Worlds Collide (The Land of Stories #6)(34)
“Morina!” Goldilocks said. “It’s you—you’re the one who’s behind all this!”
Just the sight of her filled Red with rage, and she charged toward the witch with her fists raised.
“You no-good, grass-eating, udder-sucking, hoof-stomping, wedding-crashing, friend-stealing piece of fertilizer!” she yelled. “How dare you take my fiancé AND my friend! I’m going to rip those hideous horns right off your—”
Morina waved her hand like she was swatting a fly, and Red went soaring across the room and landed on the second level of bookshelves. Red used the railing to get to her feet, but the metal bars magically wrapped around her body and held her in place. Morina waved her hands at the others, and they flew to the railing beside Red and were also restrained by its metal bars. Conner tried to hold on to his sister as he was forced through the air, but she slipped out of his arms and rolled back to the floor.
“I must say I’m impressed,” Morina said. “I figured you might follow us, but I never expected you to make it inside the building.”
“We know what you’re doing here!” Bree said. “We know all about the bridge between worlds and the witches’ plan to cross through it and conquer the Otherworld!”
“But you won’t get away with it!” Conner said. “You and the witches won’t stand a chance against this world!”
“Well, of course not,” Morina said. “That’s why we cursed your sister. Now that we’re in control of her powers, dominating the Otherworld will be much easier. By the way, Alex, it’s time to wake up now. Our guests will be arriving soon.”
Alex levitated off the floor and onto her feet. She opened her eyes and they began to glow like lightning. Her hair rose above her head and flickered like the flames of a slow-motion fire. Once she was awake, all the books floating through the air suddenly dropped and rained down on the reading room.
“What have you done to her?” Conner yelled.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Morina asked. “We cursed her just like we cursed the Enchantress.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked. “Ezmia wasn’t cursed! She became the Enchantress because she was greedy, selfish, and evil!”
“Every woman has an evil enchantress inside her—all it takes is a little curse to bring it out,” Morina said. “Your sister is no exception.”
“I don’t believe you,” Conner said. “What kind of magic could do such a thing?”
“Actually, it’s an interesting story,” Morina said. “You see, years and years ago, the Snow Queen and the Sea Witch discovered the Otherworld around the same time as the fairies. While the late Fairy Godmother and the Fairy Council traveled back and forth spreading stories and granting wishes in the Otherworld, the witches got together and formed a plan to conquer it. The Snow Queen and the Sea Witch weren’t powerful enough to do it on their own, so they cursed little Ezmia with dust made from the glass of an evil magic mirror. It got in Ezmia’s eyes and lungs and cursed her to feel anger, sorrow, and jealousy tenfold—turning her into the Enchantress we remember today. The Snow Queen and the Sea Witch were planning to use Ezmia as a weapon against the Otherworld—but sadly, Ezmia perished before they had the chance. Once the Enchantress was dead, the Snow Queen and the Sea Witch set their sights on Alex. After a couple of attempts to curse her, they realized how much stronger she was than Ezmia. It took over ten times the amount of dust for the curse to even stick.”
“That’s why Alex destroyed the Witches’ Brew and attacked the Fairy Council!” Conner said, understanding for the first time. “She wasn’t having difficulty controlling her powers because she was overwhelmed—she was being cursed!”
“Such a good little detective,” the witch said. “Luckily, the Snow Queen and the Sea Witch learned from their mistakes with Ezmia. This time, they hexed the dust so they’d have total control over whoever ingested it. Now your sister, one of the most powerful fairies ever to grace the known worlds, is a creature of rage, torment, and despair.”
Conner and his friends were livid. They fought against the metal bars restraining them, but it was no use.
“You still won’t win!” he shouted. “It’s going to take much more than my sister and a bunch of witches to take over the Otherworld! We have armies and weapons you can’t even dream of! They’ll wipe you out the moment you step outside this library!”
Morina rolled her eyes as if she had heard this spiel multiple times.
“Oh yes, I know all about those,” she said. “Unfortunately for you, I’ve planned accordingly. You see, the other witches have no idea what kind of world they’re about to walk into. The Otherworld was vastly different when the Snow Queen and the Sea Witch first discovered it—they don’t realize how advanced it’s become. The witches and your sister are merely pawns in my plan to weaken the armies of this world. Once they’ve been wounded, my own army will arrive and finish them off.”
“What army?” Conner asked.
The witch threw her head back and roared with laughter. “Don’t tell me you haven’t figured that part out yet,” she said.
Goldilocks gasped. “Conner, she’s talking about the Literary Army! She’s going to bring them through the bridge, too! That’s why they were lingering around the Northern Palace—it wasn’t a scare tactic, they were waiting for her!”