Читать книгу The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf - Martin Millar - Страница 41

CHAPTER 35

Verasa MacRinnalch poured two glasses of red wine, one for her and one for Markus. The Great Council meeting had lasted for many hours, and the first faint streaks of dawn were visible through the large windows in Verasa’s chambers.

“I just cannot believe that Dominil is a drug addict.” The revelation had come as a terrible blow. Verasa had held Dominil in very high regard. Her success in dealing with the twins in London, and her intelligence and bravery during the great feud, had been admired by everyone. It was difficult to get close enough to Dominil to actually like her, but her reputation among the clan had certainly risen.

“How could she let the clan down like that? Poor Tupan, he must be mortified. To learn in the middle of a council meeting that his daughter has been taking laudanum!”

Markus professed to be less shocked and upset than his mother. “She might have become addicted, but she’s never gone off the rails. No one even realized she was taking laudanum.”

“I appreciate that,” said Verasa. “She hasn’t been stealing and begging. But still . . . I know you think I should be more sympathetic, Markus, but I just can’t be.”

Verasa was not the only werewolf who’d been appalled by the revelation. The three werewolf barons had plainly been disgusted, as had Dominil’s father. It was a shameful thing among the MacRinnalchs to be an addict. Dominil could expect little sympathy. Her manner laid her open to resentment. Dominil had never attempted to deny that she was the most intelligent werewolf in the clan. Nor had she ever made any effort to indulge in the social niceties that bound the MacRinnalchs together. Now that she’d been shown to be not as self-controlled as she’d led people to believe, she could expect to be on the receiving end of a lot of harsh criticism.

“I expect she’s been buying it from that scoundrel Merchant MacDoig,” exclaimed the Mistress of the Werewolves. “I know he supplies Kalix. I’m never letting him in the castle again. Really, Markus, I feel so let down. I trusted Dominil.”

“Has she ever betrayed your trust?” asked Markus.

“Up till now, no. Or so I thought. But who knows what might have been going on? I’ve often sent Dominil money for clan business. Has she been using it to buy drugs?”

“I’m sure she hasn’t,” said Markus.

The Mistress of the Werewolves scowled and wrapped her paw around her wine glass, emptying it in one long swallow.

“You might sympathize with your cousin, but I assure you the clan won’t. And I don’t either.”

“She did try to stop,” Markus pointed out. “That’s why she went to see Minerva.”

“And look how that’s turned out!” cried Verasa. “More misfortune.”

Markus knew it was no good pursuing the subject. His mother wasn’t going to change her mind in a hurry. He sipped a little wine, then changed the subject.

“We seem to have agreed to go to war.”

Verasa made a face, an expression that would not have been intelligible to an outsider. To another werewolf, it was clear that she was unsure of her opinion.

“Thrix is right, I suppose,” said Verasa. “If the hunters can kill Minerva, they can strike anywhere. We have to do something. But I can’t see the barons hurrying to send their young wolves to London to join the fight.”

After long discussion, it had been agreed that they should make plans for a campaign against the Avenaris Guild. The council had not gone as far as Thrix wanted. They’d stopped short of immediately mobilizing the clan for war. This was partly because many of the council members were conservative by nature and refused to rush into a violent campaign. But there was sound reasoning behind it too. No one knew where the Guild was located. Their headquarters was hidden. The MacRinnalchs didn’t even know if their army of hunters was gathered in one place or dispersed around the country. Until they learned more, the council was not prepared to fully commit itself.

Thrix had been frustrated. She’d brusquely informed the meeting that she would take it upon herself to find the Guild’s headquarters as soon as possible, using her powers of sorcery.

“And Dominil’s computer expertise,” added Thrix, ignoring the cynicism around the table about Dominil’s ability to do anything. Between them, Dominil and Thrix would find the Guild’s headquarters.

“As soon as we do that,” Thrix had said, “I’ll expect the clan to be ready to annihilate them.”

Verasa had gone along with the general feeling. She knew that something had to be done, but she was uncomfortable with the prospect of an all-out war. She didn’t like that her son Markus was so keen on the idea. Markus seemed to think that as Thane he should be leading the troops. Verasa didn’t want that to happen. She’d lost one son last year and didn’t intend to lose another. She worried about Thrix too. The Enchantress was so powerful that she’d rarely had to worry about her before. But if she went up in direct opposition to the Guild, who knew what might happen? The Guild had access to sorcery too. They had a strong ally in the Fire Elemental Kabachetka. Verasa feared for Thrix’s life, and Markus’s too, and, as dawn broke and she changed back into human shape, she lay down in her bed very uneasily.

Am I to lose all my children? wondered the Mistress of the Werewolves. Kalix was always in trouble, and although Verasa continued to support her, she couldn’t help feeling that her youngest daughter was destined for an early grave. In the course of her very long life, Verasa had learned to take misfortune stoically, but as the sun rose she lay in her bed feeling depressed and very troubled about the future.