Thaumatology 05 - Disturbia

by Teasdale, Niall

  ‘Okay,’ Ceri said, ‘I’ll call Hughes. Michael, bring him back undamaged if you can.’

  Grinning, Michael took his time stripping his clothes off, handing them over to Lily. ‘I won’t hurt him,’ he said, and then took off toward the hedge, shifting as he ran.

  ‘What’s going on?’ It was Tawni’s voice. She walked out from the farmhouse door, a frown on her face and only a bra and thong on her body.

  ‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to arrest Dennis,’ Ceri said.

  ‘What?! Why? He was with us on the beach all that night.’ Ceri held up the vials and Tawni paled. ‘That’s…’

  ‘Oblivion,’ Ceri said, ‘or so I’m told. Lily’s seen it before.’

  Tawni nodded, her face shifting from shock to anger. ‘The stupid… I should’ve known! Damn it! I caught him once wandering through the courtyard looking vague and there were the trips into Cardiff. Fuck!’

  There was a rustle as first Dennis emerged through the hedge, and then Michael, his clawed hand gripping the back of Dennis’ T-shirt. ‘They never gave us handcuffs,’ Lily said absently.

  ‘No,’ Ceri said, pulling her phone from her jeans and flipping it open ‘but this isn’t our case so I don’t need to question him.’ Reaching out, she tapped the props man on the forehead. ‘Ewch i gysgu, Dennis.’ Michael caught him as he slumped, laying him down on the ground. Dennis started snoring almost immediately. ‘Thanks, love,’ Ceri added to her mate.

  Tawni gave a sigh, but her eyes were roaming absently across the naked werewolf who had suddenly turned up. Ceri dialled a number on her phone, waiting for it to connect. ‘I did a werewolf once,’ Tawni said, licking her lips.

  ‘Little Red Riding Whore?’ Lily asked, presumably meaning the name of a film.

  The call connected, answered by a switchboard operator. ‘Detective Inspector Hughes, please. It’s Ceridwyn Brent.’

  ‘That’s the one,’ Tawni said. ‘Were you on that one?’

  ‘No. I heard it was good. You weren’t playing Red, were you?’

  There was a click on the line and Hughes’ voice sounded over the phone. ‘Brent? What do you want?’

  ‘I’ve got an Oblivion user here,’ Ceri told him. ‘He just made a buy in Cardiff and I’m sure he’d be most willing to give up his source, considering he’s got enough to make the possession charge carry a fair sentence.’

  ‘No,’ Tawni scoffed, ‘they wanted a white girl for that. I was just a side meal.’ Ceri glanced at Michael; even in fur he was looking a little uncomfortable.

  ‘I’ll send Croft out with some uniforms to pick him up,’ Hughes said. He sounded a little eager and the angry tone of his initial greeting had vanished. ‘Nice work, Brent.’

  ‘We got lucky,’ Ceri said, but he had already hung up. Folding her phone, she looked around at the assembly. ‘Stop embarrassing my mate. And, Michael, there’s no need to stay furry. I’m quite sure Tawni’s seen a naked man before, and she’s hardly dressed.’

  Michael shifted back, a little pink around the cheeks, and reached for his jeans. Lily moved them away, grinning. ‘But I like you naked,’ she purred.

  ‘Lily,’ Ceri said. The half-succubus pouted and handed over the jeans.

  ‘God, Ceri,’ Tawni said, awed, ‘how can you possibly resist that pout?’

  ‘Years of practice,’ Ceri replied.

  ~~~

  ‘Monty Balls,’ Terry said, ‘was getting to the end of his career. He was just not in fashion. Neither is that hulk Leo, to be honest. The trend is for leaner physiques, like Cruise. Bad boys are where it’s at, but Tawni wouldn’t listen to me.’

  ‘Interesting,’ Lily said, ‘but not really that relevant. Did you notice anything odd about him while he was shooting with Lia that morning?’

  Lily was asking the questions because Ceri was concentrating on trying to figure out what was odd about Terry’s pact corruption. His soul seemed intact, though there were some nasty black stains in it; Terry had done some very nasty things at some point in his life.

  ‘He was more useless than usual?’ Terry commented.

  Lily smiled; it got nowhere near her eyes. ‘Have you ever heard of a movie called “The Degradation of Julia”?’

  Ceri saw the tiny flinch and Lily obviously did too. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I’ve heard of it. A snuff movie. Rumour had it that the “Julia” of the title died during the making of it. Disgusting filth.’

  ‘Have you heard anything suggesting Monty might have been involved in that movie?’

  The corruption marks were finer than Ceri was used to, a true spider web of black tendrils spreading out from the Anahata node in the chest and out along the Chakral Median.

  ‘He didn’t…’ Terry began and then seemed to change his mind. ‘I suppose it’s not impossible. A lot of older stars end up doing a couple of illegal shoots. Suzie Stacks did a couple, I heard on the grapevine.’

  ‘We’d heard that too,’ Lily replied. ‘You’ve never directed any, I take it?’

  The spider web of taint looked delicate, striated somehow, as though it was made of tainted material itself. Once white, it was now almost entirely black, and… The thought struck Ceri as though she had slapped her forehead. The taint she normally saw grew from the base of the Median, the Muladhara node, upward. This spread outward from the point where his soul was.

  Terry’s tone was angry as he responded to Lily. ‘Of course I’ve never directed any! I’d never stoop to that. I’m an artist, not a… a… filth merchant!’

  ‘It’s just a question,’ Lily said. ‘It appears that the victims were all involved in the film you mentioned, “The Degradation of Julia.” If you had been involved, that could make you a target.’

  ‘I see. But I wasn’t, so I’m not.’

  Lily smiled. ‘Yes.’ She glanced at Ceri, receiving a nod. ‘Thank you, Mister Newton. We’ll let you get some dinner now.’ Grumpily, Terry headed for the door.

  Ceri watched the door close behind him and glanced over at Michael; his hearing was better. ‘He’s moving away. He got a lot more nervous after Lily told him about the deaths being linked to that movie. I could smell it.’

  ‘The protests about being an artist were fake too,’ Lily said, ‘but that doesn’t prove he actually directed it.’

  ‘He’s done some bad things at some time in his past,’ Ceri said. ‘His soul’s stained. And he’s pacted to something, but I don’t think it’s a demon.’

  ‘I thought it was only demons that did pacts,’ Michael said.

  ‘They’re the most common sources,’ Ceri replied, ‘but some powerful spirits can do it, angels, even some fae.’

  ‘Angels? Big wings, fly around in white dresses?’

  Ceri laughed. ‘Well, they could. They don’t have a fixed shape. “Angel” is derived from Greek. It originally meant “messenger.” They are the intermediaries of god-entities who are unable to interact directly with us. And there are fallen ones who have lost their connection with their deity.’

  There was a knock on the door and Tawni pushed it open, balancing a tray of mugs. ‘I thought you’d want me next,’ she said, ‘so I figured I’d bribe you with coffee.’

  ‘Your coffee’s not that good,’ Ceri replied, smiling.

  ‘I could offer sex?’ Tawni said brightly.

  ‘We’ll take the coffee,’ Ceri said, taking a mug.

  Lily pouted. ‘I’d take the sex.’

  ‘It’d feel a bit weird,’ Ceri admitted. ‘I knew Tanya when she was this little kid who used to run around the neighbourhood being a total nuisance.’

  Tawni sat down on the “interrogation” chair with her coffee mug and crossed her legs. ‘You remember your sixteenth birthday?’

  ‘The sleepover one? It got so bad there were demons walking around and everyone had to stay at our house instead of going home.’

  Tawni nodded. ‘You were so in love with Paul Heaton.’

  ‘And he didn’t know I existed,’ Ceri said sourly. ‘I remember, yeah.�
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  ‘And I slept in your bed with you,’ Tawni went on. Ceri nodded, smiling. ‘And I so wanted you, but you weren’t into girls and I never said anything. I just lay there and cuddled you when your tattoos were stinging and wished I had the courage to…’ She stopped. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked so regretful. ‘And now you’re shacked up with Lily?’

  Ceri really did not know what to say. Lily saved her. ‘She really is still into guys. I have turned her a bit, but she does prefer men. I’m a special case, being a half-succubus, and her having to be my mistress.’

  ‘I didn’t know,’ Ceri said, her voice plaintive.

  Tawni smiled, though it did not quite reach her eyes. ‘Never mind. It’d have screwed up our friendship, and we left not that long after. Six or eight months and I’d have been in Birmingham.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Ceri took a breath. ‘Did you notice anything odd about Walls the morning before he died?’

  ‘He was tired,’ Tawni responded. ‘He said he’d had a nightmare of some sort and hadn’t slept well. Lia seemed to be getting a fair performance out of him though. Not that Terry liked it.’

  ‘Why are you working with him? He seems like a total dick.’

  The grimace said it all really. ‘He was able to get some money together to help back the movie. I have a thirty per cent stake, but I couldn’t raise enough money from finance to fit the minimum budget. Terry's backers put in the last ten per cent as long as he was the director. Thing is, with the schedule being thrown out so much, he’s constantly going on at me to let him get more money in. That’ll dilute my stake and I’ll make less.’

  ‘You think he’s deliberately delaying to push his stake up?’ Lily asked.

  ‘No,’ Tawni said, but her face said “yes.”

  ‘What are you doing this evening?’ Ceri asked.

  ‘Girl-girl scene with Chrissy. ‘They’re setting up in the kitchen now.’

  ‘The kitchen?’

  Tawni nodded happily. ‘It’s a preamble to a three-way with Leo we’re shooting the day after. He comes in and finds us at it and then bends us over the table.’

  ‘At least you won’t need me for that,’ Ceri said, trying to keep the relief out of her voice.

  ‘No, I think we can manage. Though if you’re around tomorrow…’

  Ceri gave Lily a glare of the “What have you got me into?” variety.

  ~~~

  ‘I never knew Tanya was interested in me,’ Ceri said, her voice quiet. She was lying in the crook of Michael’s arm, with Lily on the other side. ‘I mean, she was right, I really was into boys then. It’s just they weren’t into me.’

  ‘Water under the bridge,’ Lily said. ‘You can’t live with regrets like that. Anyway, if you want to find out what it would’ve been like, I think she’d oblige.’

  ‘I wouldn’t object,’ Michael commented. His eyes were shut; they had done a fairly good job of exhausting him. ‘Do you think they’ve finished shooting yet?’

  ‘Probably,’ Lily replied. ‘You want something from the kitchen?’

  ‘No, I probably won’t want to move for another hour at least. I thought I might go for a run later though.’

  ‘Nice,’ Lily said softly. Ceri could feel the slight disappointment coming through their connection.

  ‘Want company?’ Ceri asked, and the disappointment grew stronger. ‘I could transform Lily easily enough.’

  ‘Love some company,’ Michael replied, oblivious to the feelings going past him. Ceri could feel Lily’s sudden rise in mood.

  ‘Thank you,’ Lily said so softly and meekly that Ceri barely heard it.

  ~~~

  It was almost midnight when the three wolves, one black, one grey, one chestnut brown, arrived on the beach. They were just north of Nash Point and the sand felt good beneath Ceri’s feet after coming down from the rocks. It had taken them less than ten minutes to get there, but werewolves moved fast. It was almost full moon and slightly overcast, and with no large cities close by the sky was dark. The only thing keeping them from tripping over rocks was their excellent night vision.

  There had been jostling and playing all the way down there, and there was going to be sex on the beach; Ceri knew it, and she knew the others did too. It was not like anyone was going to see them.

  Finding a spot hidden behind some rocks, the three of them fell into a pile. Lily discovered that giggling as a wolf just did not work and stopped making the weird strangling noise after a second.

  Sand flat, Michael growled as he considered his strategy for the coming event. They came here.

  He was right; the area of disturbed sand was too large to be the result of some couple doing exactly what they were doing. Ceri’s eyes took in the disturbance and she paused, allowing Michael to manoeuver himself behind Lily. There was a quickly muffled cry from the brown she-wolf as he pushed into her. Ceri turned, consider her own deployment. The thought of Lily’s long, wolfen tongue sliding between her legs was a good one…

  Something shifted in the corner of her vision and she turned to look. There was a woman standing on the beach looking their way. No taller than Ceri and perhaps the same age, she had long, dark hair and a pale complexion. Her face was pretty, feminine with high cheeks and a small chin and nose. She was wearing a loose sweatshirt and jeans, but Ceri could not make out the details with her colour-compromised sight. What she did see was the mournful look on the woman’s face

  Just when Ceri was about to say something to the panting couple beside her, she blinked. The woman had gone. Shaking her head, Ceri settled onto the sand. Lily took the hint and, a second or two later, Ceri had forgotten about the strange woman.

  Cardiff, August 28th

  ‘We’re under orders to destroy this as soon as you’re finished with it,’ Croft said as he led Ceri, Lily, and Michael into a small room off the evidence lock-up. There was a fairly large TV screen and an array of devices for replaying video, including an old-style tape player. Croft busied himself turning on the DVD player and the TV, and then setting switches to direct the right feed to the right place.

  ‘Did you have any luck with Dennis?’ Ceri asked.

  ‘Oh yeah,’ Croft replied. ‘He folded, just like you suggested. We’ve got a team watching his supplier now. We’re hoping he’ll lead us up the chain.’ There was a flicker from the screen and it started displaying the player’s manufacturer logo. ‘There we go.’ He loaded the DVD and handed a remote over to Ceri. ‘Not really my kind of film,’ he added. ‘If it’s okay with you, I’ll be in the office.’

  ‘Sure,’ Ceri said; she did not really want to watch it either. She waited until he closed the door behind him and then pressed the play button.

  There was no menu, just a production company logo over footage of a woman walking through a park. Ceri frowned. The woman looked happy, walking in the sun. She had black hair and a pretty, feminine face with delicate features, and was dressed for the sun in a camisole top and a short skirt. Suddenly the film cut; though she was barely recognisable, the same woman was stretched naked across a table with two werewolves on her, one at her face, the other between her legs. The frame froze and some slightly amateurish titles appeared over the top of it; The Degradation of Julia.

  Michael was fidgeting and Ceri hit the pause button. ‘You don’t have to watch this if you don’t want to, Michael.’

  ‘It’s not exactly the introduction to porn I would suggest,’ Lily said.

  ‘Uh, if you don’t mind,’ Michael said, rising to his feet.

  ‘I’ll take him up to Mark,’ Lily said. ‘I think I remember the way and I’m sure they can keep each other company.’

  ‘Mark’ll like that,’ Ceri said; her grin did not quite reach her eyes and when they had gone she rewound the DVD to before the titles, freezing the frame on a shot of the woman’s face. She looked familiar somehow. Her hair was pulled back quite severely in a ponytail and looked quite long. The style accentuated her high cheekbones, making her look almost like a model.
It was hard to judge, but she looked about the same height as Ceri and perhaps the same age. Again, the hair style made her look older and it was hard to tell. The high cheeks and narrow chin gave a heart shape to the face. Her nose was, Ceri figured, “cute.” Innocent; even with the hair pulled back like that she managed to look innocent.

  The door opened and Lily came back in. ‘Yeah, Mark was quite pleased. I did warn Michael.’ The two of them were alone up there since Hughes was out of the office, gone to church.

  ‘I feel like I’ve seen this girl before,’ Ceri said.

  Settling onto the seat beside Ceri, the half-succubus looked at the screen and contemplated the image. ‘I don’t know her. She’s pretty. Julia, I assume.’

  ‘I guess,’ Ceri replied and restarted the disk.

  After the title frame there was more footage of Julia walking through the park before the film began cutting to other scenes with her in. They all seemed to be shot with a long lens until the interior shots began. Someone had put hidden cameras in the girl’s flat, and bugs.

  ‘This is pretty normal for the genre,’ Lily said. ‘The idea is to paint a picture of a sweet, innocent girl before they start on the sick stuff.’

  Ceri nodded. Julia seemed like she was sweet and pretty innocent. There was even a scene where she chatted with a girlfriend about boys and it looked a lot like Julia was a virgin. She mentioned “saving herself for the right man” and the look of mild shock on her face while her friend told her about having sex in the back of a car looked genuine. Julia was almost too good to be true. She did seem to have a boyfriend, but the most he got was a kiss at the door after a date.

  The film cut to a shot from a camera they had somehow managed to get over her dressing table mirror. She was naked, rubbing moisturiser into her shoulders, and her hair was down. Black hair fell past her shoulders as Ceri had suspected, and she looked a little sad. Ceri hit the pause button. ‘I saw her last night,’ Ceri said, dumbfounded. ‘On the beach when you and Michael had just started. She was there and I blinked and she wasn’t, but it was her. I thought she died in this.’