by Mark Hayden
Desirée’s magick is very rare in England, though more common in Wales and Ireland. Druids have always used Bards to enhance magick, and Desi was adapting it to her own heritage of Africa via the Caribbean. She raised her arms and started to intone the twenty-third psalm. I stood well behind her.
‘… He leadeth me to still waters…’ I could feel the magick building as Desi wove ribbons of air around her. I looked at the others, crouched by the posts and ready to use blades of sharpened air. When Desi was nearly ready to burst, I gave the signal and with a howling like dentists’ drills, they cut through the wood and then flung themselves flat. It was a good job I’d moved us right behind the forge. Any nearer the house, and one of the crew inside would have woken up.
Desi pushed her arms forward and directed the force of magick against the posts. Two moved, but one held firm. I could see the wire stretching, and was about to stop the procedure until it gave with a crack and two panels of fence lay down. Vicky gave a thumbs-up and Desi lowered her arms.
24 — Lost in Translation
I was one third of the way over the fallen fence when my leg went into spasm. I had my weight on my right leg. Just. Moving my left leg was not an option; I couldn’t even lift it off the ground.
‘Conrad? Are you OK?’ said Vicky.
‘No. I need a hand. Specifically, I need a shoulder.’
They all wanted to do it, which was nice, but was also eating up valuable time. They argued for about ten seconds, their voices too low for me to hear, until Vicky spoke up. ‘I’m doing it. I’ve done it before.’
‘But…’
‘Aye, I’m the least co-ordinated and weakest, but I’m the one who’s been there before, so shut up and keep watch round the corner, okay?’
She put her pack down and studied the chessboard of wire squares. I needed to take about three more steps to get over the edge, and my left leg was vibrating. ‘Now would be good, Vic.’
‘Aye, give us a minute. I’m gonna back in to you, save trying to turn round.’
It took her shorter legs four strides, and I’m sure her boot was within millimetres of the wire at one point. When she got in range, I planted my hand on her shoulder and she braced herself. I got my left leg off the ground and forward. Now the hard part – she had to take all my weight while I flipped my right leg up.
She groaned and swayed. She held firm, and my right leg was now in front again. We only had to do it twice more. After the next attempt, Vicky swore and said, ‘I canna do that again. We’ll need to get someone else in.’
‘Sod that. I really am going to hop.’
Without giving her time to argue, I hopped once. Twice. A third time, and I collapsed on to the wet grass. Vicky took two steps and threw herself next to me. ‘I am not doing that again in a hurry,’ she moaned.
I got up and held out my hand. ‘Thanks, Vic. That was very well done.’ She took my hand and I hauled her upright.
‘I can’t say I’ve missed the threat of imminent death, but you’re more fun than Xavi. Let’s get on with it.’
We took it in turns to peer round the corner of the forge using the night vision equipment. I’d only brought one set, because they’re not easy to use, and the same went for respirators. Vicky had told me in detail that she’d been blindsided at Lilac Cottage because they’d made a trap in the hallway and used magick to stop them blowing the gas away. We knew the other side had respirators, and I was going to give them a taste of their own medicine.
‘Everyone ready?’
‘Aye.’
‘Yes.’
‘Yes sir.’
‘Sir.’
‘Go!’
Saffron sprinted towards the Range Rover. Xavi and Desi headed for the cottage, with Vicky behind them. I picked up the riot gun and followed suit.
As soon as Xavi entered the ground between the buildings, security lights burst into life. They were bright, and made targets of us all. I cringed, but no fire came from the farmhouse.
Xavi, Vicky and Desi stopped in front of the building and wound up their magick. On Vicky’s count, they blasted the two upper windows and one of the lower ones, the force of their magick blowing the glass and curtains into the room. At the same time, the Range Rover’s alarm sounded above the rain as Saffron sliced through one of the front axles. I raised the riot gun and fired tear gas cannisters through the windows.
We had rehearsed what to do next. Vicky went round the side, to meet Saffron at the back and cut off their exit that way. Desi and Xavi moved to the fourth, unbroken window and I drew the Hammer. Xavi blew in the window and gave Desi a hand to go through the gap. I shone a torch into the room and shouted ‘King’s Watch! Lie down!’ at the top of my voice.
In the light, a very scared looking man half out of his sleeping bag immediately dropped down again and put his hands on his head. Desi shone her own torch around and looked for more of them, while Xavi boosted himself into the room and scrambled to get the suspect in restraints. And remove his magick. This was Willem, the Master. One Mage down, two to go. And three bodyguards.
‘Secure,’ said Xavi.
‘Kitchen through that way,’ said Desi. ‘I’m letting Vicky in.’
I shone my torch on the door to the hall. ‘Xavi, watch the door.’
He stepped into the middle of the room and hurled an armchair out of the way. I moved back from the window and tried to listen. Yes. Screams from upstairs. I changed position and shouted, ‘King’s Watch! Stay where you are.’
I looked back through the window as the door to the living room burst open and an unknown female Mage came barrelling through towards Xavi before I could fire a safe shot. This would be Jane Jones.
Xavi stood his ground and deployed his Badge of Office, a long, pointed dagger. If Jones had one of those toxic blades, this could end very quickly. He did the sensible thing and took two steps back.
I tried to shine my torch in her eyes, and got enough of her face for Xavi to recognise her. ‘Miss Daines?’ he said. He lowered his dagger, just enough for the woman to sense an opening. She lunged at him with a knife of her own, violet magick swirling around the blade.
Xavi took a step to the side, and she missed. There was a crash from the back of the room. Neither Xavi nor the woman looked up. I did, and I saw Desi and Vicky move quickly to cut off the woman’s escape route.
‘King’s Watch. Drop your weapon,’ said Vicky.
The woman took a step back, but didn’t surrender. She looked at the odds against her and glanced over her shoulder. I now had a clear shot, if I wanted it.
‘It’s Miss Daines. Magick teacher from my school,’ said Xavi. ‘Her blade’s not toxic,’ he added.
‘But you are,’ said the woman. ‘You’re a pack of toxic bastards. Stick this.’
She charged at Xavi, and Vicky dived at her. They collided, and Vicky knocked her over. She’d grabbed for the woman’s right arm and missed. The Mage swung her arm round and stabbed Vicky in the back. Xavi’s blade flickered with light and he dived himself, bringing his dagger down on the woman’s neck. He sliced through her throat and blood sprayed out of the wound.
‘I surrender,’ said a naked man in the doorway. He was simultaneously trying to hold up his hands up and protect his eyes. It was time to take charge.
‘Xavi. Secure that man. Desi, put Vic in the recovery position and do not touch that knife. It needs to stay in her back. Understand? Good. Where’s Saffron?’
‘Don’t know,’ said Desi as she tried to move her friend away from the dead woman. Vicky was struggling to breathe, but she was breathing, and her legs were moving. Good signs for now.
The naked man was now face down. He must be the other former member of Temple Gym. ‘Owen,’ I said. ‘Which room are Eve and Marissa in? Where are they?’
‘Upstairs on the right,’ he said. ‘I need water on my eyes. I’m going blind.’
‘Desi, Xavi, secure both prisoners and deal with the other two upstairs. I need to find Saffron and Eilidh.
’
‘What about Vicky?’ said Desirée.
Vicky struggled to get a breath. ‘Do what he says, man. Quick.’
I left them to it and looked around the yard. Shit. There was a door open to the forge, and two women were facing off inside. I ran as fast as I could across the yard.
And slipped in the rain. I was carrying a loaded gun, and first priority was not banging my hand, which meant my left hip took a battering. That really hurt. It hurt so much I couldn’t focus for a second. A vital second. The lights from the forge came in bars. Like the Nine of Wands. Mercedes had got it wrong, perhaps in translation. There hadn’t been a betrayal, but there had been a stab in the back. Literally. What Mercedes had got right was this: no matter how hard, you have to keep going.
I forced down the pain from my hip. I got a grip and pushed myself up. Only another ten metres. I didn’t run this time.
Saffron had out her chain, but I didn’t fancy her chances. Eilidh had pulled on a pair of trousers, but she was otherwise naked. In her left hand was an iron bar of some sort which she was using to ward off Saffron’s chain. Her right hand was covered in a thermal glove and held a single piece of metal, roughly blade shaped. From the way she was waving it, and the way Saffron was avoiding it, that had to be a toxic blade, fresh out of the fire.
I dodged into the room and moved to the left to get a clear shot at Eilidh, just as Saffron tripped.
Eilidh bent down to strike, and Saffron only managed to get her chain a few inches above her face to block the blow. Eilidh shifted and got her blade round the chain. I breathed in and brought up a small Silence, and then took aim and fired.
There was a burst of light around the pair as Eilidh’s Ancile dissolved and the round hit her full in the back. Her arms spasmed and she dropped the blade, just missing Saffron. Then the whole of her body went rigid, her spine bent back at an impossible angle. And Saffron started screaming.
‘No! Get her off! No!’
The rounds in my gun fire bullets that disrupt your Imprint. Eilidh was touching Saffron at several points, and Saffron could clearly feel it. I holstered my gun and moved over as Eilidh went limp and collapsed on top of Saffron. Saffron carried on screaming.
I pulled Eilidh off her, and Saffron curled into a foetal position. I knelt down as best I could and put my arms round her. ‘Easy, Saff. Easy now. She’s gone.’ I remembered the transfer of Lux I’d performed to save Vicky’s life, and tried to do the same, but I had nothing left. Saffron started twitching and choking.
Come on, Clarke. You’re in a magickal workshop.
I don’t know where the voice came from, or even if it was just in my head, but it didn’t sound like me. Couldn’t argue with the conclusion, though.
I put my left hand on the concrete floor and my right hand on Saff’s neck. I felt heat in the ground. The heat of Lux. I drew on it and passed it through my right hand into Saffron, letting the Lux flow in time to my heartbeat. After a few seconds, she stopped twitching. A few seconds more and her muscles relaxed. I let go and turned her face towards me. ‘Earth to Hawkins. Are you there?’
‘Sod off. Sod off, sir. Ow. That hurts.’
‘What hurts?’
‘My neck. If you’ve burnt me like you burnt Vicky, I’ll sue.’
‘Some people have no gratitude.’
She uncurled a little. ‘That was horrible. I felt her unravel. She started sucking the life out of me. Literally. I was sinking into a whirlpool. And then everything went black.’
‘Can you sit up?’
She held out a hand, and I dragged her upright. ‘Thank you, sir.’ She shivered. ‘After going through that, I think I can call you Uncle Conrad. I’m sure Vicky won’t mind.’
‘I hope she gets the chance. Are you okay to be left?’
‘Yes.’
I couldn’t afford any more time, so I jogged back into the rain and over the yard. Xavi was pushing two naked women ahead of him, none too gently. He hooked his foot under one of their legs and the woman fell sprawling into the mud. He did the same with the other one. Callous, but not unwarranted. So far, neither of them had been restrained.
‘Easy, lieutenant,’ I said. ‘I’ll assist. What’s the status?’
‘Good, sir. I’m out of restraints.’
I passed him two pairs and he set to work. ‘They’d barricaded themselves in the bathroom, sir. I had to threaten to put teargas through the window before they came out. I decided to get them away from Captain Robson.’
‘And you did the right thing. Better safe than sorry. Well done, Xavi.’
He looked up in fear. ‘Saffron? Eilidh?’
‘Safe and dead, in that order.’ I looked over my shoulder and saw Saffron weaving slowly out of the forge. She straightened up and shivered when the rain hit her face. I called her over and said, ‘Can you sort these two while Xavi I and check around. I don’t think there are more, but we can’t risk moving Vicky until we’re sure.’
‘Yes sir.’
It only took a couple of minutes to search the house and forge. Desi sat grim-faced as we moved from room to room. When Xavi gave me the last all-clear, I got out my phone. I’d thought about bringing a Personal Role Radio, but what’s the point?
‘We need an urgent medical evacuation,’ I said as soon as Dave took the call. ‘Shove a stretcher in the back of the Puma and land to the west of the wood. It’s all clear here.’
‘I loaded one when we got back. Just in case. We’re on our way.’
I told Saffron and Xavi to follow the track and get the gate open. ‘When the chopper lands, you two bring the stretcher in here. I don’t want any complications from bringing mundane people on site. We’ll all carry the stretcher out, and Desi, you go with her to the hospital.’
I bent down to look at Vicky. She had gone almost milk white and her breathing was very shallow, but her eyes were open. ‘You’ll be fine, Vic. It’s all over. The chopper’s on it’s way.’
She managed a smile. ‘I’m not deaf. Or dead. Yet.’
I stood up and turned my attention to our prisoners.
25 — Master of None
Desi and Saffron had put the three bodyguards into a small den while Xavi and I were searching the compound. The windows were blown in, and there was a lingering reek of teargas, but at least they were all out of the rain and had towels to cover the worst of their nakedness. All three were secured hand and foot. Owen had a damp cloth over his eyes.
I double checked their restraints, and was going to leave them when Owen said, ‘My eyes. I need to get to a hospital.’
I paused in the doorway. ‘You’re going to jail, Mr Holt, not hospital. Lieutenant Metcalfe made a full recovery. I’m sure you will, too.’
‘We’re going to sell our stories,’ said Eve. ‘We’re going to blow the world of magick wide open.’
I had a moment, so I went back and squatted in front of the women. Easier not to stare at their naked chests that way. ‘No you’re not. You’re going to a mundane prison for attempted murder. You’ll plead guilty and you’ll say nothing about magick. To anyone. Ever. Understand?’
‘What are you going to do to us?’ said Marissa.
‘Lieutenant Hawkins is going to share a video with you. It shows what happens when you drink the Forgetting potion. It’s an old film. From the 1960s. The Forgetting potion used to be compulsory then. Now it’s optional. Enjoy.’
I had to lean on the wall to get upright. My hip was killing me.
Back in the kitchen-diner, Desi was still holding Vicky’s hand and talking to her. As one, we paused and looked at the shattered window. The rain was easing a little, and the roar of twin turbo engines throbbed past overhead. Good.
I bent down and touched her cheek. ‘You’ll be fine Vic, but not for a while. Where do you want to convalesce? London? Newcastle? Clerkswell?’
‘I’ll look after you,’ said Desi.
Vic gave the slightest shake of her head. ‘You’ll be busy. Clerkswell. Myfanwy.’
‘Desi, tell the chopper crew to go to the John Radcliffe. We’ve got a loyalty card there.’
‘Yes sir. I will also ignore the joke, sir.’
I couldn’t blame her for that. I nodded to show that I’d understood and stood up. Oww. That hurt.
Our magickal prisoner, Willem van der Westheusen, had been hooded, restrained and placed under a Silence. I dispelled the Work and pulled the hood off. Unlike the others, Willem had slept in his boxer shorts. He was below average height, of slight build and wore a wary expression. I wasn’t going to risk squatting again, so I righted a chair and sank into it.
I looked at him for a moment. He didn’t look happy, but he wasn’t scared. ‘I thought the Master would have their own bedroom,’ I said.
‘Master? Who sold you that sack of shit?’
‘You’re the Apex of the Golden Triangle, and you’re nicked.’
‘I’m not the Master. Get real, Clarke.’ He thought for a second. ‘Was it Irina?’
‘Why would she lie?’
‘Because she’s been shagging the real boss for years, that’s why.’
Crap. It made sense: Irina had fingered Willem as the boss to protect the real mastermind. From her perspective, there was a very good chance that either we’d never find Willem or that he would be killed. I must admit, Willem didn’t look like a powerful master of magick.
‘Prove it,’ I said.
‘I’ve only been back in the country a couple of months. I’ve been helping Eilidh with a few potions and stuff.’
From across the room, Desi said, ‘What about the toxic blades?’
Willem looked away.
There were voices outside. ‘We’ll come back to that,’ I said. I put the Silence and hood back on Willem and went to help.
We passed the stretcher through the broken window. It was easier that way. We put it next to Vicky and gently eased her, face down, on to the stretcher. We covered her with a couple of thermal blankets and got ready to lift. Her last words before we picked up the stretcher were, ‘Any jokes about me weight and I’ll murder you. One day.’