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‘How do you intend to do this, Ge
‘Can you see what looks like thick silly-string all over her?’ I asked, lifting a strand. She nodded, which was a small relief; not everyone saw the magic the same way. ‘Then it’s probably easier if you just watch.’
I touched the edge of the circle with my finger and activated it with my magic. It sprang easily up into a clear dome above us, luckily with no nasty surprises. The knot in my stomach eased slightly. I focusedon the silly-string, then plunged my hands into the spell and calledthe magic.
Ten minutes later I wrestled the last of the silly-string off the girl and into the bucket. I wiped my hand over my forehead, then wished I hadn’t as the slimy residue of the magic stuck to me like the slug-slime the goblins use in their hair gel.
I gave an involuntary shudder, and anxiously checked the girl. Thankfully, even with the removal of the Preservative/ Stasis spell she hadn’t developed any obvious injuries, or started bleeding from head wounds, or suddenly taken a last gasp at life as the dead raven faeling had. The knot in my stomach eased some more in relief.
Remembering Ricou’s small spell tattoos on his i
The beautiful blue-eyed, blonde fifteen-year-old was gone, and in her place was a green-eyed, green-haired, green-ski
‘Oh,’ Juliet gasped softly, as she placed her stethoscope over the female’s heart, ‘she’s a leprechaun faeling, isn’t she? I’ve never seen one before.’
I hadn’t either, but I had once seen a full-blood leprechaun: Juliet was right. I sat back on my heels as she checked the leprechaun faeling over, hoping that whatever had killed her had been quick and painless, and wondering who she was.
‘Her name’s Aoife,’ Ricou said, startling me.
I looked up to see him standing outside the circle. I hadn’t noticed him arrive, but the rest of the WPCs had, and they weren’t bothering to hide their stares. He was still in his Joh
‘Her father is a full-blood leprechaun,’ he continued, then turned to Hugh. ‘He came over from Ireland in the sixties and hitched up with a girl from Dagenham. They split when Aoife was still a kid. Her mum’s passed now, but her dad’s back over there. This will cut him up.’ He paused. ‘Aoife means beauty. She was beautiful too, when she was younger …’ He crushed his hat.
‘Is she anything to do with the Morrígan?’ I asked.
‘Her father’s from Rath Cruachán.’ Ricou frowned. ‘That’s in County Roscommon. Which is where the MacCúailnge, the Old Do
Chapter Thirty-Seven
I leaned on the railing surrounding the mortuary dock and stared out over the Thames. The brisk wind blew my hair back and brought me the ozone scent of the river; rain was on the way. Ricou’s information about Aoife’s likely co
I’d spent my waiting time dredging the Internet via my phone for info about Rath Cruachán.Google hits on the name brought up the Táin Bó Cúailnge—the Cattle Raid of Cooley—apparently fought over the ownership of Do
I turned at the sound of heavy footsteps to find Hugh approaching, carrying two takeaway cups. ‘So any chance you’re going to let me in on your evidence?’ I asked. Then I added, ‘The deaths are to do with the fertility curse, and the latest one does sort of implicate—’
‘If you will give me a chance, Ge
‘Which is where Victoria Harrier was trying to take me.’ I wrapped my hands around the hot cup, sending mental thanks to Sylvia that Victoria Harrier’s plans hadn’t succeeded.
‘Yes, Victoria Harrier does appear to be the lynchpin in all this,’ Hugh said. ‘She’s on the Board of Directors of a TV production company—Adonis Films—which is making a series of historical documentaries at the Tower. That is how she’s gained access, we think. There have also been rumours on the streets about “short-term work contracts”, aimed particularly at faelings, which lead back to Adonis. Who of course deny all knowledge.’
‘And that’s how they’re finding the girls,’ I said.
‘Yes,’ Hugh agreed. ‘Adonis is also the company that make the reality TV show at Morgan Le Fay College—where Victoria Harrier is one of the board of governors. The college appears to be where the Doppelgänger spells originate from.’
‘Wow, so she’s really smack in the middle of it all!’
Hugh nodded. ‘Adonis Films and the college are both subsidiaries of the Merlin Foundation, which is the wizards’ ruling body. Victoria Harrier is a director of the foundation, so we’re looking into it as well.’
‘Yeah, she mentioned the Merlin Foundation; she’s a big fan.’ I took a sip of chocolate. ‘Except— Somehow I don’t see Victoria Harrier as a criminal mastermind. I mean she’s obviously intelligent enough, but why faelings? And what’s it got to do with the curse?’ A possibility hit me. ‘Unless it’s all down to the vamp who’s got his fangs in the Harrier family?’
He drank his tea, a frown creasing his ruddy face. ‘The vamp angle is one we’ll consider along with everything else, Ge
‘Right,’ I said, shivering as a chill wind gusted over the river. ‘But then even if it is a vamp, Victoria Harrier can’t be working on her own, can she? I mean, there’re at least fifteen faelings missing, and if the vamp has got his fangs into her, then the rest of the Harrier family are possible victims too. Are you checking them out?’
‘Of course.’ Hugh gave me a look that plainly said I was trying to teach a troll how to break rocks here. ‘Ana, the daughter-in-law, is a bit of a recluse. She spends most of her time in the fossegrim’s Betweenin Trafalgar Square. It makes it difficult to pin her down. So it’s unclear yet whether she is involved, or by how much. Her husband has been in America for the last six months with his work, and Dr Craig—’