Witch rose, p.7
Witch Rose, page 7
“You’re not the only one with these symptoms,” said Ivy.
Tania pulled the door open. Her green eyes were red rimmed and her short dark hair stuck up in unruly peaks on her head. She held out her right hand. It was completely black. “Like this?”
“How long has it been like that?” Bryony took hold of Tania’s hand gently.
“A few days,” said Tania. “And it’s spreading. Come inside, I’ve been working on some spells to remove the magic.”
Bryony and Ivy stepped inside a narrow sage green hallway, lined with photographs of black cats. They followed Tania into her living room, where three actual black cats snoozed on various plump cushions on the floor. There were several low, comfortable looking armchairs set around a fireplace. In the middle of the room, was a large black smoking cauldron.
“Any symptoms other than the black hand?” asked Bryony, sitting in the seat Tania gestured to.
Ivy remained standing as she inspected the room.
“It started on my right hand,” said Tania as she sat in a chair opposite Bryony. “The hand felt stiff, as if I’d overused the muscles. Then the marks showed up, and now the whole hand has turned black.” She pushed up her sleeve. “And it’s not just my hand.” Her forearm was laced with black.
“How far does it go?” asked Bryony.
“It’s almost on my shoulder,” said Tania with a sigh. “You said other people in the village are experiencing the same symptoms? Could it be some kind of plague?”
“It’s not a plague, it’s poison,” said Ivy. “Have you received any flowers recently?”
Tania’s plump cheeks paled. “Poison? Are you sure?”
“Yes,” said Ivy. “So, get any flowers?”
Tania looked at a small table set by the window. “I got those.” She pointed to six dead roses in a vase.
“Who were they from?” asked Bryony.
“They didn’t have a note attached. They were on my doorstep when I arrived home one evening. They looked lovely at the time but died quickly. I keep meaning to throw them out, but got distracted by curing my black hand.”
“They’re what poisoned you,” said Ivy. “We’ve had several other cases in Old Sarum of people being gifted flowers and being poisoned.”
“We even received one at the store.” Bryony hopped up from her seat. “I’m just going to take these outside and dispose of them. Don’t want any more incidents.”
“What incidents have been happening?” asked Tania, watching as Bryony carefully scooped the flowers out of the vase and tucked them in the hem of her dress before dashing to the front door.
“They could explode,” said Ivy. “The one in our store did, anyway. And we also had a body blow up as well.”
“Body! You mean to say people are dying from this poison?”
“That’s what usually happens when a person is poisoned,” said Ivy.
There was a loud cracking sound, followed by the sage-like smell of mugwort as a waft of magic drifted on the breeze. Bryony returned to the room a few seconds later. “All dealt with. The flowers have gone to a better place.” She wiped her hands together.
“Your sister was just telling me that people have died from this poison,” said Tania. “I was working on a cure to get rid of a plague like illness. I’ve tried a dozen different spells, but nothing worked. And in one instance, the spell speed increased and slid up my arm at an alarming rate.”
“You’re only wearing out your magic by doing that,” said Bryony. “Trust us, it’s a poison. The Charm Police are working on an antidote.”
“So who’s dead?” asked Tania.
“That’s what we wanted to talk to you about,” said Ivy. “Had any recent run-ins with either Belinda Mayhew or Josie Spicer?”
“They’re both dead?”
“One of them is,” said Ivy. “Know anything about it?”
“Absolutely not! Why would I know anything about their deaths? Besides, I’ve also been poisoned.”
“She has a point,” said Bryony.
“It could be a cover, or she may have accidentally poisoned herself,” said Ivy.
“I don’t like either of the girls, but that doesn’t mean I want them dead,” said Tania. “And certainly not with a poison. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“Anyone can get their hands on some belladonna,” said Ivy. “We sell it in our store.”
“I’ve not been buying poisons to give to anyone.” Tania held out her black hand. “And they died because of this poison?”
Bryony patted Tania’s shoulder. “Try not to worry too much. We’re doing everything we can to discover who the poisoner is and find a cure. And Josie is the only one to have died so far. The others are still alive.”
“That we know of,” said Ivy. “We haven’t heard from Belinda recently. She could be lying dead somewhere. And Gabriel wasn’t looking too hot the last time we saw him.”
“Gabriel from the Charm Police has been poisoned?” asked Tania. “Who would want to poison him?”
“Probably the archangel who kicked him out of Angel Town,” said Ivy, giving Bryony an evil grin.
“There’s no such thing as Angel Town,” said Bryony with a sigh. “And It wasn’t meant for him,” said Bryony. “A rose was delivered to our store and Gabriel made the mistake of picking it up.”
“So you’re targets too,” said Tania.
“I’m the target,” said Ivy.
Tania shrugged. “That makes sense.”
“Which is one of the reasons we want to find out who is doing this, and quickly,” said Ivy, giving Tania her meanest look. “Tell me more about why you hate Josie and Belinda.”
Tania shook her head. “Some people just don’t get along. We can’t all be friends with each other.”
“I remember the three of you had a falling out when we were all at college,” said Bryony. “Weren’t you all in a beauty pageant together?”
Tania stood and paced across the room before leaning against a dresser full of plates decorated with pictures of cats. “That was the beginning of the end for our friendship. We decided to enter a beauty and magic pageant as a joke. Belinda was such a feminist, and she thought it would be ironic if the three of us entered and one of us won. She joked about a feminist winning a beauty pageant and then giving some rousing speech about women’s liberation to the audience of sexist male leerers.”
“So what went wrong?” asked Bryony.
“Belinda stopped seeing it as a joke,” said Tania. “She got into it. She started doing magic to change her appearance. She even tried some blurring magic to make herself look ten pounds lighter. At first, Josie and I went along with it, we thought it was funny. But then, Josie got serious about it as well. She’s always been competitive.”
“And what about you?” asked Bryony.
“I tried not to take it seriously, but when those two got into it, I felt left out. I wanted to be a part of the gang. So I played along, did the ridiculous starvation diet they were both on, got myself an expensive bikini, and practised my invisibility magic for hours to impress the judges. Then the day of the competition came, and guess what, I won.”
“Did you do the rousing speech?” asked Bryony.
“No. I was so overwhelmed by it all, I accepted the flowers, sash, and crown, and gave a boring thank you speech. After I came off stage, the other two were furious with me. We had a blazing row, and they accused me of being a turncoat and not honoring the vow to reveal the pageant in all its sexist glory. But I know, if either of them won they would have done exactly the same. They were so into the pageant nonsense, it was all they talked about. And it wasn’t ironic any more, it was serious.”
“How can you know that for sure?” asked Ivy. “Maybe you got things wrong.”
“That’s not true,” said Tania. “Both of them went on to enter loads more beauty and magic pageants. And they’ve both won contests. Neither of them gave the feminist rant they promised to. They both simpered and accepted the crown and prizes without question.”
“Have you seen either Belinda or Josie recently?” asked Bryony.
Tania twisted a strand of hair around her fingers. “Our paths crossed at a charity event a couple of weeks ago. I heard the girls were planning their own pageant like old times. I went along to find out more when they had a meeting in the community hall.”
“Was that when you decided to poison them?” asked Ivy.
“I didn’t poison them,” said Tania. “But I was planning on entering and was determined to win. It would have been such a shock to them to realize I’d beaten them in their own stupid pageant. I was sure they were going to rig it, so they would win prizes themselves. That was not going to happen.”
“Which gives you a good motive for getting rid of them,” said Ivy.
“I don’t need to get rid of them to win. I’ve been practising my transformation magic for years. Watch this.” Tania ran her hands up her body and transformed into a curvy, redheaded siren, with long eyelashes and full red lips.
“You were going to cheat in the pageant?” asked Ivy. “I expect Belinda and Josie weren’t happy when they found out about that. Did you fight about it?”
“They never found out,” said Tania. “When I registered for the pageant, I went in disguise. They had no clue it was me. Neither are smart enough to see through my magic.”
“They’d have seen that.” Ivy pointed to Tania’s still black hand, the transformation magic doing nothing to disguise it.
Tania tugged her sleeve over her hand. “I didn’t have a black hand when I went to register.”
“Can you think of anybody else who has a grudge against Belinda and Josie?” asked Bryony. “If you’re not involved, then the three of you must have somebody who you’ve made an enemy of. Could it be another pageant contestant?”
“These pageant bimbos can get bitchy,” said Ivy. “It's bound to be one of them.”
Tania glared at Ivy. “For some, it’s a full-time professional occupation. And you can make a lot of money out of being beautiful and magical. I always thought you’d be ideal as a pageant entrant, Bryony.”
Bryony smiled. “That’s kind of you, but pageants aren’t my thing.”
Ivy sighed. “So, any of your other wonderful pageant buddies want to do you harm?”
Tania inspected the blackened nails on her poisoned hand. “Well, there’s Lizzie Green.”
“Lizzie Green?” asked Bryony. “I don’t recognize that name.”
“She used to go by Lizzie Deadwood, but then she married Horatio Green, the half gremlin who owns the cottages on the other side of the village.”
“Horatio Green died a few months ago,” said Ivy. She looked over at Bryony. “Don’t you remember, mom tried to force us to go to the funeral?”
“I did go,” said Bryony. “You stayed behind and claimed you never liked the scaly old gremlin, so why waste time going to see him burned on a pyre.”
Tania stood up straight, a look of alarm on her face. “Come to think of it, there were rumors going around the village that Horatio didn’t die of natural causes. I’ve heard several people say the way he died was odd.”
“Define odd,” said Ivy.
“He wasn’t an old gremlin, for a start, although he was considerably older than Lizzie. I remember people being surprised when they became an item. And they were married for less than a year before he died. Some people claimed Lizzie got bored of her aging gremlin husband and decided to do away with him and keep his assets for herself.”
“Maybe Lizzie used poison to get rid of her annoying husband,” said Ivy. “And now she’s got a taste for it, and decided to test her abilities on some old enemies.”
“Where’s Lizzie living these days?” asked Bryony.
“She’s still in Horatio’s old house in the Magical Forest,” said Tania. “Do you think she’s involved? Has she poisoned me?”
“I would if you were my best friend.” Ivy turned to Bryony. “Let’s get out of here. We need to question Lizzie and find out what she knows when it comes to poisons and dead husbands.”
Chapter 11
A fifteen minute walk brought Ivy and Bryony to the edge of the Magical Forest. It sat to the east of Old Sarum, and lived up to its name, being a home for mythical creatures such as griffins, imps, pixies, the occasional ogre, a few manticores, and there were rumors of unicorns, but no one had seen one for years. Tree people also inhabited the forest, living in the tops of the sturdiest oaks, spending their time gathering wood and harvesting the resources the forest provided.
“Tania said to stick to the path on the left and then turn right at the junction.” Bryony pushed a branch to one side. “I haven’t been inside the forest for ages. It all looks so different this time of year.”
“That’s nature for you,” said Ivy. “Always trying to trick you into taking the wrong path.”
“Nature doesn’t do that,” said Bryony. “She simply enjoys change. It’s not her fault we don’t spot the new markers she leaves us.”
“Watch out for that marker.” Ivy pointed to a large heap of dung on the ground. “Looks like the ogres have been through here recently.” She twisted a broken branch on a tree as she walked past it.
Bryony hopped over the dung. “I remember Lizzie being very proper. I can’t picture her in the middle of this forest and living off the land.”
“Maybe she changed for her loving husband,” said Ivy with a snort. “He could have insisted she take on the life of a woods woman. I’d have killed him too if he’d asked me to do the same thing.”
“I think it’s romantic,” said Bryony as she gazed through the canopy of trees to the clear blue sky above. “Living in the wilderness like this, surrounded by nature. It’s going back to basics. Just you, your husband, a roaring fire and a freshly prepared meal harvested from the forest every day.”
“It can’t have been that romantic if she decided to bump off her husband,” said Ivy. “Come on, it’s this path.” She led Bryony along a barely visible track littered with crunchy orange leaves.
“That’s only a rumor,” said Bryony. “Don’t go in there accusing Lizzie of murder the second we arrive.”
“I’d never do that,” said Ivy.
“You did it with Tania,” said Bryony.
“She was being difficult,” said Ivy. “I wanted to shock her into opening the door.”
“Well, that did work,” said Bryony. “She was shocked by what we told her. And we can rule her out as a suspect since Tania’s also been poisoned.”
“But she wasn’t sad about Josie dying,” said Ivy. “Tania probably saw it as one less competitor in this ridiculous pageant she’s planning to be a part of.”
“This must be it.” Bryony came to a stop on the path. “It’s so beautiful. Like something out of a fairy tale.” She stared at the stone and wood built cottage placed in the center of a clearing in the forest. It was a two-story building, with a small chimney stack on either side of the roof. There was a stone footpath leading to a dark wooden door. The windows were small with wonky wooden frames, and climbing roses trailed up one side of the house.
“It looks cold to me,” said Ivy. “I prefer modern places. So much easier to keep warm.”
“You love our store,” said Bryony. “And that’s about as ancient as it comes in Old Sarum. This is lovely.”
“The door is open,” said Ivy.
“Maybe Lizzie is expecting guests.”
“Or maybe someone got to her before we could.” Ivy marched along the stone footpath to the front door.
“Be careful,” whispered Bryony. “We don’t know who’s inside.”
Ivy nudged the door open with her foot, revealing a compact living room, with a low ceiling and dark wooden beams. There was an open fireplace, with several logs smoldering in it. Two chairs were placed by the fire and a large multi-colored rug covered most of the stone floor. A lone teacup sat on a small table next to one of the chairs.
“Looks like someone has been here recently,” said Ivy. She stepped inside. “Lizzie, are you in?”
No one replied. They walked through the ground floor, taking in the kitchen, and another small living room.
“Maybe she’s ill in bed,” said Bryony. “If she’s already been poisoned, we might be too late.”
“Then who’s been drinking tea downstairs on their own?” asked Ivy. “Let’s check upstairs, then go outside. Maybe she’s roaming around in the forest.”
The girls checked the two bedrooms and tiny bathroom, both were empty. They hurried down the stairs and out into the forest.
“Now where?” asked Bryony. “Looks like the whole forest is Lizzie’s back garden.”
Ivy pressed a finger to her lips. “I can hear singing.”
Bryony cocked her head to one side. “You’re right. It’s coming from over there.” She pointed behind the house.
They hurried around the side of the house, following the sound of singing.
“I can hear running water,” said Ivy.
As they cleared a large evergreen fern, the sound of water and splashing noises increased, and a naked Lizzie emerged from the river, water dripping from her body and her strawberry blonde hair trailing down her back.
Lizzie stopped walking and stared at Bryony and Ivy. “Goodness! I wasn’t expecting guests.” She stood in front of them, her hands on her broad hips.
“So it would seem,” said Ivy with a smirk.
“Sorry to interrupt your swim,” said Bryony. “We called at the cottage but found it empty. And then we heard you singing.”
“I love to use the river for bathing in,” said Lizzie. She turned her back on the girls, revealing a pair of wide, round buttocks. “I find nothing is more refreshing than taking a daily dip.”
“Isn’t it a bit cold for swimming?” asked Ivy.
“I find it invigorating.” Lizzie turned back to Bryony and Ivy, a grin on her face. “So, what brings you into the forest?”
“We wanted to talk to you about some old friends of yours,” said Bryony. “Perhaps we can go to the cottage and you can get dressed before we talk?”
Lizzie looked down and seemed surprised by her nakedness. “Oh, don’t mind me. I spend most of my time out of clothes these days. It makes me feel closer to nature.”
