Page 29 of Quiver of Cobras
‘Huh?’
‘Go on.’ I mimicked the action for her. ‘Slap your cheek.’
‘You’re crazy.’
‘We all know that already. Go on,’ I said sternly. ‘Do it.’
Unbelievably, she did as I commanded. Her hand left a faint red imprint on her cheek. ‘Ouch,’ she complained.
‘Do you feel better?’
‘No, I just feel sore.’
‘Then do it again.’
She did. This was fun. I wondered idly whether I had the power to encourage Rubus to stab himself. Probably not, but it might be fun trying.
‘I’m not sure this is helping, Madrona.’
‘You’d be surprised. Now, repeat after me: “I am a strong Fey woman who does not need someone like Rubus to affirm my existence”.’
‘I am a strong Fey woman,’ she burbled, ‘who does not need Rubus to affirm my existence.’
‘Perfect.’ I gave her a hard look. ‘He doesn’t appreciate you, you know. I’m sure he’s got you running around all over town to do his bidding.’
‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘He does.’
When she didn’t elaborate, I prodded further. ‘The things he’s got you doing are probably a waste of your time. You’re too intelligent to be just an errand girl.’
‘Well,’ she demurred, ‘actually he’s got me investigating…’ She stopped in mid-sentence and stared at me.
‘Go on.’
‘No one. I’m not investigating anyone. I…’ Her head swung from side to side. ‘I should go. I promised Carduus I’d help him with a few bits and bobs in his laboratory.’ Before I could think of a way to stop her, she fled.
Gasbudlikins. That hadn’t been helpful other than to highlight the fact that she was tasked with something that I wasn’t supposed to know about. I gnawed the inside of my cheek. I’d have to resort to other methods.
I headed out of the kitchen, double-checking that Lunaria had dashed off in the opposite direction, then I made my way back upstairs to the bedroom area. I wasn’t sure which room was hers but it didn’t take long to work it out. I could immediately rule out the small rooms with clothes littering the floor – she was too proud and keen to please to leave her sleeping area in a mess. I hesitated in one room, wondering if the stuffed teddy bear on the narrow bed could be hers, but the perfume lingering in the air didn’t register.
When I popped my head around the next door along, I knew I’d hit the jackpot. Her room could only be this one – it was the only one with a photo of Rubus beaming down from the wall. There was a faint lipsticked mark on it. I eyed it with some distaste. The shade matched Lunaria’s. She really did have it bad.
Sneaking inside and closing the door behind me, I began to rummage. There had to be a clue here somewhere. I lifted up the mattress and checked the drawers in the bedside cabinet. When nothing jumped out at me, I flipped open the lid of the slim, silver laptop on the dressing table. Rubus continued to gaze down at me from the photo. I stuck my tongue out at him and opened the laptop lid.
The screen asked for a password. I inputted Rubus’s name and gained access to the machine’s contents on my very first attempt. Yes, I was a pure genius; either that or Lunaria was entirely too predictable. I didn’t waste too much time congratulating myself; instead I opened her recent documents. Something had to be here.
The last three files that Lunaria had opened up were videos. Maybe she really was just looking at porn. I clicked on the first one, more out of prurient curiosity than anything else, but when I saw what was there I frowned.
It appeared to be CCTV footage. I glanced at the date in the corner. September 21st. That wasn’t all that long ago. An uneasy feeling drifted into my stomach.
The footage was taken at night and, as far as I could tell, it was from some sort of park. Then the angle changed and I was watching a small flag fluttering in the night breeze. With a sick feeling in my stomach, I opened up the next file. This video was of somewhere similar. I peered, noting the tall bag with the golf clubs sticking out of it that was propped against a nearby wall. I quickly opened the third one. There was no doubt now: Lunaria was retrieving footage from various golf clubs around the city – footage from the night when I’d woken up with amnesia.
I’d told Rubus that I’d found myself on a golf course but I hadn’t told him which one. He was sending Lunaria out to get evidence about what I’d really been up to. Except evenIdidn’t know what I’d really been up to. This didn’t bode well for me.
I checked the names of each golf course. None of them were the one I’d been at but if Lunaria was visiting every course in the city and its surroundings, it was only a matter of time before she found the right one.
I cursed. If there was indeed a video of my pre-amnesia self wandering around the eighteenth hole, it was vital that I got my mitts on it before Rubus did. Because whatever else I’d been doing, and whether I’d killed Charrie or not, I’d definitely taken Chen’s magical little sphere from the bogle’s body. If Rubus discovered that I’d had it in my possession, even briefly, then all hell would break loose.
Chapter Eight
