The Only Thing Worse Than Witches

Finally, the Truth: or, The End of an Era

RUPERT WALKED INTO HIS HOUSE WITH THE STORM Witch, the Nebulous Witch, and Sandy by his side. He instantly ran into the basement, where he could hear faint knocks from inside of the closet.

When Rupert opened the door, his mom stumbled out helplessly, falling to her knees. Her hair was all knotted, and dark circles surrounded her bloodshot eyes. At the sight of Rupert, she began to cry.

“Mom!” Rupert said. “I’m so sorr—”

But he didn’t even have a chance to finish his sentence before his mother pulled him into a hug. She sobbed, kissing the top of his head over and over. Then she held him at arm’s length and said, “RUPERT ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, IF YOU EVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN…” But the next moment she folded him into her weeping, kissing embrace again.

Finally, his mother calmed down enough to sputter, “You are so grounded. Where in the world have you been?” She looked up, but her gaze stopped on Nebby and Storm. “I–I know you. You’re a part of the Wi—” She caught herself and looked at Rupert.

“It’s okay, Mom. I know they’re part of the Witches Council. And I know they forced you to work for them.”

“I’m the Nebulous Witch.” Nebby held out her hand, and his mother tentatively shook it. “Ah, now that we’re face-to-face, I do think I recognize you, but we’ve never actually met.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Rupert’s mother began to speak. “I’ve only ever talked to the Fairfoul Witch and the Midnight Witch,” she said, her voice sounding a little timid. “They forbid me from speaking to anyone. And I’ve only stepped foot in the lair during off-hours.”

“That explains it, then,” Nebby said warmly. “I’m sorry for anything you went through because of them. We aren’t all quite so difficult, are we Storm?”

Storm walked over and pinched his mom’s cheeks. “Hello, I’m Storm. Lovely, lovely to meet you!”

“Rupert?” his mom said, calling for help.

Rupert pried Storm off his mother’s face. And then he told his mother everything, starting at the very beginning. He told her all about Mrs. Frabbleknacker’s trip to the dump, all about her horrible lessons, all about the help he had been giving Sandy, all about Mrs. Frabbleknacker’s true identity as the Fairfoul Witch, and about the great rabbit fiasco.

“Back up!” his mother interrupted. “Your teacher was the Fairfoul Witch?”

Sandy nodded vigorously, and Storm shrugged.

“But — but why?”

Nebby gently rested her hand on his mother’s shoulder. “After listening to the Fairfoul Witch’s testimony, the Council realizes now that we severely underestimated how much she loved to practice her punishments. Last summer, she saw that a post for a fifth-grade teacher was available, and she took the job. Because, truly, where better to practice cruel magic than with a class of kids? After all, who would believe them?”

Rupert glared at his mother, and she guiltily slouched.

Nebby kept talking. “Can you believe she had been lying to her own Witches Council? She sneaked out in the morning when we all thought she was sleeping, and none of us ever wanted to disturb her sleep because she is a renowned grouch when she wakes up. I can’t believe she pulled the wool over my eyes for so long.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Nebby,” Sandy said brightly. “She fooled us all. You know, Rupert always smelled very funny when he came home from school. I should have recognized her scent way earlier.”

Rupert’s mother put a hand on his shoulder. “You tried to tell me all about Mrs. Frabbleknacker, and I wouldn’t listen.”

“That’s okay, Mom,” Rupert said. “Allison’s parents didn’t believe her either, and she came home with mustache and beard. And Manny’s parents didn’t even notice he was gone!”

“Gone?”

Rupert nodded. “Mrs. Frabbleknacker turned him into our class pet.”

His mother steadied herself by gripping the basement table.

Nebby pursed her lips. “We have reason to believe that the Fairfoul Witch was using potions on local parents to make them forget about their children.”

“Well, that’s horrible!” said Rupert’s mother. “That witch is the most horrible witch I’ve ever had the misfortune to meet.”

Rupert shuffled his feet. Then he took a deep breath and asked the question that had been gnawing at him for a while. “Mom, why did you steal that forbidden potion? You must have known you’d be punished.”

“Yes, that was certainly a risk.”

“Why did you do it, then?”

She pulled him into a tight hug. “Because I wanted you in my life, Rupert. You’re more important to me than anything else in the world.”

Rupert swallowed a choked-up feeling in his throat, and he buried his face into her middle.

His mother brushed his hair with her hand. “When I look at you, I know I made the right choice. You’re worth it, Rupert. You are so worth every bit of my debt, and I’ll be glad to pay it off for as long as I live.”

“You won’t have to,” Rupert said, and he pulled the signed contract from his pocket. “The Witches Council promised to leave us alone.”

His mother tore the contract from him, her eyes widening as she read. “How did you—”

“It was Sandy,” Rupert said. “And Nebby and Storm, too — they helped.”

His mother read over the contract again and wiped the silent tears off her cheeks. When she finally spoke again, her voice was choked, but she cracked a smile wider than Rupert had seen on her in years.

“You were right, Rupert,” his mother said. “You were right all along.”

“About the witches?”

“No, about Sandy. She’s a good friend.”

“The best,” Rupert agreed.

Sandy smiled and blushed a shade so red she almost looked purple.