by Clare Kauter
DAISY
"They can't be serious," I said, scanning the note again. They didn't want to put us in danger? A little late for that.
"They are," said Henry with a shrug. "There was a boat moored nearby earlier before I fell asleep. It's missing."
"Did you see them leave?"
He shook his head. "I tried to look for them, but I didn't have any luck. I cloaked the boat earlier so no one else would take it, and I assume they just slipped in and rowed across." A cloaking charm was essentially a ward that hid you by compelling onlookers to look away. They were reasonably effective, but given that we'd had one over the camp last night and the wolves still attacked it, I wasn't sure it would be enough. "That was the plan we were discussing before I fell asleep," he said. "Sneaking in and rescuing Alora without having to confront any wolves."
"Clouding the boat would have been a better choice," I commented.
"Yes, we all know how fond you are of clouding."
I rolled my eyes. "Do you think we should follow them?"
After a moment, he replied, "Not yet. If something goes wrong, it would be better if we were in a position to call in reinforcements. We're no good to them if we're captured."
I nodded, though I didn't like the fact that the witches were over there alone without full command of their magical faculties. "That makes sense. Enforcements like local police?"
"I was thinking Fach and Gladys."
"You can't be serious."
He stopped his twig snapping routine for a moment to shoot me a confused look. "What are you talking about?"
"They're dodgy as. We can't rely on them to bail us out."
"They are not," he replied. "You know as well as anyone that being born with dark magic doesn't automatically mean someone's evil, just as having light magic doesn't necessarily make someone good."
"Of course I know that," I said. "It's just that Fach and Gladys happen to be really dodgy."
He didn't reply, simply rolled his eyes and went back to playing with his stick. (No, not that. Don't be gross.)
"So what are we meant to do while they're gone?"
Henry chewed his lip for a moment before answering. "I can think of one thing we can do."
My shock must have registered on my face because when Henry turned to look at me, he said quickly, "Not that! For Satan's sake."
"Oh, I'm sorry," I said. "How could I have misinterpreted that? You're right, it definitely didn't sound like a seedy pickup line."
He shook his head. "You're ridiculous. Also conceited. Why would you presume I'd want to pick you up?"
My jaw dropped. "Conceited? Um, I seem to remember you kissing me once or twice."
He narrowed his eyes as if thinking. "Hmm, that's funny, because I seem to remember it the other way around."
"Oh, you're saying you didn't want to kiss me?"
He rolled his eyes, looking amused at my indignation. "Kiss you, maybe. Get it on in the middle of a forest surrounded by a death cult of werewolves, not so much."
I crossed my arms and turned my back on him. 'Maybe' he'd wanted to kiss me? Rude.
"Did you want to hear my idea or not?"
I frowned at him. "Fine," I said grumpily.
"It's a bit... Don't dismiss it straight away, OK?"
"Oh dear."
"The reason you can't use the Doomstone is because Hecate and Daisy have one of the companion items, right?"
"If you're about to suggest we just let them die on the island –"
"What? No! What is wrong with you?"
"Well with your 'this is a terrible idea but think about it' preamble, I was kind of expecting something along those lines."
He shook his head in disbelief. "We're not killing anyone, or letting anyone die."
Well, that was a relief. "OK. So what is it?"
"They wouldn't have had any reason to take the companion item to the island with them, would they?"
I shrugged. "I just assumed they took it everywhere with them."
"Probably," he said, "but it wouldn't hurt to just check their bags in case."
My eyes widened in shock. This nefarious little plot coming from straight-laced Henry?
"Are you serious?" I hissed.
"What? They're not going to be back any time soon," he said. "It's not like they're going to catch us at it."
"Henry!"
"You sound very scandalised for a psycho murderer who tried to convince me that I was insane for your own personal gain."
"I didn't exactly have a choice about that," I snapped.
"Sure you didn't. Anyway," he said, before I could talk again, "they're likely to be gone for a while. We can tell them we were attacked by a gang of thieves."
"I can't believe what I'm hearing."
"It wouldn't be too hard to stage the scene," he said. "And we both know how good you are at lying."
"You're no better than Ed," I said.
Henry raised his eyebrows. "I thought you liked Ed," he replied cooly.
"Of course I don't like him!"
"You seem to spend a lot of time alone with him for someone who doesn't like him."
"Because he knows things that I don't know, not because I enjoy his company!"
Henry folded his arms. "Mmm-hmm. Sure, I believe you."
"You're impossible."
"Oh, I'm impossible?"
"What is your problem? Are you jealous?" I asked.
"Hah! Jealous. Pfft, jealous. Me. Envious of him. Ridiculous."
"A tad over-defensive there, buddy."
He sighed exasperatedly. "You always keep secrets from me! Ed probably knows you better than I do."
"I keep things from you because you work for The Department! You could have me locked up in one of those horrible magic-suppressing prisons for the rest of my life with what I've done."
He shook his head. "You killed a few grabbers in self-defence. That's more likely to get you a medal for bravery."
"And Dick?"
"Deserved it."
"What about the stone? And the key? And the fact that I could hand Ed in at any time but I won't?"
He paused. "What was that?"
Gulp. "Uh…"
"You know where Ed is?"
"Well…"
"I thought you'd just bumped into him once or twice. I didn't think –"
"It's not –"
"You know what? I don't care," he said, gritting his teeth. "I'm cool. You can tell me these kinds of things."
"So you wouldn't turn me in for hanging out with Ed?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Nope."
"Good," I said, relieved. "Because I hang out with him a lot."
"Are you serious?" Henry cried.
I jerked back. "You just said I could tell you this stuff."
He took a deep breath and then exhaled. "Sorry. I didn't mean to get angry. Of course you can tell me. You can tell me anything."
"You're really OK with this?"
"So you've harboured some stolen goods and associated with a known criminal. That's not such a big deal."
"A second ago you seemed to think it was."
"OK, it is," he admitted. "You would probably go to jail for some of that. But not for your whole life."
"Such a comfort."
"And I wouldn't turn you in, anyway," he said. "Clearly, otherwise you'd already be locked up."
A howl sounded through the evening air, interrupting our conversation. Henry and I both stood immediately and scrambled through the forest towards the loch. As we drew closer to the water, more howls and banging rang out. Henry and I each stood behind a tree and peeked around the corner at the island. In the twilight it was difficult for me to make out what was going on. Two trees down, Henry shifted through a cycle of animals – first a hawk, then an owl, then a snake.
"What are you doing?" I whispered.
"Picking animals with the best vision."
I guess that made sense. "Why a snake?"
"Thermal," said Henry.
He sighed. "Hecate and Daisy just got spotted."
"Are they OK?"
He nodded and shifted back into human form. "They're fine. A wolf saw them the second they climbed off the boat, by the look of it." He shook his head. "They're being lead off to the dungeons. They didn't even put up a fight."
Of course they hadn't fought. They hadn't been able to.
"I can't believe them," I said, staring out at the island in disbelief. "What the hell were they thinking?"
I looked over at Henry. He shook his head, just as dumbfounded as I was.
"This is ridiculous," I continued. "They were completely defenceless."
"They should have taken us along," he agreed.
"I don't think you quite grasp the scope of the issue, Henry," I said, but he wasn't really paying attention.
"Perhaps they were trying to be captured," he mused, frowning. "That would be an effective way to find Alora. And then they can escape from there."
It was a solid theory, aside from one minor detail. "And how do you propose they would do that?"
"By using their powers?" he said with a shrug.
I shook my head, exhaling loudly. "I very much doubt it."
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
I looked down at the ground before speaking, knowing that when I told him he would be furious. "Their magic still wasn't working."
"What?" he asked, brow furrowed. "You mean their energy wasn't completely back to normal?"
I shook my head. "Not even close. They'd barely healed at all. Even my magic's still kind of weak."
"What are you telling me? What about the potion Daisy brewed that you all drank – didn't it fix you?"
"It helped a little," I said. "But Daisy told me it would take time for her magic to come back in full force. She said they'd need to heal and that crystals and potions weren't going to speed that up much."
Henry pursed his lips, obviously trying not to get angry. "And why exactly didn't she tell me this?"
"I don't know. I think she thought you were a little, uh, irate at the time."
His eyebrows shot up. "Oh really? She thought I was irate that she killed the three of you and rendered you completely helpless for days afterwards? Why on earth would she think that would make me cranky?" He placed his hands over his eyes, breathing deeply, before sliding them down to his cheeks, stretching the skin of his face. "So you mean to tell me that they went in there while their magic wasn't working and got themselves captured?"
With a grimace, I nodded. "I'm afraid so."
"Idiots."
"I think they thought they were doing us a favour," I said. "Going in there alone."
"Some favour," Henry scoffed. "Now we have to rescue three witches instead of one."
"Do you have a plan?"
He sighed. "Nope. I haven't got a clue," he replied. "I don't suppose you've got any ideas?"
"I've got one," I said, "but I don't think you're going to like it."
CHAPTER 22
HE CRINGED. "Oh no, who is it? Death? Satan?"
"Now, Henry, that almost sounded like you didn't want to spend time with me," came Satan's voice from above.
I fought back a laugh as Henry visibly paled.
"It's not Death or Satan," I said to Henry. Turning my head skywards, I continued, "But thank you for the offer."
"Always, my dear."
An idea struck me. "Actually, Satan," I said.
"Yes, darling?"
"You don't know anything about this death cult of werewolves, do you?"
"What would you like to know?"
I peered across at the island. "The way they're moving tables and chairs into that cemetery and setting up light orbs and stuff, it looks like something's about to happen."
"Of course it is, my dear," she replied. "It's full moon. The ritual's tonight."
"And what exactly is the ritual?"
"Ooh, it's not pretty."
I grimaced. If even Satan thought it was ugly, that did not bode well.
"It involves human sacrifice, doesn't it?"
Satan didn't respond. I sighed helplessly. The dragon had already told me as much, but I had hoped he'd been exaggerating. Silly of me, I know. Of course it involved human sacrifice. Of course it did.
"Do you know what it's all about?"
"I do."
I waited for her to elaborate, but she didn't. "And?" I prompted.
"I'm afraid I can't really tell you, dear."
"What do you mean you..." I trailed off. "Oh, hell. It's got something to do with me, doesn't it?" I'd been hoping for once it had been about a different king.
Her silence was confirmation enough.
I rolled my eyes dramatically. "Why do people always have to sacrifice someone in rituals that have to do with me? What do they think I am?"
"To be fair, you have sacrificed a few people yourself in your time."
I glared at Henry with such force that he took a step back.
"What's wrong, Henry? Afraid that I might murder you?"
"If looks could kill, I suspect that I'd already be dead."
"I wouldn't worry too much, Henry," said Satan. "If it comes to that, Nessa is a very gifted necromancer."
Henry's eyes widened. "I knew it!" he hissed at me.
Necromancy was hugely illegal and generally frowned upon (except for the government-approved type performed by the coven). From the moment I'd met Henry, I'd wondered if he'd been sent to 'audit' me because rumours of my past exploits in raising the dead had reached The Department's ears. Now my suspicions were confirmed. I didn't think Henry was likely to turn me in this late in the game, though. Otherwise I could dob him in to Daisy and Hecate about his plan to search their bags.
Satan continued, "Of course, that would only be good until your body began to rot. And you'd be stuck in one form inside your slowly decaying corpse while Nessa held complete power over you and dictated your every move." She paused. "Perhaps there is something to worry about."
Henry looked slightly ill as he listened to her words.
"Play nice," said Satan, and she left us to our conversation.
"Anyway, as I was saying, I think we might need to call someone in."
Henry stared at me blankly. "Right."
I frowned. "You don't need to be so panicked. I'm not going to murder you."
"Maybe not on purpose."
I rolled my eyes. "Look, do you want to rescue the others or not?"
For a moment he seemed to be really considering leaving them to die. Finally he sighed. "I guess."
I raised my brows at him. He shrugged.
"To be honest, this constant danger thing is wearing a bit thin."
Narrowing my eyes, I said, "Welcome to my life."
He nodded. "It's a wonder you're as sane as you are." He sighed. "Fine, what's this idea that I'm going to hate?"
Rather than answer, I decided just to perform a quick summoning.
When Ed popped into the clearing, Henry threw his hands into the air. "Why am I even surprised anymore?"
"If it's any comfort, Henry, I have to admit that I'm surprised too," said Ed. He looked at me. "What are you doing?"
"Daisy and Hecate have been captured and they're going to be sacrificed by a werewolf cult tonight."
"Well, thanks for heads up. I guess I can finally stop worrying about them tracking me down. Not that they were having a lot of luck, seeing as they're still so focused on tracing the Doomstone." He glanced at Henry. "So, is Henry part of our little criminal gang now?"
"No," spat Henry.
"Pity. Would have been nice to have a mascot."
"Children, please," I said. I turned to Ed. "I didn't call you here to tell you that all your problems were solved."
"Of course not. You called me here to use me."
"Are you really shooting for the moral high ground, Ed? After everything you've done?"
"Hey, at least I didn't try to make poo
r Henry think he was crazy to save my own skin."
"No, if it had been up to you, you would have just murdered him to get him out of the way."
Ed shrugged. "You shouldn't rule it out, that's all I'm saying."
"You need to help us rescue them."
Ed laughed. "Oh, wow. That's amazing." He gave me a slow clap. "Brilliant."
"I can see why you always call him for help," said Henry.
"Jealous?" said Ed.
"Ed, you are going to help us."
"Why?"
"The wolves are going to try to summon me tonight."
"And?"
"And that means they have one of the companion items."
"And so do Hecate and Daisy," said Henry.
"And?"
I frowned at him. "What do you mean?"
"Why would I care?"
"Because – because – what?" I was confused. Ed had always wanted to be involved in this sort of thing before. Why wasn't he jumping at the chance now?
"Those witches want to lock me in a tower for eternity," said Ed. "I'm sorry, but my loyalty to myself is stronger than my loyalty to you."
Anger spread through my body. Every part of me, from my toes to the tips of my hair, sparked with fury. When I spoke, my voice didn't sound like my own. "If you don't help me now, Ed, I swear to you that I'll make you regret it later."
Both Ed and Henry stood staring at me for a beat, mouths agape. "Uh..." said Henry.
"OK," said Ed with a gulp. "What do you need me to do?"
"You're in?" He'd agreed a little faster than I'd expected for someone who'd been so adamantly against helping a second ago.
He nodded. "You look like you might eat my soul if I don't do what you want immediately, so yes, absolutely, I'm in."
"Good." I turned to Henry, who was still staring at me, eyes wide open. "Are you OK?"
He jumped and shook himself at the sound of my voice. "What? Yes. Good. Fine. Wonderful."
I sighed. "What happened?"
"What do you mean?" Ed asked.
"When I got up you. What happened?"
He spent a few seconds choosing his words. "You just, um, were very regal."
"It's too late to get on my good side, Ed."
He shrugged. "It was worth a try," he said. "You just looked really scary. And the air started to crackle a little. And there was, like, a mild earthquake."
"Really?" How had I not noticed that?
