Page 75 of Quiver of Cobras
Unfortunately for me, Rubus’s eyes merely narrowed. ‘Who told you I attacked a policeman?’
Uh-oh. ‘Julie,’ I said, without missing a beat. ‘She’s on her way here now, in fact. I persuaded her to come and cheer you up. She doesn’t have much time to spare but I thought you might appreciate seeing her, however briefly. Has your car been recovered?’
‘No.’
‘That’s a shame.’ Then, because I couldn’t resist, I added, ‘And to think that your lovely gold ring was in the glove box too.’
I reckoned that if the truce weren’t in place, Rubus would have ordered my execution right there and then. Reminding myself that I needed him to follow my lead, I hastily changed the subject. ‘Anyway,’ I cooed, ‘as I said, Julie is on her way here. Even though she knows you’re a faery, it’s probably not a good idea to invite her in here. Don’t forget she’s a vampire. She has no powers at the moment but who knows what latent magic is hiding deep inside her?’
For a brief moment, Rubus looked amused. ‘You’ve hit the nail on the head, Madrona,’ he murmured. ‘When I use the sphere to re-open the border, the magic that will hit this demesne could have untold effects on the likes of Julie Chivers. She might be impotent now but think about what could happen if the magic took over instead?’
I stared at him. That thought had never occurred to me.
Rubus laughed at my expression. ‘It makes you wonder why Chen didn’t use the sphere himself. I’m quite certain the after-effects will be extraordinarily beneficial for the dragons too – but they all seem hell-bent on destroying it instead of using it.’
That was because they weren’t homicidal, I thought. I smiled weakly. ‘What a thought. Dragons that actually breathe fire and vampires that could turn into bats.’
His eyes shone. ‘Brilliant, eh?’ When no one in the room said anything, he raised his voice. ‘I said, that’s brilliant, isn’t it?’
There was a sudden loud murmur of agreement. If it weren’t for the truce, Rubus should really ought to have considered investing in a literal whip as a well as a metaphorical one.
‘Anyway,’ I said, ‘if you’re busy here, I’ll leave you to it and head out to meet Julie. I’m sure she’ll understand that you have other things to do.’
Rubus glanced at me impassively and, for a horrible moment, I thought he was going to agree. It was just as well that I’d been paying attention in Manipulation 101; in the end he stood up, clearly unable to bear the thought that either he was missing out or that I was telling him what to do. ‘These people can come back another day. I am excited to see the glamorous Ms Julie Chivers again.’
He’d deliberately name-dropped her so everyone in the room was aware that he was meeting a real-life soap star. It was unfortunate that Lunaria took that moment to enter the room. When she heard his words and saw his leering expression, her face fell half a mile. Man. Maybe I should see if Finn was up for a date or two. She needed something – or rather someone – to distract her from her ridiculous crush.
Rubus swaggered over in my direction with his groin thrust slightly forwards so that none of us were in any doubt that he was indeed a man. I frowned.
‘Have you hurt yourself?’ I asked, the very picture of solicitous concern. ‘Or can faeries get the clap?’
His smile disappeared. ‘What?’ he snapped.
‘You’re walking like your balls are swollen.’
He glowered. ‘No. They’re always this large.’ In a muttered undertone, he added, ‘Don’t push your luck, Madrona. You’re still on probation.’
As if I could forget. I offered him a pretty smile and gestured to the door so he could lead the way. If that was what it took to make him feel manly and in charge, I could permit it. He’d learn who was really running this show soon enough.
By the time we made it out onto the street, the sun had disappeared behind an ominous cloud and a steady drizzle was starting to fall. ‘This fucking weather,’ Rubus complained. ‘Another thing to despise about this demesne.’
I shrugged. ‘You could always move to the Bahamas.’
He didn’t deign to answer. Instead his eyes travelled up and down the length of the road until he finally spied Julie’s ostentatious car and strode towards it. She’d obviously only just arrived and opened the door before we reached her, exiting in a manner that suggested either a Swiss finishing school or hours of practice. When I saw the short skirt she was wearing, I understood why – although flashing a bit of inner thigh would probably whet Rubus’s appetite further and keep him distracted.
‘Darlings!’ She clip-clopped towards us, planting an air kiss first near Rubus’s cheek and then near mine. As instructed, she didn’t pay me much attention; her focus was all on the villain of the hour. ‘Are you alright?’ she asked. ‘I can’t believe those terrible policemen treated like you that. You were the victim!’
‘They were clearly threatened by me,’ Rubus said dismissively. ‘They wanted to show who was in charge. It happens to me a lot.’
I blinked. He actually seemed to believe it. And Artemesia had denigratedmyego! To match Rubus, I was going to have to try a damn sight harder. I comforted myself with the thought that I couldn’t be the best at everything; it wouldn’t be fair on the rest of the world.
‘Well,’ Julie said, ‘I’m very glad to see you breathing free air.’ She checked her watch. ‘I don’t have long. I’m supposed to be at the studio in the next hour but perhaps we could arrange to meet for another attempt at dinner in the near future.’ She threw me a sly look. ‘Sorry, Mads, darling, but perhaps without you joining us.’
I pouted, as if I were crestfallen at not being invited to play gooseberry. I was genuinely surprised that she was suggesting a re-match with Rubus because she had already played her first role for today and lured him out of the building. I’d expected her to let him down gently and say she was too busy to meet him again.
For his part, Rubus was eager to agree to another date. ‘Thursday night?’ he enquired. ‘I know a wonderful little steakhouse. Now I know more about who you really are, I feel it might be more up your alley than Italian. You can order your rib-eye blue and bloody.’
I grimaced but Julie just smiled. ‘Excellent. I’ll get Mads to give you my address. You can pick me up.’
