26 ODD WITCH OUT
Keeping a coven together is of the utmost importance.
(FROM THE GOOD BOOK OF MAGIC AND MENTALISM BY CALLIXTA CROWE)
“This is a terrible idea,” Ridley whispered.
“Maybe. But it’s my terrible idea,” Binx whispered back.
“Well, I think it’s cool! And scary! And cool! It’s like we’re on a Nancy Drew adventure!” Iris piped up.
“Guys, please… let’s just get it over with and get out of here before someone sees us,” Greta suggested.
The sun was setting, and the four witches were crouched behind an enormous bush in the side yard of 146 Blackberry Lane. Penelope’s house. The shrub had peeling brown bark, clusters of small white flowers, and green leaves with jagged edges that reminded Greta of teeth. She recognized it as a ninebark, or Physocarpus opulifolius. She tried to recall its magical properties, but right now she was having a hard time concentrating because her nerves were on edge, and all of her focus was on keeping herself and her girls safe.
Earlier that day, Binx had proposed this plan to find Penelope’s backpack so they could search for a third shadow message. She’d magically hacked into Penelope’s parents’ calendar apps to pin down a window of opportunity, learning that they had an appointment across town at six o’clock—something to do with arranging the funeral (which was, although Greta was in denial about it, happening tomorrow).
And so the four of them had driven over in Binx’s family’s Prius (which was not exactly legal, given Binx’s age, but Greta wasn’t about to tell her what to do) and parked down the street to wait and watch. Shortly before six, the garage door had opened, and a silver Volvo had emerged and disappeared around the corner. Just to be sure, Binx had hacked into the car’s wireless backup camera and manipulated it to show the inside of the vehicle. In the front seat were a man and a woman who matched the LinkedIn photos of Penelope’s parents.
The four of them had waited a few minutes to make sure the car wasn’t turning around, then stealthily made their way to the ninebark bush. Now they were in the process of trying to figure out where Penelope’s backpack might be.
Binx scrolled through her phone. “Calumnia, even though there are like no human beings around. Besides this house, this whole street is nothing but deserted construction sites… yeah, that’s not creepy at all. Okay, so… I’m looking for a magical app that’ll tell us which window is Penelope’s bedroom. Ooooh, calcea! Actually, nah, that’s for when you can’t find your shoes.”
“Maybe we should just do a group scrying spell,” Greta suggested.
“Good idea,” Ridley agreed.
Greta squeezed Ridley’s hand, not just to thank her for the support but to give her support, too. Then all four girls joined hands.
“Close your eyes and take some nice, deep, long breaths,” Greta instructed in a soft voice. “Let’s all picture Penelope’s backpack in our minds. I’m trying to remember… was it lavender?”
“Pink,” Ridley corrected her. “The material was light pink and soft… maybe suede or velvet? There might be a notebook inside with doodles and drawings. Penelope was a really good artist.”
Greta squeezed Ridley’s hand again. “Good. Thanks. Everyone picture that.”
“When you say ‘take some nice, deep, long breaths,’ what do you mean by ‘some’?” Iris asked. “Like, two or three breaths? Or more? Or do you want us to keep doing nice, deep, long breathing while we’re picturing the backpack in our minds? Sorry to ask so many questions… am I ruining the vibe? I’m ruining the vibe, aren’t I? Argh, I am so useless!”
“Whatever works for you is fine, and you’re not ruining anything,” Greta reassured her.
“Oh, whew!”
They grew silent again. Greta envisioned the pink backpack in her head. She mentally invited other objects to join the image, objects that might help them identify where the backpack was, like the color of the curtains in the room. But nothing came to her.
Binx broke the silence. “I think we should just use a reverse obex and go into the house. We could find her room in like thirty seconds.”
“Isn’t that a little bit illegal?” Iris asked.
“Actually, it’s a lot illegal,” Ridley pointed out.
“Keep breathing and focusing, guys,” Greta said, frustrated.
Another minute passed. Still nothing came to Greta… she tried not to feel discouraged, but instead channel her own powers into the power of her coven… her coven plus Iris. She didn’t want to be presumptuous. (Iris hadn’t said yes yet.)
“Hey, guys? Look!”
Greta opened one eye and saw Ridley pointing to a window on the second floor. Through the flower-print curtains, in the shadows, a person’s face was pressed against the glass, watching them. Greta sat up, startled.
But it wasn’t a person. It was a dog.
“Hi, puppy dog!” Iris called out, waving.
“That’s Penelope’s familiar, Socrates,” Ridley said with a sigh. “A second ago, I saw him in my mind sitting next to her backpack, and now there he is, for real. I bet that’s her room, and I bet her backpack is in there.”
“Awesome! Now do the beer-can trick. Muto, then alata, right?” Binx asked Ridley.
“I’ll try. But first… how do we open the window?”
“I got this.” Binx tipped her face up to the window. “Obex!”
The window didn’t open.
“Really, window? Obex!”
Still nothing.
“Let me try,” Iris said, raising her hand. “Open, window, and let in the air. We promise to treat your home with care,” she chanted.
The window slid open. Socrates stuck his head out, sniffed at the cool evening breeze, and howled mournfully.
Everyone stared at Iris.
“Seriously, where did you learn that spell?” Binx demanded.
“Welllll… I kind of wrote it in my head. Just now. It’s a version of another spell I sorta kinda invented, which has to do with… you know when you’re walking along a path and there’s like a bunch of branches or prickly vines ahead of you, blocking the path, and you
