by Clare Kauter
There were roughly twenty people sitting on the grass or milling about near the fire. They were all dressed in purple robes, and I watched in fascination as they interacted with each other. These certainly didn’t look like the magicals we’d encountered in Scotland. The fancy purple robes were new, as was the general calm demeanour of the people in attendance. Maybe I was wrong, but they didn’t look like they were about to dig into human flesh. They just looked like they were having fun hanging around the campfire.
Maybe we were in the wrong place. But then what were these people doing here? There was so much dark energy around that it seemed unlikely they were doing something innocuous. Was this camp still operational? Everything looked as if it had been recently renovated, but judging by the ages of the people here, it was no longer a kids’ camp.
“I don’t think these guys are from Scotland,” Henry whispered.
“I was thinking the same thing,” I replied. “But then who the hell are they?”
“Not our cult,” he said. “But I’m pretty sure it’s a cult nonetheless.”
I nodded slowly. “Do you think the girl Ravi met in the bar was trying to recruit him?”
“I’d say it’s a definite possibility.”
All at once, the people around the fire fell quiet and dropped to the ground.
“What just happened?” I whispered. “Are they dead?”
“They’re not dead,” said Henry with an eye roll. “They’re on their knees. Someone must be coming.”
“What do you…”
But my question was answered before I could even finish asking it when I saw a figure emerge from one of the cabins and begin to walk towards the fire. Whoever it was wore robes like the others, but rather than purple his were white. The assembled purple-robes kept their heads bent in deference as their leader approached, and they began a low chant. OK, yep. Definitely a cult.
“They’re the ones who killed Ravi,” I said. “They must be.”
Henry frowned. “If he was sacrificed here, why did he end up in the graveyard outside your house?”
I gave Henry a worried glance. “You don’t think…”
“What?”
I groaned. “Really, Henry?”
“What?”
“They’re worshipping me. They must be,” I said.
Henry rolled his eyes. “You’re getting a little conceited, aren’t you? Can’t come across a garden variety death cult without thinking they’re killing for you.”
“Sorry,” I snapped. “It’s just that in my experience, when there’s a death cult, they tend to be kind of big fans of Your Majesty. Perhaps if I knew more about myself I could understand why, but since you seem so hell-bent on keeping it from me –”
“Nessa, shut up.”
“Don’t tell me –”
“Nessa…”
Something in his tone made me pause mid-rant. “What?”
The group’s chanting grew louder and louder. Henry pointed over towards the fire, which had now morphed from normal flames into a giant, crackling portrait. I recognised the image immediately.
The flames had formed a picture of me.
I was about to give Henry a smug look, but before I had the chance the leader moved into the light and smiled. My stomach dropped when I caught sight of his face. For the first time, I was able to make out who it was. The second I recognised him, I realised I’d made a mistake. This cult was most definitely not worshipping me. In fact, it was kind of the opposite.
You see, their leader was Pierre, the vampire who wanted me dead. And his merry minions weren’t chanting a prayer to reincarnate me.
Their chant was a less a prayer and more a mission statement.
Kill the witch.
Chapter 20
So it wasn’t the Scottish cult after all. Pierre had started his own. I suppose I should have been flattered that he’d gone to so much trouble to try and kill me. Found an entire cult just to get rid of me? Obviously he thought I was worth the effort.
Pierre’s presence explained the darkness we’d felt in the forest. No wonder Henry’s light energy was being sapped. It wasn’t the forest itself, as we’d previously thought. It was Pierre and his crazy vortex – the vortex I was pretty sure had something to do with him being in possession of another one of my companion items.
I tried to think. What did this mean? Had he killed Ravi and left him at my house to freak me out? Had it been some sort of failed attempt to curse me? Was Pierre responsible for the disappearances of the other magicals? Most importantly, where was Honey?
Pierre ordered his disciples to their feet. I scanned their faces, trying to find Honey. She was nowhere to be seen. He must have been keeping her in one of the cabins. While I couldn’t see Honey, there was someone else there who I recognised.
Rainbow.
I pointed her out to Henry. “I knew she was trying to kill me,” I hissed. A thought occurred to me and I whimpered slightly. “I’m never going to be able to drink another of her coffees, am I?”
Henry rolled his eyes at me. “Your priorities always astound me. Don’t you think we might have more pressing problems?”
I nodded. “I guess. Let’s see what we’re dealing with here.”
I gently cast out a net of energy, brushing each cultist with the lightest of touches to sense what they were. What I found made my eyes widen. Did this mean…
I turned to Henry and judging by the look on his face he’d come to the same conclusion.
“These are the missing magicals,” I whispered.
Henry nodded. “Yes,” he said. “Except now they’re all vampires.”
“All except Rainbow,” I said. “She hasn’t been turned yet.”
“She must be new to the cult.”
“If she’s new, maybe she’s not totally brainwashed yet. Do you think we can get her back on our side?”
“Worth a try,” said Henry. “Although I’m perfectly aware you’re only asking that because you want her to keep making you coffee.”
“My motives are unimportant,” I said.
“This is a cult dedicated to killing you,” said Henry. “Surely that should be your main concern.”
“I’d like to see them try.”
“You’re getting cocky,” said Henry. “You shouldn’t. Pierre’s one of the only people I know whose energy seems as strong as yours.”
“That’s because he’s figured out how to use a companion,” I said. “I’m sure of it.”
“How can you be sure of it?”
I hesitated. “Fine,” I said finally. “I’m not sure of it, but it’s the only thing that seems to fit. He’s corrupted it somehow, but he’s using it. My necklace is reacting to him.”
“Your necklace would react to anyone who wanted to kill you.”
“Not like this,” I said exasperatedly. “You don’t get it. It’s just that it’s the only thing that makes sense. When he ransacked the church that time while you were in the UK, the Doomstone reacted and scared him off.”
“That doesn’t mean –”
“Daisy got hurt too,” I said. “Her companion item burnt her when it reacted to his presence. Her theory was the same as mine – that Pierre has a companion item. It all fits.”
“OK, but even if that’s true, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful,” he said. “He has a whole cult of magical vampires to help him capture you. You’re strong, but a pack of magic vamps led by Pierre might just be able to match you.”
I was about to protest, but instead fell silent as Pierre began to speak.
“Brothers and sisters,” Pierre said, “tonight’s the night.”
That didn’t bode well. The congregation began to cheer excitedly. Pierre enjoyed the applause for a moment, and then raised a hand to hush them.
“It is the full moon, and tonight our magic will be at its strongest. Tonight is the night we vanquish our foe and restore our beloved Honey to her natural vampiric state.” Pierre started to get choked up and t
ook a moment to wipe his eyes, dabbing away what I’m sure were fake tears. “Come to us, my darling,” he said, raising both hands and pointing them in the direction of the main hall. The doors of the hall flew open and a hovering cage moved out of the building on Pierre’s command. In the cage, face streaked from crying and hair matted from being held captive so long, was Honey.
I began to stand, but Henry grabbed my arm and pulled me back down.
“Not now,” hissed Henry. “We need to be smart. Think about this, Ness. We need to come up with a plan. We can’t just go barging in there.”
I gritted my teeth. “Fine,” I said. I knew he was right, but it was hard to just sit back and watch Honey float across the campsite in a cage when she’d rescued me at her own risk so many times before.
“We’ll get Rainbow alone, question her, and then formulate a plan,” Henry said. “We can’t afford to do anything rash.”
I nodded. “OK,” I replied, although I still kind of wanted to just rush Pierre and see how things played out.
The cage holding Honey was not an ordinary metal cage. The bars were made of dark energy, Pierre’s energy, and I had no idea how to get Honey out of it. There was no door – I was fairly certain that either Pierre would have to let her out, or we’d have to find some way to break his spell so the cage would dissolve. Like, I dunno, killing him.
“My dear,” said Pierre as he brought Honey’s cage to rest next to him. He knelt down and put his hand through the bars, stroking her cheek. She didn’t flinch away. I have no idea why she was so loyal to him, but for whatever reason she still looked at him like she loved him. Maybe it was a ploy, but I doubted it.
“My darling,” Honey replied with a sad smile. “Please, let me be free.”
“That’s what we’re going to do tonight, my love,” Pierre said. “By the end of this evening, you will be set free.”
Honey’s eyes widened in panic. “You can’t – you don’t want to hurt her. She’s not who you think she is.”
“She has turned you into an abomination,” Pierre said with a growl, baring his teeth.
“I’m no abomination,” said Honey. “I no longer need to feed on human blood, and I can walk in the sun. If anything, she’s made me less of an abomination.”
The entire congregation gasped. Pierre hushed them. “She doesn’t know what she’s saying,” said Pierre. “She’s under the witch’s spell. But by the end of tonight, she will be free and back to her old self. We’re going to kill the witch.” Pierre turned to Rainbow and beckoned her over to join him. “Our newest member, Sister Rainbow, knows the witch very well. In fact, Rainbow has a story to tell us about this witch. In her trance-like state, Honey would have us believe that this witch only wants what’s best for us.”
“Well, she’s obviously lying about that,” I whispered to Henry. He put his finger to his lips and shushed me.
“But Rainbow herself has been threatened by this witch,” Pierre said with fake outrage. His audience booed and hissed on cue. “Tell us the story, Sister Rainbow.”
Rainbow nodded and swallowed before speaking.
“She joined my coven,” said Rainbow, her voice shaking. “She immediately became a police officer, but she has no interest in keeping anyone safe. In fact, I think she may be planning to murder us all.”
The vampires began to boo again. I raised my eyebrows. Really? She thought I’d been planning to murder them all? That would be a good trick, considering I hadn’t even known this cult existed until a few minutes ago.
Rainbow continued her speech. “She threatened me earlier today,” she said. “I saw her buying a book on the art of murder.”
“That’s taken out of context,” I whispered.
Henry shushed me again.
“Make no mistake, if we do not vanquish her, she will come after us!” Rainbow concluded.
The congregation hissed and booed and the chant of ‘kill the witch’ started up again. This time, Pierre joined in. Honey began to cry, shaking her head.
“No, please,” she called from her cage. “She’s trying to help us. Please don’t hurt her.”
“See what the witch has done?” Pierre roared. “She’s turned my precious Honey into her slave.”
The chant grew louder as the troops rallied, getting all excited. I was a little flattered, I must admit. They seemed so keen to take me down.
Pity I was going to have to kill them all.
Chapter 21
After their big rally by the campfire, two cultists stood guard by Honey’s cage while the others, including Pierre, headed off to various cabins to grab their torches and pitchforks and whatever else they thought they needed to kill me. Henry and I kept a close eye on Rainbow and skirted around the edge of the camp to see where she went.
As far as we could tell, the camp didn’t have any wards over it. I guess they were relying on Pierre’s magical vortex to keep out anyone unwanted. Or maybe if anyone stumbled across the camp they simply turned them. Either way, there was no barrier keeping us out.
We didn’t have a lot of time to come up with a plan, so we took the first opportunity we saw. Henry shifted into a bug (still cloaked) and buzzed around behind Rainbow until she was alone. I watched with bated breath as he shifted into gorilla form, clapped a hand over her mouth and dragged her into the trees kicking and screaming. No one seemed to have heard. I cast a spell to keep her mouth shut while we travelled a safe distance away from the camp so she couldn’t scream for help. They’d notice she was gone eventually, but I was hoping we could get the information we needed from her first.
Once we were far enough away, we stopped and I bound Rainbow to a tree. Before I removed the spell that I’d used to seal her mouth shut, I gave her a warning.
“I’m about to let you open your mouth, but I’d suggest you don’t scream when I do or you’ll experience first hand what I learned from that book I bought earlier.”
Her eyes widened slightly in fear for just a moment, then the look of pure hatred returned and she nodded. I removed the spell and she opened her mouth, swinging her jaw open and shut to stretch it.
“We have some questions for you,” I said.
“It’s too late for you, witch,” hissed Rainbow.
I frowned. “You do realise you’re a witch too, right?”
“Not for long,” she said, grinning. “Brother Pierre is going to turn me.”
“When?” I asked. “Why hasn’t he done it already?”
“Later tonight,” she said. “I haven’t proven myself yet, but I will.”
“Really.”
“Yes,” she spat. “When I help him slaughter you.”
I crossed my arms and looked across at Henry before looking back to Rainbow. “And how’s that working out for you so far?”
“You don’t stand a chance against him,” she said smugly. “You’re nothing.”
“Uh huh.”
“He’s going to make you suffer.”
I nodded. Sarcastically. “Sure he is.”
“After what you did to Honey, he’s going to make you pay.”
With a sigh, I asked, “Do you actually have any idea what happened to Honey?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You cursed her.”
“She bit me,” I said. “And had an… allergic reaction of sorts. My blood didn’t agree with her.”
“I don’t believe you,” Rainbow replied. “You cursed her.”
“I gave her the power to walk in the sun,” I said. “Your leader locked her in a cage. I don’t think I’m the one who hurt her.”
“He did it for her own good!”
I rolled my eyes. “Rainbow, you might be an excellent barista, but you’re super dumb when it comes to everything else,” I said. “You’re in a cult. You’ve been brainwashed. Pierre isn’t as magnificent as everyone thinks he is.”
“I don’t see much of a difference between the way we treat him and the way the Green Wattle Coven treats you.”
My eyebrows flew u
p. “Oh really? That’s how you want to play this?”
“Nessa…” Henry warned.
My necklace grew warm as I spoke. “I didn’t even want to join the coven,” I hissed, my voice growing louder as I grew angrier. “I was tricked into it. And the only reason they made me a cop is because they’d already forced me to solve cases for free beforehand. I didn’t ask for this. For any of it. Do you know what kind of crap I have to put up with? I have to speak with orks on a daily basis. I’ve spent the past two days traipsing across the countryside based on a ghost’s memories of memories. Tonight I had to fly through the air on a horse’s back! And now I find out that the one thing, the one ray of sunshine in my life, is going away, because my favourite barista has joined a cult!” By the end of my speech I was all but screaming.
“You mean because you’re going to die tonight?” said Rainbow.
“No! Because you’re either going to end up dead or go to prison and either way I’m never going to have one of your coffees again!”
She leaned forward a little and said, “I’ve been spitting in them.”
Mirroring her movement, I leaned forward until our faces were only centimetres apart. “I know,” I said. “And I don’t care. That’s how good they are.”
“OK, you two,” said Henry, looking slightly disturbed. “I hate to break up whatever the hell this is, but we’re here for a specific reason. Rainbow, did you kill a normal here recently?”
It was dark, but thanks to the illumination from the purple bonds holding Rainbow to the tree I could see her face. She turned a little red. I gave a slow smile as the pieces came together in my brain. “You were the one who picked him up in the bar,” I guessed.
She turned her nose up and looked away, but I knew I was right. The red flush on her neck told me as much.