by TJ Green
El had already unsheathed her sword. “What now? There aren’t many places to hide in here.”
Reuben pointed upwards. “There are natural cracks in the rock face...some of them look pretty big. A couple of us can hide in them. The rest can hide down the tunnel.”
Alex nodded. “I want to check down there, make sure nothing else is lurking behind us while you investigate the cave.”
“I’ll come, too,” Avery said.
She followed Alex down the narrow passage, which was sculpted by water and difficult to navigate. They had to crouch and wiggle through in places, and Avery hated it. She felt suffocated, and for one horrible moment, thought she was going to be trapped forever. Then it opened out into the main cave they had found earlier that day; it already seemed like a lifetime ago. They spent a few minutes exploring it thoroughly before Alex said, “I think we’re good. You?”
“Yep, all good. That’s one win for us.”
They squeezed back through the narrow tunnel again, and Avery turned to Alex at the entrance to the Lupescu’s lair. “Once we cast the shadow spell we’ll be completely invisible, but I’m worried we won’t have a good view of Lupescu until he’s in the middle of the cave.”
“But we will,” Reuben noted from above their heads. “I’ll see it the moment it arrives.”
“And once it’s in,” El said, from the other side of the cave, “I’ll seal the tunnel behind it.”
Avery looked up to see her lying in another natural rock crevice, almost invisible in the shadows.
Alex still looked worried, but he said, “All right. Where will you be, Briar?”
She stood next to the rock fall. “I’ll pull some of this earth and plant debris around me. There’s room within the gaps between these boulders...enough for Hunter, too.”
“So now we just have to wait,” Reuben called down.
“Take your places, and I’ll erase our scent again. But we could be waiting some time,” Briar cautioned.
“So be it,” Alex said. “It will be worth it. Good luck everyone—and let’s stick to the plan!”
***
Once the lights were extinguished, the cave was pitch black. Avery stood immobile for what seemed like an age. She felt utterly alone. The shadow spell was so effective that even though Alex was only a short distance away, she couldn’t feel him at all. She started to get anxious, and willed herself to complete stillness, using her magic to help keep her warm. Just when she began to think Lupescu would never arrive and they’d got everything wrong, she heard a noise.
It was the sound of footsteps, slow and deliberate. And then they stopped for a moment, and Avery could sense its doubt and caution. She willed it onwards, and with relief heard the footsteps again. Then there was a thump as something hit the floor.
At the same time as the vampire started to light candles, Avery felt the gentle whoosh of magic as El placed a protection spell on the tunnel, sealing Lupescu inside. It walked into view in the centre of the cave, dragging a body behind it, then lit the fire, allowing Avery to see its cruel, hard face. The vamp was young looking, far different than the other night when its skin had looked grey and was wrapped tightly around its skull. The blood it had consumed must have plumped up its skin. Its hands were almost elegant, had they not ended with long, curved nails. Lupescu might have been handsome before he became a monster.
As planned, Briar opened the earth beneath its feet, swallowing Lupescu up to its chest, and the fire disappeared with it. It roared, its jaw opening unnaturally wide and showing sharp canines, stained with blood.
Avery was just saying her spell to immobilise it when with unexpected swiftness, it disappeared in a streak of smoke up towards the roof and the tiny vents in the rock.
They had talked about whether it could do this, and they had a plan just in case. Avery and Alex linked hands, sending another protection spell around the cave and sealing it with a rippling blue wave of magic. Lupescu veered course, flashing towards Reuben, who rolled out of his hiding place and sent out a shockwave of power, effectively blocking him again.
Meanwhile, Alex ran out, and he grabbed the unconscious young woman Lupescu had brought in, and pulled her out of the way.
Lupescu remained in smoke form, streaking around the cave, desperately seeking a way out.
Briar and Hunter stayed hidden, biding their time, as did El, but Avery sent a blast of wind around the cave in ever stronger circles, sweeping the vampire up, and herding it into the centre of the room. It landed on its feet, in physical form again, and, full of rage, launched itself at her so quickly that Avery had barely time to react. But Briar did, opening the earth beneath it again, and this time tree roots snaked towards it, grabbing its limbs and pinning them tight.
It smiled at Avery, a terrible, rictus grin that made it look more dead than alive, and spoke with a horribly wheezing, raspy voice that grated her nerves. “I can hear your heartbeat now, witch. You’re scared, like they all are. I’ll enjoy your blood.” It pulled free of the roots, snapping them in seconds, and with superhuman strength, it leapt out of the earth, ready to attack. But she was ready for its speed this time, and didn’t hesitate.
She commanded wind and using it like a giant hand she pinned the unnatural creature to the ground, watching it squirm. Roots again sprang from the earth, and Hunter raced across the cave, snarling, his jaws wide, at the same time as Alex raced towards it with his stake raised.
But again, Lupescu changed into smoke, evading all of them. It headed toward Reuben, who stood on a narrow ledge, watching it. Reuben again blasted it with a shield of magic, and Lupescu shied away. El rolled free of her hiding place and raised another magical shied, reducing the places that Lupescu could run to.
Briar stepped out of her hiding spot and placed a silver jar on the ground, covered in runes and sigils. She raised her arms in front of her and started the spell that would bring the vampire down into the jar they had prepared to seal it in. When they had discussed this earlier, they were pretty sure it wouldn’t work. It would likely change again before it would risk that happening.
El and Alex closed in, Alex with his stake, and El with her raised sword. They edged closer and closer as the witches closed the protection circle, trapping the creature in an ever-smaller space. It flitted about like a crazed, dying bluebottle.
Briar’s spell was working. Lupescu was being pulled towards the jar, the runes and sigils on it now blazing with a white light. Just as they thought they might trap it after all, it transformed into its physical form again, and Hunter launched, leaping metres across the floor and landing with a thump on the vampire’s chest. He ripped into its skin and took a chunk out before Lupescu flung him off like he was a toy, but El was close now, and she swung with her sword, cutting off its right hand.
Lupescu was enraged, its eyes blood red with fury. It leapt to its feet, snarling and hissing, as black veins rose on its skin. But no matter how furious it was, it was clear that Lupescu was running out of options. Hunter jumped, and his huge paws landed on Lupescu’s chest again, propelling it to the ground. But this time as they rolled, the vampire pinned Hunter to his chest with its right arm, and forced its left hand into Hunter’s jaw, as if to rip it out. It happened in a split second, and for one heart stopping moment Avery froze, unsure of what to do. But Hunter was as unnaturally strong as the vampire, and he bit down hard on Lupescu’s remaining hand and twisted as he leapt free, ripping the hand clean off and leaving a ragged stump. Lupescu fell awkwardly, unable to defend itself.
Alex seized his chance and ran in, plunging the stake into its chest, but it wasn’t in deep enough to kill, and Avery used a blast of powerful wind to hammer it in.
Lupescu was motionless on its knees, looking helplessly down at the stake protruding from its chest, its arms ending in bloody stumps. It looked up at them, unnaturally still as it became clear there was no escape.
“Move!” El yelled at Alex, and as he stumbled backward, El swung the sword and cut Lupescu
’s head off, and its twitching body collapsed to the ground. She raised her hands and cast a fireball at it, consuming the corpse in flames.
The witches and Hunter stood back watching it burn until nothing was left.
“And so ends over a century of violence,” Briar said softly, her left hand once again buried in Hunter’s thick fur.
There was no quiet moment from Reuben; instead, he whooped. “See! I told you it would work.”
El just looked at him. “Oh, shut up, bragger!”
The rest of them laughed as their remaining tension seeped away, and Hunter howled so loudly that Avery winced as her ears protested. And then a groan disturbed them.
Avery whirled around. It came from the young girl Lupescu had dragged into the cave. She ran to her side, Briar next to her, but before the girl could rouse further, Briar cast a spell that sent her to sleep. “Best she doesn’t remember this,” she said gently, before heading to the other girl.
Alex said, “We need to get these girls out. Looks like the other one is still unconscious.”
“That’s because she’s almost dead,” Briar said, her fingers feeling for her pulse. “I can stabilise her, but then we need to drop them somewhere close, where they can be taken to a hospital.”
“Why don’t we call Newton?” Avery suggested as she hefted her pack. “He can say he’d had an anonymous tip, and he can organise it.”
“Great idea,” Reuben agreed. “It means they can get into that other cave, too, and hopefully start to identify the bodies.”
Briar finished healing the young girl, and as her breathing started to improve, she wrapped an old blanket around her. “She’ll need a blood transfusion and lots of fluids, but that should keep her going.”
As the witches gathered their things, Avery looked at the cave and the old bones littering the floor, and she shuddered. “I’m glad to see the back of this place. Can you imagine being one of his victims, dying here? Horrible.”
“Well, we’ve ended it now,” Alex said, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her to his side.
“Are we sure we’ve killed them all?” she asked, worried.
El walked to the tunnel entrance, ready to leave. “After the noise we made tonight, any other vampires would have rushed in. I’m sure we got the lot.”
“If they have any sense, any survivors would have taken off, in my opinion,” Reuben said. “But there’s nothing we can do about that now.”
Avery just looked at him. “Oh, thanks for your reassurance, Reuben!”
He winked. “My pleasure.” And then he turned and led the way out of the cave.
When they exited the pillbox, they stopped with surprise. The storm was over; snow lay thick upon the ground, and it was utterly still and silent, other than the sound of the waves crashing onto the beach below them. A full moon was low on the horizon, and the snow sparkled in the light. Hunter howled again, and everything seemed perfect.
25
The solstice parade started at midday and the main road that ran through the centre of the town down to the harbour was lined with excited crowds that had been gathering for the last hour or so. Hundreds of children crowded to the front.
The deep snow, which was unusual in Cornwall, made White Haven postcard-picture perfect, and after the previous week of horror, it warmed Avery’s soul. She’d given the shop an extra zing of magic, and it smelt of cinnamon and frankincense. The parade didn’t pass by Happenstance Books, for which she was very grateful. Stan and the town council had insisted that the shops open for a few hours, and it would have been madness to close anyway, as it was a good day for business. Although, she had trouble keeping her eyes open. She didn’t work well on three hours of sleep.
She’d opened the shop at ten, and Alex had decided to spend an hour or so with her, before he walked down to his pub. Sally wasn’t due in for another hour, and Dan had gone to fetch hot chocolate. They were sitting behind the counter, each eating a bacon sandwich and idly chatting, when Stan bounded in. He couldn’t have been happier, and he grinned at Avery and Alex with delight. “The gods have smiled on us today! Look at White Haven. It has never looked more magnificent!”
Magnificent was a stretch, but Avery smiled. “It is beautiful, Stan. I’ll try and sneak out to see some of the parade. We’re going to take it in turns once Dan and Sally are here.”
Stan sidled closer to the counter, his voice low. “Is the snow anything to do with you two?”
Avery almost choked on her coffee, and Alex froze. “Us?” Avery said, shocked. “No! How can we make it snow?”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “You know. You have a certain something we’ve all grown to trust.”
She was momentarily stunned into silence and glanced nervously at Alex, but she had to answer his expectant look. “I have many skills, Stan, but I can’t make it snow.”
“Neither can I,” Alex said with a shrug, as if being asked if he could make snow was the most normal thing ever.
Stan’s face fell slightly and then he smiled. “Oh, well. We all have our limitations, I suppose.”
Avery tried not to laugh. “Are you in the parade?”
“Of course! I shan’t be wearing my druid’s robe today. Instead, I shall be the Oak King,” he said proudly. “I have a cape of oak leaves, an oak crown, and an oak staff to carry.”
“Who’s the Holly King?” Alex asked.
In Celtic legend, the Oak King and Holly King vied to rule over the year’s turn. The Oak King conquered the Holly King at the winter solstice and ruled until midsummer, when the Holly King is victorious and rules until midwinter.
“Phil from accounts. We’ll have a bit of banter and fight before I declare victory. I can’t wait!”
They laughed, and Avery said, “Fingers crossed I’m there in time to see that!”
“Anyway, I must run,” Stan said. “I’m just doing my rounds before the parade begins. Your shop looks great.” And with that he was off, leaving just as Dan arrived with their drinks.
Dan joined them behind the counter and sipped his drink, his eyes half closed with pleasure. “This is exceptional. All I need now are Sally’s mince pies, and my morning will be complete.” He was wearing another Christmas t-shirt, reading Santa Does It Better. “Now, would you two like to tell me why you look so awful?”
“We had a very busy night killing a vampire,” Alex explained. “And day, actually. In fact, there was a lot of vampire killing all around.”
“I love how you say that so casually,” Dan said, raising an eyebrow. “Like it was just a regular Saturday for you.”
“Yeah, right,” Avery said, grimacing. “I hope we never have to do that again. Although, the way James was talking, it sounds as if vampires are not that uncommon in cities. They can stay there.”
Alex grunted, his mouth full of sandwich. “James is full of surprises.”
“And what about that Rupert guy?” Dan asked. “Is he something to worry about?”
“I don’t think so.” Avery pulled a stack of books from under the counter. “I phoned him this morning and told him he can come and get these.”
Dan frowned and picked up the box-book. “You’re letting him have them?”
Alex shrugged. “They’re of no use to us, and to be honest, they belong with the house.”
Avery agreed. “He won’t be able to read what we can, anyway. There’s hidden runic script in the box that he can’t possibly see.”
“You don’t think he’s a necromancer?”
“He’d like to be,” Alex answered, “but I had a good look at the stuff in his cellar. It looks cool, but it’s harmless. He’s just a regular guy who’s a bit obsessive over the occult. And a bit of a creep.”
“A lot of a creep, actually,” Avery corrected him. “But essentially harmless.”
Alex grinned. “I’d love to see his face when he gets a visit from the police about the crypt under the house.”
“Ha! Me too. How much will he love that?”
Shadow was oblivious. She stood in the entrance looking around the shop for a moment, and then marched over to them. “You did not tell me that you had so many books!”
“It’s a bookshop—of course I have lots of books!” Avery said, already irritated. Dan was still gaping at her. “Shadow, this is Dan, he’s a friend and works here. Dan, Shadow.”
She smiled at him, and a strange, otherworldly light seemed to shine from her. She held her hand out, and Dan stood and grasped it as if she was a queen. “Dan. So good to meet a friend of the witches.” She was only a fraction shorter than him, and she leaned forward, as if she was going to sniff him. Dan leaned in, too, and Avery wondered if she needed to snap him out of the sort of trance he’d fallen in. “No, you are not a witch. Just human.”
“Er, yes, just human,” Dan stuttered. “And you are what, exactly?”
Alex seemed to be trying very hard not to laugh, so Avery intervened swiftly. “She’s our new arrival, the fey from Samhain.”
Dan stepped back in shock. “You’re the fey from the Wild Hunt! The one who wants to find all the artefacts and get back to the Otherworld.”
Shadow held a finger to her lips. “Our secret.” Then she put her hands on her hips and said to Avery, “So, are you going to let me help with the night walker?”
Awkward. “Sorry, too late. It happened quicker than we thought, and we killed it last night.”
“Mmm. How convenient. You don’t trust me!”
Alex narrowed his eyes. “We don’t know you. And you did try to kill us. It gives me trust issues.”
She sighed in true drama queen fashion. “So long ago! And I told you, that was Herne’s request. I’m a good soldier. Besides, that’s over now. I’m going back to treasure seeking.”
“To return home?” Avery asked.
“To try to. And to make some money. That’s what I used to do.”