Galinda clutched Elphaba's arm in terror.
I'll make you a deal, the Grimmerie bargained. Hand over that spellbook and I'll let you girls go.
Elphaba's narrowed calculatingly. Her arms clutched the Grimmerie tighter. "Elphie what are you doing?" Galinda demanded.
"Run," the green girl hissed.
"What?
"Run!" This time the command was shouted. Elphaba sprinted out of the chamber, yanking the blonde behind her. They were pursued by the Grimmerie's roaring, magical incarnation. As it drew closer Elphaba opened the now lifeless spellbook and tore a page out.
Behind them she heard a cry of pain. "Come on," the green witch cajoled, pulling her friend along faster. They ran through the mist filled hallways and were assaulted with a thousand illusions thrust into their faces. Both girls ignored these and kept moving, spurred on by the beast behind them.
When they reached the staircase, after what felt like miles, Elphaba tore out another page. This bough them enough time to reach the front foyer. However, just as the door came into view, a cloud of green condensed in front of it. Give me the book. If the book does not leave this house I'll let you live.
"Fine," Elphaba growled. "What part of it do you want?"
Don't patronize me little witch. I want it cover to cover.
A wicked grin traced Elphaba's features. She knelt to the floor, opened the book, and planted one knee on each cover. Then, with a horrible tearing sound, she ripped the entire middle section, all of the pages, out. This left nothing but an empty, leather cover.
The cloud of magic in the doorway writhed and crackled, but refused to budge. Elphaba pointed a figure at the foyer's cold, unused fireplace and a flame burst to life. Tucking the papers into her satchel she started towards this ball of warmth, the spellbook's cover held outwards. The Grimmerie roared and threw its magic tendrils over Elphaba. Before they wrestled her flat against a wall she tossed the book cover to Galinda.
"Burn it!" she shouted.
No! the Grimmerie hissed. One of its wispy tentacles tightened around Elphaba's neck. She squirmed in its grasp, choking. If you take one step closer to that fireplace I'll kill your friend.
Galinda froze with the leather cover clasped in shaking hands. She glanced fearfully, uncertainly, between the fire and Elphaba.
"Do it," the green girl managed to wheeze. In response the Grimmerie tightened its hold. Her eyes rolled back.
"Elphie!"
Drop the cover and walk away.
Galinda hesitated.
Burning that cover will do nothing but cause me easily overcome pain. I'll wince for a moment and then kill you both. Destroying another part of me will not gain you anything.
Now the blonde bit her lip. She knew that Elphaba wouldn't have asked her to do something so drastic unless there was a definite purpose. The question was whether or not the green witch would bet her life of an assumption.
Galinda took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and hurled the spellbook's flabby, leather cover into Elphaba's magical ball of flame. It caught fire immediately and a great screeching filled the room. Elphaba was suddenly released from the Grimmerie's restraints and she fell, gasping, to the floor. Wind whipped every loose object within twenty feet into a frenzy.
"What's going on?" Galinda shouted over the awful noise.
Elphaba held up a hand, asking the blonde to wait. In a moment the intense screaming stopped as abruptly as it had started. The sudden silence was absolutely overwhelming. "You destroyed it," the thinner of the witches explained. Her voice was still hoarse, but she managed to smile triumphantly. Galinda caught her friend in a hug.
/
As they walked out of the Grimmerie's awful house Elphaba explained her reasoning. "I read a little about enchanted objects to prepare for this," the green girl said. "Whenever something is enchanted the magic is bound to runes. I noticed that there were a lot of very powerful runes marking the Grimmerie's cover."
"So the magic's life force was contained only on the cover?"
"Exactly." By now they were within sight of the Gale Force soldiers sent to wait for them. They were led to a nearby village.
Galinda watched Fiyero greet Elphaba with an impossible happy smile. The Winkie's eyes went wide with delight upon spotting his green sweetheart. He then proceeded to grab Elphaba around the waist and swing her into a rather enthusiastic kiss.
After the adorable couple broke apart it took them a moment to remember the blonde watching them awkwardly. Fiyero looked to Elphaba questioningly, as if to ask if they had been successful. In reply she pulled the Grimmerie's pages, still very usable, from her satchel.
"We won," Elphaba shrugged simply.