Page 32 of Familiar of the Witch

Bastion nodded as I reluctantly shook my head. I despised admitting ignorance but now wasn’t the time for pride.

‘It is a secret auction of dark artefacts. It is held as and when the artefacts are found. The rumour is that such an auction will be held soon and that a large harkan crystal is on offer.’

My stomach lurched. Now the harkan crystal, I had heard of. Supposedly it was made by collecting one drop of blood at a time from a murder victim then crystallising the drops through magic. The bigger the crystal,the more deaths were required to make it and the greater the power it held. It could be added to over time because more deaths increased its power. Rumour had it that the owner of a harkan crystal never needed recharge in the Common realm.

‘Have you been watching the portals to the Common realm?’ I asked. ‘Is there a witch that doesn’t use them?’

Voltaire gave me a distinctly unfriendly look. ‘Your ORAL potion has muddied the waters. There are a number of witches that have not attended for some time. Including you.’

I glared at the inference. ‘I’m going through the portal after this discussion.’

‘No doubt you would claim that.’

‘Because it is true!’ I rubbed my forehead. ‘Enough. When will this so-called “soul auction” take place?’

‘It is not simply a matter of finding out when it is occurring,’ Voltaire grumbled. ‘To gain entrance, you must recently have taken a life.’

I thought of my half-sister, Becky, and the unknown fire elemental before that. ‘How recently?’

‘Within a few months.’

‘That won’t be a problem,’ I said. Bastion had ripped off a bunch of vampyric heads so he’d be fine to gain entrance too, thoughI thought it diplomatic not to explain that to Voltaire. ‘You find out when and where the auction is and Bastion and I will attend as purchasers.’

Voltaire looked at Bastion. ‘He is well known and it is common knowledge that he guards you. If he attends, your identity will be known instantly.’

My flat look told him he was being patronising. ‘We will be disguised, obviously.’

‘Common sense is not so common.’ His mouth tightened but he didn’t argue. ‘On your heads be it.’

I blinked. ‘Did you just quote actual Voltaire at me?’

For the first time that I could recall, I saw a glimmer of humour in the depths of his eyes. ‘Are you so sure I’m not the actual Voltaire?’

I opened my mouth then closed it again. He didn’tlooklike a seventeenth-century philosopher, but vampyrs could age themselves as they wished. I slid a glance to Bastion who grinned and shook his head. ‘He’s shitting you.’

‘Am I?’ Voltaire asked, amused. ‘I will send word. When you are summoned, do not hesitate or the opportunity will be lost forever.’ He spun on his heels and stalked out.

Someone knew how to make a dramatic exit.

Chapter 27

It turned out that Frogmatch’s tugging on my shoes during my meeting with Voltaire had been him making art with my boots. He had apparently lost all interest in our chatter and focused instead on my shoelaces. Resting in Rosie’s main apartment, I watched bemused as the imp happily re-worked knots of ever-increasing complexity. I guess everyone needs a hobby.

My stay at Rosie’s was unremarkable. We had wangled a night in the main flat, Bastion and I in one bedroom and Oscar in another. Frogmatch insisted on patrolling the corridors whilst we slept. It seemed ridiculous to me that an eight-inch-tall imp could do anything in a real fight, but I knew better than to say so. Imps can be sensitive, and if I said the wrong thing my bodyguard would become my prankster and tormentor instead. Perhaps Frogmatch could tie any would-be attacker’s shoelaces together.

The main apartment at Rosie’s was far more spacious and opulent than the tiny hovel I’d stayed in last time, though I thought of the place with fondness since my stay there had saved my life. There was plenty of room for us all, even with the addition of pint-sized Frogmatch.

My skin crawls the whole time I am in the Common realm; I miss my magic like it is another limb. Bastion manfully distracted me to the best of his abilities – and the best of his abilities was very, very good.

The next morning I was eager to walk back through the portal, so I hustled downstairs at 6am after untying Frogmatch’s artwork. I stalked through the portal and gave a happy sigh as my magic zinged back. We ate a leisurely breakfast at the café, watching the comings and goings of the Other folk. I nodded to those that I knew; there weren’t many that I did not. I’d made it my business to network with all of the species and to make myself indispensable to them.

With my promise to Shirdal fulfilled, I had another outstanding vow: I had promised Krieg that I would find his mate. I’d told him that I would need time to design and make the potion, but that wasn’t strictly true; I knew full well that Grimmy had such a potion in his pages because, as a teenager I’d been sorely tempted to use it. I hadn’tbecause it had involved bloodletting, and if Mum had found out she would have been furious. Knowing a little more about Dad and his background, I could understand why. She would have been terrified that I’d slide down the slippery slope to black-witch territory.

I couldn’t recall the full potion but I remembered that most of the ingredients were commonplace. I’d have to ask Grimmy for the details but I knew that I needed some milk thistle and bupleurum, both of which I was fresh out of having used the former in Ria’s potion and the latter in Shirdal’s final-defence potion.

After breakfast, we headed to the car. I opened the door but Frogmatch didn’t hop in. ‘I’m going to follow the vampyr,’ he said firmly, braced for an argument.

‘Which vampyr?’ I asked.

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