I looked at him for a moment. He did look wretched. It wouldn’t hurt to have an extra pair of hands.
“Okay. I would love to have your assistance. Are you ready to go now?”
Brin said, “He’s not going anywhere until he’s had a quick wash and a change of clothes.” She pointed to the door. “Upstairs now and sort yourself out. You’ll find everything you need in the guest bedroom. Go.”
Brin was only small, but she had a strong, commanding voice.
Luca cast me a small grin before hurrying out of the door.
Brin said to us, “I won’t tell Blythe about the murder. It will only upset her. Unfortunately, you know what you’re doing with murder investigations by now, so I’ll leave you to get on with it. Let me know how things go.”
“Of course. We’ll be coming back to check on Blythe anyway.”
Brin left the room leaving Stanley and me on our own.
Stanley shook his head slowly. “I don’t know what to make of it all, do you?”
“I don’t. I was hoping all the black magic had gone.” I looked towards the window which gave me a view of the town square. “Maybe it’s leftover magic that’s hanging around.”
“Perhaps this latest murder isn’t anything to do with black magic at all,” Stanley pointed out. “But the killer could be using that as an excuse to get their revenge on whoever’s been murdered.”
I shivered. “Let’s not think like that.”
I walked closer to the window and looked out at the peaceful scene. I could see the gazebo from here and the thought of Blythe absorbing all that evil energy on her own made my heart sink. I wished I could have helped her.
Stanley came to join me at the window. “I can tell what you’re thinking, and there’s no point dwelling on what has happened. We can’t change the past. But we can help Blythe by dealing with this murder as quickly as possible.”
I looked down at my feline friend. “You’re right.”
Luca came into the room smelling fresh and wearing clean clothes. There was still a tiredness about his eyes, but he did look much brighter.
He clasped his hands together, gave us a smile and said, “Let’s go.”
We left Blythe’s house, walked down the garden path and towards the town square.
“How far is it to the hotel?” I asked. “I don’t recall seeing it on my previous visits. Is it hidden away somewhere? Is it cloaked in magic so that it’s invisible during the day?”
Luca frowned. “Why would the hotel be invisible? How would guests find it?”
I shrugged. “Magical things happen all the time in Brimstone. By the way, have you still got my broomstick? I’ll need it.”
Luca gave me a nod as we walked along. “I’ve got in a cupboard in my apartment. I’ll get it for you later.”
Stanley said to him, “I’ve missed flying around on Cassia’s broomstick. I launched myself off the sofa in Esther’s living room yesterday, but it wasn’t the same. Luca, did you have a sneaky fly on Cassia’s broomstick while we were gone?”
Luca shuddered. “I did not. I hate flying. I don’t know how you two do it.”
I held a finger up. “Ah, but you loved flying when you were in your animal form. Your bunny ears were flapping joyously in the wind as we sped along.”
As well as being a guardian of the town, Luca was a shapeshifter and his chosen form was a rabbit.
Luca laughed. “Yes, I do remember that. I’ll admit that I did enjoy it.”
We walked on down the street and crossed the road. Luca veered us towards a turning on the right.
“Cassia,” Luca began, “what did you do when you were back at Esther’s? Did you go out with friends? Go out for meals? Play on that internet thing of yours?”
“I didn’t do any of that. I was too worried about everyone in Brimstone.” I shared a smile with Stanley. “I did go on the internet a few times to look at funny cat videos with Stanley.”
Stanley chuckled. “You should see what some of them get up to! Luca, do you think you could come into our world one day? Just for a short time? Then we could show you the internet. You’d love it.”
“I’d better not. It wouldn’t be fair on the other residents in Brimstone. They’re all curious about your world, and I’m sure many would love to go through the door into Esther’s house. I’ve been as far as her cellar, and that was enough excitement for me.”
“I never classed Gran’s cellar as an exciting place,” I said.
Luca glanced my way. “It’s exciting because you spent a lot of time there. I saw the drawings you’d put on the wall, and Esther showed me your library at the other end of the cellar.” His tone softened. “Esther told me you spent a lot of time in the cellar waiting for your mum to come back through the door. I’m so sorry you went through such a bad time. I wish I could have helped you.”
I shrugged and fought back the urge to cry. Mum had been gone for a long, long time so why did my heart still hurt so badly?
“That was a long time ago,” I said. “How far is it to the hotel? Are we nearly there?”
“Just around this corner.”
We turned the next corner and walked along the path a short way. We came to a stop at a gravelled drive which led to a magnificent building. It was a three-storey structure and was made of pale sandstone. Just like Blythe’s house had flecks of gold in it, this building had flecks of silver strewn through the sandstone. It looked like glitter had been sprinkled all over it. The name of the hotel was written in silver letters above the main door. At each side of the hotel name, butterflies had been carved into the stone and been given silver wings. Guests of all shapes, sizes and colours were walking in and out of the door, many of them carrying bags.
“Wow,” Stanley declared. “Just add a bit of snow, and this scene would make the perfect Christmas card.”
I said to Luca, “Have you ever stayed here?”
“I haven’t, but Astrid’s mum stays here when she comes to visit Astrid.”
I frowned and was about to ask why Astrid’s mum didn’t stay at Astrid’s house. I stopped myself in time. It was none of my business. Instead, I asked, “Does the hotel get many visitors from other towns?”
Luca nodded. “Brimstone has a reputation as a friendly town.” He paused. “Well, it used to. But here we are now, faced with another murder. Let’s see what this one’s about.”
I heard him sigh quietly before walking along the drive. Stanley and I followed him silently.
We walked through the main doors of the hotel and I immediately noticed a strong smell. I said to Luca, “Apples? Why does it smell so strongly of apples here? Is there an orchard nearby?”
Luca gave me a smile. “No. It’s to mask the smell. I should have mentioned it on the way here.”
“Mask the smell? Of what?”
“Not what; but whom. It’s rather a delicate matter, but one that everyone has accepted. We don’t even notice it anymore. Follow me.” He strode towards the main reception desk.
I shared a quizzical look with Stanley and we went after Luca.
There were two trolls in front of us at the desk. They were checking out and saying what a wonderful time they’d had. I heard a male voice saying how glad he was to hear that, and he hoped they’d come back very soon. The huge trolls eventually moved away from the desk and I got my first look at the manager of the hotel.
My breath caught in my throat and my heart missed a beat as I stared at Jeff Collins.
Of all the supernatural creatures in Brimstone, I’d hoped that I would never meet one of these.
Stanley’s voice held a note of warning as he said, “Cassia, breathe. You’ve gone a funny colour. Breathe. You can do this. You can face your fears.”
My palms felt clammy and my vision began to swim. I was in danger of fainting. I shook my head and cried out, “No! No! I can’t be here!”
I turned on my heel and ran out of The Brimstone Hotel.
Chapter 6
I made it
as far as a stone bench at the side of the gravelled driveway. I collapsed onto it and gripped my legs to stop them shaking. My hands were trembling too, which resulted in my legs quivering even more. I knew I was being silly, but I just couldn’t help it. Not after what I’d been through back in my world.
Luca came to my side and put a strong arm around me. Stanley jumped onto my lap and looked at me with concern.
“Cassia, what is it? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost,” Luca said.
Stanley gave him a knowing look. “It would have been better if she had seen a ghost; she wouldn’t be so scared.” He looked my way. “Take some deep breaths.”
I did so, and I began to feel a little bit better. My hands stopped trembling and I relaxed my grip on my legs.
Luca said, “Haven’t you met a zombie before? Jeff’s harmless. I’ve known him for years.”
Stanley hissed, “Don’t mention the ‘z’ word! Cassia’s been traumatised by them.”
“Really?” Luca’s brow puckered. “How?”
My hands began to tremble again, and I muttered, “I don’t want to talk about it. I’ve tried to put it behind me.”
Luca squeezed my shoulders. “I’d like to know. You can tell me anything. We’re friends.”
I gave Stanley a pleading look and said, “Would you tell him, please?”
Stanley gave me a solemn nod before turning his attention to Luca. “This all happened years ago when Cassia was young and foolish. She’d met a boy who she wanted to impress. You know what young girls are like. They think they have to go all out to get a boy to like them. They get all girly and silly and forget they have a personality of their own.”
Luca said, “I can’t imagine Cassia being like that.” He looked down at me. “How old were you then?”
“Eighteen.” I was beginning to regret asking Stanley for help.
Stanley leapt onto Luca’s knee and continued, “This boy was not worthy of her attention. He was an idiot, but in her fawning state, she couldn’t see that. I’ve put his name out of my mind, but let’s call him Twit.” He cleared his throat. “Twit was into dark and twisted things. In particular, he was obsessed with the world ending and zombies. He was convinced the apocalypse was coming closer every day and that we’d be facing zombies left, right and centre. He wanted to be prepared for the day that he would have to fight an army of zombies. And he wanted Cassia to be prepared too.”
“Fight zombies?” Luca asked. “Why would anyone want to do that? I’ve known Jeff for years, and I’ve never heard him raise his voice, let alone attack someone.”
Stanley said, “Twit was a twit. He was obsessed with zombies and lost touch with reality. Cassia went along with his plans in an effort to please him. Twit made her watch many movies involving zombies and the apocalypse. She began to have nightmares about zombies, didn’t you?” He looked at me.
I nodded. “I watched so many movies that I began to get real life mixed up with fantasy. I’d be scared walking down the street in case one of the living dead would leap out at me.” I looked up at Luca. “I know it sounds silly, and I’m embarrassed to tell you about it. You can move your arm now. I’m okay.”
Luca gave me a final squeeze before dropping his arm.
Stanley said, “The movies weren’t the worst of it. Twit did a terrible thing to Cassia. It scarred her for years.” He gave me a soft look. “Is it okay if I tell Luca what Twit did? I know you don’t like thinking about it.”
“I’ll tell him. It will help me to talk about it.” I shifted on the bench so I could look at Luca directly. “I was living with Gran when all this happened and she was concerned about my relationship with – ” I stopped. “I can’t remember his name either.”
“Call him Twit. It suits him,” Stanley said.
I nodded. “It does suit him. Gran begged me to stop seeing Twit, but the more she begged, the more determined I was to see him. I was a twit too. One night, Twit asked me to go over to his house urgently. He sounded worried on the phone and told me to be prepared when I came over. He said the trouble had begun.”
Luca said, “I’m getting a bad feeling about this.”
I continued, “I didn’t tell Gran where I was going as I knew how she felt about Twit.” I looked Stanley’s way. “But you followed me, didn’t you? Even then, you were looking out for me.”
Stanley nodded in a proud manner. “I knew something terrible was going to happen. And I was right.”
“I arrived at Twit’s house and was surprised to see the lights out and the front door open. I felt nervous as I walked towards the door. I called out for Twit and heard his voice coming from inside. He was calling for help. I rushed through the door and it slammed behind me. There was a bit of light inside. It was enough for me to see zombies slowly coming out of rooms and heading towards me.” I let out a nervous laugh. “Of course, they weren’t real zombies but my brain thought they were. They came towards me, moaning and waving their pale arms at me. They were covered in cuts and scars; some of them had blood pouring from their eyes and mouths. Their clothes were hanging off them in tatters, and they smelled of rotting flesh.” I stopped as the fresh memory of that horrific night came back to me.
Stanley took himself off Luca’s knee and settled at my side. In an encouraging tone, he said, “Go on, Cassia, get it all out.”
I took a steadying breath before continuing, “I was terrified. I lashed out at them and yelled at them to go away. I reached for the front door, but it was locked. The zombies kept coming closer and closer to me. They pulled at my hair and clothes. I screamed and ran from room to room yelling for Twit to help me. I pushed the zombies out of the way and ran upstairs. I knew there was a lock on the bathroom door and I planned to lock myself inside.” I gulped. “There were even more zombies upstairs. They grabbed me and pushed their hideous faces into mine. The smell was overpowering. I screamed for help, but no one came. The zombies dragged me to the cellar and tied me up. They taunted me and prodded me. They said they were going to turn me into a zombie with their toxic bites.” Tears ran down my cheek. Luca reached out and brushed them away.
Stanley said, “I followed Cassia, and I watched through the window as those horrible people surrounded her. I ran back for Esther and told her what was happening. Esther was round there in a flash. She was furious and used magic to break the door down. Her voice was so loud as she shouted at those evil people that she made the house shake. She demanded answers and refused to let anyone leave until she had them. People took their masks off and looked thoroughly ashamed.” He put his paw on my knee. “Do you want to tell Luca the last bit?”
I nodded. “Gran untied me and then demanded to know who was behind my imprisonment. It was Twit. He’d been filming it all. My terror and my screams. He’d been planning it from the moment we’d met. He already had many orders for the movie he was making - with me as the unwilling star. He was going to make a lot of money from my terror.”
Luca’s hands clenched into fists and a muscle twitched in his cheek. His voice was tightly controlled as he said, “Where is this man? Where does he live now? I’d like to have a word with him.”
“Gran took care of him. She contacted the police,” I said.
Anger flared in Luca’s eyes. “I still want to have a word with him. Where does he live?”
“It doesn’t matter now. It’s all in the past.”
“It’s not in the past, is it? Not if you can’t face Jeff now. Tell me where I can find him.”
I put my hand over one of his fists. “You can’t do anything now. Perhaps it’s a good thing that Jeff is a zombie. I can face my fear of them.”
The anger hadn’t left Luca’s eyes. “I’ll ask Esther. She’ll know where I can find him. I’ll tell Blythe I have to go into your world on important business.” He nodded to convince himself. “Then I’ll track down this twit person and let him know – ”
“Luca!” I interrupted him. “Stop. Let it go. You can’t do anything about that now. I’m
sure Jeff Collins isn’t like the pretend zombies from my world. I’m sure he doesn’t chase after people and try to kill them with a deadly bite or toxic spit!”
I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and the smell of apples wafted up my nose.
A male voice behind me said softly, “Are you sure about that?”
Chapter 7
To my credit, I didn’t shriek, faint or run away from the zombie’s cold touch. But that’s only because I was too petrified to do anything.
Jeff Collins moved his hand and came around to my line of frozen vision. His dead eyes stared into mine. They were lined in black and his eyelashes were unnaturally long. Mascara? His cheeks were roughed and his lifeless lips had been painted a pale red colour. He smiled at me showing teeth that were eye-watering white. He almost looked human.
“Only joking!” he announced cheerfully. “I won’t be biting you or spitting on you. I promise!” His grin increased. “Are you here about the murder? You must be. You’re Cassia Winter. I’ve heard all about you. We haven’t met yet. I’m Jeff Collins.” He thrust his hand towards me.
My hand refused to move despite me trying to lift it.
Jeff flapped his hand at me instead. “I quite understand your reluctance! You don’t want to touch my rotting flesh. Or perhaps you think I’ll pull you towards me and take a bite out of your rosy cheeks? Then I’d turn you into the walking dead and you could be my companion forever.” He waggled his eyebrows dramatically. “Only joking! Come this way and I’ll tell you about my murdered employee. I’m afraid news has got out about his untimely death, but it’s done wonders for my bookings! Absolute wonders. This way.”
He gave me a happy smile before heading back to the hotel, taking the aroma of apples with him.
Stanley shook his head. “Can we trust him? He looks too happy for a zombie.”
Luca stood up and said, “Cassia, I can talk to him if you’re too scared to.”
Indignation made my limbs move and I got to my feet. “Scared? I’m not scared. He’s just a zombie, that’s all. I’ll be fine.” As an afterthought, I added, “As long as I keep a safe distance from him.”
Brimstone Witch Mysteries - Box Set 1 Page 33
