The Wishing Wings

by Jennifer Castle

  “Let’s get her!” shouted Poke. “Nice try, butterfly! We’re too fast for you!”

  Addie felt Sky Dance sending her a thought message. Head for the two tall pine trees to the south, it said. Fly until you turn human again, and we’ll take care of the rest.

  As she flew toward the pine trees, Addie could hear the wasps buzzing behind her, but her head start kept them at a distance. This was just like the time she raced a girl named Jillian in gym class at her old school. Jillian usually beat her at everything, but on that day, Addie had sprinted from the word “Go!” and didn’t look back until she crossed the finish line first. Addie remembered how proud she’d been to realize she was a faster runner than she’d thought, and that powered her butterfly wings now.

  Addie kept flapping as hard as she could and found a breeze, which gave her an extra push. The pine trees were getting closer and closer . . . while the wasps’ buzzing grew louder and louder . . .

  She’d made it! Addie flew right through the space between the two pine trees.

  Then, with a thump, she fell backward on the ground. In an instant, she had all of her usual parts and was Addie-size again.

  The wasps sped by. The branches of the pine trees had blocked their view and they hadn’t seen Addie change into a human. She caught her breath and watched as two bright Wishing Wings, then four, then ten, flew into the gap between the trees. Still more butterflies came, flying so close to one another she couldn’t tell where one butterfly’s wings ended and another’s began. The flickering colors looked like a giant kaleidoscope.

  They were filling the gap between the pine trees. A net! Addie realized.

  Suddenly, Queen Rose Glow flew up to her.

  “Are you all right, my dear?” she asked.

  “Yes, I’m fine!”

  “Run back to Sky Dance and your sister! We’ll hold the wasps back with some group magic.”

  Addie nodded, jumped up, dusted herself off, and raced back to the rocks.

  When she got there, she found Clara kneeling on the ground in front of Shimmer Leaf’s hiding place. Sky Dance perched on a rock nearby, staring nervously in the direction of the sun. The bottom tip of it had dropped behind the treetops, and the sky was tinted pink. It wouldn’t be long before it was completely gone.

  Clara put her face as close as she could to the crevice’s opening. Addie could still hear Shimmer Leaf’s sobs coming from inside.

  “Shimmer Leaf,” Clara said softly to the butterfly. “I understand that you’re scared. I understand that you’re lonely. I know exactly how that feels, because I just found myself in a brand-new place, too.”

  Clara paused, and they listened. It was quiet. The sobs had stopped.

  “But now I see that I’m not alone at all,” continued Clara. “There are friends around me everywhere. Some, I just haven’t met yet.”

  Clara glanced quickly at Addie. Addie smiled back.

  Clara took a deep breath and put her face to the crevice once more. “Can I be your first new friend, Shimmer Leaf?”

  A tiny, shaking voice said, “Okay.”

  “Here,” said Clara, reaching as much of her hand into the opening as would fit. “Climb on. I’ll help you out of there.”

  Addie held her breath, and she knew Sky Dance was doing the same. They waited for a long moment. Addie glanced up to see that even more of the sun had disappeared, and her heart thudded harder.

  Clara pulled her hand out of the crevice and clapped the other one on top. She smiled big. Shimmer Leaf must be inside!

  “I’ve got you,” whispered Clara to her hands. “You’re safe with me.”

  “Are you sure?” asked the tiny voice.

  Clara opened her palms.

  A burst of color shot into the air and fluttered away.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  No!” shouted Clara as they watched Shimmer Leaf dart toward the sky. “Where is she going?”

  Sky Dance began chasing her sister, but then paused in midair. Shimmer Leaf was slowing down. She flew in a U-shape and headed back toward them, landing gently on Clara’s still-open palm.

  “Clara!” said Shimmer Leaf. Her voice didn’t sound scared anymore. It rang out bright and happy. “You caught me, then set me free! That means I’m your Wishing Wing!”

  Sky Dance rushed to land next to Shimmer Leaf.

  “Shimmer Leaf!” she cried. “Do you know who you are?”

  Shimmer Leaf touched her wing to Sky Dance’s. “Yes, Sky, of course. Why wouldn’t I?” She let out a huff and turned back to Clara. “Sisters can be so irritating.”

  Sky Dance laughed and said, “The enchantment’s broken!” She flew two joyful flips in the air.

  “Yay!” cheered Addie. “Nice work, Clara!” Then she caught sight of the sun and remembered there was one more, very important thing they still had to do. “Shimmer Leaf! The wish!”

  “Oh!” exclaimed Shimmer Leaf, looking at the pink-and-red-striped sky. “Where did the day go?” She turned to Clara. “I’m here to make a wish come true for you.”

  “Really? That’s amazing!” said Clara, pretending she didn’t already know it. She winked at Addie and Sky Dance. She’d had a little time to think about her wish, but made a face like she was just deciding now. “You know what I’ve always wished for? A pet of my very own.”

  “A pet of your very own . . .” echoed Shimmer Leaf, nodding. “That’s a great wish. Let’s see, I think I can make that happen.”

  She looked around, her antennae pointing back and forth. Squish was lying on a nearby rock. Clara must have left him there when she went to coax Shimmer Leaf out of her hiding spot. When Shimmer Leaf spotted him, she shot into the air. In an instant, she was wrapping Squish in her glittering purple, peach, and mint-green rainbow. After her third time around, she landed.

  They all watched the sparkles shimmer and blink. Addie couldn’t wait to see what would appear in Squish’s place! She laced her fingers through Clara’s and squeezed her sister’s hand.

  But when the colors and sparkles vanished, there was nothing there.

  No Squish. No real live pet.

  “What happened?” Clara burst out, nearly in tears. “Where’s Squish?”

  Sky Dance and Shimmer Leaf didn’t answer. They were both looking at the last tiny bit of sun as it fell behind the treetops. It was officially sunset. Sky Dance turned to her sister and looked her up and down.

  “You’re still a Wishing Wing!” she remarked. “We did it!”

  “You mean, I earned my magic?” asked Shimmer Leaf.

  “Yes! Yes! Thanks to Addie and Clara! I’ll tell you the whole story later. I have a feeling these girls have to get home right away.”

  “Where’s Squish?” cried Clara.

  “That’s why you have to get home,” replied Shimmer Leaf with a mischievous smile. “Hurry! There’s someone there who needs you.”

  Clara gasped excitedly and grabbed her backpack. “Come on!” she said to Addie.

  Addie led her sister a few steps in the direction of Silk Meadow, then suddenly stopped. She turned back to the butterflies.

  “When will we see you again?” called Addie.

  “If the next chrysalis opens and we have the same problem . . . then very soon, I’m sure,” answered Sky Dance. “Maybe even tomorrow! We’ll need your help finding children who need wishes.”

  “We’ll be ready!”

  “We will?” whispered Clara to her. “We don’t know any other kids here.”

  “We don’t know them yet,” said Addie. “But you said yourself: there are friends everywhere.”

  Clara grinned. “I did say that, didn’t I?” She waved to their first two new friends. “Goodbye, Sky Dance! Goodbye, Shimmer Leaf!”

  The butterfly sisters flitted into the air, flapping their wings in their own special kind of wave.

  “Let’s go!” said Addie. She grabbed Clara’s hand again and they raced toward home.

  They ran until they reached the border between the woo
ds and their house, then stopped to catch their breath.

  “Hey, Addie,” said Clara, watching a bird fly overhead. “That turning-into-a-butterfly thing was pretty crazy. But did you notice how I didn’t freak out?”

  “Yes, I’m so glad,” Addie replied.

  “However,” said Clara with a serious face now. “I will if I don’t get a turn to do that, too!”

  Addie couldn’t help but laugh. “I understand. Hopefully, there will be a chance next time.”

  They stepped through the trees that bordered their backyard. It felt strange, yet wonderful, to be back where their adventure had started just a short time ago.

  Clara began looking frantically around. “Shimmer Leaf said there was something here that needed us . . .” she said. “But I don’t see anything. Do you?”

  Addie walked a circle around the yard, but didn’t notice anything either.

  “She could have given us a hint,” said Clara, frustrated. She picked up a log from the woodpile to peek underneath.

  “Maybe she didn’t think we needed it,” said Addie. She thought for a moment, then remembered something. “Hey,” she added. “When we were searching for Shimmer Leaf, we found her by listening. Maybe we should do that now.”

  They were quiet for a few moments. Addie heard the wind whistle through the trees, the neighbors laughing next door, and a car rumbling down the road.

  Then, she heard something else:

  Mew.

  “Addie!” Clara exclaimed.

  “I heard it, too!”

  “Where is it coming from?”

  Mew. Mew, mew.

  “I think it’s coming from under the deck!” said Addie. They both rushed to the side of the deck, where there was a small space between the wooden boards and the ground. Addie was about to crawl under, but then stopped herself.

  This was Clara’s wish. It was Clara’s discovery, and Clara’s moment. She didn’t want to take that from her sister.

  Addie stepped aside and motioned for Clara to go ahead.

  Clara dropped to her knees and disappeared under the deck. A few moments later, she reappeared, scrambling backward with one hand.

  In the other, she clutched a tiny, orange-striped kitten. He had big blue eyes just like Squish, and smudges of dirt on his face and paws just like him, too.

  Mew, the kitten cried, but he sounded less frightened and lonely now.

  Clara stood up and hugged the kitten, kissing his fuzzy little head.

  “Squish!” she cooed softly to him.

  Addie had never seen her sister so filled with joy. It was like she’d never been sad, or angry, or lonely in her life.

  The back door slid open, and Addie’s mother and father stepped out.

  “Addie, there you are!” exclaimed Mom. “Have you girls been outside this whole time?”

  “Yup,” said Addie. It wasn’t a lie, after all.

  “What’s that you’ve got there?” asked Dad when he noticed the fluff of orange nuzzled under Clara’s chin.

  “We found a kitten under the deck!” said Clara. “Isn’t he the cutest, sweetest thing ever?”

  “He looks just like your Squish,” remarked Dad.

  “He must belong to someone,” said Mom.

  He belongs to Clara, thought Addie, but she knew she couldn’t say that. Instead, she said: “Can we take care of him until we find the owner? If there isn’t an owner, can we keep him?”

  Mom and Dad looked at Clara. There was no denying it: Clara had never seemed happier. Addie’s parents exchanged a long glance, then finally smiled.

  “Okay,” said Mom. “Let’s bring him in and clean him up. The poor thing must be hungry!”

  Mom and Dad went inside, and Clara followed. As she passed Addie, Addie could hear Squish—a real live breathing Squish!—purr like a loud motorboat engine. Addie knew that if humans could purr, Clara would be doing it, too.

  Before Addie went into the house, she turned to stare at the woods. Now she knew so much about them: There were dangers and dark enchantments out there, but also wonders beyond her imagination. Every New Bloom who needed their help earning its magic would mean another set of challenges.

  Addie felt a flutter in her stomach.

  She couldn’t wait for the next adventure to begin.

  TURN THE PAGE FOR A SNEAK PEEK AT ADDIE AND CLARA’S NEXT MAGICAL BUTTERFLY ADVENTURE!

  AVAILABLE NOW!

  “Hello again,” said Clara to Shimmer Leaf. “How was your first night as a butterfly?”

  Shimmer Leaf stretched out her new wings. They were bright purple, peach, and mint green with leaf patterns. “Once I figured out how to tuck these things in for sleeping,” she said, “it was great!”

  The two girls and the two butterflies all giggled again, then fell silent . . . and serious.

  “You called us,” said Addie. “Does that mean . . .”

  “Yes,” replied Sky Dance. “Another New Bloom came out of her chrysalis this morning.”

  “It’s our cousin Tiger Streak,” added Shimmer Leaf.

  “Was it just like with Shimmer?” asked Addie. Shimmer Leaf had woken up not knowing who she was, or that she had to grant a wish before sunset. It had taken lots of quick thinking, plus a dash of courage, for Clara to catch the butterfly and set her free.

  “We’re not sure,” said Sky Dance. “She flew away from the Changing Tree before we could talk to her. But she’s been seen throughout the grove.”

  “You mean heard throughout the grove,” corrected Shimmer Leaf.

  Sky Dance sighed. “That too.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Clara.

  “Apparently,” said Sky Dance, “Tiger Streak is fluttering around making a very un-butterfly-like noise.”

  “Bzzz,” added Shimmer Leaf.

  “Like a bee?” asked Addie, frowning.

  “Exactly,” said Sky Dance.

  “That, uh, seems like a bad sign,” said Clara.

  “Exactly,” agreed Shimmer Leaf. “Will you help us find her? We’ll also need to find a human child to catch her and set her free to break the enchantment. Then Tiger Streak can grant that child a wish and earn her magic.”

  “We’ll do whatever we can,” Clara said.

  “We’re ready,” Addie assured them.

  Jennifer Castle is the author of the Butterfly Wishes series and many other books for children and teens, including Famous Friends and Together at Midnight. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband, two daughters, and two striped cats, at the edge of a deep wood that is most definitely filled with magic—she just hasn’t found it yet.

  www.jennifercastle.com

  Tracy Bishop is the illustrator of the Butterfly Wishes series. She has loved drawing magical creatures like fairies, unicorns, and dragons since she was little and is thrilled to get to draw magical butterflies. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, son, and a hairy dog named Harry.

  www.tracybishop.com

  Text copyright © 2017 by Jennifer Castle

  Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Tracy Bishop

  All rights reserved

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  First published in the United States of America in December 2017 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books

  www.bloomsbury.com

  This electronic edition published in 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

  Bloomsbury is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Castle, Jennifer, author.

  Title: The wishing wings / by Jennifer Castle.

  Description: New York : Bloomsbury, 2017. | Series: Butterfly wishes ; 1

  Summary: Just after sisters Addie and Clara move to the country, they discover magical butterflies called Wishing Wings that need their help to lift a dark enchantment.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2017007247 (print) | LCCN 2017033801 (e-book)

  ISBN: 978-1-6811-9491-2 (HB)

  ISBN: 978-1-6811-9371-7 (PB)

  ISBN: 978-1-6811-9372-4 (eBook)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Butterflies—Fiction. | Wishes—Fiction. | Magic—Fiction. | Sisters—Fiction. | Moving, Household—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.C268732 Wis 2017 (print) | LCC PZ7.C268732 (e-book) DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017007247

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