The Curse of the Wolf Girl (57 page)

Her attendants murmured in alarm at the thought of the Fire Queen being rained on, but Malveria reassured them. “There is no need to worry. I have the power to withstand falling water. But my evening dress may suffer. Farewell, Distikka, and make sure you look after things properly. Don’t let the council bully you into any unwise decisions.”

Malveria floated down through the dimensions. She located the hotel in which Felicori’s reception was taking place and was just about to materialize when, to her great displeasure, she almost collided with Princess Kabachetka.

“Kabachetka! What are you doing here?”

“Welcoming Mr. Felicori to Edinburgh, of course.”

“Preposterous. He does not want to be welcomed by you. You will more likely frighten him away.”

“It’s fortunate that I’m here,” countered the princess. “One look at your ill-fitting gown may divert him so badly he can no longer sing.”

“You dare call my gown ill fitting?” roared Malveria. “This gown was designed by the peerless Thrix MacRinnalch. A shame you have not yet found a designer to match.”

“I believe she’s overrated,” sniffed the princess.

Malveria laughed lightly. She knew Kabachetka was jealous of Thrix’s designs. “Felicori will not welcome your presence,” she scoffed. “He’s a man of culture.”

“I have an abundance of culture.”

“Please. The Hainusta don’t appreciate the opera, they’re too busy throwing sacrifices into that little volcano of theirs to try and keep it alight.”

“What?” The princess was outraged. “You dare insult our volcano? Our volcano is better than yours.”

“Pah. Your puny pile of ash is no match for the Great Volcano of the Hiyasta.”

“There is nothing great about that little candle. I hear it goes out at night and has to be relit with matches.”

It was Malveria’s turn to be outraged. “The Great Volcano never goes out. That’s why it’s called
great
.”

“Well, ours is called the Eternal Volcano.
Eternal
is better than
great
.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Just because the Hainusta call it the Eternal Volcano doesn’t mean it’s anything special. A slightly warm hill might be a more accurate description. With gentle slopes where children play. Compared to the raging inferno of the Great Volcano, the so-called Eternal Volcano is a mere pimple.”

“The Fire Queen would have more experience of pimples than I,” sniffed the princess. “One understands her skin-care requirements grow more extensive as she ages.”

“Skin care? There is no skin care in Malveria’s palace. The Fire Queen is renowned for her natural beauty. Something you might reflect on next time you ladle bleach onto your vulgar brassy tresses.”

“I am a natural blond!” exploded Kabachetka.

“Pah. Your dark roots say otherwise.”

“Our volcano is better than yours.”

Princess Kabachetka and the Fire Queen suddenly found themselves materializing in a corner of the hotel foyer and rapidly adjusted their manner to suit the surroundings.

“I am here to attend the reception for Mr. Felicori.”

“I am also here to attend the reception for Mr. Felicori.”

“Are you together?” asked the receptionist.

“Certainly not,” they replied in unison.

The queen and the princess took a step away from each other and did their best to pretend they’d never met before. The receptionist was unperturbed. He’d already welcomed a host of people from the opera world into the hotel and had grown used to their eccentricities. He led Queen Malveria and Princess Kabachetka into the reception room, where both made ready to spring on Mr. Felicori at the earliest opportunity.

Moonglow was on the phone to her friend Alicia. “Well, Daniel isn’t really exciting. But I like him. He’s nice. You know, he came in last night with the shopping done exactly right, even the correct brands, and I gave him a big list, including shampoo and tampons.”

“I wouldn’t really have expected Daniel to be so organized.”

“Me neither. But he has expertise in shopping for women. He once looked after both his sisters and his mother while they were ill when he was still at school.” Moonglow had always felt rather kindly towards Daniel for that.

The conversation was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of Kalix and Vex, back from college.

“We gave our talks for our assignments,” said Vex, loudly.

Moonglow ended her phone call. “How did it go?”

“Fantastic! I sung the theme song and then showed pictures on the computer screen and told everybody about
Tokyo Top Pop Boom-Boom Girl
and everyone was really interested! The teacher thought it was great too!”

For once, Moonglow had no trouble believing Vex. The amount of work she’d put into her assignment had been impressive. Daniel’s computer expertise had been marshaled into producing words, music, and pictures, one of which Vex had even had transferred onto a T-shirt, something that Moonglow wouldn’t have thought she was capable of doing. Moonglow had no doubt that Vex’s overwhelming enthusiasm for the subject would have carried her through successfully.

“They said it was one of the best assignments ever!”

Moonglow looked towards Kalix, afraid to ask how her presentation had gone.

“Kalix was a big success too!” said Vex, saving Moonglow the trouble.

Daniel appeared in the room.

“Vex was telling me about her presentation,” Moonglow told him.

“It was fantastic! And so was Kalix! You should have heard her talk about the comics. The class was amazed.” Vex paused. “After they got over all the mud and stuff. Why were you covered in mud when you arrived?”

“No reason,” muttered Kalix.

“Did your presentation really go well?”

Kalix nodded. It had. While not quite as comprehensive a treatment as Vex’s, she’d still put a lot of work into it. She’d held the class’s interest with her impassioned denouncement of
Curse of the Wolf Girl
. When the class applauded at the end, Kalix, for the first time ever, felt it wasn’t so bad being at college.

She looked down at the bundle of comics she carried in a plastic bag. “Now I never have to read these comics again.” She paused. “Except I’ve got eleven out of twelve. I’d like to know what happened in the last one. Something stupid, no doubt.”

Kalix looked towards Daniel. Daniel had signed up at the comic shop’s website, requesting an alert if the missing issue of
Curse of the Wolf Girl
arrived in stock.

“I’ll let you know if they get it in,” promised Daniel.

“Do you want to hear my
Tokyo Top Pop Boom-Boom Girl
poem?” cried Vex.

“We’ve already—”

“If I was friends with Tokyo Top Pop Boom-Boom Girl

I’d ask her for help against my aunt, the evil Fire Queen.

We’d storm the palace

Then we’d go to see Yum Yum Sugary Snacks

The werewolf band

Who are the best thing ever.”

“You know, seriously,” whispered Moonglow to Daniel. “I’m starting to like her poetry.” Moonglow headed for the kitchen to make tea.

Vex beamed at Daniel. “It’s been a good day all around. Me and Kalix have a big triumph at college, and Moonglow likes you.”

“What?”

“She said she likes you. We heard her on the phone when we were coming upstairs.”

“Tell me her exact words,” said Daniel, eagerly.

“She said you were nice.”

Daniel’s face fell. “She said I was nice?”

“Isn’t that good?”

“No one wants a boyfriend who’s nice. You need to be exciting.”

Vex looked confused. She’d expected Daniel to be pleased. “I think she said you were competent as well.”

Daniel groaned. “That’s even worse. I’ve no chance of ever going out with her.” He slumped onto the couch. “I should be exciting. Now Moonglow is laughing at me for being nice and competent.”

Neither Kalix nor Vex were convinced that Moonglow was doing anything of the sort, but the conversation came to an abrupt end when Moonglow arrived back in the room with her tea tray.

* * *

Later that night, in bed with the cat lying next to her, Kalix’s sharp, wolfish ears picked up the sound of Daniel in his room, playing We Slaughtered Them and Laughed quietly to himself. It was a sign that he was depressed, and she felt quite sad about his hopeless passion for Moonglow.

Is there any point asking you again not to go to Edinburgh?” asked Captain Easterly.

“No,” replied Albermarle.

“Dominil will kill you.”

“Dominil’s on the run. I’ve got her baffled and confused.”

“So you keep saying.”

“Because it’s true.” Satisfaction showed on Albermarle’s face. “She can’t make a phone call without me listening in. I know every move she makes. What are you complaining about anyway? Thanks to me, we’ve been tracking Thrix as well.”

It was true. Albermarle’s technical skills had enabled both himself and Easterly to track their targets. Listening to private phone calls, they’d gathered a host of information about the werewolves’ movements.

“I never said you weren’t good at intelligence work. That doesn’t mean you should chase after Dominil in Edinburgh. Leave it to me; I’ll take care of her after I’ve dealt with Thrix.”

“Stop butting in, Easterly. Isn’t it enough that people are always going on about what a great hunter you are? You’re not stealing the credit for hunting Dominil.”

Easterly was exasperated. His cousin’s jealousy of his position in the guild seemed to be getting worse. “I’m not interested in stealing anyone’s credit. I’m interested in hunting werewolves.”

“Hunting? Is that what you call it?”

Easterly tensed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, for a man who’s hunting a werewolf, you’ve certainly bought Thrix a lot of nice presents.”

“That’s part of the plan.”

“Right. Spending three hours in a warehouse searching through your precious wine collection for the perfect bottle. Very necessary.” Albermarle turned his pudgy face on Easterly with supreme contempt. “Face it, Easterly, you’ve fallen in love with Thrix. Everyone knows. It’s the talk of the guild.”

Easterly was indignant.

Albermarle grinned. “I don’t suppose you’re the first hunter to fall in love with a werewolf. She’s an attractive woman, if your picture of her can be believed.”

Albermarle swept up Easterly’s notebook, which contained the notes he needed to keep his affair with Thrix moving smoothly. Though her defensive spells still caused him to lose track of things at times, Easterly’s continued proximity to her had now made him more sure of his ground. Thrix had accepted him as a partner, and her spells no longer erased his memories.

“I’m not in love with Thrix, and no one at the guild thinks I am.”

“Yes, they do.”

“Who does?”

“Everyone. We were all talking about it at Smith’s retirement party last week. You weren’t there, of course. You took Thrix to a fashion show instead.”

“Might I remind you that you’re the one currently making a complete fool of himself due to his passion for a werewolf?”

“I’m not passionate about Dominil.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I’m not. I used to be. I’m over it now.”

“Is that why you’ve put on twenty pounds in the past few weeks?”

Albermarle glowered at Easterly and put his hands over his belly. “I’m just building up my strength.”

“Of course. And that’s why you’ve been sending her text messages every day?”

“It’s all part of my psychological warfare.”

Easterly was about to let Albermarle know what he thought of his psychological warfare but was halted in his tracks by an exclamation of surprise from his companion.

“Who’s this?” Albermarle pointed to a picture in Easterly’s notebook.

“That’s Kalix MacRinnalch, Thrix’s sister.”

Albermarle studied the blurred photo, taken in the street some months ago by a guild agent.

“I met her,” said Albermarle. “She came into the comic shop. I gave her some advice.”

“What about?”

“Comics, of course.”

Easterly stared at his cousin. “She’s a werewolf! You’re supposed to hunt them down, not give them advice about comics.”

“Hey!” protested Albermarle. “I didn’t know she was a werewolf!”

“You’re supposed to be able to sense that sort of thing. Didn’t you suspect at all?”

“I had no reason to.”

“What sort of comics was she buying?”

“Werewolf comics,” admitted Albermarle, looking embarrassed.

Easterly spluttered. “Werewolf comics? You met Kalix MacRinnalch, werewolf princess, buying werewolf comics, and you didn’t suspect for a moment that she might actually be a werewolf?”

“Hey, I don’t go around looking for werewolves every minute of the day. I like to switch off when I’m working at the shop. How was I supposed to suspect anything?”

“Maybe the family resemblance to Dominil? Or the MacRinnalch accent? Or the fact that I showed you a picture of her the first day you joined the organization?”

“I did think she looked a little familiar,” admitted Albermarle.

“Dammit Albermarle, if Carmichael finds out you’ve been swapping comics with Kalix MacRinnalch, he’ll kick you out of the guild. Probably from the top-floor window.”

“Who says I was swapping comics? I just gave her some advice. Well, I did swap her one comic. But only to be helpful.” He flared up in his own defense. “I’m a friendly, helpful guy. You probably wouldn’t understand. Hey, at least I’m not obsessed with her like you are with Thrix.”

“That’s because you’re already obsessed with Dominil!”

The doorbell rang.

“Excuse me,” said Albermarle, pointedly. “I have a food delivery. I’ll see you in Edinburgh.”

Dominil had predicted the journey from London to Edinburgh would be a severe trial. Four hundred miles in a car with the twins would have tested anyone’s patience. Dominil did most of the driving, partly because she didn’t trust either of the sisters and partly in an attempt to distance herself from their constant inane conversation. As she proceeded steadily up the freeway, she managed to ignore most of what they said, but not, unfortunately, the soundtrack the twins had brought along for the journey. Beauty and Delicious had programmed what they thought was suitable music and played it loudly through one of the speakers in the back of the van. Dominil, never a great fan of glam rock, winced as “Mama Weer All Crazee Now” thundered out for what seemed like the tenth time.