Kitor fluttered his wings anxiously as the car turned into the driveway of Craiglaw House.
“Hi, Kitor,” Neil said with a smile as the crow landed on his shoulder as he got out of the car. “You found your way alright, then!”
“We got here ages ago!” Kitor said, digging his claws into Neil’s jacket to keep his balance “We thought you’d … got lost or something.”
“What kept you?” Cassia asked anxiously, perching on Clara’s arm. “We were just going out to look for you.”
“We almost did have an accident,” Mrs MacLean said grimly, pulling a carrier bag out of the car and heading for the front door. “The Snow Witches were out in force on the road near Greenlaw.”
“They did their best to stop us,” Neil added, “but we managed to keep going.”
Kitor squawked. “What happened?”
“The Queen of the Snow Witches recognized me, Kitor,” Clara said. “It was really scary. They were using snowmen to search the farm buildings and they attacked us.”
Kitor paled at the mention of the Snow Witches. He knew they hadn’t forgiven him for rescuing Clara.
“Actually, we didn’t cross the moors,” Cassia confessed.
Clara, now in safe surroundings, forgot her fear of the Snow Witches and grinned. “I know,” she said, looking at Neil in amusement, “you came as the crow flies.”
Seeing Kitor’s puzzled look, Neil explained. “It’s a saying we have in English. It means you didn’t follow the roads, you flew in a straight line.”
Cassia tilted her head to one side. “It’s the only way to fly,” she pointed out reasonably. “Why should we follow the roads?”
“Forget it!” Neil said dryly, “or we’ll be here all night!”
“No you won’t,” his mother said, overhearing their conversation. “Go and get your stuff together and put it in the car. We’ve to get you back to school this evening, remember?”
“Oh no,” Neil groaned, “and I haven’t even looked at my German grammar! Von Grozny’s given us a string of verbs to learn!”
“What about the broomsticks?” John MacLean asked. “You’re going to look a bit odd going into school with a couple of broomsticks, aren’t you?”
“Oh, that’s all right,” Clara said airily, “I’ll say they’re for the school play. It’s about witches. Nobody’ll think anything of it.”
“Get yourselves organized then,” their mother said briskly, “while I make the supper and defrost some chicken livers for Kitor and Cassia. If they’re going on a witch hunt, they’ll need all the energy they can get.”
As it happened, it didn’t take Kitor and Cassia long to suss out the witches.
The following morning, the two crows had swooped from Clara’s window not only to take stock of their new surroundings but to search the Border roads for their breakfast. Kitor’s eyes had glistened happily, for the good news was that fast food in the shape of squashed rabbit and hedgehog had proved unexpectedly plentiful — and pheasant an unexpected treat. The bad news, however, was that there were witches absolutely everywhere.
Later that evening, Neil looked at his watch and opened his window. It was eight o’clock, the time they’d agreed upon to get together. He shivered in the sudden blast of cold air that whistled through the window and sighed with relief as Kitor and Cassia flew in followed by an invisible Clara who swished past him on her broomstick. Closing the window quickly, he drew the curtains again and turned on the light as Clara switched her ring to her other hand and appeared. Kitor and Cassia perched on the back of a chair, settling their wings as she propped her broomstick against Neil’s wardrobe door.
“Hi, Neil,” she smiled, “no visitors this evening?”
“Not with all the German verbs I’ve to swot up,” her brother admitted. He turned to the crow. “Well, Kitor?” he queried. “How did you get on today? Find anything out?”
“There are witches everywhere,” Kitor announced importantly, fluttering over to Neil’s desk and pacing its length in stiff, strutting steps. He looked at them through black, sparkling eyes. “It’s a massive operation they’ve mounted. Every field, every wood, every farm … they’re going over them all.”
“We know all about that,” nodded Clara, warming herself against a radiator. “They haven’t half given the locals the heeby-jeebies!”
“We spotted your witch on her way back to the school as well,” Cassia croaked. “She came from a place called Witches’ Wood.”
Neil looked up interestedly. He’d heard the name before and then remembered that it had been on the night he’d seen the crop circles being made.
“Witches’ Wood is well named,” Kitor said. “It covers the top of a steep hill quite near here. That’s where the Earth Witches have their castle — inside the hill.”
“A castle,” Neil’s eyebrows shot up, “inside a hill? Then … that means their castle must be on Blackriggs Farm!” Clara looked blank. “You know … Jimmy MacFarlane’s farm … where the crop circles keep appearing!” He turned to Kitor. “How on earth did you find it?”
“It wasn’t hard to spot,” Kitor said dryly. “Busy as a wasps’ nest, it was; witches flying in and out all the time. We couldn’t go in, of course, for they had witches guarding the entrance.”
“But we got close enough to see what it looks like,” Cassia added. “There are long, stone passages that go deep inside the hill.”
“We hung around for a while and listened to the witches talking,” Kitor continued. “They mentioned the talisman so our ears pricked up, as you can imagine. They’re over the moon about it.”
“About what?” queried Clara, anxiously. “They haven’t found it, have they?”
Kitor shook his head. “No, but the Queen of the Earth Witches discovered an ancient book in their library. They called it The Book of Spells. From the way they were talking, I reckon it must have been lost for centuries.”
“And?” demanded Neil.
“And it’s bad news,” croaked Cassia. “There’s a spell in it that will draw the talisman to her …”
“… from wherever it is!” finished Kitor.
Clara looked every bit as appalled as Neil. A magic spell that would find the talisman! The witches had to be stopped!