Page 44 of The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee

‘It’s possible that the thief can teleport in. Do the wards go all the way to the box?’

‘Yes, we took that suggestion and put it in place. There is only a half-foot buffer between the wards and the box, if anyone teleported in, they’d be fried.’

Some skinny people might have a depth of less than fifteen centimetres, but that was unlikely; one wobble backwards and they’d be incinerated. Maybe we needed to let the would-be thieves know what they were facing to discourage more thefts.

When I said as much, Liv snorted. ‘No, Bunny, we’re not announcing the measures. It would be like a bank vault putting their blueprints in a newspaper.’ Her tone was scathing. ‘It would invite a break-in. If anyone tries it and gets incinerated, more fool them.’

‘Would you allow us to place a camera inside the vault and outside the door?’ Gunnar asked, changing the topic. I shot him a grateful look.

Adelheid hesitated. ‘They’d only be in those places?’

‘Absolutely,’ he promised.

‘Then sure, no problem. But I’d have to drop the wards long enough to install them. Would that be safe?’

‘Yes. We’ll do the installation ourselves. I don’t want anyone except those of us in this room to have access.’

‘When can you do it, Nomo?’ Liv asked.

Gunnar frowned at her. ‘Are we expected at the earth gem soon?’

‘No, I gave them a three-hour window.’

‘Then I can do it now.’

Liv was impressed and her eyebrows rose a little before she schooled her face. Poor Gunnar – his efficiency had probably revived her ardour.

Adelheid started the process of lowering the wards by lighting candles and chanting while Gunnar hustled out to the SUV. He returned with a large tote bag and a toolbox. It took a while for the wards to drop, which made Liv smile in satisfaction. When they were down, Adelheid swayed a little and the irritating itch on my scalp stopped abruptly.

‘Okay?’ I asked the tired witch.

She flashed me a brilliant smile. ‘I will be in a moment. It’s nowhere near as bad as putting wards up, but it does take it out of you.’

‘Can I ask a question?’

The water witch glanced at Liv who gave a nearly imperceptible nod. ‘Go ahead,’ she said. ‘Shoot.’

‘What exactly is the water gem?’

‘It’s a large, brilliant cut sapphire, about the size of…’

‘A fist?’ I finished for her.

‘Well l… Yes.’ She gave me an odd look.

‘Has anyone new come into your life recently? Has anyone shown an interest in your routine?’

She thought about it then shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think so, ma’am.’

‘Other than yourself, who could lower your wards?’

‘Well, obviously Miss Fox here and the other guardians. I suppose another elemental witch who was powerful enough could do it if they had enough time and patience, but there’s no one in this town capable of it. Liv has sent for more witch elementals to join us but they won’t arrive for a few days yet.’ She looked into the vault. ‘Watch yourself,’ she warned softly. ‘The wards aren’t there to protect the stone.’

Gunnar started the installation and I stopped chinwagging. I drew my gun and stood beside the pedestal, keeping my eyes on the box the entire time: I didn’t want to blink and have a sticky-fingered teleporting-banshee snatch it in a flash. The thief would know we were checking the other stones; if they wanted to try for that trifecta, the time would be now.

Something about the gem was making me uncomfortable and I felt odd – off somehow – being this near to it. It had a malevolent energy that set my nerves on edge, and a hum that rattled my back teeth. My fingers itched to flick open the box and look inside; the need to grab it and run was unmistakable. I planted my feet more firmly and held steady.

Gunnar looked up mid-install and nodded approval. His hands were shaking with the effort of resisting the gem. Jesus, what was up with these damned things?

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