Thaumatology 09 - Dragonfall

by Teasdale, Niall

  ‘You looked like you needed it,’ he commented.

  ‘How good are your wards? Especially your scrying wards?’

  ‘Very good, but that won’t help if someone walks through the door. I heard the Greycoats were looking for you.’

  Lily glanced at the door, more nervous than Sean had ever seen her. ‘It’s not them I’m worried about. Well, if they lock me in a cell I’ll be dead by morning, but they’re the least of my worries.’

  She had spent the entire day on the move. If it had taken the dragons some time to find her, then she figured that moving might keep them guessing. It had been a good theory, but she was jumping at every shadow. She needed somewhere to stay for a while. Specifically, she needed somewhere where she could be fairly sure she would not be found.

  ‘I need somewhere to hide out until Wednesday, Sean.’

  The bartender sucked his teeth. ‘You burned a lot of bridges when you went off with the sorceress and joined the Greycoats, kid. I don’t know if anyone’ll hide…’

  ‘I will.’ The voice was soft, smooth, beauty on the ears, and it came from someone who had not been sitting on the stool to Lily’s left a second earlier. Lily looked at her and felt her breath catch. The woman was shapely and beautiful, it was just impossible to actually pin down exactly what she looked at. When Lily closed her eyes, all she could remember was a shadow. This was the Black Lady. ‘I will hide you, Lilith Carpenter, until you need to be abroad. There would be a price.’

  Lily laughed, though there was little humour in it. ‘That seems to be a theme at the moment.’

  ‘A favour is all I ask. A favour to be collected when I need it.’

  Lily nodded. She would have to pay Molech’s price before the Lady could ask her favour, and she very much suspected that would mean a future favour was worthless. ‘You’re sure that’s what you want?’

  ‘It is. We have a deal?’

  ‘We have a deal,’ Lily said and then gasped as darkness enveloped her. A second later Sean was clearing away the glass from the space where Lily had been sitting.

  ~~~

  The room was dimly lit. Only a single candle mounted in an iron cage on one wall provided light, and that seemed to almost sink into the stone walls of the circular chamber. Lily found herself lying on the cold stone floor beside what seemed to be a short, curved wall. She was not really sure how long she had been unconscious; it could have been a fraction of a second or several days.

  She pulled herself to her feet and then stepped away from the short wall to put her back against the side of the room. The circular wall was actually the edge of a pool. Within it was a thick, black liquid something like oil, and it was moving. Its surface shivered as she gained her feet and seemed to move toward her as she backed away.

  ‘The Black Pool,’ Lily said under her breath. That was what “dubh linn” meant, though as far as she knew no one knew where the name came from.

  The “water” moved again, the centre of it rising up into a bulge which just kept on growing. As it did so it seemed to take on a shape. A head and shoulders formed, then a well-endowed female body. Features formed on the head, a nose, hollows for eyes, a mouth. Arms separated from the body. As the black liquid woman reared above Lily only its legs remained undifferentiated; there was an impression of two limbs there, but they never separated.

  ‘Welcome to my home, Lilith.’ It was the same voice. This was the Black Lady. ‘The Lady of the Black Pool,’ she corrected as though she had heard the thought. ‘Seven hundred years ago I was banished from the Unseelie Court to this place, to dwell forever within this pool. Be honoured, you’ll be the first non-fae to enter this room and leave again.’ Her head turned slightly to the left and Lily looked that way, noticing for the first time an iron-barred door in the wall. ‘It’s not exactly comfortable, but it is better than the floor.’

  The little room beyond the door was clearly a cell. There was a hole in one corner which she guessed was what passed for a latrine, and there was a rough, wooden cot. There were no sheets and just folded blankets to lie on, but the Lady was right, it would be more comfortable than the floor.

  She looked back at the woman in the pool. ‘Why would you have this here if this is effectively your prison?’

  ‘I was exiled and imprisoned, but my jailors were not entirely cruel. I am allowed… visitors from time to time. I’m a fae, Lilith, I have needs, even in this state.’

  Lily looked back at the bed. ‘Right.’

  A melodic laugh came from the Lady as she began to sink back into the pool. ‘Don’t worry, child. You’re a guest. There is such a thing as hospitality.’

  Lily settled onto the bed, wishing she had brought a book or something, and thinking that hospitality did not seem much defence.

  ~~~

  The wind whipped through her hair and cooled her skin almost to the point where her own internal heating could not cope. Her Mistress seemed oblivious to it, sat on her throne, looking out over the devastation below. From here, high up above the city, the people looked like ants and the fires like pretty lights, but she knew that they were far from pretty close up.

  The chain connected to her collar jerked and she looked up. Not too far up, not at Mistress’ face. Far enough that she could see the long, black gown. ‘Is it not good, pet?’ her Mistress said.

  ‘Yes, Mistress.’

  ‘Are you not happy to be here, by my side, rather than down there?’

  ‘I am only happy when I am at your side, Mistress.’ She had learned not to fall into that trap.

  ‘I’m glad to hear it, pet.’ Mistress stood up and pulled on the chain again. ‘Come pet, I feel like going to see the puppy. He still isn’t house trained. I think I’ll have to whip him again.’

  With no choice but to follow, Lily crawled after her Mistress, toward the iron cage in which Michael lay.

  ~~~

  Lily at up in bed, gasping for breath. A dream. It had been a dream. She felt sweat on her skin; she needed a shower. Swinging her legs out of bed she started for the door.

  Ceri was standing in the doorway. Her dress was long and black, and her eyes flashed an angry, vivid blue. There was a bullwhip in her hands with long silver barbs along its length.

  ‘Don’t think you’ll get away from me by simply waking up, pet.’

  ~~~

  Lily sat up in bed with a cry. Her breath came in ragged gulps and she clutched at her chest. ‘Shit,’ she muttered when she could breathe again.

  ‘Bad dreams, Lilith?’ The Lady was there, a dark figure in the dim light. Candle light reflected off her skin giving her more animation than she showed naturally.

  ‘Yeah, bad dreams.’

  ‘Perhaps you will be able to stop them becoming reality. And thank you.’

  Lily frowned. ‘What for?’

  ‘You trusted me enough to take your clothes off before going to bed.’ Despite herself, Lily laughed. ‘There, that’s better.’

  Standing, Lily padded out of the cell to the side of the pool. ‘I expected you to be colder. I’m not sure why, you’ve always been good to Ceri.’

  ‘Ceridwyn is not someone to get on the wrong side of. Even if you are the most powerful Unseelie in the city. Cultivating her favour is good politics.’

  ‘She’s not that powerful…’

  The Lady’s head tilted to one side, stopping Lily mid-sentence. For someone whose face lacked definition, she could be amazingly expressive. ‘Her power grows in leaps and bounds. If you save her from this you may have to save her again when she realises just how much power she has. You… I simply like.’

  ‘You do?’

  ‘You are… uncomplicated, open. You lack the deceit so common in humans. You are what you are and you are happy with it.

  ‘That’s because of Ceri.’

  The part of the Lady’s face which was a mouth, or some analogy of one, smiled. ‘You do have some self-delusion, of course. Who doesn’t? She helped, gave you support, I’m sure. Your bond with her
means your father’s nature can’t affect you. She has gained far more from your relationship than you have.’

  Lily looked up at the black figure for a few seconds and then shook her head. ‘No. I gained the most incredible mistress any succubus could wish for. I love her. I’m not sure I can explain what that means to me. I don’t quite understand it myself. She’s part of me. I need her to be complete.’

  The Lady’s face shifted; for a brief instant Lily could have sworn she saw surprise register on it.

  ~~~

  ‘Do you know someone named Gloriandel Wintergreen?’ Lily said it to the empty room, knowing the Lady would hear her and respond if she wished.

  The shape of a woman formed from the oily water a few seconds later. ‘I know of her. I’ve met members of her family. The Wintergreens are a powerful family. Fairies. Many of them are high up in the Seelie Court. They are very adept at fae politics, which means espionage, assassination, and advantageous marriages. Gloriandel was to be the subject of the latter and chose to exile herself from court rather than go through with it. The rumours persist that she still lives and remains hidden.’

  ‘Rumour has it that she’s said she’d see any fae who harms Ceri dead.’

  The Lady nodded. ‘Word reached my ears that she might return to the fold just to see that happen.’ There was a slight pause. ‘I also heard she would do the same for you.’

  Lily looked at her; there was far too much coincidence in that statement. ‘You know where she’s hiding?’

  ‘I know where she was hiding. So do you.’

  ‘Shit,’ Lily said.

  October 31st

  ‘Wake up, Lilith. It’s time for you to go.’

  Lily opened her eyes and rolled off the little bunk. She said nothing as she gathered her clothes and started to dress. Time had no meaning in this place; she had had no idea of the time, or even the date. Somehow it did feel like it was time. The room felt magical all the time, but now that magic seemed stronger. Outside the sun was dipping toward the horizon and the world was preparing for a really violent Samhain.

  ‘Are you ready?’ the Lady asked.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘For whatever tonight brings?’

  Lily stood up and settled her bag on her shoulder. She settled her daggers in their sheathes on her hips and nodded. ‘Yes.’

  ‘Very well…’

  Darkness wrapped around Lily like a shroud and she felt herself lurching sideways.

  Canning Town

  Faran was waiting outside the office when Lily arrived. He looked more serious than she ever remembered him seeming before.

  ‘You’re going to do it then?’ he said as she walked toward him.

  ‘Did you really think I’d back out?’

  ‘No. But you’re my daughter and I’d sort of hoped.’ Lily gave a little shrug as a reply and Faran opened the door behind him and led the way inside.

  There was no demon lord embodied in a tramp in the office this time. Instead an ornately carved wooden case rested on the table, its lid closed. It was around four feet long, maybe eight inches square. Beside it was a bundle of folded cloth and there were thick leather boots on the floor. Lily walked over to it and ran her hand over the reddish wood. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to carve and then inlay an arrangement of runes which looked like they probably belonged to the Ctholnaraeic language. Lily could not read them, but she could sense the power in them.

  ‘The runes ward and contain the contents,’ Faran said.

  ‘It’s dangerous?’

  ‘That depends on who tries to open the box. The smith who made it was a woman, only a woman can open it. The last man who tried was reduced to ash.’

  ‘Oh. Is that the only requirement?’

  ‘Only a woman, only a demon,’ Faran said.

  ‘I’m not…’

  ‘You’re demon enough, daughter. I didn’t train you to be more in tune with that side of yourself just to help you use your powers more effectively. Besides, the last requirement is the most important.’

  Lily turned her head to look at him. ‘And that is?’

  ‘Only a woman, only a demon, only one worthy to wield the things within.’

  ‘And am I?’

  He smiled at her, his fangs showing. ‘It’s hard to find a worth demon these days. Why do you think Molech went to all the trouble of getting you ready for this?’ He nodded at the pile of cloth. ‘The dress and bindings go with it, sort of.’

  Lily looked down. ‘Does that come with dire warnings for the unworthy?’

  He chuckled softly. ‘No. Just a dress, but it was made especially for you. I know how you prefer to avoid tight clothes when fighting.’

  ‘All right,’ Lily replied, reaching for the hem of her T-shirt. ‘You’ve been working for Molech the whole time?’

  He paused before replying, perhaps assessing her mood. There was no anger in her voice; resignation perhaps. ‘Not exactly. He offered me a mutually beneficial deal, with menaces. You and Ceri were important to him, but Sally was not.’

  ‘He threatened Mum?’

  ‘He… suggested that she might come to harm if I were not here to assure her safety. He put a guard on her house last Samhain, if a more subtle one than his operation in London.’

  Sitting down to take off her shoes and jeans, Lily was silent for a few seconds. ‘I guess I should be angry with you, but I guess he’s not a man you can say no to. And… well, Mum isn’t really anything to you. She’s a woman you impregnated at a party. I’m the one you need to keep you here.’

  ‘She’s… Yes, I suppose you’re right.’

  Lily gave a grunt and got to her feet, padding across the dusty floor to the table, unfolding the dark red garment she found there. It was little more than a tabard with a cowl. There was a deep slash in the front which would show a lot of cleavage and, beneath the waistband, it was just too long strips of cloth. Lily pulled it on over her head, leaving the cowl folded down, and twisted a little to examine it. ‘Your boss has a kinky idea of combat-wear.’

  ‘He’s not exactly my boss. Certainly not my Lord.’

  Lily was wrapping her forearms in bandages which matched the dark red… no, the blood-red colour of the dress. ‘Your patron then.’ With the wraps tied in place, she sat down again to put on the boots and then, taking in a deep breath, she got up to open the box.

  The lid opened smoothly to reveal the three things within. A pair of ornately carved bracers made of a metal which had an odd sheen to it. Perhaps Ceri could have identified the alloy. The sword beneath them looked more normal, but she could feel the power from it. It was not normal at all. Whoever had made these things had been an enchanter of incredible power.

  ‘The sword is a dragon killer,’ Faran said. ‘I realise the bracers don’t look much, but they’ll protect you against sorcery, and fire, and with them on you’ll have skin that can stop dragon claws. Even now we can’t make things like this. The woman who made them was a genius.’

  ‘A lost art,’ Lily said. ‘Ceri said the same thing about Stonehenge, then she built it.’ She reached out quickly, before she could change her mind, and picked up one of the bracers. The metal felt warm, almost pleased to have her touch it. ‘I guess I’m worthy.’ She slipped the metal over her arm and started doing up the straps. Her father looked like he wanted to help, but was nervous about coming into contact with the enchanted metal.

  With both bracers in place she picked up the sword. It had a hilt long enough to use two-handed and bound with black leather. The cross-piece was carved, its tips hooked forward around the first few inches of the blade, which was straight, but slightly broader toward the tip than the hilt; a weapon designed for chopping. A sudden surge of power pulsed through her as she completed the set. She shivered. ‘All right. Let’s do this.’

  Molech was waiting outside the building. The real Molech; fifteen feet of purple skinned, horned, bat-winged, goat-hooved demon with a long tail ending in a barbed tip. He looked down at Lily an
d smiled a smile full of sharp teeth. His voice had a resonance which had not been there when possessing his puppet. ‘Lilith, you are looking every bit the dragon slayer. We need to move quickly. Even now Ceridwyn is opening the bridge.’

  ‘I need to go to High Towers first,’ Lily told him.

  His angular features shifted into a frown. ‘There is little time and I cannot get you too close to the power station…’

  ‘There’s something important I need from the house,’ Lily said, her voice firm. ‘High Towers will be close enough for me to get there. You won’t need to go closer.’

  The huge demon regarded her for a second or two, apparently deciding that she could not be moved. ‘Very well,’ he said and then his wings stretched out to wrap around her and the world twisted about them.

  Kennington

  There were dragons in the sky. They wheeled and turned, twisted in the air before diving to let loose a burst of flame. Lily could hear explosions in various directions. She looked across toward the river as they arrived outside the arbour at the side of the house and saw a missile of some sort lancing up into the sky; it looked like the expectation of another bad Samhain had resulted in the army being brought in. Whatever the projectile had been aimed at, it missed.

  And high in the sky, brighter than any star now, the comet could be seen. The Dragon’s Tail, Draco Cauda; a curl of light in the heavens to mark the coming of the dragon army to Earth. Or was it? Somehow as Lily looked up at it there seemed to be a voice speaking softly in her head, though exactly what it said was not clear. It sounded, to her, almost pleading.

  ‘Be swift, and careful,’ Molech said to her, breaking her train of thought. ‘The bridge is partially open and their forces are growing. I cannot pass through the house wards, but they can.’

  Lily frowned. ‘How?’

  ‘The communication focus they use, it allows them in.’

  Lily headed for the side door of the house. The dragon statuette in the cellar. Obviously it did far more than allowing them to project images through it. Slipping into the second kitchen, Lily was struck by the realisation that that was how they had got to Cheryl; she had been given a dragon statue too.