Page 39 of Box of Frogs
‘Ihate you,’ interjected Jodie. Then she seemed to regret her words and took a step back. I smiled at her. I liked people who told the absolute truth. Unfortunately, my expression only seemed to scare her even more.
Morgan’s mouth flattened. ‘Perhaps it’s best if the three of you leave. I’ll deal with Madrona.’
‘We have questions,’ Cravat Man said.
Viburna nodded. ‘Lots of questions.’
‘Yeah?’ I sneered. ‘Well, I don’t have any answers.’
Morgan sighed as if we were a bunch of squabbling children. He might have been right. ‘Answer three questions, Maddy. You owe us that much for giving you nux. As an added bonus, I’ll help you get rid of the glamour.’
I drew in a deep breath. ‘Fine. But I was telling the truth. I might not be able to answer your questions. I don’t know very much.’ I lifted up my chin and gazed at the others. ‘And they leave. It’s just you and me.’ I glanced at him. ‘Not because I like you or trust you, or anything like that. I’ve just had enough of the sniping and the staring.’
Cravat Man stepped forward. ‘Why you…’
Morgan moved in front of him. ‘Deal.’
‘We’re going to find out what you say anyway,’ Viburna said. ‘He’ll tell us.’
‘Great,’ I returned. ‘Bully for you. I’d still like it if you left. Too many freaks and not enough circuses.’
Viburna glared; in fact, all three of them did. They really didn’t like me very much.
‘Go,’ Morgan said.
Jodie pouted slightly. ‘But—’
‘It’s for the best.’
The three of them gave me their own special brands of dirty looks, which were amusingly identical, and started to leave. I could hear Viburna and Cravat Man as they walked away.
‘How the hell is she maintaining that glamour?’
‘Fucked if I know. And how did she resist the Truth Draw?’
Easy: I was simply a superior being.
Morgan stared at me. ‘You’ve built up a resistance. There’s only one way that could happen and that’s if Rubus used his Truth Spiders on you.’
I shuddered. I didn’t really want to know what a Truth Spider was. I yanked my gaze away from his as something else occurred to me. I pushed past Morgan and went after the unfortunate trio. He lunged for me, his hand encircling my wrist. I stopped in my tracks but called out, ‘Jodie?’
She turned and looked me, wariness written all over her face. ‘Yes?’
‘Thank you.’ I coughed. ‘For helping me out in the street. You didn’t know who I was but you still came to my aid.’
She seemed surprised. ‘I knew you were Fey,’ she muttered eventually. ‘You have the eyes. And you were shouting up and down the street that you were a faery.’
I winced. I didn’t think I’d really been shouting. ‘All the same,’ I said, ‘thank you.’
She stood there for a moment before pursing her lips and shrugging. ‘You’re welcome.’
I closed the door with my foot and moved back, eyeing Morgan. ‘You’re still holding me like I’m about to run away with your family jewels.’
He didn’t let go; instead he watched me, his expression shuttered. ‘You keep surprising me,’ he commented.
I rolled my eyes. ‘Even evil drug-dealing bitches can be polite.’
His response was quiet. ‘I deserve that.’
