Witch War in Westerham

by Dionne Lister

  “Right, well, I don’t think we should push our luck. What do you think? Should we call it a night?”

  Will turned to me. “Have you been in every room, Lily?”

  “No.”

  “I really think we should keep going, just in case.”

  My stomach flip-flopped. I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, but we’d come this far, and we needed to make sure. “Okay, let’s hurry it up.” We rushed from room to room until I’d covered them all. Only one more scene showed up on my screen, and that was in one of the bathrooms on the top floor. A shirtless, overweight older man was in the middle of slapping another young serving woman across the face. He also had a snake tattoo on his neck. By the time we made our doorways to come home, anger was like boiling acid in my veins.

  When we arrived home, Imani didn’t show up. “Isn’t she coming?”

  “No, Lily. It’s too late. We’ll meet in the morning at James’s. Not with everyone there, but we’ll show him what we found and throw some ideas around.”

  I yawned. “Fair enough.” I looked at my phone. It was after three. Yikes. I’d forgotten what time it was. “Bed is calling my name.”

  As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t help but be relieved we hadn’t been discovered. Unfortunately for us, good news only came in ones. Why was it only the terrible stuff that came in threes?

  Chapter 12

  Will was kind enough to let me sleep till nine, then it was quickly magicking my clothes on and hopping over to James’s. At least coffee was waiting for me there. James answered the door and took us through to the dining room. Millicent and Imani were already there, sitting next to each other. Imani turned and waved. Millicent stood and gave me a hug. “Morning. I hear last night went well.”

  “Yes. At least I think it did. Maybe the stuff Imani took out of the wall won’t amount to anything, but why hide it if it’s unimportant?”

  “Why, indeed,” said Imani.

  Will and I made our way around the back of James’s seat and sat opposite Millicent and Imani. James magicked the screen on the wall again. I handed him my camera, and he hooked it up via magic. I really had no idea sometimes, not that I was good with non-magical technology either.

  A picture came up on the screen. “Is that the first one?”

  It was one of the crowd in the second room I’d been in. “Yes. I’ve taken these for reference—so we can identify the people and see if they’re worth investigating further. It doesn’t get super interesting till we come to Dad going through Gabriel’s drawers—and, no, not the underwear type of drawers.”

  My brother rolled his eyes. “Not funny, Lily.”

  I shrugged. “Meh.” Oftentimes, I was the only one who thought I was funny, so it was no froth off the top of my cappuccino if he wasn’t laughing. As he clicked through them, he was oddly quiet. He was probably thinking about Mum and Dad. It was difficult for both of us, but I didn’t say anything. We were there to work, and I knew he would find it easier to keep it together if I didn’t make a big deal out of it. Eventually he got to the photo of Dad, then of him being discovered rifling through the desk. He kept going with the photos, but when he realised that was the last of Mum and Dad, he turned and looked at me. “So, what did you find in that room?”

  “Well, I noticed Toussaint wasn’t quite looking at Dad—he was looking towards the window, which I thought was super odd. Turns out, he was looking at the wall next to the window. It had a hidden cavity that Imani so kindly found. Inside it was a locked box.” I looked at Imani. “So, let’s see the spoils.”

  “It would be my pleasure.” She pulled the key and a small, smooth black rock out of her pocket and placed them on the table. Iridescent blue lines swirled through the stone. It was quite pretty. “I’m thinking that maybe the map Lily took a photo of has something to do with this.”

  “But we don’t know that for sure,” James said.

  Imani’s answer was to the point. “No.”

  I looked at the screen. “Can you go back to the picture of the map? We don’t even know what it’s a map of, but I think we can assume it’s the abbey on Mont Saint-Michel. The fact that our parents were there the next week is telling.”

  James nodded. “It is.”

  Will stared at the screen. “Hang on a sec.” He pulled out his phone and pulled up the internet to search. He gazed at his phone, then back at the wall screen, then at his phone. “Looks like we have a match, folks.” His magic tickled my scalp, and the map on the screen halved in size. Another map appeared next to it. Will stood and went to them. “It’s definitely a map of the abbey, but the interesting thing is this.” He pointed to what seemed to be an extra room taking up part of the area on the internet map that was marked as rocher.

  “What’s a rocher?” I had only just started the French lessons from my app, and I hadn’t encountered that word before.

  Will looked at me. “It means rock.”

  Interesting. “So where everyone else thinks there’s a rock, there’s actually a hidden room… at least according to Gabriel’s map.

  Millicent smiled and looked at Will, me, then Imani. “You three have done excellent work. I wonder what’s hiding down there.”

  Will left the maps and sat next to me again. “Whatever it is, Lily’s parents might have been killed for it.”

  It was as if someone ran a piece of ice down my back. I shivered, and goosebumps sprung up along my arms. I swallowed the unexpected burn of impending tears. All this time, I had some kind of hope that maybe they were still alive. But of course they weren’t. RP didn’t play around—their attempts to kill me and all the murdering of the last few weeks made it more than apparent.

  My parents were dead.

  This was now, and probably always had been, about confirming the worst, and finding justice for my parents and everyone else who’d had the misfortune of getting caught up with RP.

  I looked up. “When is Toussaint due back at the chateau? Surely it’s only a matter of time before he discovers that stuff is gone, and then they’ll be waiting.”

  James’s steady gaze met mine. “Tomorrow.”

  Will ran a hand through his hair. “Looks like we need to go back there tonight, then, when the abbey’s locked up. At least we won’t be announcing our arrival by staying at the hotel.” He looked at Imani, then Beren. “Care to come with?”

  I sat up straight like a kid who’d just discovered they were missing out on going somewhere awesome because they were too young. “Hey, what about me?”

  “You don’t need to be there, love. We need you for the final showdown. You know that I know this.”

  She’d had dreams, that was true, but…. “Who says this isn’t the final battle?” I was pretty sure it wasn’t, but let nothing get in the way of me trying to persuade them to let me come. “Even if it’s not, how will you know exactly how to use the stone? The key is pretty self-explanatory, but where does the stone actually go? And the entrance is obviously hidden. You’ll need me to speed things up. You could search for that all night. And I doubt you’d want to use loud magic for that. It’s probably booby-trapped with a way more complex spell than the box last night.”

  James pressed his lips together. Ha! He knew I was right, and he hated having to let me go. Yes, he was scared for me, but how many times had I shown that although I didn’t know all the spells, I was one of the strongest witches here? I believed in myself, even if they didn’t quite trust me to get through everything. I didn’t plan on dying until I knew exactly who had killed my parents, and I certainly wasn’t dying before Piranha.

  I had goals.

  I folded my arms. “This isn’t nearly as dangerous as being locked in an apartment with a vampire witch, and I survived that. Stop underestimating me. I know you’re worried, but stuff it, James. This is us doing everything we can to wipe RP from the face of the earth. Risks must be taken by all of us. I’m here to see this done. Don’t deny me my place in avenging our parents. We both have a rig
ht to do what we feel we have to, and I’m more than up to the task. Besides, you don’t think I’m scared to death every time you’re on a dangerous assignment? But I never say anything. Know why? Because I know you have to do what you do to be happy. You’ve chosen your path, and I’m here to support you. I’m just asking for the same.”

  James gazed at me, the fire in his eyes dimming somewhat as realisation set in. He knew I was stubborn and right. “I’m sorry, Lily. You’re my little sister, and I’ve been both brother and parent to you since Mum and Dad died. I sometimes forget you’re a fully-grown woman with strength, skill, and determination. Also, I don’t want to let Mum and Dad down, you know? They would’ve wanted me to protect you.”

  I smiled sadly. “And they would’ve wanted me to protect you too. I’m sure Dad worried about Mum, but instead of fighting her on being an agent, he teamed up with her. How awesome is that? Maybe we should do the same?”

  His smile was slightly less sad than mine. “Deal.” He reached out, and we shook on it.

  I grinned. “We’ve got this.”

  “We do.” He looked at Will. “What time do you want to go in?”

  “We’re going to need a way to get in once it’s locked up. I think we should send in someone they wouldn’t suspect. I imagine RP has a database of all our agents. We’ll need to use someone that’s not on it, someone we can trust to magic a lock to open at a certain time.”

  “Have you got anyone in mind,” James asked.

  Will grinned. “I sure do. Lavender.”

  Imani clapped her hands together. “That’s an excellent idea. He’d love that. He fancies himself as a potential agent.” She laughed.

  I smiled. “He’s definitely capable, and we can trust him. Noice choice.” I put my hand up, and Will high-fived me.

  “Noice?” asked Imani.

  James grinned. “It’s ocker for nice.”

  Her brow wrinkled. “Ocker?”

  I laughed. “An uncouth Australian. Like, the rougher ones.”

  She shook her head. “I swear I’ll have to get down there one day. You can show me around and explain everything.”

  “I would love to show you around! As soon as this is all over, we’ll plan a holiday. Will, Liv, and Beren can come too.”

  Millicent raised her brows. “What about me?”

  “You’re welcome. I wasn’t sure you’d want to travel with Annabelle, but it would be awesome if you came!”

  James cocked his head to the side. “There’ll be no one left at the PIB if we all go.”

  Beren, who’d smiled at the prospect of visiting Australia, frowned. “If things keep going the way they have been, there won’t be a PIB to worry about.”

  Liv rubbed his back. “Ma’am will figure out a way to save things. Don’t write her off yet.”

  “And before all that,” James said, “we have an evil cesspool of an organisation to bring down.” James’s phone rang. Talk about good timing. We’d just about finished. “Hello, Sir…. Yes?” As he listened, his eyes widened, then narrowed, and his lips pinched together. His nostrils flared. I gave Beren and Liv a worried look across the table. They responded with concerned looks of their own. What was Chad up to now? “I thought we’d agreed not to do anything for a few days?” James listened for a while longer, my stomach speeding through a roller coaster. What the hell was that man stuffing up now? He was going to get us all killed. When James finally spoke again, his voice was barely civil. “Right. Well, I warned that this might happen…. What? You’re kidding?” He huffed a breath. “I’m advising against this, Sir…. No.” He spoke through gritted teeth. “I understand. Bye.”

  We all stared at James, and it was almost a minute before someone summoned the courage to ask what happened. To be fair, James needed time to cool down enough to speak if his reddened face was anything to go by. Will was the brave one. “What was that about?”

  “He sent two agents to interview another family this morning, early. The family was killed as soon as the agents left. A video was sent to headquarters. It doesn’t show who pulled the trigger, but it shows the three family members being shot.”

  I sucked in a breath, incredulous. “Oh my God. What a piece of sh—”

  “That’s horrific.” I’d never seen Beren so angry. Hot sparks were practically shooting from his eyes.

  Millicent’s voice was quiet but sharp. “Barbaric. Truly barbaric.”

  James clenched a fist. “That’s not the end of it. He’s insisting Will and I interview the parents of another of the forced workers this afternoon. When I said no, he said if I didn’t, it was immediate dismissal.”

  I placed my elbows on the table and buried my face in my hands. There was no way James would do that. I had to hope Will wouldn’t either. How could they pander to Chad and still sleep at night? Surely a job wasn’t worth sacrificing all their ethics. They were supposed to protect people, and, yes, there were sometimes casualties in that, but this? This was mass murder, and if they condoned that, they weren’t much better than RP. I looked up.

  Imani tapped her nails on the table. “So, gentlemen. What are you going to do?”

  James shared a meaningful look with Millicent before turning to Will. “As I see it, we have two choices. Take them to a safe location, question them, and guard them with our lives, or refuse. That’s it.”

  Will donned a poker face, his gaze steady. “Agreed. Which one do you prefer? Whatever it is, I’m in.”

  “If we have to guard them, I guess the safest place would be at Angelica’s. But is the information they can provide really going to help? We all know this thing isn’t going to get as far as a trial. If this doesn’t work, we’re still after RP, and I’ve got plenty of money saved for a rainy day. Maybe Cardinal can find us jobs.” His mouth quirked up on one side.

  Millicent reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “Whatever you decide, I’m with you 100 percent. Besides, the rest of us will still be on the inside if we need information, and as you said to Cardinal, we can’t count Angelica out yet. Things will come good.” Her closed-mouth smile and kind eyes gave away her love, but also the fact that she knew Angelica coming through was maybe a fifty-fifty proposition at best.

  James gave Millicent a smile. “Right, well, I’m not going to phone in my resignation. Let him find me to fire me.”

  My brother was awesome, and so was Will. “I love both of you. You’re two of the strongest people I know, and you have all my respect.”

  James cocked his head to one side. “Thank you so much, Lily. I appreciate it.”

  Will gave my hand a squeeze. I grinned. “Just a favour, if you would. Can one of you maybe get a job at Costa so I can get discounted double-chocolate muffins?”

  Will’s magic tingled my scalp, and something pinched my bottom. I jerked up from my chair. “Ow!”

  He laughed. “If you’re going to be cheeky….”

  “Ha ha. I’ll let you have that one since today you’re doing such a noble thing. At least we can concentrate on tonight. So, who’s going to call Lavender?”

  Will grinned. “I would love to.”

  Funny how quickly things changed. Well, actually, it wasn’t funny at all, but you know what I meant. You wake up expecting one thing, but you get another, and it’s something that can change your life forever. Hopefully one day we’d all wake up and those changes would be for the better.

  I was counting on it because what else could I do?

  Chapter 13

  Lavender was a true champion. The make-up artist had set up a landing spot for us in a hotel room he’d rented out—not the one we’d stayed at earlier. We donned return to senders and no-notice spells before we left home. At midnight, we arrived at the island. Lavender was waiting for us in his room. As soon as I stepped through my doorway, he jumped at me and enveloped me in a massive hug. “Gorgeous girl. So brilliant to see you.”

  “So good to see you too. How’s it hanging?”

  His eyes widened, and he laughed
. “You’re such a naughty thing.”

  “We use it a lot in Australia. It’s not naughty at all.” I winked. “So?”

  “Fabulous, as always. I was so excited when Will called. This espionage stuff is so much fun.”

  I laughed. “It can be, but don’t forget that it’s dangerous.”

  “You don’t have to tell me. I still have nightmares about that horrid vampire witch.” He shook his head. “That was a close one.”

  I shuddered. “Tell me about it.” Tommy was one witch I wanted to forget about.

  Will came through and interrupted our mini-reunion. “Hey.” He shook Lavender’s hand. “Let’s not muck around. What do we need to know?”

  Imani, Beren, Will, and I listened closely as Lavender explained how the spell on the abbey door worked. “So you don’t have to use magic when it’s quiet out there and nearby witches might notice, just place this in the lock, and it will unlock.” He handed Will a thin metal rod. “The spell I used just mimics the locking mechanism and is attached to it. The rod will trigger an unravel spell, so one touch of this will unlock my spell and therefore the door, all with no new burst of magic.”

  Will blinked. “That’s very clever. How is it you aren’t already working with us?”

  He shrugged. “I do love the drama of the fashion world, but you never know. I might fancy a career change one day soon.”

  Will looked at Beren, Imani, and me in turn. We’d ditched the PIB uniforms for all black and no ties. “Who’s got the map?”

  Imani put up her hand, the map in it. “Right here.”

  “Good. No dawdling. We get in, we see what’s down there and possibly transfer it to the barn, and we get out.” We all nodded. Will turned to Lavender. “Thanks again. I’d prefer it if you checked out early and left. No telling what could happen when Toussaint finds out his key’s gone. They might come for any witch on the island, and they could easily link you to us with a small amount of digging.”

  “I can hand my key in the after-hours box as soon as you leave. No skin off my perfectly powdered nose.”