Page 35 of Black and White, Twice the Might

I put the tray down and hand Elaine a mug, and push the toppings closer.

I look up when I hear Enoch and Temp laugh.

“Thank you for this,” I say. “Enoch is truly happy, and thanks for letting me come along.”

“Think nothing of it. You don’t know me yet, so it’s understandable you would want to be here.”

“It’s not just that. The boys have a fear of light magic users. Thankfully, Enoch seems to be getting over his fear.”

I see Elaine looking at Enoch, and she growls. “Your father better not show his face in Cadenbury. If he does, I imagine all the town witches will be after him.”

“But we don’t know all the town witches. We don’t even live here.” I point out.

“Rumour has it that you might be buying the old Myers house.”

I sip some of my hot chocolate before answering. “We all fell in love with that house. We were cautious because of all the witches in this town. But it looks like Enoch is happy here.”

“Plus, there’s good cake here, and Ernest is kind of crazy in a weird, fascinating way, and this town is never dull.”

I burst out laughing. “It does seem to be eventful, but I thought that was just because of the Halloween Farm. Mind you, saying that the light witches have created a website scoring their encounters with dark witches, so yeah, I can see how this town is never dull.”

“The town has certainly got more interesting with all the light witches turning up.”

“And you got an apprentice out of it,” I point out, looking at Temp. He’s standing with Enoch, who is holding a bird.

“How lucky am I. Temp is the perfect apprentice.”

I watch as Enoch lifts his hands and releases the bird, who happily flies away.

“He flew,” Enoch practically shouts happily. He turns to look at me. “Ebby, did you see that? I fixed the bird’s wing, and he flew.”

“I saw. Congratulations.”

They both go off and wash their hands before coming over to our table and sitting down. I pass them mugs of hot, well, lukewarm, chocolate and push the toppings closer.

“This is the most fun I’ve ever had. Who knew I could use my magic to heal animals? I need to see if there are any lessons I can take on animals for next year.”

“I’m sure we can find some,” I reply.

“Enoch, you’re welcome to come and help the animals any time you like. The gate is always open, so if neither Temp nor I are here, just let yourself in. If you do heal any animals while we are out, just message Temp or me and let us know,” Elaine tells him.

He gives her his cheeky smile. “Thanks, Elaine.”

Once Enoch has finished his drink, we leave, saying we’ll be at the manor for dinner.

“That was so much fun,” Enoch says, as we walk along the road. “Were you very bored?”

I shake my head. “I wasn’t bored. I was talking to Elaine and watching you having fun.”

Enoch nods. “Temp is fun and nice.”

“And just think we’re all cackling round a cauldron tonight.”

“It will be fun as well.”

We stopoff at the baker's to grab some sandwiches and walk back to the B&B, going into mine and Sly’s room, where we see Sly and Xander sat on the chairs, watching TV.

“You’re back,” Sly says happily, standing up and walking over to me.