“Wait.” She changed into a plain-looking woman with long, dark hair. “Is this better? You can call me Jane. How about that?”
I turned back to her. “It’s better. Were you calling us from the path?”
“You know I was. Won’t you take a seat by the fire?” She opened her hand towards two camp chairs which hadn’t been there a minute ago.
“No, thank you.” I kept a firm grip on my broomstick. “What other names do you go by? Your true name?”
Jane fiddled with a lock of her hair. “Wish-giver. Dream-maker. Lady Luck. That sort of thing. I give people what they truly desire.” She dropped the lock of hair and a wicked glint came into her eyes. “I know what you want, Cassia. I thought it was just no-calorie chocolate at first, but once I got past that, I saw what you truly desire. He’s very handsome, isn’t he? And those blue eyes of his are beautiful.”
I held my hand up. “Don’t go on.”
Jane sidled closer, her voice more insistent, “I can get him for you. I can get rid of his girlfriend for you. You can have him all to yourself. Wouldn’t that be lovely, Cassia?”
“No. Back off.” I held my broomstick up to ward her off.
She turned her evil attention to Stanley. “What about you? I know what you want too, Stanley. You want Cassia to be happy. I can do that for her. I can help her. But I need your permission to do so. Give it to me. Give me your permission.” She got to her knees in front of Stanley. “Don’t you want Cassia to be happy? Just give me the nod, and I’ll make that happen.”
My fingers tingled with magic and I was so tempted to use it on Jane and fling her across the clearing. But I’d already cast a spell in anger, and I’d had luck on my side in the shape of Kitty at the time. I was certain a second angry spell wouldn’t go as well. I clenched my hands, and the tingling went away.
Jane looked up at me. “That’s right, Cassia, you made the right decision just then. Make another one. Give me your permission to grant your wishes. You know you want to.” She straightened up and advanced on me. “There’s only a small price to pay.”
“No, thank you. I’m a witch. I can grant my own wishes.” I wasn’t sure if that was entirely true, but the uncertain look on Jane’s face was worth the half truth.
Jane hadn’t finished with us yet. She walked over to the tent and pulled one of the flaps back. “Look inside. See what I can do for you.”
I couldn’t help but glance at the opening. I saw a happy couple walking down an aisle in a church. A bride and groom. Luca and me. We were smiling lovingly at each other.
Jane waved her hand over the scene as if she were showing me first prize in a competition. “Look what you can have, Cassia.”
“No, thanks.”
Jane wasn’t one to give up easily. “Stanley, look how happy Cassia looks. Don’t you want to make her happy?”
“She’s already happy,” Stanley said dutifully. “And she’d never wear a sleeveless wedding dress. She hasn’t got the arms for it.” He smiled up at me. “Have you?”
“I haven’t,” I agreed with him. “You’re right; I’d never wear a dress like that.”
Jane snapped, “I can give you arms like a champion weight-lifter in a second! Just say the word and you can have anything! Holidays. Cars. Mansions. Children.”
I wanted to push her further. “What if I did say yes? What would be the price I’d have to pay?”
Jane let go of the curtain flap and rubbed her hands together gleefully. “It wouldn’t cost much. You’ve already got plenty of it. You wouldn’t miss it if I took a bit.”
“A bit of what?”
“Your honesty. You’ve got more than enough for one person. From Stanley, I would like a pinch or two of his loyalty. He’s got too much of it. It’s not normal.” She came over to us. “Hmm. I’d like some of your optimism too, Cassia. It’s not good to have so much. No one needs to look on the bright side as often as you do. It’s annoying.”
I looked her straight in the eyes and said, “Why do you need those things? What will you do with them?”
Greed lit up her face. “I eat them. They make me strong.” She smacked her lips together. “I can almost taste your honesty. It’s delicious.” She reached out her hands towards me.
My hand shot out and I performed an immobilising spell on her. I aimed my spell at her body only. I needed her to talk.
She shrieked with rage. “Let me go! Now!”
“Not until you’ve answered my questions. I know that Lifin and Nilah Cezerus have been in this forest today. Did they speak to you?”
Jane spat, “I’m not saying another word. Free me.”
“Nope. I’m a justice witch, and I’m not going anywhere until I get answers. Can’t you see the determination in my eyes?”
Jane’s mouth twisted in disgust. “You sicken me with your good qualities. As soon as I’m free, I’m going to take every one of them from you and devour them.”
“No, you won’t. I think you need my permission for that, and I’m not going to give you it. Once I’ve got my answers, I’ll let you go.”
Jane gave me a cold stare. I looked calmly back at her.
After a while, she said, “Alright. I’ll tell you. Both of them wanted to win that stupid race.”
“You’re lying. Lifin wasn’t interested in winning the race. He wanted to cancel it. What did you say to him to make him change his mind?”
She gave me a slow smile. “I beckoned Lifin towards me earlier today. My song reached all the way to that ranch of his. As soon as he got close to me, I could see the image of a female centaur in Lifin’s mind. I knew he wanted to be close to her, so I told him she’d be mightily impressed with his athletic abilities if he won that race. I showed him an image of him winning the race and his female congratulating him. He liked that image. He was easy to convince. I gave him the speed that he needs.”
“What did you take from him?”
“His integrity. His sense of fair play.” She shrugged. “He had plenty to spare. I’ll take extra when he comes back for more speed. Which he will do.”
I shook my head at how casual she was. “What about Nilah?”
“He was easy to convince. I gave him speed too, and took some of his remaining years. He said it would be worth it to win the race one last time. I don’t see what the problem is. I’m giving them what they want.”
“At a price,” I reminded her. “And you beckoned them into the forest, they didn’t come here by choice. Selo came to see you too, didn’t he? I can guess what you took from him - any respect he had for any other living thing. He became reckless and a danger to everyone.”
She laughed. “Selo didn’t take any convincing. All he wanted was to win the race and to continue to win it year after year. He’d pay any price I asked for. He was even willing to give me his soul.” She grimaced. “I don’t take souls anymore. They give me indigestion.”
Something was becoming clear to me. “Why do you need one of the Cezerus family to win the race?”
“So I can stay in this forest. That was part of my agreement with each of them. I like it here. There’s plenty of passing trade. I convinced Lifin to start bringing his customers this way so I can lure them towards me.” She licked her lips. “I can’t wait to see what emotions they bring with them. I like a variety in my food.”
The evil look on her face was making my stomach turn, but I hadn’t finished with her yet.
“How long have you been in this forest?”
Her look was wary now. “Why do you want to know that?”
“It hasn’t been for long, has it? I’m guessing a few months perhaps? That’s how long black magic has been filtering into Brimstone. What happened? Did you find a way into Brimstone using black magic? Did you buy it off someone so you could come into this land?”
“I’m not answering any more of your questions. I’ve told you about the centaurs. I know Selo was murdered. I don’t know who did it or why. It has nothing to do with me. With Selo gone, I
made an agreement with Nilah and Lifin, and there’s nothing you can do about that.”
I raised my broomstick at her. “You don’t belong here. Evil beings like you aren’t allowed in Brimstone. You certainly can’t stay. You’ve caused enough damage with the Cezerus family. I won’t let you feed off any more innocent beings.”
For the first time, fear flickered across Jane’s face. She said, “What are you going to do?”
“You need to go back to where you belong, wherever that is.”
Stanley said, “Cassia, she might have come from Dingy Skipper. And she might know about Kitty and her abilities. Ask her about those things.”
I nodded at him and then looked back at Jane. I recoiled at the smug look she was giving me. I said to her, “I’ve got some more questions for you. Once I’ve finished, I’m going to take you to Blythe. Do you know who she is?”
Jane gave me a silent nod and continued to look at me smugly.
I said, “Blythe will know what to do with you. What town have you come from?”
“No more questions, Cassia Winter. I know how to perform magic too.” Jane blinked rapidly and abruptly disappeared. The tent, fire and chairs went with her. Her voice called out mockingly, “You’ll never find me, Cassia Winter. Never!”
Stanley and I stared at the empty space.
Stanley said, “What happened? Where did she go?”
“I don’t know. My magic mustn’t be as strong as I thought it was. I need to learn more spells. Or it could be the bad luck at work.” I stared into the trees. “Thanks to that malicious creature and her wicked ways, both Lifin and Nilah badly want to win the race. I hope they don’t come to blows over it.” I paused. “Or worse.”
Stanley said, “What are we going to do about her? She might turn up somewhere else in Brimstone and start feeding again.” He shivered. “That is such an awful image.”
“We’ll find her. I’ll ask for Blythe’s help. A creature like Jane cannot stay in Brimstone. Come on, Stanley, I know what we have to do next.”
Chapter 24
As we flew away from the forest, Stanley said, “I hate to mention this, but do you think Jane killed Selo?”
“Why do you ask?”
“She said she’d made a deal with him so that he could win the race. His price was respect. What if Jane took all of his respect and then Selo had no respect for her? What if he threatened to throw her out of the forest after he won?”
My broomstick dipped along with my heart. “Oh, heck, I hadn’t thought of that. She’s the kind of creature who would know how to contact a Breath-Taker. Perhaps she killed Selo and then turned her attention to Nilah and Lifin in the hope that she could control one of them.”
There was silence for a few minutes as we flew. Then another dreadful thought came to my mind.
It came to Stanley too and he said, “I hope Jane doesn’t kill Nilah or Lifin. She might have decided by now which one is easier to control.”
“We have to get to Blythe’s and let her know about this. I’m sure she’ll know magic powerful enough to track her down.” I put my head down and forced the broomstick to go faster.
We headed straight to Blythe’s house and caught her as she was leaving the house. She was carrying her own broomstick which was a pale purple colour.
I landed in front of her and told her about Jane.
Blythe shook her head in annoyance. “One of those creatures! In our town! I’m not having this. I was on my way to see my cousins, but that can wait. This is urgent. I know exactly how to locate this so-called Jane. I’ll find out if she had anything to do with Selo’s death when I find her. I’ve never known these creatures to kill before, but there’s a first time for everything.”
I said, “We’ll go back to the apartment and look at that list Lifin gave us about Selo’s enemies. If Jane didn’t kill him, I want to be ready with a list of those who are in the running.”
“Besides Lifin and Nilah,” Stanley added.
“Yes, those two. And that trouble-causer, Treto,” I said.
Blythe said a quick goodbye and then soared upwards. She looked magnificent as she flew away with her black hair and purple cloak flying out behind her.
Stanley and I headed back to the apartment without bumping into any gnomes with grievances on the way. I made us a snack and then we sat at the table in the living area. I spread the list of names out and looked at them.
I had an idea. I stood up and went to the bookshelf where Gran kept a variety of documents. I’d had a good nosy at them when we’d first arrived at this apartment. I was sure I’d seen a map of Brimstone and the surrounding area.
Ah! There it was. And a pack of sticky notes too. Perfect. I took them back to the table and opened the map.
Stanley peered at it. “Why do you need that?”
I pointed to the list of Selo’s enemies and said, “I’m going to make a note of where everyone lives. Lifin’s put an address for most of them. I presume he’s done that in case I want to talk to any of them.” I lifted the sticky notes. “I’m going to see if there’s any sort of pattern. To see if he upset a certain group of beings who wouldn’t think twice about taking action.” I lowered the sticky notes. “To be honest, Stanley, I’m not sure why I’m doing this. I just feel that I have to.”
Stanley nodded. “You should always trust your instincts.”
We spent the next hour putting sticky notes on the map. I went through two cups of tea, and Stanley managed three saucers of cream.
When we’d gone through all the names, I pointed to the map and said, “There is a pattern. A circular one. This must have been the route that Selo took often, and we can see the residents he upset on the way. If this was a regular route, the killer could have worked this out too.”
Stanley nodded. “Yes, and the killer could have told Alan to wait at that bend in the path near the ranch because they knew Selo would be running along it.”
My attention was drawn to one name in particular. I touched the sticky note and said, “Ivan Snapnert. Where have I heard that name before?”
“He’s the gnome the other gnomes were complaining about. They said Ivan had caused the damage to their gardens, and that you should arrest him.”
“That’s right. Ivan lives in the end house on Rose Garden Terrace. His complaint was that Selo had been running through everyone’s back gardens and causing damage. He mentions Treto Oravatus causing damage too.”
Stanley tutted. “Treto’s name comes up again. Cassia, we haven’t considered Treto’s dad as a suspect. He could have wanted Selo out of the way so that his son was no longer running with him and causing mischief.”
“That’s a good point. We’ll speak to him later. I want to talk to Treto again anyway. I hope he’s not still spreading rumours about me.” I looked at Stanley. “You look thoughtful. What’s on your mind?”
“If Ivan Snapnert claims Selo and Treto caused the damage to the gnomes’ gardens, why didn’t the other gnomes say that earlier? Why did they say Ivan caused the damage? Why are they trying to put the blame on him?”
My eyes widened as I took in Stanley’s words. “Do you think those brightly-coloured gnomes worked together to kill Selo?”
“I don’t know. You saw how angry they were about the damage to their gardens. I wouldn’t like to get on the wrong side of them.”
“Neither would I.” I sighed. “But we’re going to. We’ll have to question them about Selo.”
“And then speak to Treto and his dad.”
I rubbed my forehead. “There are too many suspects. Why did Selo make so many enemies?”
Stanley came to my side and leant against my arm. “Don’t give up. We’re getting closer to the killer. We can do this.”
Chapter 25
We left the apartment and made our way to Rose Garden Terrace. It was a row of about ten or twelve houses, all with a good-sized front garden. We stopped at the first house and admired the garden. The square lawned area was neatly trimmed and
was surrounded by a variety of brightly-coloured plants and flowers. Hanging baskets adorned either side of the red front door, and the flowers inside the baskets flowed out like a fountain.
The front door opened, and a gnome stepped out. She was wearing a red dress with white polka dots. It was the same gnome who’d been shouting at me earlier.
She walked swiftly down the path at the side of the lawn and said, “Ah, there you are. At last. What information do you need from me? Do you need me to spell Ivan Snapnert’s name? It’s as you say it, there are no silent letters. He lives at the end house; the one with the plain garden. He hasn’t even made an effort with his garden.” She tutted in disgust and folded her arms tightly.
I asked her, “May I take your name, please?”
“Mrs Tarblast. I’ve lived in this house for years and kept it in perfect condition. Not like some.” She tutted again and aimed her disgusted look towards the end terraced house. “Ivan’s garden is a disgrace, and so is the inside of his house.”
“How do you know that? Have you been inside his house?”
“No, but I can well imagine what it looks like. You can judge a gnome by the garden he keeps. Ivan should never have moved here. He’s not our kind. He doesn’t know a thing about gardening. He should stick to what he’s good at. All gnomes should.”
“What is Ivan good at?” I asked her.
She unfolded her arms. “Fishing, of course. He’s a fishing gnome. I don’t know how he has the cheek to turn up here and take a house that should rightfully go to a garden gnome. It’s not right. My sister, Beryl, has had her name down for that house for years. How Ivan got it, I’ll never know.” Her eyes narrowed. “He must have some friends in low places.”
“Like worms?” Stanley said with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“Eh? Worms? What are you talking about?”
I said, “Can you tell me exactly what Ivan has done, please?”
“It’s all in my report. Every tiny but significant point.”
“Mrs Tarblast, I haven’t got your report with me. Please tell me what Ivan did.”
Brimstone Witch Mysteries - Box Set 1 Page 27