The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf (50 page)

CHAPTER 95

Vex, by dint of her refusal to believe that anyone would be unwilling to talk to her, had succeeded in winning over Adviser Bakmer. Aided by liberal doses of champagne, they were now engaged in animated conversation, having bonded over the dullness of traditional Fire Elemental clothing.

“Can you believe how terrible the fire wrap is?” said Vex. “I had to wear one for my adoption ceremony. What a stupid uncomfortable garment!”

Bakmer, who had started his diplomatic career as a fashion adviser to Kabachetka, was sympathetic.

“They're so ugly! And what about the fire cloak? Terrible. I watched thirty young Hainusta receive their military commissions last week and all I could think was how ridiculous their cloaks were.”

“I hate fire cloaks,” agreed Vex. “Malveria might be all fashionable here, but when it comes to palace officials, ladies-in-waiting and beloved nieces, she's a real stick in the mud.”

“The Empress is no better!” agreed Bakmer with feeling. “The antiquated outfits of her attendants are simply disgraceful.”

Vex and Bakmer finished off the bottle of champagne and ordered another.

“I do love your boots,” said Bakmer.

“Thrix designed them. So when does this dance get started?”

“Any moment,” said Bakmer. “Here comes the Princess now.”

“It's curtsey time,” cried Vex, and stood up to curtsey enthusiastically, though not very well. Beside them, Lady Gezinka performed the move perfectly. Since joining them at the table, Gezinka had hardly spoken a word. She plainly did not approve of Vex, or, by the look on her face, of anything else. As the Princess took her seat, the orchestra began to play. Couples stood up to dance.

“There's Daniel!” screamed Vex. “Daniel, over here!”

Daniel was caught in the middle of the dance floor. He barged into several dancers as he made his way over, and sat down looking quite flustered.

“Hi, Daniel,” cried Vex. “Gezinka, this is Daniel. He lives with me. He knows we're elementals. Daniel, see if you can cheer Gezinka up, she's looking a bit miserable.”

Vex turned back to Bakmer. Daniel blushed. Lady Gezinka looked down her nose at him.

“I have not seen a man blush for a long time. In my land, it is not done.”

“It happens to me quite a lot,” admitted Daniel.

Unexpectedly, Lady Gezinka smiled. “You live with Agrivex?”

Daniel nodded. “We're flatmates. There are four of us.”

“That must be . . . trying.”

“It is, sometimes. And crowded. But it's quite cheerful as well.”

Lady Gezinka turned to examine Vex for a moment, then spoke again to Daniel. “I cannot imagine what your life is like. You say it is crowded?”

“It's quite a small flat.”

“What is ‘flat'?”

“Like a house. But smaller. We live above a shop.”

“How strange. What does it sell?”

“Nothing, it's been boarded up since we got there. Where do you live?”

“In the palace of the Empress Kabachetka.”

“That sounds nice.”

“It is,” said Lady Gezinka. “Although . . .” She paused. “It can be . . . Never mind. I saw you modeling clothes, is that something you normally do?”

“No, I was just doing it as a favor. I'm a student.”

Daniel wasn't finding it nearly as difficult to talk to Lady Gezinka as he'd imagined. He seemed to have broken the ice by blushing. Which, he remembered without much pride, had also served him well the first time he'd encountered Queen Malveria. Elemental ladies seemed to find it amusing.

Dominil and Thrix listened closely as Moonglow described the events in Distikka's room.

“So, Mr. Eggers is here,” said Dominil. “Thrix, it's time for you to go into action. I wonder if he will indeed call for assistance?”

Thrix and Dominil had both thought it unlikely that they'd encounter other hunters, knowing that the Empress wouldn't want the ball to become a battleground. In the light of Moonglow's report, they were no longer quite so sure.

“I'll find out if any more are on the way,” said Thrix. “And I'll warn Decembrius to be alert.”

“I wonder how Distikka intended to transmit a message to the handmaiden Alchet, given that she's in the Empress's palace?”

“Perhaps she's just traveling back there,” said Thrix.

“From Moonglow's report, it sounded more like there was some sort of communicating device. Is that possible?”

“Maybe, given how powerful the Empress is.”

They were standing at the side of the ballroom, which had now come alive with dancers. The level of music and conversation had increased. Dominil leaned closer to talk to Thrix, but was interrupted by a gentle tap on her shoulder. She turned round to find a young man in evening dress looking at her admiringly.

“Would you like to dance?”

“Not at this moment.”

“I saw you model. I thought you were terrific.”

“Thank you.”

“You were the best model. Would you like to dance?”

“No.”

Dominil turned back to Thrix.

“Maybe later,” said the young man, before going away disappointed.

“Perhaps you should have accepted the invitation,” said Thrix. “He looked rich.”

“I didn't come here to meet a rich man. Or to dance.” Dominil pursed her lips, considering her next move. “I think it's time to visit the Empress's suite.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” asked Thrix.

“No. You should look for Mr. Eggers and any potential threat from hunters. Provided Queen Malveria continues to occupy the attention of the Empress, I believe I can visit her rooms safely.”

Kalix appeared. “Decembrius is here! Is he following me?”

“No,” said Dominil. “I asked him to stand guard.”

“Well, I don't like it.”

“Have you made any progress with Adviser Bakmer?”

“No. I had to go outside.” Kalix noticed her sister sneering at her. “What's the matter with you?”

“It never takes long for you to mess things up, does it? You overdosed in Scotland and got Minerva killed. And you've hardly been here five minutes and you're outside throwing up.”

Kalix was stunned by the unexpected attack. Since the beginning of Dominil's plan there had been an uneasy truce between them. Apparently, with the modeling now over, Thrix had reopened hostilities.

“Stop saying I got Minerva killed!” she shouted, raising her voice above the music.

“Why? You did.”

“No, I didn't!”

“Stop arguing,” said Dominil brusquely. “Thrix, you should look for Mr. Eggers. Kalix, come with me. I need your help.”

Dominil led a fuming Kalix away from Thrix.

“Where are we going?”

“To break into the Empress's rooms.”

“What about Bakmer?”

“Vex is doing well with him at the moment. Meanwhile—”

They were interrupted by two young men who accosted Dominil, wondering if she might like to dance. At the same instant another younger man, possibly a student, attempted to talk to Kalix, though he seemed rather tongue-tied and only managed to blurt out how much he'd liked her when she walked down the catwalk. Dominil brushed them aside and dragged Kalix on.

St. Amelia's Ball had now come to life. The dance floor was full and the corridors outside the ballroom were busy. There was a constant coming and going of guests between the dance, the rooms upstairs and the gardens outside. Girls laughed, men attempted to look gallant in their evening clothes, waiters carried trays of champagne, a few older heads discussed business in corners and, somewhere in the middle of it all, Queen Malveria vied with the Empress Kabachetka for supremacy.

“Did I really get Minerva killed?” asked Kalix as she followed Dominil up the stairs.

“No. But it might be said you made a contribution.”

“Oh,” said Kalix.

The fourth floor was quieter but there were still people around, mainly women hurrying back to their rooms to make adjustments to their dress.
Two fair-haired girls of no more than nineteen went past them, searching in their handbags and laughing about something.

“I'm going into the Empress's suite,” said Dominil. “If the Empress or Distikka appears, delay them.”

“How? OK, I know, use my initiative.”

Dominil took out a plastic passkey and slipped into the Empress's room. Kalix stood for a moment, then walked slowly down the corridor.

It was rare for Kalix to think about being a werewolf. Having been born that way, it was completely natural, and not a topic for introspection. But she did think, as she wandered down the corridor, that this was a very unusual situation for anyone to be in. Here she was, at the debutantes' ball, surrounded by rich young women in ball gowns, wearing a tiny little outfit designed by her sister, whom she hated, strolling down a corridor in the most expensive hotel in London, pretending to be nonchalant while actually standing guard for her cousin, who was at that moment burgling the room of a powerful Fire Elemental from another dimension.

And we're all werewolves, thought Kalix, suddenly contrasting her life to that of everyone else at the ball. This has to be one of the strangest things that's ever happened anywhere to anyone.

“Oh, it's the model!” boomed a voice behind her.

Kalix whirled round to find herself confronted by a man of around forty who'd accessorized his evening dress with quite an extravagant aquamarine scarf.

“I've been hoping to meet you!”

“You have?”

The man's hair was rather longer than normal for a man of his age. It was turning gray prematurely, but stylishly. He whipped out a business card and thrust it at Kalix.

“You were so fantastic on the catwalk! You must come and model for me!”

Quite puzzled by this development, Kalix looked blankly at the business card, and thought that everything had just become stranger.

CHAPTER 96

Dominil closed the door behind her. She found herself in a marble foyer. A door led to an office on her right. Straight ahead was the sitting room. Empress Kabachetka was staying in the Queen Victoria Suite, which the hotel claimed to be among the finest accommodations in the country. Dominil had studied pictures of the rooms on the hotel's website and knew what to expect. She knew there were eight windows with views of the Thames and the Houses of Parliament. There was a dining room, a kitchen and several bedrooms, all recently refurbished back to their original Edwardian style.

Dominil advanced into the huge sitting room. She took a moment to glance at a painting by George Clausen, but was otherwise unmoved by the luxuriance of her surroundings. There was no time to thoroughly search the suite. It was unlikely that the Empress would leave the ballroom, but she might send her staff to her rooms. Dominil didn't really expect that she'd find any useful documents there. The Empress wouldn't carry documents. The possibility of a portal to her own dimension was another matter. Dominil quickly examined the office, looked round the sitting room and living room, and glanced into the kitchen. Everything seemed normal. Outside she could see the dark gothic shape of the Houses of Parliament and the Thames below. She walked into the master bedroom, switching on the light.

This hotel is keen on chandeliers, she thought. There were clothes strewn untidily on the bed, and the dressing room door was open. Inside she found more clothes hanging neatly and a dresser covered with cosmetics. She noticed a small marble-topped table next to the dresser. On top of it was a flower arrangement and an object she couldn't put a name to. Some sort of jewel, which seemed to pulse with an internal light. Dominil studied it.

It doesn't come from this world, she decided quickly. Is this the communication device?

Dominil reached out her hand, but hesitated. For all she knew the jewel might suck her into some nether void. Or a volcano, perhaps.

Dominil shrugged.
It would be an interesting way to die
. She touched the jewel. Pale yellow streamed from the gem into the room, forming itself into a large oval disc, tall enough to step into. Through the pale disc she could see what appeared to be another room. It was opulent too, but dark
red, with a black marble floor. From the otherworldly designs on the red tapestries, Dominil surmised that she was looking into a room somewhere in the Empress Kabachetka's realm. She heard footsteps. The sound was coming through the oval light.

Interesting, thought Dominil. The portal allows both light and sound to pass through. I wonder who's there?

A large, dark figure came into view. The figure turned toward the portal. A huge man, with long dark hair and a distinctive scar on his jaw. As he saw Dominil, his eyes opened wide with surprise. There was a long pause.