“Kalix MacRinnalch is a target of ours,” said Mr. Carmichael. “But I’m not certain of the other. Thrix, did you say?”
Distikka nodded. “Kalix’s sister. A werewolf who uses sorcery and hides herself so successfully that you’ve already forgotten it was her who ensnared the hunter Easterly, leading to his death. She too must be killed.”
Kalix experienced a burst of optimism on the evening before her birthday. She was looking forward to seeing the Runaways film. Unusually, her excitement did not turn into anxiety. When Moonglow asked her if she wanted to invite Decembrius, she agreed.
“Then that will be Decembrius and Beauty and Delicious, and maybe Dominil,” said Moonglow.
“Maybe?”
“I asked the twins to invite her,” explained Moonglow. “But they said she wouldn’t commit herself.”
Kalix was disappointed. She liked Dominil, even if the white-haired werewolf was rather foreboding. Moonglow suggested that Kalix might call her herself, but Kalix demurred. It would be embarrassing if Dominil refused the invitation. Kalix had encountered a lot of rejection in her life and never voluntarily put herself in a position where it might happen again.
Daniel had agreed to drive them to the cinema where Moonglow had already booked seats. They were due to meet Beauty and Delicious, and if all went according to plan they’d be back home before darkness came, triggering the change into werewolves. It struck Moonglow that they were about to spend an evening with four werewolves in their house. Five if Dominil showed up.
“I hope nothing goes wrong,” she said to Daniel.
“It’ll be fine,” said Daniel. “We’ve met them all before.”
“But not all at once, as werewolves.”
“Well, they all seem quite well in control of themselves. Apart from the twins, I suppose, when they drink too much. And Kalix can get a little agitated. But apart from the intoxicated twins and Kalix maybe going mad, we’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“At least Dominil never goes mad,” said Moonglow reassuringly. “She’s always . . . uh . . .”
“Unfriendly? Violent? Murderous?”
“Maybe I was so keen to give Kalix a nice birthday I didn’t think this through properly. Is the fridge full of meat?”
“Absolutely packed,” said Daniel, who had responsibility for meat buying in the household, Moonglow being a vegetarian. “Enough for plenty of hungry werewolves. That’s a nice dress, you’re looking pretty.”
Moonglow was surprised by the compliment, and pleased. Daniel had always been attracted to Moonglow and seemed recently to have been trying to win her over by way of compliments and helpful behavior. Which, Moonglow admitted to herself, was an improvement on his previous campaign of bad moods and displays of temper.
The next day there was an unusual amount of activity in the small flat as the four flatmates prepared themselves. Moonglow felt that she should make an effort, and she spent a long time in the morning drying and styling her long black hair and selecting a long black dress from her wardrobe. She put on a pair of high-heeled boots which, while not as pointed as the ones she wore on her occasional visits to Goth nightclubs, were still fancier than she’d normally wear out in daylight. She spent some time on her makeup and was looking very dramatic as she applied the finishing touches to her darkened lips.
Downstairs, Daniel was in conversation with Vex. “It’s time I was going out with Moonglow. I’m going to make it happen today.”
Daniel looked expectantly at Vex.
“Do you think this purple Hello Kitty T-shirt goes with this red kilt?” she asked.
Daniel pursed his lips. “No, it looks awful. But that’s beside the point. Moonglow should go out with me, don’t you agree?” He spread his arms wide, inviting the whole universe to agree with him. “It would have happened before now if we hadn’t had all these distractions. But every time we got close there was some werewolf crisis and everything went wrong.” Daniel looked pained. “And if it wasn’t a werewolf it was someone from another dimension—”
“I’m someone from another dimension!” said Vex brightly.
“—butting in with some weird problem or a fashion crisis or something like that. Who could do any pursuing with all that going on? My failure with Moonglow has mitigating circumstances.”
Vex took a bright red lipstick from her Hello Kitty bag and busied herself at the mirror. Her lips were already a brilliant red, but she liked to put on extra layers. Daniel, now in good voice, carried on.
“And then we’ve been working in that horrible supermarket all summer and I was so tired when I got home I couldn’t do anything except lie on the couch.”
Vex paused momentarily to nod in agreement. They’d all found it hard, working in the supermarket. For much of the summer, the commonest sight to be seen in their flat was Daniel, Vex, Kalix and Moonglow all strewn around the living room, tired out after their long day’s work.
“It’s time for it to end.”
Vex looked around. Her lips were deep red. “What’s coming to an end?”
“Moonglow not going out with me.”
“Are you going to grab her in the cinema?”
“Possibly.”
Vex burst out laughing, which deflated Daniel.
“What’s funny?”
“The idea of you grabbing Moonglow.”
“Just wait and see.”
Vex grinned. She’d have been quite happy to see Daniel going out with Moonglow, but she didn’t anticipate it happening anytime soon. The conversation ended as Moonglow came down the stairs.
Vex greeted her enthusiastically. “Hi, Moonglow you’re looking nice. Look at my kilt. I’m wearing tartan in honor of Kalix’s birthday. Because she’s Scottish. They like tartan.”
Moonglow smiled, admiring Vex’s choice. Vex’s kilt was tiny, displaying her slender legs from thigh to knee, beneath which they disappeared into her customary large boots, giving her the look of a character from one of her favorite Japanese cartoons.
“Do you think I might meet a boyfriend at the party?” said Vex.
Moonglow frowned. Moonglow had no objection to Vex having a boyfriend, but she didn’t quite approve of the way Vex had been fixating on it recently. The young Elemental seemed to have developed the notion that she was somehow lacking without a boyfriend, a notion that Moonglow was sure she’d picked up from the enormous amount of manga she read online.
“Just because girls in comics want boyfriends doesn’t mean you need to have one,” she’d told Vex. Vex hadn’t paid any attention.
Daniel had brushed his hair and put on the new jacket selected for him by Moonglow a few months ago.
“Everyone ready for the cinema?” said Moonglow. “Where’s our birthday girl?”
“I’m right here!” cried Vex and began hopping up and down.
“Right. I meant our other birthday girl. The werewolf.”
“I’m here,” said Kalix, appearing from her room upstairs. Kalix was smiling excitedly. She’d brushed her very long hair, and it shone as it streamed down past her shoulders, in contrast with her dull gray coat. As always, Kalix’s outfit contrasted strongly with the bright and colorful Vex. The young werewolf was averse to wearing anything colorful. Beneath