beat me to the half-hanging cottage door and ambled inâthen nearly knocked me over backing out.
âBig baby.â
Even though Kato might be a prince, heâd started off grubby enough that he didnât have much room to judge Hydraâs housekeeping. And surely it couldnât be that messy in there. While he was being hypocritical, I was quite proud of myself for being so helpful and humble.
As I walked through the door, I gave myself a little pat on the backâand then froze.
Iâd been prepared for a hovel. I might have even been okay with a house full of magically trained circus mice. I was not prepared for the others .
Heads lined the floor-to-ceiling shelving. Different sizes, different speciesâall of them looked lifeless. Some had clearly passed their expiration date. Several looked freshly harvested. One still had a faint flush to its cheeks.
And wouldnât you know, there was an empty spot on the shelf, just the right size for my royal head.
Following Katoâs example, I backed up toward the door. âYou know what? On second thought, it doesnât really matter which way Griz went. We have to go west anyway. Iâll just see myself out.â
For a fragile blind lady, her grip was surprisingly strong. âYou definitely donât want to be heading west. I can help, and thereâs so much I have to tell you. Iâm afraid I must insist you and your friends stay here.â
Spell no .
I squirmed, trying to get free, and cursed myself for not staying on the beach in the first place. This freaky hag made Gretelâs gingerbread witch look like a sweet, harmless baker. Probably the only thing Hydra wanted to help me with was removing my head. Well, that wasnât gonna happen. Groping blindly to the side, I grabbed the first thing I could get a handle on.
Ah, frying pansâthe preferred weapon of princesses everywhere.
Hefting the pan from the sink, I whacked Hydraâs head from her shoulders, sending it flying into a shelf, where it fell to the ground with all the others .
Hydraâs gnarly hands instinctively flew to the spot where her head had just been, releasing her grasp on me but snagging the cardigan on my shoulders. I dropped down and out of the jacket. Then, planting my bejeweled heel on her crusty behind, I sent her body to join the heads on the floor. For good measure, I chucked the skillet at her and booked it out the door.
It wasnât until I was outside that I remembered the wishing star had been in my pocket. But nothing could have made me go back in there again. Besides, the stupid thing was busted anyway.
As if to confirm the wisdom in my decision, Hydraâs body came ambling out the door again. I bolted.
My companions were waiting for me farther down the beach at the border of the woods.
âZombie?â Rexi shouted as I ran past.
Close enough.
âThe Rule of Diplomacy: A royal should never get their hands dirty. If you canât reach a compromise, use an assassin. Itâs called diplomacy.â
â Thomasonâs Tips to Ruthless Ruling
11
The Haunted Acre Wood
âHow can you run in those ridiculous shoes?â Rexi huffed and puffed behind me.
Ignoring the barb, I kept running. Plus, I didnât have enough breath to respond anyway. Wanting as much distance as possible from the headhunter, I jogged until a tree root seemed to reach up out of the ground to send me sprawling.
First, I spit out a mouthful of dirt. Then, I screamed at the sky. âThatâs it! Iâve had it! Everything is trying to kill me! All I did was make one stupid wish. Aladdin made three . Iâm the hero of this story, so whereâs my happy ending, already? Itâs not fair.â
Rexi bent over, trying to catch her breath. âYou know whatâs not fair? Spending Muse Day as a toad just because the kitchen ran out of frog legs. Or being volunteered for this little journey. So build a bridge, then make