The Considine Curse Page 14

  ‘It’s not in our interests to kill the priest,’ says Lily.

  ‘I’m interested in it,’ replies Oberon. ‘But first let’s have a look at this beautiful creature.’

  He is talking about me. My cousins approach.

  Freddie smiles. ‘How is this possible?’

  ‘Grandad had the gene,’ says Lily.

  ‘Another member for our pack,’ says Freddie.

  ‘Mariel, we can have so much fun,’ says Amelia.

  ‘She’s from a different line. She should run alone,’ says Elspeth.

  ‘No. She is wounded. This is the sacrifice that will enable us to go full wolf,’ Oberon says.

  I feel my tissue and bone healing fast but it hurts and I can’t defend myself.

  ‘I think we can find someone better to feast on than her,’ says Freddie.

  Oberon swings round to face him. Freddie is crouching down. He has Father’s Gowlett’s gun. It looks awkward to hold but he is managing to point it at Oberon’s chest, his claw on the trigger.

  ‘Don’t be stupid, Freddie,’ says Oberon.

  ‘Don’t call me stupid,’ says Freddie.

  ‘Or what? You’ll shoot me?’

  ‘If I have to.’

  Oberon moves towards him threateningly. ‘Go on then,’ he says. ‘I dare you.’

  There is a loud bang and something hits my eye. I wipe it away and look at my paw. There is blood on it. Oberon is lying utterly still on his back. He’s dead. The hair that covers his body begins to vanish, sinking back into the pores of his skin quickly until he is a naked boy with a bloody hole in his chest.

  ‘What have you done?’ utters Father Gowlett.

  ‘You’ve killed him,’ Elspeth says. There is no emotion in her voice.

  I feel no pity either. I understand what has happened but I don’t feel angry or upset. Finally the bullet drops out of my knee and my wound is able to heal over. I lick the blood off the bullet until it shines pleasingly in the moonlight. I stand on all fours. It feels like it’s the only way to stand. I look at Oberon’s dead body. Once I would have cared. Not now. Now, it is just another kill.

  ‘Don’t you understand what you’ve done? You’ve killed your own cousin,’ says Father Gowlett.

  I feel like laughing at the horror in his voice.

  ‘There’s no such thing as a bad kill,’ replies Freddie triumphantly.

  ‘It was you,’ says Father Gowlett, pointing at Freddie, his voice trembling with fear. ‘You killed Flora, didn’t you?’

  Freddie laughs. ‘I killed Ma’wolf and I killed Oberon.’ He turns to us. ‘Anyone else want to stand in my way of being the leader?’

  Elspeth sniggers. ‘The killer kills, because death must be fed, the killer kills till all are dead, the killer kills and so it’s said, that by the killer we all are led.’

  ‘But why?’ asks Father Gowlett.

  ‘Ambition to lead,’ replies Freddie. ‘That’s how it is with the wolf. Power is everything.’

  ‘And how are you going to explain this? Have you thought about that?’ demands Lily. She snarls at Freddie. I struggle to understand her anger.

  Freddie looks down at the gun, then up at Father Gowlett. ‘We’ll let the vicar go,’ he says.

  ‘How will that help?’ asks Amelia.

  ‘Oberon was shot by a bullet from Gowlett’s gun with his fingerprints on it.’

  ‘They can tell who has shot the gun?’ says Lily.

  ‘He did shoot the gun. He shot me,’ I say.

  ‘Exactly. And claws don’t leave prints,’ says Freddie.

  ‘You killed him. Not me,’ protests Father Gowlett.

  ‘Try explaining that to the police. Excuse me, officer, a werewolf did it.’ Freddie laughs.

  ‘I will tell the truth.’

  ‘So they’ll lock you up in a lunatic asylum rather than a prison. Now, I’m offering you your life. It’s the best offer you’ll get. I suggest you take it.’

  ‘Run or be killed,’ whispers Elspeth.

  Father Gowlett turns and runs full pelt down the hill.

  Freddie throws his head back and lets out a howl from the back of his throat that speaks to me in a wordless language that travels straight to my soul. It is like he’s calling me. He is channelling me. The others join in. The noise overwhelms me. It inspires me. It consumes me. It is beautiful and strong. I want to be a part of it. I want to be a part of them. I throw my head back and howl too. I feel at peace. Our howls harmonise with nature. I stare at the moon and feel its power. It’s as though it is pouring into me, filling me up with its goodness and strength.

  I don’t know how long we howl for but we stop when Gerald arrives. He nudges Oberon’s lifeless body with his nose, confirming he is dead.

  ‘I killed him,’ says Freddie.

  Gerald looks at me, eyeing my wolf’s body.

  ‘How did this happen?’

  ‘Save your explanations,’ says Freddie. ‘We need to move quickly now. Where’s Madeleine?’

  ‘I took her home,’ replies Gerald. ‘The police were there. They must have come back and found us missing. I left her in one of the police cars. No one saw me.’

  ‘We need to return to our houses,’ says Amelia.

  ‘It’s too late for that,’ says Elspeth. ‘Soon they’ll come looking for us.’

  ‘They’ll have called the others,’ says Lily. ‘Even if we blame Father Gowlett for Oberon’s death, what would we give as our reason for coming out at night? They’ll separate us.’

  ‘It’s time,’ whispers Elspeth excitedly.

  ‘What does our new leader say?’ asks Lily.

  Freddie looks at each one of us in turn. He paces, deep in thought. I know what he is thinking and I know what I want him to say. Finally he speaks. ‘I am your leader and tonight I will lead you to completion, then we will find new places to run where we will be safe and free and wild.’

  ‘It’s time,’ says Elspeth again.

  ‘We have no choice,’ says Freddie. ‘Tonight we go full wolf.’

  ‘I agree. It’s the only option,’ says Gerald.

  ‘Me too,’ says Amelia.

  Lily takes the longest to answer but eventually she nods and says, ‘Full wolf.’

  ‘We change no more, no more life’s lie, no weak human hearts, we’re wolves till we die,’ says Elspeth.

  ‘What about you, Mariel?’ says Freddie.

  My leg is totally healed now. I feel strong and powerful. Kill kill kill, says the voice. I try to remember my life before the change. I try to remember when life was just Mum and me living in Australia. It doesn’t seem real to me any more. Kill kill kill, says the voice. I understand that if I choose this life, my mother will spend the rest of hers wondering what happened to me. I will never kiss a boy or go to university or get a job or get married. But the life before me, in the light of the full moon, seems richer and more exciting than anything else I could choose.

  If I go back, I will live each day as a lie. A vegetarian by day, a carnivore by night. I would be torn apart by the two voices. My human self would fear my wolf side. The wolf would despise the human.

  ‘Choose,’ urges Elspeth.

  There are two paths before me. One is full of lies and self-loathing. The other is pure, honest and instinctive. My life has always been lies. I breathe the cold winter air into my lungs and feel the reality of what is about to happen. To live life pretending these feelings don’t exist is unbearable. There really is only one answer.

  ‘Full wolf,’ I say.

  We all stand over Oberon’s dead body. The ground around him has reddened from his blood.

  We all know what we must do. My mouth waters in anticipation of the flesh. I look from cousin to cousin, from wolf to wolf. There is no doubt left. We lower our heads and open our jaws to sink our teeth into Oberon’s flesh.

  When we are finished, Freddie howls and runs into the woods. We follow. He knows where to take us. He will keep us safe.

  Finally I am some
where I belong.

  Happily I run with the pack.

  Also by Gareth P. Jones

  The Thornthwaite Inheritance

  Space Crime Conspiracy

  The Dragon Detective Agency series:

  The Case of the Missing Cats

  The Case of the Wayward Professor

  The Case of the Vanished Sea Dragon

  The Case of the Stolen Film

  Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Berlin, New York and Sydney

  First published in Great Britain in August 2011

  by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

  36 Soho Square, London, W1D 3QY

  This electronic edition published in 2011 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

  Copyright © Gareth P. Jones 2011

  The moral right of the author has been asserted

  All rights reserved

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  may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  ISBN 9781408813409

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