by Jayne Lyons
'And so the Fangen believe.' Dougal nodded and laughed a little at Freddy's stunned expression. 'Oh aye, I knew about you, wee pup, from the first moment I smelt you.'
Freddy was a little worried that his true nature could be uncovered so easily.
'Dinnae fret, lad, only a wulver could tell.'
'But how can you transform without the full moon?'
'A wulver needs only one beam of moonlight, for our Transwolfation is not total, as you saw.'
'Cool!' Freddy said. How wonderful to be a wolf on so many more nights. Then Freddy remembered his manners. 'Thanks for saving us from the Baa-Van last night.'
'No problem. But has she seen your eyes, laddie?' Dougal looked at him closely.
'Yes,' Freddy admitted.
'That's bad.' Dougal frowned.
'Twice,' Freddy croaked.
'That's worse.'
'Oooh.' Freddy's stomach hurt a little. 'Why?'
'Because she won't stop now until she finds you. You cannot escape this place; not by car, horse or helicopter – certainly not by running. She'll see you, and her magic will bring you down. Then you'll join her for all eternity, in her endless roaming on the winds, searching for another soul to capture.'
'Okay . . . I just wanted to be a fireman, but I guess I could change my plans,' Freddy said, gulping. 'What about you – aren't you scared of her?'
'Aye, of course I am; she's my wife.'
'Your wife?' Freddy roared. 'But I thought she was a blood-sucking witch demon.'
'Oh aye, but she's a good girl at heart, just gets a wee bit upset sometimes.'
'So she won't really suck my blood?' Freddy said, relieved.
'Aye, given half a chance,' Dougal confirmed cheerfully, 'but she means well.'
Freddy shook his head in disbelief. 'How – isn't she evil?'
'Not at all, she just doesn't know any different. I am the guardian of the moors, here to protect her and the humans, just as I have for the last thousand years. We are the last of our kind, and I will see no harm done to the Baa-Van Shee.' Dougal stood up.
'And what about me?'
'You need to leave here, and in a disguise so perfect that not even the Baa-Van will track you down,' said the gardener, looking out across the hills. 'Once you're off the moors, she has no power.'
'I'm not going dressed as Prince Charming!' Freddy declared.
'No, you must transform.' Dougal stared at him. 'It's the only way.'
'But I can't, not until the full moon,' Freddy cried. 'What if she comes for me?'
'Stay inside after dark and always keep the horseshoe with you. My sweet lassie cannot bear iron.'
'Oh, great!' Freddy groaned. '"Sweet lassie"?' he muttered as he walked away. The world seemed to have gone mad.
Mushy peas and green salad for lunch. Need more be said?
At afternoon break, Freddy was staring at the moors with his chin in his hands. His lips had remained totally off limits during the previous class.
'Chocolate-o'clock!' Ginger plonked down next to him.
'You're my hero!' Freddy told her and scoffed the treat down in one gulp.
'You eat just like my wee doggie,' Ginger laughed.
'I eat like a wolf,' Freddy corrected her. 'What's its name?'
'Jo-Jo Labradog,' Ginger said. 'I really miss him. Do you have a doggie?'
'Yes. Well, I don't own her – she's my friend.' He thought of Batty and blushed, reminded again of the way he had pushed her aside. 'That is, she was my friend.'
'Woof!'
'That sounds exactly like her.' Freddy sighed and stared into the distance.
'What does she look like?' Ginger asked.
'Oh, really pretty. Kind of a collie, but a mongrel with long black-and-white hair.' Freddy said, looking at his feet.
'Woof!'
'You're so good at that!' Freddy smiled sadly. 'But it only makes me miss her more. I don't know when I'll see her again.'
'Try right now!' Ginger laughed.
'What?' Freddy turned and looked to where she was pointing. 'Batty!' he cried and jumped up.
'Woof!' The mongrel jumped at him, knocked him to the ground, and licked his face.
'How did you get here?' Freddy cried, hugging her.
'Woof!'
Batty tried to explain, but Freddy understood three signs only.
Home – danger – quick.
Freddy, Ginger and Batty were huddled in Dougal's shed. Ginger's eyebrows kept flying high as she listened to the unlikely story.
'My pack is in danger. I must get home as soon as I can,' Freddy said urgently, 'and without Madam, or Priscilla, or my cousins telling – or else Chester will shoot my dad!'
'But you can't escape until the full moon,' Ginger reminded him. 'You have to transwimpate first, or the Baa-Van will get you.'
'Trans-wolf-ate,' Freddy corrected her. 'But I can't wait until then. I'll have to risk it.' Freddy shook his head. 'I go tonight.'
'No, no! My sweet girl will tear your heart from your body.' Dougal frowned. 'There is another way – only dangerous . . .'
'Not as dangerous as staying.' Freddy shuddered, thinking of the kissing to come.
'You could transwolfate tonight –' Dougal began.
'But that's impossible,' Freddy shook his head. 'The moon isn't –'
'Not impossible – not with the juice of a Blavendoch.' Dougal opened a cupboard and held up a tiny crystal bottle. It looked as if it was filled with blood.
'The flower only blooms under the beams of the full moon, where a wolf's blood has been spilt.'
'But whose blood . . .?' Freddy's voice trailed away as he saw vampire marks on the old man's outstretched wrists.
'A result of having a bloodsucking fairy witch for a wife.' The old man laughed wheezily. 'She dinnae get angry with me more than once a century but when she does, my, her tongue is sharp.'
'But what can it do?' Freddy asked, holding the bottle. 'Whoops!' He dropped it to the ground and it clattered over the stone floor. Everyone held their breath. Miraculously the bottle didn't break.
'It wasn't me!' Freddy gasped.
'Fool of a boy,' Dougal growled and snatched up the precious bottle.
'Swallow one drop of this juice, under the beams of the moon, and you will transwolfate – only . . .'
'Only what?' Freddy urged.
'The magic of the Blavendoch is as powerful as the Moonstone, but darker, easily misunderstood and misused. It is a magic born of destruction, not creation.' The old man's voice lowered to a hiss of warning. 'There can be side effects.' He raised a hairy eyebrow.
'Oh! Like what?' Ginger pulled a face of excited dread. This was scary, yet fun.
'Well, you can't be sure how long you will remain as a wolf . . . It could be hours, or weeks, or . . . forever.' Dougal's blue eyes gleamed at them.
'That's no' so-ooo bad, is it?' Ginger said brightly.
Freddy grimaced. He couldn't be sure that he'd turn into a wolf in the first place. He didn't want to be Dripsy-Wimpsy for the rest of his life.
'What else?' Ginger clapped her hands.
'Things don't always transform as you expect them to. Things can get . . . rearranged!' the old man whispered and tapped his nose.
'What things?' Freddy croaked.
'All kinds of bits. You can never know how the magic will affect you.'
'Whoopie-do!' said Ginger. 'Magic!'
Freddy felt a little ill. He didn't want any of his bits rearranged.
Batty woofed and banged the floor with her paw.
Danger – home – quick.
'Oooh!' Freddy groaned, trying to summon his courage.
'Hey Frederick, Madam says you must come back and kiss Priscilla now!' came hideous Harriet's voice.
That made his mind up.
'Okay, I'll drink the juice tonight.' Anything was better than kissing that hateful girl.
'What about Madam and all the snitches and tattletales?' Ginger asked.
'The Plan Master kno
ws what to do!' Freddy grinned and gave her a wink. 'Cover for me. I have to visit the boot camp.'
Freddy raced into the dance studio, dripping with sweat, for he had run all the way.
'Zo glad you could join us, zir.' Madam smiled coldly. 'Ve are avaiting your final zcene!'
'No problemo!'
Freddy gave a mighty yet elegant leap across the room, saluting the ballerinas as he flew. They giggled and blushed as he landed on his tiptoes, his kilt swishing in a very heroic manner.
'Eeeww! He's sweaty,' Priscilla yelped.
Freddy ignored her and embraced her in his manly arms.
'At last!' Madam cried. 'Ze kizz!'
Freddy would do anything if it meant saving his werepack from danger. He gave an evil grin, showing his sharp teeth.
'Argh!' Priscilla screamed and pulled away. 'It's disgusting!'
'Yez, of course, it iz a boy – but you must kizz it anyvay.'
Priscilla fell onto the floor with a very ungraceful clatter. 'No way.'
'What?' Freddy looked with big innocent eyes at the girls. 'Why?'
'A slug! He's got a slug!' Priscilla cried and jumped up.
'Charming must kizz Zinderella!' Madam slammed her stick and pushed up her spectacles.
'And I want to kiss the pwetty pwincess,' Freddy declared and leapt gracefully towards her once more.
'Oooh! Stay away.' Priscilla ran across the room.
'Kizzy-wizzy, kizzy-wizzy, Zinderella!' Freddy called. He again showed the slug between his teeth so that only Priscilla could see it. He held out his arms and minced over on his twinkle toes.
She gave a scream and ran from the room.
Madam looked after her in surprise.
With a secret spit, Freddy caught the slug and put it back in his pocket. The Plan Master! He truly had to congratulate himself on a job well done.
'Oh, I'll kiss him!' the ballerina playing one of the ugly sisters cried.
Before Freddy could react, she placed a big, wet kiss on his lips and ran back giggling to the line.
Poor old Freddy stood still with shock and horror. It was without doubt the worst moment of his life.
Sugar Smith stood outside Dreamy Daze Hospital wondering if she was doing the right thing. Dr Cripp's words kept coming back to her.
Help me escape . . . and I will give you the biggest story the world has ever known.
She walked to the gates – she had to do it.
'Hello, it's Sugar Smith,' she said into the intercom.
The nurse she had spoken to last time answered.
'I just had to warn you, I think Dr Cripp may be planning to escape.'
'Oh, Ms Smith, no-one has ever escaped from Dreamy Daze.' The nurse chuckled. 'And besides, he's completely harmless!' He pointed to the TV monitor and switched it to show inside Dr Cripp's cell.
'See . . .' His voice trailed away. The only thing in the cell was a balloon bobbing around with a crayon drawing of the hunter's face taped onto it.
'But that's not possible!' the nurse croaked. 'Where can he have gone?'
Sugar went cold. She knew exactly where the hunter was headed – to shoot the Black Wolf of Milford.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Another Blavendoch
As nightfall approached, Freddy lay on his mattress. He had still not recovered from his horrific experience. Eating the slug would have been better. He heard Vinny's secret signal outside and jumped into action.
'Operation Escape Tarot is go,' Freddy whispered dramatically and opened his door. He gave a low whistle and Ginger's head appeared above the railing at the top of the stairs.
'Got them!' She held up Madam's spectacles in triumph. 'She's fast asleep.'
'Spectaculous, my friend,' Freddy congratulated her. 'Let's go.'
They snuck out to the kitchen door. There stood Vinny and his friends, wearing camouflage and black face paint. They looked anxious in the growing gloom, because Vinny had told them about the bloodsuckingfairy- witch-creature-thing.
'Let's be quick then,' one muttered, 'before it gets dark.'
'Don't worry, it's me she wants. She's got good taste,' Freddy informed them.
'Wimp,' the boy scowled. 'I don't know why we're helping him.'
''Cos he saved my life.' Vinny squared up to him. 'And I want to be a dancer! This might be my only chance.'
The boys all looked at each other, looked back at Vinny glaring at them, and tried desperately not to laugh. Freddy was trying to hold in a laugh so big that it hurt his stomach.
'We'd better hurry, lads,' Ginger whispered, grinning. This was the best fun ever. 'This way.'
While Freddy walked with Vinny into the studio, Ginger led the other two boys into the outhouse. She then snuck upstairs and started having a loud whispered conversation with herself outside the twins' door.
'No, Freddy, I'm not hiding your sweeties for you!' she hissed.
'No, not your chocolate either.'
'How did you sneak it all in? There's enough to feed the whole school.'
'Okay, then – you hide it in the outhouse. I won't tell anyone.'
She hid behind a long curtain and waited for the magic to work. After a minute of muffled whispering, pushing and kicking, the door opened and the twin pink faces of Harriet and Chariot peeped out.
'Let's get them then.' Harriet pushed her brother out of the way.
'Ow,' he yelped, as she pinched him.
'Shush, dunderbrain,' she hissed. 'Hurry up.'
The Putrid Pair began to sneak down the stairs.
'Freddy-sicky is going to get a surprise,' Harriet sang under his breath, 'when we steal his sweeties.'
'He's not the only one,' Ginger sang to herself with a giggle. Then she sprinted down to the studio.
She burst in to find Vinny holding Freddy as he arched back gracefully, his arm over his head. Vinny pulled him up and Freddy skipped away elegantly.
'That's it, now Cinderella jumps into Charming's hands,' Freddy said as he sprinted around the room and flew into Vinny's arms.
'Oh, that's perfect, lads!' Ginger clapped. It was unbelievable how well Vinny danced.
'Thanks.' The big boy blushed with pride. 'The steps are quite easy to remember.'
Freddy wafted the air with his arm as he had seen Priscilla do.
'Then it's the kiss!' Ginger reminded them as Freddy pranced around the room once more.
Both boys stopped.
'No way!' they said together.
'Oh my word, what a magical moment. What a hero you are, Freddy Lupin.' Priscilla's snort of amusement came from the door. Everyone turned to see her looking as perfectly perfect as ever. She turned up her nose when she saw Vinny.
'I'm Cinderella and nobody else.' She glared at Freddy. 'Not you, mongrel.'
'Rather a mongrel than pure poison,' Freddy said. 'Anyway, I'm not Cinderella – I'm not a girl, am I. Ginger will be.' He pointed to Ginger, who stared at them all with big eyes.
'Clip-Clop?' Priscilla roared with laughter. 'As if she could ever take my place. I'm beautiful, I'm talented, I'm . . .'
'A right pain in the bum,' Vinny finished.
Priscilla's breath was taken away. How dare he!
'You get that big oaf out of here right now,' she ordered, 'or I'm calling Papa and you know what happens when I do! Argh!'
The sack was over her head before she knew what was happening.
'Come on, let's get out of here – we've got the other two,' Vinny's friend announced, throwing the struggling girl over his shoulder.
'Let me down!' came her muffled cry.
'Okay, lads, let's fly,' Vinny called. They all raced downstairs. There in the outhouse, two firmly tied sacks rolled around the floor.
'Oh, ha-ha-hardy-ha!' Freddy roared in triumph as he saw them. 'Not smiling now, are you, pink piggies?'
Harriet squealed in fury from inside the sack.
It was growing dark and all the boys were looking at the sky in concern.
'Thanks.' Freddy and Vinny
shook hands. 'I only need a day, so don't get into trouble.'
'We'll keep the snitches quiet as long as we can,' Vinny nodded. 'I'll be back in the morning to take your place, but . . .' He screwed his face up. 'Are you sure the old girl will fall for it?'
'Oh, yes,' Ginger nodded. 'She's totally blind without her glasses. Just stay out of mole hair reach.'
'Okay then. Good luck, sissy,' he called over his shoulder. The boys hefted the struggling bundles and headed back to boot camp.
'So far, so easy,' Freddy said, laughing.
'Do you really think I can be Cinderella?' Ginger said to him shyly. 'I'm nothing like Priscilla.'
'Nothing like!' Freddy agreed. 'You're much nicer than her. I usually hate girls but you're not as bad as the others. Oh!' He looked up at the sky. The half moon was just rising. 'Time to go.'
His stomach hurt a little with nerves, but there was no going back now.
'Hurry, lad, be quick!' Dougal urged. He was waiting with Batty in a clearing in the rhododendron bushes, far from prying eyes. Batty gave an urgent bark. Ginger grasped his sleeve as they all heard the distant laughter of the Baa-Van.
'She's coming.' The old man held out the crystal bottle. The deep red juice began to glitter and whirl under the light of moonbeams.
'Thanks everyone, I'll never forget you,' Freddy began to say.
'No time, Freddy, quick!' Ginger urged as the laughter became louder and more hysterical.
Freddy's neck was prickling with fright. He took a swift gulp of the fiery liquid.
'No, lad! A drop only! Oh no!' Dougal snatched the bottle back. 'What did I tell you?'
Freddy grasped at his throat as the liquid burned into his stomach. Ginger held her head as she watched his face wobble and distort as if made of plasticine. Batty ran around in a tight circle, whimpering.
Freddy fell to the floor with a groan. This did not feel like a normal Transwolfation, but rather as if his body were being pushed, pulled and shaped against its will. He yelped with pain and then lay gasping for breath on the grass. He had transformed. He looked at Ginger's face, frozen with shock.
'Oh, laddie, no!' Dougal shook his head with horror. 'You took too much, it's terrible. What have I done? Let's just pray it doesn't last too long. I have never seen so horrific a sight!'