The Fire Queen had had a splendid time at the reception, using her friendship with Mr. Felicori to good advantage. Even though the MacRinnalchs who were there clearly disapproved of her, her firm friendship with the singer meant that she couldn't be ignored. Indeed she managed to dominate the event from start to finish, eclipsing Kabachetka, Verasa MacRinnalch, and every other rival for Mr. Felicori's attention.

Verasa was obliged to answer questions about her, as friends and supporters of the charity wondered about the glamorous woman at Mr. Felicori's side.

"I don't know much about her," said Verasa, maintaining her charm, though inside she was seething. "Yes, she is quite a beauty. And she made a very large donation to the charity."

On the way back from the reception, Captain Easterly told Thrix he loved her. Thrix was taken by surprise, not expecting such a declaration at this stage, particularly as Easterly had been obliged to endure an evening of hostile suspicion from her relatives. But she wasn't taken aback for long and found herself telling him she loved him too, as the elderly black cab took them from the reception to their hotel. Afterwards, in the hotel room with Easterly, she didn't regret saying it.

CHAPTER 142.

Kalix's low growl was barely audible over the noise in the cafe.

"How do you know about Gawain? Do you know-"

"Yes," said Albermarle. "I know what you are."

"Are you a hunter?"

"Certainly not," said Albermarle, smoothly, "but I did do some computer work for them."

"Then maybe I should just kill you now."

"In daylight?"

"You think I haven't killed hunters in daylight?"

It hadn't occurred to Albermarle that she might have. He attempted to pacify her. "I'm not a hunter. My cousin is. I happened to learn a few things, that's all. My cousin's been listening in on some phone calls. A woman called Thrix? Is that right?"

Kalix stared at him. She hadn't abandoned the idea of killing him right now, but she needed to learn what he knew. "What about Gawain?"

"Well, I don't know much about him really, but when my cousin-"

"Get to the point," growled Kalix. "Who killed him?"

Albermarle hesitated. He'd planned to lead up to this more gradually, building a convincing picture of himself as an innocent party, but he hadn't bargained for Kalix's instant ferocity. The muscles in her face were already twitching, and her body came an inch off the chair, as if she was ready to spring.

"Dominil," said Albermarle. "Dominil killed him."

"Dominil! How do you know?"

"My cousin bugged her phone. She talked to Thrix about it. She stabbed him with some sort of special knife. One that kills werewolves."

Kalix's face was now contorting in an alarming manner, and Albermarle could hear her breath quickening. He slipped his hand inside his coat, ready to use his gun if necessary. Terrible trouble would ensue were he to actually shoot someone in this cafe, where he was known, but he was starting to think it might come to that. The young werewolf with the abnormally long hair seemed to be descending into madness before his eyes. Too late, Albermarle realized that Kalix was nothing like Dominil. She couldn't be reasoned with.

"Dominil killed Gawain," she muttered. Her black eyes bore into Albermarle. "And you're a hunter."

"Computer help only."

"If you keep sliding your hand towards your gun, I'll kill you right now. What else do you know?"

"Not much. Except someone called Markus paid her to do it."

For a second, Kalix's vision dimmed, as if the weight of information were crushing her skull. She shook her head and snarled, partly at Albermarle and partly at the world. Could Dominil really have killed Gawain? It might explain why Dominil wouldn't help look for his killer. And why Thrix hadn't been much help either. Kalix didn't think to ask Albermarle why he was telling her this. She wasn't interested in his motivation. Nor was she interested in continuing the conversation. She leapt to her feet, picked up her chair, then brought the heavy piece of wood crashing down on Albermarle's head. There was a stunned silence as the large man crumbled to the ground. Kalix kicked him then ran out of the cafe, coat trailing behind her, and the hint of a tear in her crazed eyes.

CHAPTER 143.

The enchantress's heels clicked noisily on the old stone staircase. She'd promised to visit Dominil when she arrived in Edinburgh but didn't have much time. She had to make an excuse to leave Captain Easterly, something she'd been loath to do. The thought of Easterly back in her hotel room brought a warm smile to her face, and she was still smiling when Dominil answered the door. It pulled open heavily; the tenement, an old stone building, was a very solid edifice, more so than any modern apartment.

"I've done my best to check for hunters, Dominil. I can't trace any. I think we'll be all right."

Dominil thanked Thrix. She appreciated her help.

"But when the twins are playing their gig," continued Thrix, "I'll be quite a long way away, over on the other side of the city, at Mother's event. Do you really think Albermarle might show?"

"It's hard to say. From the guild's point of view, I don't see it as a sensible move. But Albermarle's not sensible. He's intelligent, but not sensible."

"It doesn't sound like he'd be able to persuade the guild to mount any sort of large-scale attack. How many werewolves will be at the gig, apart from you and the twins?"

"Four or five. There's Cameron, the organizer, and a few other young MacRinnalchs who generally go to his events. It should be enough to keep us safe." Dominil almost smiled. "I'm not entirely against the idea of Albermarle showing up."

"I know. But it will be best if you can confront him in London instead. Once we get back, I'll find him for you, I promise."

"How are arrangements for your opera?"

"Good, I think. Markus has taken care of most of it. As far as I can gather, he's got all of Scotland's most fashionable people, and the richest donors, all heading our way."

"That's a large crowd to be on werewolf property at night."

Thrix nodded and almost laughed at the thought. "It could be tricky. But there won't be that many werewolves there. Markus didn't offer any wide-scale invitation to the clan. A few senior members, but not many others."

Thrix's phone rang. It was Easterly. She answered it and spoke briefly, before giggling. "I can't talk about that! I'm not alone." Thrix giggled again.

Dominil looked on impassively.

Thrix shut off her phone. "Sorry about that. It was Easterly."

"So I surmised."

"He told me he loved me," said the enchantress.

Dominil didn't reply but picked up a bottle of MacRinnalch whisky and poured a glass for Thrix.

"Is this to congratulate me for being in love?" asked Thrix.

"Do you need to be congratulated for being in love?"

"I wouldn't mind."

Dominil remained silent.

The enchantress felt a twinge of annoyance. "You might say something nice."

"I might."

"But you're not planning to."

There was a silence.

"What's the matter? Don't you approve? Is it because he's human? What about you? Have you ever been in love?"

"No," replied Dominil without hesitating.

"Maybe you should try it."

"I understand it requires a suitable partner."

"I'm sure there's a werewolf for you somewhere, Dominil," said Thrix, who was gripped by the feeling that really, everyone should be in love.

"Love's hardly been a positive force among the clan recently, has it? More like an excuse for violence and revenge. The MacRinnalchs have a habit of confusing love, violence, and revenge."

"You're exaggerating," protested Thrix. "Plenty of werewolves fell happily in love and didn't kill anyone afterwards."

"If so, none of them made it into our legends," said Dominil. "Can you think of any MacRinnalch love story that doesn't involve some sort of bloody revenge?"

"What about Jamie MacRinnalch and the baroness? They lived happily ever after."

"Only after slaughtering the baron and his entourage."

"Did they? Then how about young Flora MacRinnalch and the handsome werewolf bandit? I remember hearing that story when I was young."

"Flora killed the bandit after he kidnapped her sister."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. For some reason, every MacRinnalch love story ends in mayhem and slaughter," said Dominil.

"Well, maybe so," conceded Thrix, "but that's probably just because we like exciting stories. In the real world, a MacRinnalch can have just as happy an affair as anyone else."

"Let us hope that's true," said Dominil, "though it's hard to see much innocent romance blossoming around us. Revenge, on the other hand, is always popular. Did you know that Marwanis is still offering a reward for Kalix?"

"Well, Kalix is annoying," said Thrix.

"I wouldn't be so flippant about it. If Marwanis did succeed in getting rid of Kalix, your own family would no doubt look for revenge themselves."

Thrix looked resigned. "Probably."

"Even apart from that, Kalix is looking for revenge herself, for Gawain. Which would involve-"

"You."

"Yes. Me."

"I don't think Kalix will find out you killed Gawain. She's not that intelligent."

Dominil wasn't so sure. "Kalix is intelligent. And she's persistent."

"So how do you feel about the prospect of her finding out?"

"I don't feel anything. If it happens, I'll deal with it."

The twins clattered noisily through the front door.

"Hi Thrix! Edinburgh's awful, what a place, I swear I'm never coming back. Hey, did you know Dominil once dressed up as Wonder Woman?"

The twins carried on unsteadily to the rooms at the back of the apartment to begin the long process of readying themselves for the gig. Hair, clothes, and makeup could take a long time.

Thrix looked at Dominil. "Wonder Woman?"

"An ill-judged attempt to fit in with my fellow students at a party during my first term."

"Where did you get the costume?"

"I rented it."

"Didn't Wonder Woman have an invisible plane?"

"Could we drop the subject please?" said Dominil, testily.

"Or was it an invisible lasso? I'm surprised you told the twins."

"I didn't tell them, it was Albermarle. He's trying to humiliate me."