Thaumatology 101 by Niall Teasdale Page A

head to find Lily putting her tray down on the bar. Ceri smiled and Lily returned it with a bright smile of her own. It sent another shiver through Ceri. She had to admit that the loss of her enchanted tattoos had made things more pleasant around Lily; especially when her aura was on.
    ‘Having a good time?’ Lily asked.
    Ceri thought about it for a second. ‘Yeah,’ she said, sounding slightly surprised.
    ‘You always said you weren’t into clubs,’ Lily said.
    ‘I’m still not, consciously,’ Ceri replied, ‘but I guess I feel… less shy.’
    Lily regarded her friend. Ceri was wearing one of her teddies and a skirt short enough to be classed as a belt. The mesh and lace teddy was halter necked, high-hipped, and thong backed, and there was a distinct hint of areolae showing through. ‘Yeah,’ she said, ‘I’d say you’re less shy. Alec’s been paying you more attention tonight and,’ she leaned closer, lowering her voice, ‘Carter wants in your knickers too.’
    Ceri suppressed a giggle and replied in a voice just as low, ‘But I’m not wearing any knickers, Lily.’
    Lily’s smirk was practically obscene, the light in her eyes flared; Ceri felt her stomach flutter. ‘Less to take off,’ the half-succubus breathed. Ceri’s chest felt tight and she did not think it was just the result of Lily’s aura. Lily’s tongue slid slowly from one fang to the other and Ceri felt an almost irresistible urge to kiss the full lips in front of her… And then Lily looked away as Alec approached. ‘Four Banes, Alec,’ she said.
    ‘Table four?’ Alec asked and Lily nodded. ‘I’m keeping an eye on them,’ the barman stated flatly. Four werewolves out drinking on a full moon, yeah, Ceri could just bet he was watching them. ‘They giving you any trouble?’
    Lily raised an eyebrow. ‘Four licks versus me?’ she said. ‘No contest.’ Alec grinned wolfishly and went to get the drinks.
    ‘They’re from the Dog Boys,’ Lily said, absently. All the erotic tension of a few moments earlier had gone.
    ‘Dog Boys?’ Ceri asked. She had never really kept up with the wolf packs around town.
    ‘The pack from the Isle of Dogs,’ Lily replied. ‘Most of the other packs laugh at them, they’re a bit high-strung as a result.’
    ‘I didn’t think there were that many packs in London.’ She took a sip of her wine thoughtfully. ‘Which pack is Alec with?’
    ‘None,’ Alec said from behind her. She jumped, almost spilling her drink, and he chuckled. ‘I’m ronin,’ he said, ‘and I bet if you don’t know about the Dog Boys, you don’t know what that means either.’ Ceri shook her head. ‘Ronin were master-less samurai in feudal Japan,’ he explained. ‘The packs started using it for wolves who don’t belong to a pack about… forty years ago.’
    ‘Oh,’ Ceri said. She tried for a cute grin. ‘I’ve spent five years as a near recluse,’ she said. ‘If it’s not in a book I’ve read…’ Lily grinned at her and picked up her tray of drinks, strutting off to table four.
    Alec favoured Ceri with a long, appraising look, lingering over her chest. She kept her arms from covering her breasts by force of will and tried her damndest to avoid blushing. ‘That,’ he finally said, ‘is a crying shame.’ He grinned and turned away as another waitress approached the bar.
    ‘Enjoying yourself, Ceri?’ She turned at the sound of Carter’s voice. He was smiling.
    ‘Yes, thank you,’ she said. She was, though a tiny part of her mind was sitting there asking why the ronin bartender who had had largely ignored her a few weeks earlier was flirting with her now.
    Carter’s eyes darted over her shoulder, presumably at Alec, and then back again. ‘Have you managed to read any of the material I put on the NAS box yet?’ he asked.
    ‘Uh, no.’ She nodded toward Cheryl. ‘We’ve been writing up the research paper. Now that’s gone to bed, I get to have a life.’ She grinned wryly and Cheryl