Chapter 34 The Mummy
POV: Silas
Location: Warehouse, Shadwell
Time: Two Days Before Callum's Release
I'm processing a werewolf corpse when Tom arrives with the special order. The body on my table is fresh, maybe six hours dead. Male wolf, mid-thirties, killed in the fighting pits. Clean death, throat torn out, organs intact.
The necromancers will pay well for the heart and liver. The medical students will take tissue samples for research. The vampire collector wants the eyes for some experiment I don't ask about.
This is my business. Two hundred years of acquiring supernatural bodies and selling them to interested buyers. It's macabre work but it's profitable. And more importantly, it generates information.
Every body tells a story. How they died. Who killed them. What pack politics or criminal activities led to their death. I document everything. Add it to my files. Build my collection of knowledge about supernatural London.
Knowledge is power. I've built an empire on that principle.
Tom knocks before entering even though the door's unlocked. Tom's got manners. Rare quality in the Rookeries.
"Silas. Special order just came in. Priority client, paying premium."
"What kind of order?"
"Fresh werewolf body. Specific requirements. Young, healthy, died recently. Buyer's willing to pay five thousand pounds." Tom hands me the request form. "It's from the Hermetic Order."
I take the form and read it carefully. The Hermetic Order is human mage organization. They study supernatural creatures, perform experiments, try to understand magic scientifically.
They're also dangerous. Mages who experiment on supernatural bodies usually have purposes beyond pure research.
"What do they want it for?"
"Doesn't say. Just lists specifications. Male or female werewolf, aged twenty to thirty-five, died within forty-eight hours, minimal damage to major organs." Tom shrugs. "Could be standard research. Could be something worse."
"It's always something worse with mages. They don't pay five thousand pounds for standard research." I look at my current inventory. "I've got the pit fighter. Died six hours ago. Meets all specifications."
"Should we sell to them?"
"Five thousand pounds is significant money. And refusing the Hermetic Order creates problems. They've got Parliamentary connections." I make the decision. "Prepare the body. Full preservation. Deliver it tonight."
Tom nods and gets to work. I return to my filing system.
Two hundred years of records. Every supernatural death in London documented in these cabinets. Names, dates, causes, circumstances. Some files are thin. Others are thick with decades of accumulated information.
I pull three specific files. The ones I've been updating most frequently.
First file: Callum Brennan. Born wolf, second-born twin, framed for murder by his brother, convicted in rigged trial, survived eighteen months in the Cage. Released in two days.
I've got extensive documentation. Pavel's reports from inside prison. Observations from vampires who monitor the facility. Details about fighting pit performances, silver poisoning levels, psychological state.
Callum's survived when most wolves would have died or gone feral. That makes him interesting. That makes him potentially valuable.
I've been preparing for his release. Identified potential work opportunities. Documented skills he's acquired in prison. Considered how he might fit into Rookeries economy.
Born wolves usually struggle as packless. They're trained for pack structure, pack support, pack resources. Take that away and they often collapse.
But Callum's been in prison. He's learned to survive without pack. That gives him advantage over most newly packless wolves.
I'm planning to recruit him. Offer work in exchange for information about Cormac. Callum's got insider knowledge of pack politics, territory, resources. That information is valuable to multiple interested parties.
Whether Callum cooperates depends on who he's become. Prison changes wolves. Makes them harder or breaks them completely. I won't know which until I meet him.
Second file: Cormac Brennan. Alpha of Brennan pack, framed his brother, allied with Mordaunt, ruling through fear and paranoia.
This file is thicker. More concerning. Cormac's descended into tyranny faster than I expected. Eighteen months as Alpha and he's already executing pack members for dissent. Creating private armies. Expanding territory through vampire assistance.
He's also the one who ordered Isla's turning. I documented that. Marcus's confession, recorded and filed. Cormac wanted to experiment with creating controlled turned wolves. Isla was test subject.
That information is valuable insurance. If Cormac ever becomes too problematic, I can leak it. Prove he's creating turned wolves deliberately. That's serious violation of supernatural law.
But I'm holding that information for now. Waiting to see how situations develop. How Callum's release affects pack dynamics. How Isla's network grows. Whether Cormac's tyranny collapses under its own weight.
Third file: Isla Reid. Turned wolf, Cormac's experiment, survived and built shelter network for packless wolves.
This file surprises me most. Isla was supposed to be disposable. Test subject who'd either die or become controllable soldier. Instead, she's created something significant.
Three shelter locations. Seventy-four wolves. Network growing monthly. She's organizing packless population in ways that haven't happened before.
That makes her valuable. That makes her dangerous. Depending on perspective.
Mordaunt's watching her. Considering elimination or recruitment. I'm watching her too. Documenting her network, her methods, her vulnerabilities.
If she survives Mordaunt's attention, she might become major power in the Rookeries. If she doesn't, her network might collapse or might continue under new leadership.
Either way, the information is valuable.
I file all three folders carefully. Keep them in the secure cabinet. Only Tom has access to these files besides me.
"Body's ready," Tom reports. "Hermetic Order's sending courier in two hours."
"Good. Make sure they pay in cash. No credit, no promises. Five thousand pounds or they don't get the body."
"Understood." Tom pauses. "What do you think they're doing with it?"
"Experiments. Probably trying to understand werewolf physiology. Maybe testing ways to control transformations or enhance their own magic." I clean my instruments. "Mages are always trying to steal supernatural abilities. This is probably related."
"That's disturbing."
"Everything in this business is disturbing. We just process it efficiently." I look at Tom. "The real question is what they're planning to do with whatever they learn. That's the information we should be gathering."
"Want me to investigate?"
"Carefully. The Hermetic Order doesn't like being spied on. But see what you can learn. Document their activities. Add it to the files."
Tom leaves to make arrangements. I'm alone in the warehouse with my corpses and my records.
This is my empire. Built on death and information. Two hundred years of collecting both. Selling bodies to anyone who pays. Documenting everything I learn in the process.
Some people think I'm just body trader. Macabre businessman who profits from supernatural deaths.
But I'm more than that. I'm historian. Archivist. The one who remembers when everyone else forgets.
Every supernatural who dies in London passes through my warehouse eventually. And every death teaches me something. About pack politics. About vampire schemes. About criminal operations. About the systems that keep supernatural London functioning.
I know more than anyone except maybe Mordaunt. And unlike Mordaunt, I'm not trying to control everything. I'm just documenting it. Preserving knowledge for when it becomes valuable.
Callum's release will create opportunities. Maybe he'll want revenge on Cormac. Maybe he'll ally with Isla. Maybe he'll work for me.
I'm prepared for all possibilities. That's what two hundred years teaches you. Flexibility. Preparation. Understanding that information is the only currency that never devalues.
The Hermetic Order's courier arrives exactly two hours later. Professional transaction. Five thousand pounds cash in exchange for fresh werewolf body.
I don't ask what they're planning. Don't care beyond academic curiosity. My job is to provide bodies and document the transaction.
But I make notes. Record the order. Add it to my files on human mage activities.
Because someday that information might matter. Someday someone might pay well to know what the Hermetic Order is experimenting with.
That's how the game works. Collect information. Wait. Deploy it when timing's right.
Two days until Callum's released. Two days until I see if prison created useful asset or broken victim.
I'm betting on useful. Wolves who survive eighteen months in the Cage either die quickly after release or become dangerous.
And dangerous wolves are exactly what I need for the schemes I'm planning.