Moonscorn

Chapter Six

The Open Gate was a lot more charming than Raven expected. He'd gone in primed to see full American Werewolf in London vibes, complete with hostile locals and a bloody pentagram on the wall. The knots in his stomach might have had a lot to do with that, though he couldn't help it. Being at ease in Whaterly was not something he was accustomed to in all of the seven hours total he'd spent in its borders.

It was, however, surprisingly light an airy, even with the dark woods and the overcast day outside. The feeling of being watched didn't dissipate completely upon setting foot inside the establishment, but it didn't dampen his spirits at all, which he considered a win he would gladly take. He couldn't see anyone who might be Jack Cold, so he ordered a pint and secreted himself on a small table by the window. He got his phone and deleted the notification saying he had messages from Hysteria. Persephone had told him she was being confined for the near future, and Raven knew that all the messages would be ranting and railing and swearing and cursing. He'd deal with that later.

A few minutes went by and there was still no sign of his coworker, so he took out a battered sci-fi paperback from his jacket pocket and began to read. Old tales of explorers on other worlds blasting bug-eyed monsters calmed him down. There was something about the hopefulness of mankind back in the fifties and sixties which seemed to reassure him that everything would go right.

"Morrigan! Seth Morrigan! Haven't seen you in ages!"

A big man in a leather coat entered the pub. He had a stupid grin on his face, a floppy fringe, and an aura that said 'more brawn than brains.' It had to be Jack Cold, and when Raven got up and gave him a bear hug to maintain appearances, the man whispered in his ear, "Try reading Moonlight in the East," to which Raven replied in kind, "I preferred The Sun Beast."

"We've got so much to catch up on. I haven't seen you since Uni. Hang on, lemme grab a drink and I'll be back with you. If you've got nothing going on."

Raven shook his head. "Trying to come up with a new novel idea. Thought the quiet town world would help."

"After the first one? Werewolf novel, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Go grab you drink, though. We'll talk in a minute."

Raven watched the big man order. He'd definitely got the muscle to be part of Laundry, and more than likely had spent most of his time doing the heavy lifting. Sometimes literal heavy lifting. Yet the way he spoke, the way he slipped into code and lies, spoke of intelligence that you couldn't get just from cleaning up the mess. He wore an exceptionally good mask to the outside world of someone slower than usual, but it was a finely honed disguise indeed. He was up there in the ranks now, someone Raven suspected as having genuinely worked his way up. Raven thought maybe he might be able to confide in the man.

Cold sat back down with a drink. They clinked the glasses together and both began to weave an elaborate narrative about nothing at all. Raven surprised himself at how easily he was able to come up with random quirks about a wife he didn't have, about lecturers for English Lit modules he had never taken and wouldn't have the first idea about. The next time Persephone had a go at him for reading too many sci-fi books, he'd send it right back to her.

Before long, more and more locals drifted in. The afternoon was fading and the time for socialising with those outside the dreary workplace was at hand. When there was enough noise around them that any conversation they were having would be believed to be misinterpreted due to snatches of other drifting conversations, they switched tracks.

Raven started. "So, tell me what's going on in this place. If you're out here, it's nothing too serious, I hope."

Cold snorted. "I'm pretty much on my holiday now. Everything's clearing up. Tell you what though; the guy I came out to see in the first place is causing a bit of a mess."