Intriguing. I put a lot of credence into superstitions, especially some of the more obscure ones. ‘Did they work?’

I could almost hear his shrug. ‘Damned if I know.’

‘But you don’t think this one is decorative?’

‘Not the way you’ve described it now.’

I waited for Iqbal to continue but there was silence on the other end of the phone. ‘Iqqy?’

‘Look, I might be wrong,’ he said finally. ‘But this is what some of my research uncovered.’

Instantly wary, my fingers curled tighter round the phone. ‘Go on.’

‘It draws death.’

I quashed down my sudden nausea. ‘Draws death?’

Gareth looked even more interested. I gave him a tight smile and walked away, turning my back to stop him eavesdropping further. He didn’t need to hear this.

‘Yes. That’s why the different coloured threads you saw keep moving all the time. It’s constantly working. It’s like a well of magic which even a non-witch can use.’

I swallowed. ‘What does drawing death actually mean?’ Somehow I doubted it was akin to Picasso scribbling a picture.

‘I was hoping you would know. I found three separate references to it, none of which were in English so my translation might be a little murky. One was Latin, one French and one Hindi. Each one roughly seems to mean the same thing – drawing death or pulling death in. It could be that Belinda Battenapple doesn’t know what she’s wearing. Or maybe she’s got some kind of suicidal impulse. It’s not even clear from what I’ve read that I’m on the right track – it could be something entirely different and completely innocuous. It might mean nothing, Ivy.’

Or it might mean that she’s dabbling in necromancy. It seemed bizarre to think that she could have been responsible for what happened to Benjamin Alberts. If the murder was down to her, she was still wearing the vial now. Whatever her plans were, they weren’t finished yet.

‘That’s not good,’ I said.

Iqbal registered my concern. ‘Are you in danger?’

I thought of my strange hallucinations. It didn’t appear so. If touching the vial caused them, then they were purely accidental. Except everyone – including Belinda – now knew that I’d been seeing things. If she’d laid a trap around the vial to catch anyone who took too close an interest in it, she might well be on to me.

I nibbled my lip. ‘I don’t know,’ I said eventually. ‘Probably not.’

‘Probably not? I don’t like the sound of that, Ivy. Maybe it’s time you left Winter to sort this out for himself.’

I smiled at the mention of Winter. ‘He’d be lost without me.’ I paused. ‘Besides, he’s promised to make sure I’m safe.’

‘Has he now?’ A faintly teasing note entered Iqbal’s voice. ‘Is he going to wrap his big arms around you?’

With any luck. ‘I should go,’ I said hastily. ‘I’ve borrowed this phone.’ I could hear voices from down by the cabin. If I didn’t get back soon, there would be cameras after me trying to find out what I was up to.