Baldrick Berry was at the table, too. He was a short, broad man with a sly-looking face. His familiar, some sort of small, grey bulldog, was sitting at his feet. I saw the dog look longingly at the chicken nuggets Baldrick was eating. Baldrick lowered one towards the dog, then snatched it away with a laugh just as the dog tried to take a bite.

  ‘Baldrick,’ said Sandra. ‘That’s not very nice.’

  Baldrick cleared his throat. ‘You’re right, of course. I was only teasing.’ He handed another nugget to the dog, who looked like he was afraid it might be another mean trick.

  I glared at Baldrick, then turned back to the bar. I knew Will had good reasons for having lunch with him, but it didn’t change the fact that Baldrick made my skin crawl.

  The building work on the new school was beginning tomorrow, and it was going to be open to all supernaturals, something that hadn’t been attempted since the Year of the Walrus (nineteen sixty-seven). For decades now, supernatural children had been educated with their own kind – witches with witches, vampires with vampires, you get the picture. And until recently, some supernaturals, particularly weredogs and unempowered witches, weren’t allowed to be educated in the supernatural enclaves at all.

  That had been my story, as an unempowered child. I’d gone to human schools, and fitted in just about as well as I had in the magical world – which was not very well at all. It had been alienating, and uncomfortable, and even though I had my power now, I would never forget how it felt. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

  But now, Will was bringing everyone together, with some help. The school would be created in the mansion he used to live in, across the park from the house I shared with Max. Will had sold the mansion twice now. He’d been trying to get rid of all of his wealth in some sort of guilt-inspired clean-out. But it all kept coming back to him, through investments he didn’t even know he had. Eventually, he’d given up trying to be poor, and decided to use his money for good.

  That was the story, anyway. And, well … I believed that story. Maybe I was stupid to, but only time would tell.

  The school was just one in a long line of charitable interests Will had involved the Berry coven in, and it had been the least popular. I couldn’t quite understand why it would be such an unpopular idea with the coven, but he’d talked enough people around to make it work.

  Our food arrived, and I pulled my plate towards me.

  ‘You know, I was sure Baldrick wouldn’t stay in the supposedly new and improved Berry coven,’ Finn remarked as he ate. ‘Not seeing as Will’s basically turned the Berrys into a charity.’

  ‘Will doesn’t get it either,’ I admitted. ‘Apparently, Baldrick was one of Will’s dad’s cronies back in the bad old days. He keeps saying he’s turned over a new leaf, but Will doesn’t believe it.’

  ‘So why would he be building this new school with him, then?’ Finn asked.

  ‘Baldrick’s good at Materialization, and Will doesn’t have the time to oversee it all himself. Plus, Baldrick’s fronting half of the money for the Materialization staff and supplies, and Will’s paying the other half. The Department of Magical Education are paying for everything else, and they’ll take over when it’s built.’

  ‘Wow. You and Will sure do have detailed conversations these days, don’t you?’ Finn remarked. ‘Fun times all around, is it?’

  ‘Of course it’s not fun. It’s just a job that I have to do – one you’re not actually supposed to know about.’

  ‘I’m not sure how you manage it, since you look like you’re about to chuck up every time you’re due to see him. Not that I can blame you. If I were you, I’m not sure I’d want to spend time with him, either. I mean it, you know. I don’t think it’s fair that you have to do this.’

  I speared a garlic mushroom, ignoring him.

  ‘Are you ignoring me, Wanda?’

  ‘Just trying to have a peaceful lunch.’ I threw the mushroom back down again, losing my appetite. ‘Look, what’s this about, Finn? You’re being weird.’

  He swirled his cola in his glass. ‘Well … it’s about tomorrow. About the school, actually. You know it’s not popular with some people, right?’

  ‘That’s kind of stating the obvious.’

  ‘Yeah, I guess. But a lot of the people who are unhappy about this used to be in the Berry coven – before it became all charitable and disgusting and whatnot. There’s been chatter. I think maybe … well …’ He winced. ‘I don’t like to say it, Wanda, but I think something bad might go down tomorrow. As in … maybe an assassination. I know Rover is planning to hold a press conference before the building work begins. The place’ll be packed with journalists, and onlookers, too. With a crowd like that, there’s a lot of room for a malcontent to hide in plain sight. If someone who hates Will does want to make a statement, tomorrow would be the perfect time for them to do it. So I think we need a Wayfarer presence there.’

  ‘Yeah,’ I agreed. ‘I’ve been thinking the same thing. But you’re not actually asking me, are you? You’ve just been saying I’m overworked, and that it’s not fair that I have to spend time with him.’

  ‘It is unfair. But you’re good at spotting threats in crowd situations. So yes, I want you there tomorrow. Need you there. I know it’ll mean moving things around at college, but if you can …’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘Okay?’ He stared at me in disbelief. ‘Just … okay? No impassioned argument? No insistence that you don’t really care what happens to Will Berry?’

  ‘I do that a lot, huh?’

  ‘Yeah. Just a few seconds ago you did it yet again, calling it “just a job”. And I see through it every time.’

  I pushed away my plate. ‘I mean, of course I care. I used to think …’ I shook my head. ‘Never mind what I used to think. What matters right now is that, even though I do really believe he’s back to himself, I can’t deny the fact that he’d be a real danger if he ever went to the dark side again. So of course I care what happens to him. It’d be bad if someone tried to kill him. They might not succeed, and that could set him off all over again.’

  ‘Mm hm.’

  ‘And Will and me never really knew each other, anyway. So that whole thing of everything I did I did for you, Wanda is totally untrue. He did it for an idea of me. Just like I was crazy about an idea of him, back when we first met. But we were totally wrong for each other. He didn’t see things the way I did, and I didn’t see things his way.’

  ‘Mm hm.’

  ‘I mean, I know he said he wanted to see things the way I did, and that he wanted to be like my coven, all law abiding and whatever, but again, that’s just falling for an idea, isn’t it? And even if he hadn’t gone all murderous and megalomaniac, and we had gotten together, it probably would have gone badly anyway.’

  ‘Mm hm.’

  ‘I mean, he tried to murder Max.’

  ‘Mm hm.’

  ‘Sure, the first time was when he was taken over by the Whisperer, and the second time it was in that horrible dream world and he did think it was just a dream but … it wasn’t. It wasn’t a normal dream, and Max could really have died. Not to mention that, in that world, Will took Dizzy away from me.’

  ‘Mm hm.’

  ‘So how could I care for him? I mean, I don’t hate him. Like, if someone did assassinate him tomorrow, I’d be bothered about it because it’s wrong to assassinate someone, and because it could set off a catastrophic chain of events. But if they did kill Will, I … I … I mean … I … well, I don’t know what I’d feel. But I wouldn’t be crying or anything.’

  ‘Mm hm.’

  ‘So, I mean, I’ll go to the new school tomorrow, like you want me to. Because it’s my job. And like you say, you could use me there. But not because it’s Will. I’d do the same for any super rich ex-villain who was now on the side of good and whose life was constant in danger.’

  ‘Mm hm.’ Finn drained the last of his cola. ‘Look, I think I’ve let you be unconvincing for long enough, don’t you? Let’s change the subject, okay? For the first time in many, many years, we’ve had enough good people on our police force to open up new stations, to start promoting people, to have a real chance at doing some long-lasting good. We’re starting a series of exams next summer, for people who want to move up through the ranks. And if you’ve finished your degrees by then like you said you were going to, you’ll be more than qualified to sit the sergeants’ exam. I want you to go for it, Wanda.’

  I looked down at my plate, thinking it over. I felt oddly excited at the thought of it, and more than just a little bit inclined to say yes. I probably would have, too, but Camille rushed towards us and threw her hands down on the bar, staring at Finn.

  ‘Is it true?’ she asked.

  Finn gave her a grin. ‘That I’m clever, good-looking and a great tipper? Sure. But I’ve also got a girlfriend, so I’m afraid I’m off the market.’

  ‘I’m not in the mood for your cocky jokes, Captain Plimpton. I want to know if it’s true or not. Did my father kill my boyfriend?’

  While Finn did his best impression of a wide mouthed frog, she shook her head and said, ‘Oh, for Dracula’s sake! Is it true? Did my father kill my boyfriend?’ She pointed to the television above the bar. ‘And if so, why am I hearing about it off the bloody TV?!’

  I looked at the TV. Wyrd News in the Afternoon was playing, and on the bottom of the screen, a banner read: Prisoner Murdered at Witchfield.

  Ted Shiftless looked at the camera. ‘We were told that Witchfield would be safer with the Wayfarers running it, but it seems that things there are worse than ever. Just this morning, poor Sal Manson, a hapless petty thief who was due to finish a short term, was murdered in cold blood.’

  ‘Turn it off!’ Finn growled at Hazmat, who immediately switched off the television.

  ‘He is the most annoying news presenter ever,’ said Finn.

  ‘Well, maybe second most annoying,’ I corrected. ‘I mean, the last one was my boyfriend, who was a member of the vampire assassins known as the Dark Team. He was also feeding me love potion and trying to get me to have his super-kids. But, y’know … Ted’s pretty bad, too.’

  ‘Look, we have a duty to inform next of kin, which we did,’ said Finn, ignoring my useful contribution and looking at Camille. ‘We told Sal’s cousin an hour ago. There’s no other kin listed.’

  She flashed a finger, bearing an enormous, ruby-stoned engagement ring. ‘Well, we were going to be family very soon. Sal and me met here, just before he went to Witchfield. We only had a couple of weeks together, but sometimes a couple of weeks is all you need. Sometimes you know the second you meet someone.’

  She wiped away a tear. ‘We had to keep it secret because my dad hates dayturners. It wouldn’t have mattered to him that Sal was due to take the cure. He thinks having the virus at all taints a vampire forever. I eventually told him last week, at visiting hour, when he saw Sal and me exchange a glance. He forced it out of me.’ She sniffed back more tears, her voice rising as she grew more and more upset. ‘And I knew, I just knew, that my dad was going to do something bad. I told Sal to be careful. I said he should ask the prison guards to keep an eye on him. But I guess he didn’t.’

  Everyone in the Plain Old Cauldron was staring our way. Finn leaned close to me and whispered, ‘I know you have to take off now, so I’ll deal with this. I’ll take Camille in for a full statement. If it’s true, it could be the last nail in her dad’s coffin. Actually, old-school vamps like Vernon like coffins, don’t they? Never mind. Will you be at the Water Bowl for the party later, so we can talk more?’

  ‘Sure, I’ll see you then.’ I took in a deep breath and stood up. ‘Let my Will Watch begin.’

  5. Will Watch

  I walked slowly up the stairs which led from the bar, and up to the two flats above. One was Hazmat’s, and the other was Will’s. Will had left the door of his place open for me, and gone inside. I’d much prefer if the door were closed. That way, I could stand outside taking in deep breaths and preparing myself.

  Because Finn wasn’t wrong. Despite my many convincing insistences otherwise, I was incredibly stressed whenever I had to see Will. The most stressful thing of all was that I couldn’t figure out why I found it so stressful.

  I was with Max now. I was happy with him. So it wasn’t as though unresolved feelings could be to blame. It was a long time since I’d allowed Will’s dimples or his sea-green eyes to have any effect on me.

  And Will wasn’t in the grips of an evil book anymore. He’d proven time and again that he wanted to make amends. And since I’d seen some of my own coven under the influence of yet another dark book the Halloween before last, I wasn’t even sure he had anything to make amends for.

  Bad books could affect anyone. The only reason he’d ever opened the Whisperer’s Return, the book that possessed him, was because he was looking to gain extra power, power he could use to protect me from his father. Because, adorable though I am, Will’s now-deceased dad just hadn’t taken a shine to me. He wanted to see Will with a Berry, and he would have killed me in order to make that happen.

  Kilian had even used a bonding spell which made sure that, if he was killed, I would die too, and so would Will’s mother. In order to sever the magical link Kilian had created, Will had delved far too deep into the dark side of magic.

  But now Will was back. I was sure he was back. He’d proved it over and over. So then, why were my hands clammy, and shaking? Why was my heart beating far too fast? And why had I taken up the night-time hobby of sleepwalking?

  ‘Are you coming in or what?’ Fred, Will’s familiar, was standing in the doorway. He was a large, marmalade-coloured cat. ‘I know our latest lodgings aren’t exactly luxurious, but we shall do our best to entertain you, my lady.’

  I chuckled softly. It had surprised me to see Will move into a small flat above a bar, but he seemed far more at home here than he had in any of the Berry mansions.

  ‘But where’s Dizzy?’ Fred asked. ‘Last time I asked if you’d bring him along, and you said, “We’ll see”.’

  Will appeared behind his familiar. ‘Fred!’ he hissed. ‘Dizzy doesn’t want to be here. He’s rightfully annoyed that I took him away from Wanda back when I … well … y’know …’

  Fred shrugged. ‘Yeah, but Wanda’s forgiven you. And Dizzy likes me. Why should I suffer because you used to be evil?’

  ‘He wasn’t evil,’ I said. ‘And you know it. He was … he was …’ I couldn’t finish that. Whatever Will was, he was that way because he was trying to protect me. I hadn’t been lying to Finn – I didn’t hate Will. But I hadn’t been telling the full truth either, because while the anger might be gone, I was a long way from indifference.

  ‘Come in,’ Will offered, saving me from finishing the uncomfortable sentence. ‘I know you want to get this over with, so let’s get started.’

  I walked in slowly, closed the door behind me, and pulled out my scanner. Will dutifully held up his arms while I stood near him, waving the scanner over every inch of his body. The scanner was an especially sensitive one, and, in theory, it should tell me if Will had used any dark magic since the last time I checked.

  As usual, no warning beep emanated.

  ‘You’re good,’ I said, jumping away from him.

  ‘You’re finished already?’ Fred frowned. ‘The Queen and Miles always take much longer. They must be less efficient than you. That, or they don’t get embarrassed about having to be close to my witch.’

  ‘Fred.’ Will gave his cat a warning glare. ‘I told you to cut the crap when Wanda was here.’

  ‘Fine. But she’s about to do a full search of your flat on the “Oh no, I hope Will doesn’t have any dark objects again” tour. So I hope you’ve washed all of your underwear.’

  Fred was right. The next part of Will Watch involved me searching every inch of his flat. That part was almost as bad as scanning him. Looking through any business files was fine, and as was scanning any new ornaments or the like for traces of dark magic. But when I had to look through his wardrobe, or search through the desk where he did his artwork, I felt like I was intruding into his inner life.

  I rushed my search, and when I emerged from his bedroom, he was standing at the kitchen counter with a large tray of lasagne in front of him. I didn’t comment upon it, no matter how good it smelled. It was probably for him and Sandra.

  ‘Y’know,’ said Will, ‘unless you, Miles and the Queen do this around the clock, there’s not much point. I could have dark objects hidden somewhere else. I could have a million dastardly plans and plots and schemes and shenanigans going on.’

  ‘Do you?’ I challenged, half-smiling.

  ‘No, but …’

  ‘No, but he wants you to be here twenty-four seven just to be sure.’ Fred grinned.

  My face felt hot, and Will’s was definitely flushed. Instead of pushing forward with yet another embarrassing conversation, I waved vaguely around his flat and said, ‘The place looks nice.’

  It did, too. He’d been making the small flat look a little homelier with every day he spent there. There were some cushions and throws on the couch, and a nice comfortable rug. The mantle above the gas fire was filled with photos. Some were of him and the kids from Melissa’s Nemo Foundation, some were of Fred and Will on days out together. But there was a new one, of Will, Sandra and another guy, all holding fishing rods. I walked over to take a closer look. The third person in the picture could almost have doubled for Will. His hair was the same shade of dirty-blond, and he was the same height and build. He didn’t have Will’s dimples, of course, or his eyes, but other than that they could have been brothers.

  ‘Hey, Will, who’s this guy?’ I held up the picture. ‘He looks just like you.’

  ‘What? No he doesn’t.’ Will frowned, peering closer. ‘Does he? I don’t think he does. That’s Sandra’s best friend, Bill.’

  I shrugged. ‘If you say so. Well, I guess I’d better be going, then. It looks like you’re expecting Sandra for lunch.’