brimstone witch 10 - deal with the grim reaper

by April Fernsby

  Oliver ran madly around the kitchen as if expecting Gran to be hiding in a corner. “Esther! Where are you? Stop messing about and show yourself!”

  Stanley ventured nervously, “She isn’t here, Oliver.”

  Oliver snapped, “She must be. I can smell her. Her scent is everywhere.”

  “I can smell her too,” Stanley said. “I can always smell her in this house. Her scent never leaves it.”

  “She must be in another room,” Oliver announced. “I’ll find her.”

  He ran out of the kitchen.

  I said to Stanley, “She’s not here. She would have called out to us if she was.”

  Stanley nodded. “I know. Let’s have a look in the garden in case she’s out there. You know she falls asleep sometimes when she’s sitting in the sun.”

  I took Stanley outside and we had a thorough look around the garden. Gran wasn’t snoozing in the sun. We looked in the shed too and even called at the neighbours’ houses. No one knew where Gran was.

  As we headed back into the house, Stanley said urgently, “Cassia! Your phone. You can use it here. Phone Esther. If she’s back in the human world, she’ll answer it.”

  “Oh! Of course. Is it okay if I put you down now?”

  “I do love being in your arms, but you can put me down. I’ll help Oliver look for Esther. I can hear him running around upstairs.”

  Stanley padded away and I took my phone from my pocket. My hand shook as I tapped on Gran’s speed dial number. She was the only one I had on speed dial.

  She didn’t answer her phone. My eyes stung as I heard her cheerful voice telling me to leave a message. I didn’t leave a message as I was too upset to speak.

  Oliver and Stanley ran towards me. Stanley gave me a quizzical look and I shook my head.

  Oliver yelled, “What’s happened to Esther? Where could she be? She must be nearby if she’s been helping you with your murder case.”

  Stanley said, “She hasn’t been helping us because of that deal she made with the Grim Reaper.”

  Oliver stiffened. “Pardon?”

  “The deal she made with the Grim Reaper. Esther gave her magic to Cassia and then she went into a limbo state. If the curse wasn’t broken in time, then the Grim Reaper would take her life.” Stanley trailed off. “Sorry, Oliver.”

  Oliver turned his blazing eyes my way. He was generally a bad-tempered cat, but I’d never seen him look so angry as he did now. He hissed, “You let Esther make that deal? How could you? How stupid are you?”

  “Hey!” Stanley shot out. “Don’t blame this on Cassia. She didn’t know about Esther’s deal until it was too late. It’s your witch who’s to blame. You can shout at her when we find her.”

  “If we find her,” Oliver said darkly. “I shouldn’t have let her out of my sight. I should have gone into Brimstone with you earlier.” A choked sob escaped from him.

  I would have given him a cuddle, but I was worried he’d turn angry again.

  I announced, “We’re going back to Brimstone to collect Gran. Come on.”

  Stanley said, “But how? She’s not there.”

  “I’m going to summon the Grim Reaper. I’m going to demand answers.”

  Stanley waved his paw at me. “Don’t you be making any deals with him. Don’t exchange your life for Esther’s.”

  Oliver muttered, “She can if it means Esther comes back.”

  Stanley jabbed his paw at Oliver. “I’m going to forget you said that, Oliver Winter! You love Cassia as much as I do.”

  Oliver looked away from us. “I know. Sorry.”

  I revelled in Oliver’s apology for two seconds and then headed for the cellar door. With more confidence than I was feeling, I proclaimed, “No one is making any more deals with the Grim Reaper. No one.”

  Chapter 32

  With the cats at my side, I marched into Brimstone and over to the gazebo. I was aware of residents smiling and waving at us, but I didn’t have time to return their greetings.

  I ascended the gazebo steps and stood in the middle of the wooden structure.

  Stanley said, “How are you going to summon the Grim Reaper?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll call out for him and see what happens. I’ve got my magic back; I can feel it. I’ve still got some of Blythe’s magic in me too.” I lifted my chin and prepared to speak.

  Oliver said, “Don’t be wishy-washy about it. Don’t be polite and feeble. Demand that he show himself. Be strong.” There was a pleading look in his eyes. “Esther’s life is at stake.”

  I gave him a nod and then shouted, “Grim Reaper! I demand you show yourself! Now.”

  Andy didn’t appear.

  Oliver said, “I’m not having this nonsense. Call him again. Put more force in your voice. Stanley, let’s join in with Cassia.”

  I called out for Andy again. Stanley and Oliver added their loud voices too.

  “Hey, you called?” Andy appeared at our side. His arms were folded and he was leaning casually on one side of the wooden structure. He smiled and said, “Congratulations on breaking the curse, Cassia. What can I do for you?”

  Oliver snapped, “What can you do for us? What can you do? You know full well what you can do. Stand up straight when I’m talking to you!”

  Andy’s arms dropped and he stood up straighter.

  “That’s better,” Oliver said as he marched over to him. “Where’s Esther? What have you done to her? If you’ve hurt one grey hair on her head, I’ll give you what for.” He raised one paw and waved it in a threatening manner.

  I was surprised to see fear on Andy’s face. Was the Grim Reaper supposed to feel fear? Was there something he was scared to tell us?

  Stanley joined Oliver and raised his paw too. “Yeah, we’ll give you what for.”

  Andy spoke, “I couldn’t stop her. You know how strong-minded she is.”

  “What do you mean?” Oliver yelled. “What have you done? Spit it out!”

  “I haven’t done anything. It was Esther’s decision. I told her there would be consequences if she did that. I—”

  Oliver interrupted him, “Consequences? What have you done to her now? Once we get Esther back, I’m going to make a formal complaint about you. Getting yourself involved in the lives of the living must be against the rules. Well? Where is she? Has the cat got your tongue?”

  Andy smiled. “Sort of. You won’t let me speak. Oliver, I did put Esther in a limbo state while Cassia worked on that murder case. But I couldn’t keep her in that state. She’s very strong-willed. She forced herself to wake up and she demanded to see Gertrude Winter.”

  “Gertrude Winter?” I asked. “She’s been dead for hundreds of years.”

  Oliver turned his annoyed face to me. “Stop interrupting the Grim Reaper. Obviously, Esther must have been in a place where the dead roam around. Of course she’d be able to find Gertrude. Think before you speak, Cassia.” He turned his head back to Andy. “Did she find Gertrude?”

  “She did. I told her if she stayed with the dead too long, she might not find a way back to the living,” Andy explained. “Esther said she’d find a way back one way or the other. She found Gertrude and they had the most almighty row. Swear words were used which I won’t repeat. They were used mostly by Esther.”

  “And?” Oliver demanded. “What happened then? Are they still arguing?”

  “I had to leave them in mid-argument,” Andy admitted. “My work was piling up and I had to get back to it. You’d be amazed at how much I have to do.”

  Oliver said dismissively, “I don’t care about your work. I care about Esther. Is she still with the dead? Did you do something to keep her there? Was that your plan all along?”

  “She’s—” Andy began.

  “You did, didn’t you? You thought you’d add Esther to your list of dead souls. You good-for-nothing. What did you do to her? Answer me!”

  “She’s—”

  Oliver patted his paws on Andy’s legs. “You bring her back right now! You can’
t have her. She’s too young to die! Bring her back!”

  Andy winced. “She’s—”

  A soft voice behind us said, “Oliver, Andy’s trying to tell you that I’m right behind you.”

  We all spun around. I took in the sight of my lovely gran standing there and my heart swelled with love.

  “Gran!” I rushed towards her.

  Oliver beat me to her and threw himself into her arms. He purred so loudly that he made the gazebo floor vibrate.

  Gran chuckled and stroked Oliver’s head. “Do you think I’d leave you, you silly thing? Do you think I’d be defeated by the pathetic powers of the Grim Reaper? Sorry, Andy.”

  “No offence taken,” Andy replied.

  I moved to Gran’s side and wrapped my arms around her. “It’s so good to see you. I thought we’d lost you.”

  “Never. I’ll go when I’m good and ready. Cassia, I know about your cases. I’ve been getting a view of your activities from the other world. I’m so sorry you had to see your mum’s death.”

  “It doesn’t matter now. I’ll deal with that memory somehow.” I released her from my hug. “What did you say to Gertrude?”

  Gran chuckled. “What didn’t I say? I told her exactly what I thought of her and her stupid curses. She tried to argue back, but she was no match for me. I was furious at what she was putting you through. She was a broken woman when I left her. All her fighting talk had gone.”

  “Good,” Oliver announced. “She deserved it. Are there any other curses we need to know about?”

  “No, I questioned her thoroughly about that.” Gran looked towards something behind us. “Ah. It looks like we’ve got a visitor.”

  Chapter 33

  A peculiar structure was flying slowly towards us. It was a cage made up of Brimstone butterflies. At the centre of the cage was Mowibela Hammerhands. Her face was contorted in rage.

  Stanley cried out, “They found her! Those clever butterflies found her.”

  The butterflies landed on the ground but kept their cage formation. The butterflies near Mowibela’s face moved so that we could see her more clearly.

  Andy said, “I’ll leave you Winter witches to talk to your prisoner. Work to do and all that.” He vanished.

  “Coward,” Oliver muttered. “I’m still going to make a formal complaint about him.”

  Gran said, “That’s in the past now, Oliver. Let him be.”

  I picked Stanley up and we walked down the gazebo steps and over to the butterfly cage.

  Mowibela raged, “Let me out! You can’t keep me like this. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “You killed your husband,” I pointed out as we stopped in front of her.

  Mowibela’s features straightened out and she tried to give me an innocent look. “No, I didn’t. Who told you that?”

  “Luca,” I replied.

  “Luca? I thought he was—”

  “Dead? No. I got to him in time. Why did you kill Oddec?”

  The rage came back to Mowibela’s face. “Why do you think? He was messing about with Lexi Lavabuckle. He had been doing so for years and he thought I didn’t know about it. I found that fancy necklace he was going to give her and I confronted him about it. He said he couldn’t give Lexi up as she meant too much to him. He said he wouldn’t give me up or the mine either. He gloated and said he could have it all.” Cunning came into her eyes and she smiled. “I wasn’t going to have that. I gave him an ultimatum. Me or her. I knew he had picked Lexi. I saw him packing his bags. He didn’t see me. It was on the evening he had that meeting with Keftan Gubler. He took some papers with him and I knew he was going to sell the mine. I had to put Oddec in his place. I had a plan. I’d had that plan for a while and I had the mirror potion ready. I put Oddec in that disused cave. Like the cave, he was of no use to anyone.”

  I asked, “Did the mine-knockers know what you’d done to Oddec?”

  Mowibela nodded. “They helped me. They didn’t like him either. They liked seeing his legs hanging from the ceiling. If anyone came near the cave, the mine-knockers would scare them away. I liked seeing Oddec there too. Trapped. Served him right.”

  I moved a bit closer to her. “Why did you kill my mum?”

  Her eyes widened. “You know?”

  I nodded and pulled Stanley closer.

  “I had to. She spoke to the mine-knockers and got some information from them. I don’t know how she managed that. I had plenty of mirror potion left, and I used it on the field near the quarry. I knew she’d go chasing after that friend of yours. I just had to set the wheels in motion. She should have kept her nose out of my business. And you should have too. As soon as you started poking your nose into Oddec going missing, I knew you’d find him. And you did. I don’t know how you got the mine-knockers to help you. I had to leave before you worked everything out. You should be thankful I didn’t kill you too. I could have.”

  I turned away. I couldn’t bear to look at her smug expression a second longer.

  Blythe came running towards us followed by Luca. Blythe stopped at the butterfly cage but Luca came over to me and put his arms around me.

  “It’s all over now,” He muttered into my hair. “It’s all over.”

  Gran joined us and added, “Cassia, you’ve done a marvellous job. You should be proud of yourself.”

  “I don’t feel proud. I feel empty and sad.” I looked at Luca. “I can’t stop thinking about Mum. I never thought she’d been murdered and that I’d have to deal with her murder. I thought she’d died in an accident.”

  Gran stroked my cheek. “We all did. We can move on from this. We have to.”

  Blythe came over to us. “Cassia, I don’t know where to begin. Sorry isn’t enough. The second I heard about the curse from Esther and you, I should have taken precautions to stop it affecting me.”

  I gently moved out of Luca’s embrace and faced her. “It’s okay. You couldn’t help it.”

  “I’ll never forgive myself,” Blythe said. “I can remember every unkind word I said to you. I was going to make you leave Brimstone for good! Imagine that. Brimstone without Cassia Winter. It’s unthinkable.”

  “Unthinkable,” Stanley echoed.

  I saw the tears in Blythe’s eyes and said, “Honestly, it’s okay. No one was safe from Gertrude’s curse. Everyone forgot me.” I turned to Luca. “Except you.”

  He shrugged. “What can I say? You’re in my heart.”

  “Don’t get soppy. I can’t be doing with soppy behaviour,” Oliver warned. “Is anyone else hungry? I’m starving.”

  Blythe brushed her tears away. “Now that you mention it, yes, I’m hungry too. Let’s go to Mooncrest Café and stuff our faces. My treat. I’ll lock up Mowibela first and then I’ll join you there. The butterflies will take her to my house. They’ve made a secure cage for her.”

  “Can I talk to the butterflies first?” I asked. “Just like Luca, they didn’t forget who I was. I have to say thank you to them.”

  I moved over to the butterfly cage. They shuffled closer together so that I didn’t have to see any part of the trapped dwarf. I didn’t need to speak. I smiled at them and mentally sent my thanks to them along with all the love I had for them.

  There was a slight movement and the butterflies rearranged themselves into a heart-shaped cage.

  Stanley sniffed. “They love you as much as I do. Cassia, I’m feeling all emotional. I might have to shed a tear or two.”

  “I already am doing,” I said with a sniff. “Is it really all over? Am I still a witch? Can we still work in Brimstone?”

  Stanley put his head on my chest. “Yes to all of those questions. We can rest for now.” He lifted his head and added brightly, “Until our next murder case.”

  I smiled. “Yes, we’ll rest until our next murder case, Stanley.”

  About the author

  I live in a county called Yorkshire, England with my family. This area is known for its paranormal activity and haunted dwellings. I love all things super
natural and think there is more to this life than can be seen with our eyes.

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  This story has been checked for errors by myself and my team. If you spot anything we’ve missed, you can let us know by emailing us at: april@aprilfernsby.com

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  Many thanks to Paula for her proofreading work: Paula Proofreader

  Warm wishes

  April Fernsby

  The Brimstone Witch Mysteries:

  Book 1 - Murder Of A Werewolf

  Book 2 - As Dead As A Vampire

  Book 3 - The Centaur’s Last Breath

  Book 4 - The Sleeping Goblin

  Book 5 - The Silent Banshee

  Book 6 - The Murdered Mermaid

  Book 7 - The End Of The Yeti

  Book 8 - Death Of A Rainbow Nymph

  Book 9 - The Witch Is Dead

  The Psychic Café Series

  Book 1 - A Deadly Delivery

  Book 2 - A Fatal Wedding

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  A Deal With The Grim Reaper

  A Brimstone Witch Mystery

  (Book 10)

  By

  April Fernsby

  www.aprilfernsby.com