“I have solved one of our problems,” Baba Yaga interrupted. “We will rebuild our coven stronger than before. We need to choose a third, and a more appropriate third this time. I am the crone. Morgan was the temptress. Bunny was the innocent, which was laughable at best. What we had was one crone and two temptresses. It diluted the magic, so we never could reach our full potential. What we need is a true innocent.”
Sabrina looked around the crowd, but there was no one else with any real magical abilities who might be right for the coven. Baba Yaga may have had a point, but there wasn’t much they could do about it. “Who do you have in mind?”
The old witch turned to Daphne. “You will do.”
“Me?” Daphne said.
“She’s just a little girl. She doesn’t know any magic!” Henry argued despite being suspended in midair.
“She tolerates the arcana well,” Baba Yaga said. “Can you not see how it moves through her, Henry? Look how their dog stands by her. He is her familiar.”
“He’s just a dog!” Sabrina cried. “He probably thinks she has a sausage in her pocket.”
Elvis rushed to join them and sniffed at Daphne’s pockets.
“House! Jacket!” Baba Yaga cried.
The door of her hut opened and there was a terrible coughing sound. Then a long trench coat flew out of the doorway and landed at the old crone’s feet. Sabrina recognized it immediately. Many months ago, Uncle Jake had traded it to the witch for her help; its pockets were filled with magical items beyond imagination. Baba Yaga scooped it up in her gnarled hand and helped the little girl into it. It was hardly a perfect fit. It dragged on the ground, and Sabrina had to help her roll up the sleeves so she could use her hands.
“I absolutely forbid this!” Henry shouted, but Bunny had already reached out her hand and Daphne took it. Baba Yaga reached out her weathered claw and Daphne took that as well.
“NO!” Henry cried, but it was too late.
“We are bound by coven,” the two older witches said.
“We are bound by coven,” Daphne said.
Daphne’s hair stood on end and her hands turned to stone. A moment later she returned to normal except for the unusually large smile on her face.
Then from deep in the abyss Sabrina saw her grandmother’s hand pulling her body back to the surface. Mirror’s eyes glowed and the ground bubbled. Geysers exploded around the crowd, sending steam into the air. A silver ooze gurgled out of the holes and collected in pools, from which an army of creatures then rose. Each was about the size of a large man, but made of what appeared to be mirrors. The second they were solid, the creatures attacked the crowd, forcing everyone to join the fight.
“Now, where were we?” Mirror said as flashing strands of electricity blasted from his hands. Daphne reached into her pocket and removed an amulet and the girls vanished, only to appear directly behind Mirror. There the little girl kicked him in his backside.
Mirror roared and his hands flew upward as if he were conducting an evil orchestra. The ground beneath the army’s feet shot into the air, twisting into a knotted pretzel of earth, trees, roads, and people. The earth grew higher and higher, almost to the height of Mount Taurus, and took everything with it. Sabrina and Daphne both lost their footing and tumbled down, slipping right over the edge. Sabrina managed to snatch on to the roots of a broken tree and Daphne clung to her leg. Together, they hung there, struggling to catch their breaths and pull themselves up to safety.
Sabrina could fix this, she knew, she just had to let a little magic out. She tried and they soared to the top of the new mountain like rockets, landing on the lonely peak. Once they were on solid ground they scurried to the side and looked over. The wind was whipping in Sabrina’s ears, and the temperature at this height was markedly lower. It did nothing for the fever inside Sabrina, and sweat dripped off her face like rain.
“Do you see Mom and Dad?” Daphne said.
The visions came like a thunderstorm, booming in her head. Her mother and Basil were safely on the ground, having taken shelter in the woods. Her father was on a ridge below them, still fighting one of the mirror men. Uncle Jake was pulling himself up to the top, branch by branch. Puck was flying to meet them. The rest of their friends were alive and fighting.
“Everyone is fine,” Sabrina assured her. “For now.”
“Can you see Mirror?”
Sabrina felt tremors shaking through her. “I can feel him. I can’t explain it, but he’s down there and he’s coming up.”
“Are you OK?”
Sabrina shook her head. There was no more faking it.
“Where are you, Sabrina?”
Sabrina peered over a ridge. Her grandmother was below, hovering midair on a cone of wind. “I’m done with this. I’ve held back until now.”
“We’re not going to let you destroy the world!” Sabrina shouted over the roaring wind. Puck fought the unearthly forces battling his wings but eventually joined the girls.