by P M Cole
“We should have gone somewhere else…” said Colin.
“This is exactly where we should be,” I said. “No one would think Corine Arturo would be staying in an inn with a likeness of her on the very entrance.”
Colin raised his eyebrows, nodding in agreement.
“Umm did any of you see—”
A knock came at the door, making everyone look at it then each other.
“Yes?” I said.
“I have some clean sheets for your bed, miss. I was told to bring them for you,” said a woman with a Scottish accent.
Something was happening out of the corner of my eye. I turned and looked at what everyone was observing, the ring on Lucas’s finger glowing brightly.
We all sprung to our feet.
“I… already have sheets thank you.”
“If I don’t deliver them to you, I’ll get in trouble, miss.”
I scanned the room around me. There was metal in the fireplace. That was going to have to do. I pulled the poker through the air, catching it in my hand, while Lucas’s left hand became engulfed in flame. Colin stood to the left while Daniel stood to the right of the door.
I took a deep breath, while looking at Lucas who nodded in reply, then I stepped forward and pulled the door open.
A woman with blonde hair and striking blue eyes, was momentarily startled, then frowned. “So much for being a spy,” she said.
“What?” I said, my hidden hand behind the door having a firm grip on the poker.
“Gloria Coburn. High witch of the Edinburgh coven. And you, young lady, have brought a whole heap of trouble to my city.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Gloria raised her hands. “I’m not here to cause trouble. But I would like to know why you are here.”
She appeared to be non-threatening, but I wasn’t sure what to do so my grip remained on the poker.
“You can lower the iron implement you have behind the door. Like I said, not here to fight… unless I have no choice of course.”
“Let her in,” said Lucas.
She went to step over the threshold. “I would appreciate it, if the two young men do not lunge at me as well.”
Colin and Daniel lowered their hands and Gloria walked forwards, then kept on going on seeing Auto on the window seal. “What on earth is that?” she said. Auto fluttered a wing and chirped.
“That’s Auto, he’s…”
“Alive…” she said fascinated by my mechanical bird. She then looked back at me. “So, the rumours are true. You are one of the seven?”
“Actually, there’s another here as well…” I looked at Daniel.
Gloria looked between the two of us then turned, taking her hat from her head, and sat in one of the two wooden chairs in the room. She looked at the logs in the fire. “Do you all intend to freeze in here?” She snapped her finger and a flame ignited amongst the logs, making some of us jump a little. “I’ll go first. This is what I know. Seven were born with godly powers. Six of which were living in London, protected by the dark lord.”
“Dark lord?” I said.
“God of the underworld, Hades, he goes by a hundred different names. I just knew that was where he had called home, which suited me and my coven fine, I can tell ya! And that was where his little foot soldiers were as well. But then, recently I hear, that a seventh child has come out of the woodwork. Someone who Hades lost a long time ago and now wanted back. Then, the Prime Minister is murdered, and everyone is looking for a young woman called Corine Arturo, who I hear through the magical underground also has godly powers. There was some kind of battle at the Factory in London, and just yesterday another incident south of London. And then a few hours ago, I feel it… magic… a powerful presence nearby. I did a spell and it brought me to this inn. So… how’d I do?”
Lucas smiled. “That pretty much sums everything up.”
She looked at Daniel. “So, which of the six are you?” He went to reply. “No… let me guess… Apollo?”
Daniel raised his eyebrows. “How do you know?”
“I have a knack for these things.”
Colin puffed out his chest. “And I’m—”
“You’re a casual—” Colin frowned. She looked at the rest of us. "— So, when are all of you leaving?”
“We can’t leave. We are here to locate something,” said Lucas.
“Locate what?”
We all looked at each other, wondering what we should say. She rolled her eyes. “I already know everything; you might as well tell me.”
“The council of the gods,” I said, the words coming out more quietly than I would had wanted.
She scoffed. “Ha… no, really why are you all here?” She looked at our serious expressions. “Oh… you really think that is here? It’s a myth! And even if it were not. If it were in Edinburgh, do you not think I would be aware of it?”
“My employer… err…. former employer, Mr Gladwell… was Chronus.”
She went to scoff again but stopped herself. “You worked for the god of time?”
I nodded. “And he gave me a map, which pointed to this city for the location of the council.”
She looked confused. “Show me this map.”
I looked at Lucas, he nodded. I reached into the lining of my dress and pulled out the folded piece of paper, opened it, and went to hand it to her, but stopped. The lines were different. “What?” I said, holding it closer to me. “But this cannot be…”
Lucas and the others stepped closer. I held it out to them.
“That ain’t right,” said Colin.
The line that had gone from London to Edinburgh had gone, replaced with a smaller line from Edinburgh to further north.
“Ye gods. Show me!” said Gloria growing frustrated.
I passed it to her. She pulled a set of spectacles from a small purse and placed them on her nose. “Unfortunately, magic cannot cure long sightedness.” She then inspected the map. “Hmm… that’s not really much of a map is it? But… it would appear to be pointing to a place in the highlands, and if memory serves me correctly, to a stone circle on the Isle of Lewis, not a place you visit by choice. The circles contain powerful magic, but I’ve not heard anything about the council being associated with that place specifically.”
“Why would the map bring us here first?” said Daniel.
None of us had an answer.
Gloria got to her feet, handing the map back to me. “That’s settled then! I take it you’ll be leaving in the morning?” She walked to the door.
I looked at Lucas.
“It would appear to be the case, yes,” he said.
I shook my head. “But why would the map show us this city, why not show us this Isle first?”
“Well, I’ll leave you to your consultations!” She pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway.
An idea came to me. “Where was Dax’s home when—”
The footsteps that were heading to the staircase outside stopped. Then increased in volume until the blonde headed woman was once again at our doorway. “Dax? Dax Kaylock?” she said to whoever would give her an answer.
“Yes. I found him in the southwest corner of Scotland in a fishing village,” Lucas said, answering both questions. “Did you know him?”
“Did?”
Lucas looked at her just as we all realised the same thing, and his demeanour softened. “He’s passed.”
Gloria’s face tightened and she moved back into the room and sat back in the same chair. “He and my father were friends when I was young. He helped my father out on a few occasions when we did not have two halfpennies to rub together. The impression I had of him was he was a good man. How did he die?”
“Fighting Hades' forces south of London.”
A wave of resolute stillness took over her. After a moment she looked at me. “Why do you want to find this council?”
“We think they might help us stop Hades…” I neglected to mention Mr Gladwell’s excursion to them previously.
She nodded to herself as if she was having a silent conversation, then stood, then snapped her fingers again. The fire promptly went out. She nodded to the various sacks around the room. “Collect your things, you’re staying with me.”
*****
As we approached the Baroque-revival style building which sat at the top of a hill, surrounded by others of similar ilk, I pondered how the map could have changed, or more importantly, why it did. Gloria opened an iron gate and we walked towards a lobby bordered by pillars on both sides and a tiled checked floor.
An elderly man in a servant's outfit whose face was mostly eyebrows, walked forward and took Gloria’s coat.
She looked back at us. “Give your food to Jared, he will take it to the kitchen and Mrs Thomson will cook us up a feast!”
After doing so, we moved through the hallway and double doors to a large high-ceilinged room, with plush red and green chairs, drapes that hung from the ceiling, and marble statues on plinths.
Two women, one scantily clad and younger than the other, were seated on a long red leather sofa. The men around me immediately tried to avert their eyes.
“This is Katerina and Melanie Coburn, my sisters.”
“You come bearing gifts, sister,” said the younger of the women, Melanie.
She reclined letting her long rich red hair fall onto her shoulders then looked hungrily at Daniel and Colin, while Katerina who appeared to be older of the three sisters frowned at us.
“This is not an evening for fun and games Mel. I have some sad news. Mr Kaylock, father's friend from our youth, has passed. He was also a friend to these people here.”
“Dax?” said Katerina.
“Yes.”
Melanie looked at Daniel then I. “I’m sensing a lot of magic in you two, but I don’t think you are—” She sprung to her feet then looked at Gloria. “These are the children of Hades! Why did you bring them here!”
“What part did you not hear of Dax being killed?”
“Hades killed him?”
“Him or those that work for him,” I said.
There was a shuffling and a portly woman with her hair in a net appeared from the shadows in the far side of the room, she then continued her slow passage across the stone floor and rugs until she was feet from Gloria. “Lady Gloria, how many shall be eating with us tonight?”
The middle sister glanced in our direction, then back to her cook. “Oh, I don’t know, just make a lot of everything.”
The cook nodded and moved away.
Melanie walked closer then examined me from head to toe. “Hmm… I do not sense you are evil, confused maybe but not evil.” She then walked to Daniel. He stiffened his back as she neared. “Hmm… you too are confused.” She turned away. “So, I’m still waiting to hear why they are here, Gloria. We allow you to make decisions for the coven because you usually make the right ones, but I’m not seeing why bringing these two and their lackeys is good for us. Do we really want to get on the wrong side of Hades?”
I was starting to get irritated, but Lucas beat me to venting my frustration. “With the greatest respect to your sisters, Miss Coburn,” he said to Gloria. “If we are not wanted, we are happy to—”
The younger sister slowly turned to face him. “I never said you were not wanted, I merely enquired what benefit there is for our coven in helping you?”
“Hades not killing all of you?” I said. I noticed the quieter of the sisters raised her eyebrows and nodded, while Melanie tutted and went to turn away when Auto chirped from within my coat. She looked back at me.
“What was that noise?”
I sighed as he made another noise, then pulled the mechanical bird out. “Ye gods!” she said, smiling, then ran forward to examine my small friend.
“She made… it,” said Gloria.
Melanie looked at me as if seeing me in a new light. “Perhaps you do have things to offer us.”
“Is it house trained?” said Katerina.
Auto chirped something which made me smile.
Shortly after, dinner was served in an equally large dining room, and I set about recounting my story, with Lucas and Colin chiming in where appropriate. All of us left out my true connection to the god of the underworld.
“How peculiar that your map should change as it did,” said Katerina, mirroring my own thoughts. “Do you have it on you?”
“I do…”
“Let me see.”
I looked at Lucas, he nodded. As I took it from my dress pocket her eyes grew wide.
Gloria noticed her sisters concern. “What is it?”
“This parchment is enchanted…”
“Yes, it’s magical in some way. My blood drew the lines and—”
She shook her head. “No, I do not mean merely its purpose, I mean it exists between realms. It is almost like a portal to somewhere else.” She held the piece of paper up close to her eyes. “Hmmm…”
“What?” said Lucas.
“This was part of a larger piece. Which it is still connected to.” She looked at me. “Who did you say this belonged to?”
“Umm… my employer…”
Her eyes widened. “Chronus?”
I nodded.
“Then that is why it changed. The god of time is still with you, young lady, if only through this remarkable piece of old parchment.”
My heart leapt.
She handed it back. “I suggest you keep it safe.”
“How were you able to tell that?” said Lucas. His eyes had not left Katerina for most of the dinner.
She smiled. “I… have always been able to see magic’s connection to earthly objects.”
I looked at Melanie. “And you?”
She rolled her eyes. “I can see magic in people—”
“And I, places,” said Gloria. “We were born like it.”
Katerina sighed. “Born to be witches.”
I noticed Melanie smiling at Colin. His awkward smile in reply made me accidentally stamp on his foot under the table. He winced and briefly looked at me.
“Tomorrow we leave for the highlands,” said Lucas, looking between the two older sisters. “Do you have any advice for such a journey?”
Gloria looked at Katerina, who then glanced at Melanie. They all appeared to be in agreement with some unspoken plan.
“We’re coming with you,” said Gloria.
As a smile grew across Lucas’s face and irritatingly Colin’s, a spark of an idea of why the map had changed formed in my mind.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
We walked past the inn. I looked up at the window where I was meant to stay for a week. We left the previous evening without even attempting to get a refund, not wanting to draw any attention.
Dawn had not yet broken and the frost-covered mud track of the day before was now covered in a fresh layer of snow.
Melanie walked between Daniel and Colin, with the latter carrying a small suitcase of hers, while Lucas walked with Katerina and I with Gloria. We made our way up the slight incline of a hill towards the woods where hopefully the dirigible was still located. Lucas and Gloria both held oil lamps to light our way. Making sure there were no farmers around us, I set Auto free.
“Go make sure the dirigible is still there.” He chirped and fluttered off into the gloom.
“Melanie will not let you hear the end of it until you have made her one similar!” said Gloria. The woman who had made a similar request flashed in my mind. The head of the Edinburgh coven must have seen my sadness, and to my surprise wrapped her arm around me, pulling me closer. “I know you have lost a great deal recently, but you’re a strong wee girl.”
“Wee?”
She laughed. “Small!”
I grumbled something and she laughed again, pulling me tighter, to which I laughed too.
She nodded towards Lucas. “Looks like your friend there has taken a liking to my older sis, and she him, which doesn’t happen very often.” I nodded although I was more taken by the two other men wai
ting on Melanie’s every word as she retold a story of how the Coven defeated a demon just a few weeks earlier. “Och, don’t mind Mel. She just likes the attention. Your lad is safe.”
I turned away. “Not my anything.”
Gloria smiled.
“How long have you been the head witch?” I asked.
“Ever since our ma passed. So, going on fourteen years now.”
“Umm… I think Mr Gladwell wanted us to come to this city to find you and your sisters…” It was my best working theory as to why the map had changed, but I had no idea why the sisters were so important. Must be powerful magic users I presumed.
“Oh, well then, the god of time has good taste in witches!”
Auto emerged from the dark sky and chirped that all was as it should be, and I placed him back inside my coat. We marched through the woods and I was glad to see ‘Chronus’ as we had left it, although with a heavy dusting of snow.
“Oh my,” said Katerina.
“Well, ain’t that a sight!” said Gloria, while Melanie ran forward, leaving Daniel and Colin behind, and disappeared inside the craft.
We quickly removed the branches and I sparked the furnace back to life. It wasn’t too long before we had a good heat warming the boiler. The cabin was now a bit cramped, but when the ropes were untied outside, we gently lifted off, and floated upwards through the trees.
“We’re flying!” said Melanie, eagerly looking out of the window.
“Don’t you just use a broom?” said Colin smirking, Daniel had to stifle a chuckle while Melanie frowned then regained her excitement for the flight.
We burst free of the treetops and were able to see the sun beginning to rise over the Firth of Forth some miles to the northeast. For a moment, the three sisters were awestruck by the orange disk glittering on the distant waves of the bay.
“Ooh, let us fly over our home!” said Melanie. She leaned forward, placing her hand on my shoulder. “Please?” She fluttered her eyelashes, although what affect she thought that would have on me I wasn’t sure. Still a slight detour wasn’t going to hurt. I steered us starboard, as the inn slid by just yards beneath us. The city was beginning to wake as we sailed silently across the slate roofs, sandstone walls and snow-covered streets until the palatial home of the Edinburgh coven made itself known from the early morning mist.