John nodded in agreement and waved for Wilks to close up the drawer, but the detective inspector did not look pleased. ‘If either of you come across anything which might lead us to this necromancer,’ he said, ‘I’d appreciate it. I hate unresolved cases.’
~~~
‘John won’t stop looking,’ Lily said as they walked to St James’ Park station.
‘No, probably not,’ Ceri replied.
‘He could get himself in trouble.’
‘Yeah, he could.’
Lily was silent for a few seconds. ‘Do you think we should warn him?’
‘I don’t know how we could. Not without breaking the truce.’
Lily sighed softly. ‘We can’t even tell them about their mole, can we?’
‘No, not really.’
There was more silence. ‘I hate this,’ Lily finally said.
‘The feeling’s mutual, love. The feeling’s mutual.’
Kennington, May 23rd
Ceri was pouring over modulation equations in the study when Twill zipped into the room looking disconcerted. ‘There’s a witch at the door,’ she said.
‘Kate?’ Ceri asked, having to blink a couple of times to yank her head out of the mathematics.
‘I don’t think so.’
Frowning, Ceri got up and headed down to the hall. Sure enough, she could hear someone knocking before she opened the inner door.
The woman standing on the porch was in her early forties, but trying to be younger. Her shoulder length blonde hair was braided and beaded at the sides and she was dressed in a mid-thigh skirt and a T-shirt with a large sunflower printed on it. A tie-died cloth bag was looped over her shoulder and there was a small, wheeled case sitting beside her. She had laughter lines and slight crow’s feet, but looked as though she had been very attractive when younger, though her looks were going now. Ceri imagined she could still turn a few heads.
‘Can I help you?’ Ceri asked, a little bemused.
The woman looked Ceri up and down, taking in the over-sized shirt which was all Ceri was wearing. ‘I’m looking for Lily Carpenter,’ she said. ‘I’m Sally, her mother.’
‘Oh! You, um, you’d better come in,’ Ceri said, stepping back to allow the woman to enter. Grabbing the handle of her case, Sally walked in, her heels clicking on the stone. There was no response from the sigils in the floor to indicate ill intent, but Ceri knew this was going to be interesting. As far as Ceri knew, Lily had not spoken to her mother in ten years. ‘Leave your case there,’ she said, following Sally into the hall. ‘I’ll get Lily after we’ve settled you in the lounge.’
Sally was looking around the huge hallway. ‘It’s rather different on the outside,’ she commented.
‘Illusion,’ Ceri said, leading the way up the stairs. ‘My mother’s work. I’m Ceri, by the way, Ceridwyn Brent.’
‘Yes, I was told. Pleased to meet you.’
‘Told?’
‘I’ll explain when Lily’s here, if you don’t mind.’
‘No, of course not.’ She indicated the large, leather, wing-backed chair which guests generally used. ‘Take a seat, I’ll wake Lily up.’
Lily’s face was entirely hidden beneath tousled, chestnut hair when Ceri entered their bedroom, but a plaintive voice came out from beneath. ‘I don’t have to get up, do I?’
‘Afraid so, love, we have a visitor.’
‘Whose body have they found this time?’ Lily hauled herself upright, shaking her hair out and stretching.
Ceri swallowed, biting back on the urge to take her own clothes off. ‘A visitor,’ she said. ‘It’s your mother.’
Lily looked at her. ‘She doesn’t know where I am.’
‘Apparently, she does.’
‘I haven’t spoken to her since I left Bristol.’
‘I know, but she wants to talk to you now.’
‘How did she find me?!’
‘I don’t know, Lil. Why don’t you put something on and ask her?’
Standing, Lily took a jersey-dress from the nearest cupboard and pulled it over her head. ‘You’re coming with me, right? I don’t want to see her alone.’
Sally stood up as they entered the room. ‘Hello, Lily,’ she said. She was looking more uncertain than she had on the doorstep. Actually faced with her estranged child, her resolve was clearly not quite as strong.
‘Mum,’ Lily replied. ‘You’re… looking good.’
The elder Carpenter cracked a smile. ‘I’m getting old,’ she said. ‘You look absolutely stunning, and you seem to have done quite well for yourself. Big house, good job, I hear. I’m glad you straightened yourself out.’ She half raised her arms; an invitation. The hug was not exactly what Ceri would expect of mother and daughter meeting after ten years, but at least they hugged.
Ceri settled onto her chair and Lily sat on the foot stool beside her while her mother took the other seat again. ‘How did you find me, Mum?’ Lily asked.
‘I… had a visitor,’ Sally said.
Lily grimaced. ‘I suppose I should have called you. Told you he was back.’
‘It did come as a surprise. Thankfully, it was not an unpleasant one. I was more worried about you, but he told me you were fine.’
‘No thanks to him,’ Lily replied, scowling.
‘Not entirely true, Lil,’ Ceri said. Lily snapped a glance at her which had anger and worry in it.
‘Faran said that Ceridwyn had managed to eliminate his influence on you,’ Sally said. ‘He wouldn’t say how, just that he had suggested something and it had worked. Well, I found that hard to believe, as you can imagine. He suggested I come and see for myself.’
‘Well…’ Lily said slowly, ‘I guess it’s true. Ceri broke his hold on me, even if I’m still an anchor for him here.’
‘My manners are slacking,’ Ceri said. ‘Would you like a drink? Coffee? Tea?’
‘I don’t suppose you have camomile tea?’
Ceri suppressed a giggle. ‘Twill? I’m sure you’re here somewhere.’
The fairy materialised on the arm of Ceri’s chair. ‘Good morning, Mrs Carpenter,’ she said. ‘Yes, I have camomile. I can’t get either of them to drink it.’
Sally blinked at the tiny, winged woman. ‘Uh, no. Lily never did like my herbal teas.’
‘Could you do a couple of mugs of coffee too, Twill?’ Ceri asked. ‘I think Lil’s brain is only firing on half its cylinders.’
‘Of course.’ Twill lifted off the chair, vanished into a ball of light, and zipped away toward the kitchen.
‘That’s Twill,’ Ceri said. ‘She looks after us.’
‘I’ve never actually met a fairy before,’ Sally said.
‘Twill’s a little atypical,’ Ceri replied. ‘Not that I’ve met any others myself.’
‘Quite a… esoteric household,’ Sally commented. ‘I understand you’re a thaumatologist, Ceridwyn?’
‘Ceri, please, and yes. I work as a research assistant at the Metropolitan University.’
‘She just got her PhD,’ Lily put in proudly. ‘She’s modest, but she’s a genius, and a very powerful practitioner too.’
‘Ah,’ Sally said, ‘so your demon side fixated on her?’
‘Yes,’ Lily replied, ‘it did and that’s more or less how she freed me from Dad, but I fancied her long before that. She was the first person I met who treated me like a person. We were friends for almost five years before we got to be…’
‘Friends with significant benefits,’ Ceri finished for her.
Twill flew back in, followed by a tray with three mugs on it. ‘I notice you have a case, Mrs Carpenter,’ the fairy said. ‘You’ll stay here, of course. The spare room has clean sheets and we have plenty of food in the kitchen.’
‘Thank you,’ Sally said, lifting her mug from the hovering tray. There was a hint of relief in her posture, as though she had been quite ready to find a hotel, but hoped she would not have to. ‘I have to be back at work on Wednesday, but I’d really appreciate the time to catch up. I’ve
got ten years of news and gossip to catch up on. I hear you know Carter Fleming!’
Ceri giggled. Maybe this would be fun after all.
~~~
There were no sounds of screaming or objects being thrown as Ceri came in through the second kitchen. That seemed like a good sign. She had gone out to the local mini-supermarket to pick up some wine and left Lily and her mother alone to talk over a few things. Ceri had not felt any distress from her demon, but Lily could have been calmly throwing pots at Sally rather than being upset. Pretty unlikely; Lily was passionate, about everything.
Walking quietly through the hall to the main kitchen, she found Twill hovering over the cooker while her implements, pots, and pans performed the dance of food preparation around her. Putting the bag with four bottles of red wine on the counter, Ceri turned to the fairy. ‘No yelling?’
‘None. Actually it’s been very quiet. Perhaps they murdered each other.’
‘What are you making?’
‘It’s a korma,’ Twill replied. ‘I had to dig deep to come up with a vegetarian recipe. I hope she likes spices.’
‘She’s a veggie?’
Twill twisted in the air slightly, giving Ceri a “you should know better” look. ‘Braided hair, flower T-shirt, as for that bag… Of course she’s a vegetarian.’ A tiny hand waved at the bag and a bottle rose from it. The foil top unwrapped itself and started for the bin, and the cork began to squeeze itself out of the bottle, all entirely unaided by any implements.
‘Good idea,’ Ceri said, and waited for three glasses of wine to be poured. ‘You’re not having any?’
‘Not yet, dear, my cooking goes off if I start on the wine too early.’
‘I’ll go deliver these then,’ Ceri said. ‘Or clean up the bodies.’ The sound of wind chimes followed her out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the lounge. She spotted them as soon as she walked in the door since they had moved to the sofa in front of the TV. There was the sound of one of the late afternoon soaps coming from the speakers, but the mother and daughter were talking over it, not really paying attention. ‘Drinks?’ Ceri said as she presented the tray.
‘Yes, please,’ Lily said, picking one of the glasses up. ‘Now sit down.’ She patted the space between her mother and herself and Ceri turned nimbly, keeping the tray balanced as she lowered herself onto the sofa.
‘You do seem rather practiced at that,’ Sally said.
‘I spend two nights a week manipulating trays,’ Ceri replied. ‘You get really good at it when you’re wearing a tiny dress and serving werewolves.’
‘I don’t think I’ve ever met one.’
‘All the were-creatures are kind of tactile, but werewolves in particular have just about no sense of personal space. They’re used to greeting each other by touch, and they usually aren’t afraid to demonstrate attraction physically either.’
‘You get groped less than I do,’ Lily commented. She settled herself with as much of her body in contact with Ceri’s as she could manage.
‘Well, yeah,’ Ceri replied, ‘but you’re more used to it than I am.’
‘Lily told me about the tattoos you used to have,’ Sally said. ‘I think I remember reading a few articles about your parents, oh, years ago now. They must have been very skilled enchanters.’
Ceri nodded and took a drink of wine. ‘They were, but I’m happier without the enchantments they put on me. They had some… unfortunate effects on me. I guess it’s a little like Lily being free of her father’s influence. I’m more how I should have been now.’
‘Parents trying to protect their children can often do entirely the wrong thing,’ Sally said.
Ceri decided she needed a change of subject. ‘So what is it you do now, Sally?’
‘I’m a psychologist,’ Sally replied. ‘I work with children a lot, some adults with particular problems.’ She smiled. ‘For your problem I would generally recommend controlled exposure. A few trips out with friends. Perhaps a visit to Bristol with Lily…’
Ceri giggled. ‘Have you been blabbing all my secrets, Lil?’
‘Not all of them,’ Lily said, ‘but you could do with getting over your travel phobia.’
‘Yes, well, there’s another trip to Stonehenge in my future so I guess I’ll have to.’ Ceri grimaced. ‘And if that pans out it could mean going into France and Germany. What was I thinking?!’
It was Lily’s turn to giggle. ‘The usual, your science brain was way ahead of your practical brain.’
Ceri looked at Sally. ‘I may have to hire you for therapy sessions.’
‘I do family rates,’ Sally replied, grinning.
‘I’m not exactly family.’
‘You’re my daughter’s partner,’ Sally said, ‘and she told me about the whole Mistress business. Very clever application of psychology. Non-human psychology at that. I was impressed.’
‘As much luck there as there was skill. It almost ended up with me being Lily’s pet.’
Sally regarded Ceri shrewdly and then leaned forward slightly, addressing her daughter. ‘She undersells herself a lot?’
‘Oh, all the time,’ Lily replied, smirking. Ceri’s cheeks reddened.
‘Well, it’s better than the other way,’ Sally said. ‘Faran was always the supremely confident incubus. He could act like he had some humility, if he tried.’
‘Mostly he didn’t,’ Lily said. She frowned slightly. ‘Though, if I’m honest, he was quite good around me.
‘Yes,’ Sally said, ‘he was. And I liked the bad boy image.’ She laughed. ‘He came to see me looking just the same and I thought I’d out grown that. Which I had, but I’m old enough to appreciate the attention from a “younger” man.’
Lily’s eyes widened. ‘You didn’t!’
‘No, actually, we didn’t,’ Sally replied. ‘The flirting was very nice, but I have a boyfriend. Faran respected that.’ Lily raised an eyebrow. ‘Well, he did have a bit of an ulterior motive.’
‘Now that sounds more like him,’ Lily said. ‘What did he want?’
‘He wants to meet you, you and Ceri.’ She hurried on before Lily could respond. ‘He wanted me to see for myself that you were free of him before I said anything, and he’s happy to meet on neutral ground, or anywhere of your choosing. He’d like to help. He says he wants to make up at least a little for the trouble he caused you.’
‘Oh I’m sure he…’ Lily began.
‘Lil,’ Ceri said. Her voice was soft, but it cut Lily off and made her look around. ‘I think you should at least hear him out.’
‘You do? Ceri… what he did to me…’
‘Was a result of what he is, and what you are,’ Ceri said. ‘I believe he’s trying to put things right.’
‘Okay,’ Lily said. ‘But for you, not for him.’ She turned back to her mother. ‘I assume you can get in touch with him?’ Nodding, Sally reached for her bag. ‘If we’re going to do this,’ Lily added, ‘we might as well make it a family reunion.’
~~~
It was just past sunset when Sally’s phone rang. ‘It’s him,’ she said when she had rung off. ‘He’s outside.’ Ceri rose up from her chair and headed for the door.
A now familiar figure was standing just beyond the gate in the iron fence. Now that she could see him clearly she could make out a handsome, fairly young face with half a day of stubble framed in a mane of chestnut hair. He was dressed in a denim jacket, blue jeans, and a plain black T-shirt which hugged a muscled chest tightly. It was a bit of a retro look, but he pulled it off. He had a slight smile on his face; Ceri could see what Sally meant about him being confident.
She stopped with her hand on the gate. ‘I’m under orders to report you to the Greycoats if I see you,’ she said.
‘But you aren’t going to?’ he asked.
‘No,’ she replied, ‘but just so we’re clear.. if you’re screwing with Lily, it’ll be a slow and really painful death.’
Faran bowed his head. ‘That’s why I knew I could trust you with her.’
<
br /> ‘Okay,’ she said pulling the gate open, ‘enter without ill will.’
The circular array of runes in the entrance way flared brightly as Faran stepped into them. He stopped with a gasp. Lily and Sally were waiting in the hallway, but Twill was nowhere to be seen; she really did not like demons. Ceri walked up behind him. ‘By your name, demon,’ she said, ‘do you swear that your intentions are peaceful?’
‘By my name, and the name of my Lord, I so swear,’ Faran said. The runes faded from sight and he turned to look at Ceri. ‘Now I see why you allowed me to come into your home.’
‘Yes,’ Ceri said, a slight smile on her face, ‘well, you managed to convince my father’s enchantments that you’re on the level, but now you’ve got the harder job.’ She nodded at Lily, who was not looking best pleased. ‘Would you like some wine?’
Faran looked on as Lily turned on her heel and started for the stairs up to the lounge. ‘Thank you,’ he said, ‘I’d love some.’
Nodding, Ceri headed for the kitchen and the incubus followed her rather than going up after his daughter and her mother. Ceri poured wine into a glass and then handed it to Faran, starting for the door with the bottle.
‘You got my message and acted as I hoped,’ he said; a statement, not a question.
‘It’s illegal,’ she said, ‘but worse than that, it’s immoral. To free her from you, I had to make her into my slave.’
‘Slavery,’ Faran replied, ‘requires two things. There has to be someone who treats you as a slave, and you have to believe you are one. Neither of those apply.’
‘What do you know about being a slave?’ Ceri scoffed. ‘You’re a demon.’
Faran turned and headed for the door. ‘Exactly,’ he said, ‘I’m a demon.’
Lily was determined not to make it easy for him. She was perched on the footstool beside Ceri’s chair, very upright, with her daggers held in her lap. Faran stopped when he saw them. ‘I had these made especially for you,’ Lily said. ‘After the last time.’
‘I can understand that,’ her father replied.
‘Sit down,’ Ceri said, taking her own seat. Sally had pulled up a chair in front of the fire and was watching quietly, but her hands were clenched into fists in her lap.
Thaumatology 03 - Legacy Page 20