HERE'S A NEW SNEAK PEEK FROM THE FIRST CHAPTER OF "THE WONKY WITCH AND THE WITCHING WELL" (BOOK 3)!! ENJOY! 

(E-MAIL BECKY AND LET HER KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!!)

     Maude stood there, frozen in place. Her brown eyes darted back and forth, searching for some way to escape the wand that was being shoved into her chest. She gulped and looked at Sini Ster, the evil girl hovering in front of her, draped in an over-sized black hooded cloak. From where she was standing, no one could see what was happening. Her best friend, Adair Tiptoe, and their other friend, Ben Evolence, were too far away. They were at a Wizard Festival booth opposite from Maude. She would never get help in time before Sini slung a wicked spell at her.

     The wand dug into Maude’s robes, causing her to take in a quick breath. Sini’s dark eyes narrowed. “You’ll never get out of this one, Maude Sinks. So don’t even try,” the girl hissed.

     Maude’s expression changed from fright to confusion. “How did you do it?” she whispered through her teeth. “How did you escape again?”

     “That’s for me to know, and you to never find out. I can’t reveal something like that to someone like you,” Sini spat. The wand faltered in her hand as Sini watched the passing wizards that were milling around the festival booths.

     “You can’t get away with this, Sini.”

     “Oh, yeah?” Sini jabbed the wand deeper. “And just how are you going to stop me? You are nothing but a worthless snoop, who once again foiled my plans.”

     “I had to save my little brother,” Maude stated with a wince.

     “He’s a worthless brute, just like you,” Sini snarled. “He wouldn’t have been what we needed anyway.”

     “Just because my family hasn’t turned to Black Magic doesn’t mean we’re worthless.”

     Sini leaned forward and got in Maude’s face. “You don’t realize where the powers really are. You could have been one of us, but you turned your back in the beginning. We all know what you truly are, Maude Sinks.”

     “Oh, really?” Maude said, glaring right back at Sini. “And just what am I?”

     Before the conversation could continue, Maude heard footsteps crunching on the gravel behind her. She watched Sini’s eyes fly up and exasperation smear across her face.

     “Just what is going on here?” Maude recognized the voice of her Black Magic teacher, Mr. Mel Ancholy. She remained as still as she could, expecting Sini to cast a spell on her at any second. Mr. Ancholy was rushing to the booth, fumbling in his cloak pocket for his wand. “Hold on, there! What is the meaning of this?”

     Sini’s eyes flicked back to Maude. “Just you wait, Maude Sinks. You haven’t seen the last of me. I will get you back for it all. Just you wait.”

     Suddenly, before Mr. Ancholy could reach the festival stand, Sini pulled the wand away from Maude and whipped it around her own head. In a flash, Sini was gone. The only thing that remained was her over-sized cloak, which lay in a heap on the ground behind the booth.

     “Who was that, Miss Maude? What’s going on?” Mr. Ancholy said, panting as he reached her.

     Maude sighed a deep breath of relief. “It was Sini, sir.”

     “What? That’s impossible. She was arrested and taken to the Secret Prison!” Mr. Ancholy leaned over the booth’s display and looked at the cloak, which was still smoking a bit.

     Maude rubbed her chest and breathed slowly. “That hasn’t stopped her before, sir. I just don’t understand how she keeps escaping.”

    “Come quickly. Let’s go to the Head Mistress. She’s on the other side of the festival,” Mr. Ancholy stated firmly with one last puzzled glance at the booth.

     Maude agreed and followed behind her teacher. Adair and Ben came running up next to her as Maude and her teacher wound through the crowd.

     “Maude! Where are you going?” Adair sputtered.

     “You didn’t see her, did you?”

     “See who?” Ben asked confusedly.

     “Sini.”

     “What?” Adair’s eyes flashed with shock as he looked to Mr. Ancholy for answers. “How could she be here? She escaped again?”

     “Apparently,” Mr. Ancholy said angrily.

     “She was threatening me with her wand. It hurt,” Maude said, wincing as she touched her chest and collarbone.

     “Oh, no. Not again.” Adair grabbed Maude’s arm, hoping with all of his might that they could have a normal summer. Not like the last.

* * *

     Maude plopped down at her kitchen table, exhausted and confused. Ben and Adair sat down next to her, their expressions showing the same concerns that were swirling through Maude’s mind. Not only had she been threatened by her former classmate, but then she had spent the rest of the day answering questions that were thrown at her by the Head Mistress of her school and the Head Wizard, a powerful man at the top of the Wizard Government.

     Maude, Adair, and Ben attended a prestigious school of magic, Abracadabra Academy. During Maude and Adair’s first year there, a wicked clan, known as the Wonky Wizard Society, had tried to steal the powers of the entire student body. Sini Ster and her parents belonged to that group, and she and her sidekick, Evel Pest, had taunted Maude throughout that school year. Finally, when Maude had brought the plot to the attention of their Head Mistress and the group had been arrested, Maude and Adair had discovered that somehow Sini and Evel had escaped from the prison.

     The summer that followed had been horrible. The two friends had many run-ins with Sini and Evel. They also found out that the group had originally been called the Caspian Clan, but had changed their name so no one would know who they were. Then, while trying to complete their second year at Abracadabra, Maude and Adair foiled the group’s plans again. The evil society captured Mickey, Maude’s younger brother, and had tried to revive the soul of their former leader, Mal Evolence. Mal’s soul took over Mickey’s body for a short time, before Maude once again smashed the clan’s hopes. The two friends had help along the way, provided by a mysterious dark-haired boy, who turned out to be Mal’s son. Ben Evolence had never known his father and was embarrassed about what his dad had tried to do to the wizard world. Maude and Adair became his friends, and the Head Mistress offered Ben a place to live at Abracadabra Academy so the boy could study magic and lead a life free from crime and the clan. Ben was grateful and never looked back once. He was proud to be a part of the school and would never forget what Head Mistress Avalon had done for him.

     Now it seemed that Maude and Adair would never be rid of Sini. She had appeared at the Wizard Festival, proving that somehow she had escaped again. Maude groaned and put her head in her hands. Ben patted her back, reassuring her that her friends were near.

     “I can’t believe this,” Adair said, brushing his blonde hair from his eyes.

     “How did she do it, Maude?” Ben asked. His black eyebrows were knitted in confusion, his head was cocked at an odd angle, and his dark eyes were gazing steadily into hers.

     “I have no idea.” Maude rubbed her temples and sighed. “Everything that we just went through…it was all for nothing.”

     “It was not,” Adair stated firmly. “We got rid of Mal, didn’t we?”

     “Yeah, but now Sini’s going to start some new plan.” She looked at Adair. “We’re never going to be free from her. She’s going to keep trying to get revenge.”

     Adair touched her hand that was resting on the table. “Maude, it’ll be okay. We’ve fought and won twice already. We can take anything she throws our way. We’ll be fine.”

     “I was just hoping that it was really over this time. Now our summer will be like the last one. Miserable.” Maude looked down at the wooden table. Even sitting in her own house with all of its warmth and comfort didn’t make her feel any better.

     “No way,” Ben said. “I’m not going to let that stupid girl get in my way. She’s part of my old clan, remember? I know a lot more about her and the clan’s hiding spots than she knows. I’ll keep an eye out. But she’s not going to ruin my vacation! I worked hard to finish a whole year’s worth of work in one semester. Just let her try to prevent me from swimming or playing games with you two. She’ll regret ever knowing my name!” Ben’s dark-colored eyes flashed with anger and confidence.

     “Whoa,” Adair said with a gulp and looked at Maude. “Remind me never to get on his bad side.”