brimstone witch 09 - witch is dead

by April Fernsby

  He lifted his head and blinked at me. “Because of her green face.”

  “Ah, I see. She didn’t have green skin before she died, is that right?”

  Tobias said, “No, it wasn’t that. Her face was a much lighter shade of green than normal so I knew something was wrong. And she wasn’t smiling. She always smiles in her sleep. She wasn’t smiling when I found her.” His chin trembled. “Which meant she wasn’t sleeping.” He gulped and lifted his head. “Sorry for being so useless. I’m ready to talk about Henrietta now. There’s something important I need to tell you first.”

  A sudden knock at the front door startled us.

  “Is that Dr Morgan again?” I asked.

  A cheery voice called out, “Hello! It’s only me, Vera! I’ve let myself in.”

  Tobias sighed. “It’s Vera Gilligot. She’s a Gossiping Gnome.” He noticed my surprised look. “I’m not being rude; that’s what she is. Don’t you have gnomes in Brimstone?”

  “We do. They’re mainly garden gnomes,” I said. “What’s so different about a Gossiping Gnome?”

  “You’ll soon see.”

  A gnome bustled into the kitchen, gave us a bright smile and declared loudly, “Ah, this is where you’re hiding then.” She was wearing a pale yellow dress with a red belt. A floral headscarf tied back her curly hair. The colours were faded as if they’d been washed too many times. Even so, it was a nice change from the greys and browns which other residents wore.

  Vera Gilligot put the empty basket she was carrying on the kitchen table and gave me the once-over. I stayed in my crouching position while she examined me. I didn’t want to suddenly stand up and tower over her as she was little and would only come up to my knees.

  Tobias said, “Vera, this isn’t a good time. Could you come back later?”

  Vera folded her arms and gave him a knowing look. “I know this isn’t a good time. I saw Cassia and Stanley arriving here a short while ago and I wondered what was going on. What are they here for? I asked myself. Who’s in trouble now? Then I saw that doctor from Brimstone arriving. Is someone ill? I wondered. Is there something wrong with Henrietta? Then when the doctor didn’t come back out, I thought she might have teleported herself somewhere. Why would she do that? I wondered. And did she go on her own? Or did she take someone with her? I knew something fishy was going on. The second I came in here and took in this scene, I knew what had happened. Henrietta’s dead. She’s been murdered. Cassia and Stanley are here to investigate the murder. I’ll wager she left her front door unlocked again. Anyone could have sneaked in and committed the evil deed. I kept telling Henrietta to secure it on a night, but would she listen? No, she wouldn’t. Shall I put the kettle on?”

  I stared open-mouthed at the gnome. She hadn’t paused for breath once as she spoke.

  Stanley said, “Wow. How did you work that out so quickly?”

  Vera gave him a smile. “I know everything that goes on around here. And in other towns too. I know about you and Cassia. Cassia was in our town a while back talking about another murder case. It was a centaur who’d been killed.” Her mouth curled in disgust. “Centaurs! Pah! I don’t like them. There’s one in particular who’ll see himself dead if he’s not careful. And I’ll tell you his name. Parus. You know who he is, Tobias. You’ve seen how he sashays around town, flipping that tail of his in the air. Cassia, do you want tea or coffee?”

  I closed my mouth, stood up straight and said, “Thank you for the offer, but I don’t want you to touch anything in here.”

  Vera unfolded her arms and wagged a finger at me. “Of course you don’t. There could be important evidence in here. What would you call this house now? A crime scene?”

  I nodded.

  Vera continued, “What happened to Henrietta then? How was she killed? Hanging? Stabbed? Parts of her chopped off?”

  Tobias let out a strangled sob.

  Remorse filled Vera’s face. “Oh, Tobias, I’m sorry. You know how my mouth runs away with me sometimes. Is there anything I can do to help you? You can stay at my house if it’s too upsetting for you here.”

  Tobias said quietly, “Thank you, but I’d rather stay here. I’m helping Cassia and Stanley.”

  “Of course you are,” Vera said. She turned her attention to me. “Do you have any suspects yet? You should question the residents who came here to have their fortunes told. Some of them were not happy with the futures Henrietta predicted for them. Take Yom, the imp. He wanted to know if he was going to get married soon. Henrietta told him she couldn’t see a wife in his future. Well, she wouldn’t, would she? That imp stays inside his house all day. He’s more like a hermit than an imp.”

  I had a feeling Vera was going to tell me about each and every resident who’d crossed Henrietta’s threshold. That information could be useful soon, but I didn’t want it all at once.

  I said to Vera, “Thank you for letting us know about the imp. Did you visit Henrietta often?”

  Vera nodded. “I did. She gave me a soothing potion for my throat. For some reason, I’m plagued with sore throats.”

  Tobias spoke up, “Henrietta did say it was because you talked too much.” He immediately ducked his head as if he was embarrassed by his words.

  Vera let out a loud laugh. “That is true, but if I’ve got something to say, I have to get it out. Cassia, have you thought about the residents who came here in the last few weeks? If I were you, I’d speak to that fairy, Galaxy Petalgourd. She was always bothering Henrietta about making her wings bigger. Henrietta said she couldn’t do that, but Galaxy wouldn’t give up. Blooming nuisance she was. And how about Lonmouth Battlefury!” She threw her hands up in despair. “Don’t get me started on that dwarf and his hygiene problems.”

  “I won’t,” I quickly said. “I’ll have a look at any records Henrietta kept and start from there. I don’t mean to be rude, but could you leave and perhaps talk to me later?”

  “Of course! You’ve got your investigation to deal with. I’ll let you get on.” A dark look came into her eyes. “Oh, the vampires. Do you know about the vampires?”

  I shook my head. “What about them?”

  “It’s one vampire clan in particular,” Vera said. “The Devlin vampires. They’re a ruthless bunch who terrorise this town.”

  Stanley looked at me and said, “Cassia, the Devlin vampires were mentioned during our last murder investigation.”

  Vera let out a loud gasp. “Please tell me you haven’t crossed the Devlin vampires before? You haven’t upset them in any way, have you? I hope you haven’t or your lives won’t be worth living. Those nasty vampires hold grudges for years and they revel in getting their revenge.”

  I said, “We didn’t actually meet them, but we did stop the sale of a product they were interested in.”

  Vera wobbled on her feet and leant on the table for support. “They’ll know you’re here. They’ll be after you. They could be watching this house right now.”

  I gave her a nervous smile. “It’s okay. I can look after myself.”

  Stanley piped up, “Cassia has put a protective spell on herself and one on me. We’ll be okay.”

  Vera gave him a long look. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” She screamed as someone knocked loudly on the front door. “The knock of death! It’s the Devlin vampires. They’re here! They’ve come for you. Quick! Run out of the back door!”

  I lifted my chin. “I’m not going to be scared off by a few vampires. I’ll answer the door.”

  Stanley lifted his furry chin and declared, “And I’m coming with you.”

  There was a stunned silence as we left the kitchen and headed for the front door.

  As I put my hand on the door handle, I smiled down at Stanley and said, “We’ve dealt with vampires before. We can deal with these ones too.”

  I opened the door. A black blanket was thrown over me. Before I could protest, I was picked up and slung over someone’s shoulder.

  A male voice uttered, “Scream and I’ll cho
p your cat’s head off.”

  Chapter 5

  I didn’t scream as I was taken away. I was petrified, but I was more concerned about Stanley’s head remaining in place.

  As I was carried along, I heard some voices muttering to each other but I couldn’t make out the words. After about ten minutes, I was placed on a cold, stone floor.

  Someone roughly prodded my shoulder and snarled, “Don’t even think about escaping.” There was the sound of footsteps walking away and then the noise of a door slamming.

  The blanket which had been flung over me was secured somehow around my waist and my hands were trapped at my side. I sent magic into my fingers and caused the blanket to rip up the sides. As soon as that happened, the blanket fell away from me. A quick glance around showed me I was in a dark, dingy cellar. Another glance alerted me to a small bundle at my side. A grey tail was sticking out of a black, fabric bag. Stanley!

  I immediately rescued my little friend and picked him up.

  Stanley looked at my neck and whispered, “They said if I meowed, they’d chop your head off.”

  “They said the same to me. Well, not if I meowed, but if I screamed. Are you alright? Did they hurt you?”

  He shook his head. “They scared me a bit. Who do you think kidnapped us?”

  “I’m presuming it’s the Devlin vampires. But I could be wrong. Shall we go and find out? I’m not staying in this awful cellar a minute longer. It stinks.”

  Keeping Stanley in my arms, I got to my feet and walked over to a set of stone steps. At the top of the steps was a wooden door. It was locked, but not for long. I used magic to unlock it and then slowly opened it and peeped through. Stanley peeped through too.

  We were in a panelled hallway which had been decorated with shiny swords, maces and other lethal-looking weapons.

  Stanley whispered, “This is not a friendly place. I can sense the danger here. I don’t like it.”

  “I don’t like it either, but we’re not leaving until we find our captors. I can hear some voices coming from that room at the end.” I smiled at Stanley. “I can feel you trembling. Don’t be scared. I’ll keep you safe.”

  He put his head against my shoulder. “I know you will.”

  We went down the hallway and came to a large dining room. We stayed back and silently observed the scene.

  A long, wooden table dominated the room. It was adorned with lit candles in silver candlesticks. The occupants lounging in the chairs all wore black and had pale faces. Vampires? One of the male ones threw his head back and laughed. The candlelight glinted off his fangs. Yep. They were vampires. The table was set with dishes containing some sort of uncooked meat. My stomach turned at the sight of it. Thick, red liquid filled the wine glasses dotted around the table. For the sake of my queasy stomach, I told myself it was nothing more than fruit juice in the glasses.

  I could feel Stanley’s heart beating madly against my chest. I stroked his head to calm him down.

  “I can hear your cat’s heartbeat from here!” a male vampire suddenly shot out. “It’s music to my ears. Come closer, Cassia. Don’t hide your pretty face.”

  There was a sudden silence and many pairs of dark eyes turned our way. My stomach clenched in fear and sweat broke out on my forehead.

  The vampire who’d spoken laughed and said, “I can smell your fear, young witch. It’s intoxicating. Come closer. Let me inhale your wonderful scent. Let me introduce myself. I’m Gethin Devlin.”

  Gethin stood up and held his bony hands out in welcome. He was tall, very tall. Well over six feet. And he was so skinny! His skin looked as if it had been stretched over his bones. His dark hair was swept back and his eyes glinted with malice.

  Before I had time to swallow my fear, a female vampire abruptly leapt to her feet, made her hands into claws and aimed them in my direction. Her nails were long and sharp. She hissed, “Let me kill them! I want to kill them! Remember how they messed up that business deal of ours? You were furious. Say the word, Gethin and I’ll rip them to shreds! I’ll make that cat into a belt for you. Say the words!”

  “Oi!” I called out. “No one is laying a finger on my cat! I know magic and I’m not afraid to use it!” It did cross my mind that my earlier protective spell hadn’t protected me and Stanley against being kidnapped, but I wasn’t going to mention that.

  Gethin raised one hand in the vampire’s direction. “Thank you for the offer, Selena, but we didn’t bring Cassia and her cat here to hurt them.”

  Selena gave me a nasty look. “Can I give her a slap? As a warning?”

  Stanley’s voice trembled slightly as he announced, “No one is slapping my Cassia. Keep your hands to yourself.”

  Gethin roared with laughter. After a second, the other vampires joined in too.

  “I don’t think this is a laughing matter,” I said somewhat primly. “I demand answers immediately. Why were we kidnapped? And where are we?”

  Gethin stopped laughing and all humour left his face. He advanced on me. “That’s no way to speak to us. You’re showing very little respect.” He reached out a skeletal hand towards Stanley. “Perhaps I should teach you a lesson.”

  Anger flared in me. It always did when someone threatened Stanley. I yelled, “Back off right now before I send that sword over the fire straight into your heart.” I had no intention of committing such a violent act, but Gethin didn’t know that.

  There was a collective shocked gasp from the vampires. Gethin’s eyes narrowed but he lowered his hand.

  I continued, “Well? Why did you kidnap us?”

  Gethin clasped his hands behind his back. “We wanted to know how far you’d got with your murder investigation.”

  “That’s none of your business,” I informed him.

  “I disagree. Henrietta provided a valuable service to us. Her death is most inconvenient. If you don’t find out who killed her, then I will. And I’ll serve up my own brand of justice to the creature who murdered her.”

  “You’ll do no such thing!” I declared. “I’m in charge of this investigation.”

  Gethin stared at me for ten seconds. I met his stare defiantly. He wasn’t going to intimidate me.

  He gave me a sharp nod and said, “It’s obvious you haven’t got very far at all. Very well. I’ll take over. This is my town.” He yawned. “You’re boring me now.”

  I was about to argue when I became aware of someone standing behind me. Before I could react, Gethin gave a slight nod to whoever was there. I felt a sharp prick on my neck and my world turned black.

  Chapter 6

  The next thing I was aware of was Luca’s concerned face looking down at me.

  “Where am I?” I mumbled. My hand went to the side of my neck. “The vampires. Have I been bitten? Am I a vampire now? I don’t want to be a vampire.”

  Luca said, “Cassia, you’re not a vampire. You’re lying on the gazebo floor in Brimstone. Let me help you up.” He put his hands out and helped me into a sitting position.

  “Stanley?” I cried out.

  “I’m here.” Stanley was at my side. “We thought you were never going to wake up. We were worried sick, weren’t we Luca?”

  Luca sat at my side and put his arm around me. “We certainly were. Can you remember what happened to you?”

  I rubbed my neck again. “I can. Stanley and I were talking to those Devlin vampires. They were trying to take over my investigation. The cheek of them! One of them sneaked up on me and attacked me. They must have injected me with something.” I looked at the familiar setting of Brimstone. “How did I get here? I don’t remember flying here.”

  Luca said, “The vampires brought you here. I was sitting in Mooncrest Café when it happened. I was having a cup of coffee when I saw a commotion near the gazebo. I saw three vampires hovering in the air. I knew immediately they weren’t Brimstone vampires as Brimstone ones only fly in their bat form. These vampires were in their human form. I wasn’t the only one to see them.” He looked over at the café and raised
his hand at the customers who had their faces pressed against the window. Luca continued, “You’d better give them a wave to let them know you’re okay.”

  I did so. The creatures waved back and moved away from the window.

  “I didn’t see the vampires arriving,” Luca said. “I only saw them leaving. I could see a body on the gazebo floor with a small animal next to it.” He blinked rapidly. “I didn’t know it was you and Stanley. I thought you were—” he abruptly stopped.

  I took his hand in mine and squeezed it. “Dead? No, we’re not. I’m annoyed, though. I was in the middle of my murder investigation. How dare those vampires bring me back here? I’ll be having words with them.” I looked left and right. “My broomstick! I’ve left it in Henrietta’s house.”

  Stanley said, “You did, but it looks like those vampires have brought it back. It’s behind you.” He padded over to the broomstick and sniffed it. “Yuk! It smells like rotten meat.”

  Luca said, “Now that you’ve come around, can you tell me exactly where you’ve been? And what’s this about an investigation? Has there been another murder?”

  I nodded. “A witch called Henrietta Whitmore.” I attempted to stand up.

  Luca kept a firm grip on my shoulders and I had no choice but to remain sitting. He said, “Whoa! Just a minute. Henrietta Whitmore? The witch who lives in Dingy Skipper?”

  “That’s right. Can you move your arm, please? I’m trying to stand up.”

  “You went to Dingy Skipper on your own?” Luca asked.

  “I wasn’t on my own. Stanley was with me.” I gave his arm a pointed look.

  He gave me a grim look in return. “You shouldn’t have gone there. You’ll be telling me next the vampires who brought you here were the Devlin clan.”

  I tried to prise his fingers off my shoulder. “We had to go there. How else were we going to investigate Henrietta’s murder? And, yes, it was the Devlin clan. They’re going to rue the day they crossed me.”

  “And me too,” Stanley said. “Let’s go back there right now and give them a piece of our minds.” He raised a front paw and I think he was trying to make a fist.