The Burning Man kots-2, page 4
part #2 of Kingdom of the Serpent Series
He looks around at the faces of the Brothers and Sisters of Spiders and finally settles on Etain. Her gaze is as empty as her companions’, but Veitch sees something.
‘Come on, darlin’,’ he says with a grin. ‘Did you really doubt that I’d be back?’
6
England sleeps, England dreams.
But not for long.
Chapter One
AN UNKINDNESS OF RAVENS
1
Early morning sun reflecting off glass and steel gave London a brassy newness. The city was awake and ready. Exhaust fumes and noise rose up from the clogged streets, and the offices and stores were filling with people preparing for slow, uninspiring toil. This was the modern age.
From the highest viewing point atop St Paul’s Cathedral, Church watched the humdrum ritual of a sleepwalking world. He’d cut his hair, shaved cleanly, in the hope that he’d be able to merge into the somnolent mass, but every time he looked in the mirror he could see the scars of two thousand years of struggle. It made him an outsider, and if it was visible to him, it would be visible to the Enemy, too.
Drawing himself out of his reverie, he made his way down the wroughtiron steps to the quiet seclusion of the Whispering Gallery. Inside the dome, the atmosphere was charged, protective. He was relieved he had chosen the right meeting place. Safe locations were few and far between in an enemy landscape.
Ruth waited amidst the susurration. ‘Shavi’s just arrived with the last one. They’re ready for you.’
‘They’re cooperating?’
‘I’ve not heard any arguments so far. I think they felt it instinctively, like we all did.’
‘They don’t know what we’re going to ask of them yet.’
‘They’ll live up to it, you know they will. That’s why they were chosen.’
She kissed him. After so long yearning for her, and fighting to get back to her, he still couldn’t believe they were reunited. Her memory of their previous life together still hadn’t returned, so everything had the freshness of new love as she explored him, finding little details and quiet touches that cemented their feelings for each other.
They made their way down into the vast body of the cathedral, and then down further into the crypt. At the eastern end stood the Church of St Faith-below-St Paul, a chapel that had been established in the crypt of a church pulled down in the thirteenth century when the cathedral was enlarged. The atmosphere of sanctity that infused the whole building was even more potent there. To one side, Shavi and Laura waited with Mallory, Sophie, Caitlin and Hunter.
After introductions had been made, Hunter said, ‘Congratulations. Very clandestine. I could find you lot a job. I’d have preferred somewhere with more alcohol and women, though.’
‘We’re safe here,’ Church said.
‘Speak for yourself. I’m normally run out of this kind of place with a pitchfork.’ Hunter leaned against the wall, arms folded. He was grinning, but his eyes searched Church’s face for any hint of weakness.
‘He’s right. Can’t you feel it?’ Sophie pressed one hand against the cool flags. ‘There’s something here … some kind of power.’
‘That’s it exactly,’ Ruth said. ‘A power that runs through the land. It’s focused at certain nodes, in places that have been considered sacred for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years. Cathedrals and churches, yes, but also stone circles, wells, lakes, hilltops-’
Hunter snorted. Ruth flashed him a glare, and grew more annoyed when he only laughed out loud.
‘You have to see it-’ she began.
A lick of blue flames across the floor cut her short. Within seconds they had risen up into a wall of fire that separated the chapel from the rest of the crypt.
‘I wish I could claim credit for that,’ Ruth said.
Hunter reached out tentatively, then plunged his hand into the fire. ‘Cold,’ he said. Withdrawing his hand, he looked puzzled. ‘I feel kind of … good?’
‘I remember this,’ Caitlin said dreamily. ‘But long ago. Was I a child?’
In the flames, the figure of a man gradually formed. His features were indistinct but, strangely, they could all tell he was smiling.
‘Hal,’ Church said.
‘Yes, it’s me, your favourite genie,’ Hal said wryly. ‘Don’t worry — nobody will see the Blue Fire if they come into the crypt, but they won’t approach the chapel either. It’ll give us a few minutes of privacy.’
‘Who the hell are you?’ Hunter said. ‘The Human Torch?’
Hal laughed. ‘I’m one of you, Hunter. You’d know exactly who I was if your memory hadn’t been wiped. Existence chooses groups of five to fight for Life. The four of you, and me … we’re the last Brothers and Sisters of Dragons.’
‘The last?’ Church echoed.
‘After this group is gone, there won’t be any more.’ An odd note in Hal’s voice made Church uneasy.
Hal turned to Mallory, Sophie, Caitlin and Hunter. ‘The Void made you live false lives so you wouldn’t remember who you are and what you’re capable of. I escaped into the Blue Fire.’
‘Where you … what? Get to chip in with gnomic comments from time to time?’ Hunter said.
‘Something like that. But I’m here now because you’re at the start of the next phase of your journey.’
‘And this journey,’ Hunter pressed, ‘is to usurp the god who really rules the world?’
‘The Void,’ Shavi said. ‘Although it has many other names.’
‘Everyone on the planet is held by the Mundane Spell,’ Hal said. ‘It makes them think the things they do are normal and reasonable, however ridiculous they might be.’
‘Like striving for money and power,’ Shavi added wryly.
‘They’ll never be able to break the spell because they can’t contemplate anything beyond what they see around them,’ Hal continued. ‘You can change that. You can make them open their eyes.’
‘But how are we supposed to destroy a god?’ Caitlin asked.
‘There are two forces at work in this world — two polarities, if you like,’ Hal replied, ‘but they’ve been out of balance for a long time. The Void isn’t omnipotent. It’s aware of the force you all represent. It respects it … it’s wary of it. If you want to unseat the Void, you need three things. The Extinction Shears, which can cut through the warp and weft of reality. They can untether the Void, and reshape everything. But to get the chance to use the Shears, you need two Keys. Two people hidden by Existence, somewhere in the world. One has the power of destruction, the other the power of creation.’
‘Hidden somewhere in the world,’ Hunter said sardonically. ‘Amongst six billion plus people.’
‘You’ll find them,’ Hal said.
‘An optimist. I like that. Or maybe you’re a fantasist. I’m not entirely sure.’
‘Can’t you help us?’ Sophie asked.
‘You need to do this yourselves,’ Hal said.
‘Oh, yeah.’ Laura snorted. ‘We haven’t told you about the whole learn-while-you-burn thing.’
‘The act of finding shapes us into the people we need to be to use the things we find,’ Church said. ‘Which is a mouthful, but that’s the rule we’re stuck with. We may get a push here and a prod there, but basically it’s down to us. We can’t do it on our own-’
‘Especially with our number depleted,’ Ruth said.
Church eyed her, but didn’t explain. ‘We need you. Will you help us?’
‘Hang on,’ Mallory said. ‘You’ve obviously elected yourself leader-’
‘That’s not how it is.’
Mallory shrugged. ‘If the Void controls the whole world, how can we move around without being seen?’
‘Not easily,’ Church admitted, ‘but the Blue Fire offers us some protection in the places where it’s strongest — which, frankly, at the moment isn’t very many. But when we’re on the lines of force that link the nodes, the Blue Fire pretty much blinds the Void to us.’
‘So it’s cathedrals from now on?’ Mallory said. ‘I’m with him.’ He jerked a thumb towards Hunter. ‘Cathedrals and me don’t go together very well.’
Sophie silenced him with an insistent wave of her hand. She appeared to grasp what Church was saying. ‘We stick to the lines of force and the nodes of power as much as we can. But apart from that we just have to keep moving, right?’
‘That’s about it,’ Church said. ‘I’ll be honest, we’re always going to be at risk-’
‘From the spiders,’ Hunter mocked.
‘Trust me, they’re not like any bugs you’ve seen before,’ Mallory said.
‘We all get that you’re a cynical smart-mouth, Hunter,’ Laura said. ‘But this is the point where you need to lever that massive ego to one side for a while.’
‘Well, you’re a woman of hidden depths, aren’t you? Selflessness now, is it?’
‘If I can do it, anyone can. Even you.’
‘We’ve got an obligation here,’ Church said.
‘The only obligation I’ve got is to myself,’ Hunter snapped, ‘and frankly I’ve not heard anything here that makes me think this is going to turn out anything other than disastrous.’
‘We have a plan-’
‘No, you haven’t. You’ve got half a notion, a little bit of an idea concocted from a brew of rumours, innuendos and hints. Even if I laughably consider that there’s the vaguest glimmer of truth in what I’ve heard, the possibility that we could do something about it is beyond my comprehension.’
‘Don’t you feel it?’ Caitlin persisted. ‘You know in your heart there’s something bigger going on. Why don’t you trust them?’
‘I don’t trust anybody. And I don’t feel anything. I can see you’re all doing the evangelical bit, and you give a good sermon, really. But this doesn’t work for me. I wish you well, but I’ll be honest, I’m not going to lose any sleep over leaving you to it.’ He nodded decisively and glanced at Laura, who returned his look haughtily, and then walked through the wall of Blue Fire and away.
‘You’re not going to let him go?’ Ruth said to Church. ‘We need him.’
‘We can’t force him to help us.’
‘We could try,’ Mallory said hopefully.
‘We need all the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons we can muster if we’re going to stand a chance,’ Ruth continued. ‘What are we going to do now, Church?’
Church looked to Hal, but he shook his head. The flames had begun to die down, retreating towards the ground. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I can’t help. You’re on your own.’
2
Hunter spent the rest of the day in a brothel just off Wimpole Street. The girls came and went, but nothing could take his mind off everything he had seen and heard since he had first encountered Laura in Hyde Park. He felt troubled, and then angry that he felt troubled. He took great care to order his life so it would be bearable. The last thing he needed was to have it all shaken up, more responsibility thrust on him, more obligation.
When he emerged into a light rain as dusk was falling, he was in a bad mood and in need of some serious drinking. He made his way down to Soho where he could lose himself in the backstreet pubs without bumping into anyone he knew. He drank Jack Daniel’s and Coke at a rapid clip and only became more irritated when drunkenness didn’t come quickly enough.
It was past midnight and the rain was still falling when he finally gave up. The weather had driven the stragglers home or to clubs and the streets were deserted. As he made his way along Wardour Street, the instinct that had served him so well over the years came alive. It was the kind of unease he had felt moving through Belgrade at night with the Serbian security forces close behind. Slipping into an alley, he waited.
For several moments there was only the rain-slick street gleaming in the sodium lights and the drumming of droplets on fire escapes and parked cars. Then, at the far end of the street, a shimmer like the reflection of light from a moving car. Patches of mist emerged from doorways and alleys, rose up from manholes, gradually taking on greater substance before moving rapidly around. Searching, he thought. From a distance, the shapes resembled rags caught in the wind, but as they drew closer the faces of beautiful women became visible within the coalescing mist.
Entranced, Hunter believed they were the most attractive women he had ever seen; any doubts were unnaturally silenced, even the dim realisation that they were searching for him as they quickly moved into every available space.
Closer and closer, the pale figures whirled through the rain. A cat darted out of one of the alleys where it had been scavenging in a bin and froze in the middle of the road, its hackles raised. Three of the women spun around, arms raised, swaying on the spot. They looked like cobras, hissing and drawing back their lips to reveal needle teeth. In the hollows of their eyes lay something corrupt and terrifying.
Hands grabbed Hunter’s shoulders and pulled him roughly back into the alley. It was the second time he had been surprised in as many days, and the shock of it broke the spell. He whirled to confront an ageing hippie, his grey hair pulled back in a ponytail, wire-rimmed spectacles, faded combat jacket, peace symbol T-shirt.
‘I thought you people were supposed to be better than this,’ he hissed. ‘Come on.’ He hurried into the shadows further along the alley. Hunter glanced back at the rapidly nearing feral women and chose to follow.
‘Who are you?’ Hunter asked when he caught up with the man, who was now staring up into the dark.
‘Quiet. The Baobhan Sith can hear the movement of an insect.’
‘The what?’
‘There’s a fire escape up there. If you boost me up, I can pull it down and we can get up onto the roof.’
‘Remind me why I’m listening to you?’
The stranger’s eyes were filled with a power belied by his shabby appearance. ‘Because in two short minutes, those things on the street will be tearing you limb from limb. Thirty seconds after that you’ll be nothing but a fine spray of blood and a few shards of bone.’
‘Okay, you’ve convinced me.’ Hunter cupped his hands and propelled the man up to the ladder, which slid down noisily. Within a minute they were on the wet roof. Hunter grabbed the man’s arm and said, ‘What do I call you?’
‘Tom. And despite what you might be thinking, I am a friend.’
Still suspicious, Hunter crawled to the edge of the roof and peered over the parapet. The Baobhan Sith flitted across the street with mounting frenzy. They reminded Hunter of hounds scenting their unseen prey. ‘Can they follow us up here?’
‘They could, but they’re not the sharpest knives in the box.’ Tom eased next to him.
‘Why are they after me?’
‘When you lived a life of dull ignorance, you weren’t a threat. Now you can no longer be contained or condoned. The alarms have gone off. You need to be removed from the field.’
‘Oh, I get it. You’re with the other lot. The mad Dragon Family.’ Hunter ducked as one of the Baobhan Sith scanned the rooftops. ‘They sent you to get me back.’
‘No. I have yet to join up with them. In these dangerous times, a touch of subtlety is required. Frankly, I think they’re flailing around like idiots. Dragging you in from your fake lives without any thought for how much fuss they’re making. Where’s the finesse? They’re going to bring all hell down on their shoulders, mark my words.’
‘If you’re not working with them, how do you know what’s going on?’
‘I’ve been watching.’
A high-pitched shriek rose up from the street, setting Hunter’s teeth on edge. It was joined by another and another.
Tom blanched. ‘They have found us.’
Hunter drew a carbon-steel knife from the sheath strapped to his calf. ‘Shall we see if they’re any good?’
‘You’ve got a death wish.’ Tom tried to grab Hunter’s arm, but he was already scrambling to the top of the fire escape. In the alley below, the Baobhan Sith looked like a mass of billowing sheets.
Before they could rise up the ladder, there was a disturbance at the entrance to the alley. A drunken couple were engaging in an argument en route home from the pub. She was shouting, ‘You didn’t have to keep looking at her!’
The Baobhan Sith stopped their relentless approach and turned as one. The couple were ripped to pieces in seconds. Hunter gaped at the speed and brutality of the attack; of all the many atrocities he had seen in his life, that was the worst.
‘If you’d run when I said, they might not have died,’ Tom said cruelly. ‘The Baobhan Sith are attack dogs. Anything that wanders into their vicinity is a target.’
Hunter felt a real weight descend on him as he led the way across the rooftops, and became increasingly uncomfortable when it refused to dissipate. Climbing down another fire escape, they emerged into the crowds around Piccadilly Circus as the rain stopped. Hunter propelled Tom into an all-night cafe, where they sat at the back, drinking espresso in the steamy atmosphere.
‘What were those things?’ Hunter was angry, and in two minds about giving the irritating old hippie a pasting just to make himself feel better.
‘They come from another place, a world that’s only a step away from our own.’ Tom removed his glasses to clean the raindrops from the lenses. ‘The things there have populated our myths for millennia as they crossed back and forth between worlds, and the Baobhan Sith are one of the worst nightmares to crawl out of that place. Any time you read a tale about some blood-sucking woman drifting out of a cemetery in a shroud, you can trace it back to them.’
‘This wasn’t some random attack-’
‘The Enemy controls them. The Enemy controls everything monstrous and frightening and unpleasant because its currency — its entire ethos — is despair. The Baobhan Sith spread poison in this sad and miserable reality, but on this occasion they were directed to eliminate you.’
