Werelord Thal: A Renaissance Werewolf Tale (35 page)

Regis announced that they would take a break
and then play dance tunes. “Don’t take too long!” Carmelita
admonished.

Regis pleaded for a chance to wet his throat,
and she graciously obliged. The crowd dispersed into conversational
groups and the musicians headed for the buffet.

While singing, Regis had noticed Thal’s
entrance. After nabbing two glasses of wine, he joined his friend
in the corner.

“I hear you were shooting your gun today,”
Regis snickered.

“Just a bit of fun with the young ones,” Thal
said.

Regis tossed back a glass of wine and sighed.
“Our Ladyship was rather stinky faced about you not being here
earlier. Are you trying to get us put out?” Regis asked.

Judging from Regis’s concern, Thal guessed
that she had been genuinely annoyed with him. “Patercek told me not
to let her push me around,” Thal said. “Don’t worry.”

“Oh yes, I forgot. You are an expert with
women,” Regis said.

“She hasn’t even noticed I’m here yet,” Thal
said.

Carmelita was talking to a lady. They both
took turns lifting their skirts to show off their shoes to each
other. The armored man leaned over and apparently commented on the
splendor of their ankles. Both women smiled flirtatiously.

“I guess her heart is not broken,” Regis
admitted. “But I ask that you indulge her a little for all our
sakes.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Show up when she says,” Regis said, a little
exasperated.

“I’m here,” Thal defended.

Regis drank more wine. “I should stop wasting
my voice on you,” he muttered.

“I could use advice about another woman,”
Thal said.

Regis lowered his glass and his eyes popped
with happy shock. “Have you finally got a girl?” he asked.

“There’s a woman I need to speak with, but
there’s no way for me to be introduced. I know where she lives,”
Thal explained.

“Ha, ha, the huntsman stalks this lucky
girl,” Regis said with a chuckle at Thal’s sudden initiative. “Is
she pretty?”

More important matters than her looks were on
Thal’s mind, but when he considered the question, he found his
opinion intense on the matter. She was astonishing. Her spirit
gilded her physical prettiness with a gorgeous shine.

“She is,” Thal said softly.

By his quiet tone, Regis guessed that Thal
was quite intoxicated.

“Tomorrow I will help. I’m glad you’ve come
to me with this. It’ll be fun,” Regis said.

Thal did not want to spoil his friend’s
enthusiasm by telling him his business was rather more serious.

“Tomorrow then. For now I suppose I should
apply myself to charming Lady Carmelita,” Thal said.

Regis laughed. “I’m glad you’re feeling
better and thinking of women instead of killing people.”

“I appreciate your advice on that matter last
night,” Thal said.

Regis waved over a servant and had him take
away his empty glasses. He patted Thal on the back. “Look to the
future. We can’t fix the past,” he said.

“Is that a line from a song?” Thal asked.

“Maybe someday,” Regis said, pleased with
himself. He glanced between people to see if Lady Carmelita was
getting impatient.

“I’ll go distract her for a while. Have some
dinner,” Thal said and moved across the room.

When he reached Carmelita he bowed to her and
flourished his hat. “At you service, my Lady,” he said.

She was sitting between the man with the
earrings and a girlfriend. They both regarded Thal with quiet
wonder. Carmelita frowned and kicked at him, but her foot could not
reach his leg.

“You’re late!” she complained and stomped the
floor.

“You did not specify a time,” he said.

“See how he talks back to me!” she exclaimed
to her girlfriend.

The man with the armor got up. He was a head
taller than Thal and looked him up and down with critical
curiosity. His weapons most definitely caught his eye.

Thal admired the man’s armor. The sleek
expanse of sturdy metal was easy to envy. The deep cut on Thal’s
chest had only just finished healing.

“Condottiere meet Thal Lesky, the newest
addition to my household. Thal meet Condottiere Valentino Sangoro,”
Carmelita said.

The men shook hands. “What is it that you
do?” Valentino asked while glancing suspiciously at Carmelita.

“I’m a huntsman,” Thal replied.

“My brother claims he’s the best hunter
ever,” Carmelita interjected.

“And he sent him straight away to Prague did
he?” Valentino remarked.

“They were done hunting for a while,”
Carmelita improvised.

“So you shoot rabbits with that pistol?’ the
Condottiere said to Thal.

“I’ve not yet had one put up enough of a
fight to require that,” Thal said. He noticed that the Condottiere
had an accent similar to his musician friends. By appearances the
man possessed some significant rank if he was chatting up noble
widows in Prague.

“Huntsman Thal,” the woman next to Carmelita
said. “Do you know what was howling last night?”

Thal’s sorrow lurched inside him like loose
cargo tossed in the hold of boat. His howling song had been the
sound of his grief for a mother lost. To be asked so casually about
it hurt.

“A wolf of course,” he said confidently.

“A wolf in Prague?” Valentino scoffed.

“How would it get in the city?” Carmelita
asked.

“Wolves can’t get in a city,” Valentino
said.

Ignoring the Condottiere, Thal said, “In
answer to your question, Lady Carmelita, I say that a wolf swam
down the river to an island within the city and sang from
there.”

Both women nodded, impressed with his clever
explanation.

“Bah! Who’s ever seen wolves swimming in the
Vltava?” Valentino said.

“And what is it you do? Monitor the river?”
Thal challenged.

“I am a Condottiere!” Valentino said. He
tapped his armored chest and flourished his hand.

Carmelita popped to her little feet and
fanned her guests. “Mind your tempers. There’s no war in here,” she
said.

Thal ignored her intervention and kept his
gaze locked with the tall man. “Do you know all the habits of
wolves?” Thal said.

Valentino gently moved aside the fan that was
annoying him. “And you can make that claim?” he said.

“The habits of all forest creatures are known
to me,” Thal said.

“And is howling in Prague an odd thing for a
wolf to do?” Valentino said.

“I will admit it is strange,” Thal said.

“If you two are finished jousting perhaps we
can have a pleasant conversation,” Carmelita said. She gestured for
a servant to fetch a chair for Thal.

Sitting back down with his hostess, Valentino
patted Carmelita’s knee. “Forgive me for making a fuss. Your
huntsman is a saucy fellow and I thought I might have to turn him
out,” he said.

Thal resisted the bait. “I am her Ladyship’s
guest. A mere word from her would suffice if she wishes me to
leave,” he said.

“Of course you can stay,” Carmelita said. The
jealousy Thal was arousing in the Condottiere was too intriguing to
cut short.

“And how is it you decided you needed a
huntsman?” Valentino asked of her.

Thal responded, “I am a bodyguard for her
musicians.”

“A bodyguard for musicians?” Valentino
said.

“They are very talented,” Thal said, as if
that explained everything.

Puzzled, Valentino relaxed back into the
cushions. He decided to study Thal in silence.

Carmelita turned to her girlfriend. “My new
musicians have traveled here from Venice and met with many dangers
on the road. Thal is their guardian.”

“Oh, they are just perfectly lovely. I’ve
never heard anyone like them,” her girlfriend said.

“My friends live to please their listeners,”
Thal said. “I only wish that Lady Carmelita had not rushed them
into performing for you. I’m sure she has plans to outfit them as
they deserve.”

“What do you mean?” Carmelita said.

“My Lady you should be embarrassed by their
poor travel worn clothes. It would be but a trifle for you to
provide them with new ones,” Thal said.

Valentino chuckled.

Carmelita turned to him. “What’s funny?” she
said.

“Nothing,” he murmured mysteriously but Thal
sensed a small shift in the man’s attitude toward him.

Thal said, “You would delight them if you
provided new clothes. Regis would probably write a song just for
you.”

“Would he?” Carmelita said, brightly
interested.

“If Carlo has to darn his socks one more time
he’ll have to use fairy dust to cover the holes,” Thal added.

“Oh stop it!” Carmelita huffed and swatted
his knee with her fan. “Of course they need new clothes. My steward
will arrange it.”

Thal thanked her for the generosity. He was
pleased with himself. Perhaps Regis would no longer doubt his
ability to manage their new patroness.

Carmelita clapped her hands and called her
musicians. They returned to their places for an eager audience.
Valentino led his hostess to the floor to lead the first dance.

Thal noticed Carmelita’s girlfriend looking
at him. He stood up and extended a hand. “I’m not an experienced
dancer, but I shall try if you’re willing to join me,” he said.

With a smile she accepted. “I’m Joana,” she
said.

The dancers engaged in a more formal routine
than the flirtatious folk dance at Patercek Castle. He watched the
other men and followed the directions Joana whispered to him.

When he faced his partner again, Joana
giggled, “You really don’t know how to dance.”

“Most of my days have been spent in the
forest,” Thal said.

“Such freedom must be nice,” she said.

“It is,” he agreed wistfully.

“Why do you think a wolf came into the city?”
she asked.

“Why does the city care about the wolf?” he
said.

His impertinence surprised her. “It was
frightening,” she said.

Thal regretted that his song had frightened
the innocent among the guilty. He reminded himself to limit his
fearsome anger to those who deserved it.

“The beast will not get you, Lady Joana,” he
said.

She smiled, surprised by her urge to believe
him. Flush with sudden trust, she added, “My husband is away in
Munich, so you can understand that I was frightened alone in my
chambers.”

Thal tried to ignore the image of her in a
bed. “The wolf you hear sing in the night is far less dangerous
than one creeping close in silence,” he said.

“That’s sensible,” she said. “You’re so very
knowledgeable. And it seems Carmelita has taken in a hunter just as
soon as Prague needs one.”

“I’m just here with the musicians. Nothing
more,” Thal said.

“That’s not what the Condottiere is
thinking,” Joana said. She leaned closer and steered his attention
toward Carmelita and her dance partner. “He’s obviously trying to
woo her. I daresay that she just might take him for a lover.”

“That would be her business,” Thal said.

“You’re not jealous?” Joana said.

Suspecting that the girlfriend was spying,
Thal considered how to answer. “A man can only be jealous of what
he can’t have,” he said.

“Oh,” Joana said, titillated by his
presumption.

A servant rushed in waving his arms. “It’s
happening again! There’s a beast howling!” he cried.

Everyone exclaimed with surprise. The room
started to empty as people rushed outside to hear the howling.

Joana and Thal stared at each other. Each was
equally alarmed for different reasons.

Joana saw Carmelita and her closest friends
heading for the staircase. “Come with me,” she said. Thal followed
her up to the balcony that overlooked the street frontage.

Guests had spilled down the front steps. More
people were coming out of other buildings. The moonlit edges of the
dark city were bisected by the graceful curves of the Vltava. When
people hushed themselves they could hear coarse and vicious
howling.

“Thal!” Carmelita called.

He worked his way over to her.

“Tell us hunter, where is it?” she asked.

Thal waited for the next howl to rise and
fall. His own shock at what he was hearing distracted him. Was it
Rainer? Was it an unknown werewolf?

“Can’t you tell where it is?” Valentino said
impatiently.

Finding his tongue, Thal said, “It’s in Old
Town. Maybe the Jewish Quarter.”

“Are you sure? I thought you said it was on
an island in the river,” Valentino said.

Because of his shock Thal had briefly
forgotten his previous story. “It’s in the city proper tonight,” he
added.

“Shall you hunt it?” Valentino said.

“Yes,” Thal said. His unhesitating conviction
surprised Valentino.

When Thal turned to leave, Carmelita tugged
on his sleeve. “I wanted you to meet my associates after the
party,” she said.

“My apologies. I must go, my Lady,” he said
and rushed away, deeply distracted.

Carmelita frowned but did not make a big fuss
lest she embarrass herself. Thal’s elusive nature enticed her as
much as it peeved her.

“You want him to meet our associates?”
Valentino asked soberly.

“My brother recommended him. Thal’s a man of
courage,” she said.

******

Regis caught up to Thal at the front door.
People buffeted them as they moved in and out of the house. Some of
them were howling for a joke.

“Thal!” Regis called and nabbed his cloak.
When the fabric was pulled aside, Regis glimpsed the fur hanging
down his back.

When Thal turned the glint in his eyes
startled Regis.

“Don’t try to stop me,” Thal said.

“Be careful,” Regis said.

“Do NOT follow me,” Thal said.

“Keep your clothes on,” Regis suggested
hopefully.

Thal set a hand on his pistol and considered
his options. He offered Regis no promises and rushed off into the
crowded street. Pistol hurried after him.