The Other Side of Hell

The Tenth Thaumatology Novel

By Niall Teasdale

Copyright 2012 Niall Teasdale

Amazon Kindle Edition

Contents

Part One: Aftermath

Part Two: The Succubus in the High Castle

Interlude: One Night in Bangkok

Part Three: The Science of Hell

Interlude: Cheryl

Part Four: Fairy Tales

Interlude: Twill

Part Five: Wild, Wild South

Interlude: Michael

Part Six: The Castle of Bones

Part Seven: Home Again, Home Again

Part One: Aftermath

Kennington, November 21st, 2012

Ceridwyn Brent opened her eyes and let out a soft, contented sigh. The beautiful half-succubus in her arms shifted slightly at the sound and Ceri reached a hand up to stroke Lily’s soft, chestnut hair. Lily’s warm skin felt wonderful against Ceri’s, just like always. Lily’s demonic powers were fuelled by an internal thaumic reaction which gave off heat as a side effect. Sleeping against Lily was like having the sexiest hot water bottle in the world in bed with you.

The sun was blazing in through the window; it looked like a beautiful day. It had been quite cool recently, but it looked so nice out that Ceri decided they should do something, go somewhere. The zoo, perhaps. Her parents had taken her there many times when she was a child and she had not been since. They could drop in and see whether the Regents Park werewolves were about; they tended to congregate just outside the zoo’s fence and they had not seen Catherine, their Alpha, in a while.

‘What do you think, Lil? Fancy a trip to the zoo?’

Lily shifted, turning over and smiling. She had a cute sort of face with high cheekbones and a small, upturned nose. Her skin was a flawless, creamy white; so smooth. Her smile showed a lot of white teeth, and a pair of fangs. Being part demon had some odd expressions on the physiology.

‘I can’t, Ceri,’ Lily said, her voice soft, almost consoling. ‘You know I can’t.’

Ceri pouted. ‘But it’s a beautiful day, and we don’t have anything else to do.’

Lily reached out a hand and stroked Ceri’s cheek. ‘I can’t go out with you, Ceri. This is just a dream you’re having. I’m dead.’

Ceri felt her heart sink. Suddenly Lily’s hand on her cheek was icy cold. ‘No,’ she whispered. The world seemed to twist around her, the sunny room falling away and taking Lily with it. She was awake, strong arms encircled her and she fell into them, sobbing uncontrollably against Michael’s shoulder.

It was true. Lily had been dead for three weeks now. She had died saving Ceri, and the planet. But Ceri did not care about the planet, all she cared about was that her best friend was gone forever.

~~~

Gwyn was making breakfast in the kitchen when Michael finally persuaded Ceri to dress and come down from the bedroom. She had turned up at High Towers five days after Lily had died, moved in quietly with no fuss, and begun taking care of the house. That was Twill’s job, but Twill was missing. Just one more thing to add to the list of disasters.

‘Would you like some of this?’ the dragon-woman asked. ‘Or are you planning to pick at it for an hour without actually eating. Again.’

‘I’ll have some coffee,’ Ceri said.

Gwyn frowned at her as she put a plate in front of Michael. The young werewolf’s metabolism was still out of kilter from the spell-induced coma he had been put into by the dragons. He was eating a lot, especially in the mornings. ‘You’re going to be no use to anyone if you starve yourself to death, Ceridwyn.’

‘You’re not my mother, Brenhines,’ Ceri snapped, and immediately regretted it. ‘Sorry. That was…’

‘Accurate. I’m just your far distant ancestor. And I’m not Brenhines anymore. Just Gwyn.’ And that was yet another thing. Not many dragons had survived the destruction of the bridge to their world. Whatever Lily had done had… short circuited the Earth’s entire magic field through the bridge. For two days after the event there had been no magic on Earth, and it had risen back to its normal level slowly, over the course of around four days. The shock of the thaumic detonation combined with the sudden drop in power had killed almost all the dragons, and a significant number of unprepared fae. The dragons had survived by becoming human, or partially human anyway. Gwyn was still a powerful magician, a sorceress like Ceri, with millennia of experience at her fingertips, but she was mortal.

A mug of coffee was placed in front of Ceri and she looked up, giving Gwyn a grateful smile. ‘Accurate, but not nice. You deserve better from me. You’re the only one of the dragons who even tried to help me…’ Her fingers strayed to the spot between her breasts where a silver pendant hung beneath her T-shirt. It had been a gift from Gwyn; a simple, rectangular pendant on a chain with a draconic design cut into the metal. That was the sigil of Brenhines and her mate, Brenin. Ceri had the same sigil marked on the back of her right hip. The necklace brought “insight” to its wearer, if that wearer belonged to a certain, fairly exclusive, club. Lily had hung it around Ceri’s neck on the night she had died. It was possibly the cruellest thing Lily had ever done to her, because when she had woken up, everything had been quite clear to her, eventually.

Battersea, October 31st

Someone was lifting her, turning her over. She felt hands at her throat, heard hushed, urgent voices she could barely understand. Some of them sounded like animals. Her head felt as though someone had smashed it in with a hammer and then filled the space with cotton wool.

‘We have to get her out of here.’ A man’s voice.

The growl of a large dog, or perhaps a wolf… No! A werewolf, it was a werewolf…

‘If they find her here she’ll be locked up. We have to move her.’

Another growl and then they were moving. She felt air rush past her face, felt bile rise in her throat and swallowed it down. She had no idea where she was, or where they were going, but there was something trying to force its way into her conscious brain and it eventually found form. ‘Lily,’ she croaked. All she got in reply was a growl and panic began to set in. She struggled, and got slung over a shoulder for her efforts.

The new position made her head spin. Her consciousness spun out of control into blackness again.

~~~

‘There was no sign of her.’ The man’s voice again.

‘No, there wouldn’t be.’ A woman this time. She sounded old and very tired. The voice was familiar, but no name was coming to mind. There was a growl and the voice said, ‘I know she’s awake. Ceridwyn? Can you hear me? Do you know where you are?’

Opening her eyes seemed like far too much effort; she gave up, but turned her head toward the voice. There was heat that way; a fire of some sort. Her voice sounded thick in her own ears. ‘I… I don’t know who I am? Lily. I have to find Lily.’

‘We’ll deal with that later. Your name is Ceridwyn Brent. You are a sorceress. You were at the centre of a magical event. Before that someone did something to you. Do you remember?’

‘I remember…’ She remembered voices. Voices chanting words she could not understand, over and over again. She did not want to remember the voices, but they were all that filled her mind. ‘I remember…’ Voices, deep, resonant, driving into her brain. She shook her head and managed to open her eyes. ‘I don’t remember. All I hear are strange voices.’

She was surrounded by werewolves, mostly grey furred, a few browns. She felt she should know them, but there was nothing but the chanting in her head. There was a man, tall, muscular, and handsome, and a woman with long, grey hair. There was a flicker of memory when she saw the woman; that grey hair shining silver in the moonlight. But tonight she looked old, so very old, older than she ever looked…

‘Alexandra.’

The smile she received in reply was gratifying, but weary. ‘Very good, dear.’

‘You’re tired,’ Ceri said, realising that she knew her own name. With the name came the power. Almost without thinking, she reached out with that power, feeding it to Alexandra. The old woman gasped, sitting up straighter… And suddenly there were two werewolves pinning Ceri to the ground. She felt claws at her throat.

‘No!’ Alexandra snapped out, her voice firm and full of authority. The claws moved back. ‘She was helping. Let her up.’

There were growls which Ceri was sure she should understand, but the chanting was making it hard to concentrate. She was allowed to sit up, however, and when she did she noticed what was missing. ‘There’s no magic. The magic field is… practically nothing.’

‘It collapsed about an hour ago,’ Alexandra said. ‘They’re stuck in fur until it returns. They can’t generate enough power to turn.’

Ceri sighed. She knew how to do this. ‘I can’t do everyone. We need to prioritise those we want to shift back. I can supply the power, I’ve done it before.’

‘You remember that?’ Alexandra asked.

Pulling herself to her feet, Ceri looked at the black gown she was wearing. She looked like some sort of witch out of a fairy tale. Grimacing, she looked over at Alexandra. ‘No, I don’t. I just know I have. Do you think someone could get me some real clothes?’

Kennington, November 21st

‘You need to at least start dragging yourself out of this funk, dear,’ Gwyn said as Ceri drank coffee, cupping the mug in both hands. The action made her draw in; she looked defensive.

‘I’ve lost my best friend,’ Ceri said. She knew it sounded like a whine; it was.

‘And I lost my species. I know I wasn’t exactly on the best of terms with most of them, but they’re gone. The only dragons left aren’t even dragons anymore. I am not a dragon anymore. I’ve come to terms…’

‘I hear you crying at night,’ Ceri said. She was glad it came out sounding compassionate because it was a nasty thing to say otherwise.

Gwyn did not skip a beat anyway. ‘I have almost come to terms with my loss. Which reminds me, we’re going to have a guest tonight.’

Ceri suppressed a wince; the last thing she needed to see was more people. ‘Who?’

‘Mei Long. She is engaged in seeking asylum in Britain, and… and she is taking the loss harder than I am.’ She held up a hand as Ceri opened her mouth to protest. ‘She did what she could to warn you what was happening. She was watched constantly and could do no more. She ran when she could rather than be forced to take part in what happened.’ She played her trump card. ‘Brenin trusted her enough to tell her how to escape the collapse of the magic field.’

Ceri grunted in resignation. That had been another revelation which had come out when Gwyn turned up. Brenin, Ceri’s other ancestral dragon and Gwyn’s supposedly dead mate, had not died, he had… transformed. Thousands of years ago, when the Earth’s magical field had collapsed entirely and stayed that way for many centuries, he had stayed behind, his body had died, but not his spirit. The comet which had come around in time for the dragons to mount their attack actually carried with it some part of Brenin. Ceri knew that Gwyn was being stoic about that too. Her husband, lover, and friend was still alive, but she would certainly be dead by the time he returned in thirty thousand years.

‘We don’t have another bed,’ Ceri pointed out.

‘She’ll sleep with me. It’s a double bed, quite big enough, even for two dragons. Ex-dragons. She’ll want a shoulder to cry on and I’m the strong, regal type.’

Ceri looked up at her. ‘Whose shoulder do you cry on?’

‘It’s called a pillow, dear. Why do you think I came here to look after you? Keeping busy was the best thing I could do under the circumstances.’

‘Yeah, I can understand that.’

Battersea, November 1st

Keeping busy was keeping her sane. As Ceri worked to turn werewolves from their man-wolf form back to human, she could feel fragments of memory joining up with other fragments. When they did, the result seemed to be far more complex than the parts should give rise to. She had always been good at taking two and two and making six out of it; now her brain was working overtime at it, no matter how much the chanting in her head tried to blot it out.

A commotion drew her attention as she paused between wolves. She turned her head and suddenly there was a man holding her, a man pulling her into his arms and kissing her, a strong body pressing against hers. More memories gathered together, collecting at random and joining to make inferences.

‘Michael?’ she said when he let her breathe.

‘What happened? I was on patrol and I caught a scent like those things that took Cheryl and then… then I was waking up here and I can’t change, and something bad’s happened, hasn’t it? And where’s Lily?’ His voice was higher than usual, full of enthusiasm, excitement, and worry.

‘Lily? She’s…’ Where was she? No one had answered the question. Anita and Ray, who had been the ones who carried Ceri out of the power station, had found no one else there. They had said as much as she woke up. They had said that they could not find Lily. Lily was…

Michael caught her as she slumped. She heard him yelling for Alexandra, but the old Alpha could not help. Ceri’s mind was full of clear, solid reality for the first time in what felt like months. Tiny things came together to mean so much. Sudden revelations jumped out at her, hitting her like rocks. Her entire life had been a lie, even from before she had been born.

Cambridge, England, August 16th, 1977

Marion Preece could barely see as she staggered away from Carter Fleming’s flat. Her eyes were filled with tears, her stomach boiled, and she could taste bile in her mouth. She wanted to throw up, but she had eaten nothing for over a day. Still, her head was spinning because she could not quite understand why she had just broken up with Carter to be with David Brent.

David was Carter’s best friend. They had been out together a few times, David generally with a new girl every time. Marion had considered him a playboy, a breaker of hearts. Of course, Carter had much the same reputation, but she had got to know him before she realised who he was. He had been a handsome man at a party and he had been charming, and she had fallen for him the first time she laid eyes on him. The fact that he had rejected her quite obvious advances that first night in favour of a later date indicated that he had felt the same way.

So why was she turning away from the man she had fallen head over heels for in favour of another? It had just happened. Just like that. One morning, a week ago, she had woken up loving David. She had tried to rationalise it, tried to deny it, but the more she tried, the stronger it became. Her emotions were tearing her apart and she had seen no other choice but to break it off with Carter.

He had just looked at her the whole time, saying nothing, as she babbled on trying to explain it and failing. Love was like that, right? Unexplainable? Except that she loved Carter too. She just… had to be with David. And that was it. And she knew she had destroyed the first man she had ever loved. She saw it in his eyes as she talked. She knew it in her heart. How could she have done that to him?

Sobbing, Marion stumbled out onto the street. She never noticed the man watching from across the road, a smile of grim satisfaction on his face.

But decades later, as her daughter watched her mother’s memory play out, Ceri saw the man. And she recognised a dragon when she saw one.

Bala, Wales, January 1st, 1986

‘I want to try again,’ Marion said. ‘For a baby.’

David looked down at his wife, nestled in the crook of his arm as they sat on the couch in front of the roaring fire. It was a new year, a time for new commitments, but… ‘Are you sure, love? Four miscarriages…’

‘I know, but I found some help. There’s a doctor in London who says he has a treatment, a spell, to help stabilise the pregnancy.’

He sighed. ‘Last time you had your herbs, the time before that you slept naked in a field on the night of the full moon…’

‘Okay, so I tried a few… unconventional things,’ Marion snapped, swatting him on the arm and grinning to show she was not upset. ‘This is a doctor, a skilled practitioner. He says he could “stabilise the effect of the trisomy” or something. It sounded as much magic as science, but he assured me it was all using the latest in genetic research.’ Marion gave a pout. ‘Are you telling me you don’t want to practice making a baby with me?’

David leaned down to kiss her forehead. ‘You know damn well I’ll “practice” that any time you like. I just don’t want to see you hurt again.’

Marion smiled at him. ‘No, I think this time it’s going to be different.’

November 10th, 1986

Ceri realised that what she was seeing and feeling had to be some sort of enhanced memories, but the one which hit her next was the first she had actually been alive for. The others had been dragged from her “race memory” of her parents, but now she lay in the arms of her mother, a cold wind biting at her cheeks as they stood at the edge of a lake. The first time she had experienced this she had been ten days old and largely unaware of what was happening. This time she felt as though she were looking out at the world through tiny windows and could see very little, but she understood what was being said.

‘Name her for Ceridwen.’ The voice was female, smooth, resonant. That had to be the Lady of Bala Lake. ‘She will come into great power, as did that sorceress of old.’

‘I expect her to have talent.’ That was her father. ‘She comes from two strong lines of practitioners.’

‘More than you know,’ the Lady said. ‘She will need your protection, your tutelage. Take very good care of her.’

‘We will, Lady,’ Ceri’s mother said. Ceri felt them turning to leave.

‘Little Ceri,’ the Lady’s voice said, receding as though she was moving back into the lake, ‘when you meet my sister, do not fear her.’

There was a pause, and then David’s voice. ‘That was… odd.’

‘It was an odd thing to say to a child who doesn’t understand Welsh yet,’ Marion replied. They had been speaking Welsh? My Welsh was never that good.

‘No, not that. That was odd, yes, but I meant what she said about our family trees. We never did get an explanation of exactly why that trisomy thing turns up in every child we have.’ He paused. ‘It’s us. Our bloodlines.’

‘Obviously.’

‘But why?’

Marion’s face appeared in Ceri’s field of view, smiling. ‘We’ll just have to find out. Won’t we Ceridwyn.’ The face disappeared again. ‘I think we should spell it with a “y” instead of an “e.” Just a little different.’

David chuckled. ‘Well she’s not actually going to be a sorceress, so I don’t think the Lady will mind.’

Kennington, London, October 31st, 1988

‘David?’ Marion’s voice sounded concerned and little Ceri turned around to look at her.

Her father’s voice came from behind her. ‘What’s up?’

‘Her back, look at her back?’

Ceri felt David’s hand on her shoulder, and then his fingers tracing over her right hip. ‘That’s… it looks like a tattoo. A dragon?’

‘It’s getting worse, David. We’re going to have to do it soon.’

‘I know. I’ve found everything we need. Professor Perry was very helpful.’ Ceri turned and looked at her father. He looked just as concerned as her mother. ‘Don’t worry, Ceri. We’re going to keep you safe.’

Battersea, November 1st, 2012

There were a lot of faces looking down at her when Ceri opened her eyes. She blinked. ‘I, uh, I blacked out again?’ She reached up to her chest, finding the silver pendant and running a finger over the carving. Lily had to have put it there and it had done its job very effectively.

‘You sound more yourself now,’ Alexandra said.

Ceri pushed herself upright. ‘I’m not sure I’ve ever been myself. I remember… everything.’

‘What does that mean?’ Michael said from behind her, and she twisted around to look at him, smiling weakly. He was a handsome young man with a firm, muscled body and tanned skin. His face was narrow and a little flat with a narrow nose and a slight cleft to his chin. His black, shoulder-length hair was even more unkempt than usual. He looked so young, and Ceri felt so much older…

‘It’s this necklace. It’s done it before, remember? I had this weird dream that I was Brenhines, thousands of years ago, in the White City. It lets me see memories of my ancestors, and it can help me remember things that I experienced more clearly. The dragons have been… They split my mother and Carter up so that she would be with my father. I think they helped stop me being another miscarriage. Ed Perry helped them craft the enchantment that was put on me to hide my power, and I’m pretty damn sure that they killed my parents because they were trying to contact Brenhines. They died near Anglesey, and that’s where she was living. They’ve twisted my life, even before I was born. All leading up to this.’

‘You haven’t been wearing that necklace recently,’ Michael said to her.

‘No. No, I should have. Lily must have put it on me when she… uh…’

‘Where is Lily?’ Michael said, sounding wary. ‘No one wants to say…’

Ceri swallowed. ‘She… She’s dead.’

Kennington, November 21st

Mei Long stepped into the huge hall of High Towers and stood just inside the threshold, feet together, hands clasped in front of her, eyes cast downward. She was wearing a simple tank-dress which flared from her hips and stopped just above her knees, and flat shoes, all in white which contrasted with the wave of black hair falling down her back. The ex-ambassador of the Dragon Empire had always been elegant, poised, the perfect example of a diplomat who belonged to a culture spanning millennia, but never excessively proud. Now, while she kept her poise, she looked like a whipped dog.

Gwyn had basically forced Ceri to stand up and invite the woman in. Ceri was mistress of the house, no matter how she might feel, and Mei would be enormously uncomfortable if she were not invited in by her. It was a matter of form. Ceri had privately thought that she did not really mind a little discomfort on Mei’s part, but she had agreed to inviting her through the doors because Gwyn had insisted.

Ceri was about to invite Mei to the lounge and break the slightly uncomfortable silence which had developed, when Mei spoke. ‘There is no way to apologise to you for my part in what has happened, Mistress Brent. I can offer only my most humble apologies and…’ She gracefully slipped onto her knees, placed her palms flat on the floor, and bent forward, lowering her head. Ceri heard Gwyn stifle a gasp. ‘…I can offer you my life should you wish to take it.’

‘Get up!’ Ceri hissed. Mei clambered to her feet, shocked and confused. She had expected a lot of emotions, but the terrified rage she saw on Ceri’s face was not one of them. ‘I never want to see another person kneeling in front of me,’ Ceri told her, forcing herself to calm down. ‘I accept your apology. You did the best you could with a bad situation. You tried to warn me in the only way you could, and you got out rather than take part in the battle. There is absolutely no way I am going to kill you, so just stop it.’ She smoothed the front of her T-shirt, which did not need smoothing. ‘If I were going to kill someone, it wouldn’t be you. You didn’t set me up to be a tool for Huanglong.’

Aberystwyth, Wales, October 24th, 2012

The lab was on the top floor of the university’s thaumatology building, hidden away in one corner. The windows were blacked out and the lighting, such as it was, was subdued. The centre of the floor was marked out with a carefully drawn magic circle; a containment circle, but it would serve their purpose. Cheryl Tennant, Ceri’s boss and friend, was missing. Ceri believed she was in the demons’ dimension and this was the only way they could find her. She had spent days working with Ed to produce the spell which would let her search another world.

‘We have the room for as long as we need it,’ Ed told Ceri as she began to prepare the circle; tracing over the marked lines with salt. ‘The Dean was a little iffy about it until I mentioned you did work for the Greycoats.’ Ceri smiled slightly and nodded. ‘Are you sure you’re up to this?’

‘I’m sure.’

‘It’s going to take a lot of energy.’

‘I know. I’ll be fine.’

‘You’ll be opening up your mind. Something could…’

Ceri stopped working and looked up at him, and Ed stopped. ‘I need to find Cheryl, Ed. I’m going to do this. Now step back and let me work.’

Ed nodded. He seemed more worried than she would expect. He had trained her, he knew what she was capable of. Why was he so… nervous? She finished the circle and settled into the middle of it, cross-legged, settling her mind ready to work the complex magic she had worked out with Ed. The circle flashed into life around her, a column of magic which occupied only their reality. Its purpose was safety; if she used too much power, the circle would stop her irradiating the entire building before she died from internal injuries.

She gave a last look to Ed, standing on the circle’s edge. He had an odd expression on his face. Something like resignation. Shrugging, she drew in her power, set the equations in place in her mind, and opened herself to another reality. There was a brief instant when she felt she was floating, and then her body stiffened.

~~~

The pain was so extreme she knew she should have passed out, but something kept her conscious. Every nerve screamed in agony. Her body was on fire, but did not burn. She was icy cold, but she did not freeze. Light so bright she knew she should be blind seared her eyes, but she could not close her eyes and the light never dimmed. A voice roared in her ears, screamed in her mind. It told her to, ‘Submit!’ She thought she was screaming out that she did, but the pain continued.

Then it was gone and she was left gasping on a floor so dark that she could not see it. She could see herself, but there was no light around her, nothing to see but the darkness. Climbing to her feet, Ceri began to walk. The pain had felt real, very real, but there seemed to be no lasting damage. So why do it?

How long she walked, she had no idea. There was nothing and no one, and nowhere to go. Just the darkness and the never ending, smooth floor. She could not really feel it under her feet, but it had to be there because she was not falling. Or maybe she was and she could not feel the air rushing past. Except that that made no more sense than the frictionless, featureless ground.

Why did I come here? She had been looking for something. No, someone. She had been looking for someone. Who? She had come here… No, she had been going somewhere to look for someone… It felt likes years ago. How long had she been walking? Why was there no one else here? Why am I even trying?

She stopped and sat down. She would wait. That was the best thing to do. Sit down and wait for something to happen.

It did. The pain began again.

~~~

She did not know when the pain stopped and the chanting began. She could not move, or feel, or see, but she could hear the voices. They chanted the same set of phrases in a language she did not understand, over and over again.

‘What do you want?’ she yelled.

The chanting continued.

‘Speak to me!’

The same words, over and over.

‘Someone tell me what’s going on!’

Chanting. The same words. Always the same.

‘Stop it!’

The voices just got louder.

~~~

Something shifted in the darkness, all around her. Something serpentine and black was uncurling, moving around her. The chanting faded away, but she knew the words by heart now and they continued resounding in her head.

A face appeared in front of her, huge and black. A long snout, a lot of sharp, white teeth. Two black eyes the size of dinner plates. ‘You are almost ready, Ethilion Kephesit.’ The voice sounded familiar. She had met this creature before. ‘The words will hide within you until it is time. When it is done, you will rule all, under our command. Now sleep, and forget.’

October 28th

‘Did you find her?’ Ceri blinked, looking toward the voice. Ed Perry was still standing at the edge of the circle. He looked like he already knew the answer, his expression one of worry to the point of nausea.

‘No,’ Ceri replied after a second. Her head felt as though it was full of fog. She could not seem to think straight.

‘You’ve been at it for days, Ceridwyn. You need to stop, at least for a little while.’

She climbed to her feet, dismissing the circle around her. ‘I need… I need to go home. There’s something I have to do there.’

‘What?’ he asked, though again he seemed to know.

‘I… I don’t know, but it’s not here.’

She was gone, vanished into thin air, before he could form a reply.

Kennington, November 21st

‘Edward had little choice in the matter too, you know?’ Gwyn said. ‘The others had been planning this for centuries, millennia. Ever since Hunaglong was born. If he had gone against them, they would have destroyed him.’

‘He could have run, like Mei,’ Ceri replied. She was sitting in her usual chair in the lounge; a large, leather, wing-back. Michael sat on the floor at her feet, which was his usual place. There was a footstool on her right, which was where Lily always sat, and Ceri felt the absence there like a physical thing.

‘He lacks my talent for remaining hidden,’ Mei said. She was sat on a straight-backed chair beside the other wing-back. Gwyn occupied that seat. ‘He has not Gwyn’s power to keep the others at bay through fear.’

Gwyn gave a short, humourless laugh. ‘They found a way to keep me out of the picture anyway.’ It had apparently taken ten dragons forming a constantly powered magic circle around the entire village she had called home, but they had ensured that she could not interfere at the important moment. ‘They isolated you, made you distrust your friends, or took them out of the picture entirely.’ Her gaze flicked to Michael. ‘Dragons are very good at planning for the long term.’

‘And they had a very strong motive,’ Mei added. ‘Even a noble one if they had not chosen to implement it the way they did.’

Ceri grunted. Even if she hated everything about it, she had to admit that the dragons had been trying to save their species. Their entire universe was dying. The magic which had created them was causing their reality to expand at an enormous rate. They had little time before the very matter they were made from began to spread out into subatomic particles, and there was nothing they could do to stop it. Escape was the only option, but they had chosen to enslave the occupants of the world they were escaping to rather than moving on in peace.

‘Brenin gave Edward the knowledge to survive the aftershock,’ Mei said. ‘That must indicate something.’

‘I’m a little too young to be that forgiving,’ Ceri replied sourly. ‘Give me a few thousand years and maybe I’ll feel differently.’

Michael shifted against her leg, one hand sliding over her shin in a gentle, almost caressing, motion. ‘I’m not sure we have quite that long to wait.’

She shrugged. ‘Right now, that’s the best I can do.’

November 22nd

Ceri sat on her bed, still naked, wrapped in a blanket. Downstairs in the study various officials from the Home Office were interviewing Mei and there was no way she wanted to be around that many people. Especially not people like that. Gwyn was standing by in case there were problems; no one else knew who or what she was, and she had been explained away as an old family friend who was looking after Ceri. Not far from the truth.

Michael sat at the foot of the bed, dressed and ready to do something, if Ceri were actually likely to decide there was something to do. He was not giving it much hope. Right now he was watching as she played with the chain around her right ankle. She did that quite a lot when she was thinking about Lily, so she was almost certainly thinking about Lily.

The chain was fairy-silver, an enchanted metal mined in the Otherworld. It had been a present from Twill and Lily wore an identical one around her ankle. Twill had told them that so long as they loved each other, and they both lived, the chains could never be removed. Michael looked at the chain, closed his eyes, and said, ‘Why don’t you take that off?’

Ceri’s fingers stopped moving. She did not look at him, or at anything in particular. ‘Because if I take it off she’ll really be gone.’

‘Maybe it’s time you started accepting that.’

‘I know she’s dead, Michael…’ Her tone had an edge of irritation to it.

‘You know, but you don’t want to believe it… and I’m here.’

Her fists clenched and she turned on him, her face twisted in anger… And she stopped, the anger turning to pain in an instant. She was being unfair to him. In some ways she always had been. He had taken her as his mate, and she loved him, but he had always been second to Lily because Lily had been there first, and her friend before they were lovers. Now that Lily was gone she was pushing Michael away because he reminded her of all the times the three of them had shared and… ‘It’s not fair.’

‘I know,’ he said, not understanding. ‘She was too young and she was the most wonderful, beautiful person I’ve ever met, but…’

‘No. It’s not fair to you.’ She looked down at her ankle and the chain around it. ‘I can’t take it off. Would you do it?’

He hesitated. ‘I’m not sure it should be me…’

‘I won’t hold it against you. If it comes off then she’s dead and I’ll try to move on. I’ll… look the other way. It won’t be you taking it.’

Michael moved closer to her looking distinctly uncertain. She started to turn her head, but he reached out, touching her cheek and stopping her. He leaned closer and pressed his lips softly to hers. She gave him a timid smile, and then looked away as he reached for her ankle. She felt his fingers brush her skin, felt the chain lifted. Her eyes closed, squeezing a tear from the corner of her right eye, and she bit back a sob, and…

‘It… um… It won’t open.’

Ceri’s head snapped back fast enough to make her slightly dizzy. ‘What?’

‘I can’t open the catch. Maybe it has to be you.’

Her fingers fumbled for the chain. ‘Anyone should be able to do it.’ Her thumb found the lever on the catch and she pressed it hard enough to be painful, but it would not move. She pulled at it, trying to break the silver and then tried the catch again, almost frantically. She felt irrationally angry. What the Hell was going on? If Lily was dead it should open. She could no longer feel Lily through the binding spell she had worked, but the chain refused to budge.

‘She’s alive,’ Michael said. Ceri kept trying to open the chain. ‘Ceri, stop it. Lily’s alive.’

‘She can’t be. I can’t feel her. She can’t be… If she is I’ve wasted three weeks when I could have been finding… She can’t…’

He grabbed her wrists and pulled them away from the chain, and her eyes met his. ‘She’s alive,’ he said softly, but firmly.

‘Then where is she?’

~~~

‘Alexandra said there was a war between the demons and the dragons,’ Ceri said, looking across at Gwyn in the opposite chair.

‘That was thousands of years ago,’ Gwyn replied. She was happy that Ceri was looking a lot more animated, but not so happy about the way that animation was going. ‘It’s long before even my time.’

‘But if the demons still held a grudge about it, and they can really hold grudges, they could have decided to step in when the dragons decided to take this world.’

‘It’s a working theory. It would have taken something highly advanced to cause the bridge to collapse, especially in such a destructive manner. Someone, and not a dragon, understood the nature of the magic enough to short circuit the Earth’s entire magic field through that bridge, and we know it was Lily who did it because you saw her.’

‘Right. She had a sword, enchanted. Next to dragons, the only people I can think of who could have done that are demons.’

‘Not just any demon,’ Mei supplied. ‘A lord, and a powerful one. An old one.’

‘Molech,’ Ceri replied. ‘He’s been watching me for years. I met him in the park here the Samhain after my parents were killed. Then he turned up last year. He’s old, at least five thousand years, and possibly one of the most powerful lords.’

‘Okay,’ Michael said, ‘so where does that get us?’

‘She’s in their world,’ Ceri replied. ‘They took her, or the spell which blasted the dragons threw her there, or… Whatever, she’s in the demons’ world.’

‘That… Well, you can’t get her… Can you?’

‘It’s possible,’ Gwyn said. If Ceri could not hear the worry in her voice, Michael could. ‘It’s dangerous. A human, especially a part-dragon human, who goes there would be hunted down and…’

‘Killed,’ Michael finished for her.

‘Oh, I think death would be the best thing to hope for.’

‘I can’t leave her there,’ Ceri said. Her voice was soft, but there was determination behind it.

‘I know,’ Michael said, equally softly.

Ceri reached out and stroked his hair, but she looked across at Gwyn. ‘Can you work out the shift I’d need to go there?’

‘Of course, but you could do that yourself.’

Ceri nodded. ‘I could, but there are some other things I need to get done before I leave. Lily isn’t the only person missing. I’m convinced they didn’t kill Cheryl, and I think I know why.’

Aberystwyth, Wales, November 23rd

Ceri appeared in the basement area of Aberystwyth University’s thaumatology building and looked quickly around. There was no one there; she had expected no one, but there was always a chance. She was at the bottom of what amounted to a large stairwell and ahead of her was a door with a plastic plaque on it. Cut into the plastic was, “Professor E, Perry. Thaumatology.” Stepping forward, she opened the door without knocking and walked in.

Ed looked old and tired. His human form had never exactly been set in the “youthful Adonis” mould. His chosen aim in life was education, whether it be teaching human students thaumatology, or teaching sorcerers their art, and he had selected a form which followed the “wise teacher” pattern. Tall and long-limbed, he tended to stoop. He was not ugly, but neither was he handsome. He appeared to be in his fifties, perhaps, and tended to dress in slightly worn clothes; his jackets usually had patches on the elbows. Nothing he wore was ever properly pressed. Today, however, he seemed even more of an old man, and one who had not slept well in weeks. Ceri hoped that was true.

His face did brighten for a fraction of a second when he saw her walking into the room, but the light in his eyes died when he saw the look on her face. ‘Ceridwyn. I’m… glad to see you.’

‘Don’t be,’ Ceri replied, closing the door behind her. A small exertion of power sealed it behind her, ensuring they would not be disturbed. ‘You gave Cheryl that lovely little statuette, the quartz dragon.’

‘Oh.’ He looked even more uncomfortable. ‘Yes, I…’

‘Had no choice. I know. It was used to spy on her, just like the one in my house was used to spy on me, to get past the scrying wards. That’s how they knew she had figured out that something was wrong with the generator project. That’s how they got to her.’

‘I know, I…’

‘Shut up!’ Ceri snapped. ‘They killed Mayhew to stop her talking about… something. I always thought they kept Cheryl alive, but I didn’t understand why. You persuaded them to keep her alive, didn’t you? She was your friend…’

‘I t-told them that if they killed her I’d tell you what was going on. They would have killed me before I could, but they needed me… for the final stages.’

Ceri bit back the burst of rage which threatened to overwhelm her; the final stage had been brainwashing her. ‘Where did they take her? How is it possible that no one found her?’

‘Blocking you was easy. They were already influencing you. They put her in a form of Amentes Chain. It reduces the mind to nothing. You can’t find her because she is not herself. This chain also masks her physical signature.’

‘Where did they hide her, Ed?’ Ceri said, her voice carrying more than a hint of menace.

‘Bangkok,’ he said, his voice soft and his eyes cast downward. ‘You can lose anyone there.’

Ceri’s fists clenched. ‘A mindless white woman in that place? You know what they’ll have done to her? She’ll be… She’d be better off dead.’

‘She doesn’t know who she is. She won’t remember anything that happened while the chain was on her. If she can be found…’ He cut off as Ceri glared at him.

‘You kept her alive when they’d have murdered her, so I’m going to show you the same mercy. Brenin obviously thought you should be forgiven, since he helped you survive the collapse of the bridge. I’m not as old as him and I haven’t had thousands of years to become all tolerant. You could have told me where Cheryl was weeks ago. If I ever see you again, I’ll make sure your death is long and painful.’

Ed opened his mouth to speak, but she was already turning away. There was a click as the door unlocked, and then she was gone.

Chilcomb, Hampshire

Ceri banged her fist on the big, oak door of Carter Fleming’s country house, half-expecting to have to use magic on it to get in. Carter had been a virtual recluse for almost a month. His last official act was three weeks ago when he had closed down the Jade Dragon, his premiere nightclub, for “renovations.” In practice, he had no plans to reopen it. After the events of Samhain “dragon” was not a popular word to have in the name of a business. She was a little surprised when the door opened after her second attempt, and horrified to see the man who had opened the door.

Carter was a handsome man in his fifties, but he usually looked much younger. He wore immaculate, tailored suits and his ash-blond hair was always perfectly styled. Now he looked every bit his age. His hair was dishevelled, there were dark rings around his eyes, and he had puffy cheeks and red eyes. He was wearing several weeks’ growth of beard and a stained robe, roughly belted around his waist. He stank of alcohol.

His reaction to seeing Ceri was predictable. ‘What do you want?’ His speech was slurred.

‘I know where Cheryl is.’

He staggered slightly. It was ten in the morning and he was drunk. Great. Letting out a groan as his brain registered what she had said, and the state he was in, he stepped back from the door. ‘You’d better come in.’

They went to the kitchen at the back of the house and she put coffee on after watching him try to fill the machine with water twice and failing. He dropped into a chair at the table and slumped, his head in his hands.

‘How did you find her?’ he asked after a minute or so of silence.

‘I… started using my brain again. If they didn’t kill her, there had to be a reason. Ed Perry. She was his friend. He couldn’t stop them taking her, but he risked his life to stop them killing her.’ She realised she was embroidering the truth a little to stop Carter going after Ed, and she was really not sure why.

‘I see.’

‘They masked her signature, and they already had their hooks into me, so when I tried they just… made sure I failed.’

He did not reply, and she waited for the coffee to finish brewing, pouring two mugs and putting one in front of him before taking the seat opposite his. Carter took a heavy gulp of coffee, sat there for a moment or two, and then jumped up to wretch into the sink. After washing out his mouth, he returned to his seat and drank more coffee. This time it stayed down.

‘Where is she?’ he asked, his voice soft and very weary.

Ceri took a deep breath. ‘Bangkok.’

Carter’s face screwed up into a grimace. ‘That hellhole? She’d be better off…’

‘That’s what I said. They put some enchanted chain on her. She doesn’t know who she is and she won’t remember what’s happened to her while the chain was on. If you can get her out…’

‘Me? What about you?’

‘I need you to go get her, Carter. Magic is going to be no use in finding her, and you have contacts out there.’ She paused, and he nodded but she could tell he needed more of an explanation. ‘Lily’s alive.’

‘What?! How?’

‘The demons. Molech. They’ve taken her to their world somehow. I’m going to get her back.’

He looked across the table at her. His eyes were still red and watery, but there was a hint of the old, intelligent, wise Carter in them now. ‘That’s suicide.’

Ceri looked back at him. ‘I thought she was dead. I’ve let her sit there on the other side for weeks when I could have been looking for her. I let my grief stop me from thinking. I could have figured this thing with Cheryl out long ago if I’d… I have to find her, Carter, and you have to find Cheryl.’

‘All right. I can call some people and get a search started. I’ll fly out there as soon as I can…’ He dropped his head into his hand and groaned.

‘I’m going to Alec next,’ Ceri said. ‘Stay here and sober up. He’ll come out to collect you. I doubt you’re going to be fit to drive any time soon and you’re not going to stop him going with you to Bangkok.’

Carter nodded, and then winced. ‘I’ll be ready for him.’

‘Good.’ When he looked back up she was gone.

East Sheen, Richmond

Ceri ported right into the hallway of Alec’s flat on the ground floor of a house in East Sheen. She waited a beat of ten to see whether he would sense her, and sure enough the lounge door burst open and he came out with his fists clenched, ready to slug whoever was there. He stopped as soon as he laid eyes on her, frowning.

‘It’s not polite to teleport into people’s houses, kid.’

‘I know, I’m sorry. I’m in a hurry and this was the safest way.’

He grunted. ‘Better come through and tell me what this is about then.’ He was a big man, as befitted a black-fur werewolf who had survived the death of his entire pack, and very hairy. Since he was dressed only in a pair of boxer shorts, all that hair was quite visible, as were the scars which decorated his body; he had survived the death of his pack, but not easily.

‘I need you to go pick up Carter,’ she said as she followed him into the room. For a man who came over as more of a biker type, he had an anachronistic taste in furniture. Most of it was old, but then he was far older than he looked. He had been a pack Alpha during the Second World War.

Dropping into an easy chair, Alec looked at her with an intent expression. ‘Why? He’s busy drinking himself to death.’ Alec and Carter were dealing with the disappearance of the woman they both loved in entirely different ways. Carter was simply not coping at all. Alec was sullen and angry, and had nowhere to direct his rage.

‘Not anymore. You’re going to Bangkok with him to find Cheryl.’ She held up her hand before he could respond. ‘Don’t ask questions. Get him, find her, get her out. If you can find her there’s every chance she won’t remember… There may not be any permanent damage.’

Alec was on his feet and moving toward the door almost before she was finished. ‘What are you going to be doing?’

‘Me? I’m going to Hell.’

He stopped in his tracks, turning to look at her, but she was already gone.

Herne Hill, London

Ceri had never been to Kate Middleshaw’s home, but it was not that far outside the boundaries of the Battersea werewolf pack and the walk from Clapham North would do her good. A small, end-terrace house which backed onto Brockwell Park, Ceri vaguely remembered Kate saying that she had inherited it from her grandmother. It was a witch’s house; you could tell from the flowers growing at the side of the house. Ceri would have bet good money that the back garden was pretty well stocked, even though Kate did not get that much time to tend it.

The redheaded detective sergeant looked a little bemused as she opened the door to find Ceri standing on it, but Ceri was getting that kind of reaction a lot today. She also seemed to be meeting people half-dressed a great deal; Kate looked half-awake and she was holding a fluffy, white dressing gown around herself. Her pink slippers had white rabbits appliqued over the toes.

‘Can I come in?’ Ceri asked. ‘It won’t take long. I hope I didn’t wake you.’

‘We were on late shift last night,’ Kate replied, stepping aside to allow Ceri to go past. ‘I wasn’t actually asleep, but I’m not actually awake either. What’s up? I’m surprised Michael isn’t with you.’

‘I’ve had a few places to go this morning and he would have slowed me down. I’m going back to him next.’ The place was more like a cottage than a terraced house. There was a fireplace with logs in, currently unlit, and a lot of comfortable looking furniture.

‘You want coffee? I want coffee. I’m getting coffee.’ Kate stumbled off toward the kitchen, forgetting about her robe as she went and allowing it to flap around her as she turned back from turning on the coffee machine. The witch was wearing a long T-shirt with a picture of Winnie-the-Pooh printed on the front under the dressing gown. Kate regarded Ceri for a second before saying, ‘What’re you smirking at?’

‘I never thought of you as a Winnie-the-Pooh sort of girl.’

Kate grumbled something. ‘I wear sexier outfits to bed when I’m expecting to have people knock on my door first thing in the morning.’

‘It’s after midday, Kate.’

‘First thing in the morning to me. You seem to have got your sense of humour back.’

‘Lily’s alive and I’ve found out where Cheryl is. Carter and Alec are going to find Cheryl, I’ll be going after Lily.’

Kate’s eyes narrowed. Turning around she found herself a mug and poured coffee into it, relishing the hot fluid for a second before she returned her gaze to Ceri. ‘Well I doubt I’m going to be much help, wherever she is, so why the visit?’

‘I came across some information I meant to pass on to you and then things got busy, and then crazy… Anyway, I think you should know, but it’s about John and Lorna.’

‘And you aren’t telling them because?’

‘The vampire who turned Lorna, he’s called Lo Chan. He’s old, turned during the Boxer Rebellion. Supposedly he started another drug ring down this way after John trashed the one he had in the north. He holds grudges, and if John knows who he is…’

‘I get the picture,’ Kate said, her tone sour. ‘So you’re telling me so I can sit on this until it’s needed.’ She drank more coffee, her gaze on Ceri. ‘You know, you’ve got the look of someone going somewhere they don’t expect to come back from?’ She turned, putting her empty mug down.

‘I’m not coming back without Lily,’ Ceri said, and when Kate turned back, she was gone.

Kennington

They made love slowly, sensuously, taking their time in an effort to make it last, prolonging the inevitable end and their parting. Michael was in human form, spooned behind Ceri, and they lay on their sides so that they could, whenever they wished, twist around for long, drawn out kisses.

Neither of them thought about why they were doing this now. Ceri knew that she wanted to leave Michael with good memories in case there were no more memories after this. Michael knew that he was saying goodbye, even while hoping it was really “farewell.” Neither of them said anything; they lived in the moment, and forgot past and future. When their climax finally came it felt like the world was ending.

Perhaps it was.

~~~

It was close to midnight and the occupants of High Towers had gathered in the summoning room. Ceri had not been down there for weeks, but Gwyn had. The shattered remains of the dragon statuette they had once used to communicate had been swept away and dumped into the silver-iron carrying case it had arrived in. Now Gwyn, Mei, and Michael stood outside the summoning circle carved into a large, black, granite block set into the floor. Within the circle, Ceri was preparing herself.

Not knowing exactly what she would be facing, she was going for travelling light. She had a backpack with some food in it. Mei had gone out shopping and returned with foodstuffs which would last a long time. Gwyn had assured Ceri that she would be able to eat the food there and drink the water, but could not be certain that food would be readily available. She was wearing a ring which her father had used to converse with demons; hopefully it would do the same for Ceri since she knew little Devotik, the most common of the demonic tongues. Around her neck was a necklace of black velvet from which hung a bird skull. That had been a present from Twill and the fairy had said that it would lead Ceri home when she needed it. Well, she was going to need it. The biggest item of all was Ceri’s staff; as tall as she was, and made of thick, dark wood with a crystal ball set into the top and iridescent, blue inlay down a third of its length. It was a weapon and a magical tool.

Slinging her pack into place on her back and gripping her staff tightly, Ceri nodded. Her heart was thumping in her chest, but she felt as ready as she would ever be. ‘Wish me luck,’ she said, smiling as best she could.

‘You don’t need it, dear,’ Gwyn said. Her voice was calm and supremely confident. Just hearing it almost made Ceri feel confident herself. Almost.

‘She’s right,’ Michael said. ‘You’re coming back, with Lily, and that’s that.’ Mei nodded firmly in agreement.

‘I guess I’d better get going then,’ Ceri said, her hand tightening around her staff. The ball on top of it began to glow as she drew power through it and, beneath her feet, the sigils of the circle flickered into life. She had worked out the necessary transportation equations with Gwyn and she allowed them to run through her mind as the light around her grew brighter. Clenching her muscles along with her will, Ceri looked out of the circle toward Michael, seeing his worried, but hopeful, face until the light around her was too bright to see through.

Part Two: The Succubus in the High Castle

Shilfaris City, Demon Realm, Day 10

The inn looked like something you would see the heroes drinking in in some sword and sorcery epic. Or perhaps a western with pretentions. Wooden columns held up the ceiling. A wide staircase at the back led up to an open landing with a rail around it and two girls in skimpy dresses could be seen leaning over that to look down at the patrons beneath. The bar was long and behind it a man chewed on something which could have been tobacco while he wiped glasses with a grubby cloth, and a barmaid with a substantial chest and a low-cut bodice smiled brightly at the two men sitting at the bar while she drew beer into tankards. The large drinking hall had round tables, each surrounded by six or seven wooden chairs, and many of them were occupied.

The big difference between this inn and one you might find at some medieval reconstruction fair was the people. The barmaid had blue skin and silver hair. The barman gripped his cleaning cloth in one of seven tentacles which sprouted from the underside of his jaw. There were horns, claws, skins the colour of blood, others jet black. The girls hanging over the railing were Lorril, succubi, or incubi if a female customer wanted to hire them. Mostly the people there were det, the Devotik word for common demons, but it would have taken a very broad mind to describe them as common.

The most exotic figure in the room sat by herself at the back, her face hidden inside a cowl and the deeper shadows in that part of the room. She had been watching the other customers and slowly working through her tankard of what passed for ale for the past hour, but what she was really doing was waiting. The waiting ended when four thuggish demons with pig-like faces pushed through the swing doors of the inn, looked around the room as it grew quiet, and then marched toward her table.

‘You,’ the apparent leader of the quartet grunted, ‘on your feet. You’re coming with us.’

The woman moved, shifting herself forward in her seat and lifting long legs clad in tight trousers and high-heeled boots onto the table. The rest of the outfit was moderately impressive for the area; a light leather bodice held up by heavier leather shoulder guards. The outfit was completed by leather bracers and the cowl. All of it dark and a little menacing. Reaching forward, she picked up her tankard and drank from it. She said nothing and, after a minute or so, her lack of reaction got to Pig Features.

‘You been asking about red-haired Lorril. You going to stop. We here to make sure you stop.’ His appearance of arrogant power was somewhat marred as her hand rose, fingers slightly spread, and he stepped back uncertainly. He took another step backward as blue light flared inside the cowl; two glowing irises looking out at him.

‘I have all I need from you.’ The voice was low, soft, almost gentle. ‘If you leave now I won’t hurt you.’ As she spoke a ball of blue-white light grew in her palm.

Pig Features was apparently the leader because he was the most stupid. His hand swept down to the bulky-looking broadsword hanging from his hips. She allowed him to get it almost all the way out of its scabbard before she let the ball of light go. Pig Features became Featureless in an instant of searing energy and blazing light. A second ball of light grew in the woman’s palm as the other thugs watched their friend collapse into a heap on the floor, his sword making rattling noises as it hit the floorboards.

‘Would another of you like to try?’ They did not even stop to pick up their comrade, choosing to scurry for the door in a considerable hurry.

Ceri waited for them to be out of the inn before pulling back her hood and moving forward to check the ex-thug’s money pouch. No one else made a move, it was her kill, and the conversation volume rose back to normal levels quickly. Pig Features had been holding the payment for the job, and now Ceri had another seven silver coins to add to her collection. Except that she would give an extra one to Hiffy, the barmaid, when she left because she was likely going to have to clean up the mess. Hiffy had a bit of a crush on “Ayasha,” which was what the locals had started calling Ceri after the first four or five days. It meant “blue eyes,” more or less; blue eyes were apparently almost unheard of among demons. Ceri had seen none, while Lily’s exotic-on-Earth black irises were as common as dirt here.

Sitting back down and ignoring the grunt on the floor, Ceri propped her feet back on the table and considered what she had just dragged out of her victim’s mind before blasting it to cinders. Since arriving in the world the demons came from, she had been trying to do two main things. The first was staying alive, which she was doing pretty well at. The second was finding Lily, and she was doing a lot less well there. However, spreading the word that Ayasha was looking for a half-succubus with chestnut coloured hair who had come to Shilfaris recently had had some effect; it seemed that someone wanted to discourage her from making enquiries. Now she had a name, Offalip, and an image, that of a Devos she did not think she had met before.

Her musing was disturbed by Hiffy wandering over from the bar. There was no table service at the Devim’s Horns, but Hiffy tended to make an exception for Ceri. The cute smile on her blue face and the way she sort of sidled up to the table were the main giveaways as to why. ‘Do you need another drink, Ayasha?’ she purred.

‘I’ve some business to attend to.’ Ceri crooked a finger and beckoned the girl forward, and Hiffy took another step or two and then bent at the hips, keeping her chin up to make sure Ceri had a good view of her impressive décolletage. ‘Do you know of a Devos by the name of Offalip, shekushka?’

Hiffy gave a little shiver at the diminutive; Ceri’s ring had translated it as “sweet little morsel,” which sounded a little dodgy to her, but the demons seemed to think it was incredibly cute. ‘He’s a trader at the Low Gate Market,’ Hiffy said. ‘He send the piggies?’ Ceri gave a short nod. ‘He’s not got a reputation for violence, aside from the usual.’ Ceri nodded again. Low Gate was a slave market; she doubted he treated his slaves better than any of the other traders.

Taking three silver coins from her belt, Ceri reached out and tucked them into the front of Hiffy’s bodice. She was not really keen on leading the girl on, but keeping the locals in East Ward sweet was helping to keep her alive, and getting her more information than she might otherwise get. ‘For the information, and the clean-up.’ Hiffy gave a beaming smile which showed her fangs, gave a little shake of her chest so that her breasts bounced against Ceri’s fingers, and then turned to go back to the bar. Her hips swung seductively as she walked, and her blue, pointed tail flicked from side to side under her skirt.

Ceri shook her head and climbed to her feet, picking her staff up from where it leant against the wall behind her. If she were not so concerned about finding Lily she might just have taken Hiffy up on the very apparent offer. Lily would certainly have had no qualms about giving the girl an evening she would remember. But Lily was still missing, and that had to be her priority.

Outside it was daylight. The days were about thirty hours long here and there was no sun, just light which filled the sky and then faded away to leave a vast, black sky. There were three objects in the night sky which looked like moons, and seemed to orbit the world. The stellar mechanics of the planet would have kept Ceri busy for years, if she had had the time to spend discovering how it all worked. She had a suspicion that they were flying through some sort of dense cloud of matter which diffused the light from the local star. On the other hand it could have just been some aspect of the magic of the place.

The world’s magic field was, she estimated, stable at around eight thaums. It was just hotter than Stonehenge back home, but not as bad as some of the higher-level sites she could have visited. There were regions where the level was higher, but none within Shilfaris. The city was just one of many fairly typical demon cities dotted across the surface of the world, but it was the one she had arrived outside and she felt sure that Lily was somewhere within it. Her first solid lead was waiting in Low Gate, she started walking that way.

Her first three days had been spent trying to figure out how she was going to survive. She had skulked around the city, trying to work out where she was and how the city functioned. Fairly quickly she discovered that the world ran on inequality. Most of the people knew some magic; in the strong magic field, just about everyone could work spells. However, it was the kind of demon who could cross worlds who had the real talent and they tended to horde the powerful spells to themselves and use their magic to keep the general populace down.

In Shilfaris, the more powerful demons lived in North Ward, under the shadow of the Grey Castle, a huge structure which seemed to have been grown out of the bedrock. The wealthier lesser demons lived in West Ward, and everyone else was stuck in East Ward. West Ward’s buildings were stone, some even had gardens. They had servants, and could pay for the spells they needed. In East Ward, demons got sick and died, unable to pay for a simple spell to cure the disease, or heal a wound which then got infected. So Ceri had found herself work to do, charging small amounts to perform spells the East Ward residents could not otherwise afford, and able to do far more than any typical demon could, she had rapidly found herself with enough cash to buy clothes and food. As a side effect, “Ayasha” had become something of a local hero.

It had all been alarmingly easy. Certainly in East Ward no one suspected that she was human… mostly human. There were some comments made early on that she was clearly mad; she had power to spare and was using it to help det. After she had reduced one such commentator to ash for saying it to her face the gossip had turned to the idea that she was working under cover for one of the lords. Demons expected everyone to have ulterior motives, and Ceri did, of course; she was determined to find Lily. That was not a suitable ulterior motive though and would not have been believed if she had revealed it.

Low Gate was so named because Shilfaris sat on the south-facing slope of a hill and Low Gate was the lowest gate in the city wall. The huge, fortified gatehouse opened on one side onto the Plains of Odriel and the Great Plains Road, and on the other a large plaza between the walls of the East and West Wards. This was where Low Gate Market operated. On the northern point of the roughly diamond-shaped plaza was the High Road Gate which, unsurprisingly, connected Low Gate with High Road, and so to the North and West Wards. East Ward also had a gate onto High Road, but there was no need to use it to get to Low Gate; several of the traders used warehouses in East Ward and there was a direct access point with next to no defences on it. The occupants of Grey Castle did not really care whether East Ward was overrun in the event of a war.

Ceri strolled through what the locals lovingly referred to as the Arsehole Gate and looked around. Trading seemed a little slow compared to when she had first arrived in the city. There were around ten platforms around the circumference of the plaza, each with a tent set beside it. Only four were in use, with various demons being dragged up to be paraded in front of the crowd. The traders tended to be Devos, probably the most common of the higher demon species and the most prototypical. They had horns, wings, barbed tails, hooves, and their skin was an iridescent purple colour. Some of their smaller brethren, the Devims, rushed around acting as runners and guards. She grabbed one of the creatures by the horn as he ran past, yanking him to a stop.

‘Oi!’ the creature barked, twisting to glare at his captor. ‘I have important work to do for Mistress Eshimaba and if you don’t let me get on with it I’ll see to it that you spend the last days of your life on a spit!’ His eyes looked up as far as her face and he saw her eyes, and suddenly he was grinning like an idiot and hopping from hoof to hoof. ‘Ayasha… I didn’t, ah, realise, well, that it was… You need something?’

‘Offalip,’ Ceri replied, ‘where do I find him?’

The imp-like demon pointed across the plaza toward a moderate crowd. ‘That’s his stand. He’s got fresh meat in today, but you’ll get better quality from Mistress Eshimaba.’

She let go of his horn. ‘I’ll keep that in mind. Get about your business before I decide to take affront at your imprudence.’ Eyes widening, the creature almost fell over itself in its hurry to run away, spreading its wings to keep its balance. Ceri turned and started across the plaza, pulling up her hood as she went.

Offalip was a smaller than average Devos; his horns would maybe give him six inches height advantage over Ceri’s five-ten. He was also running to fat. It just went to prove that even demons could let themselves go. He was stood on the display platform beside a dejected, naked, humanoid demon; decidedly humanoid, in fact, though lacking any positive definition of form. Androgynous beauty was the best description, and it seemed to have no genitalia. Ceri was just wondering what it was when Offalip gave the game away.

‘What am I bid for this fine specimen of a Lorril?’ Clearly the creature was not picking a form to attract any particular person’s attention. ‘Captured in the far north and treated with the usual submission spell. Completely house trained and able to assume any shape you wish. Shall we start at fifty silver?’

They started at forty and then worked back up. As each new bidder pushed the price up, the Lorril shifted shape, presumably to what the bidder found most attractive. Ceri watched for a few seconds before raising her hand. ‘Eighty,’ she said and the Lorril’s eyes flicked toward her. There was no real moment of change, the shape-shifter simply became a different person in an instant; around five-foot-seven, full, pert breasts, a narrow waist, wide hips, and long legs, a pretty face with a cute, upturned nose and dark eyes. It was Lily down to the long, chestnut hair and the stylised, T-shaped rune tattooed above her pubic mound. Ceri watched as Offalip stiffened, and then someone bid ninety and the Lorril was suddenly a lush, female Devos. The damage was done, however; Offalip was looking distinctly uncomfortable and, when the Lorril was sold for a very respectable hundred and fifty silver, he passed the sales over to his second before leaving the podium and heading back into his tent.

Ceri followed after a few seconds, giving him time to set up the attack. She wanted him feeling secure because when she then flattened his defences without breaking a sweat he would be that much more scared. So the Dakag’s fist swinging at her head as she ducked through the flap met her staff and stopped as though it had hit a wall. Her other hand touched the lizard-like demon on the head and he froze instantly. Then she was twisting and ducking as Offalip launched a bolt of flame at her; Devos liked fire a lot. It did him no good, but he got lucky; the fire hit the Dakag instead of the wall of the tent. Stepping through, Ceri swung her staff like a baseball bat, smacked the heavy end of it into Offalip’s guts, and he went down like a wet sack, frantically trying to draw breath.

They were standing in an aisle amid two rows of cages. Only two were occupied now, two females, both some variety of det. They were grinning at their captor’s fate as Ceri planted her staff on the back of Offalip’s neck and pressed down. ‘You sent some thugs to persuade me to stop asking questions, Offalip,’ Ceri said. ‘That was insulting, and I had to leave a bigger tip for getting the blood off the floorboards.’

‘I’m sorry?’ the slaver wheezed.

‘Not good enough. I assume you sent them because you know where the person I’m looking for is? I saw the way you looked at that Lorril when it shifted to my desires. Where is she?’

‘I don’t know what…’

Ceri lifted her staff and then slammed it down again. Offalip let out a chocked yelp, his body jerking. ‘Don’t fuck me about or I’ll drag the information out of your head with an axe.’

‘I was just paid to transport her from Doriardi.’ His voice was a stifled moan since his face was pressed into the cobbles. ‘I brought her here and she was picked up. I don’t know where…’ The staff’s foot smacked into the back of his skull. ‘Okay! Okay! The castle! They took her to the castle.’

‘Good boy.’ Bending down, Ceri unhooked his money pouch from the belt around his waist. As an afterthought she turned and waved her hand at the occupied cages and the padlocks unlatched with a clunk. She looked down at the Devim. ‘If I have any more visitors sent by you, I’ll come back and cast that slavery spell on you. I doubt you’ll fetch much, you ugly son-of-a-mud leech, but I’ll enjoy selling you.’

The Dakag was starting to recover from the paralysis spell as she slipped past him. ‘I’m not going to have any trouble from you, am I?’ she asked. ‘He’s the one who burned your scales.’ The demon turned his head toward the still prone Offalip and growled. ‘Thought not,’ Ceri said, heading back out into the sunlight.

~~~

Snooping around the castle during daylight hours had to be a fairly circumspect activity. It had high, grey walls, from which it got its name, around another set of walls, around a central building with two tall spires. There were two gates, one main one on the southern side and a sally port to the north east. Both were heavily guarded, and locked at night, and the walls were patrolled at ten minute intervals.

Through her Sight, Ceri could see the building’s wards as well. Magic twisted around the stones, shoring up the structure against attack. Further spells watched for trouble at the main gate. Getting in without being discovered was going to be tough. The wards would spot disguise spells and transformations. She could not teleport in safely, even assuming there was not something in the wards which would detect that. Given time and the chance to study she could probably figure out how to sneak past the magic, but ten minutes standing outside the gate was drawing attention from the guards.

Frustrated, Ceri walked back down High Road to the East Ward gate and made her way to the disused house she was using to live in. It had been vacated at some point, probably because the old owners were dead. There were holes in the roof, but then it had not rained since she had moved in. The door had no lock, but a spell took care of that when she needed it. The windows had once had glass, but now they were boarded up.

There was also a queue of people outside patiently waiting for Ayasha to return from wherever she had been. Ceri looked at them for a second, gave a soft sigh, and then tapped the door with her staff to release the spell-lock. ‘One at a time, please,’ she said, and the elderly woman at the front of the queue climbed to her feet. ‘Hello, Mrs Ulafug. The hip again?’ Mrs Ulafug gave Ceri a grin full of no teeth at all; it was the hip again. Ceri was beginning to suspect the old woman just liked coming out for the company.

~~~

‘You look like a Devim just ate your oochka,’ Hiffy commented as she placed a tankard of ale in front of Ceri. Ceri had yet to figure out what an oochka was, though she pictured it as something like a canary since she had heard the same phrase a number of times. Except that there were no actual, feathered, birds, just flying lizard-like creatures. So maybe a cute little, yellow lizard? ‘What’s troubling you, Ayasha? Can’t Hiffy cheer you up a little?’ The barmaid’s tail slid over to wrap itself around Ceri’s ankle and proceeded to stroke up and down; not that Ceri could really tell through the double layer of leather on her boot.

‘No, shekushka, I don’t think you can,’ Ceri said with a sigh. ‘Not unless you happen to have a full schematic of the warding runes on the castle and a map of the interior layout.’

Hiffy pursed her lips and cocked her hip, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling. ‘No, I can’t say I have. Why do you want to go breaking into the castle anyway? Even for you that’s not a safe place to steal from.’

‘I’m not stealing. I’m rescuing.’

‘Oh that makes all the difference. You’re stealing someone instead of something. Is he handsome? This isn’t just work, is it?’

‘It’s personal.’ Ceri had found that she did actually trust Hiffy. The girl’s mind was written on her face half the time, and when she was trying to hide her feelings she almost broadcast her thoughts loud enough to be picked up by radio. ‘And she is beautiful, yes.’

The demon’s eyes looked down at Ceri, lips still pursed with a finger tapping the upper one. Ceri could see the thought processes. So, Ayasha was into girls, which meant Hiffy stood a chance. There might be trouble if Ayasha was caught and they found out Hiffy had helped her. If Hiffy did not help and Ayasha got in anyway, there was every chance they would never meet again. The decision was made, the tapping finger stopped. ‘I can get you in past the inner walls. After that you’re on your own. I know some of the layout, so I might be able to point you the right way, but I can’t risk it past the guard quarters.’

Ceri frowned at her. ‘The guard quarters?’

Hiffy nodded enthusiastically. ‘The guards aren’t allowed out of the castle pretty much ever, so they ship girls in for them. Maybe twenty girls a day, just after sunset. They rotate the guards through so they get a girl once a ten-day, and they only get an hour. They normally count the girls in and out, but I can make sure you wouldn’t be missed going out again. Sometimes an officer asks a girl to stay all night, y’know?’ The crazy thing was that it sort of sounded like a plan. ‘You’d need to make yourself a little more… normal. You dye your hair though so could you dye your skin?’

It really did sound like she knew what she was doing, but it was already past dusk. ‘We’ll have to wait until tomorrow night then?’ Ceri asked. Hiffy nodded. ‘I guess I could spend the time seeing if I can get any information on the inside of the place.’

‘I might be able to help with that too. If he’ll talk to you.’ Her pert little nose wrinkled. ‘My grandfather worked at the castle for years, until he got caught stealing the silverware from the kitchen. He knows the place pretty well and they cut his hand off so… let’s say there’s no love lost. But he’s a crotchety old bastard.’

‘All right,’ Ceri said, eyeing Hiffy with a grin on her face, ‘what do you want for this help? Offalip donated quite a substantial contribution to my funds earlier, so…’ Hiffy shook her head. ‘No? What then?’

‘I get off in about an hour. Then I want you to get me off at your place.’

‘You’re going to risk your life helping me get into that castle and all you want for it is sex?’

Hiffy grinned brightly. ‘I can get money for going to the castle and letting some guard fuck me for a while. I can’t get you any other way and I think this is my last chance.’

Ceri shrugged. ‘Okay, deal.’ What did she have to lose?

~~~

‘A lot of people have been wondering what you are, you know?’ Hiffy said, her voice soft. Her head was on Ceri’s shoulder and her fingers were playing with one of Ceri’s nipples, but it was her tail, currently sliding slowly in and out of Ceri, which was making it hard to breathe. ‘You’re not a det are you?’

‘You promise you’ll… tell no one?’ Ceri asked, with a little difficulty.

‘Let my tongue be pulled out with red hot pincers if I do.’

‘Not the… oh! image I want right now. I’m human.’

The tail stopped moving and Hiffy pushed herself up onto an elbow to look down at Ceri’s face. Her mouth was hanging open and her eyes were wide. ‘A human? Here? A real one? I’m tail-fucking a real, live human?’

Ceri giggled. ‘Actually, you stopped.’ Her eyes rolled back as Hiffy’s tail started moving again.

‘Are all humans like you? I mean, that little button that makes you moan when I rub it. I love that. I wish I had one. And your nipples are so sensitive.’

‘You’ve got… stuff to make up… it’s really hard to concentrate… with you doing that.’ Sex with Hiffy had been educational. The only demon Ceri had had much experience with was Faran, Lily’s father, and his form matched whatever his intended victim wished. Around humans, he was human, in every detail. Hiffy was a real, solid, full demon. As she had indicated, her nipples lacked the sensitivity of human ones, maybe because demons tended to have sharper teeth, even as babies. Her sex organs were more internalised; there was no clitoris, but the internal structure seemed to be both tougher and more sensitive. Ceri had formed the theory that demons were into rougher sex than typical humans; Hiffy certainly enjoyed treatment which Ceri would have considered painful. There was also a spot at the base of Hiffy’s skull which made her mewl like a kitten when you stroked it and Ceri had absolutely no idea how that had evolved.

‘Humans,’ Ceri said, ‘aren’t as, oh, diverse as demons.’ Hiffy twisted the end of her tail to fill Ceri more and began moving it faster. It was almost as if she wanted to know whether Ceri could keep talking while she did it. ‘E-even det have more d-differences between individuals. Humans all look… look pretty much… pretty… p…’ She gave up, her back arching as her orgasm began.

Hiffy giggled softly. ‘I just made a human come.’ She sounded really proud of herself.

Day 11

Hiffy’s grandfather looked more or less like her, except that his nose was a lot longer, as was his chin, and his skin was a far paler blue. The wisps of hair still clinging to his head were a dull grey rather than silver, so Ceri suspected that his skin was becoming paler with age. As Hiffy had said, his right hand was missing, and his sour expression suggested her assertion that he was a grumpy sod was also not without merit.

‘So you’re this Ayasha I’ve been hearing about?’ the old man said. His voice had a grumbling tone. ‘And you’ve got Hiffy doing your dirty work for you?’

‘I’m the only one doing anything dirty, sir,’ Ceri replied. She could see Hiffy out of the corner of her eye, looking mortified. ‘Hiffy is just getting me started, then I’m on my own.’

The “sir” caught him by surprise; he was clearly not used to being treated with any respect at all. ‘Don’t be siring me, girl. Name’s Ruffa. I never heard of a demon as powerful as you who wouldn’t use a det and throw them away like a rag. Why should I help you?’

Ceri watched him as he stroked over his stump with his other hand, waiting for an answer. She nodded at his abbreviated limb. ‘I can give you your hand back. It’d take… twenty days to regrow, but you’d have two hands.’

Ruffa’s black eyes narrowed. ‘That kind of magic costs a fortune. You’d do that to get your information.’

‘You can trust her, Inak,’ Hiffy said. ‘She’s been helping a lot of people for far less than it normally costs.’

‘So I heard. All right, I’ll tell you what I know, you fix my hand.’

Ceri nodded. ‘Give me your stump.’ He raised an eyebrow, but put his wrist into her hands. Ceri concentrated and light began to flicker around her fingers, slowly growing in intensity. ‘The person I’m looking for is a sort of Lorril. She was delivered to the castle, maybe as a slave, maybe a prisoner.’

Ruffa’s eyes were on his arm and Ceri’s hands, but he could clearly feel the tingling as the spell began to work. ‘Prisoners and general slaves are kept in the dungeons under the towers. They have a lot of guards down there. It wouldn’t be easy for me to get in, but you got plenty of magic to throw around.’

‘What about wards?’

‘Not down there. The walls are heavily enchanted, and so are the inner chambers, but they don’t figure they need them elsewhere. Now, if she’s a Lorril, then she’s probably been brought in as a pleasure slave. They’re housed in the eastern tower, six floors up. No wards there either, but the floors above that have them. That’s where the lord of the castle lives.’

‘What’s the lord?’ Ceri asked. ‘Devos?’ The light around her hands had grown to a bright, blue-white incandescence as the spell neared completion.

‘No one knows. It was a Devos when I was working there. He cut my hand off himself, the gashikagig.’

‘Inak!’ Hiffy squeaked. Ceri thought Lily might have mentioned “gashikagig” once with reference to one of the ruder terms Faran had taught her. She suspected it was a good thing it did not translate.

The light died away and Ceri let go of Ruffa’s arm. ‘Don’t cover it up. It’ll regrow slowly, but you’ll see some results fairly soon.’

Ruffa stroked the scarred skin. ‘The way it felt, I think I can trust you’ve done as you say.’

‘So this new lord… no one’s seen him? No one knows who he is?’

Ruffa shrugged. ‘Someone does. He isn’t seen much. Hands down orders from his chambers and when he goes anywhere he’s in a cloak with a hood. Word was he was put in place by one of the really powerful Lords. Graggil or Molech according to the rumours.’

Ceri frowned. Molech she knew. Molech had been paying a lot of attention to her whenever he got the chance of coming to Earth, but as far as she knew he had been exiled from demon society after falling from power. Asking would have just given away that she was not a demon, however.

‘I saw him arrive in the city,’ Hiffy said. ‘Well, I was down by Low Gate when his carriage came through. Huge thing, like a castle on wheels. He had ten Lorril in a cage at the back of the thing.’ Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Ceri. ‘You know, they looked kind of like you. They had shorter hair, but there was the same red streak. And they had the same bodies.’

‘Lorril that looked like me?’ Why would any demon want his sex slaves to look like her? What demon knew her well enough to actually do that? Molech, probably, but why would he do it? Besides which, if Molech had turned up personally in Shilfaris everyone would know about it.

‘You pissed off any Lords, girl?’ Ruffa asked, though his expression was leering.

‘You don’t honestly want to know the answer to that,’ Ceri replied, receiving a slight shrug in reply. ‘Okay, tell me everything you can about the layout inside the castle. Start at the guard quarters and work from there.’

‘Huh. That’s how you’re getting in. All right. The guards’ rooms are in a compound beside the main gate…’

~~~

Hiffy had assured Ceri that there were always more guards wanting girls than girls wanting guards’ money so there would be no problem if a couple of extra ones turned up at the gate. There was no real prostitution in Shilfaris; the girls showing up at the castle were amateurs needing extra cash quickly, not professionals. If someone wanted sex, there was generally a Lorril available to “work for food,” but bringing them in to service the guards was considered too dangerous. No one really wanted to admit that Lorril were very powerful demons, but they still did not want a contingent of them marching in to the castle at night. So, the guards got down-on-their-luck det.

‘I did it a few times before I got the job at the Horns,’ Hiffy whispered as they waited outside the gate. ‘It’s a quick way to make a few silver, especially if you can get an officer or more than one soldier.’

Ceri nodded and tried not to look too nervous. A few spells applied during the day had her looking significantly different and she was hoping that, if anyone in the castle was watching for her, she would pass unnoticed. Her hair had been grown several inches and dyed white, and her skin was now ebony black. The wards might notice an active disguise illusion, but these were actual, if temporary, physical changes. She had been going to change her eyes too, but Hiffy had stopped her. ‘The best thing for you would be to get an officer,’ she had said, ‘and if you flash those eyes at an officer you’ll get him.’

So Ceri had left her eyes blue and gone out shopping to find a suitable outfit to wear for selling her body in. She had finally selected a bandeau top and a loincloth-like skirt, both in a thin, white, cotton-like material which was a little transparent. She was barefoot, and thankful her feet had toughened up from time spent with the Battersea pack. The looks she had got on the way over to the castle, and the ones she had got from Hiffy before leaving the house, suggested she had made the right selection. Now it was just a matter of finding out whether it was good enough to attract the kind of attention she needed.

‘You’re sure I look okay?’ Ceri asked.

‘You look fantastic,’ Hiffy replied, ‘total tavika bait. I don’t understand how someone as powerful as you can be so insecure.’

‘I… suffered a blow to my self-esteem recently. Besides, I wasn’t always as powerful, or as confident. Everyone has to start somewhere.’

‘Huh, I guess, but I could never rise like you have. I might manage to get into West Ward if I get lucky somehow, but I’m a det so I can’t ever be anything but a rich det.’ She looked up as movement started among the small crowd of girls. ‘Here we go. Just remember to look a little shy. Smile. The officers wear red spaulders.’

‘Spaulders?’

‘Shoulder armour,’ Hiffy hissed and then looked ahead as she led the way through the door in the huge, iron gates.

Ceri felt the magic of the wards crawling over her skin as she followed. The skin on the back of her neck tightened and then relaxed. Even that slight contact gave her the impression of some very nasty enchantments. No guards rushed toward her and her head did not explode, so she guessed she had made it in without triggering anything. No one seemed concerned about the canvas bag over her shoulder either, but she was not the only one carrying something.

Beyond the first set of gates was a tunnel perhaps ten yards in length, closed off at the far end by another set of gates. The only light came from runes at the apex of the vaulted ceiling. There were slots for a portcullis halfway down the tunnel and shadows up there in the ceiling suggested a substantial number of murder holes. Assaulting the gatehouse directly was probably suicide; if the wards did not get you, the soldiers would.

They were marched through the inner gates, which put them on the outer courtyard. A hundred yards wide and cobbled, it was yet another kill zone between the outer and inner walls. Ruffa had been right though, Ceri’s sight showed no sign of enchantment on the inner walls. Of course, there were guards to get past, but there appeared to be only two at the large gate directly north of the gatehouse and she could see another, smaller, gate up on the eastern side of the circular wall with only a single guard. That would be her point of entry. Well, once she had got past the really difficult part.

The girls filed through a wooden door in a thickened section of the outer wall, down a short corridor, and into what appeared to be a mess hall. There were long tables with benches beside them, and on the benches were around twenty-five demons in armour. There were only twelve girls; it was going to be a busy night.

It looked like the majority of the guards were Devos, but Ceri could see a couple of other species she did not recognise. At least there were no Dakags; she was not sure they had genitals, but the idea of getting porked by one was scary. All the ones she could immediately see had black plates over their shoulders, but as they waited, the men watching the girls and the girls smiling back in an attempt to attract work, a slightly taller Devos walked in through one of the inner doors. This one had red shoulders and still had a sword strapped around his waist. He also seemed to be in charge.

‘Huh… lousy turn out tonight. All right, you’ll have to take turns. You know the rules. Two silvers paid up front. Anyone gets hurt and I’ll personally rip your tavika off. No arguing over the girls. Pick the one you want and discuss who goes first. If you start fighting you’ll lose privilege for a month.’ He paused, his eyes scanning the row of women lined up at the end of the room. Ceri looked coyly up at him and put on her best timid smile. It worked. ‘You, the one with the blue eyes. You come with me.’

Hiffy gave a little squeak, which sounded rather proud, and Ceri gave her a quick smile before padding across the room toward the officer. He did not wait for her, turning before she got to him and heading back through the door he had come through. Behind them, the conversation rose in volume as the guards picked over the remaining girls. Ceri hoped Hiffy was going to be okay, though she suspected that the blue girl was going to be better off than she was.

The officers’ quarters were on the upper floor of the structure. If this was the only barracks the castle still had a pretty impressive garrison. If there was another one it was over-staffed. There appeared to be around twenty-five small suites allocated to officers. Say ten soldiers under each one for two-hundred and seventy-five or so in total. Just so long as she did not end up having to fight her way out through them.

Distracted by her thoughts, she almost walked into the Devos as he stopped at a door to unlock it. He glanced at her and she stood waiting, hands behind her back, eyes cast down at his hooves. ‘You’re new at this?’ he asked and she nodded, trying to make it look uncertain. ‘Didn’t think I’d seen a blue eyed det here before.’ He pushed the door open and walked in, and she followed him through. She heard the key being turned in the lock behind her.

The room was sparse, but it had some personal elements to it. There was a large, roughly made bed, but the sheets on it looked far better quality than she would have expected. There were no pillows; horns and pillows probably did not coexist well. The desk in one corner and the full-height mirror beside it were quite ornate. The chairs in the room were simple, and probably supplied by the castle. There was a door in the back of the room with an iron bath visible through the gap. Ceri developed a sudden urge to go all the way through with the sex if he would just let her have a decent wash afterward.

‘Here,’ the Devos growled. She looked at him and saw his hand held out, fingers curled under. She held out her own hand and he dropped three silver coins into her palm. ‘One extra on account. Do well and you’ll get three more.’ He turned away before she could respond, walking over to an armour stand in the corner of the room.

Ceri dropped the coins into her bag, and then the bag on the floor near the door. The question was how far she was going to go with this. She definitely wanted him out of his armour; she could see the enchantments on it and they could have been purely physical protection, but she was betting on something which prevented magical influence. She turned to see him unbuckling the steel plates which covered his shoulders. There was still a chain shirt, and various other bits of plate. The metal codpiece looked uncomfortable. Sidling over to the bed, she considered her options. She could hit him as soon as he was naked, but then there would be no sounds of sex from the room, which might arouse suspicion. On the other hand, having sex with Hiffy to get help was one thing, and quite pleasant, but was she willing to let a six-foot purple demon fuck her on the off-chance that someone might wonder why she wasn’t screaming?

‘I’m Torn, by the way,’ he said. The imperative, authoritative tone he had used outside was gone. He actually sounded kind of resigned, as though he was engaging a woman for sex because it was expected, or a duty.

‘Sha,’ she replied and he chuckled; “Sha” meant “blue.”

‘An appropriate name. It suits you.’

‘Thank you.’ She had no idea what “Torn” meant so she could not comment on that. ‘I, uh, I’ve never been with a Devos before.’

‘I assure you we’re not that different from most det, just better.’ She gave a timid giggle in response. ‘I’m surprised someone hasn’t taken you as a pleasure slave. If I could afford a rarity like you I’d buy you myself.’ That probably sounded really complimentary to a det. Ceri pretty much decided he was going to sleep through the evening. Then he turned around.

He was… big; the codpiece had to have been really uncomfortable. Semi-flaccid still, his penis was thick and quite long and Ceri felt herself getting aroused. It was the stupid ankle chain; fairy silver and enchanted, the chain was a demonstration of the love between her and Lily, but like most fae enchantments it had a twisted sense of humour. Lily still found it humorous that a symbol of love made it more likely that Ceri would go off and fuck someone else. At times like this Ceri really did not think it was funny.

‘Wow,’ Ceri said, not entirely faking it. Her eyes widened, and he got harder at her reaction which made her eyes widen further. He crossed the distance between them in two strides. There might have been resignation in his voice, but he was a Devos, all about himself. Taking her shoulders, he turned her around, pushed her face into the bed sheets, and stepped up behind her. The first push was a little painful and she let out a sharp cry, half grunt, half shriek, but she got into it quickly enough even if it was like being stuffed with a fist. She gripped the sheets, bit her lip, and let him get on with it while her body decided it was going to enjoy itself anyway. Soon she was panting out little shocked gasps with each thrust, her hands making fists in the sheets and her back arching in response to the pulses of pleasure swelling up from her nether regions. When he did, finally, climax, the extra pressure and wild thrusting pushed her over the edge and she was fairly certain that the screaming would convince anyone in the building that Torn was having a good time.

He pulled out, laughing, and gave her a slap on the rump while she lay there panting for breath. She was mildly disgusted with herself for enjoying it, but he could not know that.

‘How was your first Devos, Sha?’

Ceri struggled onto her back. Her top had slipped down to her waist and he looked down at her, admiring the sight. ‘The… noise didn’t… give it away?’ she panted. She needed to control of her breathing soon. If he decided to go again before she could get her spell together they would be at it all night.

He gave a short laugh, which was still filled with humour, and not a little pride. ‘I said we were better than the det you’re used to.’ Actually, she had preferred Hiffy, Lily was far superior, and Michael had Torn beaten hands down since he did not split her open like a log. ‘Give me a minute or two and we’ll see if I can’t make you scream cracks in the ceiling.’

Yeah, don’t think so. Ceri took a steadying breath, summoned her power, and unleashed it on the Devos. His eyes widened slightly, probably as he sensed the surge in magic, then closed as he slumped onto the floor. Ceri let the breath out and sagged back onto the bed. The hardest part was going to be lifting his bulk onto the bed. Well, that and sneaking into the central part of the castle.

She needed to get the heavy lifting done quickly and add the extra spell to make sure he thought she had stayed with him, but she felt dirty. Stripping off her clothes, she went to the bathroom. There was no hot water, but there was a jug of cold and she used it to wash herself of as much of Torn as possible before heading back into the bedroom and dragging his unconscious form across to the bed. It took all her strength to lift him up and roll him onto his back in the middle of the bed.

‘Big lump,’ she grumbled as she gathered her power together and reached out for his forehead. A few seconds later she nodded; when he woke up he would not remember the sleep spell, but he would remember taking “Sha” half-a-dozen times in imaginative ways she had a sneaking suspicion he would never have thought of on his own, before sending her on her way with a big tip.

Finding his moneybag beside his armour, she extracted another five silvers, dropping them into her bag with the others before adding her “whore” outfit and taking out her street clothes from where they had been hidden under a cloth. She felt better properly dressed, and even better with her hair tucked back into her hood and her face hidden in the cowl, but she cast an invisibility cloak about herself before slipping out of the room; there was no sense in being overconfident of her stealth skills, even if she had learned them from werewolves.

There were a couple of girls in the mess hall, looking dishevelled and talking to guards about who would be next. Hiffy was not among them and Ceri once again hoped that the barmaid was okay. There was no way she could safely check on her, however, so she slipped out into the night and started across the courtyard toward the door she had spotted. Nights were a lot shorter than days; around about eight hours. Ceri suspected it was the putative dust cloud between the world and its sun; light diffraction caused dawn and dusk to be much longer. Whatever the cause, it meant that if she was not out in another six hours she would be trying to escape, with Lily, in the light.

The gate guard was not a problem. Carter had taught her a spell long ago, in what felt like another life, which left its target dazed and, when they came out of it, unaware of what had happened. Whatever enchantments were on the armour, they did not stop the spell from taking effect. Ceri slipped past the guard, through the door he was standing beside, and had it closed before he was aware of what was happening.

Beyond was a corridor through the wall and she could see light at the end; the door was open. It looked like they did not consider that a security issue when they were in a normal operating mode, and she had to admit they were probably right. Except that there was an invisible woman sneaking through the place, so maybe they were not as secure as they thought.

The inner courtyard was broad and covered in flagstones made of a dark, almost iridescent rock. The moons provided very little light; they were three small spheres in the sky which moved far faster than the Earth’s moon. The courtyard was lit instead by crystal globes mounted on poles in a grid perhaps twenty yards apart. Ceri left no shadow as she darted across the flags toward the building which took up the centre of the courtyard. There was one, large, door. It was guarded, but wide open, and Ceri slowed to a stealthy walk to pass the guards.

Still she met no opposition, but now she had to decide whether to go up or down. She could get no sense of where Lily was. Aside from the vague feeling that she was in the city, and probably in the castle, Ceri had had no positive fix on Lily since arriving in this world. That meant she was probably somewhere heavily warded from scrying. Probably. Maybe. She could be wearing something which hid her.

The inside of the castle was brightly lit with runes in the ceiling and on many of the wall pillars. The stone it had been built of was white, some sort of polished marble. It looked to Ceri as though the place, this part of it anyway, had been built to impress visitors. There were none here; there were Devos and Devim, Cherich, various det with collars around their necks or chains linking ear to lip, and a few other demons Ceri did not recognise, but they all seemed to belong to the castle.

Her choice of destination was decided by finding a staircase down before anything else. Hoping she did not run into anyone on the way, she started down and soon found herself in a kitchen. Here there were more det, some collared or chained, and some not. Sitting in a corner and watching over the slaves and servants was a fat Devos who lazily flipped a whip in his right hand. Lily was not going to be here; the dungeon or the bedroom, that was where she would be.

Another staircase beside the first took her further down and the sounds of the kitchen receded as the temperature dropped. The steps took her down a long way, it seemed, and dropped into a corridor lined with cells. They were largely empty, but she checked each one anyway. They were slave pens, she realised. In a couple det were chained to the wall by their collars. None of the ones who were in there looked healthy; she figured that they would be out working if they were. How many slaves did this place go through? Fighting the urge to heal some of the worst ones, she moved on.

A spell unlocked the door at the end of the corridor and she slipped out into the next room as quietly as possible. It looked odd at first. The room was circular in shape with cells around the walls aside from where doors led in from the slave quarters and whatever was out the other side. The cells were more open than the pens; like the cells you saw in westerns, with iron bars rather than walls on one side. The reason was obvious when she recognised the equipment in the middle of the room. There was a rack, stocks of various types, two tables covered in various implements which looked painful. Prisoners were tortured here while the others had no choice but to watch and listen.

There were only two prisoners in the cells and both of them showed signs of having had some of the more pointy implements used on them. One was a Devos, a female, naked and with one horn broken off halfway up, she looked sick, or very tired. Ceri had no idea what the other one was; it looked as though it was made of protoplasm and mouths with a lot of sharp teeth, but there were scars on its hide which looked like they had been seared to keep them from closing. Something oozed out of the wounds, but if it was blood it was the most viscous blood Ceri had ever seen.

She was surprised by the lack of an obvious guard until she neared the door on the other side of the room and spotted the mass of tentacles near it. She grimaced. Lily had described this thing to her and then she had done a bit of reading out of curiosity. It was a Chelvig and the term “tentacle monster” perfectly described it. There was a central core which contained its primary brain, but the rest of it consisted of thirteen tentacles sprouting from that core. Long, green, and smooth, the tentacles were very sensitive, fast, and pretty strong. Chelvig fed on fear; the torture chamber was a perfect home for one and its presence explained the Devos’ fatigue.

Behind it, the door was down a short corridor. Ceri figured she could slip past the demon and out of the door without drawing attention to herself. The Chelvig waited until she put her foot down in the doorway and then unfurled a tentacle, wrapping it around her ankle. Ceri bit back a yelp. Her foot was yanked sideways, toward the opening blossom of green limbs. Another tentacle lashed toward her face and she leaned back, avoiding it. The creature was flailing wildly, unable to see her. She vaguely remembered reading that they saw heat, but her spell would block that too. Clearly it had felt her footfall on the flags. She was about to ready a spell to strike at it when it caught her other ankle and pulled, and she fell face first onto the stone right in front of it. A tentacle wrapped around her neck; now she was in trouble and it knew it, could taste it. She struggled to remain calm as her slimy, green necktie tightened, and then the tip of the thing found her mouth and began trying to force its way in. Frantic now, Ceri reverted to basic instincts; power grew in her hand and she thrust it out toward the creature’s core. There was the smell of burning flesh and the tentacles went slack.

A dead guard. Great. Ceri lay still for several seconds and then looked around. The Devos was at the bars, trying to see what was going on. Well, now Ceri needed a distraction. She flexed her will again and the locks on the two occupied cells clicked open. Climbing to her feet without a word, she headed for the second door, unlocking it and passing through. All she found was another staircase, heading upward. Lily was not in the dungeon and that just left the slave quarters in the tower. She hurried; she had to be up on ground level before the dead guard and escaped prisoners were discovered.

She came up at the back of the castle, in what appeared to be utility corridors. Here the masonry was of poorer quality; guests were not supposed to see this part of the building unless they were forced guests. Orienting herself, she headed toward the eastern side, which was where the tower Lily had to be in was. As she went, the stonework got nicer until, slipping through a door and praying no one could see the door moving, she entered into a small chamber with a wide, circular staircase rising from the middle of it.

Somewhere in the castle, bells started ringing and Ceri heard raised voices. The prisoners had made themselves known, it seemed. Ceri was guessing the big mass of mouths had been spotted; the Devos had looked weak, but was still likely to be better at hiding than the mouth monster. Before anything drastic happened, Ceri started up the staircase.

There was nothing but stairs until she got high enough to be out of the main castle building and into the tower. Then she came out into what had to be an audience chamber. It was empty; the castle’s mysterious lord was not giving audiences at this time of night. More likely he was amusing himself with a couple of succubi somewhere above. Whoever he was, it seemed he took his role as mystery man seriously. There was a large, comfortable throne in the room, but Ceri only found it by peeking behind a curtain. And behind the throne was the, narrower, staircase to the upper floors.

It rose upward on one side of the tower, with rooms emerging to the side as she went up. She passed some sort of office where a Devos was bossing around two Devim. They seemed to be filing reports, or accounts, or both. On another floor there were det preparing food. She carried on upward until she found what she was looking for.

The room was sumptuous. Silks hung from the walls, cushions were strewn between padded benches and loungers. And there was Lily, all six of her. There was a Lily stretched out naked on a chaise longe, another was eating grapes from a golden bowl, two of them lying on a pile of cushions engaged in a slow “69.” Ceri looked around at them and blinked. She got no sensation of… Lilyness from any of them, but how could they be mimicking her? They could not know Ceri was there…

‘We’ve been expecting you, Brent.’ The voice came from the back of the room and Ceri looked that way in time to see a figure wrapped in a cowled cloak step from behind a curtain. ‘My Lord sent me here to wait for you. You might as well reveal yourself, I can see you anyway. The black skin is unexpected.’

Ceri allowed the spell to fade and six copies of Lily looked around, smiling brightly. ‘Mistress! You came for me!’ The chorus drove a spike through Ceri’s heart; she was not sure she ever wanted to hear Lily say that particular word again.

‘Nothing to say, Brent?’ the cloaked figure asked. ‘I’ll make you a deal. If you can figure out which one is the real one, you can have her. I’ll let you walk out of the castle unhindered.’

Ceri narrowed her eyes at the cowl. This demon seemed to know her personally. She knew very few demons, but the voice did sound vaguely familiar. She looked around at the six expectant faces. They were all perfect copies. Chestnut hair fell over full, pert breasts. Flawless porcelain skin was marked only by Ceri’s personal rune tattooed onto their stomachs just above their pubic mounds. Each wore a silver chain around their right ankle. Their dark eyes sparkled and they smiled fanged smiles which were just the way Lily smiled. There seemed to be no difference between them and none of them had that unique feeling that they were Lily, her Lily, her personal demon…

Smiling suddenly, Ceri focussed her power. Not on the cloaked figure or the six succubi, but on herself. Slowly, as she concentrated upon her own being, the dragon within her, her skin began to shine and her eyes glowed blue. She grinned at the cowl and allowed the light to fade. ‘None of them,’ she said. ‘Where is she?’

‘Pick one,’ the lord of the castle growled.

‘You can’t keep her from me, you know? I heard about it from a few of the det. When a demon is marked by their patron it’s illegal to steal them. I could drag you before the local High Lord and have you discorporated.’

‘One of these…’

‘Lily marked herself with my personal rune, gave herself to me. I activated it myself. These all have the same mark, but it’s a fake, a simulation. These six are Lorril. Where is Lily?’

The cloak shuddered, barely restrained rage shaking the body beneath. Then it stilled and the voice, when it came, was soft and calm, and amused. ‘Three floors up. Don’t worry, the wards won’t stop you.’ At his words, the pretence no longer necessary, the six Lorril shifted, each becoming a copy of Ceri as she had been a year ago. Why would he want them to mimic me? To disturb me?

Turning and ignoring the change, Ceri hurried upward. She felt the wards crawl over her skin again as she went up into the space they protected. She ran past some sort of personal office, and then a bedroom with a huge, four-posted bed. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she pushed open the door on the next floor. Inside was not really what she had expected. It was laid out like some sort of laboratory, and not an alchemist’s one. There were various instruments which looked like something a thaumatologist would hack together if they had no technology to work with. An examination bench formed of chromed steel and light padding, with restraint straps mounted on the frame. And in the middle of it all was a tall, slim cage with the dull colour of silver-iron, and Lily inside it, her wrists shackled to a chain which suspended her upright.

Twisting around to look at the newcomer, Lily frowned. Ceri moved forward, a huge smile on her face. She did not need the rune tattoo to know that this was Lily. It felt like Lily, smelled like Lily. For the first time in her life Ceri knew that she would know this beautiful creature anywhere. Her hair was longer, coming further down her back than it had, even though it was pulled back into a ponytail, but it was definitely Lily. She was even still wearing the collar Ceri had given her with the little, silver padlock, but now there was a silver chain strung between her right ear and her lip.

As she got closer Lily began to smile back, though there was an odd pain in her eyes. ‘Ceri, you came. I knew you’d come.’

‘Of course I did, love. I’d walk across Hell in bare feet to find you.’ Lily’s eyes lifted toward the door and Ceri turned to see the cloaked lord standing there.

‘Go ahead, let her out,’ the man said.

‘Don’t!’ Lily cried out and Ceri turned to look at her, alarmed. ‘They did… something to me. He forced me to feed… at first.’

Ceri’s eyes narrowed. ‘At first?’

‘An experiment,’ the cowl said. ‘I made her feed on demons, enslaved ones. Lorril, Devim, Devos. I suspected that her demon half would be… enhanced by a steady diet of demonic energy. My theorem was correct. After a while we just needed to throw her in a room with a prisoner. You should have seen her with the Chelvig. Most entertaining.’

‘I can’t control my… appetite,’ Lily said, half moaning the last word. Ceri looked up at her and she looked back, red sparks burning in her pupils. ‘And I really want you right now.’ There was a terrible, predatory look on her face, and fear in her eyes.

Ceri turned back to the hooded figure. ‘Who are you? You act like a thaumatologist, and this isn’t just the kind of malicious treatment I’d expect from a demon, this is something personal. You know me. Not just my name. You know me. You’ve got half-a-dozen Lorril pretending to be me. And what happened to the other four?’

The lord barked out a short laugh and lifted an arm to undo the tie of his cloak before throwing it back from his shoulders. The figure beneath was more or less human, thought there was a shifting quality to his form which suggested he was not entirely solid. He was paler than Ceri remembered, but he had the same shock of black hair and the same nerdish good looks. The voice was different; she realised it sounded more resonant, or perhaps more like it was echoing from somewhere as he spoke. His eyes were still brown, but the pupils shone a dull red. He was definitely…

‘Matthew Barnes,’ Ceri said. ‘I’m truly amazed your master trusted you again after you blew it the last time.’

Barnes face lost its grin, his expression darkening. ‘He… understood. You killed me, Brent. He understood my natural desire for revenge. Eventually.’

‘For a dead man, you’re looking pretty good. Better than the people you murdered when you last came to Earth. Better than the two vampires you enslaved when you were human. They’re still having treatment for the things you had them do, by the way. The last I heard neither of them was ever going to get over the psychological damage. You were a perverted, lazy, pathological freak when you were human, and now you’ve got the form to match your personality.’ She gritted her teeth, preparing for what she was going to have to do.

‘Careful, Brent. You’re powerful, yes, but you can’t dismiss me from this world and I’ve gained a lot of power coming here.’ His eyes were getting redder as his anger grew.

Ceri laughed and raised her hand, flicking her fingers apart. Lily’s shackles snapped open and the cage door unlocked. The door opened as Lily pushed it and a wash of heat swept over the room. Barnes shuddered as Lily’s aura hit him, but Ceri stood quite still as the half-succubus slipped out of the cage, her hands sliding over Ceri’s skin where she could reach it. Her hunger was almost palpable.

‘It was nice knowing you, Brent,’ Barnes laughed.

Ceri’s skin tingled where Lily touched it. ‘I’ve missed you so much,’ Lily breathed. Her hand slid down across Ceri’s stomach, under her skirt. Ceri felt fingers pressing against her sex and sighed, closing her eyes. ‘I want you so much,’ Lily whispered, almost a moan.

‘That will do, Lily,’ Ceri said, her voice soft and calm. ‘We’ll save more for later.’

Lily stopped caressing Ceri’s body, stepping back slightly and then standing up straight, hands behind her back, eyes downcast. ‘Yes, Mistress.’ Barnes’ eyes widened and a ruddy shade flushed his cheeks in anger.

‘She’s my bound demon, you arsehole! You made her more demon, so you just increased my control over her. She can’t hurt me, even if I let her.’

‘She… she clubbed you unconscious with a sword!’

‘Yeah, she did. She knew what would happen to me if she didn’t would be worse than some momentary pain. With what you’ve done to her now I doubt she could have done even that.’ She smiled. ‘I’m glad you’re here though. Your father asked me to do him a favour if I could.’

‘Let me guess,’ he said, his tone dripping sarcasm, ‘he wanted you to save me from myself.’

‘Sort of. He wanted me to make sure you couldn’t destroy your memory any more than you have.’ She lifted her right hand and allowed the ball of energy in it to fly toward Barnes. His eyes widened for a second before the bolt ploughed into his chest. His form shuddered as though it were water and a stone had been tossed into it. Fissures of energy broke across his skin and he crumpled to the floor, shuddering and twitching like a beached fish. Ceri watched him squirm for a few seconds before launching a second bolt straight into his head. There was a flare of light as the fissures grew wider, and then he was gone, leaving nothing but some slowly falling, sparkling dust and the cloak he had been wearing.

Taking in a deep breath, Ceri turned around. ‘Are you okay, Lil?’

‘Yes. No. I think we should get out of here before I explain.’

Ceri nodded. ‘They haven’t treated you too badly. You look gorgeous. The longer hair suits you.’ She turned, starting for the stairs down.

‘Yeah well, what’s with the black skin and the platinum blonde hair?’

‘I needed a disguise to get in here. It’s just spell dye. It’ll wear off in a few days.’

‘And why do you smell like a Devos’ jockstrap?’

Ceri winced. ‘I’ll explain that when we get out too. If we go down past the wards I can teleport us out to my place.’

‘You have a place? There’s going to be a lot of explaining…’

Day 12

Ceri opened her eyes and smiled. She was waking up in Lily’s arms and this time it was not a dream, not a nightmare. The warm skin against hers was Lily’s real, solid, warm skin. She lay still, not wishing to break the moment and disturb her sleeping lover.

Staying in the city had probably not been the best idea ever, but so far no one had come banging on the door with swords and magic. Ceri had used a lot of power getting Lily out of the castle. When she used magic it left a residue of thaumic energy in her body and if that built up too much it began to degrade her structure. Organs failed. She would eventually die. It also tended to cause a localised high magic zone which grew to wild magic levels, creating random events and a lot of trouble. Her threshold for damage had got a lot higher since she had started using magic, but it was still best to sit back and rest as much as possible to let the residue leech away before trying to go home.

So far, there had not been much explanation. They had arrived back at Ceri’s hovel and that had been it. Seeing each other again after so long had been too much and they had fallen into bed. Lily had been a little timid at first, until she realised that her nature stopped her from doing anything too dangerous to Ceri, and then she had let go entirely. Whatever Barnes had done to her had turned her even more wild in bed than she had been. Or perhaps it was just seeing Ceri again. Ceri had certainly felt that way about Lily.

‘I am awake, you know?’ Lily said after a few minutes, though her head did not move from Ceri’s shoulder. ‘Are you going to tell me how you got into the castle now?’

‘I met a girl, a det. Hiffy, she’s a barmaid, but she knew how to get me in and her grandfather knew the layout of the place.’

‘Uh-huh. How much did she want for that information?’

‘She wanted me, and I regrew her grandfather’s hand. The last lord of the castle cut it off for stealing. Anyway, she used to go in to the castle to… Um, they have girls brought in for the guards since they aren’t allowed to leave the grounds much, and I got picked by this Devos officer…’

Lily shifted uncomfortably. ‘What’ve I done to you? First I persuade you to be in a porn movie, and now you’re prostituting yourself for me.’

‘It wasn’t that bad. I told you, I’d walk through Hell for you and you did more to save me. And I earned eight silver. Three of them were even legitimate! The rest he just thinks I earned.’

‘How was your first true demon?’

‘Very big. Not entirely comfortable, but with a satisfactory conclusion.’

‘At least you came.’

Ceri giggled. ‘No, I got you out of that castle. Well, yes, I came, but that wasn’t the conclusion I meant.’

Lily gave a giggle in turn, snuggling up tighter against Ceri’s side. ‘Thank you for coming to get me, my beautiful Mistress.’

Ceri winced. ‘Please don’t say that. I’m not sure I can ever do that again. Not after what the dragons did to me.’ She felt Lily stiffen.

‘I think… I think I need it more than ever. You’re safe, but no one else is. I need my mistress to help keep it in check.’

Sighing, Ceri hugged Lily tighter. ‘Great, we’re back to square one. You’re scared of your demon side and I’m a reluctant dom. Maybe when we get you home we can come up with a way of… flushing you out. Detox for the soul.’

‘That’s another thing,’ Lily said, her voice tiny, ‘I’m not sure I can go back. Not easily anyway.’

‘Lil?’

‘Barnes said… he said that I was becoming more demon and my, um, pattern resonance was aligning with this world.’ She swallowed. ‘He said I was stuck here unless a Lord wanted to send me over, like he was.’

Ceri frowned. ‘Sit up. I need to have a proper look at you.’ A little reluctantly, Lily turned and slipped her long legs over the side of the bed. Then she stood up and waited meekly at the side of the bed until Ceri glowered at her and she lifted her chain and relaxed a bit. Blinking on her Sight, Ceri began looking at Lily’s metaphysical form.

All vertebrates had two lines of energy running through their body, the Chakral and Tantric Medians. The Chakral ran up from the base of the spine to the top of the skull. The Tantric ran from the sex organs to the centre of the forehead. In humans the Chakral was always the stronger, but Lily’s Tantric median had always been far stronger than normal and Ceri knew that the Tantric was the primary energy pathway in full Lorril. Now Lily’s Tantric median was brighter than ever, but her Chakral was stronger than it had been too.

Shifting her attention down, Ceri found the bundle of iridescent fibres which joined the two medians at their bases. This was the physical bridge; a metaphysical representation of Lily’s physical structure. When Ceri had last examined it she had seen a mixture or red and white fibres, and that was what she saw now. However, the red, demonic ones were brighter and there seemed to be more of them. They seemed to come in two types, though it took her a second or two to realise that she was seeing different vibrations in each. The new ones, it seemed, resonated to the flow of magic in this world. The older ones were thinner and seemed to match the resonance of the white, human ones.

She lifted her head slightly to Lily’s chest and the bridge there. This was where her soul was, and it was far more stained than it had been the last time Ceri had looked. Dark streaks permeated the silver strands. Ceri grimaced. ‘Oh, Lil, what did he do to you? He made you drain those demons entirely, didn’t he?’

Lily nodded, lowering her gaze again. ‘He did at the beginning. I must have killed… twenty? Then… After that I couldn’t stop myself doing it anyway. He liked feeding me the Lorril he’d brought with him, the ones he had mimicking you.’

‘Barnes might be right. Getting you home might be harder than I thought. I don’t think you’re fully aligned to this world, but you’re more tightly bound than I am and you should be.’ She slammed her fist into the straw mattress. ‘Damn! I can figure this out. I need time, but I can figure this out.’ She paused, frowning. ‘And what’s with that chain? He had your lip pierced!’

‘It’s a slave chain. They did it… in the city I arrived in. They weren’t sure what I’d be used for so they did my labia as well. You could have found me with my, uh, lips chained up, but Barnes needed them open.’

Ceri growled. ‘I didn’t kill him slowly enough.’

There was a sound of someone knocking on the door and, for a second, Ceri thought they were not going to get the time to figure out how to get Lily back to normal. Then she realised it was knocking, not banging. ‘Probably someone wanting healing. I’ve been making money selling magic to the det. I need to lay off for a bit after last night. I’ll get rid of them.’

Running quickly down to the door, Ceri stopped beside it and called out, ‘Who is it?’

‘Ayasha! You’re still here!’ It was Hiffy’s voice and Ceri unlocked the door to let her in. She looked worried. ‘I thought you’d be gone. Back to humanland. You’re still black, and naked.’

‘It doesn’t wear off that fast and you’ve seen me naked before.’

‘Not her though.’ The blue girl pointed behind Ceri to where Lily was standing.

‘Ah, right. Lil, this is Hiffy, the girl who helped me get you out. Hiffy, this is…’

‘Lilith,’ Lily said before Ceri could finish. Ceri raised an eyebrow at her. ‘I feel more like my birth name at the moment.’

Ceri gave a little shrug, hiding her worry even though Lily could probably feel it anyway. The binding between them was back in force at full strength now that there were no dragons or demons in the way. She turned back to Hiffy. ‘What’s got you so agitated?’

‘Soldiers came to the Horns looking for anyone who might know anything about the death of the castle’s lord,’ Hiffy said. ‘They don’t seem to suspect you. Seems like Captain Torn was very satisfied with his blue-eyed whore. They are up in arms about the death though. Did you really have to kill him?’

‘He and I have history.’

‘He used to be a human,’ Lily said. ‘He was pacted to a Lord and ended up here when he got himself killed. He was a total gashikagig.’

‘Huh,’ Hiffy replied. ‘Well, without him it’s going to be chaos for a while. You need to get home before the new lord arrives. There are rumours that his Lord is coming here to oversee the hunt for his killer.’

‘Yeah,’ Ceri said, ‘slight problem there. Lil is kind of stuck here until I can figure out how to reverse what was done to her in the castle. I need time, maybe someone who knows more about the metaphysics here.’

‘Shit,’ Hiffy growled. ‘You need to leave the city at least. Not that I want you to go, but it’s not safe.’ Her foot tapped on the floorboards as she considered the situation. ‘There’s a det that lives in a village about four days walk south of here. He got into trouble for studying magical theory. Det aren’t supposed to. We’re not good enough. Supposedly he still studies, just out of sight of the higher demons. He might be able to help you and maybe you could help him, and it would get you away from here.’

‘Okay,’ Ceri said. ‘I’m going to need clothes for Lil-ith and some directions, and travelling rations…’

Hiffy looked at Lily, pursing her lips thoughtfully. ‘She’s a Lorril, right?’

‘Half,’ Ceri said. ‘Her mother was human.’ She glanced at Lily. ‘I told Hiffy what I was. We can trust her.’ Lily nodded, acquiescing to Ceri’s statement without a thought.

‘Still… She doesn’t need clothes, she needs a chain for that collar. You travel as a demon and her slave Lorril.’

‘I’m not dragging Lily around naked by a chain,’ Ceri snapped.

‘Yes, Mistress,’ Lily said flatly, ‘you are. Hiffy’s right, people won’t look twice at something like that. Wrist and ankle cuffs would be good. The ornate silver ones high demons buy for their slaves to show they can afford to.’

Hiffy nodded. ‘Good. They sell them down at Low Gate.’

Ceri sagged a little and tried not to look too dejected. This was going to be hard.

Interlude: One Night in Bangkok

Bangkok, Dragon Empire, November 30th, 2012

Carter Fleming sat at another bar nursing yet another over-priced, lousy whiskey he had no intention of drinking and pretended to watch the Thai girl in the tiny, two-piece swimsuit dancing on a small stage across the room. She looked as uninterested as he did. After five nights of cruising go-go bars and massage parlours, he was beginning to wonder whether the sight of a half-dressed woman would ever get him excited again. He was also seriously considering getting out of the nightclub business. He kept telling himself that the girls he employed in his clubs were well paid, safe, and doing it of their own volition, but every night made him wonder more and more whether he was just kidding himself.

His introspection was interrupted by Alec sitting down on the stool beside him. The werewolf looked the same as he had for the last three nights, a combination of resigned and dejected. ‘Anything?’ he asked Carter while waving at one of the two scantily clad girls behind the bar.

‘Do I really look like a man fulfilled?’

Alec grunted and turned to the approaching girl. ‘Whiskey, a double.’ The girl nodded and went to pour his drink.

‘You’re actually going to drink that?’

‘It’s almost closing time here. I’ve been propositioned by fourteen women, three of which were men. I’ve trawled every bar on Patpong Two and caught neither sight nor smell of her. I need a drink, and it’s worse at Nana Plaza.’

Carter shrugged slightly, acknowledging the logic, and took an inadvisably large swig from his glass. ‘Not much worse,’ he grumbled. ‘I had sixteen propositions. I’m not sure about the sexes.’

‘It’s the suit,’ Alec replied. He dropped a note onto the counter, picked up the glass he had been provided with, and downed the contents in one go, hoping that it would miss his tongue. ‘Gah! They think you’re richer than a guy in jeans and a T-shirt.’

‘Sixteen to fourteen is not a statistically valid difference.’ He put his glass down, still containing half a measure. ‘Should we go now?’

Alec pulled himself to his feet. ‘Might as well.’

Patpong 1 was a brightly lit street; glaringly so. The signs were a mix of neon tube and enchanted, each blasting out the name of a bar with enough force that you almost needed sunglasses. Smaller signs at the doors were reminiscent of Soho, though they came in two languages. “Girls! Girls! Girls!” “Live Girls!” “Full Service Massage.” Carter never wanted to see that kind of thing again.

Together the two men walked down the street, ignoring several women who tried to attract their attention, and picked up a taxi on Thanon Silom. It was a little over a mile and a half between the two sites as the crow might fly, but a lot longer on foot. Alec growled at the taxi driver when he tried to take them the long way.

Nana Plaza was a three-storey structure dedicated to keeping tourists happy at all hours. And by happy, they meant drinking and sex. Space within the building was rented out to various bars and while it was possible to hire many of the girls working the bars at Patpong, it was a forgone conclusion that the Nana girls were available. It even had a couple of by-the-hour hotels on the top floor. Carter and Alec split up, Carter taking the ground floor and Alec the middle one. They would meet up at a bar called Green Light on the top floor in two hours to compare notes.

The kathoeys were thicker on the ground here. Carter ignored the two bars with “Ladyboys Only!” written up beside the door, but that still left maybe twenty establishments to hang around in ignoring the rather pushy hookers. He did not have Alec’s nose to tell him which ones were male, but he was only interested in one woman and, after over ninety minutes of cruising he had found as much evidence of her as ever; none.

‘You don’t look happy,’ the girl behind the bar said as he sat down. This was the last place to try and he was not happy. Hope had more or less left him the night before and now he was searching out of sheer, bloody-minded desperation.

He looked up to see a rarity; the girl was white. She looked to be about nineteen or twenty, pretty, with short blonde hair and a tan which Carter suspected had no lines in it. There was plenty of tan on show since she was dressed in a bright pink fishnet dress with only a matching thong under it. And she was also lacking the disillusioned expression so many of the bar staff wore. ‘No,’ Carter said, ‘I’m not. I’ll take a whiskey though.’ Nodding, she grabbed a glass and a bottle from behind her. ‘I’ve not seen many white girls here.’

‘Huh, no. I’m only here cos I got stuck. I’m American. Decided I wanted to see more of the world. Started in China and ran out of money in Thailand. Kind of dumb really.’

Now that she mentioned it, he could hear a slight American twang to her voice. ‘Southern states?’

‘New Orleans girl.’ She gave him a grin. ‘You’re English, right?’

Carter nodded, dropping a note onto the counter for the drink and then removing a photograph from his wallet. ‘You haven’t seen this woman about, have you? She’s English. Went missing about two months ago and I believe she was brought here.’

The barmaid glanced at the picture and shook her head. ‘No, but if she’s been trafficked over here she wouldn’t be in the tourist districts. People don’t come here for white girls.’

‘Where would they take her?’

‘There’s a place out on Thanon Asok that caters to the Chinese soldiers and bureaucrats. I won’t work there because they tend to play rough.’ She gave a little shrug. ‘And with the way things are going in the Dragon Empire I don’t think the place will have any clients in a few months.’

Carter nodded, biting his lip thoughtfully as he tucked Cheryl’s photo away. The Empire was, indeed, falling apart with the demise of the dragons which had run it from the background. It was too large to hold together the way it was. If it actually managed to hold onto the whole of China it would be by pure luck. He came to a decision. ‘Can I hire you for the rest of the night?’

She blinked at him, obviously a little surprised at the turn of events. ‘Uh, sure. Usual bar fine and I can come with you.’ Carter pulled several yen notes from his wallet and handed them over. She waved at the girl at the other end of the bar as she put the money in the till. ‘Suchin! Bar fine. I’m going with this gentleman.’

The Thai girl looked across at Carter, smiled, and said, ‘Okay, Lindsey.’

Lindsey grabbed a short jacket from behind the bar and followed Carter out onto the main floor. He took her arm in one hand and pushed her gently toward the stairs up. ‘We need to find my friend first,’ he said as they started up.

‘Uh… I don’t normally… I mean, I can do two of you, but it’ll cost extra.’

Carter gave her a quick look and a short laugh. ‘I didn’t hire you for sex, dear girl. Get us to this place you think they may have taken the woman, I’ll give you two hundred, Sterling.’ She gasped at that; yen were going out of favour as the empire collapsed, British pounds or American dollars were not. ‘If we find her there, I can arrange to get you out of the country. As far as Britain anyway.’

‘Holy crap! Mister, you got a deal.’

‘Carter,’ he replied. ‘The name’s Carter.’

~~~

The road was lined with bars, just like Patpong, but these ones had signs in Thai and Chinese. It made little difference; they were all the same aside from the décor and the girls. As Lindsey had indicated, the street she had taken them too had far fewer Thai girls. Here they were Chinese, Japanese, and European, and if any were male Alec’s nose could not detect it. Lindsey had taken her two hundred and insisted on waiting for them at the end of the street. She would not go in there, especially not dressed as she was, but she was going to wait; she had a vested interest in the result of the search.

Two white men walking into the bars did not go unnoticed. The clientele were all Chinese, many in military uniforms, and they watched the two suspiciously. No one stopped them, however, and they checked through the first four bars without trouble, but also without finding Cheryl.

The next bar was named Dragon 8 and Carter stopped in front of the sign, looking up at it. ‘I think this might be it.’

‘Why?’

‘Eight is a lucky number in China. It symbolises sudden fortune. Add in “dragon” and…’

Alec shrugged. ‘I’ll believe in luck when we find her.’

Cheryl was dancing on one of five small stages around the room. Hers was well at the back, but Alec caught her scent as soon as he walked in and made a beeline for her. She looked at him and then at Carter and their hearts sank at the complete lack of recognition in her green eyes. She just kept on dancing, swinging around the pole set into the middle of the stage. Her body looked more toned than it had been, likely the result of dancing every night. The white, two-piece she was wearing barely covered anything, and was translucent from the sweat running down her pale, freckled skin. Her red hair was unbound and swinging around her neck and face, and despite being clearly the oldest of the girls in the bar, she was probably the most popular since she was also the most enthusiastic. Around her neck was a silver chain and Carter gritted his teeth when he saw it; the little heart-shaped pendant with a single gem at the point was just rubbing salt into the wound. This was the thing keeping her mind submerged.

As they watched, one of the men at the table, a bureaucrat from his suit, reached out a flabby hand with a two yen note in it. Cheryl swung toward him, dropping to her knees in a fluid movement, and allowed him to push the note under her bra cup. The audience let out a cheer and the bureaucrat laughed and turned to his friends on either side. Cheryl turned, grabbed the pole, and hoisted herself back up with far more skill than either Carter or Alec would have expected. Another hand came out, another two yen for a grope. Alec stepped forward and closed his hand around the suit’s fingers.

While Alec crushed the man’s hand, Carter turned toward the bar. ‘The redhead at the back, I want her.’ He pulled several large notes from his wallet and tossed them onto the counter. The barman shrugged, picked up the money, and nodded to Cheryl. She looked a little bemused as Alec offered her a hand to help her down off the stage; apparently she was not used to being treated that well. Alec thought it was amazing she could dance on six-inch heels let alone climb off a platform.

‘Do you have a coat?’ Carter asked as they escorted her to the door.

‘No,’ she replied happily. ‘It’s not cold. Are you both going to fuck me?’

Carter felt a fist clench around his guts. ‘Yes, dear girl, we’re both going to…’

‘Great! I’m Wànjù.’

They had taken her name too. Wonderful. ‘Good evening, Wànjù, this is Alec and I’m Carter.’ They started down the street toward where Lindsey was waiting as out of sight as she could get. The blonde emerged from the doorway of a closed shop as they walked out onto Thanon Asok and hurried over. Carter saw the excited look on her face and held his finger up to his lips.

‘You found… someone then?’ Lindsey said. She could see both the pained expression Carter was trying to suppress and the happy look on Cheryl’s face, and it all added up to something she figured she should be subtle about.

‘Indeed,’ Carter replied. ‘Alec, get us a taxi. Lindsey, this is Wànjù. Wànjù, we’re going to stop off at Lindsey’s place so that she can pick up… some things.’

‘Okay,’ Cheryl replied. She took in Lindsey’s outfit and came to a conclusion. ‘You want me to fuck her too? I don’t mind. I do girls too.’

Lindsey did her absolute best to keep the look of horror off her face. Even to someone who did not know Cheryl she was acting like some sort of brainwashed sex toy. The blonde sidled up to Carter as Alec put Cheryl in the taxi. ‘They did something wicked to her head, didn’t they?’

‘An enchantment, yes. She’s a doctor of thaumatology. Very intelligent.’

‘Can she be… fixed?’ Carter nodded in reply. ‘You know what “wànjù” means?’

‘No. Chinese is not a language I’ve ever learned.’

‘Toy or gimcrack.’

Carter’s teeth ground as he steered Lindsey into the taxi ahead of him. The worst part of it was that there was no one to make pay for it. The creatures who had turned Cheryl into the nymphomaniac in the taxi were all dead. There was nowhere to direct his anger. All that was left to do was to get Cheryl home and repair as much of the damage as they could.

Part Three: The Science of Hell

Nedarim, Demon Realm, Day 18.

‘Sorry, I wasn’t paying that much attention to anything before I found out you were alive.’ Ceri marched along the road with one end of a chain in her hand.

At the other end of the chain, Lily padded along on the pair of sandals Ceri had insisted on buying for her even though both Lily and Hiffy had said that a slave should be barefoot. There were also carefully crafted silver cuffs around her ankles and wrists, and her leather collar had been replaced by one which matched the cuffs. All of them were closed with little golden padlocks, secured by spells. To complete her outfit, a silver chain was slung between rings through her nipple piercings. Despite the sandals, Hiffy had thought the overall look was pretty good, almost perfect. ‘You didn’t even watch the evening news?’

‘Lil, I was mourning your death!’

‘Oh. Well, I suppose…’ There was a pause long enough to make Ceri think the half-succubus had given up. ‘You could have asked Carter what was going on before you left.’

‘Carter was busy. I found out where Cheryl was. Before that he was employing himself in abusing his liver.’

‘You found Cheryl? Well that’s something?’

‘I figured out where they’d taken her. Carter and Alec were headed to Bangkok to find her.’

‘Bangkok?’ Lily’s tone fell. ‘Shit. That’s not good.’

‘No, but hopefully she won’t remember what happened while she was there.’

‘How did you figure it out?’

‘Not all the dragons died. Gwyn, Mei, and Ed survived that I know of, though they’re basically human now. They had to change what they were before you collapsed the bridge. When I found out you were alive, my brain started working and I remembered I was sure she was alive, and that had to be because Ed stopped them killing her.’

‘Ed knew where she was all that time?’

‘He’s not on my favourite persons list, but he was under duress. I can’t entirely blame him for that. I can blame him for not telling me where she was before I went to drag the information out of him.’

Lily nodded, the action sending a ripple through her chain. ‘And Gwyn and Mei are okay?’

‘As okay as they’re likely to get. Mei’s seeking asylum in Britain. The Dragon Empire is collapsing. I know that from what Mei said.’ She stopped as they reached the brow of a small hill and found themselves looking down on a village.

Ceri wanted to call it a hamlet, but maybe it was a little too big. There were maybe twenty houses, built in wood, and another three buildings built in stone which looked more like they were communal. The largest looked like it was some sort of fortified structure, probably for the villagers to run to in case of attack. Ceri was not sure what kind of attack; for a place run by demons the world seemed to be pretty safe to travel through. In front of the small keep was a central plaza. Ceri could see the roof of a well in the centre of it, and a few things which looked like market stalls around the edge.

‘I guess that’s Nedarim,’ Ceri said. ‘If we kept time this is when we should be arriving.’

Lily pulled up just behind Ceri’s left shoulder. ‘Time to be Mistress and slave then. Let’s get down there. Maybe they’ve an inn with a bath.’

Ceri let out a groan. ‘That’d be too much to hope for.’

~~~

The “keep” was, in fact, an inn, though the thick door which could be locked by a heavy looking bar suggested that it did double as a refuge in times of trouble. Most of the rooms were simple, a bed, a chair, a washstand, but they had one VIP room and Ceri easily had the cash to rent such a space in a backwater village like Nedarim. The bed was bigger and it had a cloth mattress and feather pillows… and a bath! It was more or less a hip bath, even Lily was too tall to stretch out in it, and the water had to be carried up from the kitchen by two det, but it was worth every copper Ceri paid to get it filled twice. The inn’s owner had looked a little bemused at a slave getting her own water, and getting bathed first, until Ceri had asked in her most imperious tone whether he expected her to allow a road-soiled slave to wash her.

Properly clean for the first time in what felt like a month, Ceri was in much better spirits as she walked down from the upper floor, Lily following along on the end of her chain. The taproom took up about half of the lower floor and, in many ways, it was a nicer place than the Devim’s Horns. The walls were solid stone and the tables were well made. The bar was more a set of benches, but it seemed more homely, and there were no impoverished Lorril hanging over the railing hoping to get fed. There were no customers in at this time of the day; Ceri suspected the place would get more crowded around nightfall.

The innkeeper was a tall, thin demon of a species Ceri could not identify. His skin was a reddish-brown and slightly glossy, maybe suggesting that it was toughened. His features were hard and angular, though his nose was flattened, barely more than a pair of nostril under a bump. If he had ever had hair, he had none now. There was a huge, two-handed sword over the bar which suggested he might once have been a soldier or warrior. Ceri’s working theory was that he had fought for some Lord for years, saved his pay, and retired to run a village pub. She had also entertained the more romantic idea that he had retired on the proceeds of a life of adventuring in the wilds, but the soldier idea seemed more likely. His name, carved into the sign above the inn’s door along with “Nedarim Inn,” was Qualiksh

‘Is the room to your satisfaction, Lady,’ Qualiksh asked as she approached the bar.

‘Not what I’m used to, of course…’ Which was true; she had been living in a hovel for the last few days. ‘However, one must put up with things when travelling. Yes, the room is quite satisfactory.’ She actually wanted to compliment him more, the sheets were clean and the room had been cleaned scrupulously, but that seemed like breaking character. ‘I’m looking for someone, Qualiksh. A det. Scholarly. Knows much about magic.’

Qualiksh’s eyes narrowed. ‘Sounds like Brebbam. He’ll be at the schoolhouse.’

Ceri’s eyebrows rose. ‘Pardon me, but a village this size has a school?’

Qualiksh grinned, a little proudly. ‘We do. Nedarish, about three miles south, is bigger because of the silver mine, but we were here first. Between the two villages and the surrounding farms there’s enough children to keep a school going.’

‘Impressive. Progressive. And thank you. We will be back later. I hope your food is as good as your rooms and your hospitality.’

School was obviously not in and word had got around that there was a stranger in the village, one with a slave no less. There were various children “playing” in the plaza outside the inn and they all stopped to stare at Ceri and Lily as soon as they emerged. Well, there was no sense in wasting the resource.

Walking up to a young female, naked aside from a pair of sandals, who was watching her wide-eyed, Ceri asked, ‘You, child, where is the school?’

The girl’s jaw dropped. She was being spoken too. By the stranger! Her friend, who apparently warranted a short, simple dress, but was wearing a black eye which was half-closed from swelling, helped her out. ‘It’s the stone building on the south side of the village, Lady.’ She paused, and then apparently decided she might have spoken out of turn by answering a question not directed at her. ‘Tooky’s shy, she doesn’t talk much.’

Ceri smiled. ‘What’s your name?’

‘Ooda.’

Ceri raised her hand, light sparkling around her fingers, and stroked the side of Ooda’s face. The girl looked as though she were trying very hard not to flinch. ‘This is for being so helpful, Ooda.’

The girl’s hand flew up to her face and she gasped as the bruise faded in an instant. ‘Thank you, Lady!’ she called at Ceri’s retreating back.

‘That was nice of you,’ Lily said as they walked down the main, southward street.

‘Nice, and good PR,’ Ceri replied. ‘I’d rather the villagers felt safe with us here, we may be around for a while.’

‘Rather be loved than feared?’

‘Yes, but it’s more practical. If I had an army, fear might be a viable option, but on our own… All it takes is someone sneaky enough with a knife.’

‘Mistress is very clever. A succubus couldn’t have a better mistress.’

Ceri glanced around to check that Lily was wearing a grin; she was. ‘Mistress will give her pet a good spanking if she keeps teasing like that.’

‘Promise?’ Lily replied coyly.

Ceri rolled her eyes. ‘You know, you didn’t used to call yourself a succubus. I noticed you started to do it back home, but you seem to mean it more now.’

‘I felt more like a succubus back then, and now… Now I’m more succubus than not.’

‘You still look like you. You still think like you.’

‘Not entirely. I feel different. And… Ceri, I can shape-shift.’ Ceri stopped walking and turned around to stare at Lily. ‘Not like Dad can. I can’t change sex or do clothes. It’s pretty much limited to human-shaped women, but…’ She closed her eyes and concentrated, there was a sort of shimmer through her body, and suddenly Ceri was looking at a girl with red skin and eyes, horns, and a long, pointed tail.

‘Why didn’t you mention this?’ Ceri asked, the shock evident in her voice.

There was another shimmer and Lily returned to normal, looking down at her feet. ‘I’m a demon, Ceri. I didn’t want you looking at me differently, but… but you have to know.’

Ceri looked at her for a second. ‘Pillock,’ she said eventually. ‘I crossed worlds to come find you. I don’t care what you are. If you’re a demon then you’re my demon, and I’m not going to behave any differently toward you. And this isn’t the time or place to discuss it.’ She turned around and started down the street again, giving Lily’s chain a little tug to emphasise the point. ‘Besides,’ she added, ‘tails can be fun.’

‘Hiffy teach you that?’

‘Yes, she did. And if you can get as talented with a tail as she is you’ll have a really happy mistress.’

Lily giggled. ‘Practice makes perfect, Mistress.’

‘Yes, well right now this looks like the school. Best behaviour, shekushka.’ Ceri felt the chain shake in her hand as Lily gave a little shiver, but there was work to be done. Pushing open the heavy, wooden door of the building, she walked in.

The room she entered was clearly a schoolroom. Ranks of small desks, each with a chair, marched up the room facing a larger desk and a slate blackboard. Each desk had a slate on it, with a piece of chalk laid carefully on top. It was, actually, quite impressive for a society which had little more than Dark Age technology.

Sitting at the desk was a grey-skinned man with no hair, but three ridges running over the top of his head. Grey, featureless eyes looked across the room at the two women who had invaded his classroom. He was neatly dressed, but his clothes looked worn. He looked to Ceri like a det version of Ed Perry.

‘Can I help in some way, ladies?’ he asked, his tone a little hesitant.

‘Are you Brebbam?’ Ceri asked, starting down the classroom’s central aisle.

‘Yes.’ He squinted slightly. ‘My apologies, Lady. My eyes are not what they once were. I did not realise your companion was a slave.’

‘No apology required. Lilith is more of a pet.’

The teacher smiled, showing yellowing teeth. ‘How can a humble teacher help you, Lady?’

‘I’m told that you have quite an understanding of magic. I was hoping to consult you on some theoretical problems.’

If it was possible, Brebbam’s skin seemed to go greyer and there was a hint of fear in his eyes. ‘I’m afraid you’re mistaken. I…’

‘You’re not that good a liar, sir,’ Ceri said, her lips curled into a half smile. ‘I’m not here to persecute you. I need your help. I’m not exactly what I seem.’

His eyes narrowed, first at Lily, then at Ceri. ‘She’s presumably a Lorril. You… I thought I knew every type of demon, but you… I’m not sure what you are.’

‘Human,’ Ceri said flatly.

‘Human?’ He looked disbelieving. ‘A human, from Earth? That’s not possible. I mean, I suppose it’s possible, but why would a human come here?’

Ceri nodded her head at Lily. ‘I came to get her back, but there’s a problem. I can work it out, but I need someone who knows some of the basic constants and how they are applied. I can’t exactly go to a higher demon.’

‘If I’m discovered helping you…’

‘No one’s going to hear it from me. If you’re worried about any of the villagers…’

‘No, even Qualiksh wouldn’t say anything, but…’

‘I know a lot about thaumatology, Brebbam. I’m sure I could help you in your studies as well. An information exchange.’

Brebbam frowned, though his lips were curled. ‘You are a very difficult woman to say no to.’

‘Yes, she is,’ Lily commented.

‘And if you still feel like saying no,’ Ceri added, ‘I’ll have Lil pout at you. No one’s ever resisted her pout.’

‘I believe I’d rather not try,’ the teacher said. ‘Why don’t you explain your problem to me and I’ll see if I can actually be of any assistance.’

Day 19

School was breaking up when Ceri and Lily returned the following day. They waited patiently outside as children filed out of the building, each of them surprised to see the couple standing outside, but all of them smiling, if timidly, when they saw them. Word of Ceri’s kindness to Ooda had got around faster than Ceri could have imagined. Qualiksh had heard by the time they had got back to the inn, and service had been with a smile from him and his staff.

They had left Brebbam to check some things. He was not exactly sure what the problem was with Lily, but Ceri had explained what she needed to know and he had gone off to hit his stash of books. They were, he said, hidden away where any demon looking for them would never find them.

When the trickle of children finally stopped, Ceri led Lily in through the door. Brebbam was not alone. Tooky and Ooda were still in the room, seated at desks near the front. It almost looked as though they were in detention, but since they were sat beside each other and paying rapt attention to Brebbam and his other visitor, Ceri suspected something else was going on. The second man was tall and thin, and he had the look of an accountant about him, though Ceri doubted there was much call for those in Nedarim. He looked slightly familiar, something about the long nose and the bone ridges in place of eyebrows… And then it hit her; Ooda had the same basic look to her face.

Brebbam noticed them standing at the back of the room. ‘Ah, Lady Ayasha.’ Ceri had told him her real name, but said that she was calling herself “Ayasha.” Brebbam had found the alias rather appropriate. ‘Please, come and meet Merada. He’s out village leader, Ooda’s father.’

Merada gave Ceri a graceful bow as she approached. ‘Lady, it is an honour to meet a demon of your obvious skill and power. And generosity. I must thank you for healing Ooda, though I fear it won’t last. She gets into too many fights.’

Ceri heard, ‘Gloidy had it coming,’ from her right as she passed the girls and gave Ooda a grin.

‘It was a fair exchange,’ Ceri said. ‘She helped me, I healed her eye. The spell cost me nothing and gained me much.’

‘It was more than most would have done,’ Merada replied. By most, he almost certainly meant most higher demons. Ceri gave him a shrug and a smile, and he smiled back.

‘I’m afraid I’ll have to delay our business,’ Brebbam said. ‘One of the children did not turn up today or yesterday. It’s not like her, and Merada and I are going out to the farm she lives on to check that everything is well.’

‘Occasionally bandits will attack the outlying farms,’ Merada added. Ceri was watching his face and saw the flickers of conflicting emotion passing across it. He was hoping for bandits and suspecting something else.

‘Do you mind if I come along?’ she asked. ‘If people are hurt I may be able to help them. And if you run into these bandits I think you’ll need some more assertive help.’ Merada opened his mouth, probably to say it was not necessary, and Ceri got in first. ‘Besides, I could do with stretching my legs.’

‘The Lady will not take no for an answer, Merada,’ Brebbam said, making a sort of coughing noise which Ceri believed to be some sort of chuckle.

‘In that case,’ the leader said, ‘it would be my pleasure if you would accompany us, Lady.’

~~~

The countryside around Nedarim was pretty typical of the countryside Ceri had seen so far in the demons’ world. Of course, she had not exactly been doing much travelling to see something different. It seemed like a fairly large amount of cultivation went on in the lands surrounding Shilfaris. There were large areas where you could see nothing but fields. The crops varied, and Ceri had no idea what most of them actually were anyway, but the landscape was made up of rectangles of cultivated ground with hedgerows set between them.

Occasionally there would be a line of trees or even a coppice. The lines usually marked boundaries, often with a track running beside them, or between two rows if you were lucky. Well, Ceri thought of it as lucky. Walking in direct sunlight was not one of her favourite activities and they were doing just that along the farm track they were following. Her only consolation was that Lily was soaking up the sun quite happily behind her so contented succubus was seeping over their empathic link.

Merada had persuaded two other men to come along for the walk. Rokta worked for Merada as a household servant; a big, stoic sort of det with reddish skin and firm muscles. Importantly, as far as Ceri was concerned, he had a pike and a short sword. There was also Bulfig, an even bigger man than Rokta, who spent his days lugging around crates for the local shopkeeper. Blue and tailed, like Hiffy had been, Bulfig looked like he could smash his way through a wall if needed, though he was not the brightest penny in the moneybag. When he had laid eyes on Lily, padding along happily behind Ceri, Bulfig had gone very sheepish. Demons of all kinds lacked a blush response, something Lily had inherited, but they sure could look like they were doing it.

The farm appeared ahead of them as they rounded a corner in the road. The signs were not good. The main set of buildings consisted of a low, wooden house and two barns, one fairly small. The other had probably been larger, but it was now a burned out ruin. The little group stopped to take in the scene, looking for any sign of movement among the buildings.

‘It’s far too quiet,’ Merada said, keeping his voice low.

‘Doesn’t look good,’ Rokta commented. ‘We’re going in anyway, right?’

‘Hang on,’ Ceri said, lifting her staff. The globe on the top of it began to glow as her eyes closed and she focussed her senses on the farm. After a second she said, ‘There’s nothing alive over there bigger than my head. We shouldn’t have trouble, but…’

‘If they’re there, they’re dead,’ Brebbam finished for her.

They headed for the house first. The door was hanging on one hinge and looked like it had been hit by something heavy. It led onto a single, large room which appeared to incorporate lounge and dining room. Or it had before a tornado had apparently jumped into it without touching the roof or walls. Chairs had been reduced to splinters of wood. The circular table the family had sat around was in four pieces. Pottery had been smashed and thrown around the room. A silver, three-fork candlestick had been snapped in two, the larger part embedded in a wall.

‘They trashed the place pretty well,’ Ceri commented.

She walked through to the kitchen at the back, only to find similar levels of destruction and no sign of the family. She did find a larder, cool and dark, and still full of stored food. She glanced around at Lily; the men were still out in the family room. ‘You think bandits would have left all this food?’

‘I doubt it, but they definitely wouldn’t have left that candlestick.’

Ceri nodded and waved for Lily to precede her back into the other room. As they emerged they saw Merada walking out of a side door, his face ashen. The man looked up at them. ‘We found…’ He swallowed hard. ‘They’re in the main bedroom. You probably don’t want to go in there.’

‘We’ve had some experience with this kind of thing before,’ Ceri said. ‘We might see something useful.’ Merada shrugged and waved them on.

Ceri thought she saw a tear in Bulfig’s eye as she walked toward the room which the bodies were presumably in. Rokta was stony-faced beside him, and Brebbam was standing outside the door looking in and wearing a look of sick horror. Seeing them walking toward him, the teacher held up a hand. ‘Ladies such as yourselves…’

‘Have probably seen worse,’ Ceri interrupted. ‘Let me see.’ He stepped back with a sigh and they looked.

In truth, they probably had not seen anything worse. Still they edged further into the room to get a better view of the scene. They were both police investigators though neither had been expecting to use those skills here.

The man’s body was, literally, nailed to the wall opposite the bed. He was naked, his arms were stretched out in a crucifixion pose, nails driven through his hands and shoulders. Someone had cut his fingers off, though there was no evidence of the missing digits that Ceri could immediately see. His legs were still there, but had been meticulously cut off below the knee. The toes were missing, but his feet had been disjointed before his knees, the parts dropped on the blood-soaked floor below his body. Someone had tied tight, leather thongs just above his knees. From the expression on his face he had been alive when the cutting had happened.

Ceri swallowed and looked toward the door before she moved on to the next victims. ‘Rokta, Bulfig, would you go to the barns? Check them for anything out of the ordinary.’

Rokta slapped his huge companion on the shoulder. ‘Gladly. Come on, Big Guy, we don’t need to see any more of this.’

The mother’s wrists had been roped to the rail at the top of the bed. Her ankles were held wide apart by a rope running under the bed. The reason for the positioning seemed obvious, but to add insult she had been gutted, probably slowly enough that she had been alive to see her entrails pulled out and piled into a corner of the room. Her daughter was a crumpled heap at the side of the bed. The blood coating her thighs suggested that she had been used as badly as her mother.

Ceri swallowed back bile and focussed her will. Alexandra, the leader of the Battersea werewolves, had taught her a spell to image a person’s body. It was supposed to be used to detect medical problems, but Ceri knew that it was used by forensics technicians to get quick estimates of cause of death. Focussing on the details, on finding out exactly what had happened and maybe even stopping it from happening again, that would keep her from thinking about what she was seeing. If she could see facts instead of people, she could avoid breaking down or throwing up.

As they returned to the big room, Rokta and Bulfig came back in. Ceri gave Rokta a questioning look. ‘Nothing in the small barn,’ he said. ‘Hay, a few stored root vegetables. There were animals in the burned one. They died in the fire.’

Ceri nodded and looked between Merada and Brebbam. ‘All right, what really happened here? This was no bandit attack.’

‘It could have been,’ Merada replied, though he sounded more defiant than certain. ‘A violent one certainly, but…’

‘Nothing was taken,’ Ceri said calmly, but firmly. ‘Bandits would have stripped the place of valuables, and likely taken some of the animals. The gashikagigi who did this came here to torture their victims. They pinned the man to a wall and made him watch while his daughter was raped to death, and his wife was raped and gutted. Then they chopped bits off him until he died of blood loss.’

‘They ligatured his legs so he would bleed slower,’ Lily added quietly.

‘They even burned the animals alive in the barn,’ Ceri finished. ‘This was the work of a group of psychopaths, not criminals.’

‘They weren’t insane,’ Brebbam said, ‘they were…’

‘Don’t say it!’ Merada snapped.

‘Be reasonable, Merada,’ Brebbam told him, ‘it’s obvious what this was. Lady Ayasha’s magic has only provided confirmation. This was the work of Cheldeg.’

Ceri frowned. ‘Are they related to Chelvig?’

‘Not physically. “Chel” comes from a Ctholnaraeic root word for fear or terror. Chelvig are tolerated since they tend to be solitary. Cheldeg hunt in packs. They are barely sentient, but fiendishly smart and malicious. And they feed on terror and pain.’

‘No Cheldeg have been seen within twenty days ride of Shilfaris for a century,’ Merada went on. ‘They were hunted down, driven out.’

Brebbam nodded. ‘But there have been rumours coming from the west for the last season or so of attacks on isolated farms. They seemed to be getting closer, but we hoped they would never come this far.’

‘But this isn’t the first attack like this locally,’ Ceri stated rather than asked.

‘The second,’ Brebbam said. ‘The last was about a week ago, but it was on one of the farms on the very outskirts of our district. They are moving closer, into an area of heavier population.’

Merada let out a hiss between his teeth. ‘The bodies will need to be burned. They lay eggs in the corpses. I’ll get men out here, and send messengers out. We’ll get the people from the farms around the village into the inn. I’ll see if I can get help from Shilfaris, but that could take days.’

‘If they bother,’ Rokta growled.

‘Get everyone you can into town,’ Ceri said. ‘Safety in numbers and it’ll be easier to mount a defence if needed.’

‘They’re tough,’ Rokta said. ‘Hard to kill, viscous, fearless. The only advantage we have is the sun. They don’t like the light. If they decide to attack the village…’

‘Then,’ Ceri said, gripping her staff, ‘they’re going to wish they hadn’t.’

~~~

Ooda and Tooky sat in a corner of the classroom, they mouths hanging open in awe. They had been allowed to stay as long as they remained quiet and did not bother Lady Ayasha while she worked. Currently, Lady Ayasha was busy filling the air with a complex series of symbols in three different “languages.”

She was fairly certain that the draconic notation would go unnoticed and if Brebbam did recognise it he said nothing. He had contributed various characters from the Ctholnaraeic language. It was an ancient demonic language, spoken by very few demons anymore, but still used for magical notation since it was, he said, closer to the source. On top of that she was using standard Earth mathematical notation which Brebbam did not understand immediately, but grasped fairly quickly.

The children seemed to have decided that Lily, who was sitting on a tiny chair beside them, must know all about what Ceri and Brebbam were doing. They kept whispering to the half-succubus, their faces quite serious, and she would whisper back, equally seriously, and then the girls would nod sagely and go back to watching. Ceri was fairly sure that Lily had just squeezed herself in behind one of the desks to be as distracting as possible. She had a “naughty schoolgirl” stripper outfit back home and Ceri was positive she was just fuming that she did not have it with her.

‘All right,’ Ceri said, pointedly not looking at her audience. ‘Um… do you have an accurate figure for the local magical field strength?’

‘One quot,’ Brebbam replied without a second’s thought. ‘It’s the baseline measurement for the whole world. I don’t believe we have any regions with less. A few have higher values.’

Ceri grimaced. ‘This is going to be harder than I thought.’

‘You’re used to a different measurement scale?’

‘Yeah. Um… is there a blacksmith in town who’s good at making small things?’

‘Yeland,’ Brebbam said, nodding. ‘He mostly does ironwork, but he’s quite skilled.’

Ceri picked up a slate from one of the desks and began drawing on it with the chalk. ‘Girls, would you take Lilith to see Yeland? Lil, ask the blacksmith if he wouldn’t mind coming here to discuss a commission.’

Lily pushed her chair back, rising from her scrunched up position with far more grace than a woman should have. ‘Of course, Mistress.’ Smirking slightly she handed the end of her chain to Ooda. ‘You can lead me there. Tooky gets to hold the chain coming back.’

~~~

Yeland was a dwarf. Not a Tolkienesque humanoid with a thick beard, exactly, but short, thickset, grey skinned and brusque. He even had something which sounded alarmingly like a Scottish accent and he used it to good effect sounding sceptical about Ceri’s project.

‘So this strip o’ metal is made of…?’

‘Silver-iron,’ Ceri replied. He frowned at her, obviously not understanding the term.

‘Gilfaskeel,’ Lily supplied.

‘Oh, Gilfaskeel! Why didn’t ya say that? I’ve got enough in the shop for this. And the other strip’s copper, so that’s easy enough. The gearing I can do. Not much call for this kind o’ thing out here, but I can do it. Now what’s this you’re wanting t’ put between the strips o’ metal?’

Ceri frowned at her own diagram. In truth, she was not sure herself. An old style, analogue thaumometer worked a little like a thermostat. You created a bimetallic strip, bonding two things together which would expand differently when heated. In this case, the heating came from silver-iron’s reaction to a magical field, but since it was an electrical effect there had to be an insulating layer between the two metals. She knew what they used at home, but what could they use here.

‘It needs to flexible,’ she mused aloud, ‘adhesive, it mustn’t conduct electricity or heat well…’

Brebbam snapped his fingers. ‘Qitna shell, and you can use shivikin web glue. That should provide the necessary properties.’

Yeland nodded. ‘I’ll take ya word for it on the shell. A’right, Lady, when d’ya need it fo’ an’ how much ya willin’ t’ pay?’

Ceri narrowed her eyes. ‘Two days, twenty silver.’

The smith’s eyes sparkled. ‘Och Lady, I’ve got t’ feed myself an’ ma family, an’ I canna do it in that time. Five days an’ a gold piece.’

Brebbam snorted. ‘I feel I should point out it’s just him and his wife, and she’s fat.’

Ceri smirked as Yeland sputtered. ‘Three days, fifty silver.’

‘Four days an’ eighty silver.’

‘Three days, fifty siver, and I’ll leave you the design. You can produce accurate thaumatology instruments to sell in Shilfaris. Or I can show you how to use them to give people early warnings of high magic areas.’

Looking as though she were making him sign over his firstborn and carve out his own tripes with a blunt axe, Yeland nodded and put out his hand to shake on the deal. Brebbam looked shocked at him as Ceri took the offered hand and shook it firmly. ‘What?’ Yeland asked of the teacher. ‘She’s no more a demon Lady than I am. She’s powerful an’ worthy o’ respect, an’ a dinna care what sh’ is anyway, but a deal made on a handshake is a handshaken deal an’ this Lady’ll respect that.’ He looked back at Ceri. ‘You’ll have your trinket in three days.’

As the door closed behind him, Brebbam said, ‘He’d have lost that hand for offering it to a Devos or the like. He’s a sharp judge of character as well as an exceptional smith.’

Ceri nodded. ‘I’ve done about as much as I can today. I’ll go over what I have and come back here tomorrow in case there’s anything else, but I suspect I’m stuck until I can get a more quantitative field reading. Besides, I did promise to help with your problems.’

Brebbam bowed graciously. ‘I look forward to it, Lady. I believe someone has a request for you.’

Ceri turned to find Ooda and Tooky standing behind her looking very serious indeed. ‘And what do you young ladies want?’

‘Can we lead Lilith back to the inn?’ Ooda asked.

Lilith was standing beside them, biting her lips to stop herself giggling. Ceri gave her friend a quick eye-roll and then looked down at the children. ‘Very well. Just so long as I can have her back when we get there. She has duties to perform.’

Ooda and Tooky burst into giggles. ‘Oh we know she has,’ Ooda replied before picking up Lily’s chain and starting for the door.

~~~

‘When the kids were talking to you,’ Ceri asked as she recovered from Lily’s “duties”, ‘and I thought they were asking about the symbols I was drawing…’

‘Uh-huh,’ Lily replied softly, her fingers tracing slow circles over Ceri’s stomach.

‘They weren’t actually asking about the symbols, were they?’

‘Nuh-huh.’ The fingers circled a little lower; Lily wanted to go again, which was not unheard of, Ceri had to admit, but it happened every time now.

‘So what were they asking about?’

‘Boys.’ The fingers began sliding over Ceri’s labia and she started to squirm.

‘They’re a bit, mmm, young, aren’t they?’

‘Demons mature differently from humans.’ Lily was not letting up as she explained. ‘Ooda is thirteen, Tooky is twelve. Ooda could shoot up any time and so could Tooky if she’s a quick developer. That’s why Ooda’s in a dress. She’s actually starting to develop. Right now they’re at the “boys are an interesting, if peculiar attraction” phase. Next year Ooda for sure will be grown up and spreading her legs.’

Almost as if the statement was a suggestion, Ceri’s thighs spread wider. ‘That seems so young,’ Ceri said, her voice breathy.

‘Different social mores, different physical development.’ Shifting smoothly, Lily moved down the bed and a second later her tongue had replaced her fingers. Ceri stopped asking questions; she was too busy moaning.

Day 20

The sound of knocking roused Ceri from a deep sleep born of exhaustion. Lily was possibly getting worse; though she could not actually harm Ceri, her hunger for sex and feeding from it almost seemed to be growing.

The knocking came again. ‘Yes,’ she called out. ‘All right, I’m coming.’ Pulling herself out of bed, she stumbled over to the door, opening it without thinking.

Qualiksh looked a little shocked to suddenly be presented with a naked woman, but he rallied quickly enough. ‘Merada asked if I’d get you up. There’s been another attack.’

Ceri pushed hair out of her eyes. ‘Fuck,’ she muttered. ‘Give me a few minutes to get dressed and I’ll be down.’

‘Of course,’ he said, turning away quickly and heading for the stairs to the ground floor.

‘He wants you,’ Lily said, her tone matter-of-fact. She slipped out of bed and began putting her cuffs on. She insisted on sleeping in her collar, but Ceri insisted she remove the cuffs for sex unless they were actually using them.

‘He’s married,’ Ceri countered as she located her clothes.

‘Marriage is more of a mutual support agreement here. It doesn’t preclude sex with other partners.’

‘Oh. He doesn’t want you?’

‘He’d do me with your permission, but you’re someone of higher rank. His wife would consider it an honour if you bedded him. She’s a det, he’s a higher demon. She got respect from getting him, but she’d get more if her partner can attract another like him or even higher.’ She snapped the last of her locks closed and looked up at Ceri. ‘I’m not saying you should, it’s just for information.’

Half-dressed and half-asleep, Ceri tried to get her head around the social logic. ‘I’m not even a demon, never mind a higher one.’

‘You appear to be a very powerful demon,’ Lily replied with a hint of pride. ‘What we call demons are just det with a talent for magic and so the ability to cross into our world, yes? Det are the equivalent of normals back home, higher demons are like practitioners. You’re a higher demon. In fact, with your power, “Lady” is not an inaccurate title.’

‘You think I could be a demon Lord? Or fake it anyway?’

Lily looked at her with a quite genuine smile. ‘Mistress does not have to fake anything.’ There was a purr in her voice, and not a hint of sarcasm.

Ceri was not feeling the same confidence in her abilities as Lily seemed to have. She laughed. ‘Especially orgasms.’

‘I should hope not, but I’m quite serious. Some of the Lords have more experience, but I doubt any have more power.’ She narrowed her eyes slightly. ‘None of them.’

Ceri finished strapping her shoulder leathers in place. ‘Well if these things keep attacking farms like this, you better be right.’

Merada and Brebbam were in the taproom when Ceri and Lily came down. Neither looked happy, and Qualiksh was standing near them with his sword. His wife, Ebalim, was wringing her hands beside him and Ceri heard her saying, ‘You be careful. You’re not as young as you were,’ as they walked down the last few steps. As they approached, Ebalim turned to Ceri, her expression imploring. ‘You’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything foolish, won’t you Lady?’

‘No one is doing anything stupid on my watch,’ Ceri replied. ‘What happened?’

‘Someone spotted smoke rising from a farm about a mile outside town,’ Merada told them. ‘Of course, we’re not sure it’s the Cheldeg…’

‘Bandits would never attack a homestead so close to the village,’ Qualiksh commented.

Ceri nodded. ‘All right, let’s get out there. If we get there quickly enough we may even be able to track them.’

Qualiksh looked impressed. ‘You really do have some experience with this.’

Ceri wrinkled her nose. ‘Some. I sometimes think it’s too much.’

~~~

Their second farm was smaller than the first, but it still had a burned out barn with charred animal corpses in it and a house. The occupants were in the main room, both of them dismembered this time.

‘She was raped again,’ Ceri said after checking, ‘though it’s hard to tell given the amount of damage. She died first, I think.’

‘It’s like Raynor and the boat,’ Lily said. ‘They’re playing with their victims. Make him watch them defile his wife, drag out the pain, then make what they can of him by making his death as bad as possible.’ She looked at Ceri. ‘Remember what I said earlier? Imagine seeing your mate multiply raped by the lowest form of det.’

Ceri nodded; it was adding insult to injury. She headed out through the shattered front door to where the men were searching for tracks. Qualiksh was walking back from the edge of the farm’s near boundary. He looked unhappy.

‘They’re smart,’ he said when he was close enough. ‘I found tracks from around a dozen of them heading north, but there’s a rubble track out that way. They could have gone anywhere.’

‘Show me,’ Ceri said.

Sure enough, where the track headed off toward another farm to the north, an up-thrust of rock, worn flat by the weather and now rutted by cartwheels, covered several hundred yards of the path. Worse, the bulge of sandstone fell away to the south where a stream ran through a cleft it had cut in the rock. The ground looked hard and difficult to track over even on the other side of the stream. The Cheldeg could have gone off in any direction.

‘Like I said,’ Qualiksh stated, ‘no tracks, no signs I can see up ahead. We can head on to the next farm and warn them, but we don’t really know they headed that way and…’ He ground to a halt, his jaw working even as his voice cut out. Ceri was undressing in the road.

Merada came to his rescue by asking, ‘Uh, Lady, what are you doing?’

‘Undressing. There’s more than one way to track a target and I’m not ruining my clothes doing this.’ The men continued to look bemused as she took off clothing and handed it to Lily to carry. ‘Wish I had my collar,’ she muttered as she put her hand on Lily’s shoulder so that she could draw power through the half-succubus. There was a sensation as though her skin were trying to crawl away from her body and the sound of men gasping.

‘What form of beast is that?’ Qualiksh asked. Obviously they had never seen a werewolf before and Ceri made a fairly imposing one; black fur covering a body with more muscle than she normally possessed and a bigger bust. Humans, most anyway, tended to find the dog-like head a little off-putting, but Ceri doubted it would slow the demons down any.

Ceri looked at Lily through eyes which saw muted colour and growled. Lily nodded. ‘It’s a creature from Earth which Mistress learned to transform into since it has very good senses, especially for tracking. She can’t speak normally in this form, but I have learned to understand the beast’s language. I can translate.’ It was a workable embroidery of the truth; not too far from reality to make it sound good even to Ceri’s enhanced hearing. She began casting about for scents.

‘They have things like that on Earth?’ Brebbam asked. ‘I’d heard the place was rather more peaceful than here, but this thing has teeth and claws to make a Dakag think twice.’

‘They are powerful and often skilled,’ Lily replied, ‘but they lack magic, for the most part. In a straight fight they are worthy adversaries, but they can suffer against more magically powerful foes.’ At a growl from Ceri she added, ‘Mistress has located a scent.’

There were quite a few scents along the track, but there was one strong one; vaguely reptilian and mixed with blood. If Qualiksh had found the tracks of a dozen animals, Ceri’s nose suggested at least that many had run onto the rocky surface and then dived off into the ravine. She dived off after it. The stream gave her a second’s pause, but there was enough scent hanging around the banks to lead her on, downstream and toward the north. Bolting ahead, she charged onward, led by her nose.

‘She needs to slow down,’ Qualiksh said as they ran after Ceri.

‘Mistress knows what she’s doing,’ Lily replied. ‘She isn’t going to jump into something without backup and her staff.’

‘I can’t see her,’ Merada said, sounding a little out of breath. ‘Whatever that form is, it’s fast.’

‘Very,’ Lily said. ‘She’s not far ahead. I can feel her. She’s stopped.’ She was also frustrated, Lily could feel it.

They found her, back in human form, looking at the mouth of a low cave which the stream vanished into, gurgling and rippling to suggest a steep slope. She turned and held out a hand for her clothes as they ran up. ‘They went in there,’ Ceri said. ‘You said they didn’t like the light? Well, that would give them a good place to hide. Does that cave have any other entrances?’

‘I believe,’ Brebbam said, pausing to pull in a deep breath, ‘that this stream comes out about five miles north of here. There are also a few other fissures which could connect to the cave system.

Ceri gave a growl of frustrated anger as she pulled on her top. ‘Well, going in after them would be incredibly stupid. We’d just be giving them a free meal.’

‘I’ll make sure everyone living near the cave mouths is in the village this evening,’ Merada said. ‘I’m not having another family tortured to death for the amusement of a bunch of animals.’

‘Make sure everyone in the village is indoors by dark,’ Ceri added. ‘They don’t seem to be afraid to get closer. If they can’t find easy food close by, they may try something riskier.’

The village leader nodded grimly. ‘In a way, I hope they do. We may get a chance to finish them.’

‘That’s risky too,’ Ceri said, ‘but it’s about all we’ve got unless we get some support from the city.’ And support from the city might bring its own problems; for Ceri and Lily anyway.

~~~

Ceri sat on the edge of one of the desks in the classroom and looked up at the remaining banks of equations hovering in the air. She sighed. ‘I can’t get any further without that figure for the local field strength.’

‘How’s it looking?’ Lily asked. Tooky and Ooda, sitting beside her, looked up with wide eyes as though hanging on the answer.

‘Tight, but possible. If the figure is low enough I can probably build up enough power to overcome your attraction to this world and slip you between dimensions. But… it depends on a relatively exact measurement. My estimation says it’s just possible, but if I’m out by less than a quarter of a thaum it’s not.’

‘And if that’s the case?’ Brebbam asked.

‘Well, the good news is that her connection to this world is weakening the more she feeds only on me. And the bad news is that my connection gets stronger the longer I stay which means feeding her becomes less effective, but we would still be able to leave before we were both stuck.’

‘How long would it take?’ Lily asked.

‘That depends on the local field strength.’

Lily swallowed. Ceri was hedging and they both knew it. ‘Best case?’

‘Four hundred and fifty-eight days. Here. It’s about two years back home.’ Ceri felt the surge of fear over their link. She felt something like it herself. ‘Speaking of which, I think we’ll go back to the inn and you can have your afternoon snack.’

Ooda looked quite seriously up at Ceri and asked, without the slightest hint of embarrassment, ‘You’re going to have sex?’

Ceri blinked and tried hard to avoid blushing. ‘That’s how Lilith feeds, yes.’ She was almost dreading the next question.

‘Can we watch? I want to be good at that when I grow up and I bet Lilith is the best.’ Lily choked off a giggle, her fear at being stuck for two years suddenly displaced.

‘I’m not sure your father would like that,’ Ceri said. ‘Perhaps when you’re a little older.’

Ooda was pretty good at pouting. Not to Lily’s standard, but still pretty good.

~~~

Lily lay beside Ceri on the bed, her head propped up on one hand. The other was busy playing; fingers strumming playfully over Ceri’s clitoris. The tail she had grown a few minutes earlier was curling and shifting inside Ceri as well. All Ceri could do was lie there and whimper, but Lily could talk.

‘If it turns out that you can’t get me back straight away, I want you to go home.’ The half-succubus’ voice was quite calm and there was none of the fear of earlier as she spoke.

‘No,’ Ceri said flatly.

‘Ceri, I’m not stranding you here for two years. I’m dangerous to bring back as it is. I could lose control and kill someone. Who knows how staying here that long is going to affect you. You have to leave me.’

Ceri’s hand landed on Lily’s. The tail stopped moving as Ceri turned a firm, even angry look toward her lover. ‘I said “no,” and I meant it. If I have to order you to stop being silly then I will.’

‘It’s too risky, Ceri, you…’

‘I’m not going to argue, pet.’ Ceri turned her head back and closed her eyes, releasing Lily’s hand. ‘I’m not going back without you and that’s that. You saved me from becoming something terrible and I thought I’d lost you. I couldn’t live with myself if I left you here to become something you’d hate.’

There was a pause and then Lily’s tail and fingers started moving again. ‘Yes, Mistress.’

Day 21

‘Happy Christmas,’ Ceri said as Lily opened her eyes the following morning.

‘Christmas?’

‘Assuming a linear progression, yes. It’s around about Christmas Day… sometime today anyway. I figure we might as well have a thirty-eight hour Christmas.’

Lily giggled and then sobered a bit. ‘It’s not the same without Twill and Michael, but I suppose it’s something.’

‘Twill! Do you know where she went? Alec said something about her going away…’

Lily’s face fell further. ‘She went back to Otherworld. Twill is Gloriandel Wintergreen. She ran away from an arranged marriage and she went back so she could get her family to help us with the dragons.’ Ceri opened and closed her mouth a few times, no sound coming out. ‘The Black Lady told me when I hid out with her.’ This time there was a small squeak. ‘Oh, I owe the Lady a favour at some point when we get home.’ A groan this time. ‘There’s really nothing we can do about it until we do get back though.’

‘Uh, no, not really,’ Ceri managed to get out.

Shrugging, since there was nothing to be done about the situation back home until they had resolved the situation here, Lily reached out a hand toward Ceri’s breasts. ‘Happy Christmas, Mistress?’

~~~

Lily spotted Ceri’s werewolf form sniffing around a fence on the edge of the village and quickened her pace. They had spent the last hour circling the village, Ceri in wolf-form searching for any sign of the Cheldeg while Lily followed along with her clothes. Now it looked like Ceri might have found something.

‘You got a scent, Mistress?’ Lily asked. The title was probably not necessary, but Lily was taking no chances that someone might overhear her being disrespectful.

Ceri growled back. They were here. Way out same way in. No further.

Lily nodded. ‘Not enough pressure to find food yet.’

Ceri nodded in return and then set off away from the village, leaving Lily to trot along behind at a more human pace. The scents were not as strong as the ones from the day before and Ceri suspected that was because there were fewer Cheldeg in the party. Her suspicions were confirmed when she found the rocky outcrop with its small cave mouth which the creatures had come from. Here, at the point where the cave system emerged closest to the village, they had come up in full strength and then sent out a scouting party.

She shifted back to human as Lily came running up. ‘They were scouting last night,’ she said. ‘Checking the distance to the village, seeing what they came across first.’

‘You think they’ll come back in force tonight?’

‘I think it’s a likely possibility. I’m wondering about lying in wait for them here.’

‘I think that’s tactically risky. They may be smart enough to use a different exit.’ Ceri nodded grudgingly as she sat down to pull on her trews. ‘Could you maybe put some sort of trap on the cave mouth?’ Lily suggested.

Still half-naked, Ceri climbed to her feet and looked over at the mouth of the cave. ‘It’s fairly narrow. I can set a fire trap to go off when something big enough goes through. Come here.’

Lily stepped closer; not that there was much distance to cross. Ceri reached out a hand to rest on her shoulder and pulled power through her demon. Lily let out a little moan as the energy surged through her core and then pushed out through Ceri’s other hand as a flicker of light. There was an answering shimmer just inside the cave mouth and Ceri smiled. ‘That should do it.’

‘Mistress?’ Lily said, her tone a little pleading.

‘Mmhmm?’

‘Could you either put some more clothes on or take those trousers off?’

Ceri took her top from Lily and pulled it on over her head. ‘You had a good breakfast.’

‘I’m hugely attracted to you. You push all my buttons and you just pulled several thaums through my Tantric median. I’m aroused. So sue me.’

‘Huh… Sorry. Should have thought of that.’ She sat down to pull on her boots.

‘Don’t apologise, especially to me,’ Lily replied quite without rancour. Ceri looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. ‘No Lady would apologise to her slave, or even her pet. They wouldn’t apologise to another Lord or Lady if they thought they could best them in a fight.’

‘I’m not…’

‘You have to act like one, if you want to survive this place. The villagers like you, because you help them, but they also know you’ve got a load of power which stops them taking advantage. They’ve met Lords who act nice before. Those ones just used nice to get what they want without having to kill lots of people. And it’s not the killing which bothers a Lord like that, it’s the expenditure of energy.’

It occurred to Ceri that, while her prices were low and well within the means of the occupants of East Ward, no one had ever even tried to avoid paying. No one had even suggested they would pay her later. They usually paid her in advance! ‘I hate this. You saved me from becoming some sort of puppet queen of Earth so I could come here and be something just as bad.’

Lily smiled. One hand stretched out to stroke Ceri’s cheek and they both ignored the electric spark of desire the simple gesture generated. ‘Here it’s just a role you need to play, love. We both know it’s not you.’

Ceri smiled back and took her shoulder pads to strap on. ‘You may know. I just hope. I’m glad you have faith in me though.’

‘Always.’

~~~

The attack, when it came, caught everyone off guard. It was about an hour after dark and they came from the south. In fact, they might have got into the village, grabbed some captives, and run off if it was not for someone spotting them coming and running for the inn.

Qualiksh grabbed his sword from behind the bar as Ceri and Lily opened the doors. He turned to his wife before following them out. ‘Bar the door behind us. We’ll take care of them.’ Ebalim looked worried, but she nodded and gave him a quick kiss before allowing him to go.

The two women had a good head start on him, but he had long legs and he caught up with them as they charged down the southern road. ‘Brof said they were attacking Korig’s house,’ he said as they ran. ‘It’s the most southerly, to the right of the road.’

‘There!’ Lily snapped, pointing ahead to where three figures were standing beside a wooden building. They were not large, their size made smaller by being bent over. They had long rear limbs, shorter front ones, but arms and legs were thick, heavily muscled. The head was reptilian, long in the snout. As they got closer it looked like they had scaly skin and a long, thick penis hanging between their legs. Ceri realised, with a lurch in her stomach, that it was probably an ovipositor rather than a male sex organ. The creatures let out a hissing cry as the three defenders ran toward them and suddenly there were three more of them to contend with.

Ceri pulled to a stop. ‘I don’t like the odds. Let’s change them.’ The head of her staff flared into light, the sky opened up, and a beam of blazing sunlight fell upon the Cheldeg. The creatures raised their heads and let out high pitched shrieks, darting back from the light. Ceri thought she saw smoke rising from their hides.

Qualiksh let out a yell that could have been joy or rage, and charged through the beam of light, his sword swinging. One of the blinded Cheldeg was never going to know what hit it; Ceri saw blood arcing through the air. The surprises continued as Lily moved forward, thrusting her hand out and sending forth a stream of flame which caught two of the creatures entirely off guard. From the look on Lily’s face, she was a little surprised at her success as well.

Ceri rounded the corner of the house to see the front door smashed in and two Cheldeg emerging from it. Each held the leg of a woman who they seemed to be dragging. Ceri’s staff thrust out again, the sphere on the top burning white, and the inside of the building was filled with light. The two dragging their victim dropped her and rushed out. A couple more of the things ran from the building, but they were stumbling, moving randomly, obviously blinded. Ceri dropped another beam of light in the path of the two runners and they shifted direction instantly, turning and running to the west. Ceri’s lips curled into a grin and she turned toward the door of the house.

The woman was moving, turning onto her side as Ceri stepped over her to check inside. There was a man lying crumpled and wounded on the floor. That was presumably Korig and he looked like he was breathing. Around him were half-a-dozen Cheldeg, or the smoking remains of them. They really did not like daylight.

A sound drew Ceri’s attention to a door in the side of the room. She slammed it open with the heel of her staff and was met by hisses from the lone Cheldeg hiding at the back of the corridor behind it. She looked at it and it looked back. That long snout came with a mouth full of very sharp teeth. Its limbs ended in claws which must have made it easy to do the disembowelling she had seen the results of. Unlike lizards back home, its eyes faced fully forward; this was a predator. It fed on fear, but Ceri did not fear it and, like most bullies, it was a coward when faced with a real threat. It made a bolt for one of the doors and Ceri moved. Her hand whipped around, launching a ball of blue white energy which caught the creature in the side of the head. It let out a scream which cut off sharply as raw thaumic energy burned through its brain like hot acid.

‘Two of them got away.’ Qualiksh’s voice from the doorway drew Ceri’s attention away from the dying Cheldeg. ‘I saw them run off…’

‘Toward the cave they came out of last night,’ Ceri said. ‘Lilith and I will go out tomorrow and check that they died. I trapped the cave mouth.’

‘You… pushed them into a trap?’

‘Fire trap, yeah. They get to run for miles, think they’ve escaped, and then they get their butts blasted through the tops of their heads.’ She crouched down beside Korig, her mind filling with a map of his injuries.

Qualiksh’s lips curled into a malicious grin. ‘Appropriate.’

‘I thought so. Check her, or get Lilith to. She’s trained in first aid.’ Korig had claw wounds to the stomach and left arm, and major blood loss. Ceri’s hand shone as she moved it over the fallen det, knitting skin back into place as she went.

Lily’s voice came from the doorway. ‘She’s basically okay. In shock, a few claw marks, but not badly hurt.’

‘He’ll need rest,’ Ceri said, indicating Korig, ‘but he’ll be fine.’ She climbed to her feet. ‘Not as bad as it could have been.’

Qualiksh frowned at her. ‘We’re alive, they’re dead. And the power you used… I’ve not seen anything like that since I was in battle with Molech’s army.’

Ceri wanted to ask him about Molech, but what she said now was, ‘If we’d had more time and forces we could have stopped them getting this close.’

The innkeeper laughed. ‘Take it from an old warrior, Lady, any fight you can walk away from is a good one, and we did amazingly well with three against over a dozen.’

Ceri gave him a grin. ‘I guess I have high standards.’

~~~

It was after they had celebrated their victory in the time honoured fashion and they were lying, sweaty and content, in each other’s arms, that Ceri said, ‘You did really well with that flame spell. I didn’t know you could do that one.’

Lily gave a little giggle. ‘Dad taught me it, but it’s always been a little unreliable. It seems to come easier here.’

‘It probably does. The high magic field helps a lot.’ She gave Lily a kiss on the forehead. ‘Your medians are showing more development as well. You’ll probably find magic is easier back home too. Barnes really made some alterations to you and I wouldn’t say all of them are for the worse.’

‘Well if we can go home tomorrow I’ll forgive his atomised corpse.’ She gave Ceri a poke in the ribs; most un-pet-like. ‘Besides, you’re only saying that because you like my tail action.’

Ceri giggled. ‘I’m not saying you’re wrong. And tomorrow Yeland should have the thaumometer ready. We could be home tomorrow night.’

‘Well, I’m trying not to be hopeful. If we can’t I don’t want to be too disappointed.’

Day 22

There was a noticeable difference in the village the following morning, at least as far as Ceri and Lily where concerned. Everyone they met on the way over to the schoolhouse smiled at them. Many bowed their heads and offered thanks for defeating the Cheldeg and saving Korig and his wife. But there was something else there too; everyone was just a bit more respectful, and a little more afraid.

Even Ooda and Tooky, who refused to allow that little touch of extra fear stop them from sitting and watching what Ceri was doing, were quieter than normal. Brebbam seemed less affected by it than the others, but Ceri could tell he was fighting it. He knew she was human and his rational mind was telling him that she was not like the Lords he knew of. More basic parts of his brain were scared.

‘The story of what you did to the Cheldeg got around the village pretty quickly,’ he explained as Ceri sat at his desk making tiny adjustments to the mechanism of her new thaumometer. ‘I dare say that the tale got embroidered a little with each retelling. No one has ever seen anyone with that kind of power, except Qualiksh, and that was Molech.’

‘What do you know about Molech?’ Ceri asked. She summoned up a ball of thaumic energy and watched the needle on the meter rise before nodding and making another adjustment. ‘I’ve only heard stories, really. He was supposed to have been banished to some place beyond the Mountains of Khedra.’

‘That was a long time ago. About… oh, a century ago, give or take a decade or two, he returned with an army of Devos, Dakag, and Therim. Therim are creatures from the wasteland beyond the mountains. Technically just det, they are still among the most physically powerful creatures in this world. Incredibly tough, big, and vicious, but also intensely loyal. Molech has a personal guard composed entirely of Therim. With that force, Molech carved himself out a kingdom north of the mountains. He killed a Lord named Fossif to take it and it has generally been an improvement. Fossif was a poor ruler, fond of government by terror. Qualiksh fought in the latter stages of that war. Molech and Graggil have an uneasy peace and this region lies between their lands, though Molech seems to have the upper hand. We benefit some from that arrangement, acting as a trading area between the two fiefdoms.’

‘And he hasn’t expanded his territory since?’

‘There are rumours of intrigues and machinations in the courts of various Lords, but he has not taken it further than that. His lands are bounded by the Khedra Range and Mount Khed lies in the heart of them. The Castle of Bones rests on its slopes and inside that is…’

‘Gorefguhadget’s iron crown,’ Ceri finished for him.

‘Indeed.’ Brebbam sounded impressed. ‘I believe he hopes to regain control of it and so gain power over all of us again. If he has a plan to do it I have no idea what it could be.’

Ceri nodded and tightened the locking screws on the mechanism before her. She looked down at the meter and frowned. ‘Okay, Lily may be affecting the reading. Just wait here a minute.’ Picking up the little coppery device she walked out into the afternoon sun, shading it with her body to avoid heating and looked down again. Her heart sank, but she waited for a minute in case there might be some settling.

‘Eight point three-five,’ she said as she walked back into the classroom.

Lily looked up at her expectantly. ‘And that means?’

‘Even assuming the meter is reading high as much as I’m willing to believe it can be doing, it’s too high. I’d be looking for nothing higher than eight point one-seven.’

‘Oh,’ Lily replied flatly.

‘There might be another way,’ Brebbam said into the silence which followed. Ceri and Lily looked at him, hope etched into their expressions. ‘I didn’t say anything earlier because… it is not going to be easy or safe.’

‘At this point,’ Ceri replied, ‘the alternative is waiting around for a couple of years and hoping I can drag Lilith down to a level where I can move her. That’s not safe either.’

Brebbam nodded, acknowledging the fact, but still seeming reluctant. Just before Ceri was going to prompt him again, he began speaking. ‘The Lords have a way of sending higher demons across into other worlds. Yours in particular, but occasionally others. They are useful only when the energy level there is closer to ours, under normal circumstances. When someone in your world summons a random demon, they go through those portals. It’s one way the Lords control things. There are also some who can cross at other times, with the application of enough power.’

‘That’s how demons cross at Samhain,’ Ceri said, ‘and how they came over when the German Rift was opened.’

Brebbam nodded. ‘I believe you could use one to cross. It would… lower the threshold, so to speak.’

‘That sounds pretty reasonable. What’s the catch?’

‘The Lords keep their portals close. Graggil’s is in a cave under Bothiridan, almost inaccessible without his permission. Molech’s is the other close one, and that is in a room next to his throne room. Even with your power, getting to either would be suicide. Your only hope is the one in the Castle of Bones.’

Tooky let out a little gasp. ‘No one goes there!’

‘It’s haunted,’ Ooda supplied, ‘and guarded by monsters, and Gorefguhadget’s spirit sits on his throne to destroy anyone seeking the Crown!’

‘Perhaps,’ Brebbam said, ‘but it’s six hundred miles, the last hundred over foothills and then mountains. You can maybe do it in fifteen days if you meet no obstacles. Molech’s demons are less likely to be friendly than you’ll find here, so you’ll need to be careful. You’ll enter his lands after about two days going south. It won’t be easy. Not at all.’

Ceri looked over at Lily, receiving a tiny nod almost instantly. ‘Perhaps not, but it’s a chance we’ll have to take.’

Interlude: Cheryl

Chilcomb, Hampshire, December 31st, 2012

Cheryl Tennant sat on the bed in Carter’s country retreat watching the sun setting over the surrounding hills. It was New Year’s Eve and she was, once again, Cheryl Tennant, Doctor of Thaumatology. Almost.

She had been without the chain which supressed memory and personality for two weeks; Carter had, apparently, been insistent that her health was assured and any physical harm healed before removing it. Her initial reaction had been panic since her last memory was of being grabbed by dark shapes. There was no way her kidnap could be kept from her and her men had been bright enough not to try. She had been given the basic details of what had happened to her; in truth neither Carter nor Alec knew exactly what she had done while she was in Bangkok, but they could all fill in sufficient details from imagination.

After a couple of days she had come to terms with it, rationally. She could remember nothing after she was captured until the necklace had been removed. She knew she had been dancing in a bar when Carter and Alec had found her, and she knew that the dancers in that bar were whores. She knew that she had probably been selling her body to Chinese soldiers and officials, but any after effects of that activity had been erased from her body. Almost all of the effects anyway; to her amusement she had discovered that she was a little fitter than she had been and she was better at dancing, if only provocatively. The amusement had not lasted long, but it had been a momentary break from the anguish.

Because while her conscious mind was as happy as it was going to get with her situation, her unconscious mind was a lot less sanguine. She had nightmares of lying in a dirty hotel room while a queue of men lined up to take their pleasure of her. Her self-confidence was gone and she found herself watching the shadows in any room she was in, just in case they moved. She knew that Gwyn, Ceri’s draconic ancestor, had personally seen to the task of healing her body when she had been brought back, but she had found herself unable to even call the woman to thank her. And a couple of attempts to engage in sex had ended in her hyperventilating and having to leave the room.

Both Carter and Alec had told her that she just needed time to get over what had happened. Cheryl knew they were right, of course, but she did not want it to take time. She needed to get back to normal. If she could just start behaving like nothing had changed she was sure her mind would catch up. Trying to do that was not working, however. Something was missing, she had decided, and that was stopping her from getting back into her normal swing.

The sun was setting on the year. In the morning she would go back to London. She needed to be back among her own things. That was what she needed.

Kennington, London, January 2nd, 2013

Gwyn walked smoothly across the hallway of High Towers as the third round of knocking sounded through the building. It was late, almost midnight, but neither she nor Mei slept a lot. They had been up, Mei watching TV while Gwyn read from the extensive library Ceri’s parents had put together. She had discovered something of a taste for an author named Terry Pratchett; Guards! Guards! with its rather strange, extra-dimensional dragons had amused her greatly.

The knocking came again, urgent, demanding, as she reached the inner doors and pulled one open. ‘I’m coming,’ she called out. Then she opened the outer door and said, ‘Oh.’

Cheryl looked terrible; tired and unhappy at the very least. ‘Can I come in,’ she asked, though she looked like she did not really want to enter the building with Gwyn there.

‘Of course.’ Gwyn stepped aside to allow Cheryl in.

The doctor seemed to relax as she walked through into the hallway, but her shoulders tensed again as soon as she heard the doors closing behind her. ‘I… should thank you,’ she said, not looking around. ‘I understand you took care of me when Carter and Alec brought me back.’

‘Your thanks are appreciated, but unnecessary. I was undoing the damage done by…’

Cheryl turned, cutting Gwyn off. ‘Carter told me you had nothing to do with what happened. You weren’t responsible. Thank you for your help.’

Gwyn regarded her for a moment. ‘Your mind knows that, but your heart, I think, does not quite believe. And I don’t think you came here in the middle of the night to offer me your thanks.’

‘I went home. I thought that if I went home, with all my things around me, I could get back to being me. But it wasn’t my home anymore. It was the place they took me from.’ Cheryl swallowed. ‘I’ve always felt safe here.’

Gwyn nodded. ‘You’re welcome to stay here as long as you don’t mind the company of two ex-dragons. Do you know Mei Long?’

‘We met, briefly, at the US Embassy.’

‘Ah. Introductions won’t be needed then. You may find her a little changed. Her transformation hit her hard.’

‘Confidence gone? There’s a lot of that going around.’

Gwyn made an agreeing sort of noise and started up the stairs. Cheryl could not help notice that nothing much seemed to have changed about Gwyn. She moved smoothly, gracefully, her back straight and her head held high. She was a slim woman, aside from her chest, tall and beautiful in a rather severe way, and she exuded calm confidence. Cheryl knew from Ceri that the dragon-woman could and did open up, and then she could be funny, interesting, a nice person to just hang around with. All Cheryl was seeing right now was the dragon queen.

The dragon queen stopped part way up the stairs and turned around, a slight smile on her face. The change in demeanour was a little startling. ‘Go on up, I’ll be there momentarily. I believe that we could all do with a drink.’

Cheryl frowned. ‘I’m not sure that’s such a great idea…’

Gwyn took a couple of steps down and put a hand on Cheryl’s forearm. ‘Trust me, dear. This isn’t just for you.’ She carried on past Cheryl, leaving her to walk up the stairs, wondering whether she should have gone to a hotel instead.

January 3rd

‘So this idiot from the Druids turns up,’ Cheryl said, half-giggling, ‘and the two of us are already half-cut.’ She was pretty much in the same condition now. One bottle had been shared, and then another, then the third was opened… ‘He’s all “You can’t be here! This is our holy place!” and I’m trying to explain that we have a permit and it might be his holy place, but he doesn’t have a permit, and what I really want to do is punch the creep in the face. And then Ceri saw him starting to gather power for a spell and told him she tended to throw around energy bolts when people threatened her and he backed down so fast.’

‘Druids were a lot less pretentious back when they were real druids,’ Gwyn said. She was looking a lot less affected by the wine than Cheryl was, but she was smiling. The smile made her face look softer; Cheryl liked that.

‘You probably met some,’ Cheryl went on. ‘Once he was gone we went back to the tent and got really dunk and then Ceri seduced me. It didn’t take a lot of effort and we regretted it for about a minute afterward, but if I’m honest about it she woke me up. Carter had always kept our relationship on a need-to-know basis because it was more like a relationship than his one night stands and I was a little… afraid. Yeah, I was afraid. Afraid that people would think less of me, that it might hurt my career. And there was Ceri who slept with a half-succubus and a werewolf, and did pretty much what she wanted and didn’t care. Young and talented and sexy, and damn she was good in bed and I’d enjoyed it. So, damnit, why should I care?’

‘I quite agree,’ Gwyn said. ‘She brought me out of my shell as well. I spent millennia mourning my dead mate, and then I discovered I had a… well, “child” is the wrong word, but you take my meaning. I realised I needed to get out among humans again. I so used to love being among your… our kind. I learned to talk to people again and came to see Ceri. When she accepted me as a sort of distant relative… It meant a great deal to me.’

‘They’ll come back, won’t they?’

‘Yes. I’m quite sure they will. I won’t have it any other way.’

‘It seems to me,’ Mei said, breaking her silence, ‘that I understand why you are having trouble settling back into your life, Doctor Tennant.’

Both Cheryl and Gwyn turned to look at the tiny Chinese woman; she had barely said a word all evening even though she had smiled when jokes were told or reminiscences made. She had always been Mei Long, the Sleeping Dragon, the one who observed and only spoke up when she felt she had to, but now she was practically mute.

‘Cheryl,’ Cheryl told her. ‘I think we’re past that kind of formality.’

Mei bowed her head. She had also retained the poise she had had as a dragon; even drinking she sat on the couch with her back straight and her knees together. ‘Thank you, Cheryl. You have been working with Ceridwyn for over two years. You have a strong, deep relationship with her which is based on more than just work. You trust her. She has changed your life as you and all her friends have changed hers. There is an element of love. Love of a good friend, but love nonetheless. With her, and Lily, gone there is a hole in your life. You have suffered a great shock and you need things to be as they were before you will be entirely happy that you are back to normal.’

‘Oh,’ Cheryl said.

‘I suspect that Gwyn has a similar issue,’ Mei added. ‘She is much better at dealing with loss.’

‘I disagree,’ Gwyn replied. ‘Spending tens of thousands of years moping in a corner is not “dealing” with loss.’

Cheryl found herself giggling. ‘So, I’m going to be stuck feeling like the world is out to get me until Ceri and Lily pop back into existence?’

‘I doubt it,’ Gwyn told her. ‘You’re an intelligent woman. If you know what is bothering you, you will come to terms with it. Probably sooner rather than later, now that you have all the information. An unknown horror is always worse than a known one.’ She looked across at the window where light was starting to filter in through the stained glass. ‘I think we should probably get some sleep.’

Cheryl followed her gaze, and suddenly realised how drunk and tired she was. ‘Well, I’ll take the chaise longe in the study.’

‘Nonsense,’ Gwyn replied. ‘We’re both sleeping in the guest room. I assume you don’t want to sleep in the main room…’ Cheryl shook her head; that just felt wrong. ‘…so you can sleep with us.’

‘Three of us in the one bed…’

‘Mei is tiny and we’re thin, there’s plenty of room.’

Cheryl sighed. ‘It’s not like I really want to be on my own.’

Gwyn smiled and rose to her feet. ‘And I promise not to seduce you, even though you are drunk.’

Part Four: Fairy Tales

Oridan Province, Demon Realm, Day 27

Ceri and Lily stopped at the brow of a hill and looked down at the forest. It was thick, full of old trees which stretched high into the air, and it went on for miles. The track they were on split just ahead, with the main path going on along the ridge, around the trees, and a far thinner path leading down and in. It looked like the majority of people travelling south took the detour.

‘That’s a lot of trees,’ Ceri said.

‘That’s a whole lot of trees,’ Lily replied. ‘What did you say this area was called?’

Ceri took a map from her bag, unfolding it and locating the name printed over where she thought they were. ‘Oridan Province. There’s a forest marked on the map, sort of. There’s no detail beyond the edge of the trees and no name marked.’

‘Ori is night, or dark. I think… I think that’s the Darkest Forest.’

‘What? From that fairy tale your father told you? Tef and the Great Black Horg?’ Her eyes scanned the map as Lily nodded. ‘Well, there is a Silver Lake on the other side. That was in the story too.’

‘Tef lived in Shoshteffrif on the shore of the Silver Lake,’ Lily agreed.

‘Well, what I know is that it cuts two days off our journey. Brebbam said going through there could be dangerous, but that no one patrols through it so we would be sure that we wouldn’t run into any of Molech’s forces.’

‘Seems like a no-brainer. Unknown danger verses known danger. Just remember to stick to the path.’

Ceri laughed and gave Lily’s chain a playful tug. ‘Come on. If we’re lucky we can get through before night falls. Even if we don’t get eaten by a Horg I don’t think I want to camp in there if I can help it.’

The track wound down the hill, which was fairly steep on this side, and then vanished into the trees. Ceri stopped when the chain tightened, and looked around to find out what was up. ‘Can’t you feel it?’ the half-succubus asked. ‘This place is… the field’s stronger and kind of nastier.’

Ceri blinked on her Sight and turned to look at the forest. Lily was right, the ambient field strength was higher. The magic seemed to writhe and twist around the tree trunks. Even the grass had sparks of magic at the tips like charge rising to the point of a lightning conductor. ‘Yeah.’ The path, on the other hand, seemed to be relatively normal, at least until it vanished into the darkness under the trees. ‘Stick to the path, you said. Seems like a good plan.’

The light was almost completely gone by the time they were ten yards under the canopy and Ceri had to cast a light spell on the end of her staff so that they could see where they were going. ‘Either Tef had damn good eyes or she could work light spells,’ Ceri commented as they went on.

‘Well I can. I had Dad teach me. Thought it would be useful.’

‘Huh. It might.’ Ceri took a small, wooden box from her bag and opened it to reveal the little thaumometer mechanism Yeland had built. She moved it toward the edge of the path, watching the needle rise rapidly. ‘It’s around twenty thaums near the edge. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s over thirty among the trees.’

‘Wild magic levels.’

‘Uh-huh.’

Lily looked out at the darkness beyond the seemingly fragile safety of Ceri’s light and took a couple of quick steps to bring her closer to her mistress. ‘It’s funny, I’ve never been in a strong magic field that didn’t make me feel horny before.’

‘Somehow that worries me more than the readings. Still, we’re both immune to the effects of a place like this. Let’s just get through it.’

‘An idea I can definitely get behind.’

~~~

They had been walking for maybe two hours when Ceri stopped, Lily almost bumping into her. ‘What’s wrong?’ the half-succubus asked, looking around and seeing nothing aside from the flickers of light, which always came in pairs, among the trees, but they had been seeing those for miles.

‘The path ahead. Whatever it is keeps the magic away seems to have failed. There’s a patch ahead where it closes in.’

Lily frowned. ‘So much for keeping to the path.’

‘Uh-huh. Well, it’s still not as strong as the field to the sides. Going back doesn’t seem like a good idea at this point.’

‘Sure?’

‘No.’ Ceri stepped forward anyway. ‘Keep your eyes peeled.’

‘I’ll need clamps to open them any wider.’

The pressure on the back of Ceri’s head seemed to double as they passed through the invisible wall of higher strength magic and the darkness pressed in, trying to overcome the light from Ceri’s staff. Lily felt it, the darkness crowding in like a living thing, and edged closer to Ceri. Reaching back, Ceri took Lily’s hand in hers and pulled her closer still.

Somehow, despite the deeper darkness, the trees were more visible. The trunks seemed to glow a dull, sickly green which shifted, almost as though the trees themselves were moving. The lights in the undergrowth were brighter too, and they looked a lot more like eyes. Red eyes and green eyes, without pupils, but definitely eyes.

‘I don’t like this,’ Lily said, sounding more panicked than Ceri would have expected.

‘Neither do I.’

‘They can see us.’

‘They could see us before.’

‘No, now they can see us.’

The number of eyes did seem to be increasing and, somewhere out in the forest, Ceri could hear something which sounded like heavy footfalls. She pushed on faster along the path, but it was becoming rougher and there were patches of the odd, sparkling grass growing in it. Had the path washed away? Ceri felt panic beginning to take root in her own mind; that tiny, niggling thought that they had strayed off the track. Perhaps, in the darkness, they had stepped to the side. Perhaps…

The ground shook and the sound of huge feet grew louder. What the Hell was that? The trees were not that big. A giant would have shown up striding through them. Unless, of course, the forest was even more unnatural than she had thought. Maybe the dimensions got screwed up in here. Wild magic could do something like that. Maybe it had been a bad idea coming through here. Maybe…

Suddenly they were stumbling out onto the path again and the light almost seemed bright around them. Ceri took in a deep, shuddering breath, feeling the terror ebbing. Beside her, Lily dropped to her hands and knees, breathing hard.

‘That,’ the half-succubus huffed out, ‘was… horrible.’

‘There must have been something in there that feeds on fear. That was too scary for what I could actually see.’

‘If you don’t mind, I’ll just stay here a moment… and learn to breathe again.’

Ceri was squinting at the view further up the path. ‘I think you can take all the time you want. Is that light up ahead?’

Lily lifted her head and shaded her eyes with one hand. ‘I didn’t think we could be out of this place that fast… but it does, yeah.’ Forgetting her fatigue, she pulled herself to her feet, picked up her chain, and handed it to Ceri. ‘I can rest when we’re in sunlight.’

The sunlight was so bright when they emerged from the trees that it left the two women blinking for several seconds. When their vision cleared and they could see what was actually in front of them instead of a haze of bright light, Ceri said, ‘No fucking way!’

~~~

The Queen stretched languidly in her bed, the black, silk sheets rustling softly as she moved, feeling sensuous and cool against her skin. She opened her eyes and looked up at the huge, dark mirror mounted over the bed and smiled.

‘Mirror, mirror, above my bed, tell me… who do I need dead?’

~~~

‘It’s not possible,’ Ceri said for the third time.

‘You said that,’ Lily commented.

‘A fairy tale castle in the middle of the forest? We would have seen it.’

‘You said that too.’ Lily trotted along behind Ceri as they walked down into the bowl the castle was sitting in. She was a little more sanguine about what “possibility” meant in a place like this.

‘Unless the high magic field has bent reality enough to create some sort of pocket dimension inside the forest.’

‘That’s new.’

Ceri stopped and looked around at her pet. ‘Do we have to stop so I can give you a spanking?’

‘Yes please, Mistress.’

‘You’re in a better mood.’

Lily looked up at the gleaming white spires set amid very green grass. ‘The field strength is higher here, but it doesn’t feel oppressive like the rest of the forest.’ She grinned. ‘I’m feeling kind of frisky.’

Ceri chuckled. Lily’s tickle of hyperactive libido was feeding through their link and raising her spirits too. ‘Well, it’s a castle and it doesn’t look demonic. Maybe we can spend the night here and go on in the morning. I’d love a bath.’

‘You should wear less. Those clothes just make you collect sweat.’

Turning back to walk further down the path, Ceri said, ‘Yeah, I’m sure you’d be far happier with me naked too.’

‘Oh no. You’re my mistress so you should be wearing something. That little outfit you wore to get me out of Grey Castle, maybe.’

‘That’s practically naked.’

‘The detail is important.’

‘Uh-huh. Well, let’s get to the castle here and see if the natives are friendly.’

~~~

The Major-domo bowed deeply to his queen. She was now clad on a long, white gown which sparkled in the light from the huge windows of the throne room. The throne, which she was perched on the edge of, was large, ornate, and covered in gold leaf.

‘We have two visitors,’ the Queen said. ‘One is powerful, the other beautiful, and they are invading our fair kingdom.’

‘That cannot be allowed, Majesty,’ the obsequious old man replied. He knew what she was not saying; one was more powerful than she was, the other more beautiful. The Queen was a jealous woman.

The Queen sighed. ‘Get me someone heartless and fearless. He can take them out into the forest, kill them, and bring me back their hearts.’

The Major-domo coughed, receiving a scowl in reply. ‘Majesty… You know what happened last time…’

Another sigh. ‘Yes, yes. We find someone suitable, he takes them out, they melt his heart and I get a delivery of stag heart. Then I have to have him tortured to death or fed to the mirror if they’re nice enough. It’s all so depressing. What do we have in the dungeon? We can feed them to an un-killable monster.’

‘Well, there was that Horg, but he was eaten by a succubus last winter. The wyvern choked on a Devim. The cockatrice caught sight of itself in a mirror. Our gorgon was killed by a hero with a polished shield. The hydra…’

‘Yes, I heard, it got into an argument with itself. I believe the problem here is that the term “un-killable” is not being taken literally enough. I suppose we’ll have to do it the hard way. Have them invited in.’

~~~

The huge doors opened as Ceri and Lily approached and a small man with grey hair wearing a liveried frock-coat came out to meet them. He was also wearing the most snivelling, obsequious smile Ceri had ever seen on anyone. And he was not a det. His body was giving off positive thaumitons and there was a core of energy sitting in the region of his stomach; this was a fae.

‘Welcome, welcome, we get so few visitors here at Scéal Caisleán. I am Edmond, the Queen’s major-domo. Queen Oona bids me to take you to one of our guest rooms to recover from your long travels. She will greet you when you have rested.

‘Uh… right,’ Ceri said, a little surprised that it was going to be that easy. ‘I’m Lady Ayasha, this is Lilith, my pet. A chance to clean up before meeting Her Majesty would be appreciated.’

Edmond smiled his sickly smile and reversed up the steps, waving for them to follow him. Ceri was impressed; the man had to be an absolutely world-class suck-up. Then again, that was probably his major job requirement. Ceri set off after him with a little tug on Lily’s chain, just for form’s sake.

The inside of the castle was, if that were possible, more fairy tale than the outside. The walls and floors were polished, white marble with red carpets laid in strips along the main walkways. Ceri suspected that was because most people would have ended up on their arses if they tried walking on the marble. If it was not frictionless, it had to be close. Edmond led the way up a sweeping staircase off the main hall, which was three stories high with a vaulted ceiling, and then down a corridor deeper into the castle two floors up. He stopped and pushed open a double door, bowing and waving them in.

‘Take all the time you wish,’ Edmond said, ‘and just ring when you are ready.’ He indicated a bell-pull beside the door. ‘You should find some… more regal clothes in the cupboard in the bedroom, should you wish to change. The bath is already heated and ready.’

Ceri was busy blinking at the room. ‘Uh, thanks, Edmond.’ She heard the doors close behind her, but ignored it. ‘Oh wow, we really must visit royalty more often.’

The room, and it was just one of the suite of rooms, was huge. The walls were white marble, but the floor was carpeted in red with material so soft it felt like you were floating. The furniture was incredibly ornate and covered in gold leaf. The bed could have held four people easily and had thick posts at the corners and a canopy over the top.

Ceri looked around and discovered that Lily had vanished. She was just wondering where she had gone when she heard the squeal of delight from a side room. ‘You wanted a bath?’ Lily called out. ‘This is a swimming pool!’

‘Be right there,’ Ceri called back. She started stripping her clothes off even before she got to the bathroom.

~~~

Ceri had found a black gown in the cupboard beside the bed which fitted well enough, actually amazingly well. It had a deep cleavage and was fitted down to her thighs before spreading around her shins, the fabric looked like slightly translucent latex, but slipped on like silk, and Lily had licked her lips encouragingly; not a perfect sign of a nice look since Lily would have thought she looked good in a plastic sack, but good enough. She had also found a little, black tunic with a belt to put Lily in. The dirty sandals had been dispensed with in favour of bare feet; the castle’s floors were unlikely to hurt her.

Properly dressed, they now waited in a dining room the size of High Towers’ entire ground floor for the queen. Ceri was seated at one end of a long, mahogany table with Lily standing just behind her chair. Ceri had dispensed with her shackles, but the effect of a slave waiting on her mistress was still obvious due to the chain between ear and lip, and her gleaming, silver collar.

‘Maybe she’s forgotten we’re here,’ Lily said under her breath after they had been waiting for fifteen minutes.

‘Royalty,’ Ceri replied, ‘they like to make an entrance.’

As if on cue the doors at the other end of the room opened and Oona swept in. She was stunning, a true elven beauty, clearly some sort of Sidhe royalty. Tall and slim, her hair was a river of blonde cascading down her back and across her shoulders. She was dressed in a gown which looked like it had been spun from gossamer and diamonds. It clung to her body in all the right places and was cut low to show off her substantial chest. As Ceri rose to her feet she could not help but note that that chest was not quite as substantial or firm as Lily’s and there was something of a hard edge to the queen’s features which took away from her beauty.

‘Lady Ayasha,’ Oona said, her voice effusive, ‘such a pleasure to have visitors in my meagre palace.’ She advanced upon them with a bright smile, though there was a hint of tension in her body which Ceri could not place.

This was clearly a definition of meagre only fae royalty were aware of. ‘It’s beautiful,’ Ceri said, ‘as is its queen.’ Oona looked the type to enjoy a little flattery.

Sure enough, Oona preened a little, but her face hardened slightly as she turned her gaze on Lily. It was unlikely anyone else would have noticed the slight shift in the muscles around her eyes, but Ceri saw it with the enhanced perception of her necklace. ‘And who is this exquisite creature?’

‘Lilith, my pet,’ Ceri replied. Her voice suggested that Lily really did not matter in the scheme of things.

‘If you wish, I can have her taken down to the kitchen for some food.’

‘No, thank you. She ate earlier. I don’t want her getting fat. The whole point of having a Lorril pet is to have something pretty to look at.’ Ceri grinned, not the least because of the little burst of shock she felt from Lily. ‘If you could have a servant take a few leftovers to our room after we’ve eaten, she’ll be fine.’

Oona laughed; to Ceri it sounded a little strained. ‘Please, sit down. We’ll have some food and wine, and then have a little chat.’

With the queen sat at the other end of the table, servants came in and brought the food. There was a rich, beefy soup followed by a main course of venison and seasonal vegetables. It really did seem to be venison, which Ceri found a little odd since deer were not native to the demons’ world. She was also happy to discover that the wine was just wine, not fae wine. It was very nice wine, richly flavoured and of a superior vintage, but it lacked the enchanted quality of wine from Otherworld. The final course was fruit torte which absolutely melted in the mouth. Ceri really hoped they brought some of that up to the room for Lily to try.

The meal was conducted in silence; with the two people enjoying it at either end of a table meant for forty people conversation would have been hard. Once they were finished, however, Oona led the way through a door at the side of the room to a much more comfortable chamber with two huge chairs set before a fireplace. Each chair had a small table beside it, and on each table was glass filled with a rich, ruby red liquid. Ceri could smell it before she even got to taste it; this was fae wine.

Sitting down, Ceri took the small cushion from behind her and set it at her feet. ‘Lilith,’ she said, and Lily sank onto the cushion, curling at her mistress’ feet.

‘She’s very well trained,’ Oona commented, sitting down and picking up her glass. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t serve the good wine with the meal. My supply is sadly limited.’

Ceri picked up her own glass and took a small sip. The tiny amount of liquid begged for her to drink more and Ceri felt her insides starting to warm. Fae wine was deadly stuff. ‘I’m surprised you have any. To be honest, I was surprised to find a group of fae living here.’

‘A sad story. My husband, Finvarra, never appreciated me. He was constantly going out and bringing back his little human whores, claiming they meant nothing to him. When I finally put my foot down and told him it had to stop, he exiled me here. I’ve heard the Sidhe once again rule in the land we once owned.’ Her tone was becoming more angry as she went on. ‘I’d imagine that he’s once again fucking those ugly human bitches…’ She stopped, giving a flustered smile and taking a drink to calm her nerves. ‘My apologies. Some things hurt for a long time.’

Ceri smiled back at her. ‘Indeed. I caught my last pet with a stable boy. She’s in one of my dungeon cells being eaten alive by maggots. Has been for the last five years.’ She saw Lily’s lips twitch at the made up punishment.

‘A delicious revenge. I can see why your new one is so loyal.’

‘I took her down to see her predecessor during her first week with me. You were very impressed, weren’t you, pet?’

‘Yes. Mistress,’ Lily replied meekly.

‘I’m very good to my pets,’ Ceri went on. ‘They want for nothing. So their punishment is extreme should they stray. That’s fair, isn’t it, pet?’

‘Very fair, Mistress.’ There was another, tiny, twitch of the lips; Lily was enjoying this as much as Ceri was.

‘But, if I may ask, what brings you to pass through the forest?’ Oona asked.

‘I’m on my way to the Mountains of Khedra from Shilfaris. I’ve never been through this forest before so I thought, why not? A lucky choice, it seems.’ She took another drink and felt the buzz start in her head. Fae wine was dangerous because it tasted beautiful and tended to destroy your inhibitions. You wanted more, and two glasses was usually enough to have a human glad that they could not remember what they had done for the last twenty-four hours.

‘Very few people pass through the forest. It has something of a reputation as a dangerous place. I don’t think anyone has crossed through my lands in, oh, over a century.’

‘Most people go around, I think.’ Ceri drank more wine and was a little surprised to see half the glass gone. There was a delicious, warm feeling working its way out from her groin and her skin was tingling. Pretty soon she was going to have to make excuses and take Lily back to their room. They were not going to be sleeping much either.

‘That would certainly explain it,’ Oona said, sinking the remains of her own wine. ‘If you’ll excuse me, it’s getting dark and I like my beauty sleep.’ She rose to her feet with a smile.

Ceri stood up. The room seemed to sway a little as she did. ‘Of course. I’m sure I’ll see you in the morning before we leave.’

Oona just gave her a smile and walked out through another door. Ceri shrugged and drained her wine glass. The effect was more or less immediate; her nipples tightened into hard buds and an insistent throbbing began in her loins. ‘Pet?’

‘Yes, Mistress.’

‘We’re going to retire too.’

‘Yes, Mistress.’

‘Don’t expect to get much sleep.’

Lily stifled a giggle. ‘I was hoping you’d say that, Mistress.’

Day 28

Lily opened her eyes and looked up at the canopy over her head. It was brightly lit; the sun had to be quite high, the long dawn over and done. She had expected Ceri would wake her before then, but they had been engaged in fairly enthusiastic physical exercise for three or four hours before finally collapsing into the bed to sleep. She smiled. The entire castle had to have heard Ceri coming for ten minutes out on the huge balcony.

Hoisting herself up on one elbow, Lily turned to look at Ceri, and froze. The sorceress was white as a sheet, her chest was not moving. She looked dead, except that Lily could still feel her; a tenuous trickle of sensation still crept over their link. Lily reached out and touched her shoulder, and drew back sharply. Her skin was ice cold.

And there was something else…

‘I could not have someone as powerful as her in my kingdom.’ Lily’s head snapped around at the voice from the bedroom door. Oona stood there, dressed in white, with four guards behind her. The guards had crossbows. Lily was fast, but dodging four crossbow bolts was a little beyond her abilities. ‘Please don’t try using your auras, dear. I’ve learned to my cost what Lorril can do. You would not believe how many Horgs I’ve lost. The helmets are enchanted to resist your charms.’

‘What have you done to my Mistress?’ Lily asked. Her pupils burned red despite the information that it would be useless; she was angry.

‘My, we are loyal, aren’t we? She’s sleeping. Very, very deeply. It’s an enchantment one of my relatives invented. She used to coat the venom on apples, but I prefer putting it in a drink. It seems to take longer to work, but apples are such a cliché.’

‘Wake her up.’ The command came out as a growl.

‘I don’t believe I will. Guards, take her to my chamber. Chain her to the wall. I’ll deal with her later.’

Two of the men moved forward, still covering Lily with their bows. One of them twitched the crossbow to indicate she should get up. With no other option, but the hope that one would become available, Lily slowly climbed out of bed and allowed herself to be escorted out of the room, passing Edmond as he minced in. He flinching as she glared at him.

‘Ah Edmond,’ Oona said when she saw him, ‘what are we going to do with her? Do we have any of those glass coffins left?’

‘No, Majesty. We ran out two summers ago, and you fed the glass maker to your mirror the year before that.’

Oona sighed and wondered why she was surrounded by such incompetence. If she were honest with herself, it was because she kept killing the competent ones, but she was never honest with herself. ‘Well, just leave her there for now. I’ll think of something eventually. No one else will.’

~~~

The guards had tethered Lily to rings mounted in the queen’s bedroom wall which left her with her arms stretched up over her head and her legs splayed and off the ground. The cuffs were leather, and padded, but they left her whole weight on her wrists and she would have given a lot for the nice, comfortable suspension cuffs she had in the dungeon back home.

She suspected the exposed positioning was nothing do to with any erotic plans Oona might have had. With her feet off the floor it was next to impossible to get any leverage. She had tried pulling on the ropes, but they were too strong and she was in a lousy position to apply her strength. Someone rather less flexible than her would likely have been in more pain too; the guards had taken considerable pleasure in seeing how wide they could stretch her legs, but they were nowhere near Lily’s limits. On the other hand, it was going to get uncomfortable after a while since she could not move an inch.

What was bothering her most about the situation, however, was the feeling she was getting from the bed. More particularly, from the canopy over the bed. Something with a lot of magic was up there; a really powerful enchantment of some sort or other. It was, she thought, fae magic, and not the kind in her ankle chain. This was something dark, malign. Why on Earth did Oona have that hanging over her bed?

~~~

The answer was a long time in coming. The queen finally returned to her room when the light was leaving the sky. Lily expected her to say something, or do something. Torture, sex, light conversation, she had no idea what, but Oona simply ignored her captive. Frankly, Lily would have welcomed the torture; she had almost no feeling in her arms and thighs, and pain might have jolted her into life.

The Sidhe walked calmly around the room as if Lily was not there. Her dress was slipped from her shoulders and allowed to lie in a puddle of fabric on the floor. She sat at her dressing table and brushed her own hair; Lily was a little surprised there was no handmaid to take care of that. One hundred strokes of the brush before bed. It was like a scene from a Bronte Sisters novel or something. Then a basin was used to wash. She was delicate about it, carefully wringing out the excess water from a cloth and using it to clean her body. Lily might have found it erotic if her position had been different.

Dried off with a towel, Oona laid herself out naked on the bed, stretching languidly, and then looked up at the canopy. ‘Mirror, mirror, above my bed, tell me who do I need dead?’

Kinky. A mirror over the bed. Lily had suggested it once to Ceri in a moment of silliness. Ceri had declined.

There was no audible reply, but apparently the mirror had said something since Oona replied to it. ‘I’m not going to kill her yet. She’s different somehow. A normal Lorril would have changed to suit my desires once her mistress was gone. There’s something special about her, I can sense it.’ There was a pause while she appeared to listen. ‘Yes, I know we can’t sleep until she’s dead. I’m not stupid. Haven’t I destroyed every intruder in these lands for the last two thousand years?’ Another, shorter pause. ‘Exactly. Tomorrow I shall try out her skill and show her to you. And if she does not please me, you will have her soul.’

Lily watched as the queen settled herself to sleep. However you looked at that one-sided conversation, it did not really look that good.

Day 29

Lily was woken by a hand slapping her face. She struggled to open her eyes and focus on the face in front of her. It seemed to be Oona’s.

‘Wake up, you stupid little creature. It’s time for you to go to work.’

Definitely Oona. Lily was dimly aware that someone was lifting her down from the wall. Well, that was nice, but she was going to be utterly useless until her arms and legs developed some feeling.

‘I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that I’ve figured out what to do with your mistress. On careful examination it appears that she’s a human. A powerful human, but still a human. A human bitch whore just like the ones my husband loves so much. So I’m going to give her to him. I told a little lie, you see. He did not exile me, the Seelie Court did, after I cursed him. He’s in the dungeon, what’s left of him. He’s little more than an animal now, but he still likes human women. He tends to break them after a while.’ Lily let out a low growl; it was all she could currently manage. ‘Don’t worry, we can watch him start on her sleeping body together. I want to see if you are worth keeping first.’

Lily slumped to the floor, her limbs trembling, and lay there while the pain began as blood rushed back into places it had had a lot of trouble getting to. She was so going to turn Oona into hamburger.

‘You can go,’ Oona said, ‘I’m quite capable of handling one Lorril.’ There were footfalls as the guards left. At least Lily figured they had been guards lifting her down. There was the sound of doors being closed. ‘However, no sense in being silly.’ Lily felt her arms being pulled behind her back and ropes being tied around her wrists. That left her face down on the lush carpet and unable to really see anything happening in the room. She heard the queen wandering about, the bed creaking, and then silence.

When, finally, her limbs were back in a working state and the pain and tingling had subsided, Lily rolled over and struggled to her knees to find Oona stretched out on the bed, legs spread lewdly and with obvious intent.

‘Come on, girl, I don’t have all day. Prove your worth or be fed to the mirror.’ Lily got to her feet and started toward the bed. ‘Oh,’ Oona added. ‘I should avoid looking upward for more than a heartbeat if I were you. It’s hungry.’

Lily flicked her eyes upward and saw it, the dark mirror. It was like a huge slab of obsidian, polished to a perfectly mirrored surface. Even with such a short glance it felt as though the thing was pulling on her, wanting her to look longer and lose herself in it. She looked down quickly and smiled at the queen. It can’t be this easy. She can’t be this stupid. Or is she just that over-confident?

‘Come, Lilith. Show me how special you are.’

Without her hands, Lily was at something of a disadvantage, but she was pretty sure that she could win this little battle. Balancing on the edge of the bed, she leaned forward, running her tongue down the length of Oona’s inner thigh. The shudder which ran through the queen’s body was encouraging. The other thigh got the same treatment and the queen gave a little moan. Lips met lips, then Lily’s tongue slid out. Oona tasted of honey with a bitter edge. The tongue became more insistent, probing and teasing, and Oona began to squirm. And Lily went to work, finding the little nub among the folds of flesh and concentrating on that. It took time, with only her mouth, but Lily could feel the tension rising in the queen’s body, the energy building in her Tantric median. Just a matter of time now. Almost there. There was a slight hesitation, a hint of resistance, and then the power began to flow and Oona was writhing on the bed, her mind flooded with the most exquisite, frustrating, agonising pleasure.

Lily kept feeding. By the time she had pulled enough power from the witch to bring herself back up to full strength it had become something beyond the need to incapacitate the woman. Now she was feeding to assuage her hunger, a hunger which seemed to have no end. After thirty minutes the queen’s breathing began coming in ragged gasps, the moans became frantic. Her body bucked, trying to pull away, but Lily kept her face pressed against Oona’s sex, kept the energy flowing.

Finally, screaming with the effort of letting go, Lily pulled away and Oona’s climax crashed over her. A mortal would undoubtedly have died, their heart rupturing with the effort of powering an exhausted, over-stimulated body. Oona lay still on the bed when the thrashing had finally subsided, but her laboured breathing indicated that she was still alive. Moving quickly to the dressing table, Lily found a pair of silver scissors there and managed to work them around to cut at her ropes.

Oona was stirring, even as Lily’s bonds finally gave. The queen would be weak, maybe unable to work magic, but she could still scream. Lily grabbed the chair from in front of the dressing table, took two steps forward, and swung it upward into the canopy of the bed. Her entire body shuddered at the impact and the sudden wash of energy which accompanied it. Oona did scream, but it was more like a wail of incredible loss. And then a shard of broken mirror dropped from above and lanced through her throat, and the scream cut off in a gurgle.

Somewhere above her Lily heard a low rumble. The room was at the top of one of the castle’s spires, so where was the rumble coming from? Her gaze shifted toward the sky outside the window and she saw the crack. The sky was cracking, like some sort of shell. It almost made sense of the entire place, but she had no time to think about that now. She bolted for the door just as it burst open. Edmond, looking horrified, and a guard. Edmond’s eyes widened further as Lily ducked low, under the line of aim of the guard’s crossbow, came up in one smooth action, and slammed the pair of silver scissors, point first, into the guard’s throat.

‘What have you done?!’ Edmond wailed.

Lily whipped around, the base of her fist slamming into the major-domo’s jaw like a hammer. ‘Not enough yet,’ she said as he keeled over.

The guard had an odd dagger-like weapon, elongated and un-edged, and with long, angled crosspieces with made it look like a fork, what looked like fae glyphs etched into it, and his crossbow. The melee weapon resembled a Japanese sai, now she thought about it. Lily took both, moving quickly, but without running, out of the queen’s chamber to the stairs. There were two guards at the bottom of the long, circular staircase, but they were shifting about, confused, and they did not see Lily until the crossbow bolt sprouted from the left-hand one’s back. The other turned, raising his bow, but he was just in time to see a naked, angry, half-succubus diving down at him with a ready hand weapon. Lily’s fall was broken by the man’s body. Her sai’s fall was broken a second later by his armpit. He let out a shriek, and then lay still. Lily got to her feet, took another sai, and kept moving.

There were other servants and guards, but none of them seemed concerned about her now. Panic was starting to set in and Lily could not blame them. The rumbling had grown into a deep, throaty roar. Something very bad was happening outside. As Lily got to the room they had been assigned she saw cracks starting to appear in the marble of the walls. Picking up her pace, she ran the last few steps into the room and began grabbing their belongings, stuffing them into the pack she had been carrying.

Ceri was still on the bed, lifeless and pale. Whatever magic was failing and taking the castle with it, the enchantment on Ceri was not part of it. Oona had said that the spell was borrowed from someone else. Presumably the queen’s magic was dying with her, but not this spell. Lily slung the pack onto her back and stepped over to the bed. If she had to carry Ceri out it was going to take too long.

Apples… I’m hardly Prince Charming… Leaning forward, Lily placed a single, rather chaste, kiss on Ceri’s lips and straightened up.

There was a pause just exactly long enough for Lily to think she was being stupid, and then Ceri stretched and yawned. Her eyes opened and she smiled up at Lily. ‘Hey. You’re up before me, that’s a first. It was a helluva night.’

Letting out a half-sob, half-laugh of relief, Lily bent forward again. The kiss was considerably less chaste this time and she broke it by pulling Ceri out of the bed. ‘We have to go. Right now!’

Ceri looked and sounded confused. ‘Lil? What’s going on?’ She looked around in time to see the balcony breaking off the side of the building and collapsing into the courtyard below. ‘Okay, never mind that, you can tell me later.’

Outside things only looked worse. The bright summer sky above their heads had deep ruptures running across it as though it were painted on a dome. There was nothing visible through the cracks aside from darkness and, as they watched, a huge section of sky broke away, tumbling down from high up on the dome to crash into the spire the queen’s chamber was in. The roof caved in and the spire’s walls cracked from top to bottom like egg shell. The whole of the queen’s reality had been supported by her magic, and the magic of the mirror, and now that support was gone.

Ceri’s gaze swept the area and she pointed to the right and up the slope. ‘There! Head that way.’ Lily looked in the direction Ceri was pointing. Ceri had seen the distorted field lines, but Lily could see what she was talking about; there was what looked like a hole in the shell of the world around them. There had to have been a similar hole on the side they had come in from, but back then it had been invisible, a perfect blending with the outside reality. Now it was plainly obvious.

The alarming thing was that the hole seemed to be getting both closer to them and smaller in size as they ran toward it. By the time they were diving through the gap it was barely three feet across and shrinking rapidly. The light coming through from the fae realm they had just left grew dimmer as they lay, panting, on the rough track. Then, with a sound like a cave collapsing, the hole closed behind them and they were left in the silent darkness of the forest.

‘I think I have gravel-rash on my tits,’ Lily commented into the silence. Ceri giggled. ‘It’s not funny!’ Lily asserted, and then started giggling.

Ceri looked around at where Lily’s voice was coming from. Strangely, despite the darkness of the forest, she could dimly see Lily lying on her front, propped up on her elbows. There was a shape beside her which looked like Ceri’s staff. She reached for it, and was about to cast a light spell when she realised that she could see Lily almost perfectly. A few seconds later they could see quite clearly and they sat up, watching, as the forest began to fill with dappled light.

‘Well I’ll be damned,’ Ceri said after a few minutes. ‘The whole “darkest forest” thing must have been part of Oona’s defence mechanism.’ She looked at the pack Lily had taken off and put on the ground beside her. ‘Are my clothes in there?’

Lily nodded. ‘Uh-huh. You know, people are going to notice this.’

Ceri was digging in the pack. ‘Yeah, I guess, but we’ll be out of here and gone before anyone figures out what happened. I hope.’ She pulled the black dress she had worn to dinner with Oona from the bag and raised an eyebrow at Lily.

‘What? She’s not going to miss it, being dead and everything.’ Ceri continued to look at her. ‘You look good in that dress!’

Ceri shook her head and went back to looking for more appropriate clothing.

Shoshteffrif, Day 30

Their anonymity for turning the Darkest Forest into the “Nice Place for a Summer Walk” forest lasted right up until the point where they walked out of the trees. A small crowd of det from the local village had gathered at the edge where the path went in and, on seeing two strangers emerging, they drew the conclusion that Lady Ayasha had driven the dark enchantment from the forest. Ceri had been on the verge of telling them that Lily had been the one responsible when Lily had piped up ahead of her.

‘It was a feat of great magic, but my Mistress is above and beyond the power of any I have ever beheld.’ Ceri felt like swatting her behind. ‘Mistress strode into the forest and many were the monsters who came for us, but she defeated all of them and slew the Dark Queen who dwelled within the centre of the forest.’ Maybe whipping would be better. ‘I am the luckiest and most honoured of Lorril to have a mistress such as Lady Ayasha.’ Perhaps a paddle, then a whip…

So it was settled. Lady Ayasha and her humble slave were given the best room in the inn, the best food available, and all for free. The villagers were both amazed and outraged that a fae had been responsible for the forest’s woes for thousands of years, and Lily did her best to embellish the tale of how Ceri had defeated her. There had been all sorts of hideous monsters to defeat, apparently. By the end of the evening Ceri was somewhat sanguine about taking the credit since it was “Lady Ayasha” who had killed Queen Oona. Ceri was beginning to think Ayasha was now a composite of the two of them anyway.

The knock on the door when it was still not full daylight came as a bit of a surprise, but Ceri was awake anyway. She was enjoying being in Lily’s arms and would rather have not had visitors. So she called out, ‘Who is it?’

‘Room service.’ Ceri frowned. It was an odd turn of phrase to hear in this world. Then a tall man with shoulder-length, chestnut hair walked through the door, without opening it. ‘Or should I say “I’m here to service the Lady?” It’s a full-service establishment. Extra Lorril available should you wish them.’

Ceri gave Faran a mock glare. ‘You never got me into bed back home, you’re not getting me here.’

Lily shifted behind her and Ceri felt her stiffen. ‘No, because he’s working for Molech.’

‘Was, child,’ Faran said quickly. ‘I was… Actually, it was more like an arrangement than a job, and it ended when the sword transported you here.’

‘All that time…’ Ceri began, and then stopped as her mind flicked over all the things he had said. Once she had even told him that, if she was such a temptation to him, he should stay away. It had been a joke, but he had replied to the effect that he had no choice. ‘Okay, so you kept an eye on us for Molech, and took Lily to him when she needed his help.’ She turned her head toward Lily. ‘He’s not lying about their arrangement ending. And if he hadn’t been there I’d be the dragons’ puppet queen and you’d be a slave on a chain.’

‘I am a slave on a chain.’

‘The bad kind of slave on a chain.’

‘Okay, it’s a fair point. I’m just not sure I forgive him for secretly spying on you for months.’

‘And I think that’s fair,’ Faran put in, ‘but I’m glad to see you both seem to have survived.’

‘You don’t seem surprised to see us here,’ Lily noted a little suspiciously.

Faran’s face fell a little. ‘Molech made a point of telling me what they had planned for you. He told me there was no way Ceri would be able to take you back, even if she worked out that you weren’t dead. I thought you would end up here. “The Great Black Horg” was always your favourite bedtime story.’

‘So you came to Shoshteffrif to wait for us?’ Ceri asked, a little incredulously.

‘It’s out of the way and, actually, quite a nice place. Mostly it survives on fishing from Silver Lake. The people are pleasant, and with the story they have something of a liking for Lorril.’ His grin suggested that more than a few of the local beauties had fallen victim to him. Probably beauties of both sexes. As she thought it, the grin changed, becoming more flirting, and female; Faran was a perfect duplicate of Lily.

‘Actually,’ Ceri said, ‘if I were going to sleep with you, I’d get you to mimic…’ She rolled her eyes as he changed again. ‘Yeah, Michael.’ She wagged an index finger at him. ‘You’re still not getting any.’

“Michael” pouted at her, and then became Faran again. Technically they were all Faran, he had no real shape of his own, but the handsome young man with the hair the same colour as Lily’s was the form he always used around them. It was the shape he had seduced Lily’s mother with; though “seduced” was not really the right word given that it had happened at a student orgy.

‘Why are you here?’ Faran asked. ‘It was a complete guess that Lily might want to come here. I didn’t really think I’d be that lucky.’

Rather than answering directly Ceri asked, ‘What do you know about the Castle of Bones?’

Faran raised an eyebrow, but did not ask why she wished to know. ‘It’s more like a citadel rather than a castle. No one knows exactly how it was built. Gorefguhadget supposedly constructed it himself, grew it out of the rock of the mountain. Half the actual structure is cut into the rock, the remainder is extruded out of it. There are supposed to be barracks and storerooms to host an army for a year. It has an internal water supply as well. The interesting rooms are at the top, though there is a tower above them which was a lookout post. Gorefguhadget’s personal chambers and throne room are up there at the top. The Iron Crown sits on the stone throne in the throne room.’

‘What about the portal?’

The Lorril’s eyes widened. ‘You plan to use that to get you home?!’

‘You can think of a better way?’

He shrugged. ‘I don’t know of any way. It’s supposed to be in a room at the very back of the top floor, carved into the rock of the mountain.’

‘How do you get in?’

‘Well… Generally you don’t. No one has been able to get through the doors since Molech. It’s said that the doors respond to one powerful enough to challenge the crown.’

‘Challenge it?’

Faran gave a sigh. ‘This is all more or less legend, you understand? The crown is supposed to be at least partially sentient. Someone with enough power to wield it can enter the castle and try on the crown. The crown is then supposed to attack this pretender to Gorefguhadget’s role as ruler of all demons. Fail and there isn’t enough left of your mind to worry over the fact that you failed.’

‘Huh. Well, I don’t need the crown, just the portal.’

Faran nodded. ‘I believe the castle will let you in, but I can’t be sure. It’s not like I’ve ever been there.’ His gaze shifted slightly. ‘You’re very quiet back there, daughter.’

‘Still haven’t forgiven you yet,’ Lily replied in a sulky tone.

Ceri giggled. ‘You so have. You’re just trying to make him suffer.’

‘Is it working?’

‘Not really.

‘Okay. In that case I’ll forgive him.’

~~~

‘Everyone seems to be looking at us,’ Ceri said. They were sitting in the taproom of the inn, all three of them, eating a fairly simple meal as the long dusk settled in. When people had discovered that Faran was the father of Ayasha’s slave his stature in the community had risen significantly; it did not look like he was sorry about that.

‘I heard a few rumours while I was out earlier,’ Faran replied. ‘Your story is growing.’

‘They’ve got the same look about them as the people in Nedarim,’ Lily commented. ‘A little scared…’

‘It’s awe,’ Ceri said.

Faran nodded. ‘It’s said that Lady Ayasha stormed the Grey Castle in Shilfaris to retrieve her stolen slave. Killed a dozen guards and reduced the lord of the castle to ash. Then she defeated two hundred Cheldeg by bringing the sun down from the sky at Nedarim. And now, of course, she’s brought light to the Darkest Forest and slain the evil queen within.’

‘I didn’t even do that!’ Ceri hissed. ‘I was in suspended animation or something. Lily…’

‘Ah yes,’ Faran said, a smirk developing. ‘Ayasha’s slave, Lilith, is the trickiest, most unique, most powerful Lorril in the world. Utterly devoted to her mistress, she sought her out above all other demons, rejecting great Lords until she found her prefect owner.’ His smirk faded. ‘News of this is going to reach Molech soon enough. I’ve no doubt that your actions in Shilfaris have already reached his ears in Quatilan. When he hears about the forest he’ll come down here like a storm. You need to leave. I’ll come with you as far as Dorilla. I don’t think him finding me here would be a good idea either.’

‘Dorilla?’

‘It’s a mining town in the foothills of the Mountains of Khedra.’ He grimaced. ‘You’ll hate it, but you can get supplies for the rest of the journey and it’s an easy place to vanish if you’re a Lorril.’

Ceri took a drink of the quite pleasant wine the innkeeper had placed out for them. ‘Sounds like a real garden spot, can’t wait to see it.’

Interlude: Twill

Wintergreen Estates, Otherworld

Twill sat on the small seat in the window of her room looking out at the world beyond. Out beyond the walls of the castle it was all rolling green fields as far as the eye could see. Somewhere behind her, where she could not see it, was a huge forest. It was all family land, blessed by the magic of the Wintergreens. Here the sun shone, except when there was a need for rain on the crops. Here the people were happy, all of them. Except for Twill.

Ishifa slipped into the room as quietly as she could. Twill’s temper had not exactly been stable since she had returned home and the servants had learned to handle her with kid gloves. The fairy maid, a cute girl with pale skin and a cap of blue-black hair, walked closer and stood in the middle of the bed chamber, waiting to be noticed. She was pretty sure that Mistress Gloriandel knew she was there and was ignoring her. After five minutes, her feet started to shuffle a little.

‘What is it, Ishifa?’ The maid suppressed a sigh of relief; the Mistress was depressed rather than angry.

‘I have some news, Mistress.’

‘What? Has Mother found the perfect material for the bearer’s dresses?’

‘No, ma’am. It’s not about the wedding.’

Twill turned her head and Ishifa stepped back, quickly lowering her eyes; now Twill was annoyed. ‘Out with it, girl, I’m not in the mood for riddles.’

‘Finvarra has returned, sane and healthy,’ Ishifa said quickly.

‘Well unless he’s going to stop my wedding, I really don’t care.’

‘The story is that Oona was killed, her mirror broken,’ Ishifa went on. ‘A succubus did it, aided by a human sorceress. That’s what Finvarra is saying anyway.’

Twill’s eyes narrowed. ‘Ceri and Lily? Lily’s alive?’

Ishifa nodded. ‘In the demon realm, apparently.’ Everyone knew that the only reason Twill had come back was to seek help from her family, aid for Ceri and Lily. That she had been too late and was giving up her freedom for no gain was just the kind of romantic angst fairies tended to love. The maid sighed rather dreamily. ‘And your Ceri has gone over to bring her back.’ Ishifa beamed at Twill. ‘Do you think she can do it?’

‘If it were anyone else, I’d say no, but Ceri and Lily together are a formidable force. Oberon and Titania can’t be pleased to have Finvarra back.’

‘He’s disavowed his claim on the throne because he has no queen to rule beside him, but the scuttlebutt is that it’s going to cause tension.’

Twill nodded and turned back to her window. ‘Thank you, Ishifa. You may go.’

The maid started to turn and then stopped. ‘Mistress Gloriandel?’

Twill flinched at the use of her real name. ‘Yes?’

‘Do you… Do you think they’ll come here to try to save you?’

It was nice of her to use the word “save,” Twill thought. She smiled, bleakly. ‘No one can save me, Ishifa.’

Part Five: Wild, Wild South

Dorilla, Demon Realm, Day 34

Dorilla was a sort of hellish cross between a Wild West gold mining town and a steampunk dystopia. The buildings were mostly wood, and rough wood at that. Where there was stone it generally had a huge chimney and the chimney was pouring out thick, black smoke.

‘It looks like a Victorian mill town,’ Ceri commented from the top of a hill just outside town. The region they were walking through was called Khedra Lalgash, which apparently translated to Khedra’s Rash. She had to admit that all the little bumps of hills did make it look like the land had an allergy.

‘My understanding of Victorian mill towns would suggest it’s not,’ Faran commented. He was beside his daughter, naked, with cuffs around his wrists and ankles, and a chain around his neck. He had insisted. It was better, he had said, if he travelled as Lady Ayasha’s slave. No one was going to question her picking up an extra one, so he was being led by a chain looped through his wrist cuffs. That, and the neck chain, showed that he was the subordinate slave. ‘Unless my history was wrong and mill towns were violent, scum-filled holes with a brothel on every street corner.’

‘I didn’t think prostitution was that common.’

‘Technically it’s not prostitution. The Lorril band together in brothels for safety. No money changes hands. The transaction is sex for food, in effect. There are usually very few female miners.’

Ceri glanced at him. ‘I didn’t think det were that sexist either.’

‘Huh,’ Faran grunted, a half-grin on his face. ‘It’s more like that women have more sense than to come to a place like this to dig holes in the ground. It’s deep mining, and not that safe.’

‘What are they mining?’ Lily asked.

‘Iron. It’s processed in town and shipped out as iron ingots and some steel implements.’

‘That explains the factory buildings,’ Ceri said. ‘Let’s get in there and find a place to stay.’ She started off down the hill, Lily and Faran trotting behind her.

‘Just remember,’ Faran said, ‘that you’re a high demon Lady and these people are mostly the scum out of the bottom of a sceptic tank. Don’t ask, demand. Use menaces if necessary.’

Ceri heaved a sigh. ‘I hate this job.’

The locals made it easier for her, however. Walking into town they came across a man walking around one of the outer buildings. He was tall, heavily muscled, and dark blue, and he was glowering at them as they walked toward him.

‘Excuse me…’ Ceri began.

‘Not interested,’ the man grunted and kept walking.

Ceri’s hand clenched around her staff and her will flared. Suddenly the man found himself stumbling back toward them as he was turned around on the spot. ‘If you could just tell me the best place to stay in town?’ Ceri asked.

‘I’m busy. Fuck off.’

Ceri felt her teeth gritting. She slammed the heel of her staff into the dirt and the man’s eyes widened, then started to bulge. His hands rose to his throat, clutching at it in obvious panic, and then he dropped to his knees, his panicked eyes looking up at Ceri imploringly. ‘It’ll stop soon enough,’ she told him, ‘and when it does, I expect you to use your first breath to tell me where the best place to stay is. Otherwise, there won’t be a second.’

The det dropped forward onto his hands suddenly and pulled in a deep lungful of air. ‘You’ve got Lorril with you there’s a whore house on Main Street with a red sign over the door that takes guests if they have Lorril.’ The words almost ran into each other in their haste to get out.

‘Thank you,’ Ceri said and turned on her heel to start off toward a broad road through the town which was likely to be Main Street.

‘Very well done,’ Faran said quietly. ‘You really sold that.’

‘I liked the sweet smile you were wearing while he choked,’ Lily added.

‘He pissed me off,’ Ceri replied. ‘Are all the det in town going to be that helpful?’

‘You’ll likely find the Lorril more amenable,’ Faran told her.

‘That’d be nice.’ Ceri was looking at the fight going on in the middle of the street. There were around ten men hitting each other, mostly with fists, but there was one man using a length of wood. She gave them a wide berth and none of them seemed to be bothered about being ignored. ‘This place would give the Wild West a bad name.’

There was, indeed, a three storey building which looked like it was a tavern or an inn in the middle of the street, and it had a red sign on the front with “Jubilia’s” painted on it in black letters. Ceri suspected that the man they had asked for directions could not read since giving the name would have made things easy.

About a dozen pairs of eyes shifted to look at them when Ceri pushed in through the swing doors. They were all Lorril, but none of them changed to something Ceri would like; she guessed it was the two “slaves” she had in tow. However, a tall woman with creamy white skin and flowing black hair dressed in a long, black gown stalked over from one side of the room. She even had a cigarette in a long-stemmed holder. Ceri did not even know they had cigarettes, or tobacco, here.

‘How can I help you, Lady?’ She had an odd sort of accent somewhere between French and Russian.

‘I need a room for the night. I understand you’re willing to rent out space. You’re Jubilia?’

Jubilia inclined her head. ‘I am, and I have a suitable room up on the top floor. You won’t be troubled by the other patrons’ noises up there. We keep those rooms for important clients.’

Ceri smiled. ‘That sounds perfect. No one should be bothered by our noises that way.’

The brothel-keeper smiled. ‘You feed them both? That is impressive.’

‘Mostly I keep Lilith entertained. Faran gets a taste when he’s been very good. I’m Ayasha, by the way.’

‘Welcome then, Lady Ayasha. I’ll have you taken up to your room.’ She turned slightly. ‘Nedia, escort our guests up to room thirty-two. See that they have all they need.’ A dark-skinned, currently female Lorril rose to her feet from a loveseat and strutted toward them.

‘Please,’ Ceri said to Nedia, ‘lead the way.’

The room was nothing special, but the walls were papered rather than bare, and it had a huge bed and a washbasin. Ceri looked longingly at the washbasin and asked Nedia if she could get some hot water. The Lorril smiled and went to organise it.

When Ceri turned around, Faran was smirking at her. ‘What?’ she asked.

‘Have I been very good?’

‘Oh my dear Faran,’ Ceri replied, ‘you’re never that good.’

~~~

There was, indeed, no noise from the other rooms, but they were at the front of the building with a window overlooking Main Street, and the noise coming up from below kept going well into the night.

‘Don’t these guys have jobs to go to in the morning?’ Ceri asked. She was lying on the bed with Lily beside her. Washing after several days on the road had definitely helped her mood.

Faran was sat on a stool beside the window, looking out at what was going on below. ‘They work in shifts. There are always some of them awake and wanting recreation.’

‘Huh, yeah, obvious really. I need to get some sleep, however.’

‘If we blow out the candles you’ll sleep,’ Lily said.

‘I guess. Faran, would you take care of that? Then come and lie down. You can’t sit at the window all night and it’s a big enough bed.’

The incubus turned his head to look across at the bed. ‘You’d trust me in bed with you? I may be insulted.’

‘We both know you won’t do anything serious. Our game is suspended until we get back to Earth.’

Faran smiled, pulled the curtain across the window, and walked across to the pair of candles on the washstand. The room fell into darkness. Ceri watched the shadow which was Faran walk around the bed and lie down beside her. It actually felt rather good having him there; she felt snug, as though she was lying between Lily and Michael.

‘You’ll summon me back then?’ Faran asked in a soft voice after a minute or two of silence.

‘Yes,’ Ceri replied. ‘Well, it’s really up to Lily, but I have no objection. Lil?’

‘We have to go to Otherworld to get Twill,’ Lily replied. She turned onto her side to lay her head on Ceri’s shoulder. ‘If we summon you back before then, you’ll just end up here again.’

‘Ah,’ Faran said. Ceri heard the tone in his voice which suggested he was hearing an excuse.

‘Once we’ve done that, though, I’d like you back with us.’

‘Thank you, daughter.’

‘You’re my Dad, of course I want you back. Now shut up and go to sleep.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

Day 35

Shulti’s General Store took “general” and ran with it. It was a large place full of shelves packed with everything you could ever want in a mining town. From Ceri’s point of view, the fact that it stocked ropes, winter clothing, dried rations, and heavy boots was quite sufficient. Ceri was determined that Lily was not marching into the mountains wearing only a pair of sandals. They had left Faran at the brothel; he had not fed in a few days and Jubilia was quite happy for him to take on a client or two.

The store’s owner, who was presumably Shulti, looked rather like Yeland, the smith back in Nedarim, just older and more tired. He shuffled out of the back of the shop, gave a little bow, and said, ‘How may I be of assistance, Lady?’

Ceri smiled at him. ‘I need a few things… Provisions for a ten day trip, two lengths of rope, as long as you can manage, a large bag of salt, a heavy coat, and my slave needs suitable clothing. I’m not stopping for her if she gets frostbite or something.’

‘A wise precaution, Lady,’ Shulti said, seeing a big pay out heading his was. ‘I’ll get your supplies. The clothing is over in the corner there, please feel free to try anything on.’

The clothing, at least the female clothing, seemed to follow something of a Victorian model of travel gear. There were some heavy skirts in some sort of woollen fabric. Whatever form of animal the wool had come from, the resulting material was a lot tougher than the wool Ceri was used to. She found a skirt which fitted Lily quite well, and an underskirt in a silky material to go beneath. She was hunting for suitable upper body clothing when she heard noise from the front of the shop.

‘Tannal wants his money, ugly runt!’ The voice was rough, rumbling, and there was a hint of humour in the background of angry intimidation. Its owner had to be big, and a bully.

‘I’ll have it tomorrow.’ Shulti’s voice; he sounded scared, which made sense. ‘I have a Lady here who’s…’

‘Tomorrow not good enough. Tannal say if you don’t got money now, I break hands.’

Ceri glanced at Lily, grabbed her staff, and walked out through the shelves. ‘Shulti? Have you any shirts in that wool…?’ She stopped as though she had not known the thug was in the building. ‘Oh,’ she said, apparently undisturbed by the fact that the small shopkeeper was currently hung by his apron from the thug’s fist.

She did not recognise the species of the thing, but it seemed to be a relative of the Dakags. It had a vaguely draconic head with the same sort of head ridges around the back of the skull, and the same three-clawed hands and feet. However, it was bigger by a few feet than any Dakag Ceri had seen, and it had a more muscular frame. It had a similar, lousy attitude though.

‘Gashikagig go away. None of your business.’ There was a sneer to the creature’s thin lips as it spoke.

Ceri smiled back. ‘But it is my business. I need Shulti’s help filling my order. If you have business with him, it can wait until he’s finished serving me.’

‘You shut mouth before it get…’

‘Oh, go away,’ Ceri said, stamping the heel of her staff into the floorboards. Shulti suddenly found himself falling as his tormentor vanished. The shopkeeper winced and then turned a panicked look at Ceri. He was opening his mouth to say something when she held her hand up, indicating that he should wait. The end of her staff was starting to glow brightly.

A second later Blue Guy burst in through the door. He roared and started toward Ceri. She raised her staff and let the ball of raw thaumic energy loose. It hit right under her target’s chin and his eyes widened briefly before he collapsed onto the floorboards at her feet. There were a few twitches and a sound like a cough, and then he lay still.

Ceri turned to Shulti, still sitting on the floor. ‘If you could hurry that order along, please?’

The little shopkeeper practically bounced to his feet. ‘Of course, Lady. I’ll have it ready for you immediately.’

Ceri nodded and smiled, and turned on her heel to walk back to where Lily was trying on a woollen jacket over a thin, silk shift. ‘That looks as though it could be good,’ she said.

Lily looked around. She deliberately said nothing about what had just happened. ‘I am not wearing this gear until we get higher into the hills though. I’ll boil.’

‘That good, huh?’ Looking around, Ceri spotted a coat made of a similar woollen material with a silk liner. That and a pair of boots would do her well. ‘And it’s, “I’ll boil, Mistress,” if you don’t mind.’

‘Sorry, Mistress,’ Lily replied, and then added in a purr, ‘Mistress should spank her unworthy pet for impertinence.’

‘In your dreams,’ Ceri responded smoothly as she took the coat down to try on.

~~~

‘Zeka, the Therim you killed, was one of Tannal’s enforcers,’ Jubilia said. Ceri made a note that the big, blue things were Therim, and not as tough as Brebbam had suggested. ‘Tannal is reportedly not pleased.’

They were sitting in Jubilia’s room at the back of the brothel, talking while they had a light meal of cheeses, meat, and some sort of berry. There was also a very passable bottle of wine doing the rounds. Even if Lily and Faran were technically slaves, here they got to eat and drink with their superiors. It seemed to be a Lorril thing.

‘Well, Zeka threatened me, and he was going to be a terrible inconvenience if he broke Shulti’s hands,’ Ceri replied with a smile.

Jubilia smiled back. She had a seductive, rather languid, smile which went with the rest of her chosen form. Ceri had spent a small amount of time considering whether her shape had been chosen for Ceri’s benefit, but she seemed to adopt it most of the time, so maybe not. ‘It may be more of an issue than you think. Tannal is a Devos, quite skilled in magic. He runs a protection racket in town. Even some of the mines pay him to avoid mishaps.’

‘Mishaps… right. Well, Lilith and I will be leaving tomorrow morning. Faran can vanish here for a while. If that’s not going to cause trouble for you?’

The brothel keeper aimed a smile at Faran. ‘Faran will be no trouble. I’ve seen him with the customers, he’s very good and they came away satisfied. The problem will be Tannal. Tomorrow may not be fast enough. He generally prefers to make his lessons swift and violent.’

Ceri frowned. ‘If we’re going to put your house in danger we’ll…’

‘Leave? I’ll have none of that. I’d like to be there to see what you do to his thugs.’ Julilia’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. ‘You are far from a normal demon Lady. You claim you helped Shulti to avoid inconvenience, but he has assistants. You would leave to avoid bringing trouble upon lowly Lorril. Lords and Ladies are not noted for that much care.’

‘Mistress is the best, most unique, and kindest mistress,’ Lily said, ‘even if she did decline to spank me this morning.’

Jubilia gave a throaty chuckle. Ceri said, ‘I do put up with more than some might accept. If this Tannal is going to do something tonight, I’ll spend the evening in your parlour. There’s no sense in making him look for me.’

‘As you wish. Just be prepared for a few propositions.’

Ceri smiled. ‘It wouldn’t be the first time, believe me.’

~~~

The last of the light had drained from the sky when something actually happened. Ceri had positioned herself on a chaise at the back of the room with Lily curled up between her legs and the back of the seat like a cat. Ceri had resisted Lily’s urging to put on the outfit she had worn to get into Grey Castle, but there had still been three attempts to get her into one of the back rooms. Apparently a non-Lorril in the brothel was a novelty. Ceri was almost happy when the three thugs pushed in through the doors.

The leader was a Dakag and he was backed up by two Therim. With the two species side-by-side, the differences and similarities were more obvious. Ceri found herself considering the possibilities of a distant shared ancestor, but they had clearly diverged at some point. Dakag were known as the thugs of the summoned demons; big, brutish, ugly and stupid. That one of them was leading two Therim spoke volumes about their distant cousins. There was, she noted, no smell of sulphur about the Therim she had met earlier, but she could smell it now, so that had to be a Dakag trait.

‘Where is stupid gashikagig who murdered Zeka?’ the Dakag rumbled. At least his grammar was better than Zeka’s.

‘What the Hell does “gashikagig” mean anyway?’ Ceri muttered as she swung her legs off the chaise.

‘Roughly?’ Lily replied. ‘He’s calling you a cunt.’

‘Oh, that makes me feel better about this then.’ She got to her feet and raised her voice. ‘I’d imagine you mean me. I’ll give you the one chance to leave now under your own power.’

The Dakag sneered. ‘We’re going to rip your limbs off one by one, and then we’re going to take you back to Tannal so he can use your corpse to get off.’ Just keep talking, arsehole. ‘And we’ll pass your slave around until she’s used up, and then we’ll feed you the pieces before we rip your head…’

‘Oh shut up,’ Ceri said, and he did before he keeled over asleep on the floor along with his two friends. ‘If you’re going to hurt someone, hurt them, shit-for-brains.’ She walked around the furniture and sighed. She knew what she had to do, it was just not something she really wanted to do. Her gaze rose to Jubilia. ‘Do you want to have them carried outside before I kill them?’

‘I think that would be neater,’ Jubilia replied.

‘Right. And then you can tell me where to find Tannal. He’ll just try again if I don’t do anything about him.’

‘I’ll take you to the warehouse he uses myself.’ The Madam really looked far too pleased.

~~~

The banging on the barn door was loud, very loud, and rather ponderous. Tannal looked up from the ledger he was going over and frowned. ‘Idik, go see who that is.’

Idik was a Devim. Small and not too bright in general, Idik was something of a simpleton, even for a Devim. He made Dakags look smart. He was, however, a useful servant and having him do the chores meant neither Tannal nor any of his lieutenants had to do them. The little demon bounced up onto his hooves and darted across the warehouse to the door. A second later, the door was opened, and then closed, and Idik ran back. ‘Osdek is back, Boss.’

‘Has he got that woman with him?’

‘No, Boss.’

Tannal sighed; you just could not get the staff. Standing up, he walked out into the main room of the building and came to a grinding halt. Osdek was standing in the middle of the room with Polba and Forn, the two Therim who had gone out with him. All three were standing there, unnaturally still, and each one had a large hole drilled through the middle of their foreheads.

‘What the…?’ Tannal got out just before Osdek began lumbering toward him, arms rising to reach for his throat. The only sound the Dakag made was a low groan, and there was no expression in his dead eyes, but his intent was quite obvious. Tannal raised his hand and fired off a bolt of flame which struck Osdek in the chest. There was the smell of burning flesh, but the zombie barely slowed his progress.

Outside the warehouse, Lily said, ‘I didn’t even know you could raise zombies,’ in a low voice.

‘I’m a fucking sorceress,’ Ceri replied. ‘I can do anything if I want… or I have to.’ She raised her hand and threw out a ball of orange light to land beside the door. It exploded into ten feet of flame which swallowed the door and revealed, once the smoke cleared, the chaos inside. Osdek was visible in the back of the room, his clawed hands wrapped around Tannal’s neck. Tannal was kicking and clawing at the zombie to very little effect. The rest of his people were currently trying to deal with two zombie Therim, but when they saw the door explode they seemed to decide that running away was the better part of cowardice.

Unfortunately for them, Ceri had had time to charge up the next fireball. The small, orange projectile flew in through the gap, struck the ground near the centre of the room… And then the building went away. Flame roared out through the hole where the door had been and the woodwork collapsed as it was superheated by the explosion. Soon all that was left was a pile of burning timbers.

‘I don’t think Tannal will be bothering anyone again,’ Ceri said.

‘Consider your bill at my place paid,’ Jubilia said. ‘You just saved me more than it would have cost anyway.’ There was a slight pause and then, ‘That was awesome.’ There was a slight catch in her voice.

Awesome, derived from awe, and used correctly. ‘It wasn’t anything special,’ Ceri said. ‘Let’s get back, I feel the need to get drunk.’

~~~

Ceri fell into bed giggling. ‘Where’sh Faran gone?’

Lily also giggled, but primarily at Ceri. ‘He found a miner to entertain. Strangely, he looked just like you when he went off with him.’

‘But he should be here,’ Ceri protested.

‘He said that if he went to bed here tonight, you’d end up having sex. Tomorrow you’d regret it, and there was no way he was going to win that way.’

‘Very fair of him, but I could just do with some…’

Lily put a finger to her lips as a shimmer ran over her body. Ceri let out a small squeak and then sighed deeply. ‘You’ll just have to make do with tail instead.’

Ceri’s face went still. ‘Lil, I just killed a load of people. That’s not what I do. Not like that anyway.’

‘They were bad people, love. They were going to kill you, messily.’

‘Well… there is that.’

‘We’re not on Earth anymore. We have to play by the rules here.’

‘But then we’re no better than arseholes like Tannal.’

Lily looked down at Ceri, and then bent forward to place a soft kiss on her lips. And then her tail started moving and Ceri’s eyes crossed. ‘You are so far from him that you couldn’t see him with a telescope, love. Now I want to see writhing and hear a lot of moaning.’

Ceri moaned. ‘Yes, Mistress.’

Day 36

Faran went to the edge of town with them, carrying the pack which Ceri was going to take once they were out of sight of the town.

‘The legend of Lady Ayasha continues to grow,’ he said as they walked down a hill away from the buildings. ‘I expect that you’ll have destroyed a hundred ruthless criminals in one blow by the time this one gets back to civilisation.’

Ceri grunted. ‘Molech is going to hear about it and come looking. You be careful.’

‘He won’t come to Dorilla,’ Faran replied, sounding quite sure of himself. ‘If he knows you’ve been here, he’ll know where you’re going.’

‘You think he could catch up to us?’

‘Devos can fly, Ceri,’ Lily pointed out.

‘Good point. Okay, we’ll be careful.’

They reached the bottom of one of Khedra’s pimples and stopped. Faran swung the pack from his back and handed it out to Ceri. ‘You head south from here,’ he said, ‘until you hit the mountains. Then you’ll need to track east a couple of miles to find the pass. And then just follow that until you find Mount Khed.’

Ceri took the pack, but laid it down at her feet. ‘We’ll call you back as soon as we can,’ she said, and then she stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek. Stepping back, she picked the pack up and swung it onto her shoulders. Without saying goodbye, she started off toward the mountains.

Lily stepped up to her father and kissed him on the other cheek. She looked like she was going to say something and then shook her head before turning to follow Ceri. Faran watched them go until they vanished over the next hill.

Interlude: Michael

Battersea Park, London, January 19th, 2013

‘The power station is fully manned again,’ Michael said. ‘The humans have resumed testing. I spoke to Cheryl yesterday and she tells me things there are back on track.’ He was giving his report to Alexandra and the Elders of the Battersea pack since, for the last several weeks, he had been Acting Captain. ‘As requested, I did some initial survey work for the Ministry contract. I don’t believe there’ll be any problem with it. We can include the grounds of the station in our regular perimeter patrols. It’ll make the runs a little longer, but I doubt any of the Guards will worry over that.’

Alexandra nodded, smiling. ‘Thank you, Michael. Anything else to report?’

‘That’s everything, Alpha.’

‘Very well, that’s all for now, but I’d like to speak with you privately, Michael.’

The Elders quietly moved away to the sides of the clearing. Michael remained standing beside the oil drum with its fire of scavenged wood. His expression was blank; Alexandra had not seen him looking any other way for the past month. He had relieved Anita as Captain because he wanted something to do and she had a boyfriend to be with. He had said she deserved a holiday, but what he really meant was that he would go insane if he did not have his mind constantly occupied.

‘Sit down, Michael,’ she said to him and he curled himself into a lotus posture without saying a word. ‘I’ve asked Anita to resume her position next week.’

He frowned; the first time she had seen his face move in a long time. ‘What? Have I done…?’

‘You’ve done nothing wrong. You have, in fact, been doing an excellent job. Several Elders have commented on your maturity and skill. The Guards are well satisfied with your leadership. I simply feel that it’s time Anita got back to work.’

He looked down. ‘Alpha… Alexandra… I need to keep busy or…’

‘I’m aware of that. I’ve spoken to the Anita and the Minister. This contract for security operations at the station has been worked out such that our normal pack activities are disrupted as little as possible while giving added security to a vital national resource. We still need someone who can act as a liaison between the authorities and the pack. Since you are already a Special Advisor for the Greycoats, all three of us concluded that you were best suited to the role. You’ll be expected in the first planning meeting on Tuesday. That gives you Monday to hand over to Anita.’

Michael nodded. ‘Thank you, Alpha. I’ll do my best to make sure your confidence in me is well founded.’ He started to move, but she stopped him by leaning forward and laying a hand on his arm.

‘You mustn’t give up hope, Michael.’

His eyes closed and Alexandra’s heart sank at the pain on his face. ‘It’s Saturday night,’ he said, his voice soft. ‘In a few hours, I should be going over to Kennington to meet them both. But Ceri’s been gone for almost two months. She must have found Lily by now, so why isn’t she back?’

‘They are alive, Michael,’ Alexandra told him. ‘I can see no details, and their future is dark to me, but they are alive. That much I can feel.’

He looked up at her. ‘When you can’t see anything it means that there’s some sort of big choice yet to be made, right? Someone has a choice to make which could change everything?’

‘That’s what Ceri and I believe. She has some quantum mechanical explanation for it, but yes.’

‘When did you know we were going to end up the way we are now?’

She gave an unhappy grunt. ‘Too late to do anything about it. From what I’ve pieced together, it all rested on whether Ceri resisted the dragons when she went to Aberystwyth. Once she let herself be taken they moved very quickly to neutralise you and Lily, and cement their hold on her.’

‘And now everything depends on some other choice she has to make.’

‘Perhaps, but you need to keep hoping. They are not lost yet.’

Michael nodded. His smile was bleak. ‘All right. I can try for a while longer.’

Part Six: The Castle of Bones

Mountains of Khedra, Demon Realm, Day 38

Ceri lay under the weather shield she had put up, looking up at the blank, dark sky. ‘I wish there were stars.’

Lily shifted, moving her head from Ceri’s shoulder to follow her gaze upward. ‘It’s weird, but I never really thought about it.’

‘I have this theory that we’re floating through some huge cloud of gas, but the physics would be… interesting.’

Lily giggled. ‘That’s my Mistress, always theorizing.’

‘Hush you, or I’ll order you to only use your mouth for my personal pleasure.’

‘Mmmm, please Mistress.’ Ceri could tell she was joking since she went on, ‘How much longer before we reach the castle?’

‘Two, maybe three days. Depends a little on the weather. Have you noticed how the wind comes from the north? As it hits the mountains it rises and cools, so we’re going to get more rain, or maybe even snow. That’ll slow us down.’

‘On the plus side, Molech’s Devos won’t be flying in bad weather either.’

‘There’s always a bright side. We should get some sleep while it’s still dark.’

Lily snuggled back against Ceri’s side and closed her eyes. She was asleep in seconds, but Ceri lay awake a while longer, staring up at the empty sky.

Day 39

She found herself walking through hallways with smooth, black walls. It looked almost as though the corridors had been formed by making the stone fluid and reshaping it. There were no joints, no sharp edges. It could have been a blood vessel or air passage in a body.

She walked on through the halls until she came to a doorway made of smooth, black wood bound in iron. Reaching out to push open the door, she saw her hands. They were not her hands. These hands were covered in dense, black scales and had long talons. For whatever reason, she was not concerned about that. There was something on the other side of the door which was more important, more urgent. She pushed on the door.

A female figure stood within the chamber. She turned as Ceri entered and a smile moved over a lipless, lizard-like mouth. ‘It’s hatching.’ Ceri looked away from the black-scaled lizard-woman toward the deep, purple cushion which sat in the middle of the floor. Settled in it was an egg, more symmetrical than a chicken’s egg with a black shell laced with a spider web of golden energy all over the surface. As she watched, the golden light grew brighter and suddenly something punched out through the weakened surface…

Ceri’s eyes flickered open and she looked up at the gloom of early dawn. That was another thing about this place; the dawn and dusk went on too long.

The dream was still clear in her mind and she was a little annoyed that she had woken up before the thing in the egg had emerged. She had had this kind of dream before while wearing Gwyn’s necklace. They were memories rather than dreams; memories from one of her ancestors, a form of deep racial memory. She had once found herself dreaming of being Gwyn, back when she was a dragon and the queen of the White City. So, who had she been this time, and when and where had that happened? The woman Ceri had seen had not looked like any demon she had ever seen, but then she did not know that many kinds of demon. Did she have a bit of demon in her ancestry too? Her genome was convoluted enough with two dragons adding to it!

Feeling Lily stir beside her, Ceri decided that they might as well get moving. They still had a long way to go, the weather was looking good, and they would both need feeding before they started walking. She turned her head so that she could whisper in Lily’s ear. ‘Wake up, sleepy head, Mistress wants candy.’

‘I’m awake,’ Lily grumbled. ‘I was dreaming.’

‘So was I. What was yours?’

‘You and I were servicing the whole pack in the hall at High Towers. What was yours about?’

Ceri sighed. ‘I’ll tell you once you’ve eaten.’

~~~

‘Black scales, lizard-like?’ Lily asked as they walked. ‘I don’t suppose you know how big they were?’

‘Well, I assumed they were human scale, but I’ve no way of knowing. You think you know what they are?’

‘Well, one of the legends Dad told me when I was a kid was about Gorefguhadget and his wife Lenadenora. They belonged to a race of demon which was supposed to have black scales, but they were about fifteen feet tall. It could have been exaggeration, of course.’

‘What kind of demon were they?’

‘No one remembers the name. They’re known as High Ones, or the equivalent. Their real name was expunged from every record anyone could find after Gorefguhadget was deposed. Supposedly they were murdered to the last child, all except for Lenadenora and her two children. Gorefguhadget sent them through his portal to another world the demons could not reach when it was clear that the castle had been breached.’

‘Two children?’

‘Uh-huh, why?’

‘The memories I see, dream of, they’re probably passed down… well, meta-genetically. So, they pretty much have to come from before my ancestor’s conception. So if I saw the birth of a baby, from a glowing, black egg I might add, then that’s not my ancestor. I’d have to have come from the second child.’

‘You’re saying you’ve got a bit of demon blood in you? From way, way back?’

‘I guess I am.’ Lily giggled at the reply. ‘What’s funny?’

‘I always thought you had succubus in you.’

Ceri chuckled softly. ‘Well when we camp tonight, you can grow a tail and then I will have.’

Another giggle. ‘It doesn’t seem right though. I’d have thought Ted would have spotted some similarities between our trisomies if there was a demonic part of your genome.’

‘Maybe he hasn’t analysed it that deeply.’ Even as she was saying it, it seemed wrong. Ted was a meta-genetics researcher at LCU and he had a copy of both their genomes, even if he did not know that what he had was Ceri’s. He had been delving into the structure of the odd genetic characteristics of both sets of DNA for months and had found no similarities. ‘Or maybe it’s too small a component. Or…’

‘Or meta-genetics is poorly understood and there could be something there but it’s practically impossible to find.’

‘Or that.’ Ceri shrugged. ‘Maybe I’ll have another dream and we can figure it out.’

‘Maybe, but whatever your ancestry, you’ll still be awesome. Hey, if you’re from Gorefguhadget’s line, that makes you even more awesome. You really would be a Demon Lady.’

Ceri grimaced. ‘I think I could live without that. Acting like one is bad enough.’

Lily looked around at the bleak landscape. ‘Not much need for it out here. I doubt there’s anyone within a day’s walk.’ The pass they were walking through was surrounded on both sides by steep, black, basaltic rock. Behind them the foothills were no longer visible and ahead of them there were the tall spires of the Mountains of Khedra. The mountains were just as black as the cliffs bounding the pass, but some of the more distant ones were capped with snow which looked even more starkly white against the black stone.

‘True,’ Ceri said. She had dispensed with the chain the day before anyway. ‘So why are you still calling me “Mistress”?’

‘I’ve been doing it almost constantly for weeks. It’s not that easy to stop. Besides…’ Her voice turned coy. ‘…I like doing it, you know that.’

‘Well stop it, I’m starting to like it.’

Lily smirked. ‘Yes, Mistress.’

Ceri heaved a sigh.

~~~

‘We’re being watched,’ Lily said.

Ceri nodded. ‘There are two of them. One’s in flight. Keeps circling around behind us.’ The second of the Devim was perched on an outcrop of rock halfway up the cliff on their right.

‘You think they’re Molech’s?’

‘It seems likely, but I can’t know for sure.’

‘Okay, do we let them know we’ve seen them, or just keep going?’

Ceri sized up the distance to the Devim on the cliff. Maybe eighty yards or a little further. She pointed her staff toward him and a bolt of lightning flashed out from the ball at the top. Rock exploded from the cliff a foot or so away from the demon, and it let out a squeal and leapt into the air. Leathery wings opened and it flapped rapidly upward before Ceri could try again. Devim were the messenger boys of demon-kind; not exactly nature’s heroes.

‘You missed,’ Lily pointed out.

‘He was a long way away, and small. Besides, I wasn’t bothered about hitting him, just scaring him.’

‘Uh-huh. When we get home we need to see if we can use the shooting range at Greycoat Street for you to practice on.’

‘I am not a bad shot!’

‘Practice makes perfect, Mistress. Anyway, Devim are malicious little pricks. They might try something, we should be careful.’

Ceri glanced up and back. ‘Well, for now they’re hanging well back and just watching.’

‘If they are Molech’s scouts, they’ll probably stick to that. My guess is that he’ll want to deal with Lady Ayasha personally so those two will just watch us and lead him this way.’

Ceri gave a grunt of resignation. ‘Like Faran said, it’s pretty obvious where we’re going. I don’t think there’s much point in stopping them following us.’

‘Yeah, you’re probably right. I just don’t like it.’

~~~

There was a moment of shock and confusion. There was a weight on her chest, not too heavy, but restrictive, and something was grabbing at her wrists. Ceri opened her eyes with a snap. There was a Devim sitting on her chest, one hand fixed around her left wrist. Her right arm was folded under her body and it was having trouble getting to it. Two more of the small demons were holding Lily with her hands forced behind her back and her face pushed into the bedroll.

Ceri was not sure where the third Devim had come from, and she was not waiting around to work it out. She gave her tormentor her other hand, sort of, reaching up as though she was trying to push him off. There was a bright spark and the scent of scorched flesh filled the air. The Devim’s body stiffened sharply, and then he was keeling over backward and off her. Ceri could feel the tingle in her own skin from the electricity she had pumped through the thing.

Devim were really not that tactically bright; the one holding Lily’s arms jumped off her back, took the step it needed to get in range, and swung a clawed hand at Ceri’s bare chest as she got to her knees. Off balance and not particularly skilled, its strike missed by an inch or two. Ceri swung back, putting her body into it, and her fist slammed into the demon’s face. Unfortunately she was not the strongest girl in the world and the only result of the punch was that the demon let out a squeal of pain and jumped back a step.

Lily was now annoyed and had her hands free, and the third Devim was holding her head down. Her arms swung around, she grabbed his ankles, and then she pulled, hard. There was another squeal followed by a grunt as the Devim fell onto his back, arms flailing. Pushing herself up, Lily looked across at the unfortunate creature, her eyes glowing red in the night as she pushed out her defensive aura at full power. The Devim looked up at her, started to try to rise, and then collapsed back down, writhing in ecstasy.

Ceri was busy grabbing her staff up from beside the bed. Another tick on the “Devim are stupid” list; they had not disarmed them before attacking. She felt air against her back as the Devim darted in and swung at her back; it had not missed by much. Turning and swinging the staff… The Devim had turned its body as it swung at Ceri and the staff slammed through into its groin. Its red eyes went very wide and its mouth opened, but no noise came out. Ceri almost felt sorry for it. Almost. She reached out her staff again to touch the demon’s chest, there was a burst of light as electricity arced out, and the Devim collapsed.

‘What do you want to do with this one?’ Lily asked, climbing to her feet.

Ceri moved to check for any sign of life in her two. ‘Well, I guess we question the little freak.’ She raised her hand, light flaring around her fingers as she worked another spell. Around the Devim, tendrils of stone extruded out of the ground, wrapping themselves around the creature’s arms, legs, and neck.

‘He’s not going to “question” easily,’ Lily said. The light in her eyes died away, but the little demon continued writhing in the grip of his stone shackles.

‘No,’ Ceri sighed, ‘I’d imagine he won’t.’

~~~

It took far longer than Ceri would have liked just to discover that Molech had, indeed, sent the three Devim to search for Lady Ayasha. Attacking them had been against instructions, however; they had been ordered to follow, not engage. Then Ceri had thrown a lightning bolt at one of them, and the third had caught up and pointed out the fun they could have with Lily…

Ceri looked down at the sweating, whining demon. ‘Well, now you know what fun you can have with my pet, don’t you?’ She was trying hard to keep the distress off her face. She had had to apply a lot of pressure to get the thing to respond. Raising her hand again, she shifted the rock above the Devim’s head to carve a glyph into the ground.

‘Traitor,’ Lily read. ‘Nice touch, Mistress.’

‘I told him I wouldn’t kill him if he talked. I doubt Molech will be so merciful. Come on, let’s get packed up and on the move. I want to be well away from here before it gets light.’

They walked in silence away from the still bound Devim until Lily was quite sure that their voices would not be heard. ‘We needed to know and he was too frightened of Molech to give it up any other way. You did what you had to do.’

‘We’re supposed to be the heroes here. Heroes don’t do that kind of thing.’

‘Heroes only win in fiction, love. We’re not heroes, we’re just two people trying to get through this alive.’

Ceri was silent for a while. ‘But if I’m not the hero, I won’t get the girl in the end.’ It sounded a little forced, but she was trying.

‘You get the girl every morning and every night, and sometimes during lunch. If you win you get the boy too.’

‘That doesn’t happen much in fiction.’

‘It would if I wrote it.’

Day 40

‘You know what’s making me nervous?’ Lily asked, her eyes scanning the canyon they had come through. The pass had opened out a little and there was actually some grass and even a bush growing at one side. They had decided that taking a break for lunch and a small nap was a good idea, but neither of them seemed entirely comfortable.

‘No, what?’ Ceri asked. With luck Lily’s insight might make sense of why she was nervous too.

‘No one seems to be following.’

‘That should be encouraging,’ Ceri replied, though she knew what Lily meant.

‘We’ve been moving fast, but they should be able to move faster. I was kind of expecting to see someone in the rear view by now.’

‘Maybe they didn’t respond to the scouts being taken out as quickly as you’d think.’

‘He probably knew when you killed the first one.’

Ceri sighed. ‘So where are they?’

‘No idea. We should have sex.’

Ceri’s head snapped around and she blinked at Lily. ‘Feeding off me is doing absolutely nothing to reduce your appetite, is it?’

‘No, look, it’s obvious. If we’re banging away like a barn door in a gale, they’re bound to turn up and attack us.’

Ceri opened her mouth to protest, then she closed it to consider. Finally she said, ‘No, you can’t make it rain by washing your car. If we push on we can probably make the castle before dark.’

Lily pouted, but started packing up their things. ‘You know, we could give it a try, just in case.’

‘No, Lil.’

‘Just an hour, maybe two, to see if they’re following?’

No, Lil.’

‘You never let me have any fun.’

~~~

The last hour or so of the walk was steep. The pass sloped sharply upward making it hard to keep up a good pace. Ceri and lily found themselves getting slower and slower until Lily looked up and spotted the top of the watchtower over the ridge ahead of them.

‘Look! We’re almost there.’

Ceri looked up and saw the black stone turret. It was more or less a couple of open windows cut into the side of a spike. From what she could see there were no joints in the stone. It was a spire of rock rising up from whatever lay beyond the rise. The sight spurred them on and, ten minutes later they were walking over the rise. There they stopped.

The Castle of Bones was huge, for this world anyway. It had to be over twenty-five storeys, with the lookout spire rising a hundred feet above the top floor. A vaguely triangular shape, it jutted out of the cliff face it was settled against with no signs of joins, joints, or imperfections. It was as if it really had been grown out of the mountain. The only windows were in the uppermost floors, just below the tower, but there was a door. Vast and somehow constructed of the same black rock as the castle, you could have walked a dragon through it and it seemed to be the only way in.

The area in front of the castle was a large open area, the centre of which was a lake. They were going to have to walk around the edge to get to the doors.

‘It looks like something out of Lord of the Rings,’ Ceri said.

‘As long as you’re not thinking of the Mines of Moria.’

‘I didn’t know you’d ever read Tolkien.’

‘I had a boyfriend who thought it was amazing, but I’d rather not discover there’s a tentacle monster in the lake.’ She grimaced. ‘This world does some really crazy tentacle monsters.’

‘Only one way to find out.’ Ceri started off around the lake. ‘You know, this kind of looks like a volcanic crater. Maybe an impact crater.’

‘Impact? What the Hell could fall down and cause a hole like this?’

Ceri shrugged. ‘No idea. Something big. Or something smaller and really fast.’ Her lips pursed as she considered. Lily was busy watching the black water. ‘If this world is floating through a dust cloud of some sort, maybe something bigger fell out of the sky. It would make a helluva hole. There’s a theory that the craters on the moon are caused by meteorite impacts, but without going there it’s conjecture. There was one theory someone proposed that huge impacts have caused large-scale extinctions on Earth.’

‘Are you just talking to make noise?’

‘Uh… It is really quiet in this bowl.’

‘Well, I’m not seeing any ripples in the water. Not a thing. It’s flat as a pancake.’

Ceri scanned the water and then looked up at the sharp edges of the crater. ‘No wind. And no lake monster.’ They walked another few yards before she added, ‘Of course the one in Lord of the Rings didn’t show up until Boromir threw a stone into the water.’

‘Boromir’s the stupid human one, right? We should be okay, we’re not going to throw a stone in.’

‘We’d have trouble. Haven’t you noticed? There isn’t even a loose pebble on the ground.’

‘That’s not exactly natural.’

‘I don’t think there’s anything natural about this place, love. Not one thing.’

They walked on in silence. On Earth the bowl they were in would have been sinking into harsh darkness by now. The sun was low in the sky and there was no direct light. Here the sunlight was more diffuse; the long evening still illuminated the floor of the bowl. It was getting cooler, though, and dimmer, and they both felt they should at least try to get inside before night fell properly.

The doors looked bigger close up than they did from across the lake. ‘We’ll never shift those,’ Lily commented. ‘Plus, I can’t see a lever or a switch, or a doorbell.’ In fact the rock of both the doors and the castle was smooth, featureless, devoid of any mechanism which seemed likely to open the huge gates.

Ceri looked up at them and said, ‘Friend?’ Lily looked at her as though she could not believe she had just done that. ‘What? Maybe Gorefguhdget was a Tolkien fanatic.’

‘Maybe a little after his time?’

‘Huh, yeah, maybe.’ She walked up to one of the doors and slapped it with her palm. ‘Come on, open for widder’s sake.’

With a sound which was almost a sigh, the huge gates swung open.

‘Fuck me sideways with a pile driver!’ Lily commented. Ceri thought it was very apt.

‘I guess we should go in.’

‘Well, that was the point of coming here.’

As they entered the hall beyond the door, runes in the ceiling came to life, lighting the room. It was vast, a huge, vaulted ceiling rising up five storeys and big enough to accommodate a small army. There were corridors leading off it; three huge openings in the walls toward the rear. They did not notice the doors closing again until they were in the middle of the chamber, but it did not really make a difference, they had no intention of leaving that way.

‘We want up,’ Ceri said.

‘Yeah… do it sequentially? Left side first?’ Ceri shrugged and set off toward the left hand corridor. ‘I wonder why it’s called the Castle of Bones?’ Lily asked. It sounded like she was speaking to have some sound in the silent, black stone structure.

‘Khedra is derived from the Ctholnaraeic word for “spine,”’ Ceri replied without thinking. ‘The castle was grown out of the Spine Mountains so it got called the…’ She stopped, speaking and moving, and looked around at Lily. ‘How do I know that?’

‘More memories surfacing?’

‘I’ve never had them come up when I’m awake… but I guess that’s it.’ She looked up at the roof of the corridor, her eyes sliding down the walls. ‘These corridors look kind of like the ones in the dream, but you said the High Ones were fifteen feet high? These are scaled for something much bigger.’

‘Just being grandiose?’ Lily suggested as they started walking again. It seemed like they were following a shallow curve as they went on.

‘Maybe. I don’t know. It seems like they were built for something huge.’

The corridor came to an end in another chamber too vast to be within the castle building. It appeared as though the room had been cut into the mountain and it went on for a long way. Aside from the buttresses which held up the roof every hundred yards or so, the room was entirely empty; a huge, featureless, empty space.

Lily pointed across at the other side. ‘Want to bet that’s where the right hand corridor comes out?’

‘I guess we want the central one then. What is this place? If it’s barracks, where are the beds?’

‘Rotted?’

‘Does anything in this place look disturbed, or rotted?’

Lily shrugged and turned around to go back the way they had come. ‘No. Maybe Molech cleared everything out when he was here.’

‘I’d have thought he’d have used the space.’ Shaking her head, Ceri followed after Lily.

The middle corridor lead into another huge room. Not as big as the entrance hall or the “barracks” at the back, it was very high. Two staircases spiralled up the walls; technically one staircase and one ramp. The stairs were clearly designed for something with long legs so they took the ramp. Even then it was pretty steep. And the room had one other interesting feature.

‘You notice there’s no ceiling?’ Lily said about halfway up.

‘I had, yeah. It seems to go up all the way. I’m guessing that flying up is an option.’

‘Could we?’

Ceri giggled; the question had had such an eager ring to it. ‘Probably, but I’d like to check out all the floors, just in case. What’s the matter, my gorgeous pet? Feet getting tired?’

‘Yours aren’t?’

The next floor up seemed to really be barracks. The rooms were scaled for something around fifteen feet in height, with a twenty foot ceiling curving down to fifteen feet of wall, and this floor had doors like the one Ceri had seen in her dream. The rooms off the balcony contained bed frames, ranks of them going back deep into the mountain. Each had a thick mattress and blankets on it as though the place was just waiting for its garrison to return. They were all single beds, but they were easily big enough to fit two humans in.

‘I’m guessing at barracks for these “High Ones,”’ Ceri commented.

‘But those things have been dead for tens of thousands of years, and the bedding is fresh.’

‘Enchantment. There’s some sort of enchantment keeping this place clean and fresh. Or they’ve got a horde of Twills.’

‘That’s a fascinating thought.’

Floor three seemed to be the kitchens and store rooms, though they were empty of supplies. There were still pots and pans, big ones, and various cooking implements hung on racks around the kitchen. Everything was clean, pristine to a standard Twill would have accepted, and neatly lined up ready for use. There was an enormous fireplace at each end of the room with spits which looked as though they could roast an elephant.

Above that were two floors of rooms which seemed to be for officers or guests. Better decorated, and also arranged for people of different sizes. There were more of the big beds and furniture, but also rooms designed for more human-sized people.

‘At least we can have a bed for the night if we want,’ Lily commented.

‘Huh, if the place is as well kept as this, we can probably sleep in the royal chamber.’

That seemed to put a spring in Lily’s step, and the floors were not as far apart as the bottom one. It was when they got to the floor above that they found the library. The entire floor was one large room with two wings filled with racks of books and scrolls. The central section was a reading room with variously sized chairs and large tables, and a mural painted on the long wall at the back. They walked through the stacks, pulling out scrolls and looking at them.

‘These mostly look like Ctholnaraeic,’ Lily commented. ‘No idea what they say.’

‘A couple are Devotik,’ Ceri said, handing Lily one of them. ‘You read it better than I do.’

Lily rolled the scroll open a foot or so, read the first couple of lines, and then closed it quickly. She looked paler than usual. ‘Necromancy,’ she said. ‘A spell which promises to rot the victim’s body away while they’re still alive.’

‘Glorious. I doubt we’re going to find anything really useful here. Not without something to let me translate it anyway.’ She wandered back into the reading room and looked up at the mural. It was some sort of abstract design; demonic modern art maybe. As she looked, the details in the pattern stood out. Her brow creased into a frown. ‘Lil, this symbol here, it’s draconic.’

Lily wandered over and stood beside Ceri, frowning at the set of lines and dots where she was pointing. ‘I see… wiggles and dots.’ Her eyes roamed over the pattern of multi-coloured swirls. ‘I don’t see anything I’d call writing…’

Ceri’s eyes looked up and around, the patterns twisting in her mind as she looked at them more closely. ‘It’s… it’s a story. Gorefguhadget’s story.’

‘In draconic script? I didn’t think you knew that much draconic.’

Ceri swallowed. ‘I don’t, but I can read this. Listen… “From another world where magic was more plentiful than water, Gorefguhadget came, bringing with him his wife Lenadenora. His powers were great and his first act was to forge his crown in the fires beneath Mount Khed. And the power of the crown was great, for it gave power over all demons and all the magic of the world.”’

‘That sounds like he wasn’t a demon.’

‘Uh-huh. It goes on about how he made the castle grow out of the rock and brought many of his people from this other world. They ruled over the demons for millennia, setting up the system of Lords to control each region. No one could fight him because he controlled every demon in the land through the crown… Uh, and then someone managed to create a suit of armour and a sword which stopped the crown from affecting the wielder… That’s kind of weird… “And the smith who created the sword was a woman, and she decreed that only a woman could wield it.” I know this place is equal opportunity, but I’d have thought they’d… Why do you look like you’ve just seen a ghost?’

Lily swallowed. ‘Ceri, Molech gave me armour and a sword to fight you and the dragons.’

‘Yeah, I know.’

‘They protected against sorcery and dragon fire, and they could only be used by a woman.’

‘Oh… That seems like a helluva coincidence.’

‘We’re saying that Gorefguhadget, legendary ruler of all demons, was a dragon. The High Ones were dragons.’

‘It makes a kind of sense. They were probably trying to do the same here that they did on Earth. Get themselves a new home. When they failed here they moved on because the demons were too good at fighting them.’

‘Explains your dream too.’

‘Huh?’

‘I’m guessing it came down through Brenin. He was Gorefguhadget’s second child, or a descendent of that child. It makes a kind of sense that the same line would be employed in these takeovers.’

‘I guess you are the only demon I have in me then.’

‘No. There was that Devos in Shilfaris.’

Ceri turned from the wall and started for the door. ‘He doesn’t count. Not a regular thing.’

‘He so does. Next you’ll be entertaining Chelvig.’

‘Don’t be silly, I’m sure you can manifest two tails.’

The next floor seemed to be a magic work room. The connection with dragons just got stronger as Ceri recognised draconic symbols mixed with Ctholnaraeic around the containment circle and more draconic symbology on various instruments. There was no sign of the portal room, however. Faran had said it was behind the throne room, but Ceri had kind of hoped when she saw all the magic paraphernalia. So they carried on up to the next floor. It looked alarmingly familiar to Ceri and she started off down a corridor in a hurry.

There was the door and the room beyond it, but there was no cushion and certainly no egg. In fact there was no sign of anything in the room, just featureless walls lit by a single rune in the ceiling overhead. ‘This was the nursery,’ she said. ‘Their children were hatched here.’

‘What’s on the other side? This room certainly doesn’t take up the whole floor.’

Ceri turned and looked back at the door. ‘Private quarters for him and his queen, playrooms for the children. Their rooms stretch back into the mountain a ways. Reception room at the front and then private chambers going back.’

‘We should get some sleep,’ Lily said. ‘I’m guessing the throne room is above us, and the portal room behind that. You’ll need your wits about you if you’re going to make it work, and neither of us got much sleep last night.’ She grinned. ‘If Gorefguhadget really was one of your ancient ancestors, I don’t think he’ll mind if we borrow his bed.’

They found the sleeping chamber behind the reception room and a large lounge. The bed was on a podium with quite a high step up, and it was huge. The corner posts were black basalt, carefully carved like giant, twisted candlesticks and there were curtains drawn across all four sides. The mattress was thick and quite firm, and Lily lay back on it with a sigh as soon as she had undressed.

Ceri crawled on beside her and lay down. ‘This feels kind of weird.’

‘Why?’

‘It’s like… sleeping in my parents’ bed or something.’

‘Turn on your side,’ Lily replied and, when Ceri had done as she asked, she spooned up against her back, encircling her waist with an arm. ‘We don’t have to do anything other than sleep. I can keep my appetite in check for one night.’

Ceri smiled and closed her eyes. ‘Tomorrow we go home.’

‘I can’t wait.’

‘Love you, Lil.’

Lily softly kissed the back of Ceri’s neck. ‘I love you too, Ceri.’

Day 41

‘Mother, where are we going?’ Ceri heard the voice coming from her own mouth, or so it seemed, but it did not sound like her. Around her the corridors of the castle moved past at a swift walking pace. A sonorous, resounding ringing sound could be heard bouncing through the halls around them.

‘Home, shekushka, we have to go home.’ Lenadenora’s voice sounded worried. She was trying to make it sound like everything was normal, but it was not and she was worried, scared.

‘But this is home.’

‘Not anymore.’ They rushed into a large, vaguely semi-circular chamber with a big, stone chair at the far side of it; the throne room. It certainly looked like the throne room of somewhere called the Castle of Bones. The throne itself was large and Gothic, set up on a couple of steps. They ignored it, rushing past to a doorway at the back of the room. Another corridor and they were moving faster now, Lenadenora’s urgency was infectious and Ceri found herself almost running to keep up.

Beyond the corridor was another room, buried deep within the mountain. It had only one feature and her father… Gorefguhadget was standing beside it. It had been carved into the rock wall, a huge circle of sigils and lines, like a containment circle turned on its edge. It was already glowing, burning with light and swirls of sparks like fireflies. This was the portal.

‘Quickly,’ Gorefguhadget said. ‘You need to get through. They’ve already breached the gates.’

‘Daddy!’ Ceri heard her own voice again and this time she was almost certain she was hearing a female child. Brenin clearly had not been Gorefguhadget’s second child then, and Brenhines was too young.

She found herself scooped up into strong arms and held close against a scaly, black chest which was surprisingly comfortable. ‘Go with your mother, Dena. Remember I love you.’ His not-lips touched her cheek and then he was swinging her back onto her feet. She felt Lenadenora’s hand grip hers and she was pulled toward the portal. The last thing she saw before the swirling magic took her was her father transforming into the huge, black scaled form of a dragon.

There were tears in her eyes and the fog of sleep still in her mind, but there was noise. Someone was shouting, but the emotion of the dream was still hanging heavy on her, she was confused and unsure she was not still in the dream. But one of the voices was Lily’s.

Ceri tried to struggle upward and found herself held down. She heard someone yell, ‘She’s waking up!’ Light and pain exploded across her skull, and then there was nothing.

~~~

The pain was still there, but at least the confusion was gone. Ceri opened her eyes and groaned; the light was way too bright for her delicate head. If she did not know better she would have thought she had been drinking heavily. As the light subsided and her vision cleared, she realised that she had woken once before in a position like this and it had not been good the last time.

She was in the containment circle in the magic room and someone had raised a circle around it. The last time she had woken up with a sore head inside a circle was when Matthew Barnes had tried to kill her in one. This time was different, of course; there were no thaumic accelerators outside this circle, she had not been naked then, and Lily had not been there.

Lily was lying just across the circle, heavy ropes wrapped around her shins and forearms. Her arms were behind her back and her ankles had been pulled up to tie to her wrists. Someone had stuffed her mouth with cloth and tied another cloth over the top to gag her. Well that was going to have to end.

Looking around, Ceri noticed the three Devos outside the circle. They were ignoring her. Each was kneeling, hands on their knees. Their heads were raised and their lips were moving. She could not hear the words, but she imagined that they were maintaining the circle. Ceri slid across the smooth floor of the circle and began untying Lily.

‘I’m not sure how they got in,’ Lily said, keeping her voice low, once the gag was removed. ‘I don’t think they used the front door.’

‘No,’ Ceri replied, ‘there’s an alarm if the doors are forced.’

‘I woke up and they were all around the bed. You… just weren’t coming too. There were six of them on you before I could do anything.’

‘I was dreaming. The day they breached the castle. Gorefguhadget’s second child was a girl. I am on her line.’ Whoever had tied the knots on Lily’s bonds was good. Ceri gave up after a few seconds and summoned her power. The ropes suddenly loosened and Lily struggled out of them. ‘Well, I can still work magic in here.’

‘Are you okay?’

‘My head hurts, but I’m basically okay. You?’

‘Bruises, nothing too bad. I handed out a few bruises as well, so I guess it’s fair. They could have just killed us.’

‘Yeah.’ Ceri looked out at the demons surrounding them. ‘So why didn’t they?’

‘He… wants us for something?’

‘That doesn’t exactly make me feel better.’

~~~

Molech was just as Ceri remembered him; an over-sized Devos with a flaming crown suspended above his head between his majestically sweeping horns. He strode into the laboratory as though he owned the place and, Ceri thought, he once had. When the crown had been his, so had the castle. As he walked up to the edge of the containment circle he smiled.

‘Ceridwyn Brent, or should I be calling you Lady Ayasha? I must say that I have been following your exploits with some amusement. Lady Ayasha has stormed the Grey Castle in Shilfaris to her free her beloved pet, Lilith. Together they fought an army of Cheldeg and saved a village. She fights bandits and brigands. She raises the dead to fight for her. Your story is becoming as legendary as Gorefguhadget’s.’

Ceri, sat within the circle, shrugged. ‘I get around.’

‘Indeed. I’d imagine you have questions. Let me see if I can answer a few of them.’ He turned, starting to pace slowly across the room. ‘When you opened the gates, you woke the castle. That includes the portal I have no doubt you were intending to use to get Lilith to Earth. Using my own portal, I was able to walk right in without triggering the, very effective, defences of this building. You are alive because I need you, or more precisely I need your power. Combining my power with yours, I will once again wear the Iron Crown. The circle you are in is part of a spell which will feed your power to me at dawn tomorrow. However, the process will not be as effective if you resist. I require your compliance.’

Ceri let out a laugh. ‘And what makes you think that I’d want to help you?’

‘And so we come to the question of why Lilith is still with us… Tell me, Ceridwyn Brent, do you have something to lose now?’

Threatening him was pointless. He was on the outside of a cylinder of magic which would stop anything she could throw at it. Maybe without it she could have done something to him, but as it was he was safe and he knew it. ‘You’ve been planning this as long as the dragons have, haven’t you?’ Ceri asked instead.

‘Longer. I discovered you before they did. I recognised the bloodline of Brenin and Brenhines as soon as I saw you. The resonance is unmistakeable. I knew they would find you and accelerate their plans. Do you know they were hoping to move people over into China a few at a time? You just gave them a chance to do the job all at once, and you gave me the chance to do so much more.’ The smile on his face had grown to a huge, malicious grin.

‘Like taking the crown again.’

‘Oh no, like revenge against the monsters who enslaved all demons. When that bridge collapsed it took all the power there was in the Earth and pushed it through into their world like a ram. Whatever time they had left, it’s gone. Their universe will have collapsed. There are no more dragons.’

Well, Ceri was certainly not going to tell him about the ones who had survived. ‘I seem to have spent my entire life being manipulated by one bunch of megalomaniac bastards or another.’

Molech smiled and turned, heading for the door. ‘Yes, you have, but that will end soon when I’ve taken your power and there’s nothing left of you but a mindless husk.’

~~~

‘You have to resist him,’ Lily said. They were lying as comfortably as they could on the stone floor, wrapped in each other’s arms.

‘He’ll kill you,’ Ceri replied.

‘Or he sucks your mind out of your head and I become his slave like every other demon in the world.’

‘You’ll be alive.’

‘That’s not living, and you know it. He didn’t say you’d be dead. He’ll use the pair of us as pleasure slaves until we’re too worn out to keep going. There’s no choice. If you resist, he may not be able to take the crown.’

Ceri grunted non-committally and looked up at the flow of magic around the circle. This one was invisible, just as the one Barnes had used was until he powered up the accelerators. She could see it because it diverted the flow of magic around it. ‘Do you think Barnes getting killed was collateral damage?’

‘Personally I think Molech knew you’d kill him and wanted him dead.’

Ceri chuckled. ‘The man was a pain in the arse even to his demon overlord.’

‘Huh. So that means Molech was probably the one who told Barnes how to sabotage your circle. God, he must have guessed it would overload your enchantment and let your power out.’

Ceri gave a little gasp and Lily shifted to look at her. Ceri’s lips curled into a smile. ‘I am so stupid. I just found door number three.’

‘Mistress has clearly lost it.’

Moving her head upward, Ceri gave Lily a quick kiss on the lips. ‘We’re getting out of here when it gets dark. Molech taught Barnes how to sabotage the circle, he told Shane, and I learned it from him.’

Lily developed a malicious grin. ‘When?’

‘Tonight. Molech will want his rest before his big day tomorrow.’

‘Cool, I think we should have sex. It’ll piss off the three chanting dicks.’

Ceri gave a slightly exasperated sigh. On the other hand, what else did they have to do.

~~~

There were no windows in the room, but Ceri suspected night was falling when Molech returned wearing his best superior smirk. This was a man who knew he had won; Ceri had to suppress the smile she wanted to show.

‘In around eight of your hours it will be over,’ he said, his voice resonating off the stone walls. ‘Have you decided to work with me on this, Ceridwyn Brent?’

‘I won’t resist you,’ Ceri replied.

‘Good, very good. I won’t see you in the morning, but you’ll feel me. Briefly.’

‘One thing,’ Ceri said. ‘When it’s done, I want you to send Lily back to Earth. Call it a last wish.’

He looked at her for a second and then nodded, smiling just the same way as ever. ‘Of course.’ He turned and marched back out of the room.

Ceri waited for the door to close. ‘Lying scumbag. We’ll give it an hour.’

~~~

Ceri looked around at the three demons still holding up the circle. She was quite amazed at their stamina really. Sure she could have held a circle that big in place for this long, but she was a sorceress. They were just ordinary Devos, as far as she could tell. Well, they were very busy concentrating on preparing her to have her soul sucked out so they deserved worse than they were about to get.

‘Ready?’ she asked Lily.

‘More than ready.’ Lily’s pupils flared a brilliant red and Ceri felt the wave of heat wash over her skin as Lily’s aura expanded out to fill the interior of the circle.

‘Right.’ Lifting her hand, Ceri drew on her power and marked out a symbol on the wall of the circle. It shone as she inscribed it; Blotherian, the Ctholnaraeic rune of betrayal, assassination, and the opening of secret ways. Placing it under the salt in the first experimental circle Ceri had attended had caused the rupture which had brought her powers to the surface. When Barnes had trapped her in the same circle intending to expose her to a huge magical field, she had used the rune to break out, and in so doing had blasted Barnes into the demon realm. Now…

Something like the crack you see when a stone hits a car windshield formed behind the rune. Ceri balled her fists and focussed, pushing power into the symbol. The cracks spread, slowly at first and then more rapidly. There was an instant where the entire cylinder of energy was a crazed pattern of broken nothing hanging in the air, and then it shattered. Three demons looked down sharply as their spell broke. Lily’s aura washed over them as she raised her arms, attracting their attention, and then they were lost in sudden unimaginable pleasure.

Ceri found the heaviest lump of metal she could in the room and used it to bash the demons unconscious. It was possible that Molech knew the spell had been shattered, but he was very likely to know if three of his Devos suddenly died.

‘Now what?’ Lily asked.

‘Now we get the hell out of here. We go upstairs to the throne room, go through to the portal room, I do clever shit with magic, we go home, Molech has a really bad morning.’

‘Right… “clever shit with magic…” Want clothes to do it in?’ She pointed toward a corner of the room where their packs had been dumped.

‘Oh…’ Ceri was a little torn between arriving at a potentially unknown location on Earth stark naked, and being in a hurry. She rushed toward the bags. Lily did likewise, but after a few seconds it was apparent that she was not hunting for clothes. ‘What are you doing?’ Ceri asked as she pulled on her trousers.

‘Getting my stuff together while you dress. We don’t need the food or the rope, but I am so taking my cuffs and collar, and your dress. I don’t care about arriving nude.’

Ceri shook her head, grinning, and concentrated on dressing. Okay, they were not out of the woods yet, but it felt close. They were both feeling happier than they had for a while. Ceri could feel the burgeoning relief Lily was feeling. Strapping her shoulder pads and hood into place, Ceri got to her feet, grabbing her staff as she went. ‘Got what you need?’

Lily grinned as she snapped her last cuff around her ankle, and then she picked up one of the bags, slung it over her shoulder, and got to her feet. ‘Lead the way, Mistress. Your pet is ready for action.’

Ceri turned and started for the door. ‘Maybe some deprogramming when we get home.’ She pulled the door open as smoothly as she could. There was a Dakag on guard on the landing, but only one which made it easy enough to put him to sleep. Together they slipped out of the magic room and started up the slope to the next floor. Sure enough there was another guard there, but Ceri spotted him before he spotted them.

‘You think Molech’s in our bed?’ Lily whispered as they started upward.

‘It’s not exactly our bed.’

‘Yes it is. Who else is around to inherit it except you?’

‘Huh…’ Ceri flexed her will and laid out the guard on the top floor. They had not been up here yet, but there was only the one set of doors, big and black, and already open. Ceri knew where she was going anyway; she had seen it in her dream. They moved as quickly and as quietly as possible into the throne room.

It was empty, but both of them could feel the presence there. The walls seemed to resonate with it and your eyes were drawn to it as soon as you walked in. It sat there on the seat of the throne; the Iron Crown. It was not quite what Ceri had expected; a simple circlet about an inch thick with a triangular front piece which pointed down toward the wearer’s nose.

‘That’s it?’ Lily said, her voice soft and rather awed.

‘Looks like it. Feels like it.’ Ceri shook her head and started toward the door at the back of the room. ‘We didn’t come for that.’

‘But… Can’t you feel the power?’

Ceri stopped and turned on her heel. ‘Yes,’ she hissed. ‘I can feel it. I can feel it pulling at me. It wants me to put it on, and that’s the last thing I’m going to do. Now come on.’

The door behind the throne room was exactly where she expected it to be and Ceri was half way down the corridor to the portal chamber before she noticed all the light and movement up ahead. She slowed down and they crept the last twenty yards, stopping just inside the shadow of the corridor. There had to be twenty guards in the room. They were facing the portal itself, but that could change quickly enough.

‘He must be worried about other Lords learning the portal here is open,’ Lily whispered. ‘Can you take them?’

Ceri frowned. ‘That many? And I’m not even sure what some of them are. They might be resistant to magic… Move back to the throne room.’ She turned and moved off as quickly as stealth allowed. ‘We need some sort of distraction. Maybe we can get them to leave and we can get past.’

‘How are you going to make a distraction?’ Lily asked as they emerged into the throne room.

‘Don’t worry, Lilith, there will be no need for that.’ They both froze at the sound of Molech’s voice. ‘Please, come out from behind the throne. You know I won’t hurt you. I need you to take the crown.’

Slowly, Ceri stepped up onto the plinth the throne was mounted on and moved around toward the front. She kept Lily behind her. He needed her, Lilith was an expendable tactical advantage.

Molech stood in the doorway with a dozen guards in front of him; two Devos and ten Therim. Ceri recalled that he used Therim as his personal guard. They all looked like they would jump in front of a projectile spell for him.

‘Very clever of you,’ Molech said. ‘Escaping my circle like that. Blotherian?’

Ceri nodded slowly. ‘Thanks for teaching me that.’

‘A foolish mistake on my part, but no matter. One day’s delay will mean little.’

Behind Ceri, Lily stretched up to whisper in her ear. ‘The crown!’ Ceri frowned, glancing down at the iron circlet which was barely a foot away from her.

‘Take them,’ Molech went on. ‘Make sure they are both tied and gagged.’

‘Put the crown on!’ Lily hissed in Ceri’s ear. Ceri’s heart began to pound in her chest.

‘I don’t want to take any chances that the Lorril may know how to draw the rune,’ Molech added. ‘Go on, I want them back in that circle!’

The demons stepped forward as one and Ceri lunged for the crown. She felt something like a static shock rush through her hand as her fingers touched it; she ignored that, grabbing the metal and lifting it up.

‘No!’ Molech screamed. ‘You’ll destroy yourself, girl. The crown will take your mind and rip it apart, and then reduce your body to ash.’

Ceri stopped and looked at him. ‘I’ll take my chances.’ She jammed the crown down onto her head and everything went black.

Around her there was nothing but darkness, but she knew that something was there. She could feel it. A presence, out there in the black. A mind which was watching her.

‘Hello?’ she said, hoping to provoke some response.

‘You carry my blood in your veins.’

His blood? ‘Gorefguhadget?’

‘A fraction of his mind. Enough to empower the crown. How is it that you carry my blood?’

‘Uh… Your daughter? I’m guessing a little, but I believe that her child was a dragon called Brenin. I carry genes from him and his wife, Brenhines.’ She paused, not sure what else to say. ‘I’m human, aside from the dragon blood.’

‘Humans… the one who used me before used them as power.’

‘Molech. He’s trying to use me to do the same thing again. Uh, isn’t there some trial I have to go through? I’d kind of like to get it over with…’

She stopped as laughter echoed through the space she was in. ‘That test is passed, child. It was passed long before you were born.’

Ceri found herself back in the throne room. At some point she had sat down on the throne. Her legs were crossed at the ankle, her back was straighter than she ever usually managed, and her hands rested on the arms of her throne. Around her, the only demon still on his feet was Molech and he was struggling; his body trembled as he tried to deny its desire to abase himself as the others were doing.

Ceri smiled. She knew the power of the crown. The entire magical field of the world ran through her giving a heady feeling of power. She could do anything! She knew the real name of every demon she looked at, all of them. She could feel the others in the rest of the castle and in the world beyond. In Dorilla, she could sense Faran; her mind touched his and he gasped, looking around for the source of the sudden presence. Brebbam had had a good day at school. Ooda was proud of herself for finally figuring out basic algebra. Hiffy was working the tables in the Devim’s Horns and wondering about sleeping with the cute det who was sitting at the bar. Ceri let out a giggle of joy, and then turned her attention to Molech.

‘Eshabamolechalal,’ she said under her breath and the huge demon fell to his knees with a cry of pain. Ceri rose to her feet, pointing down at him and raising her voice. ‘For what you have done to humans and demons alike, I should scatter your atoms through space.’ He cringed, which Ceri found very amusing. ‘However, death is too easy a punishment for one such as you. I strip you of your power…’ Her hand curled into a fist and Molech let out a shriek. He actually physically shrank in size until he was no taller than the Devos who had guarded him, and when the wail of agony finally died away, he slumped forward, no longer able to hold himself up. ‘You will spend the rest of your days as the lowest of your kind…’ Her hand unfurled again, power burning in her upraised palm. Molech screamed, his body contorting, writhing, shrinking, until all that was left was the pathetic form of a Devim. ‘You will live whatever is left of your worthless life in the wastes you were banished to, always remembering what you were, never able to regain that station. Be gone!’ There was a flare of light and the Devim who had been Lord Molech vanished.

Smiling with the warm sensation of just revenge, Ceri sat down and looked around at her subjects… and her eyes fell upon Lily. The half-succubus was lying on her front, face against the stone, just to the right of the throne. And she was trembling.

Ceri swallowed. This was not what she wanted. ‘Lil?’

Lily raised her head, still not looking at Ceri. ‘Yes, Mistress?’ It was the way she said it, the hint of… awe in her voice. This was not Lily being the dutiful slave for Mistress Ceridwyn, or being playful. For the first time Ceri could remember, Lily Carpenter was afraid of her.

‘Stand up. Get your pack. We’re leaving.’ As Lily struggled to comply as quickly as she could, an act which brought a tear to the corner of Ceri’s eye, the new Overlord of All Demons turned to her subjects. ‘Hear me, all of you. Leave this place and go to Dorilla. Seek out a Lorril named Faran. He will be expecting your arrival. Take him with you when you return to Quatilan. He is my representative, his words are my words. Do exactly as he says until he has appointed a new Lord for your lands. I will be watching. You all have an hour to get out of my castle.’

Standing up, Ceri walked around to the rear of the throne and through the door behind it. Lily fell into step just behind her left shoulder. ‘You don’t have to be afraid of me, Lily,’ Ceri said as they walked. ‘It’s just me, Ceri.’

‘I can’t help it, Mistress. I can’t call you…’ Lily’s voice became strained as she tried and failed to say Ceri’s name. ‘I can’t call you by your name. The thought of it terrifies me. You feel like Molech does… did, only a million times more. I bet they can feel your presence in Shilfaris.’

Ceri grimaced. ‘Yes, they can.’

The guards in the portal chamber were already lying on their stomachs when Ceri and Lily walked in. None of them moved a muscle, aside from the two Dakags who were trembling. Ceri marched up to the circle of sigils carved into the smooth rock wall at the back of the room. She raised her staff, the crystal globe it its head glowing brightly as she summoned power through it. The runes on the wall began to respond, light flickering across them at first, then a glow starting. Ceri raised her other hand, focussing power and will on the gateway in front of her. She had all the power of the world to bring to the gate, all she had to do was focus on where she wanted it to go. Still, it seemed to take forever before the swirling sparks of light began.

‘Ewch â ni adref!’ Ceri called out to the stones. Light flared in the centre of the circle and the swirling sparks turned more rapidly, filling the space.

Ceri looked at Lily. ‘Ready to go home?’

‘Yes, Mistress, I am.’

Ceri reached out and took Lily’s hand, feeling the shiver that ran through her as she did. At least she hoped it was a shiver and not fear making her tremble. They took a deep breath at the same time, and stepped forward.

Part Seven: Home Again, Home Again

Kennington, London, January 29th, 2013

Gwyn set the coffee machine going and went to the fridge to consider what they had in for breakfast. It was a menial, human sort of act, something she enjoyed more and more every day. Even the fact that she was going to have to go down to the Co-op on New Camberwell Road for bacon today filled her with just a little hint of pleasure. It was what humans did, go out to the supermarket to buy food.

Mei was in the shower at the moment. She liked showers, it seemed, claiming that they felt like waterfalls, or standing in warm rain. She tended to make them longer than she needed to, but Gwyn indulged her her small pleasures. Currently, Mei was the breadwinner in the house; the British government was paying her to consult on the probable outcome of the upheavals in the Dragon Empire. She was proving her worth, apparently, and the information she was getting so that she could make accurate assessments was very useful to both Mei and Gwyn.

So, Gwyn let Mei take showers which were a little too long, and made her breakfast before she went out to work. And she tried her best to keep the house in a state Twill would be happy with when she returned. If she returned. At least when Ceri came home she would have a clean house and clean sheets. Gwyn suspected that the clean sheets would not last long after Michael found out they were back, but it was the thought that counted.

She glanced at the clock; almost eight am. Mei was going to be late if she did not get a move on. She reached for the knob on the cooker to turn on one of the burners, and stopped, her head rising. Something was wrong and it took her a second to realise that there was something magical happening in the house. It was another few seconds before she localised it enough to figure out where it was, and then she hurried out of the kitchen toward the hall.

Mei was running down the staircase, dripping wet and still naked. ‘You feel it too?’ the Chinese woman asked.

‘Yes. Do you know what it is?’

Mei reached the bottom and shook her head; water flicked off her long hair onto the floor. ‘No, it is…’ She frowned, concentrating. ‘…there.’ She pointed toward the doorway at the front of the house and as she did so there was a flicker of light about four feet off the ground which began to grow.

Gwyn’s eyes narrowed. ‘A gate. An inter-dimensional portal.’ She raised her right hand, her palm cupped, and blue-white energy began to collect there. Raw thaumic energy, there were better things to throw at a target if you knew what you were dealing with, but when you needed something which would hurt almost anything it was your weapon of choice.

‘Would not the house wards block such a spell?’ Mei asked. She was also forming a bolt of magic in her palm. Nothing much coming from another dimension could be good.

‘They should, but Ceri didn’t renew them this year. A weakness could have developed. Or…’

The light had grown into a bright swirl of sparks, spinning faster and faster, and now about eight feet from top to bottom. There was a flare of light which burst from the centre and rippled out as though someone had dropped a rock into a pool of light. For several seconds nothing happened, and then the surface of the gate rippled and Ceri and Lily stepped through.

Gwyn closed her hand around the ball of energy she had been ready to throw and let out a most un-draconic sobbing cry before rushing forward and enveloping Ceri in her arms. Ceri dropped her staff and let out a laugh as she hugged back.

‘It’s nice to see you too,’ Ceri said.

‘You found her then?’ Mei said, smiling warmly at Lily. ‘Though you seem to be a slave, Lily.’

‘And you’re naked. I…’ She stopped and turned to look at Ceri. ‘The crown! It’s not working!’

Ceri disentangled herself from Gwyn enough to reach up and lift the iron circlet from her head. ‘It draws its power from the magic in that world. Here it’s just a lump of metal with a bit of an enchantment about it.’

Gwyn looked down at the crown and frowned. ‘Is that…?’

‘Gorefguhadget’s Iron Crown,’ Ceri said. ‘Did you know Brenin was his grandson?’

‘Yes, though I admit the thought has not crossed my mind in a long time. His mother was Gorefguhadget’s daughter. Huanglong came from the male line, through his son. I think there are about six generations between.’

‘That explains a lot,’ Lily said.

Gwyn opened her mouth to speak, but Ceri held up a hand. ‘I know you have a lot of questions, and we have a story to tell, but if we do it now we’ll have to do it again later, and I need a shower and at least six hours sleep.’

Both ex-dragons looked as though they could not wait, but Gwyn said, ‘Very well. Mei should be getting to work anyway. We will postpone the inquisition until later. Mei, would you go to Battersea on the way to work and let Michael know they’re back. Tell Alexandra we’re having a get together tonight to hear the story. I’ll contact Cheryl, Carter and Alec.’

Mei nodded. ‘Not that you will get much sleep if Michael knows you are here. Excuse me while I get dry and let you have the bathroom.’

Gwyn pulled Lily into a hug as well, which surprised them both; Gwyn had never seemed like a hugging sort of person. ‘I’m very happy to see you both back in one piece.’

Ceri smiled. ‘Well, I’m glad we made it back in one piece too, and I’m glad you were here to greet us.’

‘We’ve been waiting a long time, dear. Everyone has.’

‘I know it’s after Christmas,’ Ceri said. ‘What’s the date?’

‘January twenty-ninth. You’ve been gone for two months.’

‘Mei’s right,’ Lily said. ‘When Michael finds out we’re back we won’t get any sleep.’

~~~

It was still light when Ceri opened her eyes, but that light was dimming. She realised quickly that Lily and Mei had been wrong. She had gone to sleep spooning against Lily’s back and now there was warm human skin against hers. She lay still, not wanting to disturb either of them, revelling in the warmth.

‘I’d have slipped between the two of you if I could,’ Michael said after a minute or two. ‘As it was, I had to pick and there was more space behind your back.’

‘I didn’t know you were awake.’

‘I haven’t done more than doze while I’ve been here. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.’

‘Well, I’m awake.’

His hand slid over her hip, her stomach. ‘I know.’

‘I’m awake too,’ Lily commented.

Michael chuckled. ‘Good, then I can say I’m glad to have you both back.’ His hand slid over Ceri’s breast. It seemed such a long time since that had happened. She gave a small, shuddering sigh.

‘Now you can demonstrate how glad you are,’ Lily said, ‘but there are some new rules.’

‘Rules?’

‘Uh-huh.’ The half-succubus turned over so that she was facing them.’ My appetite is a little more… voracious than it was. Ceri has to be watching when I feed off you.’

‘She usually is.’

‘Yes, but she needs to be more attentive about it. I don’t always know when to stop.’

Michael lifted himself up onto his elbow and moved his hand across to slide over Lily’s breast. She let out a tiny moan and when her eyes opened there was a spark of red in her pupils. ‘I trust you, Lily,’ he said. ‘If I have to bet my life to prove it, I will.’

Ceri shifted on the bed, moving up a little, lifting her leg and reaching down, and then sinking back with a sigh. Michael groaned. Then she reached down between Lily’s legs, eliciting a squeak. ‘I have first dibs on him though, he’s my mate.’

‘If you k-keep doing that with your fingers, I won’t argue,’ Lily replied.

~~~

It almost felt like a normal evening in the lounge, or at least a normal evening with a lot of guests. Ceri was sat in her chair with Lily beside her on the footstool and Michael sprawled at her feet. Alexandra was in the other wing-backed chair, and Anita had stood just behind it for the start of the story, but had eventually settled in front of the roaring fire instead. They had carried the chaise longe from the study through, and turned the TV couch around and moved it closer to the chairs. Gwyn and Mei were perched on the chaise while the couch was holding Carter and Alec, with Cheryl lying across their laps. The only thing missing was Twill; she should have been perched on the arm of Ceri’s chair, or sat on someone’s shoulder.

It was all very relaxed. Ceri and Lily were safely back on Earth and telling the epic tale of their travels through the demon realm. Cheryl was back from slavery and looking happier now that she had since her return. Even the bad parts were softened by the knowledge that the two women had survived them without much harm. Michael did not even grumble about Ceri playing a prostitute to get into Grey Castle. Since Lily was wearing her full slave gear with collar and cuffs, Alec had suggested they get pictures of her sprawled at Anita’s feet, preferably with a really big sword involved; they could make a fortune doing fantasy book covers. Anita had given him one of her looks.

Carter and Alec had given a quick rundown on their trip to the Dragon Empire. They provided few details, but Cheryl had seemed quite sanguine about it anyway. It was something which had happened to someone else. That had brought up the subject of the Empire however.

‘So far,’ Mei said, since this was clearly her area of expertise, ‘the Empire is holding itself together, but the cracks are showing. There are reports of significant military activity in Mongolia. It is an area which has often given trouble and without the dragons to keep them in check there will be forces rising. The army will grow thin in other outlying regions, Thailand, India. India in particular has balked against Chinese rule and they will try to push the Empire’s forces out again.’ She looked down. ‘I didn’t tell you this, you don’t know it… Despite Britain’s history with India, lines of communication have been opened to provide assistance to a freedom movement in the sub-continent. I believe they aim to gain influence over the new state rather than re-establishing the British Empire. That is something at least.’

Ceri nodded at the end of the speech. Instability in that part of the world could not be a good thing, but there was nothing she could do about it. She looked up at Carter. ‘What’s happening with the Jade Dragon?’

‘Still closed,’ he replied. ‘I’ve had the signage taken down. Present company excepted, dragons are not exactly a great selling point currently. However, Cheryl has managed to persuade me that shutting it down before burning the interior and having the bricks ground into dust would be a waste. So, I am currently planning renovation and a relaunch.’

‘New dresses?’ Lily asked.

Carter chuckled. ‘New theme, new outfits for the waitresses. Both of you will have jobs there as before, assuming you still want them.’

‘Of course!’

‘Well, I thought you might have decided to become a full-time slave girl. The lip chain is most interesting.’

‘One of the standard chains used to indicate a slave’s status,’ Ceri said before Lily could answer. ‘Barnes had it put in. The rings are welded in place and we haven’t had time to cut them off.’

‘I want a more temporary one to replace it,’ Lily said, beaming. ‘I kind of like it. And some rings for my other piercings too. With some little padlocks.’

‘Other piercings?’ Carter asked.

Ceri put her hand over Lily’s mouth. ‘You don’t want to know.’

January 30th

Ceri was a little surprised that Gwyn still set off her “dragon alarm.” She opened her eyes to see the woman standing in the bedroom door. Of course, other sorcerers gave her the same feeling too, just weaker. Perhaps, since Gwyn was probably as powerful a sorceress as she was, the feeling was just as strong as it had been. Mei’s signal was weaker.

‘Gwyn?’ Ceri asked when the blur had shifted from her eyes.

‘You have visitors. They need to see all three of you, apparently.’ Ceri raised an eyebrow. ‘I think it’s best you see for yourself,’ Gwyn added.

They were not exactly dressed for greeting visitors, but at least they were dressed. Lily even grabbed a jersey dress to put on and Michael had some tracksuit bottoms to wear in “emergencies.” When Ceri got to the bottom of the stairs in the hall, she wished she had put on more than an over-sized shirt.

There were five fae in the hall. One was Sidhe, tall and very handsome, and dressed in a white suit with gold livery. The tight britches and short jacket suggested something more like a servant than a high fae. Hovering in the air around him were four fairies, three women and a man, and all of them were naked which was what Ceri expected from a fairy.

‘Good morning and welcome to my home,’ Ceri said.

The male fairy flitted forward. He was a handsome little fellow, but then most fairies were. He was also pretty well hung for someone not much larger than four inches in height. His skin was a deep brown, and he had scarlet hair and red wings. ‘Ceridwyn Brent, I am Thordrial Wintergreen, eldest brother of Gloriandel Wintergreen.’ He had a slightly nasal voice, though Ceri suspected if her were to lower his nose it might sound better. ‘My sister has requested that you, Lilith Carpenter, and… Michael be given invitations as her personal guests at her wedding to Joshia Darksun.’ He turned in the air and waved irritably at the larger fae who reached into his jacket to produce three envelopes. One was handed to each of them. ‘I will need a reply,’ Thordrial added. ‘Verbal will be sufficient.’

Ceri blinked at him. ‘Uh, yes, of course we’ll come.’

‘Very good.’ There was a distinct tone to his voice which suggested he thought no such thing. He turned and headed for the door, the Sidhe hurrying to open it for them. A second later they were gone.

‘Shit!’ Lily said. ‘She’s going through with it. She’s really going to get married!’

‘To someone she ran away from her home to avoid!’ Ceri added, her voice rising in pitch.

‘Well, we have to stop it. We have to… to plan something.’

‘Uh…’ Michael began and both girls looked at him. He had actually opened his envelope and read the card inside. ‘There’s not a lot of time to plan. The wedding is at Imbolc.’

‘What?!’ Ceri shrieked. ‘That starts at sunset tomorrow.’

‘Uh-huh. She’s marrying at noon after the main celebrations for the festival are over.’

Ceri stared at him. They had less than two days to save Twill from an arranged marriage.

###

About the Author

I was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the edge of the Empire. I always preferred the Dark Ages anyway; there’s so much more room for imagination when people aren’t writing down every last detail. So my idea of a good fantasy novel involved dirt and leather, not shining plate armour and Hollywood-medieval manners. The same applies to my sci-fi, really; I prefer gritty over shiny.

Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a lot. It has that mix of modern day life, hidden history, and magic which failed to hit popular culture until the early days of Buffy and Anne Rice. Of course, Cooper’s characters spend their time around places I could actually visit in Cornwall, and South East England, and mid-Wales. In fact, when I went to university in Aberystwyth, it was partially because some of Cooper’s books were set a few miles to the north around Tywyn.

I got into writing through roleplaying, however, so my early work was related to the kind of roleplaying game I was interested in. I wrote “high fantasy” when I was playing Dungeons & Dragons. I wrote a lot of superhero fiction when I was playing City of Heroes. I still loved the idea of a modern world with magic in it and I’ve been trying to write a novel based on this for a long time. As with any form of expression, practice is the key and I can look back on all the aborted attempts at books, and the more successful short stories, as steps along the path to the Thaumatology Series.

Writing, sadly, is not my main source of income. By day, I’m a computer programmer. I work for a telecommunications company in Manchester, England. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper, and (recently) Kim Harrison. Kim’s Hollows books were what finally spurred me to publish something, even if the trail to here came by way of Susan, back in school, several decades ago.

For More Information

The Thaumatology Blog: http://thaumatology.wordpress.com

Other Books in the Series

Thaumatology 101 - B006IYIESW

Demon’s Moon - B006JPN7A0

Legacy - B006OKR8PK

Dragon’s Blood - B0072S1DOU

Disturbia - B007GNICZO

Hammer of Witches - B007YG2I44

Eagle’s Shadow - B008E17TYW

Ancient - B00923F8AS

Dragonfall - B00AKV95XW

Anthologies in the Thaumatology Universe

Tales from High Towers’ Study - B006ZAJ7TY

Tales from the Dubh Linn - B0080XPD88

Table of Contents

Part One: Aftermath

Part Two: The Succubus in the High Castle

Part Three: The Science of Hell

Part Four: Fairy Tales

Part Five: Wild, Wild South

Part Six: The Castle of Bones

Part Seven: Home Again, Home Again