The Curse of the Wolf Girl (31 page)

Daniel shook his head. He’d long ago abandoned all thoughts of getting any sense out of Vex, and this just seemed to prove it.

Vex poured more cereal into her bowl. “I’ve got something to cheer you up, Kalix.”

“I’m not miserable.”

“Yes, you are,” said Vex. “You’ve been miserable since you fled from the classroom.”

“Did Kalix flee from the classroom?”

“Fled like Daniel confronted with a pretty girl,” chortled Vex. “But don’t worry, Kalix, it wasn’t that important a test.”

“You fled from a test?” Moonglow asked.

“No. Well, yes.” Kalix looked even more unhappy.

“And there’s an exam soon!” continued Vex. “I have new colored pencils.” She paused, and looked puzzled. “I’m sure I was talking about something else apart from Kalix running out of the class.”

“You said you had something to cheer her up.”

“Ah.” Vex broke into a broad grin. “That’s right. We have an assignment.”

Kalix looked worried. “What’s an assignment?”

“We pick a subject and write about it and then we read it to the class! I can’t wait. I’m doing mine on
Tokyo Top Pop Boom-Boom Girl
!”
Tokyo Top Pop Boom-Boom Girl
was Vex’s favorite cartoon, a piece of Japanese anime that showed every day on cable. The heroine of the cartoon was always battling evildoers and had spiky blond hair just like Vex’s. When not imagining herself fighting imaginary supervillains, Vex could often be found singing the theme song.

“I don’t want to do an assignment.” Kalix sunk in her chair.

“It’ll be fun! We get to talk to the whole class.”

“What’s the subject?” asked Moonglow.

“Anything we want. What do you think, Kalix? Maybe you could do yours on
Curse of the Wolf Girl
?”

“Definitely not!”

“Why not? You know all about it. You could give a brilliant talk on
Curse of the Wolf Girl
. There’s almost no chance you’d panic and run out of the classroom.”

“Could we stop talking about college?” cried Kalix, who was becoming paler and paler.

“Okay,” said Vex, with her mouth full of cereal. “So how are things going with Decembrius? Is he your boyfriend now?”

“Of course not! I don’t like him.”

“Is he taking you out again?”

“He never took me out in the first place. He just took me to some stupid rooftop.” Kalix told them about their visit to the building in Savile Row.

Daniel, a man with an encyclopedic interest and knowledge of music, was quite impressed at the tale. “I’ve seen a film of that Beatles rooftop gig. It must have been forty years ago. It was good.”

Vex was dismissive. “Forty years ago? What a waste of time. Next time get him to take you somewhere better.”

“He’s not taking me anywhere,” said Kalix.

“I thought he was quite nice looking. Nice red hair. Does he dye it? Moonglow, do you think he’s nice looking?”

“Quite,” said Moonglow.

“Not as good looking as Markus, I suppose,” said Vex. “Now Markus, he was really good-looking.” There was a chilly silence around the breakfast table. Vex didn’t notice. “It’s no wonder you fell for him. Kalix, did you think Markus was good looking? Or do you like Decembrius better? Of course, Gawain was quite good looking too. Hey, where’s everybody going?”

Moonglow had exited the room quite abruptly, with moistened eyes. Kalix followed her immediately afterwards, pursued by the cat.

“Agrivex,” said Daniel, severely. “Do you have to be so offensive?”

“Offensive? What do you mean?”

“You know Moonglow doesn’t like hearing about Markus. He broke her heart. And it’s hardly tactful to mention Gawain either. Now Kalix is upset as well.”

Vex shrugged. “Well, there’s no point dwelling on it. Don’t worry, Kalix will cheer up when she gets going on her assignment. And Moonglow might get happier if you got together with her.”

“I’m trying!” said Daniel.

“Really? All I see is you going around in a bad mood all the time.”

“I’m only in a bad mood because Moonglow refuses to go out with me.”

“So you think the best thing to do is shout at her and go around in a bad temper?”

“It seemed appropriate.”

Vex laughed and poured more cereal into her bowl, again covering it with sugar. “Well, there’s your problem. You’ve been trying to win over a girl by being in a continual bad mood. Doomed to failure.
Cosmo Junior
says you can take the moody thing too far. Try cheering up a bit. And buy her something nice.”

“What? Like flowers?”

“Flowers? Seems like an odd choice,” said Vex. “I was thinking more along the lines of a hedgehog. But something nice anyway.”

Daniel sipped his tea and looked thoughtful. Though he balked at taking romantic advice from anyone who claimed to be able to talk to cats, it was possible that he’d gone too far in the way of being ill tempered. Being nice for a change might not be such a bad idea.

Decembrius’s mood became bleaker. His natural tendency towards melancholy was exacerbated by the approaching eclipse of the moon. His failure to make an impression on Kalix added to his gloom. There was nothing to be done about the eclipse—werewolves just had to suffer until it passed—but he wondered if he might have approached Kalix better. He’d helped her to eat, helped her with her investigation. None of it seemed to have made any impression. Kalix plainly didn’t like him.

His small flat in Camden had begun to seem dingy and unpleasant of late. Normally comfortable on his own, Decembrius realized he was lonely. He felt around in his coat pockets until he found a scrap of paper with a number on it, and then he phoned Elizabeth, a woman he’d met last week in a bar. Decembrius had been drinking at the time, but as far as he remembered, she was pleasant enough. He hadn’t planned on taking it any further but had changed his mind.

Elizabeth seemed pleased to hear from him; more than pleased, she sounded excited. Decembrius had fine cheekbones, deep blue eyes, interesting hair, a slender and powerful physique, and his werewolf nature lent something extra to his aura. Decembrius had made no particular effort to impress her, but she was impressed anyway. He knew he didn’t normally have to try very hard. Perhaps that was one reason he felt so depressed about Kalix. Now, when he did have to try, he’d failed.

He arranged to meet Elizabeth in the same pub and ended the call.

* * *

As soon as he arrived, Decembrius knew he’d made a mistake. Though she was pretty enough, they had nothing in common. He regretted making the arrangement. A certain gallantry on his part prevented him from allowing her to see he wasn’t keen, and they left the bar together some time before it closed.

Decembrius lived in an old Victorian villa. Like many of the houses in the side streets of Camden, it had long ago been divided up into small apartments. As Decembrius approached the front door, he was shocked to find Kalix there. It was difficult to get used to a werewolf who didn’t have any scent. There was no light outside the door, and for a moment they stared at each other in darkness. Kalix turned her head to Elizabeth and bared her teeth.

“Go away,” she said.

“Who’s she?” demanded Elizabeth. “Your girlfriend?”

“No,” replied Decembrius. He wasn’t displeased to see Kalix, but he didn’t like her ordering his companion around. Kalix took a step towards Elizabeth, and Decembrius saw the look of utter fury on her face. She looked like a girl who was going to explode into violence any second.

“I think you’d better go,” said Decembrius to Elizabeth, apologetically. “I’ll call you.”

“Don’t bother,” said Elizabeth, and walked off.

Decembrius frowned at Kalix. He could smell blood when he knew he shouldn’t be able to. He glanced down. There was a trickle of red coming out from under the sleeve of Kalix’s coat.

“What’s that?”

“Never you mind,” said Kalix. She had an open wound on her arm, the result of past cuts she’d inflicted on herself now reopened through scratching. She could smell the blood too. She liked that.

“Thanks for spoiling my date. What’s the matter? Jealous?” Decembrius’s attempted lightness of tone was wasted on Kalix.

“You’ve been working for the Douglas-MacPhees. You’re helping them find me.”

Sensing that Kalix was about to transform, Decembrius hurried to put his key in the lock. “I’m not helping them find you.” He opened the door and walked swiftly inside, followed by Kalix.

Kalix transformed. Though they were now indoors, it was still risky. The villa held eight apartments. Many of the tenants would arrive home around this time. Decembrius had no choice but to lead Kalix upstairs to his own small flat.

“Want a drink?”

Kalix dashed the glass from his hand, and it shattered against the wall. Her jaws opened wide, and at that moment, Decembrius remembered Thrix’s warning. “Kalix will kill you.” It seemed like she might already be about to try. Decembrius transformed, taking on his dark red werewolf shape, and prepared to defend himself. “I helped the Douglas-MacPhees sell some things to the merchant, that’s all.”

Kalix seemed certain that Decembrius intended to betray her. “I heard them say you’d find me.”

“I never agreed to that.”

A rather maniacal light shone in Kalix’s eyes. “I’d like them to find me. At night, when I can change. Then I’ll kill them all. But I’ll kill you first.”

“I’ll kill you if you don’t stop accusing me,” said Decembrius, his voice raising. He wasn’t noted for his patience, and now, in werewolf form, he wasn’t quite so inclined to be kind to Kalix. “I’ve been trying to protect you. The Douglas-MacPhees have been talking to Morag and Marwanis. They’re all looking for you.”

“Good,” said Kalix. “I’m looking for them too. Where can I find them?”

“They’re meeting at the hotel in Church Street. Morag’s got a room there. They asked me to go, but I’ve finished working with them.”

“Liar,” growled Kalix. “Everyone in the clan knows you’re a liar.”

Kalix stepped forward and swung her taloned paw hard and fast. Decembrius didn’t see it coming. It smashed into the larger werewolf’s cheekbone, sending him crashing to the floor. Decembrius rose, howling with rage, and prepared to throw himself at Kalix. At that moment, there was a furious banging on the door.

“Keep the noise down! I’ve warned you before.”

Decembrius paused, looking uncomfortable. “Mrs. Morrison, from upstairs. She has to get up for work early in the morning.”

Kalix growled in fury.

“And stop that growling!” shouted Mrs. Morrison.

The unexpected interruption seemed to shake Kalix back towards rationality. She closed her jaws, though she still stared at Decembrius with loathing.

“I really wasn’t trying to betray you, Kalix. I just needed some money. It was either work for the Douglas-MacPhees or go back to the castle. I won’t meet them again. You should stay away from them too.”

“I’m going to their meeting,” snarled Kalix. “I want to talk to Duncan. Morag and Marwanis as well.”

“Why?”

“To see what they know about Gawain.”

“They’ll try to take you back to Scotland. If they don’t just kill you first.”

Kalix laughed. “That won’t happen.”

“You can’t go to that meeting. It’s—”

Kalix was no longer listening. She moved towards the door, transforming on the way, and left without another word.

Decembrius followed after her and had a brief glimpse of his disapproving upstairs neighbor in the hallway before he slammed the door in frustration and sat down heavily on the one armchair in the room. He felt angry at Kalix and at himself and at the Douglas-MacPhees. How could Kalix have imagined he’d sell information about her? But perhaps it wasn’t such a strange thing for her to think. He’d known all along that Kalix would take it badly if she were to learn that he’d been working with them.

Decembrius’s anger faded into depression and suddenly a shaft of worry shot through him. Kalix wouldn’t really go to the meeting, would she? She surely couldn’t be mad enough to walk into a roomful of her enemies on the night of the lunar eclipse?

Without warning, Decembrius found himself plunged into one of the strongest and most terrifying visions of the future he’d ever experienced. He saw the bodies of Kalix, Dominil, and Thrix lying dead on the grass, with tendrils of fog trailing around their bodies. There was blood on the grass, and the smell of it was all around. Such was the strength of the vision that Decembrius for a moment believed himself to be there, and he looked around savagely for the assailants. When he looked back, he saw his own body on top of the pile, and though this was terrifying too, it reminded him that it was some sort of vision, and not reality. He backed away, shaking his head to clear it, but before he could banish the vision, he was overcome by darkness as his consciousness faded, and he collapsed to the floor.

As the afternoon turned into evening, Castle MacRinnalch was home to many unhappy werewolves. Few ventured outside to see the endless gray clouds that stretched from horizon to horizon, and the courtyard, normally alive with the raucous laughter of werewolf children, was uncommonly quiet. In her chambers, the Mistress of the Werewolves tried to concentrate on a magazine, but dropped it with a sigh.

“I’m almost two hundred and fifty years old,” she mused. “You’d think I’d be used to it by now.”

A lunar eclipse never passed easily. It was a profoundly depressing experience for werewolves. As the Earth’s shadow hid the moon, even the most pureblooded were unable to transform. It brought on feelings of emptiness and despair that were almost impossible to alleviate. There was nothing to do but wait it out. The MacRinnalchs could feel the eclipse approaching, and in the hours preceding the event, a great sadness descended on their homelands. From the barons’ keeps to Castle MacRinnalch, and in the farmhouses and dwellings in between, the Scottish werewolves sat indoors, some with their loved ones, but many of them alone, waiting for it to pass.