Thaumatology 101 Read Online Free PDF Page B

detect fundamental magical particles.” It mentioned her and Doctor Tennant by name, but Shane was “another research assistant.” Ceri giggled slightly at that; Shane would be hating it. Tennant was fairly well known as a theoretical thaumatologist in contention with the team at Cambridge. The press liked an underdog and it was well known that she was working with less resources and doing fairly well.
    The article mentioned that Ceri was the daughter of David and Marion Brent, noted practitioners who had provided enchantments and other services to various celebrities. Whenever they came up in the news, the story mentioned their deaths in a car accident six years earlier. Ceri’s mood darkened and suddenly the lounge with its memories was not such a great place to be. Picking up one of the magazines she kicked the blanket off her legs and headed upstairs. She wanted to be in the sun.
    There were, in fact, three loungers on the roof. They had put a third one up there for the rare occasions that Twill went up to enjoy the sunshine. Today was one of those days, which meant that Ceri had two girls scolding her for emerging from the lounge. ‘I didn’t want to stay in there,’ she said, closing the hatch and walking over to the remaining lounger. ‘Besides, the sun will do me good. I’m just going to lie here and relax, okay?’
    Twill fumed in the middle of the human-sized lounger. It was a funny sight, in a way. ‘You better rest! And you’ll be taking a nap later. We changed your sheets and everything.’ Ceri tried very hard not to smirk; the fairy could get a little vindictive if she was not taken seriously.
    ‘She’ll rest, Twill,’ Lily said, lying back and stretching. It was still fairly hot for so late in the summer and Lily was exposing all her skin to the sun, as usual. Ceri watched the languid stretch, swallowed, and opened her magazine.
    She had brought The Wednesday Witch, a weekly trade magazine which her mother had subscribed to and she had never got around to cancelling. Her mother had taken it for the adverts, mainly. The back half of the thing was full of large and small panels for reagent shops, herbs, witches offering charms and potions, and a few enchanters and wizards for hire. At the front were the articles, usually about the best moon phases to plant and pick your herbs, or in-depth coverage of the latest recipes for love potions. There was a gossip column covering celebrity witches and who they were currently dating, which always made Ceri giggle, and each issue had a free potion recipe or instructions for a charm, talisman, or amulet. Aunt Agatha’s advice column was terribly popular, topped with a picture of an aged witch smiling sweetly. Ceri had met the real Agatha once. She had turned out to be a twenty-something woman with a sour expression and a degree in psychology.
    ‘Dorian Watts is dating Philipa Claremont,’ Ceri commented into the silence which had descended. She put the magazine down and pulled her T-shirt off. It was hotter than she had thought it was.
    ‘That won’t last,’ Lily said without opening her eyes, ‘he’s gayer than… um… something really gay. Help me here?’
    Ceri giggled. ‘Huh, Suzie Shore was seen at a midnight orgy last full moon.’
    ‘Isn’t she a parson’s daughter?’ Lily looked around at Ceri and blinked. ‘You’re topless.’
    ‘Huh? I was hot. When did you get prudish?’ Ceri continued reading about the bacchanal the young witch had apparently taken part in. Even though the events had been kind of sensationalised, she got the impression that the party had been less an orgy and more a “bit of riotous behaviour and few people having sex in the spare room.”
    ‘Ceri,’ Lily said, ‘I’ve never seen you topless!’
    ‘Of course you have,’ Ceri said, laughing.
    ‘Outdoors?’
    Her wings shimmering, Twill floated over to hover beside Ceri. ‘She’s right,’ the fairy said, ‘you’re usually more… shy.’
    Ceri looked