The Twelve Dragons of Albion

by Mark Hayden

  It was her turn to smile. ‘No.’

  ‘Then leave him to do what he does best. The other stuff hasn’t gone away, Hannah, nor will it. Let Vicky and I track down the Dragon and make it very clear to the Occult Council that the Welsh Petition needs to be at the top of their agenda.’

  ‘Perhaps. First, tell me what really happened under the grove.’

  I told her, and I told her why I’d put out a different version straight after the event. She went pale when she realised just how deep Iestyn had got with the Brotherhood, and paler still when I got to the magickal bullets.

  ‘It’s a good job you can think on your feet,’ she said at the end. ‘Get more coffee and have a cigarette while I think this over.’

  I met Maxine on the roof, round the side, catching a few rays, and I told her about Mr Mole. She squeezed my arm and changed the subject. Maxine Lambert is growing on me very quickly.

  ‘You do realise that Annelise is scared of you?’

  ‘Me? Why?’

  ‘Because she can’t get her claws into you, for one thing, and you’re Vicky’s friend for another.’

  ‘If being faithful to my girlfriend and my partner makes me scary, she must have a very limited range of interpersonal skills. What did she do with all the women at Salomon’s House?’

  ‘Why do you think she came here? Anyway, she needs to see you about Keira. It’s important. Try to be nice, and don’t say you’re always nice, because you’re not.’

  ‘Keira? Has she escaped?’

  ‘No. The Undercroft isn’t hermetically sealed, but no one’s escaped in five hundred years. They used to keep magickal prisoners in Merlyn’s Tower, you know, before the Dissolution.’

  ‘No, I didn’t know. Keira can wait. One mad bitch at a time, thank you. I’d better get back to the Boss and learn my fate.’

  Rick was sitting with Hannah when I got back. I noticed that she’d put him in the third chair, leaving the one opposite her for me to sit in. These things do matter. He looked tired and drawn, white flakes of skin coming off his black scalp, but he still looked better than I felt.

  Hannah passed me a note in her handwriting: Vicky’s going to surrender the spare bullet to Maxine tonight. If you procure or use another one without my permission, you’re finished. Otherwise, well done. H.

  And if I didn’t use one, I might be dead. I tapped the paper against my fingers as Hannah waited patiently and Rick looked confused. ‘No problem, ma’am. You have my word.’

  ‘Good. That’s what I hoped you’d say. Now, sit down and pour the coffee.’

  They discussed Gwyddno’s appearance this morning at the Cloister court, and I kept quiet, even though both the Court and Blackfriars Undercroft are still a complete mystery to me.

  When they’d finished, Hannah put her cup carefully on the saucer. Rick and I sat up straight. ‘I’ve been thinking,’ she said. ‘Conrad’s a major, in RAF terms, and we should look at his strengths. For a trial period, I’m going to designate him Watch Captain at Large, reporting directly to me. He can lead on situations where the local Captain might need help. If it works, I’ll ask the Vicar of London Stone to make it permanent.’

  That was a shock. A nice one for me; not so nice for Rick. He pursed his lips, looked at Hannah, then looked at me. He blinked, and I think he remembered then what I’d said about Iestyn being in command of the Nest operation, and that I’d done the death knock yesterday morning. He looked back at Hannah and jerked his head in a nod.

  ‘Good,’ said Hannah. ‘What’s your plan to find the Dragon, Conrad?’

  ‘Find Adaryn.’ I turned to Rick. ‘It would really help if you give me covering fire, Rick.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Go back to Newport straight away and tell everyone you’ve taken over the search. Be visible. Ask questions. Tell them that Vicky and I have been seconded to Aldermaston to make plans.’

  ‘Aldermaston? The nuclear bomb place?’

  ‘That’s the one.’

  ‘There’s something else you can tell them,’ added Hannah. ‘Iestyn Pryce is getting a posthumous Military Cross.’

  ‘Right. That message won’t endear the Watch to the Druid community.’

  ‘But it lets them know where we’re coming from.’

  ‘I presume it’s still down to me to find Iestyn’s replacement?’

  ‘Eventually. Let’s find the Dragon first.’

  On the way out, Rick said, ‘Do I have to call you sir now?’

  ‘I’m not your commanding officer, Rick. We both work for Hannah. She needs us both, and we need each other. This isn’t office politics – it’s war, or something like it.’

  He stuck out his hand. I was impressed. ‘Thanks for seeing the Pryces, Conrad. That should have been my call, and I know that now.’ Tennille appeared up the stairs. ‘It never used to be like this, you know.’

  I smiled at him, but I didn’t get to reply, because Tennille held up my expenses form.

  ‘Mr Clarke. A word, if you please.’

  We didn’t leave London until Tuesday afternoon. I had to collect my upgraded yew rod from Chris Kelly, and we wanted to give Rick some time to start distracting the Druids. Chris said that he’d done the work on my yew branch himself, and that it was only a quick fix. He’d also told me that he’d never seen a dowsing rod quite like it, and that I should invest in getting it fully worked up. Vicky came into the City and picked me up in the Mercedes.

  I ate my lunch and let her concentrate on the unfamiliar traffic in a very unfamiliar vehicle. She didn’t relax until we got to the Hammersmith Flyover.

  ‘Seriously. I cannot keep this car in London,’ she said.

  ‘Just relax and enjoy the drive.’

  ‘I’m enjoying it, right enough, I just can’t afford it. Do you know how much the insurance is on this thing? To keep it, I’d have to pay two grand. Two grand, man, and don’t get me started on fuel consumption – I nearly fainted this morning when I had to fill the tank. Howay, Conrad, why don’t you keep it?’

  I was tempted. Surwen had treated herself to a top spec Mercedes GLX 4x4, and by the rules of plunder, it was now ours. The passenger seat was much more comfortable than the Volvo, and it was faster, quieter, newer and much better equipped. It was also incredibly vulgar: no Clarke, not even my upwardly mobile sister would ever own one of these things.

  ‘I’ll tell you what, Vicky, if we find this blasted Dragon, and you still don’t want the car, we’ll put it up for auction in Chipping Norton. There’s plenty of incomers who’ll snap it up.’

  ‘Where’s Chipping Norton? Never mind. If you know somewhere to flog it, then fine. Anyway, I believe that congratulations are in order, Watch Captain at Large.’

  ‘Thank you. Shame there’s no promotion to go with it.’

  She looked over to me. ‘It sends a few messages, that’s for certain. I’m not sure you’re gonna win any popularity contests outside the top floor, but Hannah clearly trusts you.’

  ‘Us, Vicky. I couldn’t do this without you, and Hannah knows that. In fact, it’s you that should be worried about the popularity contests. You can get reassigned after Wales, if you want, and I can take some of the less demanding assignments.’

  ‘Nah. I’ll stick with me Uncle Conrad for now. So, go on then, tell us again about Immy.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Go on, Uncle C. Tell us about your first girlfriend again. I’ll let you smoke in the car if you do.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Howay man. All you’ve told us is that she’s a year younger than you, that she went to a girls’ school in Gloucester and that she grew up in a rough part of Cardiff.’

  ‘Which was enough to find her bolt-hole in Llandeilo.’ I went to turn on the radio as a distraction, but Vicky slapped my hand.

  ‘No Classic FM while I’m driving. What makes you think she’ll be sitting at home waiting for us?’

  ‘One day soon, we’ll be up against a Mage who truly understands the mundane worl
d and gives a false name to the Land Registry, and when that day comes, we’ll be in trouble. Adaryn will be there because she’s spent half a million quid refurbishing it, and because Rick James is running interference miles away in Newport telling everyone confidentially that we’re in Aldermaston.’

  I had another reason for thinking that Adaryn would be there waiting. If I remembered her, I was fairly sure she’d remember me, and from the way that Surwen had gone behind her back to create Mr Mole, I reckoned that Adaryn Owain / Immy Jones would be looking for a way out of the Brotherhood, and that she’d see me as that way out. However, if I’d said all that to Vicky, she’d have accused me of having an ego the size of a Dragon’s nest, so I kept it to myself. We’ll see.

  Vicky wasn’t finished, though. ‘Are you going to tell Mina about Immy?’

  ‘No. Yes. Probably. You’re not going to wear me down, you know.’

  She concentrated on joining the motorway, and didn’t speak until we passed a sign saying Cardiff 130 miles. ‘I’m just trying to take your mind off things, Conrad. I’d have been there with you in the Old Network. You didn’t have to do what you did for Mr Mole on your own.’

  ‘Yes I did. Not for your sake, for his. At the end, he knew exactly what he’d become, and the shame of you seeing it would have been unbearable for him, and that would have made it unbearable for me.’

  ‘Was it really that bad?’

  ‘Yes. It was awful, Vic. I’ll just say this: it’s a good job Mina hasn’t got into Jane Austen. I’ll never be able to watch, read or listen to Pride and Prejudice again. Talking of Surwen’s victims, how were the twins?’

  ‘Poor bairns. Gwen doesn’t quite grasp what’s wrong with her, and her sister’s furious but has no one to lash out at. I was glad I could walk away, to be honest.’

  ‘Can the Lunar Sisters do anything?’

  ‘Short-term, yes. Medium-term, yes. Long-term … who knows. Magick can’t help the big problem, not legally or safely. They’re going to start her on hormones and herbs, so at least she’ll develop like a woman on the outside. The trouble is the school – Welsh is their first language, thanks to their parents, and they’ve been home-schooled for the last year. They’ll probably stay at Lunar Hall until the summer, but after that…’

  She went quiet. I could tell there was something else brewing, and when she didn’t continue, I said, ‘Spit it out, Vicky.’

  ‘I was so focused on Guinevere that I didn’t look properly at Elowen until Sunday. Her mother tinkered with her, too. It was subtle, complicated and she’d been doing it over a lot of years. I don’t understand it, nor does Sister Dawn, the Healer. Despite her height, Elowen hasn’t hit puberty either, and we think that Surwen was delaying it.’

  I had a flashback to Moley’s nest and his disintegrating body. A stab of pain on Elowen’s behalf shot through me. ‘Is she unstable? Will she end up like Moley?’

  ‘No, thank the Goddess. Mother Julia said, “She’s like a seed from an exotic country. We have no idea what she’ll grow into.”’

  ‘That sounds alarming. What are they going to do?’

  ‘Off the record, Julia says there may need to be a binding order that ties her to a Locus Lucis. Sort of like protective custody during her adolescence. She hopes it doesn’t come to that.’

  ‘So do I, Vic, so do I.’ I paused for a moment, then went back to one of the many loose ends from the Battle of Lunar Hall. ‘Do you know if the Sisters ever got hold of Keira’s mother? Augusta, wasn’t it?’

  ‘No. And neither has Annelise. Not that she’s tried very hard, I don’t think. As soon as she got written confirmation that Augusta has no magick, she lost interest. You must be rubbing off on me, ’cos I don’t like it either.’

  ‘If you’re getting more cautious, then I’m glad to be of service.’

  We stopped at a service station just this side of the River Severn, and while we waited at the back of the car park for a rendezvous, I dug out the chain of Artefacts I’d removed from Surwen. I passed them to Vicky for a once-over while I had a fag break.

  She joined me outside to stretch her legs and said, ‘Surwen kept most of her Artefacts at the lab in the Nest. This is mostly storage gold – we’ll get at least thirty ounces, I reckon. And then there’s this.’ She held up a Doodad in a heart shape. ‘I don’t want to look too closely, but I reckon it’s got something to do with Elowen. This needs to go to Lunar Hall, and go soon.’

  ‘Do you think she was using it to hold back Elowen’s adolescence? Or worse?’

  ‘Maybe. As I said, it’s beyond me.’

  I stared at the trees and passed her something else, not wanting to look at it myself. ‘This is His Worship’s chain of office. Is there anything I should know about it? There was a bit of an edge to his voice when he said I should take it.’

  I felt the weight go off my fingers as she took it from me. Everything went quiet for a moment, and then she laughed. ‘I don’t think you’ll be using this. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.’

  I turned back and saw the fond smile on her face. ‘Concentrate for a second, Conrad.’

  She lifted the chain carefully over her head and patted the intricate medallion at the bottom. My magickal senses tingled, and I got a whiff of moleish halitosis followed by a booming, honking noise. And was that a passing lorry, or did the tarmac just tremble?

  ‘Territory,’ I said. ‘Moles are nature’s most territorial mammals, and this was his way of marking his territory. It’s a shame he never got to use it on another mole.’ I laughed. ‘Only Moley could have come up with this.’

  Vicky went to take off the chain, then stopped. She flicked the medallion round so that I could see the back. ‘I think there was another reason he wanted you to take it.’ Pinned to the back of the medallion was an SD card.

  ‘Well I’ll be. I wonder what on earth’s on there.’ I took the chain from Vicky and stared at the incongruous piece of silicon.

  ‘Conrad. I think this is your Welsh buddy.’

  Gareth rolled up in his MPV. There was no one with him, and he got out of the car carrying an A4 manilla envelope. I made the introductions.

  ‘Seeing Surwen’s poncy car out here’s like seeing a ghost.’ He shivered, and handed over the envelope. ‘Everything’s in order,’ he said. ‘It nearly broke Harry’s heart to sign this, but he did it.’

  ‘How is the old devil?’

  Gareth nodded. ‘Bearing up. You did him a favour, dragging him up to the grove on Saturday. He took a good drink of power up there, and he’s hanging a lot on you getting us out of this mess. Good luck.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  Gareth nodded to Vicky, climbed back into his car and headed off.

  I brandished the envelope. ‘The most powerful force known to mankind.’

  ‘Known to humanity. Everyday sexism, Conrad.’ She gave me her grin. ‘Since I’ve known you, you’ve used a Kalashnikov, a pistol, a concussion grenade, a sword, a magickal pistol, and you’ve threatened to use nukes. What’s the most powerful force known to humanity, ’cos I don’t think there’s a hydrogen bomb in that envelope.’

  I put my coat in the back and took the driver’s seat. ‘Money, Vicky. Money is the most powerful force. You’ll see.’

  Back on the road, she asked if she could stick Moley’s SD card in the Mercedes’ system. ‘At least we’ll know what sort of files are on it.’

  I passed her the chain and Vicky broke a nail trying to get the card off the back. There was a lot of swearing at that point. I concentrated on the road.

  ‘Right. Let’s see what the great bulldozer was up to,’ she said, slamming home the card. ‘There’s a load of MP3 files. The most recent is called Goodbye. It looks like he wanted to pass stuff on. There’s The Worms of London, The Man in the Mask, The Red Witches, The Dwarf’s Secret Client, The Nest of Spiders. I hope these are fiction, Conrad, not memoirs. I really do.’

  ‘Why? It sounds to me like he wanted us to know what he’d come across. I’
ll grant you the titles are a bit Gothic, but remember he didn’t have much chance to develop his own literary style. What’s the problem?’

  ‘I really, really hate spiders. I’m not proud of it, but I do. The thought of giant spiders underground is gonna keep me awake for a long time.’

  I looked over. She was sweating. ‘We haven’t got time now. I’ll play them when we get back to civilisation.’

  Back in the driving seat, I also had control of the radio and used my power to put on Classic FM Requests. Vicky whipped out a pair of headphones and stuck them in her tablet. What she was listening to, I don’t know, but she seemed to be catching up on her emails.

  As we drove through South Wales, I did a lot of thinking, not about our current mission but about the King’s Watch in general. Rick James had been in touch this morning to say that he’d recovered Iestyn’s body, that it was on its way to Machynlleth, and would I present the MC to Iestyn’s parents at the funeral? Rick was overcompensating – presenting the medal was his job, not mine. I’d given a non-committal response, saying that the Dragon had to be top priority. Yesterday, I’d gone in search of the Honour Board for fallen Watch Captains, and couldn’t find it anywhere accessible to me. All of this had generated the sort of deep unease I’d felt in Basra, just before it all went pear-shaped. I needed more information and I needed to work out the right questions.

  As we approached the end of the M4, deep in Wales, nature treated us to a spectacular sunset, with frost promised tonight, but that wasn’t the headline on the weather forecast. As Eleanor Noakes’ efficient tones rattled off the news, the hairs on my arms were rising. The Pennaeth of MADOC had promised thunder for Surwen, and Storm Haley was going to deliver. An Atlantic weather front had picked up steam instead of decaying, and it was headed for the west of Britain tomorrow night. The Environment Agency was putting several valleys on the alert for flooding.

  Coincidence? A Divine nudge? Was there any way of finding out?

  We checked into the Premier Inn at Llanelli – it was only half an hour by car from Llandeilo and well away from prying Druids. We agreed to meet for food in the bar at half past seven, and I grabbed an hour’s nap after a phone call to Maxine Lambert.