"Thrix! You've been talking about me with Thrix! How dare you!"

"Well, I'm glad that's all sorted out!" exclaimed Vex, blithely ignoring the general antagonism all around. "And I brought you something to set you up for learning more. Look! Two more issues of your favorite comic!" Vex triumphantly produced two copies of Curse of the Werewolf from her Hello Kitty bag. "Now you can learn more about her werewolf adventures and practice your reading at the same time." She grinned.

Kalix looked at her in astonishment then exploded in anger. "That's not my favorite comic! I hate it! I'm never reading it again!"

"It's not so hard," protested Vex. "Look, I'll help you with the first page. You see this picture? That's Bella the werewolf just about to attack someone. She's growling. See, I'll help you spell it. G-R-O-W-L-"

Kalix clenched her fists, turned rapidly, and marched out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Hey, it's really not that hard," insisted Vex, and ran in pursuit.

Moonglow sighed. "I wish Kalix hadn't found out I'm supposed to report to her mother. Now I feel like I'm a spy."

"She was bound to find out eventually," said Daniel, "but I can see why she isn't happy."

"I didn't have any choice. Her mother wasn't going to hand over money if I didn't give some account of how Kalix was managing."

"I expect she'll get used to-" began Daniel, but was interrupted as Agrivex ran shrieking into the room.

"Help! Kalix is being savaged by an animal!"

"What now?" said Daniel, jumping to his feet. He ran after Vex to Kalix's room, ready to confront whatever beast had appeared to torment them now. He burst into the room to find Kalix looking suspiciously at a small cat that was pawing at her leg. They halted, surprised.

"Is it dangerous?" said Vex.

"It's not dangerous at all," sighed Daniel. "It's a cat."

"What?"

"You're wearing pictures of cats," said Moonglow.

Vex stared down at her T-shirt, trying to reconcile the pictures of Hello Kitty with the small creature that was now playing with Kalix's bootlaces.

"Go away, you stupid cat," said Kalix.

"Where did it come from?"

"It jumped in the window."

"It's hardly more than a kitten," said Moonglow. "Maybe it's homeless." She advanced towards it, but the kitten didn't take kindly to Moonglow. It hissed at her and rushed behind Kalix's legs for protection.

"Stop hiding behind me, you stupid cat," demanded Kalix.

"It likes you," said Daniel.

"I hate it," replied Kalix. "I'm going to throw it out." She bent down to pick the cat up. It leapt in her arms and began pawing at her chest.

"Is it savaging her now?" asked Vex.

"I don't think so. It's friendly."

"Stupid cat," said Kalix, and stood holding it very awkwardly, not looking pleased at this new development.

CHAPTER 49.

You've made many mistakes," said Distikka, in the depths of Princess Kabachetka's private caves.

"I am aware of that," replied the princess.

"You should never have confronted the Fire Queen and the enchantress. They're too strong. Add in your brother Esarax, and the position becomes hopeless. You can't fight against so many powerful opponents."

"If I wished to hear about my deficiencies, I could spend time with my mother," said the princess, angrily. "Do you have anything useful to say before I propel you through the floor into the lava pool below?"

"I'm simply pointing out where you've gone wrong."

"Then what would you suggest? You who hold the not-very-mighty-position of advisor to Queen Malveria." Princess Kabachetka stared intently at her visitor.

"It's no use trying to interpret my aura," said Distikka. "I grew up in a monastery with fire monks where I learned the art of mental control. My aura can't be read, even by Queen Malveria."

"Which means you may be an even bigger liar than I assume you are already," said the princess.

Distikka sat down on a small outcrop of rock in the cave, far too comfortably for the princess's liking. "My advice is to avoid confrontation. You should make new allies and work against your enemies by stealth."

"Brilliant," sneered the princess. "You have read the beginner's book of military tactics."

"If you'd paid any attention to your brother, you might have realized how powerful he was becoming and done something to prevent it. If you'd paid attention to Malveria's actions, you might have stopped her from forming her alliance with Thrix. But you didn't."

Once more the princess strained and failed to interpret Distikka's aura. She had the alarming thought that this might all be a plot by Malveria.

"And now you have a powerful enemy in the Earthly dimension. Too powerful to attack with any safety."

"I managed before," countered the princess. "I removed Thrix's power."

Distikka nodded. "True. You took her by surprise, and you used the empress's sorcery against her. Can you do that again?"

The princess looked pained. The lecture her mother had given her for illicitly transporting her secret spells to the Earth still stung. She couldn't risk it again.

"So you have no power against the enchantress, and having once attacked her, you can no longer take her by surprise."

The princess flared up in anger, causing a spout of yellow flame to shoot from one end of the cavern to the other. "I am aware of this already!"

"Then find a new weakness in the enchantress," continued Distikka, calmly.

"What weakness does she have? Do you mean her hair? I checked carefully, and she seems to be a natural blond."

Distikka's face twitched. "I was not referring to her hair. Did you know that she's notoriously unfortunate in affairs of the heart?"

"Really?" The princess was pleased. "She's a failure in love?"

"A string of unsatisfactory romances. Malveria has often mentioned it. You could exploit this."

"How?"

"Find her a suitable lover. One who will also be your spy and agent."

For the first time since their meeting, a smile passed over the princess's face. "I like this notion! Send a lover to Thrix MacRinnalch who will destroy her." Her face fell. "If I were to send anyone to woo the enchantress, she would sense immediately that he was a Hainusta Elemental."

"Find someone on Earth. A human. Give Thrix the lover she wants, and you can attack her. And Malveria too." Distikka stood up. "Where is Sarapen's body?"

Princess Kabachetka glowed an angry crimson. "That's not your concern."

"You've already wasted time by leaving his body in a state of suspended animation. It's a potent bargaining tool. It gives you access to the MacRinnalchs."

Princess Kabachetka felt confused, not understanding Distikka's meaning. She had a brief desire to escape from the conversation and relax by trying on some new shoes and dresses. With an effort of will, she persevered. Distikka, though poorly dressed, did seem like a woman who was worth listening to.

CHAPTER 50.

Kalix had never rung a doorbell without hesitating. She always feared that she might be an unwelcome visitor. She stood nervously on the doorstep of the twins' house in Camden for several minutes, wondering whether she should ring the bell or just go away. Finally she plucked up the courage.

"Kalix! Come in!" Beauty and Delicious welcomed their young cousin inside. Though the twins' lives revolved around their band, they hadn't completely forgotten the way Kalix had helped them. When Sarapen attacked their gig, they'd have been hard pressed to survive without Kalix's savage fighting skills.

It was midday, and the sisters were still sober. Perhaps feeling that something should be done about this, Beauty poured three glasses of the MacRinnalch malt. It was customary for any MacRinnalch to offer a fellow clan member a small glass of the MacRinnalch whisky as a token of friendship; Beauty and Delicious were glad of the excuse.

"Have you come to hear our new songs?" asked Delicious. The twins had been at their hairdresser yesterday, and Delicious's hair was now a particularly gaudy shade of pink. Aided by sly inserted extensions, it poured over her head and shoulders in an enormous wave.

Kalix shook her head. Her own hair, a natural dark brown, had never been cut and was even longer than that of the twins.

Beauty pointed out to her sister that they hadn't finished any new songs.

"Oh. Do you want to hear some old ones?"

Kalix struggled to answer. The twins always seemed to be so active, so in control of their lives, and having such a good time that Kalix ended up feeling young and stupid. She'd sometimes wished that she could have fun like them instead of having everything go wrong all the time. "I was looking for Dominil," she mumbled.

The twins shuddered in an exaggerated fashion.

"Dominil? You know she wants us to play a gig in Edinburgh? Why would anyone want to play in Edinburgh? It's the end of the world."

Kalix couldn't quite see how this could be true, but didn't comment.

"And she's moaning about how we should be rehearsing more. The woman gets no enjoyment out of life."

"Doesn't like us getting drunk or going out, wants us to practice all the time. What kind of manager is that?" asked Delicious, indignantly.

"Is she your manager now?" asked Kalix.

"Sort of," said Beauty. "She does all the manager stuff. She's good at it, except she's an unbearable pain."

"How can we rehearse, anyway," demanded Delicious, "when our guitarist doesn't show up?"

"We think he's upset over some woman, but he won't tell us about it."

"I still think it's that barmaid," said Delicious. "What's he upset for anyway? Just because someone's breaking his heart, it's no reason not to show up for rehearsal."

"I thought Dominil would kill him for that," said Beauty, "but she didn't."

"She hasn't been tough enough on him. She should sort him out."

Beauty studied herself in the wall mirror that was squeezed into a gap in the shelves housing part of their huge music collection. Many more CDs and DVDs were strewn around the floor, and there were instruments left carelessly around. The twins didn't take care of anything. They were wealthy enough not to have to. Their parents had invested their share of the clan wealth wisely and then died early, leaving Beauty and Delicious to enjoy their inheritance.

"Do you think I need more extensions?" Beauty's hair, as violently blue as her sister's was pink, was equally thick and long.

"You'd fall over," said Delicious, and they both laughed quite raucously at the thought of falling over because they had too much hair.

A key sounded in the lock, there were light footsteps in the hall, and Dominil appeared.

"Dominil! Have some whisky."

"The token of friendship does not have to be offered to a fellow werewolf who visits every day," said Dominil, calmly.

"Well, have some anyway."

Dominil declined. The sisters filled up their own glasses again.

"Kalix, what brings you here?" Dominil asked.

"I want to talk about...things," replied Kalix, not wanting to mention Gawain's death in front of the twins.

"Come upstairs," said Dominil.

"Did you talk to Pete?" asked Beauty.

"Not yet."