Witch Hunt (Witch Finder 2) Read Online Free PDF

a statement of fact. ‘But there’s Mama too – I cannot fight them if they work together against me. This marriage is vital to them both. For her it’s her fortune, but for him it’s something more – it’s his future, it’s power and influence. And in any case, none of that would matter if Sebastian took their side. I was never able to best him, even as a girl, and he’s only got stronger.’ She shuddered again, suddenly, convulsively. ‘Since his father died – I don’t understand it, Luke. No one should have power like he does. It’s like a hurricane.’
    Luke thought back to the black swirling cloud of hate that he had seen in the warehouse, before Sebastian jumped. Yes. He could see how no one could fight that. The thought of drowning in that darkness . . .
    ‘We must be quick,’ he said stubbornly. ‘And careful. That’s all. And once we have a horse we can be out of London in a few hours.’
    ‘But what about money? Even if we could get this ring off, would we be able to sell it? Wouldn’t they think we’d stolen it? I don’t exactly look like the kind of woman who wears a ruby ring any more.’
    Luke bit his lip. It was true. And worse – it would draw attention to them. Even if they found someone shady enough to give them money for the ring, it wouldn’t be a fair price, and it would more than likely set Sebastian on their trail.
    ‘Can’t you magic some up?’ he asked crossly, hating to ask. But she shook her head. ‘Why not? Not now, I mean, I know you’re tired, but later . . .’
    ‘It’s not that simple,’ she said again. Her face looked pinched and tired. ‘Look, there’s two ways of creating something like money. Either you do it for real – change the real, base nature of the elements – and that’s very difficult magic: alchemy, it’s called. You need to be very strong and very practised and it can go horribly wrong.’
    ‘Wrong?’ Luke echoed. ‘How?’
    ‘Think of Midas,’ Rosa said shortly. ‘Once you start changing things, it’s not always easy to know when to stop, how to stop.’
    ‘And the other way?’
    ‘Illusory magic. You don’t really change boot buttons to sovereigns, you just make the shopkeeper think it’s a sovereign in his hand. But that’s dangerous in its own way too.’
    ‘How?’
    ‘Because the illusion can only hold as long as the spell holds – as long as I concentrate on keeping it up. So I can make you think I have a bacon roll in my hand . . .’
    He blinked, and suddenly there was a bacon roll on her outstretched palm. He reached out for it, but it felt wrong in his grip – thin, insubstantial – and when he sniffed it, it didn’t smell of bacon, but like the memory of bacon – an ersatz nondescript savouriness. It was like food in a dream. As he watched, Rosa exhaled and the roll dissolved into nothing, leaving him grasping at air.
    ‘It’s dangerous because it’s very obvious,’ she said regretfully. ‘If we walk away and the innkeeper finds he’s holding dried leaves instead of banknotes, how long do you think before he comes after us? And how long until the story spreads – back to Sebastian, or back to your kind?’
    Luke nodded, a bitter resignation spreading through his bones. It seemed as though witchcraft should be good for something at least. And yet Rosa, in her own way, was as powerless as him.
    ‘Clemency . . .’ Rosa’s voice broke into his thoughts.
    ‘What?’
    ‘Clemency. My friend, Clemency. She has money. And she might—’
    ‘No.’ Luke cut across her furiously. ‘We can’t trust her!’
    ‘Because she’s a witch? Is that it?’
    ‘No, because . . .’ Because she’s a toff – one of them , was what he’d been about to say. But wasn’t Rosa one of them too?
    ‘Look.’ She grabbed his arm. ‘I let you take me to that place, that pub. You vouched for Phoebe and I trusted you. Won’t you trust my word on Clemency? Luke, she won’t betray us, I promise.’
    He took a