Skulk of Foxes

by Helen Harper

  Morgan was still looking at me. ‘I don’t think that will be a problem. Do you, Madrona?’

  I put my hands in my pockets and started to whistle. That would work, right? However, when it became obvious that everyone’s attention, even Opulus’s, was on me, I gave in. ‘Okay,’ I conceded. ‘There is a possibility, a teeny-tiny possibility, that this is my fault.’

  Jodie rolled her eyes. ‘Typical.’

  I fixed a steely-eyed glare on her. ‘Oi you. Things would be a whole lot worse right now if I hadn’t done what I did. There was no way I could have reached the library in time to stop Morgan from handing the sphere to Mendax unless I slowed down time. Yes, it was dangerous. Yes, it was my decision and therefore my fault. But,’ I held up my index finger, ‘you should be thanking me. If I hadn’t done it, this bar would be dust and you’d be dead. I might have slowed down time for longer than usual but it was a necessary evil.’

  ‘You should have told us,’ Artemesia snapped. ‘You should have told someone. If we’d had some warning, I might have been able to do something to stop the pressure release. Now all bets are off. It’s too late and the residual magic has been too widely dispersed.’

  ‘When exactly was I supposed to say something?’ I enquired. ‘Right after the police shot me? Or was it before, when I was trying to stop Rubus from unleashing the apocalypse? There have been things to worry about other than a little bending of the rules, you know.’

  She raised her eyebrows. ‘A little bending of the rules? There was a pink elephant rampaging through people’s houses!’

  I grinned. ‘I know. Isn’t that cool that I did that?’

  Everyone glared at me. Not pink elephant fans, then. ‘Look,’ I said, ‘there wasn’t a choice. I did what I had to. There is a bright side to all this. All those arsebadgers who are loyal to Rubus will see how dangerous a little bit of loose magic can be. Maybe it will make them realise how bad things will become if Rubus uses the sphere and there’s a tsunami of magic.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Jodie said sarcastically. ‘Or maybe they’ll think that this demesne has become too unstable and dangerous and they’ll be even more desperate to leave.’

  Morgan sat down heavily on a chair. He looked more exhausted than anything else. ‘How long did you keep up the time alteration?’ he asked.

  I tried to think. ‘Maybe twenty minutes? It could have been longer.’

  Artemesia expelled a long breath. ‘That would be more than enough.’

  So now I was responsible for trapping everyone in this demesne as well as potentially destroying it. Honestly, I made a fabulous villain whenever I was trying to be a hero. I should remember that next time I wanted to be wholly evil again.

  Apologies didn’t really suit me. I bit my bottom lip. ‘Um. Sorry?’ I sighed. ‘This is clearly a job for the Madhatter. How do I stop further magic pressure releases? Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.’

  ‘I already said I don’t think they can be stopped,’ Artemesia sniffed.

  ‘All we have to do is to find another way to siphon off the residual magic. Can’t we just dig a hole in the ground and send it that way?’ I suggested.

  The apothecary stared at me. ‘And potentially destabilise the earth’s core?’

  Okay. Not that, then. ‘Well, send it up into space. Get it past earth’s atmosphere or something. How do I do that?’

  ‘Towards the sun? What do you imagine might happen then – even if we could work out how to do it?’

  I put my hands on my hips. ‘Give me a break. I’m trying to be solution focused!’

  ‘Unfortunately, Maddy,’ Morgan drawled, ‘your solutions tend to cause worse problems than they solve.’

  Slightly stung by his censure, I glared at him. ‘Are you saying I should have just let you hand over the sphere to your brother?’

  ‘That’s not what I’m saying at all. But I think that in future I should stick close by you so we can avoid any further … troubles.’

  I strolled over to where he was sitting and reached down for his hand so I could hold it. Then I smiled. ‘If you insist.’

  Jodie looked faintly disgusted but I wasn’t imagining the faint reassuring pressure as Morgan squeezed my fingers.

  Artemesia scratched her head. ‘I’ll keep looking for a way to manage the magic build-up.’ She glanced at me. ‘For what it’s worth, I think I’m close to a proper antidote for your amnesia as well, although that will have to be put on the back burner for now.’

  I twisted my body so I could sit on Morgan’s lap. Mmm. Muscly. I felt him twitch underneath me and wiggled slightly. His body tensed in response. Magic wasn’t the only thing that needed to find its way to a release.

  ‘Speaking of that,’ I said, ‘it might have been self-inflicted.’ I told the group about the video and the strange liquid I’d drunk just before I lopped off Charrie’s head.

  Morgan placed his hands loosely on my waist. ‘You were working against Rubus at that point,’ he said quietly. ‘Losing your memory was the only way to avoid being forced into revealing the location of the sphere.’

  ‘There’s one way to be sure,’ I said. ‘I need to track down Charrie’s family. They went to the police station and stood up for me but they must have left before I could talk to them. They’re the main reason I was released, even though I didn’t want to be. They’ll have more answers.’

  ‘The police will be back to talk to you,’ Timmons warned. ‘There was a standoff right in front of their headquarters. They’re not going to let that slide.’

  ‘Given what happened with the elephants and the rats and all the other crap,’ I pointed out, ‘they probably have their hands full right now. But, yes.’ I nodded. ‘They’ll be back. They’ll want to talk to Rubus as well. He was obviously the one who was causing all the aggression. They can’t just ignore that.’

  ‘He’ll talk his way out of it,’ Morgan muttered. ‘He always does.’

  Very reluctantly, I pulled myself upwards and away from the heat of his body. ‘He’ll also be in hiding. I should be too.’

  Jodie raised a sceptical eyebrow. ‘I thought you wanted to be arrested.’

  ‘Only to keep the sphere safe and in police custody. That’s obviously not going to happen now.’

  ‘Because you handed it to a cleaner, you mean.’

  ‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘I did. So it’s out of Rubus’s clutches – at least for now. Feel free to fall at my feet in gratitude.’

  Artemesia shook her head. ‘I don’t have time for this crap. I’m going back to my lab to try to find a solution to the magic build-up.’

  Morgan smiled at her. ‘Good idea. Madrona and I will track down Charrie’s family. Jodie and Timmons, you should work on finding this cleaner, Charlotte Page. You’re less likely to scare her off than the rest of us.’

  Vandrake, who’d been pretty much silent until now, piped up. ‘I’ll look after Opulus,’ he said. ‘I know a little about pain. And I should probably find us somewhere else to hide out. The human police are only going to hamper our efforts to solve all these problems. The longer we can stay away from them, the better.’

  I considered. ‘Actually, I have a few thoughts about that.’

  ‘Don’t strain yourself,’ Jodie murmured.

  I snorted. ‘Darling, you wish you had my brain capacity.’

  ‘Two words, Madrona. Your. Fault.’

  I couldn’t really argue with that. I shrugged. ‘A life less ordinary.’

  There was a barely audible chuckle from Morgan. ‘The one thing I’d never describe you as is ordinary.’

  I curtsied. I also pretended that I didn’t feel ill that all this gasbudlikin crap was down to me.

  Chapter Seven

  The Manchester streets were still very quiet when Morgan and I finally ventured back out. I was keeping my fingers crossed for another pink elephant; another sighting might well signal the end of the world, but at least I could spend my final moments parading around with it and feeding it peanuts. And
let’s face it, peanuts were more than I was getting for working my fingers to the bone to prevent the apocalypse.

  ‘How do you know where Charrie’s family will be?’ I asked Morgan.

  ‘I don’t,’ he said. ‘But I know someone who will. The bogles are a tight-knit community. They found it almost as hard as we did when the borders to other demesnes closed and they were faced by a couple of thousand faeries getting in their way. They tend to keep to themselves. It’s easier to avoid suspicion that you’re not quite human if you avoid spending a lot of time around humans. When we showed up – and didn’t leave again like we usually did – the bogles closed ranks.’

  ‘Not entirely,’ I pointed out. ‘Charrie worked for Rubus.’

  ‘There are always one or two folks in every community who buck the trend.’ He eyed me. ‘You should know that.’ When I didn’t immediately answer, he added, ‘The path less trodden can be incredibly alluring to those who are themselves unique.’

  ‘Mmm.’ I wasn’t entirely convinced that was a compliment, even if he meant it as such. ‘Except my path is filled with weeds and carnivorous plants.’

  Morgan’s lips curved. ‘And the odd, stunning, but incredibly rare and wondrous, wildflower.’

  I stopped in my tracks. This wasn’t the place and it certainly wasn’t the time. But certain things had to be said and, in light of recent revelations, I wasn’t sure I could keep quiet any longer.

  ‘Look,’ I said, watching Morgan as he too paused, ‘I know we have a history. Not a particularly pleasant history either, given that I betrayed you and loped off with Rubus. I know I’m highly desirable and highly intelligent, and any man would be lucky to have me. But there’s no getting away from the fact that I’m bitchy.’

  Morgan opened his mouth to answer but I held up my hands. ‘Please, let me finish.’

  He inclined his head. ‘Okay,’ he said quietly.

  ‘It’s because of my actions that more than a thousand faeries are trapped here,’ I said. ‘Whether I meant to do it or I didn’t, and whether I can remember it or I can’t, these problems started because of me. I know you’ve already said that it doesn’t matter but it should.’ I drew in a breath. ‘It does. Maybe I’m not responsible for murdering Charrie after all, but there’s no denying that I’m involved with his death. Then there’s this new revelation that I’m responsible for magic leaking out all over this city and causing utter havoc. Artemesia seems pretty convinced that it’s going to happen again. And again. And again. So even though there’s considerable blame to be laid at Rubus’s door, there’s probably just as much to be laid at mine.’

  Morgan’s green-eyed gaze held mine unwaveringly, although I noticed the small muscle ticking in his cheek. ‘What’s your point?’ he asked.

  ‘At risk of sounding like a petulant schoolchild with self-confidence issues,’ I said, toeing the pavement, ‘do you like me?’

  His answer was immediate. ‘Yes.’

  My next question was obvious. With genuine curiosity, even though I was fearful of the response, I attacked it head on. ‘Why?’

  He smiled and I could swear that my knees went weak immediately. I reached out to grab at a lamppost just in case. Unfortunately, someone had chosen that exact spot to place a sticky wad of used chewing gum. Grimacing, I yanked away my hand and rubbed it furiously on my ridiculously baggy jeans.

  ‘Madrona,’ Morgan said, ‘you are neither as sexy nor as intelligent as you pretend to think you are.’ I gasped in mock horror but he raised his index finger. ‘I let you finish,’ he said sternly. ‘Now it’s your turn to do me the same courtesy.’

  Fair enough. I folded my arms across my chest and waited. He’d better not take too damned long, though.

  ‘Now,’ he continued, ‘that’s not to say that I don’t find you gloriously sexy, both in terms of your brain and your body. But you’re no supermodel.’

  I made a face. ‘A supermodel? They’re far too skinny. I’ve got curves in all the right places,’ I purred.

  ‘Maddy,’ he warned, ‘you promised to stay quiet.’

  I didn’t, actually. But the fact that Morgan’s eyes had briefly flashed down to the curves I’d just mentioned, as if he couldn’t help himself gawking, was enough to appease me.

  Morgan smiled, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. ‘I’ve always been attracted to you,’ he said. ‘Even when I told myself I hated you, I was attracted to you. Now, all those things that you’ve done? You had reasons for them all. Naïve reasons perhaps, stupid reasons almost certainly – at least as far as the border closures go. But,’ he added, ‘well-intentioned reasons. Slowing down time for a prolonged period to stop us from giving the sphere to Rubus? I probably would have done the same.’

  He paused and thought for a moment. ‘As for what happened with Charrie, maybe we’ll never really know. You keep punishing yourself for what you did. You think you deserve to be treated badly so you act terribly to pre-empt that treatment. You put up facades to fool the world and, I think, to fool even yourself. But I can still see the good that shines out of you. You’ve put your life on the line several times to help others. When the situation calls for it, you put your mean streak to one side. Maybe other people can’t be bothered to take the time to see the real you. But, believe me, it’s more than worth it.’

  He smiled again. ‘Just don’t use any magic or do anything crazy again without checking with me first.’

  ‘You’re not my boss,’ I huffed.

  Morgan chuckled. ‘No, I’m definitely not. You’re absolutely your own woman. Don’t apologise for who you are. And don’t forget that we learn from failure, not from success. You can build an amazing life on the basis of your mistakes as long as you don’t deny those mistakes exist. Mistakes lead to discovery.’

  I considered his words. ‘There are two things I’d like to point out, if I may.’

  He inclined his head. ‘Go on.’

  ‘First of all,’ I said, ‘I’d like to be clear that I’m not apologising for who I am. I’m the Madhatter. It doesn’t get any better than that. Second of all, have you considered a career in inspirational meme design?’

  Morgan took a step towards me and reached for my hands. ‘Maybe one day,’ he breathed. ‘Now there’s something you have to tell me.’

  I tensed. ‘Okay.’

  ‘Do you like me?’

  My answer was as unequivocal as his. ‘Yes.’

  ‘Why?’

  I peered at him. Wow. He actually looked… ‘Nervous,’ I burst out. ‘You look nervous.’

  ‘Just answer the damned question, Maddy,’ he growled.

  I ran my tongue over my lips. ‘I can’t speak for what things were like before I got amnesia,’ I said quietly, ‘but you have never lied to me. You’ve never sugar-coated the truth but you’ve always listened to me, too. You don’t look for excuses or spend your time buried in the past, and every single atom of your soul is heroic.’

  ‘No, it’s not,’ he said. He sighed. ‘Back in the bar, you told the others that they’d sat back and wrung their hands at Rubus but not done anything to stop him. He’s my brother and, up until the last couple of weeks, I didn’t do a damned thing to try and stop him either. I’m as guilty of abjuring responsibility as everyone else. We might not have known about the sphere until recently but I’ve always been fully aware of how dangerous Rubus can be.’

  ‘Perhaps that’s my fault,’ I told him. ‘You washed your hands of him when I left you for him. But there’s been no point in the last few weeks where you’ve stinted at bringing him down. He’s still your family, Morgan, but you’re not letting that stop you.’

  ‘He’s left me with no choice.’

  I nodded, conceding the point. ‘Going back to the original question, you can be a bit too serious. I mean, you’re sex on legs and you make my stomach squirm but you do tend to live life on the very straight and very narrow. However,’ I added quickly before he could interrupt, ‘you do have a sense of humour that matches mine,
when you feel brave enough to show it. And you see through me in a way that I can’t even see through myself. You’re caring and sensitive.’ I shrugged. ‘And I fancy the pants off you. When I’m with you, it’s not always easy to think straight. When I’m not with you, all I can think about is you. Maybe your schoolmarmish approach is what inspires all my lusty feelings.’

  I cast a long look up and down his muscular body. ‘Have you ever thought of leather? You’d look pretty damned gorgeous in some tight-fitting, thigh-hugging leather…’

  A strange noise rumbled in Morgan’s chest. He grabbed my hands and pulled, leading me off the main street and down a smaller side one. Then he spun me round until my back was pressed against a wall. He braced his palms on either side of me and leaned in, his body against mine. His eyes glittered.

  ‘Schoolmarmish?’ he enquired.

  ‘It’s not a criticism,’ I said, feeling my chest constrict and my stomach flip. ‘Merely an observation.’

  ‘Go on.’

  It was becoming difficult to breathe normally. ‘You’re the type of person who likes to follow the rules. In fact, you like to set the rules and then follow them. I can see you striding around a blackboard with chalk in hand, patiently explaining algebraic formula and then barking at anyone who dozes off.’

  He raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re suggesting that my lectures are dull?’ He dipped his head and lowered his voice. ‘Are you suggesting that I’m dull?’

  ‘No. Just that—’

  Morgan didn’t give me a chance to finish. His mouth met mine, hard and insistent. I parted my lips, my hands reaching round his back. His teeth nipped at my bottom lip, tugging almost painfully. Then one of his hands stretched underneath my T-shirt, snaking upwards until his fingers found my breast. He squeezed the nipple then brushed it with the base of his thumb.

  ‘Tell me that again, Maddy,’ he said into my ear. ‘Tell me I’m being schoolmarmish now.’

  I answered the only way I could, dropping my hands to his waist and fumbling for the button. I managed to undo it then I pushed my fingers down. Morgan’s sharp intake of breath when I stroked his hot, hard length was all the reward I needed. I curved my hand round his cock. He growled again and reached for my wrist, yanking it out. He pinned both my hands against the wall.