Page 37 of Quiver of Cobras
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.’
‘Iaman 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.
