their tickets. Kalix was looking forward to seeing the film and felt more enthusiasm for this than any other part of the birthday celebration. There had been times in Kalix’s lonely past when her two tapes of the band were all she had for company. She still loved the Runaways. When she’d learned that the band had never been all that successful, she’d felt quite angry about it and taken it as proof of the world’s stupidity. According to Daniel, who was obsessively knowledgeable about music, the film was part of a process that had seen the band’s reputation grow since their demise in 1980.
Why did people not like them till now? she wondered.
Vex jumped onto Kalix’s bed. “I can’t wait till our birthday! I’ve never been so excited! I’m the most excited a person can be! Unless there was some exciting news about Tokyo Top Pop Boom Boom Girl! Then I’d be even more excited!”
Tokyo Top Pop Boom Boom Girl was Vex’s favorite Japanese cartoon. She was a fanatical devotee.
“I don’t think you could take any more excitement,” said Kalix.
Daniel put his head through the open door. “Hey, Vex, did you know there’s a new spin-off from Tokyo Top Pop Boom Boom Girl?”
Vex gasped, and then fell over. She lay on the floor, panting.
“Now you’ve got her overexcited,” said Kalix, helping her back onto the bed. It took a few minutes before Vex could speak again.
“What’s the spin-off?” she asked.
“Tokyo Top Pop Boom Boom Girl has a sister—Nagasaki Night Fight Boom Boom Girl. She’s getting her own series.”
Vex squawked loudly, and fell on the bed in a faint again. Kalix looked at Daniel.
“You have to stop doing this.”
“But I thought she’d want to know.”
Moonglow appeared in the room. “What’s all the noise?”
“Vex is overexcited because Daniel told her about a new Boom Boom Girl cartoon,” explained Kalix.
“Daniel, you need to be more careful. Look, Vex’s fingers are starting to glow.”
The Fire Elementals were in complete control of the element of fire. Apart from Vex, who wasn’t very good at it. She revived again, and grinned.
“I never knew Tokyo Top Boom Boom Girl had a sister. Did you know?”
“I think the sister just came along because the original is popular,” said Daniel. “They wanted to make a spin-off.”
“When does it start?”
“Next week,” said Daniel.
Vex fell over in a faint for the third time. Kalix, Moonglow and Daniel looked at her prone figure, as did the cat, who chose this moment to wander into the room.
“If you have any more Japanese anime news, break it to her gently,” suggested Moonglow. “Otherwise she’ll never be conscious again.”
Daniel nodded. “Lucky I never showed her the pictures.”
“I want to see the pictures,” came Vex’s voice, faint but still excited.
Mr. Carmichael sat alone at the table that dominated his office, an elegant piece from the Georgian era. There was a smaller table, also Georgian, in the corner of the room, and four antique chairs, all of which gave his office the appearance of a room which contained too much furniture. It was a common feature of the Guild’s headquarters. The Avenaris Guild had been in existence for a very long time, and its headquarters was filled with old and valuable antiques, mostly Queen Anne and Georgian, with a few pieces from the Regency. Though the mahogany and walnut chairs, tables and cabinets now existed alongside computers and filing cabinets, the abundance of antique furniture still gave the offices an air of antiquity and opulence, and a slight aura of gloom.
If the Guild’s furnishings were old, the Guild had finally brought its security into line with modern practices. The London headquarters of the Avenaris Guild was extremely well hidden. Mr. Carmichael had recently used some of the Guild’s new wealth to boost its defenses, and the board was now confident that its headquarters could not be discovered, by magic, cyber-espionage or any other means.
It was disturbing, therefore, to look up and find a woman he didn’t recognize sitting in the chair opposite him, apparently flickering in and out of existence. As the woman came into focus, she frowned.
“Odd,” she said. “I can’t seem to materialize properly.”
Mr. Carmichael frowned in turn. “You shouldn’t be able to materialize at all.”
The woman became solid for a few seconds. She was still frowning. “Empress Kabachetka believed she could send me straight here.”
“Ah.” Carmichael nodded. “Kabachetka. That explains how you knew our location.”
Kabachetka was an ally of sorts. She’d lent assistance to the Guild’s hunters in the past, notably Captain Easterly. Not that the affair had ended well: Easterly was dead and sorely missed.
“Turn off your defenses and allow me to materialize properly,” said the woman.
Mr. Carmichael shook his head. “I can’t. It’s a permanent feature. If you redirect your teleportation to the front door, I’ll have security let you in. Who are you, by the way?”
“Distikka. Emissary from the Empress. Kabachetka sends greetings and wonders if her greatly increased power might help you destroy the MacRinnalchs.”
The woman slipped out of existence again, and this time she didn’t reappear. After a few moments, Mr. Carmichael’s intercom buzzed, and security at the front of the building informed him there was a woman outside, asking to see him.
“Send her up,” replied Mr. Carmichael. He was interested to hear what Distikka had to say. Since the money from the late Countess of Nottingham had been transferred into the Guild’s bank accounts, Mr. Carmichael had had the feeling that things were finally turning in his favor. Only a few weeks ago, he’d wondered how the Guild was ever going to make progress against the werewolves. Now, plans were being made. There was a list of possible targets. Top of the list was Kalix MacRinnalch. Information on important werewolves was hard to come by, but the Guild knew quite a lot about Kalix. They’d encountered her several times and knew all about her savagery. They also knew she was an outcast, living in London, far from the support of her Scottish clan. Mr. Carmichael had developed a particular obsession with Kalix. She was an important werewolf: daughter of the old Thane and sister to the new one. She was strongly suspected of killing Captain Easterly, and possibly Albermarle as well. Not only that, she’d killed hunters here in London, right under the noses of the Guild. Kalix was a werewolf who had to be eliminated.
Despite the information the Guild held on Kalix, there was no clue as to where she might live. The Guild had been unable to track her down. For some reason, she was extremely difficult to find. It was partly for this reason that Mr. Carmichael had come under pressure. His failure to deal with her had not gone down well with the rest of the board.
Perhaps she won’t be so hard to find with Kabachetka’s help, thought the chairman.
Distikka arrived in his office in the company of two security guards. Mr. Carmichael greeted her and dismissed the guards. He was surprised at Distikka’s appearance. It was unusual to meet a person wearing chain mail these days, though for all he knew it might be normal among the Fire Elementals.
“That was inconvenient,” said Distikka brusquely. “Though it’s no bad thing your defenses are working well.”
Distikka leaned over the desk. She was a small woman, with a dark brown complexion, short dark hair and an air of intense concentration.
“There