End of last post:

"'We're the Daredevils,' Becky said, taking the bait. 'Maybe you've heard of us.'

"'The Daredevil Girls," she repeated with a snide grin. 'Yes, unfortunately, I've heard all about you. You think you're better than everyone, and that your ineffective little antics matter. They do not. You are just little children trying to play warriors in a grown up world.

"'I hear you're very helpful to old ladies and lost pets, and while that may make you good little girls, it doesn't make you heroes, and it doesn't mean that you can fight me or anyone like me. You need to go home and play your video games. Leave the big peoples' world to grown-ups.'

"'Keep her busy,' Tabby whispered in my ear, and then disappeared quietly into the darkness, dragging Elizabeth with her."

The story continues:


"I watched them leave; wondering if this was the right time to split up. Tabby, however, seemed to have thought of an idea, and she was terribly clever. I had to hope it was going to turn out alright. The Daredevil Girls always trusted one another, and I knew I had to trust her now. I turned back to face the witch. I needed to think of something to distract her. Throwing caution to the wind, I reached down and picked up a stone.

"'Where's my sister?' I demanded, chucking the stone as hard as I could at the witch. I hit her right upside her ragged head. No self-respecting Daredevil Girl ever missed her mark with a rock.

"'Good shot,' Becky said.

"She picked up another rock, and proudly sailed it right behind mine, hitting her squarely on the shoulder, and forcing her to take a few steps backwards.

"The witch whirled around and bared her rotting teeth like a possessed dog. I imagined a foul smell emitting from her mouth as she marched back to the railing to face us. A threatening flame shot out from her ageless eyes, hitting a bush beside us. It burst instantly into flames, causing us both to jump in alarm.

"'Having fun, yet?' The witch snipped.

"'Not especially,' I responded, 'though I was until now.'

"'Well, I'm not either. You built a fire in my yard, stole my cat, messed up my well-kept garden stepping all around in it, and you have disturbed my rest. If this is what you call fun, no wonder people complain about kids these days.'

"'We apologize for trespassing, but we thought the house was vacant,' I replied, still stalling. 'No one has lived here for ages, or at least that was what we were told.'

"'Well, you were told wrong.'

"'Okay, then,' Becky said. 'If you don't want us here, just tell us what happened to Sally, and we will all go home.'

"'I don't know any Sally, and you can go home when I say you can. This is my house and I will deal with your trespassing in my own way.'

"Without further hesitation, she waved a crooked stick over her head, and pointed it straight at my chest. I felt a powerful force hit me, followed by a stabbing pain that knocked me to my knees. It was almost as though I was wrapped in a giant rubber band that cut off my air, forcing me to gasp in an effort to breathe. Just as I was beginning to lose consciousness, I heard a noise from behind.

"Through dimming eyes, I saw Tabby slip out of the woods with a long pole-like branch in her hands. She took a running start, and vaulted onto the balcony with the grace of the athlete we all knew her to be. In the same second, I noticed Elizabeth, her long unbraided hair flowing freely in the wind, fit a homemade arrow into a willow bow with the crimson ribbon she wore in her hair for a string.

"'Gift of the East Wind,' she cried out in a commanding voice reserved for her most serious moments; 'flight of the Eagle. Cherokee Warrior Princess is here.'

"No one argued with her this time on the meaning of her phrase, nor pointed out, again, that the Cherokee don't have princesses. Tonight she was a warrior, and when she loosed her arrow, it sailed above the balcony rail and pierced the top of the witch's black bowler hat, pinning it to the wall behind.

"The distracted witch loosened the force she held on my chest. I took a deep gasping breath, and rose shakily to my feet. As I was young and resilient, though, I headed for a huge maple tree that leaned against the house, and started to climb.

"Becky and Elizabeth joined me, their movements fluid and skilled. We could hear the crashing of bodies against old wood, and cries of frustration and pain from the balcony. Worried, we climbed faster. In a matter of seconds, we were on the landing. It was a well-known fact that all Daredevil girls were not just accurate rock throwers, but excellent tree climbers as well, and it paid off that night.

"'Where is Tabby?' I asked as we watched the witch make an escape through a door leading back into the building.

"'Last I saw she was leaping over the railing,' Becky said.

"'Here she is,' Elizabeth called out, pointing to an unconscious figure on the floor.

"Clutched tightly in Tabby's hand was the broken wand of the witch, but she had paid a heavy price for her audacity. Sage was sitting on the floor beside her, mewing softly and fearfully. Becky picked up the frightened kitten and put her in the bib of her purple overalls.

"I leaned over and checked Tabby. I could see she was still breathing, and that she was not bleeding from the blow. I was torn between the desire to stay with my friend, and the need to find my sister.

"'I'll stay with her,' Becky offered, seeming to read my thoughts. 'Go find Sally, and, hopefully a phone.'

"'Okay,' I agreed. 'Thanks, Becky. Elizabeth, why don't you come with me, and I hope you have more arrows?'

"'I have two,' she answered quickly. 'I didn't have time to make more, but I can take the one I shot through the witch's hat, so that makes three.'

"'That's fine. We'll have to make them work.'

"With no further discussion, we headed down the hall, trying to find signs of the fleeing witch. Behind we left our friends, and their absence weighed heavily on our hearts.

"As we ran, we heard retreating footsteps, and then the rumbling of thunder outside. We exchanged concerned glances. In that instant, we understood that, while the weather might slow down an escape, it would not stop us from our pursuit. We pressed forward in the witch's wake.

"Finally, we caught a glimpse of a black clothed figure hurtling down a staircase ahead. We made our way towards her, but were suddenly slowed by the same sort of restraining power we had felt in the woods. This time it was so strong we felt we were wading through a wall of molasses.

"'Elizabeth,' I called out, 'Can you do something?'

"'I don't know for sure,' she replied, dropping to her knees, 'but I think I may have something that can help. I should have thought of it earlier.'

"Elizabeth reached into a leather pouch she always kept around her neck and pulled out a pinch of brownish powder. She blew it into the air, and I felt a sudden soft tingling sensation. 

"'What was that?' I asked.

"'Small rush,' she explained with a secretive smile. 'It's a plant that always springs up when trampled. It is rumored to give strength to the failing.'

"'We definitely need that,' I commented.

"'Yes," she replied as we stood up. 'See, the power against us has lessened.'

"'Wow, that's pretty effective. Thanks.'

"Elizabeth simply nodded as we returned to our mission.

"Moving quickly, we arrived at the stairway. Without giving it much thought, I jumped on the rail and slid down like a pro. Just before I got to the bottom, I put my feet on the polished wood to slow my descent. I landed quite nimbly on my feet.

"Because you are my students, and your safety is of utmost concern to me, I am not even going to tell you how I learned that particular trick. Suffice it to say, just like Tabby told me long ago, I have hidden talents. Elizabeth landed seconds later behind me by the same method.

"'Now where?' she whispered.

"'I don't know. Let's see if we hear footsteps again.'

"We both grew quiet, and listened intently, but now the threatened storm hit, drowning out all other sounds. I don't know why spooky houses and thunderstorms always seem to go together, but they do. We would just have to deal with it the best we could.

"'Let's try that way,' I finally suggested, pointing towards a hallway. 'It seems to be lighter down there.'

"'I think so too,' Elizabeth agreed; 'though not by much.'

"Taking our chances, we took off in the direction I pointed. It didn't take long to figure out, this time, we were in for a bit of good luck. The sound of muted voices came from behind a cracked door. We crept up and peeked inside.

"The first thing we saw was an old battered couch sitting against one wall, the rich red color faded with time. A grandfather clock stood on the opposite wall, and was actually wound up and running. It displayed the time as 3:00. I couldn't believe that so much time had passed since we arrived at the oak tree outside. We had started our courage game at exactly 10 pm.

"On the wall over the couch was a haunting painting of a child seated at a desk. I looked away and towards a kneeling figure on the floor in front of the witch. It was a large beast that looked half man and half wolf. He was cowering at her feet, begging for forgiveness.

"'How did you let this get out of control?' The Hag shrieked, waving leathery arms above her head. 'It's your job to keep intruders out. What kind of self-respecting werewolf do you call yourself?'

"'But they are just kids,' he whined defensively, groveling even lower, 'and they were just playing games.'

"'They aren't ordinary little kids, you fat hairy fool. They are Daredevil Girls.'

"'I did try to stop them,' he explained, dodging the witch's kicking foot. 'I howled and scared the crud out of one of them. I tripped another, and I even put a kitten out to distract a third.

'I didn't have the heart to frighten the cute little dark haired one. If you had just stayed out of it, she would have gone on back to her friends. You're the one who let her in.'

"'I didn't let her in,' the witch snapped, aiming another kick at his side, and landing it this time. 'You did. I just showed up to intercept her.'

"'Not me, I promise. The door was locked when I checked it. Just let them go back home and we'll be rid of them.'

"'Do you think it's that easy, you idiot? They will go tell everyone they know what's happened here, and then we'll have to move. In case you didn't know, large vacant houses are not that easy to find, besides, this is my home and I'm not giving it up. I have lived here since before your daddy's mama was picking fleas out of his newborn fur. I won't let them go now. No, I have other plans."

"Elizabeth shifted to hear better, inadvertently dropping her bow on the floor. What should have been a small muffled sound, considering the raging storm, came out as loud as a rifle shot -- another trick of the witch, we supposed. Both the witch and werewolf swung around to face us.

"'Well, well, what have we here?' The witch demanded, her wrinkled face twitching with emotion. 'Speak of the devil, and he will appear. Welcome ladies, and meet my pet.'

"'Where is my sister?' I demanded standing up straight, and ignoring her remark.

"'What sister? I keep telling you I don't know anything about your sister,' the witch insisted, stamping a fuzzy black foot. 'Tell her Gregor.'

"'We ain't got no sister here,' the werewolf laughed, changing his attitude in a heartbeat. Evil werewolves, you see, can volatile tempers and swiftly changing sympathies. 'Why, did you lose one?'

"The witch uttered a sharp irritating laugh. Gregor practically howled at his own joke, and then in an instant leapt at me, his lips pulled back in a nasty snarl.

"Elizabeth, unwatched in the shadows, retrieved her bow and, with a flash of crimson, shot an arrow straight into his throat. He fell and lay twitching on the floor in front of me.

"Reacting quickly, the witch grabbed a candlestick off a table and hurled it at her head. Elizabeth saw it and dodged just in time. A second later, she responded by fitting a second arrow into her bow. She bent it back and pointed.

"I dropped to the ground, and quickly kicked the witch's feet out from under her. She crashed down on top of me, pinning me to the floor. Elizabeth paused and watched.

"Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gregor pull the arrow from his throat and rise shakily to his feet. It came to my mind that werewolves can only be stopped by a silver bullet. Arrows in the throat, apparently, were not too effective.

"Gregor slung down the arrow and lunged for Elizabeth, who quickly loosed her notched arrow. It hit the huge lupine in the chest, but did not even slow him. He pushed her to the floor, and held her down with two massive paw-like hands.

"'Don't kill her,' the witch shrieked. 'I told you I have plans for these girls. My sisters and I can use them as slaves for our mighty army.'

"'You said you didn't want them here,' he reminded her with a snarl, dark putrid blood dripping from his wounds.

"'That's true, and I'm still not happy about your lack of vigilance,' the witch replied, rolling off me and leaping dramatically, and surprisingly, to her feet, 'but I have changed my mind about their usefulness, and I assure you, no one will ever find them where they are going. They will just be five new faces to appear on milk cartons.'

"'Okay, but let me eat this one,' Gregor snarled. 'She shot me twice. You can send the other four to your sisters.'

"'Do you forget who's in charge?' The witch screamed, stamping her foot again in irritation. 'I make the decisions, and I want to keep all five; especially the one who shot you. If she beat you, then she must be good.

'We can use her skills. It might take a little time to turn her over to our side, but my sisters are very well versed in the arts of persuasion. They and I have been working very hard building up our army. Soon, we will have one great enough to take over the entire state of Texas.'

"'Oh, my, gosh,' I scoffed. 'You can't possibly think you can take over a whole state, at least not one the size of Texas. And, even if you did manage it, the U.S. government would just send in troops and take it back. I don't know what fantasies you've been having, but I don't think the President of the United States is scared of you, nor even the Governor of Texas, for that matter.'

"'Hmm, I guess you're right,' the witch said with feigned sweetness. 'I guess I will just give up then.'

"'What?' Gregor demanded, his mouth hanging stupidly open, 'but you said we were unstoppable.'

"'Oh shut up, you huge shaggy idiot,' the witch snapped, turning and slapping me in the face at the same time. 'Of course we aren't giving up. As for you, little slave, don't you dare address me in such a way again.

'I'll have you know, our army is already huge, and it exists in the shadows where the average, uninformed person can't even see. We have infiltrated all aspects of your world. Our soldiers can be found in hospitals, schools, churches, and even homes. We turn daddies into drunks, sons and daughters into drug addicts, and pit friends against friends.

'We encourage weaknesses in people, and then turn those weaknesses against them to make them our slaves. When we have broken them down and taken away their humanity, we secretly devour them.

'Yes, little one, the President of the United States and the Governor of the good state of Texas will be afraid of us. They are afraid of us now. Every time they walk into a parking lot at night and look over their shoulders at the nearby shadows, they fear us. Each time their car breaks down on a dark road, or they see a group of vagrant teenagers walk up at dusk, they fear us. We are fear, you meaningless meddler, and you will learn to fear us, too.'

"I'm not afraid to admit my heart sank at this point. All the bad things I had ever heard on the news flashed in my mind's eye. I felt helpless and hopeless. In that moment, I understood evil truly does exist, and that I couldn't do a thing about it. I felt I really was just a silly little twelve-year-old, trying to stick my nose into a grown-up world. The witch sensed my mood as she had done in so many people before. She knew the feeling of someone giving up.

"'Get off the girl,' the witch commanded with a sneer. 'They aren't a threat any more. They will do whatever we want, just like the little dark haired girl we found on our doorstep. She's my new best friend, big sister.'

"'Best friend,' Gregor repeated hypnotically. 'These other girls will be your best friends, too.'