Work on the sweetie house had stalled because neither Hex nor Horace could conjure sweets. However, Agnes had a spell for every occasion and after a fortnight of trawling through her spell books, she'd found just what they needed.

In the Whispering Woods, the witch stirred her enormous cauldron over a blazing fire.

"Mummy," Horace said. "How long will this take? I've planned a visit to the Troll Village this afternoon."

Agnes chuckled as she dropped bags of sugar into the steaming liquid.

"Again, darling?"

"Yes. I'm bored senseless... so I thought it would be fun to arrest a few trolls."

"I remember the last time. It was the most fun I'd had in weeks."

"Can we concentrate on the task at hand?" Hex snapped. "We have a lot to do."

Horace's yellow eyes narrowed as he glared at the sorcerer.

"I need some strands of hair from that girl of yours, Hex," Agnes said.

Before Cathy could object, Hex pulled a clump of hair from her head.

"Ouch!"

"Shush!" Hex said, passing the hair to Agnes.

"Very good," she muttered, dropping the hair into the cauldron. "Now I need a fingernail clipping from the girl."

"Yuck. Why do you need a fingernail?" Cathy asked.

"Texture," Agnes explained.

"Come on," Horace said. "I don't have all day."

Cathy bit her nail and passed it to Agnes.

The witch tossed a strand of twine, along with the fingernail, into the sticky, hairy, crunchy mixture.

"Ew... How revolting," Hex said, looking queasy.

As the liquid bubbled, a green mist slithered over the edge of the cauldron and drifted downwards. It swirled towards the house's foundations and billowed into a thick fog.

Cathy choked on a mouthful of the sticky fog. Strangely, it tasted pleasant. At first, it tasted of peppermint, then it changed to strawberry, and then pineapple.

Hex peered into the fog.

"Huh... look... It's our sweetie house." Hex clapped his hands in delight. It was the happiest Cathy had ever seen him.

"Mummy, you're a genius!" Horace declared.

"But how does it taste?" Hex asked.

"Get the child to try it," Agnes said, grinning.

"Good idea." Hex shoved Cathy in her back, towards the house.

As the fog cleared, what she saw amazed her. The spell had made each brick of cake and sculpted windows of sugar; the doors were giant slabs of milk chocolate with lollipop handles. Just as she'd imagined it. Only the roof seemed inedible. Agnes had thatched it with hair.

Creeping closer, Cathy hesitated.

"What are you waiting for? Lick it," Horace ordered.

"Is it safe?" she asked. She'd seen what went into the spell and it didn't seem right to her.

"It's safe for you," Agnes said, winking at her son.

"I'm sure you've eaten worse," Hex added, pretending to pick his nose.

Horace snorted with laughter.

Cathy took a deep breath. Here goes... she licked the front door. It was delicious. She'd eaten nothing so good.

"Well?" Horace said.

"It's marvellous," Cathy replied, opening the door and stepping inside. The entire house smelt of apple pie and ice cream. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Suddenly, there was a clicking and snapping noise as a large net dropped from the ceiling. They'd trapped her.

"It works!" Hex yelled, punching the air in triumph.

"Of course it works," Agnes said.

"Well done, everyone," Horace said, checking his pocket watch. "Mummy, time to go. I'll return Hex to Rune Hall and meet you at home."

"Very well," Agnes said and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Help... Someone... Anyone," Cathy said, still trapped under the net.

Hex clicked his fingers, and the net vanished.

"Get up. There's no time to lounge about." He yanked Cathy to her feet by her elbow and waited for Horace to transport them.

Cathy watched the coin flick into the air and felt the floor fall away from beneath her. In an instant, they were back home and Prince Horace was gone.