Werewolves of the Other London Read online

  Copyright 2018 Amy Cross

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, entities and places are either products of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual people, businesses, entities or events is entirely coincidental.

  Kindle edition

  Dark Season Books

  First published in April 2012

  as part of Lupine Howl: The Complete First Series.

  This edition: June 2018

  Separated from Duncan, Jess heads back to London on a mission to find her missing friend. She soon discovers, however, that Duncan is already dead and buried. Not that being dead will necessary hold him back...

  After heading into the Underworld, Jess discovers a nightmarish second city beneath London's streets. There, she begins to understand the true nature of Duncan's world. Dangerous forces are closing in – in both versions of London – and finally Jess has to choose a side in the growing war between werewolves and mankind.

  Werewolves of the Other London is the second book in the Lupine Howl series. Originally published in serial format in 2012, this revised edition brings together parts five, six, seven and eight of the story and ends on a cliffhanger.

  Author's note

  When I began writing Lupine Howl in 2012, I didn't plan ahead very well.

  The original first series is now too large to published as a paperback, so I've had to divide it into two separate volumes. Werewolves of the Other London therefore contains the original parts that were once titled The Architect, Underworld, Ecotone and Defense of the Realm.

  I can only apologize for any confusion and promise that, going forward, I now know how to properly organize the series.

  Table of Contents

  Part One

  Carnival of Wolves

  Part Two

  The Architect

  Part Three

  Underworld

  Part Four

  Ecotone

  Part Five

  Wolf's End

  Werewolves of the Other London

  (Lupine Howl book 2)

  Part One

  Carnival of Wolves

  Jess

  When I open my eyes, I find I'm in a completely different place.

  The last thing I remember was being out with a friend in Cornwall. I'd gone down to spend a few days in Penzance, mainly because I had nowhere else to go and I needed somewhere to rest while I worked out my next move, but also because I hadn't seen my old friend Lacey for years and I thought she might have some good advice. Lacey has always been wise and helpful, and her first observation was that I needed to have a night out. So we headed along the coast to the next town and went to a little bar called Shades

  I remember us leaving the bar at 2am and heading along the street to find a taxi. And then... I think we did end up in a taxi, I have this vague memory of us climbing into the back of a car... and then... we were being driven somewhere, and although Lacey was drunk she eventually noticed that we were driving the wrong way, and she told the driver we wanted to go to Penzance, and... he ignored her... and then I remember us being dragged out of the car into a muddy field, there were people waiting for us, men, and...

  A gunshot and a scream rang out in the black of night.

  The sound of a body hitting the ground.

  Lacey...

  The next thing I remember is being dragged screaming toward a van, where a fat man was waiting. He peered down at me and smiled, then he shone a torch right in my face and he said something like "That's the one" or "That's what we're after", and then I was thrown in the back of the van and the doors were slammed shut. I had a splitting headache, as if I'd been drugged, and as the van started I tried to get to my feet but I just collapsed. I remember thinking that I should fight back, that I should use my strength to do something, and then...

  And then this.

  I'm in pitch darkness, on a hard floor. I'm not tied up or anything, so I sit up and look around, peering into the blackness that surrounds me. I can't see anything, though; the blackness if absolute. As I continue to properly wake up, I start to become aware that there are noises nearby, like... like someone snoring, and like various people breathing. They sound close, but they can't be... I gently move forwards and...

  Suddenly I find that there are metal bars preventing me from going any further. Turning, I find that there are bars all around me and above me. I'm in some kind of dark cage, barely a couple of meters wide and tall. I try to push against the bars, but it's no use, the whole structure is too heavy. I'm caged like a fucking wild animal!

  I sit and take a deep breath. Okay, Jess, calm down, there has to be a way out of this. Why would someone kidnap me and put me in a little cage? It makes no sense. Frustrated, I bang on the bars to try to find some way out.

  "Quiet!" calls out a voice nearby. It's a female voice, soft and sleepy.

  "Hello?" I ask. "Who are you?"

  "Go to sleep," the voice says, sounding as if it's already following her own advice.

  "Where am I?" I ask.

  "You'll find out in the morning," says the voice, before sighing. "Now go to sleep. You new ones are always such a pain in the arse."

  "Tell me where I am," I say firmly, starting to get annoyed with how laid-back the voice seems to be. I peer into the darkness, hoping to make out some kind of shape, but it's useless. "Please," I say.

  "Shut up!" calls another voice, a male voice, from behind me. I spin around, but of course there's no point: I still can't see anything. Groping around in the cage, I just find more bars.

  "Who are you?" I ask.

  I hear a snort of laughter. "You'll find out when the sun comes up," says the male voice.

  "Please," I say, almost begging. "You've got to tell me what's going on."

  "I haven't got to tell you anything," says the male voice quietly. "Go to sleep. When morning comes, you'll understand everything." There's a pause, before he adds: "May the Lord have mercy on your soul."

  "What does that mean?" I ask, but there's no reply. "Someone talk to me!" I shout, but everyone's ignoring me now. For a few minutes, I shuffle around the cage, testing for weak points, trying to find a way out. But it's useless, and I can't even find the lock. After what seems like an eternity, I give up. I find myself curled up in the corner of the cage, my eyes open and staring into the complete darkness all around me. I have no idea what time it is, or when the sun is going to come up, or what I'll see when it gets light. What's out there in the dark, beyond the bars of my cage? What... and who?

  Suddenly there's a blast of light from behind me. I turn to see a door opening, and a dark figure entering the room.

  "Who's making the noise?" asks a dark, deep, gruff voice.

  "The new one," whispers the female voice from earlier.

  I hear the figure walking toward me. There's a pause, and then something stabs me, like a needle going straight into my shoulder. I shout out and pull back, trying to get away, but in this cage there's not far for me to go. I hold my shoulder, which has a kind of stinging pain. Slowly, I realize my eyelids are getting heavy. I try to stay awake, but there's something wrong with me. Even as I try desperately not to fall asleep, I sink into unconsciousness. My last thought is: I can't die here. Not yet. Not before I find Duncan.

  Jess

  When I open my eyes again, it's morning. It takes me a moment to orient myself, but as I sit up I realize I'm still in the cage, with about other six other cages all around. In each cage, there's a person sleeping. We seem to be in some kind of tent, and there's no floor, just grass. There's the sound of busy construction work outside, as if people are hammering and mov
ing large equipment. There's also the distant hum of people chattering as they work. What the hell is this place?

  I check my shoulder and find a little red pinprick where the needle went in. It must have been a pretty powerful sedative to knock me out so fast, and I still feel pretty groggy. My head is pounding and I'm sore and achy from sleeping curled up in this cage. I've also just realized I'm wearing the same clothes I was wearing to the club with Lacey. How long ago was that? How long have I been asleep?

  "Relax," says a voice from nearby. It's a familiar voice, belonging to the woman who spoke to me last night in the dark. I turn to see her in the next cage. She's a little older than me, maybe late 20s or early 30s, with short blonde hair and big brown eyes. "Don't worry," she adds. "The last thing they want to do is hurt you. Okay?"

  I stare at her for a moment, not sure what to say.

  "You're mad at me," she says. She seems amused by the whole situation, even though she - like me - is curled up in a small metal cage. "That's understandable. I'm sorry about last night, but I really needed to sleep and you were being so... loud and uncouth."

  "Sorry about that," I say quietly. "I guess I don't like being kidnapped and put in a cage."

  She laughs. "Who does, darling? But you've got to be smart. Bide your time, wait for the right moment. It'll come." She grins. "What's your name, darling?"

  "Jess," I say cautiously.

  "Nice to meet you, Jess," she says. "I'm Darla. I've got a feeling we're going to get on real good together."

  I'm not so sure about that. "Sorry," I say, "but I won't be here long enough to make friends." I look around at the tent, and at the other cages. "Where is this place, anyway?" I ask.

  "Welcome home," Darla says, "to Vigrous Grinde's Traveling Circus of the Uncanny."

  I stare at her, trying to make sense of what she just said. "Who's What of the What Now?" I ask, confused.

  She says it again, more slowly this time. "Vigrous. Grinde's. Traveling. Circus. Of. The. Uncanny." She looks at me as if that should explain everything. "You've heard of a circus before, haven't you, darling?"

  "Of course I fucking have," I say, starting to get irritated by how laid-back Darla seems to be about the whole thing. "But what... who... Vigrous... Grinde?"

  "Our lord and master," Darla replies, with a sense of laid-back irony in her voice. "The man who brought us all together under this shabby cloth roof and decided to take us on this wonderful permanent vacation." She smiles, then she sighs, as if she's impatient that I don't understand. "It's a freak show, darling. We're in a freak show. Okay?"

  "Watch who you're calling a freak!" I say.

  "What, you're not?" Darla says. That infuriating smile has returned. "You don't think most people find werewolves to be a tad... freaky?"

  I narrow my eyes as I look at her. "How do you... What makes you say that I'm a werewolf?"

  "Darling," she replies, "you wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."

  "One of us?" I ask.

  She nods. "Hell, darling, we're the highlight of the show! We're what people pay good money to come and see! We're the main attraction!" She grins. "It's alright. You're among friend here. We all share the same... affliction."

  "Ha!" says another voice from nearby. I turn to see an older man, late 50s, in the next cage along. He has a gruff, dark voice. "If we're the main attraction," he says grumpily, "why don't we get top billing?"

  "It'll come, darling," Darla says.

  "Not as long as you-know-who's around," he says.

  Darla smiles, but this time it seems forced and awkward. "Her shelf life is running out, mark my words."

  "Who?" I ask.

  "We're just the support," says the man. "We're the monkeys who open the show, but the audience is really here for the main event. And that sure ain't a bunch of shabby old wolves."

  "This is Stephen," says Darla. "The grumpiest werewolf you'll ever meet. Hasn't figured out yet that he should just relax and get on with his life. We're fed good here, we're looked after, we're free to socialize."

  "Then why are we in fucking cages?" I ask.

  "That's just while we sleep," Darla says. "In case of... accidents. We'll be let out for the day soon enough."

  "I'm not an animal," I say.

  Darla pauses, then she opens her mouth to reply but there's a noise behind me. I turn to see two men enter the tent and come straight over to my cage. Grabbing an end each, and without saying a word, they lift the cage onto a trolley and start wheeling me away.

  "Seeya later, darling," Darla calls out. "Have fun with the big man."

  "Where are you taking me?" I ask, looking up at the men. I bang on the side of the cage. "You have to let me out of here right now, okay? Right fucking now!"

  The men ignore me, simply wheeling me out the door and into a huge grass field, with various other tents set up around us. It's a bright, sunny day and people seem to be working happily, putting up the tents for what appears to be a cross between a carnival and a freak show. None of them pay me any attention at all.

  "Hey!" I shout. "Help!"

  But they ignore me. A couple of them glance over at me, so they definitely heard me. It's simply that they don't care. Apparently seeing a girl in a cage is an everyday occurrence around here. How can they be like this? How can they just ignore the fact that another human being is being treated like an animal? Or do they know that I'm not really a human being, at least not completely, not anymore. Since Duncan saved my life by changing me into a werewolf, I've been something entirely different. Most people don't seem to notice, but maybe the people at this carnival understand that I'm not human. Maybe they think I deserve to be treated like an animal. Hell, maybe they're right, maybe I do. Maybe I belong in a freak show.

  But that doesn't mean I'm staying...

  Duncan

  I will not scream.

  I will not scream.

  I will not scream.

  I will not -

  The blade slams into my shoulder, ripping through the flesh and bone, nearly shearing my entire right arm away.

  Jess

  "The death of a werewolf is a horrific thing," says the fat man sitting at the desk. He speaks slowly, with a clear sense of his own importance. "To see a proud, noble beast suffer and fall is... not something I would ever wish to witness again. But we must accept that there are people out there who are working for the total eradication of the werewolf species." He leans forward and reaches out a fist, which he clenches and shakes at me. "They want to grind you all up and pretend you never existed. Do you understand? They will not rest until every werewolf has been eradicated. And that, my dear girl, is why I have created this sanctuary for creatures such as yourself who are in need of salvation."

  Crouched in my cage in the middle of Vigrous Grinde's office, I don't feel much like I'm being saved right now. I feel like I'm being held prisoner.

  "I'm not a creature," I say firmly, although I can't chase the hint of fear from my voice. "And I'd really like it if you could let me out of this cage."

  Grinde stares at me, narrowing his eyes. He takes a long puff on his cigar, then he nods, gets to his feet and wobbles around his desk. "Of course," he says, smiling as he bends down and unlocks the front of the cage, pulling the door open and standing back.

  Cautiously, I crawl out of the cage and stand up. My back is killing me and I feel like I've gone ten rounds with a dozen Mexican wrestlers, with bruises all over my body.

  "So that's it?" I ask. "I can just walk out of here?"

  Grinde sighs as he walks back around his desk and sits down again. "Not exactly," he says. "You see, the thing is this. In order to ensure that my carnival remains under the radar, I have to exercise a certain degree of control. And that means I can't just let anyone waltz out whenever they feel like it."

  "I never felt like waltzing in in the first place," I say firmly.

  "Quite," he says. "Nevertheless, you are here now. You'd better stay. It'll be better for all concerned."
>
  "Sorry," I reply. "No way. I have things to do, and even if I didn't, being part of some freak show isn't exactly a great lifestyle choice. And there's nothing you can do to keep me here."

  He stares at me for a moment. "Then you must try to leave."

  I nod. "There's no question of 'trying' to leave. I'm leaving."

  "Goodbye," he says, smiling.

  There's something deeply unnerving about the way he's dealing with this. It's clear that he doesn't believe I'll go through with my threat to leave.

  "Goodbye," I say. "I'd thank you for the hospitality, but..." I look down at the cage. "It wasn't really up to much."

  "You'll learn," he says. "Soon enough you'll see that it's a good life here. Would you really rather be out there in the real world, being hunted to extinction by humans? In here you have a certain degree of protection. Safety in numbers."

  "What happened to my friend?" I say. "I was with a friend when I was captured. What did you do to her?"

  Grinde shrugs. "I have no idea. I was offered you by some independent gentlemen over whom I have no control. I hope that they wouldn't do anything foolish to your friend, but the matter is quite out of my hands."

  "Well," I say slowly, "it's not out of my hands."

  I step toward him.

  "Don't do anything foolish," he says. "We're very traditional around here, but we have our limits of endurance."

  I walk around the desk, preparing to show this guy exactly what I think about him. I can feel the anger building inside me, and I'm pretty sure it's the kind of anger that's going to help me change. If I can get into my wolf form, I can rip this guy to shreds, which is better than he deserves. I just wish I could change at will, the way Duncan does, but I'm still learning. For now, I still think -