The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf

by Martin Millar

  Thrix wrenched open the bedroom door. Decembrius was outside. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” snapped Thrix. “Just an argument.” She stormed off.

  “What was that about?” Decembrius asked Kalix.

  “Nothing,” mumbled Kalix. “Just sisters arguing.”

  “It’s almost time to leave. Are you ready for a fight?”

  “Very ready,” said Kalix, and looked savage as she spoke.

  Kalix followed Decembrius back into the main room where the attackers were assembled. Thrix, Dominil, Kalix, Decembrius, Eskandor, Feargan, Barra, Wallace and Morag looked at each other. Thrix produced an unopened bottle of the MacRinnalch whisky and nine crystal goblets, previously unused.

  “Nice glasses,” said Decembrius.

  “Edinburgh crystal, eighteen seventy-five,” said Thrix. “A present from my mother.”

  Thrix raised her glass. “Slàinte mhath.”

  “Slàinte mhath,” responded each werewolf.

  “I’ll see you all in the Forests of the Werewolf Dead,” said Decembrius. They drained their glasses, and then left Thrix’s apartment, on their way to Gloucester Place.

  CHAPTER 156

  Vex traveled back to her flat to tell Daniel and Moonglow the disappointing news that Malveria didn’t know where Kalix had gone.

  “But we’re going to keep an eye on Kabachetka tonight. If I learn anything else I’ll let you know.”

  Vex hurried off again. She was due to meet her aunt close to the large Eldridge clothing store on Oxford Street where Donatella Versace was presiding over Takahashi’s foray into the European market. As soon as Vex arrived, the Fire Queen snapped her fingers, plucking a sheet of paper from the air. She handed it to her niece.

  “I have fabricated an invitation for you. Try not to lose it during our fifty yard walk to the venue.”

  “OK, Aunty.”

  They emerged into Oxford Street, which was still busy with evening shoppers. Malveria stood out from the crowd, beautiful and elegant with a long gray coat draped over her new turquoise dress. Even though the outfit had been completed by Thrix’s subordinates, rather than Thrix herself, the Fire Queen grudgingly admitted that she was beautifully dressed. She paused to examine herself in a shop window, admiring the way the coat hung from her shoulders, the dress showed off her figure, and both matched her very high turquoise heels to perfection. She felt an added thrill of pleasure at the way her handbag, gray with a turquoise clasp, set off her outfit perfectly.

  “If Thrix is to meet bloody death tonight, we may at least remember how fabulously she dressed me.”

  Agrivex was wearing her huge black glacier boots, a very short red tartan kilt and a Hello Kitty pajama top. She waved her green plastic shopping basket quite merrily as they approached the venue.

  “If anyone asks, pretend you are a fashion student,” said Malveria. “They are allowed a certain eccentricity.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means they can look as atrocious as you without being expelled from polite society.”

  The Fire Queen walked in with her head high, ready to meet her rivals. “Observe, Agrivex, how a Hiyasta monarch behaves in a crisis. I will not flinch. If Empress Kabachetka has already been introduced to Donatella Versace, I will face it bravely.”

  She noticed that her niece was fumbling in her pockets. “Why are you hesitating, Agrivex?”

  “I’ve lost my invitation.”

  The Fire Queen sighed, and wordlessly plucked another one from the air. “Try not to embarrass me inside.”

  Vex immediately stumbled over a small step and sprawled on the floor.

  “Agrivex, is there any chance of us proceeding further without you losing something or tumbling to the ground?”

  “I’m fine now. Is there any food here? I’m hungry.”

  “There will be a buffet. Please be discreet. It’s not the done thing to wallow like a pig in a trough.”

  Agrivex laughed, and didn’t dispute the Queen’s description of her eating habits. The Fire Queen entered the store with an air of quiet grandeur, aware of the very fashionable nature of her outfit, but also on the lookout for the Empress Kabachetka.

  CHAPTER 157

  Vex’s brief reappearance hadn’t done anything to reassure Moonglow and Daniel.

  “So the Fire Queen says we shouldn’t get involved. That doesn’t make me feel any better,” said Moonglow. “Obviously it’s so dangerous that Kalix is going to be killed. We have to do something.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Maybe William could help,” said Daniel, sourly.

  “I can’t believe you’re still going on about that! Just how immature are you anyway?”

  “Very immature,” said Daniel. “I’m well known for it.” Daniel was still angry over William. It was unfair that everyone had let him think that Moonglow was in a relationship with William when really she wasn’t. He sat on the couch, staring at the carpet.

  “And I don’t like that smell of that candle,” he said, wanting something more to complain about.

  “What candle?”

  “Whatever scented candle you’ve lit. It smells funny.”

  Moonglow was puzzled. “I didn’t light any candle.”

  “Something smells like almonds.”

  Moonglow took a step back as a light began to flicker in the center of the living room. They were used to the sudden appearances of the Fire Queen and Agrivex, but this looked liked someone struggling to materialize. Daniel hurried to Moonglow’s side, standing protectively beside her as the light gradually grew stronger. When it finally took form, they were surprised to see Lady Gezinka.

  The Hiyasta aristocrat frowned. “I am sorry for my slow materialization. I’m not used to making this journey.” She looked at Daniel. “What do you mean ‘funny smell’? That’s rather insulting.”

  Daniel blushed. “I just meant it was . . . uh . . .” He looked toward Moonglow to help him out.

  “It’s a lovely perfume,” said Moonglow. “Like almonds. We just weren’t expecting it.” She looked from Daniel to Gezinka. “Do you want me to leave you alone?”

  Lady Gezinka wrinkled her nose. “Please, I have not come here in a fit of passion, unable to survive without seeing Daniel again. I have come to give you a warning about your friend whose name escapes me, but is a werewolf.”

  “Kalix?”

  “Yes, Kalix. Are you aware that she is involved in a dangerous mission?”

  “Yes,” said Daniel.

  “Are you also aware that her enemies know every detail of this mission, and are simply waiting for the werewolves to arrive so they can cut them down?”

  “What?” cried Daniel.”

  “Are you sure?” cried Moonglow.

  “I am quite sure. The Empress has known of it for some time. It will be a slaughter.” Lady Gezinka paused, and looked around the small room. She raised her eyebrows. “You did tell me you lived in a rather cramped space. I did not quite appreciate what that meant.”

  “We have to warn Kalix,” said Moonglow. “Where is she?”

  “That I do not know. The enemies of the werewolves have their headquarters somewhere in the center of the city, but I have never been told the precise location.”

  Gezinka began to flicker. Without the Empress beside her, she was finding it difficult to sustain her presence on Earth. “I must leave now.”

  “Thanks for warning us,” said Daniel.

  Gezinka managed to stabilize herself for a second. She studied Daniel.

  “He never stops talking about you,” said Moonglow.

  Lady Gezinka looked pleased. “Good,” she said. And with that, she was gone.

  “It’s not really true I never stop talking about her,” said Daniel.

  “You talk about her enough. Anyway, it was the polite thing to say. Now she’s happy. So what are we going to do about Kalix? She’s not answering her phone.”

  “We s
hould try Dominil and Thrix, we’ve got their numbers.”

  They hurried to call Dominil and Thrix but neither of them was answering their phones either. The situation seemed hopeless, and neither of them had any inspiration.

  “We should drive into the center of town,” said Moonglow. “Maybe we’ll spot them.”

  “That’s not very likely.”

  “Well, who knows, it might happen. We have to do something. Maybe when we’re driving we can think of something better.”

  They hurried to put on their coats and shoes.

  “I really must have made a big impression on Lady Gezinka,” said Daniel, as they rushed down the stairs. “She liked me enough to warn me that my friend was in danger.”

  “Stop looking so pleased with yourself,” said Moonglow. “She’s probably just annoyed at the Empress for some reason, and wants to pay her back.”

  “No, I think it’s more likely I made a big impression.”

  Daniel and Moonglow got into the car, and drove off.

  CHAPTER 158

  Sarapen crouched in the hollow, and squinted upwards toward the summit of the Eternal Volcano. He had worked his way through the palace and its environs, keeping one step ahead of his pursuers, finally ending up in the burning lava fields that surrounded the volcano. He could go no further. Even the Empress’s sorcery could not protect him from the intense heat. The palace was swarming with guards. Soldiers were flooding from the east gate, heading in his direction. It wouldn’t take them long to find him.

  Sarapen looked up at the volcano. The sun was going down. When the last ray of sunlight touches the top of the volcano. That’s what the agent of the Fire Queen had said. When that happened he could use the jeweled mirror she’d given him to transport himself back home. Or rather, back to wherever Dominil happened to be. Once more, he was impressed at Dominil’s resourcefulness. He’d asked her for help, and she’d provided it. He wondered how her plan of attack was progressing. He wished he could be there to join in, even if his help was unwelcome. He was an outcast from the clan now, or would be, if he were known to be alive. He was as much an outcast as Kalix.

  Sarapen looked back toward the palace. The light was dimmer now but he could see figures clambering over the rocks, swarming toward his position with weapons in their hands. He looked up at the volcano. The summit was still wreathed in sunlight. The last rays had not yet arrived.

  Sarapen took the jewel in his hand, and crouched down in the hollow. He’d conceal himself till the last possible moment, but if he were discovered before he could escape, he’d make his pursuers pay dearly. He changed into his werewolf shape, and snarled savagely at the thought of battle. He would not be the first Scot to meet his end in some foreign, lonely spot and, as the greatest of the MacRinnalchs, he didn’t intend to let the clan down.

  “My death stand will be so bloody and glorious that word of it will one day reach Castle MacRinnalch, even if it is a dimension away.”

  A dimension away, Dominil was letting herself into a hotel room in Gloucester Place. She was the first to arrive, having calmly announced herself at the foyer downstairs, and taken her room key from the clerk. Dominil closed the door then took out her phone. She called Thrix.

  “Everything is fine.”

  “See you soon,” said Thrix.

  The Enchantress and the others had arrived together in a Transit van, hired for the evening. It was parked nearby. They had booked several more rooms under false names, and would arrive in small groups before gathering in Dominil’s room, at the far end of the hotel. Thrix would work her spell, the pathway would open and they’d attack immediately.

  As Dominil ended the conversation, she noticed the light flashing on her phone, indicating another missed call. She checked the number. It was Daniel. Dominil ignored it, not having time to be distracted by Kalix’s friends, no matter how worried they might be about her.

  Wallace MacGregor and Morag MacAllister joined Dominil almost immediately.

  “I asked you to wait a few minutes,” said Dominil.

  “No sense hanging around,” said Wallace, affably. The huge werewolf was in a notably good temper. He had been ever since hearing the rumor that Markus had cheated. Defeat by Markus had damaged his self-esteem. Now he felt better and had spent the past day bragging good-naturedly about his unmatched strength.

  “I’ll show these MacRinnalchs what a real werewolf can do,” he’d told Morag, on the journey down, many times. Morag had laughed, at Wallace’s bravado, and at the MacRinnalchs deceit. She had a very low opinion of Markus and his mother, and wasn’t at all surprised to hear of their treachery.

  Thrix arrived, her long, blonde hair extensions tied back in a functional ponytail. She carried a soft leather purse, old and embroidered, containing the flower that would open the “Maynista Princess Two Flower Pathway,” and let them into the Guild’s headquarters.

  “Are you sure this is the wall that joins on to the Guild’s building?” she asked.

  “Quite sure,” said Dominil.

  Decembrius was next to arrive, tapping discreetly on the door and slipping inside.

  “Did you see anything unusual?” asked Dominil.

  “Nothing. Just went to my room, waited, and came here. The whole place seems quiet.”

  “Good.”

  “Time for your revenge,” said Decembrius.

  “I’m here on a mission, I’m not looking for revenge,” said Dominil.

  “I am,” said Thrix.

  There was another gentle tap on the door. Eskandor, Feargan and Barra strode into the room.

  “The MacRinnalchs are here,” said Wallace. There was a gentle touch of mockery in his voice, but no one responded. Seconds later there was another knock. It was Kalix. She came in without saying anything and stood awkwardly at the side of the room. With the shortage of attackers, no one had objected to her presence, but it was still odd for her to be in the company of so many werewolves while she was still an outlaw.

  “Everyone’s here,” said Thrix.

  “Does everyone remember their instructions?” asked Dominil. Using what little knowledge she had of the layout of the Guild’s headquarters, garnered mainly from communications she’d intercepted in the past, Dominil had sketched out a plan of action, giving each attacker a specific target. “You do? Good. Then it’s time to begin.”

  Thrix took the purple flower from the antique purse and laid it on the floor. Outside the night was cold and dark and the moon had been in the sky for some time. Thrix changed into her werewolf shape, and the others followed her.

  A phone rang.

  Thrix twisted her head and looked at them furiously. “I told you all to switch off your phones.”

  “I left mine on in case of news from the castle,” said Dominil. She glanced at her phone. Her white werewolf brow wrinkled. “That’s the fourth time Daniel has called me.”

  “Don’t answer it,” said Kalix, who didn’t want her friends to make a fuss over her.

  “If someone calls four times, perhaps they have something to say that needs listening to,” said Dominil.

  Thrix paid no attention. She was already moving her hands over the purple bloom on the floor. She spoke several sentences in a language that no one in the room had ever heard before, repeating the spell of the long-dead Maynista princess. Immediately, the flower glowed with a soft light, before projecting a beam onto the wall.

  “It’s done,” said Thrix.

  The assembled werewolves gazed at the large oval of purple light on the wall of the hotel room.

  “We just step through that and we’re in their headquarters,” said Thrix.

  “Let’s go,” said Wallace, stepping toward the wall. The others rose to follow.

  “One moment,” said Dominil.

  “What is it?” asked Thrix, frustrated at the delay.

  “I’ve just listened to my messages from Daniel. We have a problem.”

  CHAPTER 159

  “My evening is blighted,” c
omplained Empress Kabachetka. “Why does it happen so often that my evenings are blighted?”

  “I’m sure you won’t need the extra shoes,” said Alchet.

  “One never knows when one will need extra shoes,” said Kabachetka. “These fashion shows are full of ruffians, treading on the feet of their betters.”

  The Empress’s new bag, crafted by her sorcerers to be capable of carrying clothes between dimensions, had mysteriously gone missing from her chambers.

  “There will be executions, Alchet. Whoever has that bag will die very swiftly. Where are we?”

  “Close to the store, I think,” said Alchet. She looked up nervously at the dark sky above. She hated being in this dimension, fearing that at any moment she might be rained on.

  “Pick up the pace, Alchet, we must hurry.”

  The search for the bag had delayed the Empress, much to her frustration. Arriving late was normally not a bad thing to do but the Empress had other affairs to take care of.

  “Remember, Alchet, when we locate our seats, you are to guard mine with your life. If any interloper attempts to usurp my place, you are to kill them.”

  “Kill them?” wailed Alchet.

  “Yes. With great violence. Some of these fashion journalists understand nothing else.”

  They entered the large store, making their way toward the space that had been cleared in the center of the ground floor for Takahashi’s show.

  “If you see me in conversation with Donatella Versace, don’t let anyone interrupt us.”

  “How will I do that?”

  “Kill any who approach.”

  “I’m really not very good at killing people,” protested Alchet. She was a very young Fire Elemental, and had never been to war.

  “You are not much good at anything,” said the Empress, testily.

  “I cannot agree with that,” said Malveria, appearing in front of them. “Alchet is renowned for her powers of emergency make-up repair, which is why the Empress so often requires her services. But the Empress cannot help having so many natural blemishes.”

  The Empress glowered at the Fire Queen. “I have no natural blemishes. And what are you doing here?”