by SJB Gilmour
After a few moments of silence, he swore to himself and went to turn around and walk away. That was when he got his second big fright of the night. There behind him, hovering above the ground was a human-sized spirit, all grey-ish and slightly translucent. Its eyes were glowing a malevolent red.
‘And what have you seen?’ the spirit rasped.
Wallop stammered and spluttered a bit then finally blurted out, ‘There’s a lycanthrope in the woods! It’s the one that attacked me last year!’
The spirit turned to gaze down the hillside towards the forest. Then it turned back to Wallop and nodded. ‘Well done, Wallop, the Watcher. Return to your post. We will inform ones who will come to take care of the beast.’ Then the spirit drifted straight through Wallop and disappeared into the ground at the base of the stone.
Wallop was frightened enough when he suddenly found himself face-to-face with one of the caretakers of Castlerigg. Having one drift through him was absolutely terrifying — so much so that not for the first time in his life, he lost control of his functions and soiled his filthy loincloth in fright.
Muttering curses to himself, he quickly stripped off his smock and removed his pooey loincloth. When he had cleaned himself up as best he could, which wasn’t very much, he discarded the loincloth and put his smock back on and hurried back down to his forest. When he arrived, he bolted straight past his curious helpers and climbed into his tree. None of them noticed he wasn’t wearing anything under his smock. Back in his hole, he quickly dressed himself again in clothes almost as grubby as those he’d just been wearing.
Chapter Twenty-six
While Ronny, Sarah and Melanie were being hailed and celebrated, Master of Flora, James William Isaacs was not having such a good time. He and the surviving members of his band of mercenaries had gathered in Benjamin McConnell’s main hall in Gembrook. The soldiers for hire, including some very nasty and dangerous characters indeed, were not happy. The entire island of The Nonagon had sunk into the sea, just as had Oliver’s island along with his loot and library.
Beside James, were two witches from the Witches Bank at Fort Knox. Also present was a single Grey Coat werewolf Jasper Jones.
One evil-looking old crone with only one eye, hobbled to stand in front of the crowd that had gathered in Benjamin’s hall. There was an empty space in the middle of the crowd where the newly moved fixed portal to Wolfenvald stood, completely surrounded by vigilant Black Coat guardians. The mercenaries made a point of avoiding standing too close to those severe werewolves. They gathered in groups about the hall, muttering and grumbling while they waited and watched her confront James.
‘Our auditors have discovered a shortfall in your cash reserves of one point five million pexo,’ she accused him. ‘Can you explain this?’
James shrugged, a look of complete bafflement on his already troubled face. He spread his hands out wide. ‘Search me,’ he offered. ‘I haven’t got two gnangs to rub together now. You’ve taken the lot.’
Frustrated at not being able to find the money, the witch frowned at him for a moment and then turned to the crowd.
‘I hereby announce that all assets belonging to Master James Isaacs have been seized!’ the witch announced. ‘The Columbian plantations of Sundew farms have been sold and all his other assets liquidised to come to a total of forty million, six hundred and two pexo.’ She glared balefully around at the crowd. Her single eye counted every soldier present.
‘That sum will be divided equally among his former employees. Since there are eight hundred and four of you left, after expenses, the sum of forty-nine thousand, seven hundred and fifty one pexo will be credited to your accounts. For a nominal fee, you can be paid in hammers or gnangs if you prefer.’
This brought quite a mixed reaction. Many of the mercenaries were obviously expecting a lot more than that. Others seemed surprised that there was so much coming their way.
James sat down heavily. He held himself with the air of a man thoroughly deflated. He was broke. Worse than that, he’d never be able to set up an account on Earth again. Of course, this wasn’t so bad, except that now he’d have to pay taxes if he was to set up shop on another planet.
‘What about Heirogryph?’ one angry sorcerer yelled. ‘McConnell was a part of this too!’
The crowd erupted again with more shouts and bellows. The witch held up one wrinkled old hand. The witches from the Witches bank at Fort Knox are not to be trifled with, so that little gesture was more than enough to quieten even the angriest members of the crowd.
‘If Master McConnell’s name appears on your contract, he too shall be audited,’ replied the crone. Since Benjamin’s name was not on any of the contracts anywhere, the crowd hushed again.
‘What about this place?’ yelled another. ‘It was owned jointly by Isaacs and McConnell!’ The mercenary glared at the witch. ‘And what about the missing pexo? Did Isaacs hide it here?’
Jasper padded forward and glared around at the angry mob. ‘This property is now an embassy of Wolfenvald,’ he told them all in a dreadfully low growl. ‘You are all now standing on Wolfenvald soil and are here at the sufferance of Wolfenvald.’ He growled. ‘Any and all currency on this property now belongs to Bank Wolfenvald.’
‘Says who?’ another sorcerer demanded.
Jasper fixed the angry wizard with a steely glare. ‘Her Majesty, Queen Sarah Kopernik of Wolfenvald and Golden Mane.’ Jasper then shrugged as if it were no matter. ‘And for what it’s worth, there’s no money here. Wolfenvald has no idea what happen to Isaac’s missing money either. Most likely it was stolen during the battle.’ He turned to James. ‘Is that possible?’
‘Probable, more like it,’ James muttered. ‘When I got back, there wasn’t much left at all.’
Jasper turned back to the mob. ‘There you have it. Isaacs is innocent in this matter. If you wish to take the case further, look instead at the auditors.’ Now he glared balefully at the witch for a moment then turned back to the mercenaries. ‘Or, you could try your luck with Her Majesty, Queen Kopernik…’ The way he left it hanging told them all quite clearly that they’d not get very far at all in that endeavour.
Nobody in the room, not even the most foolhardy or angry in the entire mob, would dare cross the will of a Golden Mane. The new shimmering fixed portal in the middle of Benjamin’s floor began to ripple as more large Black Coat guardians loped through. They were followed by Sarah, glowing in all her Golden Mane glory. Sarah looked at the attentive Black Coats for a long moment, silently instructing them to guard this place well. Then she wagged her tail and grinned at James and Jasper. Finally, she turned to the gathered group of mercenaries.
‘Perfect,’ she muttered to herself. Wolfenvald had been talking to her very clearly. She had some news for the enchanted community and this group before her would be just the tool to spread that message.
She straightened and addressed them all. ‘Spread the word!’ she barked at them. ‘There is now only one fixed portal on this planet and as much as this property is an embassy of Wolfenvald, this entire planet is now under that jurisdiction!’ She paused for a long moment to let that news sink in. ‘This is my turf, damn it, so behave yourselves! I have been appointed Golden Protector and protect I will!’ Sarah’s voice carried with it every voice of Wolfenvald. ‘Return to your homes! War is over and as long as I am alive, there will be no more threats to this planet from evil beyond it!’
The Black Coat guardians growled and barked in support of their new queen. Then Sarah returned through the portal and went back to Wolfenvald.
Gradually, the stunned crowd began to disperse. Finally, when only James and Jasper were left, the two old sorcerers looked around at the Black Coat guardians of the new and only fixed portal on Earth.
‘Phew,’ James muttered, passing one shaking hand over his shaved scalp. ‘I’m glad that’s over.’ He stared at the fixed portal on the floor of Benjamin’s hall. ‘Is that the same portal that was in the Carpathians?’ he asked one of the Blac
k Coats.
The grim-looking werewolf did not wag his tail. Instead, he simply fixed James with steel-grey eyes. ‘It is, Flower Man. When she was joined with The Nightsmith as The One, Queen Kopernik wished it to be so and it was made so. The portal is the one and the same, only now it is in a more fitting location.’
Jasper assumed his human form. James had never seen the old wolf in human shape before. He’d heard from the others that Jasper was a tired old man with glasses and a walking cane. The man before him was much younger and obviously much more vigorous. Gone were the glasses and the cane.
‘Well, Ambassador, I suppose you could do with a drink right about now.’
James gaped at him. ‘What are you talking about?’
Jasper grinned. ‘You sound like your cousin. It must run in the family.’ He sat down at the table and produced two large tankards of beer. He passed one to James. ‘Didn’t Her Majesty tell you?’ he asked, with one eyebrow raised. He raised his beer in salute to James. ‘You’re Wolfenvald’s new human representative.’ He waved at the Black Coat guardian who’d just been talking to James. ‘Like this bloke said. The portal’s in a more appropriate spot. What could be more appropriate than an embassy?’
‘But I’m not a werewolf!’ James protested. ‘No-one consulted me about this! Who does Sarah think she is, lumbering me with a bloody bureaucracy job?’
Jasper nodded. ‘You’re part of Pack Kopernik, so you’re almost as good as a werewolf.’ His grey eyes grew sly and twinkled with mirth. ‘Don’t tell me a botanist such as yourself isn’t curious about what kinds of plant-life exist on Wolfenvald.’
James took a long sip of his beer and belched, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve. ‘Do you mean to tell me that those guys,’ he nodded at the Black Coats, ‘would actually let me go through that thing and dig about? I can take seeds and cuttings?’
Jasper grinned again. ‘Give it a try.’
Before James could test the safety of such an act, another werewolf came through the portal. This time, it was Benjamin McConnell and he was closely followed by Kate O’Brien. O’Brien, silent and severe as always, immediately made herself known to the Black Coats, by nudging and sniffing them and allowing them to do the same to her. Once the formalities had been observed, she padded up to the table, curled up on one of the chairs and rested her head on her paws.
Benjamin also stayed in his wolf form and took a chair next to O’Brien. He looked at James and wagged his tail. ‘Don’t get too excited by the chance to visit Wolfenvald, Ambassador,’ he told his friend. ‘You’ve now got a job to do and it’s about to start any minute.’ He wagged his tail so hard that it thumped on the chair loudly. ‘Would you rather be broke? Now you’ve got diplomatic immunity. Think about it. Wolfenvald has a bank too, you know. Ambassadorial status exempts you from taxes and tariffs.’
James gaped at his friend. ‘I thought no humans are allowed.’ He was still having trouble believing what he was hearing.
‘There are always exceptions to the rule,’ Jasper supplied. ‘There’s quite a sizeable expatriate community on Wolfenvald actually, though we keep them confined to a specific region of course. Their movements are strictly limited. And of course, we all prefer to walk on two legs at times.’ He grinned at James. ‘Werenmesse is a palace and every palace has to have an embassy. Since you’re part of Pack Kopernik, that makes you royalty. I doubt anyone will have any objections to you going about as you please.’
Another small portal appeared and a single bat flew through it. The bat circled the hall a couple of times, then landed on the floor much more ungracefully than most wraith bats. It appeared exhausted and in pain.
‘Here’s your first job as Ambassador, James,’ Benjamin told him.
The bat changed form into a very bedraggled and miserable-looking brunette succubus, Princess Charity Medici. The beautiful wraith responsible for turning Marzdane into a wraith was pale and wan and quite obviously in need of a feed. She bowed quite formally to James.
‘Ambassador Isaacs,’ she began quite formally. ‘I come before you seeking political refuge.’ Her speech was different now, as if she had somehow lost complete control of her tongue.
‘What? Don’t tell me you’ve been kicked out, Princess!’
Charity smiled sadly, which gave everyone who could see her smile quite a shock. All her fangs had been filed down to rounded stumps. Anyone who’d ever suffered in a dentist’s chair knew how painful that must have been. Vampires have only one set of fangs, but succubi have dozens.
‘I no longer have any claim to that title,’ Charity told him. ‘I am outcast. In her attempt to kill Lord Hardingleflass, The Marked One killed many of our numbers — more even than perished in battle at the island. It was I who turned Marzdane into a wraith. Thus I am banished.’
James gaped at the wraith and then at Jasper and Benjamin.
‘I don’t think it’d be wise for you to start your new position by allowing a wraith to Wolfenvald,’ Jasper advised him. Several of the Black guardians growled in agreement.
Benjamin sighed and looked at O’Brien. The Amazon Silver Shroud shrugged and wagged her tail briefly. ‘Follow your nature,’ she advised him quietly.
Benjamin grinned. He looked at Charity. ‘I have only one question for you.’
Charity nodded. ‘Yes, Master?’
‘When your fangs grow back, will you turn any more humans into wraiths?’
Charity shook her head. Tears were welling in her eyes. ‘Never, my Lord,’ she almost wept. ‘I can no longer accept what I am with any pride. I’d not have a single more wraith enter this world.’ Her eyes were haunted. ‘If I could, I’d not be a wraith a second longer, yet survive I must for my soul shall never enter the realm of Hades. Even the darkness of Tartarus is beyond me. My banishment extends even from this world to the beyond.’
Benjamin changed form and walked over to the bedraggled former princess. He put one hand on each shoulder and stared into her eyes. ‘We’ll worry about that when your time comes,’ he said sagely. His eyes glinted with a touch of mischief. ‘I know at least one deity who’ll listen to a prayer should I utter one. For now, where are your things?’
‘All I have is what I have with me.’
‘We’ll see that you have all you need,’ he promised. He gestured for her to sit. Felicia fluttered in and provided the starving wraith with a steaming bowl of warm blood.
‘When you’ve eaten, go talk to Eddy,’ Benjamin told her as she began to spoon the blood into her mouth with trembling hands. ‘He’s keeping an eye on Thrag—’
‘I wondered what happened to that troll,’ James remarked.
Benjamin nodded. ‘We had to turn a lot of those barracks of yours into holding cells. Seems a shame to waste ‘em.’
James chuckled. ‘Better be careful. You’ll find yourself running a private prison for enchanted crooks.’
Benjamin frowned. ‘Bloody hope not,’ he muttered. He turned back to the succubus. ‘Just see Eddy. He’ll make sure you’re comfortable. You won’t be the first outcast I’ve taken in. At least now there’s no Guild to object.’
Charity nodded, but her eyes were worried. ‘You do not fear retribution from the Medici?’
‘They can try,’ O’Brien growled in a low voice.
James grinned and thumped the table. ‘Well,’ he said, taking another swig of his beer, ‘I might just be able to get used to this ambassadorial stuff after all.’ He looked around. ‘What’s next?’
As if on cue, two re-renovated Millennium model elevators appeared. When the doors opened, Cassandra and Herdmaster Tor emerged from one while out of the other flashed Maddy the quickling. James groaned.
‘Oh, shut up, Isaacs,’ Cassandra told him acidly.
James sighed and looked at Benjamin. ‘And I thought the elevators were grumpy.’ He shrugged. ‘Must be where Mel gets it from.’
Cassandra gave him a withering look. ‘We’re just here to inform you all that you can count me and my minotaur
s out of any further adventures,’ she told him. ‘We’ve done our bit and I’m done with the whole lot of you.’
James, Jasper and Benjamin looked at each other in surprise. Cassandra had rarely been a pleasant woman but now she was even more bitter and hateful. Lord Tor was also vastly changed. Always before, he was an affable minotaur. Now, he was cold and unhappy. The losses they had suffered had changed both Herdmaster and his prophet.
‘We’re closing The Labyrinth,’ Tor told them. ‘If you have anything to retrieve from our home, you’d best do it before the end of the day.’
‘You know Sarah has made a few changes,’ Jasper told them gently. ‘The Guild’s been disbanded and all the fixed portals bar this one have been destroyed. You might find the world a more accepting place for you and your people now.’
‘That’s why I’m here,’ Maddy interrupted. ‘I’ve made peace with my family and I’ll need to return home soon. They’ve asked me to do one thing before I do that.’
‘Oh?’ James asked her. He was quite taken with the pretty quickling.
‘The Royal Quickling House of Hai Du has a suggestion for you to forward to your queen, Ambassador,’ Maddy told him firmly. ‘They suggest that with The Sorcerers’ Guild now disbanded, a new council be established. They feel a representative of each of the nine branches of sorcery be represented, along with representatives from each of the major race groups.’ She handed James a scroll.
James took it and read it aloud. ‘The Council of Nine,’ he quoted. ‘As suggested by Their Imperial Majesties Marek and Agnieszka Hai Du of the Royal House of Hai Du.’ He paused for breath. ‘Phew, what a mouthful.’ He took another swig of beer and continued reading. ‘Representing werewolves and healers, Sarah Coppernick. That makes sense I suppose. Next, representing goblins and smiths, Melanie Troy.’ He shook his head. ‘I knew she’d change her name,’ he lamented. He looked at Maddy. ‘Are you sure you want to include these two together? They’ve got trouble written all over them. By themselves they’re fine but put ‘em together and all hell breaks loose.’