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Avery waited impatiently outside the Witch Museum. It was 2:30 in the morning, and the small town of White Haven was quiet, other than the sound of unearthly grunts and snarls that came from inside the building. The devil’s trap had caught something, and the warning she had set up had triggered, waking her from a fitful night’s sleep. Any minute now, the other witches would arrive.
It was Sunday night, three nights after Gil’s death, and Avery felt gritty-eyed and sleep deprived. If she was honest, she was happy to be woken by the need to do something useful. His death had left her tossing and turning, pondering what-ifs and maybes. She hadn’t seen the others since then.
Avery glanced nervously around the car park. If that was a demon in the museum, and it certainly sounded like one, someone had summoned it. If it was Faversham, and she was convinced it must be, was he close by, or doing this from a distance?
As she looked towards the town, she saw shadows edge across the car park. It was the other witches, and she sighed with relief.
Alex blinked back tiredness. “How long?”
“Thirty minutes at most,” she said, adjusting her backpack with her grimoire in it.
Briar nodded in acknowledgement. “I can’t believe the trap worked. I’ve got goose bumps.” She looked around. “No Reuben?”
Avery shook her head. “No. I didn’t think we should disturb him. Have you seen him, El?”
“No. He doesn’t want to see anyone right now.” El seemed like she was trying to sound cool about it, but Avery detected a tightness in her voice that wasn’t normally there.
“Fair enough,” Alex nodded. “Let’s get on with it. I’ve brought my new grimoire—there’s a spell that I think will work.”
“Excellent,” Avery said, “because my idea feels shaky. And guys, someone must have summoned that demon. They may still be here.” She turned to the back door and with a whispered spell, the door unlocked and they slipped into the museum.
The smell of blood and mustiness was heavy in the air, but stronger than that was the scent of sulphur. The noise in here was louder, too, and her skin pricked at the feral, inhuman sounds that came from inside the main room. A flickering orange light illuminated the doorway.
“What’s causing that?” El whispered.
“We’ll soon find out,” Alex said, leading the way.
A shudder ran down Avery’s spine as she saw the dark, multi-limbed, writhing shape, bursting against the constraints of the devil’s trap. As the demon saw them enter the room, it howled, revealing a large mouth filled with sharp teeth, and its blood red eyes fixed them with a piercing stare. On the wall behind it was the occult doorway that it had travelled through. The sigils were alight with flames, and acrid smoke poured off them; Avery could see indistinct shapes lurking in the other dimension.
“May the Great Goddess protect us,” Briar whispered. She stood, making her personal preparations that Avery was slowly becoming familiar with. She removed her shoes and stood barefoot, grounding herself ready to draw the Earth’s strength.
Alex pulled his grimoire free and set it up on a small display case, working quickly and surely, while El pulled a short sword out of her pack and stood poised, ready to strike.
Avery watched them with interest. “What’s with the sword, El?”
“After you used the ceremonial sword successfully the other night to help you channel air, I thought I would bind this one with fire—it’s smaller and easier to carry, and there’s a little something extra in there, too.” She grimaced. “Fun times.”
“Well, that’s one way of putting it.”
“Alex, if your banishing spells don’t work, what’s the back-up plan?” El asked.
“A shit-storm of elemental magic?” Alex glanced up from the pages. “I’ve got this. Trust me. Just give me one more minute.”
Avery took deep, calming breaths and tried to focus. Magic worked best with a clear head and a definite plan. While she waited for Alex, Avery watched the demon. The last time they had encountered them, it had been impossible to study them properly, but now that this one was trapped, she could take her time. Like the other demons, it was made of fire and smoke, its form threatening but seemingly insubstantial. However, this one was bigger, with more limbs. Power radiated from it. It writhed so quickly, it was difficult to make out its complete form, or if it even had one. It seemed to constantly shift, one limb morphing into another, and its eyes moved around within what she assumed was its head. It snapped its huge, gaping mouth, revealing long, sharp teeth, and its growls of frustration were like hearing nails scraped down a blackboard. Fire whips struck against the trap’s invisible walls, desperately trying to reach them.
Behind it, the occult doorway was fascinating, fire blazing across its runes and sigils. She wondered if the trapped demon meant the doorway couldn’t close.
Alex shouted, “I’m ready! Repeat after me.”
They linked hands and Alex started his spell. It was written in archaic English, and at first he stumbled over the words, but then he became more confident and they repeated the words together, each cycle growing in power and conviction.
The demon writhed even more furiously, its shape changing too quickly to register. Avery almost stepped back, its ferocity was so scary, but she held her ground and raised her voice, finding strength in its desperate attempts to escape.
Then, with an almighty crack, the invisible walls of the devil’s trap shattered and a rope of flames streaked across the room, whipped around Briar’s ankle, and pulled her towards the doorway. It seemed the trap still had some power as the demon stayed within its circle, but more and more flame ropes lashed towards them.
Briar slithered across the floor screaming and trying to break free, hurling energy bolts at the demon, but it was too strong.
El loosed Avery’s hand and ran across the room, wielding her sword that now flashed with a white flame.
Avery wavered for a moment, but Alex tightened his grip on her hand, repeating the spell, and she drew on her power once again, binding her strength with his as they repeated the words faster and faster.
El sliced and hacked at the flame ropes, moving with athletic fury. The ropes shrivelled as she cut them, but she still couldn’t get to Briar who was being pulled closer and closer to the demon. She renewed her attack, and Avery tried not to lose concentration. Finally El sliced through the flame rope holding Briar, just as she reached the edge of the trap.
With an insidious whisper, the doorway changed and they all almost faltered. Avery had thought it was open before, but as their spell started to work, the runes faded away, revealing the dimension in all its horror. It was like staring into a gigantic whirlpool of fire that stretched back aeons—it was time that Avery sensed, not space, and it was terrifying.
El grabbed Briar and hauled her across the room, both of them stumbling in their haste.
But the doorway was open for mere seconds. It sucked the demon back within its realms and the doorway shut with a resounding roar, plunging them into darkness.
For a second no one moved, and then Avery spelled a ball of witch light into her hands and threw it up towards the ceiling where it floated, illuminating the space below.
“Everyone okay?” Avery asked. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she felt a little dizzy.
Alex stood immobile, and then he grinned. “Hell yeah! I just banished a demon and closed a dimension—don’t thank me all at once!”
“I meant El and Briar,” she said with a raised eyebrow. “But well done. It was very impressive.”
“Impressive? It was bloody awesome!”
Avery winked at him. “Only kidding. It’s interesting that your grimoire has such spells.”
Briar interrupted them. “Don’t worry about us—I only almost got sucked into some infernal dimension. El, thank you. You were brilliant.” Briar looked pale, and she held her hands over her ankle and calf for a few seconds, murmuring a spell. “That really hurts. It would have been a lot worse without my jeans on.”
El smiled and looked at her sword. “This worked better than I thought.”
“So what was your special something in the sword?” Avery asked.
“Ice fire.”
“Is that even a thing?”
“It is now. Demons don’t like it.”
“Wow. This night is so weird.”
Alex stepped closer to the closed occult doorway, pulling a large potion bottle out of his pocket. “One final thing.” He opened the bottle and threw the contents over the doorway with a final incantation, and the runes and marks started to fade until they completely disappeared. “Done. Nothing’s coming out of that again.”
El looked puzzled. “But who summoned the demon? Where are they?”
Alex shrugged. “Maybe it was done from a distance. Wherever they are, they were trying to disrupt White Haven.”
“Maybe it’s a distraction,” Avery suggested.
“From what?” El asked. “We’ve protected everything we can.”
Briar stood and joined them. “Maybe whoever did this thought the demon would kill one of us. We’re too good. I finally feel like we have a win.”
“Come on,” Alex said. “Let’s clean up this place and get out of here.”
“Wait,” Avery said, moving towards the shattered display next to where the doorway had been. It hadn’t been changed since the night they were last here. Underneath the broken glass was a simple ink line drawing depicting Helena, tied to the stake. She was wrapped in a cloak, and her dark hair was flying around her face as if a strong wind was blowing. A man leant forward with a burning branch to light the pyre beneath. Around the pyre, a group of people watched. Avery shuddered. Poor Helena. She thought back to their interview with Samuel Kingston. What if she had been betrayed? Avery had to find out.
Next to the picture was a display of objects used on an altar. There was an Athame, ancient and worn, its blade dull, the hilt patterned with an old Celtic design. Next to it was an engraved chalice, a ritual bowl made of silver, and two pillar candles that had once been lit. There were two dishes made out of carved wood, the traces of what Avery presumed was salt in one, the other traditionally used for water. The objects were laid out symmetrically on a white cotton cloth, all sealed within a glass-framed display case. Bundles of plants were lined up at the back of the altar, and Avery recognised bay leaves, rowan berries, acorns, oak leaves, and a spiral of hazel branches. She smiled, realising that it really was an altar, placed here many years ago, Helena watching over it.
An old leather book lay to the side, filled with pages of writing. It looked like a ledger, and underneath it was a sign that read: “Final sales records from Helena Marchmont’s business.” Avery flicked through the pages with avid curiosity. Had this been written by Helena’s own hand? As the witch light glowed from above, a silvery shape began to appear on the open pages in the centre of the book. Avery gasped. It was a message.
No, it was a map.
She reached forward, brushing away shards of glass and reached in for the book.
“What’s up, Avery?” Alex asked, coming to stand next to her.
“Look!” She lifted the book and turned it under the light. “It’s a map.”
He leaned in closer. “A map! Of what?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
El and Briar joined them, Briar smiling. “This has been here all these years, waiting for you to find it.”
“Could it show us where her grimoire is?” Alex asked.
“What else could it be?”
For the first time in days, Avery felt a spark of excitement run through her. After Gil’s death, nothing had seemed worth it. Even banishing the demon and closing the doorway, although important, had weighed upon her shoulders. She had questioned what they were doing, and wondered if it was worth the risk. But it had to be. The path to her grimoire was right in front of her.
Other Books by TJ Green
A Young Adult series about a teen called Tom who’s summoned to wake King Arthur. It’s a fun adventure about King Arthur in the Otherworld!
King Arthur is destined to return, and Tom is destined to wake him.
When sixteen year old Tom’s grandfather mysteriously disappears, Tom stops at nothing to find him, even when that means crossing to a mysterious and unknown world.
When he gets there, Tom discovers that everything he thought he knew about himself and his life was wrong. Vivian, the Lady of the Lake, has been watching over him and manipulating his life since his birth. And now she needs his help.
Merlin disappeared over a thousand years ago. Now they risk everything to find him.
Vivian needs King Arthur’s help. Nimue, a powerful witch and priestess who lives on Avalon, has disappeared.
King Arthur, Tom, and his friends set off across the Other to find her, following Nimue’s trail to Nimue seems to have a quest of her own, one she's deliberately hiding. Arthur is convinced it's about Merlin, and he’s determined to find him.
An ancient sword. A dark secret. A new enemy.
Tom loves his new life in the Otherworld. He lives with Arthur in New Camelot, and Arthur is hosting a tournament. Eager to test his sword-fighting skills, Tom’s competing.
But while the games are being played, his friends are attacked and everything he loves is threatened. Tom has to find the intruder before anyone else gets hurt.
Tom’s sword seems to be the focus of these attacks. Their investigations uncover its dark history and a terrible betrayal that a family has kept secret for generations.
Witches, secrets, myth and folklore, set on the Cornish coast!
Love witchy fiction? Welcome to White Haven – where secrets are deadly.
Avery, a witch who lives on the Cornish coast, finds her past holds more secrets than she ever imagined in this spellbinding mystery.
For years witches have lived in quirky White Haven, all with an age-old connection to the town’s magical roots, but Avery has been reluctant to join a coven, preferring to work alone.
However, when she inherits a rune covered box and an intriguing letter, Avery learns that their history is darker than she realised. And when the handsome Alex Bonneville tells her he’s been having ominous premonitions, they know that trouble’s coming.
Avery and the other witches are now being hunted, and they know someone is betraying them.
The question is, who?
One thing is certain.
They have to find their missing grimoires before their attackers do, and they have to strike back.
If you love urban fantasy, filled with magic and a twist of romance, you'll love Magic Unbound.
Old magic, new enemies. The danger never stops in White Haven.
Avery and the White Haven witches have finally found their grimoires and defeated the Favershams, but their troubles are only just beginning.
Something escaped from the spirit world when they battled beneath All Souls Church, and now it wants to stay, unleashing violence across Cornwall.
On top of that, the power they released when they reclaimed their magic is attracting powerful creatures from the deep, creatures that need men to survive.
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When Samhain arrives, worlds collide.
A Shifter family arrives in White Haven, one of them close to death. Avery offers them sanctuary, only to find their pursuers are close behind, intent on retribution. In an effort to help them, Avery and Alex are dragged into a fight they didn’t want but must see through.
As if that weren't enough trouble, strange signs begin to appear at Old Haven Church. Avery realises that an unknown witch has wicked plans for Samhain, and is determined to breach the veils between worlds.
Avery and her friends scramble to discover who the mysterious newcomer is, all while being attacked one by one.
Winter grips White Haven, bringing death in its wake.
It’s close to the winter solstice when Newton reports that dead bodies have been found drained of their blood.
Then people start disappearing, and Genevieve calls a coven meeting. What they hear chills their blood.
This has happened before, and it’s going to get worse. The witches have to face their toughest challenge yet – vampires.
When Myths become real, danger stalks White Haven.
The Crossroads Circus has a reputation for bringing myths to life, but it also seems that where the circus goes, death follows. When the circus sets up on the castle grounds, Newton asks Avery and the witches to investigate.
This proves trickier than they expected when an unexpected encounter finds Avery bound to a power she can’t control.
Strange magic is making the myths a little too real.
Passions run deep at Beltane - too deep.
With the Beltane Festival approaching, the preparations in White Haven are in full swing, but when emotions soar out of control, the witches suspect more than just high spirits.
As part of the celebrations, a local theatre group is rehearsing Tristan and Isolde, but it seems Beltane magic is affecting the cast, and all sorts of old myths are brought to the surface.
The May Queen brings desire, fertility, and the promise of renewal, but love can also be dark and dangerous.
White Haven Hunters
Kill the ghost, save the host.
Shadow is an over-confident fey stranded in White Haven after the Wild Hunt is defeated on Samhain.
Gabe is a Nephilim, newly arrived from the spirit world along with six of his companions. He has a violent history that haunts him, and a father he wants answers from - if he ever finds him.
When they set up in business together with the Orphic Guild, they’re expecting adventure, intrigue and money.
But their first job is more complicated than they expected.
When they break fey magic that seals an old tomb, they find it contains more than they bargained for. Now they’re hunting for a rogue spirit, and he always seems one step ahead.
The fight leads them in a direction they never expected.
Gabe could leave his past behind, or he could delve into the darkest secrets of mankind. Shadow has no intention of being left out.
Author’s Note
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Thank you for reading Buried Magic, the first book in the White Haven Witches Series.
I love stories about witches and magic, and I love Cornwall, so I decided to put the two together! White Haven is a fictional town, but reflects the beauty of the beautiful Cornwall fishing villages and the surrounding area. Harecombe, the base of Faversham Central, is also fictional.
The Royal Cornwall Museum and the Courtney Library are real, but the archive is my fictional addition.
Of course, there really was a Witchfinder General who was responsible for many deaths, but he never made it to Cornwall - that’s another bit of fiction.
I have lots of people to thank for their help with this book.
Thanks to Fiona Jayde Media for my awesome cover, and thanks to Kyla Stein at Missed Period Editing for ironing out the kinks!
I also must thank Helen Ryan and Terri Cormack for their fantastic feedback on my first draft which prompted a very important rewrite - you’re both awesome!
Thanks also to my launch team, who give valuable feedback on typos and are happy to review on release. It’s lovely to hear from them - you know who you are - and their feedback is always so encouraging. I’m lucky to have them on my team! I love hearing from all my readers, so I welcome you to get in touch.
Thanks of course to my partner, Jason, who does most of the cooking while I’m feverishly writing in the study. Without his unfailing support and encouragement, my life would be so much harder - and I’d starve.
I’ve dedicated this book to my mother, because not only is she one of my biggest fans, but also because I think there’s a little bit of witch in all of us, and as the matriarchal head of the family, she’s offered plenty of good advice over the years - and plenty of uncanny insight! Thanks mom!
If you’d like to read a bit more background to the stories, please head to my website tjgreen.nz, where I’ll be blogging about the books I’ve read and the research I’ve done on the series - in fact there’s lots of stuff on there about my other series, Tom’s Arthurian Legacy, too.
If you’d like to read more of my writing, please join my mailing list- tjgreen.nz/landing. You can get a free short story called Jack’s Encounter, describing how Jack met Fahey – a longer version of the prologue in Call of the King – by subscribing to my newsletter. You’ll also get a FREE copy of Excalibur Rises, a short story prequel.
You will also receive free character sheets on all of my main characters in White Haven Witches - exclusive to my email list!
By staying on my mailing list you’ll receive free excerpts of my new books, as well as short stories and news of giveaways. I’ll also be sharing information about other books in this genre you might enjoy.
Give me my FREE short stories!
I look forward to you joining my readers’ group.
About the Author
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I grew up in England and now live in the Hutt Valley, near Wellington, New Zealand, with my partner Jason, and my cats Sacha and Leia. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me with my head in a book, gardening, or doing yoga. And maybe getting some retail therapy!
In a previous life I’ve been a singer in a band, and have done some acting with a theatre company – both of which were lots of fun. On occasions I make short films with a few friends, which begs the question, where are the book trailers? Thinking on it ...
I’m currently working on more books in the White Haven Witches series, musing on a prequel, and planning for a fourth book in Tom’s Arthurian Legacy series.
Please follow me on social media to keep up to date with my news, or join my mailing list - I promise I don’t spam! Join my mailing list here.
For more information, please visit my website - tjgreen.nz, as well as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, BookBub, and Instagram.
