A Tale of Witchcraft... by Chris Colfer

Author:Chris Colfer [Colfer, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2020-09-29T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

JINXES AND HEXES

At six o’clock in the evening, the taxidermy clock in the entrance hall erupted with a bloodcurdling roar to wake everyone in Ravencrest Manor. Lucy was already wide awake and anxiously pacing across the witches’ bedroom floor. The events in Mistress Mara’s private study played over and over again in her mind, and each time she watched the scene unfold, the more questions and fears she developed.

Why had Old Billie sent Lucy to Mistress Mara’s study? Was the goat trying to show her the closet of jack-o’-lanterns or was there something else Lucy had missed? Did Lucy actually recognize one of the carvings or was her exhausted mind playing tricks on her? And now that she saw how Mistress Mara punished her students, was Lucy foolish for staying at Ravencrest? Or was it more dangerous to leave and risk disappointing the witch?

As her concerns rose, Stitches, Beebee, Sprout, and Pip rose, too. The witches began to yawn and stretch in their nests as they slowly stirred to life.

“Good evening, everybody,” Pip said. “How did you sleep?”

“B-b-blissfully,” Beebee said.

“Like a log,” Sprout said.

“Well, I had terrible daymares all day!” Stitches declared. “First, I dreamed I was swimming in an ocean full of man-eating sharks! And then I was chased up a tree by a pack of lions! And then I was plucked out of the tree by an enormous hawk! And then the hawk dangled me over the open mouths of her hungry babies!”

“I’m sorry, Stitches,” Pip said. “That doesn’t sound very restful.”

“What do you mean?” Stitches asked with a wide grin. “It was the best sleep I’ve had in months.”

Lucy’s tired eyes darted back and forth between her roommates and Hareiet’s empty nest. She didn’t know how she was going to explain what had happened to Hareiet, and she worried the witches might blame her for it. Lucy felt like she might explode if she kept the news to herself for a moment longer and decided to just get it over with.

“Guys, something horrible has happened!” she blurted out.

Stitches, Beebee, and Sprout seemed rather excited by the announcement and scooted to the edges of their nests.

“Did we g-g-get termites?”

“Did my dolls move while I was asleep?”

“Did you make your own fertilizer?”

“No—and gross, Sprout!” Lucy said. “It’s about Hareiet! Last night, I couldn’t sleep in my nest so I went looking for another bed. I accidentally wandered into Mistress Mara’s private study and Hareiet followed me inside! She thought I was spying for the fairies and tattled on me! Mistress Mara let me off the hook with a warning but she turned Hareiet into a lynx for breaking the rules!”

Pip shrieked but the witches were disappointed by the news.

“Well?” Lucy pressed. “One of your friends is going to spend the next century as a big cat! Doesn’t that concern you?”

The witches exchanged smiles and giggled at Lucy.

“N-n-not really,” Beebee said.

“Mistress Mara turns students into lynxes all the time,” Stitches said.

“It happened to Deerdra, Collie, Wizabeth, and Jorilla,” Sprout listed.

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