21 Cemetery Road

by R Stoneman

  I brought the wand down quickly. There was a flash of light, a loud 'SWANG', and the spell went into action.

  "Well," said Liz, "I thought that had elements of witchcraft in it, but it's working for me."

  "A few things in there are almost ceremonial," said Thor, smiling. "Especially the last invocation. What do you think, Gordon?"

  "Not sure. I'm still pretty high from my calling down this afternoon. I need to wash my hands; I've still got forest dirt under my nails; back in a sec."

  I looked up as a blue flashing light lit the ceiling through a gap in the curtains.

  "Time to meet our honoured guests," I said, well aware that an off the cuff chaotic spell might yet live up to its name.

  TAP DANCING ON A MINEFIELD

  I opened the door before anyone knocked. Coming up the short path to the steps, I saw three uniformed officers, one sergeant and two constables. Our boys in blue, London's best, were all, to a man, Mundanes. There was no love lost between them and the Magicals, even if sometimes magic helped them with their enquiries. The word that sums it up is 'mistrust'. Mistrust between the police with their Draconian laws, the Mundanes in the street and Magicals. The Dark Council operates under the warrant of the government and controlled the Magicals, keeping magic at safe limits, and the government tries to control the police who mistrust everyone else – it makes for an uneasy alliance. But the police distrusted all Magical particularly, thinking we get away with murder, or worse. We could, of course, but don't. The Dark Council would know who, when and how and there was no escaping their wrath if you put one dark spell on anyone.

  “Welcome, please come in; how can we help you?”

  I ushered the police into the hall where a smiling Thor and Liz waited, and I went to stand beside them. The sergeant seemed unnerved by the welcome. I think that most people having a visit from the law enforcers would look nervous or apprehensive, but we all felt relaxed about their arrival. The sergeant started to speak but was interrupted by an explosion of sneezing from one of the constables.

  “Prescott, keep it down.”

  “Sorry, Sarge. There must be a cat here. I’m allergic to cats.”

  Trevor padded out of the parlour and sat in the doorway with an innocent green-eyed expression watching the unfortunate teary officer gasping for breath.

  “Prescott, outside now.” The poor man turned and ran out, slamming the door behind him. “My name is Sergeant Lovell; now as I was about to say, how many live in this house?”

  “There are four of us,” Thor said.

  “And their names?” I gave them our names and the constable wrote them down in his notebook.

  “Did any of you hear or see anything unusual tonight?”

  “Yes,” said Thor. “There was a lot of yelling and howling a couple of hours ago.”

  “Did you go to see what the disturbance was?”

  “No,” said Liz and gave a delicate shudder, “I was frightened.”

  "And I was afraid to open the door," said Thor. "It sounded like something, or someone was attacking."

  “It was trying to force the door,” I said. “You can see where the door frame has started to splinter.”

  “Couldn’t you have waved your wand?” he said with a slight sneer. "Seeing as you are of the magical persuasion?”

  I realised I was still holding the wand with its bright blue star.

  “Oh, this, ah, yes, we were playing charades when the fuss started, then when it was quiet, I went out to see you’re blue lights at the end of the road.”

  I gave it a gentle wave that left a faint trail of blue sparks in the air.

  “Is there anyone else in the house other than you three or has there been anyone in the house this evening?”

  He isn’t dim I thought, he's trying to trap us into admitting something, whatever it is. He knows we're Magicals, so there's no point in hiding it.

  “Yes. Gordon, He’s around somewhere, and before you arrived, we had a visit from a man called Felix.”

  “Yes, we stopped him at the top of the road.”

  “Have you charged him with anything?” asked Liz. I think her smile was beginning to worry Lovell. He ignored the question.

  “What was he doing here?”

  “He showed us his lovely Snow Spider Penelope, and we had a drink.”

  “Oh, God,” muttered the remaining constable. “He showed us that spider in the box; it was ‘orrible.”

  “Sanders, shut up.”

  So they had seen the spider, but not the body wrapped in silk; otherwise, we would all have been hauled in for questioning.

  “I'd like to speak to Gordon Macrea, now."

  “I’m here,” said Gordon, coming out of the parlour. “Wot?”

  I blinked, and we all exchanged startled glances. Gordon filled the parlour door and smiled the very sharp-toothed grin of a berserker about to go into battle. Around him, a wind from nowhere smelling of hot iron and blood blew his wild hair and beard about. Over his hands and face, strange dark indigo tattoos swirled and writhed. I looked again as he stared angrily at the policemen. What kind of change had I worked on Gordon? The situation was spiralling out of control.

  I heard an audible gulp from Constable Sanders, and Sergeant Lovell took a step backwards.

  Gordon took a step forward and looked down on the two men. I watched the blood drain from their faces. Gordon raised his hands and examined them as if seeing them for the first time, then clenched them into fists. Constable Sanders had now backed against the wall and began to tremble; Sergeant Lovell stood his ground and took a shaky breath.

  “Can you corroborate the statements of these three people that you only heard but did not see anything."

  “Yeah.”

  “Right,” said Lowell hurrying to the door. “That wraps it up. Thank you for your cooperation.”

  They made a quick exit, leaving the door open; we heard the screech of tyres as they roared back up the road. I closed the door and leaned back against it, staring at Gordon.

  “Gordon,” said Liz staring at him wide-eyed. “What’s happened ‒ you look different.”

  “I feel fine, never better, I just wanted to tear that little man’s head off.”

  “Oh no; what was in that spell, Will?” asked Thor.

  “Nothing that should result in this kind of overkill. For this kind of confidence spell, the effect should only last for about a half hour if that. Something or someone influenced its power.”

  All eyes turned to Trevor sitting on the dressing up box.

  “Trevor,” asked Liz, “did you power up the effect of Will’s spell?”

  “Well,” he said, making a great show of casually licking his paw, “yes. It was a bit sluggish. It’s my job as a Familiar to assist in spell casting, so I did.” He looked up at Gordon, towering over him. “And what a fine warrior he makes too.”

  I wondered how it had affected me, and soon realised we were heading for trouble. My head was filled with masses of information: spells and secret words that hung over me like a giant rock about to drop and flatten me.

  “Liz,” I observed in a casual tone of voice. “Do you know your feet aren't on the floor.”

  Liz hovered a few inches off the tattered carpet while about her pale colours started to form and swirl. I could sense the power building in them and me, and with my arcane knowledge that I had gained with the Serenosamos spell, I knew this powerful magic was rapidly getting out of control and would escalate into either death or madness.

  “I could have twisted that little man around my finger and made him do anything I commanded,” observed Liz casually. That did it; I knew I should be worried about our safety.

  “Trevor, you have to remove this spell or else we'll all burn out; this is too much too soon.”

  Trevor looked up at me and shrugged, his emerald eyes shining.

  "I can’t. As a Familiar, I can only amplify or help, not cast anything. You have to do it.”

  I looked around and saw
Thor watching Liz with glowing blue eyes as she floated in the centre of the hall surrounded with a cloud of soft swirling colours. Gordon began to growl and flex his fingers, and I felt a pressure in my mind like an approaching thunderstorm. I had to act.

  “Okay. Everyone gather round. I’ll end this now. We have to stop before it’s too late.”

  “No chance,” growled Gordon, “I like me like this. I feel powerful for the first time in my life.” He turned to go, and I acted fast. I raised the wand, hoping there was some residual power left in it and said the first thing that came into my head.

  REALITY BITES

  I came too with a severe headache, staring up at the ceiling. I could hear moans and groans coming from somewhere, and I propped myself up on one elbow and looked around. Gordon lay by the parlour door, unmoving, and in the centre of the hall, Liz slumped over Thor.

  “Bastard. You Stygian bastard,” growled Gordon, rolling over and standing. “Did you have to do that?”

  “Yes, you were getting out of control, becoming more powerful without the knowledge needed to keep yourself sane.”

  “How do you know that?” Gordon asked.

  "Because under the influence of that spell, I knew almost everything, which is what I desired most in the world. You wanted power and presence. Liz wanted power and the ability to change, heal and kill. You, Thor, wanted to master the elements."

  “He’s right Gordon,” said Liz, struggling to sit up. “We nearly burnt ourselves out.”

  Trevor stood, turned around once and then settled down himself comfortable again.

  "What you got, along with self-confidence, was a view of how you could be in future," said Trevor, "if you work for it. There's no such thing as a free lunch in magic – sometimes the cost is too great or dangerous

  “Are we permanently changed?” asked Liz.

  “Sadder and wiser, I think. My head hurts,” said Thor, as he helped Liz to rise. “We became caricatures of what we practised. I hate to say this, but you were right to do it, Will.”

  “I'm tired,” said Liz. “It’s been a long day, and I need to sleep, but I'm not sure I can sleep knowing that any minute we could be attacked again.”

  “I think I know a way to call off the dogs,” I said, “if I can contact the one person who knows all that’s going on.”

  “Mrs Tilling?” asked Gordon rubbing his bruised elbow.

  “Nope, Ms Black,” I said.

  “What,” said Thor

  “You must be mad,” said Liz. Gordon frowned and looked puzzled.

  “Bloody hell, why?”

  “Because we need to tell her that the bones have gone, along with the power called Trevor that was bound to them.”

  “I suppose, yes, that would work and can’t do any harm,” said Liz. I picked up the phone and cranked the handle.

  “Hello, operator, can I have Capstone two, five, eight, please.” After a few rings, a woman answered the phone.

  “Ms Black's residence.”

  “Hello, I’m sorry it’s so late in the evening, but could I speak to Ms Black, please?”

  “Ms Black isn't taking calls at the moment; she's resting after a vicious attack on her and her friends this evening.”

  “Oh dear, could you tell her that Will Greenwood called. It’s rather important. I’m sure she’ll be interested. Thank you.” Then I hung up. “Apparently, she was subjected to a... and I quote, a ‘vicious attack’ this evening."

  “Good,” said Gordon punching the air. "Go Tapio.”

  “I’ll give it five seconds before she phones,” said Thor.

  “Ten,” said Gordon.

  The phone rang, and Liz picked it up. I pressed my ear to the handset.

  “Hello,” said Liz sweetly. "Who's calling?”

  “Ms Black. can I speak to Will Greenwood.”

  “One moment,” said Liz and handed me the phone.

  “Good evening, Ms Black. I’m so sorry to hear about your injuries, did they catch the people that attacked you?”

  “No. What did you want to tell me?” Her voice was shaky, either from the ‘vicious’ attack or nerves. I had thought carefully before how I would phrase my message, not a lie but misleading.

  “You’ll be pleased to hear that the Dark Council sent someone around this evening and removed the bones from the cellar. The power that we called Trevor has been destroyed. Isn’t that nice?” There was a pause, a hiss then silence.

  “Ms Black, are you there?”

  "Yes. You must excuse me; I don't feel too well at the moment. Good night."

  Her phone slammed down with a bang that hurt my ear, leaving me with a sense of relief.

  “What did she say?” asked Trevor.

  “Very little. But I think the chances of attack tonight are nil. I’m betting Ms B is on the phone now to her dark necromancer friends with the bad news.”

  “Great,” said Thor. "Now we can all sleep safely in our beds."

  “Probably,” said Trevor, “but I’ll keep watch anyway.”

  Reassured, we all went to bed.

  UNWANTED ATTENTION

  I woke the next morning with the sun streaming through a gap in the curtains. I was only half awake, but aware enough to feel a pressure on the blankets. Something was moving up the bed towards my head. I sat up abruptly, sending Trevor rolling down the bed.

  “Time you woke up,” he said. He stretched, then curled into a ball and closed his eyes. He was right, after the events last few days, our work had been disrupted.

  “Aren’t you supposed to help Liz as her familiar; she’s falling behind in her card designs.” One emerald eye opened, regarded me and closed again.

  “When she wants me, I’ll be there. Now go away, I’m having a cat nap.”

  Down in the kitchen, I checked the duty rota; it was my turn to make breakfast. By the time the others arrived, the coffee was percolating, and the oven was full of toast, keeping warm.

  I heard the phone ring and then Liz answering it. After a minute, she came in and stood in the kitchen doorway pale and wide-eyed.

  “She’s missing from her flat. There was blood.”

  I didn’t need to ask. Gordon looked up from stacking his plate with toast.

  “Who?”

  “Ms Black.”

  Hell, I thought, just when it seemed the worst was over.

  “Who was that on that on the phone?” I asked.

  “Mrs Tilling, she told me that people are coming over now, and we are all to stay where we are.”

  Gordon took an angry bite of his toast.

  “The Dark, bloody Council,”

  “Why is it that I suddenly want to run away to somewhere no one knows me and just live a simple life in the country?” said Liz.

  “Because you, like us, are Magicals,” said Thor. “You would soon start tinkering with reality, and before you knew it you’d be cackling and looking for plans to build a gingerbread cottage in the woods,” said Thor. Liz glared at him, then came over and sat down beside him.

  “You’re right.” She took a deep breath and sat up straighter. "Very well, let's at least have something to eat before they all arrive. While I remember, someone has to go shopping; we’re running low on foodstuff.”

  I stood outside the front door and waited while the others cleared up the breakfast things. I had to control my jitters; to lose control was the bane and downfall of a Magical. Thor was right; if a magical practitioner started tinkering with reality, then it soon started tinkering with you. As a chaos magician, there are only a few ground rules that kept you safe.

  I watched as a man and woman left their house a few doors up and walked up the road in the cold morning sunshine; probably going to work. I almost envied them, blissfully unaware of that dark, yawning void at the heart of life that all Magicals knew. A flash of light in the distance reflected off a large black car. The Council had arrived. I opened the door and shouted in. “They’re here.”

  Most Mundanes know about the Dark Council b
ut only what the Dark Council wants them to know. Some people who tried to inquire too closely into the workings of that shadowy world have mysteriously vanished. It was drummed into us at college that we should never annoy the Dark Council. There were plenty of scare stories to bolster their case. Now they had started to look closely at us; it was a sobering thought. I heard and felt everyone behind me as we watched the car pull up. Two men and a woman got out. They looked like ordinary business people going about their work, but I could see the spinning energy of their defence shield around each of them. It made me feel nervous, even naked, in a way no Mundane could understand. I smiled my best smile and walked down the path to greet them.

  “Inside now, please,” one of the men said. The other man, who was wearing thick-lensed glasses, scanned the sky.

  “It’s best you do it quickly,” said Mrs Tilling. I hadn’t recognised her in her smart black suit. “Things are getting a little,” she paused and gave a small tight smile, “interesting.” I spun around and returned to the house, where we all gathered in the hall. “Perhaps we could all sit somewhere and have a little chat?”

  Liz gestured to the sitting room.

  “In there?”

  “That will do nicely. Mr Mace, if you would precede us.

  He gave a curt nod and strode into the sitting room. I watched him as he slowly turned, eyes unfocused at the centre of the room. Mr Mace was bulky, his head jammed down on his shoulders without much neck, and a thick black overcoat hid the rest almost down to his shiny shoes. He could have been turned on a lathe. Small eyes like two black buttons in a smooth expressionless face reminded me of a dumpling. But I sensed that he was also powerful and not quite what he seemed. What, I couldn't tell, but I knew we had to be very careful around him. He looked back to Mrs Tilling and nodded.

  “It’s clean,” he said.

  “Of course it’s clean,” said Liz, indignant. "We all take turns.”

  “No dear,” said Mrs Tilling, a look of strained patience on her face. “It means it’s clear of anything magical that shouldn’t be there. Right, in we go.”