Witch Cursed in Westerham

by Dionne Lister

  “Should be. Maybe go on ahead. I’ll catch up.”

  His brow furrowed. “No can do. I’m drained but not as bad as you. I’m strong enough to defend you if I have to. If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”

  I took a deep breath and shoved out the voice telling me I wanted to sit down… or was that lie down and go to sleep? “Let’s go.”

  Will slipped his gun out as we walked. I was all for the extra precaution. Even though I would likely be able to draw next to no magic, I stayed alert and kept the portal open, just in case.

  Despite everything that had happened, I still had my no-notice spell up, and a quick look at Will’s aura confirmed his was too. As we approached the milling crowd and the few police who appeared to be trying to calm everyone and find out exactly what had happened, no one gave us a first glance, let alone a second.

  My eyes widened. Just to the left of the masses stood Angelica and Imani. They each held an upper arm of the man kneeling between them whose head was bent, wrists behind his back, likely restrained with Imani’s PIB-issue, magic-stifling cuffs. The prisoner lifted his head as we approached and stared into my eyes.

  His tone was scarred with hate. “You…” His flinty stare made my skin crawl. But I had nothing to fear. I’d beaten him, and with no access to his magic, he was harmless. With no energy to tell him what I thought of him, I shrugged. There was a reason “if looks could kill” was a cliché—it happened way too often.

  “Bad luck, Donald Duck.” I grinned, thinking of the quackmobile. Seems I had more energy left than I’d thought. As Shamus tried to laser me with his eyes, I turned my gaze longingly to the ground next to the tower. That looked like such a lovely place to sit and rest. I was about to turn, when my senses went on high alert. I followed Angelica’s gaze to the path leading to the bridge.

  He was back—the director who’d visited the prison disaster to tell Angelica she was on suspension, and he still had his stupid top hat on. How had he found us when no one had their phones on them? I narrowed my eyes. An enemy of Angelica’s was an enemy of mine. Will looked at me and whispered, “Try and be more subtle. One day it might help to take him by surprise.” Meh, what did I care? I was never going to be an agent. The only reason I toned it down was so I didn’t get Will and Imani into more trouble than they might be in right now.

  The growl low in my throat was involuntary. But there was good reason. Chad strode behind the director. What the hell was he doing here? Come to steal Angelica’s glory? And don’t get me wrong; I didn’t hate Chad. He was an unwitting pawn in the directors’ game, and other than being dumber than the average agent, he hadn’t been evil… so far.

  They both must have had no-notice spells on because the crowd ignored them. A tall man in a business suit was arguing with one of the police, who had cordoned off the bridge. “I’m sorry, sir, but we’ll need engineers to clarify the safety after that tremor. Being an isolated incident, there could be a fault with the structure. Please use London Bridge.” The policeman pointed to the south. The man pressed his lips together and balled his fists but ended up walking away. Others followed as word spread and other police arrived.

  Top-hat guy spoke. “I should’ve known that you’d be where an extremely high magic reading came from. You set off all our alarms, Agent DuPree. Interesting to see you have your magic back.” He extended his heavy glare to Imani and Will. Looked like I was flying under his radar. The less he knew about me, the better. “And who have you got there?”

  “Shamus Lord. He was plotting to blow up the bridge. He was also behind the messages sent to the PIB, the thefts, and lightning murders.”

  “I hope you can prove all that.”

  “Of course I can. Here’s exhibit A.” Angelica held up a ring I recognised—a thick gold band with square emerald stone, the one he’d been wearing when I’d seen him on TV. “This is one of the artefacts stolen from HQ the other day. He’s changed its form from when Dana had it, but it’s the ring that magnifies power. He was wearing it when he attacked the bridge.” She raised a brow as if to say, gotcha! I blinked. Wow, I’d beaten a witch who was using a power-enhancing tool. Was I stronger than I thought?

  Top-hat guy cleared his throat and held out his hand. “Please pass the suspect to Agent Williamson the Third. He and Imani can transport him to a cell at headquarters, and I’ll take that ring.” She handed it to him. He slipped it in his pocket. “You’re coming with me.” Where was he taking her?

  Angelica waited for Chad to reach the prisoner. Head held high, she stepped out of the way. “May I ask where we’re going?”

  Top-hat guy frowned. With paler than pale skin, sunken cheeks, and saggy jowls, he didn’t look too well. “The board would like to meet with you. The location, of course, is top secret. I’ll make the doorway, and you’ll go first.” Just when I thought I was done with fear for the day, it coiled in my belly. I wouldn’t trust this guy as far as I could throw him without magic. But Angelica didn’t so much as flinch.

  “Shall we?” she asked, her strong voice calm and businesslike.

  Top-hat guy made his doorway. As Angelica stepped through, he turned to Chad. “Take them all back to HQ and gather them for a meeting. I’d like some answers. Agent Bianchi will join you shortly.”

  Chad quickly nodded. “Of course, sir.” He gave an awkward bow, which Top-hat guy turned his back on before shooting Will an angry glare, stepping through his doorway, and disappearing. He hadn’t even thanked Angelica, Imani, or Will for capturing the guy and retrieving an artefact. Oh, that’s right, he wouldn’t have been happy because it made Angelica look good.

  One hand gripping Shamus’s shoulder, Chad turned to Imani. “We haven’t met. I’m Agent Williamson the Third, but you can call me sir. What’s your name, agent?”

  “Agent Jawara, sir.”

  “Right, Agent Jawara, can you please make the doorway to the reception room in the cell sector?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He turned to Will. “And you two can just go to the regular reception room. I’ll see you in the boardroom in fifteen minutes.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  As soon as Chad left, I frowned. “I hope Angelica’s okay. I don’t trust Top-hat guy. He’s as slimy as an oily naked person.”

  “What?” Will’s mouth was stuck between horror and laughter. “You need practice with those analogies. You sure come up with some weird ones.”

  “What’s wrong with that? It’s true, isn’t it?”

  He chuckled. “I suppose it is. And don’t worry about Angelica—she can take care of herself.”

  “If they do anything to hurt her, they’ll have all of us to deal with.” I held my fists up in a fighting stance, not that I knew how to fight. It was the thought that counted, and my magic was more than up to the task.

  “Okay, Rocky, let’s get back to HQ.”

  I took one last look at Tower Bridge standing proud and pretty. Thank God we’d figured things out when we did, or London would have lost a landmark and hundreds of lives. I blew out a huge relieved breath before using the last of my strength to make my doorway. Unfortunately, there was a chance my relief was premature. Was everyone I loved about to get fired?

  As Will and I walked the corridor to the conference room, I asked, “Can you make a bubble of silence?”

  “Sure.” His magic tickled my nape. “Shoot.”

  “What are we going to do about Finnegan? We have no proof other than my photos, which we can’t use.” We didn’t even know how far his betrayal ran. Had he helped Shamus gain access to HQ so he could spell everyone with the curse?

  “We’ll have to wait until Shamus admits it. In the meantime, we’ll keep a close eye on Finnegan. It sucks, but he’s going to get away with it for now.”

  I sighed. My stomach grumbled, and not only from hunger. Anger over the unfairness of it all rankled. Will opened the conference-room door for me. I gritted my teeth as I entered, tension rippling through me. Game face acti
vated.

  Everyone sitting around the table turned when we came in. James and Millicent were on the opposite side, Beren and Olivia were on our side, and Agent Lyon was at the foot of the table. Imani and Chad weren’t back yet. He’d obviously underestimated the time it took to register a criminal into the system.

  I sat next to Olivia, and Will went around the table to sit next to Mill, opposite me. I looked at James and tried to glean whether he knew what was going on. Had anything happened at the jail? If it had, at least he was safe. My enquiring stare received a subtle shake of the head. Fine.

  A thought shook its squirrel tail in my face, demanding attention. Had Dr Finnegan purposely kept us from finding a cure for the curse? That made total, depressing sense. Shame we couldn’t prove it. At least he wasn’t in the room. I’d find it hard to hold back showing how I felt. Could they trust him to do his job properly from now on?

  The door opened. We all shot our gazes to it. Chad walked in, followed by Imani, and Angelica. Chad looked relaxed enough. Imani had her best poker face on, as did Angelica, but an undercurrent of anger pulsed beneath the surface. Her stiff shoulders and firmer-than-usual footfalls attested to it. I’d known her long enough to figure her tells. She made it hard to know what she was feeling, but it wasn’t always impossible.

  What bombshell was about to be dropped?

  I gripped the arms of my chair.

  Chad stopped at the head of the table, pulled his chair out, and gave a nod to Angelica to sit to his right. She sat slowly, deliberately. I wouldn’t want to be Chad or Top-hat guy when she finally got her revenge.

  Imani magicked an extra chair and squeezed it between me and Agent Lyon. I looked at her and got the same subtle head shake James had bestowed on me. And they called themselves my friends. Phooey to that.

  Chad smoothed his tie down and sat back in his chair, making it lean far enough that he could cross his feet and place them on the table. My mouth dropped open. No way! James blinked, and Millicent nudged him with her elbow. Angelica closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them again.

  “So, gang,” Chad started. Gang? This wasn’t off to a great start. I resisted the urge to look under the table for Scooby Doo. “Today something wonderful happened. Angelica and her sidekicks solved a grave crime. Because of their wonderful work, Shamus Lord is languishing in jail as we speak.” I would hardly have called it languishing. He’d been in there for approximately ten minutes. Angelica’s eye-roll spoke for all of us, but she had her face turned away from Chad, so he didn’t see. Maybe a tad immature, but the alternative would be for her to laugh in his face, and that was even worse. Venting was probably way safer than Volcano Angelica erupting.

  Chad’s smile was self-satisfied—as if he’d had something to do with the outcome—and proud, as if Angelica was his loyal and competent subject. This meeting had so much potential to go pear-shaped. Would anyone mind if I magicked some popcorn in?

  “Because Angelica has redeemed herself, the powers that be have agreed to reinstate her.”

  “Yay!” Everyone stared at me. Oops, had I said that out loud? I bit my top lip to stop anymore joy coming out. Funnily enough, Angelica and Imani didn’t share in the joy. They both held firm to their poker faces. What had I missed?

  “As I was saying, Angelica has been reinstated as my second in command. She’s still on probation, but I would like you to welcome her back to the fold.” He clapped. It echoed around the shocked room. “Well, come on, folks, a bit of encouragement. It’s been a tough week for Angelica, and she needs our support.” Will and I exchanged incredulous glances.

  Angelica grimaced, all poker-faced restraint gone. Her chest rose as she took a deep breath. “Thank you, Agent Williamson the Third. I would add to that, but I’m afraid I have nothing constructive to say.”

  He smiled kindly. “Don’t worry about it. We all get tongue-tied sometimes. I’m sure it’s just all the excitement of being back at HQ, hey?” He slapped her on the back. I sucked in a breath and held it.

  The alarm blared. My heart stuttered and raced. I braced for that feeling of nausea. It didn’t come. Chad’s shocked arms flung in the air, and he pushed off the table with his feet. His chair shot backwards and tipped, spilling him onto the floor. Whatever. He could look after himself. He was a grown man after all.

  Ma’am jumped to her feet, and James ran around the table, making it to the door first. He flung it open and ran through. Ma’am called to Millicent and Agent Lyon. “Secure the facility. No one goes in or out.” Their magic zinged into life, probably creating a spell that would make it impossible for anyone to travel out with magic or otherwise. From what I knew of that protocol, all doors to the outside would automatically lock, and the lift would stop.

  More magic bombarded me. It was familiar, and I should have expected it.

  Dr Finnegan.

  I grabbed Will’s arm. “Dr Finnegan’s magic. He’s doing a spell. We have to get to his rooms now!”

  He ran for the door and called out, “B, hurry!” Good thinking. Will and I were depleted. There was no way we’d take him on and win. At least he couldn’t escape. I sprinted out the door, Beren close behind. Our feet slapped against the hard floor, but the blaring alarm drowned it out.

  Will reached the infirmary first. He quickly looked back to check we were there, and, as he turned to enter, pulled his gun out. When we reached the doors, I moved aside to let Beren enter first. His magic would be needed, and there wasn’t much I could do to help. The last thing I wanted was to be a liability and get in the way. Fully intending to stay out of it, I cautiously went in after Beren.

  When I stepped into the empty room, the alarm died. I halted and tried to breathe quietly, which was difficult after running.

  Voices came from the next room. I crept to the door, not wanting to be seen. It took me back to being ten and secretly listening into my parents’ private conversation about what they were getting James and me for Christmas. Unfortunately, there was no happy ending to this eavesdropping expedition.

  “Oh, nothing. Just tidying up after a busy day. Glad to see you’re both better. How did you get rid of the curse? Is that what you came to talk about?” Dr Finnegan’s voice was artificially happy, as if he were doing a commercial trying to convince the audience that the bathroom shower cleaner he held was the product to end all products. Just waving the bottle in the vicinity of the shower banished all mould. Yeah, right.

  “It was by sheer luck I cured it, actually.” Beren had his usual, easy-going voice happening. I supposed if you were going to go undercover, you needed top-notch acting skills.

  “Excellent! Well, I actually have an appointment to get to. Do you think we could meet tomorrow to go over how you did it?”

  “I hope the appointment is in the building.” Will. “We’re in lockdown. No one’s going in or out for a while.”

  The conversation paused. “Oh, well. Um, do you know how long it will last? What happened?”

  “Who can say?” Will was keeping his tone light. “We don’t know yet. Agent Williamson the Third invoked lockdown protocol.” He was keeping Ma’am’s demotion and reinstatement a secret. She had taken control in that room, and everyone who was there knew it. Chad was a reasonable guy. Maybe he’d defer to her and be PIB leader in title only? One could hope. “Anyway, mind if we look around? Make sure everything’s okay?” If that didn’t clue Finnegan in, nothing would.

  Goosebumps machinegunned along my arms. I started to turn my head to look behind me, but a hand clamped over my mouth. I was slammed into someone’s chest, and something sharp pricked the side of my throat. I’d unwittingly found our fugitive. Just my luck.

  He breathed into my ear quietly, “Not so powerful now, are you? Told you all I was smarter, but you didn’t listen. And now you’re going to help me free my brother from that hellhole jail you put him in. And in case you’re wondering, that’s a scalpel I have at your throat.”

  Oh, great. That was a piece of infor
mation I didn’t need. I would have said something, but his hand was so tightly clamped over my mouth, it was impossible to speak. Firstly, I would never help him, even if I died for my choice, and secondly, I didn’t have enough magic to help him tie his shoes. I was guessing he didn’t either. He might have assumed I had more magic at my disposal since I beat him on the bridge. Nevertheless, he was the one with the knife at my throat.

  The balance of power was his… for now.

  “Make a noise, and I’ll cut your throat.” Well, der, thanks for stating the obvious. Shame I couldn’t transmit my sarcasm by osmosis. “You’re going to make a doorway to the jail.” I carefully shook my head, hyperaware of the blade on my skin. He pressed it tighter. My throat stung as it pierced the skin.

  I tried to mumble that I didn’t know the coordinates, but his hand made it impossible to utter anything decipherable. Great. I was going to die because this idiot didn’t know what I didn’t know.

  “What did I say about speaking? Now make that doorway. And don’t try anything funny—I’ll know if you do. My talent is reading spells as they’re created. I just need you to make the doorway because I don’t know the coordinates, and my magic signature is linked to your damn alarm.”

  I definitely didn’t have power enough to make a doorway, but maybe I had enough in my personal stash to do something small yet effective. I was betting his claim was a load of poppycock. I had one chance to escape, and I was taking it.

  As I fumbled inside for my own life source, I shut my eyes and concentrated on the metal tip at my neck. This was going to hurt, but I’d still be alive at the end of it if all went well. Surprise was going to be my friend for a change.

  Breathing in the musky scent of his sweaty palm, I drew from deep inside and pushed the energy up to my throat and out into the scalpel. I leaned against Shamus when the dizzy spell hit, but I kept my life force flowing. Make it red hot.