A Very British Witch Boxed Set

by Isobella Crowley

  Perhaps now, at the very least, she’d formed an unbreakable bond with Raven. She grinned at the thought of them bringing up Vixen’s name each time they had an axe to grind with someone.

  It wasn’t until she again caught sight of her aunt’s car that her thoughts switched to the night ahead. She loved going to her aunt’s. It made her feel all warm and nostalgic. The taste of sweet hot chocolate appeared out of nowhere and her mind flashed to Cliff’s contrasting comments about booze. She considered it interesting how different people have different perceptions of places.

  The car in front slowed and Tim followed suit. In no time at all, they were heading along the quiet country road toward Tabitha’s house.

  Tim continued along the road until he found a parking space of adequate size and came to a stop. Scarlett had counted ten houses between them and Tabitha’s. By the time they stepped through the front door, Tabitha was already stoking up a fire.

  “Hello, auntie,” Scarlett said to Tabitha’s backside.

  “Oh, hello dear,” Tabitha spoke without turning around. “One minute, let me just get this fire seen to. I was freezing in the car.”

  She moved towards her aunt, noticing for the first time that her ears and nose were stinging. “I know what you mean.”

  A flame sprung up and the fire roared to life. “There,” Tabitha said, standing up straight. She made a shivering sound, rubbed her hands together and warmed them in front of the fire, before glancing at the cupboard at the back of the living room. “Let me get some drinks in, dear.”

  Raven appeared out of nowhere, settled in front of the fire and purred.

  Tabitha took out some glasses and started pouring some drinks. Once the glasses were full, she counted them, furrowed her brow and said, “Where’s Cliff?”

  Tim shrugged. “No idea. We saw him shoot off, didn’t we Scarlett?”

  She faced her aunt. “Yeah, we thought he’d be here. Maybe he got stuck in traffic.”

  Tarquin glanced at the clock and shook his head. “No, he’d be here by now. Things were starting to clear up when we were there.”

  Tabitha handed out the drinks and sat on the armchair, close to the fire. “Well, take a seat everyone. We might as well make a start. I expect Cliff’ll be along soon.” She glanced at Scarlett. “You can fill him in, can’t you?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  Tarquin wouldn’t let it drop. “Where is he? It doesn’t make any sense at all.”

  “He’s probably just been delayed,” said Scarlett. “He’ll be here soon.”

  Tim shook his head. “Unless he’s gone home.”

  Tarquin took out his phone. “I’m going to ring him. I don’t think we should start without him. We’re all in this together.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement, except Tim who sighed and folded his arms.

  They sat sipping their drinks, listening to the rustling leaves on the trees outside and gazing into the roaring fire. Ten minutes later, a car turned down their street, passed Tabitha’s house and came to a halt further along the road.

  Tabitha sighed. “Thought that was him for a minute.”

  “Still could be,” Tim said, leaning forward. “There aren’t many parking spaces. We had to park much further along.”

  Footsteps clapped along the pavement, the gate opened and in no time at all, so did the front door. “Hello everyone,” Cliff said, stepping into the warmth.

  Scarlett moved up to make a space for him on the end of the couch.

  Tim leaned over her. “Glad you could make it.”

  Tabitha handed Cliff a drink and returned to the armchair. “Glad you could join us, Cliff. We were getting worried.”

  “Oh well, no need to worry. I just had to pop home. One or two small things to take care of that couldn’t really wait. You know how it is.”

  Tabitha nodded. “Well, you’re here now and that’s the important thing. Let’s err, make a start then, shall we?”

  “They performed a binding spell,” Scarlett began.

  Cliff furrowed his brow. “A binding spell?”

  “Yes. Tabitha? You’d better explain. You know more about it than me.”

  “We’d discussed the possibility of handing Vixen in to the military for proper containment, but decided that was a bit inhumane. Scarlett couldn’t get her head around the moral dilemma.” She looked at her. “Could you?”

  Scarlett shook her head.

  “So then, Scarlett came up with the idea of a binding spell.”

  Cliff took a deep breath and repeated the question he’d asked five minutes earlier. “What kind of binding spell?”

  “Well, a spell to bind her. Keep her in one place so that she’s safely locked up.”

  He turned to look at Scarlett. “This was your idea, was it?”

  “Well, I can’t take all the credit,” she said.

  Tarquin took over. “Yes, as Tabitha said, it’s a binding spell to keep her in one place. Trouble is, she’s a witch herself.”

  “So, she’s a witch, big deal,” said Cliff.

  “The problem is, she might make a counterspell of her own and break free.”

  Cliff smiled and nodded. “Now I’m with you.”

  “Good,” said Tarquin. “So there are no guarantees that it will hold. It’s a chance we’ve just had to take though, isn’t it?” He threw a glance at Tim, who in turn, momentarily locked eyes with Scarlett.

  Scarlett smiled to herself, wondering if they’d had the same thought and if they had, then what did that say about their relationship? Or maybe she’d got it wrong and they’d both had opposing thoughts and were fishing to get a sense of how the other would react. After weighing things up, she felt the latter to be the more likely scenario. He was obviously still unwilling to accept the magic route as a credible alternative.

  From the corner of her eye, she noticed Tabitha looking at him, intrigued, as if she were able to read his thoughts.

  Tarquin sensed the unspoken communication flying around, but didn’t bat an eyelid. He continued to explain about how they performed the spell, and then resumed his place beside Tabitha.

  Tabitha rubbed her hands and bent down to warm them in front of the fire. She was still rubbing her hands as she started speaking. “Scarlett, could you please tell me precisely what you were doing in McMillan’s flat in the first place. Just how did you get involved? And can you please explain how you came to be in cahoots with another witch?”

  Not for the first time whilst in her aunt’s company, Scarlett was made to feel like a naughty schoolgirl. “Well, it’s a complicated story, but if you’re asking me what I was doing there in the first place—”

  “I am.”

  “Then, I was just going to check out something the cleaner said in Costa.”

  Tabitha furrowed her brow and shook her head, as if Scarlett was talking utter gibberish. “The cleaner at Costa, what the devil are you talking about?”

  She remained composed, despite her aunt’s impatient tone of voice. “I was in there having a coffee with Amanda, when this woman burst in, screaming for someone to call the police. So I calmed her down and went to see what the problem was. Then I saw it.”

  “The body you mean?”

  “Yes, Aunt Tabitha, the body.”

  “I’d already gathered there was a murder from all the questions the police were asking. Did you notice anything that might give a clue as to what happened?”

  Scarlett nodded. “The body had a single stab wound in the abdomen. There was a phone in his hand and the entire building reeked of rotting flesh.”

  Tabitha sighed. “And you just had to get involved, didn’t you?”

  Scarlett hung her head.

  Tabitha changed her line of questioning, and with it, her tone softened. “So how did you manage to work out who did it?”

  “It started with Raven.”

  “Raven?”

  “Yes, Aunt Tabitha. She was trying to make a spell and got it wrong. She turned herself into a cat.�
��

  “Oh, well it’s easily done when you’re learning the trade. That just goes to prove that magic should not be taken lightly, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes, Aunt Tabitha, I suppose it does.”

  “There’s no ‘suppose’ about it. So anyway, you were telling me about how you figured out who did it.”

  “Oh yes. I found some things on the table in McMillan’s flat. A card and a box of chocolates. They were signed with a ‘V.’ The cleaner said the girlfriend’s name was some kind of bird, so I was, you know, trying to think of bird names beginning with V that were also a woman’s name.”

  The whole lot of them plunged into deep thought for a minute as they tried to come up with a suggestion.

  Cliff was the first to speak. “Bet you drew a blank with that one.”

  Scarlett continued, talking to her aunt. “And then I thought maybe the card wasn’t from the girlfriend at all. Suddenly, it hit me! The girlfriend had to be our Raven!”

  Tabitha nodded. “What did you do next?”

  “I went ‘round her flat, found some flowers in a bin that were obviously from Robert, then I went into her bedroom and found a photo of her in human form. But most intriguing of all, in the living room, there was a bloodied knife on the table.”

  “But how did you know it was the murder weapon?”

  “Because,” she glanced at Tim, who shook his head, “I just had a gut feeling it was.”

  “I see, and you acted on this, did you?”

  “Yes, Aunt Tabitha. I determined it to be the best course of action.”

  “So what happened then? It sounds to me like the evidence against Raven was pretty conclusive.”

  The sound of Tim coughing interrupted them. “So sorry, something went down the wrong way. You know how it is.”

  Tabitha nodded.

  Scarlett knew that Tim was coughing strategically to tell her to be careful how much she revealed. “Well, Raven insisted that it wasn’t her, so that’s why we decided to perform the spell at McMillan’s flat, to know for sure, once and for all.”

  Tabitha gave it some thought, before nodding her acceptance of the theory. “Sounds fair enough.”

  Cliff sunk back in his chair and exhaled through his cheeks. “Well, thank goodness for that.”

  Tabitha got to her feet. “Anyone for another drink?”

  Everyone was keen to take her up on the offer and five minutes later, they were conversing like old friends about normal, everyday subjects.

  Tabitha started laughing at something Cliff said, put her empty glass down on the carpeted floor and noticed Raven, curled up next to Scarlett. “Raven.” She held out her arms to her. “Come here, dear little friend.”

  Raven got to her feet and scampered across the floor.

  Tabitha lowered her head to look at Raven. “Us witches, we have to stick together, don’t we?”

  Raven looked up, eyes shining.

  “Don’t worry, these things happen to us all. It’s how we learn. You’re here now, that’s the main thing. I’ll have you back to yourself in no time. Just leave it to me.”

  Tarquin looked at Tabitha. “Listen, why don’t I consult my books tomorrow? I might be able to find something to help.”

  Tabitha reached down to pat Raven. “There you are. It’s going to be okay.” Tabitha stood up. “Tea and scones everyone? Scarlett, would you like to give me hand?”

  “Of course.”

  Waiting for her to catch her up, Tabitha leaned in and whispered, “I want a word with you.”

  She followed her aunt into the kitchen.

  Tabitha looked over her shoulder, past Scarlett. “Shut the door.”

  Scarlett did as she was told and stepped tentatively across the kitchen. Once within roughly two feet of her aunt, she came to a halt and grinned, trying to make out she wasn’t in the slightest bit fearful.

  Tabitha lowered her voice. “Scarlett, what did I tell you?”

  She scoured her brain, trying to locate any kind of conversation to which her aunt might be referring. “About what?”

  Tabitha looked incredulous. “About what? About dark magic, that’s what.”

  Scarlett looked at the floor. “Oh, that.”

  “Yes, that.”

  “So what have you got to say for yourself?”

  Scarlett pouted, in what she hoped was an endearing way. “But I haven’t—”

  “Yes, you have. You listened to everything I had to say, then blatantly disregarded it. You promised me you’d stay away from all that.”

  “But—”

  “Do you want me to spell it out again to you? Did the message not get through last time, when I told you about my friend?” She took a deep breath and steadied herself on against the worktop. “They found her in a pool of her own blood, for heaven’s sake. Was that image not graphic enough for you?”

  Noticing how just recounting the incident made her aunt turn pale, Scarlett felt overwhelmed with shame and guilt. “Yes, Aunt Tabitha.”

  “Do you want me to tell you the story again?”

  She felt her eyes well up. “No, Aunt Tabitha.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Yes, Aunt Tabitha.”

  Tabitha sighed. “Scarlett, it’s been a long hard day. I… I've had to go through it all, holding this in. I’ve had to stand up and be brave for everyone’s sake, but inside…” her voice wavered and she shook her head.

  Scarlett’s lip started to tremble. “Are you disappointed with me?”

  She softened. “No, I could never be disappointed with you, my girl.”

  Scarlett smiled, her eyes still watery. “What then?”

  “Fuming, dear. I’ve been fuming. All day long.”

  She moved towards her aunt, arms open in front of her. “Oh, Aunt Tabitha, I’m so sorry.”

  Tabitha raised a hand and took a step back. “No.”

  “No?” Scarlett blinked, sending a torrent of tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “Aunt Tabitha, I’m sorry. Please, you have to believe me.”

  Tabitha stared at her for a moment, completely expressionless. “Oh, just go. Get out of my sight.” She pointed at the door.

  Scarlett paused to wipe her eyes, before opening the door and re-joining the others, her head hung low.

  A little while later, Tabitha burst in, carrying a tray of tea and scones. She sat down in the armchair and joined in the conversation like nothing had happened.

  She had lost her appetite though. She sipped her tea and toyed with her scone. Ten minutes later, when everyone had finished, Scarlett had hardly even touched hers. She’d managed to drink her tea, but it had left a feeling of nausea in her gut.

  Tarquin drained his mug, reached out to place it on the table and stood up. “Well, that’s me for the night. Think I’ll head off home.”

  Cliff stood up. “Yeah, me too.”

  Scarlett, Tim and Raven also rose to take their leave. Tabitha stroked Raven and said goodbye to Tim.

  Noticing the way she’d been left out, she summoned a smile and said, “goodnight, Aunt Tabitha. I’ll miss you.”

  Tabitha looked at her, flickered a smile and broke eye contact.

  Chapter Twenty

  Friday Morning

  Slater Residence, Bicester, England

  Scarlett felt something soft jump up on her bed and move towards her head. Still half asleep, she shot out an arm to protect herself. “Oh, Raven,” she said, opening an eye. “Good morning, it’s so good to see you.”

  Raven took a step back and hung her head to one side. “You okay? You look a bit—flustered.”

  “What? Oh yes, you gave me a bit of a fright, that’s all. I had a bad dream.”

  Raven relaxed on Scarlett’s midriff and maneuvered herself around so that they were facing each other. “What was it about?”

  “Oh, about my aunt.” She paused. “There was blood and everything.”

  Raven looked at her gravely. “Oh dear, don’t know what that means. You�
��ll have to get that one analyzed.”

  Scarlett grinned. “Yeah, it could mean I’m about to win the lottery or something.”

  “It could mean that, yes. I doubt it, but it could.”

  They both laughed.

  Raven extended her neck until their faces were only inches apart. “Tell you what. It’s been a wild few days, hasn’t it?”

  “It certainly has. My aunt seemed to take a shine to you, though.”

  “Yes. Some witches are like that. Members of the sisterhood and all that. But, she’s nice, I like her.”

  “Yes.” She didn’t meet her eyes.

  Raven furrowed her brow. “That’s it? You don’t sound very enthusiastic.”

  “She is, I agree with you. She is very—nice.”

  “So, what then?”

  Scarlett let out a sigh. “Oh, let’s just drop it, eh? Some other time, maybe?”

  Raven shrugged. “Okay, whatever you say.”

  She rose from the bed to pull back the curtains and took a peek outside. “Lovely day.”

  Raven used Scarlett as a stepping stone to get to the window. “Isn’t it just?”

  “Could have all been so different. I tell you what, I was worried.”

  Raven nodded. “I know. So was I.”

  Scarlett laid down, resting against the headboard. “It all turned out okay in the end though. Thanks to Tabitha and Tarquin.”

  “Yeah,” Raven agreed. “I know I was against the idea to begin with, but I have to admit it was a good thing that they showed up when they did.”

  “I’ll second that.”

  Raven resumed her place on Scarlett’s midriff. “So, it turned out the military uses some pretty underhanded techniques.”

  “Not quite sure what you’re referring to.”

  “I’m referring to them using some kind of radioactive poisoning to track their suspects.”

  “Oh yes. The government kept that very hush-hush, didn’t they?” Scarlett found herself adopting a strangely disdainful tone of voice.

  Raven grinned. “You’re getting bitter.”

  Whilst she didn’t like hearing it, Scarlett feared that Raven might be right, so she took a minute to mull things over.