It receded. But something wasn’t right. “You don’t seem pleased.”

“I’m sorry, Toby,” Shoana said, raising her bottom lip. “I’m still upset about what happened.”

“What happened?” He sensed his mind spluttering, like starting an outboard motor that didn’t have enough fuel.

“Putting my friend in a box. You were going to kill her.”

“That wasn’t me. It was the high priestess. I didn’t know she was going to do that.” He moved closer towards her. 

You’ll need to deal with this. 

“I think you did.”

Shoana was a brave girl to speak to him like this. But he needed to pacify her, because he needed information.

“I was drugged as well. I don’t remember much. I even considered going to the police when I heard about it.”

“I don’t believe that.”

Still not responding the way he’d hoped. She needed to change her attitude. She’d rather not know what he was thinking.

“I’m sorry you feel that way. Maybe it’s best I leave.”

“Yes . . . I’m sorry, Toby. My emotions are all over the place.”

“I don’t want to hurt your feelings. You have my number.” He patted his pocket, pretending to look for his phone. “I need to contact someone. It’s where I’m going to stay but looks like my phone is missing. Could I make a call on yours?”

She was hesitant. “Sure.” She walked over to a table and picked up her phone. 

Toby watched as Shoana entered her password. He followed her taps—there was no pattern, all sixes. Wiccan connection of course and a number he would use also. That’s all he needed to know. 

He walked over and placed his arms around her neck. She struggled, so he tightened his grip as he dragged her into the bedroom, his hand over her mouth to muffle her screams. Her feet made railway lines along the carpet. She wasn’t struggling, wasn’t kicking. Was she already unconscious? 

A flash of darkness. 

Am I dead?

Light flooded Toby’s mind, followed by ringing in his ears. He opened his eyes and saw an object hanging above his head. Rope, with a naked light bulb attached. He was staring up at the ceiling. He turned his head and saw a metal object on the floor next to him. A solid silver candle holder. She must have hit him. He rubbed the side of his face. It was sore.

How long was I unconscious? 

He needed to get out of here.

He sat up and waited for the dizziness to pass, then used the side of the bed to lift himself up. Still slightly dizzy, he made his way out of the bedroom. Alert. Her phone was on the table, so he grabbed it. Silly girl, leaving it behind. But panic makes people do silly things. He made his way down the stairs to the open front door.

Screams sounded, but they were some distance away so he stepped out of the building. Shoana was running down the street, waving her arms. It was a quiet street, but it wouldn’t be long before someone came to her aid. He manoeuvred himself over to his car, thankful she’d gone the opposite direction.

He slid into his car, threw the phone on the passenger seat, started the car, and drove off. 

In the rear vision mirror he saw a man running over towards the hysterical girl. Poor thing. But he was angry. She’d hit him. How dare she hit him. The phone caught his attention. He smiled. He needed to use it before it was cut off.

A street sign appeared. He turned into the street and parked. They’d be looking for his old car, not this borrowed one, but it wouldn’t be long before they started looking for this vehicle. Cars trailing boats do catch the attention of people. But then maybe his gods didn’t allow people to see and used their magic to put a supernatural covering over things.

He asked the gods why he’d failed to end the girl’s life. He waited. Silence greeted him.

He needed to make a call.

41 – Here comes the wizard

RUBY AND ZOE SAT ON THE PORCH overlooking the river. T2 was in the kitchen making them sandwiches. They’d volunteered to help, including T1, but had been ushered away. T1 had wandered off and now stood guard down on a cute little jetty which they were told was actually a pontoon—something that floated up and down with the tide. Ruby could see the smoke from his cigarette twirling up into the cloudless blue sky. 

“Probably why he’s so skinny.” Ruby pointed towards T1.

Zoe chuckled. “Yes, they say it suppresses the appetite.”

They’d just done a drill, where they’d been introduced to the bunker—a secret, soundproof room, furnished with a few chairs and an intercom system interlinked with the CCTV cameras installed around the house. The bunker had an emergency contact button similar to the ones scattered through the public transport system. Any problems, they were to get in the bunker and wait for the cavalry to arrive. 

Ruby’s phone vibrated and lit up as though it was about to ring, but no ring tone came. That had been happening a lot lately. One of her apps must be playing up. Maybe she needed a technical wizard to check it out. But the phone activity triggered a thought. 

“I might give Shoana a ring so she doesn’t worry about us.”

“Good idea. As long as you don’t tell her where we are.” Zoe snickered. “Geez, I feel bad that we’re not at work.”

“Funny, Zoe. Have some sympathy for Shoana.”

Ruby looked at her phone as it connected and rang. No answer. She put the phone back on the table and looked towards T1. He stood staring into the water. She hoped he didn’t fall in, because she’d heard there were lots of bull sharks in the river. Not that there was much on him to feed the sharks. 

Silly thought, Ruby.

The phone lit up again. She waited for the ring tone. Nothing. It dimmed. She shuddered. A fearful thought popped into her head. 

Was someone searching for her?

<°)))><

Toby had scrolled through the apps on Shoana’s phone. He’d watched her play on it several times, and one time he’d seen it showing heads in thought bubbles. She told him it was a tracking app that showed her where her friends were. He found the app.

The phone rang as he waited for the app to load. Ruby. The pulse in his neck throbbed. His breathing increased. 

Slow down.

He ignored the incoming call, and the phone returned to the app screen.

A map. The lovely face of the redhead displayed in a bubble. Her friend popped up in a bubble beside her. The bubble told him her name was Zoe. The gods had blessed him. He could use his boat to get there—they weren’t near where the redhead lived. The police must have taken the girl to a secret location to protect her from the mad witch. Well, she was safe from the mad witch but not her wicked wizard. 

Here comes the wizard.

<°)))><