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hand Watch scratched his head in the dark. “She looks like Ann Templeton, but with red hair instead of black. But for all I know Ann Templeton looks just the same as Madeline Templeton did.”
    â€œYou mean, the witch who died two hundred years ago might be holding us captive?”
    â€œYeah. Or else Ann Templeton’s counterpart in this dimension is keeping us prisoner. It’s hard to tell which.”
    Once more, Adam remembered Ann Templeton’s words to him.
    â€œI will see both of you later—under different circumstances.”
    â€œI think it’s probably Ann Templeton’s counterpart,” Adam said, thoughtful. “I hope it is. Ann didn’t seem that mean.”
    â€œYou haven’t met her,” Watch said. “I have. She sends her black knight out to collect boysand girls. I’ve seen some of the kids who’ve been here awhile. They’re all missing at least one body part—either a nose, or eyes, or ears. Or even a mouth.”
    â€œYou have such nice eyes, did you know that, Adam?”
    Adam was horrified. “What does she do with these—parts?”
    Watch shrugged. “Maybe she just collects them, the way I collect stamps.”
    â€œYou collect stamps? I collect baseball cards.” Adam shook his head. “I don’t suppose she’d want to trade our collections for our freedom.” He paused. “How did you get here? Did the black knight grab you?”
    â€œYeah. He got me as soon as I came through to this side. He was waiting for me in the cemetery.”
    â€œThen he must have known you were coming,” Adam said.
    Watch was thoughtful. “I was thinking that myself. That means Ann Templeton must have been watching us from her castle and realized what we were doing. She must have been able to communicate that information to the witchon this side.” Watch shook his head. “But I don’t see how we can use that fact to escape.”
    â€œWere you awake when they brought you in here?” Adam asked.
    â€œYeah. The castle is bizarre. Besides having this dungeon, it’s filled with clocks.”
    â€œYou must feel right at home,” Adam remarked.
    â€œThere’s something funny about these clocks. They all run backward.”
    â€œThat’s interesting. We followed you here by walking toward the tombstone backward.”
    Watch nodded. “That’s the key. That’s the answer to the riddle.”
    â€œBut when we tried to go back through the tombstone the same way, nothing happened.”
    â€œYou tried to go back? You were just going to leave me here?”
    â€œWe took one look around and figured you were as good as dead.”
    Watch was understanding. “I would probably have done the same thing.” His head suddenly twisted to one side. “I think she’s coming.”

14
    I t was not one figure, but several, who appeared through a large iron door at the end of the dark corridor. The black knight led the way, the metal soles of his boots ringing on the hard floor with a sound all too familiar to Adam. Behind him stumbled three kids, girls, all chained together. The first was missing her mouth, the second her eyes, the third her ears. But wherethe parts had been removed was not gory and gross. Rather, each of the girls looked as if she had been sewn up like a doll. Where the parts had been removed there was just skin.
    Behind them all strode the witch.
    It was Ann Templeton—and it was not.
    Her face was the same, but, as Watch had remarked, her hair was red instead of black. It flowed down her back, moving like liquid fire over her seamless black cape. Also, the way she held herself was different from that of the woman he had met earlier in the day. Ann Templeton had seemed easygoing, possessed of a wicked sense of humor, true, but not scary. A pale light shone from this woman’s face. Her eyes, although green like her interdimensional