“A ghost,” Malkin repeated. “In our swimming pool.”
When you’re in, you’re all in. “Can you take us to Azure, please? I don’t want to have to explain all this more than once.” I shook out her jacket and respectfully held it up, ready to be slipped into.
Malkin tilted her head, and a thick lock of hair fell over one eye as she considered. Then she stepped forward, turned around, and shrugged on the jacket like I had always been her butler. “Want to dry off first?”
“I suppose I don’t need to bring the water with me,” I said.
“Actually,” Poppy said, “that’s not a bad idea. We can use it as a sample.”
“Easy enough,” Malkin replied, facing me and focusing her magic. Vapor swirled away from my clothes and coalesced between her hands in a clear blob of water.
“Do you want something to put it in?” my mom asked.
“I can carry it,” Malkin said.
“What about the statue?” Poppy asked. “That will set it off.”
“One second,” Mom said, reaching into her purse. She turned her body so Malkin couldn’t see that she was emptying one of the cider cups of the extra desserts she’d stashed. She blew the crumbs out. “Here you go,” she said, offering the cup to Malkin.
Malkin took it and channeled the water inside.
All magic in the off position, we followed her back upstairs.
“Is your life always this hectic?” Mom asked me.
“You don’t know the half of it,” I said.
We re-entered the red ballroom where the tea had taken place and followed Malkin through the side door that led to the Grand Library.
When Mom stepped inside, she stopped and placed a hand over her heart. “Oh, my stars and garters,” she said. “Look at this place!” Her gaze swept the burnished dark wood floor and matching bookshelves, the intricate Persian rug, the cozy wingback chairs and the huge floor-standing globe. She went to the nearest shelves and leveled a professional eye at the titles. “Why, I haven’t seen antiques like this in years. Zelda!” she called. “We used to have things like this in our special collection at the college, remember?”
I did remember. Old books that smelled like time and mystery. How Mom would pull one off the shelf that was too high for me to reach, and set me up at a little table with its own green glass-shaded reading lamp.
Malkin, who had disappeared into the back room, reappeared with Azure. Aloysius, Azure’s golden-eyed owl, rode on her shoulder and gave everyone the stink eye.
“Well, hello to you, sir,” Poppy said, wiggling her finger.
Aloysius snapped at it.
“Aloysius, behave yourself.” Azure’s blue robe rippled behind her and silver charms lightly jingled in her hair. “You can’t seem to come to anything without a hullabaloo, can you, Zelda?”
“Afraid not,” I said. “Azure, this is my mother, Effie. Mom, this is Azure Washington, Witch Presiding.”
“I am so pleased to meet you, Ms. Washington.”
“Please, call me Azure,” the Witch Presiding said, extending her hands to clasp my mother’s. “You must have had a hell of a time raising this one.”
My mother laughed—the traitor. “I always say the things that drive you craziest about your children will be the things that make them the most successful.”
“I’m standing right here,” I muttered to Poppy.
“At least they’re bonding,” she said.
Mom turned to me and squeezed my arm. “You come by it honestly. I’m sure I caused your grandmother no end of trouble.”
“You? Trouble?” I said. “Never.”
Azure clapped her be-ringed hands together, causing Aloysius to bob up and down with alarm. “So,” she said, taking a seat, “what’s all this about? A ghost, inmyswimming pool?”
