14. They Really Shouldn’t Be Fighting Each Other

No! No! No!” cried Wish in distress. “Why won’t you listen? Both of you, this is all a waste of time! We shouldn’t be fighting each OTHER! I keep telling you, there’s this Kingwitch, just below us, and he’s about to unfreeze, and he’s the commander of a whole horde of Witches, so this really isn’t the moment to do this…”

“WARRRIORS, ATTACK!” replied Sychorax, completely ignoring her. “Be merciful, if you can be! If the Wizards surrender, take them prisoner!”

Wizard faced Warrior and they began to fight.

The Magic people were at a great disadvantage, for as you know Magic does not work on iron. But snowcats have teeth and talons, as do bears and wolves. Even sprites have fangs that sting like bees if they bite you. And Wizards and Droods carry bronze weapons with them as well as their Magic staffs if they are venturing into difficult or unknown territories.

So the sound of bronze sword on iron breastplate rang out with a bright terrible ring, and such was the volume of the roars of the wolves and the hissing of the sprites, the cursing of the Droods, and the bellows of the giants that you could barely hear yourself think in the cacophony of the battle.

Wish looked on in horror.

“Why do they do this, Caliburn?” she asked despairingly. “They’re so stupid. I told them about the Kingwitch, but they’re just not listening… I thought maybe, after the story, that we could make my mother and Xar’s father see sense, but look at them now!”

Sychorax had made her guards remove Encanzo’s manacles.

Both monarchs drew their swords, bowed to each other with exaggerated royal courtesy, and then lunged simultaneously, their sword points meeting in dreadful song, as they began their battle.

“You might as well give up now,” spat Queen Sychorax, as she fenced superbly, “for it is inevitable that you will lose. Your bronze sword is no match for my iron.”

“I cannot lose more than I have lost already,” said Encanzo.

Caliburn, on Wish’s shoulder, sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know…” he said sadly. “So many lifetimes I have lived and this is the way it always ends.”

“And look at Xar!” said Wish. “Is he going to grow up to be as bad as the others?”

But even Xar found that real war was not the same as the idea of it.

What was he supposed to do now?

Fight Bodkin, who was running toward him? But he liked Bodkin.

The red mist of excitement faded from Xar’s head and he paused, uncertain.

“Xar!” shouted Bodkin. “We need to help Wish get out of here! In the confusion, we can get away…”

“Oh yes!” said Xar, with a start. “Of course we can…”

Too late.

As the Wizards and Warriors fought each other, some of the combatants lost their balance when the ground beneath them began to shake.

For in the chamber below, the sinister shape of the Kingwitch had finally unfrozen.

And with a noise louder than a thousand thunderclaps it burst up through the broken flagstones of the courtyard, creating such an outstanding noise that the people halted their fighting in their astonishment.

Up, up, it soared…

And then it dropped.

As it fell, it picked up speed, making a horrific explosive noise as the green sparks flew off it.

Someone pointed upward in alarm, at what now seemed transformed into a huge boulder plummeting down toward them, and the small party running across the hall scattered as…

BOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!

What-looked-like-a-boulder landed with an almighty explosion right bang-splat in the center of the courtyard, shattering into a mass of tiny black shards and dust, and at the moment of impact, it burst into bright green flames.

“Look!” said Bodkin, pointing at the sky above them.

Above the castle, there was the sound of wings. Many, many wings. The crowd looked up. There they were, slowly turning visible in front of their eyes… the sky was thick with Witches.

“There are such a lot of them,” gasped Sychorax. “How could there be so many Witches in the world and we not know about them for so long? Where have they all been?”

Five of the Witches swooped down on the gigantic, leaping fire, and flew around and around it, turning the flames as they flew counterclockwise, as if they were winding some invisible clock, making a horrible keening sound.

With trembling fingers, Xar got a good hold of the Enchanted Sword.

The Witches whirled faster, faster, shrieking in delight, as the fire burned and screamed and crackled.

And then great wings opened in the heart of the fire, wings that spread wide, slowly, unbearably.

Wings on fire…

Eyes like melting holes of hate…

A beak that screeched its loathing of the world and all the sweet good things that are in it…

The Kingwitch.