The Curse of the Wolf Girl

by Martin Millar

  “We do appear to have won,” agreed the princess. “No doubt you’ll have better fortune next time. I look forward to seeing you at the operatic event.”

  “I look forward to seeing you too. Duchess Gargamond, shall we take a walk in the garden for a little air?”

  Chapter 123

  Is it possible we’re not as smart as we think we are?”

  The enchantress’s question caught Dominil by surprise. Dominil was not prone to announcing her intelligence to the world, but nor was she about to admit to any lack of it. “Why do you ask that?”

  “Well, let’s see,” said Thrix. “Using my sorcery and your computer skills, we’ve spent the entire day searching for Albermarle, the guild, Susi Surmata, and a pair of exclusive shoes. And what have we discovered? Nothing. Not a trace. Hunters and bloggers are nowhere to be found.”

  Thrix passed her hand across her forehead and for a moment looked seriously concerned. She’d taken Dominil into her confidence regarding the poor state of her financial affairs and the importance of finding Susi Surmata. Dominil had found it difficult to accept that a single review from a fashion writer, no matter how popular, would make such a difference, but Thrix assured her it would. Consequently, she was attempting to help Thrix locate the mysterious Susi. In return, Thrix was trying to find Albermarle.

  “The guild’s much better hidden than it used to be. Electronically speaking I mean,” explained Dominil. “Albermarle’s work, I presume.”

  “They’ve got some sorcerous way of hiding their location too. Unless it’s just my powers have waned. Which is possible.” Thrix closed the book she was holding, an elderly tome, printed in a very old typeface, hardly legible in places. “Maybe I can find something useful at the castle. Minerva donated some of her work to the library there. I haven’t looked at it for a long time.” Thrix looked troubled. “Maybe I’ve neglected my sorcery in pursuit of fashion.”

  “This is no time for maudlin introspection,” said Dominil, sternly. “Everywhere werewolves go in London, Albermarle seems to know about it. I need to know how he’s doing it.”

  “Beauty and Delicious talking out of turn, perhaps? Or Kalix? None of them are exactly security-conscious.”

  “Albermarle has found out things they couldn’t know. My latest phone number, for instance, which I took care to obtain under a false name. I gave it to no one but you and the Mistress of the Werewolves. Within twelve hours, Albermarle was sending me messages.”

  Thrix’s spacious living room was a little messier than usual, with Dominil’s two laptop computers on the table and a batch of papers strewn around them. Here at least, under the sorcerously protected roof of the enchantress, they were safe from prying eyes.

  “I wish I could find who’s getting these Abukenti shoes,” sighed Thrix. “A pair of those would really cheer me up.”

  “I hardly think they’re of the same importance as our other concerns.”

  “Don’t you ever go weak at the thought of a great pair of heels, Dominil? Sorry, foolish question. Okay, let’s get back to the serious stuff.”

  The Fire Queen exploded into existence in the middle of the room. “Enchantress! My cocktail dress is very inferior!”

  Thrix pursed her lips. “The serious stuff may have to wait…”

  Malveria’s dramatic appearance flooded the room with yellow light and the powerful aroma of jasmine. She confronted the enchantress, standing inches away from her with her hands on her hips. Tiny flames shot from her fingertips. “Your poor fashion advice has caused me to lose concentration at the card table leading to shame and mortification at the hands of the appalling Kabachetka!”

  “Malveria, what are you talking about?”

  “Did I not explain it all most clearly? The beltless cocktail dress you supplied me with has brought me to the brink of ruin!”

  “I told you belts were fashionable with cocktail dresses this season.”

  “That is not how I recall the matter,” sniffed Malveria, and she folded her arms. “I believe you’ve been so busy with Easterly you’ve been neglecting me.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “It is. Dominil! How pleasant to see you. Would you pass that wine in my direction? All the most fashionable ladies were wearing belted cocktail dresses.”

  “I told you you needed a belt. You rejected it.”

  “A proper fashion advisor would not have let me reject it.” Malveria sat down heavily in an armchair. “The whole thing quite befuddled my mind, leading to disastrous play at the card table, made worse by the dreadful Duchess Gargamond. Kabachetka utterly vanquished us.” She shuddered at the memory. “Afterwards I was so enraged I spoke very harshly to the duchess. As a result, she has withdrawn from the season at the palace and gone home to her castle to sulk, taking her regiment with her.”

  “Her regiment? Isn’t that the Imperial Volcano Guard?”

  “Pah! I would not trust the duchess’s regiment to guard a small fire. The volcano will be fine till I appoint a replacement. But Enchantress, I have not even told you the worst of the news. Kabachetka hinted strongly that she may be about to procure the Abukenti shoes!”

  “What? That’s impossible.”

  “You underestimate the loathsome cunning of the woman. There’s every danger that we’ll walk into the operatic charity event and find ourselves completely out-shoed.”

  Thrix screwed up her face. “Mother’s managed to persuade a lot of fashion magazine people to attend. If Kabachetka turns up wearing the only Abukenti shoes in the place…”

  Malveria wailed. “We shall be eclipsed. Really Enchantress, if Kabachetka is photographed for the Fashionable Party People page, I shall simply die.” She took a large gulp from her wine glass. “There is no end to the woman’s crimes. She maliciously recruited a card partner whose play put ours to shame. Already it will be the talk of the palace. Even now, Beau DeMortalis is probably regaling all and sundry with humorous anecdotes about my discomfort.”

  “In case everyone has forgotten,” interrupted Dominil, “we were looking for information about the guild. We’ve just had an extremely serious incident. Ruraich MacAndris was shot, and Kalix killed three hunters.”

  “Kalix is always killing hunters,” said Malveria. “It keeps her happy. Incidentally, did you know she kissed Decembrius?”

  Dominil’s face muscles twitched at the total irrelevance of this.

  Thrix, however, was interested. “Are you sure?”

  “So I am reliably informed. One is not wholly surprised. They were last seen fighting, but such strife may often lead to passion. I have experienced such a thing myself. Enchantress, do you think there is any chance of Kalix and Decembrius forming some sort of happy relationship?”

  “I’ve no idea. Why?”

  “Idle curiosity,” replied Malveria. “Do you have a boyfriend, Dominil?”

  “I have a stalker. Does that count?”

  “Might he become a boyfriend?”

  “It’s not very likely.”

  “I understood a young guitarist had expressed an interest?”

  Dominil looked pained to learn that the Fire Queen somehow knew about that. “His interest is unwelcome.”

  Malveria looked disappointed. “Well Thrix, I trust at least that your affair with Easterly is progressing well?”

  “Quite well.” Thrix was puzzled. “Why are you suddenly interested in the love lives of the MacRinnalch werewolves?”

  “No reason. It’s not like anyone suspects you of being too self-obsessed to ever be happy. And if they did, I would certainly not agree.”

  “Could we get back to thinking about Albermarle?” asked Dominil.

  “Of course,” said Thrix. “Right after Malveria has told me everything she knows about Kabachetka and the shoes.”

  Dominil regretted, as she had before, that such a senior and powerful werewolf as Thrix appeared to be interested only in clothes, while all around them were werewolf hunters who, as far as Dominil could see, were cur
rently in the ascendancy.

  Chapter 124

  Of all the dramatic and emotional scenes that had played out at Daniel and Moonglow’s flat since they first encountered Kalix, none was so loud, vociferous, and full of outrage as Vex’s reaction to Queen Malveria’s refusal to let her travel to Edinburgh to see Yum Yum Sugary Snacks. Vex was staggered by her aunt’s intransigence, an act of treachery so overwhelming she could barely come to terms with it. “What do you mean I can’t go and see them play? I have to.”

  “You are not going, dismal niece. You need to remain here and study for your exam.”

  “But I have to see them play! Yum Yum Sugary Snacks is the best thing ever!”

  “It’s out of the question.” The Fire Queen, still smarting after her humiliation at the card table and disastrous choice of cocktail dress, was in no mood to placate her not-quite-adopted niece. “The whole idea is preposterous. I sent you to this dimension to improve your notoriously feeble mind. You will not miss classes in order to gallivant off to some concert by a werewolf band in Edinburgh.”

  “But it’s only one night! I can still study.”

  “Edinburgh is many hundreds of miles from here. The journey would take some time, and you need that time for study.”

  “Couldn’t she teleport?” suggested Daniel, who, while not wishing to find himself on the wrong side of Malveria’s wrath, nonetheless sympathized with Vex. For Daniel, not being able to see a favorite band would also have been a severe blow.

  “Teleport? My niece? Agrivex cannot teleport more than half a mile without becoming lost and bruising herself in the process. She only makes it to this dimension because I have illuminated a path for her. Were she to attempt to transport herself to Edinburgh, we would never see her again.”

  Vex pushed out her lips, knowing this was true, but not willing to admit defeat. “You could take me. You’re going to Edinburgh for the opera at the same time.”

  “Out of the question, dreadful niece. I will be engaged in important matters of fashion and do not want to be dragging along the scruffiest Hiyasta ever to plague the land of the Elementals.”

  “I won’t cause any trouble,” pleaded Vex. “Once we’re there, you won’t even see me! I’ll just go to the gig!”

  “Impossible. I will be there for several days and could not transport you back.”

  “It’s not fair!” roared Vex. “I want to go!”

  “You cannot. And that is the end of the matter.”

  “But I’ve been studying hard! Look at all my gold stars!” Vex held up one of her exercise books, which was, as she claimed, covered in gold stars.

  Malveria frowned and wondered, not for the first time, if Agrivex’s progress at college was quite as spectacular as she claimed. She noticed that both Moonglow and Daniel looked rather uncomfortable as Vex brandished the book.

  “You may be the finest student at the institute of learning,” said Malveria, “though I admit to some doubts. However, it matters not. Missing several days’ study when your exam is imminent is out of the question. That is my final word on the matter.”

  “I hate you!” roared the young Fire Elemental, and as she did so, a small flame flickered from her eye. “Ow! I burned myself.”

  Malveria shook her head in frustration and snapped her fingers, extinguishing the flame. “Did I not instruct you not to do that?” The queen looked at Moonglow. “My niece is the only Fire Elemental yet known who is prone to burning herself.”

  “I didn’t even know she could ignite,” said Moonglow.

  “Her dramatic lack of power and control makes it unsafe for her to do so in this dimension.”

  “Changing the topic slightly…About this curse…” ventured Daniel.

  “Curse? What curse?”

  “The curse on Moonglow and me. Isn’t it time to let it go?”

  Daniel had picked a poor time to make his appeal. Already angry, Malveria stared at him frostily and dismissed his application with a curt shake of her head.

  “But it’s completely unfair! I wasn’t even consulted!”

  Malveria adopted an imperious expression, the sort she might use on the throne when displeased with her council. “Had the bargain not happened, young human, Kalix would be dead. Would you have preferred that?”

  Daniel attempted to look defiant. “You had no right to curse me when I didn’t know anything about it.”

  Malveria swiveled towards Moonglow. Moonglow was dressed in black as always, something the queen, who loved color, could never quite fathom. “What about you, Moonglow? Would you wish that our bargain had never happened?”

  Moonglow sagged. She didn’t want to answer. She lifted her palms a few inches, looked hopeless, and told them no, she wouldn’t have wished that. “I couldn’t just let Kalix die.”

  “And that,” declared Malveria, triumphantly, “is the end of the affair. As I have already explained, I could not extend such power in helping a werewolf without exacting a price. My peers would have mocked me otherwise. The bargain was fair, and the curse will not be removed. Now Agrivex, attend to your studies, and do not dare to go to Edinburgh. If you disobey me, the consequences will be dire.”

  With that, Malveria dematerialized, leaving behind a depressed Daniel and a furious Vex.

  “I’m going to the gig anyway,” she declared. “See if she can stop me.”

  “How could you get there?” asked Daniel.

  It was a reasonable question. Vex lacked the necessary power and skill to teleport 330 miles north to Edinburgh, and she had no money to pay the train fare. Every spare penny in the house, belonging to either Vex, Kalix, Moonglow, or Daniel, was currently tucked away in a series of envelopes in Moonglow’s room, ready to pay off the crippling household debts.

  “I’ll get a lift in the band’s van! I can be a roadie.” Vex was advancing towards the phone, ready to call Dominil, when another flash of light brought Malveria back into the room.

  “One more thing, most dismal of nieces. Do not attempt to travel with the band. I’ve informed Dominil that you are not to go, as you are busy studying. Dominil approves of my decision. Now farewell.” Malveria vanished.

  Vex scowled and sat down heavily on the old sofa. “This really sucks,” she said. “I hate everything.”

  Chapter 125

  At the headquarters of the Avenaris Guild, Mr. Carmichael was fending off complaints from irate werewolf hunters.

  “Why has my expense claim been rejected?”

  “Since when do we have to fill out Form 226a in triplicate?”

  “They’re asking me to pay back £2000!”

  “How am I supposed to keep track of every penny when I’m out hunting werewolves?”

  Mr. Carmichael, who believed that a calm center of operations was important for a successful operation, did his best to mollify his senior hunters. “There have been some problems with our new financial structure. I’m taking steps to improve matters.”

  “You mean you’ve sacked Albermarle?” Everyone knew that Albermarle had been responsible for the rigorous enforcement of expense claims.

  “We’ve moved him to another position,” said Mr. Carmichael, smoothly. “He’s engaged in field operations now.”

  This caused some consternation among the assembled hunters.

  “Couldn’t you have just moved him into another office post? The man’s an idiot, but there’s no need to kill him.”

  “Albermarle passed our tests and asked for the transfer,” said Mr. Carmichael. “I’m sure he’ll perform satisfactorily. Easterly is there to take care of things.”

  “Poor Easterly, having to take care of that fool.”

  * * *

  Albermarle hadn’t turned up to his strategy meeting with Captain Easterly this evening. Easterly didn’t really care. There was no talking to Albermarle. He had all but abandoned trying to look after him. He was far more concerned with his date tonight with Thrix MacRinnalch. Yesterday he’d talked with Princess Kabachetka and once more asked he
r to boost the sorcery that enabled him to see Thrix for what she was. The princess had warned him again that he was endangering his life. “Too much fire may burn you out, Easterly.”

  Easterly deemed it to be worth the risk. The destruction of Thrix would surely be the greatest achievement in the history of the guild.

  “Are you still planning to travel to Edinburgh?”

  Easterly wasn’t certain. Last time they’d talked, Thrix seemed to have gone off the idea. “She says she’s not so keen for me to meet her family again.”

  The princess laughed. “No doubt. You must increase your efforts at wooing her, Captain Easterly. My spell will be ready by then, and I’ll need you close at hand to kill her.”

  Easterly nodded.

  The princess studied his aura. She frowned. There was something about it she didn’t like. “Do I sense a lack of enthusiasm for killing her?”

  “I’ll do it. You don’t need to worry about that.”

  The princess’s eyes narrowed. “Be sure that you do.” She examined his aura suspiciously. To her annoyance, Easterly still showed no sign of falling in love with her, which she took as a great insult.

  * * *

  Captain Easterly was pleased to hear Thrix’s voice when she called but was disappointed to hear her canceling their date.

  “I’m sorry, I’ve had too bad a day. I’m late and I’m tired and I’m going home. Would you mind canceling the table?”