“There’s nothing to worry about, Stanley,” Andy said. “I’ve taken us into a vision of the past. Turn to the right and you will see Cassia’s ancestor, Gertrude Winter. She’s standing with three other witches over there. Those are founding witches too. They all set up their own towns.”
We turned around and I saw four women over to one side. They were wearing long cloaks over dresses. Three of them had solemn looks on their faces and were staring at the fourth witch. The fourth witch was smaller and she had her back to us. Her arms were waving about furiously. Her angry words were carried towards us on the breeze.
Andy motioned for us to move forward and said, “Let’s get a closer look at Gertrude Winter. This is where the curse began.”
I shared a look with Gran and said, “I don’t want to go over there. I’m getting an awful feeling about this.”
Gran put a comforting arm around my waist and said, “You’re not the only one. Come on; we’ll face this together.”
Chapter 3
We moved closer to the four witches. The smaller one was still shouting about something, but I couldn’t make out her words.
Andy said to us, “This is a vision of the past. The witches can’t see or hear us. The little one who is shouting those obscenities is Gertrude Winter. You might have already worked that out, Cassia. She has a look of Esther about her, don’t you think?”
Gran muttered, “There’s no need to say insulting things like that.”
Gertrude Winter turned to the side. As I got my first look at her face, I could see Andy was right about the family resemblance. Gran did have the same nose and chin as Gertrude, but she certainly didn’t have that mean twist to her mouth or the scathing look which Gertrude had on her face.
We stopped a few feet away from the witches and observed their conversation.
Gertrude Winter raised her fist at the other witches and shouted, “This is my land now! You can all clear off and leave me to get on with my work. I know what you’re thinking; you want to pinch some of my land. I can see the greed on your faces. Well, I won’t let you take anything from me! I can take any of you on!” She jabbed her fist even more in the air.
One of the witches held her hands up in a placating manner and said, “Gertrude, there’s no need for you to be like this. We were only offering to help you. Setting up a new town is a big undertaking, and we could make it happen more quickly if we all work together.”
Gertrude lowered her fist a fraction and snapped, “You would say that Ruby Summers, you’re the worst one. You’ve got a town of your own to sort out. It’s not as big as this one, though, is it? Well, that’s your fault. You should have taken more land when you had the chance. Like I did. This new town of Brimstone is mine, all mine, and you’re not getting one square inch of it.”
Ruby Summer tried again. “We don’t want any of your land, Gertrude. We know this is your town. Why won’t you let us help you? You’re being stubborn, yet again.”
“I’m not being stubborn! I know what’s going on in your evil minds. I don’t trust you as far as I could throw you. I’ve got more common sense and intelligence than the lot of you. I know exactly how to build this town up, and I don’t need help from anyone. Now clear off my land before I cast a curse of one thousand warts upon you all.”
Ruby continued, “Gertrude, you know we witches are stronger together. If you have as much common sense as you say, then you will know what I’m saying is true.”
Gertrude Winter planted her hands on her hips and declared, “I’m stronger than all you witches put together. I don’t need your help now, and I never will. Once I’ve built this town, I’m going to produce daughters. They will be strong and wise. My offspring will be the strongest justice witches anywhere in this land and the lands beyond. You’ll see. My offspring, and their offspring will be able to deal with anything! Thieves, murderers, liars, cheats, and anyone who says a bad word against witches. We’ll take care of them all! I’ll stake my life on it.”
Ruby Summers shook her head sadly. “You’re deluded, Gertrude. No one can guarantee what our future relatives are going to be like. You don’t know what kind of witches they will be, if at all. Your descendants might decide they don’t want to be witches. They might want a normal life.”
Gertrude let out a gasp of outrage. “How dare you! How dare you cast such insulting words my way? Well, Ruby Summer, I can absolutely guarantee the witches who come after me will be strong justice witches. They won’t be defeated by any circumstances or any creatures!” A knowing look came over her face. “I’ll go as far to say that any future Winter witch will be a formidable force by the time she reaches her thirtieth year. Her work will be of an impeccable standard and no injustice will go unresolved.”
Annoyance flickered in Ruby’s eyes and she said, “You can’t guarantee that. No one can guarantee the future. Not even us.”
Gertrude gave her a long, measured look and announced, “I can guarantee it. Not only can I guarantee it, I’m going to cast a curse which will show you how much confidence I have in my descendants.”
Ruby shook her head. “You and your curses. You should be more careful what you do with them. You can’t put a curse on future witches. You can’t do that. It’s not right.”
“I can do what I want, Ruby Summers. And casting a family curse is exactly what I’m going to do.” Gertrude raised her hands and declared loudly, “From this day forward, if any Winter witch does not complete all her work by the time she is in her thirtieth year, her magical powers will be taken from her. Furthermore, all the other Winter witches who are alive at that time will have their powers stripped away too.”
Sparks of silver light shot from her fingers and zoomed off in all directions like a wayward firework.
Ruby Summer took a sharp intake of breath. “Gertrude Winter, what have you done? You’ve gone too far this time. You can’t do this to your descendants. You can’t put this burden on them.”
Gertrude lowered her hands and gave Ruby a smug look. “I just did. I am a powerful witch and I can do what I want. The curse has been cast. I don’t know why you look so shocked. The curse will never come to fruition. I have total faith in my descendants.” She rubbed her hands together gleefully. “You lot can clear off my land now. Casting that curse has made me eager to cast more. Ruby Summer, I know just the perfect curse for you.”
The three witches gave Gertrude Winter a disparaging look before disappearing. Gertrude was left on her own. She cackled and threw her head back and laughed louder. She announced, “That showed them.”
Gertrude’s laughter slowly faded and so did Gertrude. We found ourselves back in modern-day Brimstone.
Gran shook her head sorrowfully and said, “I didn’t realise she was so bad. I know she’s my ancestor, but what an awful witch she was.”
Andy said, “I have to agree with you on that. Anyway, the curse has now come into operation. It started just after your birthday, Cassia, but I slowed it down. I would have told you about the curse earlier, but I’ve been busy.” He frowned and looked into the distance. “Very busy.”
Gran said, “I’ve never known you to deal with a magical curse before. Why have you become involved in this one?”
He gave her a sad look. “While I’m not actually collecting a soul, this curse will mean the end of Winter witches – you and Cassia. I’m slowly reaping your magical powers. That’s why your cellar door disappeared. It’s the curse.”
“I see,” Gran said. “Why have you slowed the curse down? How is that even possible?”
Andy smiled. “Most things are possible for me. Call me soft-hearted, but I’ve seen the work you and Cassia have done in this town. I wanted to give you a fighting chance to break the curse.”
I joined in the conversation, “How are we to do that? I’ve dealt with all the murders in this town. Nothing has been left unsolved.”
“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong,” Andy said. “A murder has gone unsolved in Brimstone for twenty-t
hree years. A resident was murdered, but I don’t know who that was. In fact, I don’t know very much about the murder apart from it has remained unsolved all these years.”
Gran exploded, “This is ridiculous! How could a murder have remained unsolved for so long? And if that’s the case, why didn’t Gertrude’s curse come into operation sooner?”
Andy explained, “You were already past thirty when this present murder happened. All the murders you came across previously were solved by you before you reached thirty. The curse wasn’t activated. And, unfortunately, Cassia’s mum never reached the age of thirty, so the curse wouldn’t have come into operation for her. But now that Cassia has attained that age, the curse has been set in motion.” He cast me a sorrowful look. “I’m so sorry to be the bearer of this news.”
Stanley spoke up, “I don’t understand any of this. What does it all mean? Are Esther and Cassia still witches?”
Andy shook his head slowly. “They are, but not for much longer. If this murder isn’t solved, their powers will ebb away, and they’ll no longer be able to come into Brimstone.”
There was panic in Gran’s voice as she said, “This can’t happen. We weren’t given any warning. Can’t you do anything about this? Can’t you give us more time to look into this unsolved murder? Can’t you do something to reverse Gertrude’s curse?”
Andy said, “I’ve already done what I can. I’ve slowed down the effects of the curse and you both still have your magical abilities for now. But, your powers will start to diminish bit by bit as the minutes tick by.”
Nobody spoke for a moment. I looked at Gran and she seemed to be weighing something up in her mind.
Gran reached out for Andy’s elbow and said, “I want a word with you. In private.”
She took him over to one side and turned her back on me. I saw Andy’s expression as Gran spoke to him. It went from one of understanding to disbelief, and then back to understanding.
Andy and Gran returned to us and Andy announced, “Cassia, I can give you twenty-four hours to investigate this unsolved murder. The curse is already starting to work and that will affect your magical abilities. This is the best I can do for you.”
I didn’t want to ask my next question, but I had to. “What will happen if I don’t solve the murder?”
Gran answered for Andy, “We won’t be witches anymore, and we’ll never come back to Brimstone.”
Chapter 4
The Grim Reaper vanished in a cloud of black smoke.
I said to Gran, “What’s going to happen now? Surely there must be some magic we can use to get rid of this curse? It was cast years ago. Things have changed since then. There must be new spells we can use.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “What were you saying to Andy just then?”
“I got him to give us more time. As for getting rid of this curse, we’ll go over to Blythe’s house and tell her about it. She’s a powerful witch, and she’s been in charge of Brimstone for hundreds of years. If anyone can help us, it’s Blythe.”
We headed over to Blythe’s house which was situated down a side street off the main town square.
Gran knocked at the front door but was too impatient to wait for an answer. She pushed the door open and called out, “Blythe? Where are you? This is an emergency.”
Blythe abruptly materialised in front of us which made us jump. Stanley let out a howl of surprise.
Blythe looked as youthful and beautiful as ever despite being three hundred years old. She frowned and said, “Esther, there’s no need to shout.”
Gran replied, “There’s every need to shout! You won’t believe what’s happened.”
“Has someone died? Is the town on fire? Has something happened in the human world?” She took Gran by the elbow and led her into the living room.
Gran pulled her elbow free and began to pace up and down the rug in front of the mantelpiece. She muttered, “I don’t know where to begin. I’m still taking in the horror of this situation myself.”
Blythe shot a look my way and said, “What’s going on?”
I replied, “We’ve just had a talk with the Grim Reaper outside, near the gazebo.”
Gran continued to pace and mutter to herself, “A curse! How dare she put a curse on us?”
Blythe’s frown reappeared. “Grim Reaper? Curse? Esther! Stop pacing up and down and start talking sense.”
Gran abruptly stopped, headed to the sofa and plonked herself down. I sat at her side and settled Stanley on my lap.
Blythe took a seat in the nearest armchair and said, “Begin.”
Gran started by telling Blythe about our cellar door. The colour left Blythe’s face as Gran gave her the full details of Gertrude and her curse.
Once Gran had finished, Blythe shook her head and said, “That’s impossible. I would have known about such a curse. Are you absolutely certain there is a curse?”
Gran replied, “There must be one. Our cellar door has vanished, so what other explanation is there? And the Grim Reaper wouldn’t lie to us about this. We saw the vision. We saw how malevolent Gertrude was. This curse is just the sort of thing she’d do.”
Blythe said, “I can’t take it all in. I need some tea and crumpets to help me think straight.” She clicked her fingers in the air and a plate of hot, buttered crumpets appeared on the table in front of us. Full cups of tea appeared at the side of the plate.
“Help yourselves,” Blythe said. She reached towards the nearest cup, picked it up and took a long drink. She put the cup back down and then shoved half of a buttered crumpet in her mouth.
I said to her, “What does this curse mean for Gran and me? Do I need to go over all the murders I’ve dealt with? Could I have made the wrong decision and arrested the wrong creature? Is this all my fault? Have I left a murder unsolved?”
Blythe finished the rest of her crumpet, washed it down with more tea and then announced, “It isn’t anything you’ve done, Cassia. You thoroughly investigated every murder case that I gave you. And, in each case, the murderer admitted their guilt. No, this is something else. An unsolved murder from twenty-three years ago? Something is coming to me. Give me a minute.” She ate two more crumpets while staring intently at her knees.
Gran reached for her tea and said, “There must be a murder case which we’ve overlooked. Let me have a think about that too.”
Normally, I would have devoured a plateful of hot buttered crumpets in minutes, but my appetite had fled the second I’d met the Grim Reaper. My stomach was clenched so tightly that I couldn’t even manage a cup of tea. The only thing that comforted me was Stanley’s weight on my lap. I stroked his head and gave him a reassuring smile. I said quietly to him, “I’m sure this is all going to work out okay.”
Stanley replied sadly, “I’m not sure this is going to work out. Cassia, I’m picking up on something in the air. I can’t quite put my paw on it, but it’s like a sense of foreboding. Something terrible is going to happen to us.”
I was feeling the same thing too, but I didn’t want to admit to it. I continued to stroke Stanley’s little head.
Blythe suddenly announced, “Twenty-three years ago was just after your seventh birthday, Cassia.”
I nodded. She didn’t need to remind me of that because it was a birthday which would be etched in my mind forever. Mum had died shortly after my seventh birthday. I still had the last birthday card she’d ever given to me.
Blythe went on, “Your mum was looking into a case before she died. With all the grief surrounding her death, the details of that case went out of my mind.”
“That’s it!” Gran declared. “You’ve hit the nail on the head there. I remember it too. She was looking into the disappearance of a dwarf, wasn’t she?”
Blythe nodded.
“Yes, it was one of the mining dwarfs, I can’t remember his name now. Something to do with a hammer.” She tapped the side of her temple.
Gran announced, “Oddec Hammerhands! That’s his name. Rosalyn had been contacted by his wife who�
��d reported him missing. As far as I can recall, Rosalyn went over to the mines and spoke to the wife. I don’t know how much further she got with her investigation, though. Perhaps Oddec is the one who was murdered all those years ago, and for one reason and another, it has totally slipped our minds.”
Blythe nodded. “Yes, that could be it. However, it could also be any other resident who’s gone missing over the years. We’ll have to put our thinking caps on and see what we can come up with.”
I suggested, “Why don’t I look into the case of the missing dwarf? If he’s turned up, then we can rule him out of our murder suspects. I could go over to the mine right now.”
“That’s an excellent idea,” Blythe said. “I’ll give you the directions. It’s not far away.”
I said, “Blythe, what will happen to Gran and me as our magical abilities recede? Will it happen all at once or gradually?”
Blythe replied, “I honestly don’t know the answer to that, Cassia. I’ve never come across a curse like this before. If the Grim Reaper has delayed the curse, then hopefully any diminishing of your powers will be a gradual one.” She gave me a wry smile, “So, if you need to use your magic, use it as soon as you can. That includes any protective spells you might need.” Her eyes widened and she quickly looked away.
Both Gran and I noticed her startled look. Gran said, “Blythe, what thought just came into your head? There’s something you’re not telling us. Come on; out with it.”
Blythe looked our way. “I don’t even know if this will happen, but if you start to lose your magical powers and become less of a witch, then residents in Brimstone might start forgetting who you are. All memories of Winter witches will be wiped from their minds. It will be like you never existed.”
My thoughts flashed to the surprise party the residents had thrown for me recently. I recalled their friendly faces as they’d wished me happy birthday and bestowed presents on me. The thought of me being a stranger to those lovely beings was unbearable.
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