Phantom Stag (A King's Watch Story Book 1)

by Mark Hayden

  ‘The forest,’ I said. ‘It’s beautiful.’

  He turned and looked away from the forest and pointed at a scrappy piece of woodland on our side of the field. ‘That?’ he said. ‘That’s the Forest of Arden?’

  I had a horrible feeling. I knew exactly what was coming next. I made a mighty effort to work it out: the sun was behind us, so that’s east. The forest must be…

  ‘Can you not see it?’ I asked. ‘Over there, to the north, running for miles.’

  He sucked air through his teeth. ‘Nope. All I’m getting is a variety of arable fields and pastures, with some horticulture thrown in. Mostly arable, though. I take it there’s magick involved.’

  Damn. This was going to be very complicated.

  I lifted my arms in a gesture of defeat, just as a wisp of mist blew away and a group of Mages came into view. They were all clustered around something and arguing. The Forest of Arden could wait.

  ‘Come on,’ I said. ‘They’ve seen us.’

  The Arden Foresters had set up base around a big black quad bike. There was even a camping stove on the go. The body was further along. I tried not to look. Yet.

  There were six of them, and it didn’t take long to work out who was in charge, and not just because she was obviously Chris Kelly’s mam, based on her height.

  She was wearing ceremonial robes of undyed wool, hitched away from the wet grass by a leather belt. The front of the topcoat was beautifully embroidered with an oak tree, acorns picked out in gold and surmounted by a small gold crown. Slightly more worrying were the small creatures flying around the tree. They were little sprites, not something you find in mundane nature. Another thing to worry about later.

  Underneath the robes she wore leggings and walking shoes with thick socks. Sensible woman. Her hair, as you’d expect, was plaited into a Goddess Braid. So was mine, but there the similarity ends. The Priestess had obviously been out all night, yet looked fresh as the morning dew. Then again, she’d got dressed up first and not been dragged out of bed at half past five like I had. She looked a healthy, glowing sixty and her face was pointed, almost triangular. Handsome, you’d say. Scary is what I’d call her.

  Standing behind the Priestess was a young woman, even younger than me, and also in robes. Her oak tree didn’t have the acorns or the crown. Or the sprites. She looked scared half to death, poor bairn. On either side of the Priestess were two couples, and I started to guess what this might be all about. The men were in camouflage hunting gear, all browns and greens and even camo paint on their faces. Two bows were propped against the bike.

  The couple on the Priestess’s left were very much an item. She had her arm through his, both clutching him for support and acting as a shield; their faces were closed, defensive and aggressive at the same time.

  The other couple were standing apart and showing very different emotions. The man was staring at the ground, slump-shouldered and in despair; the woman was bottling up a murderous amount of anger. Her arms were folded, and only just kept her from exploding. I could see her jaw quivering with rage well before we got close enough to speak. Even when everyone else turned to look at us, she never took her eyes off the lovers.

  The Priestess lifted her chin and stepped forward to meet us. Conrad took the opportunity to put his foot straight in it. He’s good at that.

  ‘Ms Kelly,’ he said with a bow (he got that bit right). ‘I’m…’

  ‘I know who you are,’ said the Priestess with an air of disappointment. ‘I am not anything Kelly, let alone Ms. You may address me as Oma.’

  His mouth twitched. Just enough for me to know that he’d come up with a joke. I held my breath.

  ‘Yes, Oma,’ he said, bowing again. I breathed out. ‘This is Watch Officer Robson, and I take it that this was no hunting accident?’

  The Priestess made a face and turned to her flock. ‘Wait here while I talk to the Witchfinder … I mean, while I talk to the Dragonslayer.’

  It’s great to feel wanted, isn’t it? I joined the King’s Watch especially for these moments of abuse, hostility and alienation.

  She strode towards the body, robes swirling in a breeze she’d created for herself. When we’d crossed the thirty metres distance, she stopped and raised her arms. With a flick of her wrist, she wove a Work of magick around us and the dawn chorus died. Funny that, I hadn’t even noticed what a racket the birds were making until they stopped. Oma had put a Silence around us, and from the colour of the weave it looked like a ring – it blocked sound in and out, but we could still talk to each other. That’s hard. No way could I do a Work like that, and she barely broke sweat to do it.

  I touched Conrad’s arm, and whispered, ‘Did you feel it?’ He shook his head. ‘We’re under a Silence.’ He nodded a quick nod, and we couldn’t put it off any longer. It was time to look at him. The dead guy.

  ‘This is Ioan, my sister’s daughter’s child,’ said Oma.

  ‘We’re sorry for your loss,’ said Conrad. We all looked down. I’m glad she’d said his name. Much better than dead guy.

  Ioan was dressed in camouflage gear, too, and there was another of those hunting bows tangled up with his arms in a heap. It was hard to tell under the black paste on his face, but he looked younger than the two men over by the quad bike. I’m telling you that because I’m trying to avoid talking about the bloody great arrow sticking out of his chest. I forced myself to look at it. Yes, it was an arrow. I looked away.

  ‘Tell us what happened,’ said Conrad. ‘Your presence suggests that this was more than just a bit of sport. Assume we know nothing about your Circle.’

  ‘Which you clearly don’t,’ said the Priestess. She looked at the Mages. ‘We need a new … King. Chief. Male leader. Call him what you will, but we haven’t had one for a few years now. We choose our King in the Royal Hunt. It was nearly over when this happened.’ She paused, and Conrad let her pause.

  She pointed to the man on his own, the one who looked to be in shock. ‘That is Colwyn. The other Hunter is Aaron. Colwyn took up a waiting position, down there by the bushes. Three quarters of an hour before dawn, he saw a doe and the Royal Stag coming out of the forest, or he thought he did. When the shot hit, a huge Charm burst. I was on the hill, way over there, and I could see the flare of Lux clearly, so there’s no question about that.

  ‘We drove over as fast as we could, and when we got here we found Colwyn standing over Ioan. Someone had made a complex Charm and put it on Ioan, and did it so well that Colwyn really believed he was aiming at the Stag. The question is who.’

  It was obvious that Ioan was lying where he’d fallen. I think someone had closed his eyes, but that’s it. Conrad turned round slowly, then said, ‘And where was Colwyn’s position?’

  Oma pointed to a large bush, just behind the quad bike. ‘There.’

  Conrad stared at the bush, and pointed to the scrappy woodland. ‘But the forest would have been behind him? That doesn’t stack up.’

  He might have been talking RAF for all the Priestess understood him. I sighed both, inwardly and out loud.

  ‘I think there might be a problem, Oma,’ I said. ‘Watch Captain Clarke has a bit of a blind spot. He can’t see the forest.’

  She looked at me as if I were insane. ‘Are you mad?’ she asked.

  See? I told you she thought I was insane. Conrad was looking very confused. It was going to get worse.

  ‘I’m afraid not, ma’am. His strengths are more towards Geomancy than Sorcery.’

  He grinned at the Priestess. ‘Yes, I’m no great Mage. Can we skip the abuse and move on? What’s this forest you’re both on about, assuming it’s not the nice little coppice over there?’

  She wasn’t going to skip anything. ‘You can’t see the Forest of Arden when you’re standing next to it? How did you manage to slay a Dragon? That’s if it really was you.’ She turned to me. ‘Did you kill it and let the man take the credit?’

  ‘Oh no, ma’am. I was in an ambulance. He did that all on his own.’<
br />
  ‘With a lot of help in advance,’ said Conrad, smiling. ‘From your son. I couldn’t have done it without him.’

  Damn. I’d hoped he’d forgotten about that.

  The Priestess grunted, to show she’d heard him and wasn’t going to rise to the bait.

  Conrad’s eyes flicked up the hill. There’s nothing wrong with his mundane vision. ‘We’ve got more company.’

  He was right. Half a dozen more cars had arrived, and the occupants were getting out and doing a lot of pointing. At the quad bike, yes, but mostly at us.

  ‘The forest can wait,’ said the Priestess. ‘We must return Ioan to his family, so do what you have to quickly.’

  ‘Vic?’ said Conrad.

  ‘Aye?’

  He frowned. ‘Do your thing. With the sPad.’

  Oh dear. He was going to be in for more disappointment very soon. To keep him happy, I bent down, got my Focus out of my bag and turned it on. He calls it my sPad – Sorcerer’s iPad, I think he means. It’s my Focus, the Artefact I use to enhance my magickal sight, and it’s not much use on a dead body. Conrad thinks it’s some sort of Dr Who sonic screwdriver. I glanced at my sPad. Ooh. There was an email from my flatmate in Camden. She had forwarded the electric bill and wanted to know if I was OK, and was I ever coming back? I think that was her way of saying that she missed me. And my financial input.

  I did look at the body, quickly, then I put out my hand for Conrad to help me up. ‘Cause of death was penetration by a sharp object,’ I said. ‘Probably the arrow sticking out his chest.’

  ‘Have a little respect!’ said the Priestess.

  Conrad ignored her. I blushed. It was a bit tactless, I suppose, but I get like that around violent death. ‘Sorry,’ I muttered.

  ‘Nothing else?’ he said.

  ‘The Work on him disintegrated when it was struck by the enchanted arrow,’ I explained. ‘I can’t even see any residue of his Imprint. There’s not a trace of Lux anywhere.’

  We really did have company now. More than two dozen Mages had formed a circle around us, and they’d been joined by the young Witch in robes and the angry woman. That left Colwyn, Aaron and his partner over by the bike.

  How do Mages know that we’re the King’s Watch? We carry an enchanted Badge of Office that’s impossible to forge. Unfortunately, Conrad’s is stamped into the stock of a handgun. Drawing a gun on a crowd of Mages is not a good idea, even if it’s just to prove your identity, something Conrad didn’t need me to tell him.

  ‘I think you’d better vouch for us,’ he said to the Priestess. ‘But first, who were the women with you when we arrived?’

  Oma pointed to the young Witch. ‘That’s Tanya, my handmaiden. She was with me all night. Over there, holding on to Aaron is his fiancée, Judith. The other one is Erin. She’s a friend and ally of Ioan. Was a friend. Erin and Judith were the boys’ sponsors. They saw them off into the forest at different locations and waited. They came here when they felt Ioan’s passing.’

  ‘Didn’t Colwyn have a sponsor?’ we asked.

  ‘Karina. No sign of her. She’s not answering her phone, either.’

  The crowd was waiting. They had formed a loose circle around us, at a respectful distance. The circle was made of groups – friendship groups and family groups of two, three or four. Two women had already begun to comfort Erin. The Priestess checked her Braid and lowered her skirts to the ground, re-fastening the belt and adjusting her robes. She had an athletic top on underneath, and pushed up its sleeves out of sight. Finally, she raised her arms and cancelled the Silence.

  We all took a couple of steps away from Ioan, and Oma spoke.

  ‘My children,’ she said, arms still raised. Her voice, freed from the damping effects of the Silence, boomed round the field.

  There was a pause. A few of the Mages dropped to their knees. Tanya was the first. One by one the others followed. Oma didn’t repeat herself; she just waited. In the end, only Erin was left standing. That she was itching to speak was obvious.

  The pause stretched out. How the Priestess kept her arms up like that, I don’t know.

  Erin let out a low moan and dropped her head. Without looking up, she wheeled round and started running up the hill towards the gate and the parked cars.

  I had to fight to stay standing myself. In situations like this, the Goddess Braid weighs heavily. I was wearing it as a mark of respect. Every other woman in the field was wearing it as a mark of dedication and worship.

  Conrad didn’t kneel. He once told me that the King’s Watch only kneels for the King – or one of his family.

  When Erin was away up the hill, Oma spoke again. ‘Blessings of the Goddess upon us. As she wills it, so mote it be.’

  ‘So mote it be,’ echoed the Circle.

  ‘This is a tragedy,’ she continued. ‘I did not see who did this, nor has the Goddess vouchsafed an answer to me. I will not have us torn apart. I will not settle this in blood. Here is the Dragonslayer. He has been touched by Odin and the Goddess both, and you can see that his partner wears the Braid. Let them pass in peace and be vessels of the Goddess, to take this burden from us as she wills it.’

  No one spoke. No one got up either. Oma took that as a good sign and turned to us, lowering her voice to a whisper. ‘Go about your business. If you can.’ She raised her voice. ‘Tanya will be my voice and ears.’

  The young Witch flinched, bringing her hand up to her mouth and staring at a woman behind us, on the other side of the circle. I turned to look and saw that not everyone had knelt. A heavily pregnant black woman was resting her hand on a man’s shoulder. Her bump was so huge that if she’d knelt down, it would have needed a team to get her up again.

  ‘Go, child,’ said the mother-to-be. She smiled. ‘There may be running involved, and I’m not doing that right now.’

  Tanya got up and backed away from the circle, leaving a gap. That was our cue. Conrad turned and bowed to Oma.

  ‘Send someone you trust to search for Karina,’ he whispered. ‘She may be in danger.’

  Oma nodded, and we followed Tanya out of the circle.

  2

  Conrad’s long legs quickly caught up with Tanya. I still can’t get used to how quickly he can move when he wants to, because most of the time he half limps. Today must be a good day for his bad leg, and I had to jog to catch up, and when I did, I unzipped my fleece. The sun was over the trees and Conrad was right. It would be a hot day.

  ‘How did they get here so quickly, and all together?’ he said to Tanya.

  We were well away from the circle now. Tanya had led us in an arc, so we were out of earshot of the group by the quad bike, too. I glanced behind and saw that the circle had contracted until they were shoulder to shoulder around Oma and Ioan.

  Tanya stopped and pushed some loose strands of hair away from her face. On closer inspection, she didn’t just seem younger than me (I’m twenty-three, in case you’d forgotten), she seemed barely out of adolescence. About nineteen. I was still an Aspirant to magick at her age.

  ‘Everyone was waiting at the Grove,’ she said. ‘It’s just west of Henley in Arden. They were waiting to acclaim the new King. Erin sent a message to say what had happened. Oma tried to stop her, but …’

  ‘Mmm,’ said Conrad, pulling his lip. He was getting nicotine withdrawal. I could guess what was coming next. ‘Any chance of a cuppa? I think Colwyn could definitely do with one. And food if you’ve got it.’

  Tanya smiled nervously and looked over at the Circle. ‘Do you mind if I take these off, sir?’ she said, pointing to her robes. She looked scared of him. I don’t blame her.

  I moved over and felt the fabric. Thick wool, soft and heavy. ‘You must be boiling in there, pet,’ I said. ‘Sort yourself out and we’ll take a minute.’ I leaned in. ‘And don’t call him sir unless you’re in the Army. You’re not in the Army are you?’

  She snorted with laughter. That’s better.

  We left her to sort herself out and get the stove going,
and we drew back a bit. Conrad checked the breeze and stood downwind to light a cigarette. Colwyn, the one who’d shot Ioan, had slumped to the ground and was sitting hunched up, head in his hands. It was only then I realised that Judith had disappeared. I looked around frantically.

  ‘She’s coming back,’ said Conrad. ‘She’s been up to her car for something.’

  He was right. Judith was up at the vehicles, talking to a man who was sitting astride a big motorbike and fastening a crash helmet. He’d be the search party for Karina. Judith touched him on the shoulder and he started the engine.

  She jogged down the slope and handed a package to Aaron. He opened it and started to wipe the camouflage paint off his face. She had another packet of wipes with her, and she moved slowly over to Colwyn.

  ‘Do we think she’s going to get her story straight?’ said Conrad.

  ‘Why no, man. You’ve got such a suspicious mind. She’s just trying to be nice.’

  ‘Hmph. We’ll see.’

  Judith tapped Colwyn on the shoulder and said something. He looked up and shook his head. She pointed at us and opened the packet of wipes. When Colwyn didn’t move, she steadied his head and started cleaning his face for him. They’d been an item once, I reckoned, and Aaron didn’t look too happy about it.

  When she’d finished, she went back to Aaron, and he put his arm round her and kissed the top of her head. Men. Always trying to mark out their territory.

  Tanya held up two plastic mugs and said, ‘Sugar?’

  ‘Not for us. Put two in Colwyn’s. He needs it.’

  She spooned the sugar and added, ‘This is all I’ve got. Two giant Mars Bars.’

  ‘We’ll share one,’ said Conrad. ‘Give the other one to Colwyn with his tea.’

  We blew the steam off the top of our mugs and took a sip. Boy, that was good. Conrad doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth and handed me the Mars Bar. ‘Enjoy.’

  ‘Cheers,’ I said and ripped the top off with my teeth. I was starving.

  Conrad looked at Aaron and pointed to the hunting bows. ‘Which one’s yours?’ he asked.