Mist, Murder & Magic

by Dionnara Dawson

  ‘It’s okay. I didn’t mean to sleep. Any luck?’ He stretched and yawned.

  Hella shook her head in frustration. ‘No, unfortunately. All of these books can’t even agree on where or what Valhalla even is. How the hell can we get there?’ She tossed a book at the one she had thrown on the floor in anger. Her inner bookworm cringed, but she couldn’t help it. She was desperate to help Harrow. She picked up her phone to find a text from Amara.

  Harrow healed. What the hell happened to him? I’ve never seen injuries like that. He wouldn’t tell me.

  Hella’s stomach flipped inside her. It was me, she thought, but couldn’t bring herself to tell Amara that. Tommy got up off the couch and came to sit with her. He noticed her staring at her phone.

  ‘What is it?’ he asked.

  ‘Amara healed Harrow, but she wanted to know what happened to him.’

  ‘He didn’t tell her?’ Tommy asked, surprised.

  Hella shook her head. Tommy took the phone from her and put it down. ‘We have other things to worry about right now. And it wasn’t your fault.’

  Hella was several hours beyond tired, and a rollercoaster of emotions past simply sorry for what she had done. She had swum into numbness and needed to put everything else aside. She had work to do. If only her astral-self could sleep, then return to her with renewed energy or something, she thought dazedly.

  Tommy peered down at her. ‘Hella?’

  Something tickled at the back of her mind. Nerretti returned to the store then, bizarrely with a five o’clock shadow on his jaw. It really set in the uncle picture Hella had of him. He smiled down at them.

  ‘Hey kids, still going? Also, this cat was trying to scratch his way inside.’

  Hella jumped up. ‘Salem!’ She ran over and took the cat from Net’s arms. ‘He disappeared around the time of the battle. Oh my god, I’m so glad you’re okay.’ She scrunched him into herself in a crushing hug. Salem made an indignant meowing noise. ‘Sorry,’ she said, dropping him lightly to the ground. ‘Where have you been?’

  Net looked at the cat expectantly. ‘He’s not answering.’

  Hella rolled her eyes. ‘Well, he’s a cat, Net. He can’t answer.’

  ‘We could do a spell on him to see where he’s been,’ Net suggested.

  ‘Not now.’ Hella waved him down. ‘We have to focus on Harrow.’ To her surprise, Salem growled at this, and pawed at Net.

  ‘I think the animal wants us to do the spell,’ Net said seriously.

  Hella didn’t have the energy to take Net’s knowledge of the world—or lack thereof—too seriously right now. Instead, she collapsed on the couch, closing her eyes.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Tommy asked.

  ‘I was just thinking, I wish my astral-self could go and take a nap for me or something.’ Hella let her heavy eyes fall shut.

  Net scrambled to Hella and took her by the shoulders suddenly. ‘Hellora!’ he said, too loudly for the quiet room.

  She looked up at him, startled. ‘Yes, Nerretti?’ she said, using his own full name.

  ‘Your astral self!’ Net said, his silver eyes bright.

  Hella and Tommy waited for him to finish. ‘What about it?’ Hella eventually pressed.

  ‘You could astral to Valhalla,’ Net said.

  Hella frowned. ‘Oh. I mean, I guess. But I still don’t know where it is, Net. Besides, I don’t think I could use my powers for that long. I mean, how big is Valhalla? I would have to look around…’

  Net was shaking his head, but with a smile on his face. ‘No, no, no, no. Wait.’ He got up, now murmuring to himself as he rifled through more books in the main room. To their surprise, he returned with Remy’s spellbook.

  Hella sighed. ‘Net, there’s nothing about Valhalla in there.’ Hella didn’t especially want to think of her former guardian right now. Besides, she was sure there was no mention of souls or anything in the old book. Apart from the one-line warning against necromancy that they had read too late.

  ‘No, there’s not,’ Net admitted. ‘But you’re a witch, Hella. The promised witch. Whatever normal witchy spells we can do would be amplified if you did them.’

  Tiredly, Hella sighed. ‘So?’ she said, unable to follow his train of thought. Tommy sat in silence, his grass-green eyes foggy with sleep too. Hella watched Tommy reach out a hand and play with Salem.

  ‘So,’ Net said, sitting on the edge of the couch with the book. ‘There are normal Wiccan spells that might be able to help us, that you still haven’t learned, Hella.’ He flipped through the pages. ‘There’s something I saw here before.’ He flipped and flipped. ‘Ah!’ he said, landing on what he wanted. ‘This. This is a Binding Spell, Hella.’

  Hella’s mind felt thick with fog. She wondered where she could conjure coffee from this early. ‘That’s wonderful, Net, really. But how does that help us?’

  ‘Because, Hella, you astralled to find Meele and the others when you’d never been to the Captor’s Point before. We know you can do that. Valhalla is different, of course, but if we do a Binding Spell on you and someone else with magic—even multiple people—then you could stay there longer. They would be your lifeline. You would use all of their connected magicks, not just your own.’

  Hella frowned and looked up. ‘That,’ she said, her mind finally breaking through the fog, ‘actually makes sense.’

  Tommy smiled. ‘It does. But, doesn’t she need some idea of where it is, or what to look for?’

  Net’s brow furrowed. ‘Perhaps.’ Something like mischief sparkled in his silver eyes, and Hella immediately liked it.

  ‘What?’ she prompted.

  ‘I was just thinking, if you wanted to make sure you were in the right place, to find Harrow’s soul, the best magical way to do that, would be to take Harrow with you.’

  ‘Harrow’s locked up.’ Tommy rubbed his eyes, and Hella wondered if he were daydreaming about coffee too. To her surprise, Salem jumped up onto Tommy’s lap and started purring. The warlock looked honoured.

  The sparkle in Net’s eyes shone brighter. ‘He is, but maybe he doesn’t have to be. Not entirely, anyway.’

  ‘You want me to astral with him?’ Hella asked. ‘So, really, he would still be in his cell, but his consciousness would be with me, in Valhalla, looking for his soul?’ Honestly, the conversations she had these days were ridiculous. She reminded herself to take notes in her notebook. If she ever found herself in a non-lethal magical emergency again, that is, which seemed unlikely.

  Net nodded. ‘I mean, theoretically, it should work.’ He read the requirements of the Binding Spell in Remy’s book, his blond head bobbing. ‘Got it, got that, yup.’

  Tommy looked at Hella seriously, which, she thought, only he could do with very messed up hair. ‘But if you’re with Harrow, who would you be bound to?’

  ‘Well, it could be a number of people, but ideally a witch or a warlock,’ Net said, his gaze still on the book.

  ‘Well, how about me?’ Tommy’s mouth pulled into a half smile. ‘I want to help.’

  ‘Very good,’ Net said, ‘but another one would be good too.’

  ‘How about me?’ A voice said from the door.

  They had all been so focused, and probably too tired, to notice Piper Harlem at the door. She had let herself into the store and had apparently been there long enough to know what they were talking about. ‘Piper,’ Hella said, and the woman smiled just a little.

  ‘I want to help too, Hellora.’ She fully entered the room now and came to sit with the others. ‘If you’ll have me.’ Salem the cat gave her a thoughtful once-over and meowed to announce his presence.

  ‘Hello there.’ Piper scratched his ears.

  ‘She is a powerful witch, Hella,’ Net said hesitantly. ‘It would help.’

  Hella looked up at her birth mother. It was still hard to associate this stranger with the word ‘mother’, but there you have it. Piper was still equipped with her black clothes and rainbow d
isplay of athames. Hella’s bracelet now mirrored her weapons. ‘I didn’t know you were still in town,’ Hella murmured.

  ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ Piper handed her a small blue glass bottle with a stopper in it. ‘Give this to Harrow, get him to drink it. It’ll help curb the darkness in him.’

  Hella took it. ‘Will it have any side-effects?’

  ‘None,’ Piper said.

  Hella rolled the bottle, the smooth glass through her fingers. ‘I don’t know,’ Hella admitted, though this wasn’t news. ‘I don’t know what you’re going to do, or what you want. You could have a hidden agenda.’ It came out a little sharp. Tommy averted his gaze.

  Piper took a moment to answer. ‘That’s fair. I understand. To make it perfectly clear, Hellora, I am here to help you in any way I can. The stars know, I have a lot to make up for.’

  The words rang hollow to Hella. There was nothing she knew of for this woman to make up for. If she had been hurt by Piper’s giving her up at birth, it was barely: she hadn’t known. ‘Well, I have to help Harrow. This is all my doing.’ It was all she wanted. She had to fix it. She couldn’t think of anything else.

  Piper nodded, without asking details. ‘Okay. Would you like my assistance?’

  A part of Hella would have preferred to use Hunter or Lola: both strong, capable witches—and they were familiar to her. Friendly faces. But she knew that Piper was more powerful, and she was already here. Besides, a voice in Hella’s mind said it was better that Hunter and Lola were not involved—Hunter might not agree to help Harrow anyway. They lived at Faerie House, so if she asked them to do this, there was a chance word could get over to Warlock House, and they might get in the way of their plan. So, keeping her feelings—or lack thereof—aside, she nodded. ‘I would. Thank you.’

  ‘So, what’s the plan exactly?’ Piper asked, still petting Salem who seemed to relish the attention. He purred loudly, then looked up at Tommy, as if daring him to pat him better than Piper.

  ‘Hella and Harrow need to astral project to Valhalla, where they will find Harrow’s soul and return it to him.’ Tommy explained succinctly.

  Piper’s blonde eyebrows rose a little. ‘I see.’ She looked at Hella. ‘This is the one who attacked you?’

  ‘Only because he had no soul,’ Hella reiterated.

  ‘I see,’ Piper repeated. ‘And where is the little beast? Do you know where The Force took him?’

  Hella’s lips pursed. ‘He’s locked up. In Warlock House. Now probably under guard.’

  Piper’s eyes—the exact shade of green as Hella’s—seemed to roll slightly. ‘Well, then. We have our work cut out for us. Do we have a deadline for this? What happens if the evil little creature doesn’t get it back?’

  ‘He’s not—’ Hella snapped.

  ‘Harrow now has two days before his trial,’ Tommy said. ‘If he’s found guilty, he’ll be put through the Imperium Ceremony.’

  Piper flinched. ‘Ouch. Well, no one should suffer that.’

  ‘Well, shit,’ Hella said, pretty much summing up the situation. Tommy opened up his phone with a frown. ‘What is it now?’ Hella guessed.

  Tommy gave a half-shrug. ‘Well, not about Harrow. But, just something weird. The Force keeps the Faerie and Warlock councils in the loop on anything that might affect us, but Tahlia says they’ve actually reported Cambion attacks lately.’

  ‘Someone’s attacking Cambions again?’ Net asked. ‘Who?’

  ‘No, Cambions are attacking humans,’ Tommy said. ‘But that doesn’t make sense.’

  ‘Well, sure it does,’ Piper said. ‘Vampires gotta eat, right?’

  Tommy ran a hand through his hair, making it hilariously worse. ‘Yeah, but Tahlia says they’ve received suburban reports. Werewolves and vampires attacking in the middle of suburban streets, in hotels, in people’s homes. There have also been a lot of what appear to be demon attacks: people eaten.’

  ‘Ew,’ Hella and Piper said at the same time, then looked at each other.

  ‘Well.’ Nerretti sighed. ‘I guess that makes sense. There are no longer angels to curb their violence. We don’t have time to worry about this. We’re officially on the clock to save Harrow.’

  Hella nodded. ‘I really need a coffee.’

  ‘How are we going to get to Harrow, to astral him, if he’s locked up?’ Tommy asked.

  Piper’s eyes gleamed. ‘I think I can help with that. Are we aiming for minimal casualties?’

  ‘Those are warlocks,’ Tommy hissed.

  ‘Okay, so minimal casualties.’ Piper raised her hands. ‘Fine. We can lure them away, then.’

  Tommy crossed his arms over his chest, then glanced at Hella with a, Can you believe her? look. Normally, Hella would share his concerns. She hoped no one would get hurt. But this was Harrow they were talking about.

  They spent an hour at the store preparing. Hella conjured coffees and breakfast from Café au Lait, and Tommy ate like a typical teenage boy: three plates of scrambled eggs and two sides of bacon were inhaled. It was the first time Hella had thought of him as ‘normal’ rather than ‘warlock’. Not that there was anything wrong with warlocks, mind you. They were just different, Hella was learning, though perhaps not as different as she had initially thought.

  Hella conjured a fresh set of clothes and got changed in the back room, tying her hair up in a tight braid that fell down her back. She had sent a message to Grace, letting her know what was going on, and checking on the kids. They were all fine, she was glad to hear.

  Piper came to check on her as Hella shrugged on a blue leather jacket. She secured her athame, and wondered for a moment if she should bring along extra weapons—which would not align with her ‘hoping no one would get hurt’ thought, but still. Better them than Harrow. Hella blinked at the thought, wondering when she had started putting Harrow’s life above others’. Possibly around the same time she had started playing God by taking away his soul. For a brief moment, Hella wondered if there was a God. She would have to remember to ask Net someday. If anyone knew, it would be the guy who had lived in Heaven.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Piper asked, peering into the back room.

  Hella glanced in the mirror on the wall. She’d had no sleep and had replaced her fatigue with stress and excess caffeine. Her hair was neat, she noticed, for a change. She needed it out of the way. She zipped up her boots. ‘I’m fine,’ Hella said. ‘So, how are we doing this?’

  Piper looked wry for a moment. ‘Hellora, how much do you want this?’

  Hella knew what she was really being asked: How far are you prepared to go to save him?

  It was still early morning, and a Sunday if she had her days right. Maybe warlocks slept in. She eyed Piper seriously. ‘I’m doing this, whatever it takes. It’s my responsibility.’

  ‘You mean, he is?’

  Hella didn’t blanch at her candour. ‘Yes, I do. So, what’s the plan?’

  Net and Tommy had gathered behind Piper to listen in, so they all entered the back room. Tommy sat up on a shelf, looking dubious. Hella didn’t want to hurt anyone, she really didn’t, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that nothing would stand between her and Harrow. She didn’t dare say this to Tommy; it was his House, his people, even his family. Nerretti looked a little worn. She wondered how much sleep he’d had. It must be odd, being newly human and needing rest.

  ‘We have to do this as quickly as possible,’ Piper began. ‘Having said that, the quieter we get in, the better. We don’t know how long this astral-trip will take, and we won’t be able to go through with it if people are chasing us.’ So far, they all nodded in agreement. ‘Which leads me to you, Tommy. You know the House better than any of us.’ Piper turned and grabbed a piece of paper. ‘Please describe it to me.’

  Tommy frowned but did as she asked. ‘It’s a large building, three floors plus the basement. There are always two Sensus faeries at the entrance to deter humans. We’ll have to get past them. Through the double-fron
t doors is the foyer which is white marble with warlock-coloured veins.’

  As he spoke, Piper held her hand over the paper, her nails glowing purple-white, and lights appeared on the paper, matching Tommy’s description, laying out the House in perfect detail, like a painting.

  ‘The ground floor is the bar and entertainment areas, at this time of day, Leo will just be cleaning. I doubt anyone will be in there other than him. The council isn’t due to meet today, so they won’t be wandering around. My aunt, Tahlia, is out on assignment for at least the next few hours. Most other warlocks will be in their chambers or working with The Force. I don’t know where their new base is, but it’s not at the House. The next two floors—apart from a few evidence rooms—are housing and family rooms. The basement, where Harrow is, has about fifty cells, all branched out so that each one usually has its own room. There will be guards at the entrance, thanks to our earlier visit, but we can subdue them,’ Tommy said.

  Piper finished her magical painting. ‘Good,’ she said. ‘Thanks for the intel. Any weapons rooms?’

  Tommy frowned. ‘No. We’re warlocks. We don’t use weapons.’ He shimmered, all shining green, and smiled. ‘We are the weapons.’

  Piper quirked an eyebrow. ‘Cute. Okay, so just the Sensus guards at the front, and the ones in the basement. Any back or side exits?’

  ‘Two side exits: one comes out on the fringe of the woods, the other comes out onto a clearing, but there might be kids playing out there.’

  ‘How long can we stay in Harrow’s cell unnoticed? Do they bring him food or check on him regularly?’ Piper asked.

  ‘They would normally just leave him be, bring him food three times a day. With the added security though, I’m not sure.’ Tommy folded his arms over his chest. Hella could tell he wanted to be careful with this plan; he was protective of Harrow, but wouldn’t let his fellow warlocks get hurt.

  ‘Right, we’ll have to wing that part.’ Piper looked over the painting. ‘Our best bet is through the side entrance closest to the woods.’

  Tommy shook his head. ‘No, it’s not. The Sensus will stop you.’