Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
E sme was in her kitchen. She had just shaped the bread and put it on the tray ready to bake, and had taken a lemon and poppy seed loaf cake out of the oven to cool. She saw the shape of the Viking in the garden seconds before the knock at the door. Luke.
Heart leaping and blood fizzing, she opened the door to him.
The man on her doorstep was wearing Luke’s jacket and t-shirt. He had Luke’s face and gentle smile, but every part of Esme was screaming at her that it wasn’t him.
She had already stepped back to let him inside, and the man crowded into the kitchen. He didn’t take his boots off. If Esme had been in any doubt as to whether this was Luke or not, that would have clinched it.
‘What do you want?’
‘To see my girl,’ Lewis said, leaning in for a kiss.
Esme took a deliberate step back. ‘You’re not Luke.’
He frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Stop it,’ Esme said. ‘I’m not fooled. You can’t put his clothes on and expect me not to be able to recognise you. What are you after?’
Belatedly, her words sunk in and Esme realised what a man might be after. Had Lewis thought he could pretend to be Luke and sleep with her? Surely not. She felt a thrill of pure fear in her blood.
‘That’s so sweet,’ Lewis said, dropping his Luke act. ‘I love that you know him so well. You really are smitten with my little brother, aren’t you?’
Esme’s heart was racing. She took another step back and tried to remember where she had left her mobile. Her landline was in the dining room, a retro thing that was fixed to the wall by the doorway. Could she get to it before Lewis caught her? Call Luke?
Lewis was smiling widely. His words didn’t fit his expression. ‘I need your help.’
There was pleading in his tone. And an honesty that didn’t fit his actions or the instinct that was telling her he was a threat. That she was in great danger. Esme had learned to trust those instincts, but she knew she could see clearly, too. She pushed down her fear and made herself look into Lewis’s eyes.
Something slithered away.
Lewis’s smile relaxed. His stance changed and he shrugged easily. ‘Can’t blame a guy for trying. And Luke and I have always shared our toys.’
‘That’s not true,’ Esme said, her voice even. ‘I’d like you to leave now.’
‘Maybe I like it here.’
‘That’s not my concern.’ Esme slipped a hand into her pocket, praying to all the gods and goddesses that her mobile phone would somehow be there. It wasn’t, of course. There was no such thing as divine intervention. She knew better than that.
Her fingers closed around something. Not the welcome smooth rectangle of a mobile phone, but a few items, rough and round. Allspice berries from when she had been making spiced tea. It was a recipe from one of the books that the shop had gifted. It was a brew meant to warm both your heart and hearth, but Lewis didn’t need to know that.
She rolled the dried pods between her fingers and then drew them out with a flourish. ‘Leave, or I will hex you.’
Lewis laughed, but he stopped moving toward her.
‘You don’t want me to do that. I’m not very good yet, and you’ll probably just spend the next twenty-four hours in the bathroom. You’ll be exploding from both ends. But it might be worse. I’m not really sure.’ Esme stretched out her hand, her fist around the pods. ‘Shall we find out?’
‘You’re crazy,’ Lewis said, but there was a shard of uncertainty in his voice.
‘Luke told you I’m the Ward Witch. He believes me.’
Lewis took a step back. ‘I’m going,’ he said. ‘But not because of that,’ he indicated her fist, ‘just because it’s polite.’
He backed out of the kitchen, keeping his eyes on Esme, before ducking out of the door. He didn’t shut the door behind him and Esme listened to his steps on the path and the squeak of the garden gate before running through to use the landline to call Luke. Her hand paused halfway through dialling. Luke was connected to Lewis. He seemed to have been having more clarity, had said he would speak to his brother about leaving. But had he? Maybe he had gone back to the bookshop and instantly fallen back under whatever spell Lewis was weaving. She hung up and dialled a different number.
Esme knew she had to be careful. The islanders seemed to be in some sort of thrall to Lewis. Hammer wasn’t too badly affected, and he had agreed to stay at her house with Winter, sleeping downstairs in case of any trouble. She had told him about Lewis trying to impersonate Luke and he had been briefly angry, but that seemed to have faded. He was happy to stay to protect her from the visitors, though, and that was better than nothing.
Esme wondered how the rest of the islanders were doing. She went to The Rising Moon to see who was around, and grabbed the opportunity to speak to Seren. She had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, but was still rushing around the pub with a fervent energy. The latest set of visitors had just left to cross the causeway back to the mainland. Esme had passed a couple who were bickering on their way back to the car park. Neither of them wanted to leave and they were taking their confusion out on each other. Esme was relieved that the wards were holding, but for how long? They had never been tested like this.
‘Can I help?’ Esme asked, picking up some empty glasses from one of the overflowing tables.
‘Thanks, yes,’ Seren said. ‘I don’t know where Euan’s got to.’
‘I haven’t seen Fiona today either.’ It occurred to Esme that they couldn’t be out swimming together, not without someone to look after Hamish.
Once they had made a decent dent in the dirty crockery and the glass washer was filled and switched on, Esme tried to raise the subject of Lewis.
Seren’s eyes immediately went a little unfocused as she gazed into the middle distance. ‘He’s easy on the eye.’
Esme stared at her for a moment, not saying anything.
It took Seren a second to realise the significance of her words. ‘Oh shit,’ she said. ‘I don’t mean that Luke is… I know they look similar, but I don’t think—’
‘It’s all right,’ Esme said, smiling to show that she wasn’t upset. ‘They are both extremely easy on the eye. You’d have to be blind not to notice.’
‘But there’s something about Lewis,’ Seren said. She trailed off. ‘Sorry. Ignore me.’
‘No. What?’
‘I feel like I’ve known him for a long time. Longer than I have. He just reminds me of someone.’
‘Luke?’ Esme was trying not to sound sarcastic.
Seren laughed nervously. ‘No. Yeah. I mean, you would think? But not Luke. Someone else, but when I try to think who, I get sort of…’ She trailed off.
Esme waited for her to continue, but she picked up a stack of clean plates and began putting them away.
‘Have you felt differently? Since Lewis has been here?’
Seren straightened up. ‘Don’t be silly. I have a bit of a crush, but it’s nothing serious.’
Esme forced a laugh. ‘You’re not the only one.’
‘What do you mean?’ Seren wasn’t smiling.
‘Just that he’s very popular with the visitors.’
‘No,’ Seren said. ‘He’s not interested in them. What has he said?’
‘Nothing,’ Esme said quickly. ‘Nothing.’
Seren’s knuckles were white as she gripped the edge of the steel countertop. ‘He’s ours. Not theirs.’
‘Right,’ Esme took a step back. ‘I’m knackered. Think I’ll head home.’
‘Straight home? Or are you going to see Lewis?’
‘Straight home.’
Seren stared at her for another moment. ‘You’re still with Luke, right?’
‘Right.’
‘You still like Luke? Happy with him?’
‘I love Luke,’ Esme said. ‘Don’t have eyes for anyone else.’
Seren seemed to relax. ‘Thanks for your help. See you tomorrow.’
Hammer had gone over to Strand House as soon as Esme had called him. It had been far too busy on the island for his liking, with people everywhere he went with their loud chatter and curious glances, but at least he had his own private house to escape to. He knew it had been non-stop customers at the bed-and-breakfast, and he didn’t know how Esme had been coping. She hadn’t sounded fed up or frustrated on the phone, though. She had sounded afraid.
Winter had been reluctant to leave the boathouse, but Hammer had managed to coax him along the shore and up the path. That evening, he kept Esme company in the living room.
‘They mostly spend the day with Lewis,’ she said, ‘just coming back to sleep. It could be worse.’
At that moment, there was a crash from the dining room.
A table being turned over, if Hammer had to guess. ‘Stay here,’ he said.
In the dining room, one table was on its side and a woman was standing behind it screaming at a man who was in the middle of the floor. He had a knife and, for a moment, Hammer thought it was a domestic violence situation. Then the man held the knife to his own throat.
Hammer crossed the room in two strides. He got hold of the arm with the knife and twisted his wrist until he dropped it. Then he got him in an easy lock-hold. He kicked the knife away and held onto his struggling form. The man was crying and speaking at the same time, it was hard to make out what he was saying.
‘He’s gone mental,’ the woman was screaming. It wasn’t helping.
‘That’s not helpful,’ Esme said and Hammer realised that she had joined the party. She was looking at the woman, speaking calmly. ‘You need to stop.’
The woman stared back with wild eyes, but she stopped screaming.
As soon as she did, Hammer could hear the man more clearly. ‘Why doesn’t he love me?’
‘Who?’ Esme asked, but Hammer already knew. Lewis. He felt a pang. Lewis didn’t love him, either. He was confused by the thought and the accompanying pain. For a moment, he thought he might let go of the man and go and see Lewis. Just to see him. To be close to him.
Then he saw Esme’s stricken expression and the exhaustion around her eyes and he tightened his grip on the deranged man. He couldn’t leave Esme alone with these nutters.
Tobias didn’t know how long he had been in the forest. Long enough that the welcome shade had become a damp cave and the dense foliage felt like a prison. He was lost again. There had been something important, he knew that much, but he couldn’t remember what it was. And now there was a shuffling sound. Something was approaching through the undergrowth. For the first time in a very long time, Tobias felt something like fear.