Page 74

The ghost nods. “Aye. The stone is obsidian. It is said to be a dark mirror that wards off possession. Put it on, please.”

Levi lifts it and immediately exclaims, “It’s hot. Feel it, Blue.”

I touch it and frown. “No, it isn’t.”

Branok grunts. “That means it will work with Levi. The amulet chooses the recipient.”

I put out my hand and touch it again. The golden chain and the stone remain cool on my fingers. Power thrums through the necklace, but it doesn’t feel bad—just… powerful.

I slide it over Levi’s head. The stone comes to rest between his pecs and I blink when the obsidian suddenly sparkles with amazing fire, like a thousand flames coming to light. A second later it becomes, once again, a smooth black stone.

“Wow,” Levi says softly.

“What?” I ask.

“It feels nice.” He touches the rose. “Actually, I feel better already.”

“How?”

He hesitates. “It’s hard to explain. When I woke up this morning there was still a hollow inside me where something had been. It was cold there too, like whatever the entity is, it had reached inside me and frozen whatever it touched.” He shakes his head. “It’s so silly, but now I feel warm all the way through, and the emptiness has gone.”

“It is not silly at all,” Branok says. “’Tis just the amulet doing its job.”

“Where did you get it from?” I ask him and he waves a careless hand.

“I found it.”

I narrow my eyes. “Hmm.”

Levi doesn’t share my concern. He smiles widely at Branok. “Thank you.” The ghost nods, and Levi hesitates before saying, “I was going to read more of Xander’s diary, but I wondered if you would like to read it first.”

I look up in surprise. It hadn’t even occurred to me.

Branok looks torn for a second and then shakes his head. “Nay. I would love to read his words, but I feel that I would get too lost in them. Time is short and it is perhaps best that an outsider searches the diary first. You may see something that I would not, Levi. If you have no luck with it, mayhap I will take a look then.”

My husband nods. “As you wish.” He reaches for the kettle. “I’ll make a cup of tea and start breakfast. Then we can get a plan of action together.”

I sit down at the breakfast bar, idly scanning the newspaper’s front page. It’s today’s date. I read the headline and stiffen.

Witch Museum Robbery. Valuable Artefact Stolen.

I skim the first paragraph with both horror and a larger amount of amusement.

It appears that a twelfth century amulet was stolen from the witch museum in Boscastle last night. The police are conducting enquiries, but there were no witnesses to the crime, which was conducted between three and four a.m. The security cameras were not functioning during that hour. Could there be a witch in the witch museum?

“What the fuck?” I breathe, gazing over at Branok. He looks supremely unconcerned.

“What is it?” Levi asks.

I hesitate. Am I bothered that a ghost stole an extremely valuable necklace from a museum that is probably one of a kind? I glance at my husband who’s wearing said jewellery contraband and looking immeasurably better for it. Nah, I couldn’t give a shit where it came from.

“Blue?” Levi says again.

“It’s nothing,” I say quickly. “I just don’t think I want to visit Boscastle anymore.”

He frowns. “Really? I thought we were going to visit the witch museum.”

“No!” Branok and I shout in unison, and Levi blinks.