by Tess Lake
“I think given it’s a magical object it rightfully belongs to witches and not authors. You could find out who’s holding it and I’ll arrange to take it,” she said.
I took a breath and turned the black stone over in my hands, worrying at it like it was prayer beads. I honestly didn’t have any other better plan. I guess it had been floating somewhere in the back of my mind that I would steal the map back from Jay. Who knew if it had anything to do with the monster that was in town but the fact it was magical meant it wasn’t good for him to be holding onto it.
“Okay, I’ll see if I can find out who has it. But we need to be discreet. I can’t be asking them who has the map and then it gets stolen instantly,” I said.
My phone chimed in my pocket then, which was unusual considering we were underground and it hardly ever works. It was a message from Luce telling me to come back to our end of the mansion immediately.
“I’ve gotta go, but I’ll let you know,” I said to Aunt Cass.
“Don’t lose that stone, it’s the only one I have,” she told me.
She followed me back up the stairs as I went through the kitchen, stealing a toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwich that Aunt Freya and Aunt Ro had left out. Aunt Cass stopped there, demanding her nieces make her breakfast, but I continued on my way, heading out through the dining room where a sleepy looking guest was making his way to a seat.
I waved hello and rushed outside, only to see Sheriff Hardy’s car parked down our end of the mansion.
Oh no. Was he here about the writers? Considering how they’d all barged into Valhalla Viking surely it would be easy to work out that it was the four of them who had broken into wherever they’d gone.
I gulped down my toasted sandwich as fast as I could. I walked into our end of the mansion to find Molly, Luce and Kira all sitting at the kitchen table. Molly and Luce looked panicked, Kira was tapping away on her phone. Adams was on the sofa asleep.
“Harlow, good to see you this morning. You look tired. Were you up late last night?” Sheriff Hardy said.
There it was again, that stone cop look of his. The one that he had pulled many times when we were teenagers. It was one that said yes, I am related to you through marriage but if you get involved in crime I’ll throw you in the cell and lock the door myself.
“Yup, went out to dinner last night with Jack and his family. It was great until a potion backfired and I had to run down to the beach and jump in the water before my clothes caught fire. Then Jack came to get me about midnight and brought me home where I met Kira,” I said, pointing a finger at the teenager.
“That’s what happened,” Kira said without looking up.
Sheriff Hardy’s expression softened. He must have realized he’d slipped into cop interrogation mode, which was far colder than he needed to be with his family.
“Sorry, I wasn’t meant to be accusing you of anything,” he said. “There was a break-in last night at one of the city storage facilities and we have more of those symbols around town, carved in doorways and spray painted everywhere. I was coming around to make sure that none of you girls are involved in it,” he said.
“We’re not involved in it,” Molly said.
She had her arms crossed with her hands stuffed under her armpits so tight it was like she was hugging herself to death.
“It wasn’t us!” Luce muttered. She was sitting on her hands.
What was going on here? Were they both hiding something?
“I suspect it’s the Mysterious Mysteries duo who are putting those symbols all over town. Have you gone to speak to them?” I said. I kept things light and acted casual as I went around to the refrigerator and pulled out ingredients for a second breakfast.
“They’re on my list to visit soon given that Carter’s article has everyone riled up,” Sheriff Hardy said.
There was an awkward silence then, as though Sheriff Hardy wanted to say something else but finally he nodded to us, said goodbye, went outside and drove away. It wasn’t until his car was off into the distance that Molly and Luce shot up from their seats and I could finally see their hands. Molly had pink all around the tips of her fingers, and so did Luce.
“Hey, what is that? Is that spray paint?” I asked.
Molly looked at Luce, an incredibly guilty move that gave both of them away.
“No, no, no, no, no, haven’t I taught you guys anything? Deny, deny, deny,” Kira chirped up, reciting back the advice that we’d given her.
“We went out last night with Aunt Cass to spray a few of those symbols around town,” Luce said.
“Correction, we were blackmailed into going out with Aunt Cass last night,” Molly said.
“I saw Aunt Cass wiping her hands with a rag and turpentine! Why is she spraying the symbols around town? Do you mean it’s her doing it?” I asked.
“I think she’s done some of them and we added a bunch last night. She told us the more attention they get the better it is and the faster we’ll sort out this whole monster thing,” Molly said.
I didn’t get to ask any more questions about what exactly was going on because Red pulled up at the front of the house in her sports car.
“Wash the paint off your hands, and Kira, I need you to go with Molly and Luce because I need to talk to Red alone,” I instructed.
Red emerged from her sports car wearing a gigantic pair of black sunglasses and moving like a woman who had had far too much to drink the previous night.
I abandoned my breakfast ingredients and opened the front door to let her in.
“Hey, Harlow good to see you,” Red said in a tired voice.
“We’ll talk in a moment once my cousins are gone,” I said to her in an undertone. Red took a seat on the sofa. She still had her sunglasses on as she leaned back and started stroking Adams behind the ears. He began purring in his sleep.
I made her a coffee and myself one, as Molly and Luce and Kira rushed around getting ready. In some kind of miracle it was about ten minutes before they departed, heading off into town, although it was still quite early. It was only once they were gone that Red took off her sunglasses. Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked very tired.
“That was some night last night wasn’t it,” she said with a weak smile.
“I’ll say, we just had the Sheriff here, trying to find out who had broken into one of the city storage facilities. I’m guessing that’s where you guys went?” I said.
That certainly woke Red up. She sat up looking alarmed. “Did you tell him it was us?” she asked.
“No, but if he talks to anyone from Valhalla Viking from last night he might be able to put it together,” I said.
In that moment I had a feeling that this is what it must be like for the moms when me, Molly and Luce got involved in things. From the outside it appeared chaotic and dangerous. It was certainly a very unwelcome feeling. The only good thing about the whole situation was that Writerpalooza would be over soon and then the writers would go home.
“When the festival is over, are you all leaving Harlot Bay?” I asked.
Red pinched the bridge of her nose as though she trying to push away an incipient headache. “Me and Jay are. I get the feeling Jenna wants to stay and if she does, TJ might as well. Although it can’t be for long. There’s another festival about three days later that they’re booked in,” Red said.
“Maybe it’s time to stop investigating… whatever it is you’re investigating,” I suggested.
“Yesterday we got excited and then unfortunately had some drinks and one thing led to another, and suddenly we were being chased by dogs out of the building we’d broken into. Now Jay has that map with what I think is a code on it, this is too juicy to let go,” Red said.
Perfect, she confirmed that Jay still had the map.
“But what is it you think you’re going to find? Even if it is a code and you decipher it, isn’t it going to be something about the past when they believed in all kinds of crazy supernatural things?” I said. As I spoke I pu
lled out my phone and tapped a message to Aunt Cass. Jay Savage has it.
“At first we were only investigating because that guy got attacked and then we discovered some of the history and how it connected, and I don’t know… it seemed so strange,” Red said.
I had a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach. There are plenty of things strange about Harlot Bay and mysteries buried all over the place. But the biggest, strangest thing was us, the witches, and there were more than our family in town. I got the sudden very unwelcome feeling that one of the writers would stay to write a non-fiction book about Harlot Bay.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. A message from Aunt Cass. Two words: On it.
“I guess we need to get going before we’re late, maybe we can talk about later,” I said.
Red nodded and then handed me the keys to the sports car.
Chapter Seventeen
“Hot dog, beer, eat, drink,” Jack said, handing me the food and cup.
“Thanks,” I said, keeping my eye on the beehive I could see bobbing around through the crowd.
“Have they done anything suspicious yet?” Jack asked.
“Not yet, but the night is young,” I said and took a bite of my hot dog.
It was Saturday evening and I was down in Scarness Park with what felt like the rest of Harlot Bay and every tourist in the state waiting for the free concert to begin. I was there with Jack, Molly and Luce with their respective boyfriends as well. Aunt Ro and Mom were manning a table amongst all the food booths. We had no idea where Aunt Cass was. I’d been watching Rufus and Dawn since we’d arrived at the concert and spotted them wandering around. Jack had gone off to get food and so I’d been half keeping an eye on them and half watching the assorted vampires and Harry Sparkle imitators wandering around the place with everyone else who was in costume.
“There’s probably not much they’re going to be able to do at an open concert, so maybe we should ignore them?” Jack said.
“Yeah, maybe,” I said, taking another bite of my hot dog.
Jack touched me on the arm and stepped in front of me, breaking my line of sight.
“My parents won’t be coming until later. Your cousins are wandering around. We’re alone together for the first time in ages,” Jack said, looking into my eyes.
Like a switch had been flicked I was suddenly in the here and now. I had a cold beer in one hand and a hot dog in the other and Jack standing in front of me. Why should I care about Rufus and Dawn being at the concert?
“You’re absolutely right,” I said and gave Jack a quick kiss that tasted slightly of mustard.
We took a seat on my picnic rug and ate our hot dogs while we both enjoyed people watching. The sun was setting, the lengthening shadows stretching across Scarness Park and all around it glimmering lights were beginning to shine. I saw a few authors I recognized, including TJ off in the distance walking around with Jenna. Every now and then he had to stop to talk to one of his fans. I wasn’t sure entirely but from a distance it looked like Jenna was getting annoyed that their progress towards the hot dog van was being thwarted.
I finished my beer and then Jack handed me another one which thankfully was still somewhat cool. As I drank it I felt relaxation spreading out through my body. Yesterday and today had been crazy as usual. Trying to keep up with Red was a blur of hard work. Thankfully that hadn’t left me time to worry, such as about what might happen if Aunt Cass went to get that map back from Jay Savage. Out of habit I checked my phone again. I’d sent Aunt Cass a message asking if she had the map yet, but hadn’t received any reply. Sadly, I had no idea if this was because she simply hadn’t answered, or if thanks to Harlot Bay’s twitchy telecommunications she’d never received the message.
“What’s up lovers?” I heard Kira say. I looked up to see her and her boyfriend Fox standing there, both holding hot dogs and also, surprisingly, large cups of beer. Kira saw my eyes glance at the amber liquid in her hand.
“We’re practically twenty-one,” Kira said.
“Better not let the moms see that. While you’re living under our roof it means they’re responsible for you,” I said.
“Is that Sheriff Hardy over there?” Fox asked, pointing a finger in the distance.
“Okay lovers, we have to go,” Kira said before she and Fox bolted off in the opposite direction.
“I wonder how they got those drinks,” Jack mused.
“I can tell you we never used magic to get things we shouldn’t have,” I said with a sly wink to Jack.
It felt good to sit there on the picnic blanket with the sounds of the murmuring crowd around us. As the sun set, the temperature had been dropping. Thanks to my slip witch power, of course, I wasn’t feeling the heat but still, as it fell, I could feel myself relax and grow more comfortable. Did that mean on some level I was actually feeling it? I wonder if I could get dehydrated because I didn’t realize it was hot.
Jack’s phone chimed a message.
“Jonas and Peta say they’re still eating with Mom and Dad, so it’s going to be a while,” Jack said.
“Let’s hope this time I don’t have any reason to run away,” I said.
It wasn’t long before the stage lit up and the crowd grew quiet as the Mayor appeared. As usual he was in a crazy costume covered in glittering sequins. He was red-faced due to the heat as he came out and introduced the opening act–Harry Sparkle. The crowd went wild, cheering and clapping as though a rock star was about to come on the stage. We joined in, and as I yelled out I felt the weight of the week float away. I wasn’t going to worry about the Mysterious Mysteries or monsters in Harlot Bay, strange symbols or magic maps. I wasn’t going to worry about writers doing things they shouldn’t be, or me freezing glasses of water with my hands. I was going to enjoy myself, spend time with Jack, and of course the rest of my delicious beer.
Harry Sparkle was a consummate performer. He sang a few songs, talked to the children and adults alike, throwing in jokes that went over the children’s heads but had the adults laughing. He played for around forty minutes before he finally said goodbye, running off the stage and jumping into a crazily painted golf cart with Harry Sparkle emblazoned all over it. Then he drove his way out of the park and disappeared over the hill, the entire crowd cheering and clapping as he went. Next up was a local band, Flying Pizza, who had recently returned from a trip to Europe, where they’d been playing in bars and clubs over there.
“Hey kids,” a woman behind us said.
We turned around to find Jon and Jas smiling at us.
“Welcome to Scarness Park!” I said with a big smile that was partially fuelled by the two drinks I’d had.
“Are you feeling better?” Jas asked.
Oh yeah, Jack had said I’d fled Valhalla Viking because I was unwell. I didn’t get a chance to respond.
An ambulance siren pierced the night, echoing across the park. With its lights flashing, we saw it drive into view at the top of the hill. A breath and I realized the magic around me had turned gritty, that same feeling again as when we were up in the forest and we’d seen the man who’d been destroying trees.
A terrible rush of something is wrong hit me and before I knew it, I took off running towards the flashing lights.
I heard Jack following close behind.
I reached the ambulance in record time. I saw Sheriff Hardy look at me and then hold out his hand as though to say stop. But it was too late. I’d already seen everything I needed to, and I felt my stomach turn. Harry Sparkle was being loaded into the ambulance. His clothing was shredded. There were cuts all over his face and arms, and blood everywhere. I couldn’t see if he was breathing or not. The paramedics slammed the door of the ambulance closed and then it took off, the siren wailing.
I was taking deep breaths, trying not to throw up, when Kira appeared in front of me.
“Something attacked Harry Sparkle!” she said.
I looked past her worried face and saw Rufus standing there with his camera filming the crowd. Dawn
was in front of him, narrating something. As I looked across at them I saw him swing the camera in our direction so I grabbed Kira and hustled off down the hill.
Chapter Eighteen
By the time I reached Harry Sparkle’s hospital room I was shaking with the effort of maintaining the concealment spell. I slipped inside and then let it go with a sigh of relief.
Last night had been yet another disaster of epic proportions. After the ambulance had taken Harry away, I had wandered back with Jack in a sort of numb daze to Scarness Park. The music festival resumed although it felt somewhat more subdued with people whispering that Harry Sparkle had been attacked.
Jack had passed off to his parents my running away as my journalistic instinct. I had vaguely agreed and tried to make small talk with them, but honestly I could barely remember anything that we discussed that night. Eventually, Jack had given me a kiss goodbye and then Molly and Ollie had given me a ride home. I tried to call Aunt Cass a few times and sent messages but hadn’t received any response, and so I’d gone to bed for a restless night of sleep, waking up in the morning with half my bed frosted over. It seemed when I slept, the cold spread outside my hands. Could I tape the stone to myself?
It was while I was making breakfast alone and flicking through TV channels that I discovered that Harlot Bay had once again drawn the national spotlight. Carl Stern being attacked wasn’t important enough to gain attention, but children’s entertainer Harry Sparkle certainly was.
Up to that point I was still somewhat in a daze. It was clear the monster was attacking people… if that’s what it was. How long would it be before someone died? As soon as I realized the national attention was on Harlot Bay I decided then and there on the spot that I would go to the hospital to talk to Harry Sparkle directly to find out what he’d seen. Was it a monster? Or something else?
I’d had a quick breakfast, drove to the hospital, walking directly through a pool of sadness as I came in that nearly knocked me to my knees. With my head full of fire I managed to discover his hospital room and then had to use a concealment spell to find my way there. Now here I was standing inside the door trying to take large, deep, gulping breaths as quietly as I could.
