Quiver of Cobras

by Helen Harper

  All it took was one threatening step towards him before he deflated, right in front of my eyes. ‘I don’t have it with me.’

  ‘Bullshit.’

  ‘I’m telling the truth!’

  The sound of footsteps alerted me to Finn and Morgan’s approach. ‘You know this guy, Maddy?’ Morgan asked.

  ‘He’s the old bloke who was following me earlier today. Watch it,’ I advised. ‘He’s a lot more spry than he looks.’

  Finn snarled and pushed past me. ‘I don’t recognise him,’ he hissed. He grabbed hold of the old man’s purple shirt. ‘Who are you? You must work for Rubus but I’ve never seen you before.’

  ‘I don’t work for that prick!’ The man shook his head vehemently, making his jowls jiggle and his hair flap.

  ‘Then what are you doing here?’

  ‘Investigating.’

  ‘Look, buster,’ I growled. ‘If you’re going to insist on giving us one word answers, I’m going to insist on beating the information out of you. Be more specific. What are you doing here?’

  He glowered at all three of us but there was no mistaking the defeat in his expression. Even so, I remained on guard. He’d already escaped me once today; I wasn’t about to be embarrassed again. ‘You’re faeries.’ He jerked his head at Finn. ‘You’re a Redcap.’

  ‘Yeah? And?’

  ‘I’m Mendax.’ When none of us reacted, he sighed heavily. ‘You must have heard of me. I’m the most famous of my kind.’ At our expressions, he exhaled loudly in exasperation. ‘I’m a dragon.’

  Finn was so surprised that he let go of the man’s shirt. I was equally dubious. There was very little about this arsebadger that suggested fire or power or magic. ‘Prove it.’

  He rolled his eyes. ‘How? Because if you’re suspecting forked tongues, long tails and scales, then you flappy faeries are even more stupid than I thought. Why Chen ever spoke to you in the first place, I’ll never know.’

  All three of us stiffened at that. ‘What do you know about Chen?’

  ‘He was my friend,’ Mendax said accusingly. ‘My best friend. I won’t have you lot stamping all over his grave.’ His chin jutted out. ‘I won’t allow it!’

  ‘That still doesn’t explain why you were following me, or why you’re here.’

  Mendax raised a bony finger and pointed at me. ‘You’re with Rubus. Rubus stole from my friend. I’m simply trying to get his property back. You’re not the rightful owners.’

  We had to tread very carefully here. Fortunately, Morgan seemed to realise this. Maintaining a low, controlled voice, he asked, ‘What property are you talking about?’

  Mendax’s eyebrow twitched. Mendax. Honestly. Why didn’t I meet anyone who was called John or Sam or Charlie? Even a Dick would have been welcome.

  ‘Oh, I think you know exactly what property I’m talking about,’ he squeaked. ‘A small metal object,’ he held up his hand to indicate size, ‘about this large. It has the potential to solve all the Fey’s problems. And to initiate the apocalypse for everyone else.’

  ‘What do you know about it?’ Morgan asked, his voice dangerously low.

  ‘I told you!’ Mendax said. ‘I was Chen’s friend. He told me all about it. He told me how much you stupid faeries wanted the thing. He bequeathed it to me and I’m going to find it. Chen would be devastated if he thought that it had fallen into your hands.’

  ‘We’re not with Rubus.’ Morgan folded his arms. ‘We don’t want him to get hold of the sphere any more than you do.’

  The old man brightened. ‘Then you know where it is?’

  There was a moment’s silence. ‘No,’ Morgan said eventually.

  I nodded at the lie. I didn’t trust this squeaky old dragon either.

  ‘What’s with the voice?’ I enquired. ‘Have you been sucking helium?’

  His black eyes narrowed. ‘You got a problem with the way I talk?’

  I shrugged. ‘You say you’re an all-powerful dragon but you talk like Mickey Mouse.’

  ‘I am an all-powerful dragon!’ he snapped. ‘I’m very rich.’

  Finn rolled his eyes. ‘Bloody dragons,’ he muttered. ‘All they care about is gold. This guy is a waste of time.’

  I fixed my best evil glare on Mendax. ‘Tell us where the video is. The one you downloaded from here.’

  ‘I told you. I don’t have it with me.’ The whine in his voice was quite extraordinary. What was the point in being a dragon if you weren’t going to stomp around and breathe fire? All this supernatural business seemed like over-blown hype to me.

  It wouldn’t take much to intimidate this bloke into giving us the file. I smiled nastily and raised my fists. ‘Yeah, yeah. If you won’t hand it over, we’ll just have to take it from you.’

  ‘That’s enough, Maddy,’ Morgan said, moving towards Mendax as if to protect him from my vicious stare. I was about to argue when it occurred to me that this was a strategy. I shrugged. If Morgan wanted to play good cop then I’d happily play bad cop. It was a stretch, sure, but I’d cope. I snarled, like any real dragon should, but let him to take the lead.

  ‘Why don’t we sit down,’ Morgan suggested, pointing to a small lounge area opposite the reception desk, ‘and talk this out?’

  ‘No.’ Surprisingly, Mendax seemed determined to hold his ground.

  ‘There are three of us and there’s only one of you,’ Finn said. ‘Maybe you should do as the man suggests.’

  ‘I won’t let you beat me! I won’t! I’m not weak like Chen!’

  I couldn’t remember a darned thing about Chen but if he’d been even half as shaky and weak as this guy, it was a wonder that he’d hung onto his sphere for so long.

  ‘I promise that we won’t touch you,’ Morgan murmured. ‘Not while we’re inside this building. I take my promises very seriously.’ His expression was earnest and open. ‘It appears that we’re on the same side here. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’

  Mendax swung his black-eyed gaze from me to Morgan to Finn. I was almost certain he was going to spin round and try to high-tail it out of here. I was hoping he would because that would give me the excuse I needed to knock out several of his teeth.

  Unfortunately, Morgan appeared to have reassured him just enough. ‘Fine,’ he said. He turned and stomped over to the nearest chair, settling himself into it and crossing his legs.

  Morgan, Finn and I exchanged looks then we walked over to join him. I would have settled myself on the arm of Mendax’s chair so that I could loom over him appropriately but Morgan steered me to the sofa opposite. With the three of us seated in a row, facing the blinking dragon in the middle of a silent, darkened golf clubhouse, it suddenly felt like the world’s most bizarre job interview.

  ‘So,’ I said in a deep voice, ‘tell us about your strengths and weaknesses.’

  Everyone looked at me strangely. It was just me that thought this set-up was like a job panel, then.

  ‘As if I’m going to do that,’ Mendax sniffed. ‘Would you tell me yours?’

  I considered. I didn’t see why not. I leaned back in the chair and mirrored his body language, technique one of putting the arsebadger at ease. Technique two was not pulling out his toenails one by one. ‘Well,’ I said, ticking off on my fingers, ‘I’m highly intelligent.’

  Finn snorted loudly. I pointedly ignored him.

  ‘I’m obviously incredibly attractive, not just because I possess beauty but because I have a cultured je ne sais quoi which I know is ridiculously alluring.’

  This time Morgan turned astonished eyes towards me.

  ‘I also have fabulous faery magical powers, which I’m able to utilise with both restraint and abandon when the situation calls for it. As for weaknesses, I have an unhealthy penchant for junk food and I enjoy seeing arsebadgers like you get hurt more than I should.’ I bared my teeth in a smile.

  ‘You’re mad,’ Mendax whispered.

  My smile widened. ‘I’m the Madhatter,’ I corrected.

  Morgan rolled his eyes.
‘This isn’t getting us anywhere.’ He relaxed his shoulders and focused on Mendax. ‘You ask us a question, we’ll ask you a question. Quid pro quo. You can go first.’

  Mendax frowned, obviously still wary, but willing to play along for now. He thought for a moment. ‘Did you take the sphere from Chen?’ he asked finally.

  I breathed out. That was a fairly easy question.

  ‘No,’ Morgan said. ‘We believe it was a bogle called Charrie who did that. We also believe he was under orders from Rubus.’ He linked his fingers and leaned forward. ‘Why were you following Madrona earlier today?’

  ‘I’ve been keeping an eye on Rubus and his organisation,’ Mendax admitted. ‘She vanished for several days and now she’s acting strangely. Given that her disappearance coincided with both Chen’s death and the loss of his sphere, I thought I’d follow her. I figured that she must have stolen it and I was hoping she would lead me to it.’

  So far, so head-bangingly boring. Morgan pointed his index finger at Mendax and indicated it was his turn to ask another question. Mendax’s mouth tightened and he looked directly at me. ‘That bogle is dead,’ he said. ‘Why did you kill him?’

  I drew in a sharp breath. Finn threw me a sidelong look. ‘I knew it,’ he muttered.

  ‘I have amnesia,’ I said. ‘I don’t know if I did kill the bogle. I don’t remember anything.’

  ‘Oh, you killed him alright.’ Mendax glared at me with a mixture of disgust and fear. ‘I have the video evidence to prove it. You cut off his head with a sword.’

  I stared at him then at my hands. They didn’t look capable of such a violent action. ‘I couldn’t have,’ I said. I pointed to my biceps. ‘I barely have the strength to pull myself up a wall. I certainly couldn’t swing a sword with enough lethal force to slice off a head.’

  The image of Charrie’s decapitated body lying by the eighteenth hole not too far away from here flashed into my mind. It couldn’t be true, I decided. The dragon was lying.

  Mendax wrinkled his nose derisively. ‘If you’re not going to be honest, this conversation is completely pointless.’

  ‘I’m being as honest as I can be!’ I protested. ‘As I’ve already told you, I’ve got amnesia. I can’t remember what happened but I really don’t think I could have killed anyone.’

  Mendax shot a look at Morgan. ‘Am I honestly supposed to believe that she can’t remember anything? How stupid do you lot think I am?’

  ‘Well, so far,’ I drawled, ‘your intelligence matches that of a free condom machine in a nunnery.’

  The dragon got to his feet. ‘I don’t have to put up with this. I’m leaving.’

  Morgan put a warning hand on my arm. ‘She’ll stay quiet from now on.’ He squeezed my arm. ‘Won’t you, Madrona?’

  ‘No,’ I snapped. Then I looked at the pale determination on Mendax’s thin face. ‘Fine, I’ll keep my mouth closed. It’s not my fault that he’s afraid of strong women, though,’ I muttered.

  Mendax lifted his chin. ‘I’m not afraid of strong women but I am afraid of anyone who can cold-bloodedly kill another living being.’

  I kept my mouth resolutely shut but only because I’d promised to do so, not because I didn’t have a come back. I folded my arms and leaned back. Mendax took his seat again.

  ‘I wasn’t lying before,’ he said. ‘I don’t have the video file with me. I came here and took it and it’s now in a safe place, far away from here. I only came back to keep an eye out because I had an inkling that you might return.’ He reached into the inside pocket of his coat and drew out a smartphone. ‘But I do have proof of what she’s done.’ He raised an eyebrow at Morgan. ‘If you’ll permit me?’

  Morgan nodded sharply. The dragon smiled and thumbed the phone for a moment before his expression cleared and he turned it round so we could see the screen. When I realised what it showed, my stomach turned.

  It was dark. It was obviously a CCTV still and the quality wasn’t perfect but there was no doubt as to who the figure on the screen was. It was definitely me. I was holding aloft some kind of sword and looking down at the crumpled heap of a body at my feet. My face was in profile but, from this angle, it looked as if I were snarling. My shoulders sagged. There it was, in glorious technicolour.

  I really was a killer after all.

  We all stared at it for a long moment. I considered pointing out that it could have been altered or manipulated and the sword could have been photo-shopped in but the smug look on Mendax’s face gave truth to the image. It was me – and it was a real picture.

  There was an unpleasant taste in the back of my mouth. I could really do with a glass of water. Scanning round, I spotted a water cooler in the corner. Without saying a word, I got up to my feet and shuffled over.

  Morgan cleared his throat but, when he started talking again, his voice remained low. ‘So you were following Madrona because you thought she might lead you to the sphere. She doesn’t have it, though. We can assume that Rubus doesn’t either or he would have used it by now. Perhaps the thing is lost.’

  Mendax’s eyes narrowed. I took a sip of water and watched him. There was something about the guy – I couldn’t put my finger on it but he made me feel very uneasy. Maybe it was because he’d called me out as a murderer. I supposed that would do it.

  Morgan continued. ‘If you did happen to find it, what exactly would you do with it?’

  Mendax tutted as if the answer were glaringly obvious. ‘I’d destroy it, of course.’

  ‘How?’ Neither Morgan’s expression nor his voice had altered in the slightest but I knew he was on tenterhooks. We all were.

  ‘It was created with dragon magic,’ the old man said, with an imperious toss of his head. ‘I’ll simply use dragon magic to obliterate it.’

  Finn, with more rationality than I’d previous believed him capable of, leaned forward. ‘Why didn’t your old buddy Chen destroy it then?’

  ‘Because it was his,’ Mendax replied simply. ‘We’re dragons. We’re hoarders by nature and we certainly don’t destroy that which is ours. Chen would have been as incapable of getting rid of the sphere he created as you would be of forgetting about your homeland.’

  ‘But if he bequeathed it to you it belongs to you,’ Finn argued. ‘The cycle starts all over again.’

  ‘He bequeathed it to me in order to destroy it, not to keep it. Those are entirely different things. I do not possess the right to keep the sphere, only the right to remove it from existence.’ Mendax arched an eyebrow. ‘What would you do if you found it?’ There was a glint in his black eyes that suggested he knew that Morgan was lying about not having it.

  ‘The same thing,’ Morgan answered. ‘We would also destroy it.’

  ‘You’re not a dragon,’ Mendax dismissed. ‘You don’t have the capabilities. Sooner or later the temptation will grow too strong and you’ll use it to return to your own demesne. I have heard tales of your homesickness. You won’t be able to keep those pangs at bay forever. The sphere will call to you – and you will answer.’

  ‘That wouldn’t happen.’

  The dragon smiled sadly. ‘Yes, it would.’

  The line of tension in Morgan’s spine belied his casual shrug. ‘There are plenty of ways to make the sphere irretrievable.’

  Mendax didn’t blink. ‘You have magic but so do plenty of others. Nothing is lost forever.’ He glanced at me. ‘Not even innocence. A simple bout of supposed amnesia and her sins are wiped clean.’

  ‘Leave her out of this,’ Morgan growled.

  Amusement flickered across Mendax’s face. ‘As you wish.’

  I moved my gaze from Mendax to Morgan. If I kept looking at the smarmy old dragon, I’d be liable to spring at him and ram my paper cup down his throat. At least Morgan was easier on the eye. He didn’t once glance in my direction. Was that because he could no longer bear to look at me now that the truth about what I’d done to Charrie had been revealed?

  ‘Did you set fire to Chen’s building?’ Morgan asked.
>
  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Did you take his safe?’

  ‘That’s two questions in one.’

  ‘They’re related,’ Morgan said coldly.

  ‘Yes. In fact,’ Mendax added with a distinct purr, ‘there is another object inside which may be of interest to you. It’s not yet operational but it has … potential.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘It’s an oath breaker.’ He sounded incredibly smug.

  I swung my eyes back towards him. The smile playing around his lips was distinctly predatory and I suddenly felt like I was catching a glimpse of the real dragon behind the pensioner’s exterior.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Finn said.

  ‘No,’ Mendax murmured. ‘I don’t suppose you do. He does though.’ He jerked his head at Morgan.

  With obvious reluctance, Morgan explained. ‘An oath breaker with appropriate power could be used to remove the truce. Such objects, while rare, are available in Mag Mell.’

  Mendax smirked. ‘One never knows when it might be prudent to go back on one’s word.’

  I stared at him. If we could break the truce then we could attack Rubus properly. And all his goons. He wouldn’t even be expecting it. Such a thing, if wielded appropriately, could have tremendous potential. An image of Rubus splayed out with his entrails hanging out flashed into my mind. I swallowed, nauseous. Apparently I would be happy to murder again if I thought circumstances demanded it.

  ‘I’m not part of the truce,’ Finn declared. ‘If we wanted to kill a faery then I could easily do it.’

  ‘Really?’ the dragon murmured. ‘Easily? If you had the ability to kill Rubus, you’d have already done so. I know that all Redcaps look like hulking brutes but in my experience your power is minimal – as evidenced by the recent deaths of your brothers.’

  All three of us sucked in a breath at that. How did the slimy arsebadger know about Winn and Jinn?

  At least Morgan didn’t miss a beat. ‘Why did you take the safe in the first place?’

  Mendax rolled his eyes. ‘It’s obvious, isn’t it? I thought the sphere would be inside it. I was rather … upset when I discovered it wasn’t. I searched the rest of the house and then allowed my temper to get the better of me. The fire was not premeditated. Consider it a measure of how seriously I believe retrieving the sphere to be.’ He knitted his hands together behind his back. ‘It appears that we are at an impasse. I possess evidence that implicates your girlfriend in a murder, evidence that even the human police can’t ignore. I don’t trust you.’ His gaze encompassed all of us. ‘Any of you. In fact, I believe you do have Chen’s sphere. It’s too dangerous an object to be left in mere faery hands.’