The Murdered Mermaid (A Brimstone Witch Mystery Book 6)

by April Fernsby

  Jeremy’s face was aghast as he looked at the sea. “Look at it! It looks alive.”

  I took in the tumultuous water in front of me. It was rushing up the shore in anger and it looked almost black. I jumped out of the way as the water gushed over my shoes before it retreated with a low growling noise. Within two seconds, it rushed back and the water came to my knees knocking me backwards.

  Jeremy caught me before I hit the sand. Above the noise, he yelled, “We have to move! The water’s coming back even stronger.” He dragged me away from the wall of water which was racing towards us like a wild animal.

  I looked towards the row of buildings along the promenade and was shocked to see the residents standing there with horror on their faces. The sirens were clustered around them and appeared to be singing and pleading with the residents to move.

  I called out to Jeremy, “The sirens’ songs can’t be heard above the noise!”

  Jeremy gave me a grim nod. “Don’t worry about the humans. I can deal with them. Order the sirens to return to Brimstone before it’s too late.” He dashed over to the nearest group of people and raised his hands. Sparks of green light shot from his fingers like shooting stars and landed gently on the people there. One by one, they hastened away.

  I scanned the sirens’ faces until I found Ollyanne. I raced over to her and shouted, “You have to take your sirens home right now! The passageway back won’t last for much longer.”

  “But the humans,” she started to argue with me.

  “The humans are being dealt with. Go now! That’s an order.”

  Ollyanne’s face twisted with indecision.

  I grabbed her shoulder and yelled again, “Go now! Before your way back has gone!”

  Ollyanne nodded and within a minute, the bare footed sirens were running down the sand and into the churning sea. They dipped beneath the waves and soon disappeared.

  “Please make it back safely,” I muttered to myself.

  Jeremy came to my side and shouted, “The humans are safe. I used a spell to make sure every resident knows they have to leave immediately.” He turned to look at the sea. “It’s time to perform our spell. I don’t know if it will work, but it will be more effective if we say the words together.”

  The spray from the sea was now lashing at my face like a whip and I was finding it hard to speak. But I did my best to listen to the words that Jeremy was telling me. When I had them straight in my head, I said, “I usually try to keep calm when I’m performing a spell. I don’t feel at all calm now; I feel sick to my stomach with worry.”

  Jeremy said, “This isn’t the time for calmness or worry. This is a time for anger. The sea has turned into a furious beast, and we need to fight fury with fury.” He raised his hands towards the sea. “Ready?”

  It wasn’t in my nature to be angry, but as I saw what the black magic was doing to this beautiful area, I felt an intense anger alight in my stomach. It flowed through my veins like fast moving lava. I’d never felt fury like it before.

  I raised my hands and felt the familiar tingle in my fingers. The image of Astrid’s mocking face came into my mind and the tingle increased. I muttered the words of the spell at the same time as Jeremy.

  The faces of the creatures who had been murdered as a result of the evil magic appeared next to Astrid’s face, and my fingers began to vibrate. Just like Jeremy, I repeated the words of the spell over and over again.

  All the lovely beings in Brimstone, and now Knotty Cove, who’d been affected by the black magic dropped into my mind one by one. Blythe’s face appeared, followed by Gran’s and then Luca’s. My anger increased with each image.

  My hands were shaking by now and the words of the spell grew louder each time they left my mouth. I was oblivious to everything except the rage that had taken over my body and the words that I needed to say.

  Still, the water continued with its attack as it lashed at us again and again. The water was up to my waist now and I was vaguely aware of things being knocked over behind me. My arms were throbbing with pain and it was getting harder and harder to keep them outstretched. I was drenched by this stage and my voice was hoarse. I was forced back as the water rushed at me. Somehow, I managed to stay upright.

  With one last almighty effort, I screamed the words of the spell and roared with rage.

  The sea water in front of me rose up and up like an animal standing on its hind legs, and, for a split second, it paused and there was a sudden silence.

  Then the water crashed down on me forcing the breath from my body. I was flung backwards against something hard and pain exploded in my head. Everything around me went black.

  Chapter 29

  My eyes refused to open. They felt like they’d been glued together. I wriggled my fingers in an attempt to use magic to force my eyes open. There was no comforting tingle in my fingertips, but I could feel wet sand beneath my hands.

  I felt someone kiss my cheek and move my hair off my face. I tried to talk, but my mouth remained shut. Was I even awake?

  The kiss came again and I heard words of comfort being muttered. I couldn’t tell if it was a male or female voice speaking to me. A sharper voice spoke and said something about moving me quickly and needing to use magic on me.

  I didn’t like the sound of that, and once again, I tried to open my eyes and mouth.

  A sensation of weightlessness came over me and I felt myself moving forwards. I could also feel someone’s hands beneath my knees and on my back. Someone was carrying me somewhere and I couldn’t do anything to stop them.

  Sudden warmth flowed through my body and I stopped thinking altogether.

  The next thing I was aware of was a rough tongue licking my cheek, and the feeling of something furry against my chin. I recognised those sensations.

  “Cassia! Wake up!” Stanley licked my cheek some more.

  I opened my eyes without any trouble and saw Stanley’s face inches away from mine. I reached out to stroke his little head and grimaced as pain shot through my aching arms.

  “Hey there,” I muttered to Stanley. “How are you?”

  “Never mind me, what about you? You look like you’ve been in the wars. You’ve got bruises on your face and your clothes are torn.” He nuzzled his head into my neck. “I’ve been worried sick about you. What happened?”

  I raised my head and looked around me. “Why am I lying on Brimstone Beach? I was in Knotty Cove a minute ago. Where’s Jeremy?”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t know how you got here. I’ve been watching out for you from the café. I turned away for a moment to talk to Gia, and when I looked back, there you were, lying on the sand in this dishevelled state. Are you hurt?”

  I tried to move my arms and flinched as pain shot through me. “I think I’ve done something to my arms with all the magic I used. Who brought me back here? Someone must have.”

  “I didn’t see anyone.” Stanley rested his head against my cheek. His voice was hoarse as he said, “I didn’t think you were coming back.”

  “Neither did I for a while.” With pain shooting through my arms, I managed to get myself into a seated position. I looked towards the café and saw Gia floating over the sand towards us holding something in her hands.

  There was a mixture of concern and relief on her face as she came closer. “Here, drink this.” She handed me a glass of something blue. “I’m so relieved you’re back in one piece. Stanley and I have been so worried about you.” She pointed to the glass. “Drink that now.”

  I did as I was told and then handed the glass back to her. The pain in my arms lessened and a spark of energy ignited in me. I felt able to stand up. As I did so, there was a flash of green light at my side and Jeremy appeared.

  He looked worse for wear and his face looked much older. His beautiful embroidered waistcoat had been torn and there were cuts on his hands. He wrapped his arms tightly around me. “You’re safe,” he mumbled, “you’re safe.”

  I waited for Jeremy to release his grip o
n me and then I took a step back. “What happened in Knotty Cove? Is everything okay there?”

  Jeremy nodded. “I examined the area. The sea has returned to normal, and only a small amount of physical damage has been caused to the town. I found the humans and spoke to them. I told them we were from a secret environmental agency and the danger to their town had now passed. I could tell most of them didn’t believe so I used a small amount of magic on them.” He shot me a brief smile. “Cassia, we did it. We saved the town. We nearly died in the process, but we saved the town. How did you get back here?”

  “I don’t know. I did feel someone carrying me, but I don’t know who.”

  Jeremy said, “Someone must be looking out for you.” He sighed and patted his waistcoat. “I’m afraid this is beyond repair. I don’t even want to see what my face looks like. Despite feeling the need to sleep for a hundred years, our investigation isn’t over. I’m going to find Mortimer and see if he’s found out who else knew about the black rock of doom.” His glance went to my left arm. “You’ve hurt yourself. Why is your arm dangling at your side like that? Is it broken?”

  I attempted to raise my left arm, but it refused to move. “It’s not broken, just very tired. I think I’ve used all my magic up.”

  “You haven’t, but you need to recharge, so to speak,” Jeremy said. “There are some wonderful restorative potions in the bathroom at the lighthouse. I insist that you go back there now and have a long soak in the bath with one of those potions. You’re no use to anyone in your present state.”

  “But we need to find out who knew about Nerita and the black rock,” I argued. “It’s important. I’ve got a strong feeling that it’s connected to her death.”

  “Yes, I know it’s important,” Jeremy argued back. “Which is why I’m going to find out who knew. Then I’ll go to the lighthouse and let you know.” He put his arms on my shoulders and turned me in the direction of the lighthouse. “Off you go. Doesn’t the thought of a warm bath sound appealing?”

  I nodded.

  Jeremy gave me a gentle push forward. “Stanley, you make sure Cassia has a long soak. I’ll call on you both later.”

  Stanley replied, “I will do.”

  Stanley trotted dutifully at my side as we made our way to the lighthouse. I was worried for a second that I’d lost the key during my time fighting the sea at Knotty Cove, but thankfully, it was nestled safely at the bottom of my pocket.

  Stanley stayed close to my side as we made our way up the spiral steps. I glanced at the lovely paintings on our left as we ascended. I hadn’t had a good look at them yet. There were many images of the merpeople and showed scenes of their daily activities. I hesitated at one image and frowned at it. What did that mean? I looked at the next image which was slightly different. What was going on here?

  Stanley nudged into my legs. “Keep moving. You’re nearly there.”

  He kept bumping into my legs as he forced me up the stairs and towards the bathroom.

  I looked down at him and said, “You’ve become very bossy, just like your brother.”

  He chuckled. “I know. Sometimes you have to be bossy.” He cleared his throat and did a wonderful impression of Oliver. “Into the bathroom immediately, young lady! And don’t come out until I tell you to!” He chuckled again.

  I smiled down at him. “You are the best friend a witch could have. I won’t be long in the bathroom.”

  “Take your time. I’ll wait for you outside.”

  Once inside the bathroom, I switched the taps on and water gushed out at a pleasing speed. The tub would be filled in no time. I opened the bathroom cabinet and saw many glass bottles containing bubble bath potions. Each bottle had been labelled with a different ailment which could be cured:

  ‘Sea serpent bites’

  ‘Grindylow scratches and bruises’

  ‘Squid ink poison’

  ‘Tentacle trauma’

  ‘Sand-snake rash’

  My eyebrows rose. Most of the bottles had already been opened. What had Mum got up to during her time here? That’s something I’d ask Jeremy later. I settled on a bottle labelled ‘General aches and pains’. I poured a liberal amount into the tub and a relaxing aroma of lavender filled the air.

  I peeled off my damp and damaged clothes and dropped them on the floor. I climbed into the welcoming tub and the restorative effects of the hot water and the lavender scented bubbles got to work on me instantly. The aches and pains melted from my arms completely and I was able to lift them easily.

  I leant my head back and took a full minute to relax. I lifted my head back up and nodded to myself. That was enough relaxing. I had a murder investigation to deal with. My head felt clearer now and the images of the paintings I’d seen on the way up the stairs flashed into my mind. Why were they so important? Why were those particular images standing out to me?

  Something shiny caught my attention on the floor. I looked that way and saw something poking out of my trouser pocket. It was something I hadn’t put there. It was a hair comb. A shiny, hair comb that I’d seen before.

  The bits of confused information came together in my head like a dreadful jigsaw.

  I groaned and put my head in my bubble-covered hands.

  It was starting to make sense now.

  Chapter 30

  I stayed in the bath a short while longer until I accepted the facts. I nodded to myself. Okay, I had to deal with this. And I had to deal with it now. Could this be related to Nerita’s death? I wasn’t sure I wanted to make that connection.

  I got out of the bath and quickly dried myself. I wrapped Mum’s dressing gown around me and the aroma of her perfume enveloped me like a reassuring hug.

  I found Stanley sitting on Jeremy’s knee on the sofa in the living area. Jeremy was wearing a different waistcoat and his face looked just as perfect as when I’d first met him.

  “Oh! I wasn’t expected to see you back here so soon,” I said to Jeremy.

  Stanley said, “And I wasn’t expecting your bath time to end so quickly.”

  “I’ve been in there long enough. I feel much better now.” I moved over to the sofa and sat next to Jeremy. “What have you found out?”

  “Thanks to the helpful grindylows, I’ve discovered that King Taron refused to come to the surface to speak to Mortimer. Mortimer left the beach in a huff and returned home.”

  “That’s a shame. I wanted to know if King Taron knew about Nerita taking the black rock to Knotty Cove.”

  Jeremy raised a finger. “Thanks again to the nosy grindylows, I now have some information on that. Shortly before she died, Nerita did tell someone about the black rock. She told them everything including the danger she’d put the humans in.”

  “Really? Who did she tell?”

  Jeremy sighed. “The grindylows don’t know. Nerita was on the beach and the being she was talking to was standing behind a rock. The grindylows did hear Nerita’s voice rising as she tried to defend herself. Whoever she spoke to was furious about what she’d done and at the end of the conversation, she yelled, ‘I wasn’t thinking about the humans! I was concerned with my subjects here! They’re more important.’ She then stormed off and returned to the sea.”

  “What did she mean by those words? Didn’t she care about the impending disaster that was going to occur in Knotty Cove?”

  “I don’t think she did. After I’d spoken to the grindylows, I appeared in Mortimer’s cottage and spoke to him. When he returned home, he checked the monitoring equipment at Knotty Cove.” Jeremy gave me a wide smile. “The black rock has gone. His graphs show that it disintegrated around the time we were performing our spell. He’s going to keep an eye on that area and will let us know if anything peculiar turns up. That’s one problem sorted out.”

  I gave him a nod and then reached into my pocket. I pulled out the hair comb that I’d picked up from the bathroom floor. “Look what I’ve found.”

  Jeremy’s eyes widened. “Not again! Where did you find it? Has our deviou
s intruder been at work again?”

  “I think it might have been placed in my pocket when I was lying on the sand on Knotty Cove. I think the being who put it there brought me back home too.” I handed the comb to Jeremy. “It’s Isla’s comb, isn’t it?”

  Jeremy lifted it to the light. “It is. But it doesn’t belong to her anymore. Her engagement to Conway has been broken off. I tried to tell you that earlier, but we got caught up in the drama at Knotty Cove.”

  “Who broke it off?” I asked. I feared I already knew the answer.

  Jeremy lowered the comb. “Conway did.” He gave me a serious look before continuing. “Do you know what this means?”

  “I think so. There are some paintings on the wall next to the stairs. They show mermen leaving hair combs in the homes of mermaids. Later on, the pictures show the couple getting married. I think that mermen leave combs in someone’s home as a way of proposing. Am I right?”

  Jeremy gave me a slow nod.

  Stanley said, “I’m confused. Cassia, does this mean that someone has proposed to you?”

  “I think so. I’ve found this comb three times now.”

  There was silence as we all digested this information.

  Stanley said, “Does that mean Conway has proposed to you? You hardly know him. The cheek of him! Don’t accept his proposal. You can’t live in the sea with him. You’ll go all wrinkly!” His voice rose in panic.

  “I’ve no intention of accepting his proposal. I had no idea he had feelings for me. I’ll speak to him and give him the comb back.”

  Jeremy picked Stanley up and placed him on my lap. “You’re not going to talk to him. I will. Mermen can become aggressive when they don’t get what they want. You stay here and I’ll come back after I’ve spoken to Conway. I’d like to know how he got into your apartment and in here without a key!” He got to his feet. His face was scrunched up in annoyance.

  “I can deal with this myself.”