by TJ Green
He paused, too. "I think so, but I can't see a damn thing. Dylan, Ben? What do you think?"
Ben's voice was tight with worry. "I don't know where we are, but we're heading uphill, so we must be going the right way."
"Let's stay close together," Dylan suggested. "No wandering off!"
They trudged onwards, and the field seemed to go on forever. Alex gripped Avery's hand as they stumbled over uneven ground, and with unspoken agreement they quickened their pace. Suddenly, an unexpected wind rustled the grass beneath their feet, and the scent of loamy earth surrounded them, rich and overwhelming, almost cloying as it filled their nostrils.
They stopped again. "Feel that?" Alex asked Dylan and Ben.
They nodded and Ben said, "I can smell that."
"I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing," Alex admitted, perplexed. "Let's keep going."
They pushed on as the rustling sound and the smell of earth became more insistent, until Ben said in a panicked, whispered tone, "Why aren't we coming to a hedge? We should be at the boundary by now. We only crossed one sodding field."
"Things seem further when you can't see where you going," Avery said, trying to be logical in the face of increasing panic. She strengthened the protection spell, and as she did so, felt the unmistakable presence of the woman again. She suddenly started to doubt herself. Were they as protected as she thought? Was this a game? A ruse?
Avery's voice was strained. "I think we're being hunted."
"What?" Dylan hissed, whirling around.
"I can feel something stalking us---despite my spell," Avery said, almost stumbling over her words.
Alex squeezed her hand. "I feel something, too. We need to think smarter. I think we're being led astray. This smell of earth is bewildering, and the rustling all around us is misleading."
Avery thought of the spells she could say without needing her grimoire. "What about a finding spell on Ben's van?"
"Try it," Alex urged.
Avery turned to Ben. "Give me some of your hair and the keys."
Without question, Ben yanked a few strands free and placed them and his keys in Avery's hand. Trying to block out everything else, she said the spell, and within seconds a blue light appeared before them, and then set off across the grass, barely visible in the mist.
"It's going the wrong way, I'm sure," Dylan said, watching it go.
"Trust it. Go now!" Avery cried, and ignoring their instincts they virtually ran after it, stumbling and falling occasionally in their haste.
Avery could feel it now. Something was behind them, gaining ground, but just as Avery was prepared to turn and fight, they ran headlong into the break in the hedge, the van appearing in front of them. It beeped as Ben unlocked it, and he slid across the bonnet in his haste to get to the door. Dylan dove for the passenger door, and Alex and Avery threw themselves in the back. The doors were barely shut as Ben sped away, tires squealing.
Avery pressed her face to the glass, watching as another face manifested out of the swirling mist. She fell back in shock, but a wave of magic exploded from Alex's outstretched hand behind her, and he sent a spear of concentrated power at the mysterious entity. It exploded into fragments as Ben put distance between them.
"Anyone want to tell me what happened back there?" Dylan said, turning around in his seat to look at them. He sniffed his jacket. "I think I can still smell that composty stench."
Avery and Alex exchanged a troubled glance, and Avery said, "I think we were pursued by the Green Man, the Raven King, and the unknown woman. One of them was threatening us, and I'm not sure who it was."
"Me neither," Alex agreed.
Ben drove recklessly through the country lanes, glancing back at them to ask, "Just back up a moment. I thought the Raven King was just a costume, and the Green Man was the theme of the circus. How they can now be real?"
Alex spread his hands wide, shrugging. "We don't know, but Briar and Shadow are convinced the Green Man is here, courtesy of boundary magic, which must apply to the Raven King, too. And don't ask us how that works when the circus isn't on a crossroad either, we have no idea. I'm very confused right now."
"Essentially, you're saying something is bringing those myths to life?"
Avery nodded as she remembered what Rafe had said in the camper van only the night before. "And we know something is inhabiting someone and its hunger is growing, and it will hunt."
Alex looked at her, perplexed. "Did you feel that pulse of power, while we were sheltering under the castle wall? That feeling of pleasure that something had?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Maybe it already hunted. Maybe someone is already dead."
Ben groaned. "Bloody brilliant. Maybe we were next on the list. We were in the middle of that field, alone, unseen, and being shepherded away from safety, until you did that spell, Avery."
"But I had put a protection spell around us. Does that mean it was useless?"
"Maybe not," Alex said. "We're still here, aren't we?"
"But whatever it was, it was gaining ground on us. We all felt it."
"We need to hit the books again, soon," Alex suggested.
"Yes, that's a good idea. If you guys do pick up those cameras tomorrow," Avery said, "don't go alone."
Dylan laughed dryly. "You don't need to worry about that. We'll go early, as soon as it's light, and change the card and batteries. I'm betting circus folk aren't early risers."
"Don't take any chances!" Avery warned them.
"We won't, and with luck, the mist will cover us," Dylan said, as Ben pulled into the outskirts of White Haven and made his way to The Wayward Son.
"You two coming in for a drink?" Alex asked.
Ben twisted around in his seat as he stopped outside the pub. He still looked damp from the mist, and his hair was tousled. "I'd rather get home. Then I can have a hot shower and several stiff whiskeys."
"I hear that," Dylan agreed.
"All right," Alex nodded. "We'll be in touch. And stay safe."
6
"Whatever was chasing us somehow got through my protection spell," Avery murmured to Alex as they curled in bed, holding each other.
"Not true," he said, his warm breath tickling her ear. "It's not meant to hide us, not like your shadow spell. It did as it should---it protected us. Whatever was chasing us couldn't get close."
She snuggled against him. "I suppose you're right. But I did shield us earlier, when I felt that woman's presence in the field. She couldn't find us then."
"But then other things happened, and you probably dropped it unconsciously." He rolled on top of her, a forearm on either side of her head supporting his weight as he looked down at her. "I think it's a good thing they know we're watching. It might make them hesitate."
Her hand traced the contours of his face. "They didn't seem too worried to me. They chased us across the field. The Green Man was around us! It had to be him! I just wish I knew what it all meant."
"We'll work it out, we always do," he said before kissing her and leaving her breathless. "Now, I think we have better things to do than talk about that damn circus." And as his hand trailed down her body, Avery blocked out the night and their pursuers, focusing only on Alex, his touch, his lips, and the delicious heat spreading from her stomach.
Unfortunately, Avery didn't sleep easily. She dreamt that she was in the field again, and this time the mysterious pursuer was closer and Avery was alone. The mist was once again wrapped around her, and the rustling of the hedges and grass beneath her feet was vividly real. For a second she stood her ground, and then as she felt the strange presence grow closer, Avery ran as fast as she could, but she had no idea where she was running to. Something was close. She thought she heard breathing behind her, and a whisper of some undecipherable word, and she stumbled as something on the ground wrapped around her ankles. She fell heavily, her breath knocked out of her, and she felt the wet grass against her cheek and beneath her palms. She struggled to rise, but she couldn't get up. Something was smotherin
g her, suffocating her, and she tried to scream, but she couldn't do that, either.
She was going to die, and she couldn't summon her magic. She couldn't do anything. With a monumental effort she pushed her attacker away and her eyes flew open, and suddenly she was back in Alex's bedroom, sitting upright, eyes wide open.
Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she took some deep breaths. Alex was asleep at her side, oblivious to her panic. It was just a bad dream, she told herself. But she couldn't shake the ominous feeling the dream had brought with it, and she shuddered as she tried to go back to sleep.
When Avery woke the next morning, she smelt bacon, and she slipped out of bed and headed to the kitchen, pushing the strange dream of the night before to the back of her mind.
"You're cooking! Thank you."
Alex smiled, his hair tangled around his face and stubble creeping across his cheeks. He pushed a cup towards her across the counter. "My pleasure. Here's your coffee." He watched her for a second as she took a sip and said, "Have you ever considered if we should move in together? We're at each other's place most nights anyway."
She paused as she met his eyes, feeling a flush of pleasure. "I had, actually. But I guess it's tricky with us both living above where we work. And I have my cats, so..."
"You'd rather be at your place than mine." He smiled as he moved closer. "For the record, your place is bigger, as well as the fact that you have two cats, so it would make sense to me, too."
She grinned. "Are you saying you want to move into my place? Properly?"
"I guess so. Sound okay?"
"Sounds great," she said, a warm, fuzzy feeling filling her. "But your flat is gorgeous. What will you do with it? And all of your lovely furniture?"
"I'll keep it empty for now and we'll see how it goes. You never know," he teased her, "your mess might start to drive me insane."
"My mess!" she said, wanting to throw something at him. "I'm not messy. That much."
He laughed and kissed her. "You know you are. But that's okay. It's part of your charm. Now, let me finish breakfast, because we have somewhere to be."
"Where?"
His face fell and he became serious. "Newton just called. Someone found a body on the beach this morning. He wants us to look at it."
Last night's activities came flooding back to Avery. "Oh, no. It's not a natural death, then?"
"Maybe not. Get dressed, food will be ready in a few minutes."
***
The beach was silent, other than the steady lap of waves on the shore. The sea was oddly calm, but so was the weather. There wasn't a breath of wind, and although the mist had lifted slightly, there were still ribbons of it undulating across the sands and winding up the steep cliff face.
They were at the same beach where Avery had first met Caspian. A set of rickety wooden steps led from the car park on the hill to the beach below, and rock pools edged along the far side, under the cliff. Avery wrinkled her nose as she looked around, wondering what felt so different. And then it clicked.
It felt like early spring. Shadow was right about the Green Man's influence.
Avery and Alex reached the bottom of the steps together, and Newton walked over to join them, a woman next to him. She was in her mid-thirties and had olive skin and very dark hair, and she looked curiously at both of them. Avery felt uncomfortable under her direct gaze. It was something the police did well, and she assumed she had to be the new detective, Walker.
Newton greeted them. "Thanks for coming. This is DCI Inez Walker, the detective I was telling you about."
Inez shook their hands. "Good to meet you. Newton has told me how you help his investigations sometimes, although I feel he's not telling me everything." She gave Newton a long, sideways glance.
"This way," Newton said, not rising to the bait, "and wear these." He handed them plastic overshoes, watched while they put them on, and then walked over to the man's body, which was on the dry sand, just above the tide mark.
Officer Moore was a short distance away, watching them silently, and a dog sat next to a policeman who had it on a lead. It whined and pawed the ground, agitated.
Avery eyed it regretfully. "Is that the victim's dog?"
Newton sighed. "I'm afraid so. It seems they went for a late night walk and never came back. Someone jogging on the cliff path," he paused and pointed over their heads, "saw him lying here, and called it in."
Avery looked at the man at her feet. Other than being dead, he looked normal, nothing to indicate how he'd died. "Is there anything you want us to focus on?"
He shook his head. "Just see if you can detect any magic, or anything odd. The coroner will be here soon, and SOCO. I'll tell them that you two were here to consult. I was given clearance for it."
Avery thought she detected Inez flinch when Newton mentioned magic, but she recovered quickly. Alex had already crouched and he held his hands out above the body, so Avery sent her magic across the beach, trying to feel anything further afield. She shook her head. "I can't feel a thing," she said regretfully. "What about you, Alex?"
He looked up. "I sense a powerful type of energy I haven't felt before. You try."
She'd hoped to avoid this, but she crouched next to him, echoing his movements. He was right. "Yes, I feel it. It's like that oppressive power we felt last night."
Inez narrowed her eyes. "A power?"
Avery nodded. "Malevolent. Well, that's how it seemed to me."
Newton intervened. "Alex mentioned something has happened."
Avery rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Lots of weird things. We can tell you later. We might know more, too, if Dylan had success with the camera."
"Good. Can you narrow down this sense of oppression?" Newton asked. "Would you recognise it again?"
Alex and Avery exchanged glances, and Avery shrugged. "Probably."
"Good."
It looked as if Inez wanted to ask more questions, but the noise of cars from the car park above disturbed them.
"That will be the coroner," Newton said. "We'll see you later." And with that, they were dismissed, and Alex and Avery headed up the steps, aware of Inez watching them all the way.
"Well, it's clear Newton hasn't told her that much about us yet," Alex noted as they reached his car.
"No. But that won't last long, and then it will be interesting to see just how open-minded she is. He didn't say if he'd found out who Caitlin was, either."
"I guess this has side-tracked him," Alex said. "I'll ask him later."
***
Sally's hand was already at her mouth as she listened. "You had to do what?" She closed her eyes briefly. "Please don't tell me something else is happening here."
"Sorry," Avery said, feeling inexplicably guilty. "It seems someone at the circus is responsible for those deaths after all."
Sally's expression changed as she spat out, "Bollocks. The kids were so excited about that circus. I can't take them now!" She looked at Avery, outraged. "No one should be taking their kids there."
Avery's mouth fell open and she looked at Sally, shocked. "We can't announce this! We have no evidence. And besides, everyone who has attended the circus in other towns has been fine! The performance will be safe enough."
Sally continued to glare. "I don't care. I'm not taking the kids."
"That's fair enough, but it's not my fault, you know."
Sally deflated like a popped balloon. "I know, but I was just hoping life would get back to normal around here, or at least relative safety. I'm fine with magic, just not the deaths."
"No one's fine with the deaths, Sally, you fruit loop."
The shop was quiet, and Sally, Dan, and Avery were chatting around the counter in a lull between customers.
"Someone needs a chocolate biscuit," Dan said, holding out the open packet.
Sally glared at him, too. "It will take more than a digestive biscuit to make me feel better."
"But it will help, right?" he said, wafting it under her nose. "I'm as upset as you
, Sally, but we're here to stop this. It's our job now."
Avery looked at him, surprised. "That's very sweet of you, Dan."
He puffed his chest out. "I'm Team Witch all the way, you know that. I'm tackling Raven King and Green Man myths for you later. "
"Thanks," she said, taking a biscuit for herself. "I should call Genevieve."
"Why are you putting it off?"
"I just think it's something we can handle, that's all."
"But she has collective knowledge, and you've got Oswald and all the oldies to ask. Although, you do have me, and I'm awesome."
"True, so awesome," she said, sarcastically. "I'll call her soon, before Caspian beats me to it, and outs me like a grass."
"However," Dan continued, jabbing his half-eaten biscuit, "I have been thinking about the Green Man and his connection with the crossroads, and I would argue that he's another liminal figure. He sits on the boundaries of earth, nature, growth, decay. He's a nature spirit, essentially, and here we are, blind and unknowing in the presence of nature's true face. It's there, just beyond our understanding, a wild force we can't control."
"Holy cow. Have you drank extra strength coffee this morning?" Avery asked, looking at him, amazed.
"Master's in Folklore," he said, poking at his chest. "Almost. By the way, I'll need a few days off to finish up soon."
"Sure," Avery agreed, not fully focusing on what he was saying.
"That's pretty cool, actually," Sally said, her expression softening. "The Crossroads Circus has all sorts of crossroads figures in it. Maybe I will go, after all."
Avery leant on the counter. "I just wish I knew who the other woman is, the one I saw behind the procession, and at the campground. I wasn't sure she was with them at the time, but she has to be. She's camped with them, admittedly a little bit separate from the rest. I wonder what her role is? I felt she looked straight through me, and her mind---her awareness---travelled far beyond where mine can." She thought through the attack in the field. "I'm convinced she was the presence I felt."
"Maybe she's the conduit for the crossroads magic," Sally suggested. "As you said, the circus isn't on an actual crossroads, so if the name refers to the magic from a crossroads, maybe she's it. She carries it within her."