The kumquats on May’s eyes tumbled off in shock as she exclaimed, “Mena, Janus? What are you doing here?”

When she realized they were wearing the black and gold uniforms of the train employees, she gasped, “And what happened to my masseuses?”

“They’re going to be a bit hands-off, for a while,” Janus giggled at her own dark sense of humor.

“Besides,” Mena said, crossing her arms and glaring. “They were talking smack behind your back. Criticizing your iconic taste in kumquats. So, I kind of smacked them with a frying pan.”

May sighed, picking the kumquats off the floor. “Seems the only man who truly liked me is Ashlan’s brother. And even he probably liked me because I smelled like his dinner.”

“Don’t worry,” Mena said, walking over to May’s spa chair and patting her on the back. “We’ll all find our princes someday, or anyone in Janus’ case.”

***

Mena, Janus and May all sat together in one of the many empty passenger seats. May told them that the whole train was booked by WCAL so it was only her and the workers here. Mena pressed her button nose up against the window. “You know?” Mena said, letting her breath fog up the window. “What is it like in Wormwood? I’ve ordered tons of romance books from there, but you know, I haven’t actually seen it.”

“Neither have I,” Janus shrugged. “And it’s a bit lofty for my tastes. I prefer being closer to the underworld.”

“Well,” May said, “Being the only Wormwood resident here, I’ll tell you this. Wormwood wasn’t always floating in the sky. I was born there when it was still on the ground. It was when that evil king started persecuting magic users that Law Pops and The Lollypop Committee decided to send it up into the sky.”

“But May?” Mena asked already giddily bouncing up and down. “What about the most important question: Is it glamourous?”

May gave a knowing smile and placed her hand on Mena’s shoulder. “Well, East Wormwood, where mummy, dad and I run our magic convenience store is pretty much a standard village, but West Wormwood, I dunno, Mena, why don’t you turn around?”

Mena looked over her shoulder and out through the window. She instantly mashed her nose up against the window again. The young witch witnessed a large chunk of concrete magically suspended in the sky with an entire city built on top of it. The east side was a bunch of shops and suburban houses made of wood and brick, each neatly ordered together, but the west side truly made Mena breath loudly through her mouth.

Elegant terraces, hotels and mansions all surrounded a giant black witch’s hat that sparkled brightly with diamonds encrusted into it like stars. Balloons in a bevy of colors all sailed up from the center of West Wormwood and at the end of it, next to the five story Wormwood Townhall was a building with a roof that resembles a romance book cover with a swirling pink and red heart on top of it. Mena gulped so hard her spit congealed in her braces. “Wowie-wow-zowsy,” she gasped with the brightness of the starry witch’s hat twinkling in her eyes.

The tip of the witch’s hat opened up and a rainbow flame shot forth.

Roy G. Bivion’s whacked out voice broadcasted itself over the intercom. “Next and final destination, West Wormwood: ‘Where the magic of Prismacolor makes all dreams and wishes come true in the twinkle of an eye’…or some sentimental crap like that.”

But even Roy G. Bivion’s extra sensory dismissal did little to temper Mena’s fantasies. Even if she hadn’t won the contest, she still shot for the moon and landed in the stars. Janus observed Mena’s transfixed, nearly hypnotized expression and said, “And I thought I was the spacey one. Remember the real reason we are here.”

“I will,” Mena said, finally managing to shut her jaw. “Once I take in the sights.”

As they disembarked from the Sky Train, Mena started to worry again. What was Gemini’s former mentor going to think of them in their disguises. Admittedly she was so starstruck that she hadn’t planned a better course of action and now the short wizard with his ever-probing rainbow glasses stared directly at them. Roy walked past Janus first and lowered his crazy spectacles. “You’re looking a bit bony, Charles…Are you sure you’ve been eating?”

“I guess my diet’s paying off,” Janus smiled, placing her hand upon her pencil thin hips.

“Hmm,” Roy said rubbing his chin. “What do you call this diet of yours?”

“The Post-Mortem Diet,” Janus exclaimed with sweet excitement.

“Very nice” Roy responded, “I too have cheated death to obtain my goals of transcendence”—he strolled over to Mena and pointed a finger directly at her.

“But you, Lucas. Why are you a girl now?”

Mena directly stammered, “uhhhhhh” until Roy filled in the blanks himself.

“On second thought,” he exclaimed lifting his swirly glasses over his eyes. “Roy G. Bivion don’t judge. Life is all about finding your essence.”

Roy G. Bivion pivoted on his heels back to the train. “Now if you excuse me,” he said with a nutty candor. “I’ve got my next interdimensional trip to plan”—and with a loud, “Wee-hee-hee,” he somersaulted up into the sky, landing perfectly in the train cockpit without bumping his head.

Once they were sure he was gone, Janus breathed a sigh of relief. “Good thing he’s so crazy, or else we’d be in hot water.”

“Yeah, Roy G. Bivion?” Mena responded, “More like G. I’m Oblivious.”

But Mena didn’t even have time to laugh at her own joke, she observed the world in front of her with an awestruck jaw.

Thousands of witches and warlocks roamed the streets in front of a towering hotel that was so big that extra rooms came out the sides, adding width to the building.

A large flashy sign read, “Newt T. Hotel” and below it, were two green newts shaped in the form of a T.

“Excellent,” May said, reading off the golden ticket Ashlan had given her. “The winner of WCAL also gets an all expense paid room at the posh resort founded by Newt T.”

Mena mumbled nervously. “Uh-oh, what about us?”

May smiled, trying to remain hopeful. “I’m sure my room will be big enough for all of us.”

As soon as they approached the doors of the hotel, which were framed in black glass, they immediately swung open by themselves. “Whoa, shut the front door,” Mena gasped and the doors responded by closing. She then approached it again and they opened. They passed through the antechamber and Mena smiled slyly. She walked back to the door, causing them to open again. “Wowie zowie, I’ve never heard of magically opening automatic doors before.”

Mena began to walk back and forth, tricking the doors into opening and closing, when suddenly, they swung open without being triggered, whacking Mena and causing her to tumble over. Dazed, Mena rubbed her head as a strange young woman stepped in front of them. She wore a red concierge uniform and a bell boy’s hat. Her eyes were bright, wide, and lively; her dark hair was cut short into a neck length bob and her smile was equally wide and excitable. Everything about her seemed perfectly normal except she sported a handlebar mustache between her lips and her perky nose.

“Those aren’t actually automatic doors,” she said with a chirpy voice and a nod of her head. “They’re autonomous doors and hate it when you tease then”—the young woman did an energetic twirl and gave a thumbs up, accompanied by a wink. “They’re quite indoorpendant.”

The whole room was silent, except for a fountain gently whizzing in the background. The young woman’s hands sunk and she said, “Come on, I was working on that joke all week. Oh well, welcome travelers to the fabulous hotel, casino, resort and spa founded by the legendary Newt T. What brings you here?”

May flashed her golden ticker and the woman’s already bright eyes shined.

“Oh, you’re the winner of WCAL? Right this way”—the woman marched off but suddenly returned. “Oh, by the way, I’m Bella. Bella Bellson the Bellhop, nice to meet ya.”

The woman paraded off towards a service desk, and Mena nudged Janus.

“I’ve never been to a hotel before. What’s a bellhop?”

The young woman with bizarre athletic grace somersaulted over the desk all while dinging a bell that was strategically placed at the center of it. “Well,” Mena gaped, astounded for what was the third time. “That answers that question.”

As Bella quickly straightened herself out, May asked a question while floating in her magi-chair. “Uh where will I be staying?”

“You, my lucky ducky,” Bella began “Will be staying in the Sweet Suite.”

“The Sweet Suite?” May responded, dumbfounded.

“Correct,” Bella said, holding up a blueprint of a several roomed penthouse suite. “It’s a sweet so sweet it’ll make you go…”—Bella deepened her voice, sounding much like a college-age man—“sweeeeeeet, brah.”

“Well, the suite isn’t the only thing on sweets today,” Janus remarked wryly, commenting on Bella’s limitless energy.

“Ooh” May gasped looking over the suite blueprints. “So many rooms. I’m wondering, can my friend’s stay too?”

For the first time ever, Bella gave a sad frown. “Not unless they have reservations, sorry Charlies.”

“Drat rats,” Mena muttered, but May gave her and Janus a reassuring look.

“We’ll figure something out.”

“In the meantime,” Bella said, standing up. “I’ll take your luggage bags to your room and prepare it for you. I am after all, the greeter, the concierge, and the bell girl. We are woefully understaffed.”

May handed Bella her bag from across the table. Before she departed, she turned around and flashed a grin. “Before I go, care to rate my mustache? Is it snooty enough for the Newt T. Hotel? If not,”—she removed her handlebar mustache and replaced it with a mustache so fancy it twirled itself. “I also got this one at the Cheap Disguise Mustache Emporium.”

“Erm…” Mena asked, trying to smile at her marvelous false mustache. “Why are you wearing a mustache in the first place? And can I have the one you’re not wearing?”

Bella shifted her eyes back and forth to make sure no one was there. “Everyone in the Newt T. Hotel is required to wear a mustache…even women.”—Bella leaned in closer.

“Between you and me”—she whispered. “The business is very hairy.”

Standing straight up, Bella thrusted the mustache right at Mena. “And here you go. Plenty more where that came from. But now I must be on the move; Idleization is a false idol, to quote my boss.”

As Bella walked off with the luggage and the three headed back outside, Mena put on the mustache. “At least we got a free mustache out of this. I’m not sure why but I like those.”

“But,” Janus asked with a slight concern. “How are we going to find a place to stay?”

Mena grinned beneath her goofy mustache. “I’m sure we’ll cross that rainbow bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, how about we check out the sights?”

“But Mena,” May asked. “What about the mission?”

“We’ll get to that,” Mena responded, closing her eyes and walked off. “But first I want to see how truly cultured this tinsel town truly is.”

Not watching where she was going, Mena walked straight into a peculiar smelling man with a giant bushy beard, a bandana and a dark overcoat. Mena staggered backwards, pinching her nose as it wafted in the smell of something akin to raw sewage.

“Hey man,” the man squinted, clearly unable to tell Mena was a girl beneath the mustache. “Care to try some of my homegrown Rainbow rhubarb?”

The man pulled open his overcoat to reveal a suspicious rainbow vegetable glowing in several lined pockets of his coat. Mena did a double gulp. This was the exact kind of man she was warned about in her school’s W.A.R.E class.