=:= Christopher =:=

"Gentlemen. Let's get started, shall we?"

Christopher looked around the table at his team. Gabriel and Liam were just getting settled, the latter took a quick sip of his coffee as he slipped into his chair. William, Michael, and Anthony were already in their seats and ready to begin.

They were sitting around a large dining table, in the dining room which they'd made their conference room.

One had to admire the efficiency and resources that the Brotherhood had at its disposal. When their plane took off from Heathrow eight days ago, the half dozen men had received a preliminary briefing, but much was still uncertain at that time. They knew what town they'd be operating out of, but not how they'd get there from the airport or where they'd be staying when they arrived.

By the time the plane had touched down in Toronto, the Brotherhood had already found and rented a large home in the middle of town and secured transportation for them. A large SUV, a nondescript four-door sedan, and a motorcycle had been waiting for them at the airport.

A combination of bribery and magic had ensured the six men were able to stroll through customs unimpeded, along with all of their equipment.

Their first day here was spent settling in and setting up. The second day they started reviewing the additional information they'd received from London, as well as getting themselves up to speed on the local geography and layout of the town. After that, work had begun in earnest.

Christopher cleared his throat then fixed his eyes on their analyst, Michael. He was in his early forties, short and slightly built. He kept his dark blonde hair trimmed short, and wore a pair of round spectacles. He tended to dress casually whenever he could get away with it, in jeans or slacks and sweaters or hoodies, and he usually had a day or two of stubble on his face.

"Michael, what have you found?"

The analyst slipped his glasses off and started cleaning them as he began. He spoke with a carefully measured 'BBC accent', and his voice was a little soft. Christopher thought the man was a little on the shy or timid side. He hadn't worked with Michael before, but the man had a solid reputation as an analyst and was supposed to have some useful computer skills as well.

"In the days since the team from Cardiff botched their assignment, our targets have all significantly reduced their on-line presence. Accounts have been closed, locked, or frozen. However, my colleagues in London had a head-start on that, and were able to snapshot several of the key accounts before the cultists started going off-line."

He paused and slipped his glasses back on, then had a look at his laptop on the table infront of him. "With the information they sent over, and tracing connections to other, unlocked accounts, I've pieced together a fairly high-confidence list of likely subjects, along with their close family and friends. I've forwarded it to yourself and the rest of the team, sir."

"Very good." Christopher gave him a slight nodd, then turned his attention to Liam. He was the youngest member of the team, somewhere in his early- to mid-thirties. A tall, well-built, handsome man, Liam was outgoing and affable. He had a way of setting people at ease around him. He looked like he could have been a model or an actor, his ebony skin was flawless and his face friendly. Always clean-shaven, he kept his hair trimmed in a short neat business-like cut.

Although he looked like he could be an actor, Liam was rather more skilled on the other side of the camera. He was their surveillance expert. His skills extended beyond the camera of course, he also had a knack for clairvoyance and a sense for magic.

"Any updates on your end, Liam?" Christopher asked.

"I've forwarded all of you the updated map of their base of operations," Liam replied, in his deep, soothing baritone voice. His accent suggested he was from south Wales himself, though he was professional enough not to show any sign offence at the mention of his fellow Welshmen failing their mission.

"As previously discussed, several of them live in a private home located on the same piece of land as the winery and the 'spiritual retreat'." He added, "I've been unable to get too close to the home, but I believe the place is heavily warded."

He checked his notes on his tablet, then continued, "I visited the winery two days ago as a tourist. I was unable to spot any of the cultists, and judging by the aurae of the winery employees I did see, none of them are involved. The 'spiritual retreat' is on an off-season schedule and I haven't been able to visit it yet. I suspect we'll find a similar situation though, staff are likely not involved in cult activities."

Christopher checked his own laptop for the information Liam sent, and nodded, "Very good. How did you get the data for these maps?"

Liam replied, "I rented a helicopter, had the pilot fly me around the area. Ostensibly to photograph that section of the Escarpment, to detect signs of erosion."

"Good." Christopher turned his attention to the oldest member of the team. A tall, slim man, Anthony was somewhere around fifty. He had a sort of school-teacher air about him. It might have been the tweed jackets and button-down shirts he seemed to favour. His greying hair was balding on the top, and kept very short everywhere else.

Like Michael, Anthony was not actually a field operative. The two of them were normally based out of London and were this operation taking place in the UK both men would have stayed put. However, being on the wrong side of the Atlantic meant it was preferable for the team to have immediate access to the sort of talents the two men brought to the table.

Odds were neither Anthony or Michael would venture outside their rented house that often, apart from visiting the occasional restaurant or other local amenities.

Where Liam was good at clairvoyance, Anthony was a master of the craft. Born a Seer, he had a natural talent for such things. The man was also skilled at enchantments, curses, and other arcane arts. Every member of the Brotherhood knew some magic, enough to do their jobs, but Anthony was one of the Brotherhood's experts. Some called men like him wizards, others thought of them more as researchers or even artisans. Whatever word you chose, his knowledge of magic and the arcane was fearsome, and he was adept at putting that knowledge into practice.

Christopher asked, "How are things progressing on your end, Anthony?"

"Working with the leads that Michael provided, I have identified several anomalies in the fabric of reality." The older man spoke in a somewhat quiet, weedy voice, and an accent that suggested a well-to-do background. It was not a voice which demanded your attention, rather one that would be easily missed or overlooked. "I'm working now on an enchantment which should prove most disruptive to any cultist who's benefited from said anomalies. It should be ready for deployment in another day or two."

"That sounds good, Anthony," Christopher nodded. "I'll speak with you a little more in private later, so you can fill me in on the details."

Next up was Gabriel. He was a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, though officially he was here as their electronics tech and handled their logistics. He was comfortable both in the field and in the office. The second-youngest member of the team, he was in his late-thirties. His dark hair was usually a little unkempt and he tended to be the most casually-dressed of the lot. His attitude was also fairly casual, which regularly got under Christopher's skin.

"Any progress on your end, Gabriel?" Christopher asked.

The tech was slightly overweight, not enough to make him a liability but it was another reason Christopher disliked the man. The main reason he was here was he was supposed to be very good at his job, and no-one else had been available.

"Not yet, I'm afraid." Gabriel looked a little apologetic. His accent clearly identified him as a northerner.

"Normally it would be fairly straightforward for us to tap into the mobile-phone network. The situation here is almost ideal for that, there's only two towers in proximity to the cultists' base, and I've already visited both sites."

He sighed, "Problem is, all our gear and experience is based on the infrastructure we've got back home in the UK. Completely different system out here in the colonies, I'm afraid. I'm trying to source some local talent and gear, but the way it's looking, it'll take us a while."

That was not the sort of news Christopher wanted to hear. "What else can you do in the mean-time?"

"Well," the tech replied slowly, "Until we can get ears on them directly, we could pick out some other related targets. According to Michael's report, one of the head cultists has family right here in town. They still use a landline, I can drop a bug on that easily enough."

He checked some notes on his laptop, "Another hotspot Michael has identified is a family home in the north-east of town. One adult female and four teens. The adult is almost certainly a cultist and potentially the teens as well... No landline there but we might be able to get some electronic surveillance in place on the property."

"What about using laser surveillance?" That question had come from William, the man on Christopher's right.

Gabriel shook his head, "For the cultists' base? Not practical. It's all vineyard and open field on one side, fairly dense woodland on the other. Granted, those lovely great bay windows across the front of the house would be perfect soundboards for a laser surveillance system to listen in on. But there's nowhere in range of the place to conceal the system, and nowhere to source power for it." He shook his head again, "I mean, you could leave a van or car parked on the main road in front, but it would be a bloody great target, and even then you'd be hard pressed to get a clear line of sight thanks to the vines and such."

Christopher sighed, "Fine. Keep working on the mobile towers, but in the meantime get ears on the families and any other hotspots. What about their LGBT organization?"

"It's warded," William stated. "I haven't seen them spending much time there either. Mostly volunteers in and out of the place. It's also currently being picketed by some religious types, and I've seen local law enforcement keeping an eye on the place as well."

"Fine." Christopher frowned. "What else do you have, William?"

The last man at the table was Christopher's second-in-command. He and William had worked together a few times over the years, and he was someone Christopher could respect. Like himself, William was ex-military. Those in the Brotherhood did not talk about their past, but Christopher knew William was a hard man, and had definitely seen combat while in uniform. He was positive William had served with the SAS over in Afghanistan or the middle east.

In his mid-forties, William was a tall, fit, imposing figure. He worked out every day, he kept his charcoal-grey hair trimmed as if he were still in active service and his blue-grey eyes always had that long-distance stare, as if he were continually scanning his surroundings for threats. He spoke in a low, measured voice. There was just the faint hint of an Irish accent in his voice if you knew what to look for, but generally he spoke with what some people referred to as a mid-Atlantic accent.

Like Christopher, his skills were varied. He was a good tactician, and in addition to magic he was well-versed in a wide variety of lethal weapons and techniques. His primary role on their team was to take care of 'wet-work'. When they were ready to strike at the priestess and vessel, William would likely be the one to pull the trigger, either literally or figuratively.

"I've been keeping tabs on the comings and goings from the cultists' base. There's been a surprising lack of movement. Clearly they're aware of the threat we pose, and have been taking precautions. While we can't know how much information the cultists were able to extract from the Cardiff team, it's obvious they've learned enough that they're all laying relatively low."

William continued, "So far, the goth one, Nicole, has been seen moving around most-often. The other one, Samantha, has been keeping a lower profile. No way to tell yet which is the priestess and which is the vessel, but Michael and his colleagues in London seem confident those two are the leaders and hold those two roles. Based on what we've seen so far, it's unlikely we'll get a shot at both of them together. We'll probably have to take them individually."

Christopher nodded, "Not ideal, but as we all know, eliminating one or the other will throw the survivor and the rest of the group into disarray."

"One other thought," William added. "Based on what happened in Wales, it's possible that these cultists are a little more wary of magic. Certainly the fact that at least some of their locations are warded tells us they see it as a threat. On the other hand, they may not be prepared for purely mundane attacks."

"Good point." Christopher considered. "Very well. Our quarry know they're being hunted, they're taking the expected precautions. Our strategy then will be to come at them from some unexpected angles. They know we exist, but they won't know everything we're capable of, or what to expect from us."

He paused for a moment as he came to a decision. "Anthony," he looked over at the older man. "William and I will speak with you privately in an hour to discuss your enchantment idea, and then I think it's time we made our presence known."

=:= Ashley =:=

"Ok, let's see what you can do." Zoe looked at the three of them, then decided "Amanda why don't you go first? What sorts of stuff have you learned so far?"

"Uh, ok..." Amanda sounded a little nervous, but she conjured up a ball of light. It was about the size of a grapefruit, hovering in the air infront of her.

Zoe nodded, "It's a start. Sadie how about you?"

Ashley's girlfriend shrugged and did the same thing, now there were two balls of light floating in the air.

"Ok. Ashley, your turn."

The three of them were sitting on the bed in the master bedroom of her girlfriend's house, and Zoe was standing infront watching them all. Normally it would have been Maria giving them lessons, but she was downstairs with Beth and Jenny, keeping them occupied. The three of them were watching a movie together, and Maria and Jenny were taking turns answering the door to give out candy to the trick-or-treaters.

It was hard not to stare at their new tutor. Her lilac-coloured hair was unusual, but not impossible. There were a few kids at school with their hair dyed unusual colours. What really caught their attention was the two furry lilac-coloured cat ears ontop of her head, and the long lilac-coloured tail that was idly swishing back and forth behind her.

At first glance, Ashley had thought it was a costume. This was Halloween after all. That assumption had quickly vanished when she realized the ears and tail were actually moving, they weren't just props. Neither Ashley or the twins had ever met Zoe before, and when Maria mentioned she was coming over to tutor them, she'd neglected to tell them they were going to meet a real live catgirl.

So the first ten minutes or so of their 'lesson' was spent on questions about that. It was kind of cool actually, to realize Zoe was brave enough that she could just live with people constantly staring at her, and getting weird questions and stuff all the time. Like Halloween was probably the only time of the year where she could walk down the street and not have people looking at her funny.

Ashley finally conjured up a ball of light as well. The best she could manage was about the size of an apple. She knew she was lagging behind the twins, but that was at least partially because she couldn't spend as much time training as they could. She had to keep all of this hidden from her parents, and could only spend an hour or so a day over here at the Watson house doing the lessons and stuff.

"Ok not bad all three of you." Zoe nodded. "Can you do glamours yet?"

The light spells were all dismissed, and then the twins both worked glamours on themselves. That was honestly pretty cool, Ashley thought.

Suddenly it was as if Amanda and Sadie had switched places. Sadie was blonde-haired with hazel eyes, while Amanda had brown hair and eyes. Their clothes hadn't changed, but it looked for all the world like Sadie was suddenly wearing Amanda's skinny jeans and t-shirt, while Amanda had dressed in Sadie's skirt and blouse.

The illusion was perfect, right down to their hair styles and make-up. They already sounded the same, so they didn't even have to try to change their voices. They could easily impersonate each other now, and the only possible 'tell' would be their mannerisms or something. But being twins they were already good at mimicking each other.

Ashley worked the glamour spell as well. At the moment she was only able to change her hair or eye colour, she couldn't do anything fancier. So she turned her jet-black hair into a pastel-purple, taking inspiration from their tutor.

"Not bad." Zoe nodded, looking them all over. "Ok, Maria's told me you've learned a few defensive spells, but I'm not going to ask you to demonstrate since it isn't safe. I know you've only been at this a month, so we want to get your magical 'strength' built up, as well as teaching you a few more spells."

She was sort of wandering around the bedroom as she talked, not really pacing but she did look a little bored. Ashley suppressed a grin as she started wondering if Zoe had other feline traits. Would their tutor chase a laser-pointer? Did she like catnip? Ashley nearly let out a giggle as she thought about bringing a cat-toy or something to their next lesson.

Zoe didn't notice Ashley's expression, as she seemed to be in a sort of lecture-mode now.

She was still wandering around the bedroom, but now she was talking about using the teleport spell and starting with small light objects, like a pen or pencil. Then working up gradually, adding more and more mass. She explained how distance was irrelevant, so they could practice in their bedrooms or whatever, teleporting stuff back and forth across a desk or across the room. Apparently this was something her girlfriend Cindy had figured out.

Ashley and the twins had heard of Cindy, Maria mentioned her once or twice. So did one of the other witches, last month when the three girls were initiated. She figured sooner or later they'd finally meet the rest of the coven. Maybe after this threat stuff was over with.

Eventually their catgirl tutor finished the lecture part of the lesson, and got down to actually teaching them. She gave each of them a small pencil, one of those half-sized ones that comes with a notebook or fits into a loop in a purse or whatever, and she started teaching them the spell.

Ashley had never even seen someone teleport before, though she knew Amanda had been teleported when she was rescued by the witches last month. It was really cool to see Zoe teleport herself away then back. There was no sound, no flash of light or anything. It was just, one moment she was there, the next moment she wasn't. And then she was back again.

Of course she and the twins could feel the magic each time it happened. That was the only 'tell' really, and it was a stronger buzz of magic instead of the faint tingle you felt when one of them was just doing a glamour or a light spell.

It was really cool to think someday soon Ashley would be able to teleport herself like that. And this was something she could practice whenever she was alone, so she could do it at home in her room without attracting attention.

The three of them listened closely while Zoe explained the mechanics of how the spell worked, and then she started teaching them how to do it.

Over the next twenty or thirty minutes, all three of them had learned to send their little pencils across the room, and Ashley was feeling pretty pleased with herself. Sadie and Amanda were both grinning too.

Zoe smiled "Not bad, girls. Now, those pencils only weigh about two or three grams. You want to start working your way up. Cindy says you should be able to move at least a kilogram by next week, if you practice every day. So keep working at it, gradually adding more weight. But don't push too hard - if you get tired or start getting headaches, take a break and ease off with the mass for a bit. Any questions?"

Amanda asked, "Will you be coming by every afternoon for these lessons?"

"Nah," the catgirl shook her head. "Once or twice a week maybe, just to track your progress. You've still got Maria here to help if you have questions. Or you can call or text me if you like, I'll give you all my contact info."

"When do we get to learn how to do transformations?" Sadie asked, grinning.

Zoe smiled at her and asked, "Do you have someone or something in mind?" Then her expression became more serious. "Transformation magic can be pretty serious stuff, it's not something to mess around with. From what I understand Sadie, you should know better than anyone else that there can be serious consequences to messing around with that kind of spell."

Sadie's cheeks went a little pink and she nodded, "Yeah I wasn't planning on messing with anyone. It's just, I guess it's one of the cooler spells, right up there with teleportation."

"It is a cool spell, yes." Zoe agreed. "But as I'm sure Maria has told you, this stuff is serious. You aren't learning these spells so you can show them off to your friends or play around with them. And I know it doesn't seem like it, but right now we're all facing a potentially life-and-death threat."

She could tell the catgirl was serious, the tone of her voice and the look on her face meant she wasn't kidding around. And when she mentioned the threat, Zoe's ears had folded down slightly, and her tail was twitching back and forth.

Ashley saw Sadie was nodding in agreement. Amanda meanwhile had a little pink on her cheeks now too, and a slightly thoughtful look in her eyes.

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