Alex jumped to his feet, overturning his chair, and ran to Avery’s side, ready to join her attack, but whatever had manifested out of the darkness had gone.
He hugged her as she lowered herself gracefully to the ground. “Are you all right?” He examined her swiftly for signs of injury, but although she was pale, and her hair streamed across her shoulders from the wind that had buffeted around her, she was otherwise unharmed.
“I’m fine,” she said, but she was already distracted, her eyes turning to the dark corner of the garden. “Did you see that?”
“I saw something! What the hell was it?”
“And what is this?” Shadow asked, holding up a golden coin, her knife in her other hand. She was already standing by the shed, and Alex blinked. He hadn’t even seen her move.
By now the others were on their feet, Reuben and El already heading purposefully to where Avery had directed her magic, while Briar scanned the garden with narrowed eyes.
“Is that a coin?” Cassie asked, looking confused. She crouched and picked up something shining in the gravel. “Look, here’s another!”
“Bollocks!” Ben said, looking annoyed. “Why the hell didn’t I bring my EMF meter?”
“It’s in the van!” Dylan said, already running out of the gate.
Sally, wide-eyed with shock, grabbed Dan’s arm. “What happened? I don’t understand. And Avery flew!”
Of course she was shocked, Alex realised, suddenly feeling very sorry for Sally. She knew they were witches, but she’d never been this close to any action before. Even when they rescued her from Caspian, she’d been in the cellar, well away from the fight.
Avery looked guilt-stricken. “Yes, sorry, I do that sometimes. Just ignore me.”
Dan helped Sally to a chair again. “I’ll get you another drink.”
Sally nodded, her face vacant, as Newton emerged from the garden.
“I’ve been away for minutes only!” Newton said, shocked. “What the hell has happened?”
Avery shook her head. “I’m not exactly sure, but I think I saw Helena.”
Alex thought he was surprised before, now he was doubly so. “Helena! Where?”
Avery gestured to the area that Reuben and El were investigating. “There! I don’t know how to explain it, but the air sort of shimmered, as if something was manifesting.” She looked frustrated. “Sorry. That sounds ridiculous, but that’s what I saw!”
Shadow reassured her. “I saw it too, but I couldn’t make out anything in it.”
“But you saw Helena,” Alex persisted.
Avery grimaced. “Yes. Initially, it was just swirling darkness, but right at the end, for just a split second, I saw her face.”
Alex’s anger was building. “I knew we should have banished her! I’m going to do it—tonight!”
“No!” Avery turned to him, alarmed, her hand restraining his arm. “I think she was in trouble!”
“She attacked you!” Alex had always been frustrated by Avery’s inexplicable loyalty to Helena. He understood family ties, but she had tried to kill Avery. “We can’t trust her!”
Her mouth was set in a stubborn line. “But she’s helped us, too—you know that! And besides, she wasn’t attacking me.”
“How could you possibly tell that in a split-second?”
Briar had joined them, and she shot Alex a warning look before speaking in her gentle, reasonable tone. “Why do you say that, Avery? I think we’re all a bit confused right now.”
Avery took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. “I think there was something else there with her. Did you hear the shout?”
Alex met Briar’s worried gaze and glanced at the others, who all shook their head. “No, we didn’t,” he said. “What did it say?”
“Nothing! It was just a scream, or a cry,” Avery said crossly, “and I’m pretty sure it was female. What if she’s in trouble?”
At that moment, Dylan came running, the EMF meter in one hand and his camera in the other. He thrust the meter at Ben. “Quick, we might get residual readings!” He took in their tense faces. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing but confusion,” Alex said, resigned. “Whatever you can get will be great.” He turned to Avery, knowing she was annoyed with him. “Come on, let’s sit and talk while these guys do their thing.”
“Yeah!” Shadow said. She and Cassie were now striding around the seating area, collecting coins. “Let’s talk about these, too!”
Newton rubbed his face with his hands, his mood clearly growing grim. “Not me, I’m afraid. I have to go. There’s been a death in Fowey—a suspiciously paranormal one, obviously.”
Not something else, Alex thought as he asked, “How weird this time?”
“A body was found on the beach just beside the town, close to the mouth of the estuary.” Newton’s mouth was set in a thin line. “Every bone in his body was broken. Every one! That’s not normal!”
Briar frowned. “But the cliffs are high there. He could have fallen. Surely that would explain it?”
“Maybe, but I have a feeling there’s more to it.” Newton looked at everyone’s tense faces. “I hate to leave after this, but I can’t wait. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more from me about this. Is there a witch based there?”
Alex shook his head. “No, but Oswald and Mariah are close. I suggest dealing with Oswald, if you need to. He’s a good man.”
“But we’re happy to help,” El said quickly. “Fowey is really not that far.”
Newton nodded. “Thanks, but perhaps you’ve already got your hands full.” He met Alex’s eyes, a knowing look in them. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Alex watched him go, a sinking feeling already settling into the pit of his stomach, and then encouraged Avery into a chair, the others sitting next to them, while Ben and Dylan started their investigation.
“All right,” Alex said, forcing himself to be patient. “What did you think you saw?”
“I didn’t see anything—I felt something. Something malevolent.”
“A demon?” El asked.
“No, I don’t think so. Although, it was sort of portal-like.”
“A spirit, then,” Reuben said, catching Alex’s eye.
“Maybe.” Avery looked frustrated. “I couldn’t tell. It was just the feeling of something—and Helena’s face. But she didn’t look evil, or mean. If anything, she was appealing to me.”
“But you only saw her for a moment!” Alex reminded her.
“That was enough!” Avery told him. “And we haven’t seen her for weeks! Not since before Beltane. I’ve actually been worried about her. Where has she gone?”
Sally shook her head as she clutched her wine like her life depended on it. “Do you need to worry about Helena? She’s a spirit.”
“Yes!” Avery said forcefully. “She’s my relative, and she could still be influenced by other spirits!”
“Okay!” Sally held her hand up, palm outwards. “Just a question!”
Alex looked at Avery, surprised. Something had touched a nerve with her tonight. She wasn’t normally this tetchy. “Maybe I should try and summon her, see what I can find. Not tonight, obviously, but tomorrow? If you think she’s in trouble, then I’m willing to help her. I guess I could consider entering the spirit realm, if I can’t summon her.”
Avery smiled at him, and he felt his heart catch. “Would you? That would be great!”
“Whoa!” Reuben said, alarmed. “If there’s something malevolent, you need to be careful, mate! You shouldn’t walk in there alone. I could help.”
Alex shook his head. “No, it’s easier on my own, and I’m pretty good at this. No offence to you, but you’re not as comfortable with the spirit realm as me.”
“I could be your anchor, here.”
Alex had often used the other witches for their power, and to ground himself while he communicated with spirits. “Okay, let me think it through and I’ll let you know.”
“And now,” Shadow said, a clutch of coins in her hand. “What about these?”
El reached over and took one from her. “Gold coins! Wow. These look old. Are they English?”
Shadow shrugged. “They’re not fey!”
“Unfortunately,” Cassie said, holding one up to the firelight, “I know nothing about coins, but these must be valuable.”
She started passing them around until they all had one.
“How many have you found?” Dan asked, squinting at his coin.
Cassie and Shadow did a quick count, and Cassie said, “We’re pretty much all holding one—about a dozen. Not many.”
“We should take these to an expert,” Dan suggested. “Get them valued, and maybe find out some history on them.”
Shadow shook her head. “Oh, no. You’d have to declare them and everything! How are you going to explain that they came from some weird, ghostly portal?”
Dan’s face fell. “Good point. Is there someone we can trust?”
El grinned. “Dante! He might know. And if he doesn’t, we’ll rethink.”
“He owns a forge! That doesn’t make him a coin expert,” Reuben pointed out.
“But he studied art history, and worked in a museum, a million years ago,” El said. “It’s worth asking him.”
Briar had fallen silent as she examined her coin, but she finally spoke. “I think the most important question is, why are they here? Are they a warning to us? A clue to finding Helena? Or something else entirely?” She looked at them all one by one, as the whine of the EMF meter finally fell silent. “What has the power to carry a physical object in the spirit realm and then eject it? Whatever these mean, it isn’t good.”
Ben and Dylan joined them, Ben looking grim. “I agree with you, Briar. I may only be picking up residual energy patterns, but they’re strong. I’ll analyse them properly tomorrow, though.”
“What about you?” Alex asked Dylan. “Anything in thermal imaging?”
“Nothing,” he said, looking disappointed. “But again, I’ll look properly tomorrow. Maybe we should take a coin—run that through some tests, too.”
“Great idea,” Alex said, passing him his. “And now I think I need a beer. I’m hoping that’s the end of our excitement for the night!”
Reuben laughed. “Yeah. This time last year we were battling demons. I really hope we’re not in for a repeat of that.”
“True.” Avery looked as if she was starting to relax, and she leaned back in her chair and sipped her wine. “We were still hunting for our grimoires then.”
“And Newton hated us!” Reuben reminded her.
“And we,” Dan said, gesturing to include Sally, “had no idea how powerful your magic was. This year has been quite the ride! And tonight, Avery,” he said looking at her pointedly, “was quite the demonstration!”
“Sorry.” She looked chastened. “I didn’t mean to scare you. It was instinctive.”
He smiled. “That’s okay. I’d rather you did that than get injured. What we all need after a nasty shock is sugar. Didn’t you say you’d made some cake, Sally?”
Sally groaned. “Some things do not change. Yes, I did. It’s on the table.”
“Allow me,” he said, leaping to his feet as he headed to get everyone a slice, and Alex was suddenly very grateful for Dan’s affability.
Alex took a deep breath, relieved that some normality seemed to be descending on their evening again. But nevertheless, he couldn’t really relax now, and neither could anyone else. An air of watchfulness had settled on them all, and expectation. And what about Newton’s dead body? Alex feared that whatever had happened tonight was just the beginning.