Thaumatology 02 - Demon's Moon Page 24

  ‘That could take a while,’ Carter commented. ‘From what the meteorologists are saying, while the volcanic activity in Iceland has subsided, the ash cloud will still give us a cold winter.’

  ‘I think we can handle having a bunch of cooped up werewolves on the premises,’ Lily said, grinning.

  ‘We are not having orgies every night,’ Ceri said. Lily pouted. ‘I’m a respectable mated werewolf,’ Ceri pointed out. ‘I can’t be sleeping with every furry body who happens to be lying around my lounge.’

  ‘Get Michael over,’ Lily suggested, ‘he can join in.’

  ‘Are you trying to corrupt my boyfriend?’ Ceri asked, glowering at Lily with almost a hint of sincerity.

  ‘Yes,’ Lily replied happily. ‘He’s good. Strong, great stamina, big…’

  ‘Lily!’ Ceri exclaimed.

  ‘Heart,’ Lily finished with a smirk.

  Carter’s booming laugh filled the room again. He patted Ceri on she shoulder. ‘You did very well, my dear. Have a good Christmas and try to relax for a while. You’ve earned it.’ Smiling, he wandered off to circulate among his staff.

  Kennington, December 25th

  Ceri’s vision finally settled into something like normal and she lay on the bed panting as her nerves stopped humming. Lily crawled up to lie at her side, licking her lips. She cuddled up, snuggling against her friend with a contented sigh.

  ‘Happy Christmas,’ Lily said. ‘Thanks for breakfast.’

  Ceri laughed breathlessly. ‘Happy Christmas, love,’ she said.

  Lily let out a little gasp and Ceri frowned, not understanding why until she realised what she had just said. Lily’s soft lips touched Ceri’s cheek. She said nothing, but her body language was suddenly very contented. Ceri relaxed into it. It was not as though she did not love Lily, so why not express it? Right now, cuddled together on Christmas morning, Ceri could not think of a single reason to deny it.

  After a few minutes, however, she could think of a reason for getting up. ‘C’mon,’ she said, ‘presents!’ Lily’s giggle was gleeful. It never failed to amaze Ceri that her friend was probably the most sexual creature she had ever met, but could take such fantastically child-like delight in small things. The half-succubus virtually bounced out of bed and gave Ceri no time to get dressed, dragging her out into the hallway. ‘Wait!’ Ceri said as she was dragged toward the stairs.

  Lily looked around, pouting. ‘But… presents?’ she said plaintively.

  ‘Shower first,’ Ceri told her, ‘especially if you’re not going to let me get dressed.’

  Lily’s pout vanished and her eyes brightened. ‘Shower,’ she said, ‘yeah I can get behind that.’ She began pulling Ceri toward the bathroom instead.

  ‘I thought you wanted to get to the presents?’ Ceri said as the water was started in the shower cubicle.

  ‘Yes,’ Lily said, ‘I just want to wash you.’ She stepped under the stream of water, closing her eyes for a second, and then waved Ceri in.

  ‘Just washing?’ Ceri said as she stepped into the cubicle and the hot water hit her. It did feel good.

  Lily reached for the tube of ginger scented shower gel and squirted some into her hands. ‘Turn around,’ she said and Ceri turned into the water. Lily’s hands wrapped around her waist and began lathering soap over her stomach. ‘Just washing,’ Lily said and then continued in a slightly sing-song voice, ‘Customers are warned that washing may induce the following side effects. Sensations of stroking, long drawn out sighs, gasps, moans, intense pleasure, and prolonged orgasms. May contain, or drive you, nuts.’ Her hands slid up to Ceri’s breasts and the sorceress let out a long moan. ‘See?’ Lily said, grinning.

  ~~~

  Lily had one, distinct, disadvantage following a shower. Ceri could dry off with relative ease; her hair was short and black, aside from the tufts of red she dyed into the front, and it dried quickly and easily. Lily’s hair, thick, luxuriant, long, and a vibrant chestnut, did not look so great wrapped in a towel, but she had no choice for half an hour or so after showering. Twill had offered to get her a shower cap once, for those occasions when her hair did not need washing. Lily had stated flatly that she would never be seen dead in anything that made her look like a character from Coronation Street.

  So, as the girls of High Towers gathered in front of the lounge’s fireplace, with logs already burning in it thanks to Twill, Lily was the only person wearing anything for once. Balanced on her head was a huge, fluffy, yellow towel, kept in place by her hair and keeping her back really straight. It made it difficult to open presents.

  ‘Oh,’ Ceri said as she unwrapped a package from Lily, ‘this is why you were dragging me downstairs naked.’ It was a new teddy, a garment style that Ceri had fallen in love with long ago and therefore highly useful as a present idea for those who knew. Even Alec had spotted the preference, buying her one for her birthday, even if he had been embarrassed about doing so.

  ‘Put it on,’ Lily requested, beaming. Ceri stood up to comply, pulling it on over her head, stretching it down over her body and then fixing the press-studs in the crotch. Many of her teddies were bought to be worn as outerwear, sexy, but quite decent. Some were more club-wear, mesh or lace, or more brief in coverage. This one clearly fell into the less decent bracket and Lily was licking her lips as Ceri sat down again, grinning at the half-succubus’ reaction.

  ‘Here,’ Ceri said, handing a brightly wrapped package to Lily, ‘open that.’

  Lily took it, grinning, and began to carefully dismantle the wrapping. Her finger nails were hardly claws, but she kept them long and they had an amazing ability to cut sticky-tape with no apparent effort, so Lily tended to carefully open every present she got, leaving barely rumpled paper at the end. Ceri suspected that Twill kept Lily’s discarded wrapping paper to reuse later; no one would ever be able to tell.

  The half-demon squeaked in glee as she held up a new dress which could have best been described as “ephemeral.” Short and tight in the way only a stretchy fabric could manage, the dress was made of a deep purple, almost black, fabric which had delicate, vine-like patterns woven into the mesh. Lily gave her hair a rub and poked a finger under the towel. Nodding, she unwrapped her hair, which did not quite have its usual buoyancy, but still managed to look gorgeous despite being uncombed and damp, and then pulled the dress on over her head. It clung to her like a second skin, following every curve and hiding nothing underneath it; it just added that exotic touch to the exotic girl.

  ‘How do I look?’ Lily asked. Ceri grinned, and licked her lips. ‘Good enough,’ Lily replied and looked up at Twill. ‘So you’re the only one not dressed,’ she said.

  ‘If you call that dressed, then yes,’ the fairy said and was presented with a small package to unwrap. Generally they did not get clothes for Twill, even as a present. She was tiny, and everything had to be especially made because dolls clothes were never the right shape. She also wore clothes so rarely that buying them seemed sort of pointless. As Twill’s little hands ripped apart the parcel she had been given, both the fairy and Ceri were wondering what it was that Lily had found.

  It was, perhaps, a little fairy tale for the down-to-earth Twill. A long gown of gossamer-like, brown and red fabric, essentially a tube which knotted behind her neck, open at the back and clinging from the hip, and then fanning out from about knee height to a wide hem. The tiny woman stood and held it up, turning it back and forth before stepping into it and pulling it up her lithe body and tying it in place. She looked up at the two larger women, holding her arms out for inspection, and did a quick twirl.

  ‘It’s gorgeous, Twill,’ Ceri said before turning to Lily. ‘Where on Earth did you get it?’

  ‘Catherine,’ Lily replied. ‘You know she runs that boutique? I went because I thought it might be interesting and then I saw that teddy there, and I was saying to her that it was for you for Christmas and how difficult it was to get presents for Twill…’ She stopped to pull in some air. ‘Apparently,’ she went on, �
�the population of fairies, sprites, and a few other smaller fae has got large enough in the bigger cities that it’s become a market some of the fashion houses are trying to cater to.’

  Twill smiled and lifted up from the floor, tiny wings flicking. She hovered before Lily’s face and then darted forward to kiss the half-succubus on the cheek. ‘Thank you, Lily,’ she said. ‘It really is lovely, and sexy. I’ll wear it for now, and then for special occasions.’

  Lily nodded. ‘Now we’re all sexy, we can get on with the silly presents.’

  Not all of them were entirely silly. Ceri had got Twill a set of copper cooking implements as replacements, improvements, or spares, and there was also a new cookbook for the fairy based on what was apparently a popular cooking show on TV. Twill looked a little dubiously at the book until Ceri showed her a couple of recipes; the book harkened back to Victorian cookery practices, of which Twill thoroughly approved. Twill had been on the Internet, placing orders, and had got Ceri a copy of The Practitioner’s Handbook, which was a yearly publication containing all sorts of useful material for those who practiced magic professionally. Technically, Ceri did not make her living from magic, but the book did help keep her up to date on stuff she had learned for her PPC.

  And then things had got silly. Another Internet purchase had Ceri going bright pink as she pulled a twelve-inch, double-ended, bright pink dildo out of some wrapping paper. There was a little label attached to it which said, “Just don’t let me see the two of you using it.” Ceri had bought Lily a porn DVD, to which was attached a little note saying, “Now don’t let me catch you using my tablet for that in future.” It went with the present Ceri had bought for the house; an entertainment system, currently gracing the far end of the lounge, complete with a large TV screen, DVD player, and integral Internet link.

  Twill had cursed the pair of them with over-starched bed sheets for a month when she opened a package to discover 101 Uses for a Dead Fairy inside, and had then chortled her way through the first few cartoons. Then she had handed out similarly wrapped packages to Ceri and Lily, which they had opened together, both producing what looked like the same thing at the same time. They were matched ankle chains made of what looked like silver, but Ceri was not entirely sure that “silver” was exactly what it was. ‘You need to put them on and close the clasps at the same moment,’ Twill said.

  ‘Is this fae silver?’ Ceri asked as she placed the chain around her right ankle and Lily did the same.

  ‘Yes,’ Twill said. ‘On three… one… two… three!’ Both girls closed the clasps and then gasped simultaneously as the metal shone brightly for a second. ‘There,’ she said.

  Ceri and Lily looked at each other and then at Twill. ‘There what, Twill?’ Ceri asked.

  ‘Call them “friendship bracelets,”’ Twill replied. ‘When two lovers put them on, they close and can’t be removed by either until one or the other dies or the love is gone.’ She giggled. ‘And in the meantime it, uh, increases your libido.’ Lily giggled. Ceri looked at the little woman as though she had just grown an extra head. ‘What?’ Twill said ‘They’re fae bracelets, what d’you expect? Fluffy feelings and happy bunnies?’

  Ceri groaned. ‘We’ll never get out of bed!’

  ‘Of course you will,’ Twill said.

  ‘Yeah,’ Lily agreed, ‘we’ll just want to do it everywhere we go.’

  ‘We don’t already?’

  ‘I do,’ Lily replied.

  Ceri rolled her eyes, and they fell upon an unopened package. ‘What’s that?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Twill replied. ‘Michael delivered it yesterday. He told me it was from the pack and a special gift, but he also said that he was very keen that you like it.’

  Ceri raised an eyebrow and reached for the parcel. Her fingers tingled as she touched it. ‘There’s magic in there,’ she said.

  ‘Well open it!’ Lily said enthusiastically.

  Ceri pulled the wrapping apart to find a small, cardboard box within. She opened it to find a collar inside, along with a card. She picked both up, frowning at the piece of leather with metal studs, and then began to read the card aloud. ‘Dear Ceridwyn, I’m sure you’re wondering why a werewolf pack would present you with a magic dog collar for Christmas. Blame the Goddess, she has an odd sense of humour now that you’ve freed her from her disturbed son.’ Ceri looked up from the card. ‘I seem to have a Christmas present from Luperca.’

  ‘Cool!’ Lily said, grinning.

  Ceri went back to the card. ‘The enchantment on the collar will allow you to transform into your wolf form and stay that way as long as you wish. Just one word of warning, don’t lose the collar, especially when changed. You’ll be stuck if you do. Enjoy it, I’m sure Michael will. It’s signed by Alexandra.’

  Lily burst into a fit of giggles. ‘Will that anklet of yours stay on her when she changes, Twill?’

  ‘Of course,’ Twill replied. ‘It’s a variant of the kind of curse people use to fix malefic charms. I’d imagine Ceri could work out how to remove the chain if she really wanted to, but it wouldn’t be easy.’

  ‘And this libido thing’s not just directed at me, is it?’

  ‘Well, no, fae magic is often a little twisted.’

  Ceri groaned again, and Lily said, ‘Michael is going to absolutely love the combination.’

  ‘I’m doomed,’ Ceri stated flatly.

  ‘And the North Hills wolves are coming tomorrow,’ Lily reminded her.

  Ceri rolled resignedly onto her back and covered her face with her hands. She was so amazingly doomed it was untrue.

  December 26th

  Werewolves in human form were sprawled all over the lounge, basking in the warmth of the open fire. It was closing rapidly on midnight and most of them were at least partially naked. Lily, of course, had started out that way and was not looking back. Rather than her usual perch on Ceri’s chair, she was in Ceri’s lap. Ceri suspected that this was a combination of the fact that they were both feeling the effects of their anklets, and because they was mirroring the other big armchair.

  Dane had a woman in his lap. She was tall and attractive with short, black hair and piercing blue eyes. Her body was all lithe muscle, but there was a set to her jaw which was a little like Ceri’s. She had not left Dane’s side since arriving on the back of his bike at midday, and he seemed to want to be close to her just as much as she did him.

  Tabitha was on the rug in front of the fire with a man spooned against her naked body. They had not been apart since their arrival either, even though Kort had been missing for a lot less time than Aleena had. Ceri had been happy to see that Tabitha had her man back; Aleena had been the cherry on top. The pack had lost two people, but it had got an important one back. Things could have been much worse.

  ‘Ceri?’ Tabitha said. It was the first thing anyone had said in a while; another languid evening of alcohol and togetherness.

  Ceri looked down and smiled at the she-wolf. ‘Tabby?’ she said back.

  Tabitha nodded up at Dane and Aleena. ‘I said you were the one who’d bring him back, didn’t I? I just didn’t think you’d do it like this.’

  Dane chuckled. ‘You’re a miracle worker, Ceri. I thought I had to avenge Aleena’s death, and you gave her back to me.’

  ‘You don’t remember any of it, Aleena?’ Lily asked.

  ‘Fragments,’ Aleena replied. She had a beautiful, resonant voice. ‘It’s like I had a nightmare for four years. I could remember more of it when I first woke up, but it’s just… fading away.’

  ‘Same here,’ Kort mumbled from behind Tabitha, his mouth busy kissing her neck.

  ‘Seems like it was the same for all of them,’ Dane said. ‘Most were Fenlanders. He must have converted half the pack. There were some others he must have picked up in France and western Germany.’

  ‘The police were planning to repatriate them,’ Aleena said. ‘Or deport them, depending on your point of view.’

  ‘Some have applied for asylum
,’ Dane said, ‘and more than a couple of the Fenlanders suggested that they might be seeking a form of asylum as well.’

  ‘Huh?’ Ceri said, confused.

  ‘Seems a fair few were not exactly volunteers for Remus’ army,’ Dane explained, ‘and they weren’t too pleased to be handed over to a demon by their Alpha. They plan on going ronin and seeking out new packs. I mentioned we would be in town for a while, and that the Royals might consider taking people in after their losses.’ The Alpha smirked. ‘Maybe the North Hills can get back up to full strength again.’

  ‘I didn’t think the Fenlanders were very trustworthy,’ Lily commented.

  ‘No,’ Dane agreed, ‘but some of them will have joined up because they were just joining the local pack.’

  ‘We’ve seen the odd promising one at times,’ Tabitha commented, her statement punctuated by a quickly supressed squeak as Kort did something to her.

  ‘I’m hoping Alec’ll help with the interview process,’ Dane said. ‘He knows people. Can probably spot the problem ones better than me or Aleena.’

  Ceri smiled. Alec had seemed to be a bit unhappy about things when they had left Stonehenge, unsure of how he stood with the pack and Dane. At least it seemed that Dane had forgiven the older wolf. ‘What happened to the wizards?’ she asked.

  ‘The ones we hit when we came in after you?’ Dane said. ‘They didn’t survive.’

  ‘What about the other one? Tanner his name was. He wasn’t at the circle for the ritual.’

  Dane frowned. ‘Wayne? Was anyone at the camp when you checked it?’

  ‘No one, boss,’ Wayne replied from somewhere in the room.

  Ceri grunted. ‘Shame,’ she said, ‘I’d have liked to have known who they were, but…’ She trailed off as soft lips began kissing her neck. She let out a tiny whimper. ‘You’re letting yourself initiate,’ she whispered to Lily.

  ‘Yes,’ the half-succubus said softly. Her breath was hot against Ceri’s ear and neck. Ceri’s skin tingled. ‘I don’t have to be afraid of my demon side with you. Not anymore.’ Her lips resumed their work against Ceri’s neck.