Brimstone Witch Mysteries - Box Set 1

by April Fernsby

  Uriah Firenze turned his pale face in my direction. His eyes were dark and so was the expression in them. He was skinny beneath his dark suit, and his cheek bones protruded making him look skeletal.

  His thin mouth pulled back in a smirk and he looked me up and down. He said, “Cassia Winter. The young witch returns. Well, well, well. Are you ready for the ducking stool?”

  “Ducking stool? What do you mean?”

  His unblinking stare was sending shivers down my spine and I shifted in the chair.

  He moved closer and hissed, “The ducking stool. All witches have to go on the ducking stool. It’s tradition. I’ve got one in my garden. Come along with me now and I’ll strap you in it.”

  His breath was foul and I moved my head back. “I’m not going anywhere with you. And I’m certainly not going on a ducking stool. What century are you living in?”

  Uriah snarled and grabbed my hand with his bony fingers. “You will come with me, witch! That’s what we do with witches around here. That’s what we’ve always done. You’re going to drown once I’ve strapped you to the ducking stool and lowered you into the river. The river never lies. It knows when a witch is present.”

  I tried to pull my hand free but his fingers were like a vice. I cried out, “Get off!”

  His grip intensified. “Would you prefer to burn at the stake? I love a good witch burning. I’ve got a good store of wood ready for such an occasion.”

  I pulled my hand free. “You are not going to burn me at the stake! Or drown me.”

  His darks eyes narrowed. “You’re like all the rest of the miserable souls in this town. No one has any respect for tradition.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the book he’d just been writing in. He flipped it open. “Let me show you how the imbeciles around here behave. Let me tell you about the trolls! And the ogres! And the banshees! And the – ”

  I slammed my hand on the table. “I don’t want to hear any of that. What the residents of Brimstone do is none of your business. It’s not your responsibility to lay down the law.”

  “I suppose you think it’s your responsibility, you foolish girl.”

  “As a matter of fact, I do. That’s why I came over here to talk to you. I was at Basil’s bookshop earlier on, and he told me about some books which have been vandalised.”

  Uriah wasn’t listening. He was staring at the stage in disgust. “Look at those nymphs up there. They don’t belong on a stage. They should be outside in the forests doing their jobs.” He put a hand to the side of his mouth and hollered, “Get out of here! You don’t belong here! Get back to where you belong, you prancing ninnies!”

  I raised my voice to compete with his. “Basil showed me the damaged books. They’d been written on. Do you know anything about it?”

  Uriah still wasn’t looking my way. He called out insults to the group of nymphs on the stage who were trying to dance. One of them burst into tears and ran off the stage.

  Uriah let out a nasty laugh. “Yes, that’s it. Clear off.” He looked at me. “I’m the only one who knows the truth about everyone in this town. I know where their families have come from, and how they should behave. They think they know better than me. But it’s lies, all lies. Did you see those vampires on the stage? They don’t deserve to be called vampires. Decent vampires don’t dress like that and flounce around the stage. It’s an insult. And I’m going to do something about it.”

  “Have you already done something about it?” I asked. “Did you break into the bookshop and damage those books?”

  Uriah’s mouth moved into a smirk. He picked up the red marker pen which was on the table and tapped it against the side of his mouth. “Bookshop? Books? I don’t know what you’re talking about, Cassia Winter.”

  I pointed to the pen. “That’s the pen you used. Admit it, you caused the damage.”

  “Did I? Do you have any proof of that?” He waved the pen mockingly in the air. “Did I leave any fingerprints behind? You can’t do anything without evidence.”

  I reached out in an effort to grab the pen.

  “Too slow!” Uriah said as he whipped the pen away. “Poor Cassia, what are you going to do now? You’re not doing very well with your investigation, are you? I don’t think you’re cut out to be a justice witch. It’s too complicated for you. Come back to my house and we’ll have a closer look at that ducking stool.”

  His eyes became darker and I found myself hypnotised by them.

  Uriah moved his hand towards my neck and he brushed my hair to one side. He gave my neck an admiring look and said, “If you come back with me, we could have a bite to eat.”

  I felt myself drowning in his eyes. At the back of my mind, a voice was yelling at me to snap out of it. I blinked and concentrated on the voice. It sounded like Stanley’s voice. The image of his little face popped into my head and I immediately came to my senses.

  I stood up and said, “Uriah Firenze, I know you broke the window of the bookshop and damaged those books. I will prove it. In the meantime, I’d like you to leave this club. You’re causing a disturbance.”

  Uriah abruptly got to his feet causing his chair to topple over. He bared his fangs at me and seethed, “No one talks to me like that and gets away with it. No one!”

  He lunged at me.

  He didn’t get very far. Steve appeared behind him and grabbed the back of his jacket. He pulled the snarling vampire towards him and said, “How did you get in here, Firenze? You know you’re banned. Let me show you out.”

  “No need.” Uriah shot a hateful look in my direction before disappearing in a cloud of foul-smelling smoke.

  Steve opened his empty hand and said to me, “He shouldn’t be able to disappear like that. He’s used black magic. I’ll have to report him to Blythe. Cassia, are you alright? Did he hurt you? I didn’t realise he was in here.”

  “I’m fine. A bit insulted by his remarks, but I’m fine. Thanks for turning up when you did.”

  “No problem.” The big troll frowned down at me. “I thought Luca was keeping an eye on you. Where is he?”

  Good question.

  I looked over my shoulder. “I don’t know.”

  Being the size of a small mountain meant Steve had a better view than me. He nodded his big head in the direction of the table I was sharing with Luca. “Ah, there he is. No wonder he didn’t notice you were in danger. He’s preoccupied with someone else.”

  I strained my neck to get a better view. “Who’s he with?”

  Steve replied, “His girlfriend.”

  Chapter 12

  Of course, he had a girlfriend. Someone as handsome as Luca was bound to have a girlfriend. I should have asked him about that the moment I met him. No, that would have been weird. He would have thought I was interested in him in a romantic way.

  Well, I wasn’t interested in him in that way. I couldn’t care less about his deep blue eyes and those stupid dimples in his cheeks. Anyway, I’d just got out of a long-term relationship and the last thing I needed was to get involved with someone else.

  Those were the thoughts that ran through my mind as I made my way back to the table where Luca was sitting with his girlfriend. They were deep in conversation and didn’t register my arrival.

  I quickly picked up my handbag and made to turn away without being spotted.

  I wasn’t successful.

  Luca declared, “Cassia! There you are. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

  I know I should have been polite and said hello to his companion, but I couldn’t. Despite telling myself I didn’t care that he was involved with someone else, I knew it was a lie. I did care, and I wasn’t ready to be polite yet.

  My voice was unnaturally high as I backed away and said, “So sorry! I have to go. Pounding headache. Catch you later. Bye!”

  I turned on my heel and walked away as quickly as I could without breaking into a run. I heard Luca shouting my name but I ignored him.

  My vision swam as I hurried towards the exit doors. I
didn’t know why I was so upset. I was being silly. The harsh words from Uriah Firenze were still fresh in mind and were adding to my distressed emotional state.

  Steve was talking to a couple of centaurs when I left the building and didn’t notice my exit. Good. I didn’t want to talk to anyone.

  I raced across the square and over to the apartment door. I was aware of raised voices but I didn’t stop to see who was shouting. Once through the blue door, I ran up the stairs and let myself into the apartment.

  “Stanley?” I called out. “Are you there?”

  There was no welcoming call back. He must still be out on the town. His absence would allow me to wallow in self-pity for a while. I’d been an idiot in front of Luca. I stupidly thought he was interested in me.

  I walked over to the kitchen area and filled the kettle with water. I could do with a cup of tea. Caffeine free, of course. As I waited for the kettle to boil, I got ready to spend a couple of minutes feeling sorry for myself.

  But I couldn’t be bothered. I’d had feelings for men before which hadn’t been reciprocated. I’d made a fool of myself many times. It would most likely happen again. It happened to everyone. What was the point in fretting about it? I had better things to do.

  I smiled to myself. I would have Luca as a friend, and that’s all. It would be less complicated that way.

  As soon as my tea was ready, I took it over to the table where the damaged books were. I knew without doubt that Uriah Firenze had damaged them. All I had to do was prove it. I would go through each book carefully and thoroughly. If there was any incriminating evidence, I would find it. And if I didn’t find anything, I would visit Uriah at his home and wear him down with my probing questions. I rubbed my hands together in glee. That’s exactly what I’d do.

  I changed my mind after thirty minutes. I’d gone through five books thoroughly. Well, I’d gone through the first few pages of five books thoroughly and then flicked through the rest of the pages. The same words were scrawled at the beginning of the book and on the cover, but there wasn’t any graffiti anywhere else. Perhaps Uriah had been in a rush. Or maybe he’d only had one red marker with him and was afraid it would run out of ink.

  I put the five books to one side. They looked like interesting reading for another time. The books detailed the family history and origins of Banshees, Bogles, Minotaurs, Griffins and Sea-goats.

  Yes, Sea-goats. I made a mental note to read that book first.

  Basil had thrown in one of the undamaged vampire books. By accident or on purpose? I had a quick read of the first few pages. It was interesting.

  According to the book, the first ever vampire was a human called Ambrogio. He was an adventurer who lived in Italy. As is usual with these tales, Ambrogio managed to upset a couple of Greek gods and was punished as a result. His punishment made him a vampire and he then went out into the world turning other people into vampires too. Something I read made my stomach turn. Apparently, Ambrogio used the blood of a swan as ink so he could write love letters to his girlfriend. What an awful thing to do.

  I was about to close the book in disgust when a name caught my eye. Ambrogio spent time in Florence, Italy. The Italian word for Florence is Firenze. Hmm. Uriah Firenze. Was he related to the original vampire? I suppose all vampires were related to Ambrogio if this book was to be believed.

  I stared out through the window over the town. I could see people leaving the Razzle Dazzle Club. My eyes narrowed as I made out Luca with his arm around a woman. I quickly stood up and drew the curtains. I didn’t need to be looking at Luca when I was supposed to be thinking about vampires.

  There was a sudden rattling at the door and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I picked a book up ready to hurl it at any would-be intruders. My attention was drawn to movement at the bottom of the door. The cat flap was moving slightly. I heard a hoarse chuckle which I recognised.

  I put the book down and ran over to the door. I knelt down and lifted the cat flap. Stanley’s little face peered back at me.

  He chuckled again and said, “I appear to be stuck. My front legs are working, but my back ones have gone to sleep. I’ll sort myself out in the morning. Good night, Cassia.”

  “Stanley, you can’t go to sleep in the cat flap.” I reached out to him and gently pulled him through. I put him on the carpet where he immediately staggered to one side and fell over.

  “Stanley! Are you injured?”

  He hummed a jaunty tune and waved a paw in the air.

  “Are you drunk?”

  He tiredly lifted his head. “I’m drunk on life, Cassia. I’ve had the most marvellous time. I met Rascal and Mischief and Scally-wag and Tyke and Scoundrel.” He yawned. “They’re a great bunch of cats.”

  “They sound like trouble to me. What have you been doing? Where have you been?”

  Stanley’s eyes drooped. “We’ve been chatting and singing. Running and dancing. Eating and drinking.” His eyes popped open. “Cassia, they said they would help us with our investigations if we ever needed it. I forgot to tell them about the damage to the books, but I could do. They could help us find out who did it. Rascal said they know what’s what in this town.”

  “That’s good to know. I might take them up on that.” I smiled down at my little friend. “Have you had a good time?”

  “I have. It’s been wonderful. Fantastic. Amazing. How about you? Did you have a good time? Did you dance with Luca? Is he your boyfriend now?”

  “No.” I wouldn’t tell Stanley about Luca just now. I knew he’d only feel sorry for me. Also, I didn’t want to ruin his good mood.

  Stanley began to snore. I scooped him up, took him into the bedroom and placed him on the cushion on the floor. I stroked his dear little head. I was so glad he’d had a good time and made some new friends. He deserved to be happy.

  I thought about how I was going to get Uriah Firenze to confess as I got ready for bed. Perhaps Stanley’s new friends could help me.

  As I snuggled down in the bed I remembered I was going to meet Blythe tomorrow for a broomstick lesson. It would be lovely to talk to her again. And I was intrigued about what my lesson would be. I so hoped I’d get to fly on a broomstick.

  With that thought in mind, I quickly drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 13

  Despite his late night, Stanley woke up bright and early the next morning.

  He jumped onto my bed, rubbed his face against my cheek, and gently said, “Cassia, it’s time to wake up.”

  He was much better than any alarm clock I’d ever had, and I came out of my sleepy state to see him smiling at me.

  I stroked his back and said, “How are you this morning? Have you recovered from last night?”

  “I had a wonderful sleep. I feel ready for anything today. Are you still meeting Blythe for your broomstick lesson? Don’t forget to ask if I can fly on your broomstick too. I’d love that. I told some of the cats about it last night. They thought I was brave to even think about flying.” He lifted his furry chin. “I think they admired me for it.”

  I pulled myself into a sitting position. “I don’t know if I will be flying today. For all I know, Blythe could be giving me a history lesson about broomsticks. She might say I won’t be ready for one until I’ve had hours and hours of lessons.”

  “I doubt that. You’re a clever witch. You’ll pick it up in no time.” Stanley looked closer at me. “What happened last night at the club? Something upset you, didn’t it? I can tell. I can pick up on your feelings.”

  I shrugged. “It’s nothing. I had a run-in with a nasty vampire.”

  Stanley settled himself on the cover and folded his front legs under his body. “Tell me everything.”

  I did so. Stanley made the occasional tutting noise.

  When I’d finished, he said, “Let’s go and visit Uriah straight away. How dare he talk to you like that! Dunking stool? Who does he think he is? Do you want me to speak to Rascal and the gang about him? They might be able to pick up his scent or somethin
g at the bookshop.”

  “Perhaps. I could do with a cup of tea first.” I put my hand on the end of the cover to pull it back.

  “Not so fast, Cassia Winter. That’s not the only thing that upset you last time.” Stanley’s whiskers twitched. “Did Luca upset you?”

  “It wasn’t so much him, it was my own silly thoughts. It’s nothing. Do you want some breakfast?”

  “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what’s wrong. Cassia, you can talk to me about anything.”

  “I don’t want to worry you.”

  “I’ll decide whether I need to worry or not.” He tapped his paw on the cover. “Tell me.”

  I smiled at him. “You’re beginning to sound like your brother. If you must know, I found out that Luca has a girlfriend. It’s silly, but it upset me a bit. I’m over it now.”

  Stanley’s eyes widened. “He’s got a girlfriend? Why didn’t he say? He saw how you were looking at him with love in your eyes. He should have said something. And he shouldn’t have looked at you with interest.”

  “I’m sure he didn’t.”

  “He did. I saw him. And he’s put his arm around you many times. He likes you a lot. I know.”

  “It doesn’t matter now.” I pulled the cover back. “I think I’ll have a bacon sandwich for breakfast. I could do with something to set me up for the day. How about you? Sardines?”

  “That sounds perfect. A bowl of double cream would be lovely too.” He gave me another searching look. “Are you sure you’re okay about Luca?”

  “Honestly, I’m fine. I’m excited about the broomstick thing. And it’ll be lovely to talk to Blythe again. I bet she’s got a thing or two to say about Uriah Firenze.”

  With satisfyingly full stomachs, Stanley and I made our way along the street to Blythe’s house a short while later. Her house was set down a side street and was the largest building in Brimstone. It was made of red bricks which had flecks of gold in them. It made the house shimmer in the light, almost as if you were looking at a mirage.