Another group of witches marched past. The eyes carved into their wooden masks glowed an eerie green. One of them approached, swishing a broom over the feet of the people in the first row, while his—or her—other hand slowly reached into one of the two canvas bags strapped to the costume.

Anja ducked behind Susanne’s back and grinned triumphantly. Finally, Susanne, who so far hadn’t been hit by a single bit of confetti, would get her share of it.

But when the witch’s hand reappeared, it held a piece of candy instead. “For you,” a female voice came from behind the mask. She knelt and offered it to the little girl, who took it and then ducked behind her mother.

Susanne laughed. The sound vibrated through Anja since she was still holding on to her hips.

The witch rose and stood toe-to-toe with Susanne.

Anja held her breath. She knew there was nothing to fear; the practical jokes were all in good fun. But suddenly, a wave of protectiveness swept over her and she regretted putting Susanne in the line of fire.

Susanne stood without squirming, staring into the glowing green eyes.

The witch reached into the other bag and pulled out a handful of pink confetti.

Anja tried to drag Susanne back, but with the crowd surrounding them, there was nowhere to go.

The sorceress took a step forward. Instead of tossing the confetti at Susanne, the gloved hand reached around her and deposited it on Anja’s head.

“Hey!” A bit of confetti trickled into her collar, making her hunch her shoulders.

The witch tapped her long, wooden nose as if to mock Anja and continued on her merry way.

Anja shook herself like a dog trying to get rid of fleas, but that only dislodged more confetti from her head and made it slide down her back. “Why me again?”

Susanne’s laughter, loud and unrestrained, drowned out the drums and trumpets for a moment. “Well, you love paper, so…”

Anja pulled a bit of confetti from her hair and flicked it at her. “I love it on my desk, not in my hair.”

Another witch approached, but this one sidestepped Susanne too and tossed confetti at the person next to her.

“See?” Susanne grinned. “They’re scared of me.”

“Oh yeah? Well, I’m not.” Two quick steps, then Anja reached into the witch’s bag, pulled out a handful of confetti, and dragged Susanne down by her unbuttoned coat. Without pausing to think about what she was doing, she stuffed it into Susanne’s collar.

Her knuckles brushed the warm skin on Susanne’s upper chest.

Anja froze. Oh my God. I’ve got my hand down her shirt.

Susanne stood without moving, not backing away. Her pupils were wide as she stared at Anja.

“Uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to, um…” Anja withdrew her hand and let go of Susanne’s coat.