Rune Witch Mysteries- The Complete Series Page 5

  “Perhaps, I should get some more tea,” Gwen suggested.

  Thomas nodded his thanks. “Do you think it’s the same person who’s been sneaking into Rachel’s room?”

  “Probably,” I said. “It was a fleeting glimpse and Gwen didn’t get a good look, not with Rachel sitting astride her.”

  With Gwen gone, I stood up and started pacing the room again, straining to pull every detail out of Gwen’s restored memories. I almost started to think I knew the kid, but shook the thought away. And then it hit me. How could I have been so stupid? “The van,” I said. “You took a picture of the license plate back in Bristol.”

  “You want to head down to the DVLA in Swansea, access their systems, and trace the owner?” Thomas asked, highlighting our usual method for gaining such information.

  “No, it would take too long.”

  I continued to pace. I’d be damned if Rachel escaped. With every minute’s delay, I saw her getting away with what she had done. All this for money her father wasn’t even going to pay. Although, we only had his word on that. What if his refusal to pay was only an act, an incentive for us to work harder and find Rachel before he had to? That thought had my blood burning even hotter. I’d be double damned if Rachel escaped with five million pounds.

  “Here you go,” Gwen said, returning with the tea. “Sit down, dear, and have a nice brew of blackthorn bark to calm the nerves.”

  I sat and sipped at the tea. It was nearing three in the morning and I’d been awake since six the previous day. Tiredness seeped into my bones and muddled my thoughts. I sighed. The tea worked its magic and soothed my mind.

  “In all of this, we’re forgetting the Council,” Thomas said between gulps at his own tea. “I mean, we are working for them first and foremost. If I send Joe the plate, I’m sure he’d be able to get back to us with the registered owner in no time.”

  I smiled and sat back in my seat. “See, not just a pretty face,” I said and winked at Thomas.

  Within minutes, Thomas had a reply from Joe. The information would take about two hours to gather. Gwen kindly advised us that those two hours should be used to get some rest and offered us her spare room to bunk down in.

  Reluctantly, I agreed.

  Gwen directed us to a bright yellow room, decorated with floral curtains and a bedspread to match, and busied herself with cleaning away the teapot.

  “You really should get some rest,” Thomas said as he stripped to the waist and lay on the bed. “Joe will call as soon as he has any information. We can pick up the case then.”

  I lay next to him and placed my head on his chest as he cradled me in his arms. Looking up, I met his gaze. “I can’t believe Gwen is taking everything so calmly. I’d be fuming. I am fuming.”

  “Gwen knows there’s nothing to be gained with anger. The deed is done. There’s no taking it back,” he said and smoothed the hair away from my face. “You pick up the pieces and deal with it using a level head, not one clouded with rage.”

  “But what if it had been worse? What if Rachel had decided to kill Gwen like she did the bwbach?”

  “But she didn’t, and there’s no use worrying about what ifs.” Thomas sighed and tightened his arms around me. “Now, get some rest.”

  Thomas closed his eyes. I listened as his breathing relaxed and his heartbeat slowed. I often envied how easy it was for him to switch off. But Gwen’s tea along with Thomas’ still presence worked their magic and I found myself drifting to sleep.

  Chapter Eight

  “The Benedict kid,” I shouted forty minutes later when Joe called with details of the van’s registered keeper. “As in the son of Philip Benedict? The guy we caught in flagrante with his secretary?”

  “Yep. That’s him.” Thomas thanked Joe for the information and promised to call him later.

  “How is he even old enough to drive?”

  “The Benedict case was around six years ago,” Thomas said patiently as once again I started to pace the room.

  “I knew I recognised the kid, knew it, but seriously, never in a million years would I have put this on the Benedict kid. He was just so... nice.”

  “Six years is a long time, Summer. People change. Besides, aren’t we jumping to conclusions? It might be Daniel’s van but that doesn’t mean he’s involved.”

  “His mum did this.” I shook my head. “You remember how bitter she was, how hateful. She turned that boy from a sweet, caring kid into... whatever the hell he is now, and Rachel, she took him the rest of the way. Oh, God, Rachel. If we hadn’t shown him that magic existed, would he ever even have crossed her path?”

  “For all we know, Daniel met Rachel in a bar or nightclub same as most other kids meet up. None of this is our fault.”

  I stopped pacing when there was a light tap on the door. Thomas strode over and answered it.

  “Is everything alright, dears?” Gwen asked from outside.

  “We’re sorry to disturb you, Gwen,” Thomas said. “We have a clue. Somewhere to start looking for Rachel, so we’ll be leaving soon.”

  “Well, that is good news. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Some more of that calming blackthorn brew wouldn’t go amiss,” Thomas said, smiling.

  Gwen glanced at me and then back at Thomas. “I’ll get on it right away,” she said, and returned his smile.

  One cup of tea and a short journey later, we arrived at the Benedict’s house. Daniel may now be old enough to drive, but records showed he still lived at home with his mum.

  It took twenty-minutes of knocking to wake her up. Most people would be annoyed at unannounced visitors in the middle of the night. Add to that the bucket load of hate Mrs Benedict had reserved just for me, and, well... to say she wasn’t pleased was an understatement. I had to put my foot out to stop the door being slammed in my face.

  “Hey,” I shouted. “It’s not my damn fault your husband cheated on you. Now, I need to speak to Daniel, where is he?”

  “None of your business.” She spat at my feet. God, she was a piece of work. I’m not one to defend a cheating husband, but let’s just say, at that moment, my sympathies firmly lay in Mr Benedict’s corner.

  “What about Rachel?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now leave before I call the police.”

  “Why don’t you do that, and I’ll explain how your son and his girlfriend are trying to fleece her dad out of £5 million.”

  “Just go.” Mrs Benedict pulled the door back and slammed it as hard as possible on my foot.

  “Call him,” I shouted through the closed door. “Tell him how much trouble he’s in.”

  I turned and looked around the garden of the Victorian semi. “Over there,” I said to Thomas and pointed beneath a large bay window.

  We crouched low and peered through the window. As I’d hoped, Mrs Benedict frantically dialled a number on her phone. I tapped into the power of the Ailm symbol on my arm and heightened the clarity of the sounds around me.

  I heard the footsteps of a hedgehog scurrying through the bushes, the gentle whisper of the leaves and branches as they swayed in the breeze. But beyond that, I heard the ringing of the phone on the other end the line from Mrs Benedict.

  “Daniel,” she said when at last someone answered. “What the bloody hell is going on?”

  “What are you talking about, Mum?”

  “It’s that girl, isn’t it? Rachel? What kind of trouble has she dragged you into?”

  I heard a sigh from the other end of the line. “Don’t start that again, mum. Rachel’s my girlfriend. There’s nothing you can do about that.”

  “You still in Bristol?”

  “Nah, we had to leave. We’re at the cabin now.”

  Bingo, I thought.

  Mrs Benedict glanced around her room. Her eyes unseeing, as though she were lost in thought. “Look,” she said after a while. “That witch has been here. Summer Daniels.” She pulled the phone away from her ear and held her head in her palm.
I almost felt sorry for her, or, at least, I would have if she hadn’t all but spit my name.

  “Not my fault your husband cheated,” I mumbled under my breath, much to the mirth of Thomas.

  Mrs Benedict returned the phone to her ear. “Just stay where you are for now while I think of what to do... and Daniel...”

  “Yeah.”

  “This game you’re playing with Rachel...”

  “There’s no ga—“

  “It ends. No more, you hear me?” With those final words, Mrs Benedict hung up and threw the phone onto the armchair.

  “There is a cabin somewhere,” I said to Thomas.

  Thomas lifted his cap and ran his fingers through his hair. “You think they’re at Benedict’s cabin in Wentwood?”

  I smiled. “I think it’s a good place to start.”

  *

  Half an hour later we were driving through the country lanes on the opposite side of Wentwood to Nana’s house. Rachel and Daniel had made a big mistake if they were out here. In the city, my powers were strong. But, out here, surrounded by the source of my magic, by the trees that sustained me, they wouldn’t stand a chance, even with Rachel being half-goblin.

  We’d learned of the cabin’s existence when working the Benedict case. Mrs Benedict had kindly confirmed that they’d already searched the fishing cabin, a favourite weekend haunt for Mr Benedict. “He does enjoy fishing in the reservoir at weekends,” she had said. “So we just had to get him a place close to the shore.”

  “You think they have another booby trap set?” Thomas asked.

  “Let’s pull over and walk the rest of the way.” I indicated a layby to the side of the road. “I’ll scan ahead and see if I feel anything.”

  “You think you’ll be able to?” Thomas raised his eyebrows at me. “One headache is more than enough for tonight.”

  “I’ll give you a headache in a minute,” I said and jabbed him with my elbow. “The pain clouded my senses in Bristol. I haven’t got that distraction now. Plus, I know what I’m looking for.”

  “But you are tired,” Thomas said. “We didn’t get much rest at Gwen’s. Maybe, we should get some more rest and come back later.”

  “They might be gone by then.”

  Just over a hundred yards from the cabin, I pulled Thomas into a crouch. The trees shivered in the wind and hid our presence from any onlookers. The reservoir glistened as the moonlight shone down from a now clear sky, but beneath our feet, the earth was wet and spongy from the previous rain.

  “Well, the lights are on,” Thomas pointed out. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean Rachel and Daniel are inside.”

  “Nope,” I agreed. “But the Repel spell surrounding the place does.”

  “Can you disable it?”

  “Easy-peasy.”

  Now that I knew what to look for, it took only a few minutes to disable the magic protecting the cabin. I relished drawing the power of the trees inside me and felt super-charged for whatever we had to face.

  “You think you can tone the dazzle down?” Thomas said, holding his fingers a few millimetres apart to indicate a small amount. “It’s going to make sneaking up to the cabin kind of difficult when you’re glowing like an oversized firefly.”

  I looked down and noticed the light shining through my skin. “I’ll give it a shot,” I said. “There’s just so much energy out here.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  I muted the power soaring through my veins and surveyed the two-storey cabin. There was a door at the front and probably one at the back, where the cabin backed on to the gravel shoreline of the reservoir. A small boat was tied to the jetty: a means of escape should they attempt to use it. There were two windows on the ground floor, both with the blinds down. A crack of light pierced their edges.

  My mind raced. I imagined threading my way to the cabin, through the forest like the morning mist through the trees.

  A brief pang of worry hit me. It was only an assumption that Rachel and Daniel were acting alone. For all I knew, there could be ten goblins in the cabin. Could Thomas and I face ten goblins? One, I could handle. But more? Rachel herself would be a fierce opponent when confronted. Was I leading Thomas into more trouble?

  “You alright?” Thomas placed his hand on my shoulder and I looked into eyes that mirrored my own concern.

  “Maybe we should back off,” I said. “Get reinforcements.”

  “It’s too late for that now.” Thomas pulled me in for a hug. “We don’t even know if they are in there. But if they are and we leave, and they’re gone when we come back, I’d never hear the end of it.”

  I laughed and rested my head on his shoulder. “You’ve got that right.”

  Thomas kissed my forehead. “We’re it, Summer. They killed a fairy and took Gwen’s memories. They should pay for that.”

  Thomas was right, we’d come too far to turn back now. They couldn’t get away with what they’d done, and time was running out.

  Last time I’d seen him, Daniel was a kid desperate to find his father. How soon had that desperation turned to anger? How deep beneath his deceptively docile exterior had nastiness been lurking? And was that nastiness enough to kill a fairy and plan a fake kidnapping? From the kid I met, I wouldn’t have thought so. My guess would place Rachel as the mastermind behind all this. I didn’t know what Daniel’s full story was, or how he’d gotten involved with Rachel, but he was mixed up with her now, and the way I saw it, mastermind or not, he deserved to be punished. They both did.

  I looked into the waking forest. An orchestra of birdsong greeted the new day as the last of the morning’s stars faded overhead. Every tree was a towering sentinel of power, ready to bask in the glory of the sun. There were few places I’d rather be if the circumstances were different. The first rays of morning warmed the earth and brought colour back to the world. The reservoir became a mirror of light. It was time to act.

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s move. You circle round the back, make sure they don’t try to make a run for the boat.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll knock on the front door and see if anyone’s home.”

  “You sure that’s a good idea?”

  “Sure it is. It’ll knock them off guard.”

  I slipped through the trees, totally in my element. With footfalls silent on the wet ground, I entered the clearing, then knocked loudly on the cabin door. The sound of movement echoed inside, footsteps on a wooden floor, the creak of steps, and the low muttering of voices.

  After a moment, Daniel opened the door.

  “Where is she?” I pushed into the large open-plan room and found no-one else inside.

  “What the hell. Get out!” Daniel’s eyes wandered to my hands. They blazed with power, the magic once again dancing beneath my skin. “This... this has nothing to do with you.” His voice sounded unsure and I knew my guess at Rachel being the mastermind was correct. Daniel was nothing more than a patsy. “It’s none of your business,” he continued.

  “That’s where you’re wrong. Mr Platt hired me to find his daughter and bring her to him, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing.” I turned and met his eyes with a steely glance. “And there’s the matter of a dead fairy to address. Now, where is she?”

  Daniels shifted on his feet and looked at the floor. “Not here,” he muttered.

  I gave him a look that said, ‘Oh please, like I’m gonna believe that,’ and walked through the room towards the door on the far side. I unlocked the door, giving Thomas a way in.

  Daniel ran to the kitchen area and grabbed a knife from the utensils drawer just as Thomas entered.

  “Get out,” he shouted, waving the knife at me. “You can’t be in here.”

  I sucked in a breath or two, but stood my ground. Thomas could handle Daniel with a knife. “So, call the police,” I said and moved towards the bottom of the wooden stairs. “You might as well come down, Rachel. I’m not going anywhere and neither are you.”

  “What the
hell do you think you’re doing with that knife?” Thomas said to Daniel, who was moving toward me.

  Daniel froze. A brief look of dismissal crossed his face as he turned from me and confronted Thomas, clearly assessing him as the bigger threat.

  As Daniel moved towards Thomas, Rachel appeared at the top of the stairs, the picture of innocence in a flowing pink dress, her hair cascading like a waterfall over her shoulders. Two brutes stood beside her. They stared at my glowing hands before turning to Rachel and nodding.

  We can take four, I thought, while releasing the power locked in my Duir tattoo. I glanced at the two men again — both were built like tanks, seemed to be a common trait in all the Platt’s goons — then added the power of my Fern tattoo. The extra strength wouldn’t hurt. I added in a little Edad to ensure victory, then stepped to the side and ushered them down the stairs.

  The biggest guy came first, followed by the other man, with Rachel trailing behind. No matter what happened, I had to keep my eye on her. There was no way she was getting away from this house.

  I motioned them forward with my hands. The big guy raised an eyebrow at me. “Well, what have we here?” he said with a nasal voice, no doubt intensified by the squat, bulbous nose sitting on his face. “You think you can play with the big boys, little girl?”

  I removed my jacket and gave them a glimpse of the full power blazing through my arms, then made a show of dancing lightning over my fingertips. “I think I can hold my own,” I said.

  Thomas appeared next to me. I glanced to the side and saw Daniel unconscious on the floor.

  “You wanna play with me, fellas?” Thomas said. “Leave the ladies to chat.”

  The big guy snarled and charged forward. In the blink of an eye, Thomas drove his hands towards his attacker’s outstretched arms, grabbed his thumbs, and used them to twist the thug’s wrists away from his body. A satisfied smile played at my lips as, lightning fast, he followed the movement with a swift kick to the groin. The thug fell to the ground as his friend charged forward. In my opinion, he was showing far too much eagerness in facing a beating from Thomas.