Agatha cast a worried look around the park. “I hope the other two red bloods got away in one piece. I don’t want to come back here any time soon. Red blood land smells strange.”
“If they were able to get up and walk away they will be fine,” said Ivy. “Get a move on, this red blood is heavy.”
Agatha hurried ahead of Bryony and Ivy, casting nervous looks all around until they reached the border. After a few seconds of searching, she discovered the hole Ivy made in the border magic and pushed through. Ivy, the red blood, and Bryony followed.
“Hold him for a second.” Ivy leaned the red blood’s weight onto Bryony before sealing the hole in the border.
“We need to use a spell to make sure no one notices what we’re carrying through Old Sarum,” said Bryony. “The villagers won’t like the fact we’ve brought a red blood inside.”
“How about we disguise him as a warlock?” asked Agatha. “I’ve got some old gowns in my house. If we shove a hat on his head and cover his clothing, we might get away with it.”
“Let’s use a cover spell,” said Ivy. “It will look strange if the two of us are seen dragging an unconscious warlock through the streets.”
“Good idea,” said Bryony. “But we’d better hurry. The Charm Police could arrive any second to see what the border breach is all about. Their magical detectors will be pinging like mad after what we’ve done.”
“Your Gabriel won’t think so kindly of you if he discovered you were the one to walk through the breach,” said Ivy with an evil grin.
“I don’t care what Gabriel thinks of me,” said Bryony, a blush shooting across her cheeks.
“Of course you don’t.” Ivy hoisted half of the red blood’s weight back over her shoulders and made contact with her sister to connect the cover spell to the three of them. “I’ll do the magic.”
Bryony braced herself as Ivy cast her cover spell. Her magic always felt uncomfortably cold, and as it crawled over Bryony’s skin, she felt goose bumps break out on her flesh. It still surprised her to feel that. Given her sister’s demon blood ancestry from her father’s side, the magic should have been warm. Bryony always felt panicky whenever Ivy performed magic. Sometimes its taint was too dark for her liking.
“I take it you can’t see us,” said Ivy to Agatha.
“All three of you are invisible.” Agatha gave a relieved sigh.
“Time to go,” said Ivy.
They hurried past Maggie’s tavern, Agatha’s gaze shifting fearfully every few seconds.
“Stop looking so worried,” hissed Ivy. “You’ll give us away if you keep jumping every time someone looks at you.”
“Sorry,” muttered Agatha. “I’m just worried we’ll be caught.”
They reached the Love Cauldron, and Bryony discreetly unlocked the door and Agatha pushed it open, allowing the girls to enter with the red blood still between them.
With a click of her fingers, Ivy’s spell dispersed. “Now we’ve got him here, what are we going to do with him?” She studied the red blood as if he was a curious fungus she’d discovered in the Enchanted Forest.
“Put him on the sofa for now,” said Bryony after she’d locked the store door. She didn’t want any customers coming in and getting a shock. “He’s too heavy to carry upstairs.”
“I’m not having a red blood in my room,” said Ivy.
Bryony shifted her grip on the red blood. “No, I wouldn’t feel comfortable having him sleep on my floor.”
“We could put him in the bath or in a closet. I could use a flying spell on him to get him up the stairs,” said Ivy.
“He’s had enough magic done to him for now,” said Bryony. “The sofa will have to do.”
They manoeuvred the red blood into what looked like a comfortable position on the sofa, his legs out straight and his arms folded across his chest.
“He looks dead lying like that,” said Agatha. “You will be able to fix him, won’t you?”
“We will do everything we can to make sure he’s back to his normal self in no time,” said Bryony. “First, we need some tea and brownies after that experience.”
“I could do with something stronger,” said Ivy.
“You’ll have to make do with tea for now,” said Bryony. “I need your magic in top fighting form so we can sort this mess out.”
“It’s not even our mess.” Ivy shot a narrowed eyed glare at Agatha, who shrank away from her and collapsed into a chair next to the sofa.
“I’ll be back with the tea in a moment.” Bryony headed into the kitchen.
Spike skulked out from behind the counter, emitting his usual fierce growls. He stalked over to the red blood and began a thorough investigation of him, sniffing him up and down, his red eyes rolling in his head.
“He’s not to be eaten,” said Ivy to Spike. “Well, only if he gets really annoying. Then you’re free to do what you like with him.”
“Spike would never eat a red blood, would he?” asked Agatha, her horrified gaze on Spike.
“He’s only met a few in his lifetime,” said Ivy. “I’m never sure what he makes of them. They do smell strange.”
“Kissing him wasn’t the nicest of experiences. They smell dead to me, as if they are shambling around like sad little zombies on the other side of the borde, living a horrible half existence.”
“Without magic, they might as well be,” said Ivy. “Not much of a life if all you do is go to work in a job you hate, go home to your partner you most probably don’t like, eat food that makes you fat and sick, sleep, and do it all over again for the next sixty years or so.”
“It does sound grim,” said Agatha. “I’d never choose life as a red blood. So dull and lacking in joy. And not even a simple happiness spell to make things feel better.”
“Which is why I still think we should scatter the upcoming red blood pilgrimage with some happiness magic.” Bryony entered the store with a large tray in her hands, three mugs of tea on it and a plate full of large triple chocolate brownies.
Ivy moved over to the sofa, and removed the red blood’s arm from Spike’s mouth, before sitting down. “Don’t waste your magic on them.”
“I agree,” said Agatha. “It doesn’t seem fair, giving them a taste of something they can’t have. It’s like feeding someone their favorite cake once and then ensuring they never have it again. They’ll always pine after it.”
Bryony handed around the tea and brownies. “Now, Agatha, what can you tell us about this curse?” She settled in the seat next to her sister. “When did it first start?”
“I’m not certain,” said Agatha. “I’ve been under its influence for at least five weeks. That was the first time I had somebody reject me after we’d kissed.”
“And what happened?” asked Ivy.
“We went out for dinner. And then my date, Marcus, walked me home,” said Agatha. “I gave him a kiss good night and he recoiled from me. He pulled a disgusted face and said he had to go. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong and called him several times to find out what happened, but he never returned my messages. I guessed we weren’t compatible.”
“It wasn’t a one-off incident?” asked Bryony.
“It happened again, and with a different man. This time it was Woody. We’d been on a couple of dates, and kissed goodbye at the end of our last date. And the same thing occurred. In fact, it was even worse this time. He gagged in front of me.” Agatha took a long drink of tea.
Ivy snorted a laugh. “Are you sure it’s not your terrible kissing technique? Do you floss?”
“I floss! And I’ve never had any complaints before about my kissing.” Agatha sniffed. “There’s something wrong. This has nothing to do with my kissing technique.”
“I’m sure your kissing style isn’t the problem.” Bryony ate a piece of brownie. “Weren’t you dating Bruce Creed?”
Agatha’s gaze dropped to the floor. “We dated for almost a year. But split up recently. It wasn’t working out.”
“Was it the
curse?” asked Bryony. “Did your kiss repel him?”
“No, there were no problems in that respect. Bruce is all man, he can take anything I give him.”
“Revolting,” muttered Ivy, selecting a brownie from the plate and taking a large bite.
“So what happened with Bruce?” asked Bryony. “Why did you split up?”
“He got jealous seeing me talking to another guy.” Agatha pulled apart her brownie. “We had this huge fight and he ended up saying some horrible things about my mother. He tried to apologise afterwards, but I was so angry with him and told him to get lost. He didn’t come back after that. I assumed Bruce found somebody else or lost interest in me. Or he could have decided my mother was too much of a nuisance and I wasn’t worth the trouble. She can be overbearing at times.”
“And it was after your breakup with Bruce that you began having problems whenever you kissed anybody?” asked Bryony.
“I smell a suspect,” said Ivy. “Your ex-boyfriend cursed you so you can never kiss another man again.”
“Bruce wouldn’t do that.” Agatha’s eyes brightened. “But in a way, it’s sort of sweet if he has done this. It means he still likes me.”
Ivy groaned and slumped into her seat. “What a lovely way of showing someone you care. Give them a curse.”
“Well, yes, it is unusual,” said Bryony. “A curse is powerful magic. Is Bruce experienced with curses of this nature?”
“He’s your average warlock,” said Agatha with a shrug. “He can perform magic, but he’s not powerful and doesn’t often use it. The Creed family specialize in elemental magic; shifting weather patterns or ensuring the river doesn’t flood. Bruce is better at anything to do with mechanical things, though. There’s some gremlin in his ancestry.”
“Elemental magic can be strong if it’s channelled correctly,” said Ivy. “We should have a word with Bruce, see what he can tell us about this curse.”
“Agreed,” said Bryony. “Agatha, you mentioned you two argued about your mother. Didn’t she approve of Bruce?”
“She hates anyone I date,” said Agatha with a sigh. “She wants to keep me at home as her slave, fetching and carrying for her. We didn’t speak for almost a month when I moved into my own place. I don’t think she means to be nasty, but she’s lonely and doesn’t get out of her house much anymore. Her magic can be unpredictable, and she doesn’t like to put people’s lives at risk. Plus, her dragon nature can rub people up the wrong way.”
Bryony exchanged a knowing look with Ivy. They both knew Mavis Graytooth. She came into the store and always complained about the merchandise, or how cold it was, or how warm it was, or how much her back ached. Bryony could understand why Agatha didn’t want to live with her.
“I imagine your mom has considerable magical abilities,” said Bryony.
“She could have inflicted this curse on you without breaking a sweat,” said Ivy.
“Mom would never do that,” said Agatha. “Well, maybe she would. She can be mean when she wants to. But she wouldn’t get in the way of me being happy, would she?”
“She’s worth talking to,” said Bryony. “Maybe if you show her how unhappy you are, your mom will reveal what she’s done and reverse the curse.”
“I don’t want to talk to her alone,” muttered Agatha. “We had another argument recently. I’m not sure how receptive she’ll be. Do you know what our magic speciality is?”
“Graytooths are descended from dragons.” Ivy leaned forward in her seat. “Does that mean you can breathe fire?”
Agatha shrugged. “I do have a way with fire magic. And I’m working on being able to breathe it. But we don’t come into our full powers for decades. Can’t have too many fire breathing witches around at any one time. People get scared and houses get burned down.”
“We need to make sure we don’t annoy your mother if we do speak to her.” Bryony shot a look at Ivy.
“Yes, always a good idea to keep her calm,” said Agatha.
“So, we have a jealous ex-boyfriend and a needy parent to deal with in relation to this curse,” said Ivy. “Anyone else we should add to our list of curse giving suspects?”
Agatha chewed slowly on a piece of brownie. “We need to speak to Vanessa Damsel.”
“Vapid Vanessa!” Ivy laughed. “What have you done to annoy her?”
“We’ve hated each other since we were kids,” said Agatha. “She stole a boyfriend off me when we were in witch school, but then I stole him back. Ever since then, we’ve fought over men. I even took one away from her I didn’t fancy, just because I wanted to see the look on her face. Vanessa’s cheeks turn purple when she’s furious.”
“Have you seen Vanessa recently?” asked Bryony. “Could she have placed the curse on you without you realizing it?”
“I can’t remember the last time I saw her,” said Agatha. “But she lives out by the sleeping volcano, so our paths will have crossed. She could have slipped a curse on me without me noticing.”
“She’s not smart enough to come up with such a clever curse,” said Ivy. “She’s not called vapid for nothing. Bryony, do you remember the time she used magic in that cake baking contest? She tried a spell to make her sponge cake light and fluffy. When the judges cut into it, they discovered nothing but air inside the cake. Vanessa can’t even get a simple elemental spell right. Curses like this are way beyond her intelligence or ability.”
“An angry woman can do dark things,” said Bryony. “We should still talk to her. If she didn’t do it herself, she may have paid somebody to create the curse and inflict it on Agatha.”
“Anybody else?” asked Ivy.
Agatha was silent for a few seconds. “Well, there is my mystery man.”
“You have a mystery man?” asked Bryony.
Agatha gave an embarrassed smile. “I was out one evening at Maggie’s tavern. I’d had a few too many damson wines and was feeling flirty. There were a group of warlocks in the tavern. They were from another area, so I didn’t know any of them. But I got chatting to one, and we kissed.”
“You do a lot of kissing,” said Ivy.
“I'm allowed to. I’m a single woman,” said Agatha.
“Of course you are,” said Bryony. “And how did the kiss go? You didn’t repel him?”
“It went well,” said Agatha. “He came back several times for more kisses before he left the tavern.”
“You think this mystery warlock decided to curse you?” asked Bryony.
“The Mysterious Cursed Kisser of Old Sarum,” said Ivy. “There’s a new twisted fairy tale in there somewhere.”
“Be serious, Ivy,” said Bryony.
Ivy grinned and ate more brownie. “Why would he do that? Curse a woman who was giving him some hot loving?”
“It wasn’t that hot,” said Agatha, her cheeks glowing.
“Maybe that’s why he cursed you,” said Ivy. “You were too much of a prude for him.”
“I don’t know if it was him or why he’d want to do that to me,” said Agatha. “But he was the last person I kissed who hasn’t reacted badly to me.”
“I’m not adding mystery kisser to our list of suspects.” Ivy threw her final bite of brownie to Spike. “We would be here forever trying to track them down.”
“Maggie might know who he is,” said Bryony. “But perhaps we should start with a more solid suspect. How do you think Mavis would react if we turned up for dinner?”
“She’d no doubt complain, it’s what mom loves to do,” said Agatha. “But we can give it a try.”
“Let’s go tonight.” Bryony looked at the sofa where the red blood rested. “But before we do, we have a bigger problem to tackle.”
Chapter 8
Gabriel studied the red blood intently, trying to find any sign of life. “And you’re sure he’s still alive?” They were inside one of the interview rooms used at the Charm Police headquarters. The room was currently dressed in soft white tones, but its color changed depending on the interview and the suspe
ct in question. The color helped the interviewer determine how safe a suspect was to interrogate.
Jacob Astor stood beside Gabriel, dressed in a smart black suit, covered by a white lab coat. He’d transferred to Old Sarum along with Gabriel and they were friends as well as work colleagues. Jacob handled the medical curiosities and ancient magicks that came their way.
“The red blood is not dead,” said Jacob. “He’s in a magically induced coma. Whatever magic was done to him, it overloaded his weak human system and he’s shut down. The shock could have done it.”
“What sort of magic would make a red blood’s system shut down?” Gabriel pressed one finger onto the cool flesh of the dark haired red blood in front of him.
“It would need to be something powerful.” Jacob tapped a finger against his clean shaven chin. “A dark spell or curse would do it. But you never know with these feeble red bloods.”
“It’s a good job we found him when we did,” said Gabriel. “If he’d been left outside for hours in a magical coma, he may have perished.”
“I’ll get to work on reversing the magic,” said Jacob. “But it won’t be easy since we don't know who enacted the magic and what its purpose is. Could take some time. The preliminary work is already underway.”
“Thanks. What about the other one?” Gabriel gestured over his shoulder to the second room along the corridor, where another red blood lay in the same unconscious state.
“It makes sense that he’s been tainted with the same magic.” Jacob peered closely at the red blood in front of him. “I’ll know more when I’ve looked at the test results. But they’re not in any direct harm for now. I’ll keep them warm and hydrated and set to work on the magic.”
“And I need to figure out who breached the border in the first place and make sure they pay for that crime,” said Gabriel. “Leaving a hole like that at the border could allow things to get in and out of Old Sarum. It was dangerous and foolish.”
“And they did it on two occasions,” said Jacob. “Seems we’ve got repeat offenders crossing into red blood land.”
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