Legacy

The Third Novel in the Thaumatology Series

By Niall Teasdale

Copyright 2011 Niall Teasdale

Contents

Part One: A Normal Life

Part Two: Dreams and Delusions

Part Three: The Ties that Bind

Part Four: Merlin’s Disciples

Part Five: The Father of the Bride

Black Moonlight

Part One: A Normal Life

Kennington, London, March 23rd, 2011

‘You’re quite sure about this?’ Lily asked. Her voice was quiet, but there was an eager quality to it which said a lot about the answer she was hoping for.

‘I was the one who suggested it,’ Ceri replied. ‘It’s your birthday. We do whatever you want. Anything you want. I said I would, I’m not backing out now.’

Lily gave a tiny, gleeful squeak and her arm, draped around Ceri’s waist, tightened in a hug. Ceri felt Lily’s perfect, firm breasts press into her back, and then soft lips kissing her neck, and she sighed. Ceri was in no way a lesbian, but Lily was something other than a normal girl and it never failed to amaze Ceri that the stunningly beautiful, incredibly sexy half-succubus chose a slightly boyish, nerdy student with pale, freckled skin to go to bed with on a regular basis. But she had, and Ceri would not have changed it for the world. When she had made the birthday offer, she had given it a fifty per cent chance that they would never make it out of bed, and a ninety-nine per cent chance that they would not leave the house until Lily had to go to work in the evening.

‘You are absolutely the best mistress any demon could have,’ Lily said. Her breath set the skin on Ceri’s neck tingling.

‘You’re the m-mistress today,’ Ceri replied. They had what could be described as a complicated relationship. Lily’s father had been an incubus, a sex demon summoned to a party by a bunch of idiots who thought it would be cool and a great way to break the ice. A few months later, one of the women at the party had discovered the hidden cost, and her daughter had been paying for it ever since. Lily’s demonic side had a lust for power, especially powerful magicians, to be dominated by if she could not dominate them. So Ceri had had to take on the role of Mistress to Lily’s demon, or become that demon’s pet. Still, Lily was growing stronger, better at keeping her inner demon in check, and they both felt that little reversals like this could do no harm once in a while. That had been a great relief to Ceri; she was by no means a naturally dominant personality, and she really just wanted her friend back.

Lily’s fingers began to draw random patterns across Ceri’s stomach, and Ceri’s breath started to come in pants. ‘What…’ Ceri stammered, ‘what d-does Mistress want f-first?’

‘Breakfast,’ Lily replied and Ceri let out a long moan.

~~~

There was fresh coffee and bacon sandwiches in the kitchen. Ceri sat naked at the kitchen table while Lily stood leaning against the kitchen counter watching her lover eat. Lily sipped her coffee, sighing slightly as the hot, brown goodness ran down her throat, but her eyes never left Ceri.

It was a little disconcerting. Lily generally kept her demon side as bottled up as she was able. She was not proud of it; in the past it had driven her to do things she would rather forget. Looking at her now, Ceri could tell she was letting it out, if only on a tight leash. The look in her eyes said, “you’re what I desire.” It said, “you’re mine.”

What Lily actually said was, ‘You’re absolutely gorgeous, y’know?’

Ceri blushed. It was hardly true, especially by comparison to the woman saying it. They both had pale skin, but while Ceri’s was white and freckled, Lily’s was creamy and smooth, without a single imperfection. Ceri had short, flat, black hair, distinguished only by a few streaks of red over her brow. Lily had thick, luxuriant, chestnut locks which fell down past her breasts. Ceri’s features were a little boyish; Lily’s were perfectly and exotically sculpted. They both had interesting eyes, Ceri’s a startling blue, Lily’s a deep black, and Ceri had to admit her body was not bad, though Lily had the same sort of fitness with enough added voluptuousness to make her soft but not fat. Ceri had longer legs, but Lily had a demon’s quickness and fantastic grace.

‘I’m…’ Ceri began.

‘Absolutely the most beautiful creature I know,’ Lily said emphatically.

There was nothing Ceri could say to that really, so she said, ‘Thank you, Mistress.’

A ball of blue-white light flew in through the kitchen door, doing a turn around Lily’s head before coming to a stop and resolving into the shape of a four inch tall, brown-skinned woman with purple hair and delicate blue and white wings. Grinning, she darted forward and give Lily a peck on the cheek before darting backward with a smile on her tiny face. ‘Happy birthday, Lily,’ she said.

‘Thank you, Twill,’ Lily replied, smiling at the fairy. Twill was their housekeeper and self-elected den mother. She had once told them that she was eighteen, but she acted as though she was far older than either of them and they suspected that “eighteen” was a euphemism of some sort.

‘Not eating?’ Twill asked.

‘I already ate,’ Lily said, licking her lips and looking back to Ceri. Ceri did not blush this time; she had got over being embarrassed about sex and people knowing she had had it.

‘Consuming your lover’s sexual energy doesn’t fill the stomach,’ Twill replied.

‘True, but it does take the edge off my appetite and I plan to take Ceri out for lunch.’

‘Fair enough,’ Twill said. ‘There will be birthday cake with tea tonight.’ Lily beamed; the switch from slightly haughty Mistress was a little jarring.

‘I appreciate the protein and carbs, Twill,’ Ceri said, raising her sandwich in salute.

Twill smirked. ‘Yes, well, I’d imagine you’ll need to keep your strength up.’

‘Definitely,’ Lily said, and she was back to haughty; dark eyes fixed once more on Ceri.

‘I shall see the two of you at tea time then,’ Twill said. The fae woman hardly ever wore clothes and was hardly bashful, but she tended to avoid them when they were in “one of those phases.” She darted toward the door, vanishing into a ball of light as she sped off.

Ceri looked up at Lily and grinned. ‘Push the chair out,’ Lily said, ‘and don’t cross your legs. I want to be able to see you properly.’ Ceri swallowed. Yes, she was really going to have to keep her strength up today.

Mayfair

Technically, since they had crossed Regent Street and walked a little way down Vigo Street, they were now in Mayfair, not Soho, but as they walked down a flight of stairs to a door set below street level, Ceri felt more like she was walking into a strip joint than a pub or a bar. On the iron railings at the top of the steps was a small, black sign with ornate, gothic letters on it; black outlined in white. “The Dubh Linn,” it read. Irish and Welsh were not that close, but Ceri suspected it meant “The Black Lake.” The door at the bottom was thick wood and painted black with no windows in it. There was a frosted, wired-glass window part way down the steps which, given the dim light inside and the lamp mounted on the wall opposite, was there so the people inside were aware when someone was about to enter.

Lily paused on the bottom step. ‘You walk behind me at all times unless I direct you to do otherwise,’ she said. ‘Keep your eyes down, don’t make eye contact with anyone. Don’t speak unless spoken to. Refer to me as “Mistress” at all times, and yourself in the third person. I’ll be calling you Mufty, don’t take offence. Oh, and take your jacket off.’

Ceri thought about protesting; they were still on the street, if at the bottom of a flight of steps and below street level, and she knew what she was wearing under the jacket. Still, she had promised; Lily’s rules. She unzipped the leather biker jacket, a present from the North Hills werewolves, and slipped it off her shoulders. Lily had dressed her up in a tiny leather skirt and a near-transparent, mesh teddy, and Ceri had wondered why she was dressed like that at the restaurant they had had lunch in if Lily was letting her keep the jacket on. Clearly this was the reason.

Pushing the door open, Lily walked into the bar. Ceri followed demurely behind her, her jacket held at her side. The place was dimly lit, but she could make out bare brick walls and a ceiling of unclad wooden boards supported on thick, dark wood pillars. It was mid-afternoon, but there were several customers in. They sat in small groups around circular tables or in dark booths against the walls. At one end of the room, furthest from the door, was a bar with a tall, very attractive, dark-haired man standing behind it.

Lily started toward the bar and Ceri followed, trying hard to avoid meeting anyone’s gaze. It was not easy since everyone was looking at her. With a combination of surprise and horror she realised that they were actually looking at her, not Lily. She caught glimpses of hungry-looking smiles; one man ran his tongue across werewolf fangs. Stripping on the street had got her a little excited, but the attention she was now getting was both frightening and intensely erotic, and her body was responding to it whether she wanted it to or not.

‘Lily Girl!’ Ceri did not look up, but it had to be the barman speaking. He had an Irish accent and she guessed he was fae. ‘I’ve not seen you in…’

‘Almost five years,’ Lily replied blandly. ‘Afternoon, Sean, you haven’t changed a bit, neither has this hole.’

‘Well, y’know,’ Sean replied, ‘the customers like the ambiance. Who’s the hufty?’

‘No one of consequence,’ Lily replied. She turned slightly to glance back at Ceri. ‘Go and get us a booth, Mufty,’ she said. Ceri did not take offence; she had no idea what it meant.

Ceri bobbed a little curtsey and said, ‘Yes, Mistress,’ before turning and walking across the room to an empty booth. She slid to the back of the semi-circular bench, putting her jacket down behind her back and waiting patiently for Lily.

There was a burst of laughter from the area of the bar and a few seconds later Lily was strutting toward the booth with two glasses of red wine in her hands. She placed one in front of Ceri and then slid in beside her. The half-succubus took a drink of wine and then settled back against the cushioned back of the booth with a mildly irritated sounding sigh. ‘This place makes me cringe,’ she said quietly.

‘Then, if you’ll permit Mufty to ask, Mistress,’ Ceri almost whispered, ‘why are we here?’

Lily was silent for several seconds and Ceri wondered whether she had overstepped their pretend bounds for the day. She took a sip of her wine and her eyes widened; it was absolutely gorgeous, deliciously crisp yet full of fruity flavour. ‘Careful with the wine,’ Lily said. ‘We’re having one glass and then leaving. Fae wine can be absolutely deadly.’

‘It’s… beautiful,’ Ceri said, taking another sip.

‘Half a glass and you can kiss your inhibitions goodbye,’ Lily said. ‘Humans who finish a second glass tend to wake up wondering where the last year went. You never get a hangover from it though.’

It was a struggle to put the glass down without taking another drink, but Ceri managed it. She could already feel her body growing warm. She could still feel eyes on her, but now the attention was just a turn on. Lily had still not answered her question and she was starting to wonder whether she would at all.

‘I worked here,’ Lily said. ‘Behind the bar when I first came to London.’

‘Weren’t you a little young?’ Ceri asked. Lily had been fifteen when she had run away from her home in Bristol.

‘I looked older, and Sean doesn’t give a rat’s arse about that kind of legality.’ Lily took another swig of her wine, savouring the taste for a second. ‘This place is like the underworld version of the Dragon. The supernaturals who come here are really dangerous. Later, when I got into prostitution and porn, I’d come here to pick up snacks. The only humans who come here are chew toys, addicts, or wannabes who will be one of the first two soon enough.’

Ceri took a swig of her drink. She was starting to see why she was getting the attention rather than Lily. Her vision swam a little. ‘What does “mufty” mean anyway?’

Lily’s lips curled into a slight smile. ‘Mufty, or myfty, means “my fuck toy.” Sorry, it didn’t occur that you might not know why you should be offended. Though it’s usually said with a little affection. It’s more possessive than hufty, which is “human fuck toy.” Mufties are universally stupid, addicted, or enthralled so you don’t really fit the bill, but you’re acting the part beautifully.’ Ceri smirked and Lily frowned at her. ‘What?’

‘If Mistress and Mufty don’t have sex for a day or so, Mufty starts getting… twitchy,’ Ceri said. ‘Mufty is a real mufty.’

Lily winced. ‘I didn’t mean that to happen.’ Sex with a succubus was incredible, and incredibly addictive. Lily had always made a point of never having a regular partner before Ceri for that very reason.

‘Like Mufty cares,’ Ceri replied, grinning. ‘Mufty could break it if she wanted to and Mistress wouldn’t take advantage.’ She took another drink. Her skin was starting to tingle.

‘You are really good at that,’ Lily said, relaxing again. ‘I could get used to it.’

‘Mufty is rather enjoying it,’ Ceri replied. ‘Is she turning Mistress on?’

‘She does that just by being there. And I’m not the only one.’

Ceri put her glass down, surprised to see it was over half gone. She blinked. ‘Mufty thinks half the room wants to try her out.’

‘Then you’re wrong,’ Lily stated. ‘The entire room wants to insert various parts of their bodies into every hole you have, and in three cases, their fangs into your neck.’

Ceri shuddered. A small part of her mind knew the wine was affecting her. ‘Mufty would like that,’ she said.

Lily drained her glass and slipped out of the seat. Ceri blinked again and almost looked up, but stopped herself. She quickly finished her own wine. The buzz was incredible and she realised that her nipples were trying to break out through the mesh of her teddy. Lily looked down at her and raised her voice enough that Ceri was sure the whole room could hear her. ‘Come on, you little slut. Just for that we’re going home. When I’ve finished with you you won’t be sitting down for a week.’

Her cheeks glowing scarlet, Ceri followed Lily to the door through all the watching eyes and the sounds of sniggering. She was so caught up in her role that Lily had to remind her to put her jacket on when they got outside the door.

Soho

The Jade Dragon was not particularly busy, but that just worked for Lily and Ceri. Lily spent less time dealing with her tables, and more time leaning against the bar beside Ceri. Carter, the owner and manager of the Dragon, was being indulgent; his best waitress was being a little lax this evening, but it was her birthday, and she had helped save the world before Christmas.

‘At least business is picking up again,’ Ceri commented. She shifted slightly on her stool; her behind was, in fact, a little tender.

Carter nodded. He had a smile on his face which did not have a slight look of worry to it for the first time since New Year. At the winter Solstice, Ceri had stopped an ancient ghost from bringing about the end of the world, with a little help from Lily and some werewolves. It had cost her personally, but it had also cost the northern hemisphere its most severe winter in decades. There had been snow until the end of January, which had kept the North Hills werewolf pack at her house for the entire month. That had been kind of a win-lose proposition; she liked them all, but nomad werewolves cooped up for a month got irritable. Even with the snow gone, February had been a miserable, stormy month and it had been looking like March would be the same. People had stuck to their homes and business at all of Carter’s clubs had been slow. Thankfully, the last couple of weeks had been better and now the long term forecast coming out of the diviners at the Met Office suggested the summer would be a scorcher.

‘I shouldn’t complain,’ Carter said. ‘If you hadn’t put a stop to Remus’ plans it would still be snowing.’

‘And by now Dane and his people would be clawing at the walls,’ Alec added from behind the bar. Alec was a werewolf, a ronin, not belonging to any pack. He did, however, have a good relationship with several of the packs around London and beyond, and he mixed a mean cocktail.

‘Huh,’ Lily said, ‘and if I have to attend another werewolf orgy…’

Ceri patted her arm. ‘I know, terribly arduous for a succubus, having all that sex.’

Lily giggled. ‘Watch it, Mufty, or you’ll get another spanking.’

‘Not a very nice thing to call her, Lily,’ Carter commented, frowning at the two girls.

‘What? She actually likes it!’

‘I think it’s kind of cute,’ Ceri agreed.

‘Where,’ Carter said, ‘did you learn what it means?’

‘I took her to the Dubh Linn this afternoon,’ Lily replied before Ceri could say anything.

Carter’s frown deepened. ‘Why?’ he asked flatly.

‘Because,’ Lily said, her voice a little distant, ‘it’s my twenty-fifth birthday. I used to go there all the time when I was twenty. It made me feel good, desirable, and I could pick up snacks. Then I met you, and then Ceri, and I put all that behind me. Five years ago.’

‘So why go back?’ Alec asked.

‘So I could walk in there and they could all see how much better I was.’ She blinked slowly and shook her head a little. A grin broke out on her face. ‘Also it was just awesome walking in there with Ceri playing my little mufty. You should’ve seen her, she was perfect. There were about fifteen supernaturals in there and every last one of them wanted her. I’ve never felt so proud to have her as a mistress. Well, except maybe when she was blasting holes in Remus.’

Carter turned his head and raised an eyebrow at Ceri. She shrugged and gave a sheepish grin. ‘I promised her, for her birthday, we could do anything she wanted. We had some fae wine, which was… wow! And, um, I did feel really desirable.’

‘I wasn’t aware that there was any doubt?’ Carter replied. The man was rich, famous, handsome, very smooth, and looked more like twenty-five than his actual fifty-four. He regularly took women half his age to bed, but had never once made a play for Ceri. It did not stop him looking at her like he wanted to.

‘Amen to that,’ Alec added. The werewolf, who was older than Carter, but did not show his age either, had also never tried anything on, though whenever he was near her in wolf-man form his attraction was distinctly obvious.

‘She’s been feeling… a little frumpy since the pack left,’ Lily said.

Both Carter and Alec looked at Ceri. She felt her cheeks heating up. Lily had changed her outfit, the teddy was rather more opaque, though it still had strategic strips of lace and mesh which give exciting glimpses of the body beneath it, and the skirt was a little longer, but made of a clinging fabric which showed every curve. Then there were the four-inch high-heels.

‘You don’t look frumpy,’ Alec said. He sounded a little confused.

Lily giggled, pushed off from the counter, and headed for one of her tables. Ceri watched her walk away, her behind barely concealed by the ridiculously short dress which was her “uniform” at the Dragon. Ceri’s hand dropped to her ankle to play with the fairy-silver chain which decorated it. Lily had a matching one, Christmas gifts from Twill. The chains were a physical indication of their unconventional love for each other, and had the side effect of increasing Ceri’s libido. Technically it did the same to Lily, but you could barely tell.

‘I, uh, I’ve just been feeling a little…’ Ceri trailed off, not sure how to explain it. Remus, a complete monster, a psychopath, had been quite good to her when she had allowed herself to be captured by his people. The humans working with him had been less pleasant. She had been repeatedly raped in an attempt to get information from her. At first, with lots of friends around her, everything had been fine. As the house emptied, however, the nightmares had started. She would sleep without trouble if Lily was in bed with her, but if she tried to sleep on her own she would wake up screaming. She had taken to waiting up for Lily on work nights, coming up with ways to make it look like she was just busy with something.

Carter’s hand came to rest on her other arm. ‘You had quite an adventure at Christmas,’ he said. Neither he nor Alec knew what had been done to her. ‘It’s only natural that you would be affected by it. You’ll get over it, I’m sure. I don’t think I’ve ever met a stronger woman.’

Ceri gave a weak grin. ‘Well, I have to admit,’ she said, ‘today was an ego boost.’

‘I’m available for ego boosting any time you need it, kid,’ Alec said. ‘You look gorgeous, you’re a fantastic magician, powerful, and you saved my furry butt. You are the best.’

Ceri giggled and sipped her wine, watching Lily progress back through the tables. The half-succubus grinned at her and then looked across the bar at Alec. ‘When you’ve quite finished chatting up my girlfriend, Alec, table six wants two white wines.’ Alec gave her a wolfish grin, his fangs showing, and turned to pour the drinks.

‘How’s the thesis coming along?’ Carter asked.

‘Finished,’ Ceri replied. ‘It went to the printer yesterday.’

‘It was that,’ Lily said, picking up her tray with the drinks for table six, ‘or I enact my threat to withhold Lily privileges. She’d proofread that thing six times.’ She started across the floor, adding, ‘She had Twill proofread it twice.’ Another couple of steps and, ‘She got me to proofread it for widder’s sake!’ Her prefect behind processed off through the tables.

‘Well,’ Ceri said, ‘she speaks perfectly good English…’

‘Don’t worry, Ceridwyn,’ Carter said, the smirk barely showing, ‘a little healthy paranoia is nothing to worry about.’

‘Well Cheryl’s already lined up a moderator. We’re hoping to have the whole thing wrapped up by the end of next month, June at the latest.’ The very thought of sitting through an interview with the moderator made her stomach sink, but it was just one of those things she had to do to get her doctorate.

‘Who’s she got?’ Carter asked.

‘Doctor Perry?’ Ceri replied, a little unsure herself. ‘He’s based out of Aberystwyth.’

‘I don’t know the name,’ Carter said, and then added, ‘Don’t get me wrong, that’s probably a good thing. I’m glad she avoided the Cambridge crowd.’

‘You think they’d be that vindictive?’ Ceri asked, frowning. The previous year, Ceri and her supervisor, Cheryl Tennant, had beaten the Cambridge quantum thaumatology team to an important discovery. Ceri had always figured that things would settle down after the paper had been published.

‘Oh yes,’ Carter told her. ‘They would be that vindictive. Old style academics can make politicians look like choir boys.’

Ceri’s frown changed into a grimace. Then she shrugged. ‘It’s not like I have any plans to move there. What do I care if they don’t like me?’

‘A good attitude to have,’ Carter said. ‘I feel much the same way.’

‘To be honest,’ Ceri said, ‘all I really want is a quiet life. No vampire assassins, no psycho ancient Roman ghosts resurrecting dead wolf-gods, just a normal life with normal goals and normal things in it.’

Lily walked back through the tables and settled against the counter beside her. Her eyes scanned the tables around the room, watching for unfulfilled desires among the customers.

‘That doesn’t seem an unreasonable request,’ Carter commented. ‘You can take your break any time you’re ready, Lily.’

Lily smiled and nodded, and leaned over to whisper in Ceri’s ear. ‘I fancy a snack. Mufty can meet me in the toilets in two minutes.’ She pushed away from the counter saying, ‘Back shortly,’ out loud, and started toward the back of the club where the fantastically plush toilets were located.

Ceri sipped her wine and waited for the two minutes to be up. Quiet, normal life… Yeah, that was never going to happen.

Kennington, March 24th

‘So, did you have a good day yesterday?’ Twill asked as her utensils cooked an omelette for Ceri’s breakfast. Pans and spatulas moved of their own accord, supervised by the fairy, hovering in the air nearby in her “kiss the cook” apron.

Ceri took a drink of coffee and leant back in her chair. She was dressed in an over-sized men’s shirt made of a shimmering, gold fabric which was fairly translucent. She usually dressed around the house, originally because she just did not do the naked thing, and now because Lily said it made her look sexier. ‘Honestly,’ she said, ‘I think that was the wildest day of my life.’

‘Considering that you have fought demons, demon-werewolves, magicians, and vampires, and taken two baths in enough magical energy to fry just about anything, that seems a little hard to believe.’

Ceri shivered slightly. ‘She went down on me on the tube on the way home. Riding on the train down the northern line, hanging onto the overhead straps with Lily…’

‘I get the picture, dear,’ Twill said. ‘I take it you had a lot of sex then?’ A plate drifted across the kitchen to settle on the table in front of Ceri.

Ceri grinned. ‘Yes, but it wasn’t just the sex. Lily’s had a nasty life, before she met Carter and then came to live here. I don’t think I know half of it, and I don’t think she’s going to tell me, but she takes it, and she turns it around, and she uses it. And she used it to make me feel so… erotic.’

Twill smiled an indulgent sort of smile. ‘I’m glad you had a good day,’ she said, ‘now eat your brunch.’ Ceri gave another shiver, pushed the thoughts aside, and started eating. ‘Plans for today?’ Twill asked.

Ceri made sure she swallowed before answering; Twill really hated it when you spoke with your mouth full. ‘I need to go into uni,’ she said. ‘I have a crisis council with Cheryl.’

‘A crisis council? That doesn’t sound good.’

Ceri shook her head. ‘No. We’ve got a fundamental problem with the power generation system which she wants to prototype.’

‘Oh?’ the fairy said. ‘What’s the problem?’

Ceri took a deep breath…

Holloway

‘All the math works out fine,’ Ceri said. ‘I’ve been over your equations, and the data we have from the T-Null experiment which almost blew us to bits, and we could generate upwards of three megawatts from the size of containment circle we have here.’

‘But?’ Cheryl asked. The head thaumatologist at London Metropolitan University could just tell there was a “but.”

They were sat in Cheryl’s office in the High Energy Thaumatology building, a concrete annexe to the main university buildings on the Holloway campus. Cheryl was tall and slim, and Ceri knew for a fact that some of the students entertained fantasies about Cheryl and a bed which were never going to happen. She had the kind of early-middle-aged good looks that would get you classified as a MILF, but she could happily turn a student inside out if she thought they were not pulling their weight.

‘We forgot about the containment circle,’ Ceri said.

‘What about it? You don’t think it’ll hold up?’

‘No, it’s not that,’ Ceri said. ‘A containment circle needs a mage to keep it active and sealed. I’ve never heard of a permanent enchantment which can do the job and I haven’t been able to find anything in my parents’ books or notes to suggest it’s even possible.’

‘Bugger,’ Cheryl said, her brow creasing in a deep frown.

‘We can build the thing,’ Ceri said, ‘and prove the concept, but without some way of generating a continuous containment circle it’ll never be anything more than a clever trick.’ She tilted her head, thinking. ‘Well, if we could bring the size down on the accelerators we could probably have a pretty cool emergency generator system. The military would go for it, disaster support agencies, people like that.’

Cheryl nodded thoughtfully. ‘Good for several hours of high power output in an emergency. That would probably give a return on Carter’s investment. I think it’s worth doing as an academic exercise anyway, but I would like to get something useful out of it.’

Ceri smiled. Carter, playboy millionaire and owner of a highly successful nightclub chain, was one of their major sponsors. He also enjoyed Cheryl’s company in a rather more intimate manner, though neither considered the other as a partner in any way. Carter was a wizard and claimed that Cheryl was one of a very small number of women he took to bed who he could actually have an entertaining conversation with. Cheryl had been quite happy to accept Carter’s money to help with the discovery of the null thaumiton, but she had grown more concerned about him seeing some of it back as their relationship had gone from a casual fling to something a little deeper.

‘When do you want to try it?’ Ceri asked. ‘I estimate… three weeks work setting up the modulation control software for the power extraction system.’

‘I’ll have the new accelerator in next week,’ Cheryl said, ‘and it’ll take a little while to set up… So I think we start running tests around the nineteenth.’

‘Full moon, well, the night after it’s true full,’ Ceri commented absently.

Cheryl grinned. ‘Most people, aside from astronomers, don’t know things like that off the top of their head.’ Ceri grinned back. ‘It’s a pack night tonight, isn’t it?’ Cheryl asked.

‘Uh-huh,’ Ceri replied, ‘but it’s a waning moon. They’re always a bit quieter on the waning moon.’

‘A bit quieter?’

‘Yes, well, I missed last night because of Lily’s birthday.’ Ceri gave a sheepish grin. ‘Michael tends to get, uh, quite demonstrative when he hasn’t seen me for a while.’

Cheryl laughed. ‘That’s an interesting euphemism. I’ve got a werewolf boyfriend as well, you know?’ Alec, one of Carter’s best friends, shared his taste in women, and they had shared Cheryl on at least one occasion. ‘I’m quite aware of how they can get “quite demonstrative.”’

Battersea

In truth, Cheryl did not quite know, because Ceri had a different sort of relationship with Michael. She had met him when she had decided to research werewolf pack behaviour by turning herself into a she-wolf and trying to join his pack. Their Alpha, Alexandra, had seen right through her transformation, but had allowed her to become a sort of honorary pack member anyway, and Michael had taken her as his “honorary” mate.

Ceri walked into Battersea Park with a satchel over her shoulder, fully expecting to find Michael waiting for her under the tree they usually met at. There was no sign of him and she frowned slightly. Her hand went to the leather, silver-studded collar around her neck as she looked around the little clearing, seeing nothing. He was normally there. She shrugged; perhaps something was keeping him busy elsewhere in the park. Oh well.

She stripped out of her clothes quickly. It was not a warm night and she wanted to be furry as soon as possible. Still she took the time to pack her clothes into the satchel and push the bag into a hole in the roots of the tree for retrieval later. Then she reached up and touched her collar again. It had been a present from the Battersea pack, and the wolf-goddess Luperca, after Ceri had killed Remus and freed Luperca of his influence. She gathered her power and invoked the collar’s enchantment. A few seconds later, in place of Ceri there was a black-furred wolf-girl wearing a collar and a silver ankle chain.

Strong arms grabbed her from behind, pushing her against the trunk of the tree. She gasped as she felt something very male pressing against her behind and heard a soft growl. Her feet were pushed firmly apart, leaving her braced against the tree, balanced on her toes, panting. She tilted her hips back, letting out a soft mewl. There was answering growl, this one carrying undertones of deep lust, and then he was in her.

When it was over and they were lying in the grass, cuddling and rubbing their muzzles together, Ceri reflected that her life was never going to be normal while she had one lover who was a half-demon and another who preferred to have sex while she was transformed into a she-wolf. Michael felt that he was not a particularly great human, but he was a good wolf. He had been made one of Alexandra’s personal guards and entrusted with the education and safety of one of the pack’s best and most important friends, Ceri. Still, there was no way she would give up on her odd relationships and if this were as abnormal as things got, well she was damn happy with that.

Michael growled at her. You need be more watchful. Werewolf speech was not exactly eloquent. Their throats and jaw structures in changed form were simply not designed for much intonation. They made up for that with gestures and expressions, but still it was a very simple language and whenever they wanted to talk “properly” they did so in human form.

She rumbled a reply. Man sense not Wolf sense. Not good. You good hide.

His reply was a rumble of laughter. Miss mate night gone. Good time with demon? There was simply no way of describing what Lily was to Ceri, so they had settled on Lily being “demon,” which seemed to work in context.

Yes. She was simply not going to try to explain what she had done with Lily. Michael was not jealous, but she just did not have the vocabulary. She was not even sure it existed! This night ours, she indicated. What we do?

He rolled to his feet and offered her a clawed hand. A short bark said, Honour guard. Alphas meet.

Ceri let herself be pulled to her feet, giving a sad little yip in reply. You busy then. She would stick around, but if he was doing something formal then she would have to sit tonight out.

He looked a little confused for a moment and then jerked his muzzle up, barking a short laugh. You honour guard. Me honour guard. She was part of Alexandra’s guard unit? When had that happened? Come! His bark was urgent, and he was off and running before she could respond. Ceri gave chase, rapidly catching him as they hurried off through the park.

They met three other wolves, two males and one female Ceri recognised as Anita, Alexandra’s head of security, the Captain of the Guard. They were down by the river, at the Chelsea Bridge which was the north-eastern corner of the park, though their territory stretched further east, out past the power station to Vauxhall. Anita nodded her head to Michael and Ceri as they emerged from the trees, and indicated they should join the others waiting nearby. She seemed entirely at home with Ceri being part of her unit. Still wondering how, and when, she had gained the promotion, Ceri dropped into a crouch alongside Michael and the other two males, nuzzling briefly with both. Michael brushed against Anita in greeting and then moved to the males. Werewolves were very tactile creatures, and they had no idea of personal space at all.

Anita checked over her little squad, rubbing muzzles with Ceri and sniffing around her neck before giving a little snickering grumble. It was not any form of word, but Ceri got the distinct impression that Anita was indicating that she knew what they had been up to to make them late. She was also indicating that she found it amusing. Turning, she moved closer to Queenstown Road, shifting to human mid-stride. Tall and limber with lots of long muscle, she seemed entirely unbothered by the cold, even without her fur, and equally unbothered by the looks she got from the pedestrians who noticed her as they walked along the nearby pavement.

They had been waiting around ten minutes when Ceri’s nose picked up a scent she felt she recognised. She could not work out why until she saw the couple walking toward Anita from the bridge. It made sense, she had never taken wolf form around Catherine, so she did not quite recognise her scent. The Alpha of the Royal Pack was accompanied by Stefan, an ex-Marine who acted as her second in command and tactical advisor. Since the death of Catherine’s mate during the Remus incident, Stefan had also become her lover; Ceri considered it a good match and it was just a shame Alpha’s mated for life and Catherine could not make their relationship official.

‘Welcome to Battersea territory,’ Anita said as the two approached. ‘Alexandra is waiting for your arrival. We’ll escort you to her. There’s no need to change, we’ve arranged transport across the lake.’

‘Thank you, Anita,’ Catherine replied. They had obviously met before. Ceri knew the two pack leaders had regular meetings, though this was the first she had been witness to. Catherine started off through the park, Stefan on her right, Anita on her left, and the four wolves fanning out on the flanks. Ceri took up position opposite Michael and behind Stefan.

They had gone perhaps twenty yards when Catherine said, ‘I didn’t know you had a second black-fur in the pack, Anita. And wearing a collar?’

Anita gave a deep, throaty chuckle. ‘She’s new to the guard team, but I think she’ll work out well. All the males are jealous of Michael for calling dibs on her.’

Catherine glanced back at Ceri and blinked. ‘She’s Michael’s… Ceri?’ Ceri gave an affirmative little yip. ‘But you’re a black-fur…’ Black fur was an indication of the purest-blooded, most powerful werewolves. Greys were more common, with a little human in their DNA. When the human heritage got stronger, you got brown-furs.

‘I was there when Alexandra explained what it meant to her,’ Anita said. ‘She offered to make sure she was grey in future and Alexandra told her that she was black for a reason so she should just live with it. I think she showed she’s worthy.’

Catherine seemed to consider that for a second before nodding. ‘Yeah, I guess she did.’

‘Still major kudos for Michael though,’ Anita said, ‘a black-fur mated to a grey. Not that the soppy git thinks that way.’ She glanced over her shoulder at Michael, who was trying his hardest to look professional.

‘Well Ceri’s quite a catch,’ Catherine said. ‘I tried to get her in bed.’

‘I certainly wouldn’t kick her out,’ Stefan remarked. It was Ceri’s turn to try to look professional while feeling utterly mortified. Well, and just a little guilty because she felt good about being wanted.

Alexandra was waiting on the island in the boating lake. Various wolves in human and wolf form were scattered around the clearing in the light and heat from an oil drum fire which occupied the centre. The pack’s Alpha already had a kettle heating on a small gas stove and she smiled warmly at Catherine and Stefan as they walked in. Her grey eyes also held Ceri’s for a second, twinkling in the firelight. Ceri got the impression the old woman had deliberately not mentioned making her one of the guard unit just to see how she dealt with it.

The Alpha of the Battersea pack was over a hundred, but looked no older than sixty, and a well-preserved sixty at that. Her hair was the kind of grey they used in commercials; a glorious, shining silver. She still had a good figure though perhaps a little more sagging in places than it had when she was younger. Black-furs tended to live a long life, a fact most people did not know.

‘Come on in, Catherine dear,’ Alexandra said. ‘And you four, sit around the fire. Dry your fur out before you catch something.’ Ceri and the other three guards had swum the lake while Anita had rowed Catherine and Stefan across. They sat nearby, Michael settling right against Ceri, while the two Royals settled on the ground to wait for the tea Alexandra was going to make for them as soon as the kettle boiled.

‘You’re keeping well, Alexandra?’ Catherine asked.

‘The warmer weather has been good,’ Alexandra replied. ‘These old bones don’t like the cold so much. I haven’t spent so much time in fur in ages.’

‘I know the feeling,’ Catherine replied, ‘but I think it’s been good for the Royals. We’ve had more people in the park, and they’ve spent more time in fur. It’s been good for bonding. We’re a much more solid pack for it.’

When Ceri had first encountered the Royals, they had been what could best be described as a yuppie werewolf pack. Their name came from their territory, which included Regents Park, rather than any royal connection, but they acted like nobility, even if few of them had been much good as wolves. Their Alpha male then had been a brown-fur named Joshua who had fallen easily under Remus’ sway and had died in an attack by another pack, the Serpents. That had left Catherine, who had not thought she could be an Alpha on her own, because she was a female. Ceri had introduced her to Alexandra, and Catherine had proceeded to prove herself wrong.

‘No trouble from the Serpents?’ Alexandra asked.

Stefan let out a snorting laugh. Catherine grinned at him. ‘Uh, no,’ she said. ‘The last time they attacked us they lost five members and we took some minor injuries, and Ceri there wasted two of Remus’ wolves and Stefan and a couple of the boys took out a third. The Serpents cower in their fur whenever they see a Royal.’

‘Well and good,’ Alexandra said. ‘The important thing is to make sure everyone keeps up their reputation, preferably without doing anything violent. If they do try anything, then stomp them down.’

‘Otherwise we just act our name,’ Catherine said, nodding.

‘I knew you were a fast learner, dear,’ Alexandra replied. The kettle began to boil and she scooped it off the stove, turning off the gas. She poured water into the waiting teapot. Ceri wondered who would get the “Werewolves do It in the Woods” mug.

‘Is there anything we can do to help your people?’ Catherine asked.

‘You know you already do,’ the old woman said. ‘Don’t think I haven’t had word back that your people have been a little more generous with the hand-outs than normal. We’re most grateful.’

‘I hope you’re not offended,’ Catherine said. ‘We’re… showing solidarity.’

Alexandra laughed. ‘Dear girl, we take all the wolves no one else wants. The homeless and the dispossessed. What little money we need, we get by whatever means we have to. That includes charity. We’re proud, but not quite the same way as you.’

‘We… I owe you a lot,’ Catherine said. ‘You know where to come if you need anything.’

Alexandra smiled and poured the tea. Catherine got the “Werewolves do It in the Woods” mug. Ceri smirked.

March 25th

The small band of guards dispersed after watching Catherine and Stefan safely onto the bridge. It was almost three o’clock and Michael loped away from the park’s entrance in the direction of the tree were Ceri’s clothes were hidden. She thought, perhaps, that he meant to take his mate again before she became human and left him for another week. Instead, he settled against the tree and just held her, cuddling and nuzzling at her. The waning moon had a tendency to make werewolves lethargic and it was getting late.

As it grew closer to four, Ceri made to move and he let her stand with a show of reluctance. Ceri grumbled softly, her muzzle touching his. You come me territory two nights hence?

He looked at her, tilting his head. Come Man?

She shook her head. Come Wolf. Play demon. Fun!

He nodded and she leant forward and gave him a playful nip on the neck. He growled softly, half laughing. You Man. Else play now.

Ceri gave a barking laugh and brought a clawed hand to her collar. A second later she was a cold human girl and Michael was handing her her satchel of clothes. She dressed quickly, but paused to brush her cheek against his before leaving. They never said goodbye with words, just a simple gesture. Then she was off, walking into the night.

Kennington

On any normal day, Ceri got up before Lily. It was a basic fact of life that, despite the half-demon needing less sleep than the human, Lily would lie in bed for as long as she could get away with. There was that and the fact that Ceri’s nightmares and her avoidance of them, was starting to make her more used to less sleep than she had been.

It worked; it gave Ceri some time to settle into work mode before Lily got up. It helped when Ceri had some actual work to do, and this morning she was engaged in planning out the modulation routines for the power generation experiment. Coding for microprocessors which employed enchantment to increase the processing speed was not really magic, but it did help if you knew the thaumatological basis behind the architecture. Micro-channel enchantment processors used tiny, carefully fabricated, rune clusters to channel thaumic energy within the processor. The result was that the processing units existed in a super-position of quantum states and were able to literally do more than one thing at a time. Someone had described it as “quantum computing,” but what it came down to was “it’s really fast.” Ceri was actually pretty good at coding for the devices, and always had been. Once she began to bury herself in a programming project she could usually blot out her surroundings and concentrate.

That would generally become far more important as the point came when Lily noticed that she was alone in bed. At that point she would get up and decide on a course of action for the morning. Option one was a shower; she always had one before dressing for work, but she might have one on getting up, depending usually on what had happened the night before. If Ceri was not absorbed enough in her work she would hear the shower running, and then forty minutes or so would be lost as she joined Lily under the water stream.

Then there would be the point where Lily walked into the study, which was usually where Ceri worked. If Ceri was lucky, Lily would be naked. It seemed counterintuitive, but Lily had stopped wearing clothes around High Towers about a week after moving in. A naked Lily was a normal Lily. A naked Lily was not easy to ignore, but Ceri was used to it. If Lily had decided to pick out one of her costumes however…

It was well after midday when Ceri lifted her head and looked around. Lily was sprawled on the chaise longe with a copy of the Wednesday Witch, dressed in one of her stripper outfits, a tiny pair of shorts and a halter top. It made sense; it was Friday and Friday was pole-practice day. When they had had lunch and let it settle for a while, they would go down to the dungeon where Ceri had had a dance pole put in. It was good exercise and they both enjoyed watching each other dancing.

Standing up, Ceri stretched and then walked over to the lounger. She ran a hand through Lily’s lush hair, and was rewarded with a purr and a smile as her demon looked up at her. ‘Afternoon,’ Lily said.

Ceri grinned. ‘Afternoon, love. Sorry, I was… concentrating.’

‘There’s no need to apologise,’ Lily replied. ‘I’m your pet, available at will for any purpose you wish, remember?’

‘No you’re not,’ Ceri replied giving Lily a tap on the nose. ‘You are my demon temptress, sent to lure me into a decadent life of deviant sexual pleasure. That’s what you are.’

Lily giggled, reaching back over her shoulder to slide a hand up Ceri’s thigh, under her shirt to her hip. ‘How am I doing?’

Ceri looked down at her, her face serious. ‘When I get up in the morning, I have to push myself not to wake you,’ she said quietly. ‘Just looking at you makes me wet. I want you every waking moment and I can’t sleep if you’re not in the bed with me. You make the nightmares go away. I know I’m addicted to the sex we have, but I think that’s a price worth paying. If I had to, I’d let you enslave me just so I could be with you, and the fact that, instead, you’re at my beck and call is just so far beyond perfect I sometimes think I must be dreaming and I’ll wake up one day.’

Lily looked up at her, her jaw moving soundlessly for a second or two. Finally she said, ‘I’d say I was doing well then, except you do the same to me.’

Ceri laughed. ‘Yeah, sure,’ she said dismissively, and started to turn away.

Lily caught her arm, pulling her back. She swung her legs off the side of the chaise longe and stood, looking up into Ceri’s bright, blue eyes with her deep, black ones. ‘I’ve hated being half demon since I hit puberty, but with you I actually like myself. I like the fact your power makes my heart skip and my pussy drip, because my head is busy thinking you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever been with and I would crawl over broken glass to be with you again.’ She returned the tap on the nose Ceri had given her earlier and her face broke into a grin. ‘I just wish you would start realising how gorgeous and desirable you are.’

‘I may be beginning to get the picture,’ Ceri said quietly. ‘Have you eaten yet?’

Lily stepped closer. Her breath hot on Ceri’s neck. ‘I was waiting for you to take a break,’ she purred.

Soho

Ceri moved smoothly between her tables, heading back toward the bar. Lily had suggested once that the attention she would get waitressing at the Jade Dragon would make her feel good, and now that she spent two nights a week doing it, she had to admit that her friend had been right. She had done it one night before Christmas as a favour and quite enjoyed it then. When one of Carter’s waitresses had left to get married, he had taken the opportunity to rationalise his staff a little by taking Ceri on for the two busiest nights, Friday and Saturday. Ceri had taken the opportunity to make a little extra money, and be with Lily an extra two nights a week, and to have an excuse not to go to bed on her own.

Lily fell into step beside her, back from her own drinks delivery, and looped an arm around Ceri’s waist, fingers touching the bare skin of her hip. Ceri now had her own Dragon uniform dress, black, like Lily’s, but with tiny, white, almost lichen-like flowers dotted across it instead of the gold, red, and blue flowers on Lily’s. For the first twenty minutes of every Friday night, Ceri had the urge to hide while she got over wearing a garment which barely covered her body. Then the looks she got from customers, and Lily, started turning her on and she would just go with it. She figured, give it another month and she would not have to waste twenty minutes pulling her non-existent skirt down.

Carter watched them walking toward him with a slight smirk on his face. ‘You two realise what the one thing I worried about when I took Ceri on was?’ he asked as they got close enough.

‘That Lily would go off her game or alienate customers pawing at me?’ Ceri asked in reply.

The club owner raised an eyebrow. ‘Very perceptive,’ he said.

‘I told her I’d quit if it looked like it was happening,’ Ceri said, ‘but I’d trust her to know about the customers.’

‘Yes well,’ Carter said, his grin broadening, ‘she has the succubus thing going for her, and I have a few years’ experience running a club. I think they’re hoping things will get hotter between the two of you.’

Lily’s smirk was particularly mischievous. Her hand drifted off Ceri’s hip and across her behind before slipping away entirely. She obviously knew Carter was right.

‘I sometimes wonder about the human race,’ Ceri commented.

‘In what way?’ Carter asked.

‘Whether, given the option, we’d all just bonk ourselves to death.’

Carter looked wryly at her. ‘I’m hardly one to make comment.’

‘Perhaps not,’ Ceri said, ‘but neither am I. Have you decided on tonight’s conquest?’

‘Petra called earlier,’ he replied with a grin.

‘What’s her old man done this time?’ Alec asked from across the counter.

‘She didn’t say.’ Petra was the wild child daughter of Malcolm Charles, Minister for Supernatural Affairs. She turned up to the Dragon, and spent the night with Carter, whenever she was annoyed with her father over something. Then it would get into the gossip columns and annoy her father back.

‘I know this one,’ Lily said absently; she was watching the tables. ‘She was in the Wednesday Witch this week. Rumour says Daddy broke up her relationship with Desmond Wren, that upcoming junior minister in the Treasury?’

Carter’s face darkened. ‘For once, I may have to agree with Malcolm,’ he said. ‘I’ll talk to her. Over breakfast, obviously.’

Ceri was about to ask why Carter agreed with Petra’s dad when Lily touched her arm. ‘Table twelve, hun.’

Grinning, Ceri picked up her tray and strutted off through the tables. Strutting was something she had had to learn, though she had had a good teacher. The four inch sling-back pumps helped get her hips moving, but it also took attitude and a degree of balance which she had had to practice for days before starting working at the club.

Table twelve was a vampire couple. He was older than her, and had likely turned her, but was not yet old enough that it was showing. Ceri hated it when it showed because she tended to see through the illusion they used to hide their slow decline into a walking corpse with fangs. ‘Can I get you another drink?’ she asked.

The woman smiled, showing her fangs in an unconcerned way. ‘How do you always know?’ she asked, and then went on without waiting for a reply. ‘Same again for me.’

‘And me,’ the man added smoothly, ‘though I could do with a proper drink soon.’ The last part was said to his partner, but at the same time he cast his aura toward Ceri. The intended result was a feeling of euphoria; vampires used it to make their victims feel happy before the initial bite went in.

Ceri looked at him and bit back on the first thing she wanted to say. ‘I’ll get your drinks,’ she said, forcing a smile onto her face, and turned on her heel.

‘Two Dragon Bloods, Alec,’ she said as soon as she was back at the bar.

‘Did they try something?’ Carter asked quietly. Carter was a very perceptive man.

‘Him,’ Ceri replied. ‘Nothing I couldn’t handle. I think the alcohol’s starting to hit him.’

Carter nodded. ‘Why don’t you suggest an alternative venue for them to finish their evening,’ he said.

‘I can deal with them, boss,’ she replied, ‘it’s okay.’

‘No,’ he said, shaking his head, ‘they’ve been in here before and he gets troublesome. Nothing too bad, but I’ve seen the type. He’s old enough to think humans are tasty little bottles of blood and not old enough to have the sense to avoid nightclubs.’ Along with the physical decline, vampires tended to lose their humanity with age.

Alec put the two cocktails down on Ceri’s tray and she picked it up, nodding to Carter. She was preparing the spell as she walked toward them and she spoke as soon as she reached the table. ‘Enjoy your drinks. If you’re hungry though, it’s best to eat out.’ Both of them did a slow blink as she put their glasses down on the table.

‘Thanks,’ the woman said, looking a little confused. ‘I think we will.’

Ceri gave them a warm smile and walked back to the bar, leaning against the counter to watch them. The drinks were quickly knocked back and they were at the till settling their bill before either of them seemed to have worked out what they were doing.

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

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

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

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

Kennington, March 27th

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

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

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

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

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

~~~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~~

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

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

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

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

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

‘I doubt it. Ready?’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

March 28th

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

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

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

~~~

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘Yes,’ Twill replied shortly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Battersea, April 17th

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

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

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

Part Two: Dreams and Delusions

Holloway, London, April 19th, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘A cup of coffee would be excellent, dear girl,’ Ed broke in, ‘but if you’re ready to start your test then, frankly, food can wait.’

Cheryl grinned. Ceri got the impression that Ed was as passionate about his subject as she and Cheryl were. ‘I’ll start prepping the circle then,’ she said.

With Cheryl in the silver-iron safety cage, situated near the lab door to facilitate rapid escapes, Ed was left in the main staging area, a mug of coffee in hand, watching Ceri carefully pour salt into the carved runes which formed the containment circle. To keep things as constant as possible, and simply to save time, the symbology for the circle had been carved into a large block of granite. Salt was both a transfer medium for the energy Ceri would use to invoke the circle and was also symbolic since salt was often used as a barrier substance against magic. She worked always from the north, clockwise, and starting from the inside and working out.

‘You’re a practitioner then, Ceri,’ Ed asked after he had watched her working for a few minutes.

‘Yes,’ Ceri replied, ‘not that I need be to do this. I could mark out a summoning circle when I was ten.’

‘Most precocious,’ he replied, grinning.

Ceri grinned back. ‘My parents were both enchanters, my Dad did a bit of wizardry on the side.’

‘You are that Brent,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t sure. Have you followed your father’s wizardry or your mother’s witchcraft?’ He obviously knew more about her than he was saying, or about her parents anyway.

‘Neither, really. I’m kind of a… generalist. I learned a few spells for my PPC, Carter taught me some more, and I’ve worked out a few for myself.’

‘You’ve done the Public Practitioner’s Certificate?’

‘The university requires it for anyone doing actual magic on site,’ Ceri replied, ‘and raising a circle counts.’

‘Ah yes, of course. I did mine so long ago I’d forgotten why.’ So he was a practicing magician as well. ‘I’m something of a generalist myself, a wizard if I had to classify myself. More of the wizardry specialities are useful for research.’

Ceri started running salt around the inner of the two circles. ‘True. Carter taught me several spells for analysing magic and the like.’

‘Carter?’

‘Oh, sorry. Carter Fleming. He’s a friend. He runs a bunch of nightclubs, but he’s also a practicing wizard.’ She finished her circuit and set to work on the final eight runes between the inner and outer rings.

‘Aha! Yes, I’ve heard of him.’ Ed sounded a little triumphant. ‘I’m afraid I’m terrible at current events. Partially it’s from living in a town that’s in the middle of nowhere, but it’s also inclination.’

‘He’s a good guy. A bit of a reputation, but he’s good to Cheryl and he’s been good to my partner.’ She stood up, examining her work to be sure she had missed nothing.

‘Partner? That’s one of those modern euphemisms for an unconventional relationship?’ He did not sound disapproving, though Ceri was aware that mid-Wales was a little more conservative than central London.

‘You could say that,’ Cheryl said, leaning out of the cage, ‘Lily is a half-succubus.’

Ed blinked. ‘Really? Not many of them about. There used to be a big thing with students getting together and summoning succubi in the eighties. Sort of an orgy drug of choice. And of course there was all the summoning and binding as sex slaves in the sixties and seventies before wizardry started cleaning up its act. There were more half-demons around then, but most of them went off the rails and ended up committing suicide by police wizard.’

‘Well,’ Ceri said, ‘that was where Lily was headed until Carter found her and persuaded her to turn her life around.’

‘From what he says,’ Cheryl commented, ‘you had something to do with it. You ready?’

‘Say the word,’ Ceri replied.

‘Let’s do this then. Ed, would you care to join me in my cage?’

‘How could I refuse such a delightful offer?’ Ed said, turning to follow Cheryl while Ceri began to lay the salt in the final, outer, ring. ‘So,’ Ed’s voice said from behind the silver-iron mesh, ‘you and this Carter…’

Ceri grinned as she placed the salt down on the floor and turned to face the northern point of the pentagram inscribed within the circles. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply and focussing her mind on the circle. All the ritual and magic words were dressing as far as she was concerned, but she always felt like showing off a bit whenever she powered up the lab’s circle. She raised her arms as she poured power into the salt. ‘Let’s get started,’ she said and the salt flared silver-white as the containment circle established itself. Her Sight showed her the shimmering column which stood between the granite and the ceiling. Up there at the top the magic sealed it off, the bottom seal was invisible, embedded in the stone.

Smiling, Ceri walked around to the door of the cage. ‘We’re up, boss. Fire at will.’ She turned back to watch the circle, her Sight still showing the shimmering wall of magic.

‘You’re not coming in here?’ Ed asked.

‘I can’t see anything from in there,’ Ceri replied.

Cheryl just said, ‘Initiating resonance generators.’ On the floor of the lab, around the circle, a ring of silver-iron coils powered up. Slowly at first, then increasingly quickly, the currents of colours within the circle began to swirl in the same direction, clockwise. ‘Powering the accelerators, sixty second burst,’ Cheryl said and Ceri heard the cooling fans whir into life before the four beams fired. Bright colours stormed across the surface of the cylinder of light, spreading from the impact points.

‘It’s working,’ Ceri said, ‘exactly as before. Containment’s solid.’ She watched as the fake light from the circle became overwhelmed by the real light flooding out. ‘The excitation field is establishing nicely.’

Cheryl could see the bright shine of the containment field through the cage’s mesh. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘let’s hope this works or you’ll be holding that up until tea time. Activating the tap accelerator.’

A fifth beam lanced out, striking the circle at a glancing angle. Its course deflected by a few degrees and it continued on its way into a large metal box on the other side of the lab. Ceri watched the beam, so did half a dozen thaumometers. No matter how good her Sight was, Ceri was beaten to the punch by the instruments. ‘I’m registering a one per cent increase in beam strength compared to the input beam,’ Cheryl said.

‘Turn the accelerator frequency up about five kilohertz,’ Ceri suggested.

Cheryl’s fingers danced over the keys. Ceri saw the beam change subtly, perhaps the slight strobing effect along the stream of positively charged thaumitons had altered slightly. Whatever, she stepped back, covering her eyes as the output beam suddenly brightened into incandescence. ‘That’s better,’ Cheryl said calmly, unable to see the sudden increase in beam intensity. ‘We’re getting… wow, a fifteen thousand per cent increase.’

Ceri did a quick calculation. ‘That’s still only half the potential output level. We can probably fine tune it a little more, but I’d rather see the figures than stand here guessing.’

Cheryl nodded. ‘We’ll let the tap pull the energy off. I think we’re looking at about thirty minutes at this level drain. Then we get Ed some lunch while the computers crunch numbers.’

Ed had walked out to stand beside Ceri and look at the glowing, shimmering colours that swept around the containment barrier. ‘It’s rather beautiful,’ he said quietly.

‘Try it with Sight,’ Ceri suggested, ‘but, uh, try not to look at the output beam directly.’ There was a short pause, and then Ed gasped. ‘Yeah,’ Ceri said, ‘it is kind of beautiful.’

~~~

The Wizard’s Flagon was a chain of what could probably be best described as “refreshment houses” which had been set up by a marketing consultancy and had spread through the entire country. Each of them was basically identical to all the others; one side of the building was a family friendly coffee shop, while the other was done up as a pseudo-medieval pub. The lunches were pre-made and heated to order, but they were good enough if you wanted a pint with a pie.

In Ceri’s case, the beer was replaced by wine and the pie was a salad. Apparently pie and ale was some sort of academic tradition, but neither Cheryl nor Ed could persuade her to try either. Beer, as far as Ceri was concerned, was something she got in when the North Hills pack was staying over.

‘You ever tried fae wine?’ Ceri asked as they sat at one of the very solid looking, but actually flat-pack tables.

‘Once,’ Cheryl said, ‘in my undergraduate days.’

‘Really?’ Ed asked. ‘I’ve heard it’s a little…’

‘I woke up in a tangle of limbs,’ Cheryl said. ‘Thankfully they were still attached to their owners, but I still can’t remember much of what happened after the first glass.’

‘It tastes wonderful,’ Ceri said, smirking, ‘but your inhibitions go west really fast.’

‘When did you have some?’ Cheryl asked, frowning.

‘Lily’s birthday. We went to this place called The Dubh Linn.’

‘Dubh Linn?’ Ed said, musingly. ‘It means “black pool” in Irish.’ Ceri raised an eyebrow, pool instead of lake, she had not been far off. ‘The city, Dublin, is derived from the term.’

Cheryl grinned. ‘Font of knowledge is Ed.’

‘Where did you two meet?’ Ceri asked.

‘It was in… ninety-nine?’ Cheryl replied.

Ed nodded. ‘The Third Annual Cambridge Thaumatology Conference,’ he said. ‘We were sat together for the conference dinner, away from all the Cambridge types.’

‘You gave that paper on resonance induction in thaumic fields,’ Cheryl added.

‘That’s what we use for generating the cyclic field in the circle?’ Ceri asked.

‘The practical application of it, yes,’ Ed said. ‘I’ve been following Cheryl’s work ever since that conference. We sat through the entire dinner talking about my paper and how she wanted to crack the fundamental laws of magic. Of course, the Cambridge Set had money and all the best postgraduates. Except for Cheryl.’

‘I was a fresh, young research assistant back then. Mathew Barnes tried to hit on me, as I recall. You defended my honour.’ Ceri saw the grin on Cheryl’s face, and the hint of darkness in her eyes. Mathew Barnes had tried to kill both of them to stop them discovering the T-Null boson. One of his tricks had been to enthral Cheryl into trying to murder Ceri.

‘Well,’ Ed said, ‘he won’t be preying on anymore young women. Did they ever figure out what happened to him?’

Cheryl shook her head, looking at Ceri. ‘They never did,’ Ceri said, ‘but I think I know.’

‘You do?’ Cheryl said, surprised. ‘You’ve never said.’

‘It’s just a guess.’ Ceri remembered seeing Barnes in the Jade Dragon. His soul had been wrapped in a webbing of black, demonic energy; the metaphysical manifestation of the taint his demon master had bestowed upon him. ‘He was soul-tainted,’ she said. ‘Really badly. I think his body was destroyed when the circle ruptured and then his soul was sucked into Hell.’

There was a pause. Silence descended on the table for a few seconds. Then Ed said, ‘Couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.’

Kennington, April 20th

Ceri climbed slowly to her feet and grabbed some toilet paper to wipe her mouth clean. From behind her, Lily said, ‘Feel better now?’

‘No,’ Ceri snapped, stepping over to the sink. She turned on the cold tap and splashed water into her face. That made her feel a bit better.

‘It’s just nerves?’ Lily supplied.

‘I know it’s nerves, Lily!’

‘All right, all right, no need to bite my head off.’ Lily was a little irritable herself. Ceri was having to get up early, and had not been in a mind set to engage in morning nookie. Lily was going to actually have real breakfast! ‘You’ll be fine,’ she said for the umpteenth time.

‘I’ll fluff the interview,’ Ceri said despondently.

‘Like you did the one to get the job with Cheryl?’

‘Yeah, just like…’ Ceri stopped, scowling at her friend. She had, of course, aced the interview with Cheryl.

‘I seem to recall you throwing up and refusing to go to that one too,’ Lily commented.

‘I, uh…’

‘And then there was the three months it took me to persuade you you should apply in the first place,’ Lily went on.

‘Yes, but…’

‘And Cheryl told you she had been expecting you to apply and she was surprised your letter only arrived on the last day.’

‘Well, yes… but this…’

‘So you’ll go and see this Professor Perry, who has already said you’ll pass, and you’ll wow him with your insight into the metaphysical process of were-creature transformation, and you’ll be Doctor Brent, and we’ll party.’ Lily nodded as though these were empirical facts.

‘But I…’ Ceri started.

‘Or,’ Lily interrupted her, ‘I can move back into the spare room for a month.’ Ceri looked pained. ‘You do remember what I said we’d do when you pass, don’t you?’ Ceri nodded. She remembered. Her cheeks coloured at the thought. ‘Right,’ Lily said, ‘so buck your ideas up. No demon wants a Mistress who’s afraid of herself.’

Ceri slumped. Lily was just being mean. Of course, she was also right. Ceri was not afraid of Ed Perry, she was afraid of messing up, embarrassing herself, having a panic attack at embarrassing herself which would be even more embarrassing… She was afraid of herself. Which was stupid. And Ceri was not stupid, was she? Hell, no!

‘Right,’ she said, ‘I’ll have a shower and get dressed.’

‘Good,’ Lily said, ‘and tonight it’s party time at the Dragon when you pass. When, you hear me?’

Ceri stuck her head under the shower. ‘Yes, Lily,’ she bubbled.

Soho

Ceri had not been exactly sure about it when Cheryl had said that Ed would be coming to the Jade Dragon with them. His train back was in the morning and there was no way he was going to spend the night in a generic hotel room, and he had been quite keen. It seemed that he was rather more of a party animal than he looked, though if she were honest he could hardly be less of one.

They were met at the reception lectern by a beaming Lily. ‘Doctor Tennant,’ she said, ‘Professor Perry, Doctor Brent. Welcome to the Jade Dragon.’

Ceri giggled. ‘I’m not technically a doctor until the graduation ceremony in November,’ she said.

‘Technicalities,’ Lily said, waving that aside. ‘Come on, we’ve saved table one for you.’

Table one was not the best table in the club. It was the booth nearest the bar and so there was a fair bit of foot traffic past it. However, it was one of Lily’s tables, and its proximity to the bar meant that Carter and Alec could visit easily. Ceri was intercepted anyway before she got to the table. Alec actually lifted her off her feet as he hugged her.

‘Congratulations, kid,’ he said. ‘Glad I could help too.’ He settled her back on her feet.

Ed was eyeing the big man carefully. ‘You must be Alec,’ he said, offering a hand.

Alec shook it, grinning. ‘I guess my name’s in the “with thanks” bit, right?’

‘Indeed. It’s a pleasure meeting you. We still have a few black-furs in Wales, but they keep themselves to themselves.’

Alec nodded. ‘I know a couple of them. Good, solid wolves. Strong packs. The Snowdonian bunch tend to claim Aberystwyth for their territory, don’t they?’

‘Yes,’ Ed said. ‘We get a few of them coming through the university, more from the Brecon pack.’

‘Hywel never was a big one for education,’ Alec said. ‘You get to your table and we’ll get some drinks sorted for you.’

They made it two yards before Carter was beside Ceri, though he allowed her to continue on as he gave her a firm pat on the shoulder. ‘Well done, my dear,’ he said, directing her to sit on one side of the booth while first Ed and then Cheryl moved in to the other side. Carter smiled and lifted Cheryl’s hand to his lips in greeting; always the charmer. ‘Now then,’ the club’s owner said, ‘I’ve put a small amount of money behind the bar for celebrating Ceri’s victory over her own nerves. If you break that you’ll have to fork over the cash yourselves. I’m not made of money.’ He smirked at them. ‘Enjoy yourselves and I’ll pop by for a proper chat later.’

Wandering off to other tables, Carter was quickly replaced by Lily. ‘Hello,’ she said, ‘I’m Lily and I’ll be your adoring waitress for this evening. If you manage to drink your way through that money Carter mentioned, we’ll be sure to make sure you get carried safely to your respective lodgings.’ Ceri wondered how much Carter had put on their tab.

‘He seems to be being rather generous,’ Ed said, sounding surprised.

‘Return on investment,’ Lily said. ‘Ceri’s idea about the werewolf transformation has saved him thousands in damages at one of his other clubs. Oh, that reminds me. Jasmine asked if you’d like to “bring that hunk of a boyfriend” for a couple of drinks at the Collar Club tomorrow night.’

Ed was starting to look a bit confused. ‘You have a boyfriend?’ he asked Ceri. ‘I thought you and Lily…’

‘Technically,’ Ceri said, ‘Lily is my pet demon, I’m her mistress, and Michael is my mate. He’s one of the Battersea pack, in the Alpha’s guard unit.’

‘You have a werewolf… mate?’

Lily started to giggle. ‘She takes her research very seriously.’ Schooling her face back into waitress mode, she asked, ‘What can I get you?’

‘Beer, please,’ Ed said.

‘A red wine,’ Cheryl said.

‘I’ll have…’ Ceri began, but Lily cut her off.

‘You’re sorted,’ Lily said. ‘I have your drinks planned through until closing time.’

‘Uh, okay…’ Ceri said. She had some slight worries regarding what Lily had planned, but she trusted her demon, more or less. ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘can you get a message to Jasmine that I’ll come over with Michael next week.’

‘You’re still planning to do that full time gig?’ Lily asked. Ceri nodded, and Lily headed off toward the bar.

‘Full time gig?’ Cheryl asked.

‘I’m going to spend a full day with the pack,’ Ceri said. ‘Wednesday night through to Friday morning.’

‘Aren’t they mostly homeless?’ Cheryl asked. ‘I don’t see you sitting on a street corner with a tin cup.’

Ceri shrugged. ‘I want to know what their life’s like, and I feel like I owe them something for what they’ve taught me so far.’

‘You seem a most conscientious woman,’ Ed remarked. ‘I don’t quite see how you ended up with a werewolf as a mate. The term implies two werewolves…’

‘I turned myself into one,’ Ceri said. Ed raised an eyebrow; the ability to transform into other creatures was very rare magic. ‘I’m an honorary member of the pack and Michael claimed me as a mate. He’s Welsh, though you can hardly tell. He grew up in the Brecon pack.’

‘She’s into younger men,’ Lily said as she appeared and started placing drinks on the table. ‘Hot, eighteen year old, wolf-hunk she totally seduced with her inability to say a word when they first met.’ She placed a cocktail of some sort down in front of Ceri. ‘You’ll like that,’ she said.

‘Are you planning on having to carry me home?’ Ceri asked.

‘Oh no,’ Lily replied with a thoroughly mischievous smirk, ‘you’ll be quite capable of walking.’ She turned and headed back toward the bar.

‘She’s up to something,’ Cheryl commented.

Ceri nodded and tried the drink. ‘Mmm… Yes, she is, but she’s right about the cocktail.’

~~~

‘So how did the test go yesterday?’ Carter asked. He had joined them in the booth, sitting beside Ceri with a tumbler of whiskey. Generally he had a couple of drinks during a night, when he was being sociable with a regular or some celebrity, or a girl he was busy converting from customer to conquest. Ceri had never seen him drunk, even at private parties.

‘We got over a megawatt out of it for thirty minutes,’ Cheryl said. ‘We should be able to at least double the power output once it’s tuned.’

‘There is one small issue though,’ Ceri said.

‘Cheryl told me about maintaining the circle,’ Carter said, ‘and about your suggestion for an emergency generator application. It sounds very promising.’ His face suddenly darkened. Ceri followed his gaze to see a man in his late twenties settling into a booth at the back of the club with a tall, attractive woman.

‘Something wrong?’ she asked.

‘That,’ he said, ‘is Desmond Wren.’

‘The guy Petra was going out with?’ He nodded in reply. ‘Who’s the woman?’

‘Presumably, that is Petra’s replacement.’

Ceri looked the woman over; a typical model-type, tall, slim, attractive, possibly with no personality. ‘He downgraded,’ she said. As Carter chuckled she almost automatically cast her Sight over the pair. The woman was wearing some sort of cosmetic charm, quite why would forever be a mystery. Ceri’s eyes were drawn to the black tendrils twisting around Wren’s Chakral Median. She had seen that kind of thing before, on the mages who had assisted Remus. It was a sign that the man had a pact with a demon, and used it.

Carter probably saw the colour drain from her face. His hand landed on hers under the table and he squeezed her fingers. ‘You see it, don’t you?’ he said quietly.

‘I see why you warned Petra off him,’ she said. She shook her head and turned back to the people on the table, smiling. ‘Luckily I have much more pleasant company. What’s the university like in Aberystwyth, Ed? I vaguely remember driving through there once with my parents.’

‘Well,’ Ed said, sitting back with his beer, ‘the town isn’t big. Half the population are students. The university was founded in eighteen-seventy-two, the first university in Wales and the original building is down on the sea front still. The main university buildings are up at the top of the hill these days, though since the hill is subsiding down toward the sea it may be back in town eventually.’ He took a drink. ‘We took over the old Chemistry Department building when they shut them down in the eighties. Huge, stone building, huge staircase in the foyer. Plenty of lab space. You should visit sometime.’

‘Ceri doesn’t travel well,’ Cheryl said.

‘Like fine wine,’ Carter added.

‘I see where you get your reputation from,’ Ed said, smiling as Ceri and Cheryl giggled.

‘Oh, these two know me far too well for that to be anything other than entertainment,’ Carter said.

‘I say you should visit,’ Ed said, pushing the conversation back on topic, ‘because there’s a young historian there who has done an excellent thesis on your namesake, Ceridwyn.’

‘The sorceress?’ Ceri said, hoping her slight discomfort did not show. Her parents had named her after an ancient sorceress for a very good reason.

‘Indeed. Young Vivian has amassed quite some evidence that she was a real woman. It’s a fascinating read.’

‘Speaking of which,’ Carter said, ‘when do I get to read your thesis, Ceri?’

‘Now that it’s been vetted,’ Ceri said, thankful for the subject change, ‘your personal copy will be delivered as soon as possible. Friday, probably. I’ll bring it to work.’

‘Work?’ Ed asked.

‘I’m a waitress here Fridays and Saturdays.’

Ed smiled. ‘Your talents, it seems, are limitless,’ he said.

April 21st

Ceri had moved up to the bar when Cheryl and Ed had left. Ed was catching a relatively early train and Cheryl wanted to make sure he got back to his hotel all right. From the look she had given Carter on leaving, and his non-audible reply, she would be back before the club closed.

Lily was walking back from one of her tables as Ceri sipped the latest of a long line of cocktails she had been presented with throughout the evening. This one had a rather sweet, strawberry flavour and it was making her feel warm in some very intimate places. She was vaguely wondering what Lily, and Alec since he mixed the drinks, had been feeding her all night, but she was mostly thinking how lucky she was to have the gorgeous creature walking toward her for a lover.

Ceri looked up at Lily, who was grinning far too much. ‘What’s in the drinks?’ she asked.

Alec leaned over the bar. ‘Touch of a liquor distilled from fae wine,’ he said, ‘essence of ginger and basil, a hint of saffron, and a little caraway.’ Ceri blinked at him. ‘Prepared in the right way, and I know someone who prepares it just right, it promotes strength and makes you less susceptible to the draining powers of succubi, but it also has the unfortunate side effect of making you randy as hell with barely any inhibitions.’

‘And you’ve been serving it to me all night?’ Ceri said. Her brain was the kind of brain which could point out to her that her lack of outrage at this notion was probably the result of the inhibition inhibiting effect. Another part of her brain pointed out that “inhibition inhibiting” was a funny sort of phrase. Hilarious, in fact, which was why she was giggling.

‘Well,’ Alec said, ‘I’d normally consider it akin to slipping someone something dodgy in a bar, but considering it was Lily’s idea and I think she knows what she’s doing…’

Ceri looked at Lily. ‘Why have you been drugging me all evening, pet?’

‘Oh, that’s easy,’ Lily said, beaming at her. ‘You’re going to need all the strength you can get when we get home. Drink up. You’ve time for one more before we close.’

‘You’re both very bad people,’ Ceri said, before downing her cocktail.

Kennington

Ceri opened her eyes. It was still daylight, but the dull light coming in through the curtains suggested it was getting late. Hardly a shock considering that they had finally gone to sleep well after dawn. In fact, she was a little unsure what had woken her until she felt Lily shift against her back. The half-demon usually slept soundlessly, unmoving, curled against Ceri’s back as though it were a safety blanket. Ceri slid sideways a little so that she could turn and look at her friend.

Lily’s brow was creased into a frown. Her eyes were tightly closed, almost as if she were in pain rather than asleep. It seemed as though she became slowly aware that Ceri had moved and her arms reached out, fumbling.

‘It’s okay, Lil,’ Ceri said quietly, ‘I’m here.’

Lily’s eyes flew open and she cut off a sharp cry. ‘Oh, Ceri. Oh, I’m sorry I…  must’ve been having…’

‘I thought I was the one with nightmare problems,’ Ceri said. Reaching out, she pulled Lily close against her side.

Lily laid her head on Ceri’s shoulder. ‘I was dreaming about my father,’ she said softly.

For a long time, everything Lily had ever said about her father had suggested that some demons got undeserved bad press. It would come out in little anecdotes. Her father had taught her a little of the commonest demon language, Devotik, for example. Admittedly, most of the words he had taught her were rude, but it was the thought that counted. He had educated his daughter in a little demonic culture, since she might have to deal with them. He had sounded like a fun sort of dad.

Then Ceri had discovered Lily had a pair of demon-bane daggers which she had obtained in case her father came back looking for her. It had been his influence which had turned her from a cute teenager into a sexual predator. Even after he had been banished, his effect on her had led her to run away from home, and had been well on the way to turning her into the kind of supernatural who hung out at the Dubh Linn. Ceri had sworn that if he ever tried to control Lily again, Lily would have to fight her for the opportunity to kill the bastard.

‘Do you get that a lot?’ Ceri asked.

Lily shook her head. ‘I haven’t dreamed of him since he was banished.’

‘You… don’t think he’s back, do you?’

‘I don’t think so,’ Lily replied. ‘I’d know. I think I’d know.’ She frowned. ‘I’m sure…’

Ceri looked at her. ‘You’ll be okay going to work and stuff?’

Black eyes sought out Ceri’s blue ones. ‘Of course I will. It was just a nightmare. Not even much of a nightmare.’

‘What happened in it?’

Lily closed her eyes, frowning as she tried to recall the dream. ‘It’s… mostly gone. I remember his face. He was talking to me. I… no, I don’t remember any words, just that he was talking.’ Her frown deepened. ‘He looked concerned… I think there was someone else there. Just a shadow… A man with a head like a rat. Some kind of were-rat?’ She shook her head and opened her eyes. ‘I’m sure that’s meaningful in some way. Or just a dumb dream element.’

‘Probably the latter,’ Ceri said, grinning. ‘Were-rats are a myth.’

‘Yeah.’ Lifting her head, Lily gave Ceri a soft kiss on the cheek. ‘You go have fun with Michael. I’m sure he missed you last night.’

‘I’m quite sure he did,’ Ceri replied. ‘I wonder if that cocktail mix of yours is still working. I could use the added vitality.’

Battersea

Anita was briefing her troops. She had actually shifted her briefings from Mondays to Thursdays to be sure that Ceri would be there for it. She gave her briefings in human form, because it was easier to get the more complex information across that way. Despite the fact that the weather was less than glorious, she stood there in the drizzle and chill wind wearing nothing but a stoic expression. Ceri had started wondering whether the woman had nerve endings.

‘Evening troops,’ Anita said to the somewhat motley crew of werewolves sat around on the grass and the odd cardboard box or fallen branch. Anita held her meetings in the large, grassy area on the north side of Alexandra’s favourite island. They were mostly greys, but there were a couple of browns, and Ceri. ‘There’s not too much to go over this week,’ Anita went on as the growls and grumbles of greeting subsided. ‘So let’s get this over with quickly. I’m freezing my tits off here.’

Everyone settled. Ceri was a little surprised no one jumped on the “freezing my tits off” remark, but they were a fairly disciplined bunch. And also it was a fairly disgusting night to be sitting about in the open. ‘All right, things are continuing fairly quiet with the lousy weather, but Alexandra says it’s going to perk up next week so we’ll see more foot traffic in the park soon. Usual rules. Make sure everyone is behaving themselves around the humans.’ Her gaze fell upon her one black-furred soldier. ‘Some of you will know we’re going to have Ceri here next week from Wednesday night through to Friday morning. We finally get a chance to see what she’s like in daylight. As normal, she’s to be treated like any other pack guard.’

The big woman waited for the slight murmur of noise to fade before continuing. ‘We have had a couple of reports of unusual activity in various areas around our territory. Mostly people getting bad feelings off humans they’ve seen. Probably nothing major. You all know what humans can be like around us. Just keep your eyes open.’ She looked around. ‘Any questions?’ No one said anything, and she nodded. ‘Right, I’m going to get into fur while my nipples are still attached.’

Michael’s hand touched Ceri’s shoulder and, when she looked around at him, he waved for her to follow as he set off toward the water. It was a cold swim, but shaking the water away on the other side was always fun, and then they were running and she was soon warming up again. He took her north to the river bank and they leant against the wall there, watching the pedestrians and the river traffic. It was kind of romantic, but Ceri could not get into the mood. The people walking past saw to that.

Me not like Man kind. Ceri’s growled comment made Michael turn to look at her. Man stupid.

You Man kind, he replied.

She shook her head. Not Man. Not Wolf. Other.

He regarded her closely with his orange-brown eyes. His growl said, You good Wolf.

She was about to reply when she saw the man sitting on a bench perhaps twenty yards away. At first glance he was just staring at the pair of werewolves. Plenty of people were staring at the werewolves; despite the fact that were-creatures were not exactly uncommon, people stared. This one was staring differently, however. Her brow furrowed and Michael’s head turned a little so that he could see what she was looking at out of the corner of his eye. He turned back.

Watching us, Michael growled.

Ceri stopped looking directly at the man. There was no word she knew for “observing,” so she growled her agreement. However, they were being observed, not watched. She flicked on her Sight out of habit. The man was wearing charms, several of them, but she could see no sign of the darkness associated with a pacted magician. On the other hand, like this she could see the double image which suggested that at least one of the charms was a disguise spell. Certainly something designed to obscure the man’s real nature.

Something odd, she growled. Report.

Later. Go bridge. He pushed off from the wall and started walking toward the bridge at the corner of the park.

They were not followed, but there was another dark figure standing opposite the park beside the bridge. They moved into the shadow of the trees and looked out at the man as he stood there, leaning against a lamppost and smoking.

He see us, Ceri growled.

Man eyes not good in dark, Michael replied.

Magic. He see us. She could tell from the way the figure’s head moved. They watched as he raised his hand to take a drag on his cigarette, but paused, his lips moving, before sucking in the smoke. Either a hidden radio or a telecommunication spell. Whoever they were, they were acting in concert.

April 23rd

‘We found six of them,’ Ceri said. She was sat beside the fire in Alexandra’s clearing, wrapped in a blanket.

‘And from where you described them,’ Anita said, ‘there were at least another eight dotted around the outer edge of the park.’ It was late, or early, and even the Captain of the Guard had chosen to wrap a blanket around herself to lessen the cold.

‘I’ve sensed no threat to the pack,’ Alexandra said. ‘Perhaps the police are checking up on the werewolf population after last year.’

Ceri considered for a second. ‘Well, if it’s just that, I might be able to get Kate or John to admit it. I’ll see if I can talk to them tomorrow.’ Michael grumbled something. ‘No,’ she said, ‘they didn’t feel like cops to me either. If they were mages they were quiet about it, but they had a lot of charms on them.’

Alexandra looked at Anita. ‘No need for immediate alarm, I think. However, we’ll make sure everyone keeps their eyes open. Oh, and make sure everyone goes out in at least pairs.’ She looked toward Michael, sat pressed against Ceri, his chin on her shoulder. ‘Michael, you’ll escort Ceri back to her house tonight. Don’t come back alone until it’s light. I’m sure neither Ceri nor Lily will mind you staying over.’

‘That’s not necessary,’ Ceri started.

‘We don’t know what this is about,’ Anita said. ‘You’re under pack rules as well. You don’t go out without a partner. That’s an order.’ The amazon-like woman had a smirk on her face as she said it.

Ceri grinned. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘If it’s an order.’

Kennington

Ceri picked up her satchel full of clothes from the tree as they left, but the couple stayed in wolf form all the way back to High Towers. Michael had not bothered to grab anything to wear, and it seemed pointless, and slower, for Ceri to change back. Besides, she loved running with her mate. It was one of the things she liked most about her times as a wolf.

Lily seemed very pleased to see the two of them. She gave Michael a tight hug while Ceri was transforming back to human, and then crushed Ceri half to death. ‘What’s got into you?’ Ceri asked when she could draw breath.

‘I’m feeling… twitchy,’ the half-succubus said, ‘and also horny.’

‘You’re horny?’ Ceri said. ‘After what we got up to last night, you want more?’ Michael growled, a hint of humour in his tone.

‘Michael’s happy enough with the idea,’ Lily giggled. ‘I can’t help it. Half succubus, y’know?’

Ceri frowned slightly. Something felt a little off, but she was not sure what and Lily was looking very eager. Still, something made her feel like she should assert herself. Pulling herself up straight she said, ‘Very well, pet. Get upstairs and wait. I’ll be up with Michael shortly.’

Lily’s eyes widened slightly and she shivered. ‘Yes, Mistress,’ she said, and turned to dash up the stairs.

‘Walk!’ Ceri snapped and Lily almost jumped, slowing to a steady, sexy walk. Ceri waited for her to make the second landing before turning to Michael. ‘You’re staying in wolf form,’ she said, ‘and I think Lily’s demon needs a little reminder of who’s boss, so things are going to be a little… kinky tonight.’ The wolf-man raised an eyebrow and grumbled something. ‘Okay,’ Ceri said, ‘a little more kinky than usual. You just do whatever I tell you. Don’t be afraid to play rough. You okay with that?’

Michael growled, pulling his lips back from his teeth, and flexing his muscles. Ceri smiled. This was going to be interesting, and fun.

Soho

Wren was in the club again together with the attractive blonde. Carter had seated him away from Ceri and Lily’s tables, which Ceri was distinctly glad of. She had no desire to wait on a pacted wizard.

‘Why do they do it?’ she said as she was standing by the bar, waiting for one of her tables to need something.

‘Do what?’ Lily asked.

Ceri had barely been aware she had said anything out loud. ‘Oh… form pacts with demons.’

‘Power,’ Carter said from behind her. ‘Mostly it’s power. The spells needed to summon demons are relatively well known and easy to perform, more powerful magic is harder, and it’s tiring. A demon will offer to teach the spells, and give help in the casting… for such a small price.’

Ceri looked around at him. ‘And then the more you use it, the more it gets hard to cast without the demon’s help, right?’

He nodded. There was pain behind his eyes. ‘Breaking free once you’ve made a pact is hard,’ he said. ‘Like stopping drinking or smoking. Frankly, most of the wizards who do it don’t even want to give it up.’ Rumour had it that Carter had made his first million through a demonic pact and, right then, Ceri could believe it. He sounded like a man speaking from experience. Such pacts were illegal, however, and it would hardly be polite to ask if he had had one.

‘Can you see it like I can?’ she asked instead, nodding toward Wren.

‘No, not exactly, but a sufficiently powerful mage can sense it, even without your rather precise Sight.’ His gaze swept over the table where Wren was chatting easily with his companion. ‘He set my alarm bells off the first time I saw him.’

‘He’s not like Barnes was though,’ Lily said.

‘Not even as bad as the wizards who were working with Remus,’ Ceri supplied.

‘Wren did Political Science at Cambridge,’ Carter said. ‘Did a few secondary courses in wizardry as well. From what I’ve heard, he rarely casts a spell. The Treasury isn’t fond of heavily practicing mages. I don’t think he even has a PPC.’

‘Seems like a poor choice on the demon’s part,’ Lily commented, ‘unless it was looking to the political power.’

‘The demon lords are more aware of temporal power as an asset,’ Carter said, ‘but I don’t think it was Wren’s demon who pushed him up the ranks.’ He saw Ceri’s frown. ‘Cambridge has always had a rather extensive Old Boys’ Network,’ he said. ‘Not that it’s done me much good. They don’t like me much.’

‘I thought everyone liked you,’ Ceri said, grinning, ‘especially if they happen to be female.’

Carter smirked. ‘Ah well, there you have it. I undoubtedly stole too many other men’s girlfriends.’

Ceri could tell it was a lie. His crooked smile did not reach his eyes. She wondered what Carter had done to alienate himself from the Cambridge fraternity, but there was no way she was going to ask. Besides, table fourteen was calling. She strutted off through the room, ignoring the fact that she could feel Wren’s eyes on her.

~~~

Kate Middleshaw was sitting on a bar stool when Ceri strode back from a drinks run. Alec was already placing a tumbler of whiskey in front of the detective. She looked tired, but she smiled at Ceri as the sometime-waitress approached.

‘Nice dress,’ Kate said, ‘where’s the rest of it?’ It was the first time Kate had seen Ceri in her Dragon uniform; comments were inevitable.

‘We get them in instalments,’ Ceri replied, grinning. ‘You look like hell.’

‘Thank you, that’s slightly better than I feel. We got word you were looking for us and I needed a drink.’

‘Tough day?’ Ceri asked, putting her tray down on the counter and then leaning against the wood beside Kate. Sitting in the dresses the waitresses wore was possible, but not advisable.

‘Murder,’ Kate replied. ‘Well, probable homicide. We’re waiting on forensics, but it looks like a supernatural kill.’ She sipped her drink. ‘What were you after?’

‘Oh,’ Ceri said, her interest was piqued regarding the death, but she could not interfere in an investigation. ‘Well, I was wondering whether you knew of any police operation to keep an eye on the packs, Battersea in particular. We’ve noticed some people, quite professional looking people, keeping an eye on the park and the rest of our territory.’

Kate grinned. ‘Our territory? You’ve gone native. No, I’m not aware of any operation out of Greycoat Street, and something like that would come from us. We’ve had no trouble at all from the packs since December. Even the Marshwallers and Dog Boys have settled some. We even had a Marshwall squad roll up at the local precinct with some drug dealers last week. Said it was their civic duty to bring in people like that.’ Kate sipped her drink and blinked meaningfully at Ceri. ‘Seriously, Millwall soccer hooligans in fur being good citizens? The desk sergeant almost fell off his chair from what I heard.’

‘I got the impression that removing Remus’ influence from Luperca might have a good effect on the werewolves in general,’ Ceri said. She shrugged. ‘I haven’t noticed much change in the Battersea people, but they always were a pretty civic-minded pack.’

‘For homeless people,’ Kate said, smirking slightly.

‘There’s that. So, if it isn’t you guys watching us, any thoughts on who it could be?’

‘Special Branch,’ Kate suggested. ‘They could have initiated their own investigation, but I kind of doubt it. I could make a few enquiries…’

‘I don’t want to get you into any trouble,’ Ceri said.

Kate shrugged. ‘I have a friend over there. She used to be a Greycoat, necromancer. Got transferred to counter-intelligence, but we keep in touch. If there’s something going on she’ll know about it.’ She chuckled. ‘Most it’ll cost me is a couple of drinks. Might even bring her here.’ She downed her whiskey and slid off her stool. ‘I’d better get home and catch some sleep before we set off again in the morning.’

Ceri nodded. ‘Drink’s on me,’ she said, pulling a wad of notes out of the little hidden pocket in her cleavage. ‘You have a good evening. Hope you catch whoever it is.’

Kate was looking a little perplexed as Ceri found a five pound note among her tip money and handed it across to Alec. ‘That’s from tips?’ she asked.

‘Yeah,’ Ceri said, tucking the rest of the money back in place.

‘I’m so in the wrong job.’

Ceri smirked. ‘You should see what Lily takes home.’ Rolling her eyes, the cop headed out of the club leaving Ceri to consider what she had said. If it was not the Greycoats, and probably was not Special Branch, then who was watching the pack?

Her musings were brought to an end as Wren walked past her, his arm wrapped around the waist of his girlfriend. Ceri caught a glimpse of the girl’s eyes as the couple passed and stepped aside hurriedly. Matthew Barnes had had dead eyes; the kind of eyes you saw on a stone killer. This woman’s eyes were empty, devoid of anything much. They were alive, observing the world, flicking over Ceri with a hint of disdain, but there was nothing behind them, no humanity, no soul. That was taking the archetypal model look a little too far.

Ceri frowned, watching the girl’s retreating back with her Sight. There were no dark marks in the energy of her body, nothing was twined around her spine the way it was with Wren. This close Ceri could easily tell that the charm the woman wore was a trivial illusion designed to mask any little imperfections. Otherwise she was all natural, all normal, aside from not having a soul. Somehow, this living, breathing woman was walking around without one of the main metaphysical components of her body.

Northern Line Tube, April 24th

Ceri broke the kiss she was sharing with Lily, gasping for breath. They were alone in the carriage and Lily’s hands were under Ceri’s coat, sliding over any bare skin they could reach. The half-succubus grinned brightly and settled for kissing her lover’s throat.

‘What’s got into you… oh… recently?’ Ceri managed breathlessly.

‘Recently?’ Lily replied. ‘Michael, really hard. God that was awesome. The way you ordered him to…’

Ceri pushed the memory of their activities the night before aside. ‘You’re being more… demonstrative than… do not put your hand…’ She trailed off, her eyes rolling back.

‘Well,’ Lily said, ‘the weather’s really brightening up. I get horny when it’s sunny.’

‘Pit-pituitary g-gland…’ Ceri stammered. ‘Light s-sensitive.’

Lily giggled softly. ‘Always the scientist. Always thinking.’

‘Can’t… think…’ Ceri moaned. She gasped as Lily pulled her hand from under her coat. The half-demon lifted her middle and index fingers to her mouth and, slowly, sucked them clean. Ceri felt like she might melt.

‘Our stop,’ Lily whispered as the train began to slow. Ceri had some trouble standing up and Lily giggled as she wrapped an arm around her friend’s waist to help her. They were so engrossed in each other as they got off the train that Ceri barely noticed the man in the dark suit getting off the car behind theirs. As it was, she paid him no attention as Lily half-carried her out of the station and toward the park.

In the shadows of the trees, Lily pushed Ceri up against one of the thick trunks. Their lips met and Ceri responded with as much fervour as Lily. She was just as hungry as her lover now, ready for whatever exquisite experience was coming when they finally made it to the bedroom and enjoying the extended foreplay which would get them there. Lily pushed her coat open and the cool, late night air felt good on her hot skin. Lily’s hands felt better.

‘S-someone could c-come,’ Ceri stammered. As Lily bent to bring her lips to Ceri’s neck, Ceri saw that someone was coming. A man, more a shadow in the dark night. ‘Someone is c-coming,’ she whispered.

‘You, in a minute,’ Lily whispered back, dropping to her knees.

‘No,’ Ceri said, more urgently, ‘there’s a man…’ She looked up, but the figure had vanished and, frowning, she summoned up a night vision spell. She could see him, standing in the shadows, watching. Lily lifted the front panel of her skirt. ‘No, Lil, not here. He’s watching…’

‘Let him,’ Lily replied. She leaned forward and Ceri felt the first touch of her tongue.

The figure seemed different, indistinct; a tall man, dark against the darkness with a mane of hair framing his face. ‘Not here, Lil,’ Ceri said, ‘there’s something… oh God…’ Lily was not feeding, just playing; her tongue sending tingles of sensation through Ceri’s lower body. Ceri tried to concentrate on the man in the shadows. ‘Lily,’ she moaned, ‘please stop.’

‘You don’t really want me to.’ Lily’s voice was hungry; her demon-side was speaking.

‘No, pet. Not here… oh Jesus… He’s watching and…’ Lily’s tongue pushed into her and Ceri trailed off into a groan. There was something so wrong about the man and what was happening… Summoning every ounce of willpower she had, Ceri drew in her power and spoke. ‘Dungeon, now!’

Lily reared back as though she had been struck. Her pupils were glowing a fierce red. Ceri could feel her resolve weakening even as the command spell took full hold of Lily and, clambering to her feet, the half-succubus turned and bolted toward the house.

Ceri looked back toward the spot where the watcher had been standing, but there was no longer anyone there.

Kennington

Ceri unlocked the shackles from around Lily’s wrists with a silver key, and then caught the half-succubus as she almost fell from the St Andrew’s Cross. There was a blanket waiting on the altar which faced the cross and Ceri wrapped it around Lily’s shoulders before lowering her to the stone. Black eyes looked up into her blue ones; the expression was adoring.

‘Happy?’ Ceri asked softly.

A flicker of doubt passed over Lily’s gorgeous features. ‘You didn’t…’

‘You can feed in the morn… well, later today. If you’re good.’

Lily smiled weakly. She could keep going for ages if she was having “normal” sex as she drained energy from her partner. Ceri had not allowed her to feed, had just kept her stimulated for a couple of hours, and she was exhausted. ‘I’ll be… very good,’ she breathed. ‘Why… did you stop me… outside?’

‘There was someone watching us?’

‘So?’

Ceri frowned. ‘There have been people watching the pack and there was something about the way he was watching. And how you were acting. You didn’t notice?’

‘I just thought…’ Lily’s brow creased in a frown. ‘I was… a little out of control. I’m glad you stopped me.’

‘You’ve been a little out of control a lot recently, yes. It’s my job to keep you under control. But we won’t worry about that now.’

‘What are we going to worry about?’

‘Sleep,’ Ceri said. ‘I think we could both use some.’ She started to rise, lifting Lily with her, but the half-succubus stopped her, reaching out a hand to touch her face.

‘You know… that’s the first time anyone has ever done… that to me,’ Lily said.

Ceri smiled. ‘What? Abused your body with half a dozen sex toys?’

Lily shook her head. ‘Not taken anything in return.’ She smiled and let herself be lifted to her feet. ‘You’re the only person I’ve ever been with who… treats me like a human.’

‘That’s because you’re the most human person I know, Lil,’ Ceri replied as they started off toward the stairs out of the dungeon.

‘I’m not though,’ Lily replied, ‘I’m half demon. I love you for forgetting that.’

~~~

Ceri put down the phone and turned to Lily who was lying stretched out on the chaise longe. ‘That was Kate,’ she said. ‘These guys are definitely not Special Branch.’

‘Well let me have a word with the next one,’ Lily replied. ‘I’ll get him to talk.’

Ceri grinned. ‘I may consider that.’

‘You think they were following you because of your connection to the pack?’ Lily asked. Ceri could tell she found that doubtful, which was fine by her because she thought it was doubtful as well.

‘Michael and I came back on foot last time,’ she said. ‘No way could those guys have trailed us. The pack had them located and we didn’t even know what we were looking for. They didn’t track us back here. We would have spotted them.’

‘So, these guys are probably not watching the pack,’ Lily said flatly.

‘Or they were watching them because I’m a member. Or they’re watching both.’ Ceri paused, considering. ‘Maybe the other packs. We’ll check up with Catherine.’

‘I don’t think I like the idea of mysterious men following you around, Ceri.’

‘And that, my dear Lily, is why we’re going to find out who they are and what they want,’ Ceri said, grinning.

‘I don’t see us as Holmes and Watson,’ Lily said.

‘Morse and Lewis?’ Ceri suggested. ‘Regan and Carter?’

‘Can’t you come up with and female detectives?’

‘You can be Miss Marple if you like.’

Lily threw the pillow from the lounger. It missed.

Bakerloo Line Tube

‘I had another odd dream last night,’ Lily said as the train pulled away from Oxford Circus.

‘Another nightmare?’ Ceri asked.

‘No, just odd, considering.’

‘Okay, I’ll bite. Why was it odd?’

‘Well, I dreamed I was in the Dubh Linn and I picked up this man. Never seen him before, but it was a really vivid image. We went back to his place and fucked.’ She gave a little shrug. ‘Mind you, I woke up before it got really exciting.’

‘Not exactly sure why that’s odd. I mean, how often do you dream about sex?’

‘Oh, just about every night,’ Lily replied happily, ‘but I dream about it with you, or you and Michael, or you and the North Hills pack, or…’

‘I get the picture, Lil,’ Ceri said. ‘Well, we did go to the Dubh Linn and maybe it brought up some old memories, and dreams are usually built out of memory, maybe distorted memory.’

‘I remember everyone I’ve ever been to bed with,’ Lily said, ‘and I’ve never laid eyes, or anything else, on this guy.’

‘You remember everyone you’ve ever slept with?’

‘Uh-huh, every last one,’ Lily replied. ‘Why?’

Ceri stood as the train slowed to pull into Regent’s Park station. ‘I’m just amazed you can fit all of them in there.’

‘Hey!’ Lily bounced to her feet and followed the giggling Ceri off the train.

Catherine and her pack were in their usual spot at the southern corner of the zoo. One thing had not changed after the death of Catherine’s mate, they still held a picnic in the park on a Sunday. There were differences, however. Where they had sat around in groups for four to six before, now they were in groups of six to ten, and the groups were closer to each other. The winter had done much to pull the Royals together as a pack; the winter and a proper Alpha.

That Alpha smiled warmly as the two women walked into her clearing, and raised a tall glass to them. ‘Champagne?’ she asked as they drew closer.

Ceri grinned. ‘Are we celebrating something?’

‘Stefan’s birthday,’ Catherine replied.

Ceri glanced at Lily, who was looking a little pleading. ‘I guess we could have a glass.’

Catherine grinned and waved for them to sit on the blanket while Stefan poured sparkling liquid into two glasses. ‘To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?’ Catherine asked.

Ceri took her glass from Stefan and raised it to him before taking a sip. ‘Happy birthday,’ she said, receiving a grin in reply. ‘Have you seen any strange men around the park? They would be just watching, standing around the park.’

Catherine looked at Stefan. ‘You’ve not mentioned anything…’

‘No,’ he said, ‘we’ve seen nothing like that. Should we be looking out for it?’

‘Keep an eye out,’ Ceri told him, ‘but if you haven’t seen them already then you probably won’t.’

‘Just the Battersea pack then,’ Lily commented.

‘Someone’s been watching Alexandra’s people?’ Catherine asked, frowning.

‘Well,’ Ceri said, ‘we’re thinking they were watching me, but I’m not sure. Maybe both. We’re wise to them, though.’

‘We’ll look for them,’ Stefan said, ‘just in case.’

‘And meanwhile,’ Catherine said, ‘we can enjoy the sunshine. Forecasts say it’s going to be a warm May.’

‘Oh I hope so,’ Lily said, grinning, ‘I need some sun!’

Ceri rolled her eyes and grinned, sipping Champagne in the park.

Kennington

Ceri stopped as they walked out of the Oval station, her gaze fixed on a young woman sat on the pavement strumming an old guitar. Lily followed her gaze and frowned, not recognising the girl. She followed, bemused as Ceri walked over, dropping some change into the girl’s guitar case.

The girl looked up with a smile which turned into a grin. ‘Hey, Ceri. Thanks.’

‘Afternoon, Ella,’ Ceri replied. ‘This is Lily.’ She glanced at the half-succubus and added, ‘Ella’s Battersea pack.’

‘Resident sing along organiser,’ Ella said and Lily grinned at her, showing her fangs. ‘Oh,’ Ella said, ‘you’re the half-demon Michael’s mentioned. Yeah, of course.’

‘Ella,’ Ceri said, her face going serious, ‘have those men been watching the pack the last few nights.’

Ella shook her head. ‘No, they’ve stopped. We’ve seen none of them around for, oh, a couple of nights, though…’

‘Though what?’ Ceri asked, frowning.

‘Well, I think I saw one here earlier. About half an hour ago. He headed over into the park there.’

‘Looking for you?’ Lily suggested to Ceri.

Ceri nodded. ‘Ella, can you let Alexandra and Anita know that these guys aren’t cops, if they turn up again. I’m looking into it. Okay?’

‘I’ll let them know,’ Ella said, nodding, and Ceri and Lily started off across the road toward Kennington Park. There was no obvious sign of the man Ella had seen, but Twill was already waiting for them in the second kitchen.

‘There’s someone watching the house,’ the fairy said. ‘There have been two, a woman across the street and a man hanging around in the park. She left about twenty minutes ago.’

Ceri nodded. ‘Have any of them tried to get over the fence?’

‘Not as far as I can tell,’ Twill replied, ‘they just watch.’

‘Okay, I’m going to go downstairs and check the boundary enchantments,’ Ceri said. ‘I want to make sure the scrying wards are up and fully functional.’ She headed for the vaguely hidden door in the hall, opening it and heading down the stone spiral of steps in the dark. At the bottom, a stone hallway was lit by glowing runes inscribed in the ceiling and she followed them to a small, metal hatch set in the wall between the bigger iron doors leading to the dungeon and the summoning room. Behind it was the magical construct which Ceri’s mother had designed to allow the house’s enchantments to be monitored and maintained.

The silver runes hung in a vaguely cubic shape, echoing where they sat within the structure of the building. Moving her hand into the control space in front of the model, she turned it and the runes responded, revolving and tilting to give her a good view of them all. One of them caught her attention; the northern obscuration rune was flickering, patterns of darkness dancing over its surface. Ceri frowned.

‘That doesn’t look good,’ Lily said from behind her.

‘Someone’s trying to look into the house,’ Ceri replied. ‘The enchantment is stopping them for now.’

‘You think they could break in?’

Ceri looked at the rune for a few seconds. ‘They haven’t got the power. Not at the moment anyway. I guess they might try harder if they can’t get through.’ Reaching out, she traced her finger over the rune to leave it glowing brighter. Drawing her hand back, she let the model snap back into place. ‘That should hold them.’

Behind her, Lily gave a little squeak of glee. ‘I love it when you do that.’

‘Down, pet.’ Lily dropped to her knees and Ceri giggled. ‘Not like that!’

‘Pet is just following orders, Mistress.’

Ceri growled. It was Sunday afternoon, their one real day off, and there was no excuse not to do whatever they wanted. ‘Get up then, the bed’s more comfortable than a stone floor.’

April 25th

Ceri struggled out of sleep to the sound of someone shouting her name. ‘Ceri! Oh God, wake up! Please wake up!’ It was Lily’s voice and Ceri was totally confused by the urgency and… pure terror in it. She opened her eyes and was rewarded by Lily saying, ‘Oh thank God! I thought I’d killed you.’

‘What?’ Ceri managed sleepily. ‘Of course you didn’t… Did you have a nightmare or something? What time is it?’ She stretched to look at the bedside clock; just after six, but there was plenty of light coming in through the curtains. She reached out and pulled Lily down from where she was kneeling. The half-succubus’ smooth-as-porcelain skin was slick with sweat. ‘What happened, love?’ Ceri asked softly as Lily huddled against her.

‘I guess I was dreaming,’ Lily said. ‘One of those dreams where you dream you’re waking up? I was in a strange bed, in an apartment somewhere, and there was a man in bed with me. Never seen him before, but I remembered having sex with him. He was dead, Ceri. I’d killed him. I know the look they have after. I’d killed him! And then I was waking up, and you were lying there…’

‘Asleep,’ Ceri commented.

‘Well I know that now!’ There was a hint of humour in her voice, but she was clinging fiercely to Ceri.

‘It’s okay, Lil,’ Ceri said soothingly. ‘I’m here, I’m fine. You haven’t killed anyone, okay?’

Lily lifted her face and looked at Ceri. There were tears in her black eyes. ‘It felt real,’ she whispered. ‘Really real. Like I was there, like I could taste him still in my mouth.’

Ceri frowned. ‘I know of magic which can send dreams into someone’s sleep,’ she said, ‘but there’s no way someone could get something like that through the wards. I’ll check them anyway. You’re absolutely sure these can’t be memories?’

Lily shook her head. ‘I’ve really never seen this guy before, dead or alive.’

‘Well, no,’ Ceri said, ‘I’d not expect you to have seen him dead, you…’ She stopped. ‘Have you? Ever?’ There was no answer for a few seconds and she added, ‘I’d just like to know. I’ve never thought about it, but I guess it’s possible…’

‘I’ve woken up beside a couple of corpses,’ Lily said quietly. ‘Accidents. They had a weak heart or were over-tired.’ She paused. ‘I got asked twice to do it on purpose. I nearly did it the second time. They were offering a lot of money.’

‘But you didn’t?’

‘No,’ Lily whispered, ‘no I didn’t.’

Ceri shrugged. ‘Well someone could die having sex with me. Accidents happen.’

‘Thank you,’ Lily said and then she giggled. ‘Can I die having sex with you?’

‘Only if you take me with you,’ Ceri replied. ‘I am so not coming down from that high and discovering a sexy corpse. Now, go back to sleep.’

‘Not sure I can,’ Lily said.

‘Nightmare still bothering you?’

‘Oh no,’ Lily replied. ‘I’m just a bit hungry, that’s all.’

Ceri sighed. Well, she could always sleep in a little late.

Holloway

‘I had an idea,’ Ceri said.

‘You have those,’ Cheryl replied, smiling. ‘Fairly often, as I recall. They’re usually worth listening to.’

Ceri pulled a chair forward and sat down facing Cheryl across her desk. ‘Okay, so you’ve engineered a device which efficiently converts thaumic energy into electrical energy, right?’

‘Hardly an entirely new concept,’ Cheryl said, ‘though my design is a little more efficient than previous models, yes.’

‘Right, so what if we put it in a natural strong thaumic field?’ Cheryl raised an eyebrow and Ceri continued. ‘At the Solstice,’ she said, ‘I was at Stonehenge. I used the field there, pulled power out of it to work magic. It’s not huge, but it’s constant and fairly strong…’

‘So, we build a bigger version of the energy converter and use it to convert that local field into power…’ Cheryl trailed off; Ceri could almost hear her brain cranking up to eleven. ‘It wouldn’t produce very much though.’

‘Enough to power one of the villages nearby,’ Ceri said, ‘basically for free, but you’re right. The henge would just be proof of concept.’

Cheryl narrowed her eyes. ‘What are you thinking?’

‘We put them along the German Rift,’ Ceri said. Her boss looked at her as though she had gone insane. ‘Well, to be exact, we tap ley lines off the rift out into more stable territory and collect the power there. The mages with Remus created an artificial ley line to tap power from the henge. We can do the same with the Rift.’

‘Use the Rift like an oil reserve,’ Cheryl mused. ‘You realise that’s crazy, of course?’

‘Just crazy enough to work?’

Cheryl’s grin was almost predatory. ‘Maybe. I’ll work through the project plan and put together a proposal for the trial. Though, if it works, I have no idea how we’re going to implement your plan to power the world.’

‘Oh that’s easy,’ Ceri replied. ‘We go talk to Carter. He’s bound to know someone who can get it going.’

Kennington

‘I’m home,’ Ceri called. There was no one around in the hall, which was unusual. Not too unusual, but Lily would often be waiting for her when she came in.

‘I know you are,’ Twill said appearing out of nowhere. Her ability to turn invisible at will was, occasionally, very annoying. ‘Good evening, Ceri. Whoever was watching the house yesterday, they haven’t been doing it today.’

‘Well, that’s something. Where’s Lil?’

‘She went out to the shops this afternoon and went down to the cellar as soon as she came home.’

Ceri smirked. ‘Right… Well I’ll try to be out in time for dinner.’ She turned toward the cellar door.

‘She seemed… distracted,’ Twill said. Ceri looked back, frowning. ‘I’m sure it was just concentration on some diabolical plan to get you naked.’

‘She doesn’t actually need a diabolical plan for that. I’ll go check on her.’ Ceri headed for the door, climbing down the steps and making her way to the dungeon’s iron door. She put her hand on the handle and paused. The door had an anodised silver-iron layer on it which blocked magical fields from passing through. Lily had built the dungeon for two purposes, fun and safety, and it was the latter which was worrying Ceri. She took a second to prepare herself and then opened the door.

There was no intense magic field, no succubus aura trying to drive her into ecstatic collapse. In fact Ceri could not even see Lily at first. Walking down the stone steps to ground level, she looked right to check the cages. Neither the big one with its silver-iron bars, nor the smaller dog cage had an occupant. She turned left. Lily was not busy swinging around the dance pole, nor was she leaning against, or attached to, the St Andrew’s Cross. Ceri finally found her perched on the stone altar, knees tucked up under her chin. There was a shopping bag on its side on the floor nearby. Lily did not look up as Ceri moved closer.

‘Lil?’ Ceri said. ‘You okay?’

The half-succubus looked up. ‘I’m okay, now,’ she said.

‘Then what are you doing down here?’ Ceri asked, a little confused.

‘Aside from not having a key to get out?’ Lily replied; it was a good point. ‘I was out shopping. Y’know, just wandering between shops looking for nothing in particular?’ Ceri nodded she understood the motivation and Lily nodded down at the fallen shopping bag. ‘I bought you a new teddy, and then I found myself in Mayfair and… I was going to the Dubh Linn and I didn’t know why.’

‘That’s… odd,’ Ceri said, trying to keep the worry out of her voice.

‘Yeah. So I turned around and headed home, but I looked in the bag when I was on the tube…’ She nodded at it again, indicating that Ceri should look.

Ceri dropped to one knee and lifted the bag. The first thing she saw was a red, lacy teddy and she lifted it out, noting the thin shoulder straps, the thong back, the cups which were split down the middle and closed with ribbons tied into bows. Lily normally bought her things to wear out clubbing, or when playing dominatrix. This was neither, but it was gorgeous. Then she spotted the wire frame mouth spreader and the thick, leather arm-binder at the bottom of the bag. She looked up at Lily.

‘I don’t really remember buying them,’ Lily said, ‘but I know I bought them to use on you. I feel like I’m back-sliding, Ceri.’

Ceri put the teddy back in the bag and dropped it to the floor. She looked up at Lily. ‘I admit I’m concerned,’ she said. ‘You said you were feeling okay now?’ Lily nodded. ‘I think something was influencing you. The wards are stopping it now.’

‘That’s kind of what I thought,’ Lily told her. She looked down. ‘I’m a danger to you.’

‘No,’ Ceri said and Lily looked up again, blinking bemusedly. ‘Lil, you broke it. It had you, but you broke out of. Before you got behind the wards.’

‘Oh,’ Lily said. ‘I hadn’t thought of it like that.’

‘I know you hadn’t,’ Ceri said. ‘We both have more faith in each other than we do in ourselves.’ She came to a decision. Reaching down, she grabbed the sides of her T-shirt and pulled it off over her head, dropping it to the floor before reaching back to undo the hooks of her bra.

‘What are you doing?’ Lily asked. There was a hint of fear in her voice.

‘Undressing,’ Ceri said. Dropping her bra she started taking her jeans off.

‘I can see that. Why?’

‘So you can put me in that arm-binder. I don’t think I can manage it myself.’ Ceri paused, looking quite seriously at Lily. ‘I trust you, Lil. If I have to be Mufty to convince you then… Well, actually, I’ll enjoy the hell out of it.’ She pushed her jeans down her long legs and then had to sit down to take her trainers off.

Lily slipped off the altar. ‘No,’ she said. ‘No, I don’t want that, Ceri.’ Ceri stopped, looking up at her. ‘Not now anyway.’ The half-succubus pushed her face into a slightly timid grin. ‘P-put the teddy on. That’ll please me and I think you’ll look gorgeous in it, but I won’t do that to you. Not the way I felt earlier. It’ll feel like giving in.’

Ceri smiled, hoping it looked confident. Someone had targeted Lily, damaged the control she was starting to have over her demon side. That was far from good. On the other hand, they had failed. The question was who had done it?

She pulled her trainers off and continued undressing. ‘Okay,’ she said, ‘I’ll do that for you.’

April 26th

‘Don’t leave me, Lily.’ Ceri watched her friend’s retreating back leaving the tent. She looked around, expecting the usual men in black combat fatigues, but finding herself surrounded instead by men with blank, featureless faces, all wearing black suits. They moved closer, grabbing her arms and legs, stretching her out, face down, across a table. She felt the first of them move between her legs and looked up at the entrance to the tent. He would be the first of many. ‘Lily! Help me!’ she screamed.

The tent flap opened and Lily walked back in. She was dressed in a black business suit, her chestnut hair wound up into a tight bun. She looked down at Ceri with an expression of supreme indifference. ‘We’re going to break you,’ Lily stated flatly. ‘You’re going to be ours.’

Pain ripped through Ceri’s body as the man at her back forced his way into her…

…and she sat bolt upright in bed, supressing the cry of pain by covering her mouth with her hand. For a second she felt disoriented, still in the nightmare, and there were no comforting arms wrapping around her. She was alone in bed and, from the looks of things, it was barely gone dawn; Lily never got up that early. Slipping out of bed, Ceri padded across the landing to the bathroom where she splashed some cold water into her face, and then headed down the stairs, following the scent of coffee to the kitchen.

The half-succubus was sat at the kitchen table, cradling a mug as though she were trying to suck the warmth from it. She looked up as Ceri walked in and smiled. ‘You do look really sexy in that,’ she said.

Ceri looked down at the red teddy she was still wearing from last night. Lily had asked that she keep it on for bed, and it had been comfortable enough that she had agreed. ‘Thanks,’ Ceri said, pouring herself a coffee and then assuming Lily’s usual position; leaning against the kitchen counter, legs crossed at the ankle. ‘What are you doing up so early?’

‘I had another dream,’ Lily replied, grimacing. ‘You’re up earlier than usual yourself.’

‘Yeah well…’ Ceri looked down and then sucked in some coffee before continuing. ‘I had a nightmare after you got up. Um… You left me to be raped by faceless men in suits and then came back into the tent, also dressed in a suit, to tell me you were going to break me.’

Lily grimaced. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘Mine was me fucking three men at once and draining each of them in turn, and then just walking out of the room like nothing had happened.’ She looked up apologetically. ‘Thing is, when I woke up I was feeling really horny, and not in a good way. I came down here rather than take it out on you.’ She grinned slightly. ‘You were looking really hot laying there in that teddy.’

Ceri grinned back. ‘I’ll let you into a secret,’ she said. ‘Looking back on the nightmare, you looked really hot in that suit too.’

Lily burst into a fit of giggles. ‘We’re both totally sick puppies,’ she said.

‘Uh-huh,’ Ceri replied. ‘Do you actually have a suit?’

‘No,’ Lily said thoughtfully, ‘something to look into.’

‘I certainly won’t disagree that you two are sick puppies,’ Twill said, buzzing overhead on the way to the cooker.

‘You didn’t say that when I shrank Lily down for you last month,’ Ceri commented.

‘That’s different,’ Twill said as the cooker sprang into life, the fridge opened, and the fairy frowned at the available food. ‘Clearly you two are deviants. I don’t indulge in threesomes and make a complete mess of the sheets.’

Ceri looked at Lily, who looked back. They came to a more or less simultaneous decision, though it was left to Ceri to articulate it. ‘So you don’t want me to shrink myself and Michael as well next time?’

There was a clatter as a frying pan dropped the last two inches onto the cooker ring. A flicker of pink light burst around the tiny woman and she spun in the air to look at Ceri. ‘I think,’ Lily said before Twill could speak, ‘it would be easier to just wait for the North Hills pack to visit and then make Twill bigger.’ The flicker of light danced around Twill again as she looked, wide-eyed at Lily. ‘About four foot tall,’ Lily added, ‘and three wolves at a time…’ Twill vanished into a ball of pink light and sped out of the room accompanied by a sharp squeak. Lily giggled. ‘I guess we’re making breakfast,’ she said.

~~~

‘Say “ah,”’ Ceri said.

Lily raised an eyebrow and then opened her mouth and said, ‘Ahhhhh,’ while Ceri peered in. ‘That’s just silly,’ the half-succubus said.

Ceri grinned. ‘I know, but I’m playing doctor.’ Her lab coat was stained with ink and a few other, unidentified, marks, and there was a lacy, red teddy with open cups under it, but she was playing doctor; doctors needed a white coat.

‘If doctors looked like you, I’d be sick more often,’ Lily said, smirking.

‘You would say that. Now sit still, I need to examine your aura.’

Lily, still smirking, settled herself comfortably on the chaise longe, straightened her back, pushed her chest out, and waited while Ceri stared closely at the energy flowing around her. ‘Shouldn’t the wards be stopping anything that could be affecting me?’ Lily asked.

‘Yes,’ Ceri said, ‘but these dreams you’ve been having are… It’s possible that something subtle could be getting through. Especially something established outside the wards.’ Picking her way through the complexity of magic around Lily was always a challenge. She had never looked this closely before and it was fascinating.

The two medians, the metaphysical energy paths through the body, she was fairly used to, but paying as close attention as she was, Ceri began to see the little details which she generally missed or ignored. There were the indistinct patterns of the three joining points for one thing. Between the two base nodes was the “physical binding.” It was said that the bridging of the two medians at this level was what empowered the physical body. To Ceri’s Sight it looked like a vaporous belt made up of strands of red and white energy. It looked almost like a muscle. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary there, but the intense observation made the “muscle” twitch and gave rise to a sudden surge of energy in the Tantric Muladhara node; Lily was becoming aroused.

Smiling, Ceri moved her attention upward and found the bridge between the Anahata, or Heart, nodes. If the mystics were to be believed, this was basically Lily’s soul. To Ceri’s Sight it appeared as a thin ribbon of silver-white mist with faint flecks of duller colour in it. These, she suspected, were the marks of Lily’s teenage years, especially the latter part when her life had been spiralling downhill toward depravity. Ceri was rather happy to see that there was no black there, nothing to suggest real malice. ‘You’re not exactly a pure spirit,’ Ceri said, ‘but you’ve done nothing to leave a lasting mark either.’

‘But I took a poor, innocent thaumatology student and turned her into a hufty,’ Lily said. There was sufficient humour in her voice to show she was joking.

‘You did nothing I didn’t want,’ Ceri replied, shifting her gaze upward to the most complex bridge. The mystics claimed that the spirit bridged three nodes; the two Ajna points, and the Sahasrara node which terminated the Chakral Median at the very top of the skull. There was, indeed, an indistinct, ghostly triangle of energy linking the three points. It flickered and danced as Ceri watched it, perhaps a metaphysical manifestation of the thoughts passing through Lily’s mind as she sat there. Ceri made out more detail the longer she watched. There were colours in the mist; reds, blues, shades of orange and yellow, and flickers of black. The odd thing was that the black seemed to push in from the edges. As a black patch appeared and moved inward, it would be surrounded by a shimmer of red which overcame it until it dissolved entirely.

Frowning, Ceri looked more closely and shapes began to resolve within the black specs. Faces, bodies, bodies intertwined with other bodies; all of them seemed to have some sexual aspect to them. And then Ceri spotted it; a black spec flickered into existence just outside the mist of Lily’s spirit and pushed inward, immediately being wrapped in red and corroded toward oblivion. At the point where the fleck had originated, there was a trail. It was very faint, almost invisible. It was the kind of thing you would never see unless you were looking for it, and even then you might dismiss it as a trick of the light, but it was there.

Ceri straightened up and blinked away her Sight. ‘Something or someone has some sort of psychic link with you,’ she said. ‘I think you’re seeing what they see. Or at least feeling it. That’s where the dreams are coming from. Your waking mind recognises the images as foreign and rejects them. When you’re dreaming, the images get integrated into your dreamscape because your mind is insufficiently aware to know they aren’t part of your memory.’

Lily frowned. ‘A mental link,’ she said, ‘at a really low level, almost too subtle to see?’ Ceri nodded. ‘Just enough to influence my reaction to things and give me wild dreams?’

‘Well, obviously.’

‘Crap,’ Lily commented. ‘Someone has summoned my father to Earth.’

~~~

Lily lay in the bath, a glass of wine in one hand. Ceri had added some lavender bubble bath to the water and the foam hid most of the half-succubus’ body; only her glorious breasts broke through though the sight of them was not having their usual effect. Ceri sat on a chair beside the bath, her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands.

‘What does he look like?’ Ceri asked quietly.

Lily’s lips quirked slightly. ‘Well, he’s an incubus so pretty much anything he needs to.’

‘Yeah, but you said once he always looked the same when he visited.’

‘Mostly. I think it was the shape he took when he and Mum… well, when I was conceived. Tall, attractive, but not, like, supermodel quality. He always had a half-day’s growth of beard, no matter what time of day it was. Mum liked the guy-next-door look, maybe like a student? I mean, she was one at the time. Good body, y’know? Muscles, but not bulky. Fit. Grey eyes with some flecks of brown and green if you got close.’

‘Close? He never…’

‘Oh God no! No, he never tried anything on. Mum would’ve freaked.’ Lily looked a little sheepish; she probably would have blushed if she were physically capable. ‘I’ll admit I had the odd fantasy. I mean, he’s a demon. My genetic material doesn’t really come from him. He just modified what he took off some guy at the party. It wouldn’t exactly have been incest, but we never did.’ She took a drink from her glass. ‘He had gorgeous hair. Thick, red-brown, kind of like mine. Not as long, of course.’

Ceri frowned slightly. ‘The man who was watching us in the park? When you went down in me under the tree?’

‘I remember.’

‘I think that was him. I couldn’t see him properly, but he looked… I don’t know, wrong. And he had a fair thickness of hair, like a mane.’

Lily shifted in the bath. The foam rose and fell, and then parted as she raised a leg up. ‘Could have been him. Could have been some random pervert. Or just some guy. I think I’d stop to watch two girls like us having sex under a tree.’

‘Who are you trying to convince?’

‘Huh. Me?’ She drained her glass. ‘So, someone summons my Dad and… what? Why’s he here? I’m his anchor. Because he sired me he can stay on Earth indefinitely, so once he’s summoned he can hang around until he’s banished. But if he wants to come see me, why doesn’t he? He was never shy before.’

‘Well,’ Ceri said, her face thoughtful, ‘the last time he was around, he screwed you up and your mother and her friends banished him. I’d steer clear if my aim was to stay on Earth.’

‘True, but then why come at all?’

‘He… wanted to check up on you?’

Lily gave a little grimace. ‘He’s a demon, Ceri. They aren’t noted for their glorious parental instincts and emotional depths.’

‘He’s an incubus.’

‘So?’

‘Most demons are emotionally detached… no, that’s wrong. They just don’t think the same way we do. They’re power hungry and empathy for others is an evolutionary mistake for them. Incubi, and a few other demons like them, they’ve evolved to prey on other creatures in a way that requires them to understand the emotions of others. You can’t do that without feeling something.’

‘All Dad used to feel was Mum,’ Lily said flatly.

April 27th

The sight of John Radcliffe and Kate Middleshaw standing on the doorstep came as something of a surprise when Ceri opened the door. John looked serious, and that was never a good thing.

‘Should I be worried?’ Ceri asked.

‘That depends,’ John replied. ‘Can you account for Lily’s whereabouts the last few nights?’

‘Well, yes, she’s been in bed with me.’ Ceri frowned and stepped back. ‘You’d better come in.’

‘Where is she?’ John asked as he walked past into the hall.

‘Still in bed. She’s been having bad dreams and she’s hard enough to get up of a morning anyway.’

‘We need to talk to her,’ Kate said. ‘Call it a consultancy.’

Ceri took them up to the study, and then went up the second flight of stairs to the top floor where the bedrooms where. Lily opened her eyes as Ceri walked into the room. ‘Visitors?’ the half-succubus asked.

‘Kate and John. They came to talk to you.’

‘Should I put clothes on?’

Ceri nodded. ‘I don’t think this is a social visit.’

Admittedly, the jersey-dress Lily chose to wear was not exactly lacking in allure, but she was not naked when the girls joined the detectives. John looked up and nodded. Kate, at least, gave them a smile. John did not really like the supernatural, an odd trait for someone who had chosen a transfer to the branch of the London police force which investigated supernatural crimes.

‘Detectives,’ Lily said, ‘what brings you to our neck of the woods?’ She continued walking, settling onto the chaise longe with Ceri settling beside her.

‘We’ve had a number of deaths recently,’ John said. ‘Forensics suggests, considering the circumstances, that a succubus was involved.’

‘And you thought of me?’ Lily said, her tone distinctly sarcastic. ‘How nice.’

‘Well since Ceri says you were with her the last few nights, you’re off the hook,’ Kate said, ‘but we had to ask.’

‘And since you’re the only succubus we know,’ John added, ‘we were hoping you could provide some insight. I realise you’re only demon on your father’s side, but…’

Ceri looked at Lily and the half-demon sighed. ‘My father’s probably in London. Though, to be honest, he doesn’t need to kill to feed. He never used to… As far as I know he didn’t do that the last time he was on Earth.’

John squeezed the bridge of his nose. ‘So we’ve got a shape-shifting killer wandering around the city, we don’t even know what sex we’re looking for, and if it’s your father then I think I’m right in saying he can stay here as long as he likes.’ Lily nodded. ‘Great.’

‘If it is Lily’s father,’ Ceri said, ‘then you’ve got a massive advantage.

‘Would you be willing to come in and help, Lily?’ Kate asked. John blinked at her. ‘Basic laws of magic, sympathy and contagion. Lily shares metaphysical qualities with her father, and spent a fair bit of time with him. She could give our scrying teams a big head start in finding him.’

‘Yeah, I can do that,’ Lily replied. ‘This afternoon?’

John grimaced. ‘Would you believe we need a search warrant to do that?’

‘Uh-huh,’ Ceri said, ‘legal awareness is part of the practitioner’s certificate. Pretty much along the lines of “using scrying on an individual in a private location will get you locked up if you’re discovered.”’

‘Same applies to us,’ Kate put in, ‘unless we have probable cause and no time.’

‘And we didn’t have a death last night, so probable cause is unlikely to cut it.’ John’s expression was sour. ‘Of course, we found three of them the night before, so he’s probably not hungry.’

Ceri and Lily looked at each other. ‘Three?’ Ceri asked.

‘Three men? In the same room?’ Lily added. ‘You don’t have pictures, do you?’

Frowning, John reached into his jacket to pull out his phone. A couple of button pushes and he was holding the device up to Lily. ‘That’s one of them.’

Lily swallowed convulsively. ‘He was in the dream,’ she said.

‘Ceri mentioned nightmares,’ Kate said. ‘You’re dreaming about the murders?’

‘I’m dreaming that I’m the one draining them. Like I did it. Every sensation.’

It was the turn of the detectives to look at each other, but their expressions were more eager than horrified. ‘Can you tell us anything about it?’ John asked. ‘Other than the obvious.’

Lily’s brow knotted. ‘It’s hard. It was a dream and it started fading… I, I mean he, picked them up in a bar in Mayfair. Sorry, I don’t know which one. It wasn’t hard. They were into their second or third round of drinks. Suggest they might like to gang bang a pretty, willing girl and it was back to their digs… Students, they were students.’

‘First years at UCL,’ Kate confirmed.

‘It’s odd,’ Lily said, apparently not hearing the detective sergeant, ‘when I used to go out for snacks I’d look for someone I figured I’d have a good time with. This is… There’s no pleasure in it. It’s like he’s doing a job. Just find a victim and suck them dry.’

‘Was there any connection between the victims?’ Ceri asked.

‘Well, the last three obviously lived together,’ John replied, ‘but we’ve found no common factor in general.’

‘So someone summons an incubus and sends him out to kill random people?’ Ceri’s tone suggested that she found that a little unlikely. Kate’s expression suggested she agreed.

John, however, shrugged slightly. ‘People have done stranger things. There was that guy a few years ago who went nuts and walked through his local shopping centre with a Japanese sword slashing at people who looked at him.’

Ceri blinked. ‘I hadn’t thought of it like that.’

The detective inspector smirked slightly. ‘That’s why they put normals in the Greycoats,’ he said. ‘Supernaturals tend to think everything is supernatural. There might be something sane behind this, but it’s just as likely it’s the magical equivalent of a mad man on a roof with a rifle.’

It seemed like such a simple explanation.

~~~

‘Are you absolutely sure you’ll be okay?’ Ceri said. Again. Lily looked at her until she was forced to look down at the new copy of The Wednesday Witch and pretend she had not said anything. ‘Hey,’ she said, trying to cover her embarrassment, ‘Carter and Suzie Shore are in the gossip column.’

‘Of course they are,’ Lily said, ‘and you are not getting out of taking Michael to the Collar Club.’

Ceri ignored the comment, still trying to hide her worry over Lily. ‘They’re speculating that he’s slept with every eligible practitioner in London and is having to repeat a few until the next generation comes along.’

‘Rubbish. He hasn’t slept with you for starters.’

‘I’m ineligible. He doesn’t sleep with staff… generally.’

Lily grunted in response; Ceri was not sure whether that was a rebuttal of his staff-sex policy or a comment on her ineligibility. It seemed unlikely that Carter would sleep with Ceri anyway, no matter how much they both might want it. ‘When’s Michael coming around?’ Lily asked.

‘About seven,’ Ceri replied. ‘We need to get him dressed up before I can take him to the club.’

‘You need to get yourself dressed up too. You’re going to make him drool, right?’

Ceri laughed. ‘Not too much.  Have you seen a drooling werewolf? It’s not pretty.’

‘Yes, several. Through most of January.’

‘Ah, point,’ Ceri conceded. ‘Well, I got Michael some black, leather jeans and a new, black T-shirt… well, black mesh T-shirt…’ Ceri felt her cheeks colouring. ‘And I bought him a new coat. He’s got nothing much in the way of human clothes.’

‘Black mesh T-shirt, huh?’ Ceri nodded in response and Lily said, ‘Just you make sure he comes here wearing that outfit so I can enjoy it too.’

‘Of course.’

Lily nodded and glanced at the clock over the kitchen sink. ‘So we’ve got an hour before he gets here? Time for a shower? You’re not going to get another Lily Fix until Friday?’

Ceri grinned sheepishly. ‘Yes, I know. I just hope I don’t get too shaky Thursday night. It’ll be embarrassing if I have to rush home for a quickie.’

Soho

Michael looked a little uncomfortable handing his new leather coat over the counter to the cute little werefox who was manning the reception area at the Collar Club. He perked up a little as he turned to see Ceri handing her own coat over or, more specifically, on seeing what she was wearing under it. Ceri figured it was a strip club, she would dress… suggestively. Her skirt was microscopic and her teddy was not only mesh, but largely consisted of thin straps. The Luperca Collar around her neck just added to the look, especially when she settled herself at Michael’s side, the dutiful mate.

The main floor of the club had several tables around a long stage, and various booths around the walls. Michael’s stride faltered at the sight of the topless redhead who was currently hanging upside down from the pole at the end of the stage. Ceri recognised her; Lillian was not one of the better dancers at the club, but what she lacked in talent, she made up for in cup size and the audience seemed to be enjoying the show. Ceri gave her mate a little push toward one of the booths and he continued on his way.

A pretty brunette bounced up to them as they sat down. Her name was Marilyn, a new hire. She had never been to High Towers for one of the parties, but Ceri recognised her from Catherine’s pack. ‘Hi,’ Marilyn said, ‘Ceri, right? Jasmine said you were coming.’ Her gaze flicked to Michael and her tongue slid over her lips. ‘What can I get you?’

Michael looked up at the cute little wolf-girl in the tiny, white bikini and swallowed. ‘A, uh, beer?’ he said.

Ceri’s eyes slid over the tent which had formed at the front of Michael’s leather slacks, and then she looked up at Marilyn, smirking. ‘White wine, please, Marilyn. This is Michael, by the way.’

Marilyn bobbed a little curtsey. ‘Hello, Michael,’ she said, managing to get “you can have me any time you want” into two words. ‘I’ll get your drinks,’ she added and strutted off toward the bar.

Ceri put her hand on the bulge in Michael’s pants, eliciting a whimper. She stretched up a little to whisper in his ear. ‘Fancy a little cross-pack ménage, lover?’

He was learning. Always a little timid in human form, he was starting to get better at it the more he spent time around Ceri and Lily. Slipping an arm around her back, he pulled her against him, their hips meeting. ‘You’re quite enough wolf for me,’ he said.

‘Good answer,’ Ceri replied giving what her hand was on a squeeze. She looked up to see that Lillian had shifted and there was now a naked fox-girl swinging around the pole. And walking toward them, dressed in a sexy schoolgirl outfit, was Jasmine, one of the two star dancers at the club. ‘How about a little brush?’ Ceri asked quietly.

‘Hey Ceri!’ Jasmine said brightly. ‘Congratulations on your doctorate.’ Then the strawberry blonde’s gaze swept over Michael and she added, ‘And you brought your yummy boyfriend with you. Looking as hunky as ever, Michael.’

‘Uh, thanks, Jasmine,’ Michael said. ‘That’s a, uh, really nice outfit.’

Jasmine posed. ‘This old thing?’ she said, grinning. ‘Now you let Marilyn know the drinks are on me.  Have a set to do in a minute, but I’ll come out later to have a drink with you, and Naira will be out later.’

‘See you later then,’ Ceri said and Jasmine gave a little wave and pirouetted on her stacked heels to strut off toward the back rooms.

‘She is very attractive,’ Michael said quietly, ‘but no, I prefer it if there’s no tail in the way.’ Ceri had always wondered why it was that werewolves had no tail, but the other were-creatures she had met did. Supposedly, the wolves had evolved long before the foxes and cats so maybe it had something to do with that… And then she kicked herself for dropping into scientist-mode when she was supposed to be enjoying a night out with her man… wolf… wolf-man. ‘You okay?’ Michael said. ‘You look kind of…’

‘Confused,’ Ceri said. She smiled, snuggling against him. ‘This time last year I was a normal…’ She stopped and sagged slightly. ‘Who am I kidding? This time last year I thought I was a normal college student, but normal girls don’t cause vampires to burn to death when attacked. I’ve never been normal, but I thought I was. Now… I have a half-succubus lover and pet, and a werewolf mate, and I’m not even sure what the appropriate noun is for you. I mean, are you my boyfriend, my wolf…’ She blinked. ‘Does that make me your bitch?’

‘I’d never call you that.’

Marilyn returned, putting their drinks down on the table with a flirtatious smile for Michael, and Ceri waited for her to strut away again before replying. ‘I’ve been called worse,’ she said.

‘You have?’ He gave her a slightly shocked look.

Ceri grinned. ‘Do you what “hufty” means?’

~~~

A long, black tail swished in front of Ceri’s face, curled, and stroked over her cheek. Naira the were-panther was giving Ceri a table dance and Ceri had to admit it was a turn on. Flexible as a human, in cat-form the girl moved in ways no human could achieve. Even Lily’s preternatural grace looked stiff compared to the fluid movement Naira could manage and besides, having a naked, moderately aroused cat-woman gyrating barely inches from her was enough to make Ceri more than a little excited.

Naira was gay and had made a pass at Ceri before. Ceri had turned her down then because while she slept with Lily, the half-succubus was a special case. At least, that was the theory; Ceri had entertained other women, but they had been special cases too… As she felt her breathing quicken, Ceri had to wonder whether maybe she was kidding herself again.

Certainly, the scene was having the desired effect on Michael. He had already had Jasmine almost-but-not-quite humping him at the table, and Naira had subtly suggested that dancing for Ceri would be a turn on for her mate, and even though Ceri had known that Naira just wanted to dance for her own enjoyment and Ceri’s, the look on Michael’s face was worth the initial embarrassment.

He was not the only person watching either. Half the men with line of sight to their booth were watching the show rather than the stage. The club attracted a mixed crowd. As would be expected of a strip joint where the dancers were all were-creatures, there were wolves and foxes. There were also plenty of humans; were-foxes, unlike wolves, had humanoid faces when changed, as did Naira, and there was a reasonably large fetish culture based around them. There were even a couple of top-shelf magazines devoted to the subject.

Naira turned, her knee sliding to push Ceri’s legs apart, and she leaned forward, bracing herself on the back of the seat. She looked into Ceri’s eyes, shaking her chest to make her breasts swing, and then her tail, hidden by her body, slid under Ceri’s skirt. Ceri bit her lip to avoid squeaking and Michael, who could see what was happening, made a soft, intent, growling noise in his throat. Naira lent closer and purred in Ceri’s ear, the sound making Ceri’s stomach flutter.

Suddenly a naked Brazilian girl was leaning over her and Ceri heard, ‘Now, I think, you take your man somewhere quiet before he is exploding,’ whispered in her ear. Then Naira gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, gathered up her clothes, and padded across the club floor to the dressing rooms.

Ceri looked at Michael. He looked… barely restrained. ‘We’ll head back to Battersea now,’ she said. All she got in reply was a growl.

Giggling as they almost ran down Dean Street, Ceri suddenly felt herself pulled sideways into an alley at the side of the club. She knew it pretty well since the staff entrance to the club was about half way down it. Michael pulled her far enough down the narrow passageway that they were out of the light from the street and then pushed her up against the wall of the club. Briefly she worried that the security cameras Carter had had installed down the alley could see them, but the sensation of Michael’s lips on her throat, his hands on her body, overcame any reluctance she felt very quickly.

Her hands dropped to his waist, struggling with his belt and then the button beneath it. She was panting by the time she got him free of the leather and his own breath was ragged, needy. Quickly she reached further down and popped the press-studs on her teddy. His hands gripped her behind, lifting. She felt him briefly at her entrance as she wrapped her thighs tightly around his hips. She gasped as he pushed into her. The bricks were hard against her back, but she did not notice. Her breath came in grunts as he drove into her. She was being fucked in a back alley by a werewolf who had not been able to keep his hands off her any longer, and she felt like an absolute goddess!

Michael’s body stiffened and Ceri came seemingly without warning, her mind exploding as the wave of pleasure swept up from their joined bodies.

Battersea, April 28th

It took a while for them to get to Alexandra’s island in the boating lake, but Ceri did not complain; not once. They had walked to the tube station and sat on the train with the result of their frantic activities running down Ceri’s thighs, and she had felt incredible. The thought occurred to her that Lily had to feel like this all the time; desired, sexy, too damn hot for words.

Then he had been all over her again as soon as he had shifted. She had giggled and told him to wait until she had changed, but his paws had been everywhere as she undressed and she had found herself on her hands and knees before their clothes were even stuffed into her satchel. And then he had wanted to go again as soon as she was in fur.

The swim across to the island had been a little cold, but at least when she walked into the clearing she did not smell like a very successful hooker. No, from the looks the couple got she just smelled like a moderately successful hooker.

Anita intercepted them as they headed for the fire, rubbing muzzles with Michael and then Ceri. Watchers, seen you? her growl asked.

They had walked across Chelsea Bridge and seen no sign of the men in suits. In wolf form, there had been no trace either. Ceri glanced at Michael; he was the male, he got to rumble the negative.

‘It would seem,’ Alexandra said from her usual spot by the oil drum, ‘that they have seen everything they wanted to see. I suggest we maintain the state of alert for a few days, just in case.’ There was an affirmative sound from Anita and Alexandra went on. ‘Anita wants you to run a patrol around the park anyway, but I wanted to discuss tomorrow with you first.’ Ceri settled onto the ground in front of her Alpha, Michael settling behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. ‘Well,’ Alexandra said, ‘we have had a few suggestions regarding what you might like to do. Personally, I don’t see you on Regent Street with a hat out for loose change. I’m not sure you look sufficiently unhealthy.’

There was a rumble of growled laughter from around the clearing and Alexandra waited for it to die down, smiling indulgently. ‘Tina suggested you might do well if you went down to King’s Cross with her…’ Michael growled. ‘But no matter how much I might agree, I don’t think Michael would like the idea of you turning tricks.’ Ceri patted her mate’s thigh and his muzzle caressed her neck. ‘So,’ Alexandra said, ‘I think you’ll be coming along with me.’

Ceri raised a brow and gave a short, questioning bark. Where?

‘I give some of my time at the Acre Lane Shelter,’ the old woman said. ‘Treating wounds, checking on the people staying there. Anita insists that I take a bodyguard when I go and you have a practitioner’s certificate so you know at least basic first aid…’

Ceri nodded her head. And magic, she barked.

‘I use a little magic when it’s needed,’ Alexandra agreed. ‘Even the homeless can get basic treatment on the NHS, well, when they can be persuaded to go to a doctor. If it’s anything needing more than that…’ Ceri nodded again. As a student she had had a few benefits, including health benefits most people had to pay for. Now that she had a job she even had to pay for her monthly prophylactic charm. Well, she had had to until she had seen it done once and worked out how to cast it herself. ‘Up for a little charity work, my dear?’ Alexandra asked.

And guard duty, Anita rumbled.

Of course, Alpha, Ceri said.

Alexandra laughed. ‘Just don’t call me that while we’re there, we’ll get some funny looks. Now, you go check the park and then get some sleep. We’ll be heading over to Brixton around ten.’ Ceri and Michael rose to their feet and started for the lake. ‘Oh, Michael?’ Alexandra called after them. ‘Do let her actually get some sleep, okay?’

Michael hung his head and whined.

Brixton

‘It doesn’t look like he did as I asked,’ Alexandra commented as they walked down Acre Lane.

Ceri bit off a yawn. ‘Uh… no, he was really good. I’m just not used to sleeping outdoors, even in fur. I woke up not long after dawn.’ She grinned sheepishly. ‘He, uh, did take advantage of that, but I was not exactly objecting. It’s not like we don’t do the same thing on mornings when he stays over at High Towers.’

‘You do need rest, dear,’ the old werewolf said. ‘You should be careful.’

‘I… I have trouble sleeping sometimes,’ Ceri replied, ‘but I usually get enough sleep.’

‘Nightmares?’

Ceri glanced at her pack Alpha sharply. The old woman had some form of mystic power granted to her by Luperca. She saw the future, sometimes anyway, and seemed to get glimpses of other things which were not immediately obvious. ‘I get nightmares when I sleep alone,’ she said.

‘Sometimes the price we pay for our victories is too high,’ Alexandra said. She stopped in front of a Georgian building, a townhouse which looked as though it had seen better days. ‘And here we are,’ she said, giving Ceri no time to comment on her remark.

Walking up to the door, they opened it and went in. The interior featured cracked paintwork, too few light bulbs, and a smiling black woman. ‘Alexandra,’ the woman said, ‘you’ve brought a new friend.’

‘Andrea Clancy,’ Alexandra said, ‘meet Ceridwyn Brent. Ceri is a practitioner, quite a good one. Andrea is the supervisor here.’

Andrea laughed. ‘Glorified den mother,’ she said. She sort of looked the part; overweight in a vaguely muscular way with curly black hair which was going grey, and a kindly demeanour. ‘It’s always nice to see new faces, Ceri. Come on, I’ll give you the tour before we get to what you’re here for.’ She turned and pointed to a door which had probably once led onto the house’s living room. ‘That’s the staff room and my office. Well, it’s where my desk is and there’s some chairs to sit on during breaks. We have three permanent staff, including me. Mostly we’re here to hand out blankets and make sure the guests don’t do anything too stupid. We don’t allow drinking on the premises, or drugs obviously.’ She began marching down the hall, Alexandra and Ceri following her.

‘Do they get werewolves in here?’ Ceri asked quietly.

‘Rarely,’ Alexandra replied. ‘The odd ronin. I’ve recruited two pack members here, but most of the wolves passing through are real loners.’

‘Kitchen is through there,’ Andrea was saying. ‘We supply food the guests can cook for themselves, and we have a couple of people who come in to do big meals every day.’ She started up the stairs at the end of the hallways.

The second floor had a bathroom and two dormitories, one for men, one for women. ‘We keep them separate,’ Andrea said. ‘It gets complicated otherwise. Most of the women don’t have access to regular birth control and the last thing they need is a baby to look after.’

‘Who do we have upstairs today?’ Alexandra asked.

Ceri glanced into the women’s dorm. There were about ten beds, not all of them occupied at this time of day. She could see a grey-haired old woman chatting to a teenager. They looked happy enough, but both were in clothes which had seen better days and the younger woman looked tired.

‘Tilly’s back in,’ Andrea was saying. ‘That cough of hers is getting worse.’

‘Lung cancer will do that,’ Alexandra said. ‘I can treat the symptoms, but I don’t know of any magic which can cure her.’

Andrea nodded as she started for a second flight of stairs. ‘We have a new kid in, Charley. Cut his hand and it’s got infected. We bandaged him up, but I hope you can do something with it or he’s going to lose it.’ She stopped and looked around. ‘Oh, and there’s a kid up there with something weird I’d like you to look at. Crippled leg. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.’ She continued on her way up the stairs.

Ceri glanced at Alexandra, who shrugged slightly and followed Andrea. The top floor had six, independent rooms on it. Essentially it was the infirmary section of the shelter and Ceri could hear the coughing coming from one of the rooms even before she reached the landing.

‘Oh, she’s having one of her coughing fits,’ Andrea commented, turning toward the room immediately to the right.

There was an old woman, overweight in the body, but narrow and haggard in the face, sitting up in bed and coughing blood into a stainless steel bowl. Ceri reached out almost without thinking, supressing the woman’s spasming diaphragm with a touch of her mind. The coughing stopped instantly and the old woman blinked, turning to look at the people walking into her room. She spat a last gob of blood and spittle into the bowl before saying, ‘Have I you t’thank fer that, Lexie?’

Ceri was a little surprised to see Alexandra smiling, considering the diminutive. ‘Not me this time, Tilly. This is Ceri, she’s helping me today. I assume you’re still smoking?’

‘When I can get ‘em,’ Tilly replied. ‘It’s not like I can make m’self worse.’

Alexandra did not approve, Ceri could tell. ‘Could I have the bag, Ceri?’ she said. Ceri slipped the rucksack she was toting from her shoulders and handed it over to the old werewolf. It contained various bottles and one of them was extracted and handed over to Tilly. ‘No more than four doses a day,’ Alexandra said, ‘and try to cut down. You will feel better for it.’

‘Sure, Lexie,’ Andrea said.

Alexandra rolled her eyes at Ceri and the little group moved out to the next room. Andrea immediately rushed to the bed against the opposite wall. The naked boy had thrown most of his blankets off and was still sweating. His skin had a deathly pallor to it and there were some ugly, greenish marks on the skin of his arm spreading up from under a thick bandage wrapped around his right hand.

‘Damn,’ Andrea muttered, ‘he’s worse. We had a bit of trouble before you got here and no one’s checked him this morning.’

‘Ceri,’ Alexandra said, her voice taking on an urgent authority, ‘get him back under the blankets.’ As Ceri rushed forward to do as instructed, the old wolf pulled a leather roll from the rucksack, placing it on a table beside the bed and opening it out to reveal a lot of fairly old, but spotlessly clean, stainless steel tools. The boy tried, weakly, to stop Ceri covering him up, but he was no match for her. He was not even able to stop an old woman grasping his wounded hand and cutting the bandage away.

Ceri winced and swallowed down bile at the site of the wound in Charley’s palm. It had not been stitched, the skin around it probably already too badly degraded for that to be possible when he had come into the shelter. The flesh was puffy and black in places.

‘What did this then, Charley?’ Alexandra asked, not expecting an answer. All she did get was some flickering eyelids and a groan. ‘Broken glass, perhaps? Digging around in waste bins?’ She glanced at Ceri. ‘Are you going to be okay, dear? If you need to step out I’ll not think less of you.’

‘I’ll be okay,’ Ceri said. She managed a weak grin and added, ‘I’ve eaten meals in the uni refectory.’

‘And you survived?’ Andrea asked and then went on without waiting for the reply. ‘Can you help him, Alexandra?’

‘Septicaemia is setting in,’ Alexandra replied. ‘You’re people did the best they could do, I think, but he was probably infected before he arrived. I can fix him…’ She sighed and addressed the boy. ‘It would have been a lot easier if you’d sought help before the bacteria got a proper hold.’ She pulled a chair over and sat down, taking Charley’s undamaged hand in hers. ‘This will take a little while,’ she said. ‘Andrea, would you like to take Ceri to make an initial survey of your mystery case?’ She closed her eyes and began murmuring under her breath. Ceri thought she heard Luperca mentioned.

‘Coming?’ Andrea asked and led the way out of the room and across a couple. ‘Billie?’ the supervisor said as she walked into the room, ‘I’ve got a visitor for you. This is Ceri. She’s going to take a look at your leg.’

At first, Ceri could see nothing wrong with the girl sitting at a dressing table brushing long, blonde hair. The platinum highlights were looking like they needed renewing, but she appeared fairly shapely from the back and, as she turned on the little stool, the impression continued with a pretty face and a substantial bosom wedged into a bra which was maybe a size too small. Then Ceri’s gaze fell to Billie’s legs. The left one was shapely, the muscle-tone suggesting the girl had danced, or been a gymnast. Her right leg, however, appeared to have a badly healed break about mid-thigh and the muscles were horribly wasted.

Ceri gasped, and then blushed. ‘Sorry, it’s just…’

‘Not pretty, is it?’ Billie said.

‘Well, no,’ Ceri replied. ‘What happened to it?’

‘That’s the weird thing,’ the girl replied. ‘I was in Soho, y’know, it’s a good place to pick up customers. It wasn’t going too well and I wandered over into Mayfair, just near the border. I think I was near the south end of Saville Row, actually.’ Ceri’s face darkened. ‘I was leaning against one of the railings down there, trying to look available, y’know? This man walked past, stopped. I thought he was going to pick me up, but he told me to get lost. I said it was a free country and I was just standing there… Turned out to be a dumb move, I guess. He gave me a slap on the leg with this cane he was carrying and said, “You can’t stand so easily on one leg.” Next thing I knew I was lying on the pavement and my leg hurt like hell.’

Ceri nodded. ‘Withering spell,’ she said.

‘That’s a bit vicious for a girl giving a bit of lip,’ Andrea commented.

‘Knowing what’s in that neighbourhood,’ Ceri replied, ‘he was probably a necromancer and she got off lightly. Some advice, stay away from that bit of Mayfair.’ Billie’s attacker had probably been one of the Dubh Linn’s patrons; Lily had been right to say they were the really dangerous kind of supernatural. ‘Okay,’ she said, ‘let’s get you on the bed and take a proper look at this.’

Billie grinned and used the dresser to leaver herself up onto her good leg. Ceri was amazed at the girl’s good humour, considering her condition. A sort of hopping motion got her to the corner of the bed; the withered leg was obviously completely useless. ‘Do I need to get undressed?’ Billie asked.

Ceri raised an eyebrow. The girl was in her underwear as it was. ‘Only if you want to,’ Ceri said, ‘I’m supposed to be looking at your leg.’

Billie gave a little giggle and more or less jumped onto the bed, pulling herself up to rest her head on the pillow. ‘I’m all yours, Doc.’

Smirking, Ceri summoned up her power and concentrated, letting her mind roam over Billie’s body, analysing every detail as she scanned over her from head to withered foot. Slowly, an image formed in Ceri’s mind. Billie was healthy as a horse, aside from the damaged leg. The femur looked like it had been hit by a truck and then reset by an idiot. The muscles from the hip down were badly atrophied; the Sartorius muscle was even ripped away from the bone at the bottom.

Ceri grimaced. ‘You look like you’ve been put through a shredder,’ she said, opening her eyes.

Billie was looking up at her with a hopeful expression. There was the vulnerability Ceri was expecting. ‘After it happened,’ Billie said, ‘one of the girls told me about this place. Said there was an old lady came here to help. Said she could do magic…’

Ceri nodded. ‘Alexandra’s busy saving someone’s life in one of the other rooms…’ She glanced at Andrea. ‘Could you check on her, please? I’m supposed to be watching her back as well as helping.’ Andrea nodded, turning to leave, and Ceri turned back to Billie, chewing on her lip.

‘Can you do anything?’ Billie asked. There was a slight catch in her throat, a hint of desperation.

‘I’ve never tried this before,’ Ceri said, and then grinned weakly, ‘but then I say that a lot. This might sting a bit.’

‘Can’t be worse than when it happened,’ Billie replied as Ceri raised her hands and closed her eyes. There was a gasp from the girl on the bed as energy began to build in both of Ceri’s palms.

Opening her eyes again, Ceri leaned forward and laid her hands on Billie’s thigh and shin. The crippled girl stiffened as energy poured into her. It was partially a matter of just accelerating natural healing processes, but the damage was so bad that Ceri also had to restructure some of the bone and muscle as well. Under her hands, the bone straightened and reformed, and Billie let out a groan of pain which faded as the reconstruction completed. Ceri reattached the torn muscle, and then it was just a matter of providing the power Billie’s body needed to rapidly restore the tissues.

Finally satisfied, Ceri straightened up and examined her work. Billie looked down to do the same, lifting her leg straight up from the bed. She let out a whoop of delight and looked over to the door. Ceri followed her gaze to find Andrea, supporting a very tired looking Alexandra. Andrea raised an eyebrow. ‘You can definitely come back here again,’ she said.

‘Are you all right, Alexandra?’ Ceri asked, her worry diverted from her patient to her Alpha.

‘Clearing the infection and then the toxins in his blood stream…’ Alexandra said. ‘Takes a lot of power.’ She smiled weakly. ‘Not nearly as much as what you just used though. A nice cup of tea and I’ll be fine.’

Ceri looked down at her forearms, her Sight revealing the flickers of silver light still showing in her body. ‘Yeah,’ she said, ‘it’ll take me a couple of days to shift the residue from that.’ She had done a few experiments to find out how long it took for the residual energy her magic left behind to drain away and she thought she had a fairly good handle on the process now.

Suddenly there were arms wrapping around her. ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you!’ Billie was saying in a rush. Ceri hugged the girl back, laughing.

‘Were you a dancer?’ Ceri asked when she was finally released.

‘I did some ballet and modern at college,’ Billie replied. ‘I pretty much thought that was a waste of time when this happened. Why?’

‘Well, I know a guy who runs a few night clubs,’ Ceri said. ‘I’m not saying he can definitely give you a job, and it’d be stripping, but…’

‘It’s better than screwing for money,’ Billie finished.

‘I’ll give Andrea the details,’ Ceri said, grinning. ‘Let’s get you that cup of tea,’ she added to Alexandra.

As they walked out of the room, Ceri noticed a man standing in the door of one of the rooms. His expression was blank, disinterested, and he looked as though his lack of care extended to himself from the slumping belly and the half-grown beard. It was his eyes that Ceri noticed most, however. They were empty, like Wren’s girlfriend’s, and Ceri blinked on her Sight to look at him more carefully. He just looked at her as she stared at him, though his expression began to grow more irritated. Ceri gave him a brief smile which he did not return, and then followed Andrea and Alexandra down the stairs.

‘Who was the other guy up there?’ she asked when they were on the ground floor.

‘Oh, he was the reason Charley didn’t get checked earlier,’ Andrea said. ‘He says his name is Gerald and he was some important guy in the Ministry for Supernatural Affairs until he got sacked for some reason. We think he’s been on drugs, but he claims he hasn’t. We’re trying to clean him up, but he gets violent at times.’

They headed into the staff room with its scruffy, cigarette-burned chairs and its one, very well organised desk. Andrea helped Alexandra to one of the chairs. ‘Well,’ Ceri said, spotting the kettle and starting off toward it, ‘I don’t know about the drugs he may have taken, but that’s not what his problem is now.’

‘Oh?’ Andrea said, straightening up from lowering Alexandra into the seat; the supervisor was a good bit stronger than she looked.

‘His soul is gone,’ Ceri said. ‘I don’t know how it happens, but he’s the second person I’ve seen recently who’s like that.’

‘I thought you’d be dead if you lost your soul,’ Andrea said.

‘Honestly?’ Ceri replied. ‘I’d have said you were right, but that’s two living, soulless people I’ve seen. I’ll have to look into it if I get the chance.’

Alexandra chuckled softly. ‘Ceridwyn got her PhD in thaumatology recently. She can’t stand having a metaphysical puzzle unresolved.’

Luckily, the kettle clicked off at that moment and Ceri was able to cover her embarrassment by turning around to make the tea.

~~~

‘I wasn’t going to say anything inside,’ Alexandra said as the door closed behind them and they started back toward Battersea, ‘but I couldn’t have helped the girl anyway.’

‘Oh, I’m sure…’ Ceri began.

‘No, dear,’ Alexandra interrupted. ‘I don’t have the surgical training and I’ve only the barest idea how you did it magically. And if I had I couldn’t have mustered that much power.’

‘Are you okay walking back? It’s a couple of miles.’ Alexandra looked much rested, but she had exerted herself heavily healing Charley.

‘I’ll be fine, dear. I’m not fully rested, but I know a few tricks to speed up the process. I’m better off than a typical person my age would be.’

‘Well, yeah,’ Ceri said, laughing, ‘a typical human your age would be dead by now.’

Alexandra joined in the laughter. ‘True enough,’ she said. ‘My apparent age then?’

‘Have you any idea how long you’ll actually live?’

‘Not really. Black-furs tend to be longer lived than humans, or other werewolves, but we’re not immortal.’ The Alpha smiled. ‘And we do age, obviously.’

‘You’re aging very gracefully.’

Alexandra had a beautiful, melodious laugh. ‘Flattery will get you everywhere, dear, but I am getting on a bit. I’ve been Alpha here for decades now. I won’t last forever.’

‘This seems kind of morbid, but how does the succession work?’

‘Traditionally, when an Alpha male dies the stronger males in the pack will fight it out, but that kind of thing is becoming less common.’

‘Well, yes, I mean you aren’t…’

‘I’m a black-fur, dear,’ Alexandra interrupted. ‘The rules don’t apply. Catherine, however, is a different matter. No one went up against her when Joshua was killed. Oh, when Dolf goes in the Dog Boys…’

Ceri giggled. ‘Dolf? Seriously?’

‘His real name is Earnest. He thought Dolf sounded macho.’ Alexandra was obviously having to suppress her own amusement. ‘When he goes, there’ll be fighting, but when I do… Well, there are a few likely successors.’

‘Anita.’

‘Yes, Anita is one. If I last long enough, Michael will be another.’ She glanced at the surprised look on Ceri’s face. ‘He is mated to a Black-fur, dear, and he’s shaping up quite nicely under Anita’s tutelage and your and Lily’s influence.’

‘But I’m not even…’

‘A proper werewolf?’ Alexandra patted her indulgently on the shoulder. ‘We all have our little self-delusions. Michael believes he’s not good enough, Lily believes she’s a demon.’

‘And me? What’s my delusion of choice?’

‘Well you believe you’re a human, dear.’

Part Three: The Ties that Bind

Kennington, London, April 29th, 2011

There was a big, black car parked in front of High Towers when Ceri got home. It looked like one of Carter’s cars and that was just the icing on the cake. Ceri had tried to get Alexandra to explain what she meant, but the old werewolf was an absolute genius at evading discussion of things she did not want to talk about. Someday, Ceri wanted to see an enigmatic-off between Alexandra and Twill; there was every chance the world would implode.

The door opened as she walked toward it and Alec’s worried face peered out. He was not wasting times on pleasantries. ‘Lily’s missing.’ He stepped aside as Ceri bolted for the door. ‘Carter’s here, trying to scry for her, but he’s not having much luck.’

Twill and the playboy wizard were in the study, bent over a hair brush. He looked up as Ceri stormed in. ‘Ceridwyn, we’ve been trying to find her…’

‘She didn’t come home last night,’ Twill broke in. ‘I thought it was odd, but you weren’t home, I thought she might have stayed out…’

‘But she didn’t come into work either,’ Alec added.

‘Something’s blocking my searches,’ Carter said. ‘I can’t…’

Ceri held her hand out and Carter handed her the brush without further comment. There were several long, chestnut hairs stuck in the bristles and Ceri pulled a few of them out before putting the brush down on her desk. She twisted the strands of hair around her finger and closed her eyes. As Carter had suggested, there was resistance. Her fists clenched, her nails digging into her palms as she focussed harder on getting an image of where Lily was. It was like looking through fog, but she pushed harder. Something deep within her seemed to shift, something ancient and primal. Her power flared lancing upward through her body with a sensation almost like pain… Then she saw, brief flickers of image, but enough. Bare bricks, a ceiling of wooden boards, smoke and dim lighting.

‘She’s at the Dubh Linn,’ Ceri said, opening her eyes. Carter was shielding his own eyes and Alec turned back toward her from looking away. Twill emerged from behind Carter’s shoulder. She blinked at them.

‘You were… rather bright,’ Carter explained. He was blinking too, as though trying to shift the kind of black spots you got looking into the sun. The strands of hair were falling away from Ceri’s hand as dust.

‘You’re going after her?’ Twill asked.

‘Yes,’ Ceri replied.

‘Be careful in that place, Ceridwyn,’ the fairy said, ‘it’s dangerous.’

Ceri strode over to the fireplace and lifted the five-foot staff down from where it was mounted on the mantle. She planted the heel of it down on the floor with a thud which resonated through the room. ‘So am I,’ she said.

Mayfair

If anything, the attention Ceri got as she stepped into the dimly lit bar was more intent than when she had gone in with Lily. It would be sunrise in less than twenty minutes, but the place was fuller than before; it’s customers were night people and they were likely to consider leaving for their beds in the next hour. Many of them were looking to take a willing victim along for the ride. She ignored the looks and strode into the middle of the room, the heel of her staff sounding on the floorboards with each step.

Lily was in one of the booths at the side of the room. She was alone, a full glass of red wine on the table in front of her. As Ceri walked up to the table, the half-succubus made no move, did not even look up.

‘Lily, what are you doing here?’

That got a reaction at least. Dark eyes lifted upward to look at Ceri. ‘I don’t know. Because I should be? It’s where I belong? I can’t stay with you. I’ll hurt you too.’

Ceri frowned. ‘Who have you hurt?’

‘I don’t know. I didn’t get their names… his name.’ Lily’s brow creased. ‘I don’t know. I woke up with him. He was dead.’

‘You’re head’s been messed with, Lil,’ Ceri said. She kept her voice as level as she could manage. ‘You need to come with me.’ Carter and Alec were waiting outside. It had taken a fair bit of persuasion to get them to stay there, but Ceri wanted to keep things as quiet as possible. Once outside, the three of them could deal with Lily, but right now Ceri really needed her to start behaving like herself. She hissed out the command, ‘Now, pet!’

Lily flinched. ‘I can’t be that anymore. I thought I could, but I can’t. I can’t keep myself… I’m a demon, Ceri, that’s all there is…’

The crystal sphere mounted in the head of Ceri’s staff shone as she focussed her power through it. The blue enamel inlay set into the wood along the upper third of the shaft shimmered. ‘I don’t have time for this, Lil. I’m sorry, but… not here. You’re coming with me.’

Lily’s eyes widened and her body stiffened. ‘No! Not that…’ There was the moment of resistance, the instant where the half-succubus’ spirit and soul fought against the spell Ceri was forcing on her. Lily was strong, and only half demon, but Ceri was stronger. Still, the sorceress had to look away as her pet demon looked up at her with hurt eyes. That was when she saw Sean standing behind her.

‘What d’ya think you’re doing, hufty?’ the fae asked, his accent a lot harsher than she remembered it.

Ceri kept her eyes on him. ‘Lily, go outside. Carter and Alec are waiting for you there. Do what they tell you.’

‘I said,’ the bartender growled, ‘what d’ya…’

‘I heard you the first time.’ Lily was edging past and starting toward the pub’s door. ‘Since I have absolutely no reason to pay the slightest attention to you, I decided not to answer.’ She saw the spell beginning to build; the power lifting from his core toward his head. ‘And if you cast that spell I’ll bring this pile of crap down around your ears and burn the rubble to ash. Are we clear, Fairy?’

Sean opened his mouth to reply, fury starting to show on his face, and then someone else spoke. The voice was soft, melodious, resonant; Ceri had no doubt that everyone in the room heard it, even though it was almost a whisper. ‘Let her go, Sean.’ There was no visible source for the voice, but whoever had spoken, she had a visible effect on the Sidhe. His face paled and he backed away, leaving Ceri to move as quickly and calmly as she could manage toward the door.

Lily was in the back seat of the car and Alec in the driver’s seat when Ceri reached the top of the steps. Carter was waiting for her, a deep frown on his face. ‘You controlled her,’ he stated. His disapproval was obvious.

‘She’s not herself already. We need to get her home and she wasn’t going to come quietly.’

‘We don’t use…’ he began.

‘She says she’s killed someone, Carter,’ Ceri broke in, her voice quiet, but intense. ‘We need to get her somewhere quiet and see what actually happened before the Greycoats come looking for her. If there was another way I’d have taken it, but if she had stayed in there… There’s something in that place.’

Carter glanced at the steps leading down to the Dubh Linn. Then he yanked the passenger door open and climbed in without a word, leaving Ceri to slip in beside Lily. The half-demon flinched as the staff was laid over her thighs. The only sound in the car was the hum of the engine as they pulled away, heading toward the river and home.

Kennington

‘She’s asleep,’ Ceri said as she placed her staff back over the fireplace.

‘Another spell?’ Carter’s voice was sharp and Ceri struggled to avoid flinching at the accusation.

‘No, she settled down once she was in the cage. She’s scared.’

‘Her best friend used a spell to take control of her via her demonic side,’ the wizard snapped. ‘I’m not surprised…’

‘She went into the cage and locked the door herself,’ Ceri replied. ‘It’s her safety blanket. She’s scared of herself. Again. She was winning, damn it! She had her demon under control and now she’s worse than ever.’

‘Did she say anything else about what happened?’ Twill asked calmly. The fairy seemed to be taking Ceri’s use of magic far better than Carter was. Ceri shook her head. ‘I believe then, you should get some sleep yourself. In the morning we’ll both talk to her.’

‘You’ll have to talk to the Greycoats soon as well,’ Alec pointed out.

‘I just want a chance to find out what happened before we have to do that.’ Ceri started for the study door. ‘I’m going to set up a bedroll in the dungeon. I don’t want her to be alone tonight.’

She was out of the door and starting down when she heard Carter’s voice. ‘That’s a slippery slope she’s started on.’

It was Alec who responded. ‘Go easy on her, Carter. It’s not easy when you love someone so much you’ll risk your own soul for them.’

‘Perhaps,’ the wizard replied, ‘but once you start…’

Ceri heard nothing more. Biting back tears, she fled down the stairs into the hall and headed for the cellar.

~~~

Chained to a stone altar, Ceri could do nothing as the faceless men took turns at her. Nothing aside from watching Lily. The half-succubus was locked in a cage where Ceri could see her, could not avoid seeing her. She cried and begged, her hands trying desperately to tear apart the thick, iron bars, to stop what was happening to her friend and lover. It was useless. There was nothing either of them could do.

By now, the pain of what was being done to her body was nothing compared to the pain of watching Lily tearing herself apart in the cage. Ceri let out a moan as another man invaded her and Lily’s voice was there…

‘You’re dreaming, Ceri. Wake up.’

Her eyes flying open, Ceri looked across the uneven stone floor of the dungeon to where Lily was sitting up in the cage. Her body was stiff, but she hauled herself upright. ‘I’m sorry, love, did I wake you?’

Lily shook her head. ‘I was having my own nightmares.’ She looked down, away from Ceri. ‘You shouldn’t have come for me. You should have left me there.’

‘You know I couldn’t do that.’

‘You’re making yourself an accessory to murder, Ceri! And for what? A useless demon who can’t control…’

‘You’re not a demon! I don’t believe you killed someone.’

‘I woke up beside the body. I remember picking him up in the Dubh Linn and going to his flat. I remember fucking him until his heart gave out.’ Lil’s hand slammed into one of the bars. ‘The only thing stopping me doing the same to you is this cage!’

‘Bollocks,’ Ceri said flatly. She pulled herself out from under her blanket, lifting the cuff of her jeans on her right leg. The silver chain around her ankle glistened in the light from the overhead runes. She tugged at the chain, but it refused to move. ‘Remember what Twill said when she gave us these?’

Lily looked down at her own leg. Her fingers were shaking as she took hold of the chain and tried to work the catch. It, too, refused to unlock. ‘They won’t come off as long as both of us are alive and the love remains.’

Standing, Ceri walked over to the cage and unlocked the door. ‘I need to take a look in your head,’ she said. ‘I need to find out what happened and I can’t do that through those bars.’

Lily swallowed. ‘All right, but you chain me.’

‘Lil, I…’

‘Please.’

Ceri sighed and went to the shelves to get the shackles and the heavy, metal collar. ‘All right, just don’t think I’m doing this because I think I need to. Go and sit on the altar.’

Lily did seem to relax once her wrists were connected to the collar, and her ankles were chained together. Ceri shook her head, but Lily said, ‘If you have to run, you’ll have a better chance with me like this.’

Deciding not to argue, Ceri said, ‘All right. Now just hold still and don’t worry. I’m just going to prod around inside your head.’ She raised her hands, resting her fingertips on Lily’s forehead, and closed her eyes…

Lily’s Memory, April 28th

The night air was cool at four-fifteen in the morning, but Lily did not feel it. Her coat flapped in the light breeze, showing off her legs to anyone who might be happening past. And Ceri fought the urge to do up the extra buttons; it was not like she could change anything in the memory anyway. There was no one to see anyway, and no Ceri to go home to. For a brief second Lily entertained the thought of heading home via Battersea park. She grinned. Perhaps she could be discovered, walking alone through the dark trees. She had not had a good werewolf gangbang in months!

No, Ceri was doing this for a good reason. They were not joined at the hip for widder’s sake! One or two nights without sex was not going to be fatal. She had gone weeks without before Ceri’s enchantments had been destroyed…

She looked around. Stupid. Not paying attention. Someone could just…

The Dubh Linn was as busy as it ever got. How did we get here? There were the usual reprobates; ronin werewolves, vampires, Unseelie fae, and the humans who were stupid enough to think hanging with them was cool. Well, no, a few of the humans here reeked of power and wanted more of it. As she looked around the room she could see… Oh my God! That’s what it’s like. …the vampire who had not fed in three days and wanted blood so badly he would kill for it. The necromancer in the corner who could care less for a beautiful woman, he wanted a rare book the fae he was talking to could get. The price was too high, but he would pay it.

And there, sitting at the bar, was the man Lily was looking for. Well, any man would do, but that one was ripe for it. Broken hearted. A lost love. Desperate to connect. Desperate to know it was not him, that his ex had not left him because he was a useless, unemployed, unemployable, waste of space. Almost too easy.

‘Hi,’ he said as she walked up to him, ‘I’m…’

‘Hush.’ Her finger on his lips stopped him. ‘No need for names. I want you. Now. Do you live close by?’

His apartment qualified as a bachelor flat; she doubted he had cleaned in a week and… How did we get here? This isn’t right, Lil. This is more like a dream than… He was not a particularly skilled lover either. No wonder the ex, who’s picture he quickly turned face down as they walked into the bedroom, had left him. She had done most of the work. Feeding required her source of nourishment to reach a certain level of excitement. You couldn’t just jump in the sack and bump hips. Still, he was soon into it, letting her play. His groans and moans filled her ears as she worked methodically toward the point where his excitement peaked and she could start feeding…

He was there, lying on his back, his face locked into a rictus grin of intense pain and exquisite pleasure in the same instant. His back, which had been arched off the bed a few hours ago when she had climbed off him, had relaxed back before rigor mortis had started to set in. She looked at him, nausea starting to set in. What had she done? What was Ceri going to think of her? How could she have fallen so far so quickly? Frantically she threw the sheets aside and rushed to where her dress was lying…

Kennington, April 29th

Ceri stepped back, shaking her head to clear her mind of the panic in Lily’s memories. ‘No,’ she said, ‘that was all just… wrong!’

‘I’m sorry,’ Lily sounded utterly mortified, ashamed to the roots of her soul. ‘I don’t know why I did it. I just went out looking…’

‘No, Lil. You don’t understand. It was wrong. It didn’t fit together right.’

‘What? I remember picking him up, taking him home…’

‘No, you don’t. How did you get back to his place?’

‘We…’ Lily’s brow knitted. ‘We, uh… must have…’

‘No!’ Ceri snapped. ‘Really try to remember. No assumptions. No “must have’s.” Exactly how did you get there? What roads did you take?’

‘Well on the way back…’

‘Precisely,’ Ceri said, cutting her off. ‘You remember it clearly from the moment you woke up, and from when you left the Dragon until suddenly you’re walking into the Dubh Linn. There’s no memory of getting there. I think someone wiped your memory and covered it up with false ones.’

‘Can you get the real ones back?’

‘Given time, yes.’

‘We don’t have time.’

‘Lil, if I do this wrong, it could damage your brain. You could lose parts of your mind, permanently.’

Lily’s black eyes locked with Ceri’s blue ones. ‘Whatever you say, I remember killing a man. I won’t stay here knowing that. I have to give myself up before I get you in trouble.’

Ceri swallowed. ‘Maybe… maybe if we try to uncover what happened right after you left the club that’ll be enough.’

‘Okay, but if it isn’t, you keep going, okay?’

Rather than answering, Ceri stepped closer, reaching out again for Lily’s temples…

Lily’s Memory, April 28th

The night air was cool at four-fifteen in the morning, but Lily did not feel it. Her coat flapped in the light breeze, showing off her legs to anyone who might be happening past. There was no one to see anyway, and no Ceri to go home to. For a brief second Lily entertained the thought of heading home via Battersea park. She grinned. Perhaps she could be discovered, walking alone through the dark trees. She had not had a good werewolf gangbang in months!

No, Ceri was doing this for a good reason. They were not joined at the hip for widder’s sake! One or two nights without sex was not going to be fatal. She had gone weeks without before Ceri’s enchantments had been destroyed…

She looked around. Stupid. Not paying attention. Someone could just walk up behind her and that would be all she wrote.  Sure enough, there were two men in dark suits on the pavement opposite. They seemed not to be paying her any attention, however, and she turned back in time to see another figure appearing out of the shadows on Romilly Street. She saw his lips moving, his hand reaching out. Instinctively her defensive aura started to cut in, but it was too late. She felt drowsy, very drowsy, the green flares of light in the night sky dimmed…

The Dubh Linn was as busy as it ever got.

Stop! There. Do you see that?

What?

Your ankle…

Kennington, April 29th

‘I wasn’t wearing the chain,’ Lily said.

‘No, Lil,’ Ceri said, ‘the person whose memories they transplanted into you wasn’t wearing the ankle chain.’

‘Okay…’

‘You’re not convinced, are you?’

Lily shook her head, waves of chestnut hair shivering over her shoulders. It occurred to Ceri that Lily was still wearing her Jade Dragon dress. For the first time Ceri could remember since a week or two after moving in, Lily was dressed even though there were no strangers about to see her.

Ceri focussed, her power swelling once more.

Lily’s Memory

The room had stone walls and a thick, iron door. As she sat up, Lily felt a metal collar shift around her neck. She was chained to the wall. But your ankle chain is there. This is what really happened.

‘Hi,’ he said as she walked up to him, ‘I’m…’ And it overlaps with the transplant…

‘Hush.’ Her finger on his lips stopped him. ‘No need for names. I want you. Now. Do you live close by?’

The iron door opened and a man walked in. He was stooped, balding, with a long nose that made him look like a rat. Tanner! He stood in the doorway, watching her for a few seconds, his expression leering.

‘Who the hell are you? Where am I?’ Lily snapped.

‘I’d like to introduce myself properly,’ Tanner said, his voice a dull whine, ‘but I’m well aware of your power and I’m not stupid.’ His leer turned into a smirk. ‘The collar suppresses your auras. You can’t do anything to me from over there.’

‘Come closer you ratty freak and I’ll show you what I can do to you.’

‘I’m sure you would. Perhaps I should send your father in. That would be interesting to watch, he…’

A voice cut him off in mid-stream, yelling from outside the room. ‘Tanner, you ingrate, get away from her!’

Tanner turned, starting to pull back. ‘What? It’s not like she’s going to remember a thing that happens…’ And the rest was cut off as the door slammed shut behind him.

Westminster, April 29th

‘Now do you believe me?’ Ceri asked. They had been at the Greycoats’ headquarters for over four hours trying to explain what had happened to the police and she was beginning to lose her temper. Lily seemed rather more resigned about it.

The man they were having to convince was Detective Chief Inspector Barry, Kate and John’s boss. He was ex-military from the cut of his blond hair which might have been going grey, it was hard to tell. He had a bulky body which looked to be built of solid muscle, or possibly cinder blocks, and his nose suggested he had boxed in his younger years. His eyes though, were the kind of icy blue which could cut through a criminal’s resolve with the tenacity of a diamond drill bit. He was a normal, and not an easy man to convince. Four different practitioners had been called in to go through Lily’s memories. All of them said there were definite signs of tampering, but he was still looking unconvinced.

Barry glowered at Ceri, and then turned to look at John Radcliffe. ‘John, what’s your take?’

The junior detective and his more junior partner had been out at the crime scene for most of the interview. They had returned to hear what the last of the forensics people had to say. ‘Honestly, Chief? I don’t see Miss Carpenter as a murderer. Not this kind of premeditated, cold-blooded act. She’s too passionate.’ He was being formal in front of his boss; Ceri almost found it amusing.

‘So she passionately killed the guy.’

‘Doesn’t fit, sir. I’m convinced it’s the same person who did this…’ He paused, flicking his notebook open and checking. ‘Adrian Nelson… same person killed him that we’ve been trying to nail the last week. Miss Carpenter has an alibi for all the other deaths. Pile on the evidence that her memory has been messed with, add in that her feather is believed to be in town… Someone set her up to believe she’s responsible.’

Barry growled something inaudible and probably obscene. ‘Why?’ he added.

‘That, sir,’ Kate said, ‘is a really good question.’

‘All right,’ Barry changed tack, ‘who’s this Tanner character?’

Everyone looked at Ceri. ‘What do you know about the business with Remus last year?’ she asked.

‘I’ve read the reports,’ Barry replied. ‘There was a fair amount of material about what happened at Stonehenge that was classified by the Ministry. I know you two were involved in a lot of it.’

Ceri nodded. ‘There were six wizards working with Remus.’

‘I recall mention of five bodies at the henge when the troops rolled in.’

‘Tanner was left at the camp, or sent home after his attempts to torture me failed.’ The DCI’s face darkened at the mention of torture; Ceri liked him for that. ‘Either way, he wasn’t there for the final ritual. I was told that his patron demon was some sort of Incubus Lord. He specialised in sensual magic, I guess. The spell he used on me induced the same sort of ecstatic effect Lily’s aura can do. It induced a surge in the Tantric Median which…’

‘I’m a Detective, Miss Brent,’ Barry interrupted. ‘My thaumatology theory is about as good as my tap dancing.’

‘Sorry. It’s an intense feeling of pleasure, like an orgasm, without some of the physical effects. It’s addictive if applied repeatedly. Magnus also intimated that Tanner was a big hit with the ladies, which is like saying the Elephant Man dated starlets. The other thing is that if his master is some high-ranking incubus, he could have learned Lily’s father’s true name. The name lets you summon the specific demon.’

‘And they would do that because?’

‘Well, it could be as simple as long term use,’ Ceri said.

‘He sired me because a half-human child gives him an anchor to this world,’ Lily explained. ‘So if they summon my Dad, he’s not subject to the usual limitations on staying here.’

‘There aren’t many half-succubi around,’ Ceri added. ‘There used to be more, but they tend to go off the rails. Lily’s the only one I’ve ever heard of.’

‘I don’t buy it, Chief,’ John said. ‘If it were just the murders… okay, but this last thing, trying to frame Miss Carpenter, trying to make her believe she was responsible. That’s personal.’

‘Don’t take this the wrong way, John,’ Barry said, ‘but you tend to be a little paranoid about supernaturals.’

‘I agree with him, sir,’ Kate said. ‘Ceri mentioned some people watching the Battersea pack. Alexandra was involved with the Remus incident as well, and Ceri’s an honorary member of that pack. The people she described sound like the people who assaulted Lily. It sounds to me like they’ve been planning to get to both of them since this started.’

Barry ran his big hand over his face. ‘Sometimes I wonder why I got into supernatural cases. All right, the plan was to use Miss Carpenter to try to locate her father, right? Is that still the plan?’

John nodded. ‘We’ve got the court order, we’ve got the team of diviners. We can go right now.’

‘I’m ready,’ Lily stated flatly. ‘The sooner we get this thing over with, the better.’

Soho

‘They got nothing?’ Carter said.

‘There was a scrying block in place, according to the team,’ Ceri replied though it was a little muffled by her hands; her face was resting in them. ‘They got enough of a feel for Lily that they’re going to keep trying. The idea is that they might be able to located him when he goes out for his next victim.’ Partially, her posture was to avoid looking at Carter. He was still regarding her with the same disapproving expression. She was sat in his office, on one of the sofas. He had insisted on talking to them when they had arrived for work.

‘Are you all right, Lily?’ Now his tone was concerned, perhaps overly so. Ceri could not see what his expression was now, but she could guess; worry, concern, mostly for what Ceri had done. ‘I was surprised you came to work…’

‘Stop it,’ Lily said flatly. Ceri looked up to see the bemusement on Carter’s face; her own likely mirrored it. ‘We’re here because the police said I should be in places with as many witnesses as possible and Ceri would not let me come to work on my own.’ He opened his mouth to speak, but she kept going. ‘Twill told me all about your little discussion after you took me home last night. Well thank you for your concern, but if Ceri hadn’t done what she did I’d be in prison and we would be none the wiser. You think she really wants to be here with you glaring at her all the time? She’s here to look after me, despite the fact that she’ll be miserable the whole time.’

Ceri was expecting anger, but what she got was almost more frightening. Carter was silent for several seconds, and when he spoke his voice was quiet, almost too calm. ‘When I was younger, just out of university, I fell in with some… people with rather less morals than I hold myself to these days. I won’t say much about them because doing so would put all our lives in danger, but their practices involved a lot of demonology. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumours that my first million came from a demonic pact. It’s not… entirely true.’

‘But you were pacted?’ Lily asked.

He nodded. ‘I sought power and wealth, and I was willing to do more or less anything to get both. It took me over a decade, and a lot of very careful manoeuvring, to break free. Your parents, Ceri, regaining their friendship, even some of their trust, after that period helped me a lot. Then I ran into Lily and getting her back on her feet… Call it an act of redemption.’ He lifted his gaze toward Ceri, a weak smile forming on his lips. ‘It’s a little like giving up smoking and being a rampant anti-smoker, but the last thing I want to see you doing is ending up the way I did. Especially not when Lily is the victim.’

‘I don’t feel like a victim,’ Lily said. ‘Well, not Ceri’s victim. Someone did far worse to me than she did. When I get like that I’m my own worst enemy. The alternative would be knocking me out and carrying me home unconscious.’ She smirked. ‘I much prefer a little control to a load of bruises.’

Carter managed a soft chuckle. ‘Yes, I’d imagine you would.’ He looked at Ceri for a few seconds. ‘My apologies, Ceridwyn. I overreacted and…’

‘You don’t need to apologise, Carter,’ Ceri said. ‘What I did was wrong.’ She pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘If I had to do it again, I would, but it doesn’t make it right.’

‘Time for work,’ Lily stated. She prodded Carter’s arm with a finger. ‘You need to be the host and Ceri needs to turn on the charm. So the two of you need to pull yourselves together. I’m awesome, but I’m not going to carry the both of you!’

Ceri looked up at Carter. ‘Just keep watching me,’ she said. ‘I might need reminding sometimes.’

‘I can do that,’ he replied. He gave her another weak, self-deprecating smile. ‘I’ll probably have trouble stopping myself.’

~~~

‘Anything special happening tomorrow night?’ Ceri asked. ‘Day before Beltane and all.’

‘Ah, yes,’ Carter said. ‘Sorry, I was intending to brief everyone before we opened tonight, but, well…’

‘Yeah,’ Ceri said, grinning slightly. ‘Best laid plans and all that.’

‘Quite. Well, All Hallows was a big success so I have Audrey coming in again. I’ll need everyone in two hours earlier to get painted up.’

‘Fair enough. What’s the theme?’

‘Well, it is a fire festival…’

‘Should be fun. And a change, though…’ Ceri gave a small grimace.

‘A problem, my dear?’ That felt good; she was back to being “my dear.”

‘Well, I was just starting to get used to the dress and now I’m going to be prancing around in a string and some paint.’

‘That sounds yummy,’ Lily commented. She placed her tray on the counter for Alec to clear and turned to lean against the bar beside Ceri.

‘You’ll be dressed the same,’ Carter pointed out.

‘Better and better.’

Ceri giggled. ‘You’ll be in seventh heaven, the weather’s supposed to start picking up tomorrow. They’re forecasting a hot May.’

‘Well,’ Lily said, ‘I’ve had a couple of days of Hell, I think I deserve an evening of exhibitionism and at least a day of sunbathing.’

‘We’ll go up to the roof for sunrise,’ Ceri said. ‘My mother always did a little ritual up there when she was alive. Maybe it’s time to bring that back. She always said it brought luck.’

‘I think we could use some, yes. Oh, table sixteen, love.’

Picking up her tray, Ceri gave Lily a little grin and headed for the table. It was occupied by a quartet of normals; two couples out for a Friday night on the town. Only one of them seemed to have had much contact with supernaturals before and they were utterly fascinated by the people around them.

‘You always seem to know when we need drinks,’ one of the women marvelled as Ceri picked their empty glasses up. Ceri just smiled at her.

‘A trade secret I’m sure,’ her husband remarked. ‘Another four red wines?’ There were various nods.

The other woman was looking fidgety and, when Ceri looked her way, she spoke. ‘I’m sorry to ask, but are you a fae or something?’

‘No, ma’am. No fae on the staff. I’m a practitioner, but just your normal human kind.’ Well, she thought, as far as I know I am. ‘Fae aren’t too common, to be honest. We have vampires and werewolves in. Alec the bartender is a werewolf, and you’ll have seen Lily. She’s the totally stunning waitress over there by the bar. She’s a half-succubus.’

‘Really?’ The woman’s eyes widened. ‘There have been all those news reports the last couple of days. The Sun had a front page article about a succubus killing people around the city.’

Ceri’s stomach lurched. The press had got a hold of the story? ‘Ah well, The Sun is just sore that they’ve never got Lily on Page Three. I’ll get you those drinks.’ There was laughter from the table as she turned and headed for the bar.

‘They seem to be enjoying themselves,’ Carter commented as she walked up.

‘Yeah,’ Ceri replied. ‘Another four red wines, Alec,’ she added and then turned back to Carter and Lily. ‘Did you know these murders had made it into the press?’

‘I was aware, yes,’ Carter replied. ‘No names were mentioned. Not even a “helping the police with their enquiries.” The Met was forced to issue a statement that they were looking for a succubus after someone leaked the story to The Sun. Just their kind of sensationalist crime. Sex and death in one bundle.’

‘Great,’ Ceri said.

‘If I’m not connected, what’s the problem?’ Lily said, shrugging.

Ceri sighed and picked up her loaded tray. ‘Nothing, I hope.’

Kennington, April 30th

Almost as though the world were expecting the Beltane festival, the morning dawned warm and bright, but the best thing about it was that Ceri woke up with Lily’s arms around her waist. The half-succubus’ luscious body was snuggled firmly against her back and there had been no nightmares to disturb their rest. Then there was the moment where she felt Lily’s arms tighten slightly, her breasts swelling as they were squeezed between their two bodies, and there was the anticipation of what they would do next.

Twill zipped into the room, a ball of angry red light, and suddenly the anticipated sex vanished. ‘There are three different groups of men outside,’ she said almost before she had resolved herself.

Ceri blinked at her and Lily lifted her head to look over Ceri’s shoulder. ‘Men?’ the half-succubus said.

‘Well, actually, a couple are women and the others are men. They’re sitting in cars across the road. One of them snuck in the side gate and tried to look in the windows. They have cameras!’

‘Press,’ Ceri growled. ‘Just great.’ She climbed out of bed, and Lily’s arms, with a murderous look on her face.

Sure enough, three pairs of people rushed out of cars parked on the other side of Saint Agnes Place as soon as Ceri walked out of the front door. One of the men raised a camera, the other two photographers appeared to be better briefed. They closed on the front gate as she walked up to it, yelling questions which she ignored until they stopped talking over each other.

‘So you guys are?’ she asked.

‘Daily Mail,’ one of the men said.

‘Sun.’

‘Wednesday Witch, Miss Brent,’ said one of the women. ‘We spoke briefly once after the T-Null discovery.’

Ceri vaguely remembered her, but not her name. ‘And why have I got representatives of the Press on my doorstep?’ There was another clamour of voices. ‘You!’ Ceri snapped, pointing at the woman from The Wednesday Witch. ‘You answer, please.’

‘We’d like to talk to Miss Carpenter. Uh, regarding the recent deaths. We understand that you went to Greycoat Street yesterday.’

Ceri sucked on her teeth. ‘Right. Well, Miss Carpenter isn’t going to be talking to you and I have no comment.’ She waited until they stopped talking again before going on. ‘Live with it,’ she said and turned on her heel to walk back. After two paces she stopped and looked back at them. ‘Oh, and if one of you should decide to come onto the grounds again, I will know and I will exercise my right to defend my property by freezing that person on the spot and prosecuting them for trespass.’

The reporter from The Sun waved something at her. He looked a little embarrassed so she walked back and he handed her an envelope. ‘My editor said I should give you that,’ he said. ‘Uh, it’s nothing to do with me, I do crime reporting.’

Ceri took the envelope. ‘As long as there are tits involved?’ she asked. Turning without waiting for a reply, she walked back into the house, slamming the door behind her.

‘What do they want?’ Lily asked.

‘You,’ Ceri replied. She walked over to where Lily was sitting on the stairs and handed her the envelope. ‘One of them gave me this for you. There’s no magic.’

Frowning, Lily slit the envelope open with one of her perfect nails and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. She read it and then started to giggle. Ceri and Twill looked at her as though she had gone funny. ‘They want to know whether I’d be willing to sit for a Page Three shoot.’

~~~

‘Police continue their search for the unknown woman responsible for the deaths of seven men.’ The newsreader on the TV delivered the line in a distinctly matter of fact tone, as befitted the British Broadcasting Company’s lunchtime news broadcast. ‘Confirmation that a succubus may be involved was issued yesterday following leaked reports to The Sun newspaper. Police have requested that men avoid picking up single women, particularly in pubs or bars frequented by supernatural entities.’

‘Like that’s going to work,’ Lily commented.

‘At this time,’ the announcer continued, ‘a spokesperson from Greycoat Street has indicated that there are no suspects. The last victim, Allan Tebbit, an unemployed shop worker from Hackney, was found by police following a tip-off.’

Ceri lifted the remote and stabbed the off button. ‘You know, I’m seriously considering cancelling the Wednesday Witch subscription.’

‘You’d never survive without the gossip column,’ Lily said. ‘Besides, they’re just doing their job. I think, if I end up actually doing an interview, I’ll give it to them.’

Ceri smirked. ‘What about the offer from The Sun?’

‘Nope. I’m holding out for Supernatural Stunners or Taboo Nights. If I’m taking my clothes off for a camera again, I’m doing it for proper money and in a magazine with some class.’

‘Class? Supernatural Stunners?’

‘It’s… kind of classy.’ Lily clearly decided that a deft change of subject was required. ‘How are we going to get out past the hounds?’ she asked.

‘Oh, that’s easy. I’ve seen Twill turn invisible enough times. We’ll just walk out the door. We’d better warn Carter though. They’ll know we work at the Dragon and they’re bound to try something.’

Lily giggled. ‘Not inside. Carter makes sure any celebrities who come to the club have their privacy while there. Cameras aren’t allowed in. If a reporter tries to ask anyone questions in there, they get asked to leave.’

‘Asked?’

‘Alec does the asking.’

‘Ah, right.’ Alec could look pretty imposing when he wanted to. Not that it worked on people who really knew him, but Ceri had no doubt it would work on a reporter. ‘Okay, you give Carter a call, I’m going to check the candles and stuff for the ritual tomorrow morning.’

‘You’re still going to do that?’

‘Uh-huh. We’ll be on the roof so no one will be able to see us and anyway, if they’re willing to stay up until dawn, I say they deserve to hear me.’

Soho

There were, in fact, more than the usual supply of photographers and other press hopefuls hanging around outside the Jade Dragon, but then there were more than the usual supply of celebrities on the inside. Everyone knew that the two big festivals, Beltane and Samhain, were noteworthy events at the club and that Carter pushed the boat out a little for them, and that always attracted a crowd of big names.

The press were, however, to be disappointed. Generally one of the waitresses would come out to the entrance lectern to seat customers. With a long lens, the photographers might have got a snap of Lily or Ceri that way. Tonight, however, Carter did all the greeting, though if anyone had asked he would have said it was because of the costumes the girls were wearing.

Ceri was certainly happy not to be out in public view. Audrey, the make-up girl Carter employed for such occasions, had done each girl the same. A base coat of red covered their legs and bodies as far as their breasts, and then yellow had been added and blended in to give a flame effect rising from their feet. Once she had got over the fact that she was walking around in a tiny red G-string and red high-heels, Ceri had decided she rather liked her “outfit,” but there was no way she wanted to be seen outside the club that way.

As it was, she was a tiny bit mortified to discover John Radcliffe and his wife Lorna sitting at the bar when she returned from delivering drinks to one of her tables. He was in a suit, with a bow tie, while she was dressed in a stunning black gown with a side split which ran up to her hip. The black set off her pale, vampire complexion beautifully, and her seat on a stool allowed the side split to show off shapely legs.

‘John,’ Ceri said as she put her tray down, ‘Lorna. Beautiful dress there. Really works for you.’

‘Thanks,’ the vampire replied. Her smile was wide enough to show her fangs. ‘That’s a beautiful… paint job.’

‘Yeah, well, all part of the job. What brings you here?’

‘My wife is assisting me in some undercover work,’ John replied.

Ceri frowned. ‘Oh?’

‘It’s the only way he could get past the reporters to see you and Lily,’ Lorna said. ‘Not that I mind being taken out on a Saturday night anyway.’

‘As it was, we got ambushed outside the door,’ the detective said, rolling his eyes, ‘but I just said I was off duty and escorting my wife on a night out.’

Ceri was impressed. ‘You know, I’d never have thought you were that sneaky.’

‘I have my moments. We got a lead on Lily’s father. The Chief asked that I keep you informed and, uh, check there were no problems with Lily.’

‘She’s been fine.’ Ceri felt the tingling sensation in her scalp which meant Lily was close by and turned. ‘Haven’t you, love?’

Lily grinned. ‘I’ll be happier when I don’t get dragged out of bed before nookie by an angry fairy, but yeah.’

‘Well,’ John said, ‘the scrying team picked up your father outside a gentleman’s club in Mayfair. It’s not too far from the Dubh Linn. Current theory is that he was feeding on one of the members, but no one’s reported a body yet. We know they have private rooms there, it could be a day or so before anyone’s found, even assuming there’s someone to find. He went to a rented house in Islington and stayed there. We’ve got the place staked out.’

Carter had been listening quietly beside them, his eyes wandering from the door to the room periodically. ‘Which one?’ he asked. ‘The gentleman’s club, what was its name?’

‘Uh…’ John reached into his jacket and pulled out his notepad. Ceri wondered whether he slept with it. ‘The Archmage Club. Do you know it?’

‘By reputation,’ Carter replied.

‘Are you going to go in after him?’ Lily asked. ‘My Dad.’

‘We’d like to see if anyone else is in there first,’ John replied. ‘If we’re lucky, we can get the summoner too. The place is blocked though, the scryers can’t see inside, so it’s down to old fashioned police work.’

‘That sucks,’ Lily said.

‘He loves it,’ Lorna said, giggling. ‘Just an old fashioned cop, my husband.’ She took a sip of her drink and licked her lips. ‘What’s this one again, Alec? It’s gorgeous.’

‘It’s called Death in the Morning,’ the bartender replied. ‘Absinthe, Syn, and champagne. Sophisticated drink for a sophisticated lady.’

The vampire smiled at her husband. ‘Couple of these and you can forget the “lady” part.’ Ceri saw John’s cheeks colour and, not for the first time, wondered about the couple’s relationship. Both of them needed a couple of drinks in them to come out of their shells, though Lorna seemed more aware of that than John and actively went for it. Lorna wanted to be a little wild, John went along with it because he loved his wife. One day Ceri was going to have to discover how Lorna had become a vampire.

‘You’re doing good business tonight,’ John commented to cover his slight embarrassment.

‘We always do something special for Beltane,’ Carter said. ‘That pulls in the celebrities, and they pull in everyone else.’

‘The table decorations are quite something,’ Lorna said.

Carter smiled. ‘I have to use my magic for something.’ In the middle of each table, a column of illusory flame reached upward to the ceiling. ‘And despite what you might hear, my ability to attract young women is pure charm.’

‘What are you going to do tonight, boss?’ Lily said, smirking slightly. ‘If you’re watching the door you’ll not have time to pick up a new one.’

‘Don’t you worry about my love life, young lady,’ the bar owner replied, ‘I have everything covered.’ He glanced at his watch and then at the door. ‘In fact, here she is now?’

Ceri looked around and grinned. Cheryl looked absolutely stunning dressed in a long gown which hugged her figure tightly and was studded all over with flecks of something which caught the light as she moved. Spotting Carter and the others she walked straight over, leaning forward on her four-inch sling-backs to give him a kiss on the cheek. Close up, Ceri could see that the dress was just a little translucent in the right light, and it looked like it had cost a fortune.

‘Thank you for the dress,’ Cheryl said to Carter, confirming what Ceri had suspected. ‘It’s gorgeous.’ She grinned a little sheepishly. ‘Of course, if you hadn’t told me what Ceri and Lily would be wearing tonight I doubt I’d have had the courage to wear it.’

‘You look… edible, Cheryl,’ Lily said.

The doctor’s cheeks flushed. ‘There were a lot of camera flashes as I walked in. I think they thought I was someone famous.’

Carter leaned over and returned the kiss, his lips lingering slightly on her cheek. ‘You are famous, dear. Perhaps in a different circle to the one they were thinking of, but I’d imagine there isn’t a thaumatologist who doesn’t know your name.’

‘Ah, but my student surpasses me. There likely isn’t a thaumatologist or cryptozoologist who doesn’t know Ceri’s name.’

‘Ah yes,’ Carter replied, ‘but young Ceridwyn is such an innocent, unassuming thing. You’d never see her in a dress like that.’

Everyone looked at Ceri. Her cheeks matched her paintwork.

May 1st

‘What’s it looking like outside?’ Carter asked as Alec returned from locking the main doors of the club and lowering the heavy, silver-iron shielded shutter.

‘Most of them have gone, but there’s a fair contingent who look like they’re positioning themselves to cover the staff exit as well as the main one.’ The big man walked around the bar and began work on the till reconciliation.

Carter looked around to where Ceri and Lily were clearing the last glasses. ‘You two would likely be advised to use the other door.’

Ceri looked up and blinked at him. ‘The “other” door?’

‘Lily knows the way,’ Carter replied. ‘Can I have a word?’ Raising an eyebrow, Ceri walked over to where he was standing at the end of the bar. He lowered his voice, looking a little uncomfortable. ‘The club Detective Radcliffe mentioned…’

‘The Archmage Club, wasn’t it?’ Ceri asked. ‘Sounds like a one of those smoky, Victorian-style places when men in suits discussing share prices and reading The Times.’

‘Superficially, yes,’ he replied. ‘You’ll recall I mentioned falling in with the wrong sort of people after Cambridge? They established the Archmage Club as their London presence in the late eighties. It’s unlikely that Lily’s father was there for food.’

‘Shouldn’t you mention something to the cops?’ Ceri asked, frowning.

‘I can’t. One of the terms of my escape from the group was an Oath. I can’t talk to anyone about them who doesn’t already know. I’m side-stepping that because you’ve already met them. And you’ll notice I’ve never told you what they’re called?’

‘Yeah, I had. So these were the wizards who were helping Remus,’ Ceri said.

Carter nodded in reply. ‘They’re dangerous, Ceridwyn. They have their fingers in a lot of pies. Keep away from the Archmage Club.’

Ceri nodded slowly. ‘Okay, but you realise that means Tanner is one of them? This whole business with Lily is likely their doing.’

Cheryl emerged from the back where she had been checking her make-up. Carter nodded to Ceri. ‘I’ll see if I can make some enquiries.’ His voice rose and returned to its normal, mellow self. ‘Cheryl, my dear, Alec has gracefully elected to finish up here for me. Would you care to join me in running interference for Ceri and Lily?’

‘That sounds exciting,’ Cheryl said.

‘It does mean that you’re finally going to get your name in the gossip columns.’

Lily walked over with a last tray of glasses, putting it down for Alec to clear later. ‘They really will think you’re slowing down,’ she commented. ‘No offence, Cheryl, but you’re a decade older than his usual conquests.’ She smiled and patted the doctor’s behind. ‘Not that you look your age, especially in that dress.’ He tongue slid playfully over her lips.

Carter gave Lily a mock-scowl. ‘Ceridwyn, would you mind taking your pet home with you before she steals my girlfriend?’

Grinning, Lily headed for the back rooms, waving for Ceri to follow. They stopped off in the staff locker room to pick up their coats and then Lily led the way to the cellar. ‘We use this when one of the customers really needs to avoid the Press Pack,’ she said as they descended the steps. ‘It’s one way. The doors only open from inside the club.’

They walked past crates of beer bottles, palettes of soft drink tins, and then racks of wine bottles, following the cellar through all the way to the back where a large, iron door was mounted into the brick wall on a heavy frame. Lily pushed a big, red button beside the door and Ceri heard the locks disengage. Beyond it was a brick-walled tunnel which, Ceri guessed, ran roughly along the line of Dean Street. Stepping through, Lily waited for Ceri, made sure the door had locked closed, and then turned left.

‘You know,’ Lily commented idly, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard Carter refer to anyone as his girlfriend before.’

‘Maybe he’s growing up,’ Ceri suggested. There was not much light in the tunnel; a rune in the ceiling gave dim light ever twenty yards or so. Walking down it in heels was not that easy and after a minute Ceri summoned up a ball of light which floated along beside them.

Lily grinned. ‘Useful.’

‘I can be. Did Carter build this?’

‘Oh no. He had some people go through it and make sure it was sound, put in the doors and sealed off a couple of other ways in. You can get down here from the Collar Club too. Alec thinks it was put in for smuggling, or some other illegal purpose. It comes out in an alley off Lisle Street.’

Ceri grinned. ‘Useful.’

Lily giggled. ‘If I didn’t want to keep our costumes pretty for your ritual, this place is kind of awesome for making out in.’

Ceri giggled in return. ‘One track mind.’

‘Oh, totally.’

Kennington

The sky was a pale blue in the east, shading to midnight-blue in the west, as they climbed out onto the roof of High Towers. Ceri shivered in the cold air and cast a warming spell on herself as soon as she was able. Frankly, it was a bit loony standing on a rooftop just before sunrise wearing nothing but a thong and some high-heels, but at least she had the means to keep the cold out.

‘I estimate we have about five minutes,’ Lily said looking at the sky. About the most notable things off in the direction of the dawn were the tower blocks of the Brandon Estate, but even if someone over there were up at this hour they would have needed a telescope to see the two near-naked women on the roof of the building.

‘Let’s get set up then,’ Ceri said. ‘Four candles around us, at the compass points.’ Lily took the two she was holding and placed one to the north, a second to the west. Ceri placed hers at south and east, and then checked the alignments. ‘Good. Now the runes…’ She laid them out in salt, four simple runes representing the four elements, each one beside a candle. She straightened up after finishing the last.

‘What now?’ Lily asked.

‘Come stand beside me.’

‘I won’t interfere?’

Ceri smiled. ‘I want you here with me. Mum always did it with Dad standing with her. She said it was a fertility rite and having the one you loved with you was only appropriate.’ Her Sight opened up, taking in the streams and flows of energy. In the east a boiling mass marked the point where the sun would edge over the horizon. It was time. ‘Just keep still,’ she said, ‘and enjoy it.’

Ceri raised her arms. ‘Earth,’ she said, and the northern rune glowed a bright white, ‘air, fire, water.’ As she named the runes, they glowed in turn, going clockwise around the circle. ‘The elements surround us. The elements protect us. The elements are us. We who stand before the coming fire do so in love.’ Her Sight showed her the sudden flare of energy breaking over the horizon; another few seconds and the light would follow. ‘Let this flame be the guide.’ A flick of her wrists and the candles burst into flame. ‘Let the Eternal Fire come once more!’

A spark of light appeared over the horizon; a tiny star at first, becoming quickly brighter as more of the disk rose above the skyline. Around them, the candle flames rose higher as though trying to reach for the bigger fire in the sky, and energy blazed through Ceri standing at the core of the ritual. She heard Lily’s gasp and struggled to continue the words. ‘B-blessed be the L-light Eternal. Bathe us in thine glorious heat.’ It felt as though the flames painted onto her body had become real and she realised why her mother had never bothered with warming spells before performing the rite. ‘B-bless us with the p-power to bring your light to the world.’ The heat seemed to be concentrating, narrowing to a thread within her. ‘Allow us t-to celebrate the glory of this day in thine name.’

Ceri lowered her arms and turned toward Lily. The half-succubus was panting, her fists clenching convulsively. Their lips met and Lily’s body stiffened as the power flowed through Ceri and into her lover. Ceri’s head felt full of cotton wool. It was like a drug; a succubus addiction on steroids. She wanted Lily more than she had ever wanted anything before, and from the way Lily was kissing her, the feeling was mutual.

‘Sh-shower,’ Ceri managed to get out. The candles had died around them and the sunlight was growing brighter by the second. They ignored all of it, stumbling down into the attic, almost falling on the stairs down to the top landing. One of them turned the water on, Ceri was not sure who, and they stood under it, the hot water slowly washing away the paint. Neither girl noticed, they were far too interested in each other. Gasps and moans accompanied roaming hands. Their tongues curled together, lips meeting hungrily.

Lily broke the kiss and turned Ceri around to let the water run over her breasts and stomach. Hands incidentally washed away the last of the paint as they roamed, finding their way under the little red G-string, and Ceri let out an almost animal groan as fingers curled inside her. She reached behind her, returning the favour to Lily, and the moan she heard was entirely animal.

‘Need you,’ Lily growled. ‘Now!’

Somehow they made it to the bedroom and fell, still wet, onto the covers. Ceri let out a laugh of pure glee. Lily’s head was between her legs before she could even consider anything else, her hot, probing tongue lapping hungrily. Ceri felt the beginnings of her orgasm and her fingers gripped Lily’s hair as her back began to arch.

‘Can’t…’ Ceri groaned. ‘Coming…’ Time seemed to stand still. Her body was burning in the heat of intense pleasure. Breath came in quick pants as wave after wave of sensation washed up from her groin to her brain. Her body began to shudder in time to the waves of pleasure, and it had never gone on so long before, and she was dying in the flames, and her entire body was nothing but a lightning rod for the electricity burning through her, and it was never going to stop, and Lily kept on and on, and Ceri began to feel that she really would die of sheer pleasure…

There was a final, shuddering flash of cataclysmic sensation and Ceri cried out, ‘Lily!’ Then the world faded into darkness.

~~~

Every muscle in her body ached like she had been beaten with sticks. Groaning, Ceri struggled into a sitting position on the side of the bed. ‘What the Hell did you do to me, Lil?’ But Lily was not there to answer. Ceri frowned, but her aching body needed some relief so she headed to the shower to let the hot water ease her muscles. Lily was likely in the kitchen with a coffee.

Lily was not in the kitchen, with or without a coffee. Twill was. ‘Morning, Twill,’ Ceri said as she poured herself a coffee. ‘Where’s Lily?’

The fairy paused in mid-air as though considering and then said, ‘She’s in the dungeon.’ Ceri’s frown returned and she put the mug down, starting for the door. ‘Wait,’ Twill said, ‘there’s a letter for you on the floor in the hall.’

Ceri paused in the doorway. ‘Take it to the study for me, would you? I need to see what’s up with Lil.’

‘I’m not touching it, Ceri,’ Twill replied. ‘It stinks of demon.’

Her frown deepening, Ceri went out to the hall, opening the inner door. Sure enough there was a white envelope on the floor under the letterbox. Her Sight suggested there was nothing magical about it; it might smell of demons to Twill, but it showed no signs of demonic magic. Dropping to one knee, she picked up the envelope, turning it over. There seemed nothing strange about it, though the handwriting was a little oddly formed, as though the author was not used to using a pen. Sure enough, it was addressed to her. Taking a breath, she tore the envelope open.

There was a single sheet of folded paper inside with the same, slightly stiff handwriting on it. A demon bound may not harm its binder, she read. No demon may have more than one master, or Mistress. The ties that bind a half-demon to its parent can only be broken by another binding. There was a glyph of some sort marked under the text. Ceri did not recognise it, but she got the feeling it was a personal rune.

Well, Twill would go wiggy if she left the letter somewhere. Standing up, Ceri took it with her as she went down to the cellar.

She found Lily locked in the cage. She was sitting in the middle of it, her knees pulled up to her chin, but there was a look of relief on her face when she saw Ceri. ‘Lil,’ Ceri said, ‘why are you in there?’

‘I… I couldn’t stop,’ Lily said. ‘I was worried I’d killed you.’ She began to speak in a rush, the words tumbling over each other in a hurry to get out. ‘I was so wound up but it was so good and I was feeding like always and you were really enjoying it and it felt so good and I could feel him encouraging me and the more I fed the more he felt good and I felt good and wanted more and…’

‘Lily!’ Ceri snapped and the half-succubus broke off, looking at her like a frightened deer. ‘Slow down, I got about half of that. You didn’t kill me. I admit I woke up feeling like I’d done the SAS assault course in record time, but I’m okay.’

‘This time,’ Lily replied more calmly, but still with a heavy hint of anxiety. ‘The longer he’s here, the worse it gets. I thought I’d got it under control, but it’s just that we haven’t had sex in a couple of days. As soon as I start feeding, it starts again.’ She put her chin back on her knees. ‘I should leave, or keep myself locked up. Don’t you dare let me out.’

Ceri looked at the letter she was still holding. Walking up to the cage, she held it out to Lily. ‘This came in the post this morning. Look at it.’

A tentative hand stretched out and took the letter. There were a few seconds of silence. ‘That’s my Dad’s mark.’

‘That… makes sense.’

‘Huh?’

‘John said they detected him leaving the Archmage Club and then he went to a house in Islington. So, he gets some notepaper and an envelope from the club, writes the note, and then posts it on the way. He wouldn’t actually be disobeying Tanner’s orders doing that.’

‘And he’s telling us this because? No, actually, what is he telling us?’

‘It was addressed to me,’ Ceri said, her voice calm despite the growing feeling of panic starting to develop in her stomach. ‘He’s asking me to perform a demonic binding spell on you.’

Lily’s head shot up, her eyes bright. ‘Right! And that would stop him from…’ She stopped, her face falling.

‘There’s no way I’m doing it, Lil.’

‘No, no you’re right, I can’t ask you to do that. If anyone found out they’d entomb you in granite for eternity. I was there for the ethics bit of your practitioner’s course.’

Ceri laughed and Lily blinked at her, confused. ‘That isn’t why I won’t do it, love. You’d be my slave, tied to me until we died. I can’t do that to you.’

Lily looked at her for a long second. ‘You’d do it, even though it could mean entombment?’

‘No, you’re not listening…’

‘Yes I am. I wouldn’t be your slave. I’d have to do what you ordered me to do, but I do that anyway. And I’m already tied to you until one of us kicks the bucket. The thing you didn’t mention is that I wouldn’t be able to harm you, which is exactly what I want. You would be risking a lot more than I’d be losing.’

‘I’m not sure you’re thinking straight, Lil,’ Ceri said. ‘I’d be taking away your freedom.’

‘You’d be giving me my freedom.’

‘That’s not how I see it…’

‘All right,’ Lily held her hands up. ‘A transaction, I may lose some degree of freedom I don’t wish to have, you could be sealed in rock forever.’ She frowned as though this finished the argument, but there was something else. ‘Why has he told us about this? Is it a trap?’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘Why?’

‘Bindings are difficult to spot, hard to prove. It’s unlikely Tanner could use it to get to me, and besides, it totally defeats his use of you against me. So, your father is giving us the information.’

‘Again, why?’

‘Well, let’s assume it’s not out of the goodness of his heart. What usually happens to half-demons?’

Lily grimaced. ‘We get worse and worse until, eventually, we do something bad enough that we get turned into sushi by a Special Tactics Squad.’

‘And the demon loses his anchor to Earth,’ Ceri stated triumphantly.

‘A perfectly good, selfish reason,’ Lily noted, nodding thoughtfully. ‘We’re arguing ourselves into doing something insane, aren’t we?’

The panic which had been winding itself up inside Ceri was threatening to break out. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I knew we would as soon as I realised what the letter meant.’

‘You look like you’re about to scream.’

Ceri nodded. ‘I’m going to go over in the corner there and rock back and forward for a minute or two, then I’ll get the stuff we need.’

‘We’re going to do it now?’

‘Sooner the better,’ Ceri said. ‘Besides, it’s Beltane, it’s a good day for it.’

Lily frowned as Ceri walked to the altar at the end of the room to calm down. Why was Beltane a good day?

~~~

Ceri came down the steps to the dungeon dressed in her best dominatrix outfit; black leather corset and thong, and a pair of thigh boots with four-inch heels which Lily had bought her because “you’ll look totally awesome in them.” Ignoring Lily entirely, especially the adoring expression on her face, she made her way down to the end of the room and prepared everything. Then she walked back to the cage.

‘Ready?’ she asked.

‘If you are.’

‘Okay, try not to be offended.’ Ceri closed her eyes and summoned her power, pushing it into the simple, silver chain in her hand. ‘Demon, I am your Mistress,’ she said. ‘I charge this symbol of my power and of your eternal bondage. I empower it to bind you. I endow it with my will. Your spirit is no match for mine, your soul a mere shadow. You cannot resist my power for you are my pitiful, insignificant slave.’

Opening her eyes, she looked down at Lily. ‘Take the end of the chain,’ she said. ‘Don’t let go.’ Almost timidly, Lily reached out and wrapped her hand around the end of the chain. Her eyes widened and she began to tremble as Ceri’s energy began to flow into her. ‘My will controls you. My will overwhelms you. You can do nothing to resist me. You are mine.’ She let go of the chain, but Lily just sat there, her mouth slightly open, her breath coming in pants. ‘Put the chain around your neck and close the catch, demon,’ Ceri said, putting every ounce of authority into her voice she could manage.

Her hand trembling, Lily pulled the chain into the cage with her. There was a small spark as it passed the bars and Lily whimpered. She put the chain around her throat as though it were a snake about to bite. There was a click as she locked it in place.

Ceri took a key from her bodice and unlocked the padlock on the cage. ‘Come out, demon. Know your place. You are mine.’

Lily stood and stepped out of the cage, her eyes on the floor. Still, Ceri felt her scalp tighten as Lily’s aura swept over her. There would be red in Lily’s eyes; she was excited, aroused by the power. Ceri had to bite her lip to avoid ordering Lily to go down on her right there and then. Instead she turned and walked toward the end of the room, Lily following after her.

Ceri pointed at the circle her mother had had cut into the stone of the floor. Now it had the St Andrew’s Cross mounted over it; Lily had liked the symbology. Now she moved to stand in front of the cross; she probably knew what was coming next, and she did not resist as Ceri stretched her left arm up to close a silver-iron shackle around her wrist. She lifted her right arm ready for the next shackle, and spread her legs for the ankle chains to be locked in place. Ceri turned and walked back toward the altar.

When she turned back, a large church candle in each hand, Lily was looking up, her pupils shining red. Ceri pushed the desire she was feeling out of her mind and stepped forward, placing a candle on the northern point of the pentagram within the circle. A candle went at each point, working clockwise. Lily said nothing the whole time, but her body was moving, almost writhing, in the restraints.

The candles set, Ceri returned to the altar. She picked up her father’s ceremonial dagger with its ebony handle and slid it into the top of her boot, and then picked up her staff from where it was leaning against the altar. Binding Lily was going to take a lot of power. She walked into the circle and looked Lily in the eyes. Lily licked her lips hungrily; her father’s influence was starting to have an effect as she became aroused.

Ceri raised her staff and brought it down on the stone. The five candles burst into flame and Lily let out a gasp. Once more the staff rose and fell, the sound of metal striking stone resonated through the room, and the circle’s carvings flared with brilliant, white light. Reaching out her hand, Ceri placed her index finger on the chain around Lily’s throat. The staff rose and fell again. Light blazed from the crystal at its head and Lily’s head flew back, her mouth opening to scream, but no sound coming out. The half-demon’s body was rigid and shaking as power roared into her through the chain around her neck.

‘Feel my power, worm,’ Ceri said. ‘Feel my strength. You are mine. Your body is mine. Your spirit is mine. Your soul is mine.’ Ceri could see the energy flowing through the medians in Lily’s body. They shone like beacons in her Sight. ‘I bind you, demon. I bind your spirit.’ Silver threads began to form, wrapping themselves around the misty triangle of Lily’s spirit. ‘I bind your soul,’ she said, and the threads began to twist around Lily’s soul-ribbon. ‘I bind your body,’ she said, and watched as the bridge at the base of the two medians began to vanish under the silver threads. ‘I bind you unto me, mine until the end of time.’

As the threads finally enclosed the three bridge points entirely, Ceri pulled the knife from her boot. Taking a breath, she closed her eyes, and cut a gash in her palm, wincing at the sudden pain. Lily was still straining against the energy throbbing through her body. Ceri reach up and clenched her fist over Lily’s mouth. ‘By my blood I bind thee,’ she said, letting her blood trickle into Lily’s mouth. Lily swallowed convulsively and her body shook.

Taking the knife, Ceri cut a short gash at the top of one of Lily’s perfect breasts. ‘By your blood,’ she said, ‘I join us.’ Leaning forward, she licked blood from the cut. It felt like someone had run a battery over her tongue. Her head swam and she struggled to keep herself standing. She raised her staff. ‘By my power,’ she said, ‘we are one!’ The metal heel of the staff struck the stone. A wind sprang out of nowhere, swirling around the circle and extinguishing the candles. Lily gave one last convulsive shudder and then sagged forward against her shackles.

Ceri held herself up with her staff. The inlayed markings on the upper part of the rod were glowing a brilliant blue; an indication that she had taxed its power to the limit. She lifted her cut hand and looked down at it. Light flickered over the wound and it closed, leaving no mark. She reached out and drew a finger over the cut on Lily’s breast, closing that wound as well. As she did so she felt Lily awakening.

The half-succubus lifted her head and looked into Ceri’s eyes. A weak, happy smile broke out over her face and Ceri smiled back. ‘I can feel you,’ Lily said softly.

‘I know,’ Ceri replied. She could feel the pain in Lily’s arms from her body weight pulling at her shoulder joints. She could feel the sense of intense contentment. Most of all she could feel the joy.

‘I can’t feel him,’ Lily said. ‘I’ve never felt so free!’

Ceri could not help but laugh at the irony. ‘Now, when you really are my bound demon, my pet. Now you feel free?’

‘Well,’ Lily said, ‘I’d feel freer if you let me out of these cuffs.’

Giggling, Ceri got the key from the altar and unlocked the little padlocks which secured Lily’s shackles. Lily almost fell and Ceri held her up, half-carrying her to the altar and helping her lift herself onto it.

‘Why was today a good day to do this?’ Lily asked.

‘It’s traditionally a good day for marriages,’ Ceri replied. ‘May I kiss the bride?’

Lily giggled and leaned forward. Their lips met and parted just as quickly. ‘Did you feel that?’ Lily asked.

‘I felt… you.’ Ceri leaned forward again and this time their tongues met before their lips. After a few seconds they parted, gasping. ‘Oh wow,’ Ceri managed to get out.

Lily was looking at her wide-eyed. ‘The sex is going to be…’

‘Absolutely incredible,’ Ceri finished.

Part Four: Merlin’s Disciples

Kennington, London, May 3rd, 2011

It was a blazing hot day and, naturally, Lily was up on the roof soaking in the heat from the sun. Ceri lay on the lounger next to her, wondering how she had ever wondered why Lily spent so much time in the sun. The novelty factor of the new connection between them had not worn off yet and she was revelling in the feeling of warmth and contentment coming from her demon.

There was also the amusement factor. The two of them were lying, stark naked, on the roof while almost a dozen reporters blockaded the house on the street below. It would likely have been annoying, being unable to easily leave the house, if the two of them had not been rather engrossed in discovering how much pleasure Ceri could take without exploding. They had so far concluded it was quite a lot, but further experimentation was called for.

Twill appeared through the roof hatch, disturbing their quiet contemplation of the inside of their eyelids. Behind her, the phone from the study floated along in mid-air. ‘Ceri,’ the fairy said, ‘phone for you.’ The handset floated toward Ceri and she sat up to pluck it out of the air.

‘Hello?’

‘Miss Brent, it’s Sergeant Middleshaw.’ Clearly Kate was in the office and being formal. Her boss was possibly standing nearby.

‘Hi, what can I do for you?’

‘Can you and Miss Carpenter get to Greycoat Street? Preferably without the gentleman outside knowing about it?’

‘I think we can do that, yes. See you in… thirty minutes?’

‘See you then.’ The phone cut off.

Ceri looked around at Lily. ‘Time to get dressed, love.’

The half-succubus opened one eye and looked at Ceri. ‘They better have a good reason for disturbing my first sun day of the year.’

Westminster

Barry looked a little disapproving about Lily’s short dress and Ceri’s tight T-shirt, but it was warm out and he had requested they come in to the station. His office was not exactly huge, but it could seat six people; Kate and John, Ceri and Lily, Barry, and another man who came dressed in fatigues. Barry was sat behind a cheap desk, but he did have a fairly large desk chair.

‘Miss Brent, Miss Carpenter, this is Chief Inspector Xavier,’ Barry introduced the man. ‘He’s heading up the Special Tactics group for this operation.’

‘Operation?’ Ceri asked.

‘We’ve had the house in Islington under surveillance,’ Barry said. ‘We’ve seen no evidence of Miss Carpenter’s father leaving it since he went in, but we have seen some other traffic.’ He slid some photographs over his desk. ‘Recognise any of these?’

Ceri picked up the pictures and began going through them, handing each one off to Lily as she failed to identify them. She paused on the third one. ‘Was this the one who knocked you out?’ she asked, handing the photo over.

Lily frowned at it. ‘I think so.’

‘Think so?’ John asked.

‘It was dark, he hit me pretty quickly, but I’m fairly sure.’

‘And this,’ Ceri said, holding up another of the pictures, ‘is Tanner. I doubt I’ll ever forget that face.’

‘You’re sure?’ Barry asked.

Ceri nodded. ‘I saw him in full daylight, and I had plenty of time to look at him. Besides, he’s not exactly unmemorable.’

‘Good,’ Barry said. ‘We’re going in tonight. Xavier’s team will head it up and make sure there’s no problems. Radcliffe and Middleshaw will follow with the uniformed officers. I want this by the book.’

Ceri looked at Lily, she nodded back. ‘We’d like to be there,’ Ceri said. She could see Barry opening his mouth to say “no.” ‘Lily has training in fighting demons, and I have specialist skills in dealing with wizards and magical traps. We’ll be useful.’

Barry sucked his teeth and looked at Xavier. In his late thirties, the Special Tactics op still looked like had had seen a fair amount of action. His blond hair was greying prematurely and there was a long scar running from his right temple to his cheek, just missing the eye. ‘You’ll stay back while we make entry,’ he said. ‘You’ll follow orders at all times. Is that clear?’

‘I’m not a tactician, Chief Inspector,’ Ceri replied, ‘I learned last winter to employee the talents of those with more skill than me. You’re in charge, just so you realise we’re not pushovers and we’re available.’

Xavier nodded. ‘I’ve read the files on both of you, otherwise I’d be telling you to stay home. Two dead demonic werewolves last winter which we don’t officially know you were responsible for, the business at Stonehenge, not to mention the destruction of a Dakag and a pacted wizard. I’ll take the assistance.’

Islington

The house was a three storey terrace. There were no lights in any of the windows. It looked like it was empty from what Ceri could see, but Kate had told them that the windows had all been boarded over from the inside.

She was in an unmarked police car with Lily, and John and Kate. They had pulled up barely two minutes earlier to check the front before the assault. As Ceri let her Sight roam over the front of the building she heard voices over the radio.

‘Squad C, in position. Rear yard clear.’

‘Squad B, ready.’

‘Squad A ready. Squad C, remain on station. Intercept anyone leaving the building.’

The last was Xavier. He was waiting for the go-ahead from John. ‘There are boundary enchantments on the door and the windows,’ Ceri said. ‘You’ll need to take them down before entry, but they were not done to stop, just delay.’

John picked up the radio handset and pressed the key. ‘Squad A from Watchtower, battering ram required, you’re clear for entry.’

Ceri felt herself tensing even before the two black vans came down the road from opposite ends and screeched to a halt. The back doors opened and two squads of eight men armed with sub-machine guns stormed out of the back doors. Behind each group another man emerged, each carrying a four-foot rod. As soon as the gunmen had formed a perimeter the rod-wielders braced themselves, levelled the rods at the door, and two beams of bright, white energy smashed into the wood. Ceri flinched and covered her eyes. When she looked up again, the door was a smoking ruin, the barrier wards were down, and the police were moving in.

‘Squad A moving in,’ the radio said. ‘No immediate resistance. Squad B, stay on station.’

‘Do we move?’ Lily asked.

‘No,’ John said. ‘We wait for Xavier to clear the…’

He was cut off by the sound of gunfire. The radio broke into life. ‘It’s a Dakag!’

‘Bullets aren’t…’

‘Move back by twos, concentrate your fire!’

A body smashed out through one of the front windows in an explosion of splintered wood and broken glass. There was the sound of a door opening and Lily was out and vaulting over the car’s bonnet before Ceri or the detectives even knew what was happening. The half-succubus was wearing an incongruous outfit; a wide skirt and a bodice, low heeled boots, and steel bracers on her forearms. She had explained to Ceri that a skirt was easier to move in than trousers, and seeing her now it was easy to believe. Ceri moved as quickly as she could to follow.

Behind her she heard John speaking rapidly into the radio. ‘Watchtower four entering area. Check fire! Watchtower three following.’

Ceri could see the two daggers in Lily’s hands now. Dakag demons were big and powerful, the kind of demons you summoned as guards and attack dogs. They had thick hides and the low calibre bullets in the police guns were probably having trouble penetrating, but Lily’s daggers were enchanted. She had had them made to kill her father if she had to, but they would work just as well on any demon.

There were cops lying against all four walls of the front room of the house. The demon stood in front of the one door leading further in. As Ceri entered, the lizard-like monstrosity was swinging huge, clawed hands at Lily. The half-demon seemed to be almost ignoring it. She danced; sliding under the swinging limbs, her blades sweeping around her and slicing the demon’s tough skin like butter.

Xavier was in a corner near the broken window. Ceri could hear him speaking; his throat microphone picking up his orders and relaying them outside. ‘Squad B, prepare to move up. Squad D, we need heavy weapons, move in.’

No matter how effective Lily was being at keeping the demon locked down, it was big and it could take a lot of damage. It would take her too long to wear it down. Ceri lifted her hands, blue-white energy boiling in her palms and twining up her arms. ‘Lily! Down!’ she yelled and her demon pet flipped backward, a clawed hand passing inches from her face as she went. Ceri thrust her hands forward and a bright comet of energy flew across the room, striking the demon in the face.

There was an inhuman howl of pain and the smell of burning flesh. The demon fell to its knees and then crashed forward onto the carpet its head slowly dissolving as the raw magic Ceri had thrown ate at it.

‘Squad B, move in!’ Xavier said and Ceri stepped quickly aside as more police rushed into the room, heading for the inner door. The cops around the room were starting to stir and Ceri went to the nearest of them to check him. Lily, she noticed, was doing the same with another. The man’s body armour had deep gouges torn into the fabric coating, but it looked like the ceramic plate beneath had shielded him from the brunt of the impact. He looked up at her as she checked him, nodded, and gave her a thumbs-up. The others were regaining their feet too, battered, bruised, but basically unharmed it seemed.

‘Ceri,’ Lily called from a corner, ‘could you take a look at this one?’

The man was bleeding badly from a wound in his thigh. The demon had kicked him, from the looks of it, and the claws on its feet were, if anything, worse than the ones on its hands. Lily was pressing on the wound, but there was blood seeping out between her fingers. Ceri put her hand over Lily’s and concentrated, the familiar healing light flickering as Ceri’s magic rewove the policeman’s flesh and closed the wound.

Ceri blinked and looked at Lily. ‘Did you feel that?’ she asked quietly.

‘It felt like you kind of… drew the power through me,’ Lily replied.

Ceri nodded. ‘Like with the staff…’ She stopped as John and Kate entered the room. ‘We’ll look into that later.’ Her voice rose as she turned to the detectives. ‘We need a medic in here John. I’ve patched the wound, but he lost a lot of blood.’

‘On their way,’ Kate said. ‘Xavier cleared us. He says the place is empty.’ She was frowning, perplexed. ‘I don’t get it,’ she added, ‘no one left.’

Straightening up, Ceri walked through into the rear of the house. It was not a particularly large building; behind the front room was a kitchen, a flight of stairs leading up from directly in front of the back door. A cop knelt in the rear doorway now, braced against the frame with his gun set snuggly against his shoulder. The only other way out of the room was the door under the stairs which was still closed.

Xavier looked down from the stairs, addressing himself to the two detectives. ‘No one went out the back door,’ he said, ‘Squad C would have seen them. We can’t find anyone on the upper floors, though there’s some evidence that people have been sleeping up here. Where did they go?’

‘What about that door?’ Ceri asked, pointing at the wooden door Kate was actually standing beside, set into the wall under the staircase.

Kate turned and looked behind her. ‘There’s nothing…’ she frowned and reached out, her fingers moving over the surface.

‘What door?’ John said, looking at the surface.

Xavier had clearly had more experience in the field than either of them. ‘Middleshaw, back off,’ he snapped. ‘Briggs, Evans, flanking positions on Miss Brent. Think you can take it down?’

Kate was backing away from the door, pushing John behind her into the front room. ‘It’s just a visual illusion,’ she called up. ‘Not even a tactile component.’

Xavier nodded. ‘All the same, could you blow the door in, Miss Brent?’

Lily slipped around behind Ceri as he spoke, apparently forming a backstop for her friend, but also positioning herself so that her leg was in contact with Ceri’s. Ceri nodded up at Xavier and lifted her right hand, cupping her palm. This time she drew power through Lily on purpose, just to see if she could do it; Lily managed to strangle the sigh of pleasure, but the feeling of arousal Ceri felt from her was unsuppressed. Pushing down the urge to giggle despite the tension in the room, Ceri stretched her hand out and tossed another, smaller, ball of energy toward the hidden door. The magic struck the wood, dissolving the illusion in a rush of light, and spreading rapidly as it reduced the door to dust.

A torch shone into the darkness beyond, held by John from just inside the front room. ‘Stairs,’ he said. ‘Going down to a cellar, I think.’

‘Evans, Briggs,’ Xavier said, starting down the stairs, ‘you’re on point. Kelly and Partridge behind them.’ Evans and Briggs moved forward, flicking on the torches mounted on their weapons. Soon the four men were moving down the steep stairs in a zigzag formation since it was too narrow to walk down shoulder-to-shoulder. There was a nervous period of waiting before one of the four emerged again.

‘It’s empty down there, Chief,’ the man said. ‘There’s a manhole cover in the floor and I think you should see this.’

The cellar had been laid out with a summoning circle in the middle of the floor. In one corner was an unconscious woman, chained to the wall by a thick metal collar. Even the stench which came up from the half-open manhole did not wake her, but she seemed to be breathing.

‘Kept on to feed Dad,’ Lily commented, nodding at the girl.

Ceri was looking down the hole in the floor. ‘Well, they probably went through there, but there’s no way I can track them through that.’

Xavier looked at her. ‘Track them? You’re a werewolf now?’

‘I can be,’ Ceri replied. She moved over to where Lily was standing, taking her hand and closing her eyes.

‘We need to get forensics in,’ John said, ‘and some medics down here for the girl. Maybe she can tell us something. Maybe we can still get something out of this.’ He looked around at Kate. ‘We’ll get those photographs out to Uniform.’

Ceri looked around at them. ‘Do you need us?’

‘Can you see anything around here that can help us?’ John asked.

‘If I could, I’d have said.’

‘You two need an escort home?’ Xavier asked.

‘We’ll be fine,’ Ceri said, smiling.

Xavier chuckled, despite the situation. ‘Yes, I’d imagine you will be.’

Mayfair

‘You’re sure Dad’s in there?’ Lily whispered. They were across the road from the Dubh Linn, watching the steps leading up to it and trying to look as though they were hookers. Lily, at least, could almost manage it in the dress she was wearing.

‘I’m sure,’ Ceri replied.

‘And we’re not telling the police because?’

Ceri grimaced. ‘They knew about the hit on the Islington place. They had time to duck out. And someone told the press people about us visiting Greycoat Street. I think there’s a leak in the Greycoats.’

‘And we’re not going in after him because?’

‘There’s something in there, Lil. Something I don’t want to meet.’

There was silence for a few seconds. Then Lily said, ‘People used to say the place was haunted.’ Ceri glanced at her. ‘They called her the Black Lady. I never saw her, but some people said she was this dark shape that would appear sometimes, or a voice that spoke to you out of nowhere.’

‘I heard a voice. It was ordering Sean around. I’m surprised you didn’t hear it.’

‘No one bosses Sean around, and I was kind of out of it, but I didn’t hear anything.’

‘This woman did,’ Ceri replied. ‘Out of thin air.’

Lily was silent. Then she looked up. ‘There.’

Someone was walking up the steps; a stooped figure in an old trench coat. He was not easy to see properly, but he looked like he had a long nose. ‘Tanner,’ Ceri said. ‘Probably anyway.’

‘Do we follow him?’

Tanner was heading toward New Bond Street and Ceri took her time to consider before nodding and starting off after him. There were people about, but they ignored the two women walking together through Mayfair, aside from the wolf whistle which came from the opposite side of the street at one point. Tanner remained oblivious, continuing on his way until he reached Berkeley Square, and then walking around the small park to a building on the opposite side.

Ceri and Lily walked past when he went in. It was a tall structure in white stone with a lot of windows, all of them with thick, red curtains blocking the view through them. Ceri could see the wards around all the windows and the door, and the small, brass plaque which was the only indication that the place was not a private home.

‘The Archmage Club,’ Ceri said as they walked past. ‘Figures.’

‘We go in?’

Ceri shook her head. ‘Carter said we should stay away. We’ll loop back to the Dubh Linn and wait. Maybe we can spot your father coming out.’

Battersea, May 4th

There was no keeping her feelings from her mate. Ceri wanted to enjoy herself, her pack time, but she was worried and Michael knew it. She did not realise where he was taking her as they ran through the park until suddenly she caught a scent as they ran into some trees, and there was Anita. Michael rubbed cheeks with her as she growled a greeting, and then stepped aside so that Ceri could do the same.

She worried, Anita growled. Ceri slumped. Was she really that transparent?

Need see mate’s demon, Michael responded. In danger. Mate in danger.

Ceri was about to say there was no need to do anything of the kind, but Anita’s hand reached out and clamped over the end of Ceri’s muzzle. Protect pack friends, Anita rumbled. Alpha would want. And that was the end of the discussion.

At least she got to run with Michael some more. They picked up Ceri’s satchel with her clothes and ran through the city streets to High Tower to change shape and clothes. Michael settled into his teenage form with his usual slight discomfort, though Ceri noticed that it seemed to pass more quickly than usual. She was not sure whether it was because he was more at home now in bare skin, or because he had a job to do.

She watched as he selected clothes from the drawer in her room which had been set aside for his outfits; there were a growing number of them. He turned, pulling his mesh T-shirt over his head, and paused with one arm in the thing. ‘What?’ he asked.

‘Dressing to impress?’

He finished pulling the shirt on with a slightly sheepish grin. ‘Well… Lily likes this.’

Ceri giggled. ‘Careful, that’s how I started. Now I’m a brazen hussy.’

‘I’d noticed.’

Ceri’s eyebrows raised. ‘Oh had you?’

‘Well, I’m dressed and you’re just sitting there, naked.’

‘Maybe I was hoping for a quickie before we left.’

‘Maybe you were, but we’ve got work to do.’ He smirked at her. ‘And you know we’ll be up until dawn once we get Lily home.’

Ceri reached for the teddy she had picked out. ‘You’re right, let’s get moving.’

Soho

Lily looked a little surprised to see them, but the big smile suggested it was a nice surprise at least. She made a play of licking her lips at Michael and sat them down at the bar. Then she had to rush off to one of her tables.

‘If you’re going to keep coming in here on your off-nights,’ Alec commented, ‘Carter’s going to start employing you full time.’

‘I got ordered to come and protect a friend of the pack,’ Ceri replied. ‘And if I worked every night, when would I get time with Michael?’

‘I could always use a good bouncer,’ Carter said from behind her. She almost jumped; he had a remarkable ability to sneak up on her. ‘Could I have a word, my dear? Privately.’

Ceri twitched an eyebrow at him, but slipped off her stool. ‘I’ll keep an eye on things here,’ Michael said as she followed Carter to his office.

‘The werewolf guard squad,’ Alec added, chuckling, and Michael joined in.

Carter waited for Ceri to be sat on one of the large, soft couches before speaking. ‘I said I would make some enquiries.’

‘You found something?’

‘I have a message,’ Carter replied, ‘and an offer. I’m passing this on to you without comment. This is your choice.'

Ceri blinked at him. ‘You’re scaring me, Carter.’

His face was quite serious. She looked into his eyes and they were stony, expressionless; an act of will to avoid giving her any hint. ‘They are called the Order of Merlin,’ he said. ‘A self-conferred title, there’s no real link to the ancient sorcerer. They were founded during the years immediately after the Shattering in an attempt to bring together the greatest minds in magic to stabilise the world. Another conceit. In the nineteen-sixties a young wizard named Markus Devall joined the Order. He brought with him ancient texts revealing the source of Merlin’s power and the means of gaining it. The Order wishes to offer you that power. They want you to join them. They’ve given you one week to decide.’

Ceri’s mouth worked for a second or two as her brain tried to get around what Carter was telling her. Finally she said, ‘And if I don’t join them?’

‘They will continue to drive Lily mad. Alexandra will be assassinated and her pack destroyed. Either Lily will kill you, or you will be forced to kill her, and then they will come after you themselves.’

Ceri nodded. ‘A week?’ Carter nodded back calmly, but she saw his fist clench. ‘And they’re going to give me the “power of Merlin” and safety if I join them?’

‘That’s the offer.’ There was a lot of tension in the man’s jaw.

‘I was right then.’

Carter’s frown was bemused. ‘About what?’

‘My mother entrusted you with that letter.’ It had been an apology letter, to be delivered to Ceri after the death of her parents. Carter had delivered it, as requested, when the time was right, but had not known what was in it. ‘And in it she said I had to decide for myself whether to trust you. I did, and I wasn’t wrong.’

He could not quite keep his lips from twitching into a smile. ‘Why the sudden revelation?’

‘I already know how Merlin got his power and it wasn’t how they get theirs. You didn’t tell them.’

This time he could not stop himself smiling. ‘No, no I didn’t.’ He straightened his face again. ‘They are a significant threat, however. What are you going to do?’

Ceri looked down, considering. Lily was taken care of, though she was not going to tell Carter how; he would not have approved. Direct threats like the ones they had made against Alexandra and herself were actually almost certainly empty. There was too much attention focussed on Ceri and Lily right now, and that attention would immediately refocus if Ceri were attacked. However, this Order could still cause problems through more discrete means. ‘It seems like I need some leverage,’ Ceri said.

‘Leverage?’

‘I think it’s best if you don’t know anything about it. That way they can’t accuse you of breaking your oath.’

Carter nodded. ‘Thank you for thinking of me. They’re going to contact me in a few days to arrange a location for the meeting. I’ll let you know what they say.’

‘Great,’ Ceri said. She stood up, her fists clenching at her sides. ‘I think I need a drink.’

‘I think, Carter said, ‘I’ll join you.’

Battersea, May 5th

Ceri was not used to walking through Battersea Park as a human and in daylight. She smirked slightly at the thought and glanced to her right where Lily was walking alongside her. Having Lily there was unusual too; Lily was the non-wolven side of her life.

‘What are you grinning at?’ Lily asked.

‘This is the first time you’ve been to Alexandra’s island, isn’t it?’

‘Um, yeah.’

‘I don’t usually get this deep into the park without turning furry.’

Lily grinned. ‘Well if you want to strip and change, I won’t complain.’

‘I’ll skip.’

Lily gave her a mock pout. ‘So how are we getting across the lake? Hire a boat.’

Ceri paused at the water’s edge, reached out to put a hand on Lily’s shoulder, and closed her eyes, concentrating for a second. ‘I think we’ll walk,’ she said, and then set off across the still water.

Lily blinked at her and then hurried to follow. ‘Show off.’

Alexandra had the kettle on. It was slightly irritating in a way that it was almost impossible to surprise her, but Ceri had learned to live with it. ‘Lily, my dear,’ the old woman said as they walked into the clearing, ‘it’s nice to see you here. Tea?’

‘Please,’ Lily replied settling down beside Ceri. A second or so later a grey-furred wolf-man was settling at Ceri’s other side and nuzzling at her neck.

Ceri giggled. ‘Did Michael say why we were coming?’ she asked Alexandra.

‘Just that you were.’

‘I need some help. I want to turn the tables on the people who were watching the pack last month.’

Alexandra poured boiling water into the teapot. ‘I’m interested, tell me more.’

‘There’s a gentleman’s club on Berkeley Square…’ Ceri began.

‘The Archmage Club?’ Alexandra asked. She began pouring tea into mugs.

‘You know, that gets really annoying at times.’

‘Yes, I’m aware it does.’ Alexandra smiled and handed a mug each to Ceri and Lily.

‘The Archmage Club, yes,’ Ceri went on. Putting her mug down, she opened her satchel and pulled out four, cheap digital cameras. ‘Basically, I want people keeping an eye on the place around the clock for the next few days, taking pictures of anyone who goes in or comes out.’

The old wolf looked around. ‘Anita?’ she said.

A grey, wolf-woman stepped out of the trees nearby, transforming into the pack’s amazon Guard Captain as she crossed the grass to join them. ‘We can rotate people through the park area,’ she said. ‘Two hour shifts should keep things fresh and they’ll likely have trouble spotting any one wolf. You’ll have to tell us how to switch the flash off on those cameras. And what do you think of asking Catherine if she can lend a hand? A few yuppies having a picnic would go unnoticed.’

Ceri grinned at her Alpha and her Captain. ‘This is why I have friends,’ she said. ‘I figured you might have good ideas.’

Alexandra smiled back. ‘Precisely, dear. Always use the available talent.’

Lily nodded at Anita. ‘Anita’s clearly very talented,’ she said, and Ceri was pretty sure that it was not her tactical skill her pet was referring to. The half-succubus held up her mug and pointed at the lettering. ‘Alexandra,’ she asked, ‘are you trying to tell me something?’

Another thing Alexandra could manage really well was looking innocent and totally devious at the same time.

Kennington

‘Wow! Cheryl looks amazing in that dress,’ Ceri said. She had finally got around to reading that week’s copy of The Wednesday Witch and her first call had been the gossip column. The photograph was black-and-white, but it looked as though Carter had stopped and posed outside the club. Ceri had no doubt he had suggested how Cheryl should stand to best effect, and wondered whether either of them had seen the result yet. The lights from the camera flashes had turned the dress more or less transparent, but had also obscured much of the detail thanks to the sparkles.

Lily shifted off her lounger and stepped across the roof to where Ceri was sitting. ‘It’s official then,’ Lily said.

‘Huh?’

Lily pointed. ‘Look at the possessive look on his face.’

‘Maybe he really is slowing down in his old age.’

‘Petra Charles may need someone new to freak her dad out with.’

Ceri raised an eyebrow. ‘You really think he’d turn exclusive?’

Lily looked at Ceri, and Ceri looked back at her. ‘Nah,’ they chorused. Lily walked to the edge of the roof, looking down at the street.

‘Someone’ll see you,’ Ceri said.

‘There’s no one to see me,’ Lily replied. It was true; since there had been no further deaths in the last couple of days, the press pack had dispersed. ‘I kind of miss them, actually.’

‘Well I don’t.’ Her eyes caught something on the page and she gasped. ‘Hey, listen to this. “It seems that thaumatology has become sexy. Doctor Tennant’s young protégé, Ceridwyn Brent, twenty-four, has shared a house with the exotic head waitress of the Jade Dragon, Lily Carpenter, twenty-five, for some years, but they seem almost inseparable in recent weeks. Reports from the Dragon, where Ms Brent now has a part time job, suggest that the brilliant scientist and practitioner is more than just friends with the sexy half-succubus.” Why do they always have to list ages after the names?’

‘Beats me.’

‘And since when have I been gossip-worthy?’

‘My guess? Since you wouldn’t let them interview me.’

Ceri scowled and flicked to an article on acne charms. ‘At least they haven’t connected me with Michael. I’m not sure how he’d take being in a gossip column.’

‘I’m more of a public figure, and hot lesbian frolics sell more papers.’

‘I don’t know, “young thaumatologist in cross-species relationship”?’

Lily considered for a second, wandering back to stretch out on her lounger. ‘How about, “hot thaumatologist in steamy threesomes with werewolf and half-succubus”?’

Ceri let out a whimper. ‘Don’t even joke about them getting that one!’

Lily giggled and then fell silent, basking in the sun. ‘Do you really think this plan of yours will work?’ she asked after a few minutes.

‘Honestly? I don’t know, but I don’t see what other choice I have. I can’t join them, so I need something to keep them off me, and you, and our friends.’

‘I have a feeling that we’ll end up having to do something more drastic,’ Lily replied.

‘Maybe.’ Ceri was fairly sure that she was right, but hoping she wasn’t. ‘Let’s hope they see sense.’

‘Um, yeah… pacted wizards.’ Ceri did not have an answer to that; pacting with demons did not imply common sense. ‘Merlin would turn in his grave if he knew,’ Lily added. ‘Well, he would if he had one.’

‘He probably does,’ Ceri said, ‘though it depends on the legend. Some of the tales say he was entombed in rock, others in a tree. If it’s the latter then it probably broke down and freed him years ago. I doubt he would have survived long after.’

‘He was supposed to be a half-demon.’ Lily said.

Ceri shrugged. ‘It’s all legend. Are you showing any signs of immortality?’

‘Don’t know. I haven’t died yet, so I guess I could be.’ Ceri giggled in reply. ‘Thanks to you,’ Lily added, ‘I’ll probably live longer than most of my kind.’

‘As a sla…’

‘What’s that around your ankle?’

Ceri blinked and looked down at her legs. The silver chain was there; nothing else that she could see. ‘My ankle chain?’ She looked around at Lily.

The half-succubus lifted her own right leg and shook the chain attached to it. ‘So not a slave,’ she said.

~~~

Ceri tapped at her tablet, searching the Internet. She was paying no attention to the TV, which was Lily’s vice of the moment. Ever since her father had started killing people, Lily had become mildly addicted to the evening news.

‘What are you looking for?’ Lily asked.

Blinking, Ceri looked up to discover the weather forecast on the big screen. ‘Ah, um, a man named Markus Devall.’

‘Never heard of him. Who is he?’

‘Who was he,’ Ceri replied. ‘He died in a house fire in eighty-nine, and so far that’s about the most interesting thing I’ve found. He’s listed as a Cambridge student in the rolls for nineteen-forty-eight through fifty-two. He was an archaeology student.’

‘Archaeology? Not a practitioner then?’

‘No, I think he was. Carter said he joined the Order in fifty-nine, or maybe re-joined it, I’m not sure. There weren’t any courses in magic back then, not official ones anyway. Study was formalised in the sixties. Anything on the news?’

Lily shook her head. ‘Nothing new. Dad’s keeping quiet for the moment.’

Ceri clicked on a link. ‘Good. I think. Ah! This looks good.’

Lily leaned over and looked at the tablet’s screen. It was showing the web site of a Cambridge local newspaper. ‘He went to France? Back then?’

‘That’s why it made it into the newspaper.’ During the Shattering, Europe had been swamped in “mythical” monsters. A lot of that had subsided in the fifties, but it had left much of the continent in chaos. Fae were still far more common there than in Britain. Back in the late fifties and sixties, France had still been trying to drag itself back to stability. To some extent, they still were, but then it was much worse. ‘He was studying the Sequani, one of the Celtic tribes… um, it says he found ancient writings and faced many hardships, blah blah… I haven’t managed to find a single paper written about his findings, though not everything from back then has been put into electronic form.’

‘Why the interest?’

‘Basically, Devall was the one who started these guys down the path of demonic pacts. He claimed to have discovered how Merlin got his power. I’m just trying to find out more about them.’

‘Know your enemy?’

‘Well, it worked with Remus.’

Lily nodded thoughtfully. ‘Maybe you should try the library at the university.’

‘Tomorrow,’ Ceri said, nodding, ‘but I’m not hopeful.’

Holloway, May 6th

The computerised library catalogue had nothing in it by anyone named Devall and Ceri was forced to resort to the card catalogue which had been exiled to a small room in the basement of the library. Hundreds of tiny little drawers lined the walls of the room and she had to blow dust off them before opening them.

Lily stood near the door, leaning against the only wall which did not have cabinets against it. ‘Quiet down here,’ she commented as Ceri started leafing through index cards in one of the drawers.

‘Not many people come down here,’ Ceri replied.

‘Always wanted to have sex in a library.’

Ceri felt her cheeks colouring and concentrated hard on the cards. Grimacing, she slammed the drawer closed and pulled out the one below it. ‘Yuck!’

Lily wandered over to look down into the drawer. It featured cobwebs and a mummified spider. ‘Let me,’ Lily said, and reached out to part the cards with her long, red nails. That put her standing right behind Ceri, her left breast pressed against Ceri’s back. And the evil temptress knew damn well what she had said earlier was going through Ceri’s mind on repeat!

‘You’re evil you know,’ Ceri commented softly.

‘I’m being helpful,’ Lily replied in honeyed tones. Her other arm slipped around Ceri’s waist. ‘You concentrate on what you’re looking for.’

Ceri growled and kept watching as the cards were flicked forward. ‘Stop!’ Lily stopped and lifted the little card out of the drawer. ‘Devall’s report on his trip into France.’

‘Yeah, “moved to archive room twelve” ten years ago. Where’s archive room twelve?’

Lily’s hand was gently stroking under Ceri’s right breast and remembering the layout of the library archives suddenly became a matter of considerable effort. ‘Downstairs,’ she said finally. ‘Even quieter.’

Lily giggled. ‘Good persuasion technique. C’mon then.’

Archive room twelve was hidden away down a corridor behind an unassuming grey door with a small plaque on it indicating its designation. It was large, and filled with racks on which were lots of file boxes. Ceri slumped. ‘How am I supposed to find anything in here?!’

Lily picked up a box file from a table near the door and opened it up. Then she handed it to Ceri. ‘Try that, it looks like a list of the filed documents.’

It was not easy. Ceri started leafing through the unordered list while a horny half-succubus snuggled against her back. She found herself squirming after a couple of minutes and it came almost as a relief when she found what she was looking for. ‘B-box two-three-nine,’ she stammered and was relieved to feel Lily’s arms slip from around her waist. Well, mostly relieved.

They started searching through the racks for the right box. Almost all the way to the back, with Ceri wondering whether it had actually been moved again, Lily said, ‘It’s here,’ and pulled a dusty, brown and cream cardboard box off the shelf, lowering it to the floor. She pulled the top off and then coughed as a cloud of dust lifted into the air. ‘I see what you mean about quiet down here,’ the half-succubus said. ‘I doubt anyone’s been in this room any time in the last decade.’

Grinning, Ceri squatted down beside the box and began searching through the documents inside. Finally she pulled out a few stapled sheets of paper, looking disappointed.

‘That’s it?’ Lily said, voicing Ceri’s thoughts.

‘Looks like it.’ Ceri leafed through the five pages. They were printed on one side and two of the sheets had maps on. She reached into her satchel and took out her tablet. Laying the pages out one at a time, she used the tablet’s camera to grab images of each page.

‘We came all the way down here for, what, two and a half pages of text and a couple of maps?’

Ceri put the paper back in the box, her tablet back in her satchel, and the lid back on the box. ‘Looks like it,’ she said again, standing up with the box in her hands. She turned and pushed it back into its space on the shelves.

Lily was behind her, arms sliding around her waist. ‘I think we deserve greater reward for our efforts.’ The button on Ceri’s jeans popped open, as if by magic, and Lily’s hand slid into Ceri’s knickers. Ceri whimpered softly and closed her eyes.

‘You really are evil,’ Ceri said softly, but she did not sound like she meant it.

Soho

It was werewolf night at the Jade Dragon. The moon was waxing from new on Tuesday night and the city’s wolves were up-beat. Michael sat on one of the bar stools, chatting easily with Alec, and perhaps half the tables were surrounded by groups of people who could grow fur at will. Four of Ceri’s eight tables had Royals on them, including table twelve which had Catherine and Stefan sat at it.

‘One Wolfbane,’ Ceri said as she placed the beer cocktail in front of Stefan, ‘and one Death in the Afternoon.’ The second drink went down in front of Catherine.

The Alpha smiled and slipped a small memory stick across the table. ‘And here’s the first part of your tip,’ she said.

Ceri grinned and palmed the stick, bobbing a little curtsey. ‘Thank you, ma’am.’

Catherine growled at the back of her throat. ‘Don’t do that,’ she said. ‘The waxing moon always makes me horny and you’re hot enough as it is.’

Ceri gave a little giggle and nodded toward Stefan. ‘You don’t have to stay too long.’ The ex-marine’s cheeks coloured slightly and Catherine licked her lips. Ceri turned and headed back toward the bar, tucking the memory stick into the little pocket sewn into her bodice.

‘Passing notes in class?’ Carter asked as she walked up to him.

‘Something like that. Part of that thing I’m not telling you about.’ She put her tray down and turned to watch her tables and, incidentally, Lily making her way back from her own drinks delivery.

‘No offence,’ Lily said as she arrived, ‘but horny werewolves are a pain.’

‘Paws everywhere?’ Alec suggested and Lily nodded.

‘Sorry,’ Michael said, ‘but humans tend to be more precious about their personal space.’

‘Not your fault, hun, and later I’ll be quite happy to have your paws anywhere you like, but when I’m carrying drinks I could do without hands up my skirt.’

‘Ah,’ Ceri said, ‘but this is why you get the big money.’

‘Cos I can put up with Dog Boys on the booze?’

‘Oh yeah. The Royals are much nicer.’

‘Especially while their Alpha’s here,’ Michael said. ‘You might have a little more trouble when she’s gone and they’ve had more to drink.’

Carter straightened up and moved a little closer. ‘Ceri, do you want to take a break now? I’m going to take a turn around the floor’

Ceri nodded and started toward the staff room at the back. ‘I’ll be back shortly,’ she said as she left Michael and Lily.

Her tablet was in her satchel and she pulled the memory stick from her tip pocket and plugged it in, starting up a viewing application and setting it to run a slideshow of the pictures. The wolves had been busy and there were photographs of various well-dressed people coming and going from the Archmage Club’s front door. She was fairly sure she spotted one fairly famous wizard, but no one sprang out as interesting until near the end. Her finger stabbed out and paused the stream of pictures. A grin spread across Ceri’s face. Turning the tablet off and storing it and the memory stick back in her satchel, she headed back to the front of the house.

‘Useful?’ Lily asked; she had obviously seen Catherine hand over the stick.

‘I think so,’ Ceri replied. ‘I think I’ve got exactly what we need.’

Kennington, May 7th

‘Well,’ Ceri said, ‘I think I’ve got this sorted out.’ She laid her tablet down and turned onto her front. ‘Would you do my back, love?’ The sun was not really that hot, but Ceri had the kind of skin that burned like a bitch.

Lily climbed to her feet and walked over to coat Ceri’s back in oil. ‘So what did you learn?’ the half-succubus asked.

‘Not a whole heap,’ Ceri replied. She had been reading the paper Devall had written. ‘I get the feeling he was charismatic. He tells a good story anyway. He basically claims he found ancient writing in Ogham.’

‘Ogham?’

‘It’s a writing form used mostly for Old Irish. That’s why it’d be weird to find it in France. The paper is basically indicating that he found this stuff and suggests that it represents a migration of people from Wales following the Battle of Badon.’

‘Badon’s supposed to be the end of the last period of magic, right?’

Ceri nodded. ‘Devall hints that he found something buried at the site of the monument he discovered. The writing suggested that it was the hiding place of the “Secrets of Merlin” according to his translation.’

‘Isn’t that a little convenient? I mean, shouldn’t someone else have discovered it?’ Lily started working up Ceri’s calves, rubbing the oil in thoroughly. Ceri felt like her muscles were melting.

‘Yeah, well, according to Devall, the writing had been misinterpreted for generations.’

Lily’s hands slid between Ceri’s thighs. ‘Like I said, convenient.’

Ceri let out a groan. ‘Have you g-got hornier since becoming my p-pet?’

‘No. What else did he say?’

Well, learning to concentrate while distracted was valuable training for any sorceress… ‘Uh… Not a lot. It’s really hard to consent-trate when you’re stroking…’

‘Try.’

‘There wasn’t any-anything much about the… mmm… thing he f-found. Just, like, ancient writings carved into m-metal shhhheets!’ The last word came out a little high pitched as Lily’s fingers got more intrusive.

‘So basically, there wasn’t much in it?’

‘F-feels like there’s s-something in it,’ Ceri groaned. ‘You’re d-definitely hor-hornier.’

‘No, but I can’t hurt you now, so I can let myself act hornier.’

Ceri let out a moan and buried her face in her arms.

~~~

Ceri stepped back as her opponent’s staff swept at her ankles. Her own staff jabbed forward toward his chest, but he twisted aside, giving her a slap on the shoulders in passing.

‘That’s good, but you’re still too focussed on your immediate target.’ The instructor, dressed in a full kamishimo, was a big man with close-cropped hair and a handsome, rugged face. Ceri had seen his thighs once; they were like tree trunks.

‘She’s a lover, not a fighter,’ Lily commented from the staircase.

‘I bet,’ he laughed. His name was Ray and he apparently worked as an instructor for the Metropolitan Police. Ceri could not imagine any criminal standing up to him for longer than a minute, so why he was not on more active duty was a mystery. ‘Again,’ he said, swinging his staff at Ceri’s head.

She blocked, putting a twist in it to push his weapon aside, and then swept her own staff across in a snap-strike at his thigh. She connected, though he barely seemed to notice, and turned, swinging around for a blow to his torso. He blocked and counterstruck, she blocked and tried a sweep. The exchange of blows continued, the clatter of wood on wood loud in the hall. After thirty seconds or so, Ray jumped backward, holding up his hand.

‘Excellent!’ Ceri noted with some relief that he was breathing harder too. ‘I think we should probably call it a day there. You’ll practice with that great club of yours during the week?’

Ceri grinned. They did not use her actual staff for practice. Ray claimed she might cripple him if she hit him with it. ‘Yeah, I will.’ She took a deep breath and used her staff to hold herself up straighter. Ray nodded and headed for the utility room to get changed.

‘You look like you’ve been through a ringer,’ Lily commented.

‘I feel like I’ve spent a night with you,’ Ceri replied.

‘I’m hurt,’ Lily said.

‘You and Michael?’

Lily rolled her eyes. ‘You seem to be getting better anyway. You might actually be able to hold your own in a fight, if you had to.’ Ceri sucked on her teeth and then gave Lily a slap on the shin with her staff. ‘Hey!’ the half-succubus yelped. ‘No fair, I don’t have a stick.’

‘Should’a thought of that before you suggested I couldn’t fight.’

Lily pouted. Luckily for Ceri, Ray emerged in jeans and a T-shirt, and with a bag slung over his shoulder, before the pout could have its full, lethal effect. Ceri walked to the door with him. He stopped in the open door, frowning. ‘You know that guy across the street?’ he asked.

Ceri looked around the door and across the street. The man was tall and looked well built. He had a mane of dark hair around his face. ‘Possibly,’ Ceri replied. ‘Use the side gate on the way out. If he decided to mess with you, you’re not equipped to handle him.’

Ray raised an eyebrow, but nodded and walked around to the south side of the house to head across the park. Ceri watched the man across the street for a few minutes, making sure Ray was not followed, but all that happened was that she was watched back.

‘What’s up?’ Lily said from behind her.

Ceri turned her head. ‘There’s someone across the street. Come see if you recognise him.’ But when she turned back, the figure was gone.

Soho

Carter handed Ceri an envelope as she walked in. ‘Our mutual… friends isn’t the right word, but you know what I mean. They sent this, directions to the meeting. Tuesday night, Parliament Hill.’

Ceri took the envelope and nodded. ‘Thanks, Carter.’ She frowned. ‘How much trouble is this causing you?’

He glanced around. ‘Come into the office,’ he said.

‘As long as you don’t mind me hanging my coat in their,’ she said, following him.

‘I think I can cope.’ He waited for her to enter behind him and closed the door, then walked over to one of the sofas and sat down. Ceri hung up her coat and sat opposite, waiting for him to speak. ‘You’ll have gathered that they don’t like me very much?’ he said.

‘I’d got that impression.’

‘They leave me alone out of self-preservation. There are several people I know I can trust who have envelopes and instructions to deliver them if I… come to some untimely end. I achieved reasonable rank in the Order and I know a lot of things they would rather not have come out.’

‘Basically, you’re blackmailing them into letting you go?’

Carter nodded. ‘However, I also think that they believe I’ll eventually fall again and go back, cap in hand. When I came to them about you, they saw it as an opening. I’m not sure how they’ll react when you say no.’

‘That’s why you mustn’t have anything to do with me getting out of this.’

‘They’ve requested that I be there on Tuesday.’

‘That shouldn’t be a problem. You’re the intermediary. With you there I’ll be at my ease and they’re probably thinking I’ll agree, due to the threats, and then they can make a play for you.’

‘A fair assessment.’

‘The one wild card in this is Lily’s father,’ Ceri said, frowning. ‘He was watching the house this afternoon and I don’t know why.’

‘I think it would be wise to ensure that he is removed from the picture once this is over.’

Ceri nodded, but she had the feeling it was not quite as simple as that. She had the feeling that the incubus was trying to make things right and was not sure how. ‘Time to start work,’ she said.

May 8th

Desmond Wren turned up just after midnight, his girlfriend and a couple of suited men with black souls in tow. ‘I’ll take them,’ Ceri said as Carter started for the lectern to seat them.

‘You’re sure?’ He looked at her closely, his expression concerned.

‘I think he’s here for a reason,’ Ceri replied. ‘I’ll take them.’ At Carter’s nod she turned and headed for the party, her best waitress smile forming as she walked. ‘Good evening and welcome to the Jade Dragon,’ she said as she arrived. ‘I’m Ceri and I’ll be your waitress tonight. Please follow me, Mister Wren.’

‘You know who I am?’ Wren asked as they followed her through to their table.

‘Of course. I’ve seen you here before, and in pictures of course.’

‘Ah yes, of course.’ Ceri stood aside while they settled into the booth; Wren and his empty-eyed girlfriend on one side, the two suits on the other.

‘What can I get you?’ Ceri asked.

A minute later she was walking back to the bar feeling a little dirty. ‘Three red wines, one white, please,’ she said, setting Alec to the task.

‘I don’t like them,’ Michael said from his position at the corner of the bar. ‘The way those men were looking at you…’

‘Try it with my Sight,’ Ceri replied. Carter raised an eyebrow at her. ‘They’re here to get a good look,’ she explained. ‘Trying to judge how powerful I really am. Don’t worry, I’m keeping them guessing. I learned a few things about obscuring myself from Twill.’

Carter chuckled softly. ‘That should confuse them.’

Ceri picked up her tray and started back toward Wren’s table. ‘They didn’t look too pleased, no,’ she said.

~~~

Ceri emerged from the staff room and started down the corridor to the main floor. The door on the gents’ toilets opened as she approached and one of the men from Wren’s group stepped in front of her. She stopped, looking at him, her Sight revealing the black veins twisted around his Chakral Median and the power beginning to build through it.

‘Have you considered our offer, Miss Brent?’ he said. His voice was entirely neutral and he had a blank expression on his middle-aged, average sort of face. His eyes, though, were a piercing blue which she suspected was probably intimidating for most people. She was too busy being disgusted.

‘I’m considering,’ she replied flatly.

‘You understand that we make very useful allies, and very powerful enemies.’ A statement, not a question.

‘Carter made that quite clear, yes.’

‘He can’t protect you. We can get to you anywhere, as you can see.’

‘Protecting me isn’t his job,’ Ceri replied. ‘Carter just did me the favour of seeing if we could resolve whatever problem you have with me without violence.’

‘Then join us.’

‘I’ll give my answer on Tuesday.’ Ceri moved to step around the man and he raised his hand to block her. His palm held a ball of flame.

‘Join us, or…’

Ceri reached out and the fire jumped from his hand into hers. ‘I won’t ask Carter to throw you out,’ she said, ‘but he would be displeased if I told him you’d done that. And threatening me before I’ve given my answer is not a great way to persuade me. Especially when you aren’t very good at it.’ She closed her hand, extinguishing the flame. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.’ She pushed past him, heading for the front.

Behind her, she could feel his anger and the growing power. She was almost surprised when he bit it back without attacking her. Apparently he was brighter than she had given him credit for.

Kennington, May 9th

‘They’ve selected a tactically advantageous site,’ Stefan commented looking at the map Ceri had spread out on the floor of the study. ‘There’s a band of trees to the north here. They’ll station people in there to come out when you give them your answer.’

Anita nodded. ‘After dark it’ll be hard to see anyone in there and the open ground around the meeting is supposed to make you feel secure.’

‘Yeah, well,’ Ceri said wryly, ‘they couldn’t make me feel secure if they tried.’

‘Good attitude to have,’ Stefan replied, ‘as long as you aren’t too nervous to function. Frankly though, you’ve faced off against two of Remus’ wolves. These guys should be easy.’

‘This is different,’ Ceri said. ‘With Remus we all knew where we stood. They were coming to kill us so we killed them first. No one was going to complain about it aside from Remus himself and both he and I knew that it was going to come down to one of us dying. With this lot it’s all politics’

‘I hate politics,’ Anita stated flatly.

‘I’m not enamoured,’ Ceri replied, ‘but that’s how I have to play this. They don’t consider me a threat. I need to make sure I’m enough of a threat that they’ll leave me be, and leave all of you be.’ She looked between the two werewolves. ‘Your Alphas are both okay with this.’

‘Alexandra considers it both a matter of protecting friends,’ Anita said, ‘and protecting the pack. They did threaten us.’

Ceri nodded. ‘There was no threat against the Royals.’

‘Catherine would be dead if it wasn’t for you,’ Stefan said. ‘The pack would probably be dead. Frankly, we sent people to talk to the Serpents and the Marshwallers. They know who you are, word got around about what you did to Remus. They would turn out for you if you asked them. Every werewolf in the country owes you for last winter.’ Anita nodded in agreement.

Ceri blinked. ‘Oh,’ she said. Gathering herself she leant forward slightly. ‘Okay then, here’s the plan. Feel free to make suggestions, you’re the tacticians.’

Northern Line Tube, May 10th

‘You know,’ Ceri said, ‘they’ll have your father there.’

‘Faran,’ Lily said. ‘He calls himself Faran.’

‘Thanks, I was worried I would have to call him “Lily’s dad” the whole night. How’s your acting?’

‘You want them to think he’s still affecting me?’

Ceri nodded. ‘That’s kind of part of the plan.’

‘Okay… well my acting experience is more in horizontal postures, but I think I can do it. He’ll know though. He knows we broke his mental bond with me, if not the meta-genetic one.’

‘Meta-genetic? Have you been reading again?’

‘You have access to all those cool academic papers through the university and you’ve been busy, planning. I was bored.’

‘Always pays to learn, but that metaphysical genetics stuff is pretty dense.’

‘Yeah,’ Lily said, grimacing slightly, ‘it kind of was.’

‘It’s not my speciality, but…’

‘What?’

‘Well, I know there’s a research group at UCL that look into that stuff. If you were willing to help with their research, they might be willing to explain some of that stuff.’

‘Why are we discussing this now? I mean, before the big showdown with the villain.’

Ceri grinned. ‘Helps take my mind off it. Why do you think we spent the last three hours in bed?’ She glanced at the scrolling sign at the end of the carriage. ‘Hampstead,’ she said. ‘Show time.’

Parliament Hill

They had been watched the entire time on the walk from the tube station to where they had met Alec and Carter near Hampstead Heath train station. Then they had been watched as the four walked up through the park to the site of the meeting.

‘I see one man,’ Alec said as they approached in the darkness, ‘but I can smell more. And a demon.’ He glanced at Lily.

‘They’ll make sure there’s nothing untoward before their emissary comes out,’ Carter said.

The lone figure at the meeting place was a pacted wizard; Ceri could see the black tendrils around his spine. Her hand gripped her staff as he prepared and cast a spell, but all that happened was a swelling of magic; a knowledge spell of some sort, checking that no one else was about, she guessed. Apparently satisfied, he lifted his wrist to his mouth. ‘They’re clear, come down.’

Three figures emerged from the tree line about a hundred yards north and uphill. Ceri thought she knew who two of them were; there was the stooped figure of Tanner and the tall form of Lily’s father. The third was new. As they got closer Ceri could see a man of perhaps Carter’s age, but showing it more. He was aging well though, his hair still dark aside from grey at the temples. There was the look of the handsome, elegant uncle about him and Ceri might have considered him attractive if it was not for the thick mass of darkness which almost entirely obscured his Chakral Median.

They stopped alongside their compatriot, about ten feet from Ceri and her friends. The older man nodded to Carter. ‘Fleming.’

‘Sharpe,’ Carter replied.

Sharpe turned to look at Ceri. ‘We said nothing about you bringing a werewolf.’

‘Alec is my bodyguard,’ Carter stated.

Sharpe shrugged. ‘Very well. Miss Brent, I’m sure you’ll think I’m being condescending, but it is actually a pleasure to meet you finally. And with Makelo’s Staff.’

‘It makes a nice walking stick,’ Ceri replied. It was the first time she had heard anyone name the staff and she hoped she sounded suitably nonchalant.

‘Indeed. I can see you aren’t here for small talk, and your pet is finding her father’s presence uncomfortable. You’ve considered our offer.’

Ceri glanced at Lily. The half-demon’s fists were clenched and her jaw looked tight. ‘I’ve heard a lot of threats,’ Ceri said. ‘What, exactly, do I get out of joining you people?’

‘Safety, security, untold power. We hold the secrets of the sorcerers of ancient times. A great man, Markus Devall, brought them back from a hidden location in France following the Shattering. Through them he became the most powerful sorcerer since Merlin himself and we have followed in his footsteps. You can do the same.’

‘By handing over my soul to a demon?’

Sharpe smiled. ‘We have learned to manage the power the demons give us, we…’

‘You need to learn harder,’ Ceri interrupted. She could see that annoyed him and wondered what kind of demon he was pacted with. ‘You’re almost gone. You see, I can see the effect the demon has on you. I could see the effect it had on Barnes. He was one of yours, wasn’t he? Just like Desmond Wren is.’ She reached into her coat and pulled out an envelope, tossing it toward Sharpe.

The guard moved forward far enough to pick it up, handing it to his boss. Sharpe pulled out a set of photographs and began leafing through them. His face darkened more and more as he went. ‘What is this?’

‘Members of your Order, going in and out of the Archmage Club,’ Ceri replied. ‘I’ve identified enough of them to know that you have people in various parts of the government, and I know Wren is pacted so I’d imagine several others are. Really, all I have is proof of a load of gentleman’s club members in positions of power, but add in the pacts and someone is going to scream “conspiracy.”’

Sharpe nodded at the guard and he raised his wrist to speak into the hidden microphone there. ‘You won’t live to…’ Sharpe began.

‘The people you have hidden in the trees are not going to help you,’ Ceri said calmly. ‘By now they’re all unconscious or having a really bad time with a werewolf.’ She watched as Sharpe gathered his power. The guard and Tanner were doing the same, but Faran just stood there, watching with a slight grin on his handsome face. Ceri raised her staff and brought it down. The crystal at its head flared brightly and a wall of shimmering energy divided the space between the two groups. Sharpe tossed a fireball, but it struck the wall and vanished in a flare of light. ‘That’ll be quite enough of that,’ Ceri snapped. ‘You’re not the most powerful practitioners in the world. Hell, your wonderful Markus Devall died in a house fire! How useless is that?’

‘What do you want?’ Sharpe growled.

‘I want you to leave me alone, me and my friends. I don’t want trouble from you people, but as far as I can see, all you understand is force, so I’m demonstrating it. I took on an ancient ghost for widder’s sake! If you think I can’t cause you a lot of damage you’re stupid and I don’t think you’re stupid. I think you want me on your side and pacted so you have me under your thumb. Well, you can’t have me. If I’m not enough of a threat, most of the werewolves in the country will come to my aid if I need them. If you want war, you can have it, but that’s not your style, is it?’

‘The Order prefers to work behind the scenes,’ Carter said. ‘Public awareness of them would not go well for them.’

Sharpe glared across the barrier separating them. ‘I will have to put this to the Masters,’ he said.

‘Well they had better agree,’ Ceri said, ‘or I’ll be visiting Cambridge. You threatened the life of one of the most respected werewolves this side of the Atlantic, and the person who freed their goddess from Remus. Not a great idea. So, you’re going to leave me alone, you’re going to leave Carter and the werewolves alone, and you’re going to get rid of him.’ She pointed her staff at Faran, standing there looking smug. ‘In return, I won’t destroy your little conspiracy or bring an army to your door.’

Sharpe glared at her for a few seconds longer and then turned on his heel, marching off across the grass toward Highgate Ponds, the guard following quickly behind him.

As Tanner started to scurry after them, Ceri said, ‘Oh, and Tanner? If I ever see your ratty features again I’m going to blow them off.’ The wizard’s eyes widened and then he was hurrying off after his fellows. Ceri relaxed her will and the wall flickered and died, but she kept her eyes on the retreating figures.

Faran remained standing as the others left. ‘Daughter,’ he said, ‘you’re looking well. A little age has really made you blossom.’ There was still a smile on his face.

Lily’s clenched fists were no longer acting; Ceri could feel the anger in her. ‘Get out of here, Dad,’ Lily said, ‘before I do something I might regret.’ He opened his mouth to say something, his right leg lifting to step forward toward her. Lily reached under her coat, pulling the pair of curved daggers from her hips and Faran stopped. ‘Don’t,’ she said.

His face fell and he nodded. ‘It was a pleasure seeing you again,’ he said, and began walking off in the direction his summoner had taken.

Ceri let out the breath she had not realised she was holding. She looked at Carter. ‘Think they’ll go for it?’

‘For now,’ he replied. ‘Well done, but be aware that you’ve made some bad enemies.’

Ceri nodded in reply. ‘Let’s get back. Oh!’ Lifting her staff, she waved it above her head. A few seconds later around twenty werewolves emerged from the trees and loped over toward them.

‘You weren’t doing things by halves,’ Alec commented.

‘I didn’t know how much backup they’d bring.’

Michael shifted back into human form as he ran up to them. ‘That’s it?’ he asked. ‘It’s over?’

Ceri nodded and he moved quickly to where he could rub cheeks with her. She giggled. ‘We keep alert for a couple of weeks, just in case,’ she added, more for Stefan and Anita’s benefit, ‘but it looks like they’ll stay away, for now.’

Lily turned from watching her father’s retreating back. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘let’s get home. I need a drink.’

Carter looked around the horde of wolves with a raised eyebrow. ‘In that case,’ he said, ‘we’ll go to the Dragon. I think a round of drinks is in order.’

They set off across the park to the accompaniment of twenty happy werewolves revelling in the open space.

Part Five: The Father of the Bride

Holloway, May 12th

‘What if we use a non-linear accelerator design?’ Ceri asked.

Cheryl looked up from what she was working on, a component of the ambient magic collector she was building. ‘My brain is in collector design, dear, what are we talking about?’

‘The emergency power system. Currently we use what are basically linear accelerators, but if we used curved tracks we could wrap them around the circle itself.’

‘Interesting. What were you thinking? I can tell you’ve got a design in mind.’

Grinning, Ceri picked her tablet off her lap and turned it around to show Cheryl. The image showed a circular accelerator base with five columns rising from it. It was a fairly rough drawing, but it showed the concept. ‘We can use a single thaumiton source, and then bleed off a percentage of the stream along the track. Apply the required modulation in the heads.’

‘And the resonance coils would be built into the accelerator system, also saving space and weight… I believe that would work. And such good timing.’ Ceri raised an eyebrow. ‘Carter and I are going to Cambridge on Sunday. We’re presenting this to Alfred Barnes at MagiTech.’

‘Really?’ Alfred Barnes was the father of Matthew Barnes, the man who had tried to kill both Ceri and Cheryl the year before.

‘The elder Barnes is, according to Carter, rather less of an insane, demon-possessed maniac than his son. MagiTech are interested in commercialising the generator system.’ Cheryl grinned. ‘Actually, Carter said the old man was having a hard time keeping his enthusiasm in check. Carter thinks they have some military project which needs a large power source and they haven’t been able to make it practically useful. But that’s a guess.’

Ceri nodded. Well, she had trusted Carter with the knowledge that she was a sorceress and that had so far worked okay, trusting him regarding a business decision seemed like a no-brainer. ‘I’ll do some more work on this design, make a prettier picture and work out some of the maths, and send you the designs before Sunday.’

‘Well, I’ll be at the Jade Dragon on Friday night.’

‘I’ll get the data to you then. Another night at the Dragon, huh?’

‘Carter bought me another new dress,’ Cheryl replied. ‘It’s… I’m going to be plucking up my courage to wear it.’ She looked around at Ceri again. ‘Do you think he’s getting serious about this?’

‘Depends what you mean by serious. Lily and I think he’s… well, slowing down isn’t exactly right, but we think maybe he’s decided he actually enjoys having someone around he can talk to as well as…’

‘Screw?’

‘Yeah, that. Maybe he’s going to narrow down his circle of partners a little, but I doubt he’s going to go down on one knee any time soon.’

Cheryl nodded. ‘Good. I like him, don’t get me wrong, but I enjoy my nights with Alec too.’ She turned back to her work and then said, rather casually, ‘You know that transformation spell you worked out before you got the collar?’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Could you, um, do the same to someone else?’

‘It works on Lily,’ Ceri replied, ‘and I can keep it up for a night. Why?’

‘It’s Alec’s birthday at the end of the month…’

Ceri giggled. ‘I’ll sort something out.’

Soho, May 13th

All the tables had illusory showers of four-leaf clovers falling over them and Carter had got Audrey in again, though the paintwork was rather less complex this time. If Ceri had felt underdressed at the Beltane night event, she felt positively naked with three strategically placed clover leaves painted on. Still, when your world had fae in it, you started believing in Friday the Thirteenth superstitions.

Ceri was leaning against the bar beside Lily when Cheryl arrived at the lectern. They blinked. The dress’s neckline fell to her naval and the skirt was split up both sides. The sandals with ribbon ties up her calves matched the yellow of the dress. Lily let out a low whistle and Carter, chuckling, went to meet his date for the evening.

‘At least you two are wearing less than me again,’ Cheryl said as Carter helped her up onto one of the bar stools.

Lily smirked and shook her chest at Cheryl. ‘We’re lucky charms to ward off the curse.’ One of the customers who happened to be walking past tripped over his own shoe and stumbled off toward the toilets trying to hide his embarrassment.

‘Who’d have known?’ Ceri said. ‘Lily is a tripping hazard.’ She reached into her tip pocket and pulled out a memory stick. ‘Here’s the data for your business trip.’

Cheryl took the stick and put it into her purse, which was about big enough to hold a phone and a credit card. ‘Thank you, Doctor Brent.’

‘My pleasure, Doctor Tennant.’

Alec placed a white wine down in front of Cheryl. ‘Y’know, I’d have stuck longer with school if my teacher’s dressed like you two.’

‘You told me your teacher was a crotchety old woman with boobs that hung around her knees,’ Cheryl said.

‘Huh, yeah,’ Alec said. ‘Mrs Nussbaum, that lady had a voice like a foghorn. She could liquefy a kid’s skeleton had forty paces, and see out the back of her head. Good times.’

Ceri giggled and pushed off from the bar; table nine was calling.

May 14th

The Jade Dragon had closed its doors and Carter and Alec had reconciled the till while Ceri and Lily had cleared the tables. For whatever reason, Carter had brought a bottle of whiskey out from behind the bar and a little group had formed around one of the tables; a nightcap before leaving.

‘The shutterbugs outside will be disappointed,’ Cheryl commented. ‘I got snapped a lot on the way in, they’re probably waiting for me to leave with you.’

Carter nodded. ‘They can wait. The Press may be an unfortunate requirement of the job, but I don’t have to cater to them.’

‘You’ll be in the Witch again,’ Lily said.

Cheryl grimaced. ‘I saw the one last time. I looked naked.’

‘Not naked exactly,’ Ceri said, ‘just…’

‘Almost naked?’ Alec suggested.

‘It was a really awesome dress,’ was Lily’s opinion. ‘I have something a little like it, only a lot shorter, and the flecks are foil not crystal.’

‘Weren’t you wearing that the first time I met you?’ Carter asked, frowning.

‘Yes, yes I was.’

‘Five years ago. You’ve come a long way.’

‘Thanks to you and Ceri,’ the half-succubus said. She took a sip of her drink, savouring the flavour, and then glanced at Ceri. ‘I know, I just needed a push, I was looking to straighten myself out, but I couldn’t have done it without you two.’

‘Which is why,’ Carter said, raising his glass to Ceri, ‘we are the two luckiest people I know.’

‘You are?’ Lily asked, bemused.

‘Indeed. We were there at the right time to be able to help and have therefore gained the benefits.’ He smirked slightly. ‘I’ll admit that Ceri has had substantially more benefit than I have, but I’m not bitter.’

‘Well, she’s had to put up with more of my… peculiarities,’ Lily replied. ‘Especially recently. I think she deserves what she’s got. Besides,’ she nodded toward Cheryl, ‘I wouldn’t say you’re doing too badly.’

‘So where are you staying in Cambridge?’ Ceri asked.

‘MagiTech’s main facility is just outside the city,’ Carter said, ‘so I’ve booked us a room at a small hotel nearby. It used to be someone’s manor. There’s a spa attached.’

‘Roughing it then,’ Alec said.

‘Absolutely. It is a business trip. Tax deductible.’

Ceri drained her glass. ‘Come on, Lil. We’ll need to take a shower before bed.’

‘Good point,’ Lily said, finishing her own drink. ‘That’ll take an hour at least.’

Picking up their coats from the staff room, they headed out through the staff entrance. There were still men with cameras waiting near the front door, but they ignored the two girls; Lily was not the story any more. One figure caught Ceri’s eye, however, a tall, dark man standing on the opposite side of Dean Street, his head encircled by a mane of hair.

‘Something up?’ Lily asked and Ceri glanced at her. When she looked back, the man was gone.

Kennington

It was not the brightest of days, but it was warm enough that the occupants of High Towers had moved up to the roof where the air was fresher. Even Twill had decided to take a few hours to relax on the third lounger.

‘Wren’s girlfriend is in the gossip column,’ Ceri said as she poured over the latest Wednesday Witch. ‘Hannah Shields, apparently. She got fired from a modelling job for drug use, or so they think.’

‘Wonder if that means Wren will be dumping her,’ Lily mused. Despite the lack of sun, the half-succubus was naked and stretched out with her eyes closed.

‘No idea. I’m not sure I’d keep her on. “There are reports of sudden mood swings of a violent nature followed by depression and inactivity.”’

‘Sounds like drugs, or she’s just mentally unstable.’

‘Huh,’ Ceri grunted. ‘Weird thing about her is that she’s one of a couple of people I’ve seen recently with no soul. The other one was supposed to have been on drugs.’

‘Oblivion,’ Lily said.

‘Disgusting stuff,’ Twill added.

‘Sorry?’ Ceri put her magazine down and looked between her two housemates.

‘It’s a chemical derived from fae wine,’ Twill explained. ‘An alchemical distillation. It’s used as a party drug, as well as for a few other, more nefarious purposes. Makes you feel really good, destroys your inhibitions, and makes you very suggestible. It’s very addictive and if you use it too much your soul disassociates permanently from your body.’

Ceri grimaced. ‘That sounds like what I’ve seen.’

‘It’s a favourite with some of the illegal porn producers,’ Lily said. ‘They kidnap some girl, most innocent one they can find, feed her Oblivion, film the result.’ Ceri could feel Lily’s disgust through their link. ‘It gets used as a date rape drug too. That stuff’s bad news. Why anyone takes it voluntarily is beyond me.’

‘I’ve never heard of it causing violent mood swings though,’ Twill commented. She looked up suddenly. ‘We have visitors. A normal and a witch.’

Shrugging, Ceri swung her legs off the lounger and walked over to the railing. Radcliffe and Middleshaw were just about to step onto the porch and knock. ‘I’ll be right down,’ Ceri yelled and was rewarded by John’s face emerging into view. He looked serious, but not annoyed.

They waited for Lily to put a dress on and come to the study before they started. Kate sat with a slight smile on her face while John maintained his best “serious detective” look the whole time. As Lily walked into the room, John pulled out his notebook. ‘We pulled a body out of Highgate Ponds yesterday night,’ he said.

Lily frowned. ‘Another succubus victim?’

‘No,’ John replied, ‘someone pulled his heart out of his chest.’

‘And you came to see us?’ Ceri frowned this time.

‘We’re hoping you can identify the body,’ Kate said. ‘From your description, we think it’s this Tanner guy.’

‘Obviously,’ John added, ‘since he’s not exactly your favourite person, if it is him we’ll need to know your whereabouts for… Tuesday night. Coroner says that’s the approximate time of death.’

‘Tuesday,’ Lily said musingly. ‘We were with Carter and Alec that night.’

Ceri nodded. ‘If it’s not urgent we could come over this evening before work?’

‘Well, he’s not going anywhere,’ Kate said wryly.

‘If it’s him,’ John said, ‘which we’re reasonably sure it is, that means your father is wandering around and free.’ Lily nodded, her expression dark. ‘Technically,’ John went on, ‘he’s not wanted for anything currently. Legally he’s a “weapon” and the murderer is dead, but policy says we don’t like demons wandering around free. If he comes to see you…’

‘He won’t,’ Lily stated flatly.

John looked at her. ‘If he does…’

‘I’ll send him back where he came from,’ Lily said. ‘I assume there’s no issue with me slitting a demon’s throat.’

Westminster

Greycoat Street station was equipped with its own mortuary, two floors down and possessed of an almost unnatural chill which had Ceri wanting to be out of the place as soon as she could manage it. It also came with a coroner’s assistant who was overweight and seemed to lack even the slightest compassion for the cadavers stored in his vault.

John and Kate led Ceri and Lily down, past a large iron door which looked like it was some sort of secure storage facility, and into a more ordinary looking room with banks of steel hatches mounted in one wall. Ceri did notice that there were steel shutters mounted over the doors and what looked like emergency close buttons beside them. Sadly, she spotted no signs which said “In case of zombie horde, break glass.”’

Wilks, the assistant coroner, eyed the two girls with a complete lack of emotion, scanned his clipboard, and then opened one of the storage lockers. He pulled out a body covered in a sheet. ‘This one’s not pretty,’ he said, ‘and I don’t just mean his face.’ He pulled the sheet back.

Tanner looked like he had died in shock if not in pain. Ceri could not quite bring herself to wish for the latter. ‘That’s him,’ she said. ‘The only name I have for him is Tanner, but that’s him.’

‘He’s the one I saw,’ Lily confirmed. ‘He claimed to have summoned my father, used him to taunt me.’

‘Could I see the wound?’ Ceri asked.

Wilks glanced at John, who nodded, and then pulled the sheet further down the body. Where Tanner’s heart should have been, there was a gaping hole with ribs bent and sticking out through the wound.

Ceri’s nose wrinkled. ‘Necromancy,’ she said. ‘I’ve read about this, but I don’t know anyone who can do it.’

‘The working theory is that he fucked up and his bosses decided to tie up the loose end,’ Kate said. ‘Unless Lily’s father can be persuaded to provide us with information, the Chief’s calling it a closed case. We’ve found nothing to even give us a firm identification, never mind lead us to his killer.’

John nodded in agreement and waved for Wilks to close up the drawer, but the detective inspector did not look pleased. ‘If either of you come across anything which might lead us to this necromancer,’ he said, ‘I’d appreciate it. I hate unresolved cases.’

~~~

‘John won’t stop looking,’ Lily said as they walked to St James’ Park station.

‘No, probably not,’ Ceri replied.

‘He could get himself in trouble.’

‘Yeah, he could.’

Lily was silent for a few seconds. ‘Do you think we should warn him?’

‘I don’t know how we could. Not without breaking the truce.’

Lily sighed softly. ‘We can’t even tell them about their mole, can we?’

‘No, not really.’

There was more silence. ‘I hate this,’ Lily finally said.

‘The feeling’s mutual, love. The feeling’s mutual.’

Kennington, May 23rd

Ceri was pouring over modulation equations in the study when Twill zipped into the room looking disconcerted. ‘There’s a witch at the door,’ she said.

‘Kate?’ Ceri asked, having to blink a couple of times to yank her head out of the mathematics.

‘I don’t think so.’

Frowning, Ceri got up and headed down to the hall. Sure enough, she could hear someone knocking before she opened the inner door.

The woman standing on the porch was in her early forties, but trying to be younger. Her shoulder length blonde hair was braided and beaded at the sides and she was dressed in a mid-thigh skirt and a T-shirt with a large sunflower printed on it. A tie-died cloth bag was looped over her shoulder and there was a small, wheeled case sitting beside her. She had laughter lines and slight crow’s feet, but looked as though she had been very attractive when younger, though her looks were going now. Ceri imagined she could still turn a few heads.

‘Can I help you?’ Ceri asked, a little bemused.

The woman looked Ceri up and down, taking in the over-sized shirt which was all Ceri was wearing. ‘I’m looking for Lily Carpenter,’ she said. ‘I’m Sally, her mother.’

‘Oh! You, um, you’d better come in,’ Ceri said, stepping back to allow the woman to enter. Grabbing the handle of her case, Sally walked in, her heels clicking on the stone. There was no response from the sigils in the floor to indicate ill intent, but Ceri knew this was going to be interesting. As far as Ceri knew, Lily had not spoken to her mother in ten years. ‘Leave your case there,’ she said, following Sally into the hall. ‘I’ll get Lily after we’ve settled you in the lounge.’

Sally was looking around the huge hallway. ‘It’s rather different on the outside,’ she commented.

‘Illusion,’ Ceri said, leading the way up the stairs. ‘My mother’s work. I’m Ceri, by the way, Ceridwyn Brent.’

‘Yes, I was told. Pleased to meet you.’

‘Told?’

‘I’ll explain when Lily’s here, if you don’t mind.’

‘No, of course not.’ She indicated the large, leather, wing-backed chair which guests generally used. ‘Take a seat, I’ll wake Lily up.’

Lily’s face was entirely hidden beneath tousled, chestnut hair when Ceri entered their bedroom, but a plaintive voice came out from beneath. ‘I don’t have to get up, do I?’

‘Afraid so, love, we have a visitor.’

‘Who’s body have they found this time?’ Lily hauled herself upright, shaking her hair out and stretching.

Ceri swallowed, biting back on the urge to take her own clothes off. ‘A visitor,’ she said. ‘It’s your mother.’

Lily looked at her. ‘She doesn’t know where I am.’

‘Apparently, she does.’

‘I haven’t spoken to her since I left Bristol.’

‘I know, but she wants to talk to you now.’

‘How did she find me?!’

‘I don’t know, Lil. Why don’t you put something on and ask her?’

Standing, Lily took a jersey-dress from the nearest cupboard and pulled it over her head. ‘You’re coming with me, right? I don’t want to see her alone.’

Sally stood up as they entered the room. ‘Hello, Lily,’ she said. She was looking more uncertain than she had on the doorstep. Actually faced with her estranged child, her resolve was clearly not quite as strong.

‘Mum,’ Lily replied. ‘You’re… looking good.’

The elder Carpenter cracked a smile. ‘I’m getting old,’ she said. ‘You look absolutely stunning, and you seem to have done quite well for yourself. Big house, good job, I hear. I’m glad you straightened yourself out.’ She half raised her arms; an invitation. The hug was not exactly what Ceri would expect of mother and daughter meeting after ten years, but at least they hugged.

Ceri settled onto her chair and Lily sat on the foot stool beside her while her mother took the other seat again. ‘How did you find me, Mum?’ Lily asked.

‘I… had a visitor,’ Sally said.

Lily grimaced. ‘I suppose I should have called you. Told you he was back.’

‘It did come as a surprise. Thankfully, it was not an unpleasant one. I was more worried about you, but he told me you were fine.’

‘No thanks to him,’ Lily replied, scowling.

‘Not entirely true, Lil,’ Ceri said. Lily snapped a glance at her which had anger and worry in it.

‘Faran said that Ceridwyn had managed to eliminate his influence on you,’ Sally said. ‘He wouldn’t say how, just that he had suggested something and it had worked. Well, I found that hard to believe, as you can imagine. He suggested I come and see for myself.’

‘Well…’ Lily said slowly, ‘I guess it’s true. Ceri broke his hold on me, even if I’m still an anchor for him here.’

‘My manners are slacking,’ Ceri said. ‘Would you like a drink? Coffee? Tea?’

‘I don’t suppose you have camomile tea?’

Ceri suppressed a giggle. ‘Twill? I’m sure you’re here somewhere.’

The fairy materialised on the arm of Ceri’s chair. ‘Good morning, Mrs Carpenter,’ she said. ‘Yes, I have camomile. I can’t get either of them to drink it.’

Sally blinked at the tiny, winged woman. ‘Uh, no. Lily never did like my herbal teas.’

‘Could you do a couple of mugs of coffee too, Twill?’ Ceri asked. ‘I think Lil’s brain is only firing on half its cylinders.’

‘Of course.’ Twill lifted off the chair, vanished into a ball of light, and zipped away toward the kitchen.

‘That’s Twill,’ Ceri said. ‘She looks after us.’

‘I’ve never actually met a fairy before,’ Sally said.

‘Twill’s a little atypical,’ Ceri replied. ‘Not that I’ve met any others myself.’

‘Quite a… esoteric household,’ Sally commented. ‘I understand you’re a thaumatologist, Ceridwyn?’

‘Ceri, please, and yes. I work as a research assistant at the Metropolitan University.’

‘She just got her PhD,’ Lily put in proudly. ‘She’s modest, but she’s a genius, and a very powerful practitioner too.’

‘Ah,’ Sally said, ‘so your demon side fixated on her?’

‘Yes,’ Lily replied, ‘it did and that’s more or less how she freed me from Dad, but I fancied her long before that. She was the first person I met who treated me like a person. We were friends for almost five years before we got to be…’

‘Friends with significant benefits,’ Ceri finished for her.

Twill flew back in, followed by a tray with three mugs on it. ‘I notice you have a case, Mrs Carpenter,’ the fairy said. ‘You’ll stay here, of course. The spare room has clean sheets and we have plenty of food in the kitchen.’

‘Thank you,’ Sally said, lifting her mug from the hovering tray. There was a hint of relief in her posture, as though she had been quite ready to find a hotel, but hoped she would not have to. ‘I have to be back at work on Wednesday, but I’d really appreciate the time to catch up. I’ve got ten years of news and gossip to catch up on. I hear you know Carter Fleming!’

Ceri giggled. Maybe this would be fun after all.

~~~

There were no sounds of screaming or objects being thrown as Ceri came in through the second kitchen. That seemed like a good sign. She had gone out to the local mini-supermarket to pick up some wine and left Lily and her mother alone to talk over a few things. Ceri had not felt any distress from her demon, but Lily could have been calmly throwing pots at Sally rather than being upset. Pretty unlikely; Lily was passionate, about everything.

Walking quietly through the hall to the main kitchen, she found Twill hovering over the cooker while her implements, pots, and pans performed the dance of food preparation around her. Putting the bag with four bottles of red wine on the counter, Ceri turned to the fairy. ‘No yelling?’

‘None. Actually it’s been very quiet. Perhaps they murdered each other.’

‘What are you making?’

‘It’s a korma,’ Twill replied. ‘I had to dig deep to come up with a vegetarian recipe. I hope she likes spices.’

‘She’s a veggie?’

Twill twisted in the air slightly, giving Ceri a “you should know better” look. ‘Braided hair, flower T-shirt, as for that bag… Of course she’s a vegetarian.’ A tiny hand waved at the bag and a bottle rose from it. The foil top unwrapped itself and started for the bin, and the cork began to squeeze itself out of the bottle, all entirely unaided by any implements.

‘Good idea,’ Ceri said, and waited for three glasses of wine to be poured. ‘You’re not having any?’

‘Not yet, dear, my cooking goes off if I start on the wine too early.’

‘I’ll go deliver these then,’ Ceri said. ‘Or clean up the bodies.’ The sound of wind chimes followed her out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the lounge. She spotted them as soon as she walked in the door since they had moved to the sofa in front of the TV. There was the sound of one of the late afternoon soaps coming from the speakers, but the mother and daughter were talking over it, not really paying attention. ‘Drinks?’ Ceri said as she presented the tray.

‘Yes, please,’ Lily said, picking one of the glasses up. ‘Now sit down.’ She patted the space between her mother and herself and Ceri turned nimbly, keeping the tray balanced as she lowered herself onto the sofa.

‘You do seem rather practiced at that,’ Sally said.

‘I spend two nights a week manipulating trays,’ Ceri replied. ‘You get really good at it when you’re wearing a tiny dress and serving werewolves.’

‘I don’t think I’ve ever met one.’

‘All the were-creatures are kind of tactile, but werewolves in particular have just about no sense of personal space. They’re used to greeting each other by touch, and they usually aren’t afraid to demonstrate attraction physically either.’

‘You get groped less than I do,’ Lily commented. She settled herself with as much of her body in contact with Ceri’s as she could manage.

‘Well, yeah,’ Ceri replied, ‘but you’re more used to it than I am.’

‘Lily told me about the tattoos you used to have,’ Sally said. ‘I think I remember reading a few articles about your parents, oh, years ago now. They must have been very skilled enchanters.’

Ceri nodded and took a drink of wine. ‘They were, but I’m happier without the enchantments they put on me. They had some… unfortunate effects on me. I guess it’s a little like Lily being free of her father’s influence. I’m more how I should have been now.’

‘Parents trying to protect their children can often do entirely the wrong thing,’ Sally said.

Ceri decided she needed a change of subject. ‘So what is it you do now, Sally?’

‘I’m a psychologist,’ Sally replied. ‘I work with children a lot, some adults with particular problems.’ She smiled. ‘For your problem I would generally recommend controlled exposure. A few trips out with friends. Perhaps a visit to Bristol with Lily…’

Ceri giggled. ‘Have you been blabbing all my secrets, Lil?’

‘Not all of them,’ Lily said, ‘but you could do with getting over your travel phobia.’

‘Yes, well, there’s another trip to Stonehenge in my future so I guess I’ll have to.’ Ceri grimaced. ‘And if that pans out it could mean going into France and Germany. What was I thinking?!’

It was Lily’s turn to giggle. ‘The usual, your science brain was way ahead of your practical brain.’

Ceri looked at Sally. ‘I may have to hire you for therapy sessions.’

‘I do family rates,’ Sally replied, grinning.

‘I’m not exactly family.’

‘You’re my daughter’s partner,’ Sally said, ‘and she told me about the whole Mistress business. Very clever application of psychology. Non-human psychology at that. I was impressed.’

‘As much luck there as there was skill. It almost ended up with me being Lily’s pet.’

Sally regarded Ceri shrewdly and then leaned forward slightly, addressing her daughter. ‘She undersells herself a lot?’

‘Oh, all the time,’ Lily replied, smirking. Ceri’s cheeks reddened.

‘Well, it’s better than the other way,’ Sally said. ‘Faran was always the supremely confident incubus. He could act like he had some humility, if he tried.’

‘Mostly he didn’t,’ Lily said. She frowned slightly. ‘Though, if I’m honest, he was quite good around me.

‘Yes,’ Sally said, ‘he was. And I liked the bad boy image.’ She laughed. ‘He came to see me looking just the same and I thought I’d out grown that. Which I had, but I’m old enough to appreciate the attention from a “younger” man.’

Lily’s eyes widened. ‘You didn’t!’

‘No, actually, we didn’t,’ Sally replied. ‘The flirting was very nice, but I have a boyfriend. Faran respected that.’ Lily raised an eyebrow. ‘Well, he did have a bit of an ulterior motive.’

‘Now that sounds more like him,’ Lily said. ‘What did he want?’

‘He wants to meet you, you and Ceri.’ She hurried on before Lily could respond. ‘He wanted me to see for myself that you were free of him before I said anything, and he’s happy to meet on neutral ground, or anywhere of your choosing. He’d like to help. He says he wants to make up at least a little for the trouble he caused you.’

‘Oh I’m sure he…’ Lily began.

‘Lil,’ Ceri said. Her voice was soft, but it cut Lily off and made her look around. ‘I think you should at least hear him out.’

‘You do? Ceri… what he did to me…’

‘Was a result of what he is, and what you are,’ Ceri said. ‘I believe he’s trying to put things right.’

‘Okay,’ Lily said. ‘But for you, not for him.’ She turned back to her mother. ‘I assume you can get in touch with him?’ Nodding, Sally reached for her bag. ‘If we’re going to do this,’ Lily added, ‘we might as well make it a family reunion.’

~~~

It was just past sunset when Sally’s phone rang. ‘It’s him,’ she said when she had rung off. ‘He’s outside.’ Ceri rose up from her chair and headed for the door.

A now familiar figure was standing just beyond the gate in the iron fence. Now that she could see him clearly she could make out a handsome, fairly young face with half a day of stubble framed in a mane of chestnut hair. He was dressed in a denim jacket, blue jeans, and a plain black T-shirt which hugged a muscled chest tightly. It was a bit of a retro look, but he pulled it off. He had a slight smile on his face; Ceri could see what Sally meant about him being confident.

She stopped with her hand on the gate. ‘I’m under orders to report you to the Greycoats if I see you,’ she said.

‘But you aren’t going to?’ he asked.

‘No,’ she replied, ‘but just so we’re clear, if you’re screwing with Lily it’ll be a slow and really painful death.’

Faran bowed his head. ‘That’s why I knew I could trust you with her.’

‘Okay,’ she said pulling the gate open, ‘enter without ill will.’

The circular array of runes in the entrance way flared brightly as Faran stepped into them. He stopped with a gasp. Lily and Sally were waiting in the hallway, but Twill was nowhere to be seen; she really did not like demons. Ceri walked up behind him. ‘By your name, demon,’ she said, ‘do you swear that your intentions are peaceful?’

‘By my name, and the name of my Lord, I so swear,’ Faran said. The runes faded from sight and he turned to look at Ceri. ‘Now I see why you allowed me to come into your home.’

‘Yes,’ Ceri said, a slight smile on her face, ‘well you managed to convince my father’s enchantments that you’re on the level, but now you’ve got the harder job.’ She nodded at Lily, who was not looking best pleased. ‘Would you like some wine?’

Faran looked on as Lily turned on her heel and started for the stairs up to the lounge. ‘Thank you,’ he said, ‘I’d love some.’

Nodding, Ceri headed for the kitchen and the incubus followed her rather than going up after his daughter and her mother. Ceri poured wine into a glass and then handed it to Faran, starting for the door with the bottle.

‘You got my message and acted as I hoped,’ he said; a statement, not a question.

‘It’s illegal,’ she said, ‘but worse than that it’s immoral. To free her from you I had to make her into my slave.’

‘Slavery,’ Faran replied, ‘requires two things. There has to be someone who treats you as a slave, and you have to believe you are one. Neither of those apply.’

‘What do you know about being a slave?’ Ceri scoffed. ‘You’re a demon.’

Faran turned and headed for the door. ‘Exactly,’ he said, ‘I’m a demon.’

Lily was determined not to make it easy for him. She was perched on the footstool beside Ceri’s chair, very upright, with her daggers held in her lap. Faran stopped when he saw them. ‘I had these made especially for you,’ Lily said. ‘After the last time.’

‘I can understand that,’ her father replied.

‘Sit down,’ Ceri said, taking her own seat. Sally had pulled up a chair in front of the fire and was watching quietly, but her hands were clenched into fists in her lap.

‘Well,’ Lily said, ‘say what you came to say.’

‘I won’t lie,’ Faran said. ‘You being free of my influence means that you won’t end up like most half-demon children, which is to my benefit.’

‘Yeah,’ Ceri said, ‘we figured that out ourselves.’

He nodded slowly. ‘I realise that this may be hard to believe, but I genuinely care for you, Lilith.’

‘Don’t call me that,’ Lily snapped. Ceri looked at her. ‘That’s what it says on my birth certificate,’ the half-demon growled.

‘I’m sorry,’ Faran said. ‘It wasn’t my idea. I wasn’t there when you were born.’

Sally’s cheeks coloured. ‘It… seemed like a good name at the time.’

‘I prefer Lily,’ Lily stated flatly.

‘Lily,’ Faran said emphatically, ‘do you remember when you were a child and I would teach you about demons?’ Lily nodded. ‘I was trying to prepare you. I was hoping I could make you ready for your demon side when it emerged. I failed. Miserably. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t give you up and leave.’

‘It’s my fault too,’ Sally said. ‘I was too quick to judge. I didn’t believe you were so tied to your father that he was affecting your behaviour. I should have had him banished sooner, but…’

‘It’s kind of tough giving up that kind of relationship,’ Ceri said. Lily looked at her and she held her pet’s eyes. ‘I know I’d have to try hard to give Lily up.’

Lily opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again. Her fists gripped her daggers fiercely. She looked down at them. ‘You know, Ceri,’ she said softly, ‘you’re right. I guess I was starting to climb out of the pit when I got these made. Then Carter threw me a rope, and then I met you, but I had these made so that if I had to I could cut my way free.’ She looked up at her father. ‘And then you tell us how to free my mind from you permanently, so I guess I do owe you that at least.’

‘Thank you,’ Faran said; it sounded very genuine.

‘So… where do we go from here?’ Lily asked.

Faran’s lips curled into a slight smile. ‘If you’ll allow me, I’d like to continue your education. You can learn to use your powers better, and I think your Mistress would also be interested in learning more about demons.’ Ceri nodded, perhaps a little too eagerly. ‘I would be very grateful if I could stay on Earth a while longer. There’s a good reason why demons are always trying to get here from our home.’

‘I think,’ Lily began hesitantly, ‘that I’d like that, but if we get word of anyone dying from an incubus…’

Faran bowed his head in acknowledgement. ‘I can accept that,’ he said.

‘Right,’ Ceri said, her lips twitching, ‘I’ve got Lily’s parents together in one place. I want to hear embarrassing baby stories.’

‘Aw Ceri!’ Lily whined.

May 24th

It was as they were leaving that Faran stopped, looked at Ceri for a few seconds, and then stepped closer, leaning in to place his mouth against her ear. ‘I am Helfaran Gef Natharoll,’ he whispered, ‘and it has been a great pleasure to meet a sorceress of such power.’ He kissed her softly on the cheek and then stepped back, giving her a bow before walking over to give his daughter a hug.

When he had gone, escorting Sally to the station for her train, Lily looked at Ceri with a frown. ‘What did he say to you?’ she asked.

‘He told me his name,’ Ceri said, looking a little shocked. ‘His full name. He also told me he knew I was a sorceress.’

‘How?!’

‘I have no idea, but I think we can trust him with the information.’

‘Yeah,’ Lily said, sounding a little surprised that she was saying it. ‘I think we can.’

Richmond, May 30th

‘Hello?’ The voice filtered through a small speaker mounted beside the door and was almost unrecognisable as Alec’s.

‘Happy birthday,’ Ceri replied. ‘It’s Ceri and Lily. Get your fuzzy arse out here.’

‘Uh, I’m kind of waiting for Cheryl to get here, kid.’ It was hard to tell over the bad connection, but he sounded a little embarrassed.

‘I know you are. Put a robe on or something and come to the door.’ There was a pause and then a click as the line went dead.

‘Yeah,’ Lily said in agreement to the unspoken statement, ‘he wasn’t dressed.’

Ceri giggled, and was still giggling when the door opened. To be fair to Alec, the thick mat of hair on his chest was wet, as was his head hair; they had got him out of the shower. His left hand clutched a thick towel around his hips. ‘Okay, what do you two pests want?’

‘We brought you a sort of joint present,’ Lily said. They stepped aside and watched as Alec’s jaw dropped. Half way up the drive which led up to the house was a slightly timid looking, grey-furred she-wolf.

‘The spell has enough juice to keep her in that shape until morning,’ Ceri said. Lily had been part of the “present” by lending Ceri some of the power for the spell; it had taken quite a lot. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve taught her much wolf so you won’t be able to talk, but I gave her a few lessons on behaviour. I’d suggest a good run through the park before you get down to banging each other senseless, but it’s up to you.’ Ceri grinned. ‘She wanted to surprise you.’

‘She, uh, certainly did that,’ Alec replied.

‘Good surprise, I hope?’ Lily said.

In answer, Alec let go of his towel, tossing it back into the house. ‘If you ladies will excuse me, I have a very attractive young she-wolf to entertain.’ He shifted as he started toward Cheryl, letting the door swing closed behind him. There was the sniffing and the rubbing of muzzles, and then Alec jerked his head toward Richmond Park which lay across the road from his house, and they ran off onto the rolling grass. As Ceri and Lily got to the end of the drive, they could just see the two wolves loping away from them into the night.

‘I have to admit,’ Lily said, ‘that does look like fun.’

‘It is,’ Ceri replied. ‘Just running like that with Michael is one of my favourite things about being a wolf.’ They started back toward East Sheen station and the train back home.

‘Do you think, maybe,’ Lily said, ‘you could take me…’

Ceri stepped closer to Lily and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Lily slipped her arm around Ceri’s waist in return. ‘I’ll clear it with Alexandra,’ Ceri said. ‘If it’s okay we’ll do it next Tuesday. I’m sure Michael won’t mind an extra night with his mate and a new expansion to his harem.’

‘Do I get “tried out” by a dozen single males like you did?’

‘That takes ages! You want to have some time to just be wolfy, don’t you?’

‘Yeah…’ Lily replied. ‘Maybe just half a dozen then?’

Ceri shook her head. ‘Total nympho,’ she muttered, smirking as she said it.

‘What?’ Lily said. ‘My father’s an incubus, I can’t help it.’

The sound of laughter drifted out across the park, eventually reaching the ears of the two werewolves running across the grass. They looked at each other, barked in laughter, and then kept on running.

###

Black Moonlight

Kennington, London, May 15th, 2011

‘Would you two like to go to a concert on Tuesday night?’ The question came out of the blue and both Ceri and Lily looked at Michael with slight surprise. ‘I know it’s kind of short notice,’ he added. ‘If you can’t…’

‘Who’s on?’ Lily asked. She was lying on Michael’s right side and she propped herself up on one elbow to look over his chest.

‘Black Moonlight,’ he said. ‘They’re doing…’

‘An special gig at the Metal Shed,’ Lily interrupted, ‘which half the rock fans in London would sell their soul to get tickets to, and I happen to know it’s been sold out for two months. How did you get one ticket never mind three?’

‘Uh, well, I.. uh…’

Ceri, on his other side, propped herself up too. ‘I haven’t seen you stammer this much around us in ages. Out with it.’

‘I kind of know one of the band,’ he explained.

Lily pursed her lips. ‘The base guitarist is Welsh, if my memory serves… Kai?’

‘That’s the one,’ Michael said a little reluctantly. ‘He, um, he’s my half-brother.’

The two girls looked at each other. ‘We’ll go,’ they chorused.

Hammersmith, May 17th

Black Moonlight were the most popular of a sub-genre of heavy rock bands known as Moon Metal. Ceri knew next to nothing about them and was surprised to discover that Lily, who rarely seemed to listen to music, did. Moon Metal bands were characterised by having a werewolf lead singer, though most of them, Black Moonlight included, were all wolf. It was, apparently, the lyrics which made Black Moonlight popular. Their songs spoke to a werewolf’s soul, or so Lily said.

The Metal Shed was a fairly small venue noted for featuring new and rising stars in the heavy rock world, but also for staging one-off gigs like the one they were going to. Big stars would hold small gigs with little pre-publicity. The fans got something more intimate than usual, and many of the bands at least liked to think of themselves as being close to their fan-base. As Ceri queued beside her two friends, she could tell that this gig was slightly different; for one thing, the proportion of werewolves in the audience was significantly higher than average.

If there were normally tables on the main floor, they had been pulled out so that the audience could stand in front of the small stage. There was a balcony running around the room, along either side of the stage and across the back. Ceri looked up as they filed into the room along with the horde of humans and werewolves dressed in more leather than a cow herd. Familiar faces could be seen up on the balcony, which must have been the VIP area; Catherine, Alpha of the Royal pack was up there with Stefan, her Guard Captain. Ceri smirked and followed Michael and Lily through the crowd toward the stage.

‘There’s no support band,’ Michael commented, ‘we won’t have to wait too long.’ Ceri had never seen her mate quite so comfortable among so many people. She was not sure, but she suspected it was the number of wolves in the audience. He nodded toward the balcony on the other side of the stage from where Catherine was sitting. ‘That’s Dolf,’ he said, ‘the Alpha of the Dog Boys.’ Ceri grinned; he certainly looked the part. Close cropped hair, lots of muscles, a nose which had been broken more than once and had a deep scar across it running out under his left eye.

‘That’s a really attractive face he’s got,’ Ceri said.

‘Well,’ Michael said, ‘you know the Dog Boys.’

‘Not really. And I don’t want to know them better, to be honest.’

Anything else she might have said was drowned out by a roar of cheers from the crowd; the four members of Black Moonlight were walking out onto the stage. The singer walked up to his microphone while the others set themselves up at their instruments. He called out, ‘How’s it hangin’, Hammersmith?’ and was rewarded with another bellow and a few howls from the crowd. Ceri guessed he was a typical frontman for a band; handsome in a slightly rough way, his washboard stomach on full display since he was shirtless. His leather jeans appeared to have been heat-shrunk onto his legs, though in a fit of possessive pride Ceri decided that Michael filled his leathers out better.

She was not sufficiently well versed in instruments to figure out which of the two guitarists was Kai. The more flamboyant was a bleach-blonde decked out in a lot of leather straps, though none of them could be described as a collar, and yet more leather jeans. The quieter one had black hair, looked pretty good in jeans and a black, silk shirt, and seemed somehow familiar. Ceri’s money was on him being the bassist.

At the back, the drummer was an archetypical example of his kind. He was in wolf-man form, and wearing enormous army boots and a dark plaid kilt. At the sound of howls from the crowd, he raised his muzzle and howled back. Ceri found herself grinning.

‘All right,’ the lead yelled, ‘let’s warm things up a bit. This is a number we call… Tooth and Claw.’ The crowd roared again as the opening power-chords of the song blasted out and Ceri felt like her ears were about to revolt and demand she leave.

~~~

As the final encore wrapped and the band took their final leave, Ceri had to admit that they were really good. They had played a lot of very heavy, loud and raucous rock, but there had been some ballads which had been really moving.

The one which really touched her, however, had been a duet between the lead singer, Jarel, and a guest singer, Tegan. According to Michael she was a folk singer from the Snowdonia pack and had co-written the song with Kai. The song had been a ballad to “the Goddess” and how she had returned to lead the werewolves back to the old ways. Dolf had not looked impressed and the humans around the room had heard a nice song, but the majority of the wolves had stood in absolute silence as the two voices sang out through the hall.

‘C’mon,’ Michael said as the audience began to leave. Going against the flow, he led the way toward the back of the stage.

‘We get to go backstage?’ Lily squeaked. Her face was all child-like glee; it never failed to amaze Ceri how Lily could be the sexiest woman on the planet one minute, and a giggling kid the next.

‘We haven’t seen each other in a couple of years,’ Michael said. ‘Kai was pretty insistent about meeting up after.’

‘Glad to hear it,’ Lily said. ‘We want gossip.’

Michael’s facepalm spoke volumes, but he continued back through the corridors behind the stage to where they could hear the sound of a party starting up. There was music from the band, but this had the slightly artificial quality of produced and recorded material being played on a sound system. There was also a fair amount of laughing and a hum of conversation.

They found everyone in a large room which was still not quite large enough for the throng of people occupying it. Looking around, Ceri had the distinct impression that she was the only human there. The drummer was lounging on a couch at the back of the room and the three women he had with him had already joined him in fur. Catherine was visible chatting with Jarel; Stefan looked a little bored as he stood nearby.

‘Hey, Brother!’ The voice had a Welsh accent significantly heavier than Michael’s. Ceri turned to see the base player; he had been the one she suspected. ‘Long time no see, boyo,’ Kai went on, ‘and who’s this pair of lovely bitches y’ve brought with you?’ He paused slightly, looking a little confused, as he got closer. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. This place smells like a homeless ronin’s armpit, I couldn’t tell y’weren’t werewolves.’

Ceri grinned. ‘Two nights a week I am.’

Michael smiled sheepishly and rubbed at the back of his neck. ‘Well, um, Kai, this is Ceri, my mate, and Lily, she’s, uh…’

‘Your mate-in-law?’ Lily suggested.

Kai looked between them. ‘I think I need an explanation,’ he said. ‘Because this sounds complicated. C’mon, we’ll get some drinks and have a chat.’ He turned and led them to a back corner which was less occupied than the rest of the room and had a table full of bottles nearby. With glasses in hand, the four of them moved into a huddle. ‘Right then, so a human mate?’ There was something odd about the way he said it.

‘It’s a little different from my mother,’ Michael said.

Ceri blinked at him. ‘You never said your mother was human,’ she said. ‘Not that you talk about your parents much at all.’

Kai looked at Michael, his face dark. Michael nodded. ‘Dad had two sons by my mother,’ Kai said. ‘When she died, he honoured her memory like any other Alpha.’ Ceri gritted her teeth to stop her jaw dropping; Michael had not mentioned he was the son of an Alpha either. If Ceri remembered right, that also made him the son of a black-fur. Alexandra’s reasons for considering him a potential successor were getting more obvious by the minute. ‘But he fell in love with a human girl and Michael was the result. Thing is… a human giving birth to a werewolf isn’t easy. Modern medicine can help, but…’

‘Mum died giving birth to me,’ Michael said. ‘Dad tried to forgive me, but I don’t think he ever quite managed it. Kai used to support me when Dad was being an arse.’

‘But the one thing I never thought Michael’d do is take a human mate,’ Kai said.

‘Like you said, it’s complicated,’ Ceri said.

‘Ceri’s a member of the Battersea pack,’ Michael said. ‘She can turn into a she-wolf when she wants. Alexandra and Anita made her a member of the Guard.’

Kai grinned quizzically and waved a finger at the three of them. ‘Hang on… A girl who’s part of a wolf pack… You’re Ceridwyn Brent.’ He looked at Michael as if he had never seen him before. ‘You’re Ceridwyn Brent’s boyfriend?’

Michael actually shuffled his feet. ‘Uh, yeah.’

‘By the Goddess…’ He raised his voice and called out, ‘Tegan! Tegan get y’re gorgeous arse over here!’

The pretty, blonde folk singer emerged through a group of women who were huddled around the other guitarist and walked over with a confident stride. ‘I thought you wanted to chat with your brother for a bit,’ she said.

‘I did, I am, but you’ll want to meet these people.’ Kai had what could only be described as a wolfish grin on his face. ‘Tegan, this is my brother Michael, his friend Lily who, if my memory serves is a half-succubus?’ Lily smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. ‘And this is his mate, Ceridwyn Brent.’

Tegan’s eyes widened and for a second Ceri was worried she was going to go down on her knees. ‘You set the Goddess free,’ she said finally. ‘You killed Remus… Our song, the one I sang tonight with Jarel, Goddess’ Gift, it’s dedicated to you.’

Ceri felt her cheeks heating up. ‘I did have some help you know. Lily, Alec, and the North Hills pack were there at Stonehenge. Michael was leading the Battersea team who defended Catherine from two of Remus’ wolves.’

‘Hold up,’ Kai said, ‘my brother Michael fought a Remus wolf?’

Smirking, Ceri reached over and pulled Michael’s T-shirt up to show the three scars on the left side of his rib cage. ‘Oh yeah, he fought one. He’s got the scars to prove it.’

‘It was Ceri who blew the thing away though,’ Michael said.

‘She was pretty awesome,’ Lily commented, a little shudder running through her at the memory. ‘But Michael was a little demon that night. That thing started going for Ceri and he went right for its throat.’

Michael felt the adoring attention coming his way again and played his ace. ‘Of course, then Ceri and Lily got to talk to Luperca herself.’

‘You talked to the Goddess!’ Tegan squeaked. Ceri elbowed Michael in the ribs. ‘What was she like?’

‘Depressing,’ Lily said.

‘It was before Remus died,’ Ceri said. ‘She was… defeatist, but she did provide the clue I needed to destroy Remus in the end. And she made me this as thanks.’ She reached up and touched the studded collar around her neck. ‘This lets me become a she-wolf.’

‘Not that she can’t do it on her own,’ Lily said proudly, ‘or transform other people. Like me, on Michael’s birthday.’ Michael went scarlet.

Kai roared with laughter. ‘Oh, Michael, Michael, you’ve come a long way from that kid who left the pack.’ His face straightened and he clapped a hand onto his brother’s shoulder. ‘I’m proud of you, brother, and Dad would be too. Don’t think I won’t be telling the old goat about it next time I see him either.’

Michael’s eyes dropped, but he nodded. ‘Thanks, Kai. That means a lot from you.’

No one had noticed that Tegan had vanished, but suddenly she was back and thrusting a CD case in front of Ceri along with a pen. ‘It’s the recording of Goddess’ Gift,’ she said, ‘um, could I get all your autographs on it?’

Kai’s laughter roared through the room again as Ceri stood there blinking.

‘Isn’t that supposed to be our line?’ Lily asked.

###

About The Author

The first book I ever wrote was typed, on one of those strange mechanical things with a ribbon. You remember those, right? Typewriters. It was bad, but I was fifteen or thereabouts. I haven’t stopped writing fiction of one kind or another since.

Out in the world, I write computer software. For relaxation, when I’m not writing, I play online computer games. I’ve been a geek for as long as I can remember. I’ve even played role-playing games, and done live action role-play. Magic, though, has always fascinated me; not doing it, I don’t believe in it. The theory and practice of it, however, is fascinating, and from that kind of mind-set, someone like Ceri just seems to flow.

When I grow up, I’d like to be an astronaut.

Look Out For

Dragon’s Blood, the Fourth Novel in the Thaumatology Series.

For More Information

The Thaumatology Blog: http://thaumatology.wordpress.com

Table of Contents

Part One: A Normal Life

Part Two: Dreams and Delusions

Part Three: The Ties that Bind

Part Four: Merlin’s Disciples

Part Five: The Father of the Bride

Black Moonlight