Werewolf Parallel by Roy Gill Read Free Book Online Page A

lights flickered, and for a moment the
tackata-tackata
sound of the train’s progressseemed to falter. The stone kitten yowled and darted to the far end of the carriage.
    “Ah yes. The girl whose brain and body are different ages… even if her mind is fast catching up,” the first voice mused. The second continued in harsher tones, “She should take care her mouth doesn’t run away with her. We could so easily
show her the door
.”
    One of the carriage windows faded, the glass being replaced by plain wooden boards and a dented brass handle. Its outline narrowed then stretched downwards until it reached the floor. The newly formed door creaked ajar, letting in cold damp-smelling air.
    “An exit.” Janus poured dark red liquid into the goblets. “If you want.”
    “Eve, be careful,” Cameron urged. He eyed the doorway, wondering which sinister daemonic dimension it might lead to. “Don’t annoy the, um, God. You don’t know what he can do…”
    “I can fight my own battles, thank you.” She marched up to the tall figure in the toga and inclined her head. “Forgive me, Janus. I didn’t mean to be impatient –”
    “But you are impatient, aren’t you?” The train shook as the wheels skipped another beat on the tracks. “Your friends carry the symbols of my wardship and my debt – they have rights. What about you?”
    “Me? I’m just along for the ride… No, that’s not correct. I’m…” Eve’s brow furrowed. “I’m here because I chose to be. Because my home is in danger too. I wanted to come.”
    “All journeys begin with a choice. Where you end up, what happens
en route
– that is less predictable. For you, at least.” Janus turned back to the room, a thin smile startingon his left face and spreading rightwards. He handed Eve a goblet from a cloth-covered tray. “We forgive your impudence. We have a certain… sympathy for your nature.” His right face continued, more gently, “It’s not easy to be more than one thing at once, is it? But it’s more common than you might think.”
    The atmosphere in the room seemed to clear as Janus put the tray down on the bench, and handed out two further goblets. Morgan sniffed at his dubiously.
    Cameron, who’d learned to be cautious accepting food and drink on the Parallel, waited a discrete interval before setting his down. “Janus, you seem to know exactly why we’re here –”
    “Past. Future. Insight.” Janus waved a hand. “What part of that don’t you understand?”
    “So I’m going to get straight to the point,” said Cameron. “Will you help?”
    “Replace the ward? No.” Janus leaned forward and whipped the cloth from the tray. A stone dagger nestled on a satin cushion. “Not unless you pay.”
    “Pay how?” said Cameron, acutely aware all eyes in the carriage were now fixed on the knife.
    “Well… what do you think such powerful magic would be worth?” Janus ran his finger along the blade, while the tongue in his left mouth described an equally languid route along his teeth. His right face gave Cameron a direct look. “Come now… I am a Roman God after all. You can’t ask for help without a sacrifice.”
    Cameron’s mouth twitched in disgust. “Me and Morgan – and Eve too – we’re good at finding things. Anything you want from the Human World or the Parallel, we’re the guys who could get it. But not that. I’dnever hurt anyone.” He stood up and beckoned to his friends. “We shouldn’t have come.”
    “Pity,” said Janus. “Your grandmother came better prepared.”
    Cameron closed his eyes. “I’m not her.”
    “You lack her courage.”
    “He really doesn’t,” said Morgan, moving to stand by Cameron’s side. “He’s just not barking mad.”
    “Where does the train stop?” Eve added brightly. “I think we should be going.”
    For a long moment there was only the clack of wheels on rails, then Janus clapped his hands and laughed. “But my dears! The journey isn’t over! There’s still