Page 13 of Secrets of the Forgotten Heir

I wondered if he thought he sounded like James Bond. He didn’t.

‘The Eternal Flame is a gift to Witchlight Cove,’ he continued sternly. ‘All the residents should have the opportunity to benefit from its power.’

‘And all the residents do have that,’ I said coolly. ‘The Eternal Flame has strengthened the wards protecting this village for centuries and kept us secret from the non-magical world. That’s pretty much the biggest benefit people could askfor – not to mention the tonics and wards its power has created.’

‘That’s a small fraction of what it’s capable of. If you knew what the Flame—’

‘You’re not about to mansplain the thing that I was literally born to protect, are you?’ Anger rippled down my spine. Just because we’d lost the damn flame didn’t mean I’d let some guy in a fancy suit talk to me like he knew better than I did. Because he didn’t. Not a chance in hell.

‘Trust me, I know exactly what the Eternal Flame is capable of,’ I continued. ‘And I also know exactly what people will do to get that power.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘What are you accusing me of, Miss Stonehaven? Because I’m not the sort of man you want to get on the wrong side of.’

‘I’m not accusing you of anything.’ Yet. ‘But most of the time, the people who talk about its amazing properties don’t want to do pleasant things with it. In fact, they want to do very, very bad things. And if you want—’

My tirade was interrupted by a ringing sound coming from his pocket. I huffed and wished my arms were unfolded so I could fold them again. I’d just been getting into my stride. Bloody modern technology had ruined my soapbox moment.

Banks pursed his lips. ‘Sorry… I need to take this.’ To give him his due, he seemed mildly embarrassed at cutting me off.

‘You go ahead,’ I said. ‘It’s not like I’m going anywhere. I’m sure you’reveryimportant.’

He narrowed his eyes at my sarcasm then cleared his throat and answered his phone. I was about to walk away to give him a degree of privacy when his posture shifted and I felt tension ripple through him. Was it something to do with the house? Had he heard that the Flame was gone? I pricked up my ears and tried not to make it obvious that I was trying to eavesdrop.

‘Poisoned? They’re sure? Which contestants?’ he demanded.

My stomach knotted. The call might not be about the house, but it obviously wasn’t good news, not good news at all. Poisonings werenotpar for the course in Witchlight, and the mention of ‘contestants’ meant it had to be related to the pasty-eating contest. The contest that Ezra was supposedly taking part in.

Panicking a little, I took another step forward to listen in to his call.

Banks frowned. ‘Amara Drakefield? No, I don’t think I know that name.’ The knot in my stomach became amatted rope; Banks might not know that name, but I definitely did.

He ended the call and opened his mouth, but I didn’t give him a chance to speak. ‘Has Mrs D been poisoned?’ I asked urgently.

‘Mrs D?’

‘Mrs Drakefield,’ I spat impatiently. ‘Did you say she was poisoned?’

‘They won’t be a hundred percent positive until they’ve run more tests, but it looks like it.’

That was as good as a yes to me. ‘Have you got a car?’ I could walk because nothing in the village was that far away, but that would take time. I thought longingly of poor Rustbucket Rosie hundreds of miles away in London.

‘Yes.’ He nodded behind him.

I didn’t even bother to look at his vehicle. Instead, I turned to Eva. ‘You stay here. No one comes into the house. You understand, girl? You letno onein.’

She barked, gave me a little growl like she was showing me she knew how to stop people coming in, then she bared her teeth.

I patted her. ‘You got it. Great,’ I turned back to Banks. ‘Let’s go.’

‘After you.’ Once again, he gestured down the path.

I took one last look at Eva and the house I wasn’t supposed to leave, then I strode forward.

Someone had poisoned Mrs D and that put them at the top of my shit list. And I was determined to find out exactly who it was.

Chapter Nine

I like to think that I’m not the type of person who cares about flashy cars and expensive accessories – but Banks’ car was something special.Maybe it was the recent journey in Maddie’s beat-up hatchback that influenced my opinion, but I swear that when my backside slipped onto the leather seats they felt like the softest, most comfortable place in the entire world. And the smell was divine. It was a far cry from poor old Rosie.

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