say I should come to you and you’ll make things right.”
“I may not always be able to make things right, but I will be there to give you support.” Jacob ran his fingers through the boy’s tawny hair.
“I would have helped Mom. She always did stuff for me. There must have been something I could have done for her.”
Cathy’s shadow fell upon the room, her chilled spirit almost numb from the coldness of death’s hand. Her ravaged soul ached for peace, but she fought the quiet that beckoned to her beyond the world she once knew.
“Help me, Stephen. You can still help me. I can’t rest until you’ve avenged me. Your small hands and lips carry the magic to bring the fiends to life.”
She spread her arms to enfold her little boy, but Jacob scooped up his son to wrap him in a bearish hug. Her fingernails scratched at air, her stagnant breath poisoned the air around her, and her little boy appeared to flinch away from her.
“Tell you what, Stephen, if you go upstairs and get ready for bed, I’ll tell you some more about Brandy and the witch.”
“Don’t forget the new lady that’s sharing Brandy’s cage.”
Chapter
16
“We must escape from here,” said the lady standing next to Brandy in the cage
.
“Fine. You come up with a plan and I’ll be most happy in assisting you to escape. I’ll even escape with you.”
The lady frowned at Brandy
.
“You expect me to rescue us?”
“Why not? Obviously I haven’t been successful at getting away from the witch. Maybe you’ll have a better plan.”
“Witch! Witch!” screamed the lady
.
The witch, who had been sorting her garbage, stopped and toddled over to the cage
.
“We’re terribly thirsty and hungry. You must feed us.”
“Nonsense. You ate up all my jams, bread, and tea just fifteen minutes ago when you were in my sitting room.”
The lady turned toward Brandy
.
“Tell her you’re hungry,” demanded the lady
.
“That might not be a good idea,” said Brandy
.
“When did you last eat?”
“This morning.”
“Well, it is easily the middle of the afternoon now. You must be hungry. What did you have for breakfast?”
“Frogs’ legs and bats’ feet.”
The jam and bread in the lady’s stomach sloshed around dangerously
.
“Eew!” shouted Stephen. “What did Brandy have to drink for breakfast?”
“Drink?”
Stephen nodded his head violently.
“I believe it was a puree of snot.”
Stephen let out a scream of disgust.
“Luckily the lady didn’t ask what Brandy had had to drink because she surely would have lost her lunch.”
Stephen giggled.
“The witch can’t treat you that cruelly,” the lady said to Brandy
.
“Cruel!” shouted the witch. “They were the freshest frogs’ legs and bats’ feet I had in the house. You’ll get nothing of the kind, young lady.”
“I certainly wouldn’t eat it if you served it to me,” the lady indignantly said
.
“I wouldn’t antagonize her,” warned Brandy. “She serves much worse meals when she is out of sorts.”
“Like what?” asked Stephen.
Jacob sighed.
“It’s much too gross to repeat, Stephen. You might never be able to eat again. Especially not that chili you like so much.”
“The chili?” Stephen frowned. “What’s in the chili?”
“Let me just say that eating steak, potatoes, and vegetables are the safest foods. It is obvious what they are. A nice fried or poached egg would not be served by this witch because it wouldn’t be interesting enough. She can’t mix vegetables with frogs’ legs and bats’ wing—”
“Bats’ feet,” corrected Stephen.
“Because the vegetables would wilt and the legs and feet would be glaringly obvious.”
“What about green vegetables? Wouldn’t they match the frogs’ legs?”
“Naw. Totally different shades of green.”
“But you cook the meals at home, and you’re not a witch.”
“That’s right, and I would never serve disgusting foods, even though sometimes you think I
“I may not always be able to make things right, but I will be there to give you support.” Jacob ran his fingers through the boy’s tawny hair.
“I would have helped Mom. She always did stuff for me. There must have been something I could have done for her.”
Cathy’s shadow fell upon the room, her chilled spirit almost numb from the coldness of death’s hand. Her ravaged soul ached for peace, but she fought the quiet that beckoned to her beyond the world she once knew.
“Help me, Stephen. You can still help me. I can’t rest until you’ve avenged me. Your small hands and lips carry the magic to bring the fiends to life.”
She spread her arms to enfold her little boy, but Jacob scooped up his son to wrap him in a bearish hug. Her fingernails scratched at air, her stagnant breath poisoned the air around her, and her little boy appeared to flinch away from her.
“Tell you what, Stephen, if you go upstairs and get ready for bed, I’ll tell you some more about Brandy and the witch.”
“Don’t forget the new lady that’s sharing Brandy’s cage.”
Chapter
16
“We must escape from here,” said the lady standing next to Brandy in the cage
.
“Fine. You come up with a plan and I’ll be most happy in assisting you to escape. I’ll even escape with you.”
The lady frowned at Brandy
.
“You expect me to rescue us?”
“Why not? Obviously I haven’t been successful at getting away from the witch. Maybe you’ll have a better plan.”
“Witch! Witch!” screamed the lady
.
The witch, who had been sorting her garbage, stopped and toddled over to the cage
.
“We’re terribly thirsty and hungry. You must feed us.”
“Nonsense. You ate up all my jams, bread, and tea just fifteen minutes ago when you were in my sitting room.”
The lady turned toward Brandy
.
“Tell her you’re hungry,” demanded the lady
.
“That might not be a good idea,” said Brandy
.
“When did you last eat?”
“This morning.”
“Well, it is easily the middle of the afternoon now. You must be hungry. What did you have for breakfast?”
“Frogs’ legs and bats’ feet.”
The jam and bread in the lady’s stomach sloshed around dangerously
.
“Eew!” shouted Stephen. “What did Brandy have to drink for breakfast?”
“Drink?”
Stephen nodded his head violently.
“I believe it was a puree of snot.”
Stephen let out a scream of disgust.
“Luckily the lady didn’t ask what Brandy had had to drink because she surely would have lost her lunch.”
Stephen giggled.
“The witch can’t treat you that cruelly,” the lady said to Brandy
.
“Cruel!” shouted the witch. “They were the freshest frogs’ legs and bats’ feet I had in the house. You’ll get nothing of the kind, young lady.”
“I certainly wouldn’t eat it if you served it to me,” the lady indignantly said
.
“I wouldn’t antagonize her,” warned Brandy. “She serves much worse meals when she is out of sorts.”
“Like what?” asked Stephen.
Jacob sighed.
“It’s much too gross to repeat, Stephen. You might never be able to eat again. Especially not that chili you like so much.”
“The chili?” Stephen frowned. “What’s in the chili?”
“Let me just say that eating steak, potatoes, and vegetables are the safest foods. It is obvious what they are. A nice fried or poached egg would not be served by this witch because it wouldn’t be interesting enough. She can’t mix vegetables with frogs’ legs and bats’ wing—”
“Bats’ feet,” corrected Stephen.
“Because the vegetables would wilt and the legs and feet would be glaringly obvious.”
“What about green vegetables? Wouldn’t they match the frogs’ legs?”
“Naw. Totally different shades of green.”
“But you cook the meals at home, and you’re not a witch.”
“That’s right, and I would never serve disgusting foods, even though sometimes you think I
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