Page 33 of Box of Frogs
‘I…’ He loosened his collar and coughed. ‘Um…’ His face fell. ‘I just wanted some dust.’
‘Indeed.’
‘I’m sorry.’
I nodded. ‘As you should be. I can’t abide liars.’ Taking a stab in the dark, based on what else I’d learned about this strange Fey society, I raised an eyebrow. ‘I see you’re also lying about your name.’
‘It’s not a lie!’ he protested. ‘The Fey know who I am. I couldn’t use my real name here. I’d never be taken seriously! Not by the humans anyway.’
‘Hmmm.’ I tried to look as if I knew exactly what he was talking about. ‘You real name being…’
‘Begonius.’
Yeah, okay. I could see why he’d changed it. I didn’t have time to comment, though, because Timmons looked wildly from side to side and hastily interjected with an explanation of his own. ‘We’re supposed to maintain a low profile. We’re supposed to keep our true selves quiet.’
‘So we are.’ Maybe that was why altering time was frowned upon. With the proliferation of CCTV cameras in this country, any untoward or inexplicable action could be flagged up by powerful humans. Given what Julie had revealed about the vampire hunters, it made sense. The Fey probably possessed zero desire to be hunted down in the same manner. ‘Well,’ I continued, ‘you still lied to me. You also alerted others to Madrona’s presence.’
Timmons’ panic flared further. ‘What? No! I didn’t tell anyone she was here!’
‘Then why did three gargoyles show up at her room moments after she left?’ I spat, watching his reaction carefully.
‘Three what?’ He paused. ‘Wait. The Redcaps. They were here for her?’
What the gasbudlikins were Redcaps? Some other sort of supernatural being? Maybe humans didn’t exist at all; maybe everyone living here was something else entirely. I wasn’t sure I’d met anyone normal since I’d woken up on that bloody golf course. I sucked in a breath and tried to focus. ‘Who were they?’ I demanded. ‘Who were these Redcaps?’
He shook his head, terrified. ‘I don’t know! I’d never seen them before! They showed up, ran through the hotel and then left. They were nothing to do with me, I promise! I didn’t even connect them to Madrona.’
He wasn’t the brightest star in the sky – unless he frequently had grotesque creatures sprinting through his hotel during the day. But it seemed that he was telling the truth. He was too scared not to. Shame.
‘It doesn’t change the fact that you lied. We’ll have to find a way for you to make it up to me.’
Timmons’ eagerness was pathetic. ‘Of course, of course! I’ll do whatever you want. You’re so amazing, Rubus. I’ll follow your lead. Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.’
Ick. I had the feeling that if I asked him to lick my shoes, he would. I tapped my mouth as if thinking deeply on the matter. ‘How about some nux?’
Momentarily befuddled, he stared at me. ‘Nux?’
‘Yes.’ I drifted a lazy hand through the air. ‘Give me some nux and I can be persuaded to forget this little matter.’
Timmons’ growing puzzlement transformed abruptly. He stood up, pushed his chair back and glared at me. ‘You’re not Rubus!’ he accused.
Gasbudlikins. ‘Of course I am.’
‘No, you’re not. Rubus wouldn’t come to me for nux. You’re her! You’re Madrona!’ He pointed at me. ‘You thought you could fool me!’
To be fair, Ihadfooled him. Just not for long enough. ‘Now, listen—’
He shook his head in sudden, stubborn defiance. ‘Has Rubus excommunicated you? Is that why you’re here? Because I’m not helping one of his enemies.’ His mouth tightened. ‘No way. And how the hell are you maintaining that glamour? No faery – apart from maybe Rubus or Morganus – can keep up a spell of that intricacy for more than five or ten minutes. Whatareyou?’ He said this last part as if I were a slug that had crawled into his cornflakes.
‘Stronger than you,’ I answered. ‘Obviously.’ I sighed. ‘Fine. If you won’t give me any nux then tell me where I can find Rubus.’ This other Fey who everyone kept mentioning couldn’t be that bloody scary. And no doubt I’d have to meet with the man sooner or later, especially as I supposedly worked for him.
‘I’m going to tell Morgan about this,’ Timmons or Begonius or whatever he wanted to be called said in a high-pitched whine.
I gritted my teeth, suddenly irritated. ‘Morgan Shmorgan.’ I yanked my legs down from the desk and stood up before leaning across and grabbing Timmons’ collar. ‘I need nux,’ I hissed.
‘I don’t have any!’ he yelled in my face.
I raised my hand to backhand him. I wasn’t intending to actually strike him he still staggered and clutched his face as if to protect his middling good looks. ‘You can’t do this. You can’t hurt me. The truce…’
