Thaumatology 101

by Teasdale, Niall

  ‘I, uh, don’t do magic,’ Lily said.

  ‘No,’ Bellamy said, ‘but you are magic, and your very nature is an indication of what I’m talking about.’ He turned to the class, grinning. ‘Please answer honestly, and don’t be afraid to admit it, is there anyone in the room who would not like to go to bed with this young lady?’ There was a rather embarrassed silence, aside from the sound of Ceri trying not to giggle. ‘You’re not actually using your aura either, are you Lily?’

  ‘That’d be rude,’ Lily replied.

  ‘Quite.’ Bellamy bowed his head slightly. ‘Because Lily has this “unnatural” attractiveness as part of her being, the law does not penalise her for it. That would be like locking someone up for being a skilled martial artist. Her aura is different. It requires an act of will to use and so falls into the category of offensive magic. She can use it defend herself, but if she were to use it offensively, it would be classed as assault.’

  Lily nodded. ‘Not that anyone’s ever complained when I’ve used it in any way,’ she said, grinning wide enough to show her fangs.

  ‘I don’t doubt it,’ Bellamy replied, suggesting he had been hit with a succubus aura before. ‘However, we’ve covered that, on to the more subtle effects. Sex with a succubus is, quite frankly, amazing. It’s not simply that they’re good at it, they manipulate the flow of energy through the body, prolonging the moment of climax so that they can feed.’ Ceri shuddered at the memory of it. Lily could, indeed, keep you on the edge of orgasm for what felt like days. It was incredible, awesome, but even as she remembered it, she recognised the danger, and where Bellamy was going. ‘Sex with a succubus, or an incubus,’ Bellamy went on, ‘is addictive. They can rapidly come to control someone totally, they enslave their victims. If Lily were to actively pursue someone to do that, it would be illegal.’

  ‘I avoid having steady partners,’ Lily said, ‘except under specific circumstances. Even then it pays to be careful.’ She glanced at Ceri when she said it.

  ‘So,’ their teacher said, ‘Lily is a half-succubus who could be tried should she enslave someone with her undoubtedly pleasant powers. What about a wizard who summoned a succubus and sent it to do the same to an enemy?’

  ‘The wizard would be tried for misuse of magic,’ Watts said. ‘The demon is considered a tool. It’s similar to sending a zombie to kill someone. The zombie is considered a weapon.’

  Bellamy nodded. ‘Excellent, Mr Watts. However, using magic to enslave someone, whether by addicting them to a succubus, or using a number of spells which permanently control the mind, carries a harsher penalty than murder. Since there is no reliable way to remove a magician’s powers, they sentence someone like that to entombment in rock. You’re alive, unaware, suspended in magic, possibly for eternity.’ He paused to let that sink in. ‘The same applies to killing someone with the intent to turn them into a zombie, and also the binding of sentient undead if you’re a necromancer.’

  Lily looked over at Ceri again. She was thinking the same as Ceri was. Shane Walters had been killed and turned into a zombie. It seemed that Matthew Barnes had committed the worst crime it was considered a magician could do, and he would know it. If he would do that, there was probably nothing he would stop at.

  October 13th

  Alec and Lily had to go to work on the night of Ceri’s exam, but Alec had called in some favours to make sure she would be safe. She was not entirely sure how safe she felt riding on the back of a motorcycle behind a man with dark hair and fangs, but Alec vouched for him and the six other werewolves. Four were males, two of them with a female sitting behind them. Ceri had not got all their names, but the one driving the bike she was on was called Dane.

  Somehow, being on a bike was not quite as bad as being in a car. Maybe it was the air rushing past, Ceri was not sure. Even so, she held onto Dane rather firmly. He did not seem to mind. In fact he seemed quite prepared for it and Ceri wondered whether Alec or Lily had told him she got nervous around motor vehicles.

  Of course, a squad of leather-clad bikers flanking Ceri into the community building freaked out the receptionist more than Alec and Lily had. Ceri ignored her, heading straight up the stairs while the werewolves stationed themselves at strategic locations around reception, the staircase, and the hall leading to the classroom. Dane positioned himself outside the door with a nod to Bellamy.

  Ceri sat down at her desk and looked at the closed booklet in front of her. She looked up at Bellamy and waited.

  ‘Very well,’ the teacher said, looking around at the clock, ‘this is a one hour paper. Answer three of the five questions. You may begin.’

  ~~~

  ‘Congratulations,’ Bellamy said as he handed Ceri a signed sheet of paper. ‘I look forward to reading how you’ve surpassed Mat Barnes in the future.’

  Ceri smiled. ‘Thanks,’ she said, ‘though I don’t think…’

  ‘Trust me,’ Bellamy said, ‘you’ll outshine the bastard.’

  Nodding, slightly confused, Ceri took her leave. She was the last of the students to go. They had all passed, even Raven who had looked enormously relieved to receive her temporary certificate. The proper one, together with a little plastic registration card would be sent to them by post, Bellamy had explained.

  Dane was waiting outside the room. ‘So, you’re a proper magician now?’ he asked.

  Ceri waved the paper at him with a grin. ‘Yeah, this says I am anyway.’

  He grinned, showing fangs. ‘Cool. I’m supposed to take you up to Soho now. Your babe-friend said she wanted to celebrate when you passed your course.’

  Ceri had no doubt that Lily had said something like that. ‘Okay,’ she said and started for the stairs.

  ‘Donny, Kort, and Tabby’ll go pick up your boss and take her along,’ Dane added. ‘Alec insisted.’

  Ceri giggled at that and Dane looked at her a little oddly, but he did not ask the question and she did not think it appropriate to supply a reason. ‘If you don’t mind me asking,’ she said, ‘how do you know Alec? I mean, I thought the packs didn’t have much to do with ronin.’ She felt Dane stiffen beside her. ‘I’m, uh, sorry,’ she said, ‘I didn’t mean to offend…’

  He made a visible effort to relax. ‘Not your fault,’ he said, ‘he probably said he was ronin, right?’ Ceri nodded her reply. ‘Yeah, he would. Technically he is, but he was Black Wolf pack…’ He broke off, almost sounding as though he had said too much. ‘He saved my life, back before I made Alpha. I owe him.’ The alternative, and more obvious, reason seemed reasonable, but there was more to it.

  On the other hand, it seemed rude to ask so Ceri changed the subject. ‘So, Alec didn’t say which pack you guys were with.’

  ‘North Hills,’ Dane replied. ‘We’re a nomad pack. Mostly hang ‘round the Chilterns.’ They had reached the top of the stairs and the two wolves waiting there turned smartly and without a word to follow them down. Two more were collected at the bottom of the stairs, while the last two approached from around the reception area. Ceri had never seen werewolves together as a pack and she found it fascinating. They really did operate as a cohesive whole. Dane seemed to say nothing, but the others knew their place and purpose.

  As the quintet of motorcycles cruised down to the end of Foxley Road, the two trailing bikes peeled off without a word, heading for High Towers to pick up Cheryl. The remaining bikes picked up speed as they turned onto Camberwell New Road, heading for the Oval and then Vauxhall Bridge. The soft hum of the well-tuned engine between Ceri’s thighs buzzed through her body. It was far more relaxing than she had thought it would be and she pulled herself closer against Dane’s back and tried to forget that she was riding on something with wheels.

  He was not a big man. No taller than Ceri, he nevertheless had quite a broad back and a lot of dense, corded muscle running over his chest. On the north side of the bridge, they kept running straight up Vauxhall Bridge Road and Ceri grinned; they were taking the long way around, past Buckingham Palace, rather than going
up Millbank. Giving her a bit of a show on the way to the club.

  ‘I’m surprised there’s no she-wolf sitting where I am,’ she said, not having to raise her voice much to be heard. Werewolves had successfully lobbied for Parliament to vote against a law on compulsory helmets during the nineties. Werewolves were a lot about freedom, especially not having rules imposed on them by non-werewolves.

  ‘That a subtle way of asking if I’m single?’ Dane asked.

  ‘No, genuine surprise,’ Ceri replied with a laugh. ‘You look like a good catch.’

  ‘Aleena seemed to think I was,’ he acknowledged, ‘but she died about four years ago.’

  Once again Ceri felt like she had put her foot in it. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said.

  ‘She died well,’ he said. ‘I miss her, but she went down fighting and she took six of the bastards with her when she went.’ There was a fierce pride in his voice, along with a hint of pain. According to the books Ceri had read, while an Alpha would not deny themselves after their partner’s death, neither male nor female would take another mate.

  The Palace was lit up as they cruised around to drive down The Mall and Ceri spotted the flag flying over it. ‘The Queen’s in,’ she commented, not really knowing what to say. It raised a short, barking laugh from Dane. ‘Hey,’ she said, ‘you don’t know if they really are weres, do you?’

  She felt a rumbling chuckle in his chest. ‘We don’t comment on the rumours,’ he said.

  ‘That’s no fun,’ she replied with a giggle. There were a number of rumours to the effect that the Royal Family had werewolves among them, but if they were true it was a well-kept secret. Better known was Charles’ enthusiastic embrace of witchcraft; it went well with his image as an ecologist.

  The traffic was not heavy and Ceri was almost sorry the trip was over when they pulled up outside the Jade Dragon. ‘Are you coming in?’ she asked as she swung her leg over the back of the Norton.

  ‘Not our scene,’ Dane replied. ‘You go have fun.’

  Ceri was a little disappointed. ‘Okay, and thanks for this evening. I enjoyed your company.’

  Dane smiled, showing his fangs. ‘Been a while since I had a good looking girl on the back of this old thing,’ he said, patting the tank in front of him. ‘I’ll see you again, maybe.’

  She smiled back. ‘I hope so,’ she said, and then turned with a wave to walk into the club. As the door closed she heard the throaty roar of the bikes pulling away.

  Cheryl was already there, beaming in pride at her protégé’s success, but Lily gave her no time to express that pride as she appeared from between the tables and began hustling Ceri toward the back rooms. ‘Time for the congratulations in a minute,’ the half-succubus said. ‘First you get changed. I got some stuff for you to wear. You can change in Carter’s office.’

  Lily, it seemed, had been shopping. The dress was short and black with fake buckles down the front and a built in bra. The bottom half of each cup was mesh, as was the bottom two inches of the skirt, and there was a pair of matching, strappy, platform heels. Ceri eyed the outfit and concluded that Lily had ulterior motives. For starters, she had no underwear available that would work under it. Shrugging, she undressed and squeezed into the tight dress.

  Her demon was standing outside the office when Ceri emerged. Lily’s smirk turned into a delighted smile. ‘You look gorgeous!’ she said. Rushing forward, she wrapped Ceri in a hug. ‘Congratulations,’ she said, giggling, ‘I knew you could do it!’

  The giggle was infectious. ‘If this is what I get for a simple PPC exam,’ she said, ‘what happens if I get my doctorate?’

  ‘When you get your doctorate,’ Lily said, ‘I’m going to…’ Her voice dropped to a whisper. Ceri went bright red, then begin to fidget, and then the red evened out into a deep flush down her neck and across her chest. ‘That’s what you get when you get your doctorate,’ Lily said a little louder. ‘Now let’s go join the party.’

  Ceri’s legs were a little wobbly. ‘That’s… an incentive,’ she said.

  ‘You asked,’ Lily replied, taking Ceri’s arm and leading her out into the club. Suddenly Ceri was being handed a drink and lifted onto a stool. Cheryl was congratulating her, as was Carter. Both of them looked proud and happy for her. Alec stood behind the bar with a smile on his face until things calmed down again.

  ‘I hope Dane behaved himself,’ the barman said. Lily was back at her tables, and Carter and Cheryl were discussing something about funding off to Ceri’s right.

  ‘A perfect gentleman,’ Ceri replied. ‘He seemed like a nice guy.’

  ‘He is,’ Alec said, ‘but he’s been without his mate for a while and I don’t think he’s taken any of the offers the girls in his pack have made.’

  ‘He said his mate had been killed.’

  Alec nodded, carefully wiping a glass with a tea towel. ‘Yeah. There were a lot of deaths and Aleena was one of them. Could have been worse, they were fighting demons.’

  Ceri frowned. ‘Demons? Someone sent demons after a nomadic werewolf pack?’

  Alec looked at her, his expression suggesting he wished he had not mentioned it. ‘Some things you’re better off not knowing too much about, kid. Forget about it.’

  Ceri narrowed her eyes a little and then nodded. ‘Okay, mysterious, but okay. I have someone trying to kill me as it is, I guess I should concentrate on one death threat at a time.’

  ‘It’s a good attitude,’ the werewolf replied. ‘I try to limit my potentially lethal circumstances to one at a time.’ He grinned and she giggled, but she got the feeling he was joking to hide a nasty reality. His face straightened suddenly. ‘And you might want to consider applying that attitude right about now.’

  Frowning, Ceri looked around to see a man in his late twenties walking in with a woman on each arm. He was good looking in a slightly pale, academic sort of way, with a shock of black hair above narrow features and dark brown eyes. The women had the pale-skinned look that some younger vampires favoured. Blonde and brunette, they wore matching short, black dresses in a mesh fabric which left little to the imagination. In any normal world, the man would not rate two girls who looked even vaguely that sexy.

  Before anyone else could move, Carter was walking over to intercept the threesome. ‘Doctor Barnes,’ he said, ‘not often we see you here in London.’

  Matthew Barnes smiled, but the smile came nowhere near his eyes. ‘I had business at my publishers,’ he said. Ceri’s eyes wandered over his associates. Lily had mentioned he had two vampires as bodyguards and these, she guessed, were them. Her eyes narrowed; the blonde looked like she had a nasty patch of red skin across her chest, but it was hard to tell through the dress.

  Carter looked around at one of the waitresses. ‘Tessa, please show Doctor Barnes to table sixteen.’

  ‘I was hoping to have your half-succubus…’ Barnes began.

  ‘Lily’s tables are full,’ Carter said smoothly.

  Ceri looked around, spotting Lily moving toward the bar. She met her friend’s eyes and waved her over as Tessa led Barnes and his girls toward their table. She could tell Lily had seen him from the way her aura was flaring as she got closer. Carter moved toward them, obviously feeling the same thing.

  ‘That’s Barnes,’ Lily hissed.

  ‘I know, Lil,’ Ceri said.

  ‘The bastard’s tried to kill you three times now, Ceri…’

  ‘You can’t prove it, Lily,’ Carter said. Ceri thought about the burn on the blonde vampire’s chest, probably left there by her own fire. Now was not the time to bring it up. ‘If you do anything, he can defend himself.’

  ‘I’ll…’ Lily’s body tensed and the skin on Ceri’s scalp tightened as the half-succubus’ aura flared hot and angry.

  Ceri slipped from her stool and stepped close to Lily. Her hand reached up and gripped her friend’s jaw, she leaned in so that she could whisper in Lily’s ear. ‘He’s here to taunt you into acting. You will not rise to it. You’re better than that. Don’t mak
e your Mistress ashamed of her pet.’

  Lily’s eyes widened, and then she looked down. ‘Yes, Ceri,’ she said quietly.

  Ceri released her hold on Lily’s chin and stepped back a little. ‘Now you do your job and ignore the freak,’ she said. Lily bowed her head slightly and pulled herself up straight. She looked around, spotted a table where the drinks were getting low, and started toward it.

  Carter watched her go and then looked around at Ceri with a raised eyebrow. ‘You seem to have our Lily under firm control,’ he said. Ceri thought she detected a hint of disapproval. Or was it protectiveness? Was he worried she was taking advantage of Lily?

  ‘Only way we could make things work,’ she said. ‘You ever had a succubus decide you were her chosen master?’

  ‘No,’ he replied, ‘but I have read that document I put on your tablet. I thought it might be informative, not of practical use.’

  Ceri shrugged. ‘We’re hoping she can eventually overcome her demon side, but for now I have to be her mistress at times or she’ll try to control me.’ She felt her cheeks heating. ‘I got it a little wrong and she did try. I broke free, and this is what we came up with. It’s not easy, I’m not exactly a natural dominatrix.’

  Carter’s lips twitched. ‘Fun though, I’d imagine.’

  ‘I enjoy it,’ Lily said, returning from her table. She was smiling, focussed on being the best waitress in the Jade Dragon. ‘And,’ she added, ‘Mistress is getting much better at pushing my buttons when she needs to.’ Ceri blushed slightly. ‘You were right,’ Lily said. ‘I was being… emotional.’

  ‘That’s your nature, dear,’ Cheryl said. ‘Succubi are tuned to emotion. And your protectiveness of Ceri is very endearing.’

  Lily shrugged slightly. ‘Since we’re not keeping it quiet… Ceri’s my mistress, I can’t help being protective.’

  ‘You can rationalise it that way if you like, Lil,’ Carter said, ‘but you’d have been doing the same thing before Ceri’s accident. Your demon side is not the governor of your actions you like to make it out to be.’