by Mark Hayden
‘Ethan! Mina! Can you come here? Everyone else stay back. For your own safety.’
Mina stayed facing the crowd. She took a step back, and another, and another. Ethan detached himself and said, ‘Please. Stay where you are. Don’t let him down.’
The crowd shifted, but stayed where it was. Mina turned to face us and they came up together.
‘Is it true?’ said Ethan.
‘Yes,’ said Eseld. ‘She lured him to his death and two of the Daughters finished him off. I don’t know whether to kill her slowly in private or quickly in public.’
‘You’ll do neither of those things,’ said Ethan. ‘You’ll let the Watch take her.’
‘Make me.’
‘Yes, I will.’
Eseld flinched back, and I stepped in. ‘Ethan, I’m going to leave Kerenza in Mina’s custody. Will you guarantee their safety?’
‘Of course. What are you going to do? The Daughters have been gone nearly an hour.’
‘He’s going to fly,’ said Raven. She was already looking at Lamorne Point. ‘And I’m going with him.’
‘We’ll discuss that in a minute. Ethan, can you take Kerenza away and clear the crowd.’
He took Kerenza’s arm and moved away. My first thought was for my team. ‘Where’s Erin?’ I said.
Mina smiled. ‘Having breakfast with Grace. In Grace’s room. She’s doing magick with her.’
The crowd slipped away, leaving Ethan and his family.
Lena, Kenver and Cador fell into step behind Ethan, and instead of going through the cottage, he turned and led them up the long slope round to the front of Pellacombe.
40 - Resignation
I looked at Raven. ‘Did Isolde come down here before Kerenza?’
‘She did. We were talking, and all of a sudden Kerenza emerged with her swag. Isolde told me to ask her what was going on. When she tried to brush me off and get in the boat, I stopped her. Isolde was trying to get someone to answer their phone, then she saw you coming.’ She addressed the last remark to Eseld. ‘Your mother’s in the boathouse.’
‘Isolde!’ I shouted. ‘Come out.’
She emerged, her face haggard in the morning light. ‘I’ve been trying to contact Cordelia,’ she said. ‘No luck. Did I hear right? Morning and Signe? Why?’
‘Medbh,’ I said.
‘I don’t understand. Are you saying that Medbh plotted to kill her father and ran off before they could do it?’
Mina went up to Isolde and put her arm round the Witch’s waist. ‘I think Medbh had a lucky escape,’ she said, putting gentle pressure on Isolde’s back. They started to move away. ‘I think the intended target was Medbh, and I think Mowbray was a last minute substitute. Whether they’ll admit it, I don’t know.’ She led Isolde towards a bench upstream from the dock. ‘We’ll wait here until we see the helicopter leave’. Mina turned round and looked at me first, then the rest of the crew. ‘Take great care, Conrad. I will see you soon.’
‘You will.’
I passed my phone to Saffron. ‘Get Michael or his mother out here. And food.’
‘Shouldn’t we get going? They’ll be on the motorway soon,’ said Eseld.
‘No they won’t. Not with Maggie Pearce driving.’
‘What! How come?’
‘I told Jane Kershaw to get Maggie up to the front door and get her to take over from the coach firm’s driver. The Daughters were so wound up they wouldn’t notice the switch, or suspect a woman. I gave orders for Maggie to take the scenic route from Pellacombe and then stick to the A30. In the dark they wouldn’t notice she was taking them in very slow circles.’
Eseld laughed. ‘You left orders? I’ve never known Maggie Pearce to take an order in her life.’
‘I left that up to Jane.’
‘If we’re really lucky,’ added Eseld, ‘she’ll have given them some of her baking. That would slow down a space shuttle.’
There was another bench near the boathouse; we drifted over to it and sat down.
Raven glanced at Mina and Isolde, who were deep in conversation. ‘Why didn’t Mina object to being left behind? I’d have put my foot down and demanded to be on board.’
I was lighting a cigarette at that moment, and it was Saffron who answered. ‘It’s because I’m his co-pilot. First priority is guarding the prisoner, and Mina can do that. It’s best for the team if I’m in the air and she’s on the ground.’
Having satisfied her curiosity, Raven tuned out again. I’d seen her do it a couple of times during the conference, and assumed she was bored. Now I was beginning to think the explanation was a lot deeper.
‘Saffron,’ I said. ‘Did you hear back from the Boss?’
‘Oh god, sorry. Yeah. During the staff meeting. She said to carry on and let her know of any major developments.’
Raven tuned back in. ‘Is that the Constable you’re talking about?’ I nodded. ‘There’s something I need to do before we go,’ she said.
‘As long as it doesn’t take long. Here comes our river pilot and our breakfast.’
The whole clan appeared from the cottage and approached us. The Ferrymistress herself went to start the engines on the big boat, leaving her children to present offerings of bacon rolls and yet more coffee. We fell on the food like starving wolves and started munching. Raven demolished two rolls in quick succession and started doing something with her phone. When we’d staved off starvation, she showed me the screen and said, ‘Is that the Loyal Oath of the Invisible College?’
It was actually the mundane Judicial Oath. ‘More or less. There’s an explicit mention of the statutes of the Occult Council in the magickal version.’
She stared at the screen. ‘Is that what all the fuss is about?’ She stood up and unfastened the yellow cord around her waist. Her black robes dropped nearly to the ground and she shook them out. She shouted across the dock, ‘Isolde! I need you.’ She lowered her voice and said to Eseld, ‘It’s time for a change.’
‘Really?’ said Eseld. ‘You’re going through with it?’
‘The only thing stopping Witches from spreading the word is that stupid Oath. I’ll take it and show them.’
‘Paris is worth a mass,’ I observed.
‘You what?’
‘Henri of Navarre said it. He became a Catholic so he could become king of France. Paris is worth a mass.’
Raven grinned. ‘I like it. Besides, I’m not the Lady of Shallott.’ She gripped the tassels at either end of the cord and turned to face the water. ‘Goddess, hear my prayer. I can no longer bind myself as your servant. Do not forsake me on my new path, and guide my footsteps as you ever have. As I bound myself, so I now release myself. So mote it be.’
With her voice barely audible, Eseld echoed her last words.
Raven’s fingers moved at the ends of her cord and pulled the knots apart. A breeze blew off the water, and my skin tingled with an extra presence. Isolde, Eseld, Saffron, Mina and I all bowed our heads. Scout hid under the bench.
There was a burst of wind and the gentlest voice of motherhood whispered I release you. I looked up, and Raven tossed her hands into the air. The yellow cord shimmered and flashed green before falling to the ground.
Eseld was in awe. ‘Why now?’ she said.
Raven’s massive shoulders lifted in a careless shrug. ‘Alys will become Eldest now that I’ve blotted my copybook with the Daughters. The Homewood is not a place I want to belong to with her in charge. Not when there are new worlds to conquer.’ She turned to face Saffron, who had gone very quiet. ‘How do I get to be Warden of Salomon’s House?’
‘I … err …’
As ever, Mina stepped into the emotional breach. ‘You picked the wrong place to announce yourself,’ she said. ‘Saffron Hawkins is Heidi Marston’s cousin, and Conrad will be Cora Hardisty’s security attaché if she is elected.’
Raven threw her head back and roared with laughter. ‘Then I’ll have to promise a job to Eseld, if she doesn’t become staff king of Cornwall.’
>
Mina’s mouth pulled up in a right handed smile. ‘In that case you should call Reverend Oldcastle and put your name forward before nominations close.’
‘I’ll do it today.’ She bent down and picked up the slightly singed cord. She tossed it to Isolde and said, ‘This needs to go back.’ She tried to walk and her robes tangled. ‘Anyone got a spare rope? There must be one in the boathouse.’
Mina lifted her tunic and unfastened my belt, removing the SIG pistol. ‘This should fit. It’s Conrad’s’
Isolde was still staring at the lifeless cord. ‘Are you sure about this?’ she said to Raven. ‘You don’t know what might happen.’
‘Too late now,’ said Raven, hitching up her robe and tightening the belt. ‘Have you been carrying that gun all the time, Mina? Sneaky. Shall we go?’
Michael jumped to get in position by the ferry and we crossed the river on a rising tide. On the other side, he took us up to the LZ in the buggy. His father was sitting enjoying the sun and announced that everything was ready for us. Scout ran up to check for smells, and I realised that there was no human on this side of the river to leave him with. He’d have to sit at the back and behave himself. I reached into the Smurf and grabbed a map.
‘Can you send a message to Maggie Pearce,’ I said to Eseld.
‘I can, but there’s no point. She wouldn’t dream of checking her phone while she’s driving. Dad once text to amend a trip and she drove for two hours in the wrong direction.’
I ran my fingers over the map and checked my watch. ‘Raven, can you sense a bus load of Witches from the air?’
‘Only at a very low height. Much lower than you normally fly.’
‘No need,’ said Eseld. ‘Just look for the traffic jam. Even at this hour, there’ll be a queue behind the bus.’
It was worth a shot. ‘Good. Here’s the plan.’ I looked at our two new recruits, Eseld and Raven. ‘If you’re coming along, it has to be with the understanding that the King’s Watch is part of the solution, not part of the problem.’
Eseld nodded. Being put in her place by Ethan, with all the family and staff watching her had had an effect.
Raven was different. ‘I’m sorry for your loss, Eseld, but I’m just going to see the looks on their faces. If I can catch Alys doing something stupid, so much the better. I shall behave with the dignity appropriate to the next Warden of Salomon’s house.’
I could stop Raven coming, but we’d be horribly exposed. I pointed my finger at her and said, ‘You are a witness, not a team member. Are we clear?’
She bowed. ‘Of course. So what’s this plan then?’
Michael was hovering near the helicopter. I looked to his father. ‘I could really use your son on this trip. The risk will be minimal, but there’s a job that he can do that no one else can try.’
‘Please, Dad!’
‘Sir?’ said Saffron.
‘Will it help catch Lord Mowbray’s killers?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you’re sure about the risk?’
‘As sure as I can be. Hear the plan, and if you’re not happy, he stays here.’
‘Then go on, boy.’
‘Thank you. This is what we’ll do.’
41 — By a Roadside in Cornwall
Map reading is a dying art. Things would have gone very differently if Eseld (or Raven) knew their way around an Ordnance Survey map. I’d shown Eseld where we were going, and she’d replied, ‘I leave the map stuff to Dad. And Kenver.’
We caught up with the convoy in the middle of Bodmin Moor, Cornwall’s contribution to the desolate spaces of the West Country. Eseld had been right about the convoy: although the few cars around at this time in the morning swept past the coach on the outside lane of the dual carriageway, a whole load of lorries were queueing patiently behind Maggie Pearce’s stately galleon.
I spotted them from a good height, well above the level where they could hear the engines or detect any magick. ‘Saffron?’ I said.
‘There’s a pub in eight kilometres, or a public car park in twelve.’
‘We’ll avoid the pub. It’ll almost certainly have rooms with guests in them. Punch it in, Saff.’
I started losing height straight away, and in a few seconds the autopilot kicked in with an advisory warning – I was too close for a normal landing. That’s why we have human pilots.
I didn’t land on the car park itself. The rotors would turn that sort of loose surface into a machine-gun, and there could be someone walking nearby. There was a flat piece of grass and, with the dry weather, it was a safe bet for a landing.
Even better, the car park was protected by metal barriers to prevent overnight camping, which meant no civilians. The icing on the cake was a stand of trees at the opposite end. I touched down and waited a few seconds to make sure we weren’t sinking, then hit the auto shutdown. A cardinal sin, I know, but sometimes you have to. ‘Someone get both barriers open,’ I said. ‘You know where to go, Michael?’
‘Sir.’
‘Then let’s do it.’
Raven was out first, followed by Michael and then Scout, who squeezed himself past Eseld. Saffron and I looked at each other and she gave me a grin. I unfastened my harness and got ready to scuttle under the rotors.
Raven had already blown the lock off the Entrance gate and was swinging it open. Behind me, Saffron was doing the same to the Exit gate and the Smurf’s engines were dying with a splutter. ‘Keep out of sight, everyone, until I get a good eye on the coach.’
The car park entrance had been cut through a small embankment, and I scrambled up the dewy grass to get a bit of extra height. I checked that Michael was in position and looked down the road.
‘Why does this place look familiar?’ said Eseld, more to herself than anyone else.
It was tight. I’d only been on watch for ten seconds when the rich brown front of the executive coach came into view.
‘Here they come. Stand at the side of the road.’
I slid down the small bank and joined the others.
‘Where is it?’ said Raven.
‘There. Out we go.’ My final order to Maggie Pearce had been to pull in if she saw me.
She didn’t just see me, she saw Raven, Saffron, Eseld and Scout, all lined up in the road. A Mercedes overtook the coach and slammed on its brakes when the driver saw the road obstructed. I waved him on and got a look of terror when he saw that two of us were in military uniforms. Meanwhile, Maggie had spotted us and was already indicating to pull in.
‘Positions, everyone.’
We jogged back into the car park and waited in the open with the now silent Smurf at our backs. The coach came to a halt in the middle, and I could see one of the Witches remonstrating with Maggie and pointing to the exit. She leaned forward, killed the engine and opened the door. Then she folded her arms mutinously and sat back in her seat.
I activated my Ancile. ‘Advance in formation,’ I said. ‘Slowly.’
We moved towards the coach with Saffron and I at the front, five metres apart. Eseld and Raven walked behind us to take advantage of our Anciles.
The Witches on the coach panicked. Trapped on the bus, they panicked and started to pile out.
‘Hold,’ I said. ‘We need them as far from the vehicle as possible.’
The Daughters milled around for a few seconds, then Alys took control. She wasn’t going to get Georgia to fight her battles for her this time, as she had in the main hall at Pellacombe.
I heard Raven move behind me. ‘Hold! Scout, away.’ My Familiar shot off and started to work his way round the group. My plan hinged on them coming to meet us, and hinged on Alys not wanting to lose face in front of the others.
It worked. She led them towards us at a dignified pace and stopped about ten metres away. They lined up with Alys in the middle and the other seven spread on each side: Zoe, Brook, Georgia, Morning, Kiwa, Signe and Cordelia.
Alys fixed her gaze on me, refusing to look at Raven lurking behind me. ‘What is the
meaning of this outrage, Mr Clarke? You have no authority to stop us in this way.’
I took the Hammer out of its holster and showed my badge of authority, the symbol of Caledfwlch stamped into the butt. It was also designed to intimidate: they all knew what sort of ammunition it carried.
There was a final purpose. When he saw the gun, Michael emerged from the trees behind them and moved soundlessly towards the bus. I kept my eyes on Alys. ‘By the authority of the Constable and the heads of agreement between your Covens and the Occult Council, I am detaining two of your number on suspicion of murder. And regicide.’
Alys had Brook at her right hand. Unlike Alys, Brook hadn’t been able to take her eyes off Raven’s new belt. Raven had been her 1st, the leader of her Coven. Alys had to speak twice before Brook heard her and answered.
‘They need a warrant,’ she said. ‘Or the permission of the Eldest or of the most senior Daughter. That would be you, now that Raven has forsaken us. What ...’
Alys refused to engage with any discussion of Raven and interrupted her Counsel. ‘I deny permission, and I am not scared by your show of force. All you’ve done is dig yourself a very deep hole, Mr Clarke. You will be suspended for this before we get back to Glastonbury.’
Behind the Witches, there was a sigh like the wind moving through the trees. They ignored it. Michael had got on the bus and Maggie had closed the doors. Then she started the engine.
They all turned round at that.
‘What’s going on?’ shouted Alys.
‘I’m impounding that bus to search your belongings for evidence. I don’t need a warrant for that. It will be back in an hour or so. It’s a nice morning.’
Maggie put the bus in gear and moved slowly towards the exit. Very slowly. Alys looked furious, but not defeated. ‘More nonsense,’ she said.
Morning pushed Georgia out of the way and got in Alys’s face. ‘Stop them! Stop them or it’s over.’
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ said Alys icily. She was hanging Morning out to dry here, but Morning had other ideas.
She got right in Alys’s face and said just one word. ‘Fingerprints.’