The Considine Curse

by Gareth P. Jones

  ‘He has got a big appetite, but a whole cow?’ adds Mum.

  They both laugh at the joke. ‘Right, a cup of tea, I think.’ Aunt Chrissie gets up.

  ‘I’ll help you,’ says Mum.

  ‘Mariel, you’re on Madeleine watch,’ says Chrissie. ‘I’m terrified that the first thing she’ll do when she crawls is head straight for one of the big frames and get flattened by her father’s art.’

  Madeleine waves her arms around excitedly.

  There is a hatch through to the kitchen so I can still hear Mum and Aunt Chrissie’s conversation.

  ‘Do you think you will move to Louvre House then?’ asks Mum.

  ‘Probably. Will’s right. It makes sense really. Besides, she’s dead now. She can’t hurt me any more. Sorry to speak ill of your mum, Lynda.’

  ‘Don’t you worry. She was always horrible to me. It was women, I think. Maybe she felt threatened by them. I’m surprised Dee hasn’t written an entire book on her.’

  The rest of the day is spent indoors. Sleet falls, washing away what’s left of the snow and creating rivers of grey sludge that run along the side of the road.

  ‘It’s such a shame about the weather,’ says Aunt Chrissie. ‘There are some nice walks on this side of town up into the hills.’

  Once Mrs Mills has gone, Will lets me use his digital camera and I take loads of pictures of Madeleine. In the evening Aunt Chrissie makes pasta.

  ‘Now I should warn you that we’re vegetarians,’ she says.

  ‘Me too,’ I say.

  ‘What about Madeleine?’ asks Mum.

  ‘She does look tasty but I don’t think we should eat her,’ jokes Aunt Chrissie.

  Everyone laughs at the joke but I don’t find it funny.

  ‘We haven’t decided what to do about her yet. It should probably be her choice and all the books say you shouldn’t dissuade them from eating anything to start with.’

  Mum says, ‘That’s true. This one used to love chicken.’

  ‘Until I found out what I was eating,’ I reply.

  Over dinner Will says, ‘I’m sorry we’re not taking you out to eat but we have a few financial issues until Mum’s money comes through.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it,’ replies Mum. ‘This is all lovely. We’re quite happy.’

  Because Will and Chrissie’s flat is so small and because Madeleine needs a room of her own in order to sleep through the night, Mum and I share a sofa bed in the studio. During the night I wake up twice. The first time because Madeleine is crying. When she goes quiet, I fall straight back to sleep and for the first time in my life I dream.

  It is every bit as strange as I imagined it would be. In it I relive the night I went out with Freddie, except I see it through Freddie’s eyes. I see myself walking by the canal. I see the glint of the man’s silver lighter and feel the urge to snatch it. I experience the surge of power as I push the men into the canal, then the satisfaction of catching the fox, but as I land on its back my point of view changes to that of the fox. My body aches under Freddie’s weight. I feel wordless panic and instinctive fear. I scrabble to get free but he overpowers me. I know I am about to die. I feel the snap in my neck and I awake to a voice saying, ‘Mariel, what are you doing?’

  The voice isn’t part of the dream.

  I wake up. It’s Mum.

  ‘You’re causing a draught. Close the window,’ she says irritably.

  I’m standing up. I have walked to the window and opened it.

  Chapter 19

  Holes

  The next morning we sit in the living room, playing with Madeleine. Will pokes his head through the hatch between the kitchen and the living room, making her laugh, and says, ‘What do you want to do with your last day?’

  ‘We’re happy to fall in with your plans,’ says Mum, answering for both of us.

  ‘As long as it doesn’t involve being outside,’ I add, looking out at the street below, which has all but vanished behind a mist of drizzle.

  Will ducks down and reappears for Madeleine’s benefit. ‘I’ve got to go and put the finishing touches to the exhibition if you want to come to the gallery with me.’

  ‘Sounds lovely,’ says Mum.

  On the way to the gallery Will teases Mum about her driving.

  ‘I suppose you are used to driving on the other side of the road,’ he says, grinning.

  ‘We drive on the same side in Australia,’ she replies.

  ‘What, the middle?’

  ‘At least I can drive,’ she responds.

  ‘That’s debatable,’ he says.

  The two of them laugh and I don’t find it hard to imagine what they were like as children. He is the closest in age to her of all my uncles. I want to join in with them but I am feeling strangely distanced from everything.

  Mum parks outside the gallery and we step out. We go through a door and up some stairs to the gallery where Will’s pictures are hanging in a white-walled room. He is carrying two last minute additions. ‘See if you can guess the theme,’ he says.

  There are photographs of walls, trees, people and animals. There are everyday objects and ones I can’t quite make out. Some are in colour, others in black and white. There is a hole in a wall, a knot in a tree trunk, an open mouth, a rabbit caught mid-run towards its burrow.

  ‘I give up,’ I say.

  ‘Every picture has a hole at its centre,’ explains Will. ‘Some are more obvious than others.’

  Now he says it I can see that each one is carefully composed to put the hole at the dead centre of the photograph. It’s really clever but Mum looks doubtful and says, ‘Holes, Will?’

  ‘Everywhere you go you see holes. Manholes, buttonholes, holes in walls, in the ground. But they all serve a purpose and they all tell us something about ourselves as a society,’ he replies.

  ‘Holes?’ she says.

  They both laugh.

  ‘All right, so it is a bit pretentious but critics like a theme,’ he says.

  I say, ‘I think they’re brilliant. This one’s great.’

  I’m standing in front of a picture taken from underneath a picnic table, looking up. You can see blue sky in between the wooden slats, with a circle where the umbrella would slot in.

  ‘And you took them all?’ I ask.

  ‘All except this one.’

  Will indicates the picture next to it. It is an old, tattered black-and-white photo of Grandma’s house. The photo has so many rips it looks like it would fall apart if it wasn’t for the frame. Its edges are rough and in its centre the front door to the house is open.

  ‘It’s Louvre House,’ I say, looking closely at the picture.

  ‘Yes, I found that when we were tidying up Mum’s stuff. Look carefully and you can see your grandad as a boy in the bottom right window.’

  Getting up close, I see a pale white face behind the glass.

  ‘So the house belonged to Grandad’s side of the family,’ I say.

  ‘Oh yes, his side had the money,’ says Mum. ‘Dad used to joke Mum only married him for his money.’

  Will bangs a nail into a wall and hangs one of the pictures he has brought with him. ‘This is one of my most recent ones.’

  It’s a photo of Madeleine’s right eye. Her pupil is a black droplet in a circle of blue.

  ‘I wonder if her eyes will change colour,’ says Mum.

  ‘I don’t think they’ll change now,’ replies Will. ‘She has Chrissie’s eyes.’

  ‘You never know. Those Considine genes are pretty strong.’

  ‘Not in Madeleine, they’re not.’ He smiles and it’s clear he has more to say. He checks the picture is straight then says, ‘The thing is, Chrissie didn’t want anyone to know but I can’t see any point in hiding it now. After all, we only kept it secret in the first place because of Mum. Now she’s gone I’m not embarrassed about it. I’d rather everyone knew the truth. In fact I think the whole thing is miraculous.’ He pauses, then says, ‘Madeleine isn’t mine. I wasn’t able to have chi
ldren.’

  ‘Who’s her father?’ asks Mum.

  ‘Me in every sense but biological.’

  ‘But whose . . .’ Mum glances at me, apparently unsure how much detail she should go into in front of me.

  ‘A donor,’ replies Will.

  But I don’t care about how. All that matters is that Madeleine isn’t one of them. She can’t be coaxed. She can grow up to live a normal life.

  ‘And you haven’t told anyone?’ says Mum.

  ‘Not until now. You know how funny Mum could be, so we kept it from her. Now she’s gone though, I’d rather come out in the open about it but Chrissie is less sure.’

  ‘Yes, you need to tell the rest of the family,’ I say.

  ‘It’s more complicated than that, Mariel,’ says Mum in a patronising tone.

  Mum has no idea how complicated it really is. If the others don’t know the truth, they will still try to coax her when she’s old enough and end up killing her. If they know she isn’t a Considine, they will leave her alone.

  ‘Chrissie’s scared they won’t think of her as family. Her cousins absolutely dote on her at the moment,’ says Will.

  He bangs a nail into the wall and hangs the other picture he has brought with him. It is of him and Chrissie standing in front of a brick wall, hand in hand. Neither of them is smiling. There is something about the picture which makes me feel sad.

  ‘I can’t see the hole in this one,’ I say.

  ‘That was taken before we had Madeleine,’ replies Will.

  Chapter 20

  The Wolf Moon

  Back at the flat, the first thing I do is give Madeleine a big cuddle. She dribbles on my shoulder but I don’t care. She isn’t one of them. She cannot be coaxed.

  We stay in for the rest of the day. Will is clearly nervous about the show and grows more and more nervous throughout the afternoon. His tetchiness is made worse when Madeleine is sick on Chrissie’s dress just as we are supposed to be leaving.

  ‘I’d better change. It’ll only take a minute,’ says Chrissie.

  ‘It took you three hours to pick that one out,’ snaps Will.

  His mood worsens when he gets a call from Uncle Harkett to say they are running late.

  ‘Why doesn’t Mum drive us there instead?’ I suggest.

  ‘We have to wait for them. Oberon and Gerald are babysitting for Madeleine,’ says Chrissie.

  My heart quickens. This is my last night in England and I was looking forward to going to Will’s exhibition, but I can’t go out and leave Madeleine with Oberon and Gerald. I feel sick because I know what I have to do. I must stay behind and talk to my cousins, tell them the truth about Madeleine.

  ‘I’ve been thinking,’ I say. ‘Since I’ve seen the exhibition this morning I’m more than happy to stay in and babysit tonight too if you’d like.’

  ‘Don’t you want to come along and big me up?’ Will sounds disappointed. ‘One day I may actually sell a picture.’

  ‘I’m sure Mariel would rather spend the evening with people her own age, Will,’ Chrissie says.

  The buzzer goes.

  ‘That will be the boys.’ Uncle Will stomps down the stairs to answer the door.

  I hear Oberon’s voice say, ‘Mum and Dad are waiting in the car.’

  When Oberon swaggers in, I am holding Madeleine up on her feet, bouncing her up and down.

  ‘Ah, ickle Cousin Madsie and ickle Cousin Mariel. Hello,’ says Oberon. He grabs the remote control and switches the TV on. ‘There’d better be some meat in the fridge. I’m starving. Maybe I’ll go with the vegetarian option.’ He laughs at his joke, then shrugs. ‘Suit yourself.’ He goes to the kitchen, barging past Gerald coming the other way.

  ‘I’m staying with Madeleine,’ I say.

  ‘You should go to the exhibition with your mum,’ says Gerald. ‘It’s not safe for you here.’

  Aunt Chrissie dashes in, kisses Madeleine goodbye and reminds Gerald he has her mobile number if he should need it. She doesn’t seem at all worried about leaving her baby with them. But why would she? She doesn’t know the truth.

  ‘Keep an eye on her,’ says Chrissie. ‘She actually managed to crawl for the first time this afternoon.’

  ‘That’s great news,’ says Oberon from the kitchen.

  ‘Chrissie, come on,’ shouts Will.

  ‘Sorry!’ Chrissie kisses Madeleine again and leaves. They are in such a hurry that Mum forgets to say goodbye until she’s at the bottom of the stairs. ‘Oh, bye, Mariel, see you later,’ she shouts up as an afterthought.

  ‘Bye, Mum,’ I respond too quietly for her to hear.

  Oberon comes back into the room, bends down and talks to Madeleine. ‘Crawling, eh, little wolf? That means you can be coaxy-woaxed now.’

  ‘She’s too young,’ replies Gerald.

  ‘Not for what I have in mind,’ snarls Oberon.

  A look of horror crosses Gerald’s face. ‘I won’t do it. Nor will the others.’

  Oberon stands up to face his brother and snarls, ‘Tonight when I become pack leader you’ll all do as I say.’

  ‘Not that.’

  ‘Madeleine can’t be coaxed,’ I say. ‘She isn’t one of you. Will isn’t her real father.’

  ‘That’s just a pathetic attempt to save her,’ says Oberon. ‘I’d spend more time protecting yourself and less time worrying about ickle wickle Madsie, if I were you.’

  ‘I don’t care what you do to me. Leave Madeleine alone,’ I say. I pick her up but take her by surprise and she starts to bawl. I try to comfort her but she thrashes around, pounding me with her fists.

  ‘Now, don’t tell me that’s not a Considine,’ says Oberon.

  Gerald takes her from me and she instantly calms down.

  ‘If you don’t believe me, call Chrissie and ask her,’ I say.

  ‘Yeah, Gerald,’ says Oberon. ‘Why don’t you call Chrissie and ask her who Madsie’s daddy is. I’ll put her to bed.’ Oberon takes Madeleine from his brother. ‘You ready for bed, ickle Madsie?’ he asks her. ‘Oh, she’s definitely one of us. I can see the wolf in her eyes.’

  Oberon leaves the room. Gerald pulls out a mobile phone.

  ‘Will isn’t her father,’ I whisper. ‘He can’t have children. He told us today.’

  Gerald finds Chrissie’s number but doesn’t call it.

  ‘Gerald, you have to believe me,’ I say desperately.

  ‘This is the truth?’ he says.

  I nod. ‘Will said they are going to tell everyone now Grandma’s gone.’

  Gerald puts his phone away.

  ‘You’re not going to call?’

  ‘Tonight is Uncle Will’s big night. I don’t want to ruin that.’

  ‘But Madeleine.’

  ‘Don’t worry, if she’s not related to us she’s in no danger. We won’t let him coax her.’

  There’s a crashing noise from the back room. Gerald looks at me. He doesn’t need to say anything; I understand the look of fear in his eyes.

  ‘Obe?’ he shouts.

  We run to Madeleine’s room to find the curtain flapping in the wind. Both Oberon and Madeleine are gone.

  ‘Where’s he taken her?’ I ask. I remember Elspeth’s poem. 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. ‘He wants to coax Madeleine, then eat her, doesn’t he?’ I say. ‘He wants to take the pack full wolf? He’s going to kill her.’

  Gerald looks away. Terror and anger rip through my body and come out as a scream in a voice I don’t even recognise. ‘She’s a baby. A baby,’ I sob. ‘We have to stop him.’

  I glance back and notice something at the window. The creature’s long nose, white teeth and red eyes don’t disguise who it is.

  ‘Lily,’ I say.

  ‘Why is she here?’ she asks Gerald, climbing down into the room.

  Last time I saw Lily in wolf form I didn’t have time to take in what she looked like. Her hair is a beautiful brown. S
he looks amazing, a million miles from the shy girl who hides behind her own hair. She swishes her tail confidently and steps forward.

  ‘Oberon is serious about taking the pack full wolf,’ Gerald says. ‘He’s taken Madeleine with him to use as the sacrifice.’

  ‘But she isn’t related to you. Will isn’t her father,’ I say. ‘He’ll just kill her for no good reason.’

  Gerald nods to indicate that I’m telling the truth.

  ‘We have to stop him,’ I say again.

  Lily turns to me. ‘This is wolf business,’ she says. ‘You’re not going to do anything.’

  ‘How come you’re here anyway?’ I say. ‘I thought Father Gowlett was babysitting for you?’

  ‘He left,’ Lily says impatiently.

  ‘He left you when he was supposed to be babysitting?’

  Lily looks at me. ‘Do I look like a baby that needs sitting?’

  ‘What happened?’ asks Gerald.

  ‘He told us that he knows about us. He was really creepy, saying stuff like we could open up to him about our secrets. He said whatever we said he would understand and he’d help us. It was pretty obvious what he was doing. He wants to show us off like animals he has discovered.’

  ‘But you won’t let him, will you?’

  ‘Elspeth told him she would. She told him to meet her in the woods where she would let him take her picture. We have to find her before she does something stupid.’

  ‘You mean she’s going to kill him,’ I say.

  Lily’s eyes answer the question. ‘Tonight is full moon when the wolf’s voice is loudest.’

  ‘You’ll have to get Freddie’s help,’ Gerald says to Lily. ‘I’ve got to bring Madeleine back.’

  ‘I’ll help,’ I say.

  Lily raises her nose close to my face, pushing me backwards out of the room. ‘You stay here,’ she says. ‘This is nothing to do with you.’ I haven’t heard her speak like this. She sounds angry, dangerous. She slams the bedroom door in my face. I try the handle but the door won’t open. I bang on it.

  ‘Let me in. I can help,’ I yell. I try the handle again and the door flies open; they have both gone.

  Overhead, a cloud drifts past the moon. The hill with Percy’s Ruin is visible from where I am standing. There is a flickering flame at the top. I think of little Madeleine somewhere up there in the woods with Oberon.