“Cannot or will not?”
“I have given you my answer, CPI Trew. Now I suggest we start searching and get this over with.”
We spent the next half hour scouring every inch of the vault. We checked the cases for any signs of tampering, and we carefully leafed through every volume in the chamber, hoping to find the hidden ‘thing’ that Morag had hinted at before she was murdered.
A heavy iron door sealed off access to the next level. It was more than just the heavy metal blocking it. Midnight figured out that the enchantments were both old and specifically designed to counter Fae magic. There was a reason the security in these chambers was legendary.
Portia took a look at the door and shook her head. “This is far beyond anything I could counter. Morag was a less competent caster than I. So I doubt that she would have had any more luck in getting in.”
David shook his head. “Looks like this is a dead end.”
“Oi! What’s this about, then?” a female voice barked upstairs. The sound of it made Portia glower back at our exit.
“Blanche Henpeck,” she whispered. “Not the best timing for one of her insomnia episodes.”
“I spends all this time cleaning,” Blanche said, her voice getting alarmingly close to the door. “Polishin’ up them pews just so, waxin’ the floor till me fingers is raw and wipin’ down them windows from all that dust and grime…but does I ever complain ‘bout that?”
“Is that a trick question?” Midnight muttered. I jammed my finger in front of my lips in and glared at him.
“No, I don’t,” Blanche continued her solo tirade. “But now some bloke or lassie gots to leave the ruddy trapdoor open when the good reverend ain’t lookin’. Bleedin’ insult, it is…who knows what kind of thieves might go down there if someone weren’t lookin’?”
Then she hummed and added, “You know…come to think on it, maybe someone’s down there now.”
We all tensed.. The last thing we needed was to get caught by a freaking cleaning lady, and then have the good vicar involved in this sinister case. Then suddenly she laughed and said, “Are you bleedin’ cracked, girl? You’s been readin’ too many a’ the vicar’s Father Brown books. aint no one there, …just careless folk what left the door open. Let’s shut ‘er up and be done wit’ it.”
The door was closed with a thud and the lock slid back into place a second after. Either the door was thick enough or the enchantments strong enough to blot out any more of Blanche’s monologue.
“Midnight?” I asked. “Could the Flip Charm—“
“Not from in here,” Midnight said glumly. “With the door closed, the wards are way too strong for it.”
“Anyone see another door in their travels?” David queried.
“Bast!” Shade cried. “Ms. Poof is gonna be hollerin’ and scratchin’ tonight, that’s for sure.” He shook his furry head regretfully.
Portia cleared her throat. I could tell that she didn’t like what she was about to say or do. “Everyone, gather around me.” We stared at her. “Quickly,” she warned.
David looked repulsed at the idea of getting too close to Portia. “How close do we need to be?”
“Touching shoulders. The cats should be on yours to make this work for them.”
“Dibs on the boss!” Shade said as he enthusiastically climbed my back, his needling claws piercing my skin as he advanced.
I love my kitty, I love my kitty, I thought through the pain. David, seeing my discomfort, squatted next to Midnight and scooped him up, plopping him atop his broad, muscular shoulders.
I’m…not really sure what happened next. I remember descending into this pool of darkness as Portia cast her spell. The next thing I know, were tumbling through a void of black; a cosmic tar-pit that didn’t seem to have a bottom. Shade nuzzled his face into mine as we fell. Thank goodness he was with me; I felt about one percent less terrified with my fuzzy friend close by.
I blinked, and when I opened my eyes again, we were all standing at the edge of the wood at the bottom of the hill. Portia doubled over suddenly, wheezing in exhaustion or pain, we couldn’t tell. The chief instinctively grabbed her arm to steady her, but Lady Fearwyn swatted his hand away.
“I’m quite fine, Chief Para Inspector,” she managed. “Taking that many passengers just brought me to my limits that’s all. Nothing fatal.” She snapped her fingers three times in short succession and a riderless broom came flying through the night toward us. It halted right in front of its mistress. She grabbed it and gave us a sideward glance.
“I trust you can find your way home?”
“Um, actually, I wonder if you’re heading toward the dunes? There’s somewhere I gotta be. Like half an hour ago.” Shade didn’t wait for a response but just hopped on the end of Portia’s besom. The old witch shook her head and pushed off. Shade turned round on the broom to look at us. He gave us a deep bow, his paw flourishing as he bowed his head.
That cat.
Chapter Eight
My head felt a little foggy the following morning. I was so out of it that Millie asked me if I was affected by a sleeping curse similar to the one she’d overcome the previous month. It was a relief when David called to propose a check-in on Infirma at her estate on Cathedral. I didn’t have any deliveries that day, and I felt in no shape to deal with over-the-counter queries. I was in the kitchen making a pot of fennel tea when Millie came in through the back door.
“Just in time. Tea?” I smiled wearily at my assistant. She pushed her nose into the air and sniffed the licorice aroma wafting there, courtesy of the fennel.
“I’d love one, thanks. Smells delish."
“Won’t blacken your teeth, either,” I muttered, more to myself than Mille.
"You okay? You look tired,” my friend noted with a degree of concern.
“Bad sleep,” I confessed. “There are no deliveries today, so I’m going to head out with David to see if Infirma’s holding up okay. You be alright to hold the fort?”
“Yeah, I think you could definitely do with some fresh air.” Millie squeezed my shoulder and hung up her bag by the door. “I’ll be fine here, boss. Go and do what you need to do.”
“Millie, you’re the best,” I said. I meant it. This woman, so positive all the time, was a real nugget of gold.
“Think nothing of it,” she waved a hand at me. “Oh, it’s eight-thirty, I’ll go open up while you finish off the tea.”
Onyx padded in. He leaped up onto the table. “Good morning, Hattie,” my head kitty took a bow.
“Well, hello, sunshine,” I responded, decanting the hot water into the waiting pot. “You know, I’m looking for volunteers for my outing to Cathedral shortly. I’d love it if you came along?” I raised my eyebrows at the wisest of my cats.
“I believe Carbon will be a more suitable companion today,” he stated simply, and with that, he padded away saying nothing more.
“Suit yourself,” I mumbled to myself while I poured the tea.
“Hattie! You might want to see this,” Millie hollered from the front.
I rushed from the kitchen through to the shop. My assistant stood looking down over a tumbled herb jar. Glass and sprigs of dried greenery skittered across the floor. "Looks like someone needed a hit last night, and decided his prescribed dose wasn’t enough.” Millie took a dustpan and began sweeping up the debris.
“Where is he?”
“Haven’t seen him,” Millie answered, looking at ground level to see if she could spot four guilty paws.
“Jet!” I shouted.
A movement on the top shelf caught my eye. Just the tip of a tail, flicking silently from behind the fully-stocked calendula jar.
“I can see you,” I narrowed my eyes at my mostly concealed cat.
“Oh! Hi, boss!” A coal black face popped out from the side of the glass container of dried flowers. “I was just up here … you know … chasing dust bunnies.” Jet’s face broke into a sheepish grin.
“What’s this, buddy?” I growled pointing to t
he mess Millie was fussing over.
“That? Oh, that! Yeah, I was gonna tell you about that, actually,” he began, coming out from hiding now. “I hurt my toe.” He said.
“And?”
“Catnip helps hurting toes. They’re better now, see?” He bounced up and down in place on the shelf.
“Jet, catnip doesn’t help hurting toes,”
“Oh, that’s right, it doesn’t. Sorry, I got a bit confused there.” My speedy cat snickered nervously. “It was a headache. I had a headache,”
“Are you for real?”
“Indigestion?” He asked, hopefully.
“Jet!”
My zippy kitty ducked his head, hanging it on his chest, but looking craftily out of the top of his eyes, to measure my ire.
“Sorry, boss,” he conceded. “I just felt like I needed a boost, you know?”
“Sweetie, you’re as high as a kite,” I sighed.
“Well, on the bright side,” he beamed. “I’m dosed up enough for a day trip to the outside world!” Honestly, you just couldn’t stay mad for long.
“Be outside in ten minutes.” Jet looked at me, his front paw raised, but unsure as to whether he should actually take a step. “Go!” I commanded. My zippy cat scarpered out toward the kitchen.
“Carbon, wake up. We’re going on a ride,” I nudged my fireside cat with a toe.
“Alright, alright!” He snapped. Carbon didn’t like being ripped away from his warm spot.
“C’mon, buddy, let’s go,” I swept past him and joined Jet in the kitchen. I grabbed a few bits and pieces and opened the back door. Jet bounced out and paced back and forth next to the broom while we waited for his brother.
“Brrr, it’s chilly out here,” Carbon observed as he padded out the back door to join us.
“Bro, it’s like seventy-eight degrees,” Jet giggled.
“It’s animal cruelty, is what it is,” Carbon grumbled.
We took to the skies.
The wind in my face felt amazing. I peered over my shoulder and chuckled at Carbon and Jet; their eyes closed, their furry faces smiling, and their chins raised to the cooling breeze. I could imagine their purrs being picked up by the wind and strewn behind them in our jet stream.
The Sea of Mages glittered below us, gentle wave caps dancing across its surface. I could just make out in the distance the Crystal Sea; the body of water that lapped the shores of Cathedral. Where the two seas met, tides eddied and collided, creating waves the size of tower blocks. The Mages was a deeper, inky blue, and it was a treat to see its dark fingers drifting into the aquamarine of the Crystal.
Carbon tapped me on the back and pointed about a mile just slightly to the left of us. David. We watched as his broom swerved and dived downward. What on earth? I could see the chief’s outline, slumping forward slightly over his airborne chariot. His broom dropped alarmingly, losing too much altitude in too little time. He was getting way too close to sea level too, and of course, it would have to be at the point where the two seas crashed together. I watched as my friend pulled the nose of his broom up just before he was in reach of the towering water eruptions. He picked up speed and altitude and seemed to straighten up somewhat on his broom.
“Phew.” Jet exhaled, and then paced the length of the broom on dexterous paws. “Chief looked like he was gonna be swimming with the fishes for a second there.”
“Guys, I have no idea what’s going on with him, but I’m worried.” I turned course toward my friend and sped up the ride a little. David slumped forward again.
“Boss, get us closer. I’m gonna make the jump, yep.” Jet was already facing sideward ready to leap onto the chief’s ride to help steady my ailing friend. His eyes were as black as deep space, flooding his vision with every available speck of light.
“Are you insane?!” Carbon asked from his perch. “Look at the speed we’re flying at! You make that jump, the only place you’re going is the land of salmon,” Carbon pointed down toward the heaving waves below.
“Um, yep, yep, maybe you’re right, brother. You have a point.” Jet babbled. “He has a point, boss, so, can you pull ahead a little?” ”
We were already going somewhere close to the broom’s top speed. But I eked out a few more clicks until we were a half broom length ahead of David.
“Best I can do!” I called over my shoulder.
Jet nodded frantically. “Yep, yep, uh huh.” He wriggled his haunches, his ears flat and back in their most determined position. He arched his back and then sprang forward. I could barely look. Jet landed right on David’s shoulder and quickly crawled onto the Chief’s chest, dangling from the latter’s shirt with his claws. The sudden shock of having an impromptu acupuncture session brought the chief around instantly. He pulled on the nose again, and his broom climbed to a safe height. I joined my friend immediately.
David turned his head and looked at me. While Jet bounded happily to the back of the chief’s broom, David gave me a thumbs-up. I sighed with relief and nodded. The Cathedral coastline, in its stupendous beauty, raced toward us, but now at a more leisurely pace. I stuck as close as an arm’s length to David’s broom just to be on the safe side.
“Looks like I owe you my life, kitty-cat,” David said over his shoulder at my life-saving moggie.
Jet bobbed his head with enthusiasm and proceeded to give David the full rundown of his mid-air rescue mission in excited, speedy bursts. I laughed, and Carbon did too. It felt good to relax a little. We flew in comfortable silence the rest of the way to Infirma Devlin’s soon-to-be estate.
Okay, maybe I was a little premature using the word: ‘estate.’ I dunno, it just didn’t seem fitting to be using that word for the large hunk of formless, sprawling masonry that faced us now. Portia Fearwyn’s Gaunt Manor seemed palatial in comparison to this monstrosity. But, there was acreage. A lot of acreage. This was a serious chunk of land, and Cathedral’s real estate market was booming, so with the proximity of the estate to Cathedral’s capital, Chalice, it was evident it was worth a pretty penny.
Vines wound their way around the rusty iron gates and decayed stone walls at the entrance to the estate. We brought the brooms down here and walked the rest of the way to the large house.
“So what happened out there?” I asked as we walked through the gate. “Did you have a rough night too?" Fraidy, Midnight and I had all had bad dreams last night. Which was why my brain was so foggy this morning. It looked like my friend might not have slept much either.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah. Pretty rough,” David said a little too quickly. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye.“I say we don’t ever ride through one of Portia’s Shadowgates again, what do you think?” He laughed.
“Couldn’t agree more,” I said carefully. But I didn’t buy David’s explanation that it was just bad dreams that made him fall asleep at his broom.
We reached the front stoop when a lovely vision glided out of the front door. There really is no other short way to describe Verdantia Eyebright, Glessie’s local greengrocer. If you wanted a more in-depth description of this elven beauty, you’d need a romantic poet to spin you a few verses. But any other solid facts about her were surprisingly sparse. All anyone really knew was that she was Fae, grew the best vegetables on the Coven Isles and had a personality that glowed with love and good feeling.
Verdantia gave all of us a dazzling smile. “Well, well, this is a pleasant surprise. How is everyone today?”
“I’m real good, V,” Jet piped up, “I was just telling the chief here of how I single handedly rescued him fr--”
“Jet, not now buddy.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the funny little guy. I turned to our greengrocer. “How are you, Verdantia?” I leaned in to give her a squeeze.
“Very well, thank you. Keeping my eyes open, as usual,” she smiled sweetly.
“What are you doing this far from Glessie?” I asked.
“Oh, just delivering some food to Infirma,” Verdantia said, her smile pulling slowly into a mic
ro frown. “I’ve been helping out when I can. There’s no money left for help or housekeepers or groundskeepers, sadly. The place is worth a fortune, but it also costs a fortune to run. I don’t think it would be such a terrible idea for Infirma to sell this place to a developer, or some other entity with money.” Verdantia shook her head. “Such a burden,” she said softly, scanning the humongous building and its grounds.
“We’ve actually come here to see if Infirma needs anything,” David said. “I’d heard this place was big, so we thought she might need a hand.” The chief put his hands on his hips and whistled through his teeth, while he took in the estate and its gigantic gardens. “Had no idea it’d be this big, though.”
“You’re too kind, Chief Para Inspector,” Verdantia reached out and squeezed my friend’s arm. “But, as of today, household help is something I have made provisions for.”
The chief raised his eyebrow at the elven beauty.
“I have some very mischievous brownie cousins. For past transgressions on their part, I have called in my favors from them. They will see to the regular household, grounds and stables duties. They are obligated to this service for exactly one year and one day.” Verdantia beamed at us. “But, I’ve no doubt in my mind that Infirma would love nothing more than to see you as visitors.”
“Do you know when the funeral is yet? I asked Verdantia before she floated away.
“Four days from now,” Verdantia answered, gliding toward the gates. “It would mean a lot to Infirma if you both attended. And, maybe your investigation might also benefit from your attendance.” Her cryptic bullet fired at us, she floated gracefully away. David and I looked at each other. We shrugged and continued into the manor.
“This really is such a lovely surprise,” Infirma said, pouring iced tea into long frosted glasses for us. She plopped down in the chair and pulled her oxygen tank close.
“It’s great to see you have help,” I noted a few brownies were busying themselves with various tasks, dusting, polishing and shining the silver.
Carbon crept up to my elbow and reached up to whisper in my ear.
The Chimera Charm Page 10