Karl chuckled. “Oriel planted some evidence in there last night, and an anonymous note was delivered to the base commander this morning about a certain book the chevalier in charge of base security was keeping. The note said he was using information in the book for blackmail.”
“What was the evidence?”
“Forty thousand pounds.”
“Where in the world did he get that much money?”
“Oriel just kind of waved his hand over a ream of printer paper. I have no idea if it would pass a government counterfeit check, but I doubt that it matters.”
After driving around for an hour, we agreed that we weren’t being followed, and Karl directed me to a bar in a rough area on the north side of the city. I parked the car around the corner and waited for him with the doors locked. Some of the men who walked by and scoped me out didn’t inspire much confidence.
Karl went inside and was there for about an hour. When he came out, he had a brown paper bag in his hand. He got in the car and gave me directions. The smell of fish and chips wafting from the bag made my mouth water.
We ended up at a different beach than the previous day. The weather wasn’t as nice, so we ate our lunch in the car watching the breakers roll in.
“Our contact was there, and we’ve reset the time table,” Karl filled me in between bites. “I gave her all the information Oriel gleaned from inside that security office, so she’ll get that to Trevor. I think we’re back on track and all set. We just have to wait out the week.”
“And hope that Ian and Josh survive. I heard that convoy out to Knowsley gets hit by resistance groups pretty regularly.”
He grinned. “Only when it’s transporting things the resistance wants. Yesterday’s shipment is just food, but tonight’s has a two truckloads of swords. They came in on a boat from Germany. I’m going to need Ian tonight, though, so someone else will have to take command.”
“Sounds like their internal security is rather lax.”
“They don’t seem to be aware that the Fae can glamour themselves invisible. Oriel has been all over the cathedral compound.”
When I got back to my room after dinner, I found two Knights guarding the door—a sergeant and a corporal.
“Identification,” the sergeant barked.
I dutifully showed her my papers. “Is something the matter?”
“Sergeant O’Grady, you’ve been assigned new quarters. You can remove your personal belongings and take them with you.”
The corporal opened the door, and they both followed me into the room. Mason’s side of the room was disordered, as though someone had searched through her things. Mine was just as I’d left it. I picked up my duffle bag, and the Knights followed me out.
The sergeant handed me a card with a number on it. “This is your new billet. Down one floor and to the right.”
“Thank you,” I said, and went looking for my new room. When I found it, I was relieved to discover that it was roommate free. During the rest of my stay in Liverpool, I never saw Sergeant Sabrina Mason again.
That night, the convoy from the docks in Liverpool out to Knowsley ran into explosive devices planted beside the road. All of the swords destined for the training camp were stolen, and half of the Knights guarding the convoy died in the fighting.
We left Liverpool a day earlier than I had expected, driving south in the SUV. It should have been a four- or five-hour trip to Salisbury, but Ian left the main highway early and took us on a tour of secondary roads.
I had been in England several times before, but I’d never driven through the country like that, and I loved the green pastures and fields.
We stopped midday at a country inn in the Cotswolds. As soon as we walked through the front door, I felt the magic. All of the people working there and their patrons were either Fae or paranormals. The inn’s hostess who welcomed us was Tiana.
After a wonderful lunch, everyone gathered in the main room and discussed the campaign to come. Oriel and Karl passed on the intelligence they had gleaned during our stay in Liverpool.
“At daybreak one week from today in Turkey,” Tiana said, “we, the Fae, will launch a major attack on the Knights’ fortress in Istanbul. That will be followed by almost two thousand human mages assaulting the Knights’ headquarters in Venice and one thousand mages with five hundred Fae surrounding Rome, cutting it off from the rest of the world. As soon as the Knights respond to those operations, we’ll launch offensives in Germany, Norway, and England. We anticipate timing that for two to three days after the Rome operation, and you should be firmly in place by then.”
“When is the assault on Salisbury scheduled to start?” Karl asked.
“London and the Thames Valley first,” Tiana said. “We’re hoping that we’ll draw reinforcements away from Salisbury. It’s much closer to London than Liverpool. Once they respond, we’ll launch the attack on Salisbury and Sarum. Our objective there is to cut them off, rather than overrun them. We’ll surround the area and pull their attention outward. Hopefully, they will be less vigilant internally.”
I spoke up. “The ley lines are currently stable, but you can’t expect that to last. The Knights are bound to respond by screwing up the lines.”
“That’s true,” Tiana said. “The number of people we can put in the field is limited by the number of rubies we hold. Luckily, we have quite a number. Our intelligence is that the Knights have produced two hundred thousand of the things, and the resistance has at least fifty thousand of them. We captured a thousand in that Liverpool raid alone.”
“But they are pumping the rubies out of a factory in Durrington Walls,” another of the Fae said. “That’s what tipped us off that the Heart is there.” I knew that Durrington Walls was part of the Stonehenge tourist complex.
“The Fae who are already inside their operation will contact you,” Reginn said. “Your man Trevor has prepared places for you within the Knights’ organization that should put you in optimal position to access the jewel.”
After the briefing, Oriel and I took a walk. The inn was on the edge of a picturesque village. We walked through the village and beyond up into the rolling hills. Past a farmhouse, a footpath led from the road through a beech woodland to the top of a hill where we could see a fair distance. It was incredibly green and beautiful.
It had been more than a week since we had been together alone, and I had no idea when we’d get the chance again.
“Make love to me,” I said, wrapping my arms around his waist and laying my head on his chest.
“I thought you’d never ask,” he replied, putting his finger under my chin, tilting my face up, and kissing me. The grass was soft, the afternoon was warm, and we didn’t get dressed again until after we watched the sunset while still wrapped in each other’s arms.
The Knights had taken control of Salisbury, Old Sarum, Amesbury, and Stonehenge basically by force of arms. The British government had objected, made an effort to evict them, and lost. A large force of army troops still ringed the area, limiting the Knights to a single way in and out to the east, and a single way in and out to the west.
Our party passed the army checkpoints, then went through the whole mess again with the Knights.
“Is the British Army aware of the offensive the Fae plan to launch?” I asked as we drove away from the last checkpoint and entered the city of Salisbury.
The great cathedral loomed over everything. I understood why the Knights had been so intent on taking control of the area. The main ley line that ran through the area was huge—as large as one of the lines running under the City of the Illuminati.
“My understanding is yes,” Karl said. “The Brits have recruited paranormals into a special force just like the Americans. From what I’ve been told, their force is smaller but better trained. The problem here, in the United Kingdom, is that between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, the witch hunts in this country drove a huge number of witches and mages to North America. On a per capita basis, we have more ta
lent in the U.S. and Canada than they do.”
The directions we had been given sent us to the cathedral, where we were processed, provided our orders and assigned our billets.
Oriel joined the contingent of priests stationed at the cathedral. Karl, with his rank of chaplain, was replacing the top religious official of the Knights stationed at Old Sarum, although his office was in the cathedral in Salisbury. Ian and Josh were posted to Old Sarum as part of the guard contingent, and I was assigned to the company of witches who maintained the wards at Stonehenge. Again, everything was according to plan, which caused me to be even more nervous.
Once again I was separated from my companions. The main Knights’ base was at Old Sarum, where they had taken over shopping centers, office buildings, and even private homes of those who weren’t members of the Universalist Church. But the unit I was assigned to was quartered in a new set of barracks built at a farm the Knights had commandeered north of Stonehenge and east of the superhenge at Durrington Walls.
They did give me my own room due to my rank, but I was also given command of a dozen witches. The five men lived in one wing of the building, and the seven women lived in the other. From being a part-time apprentice witch six months before, I was suddenly in charge of a circle.
My room was marginally nicer than my room in the City of the Illuminati, and I had a bathroom that I didn’t have to share. That was a good thing, since it would have been impossible for two people to be in the space at once. I could barely turn around in the tiny shower, but it did have hot water.
The main room had a small table, two chairs, a narrow bed with a thin mattress, and a wardrobe. There was enough empty floor space for me to lie down and do some exercises.
I stashed my duffle bag and went looking for Standard-Bearer Monica Dal Corso, the company commander. I found her in the company administration building.
Dal Corso was a tall, dark-haired, olive-complexioned, curvy-but-fit woman that I judged to be in her eighties. She was still a striking beauty and a powerful witch. Her demeanor was that of a no-nonsense commander who was completely comfortable with her own power and position.
“Sergeant O’Grady,” she said with an Italian accent. She scanned an open file in front of her. “I am somewhat surprised that you’ve attained that rank at such a young age.”
“I was recently promoted, Ma’am.” It wasn’t difficult for me to fall back into the military discipline I had lived with for ten years in the Hunters’ Guild.
“So I see.” She raised her eyes. “You’re going to be in charge of a dozen witches, all but one older than you are. Are you comfortable with that?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
She studied me. “Command is a fine line between being firm enough to maintain appropriate discipline and being harsh or even cruel. People follow people they respect far better than people they fear. You’re probably going to be challenged. How you handle those challenges will determine how effective your circle executes. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Permission to speak?”
“Please.”
“I don’t have a need to be right, or to dominate. I’m willing to listen, and I’m willing to admit when I’m wrong. But I’m not a pushover. I’m fairly confident that I can kick ass, or at least hold my own, and I’m not going to back down if I’m right. I might question an order you give me, but once I walk out that door, I’ll make sure my people carry it out or die trying. Ma’am, I’m not a strong or experienced witch, and I’m not going to pretend that I am. But that’s not why I was promoted.”
Dal Corso nodded. “Well, you at least know the right things to say.” She leaned over and punched a button on her phone. “Chevalier Scarpa, please come to my office.”
“Right away,” a woman’s voice answered.
“Your direct commander is Chevalier Scarpa,” Dal Corso said. “She has served with me for several years. If you have any problems you can’t solve yourself, or if you just need some advice, I strongly urge you to lean on her. She was my trainer long ago, and one of the best and most pious Knights I have ever known.”
Delores Scarpa turned out to be Dal Corso’s physical opposite. She was stocky but appeared fit, and the top of her head reached my nose. Her gray hair was cropped short, and her face was lined. In spite of her immaculate uniform, there was something almost sloppy about her posture, and my first impression was of a kindly grandmother. Her Italian accent was also far thicker than Dal Corso’s.
I wasn’t fooled. One of my trainers with the Hunters’ Guild carried the air of a kindly grandmother, and she had almost beaten me to death for mouthing off to her. I learned my lesson and never talked back to any of my superiors again.
Dal Corso introduced us and turned me over to Scarpa. We walked past her office, and she waved at it. “That’s my office.” She didn’t slow down, and we walked out of the building. She gave me a tour of the compound, telling me about the other units billeted there and showing me their barracks. She also showed me the dining hall and the canteen, where I could buy toiletries, snacks, and some other goods. A small chapel sat off to one side beyond the lot where vehicles were parked.
“Most people get three days leave every two weeks,” Scarpa told me. “We discourage going beyond Salisbury. The country is not always hospitable.”
“I was in Liverpool before coming here,” I said. “There were several insurgent attacks while I was there.”
She nodded. “Sadly, there are many infidels who need to be converted. That’s what makes our work here so important.”
We stopped at a fence at the edge of the compound. To the south, we could see Stonehenge.
“Tomorrow, I’ll take you through the complex here. Most of our installation is underground. We leveraged the tunnels and barrows that the ancients left. Now, I’ll take you to meet your team.” She turned to face me. “You’re young, and your file doesn’t provide much confidence in your magical abilities. Starting tomorrow, you will report to my quarters each evening after dinner for instruction in witchcraft.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“You don’t have any problem with that?”
“No, Ma’am.”
“Good.”
Chapter 17
My team. For all of my experience in the Hunters’ Guild, I had never led a team. I vaguely remembered Karl and Tiana mentioning that they were inserting me in place of a key member in the Knights’ defenses, but I hadn’t paid a lot of attention. I was a good actress and had played many parts. And although my real job was to lead the team into disaster, I had to hang on long enough to do it.
If that wasn’t intimidating enough, they were witches. It was one thing to have the genetics, but I had never really thought of myself as a witch.
Chevalier Scarpa introduced me and reeled off the names of my team, then stepped aside. I was left facing a dozen strangers in Knights’ uniforms.
“I understand this team has been together for some time,” I started. “I’m going to want to meet with each of you individually to understand your talents, and we’ll be doing that over the next couple of days. For now, I’ll just say that I expect everyone to work hard and keep your noses clean. I’m not the kind of person who’s going to be constantly looking over your shoulders. You’re Knights, and I expect you to conduct yourselves appropriately and take care of business.”
No one’s expression changed.
“Any questions for me?”
A tall man spoke in a North English accent, “Where were you before you came here?”
“In America, stationed in Washington, D.C.”
“Were you involved in that fiasco in Virginia?” one woman asked in a German accent.
The cover story in my personnel file said I was the only survivor of the circle that Ian, Oriel and I had destroyed at the resort hotel.
“I was. And it was a fiasco. We got our asses kicked. As to why it happened, I don’t know. Above my pay grade. I just know that a lot of brave men a
nd women weren’t as lucky as I was.”
“Are you Irish?” the tall man asked.
I spoke so many languages, and had been in so many places, that I tended to unconsciously adopt the accents of those around me. My father was Irish, and being around Ian so much, my speech patterns had fallen in line with his. But I certainly didn’t look Irish.
“Half Irish,” I said. “On my father’s side.”
There weren’t any more questions, so I dismissed them. Scarpa led me back to her office where she handed me a stack of personnel files and briefed me on each of my team. They were an eclectic bunch, but all were experienced, with the youngest having been a Knight for eight years. Of course, that sparked the question in my mind as to why the highest rank any of them had attained was corporal. Five were still squires.
When we finished going through all the files, I said, “Okay, I’ll bite. Why am I in charge of these people? What’s wrong with them?” I held up a file. “This guy has been a Knight longer than I’ve been alive and he’s still a squire.”
Scarpa leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers, a self-satisfied little smile on her face. “He is a strong witch, and he’ll do whatever you tell him to, provided it’s within his abilities. He isn’t very bright, though, and his capacity to retain knowledge is rather limited. You could never put him in charge of a circle. Without someone to tell him what to do and when, he’d just stand there. Tea?”
“Yes, please.”
She stood and walked over to the sideboard and turned on an electric pot. With her back to me, she put teabags in two mugs.
“The German woman is very smart, very impatient with others, and has a total lack of tact and empathy. If you ever need a bull in a china shop, as the English say, she’s a perfect candidate. Lawrence and Evelyn work very well together, but they are barely functional when they’re apart. They’re twins, you know.”
Knights Magica: An Urban Fantasy (Rosie O'Grady's Paranormal Bar and Grill Book 5) Page 13
