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“Calm down! I’m here! I can help! Step back!”
Mrs Tarblast suddenly sped into the garden like a little red express train.
She roughly shoved me out of the way and shouted, “I’ll sort him out. He’s not dying without answering to his crimes, the sneaky snake in the grass.”
She whipped out a small bottle from her pocket, pulled the lid off it and knelt at Ivan’s side. “Oi, Cassia, get over here and open his lying mouth. Tip his head right back.”
“I’m not sure you should be doing that,” I said. “I’ll see if I can find Blythe. She’ll know what to do.”
“We haven’t got time!” Mrs Tarblast protested. “He’ll be dead in ten seconds if you don’t hurry up. I know what I’m doing. Get over here now and help me.”
She gave me such an intense look that I did what she said. I opened Ivan’s mouth and tipped his head back. Mrs Tarblast poured a mauve coloured liquid down his throat. She flung the empty bottle on the grass, grabbed the sides of his head and shook it from side to side.
“That should do it,” she said. She took her hands from his head and stared at him.
Stanley and I did the same.
Mrs Tarblast said, “I heard everything he said to you. I’ve been hiding behind the wall. I knew there was something not right about Ivan Snapnert the minute he turned up on our street. There was a devious, sly look about him. I knew that from the very start.”
Ivan began to cough. His face turned red and he coughed some more.
“Oh, I nearly forgot.” Mrs Tarblast took some garden twine from another pocket and quickly tied Ivan to his chair. She smiled at me and said, “We don’t want him making a run for it. He needs to pay for what he’s done.”
I looked at Mrs Tarblast. “Thank you for saving his life, and tying him up. What exactly did you pour own his throat?”
She gave me an evasive look. “Just an old family remedy. Nothing special.”
“Did you make it from those illegal plants in your garden?” I asked.
She did her best to look insulted. “What? Illegal plants? In my garden? Here in Brimstone?”
“Yes or no?” I persisted.
She gave me an embarrassed grin. “Can we talk about that another time? You’re going to be busy sorting this evil monster out. In my defence, my family has been using those plants for years to help our neighbours and friends. We never charge, and we do a lot to help the community.”
“Yes, Mrs T. does a lot for us.”
Dirkem Mudworthy popped up from behind the wall. He said, “Mrs T., have you got that stuff for my back yet? I can barely walk. And I’ll need some more of that sleeping potion.” He looked at Ivan. “Why’s he tied up? What’s he done?”
Mrs Tarblast planted her hands on her hips and glowered at Dirkem. “Dirkem Mudworthy! You’ll be the death of me with your incessant moaning. Get back to your house and I’ll be with you shortly.”
Dirkem pointed at Ivan. “What about him?”
“I’ll tell you about him later, you nosy gnome!” Mrs Tarblast gave Dirkem a look that made him wither and walk quickly away. She muttered, “His back looks okay to me.”
Ivan came round a bit more and wailed, “Let me go! I want to die! You’ve no right to stop me! Untie me.”
Mrs Tarblast raised her eyebrows in my direction. “I can give him something to shut him up if you like? I’ve used it a few times on Dirkem. It’s powerful stuff.”
“No, thank you. I’ll deal with him now. Thanks again for your help.” I paused for a moment. “We’ll talk about the other thing another time. And I’ll need to know why you never mentioned Treto falling over in your garden.” My eyes narrowed. “You could have saved me a lot of time if you’d have mentioned that earlier.”
She let out an embarrassed laugh and said, “Like you said, we can talk about it later.” She looked over her shoulder. “I thought I heard someone yelling your name. Your friend is here now. Luca, isn’t it? He’ll help you with Ivan now. Make sure you lock him up for a long time.” She gave me a nod before walking away.
Luca ran into the garden and came to a halt. His face was red and he was out of breath. He pointed to Ivan and then to the disappearing Mrs Tarblast as she hurried back to her own house.
He took a moment to catch his breath and said, “What’s going on? Why’s Ivan Snapnert tied up? What were you saying to Mrs Tarblast? Was she trying to sell you one of her famous potions?” He bent over, put his hands on his knees and said, “I’ve never run so fast in my life. Not in human form.”
Stanley went over to Luca’s legs and looked up at Luca’s face. He said, “Ivan is the murderer. He hired Alan. Alan killed Selo. Then Ivan killed Alan. Ivan tried to kill himself but Mrs Tarblast saved him.”
Luca straightened up. “I’m even more confused now.”
I quickly told Luca what had happened. He listened and shook his head occasionally. From his chair, Ivan added his own boastful comments which we all tried to ignore.
Luca gave me a look of admiration which made me feel hot in the face. He said, “Cassia, this is great work. Blythe will be so pleased. I’m proud of you. I’ll take care of Ivan now. There are some cells in Blythe’s house, so I can put him in there until she comes back.” He looked Ivan’s way and said to him, “I must let Pam know that you’re the one who killed Alan. Do you know Pam?”
Ivan paled and swallowed nervously. “Everyone in Dingy Skipper knows Pam. Do you have to tell her?”
“I think it would be polite to do so.” Luca moved over to me and said, “I need a quiet word with you and Stanley.” He took us out onto the street and waited for some goblins to pass by before speaking.
I said, “What is it? You’ve got a funny look on your face. And not in a good way.”
Luca’s tone was serious as he said, “You have to leave Brimstone immediately. I’ve just come from your gran’s house and she wants you back there.”
“Gran’s house? I didn’t think you were allowed into my world.”
“She sent a message for me to meet her there. I only went as far as the cellar.” His tone brightened. “It’s a lovely cellar. Nice and bright.”
“Yes, it is. Back to Gran. What did she say to you?”
“Not much. I think she was trying not to alarm me. She told me she needs you and Stanley back as soon as possible.” His brow furrowed. “She’s worried about something. She tried to hide it from me, but I could see the concern in her eyes. I’ve been trying to find you for the last ten minutes.”
I said, “I don’t understand. Why didn’t Gran try to find me?”
“I don’t know. She’ll explain everything to you.” He looked into my eyes. “Cassia, there’s something wrong with Brimstone. I can feel it in the air. It’s been building up for a while but it’s getting worse. Your gran knows it too. I think that’s one of the reasons she wants you to go back.”
“But what about the apartment? There’s food in the fridge. It’ll go off.”
“I’ll deal with that,” Luca assured me.
“What about my broomstick?”
“You won’t need that in your world, but I’ll keep it safe. Cassia, you have to go now.”
I looked nervously around me. “What about Blythe? I can’t go without telling her about Ivan.”
“I’ll tell her everything.” He put his hand on my arm and moved me along the street. “If you don’t go now, I’m going to fling you over my shoulder and run down the street with you.” He tried to sound jovial but failed.
“Okay, I’ll go. But I’ll be back.”
Luca smiled. “I know you will. Stanley, I’ll count the days till I see you again, my friend.” He winked at Stanley.
Stanley chuckled and said, “See you soon.”
Luca gave me a pointed look until I turned away from him and walked away.
I said to Stanley, “This is weird. What’s going on? Why does Gran want to see us so urgently?”
“She’ll tell us,” Stanley said. “I don’t think it’s anything serious.”
His nervous tone belied his words.
We walked through the town. It was deserted which made the nervous feeling in my stomach increase tenfold. We passed a butterfly tree on the way to Gran’s cellar door. Half the butterflies were missing. My hands felt clammy and an icy feeling shot down my spine. Something was terribly wrong.
We reached the door that led to Gran’s cellar. I shrieked as someone moved out of the shadows.
It was Astrid. She was smiling in a way that wasn’t at all friendly. She looked me up and down before saying, “Going back home? Good idea. You stay there for a while. That’s where you belong, isn’t it? Don’t worry about coming back here. I’ve got everything under control. I’ll take good care of Luca.” An evil glint came into her eyes. “I see you caught up with Ivan Snapnert. Ivan? Who’d have thought it? Perhaps if you’d dealt with the gnomes’ complaints straight away, you would have worked things out sooner. Perhaps you’re not as clever as you think you are.”
“Now, just a minute,” Stanley began. “Don’t you talk to my Cassia like that. You were the one who was dealing with the gnomes’ complaints. You should have noticed something wasn’t right.”
Astrid let out a mocking laugh. “Oh, poor Stanley. Are you missing your little friend? Kitty? I hoped she was going to stay a bit longer with you two. I was planning on it. Never mind.” She turned her cold look on me and stared at me with so much hate that I felt my heart shrivel up in fear. She said, “I must go. Luca needs me. I hope we don’t meet again too soon. Goodbye.”
She turned away and walked calmly down the street. I was too shocked to say anything.
Stanley said, “I knew it! I knew it was Astrid who planted Kitty in your broomstick. You have to do something about her.”
I didn’t get the chance to reply because the door behind me was flung open. Gran reached out and pulled me through. Stanley ran after me.
Gran slammed the door behind us and pulled me into a hug. “Thank goodness you’re safe. I’ve been worried sick about you.”
I untangled myself from her arms. “Gran, what’s going on?”
Gran said, “It’s not safe for you out there. It’s the contamination.”
“Contamination?”
“Yes, I noticed the fallout settling on you and Stanley when I came through earlier. It’s only a light covering, but it’s definitely there. I meant to tell you immediately but then we ended up sorting out the Aitvaras problem instead.” She looked me over. “The fallout is already dispersing. It’ll all be gone soon.”
I frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s the black magic. It’s floating through the air like pollution. It’s been affecting the residents for months and it’s getting worse. I thought you two might be immune to it, but I was wrong. Have you noticed any change in your behaviour or feelings recently?”
I looked down at Stanley. “Sorry, Stanley, but I have noticed you losing your temper more and more.”
Stanley nodded. “I know. I’m turning feral. Sorry.”
Gran picked Stanley up. “It’s not your fault. You’ll start to feel better now that you’re back here.” She looked my way. “I could tell the pollution was getting stronger when I came to see you earlier. It affected me too and I was in a terrible mood when I came back here. I wanted to lash out at someone. I shouted at Oliver.” She shook her head sadly. “I’ve never shouted at him before. I tried to apologise, but he’s sulking in his cat basket.”
Stanley said, “I’ll go and talk to him. I’ll tell him about our latest case too. Cassia found out who murdered Selo and Alan.” He jumped from Gran’s arms and made his way across the cellar and up the steps.
“You’ve solved the murder? Already?” Gran asked.
I nodded. “I’ll tell you about it in a minute. Gran, what’s going to happen out there? What’s going to happen to Brimstone?”
“Blythe’s talking to those evil cousins of hers. Her plan is to stop the flow of black magic coming into the town.” Gran sighed wearily. “It could be too late. It could take months for the wickedness to leave the town. I suspect there will be more murders for us to deal with.”
I jerked my thumb at the door. “Shouldn’t we be out there now? We could do something to help.”
“It’s not safe for us. The pollution is too strong. The butterflies are doing what they can to get rid of it, but it’s exhausting work for them. They’re acting like air filters at the moment, but it’s going to be a long and strenuous job for them. I do hope they’ll be safe.”
I moved from foot to foot. “I feel so helpless. Can’t we do something? Can’t we use magic?”
“Not yet. With the black magic out there, it could backfire on us. I know this is hard, Cassia, but we have to be patient. Give it time. It’ll be safe for us to return to Brimstone soon.”
I glanced at the cellar door. My stomach clenched in fear. I said, “But what will we find when we go back there?”
The Brimstone Witch Mysteries:
Book 1 - Murder Of A Werewolf
Book 2 - As Dead As A Vampire
Book 3 - The Centaur’s Last Breath
Book 4 - The Sleeping Goblin
Book 5 - The Silent Banshee
Book 6 - The Murdered Mermaid
Book 7 - The End Of The Yeti
Book 8 - Death Of A Rainbow Nymph
Book 9 - The Witch Is Dead
Book 10 - A Deal With The Grim Reaper
Book 11 - A Grotesque Murder
Book 12 - The Missing Unicorn
Book 13 - The Satyr’s Secret
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