“I have a great idea for number three, but . . .”
Sabrina saw a twinkle in her sister’s eye that she had seen many times before. Daphne was about to say something that would make Sabrina’s life miserable. It might as well have been a neon sign reading TROUBLE AHEAD!
“Why do I think I’m going to hate your choice?” she asked.
Daphne folded a pancake in half and shoved it into her pocket, then grinned at her sister. “I have no idea.”
? ? ?
“Of all the witches in this town, you have to pick the one that wants to eat me,” Sabrina complained as she stomped through the woods toward Baba Yaga’s hut. Bunny, Daphne, Morgan le Fay, Puck, Elvis, and her father followed closely behind. None of them were thrilled by Daphne’s choice. They took turns trying to talk her out of it, but Sabrina’s sister insisted that if they wanted to build a coven of super-powerful witches they should ask super-powerful witches to join.
“Can we please try to keep it down,” Bunny whispered to Sabrina. “I don’t like this idea any better than you do, but we don’t need to whine quite so loudly. There are other things in these woods to be afraid of—like the Scarlet Hand.”
“Sorry,” Sabrina whispered back. “But I’m completely freaked out. I think this is a really bad idea. We can’t save the world if we’re in Baba Yaga’s belly. Why can’t we use Mordred?”
“No boys allowed in a coven. It has to be a crone, a temptress, and an innocent. Besides, boys have cooties,” Morgan said with a giggle.
“Is that what these things are?” Puck asked as he scratched at his armpits.
“Fine, what about Mallobarb and Buzzflower?” Henry asked. “Briar’s fairy godmothers use a lot of magic and they’re already living in the castle.”
“They’re fairy godmothers—not witches,” Daphne said. “Duh!”
“Why not Ozma of Oz?” Sabrina begged. “She could be the innocent, Morgan would be the temptress, and Bunny the—”
An angry glance from the queen cut off the end of Sabrina’s sentence.
“So how do you plan on getting her to agree?” Sabrina said, quickly changing the subject. “She’s not exactly the joining type.”
“We’re still working on that part of the plan,” Daphne said as she scratched behind Elvis’s ear. “Aren’t we, buddy?”
“Please! Keep your voices down!” Bunny shouted, then closed her eyes and calmly counted to ten. “We don’t have to announce to half of Duchess County that we’re coming.”
“Are you afraid of Baba Yaga, Bunny?” Henry asked.
The witch rolled her eyes and laughed. “Hardly. My power nearly rivals hers.”
“Nearly?” Sabrina asked. “‘Nearly’ is not as good as ‘totally rivals’ or ‘is better than’ or ‘spits in the face of.’”
The queen scowled and marched to the front of the group. Following her directions, they trudged deeper into the darkest and loneliest part of the Hudson Valley forest. Signs of life became more and more scarce, which meant they were walking in the right direction.
The trees were black and bare and looked more like shadows than living things. The grass grew in thin, gray clumps. The path was knotted with ugly vines, thick as chains, and covered with thorns that jabbed at ankles. Sabrina started to feel that throbbing, woozy sensation she got when she was around magic. She told herself to be strong and pressed onward.
Following a bend in the path, they came upon the old witch’s home. It was a ramshackle hut with a sagging roof covered in abandoned birds’ nests. The two small windows and the single black door looked suspiciously like a face scanning for intruders. As if in mockery of a normal home, the hut also had a white fence, but instead of pickets, it was constructed from bones—mostly those of large animals, but more than a few looked human. A walkway of bleached skulls led to the front door.
With a grimace, Daphne unhooked the fence latch and swung the bone gate aside. The family followed her into the yard.
“Who’s going to knock?” she asked.
“It’s your coven. You knock,” Sabrina said.
Daphne cringed. “I’m scared.”
Puck rolled his eyes. “I’ll handle this.”
“No,” Henry said, stepping forward. “I’ve dealt with her a few times. The secret is to be respectful.”
“Yes, remember to say please and thank you when she’s chewing on your face,” Sabrina muttered.
Henry raised his hand to knock on the door but quickly pulled his hand away.
“It burned me,” he said, looking down at his knuckles. Sabrina could see the painful blisters forming on his hand. Henry searched the ground for something to use as a knocker, but the only thing available was a loose skull from the path. He yanked it out of the soil and clunked it against the door. Moments later, it swung open, but there was no one in the doorway.
Puck chuckled. “I hope everyone brought a change of undies, ’cause I think this is just going to get spookier and spookier.”