Author's note: I had no idea people were still reading this story! My other projects are on pause for the time being, so I think I'll be able to finish this one before Halloween.

"Well?"

Every muscle in Justin's body tensed when his sister spoke again. "I'm trying to figure it out! What did I tell Mom and Dad before we left? That I was coming along to clean up your magic. What am I doing? Trying to help you clean up my magic!"

Alex rolled her eyes. "There will be time to beat yourself up about this when we get home; right now, we have three children-stealing witches to deal with."

Her brother let out a humph. "They said that this isn't the first time they've come back. You know what would really help? Someone who's dealt with the Sanderson Sisters before."

They all jumped when the door to the house opened again, this time, by the tour guide Alex and Harper had met, along with a teenager holding a black cat. The older woman stepped across the threshold and took everything in, especially the burning candle. "Which one of you lit it?" Eyes wide, everyone pointed at Justin (who was, incidentally, pointing to himself).

They jumped again when the cat jumped to the floor and then up on a table. "Welcome to the club. I'm Max; this is Allison, and Dani. I was the one who lit the candle last time."

Harper frowned. "Okay, I've been a lot of weird places and seen a lot of weird things, but did that cat just talk?"

The former human licked his lips. "Yes. I used to be human, but the Sanderson Sisters turned me into a cat. This isn't the first time this has happened."

Alex put up a finger. "Okay, so if this has all happened before, shouldn't it be really easy to stop them this time?"

Allison's lips pursed. "Not necessarily. They know that we know they're back, and they also know that we stopped them last time. If their plan hasn't changed, the way they'll go about it will."

The female wizard crossed her arms. "And what is that plan?"

Max's tail swished. "To steal enough life from children to come back for good. The good thing is that if they don't do that by the time the candle's spent, they disappear."

Harper frowned. "Wait, didn't you think about putting the candle away after this happened the last time?"

Dani let out a sigh. "We were under the impression that a melted candle meant no more witches. Speaking of which, how did the candle get lit again in the first place?"

Alex slowly rotated her head to look at her brother. "Yeah, Justin, how did that happen? Maybe because you lit it with your wand?"

Justin's eyes went wide. "Alex! They don't know we're wizards!"

She rolled her eyes again. "Come on. They've defeated witches who, incidentally, use magic." Shooting him a look when he opened his mouth to speak, she turned back to the new/old-comers. "We're wizards, except for Harper. We can use magic."

Dani smiled. "This is good."

"Hey, they didn't take their book." Everyone turned to look at the youngest Russo. "I haven't said anything in a while."

Alex took a deep breath. "Okay, so what are we going to do? What did the three of you do last time?"

Allison looked upward. "We tried taking their book, but all we could really do is stall them until sunrise which," she looked at her watch, "isn't for another seven hours."

Justin crossed his arms. "Wait, isn't there a big Halloween party going on tonight?"

Dani nodded. "We can't let them curse the town again. Do the three of you think you can hold them off?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "A chance to do magic in public in front of people, you say?" She slipped the wand from her garter and raised it, making the tip spark. "Don't mind if we do! Take us to town hall."

Author's parting note: I don't normally do such short chapters, but I've found that after a long hiatus, it helps to keep the story cohesive (and makes it much easier to write). Enjoy!