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About this serial:
Sticky Witch is a modern fantasy tale with a mystery, myth and romance, set in Wiltshire. Rosen Pearce is part of a magical construction firm that fixes buildings, from bricks to hexwork. It’s a quiet, satisfying life - or was, before power and politics and fae got involved.
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Previously on Sticky Witch:
Mundane Mages have had a rough few days. Rosen had her memory wiped at an event, then witnessed Gia's public return. Em and Mike were attacked and mud-locked at their cottage with the same memory loss, a day later. Thanks to unexpected allies from Wales, everyone has survived. But the next attack is not far away, and the firm is racing to assemble facts and magic that can keep them alive.
Ros has uncovered an odd murder that links all their enemies, along with research into magic genomics.
*Note: for anyone who reads my newsletter, the featured scene with Todd has been moved to the next chapter. This one had to be trimmed in order to send it out.
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There was silence after the murder revelation. Gia, Malborough and my least-favourite coven witch? This didn’t just stink; it recoloured the entire world, like pig-muck on a field. I couldn’t erase the image of that headless body, his neck ending like a child’s toy. What had Andy known? Who had silenced him?
“What did the police find out?” I asked aloud. “Who was in charge of the murder investigation?”
John scoffed. “There wasn’t one.”
I thought I had misheard him. “What?”
Besides me, Mike looked equally shocked. “They turned a blind eye?”
John moved over to the crockery shelf and picked up the breakfast bowls. He moved heavily, as though the memory weighed him down.
“There was no investigation because the coroner ruled it was death by misadventure,” he said, spitting out the words. “Andy was alone, none of his wards had tripped, and he had no known enemies. They thought it was a spell gone wrong.”
“WHAT?” I exploded. A croak from the hallway echoed to me, and Mike’s hand clamped down on my shoulder.
“Think, Roz!”
I shook off his hand. “C’mon, boss, this is grade-A crap. If Andy were a generalist, he couldn’t have triggered that level of spell. You’d need someone with Em’s level of power. Didn’t anyone else challenge it? No one from his coven?”
“His coven were the ones who suggested it,” John replied, pulling open the cutlery drawer with more force than necessary. He dropped spoons on the sideboard next to the bowls. “An utter whitewash, but at the time I didn’t have the time to pursue it. It happened just after the Gia riots. Your brother was facing trial, half the witches across the South West were in hiding, and my kid was getting bullied at school.”
I bit my lip.
“Sorry to hear that.” I wished I had been able to help.
Mike moved over to the fridge, producing milk and orange juice. “Let’s eat. We can’t change the past, but we can get answers when we’re less tired and hungry.”
I stared at the cereal boxes John had hauled out. Murder, mayhem, shreddies and cocoa pops. The grinning monkey on the cover felt like an insult.
“I’m not hungry,” I muttered and busied myself with the coffee machine.
Eventually, we agreed to a working plan: ask everyone, accuse no one, and hope for the best. John was going to talk to Andy’s widow; I would schedule a phone call with my brother; and Mike drew the short straw for talking to Glenda.
“If she mentioned witch courts or magical law again, hit her with a silencing hex,” I advised him. “You won’t have any chance of a sensible conversation after that.”
John swept aside the bowls “Speaking of sense, that menace can’t stay alone here in the flat.” He waved a finger at Pete, now perched on the door. “I’m booked with South West Water today, and we’ve got to prepare for the MOD survey tomorrow. We’re both going to be out.”
I felt a faint stirring of hope. Or heart palpitations caused by the third coffee.
“I’m still with you for that?”
John grinned. “It’s a ghost-check. Your magic might be burned out, but your senses still work. I’ll text Tali now about handing back his raven, and you can keep him with you, over at Em’s.”
I swivelled to face Mike on my left, my eyebrows raised.
“Trap-building,” he said, a little too casually. He ran a hand over his beard like it was a talisman. “I’m sending Latika, too. If you do the fetching and carrying, Em can get on with the creation.”
Pete gave a throaty croak from the top of the hallway door. He looked like he was auditioning for a Poe TV adaptation.
“It’s not really fetching and carrying?” I said, almost resigned.
Mike didn’t bother to sugarcoat it.
“Latika is there to stop Em from hexing the postman, you are there to keep them both on track. The raven stays out of the main house. Any questions?”
I shook my head. Just a normal Wednesday, then.
*
Latika had plenty of questions. Em gave us a shopping list and a credit card, and waved us off. I’d not seen the slender empath since the weekend, and it felt like more than three days had passed. Today, Latika was dressed in a simple business suit, contrasting with my jeans, boots and plaid shirt. I snorted when I saw it. She was always the clothing optimist in the firm. The rest of us expected to get dirty. Right now, she looked completely out of place in the DIY superstore.
“Then what? Did you do anything to revive them?”
I picked up the bag of nails and hefted it in my hand. I’d given her the abbreviated version of Monday’s disaster, skipping over the details of what Malcolm had done to me. It wasn’t shame, exactly, but a sick feeling in my stomach every time I thought about it. I didn’t want to pick at that wound. Instead, I dwelled on the state and Em and Mike had been in when we found them.
“Food, drink and a council of war. You saw what happened to the cottage.”
“Yeah.” She fiddled with her bracelet, her eyes downwards.
“We need to be careful, Lat. You’ve been lucky enough to dodge it so far, but if they can take out someone like Mike, they can take out us.”
“Yeah.”
I dropped the nails into the shopping basket and checked the list. “Steel flat bars,” I muttered. “We should have brought gloves.”
“We can buy them,” Latika suggested. She looked as reluctant as I did. “Do you know what Em’s planning to do with this?”
I shrugged. “Not a figgy. I’m not sure she does, either - most of her magic happens through instinct.” Just then, my normal phone buzzed. I’d observe Mike’s cellphone precautions on site visits, but I didn’t think shopping on a weekday afternoon would be dangerous.
I opened it to see a text from Neil.
<Rain check tonight? I’ve got to cover a bar shift>
I’d forgotten we were supposed to be on a dinner date. At least I didn’t have to tell him I was raven-sitting. I typed back: <No problem>.
Latika’s eyes flicked from my phone to my face. “Dating woes?”
“Not exactly. More like confirmation that my love life is dead and buried.”
She looked sympathetic. “Come out with me again, on Friday. We’ll hook you up with someone exciting.”
I half-smiled. “We’re supposed to lay low, remember?” I didn’t add that I was the invisible wingwoman whenever I went out with Latika. She might not see it, but the blokes did. “What’s going on with your family?”
It was the right question. Latika happily babbled on about the latest feud between her two aunts and how her sister had found this piff boy on her dating app, but turned out to be at a Scottish Uni. “Six hundred miles apart - who needs that on a first date?”
I thought of Neil again, then Liam. Right now, I’d drive all the way to Edinburgh for a date with a cute boy and no complications. “Yep, it’s a long way to go.”
*
Em met us on the drive with two hammers and a determined expression. “We’re sealing every door, window, chute and chimney in this place,” she announced. I exchanged glances with Latika. “I thought the guys had already done that,” I said, choosing my words with care.
“Pete’s found vulnerabilities.”
“So we’re talking to ravens now?” Latika whispered to me. Her face had switched from confusion to alarm, well on the way to “OMG I’m amongst the crazies.” Em held out a hammer to her, handle-first. “Grab some gloves and c’mon,” she ordered. “Roz, John needs maps from the office. Here’s a defence spell.” She held out a pebble, the size of her palm, with a complicated rune painted on it. And a daisy-chain around the outside.
Now my face held the OMG, the crazies expression.
“Em, it’s a rock.”
“It still works.”
“How? By throwing it at people?”
“If necessary. You need the files and the Ordnance Survey maps.”
“Please don’t leave me,” Latika begged.
“Don’t worry,” I said, getting back into the car, rock in pocket. “You’ve got Pete supervising.”
*
There was one more surprise for me on this unlucky Tuesday. Liam-shaped.
He rang the bell as I looked through the files, enjoying the peace and quiet. The office looked untouched, despite the malestrom the firm had been through in the past ten days.
“Roz, it’s me!” he called through the static hiss of the intercom. “I saw you go in when I drove past. Can I come up?”
I’m only human. I buzzed him in.
Liam was in his uniform today. Same charm and designer stubble. I eyed the green shirt and mentally undid the buttons. He took both my hands in his, and I enjoyed the sensation of his thumbs circling my wrists. “Are you OK?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Latika told me what happened. I’m sorry you had such a horrible experience.”
Which horror was he talking about? I had quite a few to choose from, now. I settled for a reassuring smile. “Well, I survived.”
“I was on the other side of the field, so I only saw part of Gia’s display. Did it affect you in any way?”
I opened my mouth to respond - then stared at my desk, over his shoulder. I had placed Em’s stone on top of the survey maps, and it was now juddering, making everything around it vibrate.
Liam followed my stare and frowned. “Is that normal?”
I reached past him to snatch up the stone. It felt warm to touch. “Normal doesn’t have a chance around here. But if you mean usual, then yeah. Shaking rocks are our speciality.”
He frowned a little, then.
“So, about Saturday...?”
I rubbed my thumb over the painted design. It stirred under my touch.
“Can we talk about this off the clock?” I asked him. “I’ve got to deliver some documents, and you look like you’re about to go on shift. I promise I’m OK, but I know Gia’s a shock for most people.” Underneath the babble, my mind was racing. The stone was reacting to Liam. It could just be him, being an outsider to the firm, or he could be dangerous. Todd’s warning rose in my mind. “How did your Liam get past the gate, with its guards, spells and tickets? Who invited him?”
Liam ran his hands up and down my arms before stepping backwards. “Sure, later,” he agreed. “I’m off duty again at 9 pm - can I call you then?”
I smiled, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “Sure. Um, that reminds me, I’m letting people know there are community therapists, if they are scared by Gia turning up on Saturday. That gang did some pretty horrible things in the past. Can you tell me who invited you along? I don’t want to miss anyone out.” I paused a beat. “I’m happy to refer you, too.”
Liam chuckled. “No need, I’m good. I got the invite from Latika. She mentioned you were going and asked me to come.” He leaned towards me, those same notes of woodsmoke and frankincense on his skin. I’d know his scent anywhere. “Between you and me, I think she’s trying to matchmake us.”
I echoed his chuckle and watched as he winked and turned back towards the door. I waited, with the stone clutched to my chest, as his footsteps receded and the door banged.
Then I fumbled in my bag for my normal phone and scrolled through the messages, my tongue poking out between my lips.
<U won’t regret it>
<Liam will be there>
Latika’s Saturday texts, time-stamped and unyielding as stone.
One of them was lying to me.