by TJ Green
Alex looked across the bed at Avery. “Well, this is new.”
She grinned. “Isn’t it?”
“I just wish I didn’t have the feeling they’ve brought trouble with them.”
“They seem harmless—for wolves. At least they’re not Mermaids,” she said, referring to the summer when they’d been attacked by the Daughters of Llyr. She looked at Holly. “Can you understand me, wolfy?”
Holly thumped her tail on the bed and Avery laughed. “This is so weird.” She sobered up when she looked at Hunter. “He’s in a bad way.”
“Briar will fix him,” Alex said, confidently. “If she can cure demon burns, she can stop infected wounds.”
“They sound like they’re from up north somewhere,” Avery observed. “Cumbria or Lancashire, maybe.”
“In that case, they’ve travelled a long way to get here. I wonder what they’re running from?”
“It’s not what, it’s who,” a young, petulant voice said from behind them.
Piper. She stood in the doorway, pouting in her low-slung jeans and t-shirt, her pale brown eyes made up with dark purple makeup that matched her hair.
“Was it some sort of turf war?” Alex asked from where he leaned against the wall, keeping a watchful eye on Hunter.
“Yes. And we lost. Or rather, he did. And now we’re stuck here, miles from home.” Her voice dripped with resentment and Holly growled at her, and before they could ask Piper anything else, she turned with a flounce and disappeared.
“She’s such a delight,” Alex said dryly. “I like her more every time I see her.”
Avery glanced at Holly, who was now watching Hunter whimper in his sleep, twitching as if he was dreaming.
“I would imagine this has been a nightmarish few days for all of them,” Avery observed.
Within minutes Briar returned with Josh, carrying a gently steaming potion. Josh was carrying a bowl of hot water. Briar had barely settled herself by the bed when Hunter shimmered again and changed back to human form. “Oh good. This will make life easier,” she said. “Alex, help lift his head, please.”
Between them they manoeuvred Hunter into a sitting position and Briar trickled the potion between his lips, whispering a spell as she did so. Within seconds he relaxed and his breathing deepened, and Alex lowered him back on the bed.
“Right, time to clean up this mess,” Briar said resolutely. She chose a selection of herbs and dropped them into the water, and then started to clean the wounds with a soft cloth.
“So, what happened?” Avery asked Josh. “Piper said he lost a fight.”
“We live in a small hamlet in Cumbria called Chapel Stile. It’s right in the centre of the Lake District, and perfect for Shifters. It’s remote and there’s plenty of space for us. Quite a few Shifter families live in the area, and we generally get along well. Until recently.” He fell silent for a moment, and Avery wondered if that’s all he would tell them, but then he rubbed his face and sighed. “The head of one of the other families died recently and his son took over. He’s now the pack’s Alpha. He’s imposing some new rules and we didn’t like them. Hunter was pretty vocal about it, and he was attacked.”
“If you don’t mind me saying, that sounds quite medieval,” Avery said, wondering how bad the new rules could be that made someone want to fight.
“It is. Nothing has happened like that for years.” He looked Avery in the eye, finally. “We were taken by surprise. Hunter’s a good man. He looks after us, and he’s been in his fair share of fights—Shifters are always territorial—but this fight was really vicious.”
Avery looked at Hunter’s wounds. “It looks like he was trying to kill him.”
Josh nodded grimly. “I think he was.”
“You should have settled the score, Josh.” Piper spoke from behind them again. She leaned on the doorframe, her tone accusatory.
“Shut up, Piper,” he shot back. “You’re talking rubbish, as usual. If I’d fought, then we’d both be in this mess, and you and Holly would be in big trouble. You know what Cooper is like. He’s a misogynist bully.”
She glared at him, but dropped her eyes to the floor, seemingly in agreement. “I want to go home.”
Josh’s tone softened. “So do I, but I’m not sure that’s possible anymore.”
“Have you lost your house?” Avery asked, incredulous.
“No. I just meant it would be dangerous to return. We might have to sell. Can we have your permission to live here, at least for now?”
Avery was speechless, but Alex snorted from across the bed where he was helping Briar. “Mate, you don’t need our permission. Stay here as long as you like.”
“He’s right, we don’t own White Haven,” Avery agreed, perplexed by his question. “You can live here if that’s what you decide.”
“Are there other Shifters in the area?”
“Not as far as I know,” she answered. “But then again, this place keeps surprising us lately.”
“We like the wild places—the moors, the peaks, and the lakes. But you are on the edge of moorland here.”
“Yes, and there are weirder things than Shifters around, I can assure you,” she said, thinking of the Nephilim. “Are there witches in Cumbria?”
“Oh yes. And they align with Cooper.”
“We align with no one except each other,” Alex explained. “Is anyone likely to follow you here?”
“I hope not,” Josh said, not meeting their eyes.
Avery had a horrible feeling he wasn’t sure about that.
***
The following evening, Avery met the other witches at Alex’s flat above the pub, and Newton, their friend the Detective Inspector, joined them.
They had ordered in Thai food, and delicious aromas wafted around the room. Reuben, as usual, had filled his plate, and sat on the sofa with it perched on his knee. He and El were a couple, and El spent a lot of her weekends at Greenlane Manor, Reuben’s huge estate. They were both tall and blonde, laid back and well suited. Briar was single, and although she and Newton seemed to have something going for a while, since their battle with the Mermaids, it had fizzled. Newton still struggled to reconcile their magic with his job. He also struggled with the Nephilim sticking around, and he wasn’t too happy about Shifters arriving in White Haven, either.
“Shifters? Do you mean Shapeshifters?”
“I don’t know any other kind of Shifter,” Briar said, annoyed.
“How long are they planning to stay?”
She frowned at him. “As long as they need! And Hunter is badly injured, so he’ll have to stay until he’s better. That could be weeks.”
“How was he tonight?” Alex asked her.
“Slightly better. His wounds don’t smell anymore. He’ll have scars, though.”
“Was he still changing without control?” Avery asked.
“No. My sedative sorted that out. He woke this morning and had some food, and then I dosed him up for the day again.”
“He was awake? That’s good, right?” El asked from where she sat in her favourite corner of the sofa. “I’d like to meet them.”
“And you will, but they’re keeping a low profile for now, until Hunter’s better,” Briar explained.
“Well, I think I should meet him,” Newton said, decisively. “We don’t want trouble here.”
Briar glared at him again. She had very little patience with Newton lately. “They won’t bring trouble! Stop being so patriarchal.”
“I’m a detective. It’s my job.”
“It’s your job to solve murders. They haven’t murdered anyone!”
An awkward silence fell, and Reuben leapt in. “Well, I heard from Gabreel the other day, or Gabe, as he prefers to be called.”
“The Nephilim?” Alex asked.
“Well, I don’t know another Gabreel,” Reuben said with a smirk.
“What did he want?”
“A job for Asher, one of his winged buddies.” Reuben owned Greenlane Nurseries, and
although it was the winter months, they still had a couple of large greenhouses that they kept stocked, ready for the spring and summer months. They also sold lots of shrubs that kept the place ticking over all year.
“A Nephilim who likes gardening. Nice,” Avery said. “Did you offer him a job?”
“I did. A couple of the teens we employed left for University a few weeks ago, so he can fill in for them. He’ll start next week. Fully legit, too. They have paperwork and everything.”
Newton looked suspicious. “How have they got that?”
“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Reuben said, forking up another mouthful of noodles.
“Strange you should say that,” Alex said. “Gabreel came looking for a job with me, too. Well, for Amaziah, actually. Zee for short. So, he starts behind the bar next week.”
“Which one is he?” El asked, frowning. “I’m trying to put faces to names.”
“Hawk-nose, black hair, dark-skinned—if that helps?”
“Vaguely. The last time I saw them was in a storm, and to be honest, I can’t remember them clearly.”
“Well, it sounds like we’ll be seeing a lot more of some of them,” Alex said, helping himself to more food.
Briar looked thoughtful. “I could offer one of them some part-time work. Cassie can only help out a couple of days now that term has started again.”
Cassie was one of the ghost-hunters they’d met in the summer; she’d started working with Briar to learn about magic, and to learn a few simple spells to help with their paranormal investigations. She studied Parapsychology at Penryn University with Ben. Dylan, the third member, studied English Folklore.
Newton frowned and looked as if he might complain again, but Briar gave him a challenging stare and he wisely chose not to comment. Avery tried not to smirk. However, Alex simply nodded. “Great, I’ll let Gabreel know. I think he’s trying to set up a security business as a long-term plan, which sort of makes sense. I think some of the others have managed to get bartending jobs across town.”
El placed her empty plate on the coffee table. “So, what are we doing about Samhain this year? I presume we’re going to celebrate together?”
Samhain, or All Hallows’ Eve, was one of the important dates in the calendar for witches, one of the eight Sabbats, and they’d taken to celebrating them together. The celebrations consisted of feasting, celebrating the turn of the seasons, and cementing their relationships with each other. It was also a time to remember the dead and their ancestors. The energy of such gatherings would be significant, but generally no magic was performed.
Avery groaned. “Genevieve wants us to celebrate with the other covens. It came up at the last meeting. I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
Genevieve Byrne was the leader of the Witches Council, which governed the thirteen covens of Cornwall, and Avery was White Haven’s representative. The meetings took place every couple of months, and the latest had been only a few days ago. Avery had refused the invitation to join the celebrations for Lughnasadh after Genevieve declined to help defend White Haven against the Mermaids. She still felt a guilty pleasure over telling Genevieve where to stick the invite.
“Really?” Briar asked, excited. “I’d love to meet everyone!”
“Me, too!” El agreed. “Don’t you?”
“I guess so,” Avery said, shrugging. “I like it when we do our own thing, but it will be a good chance to meet all the other covens.”
“I’m game,” Reuben said, having finally finished eating. “One giant party. Sounds great!”
Alex smiled and winked at Avery. “Sounds like that’s a yes from us. Where will we all meet?”
“Rasmus’s house. He has large grounds on the edge of Newquay, surrounded by a wood. It’s very private, apparently. It’s where the covens celebrate all the Sabbats. I’ll get in touch with Genevieve and give her the good news.”
3
The next day was Saturday, the rain had eased, and cheered on by the bright autumnal sunshine, Sally had started to decorate the shop for Halloween.
“Don’t you think there are a few too many decorations?” Avery observed from the counter. Sally was stringing up toy skeletons, witches, and ghouls in the windows and around the shelves. On the counter were strings of fairy lights, and in the room at the back of the shop was a mountain of fake pumpkins, ready to fill any gaps.
“No. The more the merrier. It’s Halloween, Avery, in under two weeks! The most important date in White Haven!” She grinned, her face flushed, hair tied up on her head, and her sleeves rolled up. “I’ve got plans for the corner in the next room. You’re going to set it up as a reading corner, and we’re going to do evening readings of scary stories for kids. I’ve arranged it with the local school.”
“You have?” Avery’s heart sank. Lots of kids in her shop. They’d cause havoc! She looked around at her neat displays and tried to dispel the vision from her head.
Sally sighed. “Avery, trust me. It will bring in lots of customers, and parents will be here to supervise them.”
“Who’s going to read to them?” she asked. Please don’t let it be me.
“Me, of course.” Dan said, joining them from across the room where he’d been chatting to some customers. Dan was Avery’s assistant who was also doing post-grad English studies. He’d also almost met his doom at the hands of Nixie, one of the Mermaids. “It’ll be fun.”
“Great,” Avery said, slightly relieved. “I presume I’ll still have to do something?”
“Yes. You, like us, will be dressed up and helping customers stock up on books and their occult needs.”
Avery narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean, dressed up?”
Both Sally and Dan looked very pleased with themselves, and Avery had a sinking feeling.
“Well,” Dan said, “I’m going to be Dracula. I have a very long, sweeping cloak that I can wrap myself in. I can’t wait.”
Avery raised an eyebrow. “Really? I didn’t take you for a fancy dress type of guy.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Avery,” he said with a certain aloofness. “Sally will be dressed as a zombie. And guess what you’ll be?”
“Please don’t say a witch.”
“Of course you’ll be a witch.”
She lowered her voice. “Isn’t that a bit obvious, all things considered?”
“No. It’s perfect. Very meta.”
Sally agreed. “I’ve already bought you a big witch’s hat.”
“You’re kidding me! We haven’t done this any other year!”
“Change is good,” Sally insisted. “Besides, the Town Council want to make this a really good festival, seeing as Lughnasadh ended earlier than planned.”
That was their fault, Avery reflected, since they’d had to get Eve, a weather witch from St Ives, to make a huge storm to cover up their fight with the Mermaids on the beach. It had worked, but consequently the crowds had fled the beach earlier than usual.
Sally continued, “And Stan, our Councillor slash Druid is coming to inspect all the shops.”
“I give up,” Avery declared. “All right. I suppose it will be fine.”
“It will be great, trust us,” Dan said, smirking. “I can’t wait to see you in costume.”
“Be careful,” Avery said, “Or I might just hex you.”
They were interrupted by the arrival of Ben, one of the ghost-hunters. Avery turned to him with relief. “Hey, Ben. Keeping busy?”
Ben was average height with a stocky build and short, dark hair. He was wearing jeans, a university hoodie, and a jacket shrugged over the top. He greeted the others and then said, “Too busy. Spirit sightings are going up, particularly around Old Haven Church.”
“Really? I thought things were slowing down.”
“So did I, but not anymore.”
“Halloween magic?” Dan asked, wide-eyed.
“Oh please,” Avery said. “You missing all the action from the summer?”
“Not really. I�
��ll leave you to it,” he said sheepishly, and he and Sally went back to decorating the shop.
Ben fished in his pocket and pulled out his phone. “I’m wondering if these might have anything to do with it. I took pictures of a couple of things we found hanging on the trees around the cemetery.”
He showed Avery a photo of a bundle of twigs in the shape of a pentagram strung up high on the branch of a tree.
Avery frowned. “That’s weird. I wonder how long it’s been there.”
“Not long at all. We normally scope out the area every time we go up there, which is reasonably frequently. We have a few night vision cameras set up, courtesy of the vicar.”
“The vicar? James?”
“Yep, the same one who looks after the Church of All Souls. He kept in touch after the events there,” he said meaningfully, referring to the appearance of the Nephilim and the death of Harry, the verger. Avery was astonished. She had no idea he’d kept in touch with Ben and the others.
“Why didn’t you say so?”
“I didn’t think of it. Anyway, this is a proven hot spot, so we like to keep tabs on it. This,” he said, indicating the photo, “appeared in the last week.”
Avery was perplexed. Who could be placing those around the church grounds? Was there another witch in the area they didn’t know about? And what were they hoping to achieve? She made a decision. “Show me.”
***
Old Haven Church looked beautiful in the weak sunshine. The large, grey blocks of local stone it was made from looked golden in the light, and long shadows were already streaking across the old, lichen-covered gravestones.
Avery looked across to the Jacksons’ Mausoleum where Gil, Reuben’s brother, had been laid to rest only months before, at the beginning of the summer. Beneath it was a hidden room where previous generations of the witches had gathered to celebrate magical rites. She shivered. It was a creepy place, and she hoped she never had to go back there. Ben had no idea about the hidden room, but he knew all about Reuben’s brother and how he died.
The church was locked and the grounds were deserted, and Ben led the way down winding paths between the graves to an older part of the cemetery at the rear. Old Haven Church was out of town, high on the hill above the coast, and very few services or burials were held there anymore. Gil’s had been an exception because of the family mausoleum.
