by Lee Monroe
I had no memory of the journey; my first conscious thought was of a breeze lifting my hair and a familiar rushing sound. I looked into the river, hurrying on its way somewhere, pushing past embedded rocks which stuck up above the surface. A huge bird soared elegantly, following the river. It looked like an eagle. I blinked as I watched it fly. I’d never seen an eagle. From this distance it looked huge, but not ungainly. Just magnificent.
Luca silently watched with me.
‘I read more of the notebook,’ I said at last. ‘She was my age, that girl.’
‘Yes.’ Luca leaned back on his elbows. ‘And it doesn’t have a happy ending I fear.’
‘Who was she?’ I said, more to myself than to him.
‘I believe she was mortal.’ Luca pressed his lips together. ‘And her … lover, I think he was one of us.’
‘A werewolf?’
‘Could be.’ He hesitated before going on. ‘There is a rumour about a male, living on Nissilum, generations ago, who ceased to exist. People say it was the love of a mortal girl that killed him.’
I turned slowly to look at him. ‘Is that why you are reluctant … to fall in love with a mortal?’
Luca nodded. ‘Although to me, the notion that one can control one’s emotions in that way seems ridiculous.’ He sighed, sitting back up and holding on to his knees. ‘But according to my mother, it is perfectly possible to control such things. To decide not to love. Just a matter of ruling with your head, not your heart. Not very romantic.’ He shook his head. ‘But, given what is destined to happen to those of us who fall … it is probably better to keep mortal relationships platonic. Better still never to engage with mortals in the first place.’
I felt vaguely rejected. Stupid. I mean, I knew what I felt with Luca was different. Safer, calmer. Perhaps it was less exciting?
‘You need to get yourself a proper girlfriend,’ I said flatly. ‘Not a pretend one.’
‘Hmmm.’ Luca didn’t look at me. ‘I haven’t met an immortal girl yet who inspires those feelings in me. I don’t think I ever will.’
His answer pleased me, though I disliked myself for it. I didn’t want him, but I didn’t want anyone else to be with him either.
‘Anyway, I thought it was a good thing to come here first,’ said Luca, changing tack.
‘Before you meet my family. It’s a calming place. I don’t want you to be nervous.’
‘I’m meeting a bunch of werewolves,’ I said half smiling. ‘What’s to be nervous about?’
Luca chuckled and as he turned to look at me I saw how his green eyes danced. When he laughed his normally serious face lit up. It jolted something inside me.
I smiled back at him, then looked up at the pale-blue sky.
‘Shouldn’t we get going?’ I said.
‘Yep.’ Luca got to his feet and held out his hand to help me up. ‘Particularly since we are going the slow way.’ He noticed my puzzled face and added, ‘We’re walking.’
Luca and I walked for miles, but he held my hand all the way and I found we were moving briskly, covering the distance quickly. We crossed a vast field of rape and came to a stony path, and then a pretty gate, covered in wisteria. Luca stopped in front of it.
‘The south is divided from the north by a vast river. Northerners pay a toll to cross the bridge into the southern region. We also have to apply to cross over first. My father hates filling in forms. And as I said, his memory is not good. Neither he nor my mother will question you too closely on your family.’
‘OK.’ I nodded. ‘Good to know.’
He pushed through the gate and we walked up a wide gravel drive of sorts, flanked by apple trees. Ahead of me, I saw the front of a large old cottage. It was idyllic.
I felt a mixture of nerves and excitement, and behind that a kind of acceptance. I didn’t feel like a stranger in a strange world. I felt somehow at home.
We reached the front door and Luca turned.
‘Ready?’ he said, touching my sleeve.
‘Ready.’
‘Ulfred! They’re here!’ a familiar voice shrieked. Dalya, her dark hair falling to her waist, stood in front of us. Her eyes travelled up and down me.
‘What is she wearing?’ she whispered rudely to Luca.
‘ “She” is standing right here,’ said Luca, cuffing her lightly on the shoulder.
‘Luca?’ I looked over Dalya’s head to see a tall woman with short, dark hair coming towards us. She wore a long, silky-looking shift dress with what looked like a piece of hewn leather around her waist as a belt. On her feet she wore elegant suede moccasins. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were dark like Luca’s and Dalya’s. She craned her head as she came nearer, gently placing her hands on Dalya’s shoulders to move her to one side.
Up close, I saw she had silvery-grey streaks at her hairline. And her eyes, a rich hazel-brown, were almond-shaped. She was beautiful.
‘Hello,’ she said, extending her hand. ‘My name is Henora. You must be Jane?’ She glanced briefly at Luca, who looked a little tense. ‘I’m so pleased to meet you.’
‘Likewise,’ I said, then blushed. ‘I mean … I’ve heard so much about you.’ I didn’t dare look at Luca. so much about you.’ I didn’t dare look at Luca.
‘I have prepared some food,’ said Henora, turning and gesturing for us to follow her.
Dalya scampered past us and down a long corridor, at the end of which I saw a man, an older version of Luca, waiting in what had to be the kitchen.
‘My mother’s favourite flower is the lily,’ Luca whispered behind me. ‘And she doesn’t eat meat.’
I nodded subtly, wondering exactly how it worked out for a vegetarian werewolf at the full moon.
We walked through into a large but homely room, with rough-painted walls and a large window. A huge stove glowered in the corner and a pale wooden trestle table was set with wooden platters. There was no cutlery, but earthenware mugs next to a jug of water.
Luca’s doppelgänger stood placidly at one end of the table. He beamed from ear to ear.
‘Welcome Jane,’ he said, as Dalya clung on to his arm adoringly. He stepped closer to me, taking me in. ‘I am Ulfred. What a fine-looking girl.’ He leaned forward slightly. ‘Unusual.’
‘Jane is still wearing her workwear,’ said Luca, not looking at me. ‘She came straight from her father’s farm.’
I nodded, my mouth frozen in a clueless grin.
‘Good girl,’ said Henora approvingly. ‘Family loyalty and a strong work ethic. So encouraging to see it in the younger ones.’ She gave Luca a wry look and turned to attend to a pot on the stove.
I stole a baffled glance at Luca, but he wisely refused to meet it.
‘I do what I can,’ I found myself saying. ‘I apologise for not being smarter.’
‘With beauty like that, I hardly think it matters,’ said Ulfred, winking at Luca. ‘How is it down south, Jane? It is so long since we have visited our cousins.’
I stared hard at him, groping for the correct answer. ‘They are well,’ I said at last. ‘Getting on with things … you know.’
Ulfred nodded, seemingly satisfied with my response. He bent down and planted a large kiss on Dalya’s cheek.
‘I must get over to see them more often,’ he said, straightening up. ‘Before I entirely lose track of my relatives.’ He studied me. ‘You know you don’t have the look of the Hunter about you, Jane. You have a more rounded face than is customary … heart-shaped … and bigger eyes. Grey, too … rather unusual.’
I held my breath for a second, wondering if I had just been busted. How stupid. Dogs generally don’t have grey eyes. Cats, maybe. I swallowed. And dogs were not known for their friendliness to cats. Let alone this bunch of alpha canines. I waited for the penny to drop.
But Ulfred’s attention was elsewhere now, he tousled Dalya’s hair and asked his wife if he could help her with anything.
Luca took the opportunity to flash me an encouraging smile, but I felt nervous, my mind beginning
to race with the potential for all of this to go horribly wrong.
The sound of the main door banging made us all turn to see a boy of around fourteen striding noisily down the hall.
‘Lowe.’ Henora shook her head, a small smile on her lips, defying the firmness in her voice. ‘Late … as ever.’
The boy walked through into the kitchen. Like Luca, he was slender, with the same delicate features, but his hair was lighter, curling slightly and he had Dalya’s deep brown eyes. He started taking his boots off, his eyes on me as he spoke to his mother.
‘Cadmium had me hacking down the hedges inside the palace gates,’ he said. His voice, not quite broken yet, was husky and a little petulant.
Henora smiled. ‘This is Lowe,’ she said turning to me. ‘He has spent the morning at the Celestial Palace, preparing the grounds for the Great Ball …’ She glanced quickly at Luca. ‘He could have done with some help you know, Luca.’
Luca grunted, watching as his younger brother tapped mud from his boots on to the stone floor.
‘I had other plans today,’ he said calmly. But for the first time I detected a slight edge to his voice. ‘And you know I’m not much good at manual work.’
Lowe gave a short laugh and slapped Luca lightly on the shoulder. ‘Not much good, or not much interested?’ he said jovially before turning to Henora. ‘I like to do it, Mother. Luca is a delicate soul. You know that.’
Though some years younger than Luca, Lowe had the authoritative air of an older brother.
Henora smiled indulgently at him, before moving back to the stove.
Ulfred came forward. ‘Introduce your guest, son,’ he said lightly.
‘Oh … yes.’ Luca flushed a little. ‘Lowe, this is Jane … My friend from the south.’ He glanced at me. ‘Jane, this is my little brother, Lowe.’
Lowe and I nodded in greeting and I felt him appraising me, not very subtly.
‘Lucky Luca,’ he said slowly, coming closer. ‘She is wolf … I presume?’
‘Of course,’ Luca said. ‘What else would she be?’
Lowe shrugged. ‘I just don’t recognise her, that’s all.’
‘You don’t know everybody in the whole world,’ piped up Dalya, to my relief. There was something too clever about this boy.
‘True.’ Lowe’s eyes lingered only slightly on me before he turned to survey the table. ‘What’s for lunch, Henora? I’m hungry.’
‘Roasted vegetables and braised owl,’ she said, stirring something in a pot on the stove.
I blanched. Braised owl?
Luca nudged me gently. ‘It tastes like rabbit,’ he whispered. ‘If you’ve ever sampled that.’
I nodded. I had. I hadn’t liked it much either.
‘The meal is ready,’ said Henora. ‘Take your seats.’
Luca and I were sat side by side, while Lowe and Dalya briefly squabbled about their own seating.
‘I want to sit next to Ulfred,’ she whined.
‘Very well, brat,’ Lowe said sharply. ‘Have your own way. Again.’
‘Lowe,’ said Henora, ‘mind your temper.’ She frowned at him as he pulled his chair in roughly.
‘He’s all male,’ she told me, not without a hint of pride in her voice. ‘With the impatience that goes with it, too.’
‘Whereas Luca’s more like a girl,’ Dalya said idly. ‘I mean that in a nice way.’
‘Why thank you,’ said Luca, dryly, but he looked quite affectionately at his sister.
A bowl of something pale lurking under blackened vegetables in gravy was placed in front of me.
‘This looks delicious,’ I lied, prodding at a slimy pepper-like thing on top. There was still no cutlery anywhere on the table.
Henora handed bowls to everyone, putting only a heap of vegetables on her own plate.
‘We must go back to the physician soon, Hen,’ said Ulfred, gesturing at her food. ‘You will grow weak again if we run out of supplement.’
‘Oh don’t fuss, dear,’ said Henora. ‘I am perfectly well.’
‘Henora takes a pro-supplement,’ explained Luca. ‘Her red blood count suffers because she does not like meat.’
‘I will not eat my brothers and sisters,’ said Henora firmly. ‘That is why I go to the locked caves at full moon.’ She raised an eyebrow at her older son. ‘It has been thus since long before you were born, Luca …’ She turned to me. ‘And are you a meat-eater Jane?’
‘Uh … I am,’ I said, deciding not to elaborate. I suspected that the notion of killing and then eating an animal raw was far more alien to me than it was to Henora.
She nodded, accepting this. ‘I am a bit of an oddity, I admit.’ She sighed. ‘But I have very strong principles in that regard. And I won’t be shaken.’
The table fell quiet. No prizes for guessing who was the boss in this house, I thought, feeling wistful about my mother. She and Henora would get on like a house on fire.
Ulfred picked up a piece of meat with his fingers and tore at the flesh, his strong white teeth making short work of chewing. I was riveted by the sight. The others, I noticed, ate in a similar way. Of course. They were animals. Dalya bent forward and licked at the gravy on her bowl unselfconsciously. Her long tongue lapped like Bobby’s at his water dish.
As my eyes travelled around the table, I realised, blushing, that Lowe was regarding me with some amusement. When our eyes met he too lifted his food in his hand, attacking it hungrily. As a large piece of owl disappeared into his mouth, he wiped his chin showily with the back of his hand. His eyes had never left me.
Henora looked over at me, anxiously. ‘You don’t like your food, Jane?’ She gestured at my untouched food.
‘Of course.’ Understanding that years of mortal table manners would have to be dispensed with, I picked up a large chunk of meat and put the whole thing into my mouth, swallowing as fast as I could. At least this way I would not actually taste the owl on its way down to my stomach. I took a large drink of water and tried chewing on the next piece of meat, hoping that my inadequate teeth would not let me down.
As it turned out, eating like an animal was liberating. If I could just rid myself of my mother’s horrifed face, it was a sensible way to eat. Tearing at meat with your teeth – particularly when it is attached to bones – means that not a single morsel is wasted. My mother would approve of that at least.
‘I expect Luca has told you about the impending Great Ball, Jane?’ Ulfred changed the subject, pouring himself a glass of water. ‘You should come … I don’t think a southern wolf has attended for some time.’
‘Not for years,’ put in Henora. ‘Not since Tarn offended Celeste in the last quarter.’ She looked across at me. ‘You’ll know Tarn, of course. The Patriarch of the south.’ She sighed. ‘He has a temper on him worse than Lowe’s.’
Lowe widened his eyes in mock outrage.
‘And as you know,’ added Ulfred. ‘Celeste abhors all forms of aggression.’
‘Oh yes,’ I said, nudging Luca’s foot with mine under the table. We were heading for deep water, conversationally speaking, and any minute now my mortal ignorance would be revealed.
But Luca simply gave me a serene look in return.
‘Well, Celeste is the Queen,’ he said, helpfully. ‘Sort of. It is her duty to set an example.’
‘She didn’t do a very good job with her great-son,’ said Henora. ‘And where is he now?’
‘He’s locked up, isn’t he?’ said Lowe. ‘Raphael was incarcerated when he went on that rampage … About three years ago, I think.’ He turned to me. ‘He had a tantrum because the food was not served quickly enough. He tore through the palace and destroyed every piece of china and glass he could get his hands on …’
Lowe was clearly enjoying relating the story. I saw Luca looking a little impatient.
‘And his great-mother ordered him to be institutionalised,’ Lowe finished, taking an enormous portion of meat and vegetables. ‘Crazy.’
‘And we haven’t seen his father for de
cades.’ Henora sniffed. ‘Celeste’s handmaid is very tight-lipped about the matter, but there are only so many excuses one can make for a man who is supposedly the Legal Enforcer for the land.’
Legal Enforcer? Must be like a lawyer, or a judge or something, I thought, chewing on another chunk of grey meat, noting that owl was indeed as disgusting as rabbit.
‘I heard he went mad too.’ Lowe said. ‘Physicians couldn’t do anything for him.’ He looked around the table and settled on me. ‘And eventually he faded away.’
‘That’s just gossip.’ Ulfred looked disapprovingly at Lowe. ‘I met Gabe, he was a good man. It’s a tragedy if he has truly lost his mind.’
Dalya was observing all of us with a rapt expression.
‘He died,’ she said in a hoarse whisper. ‘I know that can happen if—’
‘Of course he didn’t die.’ Luca rolled his eyes. ‘Nobody dies here.’
Henora and Ulfred exchanged a strange look.
‘Who did you say your father was?’ Lowe asked me, casually.
‘Peto,’ Luca said before I could open my mouth. ‘He runs a farm … practically in the wilderness in Hallacre. Unlikely you’ll have met him … Or his family.’
‘Peto?’ Lowe narrowed his eyes, thinking. ‘No. I don’t believe I do know him. Must be as antisocial as you, Luca.’ He smiled wickedly at me. ‘I’m amazed my brother managed to strike up a conversation with you, Jane. He’s not known for his silver tongue.’
Lowe was a little obnoxious, I thought protectively.
‘Maybe he doesn’t feel there are many people worth talking to?’ I eyed the boy boldly over the rim of my mug.
Ulfred glanced from Luca to his brother and then to me, and gave a loud, good-natured laugh. ‘Now, children,’ he said, then, winking at me, ‘behave.’
‘Don’t mind Lowe,’ said Henora. ‘He likes to stir up trouble.’ She cuffed her younger son gently over the head. ‘And he loves his brother really.’
I smiled, but the friction between Luca and his brother had not passed me by.
Dalya was not the only troublemaker in this family.
After lunch Henora ordered us all out into the garden while she made fresh mint tea. ‘Excellent for the digestion,’ she said, picking a handful of mint from a flowerbed by the back door and going back inside. Ulfred muttered something about visiting an elderly neighbour and disappeared.