Martin Millar - Lonely Werewolf Girl (76 page)

Rainal had found out most of the story concerning Markus's
challenge. Soon it would be known by everyone.

"I can't believe Buvalis planned to betray the castle," said
the Mistress of the Werewolves. "Damn that Kertal for corrupting her."

She shook her head.

"What a mess this all is."

Verasa was terrified at the thought of Markus falling before
the awesome strength of Wallace MacGregor. Her immediate inclination
had been to forbid the duel even if it meant putting Markus under
guard. Now, as her reason returned, she realised that it was not so
easy. If she were to ban the fight, Markus would be disgraced. He'd be
regarded as a werewolf who hid behind his mother's skirts. No
MacRinnalch would support him as Thane. She cursed her son for getting
them into this mess.

"So what should we do about it?"

It was a dilemma. A werewolf who issued a challenge to single
combat couldn't easily withdraw it. In all the history of the clan,
Rainal couldn't remember a single instance of that happening.

"I'm not certain what to do for the best," he admitted.

"In one stroke Markus threatens to ruin all of our work,"
fumed Verasa. "All we have to do is sit tight in the castle and wait.
They cannot take it. Eventually the rebellion would have petered out
and by then I'd have had Markus declared Thane. Now he's about to risk
his life before Sarapen even arrives."

"Don't you think Markus can defeat Wallace?" asked Rainal.

"No, I don't," replied Verasa. "And I'm not about to let him
try."

Verasa paced her chambers, deep in thought. The single combat
was due to take place in less than ten hours and she had to find some
way of guaranteeing Markus's safety. She poured herself a goblet of
wine and drank it down quickly, then lit another cigarette. Finally she
told Rainal to send for Markus.

"And remain here when he arrives. If I'm left alone with him I
might start breaking the furniture again."

209

Kalix was intrigued by all the events surrounding the gig. She
rode in the van while Dominil picked up the other musicians, helping to
load their equipment and then carry it into the venue. She watched as
the twins set up, then listened to their sound check. It didn't go all
that well, and Beauty and Delicious were agitated when they came
offstage. They went downstairs to meet friends in the bar.

Kalix and Dominil had both taken laudanum before coming out.
Each knew that the other had, but they didn't mention it. Kalix sipped
from a bottle of beer, and studied the inky stamp on the back of her
hand. It meant she could come in and out of the gig without paying,
because she was helping the band. Again, Kalix felt important. Dominil
went downstairs to check that the twins were not getting too drunk, but
Kalix didn't have to sit on her own for long. Daniel and Vex arrived
early, due to Vex's eagerness to be here. The young fire elemental had
never been to a gig before and was feverish with excitement. With her
youthful, honey coloured complexion, her wildly spiked and bleached
hair, her colourful, mismatched clothes, and a pair of boots large
enough to anchor her skinny frame firmly to the ground, she looked
strange, but beautiful and exotic. Daniel walked in rather proudly at
her side. Kalix asked where Moonglow was.

"She's coming along later," Daniel said. "She's in a funny
mood."

Downstairs Dominil was attempting to regulate the twins'
alcohol intake. This was difficult because they were at the heart of a
great group of friends and acquaintances. The venue was filling up.
Despite the bad weather, it seemed there was enough local interest in
the notorious Beauty and Delicious to draw a reasonable audience. She
was forced to abandon her guardianship of the twins when Thrix arrived.
Some sleep, her own werewolf vitality and the expert application of
cosmetics had restored the Enchantress to her former golden beauty.
Despite the prospect of a confrontation with Sarapen, Thrix had no
intention of turning up anywhere looking less than her best. She
informed Dominil that her spells were in place.

"You seem uncomfortable," said Dominil. "Is there some problem
with the sorcery?"

"None at all," replied Thrix. "I'm uncomfortable because I'm
in a bar in Camden with a lot of nineteen year old boys gawking at me."

"I feel this too," admitted Dominil.

At a table in the far corner were four men who Thrix
recognised as MacRinnalchs, in the employment of Verasa.

"Our guards for the night?"

Dominil nodded. The Enchantress noticed Dominil's
T-shirt under her open coat.

"What's the writing?"

"The band's set list."

Thrix read it with interest.

'
Stupid Werewolf Bitch? Evil White-Haired Slut
?"
She laughed. "They wrote two songs about you."

"Three," said Dominil. "They encore with
Vile
Werewolf Whore
."

Kalix arrived in the downstairs room, looking for Gawain. She
was disappointed not to find him there, and gravitated towards Dominil.
At that moment Beauty and Delicious came over to complain to Dominil
that the venue wasn't giving them enough free drinks.

"Then don't drink any more," said Dominil.

Beauty was not impressed.

"That's your solution?"

"Yes."

"You're the worst manager in the world," said Delicious.

The bar was now busy. When the MacRinnalch women came briefly
together, the din in the room noticeably diminished. As Kalix, Dominil,
Thrix, Butix and Delix talked, all eyes were drawn to them. Young men
all around the room lost interest in whoever they were with, and gazed
with wonder at the sight. It seemed as if five of the most beautiful
and colourful women in the world had suddenly stepped out of a magazine
and into the bar. Many people decided there and then that no matter
what Yum Yum Sugary Snacks sounded like, they were going to come back
and see them again.

210

By the time Markus answered his mother's summons, the Mistress
of the Werewolves had her temper under control. It didn't prevent her
from lecturing him at length about the stupidity of his behaviour. "Is
this your idea of the modern world? A challenge to single com-bat? Is
this how you plan to run the clan's affairs after I make you Thane?"

"I can't be Thane if no one respects me," protested Markus.

"Do you want to be well respected and dead?" roared Verasa.
"Isn't it enough that Sarapen wants to kill you? Do you have to let
Wallace MacGregor do his work for him?"

Markus was annoyed.

"I can defeat Wallace MacGregor."

Verasa was about to tell her son that no, he couldn't, but bit
back the words. If the fight had to go ahead, there was no point in
destroying her son's confidence.

"There's no reason for this," she said, instead. "Once the
council votes for you the Baron's rebellion will wither away."

Markus, however, was resolute. He stared at his mother
defiantly.

"You can't stop it now."

Verasa lit a cigarette. Unfortunately, Markus was right.

"Very well. If the single combat is to go ahead, it will go
ahead in a dignified manner. Rainal, send for Eskandor. We'll issue the
challenge to Wallace through Baron MacGregor, as it should have been
issued in the first place. The combatants will meet in front of the
castle, in full view of the clans. I won't have a combat involving my
son carried out like some secret street brawl."

Rainal was taken by surprise. The Mistress of the Werewolves
was giving in. She was going to allow the fight to take place. No
matter how much disgrace it would have brought on Markus to cancel it,
Rainal had not expected her to let it proceed.

Realising that he'd won the point, Markus was pleased. He
tried to reassure his mother, telling her that as the son of the Thane,
and a MacRinnalch, he could overcome Wallace. Verasa was not reassured,
but pretended to have confidence. If the single combat had to go ahead,
it would be as well to send Markus out in as good a frame of mind as
possible. Afterwards was another matter. If Markus managed to survive
this affair, Verasa swore she'd rein him in, and never let such a
situation arise again.

211

Moonglow trudged through the snow to the tube station beside
the Oval Cricket Ground. Unlike Daniel, she'd never been inside the
stadium. The sight of it annoyed her. Anything Daniel liked seemed
aggravating just now. Moonglow was feeling hard done by. After all her
efforts to help Daniel find some sort of social life, and to make sure
he wasn't left out, here she was, going to the gig on her own while
Daniel rushed off early with Vex. Moonglow had been tempted to ask
Alicia to accompany her. That would certainly teach Daniel, if she
turned up with his second girlfriend. How had Daniel managed to secure
two girlfriends? It seemed to go against the laws of nature.

It had taken Moonglow a long time to get ready. While making
up her eyes she'd had a sudden powerful memory of Markus which had made
her cry. While brushing her long black hair she'd felt suddenly annoyed
at Daniel, and pulled so hard on the brush she yelped in pain. While
putting on her favourite black lace-up spiked-heel boots she'd thought
of Kalix, who would no doubt spend the entire evening wrapped around
Gawain, completely ignoring Moonglow. The distraction made Moonglow
miss an eyelet with a lace, and she had to start all over again. When
Alicia phoned, looking for Daniel, and Moonglow was obliged to lie on
his behalf, she could barely be civil.

At the end of it all, however, she was looking very fine.
Black clad, with dark make-up, her favourite piece of Victorian lace
draped over a shiny black corset, a long black skirt, rather tight, and
her boots looking dangerously pointed. Moonglow was satisfied when she
looked in the mirror.

'I am the spurned woman from hell,' she thought. 'Possibly out
for revenge.'

By the time she arrived in Camden the first band had already
played, the twins were drunk, and Kalix was sitting on Gawain's lap.
Moonglow studied Gawain with interest and thought, as most young women
would have, that he was certainly attractive, in a brooding sort of
way. If you had to sit on someone's lap, he wasn't a bad choice. Gawain
wasn't as beautiful as Markus, but he was handsome, and charismatic.

Daniel and Vex were standing in front of the stage. Dominil
was nearby but the white-haired werewolf was too busy to acknowledge
her, even though only last week Moonglow had helped her translate some
lines of Sumerian. Thrix was surrounded by a gaggle of young men.
Moonglow stood on her own, and felt awkward. The second band were
coming on. Moonglow watched for a while. She was standing behind a
rather nondescript looking man, slightly older than most of the
audience, who seemed completely absorbed by their music.

The man was not at all absorbed by the band's music. He was
far more interested in the werewolves in the room. It was Madrigal,
Sara-pen's agent, here to spy. Madrigal was unusually excited, though
no one could have guessed. Tonight he was to report to Sarapen. And
then, Sarapen promised, he'd make him into a werewolf.

He wasn't the only person in the audience more interested in
werewolves than the band onstage. The Guild had two spies here. They
were new members of the Guild, and neither of them had ever been close
to a werewolf before. There was nothing in their auras or scent to
connect them with werewolf hunting. Even the Enchantress, who was
constantly checking the venue for signs of trouble, couldn't pick them
out as hunters.

Dominil went backstage to check on the twins. They were due
onstage soon. With so many distractions in the bar downstairs, it had
proved impossible to keep the sisters sober.

"How does this compare with their previous states?" she asked
Pete.

"They can still walk. That's better than last time."

While Dominil tried to marshal the band, others nearby were
marshalling their troops. Mr Carmichael waited with a group of well
armed hunters in a small hotel in Kentish Town, just north of Camden.
The hotel was owned by the Guild, and it had been purposely left empty
for tonight. Mr Carmichael and his senior officers went round checking
that every man's gun was loaded with silver bullets. He made a short
speech about how this day would go down in the history of the Avenaris
Guild. They were about to kill some of the most highly ranked
werewolves in the country.

Sarapen was secreted in a warehouse in King's Cross, just ten
minutes south of where the twins were playing. Decembrius was with him,
and the Douglas-MacPhees. Sarapen had six personal bodyguards, and
fourteen other werewolf warriors, all specially selected for their
strength and their ability to transform without the full moon.
Twenty-five werewolves in all. More than enough to deal with those who
were at the gig.

The temperature in the warehouse rose slightly, and there was
a hint of lavender in the air. Princess Kabachetka materialised at
Sarapen's side. The Princess wore a dark jacket and trousers, not
unlike those of the werewolves who waited to mount their attack, but
her hair had already been arrayed for the Sorceress Livia's
celebration. It tumbled down in a yellow stream over her shoulders,
gleaming under the warehouse lights. Decembrius looked at her with more
appreciation than did Sarapen. The Princess kissed Sarapen on the
cheek, and smiled as he involuntarily drew back.

"Have you brought everything?" she asked.

Sarapen nodded, and motioned to Andris. The werewolf brought
forward a small bundle of herbs, a phial of blood and a silver bowl,
which he handled very carefully. The Princess nodded.

"Good. Everything for my sorcery. Will it be soon? I have a
very pressing engagement."

"It will be soon," said Sarapen. "Very soon."

212

The Mistress of the Werewolves draped the great green cloak
with white fur trimming round her shoulders. It was one of the badges
of her rank and though she didn't much care for the garment there were
times when it was appropriate. She placed a small golden tiara in her
hair, an old piece of clan jewellery that usually resided in the castle
museum. It had been given by Thane Durghaid MacRinnalch to his wife on
the occasion of their marriage, in the year 1087. Then she took up the
broadsword of Avreg MacRinnalch, the great Grey Wolf, Thane in the
ninth century.