I glance down at the ticket at my side. “That’s us!” I say. “We’re boarding group one!”
Marley jumps to her feet, with a happy squeal. “Eeek!” she says. “I’m so excited!”
“Me too,” Annie says.
Cora tucks her water bottle into her carry on, and then loops the bag’s strap over her shoulder. “Penny, I think you should break up a marriage at least once a year. I could get used to this!” she says happily.
I roll my eyes.
Soon, we’ve boarded the plane and have settled into our seats. The four of us are lined up in a row, and each one of us has a knitting project on her lap. It’s going to be a long flight, which means lots of knitting time.
And chatting.
The two go hand in hand, after all.
I’m at the window seat, next to me is Annie. I’m glad about this, because I expect to have many Icelandic sweater related questions over the next several hours. Cora is in the seat just past Annie, and Marley has the aisle seat.
Cora leans over Annie, so that she can see me. “Penny!” She says. “I almost forgot to ask you... how do you like your new neighbor?”
“Oh! Right. I can’t believe we haven’t talked about this!” I say, thinking of Azure. I should have told my coven sisters about the new witch in town long ago. There has just been so much going on.
“I know!” Cora says, looking strangely pleased. She wiggles her eyebrows. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” she says.
“I don’t even believe in coincidences anymore,” I say, not quite sure why Cora is acting so coy. “And this definitely isn’t one. Azure said that she moved in part time so that she could help us protect the portal, if we need it. But, now that we’ve done the Power Spell, I don’t think we’ll—”
“Wait, Azure? I’m not talking about Azure,” Cora says.
Now I’m confused. “But she’s my new neighbor,” I say. “She moved into Unit B.”
An announcement starts playing over the plane speakers, and Cora and I pause our discussion while it blares out safety instructions. Cora leans back, and I look out the window, at the paved tarmac below. Airport workers in bright yellow vests are wheeling suitcases into the luggage compartment.
Finally, the long-winded instructions come to an end. Cora pops forward again.
“Azure moved into Unit B?” Cora says.
“Yes. I should have told you all earlier. She said that she’s been watching us, and is concerned that the portal is vulnerable because we’re so unskilled. I wonder if she saw how well we did with the Power Spell though!”
“She’s the leader of the air coven, is that right?” Annie asks, as her fingers work steadily on her knits and purls. “Not the nicest young lady, if I remember correctly.”
“Who were you talking about?” I ask Cora. I’m too distracted to answer Annie’s question just now. “Do I have another new neighbor?”
“You do,” Cora says mysteriously.
“Well, tell me!”
“First, tell us how it’s going with Chris. You two seemed pretty lovey-dovey when he dropped us off at the airport! And he and your cat seem to be good friends now, too.”
I laugh. “I think Turkey would move into Chris’s apartment, if that was an option. Turkey loves the guy. Ever since that night at the cabin—”
“Turkey ran down the trail, to get Chris?” Annie says, as her needles click.
I nod.
Marley, from her position at the end of the row, leans forward. “You have one smart cat, Penny. I think we all knew that already.”
“He heard me cry out and was worried about me, and he thought I might need help. He ran all the way back down the trail, into town. Straight to the police station—with Blueberry Muffin at his heels.”
“You mean Cora’s boss’s Chihuahua?” Annie asks.
I smile. “Yup. Turns out precious little Blueberry is a little heartier than her owner was giving her credit for. Turkey said that she enjoyed the run!”
Cora laughs. “I think Hiroku is going to let Blueberry out of the carrier more often now,” she says. She’s working on a hat she’s just started. So far, it looks alot like the neckline of my sweater: a knitted circular loop.
There’s a lull in our conversation. The passengers that boarded the plane after us have found seats, and now the plane is starting to roll down the runway. The captain announces that we are getting into position for takeoff.
As the plane begins to pick up speed, I return to Cora’s first question. “Chris and I are doing great,” I say. “This is actually the happiest I’ve felt with our relationship in a long time. We’re in a really good place.”
“They say ‘I love you’ now,” Marley informs my friends.
Cora and Annie oooh and ahhh over this for a minute, while I continue to blush.
“I don’t get it,” I say, once my friends have had their fun. “What does that have to do with my new neighbor?”
Cora talks while she knits. “Well, the last time I talked to you about Chris, you’d just had an argument with him. I thought things weren’t going well, and I thought if you were going to enter the dating scene again, then you might be interested to know that—” She stops short, as the plane’s wheels leave the ground.
There’s a humming sound as they are retracted into the engine. The plane angles upwards.
Cora releases her knitting and grips her arm rests. “Sorry—my stomach always flips at this part,” she says.
“I love this part,” I say.
“As I was saying,” Cora continues, while still gripping her arm rest, “If you were to enter the dating scene again, you might be interested to know that Max is going to be your new neighbor. He’s moving into Blackbear apartments, Unit D. Hiroku helped him sign the lease.”
For the next few minutes, as the plane climbs higher and higher into the sky, I try to process what Cora has just shared.
Doctor Max Shire is going to be my neighbor.
At first, I get a kind of queasy, nervous-and-excited-at-the-same-time feeling. It hits my gut, and then my chest.
If Max is going to be my neighbor, I’ll be seeing him quite a bit. How will I handle being around him, now that I’ve entered into a more serious relationship with Chris?
My thoughts start to spin out of control.
But then, I look out the plane window, just at the plane pierces through a thick layer of clouds.
We’ve reached clear skies. The plane levels out. Below us, a carpet of puffy, light clouds spread out like an ocean.
My life is full of uncertainties. They stretch out in every direction, as far as the eye can see, just like the clouds below me. Will I stay with Chris? Will I be successful in my PI business? Will Hiroku fire me from the nannying gig? Will I fall for Max? Is it truly my destiny to be a witch?
I don’t have all the answers.
I don’t know if I want to have all the answers.
As long as I can get to this place—above the clouds—I know I’ll be okay.
I close my eyes and hear the words I’ve come to know and love, float through my mind.
Your place of power is above the clouds.
I take a deep breath, and then open my eyes.
The speaker above my seat clicks on. “Ladies and gentlemen,” the captain says. “I’m happy to announce we’ve reached our cruising altitude of thirty-five thousand feet. I invite you to sit back and enjoy the flight as we make our way to sunny Oahu.”
The announcement ends, and Marley gives a little whoop.
I join her, and then say happily, “Hawaii, here we come!”
The End
Dear Reader,
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Look for more from Penny Banks as she and her witchy sisters continue to learn magic. The ladies of the Terra coven have many more cycles of “The Art and Science of Becoming a Witch” (ASBW) to study!
If you want to learn more about how Penny first inherited her c
opy of ASBW, check out the prequel to the Hillcrest Witch Mystery series: “The Case of the Love Spell”.
You can get it for free HERE!
I would love to hear from you! Shoot me an email at [email protected]. Or... try out your telepathy skills! I won’t promise to receive your message, because my own telepathy is still a bit rusty. I’m working on it though;)
Hope to hear from you soon!
Amorette Anderson
The Case of the Power Spell Page 17