Martin Millar - Lonely Werewolf Girl (33 page)

They shook their heads. They could have done with some extra
money but they weren't about to accept it from a person whom neither of
them liked.

"Fine," said Thrix. "Kalix has my phone number. I'll be in
touch."

The Enchantress hurried off. She didn't feel that her visit
had been a great success, but at least she'd done what her mother
asked. For a while she was free to concentrate on her own life.

90

Gawain boarded a train for London. Paying for his ticket took
up quite a large proportion of his money. Gawain's family had never
been wealthy and what money there was he judged better to leave for the
use of his young sister, a student at St Andrews University. She was
his only surviving relative and it was more than a year since he'd seen
her. She had her own life to get on with, and probably not much time
for an older brother who wandered the land in disgrace.

As he took the money from his wallet he found a scrap of
paper. It contained a poem he'd written about Kalix while he was
sitting alone on a hillside. He tore the paper into small pieces and
dropped them in a bin. It was time to stop writing poems and start
making some progress in finding Kalix. It had been weak of him to
abandon the quest. When he reached London he intended to visit Thrix,
and he would not be put off with her lies again.

Gawain had not seen Kalix for three years. Might she have
changed? Somehow, he doubted it. Her hair would be longer and she would
still be skinny. Too skinny, as he'd told her. She'd laughed, and told
him if he didn't like skinny werewolves he'd better find another
werewolf. When he'd first met her she was quiet, and troubled. Later
she'd started to laugh a lot. He wondered if she still did. He wondered
if she'd met anyone else. This thought was too distressing to dwell on
for long.

Deep in his soul Gawain didn't really believe that Kalix would
have found anyone else. Surely there was no one else for her but him,
just as there was no one else for him but Kalix.

Gawain was the only werewolf on the train but he was not
unobserved. When Sarapen learned that he had escaped he'd sent agents
to watch the railway stations. Gawain had been spotted quickly and then
followed, though not by a werewolf. Gawain would scent any werewolf who
tailed him. Sarapen sent a man called Madrigal who had worked for him
before, and could be relied on. His mission was to follow Gawain and
see if he led them to Kalix.

Gawain was also observed by two werewolf hunters from the
Guild, on their way back to London after completing their duties in
Scotland. They were immediately suspicious of him. He had the look of a
MacRinnalch and there was something in his movements that suggested
werewolf to the experienced hunters. They kept a discreet eye on him as
the train travelled south. Nothing about their appearance or behaviour
gave them away as members of the Guild, but inside each of their
briefcases was a gun loaded with silver bullets.

91

Kalix was in an extremely bad mood after Thrix's visit. As
Daniel reported to Moonglow, she was sulking in her room and refused to
come out.

"She says we must never let Thrix in again because she's an
evil witch and if we keep inviting her enemies here then she's going to
leave right away. Also, she hates us for not having enough TV channels
and she suspects we're deliberately preventing her from watching
Sabrina the Teenage Witch, probably because we're too stupid to realise
what a great programme it is. Also she loathes the way my hair flops in
front of my eyes and she says if you wear any more make-up it's going
to make her ill, and maybe you could try wearing something that wasn't
black once in a while. Also her bed isn't comfy, the CD player I gave
her doesn't work properly and apart from this, she doesn't much like
the colour of the walls. Also, she - "

"Please stop," said Moonglow, holding up her hand. "So she's
all right, really?"

"Pretty much," said Daniel. "I guess she just finds it hard to
cope with her family."

He glanced in the small mirror above the fireplace.

"Is it really nauseous the way my hair flops in front of my
eyes?"

"Totally," said Moonglow. "I've often wanted to mention it."

She was relieved that Kalix, despite her long list of
complaints, had not decided to pack her bag and leave. Really, the
young werewolf was settling down quite well, in a bad-tempered,
full-of-complaints sort of way. Moonglow suggested to Daniel that
possibly Kalix's continual whining was the best she could do in the way
of relating to them.

"I don't think she has much experience of being happy in
company. When she gets used to it, things will become easier."

Daniel hoped Moonglow was right. At least Kalix hadn't been
violent, and nor had she seemed to suffer another attack of anxiety
recently.

"She's seemed calmer since she filled up her bottle," he said.
"I wonder what's in it?"

According to Kalix her bottle was full of a herbal drink which
werewolves were partial to.

"All MacRinnalchs drink it," said Kalix, but made sure that
neither Daniel nor Moonglow ever came near the bottle.

"Are you coming to the party tomorrow?" asked Moonglow.

Daniel shook his head.

"I was going to but now I'm feeling bad about my hair."

"Don't be silly. You have nice hair. When you wash it. Which
you will, if Alicia is going to be there."

"I don't care if Alicia is there," replied Daniel. "Is Alicia
going to be there?"

"Yes."

"I'm not going to speak to her. She thinks I'm an idiot."

"No she doesn't. She likes you."

"How do you know?" asked Daniel. "Did she say that?"

"Well, no."

"So she said she doesn't like me?"

"No."

"Then how do you expect me to get to know this girl?" said
Daniel. "She obviously has no interest in me at all."

Moonglow shook her head. She had decided to make an effort to
help Daniel find a girlfriend. It was becoming a little tedious the way
he kept sulking when Moonglow went to visit Jay. Sharing a house with a
sulking flatmate and a sulking werewolf was hard on a girl. Moonglow
could see that Daniel would be attractive to girls if he could only
muster a little confidence. And maybe cut down on the music lectures.
And not talk about cricket.

Daniel was gloomy at the prospect of going to Moonglow's
friend's party. If Alicia was there he could foresee great
embarrassment, particularly if Moonglow pressured him into talking to
her, as she was threatening to do. Daniel's mood became worse when Jay
phoned. He went off to sulk in the kitchen, but finding that Kalix had
beaten him to it and was already there, sulking furiously, he retreated
to his room, selected the noisiest CD he could find, and put it on.

92

Sitting on her splendid throne, in her fabulous throne room,
in her enormous palace, the Fire Queen was dissatisfied. It was barely
lunch time and she had nothing to do.

'It is a matter of regret,' she mused. 'That I am so
splendidly competent. Not only did I defeat my enemies so completely
that there seems no prospect of war ever breaking out again, I then
proceeded to organise my kingdom so efficiently that matters of state
now run so smoothly as to never cause me any problems.'

Finding that she did not care to be continually tending to
each minor volcano, of which there were many, or take care of
distributing gold, blood and sacrifices to her loyal subjects, the Fire
Queen had taken care to appoint the best elementals to do these tedious
tasks for her. They did this so well that very little ever arose which
needed the Queen's attention. Malveria drummed her fingers on her
throne. She called for Xakthan, her First Minister. He arrived seconds
later, in a flash of blue lightening.

"Has anything happened to disturb my realm?" she enquired.

"No, Mighty Queen," he replied.

"Is there any matter before the courts of justice which
requires my judgement?"

"1 do not believe so, Mighty Queen."

"Oh." Malveria was disappointed. "Any sign of rebel activity
on the borders?"

"The rebels are all dead, Mighty Queen. So superb was your
leadership that none remain."

"Just checking," sighed Malveria.

Her First Minister was a very loyal ally. He had been one of
her original supporters. Malveria had fine memories of these days. When
the old King died and every member of the family scrambled for power,
she had been commonly supposed to be the fire elemental with least
chance of success. Her mother and several of her brothers had vast
armies at their disposal, while Malveria had almost no support. She
spent many long years hiding in the terrible wastelands at the edge of
the kingdom, evading her pursuers. Yet the Fire Queen, by dint of her
skill, intelligence, bravery and indomitable spirit, had led her tiny
force from victory to victory, gaining strength each time.

Eventually, having amassed a great army of her own, she
defeated the combined forces of her remaining enemies at the Battle of
Askalion, an affair of such unparalleled ferocity that it breached the
walls of several neighbouring dimensions. After four days of fighting,
Malveria, sword in hand, had finally waded through a river of blood to
despatch the most terrible of her enemies, her uncle, known as the
Dragon of Despair. Malveria had severed his head and thrown it into the
great volcano. It was the final triumph. Great celebrations followed,
and Malveria had ruled the kingdom ever since.

She sighed. Happy days. She had rewarded her supporters well
and her First Minister proved to be worthy of her trust. Malveria had
never really cared for the blue flames which occasionally blazed from
his left ear - it gave his head such a lopsided look - but he'd proved
to be as good an administrator as he had a fighter.

"Is my water here?" she enquired.

"It has been delivered to the Royal Baths," replied Xakthan.

Malveria had the water she bathed in brought to her from
outside her kingdom. From outside her dimension, even. When she bathed
she added crystals to the water to keep her looking young, crystals
treated with sorcery which reacted with the water. It had to be water
of the greatest purity from an untainted source, preferably one which
had been blessed by a Fairy Queen. These days Malveria's bathing water
came from an excellent source: the untainted, magical spring which
flowed through Colburn Wood, on the lands of the MacRinnalchs.

"Remind my gatherers that they must take great care. One can
imagine the fuss the werewolves will make if they discover I am using
their water."

Xakthan nodded, and Malveria dismissed him. She still felt
bored. Really, it was too bad. No rebels, no justice to be dispensed
and nothing of any real significance in her social calendar till the
sorceress Livia's 500th birthday celebration.

Daniel and Moonglow floated into her mind. They were unlike
anyone she had encountered before. Really quite cheerful in their way,
despite having to make do with no servants and very little in the way
of comfort. Not at all like her own human worshippers. Malveria valued
her human devotees because they were a source of power for her, but she
didn't like them that much. Far too obsequious. You could never trust
them for an honest opinion on a dress or a pair of shoes. They
occasionally made her feel like returning to the old days of
persecuting mankind. But as for Daniel and Moonglow, she rather liked
them. They were honest, and hospitable.

The Fire Queen was quite certain that Moonglow would one day
fall for Daniel. It would be very entertaining. Moonglow had agreed
that she could never have him. Of all the permutations of romantic
entanglements there were to be observed in the world, Malveria liked it
best when someone was in love with another and knew they couldn't have
them. It was the stuff of tragedy and it led to the most interesting
things. Rage, madness, death; she had often been very entertained.
Malveria smiled. All it needed was for Moonglow to realise she liked
Daniel which she surely would if she were to see Daniel with another
woman. Then, Malveria knew, jealousy might rear its head. It was one
thing for Moonglow to think nothing of Daniel while he was alone. Would
she feel quite so sanguine about things if
Daniel were involved with another woman?

Malveria could see a problem. Daniel's extreme shyness made
the prospect of him ever meeting a girl rather remote.

'While he remains single Moonglow will never fall for him,'
she mused. 'What can I do to move things along?'

Really, in terms of the Queen's bargain with Moonglow, it was
cheating for Malveria to do anything to move things along. Certainly a
breach of the spirit of the agreement. But no one would ever know. She
sent for Agrivex, her not-quite-adopted niece.

Vex, a young girl with skin the colour of dark honey, spiky
blonde hair, and an inappropriately large pair of boots, appeared
minutes later.

"If this is about the broken windows in your private gardens,
I had nothing to do with it," said Vex. "Nor the overturned plants and
stuff."

"Forget the broken windows and destroyed plants. I have
already deducted the money from your allowance."

"Hey! That's not - "

"Silence!" said Malveria, raising her hand. "I have a mission
for you."

"A mission?"

Agrivex looked surprised. The Queen had never sent her on a
mission before.

"Will it be fun?"

"Whether or not it is fun is of no importance. I want you to -
"

"But will it be?" said Vex, eagerly.

Malveria frowned. "Yes, it may be fun. But please attend to my
words. You must dress entirely in black and - "

"What, am I going to be sacrificed?" demanded Vex. "This is
way too harsh, I mean it was only a few plants and a window. You can't
kill a girl for a minor - "