Little Totterington - the tale begins
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{Jack}

Jack fumbled with the controls of the Honda Civic, looking for the correct knob to twist in order to turn on the headlights. The autumn day was coming quickly to a close and the dusk was settling onto the long, winding road he was traveling along. A turn of one knob caused the windshield wipers to scurry into action. No, that apparently wasn't it. Perhaps this long black one with the bulbous end. The next twist of his wrist brought forth a welcome beam of light, illuminating the road ahead. There were farms that dotted the landscape, and Jack hoped that no wayward animals decided to cross the path of his car.

 
He had to smile, though. Why was he worried about an accident? They rarely happened to him anymore. Or at least if they did occur, the universe was kind enough to give him a little forewarning. Just enough to avoid any bad scrapes.

Jack squinted at the sign up ahead. "Little Totterington, 5 km" it read. Good. He was almost there. Maybe once he got into town someone would be kind enough to tell him where "Totterington Park Estates" was. He had a furnished flat waiting for him, rented for the next 3 months. He doubted he would be there that long.

Jack's thoughts turned to his apartment back in New York. He wondering if Kayla had moved out yet. When he got back to New York, he'd discover what she had taken and what she had left. He wondered if there would be any signs left of the two years she had lived with him. Jack knew that his trip to England, ostensibly to do some shots of the English countryside, was just his way of escaping. At 38, he was honest enough with himself about that. He still remembered Kayla's face when he told her about the new assignment he had. At first there was that look of disappointment, followed by a second or two of anger, quickly to be replaced with the mask of apathy that they both had been wearing lately.

Jack's right hand moved to his breast pocket, checking to make sure the joints he had purchased in London were still in their hiding place. First he'd get something to eat, and then christen his new place with a smoke.

Jack saw buildings start to appear out of the darkness. The faint smell of curry wafted in through the open windows of the car and Jack's stomach churned to remind him that it had been 5 hours since he had last eaten. Indian food probably wasn't going to be kind, though, to his stomach after the long car trip. Jack had reached what he figured must be the center of town. He pulled over and parked on the street, hoping it was legal. It wouldn't do to get a ticket his first night in town.

Jack got out of the car and locked it. His legs ached from the long ride and he suddenly felt very tired. Maybe some food would wake him up. Which way to the local pub, though?

Jack sighed and close his eyes. It was time for the universe to help him out. Jack mentally tugged on the threads of fate around him. He opened his eyes and began walking, letting his sore feet decide on the proper path. He knew in a few minutes he would find what he was looking for. Jack was always that lucky.

{Edith}

Edith looked up from her embroidery.  It was almost time for supper.  Then she smiled at herself.  Only if she wanted it, and she didn’t.  How long would it take before she got out of these old habits? 

It had been a beautiful day, just the sort of summer sun turning to an autumnal glow that could make this time of year so special.  The warmth still lingered, even thought the light outside was now from the street lights.  Why not go for a walk?  She wouldn’t have done that a year ago, when they still lived in Dearlcastle, before John died.  Their suburb wasn’t the sort of area where a nice respectable elderly couple would go for an enjoyable evening stroll.  Although when they moved there, just after they were married, it had been so different.  Everyone knew everyone, talked over the garden hedges and no-one was afraid of the young people.  Of course, John and Edith had been some of the young people then, but they would have no more thought of robbing an old person as …… well, they just wouldn’t.

The elderly widow pulled her thoughts back to the present and put the embroidery carefully away – another old habit, even thought there was now no-one else to touch it until she returned.  She put on her coat, picked up her handbag, and walked out the front door, locking it carefully behind her.  Even in Little Totterington she wasn’t going to get out of the habit of locking up.  Where would she go?  She’d simply see where fate led her.

{Jeffrey Stone}

Jeffrey navigated the darkness of the hallway to the study and slipped in quietly. He chanted a few arcane phrases and the logs in the fireplace suddenly blazed with fire. It was a vain display of magick, but there was no one here to see it. The servants had gone to sleep hours ago. Jeffrey himself should be sleeping. Nowadays, though, his body seemed to require very little sleep, even in its weakened condition

Jeffrey sank slowly into an overstuffed leather arm chair. A wave of his wrist and a few muttered words brought forth the sound of violins from the hidden stereo system. Jeffrey closed his eyes and let the music fill his mind. He wasn't sure if it was the complex harmonies of the music or the pills he had taken moments earlier, but the pain in his abdomen slowly lessened. He would have to ring up Grace in the morning. The pain was becoming worse, and the magicked-pills she was giving him provided only scant relief

It was ironic that now, at a time when his magical powers were at their peak and the world stood at the brink of a wondrous change, his body had begun to slowly wither, consuming itself with disease.

Jeffrey scowled. Such maudlin thoughts were beneath him. There was work to be done. In the mundane world, Little Totterington was one of many anonymous English villages. In the world of magick, though, Little Totterington was a seat of rising power. Power that must not fall into the wrong hands. Jeffrey would see to that.

{Edith Cooper}

Mrs Cooper looked up at the young man who jostled her as she was about to enter the Laughing Cavalier pub on the village green.  No apology, of course.  Young people today had no manners.  She didn’t recognise him, and then she suddenly realised that he was one of Them.  The Magic ones.  That must be why he was trying to catch her eye.  Confused, she looked away, and felt her face going bright red.  He stood there, patiently, as she calmed down, and realised that she could hardly ignore him.

‘Uah, yes, dearie.  From America, are you?’ she said, flustered, recognising his accent from a hundred TV programmes.  Edith took a firmer grip on her handbag, and on the situation.  What had Grace said?

~’If you meet a magician in the village, be careful.  They’ll recognise that you are one as well. Not all of them are good people.  Tell them as little as you can about us, and get in touch with me, or Jeffery, as soon as possible.’~

‘You gave me quite a turn. Shall we go inside?’ she said firmly, turning towards the door of the lounge bar.  She had to think of a way get away from him and phone Grace on her mobile.  Across the room, the sign for the ladies was glowing invitingly. 

As Edith planned her escape, she caught sight of Miles sitting in the corner, having a drink by himself. She tried desperately to catch Miles eye to warn him.

  {Edith}

Grace had reassured Edith that the best thing to do was to introduce the new arrivals to Jeffrey and herself.  Edith was only to relieved to do so. She said,

‘I’m sorry about before, dearies.  We weren’t really introduced properly, were we?  I’m Mrs Edith Cooper, and we moved here six months ago.  My dear husband passed away three months ago, and it was a tremendous shock.  Tremendous.  But some of the locals were really good to me, they’ve helped me so much.  Dear Miles is one of them, and I’d like you to meet some of the others.  We call ourselves –‘ and Edith lowered her voice into a conspiratorial whisper – the Totterington Society of the Magical Arts.  Jack and – er –Nap – may I invite you to the Society this evening?’

{Jack}

With the pint of beer going through his system, Jack felt more relaxed and at home. He almost choked with laughter at the name of Edith's and Miles' little club. With a name like that, they probably didn't serve cocktails... 

Jack considered his options for a moment. If he declined, he might end up ticking off the locals. Probably not a good idea. He should probably go. Jack took a hard look at the others around him. Edith looked harmless. Nap looked a lot like some of his friends in New York. Only dangerous when sober. Miles, on the other hand, looked like a dude not to be crossed. He'd have to remember to stay on Miles' good side. 

"Sure, why the hell not." Jack finally announced. "If you don't mind, I'd like to have one more drink. I don't suppose you folks have tequila here to go with your brew?" Jack smiled and gathered up the empty glasses to take back to the bartender. "Be back in a flash folks."

Jack came back with a shot glass and another pint. Both were downed in rapid succession. A wide grin became plastered on his face. "I don't suppose this place we're going to is anywhere near...um...wait just a second." Jack fished in his pockets and pulled out a scrap of paper. "Totterington Park Estate?" he said, reading from the paper. "I've got a flat rented there."

{Grace}

Grace had now been at Jeffrey's house for some time that evening.  A punnet of her late perpetual strawberries lay on the kitchen table.  She had given him two of the last remaining pills, so that he would be able to give his full attention to the visitors.  She had told him everything that she had gleaned from Edith's confused phone-call, and her words had sent Jeffrey into a deep reverie, which she did not interrupt. Something, other than his illness, was obviously troubling him. 

Grace had also contacted Aaron, and the young man was now with the two elder mages in Jeffrey's old-fashioned sitting room.  The house seemed to have been furnished at the start of the twentieth century, and little appeared to have been added since.  This wasn't entirely true - Jeffrey had taken advantage of many modern developments - but he still had a coal-burning Aga in the kitchen and the electric lights looked at first glance like candles. 

As they sat waiting, and to finally take Jeffrey's mind off his illness, or whatever else was troubling him, Grace said to Aaron,

'You've only been back in the village for a day or two, havn't you?  Where did you go this time?'

Aaron Knight was renowned for his travels, and Grace was certain that, as usual, he would have an interesting tale.

{Jack}

As everyone got up from the table to leave, Jack felt just a little lightheaded. He shouldn't have had so much to drink on a very empty stomach. Jack grabbed a handful of pretzels from the bar and scarfed them down. That might help a little. While he was waiting, he decided to let his mind wander a little. A good beer buzz was the perfect thing to put him in the right frame of mind for peeking a little at what the future might hold. At least one possible future. His predictions never seemed to turn out exactly right. Anyway, it might give him a leg up on his new friends.  

Jack put on his "I'm here and happy" smile and let his vision shift a little [Time/2, Correspondence/2 effect], . With little jerks and pauses, sort of like a movie projector on the fritz, the scene in front of him advanced. He "followed" the girl he had been checking out earlier out the bar along with her hulking boyfriend. Jack got a really bad vibe from him. He didn't like the way he held her. It was more like she was a "thing" instead of a human, the way he pulled her away from her friends and scooted her out the door. Jack wondered why the hell he was seeing their future. He was more interested in his own story. What the hell, though, this might be fun!

There was a sudden jerk and the next scene he saw, the two of them were making out at the edge of some woods. "That's kind of a strange place to take a date." Jack thought. Urgh. Fast forward again. The guy was standing there, but no girl. He was wiping something from his lips. "Holy shit!" Jack said inaudibly. The guy was wiping blood from his lips. Where the hell was the girl, though?

Jack's visions swam for a second and the bar came back into view. The last thing he remembered was the faint smell of curry...before he fell over. Someone caught him before he hit the floor, though. He looked up into Miles' eyes. Miles looked at him with closely-guarded hostility. He must have figured out that Jack had been using magick and wondered what the hell Jack was up to.

Jack looked around the bar quickly. The guy and the girl were gone. How long had Jack been staring off into space? It couldn't have been that long.

"Miles, the couple who just left. The ugly sonofabitch and the really hot chick... Do you know either one of them? I think the girl's in danger." Jack said urgently, trying to keep his voice down. Jack was still a little unsteady on his feet. Whether from the magick or the alcohol, he didn't know.

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