by Mark Hayden
‘Eh?’
‘It had the same blessing as the other bows. Colwyn’s and Aaron’s. And Ioan’s.’
‘And it was identical to Aaron and Ioan’s.’
‘That model is one of the best for carrying on foot.’
A horrible thought ran through my head. Had we been set up by Oma? ‘Who did the blessing?’ I asked.
‘Eliza.’
‘Then Aaron is in serious danger. Serious, serious danger.’
‘Not now you’ve got the gun,’ said Erin. ‘I’ve failed Ioan, and Aaron will get away with it.’
‘It wasn’t Aaron you numpty. Or Judith. She’s under guard. It was Eliza and Colwyn, and maybe Karina, too.’
‘How come?’
‘Who else could have blessed Karina’s bow, and put a Work onto Ioan’s to make him look like the Stag. The reason Colwyn was in shock this morning was that he was expecting to have killed Aaron, not Ioan. Something must have gone wrong.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, really. Now, are you gonna help me or do I have to spend ten minutes tying you up?’
‘I’m no hunter. You probably noticed.’
‘Aye, well, neither am I, but I know someone who is.’ I put the gun down and got out my phone.
‘Wow!’ said Erin. ‘Does that work?’
I started typing and said, ‘It only works to Watch Captain Clarke’s phone. He … he’s outside the forest.’ I finished typing and sent this message: Karina has bow. Eliza cursed Ioans. Colwyn wants Aaron dead. Where would Stag hide?
Erin had picked up Karina’s dagger. ‘Do you want this?’
‘Shove it in my backpack for now. Never use another Mage’s weapons. King’s Watch 101.’
While Erin loosened the strings and stowed the knife, Conrad got back to me. In a dense thicket. Will also try to mask scent, or magick equivalent. I’ll look for Colwyn.
‘Right, Erin. Time to be useful,’ I said. ‘There must be lots of mundane buildings under this wood.’
She nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘We want a big building that’s also a door to the Prince of Arden’s sídhe.’
‘Erm. Right. There’s half a dozen. Why?’
‘Because if the Stag gets in there, it’ll take ages for a human to flush it out.’
We needed some way to whittle down the options. ‘Forget about the ones near the way-markers. How many does that leave?’
She thought. ‘Three.’
Still too many. We needed better local knowledge. Perhaps Conrad could talk to Oma… No. He didn’t need to. She’d already given me a clue. ‘Does one of them have two ash trees bent to form a canopy?’
‘Yes! That’s the Countess of Stratford’s Door. How did you know?’
‘Never mind. Which way? And don’t tell me you’re lost.’
‘No. I love walking the forest. It’s about half a mile that way.’
I picked up the gun. ‘Does this thing have a safety catch?’
Erin knew that much. She locked it and we jogged through the forest.
I’ll admit it. We didn’t run very far. Both of us were out of breath pretty quick, so we settled for a brisk walk. I blame the stout outdoor walking shoes that Conrad made me buy: warm and rugged, but no good for running. Definitely the shoes. And the chafing. I will admit that there was chafing.
‘How close are Colwyn and Karina to each other?’ I asked, with lots of pauses to breathe. Erin was the same. We kept going, though.
‘Not very. Not until she came back from her sabbatical. He’s twenty years older than her, for one thing. Same father, different mother. They’ve definitely been hanging out more, lately. She’s so shy, though, it’s hard to tell who she’s close to.’
‘Where was her sabbatical?’
‘She never said. Down south, somewhere. May even have been abroad.’
‘And what’s with the midnight huntress thing? She’s not going to be King, no matter how many Stags she kills, is she?’
‘I have no idea what she’s up to, Watch Officer. Sorry. I don’t know your name.’
‘Robson. Vicky Robson.’
‘Sorry. Not everyone likes the Hunt. Some want it banned. Could be loads of agendas.’
‘Much further?’
Erin stopped and looked around. She squinted through the trees. ‘Down there, see? A blockage. That’s the back edge.’
‘Right. You stay here.’
‘What? With no Ancile and wait to get picked off? No chance. And you’ve got the gun, so I’m no threat. I can watch your back.’
For the second time, I asked myself what would Conrad do? Would he tie her up or let her tag along? I’m sure I could hear him answer: Do you trust her? The thing that made my mind up was a bit less noble than Conrad’s question: I just didn’t fancy doing this on me own.
‘Come on, then,’ I said. ‘Keep quiet, keep down and keep your eyes open. We’ll skirt the thicket and look for traces of the hunters.’
‘Right. Gotcha.’
We crept up to the thick tangle of brambles and … rhododendrons? I don’t know. Whatever they were, they were big, bushy and in the way. I turned right and said, ‘You use your Sight, and I’ll watch for movement.’
Without thinking, Erin reached out to hold on to my arm. I nearly swung the gun at her, until I realised she’d closed her eyes and needed me to lead her. I moved off, scanning all round.
We’d got about a hundred yards (this thing was big) when she tightened her grip and pulled me to a stop.
‘Here,’ she said. ‘The Stag went in here. The trail has almost been washed away by Fae magick.’
We both used all our senses to scope the open woods and into the thicket. Nothing. No Hunter had followed the Stag into the undergrowth.
‘Do you fancy going in there? I don’t,’ said Erin. I had to agree with her.
‘Let’s cheat,’ I said. ‘If we work together, I reckon we can set a trap.’
‘How?’
‘Follow the Stag’s trail back a bit, then make a false one round to the front. We can meet them there.’
She looked at me blankly. ‘How do we do that?’
‘It’s not real scent, is it? It’s magick, and what can be analysed can be copied.’
‘Oh. Right. Did you learn that at Salomon’s House?’
‘Not as such. Let’s do it.’
Erin showed me the trail. It was easy enough to blow it away as we moved back into the main part of the forest. When we came to a fork, I stopped and we bent down to have a closer look at the trail of the Stag. We both opened our Sight and discovered something very quickly.
‘Eurgh,’ said Erin. ‘That stinks of wee. If you can duplicate that, you’re very weird.’
‘How is that possible? It should be a simple magickal echo.’
We looked up at the same moment and spoke at the same time. ‘The Fae.’
Erin sighed. ‘What now, Officer Robson?’
‘Get that dagger out of me backpack, and call me Vicky.’ She fumbled behind me and got out Erin’s knife. ‘There’s no Goddess death magick on that, is there?’
Erin looked at the dagger. ‘Not that I can see, besides, there’s no such thing as Goddess death magick.’
Despite rumours to the contrary, there is no such thing as blood magick, either. That’s not to say that blood isn’t magickal, though. It is. One of the first practical classes at Salomon’s House is How to Draw Blood Safely. ‘Cut me,’ I said to Erin.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Aye. Get a nice bladeful and smear it round. Then follow me.’
Now that we’d spoken a bit more, I reckoned that Erin was older than me. Twenty-five or six, perhaps. They must teach the same lessons in the Circles, because she drew blood from my left arm with practised ease and scooped a load on to the blade. I left her to it and jogged round the thicket, making sure I was dripping as I went. It sounds gross, I know, but being underground is far, far worse. To me, anyway.
I stopped when I saw the twin ash tr
ees. The main track through the forest ran up to them, and through the arch I could see a silver path that would lead to the Fae door. Perfect. I dripped up to the trees and squeezed the wound closed. We also had classes on Stopping the Flow.
Erin caught up with me. ‘Let’s get behind the ash tree,’ I said. ‘We’ll have the drop on them.’
We moved into position. ‘Where’s the gun?’ I said.
‘You had it.’
I pointed to my arm. ‘I couldn’t carry it. I left it for you to bring.’
Erin didn’t answer. There was no point. Shit and damnation. Bugger. Arse.
‘Get ready to run,’ I said.
‘Why are you in here on your own?’ said Erin. I was beginning to wonder that myself. She deserved an answer, though.
‘Because Conrad can’t see the forest, that’s why.’
‘Oh.’
Erin went up in my estimation then, because a lot of people would have run screaming at that point. She did give me a look though.
We didn’t have long to wait.
Aaron had done the same thing as us – found the thicket and worked his way round, but he’d done it clockwise and came up from the left at the same moment that Karina followed the trail of my blood from the opposite direction. She’d also found the gun. Erin and I stood up as the two Hunters faced off.
‘Shall we try again?’ I said.
We made a triangle, about twenty metres a side, with Karina at one corner, Aaron another and Erin huddling next to me at the third.
‘Karina?’ said Aaron. ‘It is you. What the hell are you doing here, and what happened to Ioan?’
‘Let me…’ I tried to get the initiative, but they weren’t listening.
‘See?’ said Karina, holding out the shotgun. ‘Empty. And useless.’ She dropped the weapon and took out her bow. She notched an arrow and aimed at Aaron. He echoed her movements.
‘Aaron,’ I said. ‘She’s got an Ancile.’
‘What?’
‘She’s right,’ said Karina. ‘Put down the bow, Aaron, and break it. I’ll leave then.’
‘Just so that your dead beat brother can cheat and win the Hunt? No chance.’
‘Not Colwyn,’ said Karina. ‘Me. That Stag is mine.’
With slow precision, she drew back and loosed an arrow. I couldn’t follow it in flight, I just heard the low whoosh as it thudded into the ground between and behind Aaron’s feet, having passed through his legs on the way. It made me shiver, and I’m not a man. An arrow that close to their dangly bits would have made most men wince. There was another arrow in her bow before we could look up. ‘I mean it,’ said Karina. ‘Time is passing.’
Erin shoved me in the back and whispered, ‘You have to get between them.’
I started forwards.
‘Stop there,’ said Karina, ‘or he gets it now.’
Aaron was showing no signs of backing down. Idiot. Was he expecting me to pull a rabbit out of the hat? Fine. I spoke up. ‘Erin, go and knock on the Prince’s door. The Fae won’t be happy about this. They may not sort out these two, but they’ll pull the Hunt.’
Karina looked beside herself. ‘Don’t move, Erin. If you leave her side, I’ll have to stop you.’ She flashed the bow from Erin to Aaron. She could shoot both of them easily.
It was time to pass the buck to Conrad. In a manner of speaking. I took out my pickaxe and smeared it with some of my blood. Most Anciles are personal. With my blood, Erin should be able to work it. I took it from round my neck and gave it to her.
‘She’s going,’ I said. ‘And then I’m coming to arrest you. If you shoot me, you’ll have to answer to my partner. He’s waiting outside. You really don’t want that.’
‘So?’ said Karina.
Aaron finally lowered his bow. He didn’t drop it and break it, but it was a start.
‘You won’t know this,’ said Aaron, ‘but her boss is the Dragonslayer. If you hurt Officer Robson, he’ll track you down to the ends of the earth.’
‘Partner, not boss,’ I said. ‘He’s also a psycho. Dragonslaying is only part of it. The Allfather was once his patron. I wouldn’t put it past him to revive the Blood Eagle.’
‘No!’ said Erin, aghast. The Blood Eagle is so gruesome I’m not going into it here. You can look it up if you want.
‘I think he would,’ said Aaron.
‘I’ll take my chances,’ said Karina. ‘If Erin moves, you two will be dead and I’ll be after the Stag before the Fae have answered the door.’
Was she bluffing?
I’ll admit it: my nerve failed at that point. I was about to order Aaron to stand down when he heard something and looked away from us, deeper into the forest. Then Karina heard it, too. Finally, I picked out the sound of desperate running heading towards us. Surely that couldn’t be Conrad?
No. The approaching figure was definitely female. She ran into the space between Aaron and Karina then stopped, out of breath and leaning over to rest her hands on her knees. She had on a long parka, leggings and white sneakers. When she straightened up and turned to face me, her coat flapped back. Underneath was the royal blue of a nurse’s tunic. Oh.
‘Mutti!’ said Erin.
‘Alexandra, I presume.’ That was me.
‘Yes.’ She turned to Karina. ‘Stop it. Stop it now. You’re not going to shoot a Circle Mother, and you know you aren’t. In the name of the Goddess, desist.’
‘And you, Aaron,’ I said. ‘In the name of the King, put down your weapon or answer to the Cloister Court.’
Aaron put the arrow back in its quiver. As he unstrung his bow, he said, ‘Has it come to this, in Arden, that the word of the Witchfinders has more power than the Goddess?’
Karina let out a scream of frustration, anger and stress. She turned and aimed through the arch of trees, drew back her bow and fired. I jumped when a bass thud rumbled through the forest floor. ‘I’m coming back,’ she shouted at the archway. ‘Do you hear?’
I took my pickaxe back and moved quickly to Karina, but not as quickly as Alex. In seconds, Karina was sobbing on her shoulder.
‘Where’ve you been?’ I said to Alex. I know, I know. Priorities. That wasn’t the most important question, but I couldn’t help myself.
‘Delivering a baby. In Stratford on Avon. There were complications, and my phone battery died. My patient didn’t have a compatible charger. I only finished an hour ago, and Tanya told me what had happened.’
That was a pretty good alibi.
‘We’ll need to question Karina,’ I said.
‘Not now,’ said Alex. ‘She’s fragile. I’ll look after her and bring her to you at the Foresters’ hall. In the name of the Goddess, I promise it.’
‘So mote it be,’ I replied, ‘but we’ll need the bow. It’s evidence.’
Karina was out of it. Alex lowered her to the ground, taking the bow from her in the process. She handed the bow to me and put her arms round Karina. ‘Evidence of what?’ she said.
‘Of Eliza’s involvement in this mess. She’s the Author of this. Her and Colwyn.’
Alex looked down; Erin looked away. Neither disagreed with me, and that was pretty telling. It was Aaron who spoke up. ‘And now Colwyn will claim the Stag, become King and no one will be able to argue.’
‘I’ll be arguing,’ I said.
‘He’ll be exempt,’ said Erin. ‘Oma, the Mother and the King are exempt from justice in the Cloister Court. The King can only be tried by combat.’
I felt my phone vibrate and checked the message. ‘That’s moot,’ I said. ‘Watch Captain Clarke has Colwyn under arrest. Oh, and the Stag made it to Home Wood alive. Which is the quickest way out of here?’
6
It was all kicking off when we got back to the Foresters’ hall.
The car park was lit with a pair of halogen floodlights mounted on the hall; another feature that would upset Heritage England if they could see it. I got a tinge of magick – those floodlights were helping keep up the Occulting Works surrounding u
s. Clever, that. I made a mental note to tell the Royal Occulter about it.
The car park wasn’t nearly as full as this morning, and right next to the doors of the great hall was our trusty Volvo. Conrad had beaten us to it, and Colwyn was tied up in a corner inside. No one had been to dress his bloody nose or split lip. In the opposite corner, Judith was being guarded by the guy on the motorbike. I never did learn his name.
The hall looked even more spectacular at night. It was lit with Lightsticks placed in the roof beams and supplemented by a few round the wall. The light that came off them was warm and mellow, and echoed by a small fire burning in a huge fireplace. Eh? Where had that come from? Oh. The tapestry had been there this morning.
The hall has two sets of doors, one pair facing the car park where I’d just entered and the other pair leading to the wood, their sacred Grove and into the forest of Arden. Oma was standing in front of them, arms folded and wearing her robes and a look of thunder. Around a dozen of the Circle were scattered around the room in groups.
I’d waited in the car park with Erin until first Aaron, then Alex and Karina had appeared. Karina looked stricken, as you might expect, but she’d recovered from total collapse. I led the way, and was about to say something when I heard a cry from upstairs that turned into a moan.
‘Eliza!’ said Alex. She dashed up the stairs towards the solar, leaving Karina to fend for herself.
‘Erin?’ I said, ‘Put Karina in that corner and keep an eye on her. Get someone to make her hot, sweet tea.’
‘Right.’
I left them to it and followed Alex up the stairs.
Eliza was in labour, and Tanya was holding her hand. Alex already had her coat off and was wiping her hands with sanitiser when I got there. Less expected was Conrad.
I’ve not been round many women in labour. Make that none, to be exact. I was starting to panic when Conrad got up and came over.
‘It’s early days, yet. Contractions have barely started,’ he said. ‘Are you OK?’
‘Aye. Since when are you an obstetrician?’
‘Twice in Helmand. Once in the back of my helicopter, would you believe. There’s a little boy in Afghanistan whose middle name is Conrad.’
