By the time Wormella came and rescued me from the cellar, I had just about recovered from the shock of what had happened.
I spent the whole sleepless night turning it all over in my mind. Was this loony bin sending me crazy – or was I, Anna Kelly, a real, live, witch, like the spell said? And if I was a witch, could I do magic spells?
Soon a plan started to take shape in my brain.
The next morning, I sneaked back into the cellar and ripped out some pages from Ancient Evil. I went into the garden where I was supposed to be collecting nettles and snail slime in a bucket. But, instead, I was secretly looking at the pages I’d stolen.
Maybe I could make one of these evil potions, and give Grizz and Wormella a taste of their own medicine!
‘Hello!’ said a cheerful voice.
I jumped and spun around. A face was peering over the back fence. It was the blonde girl from up the road!
She smiled and I smiled back at her.
‘Do you live here?’ she said. ‘Or are you just visiting?’
‘I live here, unfortunately,’ I said. ‘The two mad old witches took me from a children’s home so I could do all their dirty work …’
The girl giggled. She obviously thought I was joking.
‘You’re funny!’ she said. ‘My name’s Mary. What’s yours?’
‘Anna,’ I said. ‘Where do you live?’
‘Down the road,’ said Mary. ‘You should come over and play sometime.’
‘I’d love to,’ I said. ‘But, somehow, I don’t think I’ll be allowed.’
Mary looked me up and down.
‘Is that your school uniform?’ she asked.
‘No!’ I said. ‘What kind of school would have an all-black uniform?’
We both looked at my witchy black dress and pointy boots and burst out laughing.
‘Where do you go to school anyway?’ asked Mary.
‘I don’t,’ I mumbled.
‘You don’t go to school?’ said Mary, shocked. ‘How come?’
‘I’m not allowed,’ I said.
‘I go to St Munchin’s,’ said Mary. ‘It’s so much fun. You should get your aunts to send you there! We might be in the same class … Ooops!’
Without warning, Mary dropped to her knees behind the fence.
‘You, girl!’ shouted a sharp voice from behind me. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’
I turned. Grizz was striding across the garden.
‘Who were you talking to?’ she said.
‘No one,’ I said. Mary didn’t need to get in trouble as well. I was in enough for both of us.
Grizz looked over the fence. Mary was nowhere to be seen.
‘Get back to work instantly,’ said Grizz.
I put on my gloves and grabbed my bucket of nettles.
‘You wait and see, Grizz!’ I said. ‘I’m going to go to school, and make friends, and have normal life!’
‘Over my dead body!’ shouted Grizz.
‘Don’t tempt me!’ I muttered, as my hand curled around the pages of spells in my pocket.
