Thaumatology 12: Vengeance (14 page)

Ceri frowned. ‘He’s sixty?’

‘According to this. No record of a father… Bright, but not interested in academic stuff. He dropped out of school as soon as he could, and then he dropped off the map. No information about him until he registers the Watchers of Saint John as a charity in ninety-seven.’

The car pulled up outside the red-brick building and John said, ‘Well, let’s go ask him how he stays so young.’

There were three people waiting on the steps of the small church. Ceri flicked her Sight over the doorway, seeing none of the wards common to consecrated buildings. There was no sign of anything magical about the three people either, but there was a twisted arch of laurel wound over the door.

‘Detective Inspector Radcliff,’ John said as he walked up the short flight of steps to the portico. ‘We have an appointment to see Mister Ziel.’

‘We were told police would be coming,’ one of the people said. He was in his late twenties, heavily built, with cropped, blonde hair and a sour expression. ‘There was nothing about harlots.’

John glanced back at Ceri and Lily, the first in her MIT T-shirt and jeans, and the other in a short jersey dress which did not disguise her figure. ‘Doctor Brent and Miss Carpenter are advisors on supernatural affairs with the Greycoats.’ He looked back. ‘Please allow us to enter.’

It looked like the man was going to argue when a voice came from inside. ‘Daniel, you forget your Matthew. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s. Chapter twenty-two, verse twenty-one.’ Daniel’s mouth closed and he stepped aside allowing them to enter.

Kate’s nose twitched as they walked in. ‘Laurel over the door, and they’re burning thyme.’

‘Protection against demons and witches,’ Ceri added.

‘Not used like that.’

Aside from the scent, the room looked like an old church. The walls were whitewashed brick with a couple of crimson drapes hung from rails near the ceiling. The pews had been removed, now replaced by rows of chairs set before a raised stage with a lectern, which was where Ziel had stood for his conference. Now he was standing at the foot of the steps leading up to it. Behind him was the cross Ceri could still not quite see as a cross.

Ziel was smiling. Up close he looked no older than he had on TV. There was no grey in his black hair, but a little magic could take care of that nicely and he certainly was a practitioner. A religious man would normally have been a theurgist, but there was no sign of a spirit pact; his medians were clear and quite strong. Ceri wondered whether his followers knew their leader was a magician. Looking around at the ten or so people in the room she decided they would not have believed it if she told them. Actually, she had only ever seen development of the medians like that in one other person…

‘Welcome to the House of the Lord, Detectives,’ Ziel said. He did not have the best of voices for public speaking, but he had obviously been trained to use it, or he had natural talent. ‘I must say, Doctor Brent, I am surprised to see you here, given that you are responsible for the abomination of science at Battersea.’

Ceri felt Lily tense, but did not need her demon’s senses to know the people around them had just got a lot more belligerent.

‘Perhaps we could go somewhere more private to talk?’ John suggested.

‘I have nothing to hide from my people,’ Ziel stated, smiling warmly. ‘He lifted himself up and said unto them, “He who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” John…’

‘Chapter eight, verse seven,’ Ceri finished for him. ‘You’re very fond of quoting the Bible, Mister Ziel. Try this one. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Genesis six, verses one through four.’

He was good, Ceri had to admit it; his smile never faltered, not even for a second. ‘Perhaps the tension in the room would be alleviated by us taking our meeting in private,’ he said. Then he turned and walked up onto the stage, turning right and through a door there which had, presumably, once led to the vestry. Ceri’s eyes flicked over the sigils carved into the frame as she followed John and Kate through. There were no wards on the church building, but Ziel’s private offices were warded, quite strongly.

Ziel sat down behind a simple office desk, leaving two chairs in front of him. His smile had not shifted and Ceri was starting to hope he had done something bad enough that she could wipe it off his smug features. John waved Kate to a seat, and Lily nodded at Ceri to take the other. Lily took her place behind Ceri, as she was rather fond of doing, while John propped himself against the door.

‘What is it you wished to discuss, Detectives?’ Ziel said, all reasonableness.

‘We know that one of your… followers told you about the materialised angels,’ John said. He glanced at Kate who had her phone out to take notes.

‘John David Malcolm Cove,’ she supplied. ‘The ambulance driver for the one we first took out.’

‘A loyal member of my congregation, yes,’ Ziel stated, still smiling.

‘He must be. I understand the hospital is starting disciplinary procedures for breach of their confidentiality rules.’

‘But the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail. Jeremiah, chapter twenty, verse eleven.’

‘What else do you know about the effect?’ John asked, his frown deepening.

‘God has turned His face from this city of whores and idolaters. And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods. Deuteronomy, chapter thirty-one, verse eighteen.’

‘Wouldn’t your god have got his angels out of the city before he did this?’ Lily asked, her expression looking genuinely perplexed.

‘They are fallen. He has cast them from His sight.’

‘Presumably why they go back to him when they leave the area of the spell then,’ Ceri said. ‘It’s a spell. I even know how it was done.’

Ziel’s eyes narrowed. ‘And you wish to see whether I have cast this spell. I have no knowledge of magic, nor could I even consider…’

‘The Lord detests lying lips,’ Ceri interrupted, ‘but he delights in men who are truthful. Proverbs twelve, twenty-two. But you’re right. The person who constructed this spell was a genius. I highly doubt a man with your education could have done it.’

Ziel’s expression grew fixed. ‘I lack a formal education, but I travelled extensively when I was younger. I learned much in that time.’

‘People are always telling me that experience is the best teacher,’ Ceri agreed, smiling. ‘But this… This requires a knowledge of magical theory I’ve seen in very few. I could probably have done it. There was a man in America… What was his name, Lil?’

‘Gadriel?’ Lily supplied.

‘That’s the one. He exhibited knowledge ahead of the field, but he wouldn’t have wanted to keep angels out of London.’

‘And he’s dead,’ Lilly added.

‘That too.’ There had been no reaction to the name; either Ziel was a phenomenal actor or he had never heard of the angel.

‘So,’ John said into the silence, ‘aside from your belief that God did it, you have no idea how this happened, Mister Ziel?’

‘I have, as you point out, given my answer,’ Ziel replied.

‘I think we’re done here then. Thank you for your time. Oh, your people protesting at the generator?’

‘Yes?’

‘Make sure they stay outside the fence, especially at night. There are werewolves guarding it, their alert has been stepped up, and we don’t want people bitten, do we?’

‘Very true, Detective,’ Ziel replied and John turned, opening the door.

Ceri heard the Inspector grunt as he walked out of the front of the church. The reason became obvious as she followed him out and discovered that their car now had four flat tyres.

‘Local kids,’ Daniel supplied from his position on the porch. ‘They don’t seem to like cops. Must’ve opened the valves while we were inside.’ He was not the actor his boss was; the irritating man was smirking.

‘Well,’ Ceri agreed, ‘it certainly was childish.’ She raised her hand and each of the tyres re-inflated in turn.

‘You would work witchcraft on hallowed ground!’ Daniel snarled.

‘Air spell,’ Ceri said. ‘More often associated with wizardry. And this ground isn’t consecrated.’

‘The Lord will turn His face from those who…’

‘Don’t,’ Ceri said. ‘You’re not as good at it as Ziel is. Your Lord doesn’t pay me any attention at all unless he wants something, and then he…’

She stopped as she saw Daniel’s eyes widening. At the same time she heard Kate’s voice behind her saying, ‘Holy crap!’ When she turned the reason became obvious: there was an angel standing on the pavement beside the car. He looked familiar.

‘Jehoel?’ Ceri asked. It was a little difficult to tell, what with the halo and the glowing skin, and the ten-foot wingspan.

‘Ceridwyn Brent,’ Jehoel said, ‘I am to accompany you into the city. He wishes to have someone who knows His Word within and I have been chosen.’

‘Uh… But… Why me?’

‘
You
have also been chosen.’

There was a thud from Ceri’s right and she looked around, expecting to see Daniel. He was not there. Then she saw Lily nodding downward and followed her gaze. Daniel was on the floor at Ceri’s feet, moaning something about not being worthy.

‘Great,’ Ceri said, ‘just fucking great.’

Westminster.

‘You’re making a habit out of making my life complicated again, Doctor Brent,’ Chief Inspector Barry told her.

‘It wasn’t my idea!’ Ceri protested. ‘Stupid damn angels have it in their head to come to me to get messages across.’

Barry grunted and John said, ‘We dropped him off at the Acre Lane Shelter. He muttered something about doing God’s work and seemed happy enough.’ That got another grunt. ‘What was that stuff you were quoting?’ John asked Ceri. ‘The one that got us in to his office.’

‘The Nephilim thing? Well, it was a guess, I can’t be sure, but… No father, not aging, high-level practitioner, and something of a religious bent… I figured he probably was one.’

It was Barry whose eyebrow was raised. ‘A Nephilim? Here? I thought the whole point of the Flood was to wipe them out.’

Ceri shrugged. ‘They’re the children of humans and angels,’ she added for Kate and John’s benefit. ‘Immortal, just about impossible to kill…’

‘So Ceri killed one,’ Lily said, beaming in pride.

‘They can drown. Hence the Flood legend. But I don’t think Ziel is going to be a problem. I
really
don’t think he’s capable of creating the cube, and I don’t think Jehoel would have turned up on his doorstep if he was responsible anyway. He’s just going to be a nuisance.’

‘So we ignore him?’ Barry asked. ‘Aside from him being a political problem, which we can hand off to the Home Office anyway.’

‘I think so.’ Ceri glanced at Lily.

‘He was difficult to read,’ the half-succubus said, ‘but the predominant felling I got from him was greed. I think he’s safe enough.’

Battersea, April 10
^th
.

‘Ceri?’ John said as a black-furred wolf-girl stepped out of the bushes, followed by a grey male. ‘And Michael, I’m assuming.’ Now he looked closely, the female had a collar on, which meant she was almost certainly Ceri.

The black-fur gave a quick nod and waved for him and Kate to follow, adding a bark when they did not do so immediately. They were heading across from the Chelsea Bridge gate toward the boating pond.

‘Lily said Alexandra needed to see us urgently,’ Kate tried. They got a yip of a reply. ‘I really need to learn some werewolf,’ Kate added, frowning.

‘She could just change back.’

‘It was Alexandra who wanted to see us, and it
is
Ceri’s pack time.’

John gave a grunt and silence fell as they crossed the park, got aboard a boat, and were rowed across to the island by Michael.

Things did not improve, however, when they got there. Alexandra was sitting beside her oil drum fire in close and very hushed conversation with the naked Amazon who was Anita, her Captain. The Alpha spotted the two detectives crossing the grass, looked slightly annoyed, and called out, ‘I’m sorry, Detectives. I know I called you, but I
really
need to deal with this. Go through to the other clearing. The Guards are drilling. You might find it instructive should you ever need to fight a wolf.’

John frowned, but being respectful to one of the most politically powerful women in the country, even if she did live in a park, was part of his job. He looked around for Ceri, but only Michael was standing behind them. The wolf-man pointed off to the right and the two cops headed that way, through the belt of trees which screened the clearing on that side. He could hear barks and grunts even before he was through to the other side; apparently it was combat practice.