Thaumatology 08 - Ancient

by Teasdale, Niall

  Shaw summed it up for the rest of them. ‘Amen to that.’

  ~~~

  They drove the Archmage in to five miles from the city centre, but the last mile of it was slower going as Strauss and Ceri walked ahead of the vehicle watching for trouble. Nothing came up, but the density of force lines Ceri could see with her Sight climbed steadily and started getting a little more random as they got closer.

  They stopped when Lily called out from the roof hatch. ‘Thaumic reading just hit ten thaums.’

  Strauss turned along with Ceri to wait for Lily to climb out of the Archmage. ‘I’ll walk in another mile with you,’ the werewolf said. ‘That should be safe enough and I will be able to point you to where you are going.’

  ‘We can manage,’ Ceri began.

  ‘Another mile,’ he replied firmly.

  The land around them was largely twisted bush and rough ground which had once been buildings. There were ghosts; Ceri could see them as shifting distortions in the magic field, though she was trying her best to ignore them and it was not too hard since they were few in number.

  Lily walked over to Ceri and Strauss, handing Ceri her staff. Slung across Lily’s back was the heavy, stone rod they would be planting in the ground soon. She looked a little uncomfortable despite the magic level. Higher power magic fields generally made Lily happy, but not here. Ceri could feel it too. It was as if the reason for the field here, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, was tainting the field.

  ‘Let’s go,’ Strauss said. ‘We head toward the buildings. Keep your wits about you. Things start getting more interesting as we get closer.’

  ‘Interesting,’ Lily said, cracking a smile. ‘That’s one of those interesting words.’

  ‘So many meanings,’ Ceri agreed.

  The guide’s lips twitched slightly, but he said nothing as he started marching toward the city.

  The unevenness of the ground got worse along with the thickness of the undergrowth and, unfortunately, the quantity of ghosts. It seemed as though nature had gone all out to hide what remained of Hamburg’s suburbs, as though it were embarrassed by what had happened there. Then again, there had been an enormous number of fae on this side of the Rift so perhaps nature had had a helping hand.

  The ghosts became more distinct as the remains of their homes become less so. Ignoring them became more difficult as they started to gain visibility in normal light. Ceri could tell that Lily and Strauss were starting to see them, mainly because they started pointedly not looking in certain directions. The ghosts seemed entirely oblivious to the living. They went about pointless tasks which had probably consumed their time ever since their untimely deaths. The one thing Ceri noticed was that those activities seemed a little odd for people who had lived in a city.

  ‘They all seem to be hiding,’ Ceri said. Her voice was low even though she doubted any of the ghosts would have paid attention if she shouted. ‘There’s no normal activity.’

  ‘The bombs were set off when Hitler was sure the war was lost,’ Strauss said. ‘The people were told to fight to the last, but they were being attacked on all sides. The Russian army in particular was seeking revenge for the German attacks into their territory. I heard stories of rape, murder. It was bad, the populace was under great stress, and then their Führer killed them.’

  They walked down what had probably been a street, coming out into an open area which overlooked what appeared to be a docklands. ‘And this is as far as I go,’ Strauss said. ‘I’ll head back to the others if you’re sure you can get back on your own. I dislike this area. Be careful of the troops.’

  ‘Troops?’ Lily asked, looking down at the ruined loading areas and wharves. In the distance they could see an absence of buildings which was likely to be the Pit, though the actual hole in the ground could not be seen.

  ‘You’ll see them,’ Strauss told her. ‘Try to ignore them. They get… annoyed easily.’

  Giving each other a glance, the two girls headed off toward the docks, walking at a good pace for the simple reason that they did not want to hang around any longer than they had to.

  ‘The dock area should be fine for the rod,’ Ceri said after half a mile or so. ‘I’m already building up a good charge to spark the line off with and the field level there should be quite sufficient.’

  ‘Good. I hate walking long distances.’

  Ceri’s eyebrows rose. ‘You walk all the time. You have the best walk I’ve ever seen!’

  ‘Well that’s the problem. People don’t walk like this normally. You know, normal people who aren’t succubi. Humans evolved the way they walk to be efficient, walking the savannah and stuff. When you’re trying to look attractive though, you walk differently. Women swish their hips, men swagger more. It’s not as efficient.’

  ‘I do that? I suppose I do.’

  ‘You didn’t when I first knew you, back when your enchantments were hiding you. You got no positive reinforcement so you stopped doing it. Now you do.’

  ‘All right, but why don’t you like walking?’

  ‘Because I have to concentrate to walk like you do. I naturally walk sexy. It’s easier for me to just go with it, but I expend all this effort doing it unless I put effort into walking normally.’

  Ceri giggled. ‘The trials and tribulations of being the sexiest woman on the planet.’

  ‘Damn right, baby.’

  ‘Baby?’

  ‘It, uh, sounded right for the…’ She stopped as they rounded what had probably been a warehouse at some point before a large tree had grown through the roof. In the yard beyond were two dozen men in uniform, standing at attention in front of what looked like their commander. All of them were too stationary to be alive and they were dressed in black uniforms. The yard looked pristine, flat concrete forming a perfect parade ground.

  ‘Great,’ Ceri muttered, ‘Nazi ghosts. This must be what Strauss was on about. We’ll go around.’

  ‘Maybe too late.’

  Ceri looked around to see the Captain at the front of the group looking straight at them. He barked something in German which Ceri did not understand, but the sudden raising of guns toward them was not exactly encouraging.

  ‘Can they hurt us with those?’ Lily asked.

  ‘I don’t feel like finding out.’ Ceri raised her staff, pointing it toward the soldiers. The head of it was already glowing brightly, the result of Ceri using it to store power gathered from the surrounding magic field. The light flared brightly as ghostly machine guns opened fire. The bullets evaporated as a wave of energy swept out and intercepted them. The wave swept onward and a second later the soldiers were gone and they were looking at an empty courtyard, heavily overgrown with grass and bushes, the concrete base cracked and broken.

  ‘We won’t need to go around,’ Lily commented.

  ‘No, but I need to rebuild some charge before we power up the rod. Lucky the field strength is higher. You want me to carry that thing for a bit?’

  Lily smiled. ‘I’ve got it. It’ll be more trouble passing it over and that staff of yours is heavy enough.’

  Ceri smiled back. She did not believe her friend, but it was not much further. They set off toward the nearby docks, looking for a suitable place to drive the rod into soil. They had gone barely another five hundred yards before they found what Ceri guessed had been a small site building, overgrown and piled up with earth after seventy years as a ruin.

  Ceri’s Sight showed a slight increase in the magical field over the mound which seemed to drive deep into the earth below. She nodded. ‘This’ll do nicely. Plant it right on the top of the hillock, I’ll use a little power to drive it in.’

  ‘Magic pile-driver?’ Lily asked with a grin as she unslung the rod from her back. They had all been built more or less the same; the bottom third or so tapered to a point to allow them to be pushed into soil. ‘You know, it’s a shame. These things are kind of pretty to be left in a lousy wasteland like this.’

  The granite the rods had been cut fro
m was almost black with flecks of white and pink in it. They were quite beautiful in a way. Ceri was just happy no one had asked about some of the stranger symbols she had “designed” for them; not all the glyphs were draconic thaumatology notation, but some were and very, very few other people would recognise them.

  ‘Yeah,’ Ceri said, ‘I know what you mean.’ She summoned a little of her stored power from the staff as Lily held the rod in place and gave it a little telekinetic tap which drove it eighteen inches into the ground. ‘That should do it. Let’s get Cheryl on the radio.’

  Lily grinned and took a radio from her hip, lifting it to her mouth and pressing the key. ‘Line Unit One to Line Unit Base, are you reading me? Over.’

  There was a hiss of static and then Watts’ voice. ‘Loud and clear, Line Unit One. You want the connection to Home Base? Over.’

  ‘Yes, please. We’re ready here. Connect us up. Over.’

  More static and a few clicks followed, and then… ‘Home Base here,’ Cheryl said, her voice sounding particularly distant relayed through the Archmage’s transmission system. ‘We are ready and waiting for the line. Over.’

  Lily looked over at Ceri. ‘We ready?’

  ‘As I’ll ever be. Step back and let them know I’m going to fire it up.’

  Backing up a few paces, Lily thumbed the transmit button and said, ‘Home Base, we’re initiating the line now. I’ll call back when it’s running. Over.’

  Ceri took a deep breath and settled the heel of her staff against the top surface of the rod. Her mind filled with the complex set of equations needed to make the magic flow and she gathered the huge store of energy she had made ready, allowing it to flow through her…

  ‘Shit!’ Lily exclaimed. Ceri could see the light through her closed eyelids. For a brief second she felt as though the whole of the local magic field was flowing through her body and she let out a gasp. Then there was a lurch and she felt the tunnel forming; a hole in the fabric of reality which leapt from rod to rod until it reached the final one miles away in the Netherlands.

  She backed away, opening her eyes to look at the mound. She could see the field lines flowing into the tunnel. It looked perfect. ‘It’s working,’ she said, grinning.

  The radio crackled. ‘Home Base to Field Unit One.’ Cheryl sounded exultant, even over the radio. ‘We have positive thaumic flow. We’re getting close to twenty-five thaums at a constant level. Over.’

  Lily lifted the radio again. ‘Good news. I’ll just hang on to Ceri while she floats back and we’ll be in touch. Over and out.’

  Ceri grinned. ‘I am not going to float back.’ To make her point she started walking back the way they had come.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Lily replied, falling to step beside her, ‘you look kind of floaty.’

  ‘Someone is asking for a spanking.’

  ‘Huh. Chance would be a fine thing.’

  ~~~

  Ceri stopped as they walked down the shallow slope to where the Archmage was waiting for them. She could see Strauss, Taylor, and Trevor standing around the rear gate of the vehicle, and knew that at least Strauss had seen them, but she could not help but look back the way they had come from the crest of the slight rise. Her eyes narrowed.

  ‘Something wrong?’ Lily asked, looking back as well.

  There was something wrong with the way the shadows were falling. That was what it was, something slightly wrong with the patches of light and dark. It was mid-afternoon and the sun was largely unobscured by clouds… She shook her head. ‘Nothing. I’m just seeing shadows.’ Turning again she started down the slope. They could be back at the base at Bremen by nightfall. That seemed like a really good idea.

  Bremen Monitoring Station, May 18th

  Ceri lay in her bunk watching the shadows move for several seconds. There had been no dream to wake her, she just felt uneasy. She had no idea what time it was, but it was still dark. And the shadows seemed darker than they should be. Her Sight showed her nothing which meant the added darkness was nothing more than a trick of the eyes, but why were her eyes tricking her?

  The bed frame creaked and Lily slipped off the top bunk, dropping to a crouch beside Ceri. The half-succubus’ eyes were bright in the darkness. ‘Something’s not right,’ Lily said.

  Ceri turned over, looking back at the small group of occupied beds at the other end of the barracks. One person stirred and Ceri knew it was going to be Trevor. Turning back to Lily she said, ‘Put some clothes on. We’re going for a walk.’

  Trevor fell into step beside them as they walked past her bunk. Her rifle was held at the ready and Ceri briefly wondered whether she slept with the thing. Then she dismissed that; no way would the soldier risk getting fluff in the mechanism. Trevor said nothing to them, just giving a brief nod.

  ‘You didn’t need to come with us,’ Ceri said when they were outside and the sound was not going to wake anyone else.

  ‘Our job is keeping you safe,’ the soldier replied, ‘and I don’t think you’re going for a stroll at this time of night because you like the night air. Besides, something feels weird.’

  ‘You feel it too?’

  ‘You never looked at her with your Sight?’ Lily asked.

  ‘My mother was a witch,’ Trevor said. ‘I’ve got no real talent for it, but I can still feel it when something’s off.’ Her gaze swept the interior of the compound. ‘Something is off.’

  Ceri’s Sight scanned the area as well, showing her tiny fluctuations of magical energy, probably from equipment in some of the buildings, and the bright arc of the ley line as it passed through the base. And there was something else, something trying hard not to be seen around the gate… ‘Why can’t we see the gatehouse?’ she said, keeping her voice down.

  Trevor’s rifle shifted upward immediately and she shifted into a semi-crouching posture, scanning the area ahead of them as they moved toward the gate. Ceri heard the soft sound of Lily’s daggers being drawn from their sheathes. Technically unarmed, Ceri raised her staff, the crystal sphere at its head starting to glow as she focussed her power.

  The darkness around the gatehouse seemed to shift and grow as the light in Ceri’s staff brightened. Ceri’s eyes narrowed; it was not natural, and there was definitely something there. She focussed her will, raised her staff, and let light blaze out. There was a hiss of displeasure from the darkness and Trevor’s rifle barked out a burst of fire, aiming at the source of the sound. Whatever it was, it moved; there was the impression of a sudden shift in the black, and then the patch of all-encompassing shadow leapt forward, engulfing them.

  Ceri felt something move to her right and moved her staff. It shuddered as something powerful hit it. There was a harsh, guttural cry, but she ignored it, focussing on her spell, driving power into the light from her staff to push back the darkness. Somewhere there was the sound of an alert siren which almost hid a gasp from Lily, but not the sudden feeling of pain which came over their link. Clenching her fist, Ceri barked out a single world in Welsh. ‘Golau!’ There was a brief impression of a humanoid shape caught in the sudden blaze of light before it moved, running back toward the open gate faster than anything Ceri had seen before. There was the rattle of Trevor’s rifle on full automatic, but Ceri was too busy worrying about Lily to wonder where the bullets were going.

  ‘I’m okay,’ Lily insisted as she saw the concern on her lover’s face. There were four deep scratches showing on her left arm through rents in her shirt. Blood was starting to run and Ceri reached out, ready to heal them, stopping as Lily raised one of her daggers. ‘I got it before it got me.’ There was blood coating the first couple of inches of the blade.

  ‘Okay,’ Ceri said, ‘you got him, but I still want those wounds healed.’ She stepped forward, her hand hovering over Lily’s arm, light flickering around her fingers as she healed the damage.

  Lily did not object further. ‘What do you think it was?’

  ‘It bleeds, so it wasn’t a spirit. I’ve never seen anything move that fast thou
gh. A demon?’

  ‘The magic felt… it was sort of demonic, but not like any demon I’ve felt before.’

  Trevor walked up to them, frowning and looking a little sick. ‘I put a couple of rounds in it at least, but it kept going. No sign of a body, but there’s blood-spatter on the gates. The guards are dead. Something tore their throats out.’

  Ceri looked around. There were more soldiers there now. Two with medical armbands were at the gatehouse, but they were just standing around looking as though there was nothing they could do. She caught sight of Tebbit marching toward them, his normally immaculate uniform looking as though it had been thrown on, and Strauss moving around the gates with an intense, worried look on his face.

  ‘What the Hell happened?’ the captain asked as he approached.

  ‘Something breached your defences,’ Ceri replied. ‘Maybe a demon. Maybe whatever’s been scaring the bandits out of the Hamburg area.’

  ‘What makes you say that?’

  ‘Something woke us up, Sir,’ Trevor replied. ‘We all had some weird dreams while we were camped last night. It felt kind of the same.’

  ‘I’m not sure it was a demon,’ Lily said. ‘Ceri, sniff this…’ She held out her bloody dagger and Ceri gave it a tentative sniff, her nose wrinkling.

  ‘Smells…’ she began.

  ‘Undead,’ Strauss said as he walked up to them. ‘The gatehouse stinks of it. There is not enough blood from the wounds.’

  Ceri frowned. ‘Vampires are fast, but I’ve never seen one move like that. And they don’t normally tear at the throat.’ She glanced at Lily. ‘And you said the magic seemed demonic.’

  Lily shrugged. ‘Undead demon?’

  ‘I’m not even sure you can have undead demons.’

  Tebbit looked annoyed, but the glances he was throwing at the gatehouse suggested it was regarding the loss of his men. He went up a little in Ceri’s estimation; he had not seemed like he was the sort to care that much. ‘It’s gone for now. Good work, all three of you. I’ll change the guard patterns and make sure we have practitioners on duty. I’d suggest waiting until full light before you leave.’