Murphy's Law
"Shut up! Just shut up!" "Shut up yourself! You're yelling loud enough to wake the whole estate!" "Both of you be quiet. I have to con-cen-trate." "Haven't you found them yet?" "Nah, 's too dark." "They're shiny, for the love of god!" "Well they're not shining, OK!"
There was silence for a while. Vella wondered whether she should reveal herself. Dignity and Aaron were trying to co-ordinate a huge dark shape out of the skip that stood at the end of Thane Redfern's driveway. Vella supposed it was the latest thing they were 'borrowing'. In the darkness she couldn't see what it was. She presumed Oliver was in the skip. Suddenly Aaron dropped his end of the shape and it landed on his foot. He swore.
"Shit shit shit! Have you found them yet, Ol?" "Shut up!" Dignity hissed. "Stop saying that!" "Stop acting so bloody stupid then!" "I'm stupid? *I'm* stupid? What about my dear brother? We come to st-to borrow a sofa, and he drops the car keys in the skip." "Hey, don't drag me into it!" "Shut the hell up!"
Vella stepped out into the puddle of light created by the streetlamp. "What *are* you lot doing?" she asked, trying to keep the hurt that she hadn't been invited along out of her voice. Dignity looked up, smiling. "Vell! We thought you were gone for good! When did you get back?" "About a week ago." Vella said. The trip had been a disaster, her mother had humiliated her and she was 100% glad to be back on the estate where she belonged. "Why didn't you come round, you silly moo? Maybe you'd have stopped a certain person dropping the keys to the getaway van in a bloody skip!" Vella stood on the black shape and found that it was a soft leather sofa. She looked over the edge. Oliver Harman was looking under broken pieces of furniture and empty paint cans. Her heart gave a little kick at the sight of her boyfriend.
"Hi Ollie." She whispered. He looked up at her from the bowels of the metal monstrosity and smiled, his teeth glowing in the dark. He brushed a strand of light hair out of his eyes, which she knew in good light were green- gold. "Hey, is that them?" she said, pointing at a shape glowing in the moonlight. Oliver swore again. "I knew there was a reason I liked you!" he said jubilantly.
Vella laughed. She jumped off the couch, but it rocked unsteadily and fell on top of her. Dignity and Aaron stopped bickering long enough to laugh hysterically and pull it off her. "Owwww." She moaned. Dignity's silvery blonde hair glowed like a halo around her, and she levered her friend to her feet.
"What've you stolen this time?" Dignity looked scandalised. "Steal? Us? Never. We're just borrowing a couch, as ours has had, um, a little accident." "They're throwing it out anyway." "She pulled the back off it." Oliver explained, jumping down. "Hey, it was a team effort, okay? If you hadn't been sat on it at the time."
But by this point they had all dissolved into helpless giggles. Dignity had to sit down on the pavement she was laughing so much. Aaron pulled her to her feet, laughing as well. They loaded the sofa into the back of the truck and Dignity and Aaron sat on it. Vella and Oliver got in the front, and Aaron and Dignity were flung around by his manic driving. When it finally jerked to a halt outside the house Dig, Oliver and Aaron shared, they were still laughing as they clambered out of the hunk of junk.
So she was totally off guard when a hand landed on her shoulder. "Hey!" she said, whirling round, expecting to see Redfern brand quality hired muscle. What she *wasn't* expecting was a girl who looked about fifteen gazing up at her.
She was an extremely beautiful girl. For some reason Dignity could see every feature, despite the darkness. A crop of burnt cinder hair, with four little bumps rising out of it. Unearthly pale skin, and a face that was all hard lines. Berry red lips, and a perfectly straight nose. Her body was slight, and sheathed in a red dress with long sleeves and which fell to her ankles.
But it was her eyes which held them all. They were terrifying. The whole group were witches, and from prominent families. Vella's mother led the witches of the Black Flowers Estate. They had all seen ancient, cold vampires. But their eyes were nothing compared to these. They were luminous green, and they had no pupils. The whites seemed faintly green. They were terrifying to look on. Dignity swallowed bile.
"Wha-who-who are you?" she asked, reeling backwards. Aaron caught her instinctively. He was looking a terrified as she felt. He was staring at her in loose, unfocused way. She realised he was reading this. thing's aura. She did the same. Reading auras was not one of Dignity Weald's strong points, but this one seemed to leap out and grab her. It was black, and the mere sight of in struck even more sick dread into her stomach.
Vella turned and ran. She screamed, a high pitched, broken sound. Suddenly the aura stretched out and Vella fell over, like a puppet with its strings suddenly cut. "My name," the girl said, in a voice that was oddly melodic and beautiful. "Is Marmion. But that," she paused significantly, cocking her head faintly at the scene. A girl with pale hair and green eyes swooning in the arms of a dark haired boy. A brown haired boy mouthing wordlessly at the girl lying crumpled on the ground. Clearly not important in themselves, but they would be useful. examples. With the possible exception of one.
An effortless blast of black energy swept through the broken street. The boys and the unconscious girl died immediately. But the other girl whimpered and sat up. Marmion looked at her in annoyance. But this didn't last long. A plan was beginning to form in her ancient mind.
***
Sora opened the door to her office and waved the visitors in. They sat down, the girl flipping the end of her sari over the back of the chair, the boy folding himself neatly into it. Sora felt underdressed, Samira and Govan Drache-Harman were both wearing magnificent clothes. She couldn't help but feel a pang of admiration, the goddess had probably never come up with a more unlikely soulmate pairing. Samira was a Drache shapeshifter, originally from India. Govan was a Harman witch from Czechoslovakia. Together they were the world's leading experts on ancient lore. What the hell they were doing here, Sora didn't know. She sat on the other side of the desk, feeling the familiar power-crazy rush. "What can I do for you?" she said, trying to smile. The look on their faces, though, was grave and almost frightening.
"First of all, what we say here won't leave this room." Samira said. Sora nodded.
In thickly accented English, Govan began. "We believe the your whole organisation is in a danger. We are sure this danger. what it is for sure. We think, that it may be a dragon." Sora laughed and shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. The dragons have been asleep for millennia, their threat neutralised. What threat do they pose?"
"They are like the Old powers." Samira said almost sadly. "They're more awake. Something comparatively small could wake them up. Just the smallest thing could tip the balance." "Like a bomb." Gavan put in. "In 1944," Samira continued, "A large bomb hit this area. It opened up a massive crater, which a very. special dragon had lain in for 30,000 years. Now we think she's awake. She probably would have taken at least 25 years to fully come around. She will have made her presence known, you understand. From the texts, it appears she was one of the more egotistical dragons. She also had a very special power."
Samira cleared her throat. "She has phenomenal mind control. She can completely enslave people. Take over their minds, until they were like drones. In turn, she could move her own spirit into their body. Which is how she ended up in the body of a fifteen year old. Her name is Marmion. She was one of the youngest dragons, her name means 'brat'."
Sora couldn't help snorting. "We know it is her." Gavan said. "You have an inn called the Green Dragon. She is the green dragon."
The world seemed to have blurred for Sora. There was something else. Something very important. "Nyx." She said aloud. "And-oh, Goddess, something Ffion said when Jemima and Greg saved them-she said her husband was a vessel." Govan nodded. "We know the Iodred couple had something big to do with it. It's in both their blood. But we think it was only Asphodel. One thing which may save you is that she can only exert her magic over those with green eyes, for some reason. Ffion's were violet, but her mother's are green. She was a follower. Dahlia Hemlock, I believe her name is." "Ffion means foxglove. they're linked to the 'shifters, even if they were vampires." Sora murmured weakly. There was no telling how far this went. For all they knew every green eyed person on the estate could be in her sway. "What can we do against her? How? I mean, how will any of us get near enough to take off her horns?" "There is a way, but, well, the prophecy says that you will receive a special weapon to use against her. We don't know any more than that. But, if this helps, she's not working for the Night World. She cares for no-one but herself, and won't be bought." Samira squeezed Sora's hand compassionately. "We will do everything we can to help you. I swear it. But there are two people linked to her irrevocably, two people who can't control her."
"And they are?"
"Alaizabel Kindred and Heather Redfern."
"Shut up! Just shut up!" "Shut up yourself! You're yelling loud enough to wake the whole estate!" "Both of you be quiet. I have to con-cen-trate." "Haven't you found them yet?" "Nah, 's too dark." "They're shiny, for the love of god!" "Well they're not shining, OK!"
There was silence for a while. Vella wondered whether she should reveal herself. Dignity and Aaron were trying to co-ordinate a huge dark shape out of the skip that stood at the end of Thane Redfern's driveway. Vella supposed it was the latest thing they were 'borrowing'. In the darkness she couldn't see what it was. She presumed Oliver was in the skip. Suddenly Aaron dropped his end of the shape and it landed on his foot. He swore.
"Shit shit shit! Have you found them yet, Ol?" "Shut up!" Dignity hissed. "Stop saying that!" "Stop acting so bloody stupid then!" "I'm stupid? *I'm* stupid? What about my dear brother? We come to st-to borrow a sofa, and he drops the car keys in the skip." "Hey, don't drag me into it!" "Shut the hell up!"
Vella stepped out into the puddle of light created by the streetlamp. "What *are* you lot doing?" she asked, trying to keep the hurt that she hadn't been invited along out of her voice. Dignity looked up, smiling. "Vell! We thought you were gone for good! When did you get back?" "About a week ago." Vella said. The trip had been a disaster, her mother had humiliated her and she was 100% glad to be back on the estate where she belonged. "Why didn't you come round, you silly moo? Maybe you'd have stopped a certain person dropping the keys to the getaway van in a bloody skip!" Vella stood on the black shape and found that it was a soft leather sofa. She looked over the edge. Oliver Harman was looking under broken pieces of furniture and empty paint cans. Her heart gave a little kick at the sight of her boyfriend.
"Hi Ollie." She whispered. He looked up at her from the bowels of the metal monstrosity and smiled, his teeth glowing in the dark. He brushed a strand of light hair out of his eyes, which she knew in good light were green- gold. "Hey, is that them?" she said, pointing at a shape glowing in the moonlight. Oliver swore again. "I knew there was a reason I liked you!" he said jubilantly.
Vella laughed. She jumped off the couch, but it rocked unsteadily and fell on top of her. Dignity and Aaron stopped bickering long enough to laugh hysterically and pull it off her. "Owwww." She moaned. Dignity's silvery blonde hair glowed like a halo around her, and she levered her friend to her feet.
"What've you stolen this time?" Dignity looked scandalised. "Steal? Us? Never. We're just borrowing a couch, as ours has had, um, a little accident." "They're throwing it out anyway." "She pulled the back off it." Oliver explained, jumping down. "Hey, it was a team effort, okay? If you hadn't been sat on it at the time."
But by this point they had all dissolved into helpless giggles. Dignity had to sit down on the pavement she was laughing so much. Aaron pulled her to her feet, laughing as well. They loaded the sofa into the back of the truck and Dignity and Aaron sat on it. Vella and Oliver got in the front, and Aaron and Dignity were flung around by his manic driving. When it finally jerked to a halt outside the house Dig, Oliver and Aaron shared, they were still laughing as they clambered out of the hunk of junk.
So she was totally off guard when a hand landed on her shoulder. "Hey!" she said, whirling round, expecting to see Redfern brand quality hired muscle. What she *wasn't* expecting was a girl who looked about fifteen gazing up at her.
She was an extremely beautiful girl. For some reason Dignity could see every feature, despite the darkness. A crop of burnt cinder hair, with four little bumps rising out of it. Unearthly pale skin, and a face that was all hard lines. Berry red lips, and a perfectly straight nose. Her body was slight, and sheathed in a red dress with long sleeves and which fell to her ankles.
But it was her eyes which held them all. They were terrifying. The whole group were witches, and from prominent families. Vella's mother led the witches of the Black Flowers Estate. They had all seen ancient, cold vampires. But their eyes were nothing compared to these. They were luminous green, and they had no pupils. The whites seemed faintly green. They were terrifying to look on. Dignity swallowed bile.
"Wha-who-who are you?" she asked, reeling backwards. Aaron caught her instinctively. He was looking a terrified as she felt. He was staring at her in loose, unfocused way. She realised he was reading this. thing's aura. She did the same. Reading auras was not one of Dignity Weald's strong points, but this one seemed to leap out and grab her. It was black, and the mere sight of in struck even more sick dread into her stomach.
Vella turned and ran. She screamed, a high pitched, broken sound. Suddenly the aura stretched out and Vella fell over, like a puppet with its strings suddenly cut. "My name," the girl said, in a voice that was oddly melodic and beautiful. "Is Marmion. But that," she paused significantly, cocking her head faintly at the scene. A girl with pale hair and green eyes swooning in the arms of a dark haired boy. A brown haired boy mouthing wordlessly at the girl lying crumpled on the ground. Clearly not important in themselves, but they would be useful. examples. With the possible exception of one.
An effortless blast of black energy swept through the broken street. The boys and the unconscious girl died immediately. But the other girl whimpered and sat up. Marmion looked at her in annoyance. But this didn't last long. A plan was beginning to form in her ancient mind.
***
Sora opened the door to her office and waved the visitors in. They sat down, the girl flipping the end of her sari over the back of the chair, the boy folding himself neatly into it. Sora felt underdressed, Samira and Govan Drache-Harman were both wearing magnificent clothes. She couldn't help but feel a pang of admiration, the goddess had probably never come up with a more unlikely soulmate pairing. Samira was a Drache shapeshifter, originally from India. Govan was a Harman witch from Czechoslovakia. Together they were the world's leading experts on ancient lore. What the hell they were doing here, Sora didn't know. She sat on the other side of the desk, feeling the familiar power-crazy rush. "What can I do for you?" she said, trying to smile. The look on their faces, though, was grave and almost frightening.
"First of all, what we say here won't leave this room." Samira said. Sora nodded.
In thickly accented English, Govan began. "We believe the your whole organisation is in a danger. We are sure this danger. what it is for sure. We think, that it may be a dragon." Sora laughed and shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. The dragons have been asleep for millennia, their threat neutralised. What threat do they pose?"
"They are like the Old powers." Samira said almost sadly. "They're more awake. Something comparatively small could wake them up. Just the smallest thing could tip the balance." "Like a bomb." Gavan put in. "In 1944," Samira continued, "A large bomb hit this area. It opened up a massive crater, which a very. special dragon had lain in for 30,000 years. Now we think she's awake. She probably would have taken at least 25 years to fully come around. She will have made her presence known, you understand. From the texts, it appears she was one of the more egotistical dragons. She also had a very special power."
Samira cleared her throat. "She has phenomenal mind control. She can completely enslave people. Take over their minds, until they were like drones. In turn, she could move her own spirit into their body. Which is how she ended up in the body of a fifteen year old. Her name is Marmion. She was one of the youngest dragons, her name means 'brat'."
Sora couldn't help snorting. "We know it is her." Gavan said. "You have an inn called the Green Dragon. She is the green dragon."
The world seemed to have blurred for Sora. There was something else. Something very important. "Nyx." She said aloud. "And-oh, Goddess, something Ffion said when Jemima and Greg saved them-she said her husband was a vessel." Govan nodded. "We know the Iodred couple had something big to do with it. It's in both their blood. But we think it was only Asphodel. One thing which may save you is that she can only exert her magic over those with green eyes, for some reason. Ffion's were violet, but her mother's are green. She was a follower. Dahlia Hemlock, I believe her name is." "Ffion means foxglove. they're linked to the 'shifters, even if they were vampires." Sora murmured weakly. There was no telling how far this went. For all they knew every green eyed person on the estate could be in her sway. "What can we do against her? How? I mean, how will any of us get near enough to take off her horns?" "There is a way, but, well, the prophecy says that you will receive a special weapon to use against her. We don't know any more than that. But, if this helps, she's not working for the Night World. She cares for no-one but herself, and won't be bought." Samira squeezed Sora's hand compassionately. "We will do everything we can to help you. I swear it. But there are two people linked to her irrevocably, two people who can't control her."
"And they are?"
"Alaizabel Kindred and Heather Redfern."