Page 73 of The Vampire and the Case of the Cursed Canine

The silver was last thing she added. ‘The assayer said it’s not very pure,’ I warned her.

Mum hesitated then shook her head. ‘It’ll have to work. Let’s hope there’s enough.’ She dumped in the entire bag. ‘It’s the one ingredient where more is better.’ She chanted a few more words, stirred, then removed the mixture from the heat. ‘Done,’ she said with satisfaction. ‘It looks perfect. Where are those boxes?’

Her timing was good – or Connor’s was great – because I heard the roar of his truck engine and the squeal of brakes as he pulled up in front of my house. He and Lee Margrave hauled in the boxes. They were better than I’d expected: unfinished and without paint or stain but sanded, smooth and attractively made with hinged lids.

Mum nodded at them. Opening each one and using a cotton swab, she marked all the surfaces inside and out with a rune made from the concoction she’d brewed. Once she’d done, she checked the grimoire and chanted in Latin over each box. The runes flared as she completed them, and with each one I itched even more so I knew the magic was working. Soon the boxes looked like plain wood again – but now they were ready to bear the gems.

‘It’s done,’ my mother said. She looked exhausted; she’d done all that after being kidnapped and cursed. As Sidnee would say, Mum had some moxie.

Connor and Lee took the boxes to the truck and I left Shadow and Fluffy to take care of Mum and Arabella. We loaded up and headed out to place the gems in their new boxes. I had the names and addresses of the new gem witches in my phone.

The closest was the water witch. Dakota Caples was a youthful-looking woman with pale skin and long ash-blonde hair like mine, but where my eyes were emerald green, hers were light blue.

She looked puzzled. ‘I thought the witches were taking the stones to be recalibrated?’

‘They are, but we need to change the boxes because the iron is no longer working. These new ones should block the gems’ ability to control people and strengthen the barrier.’

‘Okay,’ she said timidly. ‘I should call Liv to check.’ She hesitated. ‘But I guess it’s okay since you brought a council member.’

‘Don’t worry, Liv sent us.’ I wasn’t lying: Liv had sent us, she just didn’t know about the new boxes. It was important that we kept it that way.

‘Come in.’ She stepped back and we followed her into her home. Like the first water witch I’d met, Dakota had a decent vault for the gem. It wasn’t quite as good as six-inch-thick steel, but it was substantial and new, and having a secure spot for the stone made it easier to ward.

She dropped the wards and I looked at Connor. ‘It could try to possess me. Be ready,’ I murmured.

He nodded. I took a deep breath and opened the box. Rather than touch the stone, I picked up the padded interior and transferred it into the wooden box. I could feel the gem in my head, telling me how strong we’d be together, what we could do, but it was water, the opposite to the element that burned inside me and it was easy to ignore.

Once it was in the wooden box, I slammed down the lid and the pressure disappeared in an instant. We thanked Dakota and ran back to the truck. Connor tossed the now-useless iron box into the back and we set off again to follow the same procedure for the earth and wind gems. I was leaving the fire gem until last.

Fire was my element and I knew full well that it called to me. Last time I’d touched the fire gem, it had made me light up like a torch and try to rule the world before Connor had saved me. I’d burned him, though, and maybe that would save me this time; I couldn’t hurt him again.

We replaced the other two gem boxes and headed toward the last. As we pulled up to the new fire witch’s house, I instantly felt the pull of the magical gem.

Fuck.

Chapter 46

Wrangell Baranof looked more like a bear than a witch; he could have given Mads Arctos a run for his money. He was hulking, with long, thick hair and a big bushy beard. He lived in a house that didn’t seem big enough for his presence: the house was Goldilocks, and he was all three bears.

‘Mr Baranof, I’m Bunny Barrington, and this is…’

‘I know who you are,’ he said brusquely. Most people knew Connor, and they were coming to know me too since I worked for the Nomo.

I gave my spiel. ‘We’re here to switch containers for the gems to prepare for the new barrier to be erected.’

‘Yup? So what do you want me to do about it?’

Get a better attitude? ‘Um, let us in, drop the wards and we’ll be out of your hair.’

He squinted at us. ‘You’re lying about something,’ he said.

‘Some elements of this are need-to-know only. You don’t need to know,’ I said firmly. I held up the box. ‘Here’s the new box.’

He was still squinting at us, but after a moment or two he gestured for us to come in. He took us to a back room where a makeshift closet housed the gem. It reminded me of the closet at the first fire witch’s, but it was sturdier, built of cinder block with a steel exterior door.

‘Is it warded?’ I asked before I approached it.

‘Sure is.’

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