I DON'T OWN W.I.T.C.H! REVIEW!

HEART OF EARTH

CHAPTER FOUR: THE LABYRINTH

Lady Iquen went up to the attic, picked up some powder, and threw it over a crystal ball. Light emanated from the ball, and Queen Eris strode through. "Lady Iquen, I'm becoming impatient for good news!"

"Limda has disguised herself as an Earth girl attending the local school, and is working to find the princess."

"Good. Once my daughter is identified we must slowly and carefully bring her into our confidence before that traitor of a son does."

Cedric was explaining to Phobos how he and Miranda had set up a bookshop to use as a cover, and Miranda had already befriended a girl her age, who might be the girl Cedric had seen in City Hall. "But it is hard to say, my lord, as I have not yet met her."

"Why is that?" Miranda spoke. "My lord, the girl said something about 'detention', and 'mother going to kill her'."

"Ah. Well, I don't know what this 'detention' is, but make sure you meet her before the end of the week. We need to get her and my sister to trust us before Eris dupes her with her lies."

The teacher began dusting off the blackboard with his tie. "I think you'll find that you appreciate the time you've spent this term studying the uh-the-the study of-" Taranee finally took pity on him and raised her hand. "The origins of myth."

"Yes! Thank you. Now, your mid-term essays!" At that moment, a wind blew the sheaf of papers out of his hands. "Some of you performed better than I expected, while others failed to perform at all." He began handing out the essays. Irma whispered to Hay Lin. "I lost consciousness somewhere around Zeus' 3rd wife." She looked down at her paper. "Are you sure this is mine? It's my terrible handwriting...I got a B! That means I can get a D on the next one and still pass!"

"No way! Me too!" The two girls high-fived. "Taranee, see me after class."

"Oh, I don't know. What do you recommend?" Caleb took a deep breath. "That you hurry up. I've got other customers."

"Waiter, my wife asked for water with no ice!"

"Then tell her to wait until it melts! You people wouldn't last a day in Meridian."

"What's Meridian?"

"I think it's one of those fancy places downtown."

"What's the chicken lo mein like?" He grabbed the woman's plate, and put it in front of him. "It's like this, but there's more of it!" Yan Lin walked over. "Uh, Caleb, I think we can spare you from our front for a few minutes."

"Suits me! Are they always like this?" She smiled.

"I'm very disappointed that you failed to turn in an essay."

"That I WHAT?"

"Well, if you couldn't finish in time, you should've asked for-um, you know, one of those things you ask for when you can't finish."

"But I turned it in a day early! It was on the Minotaur-"

"An extension!"

"It's on my computer! I can e-mail it to you the second I get home!"

"A deadline's a deadline, Ms.-uh-anyway, you get an F on this paper!"

Caleb began making menus with the photocopier, and Blunk squealed. "Ooh, how it do it?"

"I don't know how it do it. All I know is this machine will make identical maps of Phobos' hideout for my military leaders. Once I manage to find it, that is." Blunk poked the machine. "What's the matter, too big to steal?" Once Caleb had left, Blunk began using the machine to photocopy his face.

"If Professor Collins wasn't the beast that we know is living in Heatherfield in disguise, who is?"

"The Mage said all you have to do to reveal a beast in human form is touch it with the Heart of Candracar."

"But we can't go around the city, touching everyone with a crystal!" Taranee groaned. "I can't believe he lost my essay!" Cornelia spoke. "Taranee, we all grieve for your loss, but the world's been invaded by monsters! FOCUS!"

"He's looking for one of us!"

"We don't know that."

"Please! He comes here, searching for a girl our age, what do you think he wants, a babysitter?"

"What if one of us is his secret evil granddaughter? I saw that in a movie one time, and the girl's like mondo-creeped!"

"He lost it! That's the only explanation!" The others sighed, as Will's mom entered the room. "Hey, guys. Will's got extra math homework, you're gonna have to say goodbye."

"Mom! Mrs. Rudolph didn't give me extra homework!"

"No. I did. After reading your mid-term report." They got up to leave. "Help me."

"Okay, the little straight line between two numbers means you subtract."

Miranda and Cedric stood before Phobos. "It's her. The girl from City Hall."

"Good. Get her to trust us."

"She has already been employed here."

"Excellent. Now all that's left is finding my sister, and what makes this girl so special..."

Hay Lin frowned. "Why this bookstore? Why can't we get our study guides at the mall, or school library?"

"Because the mall bookstore doesn't have a tall, hunky manager!"

"With jet-black eyes and a devilish smile!"

"Maybe if I retrace his steps, I'll find it in a bush or something." They entered the store. "Hi! Where are the high-school textbooks?" Lillian came out from behind a shelf, and Cornelia screamed. "What are YOU doing here?"

"I work here." She turned her head. "Cedric! Miranda! They wanna know where the high-school textbooks are!"

"All over, I'm afraid! There's more in the back." They went off in separate directions.

Cornelia and Elyon jumped as Cedric came out while Miranda was reshelving, and Lillian was watching with an amused smile. "I'm still getting organized."

"Oh, me too! I'm Cornelia!"

"Elyon Brown! Hi!" Miranda's fists curled and Lillian clucked her tongue. "Hitting on a bookworm, sister dearest? I didn't think you went for nerds." Cornelia glared at her while Miranda and Cedric blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"I'm Rick Hoffman." Miranda scowled at them. "Miranda Johnson." Cedric turned to Lillian and Miranda. Miranda was holding a book in her hands, and looked liable to hit Cornelia and Elyon with it. "Miranda, Lillian, could you go take unpack the rest of the books? Thanks." Miranda opened her mouth to protest, but Lillian dragged her away.

"Sorry about the mess. It's taking me awhile to sort things out."

"I know exactly how that is!"

Blunk climbed in through an air vent. "Old store! New flies!" He grabbed a piece of flypaper, swallowing it, then removing the paper, now devoid of flies, from his mouth.

Hay Lin felt wind whistling around her. "Guys, guys, guys!" Irma and Taranee came over.

Cedric looked up. "Well, I'd better go get my History book. Like that's gonna do me any good. The Middle Ages are SO last week." Cornelia strode off, and Elyon spoke. "Cornelia's my best friend."

Cornelia strode through the rows of shelves. "His little ponytail is so cute!" Unluckily for her, Miranda heard this, and had to be dragged backwards by Lillian. "You can't kill my sister!"

"How about severely maiming or wounding her?"

"No!"

"Corny! Look at the lettering on this book!"

"I told you to stop calling me-Oh my gosh."

"It's the Meridian graffiti!"

"I wonder if the writing's the same inside!" Blunk watched all this from overhead. Hay Lin reached up and touched the book, and the four of them vanished. "Huh? Girls, then no girls!"

Elyon looked around. "Guys! Cornelia?"

Will sighed. "X equals...X equals...oh, 12! So the correct answer, of course, is X equals Y squared? That's not even math! That's spelling!" She turned the lamp on her stuffed frog. "Hey. Do you have math in Frogworld? You'd need it, to keep track of 1000 kids! Course, most of them are eaten by ducks."

"Did you guys just feel something?"

"Bored."

"I felt it." Taranee's eyes widened. "Um, was this aisle as big as this when we walked in?"

"Uh-oh! I broke the bookstore! All I did was touch this!" The book began glowing. "I know this is a lousy cliché, but let's get outta here!" They froze, seeing the bookstore had turned into a labyrinth. "Wow. He renovated fast."

"This is not our world. Oh no! Everybody, back up and take two right turns!"

"Why?"

"Because we just made two left turns! Oh, it's a labyrinth! Like the Minotaur!"

"I got a B on that!" Irma shushed her. "She's being smart!"

"We can't just stand here! But we're gonna get lost unless we have something to lead us back! Cornelia, give me your sweater." Cornelia clutched her sweater. "How are we gonna find our way back by leaving my sweater behind?" Her eyes widened. "Oh, no! No! No! NO! We can't! Not my sweater!"

Will groaned. "And the square root of the boring part is equal to the sum of the boring, tedious-" She looked up as someone knocked on her window, and went to open it. "Blunk!"

"Big trouble! Come!"

Yan Lin sighed. "It must be an inversion point. To Blunk, it would seem as if the girls just disappeared."

"Does it work both ways? Can they get back?"

"It depends on what's on the other side. Without you and the Heart, they have no powers." At that moment, the door opened, and Caleb stood there, imitating one of the customers. "This steak has been dropped on the floor! How could she possibly know I did that?"

"Caleb. There's trouble." Blunk spoke. "Girls-" he snapped his fingers, "-then no girls!"

"All those nights on a hand-carved cedar sweater hanger, for nothing! What's waiting for Thesus at the end of his maze, anyway?"

"A murderous monster with the head of a bull." Cornelia groaned.

"Where in the bookstore?"

"Blunk said in the back." They looked up. "Where?"

"Nowhere! That's problem!"

"Where were there no girls?"

"Everywhere no girls!" Will looked at the book with the writing on it, and wind began blowing. "You okay?"

"I just felt..." She grabbed the book, and they were gone. "I look this, then that way, then-AAAH! No Caleb!"

"I say that way."

"Uh-uh. We went that way."

"And this way." Irma beckoned towards a green light just as Taranee ran out of string. She dropped the thread and followed the others into a large chamber full of books. "Wow. You'd think a guy who read all these books would be teaching evil by now." Cornelia opened a heavy wooden door, and the others raced after her.

They found themselves standing in what seemed to be the kitchens of a nobleman's house. They walked down the stairs, watching the multiple servants. They froze when a servant spotted them, and she gasped. "You can't be here! Follow me!"

Caleb picked up the red thread. "What do you think's on the other end of this?"

"My guess? A VERY unhappy Cornelia. Guardians, wherever you are, let me find you safe." Will transformed, and they ran through the aisles, following the thread until they came to the green room, where Queen Eris stood, disguised as Phobos. "You!"

"Caleb, get back!"

"NO! Never back!" He charged at 'Phobos', who threw him aside like a rag doll. Will strained against a row of books as 'Phobos' advanced on Caleb, managing to tip it over onto him.

'Phobos' rose from the pile of books, reverting to Queen Eris. "One of my own military leaders and the Guardian leader, hmm? Send out the Tracker!"

The other girls watched a group of people dancing around a bonfire, and Taranee spoke. "This is wonderful food. I'm afraid we can't eat it all."

"Once you told us you were the Guardians, everybody brought something. Um...why did you come all the way here from Earth in human form?"

"Well, believe it or not, we were looking for a History book."

"Let me refill your drinks."

"Why isn't anyone else eating?"

"Uh, Hay Lin? I think this may be all the food they have."

"Kinda puts a lost essay into perspective."

Trill came back. "When Phobos tried to take the throne, but failed, he cursed the land, and a light went out over this land. Our men are jailed, our crops are stolen, we have no security. Nothing for ourselves but our dreams. I hear things working in the castle. They say Phobos has a sister on the other side. Could this be true?" They all gasped. "What?"

"A sister?"

"The true heir to the throne. They say she doesn't know her identity or even that she was not born on Earth."

"You still think it's one of us?"

"If only you could find her first, and bring her safely to Meridian! For years we've suffered because of Phobos' curse. We always have hope, but sometimes I fear we hope in vain."

"We'll find the true heir and bring her here! We promise you!"

"I don't get it, though. Why would Phobos look for the heir to the throne? And why would the Queen...um...what was her name?"

"Queen Eris."

"Yeah. Why would she look for someone who would replace her?" They heard an inhuman roar at that moment. They all stared at Tracker. "That is so not what I wanted to see."

"THE TRACKER! RUN!" Everyone fled, screaming. "Into the forest!" They dived into a hollow log. "You think he can find us in here?"

"With that nose? It looked like it could find us in China!" The girls shrieked as the flail ripped off their cover, and they ran. "I can't keep running! We gotta go up!" They came to a tree. "How do we know it can't climb?"

"We don't!" Taranee, Irma and Cornelia climbed up the tree as Hay Lin followed. Irma grabbed her hand just as Sniffer lunged and missed. "Nice doggy! Not nice doggy!" They kept climbing higher and higher as Tracker destroyed branches with his flail. "Can we jump to another tree? Like a shorter one?"

"We're safe here. I think." The Tracker opened his cloak, and bats flew out of it, attacking the base of the tree. "Looks like you're gonna be in a shorter tree after all?" Cornelia screamed as she started to slip, and the others pulled her back up as the tree gave. "I can't believe I was worried about my sweater!" They all screamed as the tree rushed towards the ground.

At that moment, a blinding pink light shone, and the girls looked up to see Will. "Guardians, unite!"

"Will, how did you find us?"

"Are you kidding? There's a trail of mutant dog slobber all the way from the castle."

"LOOK OUT!" Tracker's flail was headed right for them, and it wrapped around Will's foot, dragging her down. Hay Lin and Irma attacked, soaking him, and Cornelia trapped Tracker, freeing Will. Caleb caught the flail, and Sniffer charged at him. Irma's eyes widened. "CALEB!" Cornelia reacted quickly, using the vines to grab Sniffer as well. Irma sighed with relief, and they landed. "Nice work." Irma turned to Caleb. "Need a lift to the nearest portal?"

"Thanks, I'll walk."

"We met some villagers. They got us out of the castle."

"I can't stop thinking how horrible their lives are because of Phobos!"

"They gave us their own food!"

"They're good people. Don't worry. In the days ahead, you'll have plenty of chances to repay them."

"Hey, Cornelia!" Elyon ran over. "Where'd you go yesterday? You just left me in that store!"

"Oh, hey, Elyon, I am so sorry! My mind was in another world."

"You've been doing this a lot lately. Are we best friends or what?"

"Of course we are! Come on, let me buy you a donut!"

"You know I don't eat donuts!"

"Yeah, but there's a really cute guy serving!"

"Wait up!"

Taranee approached her teacher. "I apologize."

"For what?"

"For making such a big deal over a silly essay...and asking the principal to suspend you without pay."

"Well, I apologize for putting your essay in my fridge and bringing a pound of ham to school." He handed her the term paper. "A perfect paper. Your description of the labyrinth is-it's almost as if you were there!" Taranee grinned. "Yeah. Almost."

"Have you had a chance to look at the menu?" The customer opened it and shrieked. Caleb and Yan Lin glanced at it, seeing Blunk's face.