Crown of Magic

by TJ Green

  The thermal image showed Yvonne’s arms lifting, and Avery could imagine her despair and anger. If anything the temperature plummeted further, and Avery wrapped her arms around herself and clenched her teeth together to stop them from chattering. Briar’s hands were to her lips, her face anguished, and Avery wondered if she was detecting more of Yvonne’s emotions.

  Alex kept nodding, encouraging her gently, until he finally said, “Thank you, Yvonne. I promise to free your spirit before the play’s end, okay? Where is the ring?”

  He blanched as she answered, and then within seconds, she’d gone, and the temperature returned to normal.

  Reuben was leaning against the back of one of the chairs, and before Alex could speak, he said, “The ring’s on her body, isn’t it?”

  “Yep.”

  “And where’s that?”

  “The cemetery on the edge of town.” Alex rubbed his face wearily. “We’re going to have to dig up her body.”

  Briar looked horrified. “There must be other options! Surely we can burn the scripts and that will break the spell?”

  “Burning grimoires doesn’t break spells,” Avery pointed out.

  “True,” Alex agreed. “But the scripts are imbued with power of their own. They are a big part of the spell! However, Yvonne is pretty sure that the ring is what binds her spirit, not the scripts.”

  El had retrieved the bronze sword from Alex, and continued to scan the auditorium. “What worries me is when you said you’d burn all the scripts, and Kit said you could try. That suggests to me that he’s hidden one.”

  “Fuck it!” Alex exclaimed, starting to pace off his annoyance. “I’d forgotten he said that! You’re right, El, that’s exactly what he’s done. Extra insurance. It could be anywhere!”

  “Wrong,” Hunter said. “I think it’s either here—which is admittedly a very big area to search—or the pub. Didn’t you say you’re feeling a presence there recently? It’s probably him.”

  Alex looked at Hunter for a long moment, and then nodded. “Yes, you’re right. I think these dreams have so affected my sleep that I can’t think straight.”

  “Right,” Reuben said, decisively, “Let’s head backstage now and collect up as many scripts as we can find and then get out of here. We can meet up again tomorrow night at the cemetery. Maybe we should keep the numbers small. It’s gruesome, but I’ll do it if no one else wants to.”

  “I’ll come, of course,” Alex said.

  “So will I,” Avery said resolutely. “Who knows what else Kit may have in store? But Reuben’s right. We need to get the scripts, find the jewels, and go home. At least we know what we’re up against now.”

  ***

  Avery watched as Sally’s face grew pale. “He tied her spirit to the play? That’s horrific!”

  Avery nodded. “Yes it is, and we have to break that connection in the next three days before the play ends.”

  “Why does the time frame matter?” Dan asked, keeping his voice low as he kept a watchful eye out for approaching customers.

  All three were standing behind the counter at Happenstance Books just after they’d opened the shop. So far, it was quiet, with only a few early shoppers browsing the shelves. Once again, the sun was shining, and White Haven looked as if it had been washed clean after the fog of the previous days.

  “We’re not sure it does,” Avery admitted, thinking through their discussions of the previous night. “But Yvonne is convinced that her ring is responsible, so we have to find it and destroy it. She’s worried that if the play finishes, she’ll disappear with her spirit still bound to it. We can’t risk that. Kit strikes me as being a devious bastard, and I don’t want to trust any of our assumptions right now.”

  “Bloody hell, Avery, that sounds complicated!” Dan said, looking bewildered.

  “I know! My head hurts just thinking about it.”

  Sally leaned forward conspiratorially. “Are you really going to dig up her body?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. Briar didn’t really want to come, but we decided in the end that the more of us that are there, the safer it would be.” Avery grimaced. “I don’t really want to go either, but we have to do this.”

  Dan and Sally glanced at each other uneasily, and Dan asked, “How many scripts did you find in the end?”

  “Eight, but there’ll be more, and we think Kit has hidden one somewhere else.”

  “How will you find them?” Sally asked.

  “We’ve decided that rather than break into the cast’s homes, we’ll steal them from backstage tonight. They should be there while they’re performing—in theory.”

  “You’ll use glamour, I presume?” Sally asked.

  “If we need to. I expect backstage will be as busy and chaotic as it was last night. We might get by without that.”

  “Any idea how many scripts there were in total?” Dan asked.

  Avery shook her head. “No, but Stan may know. I reckon about twenty, and we have ten so far with the two we’ve already stolen. I’m going to make some copies today, ready to take with us.”

  “I’ll do that for you,” Sally said. “You’ll be busy enough. What else do you need to do today?”

  “I’m going to help Alex search the flat for the script. It was renovated a few years ago, but still could be there somewhere.”

  “Did you find the other costume jewellery?” Dan asked.

  “We found as much as we could, and none of it is cursed, but tonight we’ll see what else the cast is wearing.”

  Dan stroked his chin, his gaze distant before focussing on Avery again. “I’ve been in touch with Harry a few times this week, and I’m really worried about him. I can’t believe he got into a fight last night! I spoke to his wife the other day, and she’s concerned, too. We’re both worried that something will happen before the play is over. Something violent.”

  Avery nodded, feeling the weight of responsibility and expectation, and wished Beltane hadn’t brought so many problems, but she still smiled. “We’ll sort it out, don’t worry.” She only wished she felt as confident as she sounded.

  ***

  Avery stood in the middle of the flat above The Wayward Son and looked around, wondering where to start looking for the script.

  “From what I remember,” Alex said, “the flat was remodelled in the nineties when my uncle took over the pub. He knocked out the old partitions to make one big room—other than the bedroom and bathroom, of course.”

  “I take it there were lots of little rooms before then?” Avery asked, trying to imagine how it would have looked. It was a big space, covering the whole floor area of the pub below.

  Alex nodded as he headed to the fireplace. “Yes. There were two other bedrooms, and the kitchen and living room were split into two separate rooms. The kitchen was tiny. I remember sharing a bedroom with my brother when we were little. About five years ago my uncle completely modernised it again, and then I decorated when I moved in properly about eighteen months ago.”

  “Where did you live then, once your uncle took over and knocked everything out?”

  “We moved into a house on the hill.” Alex had started to tap around the fireplace, listening for changes in the sound that might indicate a hollow wall. “My dad didn’t want to run the pub anymore.”

  Avery headed to the kitchen to start tapping at the outside walls. “Surely the renovations would have revealed something.”

  “Maybe, but we have to check.”

  For a while they worked in silence, tapping walls, looking inside cupboards, and examining the wall of exposed bricks for any signs of bricks that might move. Then they tried a couple of revealing spells, hoping that something would show, but found nothing. When they finished examining the walls, they started on the floorboards, and it was an hour later when they admitted defeat.

  Alex slumped on Avery’s old sofa. “This is ridiculous. The script could be anywhere.”

  Avery sat next to him, snuggling against him. “We haven’t looked downs
tairs yet. That hasn’t been renovated as much, I presume?”

  “No,” Alex admitted, “just superficial decoration. I guess the walls may have been plastered at some point.”

  Avery checked her watch and saw it was after one o’clock. “Well, we can’t search the main pub seeing as it’s open, but we could do it early tomorrow morning before opening time.”

  Alex nodded absently. “If we aim for about eight, that will give us a few hours before the staff arrive, too. There’s no point in trying to summon Kit, either. He wouldn’t tell us anything.”

  “There has to be something we can do now,” Avery said, frustrated. “Is there a matinee performance today?”

  Alex looked at her, surprised. “There might be. You think we should go there now?”

  “Why not? We’ve got enough to do tonight with a bit of grave robbing. We might find the other scripts and any other pieces of costume jewellery that we haven’t found before.”

  “Great idea,” Alex said, regaining his enthusiasm and pulling her to her feet. “We can enter by the front door for a change and check out the foyer. I think we should try and sneak into the performance, too.”

  Avery feigned disappointment. “You mean we can’t break in? Spoilsport.”

  “I remember the days when you used to hate breaking into places, and now... You’re not the woman you used to be, Avery Hamilton.”

  She snorted. “That’s your fault, you’ve corrupted me.”

  Alex grinned and taking her hand, pulled her into the bedroom. “Speaking of corruption, I think we have time for something else before the matinee will be over.”

  20

  White Haven Little Theatre looked far less creepy in bright afternoon sunshine than it had done last night; the light glinted on the brass and glass doors, and bounced off the glasses at the back of the bar.

  As agreed, Avery found a seat, and Alex headed to the bar to buy them drinks. Avery chose a seat against the wall where they could watch the comings and goings and get a feel for the atmosphere. The matinee had already started, and a sign indicated it had sold out, but other people were utilising the bar area, enjoying an afternoon drink or snack.

  While she waited for Alex, Avery relaxed, stretching out her awareness and trying to feel for any sign of a wayward spirit, but everything was calm, and whatever magic the play might have been weaving in the auditorium, nothing seemed amiss in the bar.

  Alex slid a glass of wine in front of her and sat next to her with his beer. “As we thought, it started at two. They’ve just begun the second act.” He sipped his pint and rested it on the table. “I can’t feel anything, can you?”

  “No,” Avery admitted as she reached for her glass. “And everyone seems pretty relaxed. How are the bar staff?”

  “A bit cagey, actually. I complimented them on the theatre and asked if it was haunted because it was so old. I laughed as I said it, as if it was a joke, but the girl,” he nodded towards where a young woman with short bobbed hair was using the coffee machine, “looked a bit jumpy. She gave the other guy a nervous glance and said, ‘No, of course not,’ with a nervous laugh.” He raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t believe her. I’d guess they’re feeling that something is happening here.”

  “It was bound to happen,” Avery said, resigned. “With two spirits on the loose and the magic of the spell rising, people who are here a lot are bound to feel things. At least nothing too obvious is happening.”

  “Yet,” Alex said ominously. He gestured towards the double doors that lead to the hallway outside the entrance to the stalls. “There’ll be ushers on the other side of that. We’ll have to glamour them.”

  “As soon as we’re in, I can use the shadow spell and we can see how the atmosphere feels in there this afternoon. The toilets are through that door too, so we can head through there without raising too much suspicion.”

  They’d agreed there was no point trying to check the circle. The night before, they’d spent another hour in the theatre, searching upstairs and investigating the old boxes along the side. The seats were no longer used, and the doors were locked. Cassie, Ben, and Dylan had used their equipment everywhere, but neither Yvonne nor Kit reappeared.

  They chatted quietly while they finished their drinks, and then casually headed to the toilets while the bar staff were preoccupied with other customers. With luck, they wouldn’t notice how long they’d be gone.

  As soon as they entered the auditorium, Avery felt the magic of the performance. Once again the audience was spellbound, and the silence was thick and heavy. Alex and Avery paused just inside the door, allowing their eyes to adjust to the darkness, and Avery realised there was no need to glamour the ushers. There were about half a dozen of them spaced across the rear of the stalls, but they were transfixed on the performance.

  Avery felt her breath catch as she looked at the stage. Again, it seemed as if the set was all too real. For the second act the stage was dressed as a room in the castle. King Mark was onstage talking to the three Barons, and everything about them suggested wealth and status. Avery took little notice of what they were saying, but looked instead at the usher closest to her.

  She was an older woman, dressed in the theatre’s uniform of a smart black shirt and skirt. Her eyes were glazed, and her mouth was slack at she looked at the stage. Even though Avery was quite close to her, she didn’t stir, and Avery looked over her shoulder at Alex who met her eyes and shook his head. He drew close and whispered in her ear, “Come on. They have no idea that we’re here. And look at the stage—there are loads of the cast on there. This is a great chance to get backstage.”

  Alex was right. The performance was in the middle of a big scene, so they shouldn’t waste time. Avery cast the shadow spell over them anyway, and followed Alex as he walked along the rear of the theatre, down the far aisle, and pushed through the stage door. On the other side, it was just as quiet. As they edged forward, looking for the cast, Avery saw movement to her left, and glanced up to the wings to see a few actors huddled together, waiting for their cue. The quiet was to be expected, she guessed. Any noise back here would carry to the stage and the auditorium, although she felt the atmosphere was not as natural as it should have been.

  They proceeded down the darkened corridor, lit only by side lights, until they reached the dressing rooms. The first one was empty, and Avery saw a few scripts on the dressing table beneath the mirror. She slipped past Alex and grabbed them, sliding them quickly into her bag and replacing them with the ordinary photocopies.

  “How many?” Alex asked, searching through the pots of make up for costume jewellery or other props that may be bewitched.

  “Three. Anything there?”

  “No. Let’s head next door.”

  The next dressing room, however, was not empty, and instead they found the two leads talking, their heads close together, and for a moment Alex and Avery hung back, watching them. Their arms were wrapped around each other and they gazed into each other’s eyes with such a desperate yearning that Avery could feel their despair. Emma lifted her hand to Josh’s cheek, and whispered softly to him, but Avery couldn’t hear what she said and didn’t want to move closer. She pulled Alex away and whispered, “We’ll have to search in there later. Let’s move on.”

  He shook his head. “Let’s brazen it out. I want to see how they respond. Drop the shadow spell.”

  Avery was about to argue, but seeing the urgency on his face decided against it and quickly did as he asked. Alex strode forward and knocked on the door loudly, and the actors sprang apart.

  “Hi guys, just wanted to say congrats on the performance so far.” He grinned. “Hope you don’t mind, Harry said we could pop backstage.”

  Avery immediately added, “It’s me, Avery. I was here the other night, remember? I was telling Alex all about it, and couldn’t resist bringing him backstage.”

  Emma nodded, clearly flustered, and then stuttered a surprised welcome. “Er, sure, yes, but isn’t the play still going on?”
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  “It is!” Avery said, grinning sheepishly. “We haven’t got tickets, sorry. Just popping in.”

  “My fault,” Alex said, stepping inside the dressing room. “I persuaded her. I’ve never been backstage before.”

  “It’s a bit irregular during a performance,” Josh said, stepping even further away from Emma, as a bright red flush suffused his cheeks. He could barely look at them. “Sorry, we were just going through a scene.” He checked his watch. “In fact, I should head to the wings now.”

  “Yes, me too,” Emma said, nodding quickly. She smoothed down her dress and ran her hand across her hair, patting a few loosened strands back into place.

  Avery noticed the necklace she wore, resplendent with flashing rubies, and she presumed it was costume jewellery. But was it also bewitched, like Yvonne’s ring? Avery quickly stepped in front of them before they exited the room, and she pointed at Emma’s necklace. “That’s so beautiful! Look at those stones. May I?”

  She held her hand out as if to touch the necklace, and Emma faltered. “Er, yes, of course.”

  Avery was aware that Alex was watching intently, and she gently touched the chain, wary for a spark of magic, and then ran her hand across the stones. There was nothing at all magical about them, and she tried to hide her relief. “Lovely. I thought the stones were real, for a moment!”

  Emma laughed. “Oh no!”

  “Did they come from the council too?” Alex asked.

  Josh shook his head. “No, we provided them ourselves. The costume jewellery that came with the scripts was damaged, so we haven’t used them. In fact, we threw them away.”

  “That’s a shame,” Avery said quickly. “Are they in the rubbish here?”

  Emma looked at her, puzzled. “No, we got rid of them weeks ago, why?”

  Avery tried to shrug off her interest. “Just that my friend makes jewellery, and she might have been able to repair it, that’s all.”

  “Sorry,” Emma said. “I’m afraid it’s all gone now.”