Chapter 84

Mages don’t believe in dreams, in a similar way that they do not believe in crystal therapy, tantric sex, auras, or the myriad of other ways mundanes use to distract themselves or make money from the gullible. Nor do we do religion, although we’re very much aware of Angels and Demons and they tell us there is a God and that he has a plan. It’s just that belief in God requires faith. We actually know. So different rules apply to us, though what those rules are the Angels aren’t saying.

We’re also very much aware that the written history of the world isn’t the whole truth. After all, we know about the Sidhe. Whereas the archaeological experts and biologists will tell you that no such beings existed as there’s no evidence. Mind you, biologists will tell you man evolved on Earth as there’s a clear fossil trail back to the earliest hominids. We know there is humanity on a good few Earths and they all have, more or less, the same biological base. The biologist’s theory obviously isn’t the case. Admittedly we don’t have a clue as to why there was a multiple development of humanity, but we are not stupid enough to ask a Higher Power ... well, these days anyway.

As to what or where the Sidhe came from, well, we don’t know. It’s not like we can do an autopsy on them, when captured they do not survive. Their own legends are contradictory and confusing; personally I believe they are genuine aliens from a distant star, who discovered magic, who then went looking outwards to other worlds, rather than other Earths. It may not be true, but it’s as good an explanation as any, even if it doesn’t explain why they like to eat people. They have a totally different biology, which, presumably, they’ve adapted to fit our Earths. It may be down to dominance and keeping the lesser races down as they saw it, then again there’s nothing in what few documents they have to confirm this, merely a lot of tales about murder and betrayal.

I did ask Verenestra about this on one of her frequent visits to Morgana’s manse to see her daughter, but all she could tell me was that there are tales going back almost a million years and the vast majority of them are highly contradictory.

“That’s the problem with a verbal record, John,” she said at the end of the explanation. “It’s altered to suit the needs and modes of the times.”

“Interesting to know you’ve been around so long ... er not you personally,” I chuckled.

“I’m nearly 60,000 of your years old, John, though I’ve never felt so alive since I’ve got to know William,” she chuckled in return. “Frankly our history is a mess and I don’t think anyone is alive now who truly remembers who we are and where we’re from, not even Oonagh, the oldest of us.”

“I know it’s rude to talk about a lady’s age, but how old is Oonagh?” I asked.

“Oh, John. Your people are truly wonderful,” she replied with a tinkling laugh. “She’s around 250,000 of your years old and was probably the architect of the enslavement of your people, including the repulsive eating of their flesh once she became the Queen at about 100,000 years ago. She also enslaved the other non-human races too, using them and you to do all the menial tasks that we weren’t prepared to do, even by our magic, which is silly, but that’s what happened. You grew our food, were our food, body servants, builders, gladiators and so on.”

“I’m surprised the early hominids even had the brains to do the tasks,” I mused.

“You were more intelligent than your apes, even in your earliest forms and quite capable of being trained and controlled, at least until some of you grew intelligent enough to learn magic,” Verenestra replied.

“Must have come as a shock,” I noted.

“They were capable of ignoring the ‘glamour’ and mostly fled back to the lands in what you now call Africa where my people bred them,” Verenestra replied. “They bred with the inhabitants and the process went from there. We weren’t too concerned though, our problem was the Eminrephaimanakim and the fact that we were incapable of annihilating them once they’d managed the art of controlling their dead.”

“I’ve seen what the Veda managed on Kurukshetra, surely...” I began.

“That is not the Sidhe way ... or rather it wasn’t. We fought in battle, hand to hand, for that way was honourable, despite our foes not really standing a chance. By the time we’d realised our mistake they were forcing us back on Azurana, so Oonagh proposed the great rending and undertook the task herself,” she broke in. “Those of us who were left thought she could not return, despite her promise, but by then we had a far bigger problem.”

‘Man,” I stated.

“Yes, you were far cleverer than the Eminrephaimanakim. You didn’t confront us openly, but gradually you threw us off your planets and forced us to sign binding oaths of separation, and rightly so. By then our society had begun to fall apart into internal strife and tribalism. The court split and we became lost in our own troubles with the odd attempt to regain our former glory,” she acknowledged. “The same happened on the non-human worlds too as your peoples gradually developed far greater magical powers than an ordinary Sidhe to the point where even if we had reunited, we could not win.”

“So how did your reformist faction come about?” I asked.

“From a talk I had with a King Alulim of Eridu, though he’d have been amused at the concept of kingship as he was what you’d call a shaman or proto-Mage,” Verenestra replied. “He found me as I was bathing and wasn’t fooled at all by the glamours I threw out, nor my spells. He did want to talk though and after I realised I was surrounded by his people, we did. He was dirty and smelly, but he was a sharp one and I found myself liking the old goat and our talks ranged over a lot of subjects. Every year I returned to that river and we talked until finally I realised I saw him as being as Sidhe-like as I saw myself. He died far too soon, but from then on I did my best to persuade my people that in humanity we had a possible friend and ally. I never made much progress and had I not been a Princess Royal I would likely have been killed. As it was, I was viewed as unmarriageable. When Oonagh returned and our worst fears became manifest, I begged my mother for permission to contact the Mages of Earth, she was considering this when you came through the portal and gave us the means to protect ourselves,”

“And then William?” I asked.

She blushed and then smiled. “He’s someone I can talk to, who listens and doesn’t see me as either a traitor or a lunatic. A friend and then a lover to the utter consternation of the Seelie court, though not my mother. It was he who led the first small ambushes against the Daoine Sidhe gaining respect from my people and he showed us how to fight from cover, to take advantage of mistakes and not to simply run in screaming and waving a sword.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t know all these things,” I chuckled.

“We should have, the Romans beat us in Ireland after our piracy became a problem,” she replied with a wry smile.

“Romans in Ireland?” I quizzed.

“They had an expeditionary fort in Drumanagh, we ... my people attacked them and were soundly trounced, but bribed their general Agricola to go away for some beads and trinkets in the form of tin as tribute,” she replied.

“Did they have a Mage?” I asked.

“No, John, but they had their eagle standards and these like many tribal totems had been spelled to produce anti-glamour emanations. Our armour is good, but not perfect and we have lived so long that losing our lives or putting them in danger is anathema to many of my people,” she replied.

“Reluctant to take risks?”

“Yes, John.”

“Yet your people died to the last man and woman to aid our escape on Tír na nÓg,” I queried.

“They did. It was an honour and mixing with your people has greatly changed mine. We ... the reformists that is, now live our lives without fear and are prepared to accept whatever fate brings,” she explained with a slight smile.

“Even death?”

“Just another adventure and very new,” she chuckled as Arwen floated herself into the room.

“I’ll leave you two to enjoy the day,” I excused myself.

“Thank you, John. It’s been a pleasure,” she replied.

“Indeed it has.”

Morgana was in her study talking to Mage Amehlo about a couple of incidents where semi-magical creatures were playing pranks upon the population of an African township.

“Problem is,” chuckled Amehlo. “Is that the tribal culture is far too accepting of these incidents due to their animist beliefs, but we’ll track them down and implore them to stop.”

“The townspeople or the creatures?” I asked before giving a formal greeting.

“Bloody good question, John. I can see why Morgana relies upon you for the complex stuff,” Amehlo chuckled.

“Could you and Róisín join Amehlo’s people and observe? You’ve never run across Tokeloshe before and it should be interesting for you,” Morgana said with what could only be described as an evil grin.

“Of course, my Mage,” I replied politely, a sinking feeling in my chest.

“Don’t worry, John. They’re tricksters, not monsters,” Amehlo chuckled.

“So not like Guam then?” I asked.

“Bloody hell, no. They’ll nick your watch, not string you up,” Amehlo chuckled.

“Good job I don’t have a watch,” I chuckled, referring to the fact that a Mage, unlike a mundane has an innate timekeeping sense in that we know just what time it is, wherever we are.

“I’ve contacted Mage Dlamini, she’s expecting you. Let her know before jumping in though,” Amehlo added.

“Of course, Mage Amehlo. I’ll inform Róisín now, I’m sure she’ll be delighted,” I chuckled.

Róisín and I stuck out like sore thumbs in the Zululand; we were clearly out of place and obviously not tourists. Fortunately we could use our magic to blend in as well as avoid serious sunburn. Mage Dlamini greeted us politely, though it was fairly obvious that she had no real need for us and was somewhat mystified if accepting of the foibles of ‘management’.

“So, what are Tokeloshe?” I asked as we’d not been given time to do any research.

“Dwarf like water sprites with a malevolent sense of humour,” Dlamini replied. “They’re shape shifters and bloody good at it; you really need to get close to one in order to detect it. We generally portray ourselves as n’anga or witch doctors to try and keep the misery to a minimum.”

“So what’s got them all stirred up?” Róisín asked.

“God alone knows. Sometimes I think they just get bored. Sanctions from the Council only go so far and we often find that they’ve been called upon by the locals to sic on a rival or to get revenge,” she replied.

“Ah, so we can’t deal with them properly if they’ve entered a contract?” I asked.

“Yes, John. Council rules and all that,” she chuckled.

“So we just slap them down and wait for it to happen again?” Róisín asked.

“Pretty much it. Little fuckers will try it on with you two as well, so make a list of anything missing. I’ll get it back and expect a few nasty pranks such as reversed toilet plumbing,” she warned. “In the meantime about the only use I can find for you is targets, sorry.”

“If that’s all we can be then so be it,” I chuckled.” We’ll just play tourists and hope they blow their cover over us.”

“Glad you understand, it’s not that you’re unwelcome, it’s more that you’re...” she began.

“An inconvenience, we understand,” Róisín chuckled.

“Just be careful and scan anything carefully,” Dlamini chuckled.

“We will,” we both replied as one.

Our room was in a fairly old if comfortable hotel, we used our magic to clean and remove the bits the cleaning staff didn’t get at including the myriad of bed bugs, as well as setting up our usual series of defences, though we were careful to ensure room service wasn’t affected.

Our problems started when we discovered that we couldn’t get out of our room by normal means, our keys no longer worked. Worse was the smell emanating from seemingly everywhere despite our defences.

“Interesting,” was all Róisín said as we both turned off our sense of smell.

“Key hasn’t changed, nor has the lock, something’s jamming it,” I replied and used my mind to jolt the lock with electricity causing something to howl mentally before vanishing.

“Works now,” chuckled Róisín.

“Parlour tricks, looks like they can breach our screens though,” I mused.

“Yes, John. You’ll note that they can keep us from detecting them too,” Róisín added.

“I wonder...” I began before dropping the wards, or rather moving them quickly around to form the shape necessary for Null and then placing a final symbol in place to activate it.

There was a startled screech and what appeared to be a water-based semi-transparent being appeared looking extremely put out.

“Yup, little bugger sneaked in with us,” I chuckled before dropping the Null by scrubbing the symbol.

“Gotcha,” Róisín giggled as the creature tried but failed to restore its glamour.

‘I kill you!’ raged the creature.

“Really?” I asked.

‘Yes, we will rend you limb from limb!’ it snarled in what I can only describe as a squeaky telepathic voice.

“You really think you can take on a Mage?” Róisín asked.

‘We fool you all the time, ‘ it squeaked.