‘Yeah. I figured that out already. It was because they planned on killing me, and they didn’t want to leave my familiar around as a witness.’ He sank to his couch. ‘It’s wonderful to be so popular. Hey … why are you here? How are you here? I was too freaked out to push the question when you first arrived but … how? Did they let you out? Wait …’ He looked me up and down. ‘They didn’t, did they? Because if they let you out, you wouldn’t still be in that fetching grey jumpsuit. You wouldn’t have travelled straight into my living room. And you wouldn’t be talking about my mother.’

  I sat next to him. ‘Um … yeah. No, they didn’t. I … your mother was worried about you. She had a bad feeling. I guess she was right.’ I didn’t tell him about my dream. He was already convinced I could bring dead familiars back to life; I didn’t need to give him yet another example of my oddness. ‘So I … came.’

  He looked at me in amazement. ‘You came here for me? When you said those things the other day, I didn’t want to hope too much. You got so freaked out when you held my hand. I thought you’d changed your mind, thought better of it. But–’

  I put my hand on his arm and shook my head. ‘No. Will. I didn’t … that wasn’t me.’ In the quickest, most concise way I could, I explained what had been happening. As I spoke, he seemed to go through a hundred emotions, finally settling on a mixture of anger and sorrow. ‘I can’t believe she put you through that, Wanda. I’m so, so sorry.’ A tear slid down his cheek. ‘I bet you wish you’d never met me.’

  I thought about it for a second. Did I wish that? Would life be easier if I never took that job in Berrys’ Bottlers, if I never met Will? Maybe. But so much of what I had now, so much of what I was now, was because of him.

  ‘You’ve protected me,’ I said, slow and quiet. ‘So many times. Times I didn’t even know about. And you … you put yourself in danger, for me. You were there with me when we found my dad. If I’d never met you, if you weren’t there … well, we both know it wouldn’t have ended as well as it did. So no, Will, I don’t wish I’d never met you. No matter how hard it’s sometimes been, I will never regret having you in my life.’

  We were looking far too directly at one another. And sitting way too close together. I looked away from him and shifted to the far side of the couch. ‘But right now we need to get you somewhere safe. Wayfarers’ Rest would be best. My coven will protect you and Fred. We’ll need to bring his bowl, and that sachet and his other food and – unfortunately – his vomit. They’ll want to test it all. And Fred will still need to see a healer, to be sure he’s okay, but Healer Little’ll come to the house without question.’

  Will stood up, nodding briskly. ‘I’ll look after all of that, Wanda. If you think I should go to Wayfarers’ Rest, then I’ll go straight away. But you have to move fast, too. You have to tell your coven that my mother was behind Baldrick’s death, so you can get out of prison. The legal way, this time.’

  I was just about to agree with him when we heard a loud, ‘Woof!’

  19. They Won’t Stop Coming Until You’re Dead

  I pulled open the door and found myself staring at Jacques.

  ‘Jacques!’ My heart lifted at the sight of the little grey dog. ‘I’m so glad you’re okay. But how are you here? Why are you here?’

  ‘Well, I could tell you it’s because I’m looking for you – a familiar can always sniff the Wayfarer out, after all. You might as well be a chocolate biscuit, or a juicy piece of steak. But the real reason I’m here is Will. Is he still alive?’

  He peeped around my legs, to where Will was standing behind me.

  ‘Oh good.’ Jacques gave us a toothy grin. With his underbite, he looked slightly menacing. ‘I’m in time, then.’

  ‘In time for what?’ I drew the door wide, and the dog trotted in and sat in front of the gas fire, licking himself. ‘Why did you ask if Will was alive? What do you know about it all?’

  ‘Hm? Oh.’ He stopped licking and focused on Will. ‘Yes, well, I think someone else is going to try knocking you off, just like Baldrick did. That was the plan, if Baldrick failed. Someone else was going to get the hit job. And they won’t stop coming until you’re dead.’

  He turned his attention my way, giving me a little shrug. ‘Sorry I didn’t tell you when we were cell mates, Wayfarer, but … it took a long time for me to realise you weren’t all that bad. Plus, when you’re in a coma, and convinced you’re a ghost, and chatting to someone via some sort of psychic projection or manifestation or whatever, well … your mind isn’t quite as clear as it might be. But I’ve remembered everything now. I … I’ve also come to terms with the fact that Baldrick was a horrible man. You did me a favour, Wanda, when you killed him.’

  ‘Except I didn’t. Kill him, I mean.’ I quickly told him about Sylvia.

  ‘So it was Mother Dearest all along?’ The dog’s eyes narrowed. ‘You know, that makes what happened with Baldrick a lot less weird.’

  ‘It does?’ said Fred, who’d joined Jacques on the rug. ‘How so?’

  ‘Well … the thing is, I don’t think Baldrick was expecting to die. To kill Will, yes. But he was expecting to be frozen and arrested, and to go to Witchfield straight after.’

  I frowned. ‘I mean, that’s what would have happened if Sylvia hadn’t interfered. But why would Baldrick plan to go to Witchfield?’

  ‘I wish I knew. He … well … he didn’t exactly tell me things. I was usually locked in a closet when Baldrick had meetings, and I couldn’t hear it all very well. But I do know that Will’s death was meant as a distraction. Someone didn’t want the school to go ahead, and if Will was killed, it would have put a spanner in the works.’

  Will blinked. ‘Baldrick was going to kill me because of a school?’

  ‘That’s what I heard. It’s hard to be sure, but–’ He stopped abruptly, and his ears pricked. ‘The fire escape. Whoever’s coming to kill you is out there. They’ll be here soon.’

  I bit my lip, looking desperately around. We could escape before the killer arrived, but if we did, we wouldn’t be any closer to the truth. ‘Fred, can you play dead by your bowl?’

  ‘I guess so. I did have that summer at theatre camp. Why?’

  ‘You’ll see in a minute.’ I grabbed Will and nodded to Jacques. ‘Come on, you two. Let’s hide.’

  ≈

  I peeped out through the crack in Will’s bedroom door, watching as a steady stream of what looked like mist entered through his open kitchen window. But I knew that it wasn’t any old mist – it was a vaporized vampire.

  The mist settled in the room, coalescing. Within a few seconds, it took on form. It was a man, I thought, dressed head to toe in black. A balaclava covered his head, and even his mouth was covered by a scarf. He looked over at Fred (who was very convincing at playing dead) and there was a twitch around his mouth. Maybe he was smiling? It was difficult to tell, while every inch of him was covered; he even wore sunglasses.

  ‘Sunglasses?’ Will was standing behind me (a little too close for comfort). ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Dayturner?’

  I nodded, extended a finger, and whispered, ‘Conáil.’

  Will, Jacques and I ran from the room, and Fred sprang back to life.

  ‘Did I do well?’ asked the cat, grinning. ‘I did, didn’t I? I fooled him.’

  ‘You sure did,’ I said with a laugh, before focusing on the frozen vampire. ‘It’s not a full-on freeze. I’ve made it so you can still talk. So … talk. Who are you? Who sent you to kill Will?’

  The vampire said nothing.

  ‘Look, I’m a patient person,’ I said. ‘So it doesn’t really matter to me how long you take to open your mouth. Sooner or later you’ll get tired. Or hungry. Or you’ll need to pee. You won’t be able to hold out for as long as you think you will. But we have a couch, and food, and a toilet at our disposal, so we can wait all night.’

  Will nudged me and murmured, ‘We really can’t – or at least you can’t. We know you’re innocent, but the prison guards don’t. They’ll set off an alarm if you’re not back soon.’

  Dagnammit, he was right. I didn’t have all night. I had about forty-five minutes to finish things up here, get Will to safety, and get in touch with Finn.

  ‘Okay then.’ I stalked towards the vampire. ‘Maybe we should hurry things along.’ With one hand, I pulled off his sunglasses, and with the other I yanked the balaclava from his head. And once that was done, I stood there, with my jaw very much hanging, and gasped.

  He didn’t look quite the same as the last time I’d seen him. For one thing, he wasn’t covered in a rash. And for another, he wasn’t dead.

  ‘Sal Manson?’ I shook my head in confusion. ‘You’re alive?’

  20. The Worst Plan Wanda’s Ever Had

  My mother returned to the kitchen of Wayfarers’ Rest with a grim smile on her face. ‘Well, he’s still not talking. But we had a spare Vampire-Proof Thingy in the attic, so he’s not going anywhere. And I’ve made sure he can’t communicate with any of his partners in crime, whoever they might be. Shane’s almost done examining him. He’ll be down in a minute.’

  ‘Good.’ Finn’s expression was even grimmer than my mother’s. ‘I hope he can make sense of this, because I sure can’t. And until we figure out what’s going on, Sal Manson has to stay put.’

  I rubbed my hands together by the wood-burning stove, trying to fight off a yawn. As soon as I realised it was Sal who’d come to kill Will, I’d brought him straight to Wayfarers’ Rest, along with Will, Fred, and Jacques.

  Fred was in my old bedroom now, being examined by Healer Little.

  After the initial burst of shock, and the hundreds of questions everyone had for me, things had settled down, and a meeting had been called. It was strange, as meetings went – I wouldn’t say it was a party atmosphere, exactly, but maybe like the night before a battle.

  I could feel something like electricity, crackling in the air – although it could have been because I still seemed to be drawing power from nearby magic. Solas spells dimmed when I went near them, replenishing my own source even more.

  My parents and Christine were in the large kitchen of Wayfarers’ Rest, as well as Max and Dizzy, and Miles Master. Ronnie and Arthur had cut their holiday short and returned. The closest members of my team had come too – Gretel, Shane, Paul and Finn.

  Melissa had arrived a little later than the others, but only because she’d stopped to get us all some food.

  ‘It’s definitely Sal Manson,’ Shane said, entering the kitchen and accepting a mug of coffee from Max. After a long chug of his drink, he said, ‘But so is the guy on the table at the morgue. I’m absolutely certain they’re the same man – and I’m also absolutely stumped as to how in the heck it could be possible. There’s no glamour or doppelganger spell that could copy a person as perfectly as that, right down to the DNA.’

  ‘There’s one, actually,’ said Melissa, bringing me a cup of hot chocolate. ‘A Púca transformation spell. But as far as I know, it’s something only the Púca and the faeries can do.’

  ‘And Sal Manson is neither of those,’ Miles added. He was standing at the counter with my dad, dishing up the food. ‘The Queen’s visited the body, and had a look at the man upstairs too, and she’s confirmed it. She’s sure both men are Sal, but whatever magic he’s used, even she doesn’t recognise it. She thinks it’s something old, though, and something dark.’

  I looked at the ceiling. ‘The Queen of the Sióga is upstairs? Wow, it’s all go up there. A vampire, an animal healer, and the biggest meddler in the world.’

  Shane sighed. ‘She might be the biggest meddler, but she certainly wasn’t wasting her time with me. I didn’t even know she was there in the first place – she must have left before I examined him. Pity she couldn’t be bothered to stick around to tell me what she knew.’

  I smirked at Miles. ‘But she made time to tell you the score, didn’t she? So … what? Are the two of you going steady now?’

  His cheeks flushed. ‘Nonsense. We’re merely close friends.’

  ‘With dubious benefits,’ Melissa muttered. ‘Anyway, we need to get a handle on this. So far, there’ve been two attempts on Will’s life. And it has something to do with the school – or with stopping it being built?’ She shrugged and grabbed a spring roll from Miles, taking a few bites before speaking again. ‘And the prison is somehow involved, too. At the risk of stating the obvious, that’s not good.’

  ‘No.’ Finn took the plate Miles handed his way. ‘It’s not.’

  My father passed more food around, and then approached Jacques with a plate. He bent down and lightly patted the dog. ‘There’s ribs on here, and some plain chicken too, in case the sauce on the ribs is too much for you.’

  Jacques stared at the plate, then up at my father, shivering. ‘This … this is for me? All of it? Really?’

  My dad gave him a gentle smile. ‘Of course it is. Have you never had this before?’

  The dog blinked and said nothing, still looking suspiciously at his food.

  I set my drink and plate aside, and knelt beside him on the floor. ‘No one’s trying to trick you. Or to get on your good side. Sure, we’d love it if there’s anything else you know, Jacques. Anything that could help us figure this out. But if you don’t, that’s okay too.’

  He growled, then whimpered, then ran at the plate and grabbed a piece of chicken, retreating to the corner with it. He ate it quickly, and looked out at me, a guilty grimace on his face. ‘Sorry, Wayfarer. Old habits and all that. I … there is more. Not about the meetings Baldrick had – I don’t know who he spoke with, because he always locked me away. But I do know there was a contact he had at the prison. Someone who gave orders from there. And he seemed to think that if he killed Will, he’d be rewarded for it.’

  He took another piece of chicken and chewed it more slowly this time. ‘Wanda, before I go on, I have to tell you that I am Baldrick’s familiar. Well … I am and I’m not. I chose him, when I was a puppy. But I soon realised I made a bad choice. He never shared. He was cruel. Nasty. So I broke the familiar bond and left him.’

  ‘You can do that?’ asked Max.

  ‘Of course we can! Good goddess, man. You think that we’re stuck our whole lives with a bad choice we made as a puppy or a kitten? But … when I tried to break away, Baldrick brought in the bonding spells and forced me to stay. It did more than just make me stay, though – it forced feelings on me that weren’t really mine. I felt like I was going crazy. Sometimes I knew I hated him, and then other times, when he had the spell freshened up, I loved him all over again and never wanted to leave his side. I still felt that way when he died. I didn’t see how I could be anything but a ghost, because the bonding spell convinced me my deepest desire was to die along with him. But now … I don’t know why, but now I feel free. The bond is gone.’ He tilted his head to the side. ‘And I think you might have had something to do with it, Wanda.’

  Will caught my eye and deftly changed the subject, saying, ‘Well, never mind about that. We’re just glad you’re alive. And is there anything else at all you can remember about the prison?’

  Jacques gave me a small, guilty smile. ‘You have to understand, when I saw it happening, I still thought you’d murdered my witch. And I wasn’t actually solid, so I couldn’t help you. But it … it’s about Babs. I was there, in the showers when she died. I saw everything.’

  There was a collective intake of breath, before my dad said softly, ‘Go on. It’s okay. Tell us what you saw.’

  The dog nodded. ‘Wanda, when you were in the shower, she came out of her cubicle. She looked to check you were in yours. Then she went back in her own cubicle and took out two bottles. She spilled one of them all over the floor. Then she drank the other bottle. The whole thing. Then she put the two bottles away, back into her cubicle, just before she … well … you know. Bit the dust. Kicked the bucket. Died in a fit of painful looking convulsions. She couldn’t see me, obviously, because no one but you could.’ He gave me a small grin. ‘I was all in your mind.’

  Finn set his food aside and stood up, pulling out his phone and shaking his head. ‘I’ve got all the photos of the scene,’ he said, flicking through files on his phone. ‘There was one bottle in her cubicle. A bottle of shampoo she’d apparently bought in the prison shop. The one she spilled. Other than that, she had a bar of soap, standard prison issue, the ones they hand out for free. There was nothing else.’

  My stomach roiled. ‘So where’s the other bottle, then?’ I drained the last of my hot chocolate and looked at Finn. ‘There’s less than twenty minutes until someone checks on me,’ I said. ‘I think it’s time for me to go back.’

  ‘No.’ My mother crossed the room and hugged me close. ‘No way. We know now that you had nothing to do with Baldrick’s death. Sylvia will take the blame, and rightly so.’

  ‘I know that.’ I wriggled away. ‘But the thing is, no one else knows about it yet. No one but us lot, here in this kitchen. Something’s happening at Witchfield. Someone in there – maybe a guard – is pulling the strings. Maybe it’s Martin, but whoever it is, they’re giving orders to have Will killed. They’re brewing Ire in the prison. They’re somehow helping prisoners to fake deaths. I mean, that’s what it seems like, right? Because Sal is definitely still alive. And Babs willingly drank a bottle of Ire. Maybe she’s not really dead, either.’ I took a deep breath and straightened out my grey jumpsuit. ‘Sylvia knows something about it all. If I go back, she’ll tell me.’

  While my mother shook her head, fear and worry in her eyes, Finn moved close to me.

  ‘I wish you weren’t, Wanda. I wish I could tell you this is the worst plan you’ve ever had, but … you’re right. I think it’s our best bet at getting to the truth. I say you should do it. Christine? Bea?’

  ‘No!’ Dizzy fluttered to my shoulder. ‘Doesn’t anyone care what I think? Wanda should stay here, that’s what I think. Finn, the only thing out of all that that made sense is when you said it was the worst plan Wanda’s ever had.’