A second later, they were soaring high over the spiraling green towers of Emerald City. Heading due west, Puck’s wings lifted them higher and higher until they could see nearly every mile of the Land of Oz. They flew on for the better part of an afternoon before a dark castle came into view.
Puck circled it once to find a good entrance and finally spotted an open window in a high tower. He swooped inside and they landed. The room was covered in tapestries the color of the night sky. In a far corner of the room, a dark figure was hovering over a crystal ball. Her face was illuminated by the ball’s swirling light. Her skin was a pale shade of green. She had black, unkempt hair and a patch over her left eye. Her skin was covered in warts and her teeth were filed down into fangs. She was one of the scariest people Sabrina had ever seen, but when she noticed the children she let out a startled yelp and backed herself into the corner.
“You’re early!” she cried. “You missed the flying-monkey attack! And the swarm of killer bees! I’m supposed to send all manner of torment against you before you get here.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Sabrina said, “but we have to move things along. Where do you keep the buckets of water?”
“Right. Right,” the Witch said. She rushed across the room and returned with a bucket full of hot, soapy water and a mop, which she placed in front of Daphne. “Maybe the Editor won’t even notice. OK, Dorothy, in this scene, you are scrubbing the floors. I’ll go out and come back in, and when I do I’ll be very angry. All you have to do is throw the water on me. Then I’ll melt.”
The Witch raced out into the hall.
“I don’t want her to melt. I’ll have nightmares,” Daphne said.
“She’s not real, Daphne,” Sabrina said.
The Witch raced back into the room. She had a horrible expression on her face but it quickly changed to confusion. “Why aren’t you scrubbing?”
“I don’t want you to die,” Daphne said.
“But that’s what happened with the real Dorothy,” the Witch said. “You have to make me melt. Don’t worry about me! I’ve done it a million times. It doesn’t even hurt that much anymore.”
Daphne frowned. “It’s not right.”
Puck snatched the bucket from Daphne. “I would love to see her melt,” he said.
Daphne snatched the bucket back. “No one is melting!”
“Give me back the bucket or you’re not invited to the wedding,” Puck cried.
“OK, everyone calm down,” Sabrina said.
“Should I go back out and try this again?” the Witch asked.
“I won’t do it,” Daphne said.
“Daphne, we can’t get to the door unless we do this,” Sabrina said. “And we can’t stay in this story. Mirror is in this book with our brother.”
“I know that!” the little girl cried.
“Here, I’ll make this easy on everyone. Give me the bucket,” the Witch said and tried to snatch it from Daphne. “I’ll pour it on myself.”
“No!”
“Kid, let go of the bucket,” the Witch demanded. “I want to melt! Really! I do!”
“You don’t know what you want.”
“I’m not kidding. Dump that water on me now.”
“Forget it! You’re staying dry!”
Just then, the Witch gave a mighty tug and the bucket fell onto her. Water splashed across her body and a hissing sound filled the room. The children could do nothing but watch as the woman’s body began to dribble onto the floor like butter in a saucepan. A green puddle collected at their feet.
“Thank you sooooo much!” the Witch cried just before the smile on her face leaked down her dress.
Daphne was breathing deeply, and her face had taken on a queasy green hue that rivaled the Witch’s complexion. “I am never going to get over that.”
“I said it before and I’ll say it again, Oz rules!” Puck cried.
Suddenly a door materialized out of thin air. Sabrina stepped over and circled around it. It was painted red and had a little brass knocker on it. It could have been the front door of a million different homes, only there was no physical reason the door should be standing in midair. But it was there, right in front of them, defying reason. Sabrina clasped the knob, turned it, and swung the door open. A blast of wind blew her hair, and all around her was a smell of a burning fireplace.
“So this takes us to the next story?” Puck shouted over the wind.
Sabrina nodded. “That’s what we were told.”
“Where do you think it leads to?” Daphne asked.
“I don’t know, but I hope it isn’t as annoying as Oz,” Sabrina said.