by Morgana Best
I smiled. Nothing got past my aunts. “He said he thought we were all in danger, me especially.” I thought I had better not mention that he told me not to date the sergeant.
If my aunts were concerned, they did not let it show.
“Exactly what did the sergeant say about vampires and werewolves?” Agnes asked me.
“Nothing much,” I said, wondering why they were interested. “Just what I told you before. He only mentioned them once, and said he’d bought a movie about them, a funny one, made in New Zealand.”
“I know that movie, but I can’t remember the name,” Aunt Dorothy said. “It was made by the same man who made that other famous New Zealand film. You know the one?”
Agnes and Maude shook their heads.
“I think the sergeant seems a bit too strange,” Aunt Agnes said. “You’re a big girl, Valkyrie, but I wouldn’t like it if you went on another date with him.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” I assured her. “I told him I wouldn’t.”
I didn’t know if it was my imagination, but all three appeared immeasurably relieved.
The storm was loud now. As I walked up the stairs, I could hear the hail on the roof. I was looking forward to my nice hot shower. I went to the long corridor and made to turn left to go to my bedroom, but I had taken only one step in that direction when I heard a sound to my right. At first I thought it was thunder, but it came again just after a boom of thunder. Surely two thunderclaps wouldn’t come so close together.
I looked back down the stairs, but there was no sign of my aunts. I turned to the right in the direction of the forbidden room for the second time since I had to come to Lighthouse Bay.
My mouth was dry and my palms sweaty. I crept along, although the sound of the hail more than covered any noise I might make.
As soon as I turned the corner, again I saw that red pulsating light. My heart nearly leapt out of my chest as I covered the last few yards at a sprint.
I put my ear to the door.
The noise was loud and clear. It was the sound of growling.
Chapter 12
I turned and ran. When I reached my bedroom, I locked the door behind me, my hand trembling on the door knob.
I stood there, shaking. Why were my aunts keeping a dog locked in a room? And more to the point, why was it such a secret? And why was there a red glow under the door? I supposed they might have a red light in there for some medical reason, but that was the least of my concerns.
Were my aunts somehow involved in the murder? They were certainly acting suspiciously.
I walked over to my bed and sat on it, and then realised I was wringing my hands. The police had found dog hair on the roof and in the tree. Could the murderer have somehow come into contact with the dog?
I crossed to the window and looked out. The landscape before me looked peaceful, pretty white cottages juxtaposed against freshly mown green lawns. From my elevated position, I could see the sea and the headland to the south. It was a pretty place, something one would find in ancient pastoral poetry, not the scene of a desperate murder. This was like something out of The X-Files.
I sighed and fetched my clothes for my shower. I debated asking my aunts about what was in that room, but I didn’t quite have the courage, to be honest. If they were somehow involved in the man’s murder, what would they do to me? I was sure they wouldn’t harm me. Well, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure, and so I decided I would keep what I knew to myself, and see how things unfolded.
I showered quickly, went back to my bedroom, and opened my little vial that contained a mixture of salt and agrimony, a strong protection. I put a few pinches of the mixture in my jeans pocket, and then I placed a eucalyptus leaf in each shoe. That was another protective measure.
I had already put a mixture of eggshell and crushed red brick dust across the windowsills and across the doorway both of my bedroom and my bathroom, on the night I arrived.
I walked back down the stairs in the direction of the kitchen, trying to keep my expression neutral. The storm had stopped. The weather was already warming up, the moisture of the storm causing the humidity to rise. Despite being on the coast, Lighthouse Bay was generally devoid of humidity, but at times like this, after rain, the humidity rose sharply.
The aunts had obviously fetched their own potions. “This is what we normally do for a thorough spiritual cleansing,” Aunt Agnes said. “First we wash all the floors both upstairs and downstairs, with Van Van Oil in hot water.”
I nodded. I myself used Van Van Oil. “Van Van Oil is a mixture of five African grasses,” Aunt Agnes said, obviously taking my nodding as agreement rather than as an indication that I knew what Van Van Oil was. “It’s a combination of citronella, palmarosa, ginger grass, vetiver, and lemongrass.”
“And we sprinkle witches’ salt all over the carpets,” Aunt Maude added, “and then we vacuum it. Do you know what witches’ salt is, Valkyrie?”
“It’s salt mixed with ash, such as ash from the fire,” I said.
All three aunts nodded. “We’ll start with the floor wash and the vacuuming,” Aunt Agnes said. “That will take us quite some time, but it will be easier with four of us to do the work. Then we’ll take some white sage and walk through the house smudging it. We can also use eucalyptus oil. After we smudge the entire house, we’ll go around and spray this Protection Oil.” She indicated some plastic spray bottles on the kitchen table. “It’s made from agrimony, rue, Black Snake Root, and sandalwood. After we do that, we’ll go through the house with a singing bowl. We have several singing bowls. Have you used one before, Valkyrie?”
I had to admit that I hadn’t.
Aunt Agnes tut-tutted. “A singing bowl raises the level of the vibrations and removes all the negative energy. Now with all these methods, Valkyrie, you probably already know to pay particular attention to the corners. Normally, we would need to leave the doors and windows open so the negativity could escape, but given what’s happened, we’ll have to be more cautious. We can open the windows upstairs, but we’ll have to leave the front door locked. However, while you were having a shower, we opened the top of all the sash windows downstairs.”
I nodded. They must have moved like lightning to open every sash window downstairs. After all, I hadn’t taken long in the shower. They have been fitter than they looked, which couldn’t be hard, considering their fitness level looked to be zero on a scale of one to ten. Aunt Agnes was still talking. “Valkyrie, you start with your bedroom and your bathroom, but we’ll do your corridor. After you do those two rooms, you start downstairs. Maude and Dorothy and I will do upstairs and when we’re finished, we’ll come downstairs and help you finish up there. How does that sound?”
It sounded like a lot of work, but I merely said, “Good. I suppose we start with the floor wash?”
“The vacuuming, actually.” Aunt Agnes handed me a large glass bottle of witches’ salt. “After you sprinkle that around, use that vacuum there.” She pointed to a modern vacuum cleaner, quite an upmarket one. “When you finish that, then simply pour Van Van Oil into a bucket here and fill it with very hot water. There’s a mop over there.” She nodded to the bucket and mop nearby. “It’s a microfibre mop, have you heard of those?”
“Yes,” I said. “The fabric does the cleaning—you don’t need any chemicals.”
“Quite right.” With that, the aunts headed and I headed for the stairs. I made my way through my bedroom and bathroom, and then through the rooms downstairs, throwing witches’ salt all over the place. As I approached the place where the victim had landed on the parquetry floor, I dumped the remainder of the witches’ salt on that very area.
By the time I had vacuumed the two rooms upstairs and every room downstairs, I was feeling a little tired. It didn’t help that there was so much furniture around, so I had to keep plugging and unplugging the vacuum cleaner every few moments. I had to manoeuvre delicately around many pieces of furniture which were topped by what looked like valuabl
e glassware.
When I had finished that, I gathered the buckets that were put under the hole in the roof, and took them to the laundry. I was surprised that the storm hadn’t swept away the plastic cover over the skylight.
I tipped out the water, and then returned to the kitchen to fetch the Van Van Oil. I’d only had time to pour the hot water in the bucket, and then put in a measure of Van Van Oil, when the front doorbell rang.
I walked to the front door, wondering if the aunts would answer, but they were only halfway down the stairs. “You open it,” Aunt Agnes called out.
I opened the front door to see a pizza delivery man standing there. “Mugwort Manor?” he said.
“I don’t think we ordered pizza,” I said. I looked behind me at my aunts. “Did we?”
“No, we didn’t. Perhaps one of the guests did.” Aunt Agnes addressed the man. “Do you have the name?”
He consulted his notes. “Marius Jones?”
“He’s in cottage seven,” Aunt Agnes said. “Just go around the back and you’ll see a big brass seven hanging on the wall. That’s him.”
The pizza boy apologised and turned away, but Agnes called after him. “Those pizzas smell good. What sort are they?”
“Steak,” he said.
He made to turn away again, but she asked another question. “Are those five pizzas all for him?”
The pizza boy nodded. Agnes shut the door.
The aunts exchanged glances. I suspected there was a problem, but I had no idea what it was. “He must be having a party,” I said.
“Maude, go out the back and see if there are any cars outside cottage number seven,” Agnes ordered. Aunt Maude hurried off to do her bidding. “So, Valkyrie, how are you going down here?”
“Pretty good,” I said. “I finished all the vacuuming, and now I’m about to wash the floors.”
“I’m quite disturbed about this,” Aunt Dorothy said.
“About what?” I asked her.
“The pizza man interrupting us while we were doing the house cleansing,” Agnes said. “Some people read tarot cards, others do scrying, but the type of divination we do is one that takes signs from things around us. For example, if I’m always able to find a parking spot easily, I know that everything is open to me in my life at that time. However, if I have trouble and have to drive around for a while until I find one, I know there are blockages and obstacles in my life. That’s probably not a very good example, but our family takes signs from everyday life. That’s how we do our divinations.”
“Yes, that was quite a common method of divination in the ancient world,” I said, “such as observing the patterns or cries of birds flying. It was called Augury, but they also paid attention to what they called Portents, such as someone sneezing or tripping, or an everyday sort of thing. But what does that have to do with the pizza delivery?”
“It means that we were interrupted while doing a protective spell, and that’s never a good thing.”
“I thought we were just cleaning,” I said, puzzled.
Aunt Agnes shook her head. At that moment, she looked powerful, younger, taller, somehow. I rubbed my eyes, thinking I must be overtired. “There is no such thing as just cleaning to a witch. Cleaning is a spiritual matter,” she said in a high, clear voice. “In fact, most people know that clutter attracts negative energy. One should never have negative energy in one’s own home. When you clean, work your intent into your cleaning. Today, we’re working protection into our cleaning. Cleaning is a mundane work, but it’s also a spiritual one. It has great spiritual importance. That’s why we never use cleaners, not for the house at any rate. We use a local lady from town for the cottages.”
I nodded. My aunts were certainly wise, and I could learn a lot from them. Now if only I could find out what was going on in that mysterious room.
Aunt Maude returned, breathless. “There are no cars outside cottage seven,” she said. “I stole a look through his window, and he was tucking into those pizzas. It looks as though he’s going to eat them all himself.”
The aunts looked at each other, something I was beginning to become accustomed to them doing. They were clearly keeping something from me, but what?
“Look, there’s something I wanted to...”
The doorbell rang again. “Surely not the pizza boy?” I said.
Aunt Agnes marched past me and opened the door. “Hello?”
I peeped around her and saw a tall man.
“I’m James McPherson from The Sunbeam Insurance Company,” he said, handing Agnes a card.
She pocketed the card, and said, “But you’re a few hours early.”
“I apologise. I did try to call, and I also emailed. I can come back later if that’s more convenient. It’s just that my earlier appointment finished faster than I anticipated, so I came straight over.”
“No that’s fine.” Agnes motioned him inside.
“Is it all right if I give the boys the go ahead to go up on the roof?”
“Sure, send them right up.”
He looked up at the skylight and whistled. “That’s impressive. Did you get any further damage from that storm today?”
“No.” Agnes shook her head. “Our handyman went up on the roof and fastened sheets of plastic as best he could. It did leak, but hopefully there’s no damage. So what happens now? We’re not used to insurance claims, so I don’t really know the correct procedure.”
“It’s all quite straightforward,” the man said. “It’s a homicide case, and the police are involved. That will make your claim go through that much more smoothly. Do you have any photographs or any documents pertaining to the original stained glass?”
“Yes, we do. I have them out ready in the office. Dorothy, go and get them for the gentleman.”
Dorothy hurried away. The man pointed to the floor. “Was this where the victim landed?”
Agnes assured him that it was.
“I’ll organise some temporary glass as soon as possible just to make it all watertight, and then we’ll look into replacing the actual stained glass itself.”
“How long before you think you can insert the temporary glass?” Agnes said.
He shrugged. “It will be within five business days.” He looked through the folder Dorothy had just handed him. “Excellent. This will do for now, but I’ll be in touch. I’ll just go and speak to my men. Good day, ladies.”
Aunt Agnes locked the door behind him. “Do you see, Valkyrie? Two interruptions while we’re doing a protection spell. That does not bode well. Anyway, what were you going to ask me?”
I had lost my courage. “I, um, nothing, nothing really.”
She crossed her arms. “Now then, Valkyrie, I know that’s not true. You had something to say to me. What is it?”
I took a deep gulp. “What’s going on in the forbidden room?”
I heard Dorothy gasp behind me. “Why, that’s just our private altar room, Valkyrie,” Aunt Maude said.
Agnes shook her head. “Sisters, we knew we would have to tell Valkyrie.”
Maude gasped. “But I thought we agreed we’d let her settle in first.”
“She’s obviously been snooping, so we need to tell her now. Valkyrie, this will come as quite a shock to you. You’ll have trouble believing what we tell you, but I ask you to reserve judgement until we show you the contents of the room itself.”
That did not sound good. What could possibly be in that room?
Aunt Agnes continued. “Valkyrie, I want you to promise me that you will not run away or run to your bedroom, but will right now accompany us to the room and see it for yourself, no matter how much you disbelieve us.”
“Sure.” I was intrigued, and a little scared. “What’s in the room?”
“A werewolf.”
Chapter 13
I wasn’t sure I had heard correctly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite hear what you said.”
“A werewolf.”
“What?”
“A werewolf. A Shifte
r. The human that becomes the wolf.”
“It’s not actually a werewolf,” Aunt Maude said.
“One thing at a time,” Agnes said. “I don’t want to confuse her.”
“You’ll confuse her if you say it’s a werewolf,” Maude countered.
I clutched my throat. “A werewolf?”
All three aunts nodded. “Sort of,” Aunt Maude muttered.
“But there’s no such thing as werewolves.”
“Tell that to the werewolf in the room.” Aunt Agnes’s voice was matter-of-fact. “Now, Valkyrie, you promised you would come with us to see the creature for yourself.”
I tried to speak, but no words would come out. I stood frozen to the spot. What on earth were the aunts talking about? I figured they had found a large stray dog and thought it was a werewolf, but this meant they were all a little unhinged. I had given up my life in the city to come and work for my aunts, and now this? I always knew they were eccentric, but this was going too far.
“Follow us.” Aunt Agnes walked up the stairs, followed by Maude and Dorothy. I brought up the rear.
“Don’t be afraid. He’s behind bars, and our magic contains him.”
I was really concerned. Who could I call to get help for them? First I had to sort out the large stray dog.
Part of me was terribly excited that I would finally get to see inside the forbidden room, a room which had held such mystery for me as a child. As we approached the corridor, I could see the red light pulsating under the door. “Why is there a red glow under the door?” I asked Aunt Agnes.
“It’s infrared light,” she said. “It keeps him more docile.”
I nodded. They really were buying into this werewolf thing, the poor old dears.
“Now before we show you, Valkyrie, I should say that you need to keep this a secret. I’m sure you won’t go blabbing it all over town, of course, but I’m sure you can understand the need for secrecy.”