Dark Heart Forever (13 page)

‘I want to sit next to Ulfred,’ she whined.

‘Very well, brat,’ Lowe said sharply. ‘Have your own way. Again.’

‘Lowe,’ said Henora, ‘mind your temper.’ She frowned at him as he pulled his chair in roughly.

‘He’s all male,’ she told me, not without a hint of pride in her voice. ‘With the impatience that goes with it, too.’

‘Whereas Luca’s more like a girl,’ Dalya said idly. ‘I mean that in a nice way.’

‘Why thank you,’ said Luca, dryly, but he looked quite affectionately at his sister.

A bowl of something pale lurking under blackened vegetables in gravy was placed in front of me.

‘This looks delicious,’ I lied, prodding at a slimy pepper-like thing on top. There was still no cutlery anywhere on the table.

Henora handed bowls to everyone, putting only a heap of vegetables on her own plate.

‘We must go back to the physician soon, Hen,’ said Ulfred, gesturing at her food. ‘You will grow weak again if we run out of supplement.’

‘Oh don’t fuss, dear,’ said Henora. ‘I am perfectly well.’

‘Henora takes a pro-supplement,’ explained Luca. ‘Her red blood count suffers because she does not like meat.’

‘I will not eat my brothers and sisters,’ said Henora firmly. ‘That is why I go to the locked caves at full moon.’ She raised an eyebrow at her older son. ‘It has been thus since long before you were born, Luca …’ She turned to me. ‘And are you a meat-eater Jane?’

‘Uh … I am,’ I said, deciding not to elaborate. I suspected that the notion of killing and then eating an animal raw was far more alien to me than it was to Henora.

She nodded, accepting this. ‘I am a bit of an oddity, I admit.’ She sighed. ‘But I have very strong principles in that regard. And I won’t be shaken.’

The table fell quiet. No prizes for guessing who was the boss in this house, I thought, feeling wistful about my mother. She and Henora would get on like a house on fire.

Ulfred picked up a piece of meat with his fingers and tore at the flesh, his strong white teeth making short work of chewing. I was riveted by the sight. The others, I noticed, ate in a similar way. Of course. They were animals. Dalya bent forward and licked at the gravy on her bowl unselfconsciously. Her long tongue lapped like Bobby’s at his water dish.

As my eyes travelled around the table, I realised, blushing, that Lowe was regarding me with some amusement. When our eyes met he too lifted his food in his hand, attacking it hungrily. As a large piece of owl disappeared into his mouth, he wiped his chin showily with the back of his hand. His eyes had never left me.

Henora looked over at me, anxiously. ‘You don’t like your food, Jane?’ She gestured at my untouched food.

‘Of course.’ Understanding that years of mortal table manners would have to be dispensed with, I picked up a large chunk of meat and put the whole thing into my mouth, swallowing as fast as I could. At least this way I would not actually taste the owl on its way down to my stomach. I took a large drink of water and tried chewing on the next piece of meat, hoping that my inadequate teeth would not let me down.

As it turned out, eating like an animal was liberating. If I could just rid myself of my mother’s horrifed face, it was a sensible way to eat. Tearing at meat with your teeth – particularly when it is attached to bones – means that not a single morsel is wasted. My mother would approve of that at least.

‘I expect Luca has told you about the impending Great Ball, Jane?’ Ulfred changed the subject, pouring himself a glass of water. ‘You should come … I don’t think a southern wolf has attended for some time.’

‘Not for years,’ put in Henora. ‘Not since Tarn offended Celeste in the last quarter.’ She looked across at me. ‘You’ll know Tarn, of course. The Patriarch of the south.’ She sighed. ‘He has a temper on him worse than Lowe’s.’

Lowe widened his eyes in mock outrage.

‘And as you know,’ added Ulfred. ‘Celeste abhors all forms of aggression.’

‘Oh yes,’ I said, nudging Luca’s foot with mine under the table. We were heading for deep water, conversationally speaking, and any minute now my mortal ignorance would be revealed.

But Luca simply gave me a serene look in return.

‘Well, Celeste
is
the Queen,’ he said, helpfully. ‘Sort of. It is her duty to set an example.’

‘She didn’t do a very good job with her great-son,’ said Henora. ‘And where is he now?’

‘He’s locked up, isn’t he?’ said Lowe. ‘Raphael was incarcerated when he went on that rampage … About three years ago, I think.’ He turned to me. ‘He had a tantrum because the food was not served quickly enough. He tore through the palace and destroyed every piece of china and glass he could get his hands on …’

Lowe was clearly enjoying relating the story. I saw Luca looking a little impatient.

‘And his great-mother ordered him to be institutionalised,’ Lowe finished, taking an enormous portion of meat and vegetables. ‘Crazy.’

‘And we haven’t seen his father for decades.’ Henora sniffed. ‘Celeste’s handmaid is very tight-lipped about the matter, but there are only so many excuses one can make for a man who is supposedly the Legal Enforcer for the land.’

Legal Enforcer? Must be like a lawyer, or a judge or something, I thought, chewing on another chunk of grey meat, noting that owl was indeed as disgusting as rabbit.

‘I heard he went mad too.’ Lowe said. ‘Physicians couldn’t do anything for him.’ He looked around the table and settled on me. ‘And eventually he faded away.’

‘That’s just gossip.’ Ulfred looked disapprovingly at Lowe. ‘I met Gabe, he was a good man. It’s a tragedy if he has truly lost his mind.’

Dalya was observing all of us with a rapt expression.

‘He died,’ she said in a hoarse whisper. ‘I know that can happen if—’

‘Of course he didn’t die.’ Luca rolled his eyes. ‘Nobody dies here.’

Henora and Ulfred exchanged a strange look.

‘Who did you say your father was?’ Lowe asked me, casually.

‘Peto,’ Luca said before I could open my mouth. ‘He runs a farm … practically in the wilderness in Hallacre. Unlikely you’ll have met him … Or his family.’

‘Peto?’ Lowe narrowed his eyes, thinking. ‘No. I don’t believe I do know him. Must be as antisocial as you, Luca.’ He smiled wickedly at me. ‘I’m amazed my brother managed to strike up a conversation with you, Jane. He’s not known for his silver tongue.’

Lowe was a little obnoxious, I thought protectively.

‘Maybe he doesn’t feel there are many people worth talking to?’ I eyed the boy boldly over the rim of my mug.

Ulfred glanced from Luca to his brother and then to me, and gave a loud, good-natured laugh. ‘Now, children,’ he said, then, winking at me, ‘behave.’

‘Don’t mind Lowe,’ said Henora. ‘He likes to stir up trouble.’ She cuffed her younger son gently over the head. ‘And he loves his brother really.’

I smiled, but the friction between Luca and his brother had not passed me by.

Dalya was not the only troublemaker in this family.

After lunch Henora ordered us all out into the garden while she made fresh mint tea. ‘Excellent for the digestion,’ she said, picking a handful of mint from a flowerbed by the back door and going back inside. Ulfred muttered something about visiting an elderly neighbour and disappeared.

The garden was the size of a vast field. Three horses ambled at one end. I recognised one – Sabre – from before. Dalya raced off immediately to see him, while Luca and I settled ourselves under a large cedar tree where a plain wooden table and two benches were placed. Lowe stayed at a distance, throwing a ball up into the air and catching it, occasionally casting a glance in our direction.

Looking at the back of the house I realised it was enormous and ancient. It resembled the old drawings of medieval houses I’d seen in History textbooks. And the garden had an old-fashioned feel to it, the lawn springy and the flowerbeds ornate. It seemed incongruous that it was a place occupied and tended by what were in fact … animals. Everything was so proper.

Luca tapped my hand, which lay on the table. As ever with him, I felt a kind of soporific contentment. I lazily turned my head.

‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘I hope this is not too much of an ordeal?’

‘It’s … an experience,’ I said carefully. ‘But I like your parents. They’ve been very welcoming …’ I paused. ‘God knows what they think of me?’

‘God knows?’ Luca looked bemused. ‘You mortals and your gods.’

‘It’s just an expression,’ I said. ‘Everyone says it.’ I sat up. ‘Anyway, you must believe in God. You have angels governing you!’

‘Ah.’ He scratched his head. ‘But they symbolise order and morality. Who knows whether there is an almighty being governing them?’

‘I’m totally confused,’ I said, and saw his lips twitch. ‘You mean you personally don’t believe in a God?’

‘I don’t know. I believe in something beyond ourselves, something physically intangible. Yes. But I have not given it a name.’

I thought for a minute. ‘I suppose that’s pretty much what I think, too,’ I said eventually. ‘Even more so now.’

We smiled at each other. ‘See,’ said Luca, ‘we’re a match made in heaven.’

I rolled my eyes at the pun, but I felt happy and close to him. I felt right somehow.

‘Do you think they believe I’m for real?’ I said then. ‘Your parents?’

Luca scratched at the rough wooden tabletop. ‘I think they’re prepared to believe good in everyone,’ he answered. ‘They are big on the benefit of the doubt.’

I frowned. ‘But they think I look too odd. My face is too round … My eyes are grey!’

He laughed. ‘As to that, they are broad-minded, also. Like mortals, werewolves are capable of genetic anomalies. It’s true, we have longer faces, and bigger jaws, and our eyes are generally a variant on brown, not blue, but I believe only one thing has struck them as truly unusual.’

My breathing quickened. ‘My cluelessness?’

‘No,’ he knocked my hand almost shyly. ‘Something a lot prettier.’

I felt grateful for the shadows cast by the cedar’s hanging leaves.

I had never felt beautiful or pretty. Not even close. I wasn’t blonde, and curvy, and vivacious. I was straight up and down, unfashionably pale. I shook my head.

The sound of Dalya shouting at Lowe diverted us, and we looked up to the bottom of the garden to see her wrestling with him by her horse, Sabre.

‘Leave him, Lowe!’ she wailed. ‘You overexcite him.’

Lowe slapped the horse hard on its rear and it skittered over to the other side. He jeered triumphantly at his sister. ‘You mollycoddle that animal. He’s not a pet.’

Dalya stamped her foot and uttered a loud sob. She turned on her heel and marched towards the house, leaving Lowe grinning after her. He stopped when he caught us watching him, and his expression turned darker. Shooting us a sour look, he plucked a rose from the bush in the bed next to him and tore the petals off roughly.

‘He’s not at his best today,’ Luca said, frowning. ‘But he’s not a bad kid.’

‘Hmmm.’ I felt unsettled by Lowe’s aggression. ‘I wouldn’t like to be alone with him at the full moon.’

Luca laughed. ‘He’s just like Henora,’ he went on, as Lowe scattered the petals on the grass. ‘Opinionated and traditional. What you might call patriotic.’

‘Or a boy with too much testosterone,’ I said, without thinking. I caught Luca’s raised eyebrow. ‘I mean …’

But Luca was grinning at me as I floundered. ‘You’re probably right about that.’ He said. ‘He’s “all male”.’

Henora appeared, carrying a tray with glass cups and a kind of transparent kettle full of greenish hot water. She placed it on the table and sat down on the bench opposite us.

‘Thank you for your hospitality,’ I told her, as she poured tea into the cups. ‘You have a beautiful house.’

Henora smiled at both of us. ‘I am so glad to meet a friend of Luca’s,’ she said. ‘We were beginning to despair—’

‘Mother,’ Luca said warningly. He took a sip of his tea. ‘You know I choose my friends carefully.’

‘Yes.’ She leaned back. ‘And I admire you for it. I am glad to see you happy, that’s all.’

Luca continued to sip his tea, looking ahead of him.

‘So, are you coming to the ball?’ Henora asked me, putting her cup down. ‘As Luca’s guest?’

‘I …’ I caught Luca’s eye. ‘I would like to, yes.’

‘Excellent.’ She beamed at me. ‘It is an interesting event. One has to be on one’s guard for much of the time … There are elements of our society that could cause trouble given half a chance. But in general most people behave themselves.’

I nodded.

‘I will take care of Jane,’ said Luca seriously. ‘It will be fine.’

Lowe strolled over to the table, picking up a cup and emptying it in seconds. He put it roughly back on the table.

‘I need to get back to the palace,’ he told his mother. ‘Cadmium wants me to work inside this afternoon.’

‘Of course,’ Henora said. ‘Off you go.’

‘I’ll join you later,’ Luca said to his brother. ‘I will see Jane home and then come and help.’