The witch began to stir.
“Nothing, Ghost, nothing…” groaned the witch.
Suddenly, a light began to emanate from Ice-Ghost’s hands and he spoke these words out loud, “The mightful hand that believes he is doing justice will become a gentler hand that can be trusted. Should these hands knowingly do wrong, the spell is bust and the doom is long.” Ice-Ghost felt a bone-deep chill in his body and his hands began to burn from the cold. Just when he felt that he could no longer bear the pain, the crystal came loose.
Although he felt relieved, he still had one more crystal to remove. He clasped his hands on Christy’s other skate blade and once again he felt the bone-deep chill. The other ice crystal came off. Ice-Ghost held an ice-crystal in each hand. His body shivered and quaked. The Ice-Witch looked on in awe. Suddenly, Ice-Ghost felt his hands being forced together. Cupped in between his palms, the crystals joined together in the shape of a heart. His body began to chill as his hands began to freeze. He tried to drop the crystals, but his arms could no longer move. Ice-Ghost took a step back and his body began to freeze. The witch quickly took the crystal from his hands and held it in hers. Her eyes opened wider than they ever had before.
“Finally,” she cried, “it is mine, mine!” She held the ice-crystal tight as she continued to say, “Mine, forever mine. I shall rule the worlds in the coldest and most benevolent way that a queen can.” Just then, her hair began to freeze into thick strands of ice. The strands began to shape themselves into ice snakes that swayed on her head. She began to grow taller and shapelier. Her face thinned as her body began to frost. Soon, she stood before Ice-Ghost as a new woman: tall, slender and terrifyingly beautiful.
Before Ice-Ghost completely froze, what he saw standing before him now was a cold terrifying, and yet beautiful woman. Cruel but queenly, he thought as he completely froze.
“Noooo!” cried out Christy as Ice-Ghost froze solid.
The witch cackled in her new thin, sweet, but poisoned voice, “YES, YES, YESSS! You’re next, my dear.” She turned to look up at Gloo. “And you, you shall be dealt with a slower punishment, one that seems more fitting, I think!” She turned her attention back to Christy and touched her with her wand. It sparked against her skin and nothing more. The witch looked perplexed.
“What is this new magic? AAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!”
She then touched Gloo with her wand and he let out a scream. She looked back at Christy and thought, The Ghost. He must have helped her in some way. But how? The witch took out from her cloak a big mallet that she had always threatened the mirror with and screamed out.
“Mirror, what is it that you see? What stops my magic from working? Be quick or you’ll pay dearly.”
The mirror quaked, “I know not, but look to your book for the answer.” The witch lowered her mallet.
“Yes, of course, you worthless, unhelpful thing.” As she looked into the mirror, she saw herself for the first time in her new form. She smiled, feeling an overwhelming pleasure with her new appearance.
She went back to her book and, in a commanding voice said, “Book, I am now the holder of the truest Ice-Crystal ever brought forth, the Ice-Crystals of Wintoria, the fourth daughter of the King. Speak to me now, I command you.” The book opened and its pages began to rapidly turn themselves. Finally, they stopped and a voice rang out:
“One are two
as two are one.
One has both,
the other has none.
From deepest southern
to furthest northern point,
the greatest queen of this world
can now claim her throne.”
“I thank you, book, but I have an obstacle. My magic does not work on the brat here. Tell your queen, the greatest who has ever been, why her magic has been thwarted by just a common warm-blood!”
The Book of Magic was silent for a moment and then spoke:
“The magic of the ice-crystal
that this child had borne
runs deep in her veins
and nothing more.
For the queen to fully take her role,
the carrier of the crystals
must lose her soul.”
“Is that all?” asked the witch.
“That is all, my lady and queen.”
The witch laughed hard and was delighted. “Well, then, book, can I just remove her soul and store it with my collection of souls?”
“For your magic to fully work, my queen, her soul must be devoured to the point of no return.”
“Very well then,” the witch said as she looked up to where the Doomalings were circling. “Doomalings,” she called out, “come and enjoy the tastiest soul you’ll ever have. Come and be quick.”
Gloo screamed out, “No!” But the witch stuffed the end of his tail into his mouth.
The Doomalings began to drift downward. The slits in their noses began to open as the ends of their sno
uts began to flare. They could smell the fresh scent of Christy’s soul and were coming down to feast. Christy had regained some use of her arms and legs and was now trying to sit up as they landed on her bed. Their whip-like tongues began to lick their snouts as they leaned toward their victim. Christy had almost succeeded in sitting up when they pressed their cold snouts against her skin. She fell back onto the bed and cried out as the crow screamed. The crow had just seen the vial that contained Spring Awaking slip out from Gloo’s sleeve and fall to the floor. The witch turned in time to see the vial crash and break on the floor.
“WHAT! NOOOOO!” she screamed. “How can this be? AAAAAAgggggghhhhh!!!”
The witch now realized why Gloo had been squirming so much and raised her wand and called out, “Finesto trans neddy,” Gloo completely transformed into a donkey and fell to the ground.
Gloo quickly scrambled up from the floor and blinked his big, brown eyes. He sat on his hind legs, while he looked at his front hooves. A sad look came onto his donkey’s face and he let out a long bray. Seeing this, Christy, felt sad for the dwarf, even though he had tricked her. The witch felt no pity and raised her wand for one of the worst curses she could give anyone. It was the spell of infinite non-existence: Infi-Exultancy-Demery. This spell removed not only the recipient, but all of those who followed after him or her—their children, grandchildren, and so on. It was a spell that a witch had to use wisely and cautiously because no witch could know exactly what the outcome would be.
As the witch raised her hand, she heard a crack, followed by another. The ice floor was beginning to fracture and splinter. She lowered her