by Helen Harper
‘So,’ Anna asked, ‘is his target the mermaid or Monroe?’
‘Maybe both.’ I gave her a grim look. ‘It doesn’t really make a difference.’ Except I didn’t care about Nimue. Monroe had my heart.
‘I suppose not.’ She touched my arm. ‘Are you alright?’
‘Yes.’ And I was – for now. Either my hunch was correct and we still had a chance to get to Albert and Monroe in time, or it wasn’t and we didn’t. I didn’t want to think about that scenario unless I had to. ‘We have to get there as quickly as we can,’ I said.
So far all we were doing was running around the damned city at full speed and falling short whenever we got somewhere. This would be our final destination. I’d stake my life on it. ‘We have to stop Albert.’ And possibly Monroe too, if he’d already been set on his own collision course.
‘We will, Charley.’ We both pretended not to hear the doubt in her voice. ‘We will.’
Monroe’s little car was parked in the same spot as it had been when Malbus thrust his sword in my face. I should have been relieved at the proof that Monroe was here, but I was just annoyed. It meant that Monroe had driven Albert and the old bastard was pulling all the strings. He even had the strongest werewolf in the country acting as his chauffeur. He probably thought that getting Monroe to drive to his own death was some kind of poetic justice. Well, he’d learn. I’d show him what justice really meant.
Anna parked behind, effectively blocking Monroe’s car so that Albert would have to run if he tried to make a quick getaway. I could run down a seventy year old, that much I knew.
Trying to be quiet, I opened the passenger door and stepped out. Anna did the same on her side. I spotted the fresh footsteps in the mud straight away, two sets, both leading towards the lake.
I held my finger up to my lips and pointed. Anna nodded grimly. She started forward, ready to follow wherever the tracks led, but I grabbed her back.
‘You have to go and talk to the bogles,’ I whispered. ‘We’ve caused them enough trouble already. Explain to them what’s going on and that they have to stay away from here. I’ll deal with Albert.’
She tried to be stern. ‘I’m the police officer, Charley.’
‘I know. But magic is involved in all this. If it weren’t, Albert wouldn’t have been able to manipulate his victims to the extent that he already has. You might have that magic inside you now like everyone else, but I have more.’ I wasn’t boasting, merely stating a fact. ‘I have the magical experience, too. Besides, the last face the bogles want to see again is mine. Once you’ve spoken to them, you can come back here. Either it’ll all be over and I’ll have stopped Albert, or you’ll need to do it yourself because I’ll have fucked up.’
‘Charley…’
‘This is my responsibility, Anna. I have to do this.’
She hissed with obvious reluctance but I knew she’d do what I asked. ‘You said the bogles live only a few streets away from here. I’ll run. I’ll be back here in less than twenty minutes. I guarantee it.’
I smiled at her. ‘I’d expect nothing less.’
She tutted then she spun on her heel and sprinted off. That meant I had only minutes to resolve this situation. I couldn’t put Anna in danger; if all this went tits up, everyone would need her around for whatever else came in the future.
I lifted my head and strode forward. Coming, Albert. Ready or not.
I heard him before I saw him. His voice was surprisingly low and mellifluous. ‘Where is she, Monroe? Where is the mermaid?’
‘She’s in there. She has to be in there.’ Monroe’s answer sounded distant.
‘Call her.’
I stepped out from the trees just as Monroe moved robotically to the lake’s edge. ‘Hello, Albert,’ I said.
For a moment or two, he didn’t move then he slowly turned towards me and smiled. ‘Charley. It’s good of you to join us.’
‘The game’s up,’ I said. ‘Your time is over.’
Albert arched an eyebrow. ‘Is it indeed?’
‘You’re coming with me and you’re going to pay for what you’ve done.’
Rather than being intimidated, he appeared amused. ‘Am I? What exactly have I done then? Hmmm?’
It was the ‘hmmm’ that got me. It was both patronising and degrading at the same time, as though by dint of his age and gender he was automatically superior to me.
‘You freak!’ I spat. ‘You think I don’t know what you’ve been doing? How many people you’ve killed?’
Albert’s expression was mild. ‘My dear girl, I’ve not killed anyone. My hands are clean.’ He held them up for inspection. ‘And that’s no mean feat, given how long it took you to sort out the water problems we were having.’
‘Nimue,’ Monroe called, oblivious to my presence. ‘Nimue, come out.’
‘You see?’ Albert enquired. ‘I’m standing here. It’s that wolf who’s doing all the work.’
‘Yeah, but you’re yanking his strings.’ Furious magic sparked at my fingertips. ‘Get him back.’
The older man tapped his mouth thoughtfully. ‘Let me think about that. No.’ He smiled. ‘I don’t think I will bring him here.’ He leaned towards me. ‘Do you know that you cannot hypnotise anyone to do anything their moral core wouldn’t permit them to do under normal circumstances? It’s why I couldn’t hypnotise dear Val to kill a vampire. She didn’t hate them as much as she thought she did. She was a bit fearful of their kind.’ He chuckled. ‘Although in the end she had every reason to be.’
‘She went to you for help! All you did was get her killed!’
‘But I did help her. She was deeply unhappy. I made that better for her.’ He shrugged. ‘I didn’t do anything to any of these people that they didn’t want. The male vampire wanted blood. The female werewolf wanted the vampire’s blood.’ He gestured in the air. ‘And so on and so forth. All I did was give them permission to achieve their heart’s desire.’
‘Through hypnosis supplemented with magic!’ I half yelled.
Albert’s eyes narrowed. ‘I was helping them. You’re just like the others.’
I tried to control my breathing. ‘The others?’
‘The so-called Council for Psychotherapy deregistered me.’ He rolled his eyes in disgust. ‘They didn’t agree with my practices.’
‘I wonder why.’
Albert didn’t hear me. ‘But,’ he continued, ‘in this new world, they don’t exist. It’s why I stayed in Manchester, you know. I offer freedom in the same manner that the magic does.’ He reached out to pat me on the shoulder but I flinched away. ‘I’m better at it than you are.’
‘Nimue,’ Monroe called again, this time with a trace of frustration. ‘I need you to come out of the water.’
‘You see?’ Albert grinned toothlessly. ‘He was yours but now he’s mine. And he feels so much better for it. He came to me, you know, not the other way around. They all did.’
I couldn’t help myself. I thrust my hands forward, sending harsh green magic slamming into Albert’s chest. He was knocked backwards into the mud, expelling a loud oomph of air as he fell. He struggled to his feet, disdainfully wiped off a smear of mud from his face and glared. ‘You see?’ he said softly. ‘Now I’m giving you what you want, the opportunity to strike down an old man who challenges your authority.’ His lip curled. ‘Such as it is. You’re not doing a very good job of running our community. Effective or not, all leaders become tyrants in the end.’
I drew in a ragged breath. ‘No,’ I said. ‘They don’t.’
Monroe was wading into the water. ‘Nimue! Nimue!’
‘He’ll keep going,’ Albert remarked. ‘Even if you end my life here and now, that wolf will keep going after the mermaid. It’s his heart’s desire. He’s an animal. Better than that, he’s a predator and his purpose in life is to kill. He will kill the mermaid and then he’ll be at peace because he’ll truly understand his own nature and his own needs.’
I lifted up my chin. ‘Monroe isn’t like tha
t.’
‘Yes, he is. And deep down, you know it just as much as he does.’ A knowing look flitted across Albert’s face. ‘He spoke about you. I do believe he’s in love with you, but he can’t deny the beast inside himself.’ He smirked. ‘I’ll prove it to you.’ He turned towards the lake. ‘Monroe,’ he called. ‘Listen to my voice. Leave the elusive little mermaid for now and come over here.’
Monroe didn’t hesitate; he swung round and walked out of the water, trudging towards Albert and me.
‘Monroe! Stop listening to him and look at me!’ I shouted.
He glanced in my direction. ‘Hello, Charley,’ he said. ‘You look lovely.’
I reached over and grabbed his shoulders, staring him in the face. His pupils were dilated and he had a dreamy expression, but he was still my Monroe. He would still listen to me. ‘Stop this,’ I said sternly. ‘You’re better than this. Give yourself a shake and become yourself again, not whoever this bastard wants you to be.’
‘Listen to my voice, Monroe,’ Albert repeated. ‘Charley is suffering. She’s in pain. You need to help her in the same way that I’m helping you. Kill her, and all her pain will disappear. She’ll be in a better place, a calmer place…’
‘Monroe, don’t you pay any fucking attention to him!’ I shouted. I shook him as hard as I could but he just continued to smile at me.
‘Kill her, Monroe,’ Albert repeated. ‘Make things better and ease her suffering. The wolf inside you wants to do it. It wants to tear into her soft flesh and rip her white skin. It wants…’
I slapped Monroe hard across the face. He blinked but his expression didn’t change. With desperation clawing at my insides, I gathered up all the magic inside me and flung it hard in Albert’s direction. At the last moment, Monroe nudged me and knocked off my aim, giving Albert the opportunity to sidestep. All that force went slamming into a tree behind him instead, splitting its trunk in two.
Albert’s voice hardened. ‘Do it, Monroe. Now.’
Right in front of me, Monroe shifted, his human form giving way to a massive wolf. He landed on the ground on all fours and bared his teeth, growling.
I started to back away. ‘Monroe, don’t do this.’ Almost of its own volition, magic flared again around my hands, ready to be dispensed at any moment.
‘Oh,’ Albert laughed, ‘this is too perfect. If you kill him, Charley, what does that make you? Go on,’ he urged. ‘Destroy the wolf before it destroys you. He’s already eating away at your insides. His death will save you from a destructive relationship that will do no one any good. Maybe once he’s gone, you’ll be able to concentrate on the rest of us in this city. You’ll focus on what’s important, not your pathetic love life.’
Albert’s words were becoming an incessant drone so I shut them out. I reached for Monroe, my fingers curling into his fur. He snarled once, a brief sharp burst, then he sprang towards me and his massive paws knocked me off my feet. I landed on my back, physically winded and emotionally destroyed.
Monroe’s body straddled mine, holding me in place. Then his jaws opened.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Make it fast, I prayed. Just make it fast. I held my breath and tensed as something wet and soft landed on cheek. I recoiled and felt my scream rising.
Wait.
A lick. That was definitely a lick. I peeked upwards, one eye open. Monroe winked. He lifted his head and howled for one blood-curdling moment. A second later, he turned and lunged at Albert.
I scrambled up as quickly as I could. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see this but I had to bear witness; the victims – and Monroe himself – deserved that much.
Monroe advanced on Albert, paw by soft paw. Albert had his hands up and, for the first time, looked strained and fearful. ‘Listen to my voice. You need to back away.’
Monroe shook himself, his red-tinged fur rippling.
‘Monroe…’ Albert said, his voice shaking. ‘You’re in pain. You’re afraid of yourself and what you might do. But you don’t want to do this. Not to me.’
Monroe growled, a vicious sound filled with unquenchable anger. I swallowed as his fur blurred. A second later he stood there, naked as the day as he was born and with his hands on his hips. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘I do want to do it. I want to do it so very badly.’ He tilted his head downwards. ‘But I won’t. Because you can’t control me. I’m not a monster – at least, I’m not the monster you think I am. And you’re not worth it.’
Albert stared at him, his eyes wide. ‘It worked,’ he whispered. He began to smile, a sickening expression that did nothing to reassure me. ‘My therapy worked. You’re cured! You can move on with your life.’ He spread his arms. ‘Look at what I did! I saved you!’
It happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to react. A delicate hand, with one piece of straggly moss trailing down its wrist, reached up from the water, curled round Albert’s ankle and yanked. One second he was standing there, beaming with pride; the next second he was gone. There were so few ripples on the surface of the lake that I wasn’t sure he’d had any time to fight back.
I gaped and shuddered. Monroe marched over and wrapped his arms round me. I leaned into him and we stared at the water. It didn’t take long. Nimue’s head broke the surface. ‘Thank you for my gift,’ she purred. The faintest smear of blood still clung to her lips
I found my voice. ‘You shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t have killed him.’
She smiled. ‘It’s in my nature. I can’t help it. Besides,’ she added coyly, ‘you both wanted me to.’ She raised her hand in a wave. ‘Don’t forget to come and visit,’ she called before she disappeared beneath the water once more.
Monroe and I stood there in silence. When I finally spoke, I didn’t turn my head to look at him. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. ‘Were you ever under his control?’
‘For a time,’ he murmured, his lips close to my ear. ‘He was very … persuasive. His words made sense and he understood which buttons to press. He was a wily bastard. Just not wily enough.’
‘You see?’ I said quietly. ‘You’re not the predator you thought you were.’
Monroe’s arms tightened round me. ‘Oh, I am, I’m just more in control than I thought I was. I know who my targets are. In a way, Albert’s therapy worked. I know my limits and my boundaries, regardless of the magic.’ He pressed his lips to my cheek, the heat of his mouth searing into my skin. ‘I win.’
There was the sound of running feet. From beyond the lake and the woods, Anna appeared with at least a dozen bogles at her back. ‘We’re all here!’ she roared. ‘We’re all going to…’ Her voice faltered as she took us in. ‘Isn’t he here?’
I glanced out towards the now still water. ‘He was,’ I said. ‘But he’s not any more.’
Epilogue
Timmons had a knowing smile on his face as he pressed the key into my hands. ‘Your room is on the top floor,’ he said. ‘It’s out of the way of the others. You won’t be disturbed.’
‘Thank you.’
He handed me a plate covered by a silver dome. I frowned and lifted it. Underneath was a jam sandwich, cut into neat diagonal shapes. ‘In case you get peckish,’ he told me. He gave me a little nudge. ‘Off you go.’
The door to the hotel room was already ajar. I pushed it open with my free hand and walked in, carefully laying the sandwich on the side table where a television would once have stood.
I turned and regarded Monroe who was lying spread-eagled on the bed, surrounded by rose petals.
‘We have chocolates,’ he said, without taking his eyes off mine. ‘And wine. Clearly, the faery has been holding onto his own secret stash. I’ll have words with him about that later.’
‘No, you won’t,’ I said. ‘Besides, we’re all in this together.’
He smiled at me, a secret smile that I’d never seen him bestow on anyone else. ‘That we are.’ He licked his lips. ‘These trysts will be a lot easier to manage once you all move into the north.’
‘Everyone is pretty much
packed up.’
‘Good. Has there been much argument?’
I shook my head. ‘Not as much as I expected. I think everyone gets it. Before it was about survival, about making it past the apocalypse and adapting. But now we’ve moved past merely surviving – we have to start living too.’
He stretched his arms behind his head. ‘I’m glad you came,’ he said softly.
I breathed in deeply. ‘So am I.’
‘If you don’t want to be here…’
I didn’t give him a chance to finish. ‘I do. This is all that I want.’ I squinted at him. ‘Do you want to be here?’
His answer was quiet. ‘Like you wouldn’t believe.’ He looked away as if he were suddenly nervous. ‘I’m sorting myself out properly, too. Albert’s not the only counsellor in town. It turns out that Theo the vampire is also a fully-qualified therapist. In fact, hypnotherapy is one of his specialisms. I’ve signed up for a month.’
I smiled. ‘I think that’s a really good idea.’
Monroe seemed to relax. ‘I’m going to get over this. I’m going to be the person you deserve.’
I walked over and forced him to look up at me. ‘You always were.’
His eyes flared, their blue light darkening to a stormier grey. ‘Not always.’ The corners of his lips curved slightly. ‘I like your plans for different clubs and societies. Julian was particularly enamoured by the thought of amateur dramatics.’
I blinked. ‘Really?’
Monroe laughed. ‘No. Although he would make a fabulous pantomime dame. He is keen on taking poker lessons, though.’
I rubbed my palms together. ‘Excellent. I could do with some easy targets. I’d have thought that Julie would be interested in some theatre but she’s decided to offer Pilates instead.’
