by TJ Green
Briar smiled. "Well done. That's quite an achievement."
"Or an absolute nightmare, depending on the moment," he confessed. He looked tired, Avery noticed, now that she was sitting closer to him. He wasn't as cleanly shaven as usual, and dark shadows circled his eyes.
Avery shifted in her seat and faced him. "Has something happened?"
Newton looked up, his eyes haunted. "Well, the word vampire won't go away, and my superiors have decided it's something we can't ignore." He shuffled uncomfortably. "I know that I've joked about this, but they really do want me to investigate any deaths that look remotely paranormal. This latest debacle has forced their hand."
They all paused, forks lifted halfway to lips, but Alex spoke first. "Is that a good or a bad thing?"
He sighed. "I don't know. If you guys are remotely involved, it could be bad, but obviously I'll try and keep you out of it."
"But we're never involved in deaths," El pointed out, indignant. "We're the good guys."
"Well, I know that, but they don't. And frankly, it's hard to explain away magic without me sounding like a fruit loop."
The witches looked at each other furtively, and Avery said, "Thank you. We want to be kept out of things as much as possible."
Reuben waved his fork. "Do you mean they really believe the deaths were caused by vampires, and it wasn't someone playing a sick prank?"
Newton exhaled heavily. "Initially it was thought to be a joke, and for a while people laughed it off, but not anymore. With the marks on the victims' necks, the blood loss, and what happened at the Coroner's office, everyone had to take it seriously. My superiors consulted with some bigger town divisions, and what they heard made them reconsider their position." He looked at Avery. "What James said to you was pretty much what the police said, you know, about vampire activity being more easily disguised in a big city environment. So, yes, they are being considered as a probable perpetrator in these deaths. And the presence of ashes as remains supports that theory."
Avery looked down at her plate as she remembered when they burned Lupescu, and when the sunlight spell destroyed the vampires in the main cave. All of a sudden, her appetite retreated. They may have been vampires, but it was a horrible thing to have done.
Newton continued, "That leaves us in an unusual situation in that we've had a few big city activities we wouldn't normally see in little ol' Cornwall, and that has raised suspicion. At least no one knows we have seven Nephilim and a fey living here as well."
Alex frowned. "Does this mean there are other paranormal activities going on out there that we don't know about?"
Newton's grey eyes darkened. "Outside of Cornwall? Yes, without a doubt. Which leads to my next subject. The Crossroads Circus is coming to town, and I need a favour." His eyes scanned them, gauging their reaction.
El groaned. "Don't let it be bad! I'm making a Crossroads Collection."
Avery's stomach sank. "What's wrong with the circus? We were talking about that today."
His lips pressed into a thin line. "I don't know yet. That's what I want you to find out."
Reuben leaned forward. "Something must have happened."
"We've been advised that strange occurrences seem to follow the circus. It could just be a coincidence, or---" he spread his hands wide. "It might actually be something. You're the best people I know to find out."
Alex glanced at Avery before he spoke. "But how do you get around asking us? I mean, what happens if we find something? I presume we don't come into it?"
"Absolutely not," Newton said, shaking his head vehemently. "You just tell me what you find, as you've done before. And of course, we'll be keeping a close eye on them anyway."
"Your friend, Officer Moore, has seen us show up a few times. What does he know about us?" asked Reuben.
"Rob? He knows that you have occult interests and that's why I consult you sometimes. But he's quiet and discrete, and I trust him."
"He's beyond quiet!" El exclaimed. "He's utterly silent. I've never heard him speak at all."
Newton grunted as he forked some more chicken biryani onto his plate. "He speaks when he needs to. He likes you lot, actually."
Avery was surprised. Most of the time, it seemed as if he barely noticed them. It looked like no one else expected to hear that either, as they all looked puzzled.
Alex brought them back to the subject. "You said, 'strange occurrences.' We need more than that, and I presume it needs to be more than that to trigger a police investigation."
"True," he admitted, "which is why this is nothing as formal as an investigation. There are no grounds for one quite yet. There have been a few disappearances---but there are always disappearances, you know that. However, a body was found on the outskirts of the last town they visited, just outside Torquay in Devon. There was no obvious cause of death, the person was young, and there were no signs of drug or alcohol use, and no visible injuries." Newton sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "But the post-mortem report showed his organs were old, too old for his body. Atrophied and withered."
A trickle of fear ran through Avery. Atrophied organs?
Alex said, "That is weird. But why connect that to the circus?"
"Because some bright spark decided to look at where the circus had been and see if anything else had shown up. And something did." He paused for a moment and took a slug of beer. "That's when we found out that at intermittent points on their tour, the same thing has happened. Not every stop---they have been working their way down the country since September---but at least one in three. All found with atrophied organs, all young men, and all with no reason to be dead."
Briar's hand flew to her mouth. "That's horrible. What could do such a thing?"
Newton shrugged. "We have no idea."
"But there's nothing to link the deaths to the circus at this stage?" Reuben asked.
"No. There is nothing to link the deaths to anyone or anything!" He looked frustrated, and he rubbed his stubble before leaning back in his chair and pushing his plate away.
Avery shook her head, incredulous. "But surely you're too busy to look into this? You're still following up the vampire deaths."
"Well, technically there's no investigation to complete. Yes, we're trying to match bodies to victims and find existing family members, but I'm not looking for the perpetrator, am I? He's dead. While the press have been all over this, we've essentially said the killer is a man with a vampire fixation, and he was found dead at the scene, burnt in some freak accident. They've run with it. We're going to have to release a name soon, so we'll probably use one of the victims."
Avery had followed the early news reports before it had depressed her, and had been relieved to know that they were reporting it was a freak and not an actual vampire. The whole thing was turning into a sort of Jack the Ripper-type affair. No one knew who the offender was, but the press kept speculating.
"What about the two girls that we found?" Avery asked. "Have they remembered details?"
"No, and that's a good thing," Newton said, obviously relieved. "As you know, one of them, Alice, was barely alive at the time. She's made a good recovery since then, physically, but mentally---" He shook his head. "She remembers darkness, shadows, pain, cold, thirst, and starvation. The second one, Daisy, who Lupescu had just taken, she remembers someone attacking her from behind, and that's it. She spoke to the press, briefly, and that's all she told them. She just wants to be left alone now, to get on with her life, poor kid."
"Let's hope they both make a good recovery," Avery said, her mind a jumble of thoughts. "Are you saying that the police, your colleagues, now believe in vampires?"
"A small group of us do. The rest believe what the press are saying. I'm now the head of a small paranormal division. There's me, Moore, a detective called Walker, and my boss. It's very under the radar."
Reuben snorted. "Like black ops? That's seriously cool!"
Newton just stared at him. "Not so cool if you ask me, I'd rather they give the j
ob to someone else."
Avery started to feel very uncomfortable. "I know we've talked about this, but just to come back to it again---how honest are you being?"
Newton's grey eyes met hers. "I'm going to be reasonably honest about everything except you five, and the Cornwall Coven, obviously. As for the rest, I have no choice. These things that have been cropping up cannot be ignored."
"By things," El asked, "you mean the strange behaviour of the men down on the beach with the mermaids, in the storm? And the events at Old Haven Church at Samhain?"
Newton nodded. "Yes, but not the deaths at All Souls and the other churches when the Nephilim arrived. There's still no solution to those, and that's how it will remain. I can keep them out of the paranormal bracket. They were violent deaths, easy enough to explain. But the latest stuff, impossible! My boss on this is perceptive and open-minded. A dangerous combination."
"Where are you based?" Reuben asked.
"At the station in Truro. Our main office, where the Major Crime Investigation sits, is in Newquay, but I've always been based in Truro. We've been given our own office there. I think they like us out of the way of the main team. I'll still investigate normal murders---if you'll forgive the word---but I'll get the weird stuff, too."
Reuben looked suspicious. "And what's the new guy seem like? I mean, does he have paranormal experience?"
"Woman, actually," Newton corrected him. "I've only just met her. She's come from Major Crimes, too. She seems a bit intense, but open-minded. Let's face it, you have to be to investigate this stuff."
El stood and started to clear the plates, and Alex helped her, but Avery remained seated, thinking. "So, this circus mystery, this is something your paranormal team are investigating? No one else?"
"No one else," he parroted. "And, as I said, it's not even a proper investigation, it's just something that's on our radar. With luck, the circus will leave and nothing will happen."
"Where do they go after us?" Reuben asked.
"Further south---Penzance. Final show before they take a break." He rubbed his jaw absently again. "If there is something going on and they're connected to these deaths, and we don't find out who's responsible, they'll disappear for months, or even go abroad, and we might not have the chance to investigate anytime soon."
"And potentially, people will start dying again, elsewhere," Briar pointed out. "So, we have to find out if they're responsible, quickly."
"Happy to help?" Newton asked them.
"Of course," Avery said, answering for all of them, wondering what on earth they were getting themselves into. "Have you got some background on any of the people there?"
"Just coming to it," he said, pulling his notebook from his pocket. "I'll start with the owner, or rather the main owner. His name is Corbin Roberts. He took the circus over from his father. It's been in the family for years, travelling a lot in Europe. It was just a regular circus then. However in the last few years they've been struggling financially, and Corbin has had to find new backers. He's 55 and seems a straight-up guy who runs an honest business.
"For years, Corbin co-owned the circus with a man called Alec Jensen, but he bailed out last year, and within months Corbin teamed up with a younger married couple, Rafe and Mairi Stewart, who are Scottish, originally from Inverness. They were with another circus for a while, but not as co-owners, just managers."
"So this couple invested money?" Reuben asked.
"Yep, and must be responsible for the new direction the circus has taken, because in the summer last year the entire circus headed to the shores of Loch Ness, outside Inverness. I've checked the dates. They didn't have any performances for about three months, and when they re-emerged, they were called the Crossroads Circus."
Briar picked at her naan bread while she listened. "Interesting name. It has all sorts of connotations, especially with boundary magic."
Avery nodded. "Just what we were talking about in my shop. Perfect for their theme."
Alex called over from the kitchen, "Anything suspicious about Rafe and Mairi?"
"Nothing," Newton answered. "Mairi has family in Inverness, Rafe doesn't. But again, there's nothing suspicious about them. I've done background checks on the performers, but to be honest, there are a lot of them. It's a big circus. Again, some of the performers have been with Corbin for years, others are new, and joined them in the summer." He shook his head, puzzled. "They must have been confident of the new show to take on more performers when they were struggling. They are from the UK and all over Europe, with diverse backgrounds. A few convictions for fighting for some of them, speeding tickets, but again nothing too dramatic."
"So no one we should focus on in particular," Briar observed. "That makes it tricky."
Reuben cracked open another beer. "I take it that there were no deaths associated with the circus before, though? Not in Europe?"
Newton loosened his collar. "That's trickier. Not that we know of, but to track all over Europe would be a nightmare, especially based on so little information. We don't think so."
El joined them again after finishing the tidying up. "So, in theory, whoever is responsible is new."
"In theory," Newton agreed. He reached into his pocket and fished some papers out, covered in a list of names. "I wish I could tell you more, but I've got the list of employees here. If you find someone suspicious you think we should focus on, let me know."
"Let's just hope you're wrong," Avery said to him. "I was looking forward to some peace, but I guess we need to start investigating them soon."
"The sooner the better."
"Let's go tomorrow night," Reuben suggested. "We'll wear full Ninja-witch gear. I like feeling like I'm in special ops. We'll meet down the lane, out of sight." He rubbed his hands together in happy anticipation. "I can't wait!"
3
Halfway through the next morning, Avery left Happenstance Books to buy coffees and pastries from their favourite place just down the road, when she heard shouts, drumming, and the sound of wild piping coming from the centre of town.
Curious, she walked to the high street that snaked down to the sea, and paused to watch the spectacle. Some of the performers from the Crossroads Circus had arrived to promote their show, and they capered down the pavement in their bright costumes. They reminded Avery of their own Yule Solstice parade.
There were about a dozen people, led by a man in a green costume covered in leaves, with a big nest of leaves and twigs on his head. His face was painted green, he carried a staff crowned with leaves, and his boots were made of sturdy brown leather. Avery presumed he was the mythical Green Man, the pagan symbol of fertility and rebirth. He was grinning and waving at the pedestrians, shouting about the opening of the circus. He caught Avery watching and waved, and she laughed, his enthusiasm infectious.
Behind him were a couple of drummers, dressed in shades of green and brown, their hair wild and uncombed, and a piper followed them, skipping, in a jester's costume. A couple of slender acrobats dressed in the skimpiest of Lycra costumes tumbled down the street, doing hand stands, flips, and cartwheels.
A woman trailed behind the acrobats, wearing a long, shimmering blue dress, medieval in design, and she carried a huge sword in her hand. She shouted, "Come meet the true king! Arthur has returned." It could only be the Lady of the Lake.
By her side was a woman dressed completely in straw and corn, a braid of corn around her face. Was she a corn doll, to celebrate Imbolc? Avery wasn't sure. And finally two men followed breathing fire, and wearing costumes covered in scales, in bright yellow and reds. Dragons, perhaps. One thing was certain---they were all causing a stir. They handed out leaflets, running in and out of shops, and shouting in cackling voices as they entertained the onlookers.
Avery was ready to return to the coffee shop when another woman caught her eye. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, with long, wavy auburn hair, and she wore a mixture of loose clothing in earth colours. The woman paused on the pavement, transfixed as she looked
at Avery, and as their eyes locked, Avery felt the strangest sensation, as if she'd been seen completely, inside and out, before the woman broke their connection and continued down the street without a backward glance.
Avery shuddered. What was that? As she turned away, slightly flustered, she stumbled into the broad chest of man dressed in dark grey and black. He righted her, his hands on her arms, and she was acutely aware of his steely grip. He glanced at her, his eyes narrowing, before he looked over her shoulder to the woman with the auburn hair. He nodded, and muttered a brief, "Excuse me," before hurrying on down the road. Avery watched as his long stride carried him out of sight.
When she returned to the shop, Dan and Sally were behind the till, talking quietly. Dan was distracted, and he leaned on the counter, looking through a book as they chatted. A Blues album was playing in the background, and the shop felt mellow and welcoming. He looked up. "Finally! I thought you'd forgotten us." His appetite was almost as legendary as Reuben's.
Sally rolled her eyes. "You weren't gone that long, Avery, don't worry."
Avery set the coffees down and pulled an almond croissant out of the bag for herself, before passing it to Dan. "Sorry, I was distracted by the mini-parade. The circus is drumming up trade on the high street."
"Really? Does it look good?" Dan asked.
"The costumes were great. I saw the Green Man and the Lady of the Lake, and there were some fire-breathing men dressed as dragons. I think the acrobats were dryads---they were very energetic. It's a good thing it's warmed up a bit, they weren't wearing much." She paused for a bite of croissant, spilling crumbs over the counter.
Sally watched her over the rim of her coffee cup. "What aren't you saying? You look odd." Sally was surprisingly perceptive.
"There was a woman behind the procession, and she sort of made eye contact with me, and it was the strangest sensation. I felt like she saw right through me and knew everything about me. It was spooky."