The Curse of the Wolf Girl (74 page)

“I’m not sleeping with you again,” said Kalix.

“Okay. It wasn’t that great anyway.”

Kalix was offended. “What do you mean it wasn’t that great?”

“Have you seen yourself recently? There’s hardly enough to get hold of.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want you to get hold of me. You know how much I don’t like your stupid red hair? It looks ridiculous.”

“It looks fine. At least it sees a brush every now and then. Unlike yours.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my hair,” said Kalix.

“Nothing that shampoo wouldn’t fix.”

“I hate you.”

“What are you doing in my car if you hate me?”

“Hiding from Moonglow. She keeps lecturing me.”

“I expect you deserve it,” said Decembrius, and he laughed.

“You’re stupid.”

“You’re stupid too.”

They lapsed into silence.

“So. You want to come back to my place?”

“No,” said Kalix, though she didn’t get out of the car.

What are these unpleasant black garments?”

“Your mourning clothes, Empress Kabachetka. For the deaths of your mother and brother.”

“Ah! Of course, my mourning clothes. Yes, there is certainly much mourning to be done. No one is sadder than I about their untimely deaths. One is utterly grief-stricken.”

The new empress attempted to look sad while examining the clothes. Her expression swiftly changed to one of strong distaste. She was sure these garments would not be flattering. “How long is this mourning for?”

“Three months, Your Majesty.”

“That seems a very long time. Life continues, you know. One must struggle on.”

“Three months is traditional.”

“Very well. But remind me to send to my designer for some better mourning clothes. I can’t disappoint the population by starting my reign in these inferior outfits.”

Empress Kabachetka was cheered by the thought of the stylish black frocks she could buy. “And a new hat, of course,” she thought, “with a demi-veil. It shall be a very chic affair.” After all, she reasoned, now she had control of the treasury, there was no one to stop her spending whatever she wanted. Not only that, she had full control of the Eternal Volcano, the greatest power in the land, and she was already a skillful user of sorcery. With the volcano’s power at her command, an empress could do a lot. “Send for my hairstylist. We will need a lighter shade of blond to offset all this dark clothing.”

Thanks for getting the curse lifted,” said Daniel. “It was nice of you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Vex grinned. Her foot was feeling better, and she was returning to normal. “Now you’re free to scoop up Moonglow.”

Daniel looked pensive. “I thought I’d start off slowly.”

“Probably a good idea. Because you’ve been acting pretty weird towards her, really, what with being nice then being horrible and trying to make her jealous and shouting at her and everything.”

“Thanks.”

“And starting all those arguments and generally acting like you were an idiot.”

“I get the picture. Did I really act that badly?”

“Totally. All those arguments, and you storming out of the room and stuff. Moonglow probably hates you.”

Daniel looked forlorn. “Life is useless,” he muttered.

“I wouldn’t say that. Moonglow’s quite forgiving. Yes, she did say only last week that she wouldn’t go out with you in any circumstances whatsoever. That doesn’t mean the situation is hopeless.”

“It doesn’t?”

“No.”

“Well, what can I do to make things better?”

“I’ve no idea,” admitted Vex. “It’s beyond me. You really messed things up. But something might turn up. Do you want to watch
Tokyo Top Pop Boom-Boom Girl
?”

But Daniel was by this time on his way to his room to play music and lie on his bed staring at the ceiling, somehow not at all encouraged by Vex’s youthful optimism.

My dear friend the enchantress is most grateful for your help with the fashion writer. Instead of closing her business, she is hiring new staff, ready to deliver orders of great magnitude to the nation’s high streets.” The Fire Queen noted that Dominil showed no ill effects from her recent experiences. Her hair was again in beautiful condition, and her skin was clear. “You are looking well Dominil. Might you be a werewolf in love?”

“No.”

Malveria sighed, though she hadn’t really expected any other answer. “The MacRinnalchs do seem notably bad at romance. One wonders how any new werewolves ever appear. Still, I did not come here to talk about that. I came to talk about Agrivex.” She paused and lowered her voice. “It pains me to admit it, but I owe Agrivex a favor for her bravery in my defense.”

“And?”

“There is very little chance she will actually have passed the exam—”

“Are you asking me to cheat for her?”

Malveria was startled by Dominil’s perception. “How quickly you grasp the important heart of the matter. The enchantress refuses to assist me, citing pressure of work. In reality, she is unwilling to engage in anything that might involve helping Kalix. So I now apply to you. Help me change Agrivex’s score so she may pass the exam.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“It’s unethical. I’m not falsifying exam results.”

“Show some sympathy, Dominil. If not for Agrivex’s sake, then for mine. If she fails her exam, I will be obliged to recall the wretched girl, and she will once more infest the palace.”

“Isn’t she your heir now? Shouldn’t she be at the palace?”

“Agrivex’s presence can only hinder the process of making the population accept her as a member of the royal family. Were she to blunder around the palace in her preposterous clothes and terrible hair, the citizens will remember what a fool she is and rebel in protest. Really, Dominil, it would be of immense help to me if you would do this.”

“I don’t want to do it. It’s unethical.”

Malveria nodded. She opened her Abukenti bag and took out a large purse from which she withdrew a bundle of banknotes.

Dominil looked at the money. “It’s more unethical than that.”

Malveria drew out another bundle of bills.

“I may be able to help,” said the white-haired werewolf.

* * *

The Fire Queen traveled through space, taking Dominil with her. To anyone not used to the journey, the void was a cold, troubling place, with a freeing wind that plucked at the soul. As they emerged, Malveria looked at Dominil for any sign of a reaction. Dominil didn’t appear to be affected in any way. The queen felt disappointed.

“The offices of the college examining board.”

Dominil nodded and sat in front of a computer. “You want me to give Agrivex a pass mark. What about Kalix? If she’s failed, do you want me to improve her score?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps the choice should be yours? As a werewolf, you may empathize more with her?”

“I’m all out of empathy,” muttered Dominil. She called up the relevant files. Malveria looked over her shoulder, though she had difficulty making sense of anything on a computer screen unless it concerned fashion. “Kalix passed her exam. Fifty-eight percent.”

“Is that good?” Malveria found percentages hard to understand.

“Not great. But she passed.”

“What about my niece?”

Dominil tapped the keyboard. “She didn’t make it. Forty-two percent. That’s forty two points out of a hundred.”

“Oh well, that’s not as bad as I feared. Perhaps not so bad at all, given the trauma she suffered on the volcano. Can you fix matters?”

Dominil nodded and added ten points to Vex’s score. “She’ll pass with 52 percent.”

“Excellent,” said the Fire Queen. “I quite dreaded having her at the palace all the time. The days she spends on Earth are a relief for everyone.” Malveria caught sight of her reflection in a mirror and paused. “My lips are simply not satisfactory. Dominil, is there really no chance of you forming a happy relationship in the next few days?”

“No.”

“Could you not give the guitarist another chance?”

“If he’s lucky, I’ll let him live.”

Malveria sighed but brightened as she examined her shoes. “How splendid my new Abukenti shoes are. Do you like them?”

“No.”

The queen shook her head. “I do not think we shall ever be great friends, Dominil. But thank you for helping Agrivex.”

Markus woke up early with Beatrice on one side of him and Heather on the other. All things considered, life hadn’t gone too badly in the past few weeks. The fundraising event had been a great success, despite the difficulties surrounding it, and his romantic entanglements had resolved themselves quite satisfactorily. Markus planned to relax and enjoy himself for a few days. In his opinion, he deserved a holiday. He was lucky to be alive. If the moon-eclipse spell hadn’t ended when it did, the hunters would have killed him. It had been spirited to throw himself at them, even though his werewolf powers were missing. Beatrice and Heather had certainly appreciated the rescue.

Markus’s intention of spending the day in his chambers was spoiled by a summons from the Mistress of the Werewolves. She was already worrying about the next council meeting. “What exactly are we going to tell the barons?”

Markus shrugged. “Do we have to tell them anything?”

“Of course. Marwanis will already have informed anyone who’ll listen that Kalix was here and we let her go. I don’t see any way of smoothing that over. They’ll be furious. Particularly MacPhee. He’s never gotten over the death of the late Thane. As for Great Mother Dulupina, she’s already furious. I’ve been avoiding her for the past two days.”

Markus couldn’t suggest anything that might pacify the barons. “But we can probably outvote them when the time comes. It’s going to be a stormy meeting, even so.”

Verasa shook her head. “The clan needs some peace. Trust Kalix to put in an appearance and spoil everything. My family. What’s the matter with them?” She looked at her favorite son. “I still want you all to get along better. Did you talk to Thrix?”

“I tried. I don’t think we’ll ever be friends.”

Verasa looked south over the rolling green fields that led away from the castle. “Maybe we’re not destined for peace just yet anyway. I think I’ve been mistaken about the Avenaris Guild.”

“In what way?”

“I thought we could keep them at arm’s length. I thought we were safe here in Scotland. Apparently I was wrong.”

Verasa wasn’t the only werewolf who’d been shaken by the appearance of hunters at the charity event. In the lands of the MacRinnalchs, there was widespread alarm that the guild had come so far north to attack them.

“Perhaps we need to change our policy,” said Verasa. “Perhaps we should take the fight to them.”

Markus nodded. In this, he was in full agreement with his mother.

Kalix sat in the sunshine on a small patch of grass. It was the first warm day of spring. On one side of her was Tower Hill tube station, on the other, a remnant of the ancient Roman wall, built to protect London almost two thousand years ago.

The young werewolf had arrived early. She took a comic from her bag, still in its plastic cover, protected by a sheet of cardboard.

“Last issue of
Curse of the Wolf Girl
,” she murmured.

Kalix was pleased to have completed her collection, but she wasn’t expecting this comic to be any better than the others. It would be just as annoying. It wouldn’t even reach any conclusion. There wouldn’t be a neat ending. Although issue number twelve was the last issue published,
Curse of the Wolf Girl
hadn’t been conceived as a twelve-part series. It had been supposed to be an ongoing publication but had been canceled after the twelfth issue because of poor sales. As in life, there would be loose ends.

As the sun picked out the bright, bold colors on the cover, Kalix felt a little less hostile towards the comics. The story might be ridiculous, but at least, thanks to
Curse of the Wolf Girl
, she’d made a good presentation at college. She’d stood up and talked to the whole class, something she wouldn’t have thought she could ever have done. If that had not gone so well, she probably wouldn’t have taken her exam. Kalix was surprised to have passed her exam, and pleased. She was much more pleased than she admitted to anyone.

Kalix sat and read in the sun. Her reading came a little easier now, though not much. Halfway through, she found herself struggling with some words and took a break. She looked around at the Roman wall. Dominil had asked her to meet here. Whether because Dominil now lived nearby or just because she liked the ancient wall, Kalix didn’t know.

Kalix had thought a lot about Dominil in the past few days. She’d decided, on reflection, that it probably wasn’t fair to blame her for killing Gawain. She realized she was in no position to criticize a fellow werewolf for being too violent. Kalix had certainly done worse. If Dominil’s story of Gawain attacking her was true, Dominil had a right to defend herself.

Kalix pursed her lips. If Dominil’s story was true. With Dominil, it was impossible not to suspect that she might just have become bored talking. But Kalix thought she probably believed her story. Gawain had been alienated from the clan and had had cause for resentment. Kalix’s last words to Gawain, spoken after learning of his betrayal of her with Thrix, had been “I’ll kill you.” Then he’d disappeared. He couldn’t have felt very warmly towards the MacRinnalchs after his banishment from the clan and his rejection by Kalix. Perhaps it had all become too much.

Kalix felt ashamed. She couldn’t really blame Dominil for becoming involved in a violent werewolf confrontation. Kalix had done enough of that herself. She’d killed the Thane and Sarapen.

Unexpectedly, Dominil had phoned to say she had money for Kalix. Money for killing hunters, from Markus. That was the reason they were meeting. Kalix badly needed money. At home, Moonglow was still struggling to ward off the chaos caused by the non-payment of bills.