Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel by A. W. Jantha

Author:A. W. Jantha
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2018-07-09T16:00:00+00:00

Ishrug on Mom’s coat against the chill of the October air and step outside and away from the party, the hum of conversation following me onto the back porch.

Travis and Isabella are waiting for me there, where the kitchen light reflects on the white-painted railing, making the posts look like ribs surrounding my parents’ colonial-style house.

“Let me get this right. You want to talk to spirits?” Travis is saying to Isabella.

“Ten bucks says they’re friendlier than Katie,” she replies with a laugh.

Travis, who made a grab bag of cookies, kettle corn, and chocolates, is snacking and leaning against my dad’s grill, his white lab coat protected from soot by the grill’s tarp. Isabella has pulled on a white peacoat and her messenger bag over her Athena costume (minus the shield), and Travis has tied a striped scarf around his neck, obscuring his outfit’s stethoscope. The bloody plastic unicorn horn seemingly stuck through his shoulder makes me smile. He may have gone as a magical creature researcher for Halloween, but in real life, Travis prefers his science with more physics and less of a pulse.

Isabella’s standing a few feet away from him, down in the yard, neck craned as she stares at the moon—the blood moon—which hangs in the sky above the trees as full and heavy as a ripening peach. The light reflects off the gold circlet of her costume and washes over her upturned face. Something about her expression is eager and hopeful, like she isn’t Isabella Richards, with the weight of constant pressure sitting heavily on her shoulders, but just a girl staring wide-eyed into the face of a grand adventure.

Travis turns to me. “Pops, we thought you’d never come,” he says through a mouthful of sweets.

“I was gone for literally a minute.” I pull my pointed witch’s hat back on, though I’ve left the mask and wand Travis gave me inside my house along with Isabella’s shield. I know I was supposed to be an undercover witch, but I guess I’ll have to be an out-and-proud witch for this expedition. I loop the strap of my heavy camera back around my neck. It’s a clear night for photographs, so if I get busted, at least I’ll have some good photos of this blood moon. I walk down the wooden steps to join my friends, and Isabella turns to me as I spin the leather key ring around one finger.

“I got the keys,” I say.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” says Isabella, as if she’s never broken a rule in her life.

Travis shrugs. “Believe it.”

Isabella grins and tucks her spirit board box under her right arm. There’s a giddiness in the way she carries herself. Her eyes are bright and glinting. She seems excited to check out the Sanderson house, and honestly, so am I, even if I know my parents might kill me.

Fighting my instinct to stay put, I say, “Let’s go then!”

We circle my house, slip out through the garden gate, and hurry down the street, the sounds of laughter and music from Mom’s party growing more distant.

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