Thaumatology 03 - Legacy Read online

  ‘Nicely done,’ Carter said when they were safely out the door. ‘You’ve grown quite adept at that.’ Ceri shrugged. ‘Seriously,’ he added, ‘you’re easily more powerful than I am. Having you here makes my life so much easier.’

  ‘And good eye candy to boot,’ Alec commented. ‘Awesome power in such pretty packaging. What’s not to like?’

  Ceri giggled. Lily looked on blandly and said, ‘You say that now, but you’ll change your tune when she has dominion over all and you’re calling her “Mistress.”’

  Carter and Alec looked at each other and then at Ceri. ‘Fine by us,’ they said in unison.

  Kennington, March 27th

  Ceri opened her eyes and smiled; there was not that much more she could do really. She lay sandwiched between Lily, closely pressed behind her, and Michael’s grey furry back. Lily’s arm was curled over Ceri’s hip, and Ceri’s arm was curled around Michael’s waist. She had a big enough bed for two, but for three it got a little tight. Still, Ceri always slept surprisingly well squashed between her mate and her lover whenever Michael visited.

  Mind you, she had had quarterstaff practice with the martial arts instructor Lily’s ex-boyfriend had recommended in the afternoon, then a Saturday evening at the Dragon, and then Michael had been waiting for them when they had got back to the house. The clocks had changed to summer time, which had pushed sunrise to almost seven o’clock, but the light had been showing in the sky when they had finally collapsed, exhausted, to get some sleep.

  The nights when the three of them got together were important to Ceri. It was not just the sex, though the sex was… incredible. No, the important thing was that Ceri’s two lovers were together, she was with them, and everything was well. Between the episodes of intense exercise they would lie together rather as though they had formed their own little pack. There would be words; Lily was even starting to pick up a few bits of wolf speech, but otherwise Ceri would translate when Michael remained in wolf form. The words seemed unimportant though; what mattered was the togetherness. No one got jealous; she was keen that Michael did not in particular. It was terribly difficult to get jealous when you had two attractive women stroking your fur and nuzzling at your cheeks. And nuzzling at a few other places. That helped too.

  Ceri ran her hand up Michael’s muscled stomach to his chest. There was a soft rumbling from the wolf-man, but he did not wake. She cuddled against him, her hand sliding down again. Part of him was awake. Ceri grinned against his back, aware that the urge to do something with what she had found was partially the result of the fairy-silver chain around her ankle and not caring.

  It took almost exactly three minutes for their activities to wake Lily. ‘Starting without me?’ the half-succubus asked. ‘That’s not fair, I always wake up hungry.’

  ~~~

  Twill had prepared a roast, knowing they were having a wolf over for Sunday lunch. Michael changed back to human to eat, saying it was more polite, and Twill sat with them, perched on a corner of the table with a thimble of honey thinned with whiskey. Four naked people, only one of them actually human, sitting around a kitchen table eating a Sunday roast; what could be more normal?

  ‘I hear our Ceri has been made one of Alexandra’s guards?’ Twill said as they ate.

  Michael knew enough to swallow before answering. ‘Yes, ma’am. Anita wanted her to learn some more about being a wolf, but we talked it over right after New Year and said she’d be perfect for the job.’

  ‘I wish someone had told me,’ Ceri said.

  ‘I did,’ Michael said. ‘On Thursday night.’ He tried hard to keep the smirk off his face, and failed.

  ‘Want me to make him writhe around on the floor for half an hour, hun?’ Lily asked sweetly.

  ‘No, but we’ll come up with a suitable punishment,’ Ceri replied.

  ‘No innuendo at the table,’ Twill said, though there was more humour in her voice than irritation. Ceri wondered if the fairy was going soft in her old age.

  ‘Yes, ma’am,’ Michael responded, even though he had not been doing it.

  Twill looked at him, a frown creasing her minute face. ‘Please stop calling me that, Michael. I’ve seen you naked. I’ve seen you rock hard and straining! I think we can dispense with the formalities. I’m Twill.’ Michael’s cheeks attained an almost incandescent scarlet.

  ‘I thought you flew off and hid whenever we… well, whenever Michael would have been in that state,’ Ceri said.

  It was Twill’s turn to look embarrassed. ‘Not every time,’ she said quietly. Ceri and Lily looked at her. The fairy could turn invisible at will; she could have been watching at any time. Apparently she realised what they were thinking as they thought it. ‘I don’t watch much!’ she burst out. ‘Just… once in a while. I’m not dead below the waist you know?!’

  Ceri joined Michael in filling her face with food to avoid having to comment, but Lily looked at the tiny woman for a moment before nodding almost imperceptibly. ‘I know you’re not, Twill,’ she said. Then she went back to her food as if nothing had happened.

  ~~~

  ‘Could you shrink me?’ Lily asked Ceri, her voice quiet.

  Michael, back in wolf form and currently recovering from what the three of them had just finished doing, looked quizzically at the half-succubus. Ceri had a good idea what Lily was thinking of. ‘Down to about four inches tall?’ she asked. Lily nodded and Ceri considered for a few seconds. She was a little out of breath herself; when Lily fed from Michael during sex, she could keep him on the edge for almost an hour. She could do that to him while he was inside Ceri too… She shook the memory out of her head and said, ‘Yeah, I can do it. For a few hours anyway.’

  ‘Okay,’ Lily said. ‘We’ll do it in the other bedroom, I want to give her my full attention if you two can do without me for a night.’

  Realisation dawned on Michael and he nodded, rumbling something. Ceri grinned. ‘Yeah, we can manage. Come on.’ She slipped out of bed and headed out of the bedroom, across the landing, and into the second bedroom. It had been her parents’ room, then it had been Lily’s room, and now it was the guest room. She turned and looked around as Lily walked in and waved at the bed. ‘Assuming you want to use that, you’d better get on before I cast. You won’t be able to fly.’

  Lily giggled and pulled the sheets back on the bed before settling into the middle of it on her knees. She was excited; Ceri had to force herself not jump her right then. ‘This isn’t going to hurt is it?’ Lily asked.

  ‘I doubt it. Ready?’

  Lily gave a nod. ‘You go get Twill once it’s done.’

  Ceri grinned and raised her hands, summoning her power. Light flickered around her fingers, and an echoing nimbus of light danced around Lily. ‘Llai,’ Ceri said and the lights flickered out. There was an instant when she thought it had not worked, but then Lily’s eyes widened as, to her, the room seemed to expand around her. In less than ten seconds she was a four-inch tall woman kneeling in the middle of a double bed.

  ‘That worked then,’ Ceri said, getting a nod from Lily in reply. She turned and walked out onto the landing, raising her voice to speak. ‘Twill! Hey, Twill.’

  After a few seconds a ball of blue-white fairy light zipped out of the doorway at the end of the landing which led up to the attic. It flew toward Ceri, materialising into Twill’s brown figure. ‘Yes, Ceri?’ she asked.

  ‘Lily needs a hand with something in the spare room,’ Ceri replied. ‘Just a small matter.’ She managed, through main force, to keep the smirk off her face.

  ‘Very well,’ Twill said, her wings carrying her off toward the bedroom door.

  Ceri paused at the door to her room and listened. After a couple of seconds a sound like wind chimes ringing came from the other room; the sound Twill made when she laughed. Ceri grinned and went into the room, closing the door behind her.

  Michael looked up at her from the bed, his eyes twinkling, and a thought occurred to Ceri. ‘They’re going to be at that for a while,’ she
said. ‘Are you okay to stay with me tonight?’ He rumbled a reply and she smiled thankfully. ‘Thank you.’

  As she sat down on the bed he sat up and rubbed his muzzle against her cheek, growling softly. His arms wrapped around her waist as though he could sense her discomfort. He probably could. ‘I get nightmares when I sleep alone,’ she said. Another, deeper growl. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘about that.’ Michael was the only person outside the house who knew what Remus’ troops had done to her.

  Strong arms pulled her back, lifting her onto the bed beside him. His legs curled against her and his arms stayed wrapped around her. Then he just held her, doing nothing but lying with her and being there.

  March 28th

  Ceri peeked into the spare bedroom and grinned. Lily was asleep in the middle of the bed, arms and legs akimbo as though she had just collapsed there, exhausted, and had not moved since. Ceri could see blue-white, feathery wings sticking up from between her breasts where Twill had likewise collapsed.

  She headed for the shower where a naked young man was waiting for her under the water stream. Even though Michael was her werewolf mate, she enjoyed seeing him in human form, even if he preferred being furry. He was attractive, fit, well-muscled, and when he was human and alone with her, his lack of confidence tended to come out as a cute shyness which was just so gorgeous that… She decided they could get a little more dirty before they got clean.

  The only slightly bothersome thing about Michael being human was that he looked his age. He was seven and a half years her junior and she sometimes had a pang of guilt over their relationship. That usually lasted until he touched her and this time was no exception. His arms curled around her waist and she nibbled at his earlobe. His body responded almost instantly; there were some good things about his age too. ‘Put me up against the wall and fuck me,’ she growled into his ear.

  ~~~

  For the first time in years, Ceri had had to put the coffee on in the morning. Still, she was on her second mug of glorious, caffeinated nectar when Lily wandered into the study, her hair wrapped in a towel. She sank onto the chaise longe with a smile on her face. ‘Michael’s gone?’ she asked.

  Ceri nodded. ‘An hour or so ago.’ She glanced at the clock. ‘Two hours ago,’ she corrected. ‘So, I take it Twill enjoyed your little gift?’

  ‘You’d have to ask her,’ Lily replied, ‘but she certainly joined in enthusiastically. By God, Ceri, that tiny woman can really fuck!’

  ‘Fae do have something of a reputation for enthusiastic sexual excess,’ Ceri commented, hiding her smirk by looking down at her tablet.

  ‘Largely undeserved,’ Twill commented as she buzzed in, sweeping around to settle on Lily’s shoulder and then giving her a kiss on the cheek. ‘Thank you, Lily. I did enjoy last night, very much. I think I’d forgotten what it was like to just… enjoy someone’s body. It was a very nice surprise.’

  ‘Don’t you ever… well, miss being around other fae?’ Lily asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Twill replied shortly.

  Ceri looked up at the tiny woman. Twill had never offered to tell why she had moved into High Towers, why she stayed there, why she avoided almost all contact with other fae. It seemed like she was running from something, but they had never chosen to ask what.

  ‘Can’t you, y’know, pop out for some fairy talent once in a while?’ Lily suggested.

  ‘Of the fae I have contact with these days, I could count on the fingers of one hand the ones I’d want to take to bed,’ Twill said. ‘And that’s assuming I’d had my hands amputated,’ she added.

  ‘One of these days,’ Ceri said, ‘you’ll trust us enough to tell us about it.’

  Twill smiled softly, and rather bleakly. ‘Perhaps,’ she said, ‘but it’s not a matter of trust. Don’t think I don’t trust you in any way. It’s just… safer if I keep it all quiet.’

  ‘That’s just the kind of thing Alec used to say,’ Ceri said, ‘and he was wrong.’

  There was a second or two of silence. ‘You may be right, Ceridwyn,’ Twill said, ‘but there is one important difference which means I’d rather not discuss it. Besides, I like living here, looking after you two delinquents. Believe me, fae are terribly over-rated.’

  Ceri nodded and grinned. ‘Well, I trust you enough to let it stand at that.’

  ‘Good,’ Twill said, ‘let’s just get on with a nice normal life and forget about fairies with mysterious histories, shall we?’

  Ceri raised her coffee mug, tipping it to Twill and Lily. ‘I’ll drink to that,’ she said.

  Battersea, April 17th

  Michael loped into the clearing where he usually met Ceri, his nose twitching. There was something a little odd going on and he was not sure what. Alexandra had told him to go and meet Ceri at their usual spot, and enjoy himself. It was, after all, his nineteenth birthday. He turned slowly, nose lifted, trying to catch Ceri’s scent. It was there, but it was mixed with another scent; Lily’s scent. Well, that was hardly uncommon, but it did smell stronger than usual, and not quite right…

  He was just narrowing it down when Ceri, in wolf-form, walked meekly out from behind one of the trees. She stopped, her eyes down, acting the submissive mate which Michael had to admit did turn him on something crazy. Then the second she-wolf came around and stood next to her. This one was a brown-fur, but not like any other he had ever seen. They were usually a little scruffy, their fur a mix of dark and pale brown. This one’s fur was glossy and a deep, chestnut brown… Michael blinked and fought the urge to howl.

  As one, Ceri and Lily turned slowly around and looked back over their shoulders, waiting for him to make up his mind about who should be first.

  Part Two: Dreams and Delusions

  Holloway, London, April 19th, 2011

  Ceri checked over her code for the… No, on second thoughts, considering how many times she had reviewed the code would just remind her that she was being an insecure dolt. She closed the unaltered file and ran it through the compiler, setting it to distribute to the accelerator control computers when it was done.

  She was nervous for two reasons. Today would be the first trial run up of the generator experiment, so today would be the first try out of her new code. Coming to watch it was Professor Edward Perry who would be doing her thesis interview the following day. Cheryl had gone off to pick him up from Euston station an hour ago so they would arrive soon and the torture would begin.

  The terminal beeped at her to indicate it was finished and Ceri typed in the command to run diagnostics on the five thaumic accelerators. Four of them had been there for Cheryl’s original work on the T-Null project. Set at the four compass points, they discharged a modulated stream of thaumitons at the containment circle they surrounded. The thaumiton beams produced an excitation effect just inside the circle which catalysed the massless gauge bosons known as Null Thaumitons to decay into a pair of heavy thaumitons, one positive, and one negative. Mass was taken from the excitation field, and the universe’s supply of zero-point energy, and that was the key point of the system. If you could tap into the field generated inside, you could tap into zero-point energy. Effectively, you could pull energy out of the air.

  The problem was the extraction, and that was where the fifth, new, accelerator came in. Cheryl had theorised that bouncing a fifth beam off the circle at the right angle, with the right modulation, would induce the release of thaumitons along the same line which could then be converted into electricity through a silver-iron coil system which she had spent half a year building. Ceri agreed with the mathematics and was sure she had correctly programmed in the modulation required, but you never knew until you tried it.

  She was still waiting for the diagnostics to complete when Cheryl walked in, laughing, followed by a man with an overnight bag and a laptop case who had to be Edward Perry. He was tall, but he stooped. His short, salt and pepper hair was unkempt. His nose was a little large, thick at the bridge, and his jawline was weak. His eyes though were a bright green, inquisitive, intellige
nt, and constantly flicking about the room as he walked in. He was actually dressed in a tweed jacket and slacks, with a shirt which looked like it had never seen an iron. As he put his bags down, Ceri noticed the leather patches on his jacket’s elbows.

  ‘Ceridwyn Brent,’ Cheryl said, ‘this is Professor Edward Perry. Ed, this is Ceri.’

  Suddenly the intent eyes stopped moving and fixed on Ceri. She added another adjective, “piercing.” ‘Miss Brent,’ Ed said, holding out his hand, ‘it’s a considerable pleasure to meet you.’ He had a soft Welsh accent.

  Ceri took the hand and shook it firmly. ‘Pleasure to meet you too, Professor, and please call me Ceri.’

  ‘Only if you’ll call me Ed,’ he replied, smiling. ‘I feel as though we’ve already met, your thesis has been a most interesting read and I’m looking forward to discussing it with you tomorrow.’

  ‘Is that kind of giving the result away before we play the game?’ Ceri asked. He sounded very much as though he were saying she had already passed.

  ‘Oh heavens yes!’ Ed said. ‘I see absolutely no point in you being nervous of the outcome. I don’t know about you, but I hate surprises. It’s a well-conceived, innovative project, thoroughly researched, and well explained in the thesis. I have to do the interview to determine that it’s your own work and you really do understand it, but I’ve known Cheryl for a few years and I think you’ll agree that she would have skinned you herself if you had faked anything.’

  ‘I have never skinned a student,’ Cheryl said blandly. ‘Flayed, yes, but not skinned.’ She looked around as the accelerators, which had been humming since she had walked in, fell silent. ‘Was that the diagnostics running?’ she asked.

  Ceri nodded and looked around at the console. ‘Everything checks out,’ she said.

  Cheryl looked at Ed. ‘Right, well you just got here, do you want to grab some lunch or…’