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

by Mark Hayden

  What an odd question. Of all the things going on in the Circle, she picks on that.

  ‘No, Mother. Are you worried about her?’

  ‘It’s a bit more selfish than that. She’s my midwife, and I’m going to need her very soon.’ She patted her bump. ‘This boy’s already been trouble and he’s not going to make life easy for me. They should be finished with their smoking.’

  I haven’t been dismissed like that in a long time. She didn’t actually say run along now, but you could hear it in her voice.

  What I didn’t hear until I was nearly out of the door was a blessing. ‘Peace of the Goddess be on you, child.’

  Conrad would have given her the benefit of the doubt. I didn’t. You don’t bless someone’s back.

  The main path from the hall led straight to a wood – a real wood with real trees that was also part of the Forest of Arden. I wasn’t going to attempt to explain that to Conrad; his poor little head would burst.

  The Foresters’ Grove would be in the middle, and in the middle of that would be Ioan. Conrad and Oma were coming out of a walled garden off to the side.

  Before they got to me, they stopped and Conrad bowed to Oma. She gathered him in and kissed his cheek. He stayed put and she strode towards me. ‘There’s been a development,’ she said, grim faced. ‘Conrad will explain it all. If you decide to go ahead, you do so with my full support.’

  Go ahead with what?

  Before I could ask out loud, she reached forward and took my hands in hers. Her fingers were colder than I expected. Instead of a spoken blessing, calling on the Goddess, I got a quick burst of Lux and a picture in my head – a picture of two ash trees, their canopies mingling to form an arch. What’s that all about?

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, letting go of my hands. She quick-stepped back into the hall, and Conrad limped up to me.

  He pointed to the walled garden. ‘Myfanwy would love to see their herbal garden. I wonder if Elvenham House will end up like that when she’s finished? This way.’

  Before I could ask what was going on, he was heading round the side of the building and over to the car. When we’d got in, he shoved the key in the ignition and said, ‘Let’s get off the premises, shall we?’

  Before he felt it was safe enough to talk, we weren’t just off the premises, we’d gone into Henley in Arden and parked up at the little railway station .

  ‘We have a problem,’ he said.

  ‘Really? I’d never have guessed.’

  ‘The Countess of Stratford called Bridget while she was showing me the gardens.’

  Countess of Stratford? Where have I heard that name before? He saw the look on my face. ‘Oma said that she’s a Fae: the most powerful noble in the court of Arden. After the Prince, of course.’

  This did not sound good. The Fae are quite happy with modern technology, when it suits them, but for a Countess to make a personal call, something must be wrong.

  Conrad drummed his fingers on the wheel. ‘Apparently, this has never happened before – an incomplete Hunt. Right now, there is an anointed Stag running round the forest. The Countess pointed out, politely but firmly, that the Hunters are still considered blessed, and the Prince expects them to finish the job. Tonight.’

  ‘Bugger me.’

  ‘Precisely. Can you help me see the forest?’

  I could see where this was heading. ‘Perhaps. At night. With a suitable Artefact. And some practice.’

  ‘That would be a No, then.’

  ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Are you ready for this? On your own?’

  ‘Whaaat? You want me to go in there?’

  ‘You’re not a Watch Captain. You don’t have to.’

  He left it there. Left it for me to come to my own decision. The Royal Hunt Part Two was tonight. We could probably get Rick James up here from Wells. He’d sort it out. If we didn’t, there could be further bloodshed, and the killer might get away with it.

  ‘Shall we call Rick?’ I said.

  He shook his head. ‘Not an option, I’m afraid. The Circle don’t trust him, for some reason.’

  Oh. Come on, Victoria, I said to myself. It’s not as if it’s underground, is it?

  Sometimes, when I can’t sleep, I imagine that Conrad has gone underground. Into the Old Network, down to a Dwarven Hall, something like that. And I imagine having to go down alone to rescue him, but I can’t. I literally can’t imagine putting one foot in front of the other and going through the opening.

  ‘Aye. I’ll do it. On one condition.’

  ‘You want me to cook you breakfast in the morning?’

  ‘Hell, no. That’s a given. I want you to give me your word. I want you to promise not to charge into the forest if you get worried. At night, with a Hunt on, the forest will be at its most powerful. For you, it would be like … running out of an Antarctic research station in your budgie smugglers. You’re gonna die, it’s just a question of how long it takes.’

  ‘I don’t possess any budgie smugglers. Is it really that bad?’

  ‘Worse. In Antarctica, it would be quick and fairly painless. In the forest...’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Really.’

  ‘Mmm. So, what’s “joining out”?’

  ‘You wanna know that now?’

  ‘I want to know what’s at stake. Religious differences easily lead to violence, but I want the whole picture.’

  I watched a pair of pensioners walking towards the footbridge to the other platform where they could catch their train to Birmingham and go for a nice day’s shopping in the Bull Ring. What a lovely thought. Wandering and mooching. I could pop the car door open and follow them…

  My subconscious brain agreed, and I moved in the seat, half turning to the door. When I moved, I rustled. Too much quick-dry artificial fibre clothing and (almost) no makeup. I could not go shopping like this. When I die, tonight, in the forest, I will tell myself that it is a better fate than being caught on camera in rugged outdoor wear.

  I sighed and got back on track. ‘You remember that fuss about Abbi Sayer’s dad?’

  ‘Deborah conceived by anonymous sperm donor. Yes, I remember. Oh, I see: joining as in coupling. Mating.’

  I blushed. Well? So would you. ‘Aye. Witches want children, and there aren’t many Warlocks to go round. It happens almost everywhere. In mixed Circles, the joining out rule stops the men turning the Witches into a harem.’

  Conrad looked appalled. ‘Is there no marriage in these places? No wonder Chris Kelly went to the Invisible College.’

  ‘Of course there’s marriage in the Circles, just not for the office holders.’

  ‘Right.’

  ‘So now you’ve got the big picture, what do you think?’

  ‘I think I’m glad I met Mina before all this magick business came along. Fair enough, Vic. I give you my word. I won’t enter the forest on my own. Now, what are our objectives, and what are the challenges?’

  I hate it when he puts me on the spot like this. At least we didn’t have an audience. To keep him quiet, I said, ‘Stay alive is number one.’

  ‘Good. Glad to hear it.’

  He opened the window and saw the look on my face. Rather than light up in the car, he got out and stretched his back. I had a minute to think this through before he leaned through the window and asked me again.

  When he did, I was ready. ‘We’ve got a dead Mage. We have to find who put the Work of magick on those bows.’

  ‘We do,’ he replied. ‘I asked Oma Bridget, and she said that none of the Circle could have done it. They simply don’t have any Artificers who are that good. Someone brought those bows in, though, and used them.’

  ‘Right. We have three Witches unaccounted for: Erin, Karina and Alexandra. I spoke to Eliza, and she said that Alex is a midwife. I can’t see her being involved.’

  ‘I can’t see her as an actor, but she could be the Author.’

  ‘Eh?’

  ‘Someone cooked up this plan. I’m going to call t
hem the Author. They may have used others as actors, but we have to find the Author, the one who dreamed it all up.’

  ‘I see what you mean.’ I paused to think that through. ‘Are there any of them you’d rule out?’

  He crushed out his cigarette. ‘Erin. I think she’s a loose cannon, but you can’t fake that sort of rage. She defied Oma rather than shut up.’

  ‘Aye. That means any of them could be involved. Aaron, Judith, Colwyn, Karina, Alex… Plus any or all of the Mages who weren’t in the forest last night.’

  He got back in the car. ‘Yes. I trust Oma, though. Completely.’

  ‘So do I.’

  ‘And I trust her to keep everyone else out of the forest. That will leave you in pole position to sort out who’s behind this.’

  ‘Good. What’s the plan?’

  He started the engine. ‘Back to Clerkswell for some sleep. We’re both too tired to make plans.’

  4

  ‘Why am I starting here?’ I asked.

  The sun was kissing the tops of the trees to our right. The Hunt would begin as soon as it disappeared. Ahead of me, a small stone in the verge glowed silver. This was one of the entrances to the Forest of Arden, something that Conrad still couldn’t get his head round.

  ‘You tell me why we’re standing here,’ he said. ‘That looks like an impenetrable hawthorn hedge to me.’

  ‘No. Leave that to me. Why am I miles away from the action, not going in next to one of the other Hunters?’

  He gave me a look. ‘Because it’s all downhill from here, and if you do what I said, you’ll sweep the area and won’t risk the action taking place behind you.’

  ‘Any last minute advice?’

  ‘Be very careful of men with asses’ heads.’

  ‘Howay, man. What are you on about?’

  ‘Doesn’t matter. This is your world, Vic, and you know what you’re doing. Trust yourself.’

  It wasn’t my world at all. If anything, it was the Fae’s world, but I didn’t argue. The sun was behind the trees now, and I shivered. Conrad had made me bring extra layers and insisted on a rucksack. I’m glad. It was going to get very cold very quickly in there. Rather that than rain, though.

  ‘You’d better go,’ I said.

  ‘I’ll be waiting.’

  Instead of a hug or a kiss, he saluted. It seemed right, somehow. I saluted back, and he turned away. When the rattle of the Volvo’s engine disappeared round the bend, it went very quiet. Above the trees, Venus was winking at me. Time to begin.

  So, you’ll be wondering, how do you walk through an impenetrable hawthorn hedge? Or dry stone walls? Or cross roads with traffic without getting run over?

  Simple: magick.

  Less simple: Quantum Topology.

  Totally not simple: solid matter is 99.9999999999996% empty space. You change the resonance of your atoms and just walk. It helps that a Fae forest has these enchanted way-markers.

  I reached down and opened my magickal Sight. The glittering rock grew into a column of stone as real as the gateposts on Conrad’s house, except that Uncle C’s gateposts don’t glow like lighthouses. Starting at the bottom, I ran my hands up the marker, feeling the magick tingle through me as the light got stronger.

  If any of you have noticed a phallic element in this procedure, you’d be spot on. That’s the Fae for you.

  When I got to the top, the sparkling lights had spread up my arms and washed over my body. They were so bright that I couldn’t see anything except the marker stone. I let go and the light subsided. Instead of an impenetrable hawthorn hedge behind the stone, there was a pathway into the trees. A pathway into the Forest of Arden.

  I jumped over the small ditch that marks the boundary of the forest and took a few steps down the path. It’s best not to linger too close to the edge: the Work that put me in harmony with the forest can wear off quite quickly, and it’s dangerous to do it twice.

  Another question Conrad asked when I was telling him about it was, ‘How come you can see it from a distance but need to use these way-markers to go in?’

  ‘No idea,’ had been my answer. ‘Didn’t get that bit of the course, and it wasn’t part of the practical test.’

  There is another way to get in to the forest – through a conjoined wood, like the Foresters’ sacred Grove. That wasn’t an option today.

  I’ve been in enchanted woods before. The Daughters have one as part of their complex at Glastonbury, but it’s not on this scale. What does it look like? Like a mundane forest under very strong moonlight but even brighter.

  We had a plan. Of sorts. This is what Conrad had written in his notebook after talking to Oma in the walled garden:

  ● Aaron – Materianist. Powerful Warlock.

  ● Judith – Freedom of choice??? Average Witch.

  ● Colwyn – Ambitious. Most powerful Mage of the whole group. Not noted for politics.

  ● Ioan – Eager. The outsider. Was not expected to win the Royal Hunt. Lots of raw talent.

  ● Erin – A close friend of Ioan. Aaron’s ex-girlfriend, supplanted by Judith. They broke up when Aaron became more religious. Wants to keep joining out as the policy. Explicitly blames Judith for what happened. Likely to be out for revenge. An apprentice Enscriber.

  ● Karina – Colwyn’s younger sister. Very, very quiet. Took a sabbatical after being handmaiden. Has performed little magick recently.

  ● Alex??) – Oma can’t believe she’s involved. Healer and midwife. Much loved by the women of the Circle, even Materianists. Has suggested that Materianists should leave and form their own Circle, but only as a way to avoid conflict. Tipped to replace Bridget as Oma.

  ‘I think Karina’s either in on it with Colwyn or she saw something and is in hiding,’ I had said after studying the notes. ‘My money is on Aaron, though. I think he knew perfectly well that there would be a re-run tonight. I think he got rid of Ioan to level the playing field.’

  ‘You could be right,’ said Conrad. He stared at the notebook again. ‘That would explain why it feels wrong – you’d think that Colwyn or Aaron himself would be the target otherwise. You know, Vic, I can’t help feeling that we’re missing something.’

  ‘We probably are. I can cheat, you know. I can find the Stag using Sorcery in ways they’re not allowed to.’

  He raised his eyebrows. ‘How do you know that?’

  ‘I texted Desirée before I crashed out. There’s a copy of the Foresters’ charter in the Esoteric Library. I got her to look it up for me.’

  ‘Excellent. Sounds like a plan, then.’

  And that was it: find the Stag and hope for the best. And try not to get killed. That’s always part of the plan.

  Two stations further round the perimeter, Aaron would now be on his way into the forest. Judith was being watched by the guy on the motorbike to make sure she didn’t cross over. He is the former Champion of the Foresters and completely loyal to Oma.

  With Judith under watch, there could be as many as five Mages in the forest with me: Aaron and Colwyn for sure, and any or all of Erin, Karina and Alex. Plus the normal forest dwellers, something I realised when I saw a gleam of golden light through the trees.

  It’s always risky to leave the paths in an enchanted wood, but last night’s evil had been done off the path, and off the path I went. Very carefully.

  Fae magick is silver, with rainbow highlights. Human magick is mostly primary colours, and Gnomes have a coppery tint. Gold means way up or way down. Dwarves give off a golden glow, but Dwarves do not hang around enchanted woods. That golden glow over there meant non-material: in other words, a Spirit.

  I used the trees for cover, working slowly towards the glow; Conrad would have been proud of me, coming over all boy scout like that. I was about to peek round a huge oak when the Spirit moved, and I could see it clearly through a gap in the trees.

  It looked human, or about as human as you can get when you’re wearing a monk’s habit with the hood up. Dæmons can look human, when they want to
, but not when they think no one’s looking. That narrowed it down, but not by much. I tried to get a clearer view: monk’s habit is a bit generic. If I could see a sign or emblem, it might narrow it down further.

  From somewhere out of my sight, he picked up a golden rake and started to draw it over the ground. What on earth? I couldn’t see them at first, but the tines on his rake collected small leaves of Lux, mostly silver, but other colours mixed in. I stepped round the tree to extend my Sight. Naturally, he spotted me straight away.

  The golden monk stopped and turned to face me. He put the rake down and lifted his hands (normal fingers) and lowered the hood. I let out a deep breath when a normal looking old man stared back at me. He smiled, and beckoned me over. For the first time tonight, I asked myself what would Conrad do?

  I could almost hear his posh voice in me head: I’d ask you what the Spirit was and proceed accordingly. He was right. I should have this.

  Conrad had called the person behind all this madness The Author. This glowing figure was not going to be the Author. It just felt wrong. Whatever had led to Ioan’s death had human stamped all over it. This Spirit had once been human, but wasn’t now.

  He beckoned again, and I came out from behind the security blanket of the oak tree and went up to him. He was shorter than I’d realised, and was about my height. He didn’t just look old: he looked like he’d had a hard life and that he wasn’t having an easy afterlife, either. Closer still, and I saw a cross hanging from a rope around his neck.

  ‘Well met, father,’ I said.

  The monk pulled his robe further away from his neck, and I saw a gleaming silver chain, fine and delicate round his neck. Ooh. Nasty.

  Enslavement of humans by magick has been illegal since the Dark Ages. Enslavement of Spirits is not illegal, and something the Fae have a bad rep for. I’m sure they also enslave humans when they can get away with it.

  The monk opened and closed his mouth in silence, then pointed to the chain again. Worse and worse – the Fae had taken away his voice as well as his freedom. Not my business, not really, but this guy could be a witness. He touched his mouth with his hand and pointed at me, then held out his hands. He wanted me to give him a voice.