Thaumatology 02 - Demon's Moon Read online

  There was silence for a time as the two women watched the tree line. Then Tabitha spoke. ‘I don’t think that explains why you healed me.’

  ‘Because you’re my friend? Because we might get Kort back and he’ll need you if we do? Because the pack needs you now? Take your pick.’

  There was silence again. ‘I’m not sure I can do it,’ Tabitha almost whispered.

  ‘You can,’ Ceri replied, ‘because you have to. I thought the same when my parents died, but I had to keep going. I owed it to them. I wish you had more time to adjust, but you don’t, and I’m sorry.’

  Tentatively, Tabitha leaned over, resting against Ceri’s shoulder. Ceri reached around, putting her arm around Tabitha’s shoulder and pulling the naked wolf-girl closer. After a few seconds, Ceri could feel her shaking. Tabitha was crying, silently so as not to give away their position. Ceri held her tightly and let her grieve.

  December 18th

  The sky was starting to lighten when Lily woke Ceri. The sorceress felt stiff and not particularly well rested; her sleep had been fitful at best, broken by bad dreams she could not quite remember. The hard ground had not helped. To make matters worse, there was no coffee.

  ‘We’re heading out as soon as it gets light enough,’ Lily said. ‘Dane said I should wake you. They’ve got some rations of some sort we can eat.’

  ‘Joy,’ Ceri grumbled, but she crawled out from under her blanket and found her jacket.

  Alec was nowhere to be seen, but Dane was there to give her some sort of compressed meal biscuit. ‘Thanks,’ he said quietly.

  ‘For what?’ She took a bite of the bar and more or less immediately regretted it.

  ‘Tabby’s looking… better,’ he replied.

  Ceri looked around, trying to spot the she-wolf, but one grey-furred creature wrapped in blankets looked a lot like any other. ‘Good,’ she said. ‘What’s the plan?’

  ‘You, me, Lily, and Alec will head across country to their camp when you’ve finished that. It’ll be light enough to see clearly by the time we get there. As long as we stay hidden you can take as long as you want watching them.’

  Ceri nodded, and then grimaced and waved the bar at him. ‘Maybe we should go and I’ll eat as we walk. If we have to wait for me to finish this it’ll be midday.’

  ‘Highly nutritious,’ Dane said, trying not to smirk, ‘and they really fill up the stomach. Keep you going for hours.’

  ‘I’m sure,’ Ceri said, ‘it’s just a shame they taste like shit.’

  ~~~

  The patch of trees and scrub ground was about two hundred yards north west of a larger, treed area which had the mysterious cloud bank centred over it. Ceri sat uncomfortably, half-in a bush which seemed to have more thorns than it had a right to, watching the camp hidden there. Dane was still in wolf-form, the enhanced senses better for keeping watch, but Alec had changed back and was thankful to the girls for bringing a blanket with them.

  ‘Is it just me,’ Ceri said, ‘or is it getting colder?’

  ‘I wouldn’t know,’ Lily commented absently, her eyes fixed on the figures of men moving in among the trees opposite. Demons, all of them as far as Ceri knew, generated heat by reacting thaumitons together; Lily had her own heating system even though she was not of the classic “hellfire” demon type.

  ‘It’s colder,’ Alec said. ‘You’d be able to tell if I wasn’t wearing this blanket. I think my nuts are actually shrinking.’

  Ceri giggled softly. Everyone was keeping their voice low even though it was unlikely the humans would hear them. It was nice to hear him making jokes though. ‘The wolves must be out of sight, keeping out of the sun,’ she said.

  ‘They would go to ground at dawn in the Black Forest,’ Alec said. ‘Back then they had Nazis to guard them.’

  ‘Well,’ Lily said, ‘looks like they’ve got mercenaries of some sort doing it this time.’

  ‘Never figured out where Remus goes,’ Alec said. ‘None of my scouts could ever spot him during the day. Not even the last time when we hit their camp.’ He glanced at Dane who looked back and nodded.

  ‘He turns ghost and hides in the ground during the day,’ Ceri said.

  ‘Well damn,’ Alec grunted.

  ‘He doesn’t like the daylight any more than his wolves do,’ Ceri told him. ‘Maybe even less.’ She looked up at the cloudbank overhead. ‘Y’know it takes a lot of power to keep a cloudbank stable like that for, what, eight hours.’

  ‘Could they be channelling power from the stone circle somehow?’ Lily asked.

  Ceri frowned and concentrated, focussing her energies on examining the local thaumic levels. After a minute she said, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’

  ‘Because I’m just a genius,’ Lily said deadpan.

  ‘Brains and beauty in one sexy package,’ Ceri agreed.

  ‘Could we flirt when the fate of the world isn’t hanging in the balance?’ Alec said, though he did grin. ‘What can you see?’

  ‘Stonehenge is a massive thaumic decay catalyser,’ Ceri said. ‘It’s not quite as good as the device Cheryl built, but it’s pretty beefy. Magic floods out of it over the whole plain. I saw survey results saying that it raises the level to five or six miles out. They’ve put a tap into it. Artificial ley line, if you like. They’re using the henge as sunblock.’

  ‘I doubt Remus came up with that,’ Alec said. ‘He’s not stupid, but he’s no thaumatologist either.’

  ‘We know he doesn’t like humans,’ Ceri said, ‘but it wouldn’t be the first time he’s used them to get what he wants. I’m pretty sure he did what the Nazis wanted because he wanted your wolves, Alec.’

  ‘Y’know,’ Alec said thoughtfully, ‘I have this vague feeling the Solstice coincided with a full moon that year too.’

  ‘He could have been trying to pull this ritual off for centuries,’ Ceri said, ‘though if the alignment of full moon and Solstice is important to it he’s going to have to wait a while for the next one, and he’s not going to get another like this year’s for a lot longer.’

  ‘So,’ Lily said, ‘much as I enjoy sitting in a thicket with a twig up my butt, what’s the plan?’

  ‘Sit with sticks up our butts,’ Ceri replied, ‘watch, gather information. Sorry, Lil, this is going to be boring.’

  Lily shrugged. ‘Boring and alive is better than exciting and dead,’ she said.

  ~~~

  The camp had moved by the time they got back. Ceri looked around the empty ground, bemused, but Alec and Dane just waited, apparently knowing it would happen.

  ‘You were expecting this?’ Ceri said to the wolf who was Alec and he nodded. Dane twitched his head at her, a soft rumbling sound coming from his throat. ‘Right,’ she said, ‘normal security measure. You might have told me.’

  ‘So they moved while we were away so that if we were caught or followed we couldn’t give the camp away?’ Lily asked.

  ‘Uh-huh,’ Ceri said. She was watching Dane. ‘They’ll check no one’s following and then come get us.’ Alec was staring at her, his jaw hanging a little open. She smirked at him. ‘What? I said I’d run with the Battersea pack. I picked up a bit of wolf.’

  ‘I thought you picked up a wolf,’ Lily said.

  ‘That too.’ She grinned. ‘It was defensive. I had to at least work out how to say “I’m sorry, I’m new at furry” to people.’ Alec rolled his eyes expressively. Ceri giggled. ‘The first night was crazy. I was getting porked by every unmated male in the pack and I couldn’t understand a word of what they were saying. There seemed to be a lot of laughing at my expense.’

  Dane made a few noises and Ceri’s eyes widened. ‘What did he say?’ Lily asked.

  ‘They normally take a couple of weeks over that particular custom,’ Ceri said. ‘I guess I really did get the crash course.’

  ‘Well, Michael was going to claim you anyway,’ Lily replied. ‘They probably wanted to give you the experience.’

  ‘I kind of thought that at the time, but I wasn’t
sure until the next night.’

  ‘That,’ Lily said emphatically, ‘is because you’re not used to being wanted. I’ve seen the way that young man looks at you. He’s besotted.’

  Alec grumbled something and Ceri’s cheeks coloured. ‘He’s, um, eighteen,’ she said. Both wolves made noises that sounded a lot like laughter. ‘I am not a cradle snatcher!’ Ceri replied, trying hard to keep her voice down.

  Thankfully, three werewolves emerged from the trees at that moment to save her any more embarrassment. Tabitha was leading them and she immediately rushed forward to nuzzle at Dane. The she-wolf was, perhaps, better adjusted to her situation than she had been, but Ceri could tell she was still a little emotional.

  Dane nodded off toward the north west and they started to move. Tabitha fell into step beside Ceri and Lily, and some grumbling noises came from the back of her throat. Ceri sagged.

  ‘What did she say?’ Lily asked, sounding a little irritated that she could not understand the wolves.

  ‘She wants to know why I’m not a cradle snatcher,’ Ceri whined.

  Lily giggled.

  December 18th

  The sun seemed thin, weak, and the morning air was colder than the day before. The night had been cold too and Ceri had ended up using Lily as a hot water bottle, huddling against the half-succubus under both their blankets. Lily had not seemed to mind and they had both slept better for the closeness.

  Carter’s big, black car was where they had left it and Lily started it up as soon as they were inside so that she could get the air conditioning working. Warm air quickly filled the cabin and Ceri let out a sigh of relief. She pulled up the menu on the entertainment system and found the radio controls, switching it to Radio Four. Desert Island Disks was on and Ceri grimaced. Her mother had listened to it a lot, Ceri had always been irritated that they never played the tracks all the way through. Still, the news would be on in a few minutes and that was why they were there.

  ‘You really think this cold is unnatural?’ Lily asked as the presenter asked her guest what book they would be taking to their fictional desert island.

  ‘Ragnarök comes with a host of delightful add-ons,’ Ceri replied, ‘and I’m disturbed by the coincidence.’ The guest picked Hawking’s A Brief History of Magic.

  ‘It can’t just be, y’know, winter?’ Ceri looked at her. ‘I mean,’ Lily went on, ‘winter is cold.’ Ceri kept looking at her. Lily sagged a little. ‘News is on,’ she said.

  ‘…the cold weather continues,’ the presenter was saying, ‘and meteorologists are suggesting that the eruption of Mount Thordarhyrna with considerable production of upper atmosphere dust is affecting weather patterns through northern Europe.’

  ‘Right,’ Lily said, ‘just great.’

  ‘Current concerns are that Mount Grimsvötn will also erupt. Geologists have noted that the two volcanoes are linked and that the eruption of one generally results in the eruption of the other.’ There was a pause from the presenter. ‘Authorities in Reykjavík are enacting emergency measures, but so far the ash cloud is drifting east, away from the city.’

  ‘It’s a volcano,’ Lily said, ‘they erupt, y’know?’

  ‘At Ragnarök,’ Ceri said, ‘there are supposed to be giants. One of them with a sword of fire.’

  ‘The giants died out thousands of years ago,’ Lily replied, ‘even assuming they ever existed.’

  ‘Uh-huh,’ Ceri replied, ‘but we’re dealing with legend here. What if this fire giant is a volcano? It brings about the long winter. There’s evidence that volcanic activity can cause violent shifts in the Earth’s temperature.’

  ‘I hate mythology,’ Lily commented.

  ‘Shush,’ Ceri said.

  The newsreader had moved on to her next article. ‘…growing concern over violence among the werewolf packs. The Minister for Supernatural Affairs, Malcolm Charles, gave the following statement.’

  The report switched to a resonant voice, a recording of Charles. ‘The Greycoats continue to monitor the situation, but at this time we have no news concerning the reasons behind the sudden upsurge in werewolf on werewolf violence. We have received assurances from the Alpha werewolf of the Royal Pack, based around Regents Park, that they will be taking no part in this conflict. Further, Catherine assures me that the pack who make their home in Battersea Park are similarly safe and no one should worry about the werewolves in that area. Police are working with these packs to ensure as much safety as possible for humans in these areas.’

  ‘Catherine’ll be happy,’ Lily commented.

  ‘Won’t she,’ Ceri replied reaching for the radio’s off button. She paused just before hitting it.

  ‘There are reports of further werewolf conflicts going on in other areas of the country, from Scotland and throughout England,’ the presenter said. ‘Wales seems to be unaffected at this time…’

  Ceri hit the switch and the voice cut off. ‘This is getting worse,’ she said.

  ‘Yes,’ Lily said, ‘but what can we do about it? There are twenty mercenaries and maybe five wizards down there guarding the pack in the day. You can bet those guns have silver bullets in them and you’re good, but five mages?’

  ‘I know, Lil. I need to think.’ Ceri frowned, staring at the map on the navigation display. ‘There has to be something.’

  ~~~

  ‘What if we can’t stop them?’ Tabitha said. She was once more sitting with Ceri while they swapped watch duties. ‘I don’t think I want to be a demon’s warrior slave.’

  ‘We… I won’t let that happen, Tabby.’

  ‘You’ll probably be dead,’ Tabitha replied.

  ‘Huh,’ Ceri grunted. ‘Looking on the bright side, I won’t be around to witness the end of the world.’

  ‘Big comfort.’

  ‘I think so.’ Ceri frowned at the darkness. ‘There’s a way to stop him.’

  ‘I can’t see one,’ Tabitha replied.

  ‘No, neither can I,’ Ceri said, ‘but that doesn’t change the fact that there is one. I have to do something. I just wish I knew what it was.’

  She looked out to the south and west. A mile away Stonehenge was invisible in the distance, but the invisible light from its magical field was bright in the night sky. Ceri remembered going to the monument with her parents years earlier. They had not been able to get too close to the stones, but she remembered thinking they looked smaller than they did in pictures. Still, building the thing had been a hugely impressive feat, all to focus magical energy. There were easier ways.

  ‘If anyone can figure it out,’ Tabitha said, pulling her back to reality, ‘you can.’

  ‘I’m not as confident of my capabilities as you seem to be.’

  ‘No,’ Tabitha said, ‘I know you aren’t.’ She turned and her hands gripped Ceri’s. ‘My turn. You’re intelligent and powerful. You know when to act and when to stand back and work out what needs doing. You need to know that the pack is behind you, whatever you need to do. I can’t speak for Alec, but I think even he’s come around to believing it’s you who will get us out of this.’

  Ceri sighed. ‘No pressure then,’ she murmured.

  December 19th

  ‘You’ve been staring at that pile of rocks for hours,’ Lily said. They were sat in the car park at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre and Ceri had had Lily park so that they could look across the road to the site itself, but Lily was nervous. ‘We don’t know they aren’t watching this place,’ she said.

  ‘They aren’t,’ Ceri said. ‘They don’t need to. Their best bet is to stay out of sight as much as possible. The cops and the Ministry know what’s going on. If they find that camp they’ll go in in force and Remus’ wolves can’t stand up to artillery.’

  ‘Then why don’t we tell them?’ Lily suggested.

  ‘Because that’s just going to delay the inevitable,’ Ceri replied. ‘No matter what Luperca says, I think this is the chance we have to finish Remus for good. If I can’t kill him now, he wins.’

  ‘How
do you kill a ghost, Ceri?’ Lily asked.

  ‘There are ways,’ Ceri replied, ‘but it’s usually specific to the ghost. The young ones can be destroyed by draining their energy away, though it’s not exactly a nice thing to do. It’s nicer to sever them from their focus. That works for the older ones too, lets them move on, but we can’t do that with Remus because his focus is his hatred for humanity.’ She frowned.

  ‘So… what then?’

  ‘Lily…’ Ceri stopped, unsure what to say.

  ‘What?’ Lily asked. ‘You’ve thought of something?’

  ‘I think I know what I have to do,’ Ceri said, ‘and there’s some things I need you to do.’

  Lily frowned. ‘I’m not going to like this, am I?’

  ‘No,’ Ceri said, ‘you’re not.’

  Lily nodded. ‘Well, you said you were going to trust me more.’ She took a deep breath. ‘All right, tell me.’

  ~~~

  ‘Lord Remus.’ The man in black combat gear with the SA81 assault sub-machine gun cradled in his arms was looking the most excited that he had in a week, which was not saying much. You could tell from his tone that calling the hulking figure in the tent “Lord” rankled, but it did pay to show some respect, especially at night when there were more of the slightly smaller hulking brutes about than there were men with guns.

  Remus turned and looked at him. The wolf-creature’s lips drew back for a fraction of a second. ‘What?’ There was no sound, just a rough, inhuman voice that echoed in your head.

  ‘Someone’s here to see you,’ the human replied. ‘She says she’s giving herself up.’

  From the other side of the tent a human walked into view. Middle-aged and balding, he still had intelligent, piercing, blue eyes. ‘Show her in, Phelps,’ he said. ‘If she’s trouble we can feed her to Lord Remus’ brothers afterward.’

  Nodding, Phelps stepped back, motioning to someone outside and Ceri stepped into the tent, her hands clasped at the back of her head. ‘Hi,’ she said, ‘I’m Ceridwyn Brent, I understand you’re trying to kill me.’

  ‘The Fair One,’ Remus’ voice roared in her head and she flinched. ‘Good, you’re afraid of me.’