The Wyrd of Willowmere

Chapter 10

"So," said Claire to Myra as they all touched minds shortly afterwards, "there you have it. Our enemies want to take over the world; we knew that already. But now we know exactly how they plan to go about it. And even more importantly, we know that they don't all want to do it for the same reason."

"They don't? That's interesting."

"Yeah. Apparently there are two separate factions inside the Legion: call them Faction A and Faction B. The A group, Phobetor and his pals, just want to play around in human bodies and enjoy themselves, once they've gotten us out of the way. But according to Al, not all the daimons feel like this. Some of them—call them Group B—completely despise us humans. They want us killed off, completely gone from the world, even if they never took Earth over for themselves. So what I want to know is, why do they feel that way about us?"

"What does it matter, child?" put in Matilda. "What difference does it make that they have different motives, so long as they're united by the same goal: to destroy your kind?"

"No," said Leo, "I believe Claire is on to something here, Matilda. You're saying that the enemy is not truly united—isn't that right, Claire?"

"That's it. 'Divide and conquer'—that's the expression, isn't it? Exploit whatever differences your opponents may have, turn them against each other so they'll be fighting one another instead of you. That was Al's advice, anyway."

"Well, that does sound promising," said Myra. "Dear Uncle Al! How like him to ferret out the truth for us. I do wish I'd been there with you, Claire, to talk with him. I hope we meet again someday. But to get back to the present: how exactly does one make daimons fight each other? And how to get hold of them to make the attempt in the first place?"

"That wouldn't be too difficult," said Leo. "Our enemies are spying on all open communications in the daimon dimension. We have but to make public announcements, so to speak, in Pandaimonium, and our words will inevitably find their way to the Legion. Whether they will act on our inducements is another matter."

Claire thought. "You know, we might have better luck with Group B—the ones that actually hate humans. You can't argue with pure greed, but if hate comes out of fear, or a misunderstanding, then it might just be possible to defuse it by talking. It's worth a try, anyway."

"Then we should find out when their next Conclave is, and go to the Sundarbans," said Myra.

"So you do know the place?" asked Claire.

"Oh, yes. It's a vast nature reserve that spreads over parts of India and Bangladesh. I've been there before, but very long ago."

"There's no need to travel," Leo said. "We can find animal hosts there for you. We 'll investigate the Sundarbans together and see what we can find there."

"It won't be hard to find hosts," Myra said. "The place is positively teeming with wildlife. Tigers, deer, crocodiles, snakes of various kinds including cobras. Lots of birds. And the water's brackish, so there are not only fish in it but porpoises and sharks."

"It doesn't sound like the safest place to visit," said Claire uneasily.

"No, it isn't. I suspect that's why the Legionaries chose it. With so many dangerous animals about, they hardly need to post a guard. We'll have to be very careful."

Claire went to school that morning feeling a little groggy from lack of sleep. Her hope began to wane again, and she felt despondent and pessimistic. The Perfects were all dressed in coven black, as was usual these days, with black jewellery to match. Katelyn sported a new tattoo on her right arm, a black circle within another circle. She and her friends look just like Josie Sloan, Claire thought, then corrected herself: Just like Josie, only smarter. It was a depressing thought. A lot of the other girls in school had already begun to imitate them, she noticed, wearing all-black clothing and pale makeup. Claire felt as though it were all a provocation aimed directly at her, as if the Dark Circle leaders were just showing her their power. She and Myra might be able to get through to a few students here with their seminars, but the more seductive Circle with its offer of an ideal existence would easily command the majority. And Willowville High was like a small model of the world.