Once again … easy peasy.
I scratched my head. There was still a tiny part of me that was convinced I’d only managed to shatter the Singing Stone with the terrible power of my voice. The whole point of the stone had been to discover magic on a harmonic level. And my harmonics hadn’t had much harmony. The stone and I had been in a sing-off worthy of a tacky TV show when, finally, the stone gave way to my crow-like tones, and broke apart.
I moved from scratching my head to scratching my chin, ignoring the fact that Greg was still holding up his spring. This needed thinking about. If he had to suffer an achy arm, then so be it.
I looked at the little cells within the shimmer again, watching as they pulsed, in and out, up and down. And … wait … they weren’t just pulsing randomly. There was a pattern to it. A wave, almost.
‘Aha!’ I said.
Melissa Wayfair looked at me in puzzlement. ‘Say what?’
I cleared my throat. ‘I just … I think that Greg has his Pharuncoinic Conductor Spring in the wrong place. Excuse me, will you? I need to concentrate.’
She shrugged and moved away.
‘Aha,’ I said, more quietly to myself. The Singing Stone sensed magic on a harmonic level because magic had a harmony. It had a pulse, a wave, a rhythm to it. It wove its way through things and used its little magic cells to bend them to its will.
Magic could do anything. Anything, that is, except withstand my terrible voice.
The Singing Stone had used its magic to draw out my voice, to make me sing in harmony with it. But I had sung louder. I had broken that harmony because … well, my power was stronger.
I concentrated on the cells, sending my energy there, and then I opened my mouth, and sang.
As the people in the holding pen covered their ears, I kept my eyes on the shimmering cells. Their rhythm was off kilter. They were pulsing out of time. They were growing bigger, then smaller, at a much faster level than before. I sang at them some more, imagining them shattering. Imagining that those beautiful little cells were no more.
And then, in the corner of the cell where the matrix was, there was a flash of lightning, and a roll of thunder.
Greg fell back to the floor, holding his spring in his hand.
≈
Greg brushed himself off and stood up, while Melissa wrapped her arms around him. ‘You did it. Your Pharuncoinic Conductor Spring worked!’
Criminy! She remembered that gibberish?
‘Em … yeah,’ said Greg. ‘My Pharun …’ He cleared his throat and mumbled. ‘… spring worked. But of course I knew it would. And don’t bother looking it up, because it’s a component I’ve only recently developed myself, and I haven’t even patented it yet.’
‘Ah.’ Melissa nodded. ‘That’s why I’ve never heard of it before. And I suppose your terrible singing must have helped agitate the conductor into action, Aisling.’
Grace rushed over to me and grasped my hand. ‘Of course. That’s exactly what just happened. Aisling helped Greg test the component, so they knew that in the absence of outside power, certain pitches could stimulate it into action.’ She smiled a little madly. ‘Well, what are we all waiting for? Greg’s amazing technology has won us our freedom. Let’s get out of here.’
Judge Redvein stepped forward. ‘We’re headed to Witchfield to try and get the Wayfarers out. Can we count on your help?’
Greg shook his head. ‘We’ll try and get along as soon as we can, but we need to head to the lighthouse in Riddler’s Edge first. We have to figure out what it has to do with everything because … well, it seems like the only bright idea we have right now.’
The others nodded, gave us some brief hugs and thanks, then clicked their fingers and disappeared.
As soon as they were gone, Grace turned to look at us. ‘Where’s the Wizardly Wagon now?’ she asked Jared.
‘Still parked outside the Hungry Hippy. The Peacemakers couldn’t figure out how to start it after the arrested me and Pu, so they just left it there.’
‘Okay,’ said Grace. ‘You and Pru fly out there, and I’ll take Greg and Ash.’
19. Impervium
It probably should have shocked us to find Fuzz in the Wizardly Wagon upon our return, fiddling with the buttons and muttering to himself.
‘Hey,’ I said as I slid into the driver’s seat and plopped him on my lap. ‘And you got here how?’
He licked his lips. ‘In the way in which cats normally travel. I’d tell you, but you’re not in the club. So you lot got out of the Wyrd Court’s holding pen by yourselves, then?’
‘We did,’ said Grace, sliding in next to me, while Pru, Jared and Greg headed for the back of the van. ‘And you knew Aisling and the rest of us were in there because … you’re her familiar, and familiars just know these things?’
‘Precisely,’ said Fuzz. ‘I would have gotten to you a lot sooner, but I still can’t find the broom. Which is why I was trying to figure out how to operate Greg’s van without legs long enough to reach the pedals. Y’know – so I could crash it through the magical bars and free you all, and then you could all worship me and buy me the expensive cat treats. Anyway. We should probably get going.’
‘Definitely,’ I said, starting up the engine. I glanced back at Jared. ‘I know he’s not the slobbery dog you were hoping for when you first got into the van. But we can try him out with some Scooby Snacks if you’re feeling brave.’
≈
I wish I could tell you that a visit to the lighthouse solved the mystery. But as Greg inputted the alarm code and let us all in, we could see nothing out of the ordinary. The house did feel a little different, but that was probably down to the lack of Dylan.
The aloe vera and the little cactus plant looked fine, if a little overwatered. Greg took a well-earned rest on one of Dylan’s kitchen stools and chatted to them, while the rest of us searched for any sort of clue that could help us.
The basement door was locked, but Greg assured us that it was only because Dylan kept some old case files down there, and he couldn’t have them getting into the wrong hands.
‘Could that be it?’ Jared suggested. ‘Could someone have wanted to get Greg, Sean and Roarke out of the way so they could sneak in and steal the files?’
Pru wrinkled her nose. ‘I don’t mean to burst your bubble, big brother, but that makes no sense. Greg, you told Dylan you’d come here twice a day, right? So presumably Sean and Roarke did the same. Someone who wanted to steal case files would have an awfully long gap between your morning and your afternoon visits, during which they could break in. And if it was the alarm code they wanted, then they would have, I don’t know, threatened you or kidnapped you or something. So either Sean’s death and Greg’s and Roarke’s accidents aren’t connected to the chaos coins at all, or they’re connected in a way we’re just not seeing.’
Grace tapped her heel against the floor. ‘Pru is right. The way I see it, we have two options right now. We can either invade Dylan’s privacy and break into his basement, or we can leave his house and spend the rest of the day trying to contact him and ask him if he has any ideas.’ She sighed. ‘But seeing as I’ve been trying to call him non-stop already, I’d say it’s pretty pointless.’
Pru walked over to Greg and helped him up, supporting him with her shoulder. ‘Well, the only thing I’m sure about is that an ice cream van drove over Greg’s foot last night and he still hasn’t been to a healer. So I’m going to take him there now. Give me a call when you’ve all made a decision about the basement.’
Greg gave her a grateful smile, wincing as he tried to bear his weight. Jared scooted out ahead of them so he could open the door. ‘I’ll drive,’ he said, turning back to me for a moment. ‘Tell Mam where we are, will you Ash? I’ll see you in a while.’
I waved at him and then turned to Grace. ‘I’m going to head home for a bath and a nap. I can’t function anymore. I need some sleep.’
She took one last, frustrated look around the lighthouse, and followed me o
ut the door.
≈
I did my best to ignore the madness in the town as I walked back to the Vander Inn, with Fuzz at my heels. Just like in Warren Lane, there were fires and fights, assaults and arguments. It seemed to have spilled out of the supernatural enclaves and into the human areas of the town, which was confusing. The humans couldn’t have won a chaos coin if they tried, but nevertheless I was positive that I saw Hilda, the florist, having a flaming row with a witch outside the train station.
Nollaig was asleep in the dining room when I got back, so I left her to it and went up to my room. But after two hours of fevered half-sleep, I finally gave up and ran myself a bath. I was just about to pick up the bath salts when they upturned by themselves and spilled into the bath.
‘Hey, houseghost,’ I said. ‘For once I’m not going to tell you that I can look after myself. I don’t suppose you know what’s going on with all of this, do you?’
I thought I heard a sigh beside me. I even fancied I felt an unusual sensation at the top of my back, almost like an arm trying to pull me close. A sweet scent came along with the sensation, and I felt sure I was being hugged by the ghost.
Maybe I should have been creeped out, but I felt oddly comforted. As the bath filled higher, the sensation went away and the taps turned off. The now-familiar rush of air went past me, and I knew that the ghost had left the room. I took off my clothing, sank into the water, and wished to the goddess that I could figure things out.
≈
I guess I must have nodded off in the bath, because when I heard the doorbell chime a weirdly familiar song, I jerked up, spilling near-cold water all over the bathroom floor.
The doorbell kept ringing, which meant that Nollaig was probably still asleep, so I towelled off and grabbed my robe.
Fuzz poked his head up from where he was dozing on the bed. ‘Tell whoever it is to come back at a more respectable hour.’
‘I would do,’ I said. ‘Except that it already is a respectable hour. It’s early afternoon, Fuzz.’
He looked like he was about to grumble some more, so I left the room and rushed down the stairs.
Now that I was closer, there was no doubt about the song that the doorbell was chiming out. It was my own strange favourite, Row Row, Row Your Boat.
I yanked open the door, and gasped as I saw Dylan Quinn standing there, a panicked look on his face.
‘Oh, thank the stars!’ he exclaimed. ‘When I saw the mess in the town I was worried to death! It’s like there’s a riot on every corner. Why haven’t you been answering your phone?’
I stayed silent for a few seconds. I had to, because my sleep-deprived body wasn’t fully under my control. All I wanted to do was throw my arms around him and hold him close – a pointless urge, seeing as we were never going to be a couple.
‘I … I guess the battery is dead,’ I said. ‘Does the doorbell always chime that tune for you?’
It might not have seemed like the most important question I should have asked him, but when a psychic doorbell chimed the same tune for Dylan as it did for me, I wanted to know why.
His face reddened. ‘I know what you’re thinking – a kids’ song makes me seem like a bit of a weirdo. I always find myself humming it when I’m stressed, and the doorbell picked up on it. But listen, you and me need to talk. Urgently.’
I held the door wider and stood aside to let him through. ‘You’re right. We really do need to talk. And I’m going to need some coffee while we do.’
He followed me into the kitchen, and I walked to the coffee pot. It was straightforward filter coffee, but Nollaig always set the timer so that there’d be a fresh cup for me when I woke. She’d done the same this time, and while it was far from fresh, at least it was still warm. I poured myself an enormous mug and then gulped half of it before I poured some for Dylan too.
‘Sorry,’ I said as I finally handed him his coffee. ‘I’m not a great host, am I? I’m just so tired after the last few days.’
He gave me a funny smile. ‘You don’t look tired. You look … well … anyway, tell me – what in Hecate’s name has been happening around here? Actually, no. Wait. There’s something more important first.’
‘More important than a chaos demon hired by a genie hired by a who knows what? Wow, this I have to hear.’
He blinked rapidly. ‘Say that again. No. No, I was right the first time. If things like that are happening then it’s even more important that I give you this.’
He pulled a small, wooden box from his pocket.
‘You got me a holiday souvenir? That’s really sweet. Hey, where did you go, anyway? No one seems to know.’
He looked me in the eye. ‘I didn’t go on holiday. Well, I used up my holiday days but I wasn’t exactly enjoying myself. I went to Transylvania to take part in the Protection Trials. And the only reason I went was so I could get this for you. So open it, put it on, and do not take it off until I tell you it’s safe to do so.’
I opened the box cautiously. There was a heavy silver locket inside, and considering I could see a shimmer around it, it was most definitely magical. I peered further into the shimmer, and the symbols I saw at the centre of the cells weren’t runes this time. They were like nothing I’d ever seen before.
‘Don’t bother trying to open it,’ said Dylan. ‘It can only be opened by the ancient vampire who forged it.’
It was taking me a while to catch up with what I was hearing, but … vampires? Protection Trials? ‘Um … you’re going to have to rewind, Dylan. Are you actually saying that you went off to Transylvania and competed in some vampire trials so that you could win this locket for me?’
‘It’s got an Impervium stone at its heart,’ he said, sidestepping the question. ‘Vampires try to win these so that they can’t be killed. Not by a stake through the heart. Not by having their heads cut off. But the thing about Impervium is that it can protect anyone, not just vampires. And right now, you need this.’
He took a deep glug of his coffee. ‘Ugh. Not good. Ash, the last time I saw you it was in the aftermath of what happened at my lighthouse. When that witch hunter forced us to tell each other how we felt, I … I tried to fight it. But once it was out, it was all I could think about. I wanted to talk to you about it so much, but before I did that, I needed to make sure you were safe.’
‘Safe? From what? No, wait … Dylan, this is an amazing present and I’m just … stunned. But we need to talk about what’s happening in the town first. Haven’t you spoken to Grace? Or to anyone at all?’
He shook his head. ‘No. I came here the second I got back. We can talk about what’s going on in a minute, though. You’re more important than all that. This locket isn’t to protect you from a what. It’s to protect you from a who. You remember the photos that kept appearing on my desk and at my lighthouse?’
How could I forget? ‘You said Darina was doing it.’
‘She was. She is. Even though she broke my heart again and again and again, she refuses to let me go. She wants to make sure I can never forget her. The night you saw us fighting outside Three Witches Brew, we were fighting about you. She said she’d heard about us. Heard that we … well, that people seem to think we have a thing for each other.’
I laughed dryly. ‘Dylan, you just said yourself that we’ve already been forced to admit it, so let’s not act like kids on the playground. I like you even though you’re a stubborn so-and-so. You like me even though you think I’m the most annoying woman on the planet. But as you said when you were under the witch hunter’s influence, you’re never going to be with me.’ I swallowed. ‘Because you’re afraid of giving me the dayturner virus or whatever. Guess Darina doesn’t have those same fears.’
He snorted. ‘As if. She’s a Berry. The people in that coven fear nothing. But I wasn’t only trying to keep away from you because of the virus. It was because of Darina, too. She swore that if I went near you she’d hurt you.’
My eyes rounded. ‘Wait a second. A cheating witch admitted
to a garda detective that she intends to do me actual bodily harm, and instead of arresting her or cautioning her or whatever, you’re acting like you’re actually afraid. Look, Dylan, I know what happened with Jared. I know it’s Darina’s fault you’re a vampire now. I know all about the potion she fed you both to make you think that becoming a vampire was a good idea. Surely with all of this on top of it, there has to be something you can do about her. Why are you so afraid of her?’
For a moment he gave me an open-mouthed stare. Finally he said, ‘Jared told you, I suppose. Does that mean you and he …?’ He shook his head. ‘No, never mind. I don’t think I could bear hearing the answer to that just now. And I’m not afraid of Darina. Not for my own sake, anyway. Thanks to Jared, you already know that she’s done the worst thing possible to me. But you haven’t lived in this world all your life like I have. Sure, if she set out to hurt you I could arrest her, or have the Wayfarers do it for me. But she’d be out of jail in a matter of hours, and you … well, you’d still be hurt. Or worse. I keep telling you how powerful her coven are, but I don’t think it’s getting through.’
He reached across the table and took my hand. ‘I might not be able to be with you in every way I want to be. But I want to spend time with you. To be close to you. So I need you to wear the Impervium locket. Please. It’ll protect you against Darina. It’ll protect you against anything that comes your way.’
Anything that came my way? Now that was a gift I couldn’t afford to turn down. And if I was going to be honest with myself, I was deeply touched by what he had done. I eased my hand from his and moved the locket to my neck.
‘Here,’ he said. ‘I’ll do it.’ He stood up and moved behind me. I could feel his breath on my neck as he drew near. I could feel the strange warmth from his undead hands. I could feel every nerve in my body begin to tingle.
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