Blood of Both Beings.
Crushed Garnet Stone.
That was it. I turned the small bowls. They were aptly labelled ‘Camilla 1’, ‘Camilla 2’, ‘Conrad 1’, ‘Conrad 2’, and ‘Garnet’. I couldn’t attempt to reverse a spell if I didn’t begin following some instructions.
I placed a hand into the bowl of crushed garnet, it was soft like sand but red like blood. I rubbed it between my fingers, adding a little to both bowls of Camilla blood.
I’d have to read the spell backwards, the words from left to right, last line to the first line. I took a moment to look the spell over, it was short, which was good. Nothing was more annoying than a spell with more than two stanzas.
Pull together, absorbed as one,
Bound in blood magic, it shall be done,
A new beginning, a battle of hearts,
Together now; built of these new parts.
I cleared my throat. Coughing into a fist as both Camilla and her doppel stood in front of me, one on the ground, pleading and the other, yanking at her arm, trying to get her to stop.
“Okay,” I said, nodding around the room. I clutched the celestite beneath the table. The rock warmed in my hand. “Parts new these of built; now together. Hearts of battle a, beginning new a. Done be shall it, magic blood in bound.” I paused, missing the last line.
To my unsurprise, nothing happened.
“Well?” Vivian asked, rolling her eyes. “Why is nothing happening?”
“It’s the wards,” I said. “They’re getting in the way of it. The witch who put them up clearly didn’t want anyone else casting on her land.”
She scoffed turning to her son. “I told you that Meredith was up to no good, after everything we gave her.” She barged between Ezra and Margot, making a line toward a small glass jar.
“Destroy it,” I said. “I’ll make you a new one after this.”
She smiled at me, perhaps it was because I appeared to comply, but I had plans. I knew what I was doing. She didn’t have a leg to stand on once her wards were down, they were doing her more good than she knew.
She pulled the glass away to reveal a large purple amethyst. She plucked it from the pedestal and with one high arm, she threw it down on the ground. An almighty whooshing crash of relief.
It broke into several pieces.
A pop bubbled in my ears. I took a breath, like I’d been slowly suffocating beneath a bag the ward had placed over my head.
“One as absorbed, together pull.”
The last line.
TWENTY-EIGHT
A scream broke. Vivian held her head like it was about to explode. She continued screaming, starting the chain reaction as Rory, Ezra, Margot, and Felix dropped to the ground, howling into their bodies.
I fed on energy from the celestite, flinging my arms up and knocking the table over. The blood splashed both women across from me, merged in with the finely crushed garnet dust.
“Cass,” I said, nodding to her.
She jumped to her feet, spinning witch thread out like a lasso.
While Cassandra rounded up the writhing bodies, the butler ran and the doppels clung to their humans, trying to force some form of osmosis with the other, pulling themselves closer. Squeezing themselves tighter.
Juliana and Yan tried pulling Petra to her feet, pushing to escort her out.
“What did you do?” I asked, stopping them still. “She wasn’t like this earlier.”
“Why did you think we were giving you champagne, constantly?” Juliana chuckled. “It’s doped with a chemical, it makes it easier for this to happen.”
Yan grunted. “And also why you’ve been a pain,” he said. “You should’ve been the easiest part of all of this. The witch in need of money.”
I scoffed, pressing a hand to my chest. “I don’t,” I said. “And while I might appear a little naïve to knowing better, I can keep my nerve, and keep my cool.” I pressed the rock against his head before quickly moving and pressing it to his wife’s head.
Unconscious now, these people were pure evil.
“H—H—Help me,” Petra continued under her strained breathing. “They’re—killing—me.”
She had a point. If this was what had happened to Veronica, she certainly wasn’t going to keep her youthful complexion.
“Do you remember what they did to you?” I asked, brushing back her sweat-moistened hair behind an ear. “Like, did they feed you something? Injections? A pill?”
“I—I—I don’t know,” she cried, crumbling into tears.
I rested the stone on top of her inflated stomach, feeling around the sides. It was rock solid, whatever they were, and whatever it was trying to force itself to replace the twins, they were relentless.
“I can remove them,” I said, or at least, the crystal would. I pressed the crystal gently on her stomach, closing my eyes as the sensation of heat came from the stone. A fiery sensation, burning the tips of my fingers, pushing pure light and energy through the woman’s body, it was all I could think of. Attacking at the parasites growing rapidly inside her.
Opening my eyes, a wave of light flashed before me. It pulsed through the house.
Silence.
“Thanks,” Cassandra said, wiping her hair back to pull away the white cap she’d had on, pinned in place with bobby pins. “What did you do?”
I looked around. Petra was passed out, her stomach deflated. The twins and their doppels had stopped fighting. Everyone appeared to have been knocked out, including those trying to get out of the house.
The downside to powerful magic was that sometimes stones couldn’t handle it. The celestite was now a patch of black burnt dust across Petra’s blouse.
As I helped Cassandra tie everyone, including the chef, the maid, and the butler. I brought myself to check on Elliott. He was completely innocent in all of this, and I didn’t want to see him again, not after witnessing him on the foyer floor.
“Go see him,” Cassandra said, noticing me looking over to the table where he laid with the sheet across his body. “I need to think about the paperwork for all these anyway,” she chuckled.
I smiled. At least I didn’t have to fill out any more forms.
Dusting myself and straightening my glasses, I walked slowly. I didn’t want the moment to pass. I peeled back the sheet to see Elliott laying there. Someone had stolen his medal, I knew if anything, he’d want to be with it.
Out in the hallway was Jinx, Cass’ familiar. She was rubbing her back against the wooden table. I picked her up and smiled, thankful I had an owl instead of a cat. I grabbed Elliott’s medal and walked back into the study.
“Look who I found,” I said, placing Jinx on the ground.
“Aww,” Cass opened her arms wide for her cat to run and jump into them. “Guess who scored her first win,” she said.
“First?”
“Yeah,” she said with a nod and a large smile. “I wanted to get a little experience in before coming to learn from you. It wasn’t technically my idea, it was the Council who thought it’d be good.”
I should’ve known. “I thought Camilla asked you personally,” she said.
“Nope,” she shook her head. “She called the Council, and I jumped at it when they told me about it. My first case, a winner.”
Even if I was the one who’d been at risk, I didn’t say anything to her. I let her have this. I had to say goodbye to Elliott, a young man, gone too soon.
“I’m sorry,” I said to him, “I should’ve looked out for you. I knew you were nervous, but I was sucked into this family, and their fancy things. It’s not who I am usually, I can’t be bought.” I didn’t know what I could say. I felt partly to blame, I guess after all they’d said that I’d killed him, maybe a little bit had sunk in, maybe I did in some weird way.
A tear trickled down my cheek. I wiped it away, refusing to believe the negativity.
“Evanora,” Cass spoke. “You’re not to blame for any of this.”
I continued with my ba
ck toward her. I was to blame, somewhat, for not being on guard. For letting the silly wards wash over me without cause for concern, when it was incredibly concerning.
“This is yours,” I said, placing the medal on his chest.
He shot up, gasping.
“Zombie!” Cass shrieked as Jinx howled at the loud noise.
“No,” I said, grabbing Elliott’s hand. “Are you okay?”
He looked around, his eyes staring at the people on the ground. “I—I—” he sucked his lips into his mouth. “I should’ve told you.”
“Told me what?”
“The Kingsway family own me,” he said. “And this is what keeps me alive.” He grabbed the medal and placed it around his neck. I brushed my hand across it. “It’s cursed to keep me alive when I wear it.”
I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a hug. “Never take it off,” I said. “I’ll give you my home address, I’ll sort something out for you.” I looked him in the eye and made sure to give him a stern nod.
“I’m free?”
“Yes,” I said, feeling my cheeks grow chubby as I grinned.
“I hoped you would’ve noticed when I showed you it,” he said. “I knew you were a witch when I saw your rings.”
I glanced to my hands, remembering I’d had to change the rings from my ballooning hand earlier. “Well, I might have been a detective for the Witch’s Council, but apparently I’m not that good at it anymore.”
“Go home,” Cass said. “I’ll take care of this.”
Her smile went from ear-to-ear. I said my goodbyes to Elliott before approaching Cassandra.
I knew the look on her face, it wasn’t the look of good news.
“You know we’ll have to wipe his mind of tonight,” she said. “And I’ll have to tell the Council about his predicament.”
It killed me. But I knew what had to be done. “Make sure good care is taken of him,” I said. “But I know the Council. They’ll probably house him in something, try and break the bond, they’ll take care of him.”
“They will,” she said. “Go home, energise yourself in the full moon.”
I didn’t want to leave, but she reminded me I needed to be home.
Before I left, I grabbed the handkerchief with my blood on it and set it alight. I wasn’t going to have anyone randomly finding this and controlling me further.
TWENTY-NINE
Three Days Later
Cassandra Hexe and her fluffy white cat, Jinx, arrived at my home with a large suitcase and smiles on their faces. I hadn’t spoken to anyone at the Council, nor had Cassandra been in touch, so when they arrived it was most definitely a surprise.
I welcomed her in with a hug.
“Come in, come in,” I said. “I do have company, but I’m sure he won’t mind.”
She smiled and nodded, wheeling in her suitcase as Jinx jumped from her arms to explore. “You have a husband?” she asked, looking around at the bare walls.
“No,” I replied. “I’d never met anyone, and the men I did meet were usually vampires, werewolves, and the like.”
She chuckled. “Plus, guys my age are so stupid,” she said.
“How old are you?” I asked. “Wait.” I held a hand up. “Don’t tell me.”
“Are you gonna guess?” she chuckled.
“Nope,” I said. “I’d just rather not know, the realisation I’m in my forties sets in when someone tells me how young they are.”
Greg waited in the kitchen with a cup of tea, playing with Jinx on the floor.
“This is Greg,” I said. “He’s a neighbour, and he’s helped me with the garden.”
“Oh,” he chuckled, standing again and waving a hand. “Nora has been a bigger help to Cottonwood than she even knows herself.”
“He knows?” she asked.
“Not sure,” he said. “I know a lot.”
I shook my head. Greg didn’t know as much as I let on, and what he thought he knew wasn’t a lot. “He knows enough.”
Cassandra pushed her hand forward. “I’m Cassandra,” she said. “Evanora’s cousin.”
He chuckled. “Nonsense,” he said. “I know you’re here to learn, the mentee program.”
She grinned. “That’s it,” she gave him a wink. “It’s top secret.”
“I should be going anyway,” he said, placing his cup of tea on the side. “Oh, I didn’t mention it, but I saw Veronica yesterday,” he said. “She’s still very young, so I don’t know who you saw last week when you went to visit her. Maybe her aunt was staying.”
“Oh? Perhaps,” I said.
Once Greg had left, I sat Cassandra down at the table with tea. I couldn’t believe Veronica was young again, especially after I’d seen her dressed in all black with a walking stick, chasing me out of her garden.
“So, the Council could reverse a couple things,” she began with, sipping the steaming tea. “Mmm, you’ll have to give me the recipe for this.”
“You got it,” I said. “You’re staying for a couple months anyway.”
She nodded. “I guess Veronica was given back her youth, and you’ll be happy to know Elliott is alive and well, safe at home. He does have a small mark on his chest from where the witches put a little gem to compensate for the medal,” she said.
“Why? Couldn’t they just break the bond?”
She pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. “So, here’s the thing, Elliott died, but some real dark witch, someone on the Council’s watch list, they’ve been chasing them for many years now, apparently it’s her handy work.”
“What did she do?” I asked.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, jogging her memory. “She basically gave him life again.”
I feared that was the answer. “But he’s safe now.”
“Absolutely.” She peered out through the open back door, while Jinx played in the dirt, muddying up her white fur. “Your familiar is an owl?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said with pride. “Ivory. She’s in the shed at the back. Her home.”
“Nocturnal?”
I nodded. “It’s helpful when you work at night,” I said, grumbling. “I mean, worked at night.”
She chuckled. “Isn’t that why you asked for a mentee?” she brushed her blonde hair back. “Because retirement is awfully boring, and you know how much fun it is to investigate.”
True. It was. And it would give meaning to my humdrum small-town life. Plus, I’m sure Ivory would grow to love having someone around to mentor. Ivory was a tough nut to crack, but when you did, there was a lot to give.
THIRTY
A Week Later
First thing in the morning, I began with finding out whether the milkman had been down the street, and often he had, but recently milk was going missing. I stood on the doorstep, wrapped tightly in my thick fluffy nightgown. Neighbours were doing the same, waiting for their morning milk delivery.
“I pay for the service, the least he could do is show up,” I said, walking into the kitchen empty handed.
Cassandra stood by the teakettle with a perky smile on her face. “It’ll be fine,” she said. “Black coffee it is.”
“I’m just annoyed,” I said, crossing my arms and planting myself firmly in the seat at the table. “It’s cheaper, and it means I don’t have to put clothes on to go to the corner shop,” I said. “Plus, that opens at nine, and the milkman is usually here before seven.”
She chuckled, pouring hot water into two mugs. “I didn’t realise you were cranky without coffee,” she said.
Well, I was. But I also hadn’t lived with anyone else since I’d lived at home. It was an adjustment for the both of us. I think more for myself, she’d just moved out of her family home.
“So, what are we doing today?” she asked, placing the cup of coffee in front of me.
I spooned sugar into the cup from the bowl on the table. “Augmented gems,” I said, wiggling my fingers at her. “Talking about rings with gemstones in them.”
“Ahh, they’re beautifu
l,” she said. “What do they all mean?” she asked.
I went through all the different rings on my fingers, but more importantly, the ring which I could summon thread from, and as a worker for the Witch’s Council, it was the most important tool, and the strongest material known to man – a form of spider-spun silk.
It was just after ten in the morning when I pulled out my box of brand-new crystals and gemstones, placing them on the kitchen side with excitement. It was a starter pack, enough to keep me going until I had time to venture out to a witch’s fare.
“How many do you have?” she asked.
“I’m rebuilding a collection,” I said. “This is a taster box, a little bit of everything so I could find which gems work for me, and which ones don’t.”
She nodded. “My family have such a huge collection,” she said. “They own like one of the jewels in the Queen’s crown.”
“Wow. Really?”
“Yup,” she nodded, wiggling her eyebrows. “It’s loaned to the royal family, because obviously it’s incredibly powerful.”
Not the humble beginnings I was hoping for with a new witch. “You know this job takes over your entire life,” I said.
“I know,” she replied. “I want to forget all about my family. I’ve always been fascinated by mysteries and why some witches go bad. From what happened with the Kingsway family, I’m still searching for an answer. They were pure evil.”
That was one word for it. “Let me check on the milk again,” I said, unfocused. “Look over those and see which ones speak to you.”
She nodded. “Okay,” she said as I left.
There was nothing. Not a single bottle of milk. I looked down the street once again, and it didn’t appear anyone here had their bottled milk either. Perhaps the milkman was on holiday, perhaps he’d forgotten to tell us.
A stomach-curdling scream hit my ears.
“MY BABY!” it screamed. “WHERE’S MY BABY?”
It came from the direction of Mercy Avenue.
A NOTE FROM JESSICA
The Secret of Kingsway House Page 9