Chapter 8.
The spell book was written in old spidery handwriting. The black ink had faded in patches and there were splashes and stains on some of the pages.
‘Probably where spells have overflowed,’ said Sophie with relish. ‘Look. That one looks like blood.’
Jessica privately thought that it looked more like tomato sauce but she wasn’t about to argue.
The girls decided to read one of the spells and see what it was for. They discovered the spells all began with a list of ingredients.
‘They look just like recipes,’ said Jessica.
‘Well they are recipes. Recipes for spells,’ said Sophie firmly. ‘Even witches have to know what things they need to put in their cauldron.
‘But they sound like ordinary ingredients,’ protested Jessica.
‘Yes they do, but it’s probably a trick. It’s written so ordinary people can’t use the spells. I mean, where it says water it probably means you have to collect it from a stagnant pond at midnight when there is a full moon,’ Sophie improvised.
‘Oh. And eggs, what would they be?’
‘Frog’s eggs,’ said Sophie promptly. ‘Anyway, quite a lot of these things are probably deadly poison. I bet they do really nasty things to people.’
Jessica peered over Sophie’s shoulder as she turned the page. ‘This one says to put cucumber on the eyelids.’
‘That will be to make people go blind,’ said Sophie with relish. ‘We should try some of these spells.’
Jessica was horrified. ‘I don’t want to make anyone go blind. That would make us witches as well. I think we should throw the book away.’
‘We need it for evidence. Mum’s coming to get us tomorrow and we’ll show it to her then.’
For the rest of the day, the girls watched innocently as Aunt Hazel searched the house. She checked the book shelves and looked under cushions. Sophie had put the spell book under her mattress with the notebook and knew that Aunt Hazel wouldn’t think to look there. She had even hastily muttered one of the spells at the face on the jug while Jessica was cleaning her teeth, but to her regret nothing had happened.
‘Mum comes tomorrow,’ sighed Jessica as she lay in bed that night.
‘I can’t wait to go home either. But we have to go out with Aunt Hazel before that.’
‘Where to?’
‘I don’t know. Probably one of her Witches Incorporated meetings.’
‘Do you suppose the witches would do something to us?’
‘Not with Mum there.’
The girls wanted to tell their mother about Aunt Hazel being a witch, but had to wait until she arrived at lunchtime. They had no opportunity to talk to her on her own when she drove up, as Aunt Hazel was standing beside them beaming. Then there was only time for a quick sandwich for lunch before they all set off to the small community hall behind the petrol station. Aunt Hazel was carrying a large bag bulging with mysterious parcels. She seemed very nervous.
‘Now you go and have a seat with the girls and I’ll talk to you later,’ she said to Mrs Jenkins, who smiled back and took the girls into the hall, which was rapidly filling up with people.
‘Mum, Aunt Hazel is a witch,’ whispered Jessica as they found seats in the front row.
‘Yes I know. Isn’t it fun?’ replied her mother cheerfully.
Jessica and Sophie looked at her in horror. This was worse than they thought. Not only was Aunt Hazel a witch but their mother knew about it. And she had sent them to stay with her!
At that moment a middle aged woman stepped onto the front of the stage. ‘I’m pleased to welcome you all here today, especially our guests.’ She smiled in the direction of Sophie and Jessica, who looked around the hall and wondered what was going on. ‘Now, you don’t want to listen to me talking all day,’ the woman went on, ‘so without further ado, let me present Witches Incorporated’.
There was a gasp from the girls and from everyone else in the audience as the curtain rose to reveal a group of witches chanting around a cauldron. Aunt Hazel was there amongst them, but she seemed to have grown a large wart on the end of her nose and several of her teeth were missing.
‘That must be a different face she has put on,’ Sophie whispered to Jessica. Jessica went pale and clutched her mother’s hand.
As the girls watched open mouthed, the witches discussed a spell that was designed to make one of them young and beautiful. They argued about which witch should be the chosen one, and proceeded to have a contest. Each witch in turn chanted a mysterious spell then something would happen. One witch said she would call up a wild animal and a furry teddy bear came flying onto the stage from behind. All the people in the hall clapped at this. Mabel made her shoe rise up and fly into the air by waving her magic wand up and down.
‘That’s what we should have looked for,’ hissed Sophie. ‘Aunt Hazel’s wand. That would have made the spells work.’ Jessica nodded in agreement.
Another witch made people laugh by trying unsuccessfully to ride her broomstick. When it wouldn’t start she fetched a vacuum cleaner from the side of the stage and sat on it and raced around the stage making brmm brmm noises. Next it was Aunt Hazel’s turn. She turned her hat upside down and tossed in some revolting looking ingredients, naming them as she went.
‘Eye of newt, tongue of frog, serpent’s venom, hair of dog,’ chanted Aunt Hazel. Waving her wand over the hat she muttered strange sounding words.
‘I didn’t see the wand when I grabbed the spell book,’ Sophie whispered to Jessica. ‘She must have hidden it really well.’
‘Ahlee oom kazam! ‘ shouted Aunt Hazel and produced a large bunch of flowers from her hat.
Then Aunt Hazel announced that as the most powerful witch there, she would be the witch that was made young and beautiful. The other witches walked around her chanting and throwing out handfuls of a sparkling powdery substance. Suddenly there was a huge crash. The lights went out then on again with a flash of orange flame. Where Aunt Hazel had been there was a small baby lying on the stage.
The audience applauded and the curtain went down, only to rise up again as all the witches, including Aunt Hazel who had mysteriously appeared again, gave a bow.
Sophie and Jessica were stunned.
‘It was a play,’ said Sophie stupidly. ‘It wasn’t real at all. It was only a play.’