Free Thaumatology 12: Vengeance by Niall Teasdale Page B

I… Maybe I was a little harsh…’
    ‘You weren’t,’ Ed replied. ‘I’m a coward. I could have come forward with Cheryl’s whereabouts straight after the fall, but I was scared of how you’d react…’
    ‘You stopped Huanglong from having her killed, messily if his other work is anything to go by. You stood up to him on that at least and you deserve more credit for it.’
    ‘Still, I’m sorry…’
    ‘Not to me, Ed,’ Ceri stated flatly. ‘Apologise to Cheryl. I’m not a great believer in “I was only following orders,” but you were under duress. You did what you could. Mei was the same and I forgave her.’
    ‘Can we take my apology as read then, and move on? I’ll talk to Cheryl first chance I get.’
    ‘That may be sooner than you think.’ Taking her tablet from her bag, Ceri tapped up an animation showing the reconstructed cube and passed it across to Ed. ‘What do you make of that?’
    ‘A tesseract-form enchantment,’ Ed stated immediately. ‘That is old school. I haven’t seen anyone use one in… centuries at least. The glyph sequences construct a fourth dimensional inner construct…’
    ‘That’s what Gwyn said. Do you think you can work out exactly what it does?’
    ‘Well… no. You’re missing one of the sides. I can work out almost precisely what it does, but you could be missing something vital.’ He frowned. ‘These glyphs are too small to read properly, but…’
    ‘They’re draconic, Ed. Someone who knows how to build enchantments using draconic symbology has made something which is causing angels to solidify in London. And they’re using the generator to power it. I need… an expert, and you are about as expert as it gets.’
    ‘Gwyn could…’
    ‘Gwyn has a lot on her plate at the moment. I’ve got her helping Cheryl with the conference. She can help. Hell, I doubt you could stop her, but she’s got Cheryl’s sanity in her hands. I’ve got several generator projects and two worlds to juggle. Will you help?’
    ‘Of course I will.’ His expression said he was just glad she had got over her feelings for him in order to ask.
    Mayfair, London.
    Ceri had not really been in the mood for Demi-monde, but she had been faced with Gwyn, Twill, and Mei telling her that she needed to relax, and she needed to pay some more attention to Lily. The latter reason had been mean, but also true. Lily had got all dressed up for her, and then there had been the news break and they had been running from crisis to crisis ever since. So they had gone to Mayfair.
    As they approached the club, however, they both started wondering if it was such a good idea. There was a woman, short and a little dumpy, standing outside the building with a placard which proclaimed ‘Babylon is Here.’ She was waving it at anyone passing by and saying something or other to them. The reaction she was getting in most cases was a quickening of pace.
    As Ceri approached with Lily, both wearing long, leather coats, the woman eyed them, decided they looked like customers, and stepped forward. ‘And He cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird! Go thee not into this foul and depraved place lest you be judged.’
    Ceri came to a stop, saying nothing, but she looked down into the woman’s eyes.
    The woman looked back, then quickly at Lily, and then back to Ceri. Her mouth hardened. ‘If a man sleeps with a man as with a woman, they have both committed a detestable thing. They must be put to death, their blood is on their own hands.’
    It was entirely the wrong thing to say. Ceri felt the anger surge, felt her dragon-self rising to the surface, and knew her eyes were changing. She did not care. ‘Go. Away,’ Ceri growled. The woman’s eyes widened and she backed away. Then she turned and hurried down the street away from the door.
    ‘Did you use magic on