Brimstone Witch Mysteries - Box Set 1

by April Fernsby

  “I don’t know, but I’ll be talking to him again. Thank you for letting me know.”

  He nodded and gave Brek’s mum another nervous look. “How long will she stay like that?”

  “Not long. Why?”

  “You’d better get out of here before she’s free to move again. She’s a violent goblin. She’s furious about Augustus. She wants to take her anger out on someone, even if they’re blameless. You’re not safe here.”

  “But what about Augustus’ body? I should take it with me. I need him to be examined.”

  A hiss came from Brek’s mum. The corner of her mouth moved. My spell was wearing off. She growled, “You’re not going anywhere near my dead son. If you so much as look his way, I’ll poke your eyes out! He stays here with his own kind. I’ll find out what happened to him. And then I’ll come after you and your cat!”

  Brek cried out, “Cassia! Leave right now! We’re no match for Mum when she’s angry! We can’t protect you.”

  We didn’t need telling twice. Stanley and I flew away as quickly as we could.

  I said to Stanley, “I feel so powerless. I should have insisted on taking the body.”

  Stanley pointed out, “For all we know, Augustus’ mum could have been the one who killed him. The other goblins are terrified of her. She was going to hurt you and no one stepped in to help. Except Brek, and she threw him to one side. You had to put our safety first.”

  “I know. But I can’t help thinking I’ve just made a huge mistake.”

  Chapter 20

  We flew back to Brimstone and I noticed Luca sitting on the steps of the gazebo in the town centre. We swooped down and landed in front of him. His head was resting on the rail at the side and his eyes were closed.

  Stanley leapt off the broomstick and padded over to Luca. He looked over his shoulder at me and said, “He’s fast asleep. What shall we do? We can’t leave him here like this.”

  I moved closer to my sleeping friend and stared down at him. His face was grey and his cheeks hollow. It was clear that he needed a good rest, but he couldn’t do that here. I gently nudged him and called his name.

  Luca jolted, his eyes sprang open and he yelled, “Squirrels! It’s the squirrels!” He blinked and focused on us. “Where did you come from? Where am I?”

  Stanley gave him a serious look and said, “Your name is Luca. You are sitting on the steps of a gazebo in a town called Brimstone. Do you know who I am?”

  Luca ran a tired hand over his forehead. “I would never forget who you are, my friend. How long have I been asleep? Has everyone been walking past and staring at me?”

  I said, “We don’t know. We’ve only just arrived. What’s all this about squirrels?”

  “Squirrels?” Luca asked.

  “Yes. You were just shouting about them.” I sat down next to him.

  He gave me a bashful smile. “I must have been dreaming about them.” He opened his eyes wide. “My eyes are stinging like crazy. Can’t you use some of your magic on me?”

  “I could, but I won’t. You need a good sleep, not magic.”

  “I’ll sleep when all this is over. Where have you been?” His jaw moved as he tried to stifle a yawn.

  “We went to see Augustus’ family. You gave us the address earlier. Don’t you remember?”

  “Did I?” He frowned. “Oh, yeah. I remember. You were going to talk to his brother. Did you talk to him?” His eyelids started to droop.

  “I did. Luca, you need to go home.”

  He forced his eyes open. “I’m fine. What did his brother say?”

  I quickly told Luca what Brek had said on our first visit.

  Luca nodded wearily. “I think you need to go back and talk to him again.”

  Stanley jumped onto Luca’s knee and said, “We did go back. It was after Cassia got into Augustus’ bed and used a spell to summon his life force. She nearly died!”

  Luca turned his head slowly to me. “You nearly died?”

  I shrugged. “Almost, but Stanley was there to help me.”

  Stanley went on, “She stopped breathing and she went pale. I had to hit her over and over again to bring her round. It was so scary. I thought she was a goner.” He put his paw on Luca’s arm. “If Cassia died, I think I’d die too. I can’t live without her.”

  I swallowed down my guilt. I hadn’t realised Stanley had been so affected by my spell earlier.

  Luca still had his eyes on me. He said again, “You nearly died? Cassia, I want to know exactly what happened, and what went wrong.”

  “It doesn’t matter now. I won’t be doing that spell again anytime soon.” I hesitated before saying, “When I was in the bed, I saw the person who was pretending to be me. I didn’t recognise their voice, but I heard them say they were going to dump Augustus’ body with the goblins’ rubbish.” I tried to keep my tone light as I ignored the intense look Luca was giving me.

  Luca held his hand up. “Just a minute. Give me time to process this. Augustus’ body went missing. I remember that bit. We spoke in the hotel afterwards and you mentioned something about Astrid. What did you say about her? It was something to do with the missing body.” His face was creased in concentration. “I feel like my mind is made of fog. I can’t get my thoughts together.”

  “You should go home right now,” I told him. “You’re becoming delirious.”

  He shook his head. “Let me concentrate. What did you say about Astrid?”

  Stanley piped up, “We think it was Astrid who shapeshifted into Cassia so that she could steal Augustus’ body and let Cassia take the blame. You said you were going to find Astrid and have a talk with her. Did you find her?”

  The confusion left Luca’s face and a muscle twitched in his jaw. “Ah, that’s it. I remember now. Yes, I did see Astrid. I mentioned the body going missing and she said…” he trailed off and looked across the square. “I can’t remember what she said. She must have said something before I fell asleep here.”

  “Perhaps she put a spell on you to make you fall asleep,” Stanley said darkly. “You were asking too many questions and she wanted to shut you up.”

  I was about to reprimand Stanley, but I was thinking the same thing.

  “She wouldn’t cast a spell on me,” Luca said. “Why can’t I remember what she said?”

  I picked up on something and said, “Can Astrid cast spells? Would she know how to do that?”

  Luca nodded. “Blythe has given all the guardians basic training in casting spells. Nothing major, just how to protect ourselves while we’re working. I’ve never had to use a spell myself, mostly because I can never remember the words.”

  “Has Astrid ever cast a spell?” I asked.

  “Yes. A few times. I remember her telling me about it. But those were only basic spells. She wouldn’t know how to cast more complicated ones.” Uncertainty crossed his face. “Would she?”

  Stanley said, “What about a broomstick? Has Astrid got a broomstick?”

  Luca looked blank. “A broomstick? Why would she need a broomstick?”

  “Let’s not talk about Astrid now,” I said. “Let me tell you what happened when we went back to the goblins with the intention of finding Augustus.”

  Stanley said, “We found Mrs Stez instead. She was furious and tried to attack us. She threw a pickaxe at Cassia.” He looked my way. “If you hadn’t have stopped that pickaxe in the air, it would have stabbed you. You could have died. Again.”

  Luca swayed backwards and my hand shot out to steady him.

  “Are you alright?” I asked.

  “No, I’m not. What’s happening today? You seem intent on getting yourself killed and I’m too exhausted to help you. Am I dreaming? If so, this is a nightmare.”

  “You’re not dreaming,” I told him, “but this is a nightmare. You don’t need to worry about anything. Stanley and I are dealing with everything.”

  “Not very well,” Luca pointed out. “What are you going to do next? Pick a fight with a troll? Upset an ogre?�
�

  “There’s no need to take that tone. We’re going to talk to Ulx. He was overheard talking to some other goblins in the pub recently. He said he was going to put an end to something involving Augustus. Do you know what pub he goes to? I could go there, buy him a drink or two, and get him to talk.”

  “I do know where he goes. You won’t be able to buy him a drink, though. You won’t be allowed in the pub.”

  I bristled. “Why? Because I’m a woman?”

  “No, it’s because you’re a witch. Don’t look so offended. They don’t let vampires or fairies in either. They have some strange rules in that pub. They’ll let me in. I’ll be able to go in and talk to Ulx.” He yawned. “I’ll find out what time he goes in from one of my goblin friends.”

  “We’re coming with you,” I said firmly. “We can’t go in the pub but we can wait outside.”

  Luca stroked Stanley’s back. “You can come in the pub with me, my friend.”

  “No, thank you. I won’t go into an establishment that doesn’t welcome Cassia.”

  I reached over and stroked Stanley’s back too. “Thank you.”

  A funny noise came from Luca. I recognised it as a snore. His head had lolled to one side and his eyes were closed.

  I gave him a sharp nudge and said, “You are going to get some sleep right now in a bed! You won’t be any use to us in this state.”

  Luca opened his eyes and gave us a tired nod. “You’re right. I’ll have a few hours. But that’s all.”

  Stanley jumped off Luca’s knee and watched as Luca got unsteadily to his feet. I put my hand under Luca’s arm and steered him across the square. Luca tried to protest and said he could manage on his own, but I told him to stay quiet and keep walking.

  We reached the door that led to his apartment.

  Luca said, “You can leave me now. I’ll be fine.”

  Stanley looked at me and said, “I don’t trust him. He’s a flight risk. As soon as we walk away, he’ll be off again.”

  “I agree. Let’s get him upstairs.”

  Luca tried to protest again but realised he was fighting a losing battle. I steered him upstairs and into his apartment. I pushed him towards the bed and ordered him to lie down. His eyes closed before his head hit the pillow.

  On the way out, I was tempted to lock the door to keep Luca as a prisoner until he’d had enough sleep. I mentioned it to Stanley but he pointed out it was probably illegal. I reluctantly agreed and we left his door unlocked.

  Gran had an apartment in town which was located over Mooncrest Café. Stanley and I had stayed there recently before Gran insisted that we return home. I would have preferred to go back to Gran’s house now and talk to her about the murder investigation, but I knew I’d end up spilling the beans about Blythe. I explained this to Stanley as we walked away from Luca’s apartment and across the square.

  Stanley said, “We have no choice. We have to go back to the apartment. I hope there’s some food in the fridge.”

  “Me too.”

  We made our way through the blue door at street level and then ascended the stairs. There was another door at the top which I unlocked and pushed open for Stanley to go through first.

  Gran’s apartment was lovely. It was open plan with a kitchen area to one side. Huge windows overlooked Brimstone. They were tinted which meant I could have a good nosy out without anyone knowing I was watching them. The furnishings were comfy and there was a well-stocked library with books about the various species who lived in Brimstone. It wasn’t as nice as Gran’s home, but it was close enough.

  Stanley jogged over to the window and looked through the binoculars that had been placed at his height. He said, “I’m going to keep checking on Luca and make sure he doesn’t sneak out. I’ll keep a lookout for Astrid too. She’s out there somewhere planning her next evil move.”

  “I have a feeling you’re right. I really don’t know what her problem is.”

  Stanley looked over at me. “It’s you. You’re her problem.”

  I sighed. “You’re right. Shall we have a snack before getting some notes written down about our case?”

  He nodded. “That is always a good idea.”

  I opened the fridge and saw a piece of chocolate cake on a plate. There was a note next to it from Gilda. She’d made the cake an hour ago and added some extra vitamins for me. She’d also put some vegetables in but assured me I wouldn’t be able to taste them. Bless her. She knew the way to my heart. She’d made a cat version for Stanley. She really was wonderful. I made a mental note to thank her later.

  I made myself a cup of tea and poured some cream for Stanley. I took our drinks over to the table in front of the window along with our special cake. Stanley was still staring through the binoculars.

  “Anything happening?” I asked.

  “No.” He walked away from the window. “It’s quiet out there. Perhaps too quiet. Ooo! Is that cake for me?”

  Stanley and I spent the next ten minutes happily stuffing our faces. We didn’t need to talk and we didn’t need to be polite in front of each other. I even let out a satisfied burp when I’d finished. Stanley chuckled and did the same.

  I took a big drink of tea before pulling a notepad and pen towards me. It always helped me to get my thoughts written down. I wrote Augustus’ name at the top and then started on my list of suspects.

  Ulx: He was going to put an end to something concerning Augustus - but what? Had the sleepy goblin been blackmailing Ulx? If so, over what?

  Ovrid: He needed money desperately and wanted more work. Also, Augustus had been arguing with him in public. Had Ovrid reached the end of his tether and decided to do away with Augustus?

  Jeff: He had a secret and Augustus knew about it. What was his secret? Was Augustus blackmailing him? Had Jeff decided to get rid of him?

  I read everything out to Stanley and asked if he could think of anyone else.

  He nodded. “Astrid. She could have murdered him. She could have set this whole thing up to get back at you. She stole the body and now the goblins are angry with you. And now you can’t perform tests on Augustus to find out what killed him. She’s casting sleepy spells on Luca so that he’s no use to us. And she made sure the cellar door couldn’t be opened to stop us asking Gran for help.”

  “We have no evidence of any of that. I am frustrated about the cause of death. Augustus’ body keeps changing colour. Why? We should go back to the goblins and insist on having the body. Finding out the cause of death would help us. If it’s a certain kind of poison, then it might narrow down our suspects.” I gave him a firm nod. “That’s what we’ll do. We’ll get the body back.”

  Stanley rested his head on his paws. “Can we do that later, please? I need a nap.”

  I stroked his head. “I can go without you.”

  His head snapped up. “No! You’ll only get yourself killed. Promise me you won’t go anywhere without me. Promise.”

  “Okay. I promise.” I stroked his little head again. “Stanley, I promise.”

  Chapter 21

  I must have fallen asleep too because the next thing I felt was someone tapping me on the head and telling me there was someone at the door.

  I raised my head off my arms and peered at Stanley. It was him who was tapping me on the head.

  “What? Where am I?” I blinked, came to my senses and looked around me. “I can’t believe I fell asleep at the table. How long have I been asleep?”

  Stanley said, “A few hours. I had a little nap, woke up and noticed you were having one too. I thought I’d leave you to get some rest. I’ve been keeping an eye on the town.”

  A knocking sound came from the door.

  Stanley advised, “That’ll be Luca. I saw him heading this way. You might want to wipe that drool off your chin before you open the door.”

  “Thanks.” I wiped my chin clean and then walked over to the door. I checked the time on the way. It was nearly 8 o’clock. I’d been asleep for hours. Had Astrid secretly cast a slee
ping spell on me?

  I opened the door to find a fresh-faced Luca standing there.

  “Hi!” he said brightly. “That sleep did me the world of good.” He put his head to one side and studied me. “What’s wrong with your hair? It’s stuck up on one side. Has it been like that all day?”

  I opened the door wider. “Come in. Won’t be a minute.”

  Luca entered and I closed the door behind him. I took myself to the bathroom and sorted out my wayward hair. I had a quick wash to wake myself up. When I returned to the living area, I found Luca sitting on the sofa with Stanley on his knee. That cat had no shame.

  Luca said, “Ulx is already at the pub. It’s not far away. We can go whenever you’re ready. Tell me the questions you need answering, and I’ll interrogate him.” He smiled. “Then I’ll come with you to retrieve Augustus’ body. Stanley told me your plan. What else do you need my help with?”

  His enthusiasm was making me feel sleepy.

  “One thing at a time,” I told him. “Let’s go to the pub first. I’ll stay outside so I don’t offend anyone with my witchiness.” I scrunched up my nose. “If that’s even a word. But you know what I mean.”

  Luca tickled Stanley behind the ears until he purred in delight.

  I tutted. “Come on then. We haven’t got all day.”

  Luca looked at Stanley and said, “It sounds like someone needs a bit more sleep.”

  Stanley added, “She woke up on the wrong side of the table.”

  Luca laughed and stood up with Stanley in his arms. “Let’s go.”

  I tutted again. “Stanley is capable of walking on his own four paws.”

  “I know, but I like carrying him.”

  “And I like being carried by you,” Stanley said. “I think Cassia is jealous because she has to walk.”

  A mischievous twinkle came into Luca’s eyes. “Cassia, would you like me to carry you too? I could sling you over my back.” He advanced on me.

  My eyes narrowed. “Lay one finger on me and I’ll use an immobilising spell on you. That’s one spell I’m good at.” I paused. “Most of the time.”