by Chris Page
‘Having drank some of your blood first,’ added Tara.
The king paled considerably.
‘If you knew of my dislike for your kind, why are you warning me?’ His voice had dropped to a mumble and his manner had lost all kingly authority.
‘Because,’ said Twilight, ‘the three of us are true to our venefical code and will not stand by and see it treated with such contempt. Venefici are not placed on this turning earth as rulers, kings or queens, or politicians. That’s the prerogative of others. We are not here to assist anyone to dominate others by force, although our past has not always been true to this ideal. Tara and I have been asked by Virgile to help him with this problem of the Confrerie because their combined power is too much for any one of us to handle. They are, quite simply, rogue venefici, and that, in our language, is an abomination and bastardization of the enchanted power bestowed upon us. Its misuse is as low as any non-mortal in a human form can stoop. They must be dealt with, or ten thousand years of venefical history will have been wasted and no one will ever accept us for the good we do or have done. Our venefical history is at stake. That, your majesty, is why we are here today.’
‘What would you like me to do?’ King Philip I of Francia whispered.
Chapter 10
I have destroyed the foul veneficus Virgile and am about to return with the promised prize of his head swollen with blood for your pleasure.
Ever since Merlin, the long magus, and the thirteen-year old tyro Twilight had defied Tiresias, the Seer of Thebes, at the Equinoctial Festival of the Dead at Stonehenge, the venefical progressions of Wessex had been left alone by Zeus and his fellow gods of the Presidium. Twilight, who could still, after more than fifty-five years, conjure up the intensity and resonance of Tiresias’s voice as it had cracked across his mind on that fateful day, had no doubt that he and all other venefici were still ultimately under the control of the fabulous Greek deity. That he had not had any sign or communication from them in all these years didn’t mean that they were uninterested. Fifty-five years were a mere yesterday in the timeless leaps that the mighty Presidium lived to, a drop of water to the limitless volume of an ocean.
Not that Twilight knew how to make contact with them - he certainly didn’t. They remained omnipotent and unreachable. If any communication was to take place it would come from them at a time of their choosing. The only possible clue had been the way Tiresias had contacted him, which had been during the annual visit to assuage the cowering dead at Stonehenge. But that had, according to the long magus, been a rogue communication and as far as he could see, the Seer of Thebes had almost certainly suffered at the hands of Zeus for it.
‘If they need to communicate with you, they will,’ the old alpha astounder had said. ‘If you don’t hear from them, assume that they are satisfied with your handling of the enchantments. Take their silence as a pat on the back.’
Then he added, almost as an afterthought, ‘For what it’s worth, other than the voice at your first Stonehenge Festival, I’ve never had any communication with them either. A lifetime of crinkum crankum without any interference whatsoever from those who gave you the power to do it. Sheer bliss, eh, skirmisher?’
Since the old enchanter was ninety-eight at the time, it didn’t look as if the situation would ever change.
On that basis Twilight had gone about his venefical duties for fifty years. If Zeus and the other gods of the mighty Presidium wanted him, they would get in touch . . . somehow.
And then they did.
It started with a question to Twilight from Tara and Virgile.
They were in love and wanted to seal their love by going through the hand-fasting ceremony of marriage.
Could, they asked, venefici marry each other? Would Twilight rule on and, if possible, sanction their union?
There was no known precedent for it in the Wessex or the Carnac history. Many male and female venefici buried under the stones of both sites had married and had children through the union; Twilight himself was a case in point with his union with Rawnie. But nowhere could they find any examples of venefici marrying each other. One or other of the previous pairings had always been a normal mortal.
In a couple of rare cases the children of such a union had been born with an aura signature allowing them to become venefici, but it was unusual. As a result of his union with Rawnie, Twilight’s two children, Eleanor and Harlo, had been normal, but Twilight himself was one of the unusual cases. The union between his mother, Leah, before she had wed his father, Sam Timms, and the long magus had begat him in the place referred to by Leah as ‘the hill where the white dove has flown.’ Congress with Leah had been a panic response by Merlin. His time was running out rapidly, and the next in line had not come forward. Fortunately for the venefical progressions of Wessex, it had worked, but had been a close-run thing and had allowed the long magus and Twilight only seven years together.
Would the children of the marriage of Tara and Virgile stand a better chance of being born with the all-important aura signature of venefici and therefore be infinitely better placed to take over from their parents in due course?
Transferring back to Avebury, Twilight sat alone on the top of Silbury Mound and considered all the possibilities. As he sat there he became aware of another presence.
‘Becoming aware’ is not a reaction that applies to venefici. Such are their powers, nothing can get close to an astounder without its presence being detected long before its arrival.
But this ‘presence’ had and was sitting behind him.
Do not alarm yourself, great enchanter, we are on the same side in all things, a deep male voice spoke directly to his mind. You may turn and look at me if you wish, but my outline will be indistinct, even to you.
Slowly, with more than a hint of curiosity, Twilight turned.
‘I will first hack out their tongues, then fill their empty mouths with molten metal. I want all those who do not instantly side with our quest to occupy the throne of Francia to taste and gag on the stinking smell of burning head flesh and agonizing death. I want the terror of it to ride on the winds across the three classes of this land such that all opposition to our cause will be instantly crushed by the stench and savagery of our anger. To achieve this I propose the public pouring of molten gold in the ears and tongue-less mouths of the monarch and his family until dead, molten silver in the same holes of recalcitrant noblemen and the highborn, and molten lead for the empty heads of any opposing peasants. The message will quickly get home. Mess with the Confrerie and your brains will explode in a molten spume of gold, silver, and lead. Once dead the gold and silver will be removed. It’s too valuable to be left in the charred heads of the nobility and can be used over and over again. The lead can be left in the stinking cavities of the peasantry; it’s as worthless as they are. Never let it be said that I do not recognize and reward class differences!’
Teneo, the speaker, and one of his two companions burst into laughter. The other, the mute called Quiritatio, let go with the high-pitched whistling shriek he was named after.
‘What about Virgile? How do you propose we rid ourselves of him?’ Evanesco asked.
‘I certainly won’t be wasting any precious metal on that heap of horse’s dung, that’s for sure. But he should be the first to go. Otherwise he’ll get delusions of venefical grandeur and interfere with the rest of our program.’
Can I have him?
The instant mind message to them both came from Quiritatio.
‘Are you sure you can handle him?’
My power is greater than his, my skills and experience at inflicting death are greater than his, and my hatred of everything he stands for is beyond anything he could ever summon up. Three good reasons why I will be victorious.
‘What if he tries the terminus threat again?’ Teneo asked.
I’ll get out of the way and let him get on with it. Save me the bother of killing him and get rid of most of those old stones at the same time.
Teneo t
urned to Evanesco and raised an eyebrow. The vampire veneficus nodded his acceptance of the suggestion before addressing Quiritatio himself.
‘Save some of his venefical blood for me. I’ve never tasted the enchanted variety - it should be particularly sharp to the tongue.’
Evanesco beamed a great big smile at them both.
I’ll be on my way to Carnac then. When I return I’ll have his head with me, and it will be full of blood for you to sup.
Tara sat with Virgile and Twilight in Virgile’s small stone hovel in Carnac. Tara and Virgile sensed that the old astounder had come to a decision about their betrothal.
‘Your proposed union has caused something I never thought I would see . . . or hear,’ said Twilight, his black eyes glowing with wonder. ‘As you both know, the establishment of the venefical lineage, wherever it is found in the world, is a result of the actions of the Presidium, who reside upon Mount Olympus, and Zeus - their leader and king of the gods, father of the Olympians, sky and weather, hospitality, rights of guests and supplicants, sending of omens, punishment of injustice, and governance of the universe - is omnipotent in our enchanted lives. In this capacity he gives out the fates, rules, and spheres of each domain. Among the nine gods and goddesses who inhabit the Presidium, Tiresias, the Seer of Thebes, was the God of the Domain of the Cowering Dead. As venefici, under Tiresias, it is our solemn duty to maintain the equilibrium of the cowerers at our annual festival; yours, Virgile, taking place here at Carnac and ours at Stonehenge. You both know the story of my first festival when the voice of Tiresias commanded me to release the cowering dead. Luckily, through the actions of the long magus who was by my side, they were not released. Merlin and I often speculated that Tiresias had a hidden agenda built around my birth and then extending to this time thirteen years later. That hidden agenda was for me to release the cowering dead on to an unsuspecting world and through this act promote Tiresias over and above Zeus and the rest of the Presidium, who would be destroyed, to become the leader of a mighty swarm of cowerers, which would sweep across the land consuming all mortals in its path.’
‘Had his plan succeeded,’ said Tara, ‘Tiresias would have become the Devil Incarnate and ruled an underworld of released cowerers with immense power.’
‘He would have ruled Hell on Earth,’ added Virgile. ‘And it would have only been a matter of time before they engulfed all known lands inhabited by mortals. Stonehenge would have been the first step to complete world dominance.’
‘But it didn’t happen because the long magus figured out Tiresias’s plan, and the two of you put in place a fail-safe that stopped him.’
Twilight chuckled in a perfect imitation of his old mentor, Merlin.
‘That, Tara, is what we always thought was the case.’ He took a deep breath. ‘And now I have just come from a meeting that confirms it.’
There was a long silence as Tara and Virgile digested this. Finally Virgile voiced what was occupying both of their thoughts.
‘Then the thing that you never thought you would see or hear can only be a meeting with someone or something from the Presidium itself!’
Twilight nodded.
‘Was it Zeus?’ Tara gasped.
‘I’ll call it his spectral presence,’ Twilight replied. ‘The outline was indistinct, but I have no doubt that it was he by the power and knowledge behind everything he said.’
He then told them, word for word, of his conversation on Silbury Mound.
‘And he confirmed that following the Stonehenge debacle, he banished Tiresias to live forever in the fires of Tartarus, a place he described as lasting torture of a kind that makes the mists of the cowering dead comparable to Nirvana!’
‘Did you ask him about the Presidium and the other gods?’
‘I did and he was very forthcoming. They are Poseidon, Hera, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Helios, and Hermes.’
‘Who replaced Tiresias as god of our domain?’
‘Zeus himself. He said it was too important for anyone else, and after the near disaster created by Tiresias’s treachery, he wanted to oversee it himself.’
‘Did he know what we do, our battles, and how and when we use the enchantments?’
Twilight smiled. ‘Every single action, death, battle, and affiliation, and, before you ask, he was completely satisfied with all three of us.’
‘Did you discuss the Confrerie?’
‘Indirectly. He intimated that he would not discuss individual and current situations other than to say he was satisfied we were going in the right direction and that not all venefici were strict observers of the code. Another thing he addressed, in response to a question from me, was this business of expanding our venefical gift outside of our previously defined regions. His advice was short and sweet; we should go wherever and whenever we deem it necessary.’
‘Why,’ said Virgile, ‘do you think he chose this particular time to pay you a visit after your many years in his service?’
‘I think you both know the answer to that question,’ Twilight said quietly.
‘Our betrothal? Is it that important that the leader of the Presidium himself comes to Silbury Mound because of it?’
‘Yes.’
‘And?’
Both Tara and Virgile held their breath, but before Twilight had a chance to answer, another intrusion occupied all three of them.
Virgile was the first to react.
‘Another spectral presence approaches.’ The other two nodded; they had also sensed the approaching presence.
‘There is only one,’ said Twilight. ‘Do you recognize the aura?’
‘It’s the mute, the one called Quiritatio,’ answered Virgile.
‘Once again Sirius and the Dog Star are parted,’ muttered Twilight obliquely.
‘He won’t know that Twilight and I are here or even exist,’ Tara said softly. ‘Our auras are hidden.’
‘Then render yourselves invisible and we’ll see what the shrieking child killer has to offer, shall we?’ Virgile’s deep bass was venomously quiet. ‘You must also teach me that trick with the invisible aura. It’s very useful.’
‘Consider your aura invisible.’ Twilight smiled as he and Tara faded from view. ‘It also applies to your wonderful peregrines. I’ll show you how it works when we have a little more time.’
As Tara had absorbed the enchantments and gradually assumed the venefical reins, Twilight, although always available when required, was presented with the opportunity to indulge in two activities that had long occupied his thoughts.
The first was to spend time reading the huge collection of writings gathered by Merlin and housed in his scriptorium on the Isle of Avalon. Joined on infrequent occasions by Tara herself when her duties permitted, he worked his way through most of the collection, which the long magus had put together with specific attention to the Greeks but with added texts by the Persians, Etruscans, Macedonians, Romans, Spartans, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Thracians. As Merlin had described it to Twilight, here were one thousand years of proclamations, speeches, laws, tracts, poems, ballads, marching songs, arguments, legends, plays, prayers, homilies, entreaties, sermons, compendia, fables, criticisms, romances, battle strategies and formations, anthologies, public and senate orations, maps, manifestos, philosophies, oaths, jottings, and stories of every kind. Like the long magus before him, he found his knowledge, understanding, and wonder of the known world and its people hugely increased. There was still a great deal to read - even with his speed he was still only two-thirds of the way there - but as he approached the final pile of dusty scrolls, tablets, piles of inscribed vellum, papyrus, parchment, and wood board covered in great flowing arcs of texts illustrating the collective recordings of the great minds of the time and enormous narrative on the cradle of civilization and its history, he began to slow down in order to prolong the pleasure each one gave. Being endowed, as all venefici, with total recall of everything that was said to him or read, he could always bring to mind particular passage
s that had a specific resonance or were beautifully crafted such as to merit a revisit.
The second activity was to progress what he had come to call the ‘ways and means’ of the enchantments. He had been conscious for a long time that the enchantments and their execution had become stuck in a time warp. Their usage had stagnated, and nothing new had been advanced since the long magus had discovered how to disguise the telltale aura trails left by the movements of individual venefici or their animals. This discovery, subsequently repeated by Freyja, the Norse astounder, had proved vital in subsequent battles involving other venefici such as Elelendise, Freyja’s Viking twins, Go-ian and Go-uan, and, more recently, the perverted Leannan Sidhe.
There must be other advances, other innovative ways to deploy the enchantments to the future benefit of right-thinking venefici who would be charged with the future care of their lands. So, for the last ten years or so, Twilight had devoted himself to the science of the enchantments. His careful study and experimentation had revealed some very interesting and new developments.
All he needed now were the opportunities to try them out in the real world, and one had just presented itself.
‘Now we have a moment,’ said Tara, ‘do you think you could tell Virgile and me the outcome of your conversation about our betrothal with the spectral Zeus?’
‘Of course.’ Twilight chuckled and sat down on one of the rough wooden seats in Virgile’s stone hovel. ‘I’d almost forgotten in all the excitement of receiving a visit from one of the hated Confrerie.’
Tara rolled her eyes at Virgile and they settled down.
‘Zeus was quite specific. He was not against your union and welcomed the joining of venefici as being a good thing. He did, however, have a problem with you both living together in one or the other place, Avebury or Carnac, on the basis that the one where you did not reside would not have the permanent services of what he called a ‘trusted’ veneficus. Moving from one to the other as a pair would always leave the empty site vulnerable, and he wants both of them to each have the services of a fully functioning, permanent veneficus. His suggestion was that you should wed but continue to live separately at Carnac and Avebury, taking occasional but random and fleeting trips to see one another. That way you could fulfil your individual commitments to the venefical duties of Francia and England with those to one another.’