Page 66 of Quiver of Cobras
‘Have you ever been mistaken for an orang-utan?’ I enquired. I could imagine some well-meaning zoologist capturing him and returning him to some deep Sumatran jungle.
‘Where’s Julie?’ he snapped, ignoring my eminently sensible question. ‘What’s gone wrong?’
I sighed. ‘Julie’s still inside with Rubus. They’ve not even ordered their meal yet. They have, however, ordered me out.’
He snarled under his breath. ‘Why? What did you do?’
I spread my arms innocently. ‘I didn’t do anything, other than try to save Julie from herself. The fact that I failed epically is not because my powers are weak but because her powers are so strong.’
‘She has no powers,’ he snapped.
‘She has nomagicalpowers,’ I agreed. ‘But her powers of wilful stubbornness and her ability to charm the pants off bastards like Rubus are going to be legendary.’
His eyes narrowed. I raised an enquiring eyebrow. ‘Are you imagining them having sex right now? Because I can tell you that if they are, it’s definitely Julie who’s on top.’
For a brief moment, I thought he was going to take a swing at me. Instead, he lunged for the champagne bottle. I let him have it. The poor man was clearly in need of a drink.
He gulped it down like water then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘She told him, didn’t she? She told him what she is.’
‘Yep.’ I sniffed. ‘Against my advice, I might add. I take it you knew she was considering this action?’
His shoulders slumped. ‘She suggested it would be a good idea. She says she’s had enough of being weak and defenceless.’
‘She’s still weak and defenceless,’ I pointed out. ‘She’s just weak and defenceless and now secret-less too.’
‘She has nothing to offer Rubus,’ Finn reminded me. ‘She can’t do anything apart from live for a long time and drink blood.’
‘She can act.’
He grimaced. ‘Yeah. She can certainly do that.’
The large Redcap seemed particularly morose. In the wake of his two dead brothers, he’d transferred his affections to Julie. I suspected that he needed to feel needed by someone. Now that she’d gone out all guns blazing, and revealed her identity to Rubus, she would no longer require his protection. That sucked, whichever way you looked at it.
‘Right now he’s in awe of her,’ I said. ‘He’s far too smitten to hurt her.’
Finn’s large fists bunched up. ‘I’d like to see him try.’ He tried to take another drink but, finding the bottle empty, tossed the champagne bottle to the side.
‘It’ll be fine,’ I reassured him.
He scowled. ‘I don’t like it when you’re nice. It’s not natural. To be honest, it makes me think that the world is about to end.’
I leaned over and gave him a hug. His body stiffened as if he were expecting a wallop instead. ‘The last thing I want to do is hurt you, Finn,’ I said cheerfully. ‘It’s still on my to-do list, though.’
‘Thank you,’ he mumbled. ‘I feel better now.’
I pulled back and grinned. ‘Any time.’ I glanced round. ‘Did Morgan have any problems with the car?’
He shook his head. ‘Nope. He broke in and got it started easily. He’ll dump it somewhere on the outskirts of the city. It’ll take Rubus a while to find it.’
I gave a satisfied nod. ‘That’s what we need.’ It wasn’t the car that was important, after all; it was the ring that Rubus had popped into the glove box that we wanted.
‘When’s the meeting with Mendax?’ I asked.
‘First thing in the morning. He refused to meet us tonight.’ Finn’s lip curled. ‘He’s probably busy counting his stupid gold for the umpteenth time.’
I nodded and considered going home to bed. Some sleep would be very welcome but I really wanted to see the look on Rubus’s face when he realised someone had boosted his car.
‘I’ve got a good vantage point over there,’ Finn said. ‘We can make sure Julie is safe and that she leaves the restaurant – and Rubus – without any problems. He’ll never know we’re here.’
