by T J Green
“No, I don’t ever want to know.” He looked at his watch. “Anyway, I’m going. I have a long drive back.”
“You’re not staying here tonight?”
“No, I won’t stay in White Haven.” He stood, easing his chair back. “It was good to meet you, Avery. I’m sorry if I sounded bleak, I know you mean well. Stay safe.”
Avery watched him go, and her tears welled up. White Haven was her home, a magical place in many ways, but now, half of her wished she was leaving with him.
3
The next night, Alex arrived at eleven promptly, the engine of his Alfa Romeo Spider Boat Tail idling under her front window.
Avery slipped into his passenger seat dressed all in black—combat trousers, a t-shirt, leather jacket, and boots. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this.”
He grinned, his teeth gleaming in the dim light. His hair was knotted up on the top of his head, and stubble grazed his cheeks. “You look ready,” he said, easing the car down the street and heading out of the town.
“It’s an illusion. I’ve spent most of the evening sleeping, and then panicking about being arrested. Weren’t we going to scope this place out in the light first?”
“No time. We’ll be fine, you worry too much.”
He concentrated on the road, driving fast but confidently, and Avery leaned back in the seat, glancing between him and the view outside. The lanes of White Haven quickly turned into main roads as Alex headed for the A390 into Truro. At this hour the road was quiet and they made good time.
Sitting this close to Alex was increasingly unnerving. Avery was acutely aware of his build and height and his musky, masculine scent, and found her gaze lingering over his strong forearms and hands as they gripped the wheel. She flushed remembering the feeling of his hands on her body, and she turned away in an attempt to subdue her desire.
He broke the silence that had fallen between them. “So, how are you? The last week’s been pretty rough.”
“I’m okay, just getting through the day, and trying not to be paranoid about being stalked by Faversham. What about you?”
“I’m trying not to think about killing Faversham, because at the moment, that’s all I want to do.” He glanced across at her. “Don’t you?”
“Yes, but we’re not ready yet. I’m not sure I ever will be.” Fear swept through her. “You don’t mean that, anyway. We’re not killers. We’ll find another way.”
“If he touches you, I will kill him.”
Avery could barely believe her ears and for a second she struggled to think of something to say. She looked at him as he gazed fiercely ahead, and she decided to make light of it. “Well, I’ll make sure he doesn’t.”
“I mean it.”
Avery softened and smiled. “Thank you.” She half wondered if she should say something about the other night, and the air in the car seemed to thicken with meaning, but she didn’t want to spoil whatever it was that seemed to be there between them. She laughed to break the tension. “I hope he doesn’t hurt you, either—I don’t think I’m suited to a killing spree. I’m worried enough about raiding a library!”
“You’re powerful, more than you know. Look what you did the other night. You were flying the night Gil was killed! You actually flew across that room.” He glanced at her again, his eyes dark and intense. “Don’t tell me you haven’t been thinking about that.”
“Actually, I haven’t.” She meant it, too. Gil’s death had eclipsed everything. “It all happened in such a rush with this outpouring of fury, and then Gil died, and well…”She shrugged. “I sort of forgot.”
“Can you remember what caused it?”
Avery hesitated for a second as she thought back to that moment when she emerged from the passageway behind Reuben. “Pure, blind anger, and the need to stop Faversham and that rock beast from attacking you and El. I literally pulled out everything I could, really focused my power. I needed to act fast, and I knew it.” She shuffled in her seat. “What about you and El? You were both channelling some strong power.”
“It’s ironic, isn’t it? Faversham’s clearly scared of us finding the books and using them, and yet the fact that he’s attacking us is making us draw on reserves of power we never even knew we had.”
“He accused us of wasting our power. He’s probably right.”
“Not anymore, we’re not.”
“Have you had any more visions?”
“Every night.”
Avery looked at him in shock. “Really? What do they show you?”
“Versions of the same thing—black eyes, fires, heat, death. I thought they’d go after Gil died, but they haven’t. Are you still reading the cards?”
“Every day. They change, of course, but the threat’s still there. There’s more than just Faversham, isn’t there?”
“I think so,” he said sadly.
For a while they made idle chat, until they entered the outskirts of Truro. By now it was after midnight and the roads were mostly empty. Alex cruised through the town, crossed the Truro River, and headed for the Royal Cornwall Museum. It was in the centre of town, and the surrounding streets still had a few people exiting pubs and clubs. Alex stuck to the back streets towards The Leats and turned up a side street to park on a residential road.
“I presume they have a back door?” Avery said, her heart now beating uncomfortably fast.
“Of course. Time to use a little magic.”
They had already agreed on the spell they would use, and with a short incantation they were both shrouded in shadows, the spell also ensuring that if anyone saw them, their gaze would slide away.
Avery followed Alex as his tall figure slipped through the streets to the back of the building where an inconspicuous door sat in the wall.
The museum was huge, stretching from River Street where the main entrance was, to The Leats at the back. It was constructed in the 19th century out of large blocks of grey stone, and was solid and imposing.
“Where’s the library?” Avery asked, glancing down the street. It was deserted.
“You can only access it from in the museum,” Alex whispered.
A security camera was mounted above them. While Alex worked on the lock, Avery used magic to manipulate the angle slightly up and across their heads, pointing away from the door. With a click, the door opened, and they slipped inside.
They were in a narrow passage that led into the centre of the building. Immediately to their left was a panel on the wall that housed the security system controls, and the lights blinked, starting to flash red. Alex held his hand over them and within seconds they turned green again. The pair stood still for a few moments, letting their eyes adjust to the dark, but the building was silent. Another security camera sat above them on the wall, and with a whisper Avery disabled it, the red light blinking off.
Alex conjured a witch light and led the way quickly down the passage. They passed offices and storerooms until they reached large wooden double doors, and pushing through them found themselves in the grand central hall. Avery gasped in pleasure. It rose to a high ceiling, the height of the building, and the centre of the hall was filled with glass displays of various objects. Avery took a quick look at the closest one and found that it displayed pots and ceramics that had been found in archaeological digs in Cornwall. In the centre of the room was an old carriage with huge, red wheels.
At the rear of the hall was a sweeping set of stairs that led up to the first floor. Above them, running around the room at the level of the first floor was a mezzanine, edged with a white balustrade, behind which were more display cabinets.
“This place is bigger than I thought,” Avery whispered to Alex.
“This is all on their website. The front entrance is through there,” he said, pointing to the far side. “I’ll grab a guide.”
For a few minutes Avery stood alone, hearing Alex’s footsteps fading away, and she listened nervously for anything else, but he was quickly back, and he led the way up the stairs and through the galleries on
the first floor. Avery paused for a few seconds when they passed the De Pass Gallery, the displays of ancient Egyptian artefacts catching her eye. Alex was quickly at her side, grabbing her hand. “I’ll bring you back in the daytime if you want to sightsee,” he said impatiently.
They kept going until they reached the far end of the first floor, and within minutes were in front of the double doors of the Courtney Library, its name in brass on the wall above.
The door was locked, but again they enchanted the lock open, and passed through to find a plush-carpeted section with a small reception area, and a few computer terminals behind a desk. The library stretched away ahead of them, the shelves high and densely packed with books. The smell of age-old paper was thick in the air, and Avery breathed deeply, enjoying its comforting and familiar scent.
Alex shut the door behind them and locked it again. “We need to find the archives. You head that way, and I’ll try this one,” he said, pointing to the right for Avery.
She nodded and passed down the stacks, seeing small rooms leading off the main one with different collections housed within. At the end of the main room was a smaller than usual black door, and she opened it to find a narrow set of stairs leading upward.
She turned and called in a low voice, “Alex!”
He appeared out of the darkness, his skin pale under the strange, luminous white of the witch light. “Found it?”
“Maybe. Did you find anything?”
“Books, books, and more books.”
Avery nodded and led the way up the steep and narrow stairs. The decoration was minimal here, and the carpet was thin and worn. They reached a small landing, and after turning saw a warren of rooms with low ceilings stretching ahead of them. These must have been the old servants’ quarters or attics—she wasn’t sure if it had ever been a private house.
“Bollocks,” Alex said. “This is a maze.”
Avery’s heart sank. “Do you think this is it? Because we’re going to waste a lot of time if not.”
Alex pointed to a sign on the wall that read, Archives. You must be accompanied by a librarian at all times.
“Great, let’s make this quick.”
Fortunately, the rooms were clearly signposted, their contents described in decades, subjects, or centuries.
They passed the first few, quickly dismissing them, and then came to a room on their right, labelled Sixteenth Century Manuscripts. Metal shelving filled with box files ran down the centre of the space.
They exchanged a quick glance of relief and headed inside, moving to either side of the central stack to search more efficiently. Every now and again Avery pulled a box out to scan its contents, and although she found lots of intriguing papers and treatises on agriculture and the local area, there was nothing about the witch trials. She stood back, frustrated, and looked up and around. A wave of tiredness and despair swept over her. What was she doing? She was a respectable witch. She didn’t break into buildings and raid other people’s property.
“I can hear you huffing from here,” Alex called softly from the other side.
“Sorry. I’m having a crisis of faith.”
“Don’t. I’m not feeling great about this, either. But I think I’ve found something.”
Avery found Alex on his knees rummaging through a box, its contents strewn around him. Avery dropped down next to him, searching through loose sheets of paper and a few bound books.
Alex pointed to another box above them. “I think that one’s worth looking at, too.”
Avery pulled it free and placed it on the floor, sifting through its contents, both of them working together, side by side. A small bound book sat in the file, and as Avery touched it, she knew. “This is it.”
“It is?” Alex said, looking over. “You haven’t even opened it!”
“I can tell.” She opened the book excitedly, and inside, inscribed in ornate and flowery writing, was the title: The Trials of the White Haven Witches.
She looked at Alex in shock, her heart pounding once more. She gently turned the first few pages, and there, in the long list of the accused, she saw the name, Helena Marchmont. The emotion of the moment overcame her, and a few tears sprang to her eyes. She quickly tried to blink them back before Alex saw them. She was such a sentimental fool. But Alex had also fallen silent, and she looked around, wondering why he hadn’t commented.
He was holding a very old leather book with the sign of earth on it, an upside-down triangle with a line through the bottom third—another grimoire. He raised his eyes to hers.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Avery said, barely able to breathe.
“It’s Briar’s,” he said, his eyes wide.
“Shit. We have to get out of here, and we need to take everything with us. How can that be here?”
“Is this a trap?”
“It can’t possibly be. If Faversham knew it was here, he’d have taken it by now.”
Alex opened the first few pages and swore again. “Look at the pages, Ave!”
She leaned over and saw faint white runes marked on some of the pages, only made visible by the witch light floating above them.
“Have you ever looked at your grimoire under witch light?” Avery asked.
“No. Bollocks! I feel like an idiot. Messages have been hidden under our noses the entire time!”
Alex pulled his backpack out and placed the grimoire carefully inside, then bundled some of the other papers into a cardboard file he’d bought just in case.
“Is there anything about the Favershams in those papers?” Avery asked.
He shook his head, “I’m not sure. Let’s take everything.”
Avery took another quick look at the book containing the trial transcripts, and saw it contained testimonies from the town members. A quick glance through the file showed a few other articles relevant to the witch trials. She hated doing this, but she copied Alex, loading everything into her own backpack.
A sudden bang from below made them fall silent.
“Was that a door?”
“Quickly, put the boxes back,” Alex said, setting his own box back on the shelf, now empty.
They heard footsteps downstairs, and two voices calling to each other.
“Did we leave anything open down there?” Avery asked, desperately trying to remember their actions.
Alex shook his head. “No. I locked everything behind us. I doubt they’ll even come up here. Maybe they’ve clocked that the cameras are off.”
Despite the fact that her heart was now racing wildly, Avery checked the boxes on either side of the ones they’d already looked at. There was no way they’d be coming back; they had to get everything now. She was glad she checked. There were pages of interviews from witnesses—or at least that’s what it looked like at first glance. She stuffed the papers in with the others, trying to be as gentle as possible while working quickly. She pushed the last box in place and ran to Alex’s side as he extinguished the witch light, and they stood still, listening together. Heavy footsteps clumped up the stairs, and they heard the door open.
Alex pulled her quickly behind the door, trying not to stumble in the dark, and wedged her in the corner so that she was blocked by his body. Avery knew that if they made a noise, their shadow spell wouldn’t stand up to blazing lights.
The main light went on in the narrow hallway, and Avery pressed back against the wall, reassured to feel Alex in front of her. The floorboards creaked as the security officer paced down the hall, stopping every now and again. He must be alone. As he passed their room the flashlight flooded in, sweeping across the open space a couple of times, and then he passed on, and Avery slowly exhaled. They waited for endless minutes as he progressed slowly up and back down the hall, and then the light went off and the door shut.
Avery sagged against Alex. That was too close.
“Do we wait for them to go?” Avery asked.
“They could be here hours,” he reasoned. “Let’s go now.”
They headed b
ack along the corridor, creeping silently through the door and down the narrow staircase until they came to the main library. It was empty and silent, and they risked a pale witch light to guide them across to the main door where they extinguished it again and listened for noise from the galleries beyond.
With a click they eased the door open and stepped onto the wooden floor of the museum. It was dark; in the far distance, a flashlight swept around the corridors and two voices carried across the air.
They crept from gallery to gallery, ducking into the entrance of each one, progressing slowly onwards. The men moved down into the main hall, and then disappeared into the other galleries on the ground floor. The lighting in the display cabinets was on, and Alex and Avery glanced nervously at each other and then ran down the stairs. As they set foot in the main hall, they heard another voice approaching from the corridor that led to the rear. Avery froze for a second, and then pulled Alex to the old fashioned carriage that sat in the middle of the floor. Within seconds they were lying flat on its floor, the door shut behind them.
The carriage was small, and while she was able to lie flat between the seats with relative comfort, Alex was squashed in, pressing on top of her.
“Ouch!” Avery whispered, as Alex’s weight pinned her down, his knee on her leg.
“Sorry, princess,” he hissed, his mouth to her ear.
For endless seconds they heard the security guard walk around, and then they heard him speak. “Hey boss, there’s no one here. We’ve checked upstairs and down. The boys are just finishing the back rooms now.” There was silence, and then a grunt. “No. No sign of damage. No forced entry. I reckon the cameras just failed.” Another moment of silence, and then, “Yeah, we’re out soon.”
Avery heard his footsteps fade as he headed to the other rooms.
Alex lifted his head and peered through the window. “He’s gone. Let’s go. Now!”
He pushed the door open, untangling himself as he pulled Avery out behind him, and then closing the door again softly, they headed down the passage leading to the back door.
Outside, a large security van was on the road, but it was empty. They ran out and onto the street, racing down towards the side street, where they slowed to a stroll as they approached Alex’s car.
