Page 32 of Quiver of Cobras
I shrugged. ‘He might be on his way,’ I said. Or he might be planning to meet me beside a certain golf course now that Rubus was suitably occupied for the next couple of hours. ‘I wish I could be there,’ I said. ‘But I guess I’ll have to go out and scour the city for a cache of missing pixie dust instead.’
The Fey grimaced. ‘Rather you than me.’
I offered up a melodramatic sigh. ‘Life’s a bitch.’ Unless you are one already.
***
Night had fallen by the time I made it to the rendezvous point. Both Morgan and Finn were waiting there, stamping their feet to keep out the cold. Finn appeared particularly unhappy. The antsy expression on his face immediately worried me.
‘Is Julie alright?’ I asked, as I emerged out of the tree cover to join them.
‘She’s fine,’ he said shortly.
I glanced askance at Morgan. He raked a hand through his hair. ‘There’s a website,’ he said. ‘Her name is being touted about.’
‘She’s a famous soap star. Surely her name is going to be bandied around. You said there had been no sign of any more vampire hunters.’
‘No physical sign,’ he answered heavily. ‘But in the last couple of hours there have been suggestions on a few online forums that she’s not all she seems. So far the gossip has been limited to a discussion about how she manages to look so young when there’s no evidence that she’s been to a plastic surgeon. The internet is a rabbit warren of conspiracy theories. All it takes is one enterprising hacker to go looking for information on her, though.’
‘Google is hardly going to tell the world that she’s a vampire,’ I scoffed.
‘No,’ he replied. ‘But it might tell the world that her birth certificate is fake. Plus, there’s a photo.’
‘It’s her,’ Finn grumped. ‘In 1903. Right now it’s a joke: Julie Chivers has a lookalike who’s long dead. Except…’
‘It’s not a lookalike. It’s her,’ I finished.
He nodded grimly. ‘We haven’t been able to tell whether these are more vampire hunters who are on her trail and have decided that they’ll just expose her if they can’t capture her. Or whether it’s just shitty luck and it’s entirely innocuous.’
‘What can I do?’ I asked.
‘You’ve got your hands full with Rubus. Focus on him,’ Morgan said.
‘I’m capable of multi-tasking. I can chew gum and walk all at the same time.’
‘I’m dealing with it,’ Finn said. From the way he was bunching and unbunching his fists, he wasn’t dealing with it very well. Still, I reflected, at least looking after Julie’s wellbeing would take his mind off his dead brothers – although part of me was waiting for the Redcap to snap and try to take off my head for being involved in both their deaths.
He gave me a derisive sniff. ‘You stick to running around and panting after Rubus.’ He threw a scornful glance at my clothes. ‘Clearly you’re more suited to being a honey trap than helping people. Stay on your knees and keep that mad faery occupied.’ He raised his hand and gestured a crude mimicry of a blowjob.
I didn’t need to look at Morgan to know he was furious. ‘Gee,’ I drawled to Finn, ‘I didn’t realise you were such an expert on my life and how I should live it. Please continue with your wonderful insights. I’ll take notes.’ I paused. ‘Arsebadger.’
A rumble sounded in Finn’s throat and a moment later he sprang at me. I saw Morgan lunge to pull him back. I frowned at him and shook my head in warning just before Finn’s fist connected with the side of my head.
I staggered slightly. That hurt. ‘Is that the best you’ve got?’ I taunted.
Finn flung himself at me again, knocking me to the ground. His fists flew. I dodged a few of the punches by jerking my head from side to side but he still landed several. Feeling woozy, I writhed underneath him then rolled to extricate myself. As soon as I was clear, I jumped back to my feet. Finn kicked out, his boot slamming into my stomach. Winded, I doubled over.
‘They’re dead!’ he screamed at me. ‘They’re both dead!’
I squinted, raising my eyes to look at him. His expression crumpled almost as if I’d hit him and his knees seemed to give away. He collapsed to the ground, his shoulders shaking with heartfelt sobs.
I spat out a thin stream of blood, wiped my mouth and hobbled over. I thought about touching him but decided it would be wise to leave him be. I limped over to Morgan, who was watching us both with a stony expression. He lifted one hand to my stomach, pressing it against the bruise that was already forming. The pain eased almost instantly and I groaned with relief. He moved his hand up to my face but I shook my head. The visible bruises would come in handy later.
After what seemed like an eternity, Finn’s crying subsided. He hiccupped and straightened up, shooting me one more viciously angry glare. Then he ignored me completely and addressed Morgan. ‘We’re here for a reason.’ His voice was thick with unspent tears. ‘We should get a move on.’ He turned and headed up the hill, his heavy footsteps trudging towards the clubhouse less than half a mile away.
I grimaced slightly, wincing at the throbbing pain in my jaw and my left cheek. As I turned to follow him, Morgan grabbed my elbow and stopped me. ‘You did that deliberately,’ he said quietly. ‘Finn’s insult about being a honey trap didn’t bother you but you still goaded him into becoming even angrier.’
‘I’m not sleeping with Rubus,’ I told him. ‘He wouldn’t turn me down if I offered and he’s come close to inviting me into his bed, but I don’t think he’s really that interested in me. He’d only do it to piss you off. I get the impression he thinks he’s too pure for such base instincts.’
