P.N.E. (The Wolfblood Prophecies Book 4)

P.N.E.

by

AVRIL SILK

BOOK FOUR

of

THE WOLFBLOOD PROPHECIES

First published in 2014 by Avril Silk

Copyright © Avril Silk

Typeset by Avril Silk

James Silk – Humble scribe

No part of this publication

may be reproduced, stored

or transmitted in any form

without the express written

permission of the publisher

Permissions pending

All rights reserved

[email protected]

www.avrilsilk.com

This book is dedicated to

The Glory Girls of Ashbrittle

Polly Fox Strangways

Jane Embleton

Delia Harling

Jo Hartas

Jo Kidd

Patricia Stewart

Elizabeth Taylor

Kate Weekes

Katie Venner

Guiding lights and shining stars,

every one of them

Acknowledgments

So many people have encouraged and supported me in writing
P.N.E.
My heartfelt thanks to them all. They include:

Octavia Austin

Caro Ayre

Patricia Branch

Diana Church

Howard Davies

Jane Embleton

Polly Fox Strangways

Ted Franklin

Delia Harling

Pauline Homeshaw of the 10 Parishes Festival

Peter and Marylise Kellie

Davina Knell and family

Martin Levinson

Douglas Marshall

Madeleine Morey

Jill Preston and the rest of QB7

Andrea Saines

James Silk

Mike and Rakhshinda Silk

Peter and Lurleen Soutar

Patricia Stewart

Glenys Townshend

Alexa Vickery

Marianne Watson

Beth Webb

Jessica Wilker

Acknowledgments

I have been inspired by many creative, talented people, including:

Ray Bradbury

Charles Causley

Leonard Cohen

Carol Ann Duffy

Bob Dylan

The Felice Brothers

Kathryn Flett

Neil Gaiman

Laurie Graham

Ursula Le Guin

Miroslav Holub

Terry Pratchett

Philip Pullman

Dorothy Rowe

Joss Whedon

The entire cast and production team of ‘The Big    Bang Theory’

Most of all, in writing the first four books of
The Wolfblood Prophecies
my son James has supported, challenged and inspired me. His creative insight and generosity of spirit have been a source of strength and delight.

Thanks to the hundreds of people around the world who work so hard to make Wikipedia such an exciting and accessible work of reference.

THE WOLFBLOOD PROPHECIES

The son of the wolf will live for ever...

renewed through the blood of sacrifice...

under the sign of the hooked cross...

rolling thunder and clouds of glory...

steeped in sin and will seek repentance...

a mistress of memory will tame him...

she will bear him the Child of Glory...

the Child will be branded with secret signs …

the Child of Glory will lead the Rainbow Warriors

in a time of war and destruction...

A Rainbow Warrior does not fight others,

but battles within to find their own truth.

WHO’S WHO and WHAT’S WHAT

Main character:
Jo Lakota
- a rather serious teenager with special powers which are still developing. To quote Madame Mirabel;
She can
emp
, she can truth–tell, she can deep–read and she can heal. She’s got all these gifts but she don’t know what to do with them.
A green-eyed redhead, like her mother and her aunt. Has a crush on Smokey.

Ali (Alithea) Lakota
– Jo Lakota’s mother – a Mistress of Memory, with the ability to enable people to remember what is important. Kind, wise and slow to anger but if provoked, remarkably fierce. Her twin sister is Lethe Lacuna.
Able to emp.

Beth
– a precocious teenager infatuated with Smokey; sometimes works for Lethe Lacuna. Jo does not trust her, even though Beth has shown great courage at times, and seems to want the same things as Jo. Including Smokey.
Able to emp.

Brenda
–
a
proud and courageous founder member of The Righteous, known for her loyalty.
Able to emp.

Calico
– Jo’s tortoiseshell cat. Probably
able to emp
…

Darren
– Mirabel’s grandson
.
Nasty piece of work.  Kidnaps young girls for an exclusive club where children are forced to fight and die. Involved with Lucy.

Gleam
– Huge, powerful golden horse with gentle eyes, owned by the Reverend Obadiah Moon.

Grey Wolf
– a Lakota Indian chief, kindly, patient foster father to Hawk; blood brother to Silver Lightning. His wife is Summer Moon. As a young man he was in love with Ethel, Paul’s mother.
Able to emp.

Hawk
– a foundling, about thirteen years old, brought up by the Lakota tribe. Musically talented, with exceptional hearing. Boiling with self-indignant rage but too proud to admit it.
Able to emp.

Lethe Lacuna
– Ali’s twin, Jo’s aunt. Consort to Titus Stigmurus in his heyday. Very powerful, beautiful and seductive. Wicked to the core. A gifted scientist and pioneer in fertility treatments. Whatever Ali has, Lethe wants, including Paul and Jo. Also a Mistress of Memory, with the ability to enable people to forget – as long as they ask her. She has ways of ensuring people ask when she wants them to. Once, when she thought she was about to die, Lethe emped Jo that she had an unknown brother.
Able to emp.

Madame Mirabel
– a raddled old harridan steeped in wickedness. Has history with Titus, and still loves him at great cost to herself. She can discern people’s greatest fears and uses the knowledge as a weapon. Talented seamstress.
Able to emp.

Mary Montgomery
– childhood sweetheart and later, university colleague of Matthew Jamieson. Falls foul of Lethe Lacuna and loses everything, at which point she is known as
Crazy Em.
Rescued by Reg and the Righteous and reunited with Matthew in old age. Mistress of Memory.
Able to emp.

Matthew Jamieson
– University lecturer, explorer, adventurer. Widower, having lost Rosie and their boys in a terrible accident. Master of Memory. Full of wisdom and knowledge. He is Ali’s mentor. Nicknamed Midge.
Able to emp.

Paul Lakota
– married to Ali; father of Jo. Half Native American. Met Ali, Lethe and Quinn when they were all at college. Has history with Lethe, which still echoes, despite his determination to be a loving, faithful husband. Has a talent for locating objects and tracking. He is a record producer. Frequently baffled by his talented wife and daughter.

Quinn
– Fellow student of Paul, Lethe and Ali. Ali’s first love, but he threw her over for Lethe, then caught Lethe with Paul. Furious and heart-broken, he took off for Greece, lived on the beach and sang for his supper. After nine years, homesick and tired of the hippy life, he returned to London and set up a shop specialising in anything connected with Bob Dylan. He meets up again with Ali and later, Jo. Responsible for transforming Jo into a Goth Princess.
Able to emp.

Reg
– unofficial leader of the Righteous. Gruff, practical, down to earth and utterly reliable. Devoted to Brenda, who is married to someone else. Implacable opponent of VMN.

Samantha
– Jo’s best friend. Pretty and vivacious. Since her father’s illness, she and Jo have found themselves on different paths, which puts a strain on their friendship.

Sebastian
– Lethe’s right-hand man, with the creepy ability to enter people’s dreams.
Able to emp.

Sergeant
- Veteran street cat retiring with dignity on Matthew’s lap, whether he wants it or not.  Old, thin and full of gristle with a howl from the depths of Hell.
Has no need to emp.
Destined to live forever.

Silver Lightning
– Blood brother to Grey Wolf – younger, sharper, less tolerant. A fierce warrior.
Able to emp.

Smokey
– A little older than Jo, with the ability to melt into the background to the point of invisibility. His real name is
Jacob Ashe
. After Lethe and Titus involved his mother in their scientific experiments, and abducted his sister, he hates them with a deadly hatred. No stranger to sullen malice.
Able to emp.

Summer Moon
– Wife of Grey Wolf and foster-mother to Hawk. A wise woman with healing powers.

The Reverend Obadiah Moon
– Deeply religious, austere American pastor who helps young people at risk by involving them in music. Has history with Lethe and it is just possible that she really did love him. Their attraction runs deep but as a man of God he will not give in to temptation.
Able to emp.

Titus Stigmurus
– the seemingly ageless co-founder of
The Lost Funfair of Forgotten Dreams
; president of VMN and, after his religious conversion, head of the Glory Foundation. Seems genuinely contrite, but as a man of great power, wealth and talent, always close to trouble. Determined to locate the mythical
Child of Glory
as foretold in The Wolfblood Prophecies. Reg calls Titus
The Twister
, as he has the ability to enhance or distort other people’s talents.
Able to emp.

The Ferals:

Lucy
– a street fighter – tough, vicious, promiscuous. Banished by Zebo after attacking Crazy Em.

Wheezy
– a talented artist, but his murals are profoundly disturbing.

Zebo
– leader of the Ferals - the runaways and outcasts who live in a disused Underground railway station. Involved with Lucy before her banishment.

Characters who appear once or infrequently:

Bella
– Lucy’s baby. Lethe, unaware of his real connection to the child, thinks that Titus believes Bella to be the
Child of Glory
.

Bridget Ashe
– Smokey’s older sister; at times Lethe’s right-hand woman.

David
– Director of C.U.T

Doctor Jonathon Mallory
– Lethe’s devoted admirer – to her intense irritation. His medical expertise is, however, invaluable to her.

Ethel
– Paul’s unmarried mother. Trained as a pilot in WW2 and had an extraordinary memory. Fell in love with Paul’s father during the war.

Everard Burnley
– a writer of books for young adults. His quest for immortality takes a sinister turn when his ambitions coincide with those of Lethe Lacuna. Has a brother,
Allardyce
and a sister,
Angharad
.

Howard
– Samantha’s father

Janine
– Sebastian’s girlfriend

June
– one of the Ferals

Jean
– Samantha’s mother

Josie
– Brenda’s niece, adopted after Brenda’s wayward sister commits suicide.

Lanying
–
also known as
Lotus.
Chinese girl imprisoned by the VMN at C.U.T.

Louise
– Quinn’s sister

Nurse Carson
– colleague of Doctor Jonathon Mallory, employed by Titus in his flag-ship hospital.

Omar
– one of the Righteous

Paddy
– Zebo’s foster brother

Rosemary Lake –
Lethe and Ali’s mother.

Rosie Jamieson
– Matthew’s wife and mother of their two small boys.

Zachary Lake
– Lethe and Ali’s father.

Organisations:

C.U.T
–
The Centre for Utilisation and Training – a cover for terrible medical experiments instigated by Titus and Lethe.

Scorpion Grass
– code name for a top-secret VMN project to identify ‘sub-standard’ children for use in subsequent experiments. The RAINBOW machine - Research And Information Network Bringing Order Worldwide - was invented to identify ‘future undercover operatives - assassins, spies, persuaders and thieves to take care of business while the world dreams on.’ Titus Stigmurus has a fondness for acronyms.

Stigmurus Enterprises –
A world-wide organisation, including an American nuclear research facility, set up in the 1950s.

The Glory Foundation
– an altruistic, evangelical organisation, founded by Titus after his religious conversion and subsequent repentance.

The Righteous
– the rebel group formed in the 1980s when England was ruled by the VMN. Also known as
The Rioters.

VMN
– VergissMeinNicht - a neo-Nazi, oppressive regime, founded by Titus with Lethe’s support, seeking to eradicate imperfect, dissenting and lesser beings – except for those who will be valuable to their twisted purposes. Also known as
The Vermin.

Some characters have the ability to communicate telepathically – this is called emping and I have used bold italics when this happens. If the signal is faint, I use
pale grey
.

             
I use italics to indicate thoughts, memories and flashbacks to other books.