Curse of the Wolf Girl

by Martin Millar

  “I forget the exact details…”

  “I assume this is the Daniel who looked after Kalix?” said the Mistress of the Werewolves, with the air of a woman who knew you couldn’t trust a Hiyasta. “Kalix, did you know about this?”

  Kalix shook her head. “I like Daniel. Don’t kill him.”

  “Who said he will die?” protested Malveria. “It may only be a serious and uncomfortable illness. One can never be sure. It’s all very well everyone looking at me in this monstrously accusing manner, but the bargain was entered into with the full agreement of Moonglow as payment for the tremendous power I was obliged to use to save Kalix’s life. I had to travel almost to the Forests of the Werewolf Dead. That’s a difficult and dangerous journey for a Hiyasta. Afterwards I felt very unwell and showed little interest in shoes for several days.”

  “So that’s why you saved Kalix’s life?” said Thrix. “I thought it was a favor for me.”

  Vex was worried. “If Daniel dies, can I still go to college?”

  “Daniel’s not going to die!” cried Moonglow.

  “I don’t want to leave college,” said Vex, appealing to her aunt. “We’re going to be cheerleaders.”

  “There aren’t any cheerleaders!” screamed Kalix. “Stop making things up!”

  “No MacRinnalch werewolf will be a cheerleader,” declared the Mistress of the Werewolves, stiffly. “Kalix, it is quite inappropriate. I forbid it.”

  Kalix sighed and shook her head.

  “You shouldn’t have kissed Daniel,” said Markus, unwisely.

  Moonglow rounded on him and told him not to interfere in her business. She glared at her former lover with hurt and loathing, but when Decembrius asked her if she’d really entered into the agreement knowing what it meant, she was forced to acknowledge that she had.

  “Then you should take the consequences,” Decembrius said.

  “I agree,” announced Malveria.

  “It’s stupid,” said Kalix, and she hit Decembrius on the arm. They began pushing each other again.

  Malveria ignored them. “One cannot just withdraw from such a bargain at will. Think what my court would say were they to learn that I had allowed a curse to lapse out of sympathy for a human.”

  “I don’t care what your court says,” said Moonglow. “Lift the curse.”

  The enchantress groaned, muttered a spell to securely lock her office door, then spoke into the intercom. “Ann, make Easterly more coffee. This is going to take a while.”

  Chapter 105

  It took the enchantress almost two hours to clear her office of unwelcome visitors.

  The Fire Queen left unwillingly. “My intelligence services report strong activity among Princess Kabachetka’s fashion advisors. They believe she may be trying to secure the Abukenti footwear.”

  “Malveria, I’ll get to work on the shoes as soon as I can.”

  The queen departed with her head bowed.

  Verasa watched her go with some puzzlement. “Didn’t you once tell me Queen Malveria waded through a river of blood to kill a dragon?”

  “She did.”

  “It seems unlikely.”

  “There aren’t any dragons left,” said Thrix, defensively. “These days she’s more interested in fashion.”

  “You seem to have been an excellent influence on her,” said Verasa, at which Thrix bristled but made no reply.

  Verasa and Markus left with their dignity intact after receiving a promise from Thrix to meet them the next day to discuss the fundraising event. Verasa’s farewell to Decembrius was notably frosty. Not only had he failed to attend council meetings, he had too many earrings, and she suspected he might even be wearing eyeliner. Undoubtedly the twins had been a bad influence on him. She took some comfort from the fact that her daughter didn’t seem to welcome his advances. He wasn’t a suitable partner for her. Verasa thought there was something untrustworthy about him.

  As Malveria had at least agreed to examine Daniel, Moonglow was satisfied, though suspicious, and left with the Fire Queen and Vex.

  Hardest to get rid of was Kalix. She refused to leave until she received some answers about Gawain. Why had Thrix visited him?

  This was the last thing Thrix wanted to talk about, and it seemed for a moment that she’d be forced to use a spell to send her young sister howling from the office.

  Finally Decembrius suggested that he and Kalix come back the next day. Surprisingly, Kalix agreed. Kalix’s dislike of Decembrius seemed to have lessened since he stood up to the Mistress of the Werewolves and the Thane, refusing to back down when they’d criticized him for not attending council meetings.

  “I’m busy in London. I’ll come to the castle when I’m ready and not before,” he had said.

  Verasa had been offended, Markus had been annoyed, but Kalix was pleased. For the first time, she regarded Decembrius as an ally against her family.

  They left together, which finally allowed Thrix to give Captain Easterly some attention.

  * * *

  “I’ve drunk a lot of coffee,” Easterly said on the journey home.

  The enchantress was apologetic about his long wait. “My family does sometimes get in the way.”

  Captain Easterly made light of it in his good-mannered way. He seemed quite interested in Thrix’s family and listened politely as Thrix berated them all. Though it was some time past rush hour, traffic was still dense, and they made slow progress amongst the endless stream of cars and buses.

  “It’s lucky I didn’t cook anything,” muttered Thrix. “It would have been ruined.”

  Easterly looked at her questioningly. As far as he remembered, Thrix had invited him to dinner.

  “The food’s being brought in,” Thrix explained. “I let the caterer know we’d be late.”

  They drove on slowly.

  “I’m not a very good cook,” admitted Thrix. “Actually I can’t cook at all.”

  Easterly shrugged. “Who has time to cook these days? I never do.”

  That was untrue. Easterly was a good cook. Thrix appreciated him lying about it.

  “Your mother must be quite an important figure in Scotland.”

  “Important in fundraising for charity anyway, which is what she seems to like doing best these days.”

  “I didn’t know you were born in a castle.”

  Thrix was embarrassed and pretended she hadn’t heard. Here in London, it always seemed a little strange to have been born in a castle. She tended not to mention it. Perhaps, she reflected, as she pulled her Mercedes slowly into the underground parking lot beneath her apartment, it wasn’t such a bad thing that Easterly had met her relations. At least it was over with. She’d wondered about inviting him to Scotland, to the charity event, but hesitated, not wishing to inflict her family on him. Now he’d met them, and he didn’t seem too shaken by the experience. Perhaps she should invite him. It would teach her mother not to lecture her about who she went out with.

  When they entered the flat, there was a bank statement lying on the carpet. Thrix opened it, winced, and threw it on the table. If she didn’t start earning more money quickly, Thrix Fashions would be going out of business.

  Chapter 106

  Daniel, lying on the couch feeling very poorly, woke up to find an angry-looking Elemental queen staring down at him. He struggled to rouse himself into a sitting position, having been lectured previously by Moonglow about being disrespectful to visitors.

  The Fire Queen showed little interest in whether he sat up or not and spoke sharply to Moonglow. “This is what you dragged me over here for? This is not the curse. This is one of your many foul human diseases, the minor sort that produces a slight temperature and a runny nose.”

  “And vomiting,” added Moonglow.

  Malveria wrinkled her nose. “Made worse, no doubt, by the ingestion of cheap beer.” The queen levitated a few inches and looked down at Moonglow. “Kindly do not bother me about matters like these in future. The Queen of the Hiyasta does not concern h
erself with runny noses or vomiting.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Moonglow. “I thought he was really ill.”

  “Pah!” Malveria seemed in an excessively bad mood. “He will be if he keeps kissing you. The bargain remains in place. Now I have important affairs to deal with. When the detestable Agrivex arrives, inform her that I will allow no delay in her returning to the palace.”

  With that, the Fire Queen dematerialized in the violent flash of light that inevitably followed her when she was in a bad mood.

  Daniel blinked, sat up, and looked wonderingly at Moonglow. “What was that about?”

  “I asked Malveria to…take a look at you. I was a bit worried.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” Daniel was puzzled as to the queen’s ill temper. “I suppose she only deals with serious cases.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “A bit better.”

  Kalix arrived home, moving briskly. The young werewolf was hungry. Her appetite, always small, had all but vanished under the weight of her concerns. She rarely made the change into her werewolf shape, existing mainly on laudanum, tea, and whatever alcohol she could find around the house. But tonight she’d changed back and forth several times at Thrix’s office, during her struggles with Decembrius. Not even Kalix could do that without the werewolf form demanding to be fed. As soon as she reached the top of the stairs, she transformed once more and headed straight for the kitchen.

  “Need meat,” she muttered to Moonglow in passing.

  Moonglow always made sure the fridge was well stocked with meat around the time of the full moon, and at other times she’d still put meat in the fridge, hoping to tempt Kalix.

  The young werewolf appeared back from the kitchen. “More meat,” she said, looking eager.

  “There’s another joint of beef in the fridge. On the lower shelf.”

  Kalix hurried off.

  At that moment, the doorbell rang and Moonglow moved swiftly, scurrying down the dark stairwell to take the delivery of the large pizza she’d ordered. Now that Daniel wasn’t dying, she thought it was a good idea to make sure he ate too. She paid for it with a great bundle of loose change, and by the time she’d reached the top of the stairs, Kalix was emerging from the kitchen again.

  “More meat?” she asked hopefully.

  “Sorry, vegetarian pizza.”

  Kalix looked disappointed and muttered something that might have been “stupid vegetarians.” She followed Moonglow back into the living room anyway and hung around eagerly as Moonglow opened the box.

  “Still hungry?” asked Moonglow with a smile. She tore off a large piece of the pizza and handed it to Kalix. It disappeared between her great jaws. For a few moments, there was a happy domestic scene as Moonglow, Daniel, and Kalix ate together.

  “Good pizza,” said Daniel.

  “I need more meat,” said Kalix.

  “I think you’ve eaten it all.”

  Kalix looked disappointed and headed back to the kitchen.

  The cat appeared, attracted by the genial atmosphere. Seeing food on offer, and none of it for the cat, it began meowing.

  “I’ll make tea,” said Moonglow, rising from the couch, “and feed the cat.”

  Moonglow headed for the kitchen where Kalix was busy examining the contents of the fridge.

  “Aha!” she cried triumphantly. “Meat soup!” Kalix dragged a carton from the fridge and began using her werewolf talons to rip it open.

  “There’s no meat in that,” said Moonglow.

  “There is,” said Kalix, holding up the carton. “Look! Elk and potato!”

  “It’s leek and potato.”

  Kalix’s face fell. “Leek?”

  “Yes.”

  “No elk at all?”

  “I’m afraid not,” said Moonglow, feeling rather sorry for the young werewolf, who seemed quite crestfallen.

  “I wanted elk,” mumbled Kalix, sounding very disappointed.

  “Perhaps I could find one at the butcher’s tomorrow,” said Moonglow to cheer her up, though in reality Moonglow hated the thought of anyone eating an elk, even Kalix. She quickly fed the cat then went about the business of making tea, returning to the living room shortly afterwards carrying a neatly arranged tray. Moonglow was fastidious about her tea-making, and the tea in the pot needed to brew for a few minutes before she deemed it ready.

  The downstairs door opened and closed with a bang. There was the sound of heavy footsteps, interrupted by the sound of boots slipping on the stairs and a slight cry of pain.

  “Vex is home,” muttered Daniel.

  The young Fire Elemental appeared, rubbing her arm. “I bumped my elbow a little bit,” she said. “Don’t worry, I’ll be okay. Is there tea for me? Good. Was Aunty Malvie here? Is Daniel going to die?”

  “Daniel’s not dying. And your aunt wants you back at the palace immediately.”

  Vex made a face. “I’m supposed to go to this stupid Fire Festival, the Vulcanalia. I can’t stand it. It’s the most tedious thing ever.”

  “What happens?”

  “Everyone ties fire ribbons in their hair and goes off in a big parade to the Great Volcano. Then we all chant some stuff around the volcano, swoop through the flaming fields beside it, watch some reenactments of great moments in Hiyasta history, the queen blesses the crowd, everyone extends their aura till the whole place is full of flames, there’s some singing and dancing and a bit more swooping through the flaming fields. And maybe there’s some hymns to the sun. I forget exactly.” Vex sighed. “It’s the most boring thing ever. I hate it.”

  “It doesn’t sound boring.”

  “It is if your aunt makes you go every year. I keep telling her I’d rather just stay in bed, but she won’t let me out of it. Not that Aunt Malvie’s shown much interest herself, really. She let Distikka work out the correct date, which is some big scandal. I don’t know why.” Vex frowned. “I hate Distikka. You wouldn’t believe the way Aunt Malvie goes on about her. At the palace, it’s all ‘Distikka can do this, Distikka can do that. Distikka doesn’t need help with her shoelaces.’ I really hate her. Do we have any wine?”

  Vex rushed off to the kitchen. Seconds later, she reappeared, carrying a half-full bottle of wine. “Did you know there’s a wolf in the kitchen eating cat food?”

  “What?”

  “There’s a wolf in the kitchen eating cat food.”

  Daniel and Moonglow sprang from the couch.

  “Has she eaten the cat as well?”

  “I didn’t notice.”

  There was a rush for the kitchen. There they were confronted by an unexpected sight. Kalix, still lusting for meat, had transformed into her full-wolf shape—something she very rarely did—and was now munching her way through the food in the cat bowl. Rather surprisingly, the cat didn’t seem to mind that much and was eating from the other side of the bowl, grabbing what scraps it could before Kalix got there.

  “We’ll need more cat food,” said Daniel.

  Kalix licked the bowl clean and didn’t seem satisfied. Nor was the cat, which was understandable, as it hadn’t gotten much of its promised meal.

  “You better open another tin,” he said.

  “I’m not sure about this,” said Moonglow.

  The cat began meowing. Kalix started padding around the kitchen, panting.

  “I don’t think Verasa would be very pleased about her daughter eating cat food.”

  Kalix began growling, either at the mention of her mother’s name or because she was still hungry. The cat redoubled its meowing. Daniel opened the kitchen cupboard and took out a tin.

  “The public demands more cat food,” he said. “We better serve it up before there’s a riot.”

  He emptied the cat food into the bowl, where Kalix and the cat again began eating.

  Moonglow, Daniel, and Vex left them to it and returned to the living room.

  “That was unexpected,” said Moonglow.

  “She’s certainly got a powerful appetite.” Daniel was a
little impressed.

  “I’m not really sure about her eating cat food though.”

  Daniel shrugged. “It looks healthy in the advertisements. It’ll keep her coat shiny.”

  * * *

  Not long afterwards, Vex nodded off to sleep on the couch. She smelled strongly of wine. Moonglow was troubled. “We’re supposed to be looking after them.”

  “We are looking after them.”

  “Vex is drunk, and Kalix is eating cat food!”

  “Well, we’re doing our best,” said Daniel.

  “I’d better pay the rent before Malveria and Verasa start asking for their money back.”

  Chapter 107

  Mr. Carmichael had never stood out as a well-dressed man. He owned three suits, which he rotated throughout the month. Today’s choice, a very conservative gray, looked particularly dated as he visited the offices of Captain Easterly’s magazine. The young receptionist regarded him unsympathetically. She seemed suspicious when he claimed to have an appointment with their men’s fashion editor. After checking her calendar, she reluctantly directed him to Easterly’s office, which in keeping with the eclectic nature of the magazine, was cluttered with an odd assortment of formal and informal clothes, electronic gadgets, toys, snacks, and artwork.

  It was unusual for Mr. Carmichael to visit any of his operatives in the field, but Easterly was now unwilling to visit the guild’s headquarters. He feared that Thrix’s sorcery might detect any close involvement with other werewolf hunters. So he said anyway. But Easterly had always exhibited a somewhat cavalier attitude towards the rules. Mr. Carmichael suspected he might just not feel like visiting their headquarters these days.

  “Albermarle thinks you might be going over to the other side.”

  “Albermarle’s an idiot.”

  Mr. Carmichael sipped coffee that, despite coming from the most modern coffee-making machine on the market and having been sent to the magazine for review, had been given to him in a plastic cup. “He thinks you’ve become too close to this werewolf…this…what was her name?”

  “Thrix MacRinnalch.”

  “It’s odd that none of our other operatives seem to have heard of her.”