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“Let me try.” Paige leaned toward the book and carefully enunciated the words, “Witchlock tree bark.”
Another pause before the book repeated its usual question.
They both flung their arms in the air.
“This is useless,” Dewey huffed. He twisted toward the book. “You’re useless!”
“We’re doing something wrong.” Paige crossed her arms and chewed her lower lip before approaching the book. She flipped it to the back cover and scanned it. “Are there instructions somewhere?”
They spent a few moments going over the inside and outside of the cover in search of directions on its use but found none. They settled the book back on the counter and stared at the red lips.
“What do you seek?” it asked again.
“WITCHLOCK BARK,” they both shouted at it.
“What do you seek?”
Dewey snarled at the book, his fangs protruding in a menacing fashion. He balled his paws into fists and pounded them against the counter with each iteration of his request. “Witchlock bark, Witchlock bark, Witchlock bark.”
The pages of the book fluttered, and a massive crack resounded throughout the room, shaking the floor.
Paige threw her arms out, desperately trying to balance herself as the room blurred from the extreme movement.
“Whoa! Is this an earthquake?” she shouted over the loud clanging and creaking.
With wide eyes, Dewey shot her a glance, reaching out to clasp her hand in his. “I don’t know. I’m not sure what’s happening.”
Paige squeezed his paw and closed her eyes, wincing as a gust of wind swept past them. She experienced the sensation of falling for a brief second before everything settled.
Silence filled the air around them. The room no longer shook. And the wind died down.
“What the hell was that?” she questioned as she opened her eyes.
Her heart skipped a beat when she failed to recognize her surroundings. She slid her gaze over the new landscape, her jaw agape.
She reached Dewey, who hovered in the air on her left, and her eyes went wider. She stumbled back a step, a yelp escaping her lips.
“What is it?” Dewey asked, spinning to face her.
They stared at each other for a moment before they both opened their mouths in wide screams. “AHHHHHHHH!”
CHAPTER 12
When their frightened shrieks died down, Paige’s lips still formed an unnerved grimace.
With wide eyes and a furrowed brow, she poked a shaky finger at Dewey. “Why do you look like that?”
Dewey flew backward, tugging his legs in front of him as though taken aback. “Me?” He jabbed a clawed finger toward Paige. “You don’t look much better!”
Paige glanced down at her body, then held her hands out in front of her, turning them over. She slapped a palm against her forehead as she continued to stare at her trembling left hand. “Oh no.”
She swallowed hard, her eyes stuck on what used to be her flesh. A porcelain-colored illustration now took its place. She peeled her eyes away from her animated hand and glanced at her clothes, kicking a foot out to study them.
She now resembled a fairy-tale illustration. Her body, flesh, clothes, everything appeared as though it had been drawn and colored.
She glanced at Dewey, now a teal cartoon, outlined in thick black lines. “Why do we look like this?”
Dewey glanced around at the illustrated surroundings. They stood in a thicket of trees. Bulbous green blobs formed the leaves overhead.
