Ceri blinked. Clearly he knew her… ‘Hi,’ she said, ‘you were asking for me?’
‘Uh, yeah,’ he said, shuffling his feet. ‘Um… you probably don’t recognise me… uh, it’s Michael.’
‘Michael!’ Ceri brightened, though seeing his human form was a bit of a shock. ‘Uh, this is my boss, Doctor Cheryl Tennant. Michael is one of the werewolves from the Battersea pack.’
Cheryl smiled and walked over to the werewolf, offering her hand. ‘Pleased to meet you, Michael,’ she said.
Michael took her hand and shook it, but he looked rather hesitant. ‘Uh, pleased to meet you, ma’am,’ he said. The confident werewolf Ceri was used to was far from confident as a human.
Ceri was not entirely sure how to react. ‘I wasn’t expecting to see you here?’ she said.
‘Uh, yeah, sorry,’ he began.
Suddenly she knew how to react. Stepping forward, she quickly closed the distance between them, rubbing her cheek against his. The action surprised him, but seemed to lend him confidence. He returned the cheek-rub and his body straightened a little. ‘You don’t need to be sorry,’ she said. ‘I’m pleased to see you, just surprised.’ She kept the close position up for a second or too longer, her body rubbing against his, and then she moved back.
The look on Cheryl’s face was utterly priceless. Ceri could not help laughing. ‘You two… know each other quite well then?’ Cheryl asked.
‘Michael’s been helping me get assimilated into the pack,’ Ceri said. ‘We’re…’ She stopped and looked around at Michael. ‘Are we mates? I’m not sure whether it’s some sort of official thing or…’
The werewolf’s cheeks coloured. ‘Uh… well if you were a real pack member, we’d be mates,’ he said. ‘Alexandra said you wouldn’t be a permanent member, so I guess it’s more like we’re dating… or something.’
Ceri was a little relieved. Michael the werewolf had seemed very involved in the relationship, but in wolf form they were more emotionally driven. If Michael the human was more realistic, then hopefully things would not get difficult. She looked back to Cheryl. ‘Michael is my temporary mate,’ she said.
‘I guess that explains all the rubbing up against each other,’ Cheryl said, smiling. ‘You seem to be picking up the culture rather quickly. Perhaps I should try it.’
Ceri laughed. ‘I’m not sure Alec would approve.’
Michael frowned. ‘You know Alec, ma’am?’ he asked.
‘Quite well,’ Cheryl replied. ‘Though I hasten to add that neither of us would consider the other as our mate. I’ll leave you two to your business.’ She turned toward her own office and then stopped, glancing back. ‘If your office door is closed, I won’t disturb you,’ she said, grinning, and then she went on her way.
‘C’mon,’ Ceri said, heading for her office, ‘there’s chairs in here.’ She led the way in, sitting down behind her desk and waving at the chair behind the second desk in the room. ‘Grab that and pull it over,’ she directed. ‘You know, I like being a wolf with you, but it’s nice to be able to talk properly.’
Michael smiled slightly and went to grab the chair. ‘Won’t the owner of this want it?’
‘He’s dead,’ Ceri replied. ‘Twice.’
‘Sorry?’ Michael stopped moving the chair and stared at her. He had very blue eyes.
‘Someone killed him and brought him back as a zombie,’ she explained. ‘Then I blew a hole in his chest after he was sent to kill me and Cheryl.’
‘Oh,’ Michael said. He finished pushing the chair over and sat down with his knees touching Ceri’s. Werewolves had little sense of personal space, but in this case Ceri did not mind. ‘Alexandra said you were powerful. She said you were a special kind of magician.’
‘I’d appreciate it if you kept that quiet,’ Ceri said a little sharply. ‘You could maybe mention that to Alexandra as well?’
‘You can tell her yourself,’ he replied. ‘She needs to talk to you, tonight. She said it would be fine if you came as a human, but she needs to see you.’
‘So she sent you?’ Ceri asked.
‘Well…’ He blushed and looked a little sheepish. ‘She wanted someone to come and I said I would… I, uh… I missed you and I was worried.’
Leaning forward, Ceri put her hands on his and smiled. ‘I’m okay. What happened was a side effect of me using all that magic to be a wolf and me being… special. The magic builds up in my body until it kind of overflows. Cheryl ran another scan on me this morning and it’s draining out. A little slow for my tastes, but I’ll be clear in another couple of days.’
‘So… no wolf tonight then?’ he asked.
‘No, sorry. I could probably risk it for a little while, but I’m still trying to work out what I can and can’t do.’
Michael nodded. ‘Come anyway. Alexandra was pretty intense about it. She really needs to see you.’
‘I’ll be there.’ She leaned back again and looked at him appraisingly. ‘You’re younger than I expected,’ she said. ‘How did you end up with Alexandra’s pack?’
He heaved a sigh and then gave a short, self-deprecating laugh. ‘Stupidity,’ he said. ‘I was born into the Brecon pack.’
‘I thought there was a little Welsh in your voice,’ Ceri interrupted. ‘I was born in Bala, though we moved to London not long after.’
He grinned. ‘Took me a bit longer. I developed a bad case of teenage rebellion, said some things I probably shouldn’t have, and ran away to the big city. One of the pack found me after a couple of months, thank God.’
‘Alexandra seems to trust you.’
‘Yeah,’ he replied, nodding, ‘she treated me like an adult, y’know? I’m part of her guard team, uh, when I’m not showing humans how to be a werewolf. To be honest, I’ve always been better at being a wolf than a human.’
‘How old are you, Michael?’
He pulled himself upright in his chair. ‘I was eighteen in April.’ She had guessed right.
Ceri grimaced. ‘Wow, five and a half years… People will accuse me of cradle robbing.’
‘Does it bother you?’ He looked a little worried.
Ceri considered her answer for a second. Michael was definitely one of those werewolves who was more at home in fur and werewolves were more demonstrative than vocal. She stood up and walked around her desk to the door, pushing it closed. The only carpeting in the office was a scrappy rug, it was thin, but it was better than concrete. She walked to the middle of it and then slowly turned her back to him, glancing back over her shoulder.
He did not say a word, but a second later his hands were on her hips and he was nuzzling at her neck.
Battersea
Alexandra had obviously considered their meeting with some care. Michael and a couple of the other wolves met Ceri at the tree where she normally hid her clothes, and they had borrowed one of the row boats from the lake to get her across to the island. When Ceri arrived in the clearing with its oil drum fire, the pack’s Alpha was boiling a kettle over a small kerosene burner.
Alexandra smiled at her. ‘Care for some tea, dear?’
‘Uh, thank you,’ Ceri said. Alexandra had got in before Ceri could go through the proper motions and it felt a little awkward, but she moved forward and dropped to one knee anyway.
Alexandra chuckled softly. ‘No need for that, child. I’m happy to accept that when you’re being one of mine, but you’re human tonight, and my equal.’
Shifting herself around so that she could sit with her legs tucked up, Ceri raised an eyebrow. ‘Not sure about the equal bit, Alexandra.’ Michael moved to crouch just behind her.
‘That, my dear, is because you, like others I could mention,’ the Alpha’s eyes drifted over Ceri’s shoulder, ‘have no idea of your potential.’ The whistle on the kettle gave a valiant attempt at shrieking, but Alexandra plucked it off the little stove and turned off the gas. ‘It’s Earl Grey,’ she said, ‘would you like milk?’
‘Uh, no, it’ll be fine without.’ Ceri watched, b
emused, as Alexandra poured boiling water into an actual china teapot; it seemed rather anachronistic in the setting.
‘I’m sure you’re wondering why I requested you come?’ the Alpha said. ‘However, I’m going to keep you waiting a little longer. Does the name “Remus” mean anything to you?’
‘Well, there’s Romulus and Remus? They were supposed to be the brothers who founded Rome.’
Alexandra nodded. ‘The twin sons of Rhea Silvia, daughter of Numitor who was the rightful king of Alba Longa. Numitor was deposed by his brother, and to ensure that there would be no one to object to his claim on the throne, Amulius, the brother, had Rhea sent to be a Vestal Virgin. Somehow, some say by divine means, Rhea conceives two sons, and Amulius had her buried alive and the children sent to their deaths by exposure.’
‘However, the boys are found by a she-wolf who suckles them and keeps them safe,’ Ceri said. ‘There’s that famous statue of the infants sitting under a wolf. I hope you’re not going to tell me that was you.’
Alexandra laughed. ‘I’m old, dear, older than I look, but not quite that old. Supposedly the boys are raised by a shepherd and his wife. They grow up, discover their heritage, kill Amulius, and restore their grandfather to the throne. However, they did not wish to live under his rule, so they left Alba Longa to found a city of their own.’
She stopped to pour the tea into a couple of mugs which did not go well with the teapot, but did fit their setting more. She handed Ceri a mug which proclaimed “Werewolves do It in the Woods!” The old woman had a distinct smirk on her face and Ceri grinned back at her. ‘One of the pack bought it for me,’ she said. She took a sip of her tea and went on. ‘So, the brothers find a site, but argue about exactly where to put the city. They do a bit of divination to see whose site is best. Remus sees six vultures first, but Romulus sees twelve later. Both say they have good claims on the best augury, but their followers go with Romulus and construction begins atop the Palatine Hill. Remus was, as the modern expression goes, “a bit pissed off” and spends his time pointing out flaws in the buildings and defences.’
‘I think I know this bit,’ Ceri said. ‘Doesn’t Remus leap over the city’s wall or something and Romulus kills him?’
‘More or less,’ Alexandra replied. ‘It was a trench rather than a wall, but the legend goes that Romulus killed his brother over the insult. He then creates the festival of Lemuria to placate Remus’ resentful ghost. Eventually, Romulus is killed, some say by his own senators, and deified as the god Quirinus.’
Ceri took a drink of tea. ‘You didn’t call me over here to give me lessons in ancient history,’ she said.
Alexandra smiled. ‘Actually, I did. Romulus and Remus were real, however, there’s another version of the legend which is a little more accurate. They were raised by Luperca and her mate Lupercus. She was a wolf-goddess, venerated by the packs across Europe at the time. He was related to shepherds, bringing fertility to the flocks and keeping his spouse’s followers off them. A good arrangement. It’s said that both of the twins benefitted from this divine upbringing, but Remus in particular gained much from his mother.’
‘He was a werewolf?’
‘Not… exactly,’ Alexandra said. Ceri frowned. There were times when she got very irritated by the habit people had of being enormously cryptic around her. One of the things she loved about Lily was that the half-succubus was pretty much an open book. ‘Romulus killed his brother because Remus had taken more and more of his foster mother’s spirit into himself. By the end he was suffused by it. It corrupted him, but he corrupted it. When he was killed, his spirit began roaming the hills outside the city, striking down anyone foolish enough to go out alone.’
‘So Romulas created this festival to placate his brother’s restive spirit,’ Ceri said.
‘Yes, and it worked,’ Alexandra said, ‘but it was also a huge mistake. Channelling power to the spirit eventually allowed it to come after the one it really wanted revenge upon. Romulus was not killed by his senators, he was torn apart and consumed by his brother who had enough power to regain a physical form.’
‘A wolf?’ Ceri asked.
‘We call them the Remus Pack,’ Alexandra said. ‘He was the first of them and he would have likely been the last if the Romans had not deified his brother. All that worship over years, he kept growing in power and learned to make more like himself. They are… demon-wolves. They have no human form and they reproduce by “infecting” werewolves. They are the vampires of werewolf-kind, if you will.’
‘I’m still not quite getting what this has to do with me,’ Ceri said.
Alexandra smiled her enigmatic smile. ‘Remus and his pack have been a bane on werewolf society for millennia. During the last war the Ahnenerbe, a part of the SS tasked with promoting and researching the Aryan Race, discovered them and made a deal. A pack of werewolves was causing the Nazis problems in the Black Forest and Hitler requested that the Remus Pack deal with them.’
‘What happened?’
‘You’ve met the only survivor. The Black Wolves were the largest group of surviving black-furs left before the Shattering.’
‘Alec?’ Ceri said. ‘Dane once said that Alec was one of the Black Wolves. Then he kind of… suggested that I hadn’t heard it.’
‘Yes,’ Alexandra said, ‘Alec has made it quite plain that he considers the Remus Pack to be a problem for werewolves to deal with. I believe your friend Carter has offered to help before now, but despite their friendship, Alec refused.’
Ceri frowned. ‘If Alec’s so determined to avoid outside help, why are you telling me? Even if I know about it, he won’t let me help.’
‘Because, my dear, Alec’s attempts to deal with Remus have been disastrous. His pack took a fair number of Remus’ wolves with them, but they were destroyed and Remus continues. His homelands were destroyed when the demons invaded Italy, so he moved into Southern France during the years after the Shattering. He has been trying to spread his influence ever since. Alec enlisted the help of the North Hills pack a few years ago when he sent a group into England.’
‘And Dane lost Aleena,’ Ceri guessed.
‘Oh, more than just her. The North Hills’ territory extended almost to Cambridge back then. Dane lost well over thirty wolves in that encounter.’
Ceri frowned. ‘Can’t you..?’
‘I’m intelligent enough to know that I can’t, no.’ She drained her tea. ‘Oh, I’m skilled, but my power lies elsewhere. This requires a practitioner of considerable power, Ceridwyn. Perhaps only a sorcerer could defeat Remus. It’s such a shame they all died out so long ago.’
Ceri coughed. ‘I know you know,’ she said. ‘I don’t know how you know, and I don’t think I mind so long as you don’t spread it around. That still leaves me with questions, how do you expect me to persuade Alec to let me help, and why now?’
‘I’m afraid the former will have to be up to you,’ Alexandra said. ‘As for the timing… I sensed something on the night of the New Moon. I believe that something is going to happen, soon. Remus is beginning something and the North Hills pack will be involved. You must find a way to help them, Ceridwyn. More than just the werewolves are in danger here. Remus is going to do something terrible. The Winter Solstice this year coincides with the Full moon. Whatever is going to happen, it will happen then.’
‘Two weeks,’ Ceri said. ‘I’ve got two weeks to try to teach an old wolf new tricks.’
Alexandra laughed. ‘And with the fate of the country, if not the entire world, resting on it, dear.’ She smiled. ‘No pressure.’
Part Three: The Fair One
Kennington, London, December 8th, 2010
Demons were not something Ceri had ever planned to have much to do with. There was Lily, of course, and there was some probability that Lily’s father might show up at some point. By all accounts, he was not too bad, but Lily was still quite happy to sleep in a house which an incubus could not walk into unless invited into it. Lily herself was enough demon fo
r Ceri to be messing with, as far as she was concerned anyway. Sadly, life had an alarming habit of flushing your plans down the toilet.
Ceri’s father had been a wizard, however, and while his dealings with demons had largely consisted of minor exchanges for information, he had collected a reasonably extensive library of demonology books. Ceri had consulted them before, but mostly concerning a symbol which had been used to try to kill her, and then had saved her life. Now she was digging through volumes on actually summoning the things, even though what she was looking for was a way to get rid of them.
Of course, the easiest way would have been to ask Carter. The man was reputed to have made his first million in a demonic pact, though Ceri actually doubted it entirely. He did seem to hang onto his youth rather too well, but that was entirely possible with the right genetics. Still, Ceri was not going to ask Carter for help on this one. There was entirely too much chance of Alec finding out about what she was up to. No, Carter was going to have to sit this one out.
The phone on her desk rang, wrenching her out of her examination of Latin texts. Picking it up, she glanced at the number and frowned; Lily rarely called from work. She hit the button to answer and said, ‘Hey Lil, something up?’
‘Hi, and yeah.’ The voice on the other head sounded worried. ‘Alec didn’t come in this evening and he’s not answering his phone. Carter asked if you could be persuaded to go over to his place and check on him.’
Ceri headed back to the rug with its piles of musty books, sitting down and tapping a notepad application into life on her tablet. ‘I’ll need an address. He didn’t leave a message or anything?’ she said.
‘If he had, we wouldn’t be asking,’ Lily replied. ‘Carter would go himself, but he can’t find anyone to take care of the bar. It’s hell down here. The address is 10 Fife Road, East Sheen. Carter says it’s due south of Mortlake station.’
‘Alec lives out in Richmond?’ Ceri said. ‘That seems a bit upmarket for him.’
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