Brimstone Witch Mysteries - Box Set 2

by April Fernsby

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because I’m going pick up on your thoughts and teleport us there.”

  Stanley punched his paw in the air. “Teleport us there? Wowsers!”

  I picked Stanley up, closed my eyes and thought carefully about where Mortimer’s dilapidated cottage was. Jeremy’s hands on my shoulders felt heavy and my ears suddenly popped.

  Jeremy moved his hands and said, “We’re here.”

  I opened my eyes to find we were standing outside Mortimer’s home. I mumbled, “How? What happened? How did you do that?”

  Jeremy replied, “You have to be an extremely qualified witch to do that spell correctly. I’m sure Blythe or Esther will teach you how to do it in the future.”

  Stanley chuckled to himself in my arms. “Wow. I feel like I’m in a science fiction movie.”

  We walked towards the cottage and I rapped on the rotting wooden door. There was no answer but I heard a shuffling noise inside so I opened the door and stepped in.

  I was expecting to find filth and ruin inside, but it wasn’t like that at all. Everything sparkled and shone. The furniture was new and the decorations were tasteful and expensive-looking. There was an office area to one side and Mortimer was sitting there with his back facing us. Huge headphones covered his ears as he tapped away at a computer in front of him.

  Stanley said, “Look at this place. It looks nothing like the outside. The outside is a disguise! That’s so clever.”

  I didn’t have time to be amazed by the scene in front of me. I put Stanley down, marched over to Mortimer and tapped him sharply on the shoulder. He jumped in surprise, spun around on his chair and removed the headphones. He was clean shaven and not wearing a disguise of any sort.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked. “How did you get in?”

  “Through the door. I want to know what’s going on at Knotty Cove. What’s wrong with the seabed?”

  Mortimer blinked in surprise. “How do you know about that? Who told you? Whatever you’ve heard, it’s all a lie. I had nothing to do with that black rock that was taken to Knotty Cove.” He abruptly stopped talking and his glance slid to one side.

  “No more lies! I know Nerita took a black rock into Knotty Cove. Where did she put it? On the seabed? Is that going to be the cause of the damage there? When will the damage occur? How bad will it be? If you tell me any more lies, I’m going to take strong action against you.”

  Mortimer rolled his chair back a fraction. “Nerita told me about the black rock she’d found in the Brimstone waters. It had come from that black cloud that had been hanging about. She knew the rock was dangerous and, in a panic, she went through the secret passageway to your world and planted the rock in the seabed there. She must have felt guilty because she confessed to me later about what she’d done.” He pointed to the computer screen in front of him. “Despite not being allowed in the sea, I’ve kept up with what’s going on there. I’ve been monitoring the flow and ebb of the sea in Brimstone in case anything untoward happens. When I heard about that black cloud appearing, I increased my surveillance.”

  I looked at the screen and couldn’t make any sense of the swirls and numbers on it. I asked, “Where did you get this computer from?”

  “Seeing as I’m mostly human now, it’s easy for me to travel into your world. I love going there and getting equipment to help me with my inventions. When Nerita told me what she’d done, I went to Knotty Cove and set up some instruments there to measure unusual activity.” He gave me a grim smile. “I soon found some. Nerita told me where she’d placed the rock and I placed underwater cameras there. Over the next few weeks, tentacles came out of the rock and reached out into the surrounding area. It was like the rock was alive. My equipment picked up on tremors and movement across that area. Those tremors have increased significantly in the last few weeks.”

  My legs felt wobbly and I lowered myself onto the table. “What’s going to happen?”

  “There’s going to be a massive underwater earthquake very soon. It’ll cause a tsunami which will destroy everything in its path. The authorities in your world don’t know this is going to happen because the black force is invisible to them. I told Nerita this and that’s why she ordered the sirens to go there. She needed time to work out how to remove the rock. She’d tried to do it herself, but the rock wouldn’t budge. I offered my assistance, but she said it was her mess and she had to sort it out.”

  “Can we move the rock? Can I use magic on it?” I asked.

  Mortimer shook his head. “It’s too late. The tsunami will happen in the next few hours.”

  I jumped up. “Why didn’t you tell me that immediately?” Rage coursed through me. “And why didn’t you tell me any of this when we spoke before? I could have done something then.”

  Mortimer had the decency to look ashamed. “I didn’t want to get involved in Nerita’s business. I have nothing to do with the merpeople anymore.”

  I swallowed down my anger and said to him, “What can we do about this now? We can’t let innocent people die.”

  Mortimer ran a hand over the back of his neck. “There’s nothing you can do about the tsunami. However, you can get the sirens out of there before it’s too late.”

  “Too late for what?”

  He pointed to the screen. “The moving seabed is causing damage to the underwater passage. The sirens won’t be able to use that soon. They’ll be stuck in Knotty Cove forever. Even if they survive the tsunami, they won’t thrive in your world. They’ll probably die.”

  “There must be something we can do.” I stared at the computer screen in horror hoping that it would give me an answer.

  Mortimer said, “You can’t save the humans, but you can save the sirens. If you go back now, you can order them to leave before the passageway is destroyed.”

  I continued to stare at the screen in hopelessness. A gentle breeze wafted against my cheek and I caught the slightest aroma of rose perfume. It was Mum’s perfume. I closed my eyes and a feeling of calm slowly descended on me. An idea came to me. I knew without a doubt that if Mum were here, she’d agree with the course of action that was forming in my mind.

  I turned to Jeremy and said, “I know what to do. I’m going to need your help.”

  Chapter 28

  Jeremy shook his head vehemently when I told him my plan. “No! Absolutely not! It’s dangerous. You’ll kill yourself. I won’t let you do it.”

  “You can’t stop me,” I told him. “I’ve seen the spell for calming the seas in one of Gran’s books. I can’t remember the words, but you must know them. Tell me what they are.”

  Jeremy folded his arms tightly over his embroidered waistcoat. “That spell is to calm turbulent seas in a storm. It’ll be no use against a tsunami. Especially not one that’s been caused by black magic!”

  “But it might help lessen the damage,” I argued. “Please, Jeremy, I have to try something.”

  His brow furrowed and he tightened his arms even more. “I won’t let you do this. Your gran wouldn’t want you to do this, and I know your mum wouldn’t have.”

  I gave him a soft smile. “That’s where you’re wrong. I can feel Mum’s presence. I can smell her perfume. Can’t you?”

  Jeremy’s nose twitched and a look of surprise came over his face. His voice was less sure now. “This is a ridiculous plan.”

  “But it’s the only plan we have. I have to try. Tell me the words to the spell.”

  Jeremy’s arms dropped and he let out a dramatic sigh. “You are so stubborn. I will tell you the words, but only when we’re at Knotty Cove. I’m coming with you.”

  “Me too!” Stanley announced. “I’ll do what I can to help.”

  I lifted Stanley up and looked at his dear little face. I had no intention of putting him in harm’s way.

  “Stanley, I love you so much. I don’t think I tell you that enough. You are my best friend.” I smiled at him and stroked his head.

  Stanley let out a little yawn. “I
know you love me. Why are you telling me this now?” He yawned again. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Like what?”

  “As if you’ll never see me again.” His eyes narrowed. “Are you casting a spell on me? Your hand feels suspiciously warm.” He yawned again and his eyes began to close. His voice became drowsy. “Stop it, Cassia, stop making me tired. I want to come with you. I don’t want to fall asleep.”

  As soon as his eyes closed completely, I put him in Mortimer’s arms and said, “Take him to Gia at the beach café. Tell her I’ll be back for him as soon as I can.” I hesitated. “If I don’t come back, tell her to take Stanley to Gran’s house.”

  Mortimer frowned. “I haven’t had anything to do with the creatures at Brimstone Beach for years. I’m not comfortable with talking to them.”

  “I don’t care if you’re comfortable or not. You should have told me about the black rock before. Taking Stanley to the café is the least you can do for me now. While you’re there, speak to your brother and find out if he knew about Nerita taking the black rock to Knotty Cove.”

  “I’m not sure about that.” Mortimer shifted in his seat.

  I glared at him. “That was not a request. If King Taron doesn’t know about the black rock, see if anyone else knew about it. Mortimer, the damage that’s about to occur in Knotty Cove could have been prevented by you. As soon as you knew what Nerita had done, you should have informed me or another witch. We might not be facing this catastrophe now.”

  Mortimer wilted under my stare. “Okay, I’ll do those things.”

  “Good.” I gave him a tight smile. “Hopefully, I’ll see you back at Brimstone Beach soon.” I moved back to Jeremy. “Take us to Knotty Cove immediately.”

  Jeremy gripped my shoulders and green lights flashed all around me. A second later, we were standing on the sand at Knotty Cove. The sea roared in my ears and a strong wind whipped my hair across my face. The scene here had changed dramatically in the last thirty minutes.

  Jeremy’s face was aghast as he looked at the sea. “Look at it! It looks alive.”

  I took in the tumultuous water in front of me. It was rushing up the shore in anger and it looked almost black. I jumped out of the way as the water gushed over my shoes before it retreated with a low growling noise. Within two seconds, it rushed back and the water came to my knees knocking me backwards.

  Jeremy caught me before I hit the sand. Above the noise, he yelled, “We have to move! The water’s coming back even stronger.” He dragged me away from the wall of water which was racing towards us like a wild animal.

  I looked towards the row of buildings along the promenade and was shocked to see the residents standing there with horror on their faces. The sirens were clustered around them and appeared to be singing and pleading with the residents to move.

  I called out to Jeremy, “The sirens’ songs can’t be heard above the noise!”

  Jeremy gave me a grim nod. “Don’t worry about the humans. I can deal with them. Order the sirens to return to Brimstone before it’s too late.” He dashed over to the nearest group of people and raised his hands. Sparks of green light shot from his fingers like shooting stars and landed gently on the people there. One by one, they hastened away.

  I scanned the sirens’ faces until I found Ollyanne. I raced over to her and shouted, “You have to take your sirens home right now! The passageway back won’t last for much longer.”

  “But the humans,” she started to argue with me.

  “The humans are being dealt with. Go now! That’s an order.”

  Ollyanne’s face twisted with indecision.

  I grabbed her shoulder and yelled again, “Go now! Before your way back has gone!”

  Ollyanne nodded and within a minute, the bare footed sirens were running down the sand and into the churning sea. They dipped beneath the waves and soon disappeared.

  “Please make it back safely,” I muttered to myself.

  Jeremy came to my side and shouted, “The humans are safe. I used a spell to make sure every resident knows they have to leave immediately.” He turned to look at the sea. “It’s time to perform our spell. I don’t know if it will work, but it will be more effective if we say the words together.”

  The spray from the sea was now lashing at my face like a whip and I was finding it hard to speak. But I did my best to listen to the words that Jeremy was telling me. When I had them straight in my head, I said, “I usually try to keep calm when I’m performing a spell. I don’t feel at all calm now; I feel sick to my stomach with worry.”

  Jeremy said, “This isn’t the time for calmness or worry. This is a time for anger. The sea has turned into a furious beast, and we need to fight fury with fury.” He raised his hands towards the sea. “Ready?”

  It wasn’t in my nature to be angry, but as I saw what the black magic was doing to this beautiful area, I felt an intense anger alight in my stomach. It flowed through my veins like fast moving lava. I’d never felt fury like it before.

  I raised my hands and felt the familiar tingle in my fingers. The image of Astrid’s mocking face came into my mind and the tingle increased. I muttered the words of the spell at the same time as Jeremy.

  The faces of the creatures who had been murdered as a result of the evil magic appeared next to Astrid’s face, and my fingers began to vibrate. Just like Jeremy, I repeated the words of the spell over and over again.

  All the lovely beings in Brimstone, and now Knotty Cove, who’d been affected by the black magic dropped into my mind one by one. Blythe’s face appeared, followed by Gran’s and then Luca’s. My anger increased with each image.

  My hands were shaking by now and the words of the spell grew louder each time they left my mouth. I was oblivious to everything except the rage that had taken over my body and the words that I needed to say.

  Still, the water continued with its attack as it lashed at us again and again. The water was up to my waist now and I was vaguely aware of things being knocked over behind me. My arms were throbbing with pain and it was getting harder and harder to keep them outstretched. I was drenched by this stage and my voice was hoarse. I was forced back as the water rushed at me. Somehow, I managed to stay upright.

  With one last almighty effort, I screamed the words of the spell and roared with rage.

  The sea water in front of me rose up and up like an animal standing on its hind legs, and, for a split second, it paused and there was a sudden silence.

  Then the water crashed down on me forcing the breath from my body. I was flung backwards against something hard and pain exploded in my head. Everything around me went black.

  Chapter 29

  My eyes refused to open. They felt like they’d been glued together. I wriggled my fingers in an attempt to use magic to force my eyes open. There was no comforting tingle in my fingertips, but I could feel wet sand beneath my hands.

  I felt someone kiss my cheek and move my hair off my face. I tried to talk, but my mouth remained shut. Was I even awake?

  The kiss came again and I heard words of comfort being muttered. I couldn’t tell if it was a male or female voice speaking to me. A sharper voice spoke and said something about moving me quickly and needing to use magic on me.

  I didn’t like the sound of that, and once again, I tried to open my eyes and mouth.

  A sensation of weightlessness came over me and I felt myself moving forwards. I could also feel someone’s hands beneath my knees and on my back. Someone was carrying me somewhere and I couldn’t do anything to stop them.

  Sudden warmth flowed through my body and I stopped thinking altogether.

  The next thing I was aware of was a rough tongue licking my cheek, and the feeling of something furry against my chin. I recognised those sensations.

  “Cassia! Wake up!” Stanley licked my cheek some more.

  I opened my eyes without any trouble and saw Stanley’s face inches away from mine. I reached out to stroke his little head and grimaced as pain s
hot through my aching arms.

  “Hey there,” I muttered to Stanley. “How are you?”

  “Never mind me, what about you? You look like you’ve been in the wars. You’ve got bruises on your face and your clothes are torn.” He nuzzled his head into my neck. “I’ve been worried sick about you. What happened?”

  I raised my head and looked around me. “Why am I lying on Brimstone Beach? I was in Knotty Cove a minute ago. Where’s Jeremy?”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t know how you got here. I’ve been watching out for you from the café. I turned away for a moment to talk to Gia, and when I looked back, there you were, lying on the sand in this dishevelled state. Are you hurt?”

  I tried to move my arms and flinched as pain shot through me. “I think I’ve done something to my arms with all the magic I used. Who brought me back here? Someone must have.”

  “I didn’t see anyone.” Stanley rested his head against my cheek. His voice was hoarse as he said, “I didn’t think you were coming back.”

  “Neither did I for a while.” With pain shooting through my arms, I managed to get myself into a seated position. I looked towards the café and saw Gia floating over the sand towards us holding something in her hands.

  There was a mixture of concern and relief on her face as she came closer. “Here, drink this.” She handed me a glass of something blue. “I’m so relieved you’re back in one piece. Stanley and I have been so worried about you.” She pointed to the glass. “Drink that now.”

  I did as I was told and then handed the glass back to her. The pain in my arms lessened and a spark of energy ignited in me. I felt able to stand up. As I did so, there was a flash of green light at my side and Jeremy appeared.

  He looked worse for wear and his face looked much older. His beautiful embroidered waistcoat had been torn and there were cuts on his hands. He wrapped his arms tightly around me. “You’re safe,” he mumbled, “you’re safe.”

  I waited for Jeremy to release his grip on me and then I took a step back. “What happened in Knotty Cove? Is everything okay there?”