Inquisition deals severely with unauthorised disclosures.’ Commander Hughes’s tone was brisk rather than threatening. ‘You will certainly be bridled and returned to civilian life. You might even be at risk of prosecution.’
His father leaned towards him. ‘Lucas understands, don’t you?’
Of course Lucas had no choice but to agree.
‘All right,’ said the Commander. ‘Let’s get on with it. Ashton, I think you should take it from here. After all, you’re the only one of us to have been personally involved in the case.’
Ashton knitted his brows. ‘In a minor capacity, it must be said. However, I’ll begin with Cora Starling who, as we all know, founded the Wednesday Coven with her twin Lily. I don’t need to tell anyone here that they were a pair of ruthless crooks who used celebrity and personal charm to, quite literally, get away with murder.
‘Cora was the more reckless of the sisters. She had many affairs, several with prominent establishment figures, and there were rumours of alcohol and drug dependency. At any rate, in 1979 she quarrelled violently with Lily and disappeared, taking her daughter Edie with her. At that time, Edie was eight, her father unknown. Nobody heard from them for five years.’
Lucas nodded, trying to hide his impatience. He knew this already.
‘By all accounts, they spent the next few years living a vagabond existence across Europe, using Cora’s underworld contacts to evade the authorities. However, in 1983 Cora travelled to the United States, where she joined a New Age commune in Texas known as the Sisterhood of Divine Light. It was here she was recruited to Endor. She and her daughter spent three months in an Endor cell that was operating in Atlanta before Cora decided to return home. She may have been sent on a mission by Endor; she may have got bored, and left the organisation on a whim. She was, as I said, notoriously unreliable.
‘Cora was immediately apprehended by the Inquisition on her return to England. Unfortunately, the officers in charge of her interrogation were overzealous in their efforts. She drowned in the course of a witch-ducking, before any significant information could be learned.’
Lucas had always been irritated by Glory’s starry-eyed view of the Starling myth. Now, in spite of himself, he felt a sadness for the girl Glory’s grandmother had once been. Cora the bad, Cora the beautiful. The half-crazy witch-girl who went dancing in stolen diamonds, and rinsed her hair in champagne to make it shine . . .
His father talked on, as placidly as if he was reading the weather forecast. ‘After Cora’s death, Edie was adopted by Lily Starling and brought up inside the Wednesday Coven. It was Lily’s intention to make Edie her heir, since none of her own children had the fae. But after Lily died, her three sons – led by Charlie Morgan and his wife Kezia – threw Edie out. She found refuge with her Aunt Angeline at the Cooper Street Coven. Though Angeline had hopes of using her niece’s witchwork to restore the coven’s fortunes, it appears Edie wanted to live an ordinary domestic life. She married and had a child: Gloriana.
‘Edie was, of course, a person of interest to the Inquisition pretty much from the moment of her birth. But it was the time she spent as a child with Endor that made her such a potentially valuable asset. Accordingly, the Inquisition chose to keep her under surveillance rather than bringing her in for testing and registration. The strategy paid off. Sixteen years after she and her mother left Endor, Edie Starling was approached by one of their agents in London, and invited to join their cause. Initially, she refused.’
Lucas held his breath. So they were coming to the point at last.
‘By then, the UK had endured three years of Endor terror: witch-hexed assassinations, sabotage, epidemics and banes. In Edie Starling, the Inquisition saw a unique opportunity to infiltrate the organisation. Her history and
His father leaned towards him. ‘Lucas understands, don’t you?’
Of course Lucas had no choice but to agree.
‘All right,’ said the Commander. ‘Let’s get on with it. Ashton, I think you should take it from here. After all, you’re the only one of us to have been personally involved in the case.’
Ashton knitted his brows. ‘In a minor capacity, it must be said. However, I’ll begin with Cora Starling who, as we all know, founded the Wednesday Coven with her twin Lily. I don’t need to tell anyone here that they were a pair of ruthless crooks who used celebrity and personal charm to, quite literally, get away with murder.
‘Cora was the more reckless of the sisters. She had many affairs, several with prominent establishment figures, and there were rumours of alcohol and drug dependency. At any rate, in 1979 she quarrelled violently with Lily and disappeared, taking her daughter Edie with her. At that time, Edie was eight, her father unknown. Nobody heard from them for five years.’
Lucas nodded, trying to hide his impatience. He knew this already.
‘By all accounts, they spent the next few years living a vagabond existence across Europe, using Cora’s underworld contacts to evade the authorities. However, in 1983 Cora travelled to the United States, where she joined a New Age commune in Texas known as the Sisterhood of Divine Light. It was here she was recruited to Endor. She and her daughter spent three months in an Endor cell that was operating in Atlanta before Cora decided to return home. She may have been sent on a mission by Endor; she may have got bored, and left the organisation on a whim. She was, as I said, notoriously unreliable.
‘Cora was immediately apprehended by the Inquisition on her return to England. Unfortunately, the officers in charge of her interrogation were overzealous in their efforts. She drowned in the course of a witch-ducking, before any significant information could be learned.’
Lucas had always been irritated by Glory’s starry-eyed view of the Starling myth. Now, in spite of himself, he felt a sadness for the girl Glory’s grandmother had once been. Cora the bad, Cora the beautiful. The half-crazy witch-girl who went dancing in stolen diamonds, and rinsed her hair in champagne to make it shine . . .
His father talked on, as placidly as if he was reading the weather forecast. ‘After Cora’s death, Edie was adopted by Lily Starling and brought up inside the Wednesday Coven. It was Lily’s intention to make Edie her heir, since none of her own children had the fae. But after Lily died, her three sons – led by Charlie Morgan and his wife Kezia – threw Edie out. She found refuge with her Aunt Angeline at the Cooper Street Coven. Though Angeline had hopes of using her niece’s witchwork to restore the coven’s fortunes, it appears Edie wanted to live an ordinary domestic life. She married and had a child: Gloriana.
‘Edie was, of course, a person of interest to the Inquisition pretty much from the moment of her birth. But it was the time she spent as a child with Endor that made her such a potentially valuable asset. Accordingly, the Inquisition chose to keep her under surveillance rather than bringing her in for testing and registration. The strategy paid off. Sixteen years after she and her mother left Endor, Edie Starling was approached by one of their agents in London, and invited to join their cause. Initially, she refused.’
Lucas held his breath. So they were coming to the point at last.
‘By then, the UK had endured three years of Endor terror: witch-hexed assassinations, sabotage, epidemics and banes. In Edie Starling, the Inquisition saw a unique opportunity to infiltrate the organisation. Her history and
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