Brimstone Witch Mysteries - Box Set 1

by April Fernsby

  Luca laughed. “You fly with your mummy?”

  Kitty nodded her head enthusiastically.

  “I don’t know if you’re telling me the truth, little one, but why don’t you have a trial go on Cassia’s broomstick first? You could have a fly around the town square.” Luca looked at me. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “I think it’s an excellent idea. I’ll pop upstairs and get my broomstick.”

  A few minutes later, I was flying around the town square with two happy cats. Kitty had settled herself in front of Stanley before we’d set off. She hadn’t shown the slightest flicker of fear as we soared into the air. Stanley cheered as we flew and Kitty joined in with him. I smiled when I saw Luca running around the square beneath us with his arms out ready to catch Kitty if she fell.

  I swooped down to Luca and said, “She loves it.”

  Luca put a hand on his chest. “I don’t know how you do it. Just watching you fly makes me scared. I’d rather have my feet on the ground. Take care at the ranch. I’ll make enquiries about you-know-who here.” He gave us a goodbye wave and we ascended to the clouds.

  Stanley and Kitty managed to cheer and holler with delight throughout most of the journey. It was lovely to have such happy travelling companions.

  I was dismayed as we flew over the Cezerus Ranch a while later. There were creatures everywhere. Many centaurs cantered around the place and it was impossible to see their faces from high up.

  Stanley craned his neck. “Which one is Lifin?”

  “I don’t know.” I craned my neck too.

  My attention was suddenly drawn to one centaur walking along the track where we’d been earlier. I aimed the broomstick towards him.

  “There he is!” I declared.

  “How did you manage to spot him?” Stanley asked. “Did you use magic?”

  “No. I wouldn’t dare use magic up here. I might turn the broomstick into a walking stick and we’d all plummet downwards.”

  Stanley tutted. “Cassia, you have to use your magic some time. You are a witch.”

  “I know.”

  There was a cry of surprise below us. Lifin had walked straight into a tree.

  I zoomed down and landed at his side. We all jumped off the broomstick and looked at Lifin. His hands were covering his nose and blood was trickling through his fingers.

  “Are you alright?” I asked. “Don’t answer that. Of course you’re not alright. What happened?”

  Lifin’s voice was muffled as he replied, “I don’t know. The tree came out of nowhere.” He winced with pain. “I think I’ve broken my nose.”

  I remembered Stanley’s earlier words and said, “Would you like me to make it better using magic?”

  Lifin gave me a wary look. “Do you know how to?”

  “Yes,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster.

  “Okay. I trust you.” Lifin lowered his hands.

  I moved closer and placed my hands near his misshapen nose. I concentrated on the feeling of seeing his nose looking normal again, and the pain leaving him. I felt a tingle in my hands and knew my magic was working. I hoped to goodness his nose wouldn’t fall off.

  The trickles of blood vanished from Lifin’s face and he gingerly touched his nose. He smiled. “It’s all better. Thank you.”

  “You are welcome,” I said with more than a hint of relief. “I’m glad we found you. I wanted to talk about those night races of Selo’s. I’ve been told he used to race with Treto Oravatus. Did you know that?”

  “I suspected they raced together, but I didn’t know for sure. You’re probably aware that Treto and Selo were enemies. I’ve put his name on the list I’m compiling for you. I’ll let you know where his family is presently residing. They move around a lot and I’m still trying to locate them.”

  “Thank you. I’d like to speak to Treto as soon as possible.”

  Lifin continued, “After you left earlier, I spoke to Father about the nocturnal races. He knew about them as he’d caught Selo coming home from one and saw how fast he was running. Father begged Selo to stop being so reckless, but Selo refused. He said he wasn’t hurting anyone and it was in his nature to run wild. Father told him the reputation of our family was at stake, but Selo laughed at him.”

  “How did your father take that?” I asked.

  “He was upset and annoyed. He’s just told me now that after his last confrontation with Selo, he considered taking steps to cancel the yearly race as it was causing nothing but problems for everyone. That’s my opinion too. The centaurs should be working together in harmony, not competing violently with each other.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Violently?”

  Lifin said, “There has been a certain amount of violence involved during the race, especially between Selo and Treto. Selo loved winning the yearly race and then boasting about it in front of Treto. It was too much for Treto last year and he threw himself at Selo. There were a lot of injuries before their fighting was stopped by the competition officials.”

  “Do you think Treto had anything to do with Selo’s death?” I asked.

  “It’s possible. If Treto did kill Selo, I don’t know how he made his death look like heart failure.”

  I continued with my questions. “Did Selo know your father was trying to cancel the yearly race?”

  “I’m not sure. Why do you ask?”

  I shrugged casually. “I’m trying to gather all the facts.” There was no way I was going to tell Lifin that his father was one of my suspects.

  Lifin started to give me a funny look and I wondered if he’d worked out what was going through my mind. I quickly turned to where Kitty was standing next to Stanley and told Lifin how she’d got herself trapped in my broomstick.

  Stanley asked Lifin, “Does she look familiar to you?”

  Lifin shook his head. “She doesn’t. But I can ask around. Cassia, I have to go now. Father needs my support more than ever at this time. I’ll finish that list of names for you as fast as I can.”

  “Thank you.” I was only half listening. I’d spotted something in the flattened bushes. I moved towards it and pulled it free. It was a piece of dark fabric. I held it up and said to Lifin, “Look at this. Was it here earlier? Do you recognise it?”

  Lifin peered at it. “I don’t recognise it, but it must have been there earlier. No one’s been here since you last examined this area. I told our guests to keep away from this part of the ranch.”

  “I’ll keep hold of this. Thanks for keeping your guests away. I should have asked you to do that earlier.” I put the fabric in my pocket. Kitty ran over to my side and I picked her up.

  Lifin said goodbye and walked away. Ten seconds later, we heard a bump and then Lifin cried out, “I’m okay! It was my head this time.”

  Stanley said quietly, “Cassia, did you do something to his eyesight when you healed his nose?”

  “I hope not. Maybe he’s just clumsy. Why don’t we have a little walk around? This is a lovely area. We might find more clues. Or something else.” I gave Stanley a wide-eyed look which I hoped he’d understand.

  Stanley’s eyes widened and he nodded. “That’s a good idea.” He went into the nearby bushes, his tail upright like a poker.

  We spent the next thirty minutes surreptitiously looking for Kitty’s mum. We didn’t find her. Kitty must have realised what we were doing because she started to cry and she called out for her mummy. Her cries were heartbreaking.

  Stanley and I shed a tear too before heading back to Brimstone. I felt completely useless and hoped we’d find Kitty’s mother soon.

  Chapter 7

  We flew back to the apartment. Kitty continued to weep and cried herself to sleep during the flight. Stanley kept his paw on her to keep her from falling off the broomstick.

  Once inside the apartment, I placed Kitty on a cushion in the bedroom, then Stanley and I settled ourselves on the sofa in the living room.

  I reached into my pocket and took out the material we’d
found. We both examined it.

  “Look, Stanley, it feels like rubber on this side, but the other side feels silky.”

  Stanley sniffed it. “It doesn’t smell of anything. It’s not a very exciting colour, is it? Sort of a muddy brown.”

  “With bits of grey,” I added. “No wonder we didn’t see it the first time we examined that area. It’s like camouflage material.” I frowned. “I wonder who it belongs to? The killer? Or someone innocent who managed to snag their clothing on the bushes?”

  Stanley said, “This material was caught on the flattened bushes, so whoever it belongs to was there after Selo died.”

  I gave him an admiring look. “Well deduced, my little friend.”

  Stanley gave a small shrug. “It’s nothing. I think we need to find out who this belongs to, don’t you?”

  I nodded. “We could ask Blythe.”

  “Or Luca. I saw him sitting on a bench near the gazebo as we flew home. He waved at us.”

  “Did he? I didn’t notice.” My mind had been too occupied with finding Kitty’s mum.

  “I think Luca was waiting for us to return. Why don’t you go and have a talk with him? Tell him what Lifin said and show him the material. He might recognise it.”

  I looked down at the scrap of fabric. “I don’t know. What if Astrid sneaks up on us? I’m not in the mood to receive one of her cold looks.”

  Stanley nudged his head into my arm and declared, “Cassia Winter! Where is your courage? You are a justice witch who is investigating a murder! No one is going to get in the way of your enquiries. No one! There’s a murderer on the loose and you need to find them as soon as possible.” He waved his paw in the air. “Absolutely no one is going to stop you!”

  I smiled at the earnest look on his face. “You’re right. Thanks for talking sense into me.”

  Stanley lowered his paw and gave me a bashful smile. “I wasn’t too forceful, was I?”

  “No, you had the perfect tone in your voice. I’ll go and see Luca right now. Are you coming with me?”

  Stanley yawned. “No. I could do with a catnap. And someone needs to stay here and keep an eye on Kitty. You can update me on your findings later.” He jumped off the sofa and headed into the bedroom.

  I hesitated. I always felt stronger with Stanley at my side. He was only little, but he made me feel braver.

  I slapped my knee and told myself to stop being a wuss. Stanley was right about a murderer being on the loose, and it was my job to find them.

  Taking the scrap of fabric with me, I left the apartment and headed towards the gazebo. Luca was sitting alone on a bench near it and he raised his hand in greeting.

  “Hi! There you are,” he said. “I saw you come in for a landing a few minutes ago. I called out to you but you seemed distracted. Coffee?” He held a cardboard cup towards me. “I got this from Gilda. She made it less strong than normal, just for you.”

  “Thanks.” I took a seat and the coffee at the same time. Brimstone coffee was strong and it had made me hyperactive the last time I’d had it. I took a sip now and the lovely taste of mellow coffee trickled down my throat.

  Luca said, “I want to hear everything, but before you do, let me apologise for Astrid’s behaviour. She was unbelievably rude to you and I’ve no idea why.”

  I shrugged and pulled the coffee closer. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does matter. I won’t have her talking to my friends like that. I told her that, so she should be nicer to you the next time you meet.”

  I didn’t want to talk about Astrid at all. I took another sip of the delicious coffee before telling Luca about my conversation with Lifin.

  Luca nodded. “I’ll try to find out where Treto’s family is too. They wander around but stay within the limits of Brimstone. It shouldn’t be that hard to find them.”

  Taking the fabric from my pocket, I then told him what I’d found.

  He took a sharp intake of breath and took the fabric from my hands. The colour drained from his face and he mumbled, “No, it can’t be. Not here in Brimstone.”

  “What is it?”

  He placed the fabric on the bench with the silky side upwards. It immediately blended into the bench.

  Luca said, “It’s camouflaged material. It makes the wearer completely invisible. Like the Harry Potter in your world. Doesn’t he have an invisibility cloak?”

  I smiled. “How do you know that?”

  Spots of colour came into his cheeks. “Your gran lent me some of your favourite books as you were growing up. I wanted to know what you were reading. It made me feel closer to you.”

  It was my turn to blush. “I didn’t know that. I thought it was illegal to bring things from my world into Brimstone.”

  I’d recently dealt with a murder case and discovered that Basil, the bookshop owner, had done exactly that. He’d brought through many books from my world and had charged extortionate prices for them in his shop. As far as I knew, Blythe had confiscated the books.

  Luca looked at the ground and casually kicked a pebble to one side. “I cleared it with Blythe before asking your gran to bring them through.” He glanced my way and grinned. “They are super books, aren’t they? Great adventures.”

  “They are. Have you seen the movies?”

  “There are movies?” He sat up straighter and his face was full of excitement. He looked like a young boy again; the boy I remembered spending time with when I was young.

  I nodded. “I’ve got them all. Perhaps you can come over to the apartment and watch them some time. Stanley loves them.” I remembered my manners and added, “You can bring Astrid.”

  “I don’t think Astrid would appreciate them. I tried to explain what happened in the books to her, but she said it sounded boring.” He rubbed his hands together in glee. “Harry Potter movies! I can’t wait.”

  I pointed in the vicinity of the fabric. I couldn’t see it at all now. “What about this? Do you know who it belongs to?”

  The joy vanished from Luca’s face and he looked serious again. He picked the material up and said, “This belongs to a Breath-Taker.”

  “A what?” I took a big glug of coffee. I had a feeling I would need it.

  “A Breath-Taker. They don’t live in Brimstone and they’re not allowed anywhere near our town.” Luca frowned. “Cassia, Breath-Takers are assassins. They get paid to kill.”

  I spluttered and coffee shot from my mouth and landed on Luca’s T-shirt. I reached out and tried to wipe it off. I just ended up rubbing it in and making the stain worse.

  Luca said, “Don’t worry about that. It needs a wash anyway. Breath-Takers offer their services to some of the towns in the outer lands. Like I said, they’re not allowed in Brimstone. No one would ever need their services here.” A muscle in his jaw clenched. “But things are changing around here for the worse since that black magic came into town.”

  “What do Breath-Takers do exactly?” I asked. “How would they kill someone?”

  “They make themselves invisible and sneak up on people. They reach out and touch their victims. As soon as that happens, the evil assassins steal all the air from their victim’s lungs. It doesn’t take long, and the victim’s cause of death looks like heart failure.”

  “Heart failure? That’s what happened to Selo.” I put my empty coffee cup down on the bench. “Luca, do you think a Breath-Taker killed Selo?”

  “They must have. They must have somehow got Selo to stop running and then touched him. If Selo was already out of breath from running, the Breath-Taker could have taken his remaining air very quickly.”

  We looked at the fabric silently.

  After a while, I said, “I have to find the Breath-Taker.”

  “No. You can’t. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I have to. It’s my job. I’ll have to find them and see who hired them. Where will I find a Breath-Taker?” I looked around the town square nervously as if expecting to see a deadly assassin lurking there.

  Luca gave me a
serious look before saying, “I know where their headquarters are. I’m coming with you. There’s no way I’m letting you go on your own. You might not come back.”

  I was torn. I wanted to declare I was brave enough to go on my own, but I also wanted to come back alive. If Stanley were here, I know he’d expect me to accept Luca’s help.

  I stood up. “Okay. You may come with me. I’ll just pop back to the apartment and get my broomstick.”

  “Broomstick?” Luca’s voice wobbled.

  “Yes, of course. I’m presuming the headquarters are far away. It’ll be quicker to fly there, won’t it?”

  Luca blanched and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. “Yes, it will be quicker to fly there.” He gulped. “Fly. I’ll have to fly. On your broomstick. In the air.”

  I patted his hand. “You’ll be fine. I’m getting better at healing injuries using my magic. If you do fall off my broomstick and break one or two bones, I’ll easily sort you out.”

  Luca gave me a feeble smile. “That does not reassure me at all. Go and get your broomstick. Let’s get this over with.”

  Chapter 8

  Stanley was half asleep on the bedroom carpet next to the snoozing Kitty when I went back to the apartment. I told him I was going out and might be a while. I didn’t tell him where I was going, and I certainly didn’t mention the Breath-Takers. He would only worry. He gave me a sleepy nod and closed his eyes.

  Luca didn’t look any less nervous when I returned to the square. He was sitting on the bench and mumbling to himself, “Come on, Luca, you can do this. You are brave. You are fearless. You can fly.”

  “Yes, you can,” I said confidently as I came closer to him. I raised my broomstick at him.

  Luca turned even paler, and I thought he was going to faint. He said, “I don’t think I can do this, Cassia.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll go on my own.”

  “No, I won’t have that. Give me a minute to prepare myself.” He closed his eyes and swallowed. His eyes sprang open and he attempted to smile. It was a poor attempt. “Right! Let’s do this!”