Martin Millar - Lonely Werewolf Girl (7 page)

"At least they're useful," said Daniel.

"Three different copies of one Slayer album is not useful,"
declared Moonglow.

"They have slightly different covers," countered Daniel,
defensively.

Daniel dumped the box of candles in the back of the van.

"You just have so many because Jay likes them," he said,
accusingly.

"Will you get off my back about Jay?"

Moonglow's mood was worsened by her memory of Kalix. She
supposed she would never see the young werewolf again and would never
know what became of her. Moonglow was troubled by the thought of her
running through the streets, pursued by who knew what.

By the time they finished packing they were barely talking to
each other and Moonglow was wondering if maybe she should have found a
place of her own to live. But she liked sharing with Daniel. He was a
good flatmate. Funny, interesting, and reasonably considerate in
household matters, which is to say he didn't mind that Moonglow was
extremely untidy. So was he. Both of them were quite prepared to let
the dirty dishes pile up to alarming levels. It didn't bother them at
all. As flatmates, they were well suited. It was just unfortunate that
Daniel was jealous of her boyfriend.

As far as Moonglow could gather, Daniel had never actually had
a girlfriend. That was a strange thought. Moonglow, who'd grown up in
Winchester, had been surrounded by boys since she was fourteen, when
she'd first dyed her hair black and gone to the local Goth club. Her
mother had paid for her hair dye. And she'd let Moonglow have her ears
pierced on her tenth birthday, feeling that it was always good to let
her daughter express herself.

"Which turning?" asked Daniel.

"Wait a minute," said Moonglow, who was still studying the map.

"I can't wait a minute, the traffic light's turned green. I
knew you couldn't read a street map."

"I could read it if you'd let me concentrate," retorted
Moonglow.

"Look - " said Daniel.

"Be quiet!" said Moonglow, loudly. "I've almost got it."

"There's a-"

"Will you shut up!"

"In the street!" screamed Daniel. "The werewolf girl!"

Moonglow finally noticed that Daniel was pointing in front of
them. There, at the mouth of an alleyway, a man was dragging the young
werewolf girl along the ground.

"We have to help!" yelled Moonglow, and opened her door.
Hearing this, the man looked over and as he did so Kalix, regaining
consciousness, broke free of his grasp and started to run. The man ran
after her but Kalix, now having a little room to manoeuvre, planted one
foot firmly on the ground and raised her leg to deliver a fierce kick
into her assailant's midriff. He fell to the ground.

"Over here!" screamed Moonglow.

Kalix ran towards them. Behind her Markus was already rising
to pursue her. Kalix made it to the van and leapt onto Moonglow's lap.
Moonglow slammed the door shut and screamed for Daniel to drive. Daniel
was already putting the van in gear but by the time he'd got them
underway their pursuer was alongside. He struck out at the window and
Moonglow gasped as the glass broke, showering her with fragments.
Daniel put his foot down and they sped away, no longer worrying about
which direction they were going.

Kalix squirmed off Moonglow's lap. In the front of the van
there was plenty of room for her slender frame. They drove quickly in
silence through the empty morning streets.

"So," said Daniel, finally. "Another of your brother's
employees trying to kill you?"

"Different brother," replied Kalix.

Daniel and Moonglow mused on this for a while.

"You have a really bad family," said Daniel, eventually.

20

By the time they reached their new flat Kalix had fallen
asleep.

"For a person who's always being pursued by murderous
relatives this girl spends a lot of time sleeping," said Daniel, as
they carried her inside.

"Perhaps it's the stress," suggested Moonglow. "Remember how
much we slept during the exams?"

They laid Kalix on the couch then went back to the van to
start unloading their belongings.

"Do you think maybe we should wake her up?" said Daniel, after
they'd made a few trips. "She could help us unload the van with her
mighty werewolf strength."

Moonglow looked at Kalix, thin, ragged and filthy, asleep on
their couch. Blood had congealed around her nose and mouth.

"Don't be heartless," she said. "She needs to rest."

"So do I," muttered Daniel, and went back for another box. He
was convinced that he was doing all the work, though really he had done
no more than Moonglow.

When Kalix woke up Moonglow helped her to wash the blood from
her wounds. The werewolf, surprisingly, did not object.

"Maybe you should take a bath," suggested Moonglow. She tried
not to sound insistent though she couldn't help noticing that Kalix
smelled really badly. It was a long time since she'd washed properly.

Kalix felt that she should be moving on. She wasn't safe here.
But she wasn't safe anywhere. She gazed longingly at the bath, white
and clean, then nodded. While Moonglow ran the water Kalix slipped out
of her rags and for the first time since Moonglow had met her,
something resembling a smile appeared on her face. Moonglow went to
hunt through her boxes for her shampoo and bath oils. Downstairs Daniel
was finally bringing in the last of their possessions. He was very red
in the face. As a first year English student he wasn't used to a lot of
exercise. Two days a week his lectures started at nine in the morning
and he always felt that this deprived him of a lot of sleep.

"She's taking a bath," said Moonglow. "I'm going to help her
wash her hair."

"Do you want me to help?"

"You? Don't you think there might be a problem there? Young
naked girl in the bath?"

"She's a werewolf," said Daniel. "She might look at these
things differently."

Moonglow told Daniel to stay out the bathroom.

"You called her a wild beauty. That disqualifies you from
seeing her naked. It's no longer innocent. Make us some tea instead."

Daniel did as Moonglow requested. Moonglow meanwhile returned
to the bathroom to find Kalix lying contentedly in a bath full of hot
water. When Daniel arrived upstairs with tea, Moonglow had started on
the exceedingly difficult task of washing Kalix's hair.

"I think you have a world record for tangles," said Moonglow.
"When did you last wash it?"

Kalix couldn't remember. She screwed up her eyes and protested
as some shampoo trickled down her forehead. Moonglow had the sudden
feeling that she was bathing a child.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen," said Kalix.

"How long have you been a werewolf?"

Kalix looked insulted.

"What do you mean?"

"When were you turned into a werewolf?"

Kalix emitted a small snarl, enough to make Moonglow draw back.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"I was not
turned into a werewolf
. I was
born a werewolf, fourth child of the Thane, a pure-blooded wolf of the
Royal Family of Clan MacRinnalch."

"Sorry," said Moonglow. "I thought you had to be bitten."

"A werewolf can be created that way," conceded Kalix. "But
it's an insult to a pure-blooded wolf to accuse them of being bitten."

Naked, Kalix's ribs were clearly visible. She was painfully
thin. It made Moonglow worry that if she washed her too hard she might
break. Moonglow ran water over Kalix's hair. It was so thick and
tangled that working her fingers through it was next to impossible.

"I think we'll have to cut some of these tangles out," she
said.

Kalix snarled again, even more alarmingly.

"Another insult?" said Moonglow, nervously.

"My hair has never been cut," said Kalix, rather haughtily.
"And no human will approach it with scissors."

"Sorry."

"Everything going all right in there?" called Daniel, who was
sitting outside the door, drinking tea.

"Fine," called Moonglow. "Put some music on."

She rinsed the shampoo out of Kalix's hair.

"Do you want me to condition it? It might make it
easier to brush afterwards."

Kalix snarled again.

"What's wrong now?" wailed Moonglow.

"You are not brushing my hair," said Kalix, aggressively.

"I didn't mean I was going to brush it," protested Moonglow.
"You can do it yourself."

She started to feel aggrieved.

"And could you stop snarling at me? I'm only trying to help."

Kalix looked surprised, but she didn't apologise.

"I don't see what's so bad about having your hair brushed
anyway," said Moonglow, still a little annoyed. "Is it another
pure-bred werewolf thing?"

"No," said Kalix. "I just don't like it."

"My mother used to brush my hair when I was little," said
Moonglow. "Didn't yours?"

"No."

When the difficult process of washing Kalix's hair was
completed Moonglow gently bathed her nose ring, checking that the
accumulated dirt had not caused an infection. It seemed healthy enough
and when she complimented Kalix on it the werewolf seemed pleased.

Some time later Kalix appeared downstairs wearing one of
Moon-glow's dressing gowns, looking clean and fresh. Without her
layering of dirt she was extremely pale. It made her huge dark eyes
even more prominent and now that the lines of her cheekbones could be
seen clearly, Moonglow agreed with Daniel's description of Kalix. She
was an extraordinary beauty. Her mouth was unusually wide and her hair,
now clean and untangled, was astonishingly long. As she dried and
brushed it, it increased in volume so that it swirled round her body, a
huge dark mane that made Moonglow rather envious even though her own
long black hair was widely admired.

"Do you have anything to drink?" asked Kalix, suddenly.

"We have some beer," said Daniel, who'd packed a few cans to
help him recover from the stress of moving home.

"Do you want anything to eat?" asked Moonglow.

Kalix shook her head. She only wanted beer.

"You should eat," said Moonglow, but Kalix didn't respond.
There was a gas fire on the wall which was giving off a lot of heat and
Kalix sat next to it, drinking beer and taking in the warmth. "Do you
want to stay with us?" asked Moonglow, unexpectedly. Kalix looked
round, surprised. "What?"

"You could live with us." Kalix shook her head. "I can't. It's
stupid of you to ask me."

21

The doorbell rang. Kalix tensed, ready to fight or to flee.

"Relax. We phoned for a pizza."

Daniel paid for the pizza and brought it upstairs. They looked
at the box for a few moments.

"It's a big moment," announced Moonglow.

"Our first pizza delivery in our new flat."

Daniel and Moonglow were very dependent on take-away pizza.
They had healthy teenage appetites but no desire to cook, ever. Daniel
opened the box, tore a slice of with his fingers and shoved it in his
mouth.

"It's good," he said, with his mouth full.

"It's a good omen," said Moonglow. Having their first pizza
for breakfast made their new place feel like home. They were pleased to
have moved. This shabby flat, above a small shop, was no better than
their last one really, but at least they were out of debt.

"Why can't you stay?" asked Moonglow.

Kalix said that it was too dangerous, but wouldn't elaborate.

"Why are your relatives trying to kill you?" ventured Daniel.

"That's the private business of the MacRinnalchs," said Kalix.

"But can't we give you sanctuary?"

Kalix shook her head.

"They can find me anywhere."

"How have you stayed alive this long?"

"I used to have a charm, a pendant. My sister gave it to me.
It hid me. But I lost it. Now I can't hide. Especially when I'm a
werewolf."

"If you don't mind me asking," said Moonglow. "How could you
be a werewolf tonight? It's not the full moon."

Kalix looked at Moonglow slightly contemptuously.

"A pure-blooded MacRinnalch werewolf can be a werewolf under
any moon."

"Oh. Are there some that can't?"

Apparently there were. According to Kalix, many of the
Scottish werewolves did need the full moon to transform. Those not so
pure-blooded as Kalix could change on the night before the full moon,
the night of the full moon, and the night after.

"These are the wolf nights. But I don't need a wolf night. I
can do it any night."

"Can all werewolves do kung fu?" asked Daniel.

"What?"

"The way you kicked these guys. How come you can fight like
that? Does it just come naturally to werewolves?"

"No. Someone taught me."

"Who?"

But this seemed to be another bad question and Kalix looked
displeased. She refused to say anymore about anything. Under
questioning she became first sulky and then hostile, till Daniel and
Moonglow had to leave her be. When it was time for her to dress Kalix
accepted a pair of black jeans from Moonglow, and a belt to keep them
up. She took a sweater that was also too big for her but she refused to
replace her ragged coat. Moonglow looked at the shabby garment.

"It used to be nice," said Kalix.

"I can see that. It's a shame it's got so ragged."

Moonglow looked inside at the label.

"Thrix Fashions?"

Kalix snatched the coat from Moonglow.

"Give me."

Kalix had been mellowed by the hot bath and the temporary
refuge but now her mood was worsening and she was agitated at having
two strangers fingering her belongings and asking her questions. It had
been a mistake to stay here for so long. She picked up her bag and put
on her coat.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes."

Kalix strode out of their flat in silence.
Daniel and Moonglow watched her go.