Oh, hang on. I took down my mind shield. “Cool. I’m ready.” I shut my eyes so I could better concentrate. James’s intricate golden signature appeared in my mind. It was all loopy squiggles on the outside, becoming denser as it moved into the middle so that in the centre, it looked as if a three-year-old had attacked a piece of paper with lots of energy and no finesse. I took a mental photograph of it and opened my eyes. “Thanks.” I redid my thought-protection bubble. It had finally become a habit. I hadn’t had any mortifying mind-reading incidents for weeks.
James looked into my eyes. “It’s time to go. I have to get back to an investigation. If I’m gone much longer, word might get back to Dana. She hasn’t got control of everyone, but I’m sure she’s got enough eyes and ears out there. It would be the normal thing for anyone wanting to take over. I’ll let you know when I have news. But stay safe. Okay? And don’t forget: I love you. I will never side with anyone against you.” He enveloped me in a hug.
“Thanks. You be careful too.” I blinked back tears. To know my brother still loved me meant everything.
He pulled away, and we walked to the toilets.
As I stepped into the cubicle, I wondered how long it would be till I saw him again. I knew there was going to be a lot of angst between now and then. I just hoped when everything was over, it went our way, because if it didn’t, the world was going to be a much crappier place.
I would just have to make sure we won. Or die trying.
Chapter 8
Later in the afternoon, while I was reading a book on my iPad—I figured I needed some time out, and I felt safest in my locked bedroom—a knock sounded on my door. Olivia’s tentative voice said, “Lily, are you in there?” She sounded normal, thank God.
I got up and stood next to the door. “Is that normal Olivia asking or psycho Olivia?”
“Normal, apologetic, bad-friend Olivia. I’m so sorry, Lily. Can I come in?”
I opened the door to her sad face.
“Hey. What happened?” The right thing to do to make her feel better would be to give her a hug, but the part of my brain that was into self-preservation made me stand back.
“After you left, Angelica came home.”
Oh, crap. If she’d known I was out, she would have told Dana.
What I was thinking must have been on my face because Olivia gently placed her hand on my arm. “It’s okay. I told Angelica you were asleep, that you didn’t feel well after what happened at the meeting.”
“Oh my God. Thank you!” This time I ignored my brain and hugged her. “Why don’t we continue this conversation in your room?” I wanted to stay away from my phone, but I’d explain that to her when we were out of earshot of my electronics.
“Okay, sure.” She led the way into her bedroom and sat on her bed.
I looked around her room. I found what I wanted on her desk. I picked up her phone and put my finger against my lips in a shushing gesture. She nodded. I ducked back to my room and left her phone there before returning and shutting her door. I made a bubble of silence, then sat next to her. I sighed. “Okay, we’re secure. We can talk.”
“What was that about?”
“I’m pretty sure Dana’s listening in. At the very least, she’s bugged my phone so she can track where I am. While you were asleep”—I smiled sheepishly. Yes, I’d put her to sleep for a good reason, but still, it was weird—“I met up with James.”
“Oh my goodness. That’s awesome! What did he say?”
“He definitely hasn’t been taken over by Dana. He was going along with everything so he could work out what was going on. We can’t trust Millicent, though.”
Her face fell. “Oh. That’s terrible.”
I nodded. “Anyway, he told me to check my phone for tampering. When I came home and looked at my phone with my third eye, I found a symbol, which I magicked onto a piece of paper and sent to James. He confirmed it’s a spying bug. As well as tracking me, she can listen to my conversations if the phone is within hearing distance. She may have bugged your phone somehow too. Although, since you’ve never met her, it’s less likely. I don’t think you can put magic on something you can’t see.”
“Yes, but what if she got Angelica to do something to my phone?”
Crap. She made a good point. “It’s possible.” Argh, could this day get any more depressing? I should not be asking that question and tempting fate. “I’ll test your phone later, but we can’t unbug it because she’ll know. We’ll just go along with it and feed her fake information.”
Olivia grinned. “Ooh, I like the sound of that.”
I smiled. Giving her the runaround could be fun, but then I remembered she’d take any aggravation out on those I cared about. Repeat after me, Lily. I should not poke the piranha. I should not poke the piranha. “So… what happened yesterday? Was it something you ate or drank, or did you just get angry all of a sudden?”
She blushed. “Ah… I really am sorry. I wonder if I should just be locked up for a week or something, make sure I’m really over it.”
“I know you’re sorry, Liv. It wasn’t even your fault. If we want to stop it from happening again, I need to know how it happened.”
“I didn’t go anywhere, I swear. I wasn’t even going to have anything. After you left, I went and turned on the TV downstairs. About five minutes later, Angelica came home with two cups of tea—one for her, one for me—and a coffee for you. She said she wanted to apologise for what happened in the meeting.”
Colour me sceptical, but I bet Angelica hadn’t come up with the idea herself. This was worrying, though. It meant we weren’t safe, even at home. Dana had a minion who lived on the inside to do her bidding. Crap. “And you drank the tea?”
“Yes, obviously.”
“Where’s the cup?”
“In the bin in the kitchen.”
I jumped up and hurried down the stairs, taking them two at a time. In the kitchen, I went straight to the cupboard under the sink, where we had a small bin we emptied every day or two.
Empty. Damn!
The next stop was the big bin outside—the one the council emptied each week.
It sat to the right of the front door, about five metres away, behind a hedge—it wouldn’t do to have visitors seeing the garbage bin. It came up to just below my chest, so if it were only half full, I was going to have to lean into it. I swallowed before flipping the lid open.
My heavy sigh contained as much drama as I could muster. The bin was only half full. I fake cried.
“What’s wrong?” Olivia had found me and joined me at the bin.
“I’m going to have to go through the bin. Gross.”
“This is all my fault. I’ll do it.” She moved to get past me to the bin opening.
“No! It’s not your fault. This is all stupid Witchface. I’m not holding anyone else accountable. Angelica is going to flip when she finds out what happened. I would not want to be Witchface then, but I do want to watch.” I smirked. Oh, the things Angelica would do. The crap was totally going to hit the fan, and I couldn’t wait. Realising this gave me extra incentive to go through the bin. I conjured the rubber gloves from the laundry, and they appeared on my hands.
“Nice trick.” Olivia smiled. “I wish I was a, you know. Can you become one, or do you have to be born into it?”
“You have to be born into it, but trust me, it’s not all that great. My life has pretty much gone to hell because of it. I’d much rather I was back in Sydney in ignorance of it. The only good thing to come of me being here is meeting you, seeing my brother and Millicent, and getting to know Angelica, Beren, and Sarah.”
She grinned. “I think you left someone out.”
“Oh, did I? Whoever could that be?” I rolled my eyes. “Oh, look. I have garbage to go through.” I turned and held my breath while I peered in. Surely it would be on the top since it would have been in the last lot of rubbish to be tipped in there. “Is that it?” Thankfully, the two takeaway cups were only half buried. Fingers
crossed one was hers.
She looked in. “Yes. That looks like them.”
I stepped away from the rubbish, took a deep breath, and held it. I leaned in and snatched the two cups out. I’d be sad if neither of them was the right cup—Olivia had mentioned Angelica had also come bearing coffee.
“What kind of tea was it?”
“Mine was Earl Grey. I don’t know what hers was.”
I screwed up my face. I did not want to smell those cups, but it had to be done. “Okay. I’m going in.” I lifted them to my nose, one at a time. They smelled like Earl Grey tea and rotting vegetables. I gagged. “I think they’re both Earl Grey. Can you check?” Why should I have all the fun?
Olivia’s expression left no doubt in my mind that this was about as appealing to her as realising you’ve stepped in dog poo. “Do you really need me to do this?”
“Yes. I’m pretty sure I know what Earl Grey smells like, but I could be wrong, and since you drink it all the time, it would be sensible for me to get your opinion. Plus, you should really know my pain.” I smirked.
“Ha ha, very funny. But you’re right.” She stared at the cups for a moment before giving me the nod. I lifted them to her nose. She sniffed one, then the other, and turned her head. “Argh, gross. I think you may have ruined Earl Grey tea for me forever.”
“So it is?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks. You’re awesome.”
“I try.” She smiled and shook her head.
We went back inside to the kitchen sink. I put the cups in there and magicked the grimoire down. After reading through the same spell as yesterday, I created my magnifying glass. I didn’t bother with the imaginary paper, as there would be no symbol to find.
“Oh my God. Did you just make that out of magic?” Olivia’s eyes were huge.
“Yes, I did. Cool, huh?”
“Way cool.” She smiled.
There was pretty much nothing left in the cups, except the stench of decay, so it would be a miracle if I found traces of golden energy. If the magic had any kind of intelligence, it would not be hanging out in those cups. Nevertheless, I positioned my magnifying glass over the first cup. Were those little glittery things? I bent my face closer and squinted. It didn’t really help to squint. Why did everyone think it did? It was actually worse as my eyelashes got in the way.
I slid my magical construct over the other cup. Yep, there were definitely traces of power. I’d love to bag them and send them to James, but someone would be sure to see them—they weren’t just little pieces of paper I could send straight to his pocket. I released the stream of power, and my magnifying glass disappeared.
Olivia was watching me. “And?”
I contained us in a bubble of silence. “There are traces of magic in both. The spell doesn’t work on witches, so Dana didn’t bother making a special cup.”
“Are you sure it was Dana and not an accident? What if it was Angelica?” Her brow wrinkled, and she bit her bottom lip.
My stomach dropped. To think Angelica would endanger our lives like that was too much to process. “Pretty sure. Angelica probably told her what had happened with you and me the other day, and she’s decided since I’m stuck at home, to make my life as terrible as possible. And that’s the first time Angelica has brought us hot beverages out of the blue. Also, if Angelica did think of it herself, we know someone else was behind her thoughts. I won’t ever believe Angelica would hurt either of us intentionally.”
“True. So, what now?”
“I’m going to throw these back in the bin. There’s no point keeping them for evidence because the traces of magic will disappear soon, and I can’t send them to James without blowing his cover. But at least we know. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to stop drinking tea until this is all over.”
Her eyes widened, horror shining from their depths. “You can’t ask me to do that. Can we just get some from somewhere else that doesn’t have contaminated tea?”
“Ah, yes, we can.” Why didn’t I think of that? I really was stupid sometimes. “To be safe, maybe go to Scotland or something.” I laughed, but I wasn’t really joking.
“I was thinking more of London. The violence hasn’t reached there yet. I’ll catch the train because I’ve got study to do. I’ve lost a lot of time sleeping lately.” She raised a brow and put her hands on her hips.
“Yeah, yeah, but would you rather have a dead friend?”
She sobered at that, and her hands dropped to her sides. “No. I’m sorry. This whole thing’s been horrible.”
“And it’s worse standing here smelling garbage. I’m going to put these back.” I took the cups and threw them away. Then I went inside, washed the gloves, and put them back under the sink. Olivia was making herself a cheese sandwich.
Something she’d said bothered me. That one word: yet. We didn’t know who was truly behind these, for want of a better word, poisonings, so their motivation was a mystery. Dana may be part of it, but I highly doubted she was the only one involved. What if they were just getting started with Westerham? What if London would soon suffer the same fate? My stomach dropped as I envisioned the worst-case scenario. Utter disaster. What if Westerham was a test for rolling this out to the rest of the world? Obviously tea wouldn’t reach as many people elsewhere, but coffee and all sorts of other popular drinks both hot and cold could be targeted.
I dropped into a dining chair. Olivia finished making her sandwich and sat opposite me. “What’s wrong?”
“What if whoever’s doing this doesn’t stop at Westerham and Kent?”
The blood drained from her face. “Oh dear.”
“Oh dear, indeed.”
Chapter 9
That evening, as I was readying for bed and brushing my teeth in the main bathroom, Angelica appeared at the door. I froze and looked at her through the mirror. She was holding onto the doorframe, and her cheeks were flushed. She didn’t look well. I hadn’t been sure what to expect when I finally saw her, but this wasn’t it. There were even a few tendrils of hair loose from her bun, and that never happened.
I turned around. “Are you all right?”
She looked at me, confused. “Lily?”
I wrinkled my forehead. Was she kidding? “Yes, it’s me. Are you sick?”
“Yes. I don’t feel well at all. I’m dizzy and have a headache. I may even have a temperature.”
“Do you want help getting to your room?”
“Yes, I think so. Thank you.”
I spat the toothpaste in the sink and rinsed my mouth. Then I helped her downstairs and to her room. She sat on the bed and placed a hand on her forehead.
I gazed around her spotless bedroom, wondering if I should offer to help her change. It was awkward. I wasn’t used to seeing her like this, and I knew she wasn’t used to asking for help. Had Dana’s tampering with her mind injured her? Or had Dana put something in the tea that would affect her? I stopped staring out the window at her back garden and fields beyond. As embarrassed as she would probably be when she had her right mind back, she needed my help now. Feeling uncomfortable wasn’t going to help.
“Do you need me to help you change for bed?”
“Ah, no. I think I can manage.” Her normally strong voice was meek, uncertain.
“Where do you keep your pyjamas?”
“That drawer over there.” She pointed to her built-in wardrobe. I opened the door she’d pointed at. “The second drawer from the top.”
I opened it and pulled out a pair of short-sleeved blue ones with knee-length pants. I held them up for her to see. “Are these okay?”
“Yes, thank you, dear.”
I handed them to her. She stared at me, her brow furrowed.
“Do you need anything else? Would you like me to call Beren?” I wasn’t sure what the protocol was for ill witches. Would a normal doctor be fine, or did they need a witch doctor? And not the tribal kind. Beren was an exceptional healer, and he could probably help.
“I
don’t think so. A good night’s rest is all I need. I haven’t slept for two days.” That’d do it. “So much work to do. I would have stayed at work, but Agent Lam sent me home. Dana is such a treasure. She’ll be running the PIB one day. It will be wonderful to have a woman in charge.”
I practiced my poker face, but in her state, she likely wouldn’t notice my shock or disdain. Whatever Dana had done to her had really messed her up. I’d never seen her so, well, old and subservient. She was behaving like a ninety-year-old, not someone in their fifties. I mean, the Angelica I knew would never be sent home by anyone. The concept was almost unthinkable. And even though she’d never said she wanted a promotion, I’d always assumed she was next in line whenever Drake left. “Are you sure you’re fine to get changed?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Okay, but if you need anything, let me know.”
“Certainly, but I don’t trust you, truth be told. I’d feel better if you left now.”
Had someone just stabbed me in the heart with a knitting needle? Because it sure felt like it. I bit my tongue against the tears that wanted out. Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded and left, closing the door quietly behind me.
Anger sizzled through my body. I swear I heard it crackling in the air around me. Bloody Agent Lam. Why did she hate me so much? First she wanted me away from Will. Then it was out of the PIB. Now she wanted everyone I cared about to hate me too. I must pose some kind of danger to her. Okay, so I wasn’t hypnotisable. That made me a small threat, but since no one was listening to me, how was that going to harm her? Unless…
Unless I was way more powerful than I thought. She knew something I didn’t. Ah, the irony. She wanted to know my secret, yet she knew a secret about me that I didn’t. But what, and how? Had William told her about my ability to photograph past events? Maybe she knew about that, but she thought there was also a different secret?
Argh! I couldn’t stand in the corridor all night and guess, because one thing was for sure. Time was becoming critical. She’d effectively just gotten rid of Angelica, and I’d bet that whatever she’d done to her was going to last more than another day. If she was going to make a move for the top job, it was going to happen soon. Not that I cared what happened at the PIB, except that if she was running things, the whole of the UK was in trouble. She’d be more likely to collude with the criminals than put them away. Would she put me in jail on trumped-up charges?
Witchslapped in Westerham Page 10