Martin Millar - Lonely Werewolf Girl (22 page)

"Would this by any chance be a way of persuading the twins to
vote for Markus?"

"Yes," admitted Verasa. "But whether they vote or not, they
will need protecting."

62

"Why doesn't it answer?" asked the Fire Queen, petulantly. She
eyed Moonglow's computer with suspicion. Although Moonglow had
explained that their reply would depend on when Thrix answered her
email, Malveria seemed to suspect the computer of treachery.

"I should have sent a messenger."

"You said your messenger might be harmed if he interrupted the
Thane's funeral."

Malveria shrugged. A messenger was of no great account.

"I'm sure she'll answer soon," said Moonglow.

It was four in the morning. Daniel and Moonglow's energy was
flagging though Kalix showed no signs of tiring. The young werewolf was
currently in the kitchen, snuffling out more food.

"I have to go to bed now," said Moonglow. "I have a class
tomorrow."

"Do you still go to school?" asked Malveria.

Moonglow explained that she attended university.

"A school for older people?"

"Yes."

"Who could not learn enough when they were young?"

"Not exactly," said Moonglow, but felt too tired to explain it
fully. She wondered if Malveria intended to stay the night. The Fire
Queen showed no inclination to leave. Occasionally a pained look would
cross her face, as if she was still tormented by the sour memory of her
latest fashion disaster. Moonglow wondered where she could sleep.
Daniel and Moonglow used the only two bedrooms. There was another very
small room but it was full of boxes which they hadn't yet unpacked.
Feeling that it would be rude to ask Malveria - who was a queen after
all - to sleep on the couch, in the same room as Kalix, Moonglow
offered her the use of her bed.

"I can sleep in Daniel's room."

The Fire Queen seemed amused by this.

"But this is taboo, no? As I understand human customs?"

"It's okay," said Moonglow. "We're friends."

Malveria was a shrewd interpreter of other people's emotions.
She could see that Daniel might think this more than a friendly
gesture. She was tempted to accept the offer. Sending Moonglow into
Daniel's bed might very well produce some amusing results, if only
frustration from Daniel. But her sense of decorum prevented her. In her
realm, it was not the done thing to turn one's host out of her own bed.

"I will sleep on your couch, which I'm sure will be
acceptable."

Moonglow was surprised. Having seen Malveria in tears over the
slightest setback she did not have the impression that the Queen was
used to coping with discomfort. In this Moonglow was mistaken. Now that
she was ruler of her realm Malveria was accustomed to a luxurious
lifestyle but it had not always been so. At the time of the war between
the six competing factions the Fire Queen had frequently slept in
caves, and been roused in the middle of the night to engage in savage
combat with her enemies. She'd marched over rocks that boiled with lava
and mountains that flowed with glaciers, fighting battles against
seemingly impossible odds. During that time she'd had no expectation
that she would ever sleep in a comfortable bed again. Malveria was a
hardened warrior, though these days, it would have been difficult for
anyone to tell.

"If the computer brings a message will we know?"

"Yes, I'll set it on alert."

Moonglow busied herself bringing blankets for Malveria and
checking that Kalix had everything she needed to be comfortable.

"I don't need a hot water bottle tonight," said Kalix. "I'm
warm when I'm a werewolf."

"You'd better take it anyway," responded Moonglow. "There's a
draft coming in the back window and you're still weak after your
ordeal."

Kalix scowled. She didn't like being fussed over. Nor did she
like sharing a room with Malveria. But she suddenly found herself
tired. She wrapped herself in her quilt, curled up in a ball in front
of the fire, and went to sleep, leaving the Fire Queen lying on the
couch covered in a very attractive silk covering which Moonglow had
provided. Malveria herself was not particularly tired but, feeling
oddly comfortable in this house, she dropped off to sleep dreaming of a
great fashion triumph at next month's meeting of the Elemental Rulers
Council.

63

If Castle MacRinnalch was riven with internal dissension, it
could not have been discerned from the Thane's funeral. Sarapen and
Markus stood side by side at the ceremony and showed no signs of
animosity. They bowed their heads respectfully as the Mistress of the
Werewolves read out the traditional farewell to the Thane, the same
farewell that had been used to bury every Thane since Durghaid
MacRinnalch in the year 1128. Torches lit up the great hall of the
castle and a piper played a lament as the pallbearers moved to pick up
the great oaken casket. It was difficult to play the bagpipes in
werewolf form, but at the Thane's funeral, it was done. The eerie,
emotive sound echoed round the great hall as the coffin was borne
outside to the place where the assembled werewolves would bid the Thane
a last farewell on his journey to the forests of the werewolf dead.

The Mistress of the Werewolves led the family from the castle.
As the clan saw Verasa at the head of the funeral procession there was
a slight tremor among the crowd. There had been rumours that the Great
Council had failed to agree on a new Thane and here was proof. Had
there been a new Thane, he would have led the mourners. Many
significant glances were exchanged between neighbours. There would be
trouble. Everyone knew that.

It was the night of the full moon. As the Thane's coffin was
brought out the werewolves set up a howling the like of which had
rarely been heard in the world before. The whole clan mourned for the
loss of their chieftain. Of all the werewolves there, only Thrix did
not howl. Shocking though it was to admit, she realised she was pleased
the Thane was gone. Life at the castle had not been easy for his
daughters. 'If I'd had more spirit when I was Kalix's age, I might have
attacked him myself,' thought Thrix, and then felt some shame at her
reflections.

Sarapen howled loud and long but as his howls subsided he
glanced over to where his brother Markus stood. 'I'll kill you
brother,' thought Sarapen. 'And anyone else who stands in my way.'

Dominil howled but briefly. She was already bored. She
wondered if she should agree to Verasa's request that she go to London.
She could see no reason to do so. There again, she could see no reason
not to do so. This was a problem that had plagued her for most of her
life. Not exactly indecision, more a feeling that neither alternative
was worth while.

As for Verasa, the funeral brought tears to her eyes. True, it
was a long time since she had been remotely intimate with her husband
but they had been together for a very long time. Almost three hundred
years. They shared a history that few people could comprehend. And now
he was gone. Verasa put back her head and howled, with feeling.

Among the crowd, Gawain stood with his head unbowed. He was
studying the mourners. Kalix was not among them. It was a bitter
disappointment. Behind Gawain were six members of the Mistress's
household. They'd been watching Gawain ever since he entered the
estate. Verasa had instructed them to make no disturbance during the
funeral but as soon as it was over he was to be arrested.

64

Moonglow was shaken awake at some unearthly hour by Malveria.

"Your computer made a noise. Is this the answer from the
Enchantress?"

Moonglow was tempted to tell Malveria to go away and let her
sleep but her natural politeness prevented her. She dragged herself out
of bed. The screen was flashing. Thrix had replied to Malveria's email.

"I have never had an email before," said the Queen. "This is
very exciting. Is there a spy?"

"Do you want me to read it?" asked Moonglow, who was not sure
if the Fire Queen could read English. Malveria could read English well
- she had learned in order to be able to understand fashion catalogues
and style magazines - but she asked Moonglow to read it to her, and
then looked over her shoulder.

Dear Malveria, this is very distressing. You might
be right. Perhaps there is spy.

"Aha!" yelled Malveria, as if this were in itself proof.

Back tomorrow. Call in and we '11 see what can be
done.

"Good," said Malveria. "I will call in."

She frowned.

"Thrix does not spend many words in this email. Should it not
be longer?"

"She probably had a lot of emails to write," suggested
Moonglow.

Malveria stared at the screen.

"I am unused to such brevity. Look, she has signed her name
only as Thrix."

"Does she have more names?"

"Of course. Thrix Ugraich Eustacia MacPhail MacRinnalch, and
several more which are private."

"That's a lot of names," commented Moonglow.

"No," said Malveria. "Only a few. I have many more names than
that. How many do you have?"

"Just two."

"Surely no one can mange with only two names? It must be very
difficult. You see, my dearest Thrix agrees that there is a spy. I will
visit the Enchantress tomorrow and we will make a plan for catching
this spy and then Princess Kabachetka will see who is the person with
the better fashion sense and superior shoes!"

"Right," said Moonglow, who could feel her eyes closing with
fatigue. She had only slept a few hours and she really needed more.

A peculiar sound floated into the bedroom. Something Moonglow
could not exactly identify. Something painful.

"What's that?"

"Kalix," replied the Fire Queen. "Since dawn broke she has
been retching in your bathroom. I would suggest you send a servant to
ask what is the matter but if you do not have a servant to hand,
perhaps you will have to go yourself. Meanwhile I return to my kingdom
to plot my revenge on the dismal Princess. Thank you for your
hospitality."

The Fire Queen waved her hand and disappeared abruptly.
Moonglow draped a dressing gown over her nightdress and shuffled along
to the bathroom. There she found Kalix - the human Kalix - being sick
into the toilet. Moonglow's first thought was that Kalix must have
picked up some form of food poisoning from the meat she'd eaten.

"What's the matter?"

The moment Kalix saw Moonglow she picked herself up and barged
her way past. Moonglow sighed. This was a lot to cope with so early in
the morning. She followed Kalix downstairs and found her shivering on
the floor. She seemed to be suffering badly.

"What's the matter?" asked Moonglow again. "Do you need a
doctor?"

"No."

"Would you like some tea?"

"Stop forcing food on me," replied Kalix, then turned her head
to vomit on the carpet.

When Daniel appeared shortly afterwards, Kalix was no better.
Her distress was painful to watch. Neither Daniel nor Moonglow were
sure if it was psychological or physical. Moonglow had tried to clean
Kalix's face but had been repulsed by a ferocious growling. Kalix was
now human, and it was extremely unsettling to hear such growling coming
from the girl's lips. Kalix was sweating and shaking, apparently in the
grip of some powerful attack. It was a very upsetting scene and
Moonglow really didn't know what to do about it. She guessed, from the
few muttered comments she'd heard from Kalix, that the young werewolf
was distressed about the way she had gorged herself last night. Now she
was throwing up but whether deliberately or not, Moonglow couldn't tell.

"Is this like your bulimic cousin?" she whispered to Daniel.
Daniel shook his head. He'd never seen anything as violent as this.

Kalix reached into her bag and brought out her bottle of
laudanum. There were only a few drops left. She drank it quickly. Kalix
had woken up with the realisation that last night she'd eaten far more
than she had for years. The humans had fed her meat and pizzas and
pop-tarts and who knew what else and the realisation of what she'd
ingested was now driving Kalix into the grip of a terrible panic
attack. She didn't have enough laudanum to control it and the young
werewolf felt like her mind was about to break into tiny pieces.
Suddenly feeling that the walls were closing in on her Kalix knew she
had to get out of the house. She grabbed her bag and her coat and made
for the door.

"Please don't go - " said Moonglow, and tried to get in her
way. Kalix hit her hard and the force of the blow sent Moonglow
crashing against the wall.

"Hey!" protested Daniel, but Kalix was gone. He rushed to pick
Moonglow up. She was rubbing her shoulder and grimacing.

"That really hurt. She's so strong."

They looked around. Their living room was an incredible mess
and there was liquid on the floor and all over Kalix's quilt.

"Werewolf vomit," said Daniel, with distaste.

Moonglow didn't know what she was most upset about. Kalix's
illness, Kalix's violence towards her or the fact that Kalix was gone.

"She didn't have to hit me like that. She shouldn't have left,
she's not well."

"Face it Moonglow, that werewolf is a complete disaster."

Moonglow wiped away a tear. It was all very distressing.

"But she was nicer last night. We were getting on well."

Daniel admitted that they had been.

"Do you think she'll come back?"

Daniel shrugged. He didn't think so. He wasn't inclined to go
and look for her again. If she didn't want to be helped by them they
couldn't force her. Besides, it was becoming dangerous. He'd seen the
way Kalix tossed Moonglow aside and he knew that she wasn't in control
of her actions. Kalix was so strong and savage it wasn't safe to be
around her.

"Maybe you're right," said Moonglow. She felt very depressed
by the whole affair and even the prospect of her Sumerian Cuneiform
class, usually one of her favourites, didn't cheer her up.