Thaumatology 02 - Demon's Moon Read online

  Taking a drink from her mug, Ceri let that answer sit for a second. ‘Your pack is hardly traditional, is it? Traditional packs would never have Joshua as their Alpha. And I’m betting he sleeps with as many she-wolves as he can get, despite knowing it bugs you, and then gets pissy when you go with anyone else?’ Catherine nodded tightly. ‘I gotta say, I don’t know why you put up with it. My understanding is that the two Alphas are different but equal. If he’s being an arse leave him. I bet a fair part of the pack would go with you. You’re stronger than he is.’

  ‘No, I’m… How can you say something like that?’ The she-wolf looked confused, unwilling to believe what she was hearing, but intrigued.

  ‘Science,’ Ceri said, ‘come and look.’ She indicated that Catherine should go back into the lab and then moved around her to lead the way back to the scanner system. ‘The reason I wanted you guys to come and be tested,’ Ceri explained, ‘is that I found a thaumatological basis for the cascade effect werewolves exhibit.’ She tapped the computer’s keyboard, pulling up the animation of Catherine’s change.

  ‘That’s me?’ Catherine asked.

  Ceri nodded. ‘And you see this pulse at the end? That’s the cause of the cascade. I ran some scans of a wolf being hit by that pulse and it causes a reaction in the Chakral Ajna node, which is,’ she reached back and put her finger on the back of Catherine’s head, about level with the middle of her forehead, ‘about there. It’s responsible for a lot of metaphysical senses. I sense magical effects around me through there.’

  Turning back to the computer, Ceri tapped in several commands and produced a bar chart. ‘Alright,’ she said, ‘the frequency and phase modulation of the pulse appears to be related to the pack. Pack members have the same basic pattern in the pulse they generate, but each of them produces a different amplitude which seems to relate to their rank in the pack.’

  Catherine looked at the various bars. ‘What do the colours mean?’ she asked.

  ‘The red bar is Alec,’ Ceri said. It was the tallest of them all. ‘The orange ones are the members of the North Hills pack, except for that yellow one, that’s their Alpha, Dane. As you can see, he’s stronger than the other members of his pack, but not quite as powerful as Alec.’

  ‘And the green lines are me and Joshua?’

  ‘Yes. Yours is about fifty per cent higher than his.’ Ceri looked around at Catherine. ‘You are a more powerful werewolf than he is. To be honest, I’d guess the pack is hanging together because of you, not him.’ She put a hand on Catherine’s shoulder. ‘Seriously, if he bugs you as much as it seems, put a leash on the creep. Believe me, sometimes you have to assert yourself or you’ll get walked over. You’re an Alpha werewolf, girl. Act like it.’

  Catherine looked for a second like she was going to agree, and then sagged. ‘I can’t,’ she said, ‘no packs are ruled by a female. It’s just… impossible.’

  Kennington

  ‘Can’t sleep?’ Lily asked quietly. When she got no immediate answer she added, ‘What’s bugging you?’

  ‘I thought you always knew,’ Ceri said.

  ‘Not always. Not with everyone.’ Lily paused before going on. ‘I can’t read Carter well at all, except for the most basic stuff, and you’re getting harder.’

  ‘I am?’

  Lily pulled her body closer against Ceri’s back, almost as though the proximity would help her distil Ceri’s needs. ‘Yes. I can still tell what you want from me, but other things are harder. It’s like the better you get with your magic, the more you shut me out.’

  Ceri sighed. ‘I’m sorry. I really don’t mean to. Really. It’s the werewolves, I just don’t understand them.’

  ‘Experiments not working out?’ Lily asked. ‘I thought it was all shaping up nicely.’

  ‘No, no, that’s great. I’ve got more out of it than I expected. No, it’s…’ She stopped, trying to vocalise her thoughts. ‘You’ve known Alec longer than I have. Does it seem to you that he’s… waiting for something? Same as Dane, some chance to make things even?’

  ‘Alec’s hard to read as well,’ Lily replied, ‘but yes. Sometimes I catch him just standing behind the bar looking sad and I get this desire for vengeance from him, but it never lasts long enough for me to get an idea of the target.’

  ‘Ever asked him about it?’

  ‘He told me it was none of my business.’

  ‘Huh,’ Ceri grunted. ‘You remember Catherine?’ She felt Lily nod. ‘She’s stuck in what amounts to a loveless marriage to Joshua. She’s better than him, but she won’t do anything because females can’t lead packs. They’re all so… hidebound.’

  ‘Dane doesn’t seem to be as bad,’ Lily said, not contradicting the overall sentiment.

  ‘No,’ Ceri conceded, ‘he does seem to be more open than some. I just don’t understand them though. They act like the only thing that’s changed since the Shattering is that they can admit they’re weres and not get shot with silver bullets.’

  Lily was silent for a few seconds, then she said, ‘Okay, different tack, why is it bothering you?’

  Ceri barked out a short laugh. ‘I don’t know,’ she said, ‘that’s why it’s bothering me.’

  ‘Sleep on it,’ Lily said. She shifted, the arm over Ceri’s waist moving up to her chest, cupping one breast, yet there was no sexuality about the action at all. The half-demon’s smooth skin slid against Ceri’s as she moved her head slightly closer, and then she was singing; a soft lullaby sung in a language Ceri did not understand.

  ‘What… what is that?’ Ceri said. Her eyes were feeling heavy already.

  The singing broke off just long enough for Lily to say, ‘My father used to sing it to me.’ The odd words began again, the soft melody soothing away Ceri’s worries like water washing over pebbles on the beach.

  ‘It’s… beautiful…’ Ceri murmured before her eyes finally closed and she slid away into sleep.

  December 1st

  Lily had been right, sleeping on the problem had been a great idea. Ceri had come up with a plan; one which she was fairly sure would result in a better understanding of werewolves. However, she was also pretty sure Lily would throw a massive fit if she knew what she was going to do so she waited until Wednesday, when Lily was out at work, before doing anything.

  Taking a bag with her she went out, cutting across Kennington Park to the tube station at the Oval, hopping down one stop to Stockwell. All she knew about the Battersea pack was that they operated around Battersea Park, which was a fair walk north, but Alec had said they operated in a fairly large area and she was hoping to find some of them before she got there.

  Still, she saw no sign of anything lupine as she headed through South Lambeth toward Nine Elms. New Covent Garden Market was quiet. She saw a couple of homeless people who watched her as she passed, but no wolves, and soon she found herself on Battersea Park Road looking out across old, industrial landscape to the power station. Sighing, she turned left and began walking down Battersea Park Road toward the park itself.

  There was no moon in the sky yet and it was dark under the trees. Still, a simple spell, one of the ones Carter had showed her, enhanced her vision enough that she could see that she was quite alone. She wanted to be quite sure of that since the next stage was undressing and putting her clothes in the bag she had brought along. Naked and shivering, she pushed the bag into a space between some tree roots and closed her eyes, concentrating.

  She had seen it now over a dozen times. All she had to do was replicate the change process she had seen Alec, Dane, Tabitha, and so many others do before. She felt the magic swell around her, allowed it to build to a peak, and then focussed on the form she was going to take as the thaumic field collapsed in on itself. She gasped, her body seeming to ripple. Her skin tingled as though a current were being passed through it and she opened her eyes on a different world.

  The colours were muted, mostly shades of grey with some dull colours mixed in, but the night seemed bright now. She lifted her muzzle
and sniffed, and was almost overwhelmed by the mass of scents which struck her. Dissecting the smells, she thought she caught something familiar on the breeze coming from the lake. She started in that direction.

  The scent, she realised, was coming from the island in the park’s boating lake and she prowled along the shore, trying to see where it was coming from. She could see a fire, or what she thought was a fire, over there and was wondering how she was going to get to it when she realised that she was surrounded.

  There were six of them, all male and bigger than she was. None of them were acting in an overtly aggressive manner, but she was an unknown werewolf in another pack’s territory. The grey-furred creatures closed in around her and she dropped to her knees, looking down at the floor in front of her. It was a gesture of submission and it received the reaction she had hoped; one of the wolves moved forward, sniffing at her. As she knelt there, waiting to see whether she would be killed on sight or accepted, she noticed for the first time that her wolf-form had black fur. It had not been a conscious choice. If anything, she had expected to come out looking much like Tabitha.

  The wolf was circling her slowly, and came to a stop in front of her. She did not raise her eyes until he gave a curt bark and waved for her to follow him. He loped forward, slipping into the water of the lake and swimming out toward the island. With a quick glance at the others, Ceri followed. The water was cold and her breath caught as she swam the short distance to the island. The male was waiting on the shore when she arrived and he led the way through some trees to a small clearing.

  There were people there, gathered around an old oil barrel which had a fire burning in it. None of them paid any attention to the two werewolves, but then Ceri could smell the wolf scent thick in the air. All of the dozen or so people, dressed in random clothing scrounged from all over the city, she guessed, were werewolves.

  That included the woman standing beside the fire, but she was somehow different. She had long, silver-grey hair and looked to be in her late fifties at least, possibly older. Still, she was upright and there was the look of beauty aging well about her. As Ceri approached, she turned and regarded the new wolf with eyes almost as black as Lily’s. This was the pack’s Alpha female, Ceri knew it instinctively, whether by the scent, the deference of the other wolves, or her own sorcerous abilities she was not sure, but she did know it. Again, Ceri dropped to her knees, averting her eyes and waiting.

  ‘Well, a new wolf in our territory,’ the woman said, ‘and a black-fur at that.’ She chuckled. ‘I’d wager you don’t even understand the significance. Come girl, you’re no more a werewolf than I am the Queen.’ She took a blanket from a small pile of belongings near the fire and tossed it toward Ceri. ‘Take your normal shape so that we may talk properly.’

  Ceri looked up. Changing back for her was not quite the same as for a true werewolf. Her shape was being held in place by the spell she had cast, a second’s concentration and her body shimmered back into her normal, naked, cold shape. She picked up the blanket and pulled it around herself. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

  ‘That’s quite all right, Miss Brent,’ the woman said. ‘Come closer to the fire, you’ll be warmer. I am Alexandra. As you have no doubt guessed, I am the Alpha of the Battersea pack.’

  Ceri frowned. ‘Sorry, how do you know who I am?’

  ‘Alec told me of you, described you. You live nearby, I imagine he assumed we would meet at some point.’

  Her frown deepening, Ceri said, ‘Alec told me he didn’t know you.’

  Her soft chuckle came again. ‘I’d imagine he would. I have no doubt he was hoping we would not meet for some time yet. I knew we would, but when he gets like this there really is no talking to him. What brings you here dressed in wolf’s clothing, Miss Brent?’

  ‘Ceri, please.’ Alexandra bowed her head in acknowledgement and Ceri went on. ‘I… don’t understand werewolves,’ she said. ‘I’d hoped I could learn more by experiencing it.’

  ‘A noble goal,’ Alexandra said. ‘It’s well that you came here to do it. Other packs would have been… unforgiving though they might not have seen through your spell so quickly. My people are the dispossessed of the London, the homeless, those who choose to live on the edge of society. We are rather more open to newcomers and I must say you have excellent manners for a human.’

  Ceri smiled. ‘I read a lot.’

  A bell-like laugh rang out and there was a murmur of laughter from the others. Alexandra had a beautiful voice and an accent Ceri could not place. ‘But you find that what is written in books and scientific papers does not capture all you wish to know?’

  ‘I’m an experimental thaumatologist,’ Ceri said. ‘I’m used to testing theories in a lab. This is a very big laboratory, I admit, but it’s the same principle. If I don’t know something, and can’t discover it written down, I go find it for myself.’

  Alexandra looked at her for a few seconds, apparently considering her words. ‘Very well,’ she said. She raised her voice slightly so that those around her could hear clearly. ‘Ceridwyn is to be an honorary member of the pack for as long as her… research requires it. Treat her as one of our own.’

  Ceri smiled. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

  ‘You’re welcome. However, your education as a wolf can start tomorrow. Come back then and Michael there,’ she indicated the male who had escorted her to the island, ‘will be your guide. I think that will be agreeable to him?’

  Michael was sitting at the edge of the clearing, a shadowy grey shape. He nodded his head and gave a short barking sound. Ceri could not understand whatever detail he had put into the reply, but apparently he was happy to take her under his wing.

  ‘Good,’ Alexandra said. ‘Tonight I’d like to talk to you a while. There are things you should know and the only person who will tell them to you is me.’

  Ceri’s grin was uncertain. ‘That sounds kind of ominous,’ she said.

  Alexandra smiled enigmatically. ‘It does, doesn’t it?’

  ‘You don’t know a fairy named Twill do you?’ Ceri asked. Twill had an annoying habit of making rather cryptic comments when she was trying to make some important point.

  ‘No, I don’t know many fae at all. They tend to stay out of our park.’

  Ceri smiled. ‘Sorry, there’s no reason you’d get the reference. Could I ask what you meant about the black fur?’

  ‘Hmm, yes… Did you choose the colour when you worked your magic?’ Alexandra asked in return.

  Ceri shook her head. ‘I was expecting to be grey really, like a friend of mine. Tabitha of the North Hills pack?’

  ‘And how many wolves with black fur have you ever seen?’

  ‘Seen? One. Alec.’ She narrowed her eyes a little at the Alpha female. ‘But if I had to guess I’d say you have.’

  Alexandra laughed. ‘I’m going grey around the muzzle these days, but yes, I have. Black fur in werewolves is found only in the most powerful, those with the purest bloodlines.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Ceri said, feeling foolish. ‘I’ll make sure to make it grey tomorrow.’

  ‘No, dear. I think you became a black-fur for a good reason. I suspect that you couldn’t be grey or brown if you tried.’ Alexandra smiled. ‘And I don’t believe it’s any form of insult to our kind.’

  ‘Where does the brown fur come from then? I’ve only seen that once.’

  ‘Interbreeding with humans,’ Alexandra said. There was no distaste in her voice, though Ceri could imagine it if Alec had been saying the same. ‘Some of mine are brown, about two-thirds of the Royals are. It’s no stigma, as far as I’m concerned. You’re a werewolf or you aren’t, and we were getting close to extinction before the Shattering. We would be interbreeding far too much if we did not mix in some human blood. The real problem is that many of them are… more comfortable being human.’

  ‘The Royals seem that way,’ Ceri said. Talking about them brought Catherine to mind and Ceri looked around. ‘Alexandra, if you don’t find this insolent
or painful, where’s your mate?’

  The she-wolf smiled, thought there was a little pain behind her eyes. ‘Dafydd died fighting the Nazis during the war,’ she said.

  ‘And you’ve been running this pack ever since?’ Alexandra nodded her reply. ‘So much for females not being good leaders,’ Ceri said.

  ‘It’s not unheard of, but not common,’ Alexandra replied. ‘It’s more common for the female to be the “power behind the throne,” so to speak.’ She paused and Ceri got the impression she was considering her words carefully. ‘You know Alec and Dane fairly well?’ she finally asked.

  Ceri laughed. ‘They’re both a bit enigmatic,’ she said. ‘Dane trusts me, I think. Enough to open up a little, and his pack have been trying to get him to sleep with me. Alec…’ She frowned. ‘I think Alec is trying to protect me from something.’

  ‘You and his pride,’ Alexandra said. ‘Something is returning, something from Alec’s past, and Dane’s. Alec believes that it is a problem which must be handled by werewolves. Dane knows he can’t win against it without help, but he will be swayed by Alec, as always.’

  ‘This thing you’re not really telling me about,’ Ceri said, ‘it could kill them?’

  Alexandra’s smile was bleak. ‘The lucky ones will die, yes.’

  Battersea, December 2nd

  In her wolf-form, Ceri loped back to where her clothes were hidden accompanied by the sleek, grey shape of Michael. She was informed, but frustrated. Alexandra had refused to be further drawn on the danger Alec and the North Hills pack were in. Instead she had concentrated on telling Ceri things about pack etiquette and what she could expect on returning the following day. Going over it all in her head, she was not really paying attention to Michael until they reached the tree where her clothes were still waiting.

  Pulling the bag out she prepared to transform back into a human, and then stopped. Michael was watching her, his jaws slightly open and an intent look in his eyes. She could smell his arousal without looking to confirm it and she found her wolfen body responding. Alexandra had said nothing, but her own reading had told her something she had not really thought about; new females joining a pack were traditionally anyone’s until they were taken as a mate. She also recognised that Michael was giving her a choice; if she wished, she could transform back and, she suspected, he would leave her be.