Free Curse of the Dream Witch by Allan Stratton Page A

cup frightening? I’ve seen scarier sights in a sausage shop!’
    ‘It said it wanted new dead for its dungeon games.’
    ‘Did it indeed.’ The duke stormed to the ghost’s cell and banged his armoured fist against the bars. ‘Hear me, Headless Hunchback of Horning,’ he bellowed. ‘I’ll find your rotted skull and use it to bowl ten-pins. Show yourself, now, if you dare.’
    The dungeon was quiet as a bat blink.
    The duke glared at Leo. ‘That’s how you tame a ghost.’
    The soldiers applauded. The duke bowed. Leo blushed.
    ‘But while we’ve lost a ghost,’ the duke said coldly, ‘we’ve lost the princess and our prisoner, too. Where are they? Who was guarding the top of the dungeon stairs?’
    ‘We four, your Grace,’ said a stalwart brute. He pointed to his comrades. ‘We never seen the princess come down nor up.’
    Leo shivered. ‘Maybe she made herself invisible. Maybe she’s a demon.’
    ‘And maybe I’m a newt,’ his uncle snorted. ‘No. There must be another way out. A secret passageway in the walls. A trap door in the floor or ceiling.’ He paused, and suddenly became aware of the sound of rushing water. He stared at the well. ‘Of course! The answer is under our noses. The vixen and the boy jumped down the well and were carried away by the river.’
    A soldier peered down the hole. ‘But where does it empty?’
    ‘Tell me when you find out,’ the duke said and gave him a push.
    There was a scream and a splash.
    The duke put a hand on Prince Leo’s shoulder. ‘I’ll stay here to keep the castle secure. As for you, Nephew, take fifty men and hunt down your damsel.’ 

18
The Ways of the Witch
    Milo’s home was now a memory tucked behind the last hill. He found it hard to breathe. If he turned to Olivia and her mouse, or said a word, he knew he’d fall apart. So he stared straight ahead and let his wobbly legs carry him forward.
    Olivia squeezed his arm. ‘Your parents will be all right.’
    Milo pulled away. ‘No they won’t. They’ll pine away and die like the Dream Witch said. Even if I stay with them, that won’t change. They’ll never know who I am. I’m a stranger to them, and always will be.’ He bent over and gripped his knees, then sank to the ground, gulping air.
    Olivia knelt beside him. She waited till he went still. ‘What are you going to do?’ she asked quietly. ‘Where are you going to go?’
    Milo took a long, steady breath. ‘I’m going with you to fight the Dream Witch.’
    ‘You mustn’t,’ Olivia cautioned. ‘There’s no reason both of us should risk our lives.’
    ‘My parents are dying because of me. How can I live knowing that? If we can defeat the Dream Witch, maybe her spells will be broken. Maybe I can save them.’
    It was true. Olivia knew it. She took his hands. ‘Let’s make a vow, then. Let’s promise ourselves that no matter how scared we get, we’ll always remember there’s someone else who’s just as scared. We’re not alone.’
    ‘I’ll say you’re not,’ Ephemia declared. ‘As long as these little lungs have breath, you’ve a guardian, loyal and true.’
    ‘The best in the world,’ Olivia said. She picked up her furry companion. ‘Back at the castle you said you knew the ways of the Dream Witch. Tell us, please. What do we need to do to defeat her?’
    ‘The Dream Witch rules by fear,’ Ephemia counselled. ‘Destroy that fear and she’s done for.’
    ‘But how? Her curses and spells are endless.’
    ‘Aha! You see how she works? The thought of conquering her spells seems impossible. It makes you afraid. Already she has you.’
    ‘No she doesn’t. I just want a plan, that’s all. It’s one thing to be brave. It’s another thing to be stupid.’
    Ephemia scratched her ear with her hind paw. ‘Here it is, then: The Dream Witch makes her potions and spells in her private chambers. They’re beneath her forest cottage at the end of her underground labyrinth. We must confront her power at its