‘Maybe,’ Lily said. She did not look convinced and changed the subject by the simple expedient of looking around at Alec. ‘Three red wines for table two, please.’
Carter waited until Lily was taking the drinks to the table before he turned to Ceri once more. ‘I’m glad to see you’re not taking advantage of her,’ he said. ‘Don’t get me wrong, you don’t seem the type, but I know power can go to your head.’
Ceri glanced over his shoulder toward Barnes’ table. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘I just did take advantage of her, well, of that aspect of our relationship.’
‘For her own good,’ Cheryl commented.
Ceri shrugged slightly and gave a sheepish smile. ‘I take a few liberties,’ she said, ‘but I don’t think Lily minds. We’re still at the stage where we’re trying each other out. Y‘know, testing limits. I think mine are a lot more, uh, restrictive than hers.’
‘That’s almost certainly a good thing, dear,’ Cheryl said. It was more of a comment on her potential power as a sorceress, Ceri suspected. Of course she was right; the ancient sorcerers had been beings of terrible power. It would be far too easy to let that kind of power turn you into something horrible. She shuddered.
Carter misinterpreted her look of disquiet and patted her on the shoulder. ‘Don’t worry about that, Ceri. Enjoy yourself in the knowledge it’s unlikely you’ll ever ask her to do something she would actually find degrading. If my memory of that paper serves, the object of the exercise is to demonstrate to your demon that you’re the boss, not to test the limits of your depravity.’
Ceri giggled. ‘Yeah, but did you read the introduction? The author’s limits of depravity were…’
‘More of less non-existent,’ Carter said, smirking. ‘If you ladies will excuse me, I need to be a little sociable around the tables.’ Ceri nodded, smiling, and picked up her drink. Carter smiled warmly at Ceri and Cheryl, and started off toward Lily’s tables.
‘Good evening, ladies.’ Ceri had not heard Barnes approaching, though his voice identified the stiffening sensation in her spine which had suddenly developed. ‘Doctor Tennant, isn’t it?’ he added. ‘I have a terrible memory for faces.’ Fine, if he wanted to play it that way…
Ceri turned and nodded as Cheryl spoke. ‘That’s right, Doctor Barnes. And this is my research assistant, Miss Brent.’
‘I recall some enchanters of that name,’ Barnes said. ‘Relatives?’
‘My parents.’
‘Ah. What happened to them? I don’t recall hearing anything about them recently.’ He smiled pleasantly, but Ceri was watching his eyes and they were dead. Ceri did a slow blink, knowing he would think she was reacting to the taunt; he knew full well what had happened to her parents and was trying to needle her.
She looked at the protégé magician with her Sight. ‘They’re dead,’ she said to say something rather than blurt out her shock. Black striations formed a web through Barnes’ body. His Chakral Median was a thick line of darkness up his spine. Barnes was not simply pacted to some demon, he was consumed by it. ‘A car accident,’ she went on and closed her eyes to shut off the image before her.
‘Fate can bring even the greatest of us down so ignominiously,’ Barnes said blandly. His attention shifted back to Cheryl. ‘I heard you had a bit of an accident in your lab, Doctor. A student died?’
‘One of my students was murdered,’ Cheryl said acidly.
‘And it wasn’t an accident,’ Ceri said. ‘The murdered student sabotaged our containment circle. It was a foolish mistake since the instability actually produced better results than a solid circle would have. Whoever told him to do it was clearly a very poor thaumatologist.’
Barnes’ eyes remained flat, but a flicker of anger moved over his face. ‘Perhaps they had another reason for the sabotage,’ he said. ‘Something you haven’t deduced.’
‘We’ll have the circle ready to go again tomorrow,’ Cheryl said. ‘Ceri is really quite brilliant. She’s repaired all the damage Shane did, improved the synchronisation software, and she can raise a circle easily as well as he could.’
Barnes’ eyes narrowed. ‘Good luck with that,’ he said, and stalked off toward the toilets as though that had been his intention all along.
‘Was there a reason we were needling him?’ Cheryl asked.
‘He came here to wind us up,’ Ceri replied, ‘and I’m sick of hiding behind werewolves and wards. I want him annoyed and in a rush to stop us or he’ll be hanging over our heads until Doomsday.’
‘Is that entirely wise?’
‘Maybe not.’ Ceri took a drink of her wine. ‘On the other hand, he seems determined to kill me anyway. I’d rather be in control of it.’ Her eyes flicked up to see Lily heading back toward them. ‘Considering I forbad Lily from doing anything drastic, I’d prefer not to talk about it in front of her.’
Cheryl nodded. ‘We’ll take the morning off,’ she said, changing the subject without further comment. ‘I suspect we’ll be late getting to bed. Then how do you feel about running up a trial of the system in the afternoon?’
‘You know I’ve never raised a circle that large?’ Ceri replied. ‘Though Carl Bellamy seemed to think I was capable enough. The test circle I did was too large, he said.’
Cheryl snapped her fingers. ‘That’s where I heard the name! Bellamy was involved in some scandal about… two years ago. He wrote a paper on dark containment circles, and Barnes claimed he had stolen the concept and theoretical work from him. Bellamy denied it, of course, but Barnes had some notes and files which the people at Cambridge said proved the claim.’
‘Barnes stole Mister Bellamy’s work.’ Lily said.
Cheryl lowered her voice. ‘Well, there have been a few rumours about Barnes taking credit for students’ work, his own becoming unimaginative. It happens to some. They have a few years of brilliance and then burn out.’ The researcher developed a slightly self-deprecating smile. ‘I prefer being the slow and steady type. I’m no genius, but I get the work done.’ She reached out a hand to pat Ceri’s arm. ‘And I give full credit to the brilliant people I work with when their work is vital to our success.’
‘You actually have morals,’ Lily said. Barnes was walking past as she said it. Ceri saw his face cloud over, but he kept walking. Lily had not been looking at him and he had no way of knowing she was making an inference about him. Her scalp tightened, however, and she was quite sure it was not due to Lily.
~~~
The toilets in the Dragon were very plush, even if you were not having illicit trysts with the owner in one of the cubicles. Deep red flock wallpaper with a Chinese dragon design and mood lighting gave the place a sumptuous feel. Still, it was a toilet… Pulling her dress down, she flushed the loo and unbolted the door. She paused. Someone had entered the room and her scalp had tightened.
She waited, and then heard one of the other cubicles open and close, the bolt clicking home. Letting out her breath, she stepped out of the cubicle and crossed the room to the sinks. The liquid soap had a faint jasmine scent. Ceri smiled and rubbed it over her hands, lathering them. She glanced in the mirrors and smiled slightly at the girl looking back. It was the same face as always, but the outfit was… far less shy. Something made her frown; some slight error in what she was seeing…
She threw herself sideways. The mirror shattered as the vampire’s fist slammed into it. It was the blonde again. She grinned maliciously at Ceri as she rolled, trying to keep her eyes on her attacker. The vampire pulled a sliver of glass out of her hand; the wound healing over almost instantly. ‘Very good,’ she said. ‘How did you spot me?’
‘Didn’t,’ Ceri replied, ‘but all the cubicle doors were open.’
The vamp glanced back at the doors. ‘That is very good. And before you think of burning me again,’ she raised her hand, shaking a charm strapped around her wrist, ‘that’s been taken care of.’
‘No knives this time?’ Ceri asked, hoping to buy time. She struggled back to her feet, wondering vaguely why the vampi
re was not attacking.
‘Too quick,’ Blondie replied. ‘Master’s decided to make it slow. I’m to drain you while he watches.’
Ceri narrowed her eyes. Lily had said Barnes’ vampires seemed like thralls. If he had worked magic on them to control them there was a chance. ‘Master,’ she said, ‘right, so he’s using your senses. In that case I can tell him what a cowardly prick I think he is.’ It was there, the tenuous streamer of energy linking the vampire with Barnes. She was identifying the core of the spell within the vamp’s mind when a hand gripped her throat. She had not seen the vampire move.
‘You’re warm,’ the vampire purred. Ceri braced her forearms against the vamp’s chest and pushed. There was a slight wince of pain as the mesh abraded the vamp’s burn, but the pressure did not let up. ‘That’s mean,’ she said. ‘It’s a shame you keep my aura off you. This will hurt much more without it.’ Ceri felt the wall against her shoulder blades and the vampire’s breath hot on her neck.
‘Bet you didn’t think of this, bastard,’ Ceri croaked out to the magician listening in, and her power flared, blasting into the matrix of the spell. The vampire’s fangs grazed her neck and then were jerked back, the girl staggering in confusion. Ignoring her, Ceri bolted for the door, yanking it open and heading for the club’s main floor.
Carter and Lily were standing by the bar with Cheryl. All three were looking a little bemused. ‘Where’s Barnes?’ Ceri snapped.
‘He just left in a considerable hurry,’ Cheryl replied, ‘with only one girl. We don’t know where the other’s gone.’
‘Damn!’ Ceri slammed her fist onto the counter. ‘Um, the other vamp’s in the ladies’ toilet, probably a bit confused.’
Carter’s face went dark. ‘I’ll see to it.
Ceri put a hand on his arm as he walked past. ‘She was controlled, some sort of mind link spell.’
‘Enslavement spell,’ Carter spat. ‘Illegal and immoral. Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on her.’ He continued on, vanishing behind the screen wall which led to the toilets.
Cheryl sighed. ‘I guess we won’t be getting that lie in,’ she said.
Kennington, October 14th
They did get something of a lie in; Sergeant Middleshaw arrived at eleven o’clock sharp, on her own. She looked tired and Ceri wondered whether she had had any sleep at all that night.
‘No partner?’ Ceri asked as she took the detective upstairs to the lounge.
‘He’s in Newcastle,’ Middleshaw said. ‘Personal business.’ She walked into the lounge and sat down as though she would have fallen down if the chair had not been there to catch her. ‘The timing was sucky, but he’s got good reason. I can’t fault him.’
It was a curious thing to say, and Ceri suspected the detective’s fatigue was talking. ‘Do you want to ask me questions,’ Ceri asked, ‘or are you here to tell me things?’
‘Probably both,’ Middleshaw admitted. ‘Your vampire’s name is Andrea Leighton. We believe the brunette vamp with Barnes is her sister, Eleanor, but she’s vanished. Cambridge locals talked to Barnes this morning and he claims Eleanor had business in Manchester. None of his concern, not like she’s his slave, cue laugh, you get the picture.’
‘But Andrea must have…’ Ceri began.
‘Andrea’s in the secure facility at Greycoat Street under protective custody,’ Middleshaw interrupted. She looked up as a mug of coffee floated toward her, taking it with a deep sigh of relief. ‘Thanks, Twill,’ she said. ‘I haven’t been to bed yet.’ She took a gulp of coffee and went on. ‘The girl’s memory is a mess. It looks like breaking the Enslavement triggered some sort of curse. She doesn’t remember much of the last four years or so, and what she does remember has her curled up in a corner sobbing.’
‘Killings?’ Ceri asked.
‘Oh hell no,’ Middleshaw replied. ‘If she remembered killing people it would endanger her master. No, she doesn’t even remember attacking you. She remembers… various acts… with her sister.’
‘Oh,’ Ceri said.
‘Exactly. Is there anything you can tell me which would be useful?’
‘I thought it over,’ Ceri said, ‘and the answer is “no.” It’s all circumstantial, or my word against his.’ Middleshaw sagged, but nodded wearily. ‘Andrea only ever referred to her “Master,” and while I’m pretty sure it was him directing her, I can’t be absolutely sure, and you’ve only my word for it.’
‘Yeah,’ Middleshaw said, ‘I figured as much. The forensic thaumatology team say there’s no evidence the control spell ever existed. They’re working on cracking whatever it is that’s blocking her memory, but it’s apparently amazingly complex.’
‘Demonic magic,’ Ceri said. ‘They know more about working maledictions than any human ever and Barnes is in deep with them.’
Middleshaw paled. ‘Fuck! Are you sure?’
Ceri nodded. ‘He’s… I don’t know how to describe it. It’s like he’s riddled with dark energy. Like he’s… rotting.’
‘They do, eventually,’ Twill said. ‘They think it’s easy, taking power from demons, or ancient spirits, even from angels and some fae. The more they do it, the more they find it harder and harder to work normally, and the more they rely on their borrowed power. And the more they do it, the more it rots their spirit until it takes over entirely.’
‘I’ve met them before,’ Middleshaw said flatly and pulled out her mobile phone, flicking through the contacts. ‘I’ve had to deal with a couple. It wasn’t nice.’ Her attention turned suddenly to whoever answered her call. ‘Hecks? It’s Middleshaw. Expert here suggests the magic on the Leighton girl is probably demonic. Tell the forensics guys.’ She listened to the response, nodded, and hung up, sagging into her seat and gulping down more coffee. ‘See?’ she said. ‘You were helpful.’
‘Not in the way I’d like,’ Ceri replied. She looked up. ‘Morning, Cheryl,’ she said.
Wrapped in a long, silk and lace robe, the thaumatologist looked sleepy, but at least rested, unlike Middleshaw. ‘Ceri, Detective, morning. Any news?’
‘Nothing good,’ Ceri replied.
‘Morning, Doctor Tennant,’ Middleshaw said. ‘We’ve placed guards around your department at the Metropolitan. Will you and Miss Brent be going there later?’
Cheryl seemed to consider that for a second before saying, ‘No. I have my laptop with me. I have some procedural documents to go over. I recall some additional analysis runs Ceri was going to do. We’ll work from here today and make a fresh start in the morning.’
‘Fair enough. There’s a watch on Barnes. If he leaves Cambridge we’ll know about it. I’d better get back to the office,’ Middleshaw said, not moving.
‘I think,’ Ceri said, ‘that you should interview me for another hour. The lounger in the study’s actually pretty comfortable and I think a nap would improve your chances of surviving the car journey back across the river.’
Middleshaw smiled weakly. ‘I can’t, they’d want to know what I was doing and…’
‘We went over the nature of the magic I dispelled,’ Ceri said, ‘to determine whether there was any useful information to be gleaned from it and unfortunately concluded that there was not. Twill, see that Detective Middleshaw is comfortable, would you?’
The tiny woman buzzed across to hover in front of the detective, hands on hips. ‘I’ll use a sleep charm if I have to,’ she said.
Middleshaw laughed. ‘Okay, yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll be more use when my brain isn’t running purely on coffee and adrenaline. Chief’ll probably send me home as soon as I get in anyway.’ She climbed to her feet and allowed Twill to escort her out and across the landing.
‘They got nothing from the vampire you freed?’ Cheryl asked, replacing the policewoman in the chair.
‘There was some sort of curse backing up the control spell. Her memory’s got more holes in it than a colander.’ Ceri sighed. ‘How did Barnes get messed up enough to be like this? I mean, as far as I can see it’s “there but fo
r the grace of God go I.”’
Cheryl looked at her thoughtfully. ‘It’s a danger,’ she said, ‘but I think you’re too aware of it to fall into that trap. From what I recall, Barnes always had it easy. He was clever, certainly, but his father over-indulged him and he got used to everything just coming to him. He started out in wizardry… I suspect the first time he wanted to try other things and wanted those to come without effort he turned to a demon to make it happen. He may be little more than a tool to them now.’
‘If that’s the case,’ Ceri said, ‘why would they want him to stop us finding the T-Null? That has to be his own professional rivalry, surely?’
Cheryl shrugged. ‘Perhaps.
The sound of a yawning Lily paused the conversation. The naked half-demon wandered in looking just as beautiful as always, despite the rubbing of her eyes and her gaping mouth. ‘Why’s Twill hovering over a sleeping detective in the study?’ she asked.
Holloway, October 15th
‘Damn! I didn’t get the rod recharged,’ Cheryl growled, picking the offending lump of iron alloy up and glaring at it. She looked around at Ceri. ‘It takes two days to charge the thing to capacity.’
Ceri looked around at the circle and then back at Cheryl. ‘You’ve got me doing this now, not Shane.’
‘You think you can raise something that big on your own?’
‘My father could’ve done it,’ Ceri replied. ‘His summoning circle back at High Towers is this size.’
‘Well, if you’re sure. You start on the circle and I’ll get the instruments ready.’ The doctor headed off into her cage to power things up.
Ceri got the salt and begin meticulously working on marking out the runes. She took her time, checking each one for signs of tampering as she went. After last time, she was taking no chances, but she found nothing wrong. As she filled the inner circle, Cheryl emerged to start up the accelerator systems.
‘What’s a “dark circle”?’ Ceri asked.
‘Sorry?’
‘You said the research Carl Bellamy was working on was into “dark circles.” I’ve never heard of them.’
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