Chapter 26

The earth witch’s home was up the mountain and deep in the woods, close to the Grimes brothers’ trading post. Like Kostas’s home it was a log cabin, but unlike his it looked brand new. It made me think uncomfortably of Connor but I pushed him forcefully from my mind. Now was not the time to try and sort through my muddled emotions. I needed to be sharp and focused.

Liv walked boldly up to the front door and knocked. The witch opened it – at least, I assumed it was the witch. He was medium height, stocky and had a scowl on his face. Charming. Calliope stood behind him, looking bored.

‘Gunnar and Bunny, meet Vitus Vogler, the earth witch,’ Liv introduced us.

Gunnar seemed to know him, so it was obvious the introduction was for my benefit. Maybe I was growing on Liv – or maybe she knew how to be diplomatic.

‘If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you the gem’s security.’ Vitus’s tone was impatient; he clearly wasn’t messing about.

The house was almost completely open plan. There was a large main room with soaring ceilings; above was a loft, and to our left was a short hallway that led to four doors – bedrooms and maybe a bathroom. The wood-burning stove in the middle of the room, surrounded by chunky leather furniture, wasn’t lit. There was a large kitchen with commercial-level appliances.

Vitus led us up some steps to the loft; it was half the size of the house and obviously a family room, with a large TV and comfortable furniture. Off it were two doors: one led to a bathroom and the other was for the gem. Both doors were cheap and flimsy; a strong wind or a firm kick could break them down. The security here seemed low and I was surprised it hadn’t been targeted first.

‘Is it warded?’ I asked curiously. My scalp wasn’t itching but that wasn’t a reason to plough recklessly into the room; I didn’t want to get fried by accident.

‘I haven’t had it warded,’ Vitus said. My jaw dropped and Liv started to vibrate with barely contained anger. ‘I live so far out here in the sticks that not many people come by, and the only road is visible from my front windows. I’d know if anyone came around.’

‘We called you about the other thefts. One of them was done by someone who could teleport,’ Gunnar said.

Liv exploded, ‘We told you to place extra wards!’

‘The house is warded,’ Vitus responded.

‘We walked in here!’ I said incredulously.

‘What do the wards on the house do?’ Gunnar asked.

‘They send me an alert if anyone enters the house.’

‘An alert!’ Liv was virtually apoplectic.

‘Relax, Liv. No one would dare attack something under my protection,’ Calliope said.

My mouth spoke before my brain sparked. ‘You got kidnapped a few weeks ago! Someone dared attack not a thing, but you.’

Calliope gave a chilly smile. ‘And I ate him.’ She smacked her lips.

‘Snacking on a thief after the fact won’t get the gem back,’ Liv snapped. ‘And you had indigestion for a week after eating the general.’

‘He was very unhealthy, full of trans fats.’ Calliope sighed. ‘A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.’

‘That is such an outdated saying,’ I bristled. ‘Eat what you want when you want in moderation and do some exercise.’

Gunnar cleared his throat. ‘If we can focus?’

I grimaced and turned to the earth witch. ‘First things first. Have you checked that the gem is still there?’

‘Of course I have,’ Vitus scoffed, glaring at me as if I were an imbecile. I was making friends again. ‘I check twice a day – which is the rule.’ Clearly he was a letter-of-the-law kind of a guy: he did what was required of him and strictly no more.

‘Why don’t you take it out and show us?’ I said.

He looked at me, horrified. ‘I can’t take it out! It will cause an earthquake.’

‘So how do you check it?’

‘I lift the lid briefly.’

I didn’t trust his lackadaisical attitude so I opened the door of the closet to check. As with the other three barrier gems, there was a stone plinth with a metal box resting on it. I let out the breath I’d been holding, reached in and lifted the box lid.

The green jewel glittered at me and I wanted to pick it up and run away with it. It mesmerised me, holding me locked in place; I knew immediately that it would definitely help me accomplish my life goals.

Luckily, almost as soon as I opened the box Gunnar reached over and snapped it shut, breaking the spell. ‘Fuck,’ I said shakily. ‘What is it with these damned gems?’

‘Cursed,’ Liv said drily. ‘Remember?’

‘It’s like they’re alive…’

‘Something like that,’ she agreed. ‘Well, thanks to Bunny, we know the gem is there. Now it’s a matter of keeping it that way.’

‘I’m going to place some surveillance cameras, then you and Liv will place several very scary wards around the gem. Got it?’ Gunnar’s voice was steely.

A bead of sweat rolled down Vitus’s forehead. ‘Sure.’ He threw a quick glance at Liv; she must run her group with an iron fist. He was scared of her – but I would be too if my security was as bad as his. If his gem had been stolen he’d be to blame, and I was sure Liv’s wrath would be terrible. He’d got lucky.

‘I’ve checked the exterior of the house and I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary,’ Calliope said calmly.

Gunnar gave her a barely perceptible nod and started installing the cameras. His phone pinged, and he unlocked it to see what the message said. ‘We’ve got the warrant to install the cameras at Nora Sullivan’s,’ he murmured to me. ‘I’ll drop you back and go straight to do that after here, since I have the surveillance equipment already with me.’

I nodded in acknowledgement, better him than me. I’d be so nervous that Nora would walk in while I was installing them.

While Gunnar worked, I talked to Calliope. She wasn’t my biggest fan, but I was worried about Sidnee so I braved the storm. ‘Any sightings of Chris Jubatus?’ I asked.

She looked at me sharply. ‘We will report directly to the Nomo’s office if he is seen.’

Her siren group was the one best placed to keep an eye out for the selkie. They were also watching the sea cave where there was a huge stash of fisheye waiting for someone to disarm the explosives around it so we could retrieve it for destruction. The siren group had carried out a huge search mission to try and find Chris and the other members of the stray military branch that had breached Portlock and flooded it with the drug. They’d had no success, and Calliope was still salty about it.

‘Any activity around the sea cave?’ I pressed.

Her response was more of a snarl this time. ‘As I said, if we see anything we will report it.’

‘Thanks. And I know I’ve said it before, but I am sorry about the whole suspecting Soapy thing.’

She nodded tersely and moved away; either she wasn’t in a chatty mood or she didn’t want to chat to me. I suspected the latter but told myself it was the former.

When Gunnar was done with the cameras, Vitus and Liv laid down what I hoped were very thick and very deadly wards. While they were busy, I asked Gunnar, ‘What kind of magic do necromancers do? I’ve seen Liv attempt to raise the dead, but how can she add to or make wards? What does death have to do with that?’

‘Death powers her magic. Trust me, something died so she could do this today. It was probably a goat or a few chickens, but something died and she is using its life force.’

Liv must have heard my question because she smirked. ‘Do I scare you, little dead thing?’

I shuddered, involuntarily. She absolutely did.

She held up a gruesome doll made of fur, feather and bone, stained with a brownish-red substance that I could smell was old blood. ‘This contains the life force of several sacrifices. It is enough for this work.’

Her magic smelled awful to me: old blood, decay and the stench of rot. I stared at the totem and I could almost see the miasma of death around it like a dark aura. As I stared, a feeling of something slithering around and tugging at my guts began and I swayed on my feet. I forced myself to look at Liv. The smirk was still there and I had the sensation of desert sand scouring my skin.

She put the creepy doll back into her voluminous bag and the slithering sensation stopped. She was determined to let me know that she could control me in my undead – or partially undead – state.

Like I’d ever forget.