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chapter eleven
( THE BITCH WITCH )
About four hour later, Katherine woke up. Finally they broke camp and started down the tunnel.
It twisted and turned and seemed to go on forever. Katherine has a stomach feeling immediately when she awake and she can tell that it's not going good.
Instead, they found polished steel elevator doors, each one engraved with a cursive letter M. Next to the elevator was a directory, like for a department store.
"M for Macy's?" Piper guessed. "I think they have one in downtown Chicago."
"Or Monocle Motors still?" Leo said. "Guys, read the directory. It's messed up."
Parking, Kennels, Main Entrance: Sewer Level
Furnishings and Café M: 1
Women's Fashion and Magical Appliances: 2
Men's Wear and Weaponry: 3
Cosmetics, Potions, Poisons & Sundries: 4
"Kennels for what?" Katherine said. "And what kind of department store has its entrance in a sewer?"
"Or sells poisons," Leo said. "Man, what does 'sundries' even mean? Is that like underwear?"
Jason took a deep breath. "When in doubt, start at the top."
The doors slid open on the fourth floor, and the scent of perfume wafted into the elevator. Jason stepped out first, sword ready.
"Guys," he said. "You've got to see this."
Katherine joined him and caught her breath. "This is not Macy's."
The department store looked like the inside of a kaleidoscope. The entire ceiling was a stained glass mosaic with astrological signs around a giant sun. The daylight streaming through it washed everything in a thousand different colors. The upper floors made a ring of balconies around a huge central atrium, so they could see all the way down to the ground floor. Gold railings glittered so brightly, they were hard to look at.
Aside from the stained glass ceiling and the elevator, Katherine couldn't see any other windows or doors, but two sets of glass escalators ran between the levels. The carpeting was a riot of oriental patterns and colors, and the racks of merchandise were just as bizarre. There was too much to take it at once, but Katherine saw normal stuff like shirt racks and shoe trees mixed in with armored manikins, beds of nails, and fur coats that seemed to be moving.
Oh, this is not good. Katherine thought while her stomach is getting stronger.
Leo stepped to the railing and looked down. "Check it out."
In the middle of the atrium a fountain sprayed water twenty feet into the air, changing color from red to yellow to blue. The pool glittered with gold coins, and on either side of the fountain stood a gilded cage—like an oversize canary cage.
Inside one, a miniature hurricane swirled, and lightning flashed. Somebody had imprisoned the storm spirits, and the cage shuddered as they tried to get out. In the other, frozen like a statue, was a short, buff satyr, holding a tree-branch club.
"Coach Hedge!" Piper said. "We've got to get down there."
