The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf

by Martin Millar

  Kalix locked her bike to nearby railings, as Dominil had told her to, maintaining the pretense that she was a courier. She glanced briefly at the building then approached it confidently. She held her breath as she pushed the small buzzer on the wall, wondering if an alarm might sound. Her pendant should hide her from anything, but Kalix had gathered from listening to Dominil and Thrix that they didn’t quite know what powers might be contained within the stone dwarves’ house.

  “Yes?” came a voice through the small metal intercom.

  “Parcel delivery,” said Kalix. She wondered if she should have tried to disguise her Scottish accent. It was something no one had thought about. It was too late now. The door buzzed and Kalix pushed it open: she was the first werewolf ever to enter the headquarters of the Avenaris Guild. Inside she found herself in a small hallway, her progress blocked by a thick glass door. Behind the door a uniformed security guard examined her. Apparently seeing nothing amiss, he pressed another buzzer and the door opened. Kalix walked into a larger foyer than she’d expected. There was dark wooden wainscoting around the foyer, giving it the appearance of an old country house rather than a modern office. There were dark wooden chairs in the foyer too, and a thick brown carpet, worn with age. An elderly man with gray hair sat behind a dark wooden desk. As Kalix advanced toward him she heard the security guard locking the door behind her. She was now locked in the Guild’s building, in daytime when she couldn’t transform, with two strong doors between her and the street outside, and werewolf hunters all around. Kalix walked up to the man behind the desk and handed him the parcel in silence.

  “What’s this?” he asked.

  Kalix handed over her clipboard so as he could sign for the package. There were already signatures there. Dominil had forged them earlier, making an authentic-looking document.

  The man frowned. “Wait here a moment,” he said. He stood up and walked from his desk, disappearing through the dark wooden door behind him. Kalix felt a twinge of worry. She glanced around to see if the security guard was watching her. He was. There seemed no opportunity for planting the flower without being seen. Kalix cursed silently to herself. She somehow hadn’t anticipated that there would be two people watching her. The gray-haired man came back into the foyer, followed by a younger man. He was wearing a dark gray suit and looked to Kalix like an executive. He studied Kalix’s clipboard.

  “We weren’t expecting this.”

  Kalix shrugged and attempted to look bored. She didn’t suppose a cycle courier would really be that interested in the parcels she was delivering. The man in the suit picked up the parcel and stared at it. He shrugged, then shook his head.

  “MacDoig. He should have retired years ago.”

  With that, he accepted the pen that Kalix was holding out, and signed for the parcel. At that moment the outside buzzer sounded again. Kalix glanced swiftly over her shoulder. Through the glass door she could just make out two figures at the entrance. The security guard was approaching the glass door to study the new visitors. Kalix took her chance. As she took back the clipboard and pen she dropped the pen deliberately and reached down quickly as if to snatch it up. As she did so she tucked the small purple flower under the carpet, managing the operation so smoothly that no suspicions were aroused. Without saying a word she headed back toward the front door. The security man held it open for her and she kept her head down as she passed the two strangers who’d just entered the building.

  “I’m due at the training ground,” she heard one of them say.

  The glass door shut behind her, the front door opened, and Kalix was free. She resisted the urge to run, and walked calmly toward her bike. She fumbled for a moment as she attempted to unlock it, but managed it quickly enough. The rain was coming down even harder, making her goggles almost impossible to see through. Kalix struggled on for only a few yards before coming to a halt. She took off the goggles to wipe them.

  “Alex?” said someone, right beside her on the pavement.

  Kalix jerked her head around, startled to be recognized. It was Manny. He was standing in the rain, accompanied by an older man with a coat over his suit and a briefcase in his hand. Kalix, previously calm, felt her heart begin to pound. Manny was the last person she had expected to meet and she was at a complete loss as to how to react.

  “Alex? What are you doing here? On a bike?”

  “I’m a courier,” said Kalix.

  “Since when?”

  “I just started.”

  Kalix and Manny looked at each other as the rain poured down. Cars drove past, splashing water onto the pavement.

  “You picked bad weather,” said Manny, who was obviously feeling just as awkward as Kalix. Kalix nodded. She wanted to cycle off, but feared she would fall off the bike in the rain. The strangeness of the situation was bringing on her anxiety, quite strongly.

  “Are you going to introduce me?” said the man who accompanied Manny.

  “This is Alex,” said Manny. “Alex, this is my brother John.”

  John nodded and smiled. Kalix guessed by his expression that Manny had told his brother about her. He probably knew she’d slept with someone else. She felt humiliated, and her anxiety became worse.

  John studied Kalix for a few seconds, then spoke to his young brother.

  “I’m almost at the office. I’ll leave you here. I’ll see you at your show.”

  With a courteous nod to Kalix, he walked off up the street. There was another moment of silence.

  “I tried to call you,” said Kalix.

  “I know.”

  Kalix longed to say something profound, or even something sensible, but knew she wouldn’t be able to. She wasn’t capable of dealing with complex emotions in the street, on a bike, in the rain, without warning. She put her foot on the pedal to cycle off.

  “Call me again,” said Manny.

  “OK,” said Kalix, and cycled away. She tried to hold the bike steady as she approached the nearest turn. At the corner she looked round to see if Manny was still watching. He was. Kalix had reached Thrix’s car but she cycled past so Manny wouldn’t see her dismount. Thrix, who’d been watching events from her car, pulled out from the curb and drove after Kalix. A little way along the side road Kalix halted. Thrix halted too, stopping traffic. There were a few horns sounded as they put Kalix’s bike in the boot then drove off.

  “How did it go?” asked Thrix.

  “I hid the flower.”

  “Well done. Who was that you met?”

  “Manny. My ex-boyfriend.”

  Thrix didn’t comment. She had had an earpiece in her left ear, connected to her mobile phone. She touched a button on the phone, dialing Dominil’s number.

  “I’ve picked up Kalix. She planted the flower.”

  “Good,” said Dominil. “I’m not far behind you, I can see your car. I’ll meet you at your apartment.”

  Thrix and Kalix drove in silence toward Knightsbridge. Kalix was lost in thought. She didn’t notice how wet she was, and she hardly thought of the dangerous mission she’d just completed. She was thinking about Manny, and how strange it had been to meet him in the street, and how uncomfortable it had felt. Now that she was leaving the scene her anxiety was diminishing. She wished she’d thought of something better to say. Manny had said she should call him again. Did he really mean that?

  Thrix was also deep in thought. She’d seen Kalix talking to Manny, and she’d seen the man who was with Manny. She’d also seen something that Kalix had not. After he left Kalix and Manny he’d gone straight into the headquarters of the Avenaris Guild. That gave Thrix a lot to think about as she drove home.

  CHAPTER 143

  Strands of Daniel’s hair hung over his eyes. He liked the effect but it did make it difficult to see. It was a complex balancing act between aesthetics and practicality. He was standing in front of the wall mirror in the living room, trying to get it right, when Vex came downstairs, singing a song about her boots.

  “Glacier Boots, glacier boots,
I like my glacier boots, I can walk right over glaciers in my great big glacier boots.”

  It was quite a tuneful song. Agrivex had a pleasant singing voice.

  “I like my glacier boots,” she said.

  “So I gathered,” said Daniel. “Off to see Pete?”

  Vex nodded, and her face lit up.

  “Please don’t say ‘It’s so nice to have a boyfriend, you should get a girlfriend,’” said Daniel.

  “I’m not that tactless.”

  Vex joined Daniel in front of the mirror, and began pushing strands of her hair around. Her bleached-blonde afro was now so impressive that people would stop in the street and stare, and draw their friends’ attention to the girl whose skinny little body seemed suspended between her huge hair and huge boots. While shopping in Camden she’d been stopped on numerous occasions by tourists wanting to take her picture, and there was a photo of her in the current edition of a hip-hop fanzine in an article on ethnic street fashion.

  “Where’s Moonglow?” said Vex.

  Daniel didn’t know.

  “Maybe she’s gone to see William?”

  Daniel was alarmed. “Don’t say that!”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t want her to see him, that’s why.”

  Vex teased her hair into shape. “It’s OK, I just remembered where she is.”

  “Where?”

  “She’s gone to see William.”

  Daniel sighed. “This hasn’t gone the way I expected. I thought that Moonglow would be more affected after I slept with Gezinka.”

  “What, and leap into your arms after realizing she always loved you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I have seen that happen in Ultimate Boyfriend,” said Vex. “So you never know. But I think you’re just meant to let it happen naturally.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, not mention it all the time.”

  “I didn’t mention it all the time.”

  “Yes, you did,” said Vex. “You kept bragging about sleeping with that woman.”

  “Maybe I should have been more discreet,” said Daniel. “Like you are about Pete.”

  “Exactly. No one likes to hear endless tales about someone’s girlfriend, it gets really tedious. Do you think you’ll ever see Gezinka again?”

  “I doubt it. She probably never thought about me after that night.”

  Daniel remembered Lady Gezinka fondly. For a brief encounter with an older woman, it had all gone very well. Unfortunately, it hadn’t been enough to drive Moonglow into his arms.

  “Anyway, what if I did mention it a few times?” said Daniel. “Moonglow keeps going on about William.”

  “No, she doesn’t.”

  “Yes, she does. William does this. William does that. William has nice clothes.”

  Vex laughed. “He’d be a good boyfriend if he wasn’t gay. Bye.” Vex headed for the door.

  Daniel sprinted after her. “Wait a minute. What do you mean he’s gay?”

  Vex looked puzzled. “Well, I thought you’d know what that means.”

  “I know what it means!” cried Daniel.

  “Then why did you ask?”

  “I meant . . .” Daniel paused to organize his thoughts, knowing that a conversation with Vex could become hopelessly confused if you didn’t approach it properly. “I mean why did no one tell me he was gay?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I wouldn’t have been bragging about my night with Gezinka unless I’d thought Moonglow was sleeping with William.”

  “I have to go or I’ll be late,” said Vex brightly. “It’s so nice having a boyfriend. You should get—”

  “I know,” sighed Daniel.

  Vex rushed out the door, leaving Daniel thoughtful and dissatisfied.

  Daniel was wrong about Lady Gezinka. She had thought of him, quite kindly. She didn’t regret sleeping with him, though she didn’t enjoy the mockery the affair had engendered from the Empress. Kabachetka had amused her friends with her anecdote about the staid and respectable Gezinka and her brief fling with a young man at the ball.

  “Poor Gezinka was quite worn out afterward. She could hardly hold her head up in the palace the next day. Though whether that was tiredness or shame, I am not certain.”

  Gezinka bridled under the mockery, though she smiled as good-naturedly as she could. Unfortunately, her powers of protecting her aura were no match for the Empress’s powers of discerning emotions, and Kabachetka could tell she was discomfited.

  “Really, Gezinka, one would have hoped you could find a better companion than a poor little student boy. If you had to give in to your passions, could you not have chosen some young man who had two shillings to rub together?”

  There was great hilarity among the Empress’s friends.

  “I swear he was there in a rented suit,” continued the Empress. “It fitted him in one or two places, but not in most.”

  The Empress had invited her closest friends to admire her new bag, with which she was very pleased. It had been produced by her personal sorcerers, made with the specific purpose of carrying clothes from one dimension to another.

  “It is always such a problem,” declared the Empress. “I lose count of the frocks and shoes I’ve damaged along the way. And one shrinks from paying Merchant MacDoig’s prices for his transportation services. With this bag I can take a spare set of clothes, with no worry of frock injury.”

  The Letaka sisters, cousins of the Empress, admired the new bag. They had never traveled to London, but knew of their Empress’s adventures in the fashion world there.

  “I thought they would never finish designing it,” said the Empress. “But Bakmer hurried them along. Really, since recalling him, he has been most eager to please. Much like Lady Gezinka in the hotel, one might say.”

  At this, Lady Tecton laughed so hard she almost choked. One of the Letaka sisters pounded her on the back.

  “The pounding and gasping,” cried the Empress. “It reminds me of the noises that emerged from Gezinka’s hotel room!”

  There was more laughter. Lady Gezinka bore it as well as she could, but as she lay in bed that night, on her own, she felt a great deal of resentment toward the Empress and her mockery.

  CHAPTER 144

  Wallace MacGregor was one of the largest werewolves in Scotland. Possibly the largest, since the death of Sarapen. The eldest son of Baron MacGregor was a fierce werewolf, and extremely strong. He’d never been defeated till the day Markus MacRinnalch surprised everyone by beating him in single combat outside the gates of Castle MacRinnalch. The MacGregors, MacAllisters and MacPhees had been besieging the castle, but all hostilities had come to a halt while the fight took place. The MacRinnalchs cheered him from the battlements, and Markus’s victory had been instrumental in securing his position as Thane. Though many werewolves regarded him as unsuitable, there could be no more questions about his courage.

  Wallace MacGregor was honorable as well as fierce, and strode into Castle MacRinnalch without any feelings of animosity. Having been defeated in a fair fight, he didn’t hold a grudge. When the Thane called for werewolves to travel to London, he’d volunteered for the mission. The Mistress of the Werewolves welcomed him sincerely. It was good to have such a strong ally. Wallace brought three other MacGregors, joining the four MacPhees and four MacAllisters who’d already arrived. The MacAllisters were led by Morag, sister of the young baron. Like her brother, she was not sympathetic to Markus. However, she was a warlike character and liked the idea of going to London to fight. Morag was not tall, but she had a certain stockiness about her, and was known to be strong when she transformed. There were some MacAllisters who could only change into their werewolf form around the time of the full moon, but Morag could do it on any night, as could her companions. That was necessary if the attack was to take place soon.

  “In the next day or two, we hope,” Verasa told Morag. “We’re just waiting for confirmation from Dominil.”

  The twel
ve werewolves, plus two more from the MacAndris clan, were making the journey to London in separate vehicles. Though it was regarded as unlikely that the Guild could get close enough to the castle to spy, Dominil insisted on tight security, and wanted no unusual behavior. The attackers were to travel in small groups to London, before assembling at Thrix’s apartment.

  Markus spoke to all the participants after they arrived. He was calm and authoritative, and confident about their chances of success. His confidence was felt by the whole assault group, and spread around the castle, so that in the days preceding the attack, there was less worry than might have been expected. The feeling grew among the MacRinnalch Clan that their Thane was right. Something had to be done about the Avenaris Guild.

  There were a few who remained unenthusiastic. Decembrius for one, though he kept his thoughts mostly to himself. As far as he could see, the clan was rushing into an attack without proper preparation. He did confide to his mother, in a moment of depression, that he believed the attack was being driven more by Thrix’s fury and Dominil’s wounded pride than by good sense.

  “Thrix has been irrational since Minerva was killed. And Dominil just can’t stand it that the Guild outsmarted her.”

  “I don’t think Dominil would do anything unless she thought it was right for the clan,” said his mother Lucia.

  “That’s the impression she gives. But if she hadn’t been involved that day when Minerva was killed, I don’t think she’d be so keen on rushing into this. She thinks the Guild got one over on her. It wounded her pride. Now she’s trying to prove she’s superior.”

  If Decembrius had his doubts about the wisdom of the plan, he had no doubts about his own participation. He was still looking forward to flinging himself into battle, so he didn’t voice his concerns to anyone else, for fear of damaging the werewolves’ morale.

  Heather and Beatrice, Markus’s girlfriends, didn’t support the plan at all. They hated the idea of Markus going off to fight, and were terrified he’d be killed. Even when Heather sneaked in to join Beatrice and Markus after dark, their nights were gloomy, and not enjoyable.