Thaumatology 12: Vengeance

by Niall Teasdale

  ‘No one’s told me if they have,’ he replied. ‘My guess? He knew Ceri was working on the cube and high-tailed it out of London hoping he’d come back to look at the smoking hole.’

  ‘It makes sense,’ Carter agreed. ‘It leaves him in the wind, however. I find that disquieting, so I think we should forget about it until the morning at the very least.’

  ‘That,’ Alec said, ‘is definitely something to drink to.’

  Kennington, April 25th.

  ‘You’re going to the university this morning, Ceri?’ Twill asked as she busied herself making breakfast. Michael was still there, so she was ensuring that ‘a growing boy’ had a good start to the day. Michael had decided not to argue with the ‘boy’ comment since he was getting one of Twill’s cooked breakfasts.

  ‘Uh-huh. We were out all last week. There’s bound to be stuff to catch up on. I haven’t even checked mail since Friday.’

  Twill nodded. ‘I think there’s something you should know then.’

  Ceri gave the fairy a frown in reply. ‘I don’t like the sound of that.’

  ‘No. You mentioned that Carter thought the Order was getting interested in you again, and that he was unsure how they were getting their information. I requested help.’

  ‘Kipple?’ Ceri asked, wincing.

  ‘Indeed. I had him check our phone line. Sure enough he found a tap on it. However, he back-traced it and it’s official. It was set up under a directive from the Home Office.’

  ‘Avery Sachs,’ Ceri growled.

  ‘Based on that, I asked Kipple to go over your lab. It’s bugged. I understand Carter sweeps his club on a frequent basis, but you may wish to suggest he does so again.’

  ‘You sent Kipple to our lab?’ Ceri asked, ignoring the actual problem in favour of something far more disastrous.

  ‘Oh, he was very keen to stay on your good side. He promised not to touch anything.’

  ‘Heard about the whole demon queen thing, huh? What did this little job cost?’

  ‘Nothing too terrible,’ Twill replied blandly. ‘He was keen to stay on your good side, remember. And Ishifa was curious.’

  Flickers of pink light danced around Ishifa, who was helping with the cooking.

  Lily did not help. ‘How was he?’ she asked.

  ‘Enthusiastic,’ Ishifa replied. ‘Very enthusiastic.’

  Lily giggled. ‘What are you going to do about the bugging?’

  ‘I guess I’d better find out what Sachs knows,’ Ceri replied. ‘And what he plans on doing with it.’

  Wembley.

  Avery Sachs pushed open the door of his house and stepped inside. There was the reassuring beep of his alarm system, but he knew he had plenty of time to close the door before he disarmed it. It was a practised art, something he did every day, just as he then checked the building to be sure that the alarm was not lying. He classified it as healthy paranoia, given his line of work. Even though the house’s wards were some of the best available and anything the alarm failed to spot, the wards would have caught, it always paid to be cautious before letting down one’s guard.

  The alarm disarmed, he checked the lounge and kitchen before going upstairs. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. His sense for the magical, something anyone capable of performing magic had, detected nothing. The lounge, with its single, large, very comfortable chair, sofa, and entertainment system, appeared as it had when he had left. There was a bowl in the sink from breakfast which would need to be washed.

  Upstairs the hot tap on the bathroom sink was dripping. He made another mental note to see about getting it repaired before checking the two bedrooms. He had a guest room, even though he almost never had guests. The sheets would need changing soon, because he changed them once a month, even though no one slept in the bed. His own room was as tidy as ever; he always made the bed before leaving, even if the dishes waited for his return.

  Satisfied, Sachs walked back down the stairs, mentally sliding into the relaxed state he allowed himself only when he felt quite secure in his own home. He walked into the lounge, sat down in his chair, and picked up the newspaper he had not read yet.

  Then he said, ‘This house has exceptional wards, I am not in the phone book, and I am a wizard. Would you mind telling me how you are sitting on my sofa, Miss Brent?’

  ‘You don’t want to know why?’ Ceri asked.

  ‘Why after how. Call it professional curiosity. If my security is that poor I may need to find alternate employment.’

  Ceri gave a little shrug. ‘Twill’s family are a bunch of conniving bastards, but they’ve been spying and sneaking for longer than… Well, a long, long time. Twill doesn’t like them much, but they did teach her a thing or two. Ishifa’s not so well trained, but she can be invisible when she wants to be. They followed you home. They’ve been watching your office since lunchtime.’

  ‘Which explains how you found this place…’

  ‘And there’s pretty much nothing that can keep me out of somewhere if I know where I’m going. You should close your curtains.’

  ‘And that, presumably, brings us to the why section of the interrogation.’

  ‘You’ve got my phones tapped and my place of work bugged. I checked the wards on my house and scrying attempts have been made. Carter’s pretty good about security at the Tir and his wards were designed by my parents so you probably haven’t managed to put anything in there.’

  Sachs looked across at her. ‘I’m not hearing a question,’ he said.

  ‘What do you know? Who have you told?’

  He looked at her thoughtfully for a few seconds. He was, she had no doubt, assessing the situation and deciding what to do. He could, after all, call the police, but she would be gone without a trace by the time they arrived. She had an alibi set up, and he likely assumed that she would. As she watched his face, she tried to pick out the tiny telltale signs which would give away his thoughts, but Avery Sachs was very hard to read.

  ‘You never use the name, but you speak of demons and a castle, and refer to “the other side” and such. I’m a wizard, I know something about demons. The Castle of Bones, the legendary stronghold of Gorefguhadget, Overlord of All Demons. There his crown, made of iron, sits upon a black throne, awaiting the return of his rightful successor. After the Dragonfall you were missing for several months. Now you vanish off with a lot of your friends to attend a “conference” at the castle.’

  He paused, but she could tell he was going to continue. ‘Then there are the stories and rumours. A number of wizards have heard that a new Overlord has arisen. It’s said her name is Ayasha, that she travelled the demons’ world to rescue her pet succubus, destroying armies and evil queens as she went, before going to the Castle of Bones and taking up the crown. Ayasha is a Devotik contraction meaning “blue eyes.” Blue eyes are extremely rare in demons. Almost unheard of in fact.’

  ‘Uh-huh,’ Ceri agreed. ‘I know that. And the castle’s not legendary. Every so often someone’s stupid enough to go try on the crown. Lily’s father told us about it.’

  ‘Of course. Then there’s the rather exceptional ability you have to manipulate magic. Also almost unheard of. Also somewhat legendary. What you did to Remus, and your ley lines… These are the stuff of legend, Miss Brent. The kind of thing the sorcerers of old were rumoured to do.’

  ‘I was taught that sorcerers were either over-inflated legends or pacted wizards.’

  ‘But your feats are a matter of fact and you’ve none of the feeling of someone with a pact strong enough to do what you do. You associate with Demon Lords and dragons, but your power is your own.’ He took a deep breath. ‘The evidence is not entirely solid, but there is enough for me to say that you are a sorceress, I’ve even heard Doctor Tennant use the word, and that you are Ayasha. And I have told no one. I’m still trying to work out what the implications are and what to do about it.’

  Ceri nodded thoughtfully. ‘Okay, guilty as charged, but if you haven’t told anyone then you’ve got a problem. Th
e Order of Merlin is sniffing around, and the way they’re sniffing suggests they may know about the sorcery.’

  Sachs’ frown looked genuinely troubled. ‘What is your relationship with the Order?’

  ‘Huh… Mutual dislike? They tried to force me into membership. I’m blackmailing them to leave me alone. They come after me or my friends, I promised to march an army of werewolves up to their doors in Cambridge. They stupidly threatened Alexandra.’

  ‘And you believe they’re trying to break the deal?’

  ‘Carter suspects they might be.’

  Sachs nodded and was silent for a second. ‘How did you find the bugs?’

  ‘A gremlin. He helped in the Witch Hunter case.’

  ‘You do get around, Miss Brent.’

  ‘Well, yeah. I’m opening diplomatic relations between Otherworld and the Demon Realm. Ceridwyn Brent is officially exiled from Otherworld, but Lady Ayasha is welcome in Court any time she likes.’ Ceri frowned. ‘Actually, a little too welcome. Have you ever seen Oberon or Titania? Really hard to say no to.’

  ‘You’ve been to the Summer Court?’ He said it in flat tones which suggested he did not believe what he was hearing, but he was not surprised.

  ‘Uh… It was Twill’s wedding and we ended up saving them from an Unseelie army.’

  ‘Right.’

  ‘Ophelia, Lily, and I embodied the Morrigna and…’

  Sachs held up a hand. ‘Please. I already suspected you could reduce me to ash with a thought, I don’t believe I want to know that it’s worse.’

  ‘I have no intention of harming you, Mister Sachs,’ Ceri told him. ‘I just need to know where I stand. This is all getting too big. Sooner or later it’s all going to come out. I know it can’t stay a secret forever. What do you plan to do?’

  ‘Remove the bugs and taps. If you know about them, they’re useless. Beyond that… Nothing about you. I’ll be watching, but I usually am. I do not believe you pose a current threat to the government of this nation, so it’s nothing to do with me. The Order of Merlin, however, have moved up my threat list.’

  ‘Well… Thank you. Be careful with the Order though. They have influence in places that’ll give you a nosebleed. Turn over the wrong rock…’

  ‘Thank you for the advice, but this is my job.’

  Ceri gave a shrug. ‘Good luck with that then,’ she said, and then she was gone.

  Soho.

  ‘It’s good of you to do this,’ Lily said as she walked back to the bar with a tray of empty glasses.

  Anita was sitting on a stool there along with Ray, her human and also very hunky boyfriend. He looked like a very fit, handsome man in black jeans and a leather jacket. She looked like a warrior goddess, dressed in leather. The leather waistcoat showed off her décolletage beautifully, and the leather slacks had a slightly worn quality which suggested they had seen battle. As far as Lily knew, they had not.

  ‘What?’ Anita asked. ‘Bring my boyfriend out for a night on the town and, incidentally, make sure that a friend of the pack gets home safely?’

  ‘And give Ceri and Michael some couple time. They haven’t had much time to be themselves recently. Or be themselves being wolves anyway.’

  ‘Our pleasure,’ Ray said. ‘Literally.’

  Lily flashed him a grin, but Anita was frowning. ‘What about you and Michael?’ she asked.

  ‘Well, what about me and Michael?’

  ‘Well, if Ceri has Michael time and you have Ceri time, where’s the Lily-Michael time?’

  ‘Oh… That’s… It’s not the same.’ Anita just looked at the half-succubus, which made Lily feel that something more was needed. ‘I mean, they’re mates and I’m Ceri’s… friend. And we’re lovers of course, and we share Michael, and he shares us. And, uh, he’s said I’m sort of like a mate, which is great because it shows I’m not just someone he sleeps with. But, I mean, werewolves don’t have harems, so… Well, Ceri’s his mate. What?’

  ‘Doesn’t happen much these days because if there’s a gender imbalance in a pack it’s usually more males, but when there is a shortage of males it’s not unheard of for a wolf to take two mates. Happens the other way around too if there are a lot of males. A few extra on either side isn’t usually an issue, but if it’s a big difference… Especially back in the old days, your mate provided food during pregnancy. It’s hard work for one male to keep two females, but sometimes it’s the only way to get pack numbers up.’

  ‘Oh,’ Lily said.

  ‘Talk to Ceri about it. She’s the human. She’s the one likely to get jealous over it. But I think you should spend the occasional night with just Michael.’

  ‘Okay…’ Lily did not sound entirely convinced. ‘Uh, table three. Be back soon.’

  ‘You’ve set a cat among the pigeons, love,’ Ray commented as Lily walked away.

  ‘Maybe,’ Anita replied. ‘I hope not.’

  Battersea.

  Ceri looked up at the full moon standing above the city. To the eyes of a werewolf, it shone brighter, an incandescent silver disc that bathed the world in a slightly eerie white light, but it also seemed as though Luperca was watching. The goddess had always struck Ceri as a fairly down-to-earth sort of woman, so she was probably enjoying the effect the moon tended to have on her children.

  Ceri, however, was not a werewolf and did not feel the same mood swings they did. Oh, her time in the pack had infected her with some of it. Once she got among the wolves on a full moon night, their excitement built her own. The scents of sweat and sex were a heady mixture she could not avoid reacting to.

  Tonight somehow felt different. Things were changing. It felt as though something was ending. She had tried to get into the swing of the evening, but it was far harder than usual. Michael, being a good mate, had picked up on her melancholy and taken her aside, finding a spot away from the others where they could just sit and cuddle.

  Mate troubled, he growled.

  Mate… unsure, Ceri replied. She dropped her muzzle, looking away. Mate not good mate this night.

  He gave a grunt of displeasure, reaching up to pull her face around to his. His nose brushed hers, and he nuzzled at her throat. Mate ever good mate. He looked, briefly, about as thoughtful as a werewolf could. Not same, no demon. Go demon?

  Ceri thought about it. They had been together a lot recently. Maybe they had become a threesome rather than two linked pairs. That was good, right? Night for mate, she growled.

  She mate. Not first mate, but mate. We go demon.

  Well… Cheryl would probably not mind if she was a little late into the office…

  Kennington, April 26th.

  They lay in the hazy light of early morning, Lily between Ceri and Michael, their legs a tangle. There had been excited sex followed by slower love-making, and then a lull. There might be more before they slept, but maybe they would just lie still and bask in the afterglow. It felt like that sort of night.

  Ceri opened her eyes as a small sob disturbed the silence. There were tears in Lily’s eyes, a trickle of liquid running down from one corner.

  ‘What’s wrong, love?’ Ceri asked, suddenly concerned.

  ‘Nothing!’ Lily said quickly. ‘Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s right.’

  ‘Then why the tears?’

  ‘I… Anita said that werewolves sometimes took more than one mate. Not often these days, but sometimes. She said maybe I should have some time alone with Michael, because he obviously thought of me as another mate.’

  Ceri’s eyebrows went up, but she said, ‘Maybe you should.’

  ‘No,’ Lily replied, smiling through her tears. ‘This is much better. Don’t you see? You wanted me to be with you when you could have just been together. Nothing’s wrong, it’s all right. It’s perfect.’

  Leaning forward, Ceri kissed Lily’s cheek. On the other side, Michael lifted his muzzle and licked away the trail of tears on that side.

  Lily giggled. ‘Oh great, wolf spit.’

  Ceri joined the giggle. ‘Maybe
we should get some sleep. We can pick this up later.’ And they settled themselves where they were, Lily still smiling until drowsiness overtook her. Ceri felt sleep harder to grasp, however. Everything was perfect, so why could she not shake the feeling things were ending?

  Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, April 28th.

  Huanglong sat in his room in silence. He had attempted to meditate several times over the last couple of days and had always come away dissatisfied. He knew what it was that plagued him and stopped him coming to a decision. He had lost his own inner balance, much as the creature known as Lo Chan had had balance taken away from it.

  He needed focus now, more than ever. He needed to know that the path he had laid out was the right one, that this was the only choice. The act was simple now that the ring had been made: he needed only to slide it onto a finger. Admittedly, his inability to regrow a new hand made that simple task harder now, but it would not take much effort, and it served as a reminder of why he was doing it.

  No, the physical act needed no preparation, but the act was little more than a symbol. It was a symbol that Huanglong was willing to do anything to get his revenge upon Ceridwyn Brent and Lily Carpenter. Was he really so obsessed that he would do it? Would he take the final step necessary to ensure that he could defeat them?

  As he sat, legs crossed, on the floor of his hotel room, his mind drifting in the early stages of meditation, images flared into being before his eyes and he almost recoiled, once again failing. This time he pressed on and the images continued.

  He stood amid the machines of the power station Brent had built, his right hand outstretched toward the auburn-haired girl in the magical armour. Her sword whipped about as he summoned his magic, and she severed his hand from his arm. And he had run, out into the night. The sensation of the sword’s magic burning through him had been sickening. He had known that returning to his dragon form would make things worse, and he knew that he was dying. In desperation he had cast aside much of what made him a dragon…

  And in that instant had come the Dragonfall.

  Huanglong had lost almost everything he was that night. He had hung onto a kernel of truth: that he was a dragon, born of a line which had sought to save the species from destruction for many thousands of years. But the dragons were gone and he was contemplating something horrific to revenge himself upon those who had destroyed them. Except… Had they been responsible?