Witches!: Chapter 6
“All right,” Eve bustled about, trying to ready the coven. “Luna, you must walk in like the rest of us. Misty and Mallory will do all of the talking, you mustn’t utter a word that they don’t ask you to utter. Head Witch Rain and her assistant Cloud will probably ask you to do a spell for them, and the artificial aura should cover for you if you try to cast one. This is the spell I think you should do…”
“O Great spirits, let me tell
“And cast upon this room a spell:
“Pluck and scrub and wipe and preen:
“Wash this floor ’til it’s squeaky clean!”
“Then you must walk out with us and fly away in an orderly fashion. I’ve put up an anti-evesdrop charm around the apartment so we can talk about this affair here, but nowhere else. Clear? All right, let’s fly!” Luna cautiously mounted her broom like Basil, in front of her. “Your broom’s maple, so it’s quite easy to fly on,” Basil assured her. “Mine’s cherry, so it’s a bit more difficult… at least it’s not mahogany like Mallory’s…”
“Sh!” Dawn warned Basil. Luna craned her neck to try to watch the other witches. She caught sight of Dawn and Midnight’s feet as one lifted off the ground, leaving only a pointed toe touching the grass. Ouch, Luna thought. This is quite difficult… I don’t seem to be floating… But when Basil kicked off ground, Luna began to hover. It was a bit wobbly, though, according to Leo (who was trying to balance on the back of her broom). Luna steadied herself and tried to inch the broom forward as the rest of the witches and warlock flew off steadily. “Lean forward,” Basil called to her quietly, “And point the end of the broom at the angle you want to fly at…” Luna found this advice worked and was soaring off contentedly when she accidentally looked away from the whirlpool clouds and took her eyes off of the ring formation and looked down. They were easily one hundred feet above ground. Streets crossed below them, bustling with people and cars and lined with shops. Not one of them seemed to notice that seven witches, black robes billowing, were flying directly above them. “I would notice,” Luna muttered under her breath, then realized that she already had. That was the reason she was here in the first place. She kept flying in the ring until they passed over a lake and into a small, deserted town. Welcome to Quiet Springs, said a wooden sign. It certainly was quiet, Luna thought. She was quite surprised when suddenly Misty began to lead them down. “I thought they were in London,” she called just loudly enough for everyone to hear them. “But I can feel auras here. HW Rain and Cloud’s aura.” They circled down and finally touched ground. The strange feeling suddenly vanished, and Luna stopped feeling tingly. Leo frisked off of her broom. Gravity had resumed. Misty led them down the deserted street a stretch and opened the door to a wooden, old building that looked like it could fall over any second. Quiet Springs Bakery, the sign said. “Come on now, follow me,” Misty said coldly, and they filed inside. A middle-aged woman that looked about ready to fall asleep suddenly jumped from behind the cash register. “Welcome to Quiet Springs and to Quiet Springs Bakery, what could we do for you today?” the woman asked kindly. Misty closed her eyes for a second, then opened them again and said, “We’d like some Greenwitch style scones with mulberries, please. Seven of them.” The lady arched one eyebrow. “Seven, eh?” she said, her voice sounding more crackly than before. “Interesting… very interesting…” Luna watched partly in horror as the bakery and the woman began to blur and fade, then take on new form. She was standing in a gigantic room with a crystal curtain and marble floors. Where the counter used to be sat two women- one old one with a determined look in her eye, one younger one around Dawn’s age with beady eyes and an unusually large mouth. “Ah, Misty. What do we have here?” the old witch’s gaze came to rest on Luna. She gulped.