"Malveria could have just saved Kalix's life anyway, without making up ridiculous curses," she thought, angrily. "After all the help I've given her with makeup, not to mention comforting her after her fashion disasters."

Moonglow resolved to have some harsh words with the Fire Queen. Or would that just make everything worse? Moonglow worried more and didn't know what to do about anything.

CHAPTER 98.

Though Captain Easterly and Albermarle had never been friendly, the fight that erupted between them after Easterly bailed his cousin out of jail was their worst ever.

"How," raged Easterly, "am I supposed to get close to Thrix MacRinnalch if I have to leave in the middle of a fashion show to rescue my idiot cousin after he's been caught trying to rob Dominil's apartment? What were you doing there anyway?"

"I needed to visit her flat while she was away."

"What for?"

"It was part of my plan. But it went wrong. She moved out before I got there."

Albermarle had been in the process of letting himself into the flat with a duplicate key when he found himself confronted by an angry family member who'd called the police. Arriving unusually rapidly, they'd apprehended Albermarle. His claim that he thought he'd been visiting a friend's apartment had failed to convince.

On hearing the pitiful tale, Easterly came close to exploding. "You don't need a plan to kill Dominil! You just shoot her with a silver bullet! Like you could have done tonight, except you decided to burgle her flat instead."

Albermarle squirmed. He was already in trouble with the guild. After he'd failed to turn up to meet his subordinates, one of them had been quite badly injured. Pictor had disobeyed orders by leaving the van, but Albermarle hadn't been there to supervise him.

"I'm amazed they haven't thrown you out of the guild already. They probably will tomorrow when the board of directors meet."

They stood in one of the plushly carpeted corridors in their apartment block. The air was tinged with the scent of the many large potted plants that surrounded the elevator, well-tended in moist earth. Albermarle had the remnants of a bowl of cereal in his hand, and his huge T-shirt flopped outside his trousers.

"I was gathering intelligence," he mumbled defensively.

"No, you weren't. You were trying to psych her out. What did you plan to do in her flat? Write a message on the wall saying 'I know where you live, I'm coming to get you'?"

Albermarle's face colored, but he didn't reply.

"Do you have any idea how pathetic this is? Your job is to kill Dominil, not get revenge on her. So what if she ignored you at university? No one cares. Just get over it."

"I am over it."

"Really? I notice you've put on about twenty pounds in the last two weeks."

Albermarle glanced at his bowl of cereal.

"Who are you to talk?" he demanded, feeling he'd had enough criticism from his cousin. "If there's anyone wasting time, it's you. You're going to fashion shows with this blond werewolf, taking her to dinner and who knows what else. Not much sign of werewolf-hunting going on there, is there? Maybe you should just marry her instead."

Easterly bristled. "All my actions have been fully approved by the guild."

"Only because you've spun them some story about Thrix being a sorceress. I think you like dating her."

"She is a sorceress, you moron," said Easterly. "You can't just shoot a werewolf like Thrix. A silver bullet won't harm her."

"There's never been a werewolf a silver bullet won't harm," sneered his large cousin.

"She's too well protected. Thrix is the most dangerous werewolf in London."

"I'd say Dominil is more dangerous than that phony sorceress. Dominil's a psychopathic killer."

"Just because someone wouldn't date you doesn't make them a psychopathic killer. She's a werewolf. Next time, just shoot her."

"You should take your own advice," retorted Albermarle. "Nice suit you're wearing, by the way. Did Thrix like it? Will she give you another date?"

Easterly glared at Albermarle then abruptly abandoned the argument. He strode down the stairs towards his front door.

"Maybe she'll invite you to the castle!" yelled Albermarle at his retreating figure. "You can marry into the clan! Have werewolf babies! I know you love her!"

When Easterly had disappeared, Albermarle gazed down at his empty cereal bowl. It looked very small in his hands. Still hungry, he tramped heavily upstairs to examine the contents of his fridge.

CHAPTER 99.

It wasn't far from Kentish Town to Camden, but the journey was an uncomfortable one for Dominil. Having thrown the twins and their equipment into the van, she hoped she might be able to bring the evening to an end without further humiliation. Beauty and Delicious were barely conscious. Unfortunately for Dominil, as they pulled away from the warehouse, they woke up.

"Beauty, did I suffer some bizarre hallucination, or did Pete just tell the whole world he was in love with Dominil?"

"I believe he did. But she discarded him."

"It's heartless really."

"Cruel."

"Dominil's like that. Just takes them off for a night of passion, breaks their hearts, then forgets them."

Dominil drove on.

"At least the mystery is solved," continued Delicious. "Pete isn't miserable about any barmaids. He's miserable about Dominil."

"I'm not surprised. Dominil's a hot werewolf. She could pose for the Hot Werewolves calendar. Dominil, do you have a bikini?"

"But seriously," said Beauty, crawling forward in the van to place her face close behind Dominil. "Is this wise? You know we're meant to be discreet. What's the point of me and Delicious being careful if you're going around seducing everyone? First you break that hunter's heart at Oxford, and now he's trying to kill us all. And then you break Pete's heart, and it practically ruins the band-"

"And don't forget Sarapen," interjected Delicious, emerging from the mass of pink hair that covered her face. "She drove him crazy too. That almost destroyed the clan."

"It's like nothing's safe when she's around."

Dominil drove on, refusing to respond to the sisters' mockery, though her face twitched slightly when they were held up by the traffic light at Camden tube station.

"So what was it like with Pete? Did you let yourself go?" Delicious asked mischievously.

"Did you do anything wolf-like?"

There was a brief diversion while the twins discussed various lovers they'd had in the past and occasions where they'd almost let their werewolf identities be discovered through bouts of passion.

"Because you know, when you get that excited, you can be tempted just to let the werewolf emerge."

"Of course. Any girl would."

"Dominil more than most, probably. The way she pretends to be reserved then just lets the passion burst out."

The van pulled up in the side street outside the twins' house. Dominil emerged from the van, opened the back door, and lifted up an amplifier. "Are you going to help?"

The twins shrugged.

"Have you slept with any more of the band we don't know about?" Beauty asked.

Dominil proceeded to unload the equipment herself, carrying it swiftly indoors and dumping it in the hallway. If any of the neighbors were watching through their curtains, they might have been surprised at the ease with which the tall, white-haired woman carried such heavy items. They wouldn't have been surprised at the way Beauty and Delicious stumbled about, doing nothing to help.

"I think I've lost a hair extension," said Delicious, and she sat down in the front garden. "Still, the gig went well."

"No, it didn't," hissed Dominil, marching past with a guitar in each hand. "It was a terrible performance."

"Be fair," protested Delicious. "Who can play a gig when half the band is pining for you? We never had a chance."

Beauty and Delicious each felt themselves yanked to their feet by their collars.

"The equipment is inside," said Dominil, leading them into the house. "I'm leaving now."

Dominil returned to the van, closed the door quietly, and drove off. She was irritated beyond measure. As soon as she arrived home, she took one of her carefully measured sips of laudanum. She looked at her bottle. Though she regulated her addiction carefully, her intake had risen very slightly. The stress caused by looking after the twins while simultaneously fighting the Avenaris Guild was considerable, even for her.

She knew that she could end the stress by moving back to the castle in Scotland. The Mistress of the Werewolves, the Great Council, and her father would all welcome her back. But Dominil refused to admit defeat. She wasn't going back until events in London had run their course.

CHAPTER 100.

Princess Kabachetka threw the ancient book on the ground, picked it up, examined it with disgust, then threw it on the ground again. She considered stamping on it, but refrained for fear of damaging her elegant heels. "This ridiculous spell cannot be done," she yelled, though there was no one in her private cavern to hear her. "And I'm sick of practicing magic in this cave when I should be in my comfortable chambers making ready for tonight's festivities." The princess had spent all day trying to perfect a spell that would recreate the effects of the lunar eclipse on Earth. "It's all very well for Distikka to talk glibly about removing the enchantress's powers," she cried. "She's not the one who has to devise the spell. I'm no good at devising spells!"

The princess was being too critical of herself; she was a powerful user of magic and had made spells in the past. Not as powerful as those concocted by the empress, but effective nonetheless. But for now, she was getting nowhere. The Earth's moon was a tremendous natural force. Replicating its effects was a task that would have challenged even the most powerful Fire Elemental.

"No doubt the empress could do it," thought the princess, angrily, "using the power of the Eternal Volcano. Power that she steadfastly refuses to hand over to me. A plague on her. And the enchantress."

The princess was not the only one having problems with books that night. In a small Victorian backstreet in Kennington, in the little flat above the empty shop, Kalix was suffering too.

"Did I just hear a werewolf howl?" asked Moonglow in alarm.

Daniel nodded. He was lying on the couch, still sick. Moonglow had brought him a bowl of soup and a cup of tea.

"It sounds serious."

"Relax," said Daniel. "She's just doing a book report."

Another howl sounded through the house. Moonglow was troubled. She didn't like to hear Kalix howl in anguish. "I suppose it's good that she's working," she said dubiously.

"It's progress. But she'll probably end up eating the book."

"You have to stop accusing Kalix of eating everything. You know it upsets her."

"She tried to take a bite out of your computer."

"She was upset at the time," reasoned Moonglow.

"She tried to eat the television."

"Well, she was very disappointed when Sabrina the Teenage Witch came to an end. Anyway, I'm sure she won't eat the book."

The bedroom door upstairs slammed very loudly. Kalix tramped down the stairs and stormed into the living room.

"Where's your book?" asked Daniel.

"I ate it."

"Kalix! You didn't really?"

"I chewed it a bit. I don't even like the stupid book! Why do I have to write a report?"

"That's what you do when you're learning," said Moonglow, irritating the werewolf even more.

"It's stupid. I'm not doing it."

"You have to," said Daniel, "or Moonglow will report you to your mom. Then you'll be in trouble."