Brimstone Witch Mysteries - Box Set 2

by April Fernsby

  I shivered. “I’ll deal with her when I next see her. I’ve got a spell that will stop her.”

  “Let’s hope you cast your spell before she freezes you to death.” Ravette waved her torch ahead of her. “The snow’s stopping now.”

  We walked on for another five minutes and came to a stop outside Leonard’s cave.

  Ravette aimed her torch at the side of it and said, “It was that rock there. That human put something behind it.” She stopped talking and sniffed the air. “What’s that smell?”

  “I can’t smell anything.” I walked towards the rock, keeping my light on it as I went.

  “It’s delicious, whatever it is.” Ravette sniffed some more. “It’s making my mouth water.”

  I went behind the rock and started to look for anything that didn’t belong there. I stiffened when I felt a chilly breeze cross my face. The snow-spirit? I looked over at Ravette to see if she’d felt it too. She was standing still and gazing into the distance. Her eyes were glazed over and drool was escaping from her mouth. I shook my head at her. What was her problem?

  Something caught my eye in the snow. It was round and black. I reached out and touched it. It was plastic. My heart sank when I realised what it could be. I gently moved the snow out of the way. It was a gun. It had a long barrel. Was it a gun that was used to tranquilize animals?

  I called over to Ravette, “I’ve found something. It’s a weapon and I think it might have been used on Leonard.”

  Ravette didn’t answer. Her eyes weren’t glazed over anymore; they were wide with fear and her mouth was open as if she were getting ready to scream. She was transfixed by something in Leonard’s cave.

  “No!” she called out. “Leave him alone! Don’t hurt him!”

  I looked that way and saw Neil Tavistock standing at the entrance of the cave. He wasn’t alone. Boris was standing at his side munching on something. Neil had one arm around Boris’ shoulders. He was aiming a gun at Boris’ head and smiling out at Ravette.

  My blood ran cold and I couldn’t speak for a moment. When I found my voice, I said calmly, “Neil, put the gun down. No one needs to get hurt.”

  He turned his manic smile on me. “They might if I don’t get my way. I see you’ve found my tranquilizer gun. Be careful; it’s loaded.” He laughed at my expression. “I can almost see the cogs in your brain working. Yes, I did use that on Leonard. I only meant to slow him down, but the potion was too strong and poor Leonard met his end. That’s the price you pay for buying dodgy things off the internet.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Leonard will be just as valuable to me dead as alive. I’ve already got a few buyers lined up who are interested in his deceased body.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said. “Why did you want to tranquilize Leonard? I thought you admired him.”

  Neil nodded. “I did. But he wouldn’t do what I asked him to. I wanted him to star in more videos. I wanted the world to go crazy over my video postings. I had it all planned. I’d release a video every week until people were in a frenzy about him, then I’d announce that I was ready to show Leonard to the world. I’d already put a deposit on a local arena. I was going to charge a fortune for the tickets. People would pay a lot to see Leonard.” He shook his head sadly. “But Leonard wouldn’t do that. He said he just wanted to run freely. He didn’t want people staring at him. I tried to make him see sense, but that’s yetis for you.” He laughed as if he were sharing a joke.

  I held my hands up and took a step closer to Neil. “Please, let Boris go. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

  “He’s my insurance until you give me Leonard’s body.” He patted Boris on the head. “I’ll keep feeding him and keep him near. I’ve got beef and ham sandwiches in my pockets.”

  Boris looked over at his mum and waved a crust at her. “Hi, Mum. Do you want a sandwich?”

  Ravette’s voice shook as she said, “Boris, how did you get out of the house? Doreen was keeping an eye on you.”

  “Doreen’s having a little sleep,” Neil said happily. “Boris told me where he lived when we first met. I knew I needed him as insurance, so I called on him before coming here.” He chuckled. “I actually saw you two setting off as I sneaked into your house. I could have saved you the bother of walking all the way here, but this is more fun. We get to visit the scene of the crime.”

  I took another small step forward. I was ready to cast an immobilising spell on Neil, but if he suspected I was going to do something, he might fire his gun. I couldn’t risk Boris getting hurt.

  I said to Neil, “Have you hurt Doreen?”

  He laughed. “She’ll have a headache when she comes round, but, no, I haven’t killed her. Just because I killed Leonard doesn’t make me a murderer. I killed Leonard by mistake. It wasn’t my fault the potion was too strong.”

  “Of course it was your fault!” Ravette shouted. “You wanted to hurt Leonard, and that’s what you did. And now you want to hurt my little cub. I don’t know what that thing is in your hand, but get it away from Boris’ head.”

  Neil waved the gun in the air. “This is a gun. It kills people, and polar bears instantly. If you don’t stop shouting, I’ll use it on you.” He looked my way. “I want Leonard’s body now. I’m taking it back with me to the human world. Once I have it, I’ll let this greedy bear go.”

  I noticed Boris had finished his food and was looking around him in a bored manner. He’d taken a tiny step away from Neil. A few more steps and I’d be able to use my magic on Neil.

  Playing for time, I said, “Why didn’t you take Leonard with you when you shot him with the poison?”

  “I tried, but he was too heavy. I was going to get a couple of friends to help me, but when we came back, the steps to this cave had gone. I panicked at that, but when you turned up at the meeting earlier, you mentioned the steps so I knew I could come back.” He looked over his shoulder. “I haven’t brought my friends with me yet. I’ll go back for them when you collect the yeti’s body.”

  I recalled the spell I’d put on the entrance to the cave when I first discovered Leonard’s body. It must have made the steps disappear too.

  “You planted that tube of poison in Xodia’s pocket a few days ago,” I said. “You’d been planning to capture Leonard and stun him for a while.”

  Neil nodded. “Well worked out. I did consider letting Leonard run free for a day or two. But then I knew someone else would spot him sooner or later. They wouldn’t hesitate to capture him or kill him. I thought if anyone is going to get the money and fame from Leonard’s appearance, it should be me. To be fair, I did ask Leonard to cooperate, but he wouldn’t. It’s his own fault.” He noticed Boris walking away from him. “Oi! Where do you think you’re going? I’ve got another sandwich for you.”

  Boris pulled a face and rubbed his tummy. “I’m not hungry anymore. I feel sick.”

  “Get back here right now!” Neil shouted. He aimed his gun at Boris’ heart.

  Ravette screamed, “Boris! Come to me! Quickly!”

  Neil reached out and grabbed Boris by the scruff of his neck. Boris yelped, turned his head and latched his teeth onto Neil’s bare hand. Neil swore and pressed his gun against Boris’ furry head.

  Something large shot out of the shadows and raced towards Neil.

  Ravette screamed again.

  Boris cried out for his mum.

  A gunshot rang out. It was followed by a sudden silence.

  Blood trickled along the snow.

  Chapter 28

  No one moved. I stared at the scene in front of me and tried to make sense of it.

  Blythe suddenly appeared at my side and declared, “What is going on here? Have you seen Xodia? She’s escaped from the cells.”

  I raised my hand and pointed to the cave opening. “She’s there. She’s been shot.”

  From her prone position on the ground, Xodia looked at the wound on her shoulder with interest. Blood was coming out of it at an alarming rate. She said, “It’s just a graze. It’ll
heal.” She stood up.

  Blythe moved swiftly over to her. “It won’t heal on its own. Keep still while I fix this for you. Why did you escape? And how?”

  Xodia shrugged and then winced. “Those leather straps were not strong enough to keep me in place. I wasn’t going to be accused of murder, not when I knew this feeble human was to blame. He planted that tube on me and I was going to go back to his world and confront him.” She looked over at Neil who was lying unconscious on the ground. A bruise was beginning to bloom around his eye where Xodia had punched him. Xodia continued, “I was forced to leave my hometown because of the lies my supposed friend, Ereto told everyone. She was the one who put that toad poison on my sword. She framed me. I should have stood up to her at the time. I wasn’t going to be framed again by that pathetic excuse of a man.”

  “Stop talking,” Blythe ordered. She held her hands over Xodia’s wound and a purple light flowed from her fingers. “That’ll stop the blood but you’ll need stitches. Dr Morgan will do that for you.”

  Xodia nodded. She looked at me and said, “I saw this man near the broken ice sculpture. I’d ordered him to stay away from Leonard and I was furious that he’d come back. That’s why I went racing off instead of staying to judge the competitions. I caught up with Leonard who said this man had come back to bother him again. I told him I’d deal with it.” She looked at her wound. “I didn’t catch up with him in time and now Leonard is dead. It’s my fault. I should have run faster and found him.”

  Blythe said, “It wasn’t your fault at all.” Her attention went to Neil. “So, this is the one who killed Leonard.”

  I went to Blythe’s side. “It is. The tranquilizer gun he used is hidden behind that rock over there. I think he was about to shoot Boris, but Xodia ran forward and she got shot instead.” I blinked rapidly. “I can’t believe how evil Neil is. Why would he kill Leonard? And then try to kill Boris? I believed all the lies he told me at the village hall. He was so convincing.”

  Blythe put her arm around my shoulders. “Don’t try to make sense of it. Murder never makes sense nor does the evil that lurks inside a person’s mind.” She looked over at Boris who was crouched next to Neil. “Boris, move away from Neil.”

  Boris said, “I didn’t mean to bite him so hard. Sorry.”

  Blythe moved her arm from my shoulders and joined Boris. She smiled when she saw the wound on Neil’s hand. “Well, Boris, you’ve done me a favour by biting this man.”

  “I have? Do you want me to bite anyone else?”

  “No. You go over to your mum now. I think she could do with a hug.” Blythe took the gun from Neil’s hand and placed it to one side. As soon as Boris moved away, she beckoned me closer.

  I said to her, “Why has Boris done you a favour?”

  “Because Neil is human, it would have been awkward, if not impossible for me to arrest him for murder. There are no rules about humans committing crimes in our world because it has never happened before.” She pointed to the wound on his hand. “Now that Boris has bitten him, Neil is going to change into a vampire. As a supernatural creature, I can charge him with murder and lock him up.” She smiled down at him. “He’s in for a shock or two when he comes round. Serves him right.”

  We stared down at Neil for a minute. I still couldn’t make sense of why he wanted to capture Leonard. I shook my head and tried to clear my thoughts.

  Ravette tapped me on the shoulder. She was holding Boris against her chest and I could see his eyes closing. She said, “I’m getting this one home. Do you need my help with anything?”

  “No, thank you.” I looked at Boris. “What are you going to do about him and the meat situation?”

  Boris muttered, “Meat. No more. Tummy hurts.”

  Ravette stroked his head. “I’ll have a long talk with him later about that.” She looked over at Xodia. “You saved Boris’ life. I can’t thank you enough.”

  Xodia gave her a dismissive wave. “It was nothing.”

  “I disagree. You put your life in danger to save him,” Ravette said. “You must call into my cabin tomorrow for lunch. I’ll make us something special.”

  Spots of colour appeared on Xodia’s cheeks. “Oh! Thank you. I’ve never been invited into anyone’s home before.”

  Ravette gave her a knowing look. “That’s because you’re incredibly annoying. I’ll see you tomorrow at twelve. If I hear one complaint from you during lunch, I’ll throw you out of my home. Don’t be late.” She turned away and began her walk back home, humming to Boris as she went.

  Xodia said, “I’d better get my shoulder stitched up.” She looked down at Neil. “Shall I take him over to your house and fling him in the cell? You’ll need some new straps. I tore the other ones to pieces.”

  Blythe shook her head. “I’ll deal with him. You get yourself to Dr Morgan’s.”

  Xodia gave her a nod before striding away.

  Blythe placed her arm around my shoulders again and squeezed me. “Well, that’s another murder solved.” She gave me a kind smile. “I’m sorry I’ve been so harsh with you. It wasn’t the right way to deal with things. Why don’t you come to my house tomorrow and we’ll have a chat about everything? I’ll answer every question that you have. We might even get around to formal magic lessons.”

  “That sounds good.”

  Stanley came scampering through the snow. “Cassia! You left me!” He stopped when he saw the blood on the snow. “What happened? Who’s been hurt?”

  I picked him up. “I’ll tell you everything in a minute.” I looked at Blythe. “What can I do to help?”

  “You’ve done enough. I’ll deal with this. I’ll take Neil to the cells and I’ll seal up this passageway in Leonard’s cave while I’m here. I don’t want any more humans wandering through. Go home and have a good sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  I was too tired to go back to Gran’s home in the human world, so Stanley and I returned to the log cabin and collapsed into bed.

  I was woken up by something fluttering on my nose the following morning. It was a butterfly. It had a message from Dr Morgan:

  ‘Cassia, come quickly! Something has happened to Leonard!’

  Chapter 29

  We raced over to Dr Morgan’s office on my broomstick. I cast a spell on it to make it go as fast as possible and held on tightly as it whizzed through the air.

  Stanley said, “What do you think has happened to Leonard? Do you think some of Neil’s friends came through the passageway and stole his body?”

  I fought the wind rushing against me as I replied, “Blythe said she was going to seal the passageway. I hope no one came through before she did that. Hold on; we’re nearly there.”

  We landed outside Dr Morgan’s building and rushed inside. We found her sitting behind her office desk with her head in her hands. She looked up when she heard us enter and I was shocked at how tired she looked. Her hair was dishevelled and her eyes were red-rimmed.

  “What’s happened?” I asked. “Where’s Leonard? Has he been stolen?”

  Dr Morgan put a hand over her mouth as she yawned. When she’d finished, she flapped her hand at the chair opposite her and said, “Stop shouting and sit down.”

  I quickly took a seat and Stanley jumped onto my lap. We stared at the doctor expectantly.

  She yawned again. “Excuse me, I’ve been up all night. I’ve got something to tell you.”

  “Leonard’s body has been stolen,” Stanley said. “That’s what you want to tell us, isn’t it?”

  Dr Morgan. “No. He’s right where I left him, and I checked on him ten minutes ago. Why all the questions about his body being stolen? Has there been a spate of body snatching going on in the town? Whatever next?”

  I shook my head. “No, nothing like that. Have you spoken to Blythe recently? Has she told you about Neil Tavistock?”

  “She has. I also got an earful from Xodia when I stitched her shoulder up. She didn’t even want anaesthetic. She’s a tough one. Let’s talk about Leonard
now. You know I was loathe to cut him and that I kept putting it off.”

  Stanley and I nodded in unison.

  “I was right to trust my instincts.” She folded her hands on the table. “Do you know that yetis have two hearts? Rather like Dr Who.”

  We stared at her silently.

  She smiled. “That’s the same stunned expression I had when I first made that discovery. After our last talk, I borrowed an X-ray machine from the human world and used it on Leonard. I found his second heart. It’s smaller than his main heart and it’s hidden behind his main one.” Her smile broadened. “I could just make out the smallest beat in that second heart. Leonard wasn’t dead. He’d gone into a self-induced coma, probably to protect himself while his body worked out what was wrong. I’m not an expert on yetis. No one is. I’ll have to speak to him later about this two-heart thing he’s got going on. It’s fascinating.”

  My single heart leapt for joy. I whispered, “He’s alive?”

  Dr Morgan gave us a cheerful nod. “Very much so. I got in touch with that lab who made the synthetic poison and told them about the illegal purchases online. They were shocked and said they’d look into that straight away. They asked if anyone had been hurt and I said yes. I didn’t tell them it was a yeti, of course. They have an antidote. That’s why I’ve been up all night. I travelled down to London and got the antidote myself. I was too impatient to wait for a delivery.” She looked at her watch. “I gave it to Leonard thirty minutes ago. Do you want to check on him with me?”

  Stanley jumped off my knee. “Yes! Where is he?”

  Dr Morgan laughed and got to her feet. “This way. Don’t be disappointed if he’s still asleep. The antidote might take a while to work.”

  Leonard wasn’t asleep. He was wide awake and sitting up in bed when we walked into the recovery room. Stanley scampered over to him, jumped onto the bed and nuzzled his head into Leonard’s shoulder.