by R K Dreaming
Seeing that she was finally beginning to understand, Fred Sheedy nodded. “She was the one who planned the whole heist. She was the one who was friends with Lucilla Blaze’s hairdresser. She found out when the wildmagic would be moving. You should have heard her boasting that stupid Lucilla didn’t even realize she had let the information slip. And then when everything went wrong, we were the ones who got put away for it, and poor Hank died, and she got away with everything!”
“But it can’t be,” gasped Nan. “No way! It couldn’t… It wasn’t…”
“It was,” said Fred relentlessly. “Hank was head over heels in love with that woman. She was so beautiful and so charming, and she was going places in life. She was that smart. And he couldn’t see straight he was so in love. But so were we.”
“So were we,” George echoed.
The two Sheedys looked at each other. Their glances were full of regret and shame.
“So when she told us she had the perfect plan and the four of us could go off into the sunset together, we wanted to believe her,” Fred said despairingly. “So stupid we were.”
“It’s true?” said Nan in a strangled voice. “It really is true?”
“Of course it’s true,” said George. “Horrible she is. Evil. Conniving. Took us just a couple of months in prison before the scales dropped from our eyes. I think Hank knew it too by the end, but he loved her and hated her the same. And he was too scared to not do what she wanted, the poor sod. All he wanted was to keep her happy. We always fell for all her lies just like you lot have.”
Percy gasped. “But we told her that Hank was alive!” she said.
“What?” said the Sheedys. They looked astonished.
“He’s alive,” said Percy. “He lost the walnut. He’s been searching for it for nine years.”
The Sheedys glared at her like she was trying to trick them.
“How do you know about the walnut?” Fred snapped. “Even Juliet doesn’t know about the walnut.”
“Because Hank told us,” said Percy.
She told them the whole story. By the time she finished, Fred and George were sat cross-legged on the floor, both looking absolutely stunned. Fred had let his wand drop. It had rolled out of reach but he didn’t seem to care.
“He lost it in the river?” said Fred in disbelief. “All that time it’s been buried somewhere in some fields behind his old nan’s house?”
“Gran’s house,” said George. “Granny Hyde was the one by the river. He was always going on about them two old biddies. Remember that time he took us to fish there after a night out at the pub? How those Humbles at the house woke up and shouted at us?”
They both laughed fondly at the memory.
“His gran’s house,” said Fred, shaking his head in disbelief. “All that time.”
Percy nodded. “It was somewhere where that river stream used to be. He couldn’t get to it. And he didn’t have the password. He said only you two knew it.”
“Poor sod,” said George. “He must have been terrified she’d be coming for him. Too scared to even run. Or still too much in love. The idiot.”
“Did she really murder her husband Brad?” said Nan in a small voice.
“Who else do you think did it? Who else would murder him and make it look like it was us?” said Fred.
A phone lying on the floor next to George lit up, the screen flashing to show a message had been received.
Shara stared at it anxiously. It was her phone. It had dropped out of her bag.
Seeing the flashing screen, George picked it up. He fiddled with it, and then scowled. “Stupid phones. Can’t make head or tails of these newfangled ones. At least the old ones were better.”
He came across, cut open the tape around Shara’s wrists and handed it to her.
“It’s probably your parents,” he said. “Unlock the phone and I’ll read it out to you and type your reply. Best not to let them worry. We’ll let you three go as soon as we’ve got Juliet.”
Looking shocked and grateful, Shara typed her password into her phone.
George read the message. He frowned. He stared at it, his eyes flicking back and forth, and then he cursed.
“What is it?” said Shara in alarm.
George read the message out. “It’s from Juliet. She says, ‘I’ve got Gwen Prince and Hank Hyde hostage. Get that password from the Sheedys and text it to me. Tell no one. First sign of trouble and I will kill them both.”
13. The Hooting Owl
“Mum!” said Percy in shock. “She’s got my mum?”
Her heart was thundering. In all of the night’s events, for not one moment had she thought her mum, the great Gwendolyn Prince, would be in any danger.
Her mum was supposed to be home, safe. It was the whole point of Percy doing this.
Percy felt sick. What had Juliet done to her mum? How had she overpowered her? Was she hurt?
Percy’s ears were ringing. She couldn’t think. The thought of her mum in danger filled her head.
Shara’s yelp of dismay brought Percy out of her stupor.
“Oh no!” said Shara, looking at Percy with wide-eyed dismay. “It’s my fault. Juliet told me to text her when Fred and George walked into the trap we set. Remember? She thinks we’ve caught them!”
“At that posh house at Duke of York Street?” Fred snorted. “You nearly did catch us. That was a close one!”
“She wants the wildmagic,” said Nan. “She knows where it is because of us, but she can’t get it without the password.”
“We can’t give it to her,” said Percy shakily. “Once she has it, she’ll kill mum and Hank. Like she killed Brad Jolie.”
Percy’s head was spinning. A million thoughts were flying through it at once, overpowering her until she couldn’t think clearly. Where was her mum now? Were they at Percy’s house? No, Juliet would not have messaged until she got Gwendolyn out of the house somewhere to keep her hostage. And she had said she had Hank too.
She wanted the password. It meant she must be near the walnut. She was in Old Windsor. They all were.
First sign of trouble and I will kill them both.
Percy groaned quietly.
“And she’ll come for the rest of us too,” said Fred. “She’s ruthless. She won’t want any loose ends. Damn it, what should we do?”
He started pacing. George sat on the floor looking shocked and overwhelmed.
“I can’t believe Hank is still alive,” he muttered to himself. “And she’s got him again.”
Nan and Shara looked desperately at Percy.
“I’m so sorry,” said Shara.
That frightened look in Shara’s eyes made Percy angry. It was like Shara thought Percy’s mum was beyond help already. Adrenalin rushed through Percy. She needed to get out of here. She needed to find her mum. Before it was too late.
“It is not your fault,” said Percy fiercely to Shara. “We all agreed to it. Juliet told us that it was to make sure we were safe remember? Text me so I don’t have to worry about you, she said. Smart. Real smart. I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid.”
“If you were stupid then so were we,” said Nan. “None of us saw this coming.”
She looked miserable. She had really believed in Juliet.
“We have to call Octavia and Felix,” said Percy grimly.
She didn’t care any more about Octavia taking the credit. And Felix losing his job would be awful, but she had to save her mum. Percy jumped to her feet.
George looked alarmed. He snatched up Nan’s wand from the ground and pointed it at her.
“Where are you going? You can’t go!”
“My mum,” said Percy desperately. “Untie me. I have to call for help. Give me my phone.”
She ran to the table where her backpack was lying, but George blocked her way.
“Get out of the way!” Percy yelled. “Don’t you get it? We have to save my mum!”
“Shut up!” hissed Fred suddenly.
He was standing b
y the window, his body very still. He had pushed aside the curtain a couple of inches and was looking outside.
“There’s someone there. Someone watching us,” he said.
Percy’s heart leapt. “Help!” she yelled. “Hel—”
“Silento!” George hissed, pointing Nan’s wand at her.
Percy’s voice fell silent immediately. She continued to shout, but no sound came out.
She ran towards the window, intending to rip the curtain down with her teeth if she had to. George grabbed her by the arm and flung her back down onto the couch next to Nan.
“You stay there,” he hissed. “Or I’ll put a bodylock curse on the three of you, and that won’t be good because I don’t know how to undo it.”
Percy glared, but she stayed where she was. She exchanged a quick look with Nan and Shara. She flicked her eyes towards George who had the wand. She hoped that at least one of them understood what she wanted. At the first possible opportunity, when George wasn’t paying attention, they had to rush at him and knock that wand out of his hand and stomp on it.
Nan wouldn’t like having her wand broken, but that was the least of their worries right now.
But for the moment George had his eyes on them and the wand pointed at them.
“Who is it?” he asked Fred urgently.
“Don’t know,” said Fred, still staring intently out the window. “They’re in a car. Tinted windows. I think it’s the conclave!” His voice broke up a bit at that last word.
“It can’t be,” said George despairingly. “How did they find us?”
Percy was thinking fast. She tried to speak, but the charm that George had cast had not worn off and nothing came out of her mouth.
She started bouncing up and down in her seat, and shouting at him silently, trying to tell him that she had something to say.
“Stop that!” said George.
“She needs to tell you something,” Nan whispered. “She won’t scream again. You had better let her speak.”
George’s eyes narrowed. “I’m warning you that you better not shout again,” he hissed. Then pointing Nan’s wand at Percy, he said, “Voco.”
“It is not them,” said Percy immediately. “Not the conclave. It’s the Eldritch Council people. I told you that we know them.”
“Yeah, right,” said George.
“It’s true!”
“Not witches?” whispered Fred. “That’s good. We might be able to give them the slip.”
“I don’t know,” said George nervously. “They’re as bad as the conclave. Remember that time we got caught in one of—”
“Never mind that,” hissed Fred. “We need to get out of here.”
“What if they’ve got the place surrounded?” said George in a panic. “What if they are already at the front door?”
And then Percy heard it. A sound like the hoot of an owl, prolonged and distinct. Felix’s whistle. And it had indeed come from the direction of the front door.
“Hear that?” she said sharply. “That hooting owl? It’s not an owl. That’s our friend from the Eldritch Council. You’re right. They have got the place surrounded. I can talk them out of it. I can get you both out of here.”
“And why would you do that?” George hissed.
“Haven’t you been listening?” Percy demanded. “I don’t care if you two escape. All I care about is saving my mum. Are you going to let us go or not?”
“I don’t trust you one bit,” said George.
“You haven’t got any options, have you? You heard that whistle. They are nearly at the front door. I reckon you’ve just got a few minutes to let me walk out of that door and talk them down. I swear, I’ll distract them while you both escape.”
Fred turned aside from the window. “Just you then,” he said.
Percy shook her head. “No way. I am not leaving my friends here. You let the three of us go, or you take your chances. Either way, the Eldritch Council is already here and the three of us are going to be safe any moment now. I just don’t want to hang about answering their questions for hours. I need to find my mum.”
Fred ground his teeth, but he knew he was facing a losing battle.
He didn’t know what Percy knew. That it wasn’t the full forces of the Eldritch Council out there. That it was only Felix and Octavia.
How they had got their hands on an Eldritch Council car she did not want to know. But she was certain it was the two of them and nobody else. She had to get out of here before Fred and George realized this.
She quickly stood up and turned around so that George could cut off the bindings around her hands. He did the same for Nan and Shara.
Percy grabbed her backpack from the table, and stumbled into George as she did it. But he regained his footing quickly and shoved her away. She had tried to snatch Nan’s wand from him and failed.
“You little sneak!” he said.
“Sorry,” she said. “You can’t blame a girl for trying.”
Before the Sheedys could change their minds, she herded Nan and Shara out of the lounge and towards the front door. The Sheedy’s did not try to stop them this time.
The three girls let themselves out of the apartment quickly, and ran towards the lobby. Felix was in the garden, not far from the lobby door.
He looked stunned to see them. “What are you three doing here?” he demanded.
“What are you doing here?” Percy shot back.
“Octavia got us access to more information. We cross referenced tips of sightings of the Sheedys with properties belonging to people associated with the Sheedys. Two people called in tips near—”
“Never mind that,” Percy grabbed hold of Felix’s arm and hustled him back through the doorway into the lobby. “You saved our skins with that whistle of yours. But my mum is in trouble. I need to speak to Octavia right now.”
“But the Sheedys—”
“Didn’t you hear what I said?” said Percy frantically. “Juliet is the one who killed her husband. Juliet was the mastermind behind the whole thing and she’s got my mum. She’s holding her hostage!”
Felix’s mouth fell open, but he stopped objecting. He believed her. He followed her while she ran out through the main entrance and the gate, and onto the street.
The car with the tinted windows that the Fred Sheedy had spotted was on the opposite side of the road.
Percy sprinted to it and banged on a tinted window until Octavia rolled it down. She was in the driver’s seat. And she was looking very angry.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded.
“It was Juliet Jolie!” Percy panted. “Juliet Jolie is the one behind the original heist. She was the mastermind. She got the Sheedys and her husband Hank Hyde to do it. And she murdered her new husband Brad, and tried to pin it on the Sheedys. And now she’s got my mum. We have to stop her!”
Octavia stared at Percy. “What are you babbling about?” she said. Her eyes narrowed. “You’re making it all up. You know that we’re close to catching the Sheedys, and you just don’t want me to win!”
Percy stared at her in disbelief. “Who cares about winning! Juliet is holding my mum and Hank Hyde hostage. You have to help them!”
“Do you think I’m stupid?” Octavia snapped. “Has Hank Hyde come back from the dead now?”
Percy shot a look at Felix who gave her a helpless shrug. He clearly had not told Octavia that they had found Hank alive. He had done it to protect Percy and Nan. Normally she would have thanked him. But now Octavia thought she was mad.
“Hank Hyde is alive,” she said, slowing down her voice and trying to sound more reasonable. Trying to sound like someone who wasn’t making it all up as she went along. “Nan and I found him a couple of days ago. He’s been living in Old—”
“Enough,” Octavia snapped. “Next you’ll be telling me that the Sheedys are innocent. That the Conclave of Magic jailed the wrong pair nine years ago. That they never stole the wildmagic in the first place.”
“T
hey did steal the wildmagic,” said Percy. “They were in on it with Hank Hyde.”
“Don’t tell me what I already know,” snapped Octavia. “I know that the Sheedys have the wildmagic. Or at least they know where it is. Why else would they come back to London? They’ve come to get it from wherever they stashed it. And I intend to follow them until they lead me to it. I’ll be the one who finds it. I’m going to catch them in the act. I’m going to close this case that the conclave never managed to close, and you had better stop getting in my way!”
She turned to Felix. “Well? Did you find out whether they are in that apartment or not?”
Percy was stunned. Octavia was not going to help her. There was no one to help her except herself.
“They are there,” she said. She glanced behind herself to the living room window of their apartment. The lights were still on inside. “Or at least they were a few minutes ago. I don’t know about now,” she said.
Octavia’s eyes narrowed. She was still looking at Felix. “Did you see them? Are they really there?”
“If you don’t believe me,” Percy snapped. “Then you can check that tracker coin that you put in Felix’s pocket earlier today. I picked it up remember? I’ve just put it into George Sheedy’s pocket. So if your tracker is still inside the apartment, so is he. But I doubt it. They’ll have made their escape by now.”
Octavia looked astonished. Felix got his fancy phone out and checked it. “The tracker is on the move,” he said, sounding incredulous.
Percy nodded at him. “You two had better go after them.”
“I’ll come with you,” he said. “What about your mum?”
“You will not!” yelled Octavia. “You are coming with me.”
“What about Percy’s mum?” he demanded hotly.
“She’s lying through her teeth.”
“She is not. Octavia, will you just listen—”
“I’m done listening. Are you coming now or not?” she yelled, checking the tracker’s location on her own phone now. She cursed. “They’re getting away! Get into this car right now!”
He hesitated, undecided, and Octavia got a grim look on her face.
“If you leave me to chase the Sheedys alone, then it is over for you Felix! I mean it!”