The next morning, I was already awake and dressed when the key sounded in the lock. A second later, Grizz stamped in.
‘Time to get to work, girl,’ she snapped. ‘Don’t give me any trouble. Chop chop.’
I leapt to my feet and stood to attention, smiling.
‘Certainly, Aunt,’ I said, and placed my pointy black hat on my head with care.
Grizz stared at me, confusion clouding her grey face. I beamed back at Grizz, then I skipped out of the attic and scampered down the stairs. Grizz followed, frowning.
‘Morning, Aunty Wormy!’ I chirped, as I skipped into the kitchen.
‘Right, you two,’ said Grizz. ‘Enough of this chit-chat. Wormella, I want that spell cooked and bottled within the next ten minutes. And as for you, girl …’
‘Yes, Aunt?’ I said, grinning at Grizz, who scowled back.
‘I want you to wipe that smirk off your face, for a start,’ she said. ‘Make the beds and dust the furniture and wash the floors and, and … oh, just get on with it.’ Grizz threw a duster at me.
‘Certainly, Aunt,’ I said.
Once outside the kitchen door, I drew a deep breath. My plan was working so far. Grizz clearly couldn’t stand the sight of me today, and now I had a few minutes to myself.
If I was going to act on my plan, it was now or never.
I tiptoed down the stairs, towards the cellar. I let myself in, lit a candle and glanced around.
Everything was just as it had been. Cobwebs hung in long strings from the ceilings and the animals’ cages and tanks were again covered.
In the flickering candlelight, Ancient Evil looked more like a vicious animal than a book – one that was crouching on the worktop, ready to spring …
I ran to the cages and tanks. I grabbed all the rags and threw them on the stone floor.
Inside the cages, the rats, mice and guinea pigs all squeaked in terror.
‘Shh!’ I said. ‘I’m not here to hurt you!’
I fumbled with the cage doors and opened them one by one. Every creak from upstairs made my heart miss a beat. Finally, with trembling fingers, I flung opened the last door on the last cage.
‘Now’s your chance!’ I hissed. ‘Run!’ But the frightened little rodents just stared at me.
‘Run, you dimwits!’ I hissed.
I rattled all the cages. The animals scuttled in every direction, diving into corners and searching for escape routes through the piles of rubbish.
I looked at the snakes curled up in the tanks. Their forked tongues slithered in and out of their mouths.
‘Sorry, snakes,’ I whispered. ‘I’m not letting you go just yet. Maybe later – once I find out if you’re poisonous!’
The maggot bucket was empty. I tried not to think about where they might be …
I picked up Ancient Evil and held it at arm’s length. It weighed a ton and stank worse than a thousand rotten fish-heads. I dumped it in a metal bucket. It made a huge clatter, and my heart jumped into my throat.
Was that a sound on the stairs?
I had to work quickly – Grizz would come looking for me soon … I bent down and held the candle flame to the book’s yellow pages.
‘Let’s see you magic your way out of this, you horrible thing,’ I said.
I leapt back as Ancient Evil burst into flames with a roar. Red, green and purple sparks flew up to the ceiling as it burned. There was a strange high-pitched squealing sound, as if some living thing was being burnt alive. As the pages blackened and curled, the sick flutter in my stomach died down.
Within seconds, the book had shrunk to a smouldering heap of ashes in the bucket. My eyes were watering from the smoke and stench, but I clenched my fists and turned back to the worktop.
‘Now for the final job,’ I muttered. I braced myself against a pillar, put both feet on the edge of the worktop and pushed with all my might.
‘It gives me great pleasure …’ I said through gritted teeth. ‘To declare this laboratory …’
I strained as the whole thing tipped on one edge.
‘BROKEN!’ I shouted as the worktop crashed to the ground.
There was an ear-splitting sound of smashing glass as the bottles, dishes and jam jars all hit the stone floor and exploded in to a million pieces. The gooey green and yellow contents spilled everywhere, creating a lumpy, stinking, sizzling lake.
There was a heartbeat’s silence. Then I heard the thud-thud-thud of footsteps racing towards the cellar.