Witches Brew || Halloweentown

Chapter Seven

As the siblings sat in the cab, Marnie on the right, Dylan on the left, Melanie in the middle and Sophie on her lap. Everything was quite. Until Benny spoke up.

"So first time in town for you kids?" Benny asked.

"Yeah. We just got here on the bus. It's so amazing!" Marnie answered him.

"Yeah, it's a pretty nice place. Better than a lot of graveyards I've hung out in. But that don't mean you kids can go running around here by yourselves." Benny said to them.

"Why not?" Melanie asked him.

"Well, let's just say there are characters around here that ain't the most savory. Like that kid." Benny used his head to motion out the window at a boy talking to a group of people. "Luke."

"Who is he?" Marnie asked as her and Luke locked eyes as the cab drove away.

"He's just a local punk. Thinks he's a big shot just because he got a nose job and a couple of warts removed." Benny explained. "Claims some shadow creature gave it to him. Ha!"

After he finished talking, Benny pulled the cab up to a house with an iron fence that said Cromwell.

"Here we are. Chez Cromwell." Benny said.

"Cool." Melanie said as she and her younger siblings got out of the cab and walked over to the gate.

"See ya, kids!" Benny called to them after Marnie got out of the cab and he began reversing.

"He's probably animatronic. Disneyland is full of stuff like that." Dylan said. Still trying to find a logical explanation for everything.

"Yeah, well, when Mr Lincoln drives me to the store, we'll talk." Marnie said, grabbing Sophie's hand.

Once they walked up to the gate, Dylan noticed it has a lock on it and claimed they should just go home. The twins disagreed, and Marnie said it was a perfect magic testing opportunity. Melanie didn't want to leave, but knew that they didn't know any magic.

After Marnie chanted a few things, and tried a made up spell, her and Dylan began to argue.

While they were, Sophie walked up to the gate and grabbed the lock with both hands. Then she pulled her hands away and the lock was gone. Inside her hands was a frog, which she put on the ground, and then pushed the gate open.

Marnie and Dylan heard the gate squeak, and turned to look at it and their sisters. They saw Sophie nearest and asked how she opened it. After claiming she just pushed on it, all four kids walked up to the door of the house.

It opened right as they got there, and their grandmother smiled when she saw them.

"Hi grandma." Sophie said.

"Oh, my stars. How did you get here?" Aggie asked.

"On the bus." Sophie said as they all walked further into the house.

"We came to start our training, grandma." Marnie said waving to her and her twin sister.

"You're training?" Aggie asked. "Oh, it was you two outside the kitchen. I thought I heard people listening. Well, I suppose I could assume your mother doesn't know you're here. I daresay, that she's going to be very upset when she finds you're gone."

"Can't we just call her?" Dylan asked.

"No, no, dear. I'm afraid we haven't worked out long distance calling, between worlds yet." Aggie said to her grandson. "No, I'll have to take you home myself."

"Oh, but you can't take us home." The twins said back.

"Yeah. We want to help you fight the bad thing." Sophie told her.

"Yeah, the bad thing." Melanie told he too.

"Or the force field, whatever it is." Marnie added on. "You said you need another Cromwell witch. That could be us, you could train us."

"Yes, well, I suppose it would be all right if you could stay a little while. As long as we get you home before midnight in the mortal world." Aggie told all her grandkids.

"But that's only 2 hours from now." Marnie said.

"Well, don't panic, dear. You see time works differently in Halloweentown." Aggie mentioned. "2 hours there, might be 2 days here. Or two weeks, if we're on vacation."

"What's this, grandma?" Dylan asked while looking at a giant cauldron.

"Ah, you've discovered the witches glass." Aggie told him. "It's been handed down through the Cromwell clan over many generations. I've been using it to keep an eye on things."

Aggie waved her hands over the witches glass, and spoke in a darker, sort of terrified tone. "Now the glass shows me that some evil force is at work here in Halloweentown."

A man with a green face appeared, and began to laugh like an evil maniac. "The worst is yet to come." Aggie said.

"What can we do to stop it?" Marnie asked.

"I'll show you." Aggie said and walked back into the kitchen, after grabbing a box. "Merlin himself used this talisman to end the Dark Ages over in the mortal world, and I think it's just the thing. To tackle our troubles here in Halloweentown."

Just then a beeping went off on a microwave thing, and Aggie walked over to it and removed what was inside.

"Are you cooking chowder, grandma?" Sophie asked. "I like chowder."

"Oh, no, dear. This is witches brew. It's a little recipe that I picked up in the 6th century. Around King Arthur's time."

"King Arthur?!" The twins spoke in joy.

"How's this stuff gonna help?" Dylan asked Aggie.

"Oh, by bringing this talisman back to life." Aggie said while pulling out the talisman from the box.

"Pretty." Sophie said.

"Are you going to use your magic to, raise some spirits, have a big seance, and call on the forces darkness to get it going?" Marnie asked.

"No. I'm just going to fill it up, and see if the light goes on." Aggie said. Wiping the smiles of Marnie and Melanie's faces. "If I can get it lit, and install it properly, it should suffice to drive away this force that threatens us."

"That's it?" Melanie asked in disappointment.

"You just fill it up?" Marnie asked, just as disappointed.

"I do have to say a spell over it. That's why I came to ask your mother to help me. You see, spells are much more powerful, when more than one witch joins in. Especially if they're Cromwells." Aggie said.

"Well, we'll help you." The twins said simultaneously.