Page 17 of The Mechanics of Broomstick Racing

“Not so fast,” Zephyr countered. She waved a hand, and Levina’s red-bristled broomstick came zooming out of the sky and into Zephyr’s waiting hand. “For your age, you were flying way too high. And, yeah, I took the same risks when I was sixteen and an idiot, but I’m not letting you off the hook.”

Levina stood, brushing grass off her legs. Her magic might have taken after her air witch father, but the rest of her was all Finnegan. Down to the red hair and the scowl. “Dammit.”

“I won’t tell Neil about that,” Zephyr offered. “And I’ll sign the jacket and one poster, but if I catch either for sale on the internet, I swear—”

“I won’t! I would never.”

“Okay. Now lead me back to your uncle’s workshop. I have no idea where we are.”

“Sounds like I’m saving you,” Levina muttered.

“Keep talking like that and I’ll send your broom on a one-way flight to Everest.”

Levina did the rest of her sulking silently.

Chapter 9

Neil was holding back a lecture. He grimaced, running a hand through that wild auburn hair. His sister stood motionless next to him, her face stretched with an uneasy smile. She grabbed her daughter’s shoulders, scanning her for injuries, before kissing Levina on the forehead.

Her voice was tight but high-pitched as she said, “The important thing is that everyone is safe.”

“Karah,” Neil protested. “At least ground her. Do something. You told her not to fly alone.”

Levina sniffed. “It won’t make a difference. There’s nothing to do in this stupid town, anyway. And I need to practice. I need a challenge.” Levina wiggled out of her mother’s hold and crossed her arms. Her attitude suddenly died. “I need my dad. I’m the only witch on the team that doesn’t have anyone to help them.”

Karah paled. Zephyr froze. Family squabbles were beyond her depth. Luckily, Neil nudged her shoulder, and she followed him away from the mother-daughter drama.

“Thank you for that rescue,” she said once they were out of earshot. Karah and Levina remained inside the workshop office, their voices barely audible as their emotions took hold of their argument.

Neil did a double-take as they ambled down Pumpkin Hollow’s main street. “You’re thanking me for rescuing you? You just caught my niece as she was falling out of the sky. I should make a statue of you and plant it in the town square. Something marble. How am I going to afford that?”

“I can lend you the money,” she joked. She reached back and made sure Dale was still sleeping in the hood of her jacket. “The interest rate will be terrible, though.”

“Don’t lessen what you did for us,” Neil said seriously.

“I was just in the right place at the right time. It’s coincidence.” She shrugged. “If you keep focusing on it, you’re going to freak yourself out.” You’re going to freak me out, she thought. Neil frowned, so she tried another tactic. “But I was super impressive. It was incredible. I knew I was good, but damn, no one should be that good.”

“Now you sound like yourself.” Neil shook his head, looking up at the sky. “Ridiculous.”

Zephyr stopped them before they crossed in front of the post office. She didn’t want to fuel Tawny’s imagination. If the shifter saw them together, the matchmaking would intensify.

Neil misread her decision to stop them. He relaxed, hands in his pockets as he asked, “Last night, I was actually at the town meeting for a purpose,” he admitted. “Karah filled me in after we left. The town decided how they’re going to choose the witch who will light the pumpkin the last night of the festival.”

She just shrugged. The Pumpkin Festival lasted all week and included so many events that, even though she had grown up here, she couldn’t name them all.

Neil finished, “The honor will go to the winner of the Pumpkin Festival Air Race.”

The decision was a surprise. Lighting the festival pumpkin always went to one of the nature-inclined witches. Whoever grew the largest squash or something like that. An air witch hadn’t lit the giant pumpkin that crowded the town square in decades.

Neil explained, “Levina hasn’t sat still since the announcement. It’s given her something to look forward to. She wants to win, wants to prove herself to her team. Maybe even prove herself to you. After what happened today, she’s clearly taken it too far.” He sighed. “Being the new kid in a small town…it can’t be easy. Winning this race, though, isn’t worth getting hurt.”

Lighting the pumpkin wasn’t all for bragging rights. Whoever lit the candle within, it strengthened their magic for an entire year. For a teenage witch feeling inadequate, Zephyr wasn’t surprised that Levina was acting so drastically. She hated to imagine what crazy stunts she would have pulled at that age, just for a chance to light the pumpkin.

“You’re not going to race, are you?” Neil asked.

Zephyr rolled her eyes. “No, Neil. I’m not so attention-seeking that I’d race a bunch of kids.”

“Just want a realistic idea of Levina’s chances,” he replied. “She’s going to ask me if you’re racing as soon as you leave.”