Page 20 of Quiver of Cobras
Taking more care, I tiptoed gingerly into the nearest room. It appeared to be some kind of study area. There was an antique desk and numerous books. The far wall remained untouched by Morgan’s magic so, aping his moves, I spread out my arms and connected my thumbs to my fingers just as he had. Disappointingly, nothing happened although I did feel a brief tug of magic. Discarding his actions I tried my own, flicking both middle fingers up at the wall and grimacing. Just as Morgan had managed it out in the hallway, I managed it here. The burnt wall repaired itself, re-forming back into its former glory. I beamed. Go the Madhatter.
‘I did it!’ I crowed.
‘Well done,’ Morgan murmured. He cocked his head and frowned. ‘That’s not right.’
I put my hands on my hips. ‘My magic is just as good as your magic.’
‘I’m not denigrating your skills, Maddy. I mean that something’s not right about the wall.’ He glanced at me. ‘Remove the spell for a minute.’
He was just jealous, I decided, but I did as he asked and flicked my fingers back at the wall. The glamour vanished, leaving the depressing black flakes of plaster and charred timber frame instead.
‘There,’ Morgan murmured. He pointed. ‘You see this?’
I squinted. ‘It’s a hole. Half this building is a hole.’ I looked harder. Hang on a minute. Without waiting for Morgan to give the word, I turned the spell back on again. A painting, a square painting, had covered the hole. I edged up and poked my finger at it before removing the glamour again. Huh. Snail Boy had sharp eyes.
‘Something was here,’ I said. ‘Built into the wall itself.’
Morgan nodded grimly. ‘What better way to hide a theft than to burn the building to the ground? It was probably a safe of some sort. Whoever destroyed Chen’s home took the time to remove his safe first. Maybe they even used the fire to dislodge the safe from the wall. Either way, this is important. I’d have said the sphere would have been kept here, except the building didn’t burn down until two nights ago. Where was Rubus then?’
I shrugged helplessly. ‘I don’t know. Until today, I’ve been locked up in a room.’
Anger sparked in Morgan’s eyes. ‘Rubus is afraid of you and what you’re capable of.’
‘Or he just doesn’t trust me.’ That was more likely. Another thought struck me. ‘Or he needed me out of the way because he had things to do – like come here and burn the place to the ground.’
‘And steal Chen the Dragon’s safe,’ Morgan agreed. ‘You need to get back to Rubus. And you need to find out if he has the safe and what’s inside it. We’ve saved the sphere, Maddy, but what if there are more objects like it?’
My mouth was dry. Gasbudlikins. This could be very, very bad. I still glanced at Morgan, though, and murmured, ‘Nowyou’re glad that I didn’t run away from Rubus, aren’t you?’
He tutted but didn’t otherwise respond.
‘Score one to the Madhatter!’
‘You’re a bad winner,’ he told me.
‘And you’re a sore loser.’
We stared at each other for a moment. Morgan’s eyes dropped to my lips and I couldn’t stop my tongue from darting out to wet them.
There was a loud crash from somewhere over our heads and we both jumped.
‘We should get out of here before the building collapses,’ he whispered.
I nodded in agreement and turned to walk away. I knew without glancing back that Morgan was watching my arse. As he should.
Chapter Five
Evil Madrona, I told myself, as I strode back into Rubus’s rabbit warren of a place. Evil Madrona, not Superhero Madrona.
‘Hey, Madrona,’ Lunaria called out.
‘Evil Madrona,’ I snapped back, without thinking.
She blinked. ‘Uh…’
Gasbudlikins. ‘I’m trying out new nicknames,’ I said. ‘To be honest, I like the Madhatter but I’m not sure that Rubus is a fan.’
‘No,’ she agreed. ‘And it’s important to keep him happy.’ She said this last part with a completely straight face, as if she wholeheartedly believed it. I did too – but I suspected that was for entirely different reasons.
