Worlds Collide (The Land of Stories #6)(53)
“I think we can handle a gaggle of witches,” the Wicked Witch cackled.
“Certainly,” Morina said. “But as I first explained, it’ll be much easier to secure domination if we wait for the witches to perish in—”
“NO MORE WAITING!” the Queen of Hearts roared. “We want to conquer the Otherworld and we want to conquer it NOW! Step aside or you’ll be the first casualty of the night!”
Morina knew it was useless to reason with them. The emperors were like toddlers waiting to play with a new toy. As much as she wanted to stop them, she wasn’t powerful enough to take on the Literary Army by herself.
She reluctantly stepped out of the way and allowed the Wicked Witch, the Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook, and their army to march toward the bridge.
The emperors were making a catastrophic mistake by entering the Otherworld early. However, Morina knew her plan wasn’t doomed to fail just yet. There was still someone in the equation who was powerful enough to take on an army—several armies, if they were directed properly.
So the witch remained quiet as a new strategy unfolded: If she could just get to Alex before the witches were slain, there was still a chance Morina could succeed….
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE TEARS OF MEDUSA
Froggy hopped around the abandoned dwarf mine and poured Medusa’s tears into the eyes of all the statues. He was surprised to see there were just as many stone animals in the mine as there were men, women, and children. The statues were pale, solid as rocks, and frozen with such terrified expressions that Froggy didn’t recognize any of the faces. He prayed the teardrops would reverse the magic and the Bailey twins would appear among them.
Once he finished pouring Medusa’s teardrops into each pair of stone eyes, Froggy took a step back and waited with bated breath. Like chicks hatching from their eggs, the statues slowly started to wiggle and crack. Arms and legs began moving, heads began turning, and the stone chipped away like it was nothing but a thin shell. The men, women, children, and animals brushed themselves off and cleared dust from the back of their throats.
Froggy was relieved to see so many familiar faces appear around him. He saw his brothers, Chance, Chase, and Chandler; their wives, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White; and his nieces, Hope and Ash. Froggy also recognized Empress Elvina, Queen Rapunzel and Sir William, Hagetta, the Traveling Tradesman, Red’s granny, the Little Old Woman from the Shoe Inn, Rook and Farmer Robins, Sir Lampton, Sir Grant, and soldiers from the Charming and Northern Kingdoms. He even saw Cornelius, Porridge, Buckle, and Oats once they uncovered themselves.
The people and animals looked around the abandoned mine in a daze. The last thing they remembered was the bright eyes of a horrifying monster, and now they were brushing layers of stone off their bodies.
“What happened to us?” Snow White asked.
“You were turned into stone by a creature named Medusa,” Froggy explained. “I poured her tears into your eyes and it reversed the spell!”
Everyone’s confusion doubled when they realized Froggy was standing beside them.
“Charlie, is that you?” Chance asked in disbelief.
“Hello, brother!” Froggy said. “Words can’t describe how wonderful it is to see all of you!”
Froggy gave his brothers and their wives enormous hugs and kissed his nieces on the cheek.
“You’re out of the mirror!” Cinderella said. “But how did you escape it? Red told us it was impossible to free you!”
“That’s what I thought, but I’ve happily been proved wrong,” Froggy said. “Getting here was an awfully big journey, and I promise to tell the story one day, but right now it’s urgent I find Alex and Conner.”
Froggy looked around for the Bailey twins, but they weren’t inside the crowded mine.
“Wait a second, where are the twins?” he asked.
“They aren’t here,” Chandler said. “They went into the Otherworld.”
“And what about Red? And Jack and Goldilocks?” Froggy asked.
“They’re with the twins,” Chandler said. “Don’t worry, they’re safe as far as we know.”
“I don’t understand,” Froggy said. “Why would they all be in the Otherworld?”
The Charming brothers looked at one another with very concerned expressions. They wanted to fill Froggy in but didn’t know where to begin.
“Oh, Charlie, so many terrible things have happened since you’ve been gone,” Chase said. “The Masked Man stole a potion from the late Fairy Godmother’s chambers and used it to travel into the books from your library. He recruited a terrible army that attacked our world and imprisoned the citizens from every kingdom. He almost executed all the royal families, but thankfully Jack and Goldilocks saved us and brought us to the abandoned mine. After we escaped, the Masked Man’s army turned on him, and now three horrible emperors are in power!”
“Unfortunately, I’m quite familiar with the emperors,” Froggy said. “I saw the Wicked Witch, the Queen of Hearts, and Captain Hook through a mirror in the Northern Palace. I overheard them making plans to invade and conquer the Otherworld next—that’s why I need to find the twins immediately! I need to warn them the emperors’ army is coming!”