Chapter 7

The trip home to Augusta was quick and comfortable, as always. The minds of the three of us were churning over the details of our afternoon conversation with Reggie. Some of which clearly represented a threat to all of us in the Clan.

Reggie’s intelligence network was five years in the making and Deacon Thomas (his major domo) had done an amazing job of developing Reggie’s own intelligence group. Compared to his, ours was a piker.

Not to say that Helen was not good. She just was hampered by too much focus on historical threats. She saw a re-emergence of the Medici and the Borgias type of European families as the threats on our horizon. And the stubborn actions of the current Mage Council of Europe.

Reggie saw threats from the perspective of a young black American growing up in New York, who survived that level of up close and personal threats to his person, his parents, and his family all the while getting into college and competing with the top schools of the ACC, the AAC, the Pac 12, and all of the other “conferences” competing for dollars and selling seats to friends and families of aspiring college players while raking in money to fund the different stadiums and basketball courts. His time with the Georgia Bulldogs sharpened his knowledge of how business was done, and he never lost that when he broke out and became a investor.

“Hank, I thought you were insane five years ago when you bought into that place in Augusta, but somehow you managed to pull off a major economic coupe and took over the Artifact Game. I am almost sorry I forced Pat to Atlanta instead of you. Who knows what you could have done with that city.”

That conversation rattled around in my head as I was motioning everyone into the Lounge. It was after five and I needed a drink.

Looking down I saw a very small (comparatively) Dragonet running hard to keep up with us. Karen reached down and the small critter crawled onto her arm and nestled into her elbow.

“Gee, that looks cute. I bet he takes over your place on the Fumeral, Brim.” I said in teasing voice.

“He gets some space, but not my space. Age before beauty.”

“Listen to you, grabbing the crown of big dog in the kennel. So, Robert, how do you feel about basking on the hearth while the people sit and talk?”

“I am comfortable anywhere Karen is. I was a little sad that I was left behind, but I understand why.”

“I won’t insist on that happening again. From now on, those decisions are between the two of you. I won’t accept trips where our “Service Animals” are not welcome.”

“Did you just say I was a dog?” Brimstone asked, while shifting his geas into a Belgian Truven. A long-haired member of the Malinois family.

“Only on the outside. Inside you are still the same lovable dragon.” I said.

“Robert, we have to look up our breed.” Karen said. “We surely have time. How about a Welsh Corgi? Can you grow up to be that big?”

“That’s a cute image. A blonde with a lapdog. In sixty years or so you will look just in place at a high-end restaurant.”

“Not if I still look like I’m twenty-five and holding.” Karen replied.

“That depends on what restaurant and what you are wearing while you are holding your Lapdog.” Hank said.

“And besides, you get to carry a pet. I probably will be saddled with two kids and all that needs to have with it.” Natalie said.

“So. Natalie, are you going to update Helen with the information you heard from Reggie yourself? Chain of Command probably indicates that you should.” Hank said.

“I think we all need to convene a meeting of the Threat Analysis committee and pass the information around. We can then have Helen do the verification work and I guess propose Karen as working on that committee to perform analysis what comes in.” Natalie said.

“You are the person that heads up that task force, so work It out.”

And that was how our evening was spent. With our five primary members (Natalie, Peter, Paula, Jeffery, and of course Me) and our secondary advisors (so far.) That was Helen, Karen, Wendy and of course her mentor, Melissa Gordon. Grace also came as the Press consultant, due to her time with the Cornicle.

Key topic of discussion? Do we enlarge our information gathering processes to include England? The Anglo / American legal alliance had Mr. Thomas Hetherington (the new first head of the Crown Prosecution Service) involved in a review of historical laws of England and Wales. And one of those that had bubbled to the surface was the Witchcraft Act of 1735. This was last used against Jane Rebecca Yorke, in 1944, and resulted in her being fined and placed on good behavior bond for three years. Even thou the Witchcraft act was supposed to be repealed in 1951, (Fraudulent Mediums Act) evidently, Mr. Hetherington decides that the Laws against witches were still valid even in the end of the century.

Why had we not known of this? Because we had a very narrow focus on our document retrieval, and Reggie had done some extensive intelligence gathering in England. He had stumbled upon a treaty enacted after WWII that allowed English law to work “in concert with the economic and security resources of the United States” and to prosecute and redact to England for prosecution people who committed “Serious crimes against the interests of the Nation of England and Wales and the other economic interests of England and the United States.”

While we were watching out for another Stephenson, Reggie and his people had stumbled on an active mage coven in England, being urged to act against “the colonials” who were usurping English dominance of witchcraft by using the laws against witchcraft. Only the law was being used against us by carefully placed members of the European Council to prosecute us individually. But the goal was to prod the American justice system into pursuing English law against American citizens and redact those same to England to defend themselves against prosecution in the Chamber of Lords.

Of course, none of this legal mishmash would happen once we were in Custody. We would all be disposed of and lost within the system. The sewage system. Just as soon as we were surrendered to the English “authorities”.

When all of this was laid out to our group, Helen was the first to be shocked and aghast. “I thought that all this shit was outlawed with the repeal of the Fraudulent Mediums Act of 1951.”

“Actually, there apparently have been a couple of loopholes left in that. Something about “For the preservation of National Security” prosecution can be conducted under the Official Secrets Act. And any person on English Soil can be charged in secrecy with the violation of “Actions against the common good of England.” Natalie said. And “English Soil” suspends the areas of common domain such as embassies and consulates.”

“What is the connection?” Karen asked.

“Apparently, it’s one of the Secretaries of the Attorney General. He was appointed under George Bush and has been there ever since. What makes this interesting is that he is also a Mage, who avoided practice, or become a member of the Council. He is, however, related to one of the English Mages in the office of the Crown Prosecution Service. So that may be why we never heard of any actions on either part.” Natalie replied.

“Ok” Hank said. “That brings up three questions I have. First and foremost, how far do we bring in Mr. William Webster. Because obviously this is a government relationship issue. Second, what possible plans could these people put in motion against us directly. I mean physically against us in person. Third, what countermeasures do we let them know of now to force them to delay any offense against us in the short term while we build a major legal and economic defense against them for the future?”

“I have another question”. Paula asked. “Karen, did you let Marigold know that she could come to William Webster at will?”

“Hank and Natalie both said that she could bring him up to speed. I thought that having access to documents and getting answers would be a good idea. She knows to not be there when anyone else is there or when anyone else can see her. He’s assured me that there’s no monitoring of his office. Why?” Karen asked.

“Because she spends an hour a day in his office every day. From eleven to noon, and sometimes in the evenings. It appears that he has quite an organized understanding of our world.” Paula said.

“What do they talk about?” Hank asked.

“Dragons, Dragonets, Elves, Dwarves, Gargoyles, Sprites, Humans, Mages, Wizards, Magic, Diamonds, Jewelry and almost everything under the sun. She says he writes some notes sometimes.” Paula said. “I’m a little worried about the impact on Marigold’s mind.”

“Is she sleeping right now?” Hank asked.

“She’s in a cocoon in Arch Park along with forty others.”

“Ok. Let’s get her in here tomorrow and friendly talk with her. I don’t think she did anything wrong in her mind, but we need to find out what WW is asking about. And what his interests are.”

“We have another piece of information, Hank.” Said Helen.

“What’s that, Helen?” Paula asked.

“I finally got access to some documents from the Oxford Library. Paula and I figured out how to phrase the spell to retrieve hidden records. There’s a whole section hidden in the Bodleian library hidden under a Geas that prohibits anyone from seizing control. So I got around it by asking to copy in place. We sent paper in, picked the document, and sort of Xeroxed it in place and then had the copy come home. We had to work during the British night. But doing it this way got us everything without any alarms. It turns out that the Brits, the French, and Welsh all have axes to grind about the Clan Lambert, which is why they reacted so violently against your name and the concept of a Clan. Your ancestors have been a bad boy. And you are not the first to express Magic as a Wizard.” Helen Said. “From 800 to 1500, there have been numerous expressions of Lambert in England, in Wales, in Scotland, and Brittany, with mixed blood coming across the Channel several times. But the abolition of the Lambert Clan by the Scots and the English in the late 1500’s supposedly eliminated any and all Wizards from that bloodline. Which is why we have so little historical evidence to go on. A couple of your ancestors were rather careless about their use of Magic, particularly the use of Power artifacts, and struck fear in the hearts of a lot of people. It was the basis of the English Witchcraft Act of 1504, later amended in 1544. After the year of the “Rump Parlement” in 1558, Lambert was supposed to be cast out. And Clan Lambert, as a house, was sentenced to death by closed royal decree. All of the house was supposed to be tracked down by Elizabeth I’s magistrates and executed. Quite a few were. Witchcraft was defined as a Felony, punishable by death and confiscation of all goods and chattels. Hank, you are descended from a long line of powerful despots, hated in England and France since the eighth century.”

Shock set in. “And you found this buried in the Oxford Library? No where else?” Hank asked.

“Pretty much. You name pops up there more than anywhere else. And the Vatican and other sources point to vague rumors in England. You must remember that since the reformation, great enlightenment, and Protestant rebellion, not a lot of stuff went to either Italy or Spain. They had their own issues with local families and weren’t looking too much at England. “The great mess across the water” was how they refereed to it.”

“I guess that explains a lot of Sir David Drummond’s reluctance to part with any archives regarding Clans in England, Scotland and Ireland.” Hank said aloud.

“And with the French revolution, there isn’t a lot left in France. Lots of architecture, but no books or missives. Some oral history, but not a lot.” Helen continued.

“Ok. so, we may have a clue as to the New Who question. Some Mages have long histories and may be harboring grudges against the family name, and not caring that their enemies are long dead. Add to this the economic growth that Europeans seem to think they are entitled to regardless of their effort, and I can see the why. But now we also have a view of the Who.” Hank said. “Now we need to look for recent activity and its impacts. And we need to see how well we can evaluate the Legal channel of attack. Through the US government no less. Again.”

“Hank, we need some time to cook on this mentally. We will have Marigold in here tomorrow morning, and find out what William has been looking for, and we can then prep Karen for his Monday Meeting. In the meantime, we should also ping Sir David Drummond about the History of Clan Lambert in England with what we have found.” Natalie said.

“I want to handle that personally. I want you there in the conference, but these actions are against me through my friends and clan mates. I want to get his take on this.”

“Boss you haven’t talked with them in over a month. Can you be cool, calm, and collected?” Peter asked.

“I think I can be. Sir David, Lady Elizabeth and Lady Eisenham are the oldest Wizards. They probably have some memories of those Tudor and Stuart times. And according to Reggie, John Lambert evidently left a strong imprint in 1658, which is part of why the entire family was executed in the late 1600s. And the imprisonment of Helen Duncan and Jane Yorke are easily much more current than ancient history. They were prosecuted under the same acts in 1944. All of which adds up to an unbelievable antagonism toward the name Lambert by the English covens. I want to see who is steering the ship on the latest of “Inquiries” that they are working.”

“Hank, we still haven’t grappled with the leftovers of the Medici and Borgias little time in the Catholic Church.” Helen said.

“Yes, I know. But that’s coming from a religious angle, not a political and legal angle. The Catholics have this rogue group based in Spain pushng inquiries coming out of New York. I don’t doubt that they have talented individuals. But this British thing is a lot scarier. Maybe it’s the James Bond novels that make it that way, but I can’t help but think that they are the larger force to reckon with. But you are right, we have to keep an eye on both.” Hank said. “Let’s percolate on this for tonight. I’ll prep to call Sir David tomorrow and we can see what that gets us.

Plots and Plans