by Helen Harper
‘Boss,’ the other troll said nervously. ‘I’m not sure this is a good idea. You know we’re not supposed to hurt any of them that badly. We’re only supposed to terrorise them into submission.’
‘Oh,’ Bernard snarled, ‘I’ll terrorise them. Have no fear on that score.’ Then he muttered to himself, ‘I always knew it would come to this. You godmothers won’t understand anything until we do start killing you. You think you’re so superior because you grant wishes for humans. You should realise that makes you little more than slaves. Well,’ he bared his teeth, ‘soon you’ll all be slaves for us trolls instead.’
From outside there were several loud shouts. The others had returned, and hopefully with the rest of the faery godmothers in tow. Bernard turned his head, momentarily distracted. I took full advantage, using every last vestige of energy left in me to throw myself at him. I lifted my hands, aiming my thumbs at his eyeballs. His hands reached up, his fingers encircling round my wrists and squeezing. I yelped.
‘They’re here,’ the other troll said, his eyes darting fearfully from side to side. ‘The other faery godmothers are here.’
‘Then you know what has to happen.’
‘Boss…’
Bernard gripped my wrists even tighter. I could feel my own bones being crushed. I tried to wriggle free but he was too strong. From behind me I could see Jasper trying and failing to raise himself up. The Director hadn’t moved from the bench.
‘I want you to know,’ Bernard sneered in my face. ‘That you brought this upon yourself.’ He released his grip on me. ‘But don’t worry. Your sacrifice won’t be for nothing. Our policy is indeed to cause terror amongst the godmothers without killing. I will continue with that policy, at least as far as the outside world is concerned. Now we’ll all die here.’ He grinned. ‘But you’ll be blamed. This will only serve as a catalyst to bring the other surviving trolls round to our way of thinking. We either destroy the faery godmothers by subverting them to our will or we all die. For good this time.’ He lifted his head and raised his hands into the air. At first I didn’t think anything was happening. Then he pointed at the giant glittering disco ball perched above our heads. ‘Devil’s Advocate!’ he called. ‘What did I tell you was packed into that innocuous looking little sphere?’
I looked at Jasper. His eyes flicked to mine. ‘Explosives,’ he whispered.
Bernard smiled. ‘Indeed.’ He seemed to be salivating over the prospect. ‘None of us are walking out of here now. But we will be martyrs for our cause.’ Then he flicked his wrists one last time.
I screamed. I ran at Jasper, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and hauling him backwards. Neither Bernard nor the other troll tried to stop me. Billy burst back in. I didn’t waste any time. ‘Get the Director out of here now!’
He spotted her immediately and hauled her upwards. We were all just reaching the saloon doors when there was a loud whomp. It felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. A split second there was heat, deadly skin blistering heat. All four of us were thrown forwards. I felt rather than saw hands reaching out and pulling us towards the nightclub’s doors. There was a strange ringing in my ears. I stumbled out into the night as Bridge To Nowhere went up in flames. I gasped for breath, desperately looking round me. The Director was there. So was Jasper. And Billy. We’d all made it out. We were all still alive.
‘We’ve won!’ Delilah’s face appeared hovering in front of me then she pulled me into a hug which did nothing for my pain wracked body. ‘We’ve won! We beat the troll bastard!’
My tongue darted out in a pathetic bid to moisten my cracked my lips. ‘No,’ I whispered. ‘I don’t think we’ve won at all.’
Chapter Twenty Eight
The Director gazed at me from behind her desk. Her hand, with its missing finger, was tightly bandaged but other than that and a new haircut as a result of her singed hair, she appeared unscathed from her ordeal. She was a tough cookie.
‘You came through for us, Saffron,’ she said. ‘For that I have to thank you. If it weren’t for you, things would have been a lot worse.’
I inclined my head and bit back the temptation to mutter that it had been nothing. I did come through for them and I did deserve thanks. This wasn’t the time for false modesty. I wouldn’t allow my deeds to be brushed under the carpet.
‘You’re welcome. I am glad that no-one on our side died.’
‘Mmm.’ A tiny frown marred her smooth forehead. I knew what she was thinking. The fact that not one faery had died was a big deal. Especially given what happened with Bernard. How ever many trolls actually remained, his showy martyrdom would only spur them on against us. Plus, it would allow them the opportunity to pretend to themselves that they were still on morally higher ground and that they weren’t killers – unlike us. They’d gloss over the actual kidnappings and minor dismemberment issues and use the events at Bridge To Nowhere to solidify their intent to subjugate and destroy the faery godmothers once and for all. The battle had been won, but the war was only just beginning. I had the uneasy feeling that I wasn’t willing to voice that the trolls were going to prove to be far more intelligent than we were.
Beside me, Adeline coughed. ‘Perhaps, Director,’ she said awkwardly, ‘this is an opportunity to re-consider Saffron’s position here.’
I glanced at the office manager with some surprise. Obviously, I’d been hoping for this outcome. I just hadn’t expected it to come from Adeline.
‘The audit is still going ahead. The Devil’s Advocate likes her,’ she continued. ‘That could be helpful for all of us.’
The Director herself didn’t blink. Her lack of discomfort at the suggestion that I return to my original position had me holding my breath. Come on, I prayed. Give me my job back. This place was a horror and my colleagues were nuts. It had potential though. And, despite everything, I could still see myself sitting in the Director’s own chair. One day. I could make the faery godmothers live up to their much exaggerated reputation. I had it in me. I knew I did. Assuming the trolls didn’t destroy us first, of course.
‘Leave us, Adeline.’
She started. ‘But …’
The Director’s gaze narrowed. Adeline all but sprinted from the room. Honestly, Bernard had been made of stronger stuff than I’d given him credit for. If one look from the Director was enough to make Adeline turn tail then daring to abduct her was an action that only a steel hearted person could accomplish.
Once the door had closed behind her, the Director turned to me. ‘You understand why you were initially recruited.’
It wasn’t a question, but I nodded all the same.
‘You also understand that things are not … easy within this office.’
I nodded again.
‘Despite all that has occurred, I still expect the very best from my faery godmothers. I remain unconvinced that you are capable of delivering that.’
Unbelievable. What more did I have to do?
‘Still,’ she murmured, ‘regardless of the mistakes you have made, you do know how to keep your mouth shut. You could have told everyone why I had ventured out to the park in the first place.’ She eyed me as if testing to see if I even knew the answer at all.
‘You wanted drugs,’ I said. ‘You needed to take the edge off whatever it is you’re feeling. Or to escape.’ I kept a straight face. ‘Or to just get buzzed.’
The Director winced. ‘I went to St Clements Park as part of the investigation into the disappearances,’ she said carefully.
Uh huh. ‘Yes.’ I wasn’t completely daft. Not always anyway. ‘You were very … brave.’
She picked up a pen. ‘You will be reinstated. I suppose we owe you that much.’
I couldn’t prevent the giant grin from spreading across my face. She might think she was buying my silence about her attempted venture into the world of trippy drugs. I didn’t actually care. Revealing her secret wouldn’t be anyone best’s interests, regardless of what happened to me. I wanted this job though a
nd if this sort of prevarication was what it took then so be it.
‘You will remain on your initial probation,’ she added. ‘Don’t think that this means you can do whatever you want and get away with it.’
‘Of course not.’ I lifted up my chin. ‘As long as I am treated fairly and given the same opportunities as everyone else then I have no complaints.’
‘Indeed.’ She sniffed.
‘What about the trolls?’ I asked. ‘What’s happening with them?’
‘We are searching for them. We will find them. They will not put us in that position again.’
They’d stayed hidden for nigh forty years. I reckoned they had the upper hand when it came to magical hide and seek. There was no point saying that aloud, however. The Director knew it as well as I did.
‘You don’t have to worry about the trolls,’ she continued. ‘They will be dealt with sooner or later. You should worry about your own position here and concentrate on being the best faery godmother that you can be.’
I inclined my head. ‘I will.’ There was no doubt in my mind.
She pursed her lips. ‘Well, with that in mind, there are a few matters to iron out. You say you want to be treated fairly. Even with the fawning eye of the Devil’s Advocate upon you, that is important.’
Fawning eye? That wasn’t how I’d ever thought of Jasper’s feelings towards me. I doubted he’d think much of that phrasing either.
‘Yes,’ I said aloud. ‘Equality is vital for the future of this office.’ In more ways than one.
‘Good.’ She pressed the buzzer on her desk. The door opened and Billy appeared.
‘Ms Sawyer,’ he said formally to me. ‘We welcome you back into the office. Just a few things to be aware of.’ He avoided meeting my eyes. ‘Your wages are to be docked at the end of this month…’
My mouth dropped open. ‘Why?’
‘There’s the matter of a missing pink cloak.’ He consulted the clipboard in front of him. ‘I believe you gave it away to a human. A Duncan Smith?’
I shook my head in faint disbelief.
‘You deny giving the cloak to him?’
‘No.’
Billy shrugged. ‘Well, then.’ He looked at his notes once again. ‘Then there’s damage incurred to a magical wand belonging to the Director herself.’
‘What damage?’
‘Some scrapes. A crack along one side.’
Fuck a puck. ‘Fine,’ I muttered. ‘Is that it?’
‘You are also to attend six human sensitivity training sessions. You revealed our existence to the afore-mentioned Duncan Smith and another human named Vincent Hamilton. That is completely unacceptable and entirely against the rules. Any further fall out from these actions will be on your head.’
I folded my arms. I had the distinct sensation that if I stood here and argued about any of this, it wouldn’t go well for me. ‘Alright.’
Billy passed the clipboard to me. ‘Sign here.’
I sighed. I did as he asked, however. When I gave it back to him, his hand briefly met mine and squeezed.
The Director opened a drawer and took out my ID and my wand. ‘Here you go, Saffron. Congratulations.’
I was no longer feeling quite so delighted. I took both items anyway. ‘Thank you.’
The Director looked at me. ‘Well? What are you waiting for? There are wishes waiting to be granted.’
Despite her cool manner, a brief thrill ran through me. She was right. I was still going to be the best damn faery godmother this world had ever seen. I reckoned I was already halfway to proving it.
‘Yes, ma’am.’
***
I took a deep breath and knocked sharply on Luke Wells’ front door. His flat mates had already left the building – I’d made sure of that. It would just be me and my client alone together. I prayed that this would go well.
He opened the door and blinked blearily out. ‘Yeah?’
‘Hi Luke.’
His body stiffened in suspicion. I wondered whether his subconscious was pushing away the memory magic and telling him that I was some sort of madwoman and the best thing he could do right now was to slam the door in my face. ‘Who are you?’
‘You don’t remember me.’ I managed a sigh. ‘I don’t suppose that’s surprising. You were so little the last time I saw you.’
My comment only served to make him even more distrustful. ‘Eh?’
‘I’m Saffron,’ I told him. ‘You used to call me Aunty Saff.’ I smiled hopefully to disguise the lie. ‘Does that ring a bell?’
‘No.’ He folded his arms and I sensed he was on the verge of giving me another brutal brush-off.
‘I’m a friend of your father’s,’ I quickly said.
Luke’s demeanour changed within a flash. ‘You know my dad?’ His expression was no longer that of a stand-offish, grumpy student. Instead he actually looked more like an eager puppy dog. I could feel myself softening towards him. ‘My real dad?’
If biology was what it took in Luke’s mind to be real. I was rather of the opinion that his stepdad was the real parent. I wasn’t here to judge, however. That wasn’t in my job description. ‘Yes. Mark Countman.’
Luke sucked in a breath, his hand shooting out to grip the door frame as if to steady himself. Later, he’d wonder how on earth I’d found him. Now he only had one question burning through his skull. ‘Do you know where he is?’ he demanded. ‘Do you know where I can find him?’
‘I do.’ I gave him a half smile. ‘In fact, I can take you to him right now if you like. He’s less than twenty minutes away from here.’
***
Under any other circumstances, Luke would have assumed I was trying to scam him and refused to come with me. He certainly possessed a suspicious enough nature to suspect only bad things of others. His desperation to find his father supplanted everything else, however. I’d said the magic words and, as a result, he’d all but sprinted out with me to the taxi I’d booked earlier and which was already waiting for us. It wasn’t long before I was stepping back out onto Mark Countman’s street. I could tell from Luke’s expression that he recognised the area from his investigations at the tattoo parlour. Now he truly did believe that I was taking him to his dad. In fact, his entire body was quivering with anticipation.
‘Which house?’ he demanded. ‘What number is it?’
‘Let’s hold off for just one second, Luke.’ I put a soothing hand on his arm. ‘Before we knock on his door, I want you to be prepared. He doesn’t know we’re coming. He might not react … well.’
Luke opened his mouth to argue with me then seemed to think better of it. He was silent for a moment before looking at me. ‘You know,’ he said slowly, ‘I think I do remember you, Aunt Saffy. You used to bring me bacon rolls, right? And coffee.’
I supposed it was fortunate that Luke didn’t have much experience with little kids. There wasn’t much wisdom in giving toddlers caffeine. ‘Er, yes. That was me.’
‘You looked after me,’ he murmured. ‘You’re still doing it. You’re like my faery godmother.’
I coughed. ‘That’s right.’ I raised my eyebrows at him meaningfully. ‘It’s your side I’m on in all this. You can still walk away. You have a dad at home who loves you more than anything. This one has been absent for almost your entire life.’
Luke’s shoulders sagged slightly. ‘I know. I should hate him. He abandoned us. He abandoned me.’ His chin was trembling. ‘But if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t exist. I’m not always a nice person. Sometimes I’m fucking horrible. I wonder if that’s because I’ve got so much of him in me. I’m not here to play happily families, Aunt Saffy. I’m here to find out what he’s really like and what really happened all those years ago. I’d like to get to know him.’ His head dropped. ‘Even if he’s still the same bastard he always was.’
Blood ties ran thick. I nodded. At least I could be assured that Luke was aware his biological father wasn’t a hero. He could still get hurt badly here but he wasn’t a ba
be in the woods either. Either way, meeting his dad was his wish. His real wish. ‘He’s at number twenty-three.’
Luke was already halfway across the road before I’d finished my sentence. So much for taking things slowly and thoughtfully then. I followed him, watching as he raised his fist to Mark Countman’s door. He wavered in mid-air, hesitating for a few seconds. Then he set his chin and knocked loudly.
It seemed to take an age. Eventually, however, the door opened and Luke’s father appeared. ‘Good morning,’ he said. ‘Can I help …’ His voice stopped abruptly and he stared at Luke, his face turning white as a sheet.
‘Hi Dad.’ Luke didn’t smile. ‘Can I come in?’
Panic flared in Mark’s eyes. I knew he wanted to refuse. He was seconds away from letting his worse instincts get the better of him. I did the only thing that made any sense. I stepped up, pushing past Luke and offering Mark a brilliant smile and before striding into his house without waiting to be invited. Mark was so surprised at my actions that he didn’t stop me.
‘I’ll make some tea, shall I?’ I bustled into the kitchen, immediately filling the kettle from the tap, listening to the awkward silence as both Mark and Luke also shuffled in after me and headed for the little living room.
‘You shouldn’t have come here, Luke.’
Fuck a puck.
‘Why not? I’m your only son. Don’t you want to get to know me?’ Luke’s voice was rising. ‘Or do you have other kids I don’t know about? Do I have any little brothers and sisters?’
‘You’re the only one.’ Mark sighed. ‘How’s your mother? And Jonathan?’
‘Mum’s fine, not that you’d care.’ I winced. Now that he had his foot in the door, Luke’s fear of being rejected again was coming to the fore and presenting as antagonism. That wasn’t going to help. ‘And Jonathan’s great,’ he continued. ‘He’s been a wonderful father to me all these years.’
