With uncanny speed, Lee leapt to her feet and flipped Jason onto her back. It was like a reflex action on her part – she was ready to carry him away if necessary, just as she would carry Marcus to safety if she couldn’t beat this spook.

The spook hissed again. “The seventh hagspawn will threaten the Netherworld hordes…”

Jason clung on, holding her shoulders. Her heart was speaking fast and she was really sweating now. He was intimately acquainted with her strong, sweaty body over thirteen years, and now the way she was sweating was because of adrenaline, or whatever a night-hag had in place of adrenaline. He could only envy her strength, that she could leap into a fight at a moment’s notice. He was already terrified by the spook and could only cling tightly to his wife.

“I can see your leaky alien tits,” said the spook in his dry, rattling voice. “I killed twelve feeble people and never batted an eye, but you naked… that’s an image I won’t forget, however hard I try.”

So rude… but Lee had told Jason that the spooks always said weird and creepy things.

Lee leapt and grabbed at the clustered eyes on the ceiling. At that moment, her green skin seemed to glow in the dark. “You wanna cause night-terrors? Pick your fights wisely!” The next instant, there was a prolonged hissing sound and the next thing Jason knew, the glittering eyes disappeared, and Lee now had white, sticky strands on her fingers, like giant cobwebs.

Jason slid off her back and lighted the oil lamp beside the bed. Lee was grimacing as she examined the sticky white goop on her fingers. “Urgh! The spook’s ectoplasm left a real mess, hey?”

At that moment, Marcus woke up on the other side of the screen and began to cry.

“I – I’ll get him,” said Jason. He moved the screen aside to pick up his baby son in his arms and held him close. Marcus screwed up his little green face and bawled. Jason knew how he felt. He was trembling himself.

Lee’s brows drew together. “Aw, my poor boys. Here, sit on my knee.”

Jason sat himself on her bare, green legs, Marcus in his arms. The hag wrapped her strong, sweaty arms around them. There was sticky ectoplasm on her long fingers still. She kissed the top of his head. “There now, everything’s alright. The spook’s gone. He was just an apparition. Not really there. I’m here for you though, hey?”

Jason leaned against her, feeling her breasts press against his back and her warm breath on his neck. Her nipples were leaking and getting her pungent smelling milk onto his back. He rocked Marcus and sang “Pioneer of the Waves” to him. It was a Grey Isles song he had learned from Porson, his own family’s butler.

Lee kissed the top of his head again. “You’re so picture perfect, you two. And that’s such a happy song. I wanna join in. Oh Marcus… if you don’t stop crying, I’ll sing. I will.” Fortunately, there was a chuckle in her voice which meant she was joking.

Marcus put his little green fist to his mouth. A sure sign he was hungry.

“Oh, here, lemme feed him,” said Lee. Jason placed Marcus in the crook of her arms and his tiny mouth found her breast. Jason did his best to wipe the awful ectoplasm off her fingers. Lee was sweating a lot and the smell in the bedroom was getting pretty heavy, so he wiped her shiny green face with a cold wet cloth. She never had a problem with him doing this. In fact, she had said he should definitely do so if she was sweating too much for his liking. She barely seemed to notice the feel of cold water on her skin.

She smiled and then peered at him anxiously. “You alright, my love? That spook won’t ever be back. Not if he’s got any sense.”

He looked into her penetrating blue eyes. “How do you know there’re no other nightmare creatures like him in the ‘neighbourhood,’ as you put it?”

Her greyish lips twitched to form a smile and her blue eyes twinkled. “I am a nightmare creature, Jason. I should totally know.”

Her confidence gave him confidence. “You’re my favourite nightmare. I’ve never wanted to dream since we’ve been together.” That piece of wordplay was a bit hard to make sense of, but Lee seemed pleased by it. They kissed, even though Jason could taste the vomit residue in his wife’s mouth. When you love someone, you get used to her being messier than is humanly possible.

00O00

Lee successfully cuddled Marcus to sleep, the put him in his cradle behind the screen. Then she took Jason in her arms. She rocked him and murmured in his ear, reassuring him – again – that there were no more spooks in the ‘neighbourhood.’ Tasting vomit in her mouth had not killed Jason’s sexy mood, but the presence of the spider-man had done. Instead, he drew comfort in his wife’s closeness and her strength. He could feel the comforting sense of her embrace as her essence slipped into his dream and hear her soothing words in his mind. “No spooks around, my love. I’ve checked. Rest now. Don’t worry.”

The next morning, Lee showed that she was really back into the swing of morning sickness by vomiting profusely into a bucket. Jason was used to this by now, and really, it was nothing like as much mess as when she gave birth. He laid a hand on her broad shoulder as she leaned over the bucket and retched.

When the bucket was almost full of vomit, she straightened up, breathing heavily through her long nose. The sunlight streaming through the diamond paned windows shone off her green cheeks. Her red hair cascaded down her broad, green back and framed her face. Jason had always thought the clash of bright colours with her strange green skin and vivid hair was incredibly beautiful, right from the moment he first saw her. Even her morning sickness couldn’t take that glamour away.

She gave a wry smile. “Wish I threw up cutely, like you do, hey? Not in great bucketloads.”

Lee looked after Jason when he got sick. She wouldn’t entrust that duty to anyone else.

Jason laid a hand on his wife’s green belly. She wasn’t showing a bump yet, but there was absolutely no mistaking her morning sickness. “Look forward to welcoming you to our world, little one,” he said. Lee beamed, her smile lighting up her green face. She thought it was adorable whenever he spoke to a baby who was still in her womb. It never seemed to get old.

“No bump yet,” she admitted. “I’m still saggy.” She demonstrated this by grabbing the loose folds of bright green skin around her belly and extending them. They looked like sheets of shiny green taffy. “I’ve had so many babies that my belly may never be taut again,” she said thoughtfully.

They had plans to make to get ready for the Winter Solstice Gala they were hosting. First, Lee spontaneously decided she needed to ‘get the cobwebs out of her brain’ before the kids woke up by swimming in the frozen lake. Only she was strong enough for this kind of exercise. Her sinuous green arms cracked the ice as she swam front crawl across the frozen water, cleaving a path all the way to the far bank. Her swim back was quicker with no ice to break. Jason watched from the bank, wrapped up in furs. Lee emerged, stark naked and dripping wet, bare foot in the snow, her red hair sodden and hanging limply down her broad shoulders. After thirteen years, such a display of her awesome strength was still arousing, despite the loose folds of green skin around her midrift. Her huge, sagging green breasts glistened in the early morning sunshine. The strands of her wet hair began to freeze into icicles.

“How’s the water, darling? Too bad I can’t join you in there today.”

She smiled and touched his arm. “It’s just about cold enough. I’m totally awake.” She flicked the strands of her frozen hair, causing the icicles to clink together. They walked back to the house, hand in hand.

00O00

Elsie supervised the cooks as they got things ready for the Solstice Gala. Kat was inclined to slack if she wasn’t watched closely and poor Mary wasn’t the brightest and couldn’t be expected to do everything right without help. To give them all encouragement, Lee had made a model of a little wooden house with realistic snow on the roof and the message, “To All My Lovely Staff.” The hag had also sculpted figurines out of ice to set around the hall. Even ice sculpted by her magic green fingers wouldn’t last long, but they would most likely last long enough.

Elsie smiled as Leevana came in with her little sons, Blaise and Gabby, in her arms. The green woman beamed at them. “Heyy, how’re you doing? Wish I could help, but my arms are full. Aren’t they, darlings?” She kissed both of her little sons on the top of their heads.

“Everything’s coming along,” said Elsie.

“’Lo!” squeaked Gabby, waving his chubby little green fist at her.

“Big bro’s coming!” piped Blaise in his shrill little voice.

Lee grinned. “That’s right. Karl’s coming. We’ve gotta get his favourite dish ready.”

Mary looked up, wide eyed. “Karl’s coming? Good, he’s wunnerful. So sweet and beautiful. Why’d he stay away so long?”

Lee gave her a small smile. “He got married, Mary. But now he’s coming back to stay with me. I – That’s how it should be.” Her blue eyes were strangely bright. “It broke my heart when he moved out.”

When Lee was gone, Mary wanted to talk about Karl again. “He does look different from Lee’s other kids, don’t he?”

“The Mistress adopted him,” explained Elsie. “But she gave birth to all her other children. Remember how I told you that Karl was once the Prince of the former land of Ostinia? He needs special looking after. Poor thing – he has a condition where his blood doesn’t clot. It must be from all the inbreeding the Royal Family did. He needs his mother now. She can take care of him like no one else can.”

00O00

Sophie had never enjoyed Maths much, but she found a new appreciation for it since she had a new tutor - Chase from Treania, the continent to the far west, over the oceans.

“You’ve shown a real improvement,” Chase told her. That Treanian accent made her feel all warm and gooey inside. It was a sing-song sort of voice.

“I – Thank you,” Sophie replied, her voice coming out in a squeak. She became aware that she was gazing at him, at his emerald green eyes and auburn hair and chiselled face, defined jaw with a shadow of stubble broad shoulders … She quickly looked at her feet.

Sophie had to help with the Solstice Gala and she was still thinking about Chase as she scampered into the Ballroom with her tray of appetisers. The hall was decorated with the glittering ice sculptures Mum had made which reflected the rainbow lights of the crystal chandelier.

Great Auntie Lori was talking to Al. “And how is my favourite little green man doing?” She actually pinched Al’s cheek when she said that. “Have you been good?”

Al ran his fingers through his hair. “Um… Yes Auntie.”

Lori gave her shrill laugh. “To think, my most perfect nephew is one of the green ones! You will be a heartbreaker one day.”

“Appetisers?” Sophie as she held out the tray.

“No thank you, Sophie,” said Lori.

A seven foot tall woman with green skin came gliding across the hall, her long black hair streaming behind her. It was Aila, a night-hag like Mum. She wrinkled her shiny green nose at Sophie’s tray of appetisers. “These are no good. Where’s the raw meat?”

“You want to eat raw meat?” said Lori.

“You want to go out and catch some?” said Aila.

“I hope no one in our family would be so uncouth,” said Lori with a sniff. She put her hands on Al’s shoulders. “My Leafy Cheeks would never be uncouth.” Sophie thought her nickname for Al was sort of sweet, but Al bit his lip and rubbed his green cheek self-consciously.

Aila laughed out loud. “Lee’s got her fondest wish – which was squirting out a huge litter.”

Lori ruffled Al’s hair. “Well as a spinster, I’m starting to be jealous. Of her having five sons that is.”

Sophie blinked.

Lori continued. “I want to ask if I can keep Al.”

“Yeah, I dare you to ask her,” said Aila smirking.

At that moment, one of the baby toys Mum made rolled by. It was a colourful ball with a smaller ball for a head which rolled around all by itself. The little head had a smiley face. It must have escaped from the playroom. “A chance to test my claws,” said Aila, flexing her claws and stalking after it.

00O00

Mum was greeting one of the guests. Sophie walked up to them. Sophie recognised the guest as a man who mum had tutored when he was a boy. Mum clasped his hands in hers. “So great to see you again, Reggie. How you’ve grown.”

“I’ve missed having you as a tutor, Lee,” said Reggie.

Mum grinned. “I loved teaching you. What’s new in the world of Reggie?”

“I want to find a fiancé,” said Reggie blushing. “But where to start… it’s scary, but exciting.”

Sophie looked at Reggie. He was so cute the way he blushed. He had hair the colour of butterscotch, a bold, freckled face, and twinkling hazel eyes.

“You’ll find the right one!” said Mum. “I did, even though it took me centuries. But you’ll find the right woman in no time. There are hordes of girls who’d go nuts for a chance at you, hey?”

Mum turned to Sophie with her tray. “Thank you, darling.” She picked up a piece of salmon in her long, green fingers. Her green cheeks were shiny. It was because she was pregnant again. “Reggie’s here again, Sophie. Isn’t that wonderful?” Sophie smiled and tried to curtsey without dropping the tray.

At that moment, Elsie called across the room. “Ma’am! Karl and Grace are here.”

Mum looked up, her eyes wide. “Excuse me,” she said softly, touching Reggie’s freckled cheek, and then she glided across the room – that’s what it looked like. She could move very fast when she wanted to, her feet hardly seeming to touch the ground. Karl and his wife had entered the hall. Mum gathered Karl up in her green arms and was planting kisses on his face. Sophie went towards them, tray in hand. Aila made for them too.

“By the Moon, Karl, it’s been too long since you last visited me,” said Mum, still holding Karl in her arms.

Karl’s wife, Grace, was a lady with long brown hair and big brown eyes. A slightly sad smile was playing about her lips.

Aila the night-hag smirked at Mum. “What brings the Prince to his mother? Is it a blue moon again?”

“It hasn’t been that long,” said Sophie stiffly.

Mum lowered Karl onto the ground. “Y- you’re not wearing the jumper I knitted. Don’t you like it?”

Reggie had walked over to them. “I’m wearing the socks you knitted me last Winter.”

Mum grinned at him.

“The jumper’s perfect, Mum,” said Karl firmly.

“But you’d tell me if you didn’t like it?” said Mum anxiously.

“Listen,” said Grace. “We need help. Karl’s illness is flaring up. We’ve no one else to turn to.”

Mum nodded. “Of course, Grace. You’re here now. You made the right call.” Mum’s eyes looked bright with tears. She hadn’t let go of Karl.

Sophie really wanted to comfort Mum and put her arms around them both, but she was holding this tray, so instead she said, “it’s so nice to have you here, Karl.”

“It’s so nice to see you again, Little Sis,” said Karl, bowing his head.

“Your Mum won’t have as much time for you, squirt,” said Aila, poking Sophie and almost making her drop the tray. “We were going to train you in the ways of a good night-hag. In doing what we do.”

“I have time for all my kids,” said Mum firmly. “We will schedule Sophie’s training for the Witching Hour.” Her eyes flickered down to her blue dress for a moment. Sophie could see what was wrong. Two wet patches were blossoming on her chest. Her breasts were leaking again. Mum often had that problem. “I need to get cleaned up and Karl needs his rest,” she said firmly. “Come on darling.” She lifted Karl in her arms and carried him out of the hall.

00O00

Karl found it a comfort to be in his mother’s arms again. It had been just the two of them in her cave for ten years, after all, and her closeness and strong embrace had always filled him with a warm sense of reassurance. Of course, in those days when she was a recluse in the Ostinian mountains, her body had been cold and her heart beat slow. Now her body was hot and he could feel her heart beat rapidly as she clasped him against her large bosom and moved swiftly up the stairs. Despite her great size, she was very agile. It was almost like she was gliding up to the guest bedroom. Karl felt a damp sensation. It was his mother’s breast milk seeping through her dress and his clothes. He didn’t think he should point it out. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings. She certainly could not help being messier than a human lady.

The guessed bedroom was arranged specially for him.

“I’ve kept the room just as you like it,” said Leevana. Sure enough, the desk, wall hangings and beside table were all in place, just as they had been when he was last here, and the place was spotless.

Leevana sat Karl in the armchair. Then she picked up a jar of purple powder from the mantlepiece and threw it onto the fireplace, which immediately burst into crackling pink flames. The heat of the magical fire washed over Karl, like a warm bath.

“Bathtime!” said the night-hag, clapping her long green hands together. “Just like old times, hey?”

It was as though she had read his thoughts. Karl was very weak at this moment and it hurt to move his limbs. The green woman gently undressed him and took him into the tiled bathroom and put him into a tub of hot water.

“This dress is ruined, hey?” she said, and proceeded to peel the ruined dress in question from her large body. The musty smell of her body odour was almost overpowering. Her nipples were leaking her glutinous milk. She put a hand to the sagging green folds of loose skin on her belly. “You have another baby brother or sister on the way, Karl. Just can’t see a bump yet.”

“That’s wonderful.” It warmed his heart that his mother could have other children. She was grinning widely and her green nose, cheeks and forehead were all glowing. She definitely was pregnant. It was a marvel that she was a mother so many times over. Throughout his boyhood, she had been certain that it was physiologically impossible for a night-hag to become pregnant and give birth.

She hummed as she held him up in the tub and sponged him. “There we go. Now you’re smelling like a rose. Just like when you were that little boy I’d bathe in my cauldron. Ooh… hold on.” She was retching. She clapped a long green hand to her mouth and reared to her full height, then vomited profusely into the basin.

“Sorry…” she said, peering down at the steaming mound of hag puke in the basin.

“It’s quite alright,” said Karl politely.

Leevana took him out of the bath and wrapped him in a towel. She hummed softly and rocked him. He felt relaxed, even though her hot breath blasting his face was now really foul with vomit.

After carefully dressing him, she laid him down into his bed. She leaned her green face close, so that her intense blue eyes stared directly into his. Her breath really reeked. It was overpowering…

“Leave your cares behind my love…” she said softly.

Despite her awful breath, Karl felt a swell of reassurance at her presence. She had always defended him from the greatest evils, and throughout his boyhood, she had warded off his malady better than any human physician had ever done.

“Feel the pain going away…” whispered Leevana. “My precious boy… you’re home.”

The aches and pains went away. Karl was no longer conscious of the hag’s fetid breath. He drifted off to sleep.

00O00

When Karl awoke, he felt a lot better, but he didn’t open his eyes. He could hear his mother and Grace, both talking softly.

“Everything’s alright now, dear. I’m so sorry you had to go through this. Just the thought of Karl in pain and not being able to help…” the hag’s voice quivered and broke off, but then she continued. “Don’t blame yourself. Human doctors couldn’t help Karl either. But I do have the power to help him and I want you both to stay with me now.”

Karl opened his eyes. His mother was sitting in the armchair, how with a sheet draped around her broad shoulders and covering her torso. Grace was sitting on her lap and holding baby Marcus.

Leevana noticed Karl was awake. Her green face split into a wide grin and her blue eyes shone. And her entire face was glowing because of her pregnancy. She looked very happy and bright. “How’re you feeling, Karl?”

Karl sat up. “Better. Thanks, Mum.”

Leevana and Grace stood up. Leevana took baby Marcus and held him in the crook of one of her muscular green arms.

“Grace and I have been talking,” said Leevana. “There is great evil afoot. The spooks are rising again.”

Karl’s heart sank. “The spooks? Steel’s horrible minions? Oh no.”

Leevana touched his cheek with hot, sweaty fingers. “The spooks’ll have to go through me if they try to mess with my kids. And every cloud has a silver lining. Now you’re home again, my sweet boy. You and Grace will stay with me.”

Grace looked thoughtful. “We’re much obliged… I know that no one else can stop Karl’s illness or fight those dreadful ghosts, but neither of us wants to be a burden.”

“You’re never a burden!” said Leevana. “Why’d you think that? It’s a delight to have you both here.”

Marcus started crying at that moment. Lee shrugged off the sheet and put her blackish nipple into the baby’s mouth. “There, there, my little one.” She began to hum the words of a lullaby: “”Wolves asleep amidst the trees… bats all a swayin’ in the breeze…”

Marcus suckled away contentedly.

At that moment, the door flew open and five green children came crowding into the room, clamouring excitedly. “Big brother’s here! He is, he is!” squealed Blaise. He was wearing pyjamas with little dinosaurs.

“Boys! Don’t disturb Karl!” said Sophie. “He’s not well. Sorry, Mum, but the boys are all excited that Karl’s here.”

“Karl! Look!” piped Gabby, Leevana’s three year old. “It’s my Rah!”

Gabby’s ‘Rah’ turned out to be a toy dinosaur made of soft rubber. It opened and closed its mouth as Gabby waved it in Karl’s face. It was one of Leevana’s creations. The hag scooped Gabby up in her free arm and kissed the top of his head. “Karl’s come back to live with us, Gabby. Mummy’s very happy.”

“Karl, Mummy says you broke her heart by moving out,” piped Gabby. “Why’d ya break our Mummy’s heart?”

Leevana pursed her mouth in embarrassment. “Gabby, kiss Karl goodnight, then we’ll give him and Grace some privacy, hey?”

When Leevana had taken her green children out of the room, Grace began to get ready for bed.

“I can’t help but feel guilty. If Gabby blurted out that I broke my mother’s heart, then she must have said it out loud at some point.”

Grace slipped into bed beside him. “It can be difficult for mothers to sort out their emotions when their sons move out. And now Lee’s going to have another baby, so, her hormones are raging right now. That means heightened emotions.”

“If the spooks are on the loose, I feel a lot safer if she’s nearby,” said Karl. “Spooks really are beyond horrible. But she can fight them. No one else can.”

Beneath the covers, Grace took his hand. “I so wanted to be the woman who could protect you. It may sound silly or petty, or whatever, but I feel like I’m a failure when we’re relying on your mother.”

Karl snuggled close to her. “Mum is the only woman in the world who can fight demented ghouls and be a wife, mother and a homemaker at the same time. These kinds of things are impossible for everyone else. There is no shame at all in needing her help.”

“I s’pose it’s different for me,” said Grace. “A man’s wife and mother are always in a weird type of competition.”

“You’re not,” said Karl firmly. “I’m sure my mother isn’t worrying about that at all.”

00O00

In her bed chamber, Leevana was suckling baby Marcus. “Aren’t you hungry?” she chuckled. “Now your big brother has come back to me. Isn’t that the best thing ever, hey?” She smiled at Jason. “And since you’re married to me, that makes you a dad to him, Jason.”

Jason couldn’t help finding this a bit weird. Karl was in reality just a few years younger than he was himself.

“Um… are he and Grace staying long?”

“The spooks are back, so they’ve gotta stay with me,” said Lee. “That’s how it ought to be. They’re home again.”

She rocked Marcus, and her blue eyes had that faraway look in her eyes. “This sounds silly, but I always felt kind of bad that I couldn’t look after him anymore and he wasn’t nearby.”

Jason knelt on the bed and reached through her long red hair to put his hands on her broad shoulders. Her green skin was certainly hot and sticky to the touch. Marcus was suckling at one of her breasts and the other was leaking glutinous milk that was slowly trickling down her green belly. She reacted to his touch with a contented sigh. Her strong muscles relaxed. “The first time Karl hugged me, he was frail and he only had skinny little arms, but he hugged me so fiercely. He’s had a place in my heart ever since. Then I knew I was meant to be a mother. Isn’t that right, Marcus?” She made a kissy face at her baby son. “But the question is, was I jealous of Grace, cos she was the one taking care of him and not me?”

“Well you have lots of kids now,” said Jason. “Surely they help take your mind off the angst?”

“I did not give birth to Karl, but he will always be my first child,” said Lee.

Marcus has finished suckling, so she laid him in his cradle and then thoughtfully tugged the loose folds of bright green skin around her midriff. “I was meant to be a mother to many,” she murmured. “For me, it’s kind of the opposite of that Joan of Arc song. I don’t actually wanna be raining down wrath on the shades of evil men. I want a mouth at my breast and a pot on the fire. Remember the lyrics?”

“Yes. You do ‘burn with a light of your own,’” said Jason. “You are unique. You get to do it all. Be a warrior and a wife.” He kissed her neck and they came together in a passionate embrace.

00O00

The Witching Hour is three in the morning. This is the hour of the night-hag! Snow covered the grounds in a white mantle. The Moon shone down, a ghostly orb that lit up the scene with an ethereal light. Sophie was up and out on the grounds, with her mother and two night-hag aunts.

“And how is the Prince?” Aila asked Mum, her black eyes glittering. “And his rosy cheeked bride? Is she looking after him well?”

“They’re resting. So’s my husband. It’s way too early for them,” said Mum.

Sophie thought it was too early for her, but she had to get used to getting up at this hour if she was to learn to use her powers. She accompanied her mother and Ulva and Aila – her night-hag aunts – as they trudged across the snow. Only Aila wore boots. The other three didn’t mind the feel of snow on their bare feet.

“You should have joined the party, Ulva,” said Aila, her black eyes glittering.

Ulva pushed her silver hair away from her green face. “No, I don’t think so. I’ve never been one for parties. I hope you refrained from acting the fool and embarrassing our family.”

“Let’s not quarrel, hey?” said Mum. She was holding Twiggy, her live broomstick which had a moving carved face. “Sophie, darling, you’re just starting to grow into your night-hag powers. We’re proud to have you in our sisterhood. We’re a sisterhood of good hags.”

“The only one as far as I know,” said Aila. “Anyway, I’ve never regretted Lee extracting the do-gooder oath with her emotional arm-twisting. You know all about that.”

Sophie nodded. There was quite a story behind how Mum had got Aila to be a good hag.

“The vow to do now harm is a fine and honourable thing,” said Ulva stiffly. “Now to business. If the spooks are rising again, we have to be prepared.”

“Ooh yes, I’m very proud to be a good hag,” said Sophie, nodding so that her ponytail jiggled.

“And we can do a lot of good with our powers,” said Mum. “You’ll see just how wonderful they really are. But it takes baby steps. First, try flying Twiggy. Not all night-hags can fly, but I can and you are my daughter. I used to need these mushrooms to fly…” she held up a jar of colourful mushrooms, “but Twiggy makes it easier. Try flying up a little way.”

Sophie straddled Twiggy and then gave a little cry as he shot into the air, higher than she expected… much higher. The wind roared in her ears and the snow covered grounds and woods and frozen lake shrunk beneath her. She was surrounded by low hanging clouds. There was a chilly mist all around her. Then a horned shadow loomed out of the mist. A chilling voice resounded in the air around her:

“You little monster! I’ll get you! I’ve brought my whip…”