by T J Green
8
Avery walked up the winding streets of White Haven, having declined a lift back. She needed the fresh air to clear her brain, and her shop was only ten minutes from the harbour.
Despite the grim circumstances and her preoccupation with the curse and the strange events at Old Haven Church, her surroundings made her smile. The murk of the day was lifted by the decorations in the shops and cafes. The windows were filled with pumpkins, witches riding on brooms, skeletons, vampires, ghosts and ghouls, and strings of lights. In another week or so, all of these items would be replaced by Christmas decorations, and they would all gear up for another round of celebrations. The Town Council had already decorated the streets with festive lights, but for now, the focus was clearly on All Hallows’ Eve.
The numbers of shoppers were lower, now that the summer holidays were over, and on the way Avery nodded to, or stopped and spoke to the locals as they went about their business. This weekend, however, the streets would once again fill with visitors as people came for the fun of Halloween.
Realising she was close to El’s shop, Avery ducked down a side street to speak to Zoey, a practicing Wicca Witch.
As usual, Zoey stood behind the counter looking immaculate. Her hair was cut into a blunt bob, but this time the tips were died neon blue, and her makeup was perfect. She didn’t often smile, but as soon as Avery entered, her eyes lightened. “How’s El? Better?”
“Sorry, no,” Avery said, heading over and leaning on the counter. “I’ve come to see if you remember anything weird happening here over the last day or two?”
Zoey’s face fell in disappointment. “I’ve been thinking of nothing else, ever since Reuben told me. Nothing unusual has happened. We’ve had some regular customers and some new ones, but no one has struck me as odd.”
“No sign of a break-in, I presume?”
“No, why?”
“Someone has been in El’s flat. We think it’s a woman, an old woman who potentially appears as someone much younger. I just wondered if you’d seen anything.”
“Everything has been completely normal,” she explained, perplexed. “I’ve been trying to think of anything that could help, but I just can’t!”
“It’s okay,” Avery said, smiling softly. “We’ll get her back, somehow. In the meantime, do you need help with her shop?”
“No. I can manage. I pretty much run the place anyway.”
“Okay. If anything occurs to you, no matter how small, let us know.”
Frustrated that there was nothing more to learn, Avery continued on to her favourite coffee shop, bought three coffees and a selection of pastries, and headed back to Happenstance Books.
“Anything going on here?” she asked, placing everything on the counter.
“Nope,” Dan said, reaching immediately for a pastry, and nodding to the stacks behind her. “Other than that you’ve got a visitor.”
“I have? Who?”
A familiar drawl made her skin prickle. “Me. I have a few questions.” She turned to see Caspian emerge from one of the deep armchairs placed around the shop. He was dressed in a dark grey suit, with a pale grey, linen shirt open at the neck. The scent of expensive aftershave drifted over to her, and she noted his well-groomed hair and expensive leather shoes, all topped with a heavy, knee-length wool coat.
“Oh, goodie. I’ve so missed you,” Avery said dryly.
He allowed the faintest of smiles to crease his face, and then it was gone. “Of course you have. I’m a delight. After you,” he said, gesturing to the back of the shop.
She grimaced, considered refusing, and then decided she may as well get it over with—as soon as he asked nicely. She folded her arms across her chest. “Say please!”
“Do we have to do this?”
“Yes. They’re called manners. It’s about time you learned some.”
She could hear Dan sniggering into his pastry and tried to ignore it.
Caspian narrowed his eyes, sighed, and then said with exaggerated politeness, “May I please speak to you privately, Ms Hamilton?”
“Why, certainly, Mr Faversham,” she replied as she grabbed a coffee and pastry and carried them to the back room.
“Not one for me?” he asked, leaning forward to open the door for her.
“Had I been expecting you, of course I would have bought one.” Liar! “Instead,” she said, resolutely refusing to share her own and reaching for a pack of biscuits, “Would you like a Hob Nob?”
“Splendid, my favourite,” he said, sinking into a chair at the table. He crunched into one with great satisfaction, and Avery’s lips twitched with amusement. Who’d have thought Caspian would like a Hob Nob?
She sat opposite him and reflected on the strange conversations she often had at this table. As she took a bite of her custard-filled croissant, she hoped the sugar would be enough to sustain her. “I gather this is not a social call?”
“No. I’m wondering what on Earth possessed you to let the vicar summon the press up to Old Haven to film him removing witch-signs.”
“Well, short of me glamouring the vicar, there was actually no way of stopping him. And besides, how do you know?” Once again, she felt annoyed. His ability to piss her off in seconds was uncanny.
He smirked as he reached for another biscuit. “I have my methods.”
“A sneak in the press, you mean?”
“We all have ways of staying in touch with the local news. So, what is going on at Old Haven?”
Avery debated how much to tell him, and they watched each other silently across the table for a few seconds. Despite the very rocky start to their relationship, and the fact that Caspian had been responsible for Gil’s death, they seemed to have reached an unspoken truce. She chewed on her croissant, savouring it for a moment before coming to a decision.
“There’s an unknown witch in White Haven. She has cursed El, and seems to be powering up a spell in Old Haven Church, centred on the old yew tree in the grove behind the churchyard. I presume she thought the place was so quiet that no one would notice what she was up to. Fortunately, Ben and the others head up there quite regularly, and they spotted them. Initially there were just a couple of witch-signs hanging from the branches, but now there are more of them, and two sigils burnt into the ground. The power there is palpable and growing.”
Caspian leaned forward. “El is cursed?”
Avery was shocked. That wasn’t what she thought he’d lead with. “Yes. Her necklace. We found it on the floor of her flat. Reuben remembered that she picked it up and then collapsed. But we can’t work out what sort of curse it is. And she’s unconscious. A very weird, unnatural stillness.” Avery hesitated for a second, worry bubbling up inside her. “We can’t break it, yet. Briar has tried—she’s better at that sort of thing—but I’m about to start searching for spells, too.”
“Curse spells are notoriously difficult to break,” Caspian said. “They have a tendency to rebound on those attempting to break them. Unless you’re the one that cast it, of course.”
“I know. That’s why we’re being careful.” She tried unsuccessfully to temper her sarcasm.
“A necklace, you say? Silver?”
“Yes.”
“Silver holds magic very well, it will be tricky.” He broke off and looked into the distance. “I’ll give it some thought.”
Really? “Thanks, Caspian. We’d appreciate it.”
The surprise must have showed on her face, because he grimaced. “I am not without sympathy, and my family grimoires contain many curses.”
No surprise there.
He continued, “In the meantime, what will you do to counteract the press at Old Haven?”
Avery snorted. “It’s Halloween. Hopefully people will put it down to some prank or hoax. And it’s very likely their cameras won’t work. Dylan’s don’t anymore.”
“What was he filming?”
“Ghost activity. That place can be volatile.”
He leaned back thoughtfully. “
Interesting. But that’s good—the cameras, I mean. And any leads on this witch?”
“None. But she’s old. Very old, according to—” Avery caught herself in time. She wasn’t sure she wanted Caspian to know about the Shifters. “From what we can tell, anyway.”
“A time-walker?”
Avery almost choked on her coffee. “A what?”
He smiled. “Some witches have learnt to defy time. If she’s the one who cast your spell, you’ll struggle. They’re very powerful.”
“I’ve never heard of a time-walker!”
“So, there are some things I can teach you, after all!” he smirked.
“Go on,” she said, wanting to throw the remains of her pastry at him.
He shrugged. “They have learnt the secret of defying aging. Immortal creatures, maybe, but essentially time stretches for them. But it takes energy. A lot of it. She’ll be staying somewhere close to natural resources she can draw on to replenish her energy. Somewhere isolated.”
“Surely the sea is a great natural resource?”
“Yes, but huge and unwieldy. Running water, such as a spring or river, is better. Of course, your abundance of magic over the town will help.”
“No one’s drawing on that as far as I can tell.”
“Yet,” he said, reaching for another biscuit. “And now for my next item of business. There are Shifters in White Haven.”
“Wow. You really run a spy network, don’t you?” Avery said, annoyed.
“I have been approached by the Device witches from Cumbria.”
The name sounded vaguely familiar to Avery, but she couldn’t quite place it. “Who?”
“You really are an ingénue, aren’t you?”
“Don’t push me, Caspian.”
“Have you heard of the Pendle witches?”
“Of course I have. I’m not an idiot.”
He spread his hands wide, smirking.
She groaned. Of course!
The Device witches were an old family that went back at least to the sixteenth century, and probably further. They had gained notoriety when they feuded with another family of witches, headed by Anne Whittle, and then both were brought to the attention of the authorities and tried for witchcraft. The families were commonly referred to as the Demdike family, after “Old Demdike,” head of the Devices, and the Chattoxes after “Mother Chattox,” head of the Whittles. Together they were called the Pendle witches after the area in Lancashire they lived in. The story was notorious because they were accused of ten murders by the use of witchcraft. Of the twelve alleged witches who were brought to trial, ten were found guilty and hanged, one was found not guilty, and the other died in prison.
Caspian continued, “Their descendants, like ours, survived, and they remain two of the most powerful witch families in the north of England. The Devices are now in Cumbria and have been for many years, after moving on from Pendle. They rule with an iron fist. You know there are many Shifters there?”
Avery felt a deep, sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. “Yes. Some fled after one of them was attacked. He was near death when they came to me.”
“That’s not the story I heard,” he said softly. “They attacked first, and the family they attacked wants revenge—a rematch. Demdike, also known as Alice Device, will see it happens.”
Avery fell silent for a moment, her thoughts whirring. “But they fled here after saying they were attacked by some guy called Cooper. They sought Sanctuary here. They claim victim.”
Caspian frowned. “Well, I imagine somewhere between the two tales lies the truth. Either way, Alice—the leader of their family—will ensure that the Shifters return. They will arrive here tomorrow. Expect a visit.”
Avery frowned, still confused. “Why did they call you and not me?”
“Over the years our families have done business together, but not for a long time. However, in cases such as these, it was natural they should speak to me, as I know you.”
“But why are they coming to see me?”
Caspian shook his head slowly. “Avery, you have much to learn. It is because you allowed them Sanctuary.”
That word again.
She looked at him, astonished. “What year is this, Caspian? We don’t grant Sanctuary like some feudal system. People come and go, and are free to live here!”
“That may be so for normal people, but for those like us, who live on the peripheries of the normal world, some old school polices still apply. Especially as viewed by the Devices. Some old families quite like their feudal systems.”
“Like yours, you mean? Your unwillingness to let us gain our grimoires.”
He shuffled uncomfortably in his chair. “My father’s wishes could not be ignored. Do you want my advice or not?”
“Well, you don’t offer it often, so go on.”
He met her gaze steadily across the table. “Shifters like that system, too. They are wolves—pack animals, despite their human form. Cumbria is wild country, that’s why they live there. It is remote, wolves can disappear there. You do not want a Shifter war here. Did the Shifters ask for Sanctuary?”
“Yes. And I laughed, but said of course they could stay here.”
“Well, there you are then. I suggest you get your boy repaired and send him on his way.” He smiled. “He helped you detect the old witch, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t owe him too many favours. It might come back to bite you.”
“We saved his life. He better be bloody grateful, or it will come back to bite him.”
Caspian smiled, and it almost made him look charming. “That’s why I like you, Avery. You have fire, and undeniable magic. If you ever get tired of Alex, give me a call.”
And with that, he left, leaving Avery staring after him.
9
Avery was seething. Did Caspian just make a pass at her? Cheeky bastard. As if she would ever think about having an affair with him!
Sally laughed when she told her about their conversation. “He’s just trying to get a rise out of you, Avery. Ignore him. He will say anything to inflame you.”
Dan agreed, although he qualified it with, “But he is single. Why? He’s rich, good looking. A wanker, yes, but still… He might mean it.”
“I don’t care if he means it. How dare he!”
“He’s a guy. You can’t blame him for trying, Avery,” Dan said, frowning. “You have no idea what it’s like to be a man and expected to make the first move. It doesn’t matter how confident you are, it’s still awkward. Give him a break.”
“I have a boyfriend. Aren’t there mates’ rules or something?”
“Yeah, but he and Alex are not mates,” he pointed out.
Avery huffed. “Traitor. That’s the last time I save you from a Mermaid.”
“Ouch. It’s a good thing I’ve sworn off women, then.” He grinned and reached for another pastry. “At least I have food to console me.”
“So, what else did Caspian want? You were talking a while,” Sally said.
They were all standing around the counter. The shop was empty, and outside the rain had returned in such a downpour that the other side of the street was a blur. Happenstance Books seemed isolated from the outside world. Incense smoke drifted around the room, B.B. King was playing, and a tingle of magic hung on the air. Avery loved afternoons like this.
“He came to warn me about the Shifters and the imminent arrival of the ex-Pendle witches,” Avery said, and went on to explain their conversation.
Sally looked worried. “Do you think the Shifters are playing you?”
“Lying, you mean? About what really happened?”
“Maybe. You don’t know anything about them. They turn up here, one of them nearly dead, and ask for help. They’ve told you their side of the story. You have no idea what else went on.”
Avery fell silent for a moment. Sally was right. She needed to ask some more questions.
Damn it.
***
T
he old Volvo that was normally parked in front of the house was missing.
Avery paused for a moment on the doorstep before she knocked, and cast her witchy senses wide. She sensed their Shifter magic, but nothing else. Summoning her courage, she knocked resolutely, and for a while, nothing happened.
She was about to knock again when Holly answered the door, looking surprised. “Oh, it’s you. I thought Briar had arrived early.”
“No. Briar is a little tied up with our friend, El. Can I come in?”
Holly looked wary, but then said, “Sure, but Hunter’s out.”
“That’s fine. I have a few questions, and I hope you can help.” Softly, softly. She didn’t want the door slammed in her face. Blasting the door back open with her witch powers wasn’t on her to-do list for the day.
Holly shrugged. “I can try.” She turned and led the way to the kitchen at the back of the house. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, and mist swirled around the back garden. Holly turned the kettle on. “Want a drink?”
“Tea sounds lovely.” Thank the Goddess for tea. It seemed to pave the way for any conversation.
Avery had debated with herself on how best to start this conversation, and she realised there was no easy way. She could hedge around the fight and what really happened, but ultimately decided honesty was the best way.
“Alice Device is coming to see me tomorrow.”
Holly dropped the cup she was holding and looked at Avery in shock. The noise of the shattering cup was ignored as each met the other’s eyes. Holly was frozen in place.
Avery spoke softly. “Would you like to sit down?”
Holly nodded and fumbled for a chair, sinking into it absently. She was still mute, and she looked at the table.
“Why is Old Demdike coming to see me?”
“I didn’t think they would follow us here.” Holly’s hands started to shake, and she placed them on her lap, out of Avery’s sight.
“What happened in Cumbria?”
Holly swallowed nervously. “I’m not sure Hunter would want me sharing this.”
“I don’t give a crap what Hunter wants. What happened?”