brimstone witch 08 - death of a rainbow nymph Page 13

  Jen moved her hands from her hips and advanced on me. She wagged a finger inches from my face. “You are not getting your witchy hands on that! I’ve already got a buyer for it.”

  “Who? The Devlin vampires?”

  Her hand dropped. “How do you know about them?”

  “Harmonia told me. She also said the vampires would use it for evil deeds.”

  There was a sudden hush amongst the workers and some of them stopped moving.

  Jen gave me a defiant look. “What the vampires do with it is none of my business. As long as they pay me on time, that’s all I’m concerned with.”

  “You don’t care what they do with it?” I confirmed.

  More workers stopped in their tracks.

  Jen shrugged. “I don’t care if they use it for good or bad. If they like it, they’ll come back for more.”

  One of the multi coloured workers stepped nervously forward. She said quietly, “Ms Bumbleberry, I’m sorry for interrupting you. Are you really going to sell our paint to the Devlin vampires?”

  “It’s not your paint; it’s mine,” Jen snapped. “Get back to work.”

  More workers came closer. One of them said, “We don’t want to make paint for evil vampires. A Devlin vampire killed my uncle.”

  “I don’t care about your uncle! Get back to work, the lot of you!” Jen glowered at them.

  The first worker shook her head. “No, Ms Bumbleberry, we won’t get back to work. We can’t work for someone who doesn’t care about their products and where they go.”

  Jen stared at the worker. “Are my ears deceiving me? I’m the one in charge here! You will do what I say!”

  The worker trembled under Jen’s glowering eyes.

  I held my hand up. “Stop shouting. You’re scaring your employees.”

  Jen’s face flushed with anger. Her pointy ears went purple. She hissed at me, “Don’t tell me what to do. I’m losing money by standing here listening to this nonsense. You’ve moaned to me about that paint. Which is none of your business, by the way. If you’ve nothing else to say to me, then clear off!”

  I gave her a steady look. “I would have preferred to talk to you in private, but if you’d like to have this conversation now, I’m happy to do that. Jen Bumbleberry, did you kill Metise?”

  There was a collective gasp of horror from the workers.

  Jen’s nostrils flared. She seethed, “I’ve already told you I didn’t.”

  “You haven’t been truthful with me about the paint. What else have you been keeping from me? Have you got any more of Metise’s stolen plans hidden away?”

  The collective gasp was louder this time.

  The first worker held her hands up and addressed her colleagues, “We are leaving this immoral place immediately. Follow me.” She gave me a quick nod and then headed for the exit door. The rest of the workers followed her.

  “No!” Jen shouted. “Come back! You can’t leave! We’ve got orders to fill.”

  The workers ignored her as they marched out of the factory.

  Jen gave me a sharp prod on the arm. “This is all your fault! You’re going to pay for this.” She prodded me again.

  I cast a quick immobilising spell on her. No one was going to prod me painfully on the arm. I made sure Jen could hear me before I said, “Jen Bumbleberry, this is all your fault. This is what happens when you don’t treat your workers with respect. You have a short temper and I don’t think anyone should be on the end of it. Furthermore, while you don’t have a legal duty to care about where your product ends up, it’s your moral duty to do so.” I pointed towards the private room a short distance away. “I’m going to cast a spell on that door so you can’t enter it. I won’t allow you to sell the paint to evil beings. Metise’s paint will be used for its original intention. I’ll make sure of that.”

  I released her from the immobilising spell and waited for a fresh verbal onslaught.

  Jen collapsed to the floor and put her head in her hands. She mumbled, “What have I done? What have I said?” She looked up at me. “I can’t control my thoughts anymore. It’s like I’ve got someone else’s voice in my head. It isn’t a nice voice.”

  I tentatively said, “Did that voice tell you to kill Metise?”

  She gave me a long look. “I don’t know. I don’t think so.” She looked around the empty factory. “What have I done to my loyal staff? How could I have spoken to them like that? How can I fix this?” She groaned and put her head back in her hands.

  I knelt at her side. “Things can always be sorted out. Jen, did you kill Metise?”

  She looked at me. “I’m not sure at all. How can I not be sure?”

  “Where were you when she died?” I told her the time that Metise had been attacked.

  Jen blinked and thought about it. “I was here at the factory. I was catching up on my paperwork.”

  “Did anyone see you?”

  She gave me a slow shake of her head. “No one was here. This isn’t looking good for me, is it?”

  “No.” I stood up. “I’m going to place you under arrest until I make further enquiries. I’ll take you to the cells in Blythe’s house.”

  Jen got to her feet. “Of course. That’s the right thing to do. I’ll come willingly.” She looked around the factory again. “What’s going to happen to the paint in here? We’ve got orders to complete.”

  “Perhaps you could ask your workers to come back. Politely, and after you’ve apologised to them.”

  “Do you think they will come back? After how I’ve behaved?”

  “They might. You’ll have to grovel and be sincere.”

  Jen’s head dropped. “I feel wretched about my behaviour.”

  The workers were milling around the outside of the factory when I led Jen out. After Jen apologised profusely to them, they agreed to go back to work. The lead worker said she’d make sure the finished batch of invisible paint was kept safe in a locked room.

  I held my broomstick out to Jen and said, “How are you about flying? We can both squeeze on here.”

  “You don’t need to take me to Blythe’s on your broomstick. You can order a flying unicorn taxi to take me there. I’ll pay the fare. I’ll explain everything to Blythe. I’ll tell her how I stole Metise’s plans and about my intention to sell the paint to those vampires.” She gave me a wan smile. “It’s the least I can do. Cassia, if you discover it was me who killed Metise, you must lock me up forever. Don’t ever let me walk free.”

  I gave her a quick nod and then summoned a flying unicorn taxi. It took Jen straight over to Blythe’s house in Brimstone town and dropped her at the front door. I followed at a short distance to make sure Jen didn’t try to escape.

  As soon as Jen landed, the door opened and Jen went inside. I hovered for ten minutes in case Jen sneaked back out. She didn’t.

  I gazed at Blythe’s house. Was Jen the murderer? She had a motive. I wasn’t sure how I was going to prove it was her. Or if it wasn’t her. I needed time to think. I turned my broomstick around and headed away from the town. Flying would give me the chance to clear my head.

  I headed towards the nearest set of mountains and circled them. The fresh air was invigorating and I could think clearly.

  I considered the facts of my case. I could use that sample of paint from the arrow which struck Metise to determine whether it was from an older batch or the new batch. Dr Morgan had access to the human world and its technology. I’m sure she could run tests on the paint for me. Harmonia had the older batches, and the new batch was under lock and key. Finding out where the paint on the arrow had come from was a start.

  The bow! Of course. It was still in the apartment. I hadn’t even examined that yet. There could be evidence on that.

  I circled the mountains again. Being up here was really helping to get my thoughts in order.

  Stanley’s little face flashed into my mind. I wobbled on my broomstick.

  His hurtful words suddenly exploded in my head. The image of him wal
king away with Calypso followed his words.

  I winced as the awful memories returned to me with a vengeance. Each returning memory felt like a sharp prod in my brain.

  Stanley and Calypso together. Stanley leaving me.

  Cupid’s office. His words about Luca.

  The pain increased and I clamped my lips shut to stop myself from screaming.

  The thoughts and images kept coming. I couldn’t stop them.

  One after the other they crashed into my mind.

  Stanley had left me.

  Luca had tried to kill Cupid. I couldn’t trust him.

  I couldn’t trust anyone.

  I was all alone.

  The voice in my head wasn’t mine. And it wouldn’t shut up.

  I put a hand at the side of my head and yelled, “Stop it!”

  Stanley hated me. He’d always hated me.

  Luca was going to get rid of me. He’d lied to me over and over again. He didn’t love me. He hated me.

  I put my other hand to my head and screamed, “No! It’s not true!”

  Pain jabbed at my brain again and again.

  I yelled in agony.

  My broomstick dropped away from me and fell to the rocks below. Like a doomed cartoon character, I hung in mid-air for a second before plummeting after it.

  “No!” My final cry echoed around the mountains as I fell to a certain death.

  Chapter 26

  I wasn’t sure if I was dead or not. If this was the afterlife, it looked the same as the world I’d just left.

  If I was still alive, then I had a big problem.

  I was lying on my back staring at the sky. I couldn’t feel anything. Not my fingers, not my legs, not my back. I had fallen from a great height and had landed on a grassy area strewn with rocks. I should have been feeling immense pain.

  But I didn’t. Had I broken my spine? Was I paralysed?

  I tried to move my hands to see if I could pat myself down and check for injuries. Although I sent the thought to my hands, I couldn’t feel any movement. I tried sending magic to my fingertips. That didn’t work either.

  I stared at the sky and considered my next move. I gingerly moved my head from side to side. My head was okay. Thank goodness for that. A second later, I regretted the movement as pain exploded in my head like a firework.

  What was I going to do? I couldn’t lie here waiting for help. It might never come. No one knew where I was.

  My eyes began to sting. I quickly blinked. I did not have time for pity. There must be something I could do.

  I gazed into the sky again and waited for inspiration.

  The butterflies! Of course. I could summon a butterfly and then get a message to Dr Morgan.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but only a croak came out. I would have to mentally summon one. I’d done that on other occasions and it had worked. I hoped with all my heart it would work this time.

  I focused on sending my message. If I could have crossed my fingers, I would have done. And my toes too.

  Once the message had been sent, I looked at the sky and noticed the clouds floating by. My eyes were feeling tired and I desperately wanted to close them. I knew that was a bad idea, so I made my mind do other things instead. I mentally recited my maths times tables and pictured the sums in my head. It took my mind off my desperate situation.

  I’d been working on my mental maths for what seemed like years when I heard a fluttering of wings. A butterfly came into view above me. A beautiful butterfly. I’m sure if I could have felt my heart’s movements, it would have leapt for joy.

  The butterfly came closer and hovered above my face. It was a male Brimstone butterfly.

  I tried to vocalise my message but the noise which came out didn’t sound like words. I tried a few more times, but my message still wasn’t clear. The butterfly flapped his wings and flew away. Had he received my message at all? I could only hope.

  I went back to my mental maths and tried not to think about my imminent death. I hoped Gran would be able to deal with everything after I’d gone. I had made a will and I had life insurance. If she made a claim on my life insurance, would she put the cause of my death as falling off a broomstick? There could be some tricky questions from the insurance company if she did that.

  As I mused on the facts of my possible life insurance claim, I heard the flapping of more wings. Had the butterfly come back? Did he have a message for me?

  A butterfly came into my vision. It was followed by another one. And then three more. More and more butterflies appeared in my sight like a green and yellow cloud. What were they doing here?

  Their wings flapped in unison sending a welcome breeze over my face. I croaked a greeting but it didn’t sound human.

  The butterflies descended and then disappeared from my view. I could hear them fluttering at my side but I didn’t dare move my head for fear of pain exploding in my head again.

  The flapping sound stopped, then something strange happened. I began to rise from the ground. Slowly at first, but I definitely moved.

  How?

  I continued to rise until I was a good distance from the ground. Then I was propelled gently forwards. I worked out what was happening. The amazing butterflies were carrying me.

  My eyes filled with grateful tears. How were they managing to lift me? I wasn’t the lightest of witches. I hoped they weren’t struggling too much.

  I was carried towards Brimstone town and straight over to Dr Morgan’s office. I couldn’t see her but I heard her calling to the butterflies. She told them to bring me inside.

  I was taken into Dr Morgan’s building and then into a room. The door was closed and I heard the doctor talking to the butterflies. I couldn’t make out her words.

  The butterflies lowered me onto a bed and then fluttered upwards. I could see them now. I gave them the biggest smile I could manage. Even that action sent a stab of pain through my head.

  Dr Morgan’s face came into view. She looked pale and extremely worried. Her voice wobbled as she said, “Cassia, what have you done to yourself?”

  I croaked in response.

  She held her hand up in front of my face. “Don’t speak. I would ask you to keep still, but I don’t think you’ve got a choice.” Her glance went to my body and stayed there for too long. “Well, this is going to be a challenge. Let me send the butterflies on their way first.” She moved away.

  I heard the sound of a window opening and then the fluttering of wings. Soon, it was quiet in the room.

  Dr Morgan came back to me. She shook her head. “Cassia, I don’t know what you’ve done to yourself. I’ll question you later about how you caused so much damage. I’ve got a special X-ray machine which Blythe helped me build years ago in the event of situations like this.” She paused. “I’ve never used it. I don’t even know if it works properly. I’ll set it up and then we’ll get to work. Don’t fall asleep.”

  She left me. I heard a door opening, some banging and a bit of cursing from Dr Morgan.

  When she came back to me, she said, “I’m going to move the machine over you. Not only does it pick up on broken bones and damaged organs, it locates your flow of magic.” She swallowed nervously. I’d never seen Dr Morgan look so nervous. She went on, “I’ll warn you now; if your magic flow has been damaged, it could mean that you’ve lost your magical abilities forever.” She reached out and pushed a lock of my hair away. “Let’s hope that hasn’t happened.”

  I stared up at the machine which was now in my view. It made a humming noise as Dr Morgan manoeuvred it over me. Lost my magic? That was a thought I didn’t want in my head at all. I tried going through my times tables again, but I couldn’t think straight. My thoughts wandered back to my present situation. What would happen to me if I couldn’t do magic anymore? I wouldn’t be able to work in Brimstone as a justice witch. I’d have to go back to work in the human world. In an office. With lots of paperwork. And no flying. And no magic.

  The humming sound stopped. There was complete s
ilence in the room apart from my own heavy breathing. I knew Dr Morgan was there because I could hear the rustle of paper and a slight sigh coming from her now and again.

  Dr Morgan came back to me. She smiled and said, “You are one lucky witch. Your magic flow is intact.” She pressed her lips together for a moment. “Well, you’re not that lucky. You have many broken bones in your body. You’re quite a mess. If we were in the human world, we’d be looking at months of recuperation along with many painful operations. But as you’re a witch, I can activate your healing magic and allow it to get to work. How does that sound?”

  I forced myself to smile in response.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” Her expression became grim. “The healing process is going to hurt like hell. But the pain won’t last forever. An hour perhaps, but I think you’re tough enough to take it. Do you still want to go ahead?”

  I gave her another small smile.

  “Good girl. Let’s make a start. It’s not going to be pleasant. You can scream as much as you want to. This room has been made sound-proof. Blythe thought we might need it one day.” She pushed more of my hair away. “I’ll be right at your side. Okay? Ready to begin?”

  I blinked.

  Dr Morgan poured something cool into my mouth. She held her hands over my head and muttered some words. Even though she was human, she knew some magic spells.

  Nothing happened at first.

  Then the pain began. It started on my neck and quickly travelled down my body. As relieved as I was to feel something in my lower body again, the relief soon vanished.

  Tiny pinpricks jabbed and stabbed at every inch of my body. Over and over again. I winced and grimaced as the pain increased. The pain intensified and began to wash up and down me like an unwelcome wave.

  “You’re doing well,” Dr Morgan said. “Stick with it. I’ll give you something for the pain soon, but only after the healing is complete.”

  I had never felt anything like the pain that continued to wash over me relentlessly. I screamed a lot. Dr Morgan stayed right by my side and muttered encouraging words. Just when I thought I couldn’t take any more of the pain, the doctor gave me a swift injection and the pain vanished.