by R K Dreaming
His eyes widened. Grudging respect came into them.
She nodded as if he finally understood her. “I couldn’t bear for a creature like that to be in our school.”
His eyes narrowed again suspiciously. “But they call you the Snitch Witch.”
“Only as an insult,” said Percy. “You can’t have believe that I’m a real witch?” She screwed up her face in disgust.
“Then it’s just as well I never came after you,” he said. “You were the one I was going to kill next. But you’re always with this stupid blond sidekick of yours.” He pointed at Nan, who looked offended. “I could never find you alone. Then I saw this weirdo Shara coming out of the magic shop, and I thought I’d do her while I waited. She’s always alone. Stupid loser!”
Shara looked stricken at this.
“Are you going to kill her now?” said Percy interestedly.
“Percy!” Nan gasped.
Percy rolled her eyes at Nan. “Stop being such a goody two shoes. You heard what he said. People who use magic are evil. And if Shara has been using it, than she deserves it.”
Nan’s face went blank. She had understood that Percy was up to something. She knew Percy could not mean what she had said.
But Shara was staring at Percy as if she had never seen her before. Luckily Shara did not say anything. She did not shout that Nan was a witch. That would have ruined everything.
“Yeah,” said Arthur. He was pacing in front of Shara, keeping his gun pointed at her the whole while, and yet he seemed reluctant to shoot her.
“But you have to make it look like an accident,” said Percy. “Or a suicide, otherwise they’ll come after you.”
He nodded. “Yeah, yeah. That’s what I planned. Have you got booze in your house? Pills?”
Shara shook her head.
“Liar!” he spat.
“I’ve got a better idea,” said Percy. “The river is at the bottom of her garden. She wouldn’t kill herself with booze and pills, and you don’t want to use that method twice. I bet she would jump. She’d weigh herself down with rocks in her pockets and she’d jump.”
His eyes widened. He nodded grinning maniacally. “That’s exactly what she’d do!”
He forced Shara to write a note, which Shara did with shaking hands. But Shara had snuck Percy an odd look. She finally understood.
After propping up the note on the coffee table for Shara’s parents to find, Arthur marched Shara had gunpoint through her kitchen door and out into the back garden. Percy and Nan walked at his side, as if they were his friends. Even so, he kept a slight distance, just enough so that they couldn’t reach his gun.
The garden was a long, narrow strip of grass. It was dark by now, lit only by the dim glow of tiny fairy lights strung up on a tree. At its end was the glint of the river’s waters. Beyond that darkly glimmering expanse was the South Bank, visible by the lights of the many restaurants and theatres there. It was a peaceful and lovely view.
While Arthur kept an eye on Shara, Percy and Nan found large rocks to stuff into the pockets of Shara’s jacket. Arthur wasn’t satisfied until Shara was fully weighed down, but he finally nodded.
There was a low wall at the back of the garden, which had a gate in it. Arthur pointed at the gate and said to Shara, “Open it!”
Shara was wobbling to it, weighed down by all the rocks, but Percy stopped her.
Percy shook her head at Arthur. “There’s no need,” she said. “It is high tide, isn’t it? Best if she just jumps right off that wall.”
He laughed. “Yeah,” he said.
He forced Shara to climb onto the wall at gunpoint.
It was hip high. Percy and Nan had to help Shara climb up it due to the weight of all the rocks.
“Tell my mum and dad I love them,” said Shara in a shaky voice. “Please? And my brother. Tell him I’ll miss him.”
“Whatever!” said Percy.
And gave Shara a hard shove. Shara tumbled down, down into the water, hitting it with an almighty splash.
There was a moment of ringing silence, during which Arthur and Percy and Nan all stared at each other.
Then Arthur ran excitedly up to the wall to take a look. There was a six foot drop on the other side to the water. He laughed when he saw only ripples. There was no sign of Shara.
“You did it!” He gave Percy a high-five.
But then the smile disappeared off his face. He pointed the gun at her and Nan.
“Your turn,” he said to them. “Fill your pockets. Go on!”
“But you don’t want to do this!” said Percy in astonishment. “We just helped you get rid of her.”
“Please don’t do it,” begged Nan. “We won’t tell anyone!”
“Do it!” he screamed. “Do it right now!”
Percy and Nan stared at each other. Then they bent down to pick up the nearest rocks that they could see. They filled their pockets as slowly as possible, and all the while Percy pled with Arthur to let them go, trying to persuade him that they would keep his secret.
But he would not listen. And finally it was Percy and Nan who were standing on the wall side-by-side, staring at the river down below.
“I can’t swim,” said Nan in a shaking voice.
“You won’t need to,” said Arthur nastily.
Percy took hold of Nan’s hand. She winked at her.
She jerked her head a tiny amount towards where a dark figure was climbing silently up the wall, having emerged from the river below. And then all of a sudden Shara Greyshale sprang over the top of the wall and flung herself with an almighty leap at Arthur, bringing him to the ground with a crash.
The gun went flying out of Arthur’s hand. He screamed as Shara head-butted him, breaking his nose with a satisfying smash.
“You evil git!” she snarled, punching him in the ribs.
He punched her back, so hard that she went flying off him. He scrambled up, and booted his foot into her stomach as she lay curled over on the ground.
Percy leapt for him. But the weight of the rocks made her fall off the wall like a stone, hitting her knees hard on the ground. She fell short of him.
She struggled up, and yelped in alarm when she saw Arthur going for the gun. And then a heavy weight hit her on her back. Nan had jumped down, but toppled onto Percy, knocking her over again.
Percy heard a bang and she screamed.
It was too dark. She looked up. Had Arthur shot Shara? Had he shot Nan? Where was he? In the glow of the fairy lights, she saw a different silhouette than expected.
Arthur was on the ground and Felix Fiori was standing over him.
Nan yelped. “Ouch! Get off me!”
Percy thought she must be talking about Shara, but then sharp little claws dug into Percy’s hair and she felt a rough little tongue licking her face. It was Lucky kitten.
“What are you doing here?” said Percy incredulously.
“Giving me a mad chase is what!” said Felix.
He came over to help Nan and Percy up. He was panting hard. Shara came to lend a hand.
“Was that shot yours?” said Percy, looking at the still form of Arthur. “Did you kill him?”
“Of course not,” said Felix. “It was just a stunner. But what is going on here? Why the hell did he have a gun?”
“Because he’s the murderer!” said Percy and Nan and Shara all at once.
20. The Man In The Photo
Once Felix had been told Arthur was the murderer, he immediately restrained him.
“Trust me finally, do you?” Percy asked, but it was hard to sound humorous as she had intended, exhausted and weighed down by rocks as she was.
She leaned against the wall and began to pick the rocks out of her pockets. Shara helped her and Nan do it.
“Imagine doing this underwater,” she joked.
Arthur had regained consciousness and was trying to squirm into an upright position, but this was impossible with Felix pinning him down.
“They’re evil,” he said
, pleading with Felix as if surely someone as sensible as Felix would understand. “They’ve been using magic. Real magic! It’s real you know! That grey girl over there is some kind of freak. She should be dead. She should have drowned. She jumped up out of the water and attacked me!”
“That’s because she is finfolk, you idiot,” said Felix with disgust.
Nan looked at him reproachfully for telling Arthur this.
Felix shrugged. “The people from the Conclave of Magic are going to have to wipe his memory anyway.”
“Wipe my memory?” roared Arthur. “I won’t let you! You’re evil too! You’re one of them! Let go of me, you freak!”
But Felix kept his knee on Arthur’s back, and was already calling Councilor Strickt to tell him to send help to Shara’s address.
While they waited for the council and conclave people to arrive, Percy explained to Felix what had happened, and told him that Arthur had confessed to murdering Frank and attempting to murder Delphine.
Felix listened with his usual patient manner, only intermittently whistling in disbelief.
“I told you I was innocent,” Percy finished in a joking tone.
“I’d like to say I never doubted you, but…” Felix joked back.
They all laughed. Well, all of them but Arthur Delancey who was now furiously muttering to himself under his breath about what he was going to do when the Humble police arrived.
“Should we tell him the Humble police aren’t coming for him?” said Felix to Percy under his breath.
“Nah,” she said. “Or we’ll have to hear him ranting and raving again.”
She turned to Shara. “You were amazing! I was really worried for a moment there about the amount of rocks we had to weigh you down with! You came back up so quick!”
Shara winked. “Fabulous Finfolk Express, at your service,” she said, with a bow.
After Councilor Strickt and the people from the conclave took Arthur away, Shara made them all cups of tea and cut up some slices of madeira cake. Even Felix stayed for it.
He looked around kind of wistfully at the kitchen and said, “It’s really cozy in here. I like it.”
Shara’s cheeks turned slightly pink. “It’s not much, but it’s home.”
“Where are your parents?” asked Nan.
“At the hospital with Liro,” said Shara. “My little brother,” she explained to Felix. “He’s really sick.”
“You’d better not use that potion you got from the magic shop on him,” said Percy. “It’s full of toxic stuff.”
Shara’s face fell. She looked really upset. “But…. But I really thought it was going to work!”
She looked like she was going to cry. Nan put her arm around her.
“We’ll figure something out,” said Felix determinedly. “I’ll ask Councilor Strickt on your behalf. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have caught Arthur Delancey. He has to help!”
Shara looked hopeful. She offered him another chocolate biscuit.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you,” said Nan in a small voice. “If I could have just persuaded mum to make a potion for your brother, none of this would have happened.”
Shara shook her head. “It’s not your fault,” she said firmly. “It’s the council’s for not giving us a permit. I think they’ve been monitoring us after we applied. If my brother suddenly got better and they had investigated, your mum is the first one they would have looked at. I know it would have harmed your mum’s potion making business. They’d have shut it down. I know how important that is to your family.”
Nan looked at her gratefully.
The next day at school the tale of what had happened spread around the eldritch students like wildfire, and soon people were looking at Percy with a different sort of inquisitive look.
A few even asked her, “Is it true? It was Arthur Delancey? You were the one who figured it out?”
It was always Nan who answered, saying loudly, “Yes it was! And I’m glad to hear you’re not calling her Killer Snitch anymore.”
The best part came during morning break when Headmistress Glory called an assembly of the whole school to announce to everyone the updated news about Arthur’s role in the deaths. And then she admonished Bella and Blanche for putting up the Killer Snitch posters and video, saying that several students had come forward to inform on them.
“You’ve committed a public crime and now you can make a public apology,” she said, and she called the two succubae up onto the stage.
Blanche bit her lip and refused to look Percy in the eyes when she made her apology. Bella looked furious as she did hers, her face going red with mortification. Hers sounded no more heartfelt than Blanche’s had.
Percy did not care. Half of the students in the assembly hall were booing at Bella and Blanche, and now at least those two girls knew what that felt like. Maybe they’d think twice before they decided to spread lies about someone else.
Percy stood up and spread out her arms in a mocking show of magnanimous acceptance of Bella’s apology. When the audience cheered, Percy took a bow. If looks could kill, Bella’s glare would have reduced the hall to ashes.
It felt like a little victory. Percy savored it.
Afterwards the headmistress caught up with Percy as she left the assembly hall and walked with her. A startled looking Nan and Shara scarpered out of the way.
Headmistress Glory said in an undertone, “And you say I never reward you.”
“Is that what this was?” murmured Percy.
“Hmmm,” said the headmistress. “But don’t expect random acts of my generosity in future, Miss Prince. You earned this one.”
“You’re darn right I did,” said Percy. “And it felt good.”
Chuckling, the headmistress strode away.
By the end of the day, every Killer Snitch poster that was still stubbornly glued up around the school had been defaced. The word snitch had been crossed out. They now all said things like ‘Killer Hunter’ and ‘Killer Killer’ and ‘Beware the Killer Catcher’.
Percy’s favorite were the ones which said ‘Killer Hair’. She had painstakingly removed one with the discreet help of Nan’s wand, and pasted onto the front of her own locker.
Even Octavia, who had been passing Percy’s locker at the time, said grudgingly, “Nice one, Prince,” as she walked by.
Felix was at Octavia side as usual. He grinned and gave Percy a thumbs up.
“You want to place bets on the next one?” Percy called after Octavia. “Or shall we leave it at just ‘May the best woman win’?”
“I am the best woman,” said Octavia. “Don’t let this one go to your head, Prince. You were lucky Felix came to save you.”
“Yes we were,” Percy agreed, but under her breath so Octavia could not hear.
On Friday, Felix brought the box of now healthy kittens back to school. He had already returned Lucky kitten a day earlier, declaring that she had been found to be in excellent health.
Unfortunately the new kittens found Percy’s house as alarming in the night times as Lucky kitten did. Clearly the rogue cat was still on the loose. Percy was growing increasingly sure that the darn thing must be both magical and monstrous if the poor little kittens were so distressed by it.
She guarded the kittens for that one night, and the next day she and Nan took them to Magicwild Market. Mr Finnian Laurie of The Batty Budgie was immensely pleased to take them in.
“Don’t you worry,” he reassured them. “These little lovelies will find excellent new homes in no time.”
Percy and Nan watched the new kittens settle into their pen, with all of the other cats and kittens welcoming the newcomers,. The skinny black cat with the white patch over his eye prowled over to Nan, and sniffed her hand enquiringly.
“Oh, come here, you,” said Nan scooping him up into her arms. “It’s about time I took you home with me, isn’t it?”
Patch purred in approval and settled into Nan’s arms as if he had intended this all along.
Nan shrugged at Percy’s enquiring glance. “Doesn’t matter what power he has,” she said. “Or even if he doesn’t have one at all. I think I always knew I was meant to have him.”
“Your mum will be pleased,” said Percy. “You can finally begin your Familiars lessons. And who knows, maybe he will have the most amazing superpower ever!”
Nan looked hopeful.
Percy tickled the patch-eyed cat’s ears. He gave her a very condescending look.
“You can call him Patch for now,” she said. “And when you do find out what he can do, maybe you’ll be calling him Mr Fabulous Flying Furball.”
Nan stroked Patch. “I’ll never call you something so ridiculous,” she crooned, “but you don’t mind me calling you Patch for now, do you?”
Patch closed his eyes and lifted his head in a kingly manner, a clear instruction for Nan to scratch him under his chin. He purred contentedly when she did so.
Percy and Nan spent a couple of hours showing around the picture of Percy’s father, with no luck whatsoever, and then another hour traipsing through the wonderful aisles of Flaffiness Emporium, buying armfuls of sweets and things to take home.
When they finally got back to Percy’s, they found Jeeves busily zooming through the house. He shouted a cheery greeting at them, and then flew through the dining room wall at speed. He had forgotten that he was carrying a set of candelabra, which hit the wall and promptly shattered.
Jeeves popped his head back through the wall and looked down at the broken pieces of crystal in dismay.
“Never mind,” he said. “I’ve probably arranged too many candles anyway.”
Nan set Patch down, and he happily went about his business exploring the house. His tail jauntily up in the air, he seemed ready to confront any unfamiliar intruder cat that might be lurking around the place.
Percy and Nan went into the dining room to show the required amount of admiration for Jeeves’s efforts. He had laid out full place settings with all of the best silver and dinnerware on the table. Napkins had been fashioned into ornate flowers and frolicking kitten shapes. Curled ribbons and floating balloons festooned the back of each chair.