“What’s the matter?” Hoxley asked. “Is something wrong?” Hoxley.

  “Nothing is wrong.” Said Robert

  “But something isn’t right.” Finished Siouxsie. “The landscape has changed. Look. Everything is perfectly flat.” Hoxley looked upon the desert to see that the dunes and hill and rocks and crags had given way to reveal a plateau as level and tranquil as an undisturbed pond. The only inconsistencies were the naturally forming crystals littered here and there that continued to turn the night into day. She looked to the south and north to see that this new topography wasn’t a solitary landmark. It had become the topography as far as the eye could see.

  “Never before, in all my years, have I beheld such a thing.” Idris said solemnly. “It’s like lake in wintertime, but there is no water. Such a thing cannot be natural.”

  “What can we do?” asked Prince Damron

  “I’ve never seen such terrain before, but it’s directly in our path. We need to know how far this goes to find out if we need to go around it or not. Siouxsie? Robert? Can you scout ahead? See what lies a good walk out, check north and south then return?”

  “We can do that.” said the twins in unison. Each one leapt upon their brooms and launched themselves straight up into the sky one hundred feet before leveling off and venturing out into the distance.

  “Why do they always fly straight up?” Morell asked her.

  “I couldn’t tell you. I know nothing of flying.” she said, scanning the horizon. “This place is unknown to me as well. I’ve been across these lands several time and no one I’ve encountered has ever spoken of such a destination. No one in their right mind should be this far from the main road. Only lizards and bugs would find such a place inviting. I usually keep to the main road myself, but since we’ve deviated, I’m as ignorant as anyone.” Her hoof tapped and scratched at the surface. “It’s stone, but it’s all so flat. There are no rises or depressions.” Two black dots drew nearer in the sky ahead of them. “Here come our witchy scouts now.”

  Siouxsie and Robert dropped from the sky to land in front of the group, dismounting their brooms. Gusts of wind assaulted the companions when the pairs’ winklepickers touched the ground.

  “We return!” Siouxsie expelled. “The flatness continues as far as the eye can see but there’s something else. Something peculiar.”

  “Peculiar?” asked Hoxley.

  “Yes.” Said Robert as he pointed west. “An odd mirage blankets the land. When we left you to fly into these strange lands, it appears as we see now. But after we separated and flew our separate directions and turned around to meet again, the terrain appears only as these desolate spaces.”

  “It’s true.” agreed Siouxsie. “I saw the same thing. Powerful magic is at work here.”

  “But whose magic is it?” asked the prince.

  “We don’t know.” The witches said together.

  “It is strange that we didn’t see this place from afar. I’ve been watching the horizon the whole time and it appeared as fast you two do.”

  “I can hear you…but I cannot see you…” the disembodied voice spoke again. Everyone looked unnerved and exchanged glances.

  “That voice is terrifying.” Morell said to Prince Damron and Idris. “What do you think it wants?”

  “If it can hear us but not see us…” asked Idris. “Can it still find us?”

  “There’s no way of knowing.” Said Hoxley. “Whomever our mystery guest is, they haven’t revealed themselves. I don’t believe we’re in danger until they choose to show themselves. Let’s hope whispering is the worst it can do. Keep your wits about you, we continue on.”

  The party continued into the flat wastes. Stifling heat radiating down upon them as they walked. When the burning orb reached its zenith, Hoxley made the call to rest. A little ingenuity went a long way when she got the idea to build a makeshift tent. After the twins made their witch hammock, Hoxley laid her spear crossways over the top of the floating brooms. Packs were hung from either end of the spear to hold it in place and blankets were draped across the top of that. When finished, there was enough shade for everyone to comfortably rest beneath.

  As they relaxed, everyone was in agreement that the experiment was a success. Things became more bearable out of the direct light of the sun. Flaps of their tent swayed in the wind and Hoxley looked out upon the unusual landscape in between flaps. Everything appeared as a great divide, the almost white flatness laid perfectly against the cloudlessness of the wild blue sky. The companions reclined against one another for support as the twins silently snoozed overhead.

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  How queer to have never seen something like this before. Hoxley reflected upon the situation. A glance around the group told her how quickly the other members were fatiguing by the oppressive heat. The witches didn’t care one way or the other but none of the ones who traveled by foot were accustomed to such conditions. She’d only traveled the main road before which was far easier. We shouldn’t linger. She thought. At least the ghostly voice has been silent.

  When the sun reached a lower place in the sky, Hoxley got the party moving again. There was a little grumbling about having to leave the comfort of the spot, but or the most part, spirits were still high. Hoxley clopped a steady pace and was mindful of the necessity of proper water breaks.

  It was a good night of travelling. Unless they were scouting, the witches tended to hover overhead providing shade for those below. For the few times that they did fly ahead, they returned to report there were no deviations ahead. Even with Robert using Hoxley’s spyglass from a great altitude, there was only nothingness in every direction. Their blankets kept them warm as the temperature dropped. All night they walked. Eyelids drooped and everyone yawned but Hoxley kept them moving as best she could.

  It was just before dawn again when Hoxley came to a halt. Morell, walking while half asleep on his feet ran into the back of her and fell over.

  “wha? What’s happening?” He asked, a little startled.

  “This isn’t right.” Hoxley said sourly.

  “What’s happened?” asked the prince.

  “I’ve traveled across this desert a dozen times on the main road it’s never taken this long to cross it.”

  “But we’re not on the main road.” Offered Idris.

  “Yes, but I’ve made sure that we’ve walked parallel to it.” I watch the position of the sun and moon to keep my bearings as I always do and we’re no closer to the western side. If we’ve travelled properly, there should be a tall rock in the shape of an upturned loaf of bread in front of a thin pass between two large rock faces that’s just wide enough to get a horse and carriage through. We should’ve reached that pass hours ago.” The witches dropped from the sky to join them.

  “Something is wrong.” Said Siouxsie “Robert and I can feel magic all around us. It’s not magic we know. The land is enchanted.”

  “Is that true, Robert?” Hoxley asked

  “There’s something here; a binding of some sort. It’s not rope or iron, but something magic toying with our senses. An…invisible trap we can’t see.”

  “An invisible trap?” Morell mulled the words over. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  “What can we do?” asked Idris. “How do we free ourselves of this binding?

  “How did we fall into this trap?” asked the prince.

  “I have no clue.” said Hoxley, who looked to the witches whom also exchanged confused glances.

  “I thought my mind was playing tricks on me because of the heat.” Admitted Idris. “Now I’m truly suspicious. Look at the clusters of crystals around us.” He waved at the pinkish gems jutting from the ground. “When we first entered the desert, the groupings were as random as trees in a forest. Now look at them; every group is the same as the next.” Everyone stopped to look at the blossoms of crystals at their feet. Idris was right! Until now, they’d only been regarded as natural phenomenon, something to be disregarded.

  “They’re illusion?” Morell asked before smashing one to powder with his mace. As soon as he did so, half of the clusters of crystals around them disintegrated at the same time, vanishing from existence in greater expanding circles like ripples in a pool. In their places, the bodies of dead travelers revealed themselves from behind the same magic veil. Laying where they fell, the corpses of men women and children surrounded the party in varying stages of decomposition. Some of them had been there long enough to be nothing more than bleached bones covered in rags. Everyone drew their weapons at once.

  “Jumping pumpkins!” exclaimed Siouxsie.

  “Pumpkoo!” said the gel beneath her hat.