Page 58 of Quiver of Cobras
As if she could tell what I was thinking, Artemesia’s mouth tightened. ‘It’s one thing to meet you in a neutral location but it’s quite another when you enter my home and snoop around.’
‘Even if you kick me out,’ I said, ‘I still know where you are. And you did allow Timmons to tell me your address. Not that I’m going to reveal your location. I told Carduus where you were last time because I was sure that you’d have already left and it gave me an opportunity to gain both his and Rubus’s trust. I have no reason to blab again and I’m not going to snoop. But we should stay here because all your equipment is here and we might need it. Besides, I did as you requested: I didn’t bring Lunaria.’
Artemesia’s lips moved silently. I peered at her. ‘Are you counting to ten?’ I asked. ‘Does that actually work?’
‘Not in your case, no.’ She sighed. ‘It’s so much freaking work to pack up everything. I’m going to have to do it all again now.’
‘You really don’t need to.’
Her shoulders sagged. ‘I really do.’ She shook her head. ‘Even if you promised not to say anything about where I am or what supplies I have and what experiments I’m doing, those Truth Spiders…’
I grimaced. ‘The Truth Spiders only work if you ask the right questions. So far, Rubus hasn’t done that.’
‘All the same, you’re still Madrona the Madhatter. You betrayed our side once before.’ She bit her lip. ‘I want to trust you. I think that even Morgan trusts you again now, and if he can manage it then the rest of us probably should.’
I ignored the sudden leap in my chest. ‘But…?’ I prodded.
‘But there’s too much at stake. You’re still with Rubus.’ She looked away. ‘It’s too risky to have you here. There are things I’m working on that Carduus would kill to get his hands on. If he got even an inkling about some of my projects, we’d lose more than you could imagine.’
I could imagine a fair bit. I gnawed the inside of my cheek. ‘How about,’ I said quietly, ‘if I gave you information that you could hold over me? If I allowed you to have the upper hand?’
‘I don’t possibly see—’
‘I’m responsible for the borders closing,’ I interrupted.
Artemesia’s jaw dropped. Yep. Of everything she might have expected me to say, I bet she hadn’t thought it would be this. ‘What?’
‘I have even more power and ability to be evil than you could imagine,’ I told her.
‘I …’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t believe it.’
I laughed harshly. ‘Well, I can assure you that it’s true. Rubus told me.’
‘And you trust him? Seriously?’
I dropped my gaze. ‘He used a Truth Spider on himself.’
Artemesia didn’t say anything. I looked up, expecting to see both horror and disgust displayed on her face but she seemed more fascinated than appalled. ‘What did you do?’
I told her everything that Rubus had told me. I was taking a massive gamble but somehow I had the feeling it would pay off.
When I’d finished, Artemesia took several steps backwards. I thought at first that it was because she wanted to put as much distance between us as she could then I realised that she needed to sit down.
She half fell onto a stool. ‘It’s all making sense now,’ she breathed. She turned her head towards the back of the room. ‘Did you hear all that?’ she asked.
I stiffened. What the gasbudlikin bastard…?
There was a faint thud and Morgan appeared from round the back of a set of shelves. ‘I did.’ His expression was grim.
I put my hands on my hips. Unbelievable. My gaze swung from Artemesia to Morgan and back again. ‘This is why you didn’t want me to come in! You’re having an affair! Were you naked back there, Morganus?’ I demanded. ‘Is that why it took you so long to appear?’ Without giving him a chance to answer, I glared at Artemesia. ‘How long has this been going on for? I hope the sex is worth it. I hope he’s bringing a good al-dente noodle to your spaghetti house and that he’s properly cleaning your cobwebs with his womb broom.’
I couldn’t bring myself to look at Morgan. ‘He’s got the body for masterfully negotiating the forest chasm, so if you’re not squealing when he’s paddling up coochie creek then I want to know about it. You deserve only the very best, Artemesia. You could have told me, though. I might be the Madhatter but I only want everyone to be happy.’
Unbidden, tears rose to my eyes and I dashed them away furiously. ‘I’m not angry. I’m happy that you’re together. I’m thrilled.’ I jiggled around. ‘See? This is my happy dance.’ I used the tips of my fingers to push my mouth into a smile. ‘When’s the wedding? Can I get an invite? Can—?’
Morgan walked over to me and put a finger against my lips. ‘Hush. I was here because I was meeting Artemesia to talk about what we can do to guard against any potential betrayal by Mendax. And to discuss whether his oath breaker will actually work or not.’ Something indefinable glittered in his eyes. ‘We’re not together.’
I hiccupped. ‘You’re not?’
