Thaumatology 04 - Dragon's Blood

by Teasdale, Niall

  Faran looked between them and decided to change the subject. ‘So you’re going to be taught to use your powers better, Ceri?’

  ‘That’s the idea, yes.’

  ‘I’m going to have a very hard time keeping my hands off you,’ he said with a sigh.

  Ceri hopped off the altar. ‘Come on,’ she said. ‘We’ll go up to the roof and get some sun. You don’t have to come just to give Lily lessons. I might even let you put oil on my back.’

  ‘That’s my job,’ Lily said possessively.

  ‘Hey,’ Ceri replied, ‘he taught me something new today… Well, I suppose you both did actually. You could share.’

  Giggling, Lily rose to her feet. ‘Sure, I get the front, he gets the back.’

  Faran stood up, laughing. ‘Oh right, you get the interesting side. Have you no respect for you poor old dad?’

  ‘Ha! You’re just a dirty old man,’ Lily replied.

  Ceri listened to them as they followed her out of the dungeon. They sounded like a father and daughter trading banter; perhaps a father and daughter with something of an odd relationship, but parent and child all the same. Maybe, just maybe, it had not been just a lesson on Lily’s nature which had been learned, and maybe it was not just Ceri and Lily who had learned something.

  Holloway, July 21st

  ‘Before you go,’ Cheryl said, ‘I vant your blood.’

  Ceri looked up at her, continuing to slip her tablet away into its new, MagiTech sponsored, carrying bag. They had been going over the meetings Cheryl and Carter had had with Alfred Barnes, and the planned activities for the continuation of their projects. ‘Has Carter developed some biting tendencies I wasn’t aware of Boss? Should I warn people to wear leather collars around him?’

  Cheryl produced a vacuum syringe in a plastic bag from her desk. ‘He only bites if you ask him very nicely,’ she said, ‘and he told me once that vampires have a fondness for the inner thigh.’

  ‘I don’t want to know how he knows they prefer the femoral artery,’ Ceri commented. She nodded at the syringe. ‘Do you know how to use that thing?’

  ‘Hold your arm out,’ Cheryl said, smiling. Ceri did so and Cheryl examined her arm for a second and then pressed a thumb down on the bicep, just above the elbow. ‘This’ll sting a little,’ she said, and then jabbed the needle in firmly, but smoothly. A press on the head of the test tube and the vacuum inside it was drawing blood from Ceri’s arm.

  ‘You’ve done that before.’

  ‘I used to help in the blood donor clinic on campus for years,’ Cheryl said. ‘I haven’t had time to do it recently, but it’s a skill you don’t forget.’ She pulled the tube and then the needle, and shifted her thumb to cover the wound. ‘Damn, I should have brought something to cover it with.’

  Ceri smirked and raised her index finger on her other hand. ‘If I may.’

  Cheryl grinned a little sheepishly. ‘Oh, yeah. There was a slight flicker of light as Ceri closed the hole in her arm and then flexed the limb to test there was no stiffness.

  ‘What do you want it for anyway?’ Ceri asked.

  ‘Research,’ Cheryl said. ‘You know me, always out to discover new things.’

  ‘Carter told you about my new discovery then?’

  Cheryl just grinned a little maniacally. Sometimes Ceri thought her boss might be even more of a curiosity-driven obsessive than she was.

  Part Four: Queen’s Gambit

  Kennington, July 19th, 2011

  ‘Excellent. Maintain your concentration. It does get easier the more you practice.’

  Ceri watched the twisting shape in front of her and tried to ignore the platitudes. She was manipulating raw magic. It had gone from a ball about six inches across to a torus, and she was now trying to twist it about itself, constantly increasing the complexity of the figure. A week ago it had been hard enough to form the torus; Ed was right, it got easier.

  ‘Your progress is impressive,’ Ed went on. ‘Be careful of the extreme edges. It takes far more control to maintain a sharp angle. Very good, you’re holding it.’

  ‘Do you keep chattering on like that to distract me?’ Ceri asked.

  ‘Uh, no,’ Ed’s image replied, blinking, ‘it’s called “positive reinforcement.”’

  ‘Well you’re positively reinforcing the probability I’ll drop it.’ She merged the twisted torus into a solid bar and then began to twist that into a corkscrew.

  ‘Some of my students do say I talk too much.’

  ‘I’m amazed.’

  ‘Being sarcastic to your teacher is not recommended,’ Ed said, sarcastically.

  ‘Do I get caned?’ Ceri replied without hesitation. ‘I’ll wear a short skirt.’ Ed’s image blushed. Ceri compressed the corkscrew back into a ball and dismissed the energy. Tension she had not really noticed all the way down her spine relaxed. ‘You’re tens of thousands of years old and you still blush at innuendo?’

  ‘Believe it or not,’ he replied, ‘I don’t get that much attention looking like this.’

  ‘What do you really look like?’

  ‘This, except more solid.’

  ‘No, I mean… you’re a dragon.’

  ‘Oh, that. That’s no more what I really look like than this is.’ Ceri frowned at him. ‘Start another exercise and I’ll explain.’

  Ceri smirked. ‘Now that’s motivational. Playing on my curiosity.’ She summoned up another ball of thaumic energy, allowing it to float from her right palm to the air between her hands. Slowly it began to flatten out into a disc.

  ‘Dragons can’t live without a magic field to support them,’ Ed said. ‘That’s what killed Brenin. He let himself be caught here when the magic vanished. So… where do you think we go?’

  Ceri almost lost the disc. ‘Dragons are from another ‘brane?’

  Ed nodded. ‘You’ve heard that magic is considerably stronger in the world the demons come from? Well, our world makes theirs look mundane. We are the only species there, a random result of wild magic. Our natural form is a complex arrangement of thaumic energy.’

  By now the disc had grown and flattened, forming something like a huge, gleaming, blue-white snowflake. ‘Faran said dragons were the demons’ natural competition,’ Ceri said.

  ‘Not an unreasonable assertion, I suppose. I wouldn’t see it that way, obviously, but everyone has their self-delusions.’

  ‘He doesn’t think dragons are much more altruistic than demons.’

  ‘I’d argue that altruism is far more common among dragons, but it’s not universal. We originally came here as explorers. Some stayed to watch, some to teach…’

  ‘And some to carve out a kingdom to rule over,’ Ceri finished. ‘Very human.’

  ‘Mei Long says we’re more alike as species than most dragons would care to admit.’

  Ceri folded her snowflake in on itself, gathering it back up into a ball and crushing it out of existence. ‘I think there are only so many motivations in the world. Demons seem to have a far more racially defined one, with a few exceptions.’

  ‘Perhaps.’ He looked closely at her. ‘I think that’s enough for today. Despite it sounding like empty encouragement, you are making great progress.’

  Ceri smiled at the tweed-clad mirage. ‘Thanks, Professor.’ His image vanished and Ceri turned, walking out and up, and keeping on going up until she emerged onto the roof where Lily was stretched out in the sun.

  ‘Good session,’ Lily said without opening her eyes.

  ‘Yeah, I think so.’ Ceri unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it to the foot of her lounger before grabbing the sun tan oil.

  ‘Want me to do that?’

  ‘No,’ Ceri replied with a grin Lily could not see, ‘I’m tired and if you do it you know what’ll happen.’

  ‘I’ll let you rest then, perhaps I can do your back.’

  ‘Maybe.’ Ceri sat down to rub oil into her legs. ‘You know, I think I might actually be getting a tan.’

  ‘You probably just need a shower.’


  ‘Hey! I had a shower this morning. You know I had a shower this morning.’

  ‘I certainly do. It was very enjoyable. I just find it a little unbelievable that you’re tanning. Your skin tans like I blush… white.’ It was true, Lily could not blush and, while there was no metaphysical reason for it, Ceri never tanned.

  ‘Mum was the same,’ Ceri said, resigned to the fact that she was seeing things. ‘I think she had a charm she used on holiday. It stopped her turning into a boiled lobster after ten minutes outdoors. I wonder if I could find it. It’d save on oil.’

  ‘Don’t you dare! I like rubbing the oil in.’

  Ceri giggled. ‘How are things going with your dad?’

  ‘With Dad they’re going fine,’ Lily replied. ‘I’m having more trouble with the lessons.’

  ‘How so?’

  ‘Well, he’s been teaching me a few spells and that’s going okay. Neither of us are that good at magic, most succubi aren’t, but it’s another string to my bow, so to speak.’

  ‘Not hearing a problem,’ Ceri commented.

  ‘It’s that thing you sat in on,’ Lily replied. ‘Dad thinks I’m still scared of my demon side. I don’t want it getting stronger, so I won’t allow myself to… I dunno, get in touch with my inner demon.’

  ‘Maybe I can help.’

  ‘How?’

  Ceri looked up in the direction of the tower blocks. There were still people there pointing long lenses and parabolic microphones in their direction. ‘I’m pretty sure the enhancements to the house enchantments that Ed gave me will stop them hearing us,’ she said, ‘but I’m not going to risk it on some things.’

  ‘Y’know, I forget they’re there now,’ Lily said. ‘I’m surprised they haven’t given up.’

  ‘Oh hell no. Alexandra put in an official complaint about attempts to invade her privacy. They were trying to listen in on the pack when Jenny was there at the same time as me.’

  ‘Did she get a reply?’

  ‘No, but Jenny said the embassy got an official request for information about why one of their employees was spending so much time with a werewolf pack..’ She giggled. ‘Apparently they said that their British employees were free to choose whoever they wished as a boyfriend, and they found it surprising that the British Government took such an interest in their citizens’ love lives.’

  Lily joined in the giggling. ‘Well, they must have plenty of shots of us at it up here.’

  ‘Good point. Maybe MI5 is really a front for the Family Planning Organisation.’

  ‘I was thinking the BBC Natural History department. Interspecies mating rituals.’

  ‘Speaking of which,’ Ceri said as she turned over, ‘you can do my back now.’

  ‘I thought you’d never ask.’ There was the creak of her lounger having the load taken off, and then another as she sat down on the edge of Ceri’s lounger. The sound of oil being rubbed into her hands followed, and then those delicate, but firm, hands were rubbing the oil into Ceri’s shoulders.

  Ceri sighed, feeling herself relax. ‘This is so relaxing,’ she said, ‘up until the point where my nerves are singing anyway.’

  ‘I aim to please,’ Lily said, her hands working down Ceri’s back, smoothing out from her spine. As the heels of her hands were pressing out the kinks above Ceri’s hips she stopped. Ceri felt her lean over slightly, as if examining something.

  ‘What’s up?’

  ‘You know that shadowy patch on your back?’ Lily asked.

  ‘Uh, well, yeah.’

  ‘It’s getting darker. It’s kind of… it’s a circle, a broken circle, but I think it’s got structure.’ She straightened up and started working the oil in again. ‘You should get it looked at.’

  ‘I’ll ask Alexandra to look at it on Wednesday,’ Ceri said.

  Lily nodded and pushed Ceri’s legs apart to give access to her lover’s inner thighs. ‘Good enough,’ she said.

  ~~~

  Heavy, silver-iron cuffs were locked around Lily’s wrists and ankles. They held her spread-eagled to the St Andrew’s Cross in the dungeon. It was not an entirely uncommon position for Lily to be in, but generally she was there for recreation; this was education.

  ‘Now,’ Ceri said, ‘I’m quite sure that you can control yourself, but we need you to feel secure, so let me reiterate. You’re chained up inside a magic circle. I have salt standing by and I can have a containment circle up around you in about ten seconds if I have to. I remind you that you can’t harm me and must follow my orders. I am perfectly safe, and so are you.’

  Lily nodded seriously. ‘Yes, Mistress.’

  Ordinarily Ceri might have told her off for calling her Mistress in any serious situation, but this was a serious situation where she really was being Lily’s mistress. She had even dressed the part. Getting dolled up in a corset and high-heeled thigh boots helped Ceri get into the right mind-set. She was getting better at the whole dominatrix thing with practice, but she was still not good enough that a few props did not help.

  ‘All right, pet,’ Ceri said, pulling herself up as straight as she could, ‘there’s no need for your safe place, because you’re in a safe place. Your Mistress is right here with you and she’s a sorceress, a descendent of dragons.’

  Lily gave a little shudder. ‘Oh yes, Mistress.’

  Ceri closed her eyes and reached down into her own body, finding the silver strands in her physical bridge and pushing power into them. She opened her eyes again when she heard the little gasp from Lily. There was light swirling and shimmering throughout the room. Ceri had never actually seen it before, but it had to be coming from her.

  ‘Remember what your father taught you, pet,’ Ceri said. ‘Focus on your physical bridge. See the bands within it.’ Ceri looked down toward the ghost-bridge between Lily’s legs. ‘The human strands are a dull white. Intertwined with them are the demon ones, a bright, shimmering red.’ Now she knew what she was looking at she could see that the demon bands in Lily were more common than her own draconic bands, though she was a little surprised to note that there was not that much difference. Lily was half demon, Ceri was probably a millionth dragon; surely there should have been more of a disparity.

  ‘I… can see it,’ Lily said.

  ‘It’s beautiful, Lily,’ Ceri said. ‘Really beautiful. You can’t be afraid of something that beautiful. Focus on them, see how wonderful they are. Let your demon feel my power. Let yourself feel the demon inside you. It can’t control you. It is you. You don’t fear it, it’s beautiful and natural.’

  The bands of light in Lily’s physical bridge grew brighter, not just the red ones, but the white ones as well. Energy flared up through her Chakral Median, burning brightly in the Ajna node behind her forehead. Her eyes opened; brilliant red light shone in her pupils, but there was none of the usual flare of aura. She blinked and the light was gone, but the intensity in her gaze was still there.

  ‘Oh… Oh, Ceri…’ Lily sounded, well, awed. ‘I can feel the magic around you, in you. I knew it was there before, it attracted me to you, attracted my demon side to you, but now… now I can feel it.’ She licked her lips. ‘I want you so bad right now.’

  Ceri smiled. Her own light dimmed as she allowed her focus to fade. Not that it made Lily look any less hungry. ‘Your internal thaumic field is stronger too,’ Ceri said. ‘You may find the magic comes a little easier.’ Lily was straining against the shackles now. Reaching out, Ceri slapped the inside of Lily’s left thigh sharply. ‘Control yourself, pet. Straighten yourself up.’

  Lily gave a little squeak and pulled herself up straight. ‘Sorry, Mistress.’

  ‘You control the demon, not the other way around.’

  ‘Yes, Mistress,’ Lily replied emphatically.

  ‘Tell me how you feel.’

  Lily blinked and looked unsure for a second. ‘I feel… I feel like me, but more so? I feel… I feel incredibly sexy.’ She grinned, showing her fangs.

  ‘You’re always sexy, pet,’ Ceri pointed
out, though she had to admit that she was having more than her usual difficulty keeping her hands off Lily. She was just looking…

  ‘I feel sexier,’ Lily said. ‘I feel good. I feel… me, every inch of me.’

  ‘Well, remember that,’ Ceri said. ‘You can summon it up whenever you need it, even if we haven’t just let it out and you just have to get used to it.’

  ‘I think I could get used to this.’

  Ceri laughed and dropped to her knees, unlocking the shackles from Lily’s ankles. She straightened up and reached for one of Lily’s wrists. ‘You’ll stay right where you are when I’ve freed you,’ she said. ‘I’ll tell you when you can move.’

  ‘Of course, Mistress,’ Lily said, lowering her free arm and waiting while Ceri unlocked her final limb.

  Backing away, Ceri hopped up onto the altar and sat there, watching Lily. Lily stood there, squirming slightly. Finally, Ceri leant back on the stone. ‘All right, pet,’ she said, ‘you know what to do.’

  Licking her lips, Lily moved forward like a cat stalking prey. ‘Yes, Mistress,’ she said.

  Battersea, July 20th

  The cool grass felt rather good against her stomach as Ceri lay there with Alexandra, Michael, and any wolf in the vicinity with a view, examining her butt. Technically, they were not actually looking at her arse, but it felt like it, especially after the looking seemed to go on for rather longer than seemed entirely necessary.

  ‘So… have I got a melanoma or what?’ she finally asked in an effort to get someone to say something.

  ‘No dear,’ Alexandra said, a hint of humour in her voice, ‘I’m merely enjoying a shapely behind. One takes all the thrills one can get at my age.’ Ceri grumbled something inaudible. ‘What was that, dear? I didn’t quite catch it.’

  ‘I was just commenting on lecherous old women.’

  ‘I thought so.’ She gave Ceri a swat on the backside. ‘Sit up so I can letch at your front instead.’ Ceri was grinning as she sat up straight and Michael slipped in to cuddle up beside her. ‘What you have there, Ceridwyn, is something you’re very familiar with. Though it’s not quite the same as the ones you had before.’

  ‘Alexandra,’ Ceri said with a hint of irritation, ‘you’re being enigmatic.’