Wand of the Witch by Daniel Arenson Read Free Book Online Page A

their feet. If there are any witches in the darkness, they'd hear us from miles away, Cobweb thought.
    It seemed like they walked for hours when Romy paused and said, "I smell grunters." She sniffed. "Ooh, and some cookies!"
    "Cookies?"
    Cobweb paused and sniffed. It did smell like cookies ahead—honey cookies with almonds, she thought. The sweet smells mingled with a stench like rot.
    "Wet's pwoceed quietwy," Cobweb said. "T-t-tiptoe and d-d-don't make a sound!"
    They inched forward, careful not to rustle any dry leaves or twigs. Romy pulled her hood over her head, hiding the fire of her hair. Campfires burned ahead; Cobweb smelled them and saw their soft light. She parted branches before her and saw a camp of creatures.
    The young witch Willow stood over a cauldron, mixing its contents with a ladle. A hundred monsters surrounded the cauldron—warty grunters, long-toed slinkers, three-headed dogs with flaming eyes, reptiles with red horns, and many others. A dilapidated house rose behind them, cloaked in shadows.
    "Boil and bubble," Willow chanted as she stirred. "Toil and trouble. I brew a poison of evil and pain!" She tossed powder into the cauldron, tightened her lips, and stirred with more vigor. "Curses and hexes, devils and spirits, poison this brew with your evil! Here I stir a potion of wretchedness."
    Delicious smells of honey, roasted nuts, and baked apples wafted from the cauldron.
    A grunter sniffed the brew. "Mmm, cookie dough!" he said. " Grunt grunt , can we eat this batch too?"
    Willow growled and pulled her hair. "This is not cookie dough! This is a foul, evil poison. This is a brew of terror, of demons and ghosts!"
    The grunter dipped his finger into the mix and licked it. "Yum yum, tastes especially sweet this time."
    Willow seemed close to tears. She tossed the ladle aside, sat down with a groan, and covered her eyes.
    "Cookies again. Every bloody time I try to create an evil potion, it comes out as cookie dough." She heaved a sigh. "Very well, I suppose you might as well eat this one too."
    The monsters around the cauldron cheered and began to feast, smacking their lips and licking their fingers.
    Cobweb watched with fascination from between the trees. "She's not m-m-much of a witch," she said.
    Romy was wagging her tail furiously under her cloak. She was drooling like a hungry dog, and her stomach growled. Luckily, the monsters were too busy eating to hear.
    "Cookies!" Romy whispered in awe. "I want some. Please please, can I go eat some too?"
    Cobweb shook her head. "No, Womy. I'll b-b-bake you some at home tomowwow, okay?"
    Romy's drool dripped onto the forest floor and her stomach gave another growl.
    A shriek tore the forest.
    The monsters around the cauldron froze, and Willow's face paled. The young witch's eyes widened and she trembled.
    "Willow!" came a shriek from the house.
    The witch shut her eyes and began to mumble; it seemed to Cobweb like she was praying.
    "Willow, what are you doing?"
    A second witch stormed out of the house behind the campfire. She was young, tall, and beautiful, with golden hair and blazing green eyes. Her black robes swished around her. The firelight painted her face red.
    Willow straightened, gulped, and said, "Uhm... hello, Madrila. I'm... I'm preparing a poison for the Bullies—something so deadly, they cannot survive it."
    Madrila! Hiding behind the trees, Cobweb gasped. So here was Dry Bones's long-lost daughter. Here was the witch who wanted her father avenged and the Bullies dead. Here was the woman who had sent grunters to kill them. Cobweb reached for an arrow.
    I should kill her now, she thought. I should shoot an arrow into her heart. And yet she dared not. A hundred monsters stood here. If she killed Madrila, those monsters would swarm across the forest, find her and Romy, and kill them. Cobweb forced herself to release her arrow.
    "Willow, you made cookie dough again!" Madrila shouted. "When will you learn to be a proper witch? When will you learn to be