Later that night, to take her mind
off things, Cat decided she would try a new spell. Another witch had suggested getting a group
together and practicing some skills the next time they met. Cat was tired of being the newbie. She wouldn’t become proficient in anything
unless she practiced. The fact that she
was feeling a little desperate, a little dangerous, only made what she was
about to do a little more exciting.
I look like a ninja, she
thought. This is hysterical. Cat stood outside in the cool, pitch black
evening, dressed in black bicycle shorts and a black t-shirt, holding a slim short broom she had picked up at the dollar store on the
way home.
 |
| Cat's broom. You have to find your own. |
She had looked high and low for a
foolproof, trustworthy spell to fly on a broom.
Finally she settled on three of the most reputable-looking ones. They were all so similar it shouldn’t matter which one she
eventually used, right?
She ignored the
warnings on all three that the spells should only be used under mentor
supervision until competent. Pah. She’d been working hard on her
witchcraft. She was getting so much
better. It would be fine.
She closed her eyes, held tightly to
her broom, and muttered:
fly safe and fly fast
as treetops whiz past
keep me airborne I ask
with this spell I
cast.
The broom shuddered and kicked with
barely restrained power and rocketed up into the night sky, dragging a squealing
Cat along with it.
Later, at the immediate care center,
the nurse took her vitals and gently
cleaned up the scratches on her face and arms, then asked her how the
injuries occurred.
“I fell off my broom while I was
flying,” Cat deadpanned. She winced as a
particularly painful scratch on her forehead was attended to.
“Did you say the right spell?” the
nurse asked.
Thinking the nurse was joking, just
playing along, Cat decided to play it straight as well.
“Well, I thought so, but maybe I
shouldn’t have rushed my first time. It was a rough landing."
The nurse’s hand stilled, then briskly
pulled up the right sleeve of her own shirt, exposing a long, thin white line of a
scar.
“No one does well on their first
broom ride.” She gave Cat a rueful grin,
then scribbled something on a small tablet and handed a square of paper to
Cat. “Say this one next time and you won’t
leave a big, deep witch-shaped furrow on the football field.”
Cat looked at her, shocked. “I never said where I landed. How did you know?”
“My son plays football in high
school. I recognize white field chalk
when I see it, and you had it all over your forehead.” She patted Cat’s knee. “Plus, I follow the scanner on WeCoven and
they reported it. I was wondering if
someone would show up here injured.”
Cat's cheeks pinked, but she was curious. “Have you ever done it?”
The nurse looked thoughtful, as if
remembering something. “I tried a very
long time ago. It wasn’t for me.”
“But flying on a broom sounded
fun. Easy. Faster than walking, that’s for sure.”
“Can you run?” The nurse was writing on her chart.
What kind of a question was
that? Everyone can run. “Of course I can run.”
“Do you run everywhere, or only when
you need to?”
“I try to never run, if I can help
it.”
“Why wouldn’t you run all the time
if it helps you go faster?” At Cat’s
sudden looko of understanding, the nurse smiled. “Just because a
skill is there doesn’t mean you have to use it.”
She handed Cat another paper, this
one a quick spell for topical scratch removal, then smiled.
“Can I give you some advice?”
Cat nodded dumbly.
“Next time, take a buddy.”
***this book is currently with our Beta readers. So far we have four enthusiastic thumbs up, which is a good sign. The tiniest of revisions, which is also a good sign. Then onto formatting, which I don't like but is a necessary evil. Cat, Charmed will be out within two weeks, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
***"But this is cute. Why isn't this in the story?" Kill your darlings, they say. Didn't fit, didn't advance the story, didn't belong. But you, readers, you can share it with us.
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