Beauty and the Werewolf Read online

  Once again, Bella felt her throat close at the memory of her father’s haggard face. “I don’t understand. I don’t understand any of this! What do you mean by my father’s duty? Why are you keeping this so secret? It’s not as if Sebastian and I are important. You could just—” she waved her hands vaguely “—put us on an island or a deserted tower in inaccessible mountains or something. If you’d done that in the first place with Sebastian, none of this ever would have happened to me, and I would be back at home right this moment!“ She couldn’t help herself; there was accusation in her voice and she wasn’t going to apologize for it, either. If Sebastian had been put somewhere where it wouldn’t matter if he escaped confinement, she would be at home, safe, right this minute.

  “Such places are harder to come by than you might think,” the Godmother said, dryly. “Adventurers have this habit of stumbling on them. But that is not why we are trying to keep this from being generally known. The truth is, we do not dare do anything that will attract attention to Duke Sebastian or his condition, and relocating him most certainly would have. We face a dreadful unknown here, one with potentially devastating implications. Sebastian was not changed by any means that I, nor any other Godmother, have ever heard of.”

  “Wait—what?” Bella replied. Sebastian had already told her this, of course, but she hadn’t altogether believed him. He might be a sorcerer, but he wasn’t all that old, and he seemed to be pretty much self-taught. He could scarcely be expected to know as much as, say, a Godmother. But for the Godmother to admit that there was some sort of magic at work that she didn’t recognize—

  Well, that meant that there was something operating here that she couldn’t predict. And when the Godmother couldn’t predict something, it meant everyone was potentially in danger.

  “It is difficult, if not impossible, to separate his magic from the signs of someone or something else working magic on him,” Elena continued. “I will simply describe it as holding a lit candle between yourself and the sun, and trying to separate the light of the candle from the sunlight. So without knowing who or what the other worker of magic is, we cannot work out what was done to him. All we can do is eliminate things.”

  “Such as?” Bella asked, uncertainly.

  “He was never bitten by another were, which is the commonest form of the change. And contrary to popular belief, it is the easiest to cure, provided one has the sympathy of a Godmother. The bite of a were leaves a permanent scar, and one that is easy to recognize. Sebastian has no such scar.”

  “But—” Bella began.

  “I assure you, we did not simply leave it at that,” the Godmother continued. “It was possible he could have been infected by a very minor wound, and one that would leave so small a scar we wouldn’t recognize it. One of us even suggested a number of other implausible means of infection, so we assumed nothing. But despite vigorous searching, we never found another were, nor signs of one anywhere in the Redbuck Forest, nor within even the most pessimistic distance of the Redbuck Forest.”

  “Oh…” she said, and bit her lip. I really should know better than to question a Godmother….

  “That left us with two other common options. The first is that he was a terribly wicked person who died as a result of a specific curse on the part of one of his victims, was buried and returned as a were. Mind you, while I call this ‘common,’ it’s not, and has never been heard of in any of my Kingdoms, but it is known in others, and had to be considered. However, since he is not wicked, did not encounter the sort of shaman who would make that kind of curse and obviously did not die, that could not be the case.” The Godmother turned her head slightly, and looked at Bella again. Seeing her reaction? Probably. She seemed satisfied by it.

  “The second possibility was more likely than the first, since we already knew that he is a sorcerer. There is a specific spell which requires a belt of wolf skin that allows someone of sufficiently depraved character to physically become a wolf. I say ‘depraved,’ because part of the spell requires that the person first eat human flesh. As it happens, since we found no such belt, and he has transformed without any such belt, this also is obviously not the case.” Elena finished transplanting the seedlings, and dusted off her hands before looking back at Bella.

  “Haven’t I heard— I mean, I thought— Are there other ways?” she said, flailing a little, mentally.

  Elena nodded. “But all of them are less common than those three, and all of them were easily disproved. He didn’t drink water from a wolf footprint, he wasn’t born on the last moment of the winter solstice, he never ate the flesh or brain of a wild wolf, there is no magic pool that causes Transformation closer than a thousand leagues, he didn’t even know how to make the Transformation potions or salves, and he certainly never swore a pact with infernal forces in exchange for revenge. And none of those causes of Transformation has ever been known to occur within my Kingdoms. There is no explanation for what happened to Sebastian. He was a perfectly normal young man until one full moon he suddenly became a werewolf.”

  “I’m not sure what all this means,” Bella replied, feeling bewildered. Elena was getting at something, but what was it? She felt as if she must be missing something.

  Fortunately, Elena didn’t take this amiss, and seemed to be perfectly happy to explain. “This means either he was cursed by someone untrained, but extremely powerful, someone we have not been able to find, or there is another way to make someone into a were-beast, one that none of us have been able to determine. It is also a means that can be worked, without detection, on someone who was relatively closely watched because he was the heir to a noble household. Now, can you see where that places us?”

  Bella’s mind went blank for a moment, then began racing. She had always had a particularly good imagination; that was one way in which she ensured against problems cropping up—or rather, was prepared for them when they did. And once the Godmother had pointed out the circumstances surrounding this—

  “If it can be done to Sebastian—it could be done to anyone,” she said, slowly, a feeling of slow horror dawning on her. “Anyone at all. The King—the Prince—”

  “Any King, any Prince, any General commanding an army in war. Any influential priest or other man regarded as holy. It might have taken a magician to create the means, but we are fairly certain it did not take a magician to place whatever brought the change about, which tells us that any ordinary agent could be used. And just imagine how devastating that could be,” the Godmother said gravely. “From your reputation and what your father has said of you, Isabella, you know history, and you are very good at making deductions. The potential for disaster is immense. Right now, we honestly don’t know if this is the result of a single disgruntled magician with a grudge against Sebastian’s family, a magical accident that can never be repeated again, a magical accident that will strike again, some sort of magical plague or someone trying out his new weapon. Until we know—well, we are trying to keep all the variables to a minimum and we have to assume this was the work of someone, or several someones, whose motives we do not know. And if this was the work of an outsider, we would rather that he didn’t know he was successful. Thus we are keeping it secret.”

  Bella digested all of this. It was hard to keep her own thoughts coherent, when they were running off in all directions, with all sorts of possible scenarios, but one emerged above all the others. “This is a lot bigger than just one Kingdom.”

  Elena nodded gravely. “Every Godmother in the Five Hundred Kingdoms knows about this and has been keeping in touch with me about it since Sebastian changed. So far there have been no other instances of werewolf change that could not be ascribed to the three common causes, or to circumstances peculiar to that particular Kingdom. But I have to add that we know of. It is possible that there is another like Sebastian running wild in some remote area who is smart enough to hide his condition and remote enough that he hasn’t drawn attention to himself with killing sprees. Since it has been five years since S
ebastian was infected, the situation has become less urgent, but is still no less dangerous.”

  “What does that mean for me?” she asked in a small voice.

  “It means that the odds of you being infected are lower than they might otherwise be,” the Godmother told her. “Yes, you were bitten, but so far as any of us can tell, the only weres that can create other weres with a bite, are the ones that were made that way themselves. But again, we don’t know. Not for certain. And with so much at stake, we can’t take the chance that we are wrong. That is why you must stay at Redbuck for three months, and be locked up safely for three full moons.”

  Bella brooded about this for a very long moment. “And if I am infected,” she asked, finally, “what then?”

  Elena looked at her levelly. “Then we can try cures we did not try on Sebastian, because I am relatively certain that you, unlike Sebastian, will agree to them. He did not feel enough urgency to take the chance with things that were so dangerous. He is by nature a shy and solitary young man, and as long as he is sure that he won’t hurt others, he doesn’t find being confined to Redbuck all that onerous. You, on the other hand, are of a different nature. If you discover you are infected, I think that you will take risks for a cure that he will not.”

  Bella simultaneously hated and admired the Godmother at that moment. Hated her for being so blunt and apparently unmoved by Bella’s plight and the desperation she was feeling. Admired her for telling the absolute truth without any attempts to make it sound like anything other than it was—a life-or-death risk.

  “And if these cures don’t work?” Bella continued. “If I’m still changing at the full moon when you run out of things to try?”

  “Provided you survive all the failed attempts, I believe we will be looking into the remote-island and deserted-castle possibilities,” the Godmother said—though her expression and tone of voice gave no indication that she actually expected Bella to live through too many attempts at a cure.

  Well. There it was. The very worst possible scenario, all laid out. And oddly, that actually made Bella feel a little, tiny bit better. She knew that the Godmother was actually actively working at solving this. She knew that she would be protected, if for no other reason than to serve as someone that dangerous cures could be tested on. At least there would be no mobs with torches and pitchforks in her future.

  “Now to be fair, again, I personally do not think you are infected,” Elena continued. “By logical deduction, your odds are very good.”

  Bella considered that, and then suddenly remembered what Sapphire had said to her, which now seemed even more important. “Did anyone tell you that Sebastian’s servants, some of them, anyway, are talking with me?” At the Godmother’s incredulously raised eyebrow, she hastily amended that. “Not talking actually, writing to me on a slate.”

  “Very interesting. They had not. And what did they say?” The eyebrow was down, but the Godmother leaned forward, intrigued.

  “They’ve mostly been telling me about the situation here, but one of them told me that I shouldn’t be unhappy because I wouldn’t change. Then it said that they would keep me from changing. Or protect me from whatever had changed Sebastian.” She leaned back, waiting to see how that particular dropped hornet’s nest would affect the Godmother. “Oh, really.” The Godmother was clearly struck forcibly by these revelations. “Now, isn’t that interesting… I would wager that when you pressed it for further information, it told you that it could not give you any—yes?”

  “Exactly.” She nodded vigorously. “Which makes me think they know something and are being prevented from telling anyone.”

  The Godmother nodded agreement. “And that argues for it being the work of a particular magician. And the fact that the invisibles know what happened, yet are being kept from telling… Hmm.” She fell silent for a very long time, then said, “This may be the most valuable thing that I have learned since Sebastian was changed. It certainly gives me a new line of investigation to pursue. Especially since they told you that they can keep you from being changed.” She pursed her lips. “Don’t tell anyone else, please. Not even Sebastian. Especially not Sebastian. I do not for a moment suspect him of lying to us but this suggests that whoever did this to him may still be about, and Sebastian might inadvertently let fall that the invisibles know about him. I would not like to see them harmed.”

  Bella shook her head. “Nor would I. They have been very good to me.”

  Again the Godmother raised her eyebrow. “Have they, now? Another interesting development.” She again pursed her lips in thought. “Well, this changes things. I will need to consult with—well, quite a number of sources. Before I dismiss this spell, is there anything more you would like from me?”

  Bella hesitated a moment. “I was going to ask if I could talk to my father….”

  The Godmother gave her a long and penetrating stare. “Do you really think that would be a good idea?” she asked.

  Bella sighed. “Not really,” she admitted. “All we would do is try to pretend we are being brave and fail terribly and make each other miserable. I’d like to write to him, but how would I get the letters to him?”

  Now the Godmother smiled. “Oh, well, if that is your only concern, I can easily arrange that. Give me a day or two.”

  “You can?” For the first time since all this began, she actually felt like smiling. “You really can?”

  Elena laughed. “Of course I can! I am a Godmother! And this sort of communication is very Trad—is not that difficult for a Godmother to arrange.”

  “I think it will make a world of difference to both of us,” Bella told her, gratefully. “And please…I do understand now why you have done what you have done. I can’t see that I would have made any different choices, or that I could have. It must be awful for you.” She wasn’t sure why she had added that last, but she knew when she said it that it was both true, and the right thing to say.

  “Thank you for being so understanding.” Elena sighed, and for a moment, looked very sad. “You are correct. It is often very difficult to be a Godmother. Most of us are only human, and far too often our only choices are between bad and worse, and no matter what we do, someone is going to suffer.”

  “Is there anything I can do?” Bella asked hesitantly.

  “You can keep talking to your invisibles,” the Godmother said immediately. “They might be able to drop you some hints. And if you get anything, no matter how insignificant it seems, tell me or my Mirror Servant immediately.”

  “I can do that,” she promised, although she really hoped she would not have to speak too often to that uncanny face.

  “Very well, then. My dear Alex and I do have other issues to deal with, but I hope you will keep in mind that we have not forgotten you even if we might not have answers for you quickly.” The faint smile when Elena said “dear Alex” gave Isabella the tiniest twinge of jealousy. She knew who “Alex” was—the Godmother’s Champion and also her husband. To be a Godmother with all that power and to have a truly beloved partner seemed…a little unfair.

  Don’t be ridiculous. She probably earns it twenty times over.

  “Take care, Isabella. And be ready for my next gift very soon.” The mirror fogged over, and the Godmother was gone.

  8

  BELLA SUCCESSFULLY RESISTED THE TEMPTATION TO SIT and look into the mirror for the rest of the afternoon. Instead, she decided to follow the Godmother’s orders—they couldn’t be called “advice,” given how they were delivered—and find out as much as she could about the invisibles.

  One thing was certain—the Godmother knew something about these creatures, and what Bella had told her had taken her completely by surprise. For a Godmother to be surprised, something quite unusual was going on.

  I suppose they could be dangerous, she mused. But then, anything can be dangerous. They must like me, since they said they would protect me. Or they could be lying, of course, but it didn’t seem as if the Godmother had any suspicion of that,
and all of Bella’s instincts told her that the invisibles were to be trusted. So since the most forthcoming seemed to be Sapphire, that was who she focused on.

  She wasn’t going to be foolish, however. She would try and make her inquiries casual, and put no pressure at all on the creature. If Sapphire answered a question, all well and good. If she didn’t, Bella would let it drop for now.

  After she unlocked her door and put the mirror away, she was pretty certain that rummaging through her closet would make Sapphire appear, especially when she began taking things out and laying them on the bed. The servant seemed very…proprietary…about Bella’s wardrobe. And Bella had gotten the impression that Sapphire would have been better pleased if her “charge” liked to change her clothing two and three times a day, as Genevieve did.

  Sure enough, she hadn’t gotten more than a gown and two skirts out when her door opened and the blue ribbon appeared, bobbing toward her in what looked like an agitated manner. One of the skirts lifted off the bed, as Sapphire attempted to return it to the closet.

  Bella held out a hand, preventing her. “I really do not like these things at all, Sapphire,” she said, frowning at them. “They don’t suit me. I don’t really like this gown much, either. I’d rather be rid of them.”

  The ribbon fled toward the little dressing table and returned with the slate and chalk. “Y not?” was scribbled on the surface. “V prity. V V prity.” The words were erased and others took their place. “U r v prity, shud wer prity things.” Aha. Sapphire did disapprove of her wardrobe choices! Poor Sapphire, if only she’d had Amber and Pearl to dress. I must be a terrible disappointment for her.

  This put paid to any fears she still had about the nature of this one of the servants, at least. Here was a creature who understood and adored female fashions, whose heart, invisible though it might be, fluttered at the sight of ruffles and lace. Whatever else she was, Sapphire was no different than Marguerite, the twins’ maid, whose heart broke every time Bella put on one of the severely plain gowns she preferred, and who nearly went wild with happiness when Bella brought her back a frivolous little bit of frippery from the warehouse for her very own.