Armies of Nine, Book Three of The Adventures of Sarah Coppernick

by SJB Gilmour

  ‘I’ve taken the liberty of hiring some more house staff,’ James told them all. He drained his mug of beer and belched thunderously. The bald sorcerer lounged back in his chair while one of the faeries flittered up to him carrying another beer.

  Another of the faeries, wearing a black and white maid’s uniform, flew up high above the table so everyone in the room could see her. She bowed quite formally.

  ‘Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,’ she piped in a clear, high voice. ‘I am Felicia, your butler. If there is anything I can do for you all, please do not hesitate to ask.’ She smiled politely at the werewolves who were all now eyeing the food with keen eyes and dripping chops. Then she fluttered back through the doors to the kitchen.

  The four faeries who had brought in the water tub, brought in three more. They placed them all around the table and filled them with water.

  ‘Faeries?’ Mannix asked. ‘Why faeries?’

  James shrugged. ‘They’re more polite than gnomes,’ he said indifferently. ‘They’re cheaper, and,’ he waved at Eddy the vampire, who had crept in wheeling a large wine trolley, ‘they’re not as weird as this old coot.’ He paused as an idea came to him.

  ‘What?’ Angela asked him.

  ‘Cexil’s out of work right now,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘I might make him an offer. Ogres are great debt collectors but they have their limitations. A dragon on the other hand…’

  ‘Never mind,’ Angela told him crisply. ‘This isn’t an opportunity for you to expand your spice-dealing empire. Cexil has his own job to do, so you just let him do it.’

  Eddy ignored James and even though there was plenty of wine already on the table, he hobbled around the table offering everyone their choice of the best from Benjamin’s cellar. He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that every werewolf viewed him suspiciously. Satisfied that he had at least tried to provide his guests with decent wines to go with their meals, he pushed the trolley to one side, turned into a bat, and flapped back to his cellar.

  ‘Where did you get that guy?’ James asked Benjamin. ‘Gives me the creeps.’

  Benjamin snickered. ‘He used to work for Dracul, but I just poached him. He’s odd, I’ll grant you, but you just met one of the rarest individuals you’re every likely to find — an honest wraith. Even his own coven won’t have him. About six hundred years or so ago, he vowed never again to take another life. Hasn’t eaten a drop of blood since. He gets by on tofu, red wine and kidney beans. Dracul had him holed up in the belfry at Renfields. I gave him a perch, a cellar where it’s warm and dry, and all the wine and beans he can use. In return, I get the best-kept cellar in the world.’

  ‘And you’re sure you can trust him?’

  Benjamin nodded. ‘Read his mind. He’s a simple fellow, but as honest as the day is long. Since I’m the first person in centuries to show him any real kindness, I’ve got him for life.’

  Sarah was suddenly overcome with a great surge of love and respect for her uncle. He couldn’t help himself. Despite his fierce reputation and deadly curse, he just had to take in strays.

  ‘Well,’ Sheila Freeman growled as she gnawed on a large roasted lamb shank, ‘we’re here, girlie. Have ye any thoughts fer our next move?’

  Sarah realised that she was absolutely famished. It had been more than a day since she had last eaten in the cool enchanted forest of Wolfenvald. ‘Not yet,’ she admitted. ‘Let’s eat first.’ She brushed off all other thought and helped herself to a rack of barbecued ribs.

  Once Sarah had begun to eat, the other werewolves, who had all (except for Sheila, who wasn’t the sort to wait for anyone) been politely waiting for their First to begin, did not wait a second longer. The noise of eighteen wolves all gnawing on meat and bones was loud and really quite disgusting to anyone used to normal table manners. Luckily for Sarah, she was used to Aunt Roberta and Uncle Robert hoeing through their food with savage gusto. But, the noise made by the werewolves eating was not all. The splashing they made as they each slurped and sloshed about in the tubs of water was also embarrassingly messy. A very large amount of water splashed onto the floor in the process. Felicia reappeared and looked at the mess regretfully. Then she brightened and began issuing orders to her underlings, who hurried in to mop up.

  When Sarah had eaten, drank and washed her chops and paws, she climbed onto one of the chairs and sat facing the rest of the wolves. ‘We should probably get some rest,’ she told them.

  ‘Not yet,’ Benjamin advised her. He nodded at Mannix and Fergus. ‘A pack this size may as well have a few equal Thirds after Second. For now, you two and Jasper are them. Jasper’s busy so you two are on reconnaissance.’

  Mannix grinned at him. ‘That’s better, McConnell. You can be peace, love and bean shoots on your own time. We’re at war now.’ The great Black Coat turned to his pack. ‘Recon!’ he ordered them all. ‘I want this place secure yesterday!’

  Fergus echoed this order to his own pack.

  As the reconnaissance teams of Black and Brown werewolves bolted out of the door, James yelled at them. ‘Watch out for the greenhouses! And stay out of my saffron furrows!’

  Fergus paused and looked back at him and sniffed. ‘We know what we’re doing, Isaacs, don’t worry, we won’t disturb your precious plants.’

  James laughed. ‘I’m not worried about you hurting the plants, fleabag,’ he warned the werewolf with a grin. ‘It’s the other way around.’

  ‘We’ll be careful,’ Fergus promised with a grin. He was obviously not insulted at all by being called a fleabag.

  Benjamin looked at the rest of the group at the table. ‘We’ll meet back here at dawn,’ he told them all. ‘Good night.’ He grinned at Sarah. ‘Don’t let Mannix fool you,’ he told her. ‘My security’s fine and he knows it. He just wants to go for a run and sniff around. Fergus is probably just going along to needle him.’

  And so, Sarah finally got to rest. Unlike the rest of her new pack, she went straight to one of the rooms Benjamin had set aside for she and Melanie, and all but fell into a large bed. Within moments, she was fast asleep, curled up with her tail over her nose. Her coat gleamed in the soft light of the moon shining in through her window.

  The next morning, Sarah rose swiftly and padded down through the halls of Benjamin’s house to the main hall. There she found James, Angela, Roberta and Robert all sitting at the table. Her aunt and uncles were in human form this morning and enjoying a nice breakfast of fried eggs, lots of bacon, toast, coffee and juice. That breakfast smelled very good indeed to a wolf. She quickly assumed her human form and tucked in hungrily. While she ate, Sheila, Mannix and several others arrived, also led by their noses to Felicia’s breakfast spread.

  James, who had obviously continued to help himself to a great deal more beer the night before, was looking decidedly seedy. He glanced at Sheila. ‘Feeling a bit delicate,’ he complained. Would you mind?’

  Sheila looked at him with a disapproving frown. ‘Self-inflicted, ye layabout!’ she said in her thick Scottish brogue, though she did pad up to him and mutter a quick incantation. James went an odd shade of green and shook mightily, and then his normal tanned and healthy colour returned.

  ‘Whee!’ he exclaimed. ‘That was weird.’ He shook his head a few times. ‘Worked though.’ He grinned at the Black Coat healer. ‘Thanks mate.’ He waved at Felicia. ‘A Bloody Mary,’ he demanded. ‘Extra bloody!’

  While Felicia hurried to provide his request, Sheila looked at him even more disapprovingly. ‘I dinna cure yer soddin’ head just so ye could go and get sloshed again,’ she told him bluntly.

  James grinned at her impishly.

  ‘I’ll reverse it if I’ve a ken to, laddie!’ Sheila threatened.

  ‘First do no harm,’ James quoted with an impudent grin and gratefully took the drink that Felicia provided for him. He winked at Sarah.

  ‘Humpf!’ Sheila snorted. ‘I’ll give ye harm, ye little upstart! I’ve been a healing folk fer a thousand years before that goose Hippoc
rates made such a kerfuffle.’

  Sarah smiled to herself while James and Sheila began bickering, both enjoying every word. Shortly after, Fergus arrived with his Second, a quiet werewolf called Jason.

  James nodded at the quiet Brown Coat. ‘Jason,’ he said in a neutral tone. ‘How’ve you been?’

  Jason shrugged and wagged his tail briefly. ‘Not bad,’ he replied indifferently.

  ‘Still off the sauce?’

  Jason grinned. ‘Not drinking’s easy. Not smoking’s a pain in the bum.’

  James grinned and shook his head ruefully. ‘Tell me about it. Tried quitting caffeine once and that was hard enough.’ He waved at one of the faeries. ‘Make sure there’s plenty of soft stuff for the non-drinkers here,’ he ordered.

  As they ate, Jason looked over at Sarah and politely waited for her to finish a mouthful. ‘Can I ask,’ he ventured quietly, ‘what is our next move?’

  Sarah wasn’t sure. She glanced at Angela and Benjamin.

  Benjamin nodded and rose from the table. ‘We need to start bringing in our allies,’ he told them, casually walking alongside the table with his hands behind his back. ‘Mason’s on Gnumphlatia. Mel’s on Jilde.’ He looked at Angela. ‘I understand you’re anxious to see your sister.’

  Angela nodded. ‘Mother’s there so I’m sure she’s safe, but I think that’s where we should go next,’ she replied. She then explained to the new members of the group about her pregnant sister, and how she had gone off to The Labyrinth under Crete.

  ‘The minotaurs are no friends of The Guild,’ she told them. ‘They’ve been trying for centuries to be accepted, but there are still too many conservatives who think they’re either cattle or part demon.’

  ‘Marzdane’s one of them,’ Benjamin commented.

  Angela rolled her eyes. ‘I know,’ she sighed wearily. ‘Anyway, they’ll probably be hospitable to Susan and David out of form if nothing else. After all, our family has a great deal of history with the area.’

  ‘I’m not sure how they’ll react to a large pack of werewolves knocking on their door though,’ James added sourly. He shook his head sadly. ‘At best, they’re a strange lot. They’re brave, strong and polite to a fault, but in their hearts, they’re at least partially bovine. They’re wary of predators.’

  ‘We probably shouldn’t all go there then,’ Fergus observed.

  Mannix coughed pointedly. ‘I do not see why you need such a large delegation,’ he told them. He nodded at James. ‘You have a base here and every base needs a ground and support staff. Why not just send a small team that will not alarm these creatures?’

  ‘Suits me,’ Fergus added. ‘I’d rather stay here. I’ve been to Crete. It’s a hole. The food is greasy and the locals smell bad. It’s not my favourite place.’

  ‘Nor mine,’ Jason observed quietly. ‘Too many bad memories.’ His grey eyes were distant and sad.

  Sarah considered all this. ‘Okay,’ she said, feeling really quite small and insecure as a thirteen year-old girl instead of her great Golden Mane werewolf form, ‘why don’t just a few of us go?’

  Mannix nodded and then inclined his head to Benjamin. ‘Do you trust us enough to leave us all here in charge of your house?’ he asked seriously.

  Benjamin shrugged. ‘We’re all in this together aren’t we?’

  Robert was chewing on a fingernail thoughtfully. He turned to his wife. ‘What do you think Berta? Do you want to go to Crete?’

  Roberta shook her head. ‘Not particularly, no.’

  Now that Sarah had demonstrated her enormous power, Robert and Roberta were much more relaxed about their task as guardians to the young orphan.

  ‘I should stay behind too,’ James told them. ‘I need to start calling in the troops and someone has to get hold of Mason. His only point of contact was Cromwell and if he’s jumped sides, this whole thing could go pear-shaped in a hurry.’ He looked around at the huge room. ‘I’m sorry, McConnell, but this place isn’t going to be big enough. I’m going to have to add a few barracks.’

  Benjamin thought about this for a moment. ‘Get in touch with Mason first,’ he advised. ‘The topsoil of this property goes down only so far. After that, it’s all solid granite. Gnomes are the best tunnel-makers around. Underground barracks would be less noticeable than a dozen or so buildings just popping up overnight, wouldn’t you say? The bush around here gets used a lot by mortals to grow some sort of illicit weed, so their police keep a sharp eye out for things like that.’

  ‘Good idea,’ James replied enthusiastically. He grimaced. ‘Mortals,’ he muttered, shaking his head. ‘What they see in hemp is beyond me. If they want a good buzz they should try nutsmeg instead...’ He squinted and began to rub his chin thoughtfully.

  ‘James!’ Angela flared at her cousin. ‘I’ll not have you corrupting the locals!’

  Robert grinned at Benjamin. ‘Okay, you, Sarah and Angela go to Crete. Mannix, Fergus and I’ll stay here to make sure the rest of this rabble doesn’t burn the place to the ground, while James brings Mason back into the pack.’

  ‘Agreed,’ Benjamin said as he sat down.

  Mannix and Fergus were eyeing each other warily.

  ‘We’re not going to argue again, are we?’ Fergus asked simply.

  ‘Don’t see why,’ Mannix replied. ‘It’s a simple hierarchy. Kopernik is First. McConnell’s her Second. We may as well consider Isaacs, Mason and Jasper to be Thirds, same as us. We’re here to provide the muscle. You want the interior or the perimeter?’

  Fergus shrugged and wagged his tail. He looked up at Sarah. ‘That sound okay to you, boss?’

  Sarah nodded, hoping she didn’t appear too un-confident.

  Fergus grinned at her. ‘You’ll get better at it as you go along. Don’t worry about us. We know it’s tough being a kid,’ he told her with a kind smile. He turned back to Mannix who was frowning at the Brown Coat’s familiar attitude. ‘We’ll take the perimeter,’ he said more seriously. ‘Blacks are better fighters and Browns make better patrol. Whatever gets through us, better not get through you.’

  Mannix wasn’t convinced. ‘That only provides surface defence. We’re still vulnerable from above.’

  ‘Don’t worry about that,’ Benjamin told him. ‘Eddy’s got that sorted out. The local bats look up to him like he’s some sort of saint.’

  Mannix considered this for a moment and frowned. ‘McConnell, it’s your call, but I’d feel better if we had some more serious muscle in the air than one old wraith.’

  James waved at the Black Coat. ‘I’ll get the faeries on patrol as well,’ he promised. ‘One or two are easy to cope with, but we’ve got flocks of ‘em on staff here.’

  Mannix whined and shrugged. ‘I still don’t like it, but it’ll have to do for now.’

  ‘Well?’ Sarah demanded. ‘What are we waiting for?’

  ‘All in good time, Sarah,’ Benjamin promised as he poured himself another cup of coffee. ‘Just one more coffee and a quick visit to the bathroom and we’ll go.’ He winked at Angela who was also helping herself to another coffee.

  At that moment the door swung open and everyone turned around to see a pimply boy of about fourteen. He had long, lank brown hair and wore jeans, runners and an over-sized basketball shirt.

  ‘Felix!’ Sarah exclaimed. Her stomach suddenly felt as though it was about to leap out of her throat. ‘What are you doing here?’

  The scruffy-looking teenager tilted his head sideways as he looked at her curiously. ‘You’re going to Crete,’ he stated as though it was obvious. ‘I am going to Crete also.’

  Chapter Five

  Felix dumped a large rucksack on the floor and looked intently at the food on the table. Sarah opened and shut her mouth several times, as Felix almost completely ignored her for food!

  Angela smiled at the boy with a knowing glint in her eyes. ‘Of course you are going to Crete,’ she observed. ‘Are you hungry?’

  ‘Why do you need to go to Crete?’ James asked the boy.
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  Felix ignored him, which Sarah thought was quite rude. Then she remembered everything she knew about Grey Manes and their strange behaviour. She looked at James and realised that he had not really been expecting the young werewolf to answer him.

  ‘Yes I am hungry. That is not bigos, is it? I do not like bigos.’ He sniffed. ‘This human nose is a useless organ.’

  ‘No bigos, Felix,’ Angela told him calmly.

  Felix stomped over to the table and peered at the food. Then, even though he was obviously very hungry, he ignored the food for a moment and marched directly up to Benjamin. ‘Master McConnell,’ he said, much more respectfully than Sarah had seen him speak to anyone before. ‘My First asked me to give you this.’ He pulled a small scroll out of his pocket and handed it to the Silver Shroud.

  Benjamin set his coffee aside and took the scroll silently. He broke the seal and allowed the enchanted parchment to settle politely on the table in front of him. After a few moments, he looked up at Sarah and shook his head in disbelief.

  ‘Whatever you did to Jasper sure worked. He’s just given us a census, unofficial, of course.’ He pointed at the scroll. ‘And he’s given us schematics of the maze.’ He chuckled and passed the scroll to James. ‘Nothing like having good intel.’

  James read the scroll quickly. ‘You don’t think Cromwell could change the layout? By now he must know that we know about the design of that place.’

  Sarah disagreed. ‘Cromwell thinks I’m an idiot,’ she told him, feeling a little ashamed. ‘So does Loki. I got that much from them. They know I’m strong and stuff, but they don’t realise just how smart Wolfenvald is.’