by Adele Abbott
I made my way straight to the front of the queue much to the annoyance of the other cats.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”
“There’s a queue here.”
“Hey, you! Get in line.”
I ignored them, and crawled on hands and knees through the flap, and into the tent. Winky was dressed in a robe and veil. On the table in front of him was a crystal ball.
“What’s going on, Winky?”
“That’s Madam Winkesca to you.”
“What are you up to?”
“What does it look like?”
“It looks like you’re conning these cats out of ten pounds.”
“How dare you! Madam Winkesca can see the future.”
“Rubbish.”
“Would you like me to prove it to you?”
“Go on then.”
“It’ll cost you ten pounds.”
“Get lost.”
“I’ll do you a special deal. Seeing as it’s you. Five pounds.”
Curiosity (or stupidity) got the better of me, and I handed over the cash. Winky began to rub the crystal ball slowly.
“I see a man,” he said. “His initials are J and N. No, wait a minute, make that J and M. He’s a good friend of yours.”
I sneered. Winky had seen Jack Maxwell in the office numerous times. “Is that all you’ve got?”
“He’s going to receive bad news about his job.”
“Well, that’s where you’re wrong. The bad news was cancelled. Jack Maxwell isn’t being transferred. I’ve got a good mind to tell those cats out there that you’re a fraud.”
“That’s your call. I just thought you could use the money.”
“What money?”
“I was going to give you ten percent of my takings for the use of your office.”
“Fifty percent.”
“Twenty.”
“Thirty.”
“Done.”
***
There was precious little point in trying to work in the office while Madam Winkesca was still in residence, so I decided to get a coffee at Coffee Triangle. I’d just stepped out onto the street when I bumped into Drake who looked very concerned about something.
“Hi, Jill. I was just on my way to see you.”
“I needed to get out of the office for some fresh air. How are you settling into the flat?”
He frowned. “This probably sounds ridiculous and even a touch paranoid, but I can’t shake the feeling that someone is spying on me whenever I’m in there.”
“What do you mean, spying on you?” As if I didn’t already know.
“It might sound a bit strange, but it’s almost as though I can feel someone’s eyes burning into me whenever I’m in the flat. I do realise how ridiculous that sounds.”
Not all that ridiculous.
“Is it possible someone has you under surveillance?” I said. “Do you have any business rivals who might be after trade secrets or anything like that?”
“I wouldn’t have thought so, but I guess it’s always possible. Do you have any equipment which you can use to check for bugging devices and hidden cameras?”
“Not personally, but there are a couple of people I use for that kind of work.”
“Do you think you could get someone to do a sweep of my flat to see if there’s anything there?”
“Of course. If you let me have a key, I’ll get someone over there.”
“Thanks, Jill, that’s great.” He handed me a key. “I really do appreciate this. Anyway, I don’t want to take up any more of your time. I’d better get going.”
I didn’t need to have the flat swept to know what the problem was. I’d experienced it first-hand on the one occasion when I’d visited Drake’s flat. I’d seen Grandma’s face looking out at me from the TV screen, and again from the mirror. I had no idea how she was doing it, but magic was obviously involved. I’d assumed she’d done it so she could keep an eye on me, so why would she be watching Drake when I wasn’t there?
I’d have to have a few choice words with Grandma, and see what she had to say for herself.
***
“Is she in?” I asked Kathy who was behind the counter in Ever A Wool Moment.
“She’s in the back.”
“Has Dougal Andrews been to see her?”
“Yes, but he didn’t stay long.”
“Did Grandma seem upset?”
“No. She seemed ultra-friendly with him when he left.”
That didn’t make any sense. I’d expected her to be livid, and to exact some awful retribution on Dougal.
When I burst into the back office, Grandma was staring into space.
“I have a bone to pick with you, Grandma.”
“Really? Would that be a toe bone?” She cackled.
How did she know about my faking a broken toe? Of course! Kathy! That sister of mine just couldn’t keep her big mouth shut.
“What do you want, Jill? I’m busy.”
“You’re spying on Drake.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Are you denying it?”
“Of course I am. Why would I spy on my tenant?”
“To check up on me, I imagine.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, girl. Do you think I spend all my time thinking about you?”
“Why else would you bug his flat?”
“I’ve already told you. I haven’t bugged it.”
“You’re lying. I know you’re lying. When I was in there recently, I saw your face on the TV screen.”
“A figment of your imagination.”
“And in the mirror.”
“Had you been drinking?”
“No. I hadn’t been drinking. It was definitely you. You’re using magic of some kind to keep an eye on him in the privacy of his own flat. It’s simply unacceptable. It’s a blatant infringement of privacy.”
“Blah, blah, blah, blah.”
“Is that all you have to say about it?”
“What do you expect me to say? I have my reasons for keeping an eye on that so-called friend of yours.”
“You can’t spy on people like that.”
“Want to bet?”
“I’ll report you to The Bugle.”
“I thought you hated that rag.”
“I do, but if that’s what it takes to stop you from spying on Drake, then I’ll happily do it. I’m sure Dougal Bugle would love to run an article on your covert surveillance operation.”
“I’m not worried about The Bugle or Dougal Whatshisface. He and I have an understanding.”
“I don’t care. I want you to stop. Right now!”
“If I do stop, I’ll expect you to cover the cost of any damage done to my property.”
“Drake isn’t going to do any damage. He’s a perfectly respectable businessman.”
“Says you. But what do you really know about him?”
It was a good question. I didn’t know very much about Drake at all. I didn’t know what line of business he was in. I didn’t know any of his family or friends, other than Raven. But I wasn’t about to tell Grandma that.
“Of course I know him, and I’d vouch for him every day of the week.”
“On your head be it then.”
“So you’ll stop the surveillance?”
“Yes. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m busy.”
Chapter 24
It was the day of the Compass competition, and I was feeling really nervous. The fact that it was a team competition made it much worse. I hated the idea of letting my teammates down, and I certainly hated the idea of letting my team captain down. Lucy, Lester, the twins and their fiancés were all there to cheer us on. Before we went into the Range, I had a quick word with Grandma.
“Yes, what is it Jill? We don’t have long. We need to get changed.”
“I know I had a go at you about the surveillance thing, but I wanted to thank you for getting Jack Maxwell’s transfer cancelled.”
“What else was I s
upposed to do? I can’t have one of my team members love-struck and distracted, can I?”
“I suppose not.”
So that was why she’d done it. There was me thinking that she’d felt sorry for me because my love life was a mess, when in reality she’d just been worried about how it would affect the team. I should have known.
The Range had been kitted out with bleachers on three sides as it always was for competitions. On the fourth side, were the cubicles where we were to get changed. The other two members of North Team were waiting for us there.
“Jill, let me introduce you to your teammates,” Grandma said. “This is Sophie Slater—she is a level four witch. This is Jasmine Jones—level five.”
“Hi everyone. I feel like I’m letting the side down a bit name-wise. I’m the only one whose name isn’t an alliteration: Sophie Slater, Jasmine Jones, Mirabel Millbright, and then there’s me, Jill Gooder.”
“Can we focus on the competition, please?” Grandma tutted.
As with the Levels competition, we were required to wear traditional witch costume, which I did at least feel more comfortable in now. I slipped into the cubicle, got changed, and then re-joined my teammates.
I glanced across at the other teams: South, West, and East. The team captain of South Team was Ma Chivers. She saw me, and gave me a stony, cold look which froze me to the spot.
The first round of the competition was for the level three witches. The four of us stood on our own compass point around a large circle, which had been painted on the ground. The competitors were announced as: Jill Gooder, Lucy West, Coral Slade and Alex Xavier. All four of us were staring at the large boulder that had been placed in the centre of the circle.
On the judge’s signal, we were to use the ‘power’ spell to try to push the boulder into the quadrant of one of the other witches. After thirty seconds, whichever witch had the boulder in their quadrant would be eliminated.
“Three—two—one—go.”
It was immediately obvious that the other three witches were all trying to push the boulder into my quadrant. I wasn’t sure whether they had agreed this tactic beforehand or if it was just coincidence; I suspected the former. Either way the odds were stacked against me. I had to somehow resist the force of three ‘power’ spells which was an almost impossible task. The boulder was already in my quadrant, and the clock was ticking.
I glanced across at my teammates. Sophie and Jasmine were shaking their heads. Grandma was staring at me, and it was as if I could read her thoughts: Focus Jill, it’s all about focus.
But focus alone would not be enough, I had to have a strategy. I would never succeed if I tried to push straight ahead, but if I could deflect the boulder by focusing my force against just one of the other competitors—the one in the adjacent quadrant—I might yet survive.
There was a large clock to my left, and I could see the seconds counting down. Ten seconds to go, nine, eight. At the very last moment, I closed my eyes, and used every ounce of strength I had to deflect the boulder.
A bell rang—the round was over. I opened my eyes. The boulder had slid into the West quadrant. The announcer told the crowd that Alex Xavier, the witch from the West Team had been eliminated. I was through to round two.
In this round, we were given a task and had to decide for ourselves which was the most appropriate spell to use. A metal shield had been placed on a plinth in the centre of the circle. Our task was to raise the shield, and deliver it into our hands without damaging it in any way. We weren’t allowed to move from our marks.
On the judge’s signal, Lucy West was the first to react. She used the ‘attract’ spell, which sent the shield flying towards her. But she had very little control over it, and it flew past her, and crashed into the wall behind her, damaging the shield slightly. Lucy West was asked to step aside, and a new shield was placed on the plinth.
Coral Slade used the ‘move’ spell. It was notoriously difficult to control objects over any distance with that spell, particularly if there was any weight involved. The shield was only halfway to her when she lost power, and it fell to the floor. Coral was asked to step aside, and a third shield was brought out.
It was my turn. I thought long and hard about which spell to use. I had to get it right. I cast the ‘vortex’ spell, and guided the mini tornado to the plinth. The force of the wind raised the shield, and then I guided it slowly back to me. When it was within touching distance, I grabbed the shield. The crowd erupted and I could see Aunt Lucy, Lester, and the twins cheering and shouting. They obviously thought I’d survived the round, and the judges confirmed that was the case when they eliminated Coral Slade.
I’d made it through to the third and final round. The plinth was removed, and in its place, a large metal pole was sunk deep into the ground. Tethered by a chain to the pole was a tiger. A circle was drawn around the pole to indicate how far the tiger’s reach extended. One of the judges then threw a ring into the circle, which the tiger was now patrolling; it was getting angrier and angrier. Our task was to retrieve the ring.
I didn’t react immediately upon the judge’s signal. I thought it was more important to spend a moment considering which spell to use. After all, Grandma had emphasised that spell selection was everything. Lucy West, on the other hand, acted immediately by making herself invisible.
After a few seconds, the tiger seemed to become even more restless, and his attention was focused on one particular spot directly in front of him. He must have picked up Lucy’s scent as she approached the circle. Then suddenly, the tiger struck out with its paw. The next moment, Lucy became visible again. She was holding her arm, and I could see spots of blood on her clothes. She’d obviously reached inside the circle to pick up the ring; the tiger had followed its nose and dealt her a painful blow. She didn’t appear to be seriously injured, but it was bad enough to eliminate her from the tournament.
It was my turn. I walked slowly towards the circle, and when I was only a few yards away, I cast the ‘obscurer’ spell to create a smoke screen. The smoke was very thick and acrid. As I drew closer to the circle, I could just about make out the tiger. It was at the opposite side of the circle. It obviously didn’t like the smell of the smoke. When I was close enough, I crouched down, grabbed the ring and backed away. I’d made it!
Once again, the crowd erupted, and the judges confirmed that I was the winner of the first round of the Compass competition. I glanced over at my teammates. Sophie and Jasmine were cheering and clapping. Grandma looked on impassively.
It was the next round of the competition; this time for level four witches. Our representative, Sophie Slater, was as nervous as a kitten. Jasmine and I did our best to calm her down. Grandma, in typical grandma fashion, told her to ‘just get on with it’.
Nervous or not, Sophie sailed through the first eliminator, and just managed to scrape through the second. In the final round, she faced the level four witch from the East Team. This round was based on the ‘jump’ spell; a spell I positively hated. I was glad that I hadn’t had to face it in my round. The competitors moved over to where two parallel walls were standing. Each of the walls had numerous ledges projecting from it, and on each ledge was a single gold coin. The competitors had to use the ‘jump’ spell to leap from wall to wall, landing on each ledge to collect the coins. The witch who ended up with the most coins would be declared the winner. Whoever had designed this had obviously played way too many video games.
Three—two—one—and they were off.
I could barely bring myself to watch. How they avoided one another when they were flying backwards and forwards between the two walls was beyond me. I kept expecting one of them to plunge to the ground.
I tried to keep count of how many coins Sophie had collected, but it all happened so quickly, it was impossible. Within little more than a minute, both witches had handed their haul to the judges. We all waited with bated breath until the announcement came.
‘Here are the results: Sophie Slater, North Team
, fourteen coins; Linda Bale, East Team, fifteen coins.’
Poor Sophie. She’d lost out by a single coin, and was absolutely devastated. Jasmine and I did our best to console her. Grandma said nothing.
It was time for the level five round. Sophie had managed to pull herself together enough to wish Jasmine luck. Jasmine sailed through the first two eliminators with no problem, and now faced Dawn Treemore from the South Team in the final round. I glanced across at Ma Chivers; just like Grandma, she was stony faced. Behind her, I spotted Alicia and Cyril.
This round was one of the most dangerous I’d ever witnessed. The two witches were to use the ‘thunderbolt’ spell to fire at a target which had been placed right next to their opponent. They each had to fire three thunderbolts.
I turned to Grandma. “This is crazy. Why don’t they have the targets in a safe area rather than right next to the competitors?”
“It’s a test not only of accuracy, but of nerve. It’s one thing to fire a thunderbolt, but it’s an entirely different matter to do it while your opponent’s thunderbolts are landing all around you.”
“Surely someone could get hurt?”
“It’s unlikely, but it does happen occasionally. At least if it does, you have the consolation of knowing your opponent has missed the target.”
Some consolation!
Three—two—one—go.
Dawn fired her first thunderbolt; it hit the outer of the three rings. Jasmine’s first thunderbolt hit the second ring of the target.
Dawn fired again, and this time, she hit the bullseye.
Jasmine fired her second thunderbolt and also hit the bullseye.
Dawn fired again and scored another bullseye.
It was all down to the last thunderbolt. If Jasmine hit the bullseye, she would win. If she hit the second circle, it would be a tie and they would fire again. If she missed or hit the outer circle, she would lose.
You could have heard a pin drop.
Jasmine took a deep breath and fired. The thunderbolt hit the outer circle.
Despondent, Jasmine re-joined us. “Sorry guys. I guess I lost my nerve.”