Ceri’s tables were exclusively filled with supernaturals. There was a table of werewolves, members of the Royal pack from Regents Park, out on the town for the night. There were a couple of vampires who seemed to have a good working relationship with a human couple; not uncommon. There were a lot of Sidhe and they all seemed to be paying her a lot more attention than usual. She thought she understood it now after talking to Oberon, Titania, and Finvarra; they were attracted to that dangerous sense of power that hung around her. Well, she could live with the extra tip money.
Only Ophelia seemed to be having a bad time. She seemed a little closed off, not her usual, confident self. The reason became clear as she walked back from taking drinks to one of her tables. ‘They’re all sitting there gloating,’ she muttered. ‘They’re sat there thinking, “Look how far she’s fallen. She’s a waitress now.” I don’t think I can do this.’
‘Yes, you can,’ Lily told her, ‘and no, they aren’t.’
‘Huh?’
‘Table seventeen was sent specifically by the Seelie Court to see what this place was like. The rest of them are enjoying themselves and thinking that there’s finally a place they can sort of make their own. Carter made a good move going for the Fae market.’ She looked across the bar at Alec. ‘Twill says you can get small glasses for fairies and pixies. The Dubh Linn has them. Might be worth looking into.’
Alec looked thoughtful. ‘Could set up some small tables on the end of the bar… I’ll talk it over with the Boss.’
Lily nodded and turned back to Ophelia. ‘Table twenty-three. Now straighten your back, smile, and stop being paranoid. Even the severe looking guy on table seventeen has decided he would rather speculate on whether he can get under your dress.’
‘Oh,’ Ophelia said. ‘Oh… right. Okay, table twenty-three.’ She turned, straightening her back and pushing her chest out, and then strutted off toward her tables.
‘Are Oberon and Titania really checking up on this place?’ Ceri asked.
‘That’s the way I read them when they came in. Inquisitive with a purpose, and they weren’t here for a good time.’
‘Weren’t?’
‘Even the guy with a stick up his arse has relaxed.’
‘Good.’ Ceri turned her attention back to her tables. ‘I’m feeling pretty relaxed myself. Back to normal, Lil. Things are back to normal.’
‘It won’t last y’know? Normal for us is murder, war, mad ancient undead.’
‘Yeah, but for a while we can sit back and revel in the joy of normality. If you call a bar full of fae, undead, werewolves, and a couple of humans normal.’
Lily giggled. ‘Compared to the places we spent the last few months, this is as normal as it gets.’
###
About the Author
I was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the edge of the Empire. I always preferred the Dark Ages anyway; there’s so much more room for imagination when people aren’t writing down every last detail. So my idea of a good fantasy novel involved dirt and leather, not shining plate armour and Hollywood-medieval manners. The same applies to my sci-fi, really; I prefer gritty over shiny.
Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a lot. It has that mix of modern day life, hidden history, and magic which failed to hit popular culture until the early days of Buffy and Anne Rice. Of course, Cooper’s characters spend their time around places I could actually visit in Cornwall, and South East England, and mid-Wales. In fact, when I went to university in Aberystwyth, it was partially because some of Cooper’s books were set a few miles to the north around Tywyn.
I got into writing through roleplaying, however, so my early work was related to the kind of roleplaying game I was interested in. I wrote “high fantasy” when I was playing Dungeons & Dragons. I wrote a lot of superhero fiction when I was playing City of Heroes. I still loved the idea of a modern world with magic in it and I’ve been trying to write a novel based on this for a long time. As with any form of expression, practice is the key and I can look back on all the aborted attempts at books, and the more successful short stories, as steps along the path to the Thaumatology Series.
Writing, sadly, is not my main source of income. By day, I’m a computer programmer. I work for a telecommunications company in Manchester, England. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper, and (recently) Kim Harrison. Kim’s Hollows books were what finally spurred me to publish something, even if the trail to here came by way of Susan, back in school, several decades ago.
For More Information
The Thaumatology Blog: http://thaumatology.wordpress.com
Other Books in the Series
Thaumatology 101 - B006IYIESW
Demon’s Moon - B006JPN7A0
Legacy - B006OKR8PK
Dragon’s Blood - B0072S1DOU
Disturbia - B007GNICZO
Hammer of Witches - B007YG2I44
Eagle’s Shadow - B008E17TYW
Ancient - B00923F8AS
Dragonfall - B00AKV95XW
The Other Side of Hell - B00AS0NF54
Anthologies in the Thaumatology Universe
Tales from High Towers’ Study - B006ZAJ7TY
Tales from the Dubh Linn - B0080XPD88
Table of Contents
Part One: The Spring Bride
Part Two: Never Make Deals with Fae
Part Three: Discord
Part Four: Morrigan’s Daughters
Part Five: Hieros Gamos
Preface
Interlude
Thaumatology 11 - For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll Page 22