The Sisters Grimm: Book Eight: The Inside Story Read Online Free PDF Page B

were killed by the volcano—it’s very romantic.”
    Sabrina thought she might explode like a volcano. She considered whether to strangle the boy now or in his sleep.
    Daphne stepped between them. “We need you to fly us to the Wicked Witch’s castle. We have to kill her and get her flying broom. We think it’s our only way into the next story.”
    “Stop! STOP! STOP!!!!!!!” the Tin Man shouted. “You people don’t understand what you are doing. You can’t just skip ahead. Lots of stuff happens in between. The Editor will know!”
    “Are they complaining about this Editor person too?” Puck said. “The Wizard was crying about him before I shoved the gag in his mouth. Personally, if I was going to terrorize people, I’d come up with a better name than the ‘Editor.’”
    “True, the ‘Editor’ is lousy as a scary name,” Daphne said.
    “Stop saying his name!” the Cowardly Lion whined.
    “Do we have to take them?” Puck asked as his wings popped out of his back. They were pink and enormous, and with just a few flaps they lifted his body into the air.
    “We’ll finish the story on our own,” the Tin Man said.
    The Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion nodded their heads in agreement.
    “I have to warn you,” Daphne said. “The Scarecrow has his hay yanked out, the Cowardly Lion is chained up in a yard, and the Tin Man is thrown out a window of the castle. You could all skip that stuff if you come with us.”
    “That’s what happens to these guys?” Puck asked as he snatched the girls up. “You Grimms sure you don’t want to go with them? It sounds hilarious.”
    Sabrina shook her head, and Puck flew the girls toward an open window. “Well, I wish I could say it was fun,” Sabrina called back to the trio.

     
    A second later, they were soaring high over the spiraling green towers of Emerald City. Heading due west, Puck’s wings lifted them higher and higher until they could see nearly every mile of the Land of Oz. They flew on for the better part of an afternoon before a dark castle came into view.
    Puck circled it once to find a good entrance and finally spotted an open window in a high tower. He swooped inside and they landed. The room was covered in tapestries the color of the night sky. In a far corner of the room, a dark figure was hovering over a crystal ball. Her face was illuminated by the ball’s swirling light. Her skin was a pale shade of green. She had black, unkempt hair and a patch over her left eye. Her skin was covered in warts and her teeth were filed down into fangs. She was one of the scariest people Sabrina had ever seen, but when she noticed the children she let out a startled yelp and backed herself into the corner.
    “You’re early!” she cried. “You missed the flying-monkey attack! And the swarm of killer bees! I’m supposed to send all manner of torment against you before you get here.”
    “Sorry to disappoint you,” Sabrina said, “but we have to move things along. Where do you keep the buckets of water?”
    “Right. Right,” the Witch said. She rushed across the room and returned with a bucket full of hot, soapy water and a mop, which she placed in front of Daphne. “Maybe the Editor won’t even notice. OK, Dorothy, in this scene, you are scrubbing the floors. I’ll go out and come back in, and when I do I’ll be very angry. All you have to do is throw the water on me. Then I’ll melt.”
    The Witch raced out into the hall.
    “I don’t want her to melt. I’ll have nightmares,” Daphne said.
    “She’s not real, Daphne,” Sabrina said.
    The Witch raced back into the room. She had a horrible expression on her face but it quickly changed to confusion. “Why aren’t you scrubbing?”
    “I don’t want you to die,” Daphne said.
    “But that’s what happened with the real Dorothy,” the Witch said. “You have to make me melt. Don’t worry about me! I’ve done it a million times. It doesn’t even hurt that much anymore.”
    Daphne frowned.