‘Mariel is enjoying herself. Aren’t you, cuz?’ Oberon joins us. He has his hands in his pockets and a dark threatening look in his eyes.
‘Smile please,’ says Uncle Will, appearing with his camera.
Oberon grins and Amelia pouts but I can’t bring myself to pretend.
Will takes the photo. The flash leaves stars in my eyes.
Mum joins us. ‘Mariel,’ she says, ‘would you give me a hand? I need to bring some champagne up. We’re going to have a toast.’
‘Hi, Auntie Lynda,’ says Oberon. ‘Mariel and me have got some catching up to do. Would it be all right if Amelia were to help you instead?’
‘Well, I suppose. Is that OK with you, Amelia?’ she asks.
Amelia looks at me. ‘Of course. I’d love to help,’ she replies.
Mum and Amelia go downstairs and Oberon turns to me. ‘You were lucky the other night. Lily has a weakness for the weak. She holds too much fear in her heart, just like my brother.’ His sweaty face is much nearer to mine than I would like. ‘They’re scared of the wolf’s voice. They don’t embrace it like I do, like Grandma did. Wolves shouldn’t know fear.’
‘Not even fear of people finding out?’
Oberon chuckles. ‘Who’s going to tell? You?’
‘If you keep falling asleep in cowsheds, I won’t have to tell anyone. Someone is bound to get proof soon enough.’
‘I suppose you mean your friend in the dog collar?’ says Oberon. He laughs, seeing the look on my face. ‘You thought we didn’t know? Grandma protected the silly old fool. She stopped us from hunting him down in the woods like he deserves but she’s not around to stop us any more. Next time he goes out at night looking for proof I’ll tear off his dog collar and rip out his throat.’
Oberon is leaning forward, whispering this in my ear. His words have a strange effect on me. I am rooted to the spot with fear. Over his shoulder, the family gathering looks like the most ordinary thing in the world.
‘Did you kill Grandma?’ I ask.
‘What do you think?’ he says with a smile. ‘Besides, it was her who taught us there’s no such thing as a bad kill. What do you care anyway? You were dead to her long before she died. She only cared about wolves. Our parents were just carriers of the gene. Your mother was nothing to her and you were less than nothing.’
He walks away. In the other corner Aunt Chrissie is cuddling Madeleine, gently rocking her and singing in her ear.
I head towards the food but Elspeth intercepts me. ‘I do hope you’re going to come out to play tonight,’ she says.
‘What’s your problem with me?’
Elspeth stands closer than I’d like. ‘The first bite for the blood to appear, the second for the pain and for the tears, the third and fourth cause anger and fear. The fifth must be felt for the wolf to be here.’
‘That’s about coaxing, isn’t it? Five bites to coax out the wolf.’
She grins. ‘With each sun that rises and sets, the pack goes from two legs to four, but feast upon flesh of your own and you will change no more.’
‘What does that mean? Why would you want to change no more?’
‘Never fight a wolf in the moonlight, your fingernails will meet with claws, your fear with death then your final breath draws as your red blood pours.’
‘Lovely,’ I reply. ‘Do you know The Owl and the Pussycat?’
The sound of tinkling glasses makes everyone go quiet. Uncle Robson pulls out a remote control from his pocket and turns the music off. Everyone has a glass of champagne. Amelia brings two glasses of grape juice for Elspeth and me.
‘Your mum’s going to make a speech,’ she says.
‘Thank you, everyone,’ Mum begins. ‘When Mariel and I flew over last week, neither of us knew what to expect. I hadn’t seen you all for over a decade. Some of you I had never met at all. Some of you hadn’t been born.’ Madeleine makes a funny squeaking noise that makes everyone laugh. ‘But you have all been so welcoming, we can’t thank you enough.’
My uncles cheer and everyone raises their glasses.
‘And because you have all been so wonderful, Mariel and I have decided that we’re going to move back to England.’ She catches my eye. ‘We’re coming home.’
Aunt Celeste is the first to hug Mum. Uncle Robson says, ‘That’s terrific news.’ Everyone else clinks glasses. Will’s camera flashes. Amelia throws her arms around me, causing me to spill most of my drink. Freddie gives me a thumbs-up. Lily and Gerald cast dark glances at me.
‘And I was about to announce that we’re moving to Australia,’ says Uncle Will.
Everyone laughs again.
‘While we’ve got your attention, we’ve got an announcement too,’ says Oberon. ‘As you know, when Grandma died she left the house to us, her beloved grandchildren.’ I wonder if his sarcasm is as obvious to the others. ‘Well, we’ve just been discussing it and we’ve decided that we’d like it to be used by someone who really needs it, the youngest of the Considine cousins, little Madsie. Uncle Will and Aunt Chrissie, we’d like you to have Louvre House.’
Everyone looks touched by the speech. Uncle Harkett and Aunt Ruth smile proudly. More wine is poured. There are more hugs and kisses, more congratulations from uncles.
My head is swimming. The sickened look on Gerald’s face as he is congratulated makes me realise what they have done. They did it for Madeleine. They heard Will and Chrissie talking about moving away and did this to keep Madeleine nearby. I need to talk to Mum.
She is standing next to Aunt Chrissie, holding Madeleine. I walk over to her, passing Aunt Dee who is saying to Aunt Celeste, ‘That sounds terrible. How many did they kill?’
‘Two. A mare and a foal. The police think it’s someone’s idea of a prank after all these ridiculous stories about the beast of Wilderdale.’
‘Slaughtering horses, not exactly my idea of a joke.’
Mum is blowing raspberries on Madeleine’s cheeks, making her giggle. ‘I’ve been trying to work out whether she looks more like you or Will,’ she says.
‘I think she’s getting too hot under these heaters,’ Aunt Chrissie replies, taking her daughter off Mum.
‘Mum, can we talk?’ I ask.
‘Here we go, I told you I’d be in trouble.’ She winks at Aunt Chrissie.
‘Have you had a nice stay, Mariel?’ asks Aunt Chrissie diplomatically.
‘Very nice,’ I lie.
‘I’m so pleased you’ve decided to come back.’
‘We haven’t,’ I say.
Aunt Chrissie looks unsure what to say to this response but I don’t really want to talk to her about it.
‘Mum,’ I say, forcefully, ‘we need to talk.’
‘Can’t you just enjoy yourself, Mariel? We’ll discuss it later. This is a party. Look, your cousins are all enjoying themselves. Why can’t you be a bit more like them?’
They are on the other side of the roof, leaning over the edge, cheering every so often. Mum continues her conversation with Aunt Chrissie. This infuriates me but I can see I’m getting nowhere so I go to join my cousins. They have all hitched themselves up on their elbows, where the roof overlooks the street. I take a place next to Lily at the end of the line.
‘What are you doing?’ I ask.
‘The heaters are weakening the icicles,’ she replies.
Below the ledge is a clump of ice from a broken pipe. A row of icicles has formed. Freddie is using a stick to bang the roof just above the icicles.
‘Look, one’s about to go,’ says Freddie. The vibration from the stick causes the icicle to drop. It catches the light before hitting the pavement and shattering.
I don’t join in the cheer but it is pretty amazing to watch.
‘Who’s next with the stick?’ asks Freddie.
‘It’s my turn,’ replies Oberon, grabbing it off him and tapping above the biggest icicle.
‘Choose a different one. That one will take ages to go,’ says Freddie.
‘It’ll make the biggest
crash though,’ replies Oberon.
Gerald says, ‘Wait, there are people coming.’ I notice a couple walking arm in arm.
Oberon leans further over, so he can reach the icicle itself with the stick. The couple are still approaching, unaware of the danger above.
‘Oberon, stop it,’ says Gerald.
Oberon looks at him resentfully. ‘You don’t get to tell me what to do, bro.’
‘Come on, Obe, we don’t want anyone to get hurt,’ reasons Freddie.
With another direct whack Oberon chips a piece of ice from the top, making the icicle wobble precariously.
‘You could kill them,’ I say.
Elspeth says, ‘It wouldn’t count though.’
Oberon simply laughs and hits it one more time, finally dislodging the huge chunk of ice.
‘Look out,’ I scream. The couple stop and look around them, trying to figure out where the voice came from. There is silence while we watch the ice fall. The couple leap back and the woman screams as it smashes into pieces on the pavement right in front of them. It misses them by centimetres. We all move away from the edge, out of sight.
Chapter 18
Mr Pickles Has a Nasty Fright
Will and Chrissie are the first to leave the party because Madeleine has started grizzling. Sewell and Dee are next. Aunt Dee tells Lily and Elspeth to say goodbye to me because we won’t see each other again before Mum and I fly back home.
Elspeth addresses me in her usual threatening hiss. ‘Avoid dark passages and shady lanes, or feel as my claws rip the blood from your veins.’
‘You should write greetings cards when you’re older,’ I say. ‘You have quite a talent.’
Lily doesn’t say anything more than a simple goodbye.
‘I want the diary back,’ I say.
‘No,’ she whispers.
‘I found it,’ I say.
‘No.’ Lily glares at me. There is fear in her eyes. ‘This isn’t a game. You need to persuade your mum not to move back.’
‘Believe me, I’m trying.’
Amelia, when it’s her turn to leave, flings her arms around me dramatically. ‘I can’t believe you’re going. You’ll be back though, won’t you? I’ll email you a link to my advert when it’s made. I’m going up for a part in the school play next. It should be really good experience. Lots of actors learn their trade in theatre.’
‘Goodbye, Amelia,’ I reply, hugging her.
Harkett and Ruth stay longest talking to Uncle Robson and Mum.
Gerald and I find ourselves standing together, apart from the others. I haven’t spoken to him since the last night at his house. Could Freddie be right that it was him who killed Grandma? Standing in the corner of the party, nervously avoiding everyone else, he doesn’t look like he could kill anything.
‘Freddie said you were the first to be coaxed,’ I say.
‘He shouldn’t have told you. You shouldn’t want to know any more about us.’ He glances around, checking no one is listening.
‘I want to protect Madeleine,’ I say.
‘You can’t protect her. She’s a Considine.’
Mum laughs loudly at something Uncle Harkett is saying.
Oberon, who has run out of spare food to hoover up, says, ‘Come on, Dad, it’s time to go. Some of us need to get our beauty sleep.’
‘Quite right, darling. Come on, Harkett,’ says Aunt Ruth.
After they have said their goodbyes, Uncle Robson, Freddie, Mum and I go downstairs. I still want to talk to Mum but she’s tipsy and giggly so I go to bed. I don’t want to see Freddie but he is waiting for me when I come out of the bathroom.
‘I’ll knock for you when they’ve gone to bed,’ he says.
‘I’m not going out again,’ I reply.
‘Why? Last night was fun, wasn’t it?’
‘I don’t want to be a part of this. I wish I didn’t know.’ I try to push past him but he blocks my way.
‘You’ll be completely safe.’
‘With each sun that rises and sets, the pack goes from two legs to four, but feast upon flesh of your own and you will change no more,’ I say, repeating the poem that has been stuck in my head since Elspeth said it.
‘You don’t want to worry about that stuff,’ says Freddie casually.
‘It means that if you kill and eat me, you won’t have to change into wolves, doesn’t it?’
‘No, it doesn’t mean that. It’s about how we go full wolf.’
‘Full wolf?’
‘Some packs grow tired of their double lives, so their leader takes them to completion. They choose to stay as wolves for ever.’
‘How?’
‘The pack must perform a ritual that begins with the eating of another wolf. You aren’t a wolf so eating you wouldn’t count.’
‘Oberon and Elspeth still tried to kill me.’
‘That was different. That was just about the leadership. Neither of them would dare touch you while you’re with me. Besides, after those horses, Oberon has enough kills to walk into the leadership. He doesn’t need you. Come out tonight and we’ll have some fun.’
‘No.’
I go to my room. Later that night he taps on my window but I don’t move from my bed. I can see his muscular wolf-shaped shadow on the curtain. I am torn in two. I am consumed by an urge to go but fear binds me to the bed. When he eventually gives up, I am both relieved and disappointed. I sleep soundly and dreamlessly but wake the next morning groggy and tired.
Freddie has gone to school when I get up and Uncle Robson is on an important business call so Mum and I head over to Will and Chrissie’s flat in the hire car.
I am grateful there are no cousins at Will and Chrissie’s to intimidate me or freak me out. Only Madeleine lying on her back wearing a white sleepsuit, waving her arms and legs in the air. The flat is above a chip shop and I can instantly see why they want to move to Louvre House. It might be old and creepy but at least there is space and it doesn’t smell of chip fat. Their flat is made even more cramped by the stacks of framed photographs everywhere. The back room is Uncle Will’s studio with a big light on a stand and a brown textured background I recognise from some of the portrait photos of Amelia.
‘Sorry the place is such a tip,’ says Will. ‘We’re in a bit of chaos because of the exhibition tomorrow.’
Aunt Chrissie laughs. ‘Don’t believe a word of it. It’s always like this.’
‘What exhibition?’ I ask.
‘Of my art,’ says Will. ‘It’s tomorrow. There are lots of important people coming. I might even sell something if Robson brings some of his friends who have more money than sense.’
We all sit down in the living room. Madeleine has grabbed hold of her feet and rocks back and forward until she rolls on to her side. I go to help her but Aunt Chrissie stops me.
‘Let her try herself. I think she’s going to start crawling any day now.’
Madeleine rolls over on to her tummy and waves her arms and legs around but isn’t able to propel herself forwards. I feel sick and helpless at the thought of her being bitten by wolves. Why can’t they leave her alone?
‘The problem is she hasn’t got anywhere to go in this flat,’ says Aunt Chrissie.
‘You should come to Australia with us. There are lots of big houses there,’ I say.
Will, Chrissie and Mum laugh.
‘I think you’ve forgotten that we’re moving here,’ says Mum.
‘We could swap places. We’ll come and live here, you stay in our place in Melbourne.’
‘I couldn’t go back to Louvre House,’ says Mum.
‘I know what you mean,’ replies Aunt Chrissie.
‘Come on,’ says Will. ‘If we move into Mum’s old place, we can use some of that money to do it up. We could even afford a holiday. Remember those?’
‘It’s just so isolated,’ says Aunt Chrissie.
Uncle Will sighs, exasperated. ‘I know it’s a bit of a spooky old place but we wouldn’t be paying rent. Let’s face it, my
photography only just keeps us afloat.’
Aunt Chrissie says, ‘I’d feel like she was looking down on me, judging. It was always me she blamed for failing to give her a grandchild.’
‘You gave her Madeleine,’ I say.
Aunt Chrissie picks up Madeleine and stands her up. She pulls a funny face which makes Madeleine giggle. ‘Do you know what Flora did when she came to the hospital to visit her the first time?’
‘Oh, come on, this isn’t fair,’ says Will.
Aunt Chrissie ignores him. ‘She snatched her out of my arms. It was like I wasn’t even there.’
‘She thought you were handing her over,’ he says.
‘She thought no such thing,’ she replies.
The doorbell goes and Will remembers he has a customer.
I hear a familiar dog bark before I see that his customer is the organist from the church.
‘More pictures of Mr Pickles, Mrs Mills?’ says Aunt Chrissie.
‘Poor Mr Pickles isn’t quite himself today,’ replies Mrs Mills feeding him a biscuit. ‘So this is a special treat to cheer him up, isn’t it, Mr Pickles?’
‘He does seem a bit subdued,’ says Uncle Will, raising an eyebrow at me.
‘Something gave him a terrible fright in the garden last night. He’s not the only one either. I’ve heard all sorts of stories about pets being attacked or going missing . . . And what about Farmer Dooley’s cow and those horses? The papers are saying it’s the beast of Wilderdale. It must be as old as me if so because people have been talking about it since I was a little girl. Poor Mr Pickles.’
‘Well, let’s try some photographic therapy, shall we?’ says Will, closing the door behind them.
Aunt Chrissie whispers, ‘It’s the third time this year she’s been. How many photos of the dog does she need?’
‘Aren’t you worried about all these attacks at night?’ I say. ‘This isn’t the right place to bring up Madeleine.’
‘What on earth are you talking about?” asks Mum.
‘I just mean that something killed that cow and those horses and scared Mr Pickles.’
‘Every so often these rumours appear,’ says Aunt Chrissie. ‘And the papers love putting two and two together to make five. That reminds me. Ruth said Farmer Dooley thought Oberon had something to do with the cow.’
The Considine Curse Page 11
