Page 77 of The Vampire and the Case of the Cursed Canine

I nodded firmly. ‘Do it.’

Liv pulled out her phone and sent a text. ‘We need to gather the gems and the elemental witches. In fifteen minutes, the barrier will fall to the magic users I have in position and we’ll have one hour to cleanse the stones, replace and reactivate them. Bunny, where do you think your banshee friend will be most comfortable appearing to you?’

‘She’s appeared in a bunch of places, but probably she’d be most comfortable near her house.’

‘Okay, let’s go there. I’ll drop you off, then gather the other elemental witches.’

‘I’ll come with you.’ Connor’s tone brooked no argument.

‘Fine,’ she snapped. ‘We’re going to need your friend to call the banshees from the gemstones. This new gem is a focus stone that is unique to her kind, similar to the original gems in configuration. It should increase her power.’

‘It won’t trap her?’ I asked anxiously.

‘It won’t as long as she doesn’t touch it. Give her this incantation.’ Liv handed me a slip of paper. ‘She needs to chant this while connecting with the gem through her power.’

Could Aoife do that? I wouldn’t know until she appeared, and I could ask her.

I directed Liv to Aoife’s home. Mum and I climbed out of the car and watched as Liv and Connor drove off to get the others. ‘Ever call a banshee?’ I asked Mum curiously.

‘Can’t say that I have,’ she answered.

I lifted my voice. ‘Aoife Sullivan, we need your help.’

‘That’s all you do? No spell?’ Mum sounded incredulous.

‘I haven’t one to use.’ I looked around. No banshee. ‘Aoife,’ I called again. ‘It’s life or death. Please appear.’ A cold prickling enveloped me and a pale form raced to me from the woods. Aoife was floating a foot above the ground, staring at me.

‘We must save the town. I need you to call the banshees from the cursed gemstones. There’s an incantation.’ I held out the paper and was surprised when she managed to take it. She studied it silently.

‘You need to push your power out and connect with this gem,’ I explained, offering it to her. She shrugged; even though she was now a fully-fledged banshee, she was a teenager and new to the job. She wasn’t sure she could do it.

‘Please try,’ I pleaded. ‘But be careful. Once you say the incantation, you mustn’t touch the gem otherwise it could trap you.’ She looked scared but nodded.

The entire town, the trapped banshees and the fate of the cursed stones were dependent on one frightened, dead teenager.

Chapter 49

I felt the change in the barrier fifteen minutes later, as Liv had predicted; I hadn’t realised there was always a faint vibration in the back of my teeth until it was gone. The vibration was replaced with a slight itching sensation: witch magic.

A few minutes later, Liv screeched to a stop near us and Lee Margrave followed with a car full of vampires. Connor had ordered some additional security; he didn’t fully trust Liv – fool him once and all that.

He and Liv climbed out of her car. The other elemental witches were carrying the wooden boxes and Liv had her giant bag in which she carried her supplies. My mum nodded at the other elementals and they greeted her solemnly in turn. Everyone was braced for the difficult task ahead.

Mum murmured their names to me as they approached. ‘Flora Sanchez, earth witch from the United States.’ Flora was tall, Hispanic, wearing jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. Her dark hair was short and her face fiercely intense.

‘Enyo Kiyomizu, water witch from Japan.’ He was a stately looking man dressed in business casual.

‘Kaia Rangihau, wind witch from New Zealand.’ The dark-haired woman appeared to be Maori. Her long hair drifted in the slight breeze. She looked calm, determined and focused.

They gathered around Mum, each holding the wooden box that contained their element stone. Their job was to wait until Aoife pulled the banshees free from the cursed gems.

Liv put down her bag and told Aoife it was time.

Aoife looked at me wild-eyed and I nodded. You can do it, I mouthed. She blinked a few times and wrung her hands, then she read the spell aloud, her voice a mix of a shriek and a wail. It was visceral and terrifying and the hairs on my arms and head rose. The air seemed thicker and I felt as though it were tugging me apart. The sound of her cry ripped through us all like a storm.

We sagged with relief when she fell silent, but as Liv opened each of the gem boxes a new level of anxiety enveloped me. Any one of us, particularly Liv and the elemental witches, could fall under the stones’ control if Aoife failed. She couldn’t fail: she mustn’t.

Aoife reached her hand towards the huge, clean gemstone but was careful not to touch it. Her eyes closed and her voice changed to a full banshee wail as she intoned the final three words: ‘Come to me!’

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