People bobbed their heads in agreement and started to swap stories about the evil things the woman had done or at least what theyd heard shed done which in their minds was the same thing Their whispers mixed together and strange stories floated on the wind The mayor's lips twitched in irritation Gretel gave a muffled laugh It was obvious he didn't like being ignored Bowing his head the mayor carried on reading Therefore she has been sentenced to die today He paused then said dramatically By hanging The crowd started to cheer BURN ER INSTEAD someone screamed The mayor smiled Everyone was staring at him now their mouths open in wonder NO screeched a woman with ruddy cheeks and chapped hands THROW ER IN A BARREL WITH A SNAKE A RAT AND A DOG A man with a bushy mustache and huge sideburns shook his head NO NO GIVE ER A CHANCE Try an drown her If she floats she's guilty If she dies well He shrugged The mayor was clearly not happy No one was listening to him again He scowled and stomped his foot on the ground dislodging a piece of frozen smelly mud It flew into the crowd and smacked a young boy on the nose making him cry out with disgust The crowd fell silent and sulked Hear this the mayor shouted She shall hang today right now for her crimes The witch finder has found her guilty He drew a breath So she dies The crowd roared its approval and the executioner strode onto the wooden platform of the gallows Gretel peered up from the shadows below The executioner pulled the noose over the witch's head Any last words he asked the black mask he wore muffling his voice The woman raised her head and slowly lifted her eyes to the people screaming for her death The crowd gasped and backed away Gretel knew they were wondering why he was letting the witch speak She could curse them all
The woman spoke in a painful raspy croak I leave to ye a prophecy Only by understanding how to fulfill it can thy children be saved from the evil that will be let loose when I am dead Listen well and listen carefully The crowd became uneasy and people shivered at her words Most would have run away but they couldn't resist staying to hear a wicked tale The woman raised her voice to speak above the frightened whispers of the people They leaned forward expectantly Gretel held her breath hoping to hear about evil spirits who as everybody knew danced the muddy roads at night wearing crowns made of dead ravens But instead the witch said First comes the goblin then the witch Destruction will rain down on thy children's heads It will be thus for several hundred years The woman paused The wind could be heard blowing mournfully through the village square Unless water and spirit bring fire to the place where earth and air meet With a grunt the executioner spat on the ground Gretel rolled her eyes She'd heard better speeches and scarier ones too The crowd booed Kill her they shrieked Burn the wicked Gingerbread Witch But the mayor just scowled this time in annoyance at the delay He'd thought it would be all over by now He had a lovely breakfast on the table at home He could imagine the steaming eggs and bacon going cold Not to mention his wife's disapproval at his lateness And the way she would hold the rolling pin threateningly She had a nasty tendency to hit him over the head with it when she was displeased Impatiently the mayor nodded at the hooded executioner No please wait for the sake of thy children's souls cried the woman I have not yet finished telling ye about the prophecy Water and spirit must bring fire to the place where earth and air meet which means The executioner stepped forward and pushed the witch off the wooden platform She gave a terrible shriek that was cut short as the rope unraveled flew to its full length and cracked to a halt The dead woman swung gently above the heads of the crowd Her shadow fell over Gretel hiding below in the gloom She stared at the witch's slim feet pointing toward the ground beneath her woolen dress Tears of happiness fell down Gretel's cold cheeks At last she thought the Gingerbread Witch is dead A small grin lit up her face and she punched the air silently Long live the NEW WITCH
CHAPTER 2 JACK RIDDLE Present day Jack Riddle was bored Extremely bored Hed been on the train for three hours and it had not sped up once It just carries on chug ruddy chugging through the hills he thought moodily He sighed and sat back in his seat listening to the steady creak and hum of the train as it made its way through the darkness He turned to the window and watched his glum face in the reflection The dim outline of dark trees could be seen through his features He was unusually small for his twelve years with blond hair that stuck straight up like a brush Skinny as a twig he gave the impression of being all knobbly knees and elbows A smattering of freckles lay across the bridge of his nose and an obstinate chin reflected back at him in the window He sighed again much more loudly making the other man in the car rustle his newspaper in annoyance Even though he was getting to miss a few days of school Jack wanted to be back in Manchester not on his way to Sheffield But his mom had bundled him onto the train ignoring his protests and shoved a ham sandwich in one hand and a can of soda in the other The sandwich had long since been eaten Its remains lay on the seat next to him giving off the metallic smell of old meat Jack pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the signal Nothing Not even a hint of a bar Jack felt panic start to seize him What was he going to do without his phone Like most of his friends he was glued to it He didn't like it sometimes it meant his mom and dad could get hold of him whenever they wanted but the phone was his life He used it to pass the time in class when he
was bored watch videos buy stuff online when he had money and chat with his hundreds of friends on social media Well people who'd asked to be his friend He wasn't friends with them all really that would be silly Basically it was his best friend His mom and dad joked that he must even sleep with the phone under his pillow Jack told them not to be daft He slept with it next to his lamp within easy reach He took a picture of the nearly empty train and tried to send it to his friend Ayo But with a feeling of dread he watched as the little screen flickered and died Was the battery dead Without warning the train shuddered to a halt The brakes screeched and the wheels slid on the tracks then all was quiet Jack pressed his nose to the window and stared at the gloomy station outside An old battered sign spotted with mud said GRIMBLEDYKE Jack stood up grabbed his suitcase then made his way to the door of the train The doors slid open and he stepped onto the platform cursing as he staggered from the long drop to the ground He really hoped he'd start growing more Everyone else in his year at school was at least six inches taller than him and that was just the girls His height was starting to get embarrassing He made a mental note to Google growth spurts when he finally got Internet access Clicking his tongue Jack turned around to see where the exit was But there was no light anywhere in the station not even a streetlamp He turned around in panic as the train chugged away It seemed so comforting all lit up like a Christmas tree When the back end of the train had gone around a bend and was out of view Jack took a tentative step forward in the dark hoping he was facing the station building and was not about to step off the tracks Hello he shouted Is anyone there A gruff voice pitted with age rasped back from the darkness What do ye want Jack thought it should be pretty obvious what he wanted with a flashlight being high up on his list of priorities Er well I need to get to a house called Salem's Cottage It's supposed to be somewhere near this station There was no reply The silence grew thicker Just when Jack thought he was chatting to an extremely talented animal the voice came again If ye really want to go there then it's down yonder lane
