Witch War in Westerham

by Dionne Lister

  The man grunted as Will turned him onto his stomach, put one knee on his spine, and bent his arm behind his back. He pulled out cuffs with his other hand and slapped them on, the gunman wriggling the whole time. But it was too late. He’d been caught.

  I crawled over to them and put my face close to the ground, inches from his face. “Aw, bad luck, buddy. Have fun in jail.” He pinned me with an angry gaze, then told me to you-know-what off. I just smiled and scrunched my nose in a cutesy expression. “Write me. Oops, I meant bite me.” I stood, leaving the guy to spit on the floor. Ha, missed.

  Will dragged him to his feet and looked at me. “Are you okay?”

  I smiled. “Yep. Totally peachy.” I resisted the urge to rub the back of my head, and to be honest, nausea was setting in, as was a headache, but I didn’t want to give the craphead any reason to be happy. Let him think I was the queen of headbutts.

  “Nice headbutt, by the way. You surprised me.”

  “I like to keep our relationship fresh and interesting. Who doesn’t like to learn new, awesome things about their partner?”

  He grinned and shook his head. Then he installed his poker face—back to business. “I’ll have to take him to headquarters.”

  The man shook violently. His mouth frothed. Damn, not again! His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed into Will. Will lowered him all the way to the ground and felt for a pulse. He looked up at me and shook his head.

  “Bloody RP have struck again.”

  “It sure looks that way.” He pulled the collar of the man’s jumper down to expose his neck. There it was—the snake tattoo. I shuddered. The snake’s head was still on my arm, and we had no idea what that meant. Did RP have some control over me? Would they seize control of me at the worst possible moment? But then again, if they could force me to do whatever they wanted, why did they keep sending people to kidnap me?

  Will nodded to himself, then stood. “I’ll get you to take him to headquarters. I’ll stay here and clean up—make sure any security cameras are wiped. I’ll check out in the morning and drive back to the barn.”

  “But what about the fact we were supposed to be here on holiday?”

  “That doesn’t matter. He came to us. No one has to know what we were doing here. Looks like RP are going to find you any place they have spies on the ground. Maybe this is one of their regular haunts?”

  “Maybe whatever my mother was after is still here?”

  “It’s looking that way, but we won’t mention that to anyone at the PIB.”

  I saluted him. “Yes, boss.”

  He gave me a lopsided smile. “Only when it suits you.”

  I grinned. “Of course. I’ll call James before I take this guy in.” I pulled out my phone and dialled my brother.

  He answered in a just-woken-up voice. “Lily? Is everything okay?”

  “I’m about to bring in a dead snake guy. Can you meet me in the reception room?”

  “On it. See you in a minute.” He hung up. Being a witch, he only had to magic clothes on and make a doorway. So efficient. I looked at Will. “Love you. Stay safe. Maybe call me in the morning when you’re on your way.” I kissed his lips.

  “You stay safe too. Love you.”

  And with that, I made my doorway to headquarters and stepped through backwards, dragging my prize by his shoulders. I felt like a lion with its prey, or maybe I was the gazelle who turned the tables on the lion. In any case, I didn’t have to feel guilty about this one. This was all on RP and their stupid kill-people-to-stop-them-talking spell. Anyone branded with one of their tattoos had this hanging over them.

  I arrived in the reception room. James was already there. “What have you got for me?”

  I dropped the guy, and his head thunked loudly on the floor. I cringed. “Ouch. That would’ve hurt if he’d been alive.”

  James looked at me as if to say “you’re an idiot.” He knelt and checked out the body. “How did he die?”

  “The RP spell that kills them when they’re apprehended. Will managed to cuff him after a bit of a struggle, but he didn’t do anything to him.”

  James’s forehead wrinkled. “Then why is there blood on his face, and why does his nose look squashed?”

  “Oh, that. I headbutted him and broke it. But that was only because he’d grabbed me and had a gun pointed at my head. It kind of annoyed me.” I gave him a sarcastic smile.

  “Yes, I suppose I can see how that would irritate you. Right, well, he’s definitely dead.” He took the cuffs off and handed them to me. “Give these back to Will when you see him.” He looked at my camera. “I take it you have some nice holiday snaps to share later?”

  “Indeed I do. Maybe we can come over for dinner tomorrow night, or is that actually tonight?” Doing things after midnight but before 5:00 a.m. was so confusing when referring to the next day, at least for me. “Shame our holiday was cut short though.”

  “Yes.” He looked down at the dead body. “Quite a shame.” He buzzed the intercom while looking at me. “See you tomorrow at seven.” A security guard I didn’t know answered the door. James magicked a trolley bed into the room from the infirmary and hovered the body into position on the bed. He pushed it through the door and gave me a wave over his shoulder.

  I guessed it was time to go home and hope that everything was okay with Will. What a disappointing end to the day when we could’ve woken up together at Mont Saint-Michel.

  The way the universe was behaving lately, why would I expect anything less? But, hey, at least we had the opportunity to see a new day, something the guy with the gun wasn’t getting. Did that bother me? Not. In. The. Least. My transformation to hard-hearted witch was almost complete. Somewhere, deep down, I knew it should bother me.

  But it didn’t. Not one bit.

  Chapter 7

  I’d managed to sleep okay, but worry woke me earlier than I otherwise would have. My phone screen showed 8:04 a.m. Abby stood from her spot at the end of my bed and stretched before coming up to my face and dipping her nose to mine. I smiled. “Good morning, sweetie. You’re so cute.” I kissed the top of her head. “Time to get up.”

  I slid out of bed, went to the bathroom, then wandered downstairs. Today, for some reason, I was really missing Angelica. Even though she worked long hours, I’d often run into her at some point, usually in the kitchen at breakfast or dinnertime. She’d been undercover for a long time, and with Liv gone and Will not home yet, the house was too quiet and empty. Yes, I had Abby and Ted, but it wasn’t quite the same.

  I sat at the kitchen table and magicked food into the fur kids’ bowls, then magicked my cappuccino into existence. Mmm, the smooth, delicious fragrance always made me sigh. As I savoured my first sip, the sound of the reception-room door opening and closing had me placing my cup on the table and jumping up. By the time I reached the kitchen door, Will was standing there. “Yay!” I threw my arms around him. “I was worried.”

  He kissed the top of my head. “Back safe and sound. The rest of the night was uneventful, except that I missed you.”

  “Tell me about it. Let’s not make a habit of spending the night apart. I’m getting used to you.”

  He smiled. “Good. Keep it up.” He peered over my shoulder. “Is that coffee I smell?”

  “Yes.” I grabbed his hand and took him to the table.

  He sat next to me and put a paper bag on the table. “Thought I’d bring you breakfast.”

  I gasped. “Chocolate éclairs?”

  “You betcha. I stopped off at that patisserie we went to yesterday.”

  “Woohoo! Gimme, gimme.” I magicked a cappuccino into existence for Will, and he magicked two plates onto the table. We quietly ate—there’d be time for talk later. I was just happy to have him home. Ted appeared at the door and went straight to Will for a pat. Ah, domestic bliss, at least I was pretty sure that’s what this was.

  We managed to finish breakfast before Will’s phone rang. Of course it did. “Agent Blakesley spea
king.” He listened and made some grunting noises, the ones you make to prove you’re still listening. “Okay, bye.” He turned to me. “That guy who died trying to kidnap you was a man by the name of Julien Chevrolet.”

  “I thought that was an American car?”

  “It is, but why does that matter?”

  I shrugged. “It doesn’t.” He gave me a “you’ve got to be kidding” look. I grinned. “Don’t forget that you love me. We’re getting married. Remember?” I held my hand out and showed him the ring as proof.

  He raised a brow. “Remind me why I thought that was a good idea.” I made a huge O of horror with my mouth. He laughed. “You know I’m kidding. Still, you drive me crazy sometimes, and not in a good way.”

  “You’ll get used to it.”

  He shook his head. “Anyway, as I was saying, Julien Chevrolet is from a town called Dol-de-Bretagne. It’s not too far from Mont Saint-Michel. He has no living relatives that we can find. Liv hasn’t had time to dive too deep, but it looks like his parents died in a car accident three years ago, and his sister drowned last year. Not sure about cousins, but Liv is working on it.”

  “Oh, wow. Do you think RP killed them all?”

  “It’s possible. The other reason could be that RP has a rival, and they intermittently kill each other.”

  “You don’t sound convinced.”

  “I’m not. If there was an organisation the size of RP fighting with them, surely we would’ve heard about them by now. I’ll liaise with our French office. They’re only small, but they might be able to give us more information.”

  “Is there a PIB office in France?” Why was I always the last to know?

  “Yes. We have satellite offices dotted all over Europe, and, of course, you know about our New York office.”

  “Yes, where your esteemed leader comes from.”

  He choked on air. “Ah, yeah.”

  “So now what?”

  “We need to go to his house and investigate, but they might be expecting that, so James is thinking about what to do next. To be honest, as dangerous as it is, you taking some photos there might give us better clues about who we should be spying on.”

  My neck muscles tightened. “That sounds like a bad idea. If they’re waiting for us to visit, why would we walk into a trap? They want to take us down, and that would give them the perfect opportunity to take two of us out. I’m surprised we survived Mont Saint-Michel.”

  “They’re probably sounding us out. Seeing how strong we are.”

  “Come on. They already know all that.” They weren’t fooling me. Maybe they were just playing.

  “Maybe they’re not quite ready to face us full force. That’s my best guess. But we got close to something they’re protecting, so they couldn’t ignore us. They can’t know where you are all the time. I think they have people watching out at the abbey.”

  “I do agree with that… at least that’s what I’m hoping. I still think going to this guy’s place is a bad idea.” My gut churned, and it wasn’t because of our delicious breakfast. If I’d learned anything over the last year, it was to trust that little digestive pouch.

  “Yeah, well, it’s the next logical step. We can’t ignore it. If it were a normal investigation, we’d be all over it. I’m afraid someone will have to go, whether you think it’s a good idea or not.” Will’s phone rang again. He answered it. “Hey, James. Yeah, mate.” He listened and nodded. “Okay. I’ll be there in five. Bye.” He magicked his uniform on. “Work calls. I’ll see you at James’s at seven tonight.”

  I sagged down into my chair, hoping one of the work things he had to do wasn’t going to that French guy’s place. “Bummer.” Stuck by myself worrying all day again. Maybe I’d start learning French. That would be a decent distraction.

  He stood and kissed the top of my head. “Love you.”

  “Love you too. Stay safe.”

  He made a doorway and left. Frustration had me gritting my teeth. Stupid RP. Would this ever end? Gah. Sitting around doing nothing wasn’t helping anyone.

  Time to think.

  What other places had my parents visited when they’d been away on that trip. And where had they been before? Should I have been following their footsteps in order? Plus, we still had to work out what the postcard meant, but that could wait until tonight. I called James. “Hey.”

  “Hey, Lily. What’s up?”

  “I was wondering if Mill was home today. I wanted to look at those small books.” Hopefully he knew what I was talking about. We kept them locked in a magical safe, and since Angelica wasn’t around, the security fell to James. He was the only one who knew where they were—he’d moved them since Angelica had bowed out. She hadn’t wanted to give anything away if she was captured and questioned. The universe forbid that happened.

  “I’ll let her know. I’ll be home for lunch, so maybe come visit around one.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be there. Ciao.”

  “Bye.”

  I opened my phone and checked out what apps were good for learning French. It was going to be a long morning.

  I got to my brother’s at 1:00 p.m. on the dot. Millicent answered the door and gave me a hug. “So good to see you. Sorry about yesterday.”

  “That’s okay. You’re allowed to have lunch with other people, you know.” I laughed.

  “Yeah, I know, but I haven’t seen you much lately. Work’s been crazy since the factory. My parents have been doing overtime with Annabelle.”

  I stepped through into the hallway, and she shut and locked the reception-room door. “How is my gorgeous little niece?”

  “She’s good. Down for her lunchtime nap.”

  I pouted. “Damn. I was looking forward to a cuddle. Maybe she’ll wake up before I go.”

  “You never know your luck. Anyway, come through. James left those things on the dining room table.” We were so used to speaking in vague terms that we almost didn’t need bubbles of silence. I made one anyway and sat at the table.

  I slid one of the diaries in front of me as Millicent sat next to me. “Did James fill you in on my little trip to Mont Saint-Michel with Will?”

  “He told me a bit about what happened—mainly about the dead guy you brought in. What else happened?”

  As I filled her in, Cinnamon and Bagel scurried in. I bent and picked them up. “Hello, cuties.” They squeaked. Bagel climbed my arm and took her position on my shoulder while Cinnamon curled up on my thigh.

  Millicent shook her head. “It sounds like you had a crazy trip. I’m glad you’re both back in one piece.”

  “Thanks. So, what do you think about the abbey? Sounds like they were close to discovering something, doesn’t it?”

  “It does. Is that what you’re looking for?” She nodded at the diaries. “More evidence?”

  “Yep. There’s so much we don’t know. The more we dig into RP, the bigger the organisation gets, the bigger their reach.” I took a deep breath and released it. “It’s frightening.” I swallowed and met her gaze. “I’m worried. What if we lose?”

  She held my gaze, steel in her eyes. “That’s not an option, Lily.” Everything was at stake. To lose would mean we all died because I was sure RP wouldn’t get away with things if even one of us survived the upcoming confrontation. At this stage, they had everything to lose. Being incarcerated for life was a big incentive not to get caught.

  “No, it’s not.” I grabbed a diary. Where had they been before, and where did they go after Mont Saint-Michel? “Hmm, so, they’d been to another party at a chateau a week before they were at Mont Saint-Michel. Afterwards, it looks like they came straight home.” I looked up at Millicent. “That just confirms that the postcard they sent to us was a clue rather than them keeping in touch.”

  “What postcard?”

  Oops. I must’ve left that out of my recap on what we’d done yesterday. “Here. I found this yesterday when we took photos of their hotel room.” I magicked my Nikon to myself, found the picture, and handed the came
ra to Millicent. “They sent that to us. I think James still has it somewhere as a keepsake.”

  Millicent read out the cryptic part of the postcard. “Wish we could bring the Saint to us. I’m sure Tilly’s brother would feel a real connection to it.” She looked at me. “Who’s Tilly?”

  I shook my head. “I have no idea. I was hoping James knew. With him being older than me, I figure he’d remember more.” I looked down at the diary, then back up again. “I guess our next port of call is to this party they went to.” I grabbed my phone and looked up the address. “Oh, crap. That might be difficult. It’s a private address, and it’s a chateau.” I showed Millicent my phone.

  “That’s fancy pants. They probably have mega security too.”

  “Yes, because everything has to be as difficult as possible.” Bagel nuzzled my cheek with the top of her head. I smiled despite my frustration. “You are the sweetest. Thank you.” She squeaked. “Well, I think that’s the place we start. There’s no way I’m going to that guy’s place, the one who tried to kidnap me. RP will be waiting.”

  “Agreed. They’ll have no idea you’ll aim for that chateau.”

  “Yep. I tried to talk Will out of it, but he seems to think the PIB have to go to follow up.”

  “He’s right.” Millicent installed her poker face. If things weren’t so serious, I would’ve laughed. Far from hiding her feelings, it was a dead giveaway she had feelings… ones she knew I didn’t want to know. James, Will, Beren, Imani, any one of them, or even all of them could end up there today or tomorrow.

  I pushed that out of my head. I could only deal with so many stressful things at once. “Do you want to flesh this out with me? If we can come up with a plan by tonight, we can run it by James and hopefully get moving on that before one of them gets killed chasing up a lead we don’t need.” My rhyming game was strong today. Hopefully we could work out a plan that was even stronger.