Brimstone Witch Mysteries - Box Set 1

by April Fernsby

  Stanley was standing near the wardrobe. One of the doors was ajar. He said, “You’d better have a look over here.”

  I walked over to him and opened the door wider. My hands flew to my mouth in shock.

  Stanley moved his head back and forth as he inspected the clothes that were hanging there. He looked my way and said, “These are all the clothes you own. Every single item, even that pink cardigan you love so much.”

  I dropped my hands. “But how? And when? I don’t understand. Are they doubles of what I’ve bought over the years?”

  Stanley sniffed a jacket. “No, I recognise the smell of last week’s pizza on the cuff here. It’s definitely your jacket. Esther must have used magic to get them here.”

  “Why didn’t she say? Why have I had to carry this suitcase all the way here? I know it isn’t heavy, but that’s not the point.” I was about to complain even more when I noticed Stanley giving me a strange look. “What’s wrong?”

  He nodded at the wardrobe. “All of your clothes are here. All of them. How long does Esther think you’re staying? Has she sneakily moved you out of her house and placed you here permanently?”

  I sank onto the bed. “I hadn’t thought of that. She wouldn’t do that, would she?”

  “Just a mo, let me check something else.”

  He headed through a door at the side of the room. I heard him mumbling to himself and then he came back.

  “Cassia, you’re not going to like this. I’ve just been in the the bathroom. All your toiletries are in there, every single one. Even those strong face packs that you only use once a month. Your hair products are there too. And my special shampoo.” He lay down on the carpet and rested his head on his paws. “We’ve been bamboozled. Esther has tricked us. She’s removed us from her house.”

  I shook my head. “No. Absolutely not. Gran wouldn’t do that to us.”

  “Maybe she wants you to learn how to be a witch the hard way by throwing you in at the deep end.”

  “She wouldn’t do that,” I repeated. “She loves me. She wouldn’t trick me like that.”

  I jumped off the bed and marched into the bathroom. It didn’t take me long to discover that Stanley was right. It was like my whole life had been moved from Gran’s house and plonked down here in Brimstone.

  I returned to the bedroom where Stanley was still lying morosely on the carpet. I declared, “We can’t live here. They don’t have the internet here. How will we manage without Amazon and YouTube? You know how much we love those funny cat clips on YouTube.” I flung my hands up. “And what about Google? How am I supposed to find things out without Google?”

  “A library?” Stanley suggested.

  “Stop being helpful. Come on, let’s find out what’s going on. I want a word with Gran.” I stormed out of the bedroom and into the living room. I grabbed my handbag and headed for the door.

  Stanley scampered after me and said, “Where are we going?”

  “Back to Gran’s house. I’m going to get an explanation out of her.” I opened the door and indicated for Stanley to go through.

  He did so and looked back at me. “But Oliver said he didn’t want to see us for at least three days. He’ll be so mad if we go back there after only an hour.”

  I held my finger up and gave Stanley a knowing look. “Perhaps that was a trick too. What if Gran and Oliver are planning on changing the locks so that we can’t get back in? Telling us not to go back for three days would give them ample time to do that.” I nodded. “Yes, that makes sense.”

  “Not really. We don’t need a key to get back through the cellar door. There isn’t a lock.” He headed down the steps.

  I locked the apartment door and went after him.

  When we were out on the street, Stanley turned fear-filled eyes my way and said, “Cassia, what if Esther’s been affected by the black magic that’s in the air? What if the magic messed with her mind and now she wants to get rid of us?”

  “Don’t say that. There’ll be a logical explanation as to why I have enough belongings to keep me in Brimstone forever.” I picked Stanley up and noticed he was shivering. “Stanley, what is it?”

  He was looking towards the end of the town where the cellar door was located.

  His voice was a whisper as he said, “Cassia, I can’t see the cellar door. We can’t leave. We’re trapped in Brimstone forever.”

  Chapter 5

  I pulled Stanley closer to my chest and took a tentative step forward. I focused my attention on where the cellar door should be.

  I stopped and looked down at Stanley. “The door is there. I can see it. It’s right where it’s always been.”

  “Is it?” Stanley squinted. “Oh, yes, I can see it now.” He let out a sound which I assumed was an embarrassed laugh. “Silly me. Sorry about that. We’re not trapped here after all.”

  “No, but I still want to know why my entire belongings are in Gran’s apartment.”

  With Stanley still in my arms, I walked purposefully towards the cellar door. Gran had some explaining to do.

  When we arrived at the door, I put Stanley down and reached for the handle. I pushed the door open and was startled to see a creature with angry-looking green eyes and black fur staring at us.

  Oliver jabbed a paw in our direction and yelled, “I knew it! I knew you’d come back. Esther said you wouldn’t, but I knew you would.”

  I was going to take a step into the cellar, but the rage on Oliver’s face stopped me.

  Oliver hadn’t finished shouting at us. “I told Esther I’d stay by this door and wait for your return. She said I’d be waiting days, but I haven’t been, have I? Don’t answer that.” He paused for breath.

  I shot out, “We only came back to clarify something. I wanted to talk to Gran about my clothes which are in the wardrobe in her apartment.”

  “And your toiletries in the bathroom,” Stanley added.

  Oliver put his paw down. “Didn’t Esther leave you a note about that?”

  Stanley and I shook our heads in unison.

  Oliver made a tutting noise. “I told her to leave a note explaining why all your stuff was in the apartment. I told her you’re daft enough to think the worst and assume Esther had covertly moved you into the apartment. She said you wouldn’t make such a foolish assumption, and that you’d know she’d never do anything underhanded like that.”

  I took a step back. So did Stanley.

  Oliver went on, “Esther said you’d realise she’d transported all your belongings there so you’d have a choice of what to wear, and she said having all your things around you would make you feel more at home.” His paw was in the air again and waving about. “But I said you and Stanley were prone to overactive imaginations and you’d think Esther had tricked you into staying in Brimstone forever. Esther strongly disagreed with me. I told her to leave a note just in case. It’s obvious that she hasn’t.”

  I swallowed and took another step back. “Of course we knew why Gran had put my things there. We didn’t think for one second she’d tricked us and wanted us out of her house, did we, Stanley?”

  Stanley took two steps back. “Not for one second. Not even for two seconds.”

  Oliver looked from me to Stanley, and then back at me. “Oh, really? Then what are you doing back here? You said you wanted to talk about your clothes.”

  “Yes!” I declared. “I wanted to say thank you to Gran for moving them into the apartment. It was very thoughtful of her.”

  Oliver’s eyes narrowed. “Is that the only reason you’re at this door? Have you been scared by something or someone in Brimstone? Don’t you want to stay in the apartment? Aren’t you two brave enough to spend a few days out there on your own?”

  “Of course we’re brave enough, aren’t we, Stanley?”

  Stanley let out a little growl. “I’m as brave as a lion.”

  I said, “Please pass our thanks onto Gran. We’ll be off now. We’ve got mingling to do. Lots and lots of mingling. Cheerio.” I quickly
pulled the door towards me, turned around and jogged down the cobbled road before Oliver could race after me and demand the truth.

  Stanley jogged at my side and said, “We have been a couple of silly sausages, haven’t we? As if Esther would trick us into living in Brimstone forever.”

  “Let’s not talk about it again. It was a simple misunderstanding. Gran doesn’t need to know about it.”

  We carried on walking through the town until we reached the blue door of Gran’s apartment. The sun was out, and it was a wonderfully warm day.

  I said to Stanley, “I know it’s a bit early, but shall we have our lunch outside? We could sit at one of the picnic tables near the gazebo. That would give us the perfect opportunity to mingle.”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  We went up to the apartment and grabbed some food. Then we headed over to an empty picnic table and settled ourselves at it. I put Stanley’s sardine snack on the seat and he was soon stuffing his little furry face.

  I looked at my tub of salad and sighed. I was tempted for a moment to use my witch powers and turn it into a stuffed crust pepperoni pizza with extra olives.

  No, better not. Someone was bound to see me using magic. I didn’t want them to think I was using magic for frivolous things. I’d already noticed more than one casual stare in our direction from the residents who passed by.

  I opened my salad box and stuck my fork into a small tomato. I popped it in my mouth. An explosion of taste erupted on my tongue. The tomato tasted amazing. It was so soft and juicy and my taste buds tingled as a sweet liquid ran over them. My spirits lifted immediately and it felt like I was eating a piece of joy. I tried the lettuce. It was just as amazing. Crisp and with a hint of garlic.

  What kind of a salad was this? A magic one? I didn’t care. I tucked in with gusto.

  Stanley and I must have looked as if we hadn’t eaten for days as we gobbled our food without stopping for breath.

  When I’d finished the salad, I unashamedly stuck my finger into the tub and ran it around the edges. I didn’t want to waste a single drop of the incredible dressing that Gilda had put on it.

  Stanley smacked his lips together and said, “That was delicious. Food here tastes much better than in our world. Have you noticed that?”

  “I have. I thoroughly enjoyed that salad and I can’t wait to have more.” I smiled at Stanley. “I bet you never thought you’d hear me saying those words.”

  He gave me one of his adorable cat chuckles.

  “What are we going to do now?” he asked. “Shall we try to start up a conversation with someone? There’s a group of goblins over there. We could talk to them.”

  My attention was drawn to a building at the side of the town square. “Stanley, we need to talk to Basil.”

  “Basil who owns the bookshop? Didn’t we talk to him last week about his vandalized window? Esther made a report about it.” He looked in the direction of the bookshop. “Has his window been broken again?”

  I got to my feet and put our empty containers in my bag. “No, but there’s something wrong with him. I can feel it. Come on.”

  Chapter 6

  Gran and I had been called out to Basil’s bookshop early last week. He’d reported an act of vandalism which had taken place during the night. Someone had thrown a brick through his front window causing it to completely shatter. Other than the damage to the window, and the books on display in the window, there hadn’t been any further damage inside. After a thorough check, Basil had told us nothing had been stolen.

  Gran had checked for fingerprints but had come up with nothing. It was a mystery as to why someone would do that to the bookshop. According to Gran, Basil was a respected member of the community. He was soft-spoken and mild-mannered and never upset anyone.

  He didn’t look that way now as Stanley and I entered his shop. His tail was glowing red.

  Basil is a bookworm. When Gran told me this last week before we went to see him, I thought she was kidding. I told her there was no such thing as a bookworm and that’s it’s just an expression people use. Gran didn’t answer me. She merely pulled me in front of Basil so I could see for myself that bookworms did exist.

  A bookworm has the bottom half of a worm and the top half of a man. Oh, and there’s the addition of a glowing tail which lights up at night to aid with reading, or so Basil said when I met him and stared rudely at him. Basil has a friendly, bespectacled face and a bald head. He was wearing a snazzy tweed suit and bow tie when I met him.

  Basil didn’t look at all friendly now as he slithered over to us, his glowing red tail waving furiously in the air. He came to a stop in front of us and glowered at us from behind his spectacles.

  “Have you found them?” he snapped.

  Even though Basil came up to my shoulders, I found the venom in his voice threatening and backed up a little.

  “Found who?” I asked.

  His tail glowed redder and his hands clenched into fists at his side. “The heathens! The vandals! The hooligans! The yobbos!”

  “I don’t know who you’re talking about. Basil, can you calm down and tell me why you’re so upset? Why is your tail red? Have you hurt yourself?”

  “It’s red because I’m extremely annoyed,” Basil hissed. “Isn’t that obvious? You and your grandma are supposed to deal with lawbreakers in this town. Have you found out who broke my window last week? As well as breaking my window, I want you to charge them with willful damage to treasured items.”

  I could feel heat coming from Basil’s tail and I took another step back.

  I held my hands out in an effort to placate Basil. “I’m sorry, but we haven’t found out who caused the damage. There wasn’t any evidence to go on. What are the treasured items which have been damaged? You never mentioned anything last week about that.”

  The red in Basil’s tail lessened a little. “That’s because I didn’t know about it then. I was too shaken up to check my stock accurately last week. But I’ve checked my stock now, and I can see what damage has been caused. It’s an outrage! An absolute outrage! I demand justice.”

  His tail turned scarlet, and tiny puffs of smoke came from the end. Was Basil going to burst into flames?

  Stanley pressed himself against my legs and I could feel his small body trembling. I was suddenly annoyed with Basil.

  “Right,” I began. “If I’m going to help you, you’ll have to calm down and stop shouting. Okay?”

  Basil’s nostrils flared and he shoved his spectacles further up his nose. “Okay,” he muttered.

  I stared pointedly at his tail.

  He took a couple of deep breaths and his tail turned amber. That would have to do.

  Basil began, “I told you last week that whoever broke my window didn’t steal anything.”

  “Yes, I remember that.”

  “I was mistaken. Whoever broke the window came into the shop and targeted certain books. Valuable books. First editions and ones signed by the authors. Those books are worthless now.” He threw his hands in the air. “Who would do such a despicable thing? I don’t understand it.”

  “How were the books damaged?”

  “I’ll show you. It’s strange. The books have all been damaged by the same hand. Follow me.”

  He moved across the floor and over to a large table at the back of the room. About a dozen or so books had been laid out on the table. The books were open.

  Basil waved his hand over them. “They’ve all had the same words written on them on the first few pages, and on the covers.”

  I inspected the books. The words ‘Lies! All Lies!’ had been scrawled in large letters across the pages using a red marker.

  “What does this mean?” I asked.

  Basil said, “Look at this.” He closed the book nearest to him so I could see the cover. “This is a history about the trolls in Brimstone.” He closed two more book covers. “This one concerns the elves who live in the meadows, and this one is about the giants who reside in the mountains. The
se are all local history books. They’re extremely important to our town.”

  I frowned. “Why would someone write that message on them? Do these books contain lies?”

  Basil took a sharp intake of breath. “Certainly not! These books were written by the elders in each community. Whoever vandalized them obviously has a grudge against those residents. And I think I know who might be to blame. Follow me.”

  Once again, Stanley and I followed Basil through the shop. We were taken to the far corner.

  Basil pointed to the empty shelves in front of him. “This is where those history books were kept. I put them here so they were away from bright light. The hooligan who wrote on them performed their evil act right here and then placed them back on the shelves. Upside down, I might add. I only noticed them just now when I was doing a stocktake.”

  My attention was drawn to some books on the top shelf. “Have those been damaged?”

  Basil stretched out and his body elongated to twice its length. He pulled one of the books down, retracted to his normal size and handed the book to me.

  He gave me a grim look and said, “These books haven’t been damaged at all. These have been written by the same beings.” He paused. “Vampires.”

  I looked at the book: The Unabridged History of Vampires - Volume 1

  I opened the book and checked a few pages. There wasn’t any sign of vandalism.

  Basil said, “None of the vampire books have been damaged; not one. That leads me to conclude it was a vampire who broke my window. It wasn’t an act of mindless vandalism as you and your gran thought. A vampire broke my window on purpose and then strode into my shop and ruined my beautiful books. It’s an insult. Not just to me, but to the rest of the town. Well, Cassia Winter, what are you going to do about this?”

  “I honestly don’t know.” I looked again at the book.

  “You don’t know!” Basil erupted. “You’re supposed to be a justice witch. It’s true what everyone around here is saying about you. You’re far too young and inexperienced to be dealing with justice issues. You’ve no idea what you’re doing. Run along home and get your gran. She’ll know what to do.”