“I can try, but I don’t really know what I’m doing.”
“I think you do, Cassia. Try.”
I concentrated on the little creature. I pictured her being well again and flying above the forest. I felt a familiar tingle running through my hand, and I continued to concentrate on the feeling of Sarah flying again.
In a hushed whisper, Stanley said, “It’s working. Her wings are moving.”
The little butterfly slowly flapped her wings and lifted off my hands. The flapping of her wings increased, and she rose even more.
“Cassia, you did it! You did magic. I knew you could do it.”
We both jumped as a cold voice behind us said, “It’s not only witches who can do magic.”
We spun around and saw Tansy standing halfway down the wooden steps. The hate on her face made me shiver.
She raised her hands in our direction and shouted, “Bind!”
Coils of rope shot off the nearby wall and headed towards us. A thick piece of rope wrapped itself round and round my body and then bound itself into a knot. The same thing happened to Stanley. Lengths of cloth flew our way and quickly wound themselves around our mouths.
Tansy laughed and came further down the steps. “That should keep you quiet and still for a while.” She jumped as the butterfly suddenly flew past her and through the open trapdoor. Tansy hissed, “You idiots! Why did you let her go? Now I’ll have to capture her again.”
She came down to the bottom of the stairs and walked over to us. There was a look of intense loathing on her face as she looked us up and down.
She indicated her head in the direction of the drawings. “You found my artwork. Wasn’t Jonathan a beautiful specimen? He loved me, did you know that? He was always coming to my house asking for work to do. It was so obvious how he felt about me. His feelings for Anju were false, I knew that. She forced him to get engaged. He was too polite to refuse.” She smirked. “I suppose you want to know how I killed him. Fair enough, I’ll tell you.”
She put her hands behind her back and began to walk up and down in front of us. She began, “It was me who gave him those vivid nightmares. Whenever I made him a cup of tea, I would put a magic potion in it which made him sleepy. As he dozed, he became susceptible to my graphic descriptions of the nightmares I placed in his mind. It was amazingly easy to do. I quite enjoyed going into detail about that werewolf who bit him. I wanted him to hate all the werewolves. I wanted him to walk away from them and come and live with me. He’d be safe here with me. I would look after him forever.”
Tansy stopped pacing. “But that part of my plan about Jonathan confiding in me backfired when he went to see that nosy Mrs Merryweather. He told all his problems to her instead of me. He was supposed to confide in me so that I became indispensable to him. That stupid goblin was starting to talk sense into him. He began to realise the nightmares weren’t real.” She shook her head in annoyance. “I’m going to make her pay for what she did.”
I tried to struggle against my ropes, but doing so made them cut into my skin.
Tansy looked at the drawings behind us before saying, “I had to do something before Jonathan went ahead with those ridiculous wedding plans. I wasn’t prepared to see him married to that hideous Anju. Not when he could have been with me.
“One day, when he was working in my garden, I declared my true feelings to him. I thought he would say he felt the same way and always had done. But he lied. He said he didn’t love me and that his heart was with Anju. He said he was going to make a new life with her. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he wouldn’t listen to me. He said it would be better if he never came back to my house. I knew Anju had twisted his mind against me.” Her face twisted in bitterness. “I didn’t want to kill him, but I had to. I couldn’t bear the thought of him being with Anju and not me.
“I sent a butterfly message to Jonathan and made it look like it was from Anju. I asked him to meet me at the oak tree to discuss our wedding plans. When he turned up there, he was surprised to see me and immediately tried to leave. He wasn’t prepared for the magic that I used on him. To be fair, I did give him one last chance to declare his love for me, but he wouldn’t admit it.” She shrugged. “I had no choice. He tried to struggle as I made him climb the tree, but my magic was much stronger than his will. He was still struggling as I made him tie the rope around his neck. His struggle didn’t last that long. As he took his last breath, I told him he shouldn’t have refused my love. It was all his fault that I had to end his life.
“I had everything in place so that Flint would get the blame for Jonathan’s death. I had Flint’s nightmares planned out, and I was going to convince him that he had killed Jonathan. I was going to convince Flint to murder Anju. But then you came along, Cassia Winter, and started to interfere in everything. Now I’ll have to change Flint’s nightmares. They’ll have to include killing you and your stupid cat.”
Tansy moved closer to Stanley and said, “I’ll kill the cat first. I hate cats.” She reached out a hand and pinched Stanley’s back. His eyes widened in pain.
Hate flared up in me, and I struggled against the tight ropes again.
Tansy grabbed Stanley’s tail and pulled it roughly. Stanley choked against the cloth in his mouth.
My body was seething with hate, but I knew if I was going to do magic, I would need to stay calm. I ignored the taunts Tansy was giving Stanley, and I closed my eyes. I imagined Stanley and me being free from our ropes and Tansy being the one who was tied up instead. My fingertips began to tingle, and I concentrated on the feeling of being free even more.
There was a sudden flash of light and screams came from Tansy. I was blinded by the light at first, but when I could see again I saw the ropes around Stanley and me had fallen to the floor, along with the cloths from our mouths.
I quickly scanned the room for signs of Tansy. There she was, near the steps. She was lying on the floor, bound by ropes. Her head was at a funny angle, and there was a dark liquid pooling under her head.
Stanley came over to me and said in a shocked voice, “Is she dead? Have you killed her?”
Chapter 27
“Well?” Gran asked later on. “Did you kill her?”
I was sitting in the chair at the side of Gran’s bed. Stanley and Oliver were lying at the bottom of the bed facing us.
Gran sat up straighter in bed. “I’m presuming you didn’t or else you wouldn’t be here. I hope you at least caused her some physical damage. What a nasty little elf!”
“To be honest, Gran, I can’t remember clearly what happened after Tansy was flung across the room. Blythe suddenly came dashing down the steps along with some other people. Blythe took in the situation immediately and went over to Tansy. She said she wasn’t going to allow Tansy to die, not before Blythe got a full confession out of her.”
I took a sip of tea. My hands were still trembling from recent events, but I tried not to show it.
Stanley took up the story. “Luca was with Blythe. He ran right over to Cassia and wrapped his strong arms around her. Cassia, hasn’t Luca got strong arms?”
I nodded, and pulled my cup closer. I could feel Gran looking my way.
“I left Cassia and Luca to have a hug,” Stanley said, “and I went over to Blythe. She was talking quietly to those people she was with. Blythe said black magic had been used, and that the problem was getting worse in Brimstone.”
Gran nodded thoughtfully. “That is true. We haven’t had a murder around here for decades. Brimstone is a quiet, accommodating town. Many beings live happily side by side. As soon as my silly ankle is better, I’ll be having a long chat with Blythe. Cassia, how did Blythe know where you were?”
I smiled and lowered my cup. “Sarah, the butterfly, told her.”
Gran smiled too. “I’m so glad you found Sarah. How’s she doing?”
“Back to full health. And back with the other butterflies. Gran, you should have seen the butterflies on the tree at the end of our path. They were da
ncing! It was like the whole tree was alive.”
“They were singing too,” Stanley said.
“Were they?” I asked. “I didn’t hear them.”
Gran explained, “Our cats have sensitive hearing. It can come in quite useful sometimes. I can’t believe Tansy held that poor butterfly captive. I suppose Tansy was worried Sarah would reveal it was her who’d sent the message to Jonathan.” Her face wrinkled in concern. “Did you find out who attacked me?”
I nodded. “It was Flint. He’s the one who tried to attack me too. He confessed to Anju who then told Blythe. He’s in a heap of trouble with everyone.”
Gran’s face wrinkled even more. “Why would Flint do that? He’s never caused any trouble before. I know he’s a hothead, but he’s never done anything like this. There’s definitely something evil in the air.”
Stanley tapped his paw on the bedcover. “Cassia, tell Esther what Luca told you when he walked you back home.” He let out a little snigger. “Luca had one of his strong arms around Cassia all the way.”
“He was just being friendly,” I said indignantly. Stanley was turning into a snitch. I’d be having words with him later.
I put my cup down, and said to Gran, “Luca had been to a meeting with some other guardians at Blythe’s house. Blythe had been travelling the lands beyond Brimstone as she’d heard rumours of evil acts. She spoke to other witches who said their towns had been affected. Their crime rates were on the increase, and there were more and more incidents of black magic being used. Blythe told the guardians they would need to patrol Brimstone more and be vigilant for any crimes.”
Gran shook her head slowly. “This is all very worrying. Does Blythe know where the black magic is coming from?”
“Not yet. She’s going to be conferring with the other witches. Also, she’s going to interview Tansy and see where she got her supply of black magic from.” I sighed. “Gran, I can’t believe Tansy forced Jonathan to kill himself. After all he’d been through, he deserved happiness.”
Gran patted my hand. “I know, but you found his killer. That will be some comfort to Anju. I’m not sure you went about your investigation the right way by going into Tansy’s house like that, but you got there in the end. You and Stanley did a wonderful job.” She looked Stanley’s way. “This adventure has done wonders for you, Stanley. You don’t look as skinny.”
I gave him a fond look. Yes, he did look a tad healthier. I suddenly realised I hadn’t had one single headache since starting this investigation. And my stomach ulcers hadn’t made themselves known at all.
Gran patted my hand again. “Cassia, have you given any thought to this witch business?”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you accepted the fact that you’re a witch?”
“I have. I don’t think I’m a very good witch. I didn’t mean to nearly kill Tansy.”
Gran gave me a smile. “You just need to practise more. Cassia, this is a big question, but I have to ask it. Will you work with me in Brimstone investigating crimes? I’m going to have my hands full with this wave of black magic heading our way. It could even be a full-time job.”
I looked down at my lap. I didn’t know what to say. Was I ready to do this? Was I ready to leave my old life behind?
The doorbell rang which saved me from having to answer Gran’s question. I jumped to my feet and declared, “I’ll get it.”
It was Alastair at the door. He shoved two huge bouquets of flowers towards me along with two big boxes of chocolates.
He held up his hands and said, “Let me speak. Those gifts are for you and your gran. How is she, by the way?”
“She’s fine,” I said over the top of the flowers.
“Good. Good. Cassia, I need to apologise. I’ve been such an idiot. I’ve forced my opinions on you time and time again. I’ve shown you very little respect, and I’m extremely sorry. I know how lucky I am to have you in my life. You are an amazing person, and I love you so much. I would love to spend the rest of my life with you.”
To my horror, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He opened it and got down on one knee.
Alastair cleared his throat and said, “Cassia Winter, will you marry me?”
I couldn’t say anything. I just stared at him.
“Cassia? Did you hear me? I asked you to marry me.” He let out a nervous laugh. “Don’t leave me hanging here.”
My heart softened at the hopeful expression on his face. Despite his faults, I cared for Alastair. He’d always looked out for me.
I knew what my answer was.
Chapter 28
Ten minutes later, I returned to Gran’s bedroom. By the look on her face, I guessed she knew who’d been at the door.
I handed Gran one of the boxes of chocolate. “This is from Alastair. There are some flowers downstairs for you too.”
“Oh? Was that him at the door?”
Stanley said, “Esther, you know he was. You made Oliver stand at the top of the stairs and listen.”
I smiled at Stanley. Him being a snitch could work in my favour. I sat in the chair next to Gran’s bed. “Did you hear him propose to me?”
“We did. We didn’t hear your reply because you went outside.” Gran gave me a searching look. “Can you tell us what your answer was? Or is it private?”
I looked at Oliver and Stanley. They had the same searching looks on their furry faces.
“I told him no.”
Stanley leapt to his feet, punched his paw in the air and yelled, “Yes!”
Gran tutted at him. “Stanley, compose yourself. Cassia, are you sure that’s what you want?”
“I’m absolutely sure. I’m fond of Alastair, but I don’t love him. I don’t think I ever have. I ended things between us. He deserves someone who loves him. That life wasn’t for me, Gran. You saw how ill I was becoming.” I looked Stanley’s way. “You saw what it was doing to Stanley. I have to be my true self, and so does Stanley.”
Gran reached out and gave my hand a small squeeze. “I think you’re making the right decision. Tell me, how did you feel when you used magic?”
I grinned. “I felt awesome. Despite the dangers involved, I’m glad I found Jonathan’s killer.”
“Do the supernatural beings bother you? There are many species in Brimstone.”
“They don’t bother me at all. I’d like to know more about them. And if I can help them in any way, then I’d love to do that.”
Gran nodded. “I’ll let Blythe know. She’ll be so pleased. You’re going to need a lot of training.”
“I know. I’m ready for it.” I looked at Stanley. “Well, Stanley, will you be my investigating partner in Brimstone?”
Stanley padded along the bedcover and threw himself into my arms. He leant his head against me and purred. He said, “We’re going to make a great team.”
I stroked his head. “We certainly are, Stanley.”
About the author
I live in a county called Yorkshire, England with my family. This area is known for its paranormal activity and haunted dwellings. I love all things supernatural and think there is more to this life than can be seen with our eyes.
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This story has been checked for errors by myself and my team. If you spot anything we’ve missed, you can let us know by emailing us at: [email protected]
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Warm wishes
April
Murder Of A Werewolf
A Brimstone Witch Mystery
(Book 1)
By
April Fernsby
www.aprilfernsby.com
Copyright 2017 by April Fernsby
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, electronically or mechanically without permission from the author.
Murder Of A Werewolf (A Brimstone Witch Mystery Book 1) Page 15