by T J Green
“Even Reuben?”
“Even Reuben.” He smiled, and she started to calm down.
“You’re adorable.”
“I know. So are you. Even when you’re mad as hell. Now, come and sit down.”
She sidled over to the bed, slid beneath the sheets, and slipped under his arm, nestling close to his warm body. “What have we done? What have I done?”
“If I tell you I have a plan, will that help?”
She turned abruptly, looking him right in the eye. “Have you? What is it?”
“We have two powerful new arrivals as a consequence of our magic, who fortunately happen to hate each other. Well, the Nephilim hate the Mermaids, the Daughters of Llyr. I have no idea if the Mermaids even know of the existence of the Nephilim. Anyway, it seems the Nephilim merely wish to be left alone, and they seem to pose no risk to us—at least right now. I was thinking, that maybe they wish to avenge themselves. And help us in the process.” He smiled enigmatically.
“And just how would they know to do that?”
“I’ll contact them again. I have a psychic link.”
Avery sat up, sliding from under his arm. “No. it’s too dangerous.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it is. They threatened you last time. You might not survive another link.”
“I will. Trust me.”
“I trust you. I don’t trust them.”
He smiled, and reached over to brush a lock of hair from her face, sending shivers all over her. “It’s nice that you care.”
“Of course I care. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“And I don’t want anything to happen to you, and yet you rushed off the other night to tackle Mermaids, and didn’t say a thing.”
“I was protecting you!”
“And who’s going to protect you? That’s my job.”
Her heart almost faltered, and she felt locked within his gaze. She didn’t think she’d ever felt so—dare she say it—loved.
He didn’t wait for her to answer, instead pulling her close and kissing her deeply, his tongue exploring her mouth as he pressed his lean, muscled body against hers, pushing her down onto the mattress. She heard the grumpy meow of the dislodged cat, but pulled him closer, one hand exploring his back, the other cradling his head. He smelled and tasted so good.
Alex pulled back, staring at her with his warm brown eyes. “Feeling calmer now?”
Avery teased him. “Not really, but for all different reasons.”
“Good,” he said, his gaze still serious. “Because we can solve anything together, Avery. Never forget that.”
***
The next day at work was busy, especially because Sally was still on leave. A coach of American tourists had arrived at White Haven, part of a tour of Cornwall, and they added to the general busyness of the town.
Avery could tell those that were part of the touring group. She watched them through the window as they clustered together, following the tour guide as he strolled down the street waving a long, red folded umbrella to summon them to see various sights. Avery wondered what they’d think if they knew they’d be seeing witches and Mermaids as part of their tour. Quite a few of them came into her shop, clustering around the books on the locality, and also taking pictures of the occult displays. All she kept hearing was how ‘cute’ and ‘tiny’ everything was, and she caught Dan suppressing smirks as he was serving them.
She took a thirty-minute lunch break and headed into the garden to soak up the silence and sunshine, wishing she had all afternoon to potter among the plants. With reluctance, she dragged herself back inside, and then had a horrible shock.
Dan was outside the shop, tending to a young woman who looked as if she had fallen over. He was helping her to her feet, and picking up some of her fallen bags, and he was grinning from ear to ear. Avery could only see the woman’s back, but something about her was very familiar. A cold chill started to run down her spine, and she tried to hurry, noting how Dan was focussing only on the woman, oblivious to everything else.
Unfortunately, a customer stepped in front of her and started to ask her about local books she could recommend. Avery tried to deal with her as quickly as possible without being rude, but she was still held up for several minutes. By the time she got to Dan’s side, he looked dazed and devoted.
Avery could now see the woman’s face, and she felt her own expression stiffen with horror. It was the Mermaid from the other night, glowing with health and beauty. Her long, dark hair had red low-lights running through it, and her skin glowed. She smiled at Avery with triumphant malice, and Avery had to bite down the urge to respond.
“Hey, Avery,” Dan said. “This is Nixie. She’s visiting White Haven for a while.”
So, that’s her name.
Nixie held her hand out, waiting for Avery to shake it, and reluctantly Avery reciprocated, feeling Nixie’s strong grip. “So nice to meet you,” she murmured in her soft, sibilant tones. “I was so silly, I just fell over, and your delightful shop assistant came to help.”
“Yes, he’s very helpful,” Avery said, forcing the words through her clenched jaw. “Dan, can I have a quick word? It’s about our earlier conversation. You know, our visitors.” She sent out a tendril of magic, hoping to break whatever spell it was that Nixie had so quickly and skilfully woven, but she was met with a wall of desire wrapped tight around him.
Dan was oblivious. “I’ll catch you later, if that’s okay? I’m having lunch with Nixie, down at the Beachside Café.”
Avery felt fear rush through her. What if Dan didn’t come back? But a small queue had started to form inside the shop, and a woman was gesticulating at her, an annoyed expression on her face, as Dan turned away to walk down the street. She wouldn’t take him now. The time wasn’t right. This was a threat, surely. A show of power.
Avery looked at Nixie and her snaky grin. “Sure, Dan, have fun. Look forward to hearing how lunch went.”
Nixie answered for him. “Oh, we’ll have a great time. See you again, Avery.” And then she turned, tucked her arm into Dan’s, and led him away.
Avery served the next couple of customers in record time and then called El, relieved when she answered. “El. Thank the Gods. I need your help.”
“Hey Avery, what’s happened?”
In hushed tones she related Dan’s encounter. “Any chance you can have lunch at the same café? I’m completely tied up here, and I know you’re close. I’m really worried about him.” As she was talking, she noticed Dan’s hex bag lying on the shelf under the counter and her blood ran cold. “And he’s taken off the bloody protection I made him.”
El’s voice hardened. “That bitch. Yes, no problem. I’ll make sure he’s okay.”
For the next hour Avery tried to stay focussed, but with every minute Dan was away, she felt her fear rising. Only the regular texts from El kept her from locking the shop and running down the road. El, having found a table in the corner of the café, was watching their every move. She’d said hello to Dan and Nixie, so Nixie knew she was being watched.
When Dan finally arrived back in the shop over two hours later, Avery rushed over and hugged him. “You’re back. Great. Are you okay?”
“’Course I’m okay. It was just lunch.” He noticed the clock on the wall and the grin on his face slid off. “Sorry. I had no idea I’d been so long.”
“Don’t worry about the time.” She ushered him behind the counter, and turned her back to the shop. “Do you know who that was?”
“Yes, Nixie. Unusual name, isn’t it? Pretty, like her.” His eyes started to glaze again, and a dreamy smile spread across his face.
“She’s a Mermaid!” Avery hissed. “Are you mad? Don’t you listen to me? And why have taken off your hex bag?”
Dan looked at her with patient amusement. “Oh, Avery. You have such a vivid imagination. She’s just a woman. Well, an incredible woman. We talked about everything, from books, to art, to football. I’m meeting her
tonight, too. For dinner.” He pushed his dark hair back, raking it up into unruly tufts. “And she’s invited me to the Lughnasadh celebrations on the beach next weekend. Quite a few of her friends are leaving the area for good—it will be a final farewell, or something of the sort.”
Avery blinked, and things started to slide into place. “I’d forgotten about that.”
White Haven liked to embrace its witchy roots, and the town Council always put on events to honour the pagan celebrations. The mayor particularly liked to officiate, and Stan Rogers, one of the local Councillors, became their local druid, dressing in robes and chanting around the fire, making libations, and generally kicking off the celebrations. During the summer, the celebrations always took place on Spriggan Beach, on the edge of the town. The beach was edged with sand dunes, and the bonfire was sited close by, on dry sand, above the tide line. The fire was already being built of driftwood and old pallets. During the winter, the celebrations moved to the castle grounds, where it was protected from the strong winds.
These events were always well attended by both locals and visitors, and they attracted people from neighbouring villages. If the Mermaids had already identified specific men, could they be planning to take them on that night? Part of her thought that would be crazy. There would be so many people around. But that was also the advantage. Loads of people would be there, drinking and dancing, and although it was a family-friendly event, once the families had gone, the celebrations became wilder, lasting far into the night. If the Mermaids led the men into the sea, one by one, quietly disappearing, no one would notice a thing until it was too late.
“Dan, I think that would be a really bad idea.”
Dan frowned. “Honestly, Avery, she’s lovely. I have no idea what you’re talking about. In fact, she told me to invite you along. Anyway, I’m going to go and tidy some shelves while you stop being so weird.”
She looked after him, flabbergasted. Yesterday, he had been rational and worried, and today, he didn’t care. The Mermaids’ powers of seduction were impressive. But, what were they waiting for? Why didn’t they just take the men they wanted now?
And then suddenly she remembered that Nixie had just invited her, as well. She wanted the witches to know when they were leaving. It was a challenge to find out whose magic would be stronger, and clearly Nixie thought it would be theirs.
23
“It’s a good thing we weren’t planning on celebrating Lughnasadh with the covens,” Briar said, looking horrified at the news. “We’ll have to be at the beach with the rest of the town.”
All five witches and Newton were at Alex’s flat after work, sharing pizzas and information, and all of them were worried about Avery’s latest announcement.
“We’re talking about mass kidnapping,” Newton said, looking at them in disbelief.
“Yes, we know.” Reuben said, waving his slice of pizza about. “And we’re going to do everything possible to stop it.”
“But what?” Newton asked, annoyed. “It seems your magic is no match for theirs.”
“Wrong,” Alex said. “We just have to think creatively. Earth magic is their biggest fear. Well, that’s what Ulysses was suggesting, anyway. And I have another idea.”
“One that I don’t like,” Avery added, looking at him with concern.
“Why?” Newton looked between them. “What’s wrong with it?”
“It means Alex making another psychic link with the Nephilim.”
Newton looked baffled. “And what will that achieve?”
“I’m going to ask for their help.”
El almost choked. “You’re going to what?”
Alex grinned. “You heard me the other day, after I linked with them. They hate the Mermaids—or more generally, the Children of Llyr. They want revenge. If I share the information about Lughnasadh, they may want to help.”
“And they may not,” El said, ever sceptical.
“So, we’ll need a back-up plan,” Alex said calmly.
Reuben laughed, a dry un-amused sound. “We haven’t even got a main plan!”
“We need to separate them somehow from the men they’ve chosen. Get them on their own.”
“But their Siren call is captivating. They could just use it on the whole beach, then all of you would be affected, too,” El pointed out. “The consequences would be catastrophic.”
“They are choosing their men with care,” Avery said thoughtfully. “They don’t just want anyone.”
“But if the ones they don’t want just drown, they won’t care about that.”
“Maybe,” Avery said, thinking through the possible permutations. “But that would be messy.”
“Maybe they want to drown the whole town. Maybe that’s why they’re waiting for the celebrations,” El suggested. “After all, they’ve done it before.”
“The village of Seaton,” Briar said quietly. Seaton was once a thriving fishing town, but myths said that after a local man insulted a Mermaid, she cursed the town and it was swallowed by the sands.
“And the Doom Bar,” Reuben added, referring to the huge sandbank that was responsible for the floundering of many ships just off the coast of Padstow, again rumoured to have been raised by a Mermaid. “Maybe not the town, just those on the beach. One massive wave would do it.”
“Could you counteract that, with our help?” Avery asked.
He shrugged, looking doubtful. “Water is their element, far more than it is mine. I don’t know.”
“But we know a half-Mermaid, and a weather witch,” Avery pointed out, starting to get excited. “Eve can control storms. She could bring a storm in on the night of the celebrations, driving people off the beach. And the great thing about a storm is that it uses all elemental magic. That would be overwhelming to the Mermaids, surely.”
“And Ulysses would be able to help counteract their magic with our help.” Briar nodded, looking impressed.
El disagreed. “But he wanted to avoid them. He said Mermaids would kill him if discovered.”
“But at that point we’d be driving them out of White Haven, back into the sea, and their defeat would be strong enough to put them off ever coming back,” Avery said, her voice rising with excitement. This could work.
Alex mused, “And if we get the Nephilim on board, the odds are well stacked in our favour.”
Newton was not so sure, and he snorted with derision. “And just how are you going to do all this magic stuff with a huge amount of people on the beach?”
“We’ll think of something,” El said confidently. “The dunes are huge. We can hide ourselves in there easily. And if people start to scatter with the storm, there won’t be many around anyway.”
Newton looked doubtful. “Why don’t you just make a storm and have the event cancelled entirely?”
“Because,” Alex pointed out, “they’ll just go elsewhere. At least we know—or think we know—where it will happen now. But, I think Avery’s right. This feels right. They are waiting for the celebrations. There are huge levels of energy that come off crowds of people. They will surely feed off that, especially combined with their own magic and ours already drifting across the town.”
Newton still looked doubtful. “I agree with some of that, but I still don’t want the Nephilim involved. They killed people. Five people! Don’t forget that. They are not our allies.”
Avery had to admit that was a sobering thought. She had been so relieved that they hadn’t killed again, she was almost feeling positive about them. “No, you’re right, of course, Newton.”
“What has happened with the police investigation into that?” El asked.
“It’s come to a big bloody full-stop,” he answered grumpily. “I know what’s happened, but I can’t say, of course. Everyone would think I’m mad. And there are absolutely no clues at all. No DNA, no fingerprints, no motives. The police chief is going nuts, and there are rumblings about black magic or some religious lunatic, particularly because the deaths were all in churches.” He loo
ked at them, and Avery could see the exhaustion etched across his face. “Do you know how bloody complicated my life is right now?”
Briar reached across and touched his arm gently. “We’re sorry, Newton. We’ll try and resolve this as quickly as possible.”
He met her eyes, a flash of longing passing across his face for a brief second before it was quickly veiled again. “But we’ll still have five unsolved murders, and the families are still grieving. And of course, there are five missing fishermen, presumed drowned. We know they’ll never be seen again. I don’t want any more deaths.”
“None of us do,” Alex said, all humour now gone. “Sorry. We sound flippant right now, but we’re not.”
“I’m horrified by this,” Avery said. “It’s eating me up every day. I’m losing sleep over it! And I’m infuriated that the Council won’t help. It’s not us they’re punishing, it’s everyone else.”
“Right,” Alex said, standing up and brushing crumbs onto his rug. “Let’s try to reach the Nephilim now. While I prepare, Avery, can you call Eve?”
“Sure.” She pulled her phone out, glad to be doing something. “I’ll call Oswald tomorrow. I’d rather arrange to see Ulysses in person.”
“What should we do?” Reuben asked, as he started to clear pizza boxes and beer.
“Prepare the space. You’re all going to help me,” Alex said.
***
The only light in Alex’s living room was from a few candles, and a low fire burning in the grate. The coffee table had been moved, the rug rolled back, and a huge circle made from salt was in its place. The witches sat holding hands within the circle, and Alex was in the centre, bent over a new crystal ball. Newton had retreated to the kitchen, where he sat watching the events on a stool.
El, Avery, Briar, and Reuben represented the four elements, and they chanted a spell together, summoning their powers to enhance Alex’s skills. As the spell intensified, everything outside the circle fell away into darkness, until there was only the five of them and the blackness of the glass orb held within Alex’s hands. The room was quiet and hot, and Avery felt sweat trickle down her spine.
