Page 112 of The Witches Catalogue of Wanderlust Essentials

“I actually think she’ll understand,” Will said gently. “Just so long as you’re honest with her.”

“I sure hope so.” Zani sighed. She crossed to the windows to stare out at the rocky shoreline. It looked only slightly less bleak than she remembered it.

Suddenly, something caught her eye, and she sucked in a breath.

“Will!” she cried out. “Stop the ship! Go back!”

“What is it?” Will pulled up on one of the levers and tipped the captain’s wheel to the left. He was getting so much better at flying the dirigible, but the ship still jerked and creaked and griped about the sudden change of direction. A teaspoon slid off her saucer of tea and clattered to the ground.

“Can you get any lower?” Zani leaned out the window to scan the rocky beach as Will brought them in closer.

“How’s that?” he asked.

“Just a little more…” Zani called back to him. The figure was wearing a simple black dress. She lay motionless on her stomach. She had no shoes on and her stockings were torn. The waves lapped at her exposed toes. Zani could hardly breathe now, worried as she was that the girl was badly injured, or worse. “There’s a girl down there Will, I don’t know if she’s okay. She isn’t moving.”

“That’s about as low as we can get without bottoming out on the sand,” Will said when they were about fifteen feet above the rocks. “We’ll have to use the rope ladder to get down from here.”

“Okay,” Zani said, “I’ll be right there.” She leaned back out the window to let the girl know that help was coming. “Don’t move!” she yelled. “We’ll be right down!”

Suddenly the young girl rolled onto her back and popped up, her broom at her side. She held her wand aloft as she glared up at the dirigible. “Stay right where you are, you scurvy pirate!” she snarled. “And you’d better pray that nothing’s happened to my sister, Minodaura!”