brimstone witch 11 - grotesque murder Read online

  “What’s wrong?” I asked him.

  “It doesn’t feel right leaving them. I feel that something awful is going to happen to them.”

  I gave him a nod of understanding. “I can feel that too, but I don’t know what else we can do here. Let’s deal with Nitoth and Budomm first, and then we’ll come back.”

  We turned away from Brimstone and headed towards the Fascinating Forest.

  Chapter 27

  We were quiet as we flew along, both of us lost in thought. I hoped Stanley’s thoughts weren’t as fearful as mine. I was trying to stay optimistic, but if my attempts at bringing the grotesques back to life didn’t work, I had no idea what I would do next.

  I was brought out of my dark thoughts by Stanley’s yell. “Cassia! Look! I can see a forest over there. Is that the Fascinating Forest?”

  I looked at where his paw was aimed. A spark of joy lit up inside me at the sight of the trees. “Wow. Stanley, look how green the leaves are. Is it my imagination or does the sky look bluer over there?”

  Stanley lifted his head. “It does look bluer. I can see sparkles of something too. Oh! Those are birds! They’re all sparkly and twinkly. And look, there are some butterflies too! They’re coming this way.”

  A small cloud of pale pink butterflies flew towards us and hovered in front of us. Their wings were coated in tiny glittering stones which caught the light and twinkled like stars. An aroma of roses came from them as they gently flapped their wings. Little eyes peeped at us in a welcoming manner.

  Stanley waved at them. “Hello! I’m Stanley, and this is Cassia.”

  A delightful tinkly sound came from the butterflies. It sounded almost like a laugh.

  One of the larger butterflies came closer to me and hovered inches from my face. I almost fell off my broomstick when it announced in a deep voice, “Good afternoon, Cassia. Welcome to the Fascinating Forest. If you follow us, we’ll take you to Walter.”

  Stanley had turned around on the broomstick and was staring at the butterfly with his mouth open.

  I was just as stunned but I found my voice. “You can talk. I’ve never heard a butterfly talk before.”

  The butterfly let out a throaty chuckle. “We can all talk in the Fascinating Forest. Follow me, please.” It gave me a nod and then flew back to the others. They turned around and headed towards the trees.

  Stanley said, “I wasn’t expecting that. That butterfly sounds like he should be singing in a barbershop quartet. Do you think it was a male butterfly?”

  “I don’t know. And I don’t know what we’re going to find in the Fascinating Forest either.” I turned my broomstick to the left and followed the butterflies.

  The trees seemed even greener as we approached them. They looked fresh and new, if those were the right words. Even though there was only a gentle breeze, their branches moved rapidly as we flew past them. I blinked in surprise as I suddenly realised what they were doing.

  Stanley must have reached the same conclusion because he started to laugh. “They’re waving at us! Look at them! They’re waving.” He lifted his front leg at the trees. “Hello!” He lifted his other leg and waved it from side to side.

  My hand shot out to steady him. “Be careful. You nearly fell off then.”

  We headed downwards. Each tree waved at us as we went past. As we got lower, we approached bushes at the bottom of the trees. They waved at us too. As if that wasn’t strange enough, the boulders and the rocks on the ground suddenly sprouted arms and joined in with the waving activities.

  Stanley’s legs were going crazy now as he returned dozens of waves. He chortled with glee. “The whole forest is alive! Helloooooo!”

  The butterflies alighted on the ground below us and I landed the broomstick next to them. The one with the deep tone announced, “Wait here. Walter is on his way. Bye for now!” The butterflies let out that light tinkling sound again before flying away.

  Stanley was still waving to various bushes and rocks as he jumped off the broomstick. He looked like a celebrity as he spun around and called out joyous greetings to them all.

  I settled Nitoth and Budomm at the side of me. My levitating spell was still working on them and they hovered inches from the ground. I felt a light tap on my shoulder and turned around. I was expecting to find the mysterious Walter there. I wasn’t prepared to see a six-foot fir tree smiling at me. I let out a scream.

  “I do apologise for scaring you,” the tree said. It had a face in the middle of its trunk. It extended a thin branch towards me and offered, “Would you like me to hold those stone creatures for you while you talk to Walter? I’d be happy to do so.”

  Such was my suspicious nature that normally, I would be wary of any being who offered to help me. But this tree was giving off such a friendly feeling that I warmed to it immediately. And it smelled lovely too — like Christmas.

  I untied the magical rope which was around my waist and handed it to the tree. “Thank you very much. I’m Cassia, and this is Stanley.”

  Stanley was too busy blowing kisses to the trees behind me to notice what was going on.

  The fir tree took the rope, bowed slightly and said, “I’m Fren. I shall take good care of these creatures while you talk to Walter. He’ll be here any second.” He bowed again and then walked over to the side and was still. Nitoth and Budomm bobbed in the air at his side.

  I heard a chuckling coming from the bushes at my other side. It wasn’t Stanley even though he was laughing now at something a boulder was saying to him.

  The bushes moved out of the way to allow a creature through.

  Stanley immediately stopped laughing and gawped at the creature. His voice was barely above a whisper, “It’s Santa Claus. Cassia, look. It’s Santa Claus.”

  The being did look like Santa Clause with his white beard, white hair and round, happy face. His cheeks were rosy and his eyes were full of twinkling warmth as he turned them on us. Despite resembling a typical-looking Santa, he wasn’t wearing a red suit; he was wearing khaki-coloured shorts and a shirt. He looked as if he was on safari.

  Stanley continued to gawp as the being stopped at his side and announced, “Stanley! It’s so good to meet you. I’m Walter. Welcome to the Fascinating Forest. I see you’ve already spoken to some of my beloved friends.”

  Stanley nodded but didn’t speak.

  Walter moved over to me and put his hand out. A delicious smell of biscuits and cake came from him. I took his hand and a warmth flowed all through me. I felt some of my despair over the current situation in Brimstone drain away.

  “Hello,” I said with a hint of shyness. “I’m sorry to intrude on you like this.”

  Walter let out a boom of a laugh. “You don’t need to apologise. I can’t tell you how delighted I am to have you both here. Your names are well known throughout this area.” He released my hand and a sadness crossed his face. “I know why you’re here.”

  “You do?”

  Walter nodded. His glance went over to Fren. “Those poor creatures. No one deserves to have their life force taken from them like that.”

  Stanley trotted over to us. “Yolanda made them. Do you know Yolanda? She’s beautiful, like an angel. She’s gone missing. We’ll never find her.” His head dropped and he looked at the ground.

  Walter scooped Stanley up. “There, there, little one. Don’t look sad. All is not lost. Yolanda is still alive. We Life Givers are connected to each other. I can still feel her presence. I don’t know where she is, but I can find her.”

  “You can?” Stanley asked. “Really?”

  “Really.” Walter stroked Stanley’s head. “But before I do that, let’s take care of your stone friends first. We can’t leave them in that condition for a second longer.”

  Stanley’s eyes shone with admiration. “You can help them? Really?”

  “Really,” Walter confirmed. “Cassia, I don’t suppose you know where Yolanda’s book of names is by any chance? It would help me greatly to have it. Don’t worry if you
don’t know as I can find a way around that.”

  “I have it here!” My voice was too loud, but I didn’t care. The thought of Nitoth and Budomm coming back to life had caused hope to flood my heart. I pulled the book from my pocket and handed it to Walter. I said, “There’s only one page left, and there aren’t any names on the page.”

  “Not yet,” Walter said with a smile. “Stanley, would you like to help me?”

  “I would love to,” Stanley advised with adoration in his little eyes. I smiled at his expression.

  Walter shifted Stanley over to one arm and then opened the book to its solitary page. “Stanley, tap your paw on the page.”

  Stanley did so.

  Two names appeared in delicate writing.

  Stanley gasped. “Did I do that? Have I turned into a magician?”

  Walter chuckled. “I think you have. Everything in this forest is full of magic. Now, this is the best bit.” He looked over at Fren. “Would you bring our visitors over here, please?”

  Fren moved across the ground on legs made of thin tree trunks and stopped in front of Walter.

  I noticed a flicker of worry in Walter’s eyes and asked, “Is there something wrong?”

  “I’ve never given life to creatures made by another Life Giver,” Walter explained. “And, as far as I know, no Life Giver has ever given a creature a second dose of life force. The situation has never arisen before. This might not work, Cassia. Be prepared.”

  I gave him a nod. “It’s worth a try.”

  “It certainly is,” Walter replied. He looked down at the names in the book. “Nitoth and Budomm. Are those the right names?”

  “They are,” Stanley said. “Nitoth is the one on the right.”

  Walter held the book out. “Stanley, place your paw on Nitoth’s head, please.”

  Stanley did so.

  Walter cleared his throat and then announced, “Nitoth, my friend, I give you life.”

  I held my breath and watched fearfully to see what would happen next.

  Chapter 28

  Nitoth’s eyes were no longer hollow. They were now full of life — and confusion. He looked at me and asked, “Cassia? It is Cassia, isn’t it? I’ve seen you in Brimstone many times. You’re usually with your cat.”

  “I’m here. Hello.” Stanley waved his paw at the bewildered grotesque.

  Nitoth blinked. “Where am I?” He looked left and right. “How did I get here? What happened to me?” His questions stopped abruptly as his gaze rested on his brother. “Budomm! What are you doing here? Why aren’t you moving? What’s wrong with…” He trailed off and stared hopelessly at his brother. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”

  “Not for much longer,” Walter advised. “I know this is very confusing for you, Nitoth, but Cassia will explain everything very soon. If you’d like to move out of the way, please, Stanley and I can send the life force back into your brother.”

  Nitoth nodded and clasped his dragon-shaped hands together. He came over to my side and we watched Walter and Stanley move closer to Budomm.

  I said to Nitoth, “We’re in the Fascinating Forest. Walter is a Life Giver. There’s been a lot going on in Brimstone since you,” I paused and searched for the kindest way to put it, “since your life force was stolen. Stanley and I are trying to fix things. Nitoth, if it’s not too painful, can you tell me the last thing you remember?”

  Nitoth kept his eyes on his brother as he said, “Budomm came to see me. He had something important to tell me. He was scared and kept looking over his shoulder. We met on the roof and he told me everything. Then he left. I saw him running along the path behind the building. A big black shadow fell over him.” Nitoth took a moment to compose himself. “Then Budomm was gone. The shadow came after me. It chased me along the roof and I cried out for help. Then it pushed me off the roof. I can’t remember anything else.”

  Before I could ask Nitoth what Budomm had told him, Walter and Stanley stood back from Budomm as if their task had been completed.

  Budomm burst into life. He jumped around and yelled, “Get away from me! I know who you are! Leave me alone!” His eyes widened in fright as he looked left and right.

  Nitoth ran over to him and put his arms around his brother. “Budomm, it’s okay. You’re safe now. The black shadow has gone.”

  Budomm’s shoulders dropped. “Nitoth? Where are we? How did we get here?”

  I moved over to the grotesques and gave them a quick explanation. I didn’t go into great detail as I didn’t have time for that. I told them how I’d discovered their bodies, and then how I’d brought them here.

  Nitoth shot Walter a grateful look. “Thank you so much.”

  Walter gave him a big smile in return. “You are more than welcome. I had help from my friend, Stanley.”

  Stanley gave Nitoth one of his special cat smiles.

  Nitoth said to me, “Are we going back to Brimstone now?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think it’s safe there for you. Before I tell you why, I want to know more about the black shadow. Can you give me any more details on it?”

  Nitoth replied, “It came out of nowhere. I couldn’t even tell you what shape it was.”

  Budomm had been quiet up to this point, but he suddenly yelled, “I’ve seen it before! I saw it near a cave not far from Bronze Hollow. The cave with the—” He slapped his hand over his mouth to stop the words.

  “We know about the golems,” I told him. “Budomm, what did you tell Nitoth when you came to see him? Does it involve Quinn Ocean?”

  Budomm’s hand dropped from his mouth. “Yes! It does involve Quinn. You mustn’t trust him. You mustn’t listen to his stories. He’s evil. Pure evil.”

  “I knew it,” Stanley declared. He jumped out of Walter’s arms and padded over to Budomm. “I haven’t trusted that storyteller from the second I saw him. What do you know about him? Tell us everything.”

  Budomm began, “I’ve seen Quinn Ocean in many towns. I’m not very good at staying on roofs all the time and I get fidgety. I know it’s not a good thing for a grotesque to keep leaving his post, but I can’t help it. I like going to other towns to see what’s going on.” He gave us the smallest of smiles. “I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself.”

  Stanley said, “Cassia and I are nosy too. It’s a good quality to have.”

  Budomm continued, “I went to many towns and I came upon Quinn Ocean. I listened to his stories and I thought they were okay, but the residents in the towns were mesmerised by him. It didn’t look right to me. I thought he must have used magic on them. So, I started to follow him. I discovered something interesting about him. Did you ever see Quinn Ocean when he first started telling stories years ago?”

  “No,” I advised. “But I understand he’s been coming to Brimstone for years. Did you see him when he first started out?”

  Budomm shook his head. “I didn’t, but I spoke to an old gargoyle who had. He told me Quinn was not so mesmerising when he first started to visit towns. He said Quinn was quite boring and barely anyone would listen to him. But that soon changed after Quinn started talking to some of the local residents who’d done something brave. Quinn would talk to the brave resident, and this is the strange thing, he would lay his hand on that resident during the whole conversation. The old gargoyle said something happened to Quinn once the conversation was over. He seemed bigger and brighter. The gargoyle thought it was his old eyes playing tricks on him, so he didn’t tell anyone else about it.”

  I looked at Stanley and said to him, “What do you think about that?”

  “I don’t know. Was Quinn stealing something invisible from the brave resident? Like their bravery or courage? Is that even possible?”

  “I think it could be, if someone used black magic.” I looked at Budomm. “What else did you find out?”

  “I spoke to many gargoyles across the lands. They’d seen a change in Quinn too. They saw how he would take some residents to one side and have private conversations with the
m, and all the time he would have his hand on their arm. Then when Quinn started telling his stories again, he seemed more confident and the other residents listened to him more. They seemed bewitched by his new stories.” Budomm cast me a swift smile. “Sorry to use that expression, but that’s what it looked like.”

  I nodded. “I’ve seen him in action. How long has this been going on?”

  “For years. I’ve been following him. Quinn gets stronger every time he visits a town.”

  Stanley asked, “What happened to those brave residents he spoke to?”

  A sadness came into Budomm’s eyes. “They forget what they’ve done. They change into something else, a being with no purpose in life. Nobody has made the connection yet, but I have. I think Quinn stole everything which was good about that creature, everything that made them who they were and then left them like an empty shell.”

  I said, “That would explain what happened to those creatures we visited. We heard Quinn’s stories about certain creatures, and we went to visit them. They had changed. They couldn’t remember what they’d done.”

  Stanley shook his head sorrowfully. “It was awful to see them. Quinn must have stolen their memories because when he told his stories, he made it sound as if he was there.”

  Walter had been listening silently to our conversation. He said, “I don’t understand why Quinn would do this. He can’t have done this just to improve the quality of his stories, can he?”

  Budomm’s face was suddenly full of fear. “He’s going to do something with the golems. I saw them in a cave. Hundreds of them. I saw Quinn going into the cave. I heard him muttering about it being time to attack Brimstone. I think he was going to bring the golems to life and get them to do something awful. Cassia, is it possible for a witch or wizard to steal someone’s bravery and then put it into someone else?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied. “But I think I know where you’re going with this. You think Quinn is going to make an army of golems who are full of the courage he stole from other beings. Is that right?”