Thaumatology 02 - Demon's Moon Page 4

  ‘Well,’ Ceri said, ‘the reverse process seems to be inefficient and painful. I think that’s why the transformation is visible as well. The collapse is far slower and it seems to process the change all through it instead of in an instant at the end.’

  ‘Looks like there’s a sort of echo of the pulse werewolves generate at the moment of change,’ Cheryl said.

  Ceri nodded. ‘Nowhere near as powerful, but it seems to be the same kind of process, yes.’ She looked around at Mallow. He had settled into a sullen crouch in the middle of the circle and was eyeing them all balefully. ‘And now we settle down to wait for him to change back.’

  November 22nd

  ‘Mind if I ask a question?’ Alec said. It was close to four in the morning and it was his shift staying up with Ceri, the one person who could not rest. He was standing just outside the circle, watching the wolf-man inside it.

  ‘Go ahead,’ she replied.

  ‘Lot of people wonder what the relationship is between my kind and people like Peter here.’ Alec turned away from Mallow toward Ceri. ‘Does this suggest anything about it?’

  ‘Scientific answer,’ Ceri replied after a moment’s thought, ‘would be not enough information and not my speciality. You want my opinion?’

  ‘Kid, I’d take your opinion over a bunch of scientific papers any day.’

  Ceri laughed quietly. ‘Why thank you, Alec. Okay, the process is similar, but less efficient. Seems to me like… like this came first. Somehow, someone, way back in time, mutated because of the virus. They adapted, took the change and made it their own. In the process the mechanism became more efficient.’

  ‘So, we probably came from… that?’ The sound of disgust in his voice was obvious.

  ‘Werewolves don’t think much of licks then?’ she asked.

  ‘Not a whole helluva lot, no,’ Alec replied. ‘Want my opinion?’

  Ceri grinned. ‘Alec, I’d take your opinion any day of the week.’

  ‘Well,’ Alec said, ‘they remind us of our basic nature. It’s like, when you did that scan on me and I was pawing at you. I was standing there forcing myself not to just bend you over a table. You did right, threatening me the way you did. Transformed werewolves operate more on instinct and emotion than intellect. I was thinking, “no way could she stop me, I could just take her,” and then you reminded me that it might just hurt, a lot. A transformed lick is all animal, smart animal, but animal. They remind us we’re not so far off being the same.’

  Ceri considered that. It made a degree of sense, people often hated things which reminded them of themselves. Still, it was getting far too serious. Ceri had never stayed in student halls, so she had never done the four am drunken philosophy discussion, and she was damned if she was going to start now. ‘So,’ she said, ‘what you’re telling me, at a fundamental level, when it all comes down to it, is that werewolves like it doggy-style?’

  Alec clapped his hand over his mouth to avoid laughing. Ceri grinned at him. ‘Anyway,’ she said, ‘what were you doing pawing at me? You’ve got Cheryl to paw at. I mean, I know you’re kind of sharing her with Carter…’ Ceri’s cheeks coloured. ‘The night of my birthday did you three really, um?’

  ‘Wouldn’t be the first time,’ Alec said, having the grace to blush. ‘Cheryl’s not the first woman we’ve both fancied and, uh, if she’s willing and the circumstance comes up…’ He shrugged. ‘Can be a pain sometimes. Good thing we’re good friends. We both have the same sort of taste in women.’ He looked at her meaningfully.

  Yeah, if Alec wanted Ceri bent over a table then it was a fair bet that Carter felt the same way. What she just could not figure out was why he had never done anything about it?

  ~~~

  Ceri and Lily were huddled together in a blanket when Cheryl walked out of her office, wrapped in her own, unzipped, sleeping bag. She had sleepy, half-awake eyes. ‘It’s almost dawn,’ she said. ‘I thought I should come out.’

  Ceri nodded. ‘The recorder’s still running. He’s just been lying there the last hour.’

  ‘Any trouble during the night?’ Cheryl asked. ‘I mean, I’m assuming there wasn’t anything major or I’d have been woken.’

  ‘He’s tried to get out a couple of times,’ Lily said. ‘Mostly early on. I guess the burns finally persuaded him it was futile.’

  ‘He’s going to be a bit sore in the morning,’ Cheryl said.

  ‘I’ve got some burn treatment handy,’ Ceri said. ‘I thought it might be useful.’

  Cheryl smiled. ‘Do you always plan things out so meticulously, dear?’

  ‘No,’ Ceri said. ‘I like to, but no plan survives contact with reality. I tend to wing it a lot.’ The first signs of light appeared in the lab windows and Ceri said, ‘It’s starting.’ Her eyes widened. ‘Oh!’

  Cheryl looked around at the wolf-man in the circle and frowned; she could see nothing odd, or changed. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Not wrong…’ There had been a flare from the Tantric Ajna node as before, but that had died off and, instead, the energy began to burn at the base of Mallow’s spine. It began building upward, rising along the Chakral Median, just like with were-creatures. ‘It’s different,’ she said. ‘The reverse change works along the other median, just like with Alec, or Jasmine.’ She watched the thaumic field begin to grow and this time it was strong and constant.

  ‘He doesn’t seem to be in pain this time,’ Lily commented.

  ‘No,’ Ceri said, ‘the reverse transformation seems to be just like…’ There was an instant where both man and wolf-man lay in the same place on the granite, and then there was just Professor Peter Mallow and the violent animal he became was gone. ‘Just like a were-form transformation,’ she said, finishing her comment.

  ‘My God,’ Cheryl said, ‘this is certainly going to add some spice to your thesis. I think Peter will be very interested. He’s made himself a bit of an expert on lycanthropes, even though it’s outside his normal field.’

  ‘Well, I would,’ Ceri said. ‘Should we move him, or just cover him up?’

  ‘Cover him,’ Cheryl said, ‘and then you two get off to bed. Alec and I can take care of Peter when he comes to.’

  Ceri got up and saved her data while Lily laid their blanket over the sleeping man, stepping through the circle as though it were not there. To her, it was not. Ceri looked at the ring of salt, herbs, and metal which had been keeping her safe all night, and allowed the magic to dissolve.

  ~~~

  It was well into the afternoon before Ceri woke up. Lily was, as usual, curled against her back, warm and comfortable. Lying under the blankets in her pet demon’s arms, Ceri found it very difficult to find a reason to move. She managed to persuade herself to lift her head. It was three-fifteen and the sun would be setting again in less than an hour.

  ‘You’re awake finally,’ Lily said softly.

  ‘You actually got some sleep last night,’ Ceri replied. ‘Why didn’t you get up if you’ve been awake for a while?’

  ‘Silly question,’ Lily replied. Her arm tightened around Ceri’s waist.

  Ceri sighed and closed her eyes again. ‘I’m glad you didn’t.’

  ‘You want to…’

  ‘In a bit,’ Ceri said. ‘I’m warm and comfortable, and I never thought I’d say this, but I enjoy just lying with you against me.’

  ‘That’s what I always liked about living with you,’ Lily said.

  ‘We didn’t used to do this?’

  ‘No, this is even better,’ Lily said, giggling softly. ‘But before, when you still had your enchantments, you treated me like a human, not a demon, or a toy.’

  ‘You’re not either,’ Ceri said.

  ‘That didn’t stop people treating me that way,’ Lily replied quietly, ‘until Carter, and you. I loved that. And now, if you wanted, you could have me do anything you wanted. And here we are, spooning.’

  ‘Maybe I just want to use you as a bed warmer,’ Ceri said, giggling softly.

  ‘Nice tr
y,’ Lily said, poking her friend’s ribs gently, ‘but it was me who started coming in and asking if I could sleep here.’ There was a slight pause and then she said, ‘I would, you know?’

  ‘Would what?’ Ceri asked.

  ‘Do anything you wanted.’ Lily replied. ‘Absolutely anything, without question.’

  Ceri opened her eyes. ‘Why?’ she asked.

  ‘Because you’d never ask me to do anything I wouldn’t do,’ Lily said, ‘and because you’re my friend and I love you.’

  Ceri closed her eyes again; the word “mistress” had not been mentioned. ‘I love you too, Lil,’ she said.

  Holloway, November 24th

  For a brief instant, Ceri was looking at a black-furred cat-woman and a tanned, lithe dancer occupying the same space, and then there was just the woman. Looking to her instruments, she checked there was no more activity and closed down the recorder. When she looked back, Naira was smiling at her. ‘Did you get what you wanted?’ she asked.

  ‘I think so,’ Ceri replied. ‘Do you want to see how you change?’

  Naira nodded eagerly and walked over to where Ceri was standing. She moved like a prowling tiger, even as a human. Standing a little closer to Ceri than was totally comfortable, the were-panther watched as the imaging software compiled its model and then began to play.

  ‘See,’ Ceri said, ‘the power generation begins at the base of your spine, travels up it, and when it hits the top… There, that’s the thaumiton field starting up.’

  ‘It’s beautiful,’ Naira said.

  ‘Yeah,’ Ceri said, ‘though you understand this is just false colours added in by the computer. The particles themselves have no real colour. There, it starts to collapse… And there’s the point where you change.’

  Naira let out a little gasp. ‘I was always taught that what I was evil, a thing of the Devil. How can the devil’s work be so beautiful? You have shown me a wonderful thing. Thank you.’ She leaned over and give Ceri a kiss on the cheek, her naked breast brushing against Ceri’s bare arm as she did so.

  Ceri smiled. ‘I don’t believe in the Devil,’ she said. ‘Demons, yes. I’ve killed a demon. But I don’t believe in the Devil.’

  Naira shifted a little closer, her nose twitching slightly. ‘You have killed a demon? Back home, the Church says that only the Holy can kill demons. You must be very powerful, I think.’ She sniffed again. ‘I like your scent.’

  ‘Uh, Naira… I appreciate the compliment, but…’

  The woman stepped back, lowering her eyes. ‘I am sorry, I have offended you.’

  ‘No, really no,’ Ceri said. ‘It’s flattering, but I’m not… I don’t swing that way.’

  Naira frowned. ‘Jasmine told me that you have a girlfriend, Lily. Well, that you slept with a girl.’

  ‘Ah, yeah…’ Ceri’s cheeks coloured. ‘Well, I like guys… and Lily. She’s my best friend, and she’s also a half-demon. Half-succubus, actually. Since I started working magic we had to make it sort of an official relationship. I’m her Mistress and she’s my pet demon, except it’s not quite like that…’ She trailed off, really not sure how to explain it. ‘It’s, uh, complicated. If you meet Lily you’ll understand. She could make a corpse get up and beg to kiss her boots.’

  The were-panther sagged and walked back to where her clothes were waiting to be put back on. She had the same fluid grace, but some of the confidence had gone out of her step. ‘I am sorry,’ she said. ‘It is so hard… adjusting to this place. The… the freedom is difficult.’

  Ceri looked at her, frowning. ‘I don’t understand.’

  Naira stopped halfway through putting on her bra and looked up. ‘For being a monster,’ she said, ‘the Church would hunt me down with dogs, kill me, burn my body, and scatter the ashes in running water. For sleeping with a girl, I would be tortured to find out the name of my lover and then I would be burned at the stake.’

  ‘You what!?’ Ceri exclaimed.

  ‘It happens,’ Naira said. ‘Here I am free to pick the partner I choose. It is… a heady feeling. I maybe go too far.’

  Ceri laughed. ‘Maybe, a little, but if you stick to the girls at the club, and people around my generation and a little older, the worst you should get is a rejection. Ever since they invented the Pill and the Prophylaxys spell, people have been kind of… easy about sex. No one really objects to homosexuality anymore.’ Naira was still looking a bit downcast as she resumed dressing. ‘Seriously, Naira, I’m not offended. Up until a few months ago no one made passes at me. It’s still a novel enough experience that I find it very flattering.’

  Naira looked up again. ‘No one? You exaggerate.’

  ‘Uh, it’s a long story, I was under an enchantment.’

  The were-panther shook her head. ‘You have had a very interesting life, Ceri.’

  Ceri chuckled. ‘No, but I’ve had a really wild few months.’

  Kennington

  The roar of motorcycle engines was a lot louder this time and Ceri was not surprised to see the entire North Hills pack funnelling in through the garden gate when she opened the front door. There were eleven of them altogether, four of them women; Tabitha had been right when she had said it was a small pack, by werewolf standards. Leading the way up the gravel path was Dane with his shoulder-length, dark brown hair and his broad shoulders. She remembered those shoulders well from riding through London on the back of his motorcycle. She smiled as they approached.

  ‘You called?’ Dane said with a grin.

  ‘I did,’ Ceri replied. ‘I’m glad you guys could spare the time. How long can you stay?’ She pushed the second door open and waved the pack in, stepping aside so she could continue talking to Dane.

  ‘Long as you need,’ he said. ‘Or as long as Mistress Twill will put up with us cluttering up her hallway.’

  A ball of light trailing glitter whipped over the heads of the werewolves and materialised into Twill as she landed on Dane’s shoulder. ‘Werewolves are no trouble,’ she said. ‘You’ll get fed up of having a roof over you before I get annoyed with not being able to sweep the floor.’

  Ceri grinned and followed the last of the wolves in, closing the door behind her. Dane did the same with his side and then followed his pack in. ‘Did Alec’s message actually say what I wanted?’ Ceri asked.

  ‘Something about sticking us in a machine to find out how we worked,’ Dane said.

  Ceri laughed. ‘Well, the gist of it is right. I want you guys to change for me while I point some scanners at you.’ She grinned a bit mischievously at Dane. ‘So I get to see you all naked.’

  ‘Will you be naked?’ one of the other males said, grinning back at her wide enough to show his fangs.

  ‘Down, Wayne,’ Dane said, wearing a grin of his own.

  ‘If it makes you feel more comfortable,’ Ceri said, ‘I can be naked too. I’ll have to lock the lab door anyway.’

  ‘I don’t think that will be necessary,’ Dane replied. ‘Wayne can cope with not getting an eyeful.’ Wayne did his best to look disappointed. ‘You’re okay with us sleeping in here?’

  Ceri slapped him on his leather-clad arm. ‘Don’t be silly, of course I am. I can’t offer much, but room and board is the least I can do.’

  ‘We’d throw a party,’ Lily said from the staircase, ‘but I have to work tonight.’ She trotted down the steps and into a wall of hugs.

  Ceri watched for a second and then said, ‘You know, I don’t seem to get hugged on these occasions.’ Of course, it was the wrong sort of thing to say if you wanted your ribs intact.

  ~~~

  It was not quite “sitting around a campfire,” but the lounge with its huge fireplace in which logs crackled and burned was a fair approximation. There was still enough booze left over from Ceri’s birthday that the pack could sprawl across the floor with drinks, while Ceri and Dane sat in the two, big, wing-backed chairs, as befitted the Mistress of the House and the pack’s Alpha.

  They had brought their bedrolls up from the hall aft
er Twill had started the fire in the lounge. It was a little less spacious there, and they would be a little more tightly packed, but being more tightly packed seemed to be something they rather liked. At the party Ceri had been too distracted to really notice, but now it was quite obvious; the pack liked a lot of physical contact. They were constantly touching, brushing against each other, just lying with random limbs in contact. Where two men who found their legs touching would have separated, probably making apologies, two male werewolves did not care.

  Somehow Ceri found that she had been included in this intimacy without anyone seeming to make a conscious decision. Dane’s long legs were pressed up against her bare feet as the both of them sprawled in their chairs. The fire was warm and it did feel like a sprawling sort of night. One of the she-wolves, Tessa, was curled up in the angle between those legs, her back resting against Ceri’s calf. Kort was leaning languidly against Dane’s chair while Tabitha had balanced herself on the arm of Ceri’s. The conversation was sporadic; it was a night to sit and relax, and words seemed a bit superfluous.

  Ceri looked up at Tabitha and came up with something to say, however. ‘You do realise,’ she said, ‘that if you sit there then you’re my honorary pet demon.’

  Tabitha contemplated the statement for a second and then looked across at her boyfriend. ‘That okay with you, babe,’ she asked. The wiry man shrugged absently and took a pull on the bottle of beer he was holding. ‘Cool,’ Tabitha said. Grabbing the sides of her T-shirt in crossed arms, she yanked it up over her head. Then she stood up and started wriggling out of her jeans.

  Ceri watched, bemused for a second before realising that her “pet demon” was traditionally naked when she sat there. Ceri giggled, and Dane and Kort, who had been watching her, both chuckled quietly. Tabitha curled back up onto the chair arm, perhaps a little closer than before, and Ceri grinned at her. ‘There’s a good girl,’ Ceri said. ‘If you’re very good, there might be a treat later.’

  ‘Promises, promises,’ Tabitha replied smoothly. She lay back against the chair, the light from the fire glinting off her skin.