Copycat Murders

by T. H. Hunter

  The cloaked man spun round to face us. Though his hood covered his entire face, I recognised his voice immediately.

  “You,” he hissed. “What are you doing here?”

  “I might ask you the same thing,” I said.

  “You would never understand,” he said. “Nobody does. Necromancy is a fine art, once mastered. But it is not for those who are weak or faint at heart.”

  “This madness ends here, Armbruster,” I said.

  “Ah, but it won’t,” he said. “It is only the beginning.”

  “What are you talking about?” I said.

  “It is all as planned,” he said, stroking the altar. “And you will not stop me.”

  Then, Armbruster rolled behind the altar with a nimbleness that I would never have suspected of him. Both Isabella and I wanted to fire at him, but we were afraid we would hit the person on the altar.

  Yet Armbruster had no such restrictions. He immediately started pelting us with spell after spell. I dashed forward, seeking refuge behind one of the massive trees next to the altar, while Isabella gave me cover.

  Meanwhile, Barry and Val were nowhere to be seen. I had rapidly lost control of the entire situation. Isabella, under fire from Armbruster, was forced to retreat behind a small rock formation, only a few inches high. He had her pinned down. I tried to step out from behind the tree, but Armbruster’s reactions were immediate, with one spell missing me by no more than an inch. He had both of us bogged down.

  At least, I thought, the ritual had been stopped for the time being. And yet, I could only direct a hex at him when Armbruster tried to stray too far away from the altar. We were, effectively, caught in a stalemate.

  And then, I heard a rushing sound from above. My eyes tore upwards, and I saw that Val was flying on a broom – with Barry sitting on the handle – aiming right at the altar below her. Just as Armbruster spotted them in the air, I dashed out from the tree and charged.

  Val dived low, painfully grazing the edge of the altar with her feet. But it provided Barry with enough time to jump right on top of Armbruster, slashing at him with all his might. I didn’t dare shoot a spell for fear of hitting Barry, so I lunged forward, knocking the air out of Armbruster, who collapsed to the ground, his wand flying through the air.

  Isabella, who had also joined the fight, caught it neatly with her left hand.

  Scrambling to our feet, we now had Armbruster defenceless and cornered.

  “It’s over Armbruster,” I said. “The game’s up.”

  He snarled viciously at me, but there was nothing he could do. Val, however, had been seriously injured. She was lying on the ground, unable to move.

  “Val,” I said, bending down to take a closer look. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s my ankle,” she said, her face contorted in pain. “It’s broken. I can’t… it hurts so much.”

  “We’ve got to get you to the infirmary as quickly as possible,” I said. “Isabella, give me a hand, will you?”

  Together, we lifted Val up. But she wasn’t going anywhere with that ankle of hers. She needed immediate help. I quickly retrieved our brooms from their hiding places and brought them into the clearing.

  “Isabella,” I said. “Please take Val to the infirmary. Julian is also there. I’m sure he’ll be pleased to see you.”

  “And I him,” she said, beaming. “We solved it.”

  “Yes,” I said. “We did.”

  “Will you be alright with Armbruster?” she asked.

  “Yes,” I said, tucking Armbruster’s wand into my back pocket. “It’s fine. I’ll tie him up, and we can have the MLE pick him up later.”

  “OK,” she said, getting onto the broom.

  I helped Val get on behind her. Then, Isabella kicked off from the ground. Within a minute, they were out of sight.

  Chapter 10

  Exhausted but pleased with how easy it had been to thwart Armbruster’s plans, I walked over to him, conjuring up ropes that wrapped themselves around his entire body. He lay there, next to the altar, completely motionless..

  “Do you recognise who it is?” I asked Barry, who was standing close to me now. “On the altar?”

  “It looks like a woman’s figure,” he said.

  I stepped closer to the large stone. Slowly, I lifted the hood covering the woman’s face. To my shock, it was the headmistress. Her eyes were closed.

  “Is she she… dead?” asked Barry.

  I looked at her face. Then, without warning, her eyes suddenly tore wide open. I yelled, tumbling backwards, my wand hurtling out of my hand.

  Muriel Hall reacted like lightning. With a flick of her own wand, she had mine fly right into her open palm. I tried to get to my feet, but it was too late. Thin cords of steel shot out of her wand, binding my hands and legs tightly together, so that I toppled – head first – onto the ground. Then, she cast a torrent of freezing charms, some of which hit poor Barry, who was immediately surrounding by a block of ice.

  “You fool,” the headmistress said. “You don’t think I’d let poor old Armbruster deal with you all alone, did you? I must say, it was rather kind of you to send your friends away. That makes it a lot easier for me.”

  “But…” I spluttered, “how could it be you?”

  “Ah,” she said. “That is indeed a long story. Should I tell you how Wycliffe and I became lovers in my senior year? Or how we planned his deeds together, meticulously to the last detail? Or how he went to prison, shouldering the responsibility we shared all on his own? Yes, I would like to chat about all that, Miss Sheridan, I am sure it would be of the greatest interest to you, but I’m afraid I will have to cut the fun short somewhat.”

  “You were Wycliffe’s accomplice?”

  “Oh, much more than that,” she said. “He called me his pupil. I learned from the master, you see, the great and noble art of necromancy. An art that spellcasters everywhere have foolishly chosen to abandon.”

  “Look where your noble art got you,” I said, disgusted, “look where it got Wycliffe. A prison cell.”

  “Yes, you’re right,” the headmistress said with a rueful smile. “I couldn’t save him from it, although I tried many times. The prison was too well protected, of course. There was never any way of getting him out of there alive. So, I thought one day, why not transport him out of the prison dead?”

  “What are you talking about?” I said. “What good would that…”

  “Oh, more than you think, Miss Sheridan. You see, I recommended a nice and quiet spot where we could put his remains. Nobody would ever know. And the government, being the fools that they are, agreed. It took me a year to gather all of the ingredients, but now I am ready – ready to resurrect the great Wycliffe!”

  With horror, I saw Muriel Hall draw her wand again, now pointing it at Armbruster. She levitated his body over the altar and set him down upon it.

  “Yes, poor Armbruster,” she said. “You see, Miss Sheridan, he never quite understood the role he was to play in this. For Wycliffe to walk among us again, I am afraid that certain sacrifices have to be made. Goodbye, faithful Armbruster.”

  Without hesitation, she cast the killing curse. A jet of red light hit Armbruster square in the chest. He was dead.

  Panicking, I looked around for anything that could help escape my bindings. And then, I remembered Armbruster’s own wand that I had pocketed earlier. Although my hands were bound behind my back, I couldn’t quite reach them, no matter how hard I tried.

  “Now, Miss Sheridan, I want you to witness the rebirth of a genius,” she continued.

  She directed her wand at the ground in front of her and began to chant. It was the most terrifying sound I had ever heard, like sinister song that never stopped. It was calling to the dead. And before long, they would answer.

  I tried to sit up straight, trying to change the angle of the wand in my pocket. As the song got louder, my fingertips were already grasping at the wand, but I couldn’t quite take it.

  Meanwhile, to my h
orror, the earth was loosening in the place at which Muriel Hall was pointing. Her spell was finally working. Time was running out before Wycliffe would walk amongst the living once more.

  With one desperate jerk, I finally grabbed the wand in my hand.

  “Libero!” I cried, pointing the wand at my own bindings, which fell to the ground immediately.

  Muriel Hall tore her wand away from the ground, readying for the attack, but she was too slow for my own.

  “Abigo,” I yelled.

  A jet of white light emitted from the end of my wand. Muriel Hall was propelled backwards, hit the tree behind her, and slumped unconscious to the ground.

  Chapter 11

  A week later, we were all safely back at Fickleton House. Both Barry and Val had recovered from their injuries, though I was sure that the memories would remain with us for quite some time in the future.

  Muriel Hall had been arrested by the MLE and charged with multiple counts of murder and necromancy. By all probabilities, she would spend the rest of her life as her mentor, Wycliffe, had done: in prison.

  And, much to the delight of Isabella Villar, Julian Ross had been granted leniency in the light of his vital role in solving the case.

  Now, however, Val, Barry, and I were back at the morning room table.

  “This bacon is excellent,” said Val. “It’s good to be home, isn’t it?”

  “You’re telling me,” I said.

  “By the way, before I forget,” said Barry, “there was something in the post that I think you ought to see.”

  “Oh no,” I groaned. “Not all over again”

  “If it’s from Warklesby’s,” said Val, laughing. “Let’s not open it until after breakfast.”

  “No,” said Barry, “it’s a brochure, actually. I… I ordered it myself. It’s a magical holiday retreat, in Dartmoor.”

  “Not the kind of holiday involving sorcerers again, is it?” I asked.

  “Certainly not,” said Barry. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for reading Copycat Murders. If you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it, you can be the first to know about new releases and bonus content by joining the mailing list (also known as Barry’s fan club – but don’t tell him that).

  The fourth book in the Cozy Conundrums series will be available on Amazon soon.

  If you’d like to spread the word, reviews on Amazon and Goodreads are a great way of supporting the series. A quick note that you liked it really goes a long way and is deeply appreciated.

  I’ll hopefully see you in the next adventure!

  Yours truly,

  T.H. Hunter