Page 21 of Destiny of the Witch

Chapter 14

I awoke feeling energised and ready to kick ass. Today was going to bemyday: I was going to confront Hannah about the circus and get some damned answers.

Bastion had laid a fresh blueberry muffin and a cappuccino on the dining-room table. I ate the breakfast of kings with gusto, while he devoured a veritable bucket of porridge. I guessed it took a lot of calories to keep that machine in top shape.

As I ate, I studied my apartment. All around there were little signs of Bastion’s cohabitation: some free weights tucked in the corner of my living room, his favourite brand of coffee on my kitchen counter. He’d even put up the paintings that Mum had given us. I didn’t know how to deal with the fact that, to all intents and purposes, he had moved in. I also couldn’t help but hope that the arrangement would be permanent. What the heck would I do ifBastion left for another job? Surely he was still at Shirdal’s beck and call? My heart started to race at the thought of him leaving me. I’d grown so accustomed to his solid presence in my life. If he went back to other jobs, how would that affect us? I blew out a long breath and tried to shove the panic down. We’d work things out. We had to.

I was still thirsty after my cappuccino, so I checked in the fridge. I frowned when I saw no overnight oats or freshly squeezed orange juice. Perhaps Oscar had stayed at the party for too long and chugged too many beers but… A tendril of worry wormed its way into my gut. I texted him, asking if he was awake.

Whilst I was waiting for a response, I got out my laptop and checked the Coven roster. Hannah was due to work in the Coven’s potion lab today but it was still only 7am, so she wouldn’t be there yet. I bit my lip. It would probably be best to see her in her apartment: the fewer witnesses, the better. We’d catch her at home in 2C on the second floor before she went to the lab.

I checked my phone: still no response from Oscar. He was an early riser and I’d never known him to still be sleeping after 6am. Fear curled in my tummy.

Bastion walked out of the bathroom, a towel looped around his hips. ‘What’s the matter?’ he asked, looking around sharply. ‘You’re worrying.’

‘Oscar didn’t leave me any orange juice.’

I was fully prepared for him to smirk at me or roll his eyes, but he did neither. Truth be told, he had never belittled my fears. ‘I’ll get dressed and we’ll go to his apartment now,’ was all he said.

I noted that he didn’t tell me Oscar would be fine. Through our bond, I felt his own concern ratchet up. Damn. Now I wasreallyworried.

While Bastion dressed, I grabbed a bunch of healing potions from the fridge and shoved everything I could think of into my tote. Bastion emerged moments later and we silently jogged down the stairs to Oscar’s floor.

I knocked once on his door but neither he nor Benji answered. I pounded on the door but still no one came. Panic licked through me.

Bastion gently pushed me aside, put his boot to the lock and kicked it forcefully. His eyes glowed yellow, and he tore down the wards I’d carefully painted for Oscar only a couple of weeks ago. Normally I’d have objected to such a heavy-handed approach, but I was running down the roads of panic and brute force seemed just fine and dandy.

‘Dad?’ I shouted as I ran in.

I let out a strangled cry as I came upon Benji. He was frozen, turned into stone just as he had been about to stand up. His eyes were wide with panic, but his skin had no shine of life. To all intents and purposes, he looked like a statue. He’d been deactivated.

‘Benji!’ I gave a choked cry as I rushed to him. I touched his cold cheek but there wasn’t an iota of magic or life in the cold hunk of clay in front of me. Fear welled up; I had managed to save him from deactivation once before, but that had been in Edinburgh, in the seat of power itself where the ley lines intersected.

‘Amber!’ Bastion called sharply from Oscar’s bedroom and I ran in.

Oscar lay on the floor beside his bed, glowing with activatedisarunes. His pyjama top was discarded next to him, and I could see a pen clenched in his fist. On his chest, his arms, even his legs where he’d rolled up his pyjama pants – every scrap of skin he’d been able to reach – he’d drawn onisa.

I felt his neck and sobbed when I felt a faint pulse. He’d done it! He’d managed to put himself in stasis in time. ‘Poison!’ I murmured darkly. ‘He must have beenpoisoned and when he realised what was happening he put himself in stasis.’

‘How?’ Bastion frowned. ‘He’s a wizard.’

‘You of all people should know that runes can be used by anyone – to a degree. Oscar’s grandmother was a witch so he has some very minor latent skill. It was obviously enough to light up the runes, thank the Goddess.’

I tried to treat him like any other patient. I rolled him over so he was lying on his back and examined him critically. No spidery black veins, so it wasn’t black mordis. His lips weren’t purple, so it wasn’t 8987. I checked his lungs: no sign of collapse so it wasn’t Veldrake’s Revenge. Relief shot through me. Most poisons could be nullified by a number of antidotes and I had a couple with me. If neither of those worked, I would brew the others.

I grabbed the vial of Whole Remedy. It contained activated charcoal, atropine and sodium bicarbonate, with comfrey leaf acting as the stabiliser, and it would save about eighty percent of poison victims. I prayed it would work for whatever ailed Oscar.

I held my breath as I pried open his mouth and carefully poured in a small amount of the remedy, then rubbed his throat to make him swallow reflexively. This time he did so. I repeated the process until the vial was empty.

I felt his pulse: it seemed stronger. I waited with bated breath, studying his eyes. When they snapped open, I felt a surge of relief. ‘Help me get theseisasoff him,’ I said to Bastion. I took a bag of baby wipes from my bag and started to scrub at Oscar’s skin. When half of them were removed, the stasis broke.

‘Benji?’ he asked urgently.

I shook my head. ‘I don’t know. It looks like he’s been deactivated again. I’ve never heard of a golem surviving multiple deactivations, but we have to try. What happened?’

‘Someone poisoned me!’ Oscar spluttered, outraged.

‘Any idea who?’ I asked.

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