Page 32 of Star Witch
I gave Winter a faint smile. For all the creature’s flapping, it was an easy thing to stay away from those claws now its body was trapped. I tilted my head towards it. ‘What are you?’ I asked. ‘Why are you doing this?’
‘There’s no point in trying to communicate with it,’ Winter said. ‘It’s not going to respond. It can’t.’
It appeared Winter was right – the only answer I received was a snarl. Just to be sure, I tried again. ‘Can you speak English? Did you kill Benjamin Alberts?’
I looked down, noting that the soles of its shoes had the same squiggle of a logo that Gareth had drawn for me. This was definitely our culprit. This … thing had ripped Benjamin Alberts apart.
I sensed rather than saw Winter come up beside me. Before I could say or do anything, he raised his hands. Too late, I registered the rock he was holding. A second later, he brought it down onto the monster’s head, smashing in its skull and spraying me with dark coagulated lumps of weird monster blood. There was one short spasm and then the thing stopped moving. Forever.
I stared aghast at Winter. He shrugged at me, although there wasn’t any ambivalence in his expression. ‘It was already a corpse, Ivy. It’s an animated anomaly. Whatever we’re dealing with here involves necromancy. Someone is raising the dead to attack the living.’
Chapter Ten
I felt like death warmed up. Given the circumstances, that probably should have been funny but I definitely wasn’t laughing. I managed a muttered good morning to Amy and that was about it. When we were ushered onto the bus pre-dawn, I simply kept my head down and ignored the speculation around me about whetherEnchantmentwould be able to continue.
I’d spent almost an hour under the scalding shower and I was sure I could still smell the damn monster on me. Every time I thought about it, a shudder rippled through my very bones.
When we arrived on set, we gathered out by the main stage as we had done the previous day. There was no sign of any of the contestants but all theEnchantmentbigwigs were there. No crew members were rushing around or making preparations; everyone simply waited to hear what we would be told. It might have been my favourite television show but, frankly, I was praying that they’d shut the whole thing down for good. I felt like I could sleep for a week.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t Morris Armstrong who took the microphone. He was there on stage but he gave the floor to Belinda. She was dressed more simply than yesterday but, as she was wearing a silk scarf wrapped in an elaborate knot around her neck, it was impossible to see whether she was wearing her vial necklace. Whatever.
I cast a tired eye around for Moonbeam and spotted him lounging against a tall box on the far side. He was doing his best to appear disdainful but his body language was too relaxed. He didn’t know any better than the rest of us what was about to be said – and he was just as curious. Mommy dearest wasn’t keeping him in the loop then. I wondered why. I closed my eyes and decided I really didn’t care.
‘Dearest people.’ Belinda’s voice filled the air. Despite her saccharine-sweet words, she somehow managed to sound wholeheartedly sincere. I opened one eye slightly; she was charismatic enough that I’d give her that much attention. ‘You all know, of course, of the traumatic time we have faced over the past few weeks. Losing one of our contestants was a genuine shock and I have no doubt that you felt the tragedy just as deeply as I did.’
She paused, as if in memory of the dear friend she had probably not even met, and continued. ‘Of course, things got even worse yesterday when our own set was attacked.’
Trevor Bellows reached forward and grasped her hand. As if to give credence to the sombre mood, he was no longer wearing fancy dress. Oddly, however, the high-waisted jeans and T-shirt made him look far weirder than the Halloween witch’s get-up that he had on yesterday.
‘I’m fine,’ Bellows said, bobbing his head up and down several times. ‘It was a terrible experience but, if I can find even some of the strength which you wonderful people have, I will get through this.’
Unfortunately for him, Bellows didn’t have the same aura of honesty that Belinda managed to convey. Perhaps it was because his words were so patently ridiculous. There was more than one scoff from the watching crew. If Bellows noticed, he didn’t react.
Any dregs of sympathy I might have felt for him at apparently being targeted by a murderer vanished the instant Brutus leapt on stage and curled up on one of his shoes. There was a soft murmur of delight from the crowd. I crossed my arms and glared. Not that it did any good; Brutus didn’t even glance at me.
Bellows passed the microphone back to Belinda and she continued. ‘What most of you don’t know,’ she said in honeyed tones, ‘is that there were significant developments overnight.’
There was a collective intake of breath. Even Moonbeam seemed to stand up straighter. I yawned. Significant developments? I’d say.
Belinda cleared her throat, more for dramatic effect than because she needed to. It was hardly necessary. You could have heard a cat’s whisker drop to the ground. ‘The murderer has been brought to justice.’
I snorted. The tool had been destroyed but its maker was still out there.
Belinda carried on blithely. ‘Not just that, but the blood which was discovered on set belonged to a sheep, not a human. We no longer have anything to fear. No doubt it was simply a prank. And,’ she smiled, ‘it is apparent thatEnchantmentwas not the target of the original attack. Benjamin Alberts, may his soul rest in peace, was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Filming will start afresh this afternoon at three o’clock. We are behind schedule but, if we pull together as a team, we can bring everything back to where it should be. We are, after all, the greatest show on television.’
There was a loud cheer from the watching crew members. As far as I could tell, everyone was delighted. I wrinkled my nose. Yeah, yeah.
Morris Armstrong stepped up. For a moment it looked as if Belinda wasn’t going to relinquish her hold on the microphone. Rather than cause a scene, however, she eventually let it go. There was no denying who was really running things around here – and Belinda was perfectly content to make sure everyone knew it. Given that yesterday Armstrong had spoken to everyone without a microphone, it was clear that his bid to take the microphone from her was a power play on his part. A failed power play at that.
‘I would like to thank Belinda for her gracious words. Be assured that I share every sentiment,’ Armstrong said. ‘Enchantmentis most definitely the greatest!’ He fist-pumped the air. More than a few of the crew aped his actions but there was definitely less enthusiasm than there had been for La Battenapple. ‘To prove it, for this time ever, this series will have a member of the esteemed Hallowed Order of Magical Enlightenment on board!’
A ripple of shock ran through the crowd. As Winter stepped onto the stage, looking for all the world as if he wished the ground would open up and swallow him, Trevor Bellows appeared rather nauseous. If he’d been worried about me as competition, he couldn’t begin to fathom what it would be like having Winter judging his every move.
‘This is Adeptus Exemptus Raphael Winter!’ Armstrong began to applaud and gradually everyone else joined in. Even Bellows.
Winter forced a smile. His eyes scanned the crowd until eventually they landed on me. I raised my arms and clapped enthusiastically until the corners of his mouth crooked up slightly. I wasn’t oblivious to the many lascivious looks he was receiving from most of the female – and some of the male – crew members. I resisted the urge to yell out that he was hands off and contented myself with the fact that at least he was here. And at least it was me he was focused on.
But there were limits to how much Winter was going to be allowed to do. The microphone in Armstrong’s hands went nowhere near him and the director quickly regained everyone’s attention. ‘We have seven hours until showtime, everyone! Let’s get this set shipshape and ready once more.’
