The teachers thought Kiera was a troubled child. That she could do nothing else but be a nuisance and make their jobs harder than they already were. The students thought she was misfit. They loved to laugh at whatever stunt she'd pull next but none of them wanted to know her. She was a strange lonely girl. She was calm and in control and it made them wary. It was almost if she wasn't a human being at all and that she didn't share the emotions they had. She rarely looked particularly happy, sad or angry. But it was all a mask really. They may think that Kiera was fearless but she was frightened. Even if she didn't know it herself. She was frightened of being weak. She kept herself calm, keeping all her feelings inside her but sometimes there were too many. On those nights she'd scream into her pillow, letting the tears of many memories cascade over her pale cheeks. She beat out her pent-up frustration and anger on her duvet until she was exhausted and the soft, squishy sheets enveloped her fists.
As she walked along the London streets Kiera's quiet anger faded away. The air reeked of traffic and fumes, but she could also smell the aroma of hotdogs and other street side vendors. She was conspicuous in her school uniform. Many people gave her looks as she passed. Kiera wondered how long it would be until someone of authority spotted her as she turned into the park. It was a big place and she might be able to find somewhere to sit by herself. Her thoughts wondered back to her grandmother's stories. Wasn't it somewhere near here where Nathaniel had died? She found somewhere to sit inside the large sagging branches of a weeping willow. She was shielded from the sun and from view and the smell of grass, water and leaves made a pleasant change from the smells of the city and of the school.
In the park sounds of ducks, wind and quiet chatter wafted around in the air. The sounds of traffic and people was dulled and almost seemed to fade into the background. She hadn't been sitting down for long when a noise interrupted her relaxation.
"Don't worry. It's a weekday; all the magicians will be in their offices and schools."
The voice was a harsh whisper. It was hard for Kiera to hear as it was heavily accented. She looked to where it was coming from and found herself face to face with a clump of tall rose bushes. Now she wasn't one to eavesdrop unless someone was talking about her. In this case, she decided, 'magicians' definitely included herself.
"Well make it quick. For all you know they may still have some of their surveillance spheres."
"Stop fidgeting, you're making me jumpy. Do you want to hear the plan or not."
"Yes yes, get on with it."
"The war hasn't been going well, the forces are matched, so we've found a better way of defeating the magicians here. They may think the war is at a standstill but we've been looking for another way."
"What? Quickly, the faster I get out of here the better."
"Shh, calm down. No-ones going to find us. We're right under their noses and it's what they least expect. The thing we've found is right here in London."
"A weapon?"
"Of a sort. It's in the vaults of their National History museum. They know it's a powerful object, yet it's been forgotten over the years. Unluckily, they haven't forgotten it's worth. There's a lot of security to get through."
"Well, are you going to tell me what it is?"
"The demon crystal."
"The what crystal? We're not risking our necks for a piece of jewellery I hope."
"No, the demon crystal is a potent device, seething in magic. You can use it as a pentacle."
"Great, how's a portable pentacle going to defeat the whole of London!"
"Will you please stop interrupting me and let me get to the point."
"Yes, just get on with it."
"You can use it to summon demons into other demons. It merges their power creating a kind of super demon."
"Why don't we just a summon a more powerful demon in the first place?"
"Because even though the demon has more power at its command it isn't any harder to control. We could create a foliot with more power than an afrit and still summon it like that."
From underneath the tree, Kiera heard the man click his fingers.
"We can command hundreds of these demons," continued the man, "while the magicians here struggle to match our forces. And best of all we have the element of surprise."
"So how are we getting our guys into this place. They may think the war's at a standstill but they haven't let down there guard. A great load of foreign magicians is going to raise a bit of interest."
"Ah my friend, that's where I must plead my genius. Most of our fellow magicians are already in the country. They've been sneaking in steadily over the years."
The two men shared a small laugh. A noisy crowd of men was passing by Kiera's tree, kicking along a football. Kiera cursed and stretched forward to try and hear the men as they continued.
"So when's the date?"
But that was all Kiera heard over the sound of the men's voices and laughter. Once the crowd had passed she listened out again but heard nothing. They'd gone.